WASHINGTON (RNS)—The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 25 passed a sweeping LGBTQ rights bill called the Equality Act.

Republicans for the most part objected, with some of them now advocating for a rival bill called Fairness for All, introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah on Friday with 20 Republican co-sponsors.

Both bills would ban discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. But Fairness for All would also carve out exemptions for faith-based organizations, some of which played a big role in drafting it.

The Equality Act in its current form probably has no chance in the Senate, given it will need 10 Senate Republican votes in order to beat back a GOP filibuster.

The Fairness for All bill probably has no chance in the House, given the Democratic majority there.

But there could be a way forward if the Senate combines provisions of both bills. Such a compromise may win the signature of President Biden, who said LGBTQ protections are one of his top legislative priorities for the first 100 days of his presidency.

Here are some of the issues at stake.

What is the Equality Act?

Basically, it would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of personal characteristics protected by federal civil rights law.

Twenty-nine states have no protections for LGBTQ people. That means people can be fired from their jobs for being LGBTQ, and landlords can refuse to rent or sell to them. They can also be denied services in a restaurant or bakery.

The Equality Act not only would ban discrimination, but also would deny federal funding to groups that discriminate against LGBTQ individuals. It would accomplish that by expanding the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which already bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

The bill also would expand the types of public spaces that would not be able to discriminate against LGBTQ people to include shopping malls, sports arenas and online retailers. Right now, nondiscrimination rules cover mostly restaurants, amusement parks and hotels.

Who opposes it?

The bill is strongly opposed by many religious groups on multiple fronts. Some say houses of worship, like churches and synagogues, must be explicitly excluded from the public accommodations list, otherwise religious groups that oppose same-sex marriage might be forced to offer their fellowship halls to LGBTQ wedding ceremonies, for example. Others believe the First Amendment provides ample protection for churches.

Many groups are offering dire predictions of what might happen if the Equality Act becomes law. They say it would halt free and reduced-cost lunch programs for children who attend religious schools and threaten federal security grants for Orthodox Jewish synagogues because they oppose same-sex marriage.

Students at religious colleges that view marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman would no longer be eligible for federal student loans and grants. About 70 percent of students at schools affiliated with the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities receive Pell grants and federal research grants.

The schools themselves may no longer be able to screen faculty hires for those who agree with the school’s views on marriage and human sexuality.

The bill would also limit people’s ability to defend themselves against discrimination claims by overriding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the 1993 law that protects the religious exercise of individuals and institutions. That means a bakery would no longer be able to deny its wedding cake services to a same-sex couple by using the RFRA defense, for example.

Some groups also worry it would blur gender lines in women’s sports, allowing transgender individuals who identify as female to play in women’s leagues.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said the Equality Act “is poorly named because, among other negative effects, it would punish faith-based charities for their core religious beliefs,” Baptist Press reported.

“Every human being ought to be treated with dignity, but government policy must continue to respect differences of belief,” Moore said.

The bill “would have harmful consequences, and it should not be passed into law,” Moore said. “Congress would make the situation worse in this country with this legislation, both in terms of religious freedom and in terms of finding ways for Americans who disagree to work together for the common good.”

What’s the Fairness for All bill?

This bill would also provide broad protections for LGBTQ people while also protecting religious institutions that uphold traditional beliefs about marriage and sexuality.

It is modeled on the “Utah Compromise,” a 2015 state law that strengthened religious freedom and protected LGBTQ people from discrimination.

Fairness for All has been championed by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the National Association of Evangelicals, which hasn’t formally endorsed it but was consulted in its drafting.

“Our coalition has always had a problem-solving mindset,” said Shirley Hoogstra, CCCU president. “We believe LGBTQ people should be treated with equity and equality in the U.S. We have Supreme Court cases that have set that up. And we know religious organizations play an important role in society and that nobody should coerce the other.”

The bill would still face stiff headwinds from other religious groups that oppose the idea of adding sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. The Southern Baptist Convention and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for example, likely will oppose Fairness for All or any bill extending LGBTQ protections, based on previous statements.

Is a compromise possible?

Many centrists think so. Both bills have been introduced before and have failed. But there might be a way forward if the Senate is able to combine the major features of the Equality Act with the exemptions called for in the Fairness for All bill.

The Senate needs 10 Republican senators to pass a revised bill. Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have been supportive of LGBTQ-plus rights before. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah would likely be, too, especially since the Utah Compromise has been successful so far in that state.

Champions of a compromise point also point out that Americans broadly support LGBTQ protections. More than 8 in 10 Americans favor laws that would protect LGBTQ people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing, according to a 2020 PRRI American Values Survey.

With additional reporting by Tom Strode at Baptist Press. 

HOUSTON (RNS)—A state appeals court ruled a sexual abuse lawsuit could go forward against Paul Pressler, a former judge and influential Southern Baptist who helped lead what supporters called a “conservative resurgence” in the denomination in the 1970s and 1980s.

Gareld Duane Rollins Jr., who met Pressler in a Bible study when he was 14, sued Pressler in 2017, accusing the Southern Baptist legend of sexually abusing him for years, including an alleged rape in 1980. The alleged abuse continued until Rollins was in his 30s, according to the lawsuit.

Rollins, who also served as an assistant to Pressler, has alleged that the abuse led to a lifetime of struggles with addictions and troubles with the law.

Pressler, 90, has denied any wrongdoing.

A lower court dismissed the sexual assault claims in Rollins’ suit three years ago, citing the statute of limitations, but Rollins’ lawyers argued the trauma from abuse prevented him from realizing the alleged sexual relationship had been non-consensual, according to the appeals court ruling.

The appeals court ruled Feb. 25 that Pressler and other defendants in the case “did not conclusively negate” the argument made by Rollins’ lawyers and sent the lawsuit back to a lower court.

In 2003, Rollins and Pressler had “an altercation in a Dallas hotel room,” according to court documents, leading Rollins to sue the Baptist leader for assault. That lawsuit was settled, with Pressler agreeing to pay Rollins $1,500 a month for 25 years while Rollins agreed to keep the settlement and the 2003 altercation confidential. Rollins credited the counseling he received in prison for helping him realize he had been a victim of abuse.

Pressler and Paige Patterson, who was fired as president from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2018 for mishandling abuse claims, were key leaders in what is remembered by Southern Baptists as the “conservative resurgence.” The movement wrested power in the nation’s largest denomination from more moderate Baptists, who remember it as a “fundamentalist takeover.” The two were once among SBC leaders commemorated in a series of stained-glass windows at Southwestern Seminary.

Those windows were removed after Paige’s firing.

The appeals court also ruled that the Southern Baptist Convention, which is also being sued by Rollins, had failed to negate the “unsound mind tolling” argument case made by the defense.

“The convention was not involved or connected in any way with the harms that Mr. Rollins alleges,” said James P. Guenther, attorney for the Southern Baptist Convention. “Additionally, the convention did not have control over or any duty to control Mr. Pressler or any of the other defendants.

“So, none of the facts necessary to assert any valid claim against the convention is present. The convention is simply not responsible if another defendant in this case engaged in any wrongdoing. In any event, we continue to monitor the developments in the case.”

Jimmy Meeks—a Baptist minister and career police officer—believes Jesus offers the answer to the problems of rampant suicide, divorce and PTSD among the ranks of law enforcement.

“Christ takes cold, dead hearts and gives a new heart,” said Meeks, a Southern Baptist minister for 47 years and police officer for 35 years.

Meeks wants to deliver that message to law enforcement officers through The Cornelius Project, a multi-faceted ministry that offers encouragement, support and resources to police.

‘The Lord has a heart for cops’

The ministry takes its name from Acts 10—the story of how Cornelius, a gentile centurion, became a follower of Christ through the witness of the Apostle Peter.

“Cornelius commanded 100 men. In effect, he was a patrol captain—the police officer of his day,” Meeks said. “And he is believed to be the first non-Jewish convert to Christianity.”

Cornelius exemplified traits law enforcement officers should emulate, Meeks noted. He was a devout, God-fearing man. He had a strong family life, and his family followed his example in devotion to God. Even though he was a gentile, he was generous toward the Jews—he served people across racial lines. And he prayed often, demonstrating a commitment to spiritual disciplines.

Meeks also noted Jesus commended the strong faith of a centurion who asked for his servant to be healed, and a centurion on duty at Jesus’ crucifixion confessed, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

“The Lord has a heart for cops. They need to have a heart for the Lord,” Meeks said.

Resources to help officers

To help spread that word, Meeks created the Blue Life Support podcast, a blog, an app for mobile devices, an online video library and a website with a wide variety of resources on issues law enforcement officers face.

The Blue Life Support blog includes some material with clearly partisan political overtones. However, most of the content on the website focuses on telling inspirational stories about police officers and providing resources on topics such as suicide prevention, family life, finances—and particularly developing and growing in a relationship with God.

A key area of focus involves helping officers learn verbal and nonverbal skills to de-escalate volatile situations, one of the areas Meeks also stresses in the training he offers to volunteers who provide safety and security at churches.

“Police officers are authority figures who bring a power and presence to every situation. That can either pour gasoline or water on the fire,” he said.

As officers learn the importance of verbal communication and listening skills, they also are encouraged to “practice it at home” and strengthen their family relationships, he said.

Desire to encourage police

The website includes a page where police officers can sign up to receive occasional texts and emails of encouragement.

“Last year, we had more officers die in the line of duty than any time since 1930,” he said, adding that 223 of the deaths were due to exposure to COVID-19. “And suicides among police are at about 200 a year.”

A relatively small part of the debilitating stress officers face is due to what they encounter “on the streets,” Meeks asserted.

“They live for that stuff. It’s just part of the job,” he said.

Rather, officers are more likely to want to give up because of a perceived lack of support—from city officials and from the general public, he insisted.

To encourage officers, Meeks visits police departments across the country. He has traveled to 40 states and recently completed a 6,200 mile “mission trip” to talk with officers at roll call.

“We want to en-courage officers—literally fill them with courage,” Meeks said, adding the real source of the courage and perseverance officers need is found in Christ.

“Get yourself a new heart. Christ gives the fortitude you need,” he said. “In Christ, we become a new creation who can withstand anything.”

Christians should confront Christian nationalism not only because it harms civil society, but also because it dilutes their faith and damages the church, an expert in church-state relations told a webinar audience.

“Christian nationalism is a threat to Christianity,” Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, told participants in a teleconference sponsored by the BJC, Fellowship Southwest, Faith Commons, Faith Forward Dallas and CBF Texas.

Christian nationalism appropriates some of the language and symbols of genuine Christian faith but strips them of their rich meaning, she asserted.

“Christian nationalism waters down Christianity and perverts it in many ways,” Tyler said.

Rather than trying to confront Christian nationalism by applying the name to individuals who may not accept that label, Tyler suggested helping people understand what Christian nationalism means and why it is dangerous.

Churches should offer the proper forum for promoting that kind of understanding because of their commitment to discipleship and growth; their emphasis on community, relationship and accountability; and their dedication to truth-telling, she said.

‘More about identity than religion’

Tyler defined Christian nationalism as “a political ideology that seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy.”

“The ‘Christian’ in Christian nationalism really is more about identity than religion,” she said.

Tyler drew a distinction between patriotism—healthy love for one’s country—and a brand of nationalism “that demands supremacy over all other allegiances, including to Jesus.”

“Patriotism does not require us to minimize our religious convictions,” she said.

Key markers of Christian nationalism include a “mythological history” that identifies the United States as a “Christian nation,” an exaggerated form of American exceptionalism and an emphasis on God’s providential hand in American history and politics, she said.

Sociologists who have researched Christian nationalism identify Americans who embrace the ideology as those who strongly agree with statements such as: “The federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation;” “The success of the United States is part of God’s plan;” and “The federal government should advocate Christian values.”

“Conflating religious authority with political authority is idolatrous and often leads to oppression of minority and other marginalized groups, as well as the spiritual impoverishment of religion,” Tyler said.

‘Provides cover for white supremacy’

Individuals and groups that oppose Christian nationalism are not part of a secular leftist plot “to strip God, Jesus and religion out of the public square,” she insisted.

“People of all faiths and none have the right and responsibility to engage constructively in the public square,” she said, quoting from the Christians Against Christian Nationalism statement that has been signed by more than 21,000 individuals

Christian nationalism and white supremacy are not synonymous, but the two ideologies do intersect, Tyler asserted.

“Christian nationalism often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation,” she said.

To those who assert government should promote and protect the majority religion in the United States and that it is imperative for political leaders to reflect Christian values, Tyler pointed to the U.S. Constitution.

The First Amendment includes the guarantee that government not prefer one religion over another, and Article VI says “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust.”

The more extreme forms of Christian nationalism not only were evident during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, but also the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the 2015 shooting at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., she said.

However, Christian nationalism represents a “broad spectrum,” Tyler noted. Aspects of the ideology also are woven into more “mundane” aspects of American life, she observed, such as efforts to require that “In God We Trust” be posted in public schools—and displaying American and Christian flags year-around in church sanctuaries.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—A Jehovah’s Witness has been sentenced to two years in a Russian prison for practicing her faith, marking the first time the country has imprisoned a woman since a 2017 ruling that declared the faith group “extremist.”

Valentina Baranovskaya, 69, was sentenced Feb. 24 along with her son, Roman Baranovskiy, 46, who received a six-year sentence.

“Today, Judge Elena Shcherbakova ruthlessly imprisoned a harmless, elderly woman and her son on baseless charges,” said Jarrod Lopes, spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. “The ruling was a mockery of the rule of law—both international human rights law as well as Russia’s constitution, which protects religious freedom.”

In October, a Jehovah’s Witness named Yuriy Zalipayev was acquitted and shortly afterward six other members of the faith were given suspended sentences by a different judge.

Russian authorities raided the Baranovskiy home in 2019, along with the homes of three other Jehovah’s Witnesses in Abakan, in south-central Russia. Law enforcement officers confiscated Bibles, personal records and electronic devices.

Proceedings in Baranovskaya’s case were postponed when she was diagnosed with a stroke in July, but they resumed in December.

Action condemned by human rights groups

Human rights watchdogs condemned the sentencings.

“Valentina Baranovskaya and her son, Roman Baranovskiy, have done nothing wrong, and they should be immediately freed,” said Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division. “Russia’s authorities should stop the campaign of persecution against Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Commissioner Gary Bauer, noting Baranovskaya’s age and health, called her sentencing “a new low in Russia’s brutal campaign against religious freedom.”

Lopes noted that international criticism of Russia’s actions is ongoing.

“Nevertheless, Russian authorities across the federation have persisted in imprisoning and at times beating peaceful Jehovah’s Witnesses practicing their Christian beliefs,” he said. “We hope that Jehovah’s Witnesses will one day be allowed to freely read the Bible and worship in Russia as they do in over 200 other lands.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—More than 500 evangelical pastors and other faith leaders have signed an open letter decrying “radicalized Christian nationalism.”

They assert the religious expressions by insurrectionists during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol are “heretical” and a “perversion of the Christian faith.”

The letter, organized by several Christian groups including Vote Common Good, decries those who invoked their religious beliefs—especially Christian iterations that skewed toward evangelicalism—while attacking the U.S. Capitol.

“We know from experts on radicalization that one of the key elements is a belief that your actions are ‘blessed by God’ and ordained by your faith. This is what allows so many people who hold to a Christian Nationalism view to be radicalized,” the letter reads.

The letter says its signers feel compelled to condemn such expressions, “just as many Muslim leaders have felt the need to denounce distorted, violent versions of their faith” in previous years.

The statement was a response to the form of Christianity that was displayed by some of the attackers, typified by a prayer delivered in the Senate chamber and captured on film by a reporter for the New Yorker showing a bare-chested Jacob Chansley, sometimes identified as the “Q Shaman,” thanking God for “allowing us to get rid of the communists, the globalists and the traitors within our government.”

“We reject this prayer being used to justify the violent act and attempted overthrow of the Government,” the letter reads.

Broad-based opposition to militant Christian nationalism

Signers include pastors from a variety of theologically conservative traditions, such as Church of the Nazarene, Evangelical Covenant Church and the Christian Reformed Church.

Jerushah Duford, a granddaughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham, and Walter Brueggemann, religion scholar and Protestant theologian, were among the best-known signers.

They were joined by Eugene Cho, CEO of the Christian advocacy group Bread for the World; Lisa Sharon Harper, author, activist and founder and president of FreedomRoad.us; Jim Wallis, founder of Christian advocacy group Sojourners; Shane Claiborne, founding member of The Simple Way; and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, an evangelical Christian author, minister and activist.

The letter comes on the heels of a new report by the conservative American Enterprise Institute revealing that more than a quarter of white evangelicals—more than any other religious group polled—believe the debunked QAnon conspiracy theory, an ideology that was well represented among insurrectionists on Jan. 6.

Other evangelical leaders have railed against the religious expressions of insurrectionists without specifically zeroing in on Christian nationalism. In a statement sent to Religion News Service days after the attack, Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, declared that “the god of QAnon and the Proud Boys and their fellow travelers is not the God of Jesus Christ but the ancient serpent of Eden, which Jesus called ‘a murderer from the beginning.’”

He added: “The way of Jesus Christ is a very different way from that one.”

Christians Against Christian Nationalism—a movement spearheaded by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty—also condemned the ideology in a 2019 letter, calling it a “persistent threat to both our religious communities and our democracy.”

NASHVILLE (BP)—A dispute about whether a Southern Baptist entity can suspend trustees for misconduct will be studied by a task force formed by the SBC Executive Committee’s committee on missions and ministry.

Rob Showers, chairman of the committee on missions and ministry, announced the task force’s formation Feb. 23 during a plenary session of the Executive Committee. He said more time was needed to study the issue, which had sparked a brief but spirited discussion during a committee meeting earlier in the day.

The disagreement arose last fall, when Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary suspended trustees Charles Hott and Thomas Pulley while investigating allegations of misconduct. It had played out largely in letters between attorneys representing the Executive Committee and those representing Southwestern. Then it spilled into the Executive Committee’s February meeting, and now it will continue in the form of a task force.

Letters from attorneys

In a letter to Southwestern last November, Executive Committee attorneys wrote suspension was “equivalent to removing the trustees from office”—a right reserved solely for the SBC and exercised by messengers to annual meetings. According to the letter, the Executive Committee’s officers wanted Southwestern to rescind the suspensions or acknowledge “the action was null and void.”

In reply, attorneys representing Southwestern said the suspensions not only were allowed by the seminary’s bylaws, but also were necessary to allow the entity to govern itself, and accused the Executive Committee of overreach.

Southwestern President Adam W. Greenway told the Biblical Recorder the issue was “bigger than Southwestern,” and went “to the heart of historic Southern Baptist polity.”

After the task force was announced, Greenway told Baptist Press he was “hopeful for constructive engagement by this task force … with the key stakeholders related to clarifying and strengthening understandings of our polity, entity governance and trustee accountability in any and every way in which we can better serve our convention of churches.”

Showers, who will appoint members of the task force, said his desire is to get input from various entities. He said there wasn’t time to reach a decision during the two-day Executive Committee meeting.

“We needed to talk with seminary presidents, with [general counsels] of all the [entities] … and get everybody’s opinion,” Showers said. “It’s not a complicated question, but it has a lot of ramifications.”

Lawsuit settlement included resignations

Hott and Pulley were suspended after Southwestern and Baylor University filed suit against the Harold E. Riley Foundation, alleging they helped lead a “secret coup” to “seize control” of the charitable foundation—altering its purpose, stripping the schools of their rights and status as beneficiaries and misappropriating assets worth millions of dollars.

The Texas attorney general intervened in the case on behalf of the schools. The lawsuit was settled Feb. 8, after several days of testimony in a temporary injunction hearing. The settlement effectively returned control of the Riley Foundation to the schools.

Under terms of the settlement, the foundation’s trustees—including Hott and Pulley—resigned from those positions and agreed “not to seek or accept” future employment by or service to any SBC entity or Texas charity.

Fellow Riley Foundation trustees Mike Hughes, a former vice president at Southwestern who was the Riley Foundation’s president, and Augie Boto, former executive vice president of the SBC Executive Committee, agreed to the same terms.

Pulley already had resigned his position on the Southwestern board. As part of the settlement, Hott acknowledged that he was “no longer a trustee” of the seminary.

More correspondence

But even after the specific issue had been resolved, the dispute continued—including more memos and letters as the Executive Committee meetings approached.

In a letter sent Feb. 21, Southwestern’s attorneys wrote to Executive Committee members saying the school did not remove the trustees, and that the suspensions were allowed “in accordance with its governing documents and parliamentary procedure to address trustee misconduct.”

The suspensions, according to the letter, were “fully authorized by the Seminary’s Bylaws in connection with allegations of trustee misconduct,” and “were in no way contrary to any bylaws of the Southern Baptist Convention.”

But in a letter sent Feb. 19 to Executive Committee members in preparation for their meeting, the Executive Committee’s attorneys continued to assert that suspension equals removal. Showers, who is an attorney from Virginia, told Baptist Press he shares that opinion.

“Suspending with[out] voting rights, by any state law, I believe would be removal, and so do our attorneys,” Showers said.

The letter sent to Executive Committee members by Southwestern also claimed that last fall, the school “discovered that Mr. Boto was communicating with” the Executive Committee’s attorneys. It noted that despite Boto’s past employment history, he was “not a neutral actor in this case.”

Task force to seek a ‘clear path’ forward

In the Feb. 19 letter, the Executive Committee’s attorneys wrote they had been contacted last October by Hott, who said he had been given their contact information from Boto. Hott, they wrote, told them he and Pulley “were expecting to be excluded” from an upcoming meeting of Southwestern’s board of trustees.

According to Showers, the task force’s focus will be to determine a “clear path” forward.

“Where there is trustee misconduct,” he said, “we need to figure out: how do we balance the sole membership interest of the SBC with the ability of entities to manage their own affairs and deal with that specific (issue of trustee) misconduct.”

The task force would report to the committee on missions and ministry either at the next Executive Committee meeting or at a special called meeting.

“The question comes when discipline doesn’t work and you’ve got a really bad actor and you can’t wait for the [SBC annual meeting],” Showers said. “What do you do? And that’s really the question.”

When Northview Baptist Church in Lewisville called Ken Wells as pastor 40 years ago, he told church leaders, “This will be the first and last church I go to.”

Wells was true to his word. On Feb. 14, he marked 40 years in ministry—all spent at Northview Baptist Church.

In 1980, Wells was working as an assistant manager at a local grocery store when he began occasionally preaching at Northview and other local churches. He graduated from Arlington Baptist College the year before and was newly married to his wife Teresa.

When Northview’s pastor at the time accepted the call to another church, lay leaders at Northview immediately asked Wells to take on the role of senior pastor.

Wells initially refused, saying he was unqualified to lead a church at such a young age and with such little experience. Still, the church persisted, until on Feb. 14, 1981, Wells accepted the position.

On Wells’ first Sunday, 22 worshippers attended. As the only staff member at the church, he swept the floors and mowed the grass in addition to preaching and leading the congregation. In the intervening four decades, Northview has grown to about 600 in attendance each Sunday, with a staff of 12 devoted to caring for the church—both the property and the people.

Committed to missions and evangelism

Wells attributes the success of Northview and his ministry to three things—an emphasis on missions and evangelism, loving the people and faithfully trusting God through it all.

Early in his ministry at Northview, Wells emphasized missions. The church began giving to Denton Baptist Association and other missions causes. God blessed that decision, he said. For 13 Sundays in a row, someone made a profession of faith in Christ, was baptized or joined the church—something Wells said Northview had never seen before.

“I attribute it to the fact that we decided to get our hearts behind missions and do missional giving, and God honored that. So, we started seeing people being saved and baptized,” Wells explained.

Missions has continued to be a central focus of the church. Today, Northview is active not only in funding missions and missionaries worldwide, but also actively participating in mission projects and trips on a regular basis.

Local evangelism also has played a large part in Wells’ ministry at Northview. The 13 weeks were just the beginning of the hundreds of baptisms and additions that have taken place during Wells’ tenure as pastor. In order to reach their local community, Wells seeks to equip all of his congregants with the tools they need to share the gospel.

“I believe the New Testament church practiced every-member ministry.  I also believe the Bible teaches us that every Christian is gifted by God to help the church fulfill its mission,” Wells said. “Therefore, I seek to train, encourage and enable church members to use their gifts and talents in serving the Lord through the ministries and programs of the church.”

Love and care for people

Since his first day as pastor, Wells has loved the people of Northview. He sees that love and care as the difference between being a preacher and a pastor. While preachers deliver a sermon each Sunday, pastors care deeply about the people hearing his words, his members and ministry colleagues noted.

“Ken knows most of the nearly 800 church members by name and can tell many of their life stories. He is always available when someone needs something and would drop anything to assist in any way he could,” said Andrew Malone, associate pastor of students at Northview.

His love and care extends beyond the walls of the church and spills over into the community, where Wells has served as the chaplain for the Lewisville Fire Department and Police Department. He has been a chaplain as long as he has been a pastor, and he provides spiritual support to officers, victims and families in need.

“My passion is simply loving on people. In spite of problems and sin, loving them and accepting them and correcting them if need be. That’s been a big thing for me—just loving on folks,” Wells said.

Morgan Malone, executive director of Denton Baptist Association, explained Wells’ love and care for those around him have given him a reputation as someone people can turn to when they are struggling.

Above all, Wells attributes his 40 years of ministry at Northview to remaining faithful to Christ. His life-verse, 1 Timothy 1:12, says “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.”

Faithful service

He offered encouragement for other pastors, reminding them God would not have called them to their positions if he believed they would grow weary and give up.

“Because the Lord saw that I was faithful, he allowed me to be in ministry,” Wells said.

That promise has sustained Wells through tough times during his ministry.

“The keyword for me in that verse is ‘faithful.’ God knew I would be faithful and wouldn’t want to quit one day and do something different. I’m just going to be faithful. Faithful to love the people, faithful to preach the word” of God, he said.

That faithfulness has been a testimony to those around him, and especially to those who have served on Northview’s staff. Three former staff members have become pastors at other churches. Others have stayed on Northview’s staff for decades alongside Wells, inspired to serve as he has.

“Ken is steady, faithful, level-headed and loving—which are several great characteristics for a pastor.  But if you add to that calm, forgiving, long-suffering, sacrificial and compassionate, then you really get to begin describing Ken,” Rob Veal, executive pastor at Northview said.

“I have served with him now for well over 25 years, which means I know him pretty well. And knowing him that well is why I have served with him all of these years.”

For now, Wells has no plans to retire. Until God tells him otherwise, Wells will continue serving at Northview, teaching missions and evangelism, loving his people and practicing faithfulness above all else.

“If God told me to go somewhere, I would. But until he does, I’m going to stay right here and do what I’m supposed to do,” Wells said. “I’ll go until God says it’s time to quit.”

FORT WORTH (RNS)—Pastor Dwight McKissic is known for challenging his fellow Southern Baptists about racial equity and—more recently—their denomination’s seminary leaders’ controversial statement on race.

But in recent days, facing his own challenges from a winter storm, McKissic has been the recipient of an offer of help from one of those seminary presidents.

The Arlington house McKissic shares with his wife, Vera, grew cold early Feb. 15 when the electricity shut off during the snowstorm and freezing temperatures that hit Texas. A longtime friend and church member helped the couple secure a hard-to-find room at a nearby hotel and paid for them to stay there through Friday.

While they waited for the lights to come back on, the McKissics, like others in North Texas, learned pipes had burst in their home, rendering it uninhabitable.

Greenway offered pastor on-campus shelter

Because they were temporarily homeless, McKissic initially canceled a meeting with former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Ken Hemphill, a longtime friend. Hemphill, in turn, called the current president, Adam Greenway, about McKissic’s plight.

Greenway “offered his prayers and support and offered housing on campus while we’re without a house as long as we needed at no expense,” said McKissic, who accepted the seminary’s hospitality.

More than 40 families have relocated to the seminary’s Riley Center, a conference center with hotel-style lodging.

James A. Smith, the seminary’s associate vice president for communications, said the school has accommodated “mostly students, faculty and staff, but some related to the seminary in other ways, like the McKissics, and one family in need in the neighborhood immediately adjacent to the campus.”

McKissic said he’s not sure how long he may stay, but anticipates it could be two to three months. He estimates it will take two weeks alone to clear away the “horrible mess” created by the water damage to his home’s ceilings, carpets and floors.

The pastor initially hoped he and his wife could move to a guesthouse on their property that they often open to others in crisis.

But the two-story guesthouse, he said is in “worse shape than the main house.”

McKissic and his wife both graduated from Southwestern in December, earning their Master of Theological Studies degrees. She is the minister of education and of women’s ministries at their Cornerstone Baptist Church, which is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA, a historically Black denomination, as well as with the Southern Baptist Convention.

Outspoken critic of SBC seminary presidents’ statement

Their church recently announced its departure from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention after that state group declared it “will advance biblical language and avoid promotion of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality, and other secular ideologies,” echoing a similar statement from Greenway and five other SBC seminary presidents.

Critical race theory is an academic framework that examines how systemic racism operates. McKissic said he disagrees with the recent determination of the Council of Seminary Presidents that critical race theory is incompatible with the Southern Baptist faith statement.

But McKissic said any differences he may have with Greenway over critical race theory did not prompt him to refuse the offer of hospitality.

“Mature people don’t allow differences in secondary, tertiary issues to impact their love for the gospel, the kingdom and each other,” the pastor said. “So I never sensed that Dr. Greenway had any personal animus or angst or objections toward me nor have I had toward him.”

Besides taking classes for decades at the seminary, McKissic said he has supported the school in other ways, paying for students’ tuition and donating thousands of dollars to the institution, including since Greenway’s arrival two years ago.

“Give and it shall be given unto you,” McKissic said, noting the blessing of being in walking distance of six of his 13 grandchildren while he and his wife are staying on the seminary campus.

“God is making sure our needs are met.”

Rex Kendall Campbell of Grand Prairie, award-winning Texas Baptist photographer and videographer, died Jan. 10. He was 64. He was born Feb. 20, 1956, to George and Novella Campbell in Dallas. He grew up in Grand Prairie and graduated from Grand Prairie High School in 1974. He joined the U.S. Army in 1975 and became a chaplain’s assistant. Following his discharge from the Army, he graduated from Elkins Institute. For two decades, he served with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, telling missions stories as a photographer and videographer. Assignments led him to work alongside Texas Baptist Men, traveling to disaster areas covering relief ministries after hurricanes, floods and tornadoes. After retirement, he volunteered briefly with the TBM laundry/shower unit, helping victims of disasters with basic needs. He became an FAA-licensed drone pilot to add yet another tool to his storytelling skillset and freelanced for numerous special projects. He traveled as a member of the Singing Men of North Central Texas to Spain, Brazil and Ukraine. Throughout his travels, he enjoyed discovering local restaurants and introducing friends to the best ones he found. During high school, his first job was at Six Flags Over Texas. After retirement, he returned to Six Flags as a security officer, dispatcher, and finally working on the railroad. He had certified as a fireman on the train and was training to be an engineer. He joined the Grand Prairie Police Department’s Citizens on Patrol program in 2016 and enjoyed being in the community with his ride-out partners. He grew up in Indian Hills Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, met his future wife Beth there and raised his son Nathan at that church. Through the years, he sang in quartets and choir, worked as a sound technician and Sunday School teacher, participated in mission trips, and was ordained as a deacon. In 2016, the Campbells joined First Baptist Church in Grand Prairie where he was a deacon and a choir member. He was preceded in death by his parents and by a brother, George Keith Campbell. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Elizabeth Winkleman Campbell; son Nathan and his wife Marcie; three grandchildren; and brother Donald and his wife Darla, along with numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. A celebration of life service will be held at 10 a.m. on March 1 at First Baptist Church in Grand Prairie. Social distancing and masks are required. To view the service on the church’s YouTube channel, click here. A private burial will be held at DFW National Cemetery. Memorial gifts can be made to the WMU Foundation’s Touch Tomorrow Today Endowment for Texas; to the Singing Men of North Central Texas, c/o Darrel Thompson, 2622 Timber Ridge Dr., Temple, TX 76502; or to First Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, 950 Mayfield Rd., Grand Prairie, TX 75052.

Wayland Baptist University announced the completion of its Impact2020 fund-raising campaign, totaling more than $43.1 million in six years—surpassing both its original $30 million goal and its $40 million challenge goal. “We are thankful that Wayland’s donors have been so loyal in supporting the university during one of the most challenging times in our history,” President Bobby Hall said. The revitalization of Gates Hall, Wayland’s administration building, already has begun, and plans are being made to construct a new wing for the School of Mathematics and Sciences, along with a new athletic training center. The updates to Gates Hall will cost nearly $1 million. The projected cost of the athletic training facility is $2.5 million, and the addition and renovation of the science building is estimated at $7.5 million. The remaining money is earmarked for student scholarships and operational costs benefitting all Wayland campuses.

Baylor University and Compassion International announced the Christian Collective for Social Innovation, a new initiative within their partnership to bring about global human flourishing for children and families in poverty. It is designed to provide a Christian platform where innovators receive the capital, know-how, relationships and publicity to solve significant challenges. The first phase of the initiative is the Social Innovation Challenge, which invites innovators and entrepreneurs across the world—including Baylor students and Compassion International youth and alumni—to focus specifically on problems introduced into the educational systems in Central and South America during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants will be invited to compete in a multi-phased review process. Finalists will be organized in a cohort, where they will receive funding, mentorship and implementation support for viable solutions to these problems. The second phase of the initiative will be completed with Compassion International and local church staff in Central and South America, where solutions from the Social Innovation Challenge will be implemented in a local context. “Our aim is to change the world—and to empower people who know the problems, who know the issues, who’ve lived them and had that experience,” said Jeremy Vickers, associate vice president of external affairs at Baylor. “The Christian Collective for Social Innovation embodies the vision of connecting God’s people across the globe by leveraging our collective resources, sourcing innovations, and mentoring and empowering change-makers. When Christians engage in the work of solving the most pressing and complex issues around the globe, we believe the good news of God’s hope will spread throughout the world.” To learn more or to apply for the Social Innovation Challenge, click here.

The inaugural ARC (Athletics, Race, Christianity) Talks, hosted by the Faith & Sports Institute, Baylor Athletics and the Black Church Studies Program at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 25. The online panel discussion will feature Esau McCaulley, assistant professor of New Testament at Wheaton College and author of Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise of Hope; Sam Acho, founder and president of Athletes for Justice and vice president of the NFL Players’ Association; Simone Charley, forward for the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League; and Dani Price, assistant softball coach for Georgia Southern University and former volunteer assistant softball coach at Baylor. The conversation will be moderated by John Maurer, associate chaplain and director of sports ministry for Baylor Athletics, and Malcolm Foley, special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement at Baylor and director of the Black Church Studies program at Truett Seminary. ARC Talks is a free virtual event and is open to the public. Registration is available at baylor.edu/truett/ARC.

Howard Payne University recognized six students as Currie-Strickland Scholars during the 14th Annual Currie-Strickland Lectures in Christian Ethics. They are Taylor Cox, a senior from May majoring in Christian education; Grace Hawkins, a junior from Stephenville majoring in youth ministry; Brenden Hough, a senior from Aubrey majoring in practical theology; Kylie Johnson, a senior from Abbott majoring in cross-cultural studies; Ryan McCord, a senior from Round Rock majoring in Bible; and Mark Sisemore, a junior from McKinney majoring in Christian education.

Houston Baptist University named Kristie Cerling as dean of its College of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Cerling came to HBU in 2017 to serve as associate dean for the college. As a first-generation college student, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Education degree from Bethel College, a Master of Education degree from Indiana Wesleyan University, and a Doctor of Education degree from Oakland City University.

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NASHVILLE (BP)—The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee disfellowshipped four churches Feb. 23—two for their stance on homosexuality and two that employed sex offenders.

Towne View Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Ga., and St. Matthews Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky., were disfellowshipped for affirming homosexual behavior. Antioch Baptist Church in Sevierville, Tenn., was dropped for employing a pastor who confessed to two counts of statutory rape. West Side Baptist Church in Sharpsville, Pa., was disfellowshipped for employing as its pastor a registered sex offender.

The decisions came during an executive session following the recommendations of the SBC Credentials Committee. The decisions were announced in a plenary session at the close of the Executive Committee’s two-day meeting in Nashville.

The SBC empowered the Credentials Committee in 2019 to make inquiries and recommendations for action regarding instances of sexual abuse, racism or other issues that call into question a church’s relationship with the SBC.

“We take no pleasure in recommending that a church is not in friendly cooperation with the convention,” Credentials Committee Chairman Mike Lawson told Baptist Press. “We would like nothing more than for all our churches to be in harmony on such vital issues. But when the available information shows clearly that we are not, it is necessary to take action.

“We are grieved, but we believe it was the right decision to recommend and will continue to pray for all involved.”

The committee said both Towne View and St. Matthews have membership and leadership standards that “affirm homosexual behavior” and do not have a faith and practice that closely identify with the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. The committee said Antioch and West Side do not behave “in a manner that is consistent with the convention’s beliefs regarding sexual abuse.”

Towne View Baptist

Towne View Pastor Jim Conrad told Baptist Press shortly after the vote that he regrets being disfellowshipped and will now evaluate the church’s relationship with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and the Noonday Association.

“We have not been notified of (the Executive Committee’s) decision, but we regret it,” he said. “We are grateful for our relationship with the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention over the history of our church, and we remain committed to share God’s love in and through Jesus with everybody and to welcome anybody who can profess Jesus as Lord into the fellowship of our church.”

Earlier this month, Conrad told other news outlets Towne View had been notified the Credentials Committee would be recommending to the Executive Committee that it be disfellowshipped.

Towne View made the decision to accept a male homosexual couple with their three adopted sons who sought membership there in October 2019, Conrad has said, and at the time lost 30 percent of its membership. But he remains committed to his decision.

“We see them, as all of us, as children of God created in the image of God, and anyone who can profess Jesus as Lord should be welcomed into our church,” he said.

St. Matthews Baptist

The Kentucky Baptist Convention had disfellowshipped St. Matthews in 2018 over its support of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and its stance toward LGBT issues. The church had continued its affiliation with the SBC.

St. Matthews Pastor Greg Barr wasn’t available for comment today, but has previously described the decision by the KBC as “disheartening.”

“The Kentucky Baptist Convention had an opportunity to demonstrate to a divided nation that we do not have to agree on everything in order to love each other and partner together in carrying out the mission Jesus called us to. Unfortunately, the convention chose a different course,” Barr told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “Our church believes that unity and difference of opinion can co-exist in the service of our Lord.”

Antioch Baptist

Antioch Baptist employs as its pastor John Randy Leming Jr., who pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape for sex with a 16-year-old congregant when he pastored Shiloh Baptist Church in Sevier County. He pleaded guilty in 1998 to the offenses that occurred in May and June of 1994, when he was 31, and lost his appeal of the concurrent 18-month sentences he deemed harsh.

Leming has served at Antioch since March 2014, according to the SBC Annual Church Profile. He could not be reached for comment.

West Side Baptist

West Side Pastor David Pearson is listed on the National Sex Offender registry for his 1993 conviction of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child in Denton. Contacted by Baptist Press regarding the Executive Committee’s action, Pearson said he had no comment.

West Side Baptist Church previously was disfellowshipped by the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania/South Jersey but continued to affiliate with the SBC.

The SBC is in the process of amending its constitution to specify sexual abuse as a grounds for a church to be disfellowshipped, but the move already is allowed because of other SBC measures regarding sexual abuse.

Messengers to the SBC annual meeting approved the constitutional amendment in 2019, but constitutional amendments require approval in two successive annual meetings for adoption. The 2020 SBC Annual Meeting was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Messengers are expected to vote on the amendment for a second time at the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting in June in Nashville.

The proposed amendment on sexual abuse would add a section to Article III of the SBC Constitution defining a “cooperating church” as one that “has not been determined by the Executive Committee to have evidenced indifference in addressing sexual abuse that targets minors and other vulnerable persons and in caring for persons who have suffered because of sexual abuse.”