The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-09/12/2016 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- N.Y. attorney general approves late-term abortions by Emily Belz/WORLD News Service Date: September 12, 2016 - Monday NEW YORK (BP) -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, issued a legal notice to the state comptroller on Sept. 8 saying that abortions after 24 weeks are legal in the state. Schneiderman argued that the "health" exception in judicial precedent allows abortion at any time in a pregnancy. "New York law cannot criminalize what the federal Constitution protects," Schneiderman wrote in the opinion. "[A]n abortion performed after 24 weeks from the commencement of pregnancy is legal in New York when the fetus is not viable or when the abortion is necessary to protect the health of the pregnant woman." The "health" of the mother is a nebulous legal exception that can mean physical, emotional, psychological, or familial health, according to the Supreme Court precedent in Doe v. Bolton. New York was one of the first states to legalize abortion in 1970. But that law also banned abortions after 24 weeks, except to save the life of the mother. Now New York has one of the highest rates of abortion in the country and is one of the most accommodating states for those seeking to terminate a pregnancy. New York does not have a residency requirement for abortion, so anyone can travel to the state to receive a late-term abortion. State Medicaid covers abortions performed in the state, and New York provides funding to abortion groups like Planned Parenthood. In 2014, documents revealed that New York health officials did not conduct inspections at a number of abortion centers for 12 years. During that time, the state reported 1.5 million abortions. Schneiderman's opinion does not have the force of law, but it gives legal cover to abortion centers and hospitals in the state to perform late-term abortions. "It removes any doubt in the minds of the hospitals and the abortionists that they can go ahead and do late-term abortions," said Ed Mechmann, a lawyer and the director of public policy for the Archdiocese of New York. "The law previously was a deterrent to people doing late-term abortions." Indeed, Stephen Chasen, an obstetrics and gynecology physician at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center told The New York Times that the hospital now could feel "comfortable that we're not at risk at all of being prosecuted." Chasen specializes in diagnosing prenatal anomalies "such as Down syndrome." Speaking of disabilities, the viability portion of Schneiderman's opinion argued that under judicial precedent the abortionist ("the attending physician") determines viability. Babies now can often survive at 24 weeks. "This wide open definition of viability is an invitation to eugenics," said Mechmann, who added that mothers often seek late-term abortions because that is when they discover fetal problems. The attorney general's office was not modest about the move, sending out a press release about the opinion, complete with congratulatory quotes from Planned Parenthood of New York City and the New York Civil Liberties Union. Pro-life groups in the state had no idea this memo was in the works. "[The abortion industry] would never submit this to an open public debate, because on this particular issue they would lose," Mechmann said. "The vast majority disapproves of late-term abortion. And I think they know that because they go through these extrajudicial maneuvers to advance the cause." The legal opinion was a response to a question from the state comptroller overseeing payments for abortions -- presumably through Medicaid. But the memo reads like scripted questions and answers. The memo is a straightforward political move after Democrats lost the legislative battle to expand late-term abortion in 2015. The pro-abortion Schneiderman seems to be trying to accomplish the measure via his own office instead of the legislative process. The attorney general's office did not immediately return a request for comment on that question. New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, a pro-life group of evangelicals, reacted to the opinion by dubbing the attorney general "Third Trimester Schneiderman," saying his opinion would result in the unnecessary deaths of more babies. "The New York state legislature has declined to pass abortion expansion legislation for a reason," said the group's head, the Rev. Jason McGuire, in a statement. "Public policy in the state of New York should be focused on aiding women and their unborn children in their hour of need, not catering to well-funded political allies at Planned Parenthood." In 2013, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, had introduced a measure as a part of the Women's Equality Act (WEA), which allowed abortions after 24 weeks for the health of the mother and removed a number of criminal penalties associated with botched abortions. Democrats pushed the abortion measure for two legislative sessions, insisting on keeping it tied to other measures in the act that increased penalties for sex trafficking and sexual harassment in the workplace. Thanks in part to lobbying from the New York Catholic Conference and New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, the abortion provision stalled. The state legislature passed the other WEA measures like the sex-trafficking bill separately. Mechmann doesn't know what strategies pro-lifers in the state might have going forward. "I think our legal recourse is very, very limited," he said. "I don't know if there's really that much we can do." -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 study of pastor salaries, benefits available by Martin King Date: September 12, 2016 - Monday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Compensation for full-time Southern Baptist church staff members has exceeded the cost-of-living increase over the past two years. However, health insurance coverage continues to decline, according to the 2016 SBC Church Compensation Study. The biannual study is a joint project of state Baptist conventions, GuideStone Financial Resources and LifeWay Christian Resources. Compensation and congregational data is collected anonymously from ministers and office/custodial personnel of Southern Baptist churches and church-type missions. Compensation increasing Compensation (salary plus housing) increased 3.4 percent for full-time senior Southern Baptist pastors over the last two years, 4.3 percent for full-time staff ministers and 2 percent for full-time office personnel. The U.S. Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the same two-year period increased only 1.1 percent. Factors correlating with compensation for senior pastors include education level, weekly church attendance and tenure at their current church, as well as total years of experience. Those with a bachelor's degree earn an average of $4,040 more than otherwise equivalently qualified pastors without a college degree. Master's and doctorate degrees correspond with incremental compensation increases of $2,171 and $11,151, respectively. Seminary graduates have an additional increase in average compensation of $4,706. Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, pointed out that despite increases in compensation, fair wages take into account wages at comparable churches, increased experience and education, and cost of living. "While inflation has been lower this last year, it is still true that the dollars churches paid last year don't buy as much," McConnell said. "Without a raise, you are actually paying less." Benefits declining Overall, the value of the entire pay package (salary, retirement, housing and other benefits including insurance) for senior pastors (0.9 percent) has not kept pace with inflation, even though the pay package for full-time staff ministers (2.5 percent) and office personnel (1.5 percent) has exceeded inflation. Only half of churches participating in the survey provide health insurance coverage for senior pastors, down from 60 percent two years ago and 64 percent in 2012. "While recognizing these trends, and the impact of Obamacare, GuideStone continues to advocate for churches to support all staff members with this important benefit," said Scott Charbonneau, GuideStone's managing director of insurance plans. "Further, GuideStone has reduced the access point for its insurance plans down to a minimum group size of only two employees with multiple plans available, including a low-cost value plan." One-fourth of churches pay for medical insurance for the senior pastor and his family, 15 percent provide for the pastor and his wife, and 10 percent provide only for the pastor. Although a larger weekly attendance correlates with churches providing senior pastors with health insurance, one-fourth of churches with 250 or more average attendees do not provide health insurance. Conversely, nearly one-third of churches (31 percent) with less than 50 in weekly attendance do provide their pastor with medical coverage. Some churches also provide additional insurance benefits to senior pastors including life and/or accidental insurance (29 percent), disability (26 percent), dental (24 percent) and vision (10 percent), although each is a few percentage points less than reported in 2014. A number of factors also impacts the amount of vacation senior pastors receive. Larger churches tend to give pastors more vacation, with otherwise equivalently qualified pastors averaging one additional day for every 448 attendees. Pastors with a bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree add an average of one, two or four vacation days, respectively, over those with some college or an associate degree. Seminary graduates, on average, also receive one additional vacation day. The 2016 online survey was open from December 2015 through May 2016. Data from more than 8,000 full-time Southern Baptist respondents is available at www.LifeWay.com/CompensationSurvey. The survey also obtained compensation data for bivocational pastors and part-time custodial and office personnel. This data is standardized by the median number of hours worked to allow churches to more easily compare their part-time employees with these averages. GuideStone provides many resources for churches seeking to establish, restructure or evaluate pay and benefit packages for ministers and other staff. The free resources can be found at guidestone.org/CompensationPlanning. Methodology: Southern Baptist state conventions invited each church's staff to respond to the survey; 14,076 completed surveys are available including 8,164 full-time staff analyzed for this article. For the purpose of this article, senior pastor responses were weighted to account for lower response rate among smaller churches and to match the distribution of the size of Southern Baptist churches. When using the online tool, national totals may be somewhat higher than these weighted totals. Viewing the results by church-size categories within the online tool minimizes this impact. When running customized reports online, errors can be minimized by selecting criteria that allow for larger numbers of participants. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Risking everything by Mark Snowden Date: September 12, 2016 - Monday CINCINNATI (BP) -- After interviewing five men from Central Asia in refugee camps, I asked them what would attract them to actually listen to Bible stories on the radio. After suggesting five or six options, I asked, "Would you listen to conversion testimonies from Muslims, even Muslim religious leaders?" Their eyes grew wide in this exchange years ago. One asked through an interpreter, "There is such a thing?" In their country, conversion was considered an act of treason punishable by death. One man -- a Muslim -- said his child was almost kicked out of school for being caught with a page from a Christian coloring book. Yet, a number of their religious leaders and thousands of everyday folks were quietly praying to receive Christ. In this country, many were coming to faith in Christ through the bold, if careful, witness of believers. When I discussed Muslim conversion in that region with a missionary there, he said, "The veneer of Islam has created a hunger for the Gospel. They know their leaders don't have anything to offer and they turn to Christians that they know to request the Bible, evangelistic materials, anything to help them understand the Gospel." In obedience to the Jesus in the Great Commission, believers were risking everything in seeking to make disciples. If they kept quiet, they could live normal lives. If they spoke up, some who heard their message might believe, but others might turn them in to the religion police. When a man was caught distributing the Bible in one predominantly Muslim area, he was brought before a judge. The judge forced him to bring in his pastor. The pastor asked the judge, "What is so harmful in the Bible's message?" The judge answered, "People will believe the Bible if they read it and I will lose my job." The judge gave the two believers a stern warning and set them free. Many times people who are not believers exert their authority because they feel it is their role as an official enforcer. Pushback seems to feed the anti-Christian tone and tension. That doesn't mean that sometime later they won't embrace the Gospel. In one Muslim area, a police sergeant told a believer he had to guard a shipment of Bibles. He wondered about the fuss over a mere book until he began to read it. When he got to the part about Jesus, he prayed to find a believer who could help him. He gave his heart to Jesus but felt conflicted because he had to keep enforcing the local law. Nik Ripken, author and IMB missionary, once described the horrors he experienced in Somalia as an example of a country in which Satan and his agents seemed to roam unchecked. Ripken's "Insanity of God" movie, which gets a second nationwide theater showing Tuesday, provides a glimpse into this godless anarchy. Muslims live under enforcers; if we do not tirelessly intercede for our leaders and speak openly of our faith while we have the opportunity, we too will find the enforcers of the secular worldview limiting our Christian liberties. We must use our remaining freedom not just to check cultural decay, but to bring God's healing to our troubled world. Step back and examine your walk with the Lord. Is it in obedience to Jesus? Do you share your faith? Why would someone want to ask you about Jesus? What is your faith reputation? Are you helping someone become a disciple, even a disciple-maker? Increasingly, we find ourselves witnessing in a hostile environment in which various enforcers exert negative influence against the Gospel. In America, they typically are in seven "power centers:" government/military (elected officials/leaders), business (CEOs), education (superintendents/principals), news media (anchors/editors), sports (team owners/star players), arts & entertainment (writers/actors), and religious leaders. These seven leader groups affect culture for good or bad. Those who do become born-again believers have the potential to become godly agents of spiritual transformation. Why not be intentional to talk to them about your faith in Jesus? -------------------------------------------------------------------- Platt: Make evangelism 'primary' in life, ministry by Marilyn Stewart Date: September 12, 2016 - Monday NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- International Mission Board president David Platt sounded the alarm against a "gospel-less" and "gospel-lite" missions approach that many are apparently adopting today. This dangerous trend, he said, promotes good deeds but minimizes a call for repentance. Platt spoke of his concerns during the Global Missions Emphasis chapel at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Sept. 6. He referenced debates taking place among some evangelical mission agencies regarding the usage of "Son of God" in translating Scripture or in interacting with Muslims. "I see practices among these same agencies that minimizes the call to Christ, that says someone can be both Muslim and Christian at the same time," Platt said. "I see trends that see social justice as equal to, or more important than, evangelism, gospel presentation." Platt said he drew criticism recently for promoting the primacy of evangelism in missions. He called on NOBTS to hold fast to a biblical definition of evangelism that calls for repentance from sin and belief in Christ. "Evangelism is the proclamation of the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit with the aim of persuading people to repent and believe in Christ," Platt said. At the conclusion, NOBTS president Chuck Kelley voiced his agreement with Platt and related the warning to Southern Baptists. "If you had asked me the most surprising development in Southern Baptist life in the last five years, I would tell you it is the diminishing of the conversation about evangelism," Kelley said. "There is less conversation about it now than there has been in my lifetime." In his sermon, Platt highlighted the distinction between a believer who wants to "witness" by living a good life and biblical evangelism. He reminded the audience that Christians around the world are being martyred not for living moral lives, but for proclaiming a message that calls for repentance. Platt noted that the English word "martyr" comes from the same Greek root as the word translated "witness" in scripture. A believer in a Communist country that remains silent about the Gospel is not in danger, but those who proclaim the Gospel are, Platt told listeners. Make evangelism "primary" in your life and ministry, Platt urged. "The last thing the nations need is the exportation of nominal Christianity from North America," Platt said. "The nations need the Gospel and men and women who are committed to proclaiming it with contrite courage and brokenhearted boldness wherever God leads them." Doctrine matters, Platt said, noting that next year marks the 500-year anniversary of the start of the Reformation when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg door. The Reformers thought doctrine was worth dying for, Platt said, and told of John Rogers who was executed by Mary I of England because he opposed transubstantiation, the view that Christ was physically present in the bread and wine of communion. The idea that the human act of eating communion was necessary for receiving Christ's forgiveness "undercut the Gospel," Platt said. The core of the Gospel, he said, is salvation secured by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone. "If we lose this, we lose everything," Platt said. "We have hope not in our merit, but only in His mercy. Not our merit -- His merit. Doctrine like this matters. Theology like this matters." While salvation cannot be earned, persuasion is part of evangelism, Platt said. He underscored that only the Holy Spirit can "bring from death to life," only the Holy Spirit can convict and regenerate. Platt noted that eight times in Luke's writings -- passages such as Luke 1:39-42 and Acts 2:2-4 and 4:8 -- the filling of the Holy Spirit preceded a verbal proclamation of the Gospel. A passion for the nations, a desire for the spread of the Gospel to all nations is not for a select few believers, Platt said, but is for every follower of Christ. "So, I challenge you today to look at a world with 2.8 billion people who have never even heard the Gospel and make it your ambition to see this Gospel proclaimed among them, wherever God may lead you," Platt said. "May you be driven with zeal." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Russian anti-evangelism law victim requests prayer by Diana Chandler Date: September 12, 2016 - Monday EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated Sept. 14. ORYOL, Russia (BP) -- A Baptist missionary who ended his ministry in Russia after being arrested under a new anti-evangelism law is requesting prayer in advance of his Sept. 19 appeal hearing. Donald Ossewaarde was found guilty and fined 40,000 rubles, about $600, a month ago when Russian police interrupted a Sunday Bible study in his home, charging him with evangelizing outside church walls and without a government permit. "Please pray that these charges will be dropped," Ossewaarde pleads in the latest update on his webpage. "My attorneys and I were a little bit suspicious that they [Russian legal authorities] might try to rush the appeal through the system without letting us know about it, and deny us the right to present our case. My attorneys from Moscow will be coming here for the hearing." Ossewaarde was charged Aug. 14 under Article 5.26, Part 5 of the new religion law for holding religious services in his home, advertising services on bulletin boards in nearby neighborhoods, and failing to give authorities written notification when he began his religious activities. He was advised to pay the fine on the advice of court appointed attorneys, but filed an appeal after securing private counsel. Ossewaarde has not paid the fine and does not intend to pay it unless he loses his appeal, he told BP today (Sept. 14). His wife Ruth Ossewaarde, who had served as a missionary with him in Oryol, Russia since 2002, has already returned to their home congregation of Faith (Independent) Baptist Church near Bourbonnais, Ill., after the couple received what Ossewaarde called a thinly veiled threat against their lives. Ossewaarde believes he is innocent under the law passed July 20 -- which he said is inappropriately written to achieve Russia's desired result of ending evangelism -- but said he cannot trust that the law will be applied as written, nor that his constitutional right to freedom of religion will be honored. "The new law is blatantly unconstitutional, but the president signed it, so constitutionality is not our strongest defense in this case," Ossewaarde wrote on his website. "Our appeal is based on the fact that I did not act as an authorized representative of a registered religious association, therefore I did not break THIS law. In other words, under the current legal and political situation, I can only continue being a missionary here by trying as hard as I can to prove in court that I am not a missionary." The law defines illegal evangelism as activity by an authorized representative of an officially registered religious organization who uses media to publicly spread the organization's doctrine to non-members to convince them to join the group, Ossewaarde wrote on his website. Ossewaarde said he plans to return to Illinois after the hearing. He was arrested with five other ministers of various faiths and denominations within a month of the law's passage. They were levied fines varying from 5,000 to 50,000 rubles, with only one man, a Hare Krishna, acquitted. Read Baptist Press' previous article here. -------------------------------------------------------------------- New rule to handcuff states on Planned Parenthood by Tom Strode Date: September 12, 2016 - Monday WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Sept. 7 a proposed rule that would effectively prevent states from prohibiting Title X funds for abortion providers. The proposed rule includes the country's No. 1 abortion chain, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). The federal government provides funds for family planning and preventive health services to states through the Title X program. In recent years, at least 12 states have cut money for Planned Parenthood, sometimes in response to scandals involving the organization. Courts have blocked those actions in some cases. The latest scandal involves the online release last year of secretly recorded videos that showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of organs from aborted children. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, described the HHS proposal as "yet another example of how entrenched and influential the abortion lobby is in our national politics." "We know for a fact that taxpayer money doesn't need to go to Planned Parenthood or other abortion providers in order for other medical services to be fully available to citizens," Moore said. "This is merely a move of retribution against those who have called to keep abortion providers accountable," he said in written comments for Baptist Press. Rep. Diane Black, R.-Tenn., charged the Obama administration with taking "the unprecedented step of thwarting states' rights with a shady proposed rule change that prevents states from funding the providers who will best serve their citizens." "This latest stunt from President Obama's Department of Health and Human Services should surprise absolutely no one," said Black, who led last year an ultimately unsuccessful effort to slash federal funding for PPFA. "We've known all along [this administration] will go to untold lengths to protect its friends in the big abortion industry," including providing Planned Parenthood with grants under health-care reform and praising the organization after its trade in baby parts was uncovered, she said in a written statement. Moore expressed his gratitude to Black for "calling this move what it is: a political favor for an unaccountable abortion industry." PPFA President Cecile Richards applauded the HHS proposal. "This will make a real difference in so many people's lives," she said. "This rule makes it clear that politicians cannot ignore the law as they pursue their agenda to stop women from getting the care they need." Planned Parenthood and its affiliates received $553.7 million in government grants and reimbursements, according to its latest annual financial report (2014-15). Planned Parenthood affiliates performed 323,999 abortions during 2013-14, the most recent year for which statistics are available. The proposed rule does not explicitly block states from providing Title X funds to abortion providers. Instead, it bars states from basing the selection of Title X recipient organizations on anything other than their "ability to deliver services to program beneficiaries in an effective manner." As a result, states would be unable to block funds from going to organizations simply because they provide abortions. According to federal law, Title X funds cannot be used for the performance of abortions, but pro-life advocates point out grants to Planned Parenthood and other providers free up other funds for use in performing abortions. Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed legislation that would have eliminated about 90 percent of Planned Parenthood's federal funding, but President Obama vetoed the bill in January. A House attempt to over-ride the veto fell far short of the two-thirds majority required. The public may provide comment to HHS on the proposed rule until Oct. 7. Comments may be offered at https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=HHS_FRDOC_0001-0645.