SHERWOOD, Ore. (RNS)—The wooden box, not quite big enough to hold a pair of shoes, sits on the reception desk, just inside the Sherwood YMCA. Once a day, Roger Button empties the box, finds a quiet place to sit and prays over the slips of paper he finds inside.

Requests vary. Someone’s son struggles with drug addiction. A friend needs a job. Somebody wants more blue, figure-8 rubber exercise bands.

“Sometimes people mistake the prayer box for a suggestion box,” Button said with a shrug.

As the first ordained chaplain to serve a single branch of the Portland-based YMCA of Columbia-Willamette, Button gradually is trying to replant the Christian values at the heart of the YMCA.

The regional Y is reminding people who think of it as a good place to work out or find dependable child care that the “C” in Young Men’s Christian Association still means broad Christian values inspired by Jesus’ life.

“My role here is to minister to the staff and members who call the Sherwood YMCA their home,” Button said. “I feel blessed to be able to be here and be a listening ear.”

The United States is home to YMCAs. They operate autonomously, interpreting their common charter according to the needs of their communities, said Mamie Moore, a spokeswoman for the YMCA’s national office in Chicago.

No one keeps track of how many Ys are reclaiming their Christian heritage, she said. But an October conference in Colorado for YMCA chaplains drew about 90 people from 40 Ys.

“We’re not a church. We’re not a denomination,” said Bob Hall, president and chief executive officer of the regional YMCA. “We’re not in the business to replace churches, but many people who step inside a YMCA may never set foot in a church.

“Our mission, our purpose, our reason why is to teach, train, equip and see people taking responsibility for their own physical, mental and spiritual well-being. We believe in the whole person.”

Hall likes to say he’s trying to “illuminate the C” in the Young Men’s Christian Association. He has reactivated the chaplaincy—there hadn’t been one for decades—hiring a minister, Bob Reichen, as vice president for mission advancement. Reichen ministers to staff, volunteers and members across a five-county region.

“We were founded on Christian ideals,” Hall said—love, respect, honesty, responsibility and service. “They’re in our DNA,” he said.

The YMCA was founded in Britain in 1844, at a time when the Industrial Revolution drew young men to London for work. George Williams and a group of businessmen wanted to offer a Christian alternative to the sordid street life. The first YMCA offered beds, Bible studies and wholesome activities. By 1854, there were 397 YMCAs across seven countries, claiming 30,369 members.

Since the Portland YMCA opened in 1868, attention to its core values has been more profound at some times than others. But the time is right to reclaim them, Hall said.

Last year, the local YMCA served 86,000 individuals with early childhood centers, before- and after-school programs, youth sports and teen development programs, three health and fitness centers, and a camp founded in 1926.

“These are all tools for building character,” Hall said of the facilities and programs. Someone can build muscles or strength at any fitness club. But at the Y, “we offer an opportunity to exercise, challenge your mind and encourage your spiritual life.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—While working on songs for a new album, most songwriters don’t read the book of Revelation over and over again for inspiration.

But that’s exactly what singer/songwriter Phil Wickham did to prepare for the release of his third album, Heaven and Earth.  

Over the last year, Wickham felt led to create a project that would take listeners on a musical journey through the Bible—starting with the first track, “Eden,” to the last track, “Heaven Song.”

“After listening to these songs, I hope that people will want to know more about the message they have just heard,” Wickham said.

“The first song on the album tells about sin coming into this world, and then the album progresses to telling about how Christ’s great love and sacrifice has made things right for those who ask him to be their Savior. My desire is that these songs are effective in leading people to Christ.”

During its first week of sales, the album claimed the No. 2 spot on the Christian/Gospel album chart on iTunes, and Wickham’s song, “Safe,” which features a duet with Bart Millard of MercyMe, topped the Christian/Gospel singles chart at No. 1.

But the accolades and achievements aren’t what motivate Wickham.

By sharing the gospel through music, he has been given many opportunities to share the plan of salvation at his concerts.

“My priority at concerts is to share the reality of the gospel, the importance of the cross and about the excitement and hope that we have in heaven. By the end of a concert, I hope that people are thinking about God’s grace, love and mercy, and I hope that they are also thinking about the sacrifice that has been given to us through Christ,” he said.

“My prayer is that people will want to follow Christ and to live a life that will honor him.

As a teenager, Wickham learned how to play the guitar from his father. After a few months of lessons, he started leading worship for his youth group at church.

“From there, doors started opening for me to play at different events and eventually led me to where I am today,” he said. “For a while, I was really hesitant to pursue music on a full-time basis because I knew it was a huge responsibility to lead people in worship and to write songs that would convey the right message. I didn’t want to mess it up, and I didn’t want to take things in my own hands.

“So, I spent a long time praying that my desires and musical abilities would always remain focused on the Lord and that these gifts would be used for his glory. That continues to be my prayer today, as I’ve found that one of the best ways of connecting with people is to share the truth of God’s word by putting it in a song.”

AUSTIN—Todd Agnew’s musical journey has taken many twists and turns. But Agnew sees that journey as the fulfillment of his dual calling—to lead Christians into meaningful worship and to engage nonbelievers in asking the right questions.

“First and foremost, we make sure that our goal is to lead people to the throne of God,” he said. “God is larger than any words we can use, and music is something beyond words. Music is a gift that God has given us, and it allows us to express beyond what we can actually say.

“As I’m writing songs, I’m always thinking about the tough questions that will challenge people to take the next step and move forward in their walk with the Lord.”

Todd Agnew wants to challenge both Christians and nonbelievers to take steps toward a closer walk with Christ through his music.

When preparing for an event, Agnew carefully selects songs he feels best suit the target audience, with the goal of leading others to Christ.

While leading worship at events, his set list includes traditional hymns and contemporary songs. He enjoys sharing the history of the hymns with teenagers and helping them understand their rich meaning.

“I’m not someone who just gets up on stage and starts playing songs. When I’m leading worship, I really try to teach about what worship is and also teach the songs—not just musically, but conceptually. I’ll break down the phrases in hymns so teenagers can understand the meaning, and I’ll share about how the song was written. I think it makes the songs so much richer when people know the story behind the song.”

Agnew, who was adopted as a baby, grew up at Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving and was involved in a variety of ministries. Agnew credits his adoptive parents for his strong foundation in faith and knowledge, for his musical upbringing and for his understanding of “adoption by grace.”

“I’ve come to understand that the concept of adoption on earth is a parallel to the concept of being adopted into the family of Christ, which is an incredibly powerful story of love and grace,” he said.

While studying music composition at the University of North Texas, he began leading worship for local youth ministries and summer camps. He also performed at a variety of venues including senior adult breakfasts, coffee houses and secular clubs, which gave him many opportunities to plant seeds in the lives of non-Christians and share the gospel.

After 13 years of being an independent artist, Agnew signed a recording contract with Ardent Records/INO in 2003. As a result, many doors began opening for performances at larger venues around the country.

“I was at a point where I had many different avenues I could have gone down in my ministry,” he said.

“I feel like God took his time molding me, because I could not have handled this platform earlier in my life. God basically took my heart, refined it and sculpted it. Then he said: ‘This is who I want you to be. I want you to be somebody who wants to be serious about reaching as many people as possible for my glory.’ Once I really had a grip on that, those doors started to open.”

For Agnew, the musical journey has come full circle—leading worship on a regular basis at Austin Stone Community Church and recording albums that not only are relevant to believers, but also spark conversations and pose questions with non-Christians.

Agnew has garnered numerous hit radio singles, including two No. 1 hits, “Grace Like Rain” and “This Fragile Breath.” He maintains a busy schedule, performing more than 150 dates each year and has sold more than 500,000 recordings. In recent months, he released a new album, Need.

“Seeing people come into a relationship with the Lord is so special, it’s beyond words,” Agnew said. “We all have a need to be loved, to be rescued, to be redeemed, to be restored, all these things. Those are the universal needs, and they are all met in Jesus. I love sharing truth with people and helping them connect with God. Our goal each night is to step back while God works in people’s hearts and begins to change their lives.”

EAST ORANGE, N.J. (RNS)—Pastor Dwight Gill figures if there is one thing that will bring more men to church, it’s football.

So, at New Hope Baptist Church, NFL doesn’t stand for National Football League, but rather for New Found Life—as in the church’s annual NFL service and celebration.

The most recent NFL service drew nearly 2,000 people, including a bevy of newcomers in for a worship service that was anything but ordinary.

“There’s more to it than just a church service,” said Michael Carrington, 48, of Newark.

Carrington said he is not a regular churchgoer but was so impressed with what he saw and the spirit of the congregation, now he wants to become a member.

He stood in awe, looking at scores of men wearing their favorite football jerseys over their slacks and suits.

In the church lobby and sanctuary, football banners and posters were plastered on the walls and hung from the rafters.

Between songs of praise, the worshippers broke out in a stadium wave, briefly standing and throwing their arms in the air.

A tailgate party, including sandwiches, hot dogs and chips, followed the music-filled service.

The New Hope cheerleaders rally at the New Hope Baptist Church in East Orange, N.J., during the church’s 4th annual NFL Sunday Football Service, designed to attract more men.

“A lot of people can get bored during a service, but this brings a sense of excitement, and at the same time, a sense of hope,” said Carrington, who wore a No. 88 Lynn Swann Pittsburgh Steelers jersey.

Gill’s football service could be called the Hail Mary pass of religion: Get men into the church, then give them God’s message.

Gill started the event four years ago and used the sports analogy because, quite simply, “Men like football.”

Women outnumber men at the church by a 3-to-1 ratio, and women’s involvement in church tends to override men’s participation nationwide—a problem particularly acute in many African-American congregations.

The pastor believes he has found a fun remedy to what he calls a “longtime challenge with no easy solution.” He wants to dispel any perception among men that church is just for women.

To help accomplish that, Gill also invited former Giants player Lee Rouson—now an associate pastor of a church in Harlem—to preach about “God’s promise for salvation” during the two-hour service.

Rouson praised the football worship concept.

“Men gravitate to sports. It’s physical, emotional and mental, and those analogies are all part of the spirit life as well,” Rouson said.

“Men compete, they understand competition. But the competition here is to be a real man.”

Church member Samantha Roberts, 32, said many people have a misperception of church life, as women tend to be more involved.

“Women are the ones who hold the family together,” Roberts said.

“They know with God in their lives, they make a positive place for men and women.”

Gill has been keeping score. He has been able to draw about 10 new men to the church each year following the event, he noted.

“If we can attract one man to come to church,” he said, “heaven will be happy.”

JACKSON, Tenn. (RNS)—Classes are completed for the day. Meetings and work are winding down, and Facebook can provide a study break for only so long. So, what’s a restless Christian college student to do?

For undergrads at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., a walk down to the campus theater provides one solution—dancing to the tunes of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway.

Inside, young men offer their hand to available girls and take them to the middle of the hopping dance floor.

Beginners practice basic steps, while more advanced dancers take on the more complicated moves, flipping their partners over their heads and through their legs.

At Union, like a growing number of Christian campuses, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

Dance fever hit the Southern Baptist campus when two freshmen, Grant Kelly and Brandon Walker, started recruiting students to dance for fun last fall.

The group has grown from just a few friends meeting in a small classroom to about 50 dancers who now take over the theater.

Fans say the swing thing has now taken root in at least 10 Christian colleges in the United States, and foot-function fever is spreading.

But like a scene out of the 1984 movie Footloose, some campuses have had to overcome qualms about dancing.

Union’s student handbook, for example, says the university “prohibits dancing at any Union University-sponsored event held on campus.” Students simply host the dance-offs as unofficial events either on or off campus.

“It’s fun and innocent,” said Dean of Students Kimberly Thornbury, who said students gave her a heads-up about the events. “The university is not going to hunt people down. That’s not the spirit of the policy.”

While swing is downright innocent compared to the bump-and-grind moves found on many secular campuses, some Christian school leaders believe dancing could lead to temptation and therefore comes with guidelines attached.

To be sure, many conservative schools like Bob Jones University continue to prohibit all forms of dancing, but some Christian schools have lifted the dancing ban in recent years.

• Baylor University students were able to boogie in 1996.

• Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., whirled in its new dancing policy in 2003.

• In 2006, John Brown Univer-sity in Siloam Springs, Ark., expanded its dancing policy to allow students to jive at more campus-sponsored dances with gentler genres such as ballroom and swing.

Randall Balmer, an expert on American evangelicals, said he was a little shocked to learn students on Christian campuses were picking up swing dancing, but sees it as an indicator of shifts within the evangelical subculture.

“What clearly has happened … is that after 1980, evangelicalism was still a subculture—but it was no longer a counter-culture,” Balmer said.

“With that decreased attention to ‘worldliness,’ some of the taboos have fallen.”

Balmer, who teaches American religious history at New York’s Barnard College and is the author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, says the suspicion of the “outside world” beyond evangelicalism has faded.

“There has been a general loosening of the (fundamentalist) structure of the 1920s and 1930s,” he said. “The dancing is just another evidence of that loosening.”

Still, some schools have reservations.

In Kirkland, Wash., Northwest University’s dancing policy states the school “recognizes the temptations inherent in the sensuous and erotic nature of some social dancing,” and then sets guidelines to keep dancing off campus.

Those rules haven’t dissuaded Michael Weber, a Northwest student, from dancing for four years. He and his friends go off campus to community centers and dance halls in order stay within the guidelines and still swing.

Weber organizes dance events a couple times a month to encourage students to learn basic moves.

He likes swing because, in his opinion, it’s easier to master than ballroom dancing.

“Swing dancing is easy to learn,” he said. “It’s not as proper.”

CLEVELAND (RNS)—For Deborah Taylor, keeping her body fit and eating well is a way of honoring God.

So, when Taylor, a financial assistant for University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center, heard about the hospital’s Body & Soul program for black churches to help their congregations get healthier, she took action.

Soon, Taylor’s congregation, Faith Temple Church of God, launched a healthy-eating initiative and began hosting weekly workout sessions.

“You have so many people in the church who are walking around with diabetes and high blood pressure. Many are obese,” Taylor said.

Across the city, more than 60 black churches have started the program in an effort to combat African-Americans’ higher risk of developing cancer.

The program, supported with $200 grants to individual churches from the American Cancer Society, is based on research findings that healthy eating and other wellness initiatives drive down the risk of cancer, according to Allison Payten, cancer program coordinator for Ireland Cancer Center’s community outreach department.

Research funded by the National Cancer Institute, which followed 15 churches nationwide, found more than a decade ago that church members significantly in-creased their fruit and vegetable consumption through congregation and pastoral support. A cornerstone of the national program is to encourage people to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

High fruit and vegetable consumption decreases the risk for cancer and a host of other ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke—all of which the African-American population is at higher risk of experiencing, according to the study.

In Cleveland, the program is changing lives. LaVita Hatten lost 70 pounds when her church, Freedom Christian Assembly, began a “Biggest Loser” contest. She still makes frequent stops at McDonald’s, but orders the grilled chicken sandwich and a salad instead of a hamburger and fries.

Pastor Milton Bradford at Good Hope Baptist Church lost 20 pounds—even though he admits he occasionally sneaks fried chicken for lunch.

And Sylvia Benford rarely misses her weekly aerobics class organized by Faith Temple Church of God. Now, she doesn’t get winded walking up a flight of stairs.

Their stories are just a sampling of changes happening across the city, Payten said. “Each church is unique.”

The program “empowers members to take charge of their health,” she said.

Good Hope Baptist Church began the Body & Soul program last July. Church members hosted a kickoff where they learned about exercise and how to prepare healthy foods.

Previously, church gatherings meant everyone bringing their specialties, such as fried chicken, potato salad, greens, ham hocks, and macaroni and cheese.

“We always had salad, but most of our meals would be heavy,” said church member Bertha Fuqua.

Fuqua, who had attended one of the hospital’s Body & Soul training sessions and organized the church Body & Soul kickoff, enlisted folks to bring lower-fat alternatives to social gatherings. A personal favorite, she said, is beans flavored with onions and peppers instead of fatback.

Considering “the number of people at our church with diabetes and the number of people who are cancer survivors and the number of children at our church who are overweight—I came out (of the training session) totally convinced and wanted to move forward,” Fuqua said.

Bradford, the Good Hope pastor, began including advice and encouragement in his weekly sermons, giving the congregation witty one-liners to live by, like “We’re not digging our graves with our teeth.”

“We’ve got to avoid that,” Bradford said. “It doesn’t matter how much you are in your faith if you can’t breathe.”

The church’s weekly bulletin includes a health tip or a low-fat recipe. Last summer, members brought in extra vegetables from their gardens to share, and now the church is planning its own “Biggest Loser” contest.

At Freedom Christian Assembly, registered nurse and church health ambassador Simone Ray recalls frequently talking to people about their health before starting the Body & Soul program.

“They would want prayer, but prayer would not work,” she said. “You have to do something physical to get something.”

The program, started at Freedom Christian in 2007, includes getting together for weekly walks and promoting healthy eating. When the church held its “Biggest Loser” contest, more than 20 people signed up, and the winner, Hatten, won $500.

To win, Hatten not only changed what she ordered at McDonald’s, but also began going to the gym twice a day and talking to fitness trainers. She cut back on carbonated drinks and reduced portion sizes, too.

Soon, the 318-pound Hatten was pinning up her clothes to keep them on. She could see her ankles for the first time in years. Now, at 247 pounds, Hatten rarely misses a workout and says she’s still losing weight.

Working with the church, Hatten said, has made a difference.

“It sparked a fire in me,” she said.

—Sarah Jane Tribble writes for The Plain Dealer

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Art Clokey, the creator of the animated icon Gumby and his clay Christian counterparts Davey and Goliath, died Jan. 8 at his home in California. He was 88.

His son, Joe Clokey, told The New York Times his father died in his sleep.

Although Art Clokey was best known for Gumby, his work on the television program Davey and Goliath showed “the spiritual side of my dad,” Joe Clokey told the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America news service.

A forerunner of the ELCA, the United Lutheran Church in America, approached Clokey and his wife, Ruth, in 1959 to create a Gumby-like show for the church, Joe Clokey told the ELCA.

“The Lutherans contacted them, and asked them to create a show with the theme of ‘God loves everyone,”' he said. “They put all of their hearts into it.”

The Davey and Goliath episodes, which developed a loyal following from 1960 to 1975, were 15 minutes long and known for imparting simple moral lessons.

Often Davey invited trouble by ignoring the advice of Goliath, his conscience-ridden talking dog, before repenting and returning to Christian values.

MALIBU, Calif. (ABP) — The Bible plays a starring role in "The Book of Eli," a post-apocalyptic action film starring Denzel Washington that opens in theaters Jan. 15.

Washington, a two-time Academy Award winner widely known in Hollywood for his Christian beliefs, portrays a lone warrior making his way across a desolate American landscape defending the world's last remaining copy of the King James Version of holy writ.

"This is a story about a man named Eli, who's been sent a message, who hears voices from God that told him to take this book, the Bible, across the country and to deliver it out West," Washington says in a movie trailer posted on ScreenVue.com, which provides movie clips for churches and ministries to use in their teachings.

Though in the vein of recent films like "2012," a blockbuster about the end of the world as predicted by the Mayan calendar, evangelical movie buffs are touting "The Book of Eli" as a rare major studio release where the protagonist is unabashedly a Christian.

"How far are we willing to go in response to God's call?" Craig Detweiler, director of Pepperdine University's Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture, writes in a study guide written for Christian viewers of the film. "What kind of sacrifices would we make to defend the Word of God?"

The movie, which has Washington's character facing down villains trying to stop him, earned an "R" rating for graphic violence and coarse language.

"In following his mission he's been given by God, he becomes more and more violent in order to get the job done," Washington explains in the trailer. "This man, Eli, has a very difficult task, but he has faith. And he makes mistakes, as we all do. Someone said there's no testimony without a test."

The movie's hard edge may give some religious moviegoers pause. Angela Walker, director of producer relations for ChristianCinema.com, wrote that she pondered the movie's objectionable content for a month after seeing an advance screening before deciding the film's spiritual themes were redeeming qualities.

"Personally, I want to support filmmakers who explore questions of faith in their films," she wrote. "For me, choosing to see this film is casting a vote for Hollywood filmmakers to keep making films about faith. It is telling them I will buy tickets to films they create about topics I'm interested in."

Detweiler pointed out that no words of profanity come from Washington's mouth. "He is clearly set apart as a holy character on a godly mission," he said. "So he acts as one would hope a man of God would act."

While Washington's character does resort to violence, Detweiler said, it is always in self-defense against another character's aggression.

"It seems comparable to the situation most of us find ourselves in — trying to follow God in a fallen world where profanity, violence and temptation is all around us," Detweiler said.

Screenwriter Gary Whitta told ChristianCinema.com that he spent a lot of time going through the Bible to find passages that Eli could quote at appropriate moments in the film. Washington, the son of a Pentecostal preacher who attends the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, added some verses of his own.

Washington — ranked by Beliefnet as the second most powerful Christian in Hollywood behind Mel Gibson — described "The Book of Eli" as both "a story about faith" and "a story about good and evil" with parallels to real life.

"We're all a work in progress," he said in the trailer. "I think we're all on a journey on this earth to be better human beings and to hopefully follow the Word of God. That's about all any of us can ask for is to do the best we can with what we're given."

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

CINCINNATI (ABP) — More than 1,200 crimes were committed against Christian churches and ministries in 2009, according to an unofficial tally by a firm that specializes in church security.

The Christian Security Network report found 1,237 total incidents targeting churches in all 50 states, including 12 homicides, 38 other violent incidents and $24 million in estimated property loss. 

"It is disheartening to see all these incidents and loss of life in churches in 2009 and even sadder because we know 2010 isn't going to be any different unless the status quo changes," said Jeff Hawkins, executive director of the Christian Security Network. The Cincinnati-based company provides services to make Christian churches and organizations more secure. 
 
The most common crime committed against churches is burglary. Sixty-two percent of the incidents in the CSN report — 779 in all — were burglaries. The most expensive, however, is embezzling — internal theft committed over a period of time, usually years. Such incidents, according to the report, cost churches nearly $14 million in 2009.

Other 2009 incidents included three sexual assaults, three kidnappings and 98 arsons.

The report said counting the number of crimes against churches is difficult for several reasons. There is no mandatory reporting of such crimes to any government agency. The FBI tracks hate crimes against religious organizations, but many of the crimes involving churches are not included in hate-crimes statistics because bias against Christians is not a motive in the crimes.

Many crimes against churches also go unreported, because the congregation forgives the offender or wants to avoid embarrassment or bad publicity.

Besides the 12 murders, violent crimes in churches in 2009 included five attempted homicides, one rape and two attempted rapes. The 12 murder victims ranged in age from 14 months to 67 years old. Seven were male and five were female.

Many of the organizations cited in the report experienced multiple incidents. One particular church in Cincinnati, for example, was burglarized 20 times during a six-month period.

A veteran security specialist with nearly 30 years experience, Hawkins said criminals nowadays are less likely than in the past to avoid churches simply because they are sacred spaces. Today, he said, criminals are more inclined to view houses of worship simply as "soft" targets. Despite that, he added, 75 percent of churches polled in 2008 said they did not have any security or emergency plan.

Hawkins said with a few precautions and training, many crimes included in the report could have been averted. "The church has to start taking responsibility for the safety of their staff, volunteers, and congregation and [become] good stewards of the gifts God has provided," he said.

Hawkins said every church should have plans in place to respond at minimum to situations in which the church must be evacuated, people inside the facility must shelter in place due to natural or man-made disasters, for medical emergencies involving people inside the building, for children who go missing and for situations requiring lockdown of the facility.

While smaller churches automatically think of expense when it comes to security, Hawkins said a big part of any security plan is awareness. He suggested churches use free resources, such as talking to local law-enforcement officials, fire departments and EMS personnel as well as meeting with the church's insurance provider.

Christian Security Network offers a free weekly newsletter and conducts seminars around the country and over the Internet to help churches and ministry organizations develop a plan.

A first step is a process of risk assessment, which typically includes interviews with staff and volunteers, analysis of local crime trends and review of any past threats or present perceived threats.

Hawkins said sometimes pastors tell him they don't need a security plan in place because they trust God to protect their congregation. He responds that we live in a fallen world and that the Bible says Christians are to resist evil.

Other church leaders fear that by adopting security measures they make their congregation seem less open and inviting to visitors, but Hawkins said everyone should have a right to worship without having to worry about whether a child in the nursery or a car in the parking lot is safe.

Hawkins said it is unknown whether the economic downturn in the United States has contributed to increased property crimes against churches.

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

WASHINGTON (ABP)—During the holiday season every year, America’s dutiful culture warriors spar over things like whether ecumenical holiday greetings are appropriate for retailers or Christian Nativity scenes should be displayed on courthouse lawns that Jews, Muslims and atheists also pay taxes to maintain.

Inevitably, when department-store chains or courts decide against privileging Christian hegemony on these cultural practices, some Christian leader or group claims it’s an act of persecution.

But in places around the world where disfavored religious groups are suffering undisputed, severe and egregious persecution, downtrodden minority Christians might be forgiven for finding their American siblings’ cries of “persecution” just because they aren’t being wished “Merry Christmas” at Macy’s a tad histrionic.

“Since I began to answer this e-mail, I have been writing non-stop for the last two hours, and still I am only scratching the surface of your multivalent questions,” wrote Chris Van Gorder, a Baylor University religion professor and expert in global persecution of Christians, responding to an e-mail query about religious persecution.

“For example, I have not even yet mentioned the situation for Christians in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives and other places where Christians are suffering for their faith to greater and lesser degrees. I had so many things to do today and so many pressing issues to attend to that, like many North American Christians, I felt too busy to stop and consider the plight of our sisters and brothers in chains of difficulty and lack.”

Van Gorder, who has particular expertise in the status of religious freedom in the Middle East and other majority-Islamic regions, ticked off a number of other nations where severe violations of religious freedom were taking place.

For example, consider Afghanistan. “During Taliban rule, persecution of Christians was government policy and this is no longer the case even though the few Christians that remain in the country continue to face very dangerous pressures,” Van Gorder said, noting the 2006 apostasy trial and conviction of an Afghan man who converted from Islam to Christianity—and faced the death penalty for doing so. He was freed only after an international outcry against the sentence.

Another is Iraq. “Iraq was once a haven for Christians under the more secular Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein, who once praised Christians as the ‘little flowers of Iraq’ and who gave a number of Christians high-ranking positions in his government,” Van Gorder said. “Since 2003, the situation for Christians has deteriorated rapidly. Muslim terrorist groups (have) targeted Christian churches and bombed Christian-owned business, which had all been protected under Saddam Hussein. Many Iraqi Christians were the target of kidnapping and these problems have encouraged over a million Christians to flee the country, many going first to Syria. On July 13, 2009, seven churches were bombed, four people were killed and 30 Christians were wounded in these attacks.”

Christian leaders pray in Zhengzhou, China, for government persecution to end. (RNS FILE PHOTO/Benjamin Brink)

Saudi Arabia is an ally of the United States, but religious freedom there is regarded as essentially non-existent by the U.S. State Department as well as independent and international human-rights-monitoring groups.

“Any individual who publicly criticizes official statements about Islam faces the risk of harassment and detention,” in Saudi Arabia, Van Gorder noted.

“Expatriate workers who are Christians must be very careful not to publicly share their faith. It is illegal for a Muslim to convert to Christianity, and those who do face the death penalty. The country is extremely hostile to Christianity, and there are reports of some vigilante groups who harass non-Muslims.”

“No religious freedom exists in Saudi Arabia,” said Knox Thames, a Baptist who is the acting executive director of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent government panel that monitors global religious-freedom conditions.

But it’s not just majority-Muslim areas—and not just government entities—that severely restrict religious freedom. Rob Nash, global-missions coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, said many of the most egregious religious and governmental restrictions on religious freedom are taking place in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia.

“Religious persecution on the part of government is occurring in Central Asia in places like Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan,” he said.

“This seems to be the place of most intense persecution by government in a direct way today. Christians and others, including Muslims, in many of these nations are suffering the worst sorts of persecution. Church meetings are raided, and Christian leaders are often arrested and/or fined. Some countries have required religious institutions like churches and mosques to re-register and then have not granted registration status to them, thus rendering more than half of the houses of worship in the country to be illegal.”

But Nash said religious persecution often can be tied to communal or ethnic conflicts that may have nothing to do with national or regional governments but may be tolerated or even instigated by local political and religious leaders.

This church in Ambon is one of many that have been demolished in Indonesia in the past few years. Churches are continually being closed down or burned to prevent believers from worshipping. (BP Photo courtesy of International Christian Concern)

“The most intense religious persecution today is not governmental persecution, but rather persecution brought on by religious zealots of other religions or faiths,” he noted. “Orissa in India is one such place where some significant persecution of Christians and Muslims is occurring by extremists in the region. The same has been true fairly recently in East Timor.”

In Eastern Europe, Russia and former Soviet republics, local Orthodox Christian officials have, in recent years, incited mobs against local Protestant or Catholic groups.

While China often is portrayed as one of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom—and the State Department views it that way—Nash noted the situation there is complex.

“Many Americans assume that there is extreme religious persecution in China. In point of fact, China is growing increasingly more open when it comes to religious freedom,” he said. “China recognizes five official religions, including Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism and Taoism. Registered Christians and churches have full religious freedom as long as they are supportive of the nation and work toward building a harmonious society. Bibles are published in China and widely available to the public. Chinese Christian bookstores sell Christian books openly. In many places, Christian meeting places are recognized as churches as soon as they have a building and a trained pastor. Seminaries exist very openly and are working hard to train clergy.”

These homes were burned in 2004 because they were in a Christian village in Indonesia. Islamic extremists attack such villages, destroying homes and churches and kill many of the residents. Survivors are forced to convert to Islam. (BP Photo courtesy of International Christian Concern)

But religious groups by which government leaders feel threatened in China have had a more difficult time. Uighur Muslims in interior parts of China, Christians in unregistered Protestant house churches, practitioners of the Falun Gong religion and Tibetan Buddhists all have suffered severely at the hands of the Chinese regime.

Both the State Department and the Commission on International Reli-gious Freedom issue comprehensive annual reports on the status of religious freedom worldwide. Both organizations maintain lists of what they consider the world’s worst nations for religious-liberty conditions.

All experts consulted for this story agreed the proper responses to global persecution are as complex and varied as the nations and cultural situations in which incidents of persecution arise. But Americans and other Westerners have an outsized opportunity—and responsibility—to act.

“The United States can do more to proactively and forcefully advocate for improvements in countries around the world,” Thames said. “Write members of Congress and urge them to press the State Department to make religious freedom promotion a foreign policy priority. Senators and congressmen also have the ability to talk directly with heads of state, so constituents can urge their member to raise specific situations of concern.”

Nash noted the uniqueness of each situation. “Sometimes advocacy is best accomplished through huge media pressure to effect change. At other times, it is best to wait quietly for local Christians to work it out. It is important to keep up with news media around the world to be fully informed. It is also important to check in with people who know the local situation well.”

He also recommended the Baptist World Alliance and Forum 18, a Norway-based Christian news service that tracks global persecution.

For Van Gorder, Christans bear a special responsibility to speak out.

“While many North Americans are blessed with wealth and privilege beyond what many of our sisters and brothers worldwide can even imagine, the command of Scripture remains true, that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected,’” he wrote.

“Many Christians are not even doing what is expected, which is to pray and to speak for those who have no voice. One day, our sisters and brothers who have lived in contexts of dire persecution will meet their Master face to face and hear those consoling words from his mouth: ‘Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the rest prepared for you.’ Will we hear those same words?”