The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-12/21/2016 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SWBTS grads urged to be characterized by obedience by Katie Coleman Date: December 21, 2016 - Wednesday FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Paige Patterson urged graduates of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to continually strive for integrity and to respond in obedience to God's call in ministry. "All across America, students are graduating from colleges and universities, and the one thing most of them will not be told is to be men and women of integrity," Patterson, president of Southwestern, told graduates during the seminary's fall commencement on Dec. 16. A total of 169 bachelor's, master's, and doctoral students graduated. But the position of these Christian graduates, he argued, is considerably different from that of many others. "You have no choice if you receive the blessings of God but to be men and women of absolute and total integrity," Patterson said. "Even when it hurts, to be truthful and righteous before God is the only answer for a successful ministry." Patterson preached from Luke 1, wherein Zechariah is told that his wife will bear a child who will be named John. Patterson said of the naming of John the Baptist, "When the moment came for their decision to be made, Zechariah gave the name he was instructed to give his son. Zechariah was being obedient." "May I say to you students today," Patterson noted, "that integrity is the first matter in the formula for the blessings of God; the second is obedience to God." Patterson warned graduates that as they serve in local churches and on the mission field, their ministries will be filled with obstacles and difficulties. "It is going to be a miserable existence out there unless you discover obedience to God," Patterson said. "Wherever God calls you to go, whatever He asks you to do, and whatever the scenario that comes from God, be obedient to it. "Obedience will make all the difference in the world in the ministry God gives you," he said. One of the students that Patterson challenged that day was Cassandra Ellis. She received a master of divinity, with an emphasis on missions and biblical counseling. As she responds to God's call to serve on the mission field, Ellis said she is eager to utilize her biblical counseling skills to counsel and minister to other missionary families. "My time here at Southwestern has given me invaluable knowledge on how to minister to these families," Ellis said. "I am excited about where the Lord will take my family and how He will use me to glorify Him. I am thankful for this school and the men and women who make it possible for us students to be equipped and ready to work." -------------------------------------------------------------------- First Gateway Seminary grads honored by Tyler Sanders Date: December 21, 2016 - Wednesday ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) -- Relatives and friends celebrated with Gateway Seminary's first graduating class on Dec. 17 in the chapel of the new Los Angeles-area campus. Thirty graduates received degrees, including 16 doctoral students. The seminary dedicated its new main campus in Ontario, Calif., in October. Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, reminded graduates that God chose to use some unexpected people in the Bible such as David, who is included in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew chapter one. "Birth order meant a great deal, and for seven to be passed over and one to be taken says something strongly to us about God's intentionality of choosing and using this man in the genealogy of Jesus," Iorg said. David described his own call to ministry when he was a young man from a small town who didn't attend church until his teen years. "Yet God chose me and has used me. He will do the same to every one of you graduates this morning." Iorg told graduates of GateWay Seminary that God also used people with morally questionable backgrounds. "You have been chosen for the purity God will demonstrate through you, not the perfection you have already attained," Iorg said. "He wants to use you despite what is in your past, to make of you the person He wants you to be in the present and what He can use you to accomplish going forward." "God is in the business of forgiving, forgetting and moving people onto a better life than they ever claimed to have had before." Iorg said God also calls anonymous people. "There are names in the passage that aren't really described in Scripture … not much is known about any one of them except that they made it into the genealogy of Jesus." He continued by telling graduates they may never write a famous book or preach to tens of thousands of people, but they will still be making a "dramatic and significant impact." "The people around you where you live and work, to them you are the most important spiritual leader alive. They are depending on you." Chris Carter, a master of divinity graduate from Florida, gave the student testimony about Gateway Seminary's impact on his life and ministry. "(My wife and I) have always felt called to those slightly off the beaten path; to those postmoderns outside of the Bible belt," he said. "It made sense that we ended up at a seminary outside the Bible belt. "I cannot stress enough the importance of the teaching and the instruction we receive in the classroom at Gateway," he said. "But we cannot forget that our lives outside of the classroom, when the rubber meets the road, when we see God's leaders become His hands and feet and operate the way He intended the church to operate, these are the moments that we carry with us." Iorg presented the William Crews Leadership Award to Max Stabenow of California, who received a master of theology degree. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Retired pastors, widows thankful for Mission:Dignity by John Ambra Date: December 21, 2016 - Wednesday DALLAS (BP) -- Hard work was nothing new for bivocational pastor L.C. Jones. After decades of laboring in sewing factories, he was accustomed to sweating it out for the sake of his family. "I've worked all summer -- mowing yards, trying to save enough money to fix my wife's teeth," he said. "I plan to work next summer to finish paying for her teeth." The blazing Texas heat wasn't going to hold him back from earning enough so that Jerry could get her teeth, even though the retired pastor was then 86 years old. That was in 2012. L.C. and his wife, Jerry, were married in March 1947. Four years later, they would come to faith in Christ and then answer a call to ministry in 1952. Prairie Grove was their first church, and it had only 30 members. Greenwood, with an average attendance of 75, was probably the largest in their 43 years of service. "Most of my pastorates were bivocational," L.C. recalled. "Some churches could hardly pay a small amount and none of them could contribute to a retirement plan. I never pastored any church -- never considered any church -- based on what money they paid. I just took what they offered and that satisfied me. "Moving from one place to another, I had to take whatever work I could find to support my family," he said. "That was just a fact. Most of the time, I worked in sewing factories as a maintenance man. In those days, no matter what town you went to, there was a sewing factory." But by 2012, there were no more pastorates for the Joneses. No more sewing factories. And no extra money available for dental work --- except for what L.C. earned that summer mowing yards. That's what prompted him to share his story with Mission:Dignity, GuideStone Financial Resources' ministry to supplement the incomes of retired pastors and their widows. Mission:Dignity responded with an emergency grant that helped provide for her dental work and other medical bills. It was in addition to the regular monthly assistance they had been receiving since 1999. L.C. remembered how their grant started. "My wife saw an article in our state Baptist paper years ago about help for pastors like me. We applied and started receiving help," he said. "That made a lot of difference in our lives. We could stop at Dairy Queen and get a hamburger occasionally." The extra resources still make a difference for L.C. since Jerry's death two years ago. "I get a $913 Social Security check, and it's hard to live on that," he said. "Sometimes you have different occasions come up when you'd like to go out and eat or something, but you can't do that on $913 a month." Mission:Dignity assists more than 1,800 retired Southern Baptist ministers, workers or their widows in need. Individuals who meet guidelines for income, assets and years of paid Southern Baptist service are eligible for $225 per month; couples receive $300. The amounts are $450 and $600 for the neediest persons, like the Joneses, with at least 25 years of SBC ministry. For some, Mission:Dignity means being able to get much-needed medical care they might not otherwise obtain. For others, it covers the cost of groceries, utilities or other necessities -- even a hamburger once in a while. The ministry is an expression of the care and compassion of their Southern Baptist family whom recipients served in decades past. "I'm more thankful for the opportunity to pastor than I am for the help I receive," L.C. said. "It was a privilege to be the pastor for these people. I may not remember all of them, but I haven't forgotten pastoring them." For more information, go to MissionDignity.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Keep the Christmas spirit by Diana Davis Date: December 21, 2016 - Wednesday PENSACOLA, Fla. (BP) -- It feels so wonderful how the spirit of Christmas adds oomph to life. We live in anticipation and we're even nice to strangers. We become quite intentional about giving to others. But as we turn the calendar page to Dec. 26, does that Christmas spirit fade? As you pack up those Christmas decorations, consider these five simple reminders to help keep that spirit of joy and generosity at the forefront throughout the year: Live expectantly. Anticipation is at a high during Christmas, but a sense of expectancy is a good thing all year long. It keeps us on our toes, helps us use time wisely and reminds us to lean on God. So live with enthusiasm every day of the year. "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame," Scripture tells us. "Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant" (Romans 12:11-12a MSG). Be extra nice to strangers. Are you kinder to total strangers at Christmas? Your job as a Christian is to be God's ambassador, representing Him with your every word and deed. A man yelled rudely at me as I crossed the street the other day, then drove away, sporting a Christian symbol on his car. Take your ambassador job seriously all year long. Be nice to strangers. Keep giving. Wasn't it awesome to stuff backpacks for Appalachian children or gifts in shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child? Don't stop. Each month during the year, gift a carefully prepared backpack or box to a local child in extraordinary need. Include a "God loves you" note. Make a plan. Use Christmas ministry projects as a springboard to yearlong generosity. Example: Instead of a give-and-run delivery of gifts or dinner for a local needy family, make a plan to show God's love to them all year. Get to know them. Listen to their story. Invite them to church and welcome them. Pray with them. Introduce them to Jesus. Smile freely. Christmas season lends itself to joy. Joy isn't seasonal for a Christian. It radiates from inside, and it's there on happy days and desperate days, on New Year's Day and Groundhog Day and every other day of the year. Radiate the joy of Jesus in non-December months. The "spirit of Christmas" is just not a once-a-year event. It's a Christian's lifestyle and mission. It's our everyday marching orders from Christ. Exude the true Christmas spirit -- God's Spirit -- as you live with joy, expectancy, love and generosity. And don't stop on Dec. 26. Have a merry January. And a merry February ... -------------------------------------------------------------------- Open letter: cooperation needed amid SBC tensions by David Roach Date: December 21, 2016 - Wednesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Controversy surrounding ethicist Russell Moore's past comments on President-elect Donald Trump has led three Tennessee Baptists -- all under the age of 40 -- to issue an open letter calling "the [conservative] resurgence generation and their protégés" to "be the statesmen we need them to be in this season of denominational tension." Jonathan Akin, Nathan Finn and Micah Fries wrote in a Dec. 21 open letter provided to Baptist Press, "Now isn't the time for acrimonious debates over secondary and tertiary doctrinal matters," such as the extent of the atonement, church polity, methodology and the appropriate means of cultural engagement. They directed their comments especially toward Southern Baptists who led the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s as well as those mentored by that generation, noting, "Our real enemy is the Prince of Darkness." The resurgence attempted to make biblical inerrancy a bedrock commitment of Southern Baptist Convention entities. "Our hope is for men in key leadership roles in Southern Baptist life -- elected officers, denominational leaders and pastors alike -- to step forward and lead us in building a renewed consensus within the SBC," Akin, Finn and Fries wrote. Akin is pastor of Fairview Church in Lebanon, Tenn.; Finn is dean of the School of Theology and Missions at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.; and Fries is pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The open letter was released two days after The Wall Street Journal published an article on Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, with the headline "Baptist figure faces backlash over his criticism of Donald Trump." The Dec. 19 Journal report cited critiques of Moore by four Southern Baptists of the generations referenced by the open letter and one by a pastor of the same generation as Akin, Finn and Fries. The Journal suggested some churches could withhold gifts to the Southern Baptist Convention's Cooperative Program -- due, at least in part, to Moore's statements. The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists' unified channel of supporting missions and ministries in America and across the globe, including the ERLC. Also on Dec. 19, Moore published a blog post apologizing for any miscommunication on his part and clarifying that he never intended to criticize all evangelical supporters of Trump. "There's a massive difference," Moore wrote, "between someone who enthusiastically excused immorality and someone who felt conflicted, weighed the options based on biblical convictions, and voted their conscience." Among Moore's comments that have drawn critique, he wrote in a Sept. 2015 New York Times op-ed that "evangelicals and other social conservatives" must "repudiate everything they believe" to support Trump. Akin, Finn and Fries acknowledged that "in our age of instant information and social media, our tensions have been put on display -- and perhaps exaggerated." Still, they argued "the recent back-and-forth over presidential politics represents the latest in a string of squabbles that have exposed fissures that threaten our Great Commission cooperation." Southern Baptists appear "as divided as we have been at any point in a quarter century," Akin, Finn and Fries asserted. "It's a time of tension in Southern Baptist life. As younger Southern Baptist ministers who haven't yet reached the age of forty, our concern -- shared by many of our generational peers -- is that these tensions could lead to division." The letter noted that Akin, Finn and Fries are "heirs of the conservative resurgence" and "deeply respect" the generations of leaders to whom the letter is directed. While Southern Baptists may differ on secondary matters, according to the open letter, the Baptist Faith and Message remains a sufficient basis for cooperation within the SBC. "To be certain, we are at war. But our enemy isn't fellow Southern Baptists with whom we differ in some ways (and agree on far more!)," the letter stated. "Our real enemy is the Prince of Darkness to whom the lost are enslaved, who delights in the suffering of the oppressed, and who revels in the persecution of the righteous. "And our weapon isn't absolute theological or methodological uniformity, or secular political power, or even maintaining our place as the largest Protestant denomination in America. Our weapon in this spiritual war is the good news of the saving work of Jesus Christ," according to the letter. At the time the open letter was published, an #IStandWithMoore hashtag on Twitter had been circulated on social media. Moore tweeted Dec. 19, apparently in response to the hashtag, "Appreciate all the kind words, y'all. If we're going to hashtag, let's #standwithSBC together. Our gospel mission is too important." The text of the open letter by Akin, Finn and Fries follows. --30-- A Plea for Denominational Statesmanship in a Time of Tension Dec. 21, 2016 Recent events have highlighted some of the differing opinions in Southern Baptist life, specifically in the area of political engagement. Earlier this week, Russell Moore of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission issued an apology and a clarification related to his sometimes-controversial comments about the recent presidential election. The same day, The Wall Street Journal published an article that recounts backlash against Moore within the SBC, interviewing several pastors, including a former convention president and a former SBC Executive Committee chairman. Social media subsequently erupted with various Baptists drawing lines and taking sides. The recent back-and-forth over presidential politics represents the latest in a string of squabbles that have exposed fissures that threaten our Great Commission cooperation. By all appearances, Southern Baptists are as divided as we have been at any point in a quarter century. It's a time of tension in Southern Baptist life. As younger Southern Baptist ministers who haven't yet reached the age of forty, our concern — shared by many of our generational peers — is that these tensions could lead to division. From our inception in 1845, Southern Baptists have always been a diverse people. We champion liberty of conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We value the principle of local church autonomy. We have no denominational creed that all churches must affirm in order to be a part of our convention. Yet, despite our differences, and despite our failures as sinners, the Lord has richly blessed us these past 170+ years. We're thankful to be part of the Southern Baptist family. At present, Southern Baptists are experiencing tensions over theological differences, especially when it comes to doctrines such as predestination and the atonement. We're experiencing tensions over polity, especially questions of elders, pastoral authority, and the nature of congregationalism. We're experiencing tensions over methodology, especially when it comes to music style, dress for pastors, programming, and public invitations. We're experiencing tensions over strategy, including church planting and missionary funding. We're experiencing tension over cultural engagement, especially the relationship between faith and elective politics. Some of these tensions tend to be generational. Others are more regional. All reflect honest differences among sincere Christians whom we trust want to honor the Lord Jesus Christ, see our churches become healthier, reach the lost, and be salt and light in our culture. Unfortunately, in our age of instant information and social media, our tensions have been put on display — and perhaps exaggerated — before the watching world. We fear that the public nature of our tensions has harmed friendships, lessened trust in denominational leadership (both elected and appointed), exacerbated generational and regional differences, and most important, negatively impacted our public witness and threatened our cooperation in proclaiming the gospel. We don't believe this honors our Lord. To be certain, we are at war. But our enemy isn't fellow Southern Baptists with whom we differ in some ways (and agree on far more!). Our real enemy is the Prince of Darkness to whom the lost are enslaved, who delights in the suffering of the oppressed, and who revels in the persecution of the righteous. And our weapon isn't absolute theological or methodological uniformity, or secular political power, or even maintaining our place as the largest Protestant denomination in America. Our weapon in this spiritual war is the good news of the saving work of Jesus Christ. As we've sung since childhood, "our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." The spiritually lost are all around us in the rural crossroads, small towns, suburbs, and great cities of our nation. Two billion people, most (but not all) in faraway lands, have never heard the gospel. Millions of people all over the world are oppressed because of the color of their skin, or their poverty, or their gender, or their age, or their faith. Religious liberty is threatened in many nations, and increasingly in America. The persecution of believers the world over is at an all-time historical high. Simply put, the stakes are too high and life is too short for our tensions to divide us and distract us. We're heirs of the conservative resurgence that effected a theological course correction in our beloved convention. We share the conservative, orthodox, Baptist convictions of those who've gone before us. We're grateful for their courage to stem the tide of theological declension and reassert the healthy relationship between sound doctrine, genuine devotion, and kingdom mission. The resurgence generation and their protégés include leaders we deeply respect, many of whom are still active as pastors, evangelists, and denominational servants. It's to them we make this plea. Now isn't the time for rivalries. Now isn't the time for grudges. Now isn't the time for acrimonious debates over secondary and tertiary doctrinal matters. Now isn't the time for division. We call upon our leaders once again to be the statesmen we need them to be in this season of denominational tension. Our hope is for men in key leadership roles in Southern Baptist life -- elected officers, denominational leaders and pastors alike -- to step forward and lead us in building a renewed consensus within the SBC. Southern Baptists must come together for such a time as this. Despite our differences, we agree on so much. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 commends a high view of Scripture's inspiration, authority, and truthfulness, a clear summary of the gospel, a robustly Baptist view of the church, a burden for evangelism and missions, a commitment to Christ-centered cultural engagement, and a biblical vision of gender and the family. We need statesmen who will rally us around these priorities! Now is the time for humble spiritual leadership in a time of tension. Who will rise up and be remembered in the future as this generation's George W. Truett and J.B. Gambrell? Who will be our E.Y. Mullins and our L.R. Scarborough? Who will be our Hershel Hobbs and our W.A. Criswell? Who will be our Adrian Rogers? Our prayer is that today's faithful statesmen will again bring all Southern Baptists together for the glory of God and the sake of our shared mission. Jonathan Akin Nathan A. Finn Micah Fries -------------------------------------------------------------------- WRAP-UP: Over half states boost CP sending to SBC causes by Tammi Reed Ledbetter Date: December 21, 2016 - Wednesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Ohio Baptists approved the largest increase in the portion of Cooperative Program receipts sent beyond the state next year, moving from the current 59.75/40.25 ratio to a 50/50 split. "Supporting missions from Ohio to the ends of the earth is the heartbeat of Ohio Southern Baptists," said Ohio Executive Director Jack Kwok in praising the decision. The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio (SCBO) joins four other conventions that forward half or more to the Southern Baptist Convention, without a "shared ministry" calculation, including the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (55/45), Florida (51/49), Iowa (50/50) and Nevada (50/50). In addition to the SCBO, conventions where increases of more than 1 percent were reported include Arizona, Colorado, the Dakotas, Kansas-Nebraska, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Missouri, New Mexico and Tennessee. State conventions in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland/Delaware, Michigan, Mississippi, New England, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania/South Jersey and Utah/Idaho voted to increase the SBC portion in amounts ranging from .10 to 1 percent. Louisiana messengers overwhelmingly defeated a motion from a messenger seeking a 2018 move toward a 50/50 CP split. Executive Director David Hankins spoke to the impact on in-state ministries if $2.5 million were cut from the Louisiana Baptist Convention budget and said the state convention's Advance Plan will work to move toward a 50/50 split as in the past when income grows. Three state conventions -- the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) and the District of Columbia Baptist Convention (DCBC) -- let churches customize what they label Texas Cooperative Program (BGCT), Cooperative Missions Giving (BGAV) or Standard Giving, Undesignated (DCBC). BGCT's preferred giving plan retains 79 percent of undesignated receipts from affiliated churches for in-state use and 21 percent for one of three worldwide partners -- the Southern Baptist Convention, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) or BGCT Worldwide. Churches may customize further by specifying the portions for in-state and out-of-state allocations. BGAV has preset giving tracks that a church can customize to fund causes of the SBC and/or CBF. The BGAV giving plan World Mission 1 allocates 34 percent of gifts given through this plan to SBC worldwide missions and ministries. Two of the four undesignated giving plans of the DCBC provide churches the opportunity to select funding for SBC causes at either 35 percent or 17.5 percent. Southern Baptists in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also forward a percentage of their Cooperative Program receipts to the SBC for the SBC allocation budget. The actual dollar amount of a state convention's allocation fluctuates annually depending on how well cooperating churches in the state are able to fund their respective budgets. Each state convention elected officers to leadership for 2016. Those serving as president are: ALABAMA -- John Thweatt, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pell City; ALASKA -- Bryan Myers, pastor of Faith Baptist Church, Fairbanks; ARIZONA -- Jackie Allen, lead pastor of Palm Vista Baptist Church, Surprise; ARKANSAS -- Sam Roberts, pastor of First Baptist Church, Stuttgart; CALIFORNIA -- A.B. Vines, pastor of New Seasons Church, Spring Valley; COLORADO -- Mike Routt, pastor of Circle Drive Baptist Church, Colorado Springs; DAKOTAS -- Steve Ford, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Vermillion, S.D.; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- Ward Kay, member of Vienna Baptist Church, Vienna, Va.; FLORIDA -- Stephen Rummage, pastor of Bell Shoals Baptist Church, Brandon; GEORGIA -- Thomas Hammond, pastor of First Baptist Church, Alpharetta; HAWAII/PACIFIC -- John Endriss, pastor of Engage Church, Hilo, Hawaii; ILLINOIS -- Kevin Carrothers, pastor of Rochester First Baptist Church, Rochester; INDIANA -- Bruce Reynolds, pastor of Old Town Baptist church, Muncie; IOWA -- Robert Knight, pastor of New Birth Baptist Church, Ames KANSAS/NEBRASKA -- Joe Stiles, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Lawrence, Kan.; KENTUCKY -- Bill Langley, pastor of Severns Valley Baptist Church, Elizabethtown; LOUISIANA -- Gevan Spinney, pastor of First Baptist Church, Haughton; MARYLAND/DELAWARE -- Michael Trammell, senior pastor of Mt. Airy Baptist Church, Mt. Airy, Md.; MICHIGAN -- Jerome Taylor, pastor of Eastgate Baptist Church, Burton; MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN -- Jackie Hill, pastor of Roseville Baptist Church, Roseville, Minn.; MISSISSIPPI -- Doug Broome, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Natchez. MISSOURI -- Ken Parker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Kearney; MONTANA -- Darren Hales, pastor of Big Sky Fellowship, Helena; NEVADA -- Ted Angle, member of Fellowship Community Church, Reno; NEW ENGLAND -- Gary Rowe, member of Island Pond Baptist Church, Hampstead, N.H.; NEW MEXICO -- John Hinze, pastor of First Baptist Church, Tucumcari; NEW YORK -- Paul Flores, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Nazareth, West New York, N.J.; NORTH CAROLINA -- Cameron McGill, pastor of Dublin First Baptist Church, Dublin; NORTHWEST -- Steve Bryant, member of Highland Baptist Church, Redmond, Ore.; OHIO -- David Starry, pastor of First Baptist Church, Vandalia; OKLAHOMA -- Joe Ligon, pastor of First Baptist Church, Marlow; PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY -- Kevin Roberts, pastor of Community Baptist Church at Charleroi, Charleroi, Penn.; SOUTH CAROLINA -- Keith Shorter, pastor of Mt. Airy Baptist Church, Easley; TENNESSEE -- Steve Freeman, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Springfield; TEXAS (BGCT) -- Danny Reeves, pastor of First Baptist Church, Corsicana; TEXAS (SBTC) -- Nathan Lino, pastor of Northeast Baptist Church, Humble; UTAH-IDAHO -- David Kite, pastor of four cowboy churches in Idaho; VIRGINIA (BGAV) – Stuart Crow, member of First Baptist Church, Waynesboro; VIRGINIA (SBCV) -- Bryan Smith, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Roanoke; WEST VIRGINIA -- Todd Hill, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Parkersburg, W.Va., and WYOMING -- David Grace, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Laramie. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Religious liberty priority in state conv. resolutions by Tammi Reed Ledbetter Date: December 21, 2016 - Wednesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Values-driven voting and defense of religious liberty were topics frequently addressed in annual meetings of state Baptist conventions this year as messengers voiced their concerns in resolutions. Nevada Baptists encouraged churches -- as led by their pastors -- to "engage in the political process by researching the candidates and ballot questions," helping their members vote "to reflect Biblical values in the upcoming election." Messengers in Arkansas, the Dakotas, Illinois, Missouri, Northwest, New England, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) and Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV) passed similar statements, some giving particular emphasis to praying for elected leaders. Southern Baptists in Arkansas, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, the SBTC and the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) addressed religious liberty concerns. Resolutions on some aspect of biblical sexuality passed in seven states, with Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina and SBCV messengers responding to gender dysphoria and Dakota and Ohio Baptists opposing same-sex marriage. The South Carolina resolution included a commitment to "pray for revival and a return to recognition of the sanctity of marriage as between one man and one woman, God's design for gender, freedom of conscience, and unhindered religious freedom." Arkansas Baptists called on members to be a catalyst for racial reconciliation, encouraging increased racial and ethnic diversity in church leadership and membership. "We will be diligent in denouncing racial discrimination in whatever form it takes in seeking to bring healing and cohesiveness to our fractured culture," the resolution stated. Illinois, Oklahoma, the SBTC and SBCV also spoke to racial reconciliation. Messengers of the BGAV opposed anti-Muslim rhetoric and joined Alabama Baptists in an appeal to show love to Muslim people. Ohio Baptists passed a resolution on reaching refugees and people groups in their state, while Georgia Baptists acknowledged "the federal government's failure to fulfill its responsibility in the area of illegal immigration” and the biblical mandates to "not mistreat the alien living among you." Resolutions in state conventions in Arkansas, Kansas/Nebraska, Kentucky and Northwest expressed opposition to human trafficking and encouraged ministry to victims. In other business, several states addressed guidelines for cooperation, including discussion by the Baptist Convention of New York (BCNY) of a proposal to be voted on next year that excludes churches that act to affirm, approve or endorse any expression of marriage other than "the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime." Another amendment addressed by BCNY would add to the convention's affirmation of the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) the statement, "We also believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Rejection of one's biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person." Indiana Baptists amended its bylaws to specify an effort to communicate with churches that have not met cooperation guidelines requiring agreement with the BF&M, giving to the Cooperative Program or state mission offering, and submitting Annual Church Profile data. Messengers in Florida and New Mexico incorporated references to the BF&M in their governing documents. In Florida, a constitutional amendment establishes it as the guiding interpretation of Scripture, while in New Mexico new requirements for a church to seat messengers at the annual meeting specify that the congregation must contribute "a percentage of their undesignated gifts through the Cooperative Program" and not hold any beliefs or practices that conflict with the BF&M. Baptist General Convention of Texas messengers granted its Executive Board authority to remove a congregation outside of harmonious cooperation. A second motion based on previous positions, specifies that a church which affirms any sexual relationship outside the bonds of a marriage between one man and one woman to be out of "harmonious cooperation with BGCT."