
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-11/17/2009

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True Love Waits, True Love Stays grow worldwide
by Don Beehler
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A little more than two years after launching an initiative to expand True Love Waits throughout Africa, more than 15,500 True Love Waits presentations have been made to African youth, and nearly half a million young people have heard its message promoting sexual abstinence until marriage.

Of that number, more than 200,500 have taken the True Love Waits pledge and nearly 41,500 adults have committed to faithfulness in marriage through the TLW-related True Love Stays.

In Asia, True Love Waits also is making gains.

Sharon Pumpelly, lead consultant for True Love Waits International, noted, "In sub-Sahara Africa, AIDS has made people hungry for True Love Waits."

She believes there are many other True Love Waits presentations being made and commitments to biblical purity being secured beyond those that have been documented in the AIDS-ravaged African continent where the TLW message, or the lack of it, can have life-and-death consequences.

"When I travel to Africa often someone will pull out a True Love Waits card from his or her pocket and tell me the impact the commitment has made," she said.

One of the most powerful individual stories she has heard so far came from a young man who lost four siblings to AIDS. He lived a promiscuous lifestyle and does not remember all the young women he had sex with.

When he came to know the Lord and committed to purity, the young man commented that he would be like his deceased brothers and sisters if the True Love Waits presenter had not come when he did.

In Malawi, Pumpelly met with a man who had been recommended to her to translate the True Love Waits materials into Chichewa. As they began talking, she discovered that when he heard the True Love Waits message, he became so passionate about it that he found the funding himself, translated and printed the materials, and trained youth leaders in each province of Malawi.

"This is the passion we are seeing," Pumpelly noted.

Another encouraging development comes from the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, where True Love Waits has attracted the attention of the provincial government. Several years ago the Eastern Cape began a "Moral Regeneration Movement" through government agencies. The movement focuses on identifying and partnering with programs that are working with youth to develop high moral standards.

As the True Love Waits message has spread throughout the Eastern Cape, the department of education and the department of social development formulated a partnership with True Love Waits to ensure that every youth and young adult in the province gets the opportunity to hear about God's message of purity.

"I am really excited with this partnership as it seeks to give meaning to our endeavors," said Nosipho Skenjana, chief director for institutional development, support and governance for the East Cape department of education.

In the Philippines, God is opening doors and young people are responding. Jorex, a Filipino man, became so passionate about getting the True Love Waits message out to the young people in his rural area that he quit his job and began praying for the Lord to use him. He now has a thriving ministry and he was able to help the True Love Waits team in Manila with a large conference in Cebu City, which led to nearly 60 schools including True Love Waits in their curriculum.

People from a number of places in Asia have expressed interest in bringing the True Love Waits message to their parts of the world. One contact came from a youth leader in Malang, Indonesia, which is two hours from Jakarta. Derek Ross, director of True Love Waits in the Philippines, exchanged ideas with the youth leader and together they developed a plan for bringing True Love Waits to Indonesia.

"It is truly amazing what the True Love Waits International team has done in two years," said Jimmy Hester, cofounder of True Love Waits. Hester recently met with Pumpelly and several of her team members to get an update on progress and to discuss strategy for moving forward.

"God has been very gracious in the caliber of people He has brought to our team," Hester said. "They have built important relationships and partnerships and now have a growing network in place to expand True Love Waits' life-changing message. You just see God's hand all over this, yet there still is so much that needs to be done."

Pumpelly added, "God is at work around the world, touching and changing lives through True Love Waits. We are seeing a new groundswell for True Love Waits in all of the countries where we are working, and we continue to get requests from other countries for training and material.

"My prayer is that we will be able to keep meeting these requests."
--30--
Don Beehler is a writer in Franklin, Tenn. For more information about True Love Waits, visit www.truelovewaits.com.


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Somali extremists' toll reaches 13
by Staff
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

WASHINGTON (BP)--A 13th Christian leader in Somalia has been killed by Islamic extremists, according to the Washington-based human rights organization International Christian Concern.

As reported by ICC in a Nov. 16 news release, Ali Hussein Weheliye, pastor of an underground church in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, was returning home from a worship service Oct. 10 when he was ambushed and shot by two masked men that ICC described as members of al-Shabab, an insurgent Muslim group that has risen to prominence in recent months.

"The Islamists left the pastor for dead," ICC reported, recounting that Weheliye was taken to a hospital where he died of his wounds on Oct. 20.

"Ali converted from Islam to Christianity in 1999 while working in Somalia's capital as a linguist. In 2002, he started pastoring an underground house church," ICC stated.

"He is survived by his wife and a daughter who are now in hiding fearing for their lives."

Al-Shabab, a rebel group linked to al-Qaida that has taken over large parts of Somalia, has "declared Somalia as an Islamic state, vowing to eradicate Christians," ICC stated, listing Weheliye as the 13th Christian leader killed so far this year. A number of Christian workers have been beheaded and a number of Christians have fled the country due to the intense persecution.

"Despite the killings by al-Shabab, the Somali church is growing rapidly," ICC noted.

"The underground church in Somalia is enduring untold suffering," said Jonathan Racho, ICC's regional manager for Africa and south Asia. "Al-Shabab and other Islamic extremist groups are hunting down and killing Christians. By killing Christians, the Islamic extremists have repeatedly demonstrated utter disregard to human life and freedom of religion." 

ICC urged Christians to "pray for God to comfort and strengthen Pastor Ali's wife and daughter. Please pray for courage and wisdom to underground churches in Somalia."

Somalia's Christians comprise less than 1 percent of the African nation's 9.8 million people.

Earlier this year, the Associated Press noted, "Punishments such as stoning, amputations and beheadings are historically rare in Somalia, which traditionally practices moderate Sufi Islam," reflected by the nation's president, Sheik Sharif Ahmed, a former religious teacher who rose to popularity in Somalia by helping rescue kidnapped children.

"But a more extremist form of jihadi Salafist Islam with its roots in Saudi Arabia has taken root during the chaotic warfare of recent years, strengthened by a recent influx of hundreds of foreign fighters," AP noted.
--30--
Compiled by Baptist Press editor Art Toalston.


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Drive begins to reverse Calif. Prop 8
by Staff
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--Supporters of "gay marriage" in California began collecting signatures Nov. 16 for a proposed constitutional amendment that would ask voters next year to overturn Proposition 8.

If successful, California would become the first state where voters approve the redefinition of marriage. 

The drive is being organized by the group Love Honor Cherish, which must collect nearly 700,000 valid signatures by mid-April to qualify the amendment for the ballot. The group, through, is aiming for 1 million signatures in light of the fact that petition drives nearly always result in thousands of invalid petitions. The amendment would appear on the November 2010 ballot.

The amendment would strike the Prop 8 language from the state constitution -- "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California" -- and replace it with the following: "Marriage is between only two persons and shall not be restricted on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion."

Love Honor Cherish began collecting signatures the same day the California secretary of state's office approved the ballot language. The group faces long odds, particularly since it says it will avoid using paid signature gatherers -- something that Prop 8 supporters used and which nearly every successful constitutional amendment campaign in the state has used, The Sacramento Bee reported. Love Honor Cherish hopes to gather the signatures through social networking sites and through its website, SignforEquality.com. Petitions must be downloaded and mailed.

The drive is beginning at a time when homosexual activist groups in the state are divided. For instance, Equality California -- a major supporter of "gay marriage" -- is not backing the petition drive and instead is aiming for 2012 or later for its own petition drive.

Proposition 8 passed in 2008, 52-48 percent. It reversed a California Supreme Court ruling that had legalized "gay marriage." 
--30--
Compiled by Michael Foust, assistant editor of Baptist Press.


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SBCV adopts long-range plan
by Brandon Pickett
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

NORFOLK, Va. (BP)--The Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia approved a long-range strategic plan at their annual meeting at First Baptist Church in Norfolk.

More than 1,000 people, including 753 messengers and 308 guests, attended the Nov. 8-10 meeting, which centered on the theme of "Pushing Back the Darkness through Evangelism."

Messengers unanimously approved a plan that will guide the SBCV as it assists local congregations in their task of fulfilling the Great Commission. SBCV's executive board initiated a Vision 20/20 team in January to review its past, examine its present and formulate a vision that focuses on the next decade, culminating in the year 2020.

The Vision 20/20 Report challenges the SBCV to function as a:

-- Multiplying missional network in which the number of affiliated churches doubles from more than 500 to more than 1,000.

-- Mobilizing missional network in which the number of churches committed to the Acts 1:8 Challenge rises from approximately 50 to more than 500.

-- Maturing missional network in which 500 churches move to the next level in congregational health.

-- Sacrificial missional network in which an additional .25 percent of undesignated CP receipts will be forwarded to the Southern Baptist Convention each year for the next decade, subject to an annual review.

-- Streamlined missional network in which ministry staff and the SBCV calendar are streamlined for optimal Kingdom impact.

-- Contextualized missional network in which the unchanging message of the Gospel is communicated in the most effective manner possible for their context.

Throughout the meeting, God's Plan for Sharing, Southern Baptists' new national evangelism initiative, was highlighted and promoted. Churches were encouraged to join "Across Virginia," which will begin statewide about a month before Easter. The "Find It Here" television commercial was shown in English and Spanish, as were videos highlighting GPS pilot projects in Ontario, Calif., and Philadelphia.

Messengers adopted a 2010 budget of $9.2 million, down from $9.5 million for the current year. The SBCV will forward 50.25 percent of all undesignated Cooperative Program receipts to national and international missions and ministries, an increase of .25 percent. 

Doyle Chauncey, the convention's assistant treasurer, said early estimates indicate the increase could mean more than an additional $1 million given to national and international missions during the next decade.

Guest speakers included Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, who held a question-and-answer session about the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force after his message; B. Gray Allison, president emeritus of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary; Tom Elliff, former president of the SBC; Tim Hight, SBCV president and pastor of Main Street Baptist Church in Christiansburg; and Jay Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lakeland, Fla. 

Eagle Awards were presented to 26 sponsoring churches and pastors who helped plant 23 churches. Mark Custalow, director of multiplying churches for the SBCV, said "a full 33 percent of SBCV churches have actively engaged in sponsoring a new church, which far surpasses the national average of 6 percent."

An additional 16 churches requested affiliation with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. All were unanimously affirmed, which brought the total number of churches affiliating with the SBCV to 550.

The SBCV annually recognizes churches that lead the convention in baptisms and Cooperative Program giving. Jeff Ginn, the SBCV's executive director, gave the Pentecost Award to Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg for the highest number of total baptisms and Monumental Baptist Church in Petersburg for the highest number of baptisms per capita. 

Ginn also gave two Macedonia Awards for the churches with the highest CP giving. Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton was recognized for the highest total CP giving, while Matoaca Baptist Church in Matoaca was recognized for the highest CP giving per capita.

The SBCV annually presents Nehemiah Awards to individuals who have helped in the formation of the SBCV or have been instrumental in leadership and service to the convention. This year, Chauncey presented Nehemiah Awards to Bob Davis, an evangelist with the Bob Davis Evangelistic Association, and Tommy Taylor, pastor of London Bridge Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.

Messengers unanimously approved four resolutions: on prayer for elected officials, on appreciation for the Armed Services of the United States of America, on prayer for the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force; and on appreciation for the host church.

Mark Becton, pastor of Grove Avenue Baptist Church in Richmond, was elected president of the SBCV by acclamation, as was Randy Green, pastor of Harvest Fellowship Baptist Church in Smithfield, first vice president; Neal Hawks, pastor of Pioneer Baptist Church in Max Meadows, second vice president; and Gordon Ellsworth, pastor of Virginia Beach Beacon Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, secretary.

Next year's annual meeting will be Nov. 7-10 at Hyland Heights Baptist Church in Lynchburg.
--30--
Brandon Pickett is director of media services for the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia.


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Tenn. Baptists honor James Porch
by Lonnie Wilkey
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Messengers to the 135th annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention recognized the ministry and leadership of James Porch, who has served as executive director of the convention since 1992 and has announced he will retire in August. 

The Nov. 10-11 meeting at West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson drew 1,173 messengers from 541 churches, the lowest attendance in 35 years.

Randy Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church in Sevierville, was elected president by acclamation, as were Poly Rouse, pastor of Hermitage Hills Baptist Church in Hermitage, as vice president, and Jim Norman, pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Mountain City, second vice president.

Messengers adopted a budget of $36 million for 2009-10, a 7.7 percent decrease from the current budget. In the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, Tennessee Baptists had given $35,473,080.

Porch thanked Tennessee Baptists for their support through the Cooperative Program. 

"Our God-honored Cooperative Program is still alive in the hearts and lives of people in Tennessee," Porch said. "Thank you, Tennessee Baptists, for continuing to give even during a year where there has been a lot of pain and misery in our pews and on our benches in our churches."

Tennessee Baptists will continue to forward 40 percent of Cooperative Program receipts to national and international missions and ministries. If the 2009-10 budget is exceeded, excess funds would be distributed on a 50-50 split with the Southern Baptist Convention.

An amendment to the budget was offered by Clayton Dunsmore, director of missions in the Cumberland Gap Baptist Association in Harrogate.

He moved that "in a spirit of fairness" the line item for "association support" in the TBC executive board section of the budget be adjusted from a cut of 14.7 percent to 7.72 percent "so that we may fairly bear the burden of the financial downturn together." The amendment would have returned approximately $89,000 to that line item.

During a discussion time later in the meeting, Dunsmore spoke in favor of his amendment, noting that convention support for associations has dropped over the years.

Lon Shoopman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Madisonville and chairman of the executive board's budget and program committee, noted the amendment would take money from other institutions and entities. He also said the action had nothing to do with the downturn of the economy. Instead, he said, it was part of a three-year process that involved leaders of both the executive board and directors of missions across the state. 

After further discussion, the amendment failed and the budget was approved as presented.

In the only contested item during the convention, an attempt to remove three trustees of Carson-Newman College failed because the substitute nominees were declared ineligible.

The three trustees who were challenged all came from churches that give less than 1 percent through the Cooperative Program. In addition, two of the nominees failed to affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message question that is posed to all nominees by the committee on boards. The question has been used the past several years for information and is not intended to keep individuals from serving, convention leaders say.

In the other primary business item, messengers voted down a motion to allow the question posed by the committee on committees and committee on boards to allow any version of the Baptist Faith and Message.

Next year's annual meeting will be Nov. 9-10 at Grace Baptist Church in Knoxville.
--30--
Lonnie Wilkey is editor of the Baptist and Reflector (www.tnbaptist.org/BRNews.asp), newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.


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Penn-Jersey Baptists celebrate missions
by Staff
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

BUSHKILL, Pa. (BP)--With the theme "'Til the Whole World Knows," the annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey at Fernwood Hotel & Resort in Bushkill, Pa., Nov. 5-6 was marked by a tribute to the work of international missionaries.

Peter Yanes, the convention's president, emphasized in his address the urgent need to lead people to Christ. He recounted how a Southern Baptist missionary funded by the Cooperative Program moved to his hometown in the Philippines in 1972 and shared the Gospel with his family.

Yanes said immigrants to the United States need to hear about Jesus before American culture eclipses their receptivity to the Gospel. If such immigrants are reached for Christ, he said, they'll likely share the Gospel in their native countries as they return to visit family. 

Roger "Sing" Oldham, vice president for convention relations at the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, led a Bible study session on prayer, noting that God is pleased to change circumstances based on pleas made through intercession. When believers are faithful to pray for the lost, he said, God will provide a harvest. 

R. Philip Roberts, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., preached from Romans 10 and said righteousness is not found in morality, tradition or religion but in Jesus.

Ted Johnson, director of the Penn-Jersey convention's church strengthening division, delivered the convention sermon on the need to disciple church members, giving practical suggestions.

David Waltz, the convention's executive director, pointed to statistics that show Christianity in America is in decline. He quoted David Dockery, who has cited an "Americanization of Christianity rather than a Christianization of America."

Waltz used passages from Amos, Hosea, Micah and Isaiah to remind messengers that God is not pleased with meaningless worship. What He wants, Waltz said, is for believers to "act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly" with their God. Waltz said the kind of churches many messengers grew up with will not likely reach a new generation for Christ.

"I see a God who is still on His throne who is the God of the impossible who can transform a broken, sinful people and make them new, who can take a sinful, broken, self-centered church that is only concerned about its own institutional survival and transform it into a missional body of Christ that transforms its community -- and I am filled with hope," Waltz said.

John Gblah, pastor of Agape International Baptist Church, a new Liberian congregation, told messengers he accepted Christ because International Mission Board workers shared the Gospel with him in Liberia. A celebration of missions during the annual meeting included worship followed by reports on missions partnerships.

A total of 115 messengers representing 61 churches as well as 160 guests attended the annual meeting, which was hosted by the Northeast Pennsylvania Baptist Association. The Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania-South Jersey has 400 churches and missions with more than 56,000 members.

Yanes, a member of International Bible Church in Upper Darby, Pa., was re-elected president of the convention; Kim Grueser, pastor of Pittsburgh Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, was elected first vice president; and Bob Lindsay, pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Windber, Pa., second vice president; Doug Lesher, a member of Thompsontown Baptist Church in Thompsontown, Pa., recording secretary; and Fred Boehlke, a member of Trinity Baptist Church in Philadelphia, historian. All officers were elected by acclamation.

Messengers approved a 2010 budget of $3,507,748, a slight increase over the current year's budget of $3,456,828. From $910,668 in anticipated Cooperative Program giving from Pennsylvania and New Jersey churches, the convention will forward 25.2 percent to national and international missions and ministries, a .1 percent increase.

Next year's annual meeting will be Nov. 4-5 at Ezekiel Baptist Church in Philadelphia.
--30--
Based on a report by Fanny Grote of the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey.


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Nev. Baptists add 7 churches
by Staff
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

LAS VEGAS (BP)--The Nevada Baptist Convention welcomed seven new affiliated congregations and transitioned to a one-day meeting format at its 31st annual meeting at Spring Valley Baptist Church in Las Vegas.

Thane Barnes, the convention's executive director, said the condensed format was an experiment.

"We learned how to do some things better and clearly recognized things that need improvement," Barnes said of the Oct. 20 gathering. "The executive board and staff will evaluate the format. Overall, the response and attendance were encouraging. Not bad for a trial run."

A total of 140 registered messengers represented 49 churches at the meeting. The seven new congregations are Life Baptist Church in Las Vegas, South Fork Community Church in Spring Creek, La Familia de Dios in Las Vegas, Chapel of Improvement Fellowship in Las Vegas, Iglesia Bautista Caribeña in Las Vegas, Iglesia Bautista Henderson in Henderson and Emmanuel Baptist Mission in Las Vegas.

This year's theme was "ONE," based on Ephesians 4:4-6, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." 

Guest speakers at the Nevada convention included Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., and Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research in Nashville, Tenn.

Iorg led a study on the church at Antioch in the Book of Acts, a congregation he said was the best biblical example of a healthy church. He explained how the Antioch church managed conflict, matured believers and evangelized the world through a commitment to missions.

The church at Antioch demonstrated how a strong congregation can be built, can mature, can make a difference and can handle conflict, said Iorg, who is in the process of writing a book on the church at Antioch.

Stetzer used Acts 17 to focus on engaging and evangelizing different cultures.

"Whether young or old, Southern Baptists need to ask the question of themselves, 'How do we take the timeless truths of the Gospel and seek to engage the culture so that men and women will be saved and transformed by the power of the Gospel?'

"I don't think this is an age issue, a contemporary or traditional, emerging church or denominational issue. I believe this is a Bible issue," Stetzer said. "We need to look to what the Scriptures have to say about engaging today's culture with the life-changing message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that are old and true and new and relevant."

Also at the annual meeting, breakout sessions addressed the topics of church finances, evangelism, church security and discipleship.

Messengers adopted a 2010 budget of $2,381,719, down 15.5 percent from the current budget. The budget includes anticipated Cooperative Program giving of $896,531 from Nevada Baptist churches. The convention will continue to allocate 29.5 percent of CP receipts to national and international missions and ministries.

"Our nation has been hit hard by the recession and Nevada has taken the brunt of the downturn in the housing market, massive foreclosures and high unemployment," Barnes said. "Receipts from Nevada churches have been down nearly 29 percent from last year. However, we will continue to offer our total resources to helping extend the Kingdom of God throughout Nevada."

Frank Bushey, pastor of Fellowship Community Church in Reno, was re-elected president of the convention; Ron Trummell, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Pahrump, was elected first vice president; and Chris Miller, associate pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Fallon, was re-elected second vice president.

The Nevada Baptist Convention has 179 churches and missions with more than 32,000 members.

Next year's annual meeting will be Oct. 18-19 at South Reno Baptist Church in Reno.
--30--
Based on a report by the Nevada Baptist Convention staff.


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Calif. Baptists involve CBU students
by Holly Smith
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

FRESNO, Calif. (BP)--Harmony and heritage were emphasized at the annual meeting of the California Southern Baptist Convention, Nov. 10-11 Magnolia Avenue Baptist Church in Riverside.

Under the theme "For the Generations to Come: Celebrating Four Centuries of Baptist History," messengers approved, without discussion, a 2010 budget of $11,607,958, a 4.8 percent decrease from the current budget.

From $7,520,000 in anticipated Cooperative Program giving from California churches, the convention will continue to forward 30 percent for national and international missions and ministries. 

Messengers also approved a bylaws change to create a committee on resolutions, credentials and membership. The credentialing task was moved from another committee and the membership aspect was added to the new committee's job description.

The membership issue arose because of an increasing need for attention to processing applications from existing congregations wishing to affiliate with the CSBC, according to Blake Withers, pastor of Las Brisas Bible Fellowship in Murrieta and chairman of the convention's executive board.

Withers said it has been a longstanding practice for the local association to serve as the body to determine if a congregation wishing to affiliate with Southern Baptists is of "like kind and faith" in its beliefs.

He added, "This is still the preferred method for determining if a church meets this qualification for affiliating with CSBC. There are a growing number of congregations seeking to affiliate with the state convention and not the association. These situations would be handled by this new committee."

Messengers approved resolutions of support for the Southern Baptist Convention's Great Commission resurgence and affirmation of the biblical teachings regarding dignity and the value of all human life.

Walter Price, pastor of Fellowship in the Pass Church in Beaumont, was re-elected president of the convention by acclamation, as were Withers as first vice president and Justin McWhorter, minister of music and education at Orangeburg Avenue Baptist Church in Modesto, as music director.

Stephen Jones, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Yucca Valley, was elected second vice president in a ballot vote with Joe Slunaker of Hemet Valley Baptist Church in Hemet.

Students from California Baptist University in Riverside presented an excerpt of the play "A Garden in India" during the meeting. The play, performed in full Wednesday afternoon following the meeting, was commissioned by CBU in honor of this year's 400th anniversary of various Baptist traditions that date back to John Smyth and Thomas Helwys fleeing religious persecution in England to establish a church in Amsterdam embracing believer's baptism. The drama about the life of the first Baptist international missionary, William Carey, presented excerpts of his ministry in India.

Theme interpretations were presented by CBU professors Jeff Mooney, Anthony Chute and Jeff Lewis. Students from the university opened and closed each of the three convention sessions with prayer. Three students who have participated in CBU's international service projects presented personal testimonies. 

Sermons during the annual meeting included Chris Morgan, a CBU professor; Fermin A. Whittaker, CSBC executive director; and Price.

A total of 463 messengers registered for the convention meeting, with 239 guests. With the proximity of the campus and the possibility in several instances of extra credit for classes, many CBU students also attended.

As each CSBC entity, as well as Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, presented reports, Price asked their executives and trustees to stand while messengers gathered around to pray for them.

The California Baptist Historical Society presented its annual Heritage Award to Edd L. Brown, former California church staff member, pastor, director of missions and California Southern Baptist Convention men's leader, and his wife Flo. 

Next year's annual meeting will be Oct. 26-27 at Clovis Hills Community Church in Clovis.
--30--
Holly Smith is managing editor of the California Baptist (www.csbc.com/csb), newsjournal of the California Southern Baptist Convention. Editor Terry Barone contributed to this report.


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FBC Dallas launches $130M build campaign
by Staff
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

DALLAS (BP)--First Baptist Church in Dallas has launched a $130 million fundraising campaign to build a new 1.5 million square foot facility in what one church fundraising expert is calling the largest church building program in modern history.

On a Nov. 1 standing vote to endorse a unanimous recommendation from their deacon board, church members overwhelmingly approved the capital campaign, which will create a new 3,000-seat, 90,000-square-foot sanctuary, a six-story education building and a parking garage with sky bridge. The project is designed to complement the revitalization initiative in downtown Dallas, which has included the recent opening of a new performing arts center and construction of a new convention center.

The massive project, which fundraising consultant Doug Turner said is "the largest building program undertaken by a single congregation in recent history," is intended to provide spiritual support for downtown's denizens that brings glory to God.

First Baptist's campus will enable the church to enhance its ministry to Dallas while completing the circle of resources meeting the mind, body and spirit needs of downtown residents, senior pastor Robert Jeffress told the congregation.

"For more than 140 years, God has put First Baptist Church at the center of Dallas, the nation's fastest-growing city in the heart of America," Jeffress said, according to a publicity release. "Jerry Jones recently unveiled a new $1.2 billion 'temple to sport.' In these tough economic times, why can't we use our gifts to build a church building that provides a spiritual oasis and matches the splendor and majesty of God?"

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, a member of the congregation, said the project will benefit the entire community by providing an open and inviting atmosphere and additional parking.

"This is a critical and important investment in downtown Dallas," Leppert said. "It will have an impact on this community and what we're trying to accomplish of creating more of an urban setting that is vibrant and exciting and brings people downtown. This is going to be exciting effort, not only in terms of Sunday but all the other different activities and what it will to contribute."

Five older buildings on the church campus will be torn down in the project, but the 1890 sanctuary will be retained as a special events chapel. The plans also call for a one-acre green space, an outdoor baptismal fountain and a towering cross, according to the Dallas Morning News. Groundbreaking is planned for July 2010, with construction completed in two years.

The church goes into the building program with $19 million in debt but the fundraising plan calls for the new construction to be debt free in 2013, the church's publicity release said.

While the project price tag is high, the church sees the new construction as a tool for improved witness and ministry in the city, Jeffress said.

"First Baptist's building program is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end to better minister to and meet the needs of the community," Jeffress said. "Now, more than ever, our church is firmly committed to spreading the message of God's love to transform lives and our city."
--30--
Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Mark Kelly.


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FIRST-PERSON: Health care & moral schizophrenia
by Ken Connor
Date: November 17, 2009 - Tuesday

"The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing." -Abraham Lincoln

WASHINGTON (BP)--House Democrats are celebrating a first-round victory in the battle to nationalize America's health care system -- a victory claimed on behalf of every American's right to high-quality, affordable health care.  

Opponents of the House bill are not without a victory of their own, however. Thanks to Bart Stupak, Joe Pitts, and 238 other representatives from both sides of the aisle, the tradition of the Hyde Amendment has been upheld: federal funds will not be used to finance abortion as part of any government-managed health care plan -- at least for now. Those seeking abortions will have to pay for the procedure without the unwitting aid of the American taxpayer.

The pro-abortion camp is incensed by the passage of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, denouncing the move as "an unprecedented overreach into women's basic rights and freedoms in this country." Aside from the irony of complaining about government overreach at the same time as they are stumping for a government takeover of America's health care system, the assertion that basic rights and freedoms are at stake unless tax monies are used to fund the killing of innocents again demonstrates the logical and moral incoherence of the pro-abortion position. This absurd position demonstrates that Lincoln's words are as true today as they were when he surmised that, though all Americans declare for liberty, we have yet to reach a consensus on what liberty actually is and to whom it applies. 

America fought a bloody civil war because of our inability to agree on the meaning and scope of liberty. In the dark days of the pre-war South, a slave's existence was contingent entirely upon his master's goodwill. If the master decided to sell him, or beat him, or kill him, that was the final word on the matter. The slave did not enjoy basic human freedoms because, in the eyes of the law, a slave was not really a person.

A century and a half later, it is no longer skin color that provokes controversy over the question of liberty, but other criteria such as size, age, and location (inside or outside the womb). Because we have decided that they are not "persons," the continued existence of the unborn has become entirely contingent upon the whims of the mother. The pro-abortion camp insists that an unborn child only counts when it is wanted. Rights have nothing to do with the matter -- it's really all about wants. Thus, when a woman who has decided she wants to be a mother suffers a miscarriage, society views it as a tragedy and a cause for mourning. Yet if this same woman carries her child for nine months only to decide at the eleventh hour that she is not willing to accept the responsibility of motherhood, she can destroy the child, and society is expected to defend her "right" to do so.  And if Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the final say, your tax dollars will pay for it.  

What abortion advocates ignore is that unless we first preserve the right to life, all other rights are meaningless. Rights mean nothing to a corpse. Life is necessary to enjoy freedoms and exercise rights -- including the so-called right to healthcare.

Thus, those who insist that Americans have a right to healthcare and a right to taxpayer-funded abortions suffer from a severe form of moral schizophrenia. And their claims that the constitution supports their warped position only adds insult to injury. In order to maintain any form of coherence, they should rest their arguments on the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche or Peter Singer and leave the Constitution out of it.
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Ken Connor is a trial lawyer and chairman of the Center for a Just Society based in Washington D.C., online at www.centerforajustsociety.org.



