Baptist Press Stories for May. 22 2012 --------------------------------------- Joplin's devastation becomes family's call to mission field http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37880 ERLC trustees to be led by new chairman http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37876 Islamist claims refuted by Nigerian churches http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37877 2 Joplin churches intent on rebuilding http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37882 Joplin volunteer influx gets open door http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37881 FROM THE STATES: La., Fla., S.C. evangelism/missions news http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37878 WORLDVIEW: 'Shut up,' they explained http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37879 --------------------------------------- Joplin's devastation becomes family's call to mission field By Brian Koonce/The Pathway May. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37880 EDITOR'S NOTE: A year ago, an EF-5 tornado devastated the city of Joplin, Mo. These stories from The Pathway, newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention, relay the hope that is emerging from the tornado's sweeping heartbreak and tumult. [IMG=32644@right@200]JOPLIN, Mo. (BP) -- Thousands of people have given their time and resources to help the city of Joplin rebuild after last year's devastating tornado. But one family answered God's call to do even more, moving from their home and steady jobs in Kentucky to help coordinate volunteers in the devastated Missouri town. When the EF-5 tornado struck last May 22, 161 people were killed and thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged. The tornado also stirred the heart of Jackie Jacobs, a math teacher in Science Hill, Ky. He had sensed God's call on his heart, but hadn't known how or what it might mean. "My heart immediately went out to the people and I began praying for something I could do even though I lived 12 hours away," Jacobs said. "As soon as school was out, I took my sons with me to rebuild what we could with the time we had." Jacobs' church gave him some money to buy gas and food and sent him on his way in the middle of June last year when mangled buildings, uprooted trees and debris still dominated any major signs of cleanup and recovery. But connecting his skills to cleanup jobs, especially ones he could do with his sons, was a challenge. Jacobs didn't know where to start, so he contacted his local director of missions in southern Kentucky, who forwarded him to the Kentucky Baptist Convention, then to the Missouri Baptist Convention, then Spring River Baptist Association and its director of missions, Steve Patterson. Patterson and the association were connected enough to point volunteers like Jacobs in the right direction, but the challenge was overwhelming. "I was getting hundreds of phone calls a day," Patterson said. "It was more than I could handle." One week in Joplin turned into two for Jacobs. "There was just a sense of calling," Jacobs said. "I told people I was going back to Kentucky, but just to visit, and that I'd be back [here] in a little while." Jacobs' wife Rachel wasn't convinced. At least not at first, having been resistant to the idea of him going into ministry. "I did not want to be a minister's wife," Rachel acknowledged. But God had been working on her heart four months prior to the tornado to prepare her for the eventual transition. "Whenever I would hang up the phone while talking to him in Joplin, I would just cry because I knew that's where God was calling us," Rachel said. "We just didn't know what that would mean or what we would be doing." Jacobs, while in Kentucky, inquired through his phone chain whether there was any funding for a full-time volunteer coordinator but found no options. A few weeks later, he returned with Rachel. But before that week was over, the Spring River recovery team approached Jacobs about being the full-time recovery/volunteer coordinator in Joplin. When the couple compared the duties to lists they had made detailing what they felt God was calling them to do, it was a perfect fit. That was the genesis of J-Hope, a separate ministry under the umbrella of Spring River and the North American Mission Board's "Missions on the Short Term" (MOST) program, working out of North Main Street Baptist Church where the Jacobs are now members. Since September, the Jacobs have helped find housing (usually at eight local churches) and line up permission and jobs for 1,645 volunteers' skill level (sometimes up to 400 at a given time) who have come through Spring River's office. "It has really lifted the load off of my shoulders," Patterson said of the Jacobs' ministry. "It's been a tremendous blessing to me to know that I have someone I can pass this off to and continue to do my regular job that God has called me to do." The only catch is that there is no funding attached to MOST, and Spring River didn't have the finances to bring on any new personnel, let alone support a family of five. But within a week, in answer to the Jacobs' and others' prayers, gifts began rolling in. The Missouri Baptist Convention, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and the Louisiana Baptist Convention gave enough to fund the couple's ministry for at least three years. The Jacobs, along with their three children –- Richard, a freshman; Jonathan, a seventh-grader; and Kristen, a fourth-grader -– officially moved to their new hometown Sept. 9. It's impossible to tell how long it will take Joplin to fully recover. City leaders' estimates range from three to five years or longer, but Jacobs said the city is moving quickly, thanks in large part to steady work from the Christian community and groups like J-Hope. "The cleanup has been phenomenal," he said. "The rebuilding has been a little slower than I was anticipating, but a lot of the home destruction was of rental properties, and landlords and leasers simply aren't in any hurry to rebuild them." The Jacobs are slated to be in Joplin at least three years, depending on the need. After that, they'd like to let their oldest finish up high school in Joplin. But they're leaving it up to God. "With the experience and background we will have, I can see us going to another disaster," Jacobs said. Jackie and Rachel now seemingly have a lifetime of experience in just a few short months, but they also have seen a lifetime of blessings. "You really learn to lean on Him," Jacobs said. "You do all that you can do, schedule the people and trust that it's going to work out. And most times it works out even better than you imagined. It's amazing to see the difference one team can make in a homeowner's life. It's incredible to see them realize that someone loves them that much to come out and help them and then see how much Jesus loves them too. They're floored." Rachel added, "It's rewarding to see how people's lives change. It also makes you appreciate how you've been blessed, with a home, food and kids." Joplin still needs volunteers to keep showing Jesus' love to its exhausted residents, Jacobs said. "Just come and be flexible," he said. "Be ready to do anything. We need electricians and plumbers and those who have specific skills, but more than anything we just need people to be flexible and willing to do anything." --30-- Brian Koonce is a staff writer with The Pathway ([URL=http://www.mbcpathway.com]www.mbcpathway.com[/URL]), newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- ERLC trustees to be led by new chairman By Art Toalston May. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37876 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- An Arkansas pastor has become chairman of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission after the resignation of a retired Indiana minister who was leading the Southern Baptist entity’s trustee board. The new chairman, Richard D. Piles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Camden, Ark., circulated an email notice May 21 of the change in trustee leadership. Piles, who has been serving as the ERLC trustee vice chairman, noted in the email, “The [ERLC trustees’] Executive Committee remains committed to their previously scheduled task of making a public report by June 1 regarding Dr. Land and charges against him of racism and plagiarism.” Richard Land, the ERLC’s president since 1988, is undergoing trustee scrutiny after a March 31 radio broadcast that sparked controversy over his remarks about the Trayvon Martin shooting and prompted an allegation of plagiarism over the use of a source he did not identify on the broadcast. The former ERLC trustee chairman, Steve Faith, a retired pastor and director of missions from New Albany, Ind., resigned from the trustee board, citing “his desire to commit more of his time and energy toward the local church where he is a member as they are currently without a pastor,” Piles stated in the email. Both Piles and Faith were elected to their ERLC leadership positions during the trustees’ September 2011 meeting in Nashville, Tenn. An ad hoc committee created by the ERLC trustee executive committee on April 18 is investigating the plagiarism allegation involving material Land failed to attribute to a Washington Times columnist on the March 31 broadcast. Faith was among 12 participants in a May 2 meeting when concerns of African American leaders in the SBC were voiced to Land, prompting a five-part, two-page apology by Land that was issued May 9. Faith issued a statement later on May 9 that the ad hoc committee is working "with due diligence and will bring a thorough and complete report to the ERLC Executive Committee who will prayerfully consider the findings. The ERLC Executive Committee will bring a report to the full board of trustees and then release a public statement by June 1. "It is important to understand that our Southern Baptist polity places Dr. Land under the authority of the ERLC trustees who are elected by and accountable directly to the Convention," Faith said. "The trustees are aware of their responsibility to the Convention and to the watching world." In addition to Piles, other members of the ERLC executive committee are Donald L. Mason, a Georgia layman; Stephen W. Long, a director of missions in Ohio; Christopher L. Slaughter, a West Virginia layman; and Stephen G. Veteto, a Colorado seminary educator. Earlier Baptist Press reports on the controversy over Land's comments can be accessed at [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37804]www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37804[/URL]; [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37620]www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37620[/URL]; [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?id=37619]www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?id=37619[/URL]; and [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37630]www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37630[/URL]. --30-- Art Toalston is editor of Baptist Press. The full text of Richard Piles' statement follows: “On Friday, May 18, Dr. Steve Faith resigned from his position of chairman and trustee of the ERLC. Dr. Faith cited his desire to commit more of his time and energy toward the local church where he is a member as they are currently without a pastor.” “Dr. Richard Piles, who was previously serving as vice-chairman, has assumed the role of chairman. The Executive Committee remains committed to their previously scheduled task of making a public report by June 1 regarding Dr. Land and charges against him of racism and plagiarism.” Dr. Richard D. Piles, Pastor FBC Camden, AR -- End of story -- Islamist claims refuted by Nigerian churches By Staff/Compass Direct News May. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37877 JOS, Nigeria (BP) -- The Nigerian military's raid of a Muslim terrorist base stocked with explosives and ammunition in Jos refutes Islamist claims that Christians have been bombing their own churches, a local pastor told Compass Direct News. Following an intensive three-day search by Nigeria's Special Military Task Force that found four Improvised Explosive Devices -- along with one that detonated without casualties -- the pastor of a church less than two kilometers away said God has vindicated area Christians. It disproves claims by Muslims, after attacking Christian churches, "that Christians have been responsible for these bombings," said the pastor, whose name is withheld for security reasons. "But now," the pastor said, "everyone knows that Boko Haram" -- an extremist Muslim sect -- "has carried out the attacks and bombings on Christians and our churches in collaboration with other local Muslims in Jos," a city of 1 million people in central Nigeria. One person was killed and nine others were injured on April 24 after suspected Islamic extremists attacked a TV viewing center in a Christian area of Jos where a crowd had gathered to watch soccer. On March 11, Islamic extremists reportedly from Boko Haram bombed a Catholic church in Jos, killing 10 Christians, including two boys, ages 8 and 16. A military spokesman said the Jos terrorist base, uncovered May 19, belonged to Boko Haram (literally, "Forbidden Book," translated as "Western education is forbidden"). Military spokesman Markus Mdahyelya said in a press statement that soldiers found, in addition to the IEDs, 19 explosive devices, eight bags of Urea Nitrate Fertilizer, wire, four containers of sodium oxide, one of potassium chloride, three of lead nitrate, two of aluminium metal powder, a remote control, white sulphur, two generators and sniper ammunition. Six women, including Hauwa Muhammed, widow of the suicide bomber of This Day newspaper in Abuja, were arrested in the house in Jos. The April 26 attack on the newspaper killed three people, including the suicide bomber, and injured 13 others, including a 12-year-old child. Before the raid in Jos, a Boko Haram leader had left the previous day, leaving behind his wife and five children along with five other women and six other children, all of whom were taken into custody. Muhammed reportedly said she and her husband had moved to Jos to live with the Boko Haram leader. She said her husband had traveled with the Boko Haram leader, identified only as Malam, in late April to an unknown destination, and that a few days later only Malam returned, misleading her that her husband had died in an accident. Nigeria's population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World. KANO CARNAGE In northern Nigeria's Kano state, Nigerian forces killed a suspected Islamist militant in a May 1 raid following Boko Haram's April 29 attack on worship at Bayero University, where 19 people reportedly died from bombing and gunfire. The Islamic extremists attacked two university halls, one for St. Stephen's Catholic students and one for evangelicals. Two of those killed in the attacks were professors. A Catholic church held a memorial service May 11 for the 10 Catholics slain at the university, declaring them "martyrs of the Christian faith." John Namaza Niyiring, bishop of the Kano Diocese of the Catholic Church, conducted the memorial service at Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral, encouraging those in attendance to maintain a strong faith. "The activities of those persecuting the church of God should not weaken our resolve to remain faithful to Christ, but should make us strong in spite of the present challenges," Niyiring said. "Do not allow persecution to rob you of your faith as Christians in these times of trouble. You must be more prayerful and seek the protection of God, instead of living in fear." Emefiena Ezeani, a priest who had just concluded mass at his parish when he heard about the attack at the university, told Compass that too many people are refusing to acknowledge that churches are as much primary targets of Boko Haram as police, government and media facilities. "Do Christians in Nigeria not think that the Muslim north, or at least a group of northern Muslims, have declared jihad against Christianity in Nigeria?" Ezeani asked. "Has Boko Haram, thanks to their being truthful, not made it unequivocally clear that their ultimate intention is to Islamize the whole of Nigeria? I am worried by the disturbing and deafening silence." In an attack in Maiduguri, in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno, that authorities said was related to the Kano assault since it took place on the same day (April 29), suspected Boko Haram militants reportedly charged into a Church of Christ in Nigeria service and began firing as the congregation was about to take communion. Witnesses reportedly said when congregation members who escaped later returned, they found the pastor dead along with four other slain worshippers. --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 -- 2 Joplin churches intent on rebuilding By Kayla Rinker/The Pathway May. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37882 [IMG=32647@right@250]JOPLIN, Mo. (BP) -- When an EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo., one year ago, Harmony Heights Baptist Church and Empire Baptist Church were completely destroyed. That is, their buildings were demolished. "One of the things we have to recognize is that the church is not a building, it's the people in the building," said Charlie Burnett, pastor at Harmony Heights. "So, regardless of where we meet, we are still the church." Plans are underway, though, for both churches to rebuild. After months of planning and designing, Harmony Heights' construction began in March. The contractors told Burnett the church could expect to hold services in the new building by December. The facility will be built right where its other building had stood on Indiana Avenue in Joplin. "It's going to have a whole different look than our other building, which was built in the '60s," Burnett said. "The inside sanctuary will be slightly larger and it will be laid out in a much more modern way." Empire Baptist, though just as determined to rebuild, is still tied up in the meeting and negotiating phases with its insurance company. Jerry Douglas, a deacon at Empire, is hoping and praying for the final approval of the rebuild soon. He asked Missouri Baptists to do the same. "We all feel like this is where God wants us to be and so that's what we are going to do," Douglas said. In the meantime, Empire will continue to meet in the office building of Spring River Baptist Association on Sunday mornings and in a church member's home on Sunday nights. Harmony Heights will continue to meet at Bethel Assembly of God on Sunday afternoons as well as Wednesday evenings. "The spirit of our people continues to be excellent," Burnett of Harmony Heights said. "Everyone has been very positive about the new building, and I believe the day we walk in and have our service there will be a great day." And, thanks to generous donations from across the state and the country, when the building is finished Burnett said Harmony Heights will be able to have services right away. "We are so grateful because through their love gifts we will be able to put back all the contents in our church that we need for ministry," Burnett said. "Of course, you never want tragedy to come to your church, but the love that comes out of the other side of it is inspiring and helpful in looking at the best way for your church to continue its ministry." --30-- Kayla Rinker is a contributing writer with The Pathway ([URL=http://www.mbcpathway.com]www.mcbpathway.com[/URL]), newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- Joplin volunteer influx gets open door By Brian Koonce/The Pathway May. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37881 WEBB CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Any church would be thrilled to see its Sunday School rooms packed with strangers. But these strangers also have unrolled their sleeping bags and settled in for a week. First Baptist Church in Webb City, Mo., just a few minutes north of Joplin, has opened its doors to thousands of relief volunteers over the last 12 months. It is one of several Joplin-area churches that have housed workers since an EF-5 tornado killed 161 and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes and businesses on May 22 of last year. "This March alone there were so many students here I can't even guess," First Baptist pastor John Sherwood said, referring to the 400-plus college and high school students who spent spring break on mission in Joplin. The church hosted groups every week from the end of May last year through the start of school in the fall. "We took a picture of how we needed the rooms set up for Sunday School and let them have at it," Sherwood said. Every church in the area was affected by the deadly tornado, and FBC Webb City was no different. One family lost a brother and sister-in-law while 13 of the church's families lost homes. The church assisted in arranging their housing with other members, salvaging their remaining belongings and helping them move once they found permanent housing. Until recently, the 130-year-old church would not have had the space for such large groups, but another dramatic weather event -- an ice storm in 2007 -- collapsed their auditorium and spurred a building program. "We're fortunate we got that done before the tornado came," Shepherd said. "We wouldn't have been able to have the kind of ministry we do otherwise." So First Baptist had plenty of education/bunk space, but they were ill-equipped to accommodate the volunteers for showers. For that, the church coordinated with local Baptist disaster relief shower units that set up in the church's parking lot. The church had to set some boundaries and schedule the volunteers around certain ministries and even weddings, but Sherwood said it has been a blessing. "The ministry of the church still has to go on," he said. "There were adjustments that had to be made, but nothing major. "A lot of the groups would stay and worship with us on Sunday," the pastor added, "and that was always a great blessing." --30-- Brian Koonce is a staff writer with The Pathway ([URL=http://www.mbcpathway.com]www.mcbpathway.com[/URL]), newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- FROM THE STATES: La., Fla., S.C. evangelism/missions news By Staff May. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37878 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: Florida Baptist Witness The Baptist Courier (South Carolina) Baptist Message (Louisiana) 'Discovery' group goes to Delhi By Don Kirkland GREENVILLE, S.C. (The Baptist Courier) -- Recently a band of Baptist pastors and laity from South Carolina introduced themselves to national pastors and other Christian workers in Delhi, India, on a "discovery" visit to that nation's capital city, which is home to 30 million people. The introductions were preliminary to finding "partners" with whom South Carolina Baptists could work on future projects in Delhi. Leading the South Carolina group was Jim Austin, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, who said he was "encouraged with the number of churches who have agreed to participate in such a significant city in South Asia." "I pray," he told the Courier, "that more will seek the Lord regarding their participation in the unreached, but accessible, people groups who are in the city." Tim Rice, interim director of the missions mobilization group of the SCBC, told the Courier, "There are more unreached, unengaged people groups in India than in any other country. "By linking up with national pastors and church planters in Delhi, our churches will have an incredible opportunity to reach the unengaged people groups there," he added. Names of the South Carolina participants in the "discovery" trip are not given for security purposes, according to IMB policy, but one told the Courier, "I have so many thoughts about our trip, it's hard to put into words. The trip has changed me. The people of India are on my mind every day. When praying, I now can visualize who I pray for, and for some of their daily needs — and, more importantly, for their salvation." Another termed the trip a "truly incredible experience, and one which has changed who I am as a person, pastor and follower of Jesus." He continued, "I feel the most important truth the Lord impressed upon my heart was to see people as he sees people. I learned that as different as the culture was, and as diverse as the people were, that God is the God of that city. He loves those people with an unfailing love and desires for all of them to come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. "He taught me," this pastor continued, "that every person has a name and a story and has value to the Lord. The time I spent in Delhi, although short, has set off a ripple effect in my life on how to handle the Lord's calling on my life to follow after him." For another, it was "quite an experience" because she had never traveled outside the country before. "I learned so much about the people of India and their culture — and I also learned a lot about myself." She told of going to a house church for worship and found that "everyone there was glad to have us with them," adding, "I gave my testimony and all the women shook my hand and spoke to me, even though I could not understand everything they said. One woman took my hands and put them on her head for me to pray for her." She told of prayerwalking in an area where girls and women are enslaved in the human trafficking sex trade and "prayed for God's light to penetrate the darkness." Another recalled the feelings of being in a minority, "but people everywhere are part of God's creation and in need of salvation." During a prayerwalk with a national pastor, he "began to pray that God would soften some hearts," and afterward he witnessed to several young men who accepted Christ as Savior. The recent "discovery" visit to Delhi was the first of three projects set for that city in 2012. A second "discovery" trip is scheduled Sept. 13-21. Participants will learn strategies for reaching the city, teaching in house churches, and meeting church planters and national pastors. Four to six volunteers are needed for a "sharing and distribution" project in Delhi Oct. 17-28. The purpose will be to share the love of Jesus with Muslims during a sacrifice festival in which animals are offered up in memory of Abraham. Volunteers for the October project must be college age or older, experienced in sharing the gospel and their personal testimony in boldness and love as empowered by the Holy Spirit. The trio of Delhi trips are a part of a five-year endeavor under the banner of "South Carolina Baptists: A Witness to the World." This effort began in 2010 with 10 "kingdom connections" to involve South Carolina Baptist churches. Three of these are in South Carolina, three in other parts of North America, and four international partnerships. As for the international projects, Rice told the Courier, "If every project we organized through the IMB required that their personnel plan, transport and arrange all the logistics, we would be limited in the number of projects we could carry out in a year. By taking our pastors and laity to the international sites so that they can begin to form their own partnerships with national pastors and other Christian leaders, we can multiply the impact we have overseas." Information on the partnership is available at www.scbaptist.org/missions. --30-- Don Kirkland is editor of The Baptist Courier (www.baptistcourier.com) of South Carolina. ********** North Oak Baptist commits to church start in South Dakota By Carolyn Nichols CITRUS SPRINGS, Fla. (FBW) -- North Oak Baptist Church in Citrus Springs is working in partnership with a church in Rapid City, S.D., to start a new church in nearby Box Elder. The Florida church is "fully committed" to the church start, according to Pastor Stan Stewart. Stewart first saw the town of Box Elder in 2009 when he helped North Oak church members Jim and Kristie Meyer move to the area. Stewart saw no active churches in the growing town. "God grabbed my heart and said, 'You need to take a look,'" Stewart said. When Stewart first presented his vision of starting, or re-starting, a church in a town 2,100 miles away, North Oak members were "wary at first, because it is a long way from here," he said. In early 2010, the first group of volunteers from central Florida travelled to the South Dakota Black Hills to survey the town of Box Elder, located 11 miles from Rapid City. The group worked with Temple Baptist Church in Box Elder in an attempt to re-invigorate the struggling church. The church, at one time thriving, saw most members move away when military cutbacks affected nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base, Stewart said. The city is now growing again and the population is up to 10,000, including Ellsworth. The area's median age is 30, Stewart said, with "tons" of kids and young adults. Paradigm Baptist Church, the name of the new church, will most likely receive the Temple Baptist Church property and its members, he said. In the meantime preview events have been held at Douglas High School in Box Elder. A block party at the school March 24 drew more than 300. Volunteers from Hills of Grace Fellowship in Rapid City manned bounce houses, children's games and food tables, while others provided music. Hills of Grace is a two-year-old mission, and "one of the most successful church plants" in the area, Stewart said. Pastor Justin Dancer formed the church with the understanding that it would help plant other churches, Stewart said. "He has a church planter's heart, and he has an insurmountable store of ideas to reach people." On April 1, 60 attended the first preview church service at the high school. While adults and youth met for worship in the school auditorium, children's church and a "full nursery" cared for young worshippers, Stewart said. Of the 60 attendees, 20 were "new faces, definitely prospects," and others were members of the Hills of Grace launch team, some who live in Box Elder and have committed to attend the new church start one year. In July, 52 Floridians will ride a charter bus from Citrus Springs to Box Elder where they will conduct Backyard Bible Clubs and host neighborhood block parties. The church drama team, Heirborne, will perform at Hills Alive, an annual Christian rock concert in Rapid City attended by upwards of 50,000, and in Main Street Square, also in Rapid City. "We see the July trip as a real impetus in building interest in the church there," Stewart said. "It is part of our Kingdom ministry. God has called us to go through every door He opens for us." In addition to sending mission volunteers, North Oak is contributing two percent of its undesignated gifts to the church start. It also is sending Stewart to Box Elder for two weeks bi-monthly to help with the project. When he travels north, he also is mentoring the pastor of New Beginnings Church in Rapid City, whose building North Oak volunteers re-roofed and painted last summer. The church is in a transitioning community, and its membership largely Native American, Stewart said. Stewart said he and his wife, Kathy, hope to spend more time in South Dakota after he retires in a few years. "I want to be used there wherever they can use me," he said. Meanwhile, the preview services in Box Elder continue monthly until Oct. 7, the target date for beginning weekly services. --30-- Carolyn Nichols is a newswriter for the Florida Baptist Witness (www.gofbw.com). ********** Tullos First Baptist reaches out to community with compassion By Morgan Tarpley TULLOS, La. (Baptist Message) -- Over the last few months, the congregation of First Baptist Church in Tullos has performed quite a lineup of service to the community. The congregation's latest outreach was on March 24 when there were donations given out of household items, shoes, clothing, tools, toys and other items. More than 30 families were assisted through the ministry's giveaway day. "Tullos First Baptist reaches out to the community with compasssion for those in need," church member Joan Martin said. "The response was overwhelming [on March 24]. Around seventy women and men attended the function." Martin said during Christmas, the church and the surrounding community donated money to purchase Christmas gifts for children in the community. "One boy was asked what he wanted for Christmas and his response was 'a pair of tennis shoes'," Martin said. "That really touched our hearts. He received a great pair of tennis shoes plus more." Martin said some of the items donated were a stove and a water heater, which filled desperate needs for elderly women in the community. Martin said she and the church congregation extend thanks to Chuck's Convenience Store in Tullos for their help and also to Carrie Long for her assistance. The Ladies Sunday School class called "Mixed Blessings" has a burden for helping women and children in the area. A number of local women came to the giveaway. She said the congregation was able to minister to them and find out exactly what they needed – whether certain items or prayer for their emotional, physical and spiritual needs. "The church will do its best to provide for these ladies," Martin said. "We look to God to provide us to help those in need." Martin said the church as always looked for ways to serve the community, but in the past few years there has been even more of an emphasis and church-wide involvement. "God has given us so much. We love helping others!" Martin said. "This has been an awesome ministry already in its second year to reach out to those that are lost and in need." Martin said the church will hold another Give-Away this fall and extend the invitation to the community. "We look forward to seeing you," Martin said. "If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ to Him be the Glory and the Power for ever and ever!" --30— Reprinted with permission from the Jena Times. Morgan Tarpley is a contributing writer for the Baptist Message. -- End of story -- WORLDVIEW: 'Shut up,' they explained By Erich Bridges May. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37879 Visit "WorldView Conversation," the blog related to this column, at [URL=http://worldviewconversation.blogspot.com]http://worldviewconversation.blogspot.com[/URL]. Listen to an audio version at [URL=http://media1.imbresources.org/files/151/15180/15180-83963.mp3]http://media1.imbresources.org/files/151/15180/15180-83963.mp3[/URL]. RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- A letter recently published on my local newspaper's editorial page helpfully summarized the view of many secular folks when it comes to religious expression in public. We "stand for separation of church and state," the letter writer declared. "Pick your religion, believe what you want, pursue greater knowledge toward that end. Do it for yourself -- and keep it out of public discourse. That's where the [secular] left stands." I appreciate his honesty, if not his all-too-common misunderstanding of church-state separation. Open hostility toward freedom of speech is better than paying lip service to it while working behind the scenes to silence it. Either approach, however, is wrong. "Keep your views about God and His commandments to yourself," society increasingly tells believers -- particularly conservative evangelicals, traditional Roman Catholics and Orthodox Jews. "Socially accepted truths and morals have progressed beyond your antiquated theologies. If you can't embrace the new normal, just keep your mouth shut. If you don't, we'll shame you, shut you down, call you a bigot. We might even take you to court and charge you with 'hate speech.'" Such responses to religious speech undercut the spirit of the First Amendment. You have every right under the law and the Constitution to express almost any religious belief in public. If those views happen to be unpopular or minority positions, you still have the right to express them. That's why the First Amendment exists. Free religious expression in the United States didn't come easily, as I wrote in a 2008 column, and it won't endure without vigorous exercise and defense. State church tyranny was the main opponent in the nation's infancy. Baptists, who experienced persecution by state-controlled churches in Europe and early America, played a key role in helping forge religious freedom in the new nation. Today the threats to religious speech are coming primarily from secular extremists who see biblical Christianity as "intolerant" and evangelism as "hate speech." By far the greatest threat to religious expression, however, is the self-censorship practiced by believers. We fear offending someone more than we care about telling him or her the truth. We don't want to be thought intolerant. We don't want to go against the pluralist grain. Let's find some inspiration and backbone from followers of Christ in tougher places who put everything on the line to share truth. Recently I met several Muslim-background believers in North Africa and the Middle East. They are taking full advantage of new freedoms gained with the "Arab Spring" revolutions last year to spread the Gospel and make disciples. After generations of enforced silence, people in a number of Arab countries feel freer to express their opinions and seek their own answers, at least for now. "Sometimes I even get calls from [militant Islamists]," one believer told me. "They just want to know who is the right God. … So I think God is really working after the revolution." Another believer was arrested multiple times for telling people about Jesus before the revolution in his country. He just could not stay silent about the wonderful truth he had found. He's wiser now about when to speak and when to be quiet, but he's just as bold. "Before, I was controlled by the government," he explains. "I had to go and sign in every three months and tell them everything -- what I did, where I moved. If I was having any guest [in my home], I had to go and ask permission. I really hated that. I feel freer now in doing God's work." Even if the new freedoms disappear, however, these believers will keep telling others that Jesus is the only way to God. If they aren't afraid to talk about the truth in places where the hammer could come down at any moment, why should we be? Don't squander your freedom in the land of the free. It's not guaranteed. --30-- Erich Bridges is IMB global correspondent.Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- Copyright (c) 2013 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press 901 Commerce Street Nashville, TN 37203 Tel: 615.244.2355 Fax: 615.782.8736 email: bpress@sbc.net