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Archives For November 30, 1999

Baptist pastors on hand as IL Senate debates, then approves same-sex marriage

Meredith Flynn —  February 14, 2013

By Lisa Sergent

SPRINGFIELD | The Illinois Senate voted Thursday afternoon to pass SB 10, which would legalize same-sex marriage in the state, by a vote of 34 to 21. The bill now faces a vote in the State House.

David Howard (center) speaks to Illinois Baptist reporter Lisa Sergent directly following the Illinois Senate's vote to legalize same-sex marriage. Howard, director of missions for Capital City Baptist Association, and John Keyes, pastor of First Baptist Church, Riverton sat in the Senate chamber's gallery during the vote. In the hours leading up to the vote, Christian groups had urged pastors and other Christians to come to Springfield in an effort to sway senators who were still deciding.

David Howard (center) speaks to Illinois Baptist reporter Lisa Sergent directly following the Illinois Senate’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage. Howard, director of missions for Capital City Baptist Association, and John Keyes, pastor of First Baptist Church, Riverton, sat in the Senate chamber’s gallery during the vote. Photo by Meredith Flynn

A few Illinois Baptists – who were vastly outnumbered by supporters of same-sex marriage – were present in the gallery for the vote and the debate which preceded it.

Many supporters compared their perceived right to same-sex marriage with the U.S. Civil Rights Act. Emotions ran high with Senators who shared stories about family members and other loved ones they felt were being discriminated against by not being allowed to marry.

John Keyes, pastor of Riverton First Baptist, who was present in the gallery, told the Illinois Baptist he was disappointed by what he heard. “We’re rushing headlong into doing it, without really being alert to what’s going to happen as a result of all this, but I also got the distinct feeling that for many, they didn’t care about that, because it’s what they wanted.”

Lawmakers who spoke against the bill did so mainly due to fears of the erosion of religious liberty.  While the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago), said the amended wording would protect religious freedom, many others did not agree.

Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) expressed concern that the passage of the bill would have a chilling effect on religious organizations that might worry they would be sued if they denied same-sex couples use of their facilities.

Righter asked Steans several questions about what would be protected from public accommodation and what would not. In her answers, Steans called his questions “red herrings.”

Righter argued, “There are two issues represented in this bill – one is same-sex marriage … and the other one is the degree to which we value the principles of religious freedom set for forth in the constitution both here in Illinois and in the federal constitution. This bill doesn’t strike that balance …

“The religious organizations [parochial schools and healthcare systems] back home we all represent … are all going to have to be asking these ‘red herring’ questions.  They’re not ‘red herring’ questions, they’re very real questions. The pastor back home with the small room in the basement is going to have to ask him or herself or the board, ‘What keeps us clear in the category of a religious facility as opposed to an educational facility?’”

Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) cited the position of Illinois Baptists and other religious groups while speaking against the bill. IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams wrote to all Illinois lawmakers last month explaining that in 2011, churches approved a resolution at the IBSA annual meeting registering their support for the traditional definition of marriage.

Democrats were confident going into Thursday’s vote; approval in the House, which could come as early as few weeks, is not as certain.

David Howard, Capital City Baptist Association director of missions, was also in the gallery. After the vote he shared, “I really don’t think there was a lot of thought in many of the senators’ stances. They went with the caucus; they went with whatever pressure was put upon them. But I don’t know that any of them really thought for themselves, and I’m disappointed in that.”

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Pastors urged to attend Feb. 14 vote on same-sex marriage

Meredith Flynn —  February 13, 2013

BREAKING_NEWSSPRINGFIELD, Ill. | Pastors and other concerned Christians are being encouraged to go to the Illinois State Capitol Thursday to sit in the gallery during the Senate’s vote on the “Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.” If passed, the act would make same-sex marriage legal in Illinois.

Leaders of Christian groups believe the presence of so many Christians opposed to the legislation could influence senators who are still “on the fence.”

Christian leaders throughout the state are concerned that this will not only legalize same-sex marriage, but also infringe upon the religious liberty of all Christians in Illinois. If the act passes the Senate, it will go to House where it would be expected to be voted on in the next few weeks.

Last month, Illinois Baptist State Association Executive Director Nate Adams wrote a letter to all members of the Illinois General Assembly citing Illinois Baptists’ ongoing support of traditional marriage, most recently in passage of “The Resolution on Reaffirmation of the Defense of Marriage Act” at the 2011 IBSA Annual Meeting in O’Fallon. A full version of the letter is available here, or click here to read the resolution.

Today’s Senate session began at noon, and Thursday’s schedule has yet to be released. Check the Illinois General Assembly’s website, http://www.ilga.gov/, this evening for Thursday’s session start time..

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In Photos: More than 1,400 students worship at Youth Encounter

Meredith Flynn —  January 3, 2013
Chad_Lister

Musician Chad Lister and his band led more than 1,400 teens in worship during Youth Encounter, the annual student conference sponsored by the Illinois Baptist State Association, December 28-29, 2012.

Worship

Youth groups from across the state traveled to Springfield’s Prairie Capital Convention Center for the two-day event. Forty-eight people made professions of faith in Christ, 52 committed to full-time Christian service, and 60 people rededicated their lives to the Lord.

Mark_Emerson

Mark Emerson of IBSA’s Missions team shared about Go Teams, groups of students who will engage in missions this summer in St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Mexico, Guatemala, Jamaica, Haiti and El Salvador.

Rich_Ratts

Rich Ratts, pastor of First Baptist Church, Forsyth, talks with students about missions opportunities in El Salvador.

Brady_Weldon

Evangelist Brady Weldon delivers a passionate message calling students to set aside the things that are hindering their relationship with Christ and walk in the freedom only He provides.

Sanctus_Real

Recording artists Sanctus Real closed out Friday evening’s Youth Encounter session with a concert.

IMG_7273IMG_7349

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In Sandy’s aftermath, Baptists will prepare 400,000 meals a day

Meredith Flynn —  November 2, 2012

Baptist Press | In an unprecedented move for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, all large capacity mobile kitchens in the fleet east of the Rocky Mountains have been asked to mobilize in response to Hurricane Sandy. The goal is to begin preparing a minimum of 400,000 meals a day by Monday, Nov. 5.

“As we worked through the planning and continued to receive reports about the need, the conviction came on me that Southern Baptists need to step out in faith and mobilize now,” said North American Mission Board Disaster Relief executive director Fritz Wilson. “I contacted [NAMB] president Kevin Ezell and shared the conviction of our area command team and he agreed.”

On Thursday NAMB trustees authorized the entity to cover the travel expense for state conventions that needed the assistance in mobilizing their DR teams to the region. During the height of SBDR response to Hurricane Katrina, volunteers prepared 425,000 meals per day.

On Thursday SBDR volunteers from Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina were serving in New York and New Jersey, along with volunteers from the affected states. SBDR volunteers from those states and the Baptist General Convention of Virginia, Maryland-Delaware, New England, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia and West Virginia were preparing up to 150,000 meals and were working with chainsaw and recovery units.

The New York Baptist convention’s kitchen was on its way to Staten Island where volunteers will begin serving meals Friday. “Staten Island is a high priority,” said NAMB DR response coordinator Eddie Blackmon, who is stationed at national American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Area response commander Mark Gauthier, mobilization director for the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, said the feeding response is in waves. “We currently have units engaged in the response,” Gauthier said. “When you consider we are only 72 hours into the response there is a lot of ministry taking place.

“The next wave is the units on the road now from Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina. They will be serving meals on Saturday. Then units will arrive ready to cook on Sunday. Another group will be ready to serve on Monday,” Gauthier said.

“I was highly convicted that we needed to be there,” Oklahoma DR director Sam Porter said. “We must be there. This can have an impact on church planting throughout the Northeast.”

New video of a North Carolina feeding unit at Rutgers University is available for download at namb.net/sandy_rutgers_video. Kevin Ezell released a video on the SBDR response to Sandy this week. The video may be downloaded at namb.net/sandy_video.

From its disaster operations center in Alpharetta, Ga., NAMB coordinates Southern Baptist responses to major disasters through a partnership between NAMB and the SBC’s 42 state conventions, most of which have their own state disaster relief programs.

SBDR assets include 82,000 trained volunteers, including chaplains, and some 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, command, communication, childcare, shower, laundry, water purification, repair/rebuild and power generation. SBDR is one of the three largest mobilizers of trained disaster relief volunteers in the United States, along with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army.

To give Disaster Relief donations through the Illinois Baptist State Association online, go to IBSA’s Donate page. To give by check:

IBSA Disaster Relief
P.O. Box 19247
Springfield, IL 62794-9247
Payable to: Illinois Baptist State Association
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Republicans and Democrats face big changes, unanswered questions ahead of national conventions

Meredith Flynn —  August 7, 2012

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

The country’s major political parties will gather for their national conventions in the next two weeks. Republicans, meeting in Tampa Aug. 27-30, take with them into their convention a major unanswered question – who will be Mitt Romney’s running mate? And Democrats, scheduled for Charlotte Sept. 3-6, are poised to make a historic shift on same-sex marriage.

The Democratic Party followed President Barack Obama’s example on same-sex marriage late last month, announcing they’ll add language to their official platform endorsing the legalization of gay marriage.

The announcement, the first of its kind by either major party, came nearly three months after Obama expressed his personal support for same-sex marriage. A recent Pew Research survey found 65 percent of Democrats support same-sex marriage, marking an increase of 15 percent since 2008.

On the other side of the political aisle, Republicans await the announcement of presumptive nominee Mitt Romney’s running mate. Voters – evangelicals in particular – are waiting to see whether public perception of his Mormon faith will affect his choice.

Will Romney choose a vice presidential candidate with stronger evangelical Christian ties than his own? A Barna survey found it may not matter: Of likely voters, only 14 percent said a candidate’s religious faith is one of the most important factors in deciding to vote for him or her. Faith was fifth on the list after position on issues, personal character, the candidate’s political party, and political experience.

To read more about Barna’s findings, including how 12 key issues rank in importance amongst voters, go to barna.org.

Other news:

Platt, Stetzer, Giglio, others on platform at NAMB’s SEND conference
More than 2,000 people attended the North American Mission Board’s SEND North America conference, designed to galvanize leaders toward church planting in urban areas. Speakers including David Platt, J.D. Greear, Ed Stetzer, Johnny Hunt and Louie Gilglio were all on hand to encourage pastors and leaders toward investment in church planting and church revitalization. Chicago and St. Louis are two of the focus cities that will benefit from added ministry partnerships over the next several years. Read more about the conference at namb.net.

(Still) appreciating Chick-Fil-A
Although Chick-Fil-A declined to release exact sales numbers, Wednesday, August 1, was a “record-setting day” for the restaurant chain, according to a news release from the company. More than 600,000 signed up on Facebook for National Support Chick-Fil-A Day. Counter protests from proponents of same-sex marriage – the issue that precipitated Chick-Fil-A Day – are underway, but haven’t yet gathered as much steam, at least on Facebook, as the original event. Read one seminary professor’s defense of why he chose to “eat more chicken” August 1.

Kentucky conference explores Calvinism debate
There is a deep division in the Southern Baptist Convention over Calvinism, said SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page, during a conference hosted by the Kentucky Baptist Convention. “Calvinism: Concerned, Confused, or Curious,” brought together four SBC leaders of varying theology perspectives to discuss what many think is the most important – and potentially divisive – debate in the convention. Read more at bpnews.net.

Olympics: U.S. volleyball captain relies on personal faith
The U.S. men’s volleyball team experienced tragedy four years ago in Beijing, when Coach High McCutcheon’s father-in-law was killed while in China to cheer on the team. Reid Priddy was a member of that squad, who rallied to an emotional gold medal. Now, as team captain, he’s hoping to lead his team back to the top of the podium. Priddy spoke to Baptist Press about his personal faith and how God has used volleyball to mold his character. Read the profile here.

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Supporting freedom of speech from the drive-through line

Meredith Flynn —  August 1, 2012

Posted by Meredith Flynn

Waiting customers spilled out into the parking lot at the Chick-Fil-A in Wheaton, Ill., on Wednesday, designated as National Support Chick-Fil-A Day.

If you’re headed to your local Chick-Fil-A, give yourself a few extra minutes. Or maybe half an hour. Or longer.

Americans are flooding into the restaurant chain’s 1,600 locations as part of National Support Chick-Fil-A Day, created by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to counteract negative response the chain has received for its support of traditional marriage and family values.

More than 600,000 people pledged their support for Chick-Fil-A on Facebook through the campaign, which started less than two weeks ago.

Cars were lined up for at least half a mile to wait in the Chick-Fil-A drive-through line in Wheaton, Ill., reported local pastor Jim Rahtjen. He stopped by during the lunch rush and said the line of customers waiting to get inside the restaurant was wrapped around the building, too.

One drive-through customer told Rahtjen she would wait however long it took to order her lunch, because she supports freedom of speech. “Even if I don’t fully support what people are saying, that’s what we’re founded on,” she said.

So, what do you think? If there’s a Chick-Fil-A nearby, are you planning a trip? Do you think financial support (like buying a chicken sandwich) is a beneficial way to support traditional family values? Or do you think the whole thing has caused too much divisive debate? Leave a comment here, or head over to Facebook to vote in our poll.

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Video gambling: Coming to a town near you?

Meredith Flynn —  July 24, 2012

THE BRIEFING | Posted by Meredith Flynn

From Peoria to Murphysboro, from Hoffman Estates to Mt. Vernon, video gambling will arrive in communities across Illinois in the next few weeks. The Illinois General Assembly approved a bill to allow video gambling in 2009, but the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) hasn’t been prepared to enact the legislation – until now. The law allows video gaming terminals to be placed in bars, fraternal and veteran’s organizations, and truck stops.

Quincy is just one Illinois town considering allowing video gambling now that the IGA has moved forward with the bill. Quincy First Southern Pastor Tom Rains is working with fellow pastors to prevent it from being approved. “This type of gaming revenue does more harm than good,” he said. “There are too many innocent victims. Studies have shown it takes just one year to become addicted to video gambling, while it takes three and half years for all other forms of gambling.”

An estimated 250 cities and counties in Illinois have bans on video gambling, but that doesn’t mean those communities will remain free of video gambling. Recently in Springfield, city council members voted to overturn the city’s ban and approved video gambling within the city limits.

The state projects it will earn 30 percent of the money video gamblers spend at the machines from taxes on the terminals. That could amount to anywhere between $184 million and $342 million in funds, which are slated to be spent on road, bridge and school construction. Five percent of the tax will go to the city or county where the terminals are located. The IGB reports it has received 1,000 applications from businesses wanting to have terminals and has approved 70.

But at what cost to cities and taxpayers? According to research by Baylor Professor Earl L. Grinols and University of Georgia Professor David B. Mustard, communities where gambling is legal pay $13,067 each year in criminal justice, social services, regulatory and other costs per pathological gambler. They also found for every $1 in tax revenue a community receives from gambling, it cost taxpayers $3.

Reported by Lisa Sergent, contributing editor for the Illinois Baptist.

Other news:

Warren hopes for audience with presidential candidates
No formal plans are yet in place, but Baptist Press reports Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, hopes to interview President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the church’s second presidential forum. The first, between Obama and John McCain, was held in August 2008 at the church’s Lake Forest, Ca., campus. Read more at bpnews.net.

Restaurant pres. is no chicken, stands firm on traditional values
Update: Some news outlets and event organizers initially reported National Eat at Chick-Fil-A Day was July 25. It’s actually scheduled for Wednesday, August 1.
Tomorrow, July 25, has been deemed National Eat at Chick-Fil-A Day by some conservative leaders, including former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who have rallied around the restaurant chain’s president, Dan Cathy. He is currently under fire for affirming Chick-Fil-A’s position on same-sex marriage in an interview earlier this month. Cathy told The Biblical Recorder, a Baptist newspaper in North Carolina, his company is “guilty as charged” of supporting traditional family values. His comments drew fire from proponents of same-sex marriage, some of whom called for a boycott of the restaurant chain. Read more about National Eat at Chick-Fil-A Day at christianpost.com.

Wheaton College files suit against contraceptive mandate
Wheaton College has joined several fellow universities in opposing the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services Preventative Services mandate, which requires organizations to provide contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs through their insurance policies. According to the school’s website, Wheaton is partnering with The Catholic University of America in the suit, bringing the number of lawsuits filed against the mandate to 24. Read more about Wheaton’s suit at wheaton.edu.

Colorado church reaches out in aftermath of theater shooting
The members of Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church woke up last Friday morning with a new, probably deeper, burden to reach out to their community with the hope of Christ. The church is located less than a mile away from the Century Aurora 16 movie theater, where a gunman took 12 lives early last Friday morning and critically injured many others. Along with offering public prayer services and counseling, “We are equipping our members to share with our community that God is real, that He loves them desperately and that He will walk this road with them if they will only turn to Him,” Pastor Mitch Hamilton told Baptist Press. “He is with each one walking this road and He offers His presence to any who will call upon Him.” Read more at bpnews.net.

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On same-sex marriage, ‘the Bible says’ isn’t enough for some

Meredith Flynn —  July 12, 2012

COMMENTARY | Mark Warnock

Editor’s note: Two Protestant denominations made important decisions on same-sex marriage this week. First, the Presbyterian Church USA narrowly defeated a motion to re-define marriage as being “between two people” instead of between a man and a woman. Then, the General Convention of The Episcopal Church approved a liturgy that can be used to bless same-sex unions during commitment services. Churches and denominations have traditionally opposed same-sex marriage, but as the lines become more and more blurry, columnist Mark Warnock looks at some ways Christians can answer the question: “Why do you believe what you believe?”

In the political discussion over same-sex marriage, religious views are almost always sidelined. Separation of church and state means, we are told, that religious reasons do not count. So when Christians talk in public about the Bible’s clear case against same-sex marriage, our position is dismissed as “religious” and therefore irrelevant.

But most people are deeply conflicted about same-sex marriage, especially in the privacy of the voting booth. Even as polling data shows growing support for same-sex marriage, voters keep saying no to constitutional amendments that would allow it.  The culture keeps saying it’s ok, but deep down it just doesn’t feel right.

We can and should attach reasons to that feeling.

But what happens when our biblical reasoning doesn’t get much traction in a culture biased against religion? We shouldn’t abandon biblical arguments, but we can show that the Bible’s position is well supported by historical experience and cultural practice.

Here are a few ideas:

Marriage came first, before governments and before religions. Thousands of years of experience have shown it to be good for society. When governments undermine marriage, however, the results are bad for society – alarmingly so. When states passed laws allowing “no-fault” divorce in the early 1970s, we were promised it wouldn’t affect other marriages and that the kids would be just fine.

That was a lie. No-fault divorce taught an entire generation that permanence in marriage is optional. The divorce rate rose immediately, and now, fewer adults are choosing to marry at all. And 40 years of research have proved that children are badly hurt by divorce.

The primary reason we have marriage is that it binds together the private dimension of sex and romance with the public dimension of parental responsibility. Once you separate marriage and parenting, there is no reason to have marriage any more.

Social trends like divorce have been pulling these dimensions apart, making marriage more and more about the private satisfaction of adults, and less and less about public responsibilities to children. Same-sex marriage takes the final step: marriage will become an entirely private affair stripped of its inherent public functions born of the creation of family. Thus, marriage becomes hollow, a public institution that serves no public function. It’s no wonder people are losing respect for what was once a holy, sacred estate.

Marriage is not to be entered into lightly or unadvisedly, the traditional wedding ceremony says. Nor should marriage be so unadvisedly redefined.

Mark Warnock is associate pastor of First Baptist Church of Columbia, Ill., and a Ph.D. student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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The Briefing: Defending marriage in Illinois, church giving still declining, ‘Choose2’ in the spotlight

Meredith Flynn —  July 10, 2012

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

Illinois marriage law gets court defender
A Chicago-based legal organization will work to uphold Illinois’ definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The Thomas More Society was granted intervenor status by a state judge last week, meaning they will oppose the lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal on behalf of 25 gay and lesbian couples who were not allowed to marry in Cook County.

The couples say Illinois’ 1996 Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman) is unconstitutional, based on the state’s equal protection clause.

Soon after the lawsuits were filed, Peter Breen, executive director of the Thomas More Society, told World News Service the suits would not hold up in court under the constitutional arguments.

“Going around the will of the people is not the right way to change an institution that has thousands of years of history and is sound in its reasons for existing,” Breen said.

The society has filed a motion to dismiss the case, and oral arguments will be heard Sept. 27. Read the full story at BPnews.net.

Other news:

Presbyterian Church USA divided over same-sex marriage
By a very narrow margin, the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) voted to maintain its definition of marriage as “between a woman and a man,” rather than change it to “between two people.” Delegates to the denomination’s General Assembly voted 338-308 against the recommendation to change the definition. The PCUSA last year lifted its ban on partnered gay clergy. Read more at christianpost.com.

New books focus on Christianity and politics
As campaigns heat up in advance of the upcoming party conventions, at least two authors are addressing how Christians interact with the political scene. Wheaton College professor Amy Black just released “Honoring God in Red or Blue: Approaching Politics with Humility, Grace and Reason.” And pastor and culture writer Jonathan Merritt’s “A Faith of Our Own” focuses on a younger generation’s attempts to reconcile social justice with conservative views. Read an interview with Merritt about the book on pastorsedge.com.

Economy still affecting giving to churches
A recent Barna Group study found 41% of adults surveyed have reduced their giving to non-profit organizations in the last three months, and 11% have stopped giving altogether. That’s an increase from 4% of Americans who said they had stopped giving in 2008. Go to barna.org for the full story.

Purdue QB promotes ‘Choose2’
Caleb TerBush, a senior quarterback at Purdue University, is wearing a blue Choose2 wristband in advertisements for the team’s upcoming season. TerBush’s father Ken is the pastor of Elm Ridge Missionary Baptist Church in East Peoria, Ill. Choose2, a ministry of the Illinois Baptist State Association, asks participants to pick two family members or friends who don’t know Christ and pray for them twice a day. Read more about the initiative at IBSA.org.

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Tuesday News Briefing

Meredith Flynn —  July 3, 2012

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

In his own words: David Platt on the ‘sinner’s prayer’
David Platt has released two blog posts to explain his views on recent debate surrounding the “sinner’s prayer.”

Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., sparked controversy in a YouTube video earlier this year in which he called the prayer “superstitious,” and also delivered an intense message on the topic at the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference.

In the posts, Platt combats media accounts that he is “against” the sinner’s prayer, or that the issue stems from Reformed theological views that some people don’t have a chance for redemption in Christ.

“…Words really can’t describe how much a comment like this pierces my heart, for nothing (I hope and pray) could be further from the truth,” Platt wrote in the first post. “Any cautions I have expressed with a ‘sinner’s prayer’ have absolutely nothing directly to do with the doctrine of election, and I definitively don’t believe that certain people ‘actually have no chance for life in Christ.’”

So, does the sinner’s prayer ever fit into an evangelism strategy? Platt’s second blog post outlines the plan he teaches in his church’s evangelism and missions class, including how to lead someone to call out to God in repentance and belief. Read both posts at radical.net/blog.

Religious groups pledge to stand firm despite healthcare decision
After last week’s healthcare ruling, opponents responded to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the 2010 law, which requires insurance plans to cover contraceptives and sterilizations without cost to employees. O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources, said GuideStone “will never allow this Administration, or any other, to tell us that we have to provide abortive drugs like morning-after pills. … We will maintain our advocacy on behalf of ministers we are privileged to serve.” To read more about the Supreme Court’s decision and the fallout, go to bpnews.net.

What does the average American think about the Bible?
A new Barna study says younger adults are less likely to perceive the Bible as relevant and useful when compared with older adults. The 2012 State of the Bible survey, conducted by Barna for the American Bible Society, also found nearly half of Americans believe the Bible contains the same truths as the Koran and the Book of Mormon. Read more findings here.

Disaster Relief volunteers mobilize for action in Colorado, Florida
As monster wildfires rage in Colorado and other Western states while Hurricane Debby leaves massive flooding behind in north Florida, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief leaders are busy mapping responses in both parts of the country. Read more at bpnews.net.

Teen carries carries cross from Texas to Washington – on foot
Junior Garcia, a 19-year-old from Saginaw, Texas, has received permission to set up a 12-foot cross in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. And’s he’s taking it there by foot. Garcia and a team from Oasis International Church set out on “The Journey” June 7, and will hold a prayer service in the park to celebrate the end of their trip. Read the full story at christianpost.com.

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