
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-10/17/2016

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 FIRST-PERSON:   Refugees - retreat or welcome?
by  Erich Bridges
Date: October 17, 2016 - Monday

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- The United Nations held a conference in September focusing on the more than 65 million migrants worldwide -- by far the biggest displacement of people since World War II.

They are driven from their homes by war, instability or grinding oppression and poverty. Some 21.3 million of those people are officially designated as refugees. Half of that number have fled three countries: Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan.

Most refugee families, even if they have enough food to eat, languish in camps or squatter settlements with little hope of finding new homes. Few refugee children have schools to attend.

Yet in the face of such staggering need, some American evangelicals have joined in the call by various politicians to close our golden door to refugees, particularly those who might pose any conceivable terror threat or security risk. 

One notable bright spot, however, is Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., which was included in a "60 Minutes" report Sunday (Oct. 16) for its work in resettling two Syrian refugee families in the Atlanta area.

"Isn't it better to reach out and love these folks than to give them the cold shoulder?" pastor Bryant Wright, a former Southern Baptist Convention president, asked. "Which approach do you think might cause a Muslim refugee to be more sympathetic to Islamic terrorism?"

It would be sad if Christians en masse turned their back on some of the world's neediest people. Churches have been the primary sponsors and welcomers of refugees to the U.S. since the aftermath of the Vietnam War. We still are -- for now.

"Of all the legal pathways to enter the United States, the Refugee Admissions Program features the most rigorous screening," notes Matthew Hawkins, coalitions director for the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). "It is correct to say the program can't guarantee perfection (no program can), yet even those who wish to shut down the program don't deny its security relative to non-immigrant visa entries. … Shutting down legal pathways of entry out of fear isn't exactly the response of a confident, free nation." 

Nor is it the response of confident, openhearted Christians.

"Virtually every day, in quiet corners of airports across the country, refugees are being welcomed and cared for by teams from churches and community groups," writes Scott Arbeiter, president of World Relief. "This is our new Ellis Island. It is the expression of our faith and our humanity, and it is a worthy response to the legacy we have inherited."

The movement to bar refugees is an understandable reaction to homegrown terror attacks by radical Muslims. Some citizens also fear refugees and immigrants in general will take scarce American jobs and change American culture forever. But the impulse among Christians to join in closing the gate, despite our historical generosity, might point to something deeper.

There is a time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing, says the Preacher in Ecclesiastes 3:5. Throughout church history, Christians have taken his advice, one way or the other, in their embrace of the world. Sometimes they sense when the moment has come to withdraw in order to seek new strength in God.

But how do we know when it is time to "shun embracing" the things of this world?

Benedict of Nursia, born about 480 A.D. in Italy, was repelled by the decadence of "Christian" Rome. He went to the mountains, founded a monastery and eventually wrote the Rule of Benedict, the founding document of the Benedictine order and much of Western Christian monasticism. Benedict's aim wasn't necessarily to renounce the world, but to form communities of believers who would dedicate their lives entirely to working, praying and seeking God.

In an increasingly hostile environment, some say it's time for Christians, including evangelicals, to follow Benedict's example. Conservative Christian intellectual Rod Dreher calls it the "Benedict Option."

"Even as we stay engaged in the public square ... we have got to retreat somewhat, reclaim our own story as Christians, thicken our practices and build institutions that can be resilient in this post-Christian and, in fact, anti-Christian culture that is emerging," Dreher stressed during an ERLC-sponsored conference last year.

Some dismiss the "Benedict Option" as a surrender to culture, not a temporary retreat from it -- an abdication of the church's mission to live and proclaim the Gospel to the world. That's not quite fair, however. The Christian tradition of retreat and renewal is a very old one. Many historians argue that the great monasteries preserved the Christian faith -- and Western civilization -- during the Dark Ages. Christian communities of many varieties continue to renew and enrich the church.

Strategic retreat is sometimes the only option for believers under pressure. But are American followers of Christ under such cultural siege that we need to withdraw from a world that desperately needs us? The earliest Christians faced constant threats, persecution and ridicule. Yet that ragtag band managed to turn the world upside down with their message of God's love and grace.

We, in contrast, have enormous resources, religious freedom and countless opportunities to spread the Good News at home and among the nations. If we reject the most desperate out of fear and suspicion, and withdraw into spiritual cocoons, are we shunning the embrace of the world for the right reason?

I wonder what Benedict would say. He welcomed needy visitors to his monastery.

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 Indiana Baptists amend church cooperation bylaw
by Staff
Date: October 17, 2016 - Monday

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (BP) -- Indiana Baptists amended their bylaw regarding cooperating churches at the group's annual meeting Oct. 10–11 at the Palms Conference Center in Plainfield, Ind.

The new State Convention of Baptists in Indiana (SCBI) rule provides "a personal and proactive approach to dealing with churches that have not met the basic requirements of being a 'cooperating church with the SCBI,'" the group reported.

Messengers to the annual meeting received the resignation of SCBI executive director Cecil Seagle, elected new officers and approved a 2017 budget. Seagle will serve through Dec. 31.

Under the amended church cooperation bylaw, approved overwhelmingly, the SCBI will make efforts to communicate with churches who have not met cooperation guidelines. Churches are considered in cooperation with the SCBI when they agree with the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, give to the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program or the state mission offering, and submit basic statistical information to the SBC annual church profile. To that end, a team of SCBI representatives will meet with the church in question to discuss any problems and determine whether the church desires to reaffirm cooperation.

The $4,290,680 budget approved for 2017 represents a 5.7 percent increase over the 2016 amount, and is based on anticipated receipts of 56 percent in Cooperative Program funds, 21 percent from NAMB, 17 percent from fees, 1 percent from LifeWay and 5 percent from other sources. The 198 messengers in attendance voted to forward 40 percent of CP receipts to the SBC for national and international causes.

Bruce Reynolds, pastor of Old Town Hill Baptist Church in Muncie, was elected the new SCBI president over fellow nominee Bob Parnell, pastor of Black Oak Baptist Church in Gary. Completing the new slate of officers are first vice president Roger Kinion, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Greenfield; second vice president Randy Forsythe, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Portage; and recording secretary Sandy Irick, a member of Vann Avenue Baptist Church, Evansville.

"Shining Through the Darkness" was Indiana Baptists' annual meeting theme, based on Ephesians 5:8, "For you were once darkness, but now &#91;you are&#93; light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light…" Attendees heard team reports and celebrated Seagle's denominational contributions, churches strengthened and planted, and salvation decisions voiced at camps.

Seagle preached his final annual meeting message from Revelation 19:11-17 on the theme of "Take Me to the King." He spoke about current popular culture and the need for churches to "keep the focus on Jesus" and "bring a lost world to the King."

Among those presenting special accolades to Seagle were Frank Page on behalf of the SBC Executive Committee, Guy Key on behalf of the International Mission Board, and David Cullison, SCBI Executive Board chairman and pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Evansville. Seagle had announced his resignation at the August 15 SCBI Executive Board meeting.

Resolutions Committee Chairman Bob Parnell presented a resolution in appreciation of local churches that helped host the 2016 meeting, including host congregations Gasburg Baptist Church, Plainfield Baptist Church and Hope Community Church. Others attending included 45 visitors who with messengers represented 97 of the 463 churches that cooperate with the SCBI.

The 2017 annual meeting will be held in the new worship center at Highland Lakes Baptist Camp on Oct. 9-10, 2017.

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Massachusetts churches sue over 'anti-bias' law
by Bonnie Pritchett/WORLD News Service
Date: October 17, 2016 - Monday

BOSTON (BP) -- Four Massachusetts churches and their pastors filed a pre-emptive lawsuit in October in an attempt to halt application of a newly amended state law requiring pastors to temper their speech and churches to allow transgender persons to use the bathroom of their choice.
In July, Massachusetts legislators amended General Law 272, known as "Crimes against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order," to add gender identity to the list of protected classes. Neither the law nor the amendment offer religious exemptions from compliance or name religious institutions as places of public accommodation. But in their interpretation of the law, the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination (MCAD) and Attorney General Maura Healey declared "houses of worship" can be subject to the rule and its penalties if they host a "secular" event. 
The law also prohibits speech that "discriminates" or "incites" discrimination, which could apply to church staff offering biblical teaching about God's design for men, women and human sexuality.
Violators could be fined up to $2,500 and face up to one year in prison -- or both.
Churches chose to challenge the law before the state revoked their right to operate according to their faith. The complaint, filed Oct. 11 by Alliance Defending Freedom, asks a U.S. District Court to stop enforcement of the law against the plaintiffs while the court battle plays out. The suit contends the law violates the plaintiffs' rights under the U.S. Constitution's First and 14th Amendments. Healey and three MCAD members are named as defendants.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Horizon Christian Fellowship, Swansea Abundant Life Church, House of Destiny Ministries, Faith Christian Fellowship of Haverhill, and their pastors.
The complaint, Horizon Christian Fellowship v. Williamson, argues the interpretation of the law ignores the church's role as an institution of worship to God and service to the community. The two roles are not mutually exclusive.
"In all the churches' activities, they are communicating their understanding of God's truth, and refraining from communicating messages that violate the churches' understanding of God's truth," the lawsuit states. "Requiring the churches to allow individuals to use the facilities reserved for the opposite biological sex contradicts the churches' message about God's intention and purpose for human sexuality."
Pastors, speaking from the pulpit, a public forum, or on electronic media also could be held personally accountable to the law. Out of fear of reprisals, the pastors have begun to self-censor their speech, according to the lawsuit.
With no religious exemptions, the law that purports to protect chastity, morality, decency, and good order will be applied against churches on a case-by-case basis, according to MCAD. That, the lawsuit states, "invests in &#91;MCAD&#93; the power to decide which religious beliefs, practices, and doctrines of the churches regarding sex are acceptable, and which ones are not."

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Political engagement, trust in God's sovereignty urged
by SBTS Communications 
Date: October 17, 2016 - Monday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Jesus is the "ultimate" refugee and immigrant, and as a result the church has a responsibility to love and care for strangers in their land, said Georgia pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention president Bryant Wright during an Oct. 11 chapel message during Heritage Week at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

"The role of government is different. The role of government includes a protection of the citizens, but our role in the church is to love our neighbor," said Wright, who received his M.Div. from Southern Seminary in 1979. "And we are called to do that in any situation in life as Jesus teaches us to do so."

Wright's sermon, "Refugees and Immigrants," focused on the biblical role of the church to serve and love those considered foreigners to America. Wright's main text, Matthew 2:13-15, explains that Jesus, led by his parents, were refugees who fled to Egypt.

Addressing the topic of refugees and immigrants specifically, Wright encouraged Christian citizens to "be engaged in the political process" in order to draft reforms to solve the immigration issue "in the most humane manner that is good for citizens in our land and is good for all."

Wright, who pastors Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., reminded students of the privilege to "be part of a convention that is really in the forefront of leading the way and making a statement and testimony to the world" in regard to the treatment of immigrants. He urged students to review the SBC immigration resolution passed at the annual meeting in 2011. 

According to the SBC website, sbc.net, the resolution recognized the government's responsibility of border security, requested public officials to offer a "a just and compassionate path to legal status … for those undocumented immigrants already living in our country," and a call to Southern Baptist churches to "proclaim Christ and minister in his spirit to everyone, regardless of their 'immigration status.'"

Wright has served the convention in the roles of SBC president (2010-12), president of the SBC Pastors' Conference (2006), chairman of the Committee on Committees of the SBC (2003), and on several boards including the board of trustees for GuideStone Financial Resources (2009-2017).

Because of the refugee crisis and immigration, Christians are able to share the Gospel with people who do not usually have access to hearing it.

"One thing for sure, we have an opportunity in sharing the good news of the Gospel of Christ with refugees and immigrants" Wright said. "It is news that helps them to identify with this Jesus, who knows what it's like to be a refugee." 

"But that's not all," Wright noted. "… You see, Jesus is the ultimate example of an immigrant. But what is so unique about Jesus? He didn't leave His throne in heaven for a better life on earth, He left His throne in heaven because He loves you and me, sinners unworthy of his love, and gave His life for us. If the ultimate immigrant, Jesus Christ, has done that for you and me, can't we reach out to the strangers and aliens of our land and show them the love of Christ? And share with them the Gospel, the good news, when they've experienced so much bad news."

At a special Heritage Week service Oct. 12 in Broadus Chapel on the seminary's Louisville, Ky., campus, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary, preached about the resolute faith Christians should have for God's promises in a fallen world. 

Despite a clash of worldviews that characterizes the church's interaction with secular culture, believers can have confidence that God's sovereign purposes will be fulfilled in the end, Mohler said.

"Scripture pervasively and consistently tells us that God is in control and nothing is outside His control," Mohler said. "If there is anything -- a single atom or molecule in the universe -- that appears to be out of His control, we're not just in trouble, we're doomed. But He is in absolute sovereign control, and He is exercising His power -- He is King and Lord over all, and He will bring all things to pass according to his will."

Preaching on Ecclesiastes 9:11-18, Mohler said believers' experience in a fallen world makes it seem like God will not triumph. The wicked prosper, the wise are forgotten, and everybody dies, Mohler said, indicating that sin and its consequences will have the final say. God's absolute sovereignty speaks a truer word, He said, and death will not have victory. 

"If God is God, and if He has acted in Christ to save sinners, and if He is the sovereign ruler of the entire universe, and if He is going to bring all history to a climactic conclusion according to His perfect judgment, then 'if God be for us, who can be against us?'" Mohler said, referencing Paul's famous testimony of God's sovereignty despite suffering in Romans 8. "If God is God, then we can go to the cemetery and understand that the grave does not have the last word." 

In the Oct. 13 service in Alumni Memorial Chapel, SBTS trustee Clint Pressley said believers can hold onto the strength of Jesus Christ in times of trouble. The Lord Jesus knows and sympathizes with everything Christians experience in their lives, said Pressley, who is senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.

"Isn't that what the Psalm promises? That He knows our frame and that He remembers that we are dust," he said.

Using as his text Acts 23, when Paul is held before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem and rejected, Pressley said believers often share Paul's darkest moments in ministry. Within those difficult circumstances, Christians can experience the "staying power" and strength of Christ in their lives.

"In Christ, there is strength," he said. "You find your identity, you find your ministry, you find your affections, and you find your ambition bound up in Christ."

Audio and video of Heritage Week services are available at sbts.edu/resources.

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 40 Days for Life U.S. tour runs through Nov. 6
by Diana Chandler
Date: October 17, 2016 - Monday

ST PAUL, Minn. (BP) -- As Planned Parenthood marks its centennial, pro-life advocates are participating in the international 40 Days for Life campaign billed as the largest such mobilization in U.S. history.

A 40 Days for Life United bus tour is a new addition to the 2016 campaign that will include vigils in 367 locations in 270 U.S. cities and more than 20 foreign countries, major campaign sponsor Pro-Life Action Ministries (PLAM) of St. Paul, Minn., said at 40daysforlife.com.

The United tour will make stops in more than 125 cities to hold rallies and prayer vigils that will encourage Christians to stand together for the sanctity of life across the nation, 40 Days for Life president Shawn Carney said in a press release. 

"Since 40 Days for Life started in 2007," Carney said, "we have recognized that although abortion is a national problem, it does not happen in the White House, in Congress, or in the Supreme Court. Abortion takes place in hometowns across America -- and it will end, and is ending, in hometowns across America, one by one."

The interdenominational campaigns began nearly 10 years ago with vigils outside abortion clinics in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and have grown to include all 50 states. Each city-based 40 Days for Life campaign is distinguished by 40 days of prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a "constant, peaceful vigil in the public right-of-way outside abortion facilities" PLAM said. The group is working with at least five other national ministries and numerous city and state pro-life coalition groups in conducting the bus tour, which began Sept. 28 in Washington D.C, and runs through Nov. 6 in Virginia.

The 2016 tour is scheduled to make four stops today (Oct. 17) in Colorado, including abortion clinics in Fort Collins, Boulder and Colorado Springs, with the statewide rally today at 6:30 p.m. in Denver.

Steve Karlen, 40 Days for Life North American campaign director, said the tour is evidence of unity in the fight against abortion.

"People of faith sometimes feel alone in their efforts to end abortion," Karlen said. "We are all in this together -- and with God's blessings, abortion in this country will come to an end."

Already in the current campaign, PLAM said it has received reports of 264 babies being saved from abortions their mothers had planned to have.

Several 40-day campaigns are observed each year, the most recent one held Feb. 10-March 20 in 273 locations including the U.S. and 24 foreign countries. In that campaign which drew 120,000 participants from 4,700 churches, PLAM said at 40daysforlife.com, 631 lives were saved from abortion, six abortion workers left the industry, three abortion facilities closed.

The campaign's length is based on God's use of 40-day periods to transform individuals and communities, including the flood of Noah's era, Moses' recording of the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, and the period between Christ's resurrection and ascension.

Since 2007, more than 700,000 individuals from 18,500 churches have participated in vigils in 636 cities and 36 countries, preventing at least 11,796 babies from being aborted, leading to 133 workers leaving the abortion industry and seeing 73 abortion facilities end their practice, PLAM said.

Other tour sponsors are March for Life, Heartbeat International, Silent No More Awareness, Students for Life and Susan B. Anthony List, along with numerous city and state pro-life coalition groups including many Southern Baptists, PLAM said.

The complete schedule of vigils and participation information are available at 40daysforlife.com.

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Pro-lifers grieve Planned Parenthood anniversary
by Tom Strode
Date: October 17, 2016 - Monday

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Planned Parenthood -- America's leading abortion provider -- celebrated its 100th anniversary Sunday (Oct. 16) to praise from the current president, as well as the frontrunner to be the next president, and protest from pro-life advocates.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) observed its centennial with an event at the City Hall of New York and the launch of #100Years Strong, a year-long celebration marked by more than 150 community events around the world.

Inaugurated when eugenicist Margaret Sanger opened a Brooklyn birth control clinic in 1916, Planned Parenthood took the lead in the abortion business in this country when a New York affiliate began performing the procedures in 1970. New York legalized abortion that year, three years before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on the procedure.

Now, PPFA's affiliates perform more than 320,000 abortions a year at the same time the organization and its affiliates receive about $550 million annually in government grants and reimbursements. Various scandals have plagued Planned Parenthood in the last decade or more, most recently when undercover videos in 2015 provided evidence that it trades in body parts from aborted babies.

While President Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton applauded Planned Parenthood's anniversary, Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore said it "should be an occasion for the church to grieve."

"For a century, Planned Parenthood has been a force for the culture of death, beginning with its start as a racist, social Darwinist institution," said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "It has been exposed even further in recent years as a trafficker of human bodies for financial gain. 

"Though the pro-life movement has made some remarkable gains, this landmark for the abortion lobby's biggest institution is a reminder of how far we still have to go for human dignity," he told Baptist Press in written comments.

Obama and Clinton offered congratulations to PPFA online.

"For a century," Obama tweeted Oct. 16, "Planned Parenthood has made it possible for women to determine their own lives. Here's to another #100YearsStrong."

On a video released by her campaign the same day, Clinton said, "Planned Parenthood, congratulations on your first 100 years. And here's to 100 more."

Clinton -- who supports abortion rights and government funding of the procedures -- received PPFA's Margaret Sanger Award in 2009, when she was secretary of state. Planned Parenthood gives the award for "leadership, excellence and outstanding contributions to the reproductive health and rights movement."

She also said of the Republican presidential ticket Oct. 16 on Twitter, "When Trump and Pence attack Planned Parenthood, they're attacking millions of Americans."

Donald Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, have said their administration would seek to prohibit federal funds for PPFA. 

A coalition of pro-life organizations has launched its own campaign -- #100YearsOfAbuse -- to counter Planned Parenthood's celebration and to publicize the abortion-rights organization's practices. 

Planned Parenthood's anniversary is "a tragic milestone for our nation and a reminder of the millions of unborn children who will never have a birthday," the coalition said in a written statement. "We mourn these children, as well as the women who have been hurt and exploited by the nation's largest abortion chain."

Among the members of the coalition are Alliance Defending Freedom, Americans United for Life, Family Research Council, March for Life, Students for Life of America and Susan B. Anthony List.

The latest campaign by 40 Days for Life -- a nationwide, and international, pro-life outreach -- includes a major presence at Planned Parenthood facilities. More than 140 of the 40 Days prayer vigils are being held in front of PPFA centers.

Cecile Richards, PPFA's president, said her organization is "just getting started."

"We will build on our proud legacy and launch our second century with as much passion, courage, and conviction as our first," she said in a written release from Planned Parenthood, which has more than 650 centers in the United States.

Congress approved legislation less than a year ago that would have eliminated about 90 percent of Planned Parenthood's federal funding, but Obama vetoed the bill in January. A House attempt to over-ride the veto fell far short of the two-thirds majority required.

That congressional effort followed the release of secretly recorded videos that showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of organs from aborted children, as well as their willingness to manipulate the abortion procedure to preserve organs for sale and use.

A special panel in the House of Representatives is investigating Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue procurement businesses to determine if a federal law regulating the storage and transportation of such tissue has been violated. The panel is to issue a report by the end of the year.

Other undercover investigations by pro-life organizations in the last several years have produced videos allegedly showing Planned Parenthood employees demonstrating a willingness to aid self-professed sex traffickers whose prostitutes supposedly were in their early teens, seeking to conceal alleged child sex abuse and agreeing to receive donations designated for abortions of African-American babies.


