By Kelly Ledbetter, Christian Examiner NEW YORK CITY (Christian Examiner) – When Sujo John went to work on the 81st floor of Tower 1 that Tuesday, he could never have imagined his life would be spared from an inconceivable tragedy—and that telling his story would take him into international ministry. He and his wife Mary, pregnant at the time, had lived in New York less than a year when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Centers. "When we looked back toward the towers," John said, "we saw only a pile of smoking ash and rubble. God, in his mercy, had spared our lives." To this day, John doesn't know why he and Mary lived when others died, but he knows he is called to share the gospel because this life is fragile but eternity is real. To read more, go to the Christian Examiner website. … [Read more...]

By Anne Harman, International Mission Board RICHMOND, Va. — In the first phase of the International Mission Board’s plan to address revenue shortfalls, leadership announced details of a voluntary retirement incentive (VRI) during town hall meetings with personnel Sept. 10. The goal of the plan, IMB leaders shared, is to offer as generous a voluntary retirement incentive as possible, while honoring the years of service of those eligible and providing a smooth transition from personnel’s current role. IMB will offer the voluntary retirement incentive to all eligible staff and active, career missionaries age 50 and older with five or more years of service (as of Dec. 31, 2015). For a missionary couple to be eligible for the VRI, only one spouse is required to meet the qualifications. “Our desire in all of this is to be as generous as possible to as many people as possible,” IMB President David Platt said. “Since we are asking everyone in the organization to pray and discern if the Lord is leading them to a new place of involvement in mission, we know that 50-year-olds, for example, are going to be doing exactly that. And if the Lord leads them to make a transition, we want to provide for them as generously as … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Press RICHMOND, Va. (BP) –Missionary doctor Wana Ann Gibson Fort, 91, died Aug. 31 in Baton Rouge. Fort and her husband, the late Milton “Giles” Fort Jr., served with the then-called Foreign Mission Board as pioneer missionary doctors at Sanyati Baptist Hospital in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). At this hospital, Fort and her husband helped launch a spiritual awakening through medical missions. The Forts, appointed as missionaries in 1952, led countless patients to Christ. “We were committed to being God’s hands of mercy and healing to souls and bodies,” she once said. She and her husband raised five sons in Zimbabwe. Three have served or continue to serve as missionaries with the International Mission Board. Two of the Forts’ sons are medical doctors. “Mom lived out the reality of her faith,” said Gordon Fort, one of Wana Ann’s sons and IMB senior ambassador. “As wife, momma, teacher, doctor, women’s worker, and serving missions support functions, she demonstrated what it means to live a life of obedience to the Master. It has been our incredible privilege to have been a part of her life’s journey.” During the Forts’ missionary service in Africa, the Shona people named Fort “Mai … [Read more...]

By Staff, GuideStone Financial Resources DALLAS — Today, five judges on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals sharply criticized the court decision that ruled against GuideStone earlier this summer. A three judge panel ruled against GuideStone and GuideStone participants Truett-McConnell College and Reaching Souls International in July. In a rare move, the entire Tenth Circuit, on its own initiative, took a vote on whether to reconsider the panel decision. When the vote narrowly fell short, the five judges issued a dissenting opinion. Their opinion explains why the panel decision was “a dangerous approach to religious liberty” that is so “clearly and gravely wrong” that it “will not long survive.” The HHS mandate requires ministries that are not churches or integrated auxiliaries of churches to provide abortion-causing drugs and devices in their health plans or to face crippling fines. The parties in the case have argued that a false “accommodation” offered by the government still forces the ministries to violate their faith. GuideStone, along with churches and a very narrow class of other ministries, are exempt from the mandate and its penalties. But hundreds of evangelical Christian ministries that rely on GuideStone … [Read more...]

By Timothy Head, GuideStone Financial Resources DALLAS — Monday’s stock market drop, on the heels of disappointing performance over the last few days, led to headlines and some investor concerns, but long-term investors should continue to consider their objectives and time horizons. David S. Spika, global investment strategist at GuideStone Capital Management, LLC, offered a commentary posted on GuideStone’s website explaining the nature of current volatility, as well as offered perspective on the current market. “As volatility rises, the best course of action is to ensure you invest with active managers who possess a strong track record, stay focused on the long term, and remain well diversified,” Spika wrote, likening market volatility to a roller coaster. Many observers have expected some level of correction to occur at some point given that markets had been on a long-term growth pattern since the market trough in 2009. The S&P 500 Index®, spurred on by quantitative easing and a near-zero Fed Funds rate, had gained more than 200% since 2009 and has not had a 10% or greater correction in more than three years, Spika observed. Active management firms, like GuideStone, are thought by many to be better suited for … [Read more...]

By Timothy E. Head, Baptist Press DALLAS (BP) -- The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 21 it would keep in place the preliminary injunction won by GuideStone earlier at the District Court level while GuideStone's appeals it case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The preliminary injunction, which protects certain ministries from providing abortion-causing drugs or devices in their health plan, or face crippling fines, was first issued by a federal judge in December 2013. Upon the government's appeal, a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit of Appeals ruled 2-1 to end the injunction. GuideStone, along with co-plaintiffs Reaching Souls International, an Oklahoma-based missions-sending organization, and Truett-McConnell College, a Georgia Baptist institution, appealed the Tenth Circuit's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court in July. Churches and integrated auxiliaries of churches, including GuideStone, are already exempt from the mandate and its penalties as religious employers. GuideStone's current litigation was sought to protect other ministries it serves, such as children's homes, colleges and other ministries not controlled by a church or association of churches, from the mandate and its penalties. "What this means is … [Read more...]

By David Roach, Baptist Press DENVER (BP) - A committee of the Denver City Council has stalled what was expected to be routine approval of a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the Denver International Airport after at least four council members expressed disapproval of the company's alleged opposition to same-sex marriage. During an Aug. 18 hearing, council member Robin Kniech said she was concerned about a local franchise generating "corporate profits used to fund and fuel discrimination," The Denver Post reported. Councilman Paul Lopez compared the pro-family stances of some Chick-fil-A leaders to presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments about immigration and other issues, calling opposition to the airport restaurant "really, truly a moral issue." The council's Business Development Committee will take up the matter again at its Sept. 1 meeting. At issue is whether to approve a seven-year lease for a Chick-fil-A that would be operated by a 60-40 partnership involving Atlanta-based Concessions International and Denver's Delarosa Restaurant Concepts. Chick-fil-A would receive 7 percent of the restaurant's profits, according to The Post. If the committee rejects the lease, an individual member could still introduce the matter … [Read more...]

By Gregory Tomlin Christian Examiner NEW YORK (Christian Examiner) – The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation has fired off a handful of threatening letters to universities demanding each one sack its "football chaplain." The letters to Auburn University, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia and University of South Carolina come after the atheist group – which has a long history of litigation –issued a 25-pagereport titled "Pray to Play" on the alleged abuses of Christian football chaplains at NCAA schools. According to FFRF, it conducted a year-long investigation into the activities of the chaplains and determined that all of the chaplains investigated "are promoting Christianity, usually with an evangelical bent." "These chaplains preach religious doctrine, including apparently creationism, to the athletes. Some universities, like Missouri, paid for chaplains and their wives and children to attend bowl games. Other universities paid chaplains for their services, including the University of South Carolina, which has a policy prohibiting such payments. Other universities, such as Auburn, give chaplains offices in the stadium. Chaplains were also involved in recruiting prospective athletes, raising the … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Most Americans believe they are seeing an epidemic in the United States of people taking their own lives, a LifeWay Research study shows. But most Americans don't view suicide as a selfish choice, and they don't believe it sends people to hell, the survey finds. "Americans are responding with compassion to a tragedy that touches many families," said Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research vice president. "For example, as researchers learn more about the effects of mental illness, people may be more likely to react to suicide with mercy." In a phone survey of 1,000 Americans, LifeWay Research found more than a third (36 percent) have had a friend or relative commit suicide, and 56 percent describe suicide as an epidemic in the U.S. The study, released Aug. 21, is based on a survey conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 5, 2014. Concern is highest among the oldest half of the millennial generation, those 25 to 34 years old. This age group is more likely than others to perceive an epidemic of suicide (66 percent), say suicide is selfish (45 percent), and believe those who commit suicide go to hell (27 percent, matching 35- to 44-year-olds). Federal data show suicides have been on the rise since 2005. This is not … [Read more...]