Hunger luncheon set for Amarillo. The second annual hunger luncheon, scheduled in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting, will be at 11 a.m. on Oct. 25 in Heritage Room A4 of the Amarillo Civic Center. Mike Garman, pastor of Eastridge Baptist Church in Amarillo, will speak about the Eastridge Refugee Ministry. Field personnel from North Africa also will make a presentation about hunger ministries in their area funded by the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Tickets for the lunch meeting are $12, available at the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission booth or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship booth in the BGCT exhibit hall. To make reservations, call (214) 828-5192 or e-mail alicia.enriquez@texasbaptists.org. The Texas Baptist CLC, CBF, Amarillo Baptist Association and Wayland Baptist University are event sponsors.

CBF plans regional assemblies. Texas Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has scheduled six regional assemblies over the next seven months. Each assembly—which begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m.—will include a plenary session focused on ways to engage the millennial generation in church life, breakout sessions about opportunities for missional engagement and workshops about developing multicultural and multi-ethnic churches. Regional assemblies are planned for Oct. 15 at Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas, Nov. 5 at First Baptist Church in Abilene, Nov. 19 at Second Baptist Church in Lubbock, Jan. 21 at Willow Meadows Baptist Church in Houston, Feb. 4 at First Baptist Church in San Marcos and April 21 at Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco.

DonorBridge benefits Buckner. Buckner International raised $288,774.98 during the recent DonorBridge Giving Day. Buckner raised $193,505 from 224 donors in 17 states, as well as one gift from Puerto Rico and one from Afghanistan by a U.S. soldier who traveled with Buckner on a mission trip in 2007. Additionally, Buckner received $85,269.98 in matching funds, provided by Communities Foundation of Texas and an anonymous Buckner donor, as well as a $10,000 prize awarded by Dallas Foundation for the highest number of individual donors to a nonprofit with an operating budget of more than $1 million.

Partnership bolsters Texas Hunger Initiative. The Texas Hunger Initiative has entered a four-year partnership with Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit organization, as part of its No Kid Hungry campaign. The partnership provides the Texas Hunger Initiative $230,000 for 2011. The No Kid Hungry campaign is a national effort to end food insecurity in children by 2015, a goal the Texas Hunger Initiative shares for children in Texas, which currently has the second-highest childhood food insecurity rate in the country. The campaign seeks to connect children facing hunger to the appropriate federal nutrition programs, strengthen and support hunger initiatives already in progress and provide educational resources for hungry families. The Texas Hunger Initiative is a project of the Baylor University School of Social Work, in cooperation with the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission.

Congressional coalition honors Buckner families. Four Buckner Children and Family Services families were recognized as 2011 Angels in Adoption by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. In making nominations for the award, Rep. Mac Thornberry selected Amarillo residents Tim and December Barcroft, who have fostered three sisters and plan to adopt the girls; Rep. Pete Sessions selected Dallas residents Karen and Bryan Perry, who have made more than 30 trips to Guatemala to care for orphans; Rep. Louie Gohmert selected Longview residents Kara and Locke Curfman, who have foster several children, including some with significant special needs, and have adopted two children; and Rep. Mike Conaway selected Midland resident Robert Ewing, a single father to six adopted children and foster parent to one. The Angels in Adoption program provides an opportunity for members of the U.S. Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children and orphans in the United States and abroad.

• Ramon Aranda to Jerusalem Church in Natalia as pastor.

• Gayle Baucum has resigned as interim pastor at Pioneer Valley Church in Valley View.

• David Bowman to Tarrant Association as executive director.

• Wade Brand to Gribble Springs Church in Sanger as pastor.

• Billie Brewer to Lone Oak Church in Harleton as pastor.

• Jimmy Davis to Pioneer Valley Church in Valley View as interim pastor.

• David Dixon to First Baptist Church in Neches as pastor from Sharon Church in Arp.

• Bacillo Esquivel to Templo Church in Abilene as pastor.

• James Gilbert to First Church in Meridian as associate pastor for music and youth.

• Stan Harvey to Black Creek Church in Bigfoot as pastor, where he was interim pastor.

• Reid Kirk to Fairview Church in Sherman as worship pastor.

• Alex Miller has resigned as music and youth minister at First Church in Bells.

• Staci Moore to First Church in Sanger as children's minister.

• Victor Quintanilla to Calvary Church in Denison as youth minister.

• Steve Rice to First Church in Sherman as minister of education and administration from First Church in Redwater, where he was pastor.

• Mark Roach to Belmont Church in Denison as pastor.

• Chas Shira has resigned as youth minister at McKinney Street Church in Denton.

• Ben Smith to First Church in Lake Dallas as pastor.

• Jeff Taylor to First Church in Jefferson as pastor.

• Michael Walker to Karnack Church in Karnack as pastor.

• Baylor University's Truett Seminary will hold its annual Parchman lectures Oct. 11-13. Scot McKnight, professor of religious studies at North Park University in Chicago, will be the featured speaker. Monday's 9:30 a.m. lecture will focus on "American Evangelicalism and the Pastor," while the 7:30 p.m. talk will center on "Universalism and the Pastor." Tuesday's 9:30 a.m. lecture will be on "The Gospel and the Pastor," and Wednesday morning's talk will be on "The Atonement and the Pastor." All events are free and open to the public.

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Christian Studies Forum will be held at noon Oct. 13 in the Shelton Theater of the Mabee Student Center. David Morgan, pastor of Trinity Church in Harker Heights, will speak on "Wrestling with a Just Response to National Debt and Taxes." The event is free and open to the public.

• East Texas Baptist University will hold a Christian writers conference Oct. 28-29. The conference will feature more than 15 presenters with sessions de-signed to help beginning writers, as well as those who are more experienced. The cost of attending the conference on Oct. 29 is $80 if registered before Oct. 21. Conference activities begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, ending at 4:30 p.m. If a participant registers after Oct. 21, the fee is $90 and does not include the noon meal. The preconference sessions, held on Friday beginning at 3 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m., cost an additional $35 if registered by Oct. 21. The late registration fee for the preconference sessions is $40. Registration fees cover workshops and materials. Call (903) 923-2083 to register or for more information. A schedule for both days is also posted on the ETBU website.

• A fun walk and 5K run will be held Oct. 29 to benefit the Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute of Dallas, an affiliate of the Baylor Health Care System and Baylor University Medical Center. For more information on the run, go to dhwidallas.com.

• Ben Delgado has been named executive vice president/ chief operating officer of Baptist Child & Family Services.

• Gary Manning, professor of religion and religious education at Wayland Baptist University, was awarded the Lewis M. Newman Award for his "outstanding contributions in the field of supervised ministry" by the Association of Ministry Guidance Professionals.

• Kalie Lowrie has been named director of news and information at Dallas Baptist University. She previously was director of media relations at Howard Payne University.

Anniversaries

• First Church in Hallettsville, 160th, Aug. 28. Terry Horton is pastor.

• Center Grove Church in Saltillo, 125th, Sept. 18.

• Ben Condray, 15th, as minister of families/counseling at First Church in Midlothian, Oct. 1.

• Mark Kemp, 20th, as pastor of First Church in Copperas Cove, Oct. 2.

• Ronnie Freeman, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Trent, Oct. 9.

• Antioch Church in Tyler, 160th, Oct. 9. Craig Little is pastor.

• Black Oak Church in Como, 155th, Oct. 9. Lyndon Petty is pastor.

• First Mexican Church in Belton, 75th, Oct. 30. An anniversary service will be held at 2 p.m. Eliseo Arriaga is pastor.

• Scott Adams, 10th, as minister of education at Hillcrest Church in Bryan.

• Chris Briggs, 10th, as minister to students at Hillcrest Church in Bryan.

• Brian Crump, 10th, as minister of missions and assimilation at First Church in Bryan.

• First Church in Big Spring, 125th, Nov. 13. A special anniversary worship service will be held at 10:30 a.m. followed by a meal. For more information, call (432) 267-8223. Mark Lindsey is pastor.

• South Garland Church in Garland, 40th, Nov. 20. Events begin with a continental breakfast at 8:15 a.m. followed by a combined Bible study for all youth and adults and a 10:15 a.m. worship service. A meal and concert with the Isaacs will be held at 6 p.m. at the Hyatt Hotel on the Bush Freeway at North Garland Avenue. Tickets for the dinner and concert are $25 for individuals age 12 and older. Childcare will be available by reservation only. Call (972) 271-5428 for more information. Larry Davis is pastor.

• Tarrant Association, 125th, Nov. 20. The celebration will be held at Great Commission Church, 7700 McCart Avenue in Fort Worth. Showcases of numerous ministries in Tarrant Association will be featured from 5 p.m to 6 p.m., as well as exhibits from some of the 40 churches in the association that are more than 100 years old. The anniversary celebration and annual meeting will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will feature Bethlehem Church's male choir, video testimonies and scenes from Faith in Action weekends. David Bowman is executive director.

Deaths

• A.M. Mackey Jr., 87, Sept. 5 in Abilene. In ministry 62 years, he was chaplain at the Middleton Unit in Abilene, and for the last four years, he was pastor of Holiday Hills Church in Abilene. He was one of the last two senior statesmen of the Progressive West Texas Baptist Association. He was preceded in death by his wife, Geraldine; son, Nathan; brothers, Oza and Louis; and sister, Leola Johnson. He is survived by his son, James; sister, Lovie Simpson; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

• Arla Ray Tyson, 89, Sept. 7 in Dallas. She was the widow of Arthur Tyson, former president of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Grand Canyon College in Arizona. She retired as a schoolteacher in 1986. She was a member of First Church in Dallas 31 years, and for the last seven years had been a member of First Church in Lancaster. A soprano soloist, she traveled the world singing. She is survived by her son, Morris; grandson, Morris II, and great-granddaughter, Jacque-line Tyson.

• Ralph Jackson, 70, Sept. 16 in Lubbock. He was pastor of Mount Zion Church in Lubbock. He is survived by his wife, Sharon; daughters, Makeba Jackson, Veltina Hicks, Beverly Williams, Carmen Beck, Sylvia Coleman and Triss Jesse; sons, Roland Jackson, Jerry Coleman, and Deonte and Triston Edwards; mother, Emma Jackson; brother, Kenneth; sisters, Gwendolyn Rolin, Barbara Jackson, Phyllis Jackson, Sheila Windham and Pamela Greenwood.

• Virginia Seelig, 88, Sept. 20 in Fort Worth. A graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, she joined the Southwestern Sem-inary music faculty in 1958, where she taught 27 years before retiring. As a singer, her appearances included roles with the Dallas Opera, Casa Manana and as soloist for the Messiah presented for King Hussein and the queen of Jordan. She and her longtime singing partner, Joe Ann Shelton, appeared throughout the United States, as well as with Billy Graham crusades in the United States and England. The seminary presented her with the Distinguished Service Award in 1988. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, John Earl; sons, Stephen and Timothy; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

• Harry Jeanes, Sept. 22 in Waco. A 1934 Baylor University graduate, he served on the school's board of trustees 18 years, and as regent emeritus since 1990. In 1999, he and his wife, Anna, were awarded the Founders Medallion, the university's award reserved for men and women whose service and contributions have been unusually significant to the life and future of the university. In 2006, Jeanes received an honorary doctor of humane letters from the university acknowledging his lifelong service. He also was recognized as a recipient of the W.R. White Meritorious Service Award and as a 1999 distinguished alumnus. The Jeanes family established an endowment for the academic honors week program and made provision for the Harry and Anna Jeanes Discovery Center, the centerpiece of the Mayborn Museum complex, which benefits both children and adults in the Waco community. After his wife's death in 2007, Jeanes established en-dowed scholarship funds in athletics, music and business in her memory. They were recognized in the Judge R.E.B. Baylor Society at the bronze level of the Medallion Fellowship for their generosity, received the Herbert H. Reynolds Award, were inducted into the Diamond Circle of the Endowed Scholarship Society and also were members of Old Main Society and 1845 Society. He was a longtime member of Columbus Avenue Church in Waco.

• Harold Sellers, 74, Sept. 23 in Huntsville, Ala. A minister more than 50 years, many spent as a pastor in Texas and Alabama, he was director of missions for Madison Association in Ala-bama. Previously, he had been director of missions for Coastal Plains Baptist Area in Rosenberg from 1987 to 2004. He had served as chaplain to the police departments in Rosenberg and Huntsville, Ala. He was preceded in death by his brother, Larry. He is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Margaret; daughter, Londa Hladky; son, Daryl; brothers, Kenneth and Ferrell; sister, Ernestine Dismuke; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

• Jewette McLaughlin, 91, Sept. 24 in Fort Worth. She was baptized at age 6 in the Concho River. A 1941 graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, she was a lifelong supporter of missions. Her husband, Charlie, was director of state missions for the Baptist General Convention of Texas more than 25 years. Most of her life, she was a member of First Church in Dallas. She was preceded in death by her husband and oldest son, Manse. She is survived by her daughter, Sheila Sims; son, Charles; sister, Mary Jim Currie; grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.

• Beth James, 37, Sept. 24 in Houston. She died as a result of pancreatic cancer. At the time of her death, she was children's and families pastor at First Church in Kaufman. She previously served at First Church in Gainesville. She is survived by her husband, David; son, Brian; daughter, Emily; mother, Becky LaFlamme; father and stepmother, Richard and Alice LaFlamme; sisters, Lee Ann Pool and Melissa Pulte; stepsisters, Anita Threadgill and Rhonda Tiedt; and stepbrothers, Stanley and Brad Lambert.

• Boyd O'Neal, 86, Sept. 24 in McKinney. A graduate of Howard Payne University and South-western Seminary, he was ordained to the ministry by Coggin Avenue Church in Brownwood in 1944. He was pastor of Silver Valley Church in Coleman County while attending college and Calvary Church in Stephenville while in seminary. He and his wife, Irma, were appointed missionaries to Brazil by the Foreign Mission?Board in 1949, where they served until 1988. At that time, they moved to Richmond, Va., where he became coordinator of Volunteers-in-Missions. He retired in 1996, and moved to McKinney, and he continued to serve through First Church there. He was preceded in death by seven brothers, five sisters and a great-grandson. He is survived by his wife of 66 years; daughters, Melba Hogue, Betty Brown and Becky Gore; son, James; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Ordained

• Mike Ford as a deacon at South Garland Church in Garland.

• Billy Powers, John Brunson and Ron Lue-Tan as deacons at The Church at Friendship in Hockley.

Revival

• Meeker Church, Beaumont; Oct. 23-26; evangelist, Lennie Wilson; pastor, Ralph Thompson.

WASHINGTON (ABP) – The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Oct. 5 in a closely watched case involving a church’s right to hire or fire ministers for reasons like religious doctrine that in other settings would be job discrimination.

“The churches do not set the criteria for selecting or removing the officers of government, and government does not set the criteria for selecting and removing officers of the church,” attorney Douglas Laycock argued on behalf of petitioners in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, et al.

The case involves a former fourth-grade teacher and commissioned minister who tried to get her job back under the American with Disabilities Act. In a lawsuit filed on her behalf by the Equal Employment Occupation Commission, a district court said she could not be reinstated because of a “ministerial exception” to the law.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, finding the teacher’s “primary duties” were secular and not religious, so the ministerial exception did not apply.

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty , which filed a friend-of-the-court brief, said the case has “clear and crucial implication of religious liberty, church autonomy and the separation of church and state.”

The brief, which was also joined by the Christian Legal Society, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and the National Association of Evangelicals, said courts should not be second-guessing a church’s decision about who is fit to teach in a religious school. It says that even if a Christian school teacher’s subject is secular, like biology or math, her job is to help pass on a particular set of morals and religious beliefs to a rising generation.

Though widely accepted by lower courts as a necessary safeguard for religious liberty, the ministerial exception doctrine has never been tested by the Supreme Court. Other courts have differed in how to apply it. The BJC advocates the broader application used by the district court instead of the narrow interpretation used by the appellate court.

“In defining the ministerial exception, an approach that is too simplistic will undermine religious liberty,” said BJC General Counsel Hollyn Hollman. “The Court should put a premium on both the religious organization’s designation of ministry personnel as its religious representatives and the employees' responsibility for performing important religious functions.”

Leondra Kruger, the attorney representing the EEOC, claimed the teacher in the case was fired unjustly in retaliation for exercising her legal rights and should be reinstated.

“The freedom of religious communities to come together to express and share religious belief is a fundamental constitutional right,” Kruger said, “but it's a right that must also accommodate important governmental interests in securing the public welfare.”
 

—Bob Allen is managing editor of Associated Baptist Press. Jeff Huett of the Baptist Joint Committee contributed to this story.

WASHINGTON (ABP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a lower-court ruling that the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision can fire employees over religious doctrine.

The high court declined without comment Oct. 3 to review an August 2010 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denying religious discrimination claims by three World Vision workers dismissed in 2006 for denying the divinity of Christ and disavowing the Trinity.

When they were hired Silvia Spencer, Ted Youngberg, and Vicki Huls all submitted required personal statements describing their “relationship with Jesus Christ” and acknowledged “agreement and compliance” with World Vision’s statement of faith.

They lodged their complaint alleging discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The act exempts religious corporations. They tried to argue that because it carries out secular work like economic development and disaster relief, World Vision did not qualify for the exemption. A district court ruled against them, finding that the self-described “Christian humanitarian organization” has a “purpose and character that are primarily religious.

Based in Federal Way, Wash., World Vision employs more than 40,000 staff around the world. It hires only employees who agree with the organization’s statement of faith and the Apostle’s Creed.

The case was watched closely by other corporations with similar hiring practices.

"Today's action by the U.S. Supreme Court represents a major victory for the freedom of all religious organizations to hire employees who share the same faith–whether Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, or any other religion," World Vision U.S. president Richard Stearns said in a press release. "I am pleased, relieved and gratified with the court's action. After four years of litigation, we at World Vision U.S. may now put this matter behind us, and continue our policy of hiring Christians."

World Vision has received about $650 million in federal funding over the past decade for its anti-poverty work. Candidate Barack Obama said while campaigning in 2008 that groups that get a federal grant should not be allowed to discriminate but recently said religious organizations have “more leeway” to hire somebody of a particular faith. Fifty-six groups, including the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, signed a letter asking the president if he has changed his position on “government-funded religious discrimination.”

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) – An international Baptist leader called on Baptists around the world to call on their government leaders to advocate on behalf of an Iranian pastor sentenced to death after refusing to recant his faith.

Last week the White House condemned the reported impending execution of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, for leaving Islam as a teenager. Over the weekend Iran claimed his conviction was not for apostasy but violent crimes including rape.

Youcef Nadarkhani

Raimundu Barretto, director of freedom and justice for the Baptist World Alliance , said Oct. 3 he had lobbied Iran’s representatives in Washington, the United Nations and the United States ambassador-at-large for religious freedom to do all they can to “reverse this terrible verdict.”

"It is distressing and outrageous for someone to be sentenced to death for a crime of conscience," Barreto said. "We firmly stand in solidarity with Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, are praying for his release, and are making all efforts possible to influence the outcome of this situation."

Barreto, who is Brazilian, said he also contacted Brazil’s U.N. office because Brazil and Iran have a “somewhat good relationship.”

Barreto called on the world’s Baptists to make representation to their own governments on Nadarkhani's behalf.

"We encourage Baptists in different countries to call on their government representatives to increase communication with the Iranian government on this situation," he said.

–Bob Allen is managing editor of Associated Baptist Press.

ABILENE—References from the King James Version of the Bible permeate language, said Larry Brunner, senior professor of English at Hardin-Simmons University.

Expressions like “to see eye to eye” or “labor of love” all have made it to  modern times  because they are used in the King James translation of Scripture.

As the King James translation turns 400 years old, it remains the most read book of all-time. Even though the highest-lauded of all versions of the Bible, it is neither the oldest nor the first to be translated into English. It is also not among the first “authorized” English Bibles. Still, the KJV is one of the most recognized and widely used Bibles today.

Hardin-Simmons University has four first editions of the King James Bible among its two extensive Bible collections, and those are the books that inspired the two-day celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version in mid-September.

“As the best-selling book in world history, the King James Bible has had an incalculable impact on the English-speaking world and the church,” said Bob Ellis, professor of Old Testament and associate dean at HSU’s Logsdon Seminary.

“There have been more allusions, more references to the King James Version than any other literary work. It’s central to any understanding of English literature,”  Brunner added.

The conference aimed to explore the translation from multiple academic angles and included presentations from faculty members in the history department, Logsdon School of Theology and Seminary, the English department, the School of Music, and even business and art professors who explored how the KJV has affected the way we live our lives and do business today.

Mike Jones, Professor and head of the art department,  discussed the role of the King James Bible in book design and production, and John Davis, assistant professor of management  from the Kelley College of Business,  discussed the influence the King James Bible has had on management styles and management literature.

One of the driving forces behind the HSU event was Ellis.

“Because we have these two remarkable Bible collections, the 400th anniversary of the KJV provided an ideal context for celebrating the rich history of the Bible in English,” he said.

The Bible collections and the original KJVs housed at Hardin-Simmons come from two donors, Mrs. Inez Kelley and her late husband Doyle Kelley, and Charles and Roena Tandy.

The Kelleys met and married while at HSU and moved into their first apartment. During one of the seminar sessions, Inez Kelley described how her husband filled that apartment with orange crates full of books.

“He had a real love for the written word,” she said. “But I have learned more about his Bible collection now since his death (in October 2009) than I did when he was alive,” she said.

“Doyle bought his first Bible in London 30 years ago this October,” she told the audience gathered for a dinner session. “I went to Harrods Department Store. He went to museums and used book stores.

“That day I bought a cashmere sweater, he bought a Bible. The very next winter when I got that cashmere sweater out of the closet, our Houston moths had made it threadbare. The Bible Doyle bought that day was a 1599 Geneva Bible which is now at HSU. I ask you, who made the better purchase?”

Tandy, who attended HSU from 1946 to 1949, and is now an anesthesiologist in Dallas, told attendees that collecting Bibles has engrossed him since his attendance at a Sunday school party in 1960.

Charles Ryrie, the class teacher, was reading the Ten Commandments. Everything seemed to be in order, until he reached the seventh item on the list: “Thou shalt commit adultery.”

As it turned out, Ryrie was reading from the so-called “Wicked Bible,” a 1631 reprint of the original King James Version that contained the infamous misprint. Tandy’s curiosity about the Wicked Bible soon became an obsession, as he and his wife began amassing a collection of rare Bibles, many more than 400 years old.

“You never truly own anything,” Tandy said. “It’s been a pleasure to have had them and enjoy them for a period of time,” he said of his gift to HSU. Mrs. Kelley believes her late husband would concur with that assessment, “Doyle just considered himself a caretaker.”

CAP-HAITIAN, Haiti — The Haitian Baptist leader who was kidnapped early Sept. 29 was released unharmed later that day without a ransom payment, the Baptist World Alliance reported Sept. 30.

Emmanuel Pierre, general secretary of the Baptist Convention of Haiti, was kidnapped by armed men who broke into his home at about 2 a.m. Sept. 29 and demanded a ransom. But that afternoon at about 5, they let him go without payment, the BWA said.

Emmanuel Pierre greets a representative of the American Baptist International Ministries after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.

“We are glad to inform you that Rev. Emmanuel Pierre was safely released this afternoon,” Joel Dorsinville, coordinator for disaster relief for the Haiti convention, told the BWA. “He is now back home with his family. Thank you all for your support in prayers.”

Other regional Baptist leaders also expressed relief.

“We do praise the Lord. Let us continue to pray for [Pierre] and his family,” said Jules Casseus, president of the convention-owned Northern Haiti Christian University.
 
Everton Jackson, executive secretary/treasurer of the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship and BWA regional secretary for the Caribbean, said, “We join with family, friends and the Baptist community in celebrating the safe release of the Rev. Emmanuel Pierre. The family and the Baptist convention [in Haiti] have expressed their appreciation to all for standing with them in prayerful solidarity.”

“It is with joy that we receive news that Emmanuel has returned safely to his family,” said BWA general secretary Neville Callam, a native of Jamaica. “We thank God for God’s grace and protection upon our brother and express appreciation to Baptists around the world who prayed along with our Baptist brothers and sisters in Haiti.”

(BWA)–Emmanuel Pierre, general secretary of the Baptist Convention of Haiti, has been kidnapped.

Emmanuel Pierre greets a representative of the American Baptist International Ministries after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.

The incident occurred in Cap-Haïtien, the second largest city in Haiti, and where the convention offices are located.

Several armed men reportedly broke into his home at approximately 2 a.m. September 29, took the Haitian Baptist leader by force, and are now demanding a ransom for his release.

Gedeon Eugene, president of the convention, is negotiating with the kidnappers. He told the Baptist World Alliance that Haitians are praying for the speedy and safe release of the Haitian Baptist leader.

BWA General Secretary Neville Callam assured Haitian Baptists of the prayers of Baptists around the world for the safe return of Pierre to his family and friends.

WASHINGTON (ABP) – The White House condemned Sept. 29 the conviction of a pastor sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity in Iran.

Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, pastor of the Church of Iran, was tried and convicted of apostasy — the act of leaving Islam — in 2010. After refusing to recant, a court sentenced him Sept. 28 to death by hanging under Islamic Sharia law.

Youcef Nadarkhani

Nadarkhani converted from Islam to Christianity at age 19 and became a pastor of a small evangelical church. He was arrested in 2009 while attempting to register his church in his home city of Rascht.

A trial court found that Nadarkhani had not been a practicing adult Muslim prior to his conversion but ruled him guilty of apostasy because he is of Muslim descent. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the conviction, with a provision of annulment for the death penalty if Nadarkhani recanted his faith.

The verdict prompted protests around the world. They included author and mega-church pastor Rick Warren, who asked followers on Twitter to join the protest Sept. 28.

On Thursday White House Press Secretary Jay Carney issued a statement condemning the conviction and calling for the pastor’s release.

“Pastor Nadarkhani has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for all people,” Carney said. “That the Iranian authorities would try to force him to renounce that faith violates the religious values they claim to defend, crosses all bounds of decency, and breaches Iran’s own international obligations. A decision to impose the death penalty would further demonstrate the Iranian authorities' utter disregard for religious freedom, and highlight Iran's continuing violation of the universal rights of its citizens.”

—Bob Allen is managing editor of Associated Baptist Press.

DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board voted to recommend to the state convention a flat budget for 2012, turning aside an attempt to restore a significant portion of $900,000 Baylor University loses in the budget proposal.

Messengers will vote on the proposed BGCT budget at the state convention’s annual meeting, Oct. 24-26 in Amarillo.

BGCT Treasurer and CFO Jill Larsen provides explanation about the proposed 2012 budget.

The proposed BGCT budget depends on $33.85 million in Cooperative Program receipts from churches, along with an anticipated $2.15 million in investment income and an additional $2 million from non-church donors for a net budget of $38 million, equal to 2011.

Counting revenue from conference and booth fees, product sales, the North American Mission Board and other miscellaneous sources, the BGCT anticipates $41,342,531 total revenue.

The budget includes a slight salary increase for employees after two years with no pay raises.

The budget is divided 49 percent for evangelism/missions, 27 percent for education/discipleship, 14 percent for administration and 10 percent for advocacy/care.
Most budget discussion focused on institutional funding, particularly related to Baylor University.

Based on a new way of determining financial support for institutions related to the BGCT, the budget proposal reduces total BGCT financial support for Baylor from about $2.8 million to $1.9 million. The university’s operating budget is more than $428 million this year.

Excluding funding for Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary—which remains at about $1.1 million—BGCT support for Baylor decreases from more than $1.72 million in 2011 to $831,175 in 2012.

BGCT-related institutions fit into two categories—affiliated and related. Messengers to the BGCT annual meeting elect at least 75 percent of the governing boards of what the convention recognizes as affiliated institutions. A few institutions, such as Baylor, relate to the BGCT through contractual special agreements that allow those institutions more control over the selection of their boards.

Under the new approach reflected in the budget recommendation, all schools will receive a $625,000 base amount, and all will receive funding for ministerial education, BGCT Associate Executive Director Steve Vernon explained.

In the past, all schools also have received a prorated grant based on student enrollment—an approach that particularly benefited Baylor as the largest school related to the BGCT. The new funding approach limits prorated funding to affiliated institutions, not schools that relate to the convention by special agreement—Baylor and Houston Baptist University.

Randy Wallace, pastor of First Baptist Church in Killeen, presents a motion at the BGCT Executive Board meeting that would have restored about two-thirds of the funding Baylor University stands to lose in the proposed 2012 budget. (PHOTO/John Hall/BGCT)

Baylor President Ken Starr, who attended the BGCT Executive Board meeting to respond to questions about a renegotiated relationship agreement between the convention and the university, also addressed the matter of funding in the Institutional Relations Committee and its education subcommittee, as well as before the full board.

“We are disappointed but understanding and respectful of the process,” Starr said. “Baylor will not be mounting an appeal, especially because we understand if changes are made in the proposed budget, that would be taking resources from our sibling institutions.”

Starr indicated he believes Baylor may not have done an adequate job communicating to the board how important BGCT funds are to the university’s religion department and its Institute for Faith and Learning, for its programs related to missions and spiritual life, and for scholarships to made available to children of ministers and missionaries.

He also noted Baylor University continues to subsidize Truett Theological Seminary at about $1.5 million annually, in addition to the funds the BGCT makes available for the seminary.

While Starr did not appeal for additional money, Randy Wallace, pastor of First Baptist Church in Killeen, introduced a motion that sparked extended discussion about the matter.

Wallace proposed retaining the current funding formula the BGCT has been using for educational institutions.

Allowing for other budget adjustments affecting Houston Baptist University and Baptist University of the Americas, the net result would have been about $2.58 million in BGCT funding for Baylor—a reduction of $300,000 as opposed to $900,000.

The motion ultimately failed by a 34 to 19 vote, but not until after extended discussion.

Kyle Morton, pastor of First Baptist Church in Port Arthur, spoke in favor of Wallace’s motion. He noted the larger context of Baylor’s decision to allow some non-Baptists on its board of regents and the subsequent call for a renegotiated relationship agreement between the state convention and the university.

“I don’t feel like this is the right time” to make a major funding change, Morton said. “I realize the heart behind this is not punitive. But from the outside looking in, it looks that way. It’s not wise at this time.”

Jeff Humphrey, minister of education at First Baptist Church in Allen, also noted some people who see it as one more in a series of perceived “swipes taken at Baylor” by the board. “Perception is reality for some,” he said.

Bruce Webb, pastor of First Baptist Church in The Woodlands, offered an amendment to the motion, seeking to refer the matter back to the finance subcommittee. That motion failed.

In other business, the BGCT Executive Board:

• Elected officers Van Christian, pastor of First Baptist Church in Comanche, as chair and Stephen Hatfield, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lewisville, as vice chair.

• Approved an in-kind debt repayment agreement with Baptist University of the Americas. From the time BUA purchased land in 2006 to the present, the school’s debt to the BGCT grew to $2.68 million.

Under the terms of the repayment agreement, BUA will repay $326,026 in accrued interest. The remaining debt will be paid off through in-kind credits as BUA trains ministers for churches in Texas or along the Texas/Mexico border through its Baptist Bible Institutes.

The institutes offer basic training for ministers with limited educational background. According to the agreement, BUA earns in-kind debt repayment credit as students earn certificates of completion and accept ministry positions in BGCT churches. Vernon, who called the proposal “a win/win for BUA and Texas Baptists” could produce anywhere from 1,100 to 2,600 new trained vocational ministers for churches, with a specific target of 1,700 to 1,800 ministers.

After 10 years, a final accounting will be completed to determine how much of the debt has been paid in kind, and how much—if any—of the original amount remains due the BGCT.

• Recommended a constitutional change giving the Executive Board authority to adopt the annual budget every fifth year, when the annual meeting is held in the summer rather than the fall.

Last year, BGCT messengers approved a study committee proposal regarding ways to increase involvement in the annual meeting. One recommendation focused on holding the meeting in the summer once every five years in conjunction with the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and the African-American Fellowship, rather than in the fall. The first summer event is scheduled for 2013.

Granting the Executive Board authority to approve a budget on behalf of the convention once every five years would demand a change in the BGCT constitution. As such, it would require approval by messengers at two consecutive annual meetings.

• Recommended changes in Texas world missions and partnership funds.
The board approved a proposal that the worldwide portion of cooperative giving continue to support missions mobilization, River Ministry and Mexico missions, Texas Partnerships, Baptist World Alliance, intercultural international ministries, international ministries of Texas Baptist Men, the Go Now student missions program, and promotion for the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger and the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

The proposal also recommends continued time-limited funding for western heritage churches, the Hispanic Education Task Force, non-English evangelism materials and the Hope 1:8 evangelism/ministry initiative.

The recommendation includes new funding for a Hispanic leadership training initiative, intercultural refugee ministry, chaplains serving outside Texas and a church starting initiative that involves people from India who live in Texas.

DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board endorsed a renegotiated relationship agreement with Baylor University that grants the school greater influence in determining the composition of its governing board.

After extended discussion, the Executive Board rejected a motion to delay action on the relationship agreement until its February 2012 meeting.

Baylor President Ken Starr speaks in support of a renegotiated relationship agreement between the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the university. (PHOTO/John Hall/BGCT)

Instead, the board voted to recommend the revised agreement to the BGCT annual meeting in Amarillo, Oct. 24-26.

In recommending a 2012 budget to the annual meeting, the board also debated — but ultimately rejected — a proposal that would have restored a major portion of the $900,000 Baylor stands to lose in BGCT financial support next year.

For 20 years, the BGCT has related to Baylor through a special agreement the convention and university reached after Baylor changed its charter.

At its May meeting, the Executive Board directed Associate Executive Director Steve Vernon to invite Baylor University President Ken Starr to develop a process for renegotiating the 20-year-old agreement. That action came in response to Baylor’s decision in February to allow non-Baptist Christians on its board of regents.

A six-member committee—with Roger Hall, Ed Jackson and Bill Brian representing the BGCT and Buddy Jones, David Harper and Ramiro Peña representing Baylor—negotiated the revised agreement.

Jackson, a retired engineer from First Baptist Church in Garland, emphasized the importance of the preamble to the renegotiated agreement, which emphasizes the historic importance of the partnership between Baylor and the BGCT.

The key difference in the renegotiated agreement and the previous agreement rests in where the nominating process for regents begins, noted Brian, an attorney from First Baptist Church in Amarillo.

Since 1991, Baylor University has elected 75 percent of its board of regents, and messengers to the BGCT annual meeting have elected 25 percent.

Under the revised agreement, the school’s BGCT-elected regents will be nominated by a five-member committee composed of two people designated by the convention, the president of Baylor or a person the president designates, the chair of the Baylor regents or a person the chair designates and one additional member designated by the regent chair, with the stipulation that individual must be a member of a BGCT-affiliated church.

Currently, the five-member group that nominates BGCT-elected Baylor regents consists of four people named by the BGCT Committee on Nominations for Boards of Affiliated Ministries and either the chair of the Baylor regents or a person he designates.

After originating with the five-person committee, the nominees for regents would go to the Committee on Nominations for Board of Affiliated Ministries and then on to the state convention annual meeting for consideration.

The revised agreement also states Baylor has the right to confirm —“or not to confirm with good cause”—regents elected by the BGCT as set forth in the university’s governing documents.

“Because the BGCT’s authority is a delegation of authority from Baylor and because of issues related to Baylor’s accreditation, the BGCT agrees that it will consider Baylor’s best interests as the only criterion in the selection of Baylor … (regents), subject to a requirement that the individual person elected shall be a member of a BGCT church,” the agreement states.

The agreement specifically notes potential conflicts of interest or other qualification issues would not present a barrier to election of regents if waived by the university.

“The BGCT recognizes that Baylor is an independent, nonprofit, nonmember corporation under the laws of the state of Texas with the full legal right, power and authority to amend or rescind its certificate of formation, bylaws or other governing documents without approval or consent of the BGCT or any other party, notwithstanding any terms and conditions of this agreement,” the document states.

The BGCT Executive Board rejected a motion to postpone action on the agreement made by Bob Fowler, an attorney and member of South Main Baptist Church in Houston.

“What we got under the leadership of (former Baylor President) Herb Reynolds in 1991 was a real agreement, reciprocal as to the rights and obligations of both BGCT and Baylor. However, this proposed document, in my opinion, is much more akin to what we lawyers would call a ‘settlement agreement, incident to a divorce.’ But, in this ‘settlement agreement,’ the faithful party seems to be punished for her faithfulness,” Fowler said.

Vernon Webb from First Baptist Church in San Antonio addressed a perceived imbalance in the recommended agreement and a need for the board to give the matter further consideration.

“Each entity is autonomous, and neither should dominate the other,” Webb said.

Jackson expressed his belief the renegotiated agreement is “a balanced document” that safeguards BGCT interests, as well as addressing Baylor’s desire for greater input early in the regent-nominating process.

At the same time, he and several members of the Executive Board noted Baylor granted any BGCT representation on its board of regents as a concession after its charter change.

“The selection of six regents (by the BGCT) is a gift from the Baylor board of regents,” Jackson noted.

Van Christian, pastor of First Baptist Church in Comanche, made the same point.

“As a convention, we may be getting a little big for our britches. Our representation on the Baylor board of regents is due to their grace,” Christian said. “We hurt ourselves if we try to play hardball on this. … We are not the power party in the negotiations.”

Addressing the board, Starr emphasized Baylor’s desire to honor its Baptist heritage, identity and connections.

“The board of regents looks forward to bringing stability and clarity to the relationship” with the BGCT, he said.