
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-08/17/2009

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NAMB task force dissolved; members to stay involved
by Mike Ebert
Date: August 17, 2009 - Monday

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--A North American Mission Board task force commissioned by former NAMB President Geoff Hammond is being dissolved, but members have been asked to be available for input and involvement as NAMB leaders ask key questions about the effectiveness of the entity's evangelism and church planting efforts.

Hammond announced the task force -- originally called the North American Great Commission Task Force -- in May, saying it would "study the actions and activities that will impact this continent for Christ in more effective ways." When members of the task force met for the first working meeting July 28, they decided to change the name in order to avoid being confused with the Great Commission Task Force (also known as the GCR task force), which messengers to the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting approved in June.

Under a new name -- the North American Missiological Task Force -- the 30-member NAMB group discussed areas it would study and how it would go about reporting its progress publicly.

With Hammond's Aug. 11 resignation, the NAMB task force is being dissolved, but NAMB's current acting interim president, Richard Harris, and LifeWay Research director Ed Stetzer, who served as a co-facilitator of the task force, have asked members of the group to keep a future webinar meeting date open on their calendar so the group can have input into the direction of NAMB's church planting and evangelism efforts.

"This is a critical time for NAMB," Harris said. "It is essential for us to look at our church planting and evangelism areas and ask, 'What is our current involvement? What is working? What is not?'"

With that in mind, Stetzer, in his role as LifeWay Research director, will work with NAMB staff to embark on a study of NAMB's church planting and evangelism efforts. 

"We will then share this information with NAMB's current and future leadership, as well as the GCR task force," Harris said.

Stetzer said he thinks the research will play a helpful role.

"Facts are our friends," Stetzer said. "I'm glad to be working with NAMB to look at where we are so we all can think more clearly about where we need to be." 

Stetzer will meet with NAMB evangelism and church planting staff Tuesday, Aug. 18 to begin identifying specific areas to be studied.

"NAMB has done good work in many areas, but it is always good to take a fresh look at what we are doing and what can be done better," he said.
--30--
Mike Ebert is publications and media relations coordinator for the North American Mission Board.


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Moms & dads not necessary, Justice Dept. says in brief
by Michael Foust
Date: August 17, 2009 - Monday

WASHINGTON (BP)--Following weeks of criticism from the homosexual community, the Obama Justice Department filed a legal brief Monday arguing that children do not necessarily need a mother and a father and that same-sex households are equivalent to traditional households for child-rearing.

The legal brief, perhaps ironically, was filed in defense of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, although the brief made clear that the administration believes the 1996 law is "discriminatory" and it "supports its repeal." DOMA, as it is often called, gives states the option of banning "gay marriage" and prevents the federal government from recognizing such relationships. 

It's the first time the Justice Department has stated the administration's opposition to DOMA, although Obama himself has said as much on several occasions, including doing so again Monday.

The brief was filed in U.S. District Court in California in reaction to a lawsuit by a California homosexual couple, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, who are "married" and are seeking to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. The Justice Department filed its first brief in that case in June -- a brief that was criticized by the homosexual community because it made, in several instances, conservative arguments regarding DOMA. In its latest brief in the case, the department backs away from some of those arguments and offers a significantly weaker defense.

The Justice Department argues the two men lack standing in the case.

"With respect to the merits, this Administration does not support DOMA as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory, and supports its repeal," the brief states. "Consistent with the rule of law, however, the Department of Justice has long followed the practice of defending federal statutes as long as reasonable arguments can be made in support of their constitutionality, even if the Department disagrees with a particular statute as a policy matter, as it does here."

Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the Defense of Marriage Act and he repeated that stance to homosexual leaders during a June White House ceremony. 

"&#91;T&#93;he government does not contend," the department's brief states, "that there are legitimate government interests in 'creating a legal structure that promotes the raising of children by both of their biological parents' or that the government's interest in 'responsible procreation' justifies Congress's decision to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman."

As support, the Justice Department cited five professional organizations that "have issued policies opposing restrictions on lesbian and gay parenting because they concluded, based on numerous studies, that children raised by gay and lesbian parents are as likely to be well-adjusted as children raised by heterosexual parents.

"… For these reasons, the United States does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government interests in procreation and child-rearing and is therefore not relying upon any such interests to defend DOMA's constitutionality."

The department's position on procreation and child-rearing has frustrated attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which is an intervenor in the case. ADF has made a defense of the traditional family an essential part of its briefs. For example, in July ADF and allied attorneys filed a brief where it stated, in part, "This inherently procreative nature of marriage is unique to opposite-sex couples, and thus the fundamental right to marry is confined to those relationships." In fact, the Justice Department stated its position on child-rearing in response to ADF's brief and made clear it disagreed with it. 

"It is very disappointing that the &#91;Justice Department&#93; has rejected the idea that kids do best in homes with a married mother and father," ADF attorney Brian Raum told Baptist Press. "They've taken the precarious decision of defending DOMA while at the same time claiming that it's bad policy.... &#91;I&#93;t is certainly not optimal for the attorney who is defending a particular law to concede that their clients believe it's bad policy. I think that's detrimental to the case."

Raum also disagreed with the Justice Department's contention that "numerous studies" support same-sex parenting.

"This is an issue that is the subject of ongoing studies, but there are studies which indicate that kids do best in an environment where they have both their mother and their father," he said. "... &#91;Same-sex parenting&#93; is a social experience which is in its infancy."

Raum pointed to the 2006 "gay marriage" ruling by New York's highest court, which said, "Intuition and experience suggest that a child benefits from having before his or her eyes, every day, living models of what both a man and a woman are like." That same year, Washington state's highest court said the state "was entitled to believe that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples furthers procreation, essential to survival of the human race, and furthers the well-being of children by encouraging families where children are reared in homes headed by the children's biological parents."

By rejecting such arguments, Raum said, the Justice Department has rejected "one of the most significant bases for DOMA and for the marriage laws around the country."

"The state has a legitimate interest in promoting families where kids are raised with both their mom and their dad," he said. 

The White House released a statement Monday from Obama which said, in part, "While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law."

If DOMA is overturned then all 50 states could be forced to legalize "gay marriage." 

The case is Smelt v. United State of America. 
--30--
Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press. ToTo read how "gay marriage" impacts parental rights and religious freedom click here.

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Prayer could land principal, A.D. in jail
by Joni B. Hannigan
Date: August 17, 2009 - Monday

PACE, Fla. (BP)--A court order banning school employees from praying publicly at any time or at any place in a Florida school district has resulted in criminal contempt charges against a high school principal and athletic director.

Principal Frank Lay and athletic director Robert Freeman of Pace High School may face jail time if a federal judge rules they violated a court order issued Jan. 9 that forbid employees from "promoting, advancing, aiding, facilitating, endorsing, or causing religious prayers or devotionals during school sponsored events."

Charges were filed against Lay and Freeman after Lay, who is in his 20th year as the school's principal, asked Freeman to offer a prayer before the meal at a Jan. 29 luncheon in the school's field house honoring boosters and other adults. Lay is a member of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.

"I did it primarily out of habit. It's just something we've always done," Lay said. "I have been painted here as somewhat of a rebel. I don't consider myself that, nor do I want to be. I am a Christian. I am not ashamed of my faith."

Orlando-based Liberty Counsel is representing both men. Mathew D. Staver, the organization's founder, told the Florida Baptist Witness that last year the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the school district claiming some teachers and administrators "endorsed" religion.

The school district, Staver said, complied with the ACLU's recommendations and consented to the entry of an order by the court which, among other things, essentially bans employees from engaging in prayer or religious activities before, during or after school hours.

U.S. District Judge Case Rodgers initiated criminal contempt proceedings and has referred the men to the United States attorney's office for prosecution. The case is scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in Pensacola Sept. 17. 

In protest of the new policy, many Pace High School seniors recited the Lord's Prayer and wore crosses on their caps at their May 30 graduation ceremony. Many in the packed stands joined the students and applauded afterwards.

Meanwhile, Liberty Counsel on Aug. 21 will represent the Christian Educators Association International (CEAI) in a motion to intervene in the original case the ACLU filed against the school district, asking that the consent order approved by the court in March be modified on the grounds it violates the First Amendment rights of CEAI members and requires them to infringe on the free speech and free exercise rights of students and other third parties.

Staver said Liberty Counsel will also seek to become a co-defendant in that case with the school district, and would expect the charges against Lay and Freeman would be set aside.

"If on the other hand, we are not granted intervention, we will file suit directly against the school on behalf of the other teachers," Staver said. "The school cannot enter into an agreement that will violate the constitutional rights of parents and teachers. They simply cannot do something that unconstitutional."

The difference between this ruling and others the court has handed down concerning when and where students or employees may gather for religious activities or pray, is that it does not set standards, but instead addresses all employees, at all school-related functions, at all times. It does not allow for club sponsorships, parent and child relationships, or simply someone who wants to "bow their head in respect" when others are praying, Staver said.

"It's a breathtakingly broad ruling," Staver said. "That's why these individuals and staff have to look over their shoulders. It's on or off campus. It involves not only participating in any religious activity, but giving consent or approval of someone's activity.

"It absolutely takes a street sweeper to religious expression," Staver said.

In a July 13 e-mail to the Witness, Tim Wyrosdick, district superintendent, said he was confident in the constitutionality of the consent order. Subsequently, the district has not offered legal counsel for Lay or Freeman who continue their responsibilities, Staver said.

"The district is letting the principal and the athletic director flap in the wind. They are cutting them loose because they are intimidated because of the ACLU," Staver speculated. "The district cannot be in collusion with the ACLU ... any more than it can agree to segregation" when it comes to the constitutional rights of its employees.

Citing the need to continue to fight for the "fundamental liberties" Americans have, Staver said walking away is not the answer.

"What's not the Christian thing to do is just to walk away whenever the Gospel is at stake -- to think it's just irrelevant. These are fundamental liberties that we have: the free exercise of religion and free speech. Those are liberties we cannot take for granted," Staver said. "These liberties are inalienable rights that come from our God."

Ted Traylor, pastor at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, where Lay is a member, said the situation in the Santa Rosa County School District has been one of "fear" for many since the consent order was handed down.

"The Christian teachers I know have fear and uncertainty about what they can or cannot do," Traylor told the Witness. "As the order stands a teacher may not bow his/her head at the lunch table and pray silently over a meal. That is contempt of court. My hope and prayer is that the order can be overturned and a more constitutional document can be formulated."
--30--
Joni B. Hannigan is managing editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, online at FloridaBaptistWitness.com, where this story first appeared. 


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Books become prison missionaries
by Steve DeVane
Date: August 17, 2009 - Monday

RALEIGH, N.C. (BP)--Kathleen Skaar doesn't remember who made the suggestion, but the idea changed the ministry of Christian Library International.

CLI had been distributing books in various locations -- YMCAs, nursing homes and the like. The ministry had some extra books and workers were trying to decide what to do with them, when someone suggested prison chaplains might like them to give to prisoners.

Skaar, director of Christian Library International based in Raleigh, N.C., said prison chaplains told her the books were "answers to prayer."

"They were just thrilled," Skaar said. "Some chaplains said they'd been praying for years and years." The ministry had clearly found a need.

"Almost immediately we started getting letters and testimonies from inmates," Skaar said.

She likened the experience to the exhortation in the "Experiencing God" discipleship series to find where God is working and join Him there.

"It was so dramatic where God was working," Skaar said.

Now CLI is totally focused on prison ministry.

"That's where we are and that's where we'll stay unless God tells us otherwise," Skaar said.

FAITH FINDS HUNGER

Skaar grew up in church but had no personal relationship with Jesus Christ until she attended a retreat in 1995 and prayed to invite Jesus into her life. The change in her life wasn't dramatic, she said, but her thirst and hunger to know God stirred her to read the Bible and Christian books.

"God would just bring the right book to me every time I had a question," Skaar said.

She began thinking it would be great if other people had Christian books when they needed them. "I just wanted to get books in people's hands," she said.

Christian Library International was born in 1996 and is located in a wing of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Raleigh. Skaar's husband Anders joined the ministry fulltime in 2002 as mission director.

Now CLI has sent more than 300,000 books to more than 1,000 prisons and detention centers. The ministry has sent books to at least one facility in every state and to 88 facilities in North Carolina.

The books "go out like missionaries into the prisons," Skaar said.

Last year, the ministry received more than 2,500 letters from inmates. "We decided not to let anyone fall through the cracks, so we do answer every letter," Skaar said, noting that volunteers write back to the inmates.

'REWARDING'

"It's without a doubt the most rewarding volunteer work I've ever done," said Carol Weathersbee, a Hillcrest member who helps write letters.

Norman Beckham, who retired after more than 30 years as an international and North American missionary and was pastor at Hillcrest for six years, also helps at CLI.

Christian Library International has "a surprisingly small budget but they do so much with it," Beckham said.

Shipping is the ministry's biggest expense. Skaar said it costs about $15 to $25 to send a box of books to a chaplain.

Anders Skaar monitors shipping costs to get the best rates. On a recent day, boxes were packed to be shipped to prisons in Washington, Missouri, Texas, Virginia and New York.

"We're always looking for books," he said.

The biggest request CLI gets from inmates is large print study Bibles. The ministry also needs up-to-date Christian youth books for teenagers in detention centers.

Most of the books the ministry sends are "gently used" Christian books, but CLI also buys new Bibles.

'BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT' EVER

Kathleen Skaar tells about an inmate who called a donated leather Bible the "best Christmas present" he'd ever received. The inmate is now out of prison and attending Bible college. He spoke at a Christian Library International dinner last year and proudly showed the Bible he takes with him wherever he speaks.

CLI also offers inmates a free Bible study correspondence course.

"That's just something the Lord put on my heart," Skaar said. Chaplains had told CLI they need Bible studies to give to inmates. One day Skaar felt a burden to do something about it, so she sat down at the computer and designed an application for the study course. She told volunteers not to put it in every letter but to pray about it and put it in the ones to which they felt led.

When the applications started returning, Skaar, who is 15 hours shy of completing her master of divinity degree at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, starting writing lessons.

The course now has 15 lessons. When an inmate completes one study, he or she returns it to CLI. The workers write positive comments about that lesson and send another one. Inmates who complete the course get a certificate.

Last year, more than 150 inmates enrolled in the CLI Leadership Bible Study. An inmate in Texas wrote to say it had blessed him.

"This study made me think and search my heart," he wrote.
--30--
Steve DeVane is managing editor of the Biblical Recorder (biblicalrecorder.org), newsjournal of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Find more information about Christian Library International at www.cli-nc.org or by calling 919-212-8122.


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Baptisms memorable for inmates & pastors
by David Ettinger
Date: August 17, 2009 - Monday

ORLANDO, Fla. (BP)—David Uth's first baptism ceremony inside a prison facility had an impact.

On him perhaps as much as anybody.

"Walking into a room filled with prisoners of all types and realizing that we are all one in Christ was amazing," said Uth, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla. "I understood that there is no difference between me and them. We're all sinners in need of God's grace."

Uth and First Baptist prayer ministry pastor John Harris had ventured to the Central Florida Reception Center to join church member John Watson for the baptism of 27 inmates.

The baptisms were the results of Watson's efforts at the Orlando-area prison which houses inmates scheduled for transfer to other facilities.

"I've been going out to the prison for nine months and ministering to the inmates," Watson said. "God has blessed me in this ministry, and I have seen more than 40 men come to know Christ."

Watson served four years in prison for grand theft and was released on New Year's Day 2000. He gave his life to Christ just before beginning his sentence in 1996.

The prison chaplains invited him to baptize the new converts, "but I had never done a baptism before," Watson recounted. So, he talked with Harris, who in turn spoke with Uth. That's when Watson received the surprising but welcome news that both pastors wanted to go with him to the prison to help with the baptisms. "The three of us did 23 baptisms," Watson said. "Then four guys on work detail showed up &#91;after Uth and Harris left&#93; and I baptized them."

It was a unique moment for Watson. "Don't forget -- I'm one of those guys. I have a real love for them and to see them baptized was just an incredible feeling."

The baptisms were performed in portable tubs similar to what First Baptist Orlando used three weeks earlier during its "Not Ashamed" baptism services June 27-28 when 337 people were baptized at the 15,000-member church.

For Harris, the baptisms also took on a special meaning. "When Pastor Uth and I were introducing ourselves to the inmates, one of them said to me, 'I have your Bible.' I was completely blown away by that." Harris had given a number of study Bibles to Watson to distribute to the inmates. Within that bunch was one of his personal Bibles, given him by his sister, with her written dedication. "The man who received it said, 'I want to thank you for this Bible.' That was a particular thrill for me."

The prison had its own band of inmates who played worship songs and choruses. "After they led us in worship, Pastor Uth delivered a message about the importance of baptism," Harris recounted. "What stuck out most to me was when he said that baptism is the only place in Scripture where all of the Godhead was present. We don't see that anywhere else."

For Uth, though it was not the first time he had spoken at a prison, it was the first time he had ever done baptisms in one. "The inmates had tattoos everywhere on their bodies and you just wondered about their lives," Uth said. "But as they were baptized, they would say their names followed by, 'Jesus is my Lord and I am not ashamed!' and then went down in the water. They had tremendous passion and conviction."

The frequently repeated scene stirred Uth to realize, "In this moment in their lives, as they are facing an unknown future, they have come to a place where they absolutely know that their hope is Jesus. I told them that despite the fact they are &#91;incarcerated&#93;, that 'if Jesus has set you free, you are free indeed.' I said, 'You may never know the outside of this facility, but when you know Christ, you are free.'"

Uth also was touched by the fact that the inmates watch First Baptist's televised services and had watched the "Not Ashamed" services.

"These inmates watch our services," Uth said. "In other words, God had already gone before us and prepared their hearts. By the time we got there, it was just a matter of rejoicing in the harvest."

And what a harvest it was. Uth is hoping that what happened at the Central Florida Reception Center was just the beginning.

"I've done a lot of things as a pastor, but I've never done anything that had greater meaning for me then to watch these inmates celebrate their new life in Christ. The Not Ashamed weekend is having a ripple effect and I pray we'll continue to see that effect for a long time to come."
--30--
David Ettinger is a staff writer and editor at First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla.


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Stem cell ring busted in Hungary
by Staff
Date: August 17, 2009 - Monday

WASHINGTON (BP)--Hungarian police have arrested four people for their alleged involvement in an illegal stem cell clinic.

The untested treatments utilized stem cells from human embryos and aborted babies, according to Reuters news service.

An American, two Hungarians and a Ukrainian were arrested, with three of them detained while attempting to provide a treatment to a patient in a Budapest clinic, Reuters reported.

"There is well-founded suspicion that a U.S. citizen called Julliy B. has carried out stem cell treatments for money within the framework of a Hungarian stem cell research laboratory and a Hungarian-owned private clinic since 2007," Hungarian police said in late July, according to Reuters.

Patients typically were charged $25,000 for a treatment, the police reported.

Stem cells are the body's master cells that can develop into other cells and tissues, providing hope for producing cures for a variety of diseases. Extracting stem cells from embryos for research results in the destruction of the tiny human beings. Embryonic stem cells have yet to produce treatments for human beings and have been plagued by the development of tumors in lab animals. Procuring adult stem cells, however, does not harm donors, and such cells have produced therapies for at least 73 ailments in human beings, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research. Induced pluripotent stem cells, which are adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state, have produced promising results in lab animals. Their extraction does not harm donors.
--30--
Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.


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FIRST-PERSON: Keep the camp fires burning
by Rebecca Powell
Date: August 17, 2009 - Monday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The tears. 

The promises. 

The warm fuzzy feeling around the camp fire. 

Souls are saved and hearts are transformed every summer when students get away from it all and spend time focused solely on worship and Bible study. But what happens after those teens return home? Reality hits them hard. Siblings, jobs and ungodly friends are right where they left them. 

As a parent, how do you help your teenager adjust to life after camp? Keep the camp fires burning by encouraging accountability, reminding him of the practical fundamentals of Christian growth, and personally encouraging him to live out life in the valley between those mountaintop highs. Check out these tips.

1. Go global. When a young person has a salvation experience at camp, a safe way to tell if it was genuine is by whether or not he is motivated to tell his friends. Have your teen make a list of people he wants to tell about his newfound salvation in Christ. This is a time for a testimony. Encourage your youth to proclaim Christ through e-mails, phone calls, text messaging, and on their Facebook or MySpace page. Explain that this means many things in his life are going to have to change. Telling people what has happened not only makes him accountable, but it will be instrumental in leading some of those folks to Christ.

2. Build an altar. Throughout the Old Testament, we see great men of faith erecting altars as reminders of their personal encounters with God. After returning from camp, encourage your teen to record her memories of what happened. There are several ways to approach building an altar in the new millennium:

-- She can post pictures and comments on her Facebook page.

-- Build a blogsite for her pictures and invite others in her group to join and post their own memories of camp. This would be a great place to share prayer requests, too.

-- Purchase the necessary supplies to help her create a memory scrapbook of the week.

-- Pick up some smooth white stones at a garden shop. Using paint pens, let her build a real altar of stones, decorating each one with Scripture and praises specific to her camp experience.

3. Encourage active ministry. How will camp make a difference in your teens? It will most often show in their desire to take on active ministry and evangelism efforts. Do your teens know how to share their faith? Capitalize on the "God-high" that camp provides to nudge them out of their comfort zones and into the exciting world of missions. Help them consider their schools and unsaved family members as personal mission fields.

For many teens, camp is a surreal experience, an intense but passing high like any other temporary fix the world offers them. If we really want to help our teens keep that camp fire spirit and make good on the life they really want to live, the most important thing we can do is show them our own surrendered life through the daily disciplines of prayer and Bible study. These basics are crucial for Christians who want to achieve steady growth toward maturity. As we seek Christ through His Word and prayer, we let Jesus live His life through us. That is when our teens will see how an authentic Christ-follower lives not only in the "God-highs" of summer camp, but also in the ho-hums of everyday life.
--30--
Rebecca Ingram Powell is a pastor's wife and mother of three. She is the author of "Season of Change: Parenting Your Middle Schooler with Passion and Purpose." Visit her website at www.rebeccapowell.com.



