
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-05/29/2009

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Golfer Kenny Perry sees beyond Masters loss
by Art Stricklin
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Golfer Kenny Perry has a message for fans or media who think he is still crushed or depressed by his recent Masters playoff loss: His faith in Jesus Christ is enough to take care of any professional distress.

"I wasn't disappointed, that's what people don't understand," Perry said after the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Thursday, where he is a two-time champion of the PGA Tour event.

"I have been so blessed, I could never be disappointed or upset with my life."

Perry, 48, capped the golf season of his life in 2008 with three PGA Tour victories and a spot on United States' victorious Ryder Cup team.

In 2009 it even got better with a victory at the 2009 PGA Tour event in Phoenix and his strong showing at the Masters tournament.

Playing in the major championship closest to his hometown of Franklin, Ky., Perry played steadily, if not brilliantly, in moving to the top of the leader board at Augusta National Golf Club.

He was in the final group on the final day. In the crowd: PGA Tour chaplain Larry Moody, who had spoken to Perry about the international platform to give glory to God with a victory.

But an 18th hole missed putt left Perry in a playoff with Angel Cabrera and Chad Campbell. A poor shot on the second playoff hole cost Perry his chance; Cabrera captured the victory, becoming the oldest champion in Masters history.

Even so, it didn't leave Perry with a crushed spirit or crushed faith.

"Jesus is No. 1 in my life. I hope that comes through in everything I do," he said.

Perry already had spurned the conventional Tour wisdom by citing his faith in saying earlier in the year he didn't need a sports psychologist, a staple to many players on the tour.

In the aftermath of his Masters loss, the outpouring of support for the kind, Christian way he handled defeat was enough to lift his spirits.

"I got a lot of letters in the mail which said, 'You must be a Christian because of the way you reacted,'" Perry said. "That's what I want people to see in my life."

While he didn't take home the Green Jacket given to Masters champions, Perry did take home another chance to help others -- being able to give more money to a scholarship fund at Lipscomb University, a Christian college in Nashville, Tenn., that he and his wife have established for kids from the Franklin area to attend at a reduced rate.

"We now have $1.5 million dollars in the trust fund endowment for kids and a Christian education. When I do well, it's just more money to God."

Perry said the idea to give back to God with each of his golfing successes came when he was broke and didn't even know if he would ever make it to the PGA Tour.

A church member in Franklin loaned him the money to make it to tour qualifying school one last time in 1986, with Perry promising that if he ever achieved his golfing dream, he would find a way to give back to God.

"Our goal is that if a kid chooses a Christian education, they're not going to be held back for lack of money," Perry said in a 2005 story in The Links Letter. "It's a great story I love to tell, because it shows how God has used me week in and week out and the money goes to further His cause. It gives kids a chance to know the Lord."

On a warm Thursday (May 28), Perry's opening round 64 at Colonial Country Club put him near the top of the leader board. But he said the highlight of this week in Fort Worth, as it is most weeks on the PGA Tour, is the weekly Wednesday Bible study.

Led by Moody or a local pastor, the one-hour study brings together more than 30 PGA players, caddies and officials to read and learn from God's Word and pray for each other.

"I'm always inspired by the Bible study and inspired by the number of young guys who are there," Perry said. "Guys like Ben Crane and Aaron Baddeley and Justin Leonard. They are really the future of the tour."
--30--
Art Stricklin is a Baptist Press sports correspondent based in Dallas.


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Montana church undaunted by fire
by Karen L. Willoughby
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (BP)--The smoke alarms worked just after midnight on Sunday, May 24, enabling the three people staying in Set Free Ministries' oversized building in downtown Great Falls, Mont., to flee to safety.

The uninsured, historic building burned to its outside brick walls during the Memorial Day weekend, pastor J.T. Coughlan said.

"We don't know how it started but we're 100 percent burned out," Coughlan said as he waved his hand back at the destruction on the other side of a half-block of yellow caution tape. "We only missed one food pick-up. All our ministries are going right on."

Set Free Great Falls ministers to people who don't feel comfortable in most churches, providing a variety of Jesus-focused assistance to people who live on the edge. Its ministries include food, clothing, household items, support groups, children's activities and a year-long in-house rehab program for those who choose Jesus over various crutches they've previously used such as drugs, alcohol and sex.

"The outpouring from the churches and the community has been amazing," said the pastor, who founded Set Free Ministries in Great Falls 14 years ago. "Pastor &#91;John&#93; Duckworth of First Baptist Church opened those church doors for us to have our Saturday night worship services. A bar down the street has said we can distribute the food there that we usually distribute twice a week from this building."

The three-alarm fire -- which means all on-duty and all available off-duty firefighters were mobilized -- is not likely to have been an act of arson, said Randy McCamley, fire chief for the city of Great Falls. Firefighters were at the smoldering scene for 36 hours, dousing hot spots as they flared, after an initial four-hour pitched battle to keep the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.

"We're not ruling anything out at this point, but we're not having any indication that raises our suspicions," McCamley said. "This was a very big building –- four stories, and six at the back, plus basements. A part of the roof collapsed over the sanctuary, and it was a multi-floor collapse.

"We'll be days or weeks getting to the bottom of it," the fire chief continued, referring to the cause of the fire. "With an old building, there's plenty to burn and of course they stored a lot of things there; they had a big clothing ministry, for one."

As to rebuilding at the church site, Coughlan said. "I'm just trusting God."

An inebriated man stopped by the scene Thursday afternoon and gave the pastor 50 cents. Residents in a neighborhood ministered to by Set Free went door-to-door for whatever they could collect in this, the last few days of the month.

"We'll go out again after everyone gets paid," said the woman who handed the pastor an envelope of mostly change.

Set Free Ministries in Montana got its start 10 years after Coughlan found a new direction in life.

"I wasn't living right," he said. "Being raised in a Christian environment, I knew better. We just had our first child and things weren't going the way they were supposed to."

Coughlan gave his life to Jesus Christ on March 13, 1985, after watching ESPN television and seeing a commercial with legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry advertising a free book -– "Power for Living" -– that would change his life.

Within 10 years Coughlan was a firefighter at the Malmstrom Air Force Base fire station and children's pastor at a nondenominational church. One night, watching a Christian cable network, he became intrigued with ministry led by Zonelle Thompson in inner-city Los Angeles. Coughlan started taking vacation time to help and came to realize that the type of people being reached in Los Angeles likely would not be comfortable in the church in Great Falls where he was serving.

Four months later, on Feb. 5, 1995, Set Free Great Falls was birthed, meeting first in a strip mall. It's church lore that Coughlan lay praying on the concrete in front of a downtown building he wanted, and from that position saw the building God wanted him to have. He and his wife Nona sold property they'd been given as a wedding present and used the money -- with another $50,000 'miraculously' provided by God, the pastor says -- to purchase the six-story building that also includes three basements.

"It's His," Coughlan says God told him concerning the building as firefighters were manhandling hoses while they climbed ladders soaring above the corner of Sixth and Central. "It's all about sharing the love of Jesus, wherever and however He wants to do that. We're open. Our building may have burned, but we're open. We'll do whatever He tells us to do."

Set Free's building opened in 1914 as "the lavish Pantages &#91;vaudeville&#93; Theater," according to an article in the Great Falls Tribune, and was designed by one of the city's "most noted architects." Also in its early years, the building contained the offices of the Rocky Mountain Fire Insurance Company. Its president: Paris Gibson, founder of Great Falls. The $200,000 cost of the building in 1995 was fair market value in Great Falls for the long-neglected structure, Coughlan said.

"It was a wreck when we moved in," he said. His longtime secretary, Pam Altman, wife of associate pastor Jerald "Rev" Altman, recalled stepping straight out from a second floor door -– there were no stairs at that point during the renovation process -– onto a two-story mound of discarded material.

For more than 13 years, the Set Free Ministries building included -- in addition to a 6,400-square-foot, three-story-high worship center -- a food room, clothing room, prayer room, and offices. In addition, people lived there who were from pre-release or jail programs or the streets as they worked through a year-long intense discipleship training program.

The building wasn't insured, Coughlan said. "We just never had the money to insure it," he said. "Everything that came in went out almost immediately for ministry of some kind."

Set Free's ministries also include the Set Free Bread of Life Food Ministry, a seven-day-a-week pick-up of day-old bread as well as canned goods and other non-perishables from area grocery stores, which were delivered by Set Free to its building and are continuing to go to other food providers across Great Falls to benefit people without access to transportation.

"We lost a small food pantry -- most of it goes out as quickly as it comes in -- and freezers and basic things like that," Altman said. "We had just cleaned out the freezers. We had several turkeys so we delivered &#91;items for&#93; turkey dinners to the people at one church.

"It's amazing," Altman said on Wednesday, following the weekend fire. "Nothing has slowed down. We're just doing it out of several locations instead of out of our building."

Set Free's equipment trailer for its summer-in-the-parks STITCHES children's program was unharmed by the fire. STITCHES, which stands for Saving The Inner-city Through Christ's Hope: Eternal Salvation, offers an hour-long series of activities for youngsters, with games, prizes, candy and a Gospel segment using puppets, skits, object lessons and the like. Coughland, his wife Nona and four daughters serve alongside him in STITCHES, as do others from Set Free Ministries.

"We're out and about all the time," Coughlan said. "We feed the homeless, walk around, go to the hospital, have lunch at school with kids -- we just come in and hang out with the kids and try to encourage them."

Worship for Set Free starts with a 5 p.m. Saturday barbeque for upwards of 150 people, maybe as many as 300 each week. The invitation to meet at First Baptist Great Falls is open-ended, Coughlan said. Worship -– heavy on music, testimony and preaching –- starts at 6:30 p.m., providing an additional way to train those men called into the ministry through Set Free. 

Coughlan leads the men twice a week in Bible study and once a week for "pastor school," which is comprehensive training in things a pastor should know: doctrinal issues, plus how to do marriages, funerals, baptisms and more.

Since Set Free's worship service takes place on Saturday nights, Coughlan often is called on to fill pulpits on Sunday mornings in churches affiliated with Treasure State Baptist Association and the Montana Southern Baptist Convention. He'll take two or three pastors-in-training with him; they talk there and back -- Southern Baptist churches in Montana often are at least an hour from each other –- about the sermon and the service.

The pastors-in-training first "public speaking" opportunities come as they give their testimony and introduce their listeners to Jesus. That starts in the first hours after they give their lives to Jesus, Coughlan said.

"JT &#91;Coughlan&#93; is a phenomenal leader and has a heart to reach men and woman who are very difficult to reach: addicts, bikers, street people and others who may feel uncomfortable in a more traditional church," said Fred Hewett, executive director of the Montana convention. "I found him to be a man who loves the Lord and is sold out to Jesus and willing to minister in a place where few are willing."

B.J. Hallmark, area missionary for the Baptist association, is a "very good friend," Coughlan said. That's why he -– and Set Free Ministries in Great Falls and the two missions it has spawned, in Helena and Missoula, have become part of the Southern Baptist Convention.

"It sounded like a great idea to join forces and work together," Coughlan said. "Southern Baptists have a good thing going, what with the Cooperative Program and all. We're after the seven major cities of Montana &#91;for a Set Free Ministries church&#93; -- those who don't attend church..... It's not just bikers. All sinners are welcome. But that's just here in Montana. The Cooperative Program goes worldwide, and that's something we want to be part of."

Still, he said, "We're not your mama's church. We're out there, touching those the church doesn't reach. We're not the bad guys. We're kind of the sheep in wolves' clothes."
--30--
Karen L. Willougby is managing editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message and the Montana Baptist newsjournals.


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NH 'gay marriage' bill heads back to legis.
by Michael Foust
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

CONCORD, N.H. (BP)--An attempt to make New Hampshire the sixth state to legalize "gay marriage" may have hit a snag last week, but supporters aren't giving up and a legislative committee agreed Friday in a controversial meeting to send a compromise bill back to the House and Senate.

At issue was language in a bill, H.B. 73, that Democratic Gov. John Lynch said must pass if he is to sign a separate bill, H.B. 436, that would legalize "gay marriage." Although H.B. 436 already passed both chambers, legislative leaders have yet to send it to Lynch's desk.

Lynch says H.B. 73 -- which passed the Senate but surprisingly failed in the House 188-186 May 20 -- would provide protections to religious organizations and prevent them from being forced to participate in same-sex ceremonies. Social conservatives say the bill doesn't go far enough in protecting those with religious objections, while some representatives who opposed the bill say it goes too far.

Conservatives are trying to defeat H.B. 73 so as to force Lynch to veto the "gay marriage" bill. 

In a meeting Friday afternoon, a conference committee made up of members from both chambers agreed to minor changes in H.B. 73 that the committee hopes will pass both chambers and appease Lynch. But the bill passed the committee only after a Republican (Sen. Sheila Roberge) who opposes "gay marriage" was pulled from the committee and replaced by a Democrat (Sen. Matthew Houde) who supports it. Roberge was pulled from the committee by Democratic leaders after she voted against the compromise; a unanimous vote is necessary to send the bill back to the full House and Senate. With Houde on the committee, the vote went from 6-1 to 7-0.

Democrats control both chambers. Roberge had offered three amendments to the bill that failed to get seconded, including: 1) an amendment to protect private businesses who oppose "gay marriage" and 2) an amendment that would have placed a non-binding referendum about "gay marriage" on the ballot.

Conservatives now will pressure House members to defeat the bill when it comes up again for a vote.

Kevin Smith, executive director of the conservative New Hampshire-based Cornerstone Policy Research, told Baptist Press the committee changes simply were "fluff" in order to give Democratic House leaders another chance to pass it. He believes House leaders will find the votes to pass it in the full chamber, much like they did in March when the "gay marriage" bill actually failed by one vote when it was first considered, only to pass by seven votes minutes later when Democratic leaders brought it back up. 

"They did nothing to change the governor's amendment. I think it will pass the House, but I thought it would pass the last time. You never know what's going to happen in there. It's all about turnout," he said of the 400-member chamber. "... They only need one to switch."

If one vote switches and the vote is tied, then House Speaker Terie Norelli -- who supports "gay marriage" -- would break the tie and presumably vote for it.

Cornerstone and the National Organization for Marriage have been running a television ad reminding citizens that Lynch said he would veto the "gay marriage" bill if the religious exemptions bill as he outlined isn't passed. It also reminds citizens that Lynch -- up until just two weeks ago -- said he didn't support "gay marriage." It asks viewers to call Lynch and ask him to veto the bill. 

"The legislature did not pass these provisions," the ad says. "Now the only question is whether ... Gov. Lynch will finally keep his word."

Smith and other conservatives say Lynch's proposal falls far short of truly protecting religious freedoms. As written prior to Friday's conference, the bill stated that "a religious organization, association, or society" or any individual who is "managed, directed, or supervised" by a religious organization "shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges to an individual" if such a request "is related to the solemnization of a marriage."

Although that would, for instance, protect a church-owned counseling service and a church-owned retreat center, it would not protect a privately owned wedding photography business, catering service or bed and breakfast, or even a fertility doctor who has moral objections to treating a "married" same-sex couple. It also does nothing to prevent "gay marriage" from being taught in public schools, as has happened in Massachusetts, where "gay marriage" also is legal. 

In one famous case of religious discrimination, the New Mexico human rights commission fined a husband-wife-owned photography business $6,600 for refusing to take pictures of a lesbian commitment ceremony.

"The New Hampshire governor is right to recognize the threat to religious liberty posed by same-sex marriage, but he underestimates the threat by a long shot," Austin R. Nimocks, an attorney with the legal organization Alliance Defense Fund, told Baptist Press. "The protections he proposes do not cover business owners and individuals with religious objections to same-sex marriage, and these are exactly the kind of cases that the Alliance Defense Fund is having to defend."

It's anyone guess as to how another House vote will turn out. Smith said the bill failed last week because of a number of factors. 

"It was a combination of things," he said. "The majority of people who voted against it just don't want gay marriage to begin with. You had some Republicans who are in favor of gay marriage but voted against it because they felt the amendment actually went too far in protecting religious organizations and that it was writing discrimination into the law. And then you had Democrats who were mad at the governor for not just signing the &#91;gay marriage&#93; bill the way it was."
--30--
Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press. To read how "gay marriage" impacts parental rights and religious freedom click here.
 For more information about the New Hampshire bill, visit www.cpraction.org.


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FIRST PERSON: "This One Thing I Do" (Philippians 3:12-14)
by Morris H. Chapman
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--On Monday, April 27, I received an email and was surprised by the attachment entitled, the Great Commission Resurgence Declaration. As I began reading through the ten articles of the Declaration, I rejoiced in the strong affirmations of our Convention's biblical convictions. These articles listed many of the tenets of the faith that are critical to believe and live if ever we expect to fulfill Christ's commission to us in Matthew 28:19-20 and see revival come to our churches. The email asked Southern Baptists to sign a webpage created to show their commitment to the Declaration. Some of those who knew about it prior to its posting had signed already.

But, I discovered that Article IX and its commentary stood starkly apart from the other nine articles. It suddenly departed from biblical affirmations in order to address the reorganization of structure and methodology within our denomination. The article included several negative characterizations and unsupported judgments of the denomination. In that first draft, unseen by the larger family of the Southern Baptist Convention, Article IX included these words:

"... our denominational structures have become bloated and bureaucratic at every level, from local associations to state conventions to the SBC itself. We believe our ministry effectiveness is being strangled by overlap and duplication, poor stewardship, and a disproportionate amount of Cooperative Program dollars being kept by the state conventions."

This language in Article IX was revised within 48 hours when several leaders in the Convention rightly expressed their concern and indicated they could not sign the document as written. More objections were raised, and now a third version has been posted that removes the reference to "restructuring" the Convention. Unfortunately, changing the language has not made the perceived intent any more acceptable.

Revival and spiritual growth are the greatest needs in our Convention and our nation. This is the challenge around which all Southern Baptists can rally. Reorganization is not. Neither is it a prerequisite to revival.

Don't get me wrong. Effective and efficient organization is critical to any corporate endeavor and periodic changes are necessary. But revival in our churches and appointing a task force to study Convention structures are not two parts of one whole. They are two separate objectives that, if sought under the same banner, have the potential to cause both to fail. When the time is right, a successful study can happen, following established processes, as has occurred before. However, to put the two objectives together is like trying to mix oil and water.

I sense that most Southern Baptists are weary of wrangling with each other. They want to work, together, for the glory of God and the salvation of man. A review of the "denomination" is not an assignment the Convention has authority to undertake. Neither will it increase baptisms. Only the churches can increase baptisms. If our churches catch fire for Christ's sake, and thousands upon thousands are saved, baptisms will follow.

What are our choices? On one hand, calling for a study of the Convention is very likely to create highly-charged polarization. On the other hand, if our people come together under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, Southern Baptists have the potential to mount such a powerful witness to the saving grace of our Lord that God will pour out His blessings upon our efforts.

Perhaps some have the mistaken notion that if we get our stuff organized first, then God will pour out His blessings. Does history bear this out? Are there biblical examples from which to draw that would lead us to expect this? Reorganization does not change hearts. Only God's Holy Spirit moving in the hearts of men and women leads them to repentance, salvation, a closer walk with Christ and obedience to Christ's Great Commission. 

My overriding concern is that if Article IX remains in the Declaration, all attention will remain riveted on this one article. Article IX is causing distractions already. Since the release of the original Declaration, it seems as if all eyes and discussions have focused primarily on Article IX. The news media want to know more about Article IX. Southern Baptists who are reading about the Declaration are asking about Article IX. Pastors are talking about Article IX, particularly about a backwards observation in an earlier version (now corrected) that theological education "starts in the seminaries but finds its way to our local churches." Others are asking, "Why is the issue of reorganization in Article IX inserted in a Great Commission Resurgence document?" Still others are saying that it seems apparent that Article IX is the primary reason for the entire Declaration since it is practically the only element that calls for action. This unique characteristic, in itself, identifies the heightened level of importance given to this one article by its framers. And to what end? I have continued to communicate to the president my objections to the inclusion of Article IX in any plea for a "Great Commission" resurgence.

The commentary on Article IX in its latest version still includes the following statement, though the reference to "our denomination must be restructured" has been changed to "our Convention must be examined": 

"We believe that North American church planting, pioneer missions around the globe, and theological education ... are three priorities around which Southern Baptists will unite. Our denomination must be restructured at every level to facilitate a more effective pursuit of these priorities."

The work of the Program and Structure Study Committee was completed in 1997 under the Covenant for a New Century. At that time, the Southern Baptist Convention was restructured so that 95% of all Cooperative Program funds received by the Convention were, and still are, directed to the very three priorities identified by the framers of this Declaration -- our two mission boards and our six seminaries.

Let me repeat, the Cooperative Program Allocation Budget of the SBC already directs 95% of all Cooperative Program funds received by the Convention to eight of only twelve entities in the SBC -- the eight that are assigned the task of North American church planting, global missions, and theological education.

At the Southern Baptist Convention level, our structure already has been "streamlined for more faithful stewardship of the funds entrusted" to it. Why distract our Convention from the potential blessings a Great Commission Resurgence might bring when our current SBC structure already addresses the concerns expressed in Article IX over which the Convention has control? 

While I continually have urged our state convention executives to increase their Cooperative Program allocations toward the 50% mark, I cannot concur that the states are bloated or seeking to retain more and more CP money in the states. In fact, just the opposite is true. The slippage in Cooperative Program giving is at the local church level. If our churches still gave the same percentage of CP funds from the churches through the states as they did a decade ago (8.24% then; 6.08% now), the International Mission Board would have an additional $35 million dollars this year alone, not counting the money it would have received pro rata over the past decade. NAMB and our seminary funding formula would each have received approximately $17 million dollars more this year. While our annual dollar amount of Cooperative Program has continued to grow, we have reached a historic low in the percentage of CP funds forwarded by the churches, in spite of a restructuring that took place just over a decade ago and was hailed as the dawn of a new day for evangelism and missions. Reallocating our funds will not solve any perceived problems. But, a genuine revival might! 

Two weeks ago, in press interviews with several editors of Baptist state papers, the Florida Baptist Witness and the North Carolina Biblical Recorder, our SBC president noted that I had not signed the Declaration. He further mentioned he had learned that in 2004 I had called for reorganization of the Convention. He was curious to know how I could propose reorganization in 2004 and not have signed his Declaration. The answer lies in the very address from which he excerpted the quote -- one I delivered at the Baptist Identity Conference held at Union University. The paper is entitled, Axioms of a Cooperating Conservative. It has been posted for five years at the following link: http://morrischapman.com/article.asp?id=29.

I am glad the president referred to my paper, and would be happy for any and all Southern Baptists to read it. In the paper, I:

A. quoted the "Response to the Welcome" I gave at the beginning of the 1980 Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis. I concluded by saying, "The genius of Southern Baptist tradition is that we have been able to speak our minds without losing our heads. Our forefathers intended we are to be a denomination of convictions, not convenience. They determined we are to be a Convention of cooperation, not coalitions."

B. proposed that the Southern Baptist Convention should never leave its historic, cooperative nature and that at our best Southern Baptists are both conservative and cooperative.

C. emphasized that cooperation is foundational to our Baptist identity and how easily James L. Sullivan's description of our cooperative polity, the "rope of sand with strength of steel" can be demolished. I stated, "The deterioration may be caused by deliberately brushing away a few grains of sand here or there; not enough for anyone to notice, but enough to begin the weakening process in the spirit of cooperation."

D. stated that "The Southern Baptist Convention needs fine tuning. In fact, the Convention may require an overhaul, not in its polity, but in its programming and processes by which it functions daily. A major overhaul by the national Convention and the state conventions appears to be an absolute necessity, letting the facts speak for themselves lest the conventions discover too late they were blind and deaf to a delivery system that better serves the churches." 

Please do not miss the fact that my appeal was to the state convention executive directors, the presidents of our SBC entities, and their trustees -- the very people who already are charged with oversight and review. I did not recommend that a task force be appointed. I also did not recommend that the national Convention appoint a committee to judge other Baptist bodies. I could never do so, for the SBC has pledged never to even attempt to do so (SBC Constitution, Article IV).

In that paper, I also made the following appeal: 

"If the churches lose the vision and the understanding of the Cooperative Program, missions suffer. If missions suffer, the conventions suffer. If the conventions suffer, reorganization and reallocation of funding shall no longer be a choice. Now is the time for leaders of all conventions to concentrate upon priorities of their organization's very existence and determine that more shall be done for less. To fail to do so will bring the disadvantages of smaller budgets and reduced ministries. Now is the time to maximize our resources by creating leaner organizations and eliminating wasteful expenditures for failing and static ministries and programs. To put our money behind ministries that genuinely assist the churches who gave us a portion of their undesignated and designated offerings is a formula for fulfilling our Lord's command to go ye therefore. Anything less must become unacceptable. It is incumbent upon chief executives and trustees to assure the very best use of resources by giving laser-like focus to those pursuits that most honor our Lord Jesus Christ and expand His Kingdom on earth."

I encouraged our trustees and administrators to be highly responsible and trustworthy with the responsibilities the state and national conventions have given them. If there is a problem, the chief executive should address it. If the problem persists, the trustees of the entity or the executive boards of the respective states should address it. The Southern Baptist Convention has not retained any authority in the operations of SBC entities and has no authority over the churches, the associations, or the state conventions. Southern Baptists historically have trusted the trustees and the administrators to care for their entities. At this next annual meeting, if the messengers wish to request their entities to streamline, the SBC Executive Committee and the entities will respond. This is the process which has been endorsed by the Southern Baptist Convention and has served us well. 

To sum up, here are my reasons for not signing the Declaration at this time:

(1) Though I embrace a call for a Great Commission Resurgence, I cannot sign the Declaration as long as Article IX remains. Merely reorganizing a national body will not ignite the fires of revival. We need to come together to put all of our energies into fulfilling our Lord's Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. We need desperately to demonstrate the love of God to a world without a Savior. America is becoming a spiritual wasteland and we must put first things first! Why would we believe that reorganizing the Convention is the road to revival? Getting bigger is not better. Getting smaller is not better. Only getting better is better.

(2) I cannot sign the Declaration as long as Article IX is included because it is likely to be divisive. For 30 days the Declaration boldly called for a restructuring of the state and national conventions. Therefore, a study with such an obvious, predetermined bias toward restructuring, whether of the national convention or more broadly, will likely undermine rather than enhance state and national cooperation and unity. Whenever the churches call for change, it is best done cooperatively, and in accord with SBC governing principles.

(3) I cannot sign the Declaration if its Article IX is interpreted as a need to realign Convention priorities. The Article IX commentary identifies "North American church planting, pioneer missions around the globe, and theological education" as "three priorities around which Southern Baptists will unite." But, as noted, Southern Baptists already unite around these.

(4) I cannot sign the declaration if it includes Article IX because we have not been told what is wrong with the Convention structures and procedures, and even if we had, the Convention does not have the authority to "restructure" the "denomination" at every level as initially urged by the SBC president. As I noted earlier, restructuring the Convention did not result in revival in 1997.

(5) I cannot sign the Declaration because an undercurrent accompanying the request for structural reorganization is the dissatisfaction that local church missions offerings are not counted as Cooperative Program gifts. I fear this particular dissatisfaction would find its way as a bias into the selection of any study committee or task force. Capitulating to this viewpoint would improve nothing, for if all missions offerings were added to the Cooperative Program totals, there would not be more money for missions, just higher totals reported under the Cooperative Program. 

If the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention adopt the Great Commission Resurgence Declaration including Article IX and empower the president to appoint a task force or study committee, I will work diligently with that committee to supply them all the information they may need from the Executive Committee. But for now, I am extremely burdened that what may be at stake is our cooperative methodology, our representative trustee system, and our Cooperative Program. For the reasons I have given, I believe the Great Commission Resurgence Declaration would be much stronger and extremely more focused if its Article IX and the prospect of restructuring was eliminated.

The decision rests with the messengers our churches will send to the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville, June 23-24. I pray God's abundant blessings upon you, our Convention, our denomination, and their respective leaders. Paul described the urgency of our moment in history, "This one thing I do.... I press on toward the high mark of God's calling in Christ Jesus." Let us not allow anything to distract us from this one thing.

Sincerely in Christ,

Morris Chapman
--30--
Morris H. Chapman is president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee.


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25,000 prep for NAMB summer missions
by Mickey Noah
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--An army of 25,000 student and adult volunteers will mobilize across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico in June, when the North American Mission Board's World Changers, PowerPlant and Families on Mission ministries launch for the summer.

Introduced in 1991 and now in its 19th year, World Changers is a pre-packaged mission experience sponsored and managed by NAMB, enabling students to donate a week (Saturday to Saturday) of their summer to help rehabilitate housing in struggling neighborhoods -– at no charge to homeowners.

World Changers -- the largest of the three summer ministries -- will sponsor 92 projects in 85 cities between June 8 and Aug. 1, attracting 23,000 middle school, high school and college students.

World Changers will reach the milestone of renovating its 20,000th house sometime during the summer, said Jonathan Wilson, NAMB's strategy development coordinator for World Changers and PowerPlant.

Several new areas are scheduled, including Daytona Beach, Fla.; San Diego; Franklinton, La.; and Corpus Christi, Texas.

"We're particularly excited about Daytona Beach," Wilson said, noting that First Baptist Church "which has a real heart for reaching their city for Christ, wanted to use World Changers as part of their overall strategy. Daytona is always a popular destination for students, and we'll have 300 students from across the United States working there July 25-Aug. 1."

Each student participating in World Changers or PowerPlant pays an average fee of $260 for most U.S. projects. Fees cover the week's food, lodging, local transportation and program materials. Transportation to the project city is additional.

"We've been holding our collective breaths to see what impact the economy would have on World Changers this summer," Wilson said. "But just a few weeks away from the start of this summer's projects, we've got 25,000 people committed to come to World Changers and PowerPlant.

"It just goes to show that churches and student ministries are still heeding the Acts 1:8 challenge to go and spread the word of Christ and are making missions a priority of their church and ministry," Wilson said. "Sure, we've had a few churches drop out, but we've also seen a lot of churches call and add to their initial registration numbers -- maybe increase from 20 to 30. So, churches remain committed. We work 18 months leading up to these projects and it's neat to see how God is blessing our work."

For PowerPlant, another 2,000 students -- middle school to college-aged -- have signed up for 16 projects this summer. Wilson described PowerPlant as providing students with real-world experience in Southern Baptist church planting and evangelism. First-time PowerPlant cities include Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis and Indianapolis.

Minneapolis has one of the lowest number of evangelical churches in the country, Wilson said. "But in Minneapolis on the University of Minnesota campus, we'll have a group of guys who worked in PowerPlant as former students and staff, who are now church planters on campus who'll serve as core leaders for this summer's PowerPlant project up there."

World Changer and PowerPlant students pay their way "to come sleep on the floor, work on someone else's house or work with a church they didn't know existed," Wilson said.

"Yet they do it. They put their money where their faith is in order to make a difference ... and be part of something big. Through their efforts in World Changers and PowerPlant, God's love is going to be communicated to more than 100 communities in North America this summer."

In another first in the history of World Changers and PowerPlant, Wilson noted that both groups will be working in St. Louis at the same time, the week of July 18-25. Some 400 World Changer students will work on renovating and repairing homes in the St. Louis area, while PowerPlant volunteers will be doing church planting. "This happened because of a great partnership we have with the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association, &#91;which&#93; has a strategy of involving students," he said.

The last of NAMB's trio of summer ministries is "Families on Mission" (FOM), now in its fourth year. FOM is a pre-packaged week-long mission opportunity for families -- mom and dad, kids and even grandparents.

Some 650 people are registered as families to participate in one of six mission trips: Big Stone Gap, Va., June 6-11; Helen, Ga., June 13-18; Bryson City/Cherokee, N.C., June 20-25; Broken Arrow (Tulsa), Okla., July 4-9; Ruston/Farmerville, La., July 11-16; and Columbiana (Birmingham), Ala., July 18-23.

FOM provides children, their parents and grandparents with a hands-on experience of mission awareness, mission projects, worship, evangelism, family group discussions, and interaction with local missionaries and members of the community.

Susan Peugh, NAMB's coordinator for FOM, said spots are still available for the July mission trips, although the June projects have closed. The cost is $250 per family member participating, which includes food, lodging and local transportation for the week. Transportation to and from the FOM site is the responsibility of the family.

"The typical day for Families on Mission begins with breakfast and then a morning 'celebration' at 8 a.m. at the host church," Peugh said. The celebration includes a children's sermon, evangelism emphasis, mission education and directions for the day.

"From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., we're out at the ministry sites as families," she said. "We'll be doing resort ministry at campgrounds, and helping local church planters identify new people groups in the area through the use of block parties, surveys and backyard Bible clubs." Peugh said families also would be involved in local food and clothing distribution ministries, direct evangelism, ministering to local merchants and light construction projects assisting local residents such as house painting, yard maintenance and minor home repairs.

Following six hours of ministry work in the community, the families will return to their hotels, eat dinner, hold family worship sessions and then enjoy free time the rest of the evening. Each FOM week runs from Saturday to Wednesday.
--30-–
For more information on World Changers or PowerPlant, access www.world-changers.net or www.power-plant.net; for Families on Mission, e-mail fom@namb.net or call 1-800-462-8657, ext. 6456.


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Day of Prayer: Remote villagers waited for legend's 'precious' gift
by Don Graham
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

<i>EDITOR'S NOTE: Sharing the Gospel with peoples living in hard-to-reach places is the focus of the 2009 Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization, which Southern Baptists will observe May 31.</i> 

PACIFIC RIM (BP)--No one knows when the legend began. But generations of Sayang* have waited for its promise to be fulfilled.

For more than five centuries they have eked out their existence on a remote South Pacific island -- virtually cut off from the outside world. Here, the Sayang have survived as farmers, growing crops on rocky soil nearly too poor to farm. Rain has been the only source of fresh water. They've had no electricity or phone service, not even a doctor.

Twice government troops have tried to force the village of 10,000 to relocate -- once at gunpoint. But the Sayang refuse to leave because they are bound by the legend's promise -- the arrival of a foreigner bearing a precious gift.

In 1967 a German tourist stumbled upon their village. He was the first foreign visitor in the history of Yang Jauh.* He left behind his signature and photograph but nothing more. Then in 1986 a Japanese scientist came. She, too, left only her signature and photograph.

Nearly 20 years would pass before the village saw another outsider -- Southern Baptist worker Michael Martin.* 

Would the legend finally be fulfilled? 

Agus* vividly remembers Martin's arrival in Yang Jauh. His father had taught him the legend as a boy, and it was his father's voice that echoed in Agus' mind as he hurried to the house where village elders had gathered to receive their latest visitor.

Martin sat waiting. The North Carolina native had spent the past three hours navigating some of the island's roughest roads to reach the village. He'd heard about it by chance, through a Sayang student who attended one of the English classes Martin taught in town. Nobody else he had talked to on the island knew of Yang Jauh, much less the Sayang. As far as Martin could tell, they weren't on anybody's map except God's.

As he spoke with Agus and the elders, Martin worked up the courage to ask a question that had bothered him since his arrival. Why did these people live in such an inhospitable place in the middle of nowhere?

SOMETHING PRECIOUS

Agus gazed intently into Martin's eyes and replied, "Our village has a story that has been passed down through generations. My father told it to me as a child and his father told him.

"That one day a foreigner with white skin will come to our village and reveal something precious to us."

Silence filled the air. Martin could feel goose bumps race down his back. Agus and the elders stared expectantly at him, waiting.

After a few moments, Agus stood and removed a tattered notebook from a shelf. The first page held a yellowed photograph of the German tourist, his signature and the date he came to Yang Jauh.

Agus pointed to the picture and looked at Martin. "He didn't reveal anything precious to us."

Below the German was another photograph, this one of the Japanese woman. She also had signed and dated the book. Agus pointed to her picture. "She didn't reveal anything precious, either."

Martin didn't say a word. Agus felt his heart beginning to sink. Perhaps this man wasn't the one they'd been waiting for.

"I was afraid something got lost in translation -- this was too good to be true," Martin remembers. "I know a lot of people probably would have jumped on that and laid out the plan of salvation. But I wanted to learn more about this story and the culture. Their worldview, their mindset, is very different from ours."

That night, Agus had a dream.

"I saw a big field in front of my house where everyone ran and gathered to see a helicopter come," he says. Suddenly, Martin "appeared and lowered a rope to me. Then the helicopter rose slowly into the air -- I grabbed the rope and was lifted up. Everyone watched."

Though he didn't understand what the dream meant, Agus felt compelled to strike up a friendship with Martin. Agus repeatedly shared the story of the legend to make sure Martin understood. Little by little, Martin shared the Gospel with Agus.

Then one day Martin got the news he'd been praying for -- Agus had surrendered his life to Jesus, becoming the first Christian in Yang Jauh's history.

"I'm excited because I've taken Jesus into my heart," Agus told him. "I am a follower of Jesus the Messiah." 

CONVINCING OTHERS

Since his conversion, Agus has been working to help Martin convince others that Christ is the precious gift the Sayang have been expecting. But it hasn't been easy. Many in the village -- even Agus' younger brother -- believe the legend refers to some sort of financial gain. Others have lost faith in the story altogether.

"A lot of people know the legend, but they're not brave enough to talk about it," Agus says. "Jesus is the one that can bring peace and calm to this place.... That is what my people are looking for." 

The ministry among the Sayang is still in its infancy. So far, the language barrier has kept Martin from spreading the Gospel on a broad scale, though it hasn't stopped Agus from sharing one-on-one.

"He's looking for ways that the Bible intersects his culture," Martin says. "He really likes the story of Noah and the ark because the Sayang also have a story about a great flood that covered their island."

Martin believes the Sayang are open to the Gospel. He plans to distribute hundreds of cassette tapes containing key Bible stories recorded in their language, believing the tapes could be a tipping point. 

"We're on the verge of this people group being able to hear the Gospel in their heart language on a large scale for the very first time," he says. "Each time I go out to the village someone new has had a dream and has questions about who Jesus is, why we're coming and what this precious thing is that we have to share with them.

"God's plan for the Sayang started hundreds of years ago before I ever showed up. I'm just glad to know that I can be a small part of it."
--30--
*Name changed. Don Graham is a writer for the International Mission Board. A new DVD focusing on the Day of Prayer and Fasting is available for free from the International Mission Board by calling 1-800-999-3113 or by downloading the video at imb.org/dayofprayer. The website also features other resources to help churches, small groups or Sunday School classes pray for peoples living in hard-to-reach places, including a downloadable poster, planning helps, promotional fliers and other materials. To learn more about the Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization and how your church can be a part of taking the Gospel to hard places, visit www.imb.org.


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Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization -- May 31
by Staff
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

PACIFIC RIM (BP)--The Sayang* are just one example of the many people groups around the world who live in places or cultures where it is especially difficult to share the Gospel -- and often dangerous for those who believe.

Geographic isolation, physical hardship, threats of violence and lack of freedom and resources are among the foremost barriers separating the lost from the opportunity to know Jesus.

That's why Southern Baptists are coming together to show their love for lost peoples living in hard places during the Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization. On May 31, churches across the United States will unite in earnest prayer, asking God to move powerfully among the most spiritually dark places on the planet.

"The Holy Spirit knows no barriers when we get on our knees," says Gordon Fort, vice president of the International Mission Board's overseas operations. "Among these 'pockets of lostness' where there are no churches, no Christians, no Bibles and no way of reaching the people living there — prayer is the one thing we can do.

"It's the key that unlocks doors, turns hearts and prepares the way of the Lord."

Use this and the accompanying article in praying for the Sayang and others living in those hard places. A new DVD focusing on the Day of Prayer is available for free from the IMB by calling 1-800-999-3113 or by downloading the video at www.imb.org/dayofprayer. Other resources available to help your church, small group or Sunday School class pray for those in hard-to-reach places include a downloadable poster, planning helps, promotional fliers and other materials. 
--30--
*Name changed. Reported by the international bureau of Baptist Press. To learn more about the Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization and how your church can be a part of taking the Gospel to hard places, call 1-800-999-3113 or visit www.imb.org.


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FIRST-PERSON: Lebensunwertes leben -- life unworthy of life?
by Kelly Boggs
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--"Abortion ... was probably regarded by the average Roman of the later days of paganism much as Englishmen in the last century regarded convivial excesses, as certainly wrong, but so venial as scarcely to deserve censure," observed 19th century historian W.E.H. Lecky. 

Some students of history have suggested modern America has much in common with ancient Rome just prior to its fall. If Lecky is correct, there is no doubt the United States possesses the same view of its unborn citizens as that of its once powerful predecessor. 

Recent polls suggest that more Americans than ever before say they are pro-life when it comes to abortion. That said, it seems that those who support abortion are becoming more calloused toward the reality of the preborn. 

An interview that recently aired on PBS's "Fresh Air" illustrates perfectly the new hard-heartedness of abortion advocates. Author Ayelet Waldman was discussing her most recent book, a memoir titled "Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace," with Terry Gross of National Public Radio.

During the interview Waldman discusses the abortion of her third "child," which the family had named "Rocketship." 

Waldman was 35 at the time and prenatal testing determined that the child, a boy, might be born with what she termed an "ambiguous" birth defect. However, she admitted that the baby could just as well have been born with no defect. 

While Waldman gave no percentages concerning the projected health of the baby, listening to the interview led me to believe it was somewhat better than a 50 percent chance the baby would show no signs of a defect.

"On the one hand there was a decent chance that the baby would have this genetic defect but ... that he would lead a very normal life and you wouldn't be able to tell," she said. "On the other hand, there were chances that he would be mentally retarded or be pre-disposed to cancer of the kidney -- things like that."

The percentages were not good enough for Waldman, and the prospect of having a mentally challenged child was just too much; thus she opted to abort her unborn child. 

Prior to the abortion procedure, Waldman wanted assurance from the doctor that her baby would be dead before being dismembered.

"That was really important to me -- that he be dead essentially before that grim process took place," she said on the program, choking back tears.

She described the "horrible" dilation & evacuation (D&E) procedure that dismembered her unborn child. 

"The baby is extracted, essentially, in pieces from your uterus," said Waldman, who is still staunchly pro-choice. "... The photographs that you see that the right-to-lifers show, they're real photographs. That's really what it's like."

After the procedure Waldman said she was "profoundly depressed for five months," a depression that only lifted when she became pregnant again.

Tragically, abortion has been an accepted part of the culture for so long that, for some, respect for unborn children has eroded to the point that they now are viewed by many as an inconvenient intrusion rather than an overwhelming blessing. 

Research indicates that 90 or more percent plus of all abortions in America are motivated by convenience and that 90 percent of U.S. babies identified as having Down syndrome are aborted. If a baby is conceived at the wrong time in a woman's life or is found to be less than perfect, then, society says, its life can be exterminated on a whim. 

"A developing fetus is biologically alive. It grows and changes rapidly, but these characteristics do not make it alive as a person," wrote Steven Maynard-Moody in the book "The Dilemma of the Fetus: Fetal Research, Medical Progress and Moral Policies." To abortion advocates, babies in the womb are alive alright; they are just not persons. 

There is no end to the semantic gymnastics abortion supporters will resort to in an effort to justify their position. Perhaps they do so as much in an effort to salve their guilty conscience as they do to defend abortion.

America may have much in common with Rome in its last days; however, it seems more and more that abortion supporters are sounding like another culture of a more recent era -- Nazi Germany.

The Nazi's had a term they used to justify the killing of innocent life. It was "lebensunwertes Leben" which means "life unworthy of life." Anyone the Nazi's deemed were "not persons," like the disabled or Jews, were simply killed and disposed of like garbage. Sound familiar? It should, as it is the same calloused, hard-hearted position that supporters of abortion in America take right now. 
--30--
Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press and editor of the Baptist Message (www.baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.


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Obama elige a Sotomayor como su primer nombramiento a la Suprema Corte
by Por Michael Foust
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--El martes el Presidente Obama nominó a Sonia Sotomayor a la Suprema Corte, enviando así al Senado el nombre de alguien con huellas poco profundas en cuanto a los asuntos sociales y quien se convertiría en la primera hispana en la corte superior.

Sotomayor, de 54 años, es la primera nominación a la Suprema Corte y reemplazaría al Juez David Souter, en vías a la jubilación. Ella ha servido en la Corte de Apelaciones del segundo circuito de Nueva York desde 1998, rama a la que fuera nominada por el Presidente Clinton. De 1992 a 1998 sirvió como juez de la corte de tribunales, un puesto que tomó luego de haber sido nominada por el Presidente George H. W. Bush por recomendación del ex senador demócrata Daniel Patrick Moynihan, debido a un arreglo entre los dos partidos. 

Hija de padres portorriqueños, Sotomayor -- en caso de que llegue a formar parte del bloque liberal de la corte -- no cambiaría la conformación ideológica porque Souter también era un miembro del ala liberal. 

Los conservadores han criticado las declaraciones controversiales que ha hecho en el pasado, incluyendo haber dicho a un grupo de estudiantes universitarios en el 2005 que la "corte de apelaciones es donde se hacen las políticas."

Obama, sin embargo, se enfocó solamente en la historia de su vida, particularmente en cómo sus padres se mudaron a los Estados Unidos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y cómo creció en un proyecto de vivienda pública en la Ciudad de Nueva York. Su padre murió cuando ella tenía 9 años, y desde entonces fue criada por su madre.

Durante la ceremonia en la Casa Blanca, Obama la llamó "una mujer que inspira, quien creo hará un gran papel como juez." También dijo que Sotomayor había tenido una "carrera distinguida."

"Yo no tomo esta decisión a la ligera," dijo Obama. "Sólo la he tomado después de una profunda reflexión y una deliberación cuidadosa."

Sotomayor pudiera ser más conocida entre el público estadounidense como la juez federal que durante la década de 1990 ayudó a ponerle fin a una huelga de béisbol profesional. Pero ella ha aparecido en la noticias en los meses recientes por su papel en un caso que actualmente está ante la Suprema Corte. 

En este caso, el departamento de bomberos de la ciudad de New Haven, Conn., repartió un examen escrito entre sus bomberos para así determinar quién sería ascendido. Cuando el ayuntamiento se enteró de que ningún bombero de raza negra obtuvo la calificación suficiente para ser ascendido, desechó el examen. Un grupo de bomberos de raza blanca e hispanos que habrían sido ascendidos presentaron una demanda, pidiendo que se revirtiera la discriminación. Sotomayor formó parte de un panel de tres jueces que falló en contra de los bomberos. La Suprema Corte escuchó los argumentos orales en abril. 

"De las personas que han sido mencionadas como posibles seleccionados, ella es la más abiertamente liberal," dijo a Baptist Press Richard Land, presidente de la Comisión de los Bautistas del Sur sobre Ética y Libertad Religiosa. "…Ella sirve para cumplir el deseo de Obama por tener jueces que tengan empatía con ciertos grupos, lo que implica menos empatía para otros grupos. La Justicia es ciega por alguna razón. Tiene los ojos cubiertos porque se supone que debe ser imparcial, no mostrar empatía. La empatía le pertenece a la legislatura y a la rama ejecutiva, y no a la rama judicial. Sotomayor es un ejemplo vivo y claro de hacer que la ley sea subjetiva y relativa, en lugar de objetiva e imparcial."

Land añadió, "Uno de los castigos más duraderos y más dolorosos que el pueblo estadounidense sufrirá debido a su aventura amorosa con Barack Obama son sus nominaciones judiciales. He aquí una muestra de ello."

En cuanto al aborto, Sotomayor ha escrito poco como juez. En el 2002, falló en contra de un grupo a favor del derecho al aborto en una demanda atrevida que buscaba derogar la política de la Ciudad de México del Presidente George Bush, la cual prohibía dar fondos federales a las organizaciones que hicieran o promovieran abortos en otros países.

La presidenta de uno de los grupos líderes nacionales a favor del derecho al aborto, Nancy Keenan de NARAL Pro-Choice America, dio a conocer una declaración diciendo que Sotomayor tenía un "registro distinguido" con una "biografía personal impresionante," aunque Keenan no endosó automáticamente a la nominada.

"Anhelamos aprender más sobre los puntos de vista de la Juez Sotomayor acerca del derecho  la privacidad y a la decisión histórica de Roe vs. Wade, mientras el proceso de audiencia en el Senado va progresando," dijo Keena. 

Los conservadores, sin embargo, no tienen muchas esperanzas de que Sotomayor se ponga de su lado muy a menudo. En el 2005, como parte de un panel de discusión, ella dijo a un grupo de estudiantes en la Universidad Duke, "Todos los fondos para la defensa legal que hay por ahí, buscan gente que tenga experiencia en la corte de apelaciones porque… la corte de apelaciones es donde se hace la política." De inmediato recapacitó y añadió… "Y sé que ésto se está grabado y no debería de haberlo dicho porque no hacemos la ley -- lo sé… no lo estoy promoviendo y no lo estoy defendiendo."

Otra declaración también criticada es cuando en el 2001 estaba analizando una cita de la entonces Juez de la Suprema Corte Sandra Day O´Connor cuando dijo, "La Juez O´Connor a menudo se ha citado diciendo que un anciano sabio y una anciana sabia llegarán a la misma conclusión en cuanto a decidir los casos. Yo no estoy tan segura de que estoy de acuerdo con esa declaración. En primer lugar, como ha señalado la Profesora &#91;Martha&#93; Minnow, nunca habrá una definición universal de sabio. En segundo lugar, esperaría que una mujer latina sabia con las riquezas de su experiencia más a menudo llegaría a una mejor conclusión que un hombre de raza blanca que no ha vivido esta vida."

Marjorie Dannenfelser, presidenta de Susan B. Anthony List, una organización a favor de la vida, dijo en una declaración, "El historial de la Juez Sonia Sotomayor en cuanto a su apoyo al activismo judicial ofrece poco consuelo de que en la Suprema Corte será una amiga de los bebés que están por nacer."

En el otro lado de la ideología, Evan Wolfson, el director ejecutivo de la organización activista homosexual Freedom to Marry, aplaudió la nominación.

"Dado lo que sé, la Juez Sotomayor es una elección extraordinaria—justa y conciente, abierta y acertada," fueron las palabras de Wolfson según se le citó en el diario homosexual Bay Windows. "Creo que ha demostrado un compromiso con los principios de igualdad de protección e inclusión que defines a un buen candidato a la Suprema Corte. Al elegir a la Juez Sotomayor, la primera persona latina nominada a la Suprema Corte, el Presidente Obama ha hecho una nominación fuerte y atractiva que debe y recibirá el apoyo de aquellos comprometidos con la igualdad para las lesbianas y los hombres gay."

Durante su discurso para presentar a Sotomayor, Obama parecía intentar ganarse a los conservadores, diciendo que quería un jurista que tuviera "un reconocimiento de los límites del papel judicial" y un "entendimiento de que el trabajo de un juez es interpretar y no hacer la ley." Añadió que quería un juez que tomara "las decisiones sin basarse en una ideología en particular o en intereses personales si no con base en un compromiso con la justicia imparcial, un respeto por el precedente y una determinación para aplicar fielmente la ley a los hechos frente a él."

Al preguntarle su opinión sobre este comentario, Land dijo, "He aprendido a través de la observación que es mejor poner atención a lo que el Presidente Obama hace, no a lo que dice."

Land también dijo que no apoyaría las llamadas de algunos conservadores que quieren obstruir la nominación de Sotomayor.

"Los obstruccionistas tienen un lugar en cuanto a la legislación, pero en cuanto a los nominados judiciales, la Constitución no requiere una súper mayoría," dijo. "Las reglas del Senado nunca deben triunfar por encima de la Constitución. La Constitución dice que el presidente tiene el derecho de nominar jueces y el Senado tiene el derecho de confirmarlos o negarlos -- no se requiere una súper mayoría. Sería una enorme hipocresía de nuestra parte el tener obstruccionistas que se oponen a una administración y que la apoyan en la siguiente. Así que los jueces que nomine Barack Obama deben tener una audiencia justa y completa ante el Senado y deben someterse a una votación a favor o en contra."

Land criticó de manera particular la postura de Sotomayor en el caso de los bomberos de New Haven, Conn.

"El Juez Roberts lo ha dicho mejor: La manera de detener la discriminación basada en la raza es deteniendo la discriminación basada en la raza," dijo Land. "Sotomayor estará a favor de la acción afirmativa, tarifas, acciones de desplazamiento. Ese es el fin de la empatía. En el fin de la empatía, algunas personas son discriminadas para favorecer a otras."
--30--
Michael Foust es uno de los editores asistentes de Baptist Press.


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COMPENDIO CULTURA: La inmadurez espiritual bloquea a la iglesia, dice Barna:...
by Por Erin Roach
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Un entendimiento vago de la madurez espiritual pudiera ser una razón de fondo del poco progreso espiritual visto en las personas en los Estados Unidos, a pesar del abrumante acceso a las iglesias y al sin fin de productos y recursos, dijo The Barna Group.

 "Estados Unidos tiene un problema de profundidad espiritual en parte debido a que la comunidad de fe no cuenta con una definición robusta de sus metas espirituales," dijo David Kinnaman, el presidente de Barna. "El estudio muestra la necesidad de nuevos tipos de métrica espiritual."

	reveló que la mayoría de los cristianos equiparan la madurez espiritual con el seguimiento de las reglas descritas en la Biblia. Así mismo, muchos de los que asisten a la iglesia no pudieron identificar cómo su iglesia define la madurez espiritual. Muchos cristianos, dijo Barna, ofrecen un punto de vista unidimensional de la madurez espiritual, dando respuestas como el tener una relación con Jesús, vivir una vida moral o aplicar la Biblia.

La mayoría de los pastores luchan al articular un grupo específico de objetivos para la espiritualidad y en su lugar listan actividades y no actitudes, dijo el estudio. Los pastores están dispuestos a admitir que un falta de madurez espiritual es uno de mayores problemas en la nación, pero pocos de ellos dicen que la inmadurez espiritual es un problema presente en su iglesia.

Cunado Barna les preguntó a los más de 600 pastores que participaron en la encuesta que identificaran las referencias bíblicas para bosquejar la madurez espiritual, la mayoría dio respuestas genéricas como "toda la Biblia," "los evangelios," o "el Nuevo Testamento." Sólo el 2 por ciento mencionó el pasaje de Gálatas 5 donde se lista el fruto del Espíritu.

 "Una nueva métrica pudiera ser un esfuerzo renovado por parte de los líderes para articular los resultados del crecimiento espiritual. Otra cosa sería el compromiso y rendición de cuentas que las personas sostienen," dijo Kinnaman. "Desde luego, la espiritualidad no es una ciencia ni un negocio, así que hay una resistencia natural para asignar estándares científicos u operacionales a lo que la mayoría de las personas ve como un proceso orgánico.

 "Sin embargo, el proceso del crecimiento espiritual no es ni simplista ni falto de guía, así que se necesitan el trabajo arduo y el pensamiento sólido en esta área."

Barna identificó algunas oportunidades para enfrentar los problemas relacionados con la madurez espiritual en la nación. Una positiva, dijeron, es que los cristianos y los pastores entiendas los obstáculos que se deben vencer, tales como la falta de motivación personal, otras obligaciones importantes y la falta de participación en actividades que nutren espiritualmente.

También, mientras que la mayoría de los estadounidenses están relativamente satisfechos con el actual estado de su madurez espiritual, millones aspiran al crecimiento, dijo Barna. Los cristianos menores de 40 años están menos satisfechos con su espiritualidad y son menos "guiados por las reglas" que los creyentes de mayor edad.

Otro aspecto positivo es que los pastores que fueron entrevistados se dieron cuenta que necesitan más ayuda para evaluar la salud espiritual.

 "Quizás los que asisten a las iglesias serían menos conformistas acerca de la autoevaluación al paso que los pastores adopten formas más efectivas para evaluar su congregación," dijo el reporte.

Para obtener más información, visite barna.org.

AUMENTAN EN EL MUNDO LOS HIJOS DE MADRES SOLTERAS -- El porcentaje de nacimientos entre las madres solteras está aumentando mundialmente, y casi cuatro de cada 10 nacimientos en los EE UU ocurrieron a madres solteras en el 2007, según un reporte reciente del Centro Nacional para las Estadísticas de la Salud.

Las tasas de nacimientos han aumentado considerablemente entre las mujeres solteras de 20 ó más años, dijo el reporte, y dichas tasas son mayores entre las mujeres hispanas, seguidas por las mujeres de raza negra.

El estudio dado a conocer en mayo, dijo que los nacimientos entre mujeres solteras en el 2007 dieron un total de 1.7 millones, 26 por ciento más que en el 2002. El 60 por ciento de los nacimientos entre mujeres de 20 a 24 años fueron entre mujeres solteras, 52 por ciento más que en el 2002, y el 32 por ciento de los nacimientos entre mujeres de 25 a 29 años sucedieron a las solteras, un 25 por ciento más que en el 2002.

Entre los 14 países analizados en el reporte, el porcentaje de todos los nacimientos entre mujeres solteras en los EE UU -- 40 por ciento -- obtuvo uno de los lugares del medio. El diario USA Today señaló que hubo un aumento del 18 por ciento en esta tasa comparada con la de 1980.

El Centro Nacional para las Estadísticas de la Salud dijo que los nacimientos entre madres solteras tienen un alto riesgo de problemas al nacer, como bebés faltos de peso, bebés que nacen antes de tiempo o una mayor mortalidad natal en comparación con los bebés que nacen entre las mujeres casadas. Los niños que tienen las madres solteras también típicamente tienen recursos sociales y financieros más limitados, dijo el reporte.

El aumento histórico de nacimientos a madres solteras resulta de muchos factores, dijo el centro nacional, incluyendo tardanzas considerables para casarse entre la generación del baby-boom y los cambios en la actividad sexual, la efectividad y uso de los anticonceptivos, y el aborto. Muchos bebés nacen a parejas que cohabitan, señalaron, con un 40 por ciento de los nacimientos entre mujeres que cohabitan con su pareja.

También, los cambios en la actitud han impactado las estadísticas, dijo el reporte, siendo que ha disminuido notablemente el rechazo de la sociedad hacia las madres solteras, comparado a lo que enfrentaban en el pasado. 

LA ASISTENCIA A LA IGLESIA INFLUYÓ EN LA OPINIÓN DE NOTRE DAME -- Cerca de la mitad de los estadounidenses católicos entrevistados antes de la visita del Presidente Obama a la Universidad de Notre Dame dijeron que aprobaban que él diera el discurso de graduación y recibiera un doctorado honorario.

Pero la encuesta hecha por el Foro sobre la Religión y la Vida Pública de Pew Research Center reveló que los católicos en general y los católicos de raza blanca, no latinos, que dieron su opinión en la encuesta variaban de acuerdo a su asistencia a la iglesia.

Aquellos que asistían a la Misa por lo menos semanalmente tenían más probabilidades de haber escuchado acerca de la controversia que los que asistían menos frecuentemente, y de decir que estaba mal que Notre Dame invitara a Obama, informó Pew. Entre los católicos que habían escuchado acerca de la esperada visita, el 54 por ciento dijo que estaba bien que la universidad invitara al presidente.

Obama fue el sexto presidente activo que fuera invitado a hablar en la graduación de Notre Dame, pero su apoyo para le aborto está en claro contraste con la postura pro vida de la Iglesia Católica. El Obispo John D´Arcy, cuya diócesis incluye a Notre Dame, no asistió a la graduación debido a la "falta de voluntad de considerar a la vida humana sagrada" por parte de Obama.

Más de 50 obispos instaron al presidente de Notre Dame a que se retractara de su invitación, pero John Jenkins, el presidente de Notre Dame, dijo que estaba honrando a Obama por haber quebrantado la barrera racial y por su ejemplar liderazgo, no por su postura sobre el aborto y la investigación de células madre embriónicas. 

En la elección de noviembre, el 54 por ciento de los católicos votaron por Obama.
--30--
Erin Roach es un escritor de Baptist Press.



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Cuatro miembros de una familia se gradúan juntos
by Por Tammi Reed Ledbetter
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)--Cuando Audrey Johnston recorrió el escenario para aceptar su maestría en divinidades en el Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Seminario Teológico Bautista Midwestern), su suegra siguió cada uno de sus pasos, lista para recibir su propio título. Sus respectivos esposos las ovacionaron y enseguida se pusieron en la fila para convertirse en los nuevos graduados en obtener sus diplomas del seminario.

No era la primera vez que la familia Johnston compartía el estrado de la Iglesia Bautista Pleasant Valley de Liberty, Missouri, en una ceremonia de graduación. En el 2007, Audrey y Jeremy, junto con sus padres, Christie y Jerry, recibieron el título de licenciados de la Universidad Bautista Midwestern. 

Hace cinco años, la vida de los cuatro Johnston parecía estar muy ocupada para sacar tiempo para la educación que cada uno de ellos había dejado interrumpida. Toda la familia, incluyendo a los otros dos hijos, había estado involucrada en la iniciación de una iglesia en 1996 al sur de Kansas City. 

La multicultural congregación se convirtió en una de las iglesias de más rápido crecimiento en EE. UU. con una membresía de más de 5.000 en el campus de Overland Park, Kansas. Y sin embargo, Jerry Johnston, el pastor, sabía que tenía el plazo vencido para obtener una educación teológica formal.

"Me lancé al ministerio muy rápido y muchas cosas pasaron tan rápido que cuando volví la cabeza habían pasado 25 años. Pasé los primeros 17 años en el evangelismo predicando en cerca de 1.200 iglesias," dijo Jerry. 

Él decidió abandonar una beca completa de Liberty University luego del primer año. La escuela le concedió un doctorado honorario en divinidades en 1989 reconociendo su eficacia en cruzadas en las que miles profesaron fe en Cristo.

"No es que no me guste estudiar. Tengo una biblioteca de más de 7.000 libros, pero reconozco que nunca obtuve formalmente un título. Quería adquirir una base más profunda para mi ministerio, y la universidad y el seminario Midwestern me ayudaron a hacerlo," dijo.

Jerry animó a su esposa a unirse a él en matricularse en los estudios ya que sabía que ella tenía el deseo de estudiar la Biblia a profundidad. Su hijo y su nuera transfirieron créditos ganados en otras escuelas para terminar su licenciatura.

Regularmente, la familia viajaba junta al campus los domingos en la noche, y se quedaba en la casa de huéspedes antes de comenzar el día de estudios que duraba desde las 8:30 a.m. hasta las 10 p.m. Con su propia iglesia que servía como campus satélite para el seminario, aprovecharon muchos cursos ofrecidos allá además de estudios intensivos, talleres y recorridos de estudios, y así completaron los requisitos para la licenciatura, y luego continuaron con el trabajo a nivel de maestría.

"Cada área de mi vida ministerial ha sido afinada debido al Seminario Teológico Bautista Midwestern," dijo Jeremy. 

Él sirvió primero como director voluntario que orquestó el proceso de ensamblaje y desmontaje cuando la First Family Church resistió los 11 cambios de una instalación alquilada a otro edificio antes de construir sus propias instalaciones. 

Ahora sirve como pastor ejecutivo con responsabilidad adicional de alcance de los medios y el desarrollo de donantes. Jeremy dijo que sus estudios de seminario lo equiparon para el ministerio en una iglesia grande que tiene alcance global que incluye radiodifusión a Corea y a una colindante provincia china. 

"Predicar y enseñar la Palabra de Dios más clara exhaustiva y concienzudamente son los mayores adelantos personales obtenidos como resultado del programa de maestría en divinidades. Claramente, todo el cuerpo de estudio de MBTS (por sus siglas en inglés) le permite al ministro estar 'enteramente capacitado para toda buena obra' en el ministerio," dijo Jeremy citando 2 Timoteo 3:17.

Audrey dijo que su llamado al servicio cristiano de tiempo completo dentro de los ministerios de First Family Church demandaba un conocimiento y un entendimiento más profundos de la Palabra de Dios. 

"Me encontré mejor preparada para llevar a cabo los sueños de ministerio que el Señor me había puesto en el corazón," dijo ella. "Quedé impresionada con cada profesor que tuve." 

Jeremy dijo: "Tener una compañera en la clase totalmente comprometida fue verdaderamente beneficioso. Esto trajo una conexión espiritual, bíblica y teológica a nuestro matrimonio que es completamente vital para nosotros."

Christie dijo que ella ganó confianza para enseñar en el grupo de apoyo y en el ministerio de mujeres que ella lanzó en First Family Church. 

"Animaría a cada mujer que ha puesto un compás de espera para criar a su familia, para ser una alentadora como esposa, y a cada esposa de pastor a volver a estudiar si tiene el tiempo," dijo y recomendó los programas de Midwestern. 

"Los profesores no solamente enseñan en su área de talento, sino que interponen, bajo el liderazgo del Espíritu Santo, cosas que mantengan a los estudiantes del seminario ardiendo por Dios," dijo Christie. 

Por tener padres que huyeron del comunismo en Checoslovaquia e inmigraron a los EE. UU. con la ayuda de un misionero, Christie disfrutó especialmente un curso de iniciación de iglesias transculturales. 

"Ver a la gente perdida venir a Cristo es todavía lo que me hace latir el corazón," dijo ella. 

Una clase de evangelismo enseñada por un profesor visitante impulsó a su esposo a predicar una serie de sermones sobre hacer amigos que triunfan por siempre, dijo Christie. Ellos lanzaron un sitio Web en www.aboutforever.info y publicitaron el recurso evangelizador a través de tarjetas que distribuyen mientras testifican. 

"Tuvimos muchas respuestas que fueron resultado directo de lo que aprendimos en esa clase," dijo Christie.

Mientras Audrey se está tomando un tiempo lejos de los estudios para cuidar a su primer bebé, Jeremy Johnston ha comenzado estudios de doctorado en la Universidad de Wales y sus padres se han inscrito en el doctorado en ministerio en Midwestern.

"Ahora veo hacia atrás en mis estudios y sé que fue un remolino de actividad, pero todo fue muy inspirador," dijo Jeremy. 
--30--
Tammi Reed Ledbetter escribe para Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.


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ACTUALIZACIONES DE LA REUNIÓN ANUAL: la preinscripción en línea de la CBS; nuevos libros de Hemphill; NAMB le da la bienvenida a Mandisa; ...
by Por el Personal
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--La preinscripción en línea (online) permanecerá abierta hasta el sábado 20 de junio para la reunión anual de la Convención Bautista del Sur a realizarse en Louisville, Kentucky.

Más adelante, los mensajeros de las iglesias locales que asistan a las sesiones de la CBS, que se efectuará los días 23 y 24 de junio, serán dirigidos a través del proceso de inscripción tradicional en el Kentucky Exposition Center.

El director de la Convención, R. Clark Logan, vicepresidente de negocios y finanzas del Comité Ejecutivo de la CBS, dijo en línea que la preinscripción "es rápida y fácil y está disponible en inglés con instrucciones completas en www.sbcannualmeeting.net."

Los mensajeros de iglesias que se inscriban en línea pueden evitar la espera en el mostrador a su llegada a la convención. Al registrarse en línea, el sitio Web de la CBS le da a la iglesia un formulario con número de referencia del mensajero para imprimirlo y ser presentado por cada mensajero en el puesto de inscripción de la CBS a cambio de un gafete y un juego de papeletas de votación. El representante autorizado de la iglesia debe completar todas las inscripciones en línea.

Para usar el método tradicional, las iglesias que no puedan hacerlo en línea o que opten por no hacerlo pueden obtener tarjetas de inscripción en las oficinas de las convenciones estatales.

Para obtener información en inglés sobre estacionamiento, transporte desde y para el hotel, y comidas en el centro de exposiciones, vaya a http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=30459.

El presidente de la CBS, Johnny Hunt ha seleccionado "LoveLoud (Ame en Voz Alta)-- Las Acciones Hablan más Fuerte que las Palabras" (Mateo 5:16) como el tema para las sesiones de este año.

Hunt, pastor de la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Woodstock del área de Atlanta, le dijo a Baptist Press que espera que el énfasis LoveLoud "desafíe a nuestra denominación a demostrar a las comunidades, el país y alrededor del mundo la diferencia que hace Jesucristo en nuestras vidas y en nuestras iglesias."

La reunión anual se llevará a cabo en Louisville junto con el 150º aniversario de la fundación del Seminario Teológico Bautista Southern. (Para obtener una lista de los eventos del sesquicentenario del SBTS --por sus siglas en inglés--, vaya a www.sbts.edu/about/sesquicentennial.)

Numerosos eventos evangelizadores están programados para el 20 de junio como parte del alcance anual Crossover (Cruce) que involucra a los bautistas locales además de a voluntarios de todas partes del país.

En Churchill Downs, por ejemplo, los voluntarios del Crossover visitarán el hipódromo, les testificarán a los jinetes y los invitarán al servicio nocturno de reavivamiento de las 10 iglesias hispanas del área, incluyendo a la nueva iglesia que está ubicada casi al frente de Churchill Downs: Iglesia Bautista Victoria.

Para obtener más información en inglés sobre Crossover Louisville 09, vaya a www.crossoverlouisville.com.

NUEVOS LIBROS DE KEN HEMPHILL A DEBUT EN LA CBS -- Dos nuevos libros de Ken Hemphill, estratega nacional de los bautistas del sur para el Crecimiento Grandioso del Reino, están siendo publicados junto con la reunión anual de la CBS en Louisville.

"You Are Gifted: Your Spiritual Gifts and the Kingdom of God" (Usted Tiene Dones: Sus Dones Espirituales y el Reino de Dios) es parte de la serie de libros de Hemphill: El Crecimiento Grandioso del Reino, mientras que "I Am" (Yo Soy) es un examen de Juan 14:6 -- La declaración de Jesús: "Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre sino por mí." (BA).

Hemphill proveyó comentarios a Baptist Press sobre los dos nuevos libros. -- You Are Gifted (Usted Tiene Dones): "Cuando he viajado a lo largo de nuestras convenciones, el tema número uno entre los pastores y los laicos es la carencia de gente dispuesta a involucrarse en la actividad del Reino… You Are Gifted le da un vistazo a todos los pasajes clave en relación con los dones espirituales en el Nuevo Testamento. Su meta no es simplemente proveer información sino en oración lograr una transformación...

"Muchas personas están confundidas debido a que creen que deben encontrar su don en una de las 'listas de dones' del Nuevo Testamento. Creo que esas listas solamente tienen la intención de ser ilustrativas y no exhaustivas. Dios es generoso para dotar a su iglesia a llevar a cabo el ministerio en cada generación y por lo tanto es muy capaz de proveer nuevos dones como lo requiera la asignación del Reino. Los dones son gentiles expresiones del Padre que nos capacitan a unirnos a él en la actividad del Reino…

"El resumen más claro de la enseñanza de Pablo sobre los dones espirituales se encuentra en Romanos 12. Los dobles pilares fundamentales para descubrir nuestros dones son la presentación del cuerpo y la transformación de la mente. Cuando nos rodeamos completamente de Dios y le permitimos a su Espíritu que transforme nuestro pensamiento, encontraremos nuestro lugar de servicio en su Reino."

-- I Am (Yo Soy): "Estudios recientes indican que muchas personas que se considerarían 'cristianos evangélicos' no creen que Jesús por sí solo pueda proveer acceso al Padre. Si nos hace falta la convicción de que solo Jesús es el camino, la verdad y la vida, no estaremos motivados a compartir nuestra fe. Juan 14:6… es muy preciado por los creyentes. No obstante, es visto por los no creyentes como estrecho y restrictivo. Me he ocupado de ambas aseveraciones &#91;en Juan 14:6&#93; siguiéndolas a través de todo el Evangelio…

"¿Cómo entonces tratamos con la acusación de que un 'amoroso Dios' no sea tan restrictivo proveyendo solamente un camino al cielo? La claridad y la simplicidad del 'singular camino' es el mayor ejemplo de su amor y su deseo que nadie perezca. Cada uno ha tenido la experiencia de tener a alguien que le ha dado varias opciones cuando trata de encontrar un destino. Entre más direcciones tenga uno, más se confunde. Así que un hombre no necesita ser filósofo o teólogo para descubrir el camino; solamente necesita mirar a Jesús."

You Are Gifted es publicado en inglés por B&H Publishing Group de Recursos Cristianos LifeWay de la Convención Bautista del Sur; I Am es publicado en inglés bajo la nueva impresión CrossBooks de B&H. Una guía de estudio gratis de seis semanas está en desarrollo para el uso de las iglesias locales, y será puesto en línea en www.sbc.net y en auxanopress.com.

MANDISA VA A CANTAR PARA NAMB -- Mandisa, la cantante nominada para los premios Grammy y Dove que escaló la fama durante la temporada 2006 de "American Idol," interpretará como parte de la presentación de la Junta de Misiones Norteamericanas en la CBS el miércoles 24 de junio en la noche.

Poseedora de una potente voz y una encantadora sonrisa, Mandisa ganó una multitud de fans e impresionó a los críticos durante sus comparecencias en American Idol. Pero de la misma manera, Mandisa, una cristiana comprometida, reflejó su fe en palabras y canciones a espectadores, competidores y jueces por igual.

"Mi fe ciertamente pasó por pruebas de fuego," dice Mandisa, "pero por eso es más fuerte e inclusive me ha hecho desear saber más sobre ella y cómo expresarla. Creo que salí de toda la experiencia &#91;American Idol&#93; entendiendo mejor a Jesús. Por un tiempo, había estado un poco resguardada en los círculos cristianos y me hizo darme cuenta la clase de impacto que los cristianos pueden hacer cuando realmente salen de sus cajas y se involucran en el mundo que está alrededor de ellos."

Además de la actuación de Mandisa, la NAMB presentará por primera vez un video producido por los miembros del personal de la NAMB que visitaron Irak recientemente este año, donde estuvieron insertados en las tropas estadounidenses en Bagdad. El video presenta a los capellanes militares respaldados por la NAMB y sus ministerios entre los soldados en Irak.

NAMB también presentará la última fase de su iniciativa evangelizadora GPS ("Gran Plan del Señor"), que recapitula los recientes resultados de los proyectos piloto GPS durante el mes de abril en Pennsylvania, Texas, California y Georgia.

EL PREDICADOR DE LA CONVENCIÓN ACENTÚA LA UNIDAD -- John Marshall, pastor de la Second Baptist Church (Segunda Iglesia Bautista) de Springfield, Missouri, predicará el mensaje de la convención el miércoles 24 de junio en la mañana. "Será una sincera declaración de las cosas en las que creo que debemos estar unidos," dijo Marshall en una entrevista con The Pathway, diario de la Convención Bautista de Missouri.

"Creo que sin temor a equivocarse, usted puede decir que la Biblia y las misiones serán el énfasis principal del sermón."

Marshall, quien ha guiado a la Second Baptist por más de 13 años, dijo que lo dejó asombrado el ser seleccionado, y lo llamó "uno de los máximos honores en relación con la predicación en mi vida."

Dijo que pretendía predicar "justamente como lo hago siempre… No quiero ponerme un traje nuevo. No quiero intentar un nuevo estilo, un nuevo acercamiento. Solamente quiero rendirme al Señor como lo he tratado de hacer por 42 años &#91;en el ministerio&#93; y permitirle que use mi habilidad, mi personalidad, a mí mismo como la vasija a través de la cual él trabaja."

De acuerdo a The Pathway, Marshall es el primer pastor de Missouri que predica el mensaje de la convención desde la I Guerra Mundial. El nativo de Missouri es el actual primer vicepresidente de la Convención Bautista de Missouri.
--30--
Compilado por Art Toalston, editor de Baptist Press.


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EDITORIAL: Dime con quién andas…
by Por Óscar J. Fernández
Date: May 29, 2009 - Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--El salmo número uno fue el primer Salmo que aprendí de memoria cuando era un Embajador del Rey, hace muchos años. El primer versículo siempre cautivó mi atención y durante los años que han transcurrido, en muchas y diversas ocasiones me ha servido para comprender la forma de actuar de algunas personas con las que he tenido que relacionarme. Acostumbro a parafrasearlo de esta manera: "Será muy feliz todo aquel que no se corrompa ni haga lo malo".

Considero que de manera muy especial en estos días, este Salmo debiera de estar impreso en muchos lugares y que algunas personas que tienen autoridad sería bueno que lo practicaran. Hace quince años, cuando me mudé a Nashville, me llamó mucho la atención que a esta ciudad la llamaran "La ciudad musical de los Estados Unidos de América" y que se dijera que aquí "la música flota en el aire". Yo venía de la llamada "Tierra del Encanto", New Mexico, y el contraste fue bastante fuerte. Sin embargo, hemos ido aprendiendo a conocer y amar a esta tierra.

Por eso quedé boquiabierto la semana pasada cuando la primera plana del City Paper llamaba a Nashville "La Ciudad del Fraude". El periodista trataba de analizar las causas que habían convertido a Nashville en una ciudad atractiva para muchos estafadores del mundo financiero. La primera plana se adornaba con las fotos de cuatro de los más destacados a quienes llamaba "charlatanes". Uno de estos individuos regaló 54 pianos Steinway a la Escuela de Música de la Universidad de TN. El problema es que el dinero con el cual hacía obras filantrópicas de este tipo, no era suyo, sino de inversionistas que habían confiado sus fortunas a este señor, que al parecer vivía como un millonario sin poseer un centavo usando el dinero ajeno para satisfacer su insaciable apetito de riquezas.

Al leer el artículo en el periódico, la primera pregunta que surge en nuestra mente es esta: ¿Qué anda mal en esta sociedad? La respuesta a esta compleja pregunta es simple. A este complicado rompecabezas le falta solo una pieza: ¡Jesucristo!

Nuestra sociedad ha decidido apartarse cada vez más de los principios cristianos. Nuestras escuelas han prohibido las manifestaciones religiosas de cualquier tipo. En las aulas se prohíbe hablar de Dios pero se enseña la "teoría de la evolución" como si esta alguna vez hubiera sido comprobada. Se admite que se critique a los cristianos, pero si estos tratan de defenderse y exponer sus razones y principios, entonces se les reprende por estar "ofendiendo" a los demás. Pienso con sinceridad que esta sociedad está comenzando a recoger lo que ha sembrado.

En la misma medida en la que nuestra sociedad se aparte de Dios, se irán produciendo males mayores. El ser humano es incapaz de discernir por sí mismo entre lo bueno y lo malo. Cada vez son más las cosas que antes se repudiaban y ahora son aceptadas. Cuando yo era niño en el país donde yo nací, al que tomaba algo que no era suyo le llamaban "ladrón". Ahora la sicología moderna ha introducido muchas palabras "bonitas" para llamar a cosas que son feas y repugnantes.

Mi amigo el poeta José Caballero Blanco escribió un poema que tituló Retomar del cual con su permiso voy a usar unos versos:

 "Pagar las deudas, el bien quedar

Son costumbres antiguas, obsoletas

Se alaba a quien vive haciendo tretas

Buscando sin descanso a quien robar

¿Donde están aquellos valores aprendidos?

Aquel mirar claro y directo de los ojos

La confianza y la fe hoy son despojos

Que con arte nos quitan los bandidos".

Es indudable que estamos viviendo "días malos" y el futuro inmediato no parece ofrecer mejores perspectivas. Con frecuencia me parece estar viviendo en los días en los que se construía la Torre de Babel. A veces vemos como algunos cambian las enseñanzas de las Sagradas Escrituras por el entretenimiento y hay hasta quienes se cambian el traje de maestros por el de payasos. Solo Cristo puede transformar el corazón de un hombre y es a Él a quien debemos predicar pues solo así lograremos que la luz que debemos reflejar pueda romper las tinieblas del pecado que envuelve a esta sociedad.

Mi abuela acostumbraba a decirme: "Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres". Si andas con Cristo, entonces no andarás en los caminos de los malos. Es justo por eso que vemos crecer el mal, porque la gente anda sin Cristo. Nosotros estamos llamados a ayudar a transformar esta sociedad ayudando a transformar los corazones con el mensaje de Cristo.
--30--
J. Fernandez es el editor jefe de LifeWay Español para Adultos de Leadership & Adult Publishing, LifeWay Church Resources en Nashville, Tenn.





