OXFORD, Miss. (BP) -- When University of Mississippi defensive end John Youngblood takes a break during the team's practices, he isn't likely to take a drink of cold, clean water for granted. And in the locker room, Youngblood, an Ole Miss junior, and teammate Christian Russell, a senior linebacker, likely will have greater appreciation for a refreshing shower. The players' gratitude for fresh, convenient water -- and other common necessities -- stems from a mission trip to Haiti last spring with 11 teammates among the volunteers to help provide safe water for a village of 7,000 people. "A lot of guys had no idea the struggles of other cultures and the poverty -- how bad things are there," said Youngblood, who visited the village, Camp Marie, during a similar spring break trip in 2014. "We're kind of spoiled," Russell said. "We tend to complain" when, in reality, "we're really blessed." The people of Camp Marie spend their days "trying to find clean water" amid concerns about "where the next meal is coming from," Russell said. But now, one thing Camp Marie residents no longer will deal with is finding safe, clean water. Until recently, residents were drinking untreated water from a spring. But that changed in late … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The role of the Cooperative Program in Southern Baptist life took center stage at the 2015 Send North America Conference during a main session panel discussion led by Kevin Ezell. Ezell, president of the North America Mission Board, was joined on the platform by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Daniel Akin, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore. "Each one of these men would tell you -- we cannot do what we do, and David [Platt] and the IMB [International Mission Board] cannot do what they do, if it were not for the sacrificial gifts of people in churches who give faithfully every Sunday," said Ezell, who added he is equally appreciative of "churches who make a commitment to ... the Cooperative Program. As they give [through] that, part of that goes to support the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, the ERLC and all the seminaries." Ezell asked the panelists to share what it means to them to be part of the Southern Baptist family. Akin said during the Aug. 4 panel in Nashville, "Southern Baptists ... have a passion to see the Gospel go to … [Read more...]

LOS ANGELES (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd told a national television audience he is hopeful for America because he sees Christians beginning to pray desperately for a mighty work of God. "While so many are down on our country ... I do my very best to try to constantly call out to God about our nation," Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas, said on TBN's "Praise the Lord" Aug. 12. "We may give up on our country along the way, but God does not give up on anyone. God can step in anywhere, anytime with anyone and do anything He so chooses." That's why Floyd is "not counting on politicians in Washington to control the ultimate destiny of our nation" but is advocating prayer as a catalyst for "the next great move of God." The two-hour program on which Floyd was a guest focused on the movie "War Room," which is due in theaters Aug. 28 and tells the story of a woman who learns how prayer can help save her struggling marriage. Other guests on the program included filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, who co-wrote "War Room," as well as the film's lead actress, Priscilla Shirer, a Christian author and Bible teacher. Host Kirk Cameron interviewed guests about the role of prayer in a … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Two Southern Baptist entities have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower-court decision in order to protect the religious freedom of two Baptist universities and a Presbyterian seminary. The International Mission Board and Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission filed a friend-of-the-court brief Aug. 10 that calls for the high court to grant the appeal of a ruling that upheld enforcement of the abortion/contraception mandate on the Christian schools. In the case, Houston Baptist University, East Texas Baptist University and Westminster Theological Seminary have petitioned the justices regarding a June opinion by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The case is one of more than 50 involving religious non-profit organizations that object to a controversial rule helping implement the 2010 health-care law. The regulation requires employers to provide for their workers not only contraceptives but drugs and devices that can potentially cause abortions. The Department of Health and Human Services provided an exemption to the rule for churches and their auxiliaries, but the accommodation it offered for other religious institutions failed to satisfy the conscience objections of many of … [Read more...]

By J.C. Derrick, World Magazine JACKSON, Tenn.—Union University has informed the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) that it will withdraw from the coalition in the wake of two member schools changing their hiring policies to include same-sex couples. CCCU president Shirley Hoogstra and board chairman Charles Pollard, who also serves as president of John Brown University, received a letter from Union president Dub Oliver on Monday, almost four weeks after Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) and Goshen College announced they would begin hiring non-celibate homosexual staff and faculty. “It grieves us to make this decision as we have been members of the CCCU since 1991,” Oliver wrote in the letter. He said Union benefited from the council’s programs, professional development, and advocacy, but “our faithfulness to the authority of Scripture takes precedence … marriage is at the heart of the Gospel.” Union, founded in 1823 and located in Jackson, Tenn., is the oldest Southern Baptist–affiliated university in the country and could serve as a bellwether for other schools. The university will now look to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and the Family Research … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Three states have acted swiftly to accomplish what the U.S. Senate could not -- defund Planned Parenthood. Alabama, Louisiana and New Hampshire all have eliminated funding for the country's leading abortion provider after the release of videos providing evidence Planned Parenthood trades in baby body parts. Since mid-July, an investigative group has released five undercover videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of organs from aborted children for research. It is expected more videos will be released in the next few weeks. Thirteen states have initiated investigations into Planned Parenthood, according to The Christian Science Monitor. After investigations in their states, Florida and Indiana officials have reported they found no evidence of violations by the organization regarding fetal tissue. While some states have canceled contracts with Planned Parenthood, supporters of defunding in the U.S. Senate fell short in their attempt Aug. 3. Senators voted 53-46 to bring to the floor a bill to eliminate federal funds for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and its affiliates. While a majority of senators favored consideration of the proposal, the attempt to invoke … [Read more...]