Baptist Press Stories for May. 21 2012 --------------------------------------- Chen 'finally free,' arrives in U.S. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37871 Repressive era looms in Aceh, Indonesia http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37872 Smart phones interact with new study Bible http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37873 Lee Porter, former SBC officer, dies at 83 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37875 Hispanic Baptists gear up for Crossover http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37869 BP Ledger, May 21 edition http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37874 FIRST-PERSON: Your church may be inwardly focused if ... http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37870 --------------------------------------- Chen 'finally free,' arrives in U.S. By Staff May. 21 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37871 NEW YORK (BP) -- Chinese human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng arrived in the United States Saturday (May 19) with his wife and two children, beginning a new chapter of freedom despite ongoing concern for his family in China. With little notice, Chen boarded a plane in Beijing en route to Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey, where CNN reported he arrived to little fanfare after the U.S. State Department prohibited public and media access. Chen spoke hours later to numerous reporters and onlookers at New York University, where he has been granted a fellowship to study law. There, Chen indicated through a translator that he had received partial U.S. citizenship rights, CNN said, and he asked people to help him "promote justice and fairness in China." He expressed mixed feelings about seeking refuge in the United States, CNN said, because of unfinished business in his home country. The 40-year-old self-trained lawyer, blind since childhood, was imprisoned and placed under house arrest for exposing the barbaric nature of China's one-child policy. In one of the most tragic examples Chen had helped uncover, the government forced a woman who was seven months pregnant to have an abortion and forcibly sterilized her, LifeNews.com reported. Rep. Chris Smith, R.-N.J., a longtime champion of Chen's cause, met with him upon Chen's arrival in New Jersey. "After years of enduring physical and psychological torture, imprisonment and hate, the man, Chen Guangcheng, who defended Chinese women from the crime of forced abortion, is finally free," Smith said in a statement. "America welcomes this extraordinary family with open arms." Bob Fu, president of the Texas-based China Aid Association, received a phone call from Chen just after Chinese authorities told him to pack for travel to the U.S. "We are happy for Chen and his family," Fu said after the call. "This is a great day for freedom fighters. This further proves that constructive dialogue with international pressure can surely produce concrete positive results. We pray for his family's safe journey." Chen has two children, a son and a daughter. Certain disabled persons, including the blind, are allowed to have a second child in China, despite the one-child policy. Chen, his children and "equally heroic wife" will get to rest, recuperate and recover in New York, Smith said, adding that the children can begin the process of "healing from emotional trauma no child should ever endure." "Great human rights leaders are never separated from the noble causes they espoused," Smith said. "... Not all the Chens are free and safe, however. The Chinese government must immediately end its deplorable retaliation against Chen's family and friends who remain in China. "Over the last several days, several of Chen's relatives and supporters have been arrested and brutally beaten as part of the Chinese government's refocused retaliation," the congressman said. "They can't beat him anymore, but they are beating his relatives and friends." A Time magazine blog noted May 21 that China was downplaying Chen's case. An editorial in the Global Times, a tabloid run by the Chinese Communist Party, said, "The Chen drama appears to be buzzing, but it has barely impacted Chinese society. The majority of Chinese have a mature and stable judgment of this country. That is why dissidents, who often create a sensation in Western media, fail to make a dent among the Chinese." The newspaper has used that line of argument before, Time said. Smith held two hearings on Chen's behalf in recent days, with Chen speaking via phone from a Beijing hospital with Fu translating. Smith is chairman of the Subcommitee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Smith reiterated at the May 15 hearing Chen's value to the cause of human rights in China. "Chen Guangcheng is among the bravest defenders of women's rights in the world," Smith said. "Chen defended thousands of women from the ongoing, most egregious systematic state-sponsored exploitation and abuse of women in human history -- pervasive forced abortion and involuntary sterilization as part of China's one child per couple policy -- and has suffered torture, cruel and degrading treatment, unjust incarceration and multiple beatings as a result." The magnitude of the exploitation of women in China has been largely overlooked, trivialized and even enabled by world leaders, Smith said. Smith nominated Chen for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 along with two other persecuted Chinese human rights advocates. The congressman had attempted to visit Chen in China since last fall but was thwarted by the Chinese government. --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Erin Roach. 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 -- Repressive era looms in Aceh, Indonesia By Staff/Compass Direct News May. 21 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37872 JAKARTA, Indonesia (BP) -- The election of a hard-line Islamic governor in Indonesia's Aceh Province in early April appears to have opened the way for a crackdown on the minority Christian community, which saw 17 churches sealed shut in early May. Emboldened by the election of Zaini Abdullah of the militant Aceh Party (Partai Aceh, or PA), hundreds of Islamists demonstrated in front of the office of Aceh Singkil regency (district-level government) on April 30, demanding area church buildings be not only sealed but demolished. Christian leaders told Compass Direct News that, besides the usual pretext of lack of church permits –- applications which local authorities routinely deny or delay -- the demands were based on a controversial agreement that Christians reportedly were forced to sign in 2001 stipulating that there be only one church and four chapels in the regency. The number of churches in the regency had grown to 22. An official of the Indonesian Fellowship of Churches, Jeirry Simampow, reported that the demonstrators were upset with the Interfaith Harmony Forum for allowing the growth of churches in the area. "The number of Christians has reached 12,000," Simampow said, adding that the church growth has not been accompanied by building permits. "Some houses are forced to function as churches," he said, "and some buildings are only semi-permanent." Simampow noted that there is a strong, systematic movement to close churches in the Aceh Singkil regency based on the selective enforcement of building permit requirements. Of the 17 churches that were closed, 11 belong to the Protestant Christian Church of Pakpak Dairi, or GKPPD. Elson Lingga, GKPPD district superintendent, told Compass that the mob clamored for the demolition of the church buildings and a new acting regent agreed to the demand on May 2. "This position was supported by the police chief, who said that the time for dialog was past -- all he wanted was a schedule of the church demolitions," Lingga said. "It's not that Christians do not want to apply for permits, but it is extremely difficult to secure permission even though we have put forth our maximal efforts." The church closures, which took place May 1-3, included three Catholic buildings, one Huria Kristen Indonesia (Indonesian Christian Church, or HKI) and two chapels. Police accompanied by demonstrators, who were reportedly organized by the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front, sealed the churches, reportedly padlocking the front gate and posting a sign stating, "In 3 x 24 hours, the regency government must tear down this church building." Aceh Singkil Police Chief Bambang Syafrianto, after listening to the demonstrators on April 30, had suggested that the Christians be given three days to tear down their church buildings, and that an enforcement team would be formed to demolish them if they failed to do so, Lingga said, adding that the mob received this suggestion by clapping their hands. When the enforcement team along with Muslim demonstrators went to the GKPPD church in Siatas the next day, however, dozens of wailing women met them, and one woman fainted during the protest, Lingga said. Encountering this resistance, the team relented and ordered church elders to meet with the regent on May 2. The enforcement team then went to Paris Lake district, where they were able to close three churches: the Biskang GKPPD church in Napagaluh, the Biskang Catholic church in Napagaluh and the Catholic church in Sikoran. On May 2, Lingga and another minister, Erde Berutu, along with some members from a GKPPD church Siatas, met with Acting Regent H. Razali, who said the eventual destruction of the church buildings was "not open to question," Lingga recounted. The regent told them that he was not trying to destroy churches but enforce rules regarding the construction of houses of worship, Lingga said. The next day, May 3, more churches were sealed, including the GKPPD churches in Siatas, Siompin and Mandumpang. Indonesia's Aceh Province suffered massive loss of life and destruction in the Indian Ocean tsunami in late 2004. The region, according to some scholars, is where Islam first gained a foothold in Indonesia in the 1600s. --30-- Reported by Compass Direct News (www.compassdirect.org), a news service based in Santa Ana, Calif., focusing on Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Used by permission. -- End of story -- Smart phones interact with new study Bible By Karen L. Willoughby May. 21 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37873 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- A new high-tech study Bible is using QR (quick read) codes to connect readers via smart phones to video teaching by noted pastor and Bible professor Gene Getz. The Life Essentials Study Bible relays 1,500 key principles Getz has drawn from Scripture over the years -- principles relevant to Christians young and old as well as every people group throughout the world. A QR code in the study notes for each of the 1,500 principles in the Life Essentials Study Bible links readers to an expanded video teaching segment by Getz of 15 minutes or less. "These are applicational principles that tie together the entire redemption story," Getz said. The B&H Publishing Group of LifeWay Christian Resources is the publisher for the Life Essentials Study Bible, which is subtitled "Biblical principles to live by: Learn to apply God's word in your life." The HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) is the translation used for the biblical text. Getz has long been a forerunner in media communications. In 1968 he set up the first audio/visual center on a Bible college campus -- at Moody Bible Institute -- where he was teaching. Today he illustrates his sermons by using two rear-screen projectors which he operates from the pulpit. Getz also is a prolific print and media author. In addition to writing more than 60 books, many printed in multiple languages, he has completed a 12-part video series on spiritual maturity that has been distributed worldwide. Getz was approached by B&H about undertaking the Life Essentials Study Bible. "They had published 12 of my 'character' books," Getz said in an interview with Baptist Press, referring to books on Abraham, David, Elijah and other biblical figures. "In those books, I end every chapter with principles to live by," Getz continued. "B&H asked me to do [a character book] for the whole Bible." B&H was interested in a study Bible that brought together a seasoned Bible teacher with today's technology, said Tim Jordan, who provides marketing support for the Life Essentials Study Bible. "This study Bible is going to expose people to a new way they can have devotions, because of the technology," Jordan said. "I'm 41, and didn't grow up with a phone in my hand, but this generation has that. ... It's an exciting part of the future, to connect with people in the way they're accustomed to reading content. "Our heart is connecting people to God's Word," Jordan continued. "We want to articulate the Gospel and God's Word in a language people are used to hearing. The QR codes are a quick and easy way to share what the Bible is all about." The Bible frequently has been termed as a how-to guide for living in relationship with God and others, and Getz refers to each how-to as a principle. "A principle is a biblical truth that is enduring and is applicable at any moment in history anywhere in the world," Getz said. "It's supra-cultural. If you can't apply it anywhere in the world, it's not a biblical principle." In the Life Essentials Study Bible, Getz has identified 1,500 biblical principles. (Principles repeated in other Scripture passages are merely cross-referenced with the original). "There's a lot of repetition in the Bible, by God's design," Getz said. "Mark has 28 principles in addition to the ones that are in Matthew. There are 51 principles in Luke you won't find in Matthew or Mark. There is so much in Luke that is brand-new." Among the 51 principles Getz has noted, for example, in Luke: A Witness in the World -- Luke 10:1-24; Obedience: Luke 11:27-28; Persistent Prayer: Luke 18: 1-8. But to start at the very beginning, Getz lists 70 principles from the Old Testament book of Genesis, with Chosen in Christ -- Genesis 1:1-25 as the very first principle in the Bible. "All Scripture is inspired by God, quoting 2 Timothy 3," Getz said. "The Word of God is the means of spiritual growth; it's the foundation of spiritual growth." Living in the will of God, from Romans 12, is the most important principle to him, Getz said, "because of what God has done for us. Ephesians 4 [Walking Worthy] is similar. These are the top principles for believers. For unbelievers, [the most important principles] have to do with salvation. "The Bible virtually teaches itself," Getz said. "[The Life Essentials Study Bible] comes out of my years of experience as a teacher, professor and pastor. You can see the pedagogical principles. It's like a built-in curriculum, a plan of study." Highlighted blue text in the Life Essentials Study Bible relays Getz's support for the principles he identifies. "Then," said Jordan of B&H, "you can scan the QR code, and now you have Dr. Getz expanding on that principle. It's another way of reinforcing what you're reading. "It's like Dr. Getz is sitting on the couch next to me," Jordan continued. "He's a great teacher. He has a heart for shepherding people. "This is a unique study Bible that's breaking some ground by building in 1,500 QR codes. Who knows where technology will take us, but God's Word will certainly be there." --30-- Karen L. Willoughby is managing editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message. -- End of story -- Lee Porter, former SBC officer, dies at 83 By Art Toalston May. 21 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37875 FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP) -- Lee Porter, who served as registration secretary for the Southern Baptist Convention from 1977-2002, died May 17 in Franklin, Tenn. He was 83. The SBC's current registration secretary, Jim Wells of Missouri, said in a statement to Baptist Press: "I have been attending the Southern Baptist Convention since 1976 and I had the privilege of serving under Dr. Porter's leadership both as a member of the Tellers and Credentials committees," wrote Wells, director of missions for the Tri County Baptist Association who replaced Porter in balloting at the 2002 SBC annual meeting in St. Louis. "Dr. Porter served with distinction, integrity and efficiency during his 26 years as Registration Secretary of the Convention," Wells wrote. "I cannot imagine how he registered such large numbers of messengers in some conventions without computers or the technology we have today. My love and prayer support go out to his dear wife Pat and his entire family." Indeed, Porter was registration secretary for the two most-attended annual meetings in SBC history -- 45,519 messengers at the 1985 meeting in Dallas and 40,987 messengers at the 1986 meeting in Atlanta. Porter also was the SBC's first vice president, elected in 1969, and second vice president, elected the year before. A native of Mexico, Mo., Porter engaged in numerous other dimensions of Baptist life following his ordination to the ministry in 1948 at First Baptist Church in Wellsville, Mo. He had been a pastor of churches in Missouri, Texas (leading several 400-mile Vacation Bible School mission trips to the Rio Grande Valley), Arizona and Louisiana before joining the staff of the SBC's former Christian Life Commission (now Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission) in 1972. He was a curriculum editor for the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) from 1978 until 1991. Porter resigned his post when BSSB officials stipulated in 1991 that he choose between his work for the board or as SBC registration secretary, following comments he had made to a student group at the 1990 SBC annual meeting in New Orleans that were critical of SBC conservatives. Porter issued a statement expressing regret that his comments had involved him in denominational politics. "I felt the Lord's leadership in allowing myself to be nominated for the first time in 1977," Porter also wrote, in part, in the November 1990 statement. "While many hours of work have been involved, I have enjoyed serving Southern Baptists during these 14 years. In registration, in credentials, and in every balloting process, I have determined to serve with honesty and integrity. I can say with a great deal of confidence that the criteria for every balloting, credentials, and registration decision have been the Southern Baptist Convention constitution and bylaws and the principle of treating every individual fairly. When a church or pastor sought to express a problem in political terms, I sought to deal with people on both sides of the political issue with integrity and fairness. "I love Southern Baptists. I love our denomination," Porter wrote. Porter was re-elected as registration secretary the following year at the SBC annual meeting in Atlanta. He became assistant pastor of a church in Florida from 1995-97 before retirement. Porter held a divinity degree in Christian ethics from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Earlier, he had earned a bachelor's degree from William Jewell College in Missouri and an associate's degree from Hannibal-LaGrange College (now University), also in Missouri. At age 4, Porter contracted a rare bone disease and was in a cast up to his chest for three years. At age 10, he was converted during a revival service in his home church. "The next night, he was instrumental in leading the son of the pastor to Christ," according to a 1969 account in a Baptist periodical. "The following night, he led his brother, four years his senior, to be a Christian. Four years later, now fourteen, he became the Training Union director of his church. At fifteen he was elected as Training Union director of the association. At seventeen, at Ridgecrest [N.C.] summer assembly, he made known his decision to become a preacher." Porter is survived by his wife of 56 years, Pat; two sons, Lee (Drew) Porter II and Lane Porter; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Memorial services were held May 21 at West Franklin Baptist Church in Franklin, Tenn. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Disease Research, a program of the American Health Assistance Foundation. --30-- Art Toalston is editor of Baptist Press. -- End of story -- Hispanic Baptists gear up for Crossover By David Raul Lema Jr. May. 21 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37869 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Hispanic Baptists are "striving to reach our city through many different means of outreach" as part of Crossover New Orleans, reported Jonathan Sharpe, cross-cultural evangelism strategist for the New Orleans Baptist Association. Sharpe, the person in charge of coordinating most of the 40-plus multicultural events planned for Crossover, noted, "At least six of those events, will be planned to reach Hispanic communities and led by the Hispanic churches in the area." More than a dozen Hispanic congregations are part of the Baptist association and all are participating in some way in the many Crossover outreach and church development activities planned in the days preceding the Southern Baptist Convention's June 19-20 annual meeting in New Orleans. Many of the events will take place on Saturday, June 16, in different areas of the city. Sharpe is excited that "more than 1,000 volunteers have already signed up to come and help the New Orleans churches make an impact in their city during the Crossover week and events." Many of these volunteers will be coming from Hispanic churches in other states, including Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida. "Thanks to the multitude of volunteers coming," Sharpe believes, "the activities such as door-to-door visitation, prayerwalking, community events and revivals planned during the week prior to the SBC will be a huge success for the glory of God." The culmination for Hispanic churches involved in Crossover New Orleans will come on Celebration Night, June 17, at 6:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church in New Orleans, 5290 Canal Blvd. The Sunday night Hispanic gathering will feature guest speakers as well as musical groups from churches involved in the Crossover outreach. Slated for Monday, June 18, will be "Avance Hispano," a conference for Hispanic pastors and leaders to celebrate Hispanic ministries, beginning at 9 a.m. in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, rooms 212, 213 and 218. The conference, including a luncheon (rooms 220-221), is jointly sponsored by the North American Mission Board, International Mission Board and LifeWay Christian Resources. Speakers at the Hispanic conference will include Joshua del Risco of NAMB church mobilization and Robert Amaya, a Hispanic Southern Baptist pastor who starred in the film "Courageous." Hispanic activities at the SBC annual meeting will end on Monday evening, June 18, at 7 p.m. with a national day of prayer event sponsored by the Hispanic Fellowship of Southern Baptist Churches in the SBC Prayer Room at the convention center. --30-- David Raul Lema Jr. is a Baptist Press correspondent in Miami. -- End of story -- BP Ledger, May 21 edition By Staff May. 21 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37874 EDITOR'S NOTE: BP Ledger carries items for reader information each week from various Southern Baptist-related entities, and news releases of interest from other sources. The items are published as received. Today's BP Ledger includes items from: Prison Fellowship/Justice Fellowship Compass Direct News Chuck Colson-Founded Organizations Criticize DOJ for Weakening Prison Rape Elimination Standards LANSDOWNE, Va. (Prison Fellowship/Justice Fellowship)--A day after honoring their founder at a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral, Prison Fellowship and Justice Fellowship officials criticized the Department of Justice for adopting sub-par standards to eradicate rape in U.S. correctional institutions, something Colson worked tirelessly for during the last decade of his life. The Department of Justice announced May 17 that it is adopting national standards to eliminate the prison rape -- standards that were mandated when Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2003. By law, the standards were supposed to have been released no later than June 2010. While grateful that standards were finally adopted and are now in effect, Prison Fellowship and Justice Fellowship argue that the Department of Justice weakened the standards proposed by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission in several significant ways. In addition, the department has decided that immigration facilities do not have to comply with the new standards. "It is outrageous that Attorney General Holder has decided not to require immigration facilities to comply with these standards," said Justice Fellowship President Pat Nolan, who served on the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission established by Congress. "It was clearly the intent of Congress that every person in confinement in the U.S. would be protected from being raped. Holder's decision leaves those in Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, many of whom are not accused of a crime, at the mercy of sexual predators. Shame on Mr. Holder and Ms. Napolitano for allowing this to occur." "No one at the Department of Justice will pay a price for being at least two years late in adopting the prison rape standards," Nolan said. "But in the meantime, an estimated 120,000 men, women and teens have been sexually assaulted without the protections earlier adoption of the standards would have provided." The standards will immediately apply to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. States will have one year to decide if they, too, will adopt them. California, Oregon and Massachusetts have already adopted these new standards. With its standards, the Department of Justice released a PREA-mandated Bureau of Justice Statistics survey that found that nearly 10 percent of former state prisoners reported being sexually victimized during their last incarceration. Other Bureau of Justice Statistics studies have estimated that some 60,000 people are raped while incarcerated each year, including one in eight juveniles in custody and one in 20 adults incarcerated. "No matter how serious the crime an inmate committed, his or her sentence does not include being raped," said Nolan. "Just one rape is terrible, but it is unconscionable to think that almost 10 percent of inmates are assaulted. This study makes clear that prison officials have to be held accountable to clean up this shameful situation." While serving as a member of the commission, which held hearings around the country on the incidence of rape in America's prisons, Nolan heard testimony from leading experts including corrections officials, prosecutors, victims and medical, forensic and psychology specialists. Justice Fellowship, the criminal justice reform affiliate of Prison Fellowship, mobilized churches and volunteers across the country to push for passage of the bipartisan legislation. Action on issues such as fighting prison rape is part of the mission of Justice Fellowship, which works with government officials to reform our failing justice system. Colson founded Justice Fellowship to fix the nation's justice system, while he began Prison Fellowship to heal lives broken by crime. "It is appropriate that the prison rape standards were issued the day after Chuck Colson's memorial service," Nolan said. "Although Chuck would have been as disappointed as I am that the Department of Justice weakened the standards recommended by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, nonetheless, I think he would have been proud that he was part of this effort to stop predatory rapes in prisons. His work on this critical issue was a fitting capstone to his 35 years of improving the lives of prisoners and their families." --30-- ********** Injured Convert in Pakistan Tries to Rebuild Life By Compass Direct News ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Compass Direct News)--Muhammad Kamran isn't sure who sent the men to beat him after his Muslim wife told both her family and his that he had become a Christian. The 34-year-old native of Karachi said his wife's brothers had begun coming to his office to threaten him before unidentified assailants attacked him as he was returning home two years ago. "I don't know who sent those men," Kamran said. "It could have been my family or hers. They beat me up mercilessly, the effects of which I'm suffering even today. My pelvic area and groin were badly injured by their kicks and punches, and still today I'm suffering from pain." Two years later, he still has a pelvis injury from the beating that requires treatment. But even help from a local politician has not been able to procure medical treatment funding for a convert from Islam in Pakistan's current religious climate. "The biggest hurdle I'm facing is his name," said the politician, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Being a minorities leader, I can only recommend government funds for people belonging to minority communities, but seeking money for a man with Muhammad in his name and 'Christian' in the religion column of an official form is a recipe for disaster, and frankly the situation in Pakistan is not such where anyone will be willing to take such a big risk." Raised in an ultra-conservative Muslim family, Kamran was baptized in September 2009 and began his life as a covert Christian, though he continued to openly question Islam. "In 2010, my family started trying to force me to marry, hoping that marriage would keep me from questioning 'the faith of my forefathers,'" he said. "I gave in to their constant prodding and was married to a girl from a Sunni Syed family." At first he had hoped that he would be able to bring his wife to Christianity, he said. "After some days of our wedding, I shared my faith with her and was delighted when she told me that she would stand by me," he said. "But my hope was dashed the very next day, when she told both of our families that I had turned away from Islam and had become a 'murtad' [apostate deserving death]." Kamran said his wife's revelation angered both families. "Every other day, I was threatened either by my family or hers that if I ever renounce Islam I would be killed, and that I should mend my ways," he said. Quarrels with his wife over religion became commonplace, he added. "After a couple of months of continuous fights, I asked my wife to leave me if she could not live with someone who was having a conflict with faith," he said. "She refused, and instead told both families that I wanted a divorce." Kamran said the dilemma quickly reached a crisis point. "No one was willing to let me live the life I wanted – they say Islam is not a religion of compulsion, but no one has been able to tell me why Muslims who don't find satisfaction in the religion become liable to be killed." After the torturous beating, Kamran said, he decided he would no longer remain in Karachi. He told the pastor who baptized him, whose name is withheld for security reasons, that his predicament had become unbearable. The pastor arranged a visitor's visa to Dubai for him. Upon reaching Dubai, he contacted his family and told them that he would not be returning to Pakistan. "In the next few days, my wife's family sent me divorce papers, to which I readily agreed, and hence my marriage ended after nearly four months," Kamran said. After the expiration of his one-month visa, however, Kamran returned to Karachi. "The kind pastor sent me to another pastor in Faisalabad, in Punjab Province," he said. "He said that it would be safer for me to stay out of Karachi for some time because news of my conversion might put the community at risk." Kamran returned to Karachi in 2011. "After some months, the pastor married me to a Christian woman," he said. "For a few months everything went fine, and we were living a very peaceful life, but one day a cousin of mine saw us in a market and followed us to our home. He then informed my family that I was in Karachi and had a Christian wife. My father came to my house and demanded that I leave my wife and return home, but I refused. He made a lot of hue and cry and cursed me for 'bringing disgrace to the family.'" As soon as Kamran's father left, the couple gathered their belongings and moved, Kamran said. His family members found out where his wife worked, however, and have been threatening them ever since, he said. Kamran and his wife Asha, now eight months pregnant, have changed residences four times to avoid his family. His wife told Compass they are living in constant fear. "Every other day, we receive threatening phone calls," she said. "They just won't leave us alone. A few days ago Kamran's family came to know that I was expecting our first child. They are now asking him to abandon us and renounce Christianity, threatening that they will kill me and our child." Identity Issue Unable to work because of his injured pelvis, Kamran said the couple is unable to make ends meet on his wife's pay as a teacher. "She cannot change her workplace because it's very difficult to find a decent job, but she is trying nevertheless," he said. "The other big problem I am facing is my medical treatment. We don't have the finances to get my operation done from a good hospital which will enable me to start sharing the financial burden with my wife." Another major issue Kamran and other converts from Islam face in Pakistan is a new computerized national identity card. "I want to change my name and amend the religion column in my record, but the National Database and Registration Authority has set the system in such a way that no Muslim can amend the religion column," he said. "I want to be identified as a Christian, but there's nothing I can do about it but lament the fact that I was born a Muslim!" Path to Faith Born into family belonging to the Ahle Sunnat Barelvi sect of Islam, Kamran said he began to see his religion as "based on worshipping of graves and seeking forgiveness for our sins from the dead." "My family is very religious and strongly believes in shrines and saints as a means to seek Allah's mercy and blessings," he said. "Even though I was brought up in such an environment, I could not help questioning the fundamentals of Islam, where people have to approach God through dead people." The youngest among four siblings – he has two sisters and a brother – Kamran's urge to calm the spiritual battle within him led him to some Christian acquaintances "who were seemingly very much satisfied with their faith." He asked Christian colleagues and friends at a bank where he worked about the Christian way of life. "They told me how they worshiped God, sang hymns in His praise and, most importantly, how Christianity was based around the principle of love for one another," he said. "Although I knew about Jesus Christ as a revered prophet in Islam, their depiction of Him developed a thirst in me to know Him better." Kamran asked a Christian friend to take him to church, and he took him to a Tuesday service, where not many people were present. "The satisfaction and peace that I felt in my heart listening to the hymns and the Scripture and just being in that environment was overwhelming," he said. "My spiritual experience was so good that I started attending the Tuesday service at the church regularly. I would take off early from the bank, and would go to church before heading home. One day a relative saw me entering the church, and that is when my period of tribulation began." When he returned home that day, his father and older brother confronted him, he said. "I did not deny it and instead asked them why they wanted me to worship graves," Kamran said. "Instead of answering me, both of them pounced on me and started beating me up. 'The devil's gotten into him,' my father said as he kicked and slapped me ... I was warned not to go near a church again and was told that they would kill my Christian associates if I was seen in their company in future." Kamran still longed to know more about Christ, however, and after some time he resumed his trips to the church, managing to evade his family's surveillance. "I exercised extreme caution, which led my family to believe that their beating had 'poured some sense into me,'" he said. Kamran's pastor said he has shown exceptional resolve in his faith in Christ despite the hardships. "I have been in regular contact with Kamran from the day he professed his interest in Christianity," he said. "I find it very encouraging to see how he has suffered at the hands of his family, yet he has not once regretted his decision of accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior." --30-- Reported by Compass Direct News (www.compassdirect.org), a news service based in Santa Ana, Calif., focusing on Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Used by permission. -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: Your church may be inwardly focused if ... By Thom S. Rainer May. 21 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37870 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Any healthy church must have some level of inward focus. Those in the church should be discipled. Hurting members need genuine concern and ministry. Healthy fellowship among the members is a good sign for a congregation. But churches can lose their outward focus and become preoccupied with the perceived needs and desires of the members. Dollars spent and time expended can quickly become focused on the demands of those inside the congregation. When that happens, the church has become inwardly obsessed. It is no longer a Great Commission congregation. In my research of and consultation with churches, I have kept a checklist of potential signs that a church might be moving toward inward obsession. No church is perfect; most churches will demonstrate one or two of these signs for a season. But the real danger comes when a church begins to manifest three or more of these warning signs for an extended period. 1. Worship wars -- One or more factions in the church want the music just the way they like it. Any deviation is met with anger and demands for change. The order of service must remain constant. Certain instrumentation is required while others are prohibited. 2. Prolonged minutia meeting -- The church spends an inordinate amount of time in different meetings. Most of the meetings deal with inconsequential items, while the Great Commission and Great Commandment rarely are discussed. 3. Facility focus -- Church facilities develop iconic status. One of the highest priorities in the church is the protection and preservation of rooms, furniture and other visible parts of the church's buildings and grounds. 4. Program driven -- Every church has programs even if they don't admit it. When we start doing a ministry a certain way, it takes on programmatic status. The problem is not with programs. The problem develops when the program becomes an end instead of a means to greater ministry. 5. Inwardly focused budget -- A disproportionate share of the budget is used to meet the needs and comforts of the members instead of reaching beyond the walls of the church. 6. Inordinate demands for pastoral care -- All church members deserve care and concern, especially in times of need and crisis. Problems develop, however, when church members have unreasonable expectations for even minor matters. Some members expect the pastoral staff to visit them regularly merely because they are members. 7. Attitudes of entitlement -- This issue could be a catch-all for many of the points named here. The overarching attitude is one of demanding and having a sense of deserving special treatment. 8. Greater concern about change than the Gospel -- Almost any noticeable changes in the church evoke the ire of many, but such passions are lacking regarding the work of the Gospel to change lives. 9. Anger and hostility -- Members are consistently angry, regularly expressing hostility toward church staff and other members. 10. Evangelistic apathy -- Very few members share their faith on a regular basis. More are concerned about their own needs rather than the greatest eternal needs of the world and community in which they live. My list is not exhaustive. Add items and join the discussion at ThomRainer.com. --30-- Thom S. Rainer is president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. This column first appeared on his website, ThomRainer.com. -- 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