The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-09/05/2017 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- National CP 4.2% over YTD projection by Staff Date: September 05, 2017 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist Convention national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee through 11 months of the current fiscal year are 4.20 percent above the year-to-date SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget projection, and are 0.77 percent above contributions received during the same time frame last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President and CEO Frank S. Page. The year-to-date total represents money received by the Executive Committee by the close of the last business day of August and includes receipts from state conventions, churches and individuals for distribution according to the 2016-17 SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget. As of August 31, gifts received by the EC for distribution through the SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget through the first eleven months of the convention’s fiscal year (October to September) totaled $180,533,934.62. This total is $7,283,934.62 above the $173,250,000 year-to-date budgeted projection to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America, and is $1,372,917.27 more than the $179,161,017.35 received through the end of August 2016. Designated giving of $186,843,284.86 for the same year-to-date period is 6.57 percent, or $13,146,533.06, below the $199,989,817.92 received at this point last year. This total includes only those gifts received and distributed by the EC and does not reflect designated gifts contributed directly to SBC entities. Designated contributions include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, Southern Baptist Global Hunger Relief and other special gifts. August’s CP allocation receipts for SBC work totaled $15,030,281.75. Designated gifts received last month amounted to $5,560,936.66. The convention-adopted CP Allocation Budget is distributed 50.41 percent to international missions through the International Mission Board, 22.79 percent to North American missions through the North American Mission Board, 22.16 percent to theological education through the convention’s six seminaries, 2.99 percent to the SBC operating budget, and 1.65 percent to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. GuideStone Financial Resources and LifeWay Christian Resources are self-sustaining and do not receive CP funding. According to the 2016-2017 budget adopted by the SBC, if the convention exceeds its annual budget goal of $189 million dollars, IMB’s share will go to 51 percent of any overage in Cooperative Program allocation budget receipts. Other ministry entities of the SBC will receive their adopted percentage amounts of any overage and the SBC operating budget’s portion will be reduced to 2.4 percent of any overage. The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ channel of giving through which a local church is able to contribute to the ministries of its state convention and to the missions and ministries of the SBC with a single contribution to its state convention. State and regional Baptist conventions retain a portion of church contributions to the Cooperative Program to support work in their respective states and forward a percentage to Southern Baptist national and international causes. The percentage of distribution from the states is at the discretion of the messengers of each state convention through the adoption of the state convention's annual budget. The totals in this report reflect only the SBC portion of CP receipts. Month-to-month swings reflect a number of factors, including the number of Sundays in a given month, the day of the month churches forward their Cooperative Program contributions to their state conventions, the percentage of CP contributions forwarded to the SBC by the state conventions after shared ministry expenses are deducted and the timing of when the state conventions forward the national portion of CP contributions to the EC. Cooperative Program allocation budget receipts received by the Executive Committee are reported monthly to the executives of the entities of the convention, to the state convention offices, to the state Baptist papers and are posted online at www.cpmissions.net/CPReports. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: The blind spots of slavery by Terry M. Turner Date: September 05, 2017 - Tuesday MESQUITE, Texas (BP) -- A local newspaper interviewed me for a special feature several years ago, asking me, "Who is your favorite preacher of all times?" Having studied church history, the names of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards immediately came to my mind. Choosing between the two was difficult because I appreciated the theatrical delivery styles of both theologians whereby every word held a convicting punch that compelled the unchurched to find Jesus. For the newspaper article, Whitefield made the top of my list for favorite preacher of all times. Whitefield and Edwards, without doubt, are two of the most noted theologians in history. But it would take 25 years of formal Christian education before I would learn that these two preachers supported the enslavement of African American people. Why is this a subject worth the time and effort for modern discussion when American laws no longer make slavery a legalized institution? I can propose two very important reasons: one secular and the other theological. First, on the secular side, the subject of who owned slaves and how this is left out of history books should remain a subject for study. The confusion over racism in 2017 serves as an example of how the common history of whites and African Americans in this country typically has left out the historical contributions of black Americans. If American history would have honored the labor and contribution of slaves in the building of this country, it would have rewarded their descendants for the suffering endured by their ancestors, and the perception of slavery over the generations would have an entirely different outlook today. In contrast, many in America have chosen to honor those who fought to keep African Americans enslaved by building statues in their honor and placing memorial inscriptions on the images such as "A Hero of the Confederacy." These recognitions of praise are the problem, not the statues, especially when slavery and the Civil War are considered the darkest part of American history. America has historically praised its slaveholder heroes, and not the economic and moral contribution of its African American slaves. Among the real heroes are the forgotten slaves, a story that is omitted with every Confederate memorial. America should commit to telling the whole truth at these statues. Tearing them down does not change a single event of our troubled history, but erecting statues of the unknown accomplishments of slaves at their side could help the healing. African Americans already consider each slave ancestor a hero, and America should honor these descendants for surviving the atrocities of slavery. The divisiveness on our American streets today is the result of a history filled with erroneous teachings about the anthropological differences between races. Philosophical teachings designed to divide the races remain a blind spot in much of America, and only those committed to finding a solution will see through the racial problem. Second, for Christians this is a subject worth the time and effort for discussion because the blind spots of racism also are evident in how Christian literature typically has avoided the subject in its exploration of theology. Many of the past and present racist movements in their development called themselves Christian organizations. These groups have claimed their interpretation of Scripture gives them the right to be considered Christian. While Whitefield and Edwards are two of the purest Christian thinkers in history, on the subject of slavery these spiritual giants justified their positions on Bible interpretation to keep African Americans enslaved. Let's be clear, the Bible does not directly condemn slavery as sinful, but, rather, the mistreatment of slaves. Slaveholders are commanded to follow the same spiritual principles of love and kindness as those given to slaves when serving the Lord. "Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him," the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:9 (ESV). The slavery experienced by African Americans was not the same as many who were enslaved in biblical times. The Bible never defines slavery based on race hating, and never before in world history had slavery been determined by skin color. This is the nightmare in America today. We are required to live with a history of a physical, mental, abusive racial slavery -- the likes of which only Christian love can heal. An understanding of history has helped me realize that theologians during slavery were subject to the influences of their day. Although Whitefield and Edwards theologically impacted American Christianity in its infancy, they failed to condemn slavery as the evil it is. To their credit, they preached that slaves should be treated with respect urging slaveholders to stop their inhumane treatment. The hate movements of our day that call themselves Christian have defamed the name of Christianity. If the hateful climate in America today is to be reversed, all true Christians must become intentional and take a stand to follow the words of our Savior: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40, ESV). -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Portraits of a Pastor' shares insight for Bapt. leaders by T. Patrick Hudson Date: September 05, 2017 - Tuesday KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- In "Portraits of a Pastor," based on the theme for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's 2016 For the Church Conference, Southern Baptist leaders from around the convention offer insight into nine essential roles of a church leader. Midwestern Seminary announced today (Sept. 5) that the book project Portraits of a Pastor, edited by Midwestern president Jason Allen, has been released by Moody Publishers. Allen explains that there are numerous roles a pastor undertakes during his ministry. Some are healthy and others not so much. Additionally, the pastor's congregation can place unrealistic expectations upon him which can lead to ineffectiveness and even burnout. So the great questions are "What is the pastor to be?" and "What is the pastor to do?" In answering these questions, Portraits of a Pastor explores roles and provides insight and practical application into areas such as the pastor as shepherd, husband and father, preacher, theologian, church historian, evangelist, missionary, leader, and man of God. "It has been a privilege to partner with the Moody Publishing team to produce a book that, I pray, will assist church leaders who are seeking to better understand and define the key roles in which they serve on a daily basis," Allen said. "I am grateful that over the years of my ministry I've had supportive and loving congregations," he said. "Now, I find myself one step removed, serving as a seminary president where my responsibility and joy is to train ministers for church service. I consider my calling a high one, but only because I'm in the position of helping to prepare men for an even higher calling: pastoring a local church. My desire is that this book helps them in pursuit of this noble, God-honoring end." Authors who contributed chapters to the book include Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas; Jason G. Duesing, provost at Midwestern Seminary; Donald S. Whitney, professor of biblical spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; John Mark Yeats, dean of Midwestern Baptist College; Christian T. George, assistant professor of historical theology and curator of the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Seminary; Owen Strachan, associate professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Seminary; and Jared C. Wilson, director of content strategy and managing editor of For the Church website. To pastors and ministry leaders reading Portraits of a Pastor, Allen noted, "The point of this book is not to raise the bar of ministry unapproachably high, but to give you the encouragement and counsel to most faithfully serve the body of Christ. As you do, you will honor God, strengthen his church, and one day hear, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' So press on!" To purchase Portraits of a Pastor through Moody Publishing, please click on the following link: https://www.moodypublishers.com/books/bible-study-and-reference/portraits-of-a-pastor/. ********** Southern Baptist leaders and pastors who commented on the book project include the following: Thom Rainer "In Portraits of a Pastor, we are invited into the minds and hearts of nine of the most influential leaders in the church today," said Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. "We are provided perspectives of pastoral leadership in a rich and powerful way. This book is the book that needs to be in the hands of pastors and those who love, follow, and support pastors." H.B. Charles "The world at its worst needs the church at its best," said H.B. Charles, Jr., pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. "Faithful churches require faithful pastors. Unfortunately, there are many who are confused about what the pastor is to be and do. Portraits of a Pastor paints a clear picture of the biblical role of the Christian pastor." Tony Merida "This wise group of pastoral theologians has teamed up to provide church leaders with a valuable resource for local church ministry," said Tony Merida, pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C. "Portraits of a Pastor will refresh weary ministry leaders and guide aspiring leaders. This is not corporate business principles baptized, but biblically-rooted, Christ-exalted teaching. I pray that it will strengthen and build up Christ's church around the globe." Micah Fries "It is comforting and encouraging to find a book that takes pastoring seriously, that rightly prioritizes the character of the pastor, and that grounds the practice of pastoring in the words of Scripture," said Micah Fries, pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. "This is a wonderful book from Jason Allen and his talented team of contributors, that will help equip the young pastor and encourage the established pastor." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Community love, CP expand W. Va. church's reach by Karen L. Willoughby Date: September 05, 2017 - Tuesday CEREDO, W.Va. (BP) -- Members of First Baptist Church of Ceredo, W.Va., use a hands-on approach in ministry to their local community. For a global presence, they rely on the Cooperative Program. The 130-year-old church draws about 190 people to Sunday morning worship and allocates 15.5 percent of undesignated income to missions through the CP. "This is a community-oriented place," said Rodney Hale, now in his 18th year as pastor of First Baptist Ceredo. "When the Lord blesses, we're supposed to give back. "We were giving 10 percent [through the CP] and then in 2013 or 2014 we began edging it up," Hale told Baptist Press. "We think it's a wonderful system to be able to build God's Kingdom, to win people to the Lord. The Lord just continues to bless us, and we continue to give." Giving to missions through the CP is a way of being part of the global community of Southern Baptists, and First Baptist Ceredo likes being part of a community, Hale explained. "Most of our churches could not support that many missionaries, but when we combine all our moneys together, we're able to support so many more, and that's why we do what we do, that's why we give to missions through the Cooperative Program," Hale said. "We can do so much more together, and that's what we look at." West Virginia is the only state that is completely within the 12-state area known as Appalachia. Ceredo, a town of fewer than 1,400 residents beset by unemployment, sets on the south bank of the Ohio River. "The best way to reach Appalachia for Christ is for churches to come together to provide money, prayer, people and resources. A three-fold cord is not easily broken," he said, referencing Ecclesiastes 4:12. "Few churches are large enough to support a church plant on their own. Most of us, it would tax our budget to the extreme." Putting its money where its mouth is, the pastor said, First Baptist Ceredo is a partial sponsor of Abundant Hope Church in Barboursville, W. Va., 30 miles east of Ceredo. First Baptist Ceredo reaches out to elementary school students, families, recovering addicts and senior adults, and partners with other churches, the Greater Huntington Baptist Association and the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists. "We want to keep on doing the things God has called us to do," Hale said. "My folks love the Lord with all their heart. We just go about doing what we can to build God's Kingdom." Backpacks stuffed with school supplies are a standard late summer ministry to elementary students. Backpacks stuffed with weekend nutritional snacks are handed out each Friday throughout the school year, in a partnership with other churches in the area. Every Sunday and Wednesday evening, First Ceredo leads a Children in Action group for up to 35 youngsters. At Christmas the church's Crafters for Christ group organizes an opportunity to give gifts to community families "who might be struggling," the pastor said. The school provides the names of youngsters. The Crafters put each child's information on a Christmas tree decoration, so gift-givers know sizes and interests. "Our ladies do a good job," Hale said. "They're outstanding that way." He also gave strong words of praise to the church's children's director, Amy Robinson. Many families have been reached as a result of her ministry first as a volunteer and now as a full-time staff member, he said. About 30 teens are part of the church's youth group, led by the pastor's son, John K. Hale. One of the group's ministries takes place at Ceredo Manor, a senior living center. The teens visit the seniors and perform small labor projects as needed, such as flipping mattresses. The church routinely visits, performs maintenance and supplies special-occasion gifts for area residents confined to their homes. Larger projects such as wheelchair ramps are now too strenuous for the church's aging membership to complete, Hale said. "I find this hard to think about sometimes. All our people who were in their 50s and 60s when I got here are now pushing 70. "We're trying to sometimes think outside the box and reach people different ways," the pastor noted. "We're trying new things. It's wonderful when it works. If it doesn't, we go back to the drawing board. We do our best to reach people." Grief Share, one of the church's newer ministries, meets each week. "Our church is a very compassionate, caring church," Hale said. "We want to help people who have lost loved ones." The church began a faith-based 12-step program in April, following the request of a member who had gone through a similar program elsewhere. Addictions proliferate in an area without much employment but with ready access to mind-numbing illegal drugs and alcohol, Hale explained. "He's doing a wonderful job," the pastor said of the program's leader. "He's doing something different. Our guys go to court in Ceredo and [nearby] Kenova, and we reach out to them [people with court appearances] right on the spot." The courtroom outreach is unique to the tri-state area of Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio, Hale said. The judges themselves ask defendants if they'd like to enter First Baptist Ceredo's program, Hale said. The group meets Saturday evenings. People have come to the church and to Christ as a result of the 12-step group, outreaches to elementary schools and other ministries often conducted with other area congregations. "One of the challenges I see is being able to get through to people how important their relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ is," Hale said. "I'm always looking for the right key to use to unlock God's Kingdom. I think all pastors are looking for that key." -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Phenomenal' DR response; 'overwhelming' tasks loom by SBTC & BP Staff Date: September 05, 2017 - Tuesday AUSTIN, Texas (BP) -- Hurricane Harvey evacuees in a mega-shelter southeast of Austin are being fed with meals prepared by Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief volunteers at the Austin-area First Baptist Church in Pflugerville. The food, provided and distributed by the American Red Cross, is transported to the shelter from the church. The evacuees, originally housed in Austin's convention center and other shelters across the city, began moving to the mega-shelter in an industrial park on Friday, Sept. 1. In the Houston area, SBTC Executive Director Jim Richards visited a number of churches and described the response he's witnessed by Southern Baptists as "phenomenal," the Southern Baptist TEXAN reported on Labor Day. "It's incredible to see the cooperation of churches," Richards said, "and how people have risen to the occasion to do the work." In the days, weeks and months ahead, Richards said he hopes churches and volunteers maintain unity in the relief efforts at hand. "Our greatest need is to come together and stay together for the Gospel," he said. "We want to help people who are hurting and we want to minister to their physical needs, but the greatest need they have is the Gospel." Tom Billings, director of missions for the Houston-area Union Baptist Association, also reported on several church visits in a Facebook post on Labor Day. "One of the more remarkable stories -- and they are all remarkable -- is Humble's First Baptist Church," Billings noted. Two feet of water poured into the church when the San Jacinto River poured over its banks and sent water throughout local neighborhoods, Billings reported. "Everything on the first floors of their four buildings had to go. I visited the church earlier in the week and saw volunteers and staff taking baby cribs, children's toys, desks, chairs, all the things they used daily to minister and piling it in the parking lot. "Driving into the parking lot Sunday morning I saw the trash ... but behind it was a huge tent," Billings wrote. "People were piling in carrying lawn chairs preparing for worship. The juxtaposition of the pile of trash and people coming to worship wasn't lost on me. Harvey dealt a devastating blow, but it was not fatal." The church's worship center now is "stacked with food and other supplies to be given to the community. The tent they were using for worship on Sunday would become a distribution center for the community on Monday," Billings wrote. DR in Austin At the Austin mega-shelter, fire, police and medical units are on site. Air-conditioned tents are provided to serve meals, with other tents available to house evacuees' pets. Austin Capital Metro spokesperson Mariette Hummel said a bus stop will be added to help shelter residents access services, retail outlets and medical facilities, the Austin American Statesman reported. First Baptist Pflugerville's DR team set up mass feeding operations in the church's parking lot last week and prepared 1,880 hot meals Sept. 1, 2,320 the following day and 1,675 on Sunday, with work continuing as the team remains the only source of meals for Austin-area evacuees. A Baptist laundry unit, meanwhile, is operating at the mega-shelter; its eight washer/dryer combinations handled 119 loads on Sunday and were running nonstop Monday. The unit is from the Kansas-Nebraska Baptist Convention and being operated by three-person SBTC volunteer crews. At Pflugerville, around 15-18 SBTC DR volunteers from First Baptist are preparing the shelter’s meals, education pastor Mike Northen, an SBTC DR unit director, told the TEXAN. Northen complimented the Red Cross team working with the Pflugerville crew, including the on-site mass feeding director Dave Waldrip, noting that the feeding team received equipment and supplies faster than ever before. "It usually takes us all week to get operational," Northen added. "This time we did it in three days." When asked how long the church planned to prepare meals for mass feeding in Austin, Northen replied, "As long as it takes. I don't think we really know how long we will be operating. From the Red Cross' view, it depends on the shelter population. The city of Austin health inspector told me today [Sept. 1] that there may be another 2,500 people coming. They are prepared for that many. We are the only kitchen feeding so far." Muriel Parker was among the SBTC DR volunteers at the church, performing administrative work including scheduling volunteers. She complimented kitchen crew chief Shirley Carter and the rest of the volunteers who began meal preparations outside as temperatures soared to the mid-90s. Parker showed a picture of her 13-year-old grandson doing cleanup work at Farrington Mission in Houston's impoverished Fifth Ward as part of Northeast Houston Baptist Church's relief efforts. Parker's son-in-law Nathan Lino is the church's pastor and president of the SBTC. The mass feeding unit at Pflugerville is one of the original units built by the SBTC after Hurricane Katrina, Northen said. The response ahead Since Aug. 31, SBTC feeding teams have prepared more than 25,000 meals distributed by the Red Cross to survivors and first responders along the Texas Gulf Coast and southeast Texas, including a unit at Clay Road Baptist Church in northwest Houston. The unit's director, Ralph Britt, said the kitchen is equipped to prepare 5,000 hot meals a day and is outfitted with a shower and laundry trailer. Britt described the widespread devastation wrought by Harvey as "massive." In addition to meeting the immediate physical needs of the local community, he said DR volunteers also get the opportunity to share the love of Christ with countless hurting people, many of whom lost homes due to flooding. Gary Ledbetter, in a Sept. 1 column in the TEXAN, noted that disaster relief response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 12 years ago strengthened the convention. "Our churches began to expect of one another the kind of community and support a fellowship of churches should be able to provide. That implied promise was tested and grew into expanded church planting, missionary partnerships, evangelistic efforts, church revitalization and myriad church health resources a state convention should offer." Hurricane Harvey, Ledbetter wrote, "will touch all of us, and it should. The world has seen bigger catastrophes, but this one is ours. Southeast Texas is a region of wealth, growth and strong churches that send missionary resources around the world. We, all of us, need Houston and her Christian community back up and running. But for now, they need us." Ledbetter suggested, "If the churches that are still high and dry will suffer a fraction as much as their sister churches farther south and east, we can hasten the recovery of this essential portion of this essential state. Maybe your church is like mine and has seen a slow year of giving. Now, let's imagine our churches transported to Corpus Christi in early September 2017. How ominous does your actual financial situation look compared to that imagination?" Billings, in his Facebook post, told of his visits among flood survivors. "The accumulated possessions of a lifetime -- we now call it trash -- were piled in yards all along the neighborhoods. Unless you've seen and experienced it firsthand, it's hard to describe. Just the thought of it, though, is enough to break one's heart. "While everyone I talked with spoke of hope, the weariness in their voices betrayed the emotional and physical impact recovery takes on us all. In a word, this is overwhelming. We can and will remain hopeful, but this is hard. "One of the great fears expressed to me was 'What are we going to do for workers when everyone has to return to work?'" Billings wrote, posing his "big ask": "Can you mobilize people in your communities to come to Houston to help? We need people. Sure, we need money and prayer. But we need people who can come and help. If you do [plan to come], work through your church, association or state convention's disaster recovery groups." Among those compiling a national registry of potential volunteers is the North American Mission Board at https://www.namb.net/send-relief/disaster-relief/hurricane-harvey. The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in one of two Baptist conventions in the state affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the other being the Baptist General Convention of Texas. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Amid Harvey devastation, BGCT seeks to 'bring healing' by Kalie Lowrie/Texas Baptists Communications Date: September 05, 2017 - Tuesday HOUSTON (BP) -- The devastation Houston-area pastor Ryan Rush has witnessed in recent days is heartbreaking. "We've seen hundreds of our neighbors lose everything they owned, and the idea of the work ahead is overwhelming. The thing that sustains us, however, is the incredible way this disaster has brought together the Body of Christ as we seek to share the love of Jesus with our community," said Rush, pastor of Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, Texas. Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane, causing unprecedented destruction. Damage in Texas stretches from Corpus Christi to Beaumont, with an estimated 185,149 homes damaged or destroyed. About one-quarter of the congregations that cooperate with the Baptist General Convention of Texas -- more than 1,200 -- are located in the Gulf Coast and East Texas areas impacted by the storm. Churches that cooperate with the BGCT, state convention staff and the BGCT's partner ministry Texas Baptist Men are among the Texas Baptists ministries settling in for months of disaster relief. "There is no way that any one church can accomplish the task by themselves, but with the help of Texas Baptists and the power of our God, I'm convinced we can bring healing to this region," Rush said. Kingsland is one of the Gulf Coast sites to be named a Texas Baptist Men Volunteer Village, where volunteer teams can gather, receive training and go serve communities in need of relief work. "We are diligently raising funds for Texas Baptist Men disaster relief, and working through our Texas Baptists staff in the affected parts of the state," said BGCT executive director David Hardage. "I am pleased with the response we've seen so far. Our Texas Baptists staff and larger family are praying and responding to provide additional assistance as it becomes available." BGCT field personnel -- including area representatives, church starters and Baptist Student Ministry directors -- are on the ground meeting with churches and ministering alongside them. Fred Ater, area representative for the region stretching from San Antonio to Galveston, walked alongside churches over the past week and witnessed God at work. Ater recalled just a few of the images he has witnessed in the days since the storm hit: a pastor crying in his arms; two church members, covered in perspiration, ripping up soaked worship center carpet; church leaders on their knees praying for church members; a Texas Baptist Men chaplain conducting interviews, sharing about Jesus and providing New Testaments; and hearing a young man's testimony as well as his desire to be baptized. Church partnerships As area representatives and other BGCT staff discover specific needs of Harvey-affected churches, they are adding the names and locations of those churches to a list and encouraging congregations outside the affected area -- even beyond the state -- to partner with and meet the needs of those churches. "Direct church-to-church partnership is one way to focus resources and maximize impact during times like these," Hardage said. "We are grateful to the churches and associations already employing this model, and we urge all of our congregations to prayerfully consider partnering with one of these churches to support long-term recovery." The convention plans to make public a list of churches who have expressed specific needs in the days to come. Texas Baptist Men disaster relief and volunteer villages As of Aug. 31, Texas Baptist Men (TBM) had 19 reporting sites in Texas where teams were located or will be located, with three more sites in progress and 175 active volunteers. Deployed teams included shower/laundry, feeding, child care, chaplains, assessors, asset protection, chainsaw, heavy equipment, flood recovery and a box unit, which provides residents with boxes and helps them pack belongings. Through six feeding units around the affected areas, 18,657 meals were prepared Aug. 31. The number was expected to continue to rise daily. TBM disaster relief has additional resources on alert, which will be deployed as conditions allow. TBM partners providing resources include Baptists in Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Louisiana. TBM is making arrangements to set up four Volunteer Villages in and around Houston at Texas Baptists churches. Churches can bring volunteer groups to these locations, which include lodging and meals, while they participate in disaster relief projects such as moving debris, cleaning yards, assisting homeowners retrieve personal property and cleaning out and gutting homes. The four locations will be Kingsland Baptist Church, Sugar Land Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Pasadena and First Baptist Church of Nederland. The volunteer village at Kingsland is operational and the additional three sites will be available soon. "We are absolutely blessed to host as many teams as the state of Texas can produce," said Jason Burden, pastor of First Baptist Church of Nederland. "We are thankful for the Texas Baptist Men, for their work in our community right now. We look forward to being a touchpoint for the spiritual resources of Texas in order to affect change in our community." Burden added, "This is an opportunity for us to get into homes and present the Gospel in a way we would have never had, had Hurricane Harvey not come to our neighborhood. I hope Texas Baptists and Texas Baptist Men can seize this moment and help as many people as possible." Student disaster & church building recovery efforts BOUNCE, the student disaster recovery ministry of Texas Baptists, has revised its 2018 schedule for spring break and summer mission trips to exclusively serve Harvey-affected areas along the Gulf Coast. Registration for student groups to participate in these trips is now open. "We have revised our BOUNCE schedule to mobilize student youth groups to Harvey-affected areas for long-term recovery efforts," said David Scott, director of BOUNCE. "Our BOUNCE Advisory Group agreed this is reason BOUNCE was created." The BGCT's church architecture team is working in an advisory role to help churches with assessment and remedy options for their facilities. Church building recovery is a long-term effort to support congregations. The BGCT, which references itself as Texas Baptists, is one of two state Baptist conventions in Texas that relate to the Southern Baptist Convention. The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is the other. -------------------------------------------------------------------- New charges against pastor in Turkey jail by Diana Chandler Date: September 05, 2017 - Tuesday IZMIR, Turkey (BP) -- American pastor Andrew Brunson faces new charges punishable by four consecutive life imprisonments in an Izmir, Turkey, prison. The Presbyterian pastor formerly of North Carolina is now accused of espionage aimed at overthrowing the Turkish Parliament and government, and undermining the constitutional order of the state, the Wall Street Journal reported shortly after the charges were levied Aug. 24. Previously accused of working with the Fetullah Gulen movement to overthrow Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brunson has been imprisoned since early October 2016. The new charges are "just as false and ridiculous as the original charge," the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) said in an Aug. 28 press release. The charges are compounded by Turkish authorities' refusal to open Brunson's file to attorneys who have no idea of which evidence authorities claim to hold against the pastor. Brunson's family and others advocating for his release continue to request prayers for the Evangelical Presbyterian pastor who has ministered in Turkey 23 years. "Don't forget about him. Pray for him to return home to his family," his daughter Jacqueline Furnani of North Carolina wrote Aug. 28 on Facebook. "I flew to Turkey to visit my dad this August, and it broke my heart to see him suffering like this. Seeing his face again in this picture brings me to tears," she wrote in response to his photo posted at ACLJ.org. Turkey has presented no evidence supporting any of the charges against Brunson, who has repeatedly said his only purpose in Turkey has been "to tell about Jesus Christ," the ACLJ said. Brunson had led the Izmir Resurrection Church of about 40 worshippers in Izmir without government interference until he and his wife Norine sought to renew their Visas last year. The ACLJ has urged Erdogan to free Brunson by using a new law in Turkey to return prisoners to their home countries, as stated in Article 74 of Decree 694, implemented just a day after the new charges were levied. "Pastor Andrew … should be released immediately and returned to the United States to be reunited with his family," the ACLJ said in its press release. "Given this new opportunity, it is critical to encourage President Erdogan to execute this new power on behalf of Pastor Andrew and return him to the United States." The new law allows prisoners or convicts who aren't Turkish citizens to "be returned to another country or exchanged for prisoners or convicts in another country when national security or the country's interests so require, and upon request of the Foreign Minister, with the recommendation of the Justice Minister and the approval of the President," the ACLJ said. In February, a group of 78 U.S. lawmakers signed a letter calling for Brunson's release, indicating a "close partnership for decades" between the U.S. and Turkey. In August, when U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released the International Religious Freedom Report for 2016, he cited Turkey among seven countries that "use discriminatory laws to deny their citizens freedom of religion or belief," along with Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Pakistan, Sudan and Bahrain. -------------------------------------------------------------------- White House rescinds Dreamers program, gives Congress time by Tom Strode Date: September 05, 2017 - Tuesday WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Trump administration announced today (Sept. 5) the repeal of a program that has protected people brought illegally to the United States as children by their parents, but it also provided a window of time for Congress to act in response. In a morning briefing, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the revocation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a 2012 order by President Obama that gave relief from deportation to undocumented immigrants who arrived in this country before their 16th birthday. Obama issued the executive order after Congress failed for more than a decade to pass proposals to address the issue. The repeal of DACA will involve a "wind-down process" that will enable the Department of Homeland Security "to conduct an orderly change and fulfill the desire of this administration to create a time period for Congress to act -- should it so choose," said Sessions, who did not announce the time duration. Even before Sessions' announcement, President Trump signaled the ball was in the legislative branch's court. "Congress, get ready to do your job -- DACA!," Trump tweeted earlier in the morning. Evangelical Christian leaders who had urged continued protection for undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers also called for Congress to act after the administration's announcement. "Congress should do the right thing and provide a solution for those who were brought here by parents as children," tweeted Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "And churches will be here to speak hope to children now thrown into fear and insecurity about their families and their futures," Moore said in a follow-up tweet. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and a member of Trump's evangelical advisory board, said in a written release, "I am disappointed that these protections are ending and I've expressed that disappointment to the White House directly. I also understand why they chose this course of action. "We do not intend on letting a single member of Congress have a good night's rest until they guarantee our young people can rest easy," he said. In Congress, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., a Southern Baptist, agreed with Sessions that immigration policy should come from Congress. "It is right for there to be consequences for those who intentionally entered this country illegally," Lankford said in a written statement. "However, we as Americans do not hold children legally accountable for the actions of their parent. In the coming months, Congress must address this issue." Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., also a Southern Baptist, said in a news release, "The President is right; Congress has the responsibility to address this issue and now is the time to do so. With thoughtful debate, jobs can be protected, lawful immigration can be championed, and the proper relief can come for the young people who know only America as their country and who continue to work hard to achieve that American dream."  Members of Congress proposed the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act for the first time in 2001, and the measure gained reintroduction several times thereafter. Congress failed to approve the measure, prompting Obama to act. In his announcement, Sessions described DACA as "an unconstitutional exercise of authority" by the Obama administration, which "deliberately sought to achieve what the legislative branch specifically refused to authorize on multiple occasions." He expressed the opinion a court would strike down the program, a fate met by a similar program for parents. About 800,000 Dreamers, as they are known, have received protection through DACA since Obama's order. Under DACA, those who come forward and qualify are able to remain in the country, receive drivers' licenses, work and attend college. After two years, they are able to apply for renewal. The program does not provide a pathway to citizenship. Republican attorneys general from 10 states had threatened to sue the administration if it did not rescind DACA by Sept. 5. Members of Trump's evangelical advisory board met with the president Friday, and some urged him not to revoke DACA, according to Christianity Today. Moore and other leaders of the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) asked Trump and congressional leaders in Aug. 30 letters to maintain protections for Dreamers. More than two dozen Southern Baptists who did not sign the EIT's Aug. 30 letter have affirmed the coalition's statement of six general principles for immigration reform. Those who affirmed the general principles include former Southern Baptist Convention presidents, as well as current and former SBC entity presidents. Trump promised during the 2016 presidential campaign he would "immediately terminate" DACA, The New York Times reported, but since taking office he has described those in the DACA program as "incredible kids" and said deciding their fate is "one of the most difficult subjects I have." In 2011, messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix approved a resolution on immigration reform that called for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus while pursuing justice and compassion. The measure urged the government to make a priority of border security and hold businesses accountable in their hiring. It also requested public officials establish after securing the borders "a just and compassionate path to legal status, with appropriate restitutionary measures, for those undocumented immigrants already living in our country." It specified the resolution was not to be interpreted as supporting amnesty.