Baptist Press Stories for Apr. 12 2012 --------------------------------------- Research: Pastors, laity disagree on Gospel's exclusivity http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37585 NAMB addressing tensions regarding strategy http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37583 Land, Wallis agree: Election could get ugly http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37591 Nathan Lino to be nominated for SBC 1st VP http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37586 Mohler warns of gay 'marriage' consequences http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37587 National Right to Life, others endorse Romney http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37590 Job Corps site recognized for excellence http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37584 BIBLE STUDY: Sunday, April 15, 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37589 FIRST-PERSON: Trayvon Martin & our justice system http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37588 --------------------------------------- Research: Pastors, laity disagree on Gospel's exclusivity By David Roach Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37585 NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Nearly eight in 10 Protestant pastors strongly disagree that eternal life can be obtained through religions other than Christianity, according to a survey by LifeWay Research. The survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors asked respondents for their reaction to the statement, "If a person is sincerely seeking God, he/she can obtain eternal life through religions other than Christianity." A full 77 percent of pastors strongly disagreed while 7 percent somewhat disagreed. Another 7 percent somewhat agreed, 5 percent strongly agreed and 3 percent were not sure. "Rob Bell's book Love Wins kicked off a discussion about the exclusivity of the Christian Gospel," said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. "But most pastors are more in line with historic Christian beliefs than Bell, who suggested that other faiths lead to heaven." Story continues below graphic [IMG=32407@center@600] Pastors' beliefs regarding the exclusivity of Christianity differ from those of their parishioners, according to a new study conducted for the upcoming book "Transformational Discipleship" by Eric Geiger, Michael Kelly and Philip Nation. When presented with the same statement, just 48 percent of adults who attend a Protestant church once a month or more disagreed strongly and 9 percent disagreed somewhat. A total of 26 percent agreed, including 13 percent who agreed strongly and 13 percent who agreed somewhat. Sixteen percent indicated that they neither agreed nor disagreed. "One fact is clear: pastors are less universalistic than their church members," Stetzer said. "A few heads nodding or an occasional 'Amen' does not indicate everyone believes Christianity is the only way. Church leaders will never know where their congregation stands unless they ask." According to the survey of pastors, those in large cities are more likely to believe that other religions lead to eternal life than their counterparts in other settings. Eleven percent of pastors in large cities strongly agreed. In comparison, 4 percent of pastors in small cities, 4 percent in the suburbs and 3 percent in rural areas feel the same. Pastors identifying themselves as evangelical are less universalistic than those self-identifying as mainline. Compared with mainline pastors, evangelicals are: -- Less likely to strongly agree that other religions can lead to eternal life (evangelical pastors, 2 percent; mainline pastors, 11 percent). -- More likely to strongly disagree (85 percent to 57 percent). --30-- David Roach is a pastor and writer in Shelbyville, Ky. -- End of story -- NAMB addressing tensions regarding strategy By Erin Roach Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37583 EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been amended to clarify two concerns raised by California Southern Baptist Convention leaders after publication. A reference to “jobs” being eliminated has been changed to “ministry positions.” Also, a sentence has been added indicating that more than 30 percent of California's budget goes to church planting, and the reference to the California Focus 21 Task Force report that 3.2 percent of the state portion of its CP budget directly funds “church planters” (rather than “church planting”) has been clarified. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell has explained the board's initiatives in church planting and evangelism in April 9 and March 6 video conferences with directors of missions and church planting catalysts. A report on the April 9 video conference appeared in Baptist Press on April 11 and can be accessed at [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37577]www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37577[/URL]. [IMG=32405@right@240]In the March 6 video, Ezell largely focused on NAMB strategy for increasing the birthrate of Southern Baptist churches, redeploying missionaries and shifting the board's budget. The Ezell videos come at a time when several state convention leaders have expressed concerns with NAMB's direction. Other leaders, meanwhile, have voiced support for the mission board's strategy. "Our mission is to penetrate lostness. We feel like the stronger churches are in North America, the stronger our overall mission will be throughout the world," Ezell said in the March 6 video conference. "The International Mission Board is supported by churches in North America, so the stronger the churches are here, we will penetrate lostness literally around the world." NAMB's goal is 5,000 additional Southern Baptist congregations in the next 10 years, Ezell said. To do that, the convention must increase its birthrate and decrease its death rate for churches. [QUOTE@right@150='The stronger churches are in North America, the stronger our overall mission will be throughout the world.' -- Kevin Ezell]By 1900, the Southern Baptist Convention had one church for every 3,800 people in North America, Ezell said. In 2010, the ratio was one church for every 6,100 people. "We're losing ground. In the last 10 years, in the Southern Baptist Convention, we have averaged losing 880 churches a year," Ezell said. "Obviously we have to plant 880 just to break even, and we've not been doing that." Missiologists recommend one church for every 1,000 to 2,000 people, Ezell said, and some state conventions in the South are achieving that goal. Mississippi has one Southern Baptist church for every 1,375 people, for example, but in New Jersey it is one for every 76,384 people. "That's why we're focusing on church planting," Ezell said. One strategy NAMB hopes to employ is for 10 churches from each association to plant two churches a year for the next decade, and another is to have one church planting catalyst for every 1 million people in new work regions. "Part of our problem has been our missionaries were not appropriately distributed across North America," Ezell said. "We have 3.5 million people in Connecticut and do not have a fulltime church planting catalyst there. ... Then we have other state conventions that might have 5 million people and they have 23 missionaries. There was no rhyme or reason about how these were strategically located. "So we're trying to go back and strategically place them throughout North America. ... They'll be located in areas with the highest population, and we're encouraging them to shoot for a goal of four new churches every year," Ezell said. Regarding the board's budget, Ezell said, "We have regionalized. We have downsized our staff in Alpharetta by well over 100 people, and every dime of the money that we have either transitioned out of a state budget or out of our budget here in Alpharetta is going to those regions, going to church planter missionaries and church plants." NAMB's goal is to devote half its budget to church planting, and currently 42 or 43 percent of the budget goes to those efforts, Ezell said. "We do a lot of other things than just church planting. I made a mistake from our first year when I wanted to help us refocus on church planting," Ezell said. "... My mistake was I just talked about church planting. The reason I did that was to try to get the Southern Baptist Convention to focus on that need. This year we're going to go back and make certain people understand we're still doing the other things. But we have to have a sense of focus here." CONCERNS EXPRESSED In January, leaders of the California Southern Baptist Convention distributed a report detailing how changes at NAMB will impact their work. The report contained seven specific concerns stemming from NAMB acting "unilaterally," and most of the concerns were about funding. Also included in the report were NAMB's responses to the concerns. "CSBC is now functioning in an unknown relationship with NAMB that, in many ways, has abandoned cooperation," the report said at the outset. "The current relationship with NAMB is now a top-down decision-making relationship where NAMB dictates its mandates, strategy and financial support outside a formal, cooperative understanding of relationship." The California convention report noted concern that NAMB's decision to move more resources to church planting will adversely impact many effective ministries in the state, primarily by eliminating ministry positions. California currently allocates more than 30 percent of its budget to church planting, according to the convention's chief financial officer. The convention gives 3.2 percent of its Cooperative Program dollars to church planters, which the convention's Focus 21 Task Force had signaled a need to increase. NAMB, in response, said executive directors in various state conventions agreed to draft a new customizable outline for relationships between NAMB and state conventions. That new template is still being formulated, NAMB said. Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, told board members in February that NAMB's emphasis on church planting inhibits its partnership with Alabama Baptists. NAMB has not articulated how its church planting model compares with the model utilized by Alabama Baptists, Lance said, and has not satisfactorily honored the historic cooperative agreement process between the mission board and state conventions. "Does the North American Mission Board want to have missionaries in Alabama who are not church planters?" Lance asked, also expressing concern over reduced funding from NAMB. "... Alabama needs NAMB, and NAMB needs Alabama. But NAMB needs Alabama more than we need NAMB." Emil Turner, executive director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, also expressed concern about the way NAMB is relating to its partners. "Of greater concern to me than the impact on Arkansas is the impact on our partners that have to reach the pioneer areas," Turner said. "I am very much concerned that the North American Mission Board strategy for planting churches does not guarantee that churches that are planted will be marked by Baptist distinctives," Turner said. "Their strategy undermines the strength of the churches they plant as they defund associational work and church support." Bob Mills, executive director of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists, said two changes that will hit his convention hardest are NAMB's decision not to provide insurance for missionaries in Kansas and Nebraska who receive less than half of their salary from the mission board and NAMB's decision to alter the funding formula for the two-state convention. "These two changes will cost our convention and local associations significant dollars," Mills wrote in the convention's newspaper in February. Noting NAMB's shift toward a key emphasis on church planting, Mills wrote, "Kansas-Nebraska, other state conventions and local associations do not have the luxury of being so single focused." In Ohio, messengers to the state convention last fall passed two resolutions dealing with changes being initiated by NAMB. One resolution said the funding formula change "will require an estimated $3 million be added" to the state convention budget by Ohio Baptists. The resolution requested that NAMB reconsider decisions "which will threaten a potentially disastrous impact" on the missions effort of Ohio Baptists. The second resolution requested that NAMB trustees "continue their financial support of their missionaries in Ohio," defining missionaries as associational directors of missions, Baptist Collegiate Ministry directors, employees of Ohio's eight mission centers as well as church planters. Jack Kwok, executive director of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, said at the time his state qualifies as an "under-reached and underserved mission field," using terminology included in the Great Commission Task Force report approved by the SBC in 2010. In February, state convention executive directors appointed a special committee "to evaluate how state conventions and NAMB can maximize cooperation during the transition process of implementing the new NAMB initiatives." Turner, immediate past president of the executive directors' fellowship, said the committee desires to "cooperate with NAMB in a way that helps strengthen new work conventions." SUPPORT STATED Leaders in at least three state conventions have been on record in recent months supporting Ezell's efforts at NAMB. Garvon Golden, a longtime leader in the Dakota Baptist Convention who was elected executive director in March, said the two-state convention will focus on strengthening churches and planting evangelistic churches. "... Even with some of the changes that have been made, and some of the directions that NAMB is going, they remain a very valuable partner in helping us reach the Dakotas," Golden said. "We want to see the cities of the United States reached for Christ as well as the rural and isolated areas of the West, and we want to be cooperative partners with NAMB in accomplishing this." The Dakota convention is facing financial challenges stemming from changes at NAMB, but Golden said the convention will take more financial responsibility for its work and will operate with a smaller staff. "We will find a way to thrive in this," Golden said. "I think in the long run it's going to help our churches, our convention, to be stronger. We're going to get to the point [where] we depend more on God and what He provides, and less on other people, and that has to make us stronger." Kirk Baker, president of the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention, wrote in a column submitted to Baptist Press that changes at NAMB are spurring his convention to a necessary restructuring that has been put off for years. "I wanted to encourage Kevin Ezell by letting him know that many pastors like myself see the changes coming from NAMB as positive," Baker, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Idaho Falls, Idaho, wrote. "We see it as our opportunity to line up our work for Kingdom growth." At their annual meeting last fall, leaders of the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists also were on board with NAMB despite difficulties brought on by changes. West Virginia approved a reorganization plan that opens the door to a greater potential for starting churches and reaching more people for Christ, Terry Harper, the state convention's executive director, said. "We had a great team. They worked really hard and made some tough decisions," Harper told Baptist Press at the time. "They were not easy decisions to make because it affected a lot of people -- our 10 missionaries, our collegiate workers and our worker in resort missions. As painful as that has been, I still think it offers great opportunity for us in the days ahead. I think we're going to see church planting like we've never seen before in West Virginia. That's what it's all about, and I believe we will see that." The proposal focused on priorities of strengthening, mobilizing and planting churches, and organized the state's 10 associations into five regions, bringing it into alignment with NAMB's plan to support five church planting catalysts in the state rather than the previous 10 associational directors of missions, Harper explained. Seth Polk, the convention's president and leader of the restructuring group, said West Virginia Southern Baptists want to set an example of aggressively moving to increase the portion of missions dollars going to national and international causes. "We believe that as people catch the vision for taking the Gospel to the nations, God also is going to bless right here where we are," Polk said. "When we're already working off of a streamlined state convention staff and budget, that's a real faith step for us.... I think that's a big statement about what the heart of the West Virginia Convention Southern Baptists is." --30-- Erin Roach is assistant editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- Land, Wallis agree: Election could get ugly By Tom Strode Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37591 WASHINGTON (BP) -- Richard Land and Jim Wallis don't see eye to eye on a variety of issues, but they do agree on the potential nature of this year's election campaign: It could get really ugly. [IMG=32411@right@260]Land said he is "very fearful that this election will go down as the ugliest and most vicious election since 1800, which is normally considered the worst we've ever had" -- a reference to Thomas Jefferson's victory over John Adams in the early years of the United States. Wallis said he is "more depressed by our political discourse in this country right now than I have ever been -- on both sides." "I'm afraid I agree that the election could be the ugliest in years," he said. Land and Wallis expressed their concerns during an April 10 discussion at Q 2012, an annual conference that brings together Christians to focus on cultural renewal and was held this year in Washington. Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, is identified with conservative evangelical Christians, while Wallis, founder and chief executive officer of Sojourners, is identified with liberal evangelicals. Christians can play an important role in changing the tenor of this year's election campaign, Land and Wallis told Q founder Gabe Lyons, the moderator, and about 700 participants. "[A]s Christians, whether we are conservative or liberal or moderate or whatever, we have a vested interest in trying to make the discourse civil," Land said. "You can disagree with each other and do so civilly and do so without questioning the motives of your opponent. And if the Christians don't do that and don't insist that candidates do that, this election is going to get really ugly, and whoever wins, it's going to make it much more difficult for that person to govern once they win the election." Wallis recommended three things Christians can do in an election year: "We should serve the common good, seek the welfare of the city we are in," Wallis said. "Both parties will abandon the common good to be elected, I predict. "Second, we should seek a civil discourse, civility that won't disappear in the election. "Third, we should find some common ground. Even those of us who may vote differently should find common ground." Wallis cited five "common-ground areas" -- including poverty, abortion reduction and religious liberty -- he would "like to explore with those who might vote differently than I might, seeing if we can provide common good, civility and common ground across even our political differences as Christians." He also told the audience that Christians "should be the ultimate independents. When you vote, don't vote for a candidate ... not a candidate, not a party. Vote for the issues you care about. Vote to protect those being trafficked. Vote to bring home that young man who is in his fifth tour of duty in Afghanistan. Vote for that undocumented person who you know wants a chance to live in this country. Vote for a consistent ethic of life." Land interjected, "Vote for unborn citizens who can't vote." Christians should beware of manipulation and exploitation by political parties, Land warned participants. Churches and their leaders should not endorse candidates, he said. "We should be looking for candidates who endorse us and endorse our values and endorse our beliefs and endorse our understanding of what are the best policies for the nation as a whole," Land said. "You know, if we put our trust in the Democratic Party, we're going to be disappointed. If we put our trust in the Republican Party, we're going to be disappointed. If we put our trust in particular candidates, we're going to be disappointed." Immigration reform and deficit reduction were the only two issues Land and Wallis had time to address in questions from Lyons. They agree on the need for comprehensive immigration reform and a significant change in the level of deficit spending. The immigration system is "broken in every way that a system can be broken," Land said. "I think the only way [immigration reform] can be done is a grand, bipartisan bargain that's done all at once, because neither side trusts the other side," he said. "The American people don't trust either one of them." --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 -- Nathan Lino to be nominated for SBC 1st VP By Tammi Ledbetter & James A. Smith Sr. Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37586 [IMG=32408@right@250]HUMBLE, Texas (BP) -- Texas pastor Nathan Lino will be nominated to the office of first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the annual meeting in New Orleans this summer. Ken Whitten, pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, Fla., told the Florida Baptist Witness of his intention to nominate Lino, saying, "I believe Nathan's vision and leadership are exactly what we need in Southern Baptist life." Lino, 35, has served as senior pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church in Humble, Texas, for 10 years and has formerly served as first vice president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Whitten, who served with Lino as a trustee of the International Mission Board, said he has "witnessed a man who has a deep commitment to Southern Baptists, and an even deeper commitment to the Lord and to the Gospel being taken to all the peoples of the world, beginning in his Jerusalem -- Houston." According to Whitten, Lino will be nominated as IMB trustee chairman at its May meeting. Previously he served as moderator of the South Texas Baptist Association. "He has proven he can lead," Whitten said. "Nathan would describe Northeast Houston Baptist as a church of 1,000 people with a heart for the city and the nations," Whitten said. "They are a giving church both in possessions and people." Lino's congregation has planted seven churches in Houston and overseas, Whitten said. The church has baptized 46 people over the past year. "The church's desire, through Nathan's leadership, is to give away 2,000 people in the next 10 years through church plants and struggling local churches in the Houston area," Whitten said, noting that Lino's goal of sending 2,000 members to other congregations is equivalent of a megachurch. Born in South Africa, Lino's family immigrated to the United States when he was 11, settling in Texas where he attended Humble schools. He received his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University. After completing his master of divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina, Lino returned to Texas and pastored Union Baptist Church in Normandy before planting the church he currently serves. He is completing a doctorate of ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Lino serves on the editorial board for [URL=http://www.baptisttheology.org]www.baptisttheology.org[/URL], a department of the Center for Theological Research at Southwestern Seminary. He has traveled to 26 countries for mission trips and preaching engagements. Lino and his wife, Nicole, have been married 13 years and have four children. --30-- This story first appeared on the websites of the Southern Baptist Texan [URL=http://www.TexanOnline.net]TexanOnline.net[/URL] and the Florida Baptist Witness [URL=http://www.GoFBW.com]GoFBW.com[/URL]. -- End of story -- Mohler warns of gay 'marriage' consequences By Andrew Walker Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37587 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Two prominent Southern Baptists discussed the consequences of same-sex "marriage" at a biennial conference, warning that Christians will face increasing difficulties as the culture changes. [IMG=32409@right@150]R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., was interviewed by Washington, D.C. pastor Mark Dever about the cultural impact of same-sex "marriage" at the Together for the Gospel Conference in Louisville Wednesday (April 11). Six states currently recognize gay "marriage," and two more have passed laws that are being challenged by citizens and could be overturned. The laws in those two other states, Maryland and Washington, have yet to go into effect. The definition of marriage, Mohler said, is simple: "Marriage is the union of a man and a woman before the Creator in an exclusive and permanent relationship that models His own character and covenantal love." Historically, Western civilization was built on the understanding of marriage as both a biblical and legal institution, Mohler said. The trend in recent times, however, has been to sever marriage away from its biblical understanding and more towards a legal understanding. This poses a problem for Christians as their views conflict with the state's definition. "Christians have essentially agreed with the civil aspects of marriage, but have believed beyond the legal understanding -- that marriage fits into a Gospel structure," Mohler said. "We now find ourselves in a position of saying that we believe in contrast as to the state's definition of marriage." With shifting attitudes toward homosexuality, Mohler noted the consequences for Christians who insist on holding to biblical marriage: "What we now have in an increasingly short period of time is the condemnation of anyone who will not approve of homosexuality." Apart from a supernatural act, Mohler said he does not expect the culture to reverse its opinion on homosexuality. The implications for pastors are many, Mohler said. "You can count on this being an enduring, permanent challenge set to impact every single local church." The cultural impact, Mohler said, will force pastors to address their position on marriage, and obligate churches to declare they don't believe certain couples are married -- when the government says they are. Parents, Mohler added, will need to train children on the biblical definition and role of marriage, in the face of what the culture is telling the children. Christian institutions also will need to address their legal rights, which may be curtailed. "We will have to learn how to demonstrate Christian love, while also demonstrating Christian conviction," Mohler said. Christians, he added, must "examine where we've fallen short of biblical fidelity on marriage. Where we have, we have lessened our credibility to speak on the issue." One-sixth of the American population, he said, lives in a location where same-sex "marriage" is legal. Mohler offered sober analysis of the difficulties Christians will face. "Society begins to regulate what is and what is not acceptable discourse. And we are going to find ourselves on the wrong side of that divide," Mohler warned. Mohler called for the church to come to grips with sexual brokenness in its midst. "It is progress for us to admit that we have church members who struggle with this [same-sex attraction]," Mohler said. "One of the problems is that conservative Christians tend to talk about sexual sin only when some kind of glass breaks and we actually have to talk about it." When homosexuals hear Christians speak of sin, they should hear a clear message, Mohler said: "Everyone of us is sexually broken, and left to ourselves, there is no one who has had a perfectly God-honoring sexual orientation. "... Anyone involved in pastoral ministry learns that the creativity of humanity when it comes to sexual sin is beyond our imagination." Asked about when to speak about the issue of same-sex "marriage" publicly, Mohler replied, "We have to get over the idea that we have a private message without public consequences. The Gospel is a public truth." Regarding the political implications of the definition of marriage Mohler, said, "We have to be careful not to believe the witness of the church on marriage rides merely on a political platform. We would be equally naïve if our understanding of marriage doesn't have political implications." Together for the Gospel is a biennial conference that occurs in Louisville. This year's conference drew a crowd of 8,000 people. --30-- Andrew Walker writes for the Institute on Religion & Democracy [URL=http://www.theird.org]www.theird.org[/URL], where a version of this story first appeared. 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 -- National Right to Life, others endorse Romney By Staff Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37590 WASHINGTON (BP) -- National Right to Life and two other major pro-family groups have endorsed Mitt Romney for president, saying that on the issues of abortion and marriage, he stands with them. [IMG=32412@right@220]National Right to Life's endorsement Thursday (April 12) came two days after Romney's leading challenger for the Republican nomination -- Rick Santorum -- dropped out, making Romney the presumptive nominee. Also endorsing Romney were the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that supports pro-life women for political office, and the National Organization for Marriage, which has led the charge nationwide in protecting the traditional definition of marriage. In its endorsement, National Right to Life said Romney "has taken a strong pro-life position and is committed to implementing policies to protect the unborn." The organization said Romney: -- opposes Roe v. Wade, having called the 1973 decision a "big mistake." -- supports the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions. -- backs the Mexico City Policy, which bans federal funds for organizations that perform or promote abortions in foreign countries. "On pro-life issues, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama provide a stark contrast," said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. "As the country's most pro-abortion president, Barack Obama has pursued a radical pro-abortion agenda. It is now time for pro-life Americans to unite behind Mitt Romney. For the sake of unborn children, the disabled, and the elderly, we must win." The Susan B. Anthony List made similar points and added that Romney has pledged to "appoint only constitutionalist judges to the federal bench" and also to defund Planned Parenthood. "Women deserve a president who truly respects our views on an issue so central to womanhood," said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. "A President Romney will be that man. If there was murkiness during the last election over Barack Obama's extreme abortion position, absolute clarity exists now -- and his abortion position is rejected by women young and old." The National Organization for Marriage, which played key roles in preventing gay "marriage" from being legalized in California and Maine, said Romney was an early signer of the organization's pledge, which meant he was committing to: -- support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. -- appoint Supreme Court justices and an attorney general "who will apply the original meaning of the Constitution." -- "vigorously" defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act in court. -- establish a presidential commission on religious liberty. -- advance legislation to allow District of Columbia citizens to vote on the definition of marriage. Gay "marriage" currently is legal in D.C. Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said the group was "proud" to endorse Romney. "President Obama," Brown said, "has declared our nation's marriage laws to be unconstitutional and not only has refused to defend them, his administration is actively working to repeal them in the courts. He's come out against state constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. And he has appointed leaders of the same-sex 'marriage' movement as national co-chairs of his reelection campaign. Incredibly, Obama still apparently claims to personally support traditional marriage. With friends like President Obama, the institution of marriage doesn't need enemies." --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). -- End of story -- Job Corps site recognized for excellence By Julie Walters Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37584 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- Christian Women's Job Corps of Central Mississippi in Jackson can expand its ministry and continue to reach out to women in need through an award given by the Woman's Missionary Union Foundation. [IMG=32406@right@320]Established in 2000, CWJC of Central Mississippi offers a variety of classes including practical application Bible study, household budgeting, HIV and STD awareness and testing, women's health, computer literacy and parenting skills. "What's unique about our site is we are the only faith-based, nonprofit organization in our area where women teach women and minister to the whole woman," Robin Mabry, site coordinator since 2009, said. The grant that accompanies the outstanding site award will be used to set up classes for participants in forklift safety and certification training compliant with Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, Mabry said. "We have found that our students excel in light industrial environments, unlike clerical environments," she said. "It raises the potential pay scale to a higher level for them and opens doors into that industry." [QUOTE@right@150='This ministry is my testimony.' -- Robin Mabry, Job Corps site coordinator]CWJC of Central Mississippi is one of 206 registered and certified CWJC/CMJC sites across the country. CWJC and Christian Men's Job Corps are ministries of Woman's Missionary Union that equip women and men, in a Christian context, for life and employment. Each participant is engaged in a weekly Bible study and is paired with a mentor for encouragement and accountability; women mentor women in CWJC and men mentor men through CMJC. God's provision has enabled these sites to encourage and equip participants in their spiritual journey, job skills and more. In Mississippi, Mabry said she can see God's fingerprints all over the ministry. "God has been faithful in so many ways, from guiding us in a transition with our board of directors, to changing our curriculum this year to better fit the needs of our participants, to providing for our financial needs," Mabry, who accepted the award in January, said. "We can never out give God. Our volunteers and mentors realize this as well with their service," she added. "Many of them come into this thinking they will be a blessing and find out they are the ones being blessed by being an example of Christ to hurting and lost women." Many CWJC graduates also give back to the ministry because they know firsthand the impact it makes. One shining example is Annie Shirley, a pastor's wife who was living in a shelter with her children after her husband died because she had no means of supporting her family. She discovered CWJC of Central Mississippi, graduated from the program in 2004, went on to earn a college degree and now gives back to other women in her community as she serves as president of the board of CWJC of Central Mississippi. CWJC also is personal for Mabry. "I lead in this ministry because of my own personal journey," she said. "My mother was 15 and unwed when I was born. She had no job skills and dropped out of school in the 10th grade. She struggled with making many bad choices, but she did the best she could with what she had. "I followed her pattern by making bad choices of my own as I became a teenager and started doing drugs and getting involved with adult men," Mabry said. "I had some Christian encounters sprinkled throughout my life, but it was in 1999, when I married my second husband, that some Christian women started pouring into my life and telling me God had a plan for me. That is when I decided to give Jesus a try." Jesus began working in her life, Mabry said, and she started telling others about His love and praying with them. "That's when I thought to myself, 'What if my mom would have had someone to help her? ... How different my journey would have been.'" Soon after that, Mabry learned about CWJC of Central Mississippi and their need for a site coordinator. "I ran as fast as I could, telling God I wasn't ready," Mabry said. "But He told me I was and women needed to hear my story about His love, mercy and grace in my life and how He transformed me. This ministry is my testimony." Current needs at the site include monthly donations and more volunteers, Mabry said. "It's expensive educating an adult who has no resources and limited education. The expenses we cover range from insurance to general office supplies like pens and paper for us and participants," she said. "We also need some mature Christian women to pour their experience with Christ in their own lives into these ladies we are teaching." --30-- Julie Walters is the corporate communications team leader for National WMU. To learn more about CWJC of Central Mississippi, call 601-259-9980 or email robinmabry@rocketmail.com. To find a site near you, visit [URL=http://www.wmu.com/jobcorps]www.wmu.com/jobcorps[/URL]. 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 -- BIBLE STUDY: Sunday, April 15, 2012 By Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37589 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- This Bible study appears in Baptist Press each week 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: John 12:23-25,27; 13:21-22,25-26,37-38 Discussion Question: How can placing an emphasis on this world rather than Christ lead to problems? Food for Thought: At one time or another, many of us have been told to get our priorities in line. Those offering such sage advice could be addressing work, family or other personal issues, but as Christians we know that our priority should always be to serve Christ, not the world. What happens when we misplace our priorities and find ourselves focusing on worldly rather than eternal matters? Problems ensue. Such was the case for the center fielder of the Miami Marlins and 2009 Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year, Chris Coghlan. When Coghlan was 15, he lost his father to a car accident. To deal with his pain, he spent hours at the baseball field so that he wouldn't have to go home to his grieving, hurting family. The next year, he started drinking. Without his dad to direct him, Chris did what he wanted: played baseball and drank. Through his rise in the minor leagues, Chris did what he wanted: played baseball and drank. It wasn't until Chris, at his first big league camp, threw a wild curve ball while hung over from a drunken night before that he was forced to stop doing what he wanted. His coach sent him packing. Coghlan was on his way back to the minors. Through that experience he met a man who was going through his own rehabilitation. One day while the man was reading his Bible, he told Chris about what Jesus had done in his life and then shared the Gospel. Chris remembers that he was struck that he wanted and needed Christ in his life. He was tired of chasing temporary satisfactions and filling the void in his life with earthly things like baseball and alcohol. He accepted Jesus in his life and now lives not for the temporary but the eternal. He knows that his father would be "more proud that I accepted Christ into my heart than anything that could have done to make him proud on the baseball field. He would be most proud that I am living for a righteous and holy God." Sounds like somebody got his priorities in line. Have you? 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-- 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 -- FIRST-PERSON: Trayvon Martin & our justice system By Richard Land Apr. 12 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37588 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- The Trayvon Martin case embodies a multiplicity of tragedies that should cause Americans of every ethnicity to grieve for those who have been hurt by its far-reaching impact. We grieve for the loss of a young black man who had so much of his life left to live. We grieve for the fact that he will never experience the joys of marriage and parenthood. We grieve for his parents and his loved ones. We lament that a community has been torn apart by racial division and growing mistrust of authorities. We also have sympathy for the person who pulled the trigger, George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic man who was a captain in his neighborhood crime watch program. Whether he is found guilty by a jury of his peers or not, his life will never be the same. And we are deeply distressed that some have used the occasion of this tragedy to fan the flames of racial unrest in the community and nation. The rush to judgment by a handful of activists, aided and abetted by willing and complicit elements in the national media, have trampled our justice system's bedrock principle of "innocent until proven guilty." The premise that each of us is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of our peers is the greatest guarantee of our individual liberty. That principle protects all Americans, regardless of ethnicity, from government abuse of power. When it is undermined, we suffer a collective loss of freedom. If a person is tried and the facts prove his innocence in a court of law, where does he go to get his reputation back? If millions of Americans already are convinced he is guilty before the evidence is presented before an impartial judge and jury, what hope does he have of reclaiming normalcy in his life? Let's ask the Duke University lacrosse players from 2006 and Atlanta's Olympic security guard Richard Jewell from 1996. Should George Zimmerman be crucified in the court of public opinion for the sins of past generations of whites, sins with which he was not involved? How does that foster the cause of racial reconciliation, or simple decency and justice? This is dangerous behavior on many levels. It is undeniable that African-Americans have suffered unimaginable abuses at the hands of a sometimes racist justice system. Does this justify the equivalent of yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater by hurling charges of racism and denied justice before the facts have been thoroughly reviewed and adjudicated? The multiple investigations currently being conducted by local, state and federal authorities will determine whether or not George Zimmerman is guilty and what his punishment should be. When an organization like the New Black Panther Party distributes posters claiming George Zimmerman is "Wanted: Dead or Alive" with a monetary reward attached, justice is being denied. This kind of irresponsible vigilante behavior is inexcusable and must not be tolerated in a nation ruled by law. It is anarchy run amuck. To assert that George Zimmerman is guilty of murder is, at this point, premature. It is irresponsible for anyone to say they "know" that which is currently unknowable -- namely, what actually happened on that tragic night in February. The authorities are investigating reportedly conflicting evidence and eyewitness accounts. The exploitation of this tragic event by people who should know better is shameful. Surely Jesse Jackson knows that substantial racial progress has been made in America. Trayvon Martin is not, as Jackson suggested, today's Emmett Till. Al Sharpton's demand that George Zimmerman be arrested immediately was equally irresponsible. Sharpton's call for the African-American community to "move to the next level" of peaceful civil disobedience and economic sanctions if Zimmerman's arrest had been delayed any longer caused Turner Clayton, the president of the Seminole County (Fla.) chapter of the NAACP, to distance himself and his organization by saying they were "not calling for any sanctions, against any business, or anyone else." Clayton went on to say, "What Reverend Sharpton does, that's strictly the [National] Action Network. We cannot condone that part of the conversation." Clayton went on to say that people would have to judge for themselves "whether they want to follow the mission of the NAACP or follow what the Reverend Sharpton said." Some have said that I, by criticizing this rush to judgment, have set back the cause of racial reconciliation. Real racial reconciliation, to which I have been committed for my entire ministry, involves treating people as equals. Among other things, it means speaking the truth in love and not being called a racist when you are the bearer of uncomfortable truths. True racial reconciliation means you can criticize black leaders when you believe they have been wrong without being labeled as a racist. True racial reconciliation means that you do not bow to the false god of political correctness. --30-- Richard Land is president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. 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