
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-06/02/2015

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Revival key for family unit, pastor says
by Karen L. Willoughby
Date: June 02, 2015 - Tuesday

KATY, Texas (BP) -- More than 3,000 people of all ages worship each week at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, Texas. Bucking a decades-old national trend, children past nursery age sit with their parents during Sunday morning worship.

Family togetherness is a significant aspect of home life, church life and denominational life at Kingsland Baptist Church, where Ryan Rush has been pastor since May 2014.

"The family has been ordained by God as the foundational place for faith to take root and grow," Rush told Baptist Press. "The decline in healthy home life, then, is a crisis with far-reaching implications that must not be taken lightly."

Spiritual revival is key in achieving God's design for the family, Rush said.

"This cultural decline of healthy home life is a problem too great for political or educational efforts to change. We must turn instead to spiritual revival, and we are convinced that God has prepared Kingsland for this important moment in history," Rush said. "We have a vision of seeing 10,000 homes transformed by the power of the Gospel in the next 10 years through our ministry, church planting, missions endeavors, and providing resources to other congregations."

Supporting the church family as a whole is accomplished through the church's investment in a variety of local-to-global ministries entire families can support.

"We have teams out about 40 to 42 Saturdays a year serving the Greater Houston area," said Omar Garcia, missions pastor for the last 10 years. "We mobilize our small groups to take ownership of local initiatives."

The church's commitment to the greater family of 46,000 Southern Baptist churches starts with its support of the Cooperative Program, which enables Southern Baptist churches to work together to support state, national and international missions and ministries.

Kingsland Baptist for the last 14 years has given 10 percent of its undesignated offerings to missions through the Cooperative Program, in addition to its hands-on support of several SBC-related national and international outreaches, and its generous support of seasonal offerings.

"If we can invest in something for the glory of God and not worry about who gets the credit, that's really going to help us &#91;Southern Baptists&#93; advance much quicker," Rush said. "The Cooperative Program allows us to give and trust others in our denomination to make a huge impact. That generates a lot of excitement in our people for missions."

Garcia said when parents and their children work together in missions, it builds memories of serving together, helps spread a passion for missions to future generations, and strengthens the small group the family is a part of. Garcia casts a vision to the congregation "to live incarnationally, to see the need and respond accordingly, as Jesus did."

He noted, "You have to live out your faith in a way it makes a difference by loving and caring for people as Jesus did. Doing so has made a difference at Kingsland. … We have work in 20 countries and take 12 to 15 trips a year overseas."

For the past eight years, the first Sunday of March has been "Caring for Katy Sunday." Kingsland Baptist members -- armed with $125,000 and a variety of tools including paint brushes, lawn care items, and trash bags -- have used Sunday worship time to spread across the community, meeting the needs of city residents at 60 to 100 sites.

Through small groups, the church mobilizes 3,000 volunteers annually to work with an informal "urban alliance" to do whatever its partners in Greater Houston say is needed.

Five years ago, the church started 10K, 5K and one mile runs/walks named "Just Run for a Just Cause," raising money and awareness about human trafficking. The event has become a local favorite with area runners, even as it ministers in India.

The church works with international partners and with people who have moved to Houston from other countries. Professions of faith in Jesus have been made by people disillusioned with their traditional religion.

The church partners with Southern Baptist churches in Texas, New Orleans, Montana, Idaho and Chicago. It has started four churches locally, and another eight or more across the nation.

A Houston suburb known for having the largest outlet mall in the nation, Katy "is a community of relative affluence," Rush said. "People come to Katy from all over the world for their children. They define family success the wrong way: college, sports. We're ministering to a group of people in our Jerusalem who are unfulfilled and broken, and don't realize their own poverty."

That's one reason the church emphasizes family ministry.

"We equip moms, dads and grandparents to disciple their children," Rush said. "We take great care to capitalize on the milestones of each child's life. We send home every Sunday 'Faith Talks' based on the sermon. We worship together with all generations so &#91;children&#93; can experience the joy of worship and the example of their parents: 'Hey, Daddy's worshipping Jesus!'"

Healthy homes are ones that reflect God's image, where the attributes and character of God are taught so children can come to know who He is and why they should follow His guidance rather than their own thinking, the pastor said. 

"Every problem is a family problem," Rush said. "The only hope for our nation is to transform the home. The theological undergirding of the family has come to a place where it's more critical now than ever to know who God is and what He says. … The future of our culture is on getting this right."


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Pastor Protection bill passes TX House, Senate
by Bonnie Pritchett/Southern Baptist TEXAN
Date: June 02, 2015 - Tuesday

AUSTIN, Texas (BP) -- Passage of the only surviving religious liberty bill in the 84th session of the Texas Legislature gives pastors some legal protection against litigation should they refuse to preside over a same-sex marriage. Senate Bill 2065, the Pastor Protection bill, passed overwhelmingly May 21. 

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to rule by the end of June on whether states must recognize same-sex marriage as a constitutionally protected right, conservative Texas legislators filed bills that would, if passed, provide legal standing for citizens, businesses and clergy against an anticipated wave of legal action. But the lack of support from state leadership and the legislators' self-imposed censorship in the wake of protests at Indiana's capitol in April left stymied all other legislation that would have given a legal defense for those opposed, on religious grounds, to same-sex marriage.

The lone religious liberty bill to be debated, SB 2065, passed the House of Representatives 141-2 on its second reading, garnering even the support of two gay representatives. The next day it passed unanimously, 142-0, earning the votes of its two earlier opponents. On May 25 it was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott who has said he would sign it.

The bill ensures clergy and churches cannot be compelled by the government to solemnize or facilitate a wedding that is in conflict with their deeply held religious convictions. The law also provides legal standing for them if sued for refusing to perform a wedding.

Although pleased with the passage of SB 2065, Cindy Asmussen, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention ethics and religious liberty advisor, said the lone bill does not provide legal cover for the multitude of scenarios legislators were trying to account for. The state's RFRA (Religious Freedom Reformation Act) statute gives a broad foundation upon which Texans can stand when defending their religious convictions but it does not provide the specific defense needed for a variety of situations, Asmussen and others argued. A statute, unlike an amendment, can be repealed by any subsequent legislature.

"It's enough for the pastors and the clergy, but we want to protect all Texans," said Rep. Matt Krause, R-Ft. Worth.

Asmussen, who spent weeks petitioning legislators to give serious consideration to religious liberty bills and the issues they seek to proactively address, lamented that legislators did not share her sense of urgency.

During the second reading of the bill May 21, questions on the House floor to Rep. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney, sponsor of the Pastor Protection bill, reflected some misunderstandings of the problems SB 2065 seeks to forestall.

Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburgh, repeatedly asked Sanford if any clergy, to date, had been forced, against their religious convictions, to marry anyone or if they had been prosecuted for failure to do so. His questions indicated he saw no immediate threat to clergy. Canales, along with Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, voted against the bill May 21. 

"Rep. Canales, I would certainly say there are repercussions that pastors are experiencing today," said Sanford, a pastor at Cotton Creek Baptist Church. "Pastors came in droves to the capitol to testify for this bill because they sense a need for it."

Even with the Texas marriage law and the RFRA statute in force, pastors told Sanford they are being intimidated by LGBT activists. Some pastors have been asked to perform same-sex marriages. He reminded the House of the subpoenaing of five Houston pastors for their opposition to a city ordinance giving civil liberty protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Pastor Protection bill received the support of two gay lawmakers and other supporters of same-sex marriage, but their support was not without affirmation of same-sex marriage and nuanced statements aimed at their ideological and political opponents.

"The unstated here is the LGBT community and, let me reassure those pastors out there, that some fine day my partner and I are going to be able to get married in the great state of Texas. The Supreme Court will hopefully take care of that issue for us. When that day comes, rest assured to those pastors and preachers who will take a more literal interpretation of the Bible that my partner and I of 20 years will not be going to them to bless our union," said Cecelia Israel, D-Austin, one of two gay lawmakers to support the bill.

Israel said she supported the bill as a reiteration of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "which is a respect for religion," not because of the legal cover its authors believe is needed in a post-marriage culture.

Rep. Richard Pena Raymond, D-Laredo, said society, in time would come around to accept same-sex marriage. When two "children of God" love each other they should have the right to marry, he concluded.

There was applause from the House gallery as representatives cast their votes in favor of the bill.


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FIRST-PERSON: Character trumps everything, Part 1
by Jeff Christopherson
Date: June 02, 2015 - Tuesday

<i>EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a two-part exploration of biblical character by Jeff Christopherson, vice president for the North American Mission Board's Canada region and its Send City Network.</i>

OAKVILLE, Ontario, Canada (BP) -- When it comes to leading a church, especially a new church, character trumps everything.

A careful observation through the history of almost any city demonstrates that the single greatest source of a catastrophic implosion by a church plant (and the further emanations over the landscape) comes not from imperfect theology but from deficient character.

Our most lofty public preaching does not have sufficient long-term lift to overcome the enormous gravitational pull found in our personal brokenness. Sin, however carefully concealed, will more accurately describe the dark nature of our real theology than will our well-rehearsed creeds and confessions. And worse, the swath of casualties hemorrhaging from deficient character broadens as one's leadership's influence grows.

It should be instructive to realize that the word "belief" in the New Testament is not a noun, but a verb. We can never own a belief -- we only can live a belief. Our best theology is never truly believed until it is first integrated into our daily lifestyle. However we slice it, our character reveals the true nature of our theology.

Implicit in Jesus' call to discipleship is a call to personally take on His character. When Jesus issued a fresh charge to His pre-disciples with these celebrated words, "follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (Mark 1:17), He was with one breath describing both His Kingdom assignment and the only process that makes that assignment possible: "Follow me" always precedes "fishers of men."

Taking on the responsibility of leading the charge for disciple-making without first allowing the character of Christ to transform our personal brokenness can only lead to an unhappy ending. Conversely, the character necessary for multiplying true disciples of Jesus grows directly in proportion to our personal follow-ship of Jesus.

This pattern of "following me" and newly derived "character" is clearly revealed when Jesus declared, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). 

This "light of life" is the very authentication of our character as we follow and therefore resemble our King. The process of following Jesus is the only spiritual discipline that can transform the darkness of our broken character into the very image of Christ Himself. 

So what does the character of Christ actually look like?

Reflecting on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount we see a three-dimensional picture of Kingdom character that warrants a lifetime of study and personal application. John observed firsthand that Kingdom character and the glory of God were displayed in Jesus through the perfect blending of two spiritual realities -- "grace" and "truth."

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Grace and truth eternally and inextricably fused together. In Jesus, grace and truth were not a balanced duo nor one moderated by the other, but both dished out lavishly and unreservedly toward an undeserving humanity. 

It was as extraordinary a sight in the first century as it is in the 21st -- the very character of our eternal Father fleshed out before us in the person of Jesus Christ. All grace. All truth.



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2016 VBS to 'submerge' kids in God's Word
by Aaron Earls
Date: June 02, 2015 - Tuesday

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Next summer, kids will have the opportunity to dive past the surface and go deeper into God's Word with "Submerged," the 2016 Vacation Bible School theme from LifeWay Christian Resources.

The theme helps challenge a culture consumed with celebrity -- one marked by the image of beauty and popularity, LifeWay VBS specialist Jerry Wooley said.

"It's a value system that's unrealistic and an impossibility to achieve or maintain," he said. "During Submerged, kids will discover it's not what's on the surface that matters, but the internal truth that only God can see."

Each day of next year's VBS, students will explore the way Jesus saw people and examine the truth of the key verse, Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way."

"This is an adventure that will take us not only to the depths of the ocean," Wooley said, "but to the depths of our hearts as well. We will be challenged to let God not only search our hearts, but reveal the truths of our hearts as well."

VBS remains one of the most effective evangelistic events for churches. Using the most recent statistics available, Wooley said nearly 3 million people participated in VBS at a local church in 2014. Approximately 80,000 children made professions of faith during those weeks and more than 1 million unchurched individuals were identified as a result.

Wooley believes the same could happen again next summer as Submerged reveals our greatest need. "God sees our heart and knows our thoughts," he said. "He sees what lies below the image we want the world to see, and He loves us anyway. He sees and knows our true potential, our sin and our need for a Savior."

For those ready to start planning for next summer, VBS 2016 Jump Start Kits will be available for purchase in October, with other resources scheduled to be available in December.

VBS 2016 Preview events, designed to give leaders a hands-on opportunity with the new material, are scheduled for January in Ridgecrest, N.C.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Nashville.

For more information, visit LifeWay.com/VBS.


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FROM THE STATES: Ark., Okla., Ky. evangelism/missions news; Community outreach leads 37 to Christ
by Staff
Date: June 02, 2015 - Tuesday

Today's From the States features items from:
Arkansas Baptist News
The Baptist Messenger (Oklahoma)
Western Recorder (Kentucky)


'Day in Delta' of Ark. changes
37 lives for Jesus Christ
By Caleb Yarbrough

HELENA–WEST HELENA, Ark. (Arkansas Baptist News) -- It was more than an average day in the Delta for 37 people who accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior during and immediately following Centennial Baptist Association Day in the Delta April 11.

The event was a partnership with the Centennial Baptist Association in Stuttgart and Second Baptist Church (Park Avenue), Helena-West Helena. The mission day included a block party held at and around the Second Baptist property, service projects throughout the surrounding community and evangelistic outreach.

"We had done the event in the county twice. We thought we'd see about trying to stretch out but not go so far that we weren't able to have strong participation with the people here in Centennial," said Doug Hibbard, pastor of First Baptist Church, Almyra.

Hibbard said that when Centennial contacted him for information on the area in preparation for their association's mission day, Willie Jacobs, Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) missions team member, told Hibbard that one of the upcoming state wide Acts 1:8 One Day outreach events was set to be held in the Delta.

"It kind of let us set some ground work. … That was a good thing," said Hibbard.

Hibbard said the fact that Sam Roberts, pastor of First Baptist Church, Stuttgart, one of Centennial's churches, is one of the instructors for the ABSC's Delta Connection theological education ministry in the Delta was yet another reason the association decided to extend their ministry partnership to the area.

"We knew there was a great need in the Delta area. That's why we kind of thought we would try to go to the Delta," said Tammy Albrecht, wife of Jimmy Albrecht, pastor of First Baptist Church, DeWitt.

The block party included games, crafts, horse rides, a fire truck and a barrel train for children. New tennis shoes were also provided to children in need. Second Baptist provided a live band. Some volunteers built wheelchair ramps or did yard work for members of the community, while others shared the gospel door to door and passed out tracts; others prayer walked. A prayer room was also set up inside Second Baptist.

Leaders of Centennial Baptist Association and Jarvis Smith, pastor of Second Baptist, had predicted a turnout of around 200 people to the event, but the unofficial estimates are much higher, said Albrecht, who estimated the event had between 500 to 800 visitors due to the number of hotdogs, chicken on the stick and snow cones given out.

Six individuals were saved during the Day in the Delta event. The following week 31 more people were saved after Second Baptist followed up with them.

"It was a great opportunity for our association to work together and help one of our fellow Baptist churches reach their community," said Hibbard. "There is not a chance that my church is going to get bigger from going to Helena, but the Lord's Church gets bigger and that's a good thing.
--30--
This article appeared in the Arkansas Baptist News (http://www.arkansasbaptist.org/), newsjournal of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Caleb Yarbrough is assistant editor at the Arkansas Baptist News.

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Mission in Medford
revitalizes Okla. church, town
By Bob Nigh

MEDFORD, Okla. (Baptist Messenger) -- When you have just about as many volunteers turn out for a city-wide clean-up project as your average Sunday worship attendance, it's bound to revitalize your congregation.

And, in fact, that was the whole idea behind ReVitalize Weekend, May 1-2 in this town of just more than 1,000 in Cherokee Strip Association as members of Medford, First led Mission in Medford (MnM), the first of what the association's director of missions, Matt Spann, hopes is many more such efforts.

Jonathan Gilliland celebrated his second anniversary as pastor of Medford, First (May 1) during MnM, which entailed work on eight residences in the city, distribution of at least 100 "care packages" to residents at an apartment complex and an RV park and culminated with a Block Party at the local Lions Park May 2 that attracted 150 people.

Work projects included clearing brush from around homes, chopping weeds and mowing overgrown lawns, trimming trees, hauling trash and debris and painting houses. Also, thousands of aluminum cans in plastic bags were removed from one homeowner's garage and prepared to take to a recycler.

While MnM was a term specific to the project in Medford, Spann said ReVitalize Weekend, "Is a general term the association is using for these kind of events. We hope to use the T-shirts at least a couple of times a year when we're working in other parts of the Association. When we go to another city, they'll call their project something specifically related to that city."

Cherokee Strip Association has a Ministry Team headed by Bryan Laramore, pastor of Ames, First. ReVitalize Weekend was birthed by the team, Spann said, modeled after nearby Ponca City's "Great Day of Service."

Volunteers wear charcoal-grey shirts, emblazoned with the words, "ReVitalize Weekend" on them mostly in white, with the word "Vital" in fluorescent green, and the "V" stylized similar to what is seen on an electrocardiogram.

"The idea is volunteers will be encouraged to keep the t-shirt and then come and work in other places when those work days are scheduled," Spann said.

"I'm amazed by the turnout from Medford, First," he added. "They have really owned this effort. Jonathan just took the bull by the horns. We suggested this idea, and he said, 'OK, we'll be the guinea pig.'"

The Block Party began at 5 p.m. to a slow start, but picked up steam later.

"People came late. The first hour, it was mostly the volunteers," Spann said. "The church members had canvassed the area, and felt like people eventually would come, so that was great. They connected well with folks, and were very intentional with making them feel welcome. It was an encouraging culmination of the day. I think the church was revitalized, as the theme says."

Gilliland affirmed his congregation was energized by MnM.

"Our married adult Sunday School class was nearly doubled in size Sunday," he said. "Everybody is very excited and wants to do it again. Some new relationships were formed, and there was some strengthening of ties among our people. It has sparked a fire in our church, and in a couple of other churches in town, too."

Other churches with volunteers involved in MnM were Enid, First; Enid, Emmanuel; Ames, First; Garber, First and Enid, Liberty Southern. Members from Covington, First participated in the training Friday evening.

"We hope to do another ReVitalize Weekend in the fall. Folks are talking about going down to Garber," Spann said. "A lot of the folks from Medford, First were wondering, 'When's the next one? We want to go help another church.' We had hoped that would happen."
--30--
This article appeared in The Baptist Messenger (baptistmessenger.com), newsjournal of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Bob Nigh is managing editor of The Baptist Messenger.

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South District Baptists in Ky.
collect 50,000 food items 
By Staff

DANVILLE, Ky. (Western Recorder) -- The churches of the South District Baptist Association collected a total of 49,306 food and housekeeping items and distributed them during their 2015 "Souper Bowl" Food Drive. 

The tally was almost double last year's total of 26,543 items. Total value of the items collected exceeds $25,000. 

Part of the motivation for this incredible total came from Jason Gray's song, "With Every Act of Love" as well as the biblical text of1 John 3:18-19: "Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action. 

South District Association has been conducting its Souper Bowl for six years and has collected approximately 140,000 items. Goods are collected in exciting ways. 

Sometimes churches challenge each other. For example, First Baptist, Danville, and Parksville Baptist competed. Sometimes, men compete against women or different age groups compete within a church. 

One of the most innovative ways of obtaining food in the "2015 Food Bowl" was done by Parksville Baptists. The church adopted a "Fill the Van "activity at the Danville Wal-Mart Super Center. Wal-Mart customers purchased food and donated it to the Food Drive. 

By utilizing this tactic, Parksville Baptist was able to beat First Baptist. Parksville collected over 135 items per person. 

Another incentive was the use of two "Golden Can Awards." One award goes to a large church that collects the most items. This award went to Parksville, which collected more than 20,000 items. 

Another "Golden Can Award" goes to a small church that collects the most per capita items. This year's winner was Gravel Switch Baptist Church. 

The items collected were distributed to an East Kentucky food bank as well as to several area food banks. God's Appalachian Partnership in food insecure Eastern Kentucky received more than 19,000 items. 

John Morris, director at GAP stated, "God provided two to three months of food for distribution, thanks to our faithful partners from South District." 

Just last week during distribution day, a GAP client accepted Christ. 

New Hope Food Bank in Danville received in excess of 18,000 items. 

Victoria Murphy, director of New Hope said, "Our walls are swelling from the wonderful donations. Thank you so much, South District." 

The balance was divided among pantries at Gethsemane Baptist and First Baptist churches in Boyle County and pantries in Garrard and Casey counties. 

Joan Mann, who serves as director of the South District Baptist" Souper Bowl" Food Drive, invites churches of other denominations to join in collecting food for the Souper Bowl. For additional information, contact Mann at (859) 236-4314 or Jim Clontz, director of missions for South District, at (859) 238-7624. (WR) 
--30--
This article appeared in the Western Recorder (westernrecorder.org), newsjournal of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
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<i>EDITOR'S NOTE: From the States, published each Tuesday by Baptist Press, relays news and feature stories from state Baptist papers and other publications on initiatives by Baptist churches, associations and state conventions in evangelism, church planting and Great Commission outreach, including partnership missions. Reports about churches, associations and state conventions responding to the International Mission Board's call to embrace the world's 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups also are included in From the States, along with reports about church, associational and state convention initiatives in conjunction with the North American Mission Board's call to Southern Baptist churches to broaden their efforts in starting new churches and satellite campuses. The items appear in Baptist Press as originally published.</i>


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CP 2.57% ahead of year-to-date projection
by Staff
Date: June 02, 2015 - Tuesday

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee are 2.57 percent above the year-to-date SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget projection and 2.09 percent above contributions received during the same time frame last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer Frank S. Page.

The year-to-date total represents money received by the Executive Committee by the close of the last business day of May and includes receipts from state conventions, churches and individuals for distribution, according to the 2014-15 SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget. 

The $128,551,618.17 received by the Executive Committee for the first eight months of the fiscal year, Oct. 1 through May 31, for distribution through the Cooperative Program Allocation Budget represents 102.57 percent of the $125,333,333.33 year-to-date budgeted projection to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America. The total is $2,633,111.07 or 2.09 percent more than the $125,918,507.10 received through the end of May 2014.

The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists' channel of giving through which a local church is able to contribute to the ministries of its state convention and to the missions and ministries of the Southern Baptist Convention with a single contribution to its state convention.

The convention-adopted BP allocation budget is distributed 50.41 percent to international missions through IMB, 22.79 percent to North American missions through NAMB, 22.16 percent to theological education through the Convention's six seminaries, 2.99 percent to the SBC operating budget, and 1.65 percent to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. GuideStone Financial Resources and LifeWay Christian Resources are self-sustaining and do not receive CP funding.

According to the budget adopted by the SBC at its June 2014 annual meeting in Baltimore, if the convention exceeds its annual budget goal of $188 million dollars, IMB's share will go to 51 percent of any overage in Cooperative Program allocation budget receipts. Other ministry entities of the SBC will receive their adopted percentage amounts and the SBC operating budget's portion will be reduced to 2.4 percent of any overage.

Designated giving of $156,407,635.19 for the same year-to-date period is 5.61 percent, or $8,312,960.60, above the $148,094,674.59 received at this point last year. This total includes only those gifts received and distributed by the Executive Committee and does not reflect designated gifts contributed directly to SBC entities. Designated contributions include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, Southern Baptist Global Hunger Relief and other special gifts.

May's CP allocation receipts for SBC work totaled $17,363,411.14. Designated gifts received last month amounted to $24,064,963.92.

State conventions retain a portion of church contributions to the Cooperative Program to support work in their respective states and forward a percentage to Southern Baptist national and international causes. The percentage of distribution from the states is at the discretion of the messengers of each state convention through the adoption of the state convention's annual budget.

Month-to-month swings reflect a number of factors, including the number of Sundays in a given month, the day of the month churches forward their CP contributions to their state conventions, the percentage of CP contributions forwarded to the SBC by the state conventions after shared ministry expenses are deducted and the timing of when the state conventions forward the national portion of Cooperative Program contributions to the Executive Committee.

CP allocation budget receipts received by the Executive Committee are reported monthly to the executives of the entities of the convention, to the state convention offices, to the state Baptist papers and are posted online at www.cpmissions.net/CPReports.


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Permanent contraception pushed by Gates Foundation 
by Kiley Crossland
Date: June 02, 2015 - Tuesday

SEATTLE, Wash. (BP) -- An Oregon gynecologist is developing a nonsurgical method of permanent contraception with a $5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The foundation claims the grant, awarded late last year, will be used to assist women who have reached their desired family size and no longer wish to have children. But critics argue the Gates-funded project is a continuation of the foundation's unbalanced focus on contraception and sterilization in the developing world.

The grant is the third from the Gates Foundation to the Oregon Health & Science University. The first, for $1 million, was used to assess whether a foam used to treat varicose veins might also double as a permanent contraceptive. The second, for $295,000, was used to establish the Oregon Permanent Contraception Research Center (OPERM).

OPERM, led by gynecologist Jeffrey Jensen, is using the latest grant to solicit research proposals for studies into effective methods of permanent contraception that are nonsurgical, low cost, portable, acceptable for use by non-physicians, and effective with a single treatment, according to the OPERM funding appeal. Research proposals are due May 30.

"My goal is very simple, to make every pregnancy planned and highly desired," Jensen said. Jensen cites a World Health Organization (WHO) statistic claiming 222 million women in developing nations would like to stop or delay childbearing but are not using any form of contraception. 

But Stephen Phelan of Human Life International disputes the WHO numbers, saying he has not seen the data to back them up.

"There is no justice in manufacturing a supposed demand for poor women to be sterilized, when what these women always say they want most when asked is better basic healthcare, education, opportunity, and just governance," Phelan said. He argues the portrait painted by Gates and other contraception-pushing foundations misrepresents women in developing countries.

The Gates Foundation has championed contraception access for women in the developing world as "one of the best investments a country can make in its future."

But Phelan argues the Gates' vision for "development" by furthering contraceptive access misses the mark.

"It is difficult to determine what is more outrageous, the uncritical and fawning 'news' reporting on every new Gates Foundation sterilization development grant, even as coercive sterilization campaigns continue around the world, or the fact that the Gates Foundation continues to act as if every problem in the developing world can be solved by sterilizing women," Phelan said. 

Jensen's team is testing the FDA-approved varicose veins treatment, a polidocanol foam, which showed promise in initial studies on monkeys and baboons. Jensen hopes soon to move on to human clinical trials.



