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  • November 30, 1999

Archives For November 30, 1999

Briefing: Civil Rights report attacks religious freedom, VP candidate shares faith at SBC church

ib2newseditor —  September 20, 2016

The BriefingCivil Rights report attacks religious freedom
According to Chairman Martin Castro of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, phrases such as ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ should now be considered “code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any other form of intolerance.” Those remarks are found in a new report that presents claims for religious exemptions from nondiscrimination laws as a significant threat to civil liberties.

Pence shares faith at FBC Jacksonville
Staunch Christian and Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, who proudly declared in June that his identity as a Christian comes before his politics, confessed Sunday that he once walked away from the faith to which he clings so dearly now.

NCAA, ACC cancel N. Carolina events
After the NCAA announced it was withdrawing seven championship events from North Carolina over the state’s anti-discrimination law, the Atlantic Coast Conference followed suit. The ACC stated it would move all neutral-site championships for the coming academic year out of North Carolina, including the football conference championship game in December.

Hungary to favor Christian refugees
This week, Hungary, which has during the past year come under pressure for its handling of Europe’s mass migration crisis, has become the first government to open an office specifically to address the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Europe. The move sets a precedent on the international stage.

Controversial appointee earns praise
David Saperstein, the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, is earning praise from across the political spectrum. At a time when violence against religious minorities has proliferated around the globe, Saperstein has shown himself diligent in confronting religious persecution. Because he held liberal views on LGBT issues and abortion, some conservatives objected to the nomination.

Sources: ERLC, Christian Post, Baptist Press, Christianity Today, World Magazine

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Christians pray for legislators, wait for vote on same-sex marriage

Meredith Flynn —  May 2, 2013
Pastor Danny Holliday leads supporters of traditional marriage in a prayer rally in Alton.

Pastor Danny Holliday leads supporters of traditional marriage in a prayer rally in Alton.

NEWS | Meredith Flynn

As people on both sides of the debate wait for the Illinois House to vote on a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, Christian leaders continue to gather together to pray the state legislature will vote to protect a traditional definition of the institution.

Danny Holliday, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Alton, sent out a last-minute call to pastors and church members in the area to gather for a prayer rally April 28. Despite the short notice, he said 60 people showed up at Lincoln Douglas Square to pray for Illinois representatives who could face a vote on same-sex marriage this month.

“We prayed for the individual representatives, that they would want to know the truth and find out the truth, and vote accordingly,” Holliday said. “We believe marriage has to do with God, and we prayed that the people would realize this is a religious issue, it’s a biblical issue, and it’s not an issue just based on people’s feelings.”

Read “Gay Marriage, A Civil Right?” by Southern Seminary President Al Mohler in the next issue of the Illinois Baptist, online by Friday, May 3.

After passage by the Senate in February, the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” narrowly passed through the House Executive Committee, and has since been awaiting vote on the House floor. Several reports indicate the bill is still as much as a dozen votes short of passage, although lobbyists are working to change the minds of representatives who favor traditional marriage. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently told The Windy City Times, an advocate for same-sex marriage, that he’s “optimistic we’re within striking distance” on the bill. Quinn has said he will sign it if it reaches his desk.

“Hopefully between now and the 31st of May, Greg Harris, our sponsor, will find a moment to call the bill for a roll call,” Quinn told the newspaper.

Holliday is looking toward the end of May too, when the legislature’s spring session comes to a close.

“We have to the end of May. If we can hold them off, we’ll be OK until the next term. We’re confident because we believe God is in this, but we’re not over-confident, and there’s a lot of work to be done yet.”

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Tuesday Briefing: 900 volunteers serve during Illinois’ Children’s Ministry Day

Meredith Flynn —  March 19, 2013

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/62112542″>CMD 2013 recap</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/ibsa”>IL Baptist State Association</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

A story is told every year around this time, about a little girl from an IBSA church who knocked on the door of a crisis pregnancy center one Saturday in March. She wasn’t alone; bolstered by several others her age, she answered the question, “Who is it?” with a bold proclamation:

“We’re missionaries!”

It was Children’s Ministry Day, and the young missionary was delivering handmade blankets to mothers and babies in need.

Hundreds of kid took up her rallying cry in mid-March, as the third annual IBSA Children’s Ministry Day sent 900 volunteers into five communities. At the Mt. Vernon site, IBSA’s Rex Alexander told the story to help motivate more than 200 kids who gathered at Park Avenue Baptist Church before scattering to their ministry sites.

“The church is often guilty of overlooking children when it comes to mission action,” Alexander said later. “We send youth and adults on mission trips, but we limit mission involvement with children to teaching ‘about’ missions.

“Our kids are very capable of serving the Lord outside the walls of their church and having an impact on their world.”

Children’s Ministry Day is an Illinois expression of a nationwide initiative created by Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU). Mark Emerson, IBSA’s associate executive director for missions, has let the statewide project from the beginning, when it started in 2011 with several projects in the Springfield area. Children’s Ministry Day expanded to three last year, and this year, host associations coordinated various projects in five cities – Bourbonnais, Carbondale, Mt. Vernon, Springfield and Troy.

A total of 903 volunteers, including kids, their leaders and host site helpers, served at the most recent event, a 25% increase over last year. The number of churches represented also increased, from 50 to 64.

For more about Children’s Ministry Day, see the upcoming issue of the Illinois Baptist, online Friday at ibonline.IBSA.org.

Other news:

Alabama cop turns over badge
But Montgomery Police Chief Kevin Murphy did so willingly. While speaking at First Baptist Church as part of the 13th Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama, Murphy (right in photo) gave his badge to U.S. Rep. John Lewis (left) and apologized to him on behalf of the police department, Baptist Press reports. The Georgia Congressman and long-time Civil Rights activist was beaten along with other Freedom Riders at a Montgomery bus station in 1961, while Montgomery police stood down. “He us my hero,” Murphy said of Lewis. Read the full story at BPnews.net.

NAMB sends Bibles to every church
The North American Mission Board will send this spring a case of New Testaments to every Southern Baptist and Canadian National Baptist church. “If your church hasn’t been out in your community sharing Christ in a while, we think these Bibles are a great tool for outreach,” said NAMB President Kevin Ezell. The New Testaments are part of NAMB’s vision to see every Christian sharing the Gospel by 2020, and should arrive in churches by early April. Read more at BPnews.net.

Tomlin gives spotlight to God
On any given Sunday, worship artist Chris Tomlin’s songs are sung in at least 60,000 churches. And it could be as many as 120,000, estimates Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI). In a recent CNN interview, Tomlin said he likes stepping back from the microphone during his concerts so he can listen to others worship. “It’s about a greater name than my name,” he told CNN. “My name is on the ticket, but this is about a greater name.” Read more at CNN’s belief blog.

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