Baptist Press Stories for Apr. 24 2012 --------------------------------------- 'A lot of hurt' in Seattle meets with church planter's vision http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37673 VP nominee would lead IMB strategy for business leaders' 'global mobilization' http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37675 Obama site touts 40 accomplishments for gays http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37679 9 keys to reaching college students http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37674 Q&A: Actor John Schneider on role in 'October Baby' & a second new pro-life film, 'Doonby' http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37676 Jim Wells to join Mo. convention staff http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37671 Tenn. convention exploring property options http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37672 FROM THE STATES: Wy., Ala., S.C. evangelism/missions news http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37677 WORLDVIEW: Uncool? Deal with it http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37678 --------------------------------------- 'A lot of hurt' in Seattle meets with church planter's vision By Joe Conway Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37673 SEATTLE, Wash. (BP) -- Crazy. Not the first description that comes to mind for church planting, but for Keith and Kristine Carpenter the word comes up often.
The couple, married 21 years, moved to Seattle three years ago to help launch Epic Life Church. The church plant celebrated its two-year anniversary in September 2011, with God having used a still, small, yet extremely direct voice to call the Carpenters to the Pacific Northwest. "I was sitting in church, minding my own business," said Keith Carpenter, who was a church's college pastor in Winona, Minn. "I felt like God tapped us on the shoulder and said, 'I want you to go start a church.' And I was like, 'What?'" One week later, Kristine had "a pretty crazy dream," Carpenter continued. "She'd never been to Seattle, but she said, 'I saw this word, it was just the letters Aurora in Seattle.' So we checked out Aurora in Seattle and found it was a main drag. "That kinda got our attention." A trip to explore Seattle and Aurora Avenue four months later confirmed their vision, though they found the Aurora corridor to be a crazy place. "Most people, if you ask them about Aurora, they'll say bars and strip clubs and adult bookstores and all this stuff," Carpenter said. "There's just a lot of hurt along the street." The couple started meeting people -- "walking up and down [the avenue], talking with the homeless, spending time with them, knowing them by name." "And people came in from those relationships," Carpenter said. Epic Life Church, which meets in a movie theater, has grown to a congregation of 100, encompassing the homeless as well as people with comfortable homes and incomes. "We have a rocking good time," said Carpenter, a North American Mission Board church planter missionary. "It's not something we dreamed up. The only way I can explain it is that it's truly God calling us to do this. "We really have wanted to bring color to the city. This is a colorless city, spiritually colorless. Our vision at Epic Life is to see North Seattle transformed by finding an epic life in Christ." Another crazy occurrence in the Carpenters' venture to Seattle came when a crack house burned down and became a homeless hangout. "We prayed for a year and then asked the owners if we could create a garden," Carpenter said. The owners initially said no, but finally agreed. God's allowed us to use this space without paying for it. As we have the money we put in gardening containers. We see it as transforming people's lives -- a place to share the Gospel. "There's a homeless lady who lives there. She has a botany degree. She sleeps on the sidewalk, but she takes care of the plants. Crazy," Carpenter said. The Epic Life community is excited that Seattle is a Send North America city, part of NAMB's national church planting initiative in 29 major cities across the continent. Epic Life already is working with a supporting church in Texas, Oakwood Baptist in New Braunfels. "They brought 131 youth and their leaders this summer," Carpenter said. "When a group like that comes, it puts a lot of hands and feet on the ground. They helped us with a block party for several hundred people. People along Aurora are not just down and out, they are marginalized. Showing them love and that people truly care has opened a lot of doors," Carpenter said. Brandon Best, Oakwood's middle school pastor in New Braunfels, said the benefits were mutual. "We need to get away from our bubble, our place, to be able to experience and see things," Best said. "We came to show some students and some adult leaders who we're giving funds to. And not just giving, but doing as well. And man, we're excited about that." Epic already is planning to initiate a second church, this one in the south part of Seattle. Connect with Epic Life Church at epiclifechurch.org. --30-- Joe Conway is a writer for the North American Mission Board. For more information about NAMB's Send North America initiative, go to www.namb.net/overview-why-send. To view a video about Keith Carpenter and missionaries like him, visit www.namb.net/video. -- End of story -- VP nominee would lead IMB strategy for business leaders' 'global mobilization' By Laura Fielding Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37675 RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Long before he became IMB president, Tom Elliff dreamed of a new kind of missionary -- Southern Baptist business leaders who leverage their resources, global connections and growth strategies to help fulfill the Great Commission. [IMG=32485@right@140]That dream, which Elliff calls "global strategic mobilization," or GSM, is a step closer to reality with his nomination of Scott Holste as vice president of the International Mission Board's newly created GSM office. Holste currently serves as IMB associate vice president of global strategy. Trustees will consider Holste for the new role in their May meeting. "I see [GSM] as a focus of our mission that is long overdue," Elliff said. "It simply means that we would be partnering with SBC-led ministries and business professionals who are already traveling around the world and deeply desire to be involved in Great Commission ministries." Holste has served in IMB's global strategy office since 2009, where he oversees affinity group leaders who direct the work of IMB's nearly 5,000 field personnel. Holste also oversees IMB's global research department, hunger and relief ministries and orality strategies. "I'm very appreciative of Tom's leadership and his confidence in me to head up this very important initiative," Holste said. "It has been a joy to serve on the global strategy leadership team and to oversee the work of our affinity leaders. While the supervisory nature of those relationships will change, I look forward to continue working closely with these key field leaders as we seek together to fulfill the Great Commission." Holste, who holds a Ph.D. in organizational leadership, began working with IMB in 1987 when he was appointed as a missionary. In 1997, he transitioned into the role of director of the global research department at IMB's home office in Richmond, Va. In 2005, he became associate vice president for research and strategic services before transitioning into his current role in 2009. "Scott Holste is uniquely qualified to lead this initiative," Elliff said. "Scott's broad-based understanding of strategies to fulfill our vision and his insights into the opportunities and challenges in reaching all people groups provide a solid foundation on which to build this new component of the organization." If approved by trustees, Holste not only will mobilize, train and strategically involve SBC business leaders to fulfill the Great Commission but will supervise human needs strategies and serve as a member of IMB's executive leadership team. Holste hopes to help business leaders and marketplace professionals realize how they can be actively involved in missions by utilizing their knowledge, experience, connections and creativity to advance the Gospel worldwide. "My dream is that through the work of this new initiative, we will match our [nearly] 5,000 field personnel with 5,000 -- or more! -- passionate, trained and strategically positioned and connected marketplace professionals working in concert together and alongside national Baptist partners and other evangelicals to ensure the sustained, effective engagement of every people group," he said. "My hope is that this radical involvement of individuals bringing all they are, have and know to fulfillment of the Great Commission might serve to energize, even transform, the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention." Elliff said the GSM concept is based on the first-century model of church planting, which was facilitated by taking the Good News along the Roman roads of commerce. "We'll be able to show [business leaders] how they become involved, give them and their organization training in the best ways to become involved and also show them, ... where possible, there could be a strategic alignment between the work that they are doing on the corporate level and the work that our personnel may be doing on a strategic level," Elliff said. If trustees ratify Holste's nomination during their May 22–23 meeting in Nashville, Tenn., he will immediately move into the new position. Business leaders from across the United States also will meet in Dallas in May to participate in a "think tank" to further develop GSM and its strategies. "I am convinced that [GSM] is a vital, yet missing piece of our global mission strategy," Holste said. "While we have made a number of attempts to address this need over the years, it is clear that we need to be involved in a much more significant way as an organization and as Southern Baptists. GSM will help establish the marketplace as an essential component of our overall mission strategy." Holste and his wife Janie, daughter of emeritus missionaries Robert and Myrtle Daugherty, have three sons and three grandsons. --30-- Laura Fielding is a writer for IMB. -- End of story -- Obama site touts 40 accomplishments for gays By Michael Foust Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37679 WASHINGTON (BP) -- Perhaps trying to send a message to gay activists who want him to do more, President Obama's re-election website has posted a timeline of 40 specific accomplishments his administration has made for the gay community -- a timeline that no doubt will be referenced both by his supporters and opponents in the coming months. The rainbow-colored timeline begins in June 2009, when he ordered the federal government to extend some benefits to the partners of gay federal employees, and ends in March of this year, when he announced his opposition to a North Carolina constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. In between, the timeline touts some of his more well-known accomplishments for the gay community, led by the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and his legal opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act. His re-election Twitter account sent out a Tweet April 20 with a link to the website and the message: "What three years of progress for the LGBT community looks like." Some gay activists are upset Obama has not publicly supported gay "marriage," although many of them say he has taken positions and actions that leave little doubt where he stands. They were further upset when he did not sign an anti-discrimination executive order in April. The campaign website states: "Together, we've fought for equal rights for LGBT Americans -- and the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is just one example of the progress we've achieved since President Obama took office. Take a look at the timeline below, then share it with your friends." Following is the text from the timeline, which can be accessed online at https://my.barackobama.com/page/share/progress-for-lgbt-americans: 2009 June 17 -- "Ordered the federal government to extend key benefits to same–sex partners of federal employees." June 29 -- "Hosted the first-ever White House LGBT Pride reception." Aug. 12 -- "Awarded the highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, to Billie Jean King and Harvey Milk." Oct. 21 -- "Created a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders." Oct. 28 -- "Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law." 2010 Jan. 1 -- "Banned discrimination in federal workplaces based on gender identity." Jan. 4 -- "Lifted the ban that prohibited people with HIV/AIDS from entering the United States." March 23 -- "Enacted the Affordable Care Act, reforming health care in America by lowering costs, expanding choice, and improving health care quality." April 15 -- "Ensured hospital visitation and medical decision-making rights for gay and lesbian patients." June 9 -- "Allowed transgender Americans to receive true gender passports without surgery." June 22 -- "Clarified the Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure family leave for LGBT employees." June 22 -- "Released America's first comprehensive plan to prevent and end homelessness, which includes homeless LGBT youth." Oct. 1 -- "Awarded a grant to the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center to work with LGBT foster youth." Oct. 21 -- "Recorded 'It Gets Better' video to support LGBT youth experiencing bullying." Dec. 21 -- "Led a United Nations measure to restore 'sexual orientation' to the definition of human rights." Dec. 22 -- "Signed the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'" 2011 Feb. 23 -- "Declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and announced the administration will no longer defend it in court." March 10 -- "Hosted first-ever White House Conference on Bullying Prevention in America's schools." March 31 -- "Completed an Institute of Medicine study on LGBT health, the first of its kind." May 27 -- "Issued guidance to foster safer working environments for transgender federal employees." July 19 -- "Endorsed the Respect for Marriage Act, a legislative effort to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act." Aug. 18 -- "Clarified the meaning of 'family' to include LGBT relationships, helping to protect bi-national families threatened by deportation." Aug. 19 -- "Supported lesbian widow Edith Windsor in her suit against DOMA." Sept. 15 -- "Ended the Social Security Administration's gender 'no–match' letters." Sept. 20 -- "Implemented the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'" Sept. 30 -- "Permitted military chaplains to officiate same-sex marriages where legal." Oct. 1 -- "Addressed the annual Human Rights Campaign dinner for the second time." Oct. 13 -- "Alison Nathan becomes second openly gay appointee to be confirmed to the federal bench under President Obama's nomination." Oct. 20 -- "Awarded Citizens' Medal to Janice Langbehn, lesbian mother whose story paved the way for hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples." Oct. 31 -- "Included specific data on health needs of lesbian and bisexual women in the Health Resources and Services Administration's 'Women's Health USA 2011' federal report." Nov. 1 -- "In his presidential proclamation of National Adoption Month, President Obama called for equal treatment for same-sex adoptive parents." Dec. 1 -- "On World AIDS Day, recommitted the U.S. to creating an AIDS–free generation." Dec. 6 -- "Created first-ever U.S. government strategy dedicated to combating human rights abuses against LGBT persons abroad." 2012 Jan. 28 -- "Announced HUD's new rule protecting against housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity." Feb. 2 -- "Announced White House LGBT Conference Series to address issues affecting LGBT Americans, including health, housing, and safety." Feb. 7 -- "Promoted equal access to quality health care by enabling searches for health plans with same-sex partner benefits on Healthcare.gov." Feb. 13 -- "Proposed a 2013 federal budget for an economy built to last, including providing security for the LGBT community." March (no specific date given) -- "Ensured transgender veterans receive respectful care according to their true gender through the Veterans Health Administration." March 15 -- "Michael Fitzgerald, fourth openly gay nominee under President Obama, is confirmed to the federal bench in California." March 16 -- "Came out against North Carolina's Amendment 1, which would prohibit same-sex marriage in the state." --30-- Michael Foust is associate editor of Baptist Press. Read Baptist Press' special story, "Why not legalize gay marriage?" at http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37494. -- End of story -- 9 keys to reaching college students By J.D. Greear and Rupert Leary Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37674 DURHAM, N.C. (BP) -- There are three well-established facts regarding Christianity and college students that ought to capture the attention of any Gospel-loving pastor: 1) college is a time of unprecedented openness to all things, including the Gospel; 2) many of the great "awakenings," both major and minor, in our history have started through college students; and 3) there is a disturbing absence of this age group in many of our congregations. We learned the following nine lessons along the way as our college ministry grew and flourished in an area that features many prominent universities. 1. Whatever you do, don't shy away from depth or hard truth. [IMG=29718@left@90]Students are not dumb, nor are the college professors filling their minds five days a week. These students are being presented with deep questions, and simplistic answers not only fail to persuade them, but make them increasingly skeptical of Christianity. So take them deep, and do it often. In almost every sermon we try to have an "apologetic moment," where I explain how this or that biblical truth counters the cultural norms they absorb in their college. The most popular series we have done have related to straight, deep answers to challenging questions. [IMG=32486@right@90]Furthermore, teach the hard stuff -- like what the Bible teaches about gender roles, sexuality and divine punishment. Most students already know generally what evangelical Christians believe about these things (if for no other reason than that we are spoofed by their professors and "Saturday Night Live"), so we gain no ground by pandering around it, ignoring it or apologizing for it. Speak truth convincingly with clarity and grace. Recently I had a practicing lesbian student tell me that she comes to our church because we at least teach the Bible clearly, even though it angers her sometimes. She said, "I don't want someone just telling me what they think I want to hear. I know what the Bible says. I'm trying to decide if it's true. I want someone to explain to me what it says and tell me why it's true." 2. Preach the Gospel. The beauty of the Gospel, as well as its outrageous claims, intrigues most students. It engages both believer and unbeliever. It exposes the root idolatries that drive our behavior, and reveal God's radical agenda for the world that calls for a dramatic response. The Gospel "secret" is that all the things we want to see produced in students, things like "radical generosity" and "audacious faith," are produced not by telling them what they are to do for God, but by exalting in what God has done for us. 3. Love on display is often the most effective apologetic. Francis Schaeffer first said that, I think. Strike that. Jesus first said it (John 13:34–35). We often think the way to convince unbelievers is to show that our smart guys are smarter than their smart guys. True cynics are convinced more, however, by the beauty of Christ's character in us than they are meticulous logic of our apologetic. (This is not to diminish, at all, the vital role of giving intelligent answers to hard questions). Note that it was when the first church "shared all things in common" and "there was no need among them" that Luke says they had "favor with all the people" and "God added to their number daily those that are being saved." The church's greatest persuasive power is in her serving (cf. 1 Peter 3:15; 4:7–11). 4. Remember that we live in the Bono generation. Serving the community and the poor around the world is now, for lack of better terms, "cool." And while TOMS Shoes certainly has a different agenda than does the church, this generation's awareness of global suffering ensures that a message that fails to address global and societal needs will fall on deaf ears. The awareness of global suffering actually provides a wonderful opportunity for the Gospel. We can show that the Gospel provides a better, more holistic answer to the problems of the world. Our church has identified five areas (the homeless, the orphan, the prisoner, the unwed mother and the high school dropout) that we plug students into. We use these as opportunities not only to win our community, but also to disciple students. Opportunities to serve the poor become some of our best opportunities for the evangelizing of lost students. Many students will serve alongside us in projects directed toward these groups even when they won't come to our church services. 5. Lift their eyes to the nations. God's agenda for the world is nothing short of people from every people group worshipping Jesus (Revelation 5:9-11). We should teach students to choose their life's path based on this end-goal. Even those students who do not go into "full-time ministry" can choose their career path in light of the Great Commission. They have to get a job upon graduation somewhere, so why not do it in a place where they can be a part of church planting? We teach our students that unless God has put a better plan in front of them, they should plan to spend two years in one of the places we have a church plant (both domestic and abroad). 6. Aggressively develop summer projects and overseas opportunities. Summer projects and mission trips are great "farm teams" for training students in mission. We have seen tremendous returns from students who served on one of these projects. 7. The "come and get it" approach of many churches and campus ministries has become less effective with today's students. Plus, there are usually a lot of groups already doing that on campus, so that "market" is already glutted. There are still tons of lost kids on campus, however, and most of them won't go to those large groups. We have found that one-on-one meetings and small groups reach many of these "radically unchurched" students. Also, it's easier (and cheaper) to draft younger, "just out of college" workers than it is to hire a career "college pastor." 8. Providing multi-generational connections for students within the church is essential to discipleship. Students need a Titus 2 type connection with older men and women. This can happen in both formal and informal settings: encouraging healthy couples and families to integrate students into their families, hosting multigenerational small groups, and having students help out with children's and student ministries are all ways students can connect. Five college student guys hanging out together sharing their collective wisdom is not the "manifestation of God's varied graces" that God promised in the church (Ephesians 3:10; 1 Peter 4:10). 9. Cultural adaptation is important, though not essential. Why do churches hold on to the cultural mores and styles of previous generations if they are trying to reach this one? We can't make the Gospel more attractive through our "coolness," but let's face it: if the 1950s ever come back, many of our churches are going to be ready. That said, ultimately the appeal of the church has more to do with its timelessness than its trendiness. The essential element is not a cool pastor or loud music but an authentic message. Traditionalism is a killer not because it is "uncool" but because it is a counterfeit of the Gospel. Some churches that are very effective in engaging students have more of the ancient, reverent feel than a vibrant, energetic one. Our church has more of a modern feel, but we think the Gospel's power can reign in both settings. We would encourage you to lay all cultural elements of your church at the feet of Jesus and ask him to show you how to prioritize the mission over preference. Every effective missionary in every culture has thought this way. God help us if we value our cultural traditions more than our children. There is no magic bullet for reaching students, but we hope these timeless values will help spur you to expect great things of God for this generation, and then attempt great things for God in it. --30-- J. D. Greear is the lead pastor at the Summit Church in Durham, N.C., where Rupert Leary is the pastor of college ministry and mobilization. A version of this column also appeared at TheGospelCoalition.org and JDGreear.com. -- End of story -- Q&A: Actor John Schneider on role in 'October Baby' & a second new pro-life film, 'Doonby' By Karen L. Willoughby Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37676 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Actor John Schneider says he just wants to make a difference. Schneider plays the role of Hannah's father in the recent pro-life hit "October Baby," and drifter Sam Doonby in the new movie "Doonby," a pro-life film from a different perspective. Doonby is being screened to pastors and church leaders. "The hope is that October Baby will grease the skids so that with these preview screenings Doonby can come out [to the general public] in 500 to 600 theatres," Schneider said. Schneider, former star of two long-running television series -- Bo Duke in "Dukes of Hazzard" and Superman's dad, Jonathan Kent, in "Smallville" -- has been part of six Christian films in just the last two years, and more than 60 films during his 34-year professional career. "After Smallville, most of these films found me," Schneider told Baptist Press. "I read scripts all the time; they have to be good for me to be interested. There's no point in doing a script that puts forth a message you don't agree with." But he doesn't limit himself to Christian-message films. "I help people take their minds off their problems, and if I can give them something else to think about, so much the better," said Schneider, who also is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, director and occasional golfer, as well as a husband and the father of three. Following is a partial transcript of Baptist Press' interview with Schneider: SCHNEIDER: Both October Baby and Doonby are very cleverly written ... and neither goes where you think. I like to have to think, to figure out the puzzle and to be fooled -- and surprised. Both do all these things. But more than that, both films are about the importance of life, the value each life has. October Baby is about a person who should not be, who is. Doonby is about a person who is, who ultimately is not. It makes you think: What would our existence be like if this person were in it, or were not in it, for that matter. I think that is why October Baby is touching so many people. It doesn't force its message on you. It just lets the story unfold and you make your own decision. BAPTIST PRESS: October Baby also is about the need for the healing benefit of forgiveness, including the forgiveness of herself by the woman who had agreed in her youth to have an abortion. SCHNEIDER: Hatred actually is a burden. What a tremendous burden it is to hate somebody. It just eats away inside of you. Having a grudge against somebody is like drinking poison and waiting for someone else to die. To me October Baby overwhelmingly is a message of forgiveness. The forgiveness is person to person, which really is seldom talked about. It's so powerful. BP: October Baby and Doonby seem to me to be opposite sides of the same coin. In October Baby, Hannah is a much-loved adopted daughter. She's kind of like the poster child for all that's good about adoption. Doonby, on the other hand, is about a guy from a small town in Louisiana, who drifts into an even smaller Texas town and gets a job at a bar. [Abortion isn't referenced until late in the film.] SCHNEIDER: Yes, this is a very interesting way to go after the issue of abortion. I think it has to do with the fact that Peter [Mackenzie, writer and director] is from the U.K. They tell stories differently there. It's fascinating. Doonby moved me so much. It's an amazingly intelligent way to table this discussion [of abortion]. Both these films were so well-written; neither one tipped their hand, neither one is preachy. Doonby is also about alcoholism, but like abortion, it refrains from making judgments. It just gives people something to think about, which I think will cause great wonderful after-movie discussions. BP: Were you familiar with abortion and its effects before you started work on these films? Did you know about abortion survivors? SCHNEIDER: I was familiar with both sides of the abortion issue, but I was not familiar at all with the term "abortion survivor." Apparently October Baby has given some light to this subject. What I know is that when I read October Baby and got to page 10, that stopped me. That fascinated me. As soon as you open your mind to the fact that a child could live through an abortion, that through a series of circumstances, that could be possible -- it's frightening! That takes you right to the moment of birth. I think that's why October Baby is touching people. BP: Do you identify yourself as a Christian? SCHNEIDER: I remember my grandmother telling me one day she'd be in heaven. That was the extent of my religious upbringing. Then, in my late 20s, I was playing music with a buddy of mine at the Little Brown Church in North Hollywood -- just playing music; I wasn't there for anything else. The pastor would always tell everyone to get up and hug each other, and one Sunday I saw a little old fella get up, an old guy, all stooped over but dressed in a suit, and he went over and hugged a much younger guy who had scraggly hair and rumpled clothes, and something passed between them. I wanted that. Whatever it was that passed between these two people, I knew it was real. Yes, I'm a Christian, and I say you never know the value of what you are doing, of your example. It's usually not the preaching the leads people to Christ; it's your example. BP: You were two when your parents divorced. What was it like to grow up without a dad? SCHNEIDER: I started doing theatre when I was eight. Even as a child, you are treated more as an equal, and people watch your back. I had a lot of male influence. It can never make up for not having your father there, but I had great friends whose fathers were great fathers. You'll find that dad-like influence out there. It's there. My mom taught me how to work hard. She worked several jobs and also did ironing at night. Both my parents worked very, very hard. I learned that from them, and I learned you need to be a person of your word. You need to tell the truth and be willing to live with the consequences of your actions; you're going to make mistakes. Be ready to deal with them. BP: You've been quoted saying you're a good dad. What does it take to be a good dad? SCHNEIDER: Paying attention, having conversations, listening, and in my line of work, coming home as often as you can. It's so important to do things for people who will be there after you're gone. That's been a longtime focus of mine. We do what we do -- we should do what we do -- for our children and their children and their children's children. BP: Children obviously are a hot button for you, and that includes your involvement with the Children's Miracle Network. What's that about? SCHNEIDER: There were four of us -- Marie Osmond, Joe Lake, Mick Shannon and me. We were raising money for the March of Dimes telethon and people would give us excuses, like "my child doesn't have that." The Children's Miracle Network raises money for 170 children's hospitals across America because they treat children regardless of their ability to pay. Also, all the money raised stays right in your area. And, 100 percent of your donation goes to the hospital. Nothing's kept back. With these three different reasons, we've raised nearly $5 billion for children's hospitals since 1983. BP: What's next? SCHNEIDER: This is really an exciting time for me. I've never had a movie in the top 10 before, like October Baby was its first week out. I've never had a movie in the top 20 before, and that's where October Baby was in its third week. "Hardflip" is another really good film that'll be released soon. In it, I'm a wealthy architect. I meet my skateboarding son for the first time, a week before my ex-wife of 18 years is dying. It's really a hard-hitting film about the relationships between fathers and sons, and again, like October Baby, the value of forgiveness. At one point in it I say, "It's too late for me now. See if you can't find it in your heart to forgive me." If I can get people thinking about issues, that's a way I can make a difference not just now, but for generations to come. --30-- Karen L. Willoughby is managing editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message. -- End of story -- Jim Wells to join Mo. convention staff By Brian Koonce/The Pathway Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37671 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Jim Wells, registration secretary for the Southern Baptist Convention, is joining the Missouri Baptist Convention executive board staff as Cooperative Program state missionary for strategic partnerships. Wells has been director of missions for Missouri's Tri-County Baptist Association in Nixa for nearly 12 years. [IMG=32479@right@130]Beginning June 1, Wells will serve as the Missouri convention's liaison with directors of missions (DOMs); oversee the MBC's On Mission Celebrations; work with DOMs in partner conventions; act as the executive director's designee with convention entities and the Missouri National Guard Partners in Care program; and oversee MBC ministries involving chaplaincy. Strengthening relationships between the Missouri convention and DOMs across the state will be a key focus of his work, Wells told The Pathway, the convention's newsjournal. "They are the largest statewide network," he said. "The state convention and association are partners in helping churches fulfill the Great Commission. A part of that is strengthening the relationship between the state and associations. When churches and associations are strong, the state convention will be strong." John Yeats, MBC executive director, has known Wells for 15 years and has served with him on the SBC level where Yeats has been the convention's recording secretary since 1998. "This position is about network, network, network," Yeats told the MBC executive board as he introduced Wells for the new position during their April 10 meeting. "The DOMs know our churches, they love their pastors and they are our strategic partners. We need Jim Wells. He has a great reputation among his colleagues and I can't think of a brother better equipped to work with DOMs than one of them who knows how they think." As a liaison to state convention entities, Wells will represent the Cooperative Program at the trustee meetings of Hannibal-LaGrange University, Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Children's Home. "Jim and his wife Judy are a wonderful Christian couple and they bring the very best of Missouri Baptist life into our team," Yeats said. In his joining the MBC staff, Wells has resigned his seat on the MBC executive board, of which he has been a member since 2006. Wells first won election as SBC registration secretary in 2002 and plans to run for an 11th term when the convention meets in New Orleans in June. --30-- Brian Koonce is staff writer at The Pathway (www.mbcpathway.com), newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- Tenn. convention exploring property options By Staff Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37672 BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) -- Members of the Tennessee Baptist Convention's executive board have approved the exploration of "options for placing the Baptist Center property in Brentwood on the market and recruiting interested parties to submit proposals on the property." The convention's executive director, Randy C. Davis, was authorized to conduct the exploration in a unanimous vote during the executive board's mid-March meeting. Rich Wallace, a member of First Baptist Church in Sevierville and chairman of the executive board's administrative committee, noted that the board has entertained offers on the property in the past but has not actively pursued offers. In 2008, the board was approached by developers who agreed to purchase the Baptist Center property for $13.06 million. In March 2009 after a downturn in the economy, the purchaser cancelled the contract. In December 2010 a subcommittee was appointed by the board to "analyze any proposals that might be presented concerning the sale of the property and to bring those with merit to the Administrative Committee." Davis emphasized that the recommendation is "driven by stewardship." When the board first moved to the property 43 years ago, it was what was needed, Davis noted. A conference center building was added to the Brentwood offices in 1989 as it became known as the Baptist Center. The background information provided to executive board members noted that conferencing and training processes now take the TBC into the field much more than they bring others into the building. The recommendation also asked the executive director to "initiate a study of options for an alternative Baptist Center location and configuration that would include but not be limited to leasing or purchasing, assigning some employees to work primarily in the field, limiting meeting space and other alternative meeting space." --30-- Reported by the Baptist & Reflector, newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- FROM THE STATES: Wy., Ala., S.C. evangelism/missions news By Staff Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37677 EDITOR'S NOTE: From the States, published each Tuesday by Baptist Press, relays news and feature stories from state Baptist papers and other publications on initiatives by Baptist churches, associations and state conventions in evangelism, church planting and Great Commission outreach, including partnership missions. Reports about churches, associations and state conventions responding to the International Mission Board's call to embrace the world's 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups also are included in From the States, along with reports about church, associational and state convention initiatives in conjunction with the North American Mission Board's call to Southern Baptist churches to broaden their efforts in starting new churches and satellite campuses. The items appear in Baptist Press as originally published. Today's From the States features items from: Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention The Alabama Baptist The Baptist Courier (South Carolina) Youth Evangelism Conference 2012 By Guy O. Thomas CASPER, Wy. (Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention) -- The 2012 Youth Evangelism Conference of the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention was held March 23-24 at the Ramada Plaza Riverside in Casper, Wyoming. This year's registration swelled to 185, with over 200 in attendance by Saturday morning. This more than doubled last year's attendance. The theme of the Conference was "Make all things New", coming from the scripture in 2 Corinthians 5:17. The Lord was honored with 17 coming to faith in Jesus Christ, three surrendering to full-time Christian service and 18 commitments of various types. Marty Roark and his Mustang Ministry Team used a series of cowboy demonstrations to challenge the youth in the principles of Scripture. The first demo was a blacksmith forge, in which they heated an old horseshoe, disregarding a portion and making a new useful hoof pick out of the remainder. The team also used a mule packing demo to challenge the youth to pack their lives with the Word of God and to arrange things in their lives around the Lord for the rough journey of life. Through the trapping demo the team taught the youth some trapping principles as well as animal behaviorisms, then showed through the demo how Satan sets traps for us and how we need the whole armor of God in our lives to avoid the temptations and snares of our enemy. It was amazing to see the teenagers on the edge of their seats in response to the Gospel presentations. Ed Tharp, Casper College BCM director, recruited the praise team from present and former BCM students. They lead the youth in worship and singing with enthusiasm and inspirations. The group consisted of drummer, keyboard, bass, rhythm guitar and three vocalists. John Herman, pastor of Set Free Ministries of Casper, gave a testimony of his rebellious youth and 10-year imprisonment. He magnified the power of God in his life and how the Lord has delivered him from a life of drug addiction, criminal activity and incarceration. John encouraged the youth to seek the Lord with their whole heart and stressed the importance of beginning to serve the Lord immediately. There were 60 giveaway drawings throughout the conference with 40 youth receiving the CDs, T-shirts and other prizes. Youth workers also had a drawing for youth material packets which can be used in their church youth group gatherings. Each registered youth received a long-sleeved shirt with the conference theme and logo, as well as a backpack filled with unique witnessing tools for sharing Christ with their friends and relatives. We are already praying and planning for next year's conference. --30-- Guy O. Thomas is the state missionary for evangelism strategies with the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention. ********** Alabama BCM students spend spring break ministering in NYC By Doug Rogers TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (The Alabama Baptist) -- As a theater major at the University of Alabama, Emily Couch was looking forward to spending spring break in New York City -- but not for the reasons you might expect. Having spent the past two spring breaks doing missions work in Memphis and Mexico and last summer in Gulf Shores, Couch began feeling God leading her to New York, not just for her career but to serve Him through missions. Then when she learned that her Baptist Campus Ministry (BCM) was planning a spring break trip to New York City, she began packing her bags. "I knew this was an opportunity for me to come up here to see what God is doing and see a way for me to be involved, and I knew this was where he would begin laying the foundation for my future," Couch said. Couch was one of around 130 college students and leaders from five Alabama BCMs who spent their spring break in New York City as a part of Passport New York. The brainchild of John Ramirez, Passport New York is designed not just to provide college students with a missions experience but to immerse them in a different culture. Ramirez, strategic partnership coordinator for the Metro New York Baptist Association, explained that people often only think of Manhattan when they think of New York. But this experience introduces students to ministry needs in all five boroughs of New York City, where there are more than 550 people groups and 800 languages spoken. "The world comes to New York," he said. Over the course of one week, students in BCMs from Alabama State University and the universities of Alabama, Alabama at Birmingham, Montevallo and South Alabama became New Yorkers, learning how to use the subway, talk with street vendors and interact with people of different cultures. Along the way, the students connected with church planters, pastors and other leaders, doing everything from prayer walking, handing out free coffee and picking up trash to teaching English as a second language, renovating a church building and leading in worship. Like Couch, Twon Mai, a University of Mobile student traveling with the Metro Mobile BCM team, already had a sense of God's hand on his life. He had been praying about planting a church in New York when this opportunity came along at just the right time. "It's given me more of a burden for the people here, it's given me more to pray about and given me more of an emotional investment," he said. For many others, like Kasey Barrow, this was their first multicultural missions experience. Barrow, a senior at the University of Montevallo, had never participated in a missions endeavor beyond Vacation Bible School. And while adapting to New York's culture was frustrating at first, Barrow quickly saw God's hand at work. "The amount of lost people in New York seems overwhelming, but God reminded me that He is mighty to save and that it is our job to pray, minister, preach and love," she said. One of the church planters that Alabama students connected with was Nathan Creitz, who is from Alabama himself. Creitz and his wife Kim moved to New York recently to plant a church in the Forest Park area of Queens. For two back-to-back weeks, a group of Alabama students worked with Creitz, prayer walking the area where the church will be planted and engaging people in conversation. The help the students provided was a great encouragement to Creitz, because right now they don't have a core group or a team — it's just his wife and two toddlers. "To have all these additional hands and feet on the ground serving multiplies what I'm doing incredibly," he said. "It's absolutely essential for us to have teams like this to come in and help us along the way." Ramirez explained that one of the goals of Passport New York is for some of the students who participate to return for a summer, a semester, a year or even a lifetime. But for those who don't, Jerrod Brown, campus minister at the University of South Alabama, sees a huge benefit for the local church. "I think the investment that Alabama Baptists make in college students through their Cooperative Program gifts makes an eternal impact," Brown said. "We're investing in folks who will be our future church leaders with a missional mindset, who will help mobilize people for missions or who will be missionaries themselves." That's one of the primary purposes of BCM spring break missions trips, explained Chris Mills, associate in the office of collegiate and student ministries at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. "One of the main reasons we have these trips is because when students help meet needs in other places, it opens their eyes to needs in their own communities," Mills said. "Plus the opportunity to take several groups to New York was ideal because Alabama Baptists have a missions partnership with Baptists in New York." As for Couch, she's ready to go back. "Just walking the streets, I've seen where God is at work and the opportunities for me to jump in when I move up here. He's showing me such big things that I couldn't have ever imagined," she said. --30-- Doug Rogers is a contributing writer for the Alabama Baptist and is the communications coordinator for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. This article first appeared in The Alabama Baptist (www.thealabamabaptist.org), newsjournal of the Alabama Baptist Convention. ********** S.C. Baptists 'gospel pioneers' in India WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (The Baptist Courier) -- South Carolina Baptists are impacting lostness in India. Six members from Kittiwake Baptist Church in West Columbia went on a 10-day trip to Delhi in early 2012 as part of the South Carolina Baptist Convention partnership, and the church already has plans to return next year. Pastor Tim Smith* said the trip was the next step toward Kittiwake's goal of developing an Acts 1:8 strategy for missions. "We have focused on developing local missions first and then expanded out to Kentucky for the last few years," he said. "Our next step was to take a global level, and we began praying about where God may lead us to form a partnership." Kittiwake member Otis Kennedy* went on a vision trip to India last year with Jim Austin, SCBC executive director-treasurer, and experienced firsthand the needs there. As a result, the church corresponded with the International Mission Board to see how it could be involved in a partnership, and Kennedy organized the January 2012 trip for his church. "After my first trip, I sensed the call to go home and 'sell' my church on Delhi. It's hard enough to explain the chaos of the city, and it was harder to explain the need I felt to return. I worked closely with the IMB to create a trip that would allow us to do as much as possible, and it ended up allowing the group to see what I had seen and experience what I'd experienced," Kennedy said. An estimated 23 million people live in Delhi, a city described as spiritually dark with a predominance of Hindu people and a growing number of Muslim converts. The Kittiwake team's primary work was to prayerwalk Muslim and Hindu temples and neighborhoods where, they were told, no Westerners — and no Christians — had ever been. They also visited house churches and helped them identify unengaged people groups living in the city. The second half of the trip was spent on the outskirts of town at the Sewa Ashram, a Christian-based medical facility that cares for the destitute and dying. "'Sewa' means 'practice of selfless service,' and 'Ashram' means 'spiritual community,' and it is a place for the untouchables, the sick and dying, who don't get help anywhere else," Kennedy said. "Without organizations like the Ashram, these people will die. There they get food, medical treatments, and some return to work in society and support their families. Many come but never leave." As a result of the team's experiences there, Kittiwake Church is committing to pay the annual salary of one of the Ashram workers. "We feel that our job is to help train and encourage local believers there and to help the churches gain momentum," Smith said. Kennedy described his missions-minded church as a "small church with a big heart." That passion for missions can be seen in their Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal, which, Smith said, was $1,600 nine years ago and last year was set at $12,000. The church ended up giving $17,000 to the 2011 Lottie Moon Offering. "As we have expanded on our Acts 1:8 vision, there are more and more people catching a vision for missions. In these financial times, it was an amazing thing," he said. The church also emphasizes that missions is not just about giving, but about going. Every member who is physically able is encouraged to experience at least one mission trip. "We don't want to be missions tourists traveling the world, we want to establish a partnership with one place. Then as the relationship grows, the partnership becomes more effective," Smith said. There is a role for everyone in the India partnership, too: prayer commitment, encouraging a missionary in the field, missions giving, supporting missions teams sent from local churches, financially supporting a pastor or missionary in India or, like the Kittiwake Church team, going on a mission trip. According to Kennedy, the Great Commission is the greatest reason other churches should become involved in international missions. "If you look on a map of unreached people groups, India has the highest concentration in the world," he said. "Few Christians have been able to share the gospel with the 1.6 billion people living in India. If we believe as we say we do, what's stopping us from sharing the gospel with them? "We desire to see the gospel penetrate lostness, and there is no greater area of lostness in the world than India. What an opportunity for South Carolina Baptists to be on the forefront of what God is doing in the world and to be pioneers of the gospel in some of the darkest corners of the world." — SCBC --30-- *Names have been changed. This article first appeared in The Baptist Courer (www.baptistcourier.com), newsjournal of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- WORLDVIEW: Uncool? Deal with it By Erich Bridges Apr. 24 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37678 EDITOR'S NOTE: Visit "WorldView Conversation," the blog related to this column, at [URL=http://worldviewconversation.blogspot.com/]http://worldviewconversation.blogspot.com/[/URL]. RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- I had to sympathize with rock singer Bono when he discovered he was uncool. Uncool? The frontman for supergroup U2, one of the biggest bands in the world? The activist who travels the globe and meets with kings and presidents? The guy so hip he probably wears his trademark designer shades in the shower? Yep. Uncool. He learned the hard truth a few years ago from his teenage daughters. First off, to teenage daughters a dad is uncool by definition, especially if he's pushing 50 (Bono was 48 at the time). But they were particularly mortified when he droned on and on about global issues while some other celebs were visiting their home. He overheard one daughter telling the other, "He's probably boring their [pants] off talking about Africa." Actually, he admitted, "I probably was." The horror. I can relate. In truth, I've been uncool so long that I no longer know (or care) what is cool. I haven't even heard the bands that were topping the charts 10 years ago, much less the ones with the most iTunes downloads now. On the plus side, there's liberation in being terminally uncool. You don't have to watch trends anxiously and waste a lot of time and money trying to keep up with fads. That's for teens. There's something sad about a middle-aged man or woman trying to look and act like their kids -- or grandkids. Too often, however, churches try to do that. Tullian Tchividjian, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has a "You may be too fashionable if ..." list for Christians. You may be too fashionable, he warns, if: -- You look around at church and notice that everybody is the same age and looks and dresses pretty much like you do. -- You can't stand singing a worship song that was "in" five years ago -- much less singing a hymn from another century. -- You believe social justice is more important than evangelism, or that evangelism is more important than social justice. -- Your goal in spending time with non-Christians is to demonstrate that you're really no different than they are. To prove this, you curse like a sailor, drink like a fish and smoke like a chimney. -- You've concluded that everything new is better than anything old, or that everything old is better than anything new. -- The church you've chosen is defined more by its reaction to "boring" churches than by its response to a needy world. -- You've decided that everything done by the church you grew up in was way wrong and you're now, thankfully, part of a missional "community" that does everything right. -- The one verse you wish wasn't in the Bible is John 14:6, where Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." That's way too narrow! Way back when I was cool (like, 35 years ago), I played drums in a Christian rock band. We took old-time hymns and turned them into 15-minute jams. "Jesus freaks" with long hair and tie-dyed T-shirts were coming into traditional churches in those days, and it caused a commotion. I remember when we played at our church and cranked up the amps. Our pastor's wife, who had really big hair and played solos on a grand piano like Liberace, stood up and walked out on us. We needed a spirit of unity. We -- some of us, at least -- found it in the words of one of our favorite songs, "Little Country Church" by Chuck Girard: "They're talkin' 'bout revival and the need for love That little church has come alive Workin' with each other for the common good Puttin' all the past aside Long hair, short hair, some coats and ties People finally comin' around Lookin' past the hair and straight into the eyes People finally comin' around. ..." God's house can accommodate many styles. He doesn't have security at the door deciding which sinners are trendy enough to enter. There's nothing wrong with seeking relevance and connections to the world beyond the church. Effective missionaries are passionate and respectful students of the cultures they're trying to reach with the Gospel. They seek to learn which aspects of culture are bridges they can use to share Truth, which aspects oppose Truth and which are neutral. As the Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary of all time, said, "I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22b, NASB). But Paul never hesitated to deliver Truth straight-up, unvarnished and in your face when the situation called for it, regardless of the consequences. "Christians make a difference in this world by being different from this world; they don't make a difference by being the same," Tchividjian writes. "To be truly relevant, you have to say things that are unfashionably eternal, not trendy. It's the timeless things that are most relevant to most people. ... When the relevance of God's Word reigns supreme among God's set-apart people, we influence the wider culture by expressing His revealed truth with both our lives and our lips." --30-- Erich Bridges is IMB global correspondent. Listen to an audio version at http://media1.imbresources.org/files/148/14842/14842-82233.mp3. -- 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