
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-11/10/2009

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Pastor visits Killeen mosque
by Jerry Pierce
Date: November 10, 2009 - Tuesday

KILLEEN, Texas (BP)--Jerry Jewell had visited there before, conveying a heartfelt message: "Jesus Christ loves you and He desires to save you, and that is why I am here." Most of the Muslims at the Islamic Community Center of Killeen had been friendly, even eager, for dialogue, said Jewell, pastor of Living Hope: The Church in the Field in the nearby town of Copperas Cove.

It had been a year since Jewell last visited the mosque, but he said he felt the Holy Spirit nudge him last Friday, "You should go visit."

Then a phone call -- from a Christian friend who had accompanied the Southern Baptist pastor to the mosque to engage his Muslim neighbors -- confirmed it. "You might want to check in to see how they are doing," the friend told Jewell in an unsolicited call.

News reports said alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan had visited the mosque the morning of the attack. "I figure the best way to keep someone from going out and doing other people harm is to bring them to Christ," Jewell said. "If we hate them, then we are denying Christ."

So a day after Hasan allegedly gunned down 12 of his fellow American soldiers and a civilian, caused the death of an unborn baby and wounded 29 others, Jewell said he somewhat reluctantly drove to the Muslim mosque housed in a red one-story building in Killeen. Once there, he saw that news reporters had filled the lawn and a police officer was screening those wishing to enter the building.

"Are you a member?" the policeman inquired as Jewell approached the mosque entrance. "No," Jewell answered. "I am a Baptist pastor. But I visit with these guys and wanted to come in and see how they are doing."

The policeman opened the door and Jewell discovered even more press inside. Shoe-shod journalists, male and female, apparently unfamiliar with Muslim worship practices, roamed freely inside, with some of the women in areas reserved for men.

Jewell said he gave his regards to several mosque members he had previously talked with.

"I met one young man who was new there and he asked as we were talking if I was a member of the mosque. I told him, 'I am not a Muslim; I am a Baptist pastor.' He asked for my card and said, 'I want to come and visit your church.'"

Jewell said the man called on Saturday and told him he wouldn't be able to attend church services that weekend but said he still planned to come. "It will be interesting to see if he shows up."

Jewell said he witnessed a mosque official reading a press statement condemning the shootings at Fort Hood while the imam spoke about "how God likes people who do right, not people who do evil."

Even though most of the people he has met there have been polite and even charitable, Jewell said he knows such bold outreach has some risk. Yet many more people die in traffic accidents than are killed by Muslim terrorists, he noted.

"None of them has shown up at Living Hope thus far," the pastor said. "My major concern is not whether they show up at Living Hope, but whether they show up in heaven."
--30--
Jerry Pierce is managing editor of the Southern Baptist TEXAN (www.texanonline.net), newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.


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At Fort Hood, chaplain aids grief-stricken
by Mickey Noah
Date: November 10, 2009 - Tuesday

KILLEEN, Texas (BP)--Nothing prepared Army Chaplain (Capt.) Jason Palmer for his initial tour of the yellow-taped crime scene at Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Center, where he saw trails of blood still on the floor, bloody handprints on the walls and the telephone pole outside where the alleged shooter collapsed to the ground after being shot four times in the abdomen.

Palmer said Army personnel were still cleaning up the site 48 hours after last Thursday's mass shooting that claimed 14 lives -- one an unborn baby -- and left 29 others wounded. The alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist and a Muslim, remains conscious and in stable condition at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Palmer said a number of the shooting victims were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq in the next two weeks. They were at the center on Nov. 5 -- a large administrative clearinghouse -- to update personnel records related to next-of-kin notification, life insurance, medical and dental records, and legal matters. Some were there to get immunizations or blood work.

"People were stacked up in there like cordwood," Palmer said. "There were rows and rows of chairs and lines of people snaking through the facility. The service people there were sitting ducks when the shooter came into the room."

Palmer, 33, was on duty at his home base, Fort Riley in Manhattan, Kan., when he and a fellow chaplain there were ordered last Friday to report immediately to Fort Hood. Additional chaplains also were deployed from Fort Lewis in Washington state and Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Working a minimum of 12 hours a day since the shooting, Palmer, a chaplain endorsed by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, said counseling for the grieving and traumatized ramped up on Monday, the first work day back for most of the more than 50,000 officers and enlisted men at Fort Hood, the nation's largest military base. Most Fort Hood personnel were given the day off last Friday because of the incident.

"I personally counseled nine people on Monday, including people who were present at the shooting scene as well as people who carried bodies out of the building and saw them covered with white sheets. We're engaging people as fast as they walk in, but we're getting busier because the families of the deceased are starting to arrive.

"The soldiers are grieving about the loss they've seen with their own eyes," Palmer said. "Some of them had seen loss while deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, but Fort Hood is supposed to be a safe place, their home. They see this incident as wrong on so many levels. There's a lot of anger."

The young married chaplain said Fort Hood soldiers view the incident as the ultimate in betrayal by an officer -- one of their own.

"That's because the shooter was not only a caregiver but a behavioral health care giver who was part of the very group now caring and counseling the grieving. He was also a field-grade officer. He was treated with the utmost respect because of his position and rank, but who violated that respect."

Palmer said the victims he is counseling ask questions like "How can I feel safe again in the United States in my own home, my own backyard?"

"That's where my counseling begins," Palmer said. "My job is to contextualize the theological issues of evil and to provide these people with hope that transcends the hurt they're now undergoing."

Palmer, along with more than 50 other military chaplains -- not only the 12 Southern Baptist chaplains at Fort Hood but those of several other denominations, and including Muslim and Jewish chaplains -- are counseling people from the 18 different Army units at the base impacted by the shooting.

"Many are coming in and saying, 'I haven't eaten or slept since the incident. I was there, saw this and did that.'

"Some come in with that seasoned, veteran look and the thousand-yard stare but once they're in a private setting where they can be safe and vulnerable, tears stream out of their eyes," Palmer said. "They relive stories and recount memories and dreams they can't get out of their heads. Some are reliving the shooting in their dreams and see and hear the victims calling out for help but they can't help."

Palmer said his orders originally called for him to be assigned at Fort Hood for two weeks.

"It could be longer," he said. "This is a long-term care plan that could take weeks or months."

One of Palmer's first tasks at Fort Hood was to join other chaplains ordered to contact leaders in the Muslim community in an attempt to demonstrate peace and good will. Through a visit to an imam at a local mosque, Killeen-area Muslims were invited to today's memorial ceremony at Fort Hood, scheduled to be attended by victims' families, President and Mrs. Obama, other top military brass and dignitaries.

A native of High Springs, Fla., Palmer's military career began as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, where he served for 12 years. He was commissioned as an SBC chaplain in the U.S. Army in 2008. He is a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. After his temporary ministry at Fort Hood, he will return to his wife Christie and their two sons at Fort Riley.

"We've got some very dedicated chaplains here who want to give the very best care to the soldiers," Palmer said. "But they are some very tired chaplains, too."
--30--
Mickey Noah is a writer for the North American Mission Board.


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2 mass murders, 18 years apart in 1 town
by Erin Roach
Date: November 10, 2009 - Tuesday

KILLEEN, Texas (BP)--Randy Wallace, pastor of First Baptist Church in Killeen, Texas, said a man in his church survived the Luby's cafeteria shooting in 1991, when 23 people were killed and 20 were wounded in Killeen. That event marked the deadliest shooting rampage in American history until the Virginia Tech massacre.

Coupled with the recent Fort Hood shooting, Wallace noted how mathematically improbable it is for one relatively small town to have two mass murders within 20 years. He said people who survived the Luby's shooting still struggle with post-traumatic stress.

During the Sunday service following the Fort Hood shooting, the First Baptist member who survived Luby's gave a testimony of how God has sustained him, and Wallace said even though the man was uncomfortable talking about the ordeal, the pastor believes it was beneficial for the congregation.

Wallace felt led that morning to preach from Mark 6 on the beheading of John the Baptist, and he reviewed what effects he thought that tragedy might have had on Jesus at the time.

"That was an emotional, devastating event for Christ. He retreats to a solitary place to reflect on that," Wallace said. "It was a pointless death, and I tried to expound on the idea that death for a purpose is one thing, but he was beheaded because of the whim of a woman. There was no good reason even politically for him to be beheaded. 

"And the murders on Fort Hood served no military purpose except it was an ambush," Wallace said.

The pastor also used the sermon to remind his congregation that they are in the midst of a spiritual battle, as the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6. But believers are to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil, Wallace said, referring to Ephesians 5:16. 

During the invitation Sunday morning, a soldier who was one of the first responders after the Fort Hood shooting came forward.

"He was supposed to be in the room at the time, but he was outside, so he was one of the first, using paper towels to stop people's bleeding," Wallace said.

A woman who worked in the same office as the alleged gunman also came forward.

"She's devastated that she was that close and wishes that she could have done something, but she just didn't know how troubled he was," Wallace said.

The pastor explained that the Army is good at identifying and meeting immediate needs after a crisis, such as getting people to the hospital and making sure children have caretakers, but the local church's role is to address the secondhand issues of those who were not physically injured but are reeling emotionally.

"The second wave is emotional and spiritual trauma, and that's where we will be picking up slack as we identify people who have those hurts and needs," Wallace said.

It's through that kind of ministry that Wallace hopes to see a shaken community turn to God and commit their lives to following Jesus. 

"If I was telling people how to pray, pray for spiritual awakening in Killeen and Fort Hood, that people would seek Christ in this crisis," Wallace said. 
--30--
Erin Roach is a staff writer for Baptist Press. 


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Pro-lifers: No room for compromise in bill
by Michael Foust
Date: November 10, 2009 - Tuesday

WASHINGTON (BP)--President Obama said Nov. 9 he hopes to see the House health care bill's restrictions on federal funding of abortion changed so that it pleases both sides, but pro-lifers countered by saying the House language is the only proposal their side finds acceptable.

Obama made his comments to ABC News two days after the House passed a health care bill that included a pro-life amendment by Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak (Mich.) and Republican Rep. Joe Pitts (Pa.). The amendment -- passed 240-194, with 64 Democrats voting in the affirmative -- prevents a government-run public option from covering abortion and prohibits federal subsidies given to lower-income people from paying for insurance plans that cover abortion. The amendment makes exceptions for abortions in the cases of rape and incest and to save the mother's life. Women could use their own money to purchase a "rider" covering elective abortions from a private insurance company.

For weeks, Stupak had been on the front lines in the political battle to get pro-life language included in the bill, and his side appeared to be on the losing end until the day before the vote, when Democratic leaders saw they needed the support of Stupak and a coalition of some 40 pro-life Democrats if the overall health care bill were to pass. The bill did pass, 220-215, but only after Stupak's amendment was added.

Asked by ABC News' Jake Tapper if he felt the amendment preserved the "status quo" or leaned in "one direction or the other," Obama said, "I think that there are strong feelings on both sides. And what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo. And that's the goal."

Obama also said he's confident "we can actually arrive at this place where neither side feels that it's being betrayed."

"I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill," the president said. "And we're not looking to change what is a core principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions. And I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test -- that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that we're not restricting women's insurance choices, because one of the pledges I made in that same speech was to say if you're happy and satisfied with the insurance that you have, it's not going to change."

Pro-lifers, though, say the Stupak language is the only way Obama can keep the pledge he made in his September speech to Congress that "under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions."

"The only thing that will prevent the health care bill from being 'an abortion bill' is precisely the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, as the House of Representatives recognized by a 46-vote margin," Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, said in a statement. "The phoniness of Obama's claim that he has been trying to preserve the 'status quo' on abortion policy should be evident to any observer by now. In reality, the White House and top Democratic congressional leaders have been working hard to create a national federal government health plan that would fund abortion on demand, just as Obama promised Planned Parenthood."

In fact, Planned Parenthood -- the nation's largest abortion provider -- released a statement after the House passed the bill, saying it was time the organization and its allies used "our strongest weapon: the White House."

"President Obama campaigned on a promise to put reproductive health care at the center of his reform plan," Planned Parenthood said in an alert that urged its constituents to contact the White House. "Supporters of women's health voted for him and contributed to his campaign in record numbers -- and now it's time for the president to reaffirm his commitment to women's health, and demand that Congress reject any bill that leaves women worse off under health care reform than they are today."

The attempt by Democratic leaders to pass a health care bill figures to get only tougher now. The Los Angeles Times reported that at least 40 pro-choice House members have pledged to vote against the bill when it returns to the House if it still contains the Stupak language. The Senate is working on its own version that would go to a House-Senate conference, and a spokesperson for Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) told Politico.com that Nelson was pleased the Stupak language passed the House.

"It is highly unlikely he would support a bill that doesn't clearly prohibit federal dollars from going to abortion," the spokesperson said.

A Nelson defection would be significant, because there are 60 members in the Democratic caucus and it takes 60 votes to cut off a debate and prevent a filibuster.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, said there is no room to compromise on the issue. She called previous forms of compromise -- including what was known as the health care bill's Capps Amendment -- "phony."

"&#91;Majority Leader Harry&#93; Reid should take his cues from the House and pro-life members of his own caucus when crafting abortion language in the Senate health care reform bill," she said in a statement. "What Senator Nelson and many others recognize is that the Stupak language is the only authentic abortion exclusion measure.

"Given President Obama's record and his promises to the abortion lobby, it is a safe assumption that he will support abortion-friendly language under the guise of 'compromise.' Despite his rhetoric, there is just simply no room for compromise when human life is at stake. Either you fund abortion or you don't."

For his part, Stupak said his amendment simply applied the Hyde Amendment -- which is current law -- to the health care bill. The Hyde Amendment, which must be renewed yearly, prevents Medicaid from paying for elective abortions. It was first passed in the mid-1970s. 

"I am not writing a new federal abortion policy," Stupak said during debate. "I ask my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans alike: Let us stand together on principle of no public funding for abortion, no public funding for insurance policies that pay for abortion."
--30--
Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press.


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Iowa messengers approve sale of building
by Richard Nations
Date: November 10, 2009 - Tuesday

DES MOINES, Iowa (BP)--Messengers approved the sale of the Baptist Convention of Iowa building and paved the way for relocation to a new facility during their Nov. 6-7 annual meeting in Des Moines.

The convention currently owns an office unit in a condo-business park in Urbandale in the Des Moines area. Space considerations prompted the need for a move to quarters with larger conference facilities and more storage. Three former church properties, in Waterloo, Davenport and Cedar Falls, also will be sold to finance the purchase and move to a new convention building. Any overage will be designated for church planting efforts.

At present the convention has not obtained a site or a building for purchase and relocation, but Jimmy Barrentine, BCI executive director-treasurer, said it now will have the authority to purchase and sell property as opportunities arise. The primary offices of the convention will continue to be located in the greater Des Moines area.

Ted Keys, pastor of Community Southern Baptist Church in Waterloo, was elected president of the convention after serving as first vice president the past year. Dan Wiersema, the outgoing president and pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, declined nomination for the traditional second term due to church and family considerations.

Also elected were Eugene Guthrie, pastor of Crestwood Baptist Church, as first vice president and Eric Schumacher, pastor of Northbrook Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, as second vice president. Jean Johnson, a member of Rolling Hills Community Church in Ft. Dodge, was re-elected as convention secretary. All officers were elected without opposition.

A ministry plan including a budget of $1,747,785 and anticipated Cooperative Program gifts of $113,288 from Iowa's churches was approved. The budget is up just over .1 percent from the current year and will continue to forward 20 percent of Cooperative Program receipts for SBC causes, with 80 percent to be utilized for Iowa Baptist ministries. Convention officials noted that the convention relies heavily on financial support from the North American Mission Board, LifeWay Christian Resources, GuideStone Financial Resources, Woman's Missionary Union and a partnership with the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

Messengers adopted resolutions in appreciation for faithful pastors and for godly wives of pastors; in appreciation to the Baptist Convention of Iowa staff; and making a fresh commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission and to the new Southern Baptist national evangelism strategy, God's Plan for Sharing. All resolutions were adopted without opposition.

In his presidential address, Wiersema spoke from 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 on "Treasure in Clay Jars." He described the imperfect vessels that God's people are as they carry the possessions and talents entrusted to them by the Lord. Wiersema recounted the day when, as a Texas Baptist church's pastor of senior adults, he turned 40 and a lady said to him, "Preacher boy, I want you to know that from this day forward the pain does not go away, it just moves around." Wiersma said Christians are to "die daily," referencing 1 Corinthians 15:30-31, as they exist in imperfect vessels to always add to God's glory.

"All of our lives we carry all this around in clay vessels or 'leaky buckets,'" Wiersema said. He told of a senior lady who was physically disabled from polio who would walk with a distinctive gait due to her leg braces. He could never remember a time when he did not see her without a smile.

"She had such a way of clunking into the church and spreading joy with her leaky bucket."

Wiersema challenged messengers with the question, "Will you take your leaky bucket and sprinkle around water to give life to flowers along the path?"

Barrentine, in his annual report as BCI executive director-treasurer, recognized employees and wives who have completed milestones in service to the convention: Richard and Rachel Nations, 15 years, and Jon and Mindy Jamison, Roger and Missy Graves and James and Kathy Robinson, 10 years.

Barrentine said he is proud to be an "Iowa Baptist." Commenting on the diversity of churches in the state, he asked the convention to praise God for every size of church, large and small. The diversity in ethnicity and typology of the convention's churches is a joy, he said, surveying the convention crowd and noting Korean, Spanish, Bosnian, Italian, French and German backgrounds among them.

Barrentine also noted that the Lord is giving Iowa Baptists the gift of impatience with what is. He told of finding a germinating seed in an apple he had cut open and planting it in a terrarium. Barrentine said he is hoping to plant the seedling tree so that future generations will be able to enjoy its fruit. He expressed the hope that future Iowans will benefit from the Gospel seeds Iowa Baptists are planting.

In concluding, Barrentine led the convention to observe a moment of prayer in memory of the late Shelba Harmonson and Lois Lamborn, for whom the convention sessions were dedicated. Their surviving husbands, Ross Harmonson and Richard Lamborn, retired BCI missionaries were recognized. Lamborn is the BCI state missions director emeritus and Harmonson is the retired director of missions for the Northwest and Southwest Baptist Associations and currently interim pastor of Ninth Street Baptist Church in Spencer.

Ken Livingston, pastor of First Grace Baptist Church in Sheffield, preached the convention sermon. Reports from SBC entities and several Baptist organizations rounded out the convention sessions.

The credentials committee reported there were 130 messengers from 49 churches and 50 guests. The Baptist Convention of Iowa has 105 churches and missions.

Next year's annual meeting will be Nov. 5-6 in Des Moines at the Holiday Inn and Suites.
--30--
Richard Nations is publications editor of The Iowa Baptist, newspaper of the Baptist Convention of Iowa.


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States to handle DR for Ida
by Staff
Date: November 10, 2009 - Tuesday

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--As Hurricane Ida made landfall near Mobile, Ala., Nov. 10, the North American Mission Board reported that disaster relief operations will not involve a national DR deployment.

"All of the states that are affected have active strong DR so should be able to handle any response needs. We have contacted the state directors and they are watching the events," the mission board said in a statement to Baptist Press.

Ida peaked as a Category 2 hurricane in the gulf and weakened to a tropical depression as it came ashore Tuesday morning, causing only minor flooding and minimal power outages, according to Reuters. Winds had decreased to 35 mph and all storm warnings had expired.

The weather system was expected to carry heavy rain over Alabama, Georgia and northern Florida.

Earlier, as Ida churned through the gulf, nearly 30 percent of the Gulf of Mexico oil output ceased and the governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana declared states of emergency in advance of the late-season storm.
--30--
Reported by Baptist Press staff.


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FIRST-PERSON: Happy birthday to us
by Scott Barkley
Date: November 10, 2009 - Tuesday

DULUTH, Ga. (BP)--Three years ago, I got a birthday present that can never be topped. It can only be equaled if the same thing happens again. 

To greatly condense it, 2006 was a very hectic and trying time for my wife and me. It included emotional highs and lows we'd never encountered as a couple. But in what has personally been the clearest example of God at work outside of my view, the entire year changed Nov. 3. 

It would require a sit-down over wings or barbecue to tell the whole story, but a four-day avalanche of activity around Halloween put us in another city, staying in touch with various officials and skyrocketing our cell phone bills. This was our first foray into adoption and we didn't know what to expect in so many areas.  

Even though you mentally prepare to receive a baby you haven't seen grow in a belly nor gazed at on a monitor, there is still an element of surprise when a nurse brings him in to you, checks his vitals, then leaves. The responsibility of it hits you, not all at once like a runaway truck, but gradually. A checklist forms in your mind of who is counting on you. You owe your gratitude to the birth parent who chose your profile. You owe your best to the bundle you cradle as your own, even if the DNA is different. 

At three years old Nov. 3, Jackson (we pondered the name a few weeks earlier at the homecoming parade of our alma mater, Jacksonville State, where we met) has already established a legacy. He was the first adoption in our family. Since then we've adopted another son, Bryce. My brothers and their wives have adopted as well. Just more than three years ago, my parents had one grandchild. Today they have seven, six of them adopted, with Jackson the oldest. On Mother's Day this year his Grammy stood fighting back tears much like she fought back breast cancer before the arrival of her first grandchild. That day she watched something she once thought may never happen -- a gaggle of grandchildren climbing over a jungle gym in her front yard.

Biracial, he's softened hearts and changed long-held, if subliminal, attitudes toward race among our extended family. The birth parents of his brother and cousin chose to make adoption plans with my family largely due to Jack's presence.

He's a typical toddler. He has tantrums, but his smile can warm an IRS agent. He hits his sister on occasion, but is obsessed with protecting her. His favorite game with me -- "knock you down" -- is simple and self-explanatory and I'll admit I'm fine with it because it's essentially him practicing his speed rush toward the quarterback. He always declares he's mommy's boy. His brother stares at him like he invented baby bottles and all things rattle-y. 

In an upcoming movie, "The Blind Side," Sandra Bullock's character takes a homeless African-American high school student into her posh, upscale home. You can imagine how those dynamics play out in the plot. At one point someone remarks to her how she has changed the teen's life. 

"Nope. He's changing mine," she says. 

Jackson, three years ago on Nov. 3 -- my 33rd birthday -- we met you for the first time. We couldn't wait to get you home so you could meet your grandparents and uncles and aunts. We'd already prepared for how we were going to provide for you and love you and give you so much. 

Whatever we did, you've returned the favor. And we'll never be able to top it.
--30--
Scott Barkley is production editor at the Christian Index, the newspaper of the Georgia Baptist Convention. 



