The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-07/06/2020 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: United amid our diversity by Javier A. Chavez Date: July 06, 2020 - Monday EDITOR'S NOTE: Javier Chavez is lead pastor of Amistad Cristiana Internacional in Gainesville, Ga., and second vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention. GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP) -- Diversity is a positive experience only if it is accompanied with respect, understanding, gratitude and hope. It is not a surprise that the United States has become a highly multicultural and ethnically diverse country. America has embraced peoples of different languages, ethnicities, colors and cultures. This warm attitude has made America one of the most welcoming civilizations on the face of the earth -- a trait possible because of the faith on which our Founding Fathers established the foundations of this land of freedom. Many Latin American governments are troubled with political corruption, rampant violence, social intolerance, systematic violation of human rights and chaotic economic administration. The only hope of survival for many Latinos has been to "look for the American dream" -- a dream which many have accomplished through hard work, education, responsible family relationships, and love for this country. As a Hispanic and as an American citizen, I believe it is still possible to achieve unity in the midst of our diversity. Let me share a personal example. I came to America for the first time in 1995 to attend college in the small town of Cleveland, Tenn. I had just turned 18 and had left my native Peru with a bag full of dreams and high hopes. My parents sent me to America under a student visa and advised me to study hard, mature (something I must be honest to say I had not done much of while living at home) and learn as much as possible. Once I got to Tennessee, I struggled to learn English and worked long hours washing dishes in the university cafeteria. It was hard being a Hispanic college student in the U.S. But there was one instance that I am deeply grateful for and that makes me believe that it is possible to find this unity within our diversity. One Saturday I found myself needing a haircut. Since I did not own a car, I decided to wander around the neighborhood trying to find a haircut place. After several minutes of walking, I found an old barber shop called Joe's. I decided to go in, and to my surprise, the place was packed with old, white gentlemen. When they saw me walk in, I could feel by the way they looked at me that they had not seen a young, brown Peruvian before. To this day, I wonder if they were ready for me at that moment. Joe, a white man in his early 60s, was the owner of the place. He gave me a rough look and asked: "Young man, how can I help you?" In my broken English I tried to explain to him what I wanted. It seemed he understood well, because he did an excellent job. That first day, he did not say much and neither did I. But for the next four years, as I kept coming for my regular haircut, I got to know Joe well. He introduced me to other fine people like Larry, Mark, Glenn, Bob, Rich and many other hard-working white men. They helped me improve my "southern" English and showed me a love for the southern culture -- specifically its amazing food (homemade fried chicken, 'tater salad, sweet tea, coleslaw and so forth) and its joyful country music. On the other hand, I taught them two of the most valuable words we Latinos can say to anyone: "amigo" (friend) and "familia" (family). In reality, this group of men became my amigos and were the only familia I had for four years while in college. I exposed them to our salsa and merengue music. They took me to their homes and shared with me their special celebrations and their homemade food. But most important, they offered me their friendship. We were able to overcome all cultural, racial and even language barriers. I will never forget the day of my college graduation. I went early that Saturday morning to get my regular haircut to make sure I looked good for commencement. There they were -- my amigos, waiting for me with a delicious breakfast. After eating together, they surprised me with an envelope containing a generous monetary gift to start my new life in Chicago, where I was going to pursue my post-graduate education. Over the years, I kept in touch with some of those men, all of whom have since passed away. A few months ago, 22 years after this beautiful experience, I took my wife and four children to Cleveland, Tenn., and showed them where Joe's used to be. I told my family that the best example of unity in the midst of diversity I ever learned did not come from a college classroom, from a political speech, or (sad to say) from a church pulpit. Instead it came from the generous hearts I found in simple but sincere older white men. As a Pastor and a community servant to many Hispanics in Gainesville Ga., my prayer and hope during these times of much controversy is to become a bridge builder to a better community, a new Hispanic generation with Christian principles, and a greater and safer nation for our children. Unity in the midst of diversity is only possible through respect, understanding, gratitude and hope, and these values come only from a heart in which the Great Commandment -- to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself -- has found real meaning. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Pregnant woman with COVID-19 'asked God to do His work' by Keila Diaz Date: July 06, 2020 - Monday FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP) -- Rocio Martinez was 20 weeks pregnant when she had to drive herself to the emergency room at 3 a.m. because she was barely able to breathe. Martinez had been diagnosed with COVID-19 a few days prior -- as had her husband, two sons and members of their extended family. "When my sons woke up the next day, I had to tell them mommy had gone to the hospital and immediately my oldest broke down crying," said Miguel Vera, Martinez's husband. But in the midst of the fear and uncertainty, Vera did what he had seen Martinez do many times before. He knelt and prayed. The Vera-Martinez family are members at Esperanza Church in Franklin, Tenn., where Vera serves as an usher and parking attendant and Martinez sings with the worship team and serves in the youth ministry. Fourteen members of their family attend the church. Last month, not long after attending a birthday party together, they all tested positive for the coronavirus. On a Sunday in early June, Martinez's husband and brother (who both work in construction) began to feel ill. A few days later she started to feel sick as well. "I called my sister-in-law immediately and asked her how my nephew was feeling because I had been holding him at a birthday party we had the day before," Martinez said. "She told me he was running a fever and hadn't been able to sleep all night." The 14 members of the family present at the birthday celebration went into quarantine for 14 days. But a week after her symptoms began, Martinez's health worsened. She went to the emergency room and was admitted to the hospital. X-rays revealed pneumonia. Because of the pregnancy, she was transferred to another hospital in the area. "They feared the baby would have to come out early," Martinez said. "The doctor told me I had 48 hours to get worse or better and if I didn't get better, they would have to get the baby out sooner because she wouldn't be getting as much oxygen and her health would be in danger." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pregnant women might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 as compared to non-pregnant women; 26 pregnant women have died of the illness. The disease also may bring an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth. Additionally, Hispanic women are at a higher risk of complications from the virus, according to the CDC. Alone in an emergency room and barely able to breathe, Martinez called her pastor, William Burton. During that 48-hour period, he and his wife Maria began a prayer chain among church members. "It made me emotional to see the list of names of people who had committed to pray for me," Martinez said. At home, Vera was desperate. "I couldn't leave the children and go with her to the hospital," he said, "and even if I could find someone to care for the children, I wouldn't be able to be with her. My hands were tied and all I did was pray." Husband and wife were apart for five days. "Miguel and Rocio are a young couple, they had recently purchased their home and now they couldn't work or even go out to buy food," William Burton said. "The church family, all on their own, started a system to bring meals to the Veras and the other family homes. While Miguel was quarantined with his sons, someone from Esperanza church came to deliver food for the day and they even help(ed) pay for their mortgage. When 48 hours had passed, Martinez was doing much better. "The doctor was surprised when she came in and saw me so much better," Martinez said. "She wasn't expecting it." Even though she was alone and in a difficult circumstance, Martinez says she felt peace. "I wasn't scared that I was going to die," she said. "I asked God to do His work. He's the potter and I'm the clay, and I put my life in His hands. "Through this circumstance we can say that we have grown in our faith and we also realize that we are not exempt from unfortunate circumstances," she said. "But when they do come, we just have to be faithful." Vera says that this virus has been the best thing to happen to his relationship with Christ. "Each day I saw God's hands through the people who brought us food and helped us financially," he said. "If it wasn't for them, I would not have been able to feed my children. Today I see my church family [not just] as people I see on Sunday but as my actual family. Pastor Burton told me on that first night, 'You're not alone,' and I wasn't." Martinez is doing well and expects to deliver a healthy baby girl in a few weeks. All family members are healthy today and have even begun attending drive-in church again. "When they [arrived at] drive-in church that first Sunday back everyone started honking their horns and flashing their lights," Burton said. "It was an amazing homecoming." -------------------------------------------------------------------- SBC DIGEST: Ashford resigns as SEBTS provost; Patrick's death ruled suicide by Staff Date: July 06, 2020 - Monday Ashford resigns as SEBTS provost, returns to teaching By Staff WAKE FOREST, N.C. -- In an email Monday (July 6), faculty and staff of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary were informed that Bruce Ashford had resigned as provost. Ashford will remain with the seminary, "returning fulltime to the classroom," according to the email, as professor of theology and culture. Keith Whitfield will serve as acting provost. "I am thankful for Dr. Ashford's love for SEBTS and his eight years serving in the role of provost," SEBTS President Danny Akin said in the email. "He has served us well and I know that service will continue in the days ahead." Whitfield previously served as acting provost in 2019, while Ashford was on a sabbatical. Whitfield's wife Amy is associate vice president for convention communications with the SBC Executive Committee. ********** Darrin Patrick's death officially ruled suicide By Bob Smietana and Alejandra Molina ST. LOUIS (AP/RNS) -- Megachurch pastor Darrin Patrick's cause of death has officially been ruled a suicide, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. Patrick died May 7 in Pacific, Mo., just outside of St. Louis. The cause of death was a gunshot wound and the medical examiner ruled it a suicide, Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton told Religion News Service. Patrick was a teaching pastor at Seacoast Church, a multisite megachurch based in Mount Pleasant, S.C., and the founding pastor of the Journey Church in St. Louis, where he lived. Seacoast Church announced in a May 8 statement that Patrick had died of what appeared to be a "self-inflicted gunshot wound." His death came as a shock to friends and colleagues. Patrick, who was known for helping people grow and overcome adversity, was remembered as being "passionate about the Lord." He had been a rising star in Reformed evangelical circles and served as vice president of the Acts 29 church planting network. He was later fired from Journey for what church elders called misconduct, including "inappropriate meetings, conversations, and phone calls with two women" and an abuse of power. Patrick received counseling and went through a restoration process that lasted 26 months, according to a 2019 blog interview posted at Christianity Today. He returned to the ministry as a preacher but not as a senior pastor of a church. "You generally don't see guys bounce back," said Robby Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Baptist, in Hendersonville, Tenn., who was a friend of Patrick. Gallaty said pastors are great at helping other people but often don't know what to do when they themselves struggle. They try to keep up appearances, he said, and try to handle their struggles on their own. Patrick's death follows a number of high-profile suicides among pastors, including two from California. Jarrid Wilson, a 30-year-old pastor at megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, died by suicide in September 2019, and 30-year-old Andrew Stoecklein, a pastor at Indian Hills Church in Chino, in August 2018. They both preached about depression and mental health. In part as a response to Wilson's death, evangelical leaders filled a sold-out auditorium in December at the Billy Graham Center for a one-day summit focusing on clergy burnout and mental health. Among the speakers was Saddleback Church senior pastor Rick Warren, whose son, Matthew, died by suicide in 2013 after a long battle with depression. Warren said he also experienced mental illness as a young pastor. He encouraged pastors not to give up on ministry and to admit their own weakness. "We never help people with our strengths like we think we do. We help people with our weaknesses," he said. (Emily MacFarlan Miller contributed to this report. From the Associated Press. May not be republished.) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Arkansas Baptist churches decry 'unfair and damaging' report by Tess Schoonhoven Date: July 06, 2020 - Monday LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (BP) -- Two prominent Southern Baptist churches were unfairly portrayed as contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in a recent report issued by the Arkansas Department of Health, according to Arkansas Baptist State Convention Executive Director J.D. "Sonny" Tucker. Tucker expressed his concerns in an email to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and other state officials. The report, released shortly after a June 26 briefing by the Arkansas Department of Health, listed both Cross Church, a multi-site church in northwest Arkansas, and Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Ark., among 44 churches from multiple denominations. The briefing included a map showing locations of churches but did not name them. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the list contained "errors and omissions," and most of the 44 churches had been linked to very few cases of COVID-19. Tucker said the way the data was released, and subsequently reported, overstated the impact of the churches' in-person services on the pandemic and wrongly suggested the churches were not following safety guidelines. Tucker said both Cross Church and Central Baptist had followed guidelines, and told the Democrat-Gazette neither church should have been "singled out." Brian Dunaway, spokesperson for Cross Church, told the Democrat-Gazette the church is aware of only one person with COVID-19 who had attended a service. Before the pandemic, the church averaged about 9,000 in weekly attendance at its campuses. Archie Mason, pastor of 8,000-member Central Baptist Church, told the Democrat-Gazette that members of one family, who attended a service approximately five weeks ago, had tested positive for COVID-19. Tucker, who is a part of Hutchinson's economic recovery task force, communicated his disappointment and concerns via an email to Hutchinson and several other state officials, as well as two other members of the task force. In the email, he wrote the state health department had targeted Cross Church and Central Baptist "in a questionable fashion," prompting "public embarrassment" and raising "the ire of 1,563 Arkansas Baptist Convention churches with (5,500) staff members and (500,000) church members." In a release, Tucker said the emails expressed his "opinion as a member of the task force and represented the interests of Arkansas Baptist churches across the state," adding: "My emails stated my opinion that publicly listing churches in that fashion, and possibly listing small businesses in the future, is detrimental to our economic recovery. These emails also expressed the strong position of many leaders within the Arkansas Baptist State Convention -- singling out churches is unfair and damaging, especially the two Arkansas Baptist State Convention affiliated churches on the list." Hutchinson, in turn, reached out to several churches, including Mason at Central Baptist, and publicly stated he did not intend for the list, which was disclosed in response to Freedom of Information requests, to become public. Hutchinson told the Democrat-Gazette he was unhappy with how the information had been reported. "I don't like the fact that the media presented the information like there was a cluster in a particular church or that they had been careless," Hutchinson told the newspaper. "That is not the case." Tucker expressed appreciation of Arkansas Baptists for "Hutchinson's stance on the value of the role of churches in Arkansas." "Our churches are thankful for the protection the governor has provided churches, and most have been diligent to meet or exceed the guidelines to protect those who visit our churches," he said. "As Arkansas Baptists, we pledge to pray for Gov. Hutchinson as he navigates our state through these complex issues." -------------------------------------------------------------------- As COVID-19 surges, some churches return to online-only worship by Diana Chandler Date: July 06, 2020 - Monday PHOENIX (BP) -- As COVID-19 surges are causing several mayors and governors to pause or backtrack reopening schedules, several churches in hard-hit states are returning to online-only worship. In Arizona, churches are not included in Gov. Douglas Ducey's executive order limiting gatherings to 50 people or fewer, but many churches there are returning to or extending online-only worship during the COVID-19 surge, said David Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention. Among those are North Swan Baptist Church in Tucson, whose senior pastor Gary Marquez died late Sunday (July 5) after a weeklong battle with COVID-19, the church announced early Monday. "I'd say this second surge has really hit churches harder than the first one," Johnson said Monday (July 6). "Even the pastors I spoke with this morning ... they were both saying 'Wow, back to online, empty auditorium.' It's very difficult to go back, once you felt like maybe we were back on a path to being a little bit more normal. "I know of five churches that have decided to do that. That's not, certainly, all of them, but that's a pretty good representation of churches that have gone back to online only." In the Texas hotspot of Houston, where Mayor Sylvester Turner has asked churches to voluntarily return to online-only worship, at least three Southern Baptist congregations are doing so, including First Baptist Church and Sagemont Church. Woodlands Church, a multisite church with a primary campus just north of Houston in The Woodlands, is also returning to online-only. Likewise in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Hunters Glen in Plano is reverting to online-only. Arizona and Texas are among the states experiencing the highest surges in positive cases, although such surges have been seen in about half of the nation since late June, according to news reports. Arizona Johnson knows of at least five churches that are returning to online-only worship, and some others are delaying a return to in-person gatherings. The setback is particularly disappointing to pastors who were beginning to feel that normalcy was returning, he said. In addition to North Swan, other Arizona churches temporarily ceasing onsite worship include Cross Church in Surprise and 22nd Street Baptist Church in Tucson, Johnson said. North Swan announced the death of their pastor, Gary Marquez, early Monday. "Dear church family, our Blessed Savior took Pastor Gary home early this morning," the church said on its Facebook page. "We thank you for all your prayers. He has been healed in heaven." Gary Marquez's son, North Swan Executive Pastor Andrew Marquez, had announced only Sunday a return to online-only worship until the end of July, citing the surge in COVID-19 cases in Arizona, his father's health and Ducey's executive order. "That order does not necessarily apply to churches, but because of the spikes in Arizona and the desire to keep congregating in groups of larger than 10 down, we're going to go ahead and go back to online worship for the rest of the month," Andrew Marquez said, "unless some good news changes and the order is lifted and we move to the next level." He recounted his father's COVID-19 illness, which doctors fought with remdesivir, a blood transfusion with COVID-19 antibodies, a ventilator and kidney dialysis. A notice on North Swan's church website said members of the church leadership had been exposed to COVID-19. In Phoenix, North Phoenix Baptist Church had planned to resume onsite worship on Father's Day, June 21, but delayed plans until July or August, said Senior Pastor Noe Garcia, who is also second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. "There has a been a huge spike," Garcia said in a video at nphx.org/updates. Several church staff members tested positive for COVID-19, and other church members have lost family to the virus, Garcia said. "As your pastor, absolutely there are times that I grow frustrated," Garcia said, "but ultimately I'm responsible for the sheep in the church, responsible for my staff, responsible for my family, most importantly, responsible for following God while I'm leading this church. I firmly believe that's what I'm doing with this decision." Cynthia Arneson, North Phoenix Baptist communications coordinator, said one church member lost a family member to the virus. "We do know that we have had multiple staff members, church members and attendees who have had the virus and have recovered from it on different levels," Arneson said. Texas First Baptist Church of Houston planned a "rest area" from onsite worship for two weeks beginning June 26, but has extended the timeframe through July 19, said Steven Murray, director of communications. "The decision was made to extend that 'Rest Area' through July 19 based on additional requests due to the continuing increase in cases in the greater Houston area," Murray said. "Among the many requests made by the Mayor of Houston, churches were asked to only meet online for the next 3 weeks (thru July 19). "During the 4 weeks when we had in-person services (May 31-June 21) at each of our four campuses, we had a very positive response with many tears of joy and gratitude as people returned to their campuses for the first time in months." Murray said the church followed all recommended safety measures, including designated ingress and egress pathways, mask distribution, hand sanitizer, limited seating, an RSVP attendance reservation system, cleaning between services and other measures. About 2,200 people attended each of the four weeks at the church's four campuses combined, he said. Sagemont Church in Houston has returned to online-only worship after briefly holding onsite services from May 24 through late June. "We experienced about one-third of our normal attendance during those in-person weeks," Lead Pastor Matt Carter said. "But after COVID-19 began to spike in Houston, we once again decided to resume online only meetings. "Our primary decision was not based out of fear but for two reasons. One, the Scripture tells us to love our neighbor. As shepherds of God's people, we want to protect them as best as we can, so it seemed wise and prudent to delay in-person meetings until this thing blows over," Carter said. "Secondly, we want to be a church that loves our city. People that are far from God are concerned and scared. While we have the right to meet and assemble, we have chosen not to meet in order to show the city we care about its health and welfare." Hunters Glen Baptist Church (HGBC) returned to online-only worship July 5, Senior Pastor Mark Howell announced. The church had resumed onsite worship in early May after originally moving online at the start of the pandemic. "In Texas, many churches that recently opened for on-campus worship have made the difficult decision to move back to online worship only, and many churches that were planning to open in July have put those plans on hold," Howell said in a church Facebook post, joined by Worship Pastor Michael Slaughter. "The issue is not one of fear. ... The issue is one of protecting our people and looking out for the 'least of these.' Given all the precautions that we can take to protect our people, we simply cannot ensure that they will not contract the virus at HGBC." The church practiced safety measures during its brief return to in-person worship, he said, but many members did not take advantage of the opportunity to gather. "Many in our fellowship have expressed that their reluctance to gather for worship relates directly to the increase of cases across the state," Howell said. "From my conversation with pastors in Texas whose churches opened in May or June, they have expressed a similar response."