Month: July 2021

Capitol Hill Baptist Church, D.C. settle religious liberty suit

Capitol Hill Baptist Church held corporate worship outdoors on Sunday evenings at the property of a Southern Baptist church in Alexandria, Va., during much of last year. Photo from Twitter.

WASHINGTON (BP) – The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $220,000 in legal fees in a settlement with Capitol Hill Baptist Church. The settlement comes nine months after a federal court ruled the government could not prohibit the Southern Baptist congregation from meeting outdoors with proper safety measures in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The July 8 settlement agreement followed an October 2020 decision by federal judge Trevor McFadden to block enforcement of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s restrictions on religious gatherings. McFadden ruled the district’s limitations during the pandemic “substantially burden” CHBC’s free exercise of religion and likely violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). In the settlement, D.C. agreed to pay $210,000 to the law firm WilmerHale and $10,000 to First Liberty Institute, which both represented the church in the suit.

CHBC, which resumed holding corporate worship in its auditorium May 2, is “thankful for the Lord’s provision to be able to gather” in other locations before returning to its own building, said Justin Sok, a church elder, in written remarks.

“We praise him for the kindness to be able to use our own building again,” Sok said. “We continue to pray for our mayor and leaders that they would lead with wisdom.”

Daniel Patterson, acting president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said, “A pandemic is no excuse to run roughshod over religious liberty. While it never should have had to go to these lengths, Capitol Hill Baptist Church has rightly prevailed.

“Throughout the pandemic, CHBC served as a model for how to engage local authorities,” Patterson said in written comments. “Throughout the process, I know this local congregation like many others served their community with faithfulness. With this chapter now closed, my hope is that D.C. officials will see this church as a valuable partner serving the Capitol Hill community.”

The ERLC worked during the pandemic to provide guidance to state and local officials regarding religious liberty considerations.

In the settlement, D.C. agreed to “not enforce any current or future COVID-19 restrictions to prohibit CHBC from gathering as one congregation” in the district. It also agreed to “not impose restrictions on CHBC that are more restrictive than the restrictions on comparable secular activities, as defined by the Supreme Court.” The settlement specified the agreement is not an admission the district government violated federal or D.C. law.

The church, which had a Sunday morning attendance of about 1,000 before the pandemic, filed suit in September 2020 after the D.C. government rejected its request for a waiver from Bowser’s order despite the church’s commitment to require social distancing and the wearing of masks outdoors. At the time, the order restricted religious gatherings to 100 people or 50 percent of capacity, whichever is less, whether they were held indoors or outdoors.

In its complaint, the church contended Bowser’s order had been applied in a discriminatory manner, permitting gatherings of thousands for other events while severely limiting the meetings of churches and other religious bodies.

The church said in the suit it “has a sincerely held religious belief that the physical, corporate gathering of its entire congregation each Sunday is a central element of religious worship commanded by the Lord.” Therefore, the church’s leaders chose long ago not to hold multiple services, and senior pastor Mark Dever decided not to live stream sermons during the pandemic because such a video “is not a substitute for a covenanted congregation assembling together,” according to the suit.

In his opinion, McFadden said D.C. “misses the point” when it proposes CHBC “hold multiple services, host a drive-in service, or broadcast the service online or over the radio,” which other churches in the district have done.

“The District may think that its proposed alternatives are sensible substitutes,” McFadden wrote. “And for many churches they may be. It is for the Church, not the District or this Court, to define for itself the meaning of ‘not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,’” which is taken from Hebrews 10:25.

D.C. did not meet the requirements for hindering religious freedom under RFRA, McFadden wrote. The 1993 federal law requires the government to have a compelling interest and use the narrowest possible means in burdening religious exercise. McFadden said the D.C. government’s support for mass protests in June 2020 attended by thousands or tens of thousands of people “undermines its contention that it has a compelling interest in capping the number of attendees at the Church’s outdoor services.”

From mid-June until the court decision enabled it to meet outdoors in the district, CHBC held corporate worship outdoors on Sunday afternoons at the property of a Southern Baptist church in Alexandria, Va., where requirements were less restrictive. The church desired, however, to meet outdoors in D.C., where more than 60 percent of its 850 members lived.

After the court ruling, CHBC gathered outside in November and December in D.C. before meeting in January and February on Sunday evenings in a church auditorium in Maryland. The church began meeting outdoors again in March before returning to its own auditorium after receiving a waiver from the D.C. government in late April.

Bowser lifted the attendance limitations on houses of worship and most other locations May 21.

The church has become known throughout much of the Southern Baptist Convention since Dever became pastor in 1994. He later founded the 9Marks Ministry, which seeks to foster healthy churches. The ministry holds its “9Marks at 9” events on successive nights each year during the SBC’s annual meeting.

Southern Baptist leaders commended guidelines issued in May 2020 by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for restoring in-person worship gatherings. The guidance reminded state and local officials to take the First Amendment right of religious liberty into account when they institute reopening policies. No church or other religious group should be called on to enact “mitigation strategies” stricter than those requested of “similarly situated entities or activities,” according to the CDC.

FIRST-PERSON: Taking the Gospel everywhere

DULUTH, Ga. (BP) — In our new Sunday morning normal, people are not in a hurry to rush back to church or eager to throw themselves into large gatherings these days. According to Barna Group research, there is a 32 percent decline in the number of church members attending in-person worship services, which is heartbreaking to say the least.

What we have known as normal has clearly changed. In our new environment, there is a 100 percent opportunity for us to reach the lost, but we have to be intentional about adjusting our evangelistic approach as a church body.

When I became a pastor, I felt the pressure of my success was in growing a church numerically. God quickly showed me that it is not my responsibility to build a church but His. My responsibility was to be an example and to encourage, equip and empower the body of believers.

“… equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:12-13).

This may sound elementary, but regardless of whether you are a church planter, doing church revitalization or at an existing church, the unspoken expectation or benchmark for effective growth is the 4 B’s: Bodies, Budget, Building and Baptism. Somehow, I believe this has become and remains the standard by which we measure for healthy ministry.

The question is how do we pivot to help the congregation rethink and to take responsibility for personal evangelism beyond the pew to reach the lost post-pandemic?

The simple answer is that church members must see themselves as vital entities and be intentional about sharing the Gospel and reaching the lost. As individuals, we have to see the importance and pray for a renewed desire to reach the lost. We have to see the lost through the lens of Jesus with urgency and compassion.

“But when He [Jesus] saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).

Urgency and compassion are not just for pastors and church staff. The passion must be shared and shouldered by those in the pew. If goes beyond simple lip service to actual service. We can’t afford to simply be comfortable being and doing ministry to me, we and us. But we as followers of Jesus have to be intentional about reaching “those,” the weary and scattered sheep that do not have a shepherd.

Jesus encouraged His disciples to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out additional workers. We are the workers that the disciples were praying for; and we are the laborers that we have been praying for to do the work of the harvest.

We are the additional laborers that are necessary, to put our hands in the dirt of the harvest and to do life with the lost. Just as there is an expectation for the pastor to do his job in sharing the Gospel, there must be the same expectation that a congregation should be reaching the lost and sharing the Gospel. We are all called, from the pulpit to the pew. It is evident that God is not exclusive but inclusive for all of us to be tasked to do the work.

We can’t depend only on the Sunday morning gatherings as our main evangelism approach. We have to refocus our attention to how effective we are at engaging in evangelistic conversations, looking for opportunities to share our testimony or serving.

This is done by individual members taking the responsibility and owning their role as disciples. Jesus made it very clear in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19. This commission is not just for the disciples then, but it’s for every Jesus follower today. And as a follower of Jesus, it is pivotal for us to own our responsibility in personal evangelism.

How does the congregation own their role as a disciple through evangelism? They must:

Have a heart for the lost
Be willing to share their faith
Find opportunities to serve

When the people in the pew value the importance of evangelism, we will see exponential growth not just in the church but for the kingdom of God. We simply have to be willing to open up our mouths and allow the Holy Spirit to do the rest. Again, this is not the pastor’s responsibility only. It’s the responsibility of every Christian to share the Good News and the salvation story of Jesus.

The challenge is to move from the pew to the pavement. Let’s have the urgency and compassion to take the message of Jesus Christ to the streets where we work, live and play.

Richard Bumpers is evangelism consultant for the West Central Region of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

Back to normal post-COVID? Not everywhere

IMB workers share descriptions of current conditions around the world

– Melanie Clinton*, IMB worker in Sub-Saharan Africa

We are now in the third wave, and it is the highly contagious Delta variant. So many people are getting sick. In fact, my husband tested positive this week, and my daughter and I are experiencing symptoms, so we are all in quarantine for two weeks. Our kids’ school has been in upheaval because so many children, parents and teachers are either sick or have been exposed to someone who is sick and had to isolate. That’s something distinctive about this third wave – lots of children are getting sick. In many cases the symptoms are not severe, but it’s alarming how rapidly the virus is spreading. We are currently in a two-week lockdown that includes the closing of churches, schools, gyms, movie theatres and restaurants (except for deliveries and take out).

– Veronica Stone*, IMB worker in Southeast Asia

Current conditions in our country are pretty bleak, to be honest. It’s really disheartening watching the western world open up while people around us are suffering. Since mid-March of last year, we’ve been in some kind of lockdown or restrictions – with only short time periods when we’ve been allowed to go out as a family. The current lockdown restrictions are such that almost all businesses are closed, all parks are closed and there is a limit on the amount of people that can be in a car, which I think is two. Prayers are greatly needed for our country. Many of my friends have talked about feeling dread just because we’re walking through this dark tunnel with no end in sight. Many of our co-workers have expressed exhaustion, especially as parents work on keeping morale up in homes as kids face this fourth lockdown.

– Kevin Peacock, IMB worker in Canada

We are close to getting back to normal. If you’re fully vaccinated, you can cross the border now between Canada and the U.S. with negative COVID tests. When re-entering Canada, we no longer have to quarantine as long as we test negative. This is encouraging because Canada was pretty far behind in getting vaccines. When the third wave of COVID hit, not many had been vaccinated. But now, more and more vaccines are available and most restrictions have been lifted. Our region is in stage three of what they are calling the “Open for Summer” plan. Masks are only required in a few places and gathering restrictions have been lifted. Churches are meeting regularly and holding events, like Vacation Bible School. And the seminary where I teach will be open for full, in-person classes this fall.

– Travis Burkhalter, IMB worker in South America

COVID where we are right now could be described as confusing. New cases are at or near all-time highs which indicates it is spreading throughout the population. At the same time, people are getting vaccinated. They are now offering free vaccinations for those over 40. We no longer have restrictions other than the masks which are required everywhere – no days of quarantines or lockdowns and no travel restrictions. The country also stopped negative COVID test requirements to enter the country. We had the longest lockdown when COVID first hit, and then went through a long time of periodic quarantines. I assume the economic devastation has led to the stoppage, along with a time of protests and marches which we are still in. This has made it a weird time for all. From what I know, each country in South America is doing different things. And even in different parts of one country, things can be different.

– Kelvin Joseph*, IMB worker in Europe

Where I live in Europe, we’re returning to normal life after COVID. It was a rough winter in lockdown. All of our ministries were online, which made moving to a new city difficult. But since April the sunshine has melted that away to where our country feels mostly normal again. Restaurants are open. My wife and I were looking at cinema tickets yesterday. I even saw a local newspaper headline that people are losing interest in getting COVID vaccines. We are comfortable using public transportation. There are still restrictions, like I still wear a mask indoors to follow Polish law, but we haven’t had an outdoor mask mandate for more than a month. After living in a city that was a shadow of itself, without even people out on the streets, we love seeing crowds again. What a relief!

How will you pray today for missionaries around the world? Will you give now to support the work to reach the nations with gospel – no matter the circumstances?

*Names changed for security

The post Back to normal post-COVID? Not everywhere appeared first on IMB.

Survey: Proportion of Christians in the U.S. has stopped shrinking

A new survey on American religion finds that the percentage of Christians has stabilized, after falling for two decades.

The survey, called the 2020 Census of American Religion, finds that 7 in 10 Americans (70%) identify as Christian, including more than 4 in 10 who identify as white Christian and more than one-quarter who identify as Christians of color. Christians of color include Hispanic Catholics (8%), Black Protestants (7%), Hispanic Protestants (4%), other Protestants of color (4%), and other Catholics of color (2%). Nearly 1 in 4 Americans (23%) are religiously unaffiliated, and 5% identify with non-Christian religions.

The largest religious demographic are those who identify as white and Christian. More than 4 in 10 Americans (44%) identify as white Christian, including white evangelical Protestants (14%), white mainline Protestants (16%), and white Catholics (12%). Black Americans are also mostly Christian (72%). More than 6 in 10 (63%) are Protestant, including 35% who identify as evangelical and 28% who identify as non-evangelical Protestants. Three in 4 Hispanic Americans (76%) also identify as Christian, and half (50%) are Catholic. About 1 in 4 (24%) identify as Protestant, including 14% who say they are evangelical and 10% who identify as non-evangelical Protestant.

Six in 10 Native Americans (60%) identify as Christian, with most (47%) identifying as Protestant (28% evangelical, 19% non-evangelical) and an additional 11% who are Catholic. Asian American and Pacific Islander Americans are as likely to be religiously unaffiliated (34%) as they are to be Christian (34%). The Christian subset includes 1 in 5 (20%) who are Protestant (10% evangelical, 10% non-evangelical) and 10% who are Catholic.

(All respondents who identified as Christian were asked: “Would you describe yourself as a ‘born again’ or ‘evangelical Christian,’ or not?” Respondents who self-identified as white, non-Hispanic, or Protestant and affirmatively identified as born-again or evangelical were categorized as white evangelical Protestants.)

A much smaller percentage of Americans identify as Latter-day Saint (Mormon), Jehovah’s Witness, or Orthodox Christian. The rest of religiously affiliated Americans belong to non-Christian groups, including 1% who are Jewish, 1% Muslim, 1% Buddhist, 0.5% Hindu, and 1% who identify with other religions. Religiously unaffiliated Americans comprise those who do not claim any particular religious affiliation (17%) and those who identify as atheist (3%) or agnostic (3%).

Until 2020, the percentage of white Americans who identify as Christian had been on the decline for more than 20 years, losing roughly 11% per decade. In 1996, almost two-thirds of Americans (65%) identified as white and Christian. But a decade later that had declined to 54%, and by 2017 it was down to 43%. The proportion of white Christians hit a low point in 2018, at 42%, but rebounded in 2020 to 44%.

The recent increase is primarily due to an uptick in the proportion of white mainline Protestants, as well as a stabilization in the proportion of white Catholics. The report notes that since 2007, white mainline Protestants have declined from 19% of the population to a low of 13% in 2016. But over the last three years, the mainline has seen small but steady increases, up to 16% in 2020. White Catholics have also declined from a high point of 16% of the population in 2008 to 12% in 2020.

Since 2006, the most radical decrease in affiliation has occurred among white evangelical Protestants, a group that shrank from 23% of Americans in 2006 to 14% in 2020. That proportion has generally held steady since 2017 (15% in 2017, 2018, and 2019).

The proportion of white Christians decreases for the younger generations. A majority of white Americans 65 and older (59%) identify as Christian, as do those ages 50-64. But that drops to 41% for those ages 30-49. Only 28% of Americans ages 18-29 are white Christians (including 12% who are white mainline Protestants, 8% who are white Catholics, and 7% who are white evangelical Protestants).

Roughly one-in-four Americans ( 26%) are Christians of color (including 9% who are Hispanic Catholics, 5% who are Hispanic Protestants, 5% who are Black Protestants, 2% who are multiracial Christians, 2% who are AAPI Christians, and 1% who are Native American Christians). More than one-third of young Americans (36%) are religiously unaffiliated, and the remainder are Jewish (2%), Muslim (2%), Buddhist (1%), Hindu (1%), or another religion (1%).

The shift among Christians of color is more modest. While the numbers are small, African American Protestants make up 8% of Americans ages 65 and older but only 5% of Americans under the age of 30. Among those aged 18-29, 26% are Chrisitans of color (including 9% who are Hispanic Catholics, 5% who are Hispanic Protestants, 5% who are Black Protestants, 2% who are multiracial Christians, 2% who are AAPI Christians, and 1% who are Native American Christians). By contrast, the proportions of Hispanic Protestants are significantly higher among younger Americans than among people over 65.

White evangelical Protestants are also the oldest religious group in the U.S., with a median age of 56, compared to the median age in the country of 47. Black Protestants and white mainline Protestants have a median age of 50.

SBTC receives portion of record missions offering from Houston’s First

Gregg Matte, senior pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church, celebrates the record World Mission Offering on Easter Sunday, April 4. The total in the background grew by $220,000 over the following days. (Photo by Richard Carson, courtesy of HFBC)

GRAPEVINE The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has received a significant portion of the $2.6 million World Missions Offering collected by Houston’s First Baptist Church through April this year. The offering greatly surpassed the 2021 goal of $1.4 million.

During the Easter service of the church, the ingathering day for the offering, Pastor Gregg Matte said, “We felt if everyone got involved, the amount would take care of itself. I preached it, and we emphasized that we needed 100 percent commitment,” as reported in Baptist Press earlier this year. Matte went on to tell of hundreds of dollars in coins gathered by young children in the church.

The church gave, through the SBTC:

$1.1 million to the Lottie Moon Offering for World Missions, which the convention will pass along to the SBC International Mission Board;

$400,000 to the Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions, which the convention passes 100 percent to the SBC North American Mission Board; and

$125,000 to the SBTC Reach Texas Offering, which funds church planting, children’s services, disaster relief and church revitalization in Texas.

According to Baptist Press, an additional $700,000 of the receipts would be used to fund missionary outreach in Houston by the church, and the remainder was under consideration by church leadership.

SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick said of the offerings, “Houston’s First is a consistent leader in missions giving, Cooperative Program and in reaching their neighbors with the gospel. We are grateful for their partnership and the example they set for churches across the SBC.”

Study: College Christians want community and help with prayer and evangelism

MADISON, Wis. (BP) – Christian college students are seeking community and instructional resources for prayer and evangelism, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship found in a survey of students this spring.

InterVarsity President and CEO Tom Lin encourages churches to play a key role in meeting those needs.

“I think today is a huge opportunity for the church to be first responders for a generation that’s hurting in a lot of ways,” Lin said. “It’s a great opportunity for the church to serve them, to love them well. These students are longing for community, they’re longing for hope, and churches have a huge opportunity to serve them well.”

Paul Worcester, North American Mission Board college director, during a recent sermon at West Cobb Church in Marietta, Ga. Submitted photo

North American Mission Board National College Director Paul Worcester said the study’s findings are in line with his experiences in student ministry.

“It seems pretty accurate as far as the kinds of things that students are dealing with and value,” Worcester said. “One thing we always say is students aren’t really looking for a friendly church, they’re looking for friends. They’re looking for real connection and people they can do life with, peers and mentors.”

Worcester encouraged churches to “start with community. Start with building those community relationships peer to peer, but also (students) really value input and mentoring from older generations, the generation above them.”

Nearly three-quarters of students surveyed (71 percent) said belonging to a campus Christian fellowship was most helpful in cultivating their Christian faith in college, followed by more than 59 percent who tagged reading and studying the Bible.

Three-fifths of students (60 percent) want more resources on Scripture study; more than half (52 percent) want more guidance on prayer, and nearly half (47 percent) want more resources on dating and marriage.

“One encouragement I want to share for churches,” Lin said, “is together we need to help students navigate today’s context with a biblical perspective. They really want to learn more about the Bible and how to live out their faith in today’s world. And I think if churches and we together help them navigate today’s world through the lens of Scripture, we’ll do them a great service.”

Students often seek advice on prayer, evangelism, dating and relationships, Worcester said.

“They address the issue of relationships, dating from a biblical perspective quite often,” Worcester said. “That’s something that even if they don’t express it, they want to hear about and they want to talk about and want info on.”

Prayer is also of interest to Gen Z, Worcester said, with college students nationally wanting to pursue prayer deeply and passionately.

“They want to go beyond the basics,” Lin said. At California State University in Chico, where Worcester is based, “they started five 6 a.m. prayer meetings and, if you know anything about college students, that’s a miracle. And they were tracking specific answers to prayer, so they were inspired by … missionary heroes like George Mueller and Hudson Taylor and people like that.”

Worcester, who provides coaching and reproducible resources for collegiate ministry leaders and students, will offer a webinar at 2 p.m. CDT Aug. 5 on pursuing spiritual awakening on campus. He’s releasing an evangelism resource for students this fall.

Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, will join others in discussing ways to begin a campus prayer movement during the webinar accessible at namb.net and on social media. Worcester invited people to email pworcester@namb.net for additional information and available resources.

The InterVarsity study surveyed students on 127 college campuses in May and June to gauge their well-being and attitudes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. InterVarsity pivoted to online ministry during the pandemic to continue reaching its more than 1,100 chapters on 770 campuses ranging from Ivy League to community colleges.

While 71 percent of students reported mental health challenges stemming from isolation and a lack of community during the pandemic, Lin said students were variously impacted by the pandemic.

“When we think about ministry, it’s not a one size fits all. We’ve got to understand the student experience and then engage them well.” Lin said in explaining the study. “We wanted to make sure we understood how students were doing, rather than assume we know. We wanted to make sure we had good data and it would shape our plans and strategy for this coming year.”

Among other topics student pegged as important from a list of choices were racial justice (38 percent); climate change (29 percent); foster care, adoption and orphan care (28 percent); jobs and the economy (14 percent); immigration (10 percent), and serving refugees (8 percent).

“Emerging from the past year of racial unrest,” said InterVarsity Chief Communications Officer Greg Jao, “we’re seeing how the social issues that our nation reckons with are also at the forefront of our students’ minds. As a campus ministry, it’s crucial for us to help students navigate both these issues and how to live out their faith from a biblical perspective in real time on college campuses.”

A synopsis of the study is available here.

Litton names task force to oversee third-party review of SBC Executive Committee

SARALAND, Ala. (BP) – SBC President Ed Litton has appointed a seven-member task force to oversee a third-party review into the handling of sexual abuse claims by the SBC Executive Committee.

Calling formation of the task force his “first priority,” Litton said the seven members of the task force “represent pastors, as well as professionals in law, counseling, and abuse advocacy.” According to a news release today (July 9), the task force will be chaired by Bruce Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church of Arden, N.C. The vice chairman is Marshall Blalock, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C.

“I believe the members of this team are men and women who genuinely pursue God and seek the truth and desire for survivor voices to be heard,” Litton said in a statement. “I am grateful for their willingness to serve our Convention in this important role.”

Additionally, Litton announced two advisors to the task force with “expertise in handling sexual abuse dynamics”: Rachael Denhollander, an attorney and survivors’ advocate; and Chris Moles, a pastor, counselor and author. Denhollander and Moles previously served the SBC as members of a sexual abuse advisory group formed in 2018 by former SBC President J.D. Greear.

In response to the announcement of the task force, the Executive Committee said in a statement it “looks forward to cooperating with the presidential task force in order to bring resolution to the matter and restore confidence with Southern Baptists.”

Messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting approved a motion June 16 calling on the new SBC president to appoint a task force composed of members of Southern Baptist churches and “experts in sexual abuse and the handling of sexual abuse-related dynamics.” Under the terms of the motion, the task force’s purpose is to “ensure that the third-party review includes an investigation into any allegations of abuse, mishandling of abuse, mistreatment of victims, a pattern of intimidation of victims or advocates, and resistance to sexual abuse reform initiatives.”

The motion required Litton, who was elected SBC president June 15, to appoint the task force within 30 days. The task force will have the discretion to begin its own review or to oversee an independent review already initiated by the Executive Committee. It is required to make the findings public and present them to messengers to the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting with recommendations for action.

“The messengers of the 2021 SBC annual meeting spoke clearly and overwhelmingly regarding this important task,” Frank, the task force’s chairman, said in a statement. “I appreciate the team Dr. Litton has assembled, and we will be getting to work immediately. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.”

In the release, Litton said in formation of the task force he “sought counsel and recommendations from experts in the field and from trusted advisors.” He said the task force includes “respected pastors” in the SBC “who are independent of the Executive Committee and who do not have a conflict of interest related to the review,” as well as laypersons “with professional expertise for this assignment.”

The motion was approved amid controversy over allegations made by former Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore. Moore, who resigned from his post in May, charged in two letters leaked to news media that calls to address sexual abuse in the SBC had been “stonewall[ed]” by leaders. Audio clips from two meetings Moore described were later posted online by a former ERLC staff member.

Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, announced June 11 that Guidepost Solutions had been hired to conduct an independent review of the Executive Committee’s handling of those issues.

The motion was offered by Grant Gaines, pastor of Belle Aire Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., who said it was “the least we can do for abuse survivors.” Gaines told messengers the appointment of a task force was necessary “in order for this investigation to be truly external, independent and unbiased,” and that the Executive Committee “can’t be the ones to hold themselves accountable.”

Under terms of the motion, the independent review could span January 2000-June 2021 and could include any Executive Committee members and staff serving during that time. Executive Committee members and staff are asked to waive attorney-client privilege “in order to ensure full access to information and accuracy in the review.”

The task force is to receive a written report 30 days before the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting. The report is to be made public within a week, along with suggested actions for messengers.

“Southern Baptists, I urgently call you to pray for this process and to bear the burden alongside this task force as they pursue truth, identify issues, and move forward toward greater health in the area of response to abuse,” Litton said in a statement.

The members of the task force are:

Chair: Bruce Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church of Arden, N.C.

Vice Chair: Blalock, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C.

John Damon, chief executive officer of Canopy Children’s Solutions, Jackson, Miss., and member of Broadmoor Baptist Church, Madison, Miss.

Liz Evan, judicial law clerk at Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Nashville, and member of Hilldale Baptist Church, Clarksville, Tenn.

Heather Evans, director of Evans Counseling Services, Coopersburg, Pa., and member of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Center Valley, Pa.

Andrew Hébert, lead pastor of Paramount Baptist Church, Amarillo, Texas.

Bucas Sterling III, senior pastor of Kettering Baptist Church, Upper Marlboro, Md.

Here are bios of members of the task force and two advisors to the task force:

Members:

Marshall Blalock (vice chair) has served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C., since July of 1997. A native of Charleston, Marshall grew up attending First Baptist School from second grade through high school graduation, becoming a member of the church as a teenager. A graduate of Furman University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Marshall was ordained at First Baptist in August 1981. He previously served as pastor of St. Helena Baptist Church in Beaufort, S.C., and Sullivan’s Island Baptist Church in the Charleston area. Since June 2015, when a racially motivated shooting took place at nearby Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Marshall has been working to bring racial reconciliation to the city and beyond. He previously served as president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

John Damon’s clinical and executive leadership experience spans more than 25 years. Joining Canopy in 1993, he began as a therapist at the CARES Center Jackson. He went on to become clinical director and serve in the capacity of CARES Center director and chief operating officer, before transitioning to chief executive officer in 2013. John is the past president of the Mississippi Association of Child Caring Agencies, past president and board member for the National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health in Washington, D.C., and past president of the board of directors for the Behavioral Health Society of the Mississippi Hospital Association. He currently serves on the Mississippi Children’s Justice Commission. John has also served on other committees including the Governor’s Healthcare Task Force, the Mental Health Task Force (chair), Mississippi’s Children’s Mental Health Task Force, and the Mississippi Autism Advisory Committee. He has presented to the U.S. Senate Caucus Committee as well as to state, regional and national audiences on foster care, mental health and substance abuse. John holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Mississippi College, a Master of Arts in marriage and family therapy from Reformed Theological Seminary and earned a doctorate in philosophy in clinical psychology from Jackson State University. He completed his residency in child psychology at University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Bruce Frank (chair), lead pastor of Biltmore Church of Arden, N.C., is committed to communicating God’s Word clearly and with application to today’s culture. Bruce was born in Atlanta but grew up in Oklahoma and Texas. He became a follower of Christ at the age of 17 through the influence of his three brothers. Bruce earned an undergraduate degree in finance from Texas Tech University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Luther Rice Seminary. He, his wife Lori and their family moved to Asheville, N.C., from Humble, Texas, in August 2008 to join the Biltmore Family.

Liz Evan, a criminal law attorney, lives in the Clarksville, Tenn., area and worships with her family at Hilldale Baptist Church. Liz drafted and advocated a Tennessee law to criminalize clergy sexual abuse. The bill unanimously passed and was signed into law in May 2021. Before she became an attorney, Liz briefly worked as a high school choir director. Her husband of 18 years served in the Marines and is now an Army special forces pilot. Together, they have three children.

Heather Evans is a licensed clinical social worker and director of Evans Counseling Services, a private group counseling practice in Coopersburg, Pa. She has more than 19 years of clinical experience, with a specialization in women’s issues, particularly sexual trauma, sex trafficking, and care for its victims. Heather received a doctorate in clinical social work from the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation highlighted complex trauma and post-traumatic growth in victims of domestic sex trafficking. Heather is co-founder of VAST (Valley Against Sex Trafficking) Coalition in the Lehigh Valley, Pa., area. She is devoted to training and equipping service providers. In 2013, Heather received the Allied Professional Award from Crime Victims Council of the Lehigh Valley for outstanding commitment to victims’ services. Heather is an adjunct professor of global trauma recovery at Missio Theological Seminary and travels and leads trips nationally and internationally, with the goal of partnering with and training trauma-healing caregivers.

Andrew Hébert has served as the lead pastor at Paramount Baptist Church since 2016 and has served in pastoral ministry since 2005. He is passionate about investing his life in others and developing disciples who love Jesus Christ. He is committed to Christ-centered biblical preaching, evangelism, discipleship, prayer, missions, and consistent leadership.

Andrew and his wife Amy met while students at Criswell College in Dallas. They married in 2007 and have four children: Jenna, Austin, Mackenzie and Brooklyn. Andrew completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree at Criswell College and a doctorate in leadership and discipleship at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as a pastor, an educator and a denominational leader in various capacities within the SBC.

Bucas Sterling has served as the senior pastor of Kettering Baptist Church since April 2000. He attended Prince George’s Community College, the University of North Dakota and Washington Bible College. He holds degrees in criminal justice and pastoral theology. He is also a graduate of E.K. Bailey Ministries Expository Preaching and has attended educational studies through Proclaimers Place at Georgetown College, in Georgetown Ky., and Oxford University in Oxford, England. He served four years with the U.S. Air Force. His ministry vision includes reaching the world with the Gospel of Christ through the doors God opens for us while deliberately making disciples, edifying the community in areas of need. Pastor Sterling, a lifelong resident of Prince Georges County, Md., has been happily married to his wife, Carolyn, since December 1983. The Lord has blessed them with three children – daughters LaTonya and Virtre’ and son Tori, two sons-in-law, William and Ricardo. They also have four grandchildren – Jasmine, Jordon, Sterling and Corrari.

Advisors:

Rachael Denhollander is an attorney, advocate, and educator who became known internationally as the first woman to file a police report and speak publicly against USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, one of the most prolific sexual abusers in recorded history. As a result of her activism, more than 250 women came forward as survivors of Nassar’s abuse, leading to his life imprisonment. Rachael and her husband Jacob live in Louisville, Ky., with their four young children.

Chris Moles is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, senior pastor of The Chapel in Winfield, W.Va., and a certified biblical counselor (ACBC and IABC). He is author of “The Heart of Domestic Abuse: Gospel Solutions for Men Who use Violence and Control in the Home” and a contributor to “Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused.” He is group facilitator in batterer intervention and prevention. He holds a B.A. in Bible from Cedarville College an M.A. in ciblical counseling from Faith Bible Seminary. He is working toward a D.T.L. from Bakke Graduate University.

Global missionary partners vital to Revelation 7:9 vision

A refugee and Bible school student reads Scripture aloud in class at Liberty Baptist Church in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in northwestern Uganda. (IMB)

Master orality trainer Rev. Essodina Ayewa teaches pastors and students during and orality workshop at the Baptist Bible Institute of Togo. The training program equips students to evangelize and disciple oral preference peoples using stories crafted and told from the Scriptures. IMB photo

The Great Commission wasn’t just given to Southern Baptists or the church in the United States. It was given to the global Church. And if the global Church is to be effective in reaching the 154,937 people who die daily without Christ, it must seek out partnerships beyond the borders of the U.S., Amanda Dimperio, director of Globalization for the International Mission Board explained.

This reality is the impetus for the IMB’s 2025 Targets which includes to “mobilize 500 global missionary partners on IMB teams.” Global mobilization is crucial to the Revelation 7:9 vision, according to these statistics.

IMB defines a global missionary partner (GMP) as a national church partner based overseas who is fully funded through a church, a network of churches or Baptist convention. He or she serves on and with an existing IMB team.

“There are 140 Baptist conventions and unions around the world that our researchers have been able to locate,” IMB President Paul Chitwood said. “They are the fruit that remains from 175 years of work. We want to work with those partners and help them send their own missionaries.”

Chitwood continued, “By strategically inviting and involving 500 global missionaries to work alongside IMB teams, we believe we can help push forward not only the task, but the globalization of the task. This is critical for us moving forward.”

These GMPs bring value to the IMB’s existing efforts in many ways. For example, they can often gain access to places someone with a passport from the U.S. can’t.

Additionally, a GMP can reach people of a similar culture in an urban setting that is often more difficult for a missionary from the U.S. A GMP from Korea can assimilate into the Korean Mexican culture in Mexico City with relative ease, thereby effectively ministering to someone in that setting.

As the IMB continues to seek global partnerships, IMB teams also learn from their partners, Dimperio explained.

She added, “We don’t know everything there is to know about how to plant churches in some of these places. So partnering with them will teach us how to be better multicultural team players.”

Zane Pratt, the IMB’s vice president for global training, shared, “Mobilizing a globalized missionary force, teaching the biblical imperative of global missions at every stage, and equipping our national partners to develop mechanisms for sending laborers all over the world, is an essential element to the [missionary]-task.”

According to MissionNexus’s 2018 report, in 1977, most of the mission force was sent into the world through North America. Europe sent the next highest amount, and a very small percentage was sent out by the majority of the world. By 2017 that shifted, and the missions force was overwhelmingly coming from other regions with North America being the second largest sender and a largely secularized Europe sending out a very small percentage.

These partnerships are mutually beneficial, because the GMP, although fully funded through their sending agency, has access to the IMB’s infrastructure of support. The GMPs may be provided logistical support, counseling and emotional care, educational resources for their children, language learning resources, and practical support like finding housing and transportation.

“We can lend our robust support infrastructure to partner organizations until they develop the resources to provide these services for their workers. Training partner support personnel is part of the strategy to expand their capacity to send and support missionaries,” says Dimperio.

They’re connected with a team and an established work, equipping them as they carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.

GMPs at work

The Beta* tribe in Southeast Asia was once hostile to the gospel. IMB missionaries shared the gospel with this headhunting tribe, and God worked miracles. Now, this tribe has partnered with and been mobilized by IMB missionaries to reach other unreached tribal groups. So far, 21 tribal missionaries have been sent out, and their goal is to replicate this model among unengaged, unreached people groups.

In 2016, Rose was sent from her church in Mexico to reach people in a North African country. Through the support of the IMB team, Rose received comfort and care as she faced the family tragedy of her brother-in-law’s murder, while she simultaneously battled COVID-19. Language learning expenses and practical training also helped her in her ministry. She’s effectively discipling Muslim background believers.

A partnership in the Philippines has equipped Adrian* to work among an unreached Muslim people group in a neighboring country. Alongside his IMB teammates, he’s seeing fruit of his labor after many years of sowing.

“The end isn’t going to come until all the nations have heard,” Dimperio explained. And in order to see the Great Commission fulfilled, believers must go out “from everywhere to everywhere.

“God expects everyone to have a part. We can help mobilize.”

You can help fund a GMP’s training and mobilization through your gifts to the Sending Global Missionary Partners giving project.

*Names changed for security

Myriah Snyder is senior writer/editor for the IMB.

The post Global missionary partners vital to Revelation 7:9 vision appeared first on IMB.

Chicago pastors seek prayer to end violence

CHICAGO (BP) – Pastors are calling for prayer after the long July Fourth holiday weekend came to a violent end with at least 108 people shot in Chicago, 17 fatally.

“These are difficult days in Chicagoland, but our God is able to work through all of our difficulties,” pastor Adron Robinson told the Illinois Baptist. Robinson is pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills and former president of the Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA).

“Pray for peace in Chicagoland and pray for the churches of Chicagoland as we engage our communities for the glory of God,” he said. “And I would also encourage our brothers and sisters downstate to partner with Chicagoland churches to help in the battle to push back the darkness by shining the light of the Gospel.”

According to Chicago Police Department statistics, violence has increased dramatically in 2021. As of July 5, the city recorded 362 homicides this year. That is 42.52 percent higher than in 2019. The same statistics show shootings are up by 11.78 percent over 2020 – from 1,443 to 1,613 incidents. Gun violence is up 58.45 percent from the same time in 2019.

Don Sharp is pastor of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago and also a former IBSA president, the first African American to serve in the role.

“Prayer is so very much needed during these trying times,” Sharp said. “I have never felt so helpless for the city of my birth. Solutions seem to escape us.”

Pastor and church planter Edgar Rodriguez continues to minister with his family in their Humboldt Park neighborhood. Last year, he led several prayer marches through some of the city’s toughest neighborhoods, seeking an end to the violence. He hasn’t given up. Rodriguez asks Baptists to pray for “laborers as the community has gotten some increased gang activity.” He asks for boldness in sharing Christ, but also for safety. The church planter said he prays to “grow in favor with God and man, that doors would open to do life with those on the block.”

At a news conference Tuesday (July 6), Chicago police Superintendent David Brown blamed part of the problem on the release of “over 90 people who have committed murder creating an unsafe environment for all of us.” He claimed courts releasing suspects with ankle monitors is leading to “street justice and retaliation.”

Brown expressed openness to the faith community becoming more involved in efforts to stop the violence. “We’re open to anything that keeps young people occupied with something good,” he said.

Judge: Air Force mostly at fault in 2017 Texas church attack

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Air Force is mostly responsible for a former serviceman killing more than two dozen people at a Texas church in 2017 because it failed to submit his criminal history into a database, which should have prevented him from purchasing firearms.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in San Antonio wrote in a ruling signed Wednesday that the Air Force was “60 percent responsible” for the massacre at First Baptist Church in the small town of Sutherland Springs, where Devin Kelley opened fire during a Sunday service. Authorities put the official death toll at 26; one of the victims was an unborn child.

The attack remains the worst mass shooting in Texas history.

“The trial conclusively established that no other individual – not even Kelley’s own parents or partners – knew as much as the United States about the violence that Devin Kelley had threatened to commit and was capable of committing,” Rodriguez wrote.

Kelley had served nearly five years in the Air Force before being discharged in 2014 for bad conduct, after he was convicted of assaulting a former wife and stepson, cracking the child’s skull. The Air Force has publicly acknowledged that the felony conviction for domestic violence, had it been put into the FBI database, could have prevented Kelley from buying guns from licensed firearms dealers, and also from possessing body armor.

Rodriguez said that had the government done its job and entered Kelley’s history into the database, “it is more likely than not that Kelley would have been deterred from carrying out the Church shooting.”

An Air Force spokeswoman did not immediately return a request seeking comment.

Authorities said Kelley fired at least 450 rounds at helpless worshipers who tried taking cover in the pews. As he left the small wood-frame church, Kelley was confronted by an armed resident who had grabbed his own rifle and exchanged fire with him. Kelley fled as two Sutherland Springs residents gave chase, and died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after losing control of his vehicle and crashing.

Last month, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that survivors and relatives can’t sue a sporting goods chain where Kelley purchased an AR-556 semi-automatic rifle used in shooting. Academy Sports and Outdoors had appealed after two lower courts declined to dismiss lawsuits.

The lawsuit against the federal government was brought by family members of the victims. Rodriguez ordered a later trial to assess damages owed to the families.