Baptist Press Stories for Mar. 26 2012 --------------------------------------- Q&A: Provident Films' Kris Fuhr on October Baby's opening & why faith movies are succeeding http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37468 October Baby has successful Top 10 opening http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37469 Sup. Court begins weighing health care law http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37470 Mali coup strands church missions team http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37471 Coup in Mali: Baptist family waits for calm http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37467 Diana Chandler joins Baptist Press staff http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37472 SPORTS: OBU taps coach for return to gridiron http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37473 BP Ledger, March 26 edition http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37474 FIRST-PERSON: Should Christians boycott Starbucks? http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37475 --------------------------------------- Q&A: Provident Films' Kris Fuhr on October Baby's opening & why faith movies are succeeding By Michael Foust Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37468 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- When "October Baby" rolled to a Top 10 finish on its opening weekend, it further demonstrated that faith-based movies can be successful in theaters on a regular basis -- and that Provident Films, which marketed the film to Christian and pro-life audiences, knows the formula. [IMGONLY=32079@right@200]October Baby finished No. 8 overall, despite playing in only 390 theaters when the other Top 10 movies played in an average of 2,500 theaters. But more impressive, October Baby ended up No. 3 on a per-theater average with an average gross of $4,352. It was but the latest successful movie promoted by Provident Films, which -- when including October Baby -- has seen its last five movies crack the Top 10 on a per-theater average. Provident Films also promoted "Facing the Giants" (2006), "Fireproof" (2008), "Courageous" (2011) -- all of which were made by Georgia's Sherwood Baptist Church -- and "The Grace Card" (2011). Perhaps even more significant, the solid showings by Grace Card and October Baby show that Provident's success is not limited to Sherwood films. The Grace Card was made largely by volunteers from Calvary Church, a Nazarene congregation in Memphis, while October Baby was directed and produced by the Christian brother team of Jon and Andrew Erwin. Kris Fuhr, vice president of theatrical marketing for Provident, said October Baby was successful despite that fact that several of the top-targeted markets -- Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky, for instance -- had basketball teams still playing in the NCAA tournament, perhaps pulling fans' attention from the theaters. When combining a good movie with a wise marketing strategy, she says, faith-based films can be successful. Baptist Press talked to Fuhr about Provident's string of success, asking why Provident has been successful. Following is a transcript: BAPTIST PRESS: October Baby finished the weekend in the Top 10 and No. 3 at per-theater average. Were you satisfied with its opening? KRIS FUHR: Thrilled. We were on 390 screens, with everybody else on thousands of screens. We couldn't be happier. BP: What does a theater owner -- and Provident -- consider a successful opening? October Baby was at $4,352 on a per-theater average. Grace Card was at $2,870. Courageous and Fireproof each were at about $8,000. Are all those successful? [QUOTE@right@180=Provident Films has seen its last five movies crack the Top 10 on a per-theater average.]FUHR: We always look to do over $3,000 per screen. That's about where [Facing the] Giants opened. And we look at where we rank in the multiplex against all the movies that are playing. People laughed at us for coming out against "The Hunger Games," but because no one else did, it really made for a nice weekend where there were a lot of movies that had been in theaters for a long time and were on the decline, and so we were something new, and certainly audiences reacted and loved the movie. We did very well across the United States. I was very pleased with the data. BP: How does Provident enter into a partnership with a film? Is it before the film is made or after? FUHR: It depends on the film. Some movies we get involved with very early on, and other movies we get involved with after they're finished. So it really depends on the project. BP: It seems you're demonstrating that this isn't just a Sherwood Baptist thing. FUHR: Absolutely. BP: What has been your secret to having a string of successes? FUHR: When Fireproof did well, there was a secular commentator that said, "You know how these people did well? They worked really hard." I think that really is our key. Our team is spread out across the country, and we worked very hard on this film on a national basis, and then we work very hard on it in the markets that we're personally involved in. You get to know the people in those markets. We stay involved with many of those folks. We invited them to the sets of our movies. We're Facebook friends with them. They join us on the prayer calls we do around the films. BP: But you're not talking to every individual moviegoer. How are you getting the word out to these individual moviegoers? FUHR: It's through the action squads [people who work to get the movies brought to their towns], it's through pastors, it's through the pre-screenings. For October Baby we had over 150 screenings before the movie ever opened. So, many people embraced the movie personally and shared the word with folks. BP: Does Provident have more screenings to more people than most movies have? FUHR: Yes, I would say we definitely do. I think The Hunger Games only had 26 screenings. BP: You had 150 for October Baby. Was that number similar to Fireproof and Courageous? FUHR: It was very similar to Fireproof. For Courageous, we did close to 300. BP: So you're showing these movies to leaders and hoping that they like it and then spread the word to their audience. FUHR: Absolutely. We had our prayer call on Thursday morning, and there were people from all over the country -- churchgoers and community leaders who just got on the phone and prayed with us. We were all weeping, because it was so wonderful to hear these voices from Mississippi and North Dakota and California -- people who wanted to get on the phone and lift the movie up to the Lord. BP: Is this also a case where you're building on previous success? Fireproof was successful, Courageous was successful. FUHR: I think it shows that Provident and what we're doing is becoming more of a brand. People trust our films, and they know that what we're going to bring them is something that not only is going to be personally inspiring but is going to be a wonderful outreach tool. BP: What's the next theatrical release? Have you decided? FUHR: We have not. We're looking at several things. --30-- Michael Foust is associate 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). Read the Baptist Press preview story on October Baby at [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37326]www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37326[/URL]. -- End of story -- October Baby has successful Top 10 opening By Staff Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37469 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- The faith-based film "October Baby" finished in the Top 10 on its opening weekend despite playing in only 390 theaters, and did even better on a per-theater average. [IMGONLY=32079@right@160]The movie, which tells the story of a young woman who learns she is the survivor of a failed abortion, grossed $1.7 million in limited release, good enough for a No. 8 finish -- and a No. 3 spot ($4,352) on a per-theater average. Provident Films, which marketed the film to faith audiences, watches a film's per-theater average more than it does a movie's total gross, because the stat levels the playing field. Not counting October Baby, the Top 10 total gross films opened in an average of 2,500 theaters. October Baby opened in one-fifth as many. Kris Fuhr, vice president of theatrical marketing for Provident Films -- which marketed the film to the faith audience -- told Baptist Press that anything with an average of $3,000 or more is considered successful. (Read a Q&A with Fuhr at [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37468]http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37468[/URL]). Inspired by a true story, October Baby chronicles a young woman's search for the truth about her past. There are no stats on abortion survivors, but October Baby's Jon Erwin, who directed and produced the movie with his brother Andrew, told Baptist Press earlier this year that there are more than many people would think. Erwin has received emails from as far away as Africa with people telling them they were abortion survivors. The story itself was inspired by Gianna Jessen, whose story is among the first that pops up when the phrase "abortion survivor" is Googled. --30-- Compiled by Michael Foust, associate 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). Read the Baptist Press preview story on October Baby at [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37326]www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37326[/URL]. -- End of story -- Sup. Court begins weighing health care law By Tom Strode Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37470 WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court opened its marathon consideration of the controversial 2010 health care law by weighing whether it must delay a decision on the measure until after it takes effect. In oral arguments Monday (March 26), justices did not appear persuaded that a 145-year-old law would prevent them from ruling on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, observers said afterward. [IMGONLY=31019@right@300]The high court heard arguments for 90 minutes on the first day of what will be six hours of such consideration over three days. Typically, the court schedules only an hour for arguments in a case. The six hours of arguments are the most for a case since 1967, according to the Oyez Project at Chicago-Kent School of Law and the Associated Press. The time committed to consideration of the health care law seemed to demonstrate the significance the high court lends to a law that has produced deep division in the American public. The measure -- in combination with subsequent federal rules -- not only has elicited widespread opposition because of its requirement that nearly all Americans purchase health insurance but fervent protests against its federal subsidies for abortion and an abortion/contraceptive mandate that critics say violates religious liberty. The Supreme Court has set aside the following amount of time to consider three more issues in oral arguments the next two days: -- Two hours Tuesday for the law's "individual mandate" regarding the purchase of health insurance. -- One and a half hours Wednesday morning regarding whether the whole law should be declared unconstitutional if the "individual mandate" is invalidated. -- One hour Wednesday afternoon regarding the law's expansion of Medicaid coverage. The high court tackled in Monday's arguments the effect on the health care law of an 1867 law that bars suits that would block the federal government from assessing or collecting taxes. If the justices were to rule that courts could not consider challenges to the health care law until penalties are imposed, it would be at least 2015 before such a suit could be brought. The health care law does not become fully effective until 2014. Americans would not report their failure to purchase insurance until they did so on their federal tax returns in 2015. Debate on whether the 1867 law, known as the Anti-injunction Act (AIA), affects the health care law hinges in part on whether the penalty it imposes for failing to have health insurance is a tax. The AIA applies to the health-care law, Robert Long told the justices, because: "First, Congress directed that the [individual mandate] penalty shall be assessed and collected in the same manner as taxes. Second, Congress provided that penalties are included in taxes for assessment purposes. And third, the [individual mandate] penalty bears the key indicia of a tax." The high court appointed Long to argue the AIA applies in this case because the parties -- including the federal government and the states that have sued it over the law -- agreed the 1867 law does not prevent the suit and want the justices to rule now on its constitutionality. Representing the Obama administration, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli told the justices that Congress "has authority under the taxing power to enact a measure not labeled as a tax, and it did so when it put [the individual mandate] into the Internal Revenue Code." Some of the justices expressed skepticism at Long's contention the penalty for failing to have health insurance is a tax. In the health care law, Congress "has nowhere used the word 'tax,'" said Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. "What it says is penalty. ... And so why is this a tax? And I know you point to certain sentences that talk about taxes within the code and this is not attached to a tax. It is attached to a health care requirement. "[I]f it's being collected in the same manner as a tax [that] doesn't automatically make it a tax," Breyer said. Associate Justice Antonin Scalia questioned the argument that the AIA prevents the court from ruling in this case, telling Long, "[U]nless it's clear, courts are not deprived of jurisdiction, and I find it hard to think that this is clear. Whatever else it is, it's easy to think that it's not clear." The response of the justices seemed hopeful to those who want a decision in the case this year, said some lawyers who oppose provisions in the law and were in the courtroom for the arguments. "I think what was clear to just about everybody" is that the justices did not believe the Anti-injunction Act "would bar them from hearing this challenge," Jordan Sekulow told Baptist Press. Sekulow is executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice. "I can't imagine from how they responded today that we would find out in June" they would not rule on the law's constitutionality, Sekulow said. In addition to its subsidies for abortion, the health-care law has drawn opposition from pro-life Americans, as well as from religious liberty advocates, on other counts. For instance, the law requires insurance plans in state exchanges to not disclose their abortion coverage until people are enrolled in their plans. The law also mandates that all plans cover contraceptives and sterilizations as preventive services without cost to employees. This includes contraceptives, as defined by the federal government, that can cause abortions of tiny embryos. The rule regarding that mandate has a religious exemption critics find woefully insufficient. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the court building Monday before and after the oral arguments. Supporters of the health care law dominated, led by a religious coalition. A small group of pro-life, Bound 4 Life participants -- with red tape across their mouths -- stood next to the law's advocates in prayer. --30-- Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief 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). -- End of story -- Mali coup strands church missions team By Don Graham Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37471 RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Jake Hill* was wrapping up an evening of Bible storying with a group of Malian villagers when the news came in -- soldiers were attacking Bamako, capital city of the West African country. There was heavy gunfire, even explosions. It sounded like war. [IMGONLY=32270@left@180]What Hill didn't know was that low-ranking soldiers from Mali's army were staging a coup because they were angry over President Amadou Toumani Toure's alleged lack of support for their fight against Tuareg rebels in the north. By Thursday (March 22) they had overthrown Mali's government, captured Toure's presidential palace, suspended the constitution and closed the country's borders. Hill and the church volunteer team of seven were due to fly home to the United States the next day, but now it looked like they weren't going anywhere. It was surreal for Hill as he sat in a small, tribal village under a star-filled sky in the peaceful African bush. The Southern Baptist church where Hill serves as a middle-school youth minister recently adopted the village; this was the church's second visit. Confusion about the situation quickly set in as word about the fighting spread, making it difficult to sort rumor from truth. "It was like a big game of telephone -- everybody got different information and you don't really know what to believe," Hill said. "I remember that Wednesday [March 21] when we heard that news ... we just went over to our tents where we sleep and we just began to pray. No one was crying out of fear or anything like that. We didn't know how bad it was, but we knew we were safe out in the village." By Friday morning it was clear that the team wasn't going home as planned. Soldiers had closed Bamako's airport and placed a curfew on the city. The team already had spent six days in the hot, dusty village, with no showers and only mosquito-net tents to sleep in. "Your immediate reaction is discouragement," Hill said. "But as you talk with other team members, you start to think, 'Maybe God's got a purpose for this.'" He did. Coordinating with Southern Baptist workers in Mali, the team decided to remain in the village for at least another day until safe transportation to Bamako could be arranged. Hill said the team realized it was a gift -- more time to spend with a people whom they dearly loved and who needed Jesus. There are roughly 200 people who live in the village by Hill's estimate, and only a dozen or so are known believers. Persecution means many are reluctant to make their faith in Jesus public. That night, God hit Hill with inspiration. Rather than teach Bible stories himself, he should ask one of the village's believers to teach instead. "It would be really good for the people in the village to see the leaders of the church storying and to see us there trusting that they can teach God's Word," Hill said. The job was entrusted to a local believer named Mohammed*, a middle-aged father whose love for Jesus was evident in the demonstrative relationship he shared with his children, uncommon in this culture. A group of more than 50, including 30 children and 20 adults, gathered to hear him share the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal from 1 Kings 18. "He teaches this story and just teaches it perfectly," Hill said. "And I think what was so perfect about it was that he was an example and model to the other people there, that they don't have to hear the Gospel or come to worship or gather as believers only when the white people are there. "That would have never happened if we [had returned] on schedule." Saturday morning brought another bonus. Planning ahead for a long-term investment in the village, Hill's team came with money to pay for the construction of a mud hut that the church's future volunteer teams would use for cooking and storage. "First thing after breakfast, we went out and started making the mud bricks out in the hot, African sun," Hill said. "We were stomping the mud and the straw, felt like the Israelites a little bit. ... That's another thing we would have never gotten to do." Hill carved the church's initials in a few of the bricks as they lay drying in the sun. "We didn't just buy our mud hut ... we actually got to be a part of the process of building it and they just loved that. Anytime they see white men try to do African work they just laugh and think it's funny, but they're also appreciative and respectful. "We definitely dig into the culture when we're there," he added with a laugh. [IMG=32271@right@250]Saturday afternoon the team returned to Bamako. Thankful for a shower, food and the hospitality of Southern Baptist workers, they're now waiting to return to their lives and loved ones back in the States. The airport has been re-opened, and the team is booked to fly out later this week. Besides adding nearly a week to their trip, Hill said the coup didn't detract from the reason they came to Mali in the first place -- to share Christ's love. "The only thing the [coup] really did to us was mess up our flight plan and put some tension in our minds," he said. "We saw a lot of answers to prayer this week and saw God do a lot of great things. "Maybe [the coup] actually helped us because it has freaked out all our families and our friends in America, forcing them to their hands and knees to pray for us because they're scared to death, thinking that we're getting shot at. We've been out in a village and they think we're some kind of heroes or something. But we haven't seen anything other than people who are hungry for the Lord." Hill does worry the coup might deter future short-term teams. "Even the people of the village said several times as we were leaving ... 'Please don't let the war and the [bad] things in Mali keep you from coming back.' ... That's their fear -- that we will become afraid of this and not return to them." But taking risks is part of the cost of following Jesus, Hill said. And waiting out a coup doesn't compare with the persecution that many Malian believers face for embracing Jesus. "I think it would be a good slap in the face for Americans," Hill said. "[The Bible says that] if you're truly going to follow Jesus, you may not even have a place to lay your head. "People need to realize these aren't just volunteer trips. This is part of the Great Commission. This is part of being on mission with God and part of the cost of following Jesus Christ. ... If you can literally say that I'm willing to do anything to bring God more glory and to build His Kingdom in heaven, then I guess you're ready to truly count the cost of following Jesus." --30-- *Names changed. Don Graham is senior writer for the International Mission Board. -- End of story -- Coup in Mali: Baptist family waits for calm By Don Graham Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37467 RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Southern Baptist workers in Mali are prayerfully waiting out the unfolding military coup that erupted in the West African nation March 22. [IMGONLY=32270@left@180]Rebellious factions of Mali's army stormed the presidential palace last Wednesday night, announcing on state television the following day that they had ended President Amadou Toumani Toure's rule, suspended the constitution and closed Mali's borders. Cliff and Rachel Blunt*, Southern Baptist humanitarian aid workers in Bamako, Mali's capital, with their two young daughters, have endured the sound of nearly constant weapons fire since the coup began, but the fighting came especially close Thursday night when the Blunts witnessed a group of men firing guns immediately outside the gate of their home. The Blunts' guard suspects the men were robbing a store. For Rachel, it was too close for comfort.
"We could hear everything the guys with the guns were saying. They were close enough to us that we could have carried on a conversation with them. ... I could actually smell gunpowder," Rachel said in an interview via Skype. "None of us are [military] targets. The only thing you have to worry about is when already desperate people get [even more] desperate -- they can do stupid stuff." The Blunts awoke to heavy machine gun fire Friday morning just a few hundred yards from their home. "We've heard a good bit of automatic weapons fire," Cliff said in the Skype interview. "From time to time we'll hear what sounds like an explosion." He said the family is "following the [American] embassy's recommendation to shelter in place, avoid unnecessary travel and lay low." The Blunts believe the biggest threat isn't from rebel soldiers; instead, it's crime that worries them -- thieves, bandits and roaming gangs who could take advantage of the police vacuum. Isolated reports of looting already are surfacing. Renegade soldiers have imposed a curfew and shut down Bamako's airport. It ruined the travel plans of an Arkansas church volunteer team due to depart Mali Friday evening. The team is part of Southern Baptists' efforts to share Christ with villages in Mali's bush, which is where the team will remain for now. "Truthfully, being out in the bush is about the most secure place you can be in Mali right now," Cliff said. "They seem to be in high spirits and taking it like champs." This isn't the first time the Blunts have dealt with civil unrest during their short time in Africa. Less than a year ago, a military uprising hit Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, just four days after the Blunts arrived on the field for their first term as Southern Baptist workers. [IMG=32271@right@250]"We knew that there were risks involved. But it's all a matter of your theology. If you really believe that God has a plan ... and that people need to be reconciled to Him through Christ ... it ought to compel you to act," Cliff said. "While some of this stuff might have been a surprise to us ... none of it is a surprise to Him. "The same God who gave me my family is the same God who called us to this, together. And He loves my wife and my kids more than I do." Above all, the Blunts ask for prayer. "... That we would seek the Lord through this, that God would give us His perspective, that we would walk in faith and not in fear ... and be able to point others to the Lord," Cliff said. After the March 22 coup, Southern Baptist missionaries in West Africa asked Christian to pray for Mali. Renegade soldiers took over the palace of Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure in Bamako, reportedly exchanging heavy fire during the offensive Wednesday night. The insurgents also captured Mali's state television station, taking to the airwaves to announce the end of Toure's "incompetent" regime, the suspension of Mali's constitution and closing of the country's borders. Among issues alleged by military forces staging the coup: blame of Toure for lack of support in their fight against an armed rebellion in the north by Mali's nomadic Tuareg people. The United States joined a chorus of voices -- including the United Nations, European Union and many of Mali's West African neighbors -- in condemning the coup and demanding return to constitutional rule. Mali's military pledged to hold elections once national unity is restored. The American embassy in Bamako advised U.S. citizens in Mali to stay indoors. Brad Bessent, a Baptist pastor in South Carolina who has traveled to Mali as a missions volunteer, wrote on his blog March 23, "I still remember the last night of my first trip to Mali in 2007. A friend there said, 'Are you alright?' I said, 'How can anyone see what I have seen and be alright?' The hunger, the poverty, the fear, so many things that rip your heart. "So when I heard the news early yesterday, I could not help but weep. Weep and pray," wrote Bessent, who leads the Church Unleashed @ Beulah in the Columbia, S.C., area. "I have too many friends there. I have seen so many beautiful children, and people. I have enjoyed their smiles. I have enjoyed their hospitality, even when they had so little to share." Among missionaries' prayer requests for Mali: -- that God will provide a peaceful resolution to the conflict, sparing further fighting and potential loss of life. -- for wisdom among world leaders as they attempt to diffuse the situation. -- for special protection for women and children in Mali as they are often targets of violence and abuse during periods of unrest. -- that God will use the situation to open opportunities for the Gospel to provide hope to Malians who do not know Christ. --30-- *Names changed. Don Graham is senior writer at the International Mission Board. Listen to audio from the interview with Cliff and Rachel Blunt as Rachel talks about the lie of perceived "safety" for Christians at the center of God's will. -- End of story -- Diana Chandler joins Baptist Press staff By Staff Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37472 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Diana Chandler of New Orleans has been named as a staff writer for Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. [IMGONLY=32272@left@180]Chandler, who joins the staff today (March 26), has been a freelance writer since 2008. Her work for Baptist Press has included coverage of last year's hurricane-related flooding in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She also contributed to a series of stories on Southern Baptists' Cooperative Program in 2009. Chandler worked for the Consulate-General of Japan in New Orleans for 15 years (1992-2007) in various roles, including assistant to the deputy chief of mission, adviser for political affairs, cultural affairs representative and speechwriter. A native of Laurel, Miss., Chandler holds a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. "We believe Diana's work not only will be a plus for Baptist Press, but for the Southern Baptist Convention as well," said Art Toalston, editor of Baptist Press. "BP has every intention to engage in Christian journalism of the highest quality and we believe Diana will become a valued part of our staff in achieving that aim." While freelancing, Chandler also has been a contributing writer for New Orleans City Business and other publications of the New Orleans Publishing Group since 2008 and regional reporter for the Baptist Message of the Louisiana Baptist Convention since 2010. She also wrote a weekly "Spirit 'n Spice" religion news column for The Times-Picayune from 2002-08. She also has worked for daily newspapers in Louisiana and Alabama. Chandler is a member of Irish Channel Christian Fellowship (SBC) in New Orleans and has been a singles speaker and Bible teacher for several New Orleans-area churches and other groups. She is the daughter of the late T.J. Chandler and his wife Mary, who now resides in Erie, Pa. Chandler was a National Baptist Convention pastor in Laurel, Mount Rose and Quitman, Miss. Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee where Baptist Press is housed, said Chandler has “an impressive range of educational preparation and work experiences, developing communications skills at the highest levels of government service as well as through daily news reporting. She is well-qualified professionally and has served with integrity everywhere she has worked. “I believe she will continue the tradition of Baptist Press being a high-quality, high-integrity newsgathering and news reporting service. She is a godly woman with a Colossians 3:23 passion -- ‘whatever you do, do it enthusiastically [literally “from the soul”], as something done for the Lord,’” Page said. Roger S. Oldham, EC vice president for communications and convention relations, said Chandler “brings a myriad of real-world perspectives to her role at Baptist Press that will complement the gifts of our existing staff. Her wealth of experiences uniquely positions her to provide key insights to BP’s continuing mission of addressing news coverage from the point of view of a Christ-follower.” --30-- -- End of story -- SPORTS: OBU taps coach for return to gridiron By Staff Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37473 SHAWNEE, Okla. (BP) -- Oklahoma Baptist University has named Chris Jensen its first head football coach since 1940 as the university prepares to restart its football program in the fall of 2013. [IMGONLY=32274@left@120]Jensen comes to OBU from Southmoore High School in Moore, Okla., where he started the football program in 2008. In his and the program's second year, the SaberCats were 11-2 and reached the Class 6A semifinals. Jensen was named Oklahoma 6A-1 Coach of the Year in 2009. At the University of Oklahoma, he was a varsity letterman, playing on the offensive line. "Chris Jensen embodies our highest ideals for OBU football," OBU President David Whitlock said. "We desire to compete and win. Chris has that competitive fire and he is a proven winner. We desire to operate a program where young men are challenged to grow physically, spiritually and socially. Coach Jensen has demonstrated the ability to nurture growth in each of those areas. "He possesses a combination of football knowledge, personal discipline, spiritual commitment and determination to succeed," Whitlock continued. "We are thrilled to have him as the coach who will guide OBU football as we launch a new era of success in collegiate athletics." Jensen said he drew inspiration to apply for the position by reading the mission statement of the university. "I find it necessary to be that kind of role model for young men and feel it essential to develop them as men of God," Jensen said. "We're going to equip students to pursue academic excellence, integrate faith in all areas of knowledge and engage a diverse world. That is the mission of the university. That's the mission of my football team." Jensen's coaching stops also include assistant posts at Westmoore (defensive coordinator), Bartlesville (offensive coordinator), Durant (offensive coordinator and assistant head coach), Moore (offensive line) and Little Axe (offensive line and outside linebackers). Jensen received his bachelor of science degree in education in December 1992 from Oklahoma. He earned his master's degree in education administration from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 2006. He and his wife Patti have three children and are members of Emmaus Baptist Church, where Jensen serves as a deacon. "Our number one task in the hiring process was to see that we hired someone who fit the mission of OBU and was a good football coach," OBU athletic director Robert Davenport said. "I believe that we did both extremely well in the hiring of Chris Jensen. Chris has proven through his life and experience that he will be the type of coach that will provide the leadership to direct our football program for years to come." Jensen has begun hiring assistant coaches and hitting the recruiting trail. OBU will recruit a leadership class for 2012-13 and begin its first football season in the fall of 2013. --30-- Compiled by BPSports editor Tim Ellsworth. -- End of story -- BP Ledger, March 26 edition By Staff Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37474 EDITOR'S NOTE: BP Ledger carries items for reader information each week from various Southern Baptist-related entities, and news releases of interest from other sources. The items are published as received. Today's BP Ledger includes items from: Compass Direct News Bluefield College Campbellsville University Salafist Leaders Celebrate Death of Coptic Pope in Egypt CAIRO, Egypt (Compass Direct News)--As Christians across Egypt continued to mourn the March 17 death of Pope Shenouda III, Islamist leaders of Egypt's Salafist movement issued a litany of insults, calling the late leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church the "head of the infidels" and thanking God for his death. The vitriol indicated the level of hostility the Salafists, who now make up 20 percent of Egypt's parliament, have toward Christians. In a recorded message released on the Facebook page of one leading Salafi teacher, Sheik Wagdy Ghoneim, the sheik celebrated the pontiff's death. "We rejoice that he is destroyed. He has perished," Ghoneim said on March 18, the day after Shenouda died at the age of 88. "May God have His revenge on him in the fire of hell -- he and all who walk his path." After the cleric issued his statement, several others followed suit, releasing insults throughout the week. On Monday (March 19) in the lower house of Egypt's parliament, the People's Assembly, several Salafi members refused to stand in remembrance of Shenouda during an official moment of silence. Others left before the moment of silence took place. Bishop Mouneer Anis, head of the Episcopal and Anglican Diocese of Egypt, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, said that insulting people after their death is considered one of the rudest things someone can do in the Middle East. Anis, a close friend of the pontiff, told Compass Direct News the comments and actions were "very sad." "I see this as being moved by hatred," Anis said. "To be honest, I feel sorry for members of the Salafi -- to criticize such a remarkable man." The provocative comments are not a good sign for Egypt's Christians. Adherents of the Salafist movement, which obtained that one-fifth of the People's Assembly through the Nour Party, have led most of the recent attacks against Christians in Egypt. The comments were thought to reveal the utter disdain the Salafists have toward Egypt's Christian minority. The Salafist movement claims it patterns its beliefs and practices on the first three generations of Muslims. Shenouda, formerly know as Nazeer Gayed Roufail, died due to complications from kidney disease and other health issues. A former theology teacher, Shenouda was enthroned on Nov. 14, 1971, as the 117th Pope of Alexandria and head of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He led the church through some of its most challenging times, often coming into conflict with the government. In 1981, he criticized then-President Anwar Sadat for what Shenouda characterized as an inadequate response to the rise of what is now called "political Islam" in Egypt. For this and the Coptic protests against Sadat that followed, Sadat banished Shenouda to a monastery in the desert. Shenouda was released three years later, after Islamic militants assassinated Sadat, and after his successor, Hosni Mubarak, granted the pope amnesty. Last year, Mubarak was deposed after a series of pro-democracy protests roiled the country. Shenouda's passing leaves many questions unanswered as to how the leaders of the Coptic Orthodox Church will direct its followers to deal with the persecution leveled against them. Mubarak's removal from power brought heretofore unfulfilled promises of change by the transitional military-run government, but it has also unleashed a tide of violence against Copts unheard of in recent history. In his statement, Ghoneim made a long list of accusations against Shenouda that, put together, portray the former pope as waging a war against Muslims in Egypt. The accusations were considered either twisted by lack of context or were blatantly false, such as the claim that Shenouda was holding two female Coptic converts to Islam against their will in a monastery. Ghoneim characterized Shenouda's well-known desire to see Egyptian society protect the human rights of Christians as impudence. Most surprising was the claim that the former pope was somehow orchestrating the religiously motivated violence against Christians in Egypt. "He wanted the sectarian strife," Ghoneim said. "He wanted to burn Egypt." The irony of the comments has not been lost on most Copts. In May, Salafist leaders publicly threatened to kill Shenouda over the rumors about hiding the two women against their will. This was after groups of Muslims, led by members of the Salafist movement, held massive protests in April and blocked railroads and roadways because the transitional military government appointed a Copt to be governor over the province. The rioting stopped only after the appointment was withdrawn. Though it all, Anis said, Shenouda remained ardent in trying to engage Muslims in a peaceful way. "He was a friend of many Muslim leaders. He was a peacemaker," Anis said. "He was even criticized by Christians for making peace with those who persecuted the church." The last public meeting Shenouda had was with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a little more than a week before he died. "Pope Shenouda met members of the Muslim Brotherhood even when he was in pain," Anis said. Most Muslims in Egypt did not share Ghoneim's sentiments. The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest Islamic group in the country, issued a statement expressing his condolences over the Coptic pope's death. Shenouda was buried March 20 in the Monastery of St. Bishoy in Wadi el-Natrun, with several thousand followers attending. Before Shenouda was buried, Naguib Ghobrial, lawyer and head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights, filed suit on March 19 against Ghoneim for contempt of a revealed religion. Undeterred, Ghoneim released a statement the next day denying any wrongdoing and issued a challenge to all Christians. "You believe in your Bible and say its words are holy," he concluded. "[Your Bible teaches] 'Love your enemies and bless all who curse you.' Your enemies -- you love them and those who curse you -- you bless them. So I say, God curse you! Bless me now. Bless me. Isn't this your religion? I am going to say it again -- I am your enemy, and I say, God curse you. Now, say it, 'We love you Wagdy. And God bless you Wagdy.'" ---------- Rhonda McCroskey: Earning Her Bluefield College Degree Against All Odds BLUEFIELD, Virginia (Bluefield College)--Bluefield College inSPIRE degree completion students often testify to the extreme challenge of balancing school with work and family. The sacrifices, they say, are significant, and the odds are sometimes overwhelming, but they persevere, they keep the faith, and they overcome. The result: the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of earning a college degree and the opportunity to advance in a professional career. That's just the inSPIRE way. But then, there's Rhonda McCroskey, a Bluefield College degree completion student in management from Narrows, Virginia. In the midst of her studies, she has encountered more than your typical challenges. While balancing school, work and family, she's been asked to juggle more daunting tasks, but she's persevered, she's kept the faith, and she's overcome. The result: life! In the midst of studying business ethics, analyzing research methods, and examining contemporary issues in pursuit of her bachelor's degree in management and leadership, McCroskey was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the body's lymph nodes and other organs of the immune system. McCroskey began BC's inSPIRE degree completion program in 2009 -- February 2, in fact, her 40th birthday. She did so knowing she'd need to balance her studies with full time work as the assistant to the director of the School of Communication at Radford (VA) University, not to mention her responsibilities as a wife to husband, Jimmy, and a mother to then 13-year-old daughter, Camry. And, she did well, earning a promotion at work, coaching her daughter's volleyball team, and successfully completing her assignments and classes at BC. In fact, McCroskey was set to graduate from the college with her bachelor's degree in management and leadership in the spring of 2010 -- that is, until she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. "My faith is what sustained me," said McCroskey about having to set her degree aside to battle cancer instead. "It allowed me to look at things through spiritual eyes and know that no matter what, I will be okay. If God chooses to heal me through whatever means -- divinely or through medicine -- and I stay here with my family, I will be thankful and take full advantage of our time together. But, if He chooses to take me home, then as a Christian, I cannot be sad, because that's what every Christian lives for, to one day make it to Heaven." Just months shy of graduation in January 2010, McCroskey put her dream of earning a bachelor's degree on hold for chemotherapy that would last nearly a year, followed by 27 radiation treatments over an additional six weeks. That alone is heart wrenching, but consider the fact that this time is McCroskey's fourth time being diagnosed with cancer. She was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in 1997, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) for the first time in 2004, and NHL for the second time in 2007. Despite months of chemotherapy, total body irradiation, and a stem cell transplant, the cancer returned for a fourth time in 2010. "There is only one word to describe how I have endured, how I have continually endured each time -- God," said McCroskey. "God's grace and mercy have allowed me to stay focused on the task at hand no matter what it has been. He has given me the strength and the inner peace that passes all understanding to persevere and keep striving toward the goal of completing this program. His blessings continually flow in my life because of my willingness to submit to His will. So, I go through each day not focusing on the fact that I have cancer, but on God and His purpose for my life." McCroskey said the flexibility of the inSPIRE program has helped her manage and continue her studies. The addition of online courses, she added, worked well within her work, family and treatment schedules, which included labs twice a week, occasional transfusions, and trips of more than 60 miles from the hospital to work. "Not only do I have a full-time job, but I also have a part-time job and a part-time business," McCroskey said. "I am also very involved in my church and coached my daughter's recreation league volleyball team. Knowing that I could complete assignments at my own pace made the challenge of getting everything accomplished as a student and a working adult much easier." Beyond the flexibility, McCroskey said she's been grateful for the professors in the inSPIRE program, who have been more than instructors to her in recent months. Her relationships with them, she said, have extended far beyond the classroom. "The instructors have encouraged me to continue and to finish my degree," she said. "Many have been willing to pray for me and to add me to prayer lists. As a Christian, but especially as a student whom they had not known very long, that was very humbling and greatly appreciated." With just 18 academic hours or six classes left to complete her bachelor's degree, McCroskey said she can again see the light at the end of the tunnel. But, whether she reaches that goal or not, she's confident she will have achieved all that God intended and that even greater goals and dreams have been fulfilled than she ever imagined. "Because of my health situation, completing my bachelor's degree has become less about me and more about my testimony and witness to my daughter," said McCroskey. "She has seen first-hand that no matter what obstacles life throws at us, if we are willing to trust in God and not give up, we can still achieve what it is that He has placed in our hearts to achieve. As a mother, this is one life lesson that I have endured for her that is priceless and one I know she will rely on in her future whether I'm there to help her through it or not." ********** Campbellsville University to begin new RN to BSN program for School of Nursing By Natasha Janes CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY (Campbellsville University)--Campbellsville University will be starting a program for registered nurses to earn their bachelor's of science degree in nursing beginning in May. The mission of the RN to BSN completion program is to offer a higher level of nursing education through an innovative and highly accessible curriculum, according to Beverly Rowland, associate professor of nursing. "The program is tailored to the working adult and classes will be offered online in asynchronous classes, meaning students will be able to attend on their own schedule without time constraints." The completion program allows the registered nurse to continue with work, family and community commitments while pursuing that dream of professional achievement, she said. "I am very pleased that Campbellsville University can finally provide this opportunity for community nurses who are eager to advance their education in nursing," she said. "In the past, nurses have had to travel some distance from surrounding communities to pursue higher education, taking time away from families and work. Now they can study in their own community and focus on everyday living while fulfilling that calling for lifelong learning and professional expertise." Dr. Bob Wade, dean of the School of Nursing, said, "Earning an associate's in nursing and starting a career in nursing, then returning to school to earn a BSN is a sensible and practical way for RNs to secure their future and upward mobility in the profession." Christie Glasscock, a CU student and instructor, is very excited about the program and said, "This is a great opportunity for RNs like myself, with an associate degree, to further their education and their careers. I have been a RN for 18 years and I have taught nursing assisting for six years, I am taking the BSN classes so that I can teach LPN or RN classes in the future." Dustin Ford, a CU student from Campbellsville, said, "The essentials and growth that I received in the ADN program at CU makes me excited to experience the BSN program. I did not only learn how to be a skillful nurse, but I also learned to be a compassionate and holistic nurse at Campbellsville University's Nursing School. Therefore I look forward to developing those key characteristics even more in this program." Nursing alumni of Campbellsville University, along with those who have an RN degree from another school or live in another state, are welcome to apply to the program. The admissions process to the program is as follows: application to the university, application to the School of Nursing and transcripts and licensure information sent to CU followed by a letter of acceptance. Students must verify work experience as a registered nurse, and there is flexibility entering the program at different times of the year. Core nursing courses will be offered throughout the year and the student may enter at any point in time. If most or all general education requirements are met, many can complete the program in approximately 15 to 18 months. This new RN to BSN completion program serves the community and the region through promoting lifelong learning and contributing to the profession of nursing and the health of society, Rowland said. For more information about the program, contact Beverly Rowland at (270) 789-5155 or by email at bdrowland@campbellsville.edu. Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu. --30-- Natasha Janes is a student news writer for Campbellsville University. Permalink: http://readme.readmedia.com/Campbellsville-University-to-begin-new-RN-to-BSN-program-for-School-of-Nursing/3767962 --30-- -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: Should Christians boycott Starbucks? By Russell D. Moore Mar. 26 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37475 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- A respected pro-family organization has [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37444]announced[/URL] a boycott of Starbucks coffee. The group, which supports legal protection for traditional marriage, launched the "Dump Starbucks" campaign after a national board meeting in which the Seattle-based coffee company mentioned support for same-sex marriage as a core value of the company. Some Christians are wondering whether we ought to join in the boycott. I say no. It's not that I'm saying a boycott in and of itself is always evil or wrong. It's just that, in this case (and in many like it) a boycott exposes us to all of our worst tendencies. Christians are tempted, again and again, to fight like the devil to please the Lord. A boycott is a display of power, particularly of economic power. The boycott shows a corporation (or government or service provider) that the aggrieved party can hurt the company, by depriving it of revenue. The boycott, if it's successful, eventually causes the powers-that-be to yield, conceding that they need the money of the boycott participants more than they need whatever cause they were supporting. It is a contest of who has more buying power, and thus is of more value to the company. We lose that argument. The argument behind a boycott assumes that the "rightness" of a marriage definition is constituted by a majority with power. Isn't that precisely what we're arguing against? Our beliefs about marriage aren't the way they are because we are in a majority. As a matter of fact, we must concede that we are in a tiny minority in contemporary American society, if we define marriage the way the Bible does, as a sexually exclusive, permanent one-flesh union. Moreover, is this kind of economic power context really how we're going to engage our neighbors with a discussion about the meaning and mystery of marriage? Do such measures actually persuade at the level such decisions are actually made: the moral imagination? I doubt it. I'm all for protecting marriage in law and in culture, and I'm for that partly because I believe it is necessary for human flourishing for all people, believers and non-believers alike. But there's a way to do so that recognizes the resilience of marriage as a creation institution and that rests in the sovereignty of God over his universe. Those who are scared of losing something are those who seem frantic or shrill or outraged. Those who are fearful resort to Gentile tactics of lording over others with political majorities or economic power. The winners, on the other hand, are able to take a longer view. We're able to grieve when our neighbors seek to copy marriage without the most basic thing that makes marriage work: the mystery of male and female as one-flesh. But we don't persuade our neighbors by mimicking their angry power-protests. We persuade them by holding fast to the Gospel, by explaining our increasingly "odd" view of marriage, and by serving the world and our neighbors around us, as our Lord does, with a towel and a foot-bucket. We won't win this argument by bringing corporations to the ground in surrender. We'll engage this argument, first of all, by prompting our friends and neighbors to wonder why we don't divorce each other, and why we don't split up when a spouse loses his job or loses her health. We'll engage this argument when we have a more exalted, and more mysterious, view of sexuality than those who see human persons as animals or machines. And, most of all, we'll engage this argument when we proclaim the meaning behind marriage: the covenant union of Christ and his church. Fear can lead us to cower and to hide a view of marriage that seems archaic and antiquated. That's why so many evangelical Christians have already surrendered, in their own lives, on such questions as round-the-clock daycare or a therapeutic view of divorce. But fear can also lead us to a kind of enraged impotence, where our boycotts and campaigns are really just one more way of saying, "I'm important; listen to me." Marriage is too important for that. A Roman governor thought Jesus was weak when he refused to use imperial means of resistance. But Jesus' refusal to fight meant just the opposite of what Pilate assumed. "If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting," Jesus said (John 18:36). Let others fight Mammon with Mammon. Let's struggle against principalities and powers with the One thing they fear: a word of faithful witness that doesn't blink before power, but doesn't seek to imitate it either. With the confidence of those who have been vindicated by the resurrection of Christ, we don't need to be vindicated by the culture. That ought to free us to speak openly about what we believe, but with the gentleness of those who have nothing to prove. Let's not boycott our neighbors. Let's not picket or scream or bellow. Let's offer a cup of cold water, or maybe even a grande skinny vanilla latte, in Jesus' name. --30-- Russell D. Moore is dean of the school of theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. This column first appeared at www.russellmoore.com. 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 -- 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