Auto parts store charged with religious harassment. A Sikh employee of AutoZone has sued his employer, asserting he was harassed for wearing a turban. The suit, announced by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, said employee Frank Mahoney-Burroughs was treated like any other employee at the store in Everett, Mass., until he converted to Sikhism and started wearing a turban. “Then, AutoZone managers called him a terrorist, told him that he was offending customers and terminated him,” said Sandeep Kaur, a staff attorney for the Sikh Coalition. When customers made terrorist jokes or called Mahoney-Burroughs “Bin Laden,” none of his coworkers stepped up and intervened, the EEOC claims. He also allegedly was told not to wear a turban or the kara, a religious bracelet—articles of faith for Sikhs. The EEOC is seeking stronger antidiscrimination policies and training at AutoZone and monetary relief for Mahoney-Burroughs.

Zacchaeus’ tree beckons tourists. A huge sycamore tree in Jericho that some believe was climbed by Zacchaeus the tax collector to get a better view of Jesus is the centerpiece of a new tourism campaign by the Palestinian government. Once the winter home of the wealthy elite thanks to its balmy winter weather, Jericho has seen hard times in recent years, especially since the start of the first Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s. But the current Palestinian administration is working to reestablish Jericho as a tourism destination, and it is placing the Zacchaeus tree at the core of the town’s 10,000 birthday celebrations, part of a yearlong series of events. Although no one can say for certain whether the gnarled old tree is the same one cited in the New Testament, experts who have examined it say it may very well date back to the time of Jesus.

Judge rejects suit against religious language. A federal judge has dismissed a suit arguing that engravings of “In God We Trust” and the Pledge of Allegiance at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center are unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge William Conley of Madison, Wisc., dismissed the suit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation due to lack of standing. He said the Wisconsin-based organization did not make a sufficient link between their taxpayer status and the money spent on the engravings that included the national motto and the words “under God” in the pledge.

Court lets pierced teen return to school. Ariana Iacono, a high school freshman in Clayton, N.C., was allowed to return to class after missing more than four weeks of school for wearing a small nose stud that violated the school dress code. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of Iacono, claiming the school was violating her right to religious freedom as a member of the Church of Body Modification, which believes rituals such as tattoos and piercings are essential to spirituality and connect followers to the divine. The emergency court order will allow Iacono to attend school while the lawsuit continues on the constitutional questions raised by her case.

—Compiled from Religion News Service

Baptist schools honored for entrepreneurship. The undergraduate entrepreneurship program at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business ranked No. 2 among the more than 2,000 schools surveyed by The Princeton Review for Entrepreneur Magazine in its eight annual “Top 25 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs of 2010” rankings. The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston took top honors. Baylor was evaluated based on key criteria in the areas of teaching entrepreneurship business fundamentals in the classroom, staffing departments with successful entrepreneurs, graduating students who create new ventures, excellence in mentorship, providing experiential or entrepreneurial opportunities outside of the classroom, as well as nontraditional, distinguishable aspects of their programs. Hardin-Simmons University’s Acton School of Business in Austin ranked No. 11 in the survey’s graduate category. HSU has been in partnership with the Acton MBA program since 2004.

Child care available for annual meeting. Free child care will be provided as a service for out-of-town messengers and visitors to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting, Nov. 8-9 in McAllen. Child care will be offered Nov. 8, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Nov. 9, from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Care for children ages 2 months to 5 years will be offered at Calvary Baptist Church, 1600 Harvey Ave, in McAllen. The service is limited to 20 children, and early registration is encouraged. Reservations can be made by completing the forms found at www.texasbaptists.org/ annualmeeting. Completed forms should be sent for each child to Amelia Accera at amelia@calvarymcallen.org or faxed to (956) 686-4374. For specific questions about child care, call (956) 686-4364.

Standard reader survey winners announced. Dub Horn, a retired pastor in Fort Worth, won the top prize—an iPad—in a drawing of Baptist Standard electronic edition readers who completed surveys indicating their reading habits and preferences regarding the Standard. Other winners—who received iPods—were Mark Kemp, pastor of First Baptist Church in Copperas Cove; Don Kawahigashi, pastor of operations at the Fellowship of the Parks in Keller; and Taz Daughtrey, an instructor at James Madison University and member of Peakland Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va. About 10 percent of the readers who received the e-mail survey responded, and 7.8 percent completed the survey. Survey responses indicated a desire for enhanced content related to changed lives, best ministry practices, Bible study, leadership, cultural issues, parenting, church resources, technology and marriage, as well as a desire for more articles by young writers. Recommendations will be implemented in both the print edition and enhanced electronic edition (E3) versions of the Standard in the near future, and a major launch of expanded E3 content is slated for January.

• Bobby Campbell to Lee Street Church in Dimmitt as pastor.

• Paula DeBaugh has resigned as children’s minister at First Church in Midlothian.

• Stacy Gonzales has resigned as youth minister at First Church in Odem.

• Nicki Green to First Church in Odem as youth director.

• Shane Kinnison has resigned as pastor of First Church in Waxahachie.

• Tim Penney to First Church in Cisco as minister of music/youth.

• Justin Perez to New Life Church in Beeville as youth pastor.

• Ben Prater to First Church in Wichita Falls as praise and worship leader for the satellite service.

• Dan Purdy to First Church in Amherst as pastor.

• Scott Robertson to Trinity Church in Pleasanton as pastor.

• Jim Siegel to First Church in Temple as minister to students.

• Jeff Stehle to First Church in Mathis as pastor from Baptist Temple in Big Spring.

• Chris Walker has resigned as youth pastor at First Church in Waxahachie.

• Jon Weygandt to First Church in Huntsville as pastor.

• James Abbington, associate professor of church music and worship at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, will be the featured musical presenter during “The Gospel Train: A Celebration of the Black Gospel Tradition” at 7 p.m. Oct. 26, in the Paul Powell Chapel at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. Abbington will be joined by Baylor’s own Heavenly Voices Gospel choir for a lyrical performance and presentation called “Spirits That Dwell in Deep Woods.” The event also will include Gospel spirituals, short lectures and demonstrations. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.

• Dillon International will hold a free adoption information meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Buckner Children’s Home campus in Dallas. An overview of adoption from China, Korea, Haiti, India and Hong Kong will be presented, plus new opportunities in Ghana. A domestic adoption program for Texas families and adoption programs in Russia, Ethiopia and Honduras available through Buckner International also will be discussed. For more information, call (214) 319-3426.

• Texas Baptist Men will dedicate the Robert E. Dixon Mission Equipping Building Nov. 20 at 10:30 a.m. A lunch provided by the TBM Disaster Relief feeding unit will follow at noon. For more information, call (214) 828-5356.

• Howard Payne University honored eight alumni and friends of the university during homecoming festivities. Roy Robb was named distinguished alumnus. Coffey Anderson and Jeremy Courtney were designated outstanding young graduates. Clinton Stewart and Leonard Underwood were medal of service recipients. Molly Ross Embrey was Coming Home Queen, and Leo and Jane Lacey served as grand marshals.

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has presented the Gary and Diane Heavin Servant Leadership Award to Miles O’Neill of Lufkin, Sarah Herriott from Dakar, Senegal, and Bethany Franz of Huntsville. The awards included $1,000 for each student, a portion of which they donated to an organization of their choice.

• Hardin-Simmons University honored several alumni during homecoming activities. Fred Aurbach, a dentist who attends First Church in Dallas, was presented the John J. Keeter Jr. Alumni Service Award. The distinguished alumni honorees were Ruth Schleifer, a Connecti-cut medical practitioner; Marv Knox, editor of the Baptist Standard; and Jose Mayorga, adjutant general for the State of Texas. Inducted in the HSU athletics hall of fame were Pete Murray, football and basketball, 1952-1957; Melanie Muhr, soccer, 1996-1999; Kathryn Otwell, basketball, 1997-2000; and Lynn Turner, baseball, 1985-1988.

• New faculty at East Texas Baptist University this fall in-clude Stan Coppinger, professor, English; Monty Bohrer, associate professor, business; George Day, assistant professor, criminal justice; and James Hamby, assistant professor, business.

• Dallas Baptist University has named Mary Nelson the faculty member of the year. The associate professor of English has taught at the school since 2004. She is a member of First Church in Arlington.

• Baptist Child & Family Services has named Kaye Mosley comptroller.

Anniversaries

• Cave Springs Church in Marshall, 65th, Oct. 3. Ernest Jarell is pastor.

• Hunt Baptist Association, 125th, Oct. 16-17. James Gatliff is director of missions.

• First Church in Smithville, 120th, Oct. 17. Michael Murphy is pastor.

• Waco Regional Baptist Association, 150th, Oct. 26. A celebration featuring humorist Dennis Swanberg and pianist Kurt Kaiser will be held at First Church in Waco at 7 p.m. A business session will be held at 5 p.m., followed by a reception at 5:30 p.m. and a supper at 6 p.m. The meal costs $7, reservations must be made. For more information or reservations, call (254) 753-2408.

• Kenny Lowman, 20th, as minister of education/outreach at First Church in Midlothian, Oct. 28.

• Mike Haun, 10th, as associate pastor at First Church in Maypearl, Oct. 29.

• David Mundine, 15th, as pastor of Blanconia Church in Refugio.

• Jack Allen, fifth, as pastor of First Church in Tuleta.

• First Church in Goldthwaite, 125th, Nov. 14. Richard Jackson will be the guest speaker. A meal will follow the morning service. For more information, call (325) 648-3369. Doug Holtzclaw is pastor.

Death

• Bobbie Byrom, 82, Oct. 19 in San Marcos. Her husband, Jack, was pastor of Water Street Church in Waxahachie, Grace Temple Church in Corpus Christi, First Church in Carrizo Springs and First Church in San Marcos. In 1965, he was named president of San Marcos Baptist Academy. For the next 31 years, they served SMBA, frequently opening their homes to students and faculty. She was also active in many community organizations, a community Bible study, Woman’s Missionary Union, and she was a Sunday school teacher. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Jack; daughters, Debbie Welch and Mary Beall; son, Jim; sister, Sybil Cromer; and eight grandchildren.

Event

• First Church in Byers celebrated the retirement of the debt on its Family Life Center Oct. 24 with a noteburning celebration. Ken Johanan is pastor.

• First Church in Amarillo will hold a dedication prayer for its renovated facilities at 9:45 a.m. Nov. 7. An open house and tours will held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Candlelight tours will begin at 6:30 p.m. Howard Batson is pastor.

• Todd Agnew and Pocket Full of Rocks will perform at Atascosa County Cowboy Fellowship in Jourdanton Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. For more information, call (830) 769-3733. Pete Pawelek is pastor.

Ordained

• Aaron Coffey to the ministry at First Church in Floresville.

Revivals

• First Church, Menard; Oct. 31-Nov. 3; evangelist, Robert Barge; music, Jeff Gore; pastor, Duane Garcia.

• First Church, Tuscola; Oct. 31-Nov. 7; evangelist, Allen Buchanek; pastor, DeWayne Bush.

ARLINGTON—As youth ministers and leaders from across Texas gathered at Youth Ministry Conclave on Oct. 11-13, they were greeted with a challenge to stop adding additional ministry or spiritual disciplines in an attempt to avoid spiritual emptiness and first learn to be refreshed by walking with Jesus. 

Kari Jobe, worship leader at Gateway Church in Southlake, lead the more than 850 youth minsters and volunteers in worship during each of the five general sessions held during Conclave.

Speaker Doug Fields, founder of Simply Youth Ministry, said he realized many youth ministers and volunteers arrived at the conference on the verge of emptiness due to the demands of ministry and the local church. 

“As a youth worker myself, I know what you need—some rest and refreshment,” Fields said. “You need a personal awakening to the majesty of Jesus to be more fully intimate with him.”

Fields knows when he is nearing emptiness in his own life, he said, noting he becomes shallow, confused, anxious, cynical, insecure, lacking compassion for the hurting and having difficulty in making good decisions. Often when leaders are at this point, they first turn to a checklist filled with Bible study, fasting, prayer and doing more ministry activities. This births obligation and brings one closer to emptiness, he said.  

“When Jesus was calling people to him, it was very invitational,” Fields said. “He used words like ‘come to me,’ ‘be with me,’ ‘follow me.’ What I think we have done as youth ministers and are now casting to teenagers under us is we have taken this invitational tone and are now adding a task. … Spiritual fullness is not an invitation to do more. It is an invitation to experience the love of Jesus.” 

Randy Frazee, senior minister at Oak Hills church in San Antonio, encouraged those attending Conclave with the story of Gideon during the Tuesday afternoon general session.

Doug Fields, founder of Simply Youth Ministry in Lake Forest, Cali., encouraged the youth ministers and ministry volunteers as he spoke during two general sessions at Conclave.

To avoid falling into the emptiness of obligation, Fields challenged participants to see a spiritual filling of Jesus as an continuous gleaning of the healing and refreshment Christ brings, instead of just a morning encounter before the day starts.

“I think there are a lot of people here today doing ministry with some failure and guilt because you have been racing for that one big idea or solution for your ministry, and you have missed the still, small voice of Jesus saying, ‘Come be with me,’” Fields said. 

If youth ministry leaders began gleaning refreshment solely from their relationship with Christ, Fields believes, Christ would be more evident in their lives. Their teaching would be richer. Their conversations would come alive. Guilt and failure would be distant. And a sense of obligation and business in ministry would be replaced with peace. 

“The Spirit of God would be sensed in your life, and emptiness would not be present,” he said. “This conference is an invitation to pursue the small and to pursue Jesus as he flows through.”

Refreshment will also come when ministers learn to place boundaries on their work and first minister to their families, Fields said. 

Youth Ministry Conclave participants join in worship at the Arlington event.

“You may need to meet with some people and redefine the expectation placed on you,” he said. “The church is a place that values saying yes to everything. And many of us in ministry are people pleasers. We say yes to more, yes to activity. What is really tough is saying no to the many, many good things that come our way. Every time I say yes to something over here, I’m saying no to my family over there.”

Ministry never will stop, Fields said, as there always is another student to meet with, another Bible study to plan, another teacher to train. But ministers must realize that if their family isn’t strong, their ministry won’t be strong.  

“If you are giving more time and energy to your ministry than your family, I want to encourage you to stop before it tears it apart,” Fields said. “There are other people who can shepherd the flock, who can teach and lead at your church. But in my family, there is no one else who can lead my family, who can speak into the lives of my kids as I can." 

Though ministry can be difficult and at times ministers feel the church and others are against them, Randy Frazee, senior minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio and another Conclave speaker, said they must remember they serve a mighty God who can do anything. 

“Whenever God wants to do something big, he always stacks the odds against his team,” Frazee said. “He does this so when there is victory, others will say there is no way. Some of you feel in a place where the enemy is saying no way, but know that we can say Yahweh. Some have given up on the youth of our day and say no way, but we say Yahweh. Some people have given up on the church saying it isn’t relevant today.  They say no way, and we say Yahweh.”  

Through the exhibit hall, in more than 40 breakout sessions and regional connecting times, those attending Conclave had ample opportunities to exchange ideas, encourage each other and be refreshed in their spiritual walk during the three-day event.

But in order for God to shine through, brokenness in the individual lives of youth ministers and leaders must first take place, Frazee said, as he referenced God using only Gideon, 300 soldiers, clay pots and torches to beat the incredibly strong and large Midianite army. 

“On the basis of the word of God I say Yahweh, but in order for the light to shine out of the jar, it must first be broken,” Frazee said. “We know that God’s light and glory shines the brightest from us who have been broken the most. We do our best work as a bunch of cracked pots.” 

Wes Hamilton, pastor at Hulen Street Baptist Church in Fort Worth, also talked about how youth ministers, leaders and students will not be able to live the life that Christ intended for them until they stop doing and first realize their identity in Christ. 

“He didn’t come in order to make us better, to alter our behavior,” Hamilton said. “He didn’t die in order to change our external experience. He came to change the very core of who we are, to radically alter our identity.”

For identities to change, Hamilton said Christ followers must realize the transformation comes only through Christ and not through additional instruction or works. 

“Our people, our students don’t need to be told what to do,” he said. “They need to be told who they are. They know what to do. I believe that. They go from conference to conference, from camp to D-now. We don’t need to be reminded of what to change but to be reminded that we are changed. We will not live as we are intended until we know who we are because identity forms behavior.” 

DENTON—Alecia Dockery from First Baptist Church in Denton is living out of a backpack and sharing God’s love in 11 nations over 11 months.

During her first month of service, Alecia Dockery and her team took Jason to his screening at the Operation Smile clinic in Makati City, Philippines. The photo at left is before the operation; at right he is healing up afterwards.

Dockery, who left Texas in September, has spent her first month in the Philippines. While there, she has worked with a ministry that feeds impoverished children, played basketball against college-aged women with the emphasis being on sharing the gospel with them, and helped the family of a boy with a cleft palate receive surgery to repair that so that he can better eat and be nourished.

Other nations where she will work include India, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Romania, Ukraine, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, as well as another Asian country.

She and her team of six will spend a month in each place as they serve with the World Race organization. While she was not sure before she left exactly what she would be doing in each place, typical ministries include leading Vacation Bible Schools, running sports camps and working in AIDS clinics.

“We just have to be really versatile and willing to do whatever we’re asked,” said Dockery, 26, who noted that goes against her nature. “This is probably the first time in my life that I don’t have plans.”

But God has been adjusting her plans to his for several years now, Dockery said.

Alecia Dockery of Denton and another member of her team visit with the family of a child she helped transport to an Operation Smile clinic for an operation.

The second-year schoolteacher said she was looking for a summer mission trip when an Internet search took her to the World Race website. Once there, she said she spent hours reading testimonies of Christians who had served.

When she sensed God calling her to missions service, it meant leaving her long-awaited “dream job” as a sixth-grade writing teacher.

Alecia Dockery, a member of First Baptist Church in Denton, left her “dream job” as a sixth-grade writing teacher to answer God’s call to missions service—sharing her faith in 11 nations over 11 months.

“Six weeks in, I loved my school, loved my administration, loved my kids, but I knew this wasn’t it. It was like God was saying, ‘I brought you here to see this wasn’t it,’” she said.

But once she settled that the World Race was God’s calling for her, she said the decision was easy.

“I’ve been trying to move into the direction of following God’s will for my life. It’s been a very peaceful ride, not a crazy one,” Dockery said.

While on the 11-month mission trip, she was allowed to take clothes for 10 days and a tent, sleeping bag and mattress pad. Participants are expected to make $12 a day cover all their expenses other than air flights.

“I think the thing I’m looking forward to the most is being immersed in all the different cultures and still seeing the transcendence of God,” she said.

Writing on the blog she has kept since starting the race last month, Dockery said: “I hope I never see God as manageable again. I hope I never tell him what’s best for me again. I hope he continues to be a mystery continuously unfolding his faithfulness to me—continuously revealing more of myself to me and challenging me with new growth.”

To follow more of her journey, go to aleciadockery.theworldrace.org.

DALLAS—Helping a team of amputee soccer players get to their World Cup venue might not seem like disaster relief, but Dick Talley with Texas Baptist Men said that is exactly what it is.

“We see this as an extension of our disaster relief ministry,” Talley said. “In Haiti, if you have a dog and a handicapped person, you feed the dog because it has value.

“How do we change the way the people of Haiti look at an amputee or handicapped person? We’re trying to do that through sport. In the eyes of the people of Haiti, we are elevating the value of these people.”

Fred Sorrells of First Baptist Church in Kingsland worked with handicapped people in Haiti even before the earthquake there swelled their numbers.

“In Haiti, to be disabled is to be castoff. The general feeling is, ‘Why don’t you just go off somewhere and die?’” he said.

Recognizing the importance of sport in Haiti, he began searching the Internet for a viable sport for people with disabilities and came across the World Amputee Soccer Association. As he began to inquire about it, Sorrells said, he essentially was told there was no way he could get a team together in time for the association’s World Cup.

Along about that time, Sorrells learned that Haiti’s national soccer team was in Texas, and he went there to see if he could enlist some help.

“I just showed up and asked if there were any Christians on the team and learned their captain was a very devout Christian,” he recalled.

Team Captain Pierre Bruny immediately was interested. Upon his return to Haiti, Bruny began visiting hospitals to invite amputees to try out for the team.

Members of an Haitian amputee soccer team proudly display a shirt bearing both the Texas Baptist Men Disaster Relief insignia and their team logo. TBM will train the team members in water purification techniques and basic disaster relief before they return to Haiti.

After several days of tryouts, the Haitian national amputee soccer team was selected Aug. 14.

The next major hurdle involved securing birth certificates, passports and visas in a country were so many records had been destroyed, but eventually all were obtained.

Texas Baptist Men paid for the air transport of the team from Haiti to Dallas. FC Dallas, the city’s professional soccer team, put them up in hotel accommodations and provided meals and transportation.

Local media reported on the team, and donations began to come in, but still the team did not have the funds necessary to fly to Crespo, Argentina, for the World Cup where they would play teams from Argentina, Japan, France and Ukraine in their opening pool. In all, 14 teams are competing for the title.

Texas Baptist Men agreed to step in again when the team did not have the money for the flight.

“People are starting to donate, but not fast enough to get them to Argentina, so we are guaranteeing the tickets, and then we will reimbursed as the money becomes available,” Talley said.

But he was quick to not take all the credit for the team’s getting the opportunity to play. While TBM had handled this hurdle, others had helped at other points along the way.

“There are several groups that are helping, we’re just a spoke in the wheel,” Talley said.

Sorrells said he expects TBM to be fully reimbursed.

“We’re doing it as a step of faith that people will hear about this team and make a donation. We really believe we’ll be able to pay every penny of what they’ve given us back,” he said.

Texas Baptist Men Executive Director Leo Smith (2nd from right) enjoys time with (left to right) Dick Talley of TBM, Fred Sorrells of First Baptist Church in Kingsland, a Haitian pastor and the soccer team captain.

In amputee soccer, players can only use a non-amputated limb to strike the ball. Field players must be missing some portion of a leg, and goalies must be missing some portion of an arm.

“Because some may only be missing a hand or foot while others may have lost much more of the limb, only the whole arm or leg can be used to touch the ball,” Sorrells explained.

Field players use crutches that wrap around their forearms for their mobility. For more information and video of the game, see iisport.org. There also are opportunities to contribute on the website.

“We know we are the David among the Goliaths, because we have not played an official game yet,” he said.

Sorrells’ organization, International Institute of Sport, focuses on helping the handicapped be as involved in sport as they wish. He particularly is involved in the Paralympic Games and Veterans Wheelchair Games.

Sorrells believes the Great Commission is not only in Matthew 28. It also is in Luke 14:21-23: “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.’”

“That’s what I’m trying to do—help the poor, crippled, blind and lame to know Jesus Christ,” Sorrells said.

Seven of the Haitian amputee team now are Christians. Once their World Cup experience is completed, Talley said they will be trained in water purification so that they can help in future disaster relief efforts.

“The first casualty of a disaster is hope,” Talley said. “They’re going to be able to tell other earthquake survivors that there is hope, that there is life after an earthquake, and they are proof of it.”

DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is entering a new relief phase in Haiti, moving families into permanent homes built from the rubble created by the Jan. 12 earthquake that left them homeless.

The newly formed Haiti Housing Network is a collaboration of the Atlanta-based CBF, Conscience International, Fuller Center for Housing and Baptist General Convention of Texas .

The network set a goal of building 1,000 permanent homes in the general area of Grand Goave, Haiti, over the next three years.

Using rubble from a family's previous home, permanent housing for earthquake victims can be built for about $3,000.

"These are perfect projects for churches," Tim Brendle, a former missionary to Haiti who has been coordinating the Fellowship's relief efforts in Grand Goave, told the CBF Coordinating Council Oct. 14. "We will encourage churches to provide the funding and a volunteer team to come to Haiti and erect these as long as the need continues."

Using hard work and ingenuity, Brendle said mission volunteers will be able to build modest houses for Haitian earthquake victims for about $3,000 each.

Beginning with a trench foundation, steel mesh is erected into a basket-style wall form that is filled with earthquake rubble broken up with sledgehammers.

Field-made metal hooks keep the mesh evenly spaced. When the wall baskets are filled, mortar is added to stabilize the structure. Additional coats of mortar provide a finished look, not unlike a traditional concrete-block exterior.

Add a wooden roof frame covered with tin, Brendle said, "and you have a very serviceable home."

The technique was developed by Conscience International, a humanitarian and advocacy organization that has a formal partnership with the CBF.

Using materials from a family's destroyed home allows them to remain in their old neighborhood. It aids with cleanup and solves complicated land-use issues. Construction materials are purchased locally, and Haitians are employed, boosting the local economy.

Nine months after the Haiti earthquake, Brendle said housing remains a critical issue. Hundreds of thousands of people are still without reliable shelter, living in tents amid elements like heat and rain and the constant threat of living in an earthquake-prone zone.

"Many families with young children are eager to get out of tents and into such houses," Brendle said. "As we learn and perfect this process, dozens of these houses can be built, providing permanent starter homes for Haitian families."

Brendle said the homes will have a small porch in front and a privacy enclosure for a shower in the back. They also will have a composting toilet.

Because of the strength of the steel basket and the fact that the contents are allowed to shift during an earthquake, he said engineers believe the houses will withstand an 8.0 earthquake with only minor cosmetic damage.

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — A blue-ribbon task force assigned to study and recommend changes to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's structure has begun its work with a series of listening sessions for various stakeholders as the organization formed out of pangs of controversy 20 years ago seeks to move beyond the past and look toward the future.

"There is no way to understand the beginning of this movement or this organization without acknowledging that we were all about guarding something," David Hull, chairman of a "2012 Task Force" appointed this summer said in a listening session during the CBF Coordinating Council's regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 14-15 at First Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga.

"Guarding is something that is important," Hull, a member of the interim steering committee behind formation of the Atlanta-based CBF in the context of controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention in 1991. "We need to protect those principles and the things that we hold dear in our heritage, but that looks to the past."

"As we approach this 20th anniversary it's a great time to celebrate and look back, but it's also a wonderful time to look forward," said Hull, pastor of First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Ala.

CBF Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal initiated the 14-member task force after an invitation-only retreat of leaders of more than 20 Fellowship-affiliated organizations in April. The Coordinating Council endorsed the process in June, amid questions from some members about the composition of the task force and the scope of its authority.

In his initial report to the council, Hull said the group understood its task to be "to listen to the Fellowship community and to recommend ways to align our organizational structure with the vision, mission and values of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship."

"We don't come with any preconceived notions of what needs to happen, what needs to change, what needs to stay the same," Hull said. "We're all involved and have been involved in CBF life, but we're coming to listen to many different groups, many different kind of folks who are involved in the CBF community, to hear from you what's working, what's not working, what needs to change, what doesn't."

The other task, Hull noted, is to "recommend."

"We have no power to implement anything," he said. "We are not anybody's governing body. We're just a group of folks who will commit time and energy and our best thoughts and resources to listen and then to try to shape some recommendations."

Between now and next year's General Assembly in Tampa, Fla., Hull said the task force would be in a "listening mode," meeting with groups such as state coordinating councils and gatherings of state coordinators.

"We want to be listening where CBF folks are already gathering; for example, state meetings, where they are already coming together," he said. "Let's go to places like that and listen."

The first listening session took place at a recent Alabama CBF gathering. National Coordinating Council members broke into groups Oct. 15 to discuss questions on a provided worksheet. One task force member moderated each group, while another took notes.

Hull said no single listening session would be able to cover every issue, but he asked the Coordinating Council to give special attention to one question regarding suggested changes to the structure of the Coordinating Council, since that is something most directly related to their function.

Hull said the task force has a long list of CBF constituency groups to ask for input. He mentioned young ministers just getting started in CBF churches, current students in CBF-related seminaries and divinity schools and partner groups that work under the Fellowship movement's umbrella but function independently of the organization.

Hull said in an interview that the task force doesn't have a particular number of listening sessions in mind, but they want to do as many as possible between now and the June 22-25 General Assembly.

After the Tampa assembly, Hull said, the task force plans to work about six months turning information from the listening sessions into concrete recommendations. In response to a question from one Coordinating Council member about how that group would handle inevitable differences of opinion, Hull used an analogy of a funnel, where the large volume of information at the top naturally narrows into common themes.

Hull said the task force expects to bring recommendations to the Coordinating Council in February. After that, the Coordinating Council will determine what recommendations to bring to the General Assembly.

"It is a huge assignment," Hull said. "One reason we have a separate working on this is so that a smaller group can devote time and energy. We don't have other CBF assignments like you do as a Coordinating Council or like other groups do or staff does. This is going to be our main assignment."

Individuals who do not get answers to their questions can submit them directly through a form on the CBF website.

Hull said this wouldn't be the only time that the Coordinating Council would have access to the task force. "We will come alongside you, work with you on this, and we want to hear from you: today and in the days to come," Hull said.

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

WASHINGTON (ABP) — On the eve of a global Christian conference set to begin Oct. 16, Christian groups in the United States and elsewhere are protesting the Chinese government’s decision to prevent as many as 200 would-be participants from attending.

According to multiple news reports, the Chinese Christians have so far been barred from leaving their country for Cape Town, South Africa, site of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. According to organizers, the conference will bring together 4,000 Christians from around the world “to confront the critical issues of our time — other world faiths, poverty, HIV/AIDS, persecution, among others — as they relate to the future of the church and world evangelization.”

“They said this is an illegal conference and they sent me home,” said Liu Guan, 36, an evangelical leader who was stopped at the airport when he tried to fly out of Beijing Oct. 10, according to The New York Times. “They said I can not go anywhere.”

“This is surprising and disappointing,” said National Association of Evangelicals President Leith Anderson, who plans to attend the gathering, according to a news release from the U.S. group. “The People’s Republic of China has recently welcomed dialogue with international Christians. I expected the Chinese to celebrate their presence and influence at Cape Town 2010 with delegations from 200 countries. I hope this is just a bureaucratic misunderstanding that will quickly be resolved so that China won't be the only country left out.”

Chinese officials have accused conference organizers of interfering in Chinese religious affairs by inviting members of China’s  unregistered evangelical churches but not its officially state-sanctioned Protestant denomination.

In a statement released to the Times, Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Lausanne officials “secretly extended multiple invitations to Christians who privately set up meeting points.” And that the act “publicly challenges the principle of independent, autonomous, domestically organized, and therefore represents a rude interference in Chinese religious affairs.”

Lausanne officials have denied the charges, saying they invited representatives of the China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the officially sanctioned arms of Chinese Protestantism.

While Christians who belong to officially sanctioned churches enjoy a significant degree of religious liberty in China, the nation’s communist officials have repeatedly come under fire for violating the religious freedom of churches and Christians who don’t submit to state registration. In some parts of the country, local officials reportedly continue to arrest and otherwise persecute leaders of so-called “house churches” and other unofficial congregations.

Agencies that monitor international religious freedom have also criticized China for oppression of other religious minorities — especially Uighur Muslims in western China and practitioners of the Falun Gong faith.

–Robert Marus is managing editor and Washington bureau chief for Associated Baptist Press.

BELTON—Armed with paintbrushes and donning oversized white T-shirts, four siblings gathered around their new playhouse to add the finishing touches of paint. The Carter girls were among dozens of military children who received a playhouse thanks to the efforts of University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students.

Four-year-old Sarah Carter carefully paints the window of her new playhouse as she and her sisters work with University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students to finish their new Cru Playhouse. (PHOTO/Jennifer Jones)

Eleven families of military personnel each received a playhouse for their children, made possible by the Cru Playhouses initiative. Mike McCarthy, director of campus activities at UMHB, called Cru Playhouses “a way for us to honor (the families’) military service and a way for us to teach our students how to honor military service.”

Nearly all of the families chosen to receive a playhouse have a parent who is a student at UMHB or is employed at the university. Most of the families chosen to receive a playhouse also have one parent currently deployed.

Giving back to military families is the focus of Cru Playhouses, but McCarthy believes by participating in this program, students were able to learn more about fellow students who have children and a spouse in active duty.

“A lot of our students have no idea what a real military family is like,” McCarthy said. “They only know what they’ve seen on TV. Cru Playhouses gives us a chance to be in contact with military families and see who they really are and what type of person devotes their life to military service.”

Ten student organizations constructed the Cru Playhouses, including the Student Government Association and the Baptist Student Ministry. A group of UMHB faculty also completed a playhouse this year.

Randy McSwain, a senior psychology major participated with other members of the Couch Cru, the student-spirit group dedicated to supporting Crusader athletic teams.

“We support the Cru, and this is something the Cru really supported, so we wanted to get involved,” McSwain said.

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students construct 11 playhouses on campus to give to children of soldiers as part of Cru Playhouses. (PHOTO/Jennifer Jones)

McSwain was part of a design team who met with the families to determine how the children wanted the playhouses decorated. The playhouses were built Monday through Thursday, and on Friday, the children came to campus to help decorate and personalize their playhouses.

Parents Dawnella and Rob Carter brought their four daughters to meet with the Couch Cru design team.

“Rob wasn’t home, so I spoke to Mike (McCarthy), and he said that they had 11 playhouses that they wanted to give to military children. I thought he was calling to ask for names of people,” Mrs. Carter said. “I told him that my husband just retired after serving 25 years, and he said we were a family that they would love to honor. I actually started crying when he told me.”

Rob Carter is a first-year graduate student at UMHB pursuing a master’s degree in psychology. Carter served 25 years in the military and retired from the Army in May.

The Carter family has an older son, Matthew, and four daughters—Calista, age 9; Nicole, 8; Amanda, 6; and Sarah, 4.

“We’ve been here (in Central Texas) for two years, but right after we moved here my husband was deployed,” Mrs. Carter said. “He’s only been out of the military since May, so (a playhouse) has been on our wish list, just not a possibility for us yet.”

Ten student organizations and a faculty group constructed the Cru Playhouses. The children then painted the plahouses.

The Carters tried to keep the surprise a secret, but they gave couldn’t hold it in and told their girls the good news the day before they were set to go decorate their playhouse.

The girls have big plans for their playhouse, their mother said.

“They plan on landscaping around it, and they want to attract butterflies to it,” she said. “They have a spot all picked out in the yard for it, so they’re really excited.”

The Carter family had no idea about Cru Playhouses was until McCarthy called and said they were chosen to receive one.

“This is the best gift in the world,” Mrs. Carter said. “We didn’t know about this, we didn’t ask them for this, it was just offered to us, which was really neat. It’s the best gift in the world. When we saw our Carter Family Playhouse sign, we knew it was real.”

LONDON (ABP) — A Congolese-British Baptist who escaped death by firing squad in her home country three years ago is once again confronting the authorities to speak out against horrific human-rights abuses.

Marie-Therese Nlandu, an attorney who specializes in international human rights, has requested the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague look into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by President Joseph Kabila and other senior figures of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's government.

Marie-Therese Nlandu

Nlandu, a member of All Nations Baptist Church in London, submitted the request following the assassination of fellow human-rights activist Floribert Chebeya in June.

She cites the widespread practice of rape and mutilation of young women in the Grand Kivu area of her country. Rape has frequently been employed as a weapon of war in Congo’s recent conflicts over the country’s mineral riches.

Attacks against Kabila political rival Jean-Pierre Bemba and the murder of thousands in the Kongo Central province are also mentioned in Nlandu’s charges.

In 2006 and 2007 she spent 160 days on death row, charged with treason after defending people in various court cases.

After receiving treatment to recover from the injuries suffered as a result of the incarceration, Nlandu has traveled the world to speak to Congolese expatriate communities and raise awareness of the human-rights abuses.

Her husband, Noel Mbala, said his wife couldn't remain silent, despite the increased risk to her safety posed by her speaking out again.
“We can't just cross our arms — that's what makes evil prevail. What's happening is an internal torture for us as Christians,” he said. “We need the international prosecutor to look into these crimes.”

Supporters are asked to sign a petition to show support for the campaign.

–Paul Hobson is news editor of The Baptist Times, the weekly newspaper of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.