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Archives For November 30, 1999

Marriage Update: 19 states approve same-sex unions, one ban remains unchallenged

Meredith Flynn —  May 27, 2014

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

Oregon and Pennsylvania became the 18th and 19th states to approve same-sex marriage after judges struck down their states’ same-sex marriage bans May 19 and 20.

An Oregon appeals court denied a request to stay the ruling, and no appeal has been filed in Pennsylvania. In both states, the attorney general has said she would not defend the ban.

Layout 1Earlier in May, Arkansas became the first southern state to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Arkansas joined the list of states in limbo between a judge’s decision and current law. In Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, the debate is over whether to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Only one same-sex marriage bans remain unchallenged – North Dakota – after lawsuits were filed late last week in Montana and South Dakota. The Minneapolis attorney who filed suit in South Dakota told the Post he will do the same in North Dakota within six to eight weeks.

Same-sex marriages were scheduled to begin June 1 in Illinois after the passage of SB10, the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.” But many counties began issuing licenses after Attorney General Lisa Madigan gave clerks the go-ahead in March.

According to a Gallup poll released May 21, 55% of Americans approve making same-sex marriage legal, including 78% of those in the 18-29 age bracket.

More news:

Baptist seminary criticized over admission of Muslim student
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson faced criticism this month when a blogger reported the school had admitted a Muslim student to its Ph.D in archaeology program. Patterson told the Southern Baptist Texan that the student “had had no other options for Ph.D. work in his field,” and that he hoped to win him to faith in Christ. Patterson also said, “We required that the student would agree with our moral standards while a student at Southwestern. It was no problem for him.”

The decision, which Patterson said he is responsible for, was debated online after Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson published the report on his blog. Trustee chairman Steven James said the board will discuss the issue at its scheduled meeting in September. According to the Texan, Southwestern’s website includes requirements for graduate-level courses including “a mature Christian character” and “desire for Christian ministry.”

Boy Scouts president stands by decisions made last year
Robert Gates, president of the Boy Scouts of America, said he supports the organization’s decision last summer to include openly gay participants, and would have extended the policy change to include adults too. But Gates, a former U.S. Defense Secretary, also said it’s time to let the issue rest, according to a report on ChristianPost.com.

“Given the strong feelings – the passion – involved among our volunteers on both sides of this matter,” Gates said at the organization’s annual meeting May 23, “I believe strongly that to reopen the membership issue or try to take last year’s decision to the next step would irreparably fracture and perhaps even provoke a formal, permanent split in this movement with the high likelihood that neither side would survive on its own.”

Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting to focus on prayer, revival
Restoration, revival and prayer are the themes of this year’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, scheduled for June 10-11 in a city known for its place in American and Baptist history. And baseball and crab cakes.

SBC President Fred Luter will preside over his final annual meeting as his second one-year term draws to a close. He told Baptist Press this year’s meeting theme is similar to last year’s – revival – with added importance given to prayer. The meeting also will include a Tuesday night revival service. “…We just come for worship and the word,” Luter said. “That’s it. No business will be conducted.”

Three candidates will reportedly be nominated to succeed Luter: Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas; Dennis Manpoong Kim, pastor of Global Mission Church of Greater Washington, and Jared Moore, pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in Hustonville, Ky. Read more about the SBC Annual Meeting at BPNews.net.

 

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Baptist to helm Chicago university

Meredith Flynn —  April 7, 2014

NEWS | Meredith Flynn

David_Dockery_0414David Dockery, a leading Southern Baptist thinker and college president for 18 years, will serve as the next president of Trinity International University.

“We are overwhelmingly grateful to God for the invitation from the Trinity Board to serve the students, staff, faculty and various institutional constituencies
in the days ahead,” Dockery said after his unanimous election.

He has served as president of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., since 1995. Union is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

As president of Trinity, whose primary campus is 30 miles north of downtown Chicago, Dockery will lead the institution’s four schools: a liberal arts college, graduate school, law school, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, known as TEDS. Trinity has numerous notable alumni, including pastors Bill Hybels and James MacDonald, historian Mark Noll, and apologist Ravi Zacharias.

“Almost every Southern Baptist seminary and many key Baptist universities, including Union University, have a number of Trinity grads on their faculties,”
Dockery told the Illinois Baptist. “So Trinity’s influence in Chicagoland, across the nation, and around the world has few parallels in the entire evangelical world.”

Dockery announced last year his intention to transition out of his role as president at Union. During his tenure, the school more than doubled in enrollment,
expanded and improved its campus, and increased its net assets from less than $40 million to $120 million. Dockery also established an annual scholarship banquet that has drawn speakers like George H.W. Bush, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice.

He helped establish Union as a leading center for Baptist education with events like the Baptist Identity Conferences of 2006 and 2007. And he led the school through the aftermath of a devastating tornado in 2008.

“As we were considering the opportunities beyond our days at Union (we always used the language of transition from the presidency to the next phase;
we have not really thought of this as a time for retirement), we asked the Lord to grant us guidance and to open doors that would be clear to us (not only
to us, but also to others) that the Spirit of God was leading our steps,” Dockery said of the process he and his wife, Lanese, have followed from Union to Trinity.

“Trinity’s commitment to theological education with excellence, their focus on global opportunities and partnerships, and the distinctive prospect of serving in one of the world’s great metropolitan areas were all strong attractions for us.”

Trinity is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America, and Dockery will officially assume the presidency after the denomination’s board of directors approves his appointment. He will begin serving as Acting President June 1.

“We will trust the Lord to give us the opportunity to serve and support many churches across the evangelical landscape from our work at Trinity,” he said. “It will be a special joy to introduce Illinois Baptists in a deeper way to the work of Trinity and to introduce the Trinity community to the work of Illinois Baptists.”

Additional reporting by Baptist Press

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Survey asks: Which profession contributes most to society?

Meredith Flynn —  July 16, 2013

Tuesday_BriefingTHE BRIEFING | Military members ranked the highest in Pew Research’s study of how much various professions contribute to society. Pew found 78% of Americans believe military personnel contribute “a lot,” followed by teachers (72%) and doctors (66%). Clergy members didn’t fare quite as well, with 37% of respondents saying they contribute a lot to society, and 36% that they contribute some. Read more at PewForum.org.

Other news:

‘We all lost’ in George Zimmerman verdict, pastor says
In a Christianity Today essay about Saturday’s verdict, Pastor Victor Montalvo shares his perspective as the leader of a church in Sanford, Fla., the eye of the storm since teenager Trayvon Martin was killed in February 2012. Montalvo writes, “A young man is dead. Another man’s life is ruined. A city struggling with an undercurrent of racial tension for decades has another gaping wound.” Read Montalvo’s essay, including his charge for the Church, at ChristianityToday.com.

Baptist named new president of The King’s College
Greg Thornbury, a vice president and dean at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., has been named the new president of The King’s College in New York City. Located just around the corner from the New York Stock Exchange in Lower Manhattan, the Christian college is in an extremely strategic place, Thornbury said. “There is one freestanding Christian college in that city, and it must succeed… We need an institution of higher education that is articulating the cause of God and truth in the greatest city in the world.” Read the full story at Baptist Press.

Illinois Supreme Court clears way for parental notice law
The Illinois Supreme Court acted on the Parental Notice of Abortion Act last week, breathing new life into a law that is nearly 20 years old, but has never taken effect in the state. The Associated Press reports the court upheld the dismissal of a suit against the law, ending years of legal challenges and requiring doctors to notify the parents of any girl 17 or under 48 hours before she undergoes an abortion. The law is scheduled to go into effect in mid-August. Read the full AP story at sj-r.com.

Churches investigate Boy Scouts alternatives
More churches are investigating Royal Ambassadors, a Southern Baptist missions education program for boys, in the wake of Boy Scouts decision to allow self-identifying gay members. Julie Walters leads corporate communications for Woman’s Missionary Union, the organization that directs RA’s.

“The first week following the [Boy Scout] vote we received more than 25 requests via Facebook and email from churches and individuals interested in beginning an RA program,” Walters told Baptist Press. “This is an increase from the typical number we receive on a weekly basis.” Read more at BPNews.net.

 

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Ranch offers happier trails for at-risk kids

Meredith Flynn —  May 21, 2013

Tuesday_BriefingTHE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

Jerry and Michelle Burwell don’t get very far into telling their story before their eyes fill with tears and their voices break. The owners of Way of the Cross Ranch are overcome with emotion at how they see God using their 71 acres in Mt. Vernon.

“We’re nobody special, we really aren’t,” Jerry says as he watches a handful of horses and riders walk slowly around the outdoor arena in his backyard. “Why we got to do this, I have no idea.”

Horses_tease boxThe Burwells host an equestrian clinic at the ranch every month, with the help of an army of volunteers that operates more like a close-knit family. They invite kids from Southern Thirty, a local adolescent emergency shelter, and from the Baptist Children’s Home in Carmi.

Guests can fish in the pond, participate in craft time around a picnic table, or ride one of several horses donated for the day by the Burwells’ friends. No one has to ride if they don’t want to. But most eventually do.

“Some of the inner city kids we get, they’ve never even been around horses before, so that’s fun,” Jason Billings says. He points out David,* a young teen riding a chestnut horse around and around the arena, led by a ranch volunteer. Every so often, David smiles and waves to the camera.

As recreation director for Illinois’ Baptist Children’s Home, Billings has been bringing kids like David to the ranch for a few years. But there’s something bigger at stake than introducing kids to horses: Over the past few years, four or five of the kids have accepted Christ at the ranch. They attend church with Children’s Home staffers, Billings says, “but it’s nice to see someone from the outside actually cares, too.”

Each clinic includes at least two devotion times, and volunteers also talk one-on-one with kids about Jesus. Since the Burwells started their ministry, 38 kids have accepted Christ.

“I always tell them, ‘I don’t care if you know one end of the horse from the other when you leave, but you’ll know about Christ,’ Jerry says. “That’s really all we care about.”

Read more about Way of the Cross Ranch in the new issue of the Illinois Baptist, online this Friday at http://ibonline.ibsa.org.

Other news:

FInancial aid forms reflect marriage debate
The U.S. Department of Education has announced student financial aid forms will begin using the terms “Parent 1” and “Parent 2,” rather than the gender-specific terms “mother” and “father.” The new forms also will provide an option for applicants to describe their parents’ marital status as “unmarried and both parents living together.” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “All students should be able to apply for federal student aid within a system that incorporates their unique family dynamics. Read more at BPNews.net.

School faces criticism over creationism
A Christian school in South Carolina has received support from around the world after facing ridicule for teaching Young Earth Creationism. After a fourth-grade science quiz used by Blue Ridge Christian Academy in Landrum, S.C., was posted on an atheist page of the website Reddit, several user comments were unsurprisingly negative, The Christian Post reports. Some even made threats to teachers and administrators.

But the school, which is struggling financially and considering closing, reaped unexpected benefits, said teacher Angie Dentler. “Donations have been given ranging in amounts from $1 – $1,000. Encouraging notes and emails have poured in from around world…” Read more at ChristianPost.com.

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