By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner) – The Little Sisters of the Poor received an unexpected visitor Sept. 23 when Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop at their community in Washington, D.C. The move, according to Vatican officials, was a show of support for the nuns who are entangled in a lawsuit with the federal government over the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act, known to the public – sometimes derisively – as "Obamacare." In July, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Little Sisters – based in Denver, Colo. – must comply with procedures for opting out of the birth control mandate in Obamacare because the process did not impose a "substantial burden" on them. But the Little Sisters argued that the mandate does just that. Under the rules established for religious organizations, those which object to providing contraceptives must notify the federal government of their claim of conscience in writing. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]
Bibles burned, churches bombed & Christians warned ‘anything can happen’
By Kelly Ledbetter, Christian Examiner KATHMANDU, Nepal (Christian Examiner) – Two Nepal churches were bombed in a series of focused attacks suspected to be releated to extremist Hindu groups who wanted a "Hindu" constitution in mid-September -- an action that had just failed to muster legislative action. Instead Nepal was kept a secular state just prior to the attacks. The bombs detonated in two churches, while a bomb found at another church exploded later after it was taken to a police station, injuring three police officers. The churches were targeted in a Sept. 15 attack in Jhota, an eastern district of Nepal, in the likely retaliation for legislation that was supported to keep Nepal a secular state. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]
Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee calls for increased CP to remedy IMB shortfall
By David Roach, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) - In response to the International Mission Board's announcement of a personnel reduction, the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee has adopted a resolution urging Southern Baptist churches to give "more than ever before" through the Cooperative Program. The resolution, which was adopted without opposition, stated, "At this urgent hour of desperate need in our nation and around the world, we, the members of the SBC Executive Committee, pledge to encourage and lead our churches to give more than ever before through the Cooperative Program in 2015 and beyond. We also call upon all cooperating Southern Baptist churches prayerfully to join us in doing more than ever before." The resolution was adopted during the Executive Committee's Sept. 21-22 meeting in Nashville, where President David Platt and other IMB leaders addressed questions from EC members. The IMB had announced previously that it would reduce its total number of missionaries and staff by 600-800 in light of expenditures that exceeded revenues by $210 million over the past six years. Platt's extended report to the EC Sept. 21 preceded 10 minutes of questions and answers. EC President Frank S. Page then … [Read more...]
Students turn out for See You At The Pole
By Message Staff Louisiana Baptist students turned out Wednesday on their campuses to pray for their family, friends, nation and school during the annual See You At The Pole. Nearly 250 students turned out at North DeSoto Middle School in Stonewall to sing, hear a short message on Acts 1:14 and pray. Jacob Ambrose, minister of local ministry evangelism at Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport, led worship and several students from the school led prayers. "God is doing some amazing things in our schools and in our community," said Zachary Almarode, youth pastor at Salem Baptist Church in Stonewall. "I was extremely ecstatic. To see that many students show up early to school to pray gives me chill bumps. What an encouragement. The next great revival in this nation will come from this generation." Turnout also was high at Alexandria Senior High School. Billy Lonsberry, lead student minister at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, was excited to see so many young people show up early to school for prayer. "These kids did an amazing job leading their peers this morning in prayer asking God to move in the hearts of students, their administration, their school board, our city officials, law enforcement, fire & … [Read more...]
House OKs PPFA defunding, abortion survivors bills
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted Sept. 18 to defund Planned Parenthood in the wake of the release of undercover videos providing evidence the organization trades in baby body parts. On the same date, the House also approved legislation to protect babies who survive abortions. House members passed the bills in the face of President Obama’s promise to veto both measures. Representatives voted 241-187 for the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, H.R. 3134. The bill would place a one-year moratorium on federal money for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and its affiliates while Congress investigates the organization. The vote came after the release since mid-July of 10 secretly recorded videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of organs from aborted children and acknowledging their willingness to manipulate the abortion procedure to preserve body parts for sale and use. The videos also provided evidence of cutting into live babies to remove organs. The House passed the Born-alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, H.R. 3504, by 248-177. The proposal -- which builds on the 2002 Born-alive Infants Protection Act -- would require … [Read more...]
Baptists ‘not threatened’ by pope’s U.S. visit
By David Roach, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - As Pope Francis visits the U.S., Southern Baptist leaders say they stand with his statements of biblical morality but urge Catholics to reject the Vatican's official teaching on salvation in favor of a personal relationship with Christ by faith alone. Russell Moore, president of Southern Baptists' Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, hopes Francis will speak to key moral concerns being debated in the public square during his Sept. 22-27 U.S. visit. "I hope the pope speaks with clarity about the dignity of all human life, including that of the unborn; the stability of the family, including the necessity of mothers and fathers for children; and religious liberty for all," Moore told Baptist Press in written comments. "I also hope he speaks directly as he has before to our responsibility for the most vulnerable among us, the poor, the prisoner, the immigrant and the orphan." R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, agrees and wants Francis to clarify his "decidedly mixed signals" regarding multiple issues, including human sexuality. "This pope's method is to speak to the theological left and the theological right with two different … [Read more...]
Critics say Janet Napolitano’s university statement against intolerance could violate free speech
By Kelly Ledbetter, Christian Examiner OAKLAND, Calif. (Christian Examiner) – The University of California (UC) system, under pressure to address recent anti-Semitism demonstrations, has proposed a draft of a Statement of Principles Against Intolerance, which could potentially infringe on the free speech rights of students, faculty, and staff. "Intolerance has no place at the University of California," the statement declared. "Everyone in the University community has the right to study, teach, conduct research, and work free from acts and expressions of intolerance." Numerous critics have raised the concern that UC's statement, written by UC President Janet Napolitano and others, would unnecessarily limit free speech rights on campus. Napolitano served as the United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009-2013 for the Obama administration. To read more, click here. … [Read more...]
WMU: More than ever, pray for IMB missionaries
By Julie Walters, WMU BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- As International Mission Board personnel who are eligible for the organization's voluntary retirement incentive prayerfully consider God's leading, Woman's Missionary Union leaders are calling for more intense prayer and support for Southern Baptist missionaries. "Ongoing, focused prayer for our missionaries has always been a foundational component of missions discipleship through WMU," said Wanda S. Lee, executive director of national WMU. "It is both a privilege and responsibility to lift up our missionaries in prayer, and so vital right now as they are making potentially life-changing decisions." National WMU will host a special time of prayer for international missionaries during an observance of the Week of Prayer for International Missions at WMU's headquarters in Birmingham, Ala., Dec. 3. In addition to prayer, WMU is seeking to help missionaries who decide to return to the U.S. with housing and transportation. Missionary housing has long been a ministry provided by WMU through a password-protected database of available housing for missionaries. WMU provides counsel to those who want to learn more about starting a missionary house ministry and facilitates … [Read more...]
Not so fast: Federal judge says Arkansas cannot defund Planned Parenthood
By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Christian Examiner) – A little more than a month after Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison ordered his state to dissolve its Medicaid provider contract with the scandal-plagued abortion provider Planned Parenthood, a federal judge has ordered it reinstated – but perhaps only temporarily. On Sept. 18, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker granted a request from Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the Arkansas branch of the American Civil Liberties Union to block the defunding of the organization for 14 days, even after a series of 10 videos surfaced showing abortion providers negotiating the sale of fetal body parts with undercover operatives from the Center for Medical Progress. The cancellation of the Medicaid provider contract – a state contract – was to have taken effect Sept. 20. Now, both sides in the case will have two weeks to prepare further arguments as to why the funding should be permanently reinstated or denied. To read more, click here. … [Read more...]
Pope’s abortion absolution ‘disconnected’ from Gospel
By Erin Roach, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) - Pope Francis has extended to priests worldwide the authority to offer absolution for the sin of abortion during the Catholic Church's "Holy Year of Mercy," which begins Dec. 8 and runs through Nov. 20 of next year. Most priests in the United States already have such authority, but in other nations they must seek permission from bishops, a formal process that has led to frustration among those seeking absolution. Under Roman Catholic canon law, abortion brings automatic excommunication unless the person who has had an abortion or performed an abortion confesses and receives absolution. Southern Baptist women's ministry leaders Kathy Ferguson Litton, Dorothy Patterson and Rhonda Kelley, in comments to Baptist Press, however, lamented the misguided nature of the pope's decree that forgiveness must be sought from anyone but Christ. The New York Times noted that Pope John Paul II enabled priests to offer the same absolution during the last Holy Year, in 2000. "Yet it shows [Pope Francis'] broader push to make Catholicism more merciful and welcoming," The Times noted. Vatican officials said it's possible the pope will allow the abortion absolution practice to … [Read more...]
