Religious freedom no longer exists in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, where religious leaders have been abducted and sometimes tortured, several Ukrainian journalists said during a recent visit to the United States.

“There is no religious freedom in the occupied areas. There is only the Russian Orthodox Church. Other churches have been closed, and pastors have been arrested,” said Vlasta Lazur with Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe. “It is very dangerous to speak about religion if you’re not Russian Orthodox.”

Lazur was one of five journalists from Ukraine who recently traveled to the United States, including stops in the Dallas and Houston areas, in July.

They pointed to multiple violations of religious freedom in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

Earlier this year, a Ukrainian priest in the occupied area of Kherson Oblast was kidnapped from his home by Russian forces and killed.

Lazur noted a church in Donbas was destroyed by Russian military the week before the journalists arrived in the United States.

Many churches, synagogues and mosques have been damaged by shelling. Some houses of worship have been dismantled in Russian-occupied areas.

In other occupied areas, Russian authorities have taken control of church buildings, looting them and turning them into cultural centers to spread propaganda, the visiting journalists noted.

“Russia controls the occupied areas, but they do not yet control the people,” said Zakhar Protsiuk, chief operating officer of The Kyiv Independent.

The reality in Ukraine belies the image Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to project as a protector of traditional values and religion, Protsiuk said.

Government controls Russian Orthodox Church

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian government recognized it could manipulate the Russian Orthodox church to achieve its own ends, he asserted.

“It is controlled by the state,” he said.

After Russia invaded the Crimean Penisula of Ukraine in 2014 and annexed Crimea, the government stripped away religious freedom in the region, he noted.

“There is no other religion apart from the Russian Orthodox Church,” Protsiuk said. “Russia banned all others—Protestants, the Greek Catholic Church [which follows Byzantine liturgy but recognizes the papacy], the Muslims and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Russia sees the church as an extension of the government. It’s about advancing the control of the state.”

Leaders of banned religious groups have been arrested and deported to Russia, and Russian Orthodox Church leaders have abetted the process, said Yulia Zabielina, a journalist with New Voice.

Some religious leaders have been tortured, including instances of sexual assault and castration, she noted.

Others have been involuntarily conscripted into the military and placed on the front lines in Ukraine, where they have been forced to wage war on their own people, Protsiuk added.

Putin has used the Russian Orthodox Church as its propaganda arm to gain support for Russian aggression in Ukraine, and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has obliged, Potsiuk said. The World Russian People’s Council—which Kirill heads—declared Russia’s military assault on Ukraine a “Holy War.”

He noted Kirill and other high-ranking Russian Orthodox Church officials previously were KGB agents, as was Putin.

The visiting journalists pointed to the July 8 bombing of Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital in Kyiv as evidence of Russia’s lack of concern for Ukrainian lives.

The missile attack claimed the lives of 27 civilians, including four children. Another 117 people, including seven children, were injured.

Ukrainian children deported to Russia

Yevheniia Motorevska, head of the unit at The Kyiv Independent investigating war crimes, noted about 20,000 Ukrainian children in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine have been forcibly separated from their parents and relocated to Russia.

The children and youth spend extended time at “summer camps,” where they are immersed in a uniquely Russian version of history, religion and culture—including distorted teachings about Ukraine, she noted.

“Their goal is to erase the Ukrainian identity of these kids,” she said.

Older children and youth at the camps also are “militarized,” training and conditioning them to become part of the “Russian imperial machine,” Protsiuk said.

“They teach them how to handle weapons,” he said. “They are preparing the next army for the future.”

(RNS)—When Tim Tyson first invited William Barber II to meet with a group of white residents of Mitchell County, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Barber half-jokingly replied, “I knew you were going to get me killed.”

Barber, a Black anti-poverty activist, knew in 1923 nearly all the county’s Black residents were driven out of Mitchell County.

Even in 2013, when the invitation was extended, the county had fewer than 100 Black residents out of 15,000 people, or less than 1 percent.

But Tyson, a historian who teaches at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, convinced Barber to trek up the mountain to meet a group of white citizens who were fed up with the state Legislature’s cost cutting, especially in public education.

What Barber found at an Episcopal church in Mitchell County were a group of like-minded working-class whites eager to hear his message.

“There were about 300 people there standing all along the walls, and Rev. Barber just spoke to them from his heart and spoke from his faith,” said Tyson.

“He got three standing ovations. People just wept. They were so touched.”

When it was over, the assembled crowd said they wanted to start a branch of the NAACP—even though they were all white.

A moral leader for all

That’s when Barber first realized he could not be a moral leader and stand up only for Black people. Many white people too are poor and struggling.

In fact, they form the largest single demographic group of the estimated 40 million Americans who are poor according to the U.S. Census, which Barber considers an outdated and significant undercount.

That trip up to Mitchell County convinced Barber he ought to follow in the tradition of the biblical prophet Jeremiah, who was called to be a watchman.

“The ancient prophets remind us that when we cannot see a problem, a watchman must sound the alarm,” he said.

On July 29, on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, Barber kicked off a series of Moral Monday Prayers calling for democracy, justice and voting rights ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

As he outlines in his new book, written with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, who is white, it’s time for poor Blacks, whites and other minorities to unite and fight for better living conditions.

In White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy, Barber and Wilson-Hartgrove urge an end to the political ploys that set poor Blacks against poor whites.

“The history of America, like the history of the world,” Barber writes, “is filled with stories of powerful people who’ve stolen from the poor and used their power to pit poor people against one another so the masses would not rise up against them.”

As an example, he notes how Republican politicians have portrayed government programs such as welfare benefits as handouts from hard-working white people to poor Blacks, even though more whites benefit from those programs than Blacks.

Attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion programs are another recent example experts point to as conservatives trying to use racial resentment to undermine class solidarity.

“This is the longest power play in the U.S. South, certainly, but across America: to divide people whose interests are shared and whose needs are very painful and urgent, by race,” said Nancy MacLean, a historian at Duke University who has become an ally of Barber’s and whose work is cited in his book.

At last week’s Republican National Convention, JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president and an Ohio senator from rural Appalachia, said his party would stand up for working-class communities like the one he was raised in and stand against the “ruling class” that had sold them out.

“We’re done catering to Wall Street. We’ll commit to the working man,” Vance said.

But experts like MacLean said it’s extremely unlikely Vance can transform the free market economic policies of the GOP. Indeed, the signature economic achievement of former President Trump’s term in office was a massive tax cut, skewed largely to benefit corporations and the wealthy.

Barber’s aim is not purely partisan. He can be critical of Democrats too, for not talking enough about poverty and preferring to appeal to middle-class voters.

A ‘Third Reconstruction’

His focus in writing the book ahead of the 2024 presidential election, however, is larger. He wants to build a multiracial coalition that moves beyond the idea poverty is a Black problem.

As he has before, with his Poor People’s Campaign, he is calling for a “Third Reconstruction.”

The first was the work of the Reconstruction era after the Civil War that guaranteed the rights of former slaves with the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution.

The second was the Civil Rights Movement that ended formal segregation, dismantled Jim Crow and removed legal barriers to voting.

For Barber, whites uniting with Blacks to fight poverty is the work of the Third Reconstruction, informed by a deeply moral and Christian mandate.

Before talking to a group of white people up in Mitchell County a decade ago, he had them sing a hymn, “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds.” Reference to that hymn is repeated throughout his new book.

“In communities across the land, I’ve had the opportunity to see and touch the ties that bind poor people,” he writes.

“These are my people, just as much as the multicolored ancestors my daddy taught me to remember. … I am a witness that every shade of America’s poor has a great deal in common.”

Camp Fusion might look like any other summer camp to the casual observer. But there is more going on than meets the eye.

Mark Heavener, director of intercultural ministries in Texas Baptists’ Center for Cultural Engagement, built Camp Fusion on two pillars—spiritual formation and leadership experience. After 15 years, he is proud to see his efforts bearing good fruit for the international and intercultural churches he serves.

This year, 350 campers from 30 churches and 15 cultures attended Camp Fusion, which since its inception has been held at Latham Springs Camp and Retreat Center southwest of Hillsboro.

Camp Fusion is open to youth who have finished sixth through 12th grades. The leadership experience is designed for all ages.

“No one is left out,” Heavener said.

As an example, a member of the security team took under his wing a youth who struggled with social interactions when he arrived at camp this year. The team member gave the youth a security vest and a job, and within a day, the youth was interacting well with dozens of other campers.

In addition to the security team, Camp Fusion leadership includes a media team, rec team, adult sponsors and Camp Fusion counselors, or CFCs. Each group is populated by young adults—by design. In fact, these young adults—who usually were campers themselves—may have just graduated from high school. They often become leaders in their churches, also.

Becoming church leaders

Chris Sok gave his life to Christ in 2005 at the precursor to Camp Fusion. He had just graduated from high school and wanted to experience the same fun his friends had the year before.

Sok grew up the son of a pastor and knew about the Bible. When people at school asked him about Christianity, he said, “Oh, it’s just something my parents do.”

When the speaker said campers were lucky to get to go home and share with their friends who Jesus is, Sok was struck that he had missed so many opportunities to bring people “into the family of God,” eternity and hope. “What have I been doing with my life?” he wondered.

At that point, he committed to living for God and started serving his church. He returned to the camp the next year as an adult sponsor, was asked to serve as rec director in 2007 and eventually served in almost every leadership role possible at Camp Fusion. This year, Sok was the first camper to become camp speaker.

Sok, English pastor for West Houston Vietnamese Baptist Church, is one example among many of how Camp Fusion is raising new leaders for the church.

Leadership training

“Camp Fusion is our life,” not just one week of our lives, Lauren De La Calzada said.

De La Calzada, Camp Fusion rec director since 2020, was describing the time commitment leaders—who are almost exclusively young adults—make to Camp Fusion. As soon as camp ends, leaders begin preparing for the next year.

During a workshop on how to serve at Camp Fusion, De La Calzada, who started as a camper 11 years ago and joined the Camp Fusion core staff at age 19, and other leaders told campers interested in leading next year what to expect and how to prepare.

“These people become part of your life forever,” she said, explaining leaders hold regular Bible studies throughout the year to feed themselves spiritually in preparation for camp the following summer.

Youth who want to serve on the rec team or as a Camp Fusion counselor should expect weekly meetings by Zoom lasting two to three hours each. The meetings also are late in the evening to accommodate college, work and young family schedules. Monthly in-person meetings are held in Houston and Dallas.

Serving as a Camp Fusion counselor is a journey of making friends among brothers and sisters in Christ, Kurt Suello said. Camp Fusion counselors “build a community of godly people who give praise to God and support each other,” he added.

“We like to foster the growth of our leaders,” partnering new and younger leaders with older and more experienced leaders, Daniel Dipasupil, Camp Fusion counselor coordinator, said. Older leaders often are one or two years older.

Prospective leaders need to be aware of their weaknesses, because those are the areas veteran leaders will focus training and development. Leaders also are trained how to deal with disrespect, discouragement and spiritual warfare, and taught how to pay attention to people’s skills and aptitudes, energy levels, and facial expressions and other nonverbal cues.

Perspectives on Camp Fusion

Danny Aguinaldo, Camp Fusion assistant director, sees the intentional effort to find youth with leadership potential and to develop them as “the beautiful thing about Camp Fusion.”

“We’re able to … put them into our volunteer team, where we’re able to disciple them and be able to cultivate those skills” they can take home and to their home churches, Aguinaldo said. They’re “able to lead ministries … serve well [and] deal with conflicts,” he added.

A lot of the campers are second-generation immigrants, Aguinaldo noted. They’re navigating through life with a confusing identity: “My parents are African or Asian. I am that culture also, but I’m also American now.” Camp Fusion teaches they have a more encompassing identity in God’s kingdom.

Zach, a fourth-year camper who attended the leadership workshop, said he fell in love with Camp Fusion the first time he attended and comes back for the community and time away from distractions from focusing on God.

This year, Zach learned if you want a fire to grow and burn, you can’t just put twigs in it. You have to add logs. Spiritual growth and one’s relationship with God requires God’s word, he said. After being poured into by others and seeing the example of one of his friends serving as a Camp Fusion counselor this year, Zach wants to give back and serve next year.

Camp Fusion history

In response to requests from Texas Baptist Filipino pastors, the first Asian youth camp was held in 2003 and called Take Out Youth Camp. Soon after, Texas Baptist African churches requested a camp for their youth, leading to two separate camps—one for Asian youth and one for African youth. The last of these camps was in 2009.

Financing and staffing two camps were unsustainable. Texas Baptists Intercultural Ministries started holding combined youth events. In time, Heavener and Asian and African pastors saw positive results of the combined events and started Camp Fusion in 2010.

Most campers still come from Asian and African Texas Baptist churches, though the Brazilian American Baptist Church in Plano has sent youth in recent years.

JERUSALEM (RNS)—Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority have discovered a remnant of a massive ancient moat in Jerusalem that fortified the city during the time of the First Jewish Temple and the Kingdom of Judah.

“This is an extremely important discovery,” said Yosef Garfinkel, a professor at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University. “It shows that by the ninth century BCE, Jerusalem was an important city.”

Although no one knows exactly when or why the moat was created, the archaeologists say it could have been quarried as far back as 3,800 years ago. At the time, the moat physically separated the southern residential part of the city (the City of David) from the upper city—the Temple Mount area—where the palace and First Temple stood.

Open questions and excavations at the City of David archaeological site have persisted for 150 years. So, any new discovery must be cross-referenced with earlier finds.

In this case, the team reexamined 70-year-old excavation reports written by the renowned British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon, who worked on a nearby site in the 1960s.

“It became clear to us that Kenyon noticed that the natural rock slopes towards the north, in a place where it should naturally have risen,” said Yuval Gadot, excavation co-director and head of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University.

While Kenyon believed it to be a natural valley, she had discovered a different remnant of the moat, carved to the west.

Taken together, the two parts of the moat extend at least 230 feet from west to east. The trench is at least 30 feet deep. The dig site is altogether 3,500 square feet and previously had been used as a parking lot for visitors to the Western Wall.

“Cut into the hill’s natural bedrock, the ditch would have required the quarrying of nearly half a million cubic feet of stone, making it a truly monumental achievement,” an article on the website of the Biblical Archaeology Society notes.

“This barrier appears to have remained in place until the late second century BCE, when it was finally filled in and covered over to allow for new construction.”

New insights into biblical place names

Gadot said the “dramatic discovery” has reenergized the discussion over the meaning of the topological terms used in the Hebrew Bible, such as Ophel, which is believed to be an elevated area, and the Millo, which various scholars have interpreted to mean a stepped stone structure, a tower, a landfill or an embankment.

According to 2 Kings 11:27, Solomon built the Millo and repaired the breaches of the City of David.

The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in 1000 B.C., after his father, King David, conquered Jerusalem. Led by King Nebuchadnezzar, Babylonians breached the Temple’s walls and destroyed it in 586 B.C. The Jews who remained were killed or exiled.

Yiftah Shalev, the excavation’s co-director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said the team exposed nearly 10 percent of the moat. He dismissed the notion that the enormous trench was nothing more than a stone quarry.

“We assume it served as some kind of defense,” Shalev said. “You don’t leave a large trench in the heart of the city during the period Jerusalem was the capital of the Judean Kingdom. It would be an obstacle to residents at the time.”

Given the magnitude of the moat, Shalev speculates that it also served as a symbol of the Judean kings’ wealth and prowess.

“It’s as if they are saying, ‘Look, if we can build something so impressive, imagine what else we can do.’”

Garfinkel agreed.

“There has long been a debate about when Jerusalem became a real capital city,” he said. “This discovery, and discoveries in other ancient cities from that time, altogether change the notion of the strength of the Kingdom of Judah.”

Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said the City of David digs “never cease to amaze” not only because they enhance our understanding of the Bible, but because of the engineering skill needed to build the kingdom.

“It is impossible not to be filled with wonder and appreciation for those ancient people who, about 3,800 years ago, literally moved mountains and hills,” Escusido said.

During its annual July retreat, the Baylor University board of regents adopted a task force recommendation to make the board more representative of Baylor’s personnel, student body and expanded motto. The change comes in response to changing denominational demographics and the need to recruit the most qualified Christian leaders.

Regents expanded the university’s motto in May to “Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana, Pro Mundo.”

Baylor regents voted to lower the percentage of board members from Baptist churches from 75 percent to 67 percent. Baylor will continue “to be governed by a majority Baptist and entirely Christian board,” a July 29 memo to Baylor faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and friends stated.

Regents “shared this change with Texas Baptist leaders and select pastors across the state, and they understand the rationale behind the change and remain supportive of the University and its continued role in Baptist higher education,” the memo explains.

The last time Baylor regents lowered the percentage of Baptists on its board happened in 2011. Up to that point, Baptists comprised 100 percent of Baylor regents. That percentage was changed in 2011 to 75 percent Baptist and 25 percent other Christians.

On July 29, regents also approved incorporating “other Christian leaders, including from outside Texas and internationally, given Baylor’s worldwide impact as a Research 1 university.”

Of the 33 current regents, only one—Paula Hurd of Atherton, Calif.—is outside Texas. She and her late husband Mark provided the lead gift for Baylor’s Give Light campaign, funding Baylor’s Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center that opened in September 2023.

Rationale for change

Baylor’s current Governance Review Task Force—as part of a regular five-year governance review—recommended changes to board size, structure, practices and policies “to help ensure the long-term viability and optimal effectiveness of the board and Baylor University,” according to a Baylor board of regents fact sheet.

The regents’ memo cited continuing change in the demographics within Protestant Christianity—and particularly among Baptists. Regents gave the same rationale in 2011.

“More than 20 percent of Baylor’s undergraduate students identify as non-denominational, followed by 19 percent Baptist and 16 percent Catholic,” the memo stated.

“Out of Baylor’s 14,401 undergraduate students enrolled for the Spring 2024 semester, 2,961 students identified as non-denominational (20.6 percent), 2,736 as Baptist (19.0 percent), and 2,313 as Catholic (16.1 percent). The balance of students represents a wide variety of denominational, religious and even non-faith backgrounds,” according to the fact sheet.

The memo and fact sheet also note declines in membership and number of churches within the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptist Convention. Baylor relates to the BGCT by special agreement.

In addition to making the board more representative, the change in board make-up increases the “flexibility to incorporate other Christian leaders, including from outside Texas and internationally given Baylor’s worldwide impact as a Research 1 university,” according to the memo.

“This change permits the Board to recruit from a broader pool of highly qualified Christian leaders to serve as Regents and continues the progress made to date toward a Board that is as broadly experienced and diverse as its student, faculty and staff populations,” the fact sheet explains.

In other business

Regents also reduced the number of vice chairs from three to one, reviewed the authority of the board’s executive committee to strike an appropriate balance between items reserved for full board and items able to be delegated to the executive committee, and recommended keeping the number of regents between 24 and 35.

Four new regents announced in May were welcomed during the board’s July meeting: Andrew Arterbury, faculty regent and professor of Christian Scriptures in Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary; Kyle Deaver, Baylor Law School graduate and Waco attorney; Charles Williams, at-large regent and president of Baylor Scott & White DFW-West Region and Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth; and Meghan Fletcher, student regent.

Of current regents, 29 of 33 (88 percent) “are either Baylor alumni, professors or current students.” Several are parents of current Baylor students.

Baylor University President Linda Livingstone also updated regents on the university’s admittance as a full member partner of the Baptist World Alliance during BWA’s 2024 annual gathering in Lagos, Nigeria. Livingstone noted the BGCT also is a full member partner of BWA.

BWA admitted Baylor as an associate member in 2022, “with the intent of seeking full membership once educational institutions were given access.” The first educational institutions —Dallas Baptist University and Howard Payne University—were given full membership during the 2023 BWA annual gathering in Stavanger, Norway.

Baylor regents’ next regular meeting is scheduled for November 2024.

(RNS)—As video footage of the fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who lived in Springfield, Ill., circulates online, many viewers are memorializing her near-final words: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Massey initially called 911 from her home on July 6, citing concerns of an intruder. The body-camera footage, which was released Monday by the Illinois State Police, shows sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson shooting Massey in the head following a brief exchange over a pot of hot water.

Grayson since has been fired and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct, and the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Massey’s death.

According to some faith leaders and scholars, Massey’s near-last words, spoken twice in an even voice to the deputies before her death, carry a spiritual and cultural weight specific to Black church communities.

What the rebuke means

“Every person raised in a certain kind of black church knows the power and gravity of those words,” Womanist biblical scholar Wil Gafney wrote on her website on Tuesday.

“Those are the words to be said when facing the evil that has walked in your door and will soon take your life. It is not a prayer to save one’s life or for God to come down and prevent the flagrant act of violence to come. It is something between a benediction and a malediction, laying bare the wickedness of the soul encased in human skin standing before her.”

In an Instagram Live on Wednesday night, author Austin Channing Brown noted her own “churchy” background before providing context for the rebuke, which she said was not in any way a threat.

“Because white people think they have the corner market on what is normal, we are misinterpreted all the time,” she said.

The phrase has begun to take on a life of its own, becoming “memeified” and posted by faith leaders and others, including Essence Magazine, whose post about Massey and her parting phrase has been shared over 12,000 times on Facebook.

“It’s becoming—whether it’s on T-shirts or bumper stickers—that statement is flowing through everywhere,” said the Rev. T. Ray McJunkins, a pastor at Union Baptist Church in Springfield, Ill., who has been serving as an informal liaison between Massey’s family and government officials.

McJunkins agreed the phrase is a cultural one that’s especially common in Black charismatic church contexts. He said it’s typically invoked when something feels out of one’s hands, and certainly when there’s a sense of the demonic.

“We understand and we believe the Bible as it relates to there being power in the name of Jesus,” McJunkins told RNS.

Massey’s Christian faith

Massey, who leaves behind two children, was a member of Second Timothy Baptist Church in Springfield. Cary Beckwith, a pastor at nearby Springfield Grace United Methodist Church, was asked to officiate the July 19 funeral service, which included a sermon on Psalm 46 and a soloist performing Yolanda Adams’ anthem, “The Battle Is the Lord’s.” Several family members who spoke at the service remarked on Massey’s Christian faith.

“The darkness of that day cannot and will not extinguish the light of Sonya Massey,” Beckwith said to the packed funeral home.

Speaking to RNS, Beckwith provided his own explanation of Massey’s near-last words.

“For Sonya to say that I rebuke you in the name of Jesus, she, in that moment, saw something demonic in the eyes of that officer,” he said. “She felt something in her spirit that did not line up with the love of Jesus Christ.”

Some news outlets report Massey had been managing a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia with medication. Massey was several feet away from the deputies when she was shot. She was not in a position to harm them, Beckwith said. He added, her mental illness “was not justification for her leaving this earth the way she did.”

Seeking and doing justice

In the days since the funeral, Beckwith told RNS local faith leaders have responded to the tragedy by “taking cues” from local community groups, including the local Black Lives Matter chapter and Intricate Minds, a grassroots harm-reduction organization, which have organized peaceful marches and community events.

At a news conference on Monday, Ben Crump, a nationally recognized lawyer representing Massey’s family, spoke to reporters after the release of the video footage.

“Until we get justice for Sonya Massey, we rebuke this discriminatory criminal justice system in the name of Jesus,” he said. Crump has handled several other notable cases, representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin.

McJunkins, who co-founded the faith-based social justice group Faith Coalition for the Common Good in 2008, has been working behind the scenes in recent weeks, connecting Massey’s family with decision-makers and advocating on their behalf, particularly in conversations with Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell.

Earlier this week, Massey’s father, James Wilburn, and others began calling for Campbell’s resignation following news Grayson had two prior DUI convictions and has worked at six different law enforcement agencies since 2020.

McJunkins hosted conversations between Massey’s family and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton at his church on July 22 and is teaming up with the Department of Justice to hold a community listening session at the church July 29.

“My community needs to heal,” said McJunkins, who added Massey’s death has hit close to home for many in Springfield.

“Whether they know it or not, we’re going through the five stages of grief. As a community leader and religious leader, I’m not doing justice if I don’t step up to bring the community together, to walk them through a grief process.”

Amid that process, McJunkins said, Massey’s rebuke will continue to be a focal point and a rallying cry.

(RNS)—Richard Land, who led the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for a quarter-century, said he often would remind his staff if they did their job right, they’d eventually end up in hot water.

“Sooner or later, we’re going to make everyone in the convention mad,” Land, in a recent phone interview, recalled advising his employees. “When you are the conscience of the convention, you are going to irritate people.”

Land’s adage has applied to many who have led the public policy and ethics arm of the SBC, a job some describe as providing a “prophetic” voice in showing Southern Baptists how to apply their faith to the social problems of the day. Though Land lasted more than two decades, heading the ERLC from 1988 to 2013, eventually it applied to him.

Brent Leatherwood, the current president of the ERLC, lasted only a year and 10 months before getting in hot water. On Monday night (July 22), an email from the executive committee of the ERLC’s board announced he had been fired. The following morning, the entity retracted that announcement, stating Leatherwood was still on the job.

The ERLC’s former chairman, Florida pastor Kevin Smith, was blamed for the “confusion” and resigned.

The episode left Land and other Southern Baptists shaking their heads, but it also has increased questions from some corners of the SBC about the value of the ERLC. At a time when trust in religious institutions is in decline, can the SBC afford the tumult the agency seems to invite?

A history of turmoil

Had his firing held up, Leatherwood would have been the fifth ERLC leader in a row to leave office amid controversy. From 1960 to 1987, Foy Valentine led what was then known as the Christian Life Commission before being forced out by conservatives who took over the SBC in the 1980s.

Valentine’s successor, Larry Baker, lasted 16 months on the job. Land retired in 2013 after being accused of plagiarism and making controversial remarks about Trayvon Martin, the young Black man killed by a Florida man in a “stand-your-ground” case.

Russell Moore then led the ERLC from 2013 to 2021, before stepping down to join Christianity Today magazine. Moore’s last few years in office were filled with controversy, primarily due to his criticism of Donald Trump and his advocacy for survivors of sexual abuse.

Leatherwood was named ERLC president in 2022, after initially serving as interim. Even before this week’s events, he had drawn criticism for his opposition to legislation that would have jailed women who have abortions and for praising President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his reelection bid.

Like the broader American culture, Southern Baptists have been divided over politics, race and Trump in recent years. That’s made the job of the ERLC leader even more complicated than it was in the past.

Baylor University history professor Barry Hankins, who long has studied Southern Baptists, said Leatherwood, though he has seemed to survive for now, likely faces an uncertain future.

As ERLC president, Leatherwood’s mandate is to focus on Christian values, rather than politics. “That won’t fly with the hardline culture warriors” in the SBC, said Hankins. “They want an ERLC that’s going to fall in line with the Trumpian right wing.”

For and against the ERLC

At the SBC’s annual meeting in June, Florida pastor Tom Ascol, a vocal ERLC critic, made a motion to disband the ERLC entirely, saying the entity “has become increasingly distant from the values and concerns of the churches that finance it.”

The motion failed but did get a surprising amount of support, with as many as a third of messengers voting for it.

That vote should be a wake-up call, said Griffin Gulledge, pastor of Madison Baptist Church in Madison, Ga., and an avid supporter of the ERLC. In recent years, Southern Baptists have had vocal disagreements over religious liberty and the best strategy for opposing abortion, he said. Those disagreements are showing up as conflict over the ERLC.

“There is real division here,” he said. “Not just about any individual’s performance or accomplishments, but about the very convictions that drive the organization.”

Gulledge, who received an award from the ERLC in 2021 for his advocacy in drawing attention to the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China, said the ERLC also has been charged with dealing with some of the most contentious issues in American culture, from immigration reform to presidential politics. “Every issue they deal with is complicated,” he said.

Gulledge said the ERLC needs to focus on connecting with local churches and pastors, to make them more aware of the work it does on their behalf. “The future success of the ERLC is completely dependent on the extent to which it builds relationships with, works alongside and empowers local church leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Focus and transparency

Jon Whitehead, a Missouri attorney and member of the ERLC’s board of trustees, said ERLC can’t shy away from controversial issues, but he believes the agency should focus on positions Baptists agree on, rather than take sides in debates on abortion and other divisive issues.

“Increasingly, we’re committed to being on the side of life, from natural conception through natural death,” he said. “There are obviously some disagreements about how that is implemented, and I’m not sure the convention intends the ERLC to be the referee for that fight.”

Most immediately, Whitehead said, the ERLC needs “complete transparency” about the circumstances around Leatherwood’s employment status. He worries Smith, the former ERLC chair, will take all the blame when the situation is more complicated.

“Kevin Smith did not go postal,” Whitehead told RNS, repeating a sentiment he had shared on the social media site X.

Rebuilding trust

In a press release earlier this week, the ERLC’s executive committee said rebuilding trust will be a key task when the ERLC trustees meet in September in Nashville.

“We know that the task of rebuilding trust will be great,” the committee wrote. “We know that it will require listening to Southern Baptists about their concerns. And we know that we are accountable to Southern Baptists, and ultimately God, for how we carry out our work. To that end, we seek your prayers as we faithfully discern the next best steps for us as a board and for this organization.”

Land, meanwhile, said he believes Leatherwood may be in a stronger position after this week’s events, but warns his accustomed warning is more true today, thanks to social media and email, which make it easier for criticism to turn into a firestorm.

“It used to be that if someone wanted to complain—they had to write a letter or get me on the phone,” said Land.

With additional reporting by Baptist Standard Editor Eric Black.

DELHI (RNS)—In June, Bindu Sodhi, a 32-year-old tribal woman from a small village in the densely forested state of Chhattisgarh, in central India, was killed by her neighbors.

Sodhi was tilling her ancestral land with her family when irate villagers—armed with bows and arrows, axes and knives—attacked her with stones and killed her on the spot. The villagers stoutly warned her family not to set foot in the village unless they gave up their Christian faith.

Local police shrugged off Sodhi’s killing as a land dispute, despite the fact that over the last four years Hindu extremists and even some of Sodhi’s close relatives had been pressuring her to renounce her Christian beliefs.

Attacks on Christians—who constitute only 2.3 percent of India’s 1.4 billion people—have risen sharply over the last few years. The main perpetrators of these crimes are extremists who believe Hinduism, India’s most prevalent faith, is synonymous with Indian identity and citizenship.

Last year, the United Christian Forum, a human rights group based in New Delhi, recorded 733 incidents of violence against Christians, with an average of 61 incidents every month. This year, 361 incidents targeting Christians already have been recorded by the UCF.

“There is a surge in violence against Christians,” said AC Michael, the group’s national convener. “Anti-conversion laws are being weaponized to target us and strip us of our rights.”

On July 20, UCF leaders met with Kiren Rijiju, minister for minority affairs in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet, to discuss the increase in attacks, but the meeting yielded few promises, according to Michael Williams, UCF’s national president.

“There’s a complete breakdown of faith in the Modi government,” said Williams. “The government is doing little to curb police and mob brutality against Christians accused under anti-conversion laws and the undue violation of our rights.”

History of targeting Christians

Targeting of Christians has been going on in India since the 1990s. The gruesome murder of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines, along with his two minor sons, by Hindu extremists in 1999 brought the world’s attention to the violence being meted out against the community.

With the rise of Modi, head of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, the scale and magnitude of these threats have increased significantly.

Sweeping anti-conversion laws have been enacted across 11 Indian states by the BJP government, whose supporters allege Christians and Muslims scheme to lure Hindus into their faiths through deceit or marriage.

The anti-conversion legislation mandates only an affected person can register a complaint. However, the police often arrest Christians based on complaints from self-described Hindu nationalists claiming prior knowledge of “forced conversions.” In that way, the laws have enabled harassment, discrimination and vigilante violence against minorities.

Recent persecution

A report published by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in March 2023 noted India’s state-level anti-conversion laws violate international human rights law’s protections for the right to freedom of religion or belief.

The charge of forced conversion, say Christian leaders, is now being used to target ordinary Christians. They cite attacks on church properties and institutions in which vandals paint over church walls with inflammatory slogans, harass pastors and shut down prayer meetings. In rural areas, they prevent Christians from accessing common facilities such as wells and burial grounds.

In extreme cases, the attacks have ended in murder, rape, molestation and illegal detentions.

In early July, nearly two dozen Hindu radicals wearing saffron scarves stormed a prayer meeting in Uttarakhand state after accusing a pastor and his wife of carrying out conversions, brutally attacking the worshippers and hurling verbal abuses at them.

“They dragged me by my hair and beat up my relatives,” said Deeksha, the pastor’s wife. “We were just praying at home and causing no trouble to anyone in the neighborhood.”

In Manipur, where more than 200 people have been killed in ethno-religious violence since last year, congregations have closed down and pastors have been silenced.

Elsewhere, schools, hospitals and institutions run by Christian missionaries are targeted regularly by right-wing Hindu nationalist groups. Religious extremists also have raided private gatherings, including birthday and farewell parties on the pretext of forced conversions.

Law enforcement agencies often side with the perpetrators of violence rather than the victims, which emboldens the extremists to carry out more attacks.

Living with fear

“We are living in an atmosphere of constant fear,” said a priest and peace activist from Varanasi who asked to remain anonymous. “Members of small and independent churches are uncertain about what to do or who to turn to for help.”

Modi has not visited Manipur even once since the outbreak of violence last year, even though he’s made more than 160 visits to other states across the country.

On July 12, nearly a month after Modi was elected as prime minister for the third consecutive term, Christian leaders, led by the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, visited the prime minister to express their concerns over the harassment and exclusion of Christians, as well as the gross misuse of anti-conversion laws.

“The prime minister said he will look into our problems,” said Robinson Rodrigues, public relations officer for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference. “There is no point in being in denial, because the records and newspaper reports are there for all to see.”

Christian leaders who have lost faith in the Modi government said they hope India’s judiciary will help broker peace and deter the religious fundamentalists.

“Christians today are just political baggage in India, where the Hindu nationalism project is being used to polarize society and reap political dividends.” said Vijayesh Lal, secretary general of the Evangelical Fellowship of India. “Our only hope is the higher judiciary.”

But while the courts largely have protected the Christian community and presented Christian legal interests with significant wins, they sometimes have safeguarded majoritarian interests, fueling fear among minorities.

Earlier this month, a judge on the Allahabad High Court remarked in response to a bail application: “If this process (conversion) is allowed to be carried out, the majority population of this country would be in the minority one day, and such religious congregations should be stopped where conversion is taking place and changing the religion of citizens of India.”

Still, many civil society leaders aren’t caving to the multiplying threats and intimidations.

“Since Stan Swamy’s death, we’ve been organizing many advocacy programs,” said AC Michael, referring to a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who died in 2021 in state custody for his work helping religious minorities.

“Catholic leaders have become much more vocal now and civil society is supporting us against all odds.”

(RNS)—In the latest legal defeat for a Republican-led investigation of Catholic migrant shelters, a Hidalgo County judge on July 24 denied a request from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to depose a Catholic Charities leader in the Rio Grande Valley.

District Judge Bobby Flores denied the petition after lawyers for Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, one of the largest migrant shelters on the U.S.-Mexico border, argued the nonprofit already had cooperated with the investigation by providing more than 100 pages of documents.

The lawyers for Catholic Charities also argued the attorney general’s request imposed “a significant expenditure of resources” on the Catholic agency and its ability to exercise its faith.

“We hope that we can put this behind us and focus our efforts on protecting and upholding the sanctity and dignity of all human lives while following the law,” Sister Norma Pimentel, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley’s executive director, said in a statement.

Pimentel, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 for her three decades of work with migrants.

Deposition demand timing

According to filings by both Paxton’s office and Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, the attorney general’s office sent a notice to the nonprofit on March 25 demanding a representative of Catholic Charities sit for a deposition.

March 25 was the first weekday of Holy Week, when Catholic schedules are packed with events commemorating the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for comment. In explaining his request for the deposition, Paxton’s office cited Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Dec. 2022 call for an investigation into the “role of NGOs in planning and facilitating the illegal transportation of illegal immigrants across our borders.”

Abbott, a Catholic, launched the multibillion-dollar initiative Operation Lone Star in 2021, shortly after President Joe Biden’s election, arguing the federal government was failing to protect the state’s border.

The operation deployed thousands of Texas soldiers at the border, where razor wire, pepper balls and patrols with guns and drones have been used to prevent migrants from crossing. Abbott’s office claims the operation is responsiblefor at least 516,300 migrant apprehensions and more than 45,300 criminal arrests.

Paxton’s office also cited a Feb. 2022 letter by Texas Republican Congressman Lance Gooden to Catholic Charities USA—the national membership organization Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley belongs to—that accuses the national Catholic nonprofit of fueling “illegal immigration by encouraging, transporting, and harboring aliens to come to, enter, or reside in the United States.”

Gooden’s letter is part of a broader far-right campaign targeting Catholic Charities agencies that has resulted in several agencies receiving threats.

Paxton often participates in legal action through the Republican Attorneys General Association, which has received millions in donations from the Concord Fund, a dark money fund linked to conservative Catholic legal activist Leonard Leo.

Catholics, like Americans more broadly, have split views on immigration. In a Dec. 2023 poll by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, 43 percent of Catholics said immigration should be decreased, while 23 percent said it should be increased and 34 percent said it should be kept at its present level.

Nineteen percent of Catholics said their Catholic faith “very much” informed their opinions about immigrants and refugees, and 35 percent answered it informed their opinions “somewhat.”

Responding to Paxton’s request to the court, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley’s lawyers said, “The Attorney General’s investigation of CCRGV is based solely on CCRGV’S religiously motivated provision of charitable services to asylum seekers, which do not violate any law.”

The nonprofit emphasized it cooperates closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and that all migrants it serves have been processed by the federal government.

In a back-and-forth after Paxton’s initial request, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley provided sworn testimony in addition to documents to the office, but the attorney general’s office continued to press for a deposition, calling some of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley’s answers “non-responsive and evasive.”

Saying Paxton’s office failed to provide any evidence or “even concrete factual allegations” that would show the benefit of the deposition would outweigh its burden even after the Catholic nonprofit’s “extensive cooperation with his overreaching inquiry,” Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley’s lawyers said Paxton’s request represented “a fishing expedition into a pond where no one has ever seen a fish.”

The attorney general’s filing says its office is investigating the possibility Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is assisting migrants who have not been processed by U.S. Border Patrol, a legal violation the office said would have “a cause of action to strip CCRGV’s right to operate in the State of Texas.”

Annunciation House lawsuit

In February, about a month before Paxton’s office requested the deposition from Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, the office sued to attempt to revoke the nonprofit registration of another Catholic migrant shelter organization, Annunciation House in El Paso.

Annunciation House had sued the state and sought a restraining order after Paxton’s office demanded it quickly turn over documents about its operations, which would have included identifying information about the migrants it serves. Paxton’s office framed the attempt to shut down the network of migrant shelters as a “consequence” of that legal action.

El Paso District Court Judge Francisco Dominguez ruled Paxton had violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Dominguez said the Paxton office’s request for documents was “a pretext to justify its harassment of Annunciation House employees and the persons seeking refuge.”

Dylan Corbett, executive director of Hope Border Institute, a Catholic organization that supports migrants across the El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, border, called Paxton’s legal strategy a “troubling attack on religious liberty” and part of a broader “escalation in the campaign of state leadership—not only to criminalize those who migrate but now to go after those who living out our faith seek to offer a compassionate response to those who migrate.”

Now that judges have ruled Paxton “out of bounds” in both El Paso and Hidalgo County, Corbett urged the state to “desist in its attack on what is actually working at the border and pivot to real, humane solutions that work for our state, our border communities and those who migrate.”

In Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley’s statement after Flores’ decision, the organization wrote: “A deposition would have been a waste of time, distracting CCRGV from its work serving all residents of the Rio Grande Valley.”

The nonprofit previously had written in its legal filing that Paxton’s inquiry was harming the individuals Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley serve by taking away resources to serve them.

The Catholic organization houses about 1,000 migrants a week, sometimes soaring to 2,000 women and children at once, who usually stay only a few days before moving on. In addition to migrants, the charity aids homeless people, veterans, people impacted by natural disasters, children who do not have access to school lunch during the summer and more.

“CCRGV will always strive to fulfill its legal obligations while continuing to steadfastly pursue its mission, inspired by Sacred Scripture and the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,’” the organization wrote in a statement, citing Matthew 25:35.

STCH Ministries houseparents are on the frontlines of ministry daily, serving children who need a place to call home.

Many of the ministry’s houseparents initially felt called to serve children in another way. For some, it was as a teacher or a bus driver. For others, it was as foster families or pastors. However, for all of them, God eventually called their hearts to minister in a specific way—as houseparents caring for the children who call Boothe Campus home.

A little over 30 years ago, Mark and Becky Martin were unsure what God had in store for their family next. Mark had become disillusioned with working for Shell Oil Company, so he was becoming more open to God’s call.

The Martins stumbled across an ad in the Baptist Standard for STCH Ministries, expressing a need for houseparents. Shortly after, Becky attended a ladies’ conference in West Texas where two of the speakers at the conference were from STCH Ministries. Becky began to sense God’s calling and went home to tell Mark.

Sensing the call

Mark was not as receptive to the idea initially. “Miraculously, I was able to remain silent as God revealed the calling to Mark,” Becky said.

She did not want to pressure him, but she continued to feel the pull toward this type of ministry.

Every message they heard from multiple pastors in multiple churches all spoke of children in need—at least in the Martins’ eyes—which they understood as the Lord revealing his plan to them, Becky said.

Mark suffered a crisis of faith, because he did not want to become a houseparent, but Becky stayed steadfast in her pursuit of the Lord’s direction.

Over time, Mark’s heart opened to the idea of becoming a houseparent. He clung to the story of Jonah as he started to surrender to God’s will for their lives.

Slowly, every obstacle began to break, opening their path toward STCH Ministries. Both the Martins became joyously aware this was God’s plan for them. In August 1994, they moved to Boothe Campus.

Upon arriving, the Martins moved into Dimmick Cottage with their two biological sons, Caleb (7) and Jacob (5). They were anxiously excited about this new opportunity and went in with open minds.

Over the years, they have seen many children come and go from Dimmick Cottage where they have stayed throughout their 30 years of ministry. They watched as their sons grew up interacting with the boys in their cottage. Jacob is now on staff with STCH Ministries, serving as the social services director for Homes for Children.

Houseparent rewards

The Martins reflected on the most rewarding parts of being houseparents and how it impacts not just themselves, but the lives of those they serve.

“One of the most rewarding parts of being a houseparent is hearing from some of our ex-students about how their lives are now,” Becky said.

“It’s extra special to see them committed to being the best parents they can be, to know that their time at STCH Ministries is now something they can remember as a positive chapter that brought healing and growth.”

Mark included: “Seeing the families they are building trying to break the cycle that led to them being placed in care is special. It is also always interesting to hear what kind of memories they have of the time they spent here.”

When asked what being a houseparent means they shared, “It has always meant being an example, modeling a lifestyle that is centered on Christ.

“As older houseparents, I love the idea that we’re demonstrating what it looks like to stick with relationships even when it’s not easy—to stick with a job, stick with a marriage and to stick with Jesus through all that life brings your way. They see plenty of examples of disposable relationships. This isn’t that,” Becky continued.

Long-term call

When the Martins initially came to STCH Ministries Homes for Children, they did not know how long they would be staying. They shared their biggest prayer since before coming has been “that God would make it clear when it is time for us to go, just as he did that it was time for us to come.”

STCH Ministries has been blessed by the Martins’ dedication over the last 30 years, but not nearly as blessed as the children they have cared for.

They are the ones whose graduations, baptisms and weddings the Martins have attended—the ones who return for holidays or special occasions and whose lives were shaped deeply by the love and dedication they received while at Homes for Children.

“I am grateful to Mark and Becky for faithfully following their calling on the Boothe campus since 1994, providing loving care for children where they can thrive,” said Greg Huskey, vice president of campus ministries.

“If you feel called to serve as a houseparent at STCH Ministries Homes for Children, we would love to talk to you,” Huskey continued. Visit https://www.stchm.org for more information or to apply.

Sergio Ramos will join Texas Baptists to further develop and direct the emerging network of Great Commission and Great Commandment, or GC2, churches and ministries in Texas and beyond.

At the May meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, Executive Director Julio Guarneri asked the board to affirm the intention to give this initiative a clearer definition and structure.

“As part of this process, an executive director’s appointed task force was affirmed by the board to engage in giving shape to the network. Additionally, the board affirmed the hiring of a staff member to direct this process,” Guarneri said in his weekly update to Texas Baptists.

These actions were needed in light of increasing inquiries from out-of-state churches, Guarneri explained at the May meeting.

The recommendation passed also allowed for a new staff position to explore ways to add structure to the movement.

In his new role, Ramos will develop and implement a plan to build a network of churches and ministries in North America to connect and collaborate on kingdom projects.

He also will serve as a liaison for pastors and leaders within and outside of Texas “who are interested in collaborating on mission projects, such as church starting, in North America and around the world. The director will engage pastors and church leaders in the various ministry and mission opportunities offered by the BGCT and encourage them to financially support the work of the BGCT and/or specific GC2 projects,” Guarneri also noted in his weekly update.

Called to serve

Ramos, who will assume his new role on Sept. 1, said he is looking forward to fulfilling his simple call to serve by relating to like-minded ministry leaders through Texas Baptists.

“I have always been, as a minister, someone that has done his diligence in every area that the Lord allows me to be a part of, to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. But I truly believe that for us to do that, we need to establish a greater collaboration, and that deals with intentional relationships,” said Ramos. “So, what excites me is how we can connect all the pieces together to genuinely fulfill the Great Commission.”

Before joining Texas Baptists, Ramos served at Buckner International for 16 years, holding 12 different positions during his tenure, including regional director for international operations in Russia, Albania, Peru, Dominican Republic and Honduras, and director of executive initiatives. He concluded his time at Buckner International as the church engagement, institution and denomination initiatives director.

Ramos is a product of Texas Baptist schools. He graduated from Valley Baptist Academy in Harlingen, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from East Texas Baptist University, a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a second master’s degree in leadership from Dallas Baptist University. He is working to complete his doctorate in cross-cultural competency from Southwestern Seminary.

Ramos’ strengths

Guarneri praised Ramos’ extensive ministry service, skillset and cross-cultural capacity.

“Brother Ramos brings a wealth of experience as a local church pastor, having served multiple churches in various pastoral roles. He also served in a strategic way on staff with Tarrant Baptist Association, as a key personnel member for Worldconnex, and most recently as church engagement, denominations and institutions leader with Buckner International,” Guarneri said.

“Sergio possesses natural gifts and skills in interpersonal relationships, networking and developing strategic partnerships. Having worked internationally and cross-culturally, Sergio Ramos is competent in relating to leaders and churches of various cultural backgrounds and with national leaders in various countries.”

As he begins his service, Ramos will work closely with the GC2 Study Group to clarify Texas Baptists’ relationship with more than 70 churches outside the state’s boundaries, explore how future GC2 churches and ministries will relate to the BGCT, and develop a user-friendly onramp for more like-minded churches and ministries to join.

“It’s exciting to be a part of an organization that I’m a product of,” said Ramos. “I feel like I’m coming home.”

Mariah Humphries to the Center for Formation, Justice, and Peace in Franklin, Tenn., as executive director.

Clay Jacobson to Texas Baptists’ Office of Cooperative Program Ministry as director in August, from his prior role as Area 4 Church Starting Strategist.

John Music to Heritage School in Fredericksburg as teacher of biblical studies and humanities, from Comfort Baptist Church in Comfort, where he was senior pastor.