The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-06/03/2015 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Character trumps everything, Part 2 by Jeff Christopherson Date: June 03, 2015 - Wednesday EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second 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. For Part 1, click here. OAKVILLE, Ontario, Canada (BP) -- It stands to reason that the process of following Jesus should build a life branded by the character of Christ. So why is our character so very different at times? Enter sin. Sin, by definition, is missing God's intended mark. What is His mark? Grace and truth. Our deviation from God's mark causes us to embrace one and reject the other. Our damaged character finds appeal in one of two insidious and character-distorting forms of sin: -- The sin of sensuality (license) Sensuality is seeing ourselves small and therefore living in a way that is less than God created us to be. This is deviant grace without truth. A life of sensuality leads to a character damaged and enslaved by obsessive addictions of every shape. In Jesus' parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-31), this is the younger brother. -- The sin of pride (legalism) Pride is seeing ourselves large and therefore living in a way that is greater than God created us to be. This is smug truth without grace. A life characterized by pride leads to a character deformed by an arrogant self-righteousness and pseudo-spiritual superiority. In Jesus' parable of the Lost Son, this is the older and equally lost brother. Oversteering Growing up and learning to navigate the icy winter roads of Canada, one of the first things my father taught me was the danger of oversteering -- the tendency to overcompensate when starting to lose traction and beginning to spin. It seems at first like a natural response -- but soon it leaves the inexperienced driver completely out of control. Instead of correcting a slight skid, he finds himself spinning much faster in the opposite direction. The proper correction is a minor change back toward the center of the road. We can readily see spiritual oversteer regarding the Kingdom character of grace and truth. It may come from an attachment to a historical movement ("this is truth"); following a personality ("this is who I want to be"); spiritual lethargy ("this is who I am"); the need to over-define mystery ("this is who God is"); or the desire to make personal applications universal ("this is how you should be"). Attempting to correct without the character of Christ as our guide usually leaves us in worse shape than when we started. What are the symptoms of spiritual oversteer? When we singularly accentuate and consequently reduce one of the hallmarks of God's glory (grace and truth), we find certain symptoms that indicate we are now on a road to damaged character. Often our attachment to ideologies leads us to embrace extreme and rigid positions. This fanaticism drives us to an understanding of truth devoid of the grace of Christ. Conversely, our escape into a twisted understanding of grace sends us down a destructive path of self-fulfillment through sensual gratification. The end is always the same, selfish grace without truth leads to bankrupt character. Back and forth we have swerved past the character of Christ in our attempts to self-correct. From liberalism (grace in isolation), to fundamentalism (truth in isolation), to the emerging church (grace in isolation), to the new orthodoxy (truth in isolation). From ditch to ditch we attempt to be the church of Jesus Christ and see the glory of God. How can I leave oversteer and lead with the character of Christ? The good news is that in Christ we have two spiritual realities that can assist us when we oversteer, either personally or corporately, to guide us into the mystery of grace and truth. -- The cross of Christ If the sin of sensuality is seeing ourselves small and therefore living in a way that is less than God created us to be, then what higher expression of grace could there be than the cross of Jesus Christ? With His sacrifice He has once and for all demonstrated the eternal value that we have to the Father. Unworthy though we may be, we are not worthless. Whenever we are tempted to revel in grace by excluding truth, we need only to gaze at the cross to remind ourselves of the high price paid for our position of holiness. "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). The cross is history's best picture of absolute grace. -- The throne of Christ Spiritual arrogance becomes difficult to maintain when we compare our sullied morality to the holiness of our sovereign King who sits without blemish on an eternal throne. Whenever we are tempted to swagger in our distorted version of truth without grace, remember that only One sits in perfection. "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away" (Isaiah 64:6). And so the riverbanks of spiritual protection that keep us flowing in the character of Christ are His grace and His truth. By daily embracing both, we find ourselves walking closely behind our King. And the world takes note. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Pro-lifer's NAACP parody wins court appeal by Courtney Crandell/WORLD News Service Date: June 03, 2015 - Wednesday RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- In a ruling issued May 26, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided unanimously with the pro-life Radiance Foundation in its trademark infringement fight with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The court ruled a parody of the NAACP written by Radiance co-founder Ryan Bomberger did not violate trademark laws or confuse people about the NAACP's mission.  "The critical message conveyed by the satirical mark itself and in the commentary that follows ensures that no confusion about the source of the commentary will last, if in fact it is generated at all," the judges wrote.  Like Radiance, many people and organizations use satire to criticize organizations, the ruling noted. Some have parodied the National Rifle Association as the "National Republican Association" or the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as the "Anti-Christian Lawyers Union." In January 2013, Bomberger, who is black, wrote a column published by LifeNews.com calling the NAACP the "National Association for the Abortion of Colored People." Though the NAACP doesn't hold an official position on abortion, Bomberger used the parody to highlight the organization's support for pro-abortion groups.  The same month, the NAACP sent a letter to Bomberger and LifeNews demanding they remove the parody in seven days. Bomberger, represented by attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), filed for declaratory judgment, and the NAACP filed a trademark infringement counter suit.  "The Radiance Foundation merely expressed its opinion of the NAACP's abortion activism in an article," said ADF-affiliated attorney Charles M. Allen. "The NAACP cannot use trademark law to shield itself from criticism by denying others the right to use its name when they are expressing their opinions." Last year, District Court Judge Raymond Jackson sided with the NAACP, ruling Bomberger's parody created confusion about the organization's name. He ruled Radiance "may not present such critiques in a manner that is likely to confuse the public regarding whether certain trademarks espousing a pro-abortion viewpoint are authorized or sponsored by the NAACP." But that ruling violated First Amendment rights, according to ADF senior counsel Steven H. Aden. After Bomberger and LifeNews posted the article, people complained to the NAACP about its abortion stance, but no one expressed confusion, according to a brief filed with the 4th Circuit.  "The First Amendment protects the freedom of all organizations, regardless of their political or religious views, to comment on the views of others," Aden said. "The 4th Circuit was right to reverse the district court's flawed decision which discriminated against free speech." Bomberger said the 4th Circuit ruling upheld "what the NAACP claims to protect: our most basic civil rights." In his controversial column, Bomberger argued the NAACP fights for social justice while ignoring the injustice against unborn, black babies. "They'll beat the drums of economic, social, and environmental 'justice' while over 360,000 black babies, annually, never get a chance at one of the few constitutional rights that actually exist -- the right to life," he wrote. Even the ACLU of Virginia and the Electronic Frontier Foundation sided with Radiance against the NAACP. The two organizations filed a joint friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Radiance. The brief cited First Amendment rights, trademark laws, and past precedent to defend Radiance's parody.  "I never would have thought that I, as a biracial (black/white) adult, would be the target of such inequality," Bomberger wrote in a March Townhall column. "When the ACLU sides with us over the NAACP, acknowledging the abuse of trademark law to silence speech, you know just a little bit of hell has frozen over." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Naghmeh Abedini: tie Saeed's release to Iran deal by David Roach Date: June 03, 2015 - Wednesday WASHINGTON (BP) -- The release of Americans imprisoned in Iran should be a condition of any nuclear deal with the Persian nation, the wife of imprisoned American pastor Saeed Abedini told the House Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday (June 2). Following testimony from Negmeh Abedini and the families of other U.S. citizens imprisoned or missing in Iran, the committee passed a resolution stating, "Iran should release all detained United States citizens immediately and provide any information it possesses regarding any United States citizens that have disappeared within its borders." Naghmeh Abedini said she appreciated that the captive Americans are "being discussed on the sidelines" of nuclear talks. "But they're still not home. Where's the action? Where's the resolve? I don't see any resolve. "Iran continues to shrug it off and not really respond to discussions on the sidelines. ... This is crucial time. Iran has to feel some pressure to want to release the Americans. They're not going to do it through sideline discussions. I hope there's some pressure as this is a crucial time to bring these Americans home and end [the] pain and suffering of all of our families," Naghmeh Abedini said according to video of her testimony posted on the Save Saeed Facebook page. Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran since Sept. 26, 2012, because of his Christian faith. He was sentenced Jan. 27, 2013, to eight years in prison on charges he threatened Iranian national security by planting house churches years earlier, and had been under house arrest since July 2012. Family members of two other Americans imprisoned in Iran joined Naghmeh Abedini in testifying before Congress. Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was arrested more than 10 months ago and charged with espionage. Amir Hekmati is a former Marine who was charged with espionage when he visited his grandmother in Iran in 2011. Also represented was the family of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared while working as a contract employee for the CIA in 2007. Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers responded to the testimony by saying they would not support a nuclear deal with Iran that fails to include the release of the jailed Americans. "It would just be ludicrous and outrageous for us to have a deal with Iran that doesn't include the bringing home of our hostages," New York Democrat Eliot Engel said according to NPR. Texas Republican Randy Weber said "Congress should get real serious" about insisting on the Americans' release. There should be "no agreement, period, until Iran releases the hostages," Weber said according to the Washington Post. "I hope John Kerry, President Obama, everybody on their team comes to their senses and says if human rights is not the main thing with this regime, how can you trust them with anything else?" White House spokesman Josh Earnest has said the Obama administration will not negotiate for the prisoners' release. "We will not allow these American citizens to be used as bargaining chips," he said. The State Department confirmed it has discussed all four Americans represented at the Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the sidelines of nuclear negotiations, NPR reported. A deadline of June 30 has been set for reaching a final nuclear deal between the U.S., Iran and five other nations. Legislation passed in April gives Congress the power to approve any nuclear agreement. In her prepared written testimony for the Foreign Affairs Committee, Naghmeh Abedini said her husband needs two surgeries because of injuries sustained in captivity and faces serious challenges related to "his psychological health." She also spoke of her husband's refusal to recant his trust in Christ for salvation. "When I entered this great nation almost 30 years ago as a young girl, I was given the freedom to choose Jesus as my Lord and Savior," Naghmeh Abedini said. "I felt safe knowing that my rights to choose my own religion would be protected and defended in this great country of the United States of America. Today my husband is suffering in the Iranian prison for this very reason. It is because he also chose to believe in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. "The Iranian government has repeatedly told Saeed he holds the key to his freedom -- but this key would be to deny his faith and return to Islam. Yet, Saeed has refused to deny his faith in Jesus Christ in the face of torture and abuse," she said. Only the comfort of the Gospel has allowed her family to cope with three years of separation and captivity, Naghmeh Abedini said. "The do's and don'ts of religion cannot bring much peace and comfort," she said. "Only an intimate relationship with our Maker can bring about the supernatural peace and strength that is covering our family today. And that relationship is only possible through the acceptance of the heavy price of sin that was paid on the cross by Jesus Christ. Today that salvation is available for all who believe." The American Center for Law and Justice has collected more than 900,000 signatures on petitions calling for Abedini's release, according to an ACLJ news release. "As the Obama administration is finalizing nuclear negotiations with Iran, the very nation holding Pastor Saeed and the other Americans hostage, it is critical that America demand his freedom," ACLJ executive director Jordan Sekulow said. "Congress has a say in any final deal and both chambers have reiterated that the American citizens are a top priority. "It's time for America's leaders to back up their words with actions to save Pastor Saeed and the other U.S. citizens," Sekulow said. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Survey: 'Nones' open to variety of denominations by Ken Walker Date: June 03, 2015 - Wednesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Americans have a surprising openness to Christian churches, even those who are supposedly turned off to religion, a new survey from LifeWay Research shows. No matter which denomination is in the name of a church, fewer than half the nonreligious say "it's not for me." Their views are more favorable than unfavorable toward a wide range of faiths -- Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Assemblies of God, and non-denominational. These findings, based on a new survey of denominational opinions by LifeWay Research, may come as a surprise to those who've seen recent headlines. Growing numbers of people who don't identify with any church have gathered considerable media attention. But LifeWay Research vice president Scott McConnell said many of these "nones" aren't as closed to church as some may assume. "Just because someone has no religious preference does not mean they have closed the door to the Christian church or a denomination as being something that can meet needs in their lives," McConnell said. The recent nationwide telephone survey of 1,000 adults of varying ages, backgrounds, and beliefs posed two types of questions. In addition to asking whether nine denominations or faiths are for them, researchers sought to determine whether Americans' image of each group is favorable or unfavorable. Among the overall findings: -- No denomination is ruled out by a majority. People are most skeptical about Pentecostal churches, but even then only 45 percent declare, "it's not for me." -- Impressions of each denomination are more favorable than unfavorable. -- However, many people don't understand denominational differences. For each faith, 20 percent to 35 percent say they are not familiar enough to form an opinion. This group almost always outranks those with unfavorable views. One in 5 say they are not familiar with Catholic or Baptist faiths. Even more -- about 1 in 3 -- are unfamiliar with Lutheran, Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, or Pentecostal. Many non-Christians open to denominations Though they may be puzzled about what a denomination teaches, many Americans are receptive to church, the survey shows. While 40 percent to 48 percent of the nonreligious -- atheists, agnostics and those with no religious preference -- assume such groups as Catholics, Baptists and Pentecostals are "not for me," a majority don't automatically exclude them. In addition, anywhere from one-third to half of those from non-Christian religions do not assume the nine denominations named in the study are "not for me." "One might assume that when someone makes a conscious decision in favor of a certain religious preference, that means 'no' to everything else," McConnell said. "While many are not open, to see half of the 'nones' and a third of those in other religions indicate they are not closed to Christian churches makes us re-think that." Denomination's name may do no harm In addition, the research shows that a trend in recent years to omit denominational identity from a church's name may not help attract non-members. "It would depend on who you're trying to reach," McConnell said. "But some denominational groups have as much 'brand equity' as non-denominational churches, which have been growing the fastest." The best-known faiths garner the most approval. Baptist and Catholic—which have the highest rate of familiarity (and the highest number of adherents) -- top the survey for favorable impressions, with 61 percent for Baptist and 57 percent for Catholic. Most respondents also look favorably on non-denominational churches (53 percent) and Methodists (52 percent). Conversely, only 38 percent hold a favorable view of Pentecostals, while 35 percent say they aren't familiar enough to form an opinion. Fewer than half also report favorable impressions of Southern Baptists, 49 percent; Lutherans, 46 percent; Presbyterians, 46 percent; and Assemblies of God, 45 percent. "It's not necessarily a negative to include the denomination's name," McConnell said. "But in looking at the overall totals there are problems with preconceived notions with any name signaling where you are, theologically or historically. It also appears the Assemblies of God is probably pulling up the Pentecostal perception and Southern Baptists are negatively impacting the Baptist brand." Few rule out Baptist, non-denominational churches People are most open to Baptist and non-denominational churches, the study found, with "it's not for me" chosen by only 36 percent for Baptist churches, 37 percent for non-denominational churches and 39 percent for Southern Baptists. No faith group is ruled out by more than half of those surveyed, but 41 percent say the Lutheran church is not for them, and 40 percent feel that way about the Assemblies of God, Methodists and Presbyterians. Though most Americans report favorable opinions of Catholicism, 42 percent say the Catholic faith is not for them. An even higher share, 45 percent, feels that way about the Pentecostal church. Education also influences perceptions. For example, those with a graduate degree are more likely to assume groups like Baptists and Pentecostals are not for them than people with a bachelor's degree or less education. When it comes to the church's future, McConnell points to one finding that should concern each denominational group tested. More than 4 in 10 young adults age 18-24 indicate various denominations are not for them. "While young adults are often testing their views as they enter their 20s, about half do not perceive Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Lutheran or non-denominational churches as places for them as they explore," McConnell says. Methodology: The phone survey of Americans was conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 5, 2014. The calling utilized random digit dialing. Sixty percent of completes were among landlines and 40 percent were among cell phones. Maximum quotas and slight weights were used for gender, region, age, ethnicity and education to more accurately reflect the population. The completed sample is 1,000 surveys. The sample provides 95 percent confidence that the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 3.5 percent. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Captive' highlights God's grace, Page says by Diana Chandler Date: June 03, 2015 - Wednesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Frank S. Page recalls the moment 10 years ago when he learned the single mother held captive in her Atlanta-area home by an accused murderer and rapist was the same Ashley Smith he had baptized when she was 12 years old. National attention focused on news reports of the manhunt for Brian Nichols, who killed a judge and three others in his escape from an Atlanta courthouse while accused of rape. As the story unfolded on live news coverage, it became clear Nichols had taken refuge in an Atlanta-area home with a single hostage, who happened to be Smith. During a night-long ordeal, Smith had convinced Nichols to surrender to authorities by reading to him from the Rick Warren bestseller "Purpose Driven Life." Page, then pastor of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., received a call from Kim Rogers, Smith's aunt. Page had ministered to the family during his 10 years as pastor of Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga., nearly five years before the hostage incident. "She said that was Ashley that was kidnapped and got him, talked him into releasing himself. I said excuse me. Ashley, our Ashley?" Page told Baptist Press. "I was in contact with the family and Ashley throughout the whole experience. Her aunt and her uncle (Steve Rogers) are some of our dearest lifelong friends." Now president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, Page was invited to a screening of the new Paramount movie "Captive," which tells the ordeal of Smith, then a struggling single mother addicted to methamphetamine, held hostage by Nichols in her own Duluth, Ga., apartment. "It's a real-life story of a young single mother. Her husband was killed by a drug dealer … horrible. It's a story of redemption because she was getting her life straight, and did, praise God," Page told BP. "God was able to use her addiction to minister to Brian Nichols. I'm not saying that it was good that she was addicted. I'm just simply saying God used the bad to bring glory to Him. And she saw that, and she knew that, and she was just giving glory to the Lord." David Oyelowo, nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2015 Paramount movie "Selma," portrays Nichols in Captive, joined by "House of Cards" star Kate Mara as Smith. The film is scheduled for release in September, 2015. Page describes Smith as a "precious" girl who has endured troubles well portrayed in the film. "This is something that some readers will never understand, or listeners. She was at a rough point in life and she had lived a rough life. Someone who's raised in a pristine environment probably could not have handled the situation like Ashley did," Page said of Smith's encounter with Nichols. "Part of her having been in a rough family environment … really prepared her for this situation in a unique way. Most people could not have handled that; it would have just sent them over the edge. Well, she was used to rough life." Smith has recounted the ordeal on numerous talk shows, in churches and other venues, and in the 2010 book with Stacy Mattingly, "Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero." In a September 2009 interview on the Canadian talk show "Full Circle," she said the book is meant to minister to others. "I was raised in a Christian home, and I went to a Christian school. I was an athlete and I was -- at one point in time -- I had a very structured life. And then I got introduced to things of the world and I became a 'partier,' and so I wanted people to understand that yes, I know many aspects, and I even know the drug life," she said. "And for that one person that was on the streets, that picks up my book … in my book they'll read certain things and they'll go, 'Oh my yes, she does know what I'm [going through].'" Page sees ministerial value in the movie as well. "I think [viewers] can learn the power of God using ordinary people, how God puts things together in miraculous ways in our ordinary lives," Page said. "She could not believe what had happened. He was a convicted rapist … and he had kind of an odd respect for her. … It was just unbelievable that he showed some modicum of respect for her, and care really for her during this nighttime, long nighttime kidnapping experience." Smith believes the entire experience was a God ordained instrument to deliver her from drug addiction. "There was an enormous spiritual warfare going on with me," Smith said in the 2009 interview. "God knew what it was going to take to change me forever, and he gave me everything I needed that night, and in it he gave me the ability to trust Him completely. … I was able to look at Brian Nichols and go, 'He's loved by God too.'" As she read to Nichols The Purpose-Driven Life, she said, "there just was a sense of peace and he began to react to the passage I was reading. He asked me what I thought he should do and I said I thought he should turn himself in. ... He let me go see my little girl, and that was the end of all of it." More information is available on the movie here. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Religious liberty wins hiring case at high court by Tom Strode Date: June 03, 2015 - Wednesday WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in favor of a Muslim job applicant provided what religious freedom advocates hailed as a wider victory for people of faith. In an 8-1 decision, the high court ruled June 1 an employer cannot make religious exercise an element in hiring decisions. The justices' opinion favored a federal agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), over a clothing retailer, Abercrombie & Fitch, in a case involving the refusal of a store in the chain to hire a young Muslim woman who wears a headscarf. The court's seven-page decision -- brief by the standards of the justices' majority opinions –- said the federal law in question "does not demand mere neutrality with regard to religious practices -- that they be treated no worse than other practices. Rather, it gives them favored treatment, affirmatively obligating employers not 'to fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual ... because of such individual's'" religious exercise. The Supreme Court "got this one right," said Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). "The court recognized an important truth: People should not be discriminated against because of their conscientious religious beliefs simply because a business doesn't find their religion sexy enough," Moore said in a statement for Baptist Press. K. Hollyn Hollman, general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), said in a written statement the court "confirmed the fundamental principle in [the federal law's] ban on religious discrimination in employment. Neither a person's religion nor the potential need to accommodate a religious practice should be a basis for denying a prospective employee a job." In its opinion, the Supreme Court returned the case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which had overruled a federal judge's decision by determining Abercrombie did not unlawfully discriminate. The 10th Circuit Court, based in Denver, is obligated to reconsider its ruling in light of the justices' opinion. The case involves Samantha Elauf, who sought a job at an Abercrombie store in Tulsa, Okla., when she was 17 years old. Reportedly, she knew before an interview with an assistant store manager the retailer's employee dress code banned hats under its "Look Policy" but also understood the company had hired a Jewish worker who wore a yarmulke. Elauf wore a headscarf to the interview but did not tell the interviewer she wore it as a part of her Muslim faith. The assistant store manager did not ask Elauf why she wore the headscarf. Elauf was not informed Abercrombie refused to let employees -- known as "models" in the chain -- wear headscarves. The assistant store manager gave Elauf scores that qualified her to be hired, but the district manager made her lower Elauf's ratings to avoid hiring her when he learned about her headscarf. The EEOC sued Abercrombie & Fitch in behalf of Elauf. The Supreme Court ruled the decision not to hire Elauf violated Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act. That section says an employer must "reasonably accommodate" the religious exercise of an employee or potential employee if it does not cause "undue hardship" in business. The justices disagreed with Abercrombie's argument an applicant must demonstrate an employer has "actual knowledge" of the need for an accommodation. An applicant "need only show that his need for an accommodation was a motivating factor in the employer's decision," Associate Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the majority opinion. The 10th Circuit Court misinterpreted Title VII, the high court said. The Title VII rule in the case "is straightforward," Scalia wrote. "An employer may not make an applicant's religious practice, confirmed or otherwise, a factor in employment decisions." He said, "An employer is surely entitled to have, for example, a no-headwear policy as an ordinary matter. But when an applicant requires an accommodation as an 'aspec[t] of religious ... practice,' it is no response that the subsequent 'fail[ure] ... to hire' was due to an otherwise neutral policy. Title VII requires otherwise-neutral policies to give way to the need for an accommodation." Associate Justice Clarence Thomas offered the lone dissent. Abercrombie did not intentionally discriminate, said Thomas, EEOC chairman from 1982 to 1990. "[A]n employer who is aware that strictly applying a neutral policy will have an adverse effect on a religious group, and applies the policy anyway, is not engaged in intentional discrimination, at least as that term has traditionally been understood," Thomas wrote. The ERLC signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief as part of a diverse coalition that told the justices the 10th Circuit Court erred by devising a new mandate that says the employee or prospective employee must directly provide the employer with "actual knowledge" of a need for a religious accommodation. The appeals court also invented a new requirement when it decided the accommodation must be provided when the practice is mandatory, not just encouraged, in the worker or applicant's religion, according to the brief. Among those signing onto the same brief were the BJC, Christian Legal Society, National Association of Evangelicals, Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, American Islamic Congress, The Sikh Coalition, Church of God in Christ, Orthodox Church in America, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, ACLU and National Employment Lawyers Association. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Fred Luter named NAMB ambassador by Tobin Perry Date: June 03, 2015 - Wednesday ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The North American Mission Board has named former Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter as its new national African American ambassador. In that role, Luter will focus on involving more African American churches in the SBC and in church planting. "We still have a lot of lost souls out there who aren't in anyone's church," Luter said. "One of the primary messages I'll have for pastors is to encourage them to have compassion for the lost. If we're going to be successful in church planting, that has to happen." Luter will speak on behalf of NAMB throughout the year and represent the mission board at a variety of SBC events, sharing NAMB's goal to increase the number of African American churches in the convention from 4,000 to more than 5,000 in the next five years. Luter will continue to serve as senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. In 2012, he became the first African American to be elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention in its 167-year history. "I am overjoyed to learn of Dr. Fred Luter's appointment," said K. Marshall Williams, pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa., and president of the National African American Fellowship in the SBC. "I am sure that God will use him to assist our churches in realizing that we can do more for the Lord as unified Kingdom citizens of the Southern Baptist Convention," Marshall said. "The National African American Fellowship, SBC, will pray for Dr. Luter as he embarks on this great ministry and mandate from the Master." Luter noted that Southern Baptists have made progress involving African American churches since his early days as a pastor in New Orleans. NAMB has reported African American church plants increased by 82.7 percent from 1998 to 2011. "We've had a lot of African Americans plant churches and a lot of African American churches to join the SBC," Luter said. "But as the old saying goes, 'We've come a long way, but we've still got a long way to go.' We've made progress; however, it's not where we think it should be. Hopefully, this is something that will kick start that and get it to where it needs to be." NAMB President Kevin Ezell expressed hope that Luter's role will help focus attention on the continuing need for more ethnic Southern Baptist churches. "Brother Fred loves our convention and our convention loves him," Ezell said. "I don't know of anyone who would bring more energy and enthusiasm to this role. I am grateful to him for lending his name and his efforts to this cause." Luter noted that much of the growth in the SBC in recent years has come from ethnic churches. "But this is an opportunity to reach out to people in our cities and towns and help them understand that there's still a percentage of African Americans out there who are lost and still need direction," Luter said. "Hopefully, we can give them a place to connect." Luter began serving at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in 1986 when it had only 50 members. Before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the church had become the largest Southern Baptist congregation in Louisiana, with more than 8,000 in attendance. In the aftermath of Katrina, Luter led in the church's rejuvenation to nearly 5,000 people in attendance by the time he was elected SBC president in 2012. At the time of his election, fellow pastor David Crosby of First Baptist Church in New Orleans, noted Luter was "the only mega-church pastor I know of who has had to do it twice, and he did it against the trends and against the odds." Luter and his wife Elizabeth have two adult children, Chip and Kimberly.