Baylor University settled a federal lawsuit with 15 women who asserted they were sexually assaulted on or near the campus.

The lawsuit, initially filed in June 2016 by three plaintiffs and later joined by 12 others, accused Baylor of a “deliberately indifferent response” to accusations of sexual assault and subsequent harassment. The suit alleged the university violated Title IX and the Clery Act, permitting “a campus condition rife with sexual assault.”

Terms of the lawsuit’s settlement were not disclosed.

“We are deeply sorry for anyone connected with the Baylor community who has been harmed by sexual violence,” a public statement from Baylor University said.

“While we can never erase the reprehensible acts of the past, we pray that this agreement will allow these 15 survivors to move forward in a supportive manner.”

The suit was one of several filed in 2015 and 2016 alleging Baylor failed to protect students who were sexually assaulted. The suits followed a scandal that rocked the athletic department and eventually led to the departure of then-President Ken Starr.

In fall 2015, Baylor University regents hired Pepper Hamilton, a Philadelphia law firm, to investigate the university’s response to reports of sexual violence.

After receiving an oral report from Pepper Hamilton in May 2016, regents subsequently removed Starr as president, fired Head Football Coach Art Briles and sanctioned Athletic Director Ian McCaw, who later resigned.

Pepper Hamilton offered 105 recommendations to the university regarding Title IX compliance and a proper response to sexual abuse allegations. In May 2017, regents announced the “foundational implementation” of all the recommendations.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS)—The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee lost another leader before he could even get started.

Meeting in Nashville, trustees from the Executive Committee had hoped to approve retired Kentucky pastor Dan Summerlin as interim president and CEO. But during an executive session Sept. 19, trustees learned Summerlin had withdrawn as a candidate.

 Louisiana pastor Philip Robertson said Summerlin had come to the conclusion that “at this particular time, this job just might be a little bit more than he could handle.”

During a news conference, Robertson read a statement from Summerlin.

“Upon further reflection it has become evident that what is best for the convention and for my family is to withdraw my name from consideration at this time,” Summerlin said in the statement.

Summerlin would have been the committee’s sixth leader in the past five years and his withdrawal marks the second time this year that a nomination for leader of the Executive Committee has fallen apart.

In May, a search committee had nominated Texas pastor Jared Wellman, a former committee chair, as the permanent president. But a vote on Wellman failed the same month.

The committee has been without a permanent leader for two years, ever since former Arkansas megachurch pastor Ronnie Floyd resigned as CEO and president after a fierce battle over how to conduct an investigation into the SBC’s handling of sexual abuse.

Willie McLaurin had been serving as interim CEO but resigned last month after admitting he had falsified his resume. The fraud was discovered while McLaurin was being vetted as a candidate for the permanent role.

No planned legal action against McLaurin

Robertson, chair of the committee, reported after an internal investigation, trustees had decided to take no legal action against McLaurin at this time.

“Based on the findings from the internal investigation, while it is clear that Willie McLaurin engaged in both academic and professional fraud during his tenure with the Executive Committee, no evidence was found of financial wrongdoing or direct harm to the Executive Committee,” according to a committee statement.

The committee also reached a confidential separation agreement with McLaurin. Robertson declined to discuss any details of the agreement, including possible financial compensation, citing human resources concerns. He did say that in general, separation agreements can be helpful in cases like this.

Robertson also told trustees the officers had adopted a new vetting process for leaders, including verifying academic credentials, past employment and military service, and any professional licenses.

Oklahoma church ousted for racist conduct by pastor

After an extended executive session, Robertson also announced Matoaka Baptist Church, Ochelata, Okla., had been “deemed not in friendly cooperation with the convention based on a lack of intent to cooperate in resolving concerns regarding discriminatory behavior on the basis of ethnicity.”

Earlier this year, photos of the pastor of Matoaka Baptist Church in blackface and impersonating the late Ray Charles reportedly surfaced, prompting outrage. According to television station KTUL, the pastor defended the photos and was unapologetic.

The SBC removed a Georgia Baptist church for similar reasons in 2018.

Despite the troubles of the Executive Committee—and the uncertainty over its leadership—the tone of the meeting was markedly different from earlier meetings that had been characterized by tension and sometimes open conflict.

Unified in spite of challenges

Both Robertson and SBC President Bart Barber said at the news conference the trustees seemed united in their desire to work together and address their current challenges. Barber called it the “most unified meeting in some time.”

Barber added that many Southern Baptists have experienced complicated leadership transitions at their local churches—and that affects how they view the Executive Committee.

“Sometimes you go through difficult times,” he said. “Sometimes you have more problems than you have in a usual period of time. It doesn’t mean that you quit.”

In other business, trustees declined a request that they explore the possibility of holding the denomination’s 2028 annual meeting on the island of Maui. The request, made by a local church messenger during the 2023 annual meeting to loud applause, was deemed impractical.

Instead, plans call for the meeting to be held that year in Indianapolis.

They also discussed the possibility of selling the committee’s office building at 901 Commerce Street in Nashville. That area of the city is undergoing a major redevelopment—with construction traffic currently making it difficult for the trustees to meet at that location.

Adam Wyatt, the Mississippi pastor who chairs the finance committee, said selling the building is being discussed and the committee is working with a listing agent. But selling off the building doesn’t solve the committee’s fiscal problems, he said.

“It’s the only asset we have,” Wyatt said. “And getting rid of the only asset we have when we still have long-term challenges that we can’t quite quantify is something that we also have to consider.”

Any proceeds from a sale would also have to be split with other SBC entities, who own a stake in the building.

Trustees also approved a new code of conduct for the committee, prompted in part by public conflict among trustees in recent years over how to respond to the denomination’s abuse crisis.

The code of conduct required members to be a “role model in judgment, dignity, respect, speech, and Christian living” and to “maintain a biblical lifestyle at all times.” The code also requires members to refrain from criticizing the committee on social media—although trustees struck a clause that would have barred them from criticizing committee leaders on social media.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS)—The fall meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee began with prayer, some hard news and calls for unity after years of turmoil and change.

Those attending also got a history lesson about how the denomination overcame a crisis a century ago, with the hope that lessons from the past could inspire unity in the present.

“When all the dozens of reasons to throw in the towel and abandon our one sacred effort were easy to find, we chose instead to search hard for reasons to lean in and cooperate harder,” SBC President Bart Barber told the Executive Committee trustees.

Meeting in a hotel ballroom a few miles from the committee’s offices, about 80 trustees—the body that oversees the day-to-day governance of the SBC—gathered for the first time in person since the committee’s leader resigned after admitting he had faked his resume.

Willie McLaurin, who was serving as the Executive Committee’s interim president and CEO, resigned Aug. 17 after a committee vetting him as a candidate for the permanent position discovered the fraud. McLaurin was the fourth person to lead the Executive Committee since 2018, and the third to step down amid controversy.

His departure was followed by news last week that five staffers and two contractors had been laid off due to the committee’s troubled finances.

‘A cost to doing the right thing’

Jonathan Howe, who has filled in as temporary interim leader since McLaurin’s departure, told trustees the committee’s reserves had dropped from nearly $14 million two years ago to about $4 million today. The committee will need to draw on additional reserves to balance its budget this year.

Committee members also learned this week retired Kentucky pastor Dan Summerlin had been nominated to replace Howe as interim president and CEO, but he withdrew his name from consideration.

The search for a permanent leader—now nearly 2 years old—continues, with the search committee hoping to identify a candidate by February 2024. The committee is also expected to discuss an internal investigation into McLaurin’s tenure, likely in executive session.

Since 2019, the SBC has been reckoning with political divides, fights over doctrine, leadership failures and a sexual abuse crisis.

Members of the committee have been divided over how to respond to the ongoing crisis, with some warning a transparent investigation into SBC leaders’ management of sexual abuse might lead to financial ruin and others quitting in protest.

Howe gave a nod to some of the challenges the committee has faced in his report and to the recent layoffs.

“There is a cost to doing the right thing,” Howe said.

Howe also called for trustees to band together to act with humility to fulfill their mission, reminding them they serve the denomination’s churches, from the smallest rural congregation to the largest megachurch.

“We serve the Southern Baptist Convention,” he said. “It does not serve us.”

Update on Ministry Check database of abusers

Oklahoma pastor Mike Keahbone gave an update from a task force charged with implementing a number of reforms meant to address sexual abuse in the denomination. Chief among those reforms is setting up a “Ministry Check” database of abusive pastors.

Work on that database continues, but no names have been added to it so far. Keahbone said no date had been set yet for when names would be added but added he hoped it would be soon. He also said the volunteer task force is committed to making SBC churches safer for everyone.

Along with the work on the database, Keahbone said the task force has partnered with state conventions on abuse prevention tools. They are also searching for an entity that can oversee abuse prevention on a permanent basis.

“We will not retreat from this fight,” he said.

Looking back a century

Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, closed the evening with a call for Southern Baptists to rise above their current troubles. He began his report by promising not to preach. Instead, he gave a history lesson to trustees, reminding them of the denomination’s troubles in the 1920s and 1930s.

At that time, he said, Southern Baptists faced financial crisis, doctrinal divides and failed leadership, including a pair of leaders who embezzled more than a million dollars from the convention’s two missionary boards.

Southern Baptists, he said, also faced a political crisis. After winning the battle to ban alcohol with the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1919, they faced a backlash against Prohibition, only to see the Democratic Party, which they then supported, nominate New York Gov. Al Smith, who was both Catholic and “an imbiber,” Barber said.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression derailed a major campaign to fund missions and one of the SBC’s prominent seminaries was set to close when a last-minute infusion of cash saved it, said Barber, who called the era “the moment of our deepest despair.”

When all seemed lost, Baptists created what is now known as the Cooperative Program, a shared mission funding program, and the statement of faith, known as the Baptist Faith and Mission, to bind them together.

Today, with Baptists once again facing division, financial woes, political turmoil, doctrinal divides and a crisis of leadership, Barber called on his fellow SBC leaders to once again overcome those challenges with a common mission.

“We do not lack money. We do not lack planning. We do not lack opportunity,” Barber said. “God help us, what we lack is inspiration.”

 Barber, who recently appointed a “cooperation group” to help the SBC move forward, asked his fellow trustees to stop following those who want to tear things down and instead work together.

“The dream of cooperation carried us through the 1920s and 1930s, and it will carry us through the 2020s too,” he said.

We live in a time of great uncertainty. The church faces many significant societal issues. One of those issues is the generational change of leadership.

Today, numerous books and dissertations are available on the idea of succession planning and what is needed to succeed as a new leader of any organization, from churches to businesses. This is an essential and prevalent conversation today.

Over the last three years, I have been a part of four significant shifts in organizational leadership, including two with myself as the leader. I want to share some of the experiences I have learned in my leadership journey.

Four rules

There are four rules any new leader should implement when they come into a new organization, whether from an outside organization or a lateral move inside an organization.

1. Do not make assumptions about what is happening in the organization before talking to those involved in the day-to-day operations.

Too often, new leaders look at data instead of looking at individuals to gain an understanding of the situation. Instead of jumping to conclusions, take the time to talk to the people doing the work on the ground. It lets them know you care and want to work with them.

2. Every new leader has the right to bring their people into the organization. However, these leaders must ensure they do not create an “us-vs.-them” leadership approach.

Too often, the new leader is quick to put greater trust and responsibility in the people they know instead of working with those already in the organization. While this is natural, at times it can undermine the people already in the positions.

But as the Bible says, “Where there is no guidance, a people fall, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14).

This leads to No. 3, which relates significantly to No. 1.

3. Do your homework.

One of the most common failures of leaders is they do not do their homework when it comes to assignments or challenges. This especially is true for organizations governed by policies and procedures.

As every Baptist church can attest, many communities have a say in what goes on in the church, and all of them must be heard. Therefore, the leader must do their homework before approaching a topic. If nothing else, it gives those under a new supervisor the sense the person cares enough to learn the systems in place.

4. Do not move too fast. If the organization is failing and quick changes need to be made, this might not be possible.

However, one thing I have learned in leadership positions is when those fast changes need to be made, it is essential to talk to all the stakeholders involved in the decision. This can be cumbersome, but it is essential to ensure everyone feels heard.

Additionally, there is a chance the stakeholders might have a better understanding of the issues than you do.

Most people involved in an organization can tell when a change needs to be made and have spent time thinking about the issue. A good leader will consider those ideas when creating a new direction for the organization. This is one area where I struggle. However, I also have learned it is essential for any idea to be successful.

Counsel to Christian leaders

Every organization is going to have new leaders at some point. From my experiences as a leader and a follower, I’ve learned these four rules will go a long way to softening the impact on the organization.

More than anything, all new leaders in the church and outside of it need to remember the words found in 1 Peter 5:2-3: “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”

Joshua Longmire is assistant professor in leadership at Dallas Baptist University. The views expressed are those of the author.

A new report from the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom identifies 95 countries with some form of blasphemy law in effect, including five countries that impose the death penalty as the maximum sanction.

A separate report from the commission records the text of the 95 laws criminalizing expressions that insult or offend religious feelings or show disrespect toward religious figures or symbols.

The reports show blasphemy laws are not exclusive to any single region. They document blasphemy laws in 13 countries in the Americas, 28 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, 16 European nations, 18 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Five countries—Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Brunei Darussalam—can impose capital punishment on individuals convicted of blasphemy.

“Blasphemy laws are inconsistent with international human right law,” the report states.

Holly Hollman, general counsel and associate executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, affirmed the commission’s report.\

“We appreciate this latest report, highlighting the significant number of dangerous blasphemy laws around the world that undermine human rights, not only for religious minorities but for all people,” Hollman said.

“Religious beliefs should never be dictated by government. In addition to threatening violence against religious and political minorities, blasphemy laws tend to exacerbate intolerance that can cause harm across any given population.”

Human rights concerns highlighted

The commission report notes four specific human rights concerns:

• “Blasphemy laws violate the right to freedom of religion of belief.” Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates individuals have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
• “Blasphemy laws violate the right to freedom of opinion or expression.” Individuals have the right to express their beliefs—even if some others find those expressions offensive.
• “Blasphemy laws promote government intolerance and discrimination toward minorities and minority viewpoints.” The report points to specific examples in Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey.
• “Blasphemy laws encourage individuals and non-state actors to seek retribution against alleged blasphemers.” The report cites incidents in Nigeria and Sri Lanka, along with multiple examples in Pakistan.

Last month, Muslim mobs burned churches and damaged the homes of Christian families in Pakistan’s Punjab State after two Christian young people were accused of desecrating the Quran.

“While it is legitimate for individuals to speak out against blasphemy, legislation criminalizing blasphemy violates the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to freedom of opinion and expression,” the commission report states.

“International human rights law protects the rights of individuals; it does not protect religious feelings, figures, or symbols from behavior or speech considered blasphemous. USCIRF urges all countries to repeal their blasphemy laws and free those detained for or convicted of blasphemy.”

The founding president of the 21Wilberforce human rights organization is urging Texas Baptists to sign a letter calling on Congress to provide support for persecuted people in Myanmar, historically known as Burma.

Randel Everett, a former executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, sent an email Sept. 15 asking Texas Baptist leaders to sign a letter online to Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, urging full funding for the Burma Act.

“As many of you know, the people of Burma, including many of our Baptist brothers and sisters in the country, have faced a brutal campaign by the military junta that has taken thousands of lives, forced millions to flee, and destroyed many church buildings in their campaign to control and suppress the people’s democratic rights and religious freedoms in the country,” Everett wrote.

Everett noted the importance of contacting Granger and other members of Congress immediately to influence the decision-making process for funding.

“The funding will provide vital aid that will help the communities affected by the violence to rebuild, promote a federal democracy, and hold accountable those responsible for the ruthless abuses of human rights and religious liberty,” he wrote.

The letter to Granger states: “We write you as Baptist leaders in Texas with the request that in reconciliation you support the adoption of the language of the Senate Appropriations bill with regards to the funding provisions for implementing the Burma Act.”

The letter notes attacks by the Burmese military on villages and towns have forced 1.3 million people to flee to neighboring countries and 1.9 million to hide in the jungles of Myanmar.

“We urge you to support them in their effort to reclaim democracy, restore their security and freedoms—including the right to freely follow one’s faith—and redress the injustices perpetrated by this unlawful regime,” the letter states.

‘Campaign of terror and violence’

Since the Burmese military—known as the Tatmadaw—seized control of Myanmar’s government on Feb. 1, 2021, human rights monitors have verified about 3,000 civilian deaths, as well as the destruction of many houses of worship and homes. Considering military action in remote ethnic areas, the actual death toll likely is much higher.

On Sept. 18, 2021, Burmese military shot dead a Baptist pastor in the Chin State. Pastor Cung Biak Hum was shot while he was attempting to help a church member extinguish a fire after the man’s home was set ablaze during military attacks.

The Baptist World Alliance general council at its July 2022 meeting in Birmingham, Ala., approved a resolution condemning the coup in Myanmar and singling out the Burmese military for waging “a campaign of terror and violence, particularly against minority religions.”

Since the coup, Burmese authorities have arrested more than 17,000 people, and at least 13,700 remain imprisoned. Hkalam Samson, past president and former general secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention, is among the religious leaders who remain imprisoned in Myanmar. Samson was seized last December before he could board a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, for medical treatment.

What Alexander Lang thought would be a typical blog post went viral over the last two weeks. In his post, he explained why he left, not just his church, but also the pastorate. His explanation generated important discussion, including here in the Baptist Standard.

Lang left the pastorate, in part, because of the unrelenting pressure and stress of the position. Stress and pressure always have been a feature of the pastorate, but the last few years have intensified them to a breaking point for many pastors.

Intended or not, Lang put a spotlight on pastoral health. While that concern is still on our minds, I want to point to the good work some are doing to improve pastoral health and call us to expand that work.

Books can be helpful

Authors and publishers increasingly have recognized the need to address pastoral health, and several books on the topic have appeared over the last decade or so.

These include Preventing Ministry Failure by Michael Todd Wilson and Brad Hoffman (2007); Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving by Bob Burns, Tasha Chapman and Donald Guthrie (2013); The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero (2015); The Leader’s Journey by Jim Herrington, Trisha Taylor and Robert Creech (2020); and The Weary Leader’s Guide to Burnout by Sean Nemecek (2023).

Your pastor likely has been recommended at least one book on pastoral health, maybe one of the above. Your pastor probably has read at least one of these recommendations, and probably still feels stressed. Such books are helpful, but they only go so far. Their authors say as much and strongly advocate for intentional community.

Community is more helpful

In recent years, as concern over pastoral health has mounted, several efforts have been launched to address the increase in stress-related illnesses, burnout and ministry failure among pastors.

The Truett Church Network, The Whole Pastor and the Pastor Strong Initiative are examples of these efforts. The strength of each lies in the community each strives to build.

In addition to an array of educational offerings, the Truett Church Network has hosted weekend pastor retreats where ministers are able to relax, enjoy time with friends and colleagues, and learn together.

The Whole Pastor, a ministry of Bobby Contreras—pastor of Alamo Heights Baptist Church in San Antonio and chair of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board—seeks “to connect pastors, families, and communities to a holistic approach and view of health” that includes “spiritual, physical, mental, financial, and relational” aspects.

A replicable model of community

As the shared work of several ministries and organizations, the Pastor Strong Initiative offers a replicable model of pastoral community.

Pastor Strong is a collaboration of the San Antonio Baptist Association, Texas Baptists, The Whole Pastor, Baptist Health Foundation—who helped start Pastor Strong with a five-year grant—Baptist Credit Union and STCH Ministries’ Pastor Care.

Chad Schapiro, a church starting pastor and mentor to church starters, leads Pastor Strong. He lights up when he describes the ministry, saying he wants to be a Barnabas to pastors.

Pastor Strong currently focuses on senior pastors, though it is open to other ministerial staff. It also is open to pastors and ministers of churches not affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Through regular gatherings over coffee and lunch, two retreats and two date nights a year, and the Lydia Network for pastor’s wives, Pastor Strong seeks to build supportive and encouraging relationships for pastors and their families. The ministry also provides coaching and financial assistance through partner organizations.

Though a new ministry, Doug Diehl, pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in San Antonio, said Pastor Strong already is fostering greater participation and encouragement between pastors than has been seen in the San Antonio area in many years.

Others have noticed the benefits of Pastor Strong and have asked about its expansion into their areas. Replicating Pastor Strong is possible with collaboration and coordination of resources. In several places, these resources already exist and simply need a coordinator.

Not only pastors need community

Pastors are called to a work few outside of the pastorate understand. My father-in-law was a pastor 45 years and then served as a director of missions 11 years. When my wife was a child, a teacher at school asked what her dad did for a hobby.

“Weddings and funerals,” she responded.

The teacher clarified by asking what he did on weekends and got the same answer.

More than one family vacation or event was cut short when a church member died, and he returned home to minister to the family and prepare for the funeral—so many that we came to expect family time to be cut short.

Anecdotal? Yes. And the tip of the iceberg of a pastor’s—and pastor’s family’s—life.

Loneliness and isolation accompany this 24/7 kind of work, along with a host of other stresses and pressures. The intentional nature of the Truett Church Network, The Whole Pastor and Pastor Strong goes a long way to overcoming them.

More intentional communities can and should be created to meet this need. We also need groups like the Truett Church Network, The Pastor’s Common and Texas Baptist Women in Ministry that also provide supportive communities for women in ministry and their families.

Pastors who seem to endure the rigors of ministry well tend to be part of communities like those described above—communities of trust, friendship, encouragement and support. This means we need more of these communities in more places.

Pastors aren’t the only ones who need these communities. Pastoral health—a good all its own—translates to church health. This means creating and supporting these communities and facilitating our pastors’ participation in them is in every church’s interest.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article contains a reference to bodily mutilation of children.

LYNCHBURG, Va. (RNS)—A collection of state legislators and local government officials from across the country gathered in southern Virginia this summer with one unifying purpose.

They’re members of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, which in past years has distributed at least 15 pieces of model legislation to conservative lawmakers in various states—measures to ban abortion, restrict “gender-affirming” care and condemn gay marriage.

The group’s goal is to change the social fabric of the country and return America to what it says are its Judeo-Christian origins, and members are capitalizing on the momentum that the long-sought end of Roe v. Wade has given them to pass their vision of biblically informed law.

Jason Rapert, a former Arkansas state senator, founded the group in 2019. He pushed for construction of a Ten Commandments monument at the Arkansas Statehouse and has opposed gay marriage.

He describes the National Association of Christian Lawmakers as a place for lawmakers to debate, construct and distribute model legislation from a “biblical worldview.”

“We believe that with all the troubles facing our country, with Democrats and leftists that are advocating cutting penises off of little boys and breasts off of little girls, we have reached a level of debauchery and immorality that is at biblical proportions,” Rapert said in an interview with News21.

National Association of Christian Lawmakers members must sign a pledge voicing their opposition to gay marriage, affirming belief in life at conception and endorsing the idea that Christianity shaped America and made it what it is today.

Well-connected and well-financed

The nascent group is well-connected. Funders have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the effort, and Rapert has wooed U.S. congressional representatives, prominent lobbyists and GOP officials to serve on his board of advisers and to speak at meetings.

The organization also receives funding from conservative legal powerhouses such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, First Liberty Institute and similar outfits.

National Association of Christian Lawmakers members have advanced legislation at the forefront of America’s culture wars, from Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill to South Carolina’s six-week abortion ban.

Texas’ 2021 abortion ban, which allows private citizens to sue providers and those assisting people seeking abortions, was sponsored by National Association of Christian Lawmakers member Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola.

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers adopted that bill as model legislation. Seven of 12 similar bills introduced in statehouses across the country and reviewed by News21 were sponsored or co-sponsored by legislators who are now association members.

A myriad of special interest groups organize meetings for lawmakers and distribute model bills. But the National Association of Christian Lawmakers is unique in its scope.

Republican state Rep. John McCravy of South Carolina said he joined because of the organization’s focus on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. At the core of McCravy’s beliefs is the idea that Christianity should be at the center of how the United States is governed.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a Christian in office,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with taking values that are revered and applying them to government. … That was what all our laws are founded on anyway.”

Guard separation of church and state

But those ideas have been contested by people of faith and secular advocates who say specific religious beliefs shouldn’t govern all Americans. They’re also not popular with the broader American public, a majority of whom believe the government should enforce the separation between church and state, according to the Pew Research Center.

Holly Hollman, general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, is one such critic.

“I think the idea that the government is the best to evangelize what we think religiously is a terrible idea,” she said. “Christians have had a great impact on the law in the history of America, but we’ve never been a Christian nation officially, legally.”

Hollman said making laws shaped by a legislator’s view of Christian values can be harmful for both the government and people of faith because it erodes the separation of church and state.

That phrase was popularized by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut in 1802. He wrote that the establishment clause in the Constitution created a “wall of separation” between religion and government.

But for some, the separation of church and state doesn’t prohibit established religious beliefs from becoming law.

“It doesn’t say there’s a separation of church and state. There’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution that says that. A lot of people think there is, but there’s not,” McCravy said. “However, it does say that we are not to establish a state religion.”

‘A spiritual battle’

In June, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers held a national policy conference at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Home to the late Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell, the city is an important place for Christian conservatives.

Standing in front of a large sign with the phrase “In God We Trust” emblazoned across it, Rapert kicked off the livestreamed portion of the conference.

“Beginning tomorrow, you’re going to be engaging not only in policy discussion, my friends, you’re going to be engaging in spiritual battle,” he said.

Throughout the conference, lawmakers discussed and proposed modifications to a number of model bills and resolutions that would ban gender-affirming care, condemn gay marriage and enshrine fetal personhood.

In all, the group approved eight new model bills. News21 requested copies of the measures from Rapert, but he did not respond.

Rapert said his group doesn’t track the effectiveness of its model bills, nor does it know the number of times they’ve been introduced in state legislatures.

The organization’s rise comes at a time when a right-leaning U.S. Supreme Court has delivered ruling after ruling advancing Christian influence in public life and limiting anti-discrimination laws.

These decisions have created an opportunity for religious conservatives to push toward incorporating more conservative Christian views into law, which members of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers hope to do nationwide.

“We believe that America would be better served by Christians serving in public office at every level in the United States,” Rapert said.

This report is part of “America After Roe,” an examination of the impact of the reversal of Roe v. Wade on health care, culture, policy and people, produced by Carnegie-Knight News21.

FORT WORTH (BP)—David Dockery believes he can see the light at the end of the tunnel for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The seminary has faced ongoing financial and leadership challenges that led to its receiving a warning from its accreditation agency in June.

 “There’s longstanding financial issues that are systemic in the institution,” Dockery said. “There’s a sense of instability because of the turnover that has happened, not only at the presidential level, but among other administrators and faculty as well,” he said in a Baptist Press This Week interview.

Still, he said, the seminary is starting the new semester with a 5 percent increase in total headcount for the 2022-2023 academic year compared to the prior academic year.

“The financial challenges are complex,” said Dockery, who was installed as the 10th president of the seminary Aug. 22. He has 40 years of experience in higher education and is well-known for his longtime leadership at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

The seminary is working to get a clear picture of the financial situation, addressing the need to oversee restricted and unrestricted gifts and endowments as well as its operational budget, he said.

An endowment of more than $150 million has helped Southwestern Seminary endure a season of financial instability, he said in the video interview.

According to a financial statement released by the seminary on June 9, it operated at an average budget deficit of $6.67 million every year from 2002 through 2022.

Financial concerns were the majority of the reasons the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools issued a warning to the seminary.

As he leads Southwestern Seminary toward appropriate financial stewardship, he is also increasing communication among staff, trustees and students.

“We had a faculty staff meeting on August 9 to begin the new year, bringing everyone together,” he said.

“Often, the staff meets by itself or the faculty meets by itself or some are not involved. But this was everyone. And we tried to give a full one-hour update on where we are as an institution, so we all know where we are. We can’t know where we’re going unless we know where we’re starting from.”

Dockery said the third part of the warning called for greater communication with the seminary’s board of trustees “… to make sure the board is informed and acting wisely as good fiduciaries of the institution, making sure that they are acting with all the information that they can.”

“We’re going to do our best to make sure that that happens,” he said.

He knows many Southern Baptists want to see the seminary grow in accountability and transparency.

“Southwestern has been a great beneficiary of the Cooperative Program … of the gifts that have come through from the work of the churches. We don’t take that for granted at all,” he said.

“Our responsibility is to be good stewards of that.”

CAUTION: The following article contains descriptions of cancer’s physical effects that may be difficult for some readers.

I always have been a catastrophizer. I am well-practiced at dreaming up, and planning for, the worst-case scenario. But the possibility my beautiful wife would be diagnosed with breast cancer—and in her 40s, no less—never found its way into my self-generated nightmares.

But it happened.

2022 already had been a difficult year. I was a new pastor, and my wife Natallia, who only recently had begun learning the guitar, was leading our worship, because COVID-19 had wreaked havoc in our tiny congregation.

In March, our historic church building burned, along with several other buildings in downtown Ranger. In June, we lost two church members we could not afford to lose, because we wouldn’t merge with another church in town.

In July, my wife decided it was long past time for her to get a mammogram. She usually is conscientious about her health, but she had not undergone this important diagnostic procedure in several years. Nevertheless, when she went for the test, we weren’t worried. She did her monthly self-examinations, and she never had felt anything that concerned her.

So, we were surprised and dismayed when the radiologist called the same day to say there was something amiss on the scans. A week later, on Aug. 3, Natallia went for an ultrasound of what we assumed was a single, small spot. I’ll never forget how I felt when she called me with the results.

“The doctor says that there is a 90 percent chance that it is cancer,” she told me. Then she added there was a tumor in both breasts.

Fear and trembling

This outcome was worse than my worst-case scenarios. I didn’t know a lot about breast cancer, but I knew, or thought I knew, metastatic breast cancer is close to a death sentence. And I assumed, because the cancer was in both breasts, it was metastatic.

As is so often the case, my wife faced her diagnosis with courage, but I fell to pieces. Her apparent fate was a double blow. It was not only the death of my best friend and only lover, but it was my own death, too—at least in a metaphorical sense.

I was born with Leber Congenital Amaurosis, a rare, genetic disease of the retina. Over time, the disease has robbed me of almost all of my eyesight.

My wife helps me with every aspect of my ministry, from reading papers submitted by students to making pastoral care visits to hospitalized parishioners. Without her, it is difficult to imagine how I could have a life of purpose and meaning, much less one that fulfills my calling as a pastor and scholar.

By the end of the week, I had landed in an urgent care facility, seeking treatment for anxiety. The fear was unbearable, but so was the shame. At precisely the point I should have been the strongest for Natallia, at precisely the point when all the focus should have been on her, my own acute suffering took precedence.

Miracles of the ordinary

When I have been under emotional distress at other times in my life, I have found it difficult to hear God’s voice. But not this time. Indeed, God’s voice—reassuring me he would give me Natallia’s life and prompting me to ask for more—carried me through those moments of terror.

It is fashionable these days to enumerate all the ways the church has failed, and there is a place for that kind of critical reflection. But for us, the people of God were the embodiment of his presence and activity in our lives.

Our tiny church stood tall, giving us the space we needed to rest, grieve and heal. Our former church, which is much larger, came alongside us, providing support and assistance our own congregation could not.

Plus, God provided Natallia with an excellent team of doctors. Not only were the folks at Texas Oncology competent, but they also were compassionate. That is not something every cancer patient experiences.

That is not to say everything worked out the way we hoped. From insurance problems to tumors much larger than they appeared to be on the initial scans, we seemed to get bad news with almost every bit of good news.

Every bit of bad news threatened to overwhelm us once again with dread. But we were not alone. The God who created the universe, who superintends all of history and who joined humanity in its suffering, was walking with us and working for us.

Cancer’s cost

I hate cancer. I hate it with every fiber of my being. Sure, the cold, scientific mind could argue it is no different than any other disease process. It is simply the result of perfectly natural interactions between a person’s DNA and her or his environment—nothing less and nothing more.

But my heart doesn’t buy that. Cancer relentlessly attacks the body God made to be good until that body ceases to function. Even if a cure is possible, the cost of that cure is barbarous.

Breast cancer, in particular, mangles the most distinctively feminine parts of a woman’s body. For my wife, it robbed her of her breasts, but treating it also involved giving up her ovaries. Some women don’t have to give up their ovaries, but they lose their hair.

Some women lose it all in a desperate struggle to remain present for their husbands, children and other family members. It is enough to drive even the most faithful Christian to agree with Kate Bowler’s anguished cry: “Before was better.”

Sometimes, I feel guilty about lamenting this cost. After all, I still have my wife. That would not have been the case throughout most of human history, and it might not be the case if we were living in another part of the world.

Yet, failing to acknowledge my own loss is also to fail to join Natallia in hers. It is to deny my own creatureliness and to participate in the Gnostic lie that the body does not matter.

So, with my wife’s approval, I will speak the truth. Cancer has stolen something precious from us, something we will not get back in this life. Indeed, if it is true there will be no marital intimacy in the new creation, then—for me, at least—the gift of my wife’s unmangled body is gone forever.

Spiritual intimacy

Perhaps this explains why Natallia and I have felt so closely connected with our God of late. We actually are losing something precious in this trial—even if that loss is not permanent—and only the presence of our faithful God can comfort us in the face of such a loss.

In the aftermath of that loss, I read both Kate Bowler’s Everything Happens for a Reason, and Other Lies I’ve Lovedand Max Lucado’s Anxious for Nothing. The approaches Bowler and Lucado take to the problem of human suffering are quite different, but I think they both have something to contribute to our efforts to understand God’s mysterious ways.

God’s beautiful habit of working through terrible circumstances to bring about good (Romans 8:28) does not undo the trauma inflicted by those circumstances. Rather, the trauma and the good rest uncomfortably beside one another, illustrating both the perilous situation in which humanity finds itself and the beneficence of a God who refuses to waste our suffering.

It is a constant struggle to hold that tension. Sometimes, I seek the false comfort of pretending I haven’t lost anything. At other times, I fail to recognize I have gained as well as lost.

Intimacy with Christ is worth whatever pain is involved in bringing it about, but there is more to what God is doing in our lives than bonding with a suffering Messiah. God has woven Natallia’s heart more deeply into mine than I ever thought possible. She has modeled for me a kind of selfless love that makes the narratives and propositions of our faith come alive.

Without a doubt, this enlivening of the biblical witness has pointed a finger of conviction at the most selfish and depraved parts of my heart. But it also has filled my heart with hope. Goodness is real. Love is possible. And we can—by God’s grace and with God’s help—experience them, even in a world that has been swallowed alive by evil and pain.

Wade Berry is pastor of Second Baptist Church in Ranger, and resident fellow in New Testament and Greek at B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary. The views expressed are those of the author.

Religious freedom and human rights conditions in Iran—which already were bleak—have “sharply deteriorated,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported in an update released Sept. 11.

“State violence in Iran has persisted for decades, but the Iranian government’s most recent actions have reflected particular brutality,” the commission report stated.

The report detailed the government’s “systemic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom over the past year, with a particular focus on its targeting of religious minorities and dissidents asserting their right to freedom of religion or belief.”

The Iranian government’s crackdowns on the Baha’i and Sunni religious minorities have included killings, imprisonment, torture, disappearances, rape and other sexual violence.

“Iran is a theocratic authoritarian state with restricted political participation,” the report stated.

Women and girls targeted

Women and girls particularly have been targets of religious oppression and human rights abuses, the report noted.

Since the revolution in 1979, women have been required to wear a hijab—a religious headscarf—in public spaces, regardless of their personal beliefs. In the past year, the Iranian government has “doubled down” on enforcement of that requirement, the report noted.

“In May 2023, President Ibrahim Raisi’s administration presented to parliament a bill that would define improper hijab wearing as ‘nudity’ and allow officials to arrest, fine and imprison women for not wearing the hijab,” the commission report stated.

In July, Iran restarted “morality police” street patrols to enforce mandatory hijab laws and to shut down any businesses that failed to enforce those laws.

Iranian state authorities have killed more than 500 citizens since last September who dared to protest the government’s religiously grounded policies, the commission reported. Authorities have fired on protesters in confined spaces and fatally beaten some protestors, including a 16-year-old girl.

“Iran has carried out multiple executions of protestors, often following their torture in detention, as well as multiple due process violations,” the report stated.

The commission reported 13,000 girls have been hospitalized after alleged poison gas attacks on girls’ schools, and authorities have used tear gas on protestors demonstrating against the government’s failure to investigate the attacks on schools.

Religious minorities have been targeted for imprisonment, in violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the report noted.

“Since September 2022, Iran has systematically arrested scores of Sunni religious officials based on that status, often following their sermons or public statements,” the commission reported.

Followers of the Baha’i faith long have faced “severe and systematic deprivation of liberty and other restrictions as a matter of government policy, which treats Baha’is as a ‘deviant sect of Islam,’” but persecution has escalated in the past year, the report noted.

Call for action

The commission called for the United States to impose “targeted sanctions on Iranian officials complicit in violations of freedom of religion or belief.”

“It must also raise religious freedom and other human rights abuses in any bilateral and multilateral negotiations with Iran’s government on issues of regional and international security,” the report stated.

The commission encouraged the United States to support efforts of the United Nations Independent Fact-finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran and to consider supporting a U.S. Security Council referral of Iranian “crimes against humanity” to the International Criminal Court.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Alex Lang thought he was done with the pastorate for good.

On Sunday, Aug. 27, Lang bid farewell to the congregation at First Presbyterian Church in Arlington Heights, Ill., where he’d served for a decade.

His final sermon done, Lang sat down and typed out some thoughts on why he left not only First Presbyterian but the pastorate altogether. Lang posted that essay a few days later on his website, thinking his few hundred regular readers might be interested.

He was partly right. His regular readers were interested. And so were about 350,000 of Lang’s colleagues.

Lang’s essay, entitled “Why I Left the Church,” went viral—and prompted a national conversation among clergy about the pressures of the profession and how they talk about those pressures.

Over coffee and in Facebook posts and denomination offices, Lang’s essay became the topic du jour for clergy around the country. Some resonated with his concerns, while others saw his leaving as a lack of faith.

“I’ve done more than 50 articles,” said the 43-year-old Lang during an interview at his home outside of Chicago. “Usually, nobody cares.”

Essay resonated with pastors

His more recent essay became a blank slate for people to write their own experiences on. Many of those experiences are difficult—as pastors have become burnt out caring for people’s souls amid the decline of organized religion known as the “Great Dechurching” and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 “Alex raised issues that are relevant and resonated with clergy serving congregations and other institutions,” said Craig Howard, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Chicago, of which First Presbyterian is a part. “These issues include isolation, organizational calcification, burnout, and bullying.”

After reading Lang’s essay, Howard said he emailed other clergy in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in the Chicago area, inviting them to meet up and talk. That meeting, he said, led local leaders to work on some resources to help pastors with spiritual care and mental health issues.

In his essay, Lang talked about the burden of knowing his congregation’s secrets and their sorrows—which became, at times, more than he could bear.

“What you don’t realize is that, over time, the accumulation of all that knowledge starts to weigh you down,” he wrote. “Your mind is a repository for all sorts of secrets and, if you’re human, you feel sympathy and empathy for their suffering.”

That portion of Lang’s essay resonated with Devyn Chambers Johnson, co-pastor of Covenant Congregational Church in North Easton, Mass. She said it’s hard for congregation members or those outside the church to understand that part of a pastor’s life.

While helping professionals like therapists or counselors also support people in crises, they don’t do so on the scale that a pastor does, something she said her husband and co-pastor, Ryan, helped put into perspective.

“Therapists only have a few dozen people to care for,” she recalled her husband saying. “At church, you have hundreds of people that you help with their hurts and griefs. That is something people don’t realize.”

Add to that the logistics of the pastorate—preparing sermons, raising funds, working with committees and dealing with all the small details needed to keep a congregation running—and it can be a lot.

Chambers Johnson said she felt more prepared for the burdens of the pastorate because her father was a pastor—so she knew what she was getting into. She also said caring for people in her church is a privilege—that some of the most holy moments of her life came when she was present with people in grief or crisis.

“That’s the part of the job I would not trade for everything,” she said.

Pressures take toll on pastors

Scott Thumma, director of the Hartford Center for Religion Research, said adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic—and responding to the Black Lives Matter movement, political polarization and the reality that congregations are shrinking and aging—has all taken a toll on pastors.

Thumma, who has been studying the impact of the pandemic, said a growing number of pastors have begun to think about leaving the pastorate.

“It’s absolutely clear that people are stressed and tired and worn out,” he said. “And they think about quitting. But they are not giving up.”

Thumma said only 3 percent of clergy think about leaving all the time—a percentage that hasn’t changed much in recent years. And he said that overall, clergy have a fairly positive outlook on life, according to a recent study done by Hartford.

Nathan Parker, pastor of Woodmont Baptist Church in Nashville, said he’d had mixed reactions to Lang’s piece, which he said circulated widely among his Southern Baptist colleagues. For his part, he said he had more sympathy for Lang’s congregation than for Lang himself.

Parker worried Lang hadn’t relied enough on God—or that he hadn’t helped his people rely more on God and less on themselves.

“I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me,” said Parker, adding that without God’s help, the job of a pastor is impossible.

Sparking helpful conversations

Kerri Parker, executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches, said Lang’s essay had led to some helpful conversations about the struggles clergy face. Some of those clergy, she said, have a complicated relationship with the church.

“If they were on a dating app with the church, they would say they are not a thing,” she said. “But they are not, ‘not a thing.’ But they would not necessarily tell someone they are fully an item.”

She said clergy are tempted to take everything on themselves—and don’t rely on either God or their colleagues. That’s despite most clergy taking ordination vows that remind them that everything does not depend on them.

Parker said that no amount of self-care or great planning and new ideas can overcome the challenges churches face.

“We are used to holding everything together because we don’t know what else to do,” she said. “When it all goes to heck, it just goes.”

She said Lang’s essay was a gut check for pastors. Parker added a colleague put it this way: “When we try and bear the burdens of ministry without turning them over to God, we are doomed to failure.”

Lang had doubts about doctrine

For Lang, things are more complicated. He admits to being a perfectionist—memorizing his sermons, trying to make everything at church run perfectly—and trying to help his congregation follow the teachings of Jesus in the modern world.

He also says he had doubts about many of the traditional teachings of the Christian faith—such as the resurrection of Jesus or the virgin birth—and whether Jesus was the only way to find salvation. He said that he thought by modernizing theology and speaking to people in an engaging, down-to-earth manner, he could help draw people outside the church into the faith.

That didn’t work the way he hoped. Even those who were interested in his ideas found it hard to connect to a traditional congregation. COVID-19 also wrecked many of the plans the church had for the future.

Lang said he also recognized that after a decade, the church needed new leadership.

“They need someone else with new ideas to take them in a new direction,” he said.

Still, leaving was hard, something that was evident in his last sermon, which was filled with laughter and tears and a sense of genuine affection between a pastor and his flock.

Lang joked about his own failings and paid tribute to congregation members who went above and beyond the call of duty. He also thanked them for taking a chance on him as a young pastor.

Perhaps the most moving moment of the sermon came as Lang described the fraught relationship he’d had with his mother growing up. He said she was often critical, telling him he was not good enough, while Lang admitted judging his mother’s shortcomings.

While in college, Lang said one of his mentors challenged him to live out the teachings of Jesus—and to love her even though he saw her as an enemy. That changed everything, he said, recounting the story with tears in his eyes.

“If you embrace Jesus’ teaching—and that kind of unconditional love—you can revolutionize the world,” he said.

When he left, Lang’s congregation gave him a piece of Kintsugi art—made from broken pottery that had been mended with gold. That kind of pottery was a metaphor for his life, he said, that despite the struggles and his own failings, there is still beauty.

He said he remains skeptical about the future of institutional Christianity. But he is hopeful about the congregation he left behind.

In his last sermon, Lang urged the congregation to stay committed to the work they have been doing, despite the change in leadership. The church is always bigger than the pastor, he told them.

Then he gave thanks.

“You all have conveyed God’s unconditional love to me, more profoundly than just about anything in my life,” he said.