The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-11/04/2015 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Why did I sign up for this? by Jessica Pigg Date: November 04, 2015 - Wednesday IMMOKALEE, Fla. (BP) -- Do you ever wake up in ministry to ask yourself "Why?" Why did I sign up for this? If we were all honest with ourselves, we would say that at some point or another, we have asked the "why" questions in ministry. Typically, we come to the answer that we believe God has a plan and purpose for us in this specific ministry (Romans 8:28). Ministry is tough, but being in the will of God makes the reward well worth it. Flourish where God plants We may not like where our lives have been planted. God may have called you away from everything you define as comfortable. However, until He replants us in a different mission field, we are to thrive and flourish where we are -- not just survive. How do we flourish? Get involved with the people around you. Meet business owners in the community, go to sports games at your local schools, volunteer at the community pregnancy center, etc. Don't withdraw, get involved. Love unlovable people Let's be honest, some people are hard to love. They may have wounded us. They may have said something hurtful about our husband as a pastor. They may have turned their backs on the church. They may be a constant troublemaker or gossip. Surprise them by loving them (Matthew 5:44). Speak truth in love This phrase sounds simple, right? We often say it so flippantly, almost like it comes as second nature to us. It is hard to speak truth in love to someone who has hurt you or is a constant critic of your husband. However, that is what we are called to do (Ephesians 4:15). In each instance, we must control the desires of our flesh and choose godliness with our words. Grow through criticism Criticism is unavoidable and stings to the core. The words are hard to hear and they break our hearts. However, at times, there is a partial truth in what is being said. You must take the words being said to Scripture and evaluate whether they have any credence. You must allow the words to transform you and teach you to grow in your knowledge of God's Word. Let the criticism help you grow. Don't let bitterness take root After being hurt or betrayed, some ministry wives retreat and take on the attitude of "I will never do that again" or "I will never allow myself to make a friend in the church again." To be honest, I have declared these bold statements before. Very early in ministry, I allowed a temporary feeling to dictate whom I ministered to and whom I wanted to ignore. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. It is in those moments of vulnerability that God has used me to minister to women the most. Choose forgiveness Unfortunately, in ministry, wounds will come. Some are deep and some are shallow. Often, our hearts want to keep score. Keeping a scorecard is heading down a slippery slope. Instead of walking around with bitterness and resentment, choose forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-35). The blood of Jesus demands our hearts to be broken and to forgive those who have wronged us or our husbands. Keep a servant's heart There is something humbling about serving the local church. Sadly, many church members do not expect the pastor's wife to lift a finger or serve selflessly. One of my favorite ways to serve the church is to serve in unexpected areas: help the janitor clean the bathrooms once a month, volunteer to fold the bulletins, be the door greeter on a Sunday morning or help in the parking lot with an umbrella when it is raining (Matthew 23:11). Love your husband Choose to love your husband each and every day. Early on in ministry, I was completely broken by a situation concerning a church staff member. The wife of this staff member was extremely vocal regarding the fact that she hated being a ministry wife and what that life entailed for her and her children. She despised her husband for answering God's call to ministry and it greatly affected the attitude of our church members. I made a choice in that moment that I would love my husband and pray bold prayers for him. When God called my husband to ministry, He called me too. God called me to be my husband's encourager, prayer warrior and helper (Genesis 2:18). I don't know what you're facing in your ministry, but I hope these words help with those tough mornings and give you some practical, biblical truth for the tough days ahead. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Grateful couple in Nepal aid global missions by IMB Staff Date: November 04, 2015 - Wednesday EDITOR'S NOTE: Nov. 29-Dec. 6 is this year's Week of Prayer for International Missions in the Southern Baptist Convention with the theme "Because of Who He Is" from Psalm 96:3 (HCSB). The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions in tandem with Cooperative Program gifts from Southern Baptist churches support international workers in seeking to fulfill the Great Commission. Gifts to the Lottie Moon offering are received through local Southern Baptist churches or online at imb.org/offering, where there are resources to promote the offering. This year's goal is $175 million. SOUTH ASIA (BP) -- The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked Nepal in April, killing more than 9,000 people, quickly thrust the Asian nation into the spotlight. Relief agencies and volunteers arrived in the country's capital city of Kathmandu and outlying villages to offer help to Nepalis whose lives were forever changed. Christian workers such as Carl Russell* and Marcia and Drew Neely*, however, had already been at work in this predominately Hindu country long before the world was watching the tumult. They help teach believers in a church in Kathmandu how to share the Gospel with other people and how to start new churches. They also meet regularly with believers to disciple and pray with them. In Nepal, the number of believers is small, with less than 1 percent of nearly 28.8 million people trusting in Jesus. So when Nepali believers Amit and Kiran Thapa* saw that Christian workers were willing to invest their lives in helping to disciple and equip them as well as their church and other believers, they wanted to express their gratitude. The Thapas made a financial donation in honor of Russell and the Neelys to IMB. Their gesture from Asia reflects the gifts of thousands of other individuals and churches to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering aiming to make Kingdom work possible in Nepal and other unreached areas globally. Amit and Kiran Thapa not only gave sacrificially, but their lives represent many among the world's peoples who have been impacted for the Gospel because Southern Baptists continue to support international missions through each year's Lottie Moon Christmas Offering as well as their churches' year-round gifts through the Cooperative Program. Learn more at imb.org/give. *Names changed. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Yazidi refugees escape ISIS, still desperate for rescue by Rob White Date: November 04, 2015 - Wednesday NORTHERN IRAQ (BP) -- Whoever built this tennis court probably never imagined refugees would be reclining there under temporary shelters. The sprawling picnic area, once a shady respite for Sunday leisure seekers is now a tent city -- home to more than 4,000 Yazidi refugees from Northern Iraq. These mothers, uncles, cousins and children walked seven days through the desert to escape ISIS in August 2014. Their current home has clean water and working toilets, but the camp has only one clinic staffed by a doctor and a few nurses who struggle to meet the medical needs of thousands. Several months ago, I learned of the urgent need for dentists to treat the people here. I invited an experienced field dental team from the U.S. to come serve the refugees in the camp. They arrived with a portable chair, instruments and supplies to treat a variety of challenges. During their time here, they were able to treat the patients with the most severe conditions -- abscesses and painful, deep infections that could spread throughout the body. One of the nurses at the camp, Murad*, himself a 23-year-old refugee, was overwhelmed by the team's willingness to come all the way from the U.S. -- at their own expense -- just to meet the needs of his people here in a "dangerous" part of the world. I got to know the soft-spoken Yazidi one evening after the crowd of ailing refugees had finally dispersed from the clinic building. "You made us feel like people," he said. The dehumanizing experience of being a refugee weighed heavily on him. From the time he left his home in northern Iraq until now, he had been working as a nurse, usually unpaid, caring for countrymen who had fallen ill on the arduous journey. Using his medical skills enabled him to maintain his dignity along the way, but many other Yazidis suffered a more tragic fate. Crisis counselors who worked in the refugee camp stated in a report, "Most of the people we encountered were suffering from traumatic grief. The most traumatized age and social group seemed to be the young women. Many of them wept as they recounted horror stories of their friends and sisters being captured and sold into slavery. They recounted abuse and torture and expressed grief over the past and the atrocities that continue to befall their captured loved ones. One expressed survivor guilt, another expressed hatred for the perpetrator of such violence, and another wept in miserable resignation for her plight in life." Murad's younger sister, Narin,* was kidnapped by ISIS fighters as their family fled their hometown. Murad explained, "She was held for ten months. We heard no word about her well-being. We didn't know if she was still alive." His clear light-brown eyes bore into me with anger and brokenness. He then explained that one month ago the family received a request for a $30,000 ransom if they wanted to see their sister alive again. Somehow they scraped together the money, and their sister was dropped off in a city on the border between ISIS-controlled territory and Kurdish-controlled territory. Murad showed me a choppy video on his phone of the emotional reunion. Even through the hugs, the tears and the wailing of relatives, Narin appeared in shock. She looked happy and hollow at the same time. A tear streamed down my face as I watched. "Oh, Lord, rescue these people," I silently prayed. Murad and Narin represent a terribly oppressed people. The Yazidi don't want to go back to Iraq where ISIS threatens their lives, but in neighboring countries they are confined to camps where there is no possibility of finding work or buying property to establish a home. The Yazidis are a vulnerable minority stuck between the bitter Sunni-Shia divide in Iraq. Most are hoping a country in Europe or North America will open its doors and welcome them to begin a new life. But even more than a foreign home, they need a spiritual home. I told Murad I was praying for his people. "Jesus Christ loved me first, so I love Him back by loving God and loving my neighbor, who is you," I said. Murad said he had always wanted to read the New Testament but had never found one. I helped him download an Arabic Bible onto his phone. He was thankful, but I knew that though he spoke Arabic, his heart language was Kurmanji Kurdish. A few minutes before leaving the camp, I asked Murad if he would step into an examination room with me. I thanked him for sharing his life and his stories with me. I shared the Gospel with him and gave him an audio Bible in Kurmanji. I played some of Matthew for him. He strained as he listened at first, but his eyes lit up when he recognized his own heart language. He thanked me profusely and carefully slipped the device into his pocket as we prepared to go. Pray -- Pray for an end to the kidnapping and abuse of Yazidi women. Pray for physical healing and spiritual redemption for young girls who have been enslaved and violated. -- Ask God to provide permanent homes for the tens of thousands of Yazidi refugees sleeping in tents in Turkey. -- Ask for a miraculous movement of the Holy Spirit to save and bring abundant life to the Yazidi people. -- Pray that God will execute justice for the weak and the fatherless and deliver them from the hand of the wicked. -- Pray that God will give you the desire, resources and time to walk in obedience as you learn about refugees. -- Praise God that one day He will destroy His last enemy and Christ will claim the full reward of His suffering as He reigns with His people forever. Ways to help Learn more about Baptist Global Response and how they are responding to refugee needs in places like Syria, Northern Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Greece by going to gobgr.org/projects/project_detail/syria-crisis/. Learn more about how you or a team can serve groups of refugees in Central Asia through sports or education opportunities for two months or more by emailing francish@gobgr.org. Or, contact Jeff Palmer at jpalmer@gobgr.org to learn about other opportunities. *Name changed. -------------------------------------------------------------------- ANALYSIS: Pew data confirms faithful remnant by David Roach Date: November 04, 2015 - Wednesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- The latest data release from the 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Study is significant but not surprising. For students of Scripture and church history, it confirms with empirical data what God's people have known to be true for millennia: the Lord's modus operandi is to preserve a faithful remnant amid the sinful world. It was true in the times of Noah, Elijah and the Apostle Paul, and telephone surveys of 35,071 American adults confirm it's still true today. The title and subhead on a Nov. 3 release from the Pew Research Center aptly summarize all 265 pages of data: "U.S. public becoming less religious. Modest drop in overall rates of belief and practice, but religiously affiliated Americans are as observant as ever." Among those surveyed, 23 percent described themselves as "religiously unaffiliated," up 7 percentage points from a similar survey in 2007. Among the religiously unaffiliated -- deemed the "nones" to describe their response to the question of religious affiliation -- fewer than two-thirds (61 percent) said they believed in God. That represented a 9-percentage-point drop since 2007. The net result is an adult population that "has become slightly less religious," according to Pew. That reality is reflected by overall declines in daily prayer, attendance at religious services and belief in God. A significant cause of the decline in religiosity is that the Millennial generation is "far less religious than their elders" and has begun to replace the shrinking Silent and Baby Boomer generations in the U.S. population. At the same time, Pew found, "religiously affiliated people appear to have grown more religiously observant in recent years." Scripture reading, sharing their faith with others and participation in prayer and Scripture study groups are all up modestly among the religiously affiliated. Of course, the "religiously affiliated" are not all Christians. About 69 percent of them identify with groups and denominations traditionally identified as holding orthodox Christian beliefs, with the remainder belonging to non-Christian religions and Christian offshoot groups with beliefs diverging from historic Christianity. And not all who self-identify as Christians are committed. Still, the emerging picture is a Christian population steady in its devotion and spiritual disciplines among a culture drifting from faith in God. The findings, while significant for the scope of Pew's research, are not novel. This is how God has allowed humanity to operate since the Fall of Genesis 3. He permits the sinful world to decline in its devotion to Him while preserving a faithful remnant. God preserved Noah's family amid a world flooded with sin. He chose Abraham's clan amid a Canaanite landscape that included Sodom and Gomorrah. He preserved Israel amid the violent and perverse peoples surrounding the Promised Land, Ruth and Boaz amid a Jewish population that "did what was right in their own eyes" and the prophets Elijah and Elisha amid a kingdom led to idolatry by wicked monarchs. Following the Babylonian exile, the faithful remnant was constituted by those who anticipated the Messiah amid a culture the prophet Malachi said "profaned the covenant of [its] fathers" (Malachi 2:10). This remnant later included a virgin named Mary who believed God when He said she would conceive a son by the Holy Spirit. In New Testament times and beyond, the church was a persecuted remnant amid pagan Roman culture. By the fourth century, Christianity had become an officially recognized religion, but faithfulness declined, leading a committed remnant to found the monastic movement, which for all its flaws was devoted to Christ in contrast to the cultural Christianity surrounding it. More than a thousand years later, the Protestant Reformation represented the effort of a committed remnant to preserve the doctrine of justification by faith alone amid European moral and religious decline. Later still, the Puritans of England and New England saw themselves as God's faithful remnant, as did the missions movement sparked by William Carey in the 19th century, the student volunteer movement of the 20th century and the early 21st century's wave of missions-driven evangelical youth. At each of these junctures, God's people had the opportunity to wring their hands at the decline around them. Yet God has consistently encouraged them as He encouraged Elijah on Mount Horeb: You're not alone. Everyone has not "bowed to Baal." Keep following Me (1 Kings 19:18). That's why Pew's findings should neither surprise Christians nor cause us to panic. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we have the opportunity to stand firm, knowing that God has long accomplished His purposes through a remnant. And Jesus promised that neither the gates of Hell nor the rise of the "nones" would prevail against His church. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 refugee realities that may surprise you by Anderson Rosson Date: November 04, 2015 - Wednesday CENTRAL ASIA (BP) -- Millions of people across Central Asia have crossed borders to escape war, persecution and violence. While Southern Baptists continue to respond, many refugees cling to a hope that wanes with each passing day. The following includes a list of 10 realities about refugees that many may not yet realize. Also, learn ways you can pray and how Baptist Global Response is helping meet needs. 1. Children are suffering. Half of Syrian refugees are under the age of 18. Three out of four children have lost a loved one because of the war and desperately need crisis counselors. Volunteers who can organize education, English, art or sports camps play a vital role in ministering to children, many of whom are not enrolled in any structured school program. 2. Shelter is insufficient. Refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon are at capacity. Thousands of refugees are left to sleep on the streets. 3. Winter is approaching. Most refugees flee with only the clothes on their back and a cell phone. Many are unprepared for approaching winter weather. 4. Food is scarce. Refugees who travel across borders often subsist on one meal a day. Provision of food is a critical aspect of refugee relief. 5. Refugees are at risk for exploitation. Crowded housing conditions, which include people living in abandoned buildings, place many at risk of abuse. Pray for God to protect refugees, especially children, from those who prey on the vulnerable and oppressed. 6. Many refugees are educated. A journalist said he fled his country because he was persecuted for expressing his views on the Internet. Refugees may have been engineers, medical professionals, accountants, educators or artists in their home countries. There is a wide diversity of professions represented on the refugee highway. 7. Refugees are diverse. Refugees may speak Arabic, Persian, Kurmanji, Sorani or Urdu. They represent many different people groups -- Assyrian, Syrian, Kurdish, Yazidi, Afghani, Persian or Pakistani. Meeting the needs of so many peoples can be a challenge for relief workers, but it presents an incredible opportunity for sharing the Gospel. 8. The road to freedom is dangerous. Refugees risk their lives when they flee their countries. According to government reports, 30 people drowned near the Greek island of Lesvos in a period of four months, yet local workers estimate the actual number to be more than 250. In total, close to 3,000 people have died crossing the Mediterranean Sea to arrive in Europe. 9. Orphans are at risk. The most vulnerable refugees are unaccompanied minors, many of whom have been out of school for a year or more. Volunteer teams could provide critical support through English, art, science or sports camps for refugee children. 10. Refugees laugh, love and hurt. Refugees are men, women and children just like any other man, woman or child in the world. Anyone could become a refugee given the right political circumstances. Pray -- Pray for God to give you a heart full of compassion for those who have been forced from their homes and are adrift in the world. -- Pray the Lord would heal our broken world through Christ, the Prince of Peace. -- Pray God will bring eternal hope to many refugees through the Gospel message of a heavenly Father, forgiveness through Christ and a home in heaven that will never fade away. -- Pray God will execute justice for the weak and the fatherless and deliver them from the hand of the wicked. -- Pray God will give people the desire, resources and time to walk in obedience as they learn about refugees.   Learn more about how Baptist Global Response is responding to refugee needs in places like Syria, Northern Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Greece by going to gobgr.org/projects/project_detail/syria-crisis. For instance, blankets for refugees –- which people can help provide for $10 a blanket -- are being distributed through BGR. Learn more about how you or a team can serve groups of refugees in Central Asia through sports or education opportunities for two months or more by emailing francish@gobgr.org. Or, contact Jeff Palmer at jpalmer@gobgr.org to learn about other opportunities. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP). -------------------------------------------------------------------- Marriage heroes honored by church's young couples by Jane Rodgers/Southern Baptist TEXAN Date: November 04, 2015 - Wednesday FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Young marrieds and senior adults are the two largest Sunday School departments at Travis Avenue Baptist Church. When the younger couples hosted a celebration of more than 70 couples and 30 widows or widowers married at least 50 years, it was so special to Fieldon Williams that he arrived sporting two black eyes and staples in his forehead from a fall that sent him to the emergency room days earlier. Williams and his wife Colleen, married 55 years, joined fellow members of the church, young and old, for wedding cake, punch, nuts, mints, conversation and fellowship. Several couples brought wedding albums for others to peruse. "We've got everything you need to have to have a southern wedding," associate pastor Bernie Hargis joked at the gathering in Fort Worth, Texas. Hargis served as the event's emcee, opening the program with prayer and recognition of the church members who had persevered in marriage. He then introduced a video by senior pastor Michael Dean, who was out of town and unable to attend. "You are our heroes," Dean said in voicing congratulations to those who had been married a half-century or more. "The rest of us look to you as an example of what God intends for marriage to be," Dean said. "In our culture today, marriage is not held in high esteem. Many are trying to redefine marriage. But you can see in this room the evidence of God's blessing on His good and perfect design of a man and woman for a lifetime for His glory." Applause had resounded when Hargis recognized couples in the room who had been married 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and 65-69 years or more, including Volera Kirkpatrick, a widow who had been married 70 years. Matt Sessoms and his wife Kristin, wed seven years, voiced appreciation to the marriage veterans. Sessoms, a marriage and family counselor, commended their "longevity of commitment." Noting that many marriages last but two years, Sessoms said his work involves helping couples establish a "foundation for longevity." He told older couples, "You are testifying to us that commitment does work and following God's plan does matter." Janis and Ray Raley, a couple married 30 years who joined the church as newlyweds, also addressed the Oct. 11 event. "Many of the couples we are honoring today are among the very earliest investors in our marriage, and they continue to do so today," Janis told the crowd. "You have qualities in your marriages that we notice and we admire. You possess a calm during the storms of life," Ray added. "You have counted it all joy. You have a quiet confidence. It's not emotionless. It's not stoic. But it's a quiet presence. The Bible talks about being surefooted in the Psalms. You have seen God work so many times in plenty and in your struggles." Ray also praised the couples for their commitment to serving in the community and their fellowship with one another. "You pray for each other. You hold confidences very dear and hold them fast," Ray said. "You guys just love being together. It's wonderful. You invest in the lives of those coming behind you." Intergenerational fellowship followed around the roomful of tables as younger couples asked questions of older couples, with one generation passing its wisdom to the next. The evening concluded with prayer and a group photo of all those married 50 or more years. Meredith and Michael Hughens, members of the Travis Avenue newlywed class, handed out nametags. Asked what they hoped to gain from the older couples, Meredith replied, "There's endless kinds of wisdom to learn from these folks. We've made it a year, and I feel we have learned a lot in a year. I can't imagine how much you learn in 50-plus years." Referencing Psalm 71:18, Wes Black, the church's minister to senior adults, summed up the goals of the celebration: "Scott Floyd, our church counselor, and I are looking for ways our older adults can pass along their faith to the next generation, and this is one way to facilitate that." If the smiles and laughter around Travis Avenue Baptist Church that day are any indication, the celebration of marriage provided just that. "When you get married, you get married for life," said Ed York, who has been married to Laura Gene for 67 years. "Just talk" when the ups and downs of life hit, he advised. "Continue talking to the Lord. Attend church. Be with other Christian people," Laura Gene added. "And keep holding hands." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Pro-family voters score 'massive victory' by David Roach Date: November 04, 2015 - Wednesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Pro-family voters scored wins at the polls Nov. 3. Houston overturned a measure granting protected status to homosexuals and transgendered persons. Both Kentucky and Mississippi elected governors who are pro-life and opposed to same-sex marriage, and Ohio defeated recreational marijuana. Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, wrote in an online commentary that Election Day 2015 disproved the "conventional wisdom ... that social liberalism is an electoral winner." "That's not true," Anderson wrote. "At least not in the swing states of Kentucky and Ohio, and not even in the liberal city of Houston. And definitely not last night. There's a lesson to be learned: Conservatives can win when they refuse to be bullied by elites into silence. Making the public argument against bad policy and in support of good policy can win the day. It just did." In Texas, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) was repealed by a 62-38 majority, KHOU television reported. The ordinance -- passed by the city council in May 2014 but stayed by a judge pending the repeal vote -- would have extended civil rights protections to individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. The repeal marked the culmination of an 18-month legal battle between city officials and HERO opponents who sought to place the measure's repeal before voters. In July, the Texas Supreme Court ordered Houston's city council either to repeal HERO or send it to voters. In August, the council opted for a public vote. Houston mayor Annise Parker, an open lesbian who supported HERO, said following the election that opponents of the ordinance "just kept spewing an ugly wad of lies from our TV screens and from our pulpits," the Houston Chronicle reported. A year ago, Parker drew criticism for subpoenaing the sermons of pastors who opposed HERO. She later withdrew the subpoenas. Russell Moore, president of Southern Baptists' Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said in a statement, "Months ago, when Mayor Parker attempted to subpoena the sermons of Houston pastors, I argued then that the preaching of the church of God does not belong to the government and we will not hand it over. Not now. Not ever. Here, the people of Houston have spoken and said the same is true of the conscience. The defeat of this proposition ensures that the consciences of men and women will not be steamrolled, and that unsuspecting citizens will not be put into vulnerable situations." Jonathan Saenz, president of the pro-family group Texas Values Action, called the repeal "a massive victory for common sense, safety and religious freedom." Saenz and other HERO opponents claimed the law would have allowed, among other things, the use of women's restrooms and locker rooms by men. "The eyes of the nation were on Houston, and the people sent a clear message and soundly rejected this intentionally deceptive and dangerous ordinance," Saenz said in a statement. "Millions of dollars pouring in from national LGBT extremists, an out-of-control Mayor and a sustained media onslaught could not overcome the tireless efforts of Houston pastors and people of faith standing for common sense, safety and liberty." In Kentucky, Republican Matt Bevin defeated Democrat Jack Conway by a 53-44 margin despite "trailing in every public poll since winning the Republican primary," according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Bevin's running mate, Lt. Gov.-elect Jenean Hampton, became the first African American to win a statewide election in Kentucky. A traditional marriage supporter and abortion opponent, Bevin defended Kim Davis, a county clerk in eastern Kentucky, after she was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Washington Post said Bevin's focus "on social issues, including promises to defund Planned Parenthood and defend Kim Davis, helped drive the conservative base to turn out." During the campaign's closing days, the Family Foundation of Kentucky reported Planned Parenthood’s Kentucky political action committee was making telephone calls discouraging voters from supporting Bevin. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary reported Bevin made a significant donation to help establish the seminary's Bevin Center for Missions Mobilization in 2012 in honor of his daughter Brittiney, who was killed in a 2003 car accident at age 17. The Bevin Center website includes a video of Matt Bevin speaking during a 2012 Southern Seminary chapel service about Brittiney's passion for missions and asking students to listen for God's call to missions. In the video, Bevin says there is "no institution we felt more confident in" than Southern Seminary to carry out Brittiney's vision of missions mobilization. Kentucky Baptist Convention executive director Paul Chitwood said in a KBC news release he looks forward to working with Bevin "on issues that matter to people of faith in Kentucky." Bevin's "interviews and speeches," Chitwood said, "seemed to strike a chord with evangelical voters and the election results indicate they turned out on this Election Day." In Mississippi, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant won a second term by a 67-32 margin over Democrat Robert Gray. Bryant is pro-life and opposes same-sex marriage. In Ohio, residents voted 64-36 to reject a state constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana. Despite losing the fundraising battle $20 million to $1 million, marijuana opponents won even "large urban counties" where legalization advocates "had hoped their support would rest," the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The amendment, known as Issue 3, "was nothing more and nothing less than a business plan to seize control of the recreational marijuana market in Ohio," said Curt Steiner, campaign director for Ohioans Against Marijuana Monopolies, according to the Enquirer. "...Issue 3 was about greed, not good public policy." Anderson, of the Heritage Foundation, said 2015's election results teach a lesson politicians should remember in 2016: "Stand on principle. Make the public argument. Defeat bad policy. Enact good policy."