The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-08/27/2010 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- KATRINA: The storm's devastation, the faithful's determination by Karen L. Willoughby Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Five years have passed since Hurricane Katrina hurtled its way across southeastern Louisiana and the rest of the central Gulf Coast. More than 1,800 deaths were recorded. Thousands upon thousands of people were displaced; in New Orleans, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a 53.9 percent drop in population between April 2000 and July 2006. (The city's 485,000 population recorded by the Census Bureau in 2000 was estimated at 352,000 by the mayor's office in mid-2009.) More than $81 billion in property damage makes Katrina the most costly ever of American disasters. The emotional toll of the storm on area residents also remains high. "I talked with a friend in Florida after Katrina who had gone through Andrew in 1992," said Lonnie Wascom, director of missions for the three North Shore Baptist associations that plan to merge later this year, largely because of Katrina. "He told me it would be 10 years before most people really would get over it, and looking at it from the five-year mark, I'd say he was right on the money." Dennis Watson, pastor of what now is the multi-campus Celebration Church headquartered in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie on the east bank of the Mississippi River, noted a tangible effect of the stress still hovering over greater New Orleans. "Prior to Katrina we had a small counseling ministry in our church," Watson said. "Following Katrina, however, we became convinced that more than anything else -- besides a relationship with Jesus -- people needed trauma counseling. We re-launched the Celebration Hope Center which now has more than 25 counselors on staff and ministers to hundreds of people on a weekly basis." Two weeks before Katrina, the church, located in what had been an oversized strip mall on busy Airline Drive, had acquired a second location on Transcontinental Drive in Metairie by merging with the former Crescent City Baptist Church. Celebration's main campus received more than six feet of water in the storm, while the new site received 18 inches. So after repairing the Transcontinental site, the congregation moved there. The new acquisition, intended at the time to be a satellite congregation, was a God-sent way Celebration managed to hold its devastated congregation together as well as minister throughout the community, Watson said. The Airline Drive parking lot was in a great location for Celebration to mount its massive disaster relief effort. The church estimated it served 140,000 families in post-Katrina outreach, providing such necessities as food, water, clothing and baby supplies, while also gutting and rebuilding homes. The church lost 60 percent of its members due to displacement to other cities, yet "we are much larger than we were pre-Katrina," Watson said, particularly noting "people who have been won to Christ" through the church's ministries. Celebration finally moved back to its Airline Drive location in June. David Crosby in retrospect sees God's hand at work in preparing the church he pastors -- First Baptist New Orleans -- for post-Katrina ministry. The church dedicated its new facilities on 17 acres in the Lakeside district of New Orleans in August 2004. Lakeside flooded as a result of a broken levee, but the church didn't because the building committee had made a pre-construction decision for the foundation to be 18 inches higher than city codes required. Floodwaters stopped at the threshold of the doors. First Baptist, then, was able to host Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, which sat in 13 feet of floodwater in the Ninth Ward for three weeks. Franklin Avenue, where Fred Luter is pastor, had been the largest Southern Baptist church in Louisiana prior to Katrina. Its members began meeting in three groups after Katrina: in Houston, Baton Rouge and at First Baptist. The other two groups became stand-alone churches with pastors mentored by Luter. And after two and a half years at First Baptist, Franklin Avenue reopened its doors in April 2008. Also in 2004, Crosby implemented a building campaign to construct 40 new homes in a blighted area of the central city he named Baptist Crossroads. The church was ready, then, to work post-Katrina with Habitat for Humanity in the construction of homes -- 65 to date. Baptist Crossroads, now a consortium of Baptists and Habitat for Humanity, recently announced a five-year plan broadening its scope to a 185-block area in the Upper Ninth Ward. "Our goal is that in five years all lots in the target neighborhood will be 'improved,'" according to its website, www.baptistcrossroads.org. "'Improved' may be a new home, a renovated home, or a well-maintained vacant lot void of a decaying structure.'" First Baptist also provided worship space for other Southern Baptists not able to use their buildings after Katrina, and its large worship center became a convenient meeting area/staging area for a variety of efforts to aid the stricken city, including SBC Disaster Relief, the Red Cross and Salvation Army. Several other Southern Baptist churches in Greater New Orleans –- including the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain -- have similar stories of God's "pre-K" provision. The common denominator, spoken of with great fervor, is Southern Baptists' disaster relief organization. "Because Southern Baptists had already done their homework and created a lattice of effective ministry outlets, our denomination responded quickly and effectively to the needs of people," said Tobey Pitman, a national missionary with the North American Mission Board. He was director of the Brantley Center for the homeless near downtown New Orleans, which was damaged beyond repair by Katrina. After serving through NAMB's NOAH Rebuild, he relocated to the North Shore where he leads in community ministry. "Katrina served to refocus denominational thought on New Orleans," Pitman said. "This is demonstrated in the huge number of volunteers who came immediately and have continued to leave footprints and heart prints here for five years. "The incredible amount of money given for Katrina relief through NAMB disaster relief is a reliable barometer of how Southern Baptist people felt about New Orleans," Pitman continued. "In a sense, Katrina reminded Southern Baptists about our roots, our heart for people and the value of the Gospel investment into the lives of people -- both lost and saved -- who are suffering pain and loss." Among the strengths of Southern Baptists are a readiness to volunteer, to give until it hurts to meet needs, to share the Gospel, and to stay for the long haul, said Freddie Arnold, who led disaster relief efforts through the New Orleans Baptist Association (the new name for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans, which now includes the Plaquemines Baptist Association as another effect of the storm). "The devastation of the storm created such need that the people were open to any type of help," Arnold said. "To get this help they were willing to hear the Gospel presentations with a greater attention to what was being said than ever before, and there was a greater openness to the Gospel than ever before." ` North Shore DOM Wascom spoke of Southern Baptists coming together and putting their needs aside in order to be the hands and feet and arms of Jesus to a storm-stricken people. "Things changed exponentially for the southeast Louisiana region, and I think that had an effect that covers the entire scope of the Southern Baptist Convention," Wascom said. "The fact is, the eastern portion of my region received damages just as severe as those in some parts of New Orleans but our churches immediately laid aside their needs and began to partner with churches in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes to assist in relief and recovery efforts there. This selfless cooperation is the most lasting memory for me." And Katrina became a teachable moment. "Going through Hurricane Katrina was one of the most trying times in my life as a believer," Franklin Avenue pastor Fred Luter said. "It also was a time when I learned the true meaning of 'waiting on the Lord.' Tribulation worketh patience!" God taught First Baptist's David Crosby that "the planning process is always subject to disruption. Chaos is a rich seedbed for new ideas. People in crisis seek God's help. Recovery from disaster is largely dependent upon prior character development." The lessons Dennis Watson of Celebration Church learned: "Storms -- natural, physical, emotional, financial, relational, vocational, spiritual -- are a part of life. God is all-powerful and can circumvent the impact of storms. The Lord will be with us through the storms of life. God speaks to us through the storms of life. The Lord uses storms to make us more like Jesus." --30-- Karen L. Willoughby is managing editor of the Baptist Message, newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- KATRINA: A tale of 2 Mississippi churches by Tony Martin Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday BILOXI, Miss. (BP)--Waves of generosity followed Hurricane Katrina's storm surge across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. To date, nearly $21 million in monetary donations has been received by the Mississippi Baptist Convention from across the country and abroad for relief and ministry efforts after the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history. After making landfall briefly in Louisiana, Katrina's eyewall passed over Bay St. Louis and Waveland, Miss., as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph on the morning of Aug. 29, 2005. The resulting 26-foot storm surge penetrated six miles inland and in many areas moved 12 miles along bays and rivers -- the highest and most extensive in the United States in documented history. Mississippi officials calculated that 90 percent of the structures within a half-mile of the coastline were completely demolished. On U.S. Highway 90 along the coastline, two major bridges were destroyed. Statewide, 11 tornadoes were recorded, and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency estimated that more than 900,000 people were without power. Total property damage from Katrina was estimated at $81 billion. In Mississippi alone, the storm left 238 people dead and 67 missing. Then came the $21 million flow of compassion for the devastation Mississippians were facing. From the gifts, $11,094,296.48 now has been expended for church rebuilds; $7,308,701.88 for community rebuilds; $1,836,941.63 for salary support to pastors and staff to ease financial shortfalls in the months following the storm; $265,456.03 toward response to ministers (emergency monies given immediately after the storm as well as ministers' home repairs); and $460,693 toward feeding and miscellaneous. Finances, however, tell only part of the story. Much of the rest of the story perhaps is reflected in the individual accounts of people and churches. Consider "A Tale of Two Churches," Woolmarket Baptist Church in Biloxi and First Baptist Church in Bay St. Louis. Woolmarket, located well north of the coastline, nevertheless suffered significant damage from Katrina. "We lost some good folks who moved," said Paul Crowley, who will celebrate his 15th anniversary as pastor in October. "This area was still far enough north that most of our damage was wind damage, but some folks didn't want to go through this kind of thing again." Part of the church building had to be totally gutted. While damage to the sanctuary was minimal, part of the education space was ruined by rain damage. Overall damage to the church totaled nearly $300,000. "We didn't miss a service," Crowley said. "This [the education] building had to be completely redone. The gym was still standing and we were able to use it. That Wednesday after the storm, my oldest son and I came back from Tupelo -- we'd been up there during the storm -- and that night he, I and two church members stood outside the sanctuary and had church services. It was basically, 'Thank You, Lord, that we are all in one piece!'" The next Sunday the church had an early service. The church's insurance "did right," in Crowley's words, while contributions helped meet the deductibles. "The first three years after the storm we housed over 4,000 volunteers who came in. We started with chainsaws. North Highland Church from Hueytown, Ala., has been down many times, helping us and helping others. "For the first two or three years, it was all about Katrina, all about the recovery," Crowley recounted. "Every conversation with someone would turn to the storm -- where they were, what had happened to them. In the last year and a half or two years, Katrina hasn't dominated the conversation, and it's given us a chance to get back to church, to seeking and saving the lost. The focus has shifted back. It's hard for me to go back and compare where we were before Katrina.... It's hard to think about what it was like before August of 2005. "Katrina changed me," Crowley continued. "It changed all of us. There are people in our church who are different now. Not necessarily good, not necessarily bad. It just impacted us all. Out here, it's easy to forget it happened, but if you drive along the beach, you know things have changed." Bay St. Louis, in many ways, was "ground zero" for Katrina, but a stroll around the downtown area shows significant rebuilding and restoration. Al Green is pastor of First Baptist Church in Bay St. Louis. "My daddy had just come through one bout with cancer," Green recounted, "and was scheduled to go back in the hospital on the day Katrina hit, so I went to his home in Lumberton and planned to stay with him at the hospital. They called Sunday afternoon and said they weren't letting anyone in the hospital, so I rode it out with him in Lumberton. I followed the chainsaw teams back in Tuesday." First Baptist's sanctuary lost its roof and all the windows, and the cinderblock pilings supporting the building were twisted and leaning. The building, which was one of the chapels at the Centreville Army Base, had been purchased in 1947 for a little over $1,200. It had been taken apart at the site and brought to Bay St. Louis, re-assembled and bricked. "We had an architect come look under the building, and he told us, 'I can't tell you it can't be fixed, but it will cost thousands of dollars for the reports needed to let you know if it could be repaired.' So we voted just to tear it down," Green said. The church has built a new sanctuary, with more construction planned. "Before the storm we were in two services," Green said, "so by rebuilding we were able to get in one service. We were averaging about 265-270 in worship before Katrina, and we probably had 230 this past Sunday -- but probably only about 150 of that number were attending church before Katrina. We've gotten a lot of new people in, a lot that came in during the disaster rebuild." Asked about the well-being of the church members, Green said, "We have a new normal. In a lot of ways, that's better than the old normal. There hasn't been that much of a panic over the oil spill that there might've been prior to Katrina. We've learned that there is truth in the Word of God, that prayer can change things." Green stated, as a testimony to God's faithfulness, that the church was "giving more today than it was before Katrina. We had to borrow money to build the sanctuary, but if it weren't for that, we'd be running ahead of budget." --30-- Tony Martin is associate editor of the Baptist Record, newsjournal of the Mississippi Baptist Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- KATRINA: A seminary's rise from the flood by Gary D. Myers Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Many of the visible marks left by Hurricane Katrina five years ago have been washed away by time and hard work, but the impact of the storm continues to affect New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Despite deep pain and challenging circumstances, the seminary community overcame. NOBTS President Chuck Kelley has seen those who went through the storm emerge with a deeper faith in God and an unflinching, stubborn commitment to be witnesses in the city and region. On Aug. 29, 2005, Katrina slammed ashore just east of New Orleans, leaving a path of destruction stretching from New Orleans to Mobile, Ala., and as far north as Meridian, Miss. Initially it seemed that New Orleans escaped the worst of the storm, but multiple levee failures left 70 percent of New Orleans underwater. The seminary was not spared. Sixty percent of campus housing received significant damage. Only two weeks into a new semester, the seminary's primary task of training ministers was put on hold. Main campus students fled to 29 different states; the faculty was scattered to nine states. The healing process began quickly. Southern Baptists showered the displaced seminary community with financial assistance and places to stay. The Southern Baptist Convention gave the seminary a $6 million gift from its Cooperative Program overage. "This was the greatest outpouring of grace in the history of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary," Kelley said. "At every level of Southern Baptist life, the individual Southern Baptist, the local Southern Baptist church, the association, the state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention and all of its entities ... everybody participated in helping NOBTS recover. This was one of the things that meant so much." Kelley said he hesitates to call out any specific gift, because every SBC entity and every state convention made sacrifices to help the seminary community in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. Even the conventions hit hardest by Katrina -- Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi -- gave to the cause. The gifts -- clothing, food and money -- allowed NOBTS to provide immediate assistance for students, professors and staffers. The seminary also soon returned to its theological training mission. Just days after the storm, Kelley, Provost Steve Lemke and other faculty members formulated an innovative plan to re-launch fall classes for students wanting to continue their studies. Faculty members gathered to reformulate their courses into an online discussion-oriented format. Eighty-five percent of the students who had enrolled at the main campus before the storm opted to resume their studies online or at one of the seminary's extension centers that semester. The storm provided a powerful affirmation of the educational strategy NOBTS had put in place decades earlier, Kelley noted. The extension center system begun under Kelley's predecessor, the late Landrum P. Leavell II, played a key role in continuing classes that semester -- and the philosophy behind the extension centers -- accessibility -- made the online courses possible. As in the immediate aftermath, SBC volunteers played a key role in the restoration of the broken campus. Churches, conventions and individuals sent money to help begin the cleanup and renovation of campus housing. Volunteers came by the hundreds to help clean and paint campus buildings. The volunteer labor alone saved the seminary $2 million in reconstruction costs. The total cost of the restoration swelled to $75 million. Kelley said Katrina illustrated the beauty of Southern Baptist cooperation. "If we were an individual school, I just don't know what we would have done. This marvelous, cooperative relationship of local churches, of associations, of state conventions and the national convention, each doing what they are best suited to do is an unbelievably powerful force," he said. "It is a powerful force in girding up the church for its witness to the world. "It means something to be Southern Baptist and it means something to have these cooperative relationships. We saw it in action and it literally held us together." While some main campus offices reopened in early January 2006, the entire administrative staff did not move back to campus until April 2006. By August 2006, the campus was fully operational and students and professors were back in the classroom for a new semester. However, the campus was not the same. The beautiful restoration could not hide the fact that NOBTS lost 92 apartments during the storm. Only 16 new apartments have been constructed since Katrina. Kelley identified student housing as the greatest need facing the school. NOBTS needs between $15-17 million to replace the lost units. Administrators also noted a shift in main campus enrollment. Before the storm 55 percent of students attended classes on the main campus, while 45 percent attended an extension center. Now the numbers are reversed, with 45 percent of students attending the main campus. Kelley said the numbers are understandable due to the seminary's commitment to make theological education more accessible. Giving students more options is not simply a reaction to Katrina, but a continuation of the strategy launched under Landrum Leavell. It is also a response to churches, associations and state conventions looking for ways to train ministers as they serve. The key issue is funding, Kelley said. "The funding formula for the Southern Baptist Convention is rooted in the traditional model of theological education. It is designed to give almost all funding for traditional on-campus theological education and little or no funding for everything that is not on the campus," he said. "Before Katrina, we were able to make it work; it's just harder to make it work with that shift in our student body from 55 percent on campus to 45 percent on campus. That means less funding. Ultimately one of the biggest legacies of Katrina is the reduction in funding that came from having a larger off-campus student body than we do on campus." Many of the lessons learned by the seminary community, however, center around NOBTS' place in the city of New Orleans. Kelley sees renewed Gospel vigor among students, professors and staff. More and more students are looking for ways to stay and serve in New Orleans after finishing their degrees. "We really learned the role that our seminary plays as a 'lighthouse' in New Orleans -- as an illustration of the presence of God," he said. A few weeks after the storm, the contractor was able to get enough power to light a few large spotlights. By shining them on the Leavell Chapel steeple, workers on campus provided the city with one of the few points of light in a sea of darkness. The lighted steeple, visible from miles away, offered a testimony of the hope of Christ to the hurting city. Though the seminary campus is restored and enrollment is making a comeback, much work remains to be done in the city. As many as 50,000 homes are still unoccupied. In some areas, entire neighborhoods have not returned. Water marks left by the flooding still stain some buildings. Many members of the seminary family are engaged in the ongoing recovery efforts throughout the city. "The storm created a great awareness of the fragility of life in New Orleans, but it also created a sense of opportunity," Kelley said. "Here we had this broken city, let's be a part of putting it back together. Let's weave Jesus in the fabric of the new New Orleans." Due in part to the work of countless SBC Disaster Relief volunteers and rebuild teams, Baptists in New Orleans are enjoying a larger role in the city. "People have a very different image of who we are now; I think there is a much greater respect and appreciation and there is a much greater openness to Baptist life and our Baptist witness," Kelley said. "That has been one of the great redeeming touches that God has brought to our Katrina experience." Summing up the past five years, Kelley called the recovery an act of God's redemption. "There will never be a moment in my life that I ever call Katrina 'good,'" Kelley said. "It brought so much hurt, so much disruption; I could never call it good. But I can call it redeemed. "God is redeeming Katrina in some very beautiful and precious ways. It doesn't mean it was a good experience -- never can we call evil good -- but it does mean that there isn't a situation that God cannot use for His purposes." Many personal Katrina stories are found in a new book by Curtis Scott Drumm, associate professor of theological and historical studies in New Orleans Seminary's Leavell College. In "Providence through the Storm: The New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's Hurricane Katrina Experience," Drumm shares insights gleaned from interviews with more than 100 members of the seminary community -- faculty, staff and students -- with a goal of preserving a lasting record of the historic disaster for future generations. The book also provides a brief history of the city and perspective on the geography and development of the area around the seminary. --30-- Gary D. Myers is director of public relations at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON (KATRINA) -- David Hankins:
The Lord's promise is faithful and true by David E. Hankins Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--The promise of the Lord is that good comes from tragedy. When we saw the broken levees, the flooded homes and churches, the devastation at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the Super Dome refugees and the broken lives, we believed the Lord's promise but we struggled with the immensity of the problems. Even before the assessments could be properly made, Southern Baptists from across the nation poured out their generosity in time and resources to help Louisiana Baptists coordinate the relief work for New Orleans and its surrounding parishes. Before people started returning home, New Orleans director of missions Joe McKeever called his pastors together to pray and communicate with one another. Sometimes, as many as 120 would meet to encourage one another and to learn the latest information about needs and resources. As Louisiana Baptists from New Orleans returned home to the devastation, Southern Baptists were there with hot meals, prayer, counsel and their own sweat to start the processes of rebuilding. While we helped those in need, opportunity after opportunity occurred and Southern Baptists were ready to share the transforming gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The pastors and people on the ground know how the combined strength of Southern Baptists made a difference. Here is the testimony of Dennis Watson of Celebration Church: "Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, the Celebration Church Relief Center served over 117,000 families. This was for a period of 9 months and with the help of over 20,000 volunteers (most were Southern Baptists). To date, we have served over 140,000 families. "Volunteers also helped us gut out over 2,000 homes and churches and have also helped us rebuild a number of homes," Pastor Watson reports. Through all of the disaster relief, recovery and rebuilding ministry, he notes, thousands of people have come to faith in Christ and many have come into Celebration church family. He says the church reaches more people now than it did before the storm. David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans, relays a similar report: "Our local association, state convention and national entities were very important in the immediate aftermath of the storm and through these five years of rebuilding. "Katrina washed our people out of the building and into the streets of our city," Crosby says. "This may be the reason God allowed the storm to come -- to change the way we do church." Dr. Crosby and his church continue to experience a growing relationship with Pastor Fred Luter and the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church. "Our partnership with Franklin Avenue Baptist Church was probably the most significant spiritual event for our church," Crosby says. "They worshiped in our building for two and a half years. We did men's and women's ministries together. Our people learned to love each other because of the storm. Dr. Luter is preaching the fifth-year anniversary celebration at First Baptist." The testimony of New Orleans churches continues to demonstrate that God is working good toward His people. Since Katrina, churches like Celebration and First Baptist are experiencing the phenomenon of members engaging the community in multiple and creative ways. New churches have started in the New Orleans area that reflect a passion to reach various people groups that live in the heart of the city and surrounding areas. From across the country, hundreds of volunteers from churches and schools have come to help with the recovery in New Orleans. One such project was First Baptist Church in Chalmette. Over 3,500 volunteers from 404 churches, 34 state conventions and multiple associations assisted with the rebuilding of the facility. They have now been in their building just nine short months. Pastor John Jeffries says the people are keenly aware of their personal losses but the storm has refocused their evangelistic endeavors. "The early indications are that the church is even more evangelistic than before," Pastor Jeffries says. "In the last nine months since coming back into existence, we have baptized more than 90. We are now utilizing SBC partnerships to assist us in evangelism." Just down the road from Chalmette is a community called Poydras. John Galey is the pastor of Poydras Baptist Church. Many Southern Baptists first saw John on a video by the North American Mission Board. He was wearing a mask and talking about the devastation of the church. "We had 5 feet of water throughout all three of our buildings (auditorium, educational building and fellowship hall). Almost all of St. Bernard Parish was under water," Galey recounts. "We had no ministries from August 29, 2005, to February 2006. No one came back to the community until January 2006. NO ministries took place. Everyone was evacuated to other parts of the country." Pastor Galey returned on October 1, 2005. He was the first Southern Baptist pastor in the parish. The Missouri Baptist Convention adopted the St. Bernard parish. As volunteers from Missouri poured into the area, their focus was on rebuilding the church buildings. Then they began to send teams that helped homeowners. "Missouri Baptists helped us when we could not even help ourselves," Galey says. This church has become fully engaged in the Sharing the Peace of Jesus evangelism initiative of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. This spring they prayed over and hung doorknockers on thousands of homes. The storm has taken the church's ministry to the streets through prayer and personal outreach. There are new things God is doing for our churches in New Orleans. At Celebration Church, Pastor Watson says that the Adopt-A-Church program really helped the congregation. He also notes that the Louisiana Baptist Convention helped with the construction of a new church campus in St. Bernard Parish. Prior to Katrina, this parish was the least evangelized in Louisiana. Pastor Watson believes the Lord is doing such a great work in St. Bernard Parish that "we believe it will one day be the most evangelized parish in all of Louisiana." "In the initial days following Katrina, we were very discouraged," Watson says. "Both of our campuses at that time had been flooded and our largest campus was almost completely destroyed by Katrina's waters. With very limited flood insurance coverage, there was no hope for rebuilding our campuses. And to compound that problem, we lost 60 percent of our members who were permanently displaced to other cities and states." However, though the cooperative efforts of Southern Baptists, Celebration has rebuilt both of its Metairie campuses, a new campus in St. Bernard Parish and renovated a campus in St. John Parish. Pastor Watson believes the Lord has used the witness of believers during the relief and rebuilding to create a much larger congregation and a church with a much stronger spiritual dimension. "Hurricane Katrina was a great tragedy for our church, as well as for our city and region," he says. "However, we've discovered that our God is greater than all of our challenges and that He is able to turn around every tragedy and utilize it for our good, for others' good and for His glory." I could not agree more. Our faithful God has transformed tragedy into good. Today we are better prepared for a disaster. We know more about mobilizing people and resources for relief and rebuilding. We've learned the value of communicating and networking together. For Louisiana Baptists, we've learned afresh the importance of Southern Baptists cooperating together with the goal of permeating one of our nation's great cities with the gospel. It's all because our faithful God brought good out of tragedy. --30-- David Hankins is executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON (KATRINA) -- Jim Futral:
A 5th anniversary by Jim Futral Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday JACKSON, Miss. (BP)--Through the years, I have known several ladies named Katrina. My clearest recollection is that every one of them, without exception, was a sweet and gracious person. However, on Aug. 29, 2005, a hurricane named Katrina came to the south shore of the United States. Since that late summer day, virtually every possible adjective that could be pulled into usage has been applied to her. Sweet, kind, gracious and gentle are not among them. She has a vocabulary of her own that includes such words as powerful, fierce, incredible, monstrous, huge and indescribable. On this fifth-year anniversary, I would just add the word memorable. Now, five years later, the work continues. In the year following Katrina, dozens of books were written and published that were filled with pictures of debris and devastation. Some were filled with hope and encouragement. Regardless of what the book contained, the incredible resilient spirit of so many people on the coast would stir your heart and place them on a pedestal among some of the most heroic people you could ever know. Some destroyed homes have been rebuilt. Devastated businesses are back up and running. Families with nothing left are filling in some of the gaping holes, the vacuums of life. Ken Murphy published a pictorial book the year following Katrina called, "My South Coast Home." For me, it was one of the most meaningful and painful books that I saw. For whatever reason a few years prior to Katrina, Ken Murphy felt moved to document so many of the memorable places on the coast -- buildings and businesses, homes and habitats, sunsets and sea creatures. He had no way of knowing that many of the things that he was photographing would not be in existence after Aug. 29, 2005. The buildings, bridges, church houses, historical homes, ports and restaurants are now all gone. I have often sat and thought of all of the things that changed with Katrina. We lost much and we found much. WHAT WE LOST We lost population. There were people killed in the storm and that pain continues to be felt by families and friends until this present day. Population was lost because many who escaped the storm never came back. Many found work and community elsewhere and have not been able to meet the standards of rebuilding or were unable to pay the increased premiums for insurance. I suppose the 2010 Census will tell the story. Up and down the battered coast, it is generally estimated that 25 to 35 percent of the people did not come back, and so the numbers in our church congregations reflect that same fact. Some of our strong churches continue to struggle to be sustained, not because people do not care but because the people are not there. We also lost places. William Carey University, one of our Baptist-affiliated schools in Mississippi, lost almost everything on their coastal satellite campus. Mississippi Baptists lost our magnificent beachside conference center, Gulfshore Baptist Assembly near Pass Christian. Churches by the scores were either destroyed, leaving nothing but a shell or a foundation, or so crippled they were unusable. Some of those places where we had met with God are no longer and are sustained only in our memories. WHAT WE FOUND In all of the losses, there are things that we found. We found the graciousness of people far and wide. Every state convention in the Southern Baptist Convention that has a disaster relief unit sent their teams to feed and care for us. Those Southern Baptists in Mississippi prepared and fed over 3.5 million meals just in our state. Nearly 1,200 churches across the northern part of our state and across the Southern Baptist Convention adopted churches and congregations, and have walked year after year through the process of restoration. While many of these partnering churches and people simply wanted to help an individual church, others sent millions of dollars to help and just through the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, over $21 million was given. That money went directly to rebuilding churches; supporting pastors, staffs and their families financially; and rebuilding and repairing homes all across the coast. People cared! We also found flexibility. The next Sunday after Katrina many of our churches had no building to go to, so they gathered in whatever place they could find and many of them met outdoors. Prior to Katrina, some of our churches had all of the programs, bells and whistles that Baptist life and Christian growth would allow. Post-Katrina, most of the whistles were gone and many of the bells had stopped ringing. They did what they could, when they could, and wherever they could to meet, fellowship and grow in their walk with the Lord. Because most of the people on the coast were in a survival mode, on Sunday they did as they did on other days. They got up and started cleaning up and helping others. At mid-morning on Sunday, many of them were working, hot and tired, and would pause to come to church wherever that was, still dressed in their work clothes. When the "Amen" was said, they were ready to go back to work. I was blessed to attend some of those services. When I was in other parts of the state, I would tell them that the folks on the coast had stopped going to church on Sunday and they had started being the church seven days a week. The kind of flexibility they discovered was that there are many things in church life that we can do without, and even do better, to meet the needs of people if we are a little more flexible with each other. A third thing we found was prioritizing. After Katrina came ashore, as soon as I could get to the coast I made my way to several of the feeding units that were in progress. I walked out on the fringe of the people who were gathering and met this dear precious older couple. They were holding hands and barely able to walk. Like thousands of others, they had a stunned glare on their faces. I asked them if I could help. They said, "Some people told us to come here and we might be able to get something to eat. This is the third day we have not had anything to eat." I said to them, "You have come to the right place." They asked, "How much does it cost?" I said, "Absolutely nothing!" They said, "Well, where do we go?" I responded, "Come with me." Before they started walking across the parking lot, the two of them embraced and just stood there and cried. Then I held their hands and I walked over and asked the people there if we could get in the front of the line. They got their food and I helped them to sit down in the shade. They said, "Our house is gone and everything that we owned. We do not know what we are going to do for food tomorrow." I said, "Well, I can tell you what you are going to do. You are going to come back here and these folks are going to help you and feed you so you do not need to worry about that." Our priority is to do good things in the name of Jesus, to lift folks up that are down, and to put lives back together that literally have been ripped to shreds. It is who we are and it is what we do best. We are the closest to Him when we do what He asks us to do. One last thing I noticed that we found over and over again, and that is God's grace and love are sufficient indeed for whatever we face. Seeing the aftermath of Katrina, it was impossible to get your mind around it, much less to get your arms around it. Our God knew every need and has day after day and week upon week been there to provide care, love, restoration and hope. For all of our Southern Baptist friends -- the teams that came from Montana, the sweet folks who journeyed all the way from Hawaii, and the huge numbers who came from our own state of Mississippi and from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Virginia -- God readily used you. The people on the coast have been blessed by you and are forever indebted to you. The Mississippi Gulf Coast will never again be like it was. Five years beyond Katrina it will never be the same, but it can be better. By God's grace and power, we pray that it will be. --30-- Jim Futral is executive director of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON (KATRINA) -- Joe McKeever:
Leaving our prints on this city by Joe McKeever Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--New Orleans artist Sherry Francalancia has been making the rounds asking local artists for their handprints on a work she is producing. The painting symbolizes this city, Sherry says. So many people have left permanent imprints on our lives for the better. Think of that painting as a metaphor for New Orleans in its post-Katrina existence. Over the five years since that hurricane made landfall causing the poorly constructed levees to flood the city, untold thousands of God's people have come from the ends of the earth to bless New Orleans. A recent ad for a law firm seeking clients in a class action suit against BP began: "When Hurricane Katrina devastated our part of the world, Louisianans stood alone." Nothing could be further from the truth. We were inundated with friends from every direction. Even before most of us returned from evacuation, volunteer crews arrived from churches across America to clear streets and prepare meals for first responders. Later, a second wave of church teams arrived to mud-out houses and churches and begin the rebuilding process. They bore witness to their faith in Christ and reported hundreds opening their hearts to the Lord. That process of ministry in the name of Jesus continues today. Duane McDaniel, executive director of missions for the New Orleans Baptist Association (formerly the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans) was part of that process. He himself brought seven teams from the church he was then serving in Honolulu to work in rebuilding New Orleans. So where are we today? The answer is a complex one. We have fewer churches in the association than previously. A dozen or more congregations came into being after the hurricane. Some are strong, some are not; some are flourishing, some are floundering. All are experiencing the greatest challenge of their lives. David Crosby, pastor of New Orleans' First Baptist Church, says, "It's an exciting day to be serving God in New Orleans." Dennis Watson, pastor of Celebration Church, adds, "Our churches are stronger in purpose and character than before." Watson says mega-churches were hit hardest by Katrina. Most have either not rebuilt or are carrying on a slimmed down version of themselves. (Watson's Celebration Church seems to be the exception. From an average attendance five years ago of 1,800, this church -- with its multiple services on several campuses -- is running on average above 2,500.) The population of New Orleans proper numbers some 100,000 under five years ago. Next door, however, Jefferson Parish -- Metairie, Kenner and other smaller suburbs -- now ranks as the most populous parish in the state. Economically, New Orleans is experiencing the same problems as the rest of the nation. The oil spill has resulted in the loss of jobs. At Michoud Assembly Center, the final external fuel tank for NASA's space shuttle has rolled off line, ending hundreds of well-paying positions. The University of New Orleans is downsizing its staff. Northrop-Grumman, the giant defense contractor, has announced the 2013 closing of the local shipyard with its 5,000 highly-paid positions. "Regarding crime, we're at the bottom," Crosby says in assessing the city. "Health care is dismal right now. But in the long term, the new LSU Teaching Center and the VA Medical Center will bring in hundreds of doctors and medical staff. "Regarding the infrastructure of the city," Crosby continues, "we're still recovering. The widened Huey P. Long Bridge spanning the Mississippi River is going to be great. And the new bridge across Lake Pontchartrain to Slidell is open. "However, we remain the most blighted city in America," Crosby says. A new mayoral administration now runs City Hall. Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, younger brother of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, was elected handily and has brought in a strong team. In an interview with The New York Times, the mayor admits his work is cut out for him. "The oil spill's much worse than we ever thought. The budget's much worse, the dysfunction is much worse, the NOPD is much worse. But, you know, that's why I signed up." Pastors and associational leaders share that commitment: "It's why we signed up." The New Orleans Baptist Association moves forward on several fronts under McDaniel's leadership. With the support of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and the North American Mission Board, the association has brought on Jack Hunter as the mission/rebuild strategist and is now searching for a full-time church development strategist. Plans are in the works for a new volunteer center to host church teams from across America wishing to do ministry in an urban situation. McDaniel envisions building health centers in needy communities that will draw in professionals called to minister to the downtrodden and oppressed. The glamorous part of the rebuilding work -- if there ever was such a thing -- has come and gone. These days, the work is hard and slow and often goes forward without the glare of television lights or the exposure of the media. At the moment, we're somewhat like Sherry Francalancia's painting -- finished in places, incomplete in others, with lots of work still to be done. We look forward to the day when New Orleans will be a finished work of art. When that happens, look for the fingerprints of God. They will be all over it. --30-- Joe McKeever served five years as director of missions for the New Orleans Baptist Association (formerly the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans), retiring in April 2009. The previous 14 years, he was pastor of the New Orleans-area First Baptist Church in Kenner. He also is a cartoonist whose work can be seen at http://www.bpnews.net/bpfun.asp?ID=JM. -------------------------------------------------------------------- BP posts McKeever's 2,000th cartoon by Laura Erlanson Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Joe McKeever has held a lot of day jobs -- secretary, pastor, denominational worker and now, in "retirement," itinerant preacher and seminary professor. But perhaps he is best known for his hobby -– cartooning. McKeever's mother gave him a pencil and paper when he was 5 years old, and he's never stopped. When he was in the seventh grade, the teacher asked the class what they wanted to be when they grew up. "When I said cartoonist, they all laughed, and I was embarrassed," McKeever said. "So I never said that again." McKeever is still making people laugh, but not at him, at his cartoons. He has been drawing cartoons for Baptist Press each weekday for 12 years, and today he reaches a milestone of 2,000 cartoons in Baptist Press. Countless visitors to SBC annual meetings over the years have left the exhibit hall with their own likenesses in Joe's trademark caricature style. And his annual cartoon series each January has helped thousands of pastors in their facilitation of the SBC's January Bible study. But Baptist Press readers know him for his daily dose of humor that provides a fresh insider's perspective on the SBC, a sentimental reflection from a grandfather or a poignant commentary on the church and pastoring. In other words, McKeever draws from experience. "Joe has a wonderful talent for cartoons and a spiritual gift for humor," said Baptist Press Executive Editor Will Hall. "God has given him a special lens to see the joy and uniqueness of situations and the ability to use pen, paper and coloring to brighten and enlighten people's days." With more and more people consuming information on the Internet, McKeever has kept up by posting his cartoons on Baptist Press and on his own website, www.joemckeever.com, where he also blogs regularly. "I was teaching a class on cartooning this summer for Vacation Bible School," McKeever said. "They wanted to know how much money you make. I said 'Not very much. There are very few that make a living. You just have to do it 'cause you love it.'" BP readers also might remember McKeever from his days as the director of missions (DOM) for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans (now called the New Orleans Baptist Association), a position he assumed in May 2004 –- less than a year and a half before Hurricane Katrina changed the city forever. This week marks another milestone for McKeever and other Katrina survivors -- five years since the devastating storm. "I had a five-year verbal contract," McKeever said of his acceptance of the DOM position. "I was 64 years old then. I said, 'I'll give you three years.' They said, 'Give us five.' That was of the Lord. Three years [would have been] one year after Katrina. That was no time for transitioning." Before the storm, McKeever and his wife Margaret evacuated. Little did they know it would be a month before they could return home. McKeever set to work immediately to account for all the association's churches, trying to contact each pastor and assess needs. The task was daunting, since cell phone service was nonexistent and since no one knew the locations of many of the pastors. Before long, McKeever established a weekly meeting for the association's pastors. The first meeting was held in Jackson, Miss., while most of the pastors were still evacuees. Twenty pastors showed up, driving in from as far away as Alabama and even Oklahoma for the fellowship and the information. "They came in crying and hugging," McKeever said. "We'd touched a nerve. These guys didn't want to leave." For the next year and a half, the pastors met every Wednesday for three hours at First Baptist Church in LaPlace, La. McKeever knows that he was put in the DOM position at the right time. The rebuilding after the storm gave the opportunity for the association to reinvent itself. They even brought in outside experts to help map out the future. "I never looked on myself as a stereotypical DOM," McKeever said. "When I walked away, they got a new kind of DOM for an entirely new program. It was a transition time that I did." McKeever retired from the association in April 2009, but not before he had seen the city and the association make great strides toward recovery. Now that he's retired, McKeever spends his time traveling to various speaking engagements and teaching a class on interpersonal relationships at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. And drawing. Always drawing. He's had five drawing engagements this month alone. "If I'd known it was this good, I'd have gone straight from ordination to retirement," he said. --30-- Laura Erlanson is operations coordinator for Baptist Press. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SBC pastor shot, killed by officer by Staff Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. (BP)--A police officer doing a prowl check outside a business in Spokane Valley, Wash., Wednesday night shot and killed the owner -- a Southern Baptist pastor -- who apparently also was checking for suspicious activity. Details are still emerging in the case in which 74-year-old Scott Creach, owner of the Plant Farm nursery and pastor of Greenacres Baptist Church, was killed. Creach was carrying a gun and lives next door to the business. The officer, whose name has not been released, was in an unmarked car but was in uniform, local media reported. The Spokane Police Department is conducting an investigation. "There was a specific request for officer presence [Wednesday] night in this area, and this officer [was] on a prowl check, sitting in the parking lot," police spokesperson Jennifer DeRuwe said, according to KXLY-TV in Spokane. "... Exactly what happened after that is still under investigation, but we do know that the officer fired his gun and Mr. Creach died at the scene." A neighbor had requested that police patrol the neighborhood and look for suspicious activity. Creach's son, Alan, told the Associated Press his father had walked outside at 11 p.m. to check on a possible burglar. "We have suffered a terrible tragedy," Alan Creach said. "My mother could hear that from the bedroom." The police officer and Scott Creach were in close proximity to one another when the shot was fired, KXLY reported. Scott Creach had served as pastor of the church since founding it in the 1970s. It has about 300 members. Creach once hosted a gardening show on a local radio station. --30-- Compiled by Michael Foust, an assistant editor of Baptist Press. -------------------------------------------------------------------- MARRIAGE DIGEST: Glenn Beck taken to task for libertarian 'gay marriage' position by Michael Foust Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A pro-family leader is taking conservative talk show host Glenn Beck to task for saying the legalization of "gay marriage" will not harm religious freedom. Appearing on Fox News' "O'Reilly Factor" Aug. 11, Beck took a libertarian approach to the issue and said he has "bigger fish to fry." A federal judge's ruling against California Prop 8 was barely mentioned on Beck's TV and radio programs. "Do you believe that gay marriage is a threat to the country in any way?" host Bill O'Reilly asked. "A threat to the country?" Beck asked. "Yeah, is it going to harm it in anyway?" O'Reilly responded. "No. Will the gays come and get us?" Beck answered, sarcastically. O'Reilly asked again if "gay marriage" legalization would harm the country, and Beck responded, "I believe that Thomas Jefferson said: 'If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me?'" Beck added, "As long as we are not going down the road of Canada, where it is now a problem for churches to have free speech ..." But free speech and religious freedoms will be impacted if "gay marriage" is legalized, says Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth about Homosexuality. LaBarbera wrote a column, "Why Glenn Beck is Wrong," that listed several reasons "gay marriage" legalization will harm freedoms. LaBarbera said it would: -- override "the documented will of the people in the 31 states that have already voted -- some by huge margins -- to preserve marriage in the law as what it is: between one man and one woman." -- force "businessmen and -women to subsidize homosexual relationships" through insurance benefits "even if they rightly believe that those relationships are immoral and deviant." -- pave the way "for even greater pro-homosexuality indoctrination in the nation's schools than we are already seeing under the mandate of 'sexual orientation nondiscrimination.'" -- open the door for homosexual teachers in public schools to talk openly about their spouses -- all with the protection of the law. -- allow textbooks to be rewritten to portray "gay marriage" as a good thing that was part of a successful civil rights movement. -- result in those who oppose "gay marriage" to be portrayed as bigots who are equivalent to the racist opponents of the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement and who need to be pushed by the government "to the curb." -- harm the adoption movement and possibly lead to the closing of adoption agencies who refuse to adopt to homosexual couples, as happened to Catholic Charities in Massachusetts. FORMER GOP CHAIR IS HOMOSEXUAL -- Former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, who was the campaign manager for President George W. Bush's 2004 campaign, told The Atlantic in an Aug. 25 story that he is homosexual. He also says he backs "gay marriage," which is ironic, because pundits often credit Bush's 2004 re-election -- at least partially -- to social conservatives who went out in droves in 11 states to vote for constitutional marriage amendments. Ohio, a key swing state that went for Bush, passed a marriage amendment that year. "It's taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life," Mehlman, who has never been married, said. "Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I've told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they've been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that's made me a happier and better person. It's something I wish I had done years ago." --30-- Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Do they really want to make abortion 'safe'? by Kelly Boggs Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--State governments regulate pharmacies, veterinary clinics, nursing home facilities, funeral homes and even hair salons. That being true, wouldn't it be reasonable to expect a state to have common sense standards for medical facilities? It would seem reasonable that the government would have regulatory oversight over a medical facility that routinely performs a surgical procedure that carries with it possible serious risks. When the procedure in question is abortion, however, the proponents of the procedure are anything but reasonable. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli rendered a legal opinion on Aug. 20 that the Old Dominion State has the authority to regulate, for health reasons, facilities that perform first trimester abortions "so long as the regulations adhere to constitutional limitations." In the opinion, Cuccinelli gave the Virginia Board of Health the power, if it chooses, to require abortion providers to meet hospital-like standards. "The state has long regulated outpatient surgical facilities and personnel to ensure a certain level of protection for patients," a spokesman for Cuccinelli told the Washington Post. "There is no reason to hold facilities providing abortion services to any lesser standard for their patients." If the Board of Health chooses to act upon Cuccinelli's opinion it could require doctors who perform abortions at facilities to have hospital privileges at a local hospital. Additionally the board could mandate professional training for counselors and require facilities conform to certain structural criteria. The A.G.'s opinion only applies to facilities performing first trimester abortions. Second and third term abortions are already required to be performed in a hospital. I read Cuccinelli's opinion and thought that while not legally binding, it was solid and measured in its reasoning. Even so, abortion proponents went apoplectic. "This new policy would single out abortion clinics and burden them with onerous and unnecessary restrictions," NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia said in a press release. Because Cuccinelli is well-known to be pro-life, abortion-right activists said they were not surprised by the A.G.'s opinion. "We've been waiting for the attorney general to take on abortion providers..." Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, told the Washington Post. Abortion activists predicted the sky would fall if the Board of Health acted upon Cuccinelli's opinion. The Washington Post reported that activists indicated "the regulations could prompt the shutdown of 17 of the state's 21 clinics performing abortions." When abortion proponents reject health regulations for clinics -- regulations designed to ensure the safety of women -- something is terribly wrong with their thinking. If the Virginia Board of Health does act upon Cuccinelli's opinion, and I think it should, it will simply require clinics to comply with standards that will facilitate a woman's safety in case there are complications due to an abortion that results in an emergency situation. "The potential complications of abortion procedures," Cuccinelli wrote in his opinion, "include hemorrhage, cervical laceration, uterine perforation, injury to the bowels or bladder and pulmonary complications. "Furthermore," Cuccinelli added, "these complications 'must be immediately and adequately treated.'" The A.G. quotes from the "Manual of Clinical Problems in Obstetrics and Gynecology" to stress just how serious these complications can be. If a woman experiences any complications, time is of the essence. Being able to get out of a clinic quickly and to a nearby hospital are critical to an injured woman's survival. Cuccinelli's opinion is also based on a precedent established by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2000. The court upheld the state of South Carolina's right to regulate abortion clinics for health reasons in "Greenville Women's Clinic v. Bryant." The A.G. cited a portion of the Fourth Circuit's decision. Cuccinelli wrote, "Recognizing that the state has a valid interest 'from the outset of pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the life of the fetus,' the Court found 'there is no requirement that a state refrain from regulating abortion facilities until a public-health problem manifests itself.'" If a state is going to regulate pharmacies, veterinary clinics, nursing home facilities, funeral homes and hair salons on the basis of public health and safety, then they must provide common sense oversight to abortion providers for the same reason. Abortion activists have long maintained that they want abortion to be "legal, safe and rare." There is no doubt they want it legal, but given the activists' apoplectic reaction to the Virginia A.G.'s opinion I wonder how much they care about it being safe and rare. --30-- Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press and editor of the Baptist Message (www.baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Pastores en Texas piden una reforma migratoria by Por Jerry Pierce Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday HOUSTON (BP)--Varios pastores bautistas del sur del área metropolitana de Houston figuran entre quienes firmaron una declaración pidiendo que se protejan las fronteras y que haya una justa y compasiva reforma del sistema federal migratorio. La "Declaración de los Pastores sobre la Seguridad en la Frontera y la Reforma Migratoria" del Concilio de Pastores de EE UU con base en Houston pide un "liderazgo basado en principios y que ponga a un lado las políticas de los partidos" para abordar la inmigración ilegal y asegurar la frontera "rápida, justa y humanamente con igual consideración" por la ley y por el "valor que Dios le dio a cada individuo." "Las Sagradas Escrituras exigen que la justicia y la compasión se equilibren sin que ninguna domine impropiamente sobre la otra en nuestros corazones y nuestras leyes," dice la declaración en su página en internet en immigrationdeclaration.org. La declaración pide que se aborde la crisis en tres pasos sucesivos -- asegurar la frontera, reformar el sistema migratorio y un "proceso justo para el estatus legal de ciertos inmigrantes ilegales específicos." También pide a los oficiales electos estatales y nacionales que pongan fin a la "postulación y riña política" y comiencen un "diálogo genuino" para encontrar "soluciones reales para esta crisis." Hasta el 24 de agosto, más de 350 ministros de una variedad de denominaciones habían firmado la declaración. David Fleming, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Champion Forest en Houston y uno de los que firmaron la declaración, dijo que su congregación tiene una "población hispana muy grande" que simpatiza con los residentes ilegales y otros que apoyan vocalmente la aplicación de leyes migratorias similares a las de Arizona. En la Escritura, Fleming dijo que encuentra apoyo para una "solución justa y compasiva" que sostenga "en tensión" la ley y la compasión por los extranjeros. Comentó acerca de su congoja al enterarse que uno de los empleados muy queridos en la iglesia dejó que su visa de empleo caducara y nunca la renovó, dejando a la iglesia en un dilema. "Recuerda que Dios se preocupa por la ley, y Dios se preocupa por el extranjero y el forastero entre nosotros," dijo Fleming. La declaración es crucial porque el mundo fuera asume que los cristianos conservadores tomarán una actitud severa dadas sus posturas políticas seculares, dijo Fleming, citando un artículo en el diario Houston Chronicle que citó a un senador estatal y un activista conservador diciendo que algunos evangélicos conservadores habían "cedido" ante los liberales acerca del asunto de la inmigración y enfrentaban la pérdida de la Casa Blanca y posiblemente sus congregaciones si no se ponían listos. "No podemos dejar que otros hablen por nosotros; tenemos que hablar por nosotros mismos. Tenemos que hablar por el Señor... Si no, se nos va a incluir en el mismo costal con gente que no necesariamente queremos asociarnos," dijo Fleming. David Fannin, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista de Nassau Bay en el área suburbana de Houston y un miembro veterano del Concilio de Pastores, dijo que el grupo pensó que "era importante para nosotros hacer una declaración acerca de dónde está el país y a dónde necesita ir," siendo el primer paso el asegurar la frontera nacional. Sobre la reforma del proceso migratorio, Fannin dijo, "Hay muchos cupos limitados para los trabajadores con preparación y cupos muy abiertos para los trabajadores sin preparación y sentimos que tenía que abordarse esa inequidad." También, dijo Fannin, aquellos que están aquí legalmente pero han trabajado y obedecido las leyes deberían de ser tratados de diferente manera que aquellos inmigrantes ilegales que comenten crímenes mientras están aquí. "Hemos sido muy claros diciendo que a aquellos que han estado involucrados en crímenes, necesitan serles negados cualquier estatus legal y que los que no son ciudadanos no deben recibir derechos de ayuda en casos que no sean una emergencia," dijo Fannin. "Es casi lo mismo que la declaración de Richard Land." Land, presidente de la Comisión de Ética y Libertad Religiosa de la Convención Bautista del Sur en Nashville, Tenn., anunció en el verano su apoyo por una propuesta que primero asegure la frontera y que cree un camino hacia el estatus legal de ciertos inmigrantes ilegales. Escribiendo en una editorial abierta para el diario USA Today, Land pidió reformas que "respeten la dignidad que Dios le dio a cada persona," protejan la unidad de la familia inmediata, protejan la aplicación de la ley, garanticen la seguridad de las fronteras nacionales, aseguren la justicia para los contribuyentes, y establezcan un camino hacia el estatus legal y/o la ciudadanía para aquellos que califiquen y deseen convertirse en residentes permanentes. "Una vez que se hayan alcanzado un acuerdo en los criterios para asegurar la frontera," escribió Land, "puede y debe implementarse un plan que saque de la oscuridad a los 12 millones de obreros indocumentados de los lugares donde a menudo son explotados y presas fácil de empleadores sin escrúpulos y otros predadores en la sociedad." Land calificó como inmoral que el gobierno "ignorara sus propias leyes por más de dos décadas y de repente un día el gobierno dice, 'Ahora vamos a aplicar la ley retroactivamente.'" Comparando su opinión al término "conservador compasivo," Fannin dijo que en su conservadurismo sin embargo, "hay también ciertas maneras en las cuales eso significa que no puedes ser tajante. "Si yo estuviera en México y la única manera en que pudiera ayudar a mi familia fuera conseguir un empleo en donde lo pueda conseguir, no estoy seguro que no haría algunas de las mismas cosas, básicamente, conseguir alimentos para mi familia. Yo entiendo eso en parte," dijo Fannin. "Pero al mismo tiempo, no creo que podemos darles carta blanca y dejar que cualquiera o todos vengan a este país y aprovechen nuestros recursos. Creo que la declaración es clara en que no estamos dando cartas blancas a todos, para hacer legales a todos los ilegales. La declaración es bastante fuerte en cuanto a cómo debe hacerse exactamente el proceso y lo que se debe hacer." --30-- Jerry Pierce es el director editorial de la publicación Southern Baptist TEXAN, de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas. Está disponible en www.texanonline.net. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Concursante de American Idol abre puertas para ministerio en Chile by Por Tristan Taylor Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday SANTIAGO, Chile (BP)--Sean Michel sonrió a través de su distintiva barba de 30 centímetros mientras deslizaba la correa de su guitarra sobre el hombro y saludó a la multitud en el club nocturno El Huevo con el poco español que conoce. El ex-concursante de American Idol (Ídolo Americano) y su banda luego irrumpieron en el sonido del Mississippi Delta blues-rock. Pero a diferencia de otros músicos que tocaban esa noche, la banda de Sean Michel cantó acerca de la necesidad de Dios y de la salvación que viene solamente a través de la fe en Jesucristo que cada persona tiene. "Vinimos [a Chile] a abrir puertas que otros ministerios no pudieron abrir," dijo Jay Newman, el representante de Michel. "A alcanzar lugares que solamente una banda de rock podría -- a crear una visión para la iniciación de movimientos de iniciación de iglesias entre las culturas clandestinas y alienadas de Chile." La banda de Sean Michel recientemente viajó a través del área central de Chile y presentó más de 15 shows en bares, iglesias, escuelas y parques. El grupo consiste de los bautistas del sur Sean Michel, cantante; Alvin Rapien, guitarrista; Seth Atchley, bajista; y Tyler Groves, percusionista. "Aunque somos una banda de blues rock 'n' roll, somos una extensión de la iglesia," dijo Michel. "Somos algo así como 'musimisioneros' si así lo quieren llamar." MÚSICOS ENFOCADOS EN LAS MISIONES La banda se formó después de que Michel y Newman se conocieron mientras eran estudiantes de la Universidad Bautista Ouachita de Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Mientras los dos estaban allí, comenzaron a grabar y a vender la música de Michel como una manera de recaudar fondos para viajes de misión a África y Asia. "Solamente estábamos tratando de recaudar fondos para un viaje de misión, pero también hemos visto a Dios hablándole a la gente a través de la música," dijo Michel. "Así que era algo como: 'Bueno, tal vez necesitamos hacer algo con esto," y nos volvimos un ministerio musical. Pero siempre está enraizado en misiones y...en la Gran Comisión." Michel se graduó de Ouachita en el 2001, Newman en el 2004. En el 2007, Newman habló con Michel para que hiciera una prueba para American Idol. La exposición que recibió Michel a través del show de televisión ganó una más amplia audiencia para su ministerio. "Todo el asunto de American Idol fue muy extraño," dijo Michel. "Fue como algo repentino. Pero el Señor lo usó de gran manera." Durante su prueba, Michel cantó a todo pulmón la emotiva interpretación de Johnny Cash "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (Dios te va a atrapar). El video de la audición se fue en el Internet como un virus. Pronto estaba dando entrevistas radiales en las cuales se identificaba como cristiano y dirigía a los oyentes a las bandas cargadas de música Gospel en MySpace page. En su siguiente viaje de misión a Asia, Michel y Newman se dieron cuenta que ser reconocidos les daba acceso a sitios a los que no podrían haber entrado antes. La banda es ahora una extensión oficial de First Southern Baptist Church (Primera Iglesia Bautista del Sur) de Bryant, Arkansas, donde los músicos han sido miembros activos de los ministerios de música y de jóvenes. Cada viaje de misión que han realizado involucra trabajar con los misioneros de la Junta de Misiones Internacionales (IMB por sus siglas en inglés). "Somos bautistas del sur," dijo Michel. Es con ellos con quienes nos empatamos." EXCURSIÓN DE FE "En los viajes de misión de corto tiempo, tú puedes planear, pero tienes que estar dispuesto a hacer cambio de planes," dijo Michel. Cuando la banda llegó a Chile, recibieron la sorpresa de que su programa no estaba ni siquiera cerca de estar lleno como esperaban. Casi no había sitios públicos reservados para los shows, y muchas iglesias cautelosas del rock habían declinado recibir a la banda. "La barrera más grande que teníamos era los pastores," dijo Cliff Case, un misionero de la IMB en Santiago, Chile, y graduado en 1984 de Ouachita. "Los pastores de mayor edad en dos o tres diferentes ocasiones se excusaron por no hacerlo. Fue una verdadera frustración en ese sentido." Decepcionada por la falta de interés, la banda oró pidiendo la ayuda de Dios. Conocieron a José Campos -- o Pepe, como la banda llegó a conocerlo. Campos trabaja con la música y con la juventud para Ministry of the Down and Out (Ministerio a los indigentes), un ministerio cristiano independiente que busca alcanzar a la demografía a menudo ignorada de Santiago. Campos pudo usar esta conexión para reservar shows para la banda en sitios de los cuales no hubieran sabido de otra manera. "Si hubiéramos encontrado a Pepe (Campos) dos o tres semanas antes de que el grupo viniera, no hay forma de decir cuántos shows habríamos realizado," dijo Case, quien conoció a Newman en Ouachita cuando Case y su esposa, Cinthy, eran misioneros en residencia allí. Campos reservó el show en El Huevo, posiblemente el club chileno más popular. Tocar allí le ha dado a la banda musical credibilidad entre los rockeros chilenos. Y, una iglesia chilena reportó que un joven aceptó a Cristo después de escuchar a Newman hablar antes de un show. La banda ya está contemplando regresar en un viaje el próximo año. ABRIENDO NUEVAS PUERTAS Compartir el evangelio a través de sus canciones es solamente el inicio de la banda de Sean Michel. Su visión es la de ser un catalizador para ayudar a las iglesias -- y a los misioneros -- a conectarse con la gente perdida de las comunidades. "Dios no está salvando las almas a través de bandas de rock," dijo Michel. "Él está salvando al mundo a través de la iglesia. Y siempre será a través del cuerpo local." La banda quiere ver iglesias llevar sus ministerios más allá de las puertas de la iglesia. "Si ustedes van a querer legítimamente alcanzar a la gente perdida, van a tener que salir," dijo Michel. "Vayan a los lugares oscuros. Esos son los lugares que necesitamos alcanzar." El ministerio de la banda en Chile abrió nuevas puertas para que los misioneros de la IMB alcancen la subcultura musical joven de la sociedad chilena. "Ellos sentaron las bases para más oportunidades," dijo Case. "Ahora tenemos una red con quien hablar y cómo organizarnos. Nos podemos enfocar en cómo usar el trabajo que ellos están haciendo de manera que podamos ganar gente para el Señor e iniciar nuevas iglesias." --30-- Tristan Taylor escribe para la Junta de Misiones Internacionales y vive en las Américas. -------------------------------------------------------------------- KATRINA: La devastación de la tormenta, la determinación de los fieles by Por Karen L. Willoughby Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday NUEVA ORLEANS (BP)--Han pasado ya cinco años desde que el Huracán Katrina pasara a toda velocidad por el sureste de Louisiana y en resto de la zona central de la Costa del Golfo. Se registraron más de 1,800 muertes. Miles de miles de personas quedaron sin hogar; en Nueva Orleans, el Buró del Censo de los EE UU reportó una baja del 53.9 por ciento en su población entre abril del 2000 y julio del 2006. (La población calculada en 485,000 por el Buró del Censo en el 2000 se redujo a 352,000 según informó la oficina del alcalde a mediados del 2009). Más de $81 mil millones en daños a las propiedades hicieron que Katrina fuera el desastre estadounidense más caro de su historia. El impacto emocional que tuvo la tormenta en los residentes del área sigue siendo alto. "Hablé con un amigo en Florida luego de Katrina, quien había pasado por [el huracán] Andrew en 1992," dijo Lonnie Wascom, director de misiones de las tres asociaciones bautistas de North Shore que planifican unirse más tarde este mismo año, debido en gran parte a Katrina. "Me dijo que pasarían 10 años antes de que la mayoría de la gente se recupere, y mirándolo desde el quinto año, diría que tenía toda la razón." Dennis Watson, pastor de lo que ahora es Celebration Church en sus varias sucursales y cuya matriz está en Metairie, un suburbio de Nueva Orleans, en el banco este del Río Misisipi, señaló un efecto tangible que sigue presente en el área metropolitana de Nueva Orleans. "Antes de Katrina teníamos un pequeño ministerio de consejería en nuestra iglesia," dijo Watcon. "Sin embargo, después de Katrina nos convencimos de que más que nada –- a parte de una relación con Jesús -- la gente necesitaba consejería post-trauma. Volvimos a lanzar el Celebration Hope Center el cual ahora tiene más de 25 consejeros empleados y ministra a cientos de personas cada semana." Dos semanas después de Katrina, la iglesia, localizada en lo había sido un centro comercial amplio sobre la concurrida calle Airline Drive, había adquirido una sucursal en Transcontinental Drive en Metairie al unirse a la antes llamada Crescent City Baptist Church. El campus principal de Celebration recibió más de seis pies de agua en la tormenta, mientras que el nuevo local tuvo sólo 18 pulgadas. Así que, después de reparar el local en Transcontinental Drive, la congregación se mudó ahí. La nueva adquisición, cuya intención original era que fuera una congregación satélite, fue una provisión enviada por Dios para que la devastada congregación de Celebration pudiera aferrarse entre sí y ministrar por toda la comunidad, dijo Watson. El estacionamiento del local en Airline Drive estaba en una ubicación idónea para que Celebration Church montara sus masivos esfuerzos de alivio en desastres. La iglesia calcula que sirvió a 140,000 familias con sus esfuerzos de ayuda post-Katrina, proveyendo para las necesidades de alimentos, agua, ropa y artículos para bebés, a la vez que también ayudó a reparar y reconstruir casas. La iglesia perdió 60 por ciento de sus miembros debido al desplazamiento a otras ciudades, y aún así "somos una congregación mayor a la que teníamos antes de Katrina," dijo Watson, particularmente señalando a "la gente que han sido ganados para Cristo" a través de los ministerios de la iglesia. Celebration Church finalmente se mudó de nuevo a local en Airline Drive en junio. David Crosby, en retrospectiva, ve la mano de Dios trabajando en la preparación de la iglesia que pastorea -- la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Nueva Orleans -- para el ministerio post-Katrina. La iglesia dedicó en agosto del 2004 su nuevo local de 17 acres en el distrito Lakeside de Nueva Orleans. Lakeside se inundó debido a la ruptura de un dique, pero la iglesia no se inundó porque el comité de construcción había tomado una decisión antes de construirlo para que los cimientos fueran 18 pulgadas más altos que lo que requería el código del ayuntamiento. Las aguas de la inundación quedaron justo al borde de las puertas de entrada. Entonces, la PIB de Nueva Orleans pudo ser la anfitriona de la Iglesia Bautista de Franklin Avenue, la cual quedó hundida en 13 pies de agua en el Noveno Distrito durante tres semanas. La iglesia en Franklin Avenue, donde Fred Luter es el pastor, había tenido la mayor congregación bautista del sur en Louisiana antes de Katrina. Sus miembros comenzaron a reunirse en tres grupos después de Katrina: en Houston, Baton Rouge y en la PIB de Nueva Orleans. Los otros dos grupos se convirtieron en congregaciones independientes con pastores formados por Luter. Y después de dos años y medio en el local de la PIB de Nueva Orleans, Franklin Avenue reabrió sus puertas en abril del 2008. También en el 2004, Crosby implementó una campaña de construcción para hacer 40 casas nuevas en un área deteriorada en el centro de la ciudad, la cual él bautizó como Baptist Crossroads. La iglesia estaba lista, entonces, para el trabajo que hizo Habitat for Humanity después de Katrina, en la construcción de casas—65 hasta la fecha. Baptist Crossroads, ahora un consorcio entre bautistas y Habitat for Humanity, recientemente anunció un plan de cinco años para ampliar su visión y trabajar en un área de 185 cuadras en la parte superior del Noveno Distrito. "Nuestra meta es que en cinco años todos los lotes en el barrio determinado sean 'mejorados'" según dice su página en Internet, www.baptistcorssroads.org. "'Mejorados' puede ser una casa nueva, una casa remodelada, o un lote vacío bien mantenido para evitar que decaigan las estructuras." La PIB de Nueva Orleans también proveyó un lugar para que otros bautistas del sur alabaran a Dios mientras no podían usar sus propios edificios luego de Katrina, y su amplio centro de alabanza se convirtió en una conveniente área de reunión para una variedad de esfuerzos de ayuda para la azotada ciudad, incluyendo el ministerio de Ayuda en Desastres de la CBS, la Cruz Roja y el Ejército de Salvación. Otras iglesias bautistas en el área metropolitana de Nueva Orleans –- incluyendo la zona North Shore en el Lago Pontchartain -- tienen historias similares de la provisión adelantada de Dios, mucho antes de Katrina. El común denominador, de quien se habla con gran fervor, es la organización para alivio en desastres de los bautistas del sur. "Gracias a que los bautistas del sur habían hecho su tarea y habían creado un entretejido de canales efectivos para el ministerio, nuestra denominación respondió rápidamente y efectivamente ante las necesidades de las personas," dijo Tobey Pitman, un misionero nacional con la Junta de Misiones Norteamericanas. Él era el director de Centro Brantley para los indigentes cerca del centro de Nueva Orleans, el cual Katrina dañó totalmente. Después de haber servido a través de NOAH Rebuilt de la JMN, se reubicó en North Shore donde dirige un ministerio comunitario. "Katrina sirvió para reenfocar a la denominación a través de Nueva Orleans," dijo Pitman. "Esto se demuestra en el enorme número de voluntarios que vinieron de inmediato y que siguen dejando huellas y marcas en los corazones durante ya cinco años. "La increíble cantidad de dinero en ayuda para el desastre de Katrina a través de la JMN es un barómetro confiable de la manera en que el pueblo bautista del sur se sintió con respecto a Nueva Orleans," continuó Pitman. "En cierto sentido, Katrina nos recordó nuestras raíces a los bautistas del sur, nuestro corazón por la gente y el valor de la inversión del Evangelio en las vidas de las personas –- salvos y perdidos por igual -- quienes están sufriendo por el dolor y la pérdida." Entre las fortalezas de los bautistas del sur están su disposición para ser voluntarios, para dar hasta que duela con tal de satisfacer necesidades, de compartir el Evangelio, y quedarse hasta el último estirón, dijo Freddie Arnold, quien dirigió los esfuerzos de alivio por toda la Asociación Bautista de Nueva Orleans (el nuevo nombre para la Asociación Bautista del Área Metropolitana de Nueva Orleans, que ahora incluye a la Asociación Bautista de Plaquemines, como otra consecuencia de la tormenta). "La devastación de la tormenta creó tal necesidad que la gente estaba abierta a cualquier tipo de ayuda," dijo Arnold. "Para obtener esta ayuda estaban dispuestos a escuchar las presentaciones del Evangelio con más atención que nunca, y había una mayor apertura para el Evangelio, como nunca antes." Wascom, el director de misiones de North Shore, habló acerca de la manera en que los bautistas del sur se unieron y dejaron a un lado sus necesidades para ser las manos y los pies de Jesús ante la gente abatida por la tormenta. "Las cosas cambiaron exponencialmente para la zona sureste de Louisiana, y creo que tuvo un efecto que cubre toda la Convención Bautista del Sur," dijo Wascom. "El hecho es, la porción este de mi región recibió daños tan severos como los que hubo en algunas partes de Nueva Orleans pero nuestras iglesias dejaron a un lado sus necesidades de inmediato y comenzaron a unirse a las iglesias en Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard y Plaquemines para ayudar en los esfuerzos de alivio y recuperación. Esta cooperación altruista es el recuerdo más duradero para mí." Y Katrina se convirtió en una oportunidad para aprender lecciones importantes. "Haber vivido el Huracán Katrina fue uno de los momentos más difíciles de mi vida como creyente," dijo Fred Luter, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Franklin Avenue. "También fue el tiempo en que aprendí el verdadero significado de 'esperar en el Señor'. ¡La tribulación produce paciencia!" Dios enseñó a David Crosby, de la Primera Bautista, que "el proceso de planificación siempre está sujeto a interrupciones. El caos es un promotor de nuevas ideas. La gente en crisis busca la ayuda de Dios. Recuperarse del desastre depende mayormente del desarrollo previo del carácter." Las lecciones que aprendieron Dennis Watson de Celebration Church son: "Tormentas -- naturales, físicas, emocionales, financieras, relacionales, vocacionales, espirituales -- forman parte de la vida. Dios es todopoderoso y puede sortear el impacto de las tormentas. El Señor estará con nosotros a través de las tormentas de la vida. Dios nos habla a través de las tormentas de la vida. El Señor usa las tormentas para hacernos más como Jesús." --30-- Karen L. Willoughby es la directora editorial de la publicación Baptist Message, de la Convención Bautista de Louisiana. -------------------------------------------------------------------- COMPENDIO MATRIMONIO: Glenn Beck recriminado por postura del 'matrimonio gay';... by Por Michael Foust Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Un líder pro-familia recrimina al animador conservador Glenn Beck por decir que la legalización del "matrimonio gay" no dañará la libertad religiosa. Al presentarse el 11 de agosto en el programa de FoxNews llamado "O'Reilly Factor," Beck tomo un acercamiento libertario al asunto y dijo que él tenía "cosas más importantes que hacer." La legislación de un juez federal en contra de la Proposición 8 en California fue vagamente mencionada en los programas de radio y televisión de Beck. "¿Cree usted que el matrimonio gay es de alguna manera una amenaza para el país?" Preguntó Bill O'Reilly el presentador de FoxNews. "¿Una amenaza para el país?" Preguntó Beck. "Sí, ¿va a dañarlo en alguna forma?" Respondió O'Reilly. "No. ¿Van a venir los gays y nos van a tomar?" Respondió Beck sarcásticamente. O'Reilly preguntó si la legalización del "matrimonio gay" dañaría al país, y Beck respondió: "Creo que Thomas Jefferson dijo: 'Si ni me quiebra una pierna ni me mete la mano en el bolsillo ¿en qué me afecta?'" Beck añadió: "Mientras no sigamos el camino de Canadá, donde ahora es un problema para las iglesias tener libertad de expression..." Sin embargo, la libertad de expresión y la libertad religiosa serán impactadas si el "matrimonio gay" es legalizado, dijo Peter LaBarbera, presidente de Americans For Truth (Estadounidenses a favor de la verdad) respecto a la homosexualidad. LaBarbera escribió la columna "Por qué Glenn Beck está equivocado," que enumeró varias razones por las que la legalización del "matrimonio gay" dañaría las libertades. LaBarbera dijo que: -- pasaría sobre la "documentada voluntad del pueblo en los 31 estados en los que ya han votado -- algunos por márgenes enormes –- preserver el matrimonio en la ley como está: entre un hombre y una mujer." -- forzaría a los "hombres y mujeres de negocios a subsidiar las relaciones homosexuales" a través de los beneficios de los seguros "inclusive si ellos correctamente creen que esas relaciones son inmorales y desviadas." -- allanaría el camino "para aun un mayor adoctrinamiento a favor de la homosexualidad en las escuelas de la nación del que ya estamos viendo bajo el mandato de una antidiscriminación de la orientación sexual." -- abriría la puerta para que los maestros homosexuales en las escuelas públicas hablaran abiertamente de sus cónyuges. --permitiría que se reescribieran los libros de texto para caracterizar el "matrimonio gay" como una cosa buena que fue parte de un exitoso movimiento de derechos civiles. -- resultaría en que aquellos que se opongan al "matrimonio gay" fueran descritos como intolerantes que equivalen a los oponentes racistas del movimiento de derechos civiles de los años 1950s y 1960s y que necesitan ser castigados por el gobierno "para ponerlos en su lugar." -- dañaría el movimiento de adopción y posiblemente llevaría al cierre de las agencias de adopción que rehúsen la adopción por parte de parejas homosexuales, como pasó con Catholic Charities (Caridades Católicas) en Massachusetts. EXPRESIDENTE REPUBLICANO DE COMITÉ ES HOMOSEXUAL -- Ken Mehlman, expresidente del Comité Nacional Republicano que fuera el director de la campaña 2004 del presidente George W. Bush, le dijo al Atlantic en una historia del 25 de agosto que es homosexual. También dijo que respalda el "matrimonio gay," lo cual es irónico, debido a que los expertos a menudo acreditan la reelección del 2004 de Bush -- por lo menos parcialmente -- a los social conservadores que salieron en masa en 11 estados a votar por una enmienda constitucional al matrimonio. Ohio, un estado indeciso clave que favoreció a Bush, aprobó una enmienda al matrimonio ese año. "Me ha tomado 43 años sentirme cómodo con esta parte de mi vida," dijo Mehlman, quien nunca se ha casado. "Cada quien tiene su propia senda que recorrer, su propio peregrinaje, y para mí, durante los últimos meses, le he dicho a mi familia, amigos, ex-colegas, y colegas actuales, y ellos han sido maravillosos y me han apoyado. El proceso ha sido algo que me ha hecho una mejor persona y más feliz. Es algo que desearía haber hecho hace años." --30-- Michael Foust es editor asistente de Baptist Press. -------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL: ¿Agotado física y emocionalmente? by Por Luis R. López Date: August 27, 2010 - Friday NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Vivimos en un mundo lleno de compromisos y demandas. Las agendas de hoy parecen estar repletas de reuniones, calendarios, citas y fechas topes que satisfacer. El correo electrónico, los medios sociales como Facebook, Twitter y otros, la internet, los celulares parecen competir despiadadamente por nuestra atención. Desean tenernos cautivos. Algunas veces, parecen haberse convertido en plagas que nos persiguen en vez de herramientas de trabajo y comunicación. Añada a esto las demandas del ministerio, la situación actual de país y las circunstancias personales y/o familiares de cada uno. Al final del día quedamos exhaustos, cansados, sin fuerzas. En otras palabras, nos quedamos sin combustible, sin nada en el tanque. Si alguna vez se ha sentido así, ¡Bienvenido al club! Un estudio reciente hecho por LifeWay Español revela que una gran cantidad de pastores y líderes de nuestras iglesias hispanas enfrentan desafíos, tensiones y frustraciones. Parte de esta realidad tiene que ver con la dinámica de nuestras congregaciones y los muchos sombreros que estos tienen que ponerse mientras ministran. Muchos tienen otros trabajos que demandan un horario completo de 40 horas a la semana. En medio de esto tienen que preparar estudios bíblicos, sermones, hacer visitas, dar consejería y aun hacer parte de la labor de mantenimiento de los propios templos. Después tienen que llegar a casa, ser esposo y padres. En pocas palabras, pueden ponerse muchos sombreros en un solo día. Por un lado, nuestra pasión por servir al Maestro, el hacer las cosas de la mejor manera y las presiones del mundo nos pueden dejar agotados, desgastados física y emocionalmente. Como referencia bíblica, el profeta Elías sufrió de este tipo de agotamiento y cansancio. Las escrituras dicen que sucedió después de una experiencia tipo "cima de una montaña." Lo que he encontrado en mi propia vida es que después de períodos intensos y arduos de trabajo esto sucede y puede llevarnos hasta la depresión. Recientemente, escuchamos de la decisión de nuestro hermano Johnny Hunt , presidente saliente de SBC y su esposa, de tomar un período extendido de ausencia del trabajo pastoral en su iglesia basado en el consejo de su médico citando este tipo de agotamiento. Me alegro por el hno. Hunt y su esposa. No porque estén exhaustos, pero porque decidieron hacer caso al buen consejo. En otras palabras, decidieron tomar un tiempo para descansar. Hunt pidió permiso a la iglesia e informó a sus amigos a través de Twitter y Facebook que tomaría un receso. ¡Los felicito! Hace poco regresé de unas vacaciones. Los adictos al trabajo como yo a veces no queremos ni siquiera decir que estamos de vacaciones. Pensamos que es casi es un pecado descasar y que debemos estar "trabajando" las 24 horas del día, los 365 días del año. ¡Cuántas veces he sido culpable de esto! Si no me cree, pregúnteselo a mi esposa. Lo que no recordamos es que cuando descansamos recargamos las "pilas" o baterías para regresar a los quehaceres diarios. Regresamos con mas fuerzas y nuestra mente se distrae de lo que hemos estado haciendo permitiéndonos regresar a la labor cotidiana con mayor creatividad. Todo esto para decir que el descanso es necesario. Los doctores James P. Porowski y Paul B. Carlisle en su libro "Fortaleza para el camino de la vida" hablan del descanso como uno de los pasos para vencer el desaliento y la depresión. La depresión sigue siendo el principal problema emocional de nuestra nación. Muchos cristianos creen que la vida debería estar libre de problemas. Una vida sin problemas sería ideal, pero irreal. La Biblia está llena de relatos en los que el pueblo de Dios no solamente experimentó desánimo, sino que se sintió abrumado por completo. Grandes hombres de Dios no fueron inmunes al desánimo y sin embargo, siguieron hallando esperanza. El desaliento no nos descalifica para el servicio de Dios. La Biblia dice que Elías "se fue por el desierto... y se sentó debajo de un enebro... deseando morirse" (1 Kings 19:4). Aquí tenemos a un hombre que experimentó una victoria arrolladora pero ahora se sienta sumido en la más absoluta desesperación y sin esperanza. Esta experiencia ilustra en forma extraordinaria un hecho básico de la vida: Cualquiera puede desanimarse. La última oración del versículo 4 revela la profundidad de la desesperanza del profeta: "Quítame la vida, pues no soy yo mejor que mis padres." Elías sentía que había fracasado rotundamente en la tarea asignada. La verdad es que Elías ignoró sus necesidades físicas. Los versículos 5 al 7 registran una secuencia interesante. Elías durmió, comió, bebió y durmió un poco más. Con frecuencia ignoramos estas necesidades básicas cuando pasamos por momentos de estrés. No podemos subestimar la importancia de una dieta balanceada, el ejercicio físico y el descanso adecuado. Cuidar de las necesidades físicas es tan importante que Dios envió a un ángel cuya única misión era ayudar a Elías con el cuidado de su cuerpo. Es mi oración que "el Dios de esperanza os llene de todo gozo y paz en el creer, para que abundéis en esperanza por el poder del Espíritu Santo" (Romanos 15.13). Porque El vive, --30-- Luis R. López es el Director de LifeWay Español de LifeWay Church Resources en Nashville, Tenn. http://www.LifeWay.com/espanol.