NASHVILLE (BP) -- Public apologies by two U.S. megachurches for a lack of compassion in the exercise of church discipline have prompted some Baptist pastors to underscore the need for humility and congregational polity during the attempted restoration of wayward members. Most American churches have not exercised biblical church discipline for a century, Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, told Baptist Press. "Because we have so little practice with it, along the way, as we seek to restore it, people are going to make mistakes. This kind of humility required to apologize for making a mistake, I think, is going to be needed and needed in large quantities in order to be successful in getting to a healthy place with regard to what church membership is." Matt Chandler, pastor of the Village Church in Dallas, a Southern Baptist multisite congregation, apologized during worship services May 30-31 for a domineering approach by elders in some church discipline cases, the church confirmed to BP. Christianity Today reported on one case in which the church's leaders initiated the discipline process when a woman ended her marriage after discovering her husband had viewed child pornography for years. She … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in favor of a Muslim job applicant provided what religious freedom advocates hailed as a wider victory for people of faith. In an 8-1 decision, the high court ruled June 1 an employer cannot make religious exercise an element in hiring decisions. The justices' opinion favored a federal agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), over a clothing retailer, Abercrombie & Fitch, in a case involving the refusal of a store in the chain to hire a young Muslim woman who wears a headscarf. The court's seven-page decision -- brief by the standards of the justices' majority opinions –- said the federal law in question "does not demand mere neutrality with regard to religious practices -- that they be treated no worse than other practices. Rather, it gives them favored treatment, affirmatively obligating employers not 'to fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual ... because of such individual's'" religious exercise. The Supreme Court "got this one right," said Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). "The court recognized an important truth: People should not be discriminated against because … [Read more...]

AUSTIN, Texas (BP) -- Passage of the only surviving religious liberty bill in the 84th session of the Texas Legislature gives pastors some legal protection against litigation should they refuse to preside over a same-sex marriage. Senate Bill 2065, the Pastor Protection bill, passed overwhelmingly May 21. With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to rule by the end of June on whether states must recognize same-sex marriage as a constitutionally protected right, conservative Texas legislators filed bills that would, if passed, provide legal standing for citizens, businesses and clergy against an anticipated wave of legal action. But the lack of support from state leadership and the legislators' self-imposed censorship in the wake of protests at Indiana's capitol in April left stymied all other legislation that would have given a legal defense for those opposed, on religious grounds, to same-sex marriage. The lone religious liberty bill to be debated, SB 2065, passed the House of Representatives 141-2 on its second reading, garnering even the support of two gay representatives. The next day it passed unanimously, 142-0, earning the votes of its two earlier opponents. On May 25 it was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott who has said he would … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Next summer, kids will have the opportunity to dive past the surface and go deeper into God's Word with "Submerged," the 2016 Vacation Bible School theme from LifeWay Christian Resources. The theme helps challenge a culture consumed with celebrity -- one marked by the image of beauty and popularity, LifeWay VBS specialist Jerry Wooley said. "It's a value system that's unrealistic and an impossibility to achieve or maintain," he said. "During Submerged, kids will discover it's not what's on the surface that matters, but the internal truth that only God can see." Each day of next year's VBS, students will explore the way Jesus saw people and examine the truth of the key verse,Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way." "This is an adventure that will take us not only to the depths of the ocean," Wooley said, "but to the depths of our hearts as well. We will be challenged to let God not only search our hearts, but reveal the truths of our hearts as well." VBS remains one of the most effective evangelistic events for churches. Using the most recent statistics available, Wooley said nearly 3 … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee are 2.57 percent above the year-to-date SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget projection and 2.09 percent above contributions received during the same time frame last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer Frank S. Page. The year-to-date total represents money received by the Executive Committee by the close of the last business day of May and includes receipts from state conventions, churches and individuals for distribution, according to the 2014-15 SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget. The $128,551,618.17 received by the Executive Committee for the first eight months of the fiscal year, Oct. 1 through May 31, for distribution through the Cooperative Program Allocation Budget represents 102.57 percent of the $125,333,333.33 year-to-date budgeted projection to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America. The total is $2,633,111.07 or 2.09 percent more than the $125,918,507.10 received through the end of May 2014. The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists' channel of … [Read more...]