I have noticed a rise in Christians desiring to witness signs from God. They are looking everywhere for these signs, whether in worship services, during their prayer time or as they look to the sky.

Richard RaySome pastors look for signs to let them know when to stay at a church or when to move on to the next church. Some believe any opportunity is a sign, while others like to pick and choose their opportunities, thus creating their own signs.

Should we even be looking for signs from God? Jesus said: “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it” (Mark 8:12).

We have become a society of Christians who need some type of sign to confirm God’s direction in our lives. When we pray for someone to be healed, is it necessary to see the healing to believe? Proof, it seems, is what we are looking for.

Since the time of Jesus, people wanted proof before they would believe. When Jesus healed the blind man at Bethsaida, Scripture says, “Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village” (Mark 8:23). Jesus led this man away from those who would witness the miracle. Why? Because the people were not concerned about the blind man but wanted to witness a miracle.

Remember when Jesus fed the 4,000? Those people were not looking for a miracle. They were not even thinking about food. They just wanted to be close to Jesus. It was only through compassion that Jesus performed a miracle to supply their need by providing more than enough food to eat.

Miracles are all about compassion. Jesus said, “I have compassion for these people” (Mark 8:2). That is where we miss the mark. We are looking for miracles for proof and confirmation of the choices we make or the directions we travel, when we should be about serving our Lord and sharing his word with compassion. If we have compassion for God’s people, Jesus is set free to perform his miracles.

As a Christian, you do not need a miracle to know where or when to serve the Lord. What you need is compassion for those who need the Lord. Compassion will guide you to where God needs you. When we as a church and as pastors show compassion to others, then our path will be sure and our choices will be confirmed—not by a miracle but by the assurance of our faith.

I encourage you to serve the Lord with compassion, and then the miracles will follow. But they just may not be visible to you, and that is OK.

Until next time, remember the Lord has called you to serve, but he has not called you to serve alone. Visit our website, www.bivocational.com, for more information on how the Bivocational/Small Church Association can minister to and serve you.

Richard Ray is executive director of the Bivocational/Small Church Association and director of missions for the Tri-Rivers Baptist Area. You can reach him at brother_ray@juno.com.

Thirsty? Our son Marshall was thirsty, although he didn’t yet know it. Both Marshall and Michael played Little League that summer, often back-to-back. With temperatures soaring in the 90s, Marshall’s team played first in a lengthy 7-inning contest.Marshall learned a lesson about thirst—not to mention dehydration and heat exhaustion—while playing Little League. (Photo / Courtesy of Camp Stewart for Boys)

In the days before concession stands carried bottled water, Marshall grabbed a Dr Pepper before joining friends to play catch. Meanwhile, his brother’s team took the field. Late in the game, a friend urgently called: “Marshall needs you. Now!” I ran. Marshall writhed with cramps, eyes watering from pain. I touched his flushed, burning forehead.

Kathy HillmanFortunately, our physician’s son was playing, too. In no time, Dr. John diagnosed dehydration and heat exhaustion. In just hours, Marshall was scheduled for the eighth-grade trip to Washington, so we bypassed the hospital. Marshall promised to drink gallons, bathe in ice-laced water and trust the doctor with the D.C. decision.

While on earth, Jesus also experienced physical and emotional thirst. More importantly, he understood spiritual thirst. His encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4 illustrates. He also calls us to share life-giving and eternal life-giving water.

“Thirst,” the theme for Texas Baptists’ 2015 Week of Prayer and Mary Hill Davis Offering, compels us to drink deeply from God’s word and presence. Then we turn our eyes to 12 million Texans who need Living Water. The $4.2 million offering supports more than 85 ministries designed to serve others, share Jesus, and start and strengthen churches. Perhaps for you, like me, a few have become personal.

Texas Baptists help quench the spiritual thirst of children along the Rio Grande through River Ministry. (Photo / Kathy Hillman)My grandparents lived in Marfa, an hour from Presidio and its sister-city, Ojinaga, in Mexico. First Baptist Church became involved soon after River Ministry began. Gran and Dad talked about needed jobs, clinics, pure water and Living Water. Later, my eyes and heart saw firsthand. Driving through one colonia, our van lurched to a stop. Out my window, I spied a “house” of cardboard, tin and a wooden game board. Children played barefoot in the glass-flecked mud.

Texas Baptists work daily with local congregations, associations and interior churches to quench the thirst of more than 5 million individuals who live along Texas’ 1,254-mile border with house-church evangelism, health clinics, training and more. Through Texas Baptist Disaster Recovery, we’re rebuilding houses in Ciudad Acuña following the May tornado/flood.Texas Baptists have a long history of ministry in Acuna. (Photo / Kathy Hillman)

In partnership with Buckner International, we’re providing children’s activities and sports camps and with Baptist University of the Américas, educational opportunities. Nearby ministries feed girls and boys and assist with literacy.

For several years, I served on the interview team for ethnic/minority scholarships to Texas Baptist universities. One recipient became a friend. Jolanda Haley Jolanda Haley hailed from Fort Worth and dreamed of graduating from Baylor University. I invited her to my office. She came. While she was in college, her National Guard father deployed, and things were tough. She said: “The scholarship was a blessing, because it was renewable as long as I kept my grades up. It motivated me to stay focused on my studies, and it was encouraging to know I had the support of the Baptist convention.” Jolanda graduated in 2008, landed a great job, passed the CPA exam, and married Keith Hamilton Sept. 5 of this year. She and her husband remain active in church and minister to the thirsty in their world.

One of my friends birthed a mentally challenged child. The Special Friends Retreat holds her heart and mine. At the retreat, Bible studies, songs and a talent show are designed for participants and their thirst for God. Meanwhile, their parents encourage and support each other.

Vancouver is home to 3 milion people. (Photo / Suzy Wall)Participation on a Woman’s Missionary Union More Than Gold team during the 2010 Olympics laid Vancouver, British Columbia, on my heart. More than 300,000 college students study in that city of 3 million people who speak 200-plus languages. Texas Baptists’ partnership program offers cross-cultural ministry in a thirsty land where just 7 percent of the population know Christ.

Minnesota-Wisconsin’s exhibit at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting offers tasty apples and cheese. In 1956, Baptist churches in those states requested BGCT affiliation. Even after becoming a separate convention, ties and partnerships continue. Twice, my husband, John, and I drank deeply from refreshing Bible study, worship and fellowship at the Mary Hill Davis Offering-funded retreat for ministers and wives up there.One year at a Minnesota-Wisconsin Pastors & Wives Retreat, former Texas WMU President Jeane Law and her husband, Dan, arranged for former Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr to speak. (Photo / Kathy Hillman)

These and a myriad of other ministries don’t just happen. God leads. Texas Baptists follow. Together through prayers, gifts and personal involvement, we offer life-giving and eternal life-giving water.

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13).

Kathy Hillman is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. She also is director of Baptist collections, library advancement and the Keston Center for Religion, Politics and Society at Baylor University.

Judges criticize ruling against GuideStone. Five judges on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals sharply criticized the court decision against GuideStone Financial Resources earlier this summer. In July, a three-judge panel ruled against GuideStone, along with co-plaintiffs Truett-McConnell College and Reaching Souls International. In a rare move, the entire Tenth Circuit, on its own initiative, took a vote whether to reconsider the panel decision. When the vote narrowly fell short, the five judges issued a dissenting opinion in which they said the panel decision was “a dangerous approach to religious liberty.” The five judges asserted the decision is so “clearly and gravely wrong” it “will not long survive.” The Health and Human Services mandate requires ministries that are not churches or integrated auxiliaries of churches to provide drugs and birth-control devices in their health plans some believe cause abortions. If they do not, the ministries face significant fines. The parties in the case have argued the accommodation offered by the government—which shifts some responsibility to a third-party provider—still forces the ministries to violate their faith. “This is extraordinary—with the powerful opinion from these five judges, we now have 10 appellate judges nationwide who have rejected the government’s attack on religious liberty,” said Harold R. Loftin Jr., general counsel for GuideStone. “This quickly growing repudiation is very important and provides further proof that the U.S. Supreme Court should hear our appeal.” A decision on whether the Supreme Court will hear the appeal is expected by early October.

S.C. Baptists seek answers from university trustees. Leaders of the South Carolina Baptist Convention have asked officials at North Greenville University to explain circumstances around the departure of the school’s former president after an online video made it appear he was having an extramarital affair. Dwight Easler, chairman of the state convention’s executive board, summoned three university leaders to attend a meeting of the full board Oct. 15. Easler, pastor of Corinth Baptist Church in Gaffney, S.C., said convention leaders are “engaged and very concerned” about rumors swirling around the sudden retirement of 23-year President James “Jimmy” Epting earlier this year. In January, university officials announced Epting was taking an immediate sabbatical and retiring in May for various reasons, including concerns about his health. Leaders publicly praised Epting’s leadership, until a video date-stamped prior to the announcement portraying him in a compromising position was published on YouTube Aug. 27. The board of trustees subsequently issued a statement saying all North Greenville University leaders are “expected to lead Christ-centered lives.” Easler asked North Greenville University Board Chairwoman Beverly Hawkins, Interim President Randall Pannell and a board vice chair to appear before the executive board Oct 15 “to give explanation of actions taken, and future actions to be taken to improve accountability and processes.” In the meantime, Easler said, the chairman of the board’s budget and finance committee authorized the delay of payments of the $1.2 million in convention funds budgeted for the university in the current year. Funding will remain frozen, Easler said, until the full budget and finance committee “can determine an appropriate recommendation to the executive board.”

Shooting event raises money for disaster relief. A husband-and-wife team from First Baptist Church in Fredericksburg organized a clay-target benefit event that raised $1,390 for Texas Baptist Men disaster relief ministries. Bob Davis, a master instructor for the National Skeet Shooting Association and 16-time member of the association’s All-American Team, donated time and talents to instruct shooters of varied skill levels at the event, held at the Hill Country Shooting Sports Center in Kerrville. Sherryl Davis provided participants safety instruction before each round. 

Wayland named a top college for adult students. Best College Reviews recognized Wayland Baptist University as one of the Top 50 colleges for adult education. Wayland is ranked No. 17 on the list. The ranking is based on such factors as flexibility, transfer options, online classes and acceptance rate, and it looks at the percentage of enrolled students age 25 or older. About 70 percent of students throughout the Wayland system are age 25 older, and the listing noted Wayland’s online learning options.

TBM cooperates with Salvation Army to provide pure water. Texas Baptist Men provided a specialized filtering system for a Salvation Army water tanker. This system purifies water with a combination of ultraviolet light and five filters, which will allow the Salvation Army to provide potable water in any disaster response.The Salvation Army Texas Division’s 3,250-gallon water tanker is deployable to any municipality or jurisdiction in need of bulk water statewide. TBM and Salvation Army work cooperatively in disaster relief as members of Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster.

PARIS (RNS)—Europe’s refugee crisis has inspired faith communities across the continent to open their doors to the newcomers and advocate for more state and private help, but the urgency of their calls and the depth of responses to them vary from country to country.

Variety of responses

Germany has been the most generous with the refugees, many of them Syrian Muslims fleeing war and jihadist threats in their homeland. The leaders of its Roman Catholic and Protestant churches welcomed refugees arriving by train in Munich, and churches around the country joined local officials in feeding and housing them.


Slovakia would prefer to accept Christian refugees under a European plan to resettle people who have fled from wars and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, the Interior Ministry said. (Photo by REUTERS/Osman Orsal)Hungary, where the government has built a fence along its southern border to keep refugees out, wants select Christian refugees only. Catholic Bishop Laszlo Kiss-Rigo was quoted as saying his country faced a Muslim invasion: “They come here with cries of ‘Allahu Akbar.’ They want to take over.”

In-between is a wide range of conflicting views ranging from selfless willingness, to help, to extreme wariness about immigrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

Prosperous and peaceful Europe long has been a magnet for Middle Easterners and Africans fleeing oppression and poverty in their unstable homelands. That most newcomers are Muslims and violent Islamism is on the rise complicates the picture, especially in countries where elections loom and far-right parties are gaining support.

Test of openness and tolerance

Many mainstream politicians worry whether the European Union can maintain its openness and tolerance amid all these tensions. Religious leaders also are concerned.

“This is a test of our human values and Christian legacy,” said Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches.

About 380,000 people reached Europe by sea this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 250,000 arrived in Greece from Turkey, a short route that has claimed about 100 lives so far, while the rest took the more dangerous route from Libya to Italy, where about 2,600 drowned. Nearly 4 million Syrian refugees stayed behind in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

Welcome the asylum seekers

The leading voices in Europe welcoming the asylum seekers are Pope Francis, who on Sept. 6 urged all Catholic parishes in Europe to take in at least one refugee family, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor, who has opened his country’s borders to all refugees fleeing civil war in Syria.

“Mercy is the second name of love,” the pope reminded the crowd in St. Peter’s Square as he announced the Vatican would take in two families.

‘Doing what is morally and legally necessary’

“Germany is doing what is morally and legally necessary—no more and no less,” Merkel declared in defending an open-door policy that should quadruple arrivals of asylum seekers to about 800,000 this year.

Germany’s Catholic and Protestant churches have cared for refugees for years, and their leaders began calling this spring for extra efforts due to the boatloads arriving in Italy and Greece on their way north.

Catholic Cardinal Reinhard Marx and Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm of the Evangelical Church in Germany ended a lunch appointment in Munich with a spontaneous stop at the train station to greet refugees after seeing on their cellphones a trainload was about to arrive from Hungary.

“Nothing moves us more than the fate of the refugees who have made it this far after a long and dangerous journey,” Bedford-Strohm said.

German faith communities step up

With their solid budgets, German churches long have been able to donate millions of euros to finance special relief projects. Even before Pope Francis’ appeal, Cologne’s Catholic archdiocese was housing refugees in more than 130 of its buildings and launched the “New Neighbor Network” to coordinate donations from parishioners.

Tens of thousands of volunteers help the newcomers with language courses, baby-sitting and dealing with the local bureaucracy. In Bavaria, where many refugees first enter Germany by train, the Lutheran church has more than 3,000 volunteers. Munich’s Catholic archdiocese has more than 3,600.

As Muslim refugees have begun appearing in their mosques, German Muslims also stepped up to help.

“We show them they can be Muslim and German,” said Aiman Mazyek, chairman of the Central Council of Muslims.

Public opinion mobilized

In neighboring Austria, the shocking discovery of 71 refugees who suffocated in a locked truck last month has mobilized public opinion. Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said Austrians no longer could ignore the drama spilling over into their country and hoped it could shelter about 70,000 refugees.

Sweden has taken in more asylum seekers per capita than any other European country, although the growing influence of nationalist groups has made immigration a controversial issue.

Different in Eastern Europe

The atmosphere is quite different in Eastern Europe, where four decades of isolation during the communist period left societies less open to outsiders and less guarded about expressing disdain for them.

Poland said it only wanted to take in Christian refugees.


Czech Catholic bishops offered to welcome persecuted Christians, but the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, faulted politicians for not helping all refugees more.


Hungary’s Christians have provided food, clothes and blankets to refugees blocked for days at Budapest’s Keleti train station, but their churches have taken a low profile. Catholic Cardinal Peter Erdo has refrained from criticizing Hungary’s anti-immigrant stand and has said the church cannot house refugees because that would amount to people smuggling.

British and French

The British and French governments, both concerned about the cost and potential political backlash of letting in so many refugees, pledged to receive more migrants in recent days after a rising swell of calls from faith leaders to show more compassion.

Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said in June that London would take in only “a few hundred more” Syrians than usual. That prompted Lord George Weidenfeld, 95, an Austrian Jew who fled his Nazi-occupied homeland for Britain in 1938, to say: “This mood of indifference is reminiscent of the worst phases of appeasement.”

With pressure mounting, Cameron announced Britain would take in 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years—more than before, but still a relatively small number.

President Francois Hollande announced France would accept 24,000 refugees in a European Union plan to take in more than 100,000 in the next two years.

He and Merkel wanted the EU to back a “permanent, mandatory system” under which each country would have to accept its fair share of a total of 120,000 migrants.

“Europe,” he said, “must protect those for whom it is the last hope.”

WASHINGTON—Texas has a higher percentage of food-insecure households than the national average and ranks second in the nation in terms of total households struggling to avoid hunger, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In 2014, 17.2 percent of Texas households—1.7 million—experienced hunger or engaged in coping mechanisms to avoid it, such as cutting back on meal size or not purchasing prescription medication to have money to buy groceries. California ranks No. 1 nationally in terms of total number of food-insecure households at more than 1.8 million.

In comparison, 14.3 percent of households nationally—more than 17 million—experienced food insecurity, according to the USDA report. 

Advocates respond to report

“It is difficult to fathom 1.7 million Texans facing the reality of food insecurity today,” said Ali Hearon, hunger and care ministries specialist with Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission. “This information is daunting and deeply saddening. I pray this new information will not dishearten the faith community but rather serve as a catalyst for an even stronger pursuit of wholeness, unity and health in Texas.”

The report reveals food insecurity remains high in Texas, and the state continues to have more households at risk of hunger than the nation as a whole, noted Kathy Krey, director of research with the Texas Hunger Initiative at Baylor University.

“However, we are encouraged that the current rate of 17.2 percent between 2012 and 2014 is down from a high of 18.8 percent between 2008 and 2010,” she said. “This progress shows what can happen when we work together toward a common goal. We have more work to do, but if we do it together, we can continue to lower food insecurity in our state.”

One of 14 states

Taking into account margins of error, Texas is one of 14 states where the prevalence of food insecurity ranked higher than the national average. Others are Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee. Mississippi experienced the highest prevalence of food insecurity, at 22 percent.

“We are faced with a chronic hunger problem in the U.S.,” said Celia Cole, chief executive officer of Feeding Texas, formerly the Texas Food Bank Network. “Year after year, these numbers remain far too high. To solve this problem, we need to create more opportunities for struggling families to earn a living wage and increase our investment in programs designed to supplement lower earnings.”

Conditions virtually unchanged

The percentage of U.S. food-insecure households remained essentially unchanged from 2013 to 2014, and the percentage of households experiencing severe food insecurity—5.6 percent or 6.9 million households—also remained constant.

“Children were food insecure at times during the year in 9.4 percent of U.S. households with children (3.7 million households), essentially unchanged from 9.9 percent in 2013,” the report states. “These households were unable at times during the year to provide adequate, nutritious food for their children.”

The report revealed 87 percent of food-insecure Americans live in households earning less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level—the cutoff for many federal assistance programs—or $37,000 for a family of three.

“We have proven programs to supplement the needs of families who earn too little to make ends meet,” Cole said. “We must reinvest in these programs and take a hard look at why our economy is not producing enough jobs that allow workers to stop worrying about their next meal.”

The 2014 food-security survey covered 43,253 households, comprising a repre­sentative sample of the U.S. population. Researchers asked one adult respondent in each household questions about experiences and behaviors of household members that indicate food insecurity, such as being unable to afford balanced meals, cutting the size of meals because of too little money for food, or being hungry because of too little money for food. The food security status of the household was assigned based on the number of food-insecure conditions reported.

Hanging out with little kids will expand your vocabulary. My grandson, Ezra, recently reminded me of the word-warping, lexicon-lengthening, expression-expanding power of childhood imagination.

Ezra and I agree fall is an exceptionally exciting time of year for one good reason—college football.

Ezra is thrilled, because he can watch his beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish every weekend

I know. A 4-year-old Baptist minister’s kid cheers rabidly for the gridiron gladiators from one of America’s most esteemed Catholic universities. To quote a line from one of his mama’s favorite movies, The Princess Bride: “Inconceivable!”

Offer Ezra absolution, but blame NBC. For years and years, the Peacock Network has broadcast practically every Notre Dame football game. This makes great economic sense. For generations, Notre Dame has been the pre-eminent football powerhouse for all the Christians who look to the pope as their religious leader. So, Fighting Irish faithfulness transcends region, and NBC has made zillions of dollars delivering Midwestern Catholic smash-mouth football to a loyal national fan base.

This means kids of all faiths and no faith who were reared a good ways from any other football program of distinction often develop a fondness for the Irish. That’s what happened to Ezra’s daddy, Aaron, who grew up Baptist in Midland watching Notre Dame practically every autumn weekend.

So, while Ezra lives less than 20 miles south of the Texas Longhorns’ home turf, he’s following in his daddy’s footsteps. Early this month, he donned his “ND” ball cap and cheered for the Irish when they whipped the ’Horns in both teams’ season-opener.

A few days before the big game, we talked a grandson-granddad version of football smack on a video call.

“Ezra, can you say, ‘Hook ’em, Horns’?” I asked.

“Go, Irish!” he yelled in response.

“You mean you’re not going to root for UT in the ballgame Saturday?” I inquired.

“No. Notre Dame!” he hollered in retort.

(Ezra often speaks very loudly when we talk via video. That’s because his mama, Lindsay, holds the phone while he bounces all over their greatroom.)

“No way, Notre Dame!” I exclaimed. “I can only think of one team I want Notre Dame to beat.”

“Who’s that?” Ezra called out in question.

“Ohio State,” I told him. “I can’t stand Ohio State.” Just as Aaron has loved the Irish since he was a kid, I’ve deplored the Buckeyes since I was a boy. Their coach back then, Woody Hayes, possessed a vicious, repulsive temper. Besides, my father-in-law, Jim, is from Ohio, and I couldn’t give him a break by rooting for his team.

“Marvo, that’s not going to happen,” Ezra expounded in explanation. “Notre Dame is not versing Ohio State.”

“Versing”?

Lindsay later explained that’s Ezra’s word for what happens when one team plays another: “You know, like ‘Notre Dame versus Ohio State.’ That’s ‘versing.’ … I’ll be sad when Ezra gets bigger and teams stop ‘versing’ each other.”

Ezra’s made-up “versing” reminded me of words his mama and Aunt Molly invented.

When Lindsay was about his age, she reminded me of something I had forgotten, and I complimented her. “Well, I have a good remembery,” she explained.

Even earlier, she confused some sounds, such as “Z” and “Y.” On multiple occasions, as we bundled her in her parka, she asked her mama, Joanna, or me, “Yip my yipper.”

I still miss Molly’s simple-yet-practical practice of adding a “D” to verbs to make them past tense. Once, she walked out of a restroom and announced, “It stinked in there.”

A family favorite remains how she would describe, for example, what happened when her shoestring came untied: “It comed unloose.”

Ezra’s use of “versing” extends the practice of making up words to yet another generation. What a delightful blessing to our family. Who knows what new word I’ll learn the next time we talk?

WASHINGTON (RNS)—House Republicans began their effort to defund Planned Parenthood Sept. 9 with the first in a series of hearings intended to show the group illegally harvests and sells tissue from aborted fetuses, a claim the group vehemently denies.

The hearing in the House Judiciary Committee—titled “Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider”—is the first of several hearings expected this fall as three House committees pursue investigations of Planned Parenthood. House Republicans also launched a website to track the investigations.

Broad scope

Planned Parenthood Vice President Dawn Laguens insisted the House hearing offered anti-abortionists a platform to address issues beyond the scope of its stated purpose.

“From the provocative title to the slate of lifelong anti-abortion activists invited to testify, it’s clear this hearing was not about Planned Parenthood. It was a chance for anti-abortion extremists and members of Congress to promote their political agenda of banning abortion in this country,” she said.

Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., opened the hearing with a call for Congress to pass legislation to bar all abortions after five months of gestation, which would “help ensure that the body parts of late-aborted babies cannot be sold because late-term abortions would be generally prohibited.”

Examples of failed abortions

Republican committee members raised examples of abortions gone wrong or stories of infants who were mistreated or killed after failed abortions.

Perhaps the central dispute of the hearing emerged when Goodlatte asked Priscilla Smith—the one witness who supported Planned Parenthood—whether she believed a standard “dilation and evacuation” abortion is “humane.” She responded that for fetuses not viable to live outside the womb, it is a humane way to end the pregnancy. “Your view of humanity and mine are different,” Goodlatte replied.

Undercover videos

The hearings follow the July release of undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing the fees charged to research groups for various types of tissue from late-term abortions and the techniques involved in recovering it. The group that produced the videos, the Center for Medical Progress, says they prove Planned Parenthood illegally sells fetal tissue for profit.

Planned Parenthood claims the videos are heavily edited and falsely portray the group’s tissue-donation program.

“While all of these congressional investigations are based on false claims and videos that have been completely discredited, we continue to be fully transparent and cooperate with all of the committees,” spokesman Eric Ferrero said.

The Judiciary Committee announced the hearing was intended to “hear from the experts on the issues surrounding the alleged acts of Planned Parenthood.” Goodlatte and Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee Chairman Trent Franks, R-Ariz., said in announcing the hearing, “Planned Parenthood and its executives must answer for the alleged atrocities brought to light in the videos by the Center for Medical Progress.” But neither group was invited to testify.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., also got Franks to concede that the committee’s GOP majority has not seen the full unedited videos and had not asked the Center for Medical Progress to provide them.

Instead, the hearing featured James Bopp, the general counsel for National Right to Life, two anti-abortion activists who survived botched abortions and Smith, a Yale Law School fellow who is a longtime advocate for abortion rights.

Abortion survivors testify

The abortion survivors did not address the tissue recovery practices described in the videos, instead making the case against abortion in general.

“We will have to give an account as a nation, before God, for our apathy and for the murder of over 50 million children in the womb,” Gianna Jessen said in a written statement.

Melissa Ohden, founder of the Abortion Survivors network, acknowledged her failed abortion did not take place at Planned Parenthood, but said in prepared testimony she was there to “give voice” to “the hundreds of thousands of children who will have their lives ended by Planned Parenthood this year alone.”

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the top Democrat on the committee, said the panel was wasting its time on a “one-sided” hearing providing “no credible evidence that Planned Parenthood violated the law.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee also is investigating the videos and has requested information from Planned Parenthood and several scientific research companies about the practices involved in their recovery of fetal tissue for research.

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee in August asked the Department of Health and Human Services for details on federal funding Planned Parenthood receives and whether health services the group provides can be obtained elsewhere.

Remove all federal funds

Conservatives are mounting an effort to have all federal funding stripped from Planned Parenthood—the group gets about $500 million a year—and have threatened to block any spending bill that includes money for the group, even if that means forcing the federal government to shut down when the fiscal year expires Sept. 30.

Conyers noted federal dollars cannot be used for abortions in most cases.

“The horrible irony here is that defunding Planned Parenthood would increase the number of unintended pregnancies and drastically, I fear, increase the number of abortions,” Smith said.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said there was no evidence that would be the result.

If you could collect a dime every time U.S. media mention “religious liberty” between now and Election Day 2016, you could fund your own Super-PAC—or maybe even bankroll your own run for the White House.

We’re going to hear and read about religious liberty over and over and over. It will be the central cultural issue and pivotal point in practically every political contest, from county clerk to president.

Religious liberty has dominated recent debate on the two landmark cultural issues of our era—homosexuality and abortion.

Religious liberty took center stage when Rowan County, Ky., Court Clerk Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court made homosexual marriage the law of the land. Davis insisted she could not violate what she affirms as God’s law in order to obey government law.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning ruled Davis in contempt of court and sent her to jail. He released her five days later, noting her deputies fulfilled their duty to issue marriage licenses in her absence. He warned her not to interfere with their subsequent provision of marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.

Davis received international news coverage and instantly became a celebrity hero among conservative Christians who oppose same-sex marriage. Presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal endorsed her stand. Expect to see her in the news and her story told in books and movies for months to come.

Davis’ principle has been taken up by craftspeople—notably bakers, florists and photographers—who serve weddings. Christians in these trades who oppose homosexual marriage have resisted being required to work for same-sex couples. They stress their religious beliefs would be violated if they assist a gay or lesbian wedding.

The difference between Davis, an officer of the court, and wedding artisans is one of degree. If a baker, florist or photographer refuses to serve a same-sex couple, the couple must find someone else to make a cake, arrange flowers or take pictures. But if a clerk denies a marriage license, the couple cannot get married in that county.

A similar principle swirls around abortion. The Affordable Care Act—Obamacare—includes the contraception mandate, which requires employers that provide health insurance to their employees to cover some contraceptive costs in those insurance plans.

The Roman Catholic Church officially opposes all contraception, and some other Christians believe some contraceptives included in the AFA provisions cause abortions. Although churches are exempt on religious grounds, some religiously affiliated organization—including two Texas Baptist schools, East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University—have resisted implementing this provision, as have some companies whose owners share these religious convictions.

In the so-called Hobby Lobby case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled “closely held” private corporations whose owners religiously object to the law could be exempted. But the courts still are sorting out the case involving the Texas Baptist universities.

These debates over same-sex marriage and the contraceptive mandate turn Baptists’ historic understanding of religious liberty sideways, if not on its head.

For 400 years, Baptists have championed religious liberty. Because of our belief in the divine creation of all people and the ultimate sanctity of all consciences, Baptists have fought for religious liberty for all people, not just ourselves.

That advocacy expressly argued for free religious practice—such as worship and other rituals, weddings, clothing and other physical fidelity to religious belief, and ecclesiastical governance.

Those standards remain firm and high. For example, Texas congregations are protected three ways from being required to perform or host same-sex weddings.

Now, however, some Christians are claiming “religious liberty” should enable them to ignore secular laws that govern their secular jobs. They are not asked to condone others’ actions—particularly same-sex marriage—but simply to uphold the law. No one is denying them free exercise of their faith, but others are asking them to do their jobs.

Should people engaged in secular work—whether it’s issuing a license, baking a cake, making a bouquet or taking pictures—be exempted from the law because they disagree with it? They’re still free to practice their faith, but the law of the land insists they afford others that right, too.

Christians—and people of other faiths, as well—who disagree with cultural/legal changes in our society can choose from four basic options:

• Do something else.

Every day, people leave jobs because they cannot continue in good conscience, they cannot find happiness in the current job, or they want to seek fulfillment in another task. This may be true for people who find themselves in a cultural impasse. Perhaps a closed legal door will lead them to seek another open door of meaning and opportunity.

• Pay the price of opposition.

If, for example, Davis or another county clerk continues to oppose issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples, jail time, a prison sentence, a fine or possibly dismissal very likely will follow. Myriad people of faith have accepted a measure of martyrdom for their convictions. Humble acceptance of judicial process is principled and noble.

But they shouldn’t expect others to agree with them. Their allies will call them saints; their adversaries will say they’re deluded. And they’re not necessarily “persecuted” because they receive the consequences of violating laws.

• Change the system.

Life in a democracy means things may change. They can work for new laws or new interpretations of old laws. If they seek egalitarian justice within the framework of their beliefs, they can seek legislative or judicial solutions that accommodate the beliefs of parties on both sides of the cultural divide.

• Obey the law.

We live under the rule of law, and obeying the law shows respect for the state and nation, not necessarily agreement with the law. A Christian or person of other faith can follow the law even while stating disagreement. This, too, is noble.

Jesus told a crowd of his followers and Jewish leaders, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21).

The Apostle Paul advised, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone” (Titus 3:1-2).

A consultant suggested our church should listen only to positive, encouraging people, rather than pay attention to internal and external detractors. This doesn’t seem wise. Can’t we learn from both encouragers and discouragers?

Your question defies a simple answer. Churches today face daunting challenges of declining attendance and giving. For this reason, many of them retain a congregational consultant or coach. Good consultants and coaches provide invaluable ministries. They help churches see themselves as others see them. They also help them develop a coherent sense of mission and formulate strategies to fulfill that mission.

In your case, your consultant suggested you not pay attention to internal and external detractors. As for internal detractors, the Scriptures give us clues about how to relate to them. Passages like Proverbs 19:20 advise us to listen to wise advice. Sometimes detractors offer wise advice, and sometimes they don’t. The challenge is to discern the difference. Ecclesiastes 7:5 says it’s better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. The rebuke of a wise detractor could be what you need to hear.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:2-3 the church should be humble and gentle, bearing with each other in love. We should make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We have to presume this applies to dealing with detractors.

As for external detractors, they may have wise words for you as well. In our church’s coaching process, we learned many people in our community described us as “the church that fights all the time.” Ouch! Those were tough words, but we needed to hear them.

As Christ followers, we shouldn’t ignore or marginalize internal and external detractors. At the same time, we should seek to discern the spirit and wisdom of their criticisms.

In One Minute Wisdom, Anthony de Mello describes a master whose disciple was sensitive to critics. The master advises him to listen to detractors. They can reveal what others are hiding. But he also says not to be weighed down by what critics say. No one ever erected a statue to honor a critic. Statues are for those who are criticized.

As a Christ follower, you should love and honor your brothers and sisters in Christ. You should deal with them humbly, gently and lovingly. You should listen to them, even if they are detractors. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t allow them to stop your church from pursuing its vision. If they offer criticism without positive solutions, they’re not helping your church.

Our church had a great congregational coaching experience. Our coach helped us listen to detractors while not allowing them to dominate the experience. He structured the process so people of positive vision were able to express themselves and set the tone for the congregation. This is a difficult task, but a skilled coach can make it happen.

Robert Prince, lead pastor
First Baptist Church
Waynesville, N.C.

If you have a comment about this column or wish to ask a question for a future column, contact Bill Tillman, consulting ethicist for “Right or Wrong?” at btillman150@gmail.com.

She arrived at our first freshmen Bible study of the semester, called Journey Together. The excitement of something new for all of these new students to Tarleton’s campus was overwhelming. I could feel the eagerness in the class of 2019 as we played games while waiting for others to arrive.

Warren EthridgeThat’s when she came in. One of our freshmen journey group leaders, Becca, greeted her and made her feel at home while she filled out her nametag.

“Do you have to have a Bible to be here?” she asked. It was obvious this was not somebody who had spent much time in church.

“No, not at all, but if you would like one, I have one I would love to give you,” Becca responded. Becca knew instantly her new acquaintance needed to hear the gospel presented. And after dividing up into small groups, she was in Becca’s group. As they walked through the discussion questions, they traveled through the group’s spiritual backgrounds. That’s when Becca learned her new friend had never been in any kind of evangelistic service. She had never heard the gospel, but she wanted to know more about who Jesus is and how to follow him. Another student already had asked to talk with Becca immediately after Journey Together, so she introduced her new friend to Rachael, one of our other Journey leaders.

She and Rachael talked for a little over an hour about who Jesus is, why he died for us and why we need him in our lives. She listened intently, and absorbed all the information like a sponge. After hearing a clear gospel presentation, she prayed to receive Christ in her life and live according to how he commanded.

Rachael then asked her a question that has rocked my world.

“How do you feel now as opposed to when we started this conversation?” Rachael asked.

“I just feel new,” she replied.

That is the reason I do my job—to share the excitement of new believers welcoming Christ into their life for the first time. To watch students take the next step in their faith, whether it’s the first step ever, or the first step in a long time.

Warren Ethridge is serving with Go Now Missions as a campus missionary intern at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.

The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement by Anthony L. Chute, Nathan A. Finn and Michael A.G. Haykin (B&H Academic)

This narrative history tells the story of the Baptist movement, from its beginnings in the 17th century to the present. Three Baptist historians emphasize three themes that have characterized Baptists for 400 years: “promoting liberty of conscience, following Christ’s will in our individual lives and churches, and proclaiming the gospel everywhere.”

Particularly in the first three-quarters of the book, the writers do a good job telling the story of Baptist insistence of religious liberty for all. They recognize Baptists’ spiritual kinship with Dutch Anabaptists but do not trace direct lineage, focusing instead on Baptists’ emergence from English Separatists. The book sometimes seems a bit too heavy in recording the history of Calvinist Baptists, occasionally delving into minute detail about the varying shades of Calvinist belief, but the authors do not neglect Baptists of Arminian or mediating views.

Black Baptists

One of the book’s strengths is its treatment of the African-American Baptist tradition. The authors rightly give credit to George Liele, a freed slave, as a missionary pioneer. They note Liele planted the first African-American church in Savannah, Ga., and founded a church in Jamaica at least 10 years before William Carey sailed to India. The writers do not shy away from identifying slavery—specifically the appointment of slaveholders as missionaries—as the original sin that birthed the Southern Baptist Convention. They emphasize the key influence of black Baptists in providing leadership to the civil rights movement. They honestly identify white Baptists—particularly in the South—as often being opponents of the civil rights movement, while also acknowledging the courage of some white Baptists, such as T.B. Maston, Clarence Jordan and Carlyle Marney, who promoted civil rights.

SBC controversy

The authors take a much more guarded tone in describing the controversy that divided the SBC in the 1980s and 1990s. To their credit, they forthrightly identify biblical inerrancy as a tool that served the victors in the denominational struggle three ways. It provided “a unifying doctrine” around which they could rally; it established “a starting point from which to discuss theological differences” on other subjects; and “it put progressives at a rhetorical disadvantage because they were forced to reject (or at least downplay) inerrancy while also arguing for a trustworthy Bible.”

Unfortunately, apart from that astute analysis, the authors take a cautious “just-the-facts” approach in describing the SBC controversy that stands in sharp contrast to the vivid narrative in the book’s early chapters. While the writers bring to life John Smyth, Henry Jessey and Roger Williams, leading Baptists of the late 20th century are dismissed with just a cursory mention. Some are not mentioned at all.

Sins of omission

For example, pastor-theologian Herschel Hobbs, who arguably shaped the theology of a generation of Sunday school teachers through the quarterly commentaries he wrote for the Baptist Sunday School Board, is mentioned only in one sentence in relation to chairing the committee that revised the Baptist Faith & Message in 1963. Russell Dilday is mentioned only in one sentence as having been terminated by the trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is mentioned in several contexts; his predecessor, Roy Honeycutt, is omitted altogether. The SBC’s withdrawal from the Baptist World Alliance only merits three sentences—which is three sentences more than the authors gave to the SBC’s defunding of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs—now known as the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. The latter seems particularly glaring, considering the book’s strong emphasis on religious liberty.

Perhaps it was too much to expect Broadman & Holman—the book-publishing arm of LifeWay Christian Resources—to allow a more thorough treatment of the SBC controversy. Even so, these sins of omission detract from an otherwise praiseworthy book.