By Roy Hayhurst, GuideStone Financial Resources A three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled that the minister’s housing allowance is constitutional under two landmark legal precedents, reversing a lower court’s ruling that declared the minister’s cash housing allowance unconstitutional because it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. That ruling — issued December 31, 2017 — had been stayed until 180 days after all appeals were exhausted. The same lower court had made a similar ruling in 2013 that was overturned on appeal in 2014. In oral arguments in October 2018 in Chicago, Justice Department attorney Jesse Panuccio defended the housing allowance as constitutional, arguing that it satisfies the requirements of Lemon v. Kurtzman, a 1971 United States Supreme Court decision that articulated a three-prong test for determining whether a legislative act violates the Establishment Clause. He also argued that the provision is constitutional under Town of Greece v. Galloway, a 2013 Supreme Court decision regarding prayers before the opening of a legislative session that suggested that Establishment Clause challenges must be viewed by reference to historical practices and … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor NEW JERSEY—Cynthia Newman, dean of the College of Business at Rider University, resigned her position to protest the school’s seeming denouncement of Christian values in banning Chick-fil-A from the campus. In a 2017 survey students voted to allow one of the popular fast-food restaurants to open on campus. But administrators nixed the idea, saying Chick-fil-A opposed “the LGBTQ+ community,” FoxNews.com reported. The founder of the restaurant chain and his family are Christians and it is as well known for closing on Sundays as it is for its chicken sandwiches. The corporate website states the business exists “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with.” Newman told Campus Reform she is a “very committed Christian” and that her views mirror Chick-fil-A’s. Consequently, when Rider denounced Chick-fil-A, she said she “felt like I had been punched in the stomach. “I really felt it very personally,” she said. The university released talking points to staff to control what they said to anyone who criticized the decision to ban Chick-fil-A, and Newman said that was unacceptable. “I am not … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor Raleigh, N.C. (LBM)—J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has named the 68 members of the Committee on Committees. Greear praised the diverse makeup of the committee, highlighting groups he said were underrepresented in the past that are well-represented by his nominees, noting the large number of women and racial minorities in the group along with other profile characteristics. But Greear did not share any information about the possible theological leanings of his nominees -- an issue of ongoing discussion in many Southern Baptist circles, and a significant one during his campaign for SBC president. However, the Baptist Message looked at public sources of information, including church web pages and online documents, Facebook, LinkedIn, self-posted biographies and personal websites and found two distinct characteristics among Greear’s nominees:  a large number of ties to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and, a higher percentage of elder-rule/elder-led church structures or other Reformed theology associations than estimated for the rest of the SBC. BY THE NUMBERS With regard to female representation, … [Read more...]