The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-09/03/2015 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Partnering with state conventions by Jason Allen Date: September 03, 2015 - Thursday EDITOR'S NOTE: Jason Allen is president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- I had the privilege of meeting with executive directors of the Baptist state conventions in the Midwest earlier this year. I presented on how, together, we might best serve the churches in our region. We enjoyed a robust dialog after my presentation about how we might best accomplish these shared goals. As I prepared for our time together, I was reminded of how similar our ministries are, and how many of our challenges and opportunities are common to us both. I also was reminded of how our constituency is one and the same -- Southern Baptist churches. Thus, I spoke not about what they should do, but what we should do, and how, together, we can best serve in the years ahead and most effectively incorporate the millennial generation. Here are key points of what I shared. Mission clarity First, we must vigilantly maintain mission clarity. Like Midwestern Seminary, all ministries that are intended to serve the church must do just that -- serve the church. Churches founded us, they fund us and they expect us to serve them. How we best serve the church will vary from entity to entity and state to state. Nonetheless, we must know the needs and expectations of the churches we serve. We should study them, listen to them and give our energies and resources for them. Meeting the needs and expectations of our churches may require fundamentally recalibrating longstanding organizational structures. If changes are needed, we must be willing to make them. If we do not, churches will eventually make those changes for us. Most especially, in order to serve our churches, we must know their ministers. We must seek out opportunities to listen to them, network with them and truly consider their concerns and insights. We can -- and should -- take the relational initiative. After all, we are called to serve them, not vice versa. Optimal stewardship Given the financial limitations most every Christian organization experiences, optimal stewardship is a must. Mission clarity informs optimal stewardship. Interrogating our own entities with the right questions is helpful to inform our stewardship: "What do our churches expect us to accomplish on their behalf, and how do we most optimally steward our resources to that end?" These days, answering hard questions about perceived duplicative ministries, mission creep and overstaffing, among other things, are standard operating procedure. These questions should be welcome and be humbly responded to with clear and compelling answers. The burden is on us, as stewards on behalf of our churches, to continually earn their trust. Generational transition Southern Baptists are now experiencing a generational transition that touches nearly every aspect of our work. At the national level, young entity heads like Russell Moore, David Platt and myself are indicative of this transition. At the state convention level, generational transition is the norm as well. Incorporating the millennial generation does not give away our future; it ensures it. This must include more than trying to sell them on the Cooperative Program. The millennial generation, like every generation, will support that which they are passionate about. A generation that has given up much to follow Christ -- and even more to pursue ministry -- is most impassioned by ministries that are bold for the Great Commission, the local church and sound doctrine. As the late architect Daniel Burnham once observed, small thoughts and little plans have no magic within them to inspire the hearts of men. This is especially true when it comes to the millennial generation. As Southern Baptists, how well we enlist, equip, empower and embolden the next generation will do more than shape our future; it will determine whether we have one. Value added As Southern Baptists we have a great story to tell. The health of our entities, the unique effectiveness of the Cooperative Program, the training and deploying of thousands of ministers and missionaries, and so much more are compelling reasons to be committed Southern Baptists. For Midwestern Seminary, I want our value to Southern Baptist churches to be so obvious and impactful that churches reflexively look to us to serve them. That is a worthy goal for our state conventions -- and every denominational entity -- as well. A compelling vision is never in the past tense. We must project what we are doing now and what, by God's grace, we intend to do in the future. If that vision does not resonate with our churches, we must be willing to course correct until it does. Inherited brand loyalty left town long ago, and it is not likely to come back anytime soon. We must make our case continually before our churches, and, thankfully, we have a makable case. The executive directors with whom I visited are friends, colleagues and cherished ministry partners. They, and the entities they lead, are doing good Gospel work, often under challenging financial circumstances. I was pleased to speak to them as a brother to brothers, and we had a good and spirited conversation as a result. Both the national and state conventions serve the same constituency -- Southern Baptist churches. The SBC will thrive inasmuch as our state conventions thrive, and vice versa. As we most faithfully listen to and serve those churches, we will most complement one another, and our respective ministries will most flourish. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Student team befriends Bangkok 'ladyboys' by Paige Turner Date: September 03, 2015 - Thursday THAILAND (BP) -- They walked a couple of blocks to escape the crowds and loud music, gathered in a quaint coffee shop while local musicians practiced below and took turns telling about conversations with friends during the past hour of outreach. The five college students retold conversations with excitement because they'd met with friends, yet their words were also marked by heartache at the weightiness of their friends' struggles: low self-esteem, loneliness, family problems, unhappiness at work and financial issues. Although trained in cross-cultural missions to unreached people groups, this International Mission Board Nehemiah Team acknowledged these were hard issues to address. Since 2004 IMB has sent out nearly 1,400 students ages 18-29 on Nehemiah Teams that provide summer missions opportunities with potential for eternal impact. And these students from Texas and Tennessee went to perhaps the most spiritually dark place in an Asian city of 8 million-plus known for human trafficking, child prostitution and sex tourism. For the students, it was an opportunity to befriend a group of people with whom few are sharing the Gospel. That group is Bangkok's "ladyboys," the common way of referring to those who self-identify as transgendered men in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand. About 10,000 "ladyboys" in Thailand's capital make a living in the sex industry. Some work in bars where the workers are only ladyboys, and that's where Nehemiah Team members Zayahary Ortiz and Natalie Marking looked for opportunities to build friendships and share the Gospel. As soon as they walked up, Ortiz spotted Melanie,* an individual she'd met a few times before, sitting on a stool outside the bar in a black and white bikini, quite focused on applying makeup. Like many others Melanie is consumed with wanting to be beautiful, unashamedly staring often in mirrors lining the bar walls, making sure nothing is out of place. "Melanie has worked in bars for 10 years, 11 months at this one. She only gets two days off a month," explained Ortiz, a pre-med major at the University of Texas at Austin. Melanie's schedule of working nights and sleeping during the day, with little time off, is typical. The lure of financial security brings some into the bars. Others choose it because, although they live in a country more accepting than most, finding other employment isn't always easy. Regardless of how or why Melanie ended up there, Ortiz wanted to show her that she cared. That's really the goal of every Nehemiah Team, no matter where they serve in the world -- to reach the unreached and hard to reach with Jesus' love. For this Bangkok team that meant going into uncomfortable places and intentionally getting to know individuals who are uncertain of their sexual identity. "We have to spend time with them," Ortiz said. "They have to know we are here to care for them like no one has." Ortiz wanted to talk with Melanie, so she waited inside while Melanie got ready. She was early, so the lights were still on and others were also making finishing touches to hair and makeup. Two long rows of benches with purple cushions face each other across a skinny rectangle dance stage. Ortiz sat so close she could almost reach out and touch the stage. After a little while house lights dimmed, green disco lights swirled and skinny black high heels emerged on the dance floor. The music was loud enough that Ortiz strained to hear Melanie sitting next to her as she talked about missing family eight hours away and trying to save vacation time to visit. Ortiz's smile, bubbly personality and head-turning laughter were bright spots in an otherwise dark place of men desperate to be accepted as women. Melanie, 31, has lived a long time as a "ladyboy." Some boys show feminine tendencies as children and are encouraged to live in this lifestyle while others, even if not showing feminine tendencies, may be raised as women because of cultural, economic or spiritual reasons. They change their hair and clothing, and some even pay for expensive, painful surgeries to make certain physical attributes more like that of a woman. Sitting near Ortiz, Marking talked with Traci,* whom she met the week before. Traci talked about her dislike for working in the bar and her struggle with having divorced parents. Marking could relate, as her parents divorced when she was 10. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center student discovered she and Traci share the same taste in music. Commonalities like music and movies, and even struggles like divorce, helped Marking look beyond lifestyle to see Traci as someone to whom she could relate. "You can see their personalities," Marking said. "You realize how much life they have." Some nights the Nehemiah students went to bars where staff from the non-profit Dton Naam, whom they served alongside this summer, already had friendships. Although a number of organizations in Bangkok help women trapped in prostitution, Dton Naam is the only one working with men in the ladyboy lifestyle. Other nights, like this particular night, the collegiate missionaries went where -- in just a few weeks -- they'd established their own friendships. Friends in a few weeks? With ladyboys in bars? The students were skeptical at first, too. But it happened. "You get comfortable because you've built a relationship," Ortiz said casually, as if there was nothing unusual about their ministry setting. "You just forget about where you are." But can you look beyond bikinis and high heels and see the heart of someone desperate for love from their Heavenly Father? It happened for Lee Webber. The Kilgore College student, who uses words like 'fixin' in his Texas twang, had no idea what to expect from a summer far, far away from his southern roots. "How is a kid from East Texas going to make a difference?" Webber wondered. Webber's willingness to listen made a difference for Patrick,* who works in a gay bar but makes little money. Webber teared up talking about his friend who is pushing 40 and a little "old" to be working the bar scene. "It's amazing I made friends in such a short time. I can't explain it," Webber said. "God did a miracle in our hearts." He wasn't the only one who saw miracles happen. During a prayer time that week the students wrote on slips of paper names of friends they'd met during the summer. They kept coming, name after name of friends who needed prayer: someone who doesn't eat a lot because he doesn't feel pretty, someone else who wants to open a coffee shop but feels pressure to work in the bars to make money and support parents and younger siblings. With names in hand the students sat on the floor and cried out to God for their eternal salvation and release from a lifestyle of bondage. They prayed for more people willing to go to uncomfortable places and reach the hard to reach -- people they now call their friends. *Names changed. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Students in Vt. get Calif. music resources by Sarah Carr Date: September 03, 2015 - Thursday BENNINGTON, Vt. (BP) -- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary worked with Northeastern Baptist College during the first half of August to pack up a 2,200-volume collection of music references, antique hymnals and books on music from the seminary's Mill Valley campus in California and deliver it safely to Vermont at NEBC's Hogue Library in Bennington. "At creation God gave us the gift of music," said James Mancuso, NEBC vice president of library services. "Through this donation, He's given us the gift of music books." This gift is a milestone in NEBC's budding music program. "We are excited to support Northeastern Baptist College as they expand their training opportunities for worship leaders in the Northeast," Golden Gate Seminary President Jeff Iorg said. The seminary posted information on a Christian librarian email list earlier this year concerning the available Mill Valley campus music collection. With the seminary having phased out its music program and preparing to move to a new location, Mancuso saw the opportunity as God's provision. Plans were made for Mancuso to fly out and arrange the transfer. After a safe journey, NEBC students began unpacking and shelving the collection inside a special music room in the library. Golden Gate Seminary's director of library services, Robert (Bob) Phillips, was delighted about the collection's donation to NEBC, saying, "The 40 years of effort by Golden Gate librarians and faculty to assemble and preserve these books have now been reinvested in Northeastern Baptist College." The Golden Gate Seminary collection will be enhanced by another donation scheduled to arrive in October. An Oklahoma church team from Tulsa, who worked on construction projects for NEBC in the past, will be sending a 1,700-item music collection. Between these two donations, NEBC's Hogue Library now can offer substantial resources to students enrolled in the college's music program. "It fulfills a great need that we would not have been able to meet on our own," Matt Hasty, adjunct professor of music at NEBC, noted. The resources are even more important as the need for musicians grows, NEBC President Mark Ballard said. "Even though Northeastern Baptist College is located in the least-churched state in America, God is at work, people are being saved and churches are being planted," Ballard said. "With every new church plant, the need for musicians grows. As our students train to serve in music ministry, they also serve the churches and church plants in the Northeast. What a blessing to have Golden Gate join us in impacting the Northeast with this wonderful gift." NEBC's bachelor of arts in music ministry is designed to give students a solid biblical and musical foundation for ministry. Students are educated in music, music theory and biblical studies while applying what they are learning throughout each semester. Though students choose from concentrations in voice, keyboarding or guitar, they receive training in all three areas, along with regular practice through chapel and local church music ministries, resulting in well-rounded musicians. Among the next steps for NEBC's music program will be the acquisition of recently published books on music and a subscription to an audio database, with the college trusting God to provide for these needs as well. "It must surely be providential," Phillips said, "that this collection … would again support new Baptist work outside the South." Northeastern Baptist College, with an enrollment of 59 students, achieved Vermont accreditation and degree-granting authority from the State Board of Education in September 2014. NEBC is on the Web at www.nebcvt.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Heroes honored for service; 53 profess faith by Alex Sibley Date: September 03, 2015 - Thursday BOSSIER CITY, La. (BP) -- First Baptist Church of Bossier City, La., hosted "Honor our Heroes Sunday," a special day devoted to doing just that: honoring the first responders and military service personnel in and around the city. The church formally invited all police officers, firefighters and paramedics from the city, as well as individuals in active military service, particularly those stationed at nearby Barksdale Air Force Base. Hundreds accepted the invitation, and roughly 5,000 people attended the church's two worship services that day, which featured a Gospel presentation and a live interview with Taya Kyle, wife of "American Sniper" Chris Kyle, Aug. 30. By the end of the event, 53 people had prayed to receive Christ. Senior pastor Brad Jurkovich, who completed his doctor of ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2013, says the current cultural climate prompted the church to host the event. With nationally covered police shootings to the on-duty deaths of three Louisiana officers in the last month alone, Jurkovich saw the need to set aside a day to honor local first responders and military service personnel. "We just wanted to be a blessing to them. That was our first goal," he said. "Second, we wanted to share the Gospel with as many people as we could." The church offered two worship services instead of its usual one offered each Sunday. The church also held a free breakfast to those who attended the first service and a free lunch to those who attended the second. "The expectation was that our church would really demonstrate the serving passion of Christ to others," Jurkovich said. "You've got these military and first responders that, all the time, they're serving," and the church decided to say, "No, we want to serve you." Hundreds of service personnel and first responders attended the services, including the police chief, fire chief, and the new four-star general at Barksdale and his staff. The mayor of Bossier also attended, as did the mayor of Shreveport. The two worship services featured two primary activities: a Gospel presentation from Romans 5:8 and a 25-minute interview with Kyle, wife of the late U.S. Navy SEAL sniper, whose life was featured in the movie "American Sniper." During the interview, which was conducted on the platform by Jurkovich, Kyle shared about her husband, their life together, and the struggles she and her family have experienced in the two years since his death. When asked how she has been able to persevere through such difficult circumstances, Kyle said she has relied on her faith in the Lord. She explained that, had she known from the beginning that her husband would go through four tours in the Middle East and that he would be murdered upon his return home, she may not have been able to handle it. "But," she continued, "He prepares you for things, and my faith is what's getting me through." Jurkovich noted, "When you have someone whom people across the board are [asking], 'How are they getting through all of this?' and she flat-out says, 'It's because of my faith in the living God,' God starts to work on a heart through that." He added, "You follow that up with, 'Let me tell you what God did. He didn't just talk about His love; He demonstrated it.' And I said to them, 'I'm looking at an audience where many of you, [when] you see a need, your initial response is to do something about it and to save [those in trouble]. That's what God did for you. He didn't just sit on the sideline; He did something for us. And He gives us a choice to receive Him or reject Him." At the conclusion of his sermon, Jurkovich extended an invitation. The two services combined saw 53 people respond by placing their faith in Christ. "The phrase that I kept hearing as people left was, 'I didn't realize how badly I needed that kind of day of appreciation, affirmation and spiritual nourishment,'" Jurkovich said. "It was very humbling to be around all of that." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Video highlights market volatility by Timothy E. Head Date: September 03, 2015 - Thursday DALLAS (BP) -- GuideStone Financial Resources has produced a video outlining the nation's current market volatility and responses that long-term investors should consider, including remaining calm in the face of daily news, keeping a long-term focus on investments and maintaining diversification in age- and risk-appropriate investments. David S. Spika, CFA, global investment strategist for GuideStone Capital Management, LLC, narrates the video. Spika has been called on in recent days to discuss market volatility in a variety of news outlets, including cable business channel CNBC and industry news source InvestmentNews. Spika noted in the video that stock market declines and rebounds are virtually impossible to time, even for professionals, and should never be the reason for long-term investment allocation changes. "Here at GuideStone, we've been confident that market volatility would rise because the market was much too calm and investors were way too complacent," Spika explained on the video. "But we sure couldn't predict the timing of the next correction." While headlines in the media may trigger memories of the 2008 market drop and recession, Spika said the reality is that markets are constantly going through periods of correction and rally. "It's also important to be aware that big down days in the market are frequently followed by powerful rallies," he said. "Since 1945, there have been 100 declines in the S&P 500 of between 5 percent and 20 percent. On average, these declines have lasted only four months, and the market has recovered all of the loss quickly, within an average of one to three months. "We believe that what is happening now is simply a needed short-term correction and not the beginning of a bear market." Bear markets are declines in the market exceeding 20 percent that last for a year or more and almost always occur in conjunction with an economic recession. Spika said that GuideStone does not currently see any signs of a coming recession and is encouraged by current economic data. GuideStone participants and investors can make use of GuideStone Advisors' complimentary GPS: Guided Planning Services service, which can assist individuals in determining their risk tolerance and asset allocation. Participants can log in to their account at MyGuideStone.org. GuideStone Capital Management makes available this and several other videos, articles and links on current news topics related to the markets on its website, GuideStoneFunds.com, under the "News & Insights" tab. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bible Study: Sept. 6, 2015 by By staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Date: September 03, 2015 - Thursday NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups. This week's Bible study is adapted from The Gospel Project curriculum. Bible Passages: Genesis 1:1-25; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 Discussion Questions: In what ways should knowing that God created everything through His Son affect our thoughts and our emotions regarding Jesus? What are some ways we can be the light of the world and point people to the Light of the world -- Jesus? Food for Thought: In light of 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, you might reread the creation account in Genesis and say, "I see the Holy Spirit hovering and God the Father speaking, but where is the Son?" Every time we see God speak things into existence, the Son is there (John 1:1-3). All things are because of Him. Why is it so important that God created everything through the Son? Because through the Son, God gives us special revelation. Special revelation is specific in content and scope. In content, it reveals not just general things about God's power and nature -- like with general revelation -- but specifically reveals the God of the Gospel with words. It reveals the redemption plan of God to save people through the cross and resurrection of His Son. In scope, it is given to specific people at specific times in specific places. You see, the light of God's general revelation -- beginning in Genesis 1:3 -- as good as it is, it is suppressible (Romans 1:18). We need a display of God's light that is insuppressible -- the light of God's special revelation. And this insuppressible light isn't merely electromagnetic radiation; this light is a person and His name is Jesus. "For God Who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). There is a place in which these two revelations, these two lights, collide and converge, a place God can reveal Himself not only generally but also specially -- within the believer. First, as a human being, a believer represents humanity, the apex of all of God's creation (day six holds one more creation of God). We carry the greatest light of God's general revelation; but even greater than that, we as believers also bear the light of God's special revelation -- the light of Jesus Christ. This is why the Bible not only says that Jesus is the Light but that we are light (Matthew 5:14-16). If we have been created by God and He has commanded the light of Jesus to shine in our hearts, then we are doubly His. Therefore, we must now seek to discover our role in the overarching plan and purpose of God to manifest His glory and love to the world. We have to be a light to this world, and by nature, we are a light to this world. But we can't just shine with our actions; we have to shine the light of God's special revelation with words. No matter how much "good" we do in this world, people will never come to a saving knowledge of God simply by observing our actions. This is what God is telling us from the beginning. God created everything, so don't worry about anything. It's in His hands. God also created everything good. Everything surrounding you -- the sun, moon, stars, and everything else in creation -- is God saying He wants to know you and be known by you. And God created everything through His Son. Because God has revealed all that He is to us through His Son, we now live to reveal Jesus to the world. The Gospel Project The Gospel Project is a Christ-centered curriculum that examines the grand narrative of Scripture and how the Gospel transforms the lives of those it touches. Through a three-year study plan, participants are immersed in the Gospel through stories, theological concepts, and calls to missions from Genesis to Revelation. Separate study plans for kids and students/adults ensure the proper focus and depth. The Gospel Project is designed to unify an entire church under a single Christ-centered curriculum. More information, free samples, and The Gospel Project blog can be found at gospelproject.com. Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Judge sends Kentucky county clerk to jail by Tom Strode Date: September 03, 2015 - Thursday ASHLAND, Ky. (BP) -- A federal judge jailed Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis Thursday (Sept. 3) for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In finding her in contempt of court, Judge David Bunning rejected the option of fining Davis, instead ordering federal marshals to take her into custody until she agrees to abide by his earlier order to provide licenses to gay couples, according to The Louisville Courier-Journal. A fine would be insufficient, said Bunning, who expressed concern Davis’ supporters would pay any fine he levied, the newspaper reported. "Her good-faith belief is simply not a viable defense," the judge said, according to The Courier-Journal. "Oaths mean things." The court "cannot condone willful disobedience," he said. Davis told the court, "My conscience will not allow it. ...  God's moral law convicts me and conflicts with my duties." Later Sept. 3, five of the six deputy clerks in Davis’ office told Bunning they are willing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Bunning said he would be willing to lift the contempt charge against Davis as a result, but he planned to call her back into court later in the day to discuss it with her. Davis’ jailing came three days after the U.S. Supreme Court denied her request to block enforcement of Bunning’s order. She has appealed the order to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, but Bunning’s order remains in effect while her appeal is considered. Bunning’s decision to jail Davis -- which was not requested by lawyers for the same-sex couples seeking marriage licenses in Rowan County -- is the latest fallout from the Supreme Court’s June 26 decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. The justices’ 5-4 ruling heightened concerns among religious liberty advocates regarding the threat legalized gay marriage poses to Christian individuals and institutions, as well as other defenders of biblical, traditional marriage. The opinion prompted some country clerks to resign their jobs rather than issue licenses to gay couples, while others have held onto their jobs while refusing to issue licenses. In the private sector, some businesses were closed even before the Supreme Court ruling as a result of their refusal to compromise their belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman. Wedding vendors -- including florists, photographers and bakers -- have been especially vulnerable in states where gay marriage was already legal. “Everyone is stunned at this development,” said Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, regarding Bunning’s action. Liberty Counsel is representing Davis. “Today's events will escalate this debate to a new level,” Staver said in a written statement. “This is not the kind of America the Founders envisioned or that most Americans want.” The government could resolve this conflict by providing accommodations for county clerks with conscientious objections to issuing licenses to same-sex couples, Staver and other religious freedom advocates have said. Among the accommodations suggested in Davis’ case by Liberty Counsel are removing her name from marriage licenses and permitting the county’s chief executive to issue licenses. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, had told Baptist Press Sept. 1 the government "ought to provide its employees with all protections possible to the furtherance of maintaining public order."  "There are better solutions available than the one in Kentucky that needlessly pits the rule of law against freedom of conscience," Moore said. "The governor and legislature of Kentucky could act to accommodate county clerks whose consciences object to issuing same-sex marriage licenses while still maintaining the rule of law." Bunning’s ruling appears to be “a blatant case of judicial overreaction,” said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. It also is “a clear indication of the marginalization of traditional Christian morality and a direct endangerment to religious liberty,” he said in a written statement. “These are issues of wide- and long-standing debate, and the Christian worldview does not offer a simple formula in terms of understanding what a Christian's responsibility may be in so many of these challenges we now face, especially as an office-holder, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision,” Mohler said. “But it is clear that this is a test, not just for Judge Bunning, not just Kim Davis, but for the entire nation as we are deciding what we will require at the price of conscience from fellow Americans." Frank S. Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, said, “For a judge to issue an arrest and jail decision in this instance" seems to reflect "an activist agenda where Christians are to be ‘taught a lesson.’” He noted it is increasingly apparent that “religious liberty is no longer a right in this country” when it conflicts with the homosexual agenda. “It is a sad day which I believe we will see replicated in numerous ways in the days to come,” Page said. After the Supreme Court refused Aug. 31 to grant a stay to Davis pending her appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court, her office still refused to grant licenses to gay couples the next day. Lawyers for the gay couples subsequently filed a contempt of court motion against Davis. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee announced his support for Davis after speaking with her by phone Wednesday (Sept. 2). “When people of conviction fight for what's right they often pay a price, but if they don't and we surrender, we will pay a far greater price for bowing to the false God [sic] of judicial supremacy,” Huckabee said in a written statement. “Government is not God.” Sen. Marco Rubio, another GOP candidate for the White House, urged a balance between a government office’s responsibility to carry out the law and the liberty of workers in the office to exercise the freedom of religion and conscience. “Our nation was founded on the human right of religious freedom,” Rubio told The New York Times Sept. 2, “and our elected leaders have a duty to protect that right by ensuring that no one is forced by the government to violate their conscience and deeply held religious beliefs about traditional marriage.” Davis -- who has been described in news reports as an Apostolic Christian -- has been married four times, according to court records obtained by U.S. News and World Report. The most recent of her three divorces came in 2008, the magazine reported Sept. 1. She became a Christian more than four years ago after attending church in response to the dying wish of her mother-in-law, Davis said in a Sept. 1 written statement. “There I heard a message of grace and forgiveness and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ,” she said. “I am not perfect. No one is. But I am forgiven and I love my Lord and must be obedient to Him and to the Word of God.”