The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-07/27/2016 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: The journey(s) to faith by Randy Adams Date: July 27, 2016 - Wednesday VANCOUVER, Wash. (BP) -- What process, or journey, does an unchurched person travel before coming to faith in Christ? The answer depends on the individual's locale, background, language and a host of other things. You can easily identify the journey to Christ of a child who grows up attending your church, but what of the unchurched in your town? Answering this question is vital for Christians who want God to use them to lead others to Jesus. Moreover, the answer requires the ongoing pursuit of knowing your community and the various peoples in your community. I was once the pastor of the "big church" in a small Texas town of 1,700. One family who came to faith in Christ did so after my wife and I got to know them in the hospital. We both had a child in the hospital suffering from pneumonia. This common experience led to talking and praying, and eventually this family gave their lives to Jesus. Later, the husband said that a church member had invited them to our church a few years prior. The invitation went something like this, "It will help your business if you come to our church." Yes, that really happened. It would have helped his plumbing business had he attended our church. But even though he wasn't yet a Christian, he understood that attending church to build his business didn't seem right. Although church attendance might be a business strategy in some places (not in the Northwest, however), appealing to a business motivation won't help you reach the unchurched for Jesus Christ. I once served in an area where nearly half of the adults were functionally illiterate. Learning this changed how we trained our small group Bible study teachers. It impacted our methods of evangelism. In another church, when discussing how to take the Gospel to every home in town, the person who helped plan the strategy was a newspaper delivery person. He knew how to cover the town! The point is, people are different and communities are different. First Baptist Church of Toledo, Wash., has 400 people attending on Sunday morning, and the town only has a population 725. FBC of Toledo, Ore., isn't nearly so large, though the town has a population of 3,465. The towns are very different religiously, spiritually, historically and culturally. These differences make for a different kind of ministry. The journey to Christ will likely follow a path that takes into account several factors, including: 1. Rhythms of life. People's schedules and lifestyle differ depending upon age, ethnicity, education, children in the home, employment, hobbies, health matters, etc. 2. Religious background and beliefs 3. Real and perceived needs 4. Friendships (including family) -- who their closest friends are and what they believe about Christ 5. Personal sin with which they struggle, or which they simply enjoy There are other factors you could add to the list. But the main point is this: When a person comes to Christ, they travel along a particular road to do so. The better we know the people of our community, as individuals and as groups, the better we are able to share the real Jesus with them. For every person there is a process, a journey, on which they can encounter the real Jesus. Part of the joy of ministry is discovering what process works with each person. When we know this, we can help guide their steps so that they will meet the real Jesus and hopefully come to know Him. Remember, many people who reject Jesus don't reject the true, biblical Jesus. They reject the "people of Jesus," or they reject some "image" of Jesus that is distorted. So what about your town? Where do people gather? Where do women or men sit around and discuss important things? How can you discover the particular needs of people in your town? Do you have church attenders who are connected to organizations and groups that will help the church connect to various peoples? Are new homes being built in your area? Are new businesses being started? Do you drive around the town using different routes so that you can discover such things? Let me end with one caution. Many churches have discontinued evangelistic methods that they perceive are not as effective as they once were. The problem, however, is that they haven't replaced the old methods with new methods. Don't throw out the old unless you have a legitimate replacement. Although people come to Christ through different processes, ultimately it is the power of the Gospel, the message of Jesus' life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and second coming, that is powerful to save a person from sin and for eternity. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bicycle ministry steering lives toward recovery by Eric Reed and Morgan Jackson Date: July 27, 2016 - Wednesday HERRIN, Ill. (BP) -- "Pastor Hurricane! Pastor Hurricane! Me next!" a 9-year-old redhead shouted. "That's not his name, Dominic! That's his church," the boy's mother chided. "He's Pastor Gee." "Me, me, Pastor Gee!" Dominic chanted. He wanted his turn on the bicycle training path. On a warm day behind the Herrin House of Hope soup kitchen and thrift shop, pastor Jeffrey Gee of Hurricane Memorial Baptist Church in Herrin, Ill., and several volunteers taught children bike safety, complete with helmets and a course lined with orange traffic cones. The bikes they rode were second-hand, but they had been completely repaired and spruced up in the church's bike shop. It's all part of Gee's plan to keep the kids out of trouble, and at the same time teach former convicts a trade to keep them from returning to prison. By Gee's calculations, a fourth of Herrin's population "has been in jail for at least one day," said Gee, "many for a year or two." That's believable in a state that has 45,000 people in prison right now. This fact led the Hurricane church to start a "re-entry ministry" five years ago. Today their outreach to former prisoners includes a 12-step program, gardens, housing, and their ever-expanding bicycle shop. World of wheels The basement under the sanctuary of Hurricane Memorial is packed with bicycles, a hundred or more in rows and rows. Gee buys them at police auction -- stolen and broken bikes that can't be reunited with their owners -- and brings them to the workshop. New repairman Gene had one turned upside down on a worktable. In his 50s, Gene is one of four men recently released from prison who live in the church's former parsonage, and who work on the bikes. Hurricane Memorial has a big vision for Gene and others like him. The pastor characterizes his congregation as a neighborhood church. With 80 members, "we're really just a small church," he noted, "but we do a lot." "When I first encountered what Hurricane Memorial has done under Pastor Gee's leadership, I was struck at how much ministry to the community they were doing as a small church," said Stephen Williams, one of Illinois Baptist State Association's zone consultants for southern Illinois. It doesn't take a big church to have a big impact. The parsonage serves as a halfway house, giving the people who stay there time to get re-integrated into society. With the bike shop, as well as an organic garden and greenhouse, there is no shortage of work to be done. The bike program allows volunteer workers to prove that they can show up for work faithfully. They earn a reference in order to get a paying job. And they can choose and fix their own bicycle, a means of transportation to a future job. The road to recovery Keeping these men from returning to prison is a considerable challenge. In Illinois, 51.7 percent of former inmates are sentenced for later offenses and are back in jail within three years -- higher than the national average. A Pew Research study shows if Illinois could cut its recidivism (return) rate by 10 percent, the state would save $40 million. More important, lives would be changed. Gee and Hurricane Memorial Church are doing their part. In addition to teaching work skills, the church offers a group meeting to help people stay clean and sober. Their Celebrate Recovery ministry offers a place to find biblical truth and community with those facing similar struggles. The 12-step program geared toward all "hurts, habits, and hang-ups" is based on principles from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It's a national ministry started by pastor Rick Warren and Saddleback Community Church in California with chapters in local churches. In May, Gee led "Celebrate Recovery Sunday," conducting the morning service as if it were any other Celebrate Recovery night. The aim was to get the church members on board with the ministry, and to let them see how beneficial it can be for people struggling with addictions. For this small congregation, "Pastor Hurricane" continues stirring up ministry activity. In just over a year, the bike team has repaired and distributed more than 100 bicycles free of charge. Gee hopes to open another shop in Marion about 12 miles away, making more bicycles available to kids and to adults who need transportation to work. "If you see an adult riding a bike around Herrin or Marion," Gee said, "it's probably one of ours." -------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Nepalese Christians arrested for proselytizing by Julia A. Seymour/WORLD News Service Date: July 27, 2016 - Wednesday NEPAL(BP) -- Eight Nepali Christians arrested in June, including one pastor and two teachers, could soon be tried for trying to proselytize children. The Christians were working in Dolahka District, in northern Nepal, a part of the nation hard hit by the 2015 earthquakes. Authorities arrested them June 8 for distributing religious literature to children in an attempt to convert, a violation of the anti-conversion statute in the 2015 constitution, according to Asia News. Officials tortured the Christians while they were in custody, according to Asia News' sources. Prakash Pradhan, principal of Mount Valley Academy, a local private school, denied the group tried to convert anyone. The group only handed out materials to Christian students who requested them, Pradhan said. Pastor Tanka Subedi said the accusations are based on Article 26, paragraph three of the new constitution. Subedi is the leader of Nepal's Religious Liberty Forum and co-chairman of the Nepal Christian Society. "Based on the constitution, the government has decided to ban all projects that have the nature of proselytizing, which will paralyze most Christian activities in Nepal," Subedi said by email. Nepal adopted its new constitution on Sept. 20, 2015, outraging Hindu nationalists by remaining an officially secular nation. The nation used to be a Hindu monarchy. But Subedi said the new constitution's impact "is just becoming visible," and the Christian minority is living in confusion. "The constitution in itself created a confusion on whether Nepal is a secular state or Hindu state called secular," Subedi said. The arrests don't bode well for religious freedom in the country, William Stark, International Christian Concern regional manager for South Asia, told Worthy News. "Last year, many were concerned when Nepal adopted its new constitution that included the controversial Article 26," he said. "Christians feared that this article would be a weapon used to stop the growth of the Christian community. Today, Nepalese Christians have seen their fears realized." In 2015, religious rights groups, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), condemned the constitution's wording. CSW warned it "fails to allow for choosing and changing one's faith ... as a matter of individual rights, as required and guaranteed by international treaties." Muslims, also a minority in Nepal, joined Christians in expressing concern over the new constitution's conversion ban. Although the accused Christians don't have a trial date yet, courts are preparing charges, Asia News reported. Hindu nationalists want the government to impose the harshest sentence possible. According to UCA News, the country's new criminal code (which is not yet law) "proposes five years of imprisonment and a penalty of 50,000 rupees for anyone found guilty of converting a person from one religion to another." Subedi called the arrests unfair and insisted officials should not pursue charges. A democratic country which is a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "should not be charging people for distributing books," he concluded. This is the second time this year Nepal's government has angered Christians. In April, it removed Christmas from the calendar of official national holidays, Barnabas Fund reported. Although officials claimed they were trying to reduce the overall number of holidays, Christians perceived it as an attack on their religious rights. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Racial tensions beg return to godliness, Page says by Staff/Biblical Recorder Date: July 27, 2016 - Wednesday FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- The church must return to God's lordship to adequately serve communities struggling with such problems as racism, Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee President Frank S. Page told North Carolina Baptists at an associational meeting. "God is saying, 'I am calling you back to my lordship,'" Page told pastors at the New South River Baptist Association's messenger meeting at Sperring Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville, N.C. "[God] is in the middle of what's happening in your church," Page said, preaching from Revelation 2:1-7. "He is walking in our midst, and He is doing what the Lord does -- to reprove, to convict, to convert. And, yes, He is still saving men, women, boys and girls -- even now!" Page referenced renewed racial tensions in the U.S., and said the church must be Gospel-centered to meet ministry challenges inherent in the conflict. "Friends, we are in a serious, serious situation. Our country is a mess. Black people fighting white people. White people fighting black people," Page said. "Everybody's pointing fingers. We're in a mess, and inside the church we're doing no better.... It's time to get serious about the Gospel." In comments to the Biblical Recorder, the news journal of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention (NCBSC), Page elaborated on the church's purpose and calling. "It's time for churches to realize they need to be stronger than ever before in community involvement," Page told the Recorder. "Our churches need to be at the forefront with a prophetic voice and community-based ministry that makes a difference." The host church for the July 19th meeting has faced a demographic shift in its community surrounding Fort Bragg, the largest military base in the world. Sperring Memorial Baptist Church's membership has changed from predominantly white 30 years ago to 90 percent black today, host pastor James Fields Jr. told the Recorder. "This is a church for the community," Fields told the Recorder, citing racial reconciliation as a particular concern. "We prayed for America to wake up and hear God," he said. "Vengeance is His. He will repay. There is never a time when we should take up arms against one of our brothers or sisters, no matter what a person does. They have to answer to God. "I teach my church that God says, 'I will fight your battles.'" Field said. "The only fight that you're supposed [to] fight is the fight of faith." Brian Kinlaw, pastor of Southview Baptist Church in Hope Mills, N.C., and president of the NCBSC Board of Directors, described the meeting as significant. "Our convention is far more diverse than many of us realize," he said. "The unity that we have centered in Christ moves beyond the differences that we have culturally or racially. We can show that in a tangible way in a gathering like this." Associational missionary Randy White led messengers in intercessory prayer. Huddled in small clusters, attendees prayed through a portion of Isaiah 6, asking for a renewed vision of God and pleading for peace and unity in the midst of racial unrest. Fort Bragg, hosting more than 50,000 active duty military personnel, sits near the northern border of the association. Sperring Memorial's congregation is 80 percent active and retired military, Fields said. "I give them the word of God and I love them," he said. "That's all I got, and that's enough." Kinlaw told the Recorder the importance of local associational ministry. "Our cooperative work together is more crucial than ever," he said. "As the challenges are growing, as the needs are increasing, we can do more together than we can alone." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bible Study: July 31, 2016 by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Date: July 27, 2016 - Wednesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups. This week's Bible study is adapted from the Explore the Bible curriculum. Bible Passages: 1 Samuel 18:1-5; 20:35-42 Discussion Questions: What characteristics make for a good friendship? What role should our Christian faith play in our friendships? How do our friendships serve as testimonies to others? Food for thought: Friends drift apart. It seems this drifting is inevitable with life changes. One friend gets a new job, and his circles of influence change. One friend gets married, so she gravitates to new friends who are married. One friend goes through the death of his spouse, and the couple's friends become a painful reminder of what he once had. One friend and her husband now have a child, and suddenly they can't go with you and your spouse to the midnight showing of the newest movies. Life experiences have a way of dictating friendships, unless they are built on a foundation other than experiences. Jonathan and David came from different backgrounds. One grew up in a palace; the other grew up in a pasture. One was the oldest son; the other was the youngest son. One was the heir apparent; the other was the least apparent. Their relationships with their dads were very different. Their relationships with Jonathan's dad, King Saul, were very different. One had access to the finest armor of the day; the other had a slingshot. Yet they were the best of friends, and that friendship stood the test of time. They had a shared belief, trusting the Lord in their lives. If we are followers of Christ, a shared faith in Christ should be foundational for our friendships. That doesn't mean we shouldn't relate with and to non-Christians. In fact, we must build relationships with non-believers if we are going to win our world for Christ. It does mean that our relationships with other believers ought to be deeper than our relationships with non-believers. In fact, the nature of our friendships probably says more about us than it does about the friends we attract. If common experiences and goals bring people together, than shouldn't a common faith do the same? If that is not happening in your life, you have to wonder why. Explore the Bible Explore the Bible is an ongoing Bible study curriculum that helps groups dig into the key truths of each Bible book, while keeping the group on pace to study through the Bible books in a systematic way. More information can be found at LifeWay.com/ExploreTheBible. Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool. -------------------------------------------------------------------- IS group kills priest in Western church attack by Diana Chandler Date: July 27, 2016 - Wednesday NORMANDY, France (BP) -- Islamic State jihadists slit the throat of an elderly Catholic priest who was celebrating Mass in Normandy, France, early July 26, marking the terrorist group's first known attack on a church in the West, the Associated Press reported. In the knife attack just before 10 a.m. in the rural community of Saint-Etienne-Du-Rouvray, two men forced 85-year-old priest Jacques Hamel to his knees, murdered him and filmed themselves making comments in Arabic while dancing around the altar, a nun who witnessed the attack told AP. An 86-year-old man was wounded during the Mass attended by one other parishioner and three nuns, the AP reported. The attackers took two hostages as human shields before being killed by police. Intelligence experts called the attack a major shift for the terrorists who are targeting nations active in a U.S.-led coalition against the group in Iraq and Syria. Haras Rafiq, managing director of the Quilliam Foundation counter-extremism think tank, said the Islamic State group (also known as IS, ISIS or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is speeding a "global jihadist insurgency." "What these two people today have done is [shift] the tactical attack to the attack on Rome," he told AP, "an attack on Christianity.... This is going into a house of God. This is attacking and killing a priest.... We've been talking about the danger of a global jihadist insurgency. This is what it looks like." Daniel Shoenfeld, an analyst with the Soufan Group security intelligence service, called the attack "a shot directly at Western Christianity. It's this effort by the Islamic State and their supporters to drive a further wedge between broader Western society and Muslims," Shoenfeld told AP. French President Francois Hollande called the attack a "profane" act against the Republic of France. Police identified one of the attackers as 19-year-old Adel Kermiche, a local native who had been arrested on preliminary terrorism charges after trying twice to travel to Syria using family members' identity papers. Kermiche had been under house arrest, but committed the attack when his surveillance bracelet was deactivated, as it was a few hours daily during a surveillance agreement, the AP said. The other attacker was not identified. Together, the two men had three knives, several fake explosives and a kitchen timer wrapped in aluminum foil. One person, believed to be a 16-year-old minor, was arrested in the investigation related to the crime. The IS group is known to have recruited fighters from the area. Hamel had served the parish for a decade and was described by diocesan official Philippe Maheut as "always ready to help. His desire was to spread a message for which he consecrated his life," Maheut told AP. "And he certainly didn't think that consecrating his life would mean for him to die while celebrating Mass, which is a message of love." According to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, IS killed 6,073 in terrorist attacks in 2014 and more than 20,000 in combat. IS has killed more than 1,200 people outside of Iraq and Syria since 2014, according to a New York Times analysis. -------------------------------------------------------------------- DNC features PPFA head, talk of 'glass ceiling' by David Roach Date: July 27, 2016 - Wednesday PHILADELPHIA (BP) -- Talk of Hillary Clinton's Methodist roots, an address by Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards and discussion of Clinton's becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major U.S. political party were among the newsworthy events July 26 at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. On the day delegates officially nominated Clinton, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, delivered a keynote address chronicling their life together and her record of public service, including its religious influences. "Hillary got her introduction to social justice through her Methodist youth minister, Don Jones," Bill Clinton said. "He took her downtown to Chicago to hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak, and he remained her friend for the rest of his life." In the realm of social justice, Bill Clinton said, his wife went on to help strip tax exemptions from segregated private academies in the South, serve children with disabilities, advocate legislation to promote adoption and stand for women's rights as well as so-called homosexual and transgender rights. Abortion The Democratic Party Platform adopted by delegates July 25 states, "We believe unequivocally ... that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion -- regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured. We believe that reproductive health is core to women's, men's, and young people's health and wellbeing." Richards, leader of America's largest abortion provider, was also among Tuesday's DNC speakers and said Planned Parenthood "trusts Hillary Clinton." "She will always stand up for Roe v. Wade," Richards said, "and the right of every woman to access a full range of reproductive health care, including abortion, no matter her economic status." In contrast to Clinton, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence "say they'll defund Planned Parenthood," Richards said. Trump also has "pledged to appoint justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade and undo decades of progress," Richards said. Bruce Ashford, a cultural commentator and provost at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press he "can't comment on Hillary Clinton's spirituality" because he "can't see her heart." But he said of her Methodist affiliation, "I hope that her spirituality will help her recognize that freedom of choice ends where innocent human life begins," a reference to Clinton's support of abortion rights. Ashford objected to Richards' appearance as a DNC speaker and to the party platform's statements on abortion. He referenced undercover videos released last year by the Center for Medical Progress showing Planned Parenthood executives discussing the sale of organs from aborted babies. "After video revelations that PPFA is creatively recycling babies' body parts after aborting them," Ashford said, "it adds insult to injury to feature Cecile Richards on the DNC [speakers'] platform. The DNC needs to change their [party] platform so that they welcome unborn babies in life and protect them in law." A female president? Hillary Clinton appeared at the end of the night's program via live video to the sound of breaking glass and a collage of America's 43 presidents, all of whom have been male, a reference to the metaphorical glass ceiling said to prevent women from rising to leadership positions in business, politics and other realms. Although Barack Obama is known as the 44th president, Grover Cleveland is counted twice because he served two non-successive terms. "I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet," Clinton said of her nomination. "... If there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say, I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next." First lady Michelle Obama struck a similar note in her address July 25, saying, "because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters -- and all our sons and daughters -- now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States." In response to a potential Hillary Clinton presidency, The Washington Post quoted two Southern Baptist leaders in a July 20 article under the headline "God might not want a woman to be president, some religious conservatives say." Owen Strachan, immediate past president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), told The Post, "A good number of evangelicals would probably prefer to see men lead in the political arena, and I would be one of them. Many evangelicals would say that men need to be the ones who step up and take responsibility, not simply for the home and the church, but also for the community." There isn't a specific Bible passage prohibiting a woman from becoming president, Strachan said, and ultimately, a female president is permissible as long as her role in the executive branch does not cause her to neglect her biblically assigned roles as a wife and mother. The Post said evangelicals who express uneasiness about a female president cite Bible passages like Eve's creation as Adam's helper in Genesis 2 and the implication in Judges 4 that it was less than ideal for Deborah to lead Israel. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary told The Post most evangelicals care about candidates' policies more than their gender. He added, "I think in general terms, there is a good reason why men tend to lead in these positions. I think embedded in creation is a natural tendency" toward male leadership. Current CBMW President Denny Burk told BP there are differing opinions regarding a female president within the evangelical movement known as complementarianism -- a position stipulating the fundamental equality of men and women as well as a distinction between their roles in the church and home. "The Bible is clear that the differences between male and female are part of the goodness of God's creation and that those differences have specific applications for leadership in the church and in the home," Burk said in written comments. "The applications outside of home and church leadership are a little more inferential than explicit in Scripture. "That is why you have evangelical complementarians on both sides of this question. Complementarians agree with one another at the principle level but then have different views on how the principle should be applied outside the two domains explicitly addressed in Scripture -- the church and the home," Burk said.