
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-11/04/2005

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ELECTION 2005: Calif. voters considering parental notification abortion law
by Michael Foust
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

<i>EDITORS’ NOTE: This is the second in a three-part series previewing the Nov. 8 election.</i>


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--The argument is a simple one -- in California, a teenage girl needs a parent's permission to get her ears pierced, to get a flu shot and even to get an aspirin from the school nurse. Why, then, is she not required at least to notify her parents before getting an abortion?

Although more than 30 states have adopted laws requiring either parental consent or notification before a minor can obtain an abortion, California is not among them. That could change Nov. 8 when citizens there vote on Proposition 73, which would amend the state constitution to require at least one parent of a teenager under 18 to be notified before the girl obtains an abortion. If the parent does not agree to the procedure, the minor must then wait 48 hours.

The proposed law would have an exception for medical emergencies and would allow teen girls to bypass the law by getting permission from a juvenile court judge. The bypass clause, supporters say, is aimed at situations where teen girls live with abusive parents.

Abortion doctors would be required to notify parents and could be fined if they fail to do so.

"There are teenage girls right now, as young as 12 and 13, that are getting abortions," Mike Spence, a spokesman for the California Parents Rights Coalition, told Baptist Press. "... Society has always recognized the role of parents in caring for their children. In California, you can't get your body pierced.... You can't get a Blockbuster video card without parental consent. This simply allows for notification for a very major surgery."

This is not the first time California has tackled the issue. It previously had a parental consent law that required minors to obtain their parents’ permission. The law also had a judicial bypass. But the California Supreme Court struck it down in 1997, saying it violated the state constitution's right to privacy guarantee. Proposition 73 has fewer teeth than that earlier law -- it requires only notification, not consent -- but it would nonetheless be a significant victory for pro-lifers in a fairly liberal state.

Delaware, Massachusetts and Rhode Island -- all left-leaning states -- have similar laws. In fact, both Massachusetts and Rhode Island have the much stronger consent laws.

"This is a real common sense initiative, but the pro-abortion advocates in the state are using lies and untruths in order to try and stop it," Spence said. "They are, obviously, opposed to it."

There is no guarantee that Proposition 73 will pass. Some polls have it winning, others show it losing. A Los Angeles Times poll conducted Oct. 26-31 showed it winning, 51-39 percent. But a Field Poll done Oct. 25-30 had it losing, 49-41 percent. Other polls have reflected that volatility.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a pro-choice Republican, has endorsed Proposition 73. In addition, "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger, conservative talk-show host Laura Ingraham and actor/commentator Ben Stein have recorded radio ads supporting it.

The amendment defines abortion as the "death of the unborn child, a child conceived but not yet born."

Spence said the amendment would "absolutely" reduce the number of teen abortions by bringing parents into the discussion.

"If you look at the statistics in other states, after implementation, there's usually a drop in the number of abortions and pregnancies," he said.

A victory also would be significant for the pro-life movement in both California and nationwide, he said.

"I think it would be an important step. It would show that voters in the state of California support reasonable limits on abortion," he said. " ... It would be the nation's biggest state passing a reasonable limit to what is usually an unlimited right. That's always a plus for the movement."
--30--
For more information about Proposition 73, visit www.caparentsrights.org or www.yeson73.net


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9th Circuit: Parents have 'no right' in school sex discussions
by Staff
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

SAN FRANCISCO (BP)--Parents have “no constitutional right to prevent the public schools from providing information on &#91;the subject of sex&#93; to their students in any forum or manner they select,” according to a ruling handed down by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Nov. 2.

Elementary school parents had filed a lawsuit against the Palmdale School District in Los Angeles after their children came home from school complaining about having been asked troubling questions regarding sex during a school-administered survey.

The outraged parents in the lawsuit said they had the sole right “to control the upbringing of their children by introducing them to matters of and relating to sex,” but the appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that had decided in favor of the schools.

Among the contents of the survey given to children in the first, third and fifth grades were questions about whether they thought about having sex, thought about touching other people’s “private parts” and whether they could “stop thinking about having sex.”

School officials said the survey was simply meant to measure children’s exposure to early trauma and to assist in better meeting their needs.

R. Albert Mohler Jr., in his Nov. 4 commentary on the matter posted at albertmohler.com, called the decision “one of the most outrageous infringements upon parental rights ever made by an American court” and expressed regret that a school district would introduce the idea of sex to 6-, 8- and 10-year-olds.

“We can be fairly confident that most parents would be upset when people talk about sex with their young children,” Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said. “After all, how many first graders have any concept of sex? Most parents would see these young children as needing protection from the very knowledge of sex, must less the intrusion of questions related to their own sexual feelings and perceptions.”

Before the surveys were administered, parents signed consent forms. But the consent forms never mentioned that sex would be a topic.

The court ruled, “In summary, we hold that there is no free-standing fundamental right of parents ‘to control the upbringing of their children by introducing them to matters of and relating to sex in accordance with their personal and religious values and beliefs’ and that the asserted right is not encompassed by any other fundamental right.

“... We conclude only that the parents are possessed of no constitutional right to prevent the public schools from providing information on that subject to their students in any forum or manner they select,” the court added. “We further hold that a psychological survey is a reasonable state action pursuant to legitimate educational as well as health and welfare interests of the state.”

The three-judge panel said “once parents make the choice as to which school their children will attend, their fundamental right to control the education of their children is, at the least, substantially diminished.”

“This is an incredible statement,” Mohler said. “America’s parents are now being told that, if they choose to educate their children in the public schools, they forfeit any fundamental right to control the education of their own children.”

Most parents, Mohler said, would view the school-administered sex survey as “an unwarranted and harmful intrusion -- an abuse of state power that robbed their children of innocence and security.”

The case could be appealed to the full Ninth Circuit, encompassing 24 active judges, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The Ninth Circuit, Mohler noted, has a history of seeing its rulings overturned. Its jurisdiction covers California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii.

“Nevertheless, the big lesson here is the fact that a federal appeals court dared to hand down such a decision and to cloak its assault on parental rights in language that gives government officials virtual carte blanche over the sexual education of children,” he wrote. “If this doesn’t lead to outrage among America’s parents, what will?”
--30--


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Leaders say abstinence is key to decline in teen pregnancies
by Erin Curry
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Children born out of wedlock today are more likely to have mothers in their early 20s than teens, according to new data from the National Center for Health Statistics that prompted leaders of the True Love Waits abstinence movement to point to virginity pledges as a leading factor in the reduction of teen pregnancies.

A record high number of 1.5 million babies were born to unwed mothers last year, but the surprising trend is that most of those moms were not teens, according to a report on the data by USA Today Oct. 31.

While teens accounted for half of all unwed births in 1970, they accounted for but only 24 percent of the total in 2004.

For women ages 20-24, 55 percent of births last year were to unwed mothers, and the figure was almost 28 percent for ages 25-29, the study said.

From 2002 to 2004, births to unwed mothers ages 25-29 jumped more than 14 percent, and for mothers ages 20-24, the number rose 7 percent.

“This new report is a composite of both good news and bad news,” said Richard Ross, professor of student ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and spokesperson for the international True Love Waits campaign.

“About the best news is that teens who once accounted for 50 percent of unwed births now represent only 24 percent,” Ross said. “I am sure the condom crowd will want to take most of the credit for this drop, but the facts argue otherwise.”

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which is funded by more than 17 federal agencies, show that the behavior of adolescents who have made a virginity pledge is significantly different from that of peers who have not made a pledge, Ross noted.

After reviewing the data from the Ad Health study, the Heritage Foundation concluded that teenage girls who have taken a virginity pledge are one-third less likely to experience a pregnancy before age 18, Ross said. Girls who are strong pledgers (defined as those who are consistent in reporting a virginity pledge in the succeeding waves of the Ad Health survey) are more than 50 percent less likely to have a teen pregnancy than non-pledgers.

“Condoms are not the issue. Teenagers who choose abstinence are, in significant numbers, just not having sex,” Ross told Baptist Press.

The Heritage Foundation in 2004 also said teens who make a virginity pledge are far less likely to be sexually active during high school years. Nearly two-thirds of teens who have never taken a pledge are sexually active before age 18, but only 30 percent of teens who consistently report having made a pledge become sexually active before age 18.

USA Today also noted that unwed celebrities may have popularized the single-mom baby boom, even though experts say unwed mothers are more likely to be economically disadvantaged.

“Young adults are acting on their attitudes. They are doing what they think is OK,” Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said, pointing to federal data that found almost two-thirds of girls ages 15-19 say it’s acceptable for an unwed woman to have a child, USA Today reported.

Jimmy Hester, senior director of student ministry publishing at LifeWay Christian Resources and a spokesman for True Love Waits, told BP the stats that show girls are having children out of wedlock less in their teens and more in their 20s indicates leaders “haven’t convinced them that what’s best for them and their child is to wait until marriage.”

“It appears that True Love Waits and the abstinence movement are influencing young women's decisions,” Hester said. “Even so, we still have popular trends to confront, such as the one mentioned in the article: ‘Unwed celebrities may have popularized the single-mom baby boom.’ We also have to continue educating young girls that it is not ‘OK for an unwed woman to have a child.’"

Abstinence campaigns create an “identity movement” or “moral community” that provides peer support for teenagers and helps them say no to sex outside marriage when the temptation arises, Hester said. But there are way too many girls who have not yet joined that kind of support system.

“Despite the progress made over the past decade, much work remains to be done,” he said. “The United States still has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and out-of-wedlock births in the industrialized world, resulting in severe economic and social costs, not to mention the personal pain early sexual activity places upon teenagers and their families.”

In an effort to address the ongoing need, True Love Waits has launched True Love Waits Takes the Town, Hester said, which is an initiative that encourages cities to take a community-wide approach to promoting abstinence. Schools, governments, businesses, churches, health organizations and others are urged to unite around the common goal of helping teenagers choose abstinence and keep a commitment to purity.

“True Love Waits Takes the Town supports students and challenges community leaders to develop a unified message that the healthiest, best and most godly approach to sexuality is to delay sexual involvement until marriage,” Hester said.
--30--
With reporting by Art Toalston. For more information, visit www.truelovewaits.com.


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Small church with big heart budgets for missions year-round
by Shawn Hendricks
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

SYLVANIA, Ga. (BP)--Whether giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering or the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, giving to missions is a year-around project at McDonald Baptist Church.

While many Southern Baptist churches around the country are gearing up this month for the Lottie Moon offering season, McDonald Baptist began collecting for the offering back in the spring –- an effort that results in a hefty per capita gift.

Throughout the year, the 116-member church gives 8 percent of its operating budget to missions. From April through December, they give 8 percent to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions; from January to April, the church gives the same amount to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions.

Then, in addition to that 8 percent, whatever the church collects for the offerings is matched through budget receipts.

“Some churches only worry about it during the particular emphasis,” said Paul Moore, pastor of the Sylvania, Ga., congregation. “&#91;But&#93; you can’t be successful with raising money for missions when you only worry about it once a year.”

Last year, the church gave $70,957 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. They ranked 11th nationally among churches in per capita giving and, in their association, they were the top giver and top per capita giver. McDonald Baptist’s per capita gift was $611.70; the average per capita gift of Southern Baptist churches was $8.37 last year.

McDonald Baptist also has members who challenge the church to raise a certain amount, and then they match it.

‘They’ll say, ‘Look, if you give $10,000, we will match it with $10,000,’” Moore said. “It’s a very mission-oriented church.”

The pastor describes the church as a traditional congregation, located in a “blue-collar” city about 75 miles north of Savannah, with a population of about 2,500 people.

One of the reasons Moore said he became pastor of the church was its strong focus on missions. The church is actively involved in local mission efforts in the community, such as ministering in a community nursing home and other outreach programs. They also plan to send out an overseas missions team in the near future.

“They have a desire &#91;for missions&#93;,” the pastor said. “We could have &#91;given offering money&#93; to all types of construction. But they feel that the majority of the money should be going to missions.”

Churches such as McDonald Baptist Church should be commended for their sacrificial giving, said Billy Hoffman, director of development for the International Mission Board. 

“That is the only &#91;church&#93; I’ve heard of that does that,” he said. “To match it from the budget; I’ve never heard of that. That’s astounding!”

This year’s national Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal is $150 million. Last year, Southern Baptists gave $133,886,221.58. The amount fell just short of the previous year’s $136 million total and short of the 2004 $150 million goal.

Despite the shortfall, it was the offering’s second-largest total collected to support more than 5,200 missionaries on the field.
--30--
For more information about how churches can plug into giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, call 1-800-999-3113 or go online at http://ime.imb.org/.


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Disappointing Bush, Senate sets Alito hearings for Jan.
by Staff
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--Disappointing conservatives and President Bush, Senate leaders announced Nov. 4 that hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito will be held in January, and not this year as the president had hoped.

Bush and conservative groups had wanted to see Alito, 55, confirmed by the end of the year.

"It simply wasn't possible to accommodate the schedule that the White House wanted: before Christmas. It just couldn't be done. We have to do it right. We can't do it fast," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R.-Pa., said, according to Reuters.

Hearings are set to begin Jan. 9, with a floor vote scheduled to take place Jan. 20.

"I'm disappointed in the date but happy they do have a firm date for his confirmation hearing," Bush said Nov. 4 while in Argentina.

"Sam Alito Jr. is &#91;an&#93; incredibly intelligent, well-qualified person who should be on the court. I told the leadership I thought it would be best to have the hearings before Christmas. They didn't feel like they could get the job done,” the president said.

The delay means retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor -- who Alito would replace -- will sit on the court into the new year. Much to conservatives' dismay, O'Connor will take part in oral arguments in a handful of controversial cases, including one concerning the constitutionality of a New Hampshire law requiring teens to notify a parent before getting an abortion. O'Connor supports abortion rights and has consistently voted on the side of pro-choicers.

But if Alito is confirmed before a ruling is handed down, O'Connor's vote would not count. If, without O'Connor's vote, the court is deadlocked at 4-4, then the court can choose to re-hear the case with Alito on the bench. Otherwise, a 4-4 decision allows the lower court decision to stand. The First Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the New Hampshire law.
--30--


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News of electricity, water tops NOBTS campus restoration report
by Gary D. Myers
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

ATLANTA (BP)--Through the diligent work of seminary employees, construction workers and volunteers, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is making significant progress in restoration efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

One of the biggest accomplishments has been the restoration of electric and water. Power has been restored to the front block of campus and the entire campus now has potable water. Air conditioning and ventilation units also are functional on the front block of campus.

Contractors have sealed all the roofs on campus buildings. While many roofs have been completely replaced, roof work continues on other buildings.

The mold abatement work in flooded buildings is well underway. The process includes gutting affected areas, pressure washing, applying a chemical treatment and drying. An independent firm then tests the air quality to make sure the process is properly accomplished. Mold abatement work has been completed in a number of faculty homes and students apartments. The work continues as other buildings are gutted.

One of the busiest places on campus is the cafeteria. More than 400 meals are served daily to construction workers, NOBTS employees and volunteers working on the campus. The cafeteria often serves meals to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) contractors as well. The hot meals are prepared by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief cooking units.

NOBTS POSTS WEEKLY PROGRESS UPDATES ONLINE -- To help Southern Baptists track progress on New Orleans Seminary’s restoration, the seminary has established a weekly online update page on the NOBTS website.

Updates are posted each Friday along with pictures of the progress. The page may be accessed at www.nobts.edu/Publications/News/Campus%20Updates.html and updates will continue until the restoration progress is complete.

POLICE UTILIZE NOBTS AS STAGING AREA –- Officials from the New Orleans Police Department’s third district will utilize the New Orleans Seminary campus as a staging area for the next few weeks. Officers from the district are scheduled to use the campus for daily meetings and shift changes while repairs are made on their patrol substation. Many of the officers are eating meals at the NOBTS cafeteria as well.

As a gesture of thanks to the seminary, the third district will station several officers on campus each day to help with security.

NOBTS GRADUATION SET FOR DEC. 17 IN BIRMINGHAM – More than 100 students who continued their semester at New Orleans Seminary this fall will celebrate graduation exercises on Dec. 17 in Birmingham, Ala. 

The NOBTS graduation ceremony will be held at the Church at Brook Hills beginning at 10 a.m.

In August of this year, the Church at Brook Hills became the new site for the seminary’s Birmingham Extension Center.
--30--


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Wilma opens new channels for disaster relief work & witness
by James A. Smith Sr.
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

NAPLES, Fla. (BP)--Leon Branch -– a veteran of Florida Baptist disaster relief cleanup and recovery efforts –- was surprised by what he found in southwest Florida when he arrived shortly after Hurricane Wilma came ashore Oct. 24.

“When we got here, we didn’t find the damage we normally deal with -– which is downed trees and trees on houses,” Branch told the Florida Baptist Witness at the Florida Baptist cleanup and recovery command center located at First Baptist Church of Naples.

“We had to adjust to the situation; we had to change our strategy and get our teams onboard to buy into what had to be done.”

And they had to buy different equipment. Chainsaws -– the ready tool of disaster relief teams –- were of little use for the damage found in the area. Instead, the teams had to purchase sheet metal saws, screw guns and other equipment that allowed them to assist retired citizens in three mobile home communities south of Naples that suffered damage from Wilma.

“We focused on those communities because of the age of the people –- and a lot of uninsured people,” Branch said. “We rolled some of those aluminum roofs back on and tarped them.”

With five teams of about 45 volunteers completing approximately 50 cleanup and recovery jobs in the first four days of the effort, Branch expected that part of the post-Wilma relief effort to be finished by the end of the month.

The command center also is coordinating Southern Baptists’ work in the preparation of meals being distributed by the Red Cross to outlying communities.

East Naples Baptist Church was assisted Oct. 27 by a team of volunteers mostly from Florida’s Marion Baptist Association.

Clay Cartwright, associate pastor of East Naples Baptist Church, was “really impressed with how quickly” the disaster relief team “showed up on the scene. I think they’re really a good testimony to our faith around the nation.”

The church’s youth had gathered up a large number of shingles that Wilma blew off the roof, so the disaster relief team cleared a couple downed trees on the church property. Another volunteer team covered the roof with tarps the next day.

Volunteer Pat Tyler, from Timber Ridge Baptist Church in Ocala, was working her third hurricane of the year.

“I’m good at pulling limbs. I love coming down and being able to see the people and see the expressions on their face when we arrive to help them -– and we can tell them we’re doing it because the Lord helped us and that’s why we’re here,” Tyler said.

Although the church’s senior pastor evacuated the area -– because he lived in a mandatory evacuation zone and had a special needs child –- Cartwright rode out the hurricane in his home.

Wilma was “as powerful a hurricane as I ever want to see.... It’s the wildest thing I’ve ever been through,” Cartwright told the Witness.

Just north of Everglades City where Wilma’s eye came ashore, Copeland Baptist Mission was unfazed by the hurricane, pastor John Gilmore said.

“Damage in the area could have been a lot worse,” Gilmore told the Witness, estimating the wind speeds were well in excess of 100 mph. In a church that normally has about 25 in worship, “I’m praying that through what happened we’ll have 275 in the church -– that people are going to see that the Lord spared them,” he said.

First Baptist Church of La Belle hosted a Florida Baptist disaster relief feeding unit from Florida’s Panhandle.

Pastor Frank Deerey said his church suffered minor damage, noting, “Overall, we’ve been very fortunate,” although some church members had damage to their homes.

The feeding unit’s presence in La Belle is helping church members to better understand the importance of the Southern Baptists’ Cooperative Program, said Deery, the congregation’s pastor of 10 years. And it is exposing the church to people in the community, “setting the stage” for future ministry, he said.

To the east, at First Baptist Church in Belle Glade, pastor Gary Folds was appreciative of North Carolina Baptist disaster relief help that included a kitchen unit and a shower unit.

Folds said the damage to the church -- the steeple flew off and water poured into the sanctuary -- could be repaired, but that people in the economically depressed rural area would go hungry without help.

“We have to take care of the people,” Folds said, stopping to greet youngsters and widows waiting in line for food. “The biggest thing right now is to minister to the community.”

Acknowledging he probably wouldn’t see most of the community’s residents at the church unless they had a need, Folds said he is compelled, nonetheless, to minister. “They won’t come to church, but they will remember we loved them during a crisis time and we’ll know we have extended the love of Jesus,” the pastor said. “It’s an opportunity to do what Jesus would do.”

In the Miami area, Iglesia Bautista Westland in Hialeah suffered structural and property damage, but never lost electricity, even as more than 75 percent of its members and the surrounding community were left to struggle without power.

Members of the church, which had already been damaged when Hurricane Katrina came though in August, were quick to join together to prepare their church for Sunday worship services. Pedro Jordan, one of 20-plus church members cleaning Westland’s site, and his wife stored their food in the church’s freezer and sometimes joined community families who used Westland’s kitchen to cook meals.

“I think God kept the electricity on in this place so that our church could provide a public service to this community,” Jordan said. “Our job as members is to work and help the church in any way so the church can then help the community.”

At Graham Baptist Church in Miami where the sanctuary was destroyed, the 150-member congregation had considered building a new structure for a number of years, said John Hill, the church’s pastor of 16 years. Now they are left with no alternative, he added.

But Hill will not be there to see the new structure. Prior to the hurricane he had announced his resignation in order to start a new church in Griffin, Ga. His last day at the Miami congregation was to be Sunday, Oct. 30.

“We have already selected our new man,” Hill said. “I told him I wanted to leave him with a clean slate, but I didn’t mean this clean.” 
--30--
James A. Smith is executive editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, online at www.floridabaptistwitness.com. With reporting by Joni B. Hannigan of the Witness and Barbara Denman and Vanessa Rodriguez of Florida Baptist Convention communications.


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Churches hit by Hurricane Wilma qualify for LifeWay assistance
by Staff
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Throughout the last few months, LifeWay Christian Resources has remained deeply involved in providing financial assistance and resources to Southern Baptist churches affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Nashville-based nonprofit organization is continuing its commitment to providing disaster relief by now aiding Florida Southern Baptist churches and pastors affected by Hurricane Wilma.

Traditionally, LifeWay has provided disaster assistance to churches affected by everything from natural disasters to theft and vandalism. LifeWay replaces all of the churches’ dated LifeWay church literature for the current quarter and the following quarter. In addition, the organization offers steep discounts on undated church literature such as hymnals, Broadman & Holman books and audiovisuals, Holman Christian Standard Bibles, choir robes, Lord’s Supper supplies and more. 

“LifeWay will continue its longstanding policy of helping ministers in the churches that lose libraries during times of a disaster,” LifeWay President James T. Draper Jr. said. “Helping churches replace other critical items, like furniture, is another important aspect of the assistance LifeWay is prepared to offer.”

Draper added that LifeWay also is working closely with Florida Baptist Convention Executive Director John Sullivan to share the relief costs that are incurred. 

“We are grateful for the support we receive from the churches there in Florida,” Draper said. “We want to be a part of providing needed resources to rebuild and restore those churches as well as help meet the needs of the ministers there.”

Affected Southern Baptist churches are encouraged to call LifeWay’s disaster assistance line at 1-800-357-7029. Visit www.lifeway.com/katrina for more information about LifeWay’s disaster relief efforts.
--30--


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FIRST-PERSON: Deceitful tactics in Texas
by Kelly Boggs
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

McMINNVILLE, Ore. (BP)--On Nov. 8, Texans will go to the polls to decide the fate of Proposition 2, a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage in the Lone Star state as being exclusively between one man and one woman. 

Those opposed to the amendment are determined, by hook or by crook, to make passage of the amendment as difficult as possible. One of the prime tactics being used by opponents is to insist that the language of the proposition is unclear and could be interpreted so as to invalidate natural, heterosexual marriages. 

Homosexual activists and others opposed to Prop 2 are making millions of phone calls to Texans asserting that a vote for the amendment is a risky proposition. 

In one call, recipients are read comments by Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht designed to leave the impression that the judge has reservations about Prop 2. 

Hecht has said his comments were taken completely out of context and he issued a statement Nov. 2 denouncing the calls as deceptive and false. “As a judge, I cannot take a public position on any kind of amendment,” he said, “and I have not done so.”

Some calls include comments from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and imply that the amendment is poorly drafted and could interfere with heterosexual marriage. 

On Oct. 27, Abbott sent an official letter to the legislative sponsors of the amendment. In it he wrote, “The plain language of Proposition 2 does not reflect any intent to annul traditional marriage.” Additionally, he stated that the argument being peddled by opponents of the proposition is “nonsensical and frivolous as a matter of law.”

If one of your state’s Supreme Court justices has said your tactics are deceptive and false and the attorney general is calling your argument nonsensical and frivolous, you might want to reconsider your strategy. 

However, if you are a homosexual activist or social liberal trying to force society to accept and celebrate an aberrant lifestyle, then the end justifies the means. And make no mistake about it, “gay marriage” is about establishing homosexuality as natural, normal and healthy. 

Americans seem willing to tolerate homosexual behavior. Yet while Americans are willing to live-and-let-live on the choice of homosexual behavior, they continue to reject the normalization of homosexuality. 

Every time voters have been asked to define marriage as being between one man and one woman within in state constitutions, they have adopted the amendments overwhelmingly. So far, 18 states have such amendments.

But homosexual activists are not satisfied with mere toleration, so they are willing to resort to almost any tactic to derail the validation of traditional marriage -– even deceptive phone calls. 

And even when voters have spoken loud and clear, activists have sought to undermine the results. 

In 2004, 57 percent of Oregon voters (a significant majority in what is arguably one of America’s most liberal and homosexuality friendly states) passed a constitutional amendment –- known as Measure 36 -- stating clearly and simply that marriage is between one man and one woman. 

Homosexual activists sued, saying the amendment is unconstitutional because it proposed more than one change, something the Oregon Constitution does not allow

A lawyer for Basic Rights Oregon, a homosexual advocacy group, contends that the measure should have been split up into two to four separate amendments and voted on separately. 

Allow me to introduce you to the text of Measure 36: “It is the policy of Oregon, and its political subdivisions, that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or legally recognized as a marriage.”

I know that lawyers are adept at finding loopholes, but you would have to parse the punctuation to see more than one change implied by Measure 36. Thankfully, a judge Nov. 4 upheld Measure 36, although an appeal is certain to come.

While some Texas voters will likely fall victim to the underhanded tactics of those seeking to mainstream homosexuality, I believe most are smart enough to see through the deception. 

Expect Proposition 2 to pass. And then anticipate homosexual activists to challenge it in court. They are intent on forcing America to accept and celebrate their behavior. And they will employ most any tactic to achieve their goal, even deliberate deceit of the electorate.  
--30--
Kelly Boggs is pastor of the Portland-area Valley Baptist Church in McMinnville, Ore. His column appears each Friday in Baptist Press.

For more information about the national debate over "gay marriage," visit www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage


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FIRST-PERSON: Coaches & profs should have equal rights
by Tim Ellsworth
Date: November 04, 2005 - Friday

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Step into a classroom at Florida State University, or the University of Georgia -- or any state university, for that matter -- and you’ll likely find a professor who advocates abortion on demand.

You’ll also most assuredly find a professor who supports same-sex marriage. Or one who expresses outrage at evangelical Christians. Or one who thinks communism is the most effective form of government.

No big deal. Happens all the time.

But step into a football locker room with a coach who tells his players about his belief in Christ, and now all of a sudden someone is irate. How dare he impose his beliefs on those players, some will cry indignantly.

Throw Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State into that crowd. In a recent New York Times story about the religious beliefs and practices of Bobby Bowden at Florida State and Mark Richt at Georgia, Lynn offers his opinion about these coaches taking their players to church and providing team prayer and devotional services. These activities, by the way, are strictly voluntary.

“This is a lawsuit waiting to happen, and I believe university administrations are playing a game of chicken,” Lynn said in the story. “But eventually, you got to believe that one kid is going to say, ‘I’ve had enough,’ and step forward.”

Had enough of what, exactly? Of being taught to honor God and treat others well? Of being instructed on how to be a better person? Of learning how to excel in football?

Sounds to me like Lynn is poised to pounce should any college football player come forth and express offense because his coach believes in God. At places like Florida State and Georgia, he might be waiting a long time. Students who go to play for Bowden and Richt know what they’re getting themselves into. 

Bowden and Richt are outspoken Christians, and they make no apology for that. Nor do they apologize for the spiritual content they infuse into their coaching.

“Most parents want their boys to go to church,” Bowden said in the article. “I’ve had atheists, Jews, Catholics and Muslims play for me, and I’ve never not started a boy because of his faith. I’m Christian, but all religions have some kind of commandments, and if kids would obey them, the world would be a better place.”

Bobby’s right, but the problem these days is that people don’t think the world will be better if people adhere to religious instruction. It used to be that parents who didn’t share a coach like Bowden’s Christian faith would still support his efforts because they thought their son would be better off because of it. He might not turn out to be a Christian, but maybe a coach like Bowden can make him a more moral, upstanding citizen.

That’s not the case anymore, as parents will quickly file a lawsuit -- with the willing assistance of folks like Lynn -- anytime their kids face a smidgeon of religious or moral instruction. 

Fortunately for coaches like Bowden and Richt, at least so far, even players who disagree with their coaches’ religious beliefs have enough sense not to make a stink. Some of the players, even those of other religions, actually appreciate their efforts.

“At the end of the day, it was about strengthening your spiritual foundations and to walk in a righteous way in whatever you believe,” said Musa Smith, a rookie running back for the Baltimore Ravens and a Muslim who played under Richt at Georgia. “It reminded me of my fundamentals and made me a better person.”

Bowden’s not worried about any fallout over his Christian faith. He has the backing of his president and he’s a successful coach. He can also make a convincing argument for his side.

“You got 90 kids in a history or psychology classroom around here, and a professor can stand up and say anything he wants in creation,” Bowden said. “Why can’t I tell my boys what I believe?”

Good question, Bobby -- and one for which I have yet to hear a satisfactory answer.
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Tim Ellsworth writes a weekly column at BPSports, www.bpsports.net.



