The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-09/16/2013 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Boy Scouts or an alternative? Churches continue to deliberate by David Roach Date: September 16, 2013 - Monday NASHVILLE (BP) -- A 6,000-member Southern Baptist church in North Carolina has announced plans to end its 60-year sponsorship of a Boy Scout troop in light of the Scouts' vote in May to admit open homosexuals to membership. Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., instead will sponsor a troop of the newly formed Trail Life USA, which requires adult leaders to sign a statement of faith and requires both boys and leaders to live by a code of conduct that defines "any sexual activity outside the context of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman" as "sinful" and "inconsistent with the values and principles of the program." Trail Life USA will accept boys who are experiencing same-sex attraction or gender confusion. It will not, however, receive into membership boys that are openly homosexual or transgendered. "We've had very strong support from the existing families who were in the Scout program," Donald Mann, the church's associate pastor for stewardship, said, adding, "We've had a lot of support from within the community for what we're doing." Calvary joined those churches that have ended their sponsorship of Boy Scout troops and opted to support alternative groups for boys like Trail Life USA and Royal Ambassadors, the Southern Baptist missions organization for boys in grades 1-6. The tandem Southern Baptist program Challengers engages young men in grades 7-12 in missions education. Steve Heartsill, managing editor for Royal Ambassadors at the Woman's Missionary Union in Birmingham, Ala., told BP there are some parallel elements to RAs and Boy Scouts, like an award system, camping and competitions using wooden racecars. However, WMU does not view Royal Ambassadors "as an alternative to anything" and does not take a position on whether churches should continue to sponsor Boy Scout troops, he said. "With a rich history of 105 years, the purpose of Royal Ambassadors is missions education and involvement," Heartsill said. "RAs is about leading boys to Christ, teaching missions and developing a Christ-like character. As boys are introduced to missional concepts, they learn they have an active part to play in God's plan for their lives and for the world. They come to understand that God can use them now -- even in their youth -- to share His love with others and make a difference." Teaching biblical sexual morality is not specifically a part of Royal Ambassadors, Heartsill said, "but Christ-like character and virtues are emphasized." The RA pledge includes a promise "to keep myself clean and healthy in mind and body." When Atlanta-area Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta announced its plan to sever ties with the Boy Scouts, pastor Ernest Easley, who also serves as chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, said Southern Baptists "really have an opportunity here to strengthen our RA programs and to get the boys in a program where they're going to be protected, where there's a high moral standard and where they will have an opportunity to learn about camping, missions, evangelism in the local church." Royal Ambassadors and Challengers appear to be growing in SBC churches, with curriculum sales increasing, Heartsill said. He encouraged churches interested in starting an RA program to contact the RA department at their state Baptist convention or visit www.wmu.com/RA. WORD OF WARNING The Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based Christian legal group, has publicly circulated legal memo recommending that churches with Scout troops end their sponsorship. Otherwise, ADF stated, churches risk losing their First Amendment right to oppose homosexuality in hiring decisions and facility rental policies. Others oppose the BSA policy change but believe churches should still sponsor Scout troops. The Association of Baptists for Scouting, for one, told Baptist Press in an email that Boy Scouts still "presents a viable outreach option for churches if done properly." In addition to Calvary and Roswell Street Baptist churches, the Atlanta-area Johnson Ferry Baptist Church has ended its Scout charter. Other Southern Baptists, meanwhile, have opted to remain with Scouting following the BSA National Council's vote to change the organization's membership policy effective Jan. 1, 2014. An SBC resolution adopted at the convention's annual meeting in June expresses "support for those churches and families that as a matter of conscience can no longer be part of the Scouting family" and encourages "churches and families that remain in the Boy Scouts to seek to impact as many boys as possible with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ" and "work toward the reversal of this new membership policy." The resolution also expresses concern that "the current executive leadership of the BSA, along with certain board members, may utilize this membership policy change as merely the first step toward future approval of homosexual leaders in the Scouts." Churches that sever ties with the Scouts are encouraged in the resolution to expand their RA programs. Calvary Baptist, which had nearly 300 boys and adults involved in its Boy Scout troop, said in a statement on its website that the BSA's membership policy change "created a dilemma and required a thoughtful and patient response of our church leaders, scout leaders, and scout families." The church sent a delegation to Trail Life USA's inaugural convention in Nashville Sept. 6-7 and will launch its Trail Life troop Oct. 23. "Calvary is definitely going forward with this," Mann said of the Trail Life troop. The new troop will meet in a building that Calvary built for its Boy Scout troop. The church's nonprofit ProVision Foundation set up a fund to receive gifts for the new scouting organization. SCOUTING-TYPE ALTERNATIVE Trail Life USA, founded by a coalition of opponents to the BSA membership policy change called On My Honor, announced its name and program details at the Nashville convention. Addressing more than 1,200 attendees, chairman of the Trail Life USA board John Stemberger said the group is not "anti-BSA." "Our whole life is about the trail, both in the outdoors and in the journey of life as believers," Stemberger said. "So Trail Life is a way of life that is centered on following Christ in the outdoors." Boy Scout alternatives like Trail Life are a good option for churches that used to sponsor BSA troops, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom memo, which says, "Under threat of litigation, a church that chooses to maintain ties with BSA could face forfeiting the ability to teach biblical principles of sexual morality to its Scouts and to require them to adhere to those principles." According to the memo, a church with a BSA troop could also compromise its right to refuse employment to homosexuals or rent its facilities for gay weddings. ADF explained that many local "nondiscrimination" laws forbid discrimination in employment and facility rental based on sexual orientation. Often churches are exempt from the sexual orientation portions of such laws, but only if they express consistent opposition to homosexuality. Acceptance of homosexuals into a Boy Scout troop could cause a court to rule that a church is inconsistent and deny its right to refuse employment or facility rental to homosexuals, ADF said. "We have provided this information to churches that have been associated with BSA so that they can protect their freedom to freely preach the Gospel," said ADF senior legal counsel Erik Stanley, an Eagle Scout. "Churches cannot abandon their duty to be a witness to our nation's youth and must be able to continue to make decisions based on their religious principles." But A.J. Smith, president of the Association of Baptists for Scouting, said the new policy does not prohibit church-based BSA troops from making sexual abstinence a condition of membership. He also denied that the BSA policy requires churches to affirm the moral acceptability of same-sex attraction and said that while he is "not personally entirely pleased" with the policy, churches should still sponsor Boy Scout troops. "Baptist churches that charter Scout units have the power to enforce a code of conduct on the boys that precludes their ability to engage in any kind of sexual activity and to bring disciplinary measures to bear on youth who violate the code of conduct, even to the point of removing them if their behavior becomes detrimental to the unit or the reputation of the charter organization," Smith said on the Association of Baptists for Scouting website. He added, "I believe that it is possible, even desirable, for Baptist churches to continue to utilize Scouting as an outreach ministry of the church. How it is done, however, must change. No longer can a church simply give meeting space to the Scouts. Churches must take a proactive approach to Scouting and involve members of the local congregation alongside Scout parents as leaders [and] set expectations for leaders consistent with the values of the church." Mann, the associate pastor at Calvary Baptist, said while the church is "not adversaries" of the BSA, "we want whatever organizations we sponsor to be in alignment with our values." --30-- David Roach is a writer in Shelbyville, Ky. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1961 controversy over 'The Message of Genesis' gets Baptist historians' reflections by Brian Koonce Date: September 16, 2013 - Monday KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- One of the catalysts of the Conservative Resurgence -- the Elliott controversy -- was examined by three Southern Baptist historians in a panel discussion Sept. 10 at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The controversy erupted at Midwestern in 1961 when Ralph Elliott, the chair of the Old Testament department, authored a book published by Broadman Press titled "The Message of Genesis." Elliott used a historical-critical method of interpretation to examine the first book of the Bible, arguing that it was not literal history, but that it could be religious truth nonetheless. Elliott assumed multiple authors for Genesis and concluded it was full of "symbolic stories" not to be taken as "literally true," such as: Adam and Eve were not actual historical figures, the flood was local, and Abraham did not actually hear the voice of God commanding him to sacrifice Isaac. Featured in the panel discussion were Greg Wills, dean of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's school of theology; John Mark Yeats, pastor of Normandale Baptist Church in Fort Worth and a former church history faculty member at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; and Michael McMullen, professor of church history at MBTS. Jason Allen, Midwestern's president, was the moderator. Yeats described Elliott's book as "a classic, liberal approach" which held that "the Scriptures themselves contain good, moral truth." What I think is more shocking," Yeats said, "is that Elliott writes later that this was consistent amongst all our seminaries. This is what all departments were teaching and how pastors were being trained; you teach your people simple moral truths. Whether it's historical, real or not, that doesn't matter." The outcry in Baptist life was swift and widespread, exemplified by Texas pastor K. Owen White's widely read essay, "Death in the Pot." "The book in question is 'poison,'" White wrote. "This sort of rationalistic criticism can lead only to further confusion, unbelief, deterioration, and ultimate disintegration as a great New Testament denomination. It has happened to other denominations; it can happen to us! Modernism is insidious, dangerous, and destructive." Leading up to the SBC annual meeting in 1962, The Message of Genesis controversy led conservatives who agreed with White to attempt to codify traditional Baptist doctrine in what would become the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) of 1963. The new confession was intended to reflect the beliefs of churches in the convention and to tighten the accountability standards regarding the inerrancy of Scripture at the seminaries and SBC institutions. Although messengers were nearly unanimous in adopting the new BF&M and it soothed conservatives in the pews, the panelists said it gave wordsmithing moderates an out. The first line calls the Bible "the record of God's revelation of Himself to man." The statement probably would not raise many eyebrows in conservative churches today, but it can be interpreted very differently. Its replacement line in the BF&M 2000 says the Bible itself is "God's revelation of Himself to man," and not just the record of the revelation. In another example, the final line of that section in the 1963 document reads, "The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ." "The question is what kind of Jesus do you believe in and what kind of Bible do you end up with?" McMullen said. "Moderates approach Scripture in a way that looks like they're trying to preserve doctrine and belief in the Bible while undermining it completely." "You can't not have a historical Adam," Allen said, "and still have a theologically sound Gospel." "You can't have independent pieces with some being true and some not," echoed Yeats. "Elliott thought you could." Much to his credit, Ellott shunned the wordplay tactics of many of his academic colleagues and didn't couch heterodoxy in orthodox language. Though he eventually resigned under pressure from Midwestern, it was not for heresy, but because he refused to stop a new edition of his book from being published and proudly stood by it. In his 1996 book, "The Genesis Controversy," Elliott wrote that no one else had the integrity and nerve to be open about it. He called it "doublespeak" and said that many who believe as he did sought to hide their theology. "That bothered him, and rightly so," Wills said. "There was a lot of duplicity there.... If all the seminaries communicated what they truly believed, they would have all been shut down within a year." "Doublespeak has become an insidious disease within Southern Baptist life ..." Elliott wrote. "Often this was done [in Southern Baptist seminaries] with an eye and ear for the 'gallery' and how much the 'church trade' would bear. Professors and students learned to couch their beliefs in acceptable terminology and in holy jargon so that although thinking one thing, the speaker calculated so as to cause the hearer to affirm something else." Elliott went on to write that during the controversy, a liberal seminary colleague counseled him that his troubles stemmed from now knowing "how to communicate." "What he meant was that I did not know how to doublespeak," Elliott wrote. Though the Elliott-Genesis controversy occurred more than 50 years ago, Yeats said its lessons should not be ignored today. "The battle for the inerrancy of Scripture is never over," Yeats said. "There's always a creeping question that is always seeking to destroy our confidence in the Word of God." --30-- Brian Koonce is a writer for The Pathway (mbcpathway.com), newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'World Hunger Fund' now 'Global Hunger Relief' by Mark Kelly Date: September 16, 2013 - Monday EDITOR'S NOTE: Southern Baptists will observe World Hunger Sunday Oct. 13, and Southern Baptist congregations across North America will receive offerings for Global Hunger Relief (formerly the World Hunger Fund). NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- When it comes to people in need, big numbers can hide the human faces they represent. Statistics tell us that more than 1 billion people around the world are hungry more often than not, and about 24,000 people -- over half of them young children -- die every day from various conditions that could have been alleviated by basic nutrition. The personal realities of those numbers are more compelling. Think about the humility of the African man who scours the ground where bags of maize are being distributed in his village, picking up every dusty kernel so that he can provide one more mouthful for his family. Try to imagine the anxiety of the Tennessee child who is afraid to leave her classroom on Fridays for fear that she will miss the backpack of food that will keep her from going hungry over the weekend. Consider the worries of the Syrian lawyer who is a refugee in a neighboring country, living in a shelter made from plastic bags and cardboard and scrambling for any work to provide for his extended family of 20. In each of these situations, Southern Baptists are there, providing help for today and hope for the future. Certainly, other relief organizations are doing similar work, but Southern Baptists are different: While some groups keep as much as 70 percent of their donations to cover overhead, Southern Baptists are assured that their donations go directly to the actual need. A greater and more efficient impact How is that possible? For Southern Baptists, the answer is because we support our mission endeavors by giving through our Cooperative Program. In this way, most overhead costs are already covered for missionaries and partners who are our "boots on the ground." Not only that, but because hunger donations are channeled through the International and North American mission boards, those funds become a vital part of Southern Baptist mission strategies to impact the world for Christ. Whether churches are "loving loud" in communities across North America or "embracing" unreached, unengaged peoples in difficult places, Southern Baptists have a tremendously effective approach to loving their neighbors through hunger ministries. A new name To help raise awareness about Southern Baptists' unique approach to funding hunger ministries, a new name -- Global Hunger Relief -- is taking the place of the World Hunger Fund. Beginning with this year's World Hunger Sunday, Oct. 13, the new name will show up in more places. Global Hunger Relief will follow precisely the same guidelines used with the World Hunger Fund. As with the WHF, funds will continue to be distributed 80-20 between international and North American causes. The hope is that a new name and fresh look will revitalize conversations about the global hunger crisis and raise awareness about the effective efforts Southern Baptists are making to help people in need experience the life-changing love of God. A new website is being developed at www.GlobalHungerRelief.com, and social media presences are being created on Facebook and Twitter. The GHR initiative will officially launch at the 2014 Southern Baptist Convention in Baltimore, Md., and will be in full swing for World Hunger Sunday 2014. Updates about the new initiative will be shared through Baptist Press and the WHF/GHR partners: the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, Woman's Missionary Union, LifeWay Christian Resources, SBC Executive Committee and Baptist Global Response. Two free bulletin inserts -- one focused on North America, the other international -- can be downloaded for promotion of the global hunger relief cause here. You also can help the cause by visiting www.GlobalHungerRelief.com to share your heart about the importance of combating hunger and tell what your church is doing to make a difference. --30-- Mark Kelly writes for Baptist Global Response. Other information and resources for promoting hunger relief continue to be available at www.WorldHungerFund.com and the partner organization websites. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -------------------------------------------------------------------- After porn: A marriage is restored by Joni B. Hannigan/Florida Baptist Witness Date: September 16, 2013 - Monday LAKELAND, Fla. (BP) -- Seven years after Cathy Dyer and her husband were married, pornography erupted as a crisis in their marriage, nearly destroying it. Dyer recounts her real-life story of "God's ability to turn tragedy into triumph" in "Our Hardcore Battle Plan for Wives," a resource for women coauthored with Jay Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland, Fla. Utilizing handwritten pages from her personal journal, Dyer gives readers poignant insight into her private pain and process of restoration after her husband's secret addiction to pornography came to light. Our Hardcore Battle Plan for Wives is part of the Join 1 Million Men campaign to help men win the battle against pornography. Dennis pioneered the initiative at First Baptist Church at the Mall and introduced it to the Southern Baptist Convention at its annual meeting last June in Houston. In Our Hardcore Battle Plan for Wives, as noted on Amazon.com, Dyer and Dennis address issues women encounter once pornography has entered the marital relationship -– including how to keep the marriage intact and preventive steps wives and moms can take to keep their families porn-free. Dyer and her husband Greg, who have two children, have now been married 19 years. Dyer, in an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, answered questions about the book, released by New Hope Publishers, a division of Woman's Missionary Union. Q: What did you anticipate will result from the release of your book? Dyer: I hope and pray that the book for women, along with the books Pastor Jay has written for men and pastors, will be a catalyst for many things: for people to find a kindred spirit, practical advice, help and deliverance. Additionally, it has been my prayer that pastors will use these materials with their congregations and join the movement (www.join1millionmen.org). Q: How have you prepared for any of the "shame" issues that come with disclosing such personal information to the public? Dyer: Honestly, shame was a minor issue as I worked on this material. My husband and I have been involved in some capacity of ministry in this area since about 2003, so I'm fairly used to putting my story "out there" and sharing openly. However, when we first started sharing with groups of people, it was nerve-wracking. Until you get used to it, telling people that your husband was unfaithful and a porn addict is an awkward topic to broach; but Greg and I realized -- from our own situation -- that this is a topic that sorely needs to be addressed. Someone has to be bold and have those awkward conversations. Why not us? Q: How do you think this will help other women who are dealing with the same issue? Dyer: When I was going through all the mess of my marriage, it helped so much to read people's personal stories, to know that someone out there had gone through the same thing ... and survived. One influential book for me was by Bonnie Keen, called "Blessed Are the Desperate." I hope many things for my book, but my number one hope is that women who are struggling with pornography or even an affair in their marriage will find solace in my story, that they will connect with my pain and then see the hope on the other side, that they will draw near to God as they are going through all the wreckage. --30-- Joni B. Hannigan is managing editor of the Florida Baptist Witness (www.goFBW.com), newsjournal of the Florida Baptist State Convention. "Our Hardcore Battle Plan for Wives" and other resources in the Join 1 Million Men initiative can be accessed at www.join1millionmen.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Protecting your son from pornography by Jay Dennis Date: September 16, 2013 - Monday LAKELAND, Fla. (BP) -- The average age of first exposure to Internet pornography for a male is 10 to 11 years old. Nine out of 10 children between the ages of 8 and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases the pornography website was accessed unintentionally, but it still has a detrimental effect. As part of the Join 1 Million Men movement (www.join1millonmen.org) to counter the plague of pornography, we are challenging fathers and mothers to be proactive in addressing the issue with their sons. Obviously a parent must do everything possible to try to prevent a child from seeing pornography. When you consider a child's curiosity and the pervasive presence of pornography on the Internet, the temptation is great. What can you do to prevent your son from being exposed to pornography? What can you do if it has already happened? Here are 10 steps a parent can take: 1. Install Internet filtering and accountability software on each computer in your home. Both are necessary. One type of software screens for inappropriate content and the other informs a parent of Internet activity. Parents, this is a have-to investment. Covenant Eyes is among the best along with Safe Eyes and X3Watch. 2. Talk with your son about the dangers of pornography and let him know you are installing the software and why. Communicate with him that pornography harms innocent people and is a sin to look at because it creates temptations to think and act in ways that are against God. 3. Ask your son if he has been exposed to pornography. Assure him you won't be angry if he says yes. You need to discover how it happened. 4. If you have not had "the talk" with him about sex, it's now time. I would encourage you to do this by age 8 or 9 depending on the personality of your child. You do not want your son learning the facts of life from Internet pornography. The subject of sex is every parent's responsibility. 5. Explain to him the dangers of pornography and how it is very displeasing to God. As a follower of Jesus, remind him that God gave sex as a gift only to those who are married. Inform him that pornography goes against everything God wants. Let him know that intentionally viewing pornography is a sin. 6. Set specific Internet-use boundaries. If your son is younger, there should be specific times when he is allowed to use the Internet and times when he should not. Parents, you control those times. Obviously when your son is a teenager you have to set age-appropriate boundaries. Reinforce to your son that you will see the history of what he has viewed. Teach him to never -– ever -- give out personal information on the Internet. Remind him that there are people who would do him harm. You cannot be too careful here. Have specific rules for social networks that you as parents agree upon and clearly define to your son. 7. If your son accidentally sees a pornographic image, he is to come and tell you immediately. Assure him he won't get in trouble, except if he sees an image and doesn't report it. 8. If there is any pornography in your home, destroy it immediately. In addition to the fact that no Christian should have pornography in his or her possession, your child will find it if you have it anywhere. Also, cancel premium cable television and set clear boundaries on what is acceptable and inappropriate to watch. 9. Create a "You-can-ask-me-anything" atmosphere. Let your child know you will always be willing to discuss sexual issues. Work at making him comfortable about discussing sex. 10. Talk with your son about how to respond if he is at a friend's house and pornography is there. Coach him to walk out of the room and call you. It is vital that you help your son choose friends whose parents share your core values, but also be prepared if he does see pornography while visiting a friend. Dad and Mom, you are the guardians, the gatekeepers, the boundary-setters, the rule-makers and the rule-enforcers. When it comes to protecting your son against Internet pornography, a proactive plan is essential. Begin today by encouraging your son to join the 1 Million Men movement. Better yet, Dad, make the commitment with him and, Mom, commit to praying for your husband and son and for at least 1 million men in churches to commit to pornography-free lives. --30-- Jay Dennis is pastor of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland, Fla, and founder of Join 1 Million Men (www.join1millionmen.org), a movement challenging 1 million Christian men to commit to living a pornography free-life and challenging 1 million Christian women to pray for 1 million Christian men to live pornography-free lives. For earlier Baptist Press reports, click here and here. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: 'Dad, I think I know all the Bible stories now' by Trevin Wax Date: September 16, 2013 - Monday NASHVILLE (BP) -- I had to apologize to my son recently. We were on our way to church one Sunday, and he said, "Dad, I think I know all the Bible stories now." "Really?" I said. "All of them?" "Just about," he replied. "And I know all the songs we sing in church too." "That should make it easier for you to sing along," I said. "I don't know why we keep going over the same stories and singing the same songs. Don't they think we've got it down by now?" "I've been studying the Bible and singing songs for a long time, Timothy. And I get something new from God's Word every week." By this time, we were getting out of the van and walking toward the worship center. That's when he said, "I don't think we need to go to church every week. Why don't we just wait until there's something new to learn?" I mulled over that conversation the rest of the day. We discussed it over lunch. Timothy's grandmother, visiting us from Romania, started telling him about how she was reading through the Minor Prophets again, discovering things she'd forgotten over time. My wife started asking Timothy questions about stories she knew he wasn't familiar with. Meanwhile, I was wondering if the fact that our son is in a Christian home, Christian school and a Bible-teaching church has somehow overexposed him to the Scriptures. He's a 9-year-old with lots of Bible knowledge and entire chapters of the Bible memorized. And then, it hit me. For months (maybe years), I've conditioned him to think that attending a worship service is all about learning. From our Saturday night prayers ("Be with us tomorrow, Lord, as we go to church and learn more about You") to after-church conversations ("What did you learn in Sunday School today?"), our way of talking about church is predominantly educational. No wonder he thought we should move on. If church is school, then eventually, you graduate, right? So, that night as I tucked him into bed, I apologized for not being clear on the reason we gather with other believers. "It's not just about learning," I told him. "It's about worship. The learning is connected to our worship." "Is that why we sing the same songs?" he asked. "Yes. When it's easy for people to sing, they can concentrate on what they're singing instead of struggling to learn a new song. Do you know how you like it when all the instruments fade away and you can hear everyone in church singing the same song as loud as they can -– all of our voices harmonizing? That's not about learning ... it's about worship. All of us together, worshipping God for how awesome He is." "We did David and Goliath today," he said. "I already knew all about it. And the teacher left out the best part -– when David used Goliath's sword to cut his head off!" "Yes, that is pretty cool," I told him. "And you already know the story of David and Goliath. But the point of hearing the story again and again is not so that you learn more facts about the story. It's that you are amazed again at God using a little guy like David to do something big for His people. That's the way God is. That's why we sing songs like, 'How Great Is Our God' in church and 'Glorious and Mighty.' We are worshipping Him for what He has done." "I like those songs." "Me too. And next time we sing them, think about the story of David and Goliath, and how powerful God is." "So it's not just about learning." "Nope. The church isn't a class you go to, son. It's a people you belong to. It's about worship. I'm sorry, son, if I've made you think otherwise." --30-- Trevin Wax is managing editor of The Gospel Project (http://gospelproject.com), encompassing Bible study resources for adults, students and children from LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Teaching your child to worship by Diana Davis Date: September 16, 2013 - Monday PENSACOLA, Fla. (BP) -- I sat behind a cute little boy in worship last Sunday. He was wearing stylish headphones and intently played game after game of Angry Birds on his smartphone. For the entire hour, he never even looked up. An older girl nearby was sprawled out napping on the pew. Both children's parents were engaged in worship, yet they missed the opportunity to help their kids worship God. Christian parent, are you intentional about engaging your child in true worship? As soon as he's past nursery age, you have the privilege of training up your child to enjoy worship services. Try these fresh ideas: -- Commit to God today that you'll prepare, pray and persist in teaching your child. -- Talk about the worship service during the week. Worship is a delight for Christians, not drudgery. Your enthusiasm and sincere anticipation of Sunday worship is contagious. -- Create a church bag to hold a children's Bible (with pictures if possible), a journal book and a pen or markers. -- Prepare well on Saturday. Lay out your child's clothes, find both shoes, be sure there's food for breakfast, and intentionally get a good night's rest. -- As you drive to church, show excitement. Chat about why we go to church and what you hope God will do in your own heart today. Be ready for worship. -- Arrive early enough to take your child to the restroom just before church. For a very rare emergency, personally escort her, and return to a rear seat. -- Allow your child to get his own worship bulletin. Glance at it to explain special happenings today. If your church provides a kids' bulletin, help your child use it. -- Be seated before worship begins, selecting a seat near the front so your child can see and participate well. -- Teach your child to joyfully participate in every aspect of worship. As you model how to worship God, he'll catch that same awe. Help him stand or sit at appropriate times, sing the songs, bow his head and close his eyes during prayer. Teach him to make eye contact, shake hands and visit during greeting time. Let him give an offering and pass the plate. Open the Bible or hymnal and follow the words with your finger, even if he can't yet read them. Instead of playing, napping or lounging, he'll be learning to worship God. -- Once the sermon begins, the child can get her church bag for "note-taking." Help her to sit facing the front to avoid distracting others. As you take sermon notes or fill in a bulletin outline, help your child learn to listen and write. Use age-appropriate ideas to focus on God. A young child may simply draw words the pastor says. You could select a key word from the sermon topic, such as Jesus, and she could write hash marks to count the number of times it was said. As reading skills improve, she may write words from the focal Scripture or take sermon notes. -- One mom cuts out cardboard hearts for her children to write or draw what they learn about God each Sunday. Keep those journals or hearts as mementos. -- You want your church to enjoy your child as much as your child enjoys church. Teach respect for God's house, and pay attention to your child's activity. Never allow him to be unruly or destructive. For example, in most churches, children shouldn't play on the platform, where fragile equipment, instruments and cords exist. -- Help your child to know the pastor, shaking his hand or speaking to him on Sundays. Encourage her to visit with kids and adults after worship. -- On the drive home, talk about the worship service. Kids are like sponges, and they're smarter than we imagine. Ask what your child enjoyed or learned. Answer any questions, and recap the sermon topic on the child's level. Would you like for your children to receive over 50 hours of hands-on worship training this year? If you worship as a family each week, intentionally engaging your kids in true worship, that's exactly what you'll give them. "Those who love their children care enough to discipline them," Proverbs 23:24. --30-- Diana Davis is author of "Fresh Ideas" and "Deacon Wives" (B&H Publishing). She is an author, columnist and wife of North American Mission Board's vice president for the south region, Steve Davis. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -------------------------------------------------------------------- BP Ledger, Sept. 16 edition by Staff Date: September 16, 2013 - Monday EDITOR'S NOTE: BP Ledger carries items for reader information each week from various Southern Baptist-related entities, and news releases of interest from other sources. The items are published as received. Today's BP Ledger contains items from: WORLD News Service (2 items) Campbellsville University Growing 'subterranean dissent' from Darwinism NEW YORK (WORLD News Service) -- Stephen Meyer, one of the founders of the intelligent design theory, spoke at a Socrates in the City lecture in New York Sept. 12, explaining his newest book “Darwin's Doubt” and the latest in scientific debates over the origin of life. The room was packed with New Yorkers in snappy evening wear, as well as the famous journalist Tom Wolfe, in his signature white suit. Intelligent design (ID), counter to its popular portrayal, is not an idea from "insecure religious fundamentalists," Meyer said, but the scientific theory that all the data in the universe points to "a mind not a material process." Meyer, head of the Discovery Institute, believes that mind is the Christian God, but he said as ID spread in the scientific community, scientists are developing different intelligent design–based theories. He said the purely materialistic view of the world, which has ruled the scientific community since the 19th century, is beginning to break apart. "There's a huge disparity between the public presentation of evolution [in the media] and what's going on in the peer-reviewed scientific literature," Meyer said. He noted that in the last few years six new theories have been introduced in evolutionary biology. "It's a story that hasn't been told," Meyer said. "There is a growing subterranean dissent from Darwinism." The growing knowledge about the complex engineering of cells and circuitry in animals, he said, is "what's generating a lot of skepticism." As this subterranean dissent grows, Meyer said it would be "imprudent for our side to be pushing intelligent design into textbooks." "We want our scientists working on the science instead of getting drawn into [court] cases like Dover where you have the absurdity of a judge deciding what is science," Meyer said. "There are too many scientists doing science from this perspective to keep it out of schools. I'd prefer for it to happen organically." In the Dover case, a school board attempted to add intelligent design to its curriculum, and a judge ruled that was an unconstitutional establishment of religion in schools. ********** India's Female Holocaust WASHINGTON (WORLD News Service) -- Preema, a young woman from a rural village in southern India, is the 12th daughter born to her parents. Yet, she has no older sisters. Each time Preema's mother became pregnant and gave birth to a girl, she and her husband killed the newborn -- disappointed it hadn't been a boy. After 12 births, Preema (not her real name), was the only girl they allowed to live. The young woman's story was part of testimony offered Sept. 10 by Jill McElya, co-founder of the Invisible Girl Project, to a U.S. House subcommittee hearing on "India's Missing Girls." The gruesome practice of sex selection by abortion and infanticide is rampant in India, driven by a strong cultural preference for boys. The problem has only gotten worse in recent years. Rep. Chris Smith, R.-N.J., an architect of U.S. anti-trafficking law and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, presided over the hearing. "By shining a light on what is happening in India with its missing girls, we hope to move forward towards a world where every woman is valued and deeply respected because of her intrinsic dignity, and where every child is welcome regardless of his or her sex," he said in an opening statement. By the time the hearing concluded, it was clear that although the participants agreed "gendercide" in Asia is a major human rights problem, they couldn't agree on how the United States should address it. India's 2011 census indicated the scope of the problem: The country has about 37 million more men than women, the result of millions of baby girls being drowned, strangled or aborted. "We are dealing with a sex selection that has become a genocide," said Sabu George, a member of India's Campaign Against Sex Selection, who testified at the hearing. George has fought sex selection and infanticide in India since the '80s, and said in the past decade alone, Indian parents eliminated 6 million girls before birth: "This is much larger than the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust." In India, a girl's parents are expected to provide a generous dowry to her future husband. Since many families are poor, they view boys as assets, girls as liabilities. Although a son will grow up to care for his parents when they become old, a girl will leave home, often in her teens, to join her husband and in-laws. If the husband and his family are unhappy with the bride and her dowry, they might mistreat the girl or even murder her. (This month, statistics from India's National Crime Records Bureau revealed one woman is murdered every hour in India over dowry disputes.) Wives who are unable to bear boys face further abuse, underscoring a cycle of violence against women in the country. "I sit before you today 8 1/2 months pregnant with my second daughter," McElya said. "As a pregnant woman, if I were in India, my in-laws would be pressuring me to have a [sex determination test]." Then she'd be "strong-armed" into aborting the baby if it turned out to be a girl. In one case, highlighted in the documentary It's a Girl, the husband and in-laws of a woman pregnant with twin girls threw her down a flight of stairs after she refused to have an abortion. In rural areas, many poor families who can't afford a gender test resort to infanticide. In Preema's village, boys outnumbered girls 8 to 1, according to McElya. The gender imbalance has opened the door to a host of additional cultural evils, including human trafficking. Men who are unable to find wives often resort to buying brides from outside the country, or paying for sex at brothels. In some cases, they have taken up polyandry—sharing one "wife" between several men. Although both dowries and sex selection are formally illegal in India, the experts at Tuesday's hearing said officials have little motivation at the national, state, and local government levels to enforce the laws. Some leaders view the culturally ingrained practice as a convenient way to enforce population control. Matthew Connelly, a history professor at Columbia University, said India's sex selection epidemic was encouraged by the population control movement promoted in the 1960s by U.S. organizations like Planned Parenthood and Population Council. In written testimony provided to the hearing, Connelly said it was the head of Population Council's biomedical division, Sheldon Segal, who "first instructed Indian doctors in how to determine the sex of a fetus, and he publicly advocated the practice as a means to control population growth." In the '70s, Indian doctors sterilized millions of people, financed by Western supporters. (China, which has tried to stop population growth with its one-child policy, also has a severe sex-selection problem.) If the subcommittee hearing made the evil of gendercide clear, it was unclear what exactly should be done about it. George asked Congress to pressure the Indian government to stop targeting women for sterilization, and McElya said the United States should make aid contingent on the Indian government regularly reporting on its efforts to end sex selection. "There has to be a combination of political will and social demand," McElya said. However, Mallika Dutt, the founder of the human rights organization Breakthrough, said any efforts to address the problem should include support for women's health and reproductive services, including contraception and abortion. That prompted a spirited challenge from pro-life subcommittee members. "I am steadfast about human rights being from womb to the tomb," said Smith, explaining he saw a disconnect between opposing a woman's choice to abort a girl, but supporting her choice to abort for any other reason. Rep. Randy Weber, R.-Texas, asked Dutt if she would be okay with Indian women aborting boys as a way of correcting the gender imbalance. "You know, no one's ever asked me this question," Dutt replied, caught off guard. Without answering, she continued to insist all Indian women should retain access to abortion. Rep. Tom Marino, R.-Pa., suggested any additional aid to India to fight sex selection could be a tough sell to the American people at a time of financial crisis. When India's own government isn't serious about addressing the problem, "How do we convince the people of the United States?" ********** CU students hear KBC president in chapel By Linda Waggener CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (Campbellsville University) -- "When you have a passionate speaker like Dan Summerlin sharing the Gospel with you," Campbellsville University President Michael V. Carter said, "it's a good day." Dan Summerlin, president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Paducah, was the guest speaker at the weekly CU chapel service Sept. 11. Summerlin said he has a passion for higher education "because in order to change the world, students have to be educated before they can provide answers." Noting the theme for this year's chapel series, "A Light to the Nations" (Isaiah 49:6), Summerlin told CU students to simply remember God's mandate, to go to corners of the earth and reach out for Christ. He said we are all mandated to go and make a difference whether it's a foreign mission or a community one. He said the Lord loves to give us impossible assignments, callings that make us say, "Lord, that's impossible." Summerlin said the Lord knows that, but He can do the impossible through us. "Be the light," Summerlin said, "by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us." --30--