LAGOS, Nigeria—The Baptist World Alliance entered its “collaborative mission era” with the adoption of a new constitution and bylaws.

After decades of “major growth” in the global organization, BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown—re-elected during the annual gathering to his second five-year term—pointed to a new era of shared governance shaped by the BWA’s identity and mission.

The shorter constitution tells who the BWA is and why it exists. The longer bylaws outline how BWA will work and place BWA’s six regions at the center of governance.

The new constitution and bylaws were adopted unanimously, along with a year-long implementation plan scheduled to finish by the conclusion of the July 2025 BWA World Congress in Brisbane, Australia. To facilitate implementation, Nominating Committee and Executive Committee at-large terms were extended one year.

New members

Of the 440 participants from 64 countries, 372 were in person and 68 were online. Members of the General Council among them voted to add 13 new member bodies. Ten are in Africa, four of which are the first BWA member bodies from their respective countries:

• Evangelical Baptist Church Association of Cape Verde (700 members in six churches).
• Baptist Association of Mauritius (151 members in five churches).
• Baptist Convention of São Tomé and Príncipe (350 members in three churches).
• Federation of Baptist Churches in Congo (1,250 members in 12 churches).

Other new members from Africa are:

• Community of Independent Baptist Evangelical Churches of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (22,305 members in 145 churches).
• Convention of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Congo, DRC (3,062 members in 15 churches).
• Baptist Fellowship Church in Central African Republic (8,493 members in 60 churches).
• Communion of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Central Africa, CAR (12,700 members in 67 churches).
• National Association Baptist Churches, CAR (50,000 members in 228 churches).
• Christian Unity Baptist Churches in Rwanda (12,051 members in 29 churches).

Three institutional members were added: Hungarian Baptist Aid, Buckner International and Baylor University.

Nigeria’s significance

The Nigerian Baptist Convention, formed in 1914, is the largest member body of BWA, formed in 1905. Additionally, Lagos—with more than 13 million people—is one of the world’s 20 largest cities and is a strategic center of the Baptist movement, Brown noted.

Nigeria has more than 220 million people, Nigerian Baptist Convention President Israel Adelani Akanji said.

“It is said 1 in every 7 Black people in the world is a Nigerian, and 1 in every 4 people in Africa is a Nigerian,” he added.

Nigerian Baptist Royal Ambassadors opened the annual gathering with a formal ceremony and honor guard inspection.

Focused on peacemaking

Brown introduced the theme of the annual gathering—“Ambassadors of Peace”—defining ambassadors as “reconciled reconcilers.” He referred to 1 Peter 3:11—“seek peace and pursue it;” James 3:18—“the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace;” and Matthew 5:9—“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”

Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, a deacon in his Baptist church, participated in the opening welcome and worship, and was recognized and prayed over by annual gathering attendees.

Resolutions adopted

The BWA General Council adopted three resolutions unanimously.

Religious nationalism

The resolution on religious nationalism defines it as idolatry and as “the co-opting of the language, symbols, imagery, sacred texts, or holy figures of the dominant religion to justify wielding legal, political or social power or privilege, and may depict a nation or political party as divinely approved and guided.”

As a threat to religious freedom that “may corrupt or exploit any religion in the pursuit of obtaining or maintaining political power, … Baptist individuals, churches, unions, and institutions” are called on “to find ways to publicly and privately oppose religious nationalism [and Christian nationalism, more specifically—as well as the theology of dominion undergirding it—and] support positive Christian engagement in the public square.”

Peace in the Middle East

The resolution on peace in the Middle East is the ninth such resolution since 1981. It condemns violence against civilians and “all forms of antisemitism and Islamophobia.” It denounces “genocidal rhetoric by any party or country, especially that which utilizes biblical passages.”

The resolution “urges an immediate ceasefire in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Yemen, … the immediate return of all hostages (as well as the bodies of dead hostages) by Hamas,” and coordinated humanitarian efforts to prevent further deaths.

Furthermore, “a just and lasting peace” should include and be available to both Palestinians and Israelis.

“With the significant damage to Gaza Baptist Church, we commit to support the rebuilding of a long-term Baptist presence in Gaza and the preservation of Christian community and witness throughout the Middle East,” the resolution concludes.

World hunger

A resolution on world hunger acknowledged an estimated 700 million people—“including more than 23 million Baptists—are affected by hunger.”

Their plight is made worse recently by “global systemic issues like poverty, economic injustice, climate change, war, and racial and gender inequality.” To address these issues, “structural and systemic changes are necessary to eliminate hunger and poverty disparities.”

Human rights award

Rev. Mariama Julie Sesay of Sierra Leone received the Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award for her decades of work fighting gender-based violence against girls and women.

As a survivor of female genital mutilation at age 10, from which she almost died, Sesay has made female genital mutilation a center piece of her ministry and advocacy for gender justice and health.

BWA business concluded by commissioning the first missionaries from the All Africa Baptist Fellowship. The Baptist General Association of Virginia is partnering in their support.

UPDATED to include the final attendee count.

WAXAHACHIE—Churches have been guilty of teaching half-truths, a real-life Indiana Jones told First Baptist Church in Waxahachie. But archeology can help clarify the intended meaning of some scriptural texts.

Scott Stripling, provost and professor of biblical archaeology and church history at The Bible Seminary in Katy, directs the Associates for Biblical Research’s excavations—the largest archeological dig in Israel—at the ancient region of Shiloh. Shiloh is where the Ark of the Covenant was kept until David brought it to Jerusalem.

Churches don’t mean to teach incomplete understandings of Scripture, Stripling said. However, the Bible was written in primarily Hebrew and Greek, and now American Christians read it in English. So, sometimes some of the meaning gets lost, he noted.

He highlighted biblical texts to consider alongside the context he has gained through archeological research—and a basic understanding of the flora and fauna of the Holy Land—to understand better what might have been meant in the passages.

A tale of two trees

Jeremiah 17:6-8 is a tale of two trees, Stripling explained. One, which is not growing with God, is not capable of seeing the good and never will realize it’s thriving even if it is. The other, with God, grows healthy and strong. One is “a tree of death” and the other “a tree of life,” he said.

“And we get to choose from which tree we eat,” he continued.

But English translations of the Bible have a word in verse 6 translated as “bush,” “tree” or “shrub,” when the Hebrew word is “arara.” An arara is not just any bush or shrub, though. It is a specific bush, abundant in the region.

The fruit of the arara looks pretty on the outside, like a cross between a mango and a grapefruit, but when squeezed, it turns to dust and a milky sap of poison, he said. The Bedouin people still use the sap to make their arrows more deadly to hunt hyena, Stripling said.

“Jeremiah wasn’t just saying you’ll be any shrub, or any bush, or any tree, if you turn your heart away from the Lord. You’re going to be this specific shrub, right here, this bush, an arara.”

He explained Jeremiah’s audience would have known what he meant and thought of the arara, which looks delicious, but when squeezed contains nothing but dust and death.

“Your outward appearance has nothing to do with your standing with God,” Stripling continued. Jeremiah makes it clear when “we begin to think it does, we are the ones that have turned our hearts away from the Lord.”

Stripling contrasted the death plant, arara, to the pomegranate, also prolific in the area, which his team has verified played a prominent role through their excavations in the location which they believe to be the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept for three centuries.

Scripture speaks of attaching pomegranates to the robes of the priests who entered, and ceramic miniature pomegranate fruits are among the artifacts recovered there.

Only pomegranates, not figs, grapes or dates, were allowed in the Holy of Holies.

Stripling gave some ideas about why that might be, but concluded the pomegranate represented a life-giving tree to Jeremiah’s audience. It represented God’s ability to breathe on a person and “make you a productive member of the kingdom of God. Do we eat from the tree of death or of the tree of life? It all depends on the inclination of our hearts,” Stripling said.

Archeology doesn’t change Scripture in any way. Rather, Stripling stated: “What it does is it illuminates it. It sets it into a context so that we understand it here and now, the way that they understood it then and there.”

Silver coins

The archeologist turned to a familiar parable of Jesus, in Luke 15:8-10, about a woman and her 10 silver coins. He pointed out the significance of the coins being silver, a detail often overlooked because the value of the silver coins is not well understood in today’s context.

 The 10 silver coins demonstrate she’s a woman of wealth, each coin being worth about two week’s income.

“So, that means she’s got five months of income, on hand, in the bank, so to speak. That’s what financial planners tell you today, you should have at all times in the bank,” in case you run into an unexpected financial challenge.

Bronze coins were ubiquitous. Stripling said 99.5 percent of the coins they find daily in their excavations are bronze. But these silver coins were quite rare, making up, along with gold coins, the other 0.5 percent.

As verse 10 indicates, losing one and finding it again was cause for great celebration.

The point of the parable is this: “You are the coin. You’re the thing of great value that the Son of Man is searching for, because he wants a relationship with you.”

Jesus uses this story—along with the parable of the shepherd leaving 99 sheep to find the one that is lost, before it, and the prodigal son, after it—to demonstrate there is no acceptable amount of “shrinkage” or “lost collateral or inventory” in the business God is running, Stripling said.

Shedding further archeological light on these silver coins, or shekels, Stripling highlighted their high level of purity at 91 percent, when the average purity of silver in the first century was 80 percent.

He explained these coins were the only currency accepted to pay the Temple tax, which is why there were money changers at the Temple.

The problem with these coins being the currency of the Temple, Stripling said, is that on them was the image of the Roman god Melqart. “A pagan, Roman god adorns the only coin accepted in the Jerusalem Temple in the first century in the time of Jesus.”

The religious leaders were willing to overlook the commandment against images because it was 91 percent silver, Stripling said. “No wonder Jesus had a problem with the money changers.”

He cares not if a church “sells tacos in the foyer,” but “if you sacrifice your heartfelt beliefs for economic gain. And that’s what was going on in the first century.”

Stripling also discussed Matthew 19:23 and Luke 7:36-38, challenging common beliefs about the passages with archeological discoveries.

A popular speaker and author, Stripling serves on the board of directors for the Near East Archaeological Society. His books are available on Amazon, and he provided archeological commentary for a forthcoming reprint of the Open Study Bible.

Chris Chadwick to First Baptist Church in Hereford as children’s pastor from First Baptist Church in Tulia, where he was youth intern.

Gabriel Cortés to Texas Baptists as Hispanic Education director from Baptist University of the Américas, where he was chief of staff.

Ronny Marriott to First Baptist Church in Richardson as senior pastor from First Baptist Church in Burleson, where he was lead pastor.

HOUSTON—Texans on Mission has deployed two mass feeding units to meet needs in the shadow of the vast power outage caused by Hurricane Beryl in recent days.

The missions organization formerly known as Texas Baptist Men also has three chainsaw teams working to remove trees from homes and cars, as well as to give people access to their houses.

“The power outage is devastating for people, and the scope of this problem is hard to fathom,” said David Wells, Texans on Mission’s disaster relief director. “Because of the absence of power, it becomes very difficult for people to have adequate, healthy food.

“We’ve been asked to prepare 10,000 meals a day in the Houston area, and we are now ramping up to that level. This morning (Wednesday), our volunteers began working at 5 a.m. to serve in the name of Christ. As they cook, they’re praying over the meals, many of which are going to churches to share the gospel”

John Hall, Texans on Mission chief mission officer, said: “We are making sure that under-resourced communities are receiving the meals we are preparing. Right now, many people are suffering. We want to make sure to minister and care for as many people as possible. We’re thankful to partner with the National Baptist Convention of America to make that happen.”

Chainsaw teams are dealing with needs described as Priority 1—where trees have been downed on homes or cars or blocked access to homes. Priority 2 and 3 jobs will be done later.

“Three chainsaw teams in the area quickly deployed after the storm to help remove fallen trees and limbs from homes, cars and driveways,” Wells said. “These volunteers were quick on the scene, and others from throughout the state will be joining them soon because recovery from this storm is going to take a while.”

A Texans on Mission incident management team is being set up at First Baptist Church of Brazoria, along with a mobile shower and laundry unit to serve the chainsaw teams.

“God has blessed Texans on Mission with the equipment that helps our volunteers bring the love of Christ to people in need,” Wells said. “It is great to watch these men and women at work in service to others in the name of Christ.”

The Baptist World Alliance General Council approved Buckner International and Baylor University as new institutional members of BWA. Albert Reyes, CEO of Buckner International remarked: “For Buckner International to be an active member of the Baptist World Alliance affirms our international presence and connection to the global Baptist family. We can serve and connect to Baptist conventions and congregations in 128 countries, add value to their ministry, deliver expertise on serving vulnerable children, orphans and families, and equip them to serve their communities well.” Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone also commented on Baylor’s membership in BWA, saying: “Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the world, and we are thrilled to join the Baptist World Alliance as a member partner. We believe this relationship will help us continue to fulfill our mission to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service. The Baylor board of regents recently approved expansion of our longstanding university motto by adding Pro Mundo to Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana—codifying the influence our students, faculty and alumni have across the globe. We are ‘For the Church, For Texas’ and now ‘For the World.’ We look forward to collaborating and having the ability with the Baptist World Alliance to impact the world for Christ in even more significant ways in the future.”

Dallas Baptist University Chancellor Gary Cook received the Charles D. Johnson Award from the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities. The International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities is a voluntary organization comprised of colleges, universities, and seminaries that embrace their Baptist roots, heritage and relationships. Members include 40 schools with more than 75,000 students in 16 states and three countries. DBU President Adam C. Wright and Cook traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., for this year’s annual meeting, where Cook received the award for his significant contribution to Baptist-related higher education. Cook is the 22nd recipient since the first award was presented in 1983. Bobby Hall, former president of Wayland Baptist University (retired in June 2024) and board member of the association, presented Cook with the award. “Dr. Gary Cook is a servant leader who believes in the power of Christian higher education to change lives and shape culture,” Hall said. “By his accomplishments at DBU and in the entire Baptist higher education landscape, it is clear that Dr. Cook is a true leader.” Cook arrived on the DBU campus in 1988 when he was named president. He served as DBU’s president for 28 years, until he was named chancellor in 2016.

God is working in the lives of students attending summer camps on Wayland Baptist University’s Plainview campus, according to Donnie Brown, director of spiritual life. Leadership Camp for youth from area churches was held June 23-26, and Top of Texas Kids Camp took place June 26-29. The final camp, 806 Youth Camp, runs July 8-12. Brown said God worked in the lives of 60 junior high and high school students who attended Leadership Camp. The Top of Texas Kids’ Camp brought 265 kids and sponsors to the campus for three days.

Houston Christian University hosted a special Topping Off Ceremony for Founders Hall II on June 28. The event signified completion of the structural phase of the final building in the Morris Family Center for Law & Liberty complex. On behalf of HCU President Robert Sloan, Sandy Mooney, HCU chief financial officer/chief operating officer, welcomed special guests and a selection of HCU administrators, board members, faculty and staff, along with members of the construction teams. Special thanks were extended to Lisa Morris Simon and Stewart Morris, Jr. for their past and continued support and commitment to the university. HCU board of trustees Chair Garry Blackmon offered a dedicatory prayer to bless the occasion. Blackmon also expressed appreciation for the life and legacy of HCU’s Founding Father, the late Stewart Morris Sr. and members of his family. Following celebratory remarks, attendees were invited to sign the final structural beam—topped with an evergreen tree in accordance with a Scandinavian tradition dating back to 700 A.D.—to complete the building’s frame. Founders Hall II, the second ancillary building in the Law & Liberty Complex, will house academic classrooms and faculty offices to provide additional space to support HCU’s Institutional Strategic Plan (“Husky 2030”). The building is slated to open in early 2025.

As a Brownwood native, Joseph Burcham didn’t have to travel far for a college education at Howard Payne University. But his road to graduation as an engineering science major led to an innovative way to light rural interstate highways. “My project is a system-based design harvesting mechanical electrical power from roadways,” Burcham said. “It’s an embedded system, designed to go inside roadways. As cars drive down the streets, they’ll rotate the system and create a current that will charge a battery pack. At night, when the photo sensor goes off, it’ll illuminate the streetlights.” Burcham, who graduated from HPU in May, collaborated on the project with Martin Mintchev, professor of engineering and chair of HPU’s division of engineering. Burcham enjoyed the project’s extensive development process. “We went through Google patents, searching all the databases to make sure there wasn’t a patent out there for it,” he said. “Then we made a miniature model, or prototype, to make sure it’s actually feasible, and then we made it bigger and made it look nice.”

Anniversary

George W. Truett Theological Seminary is celebrating 30 years of theological education. All are invited to attend Truett’s 30th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, Aug. 27. During this event, the Truett community will reflect upon the seminary’s history, enjoy worship and fellowship and consider a future marked by growth and development in an effort to prepare well the next generation of pastors and ministry leaders.

Fruitfulness, faithfulness and vision characterize the persecuted church in many parts of the globe, an advocate for international religious freedom told a Houston-area Baptist church.

Wissam al-Saliby, president of the 21Wilberforce human rights organization, spoke at The Woodlands First Baptist Church the Sunday before Independence Day.

Al-saliby sought to dispel some misconceptions about persecuted believers globally.

“More often than not, the persecuted church is persecuted because it is flourishing,” he said.

In many cases around the world, Christians are persecuted because God has blessed their ministry, and it is “bearing fruit,” he noted.

Furthermore, persecuted believers often make the deliberate decision to stand against forces that discriminate against religious minorities.

“The persecuted are not helpless victims,” al-Saliby said. “They have agency.”

Often, persecuted believers make the conscious and prayerful choice to “push back” against restrictions on the free exercise of faith, he said.

“God is calling them to speak truth and justice against injustice,” he said.

Al-saliby recounted a conversation with the pastor of the Baghdad Baptist Church, who described how he is “building bridges” by systematically visiting leaders of other religious communities in Iraq.

“I am so grateful to hear this—that they are answering God’s calling to be peacemakers despite the persecution,” he said.

Al-saliby described the extreme danger some religious minorities globally face because they practice their faith.

“In Pakistan, India and Nigeria, there are attacks by mobs and armed groups claiming lives every year,” he said.

However, he noted, believers in those nations are peacefully resisting through legal channels. In India, for example, Christian leaders have appealed to the nation’s Supreme Court, detailing instances of violence against religious minorities and calling on the court to act.

“So in these countries, the persecuted Christians and the leaders of the Christians are imitating the Apostle Paul, saying, ‘We are taking our case to Caesar,’” al-Saliby said.

Coming alongside the persecuted church

Christians in the United States and other advocates for religious freedom have a role to play in supporting persecuted believers, he emphasized.

“As the church journeys to Caesar’s palace like Paul did, 21Wilberforce comes alongside the churches and the Christian leaders,” al-Saliby said. “We listen to them, understand their priorities, and understand how we can partner, serve and equip them.”

He encouraged Christians in the United States to pattern their behavior after the Philippian Christians who supported and encouraged Paul when he was in prison.

“How can we steward the wealth, the influence and the freedom we have been blessed with for the sake of those suffering persecution and imprisonment and [who are] threatened by violence?” he asked.

He challenged Christians in the United States and elsewhere to “partner with the persecuted” through prayer and financial support, by equipping and training leaders, and by “leveraging grassroots political influence.”

Al-Saliby called on the church in the West to pray for the perseverance of persecuted believers.

He also encouraged American Christians to pray for God to “visit the persecutors” and change their hearts, just as the Lord appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus and transformed him into the Apostle Paul.

“This is the ultimate victory against persecution,” he said.

MILWAUKEE (BP)—A release of the Republican National Convention’s platform reveals a potential shift in the party’s focus on a federal abortion ban—a change that drew reaction from some Southern Baptists.

The announcement came hours after the RNC’s platform committee met on Monday morning.

Shifting the burden to state lawmakers

“We proudly stand for families and life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied life or liberty without due process and that the states are, therefore, free to pass laws protecting those rights,” according to a document released on The Hill.

The language clearly places the onus on state legislatures two years after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.

“After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the states and to a vote of the people,” the platform states. “We will oppose late term abortion while supporting mothers and policies that advance prenatal care, access to birth control, and IVF [fertility treatments],” according to the released document.

But one evangelical seminary professor disagrees with the committee’s logic.

“Since 1984, the GOP platform has always included robust language in defense of the sanctity of human life for the unborn. It’s important that at least one major political party recognize what is clear from both Scripture and the witness of science: human life is sacred from the moment of conception and should be protected into law,” said Daniel Darling, director of Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The platform will face a final confirmation vote by the platform committee on July 9 before being presented to delegates at the Republican Party’s convention July 15-18.

“Unlike the party’s platform passed in 2016, the text does not include a 20-week federal limit on abortions or call for states to pass the Human Life Amendment, which proposes to amend the Constitution to say that life begins at conception,” Politico reported.

“The text instead says that states are ‘free to pass laws protecting’ the rights granted in the 14th Amendment.”

Call to ‘stand for life’

In an op-ed  article released by Religion News Service, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Brent Leatherwood said: “The platform of a political party should set forth the objectives of that body. As the Republican National Committee meets, instead of jettisoning or diminishing the platform’s firm pro-life stance, its members should unabashedly advance liberty and stand for life, label abortion evil, advocating for laws that acknowledge it for the sin that it is, and embrace proposals that free men and women from the destruction it leaves in its wake.”

Leatherwood urged leaders of both political parties July 3 to “to prioritize pro-life policy in their parties’ soon-to-be-released platforms.

“Now more than ever is the time to advocate for a robust vision for life. Policymakers should craft proposals that reflect this nation’s founding ideals and ensure freedom for those who truly have no voice,” he wrote in the op-ed article.

“This true culture of life would usher in an era when pre-born lives are saved, vulnerable mothers are shielded from the predatory abortion industry, and fledgling families are supported at both the federal and state level.”

Earlier this summer, Southern Baptists voted for a resolution “to reaffirm the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage, and to only utilize reproductive technologies consistent with that affirmation especially in the number of embryos generated in the IVF process.”

“Since the fall of Roe, many Republicans have not been prepared for this moment, unable to articulate a consistent pro-life ethic,” Darling told Baptist Press.

“There has been considerable pressure to jettison the pro-life cause because of perceived electoral challenges. Evangelicals recognize the challenge that we face: it will take a lot of persuasion to bring the culture along with us. We must be prudent in choosing the right battles in order to save as many unborn babies as we can.”

He noted candidates who champion pro-life policy have been rewarded by voters.

“In the half-century of pro-life activism, candidates who stand up for the unborn have won at both the local and national level, including the presidency,” he said.

Darling said it is a “mistake that the Republican Party has tried to soften this 40-year-old language.”

“Candidates would be wise to ignore this language and stick to their pro-life convictions,” he said.

What do googly eyes, fuzzy yarns, zippers without openings and little stuffed animals poking out of pockets have in common? They are just a few of the items one would find garnishing fidget quilts designed by women in sewing rooms at Christian campgrounds.

Like many fidget toys that have become popular over recent years, a fidget quilt gives someone a tangible tool to occupy his or her hands and mind. The quilts, however, are designed with specific people in mind: nursing home residents and children with special needs.

Each month the volunteers, known as the “ladies of Camp Builders,” accompany their husbands to projects organized by Texans on Mission Camp Builders.

In the sewing room, the women tackle various projects, from curtains for the camp dorms to baby blankets and hats for pregnancy centers, as well as the fidget quilts.

Heights Baptist Church in Alvin has received numerous fidget quilts donated by the ladies of Camp Builders to go in its specially fabricated sensory room and in its sanctuary “buddy bags.”

“The quilts bring joy to the boys and girls. It helps them feel included. It helps them feel special,” said Julie Hernandez, Heights’ disability ministry director. “It helps meet their needs and meet them where they are, whether it’s in the sanctuary or in the sensory room.”

Every quilt is unique, said Beverly Quinn, coordinator for the ladies of Camp Builders, making it a fun project for people with great imaginations. While some quilts are colorful with buttons and small stuffed animals, others boast a more nostalgic pattern.

“Of all the projects we do, the fidget quilts are the most fun to make, because you get to be creative,” Quinn said.

In nursing homes, fidget quilts give residents in memory care an avenue to exercise their minds and their fingers.

“At one nursing home, a lady who rarely ever sits down sat and played with the fidget quilt,” Quinn said.

After retirement, volunteer Nancy Morgan and her husband Gary joined the Camp Builders team in 2017. She especially enjoys using her creativity to make fidget quilts, dresses, skirts and shorts.

“We get to be creative, and we know that they’re going to bless little children,” she said.

Sewing experience is not required to join the ladies of Camp Builders, Morgan said, acknowledging she had little time for sewing in her 42 years as a nurse. Anyone who has a willing heart can help, whether it’s with simple sewing tasks or supportive tasks such as cutting and measuring.

“It’s just fun to be together with a group of women and have fellowship together,” she explained. “And the goal is to further the kingdom of God.”

Sounds of roaring electric saws and clanging hammers reverberate outdoors across Christian campgrounds courtesy of hardworking Texans on Mission Camp Builders volunteers.

Indoors, different sounds are heard. They are the whirs of sewing machines, snips of scissors and laughter from a group of friends serving God in a remarkable way.

The “ladies of Camp Builders” are wives who accompany their husbands on monthly Camp Builders projects. While their spouses unload construction tools from the Texans on Mission trailer, the women unload sewing equipment and bins upon bins of donated fabric and supplies.

When the sun rises each morning—after a hearty breakfast and devotional time together— volunteers head to their projects, eager to use their time and talents to make an eternal impact for God’s kingdom.

A sewing room is set up in an available space—often in a cabin’s common space or an old storage room. In the sewing room, the ladies tackle as many projects as possible. The priority lies in what the camp needs, which can include curtains for cabins, seat cushions, food covers and even bean bags for cornhole games.

The women make skirts and shorts for various ministries; quilts and baby hats for pregnancy centers; and fidget quilts for children with special needs and nursing home residents, among many other projects.

Veteran sewer 88-year-old Joan Tucker finds great joy in embroidering special designs for her quilts, bringing a personal touch to each pattern. She and her husband Earl have volunteered for 20 years.

“When we started, we were one of the youngest couples. Now, we’re one of the oldest,” Tucker said with a chuckle.

When it comes to retirement, Tucker said, “You have to stay busy, or else you’ll just sit in a rocking chair until you fade away.”

When volunteer Nancy Morgan retired from 42 years of nursing in 2017, she yearned to serve others behind the scenes.

“It’s fun to sew together with a group of women and have fellowship together, but the end goal is to further the kingdom of God,” Morgan said, noting that the ladies pray over every completed item before it’s sent to its final destination.

While some volunteers join the crew with a prior knowledge of sewing and needlework, many have little to no experience, yet all find a task to do.

“We have plenty of places for people to work,” said Beverly Quinn, coordinator for the ladies of Camp Builders. “There are always things to cut out. There’s always something to do for the people who don’t sew.”

In 2023 and 2024, Texans on Mission Camp Builders had more camps requesting help than they had seen for many years. Quinn said the work can be busy, but it’s time well-spent with good friends and for a great cause.

“This gives the ladies a purpose,” Quinn said. “We not only have fun together, but we pray together. I enjoy not only knowing we’re making a difference in lives here and abroad, but that we all become family.”

A Palestinian Baptist reported three Christians in Gaza have been injured in recent days, and the people were “terrified” but still reluctant to evacuate after the Israeli Defense Forces issued a warning.

Hanna Massad, former pastor of Gaza Baptist Church and founding president of Christian Mission to Gaza, sent an “urgent prayer request” email July 7.

“The people in the churches in Gaza are terrified and scared,” Massad wrote. “The IDF issued a warning around 5 p.m. Gaza time, urging everyone in the area to evacuate. This typically indicates that the area may be targeted soon.

“Despite the warning, the people in the churches have chosen to stay. The explosions are very close, and the noise is extremely loud,” Massad wrote.

The Times of Israel reported the IDF on Sunday called for the evacuation of the Tuffah, Daraj and Old City neighborhoods of Gaza City. In an updated announcement Monday, the IDF urged civilians in the Sabra, Rimal, Tel al-Hawa and Daraj to evacuate and move to a designated “humanitarian zone.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported an Israeli assault Saturday on central Gaza killed at least 16 people and injured 50 others at a United Nations Relief and Work Agency school sheltering displaced people.

According to Al JaZeera, the Ministry of Health on Monday reported Israeli attacks across Gaza resulted in at least 40 deaths in one day, bringing the total number of fatalities in Gaza to 38,193 since Oct. 7, 2023, with 87,903 wounded.

In an email to supporters of his ministry, Massad wrote, “Please pray for continued protection for all, for God to raise peacemakers in the region to take action, and for this nightmare to end.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—When Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was asked to defend his support for a new state law requiring public schools to display a version of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms, he made sure to touch on the bill’s obvious religious connections.

“This country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and every time we steer away from that, we have problems in our nation,” Landry, a Catholic, said during an interview with Fox News.

But just a few days later, Christian ministers—along with an array of religious leaders and parents of various faiths—filed a lawsuit against the new statute, backed by the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and offices of the ACLU.

“As a minister, this law is a gross intrusion of civil authority into matters of faith,” Jeff Sims, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister and plaintiff in the case, said in a press conference about the lawsuit. “It interferes with the administration of God’s word, co-ops the word for the state’s own purposes, or claims God’s authority for the state.”

The back-and-forth is part of a broader fight raging across the country, with conservative state lawmakers—often backed by conservative Christians—pushing faith-focused laws and running into opposition from other religious people and their secular allies.

At least 19 states consider bills to advance religion

Over the past two years, at least 19 states have considered legislation advancing religion, including bills promoting the display or discussion of the Ten Commandments in schools and those allowing for school chaplains.

Three states—Louisiana, Utah and Arizona—passed Ten Commandments legislation, although Arizona’s governor vetoed the bill, and Utah’s Legislature walked back their initial proposal, with lawmakers ultimately only adding the decalogue to a list of historic documents that can be discussed in class.

In addition, Louisiana recently joined two other states—Texas and Florida—that passed laws allowing for chaplains in public school.

At least one state has achieved similar aims by circumventing the legislative process altogether. Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Education Ryan Walters issued a directive requiring schools to “incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support,” and has said teachers who fail to teach students about the Scripture could risk losing their license.

“We’re proud to be the first state to put the Bible back in school classrooms,” Walters said in an interview with News Nation.

Some faith leaders push back

Religious leaders in the state were quick to push back against the directive, however, with one pastor from the more socially liberal United Church of Christ denomination posting, “Public schools are not Sunday schools,” according to KFOR.

Rachel Laser, head of Americans United, told KFOR her group is mulling a legal challenge like the one they helped file in Louisiana, while Jewish leaders, Muslim leaders and a local Methodist bishop spoke out.

“United Methodists believe that the state should not attempt to control the church, nor should the church seek to dominate the state,” United Methodist Church Bishop James Nunn told KOCO in a statement. “We endorse public policies that do not create unconstitutional entanglements between church and state.”

While there are some differences, many of the bills share common traits or even language. Most of the bills advocating for displaying the Ten Commandments use a translation of the decalogue derived from the King James Version of the Bible, a translation that is not embraced by all Christians, much less Jewish Americans or those of other faiths.

In fact, the text is slightly different from the KJV and has a particular history. It is the version compiled by the Fraternal Order of Eagles used to help promote the 1956 movie “The Ten Commandments.”

The same version was also used on a Ten Commandments monument that sits outside the Texas State Capitol. Despite a legal challenge, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the monument is allowed to stand because of its “passive” nature.

Bills pushing school chaplains also share common traits, likely a byproduct of the religious groups behind them. According to The New York Times, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers—a group formed in 2020—worked with lawmakers in Florida, Louisiana and Texas to pass chaplains bills.

Opposition on religious grounds

The Texas bill was also spurred by a group of activists affiliated with the National School Chaplain Association, a group run by former drug smuggling pirate Rocky Malloy.

As debate over the Texas chaplains bill heated up last year, one Democratic lawmaker in particular—Rep. James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian—emerged as someone who opposed the bill on both legal and religious grounds.

During debate on the House floor, he expressed concerns that NSCA’s parent organization, Mission Generation, appeared to have advocated for proselytizing to children in schools.

“I see this as part of a troubling trend across the country of Christian nationalists attempting to take over our democracy and attempting to take over my religion—both of which I find deeply offensive,” Talarico told Religion News Service in an interview last year, referring to the chaplains bill and efforts to pass a Ten Commandments bill in Texas.

Republican lawmakers did not amend the chaplains bill to bar proselytizing or impose credentialing requirements for chaplains, leaving it up to individual school districts to outline parameters themselves.

The National School Chaplain Association is referenced by name in the text of Pennsylvania’s school chaplains bill, which was introduced in April. It defines a “certified school chaplain” as “an individual certified by the National School Chaplain Association or other similar organization.” The NSCA was also mentioned in committee discussions in Nebraska.

Where the chaplains bills have become law, criticism has been a constant—especially from religious groups. In March, a coalition of religious organizations signed a letter condemning efforts to install public school chaplains as “greatly flawed” and as threatening “the well-being, education, and religious freedom of our students.”

Signers of the letter included entire Christian denominations, such as the Alliance of Baptists, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, United Church of Christ as well as other religious groups such as the Union for Reform Judaism and the Unitarian Universalist Association. Religious advocacy groups, such as the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Hindus for Human Rights, The Sikh Coalition and Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, also signed the letter.

In Texas, as school boards across the state gathered in recent months to vote on whether to allow chaplains in their regions, faith leaders regularly appeared to voice disapproval, and more than 100 chaplains signed a petition arguing religious counselors in public classrooms would be “harmful” to students.

In their letter, chaplains decried the absence of standards or training requirements for school chaplains in the bill aside from background checks. They pointed to military chaplains or those who work in health care as a point of comparison, noting requirements like extensive training and instruction on how to work across multiple faiths—conditions absent from the Texas law.

“Because of our training and experience, we know that chaplains are not a replacement for school counselors or safety measures in our public schools, and we urge you to reject this flawed policy option: It is harmful to our public schools and the students and families they serve,” the letter reads.

Proponents count on support from Supreme Court

Proponents of the new slate of faith-focused bills appear confident the courts will back them—especially the current conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared at a GOP fundraiser that he “can’t wait to be sued” over the state’s Ten Commandments bill.

Walters of Oklahoma—who has accused President Joe Biden, a Catholic, of wanting to destroy “our Christian faith”—told PBS he was unconcerned about legal challenges to his Bible directive because justices appointed by Donald Trump would back him.

“If we get sued and we get challenged, we will be victorious, because the Supreme Court justices (Trump) appointed actually are originalists that look at the Constitution and not what some left-wing professor said about the Constitution,” he said.

Whether or not justices would actually support the laws is unclear. Opponents of the laws point to ample Supreme Court precedent suggesting the statutes violate the constitutional prohibition against establishing a state religion.

However, at least two members of the Supreme Court—Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch—declared in a 2020 concurring opinion they believe the establishment clause only applies to the federal government, not the states.

While their viewpoint is considered fringe by many scholars, it remains to be seen if others on the court, such as Justice Amy Coney Barrett, agree.

And while some of the education bills have died in committee, such as in Nebraska, others have helped spur related legislation. Lawmakers in Indiana, for instance, dropped the chaplains bill as part of a compromise legislation that allows students to leave school for religious instruction if they request it.

But religious opponents to such laws say they are prepared to combat them. In the press conference with those suing Louisiana over its Ten Commandments law, Joshua Herlands, a Jewish parent and one of the plaintiffs in the case, laid plain what he feels the debate is ultimately about.

“The displays distort the Jewish significance of the Ten Commandments in several places and send the troubling message to students—including my kids—that they may be lesser in the eyes of the government because they do not necessarily follow this particular version, or any version, for that matter, of the religious text,” Herlands said. “The state is dividing children along religious lines.”

LAGOS, Nigeria—“You can’t share what you don’t have,” Bob Garrett reminded attendees of the 10th Baptist International Conference on Theological Education, citing the Apostle Paul’s reference to “the peace that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

Baptists from around the world discussed peace and peacemaking during the three-day conference ahead of the 2024 Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in Lagos, Nigeria.

The conference featured panel discussions, papers and responses by Baptists from the United States, Jamaica, Rwanda, Nigeria, Israel, Germany, Ukraine and elsewhere.

“Theological education is an essential part of discipleship” and developing flourishing communities of faith, Elijah Brown, general secretary of Baptist World Alliance, told attendees.

Garrett, retired professor of missions at Dallas Baptist University, called peace a gift from God that “stands overwatch” over followers of Jesus in all circumstances.

He recounted a conversation with a church member in Kentucky during the early days of his pastoral ministry. The man knew people considered him unintelligent and sometimes took advantage of him.

“If they can live with what they’re doing to me, I can live without what they took,” the man told Garrett.

Embodying the Hebrew concept shalom—translated as “peace” or “wholeness”—is exhibited in one’s willingness to “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39), Garrett said, or as Pastor Johnathan Hemmings of Jamaica put it, “to break the cycle of violence is to take violence on oneself.”

Presenters and table discussions made clear peacemaking involves more than turning the other cheek.

Peace, justice and unity

For example, Rula Khoury Mansour, a Palestinian-Israeli Christian, attorney and associate professor of reconciliation theology and Christian ethics at Nazareth Evangelical College in Nazareth, Israel, described the ritualized Middle Eastern process of sulha—translated “peace” or “reconciliation.”

Sulha involves a set of communal rituals and ceremonies: venting, or lamentation, by the victim’s family; pleas by representatives of the offender for forgiveness to restore the offender’s honor; public signing of peace agreements; a handshake, declaration of forgiveness and a ceremonial meal; and “a ‘heavy silence’ [of humility in which] the offender’s family admits wrongdoing and offers compensation, while the victim’s family forgives.”

In contrast to Western understandings of personhood, African and Middle Eastern cultures see one’s identity as wrapped up in one’s community. Therefore, reconciliation involves the whole community.

The church is a community of fellowship with rituals and practices through which “unity, forgiveness, healing and reconciliation” can be fostered, Mansour proposed.

Pressed for peace

President Israel Adelani Akanji of the Nigerian Baptist Convention and Elijah Brown addressed reporters from several Nigerian media outlets at a press conference during the Baptist International Conference on Theological Education.

“Security is the work of everyone,” not just security agents, Akanji said in response to questions about insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the northern states. “It is not in the hands of the church to handle security. … It is part of the government’s responsibilities.

“So, ours is to continue to pray, to continue to sensitize the government, to continue to speak to the government. This occasion also is another occasion through which we are speaking to our government to ensure that we have security of life and property.”

Responding to questions about hunger, poverty, government corruption and how Baptists will make a positive difference in these situations, Brown noted the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels is the feeding of the 5,000.

“Feeding people is fundamental to understanding the ministry of Jesus, and people of the King work to feed the people of the world,” he continued.

Though Jesus led through service, “we’ve seen far too many leaders who embrace leadership as a means for consumption, that which they can consume and ways in which they can consume others. But we believe that power should be exercised in the form of righteousness, peace and joy” and grace, Brown said. Such grace emphasizes the people who are suffering, he said.

Lessons from Western decline

Speaking to questions about the decline of Christianity in places like the United States, Brown urged Nigerian Christians to learn three lessons from that decline: (1) “Hold on to your passion for evangelism,” (2) “hold to discipleship of all ages,” and (3) “work proactively to create churches of safety, respect and security for all people.”

“I urge every Nigerian church, as well as every faith institution across this country, to adopt and implement immediately policies and practices that will end domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse,” Brown said.

“Domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse is a sin. It is not a cultural issue. It is wrong, and I ask every faith institution to be at the forefront of creating communities of safety that welcomes every person into that community with policies and practices that will seek to eradicate domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse.”

Humanitarian action and development

The BWA International Humanitarian Action and Development Intensive Course ran concurrently with the theological education conference. Participants completing the course had the opportunity to earn a non-degree certificate from Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary’s certificate program in conjunction with Buckner International and BWA Aid.

Ernest Adu-Gyamfi of Ghana was honored as an ambassador of peace in recognition of his leadership promoting political and civil peace in Ghana at the local, university and national levels.

As chair of Ghana’s National Peace Council governing board, he led in the development of the Presidential Candidate’s Peace Pact “signed by all aspiring presidential candidates to accept the outcome of the elections without pursuit of violence and to seek any desired redress within the court of law.”

CORRECTION: Nigerian Baptist Convention President Israel Adelani Akanji’s name was corrected in the article and photo caption.