Baptist Press Stories for Mar. 14 2012 --------------------------------------- Afghanistan massacre prompts call for Christians to pray http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37390 Knowing the 'real God' has come at a price http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37391 In Bangladesh, a 'vast multitude' envisioned http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37394 Couple awarded $3M in 'wrongful birth' suit http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37398 Ala. immigration law is conference backdrop http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37392 Santorum wins evangelicals, Romney delegates http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37393 S.C. editor Kirkland to retire at year's end http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37395 BIBLE STUDY: Sunday, March 18, 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37396 FIRST-PERSON: Money – a test of our loyalty to God http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37397 --------------------------------------- Afghanistan massacre prompts call for Christians to pray By Don Graham Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37390 RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- A lone U.S. soldier accused in a shooting rampage that killed 16 Afghan civilians near Kandahar over the weekend is prompting Southern Baptist workers in Central Asia to ask American Christians to pray for peace. [IMG=32181@left@180]The shootings threaten to further inflame a roiling tide of anti-American sentiment that swept the country in February following Afghans' outrage over the burning of Muslim holy books, including Qurans, at Bagram Air Base, as well as the posting of a video to the Internet in January allegedly showing four Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters. The Quran-burning incident alone was followed by a week of protests in which 30 Afghans were killed; attacks that resulted in the deaths of six American military personnel also were tied to the burning. Some Afghans "understand and are slow to judge, but they … are certainly not the loud voices," says Leo Hughes*, a Southern Baptist human needs worker in Central Asia who has spent time in Afghanistan. The vehemence with which Afghans sometimes respond to such incidents may be difficult for Westerners to understand, Hughes says, but the violence is a byproduct, at least in part, of 30 years of war that has ravaged the country beginning with the 1979 Soviet invasion. "I have not encountered anyone in this country who has ever known Afghanistan at peace," Hughes says. "There are a few very old men who, when you hear them talk, it's almost like they are hallucinating when they speak about a time of peace." In addition to America's ongoing conflict with the Taliban, there is continuous fighting among more than 20 ethnic groups that make up Afghanistan's population of 30 million. Hughes says the need to pray for peace for the country's tribes is equally as important. "Think about a tribe of a million people accusing another tribe of 2 million people of doing wrong, so they fight. The winner was right; the loser was wrong. That's the law of the land," he says. It's just another reason why prayer is so desperately needed, Hughes says. Rather than react with pessimism or negative attitudes based on stereotypes, American Christians must pray that Christ will soften Afghans' hearts and break the cycle of violence. These are people God loves, Hughes says. "We are terrible at making generalities and characterizations of folks. All Americans are not Christians. All Muslims are not terrorists. ... And if we are not willing to meet people and understand them, how do we have any right to condemn them? Some of my closest friends that I trust -- literally -- with my life every night, are Muslims. "Christ didn't spend all His time with believers. He spent more time with nonbelievers," Hughes adds. "We need to get off of the church pew ... and become more concerned about the lost in the world than our own comfort." Among prayer requests for Afghanistan relayed by Hughes and other workers: -- Pray for God's mercy and justice for the families of the Afghans killed in the shootings. -- Ask God to quiet rising anger and prevent this incident from sparking further violence. -- Pray for an end to conflict in Afghanistan. Ask God to bring peace and unity between feuding ethnic groups and tribes as well as peace between Afghanistan and other nations. Pray that those seeking to incite violence are stopped and that criminals are brought to justice. -- Ask God to ease widespread suffering caused by war and conflict. Pray that He brings peace, stability, education and sustainable living conditions. -- Pray that Afghans will worship the one true God. -- Ask God to send workers to the harvest field in Afghanistan. "There is a huge task in Afghanistan under the hardest circumstances. The workers are few and the time is short," Hughes notes. "Help is needed desperately.” --30-- *Name changed. Don Graham is senior writer at the International Mission Board. -- End of story -- Knowing the 'real God' has come at a price By Don Graham Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37391 EDITOR'S NOTE: As Christians are being asked to pray about the unrest in Afghanistan, God continues to move in that country and many other parts of Central Asia. This story highlights the spiritual journey and sacrifice of a Central Asian believer who risked everything to follow Jesus. CENTRAL ASIA (BP) -- His heart pounds as he presses his two young daughters tightly to his chest and darts into the freezing rain. His wife follows close behind, quietly making her way through the darkness to the taxi idling outside the family's home. Faruq and Jamilah* aren't safe here anymore; police have finally tracked them down. Faruq knows they will soon come to arrest him. [IMG=32182@right@180]The girls are in tears, frightened and shivering after being startled from a deep, warm sleep. Why are they leaving in the middle of the night, and in this weather, the driver asks, explaining that the taxi's heater is broken. Faruq offers a flimsy excuse and tells him to drive, warming the girls' tiny feet with his hands as the taxi speeds away. This isn't the first time Faruq has been forced to disappear, but it is for the same reason -- his decision to follow Christ. At 18, he abandoned the Muslim tradition of his parents in search of what he calls the "real God." But for many Christians in Central Asia whose belief in Jesus is born out of the ashes of a past Islamic faith, Christ's "free gift" of salvation comes at a high price. Faruq's own nightmare began not long ago. As he prayed alone late one night while his wife and daughters slept, more than a dozen policemen slipped silently over the walls surrounding the family's compound. Within moments they were inside the house. Faruq and Jamilah watched in horror as police ransacked their living room, confiscating Bibles, Christian books, literature and videos as well as other Gospel materials. But they didn't stop there. "They took my laptop, my camera, even my kids' toys," Faruq says. "They say if you're changing your religion, anything you have belongs to the Muslims." The raid was part of a coordinated sting on several suspected Christians; Faruq knew immediately who sold him out. Earlier that evening, he had discipled a small group of believers at his home. One brought a new friend who turned out to be a police informant. After the officers finished picking through the couple's possessions, they arrested Faruq. Jamilah watched as they loaded him into a truck and drove off, leaving her and the children behind. Rounds of interrogation began as soon as Faruq arrived at police headquarters. Why did he become a Christian? Was someone paying him to convert Muslims? Was he paid to convert? The police didn't like his answers. "I told them my testimony," Faruq recounts. "I said, 'There's no money.' ... Finally one of these people who were investigating me got very frustrated. He was saying, 'Why don't you tell us [the truth]?' I said, '... the Holy Spirit is changing people, not me.'" But the questions kept coming. Early the next morning Faruq was thrown into a small holding cell, exhausted, afraid and totally alone. Seeds of doubt planted by the police about his own decision to follow Jesus were taking root. They said he was too young, stupid and naive to understand that he'd been deceived by the Christians. Perhaps he'd made a mistake? "I was thinking maybe they are right," Faruq says, but he suddenly was reminded how and why he came to love Christ. BURNING CURIOSITY It started with a burning curiosity to know his Creator. "I was trying to reach to God. I was praying and I was fasting. At midnight I was going to the mosque to pray alone. I was like 12, 13 or 14 years old," Faruq says. But that fervor eventually faded to disappointment at the emptiness and insecurity he found while studying the Quran at a local madrassa (Islamic school). By 18, he was tempted to give up on religion altogether but couldn't shake the fear he felt. "I was not sure if I died today where I would go. There was no assurance," he explains. A seemingly random encounter with a foreign believer placed a Bible in Faruq's hands. He knew precious little of the Gospel but began to read it and was immediately struck by Jesus' words in John 10:10 -- "... I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance." Faruq believed; he had never known such love. But with his new faith came a new fear. "I didn't want people to know who I was," he admits. They knew now. DEATH THREATS "I don't care if they kill me, but I cannot go and say I made a mistake," Faruq decided as he sat in his cell. "They said, 'What you're believing is wrong.' But I said, 'Even if it is wrong [in your eyes] I still want to believe in this ... my country needs it.'" Five days later police changed tactics, dumping Faruq into an open, overcrowded central jail packed with more than 200 inmates. Many were hardened criminals, gang members, Islamic radicals -- or all three. Faruq says police made an extra effort to ensure everyone knew why he had been arrested. Faruq was terrified but the Lord sent an unlikely ally to protect him: a homosexual gang leader. "Hey, you!" one of the inmates grunted fiercely at Faruq, who was so scared he could only stare at the man's feet. "When I [finally] looked into his eyes, I understand that he was my friend; we grew up together!" Faruq says. "And then he hugged me and ... pointed to all the prisoners and said, 'This is my cousin. If I see that you are going to treat him bad, then I know what to do with you guys.'" Faruq spent the next 10 days in the central jail, sleeping on concrete with a water-filled, plastic Coca-Cola bottle for a pillow. But under the watchful eye of his friend's gang, no one laid a finger on him. GNAWING FEAR Faruq had been so consumed with survival that he'd pushed aside a deep-seated fear gnawing at him since the night of the raid: What happened to his wife and children? Would they ever be a family again? The arrest had blown the lid off Faruq and Jamilah's relatively clandestine walk with the Lord, which meant that both sets of their parents now knew they had left Islam. But it was Jamilah's father who scared Faruq most. "I feared that they were going to separate my wife and my kids from me," he remembers. "I was not concerned if they put me in jail for a couple years or they want to execute me.... I was scared for my family." Was all this his fault? He was responsible for leading Jamilah to Jesus. It was five years ago, while they were engaged to be married, that Faruq first revealed to her his walk with Christ. "I said, 'It will be a tough life. ... I might go to jail, I might be killed, many things will happen to me. I might be kicked out of the family; many times will come when they want to separate us. What do you think? Do you want to still be with me?' And she said, 'Yes.'" It seemed Faruq's warning was prophetic. A visit from his brother-in-law was the first contact he'd had from any family members since the arrest more than 20 days ago. Faruq immediately asked about Jamilah. "He said, 'You don't have a wife anymore. You gave up your wife the first day [you followed Jesus],'" Faruq remembers. Devastated, he returned to his cell and wept, covering his face with his shirt so his cellmate wouldn't see his tears. "God, I don't know [what to do]. If You gave me this family, then I want to trust You that nobody can take them away. God, give them back to me," he pleaded. FAMILY FEUD A week later Faruq was released from jail. There were no charges, court dates or conditions. He speculates that jurisdictional squabbling between police and intelligence officers likely contributed to his extended detention and, ironically, his sudden release. But he was too focused on reuniting his family to dwell on the details of God's blessing. Jamilah had been living with her parents since the arrest. Her father's terms were simple and nonnegotiable: Faruq must forsake Jesus, embrace Islam and remarry Jamilah in a traditional Muslim ceremony. Only then could he have his family back. So Faruq offered his father-in-law a deal: If he would allow Jamilah and his daughters to return home that evening, he would remarry her the next day. Jamilah's father agreed. Faruq had not seen or spoken with his wife since his arrest and needed to know if she would still stand by him. "I wanted to make sure because [her family] was saying, 'Your wife doesn't want to come with you,'" Faruq says. Her answer was an unequivocal "yes." They left town late that evening, driving through the night to ensure Jamilah was well outside her father's reach. "It was a trick," Faruq says with a grin. "The next day when my father-in-law called, I said, 'Goodbye, I am in [another city].' ... He was so frustrated. But he couldn't do anything to me." WAY IN THE WILDERNESS Much has changed since Faruq's arrest. Shortly after reuniting his family, he and Jamilah left the country with their daughters. But God soon called them back; there was work to be done. "I'm not staying in this country anymore.... I cannot live here like thieves," Faruq remembers praying. "And God said, 'I'm going to use you to do totally new things,' and spoke to me from Isaiah 43:19 ... 'I am going to make a way in the wilderness.'" God kept His promise, and today Faruq's ministry is thriving. Discipled and mentored by Southern Baptist workers and other likeminded Great Commission Christians, he is busy training a new generation of leaders with the goal of spreading house churches across the nation. He says God is working through local believers, miracles and dreams to stir thousands of his countrymen toward a relationship with Jesus -- perhaps one day even his father-in-law. But behind every sharing of the Gospel, every new salvation, prayer meeting, discipleship training, Bible distribution or bathtub baptism, the specter of persecution remains. "I am a criminal right now; the government is looking for me. They have my fingerprints," Faruq says. "I am not living in a house more than six months." He isn't alone. Recently, a believing friend he was discipling was kidnapped by his classmates, beaten and tortured with electric shocks. The 15-year-old daughter of another Christian couple Faruq is discipling was raped because of their faith. With two young daughters of his own, it's a possibility that terrifies Faruq. But he's determined not to allow that fear to keep him from answering God's call. "I wanted to be Jesus' disciple and walk with Him. I thought it was easy, but then I walk a little with Him and I saw that Jesus was a tough guy to walk with," Faruq says. "And I was thinking that it is only the physical things we have to give up for Jesus, because the disciples gave up their boats. ... But that was not enough; the time came that I was going to have to give up my children, my wife and even my life." Despite the hardships, Jamilah remains by his side. "She really walks with God and walks with me," Faruq says, affectionately. "I never heard my wife complaining about the life that we have. I never heard that she says, 'I am tired of this life. I want to live in a good way. I want to live like my other friends.' ... I think she understands more of God and God's love. ... That's encouraging to me." As for the future, Faruq says he's taking things one day at a time, seeking God's will and depending on His provision and protection. "I expect thousands of [new believers] very soon," he says. "They will work miracles and wonders. God told me to go and raise leaders and be ready for His glory." --30-- *Names changed. Don Graham is senior writer for the International Mission Board. -- End of story -- In Bangladesh, a 'vast multitude' envisioned By Caroline Anderson Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37394 EDITOR'S NOTE: With more than half of the world's population now living in cities, Baptist Press is taking a multi-part look at a number of the world's major metropolises, such as Dhaka, Bangladesh. The series by International Mission Board writers, which is appearing each Wednesday in BP, will highlight the multiple people groups living side by side in the cities. Many come from hard-to-reach places but now, as city dwellers, they are more accessible than ever before to share the Gospel. DHAKA, Bangladesh (BP) -- As youths, Qahir Hamad* and his Bangladeshi friends beat a group selling Bibles and Christian literature and threw the wares into a pond. [IMGONLY=32184@right@250]Consumed with guilt over what he'd done, Hamad hardly slept that night. Having secretly saved four books to read later, he found someone after weeks of searching to tell him what the books meant. He learned about how Jesus would save him. Now, Hamad is the pastor of a house church in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with a vision to see Muslims in the city find lasting peace like he has found in Christ. Bangladesh, he believes, should be a Christian nation. This is also the vision of Travis and Madison Strauder*, International Mission Board workers who minister among Muslims and Muslim background believers in Dhaka. "Our vision is a vast multitude from Dhaka city knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ," Strauder says. Strauder sees Dhaka as a strategic place for outreach. Thousands of Bangladeshis move to the city of 15 million people looking for jobs, education and a better life. "We'd like to see people from all over the country coming into Dhaka and hearing the Gospel and then being able to take it back to the villages with them," Strauder says. Bangladesh, with roughly 158 million people, is one of the world's most densely populated countries. It'd be the same as if roughly half of the population of the U.S. lived in Arkansas. Strauder is helping equip Hamad's house church to reach Muslims more effectively. Hamad's house church started with three people: Hamad, his wife and his daughter. Now, 35 people gather to sit on the floor of Hamad's house to worship and learn more about God. These 35 believers are taking part in a church planting and discipleship training widely used throughout southern Asia. In the training, believers are challenged to write down the names of people they can share what they learned that week. Many of the believers invite these friends to come to a house church with them. "Our desire is that churches would start in their homes and that everything they learn through these trainings they would pass on to others and there'd be multiplication and that, soon, Dhaka would be filled with churches full of believers worshipping God," Strauder says. Their desire is being fulfilled. In December, Hamad baptized some 20 new believers in his bathtub -- 19 of whom came to faith through the training Strauder and Hamad hosted. "If we want to see the growing of Christianity, we have to build the leadership and delegate the leadership," Hamad says. "If you don't do this, Christianity will not grow." Recent statistics list Christians as 0.05 percent of the population of Bangladesh. Investing in leaders and sharing the Gospel has its consequences. Hamad and the new believers expect persecution. "I am always ready for persecution because Jesus was also persecuted," Hamad says. "When I took baptism, persecution came into my life." Hamad's family has ostracized him. He was beaten and tied to the pillars of a mosque for selling Christian literature. "If they [his friends] found me, they would kill me," Hamad says. Many Christians, however, are afraid to acknowledge their faith for fear of the repercussions from their Muslim communities, Hamad says. As Bangladesh celebrates the 40-year anniversary of its liberation from Pakistan in 1971, Hamad and Straider are praying for Bangladesh's next 40 years. "In the next 40 years, you can pray for our nation," Hamad says. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. You can pray for workers." God already is answering that prayer, with a volunteer team venturing in December from the couple's home church in Tennessee as part of a partnership with them and the city of Dhaka. The volunteers hosted Christmas parties and ministered alongside the Strauders, Hamad and other Bangladeshi partners. From the Strauders' and Hamad's prayer list: -- Pray for the Gospel to spread among Bangladesh's growing population. -- Pray that God would call out national believers in Dhaka who have a vision for the city. -- Pray for unity among believers. -- Pray that the Strauders would see God's purpose and plan and act in His strength. -- Pray for wisdom as the Strauders and Hamad train others to spread the Gospel -- Pray for boldness for Hamad's house church members in their witness for Christ. -- Pray for courage for Muslim background believers to share their faith. -- Pray for more godly leaders. --30-- *Names changed. Caroline Anderson is a writer based in Southeast Asia. -- End of story -- Couple awarded $3M in 'wrongful birth' suit By Tom Strode Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37398 WASHINGTON (BP) -- A "wrongful birth" lawsuit is a horribly flawed response to the unexpected birth of a baby with a disability, pro-life bioethics specialists said in the wake of an Oregon jury's award of nearly $3 million to the parents of a child with Down syndrome. [IMG=32187@right@200]The 12-member jury unanimously awarded $2.9 million to Ariel and Deborah Levy, a Portland-area couple, in their suit against a hospital system that failed to detect the chromosomal disorder in their unborn daughter, Kalanit, who is now 4. The Levys said they would have aborted her had they known she had Down syndrome, but Legacy Health System's Center for Maternal-Fetal Medicine assured them after a test their daughter did not have the condition. "In a civil society, there must be better remedies for cases like these," said C. Ben Mitchell, professor of moral philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. "Rather than 'wrongful birth' suits, a robust social services infrastructure could relieve the burden families feel when they choose to bring disabled children into the world. There are many communities who would be willing to rally around these families if they knew the need. "At the same time, we must repudiate abortion for disability," said Mitchell, also a biomedical and life issues consultant for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "The diagnosis of a disability, including Down syndrome, should not be a death sentence for the unborn baby." Such lawsuits "are merely the newest front in the ongoing eugenic search-and-destroy mission aimed at wiping people with Down syndrome off the face of the earth," Wesley Smith wrote in a column for The Daily Caller. "The time has come to reverse course," said Smith, co-director of the Discovery Institute's Center for Human Exceptionalism. "We could begin with states prohibiting wrongful birth lawsuits as a matter of public policy. We may have a right to have a baby, but we don't -- or at least shouldn't -- have a right to the baby we want. Most importantly, none of us should ever be declared by a jury to be a wrongful life. May Kalanit never learn that her parents would have prevented her from ever being born." Bioethicist Art Kaplan, who is not a pro-life advocate, also contended "wrongful birth" lawsuits should not be allowed. "Wrongful birth lawsuits are a horrible way to deal with failed prenatal testing," said Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, in a MSNBC commentary. "Forcing parents to argue that their child never should have been born may make legal sense but it is morally absurd." The Arizona Senate approved in a 20-9 vote March 6 a bill that would protect health-care providers from "wrongful birth" lawsuits while permitting malpractice suits, the Arizona Capitol Times reported. If Arizona enacts the legislation, it would become the 10th state to bar "wrongful birth" or "wrongful life" court actions. "Wrongful birth" lawsuits are rare, Caplan said, but some have resulted in awards of millions of dollars. An estimated 90 percent of unborn children in the United States diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted, and the estimate of abortions for other genetic abnormalities in the unborn is about the same. Down syndrome normally results when a person has three copies, rather than two, of chromosome 21. Deborah Levy, who already had two sons with her husband, underwent a test known as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) when she was 13 weeks pregnant at the age of 34, according to The Oregonian. The lab results from tissue taken from her womb showed Levy's unborn daughter had a normal chromosome make-up. Two ultrasounds performed later showed abnormalities that can indicate Down syndrome in an unborn baby. Legacy staff assured the Levys, however, their daughter did not have the condition and did not recommend another prenatal test, amniocentesis, The Oregonian reported. The Levys argued Deborah's tissue instead of the baby's tissue was extracted during the CVS test and the Legacy staff should have identified it as such. Expert witnesses for Legacy testified the CVS was performed correctly. They said the lab result showed a normal chromosome count because Kalanit has mosaic Down syndrome, which means some of her cells do not have an extra copy of chromosome 21, according to The Oregonian. The $2.9 million award was estimated to cover the extra costs required to care for Kalanit, the newspaper reported. --30-- Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- Ala. immigration law is conference backdrop By Jennifer Davis Rash & Julie Payne/Alabama Baptist Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37392 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- American citizens have participated in the confusion over illegal immigration, Richard Land, president of Southern Baptists' Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said during a conference on the issue at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. "For more than 20 years now, we have had two signs up at the border -- one says 'No Trespassing' and the other says 'Help Wanted,'" Land told 80 ministry leaders and concerned citizens attending sessions on Alabama's new immigration law as well as ways Christians can respond to the overall issue from a biblical perspective. Some 100 students also gathered nearby to discuss the same topics. [IMGONLY=32191@right@250]Both groups were part of the G92 Immigration Conference South, drawn from the 92 references to immigration or "the stranger" in the Old Testament. Stranger, or "ger" in Hebrew, is one who was accorded legal protections in Israelite society. The conference included several speakers in each of the two tracks throughout the day and brought both groups together in an evening wrap-up session. Around 500 students heard about the issue in a convocation that day at Samford. The Birmingham G92 conference was the second of its kind, following one at Cedarville University in Ohio last October. Noel Castellanos, who writes about social justice issues and serves as CEO of the Christian Community Development Association in Chicago, helped with both conferences. "Right after the new law was passed [in 2011 in Alabama], there was a lawsuit ... but we were not hearing much from evangelical leaders," Castellanos said. "We [evangelicals] are the ones who want to talk about being biblical and having a passion for folks, so that is one of the reasons for this conference, to bring as many evangelical leaders around the table as possible. "There were not a lot of dissenting voices [at the Birmingham conference]," he said after the Feb. 23 sessions. "There were a lot of people on board but who had not met each other. It was good for them to see other folks who are strong Christians who care about this and to hear from ... theologians, pastors and others. "I think there will be a lot more that comes out of this," Castellanos added. April Robinson, minister to students focused on community and campus involvement at Samford, said the conference "created space for students to have some personal interaction with individuals who are deeply involved and impacted by immigration." Robinson said she hopes it also encouraged participants -- students and adults -- to some type of action. "It created [an opportunity] to listen and learn ... to continue thinking, praying, talking and researching and to realize as followers of Christ this is our problem. It's not their problem," Robinson said. "We want to assign it to someone else, but we have to take ownership of it as a community. "We are called to pay attention to our brothers and sisters and help with whatever hardships and difficulties they are bearing ... to try to lighten their load and be hospitable," Robinson said. Amanda Cherry, a Samford senior, said the conference provided an opportunity "to hear about the ones on the front lines and to hear perspectives that are different than mine." She described immigration as "something I'm passionate about ... and [I] want to engage with people working on the issues." Cherry said she realized at the conference that, while she has been "pro-immigrant," she still needed to confess her sin in not always being outspoken on the issue. Shawn Duncan, associate minister at Northlake Church of Christ in Tucker, Ga., traveled the two-plus hours to the conference because the immigration issue is a growing concern for him and his wife. "We have a level of compassion and frustration not matched with knowledge about how to handle it," Duncan said. "Our interest is first and foremost the Kingdom of God. How does that inform what we do?" Osvaldo Padilla, assistant professor at Samford's Beeson Divinity School who addressed the conference, said the answer to what the Bible says about immigration is extremely broad. The Bible does not directly address the issue of modern-day immigration and government policy, Padilla said, and immigrants in Bible times were vastly different than today. Thus "we all need a bit of interpretational humility to draw principles from the Scriptures." Padilla pointed to Abraham, Joseph, Ruth and the nation of Israel as examples of immigrants in the Bible. "In the Old Testament, people migrated for some of the same reasons they do today -- famine and other natural disasters, war, to feed their families, etc.," he said. "We shouldn't view immigrants as necessarily ungodly people. An immigrant may be a very godly person. ... But even if an immigrant is not a Christian, he or she is still made in God's image." Other Scripture references for thinking about immigration, Padilla noted, are Exodus 22:21, Deuteronomy 5:15 and 10:18–19. Alongside scriptural insights regarding immigration, it is important to understand the immigration process, Padilla said. A person also can learn about immigration by getting to know actual immigrants, he added. "See what God is doing in their lives and in the countries they represent." Padilla also suggested sponsoring an immigrant. "[Working through the immigration process] is not as simple as getting in line," he said. "If you are poor you may never get in." For Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, getting in line to pay one's back taxes should be the earned path of citizenship. "We [as a nation] could be doing a better job of framing the immigration issue around ... the highest good," said Salguero, a Nazarene pastor from New York City. "That's why I've been advocating [for 10-plus years] an earned path to citizenship ... with family unification as the highest priority. "It's a crisis of family values," Salguero said, noting the story of a Portugese woman who was separated from her children when she was deported. Salguero asked pastors in the audience if the current laws are moral. "Are they the best laws or can we do better? And if so, how?" Land, in his remarks, said current laws popping up in various states are not the best that can be done. Immigration reform is needed on a national level, Land said, though expressing doubt that the federal government wants to make any changes. "The federal government is making out like a bandit on this issue.... [It] is making a profit," Land said. "There are millions of undocumented workers contributing to Social Security and they will never get a dime back. "We need national immigration reform ... but we have permitted our government to ignore its own laws for 25 years," Land said. "No state can do this job. They don't have the authority to do it. They don't have the expertise to do it. It takes controlling the borders, and to control the borders, we must control the workforce." Land's suggested path to citizenship for those in the country illegally includes getting registered; going through a background check; paying a fine; getting an ID card; and agreeing to learn to read, write and speak English. By coming forward and starting this process, the person would be put on probationary status and could work without fear of being exploited, he said. If the person continues to work and follows through with all the requirements, then he or she would earn permanent legal status. If every American is provided with a new Social Security card that has his or her same number and thumb print, then employees would either have to have this new Social Security card or an immigration ID card, he noted. "We would say to employers that if you hire someone without the tamper-proof ID card or a Social Security card, then you are going to jail. "As long as the workplace is open, there is no way to build a border high enough or deep enough to keep people from coming here," Land said. "The workplace is the magnet. Once we secure the workplace, then we can secure 90 percent of those coming across the border. We can deal with the other 10 percent." Land also would like to see a guest worker program implemented in which citizens of other countries could come to the U.S. to work for designated periods of time and would be allowed to travel back and forth to their home countries. "About 30 percent of undocumented workers here don't want to stay here," Land said. "They want to come here, work, make a lot of money, then go back to their home country. ... "We need these workers; economically we need them," Land said. "And this is a situation where they can improve their lives by coming to this country and working." Michael Wesley Sr., pastor of Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham, said the African American community supports immigration reform. "It is in our best interest to find a legal way to work out this labor force," Wesley said. "There are solutions to this concern. It requires visionary, serious solution-oriented persons who take into consideration the plight of people. This can be done through visionary [ways], not exploitation. "It requires courageous people who will take a stand and are willing to step forward and champion these causes," Wesley said. "It also requires delayed gratification. We can't have everything we want right now ... [and] we must have the endurance to see this thing through. It is not going to be a quick fix." Other conference speakers included Matthew Soerens, U.S. church training specialist for World Relief; Jenny Yang, director of advocacy and policy for World Relief's refugee and immigration program; Lisa Sharon Harper, director of mobilizing for Sojourners; David Smolin of Cumberland College of Law at Samford; Carlos Gomez, pastor of the Hispanic congregation at First Baptist Church in Center Point, Ala.; John Killian, pastor of Maytown Baptist Church and first vice president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention; Ron Higey, pastor of Birmingham International Church; and Mayor Paul Bridges of Uvalda, Ga. Included on the closing panel were Paul House of Beeson Divinity School and Pablo Moscoso, pastor of Agape Church in Hoover, Ala. --30-- Jennifer Davis Rash is executive editor of The Alabama Baptist (www.thealabamabaptist.org), newsjournal of the Alabama Baptist State Convention; Julie Payne is a newswriter for The Alabama Baptist. -- End of story -- Santorum wins evangelicals, Romney delegates By Staff Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37393 MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP) -- Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum once again rode the support of self-identified evangelical/born again voters to a pair of momentum-building victories Tuesday, but Mitt Romney still walked away with the most delegates, thanks to a pair of Pacific island victories. [IMG=31918@right@100]Santorum won Alabama and Mississippi on the strength of the evangelical/born again contingent in both states, picking up 36 delegates, according to a New York Times tally. Romney, though, held his own in both states and then won Hawaii and American Samoa, giving him 43 delegates for the night and helping him increase his delegate total. Although the delegate tallies vary between media outlets, the Associated Press has Romney leading with 495 delegates to Santorum's 252 and Newt Gingrich's 131. A total of 1,144 delegates is needed to clinch the nomination. Santorum's consistently strong showing among evangelical and born again voters could impact how Romney runs his general election campaign -- including his pick of a running mate -- if he is the nominee. In Alabama, Santorum captured 36 percent of the evangelical/born again vote, compared to Gingrich's 31 percent and Romney's 27 percent, according to a Times exit poll. In Mississippi, Santorum won 36 percent to Gingrich's 31 percent and Romney's 29 percent. Unlike the exit polls from CNN, FoxNews and others, the Times' exit polls include evangelical and born again voters of all races. [IMG=32188@right@150]But a plurality of voters in both states think Romney has the best chance to beat Obama. Asked who would be most likely to beat Obama, 46 percent of Alabama voters and 49 percent of Mississippi voters picked Romney, even though Romney won only 29 and 30 percent in each state, respectively. Santorum picked up 19 delegates in Alabama to Romney's 11. Romney won more delegates (14-13) in Mississippi -- even though Santorum won the state -- because the state's two superdelegates, who are not tied to the vote total, chose Romney, the Times reported. Each state awarded delegates proportionally. In Hawaii, Romney won nine delegates to Santorum's four, and in American Samoa, Romney won all nine delegates. The race now moves to Missouri (caucuses, Saturday), Puerto Rico (primary, Sunday), Illinois (primary, March 20) and Louisiana (primary, March 24). --30-- Compiled by Michael Foust, associate editor of Baptist Press. -- End of story -- S.C. editor Kirkland to retire at year's end By Butch Blume Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37395 GREENVILLE, S.C. (BP) -- Don Kirkland, editor and president of The Baptist Courier for the last 16 years, has announced he will retire from the South Carolina Baptist paper at the end of 2012. [IMG=32185@left@100]Kirkland, addressing the Courier board of trustees' biannual meeting March 2, said when he was asked in 1974 to join the paper's staff he knew "God was leading me to the Courier, and I've never doubted that. "And neither do I doubt that God is now leading me away from my service here as editor," he told trustees. Kirkland said his time as editor has been marked by serving with trustees "who have kept the best interests of the Courier and its mission at the forefront in their thinking and their actions." "This is a happy more than sad occasion for me," he added, "because I am eager to learn the plans God has for me when a new chapter in my life opens." Randy Harling, trustee chairman and pastor of First Baptist Church in Simpsonville, said South Carolina Baptists "owe a debt of gratitude" to Kirkland. "Don has informed and inspired thousands of Baptists over the years. His journalistic gift made even the dullest topic a pleasure to read," Harling said. Kirkland also "managed to avoid being labeled as biased" and he "kept the Courier on a fair journalistic path," Harling said. Kirkland possesses a "keen understanding of our rich Baptist heritage" but "didn't allow that to interfere with communicating our role as Christ-followers." Kirkland will be 69 when he retires after 42 years of denominational service -- 38 of them at the Courier. He joined the paper's editorial staff in 1974 as assistant editor and was named associate editor in 1983. He succeeded John Roberts as the Courier's 10th editor on March 1, 1996. The son of a Baptist pastor, Kirkland was born in Columbia and spent most of his boyhood in Lancaster. He is a graduate of Anderson College (now Anderson University), the University of South Carolina and Erskine Theological Seminary, where he earned a master of arts in Christian education. He was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree by Charleston Southern University. Kirkland is a member of Earle Street Baptist Church in Greenville, where he was licensed to the ministry, and he is a former president of the Association of State Baptist Papers. He and his wife Linda, a teacher at Riverside High School, have two children and four grandchildren. "When my wife and I were in our teens, we both made commitments to seek God's guidance in our choice of careers," Kirkland told the Courier's trustees. "For Linda, it was the classroom, to teach English. For me, after a short time in the classroom and in newspaper work, it was Baptist communications. "We both have been privileged to do what we know God led us to do for more than four decades. How could anyone be more blessed?" Harling said the executive committee of the board of trustees will begin meeting later in March "to pray for who God has to assume leadership of the Courier." --30-- Butch Blume is managing editor of The Baptist Courier (www.baptistcourier.com), newsjournal of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- BIBLE STUDY: Sunday, March 18, 2012 By Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37396 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (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 YOU! curriculum. Bible Passages: Colossians 2:8-10,16-23 Discussion Question: How does your life demonstrate the freedom that can be found in a relationship with Christ? Food for Thought: In "Crazy Love," Francis Chan exhorts believers to pursue the passionate love relationship with God that He beckons all of us to have. In the book, Chan shares stories of everyday people like a man called "Rings" who demonstrate their love for God in extraordinary ways. Rings is a "chain smoker, ex-convict, ex-addict and ex-alcoholic" who lives in his truck near downtown Ocean Beach, Calif. He doesn't spend his monthly check on himself. Instead, he buys food at a local market and drives to the beach to make meals for the homeless. As he prepares their meals, Rings tells those who've come to eat about the freedom Christ has given him. He shares how much God loves each of them because he knows that he would have nothing without God. Rings, in turn, gives everything he has to help others see Christ's love. The YOU! curriculum, intentionally focused on urban and multicultural believers, is biblically based with culturally relevant lessons to help people connect, grow, serve and ultimately be engaged in impacting the world for God. This flexible quarterly resource offers weekly Bible study for leaders and learners, devotionals and teaching plans as well as articles on hot topics and missions. For more information, visit LifeWay.com/YOU. Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool. --30-- -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: Money – a test of our loyalty to God By Chuck Bentley Mar. 14 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37397 GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP) -- Chris was desperate for career guidance. After spending seven years in prison, he reached out to me on our national radio broadcast that he had listened to since his incarceration for car-jacking. He explained that he was a changed man since he had surrendered his life to Christ. He was now out on his own looking to make a fresh start after paying his debt to society for a crime he committed when he was only 21 years old. However, after two months of applying for jobs, not a single business had even given Chris an interview. I advised him to go to a small, privately owned business and ask for a face-to-face meeting with the owner. "Explain that you'd like a chance to prove yourself and commit to being faithful in any job you're given." I told Chris that Jesus measures each of us by the same standard; we are either faithful or unfaithful. Fast-forward three months and Chris was back on the air with us. This time, however, he sounded like a new man, excited to explain what had happened to him. Chris had taken my advice and applied for a job at a truck stop. He was immediately hired by the owner, who sensed he was truly a humble and repentant man needing only an opportunity to prove himself. Chris's story is a fascinating testimony of living by God's financial principles. Chris was hired to do general maintenance around the truck stop. He was given specific responsibilities, one of which was to check and make sure the restrooms were clean "every time he passed by them." After three weeks, the owner called Chris into the office and asked him to have a seat. My new friend feared the worst, but to his delight, the owner praised him for his faithful work and gave him a significant pay increase based upon his performance as a new employee. The owner said he'd hired over 50 people and given them the same simple instruction to check the restrooms and make sure they're clean at all times. The owner informed Chris that he was the only person who ever did exactly as he was asked. Faithfulness seems like a small matter, but just like the truck stop owner, God also expects His children to be faithful when handling His property -- the money He entrusts to us. In Luke 16:10-12, after telling the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, Jesus concluded with this profound principle: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" Jesus is telling us that if we have learned to be responsible handling small things, we can be trusted with responsibilities greater than worldly riches. In the same way, if we have been irresponsible, we will have to learn some important life lessons before our heavenly Father will entrust those weightier matters to us. Larry Burkett often said that managing money is a small matter, but faithfulness with money is a big matter. He explained that how we handle money is a test of our loyalty to God. In many ways, we are all like Chris, the ex-convict. We have been given grace and accepted as servants of the Owner of the entire universe. We are each given an assignment that may seem like a small matter now, but it's one that actually holds eternal significance. One day we will be evaluated for our "job performance." If we have been faithful to the Master, we will not only receive words of great affirmation, "Well done, good and faithful servant," we will also be entrusted with an eternal responsibility. The day I realized Heaven wasn't an endless vacation but a job for eternity, it jolted me into taking my daily responsibilities as God's steward far more seriously. Each and every one of us is being watched to determine if we too will do all the simple, mundane tasks that the Owner has requested of us. If we pass each little test, God will add more responsibilities and ultimately welcome us into our permanent assignment. While still a mystery, we are assured that the true riches reserved for God's faithful servants surpass anything we could ever imagine. The small things truly count. As you fulfill your responsibilities today, be mindful that you work for the Owner of the universe -- and remember, He's watching. --30-- Chuck Bentley is CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, only at Crown.org. His latest book is "The S.A.L.T. Plan, How to Prepare for an Economic Crisis of Biblical Proportions." To sign up for Chuck's free weekly e-newsletter, "Handwriting on the Wall," visit Crown.org/handwriting or call 1-800-722-1976. -- End of story -- Copyright (c) 2013 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press 901 Commerce Street Nashville, TN 37203 Tel: 615.244.2355 Fax: 615.782.8736 email: bpress@sbc.net