Baptist Press Stories for Aug. 22 2012 --------------------------------------- 'Destruction of the weakest' essential to evolution, prof says http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38552 Christian Pakistani girl, 11, remains jailed http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38553 'iPledge' simulcast to urge Christians to vote http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38554 Staff, strategy changes ahead for TN Baptists http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38555 Court lets Texas ban on P.P. take effect http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38556 Disabilities treaty opposed by homeschool exec http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38557 FIRST-PERSON: Is Proverbs 22:6 a guarantee? http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38559 FIRST-PERSON: The need for cooperative missions http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38558 FROM THE SEMINARIES: SBTS, SWBTS, NOBTS, GGBTS, SEBTS http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38560 --------------------------------------- 'Destruction of the weakest' essential to evolution, prof says By Erin Roach Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38552 EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the sixth story in a series of Baptist Press articles about an ongoing dialogue regarding evolution on the BioLogos website. To read BP's initial story, visit [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37901]bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37901[/URL]. [QUOTE@right@180="Christians since the time of Darwin have recognized the incongruity of the biblical teaching on death and the positive role it plays in evolution." -- John Laing, Southwestern Seminary]NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- A theistic evolutionist "simply cannot escape the fact that the necessary corollary to survival of the fittest is destruction of the weakest and therefore, he must view death as a primary creative force of God," a Southern Baptist professor writes in the latest exchange with The BioLogos Foundation. "This, though, is contrary to the biblical view, which depicts death as an invader, disturber of peace, and a force of evil," John Laing, associate professor of systematic theology and philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote on the topic of evolution and death. [IMG=33309@left@100]Most Christians who accept evolution tend to avoid discussion of the role death plays in their creation model, preferring instead to cast evolution in positive terms, Laing said. Yet in evolutionary thought, death actually functions as a mechanism for life, playing a vital role in natural selection by rooting out weakness, he wrote Aug. 9 in a series at BioLogos.org titled "Southern Baptist Voices." According to Scripture, Laing noted, death is most often associated with consequences for sinful activity or the judgment of God. Death is described in the Book of Romans as the wages of sin, a snare in the Psalms and a trouble in the Book of Job. The negative view of death in the Bible also is evident in the cleanliness rituals required for ancient Israelites when they encountered a dead body, Laing wrote. "Death is unclean and an impediment to proper relationship with God," he added. Rather than a means by which God creates, Laing said, death in the Bible is "antithetical to God's creative work as the Giver of Life." Death is the last enemy to be defeated, and death will not be a part of God's perfected Kingdom. The defeat of death in the resurrection of Christ "is a vindication of God's covenant promises" and is a central part of the Gospel, Laing wrote. "Christians since the time of Darwin have recognized the incongruity of the biblical teaching on death and the positive role it plays in evolution," Laing, director of Southwestern's chaplaincy program, wrote. "Some have attempted to alleviate the tension by assigning the negative aspects to the spiritual realm. "... Others have redefined death as a positive force," Laing added, citing Newman Smyth's characterization of natural selection "in almost self-sacrificial terms, such that the self-giving of Christ is paralleled in the deaths of weaker creatures in service to the species." "While Smyth's arguments fit nicely with the evolutionary model, it seems to be seriously at odds with the biblical picture," Laing wrote. [IMG=33310@right@100]Jeffrey Schloss, a biologist and director of the Center for Faith, Ethics, and the Life Sciences at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., wrote a three-part response to Laing on behalf of BioLogos. Schloss said he "could not be in stronger accord" with Laing that life is God's intention for humanity and death is an intrusive, subverting consequence of sin. The question he grapples with, though, is "whether other living beings beyond and before humans were created to be immortal." The view that death in all creation was the result of the human fall was the dominant perspective of the church fathers, key reformers and most Christians throughout the 17th century, Schloss said, but so was geocentrism and the doctrine of human exceptionalism. (Baptist Press note: Geocentrism is the theory that Earth is the center of the universe while human exceptionalism is the idea that humans are higher than and different from all other creatures.) "So is the primordial nature of death more like geocentrism, or more like human exceptionalism? Scientifically, there is little question that it is more akin to geocentrism," Schloss wrote. Laing, Schloss said, "does not provide clear scriptural evidence for death being a comparable enemy to and intrusion upon God's purposes for all creatures." Schloss asked, "Is non-human death an evil?" Some argue, he said, that the early chapters of Genesis clearly depict "consumption of life and resulting death as part of primordial creation." Genesis depicts plants as given for food, "and every chomp kills." "Nearly every time a raspberry or banana or walnut or snap pea or grain of wheat or ear of corn is eaten, one or more living organisms -- embryos -- are killed," Schloss wrote, explaining a view he does not support. "It is as much a creaturely death for these organisms as destroying an embryo or aborting a fetus is for the human organism." If God did not intend for organisms to die in order for others to live, He could have given manna from heaven as in the wilderness or commanded humans "to eat not green plants but milk and honey that do not entail creaturely death," Schloss wrote. Given such realities, Schloss said, some argue that "it is not death itself but the fear, pain and suffering associated with death that constitute the natural evil." Humans repeatedly have attempted to explain the concept of death preceding the fall and to explain animal suffering by using arguments similar to those explaining human suffering, Schloss said. "The possibility of pain may be requisite to that of fulfillment, or death may be conjoined to life as a function of metaphysical, logical, or biotic necessity," Schloss wrote. "Death and its pains may be fully consoled, and necessary for the experience of consolation, in a life to come. The existence of death, in a finite world, may be a necessary form of 'taking turns' so that both the number and the diversity of creatures that experience and manifest life are maximized." The ability to experience pain and death, some argue, may give humans and animals the opportunity for the most moral expression of goodness, which is caring for others to the point of sacrifice, Schloss wrote. While Schloss acknowledges problems with such arguments, he said they cannot be dismissed out-of-hand. "Though I believe in a Fall, this unease is not rationally relieved by attributing to an Adam the present state of all nature," Schloss concluded. "Nor is it resolved by the various alternative considerations I've described and which, taken together, seem to have considerable merit but not sufficiency. "Notwithstanding, I thankfully affirm that 'I have known the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.' And I look to the day when we may say together, 'My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You,'(Job 42:5)." In comments to Baptist Press, Laing of Southwestern Seminary said his essay was intended as "a critique of the way death functions in an evolutionary model similar to that of Darwinism, including the BioLogos position, over against its presentation in the Bible from a biblical/theological perspective." "I did not present a biblical argument for the origins of death, a scientific or conceptual argument for how consumption might take place (even of plants) without death occurring, or a biblical or philosophical argument for the eternal existence of finite beings," Laing said. "In fact, I made no claims regarding these interesting and important issues, but this is where Schloss focuses most of his attention," Laing said. Instead, Laing's essay focused on the more basic claim that in the Bible death is virtually always depicted in negative terms, and when it is not -- as in Psalm 116:15, for example -- "the positive aspect of death is tied to God's redemption and defeat of it." "Schloss has argued that it is only human death that is depicted as I have argued, and challenged me to identify a passage in the Bible where non-human death is seen as negative," Laing said. "I would suggest that there are many, the most obvious being found in Romans 8, where the whole creation waits eagerly for its release from bondage to decay (a result of death). "I suggest that all the imagery of a new earth and a restored kingdom without death speaks against the positive function of death in a theistic evolutionary model." Laing was invited by BioLogos to write a response to Schloss' essays, and he told Baptist Press Aug. 21 he intends to do so in the near future, expanding on his comments to BP. The response will be posted at BioLogos.org. --30-- Erin Roach is assistant editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- Christian Pakistani girl, 11, remains jailed By Staff Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38553 WASHINGTON (BP) -- Controversy continues to swirl around Pakistan's blasphemy law after the arrest of a young Christian girl for defiling words from the Quran. [QUOTE@left@180="Pakistan's blasphemy law is "an irredeemably unjust statute that is routinely used to ... subvert the rule of law and individual freedoms." -- Nina Shea, Hudson Institute]Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the country's Interior Ministry for a report about the Aug. 16 arrest of Rimshah Masih, described as an 11-year-old with Down syndrome in various media reports. Even so, Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom and a former member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, suggested an ominous fate for the girl, in a National Review Online blog Aug. 21. Any person accused of blasphemy -- disproportionately Christians and other religious minorities -- faces murder by vigilantes, even if he or she is merely accused or even acquitted, Shea noted. "In July in Punjab province, a mob whipped into a frenzy by radical leaders hunted down a man thought to have blasphemed against Islam, beat him to death, and burned his body outside a police station," Shea wrote. "In other cases, defendants awaiting trial, or even those who have been released or acquitted, along with the acquitting judge, have been murdered or threatened with murder." The high rate of vigilantism surrounding the law makes it an easy way to persecute religious minorities with false accusation or settle personal scores, various media noted. Two high-ranking Pakistani officials who criticized the blasphemy law, minister of minority affairs Shahbaz Bhatti and Punjab governor Salman Taseer, were gunned down by Islamic radicals. While the U.S. State Department speaks of "misuse" of the blasphemy law, the law itself must be opposed, Shea wrote. "No reform or legal tweaking can perfect this law," she noted. "It is an irredeemably unjust statute that is routinely used to persecute minorities, crush reformers, and in the process subvert the rule of law and individual freedoms." The current case started when the nephew of the girl's landlord said he saw Masih holding a burned copy of an Islamic religious text that included quotations from the Quran, according to The New York Times. According to some reports, the girl had inadvertently burned the papers while cleaning. The nephew then informed a local cleric, who helped stir up initially apathetic residents. Hundreds of neighbors gathered outside her home and demanded the police take action, threatening to burn down Christian homes and burn the girl alive themselves. "On Friday I got reports that in a village on the outskirts of Islamabad, some 1,000 men had gathered after the Friday prayers sermons where the local cleric had asked for the massacre of Christians in the neighborhood over blasphemy by a Christian girl," Paul Bhatti (brother of Shahbaz Bhatti), adviser to the prime minister for National Harmony, told the Christian Science Monitor. "But due to timely action by the police, we were able to calm the crowd." Police arrested the girl and charged her with blasphemy, and her parents were placed in protective custody. Bhatti said the police actions were done to protect her and other Christians from vigilantes. "If the girl was free and not in jail, it would have been impossible to protect her," he told the Monitor. Media reports differ about the girl's mental health, with some reporting that she has Down syndrome while senior police officers told The Times she is "100 percent mentally fit." Pakistani police and government officials say the accusations against the girl are baseless and the case will probably be dropped, according to media reports, but Christians have begun fleeing her neighborhood in fear of attacks by angry Muslims. The Washington Post reported that hundreds of Christians have fled to other neighborhoods in Islamabad, while those who remain face threats from shopkeepers. "They said they will burn our house down if we don't leave," a 17-year-old told the Post. "They are also saying that since a woman burned the Quran, they will come after our women now." Given the climate of vigilantism surrounding blasphemy cases, the girl and her family will likely never be able to return home. "Even if the law changes, who will change the mindset of the people?" Bhatti asked the Monitor. "It is very important that we first create interfaith harmony in Pakistan, without which such discrimination against non-Muslims will continue." "Christians, Ahmadiyyas, Shiites and Hindus have been disproportionately targeted under Pakistan's blasphemy law," Shea noted, adding that "moderate and reformist Muslims from the country's Sunni majority have also been victimized...." "The United States government needs to understand the dynamic of the blasphemy law and get its response right," Shea wrote. "This threat is spreading: Blasphemy charges are surfacing in Egypt and Tunisia along with the rise of Islamist rule, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation persistently presses for such laws within the United Nations." --30-- Compiled by John Evans, a writer in Houston, and Baptist Press editor Art Toalston. -- End of story -- 'iPledge' simulcast to urge Christians to vote By Staff Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38554 WASHINGTON (BP) -- Leading pro-family organizations will attempt to motivate and equip Christians to fulfill their citizenship responsibilities -- praying for the election and voting -- through a live simulcast in September to local churches. [QUOTE@right@180="America is in trouble." -- FRC's Kenyn Cureton]The Family Research Council (FRC) and American Family Association are co-sponsoring "iPledge Sunday: A Call to Faith, Family and Freedom" Sunday, Sept. 9. The event will originate at 7 p.m. (EDT) from First Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., but churches throughout the United States will be able to host a simulcast of the 90-minute service. Christians also may host the event in their homes. Among the speakers will be FRC President Tony Perkins, former Republican senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Maryland pastor Harry Jackson and actor Kirk Cameron. They will address such issues as religious freedom, abortion and other life concerns, and marriage. The event's goal, according to FRC, is to lead Christians to pledge to: (1) Pray for the Nov. 6 election; (2) register -- and register others -- to vote, and (3) vote according to biblical values.
"America is in trouble," FRC's Kenyn Cureton told Baptist Press in explaining the purpose of the event. "Government is out of control, and not just in terms of outrageous spending. Human life is becoming more and more devalued. Marriage is being radically redefined. Our religious liberty and heritage is being removed. "So we hope that the 'iPledge Sunday' event will not only serve as a wake-up call for Christians to get off the sidelines and onto these battle lines, but also will offer practical action steps as to how we can make a positive difference," said Cureton, FRC's vice president for church ministries. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), endorsed the event, saying, "I would encourage Southern Baptists and other people of faith to enthusiastically embrace 'iPledge Sunday' and to follow the exhortation to pray, prepare and participate in the upcoming election by voting their biblical values." Within the Southern Baptist Convention, the ERLC and North American Mission Board will again co-sponsor the 40/40 Prayer Vigil this fall. The biannual emphasis gives Southern Baptists and other Christians the opportunity to pray for spiritual revival and national renewal according to two plans: -- Pray once each day for the 40 days from Sept. 26 to Nov. 4; -- Or pray each hour during the 40 hours from 4 p.m. Nov. 2 to 8 a.m. Nov. 4. Churches and families may learn about "iPledge Sunday" online and sign up to host a simulcast at [URL=http://ipledgesunday.org/]http://www.ipledgesunday.org/[/URL]. Information on the 40/40 vigil -- plus a free, downloadable prayer guide -- is available at [URL=http://4040prayer.com]4040prayer.com[/URL]. --30-- Compiled by Tom Strode, Washington bureau chief of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- Staff, strategy changes ahead for TN Baptists By Lonnie Wilkey & Connie Davis Bushey Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38555 BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) -- The Tennessee Baptist Convention Executive Board will eliminate up to 16 full- and part-time staff positions over the next several months. TBC Executive Director/Treasurer Randy C. Davis announced the changes during a mid-August staff meeting at the Baptist Center in Brentwood. The changes "are not driven by the economy," Davis emphasized, though "we are certainly sensitive to the impact of a down economy." Rather, the changes are "driven by strategy to move us forward in accomplishing a clear objective: To assist the local church in winning the lost of Tennessee to Christ." [QUOTE@left@180="A clear objective: To assist the local church in winning the lost of Tennessee to Christ." -- Randy Davis, TBC exec]The staff reductions will free up nearly $1 million once the process is finished, Davis told the TBC's Baptist and Reflector newsjournal, noting that the changes "will allow more of our resources to be pushed to the harvest fields." In explaining the rationale behind the decision, Davis stated that "having the privilege and accepting the responsibility of leading the gifted and committed Tennessee Baptist team of servant missionaries is one of the clearest calls the Lord has ever placed on my life." He continued, "Working with the good and great churches of Tennessee to reach the millions of lost people in our state is by far one of the greatest burdens the Lord has ever placed in my life." Reversing a half-century-long decline in the number of people reached and baptized in Tennessee must become a reality in the state, Davis said. "Seeing more people reached with the Gospel, baptized and becoming fully devoted followers of Christ through healthy and empowered churches is the target. That is our clear direction," he emphasized. Davis described the staff reduction not as "downsizing" but instead "right sizing our ministry." The TBC leader said that realigning the convention's financial, personnel and structural resources will facilitate: -- Intentionally assisting churches with a harvest field focused initiative. -- Taking another step toward seeing the 50/50 distribution of CP funding becoming a reality for TBC and national/international Baptist outreach. -- Enhancing more effective and excellent communications. -- Eliminating unneeded and unwise duplication of ministries. -- Accelerating a much-needed emphasis on serving ethnic and African American ministries. -- Giving greater help in serving and reaching impoverished and underserved children and families from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River. -- Prioritizing TBC work around sending churches, starting churches and strengthening and supporting churches. Wearing the "hat of the executive director" made him look at the staff positions strategically, Davis said, but "having the heart of the pastor" helps him see beyond the position. He emphasized that "each one of our team members will be treated with the utmost respect and fairness." He told the staff, "I see the person. I see you and I know this hurts all of us on a personal level." Davis ended the Aug. 15 staff meeting by noting that "we must lean together" on Romans 8:28: "All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." One key strategy was outlined to a group of pastors by TBC staff Aug. 2 in which Tennessee Baptist churches would develop small groups that meet outside the church to reach people for Christ and grow their church. Bobby Welch, TBC associate executive director, led the presentation of the "Harvest Plants" initiative to about 40 ministers from about 35 churches. Before the pastors left the presentation, 28 committed to starting one or more small groups or harvest plants in the next year aimed at five people making professions of faith and being baptized. The strategy also calls for the harvest plant to reproduce itself by the end of that year, through a "1-5-1" strategy -- "1" new plant in one year, winning and baptizing "5" persons and reproducing "1" additional plant. The small groups can either be a "branch plant" which is an outgrowth of a Sunday School or small group ministry; a "group plant" which comes from the church as a whole rather than an existing ministry; or a "church plant." Branch plants and group plants do not develop into congregations but remain connected to the church. Certainly all church plants would develop into congregations, explained Steve Holt, the TBC's leader growth coordinator. The small groups or harvest plants can be started by a church at no additional cost or practically no cost to the church and by churches in all situations, Welch noted. "There is no church too small or too large not to do plants in an extremely successful way," he said. Churches must do something different, Welch noted. "We're talking about going outside the church. We're not getting lost people in the church. They're not coming. ... People are lost and headed to hell," he declared. Don Pierson, the TBC's Kingdom growth coordinator, told of First Baptist Church in Cookeville, which surveyed 800 homes and learned that hundreds of residents would be willing to attend a Bible study in a home. The church has started several small groups meeting in homes. Phil Young, missions/ministry specialist with the convention, told how Baptist ministry sites like Baptist centers across the state often see a lot of folks make professions of faith who are "not always easily assimilated into established churches." He and Welch, after touring several Baptist ministry sites, are encouraging many of the ministry site directors to start harvest plants to evangelize and disciple people "that are falling through the gaps," Young added. Holt told of a church in a county seat town which was declining but became committed to starting small group plants. A total of 18 groups have been started by this one church, drawing about 180 people. One good result is that about 30 percent of the folks attending small groups have started attending the church which went from 40 in attendance to 120, Holt reported. Welch said he isn't against a church developing satellites as well as harvest plants as it sees fit because of the autonomy of the local church, he added. Welch said he recommends that lay leaders start and lead the harvest plants. The leaders just need a commitment to evangelism and discipleship. He noted that the small groups must avoid becoming hobby groups that don't focus on evangelism and discipleship. The focus, he said, must be upon lost persons, not relocating Christians to their meetings. --30-- Lonnie Wilkey is editor of the Baptist and Reflector (www.tnbaptist.org), newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention; Connie Davis Bushey is the newspaper's news editor. -- End of story -- Court lets Texas ban on P.P. take effect By Staff Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38556 WASHINGTON (BP) -- Texas can enforce a state law that prevents leading abortion provider Planned Parenthood from participating in a women's health program, a federal appeals court has ruled. [QUOTE@left@180=The ruling "is a win for Texas women, our rule of law and our state's priority to protect life." -- Gov. Rick Perry]The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans Tuesday (Aug. 21) lifted a preliminary injunction issued in April by a federal judge that had blocked implementation of the 2011 law. The measure prohibits the state from contracting under the Texas Medicaid Women's Health Program with organizations that "perform or promote elective abortions or affiliate with entities that perform or promote elective abortions." Planned Parenthood failed to show it is "likely to succeed in demonstrating that the ... restriction on promoting elective abortions violates their First Amendment rights," the Fifth Circuit, three-judge panel ruled. The judges returned the case to the federal court for consideration. The ban reportedly affects only Planned Parenthood. More than 1,000 health-care providers certified for the program are not affiliated with abortion clinics, according to the Texas Alliance for Life. In March, the Obama administration announced it would not grant a waiver to the women's health program because of the ban on Planned Parenthood, thereby ending federal funding for services to about 130,000 women. The federal government provides about 90 percent of the money for the program. In response, Gov. Rick Perry said he plans for the state to make up the funding difference left by the federal government's withdrawal. Perry welcomed the Fifth Circuit decision, saying it "is a win for Texas women, our rule of law and our state's priority to protect life." "Texas will continue providing important health services for women through this program in spite of the Obama Administration's disregard for our state law and unilateral decision to defund this program," Perry said. Pro-life advocates applauded the ruling as well. "Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for abortions or abortion advocacy," said Steven Aden, senior counsel of the Alliance Defending Freedom. "The court's decision against the position of Planned Parenthood and the Obama administration again demonstrates that abortionists and their political allies are bluffing when they say that states cannot stop taxpayer funding from being used to subsidize abortions, whether directly or indirectly." Planned Parenthood decried the Fifth Circuit action. "It is shocking that once again it appears that politics is getting in the way of women receiving access to basic health care," said Melaney Linton, president of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. Affiliates of the Planned Parenthood Federal of America (PPFA) reported performing 329,445 abortions in 2010, again making PPFA America's No. 1 abortion provider. PPFA and its affiliates received $487.4 million in government grants, contracts and reimbursements in 2009-10, the most recent year for which statistics are available. The unanimous ruling was handed down by nominees of Presidents Reagan (E. Grady Jolly), George H.W. Bush (Harold R. DeMoss Jr.) and Clinton (Carl E. Stewart). Stewart concurred only in the judgment. --30-- Compiled by Tom Strode, Washington bureau chief of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- Disabilities treaty opposed by homeschool exec By J.C. Derrick/World News Service Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38557 WASHINGTON (BP) -- Few would argue against fair treatment of disabled persons, but some conservative leaders are crying foul over a United Nations treaty now poised to pass the Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in July and sent it to the full Senate, where it will need a two-thirds majority -- 67 votes -- for ratification. The treaty's supporters include Democrats and some Republicans -- among them: Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former President George H.W. Bush and former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas. Supporters contend that the agreement would essentially widen the effects of the Americans with Disabilities Act, giving disabled American citizens more rights when traveling abroad. [QUOTE@left@180="We need other defenders of U.S. sovereignty to stand up." -- Michael Farris, homeschool exec]Home School Legal Defense Association chairman Michael Farris, however, warns that the CRPD would undermine the Americans with Disabilities Act by taking away U.S. sovereignty and handing it over to unelected U.N. bureaucrats. "By definition, any [treaty] we ratify becomes part of the highest law of the land," Farris said. "The idea that it has no legal effect just demonstrates that people do not understand international law." Farris, who holds an advanced degree in international law from the University of London, said the Supreme Court already has set a precedent for referring to international law in Roper v. Simmons, Sullivan; Graham v. Florida; and Lawrence v. Texas. Farris contended that the treaty would become the ultimate authority in deciding what is best for a child with disabilities. He was one of nine witnesses to testify at a Foreign Relations hearing on the matter in July. The committee's vote broke along party lines with the exception of Republican Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana, John Barrasso of Wyoming and Johnny Isakson of Georgia, who sided with the Democratic majority in the 13-6 vote. Isakson press secretary Marie Gordon said the senator "voted in favor of the [treaty] in the committee because ratification would signal to the world that the U.S. is committed to continuing its role as the international leader in disability rights." Gordon said the treaty "will not erode our sovereignty." Farris said Isakson and other supporters do not understand the difference between a treaty and a declaration. "They lack the knowledge to execute their offices and it's shameful," he said. Some pro-life advocates take issue with the treaty's protection for "sexual and reproductive health," which arguably includes abortion. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced an amendment to address that concern, but it was voted down. Rubio voted against sending the CRPD to the full Senate, along with fellow Republicans Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah, James Inhofe of Oklahoma and James Risch of Idaho. Farris said the odds of stopping the treaty from garnering 67 votes in the Senate are not good if the homeschooling community continues its opposition alone: "We need other defenders of U.S. sovereignty to stand up." More than 115 countries have already signed the treaty. --30-- J.C. Derrick is a writer for World News Service. Used by permission. -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: Is Proverbs 22:6 a guarantee? By Mark Coppenger Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38559 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- A number of years ago, I got a Sunday night call from a pastor who was facing backlash from a prominent deacon in his church. The critic was taking exception to his statement that Proverbs 22:6 wasn't a guarantee -- "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." I believe this came up in an exchange over the prospects of a wayward son. The layman was "claiming the promise" that his son, having been brought up in a seriously Christian home and church, would eventually straighten up and fly right. When the pastor ventured to suggest the verse wasn't an ironclad warranty, the distraught, indignant dad said he was denying the truth of Scripture, and was threatening to take his complaint to others in the church. What can one say to this? Well, a not-so-impressive approach is to suggest that it might well be the case that the man and his wife hadn't "trained him up in the way he should go" after all. If they had, the boy wouldn't be on the wrong path. In other words, the proof was in the pudding. Or, we could say, "Just wait. It'll all work out, just as the Bible promises." But we can all think of Christian families where all but one of the kids turned out well, and where it is hard to say how the one child was trained significantly more poorly than the others. A much better approach is to see Proverbs as a divine book of moral generalities, of rules of thumb, rather than a book of pointed prophecies, physical laws or contractual obligations. That's just what proverbs or aphorisms are meant to be, whether we're talking about such secular versions as "a stitch in time saves nine" and "absence makes the heart grow fonder" or the inspired, biblical counterparts, "A gracious woman gains honor" (Proverbs 11:16) or "wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle" (Proverbs 13:11). Though we can think of exceptions to these rules, there is deep and life-important truth in them. As with all Bible interpretation, it's important to know what sort of language is being used to convey God's infallible, inerrant revelation. When someone insists that Jesus is made of wood because He says He's a gate (John 10:9) or that He's made of flour because He says he's bread (John 6:35), they mistake figures of speech for literal talk. Imagine a young man who manages to walk blindfolded across a busy street. What if, on the opposite curb, he says, "See, those who told me I would be a fool to do this are wrong. I don't have a scratch on me." Or what would we make of the statement from a heavy smoker dying of lung cancer, "They said it would do me good to exercise regularly and watch my cholesterol. I did both religiously, and now I'm dying." As for Proverbs 22:16, the verse in question, it teaches us that sound religious and moral upbringing is a wise investment of time and energy. It's the sort of thing that pays off in a big way. And to neglect it is to flirt with disaster. With this view of Proverbs, you don't lose trust in Scripture when the skeptic says, "Aha, I know a lazy man who lived like a king all his life on his inheritance" as a way to refute Proverbs 24:33-34 ("A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.") The problem would arise if, in general, laziness proved to be a better path to success than hard work. Which it won't. And neither will laissez-faire parenting, where the kids are allowed to run wild and ignorant. --30-- This column first appeared at the blog of BibleMesh, a website that teaches the Bible as a unified story pointing to Christ (online at biblemesh.com/blog). Mark Coppenger is director of the Nashville, Tenn., extension center for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and professor of Christian apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: The need for cooperative missions By John Yeats Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38558 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP) -- A few weeks ago, I received a letter from Tom Elliff, president of the International Mission Board. His letter was primarily a challenge specifically written to the IMB personnel. However, it serves as a challenge for all of us to awaken to the urgency of the hour. Here is an excerpt from Dr. Elliff's letter: "Here is the issue we must address: Over the past 30 years the SBC experienced a 'first' for evangelical conventions and denominations. For the first time in history, a major entity that was drifting to the left and losing its appreciation of the Word of God as inerrant, inspired and infallible, made a significant turn to the right! "Southern Baptists, in what has been called the 'Conservative Resurgence,' waged a battle for the Bible, and now enjoy the fruit of victory with record enrollment in our institutions, led by entity heads, pastors, churches and mission personnel who embrace a high view of the Word and a pure understanding of the Gospel. "But it appears that we were then much more energized over saving the Word from liberalism than we are now about sharing the Word with the lost. To be perfectly honest, there are bright and remarkable churches, entities, and state conventions that stand out as exceptions to this statement. These churches and entities are embracing the Great Commission in an aggressive, creative and sacrificial manner. But they are still the exception in the SBC ... not the rule, as the statistics sadly reveal. "Ironically, during the conservative resurgence, the enemy of liberalism was clearly and boldly depicted, and we joined ranks to rise up and defeat him. Yet now the Enemy is the same! We are in danger of becoming theoretical conservatives but practicing liberals, arising each day with little sense of urgency to fulfill the Great Commission. "At the same time, we have put aside the necessity of working together, a hallmark of the Conservative Resurgence, and drifted into a dangerous and prideful state of independence and isolationism. May God help us! "So I am calling on you, our IMB mission personnel, and on any churches, entities and state conventions of the SBC who are committed to aggressively living out the Great Commission, to rise up with us in restoring the lost sense of cooperation, urgency and zeal for missions that must attend these days." As I read these passionate words, it caused me to take inventory of my own behavior. Am I engaged in cooperatively reaching the lost in such a way that it brings pleasure to my Lord? Does my lifestyle demonstrate God's desire for His people to cooperate with urgency and passion to reach the lost in this world? Some will say, "Preacher, the poor economy is the reason our cooperative mission dollars are faltering." Is that really the case? Or is it because "cooperative missions" is too often the church's easy target for adjusting a tight budget or limited cash flow? It is tough for church leaders to faithfully prioritize the resources God gives through His people. Are we faithful stewards to His agenda that reaches out to lost people here and there in the outermost? Or is it because of something I heard a deacon in another state say, "We like sending our dollars where we can see some good"? You cannot see everyone who is supported by the Cooperative Program. More than half of our Southern Baptist international missionaries are in high security areas. You cannot see all the mission work that occurs every day in Missouri or that occurs with a chaplain in the military or that occurs with a campus missionary -- on and on the list could go. The amount of ministry and evangelism accomplished through the Cooperative Program is mindboggling. You may not see these missionaries and ministries but you support them through the percentage your church gives through the Cooperative Program. You are the one holding the rope, the life-line for missions. There were days not too long ago when the passion for cooperative missions burned brightly in the hearts of Southern Baptists. In those days, it was not uncommon for local churches to send double-digit percentages through the Cooperative Program to our great mission works in our states, nation and the world. If our average CP giving ever rises to double digits, that would reflect something that only God can do. Only He can turn our hearts away from what we are doing and what we control and cause us to give our resources to what we cannot see. That would be a revival of great faith. Some churches are moving forward with an incremental strategy to increase support for cooperative ministries. Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee, has challenged Southern Baptist churches to prayerfully consider a "1 percent challenge" -- adding 1 percent to the previous year's percentage of giving through the Cooperative Program. If each of our churches did that, it would demonstrate the power of cooperative giving. If not 1 percent, what about a half percent? More importantly, let's approach our cooperative mission giving with the passion of someone rescuing a soul from an eternity of separation from God who loves. --30-- John Yeats is executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention and recording secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention. This column first appeared at his blog, http://johnyeats.net. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- FROM THE SEMINARIES: SBTS, SWBTS, NOBTS, GGBTS, SEBTS By Staff Aug. 22 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38560 EDITOR'S NOTE: "From the Seminaries" includes news releases of interest as written and edited from Southern Baptist seminaries. Today's From the Seminaries includes: SBTS SWBTS (2 items) NOBTS GGBTS SEBTS Deferred maintenance: Southern Seminary innovates By Aaron Cline Hanbury LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Around the country, institutions of higher education face the persistent problem of deferred maintenance. Basically, an institution will defer addressing campus maintenance issues in an effort to reduce spending in general or to reallocate funds to more immediate needs. A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education painted a bleak picture of the deferred maintenance needs at institutions across the country. The Chronicle reports that "deferred maintenance on college campuses amounts to about $36 billion across the country, with $7 billion of that considered urgent." Citing Sightlines, a higher education consulting company with more than 300 clients, The Chronicle reports, "the data indicates that the need for repairs and modernization has risen since the start of the 2008 recession, particularly at public institutions. At some institutions the backlog, which is not recorded on balance sheets, would rival or far exceed their net assets or liabilities." Moody's Investors Service, a company that provides credit ratings, research, tools and analysis for corporations, produced a report revealing that for the 287 private colleges it rates, debt for capital projects had more than tripled, from $27 billion in 2000 to $90 billion in 2010. This makes the need to address deferred maintenance all the more urgent. At Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, deferred maintenance is no less an issue. In an effort to assess the situation, the seminary hired one of the nation's top consulting firms to evaluate the campus. The result was the quantification of the seminary's $52 million deferred maintenance bill. The Chronicle suggests that campus buildings require "major renovations" every 25 years, and "further major renovations, or replacement, at 50 years." Southern Seminary built many of its buildings when the seminary moved to its current location in 1926, almost 90 years ago. Many areas of those buildings, the plumbing in the Mullins Complex for instance, have not seen an update since then. "One of our chief responsibilities in this generation is to ensure Southern Seminary is propelled into the future unconstrained by limitations that we have the responsibility to address now," said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary. "The campus of Southern Seminary is merely a tool, but it's a very important tool for our ability to fulfill the mission that has been entrusted to us. For that reason, we need to take responsibility in this generation to make certain that the campus continues as a great asset to our mission and does not become a liability." The consensus of those interviewed in The Chronicle seems to be that colleges will need to adopt new strategies to get more out of their buildings. David A. Kadamus, president of Sightlines, said that "colleges are embracing all sorts of strategies to deal with deferred maintenance. The savviest have devised comprehensive plans that deal with maintenance issues while pursuing strategic goals." Southern Seminary's need for a comprehensive strategy provided the impetus for its new master plan. According to Mohler, Southern's responsibility and the growing needs of its campus "explain the significant effort to address long-term issues and take advantage of opportunities for the campus." Mohler said that addressing the seminary's deferred maintenance issue is not only for the current Southern community, but for the future of the institution. "As I head into my 20th year as president, I do not want to turn over this campus to the next generation as a time bomb about to detonate," he said. "In spite of all of its beauty and all of its utility, there are some things that are ticking as some of these buildings approach their 90th year." According to Mohler, the largest area of concern is the Mullins Complex. The complex consists of Whitsitt, Mullins and Williams halls and makes up one-third of the campus. If the complex were to require plumbing or electrical replacement, the cost for each would be $4 million. Then, updating 1926 facilities to match 2012 codes would cost at least $4 million. During the next 10 years, the seminary's newly adopted and implemented master plan will defer maintenance no more. This plan will dissolve the $52 million in deferred maintenance and position the campus for immediate and future structural and financial sustainability. Phase one will restore and update the campus, primarily in terms of housing and administrative offices. "We are going to look at the issue in terms of its component parts," Mohler said. "Look at what issues are the most crucial and put it together in a package that will include some fundraising and some use of capital." Mohler insisted that the seminary will not draw funds for the proposed master plan or from tuition increases. The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention has approved a $20 million loan for the SBTS master plan. This loan will help repurpose the Mullins Complex as a state-of-the-art facility for Boyce College, the undergraduate school of Southern Seminary. Phase two will advance the learning community of Southern Seminary, primarily through renovation of the James P. Boyce Centennial Library. Phase three, without requiring any firm commitments, anticipates future development. By the completion of the first phase of the master plan, Southern Seminary will almost entirely be free from its current deferred maintenance bill. The leadership and staff of the seminary are carefully, aggressively and creatively addressing the persistent challenge of deferred maintenance -- but not just as a means to keep paint fresh and building infrastructure up-to-date. Instead, the master plan eliminates longstanding maintenance needs in a way that strategically resets the campus to better fulfill in our age its enduring mission of training ministers of the Gospel. ********** Pastors, students walk in footsteps of Baptist forebears By Keith Collier FORT WORTH, Texas -- Following in the steps of their theological ancestors, a group of Southern Baptists traversed five countries in Western Europe and discovered firsthand the faithfulness and unyielding commitment of 16th-century Anabaptists. The group traveled as part of the Radical Reformation Study Tour organized and led by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary faculty and President Paige Patterson. The tour focused on 16th-century Anabaptists, who sought to build New Testament churches on the major tenets of biblical authority, believer's baptism, believers' church, a proper view of the Lord's Supper, religious liberty, discipleship and church discipline. Anabaptists championed a return to the Bible much like their Magisterial Reformer contemporaries such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli, but they believed these Reformers had not gone far enough in abandoning unbiblical practices such as infant baptism. Their advocacy for a "free church" separate from the state incited opposition and persecution from both Catholics and Protestants. Many were martyred for their faith. Southwestern's tour group of 24 people traveled to sites in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic from May 14-24. They explored castle ruins where Anabaptists were imprisoned, caves where they gathered for worship and riverbanks where many were drowned. Along the way, professors lectured on the theology and biographies of these faithful men and women. Although historians misunderstood Anabaptists for centuries, scholars in the 20th century recognized the diversity among Anabaptists and the valuable heritage they left for present-day Baptists and other Christians. Former Southwestern Seminary professors such as A.H. Newman, William Estep and James Leo Garrett were some at the forefront of this scholarship. Estep's "The Anabaptist Story" has been a staple textbook on the subject for more than 35 years. Today, Southwestern continues to lead the way in Anabaptist studies as seen by its "Anabaptism and Contemporary Baptists" conference in January 2012, which attracted more than 500 students, faculty members and guests from around the world. Estep's legacy was strongly felt on the study tour. His contributions to Anabaptist studies initially sparked Patterson's interest in the subject, and the two became friends in later years. Additionally, two pastors on the tour first remember hearing about the Anabaptists from Estep as they sat in his church history classroom. Mike Hopkins, senior pastor at Simpson Creek Baptist Church in Bridgeport, W.Va., took Estep's class at Southwestern in the early 1960s and knew the Estep family from church. He has continued to study the Anabaptists throughout his pastoral ministry and was excited to hear that Southwestern would be leading a study tour on the topic. "I find it very moving to be at the sites where Anabaptists gave their lives because of their faith in Christ," Hopkins said. "I like history, and when I study history, I don't want generalities. I want to know exactly where this happened and what happened here, and this trip has been excellent. "I wanted to come on this trip if for no other reason but to stand in Zurich at the Limmat River where Felix Manz was drowned, and to think of his dear mother calling out to him to be strong and not to compromise. That was the high point of the trip for me." Jimmy Patterson, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Newnan, Ga., first learned about the Anabaptists at Southwestern in Estep's class in the 1980s. Patterson -- no relation to Paige Patterson -- used his sabbatical to join the study tour. He came away refreshed physically and spiritually and said the trip provided practical benefits for his ministry as a pastor. "I'm now able to go back home and give my church compelling and passionate reasons to continue being distinctively Baptist," Patterson said. "[I'll] also be able to persuasively instruct new converts on the importance of believer's baptism and Christian prospects from other denominations on the essentials of believer's baptism." Patterson said the study tour also fueled his passion for evangelism and missions: "The price paid by the Anabaptists for their faith has motivated me to new levels of evangelism. "Our association has adopted an unreached people group in the Südtirol Valley. [One of the lectures] spoke about George Blaurock in the 16th century who went to that part of present-day northern Italy [formerly Austria], and Anabaptists exploded in that area. But now, they're an unreached, unengaged people group according to the IMB. … I thought, 'Wow! These people have an Anabaptist heritage, and they used to not be unreached. I think a great strategy would be to go back and tell these people a little about their ancestral roots and use that as a launching pad to introduce them [to the Gospel].'" Jon Clark, a master of divinity student at Southwestern, took the church history class offered as part of the study tour, which served as his final class in his master's program. Upon graduation, he plans to continue in pastoral ministry. "[The trip] was a culmination of everything I've been working toward and learning," Clark said. "It's an inspiration to learn about the Anabaptists and their sacrifices and faithfulness. Now, I have the motivation to be as sacrificial as the Anabaptists and as faithful as they were. It makes me want to love God more and show Him more to the world regardless of what the cost might be." Dan Moon, a Southwestern alumnus who served as a church planter and the church planting director for Asian-Americans with the North American Mission Board until his retirement in 2003, also participated in the study tour. He believes a proper understanding of Anabaptist theology and the heritage left for modern Baptists would benefit Asian believers and churches. "The Korean Protestant movement needs to go back to the basics of New Testament Christianity, patterned after what Anabaptists did," Moon said. He noted the importance of teaching Baptist distinctives because "the future explosion of mass Christendom in the 21st century will be in China, South Korea, North Korea and Southeast Asian countries." Southwestern hopes to continue to lead study tours on the Anabaptists in addition to its study tours on the English Reformation, the Early Church, and the Holy Land. --30-- Keith Collier is director of news and information for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (www.swbts.edu/campusnews). ********** German bus driver stays on narrow road By Keith Collier RHEINLAND-PFALZ, Germany -- After decades of running from God, Klaus-Peter Schmidt could not bear the weight of conviction any longer. For a year, he had attended a local Baptist church, sat under the preaching of God's Word, and read the Bible given to him by the pastor. But he still felt desperate. "On the 16th of February in 2011, I was driving in my car, and I felt like I should stop now," Schmidt recounts. "I read the letter of John, and after I finished reading, I started crying. All of the sudden, I noticed what a sinful life I had led throughout all these years. And I was so grateful that through the words out of this Bible my whole life was being changed." Despite his desperation, he sensed the Lord saying over and over, "Do not give up." Sitting in his car, he repented and put his faith in Christ. "In this very moment, I knew that God had given me a present, that He had shown His grace to me, that I was really converted to Him." Schmidt continued to attend Bible classes and worship services at his church as much as possible. However, his profession as a long-distance coach driver often had him driving a tour bus around Germany on the weekends. Then, one day, his company told him an upcoming assignment would involve driving a Christian group across five countries over the course of 10 days. Some may call it coincidence, but Schmidt says it was divine providence. The company assigned him to be the coach driver for Southwestern Seminary's Radical Reformation Study Tour, which focused on traveling in the footsteps of 16th-century Anabaptists in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic. "When I first got the documents saying it was Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I was smiling all over my face and thinking this can't be true," Schmidt says. In addition to navigating narrow city streets and hairpin curves in the Swiss Alps, Schmidt listened in on the lectures about the committed believers who lived in the region and held to biblical principles even at the cost of their lives. Schmidt also joined the group to see the prison cells where Anabaptists were sequestered, the barns and caves where they hid to worship, and the riverbanks where they were drowned for their faith. "I learned how important our personal faith is for us, and I've learned so many new historical and theological facts; I took everything in like a sponge," Schmidt says. "At each and every place, I had the impression of diving into history and to learn from our forefathers." "I've experienced during this week such a true faith and a faith that is alive. It's my goal to live the same kind of living faith. Every day was so amazing, so indescribable." Despite traveling some rocky roads in life, Schmidt is determined to stay on the straight and narrow road. "During those 10 days," Schmidt says, "I came to see how easy it can be to living your faith if you just live according to what the Bible says. It's not easy for any of us. Sometimes we, ourselves, make our way pretty difficult." With God's help and direction, Schmidt has set his course to stay on the straight and narrow road. His primary goal is to "live the life that God expects us to live together with my wife and little son." ********** Former Muslim embraces Christ, plans mission trip to home country By Frank Michael McCormack MARIETTA, Ga. -- The road that led Brahima Nabi Toure to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's North Georgia Hub was longer, and had more twists and turns, than that of many students at NOBTS. Toure, a truck driver by trade and a master of divinity student, is originally from Burkina Faso, a nation of about 16 million in West Africa. The long road from Toure's village, Diebougou, to the Atlanta area ultimately led him from Islam to faith in Jesus Christ. It also led him to his wife Mikyong and to a call to ministry. And that long road, Toure said, ultimately will lead him back to his village as a minister of the Gospel. His ministry there will be the first. Toure said he always dreamed of coming to the United States. He majored in English in college in part because of that desire. Then in 1998, a friend who already lived in the States connected Toure with a farmer in Wisconsin. A main motivation for leaving Burkina Faso for the United States, Toure said, was to provide for his large family. Toure spent only one planting season in Wisconsin, though. As it turns out, the Wisconsin weather was a little extreme for the native Burkinabè. Toure abandoned the Midwest for the Southeast in February 1999 when he moved to Atlanta, joining a large contingent from Burkina Faso. He worked a number of jobs, anything from washing cars to working behind the counter at a gas station. And work he did, sending much of his pay back to his mother and siblings in Burkina Faso. But the hard work and loneliness of being a newcomer to the United States took its toll. By the time he turned 40 in the mid-2000s, Toure hit a wall. "I started panicking. I had nothing -- no money, no wife, no kids," he recalled. "I spent all these years working, and not only working, wasting my life. I was a secret alcoholic. In my bitterness, all I could do was drink." But in the midst of his crisis, Toure met his future wife, Mikyong, a Korean and a Christian. "When I looked at her, I saw my filthiness. And what was amazing about her was that she was happy," he said. "She was so happy, and I started envying her happiness. And she loved me." Toure said he began to notice how Mikyong would divide her income between her tithe and missions giving at her Korean church. He also watched closely how she read her Bible. She was passionate about her faith and prayed. One thing, though, threatened to derail their relationship -- there was a possibility that Mikyong could not have a child. In Toure's culture in Burkina Faso, having children is of utmost importance. Their fears were confirmed after visiting an area doctor. Most likely, they would not be able to have children. Toure said, though distraught and disappointed, Mikyong nonetheless leaned on her faith. About the same time, the couple drove from Atlanta to Seattle to visit a friend. Toure drove, and along the way, Mikyong constantly shared with him words of wisdom from the Bible. He was amazed at her knowledge of the Bible. In response, he decided to match her Christian faith by being a good Muslim. "I tried to read the Quran, but I didn't feel the same passion as her," Toure said. One day, Toure put down his Quran and picked up a tract Mikyong had brought from her church. "Something stirred in my heart," he said. "I took her Bible and opened it from the Book of Genesis and started reading and reading. And I never stopped from that day." On Mother's Day 2009, Toure attended church with Mikyong. He said that morning he had read Psalm 23 and focused on the part that says, "I prepare a table for you." There was a meal after the worship service, and Toure sat at the pastor's table. Knowing that Toure had not yet placed his faith in Christ, the pastor offered to pray with him after the meal. Overcome with emotion, Toure began to kneel, then sob, then lay prostrate as he cried out to God. A wave of peace passed over him, he said, as he received the Holy Spirit. Just a few weeks later, Toure was baptized in Lake Lanier near Atlanta. He and Mikyong were married immediately afterward. Toure got more and more involved in ministry through his church and continued to grow in his faith, but he had not yet shared his testimony with his mother. Then, while on mission in India, Toure said he felt impressed to call his mother. He called and told her where he was, and she asked why he would be in India. "I said, 'I'm on a mission for Jesus.' I said, 'I'm one of them. [Jesus] sent me here on a mission to share the Gospel,'" Toure recalled. His siblings "cried for weeks and months" and his mother had to be taken to the hospital, they were so distraught. Since his conversion, Toure has continued sending money back home and reaching out to his mother and siblings. Gradually, he said, they're talking to him more. He said he knows it's difficult for them to accept him as a Christian. "When you go to my village, [my family] owns the mosque. They are very proud to be Muslim. They know nothing else. I'm a shock to the whole family," he said. "I'm really standing alone, but I'm really not alone." With a deep desire to know the Bible and share his faith, Toure began studying at NOBTS' North Georgia Hub about three semesters ago. "I believe my calling is to serve in Africa or the Middle East," he said. That call to overseas missions, he said, starts at home in Diebougoug, Burkina Faso, among his own family. Toure said he hopes to travel there with Mikyong sometime this year. "I want to take it as a mission trip to explore the land," he said. "I know He has great plans for them. In my family, there has never been a Christian." --30-- Frank Michael McCormack is a writer for New Orleans Seminary. ********** Golden Gate to offer online theological studies master's MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- Gate Baptist Theological Seminary announces its entirely online master of theological studies (MTS) degree program is available for the first time beginning this fall. Dually accredited, this 49-hour, two-year program allows students to earn a seminary degree from anywhere in the world without disrupting their current life and ministry. This program links students with Golden Gate's faculty, as it integrates a wide variety of online methods including graphic and video lectures, video and audio chats, threaded email discussions, shared applications, wiki documents, online exams, and posting shared research. The courses are asynchronous so students can conveniently blend assignments into their work week. "The online concept maximizes learning through weekly interaction with qualified faculty and fellow students," said Rick Durst, director of Golden Gate's online education. "While students don't have to travel to a campus, the serious master's-level coursework means students will need to create time in their schedule to do the work," Jeff Iorg, seminary president, added. "We are committed to delivering high-quality educational opportunities in every venue." Courses are taught by professors, not teaching assistants and includes access to qualified librarians who assist students in finding the best databases and electronic works in the seminary's collection and server. Students also receive 24/7 technical support for their courses. Class size is limited to ensure a high quality educational experience. Transfer credit is available. Apply online at www.ggbts.edu or call toll-free 888-442-8701 for more information. "Golden Gate Seminary is one of the world's most experienced theological schools in online education," said Michael Martin, vice president of academic affairs. "Our first online class was offered in 1998, and our commitment is always to provide a high quality education with the maximum student/teacher and peer-to-peer interaction. Student feedback for our program to date has been excellent." Dually accredited by Association of Theological Schools and Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the online master of theological studies is affordable and requires no on-campus time. Golden Gate Seminary is a Cooperative Program ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention and operates five fully accredited campuses in Northern California, Southern California, Pacific Northwest, Arizona and Colorado. For more information, visit www.ggbts.edu, email info@ggbts.edu, or call 888-442-8701. --30-- Phyllis Evans is director of communications for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. ********** Southeastern's Welcome Week includes service projects By Michael McEwen WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) -- Each semester at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, incoming students are welcomed to the "newness" of being on campus. The activities that take place on and off campus may seem like any other college welcome week but there are a few key differences. Southeastern's Welcome Week provides a medley of service projects in addition to recreational fun. Whereas some colleges in North Carolina's Triangle area primarily promote entertainment events for their new students, Southeastern invited students to participate in service opportunities throughout the Wake Forest and Raleigh area. On Aug. 13, SEBTS students picked up trash on a few main roads in Wake Forest, painted rooms at the Boys and Girls Club, created new running and walking trails at E. Carroll Joyner Park, washed city police cars and fire trucks, as well as served at Project Hope in Raleigh. "We must be good stewards of what God has given us," said Drew Ham, the seminary's director of discipleship and spiritual formation. "The Scriptures clearly command us to serve one another, and our service projects are just one way that our students can begin to serve God, each other, Southeastern and the community around them." Seminary officials say the projects reflect the mission of Southeastern, which is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission taught in Matthew 28:18-20. Addressing the new students, SEBTS President Daniel Akin reminded them to ask daily, "What kind of path do you need to follow in order to bring glory to God each and every day?" Akin then said that Southeastern desires to prepare students to serve their churches and communities to ultimately bring glory to God. Ham said that Welcome Week is an introduction to understanding the work God is doing at Southeastern and how students might join Him in His work. "Specifically," he said, "I'm trying to give them a 'taste' of the great opportunities that lie before them. We also want to help our students get to know one another. These relationships, fostered over the next weeks and months, will be relationships that often last their entire lives." --30-- Michael McEwen writes for Southeastern Seminary. -- End of story -- Copyright (c) 2013 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press 901 Commerce Street Nashville, TN 37203 Tel: 615.244.2355 Fax: 615.782.8736 email: bpress@sbc.net