The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-12/06/2012 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- In Britain, food & water withheld from ill babies by Staff Date: December 06, 2012 - Thursday LONDON (BP) -- The British end-of-life protocol known as the Liverpool Care Pathway is being used for the deaths of sick children and disabled newborns. Health care providers supposedly were using the Pathway only for terminally ill adults and the elderly, but an article in the British Medical Journal showed they also are withholding food, water and medicine from children, the Daily Mail reported Nov. 28. In the journal article, an unnamed physician reported he had supervised the starvation and dehydration deaths of 10 babies in one neonatal unit. While parents want their children to die quickly without suffering, those desires conflict with his experience, the doctor wrote. "Parents and care teams are unprepared for the sometimes severe changes that they will witness in the child's physical appearance as severe dehydration ensues," he said of a process that has a median time from withdrawal of fluids to death of 10 days. While he tries to prepare parents so they will not make a choice they regret, the doctor wrote, "I know, as they cannot, the unique horror of witnessing a child become smaller and shrunken...." A hospice pediatric nurse criticized the use of the Pathway for children. "The parents feel coerced, at a very traumatic time, into agreeing that this is correct for their child whom they are told by doctors only has a few days to live," Bernadette Lloyd wrote in a letter to the Department of Health, according to the Daily Mail. "It is very difficult to predict death. I have seen a 'reasonable' number of children recover after being taken off the pathway." She also said," I have also seen children die in terrible thirst because fluids are withdrawn from them until they die.... This is euthanasia by the backdoor." American pro-life bioethics specialist Wesley Smith agreed with Lloyd. "You watch: The way things are going in the [United Kingdom], the answer won't be to stop dehydrating, but to lethally inject," Smith wrote on his blog. --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -------------------------------------------------------------------- Grady Nutt's comedy returns via Web, CDs by Staff Date: December 06, 2012 - Thursday NASHVILLE (BP) -- The comedy of Grady Nutt, a Southern Baptist seminary graduate known as the "Prime Minister of Humor" and a regular on television's long-running "Hee Haw" show, is being rejuvenated 30 years after his death via a website and commemorative two-CD collection of previously unreleased tracks. A native of Amarillo, Texas, Nutt began his career in childhood, singing gospel music on the radio with his mother accompanying on the piano, according to gradynutt.com. At age 12, he became an ordained Baptist minister and joked that he could perform legal weddings of his classmates. Nutt graduated from Baylor University in 1957 and was a youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. In 1960, he moved to Louisville, Ky., where he enrolled at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and also became pastor of Graefenburg Baptist Church in Waddy, Ky. Friendships he made there later became part of his performances, the website says. Upon graduation from Southern in 1964, Nutt became a recruiter for the seminary, speaking on college campuses across the South. His popularity grew and led to several television appearances including as a guest host of "The Mike Douglas Show," which was the nation's top-rated daytime talk show at the time. His big break came in 1979, the website says, when he was added to the cast of Hee Haw and was given a couple of minutes each episode to do a routine. He wrote several bestselling books and released multiple comedy albums and a Southern Gospel record. In 1981, NBC launched "The Grady Nutt Show" starring Nutt as the pastor of a local church in which members would get into a humorous crisis and he would attempt to solve it, the website says. The late Minnie Pearl, a Hee Haw star, said Nutt "used humor to spread his faith to a very wide audience." Tragically, Nutt was killed in a plane crash in 1982 after a speaking engagement in Cullman, Ala. "Over the years, we've heard from people around the world how Grady touched their lives. We couldn't think of a better time to communicate with his fans and release some of Grady's best material," Nutt's son Toby said. The family hopes to share classic Nutt stories as well as television and radio clips on gradynutt.com, Twitter and Facebook, giving fans an opportunity for interaction, according to a news release Dec. 4. The commemorative CDs are available for purchase on the website. "These are some of Dad's greatest bits," son Perry Nutt said. "Listening to these stories takes you back to a time before digital, when all recordings were scratchy but real." --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Erin Roach. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -------------------------------------------------------------------- BIBLE STUDY: Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Date: December 06, 2012 - Thursday NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curriculum and additional resources for all age groups. This week's Bible study is adapted from the Bible Studies for curriculum. Bible Passage: Bible Passage: Psalm 103:2-6, 8-13, 17-18 Discussion Question: What characterizes a great father in your opinion? Food for Thought: For most people, the Christmas season is equated with family time, family traditions and family memories. For lots of us, those family sentiments are warm and good, but for some, they're painful. Where is your father in your Christmas recollections? For too many of us, Christmas included an absentee father, or maybe it was one of the few times we saw our father. Tensions can arise at Christmas because of imperfect families. Most of us, whether we have good or bad memories of our fathers, have thought at some time, "I wish my dad was more ________." Don't feel bad if you're ever wondered that. All fathers are imperfect. The mistake we don't want to make is equating the qualities and traits of our physical father with God the Father. We could create a list of qualities we wish our own dads would have, and God the Father goes far beyond that. Psalm 103 helps us see just the kind of Father God is and how He wants to relate to us as His children. Use this study to venture into this wonderful psalm and discover the truths about the ultimate love the Father has for His children. Bible Studies for Life Bible Studies for Life is a life-stage focused family of resources that addresses key issues in the lives of adults and students. Consisting of seven curriculum lines developed for various life and generational stages plus two others designed for deeper study, all of these resources focus on the same Bible passage for each week. Information about the seven curriculum lines and more information can be found on the Internet at Bible Studies for Life. Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay Sunday School. -------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK OF PRAYER: Faith takes root in the land of Timbuktu by Jacqueline Gordon Date: December 06, 2012 - Thursday EDITOR'S NOTE: This year's Week of Prayer for International Missions in the Southern Baptist Convention is Dec. 2-9 with the theme of "BE His heart, His hands, His voice" from Matthew 16:24-25. Each year's Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions supplements Cooperative Program giving to support Southern Baptists' 5,000 international missionaries' initiatives in sharing the Gospel. This year's offering goal is $175 million. To find resources about the offering, go to www.imb.org/offering. NIAMEY, Niger (BP) -- Timbuktu. The name inspires images of far-away lands, mythical realms and immense wealth. Many people are unaware the city actually exists.
Timbuktu was among a myriad of splendid cities within the Songhai Empire, which ruled most of central West Africa for more than two centuries, supported by a flourishing trade in gold and salt. "They were a rare combination of military and mystic might," says John Smythe*, an IMB missionary who's been working among the Songhai of Niger since 2006. They had great warriors along with sorcerers and magicians who claimed to control the spirits, including those of the Niger River, Smythe recounts. Ruled by a dynasty of Muslim kings, the empire expanded through a combination of pragmatic politics and holy war. The meteoric rise of the empire was matched by its sudden invasion and downfall in 1591. Today's Songhai are mainly subsistence farmers, coaxing millet and rice out of the clay of the river valley. It's a land of flat-topped hills and wide washed-out valleys, with deep rain-cut channels between. Pale red clay and dark brown stone contrast oddly, like a bizarre sand painting. "Community is life" Songhai villages consist of mud-brick houses; walls surround spacious, if bare, yards. Trash litters the streets -- there is no other place for it. Animals wander wherever acacia fences do not keep them out. Village life is highlighted by scent. The heat bakes out the odor of moist sand and green growth. The smell of sweat and wood smoke is prevalent. "Community is life" to the Songhai, Smythe says. "They understand that tomorrow 'I might not have enough rice to feed my family, so I'd better rely on the community.'" While officially Muslim, the Songhai generally practice animism -- alongside daily prayers and reciting the Quran. "There's still spirit-possession ceremonies. ... They are involved in all sorts of witchcraft," Smythe says. Less than 1 percent of the Songhai are Christian. Out of the ruins of vanished empires and ancient superstitions, however, a new kingdom is being built among the Songhai, Smythe adds. "A kingdom not built with human hands, a kingdom that's being built by God made out of living stones." This kingdom has not been built without struggle. Songhai conversion is "a traumatic experience," Smythe notes. Those who step outside accepted practices are ostracized, even exiled, by their communities. Many villagers refuse to buy or sell with a convert, and family members often shun believers. Pressure to return to the old ways comes from all directions. One new believer must now eat outside every time he visits his in-laws, as they regard non-Muslims as unclean. Another told his family of his conversion and returned home that night to find all his possessions in a bag outside. Believers are often told, "Only white people can be Christians." The harshest confrontation came after Smythe and his family moved away from the small town where they had ministered for three years, when a believer's wife died suddenly. Ibrahim had been a dedicated Muslim who prayed five times daily, gave charity and donated animals for religious festivals. "I thought in my heart if I [did these things], I was receiving forgiveness," he says. "I could never know that in my heart ... if I was being forgiven or not." After repeatedly dreaming of a light "that was Jesus Christ" coming between him and enveloping darkness, Ibrahim became a determined Christian despite rejection by his neighbors and refusal of business. His dedication and encouragement soon led his wife to Christ as well. A turning point When his wife died, the village leaders, noting neither Ibrahim nor his wife were Muslim, refused to have her buried, claiming she would be treated like an animal and left to rot. Only if Ibrahim confessed Islam would his wife be buried and prayed for as culturally required. He refused and set out to bury his wife alone, but the other believers rallied around him and came to his aid. This unity in the face of cruel rejection was a turning point for the local church, showing that it could endure, even without the Smythes' presence. "It was testimony that, 'We are not going to go back to our old faith, that we're here to stay,'" says Smythe, who now lives two hours away in Niamey, Niger's capital city. In the face of opposition, the Smythes and their team "literally got to watch history change," as this small group of believers grew into the first church ever seen in the region. That church "has continued to grow and understand what it means to be the church," Smythe says. "They are a true community that gives as anyone has need and shares as anyone has need." The transformation of believers is apparent to their village. Boubacar, once the "number-one bandit" in town and leader of the local fadah, or gang, was so altered that his friends asked him what medication he was on. "My medicine," he said, "is Jesus Christ." Boubacar stopped smoking, drinking and fighting, and even broke off an engagement. Three days after Boubacar's conversion, Smythe discovered he intended to take a second wife, a practice common and perfectly acceptable to the Songhai. Smythe, with some unease, shared God's plan for marriage as found in Genesis. "His eyes just got huge," Smythe recounts, "and I thought, 'Oh man, he's gonna hit me!' And he looked at me and he said, 'I had no idea God's Word said that.'" Boubacar went that very day to break off the engagement, despite already having paid the bride price. When asked about his decision, he asserted, "Everything Jesus says, that's what I want to do." Boubacar was one of the believers who came alongside Ibrahim to bury his wife. His example has led a number of his former gang members to become believers. Ibrahim and Boubacar are now leaders in the village church. Men meet in Ibrahim's compound to sing worship songs, pray together and listen to the Proclaimer, an audio Bible in the Songhai language. Female believers meet separately or listen to the Proclaimer with their husbands at home. "You can't see a building," Smythe says about the blossoming Songhai movement. "Instead it's a group of men, it's a group of ladies huddled under a tree praying together, it's a group studying God's Word … and it's a new kingdom being ushered in. … It's that kingdom that's going to endure." --30-- *Name changed. See added information about Ibrahim and Boubacar below. Jacqueline Gordon served for five months as a writer with IMB's global communication team. Southern Baptists' gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions and through the Cooperative Program help Southern Baptist missionaries around the world share the Gospel. Gifts for the offering are received at Southern Baptist churches across the country or can be made online at www.imb.org/offering where there are resources for church leaders to promote the offering. Download related videos at www.imb.org/lmcovideo. More Ibrahim & Boubacar's witness for Christ When Ibrahim's wife died (see story above), his Songhai community refused to bury her because she was a Christian. She, like Ibrahim and other believers, faced daily persecution from their Muslim neighbors. Most Songhai believers do. "We'll treat your wife like we would a dog or a donkey -- she's just an animal that should rot," Ibrahim says, recounting the village's oppressive attitude. The Songhai people are primarily Muslim with many beliefs rooted in animism. IMB missionary John Smythe* and his wife spent three years sharing the Gospel and discipling Songhai believers in Ibrahim's village. One of Smythe's greatest fears in leaving the village was that the Songhai church might crumble. Soon after they left, Ibrahim faced the huge challenge of defending his faith while grieving for his wife. Determined to bury his wife, Ibrahim began digging her grave as Muslim villagers yelled insults at him. When his Christian brothers heard what he was doing, they came to help. That day was a turning point for the Songhai believers as they united to be His heart, His hands and His voice. One of Ibrahim's close friends, Boubacar, commented that he greatly admired Ibrahim's loyalty to Christ that day. The believers showed the inspiring power of a true family of Christ. Boubacar is a follower of Christ who experienced a radical transformation. Once a gang leader who had demonstrated hostility toward missionaries in his village, he felt an internal struggle to accept or deny God's truth one night. He decided to become a Christian, and his past life quickly became history. After hearing God's Word concerning marriage, he broke off an engagement to a woman who would have become his second wife. He stopped smoking and drinking and started witnessing to other villagers in action and word. He realized that "anytime you go out, people will be watching you. ... Do your best to do good, because sometimes you will even hear the Muslims saying Christians are righteous, that they are faithful." The Songhai church is small but full of dedicated believers like Ibrahim and Boubacar who cling to the Gospel. Thanks to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, the Smythes helped lay a solid foundation for the church to grow in their village before moving on. They also left audio Bible recordings the church depends on to hear the Word of God as they meet to study and discuss the Gospel. "The church has continued to grow and understand what it means to be the church: loving one another, sharing what they have with one another," says Smythe. "They have their challenges just as every church has its challenges, but they're facing those with prayer and through God's Word. ... Their greatest desire is that all their village will know the name of Christ." -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Churches that reach the nones, nominals & nomads by Thom S. Rainer Date: December 06, 2012 - Thursday NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- There is an abundance of books, strategies and research on two large groups of unchurched Americans. It is my thesis and subject for future research that one group that is increasing its distance from churches has not been adequately studied or pursued by church leaders. For that reason, this article will examine the group I call the nomads. As background, I'll briefly review the more common unchurched groups: the nones and the nominals. The nones The nones represent those American adults that self-identify as having no church affiliation. A recent Pew Research study garnered much attention when it noted that the number of American nones had grown from 15 percent of the population to 20 percent of the population in the past five years. One major factor behind the growth of the religiously unaffiliated is generational replacement, the gradual supplanting of older generations by newer ones. The newer generation has a smaller portion of their numbers who have some type of religious affiliation. The total number of nones in America is 46 million adults. This number also includes 13 million people who identify themselves as agnostic and atheist. The remaining 33 million adults simply say they have no religious affiliation. Most research and strategies for churches to reach the unchurched have dealt with reaching the nones. There are, however, two other groups that are largely neglected. The nominals About 80 percent of the American adult population has some religious affiliation. But over half of that group states they attend church monthly, yearly, seldom or never. I call that group the nominals. Churches would do well to reach out to this group that is self-identified as both religious and relatively inactive in churches. Church leaders often call these persons "CEO" Christians, meaning that they typically show up on "Christmas and Easter only." Though church leaders intuitively know there are large numbers of these persons to reach, few develop strategies for doing so. The nomads From my perspective, the nomads are one of the most neglected groups by church leaders. The reason we neglect them is simple: we see them often so we don't think of them as unchurched. From a definitional perspective they are not truly unchurched. The nomads instead are wandering from a high level of church commitment to a lower level. Let me offer a simple example. Let's assume you are in a church of 200 members where everyone shows up every week. Obviously, the attendance is 200 if there are no guests included. Now let's assume the attendance pattern of these members changes to where they miss one Sunday out of four. Now the attendance has dropped 25 percent to 150 with a relatively slight change of behavior: missing just one Sunday out of four. It is my thesis that much of the attendance drop in churches today can be explained by the commitment and attendance behavior of church members. Simply stated, a large part of church decline can be explained by members attending less frequently. What church leader has not dreamed of all of their "active" members showing up at one time? Intuitively, these leaders know that less frequent attendance patterns are hurting their churches. My thesis is anecdotal and unproven at this point. There is no objective evidence that points to a decline in those reporting they attend church weekly or more. Most of the studies include categories that jump from weekly attendance to monthly attendance. So those who attend two or three times a month see themselves as attending weekly rather than monthly. They consider themselves weekly active church members even if they are attending slightly less than they have in past. It is my contention that less frequent church attendance of some of our most committed members is a real and present challenge before church leaders. Anecdotally, I see the baby boomer generation Christians being at the forefront of this change. As they move into retirement or just have more free time, they are more likely to be somewhere other than church on Sunday. I hope to have more objective research on this issue in the future. In the meantime, church leaders would do well to see if this issue is a real and present threat at their churches. If so, what types of strategies should we attempt for reclaiming the nomads to a higher level of commitment? --30-- Thom S. Rainer is president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. This column first appeared on his website, www.ThomRainer.com. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -------------------------------------------------------------------- Rubio talks creation, homosexuality, abortion by Erin Roach Date: December 06, 2012 - Thursday WASHINGTON (BP) -- Florida Sen. Marco Rubio addressed three topics of prominent concern to evangelicals during an event in Washington Dec. 5, sharing his views on the age of the Earth, whether homosexuality is a sin and when life begins. At a breakfast hosted by Politico, Rubio did not back down from comments he made to GQ last month in which he said the age of the Earth is "one of the great mysteries." "I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States," Rubio told GQ. On Wednesday, Rubio told Politico's Mike Allen, "Science says it's about four and a half billion years old, and my faith teaches that that's not inconsistent." Rubio is Roman Catholic but has strong ties to Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist congregation in Palmetto Bay, Fla., attending services often and listening to the church's podcasts. "The answer I gave was actually trying to make the same point the president made a few years ago, and that is there is no scientific debate on the age of the Earth," Rubio, considered a strong contender for the Republican nomination for president in 2016, said. "I mean, it's established pretty definitively as at least four and a half billion years old.... I was referring to a theological debate and which is a pretty healthy debate," Rubio said at the breakfast. The Cuban-American senator went on to say, "The theological debate is, How do you reconcile what science has definitely established with what you may think your faith teaches? For me, actually, when it comes to the age of the Earth there is no conflict. I believe that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and I think scientific advances have given us insight into when He did it and how He did it. "But I still believe God did it, and that's how I've been able to reconcile that, and I think it's consistent with the teachings of my church. But other people have a deeper conflict, and I just think in America we should have the freedom to teach our children whatever we believe," Rubio said. In the GQ interview, Rubio had said, "I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in seven days or seven actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that." Rubio also told Politico, "The more science learns, the more I'm convinced that God is real." When Allen asked the senator if he believes homosexuality is a sin, Rubio, who does not support same-sex marriage, replied, "Well, I can tell you what faith teaches, and faith teaches that it is." The Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin, Rubio said, "but it also teaches that there are a bunch of other sins that are no less. For example, it teaches that lying is a sin. It teaches that disrespecting your parents is a sin. It teaches that stealing is a sin. It teaches that coveting your neighbor and what your neighbor has is a sin." "So there isn't a person in this room that isn't guilty of sin," Rubio explained. "So I don't go around pointing fingers in that regard. ... As a policymaker, I could just tell you that I'm informed by my faith and my faith informs me in who I am as a person -- but not as a way to pass judgment on people." On the topic of abortion, Rubio said life begins at conception. "I wish there were more folks in this town who are deeply committed to science and the belief in science [and] would not ignore that scientific fact," Rubio said. "They're pretty brave about saying the age of the Earth, but they don't want to say when life begins?" A challenge for the Republican Party moving forward, Rubio said at the breakfast, is applying their principles to the 21st century. "We applied them to the 20th century, but now we have to apply them to the 21st century," he said. Also in the GQ interview, Rubio said Sen. Jim DeMint, R.-S.C., is his best friend, behind his wife. DeMint announced Dec. 6 that he is resigning to head the pro-family Heritage Foundation. --30-- Erin Roach is assistant editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -------------------------------------------------------------------- Israel-Gaza ceasefire fails to kindle hope by Grace Thornton Date: December 06, 2012 - Thursday BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- "Draw anything you want to draw," a teacher in Gaza told her class of small children. After a few minutes a little girl brought a picture of a man without legs lying in the street. She said she had seen him just outside her home. In Israel, shell-shocked victims of a bus bombing lay outside a tangled mass of seats and shattered glass, panicked and waiting for medical treatment. In both Gaza and Israel, life is marked by the ravages of war. "Those who want no part of the bombings -- either from Gaza to Israel or from Israel to Gaza -- are caught between the bombs of both," said Stephen Johnson, an Alabamian who serves as a Christian worker among Palestinians. "The long-term psychological effect is impossible to gauge, but continued warfare is training up another generation of enemies." In recent rocket exchanges stopped by a Nov. 21 ceasefire, more than 150 Palestinians and six Israelis died. Israel said its military action, called Operation Pillar of Defense, was in response to 100 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel during peacetime. And now, in the midst of a tenuous ceasefire, Christian workers wait to see what will happen in the yearning for true peace. Ben Martin, an Alabamian who serves as a Christian worker among Jews, said, "The attitude in Israel right now is that … the world doesn't understand what happened and that when they retaliate in response to rockets from Gaza, they are looked down on by the world." Meanwhile, Israelis constantly anticipate that things could change. "They try not to let terrorists disrupt their life," Martin said. "But when the sirens go off you have mere moments to get into a bomb shelter. In Tel Aviv you have a minute and a half. In Sderot (just outside Gaza) you have 15 seconds. One hundred missiles had already been fired into Israel before [Operation Pillar of Defense] ever started." And Gaza is reeling from what Johnson called the "worst bombardment" it has ever experienced. "Destruction is widespread," he said. "The stakes get a little higher each time." Many say they fear the ceasefire won't last. The tension is a chronic situation, Johnson and Martin agreed. What will stop it? "Gaza has got to get some hope that their lives can get better," Johnson said. The more hopeless they are, "the more radicalized they become and the more difficult they are to reach with the Gospel," he said. But Johnson said he firmly believes many will eventually find their hope in Jesus Christ. "We are sharing our lives and His love," he said, "so that when the time comes, they will know the source of all hope." People on both sides express gratefulness when Johnson, Martin and others choose to stay with them when the bombs are headed their way, Johnson said. "For those [Christian workers] on the field who are new, it is a challenging time of reconsidering their call to the field," Johnson said. "It's a fairly sobering experience. We are blessed to know that our new workers counted the cost and chose to stay in spite of difficult circumstances." Martin urged Baptists to be in prayer, especially for them not to pick a side. "This is not like a football game where we choose a side we're for," Martin said. "This is a situation where we have to be for both of these people groups and for their salvation. This is about choosing the Lord's work." Botrus Mansour, an Arab Israeli believer who serves as director of Nazareth Baptist School, said Christians in the region need special prayer because they teeter on the line of whether to use the strife as an open opportunity to share the Gospel or to tuck and run and take the light with them. One Christian in Gaza died of a heart attack after rockets struck houses near his. And the small Christian community in Gaza -- about 1,500 people, with fewer than 100 Baptists -- struggles amid overwhelming need, Mansour said. The Christian community in Israel has a lot to face as well, Mansour said. "Times of tension and conflict create an opportunity for the Baptist churches to serve the people through sharing the Gospel and offering relief services," he said. "But they also cause [enough] frustration for some Baptists to consider leaving the country [Israel]. The future looks pessimistic without peacemakers; this will cause more emigration of Christians from the Holy Land." A Southern Baptist representative identified as Herb, who is living in Israel, said he hopes that Baptist churches there will continue "to be agents of peace in the midst of the situation." "We continue to pray for both groups [Palestinians and Israelis] -- that God will strengthen those who want true peace," he said. Herb said he hopes that people won't stop coming to Israel. "Sometimes when flare-ups like this happen, people stop coming" because of fear, he said. "We feel like people should continue to come. We feel very secure." Herb said he doesn't see anything changing in Baptist work in Israel anytime soon, noting, "We are in it for the long haul. Baptists have been in Israel since 1911 and we are committed to carrying on." --30-- Some names in this story have been changed for security reasons. Grace Thornton writes for The Alabama Baptist (www.thealabamabaptist.org), newsjournal of the Alabama Baptist Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Penn-Jersey Baptists meet despite hurricane by Staff Date: December 06, 2012 - Thursday McMURRAY, Pa. (BP) -- Messengers to the annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey pressed on despite the impact of Hurricane Sandy on their region, gathering for a time of business and fellowship. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, with disaster relief just beginning in the eastern part of the convention, messengers convened in the western part of the convention at Faith Community Church Lakeside in McMurray, Pa., Nov. 1-2. The meeting drew 104 messengers and 82 guests from 61 Penn-Jersey churches. The convention has a total of 364 churches. A 2013 budget of $3,573,346 was approved, marking an increase of 1 percent over the current budget. Anticipated Cooperative Program giving from Pennsylvania and South Jersey churches for the coming year is $825,000, with 25.5 percent of the receipts to be forwarded for national and international ministries, an increase of .1 percent. The budget does not include any Penn-Jersey/SBC shared expenses. The North American Mission Board will provide $1,937,297 for the two-state convention while $75,170 will come from LifeWay Christian Resources. The convention's new officers were elected by acclamation: president, Pusey Losch, pastor of Mountain View Community Church in Richland, Pa.; first vice president, Tom Lemmon, pastor of Faith Community Church Lakeside in McMurray, Pa.; and second vice president, Steve Clifton, pastor of Bread of Life Baptist Church in Altoona, Pa. Kenton Hunt, pastor of Williamsport Southern Baptist Church in Williamsport, Pa., was elected recording secretary. Emma Tentarelli, a member of Cultivate Church in Voorhees, N.J., was re-elected assistant recording secretary. Fred Boehlke, a member of Trinity Baptist Church in Philadelphia, was re-elected historian. Jerry Cowan, pastor of Valley Baptist Church in Middletown, Pa., was elected parliamentarian. With the theme "inDependence" based on Psalm 33:18, Bible studies were presented by Trent Kirkland, pastor of Zion Church in Clarion, Pa., and Darius Nable, pastor of The Church of the Good Shepherd in Cherry Hill, N.J. The convention message was delivered by Fernando Downs, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Lumberton, N.J. Downs' home and church were impacted by the hurricane, and a group of disaster relief volunteers were staying at the church despite no electricity. Downs asked the messengers to assess the health of the convention, noting how many believers it takes to win one person to Christ. "To understand how we're doing, we need to understand our assignment. Our assignment from God is redemption," Downs said. From Ezekiel 37, Downs gave two practical applications. People of God, he said, need to understand the seriousness of sin and they need to believe that God is God. "Only God can transform a life," he said, adding, "Jesus said, 'If I be lifted up, I will draw them to me.'" Jeff Christopherson, the North American Mission Board's regional vice president for Canada and the Northeast, shared his testimony of how a movie theater showing a free Billy Graham movie helped introduce his family to Christ. K. Marshall Williams, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention's African American Advisory Council and pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, introduced Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee. Page preached from Revelation 2:1-7, warning messengers not to forsake their first love. He urged them to focus on the main job that needs to be done rather than being distracted by multiple good things. Page exhorted messengers not to let the tyranny of the urgent rob them of their first love, which is Christ and His Kingdom. David Waltz, executive director of the Penn-Jersey convention, emphasized in his report that Penn-Jersey Baptists are part of a larger Southern Baptist family. "As Southern Baptists we can do a lot more together," Waltz said, encouraging messengers to give through the Cooperative Program. Waltz highlighted the work of Gail Hallman, leader of Penn-Jersey's Sending Missionaries team, and commended her missional mindset. "South Jersey has a population of over 3 million people, one of the most unreached states in our nation with 2 percent evangelized," Waltz said. "The International Mission Board calls 2 percent or less an unreached area." Hallman, who will retire at the end of the year, then gave a report on her work in South Jersey. Waltz also shared a video that "makes [him] proud to be a part of a family called Southern Baptists." The clip from ABC News featured Fred Luter being named "Person of the Week" upon his election as president of the SBC in June. Waltz expressed gratitude for the African American Advisory Council and for Williams' service on the council, adding that he stands behind Williams and Luter as they help the convention move forward in race relations. Kim Grueser, pastor of Pittsburgh Baptist Church in Pittsburg, completed his second term as president of the Penn-Jersey convention by delivering a sermon that included his testimony. Karen Warren, an administrative assistant for the Baptist Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania, was recognized for more than 42 years of service. The association's building has been named in her honor. Messengers approved resolutions of appreciation for Jerzy Ratz, who is retiring as director of the Philadelphia-based International Seaman's Ministry; for Gail Hallman, retiring as leader of the Sending Missionaries team; for Richard Wall, moving from the Keystone Baptist Association to Browns Mills Baptist Church in Browns Mills, N.J.; and for the host church. Next year's annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey will be Nov. 7-8 at a location to be determined in the central region of the convention. --30-- Based on a report by Fanny Grote of the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).