Archives For contraceptive mandate

A broken world: How Christians should respond to the Connecticut shooting

Meredith Flynn —  December 18, 2012

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

The news out of Newtown, Connecticut, is heartbreaking. Families suffering and broken over the senseless shooting that took the lives of 27 people at an elementary school, including 20 children between the ages of six and seven.

It’s impossible to answer the “why” questions that arise out of such a violent, evil act. But Christians can and should respond, said missiologist and author Ed Stetzer.

“First, pray,” Stetzer wrote on his blog, edstetzer.com. “Pray for hurting families and broken communities that have had their children ripped from them. Pray for churches to minister to the hurting. Pray for people not to lose heart. And, yes, pray for Jesus to come back and set this broken world right.”

The second response: “Don’t be afraid to say that the world is horribly broken. Speak about its broken condition. This brokenness is all around us. Evil is real – bad people are doing horrible things. The world really is broken…

“The brokenness of the world is on full display this day. Don’t be afraid to talk about it. All the silly “positive thinking religion” collapses on days like this. This world is broken and only God has the ultimate fix.”

And finally, “Do something,” Stetzer urged Christians. “Yes, hug your kids, but find a way to serve the others and be an agent of the Kingdom of God– an ambassador of Jesus in a world that does not follow him and His ways. Respond to this evil by doing good. Join Jesus on his mission.”

Read his full post here.

No to pro-life tags
“Choose Life” license plates may never hit the streets in North Carolina. Federal Judge James Fox ruled the plates are unconstitutional because there is no alternative pro-choice option. Lawmakers last year voted down an additional plate that would read “Trust Women. Respect Choice.” State Rep. Mitch Gillespie, who sponsored the bill that created the plates, told WRAL-TV he’ll try again when the General Assembly reconvenes, but won’t budge on a pro-choice plate. “I’d be willing to sacrifice this [the pro-choice plate] before I’d be willing to vote for that. Read more

Most approve birth control mandate
Two-thirds of American adults agree with the healthcare mandate requiring employers to cover contraception in their benefits package, even if it runs counter to the business owners’ religious principles, according to a LifeWay Research survey. Fewer respondents, 53%, favor applying the mandate to Catholic and other religious schools, hospitals and charities. LifeWay’s Ed Stetzer said the study shows the public “appears unaware or unconcerned” that some business owners are fearful of losing their religious liberty under the new regulations. Read more

Hindu text used at swearing-in
Representative Tulsi Gabbard will make a very public expression of her faith at her swearing-in ceremony this month. Gabbard, a Hawaiian and the first-ever Hindu member of the U.S. House of Representatives, will use the Bhagavad Gita during the ceremony, instead of a Bible. “For Hindu Americans, it is a historic moment,” said Anju Bhargava, founder of Hindu American Seva Charities, in a Huffington Post report. Read more

Faith keeps gymnast balanced
Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas is only 16, but life has given her a book-full of lessons so far. She shares some in “Grace, Gold & Glory: My Leap of Faith,” co-written with Michelle Burford and published by Zondervan. Douglas told Christianity Today, “I always pray at every competition, when the judge’s hand goes up I am praying, and there are little Scriptures I like to quote. That keeps me motivated when I am about to go out on the competition floor.” Read more

-With info from WRAL-TV, LifeWayResearch.com, Huffington Post, Christianity Today

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Survey: Only 19% of churchgoers read Bible every day

Meredith Flynn —  September 18, 2012

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

Survey shines light on Scripture habits
A recent LifeWay Research study found few churchgoers are daily engaging in personal reading and study of Scripture. When asked how often they personally (not as part of a worship service) read the Bible, 19% of those surveyed said every day; 26% said a few times a week, 14% said once a week, 22% said once a month or a few times a month, and 18% said rarely/never.

“Bible engagement has an impact in just about every area of spiritual growth,” said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. “You can follow Christ and see Christianity as your source of truth, but if that truth does not permeate your thoughts, aspirations and actions, you are not fully engaging the truth.

“God’s Word is truth, so it should come as no surprise that reading and studying the Bible are still the activities that have the most impact on growth in this attribute of spiritual maturity,” Stetzer said. “As basic as that is, there are still numerous churchgoers who are not reading the Bible regularly. You simply won’t grow if you don’t know God and spend time in God’s Word.”

Read more survey findings at LifeWayResearch.com.

Texas Baptists affirm marriage
The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) is promoting a petition that affirms the biblical definition of marriage and asks President Barack Obama to reconsider his support of gay marriage. In a recent chapel service at Southwestern Seminary, SBTC President Terry Turner urged professors and students to sign the petition, online at sbtexas.com/marriagepetition. Turner, an African American pastor, also rejected the notion that homosexuality is a civil rights issue.

“I saw what my ancestors went through, how they fought against the Jim Crow laws because of the color of their skin,” Turner said. “I saw how they fought to become citizens as black Americans through the civil rights movement. And it was about the color of the skin. It was about the way a person was really born. But I have got news for you today. God made us all male or female, regardless of the color of our skin. And when homosexuals try to jump on the civil rights movement, they are missing it. And it just burns me up, because sexual preference has never been a civil rights issue.” Read the Baptist Press story here.

Retailer files suit against mandate
Evangelical-owned Hobby Lobby has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration’s contraceptive/abortion mandate, becoming the largest business yet to take action against the rule. Although Hobby Lobby’s insurance plans cover contraceptives that are preventative in nature, the company won’t cover anything that causes a chemical abortion, said founder and CEO David Green. “… We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate.” Read the full story at Baptist Press.

Athletes share faith at iamsecond.com
NFL quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy speak candidly about their faith in Jesus Christ at iamsecond.com, a website that gives athletes, actors, musicians and non-celebrities a chance to say why they’re “second” in their lives (and why Christ is first). “The minute that you start to think that you’re first, and He’s second, and that what you think, and what you have planned in your mind, is more important than what He has planned for your life, that’s the minute your life starts to go the wrong way.” Watch more videos at iamsecond.com.

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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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