Baptist Press Stories for Apr. 13 2012 --------------------------------------- As Titanic sank, he pleaded, 'believe in the Lord Jesus!' http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37601 Intense demonic battle meets Gospel in Asia http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37602 Komen still giving to Planned Parenthood http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37603 Houston Baptist might drop 'Baptist' from name http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37604 'October Baby' & 'Monumental' expanding http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37606 CULTURE DIGEST: Miss Universe opens pageant to 'transgender' participants http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37607 FIRST-PERSON: The Hilary Rosen controversy & a lesson for Christians http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37600 FIRST-PERSON: Two public examples of the 'pain of regret' http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37599 EDITORIAL: Transfomación Espiritual http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37598 --------------------------------------- As Titanic sank, he pleaded, 'believe in the Lord Jesus!' By Douglas W. Mize Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37601 Editor's note: Sunday (April 15) is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. TAYLORS, S.C. (BP) -- It has been 100 years since Titanic, the greatest ship of its time, sank on its maiden voyage, killing more than 1,500 passengers. The "unsinkable ship" had done just that, and on the tragedy's centennial we stand captivated by the story. Many movies, documentaries and books have familiarized us with some of the passengers, such as entrepreneur John Jacob Astor IV or the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown. Yet one of the supreme stories of the Titanic involves a heroic pastor and his passion to save lives and souls. [IMGONLY=32420@right@280]When pastor and preacher John Harper and six year old daughter boarded the Titanic it was for the privilege of preaching at one of the greatest churches in America, Moody Church in Chicago, named for its famous founder Dwight L. Moody. The church was anxiously awaiting his arrival not only because of the pending services, but to meet their next pastor, as Harper planned to accept their invitation. Harper was known as an engaging preacher and had pastored two churches in Glasgow and London. His preaching style was suited for an evangelist as testified by the words of another local pastor. "He was a great open-air preacher and could always command large and appreciative audiences. ... He could deal with all kinds of interrupters, his great and intelligent grasp of Bible truths enabling him to successfully combat all assailants." When the Titanic hit the iceberg, Harper successfully led his daughter to a lifeboat. Being a widower he may have been allowed to join her but instead forsook his own rescue, choosing to provide the masses with one more chance to know Christ. Harper ran person to person, passionately telling others about Christ. As the water began to submerge the "unsinkable" ship, Harper was heard shouting, "women, children, and the unsaved into the lifeboats." Rebuffed by a certain man at the offer of salvation Harper gave him his own life vest, saying, "you need this more than I do." Up until the last moment on the ship Harper pleaded with people to give their lives to Jesus. [IMG=32422@right@150]The ship disappeared beneath the deep frigid waters leaving hundreds floundering in its wake with no realistic chance for rescue. Harper struggled through hyperthermia to swim to as many people as he could, still sharing the Gospel. Harper evidentially would lose his battle with hypothermia but not before giving many people one last glorious Gospel witness. Four years after the tragedy at a Titanic survivor's meeting in Ontario, Canada, one survivor recounted his interaction with Harper in the middle of the icy waters of the Atlantic. He testified he was clinging to ship debris when Harper swam up to him, twice challenging him with a biblical invitation to "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." He rejected the offer once. Yet given the second chance and with miles of water beneath his feet, the man gave his life to Christ. Then as Harper succumbed to his watery grave, this new believer was rescued by a returning lifeboat. As he concluded his remarks at the Ontario meeting of survivors he simply stated, "I am the last convert of John Harper." When the Titanic set sail there were delineations of three classes of passengers. Yet immediately after the tragedy, the White Star Line in Liverpool, England placed a board outside its office with only two classes of passengers reading, KNOWN TO BE SAVED and KNOWN TO BE LOST. The owners of the Titanic had simply reaffirmed what John Harper already knew. There are people who know Christ and will spend eternity with God in heaven and many others who will not. For us, 100 years after the Titanic, may we be as zealous as Harper was with every opportunity to share Christ with the perishing. --30-- Douglas W. Mize is minister of evangelism and discipleship at Taylors (S.C.) First Baptist Church. 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 -- Intense demonic battle meets Gospel in Asia By Ava Thomas Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37602 CENTRAL ASIA (BP) -- Lizzie Francis* huddled in the back seat and watched as the gang formed around the pickup truck. She clutched her friends' two toddlers as one of the men, flanked by his brothers, got out a gun and waved it at his neighbor, yelling obscenities and threatening to end his life. [IMG=32421@right@350]The neighbor had been parked in the street in his way when his family came back from a picnic in the countryside. At the picnic, Lizzie had been their guest for the day, for the eating, laughing, dancing ... and now gun-slinging. "They are incredibly hospitable," Lizzie said of the people in the Central Asian city where she lives. "But the darkness is under the surface all the time, just waiting to come out." As she prayed over the little boys, one of the sisters -- Lizzie's closest friend in the city -- swiped her brother's gun and slipped it quickly into Lizzie's hands. "Hide this," her friend said. "He won't come after you if you have it." They wouldn't dare hurt a guest. She slipped it in her purse and turned to head toward the house. And as she did, he tackled her friend facedown in the muddy street just behind her, beating her with his fists over and over and over. "I could only watch as it happened. I didn't know what to do," Lizzie said. "They need Jesus so desperately. Until they know Him, they will never know how to love even their own family." Alex Franklin*, who lives among the same people group, said it's like tea -- the people have been steeped in darkness for so long that they can't become pure water without a miracle. "Islam has had a stronghold in the culture there for 1,400 years. If you've been told a lie long enough and loud enough, you eventually believe it," he said. "But even more of a stronghold than the religion is the culture -- it tries to stifle and shut out anyone who speaks the truth." Some days the darkness presses on Lizzie so hard she literally feels a weight on her chest. Some days it manifests itself in other ways. "We went recently to visit a woman who was genuinely asking questions about the Gospel -- something that rarely happens here. While I was trying to share, her children were acting so badly -- being violent and unruly in a way that we knew was much more than just misbehavior," Lizzie said. After a lot of struggling, the 5-year-old son sank his teeth into Lizzie's friend Jane* as she was playing with him. She rested her hand on his shoulder and prayed over him silently. "I prayed in Jesus' name for whatever was in him to get out. And right as I finished praying that, without saying a word out loud, he turned slowly and glared at me, as if he knew exactly what I was praying," Jane said. Alex said the Believers who live there know that wherever they go, the darkness will lash out. "We don't have the home field advantage here, so we expect the crowd to be whooping and hollering against us," he said. "We take faith in knowing that He has won the victory." The move of the Gospel among the people of that city is slow and hasn't been going for very long, Alex said. "The darkness is smothering sometimes. It's also physically hard on people who come here to share -- many in the past died of diseases. And the mothers often struggle emotionally until they break, because culturally they are kept in the house much of the time." Lizzie, Alex and several others have shared the Gospel over and over and over. Few show interest. One friend who has heard Bible stories until she knows them by memory will seemingly get close to believing, then back away, Lizzie said. "She will ask questions and read the Word even to the point of exposing herself to persecution from others," Lizzie said. "But then she'll ask me not to talk about Jesus in front of her, because she sees flames in front of my face when I do. There's a real battle going on for her soul." And for the souls of the others there, but God is winning the victory, she said. As Lizzie and others share, some hear and do believe. Some have given everything to Jesus and been forsaken by their families, imprisoned or even murdered. "Jane and I were invited recently to the home of some friends. The husband is a believer, but the wife is not," Lizzie said. "It wasn't long before we realized a normal visit wasn't what she had in mind." In front of the two guests, and in front of her own children, the wife began to berate the husband for his faith in Jesus. "With a crazy, demonic look in her eyes, she forced him to say that he followed Jesus while she recorded his confession," Lizzie said. "Then she turned to him and said, 'I hope you die the same kind of death as this Jesus that you love.'" It's dark there, but faith persists, Alex said. "Our encouragement is Scripture -- we know that some day people from every nation, tribe and tongue, including these people, will praise Him around the throne," Alex said. "God is calling people out. It just is taking a while." --30-- *Names changed. Ava Thomas is a writer/editor for the International Mission Board based in Europe. 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 -- Komen still giving to Planned Parenthood By Tom Strode Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37603 WASHINGTON (BP) -- Susan G. Komen for the Cure's coffers remain as open as ever for Planned Parenthood, even as they appear to be taking a hit. [IMGONLY=31813@right@210]The world's leading breast cancer charity will fund about the same number of Planned Parenthood affiliates this year as it did last, according to an April 12 report by The Washington Post. That news follows various accounts that giving to Komen and participation in its popular fund-raising races have declined since early February. The latest report follows by 10 weeks Komen's tumultuous place in the spotlight of public attention over whether it would stick with its plan to defund the country's leading abortion provider. Only three days after its defunding decision went public, Komen backtracked Feb. 3 in the face of an onslaught of Planned Parenthood-fueled outrage. Komen will fund at least 17 affiliates of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America this year, The Post reported. Last year, Komen gave money to 18 Planned Parenthood affiliates, according to an analysis by the pro-life American Life League. The total given to Planned Parenthood this year has yet to be determined, according to The Post. Last year, Komen's grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates totaled $680,000, the Associated Press reported. Since the report of Komen's on-off defunding of Planned Parenthood, there have been reports of declines in support of the breast-cancer foundation. For instance: -- Six of Komen's Race for the Cure fundraisers had been held since the controversy, when National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast a report March 26, and the charity acknowledged it had struggled to meet its goals in about half of the events. -- Registration for the Komen Race for the Cure March 25 in Tucson, Ariz., fell short of 7,300 in contrast to about 10,000 participants in 2011, according to NPR. Donations totaled $585,000 toward a goal of $700,000, The Post reported. -- The Los Angeles (Calif.) County race March 24 raised about $950,000, far short of the $1.3 million goal, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. -- Komen fell from No. 2 to No. 56 in the yearly Harris Poll that ranks the "brand health" of nonprofit organizations, The Chronicle reported. The online survey was conducted in February. While news reports have at least implied the decline is based on the reaction of pro-choice women who are disillusioned with and untrusting of Komen, pro-life blogger Jill Stanek questioned the conventional wisdom. She pointed to a report that donations to the charity increased by 100 percent in the two days after its defunding of Planned Parenthood became news. "It would have gone the other way had liberal types withdrawn enough support to make a dent," Stanek wrote March 29. "In fact, pro-lifers who had withheld from Komen [in the past] started to give. And then stopped, of course. An objective [mainstream media] would have more likely concluded Komen's new fundraising woes were due to its continued connection" to Planned Parenthood. Komen has problems with both abortion advocates and opponents, Stanek said. "In reality, Komen has alienated both ends of the ideological spectrum now," she wrote. "But it would have fared better sticking with pro-lifers." Some pro-life advocates had refused before the uproar of early February to give to Komen or participate in its five-kilometer runs/walks that typically draw more than 1.6 million participants each year. Komen had defended its grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates by saying they were not for abortions but for breast screenings and breast health education. Planned Parenthood affiliates, however, do not offer mammograms, though Komen said grants to the organization may pay for mammograms at other sites. The widespread news coverage of Komen's original decision to halt funding, the Planned Parenthood-orchestrated reaction and Komen's subsequent policy change served a couple of educational purposes for the public: 1) More Americans, including pro-life advocates, learned the breast cancer foundation gives to Planned Parenthood, increasing the likelihood pro-life support of Komen would decline further. 2) More Americans found out Planned Parenthood centers do not offer mammograms but refer women to other clinics for the screenings. Planned Parenthood is a cultural lightning rod primarily because of its massive abortion business. Its clinics reported 329,445 abortions in 2010, which made up more than one-fourth of the lethal procedures performed in the United States for the year. Planned Parenthood compiled those kinds of statistics while it, as well as its affiliates, received $487.4 million in government grants, contracts and reimbursements in 2009-10, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Planned Parenthood's notoriety has mounted also because of its proclivity for scandal. An updated February report by the Alliance Defense Fund to Congress suggested 20 percent of the abortion provider's affiliates could be guilty of waste and fraud involving government funds. The report showed that audits of seven of 79 affiliates over a 14-year period found nearly $8 million of fraud, waste and abuse. Secret investigations in recent years by pro-life organizations have uncovered Planned Parenthood workers demonstrating a willingness to aid self-professed sex traffickers whose prostitutes supposedly are in their early teens, seeking to cover up alleged child sex abuse and agreeing to receive donations designated for abortions of African-American babies. The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee is investigating Planned Parenthood. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R.-Fla., who is leading the investigation, asked Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards in September to provide audits, documentation, policies and procedures regarding such issues as improper billing, segregation of federal funds from abortion services and reporting of suspected sex abuse and human trafficking. --30-- Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press. -- End of story -- Houston Baptist might drop 'Baptist' from name By Bonnie Pritchett Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37604 HOUSTON (BP) -- For seminary student Samantha Williams, the "B" in HBU means more than "Baptist." It represents a time and a place where she came to know Christ and His will for her life. [IMGONLY=32423@left@200]Because Houston Baptist University's Christian identity is so central to Williams' transformation during her time as a student, she opposes recently announced plans to take the denominational identifier out of the school's name. Like other alumni opposed to the change, Williams sees no need for her alma mater to take on a new identity. But school officials say the term "Baptist" limits the school's potential student pool to people who grew up in the denomination's Southern network of churches. Students who did not grow up going to a Baptist church might not feel welcome at the school, officials say. And as HBU prepares to return to NCAA Division I athletic competition and reintroduce a core liberal arts program, trustees hope to expand its appeal outside the south and the Southern Baptist Convention. Former Houston Baptist University Provost Paul Bonicelli supports the proposal. He believes denominational monikers can hinder a school's growth and, consequently, the reach of the Gospel. "It's about time," Bonicelli said in response to news that HBU trustees are exploring the possibility of a name change for the 51-year-old university. "I was always an advocate of that." If Houston Baptist changes its name, it would not be the only one without that descriptor among Baptist-affiliated colleges and universities. Among the 54 Baptist-affiliated schools listed on the Southern Baptist Convention's website, only 15 have the word "Baptist" in their name. Among them that don't: Union University, the University of Mobile and Louisiana College. Even as one "raised at the knee" of notable pastor and three-time Southern Baptist Convention President Adrian Rogers, Bonicelli said denominational affiliations in the names of institutes of higher education can prove to be more of a hindrance than a draw. As part of its efforts to expand the school's reach, the 36-member HBU Board of Trustees commissioned a study to determine the school's name recognition. Spokesman R. Kimberly Gaynor, vice president for university communications, said the results of the survey were telling. "Disturbingly, we got back, at significant levels, a clear impression that our name presents some confusion," he said. Respondents readily identified the university among Houston's other four-year institutions, most notably Rice University and the University of Houston, but beyond name recognition, respondents knew little of substance about the school. Some even said they weren't sure about the meaning of Baptist in the school's name, Gaynor said. The anticipated elevation in the school's profile will demand clarification, Gaynor said. Beginning next year, the university will return to NCAA Division 1 athletic competition, and in 2014, the school's first football team will take the field. The university has moved to the Southland Conference, pitting it against neighboring Texas schools, including Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, and Lamar University in Beaumont. Gaynor said 100,000 alumni of Southland Conference schools live in the Greater Houston area, a large source of potential attention for the campus. In the academic arena, HBU has reintroduced a core liberal arts program and hopes soon to establish a doctoral program. Even with an elevated profile, Gaynor cited anecdotal evidence indicating prospective students will balk at the school's name, presuming they cannot be admitted because they are not Baptist. But HBU's student population does not substantiate that perception, as the majority do not have a Baptist background. "What we don't know is what we're not getting," Gaynor said. He asked: How many students do not even consider attending HBU because of misconceptions about who's allowed to attend? Williams does not buy that argument. "Obviously the name 'Baptist' is not even limiting," said Williams, who was raised Seventh Day Adventist. "I don't want them to hide who they are." The school's name offers truth in advertising, she argued. The school should be up front about its affiliation, heritage and funding. HBU continues to receive financial support from the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which helped establish the campus. Also, in 2003, the school began a fraternal ministry relationship with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Williams thinks keeping the school's name but adding a motto or slogan would go further in promoting its true nature. She pointed to other schools, like Texas A&M, that have kept their names, or at least the initials representing their names, long after they expanded past their original educational emphasis. Williams, 23, credits the school's environment and Christian student body with her salvation. Raised in a "legalistic" religious environment, Williams said it was the witness of other students who lived their Christian faith in a manner she had rarely seen growing up that gave her an understanding of Scripture. She has since joined First Baptist Church in Houston and is a master of divinity student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's Havard campus in Houston. She hopes to work with student life ministries on a college campus. That makes this disagreement personal for Williams, and she said other alumni share her view. Former HBU students voiced their concern during two town hall style forums hosted by trustees. Williams attended both meetings. She said current and former students urged the committee formed by trustees not to recommend a change. But Bonicelli said during his tenure at HBU, alumni and trustees always responded positively during discussions about a potential name change. "Those who had reservations said, 'That's my school. It's personal,'" he recalled. If a name change will draw more students to HBU and make them a part of God's work, then the name change needs to happen, Bonicelli said. Expunging "Baptist" from the school's keystone would not "water down" the very foundations of the school, as some fear, Bonicelli said. "We aren't just a name," Gaynor said. "Jesus is Lord, and that's what we're about." The preamble to the university's bylaws declares the Lordship of Christ and the Kingdom work of HBU. Each of the 36 trustees must sign a document affirming the preamble and a unanimous vote is required to change even one word of it, Gaynor said: "That transcends the name. It gets to the DNA of the university. We're never going to change that document." --30-- Bonnie Pritchett writes for World News Service, where 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 -- 'October Baby' & 'Monumental' expanding By Staff Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37606 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- "October Baby" and "Monumental," two theatrical releases popular among faith audiences, are expanding this weekend. [IMGONLY=32079@right@200]October Baby will open in more than 200 new theaters this weekend, while Kirk Cameron's documentary Monumental will be playing in more than 25 theaters. A list of October Baby's new theaters is available at [URL=http://octoberbabymovie.net/theaters]http://octoberbabymovie.net/theaters[/URL], while a list of Monumental's theaters can be viewed at [URL=http://www.monumentalmovie.com/theaterlistings.html]http://www.monumentalmovie.com/theaterlistings.html[/URL] (where moviegoers also can request the film be shown in their town). In its opening weekend in March, October Baby grossed $1.7 million in limited release, good enough for a No. 8 finish -- and a No. 3 spot on a per-theater average. The movie tells the story of a young woman who learns she is the survivor of a failed abortion. Meanwhile, the patriotic-themed "Monumental" had an impressive opening in its one-night showing in 550 theaters March 27, grossing $1.23 million for a $2,400 per-screen average -- a per-screen figure that places it close to some of the most successful faith-based films ever. Monumental's numbers may be even more impressive than they first appear, because it played only once that night, whereas Courageous averaged $2,809 its first Saturday, playing multiple times. In Monumental, Cameron follows the footsteps of America's founders, first the Pilgrims (he travels to England) and then America's forefathers, interviewing experts and historians along the way. --30-- Compiled by Michael Foust, associate editor of Baptist Press. -- End of story -- CULTURE DIGEST: Miss Universe opens pageant to 'transgender' participants By Staff Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37607 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- The Miss Universe Organization, run by Donald Trump and NBC Universal, has announced a policy change that will allow transgendered women to participate in its pageants beginning this fall. "At a time when transgender people are still routinely denied equal opportunities in housing, employment and medical care, today's decision is in line with the growing levels of public support for transgender people across the country," Herndon Graddick of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said April 10. GLAAD pushed for the change, which stemmed from a case in Canada where Jenna Talackova, a 23-year-old transgendered woman, won a regional competition but was disqualified for the national title because she was not a naturally born woman. Talackova claims she knew she was a girl at age 4, began hormone therapy at age 14 and underwent "sexual reassignment surgery" at age 19. The Miss Universe Organization produces the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. ACTRESS DECRIES 'REDUCTION OF PERSONHOOD' -- Actress Ashley Judd condemned the cultural norm that allowed a barrage of media attacks against her appearance recently, set off by a "puffy face" in an interview about her new television series "Missing." Legitimate news outlets, tabloids and social media speculated that Judd must have had cosmetic surgery and that at age 43 she "has lost her familiar beauty audiences loved her for," leading her to write an opinion piece for The Daily Beast April 9. The conversation about women's bodies, she wrote, happens everywhere in American culture, publicly and privately. "We are described and detailed, our faces and bodies analyzed and picked apart, our worth ascertained and ascribed based on the reduction of personhood to simple physical objectification. Our voices, our personhood, our potential, and our accomplishments are regularly minimized and muted," Judd wrote. She chose to address what otherwise would be dismissed as gossip because the conversation "embodies what all girls and women in our culture, to a greater or lesser degree, endure every day, in ways both outrageous and subtle." "This abnormal obsession with women's faces and bodies has become so normal that we (I include myself at times -- I absolutely fall for it still) have internalized patriarchy almost seamlessly," Judd wrote, defining patriarchy as privileging the interests of men over the dignity of women. "We are unable at times to identify ourselves as our own denigrating abusers, or as abusing other girls and women." PARENTS FIND THEIR BABY ALIVE IN HOSPITAL MORGUE -- The emotions of an Argentinian husband and wife recently went from grief to joy when they found their supposedly stillborn daughter alive in a coffin in a hospital morgue. Fabian Veron and Analia Bouter went to see their baby's corpse in the morgue after she was born April 3, three months prior to the due date, in Chaco, which is in northern Argentina, USA Today reported. Bouter wanted to see her baby's body because she was sedated during her birth. Hospital staff had issued a death certificate, saying the girl had died of unknown causes. The couple was taken to a small coffin in the refrigerated morgue, where their daughter's body had been for 12 hours. "We looked for a bar to [pry] it open," Veron told reporters, according to USA Today. "The casket was nailed shut. I started to [pry], took a deep breath and took the top off. My wife was the first one to look at the body and she uncovered it slowly." Bouter heard a whimper and saw indications her daughter was alive. Veron started uncovering her face, "and it was like she was just getting up, waking up," he said. The parents named their fifth child Luz Milagros, which means "miracle's light." ABORTION CLINIC TO LOSE LICENSE AFTER INVESTIGATION -- An Alabama abortion clinic will lose its license to operate after a state agency found it failed to provide safe and effective treatment to women. New Woman All Women Health Care in Birmingham must surrender its license by May 18, the Alabama Department of Public Health announced April 6. The department had scheduled a license revocation hearing for April 19, but the clinic reached a settlement with the department that requires it to give up its license. The department's action came after a month-long investigation found multiple rules violations. Among its findings, the department said the clinic failed to ensure: -- Two abortion doctors were qualified to perform such procedures; -- Staff was trained to provide adequate patient care; -- Documentation of drugs administered was complete and accurate. The investigation followed a January complaint regarding the transfer of two women from the clinic to a hospital after drug overdoses, according to the pro-life activist organization Operation Rescue. "This is such great news on this Good Friday and goes to show what men and women of faith can accomplish when they work together toward a common goal," Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said in a written statement. "This victory represents a major defeat for the abortion cartel. We know lives of women and their babies will be saved because of this." COMMITTEE CHAIR BLOCKS PRO-LIFE BILLS IN MISS. -- A pro-life measure survived but two others apparently died April 3 at the hands of a committee chairman in the Mississippi legislature. The Senate Public Health Committee approved a proposal that would require abortion doctors to be certified in obstetrics and gynecology and to have hospital admitting privileges. Sen. Hob Bryan, Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, decided not to bring up two other bills for a vote by his panel. Those bills would ban "telemed" abortions by mandating a doctor be in the same room with a woman to whom he dispenses the abortion drug RU 486 and prohibit abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected. Bryan blocked votes on the bills because he believed they would face legal challenges, according to the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American. Advocates of the measures hope to insert them into other bills for possible passage. April 3 was the final day for a committee to act on legislation approved in the other house, the American reported. The House of Representatives had approved all three bills. "We are very disappointed after seven years of no pro-life bills passing the House. The House leadership was flipped this year and we anticipated the passage of five pro-life bills," said Mississippian Terri Herring, national director of the Pro-life American Network, according to the American. "The House passed five bills and now we're looking at the Senate and saying, 'Will the Senate now become the chamber of death for pro-life bills?'" WISCONSIN ENACTS PRO-LIFE BILLS -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed into law two pro-life measures April 5. The two bills signed by Walker, a Republican, will: -- Prohibit "telemedicine," or Webcam, abortions by requiring doctors to perform physical exams and be in the same room with women before giving them the abortion drug RU 486. The bill also calls for a physician to consult with a woman at least 24 hours before providing the drug to make certain she is not being coerced into the procedure. -- Bar any Wisconsin exchange plan under the 2010 federal health care reform law from covering abortion. Under the bill, a plan could provide abortion coverage only in cases of rape, incest and the health or life of the mother, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin Right to Life "extends its heartfelt thanks to the [legislature and governor] for bringing these vital measures to fruition," said Susan Armacost, the organization's legislative director. Typically, "telemed" abortions involve a doctor counseling by means of videoconferencing a woman seeking an abortion in another city. After he reviews sonogram images and visits with the woman, the physician can dispense RU 486, which involves a two-step process, to her by pressing a computer button, thereby opening a drawer from which the woman in the remote clinic may remove the pills. WYO. PAYS PENALTY FOR BARRING PRO-LIFE DISPLAY -- The state of Wyoming must pay $30,000 in attorney's fees after rejecting a request to exhibit a pro-life display in the state capitol building. Federal judge Nancy Freudenthal approved April 5 a settlement in which the state is to pay WyWatch Family Action the amount in attorney's fees, plus $1 in nominal damages. The state agreed it violated WyWatch's First Amendment rights by rejecting its request while approving similar petitions by other organizations, LifeSiteNews reported. The Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union even filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of WyWatch. "While the ACLU doesn't agree with WyWatch's anti-choice message, we firmly support their right to say it," said ACLU lawyer Jennifer Horvath, according to LifeSiteNews. "The best antidote to speech we disagree with is more speech." --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Erin Roach and Washington bureau chief Tom Strode. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: The Hilary Rosen controversy & a lesson for Christians By Paul Brewster Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37600 MADISON, Ind. (BP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton and Hilary Rosen have more in common than their first names. The secretary of state made a famous political blunder back in 1992 when her husband Bill was campaigning for the presidency. In responding to a reporter's query about her active role as the first lady of Arkansas, she retorted: "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life." Though she quickly tried to clarify that her intent had not been to demean stay-at-home moms, many felt this comment provided a window into Ms. Clinton's worldview. Critics said that from her perspective, the domestic side of womanhood might be a choice a woman should be free to make, but she clearly would rate it as an activity of lesser significance than pursuing her career in the workplace. Rosen, an adviser to the Democratic National Committee, has recently committed almost the same blunder as Ms. Clinton. In comments made recently to Anderson Cooper on CNN, she took a swipe at Ann Romney, saying: "Guess what, [Romney's] wife has actually never worked a day in her life." Following the pattern of Ms. Clinton, Ms. Rosen has already tried to clarify that she meant nothing demeaning to homemaking women. The Obama campaign has also been quick to distance itself from this statement and has called for an apology. As a pastor who has spoken publicly many times a week for more than 20 years, I have a lot of sympathy for those who make awkward misstatements. We all wish we could have some things back at times. However, I do think that we must also acknowledge that sometimes what comes out like this can accurately reveal our hidden values and assumptions. In this case, I think it is clear that the comment shows that Ms. Rosen sees homemaking as a less significant activity than holding down a job in the workforce. Thanks in part to the success of the feminist agenda, that attitude has become almost a part of the air we breathe in America. What came with the promise of freedom and liberation has really proven to be a toxic poison. I would argue that a decline in the ideals of motherhood and the domestic life has greatly contributed to the explosion of societal ills with which our country struggles every day. The underlying and unspoken assumption of those who urged women to abandon the home in favor of the workforce has been that childrearing and other traditional pursuits of domesticity can easily be handled in the evenings and on weekends. In truth, home and family management is vastly more complicated and demanding than that. Only 100 years ago, America's universities offered "home engineering" as a field of study. It was taken for granted that "domestic science" was a rigorous and demanding field and that proficiency in it could be improved with study. The major land grant universities in America, created because of the Morrill Act of 1862, became the primary vehicles by which American women could be equipped with this knowledge that would enable them to be successful domestic engineers. I can still remember seeing the title "domestic engineering" chiseled deep into the limestone cornice of a building at the land grant college of my youth. If it seemed an odd phrase in the early 1980s, it must seem positively stone-aged to today's students. Call it what you will -- domestic science or home engineering or home economics -- but running a household and rearing successful children is both demanding work and a dying skill set. We need not view Ms. Rosen's comments as a "gotcha" moment which can be converted into a nice political smear advertisement. Instead, what we ought to do is evaluate why these ideas that homemaking and childrearing are second-class endeavors are prevalent and what they portend for our collective future. Christians need to realize that this attitude is widespread in our society and that, as with all cultural norms, we are subject to buying into it without being conscious we have denied the Scriptures in the process. In the church where I serve as pastor, our women's ministry recently reorganized with "Titus 2 Groups" as a core component of their strategy. These mentoring groups are based on the recognition that this text of Scripture provides a timeless blueprint for the Christian home: "Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored" (Titus 2:4-5). As this text would indicate, staying at home is not the same thing as not going to work. Ms. Rosen's ill-chosen words of derision are a teachable moment for those of us in the church to ask whether we have let our own attitudes toward domestic life be captured by the culture or by the Word of God. It perhaps also needs said that the Bible allows great freedom for a woman to involve herself in the workplace. One has only to think of the model woman of Proverbs 31 to see that a woman's place need not be restricted to the home. However, there is little danger of a contemporary Christian being misled by the culture at this point. Women who have made the choice to devote themselves to their children, family and home life need our admiration and praise, not our disdain. --30-- Paul Brewster is pastor of Ryker's Ridge Baptist Church in Madison, Ind. 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: Two public examples of the 'pain of regret' By Kelly Boggs Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37599 ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- Every person must realize that he or she eventually will live with one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The pain of discipline will empower a person to say "no" to destructive choices. The pain of regret results in an individual staring into life's review mirror wishing he or she had made different choices. "Whatsoever a man sows," the Bible says, "this he will also reap." Plant the seeds of discipline in the garden of life and the weeds of regret will be sparse. However, neglect self-restraint and life's garden will become overgrown with remorse. The media has been giving quite a bit of attention to a couple of individuals who had their lives totally disrupted due to conscious choices they made. While they have different backgrounds and professions, the pair shares the reality of regret. John Edwards, successful trial lawyer, former U.S. senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee, has been in the news of late because he is on trial having been accused of using campaign funds in an attempt to cover-up an extra-marital affair that also resulted in a child. Bobby Petrino, the now former coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks football team, found his way into the news when a motorcycle accident led to the uncovering of an extra-marital affair he was having with a much younger university employee. Edwards and Petrino have much in common. Both were successful, popular and well-compensated. They seemingly were living the dream and had it all. However, when it came to the most important relationship in their lives -- their marriages -- they were woefully neglectful and undisciplined. I don't know the particulars that led to Edwards and Petrino choosing to be unfaithful to their wives. In the end, the specifics really do not matter. What I am fairly sure of is that when both men review the fruit of their choices, they sting from the pain of regret. Edwards issued a statement in 2008 when his affair had been revealed. In part, the apology read: "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness..." Edwards statement also included the following, "I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices and I had hoped that it would never become public. ... I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up -- feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare. ..." Petrino issued a statement when news of his indiscretions had become public. It read in part: "I'm sorry. These two words seem very inadequate. But that is my heart. All I have been able to think about is the number of people I've let down by making selfish decisions. ... I have no one to blame but myself." Both men's statements are heavy with the pain of regret. The lack of discipline in respect to their marriages prevented Edwards and Petrino from saying no to inappropriate and destructive choices. As a result, they brought embarrassment upon themselves and their families and cost themselves millions of dollars. In Edwards' case, he even faces the possibility of prison. I am sure the women who became involved with Edwards and Petrino regret their lack of discipline and decision to become involved with married men. They, too, lost much when their indiscretions became public knowledge. To be sure, Edwards and Petrino are only the latest illustrations of individuals who, perhaps without fully realizing it at the time, ultimately chose the pain of regret rather than the pain of discipline. Many people -- the famous and the obscure -- have made the exact same choice only to experience the nagging pain of regret. We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. "The difference," observed entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Rohn, "is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons." The universal and unyielding truth articulated in the Bible is, "Whatsoever a man sows, this he will also reap." Sow the pain of discipline, my friends, and you will not regret it. If Edwards and Petrino had it do over again, I am quite sure they would. --30-- Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press, director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention's office of public affairs, and editor of the Baptist Message www.baptistmessage.com, newsjournal of the Louisiana 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 -- EDITORIAL: Transfomación Espiritual By Fermín Whittaker Apr. 13 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37598 NOTA DEL EDITOR: La columna First-Person (De primera mano) es parte de la edición de hoy de BP en español. Para ver historias adicionales, vaya a [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/espanol]http://www.bpnews.net/espanol[/URL] FRESNO, Calif. (BP) -- Recientemente celebramos el domingo de resurrección. Pasé la semana pensando en el sacrificio de Jesús por mis pecados. Estos pensamientos me impulsan a continuar el enfoque de mi vida: presentando el evangelio transformador de Jesus. Diariamente tenemos la oportunidad de presentar las buenas nuevas de Jesús. Hay muchas personas que no han escuchado este mensaje. Es urgente que compartimos el evangelio con otros. Urgente porque para muchos, el tiempo es corto. Cada día muchos mueren sin Cristo. Cristianos celebramos la promesa de nuestro lugar celestial. Creo que nos urge presentar el evangelio a todos, especialmente los de nuestra familia y amistades. Tengo una lista que llevo siempre: nombres de 3 personas que conozco personalmente que no tienen una relación con Cristo. Llevando los nombres en mi bolsillo, no es suficiente. Es necesario orar y compartir las buenas nuevas, el evangelio con todos. El mensaje y mensajero pueden tener gran impacto en millones de vidas. Por eso recuerdo las palabras de Pablo en Romanos, que todos debemos tener en mente Romanos 10:9-15 La Biblia de las Américas (LBLA) 9que si confiesas con tu boca a Jesús por Señor, y crees en tu corazón que Dios le resucitó de entre los muertos, serás salvo; 10porque con el corazón se cree para justicia, y con la boca se confiesa para salvación. 11Pues la Escritura dice: TODO EL QUE CREE EN EL NO SERA AVERGONZADO. 12Porque no hay distinción entre judío y griego, pues el mismo Señor es Señor de todos, abundando en riquezas para todos los que le invocan; 13porque: TODO AQUEL QUE INVOQUE EL NOMBRE DEL SEÑOR SERA SALVO. 14¿Cómo, pues, invocarán a aquel en quien no han creído? ¿Y cómo creerán en aquel de quien no han oído? ¿Y cómo oirán sin haber quien les predique? 15¿Y cómo predicarán si no son enviados? Tal como está escrito: ¡CUAN HERMOSOS SON LOS PIES DE LOS QUE ANUNCIAN EL EVANGELIO DEL BIEN! Todos somos enviados: al vecino, familia, nuestra comunidad y mundo. Cristo transforma vidas y el impacto de transformación espiritual cambia comunidades. --30-- Fermín Whittaker es el director ejecutivo de la Convención Bautista del Sur en California. Los materiales en español publicados por esta convención se encuentran en http://www.csbc.com/languageresources. -- 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