The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/11/2017 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- EASTER: The essential resurrection by Jim Richards Date: April 11, 2017 - Tuesday GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- As a student in a Baptist college I heard in a chapel service that it wasn't important whether Jesus literally and bodily resurrected from the dead. I was told as long as the influence of Jesus lived on in me, that was the important thing. Denying the miraculous was not uncommon in our Baptist institutions almost a half-century ago. For those who get weary of hearing about battles for the Bible, let me remind you that eternal vigilance is necessary to preserve the truth. The battle for the Bible will never be over until Jesus returns. The testimony of Jesus Christ is found in every book of the Bible. The Bible is our only reliable witness of the historicity of Jesus and His words. Jesus' resurrection was clearly evident on Easter Sunday to Mary Magdalene and the women at the tomb, Peter, the eleven disciples and the two disciples traveling to the village of Emmaus. Easter is a good time to reintroduce others to the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus as the foundation of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Without the resurrection, the cross is a sad ending of a good man; with the resurrection, the cross is the sufficient sacrifice of the God-man. The apostle Paul put it plainly that "if Christ is not risen, your faith is in vain; you are yet in your sins!" (1 Corinthians 15:17). Without the resurrection, we have no hope; but with it, we have the assurance of eternal life. With the resurrection's promise of a glorious future, believers will not live in eternity as disembodied spirits but will receive resurrected bodies like Jesus. "We know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). We have much to celebrate. Christians observe the resurrection every Sunday when we gather to worship. A life-changing experience is available with the risen Lord. This is what Christianity is all about. To that end, the living Lord Jesus puts within us a desire to tell the Good News like the women on that first Easter morning. It's easy to find bad news; let's be bearers of the Good News. He's alive! -------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE STATES: La., Tenn. and Mo. evangelism/missions news; 'We are trying to get outside the walls and be the church' by Staff Date: April 11, 2017 - Tuesday Today's From the States features items from: The Baptist Message (Louisiana) Baptist and Reflector (Tennessee) The Pathway (Missouri) ********** La. church's revival going strong after three years By Brian Blackwell BASTROP, La. (The Baptist Message) -- Bonita Road Baptist Church has been in revival for three years and all signs point to this spiritual renewal continuing for the foreseeable future. Since Casey Johnson joined this Morehouse Baptist Association church as pastor in 2015, worship and Sunday school attendances have increased and more than 70 people have been baptized. Furthermore, the congregation is in the midst of constructing a new 11,000-sq.-ft. worship center that will seat 500 people to accommodate the growth -- with even more new members added from revival services that took place in early March. "It has been an absolute joy watching God change so many lives in such a short time," Johnson said. "I think the greatest thing, apart from the salvations, has been watching people truly understand the freedom they have to worship God because of their identity in Christ. From a pastor's perspective that is a treasure and a victory worth celebrating." In the time Johnson has been pastor of Bonita Road Baptist Church, worship attendance has grown from 200 in one worship event to a combined 375 in two morning services. Sunday school attendance now stands at 230, up from 130. He points to a concentration on prayer as a catalyst for the positive change. Johnson preached a series on prayer leading up to the recent March revival. Now, people are responding during invitations by bringing the Bible with them to the altar and praying a passage of Scripture to God. "It's important to build our foundation on the Word of God and prayer," Johnson said. "They have grabbed hold of the Word and the power of prayer, and are growing so very much as a church. We pray the Word of God back to Him because God will always fulfill His Word." Among the members embracing prayer is Stacy Sharp. Of the three women's Bible studies she has led, two have focused strictly on prayer. Additionally, a women's retreat she attended in 2015 included moments of prayer, which Sharp said was a key factor for the growth the congregation has experienced. "After that night of the retreat, we saw many miracles, such as marriages healed, people being cured of physical illnesses and more," Sharp said. "It's because of prayer that we at Bonita Road are a people who are closer as a church and are experiencing much freedom in our worship, personal life and relationship with Christ." Revival after the revival During the most recent revival services, the worship center was filled to capacity each evening. In the end, two people came forward to accept Christ as their personal Savior, but many more made other spiritual decisions -- a call to ministry, a commitment to share the Gospel more fervently, or, a need to be obedient through baptism. Since the end of the revival, Johnson has talked with many who attended, including some who expressed a desire to follow Christ. "When we had the revival, the place was packed each night but we weren't seeing people come to us to make a salvation decision," Johnson said. "Instead we saw God moving in the hearts of the Christians and people there. We are seeing lingering effects even after the revival meeting, which has been huge to us." After the revival ended, the congregation made a decision to cover their future worship center with prayer. Nearly 225 people took markers and wrote a scripture, inspirational thought or prayer on beams and the concrete floor. Johnson said that was a symbolic move for how his congregation believes about the power of prayer for their future worship center. "[That] was a powerful moment for us as a church body," Johnson said. "We believe our best days are ahead of us and we think the Word of God and prayer will pave the way to greater things. "So seeing families walk through the new sanctuary writing scriptures and prayers on the walls and foundation was a moving experience," he continued. "One of our men said a few days later he was moved to tears going back through and reading some of the words that were written on the walls." Church without walls One mindset Johnson tried to instill in his congregation when he arrived there is they are a church without walls, a people who minister to the community in a variety of ways. Members are given business-sized cards to hand out at restaurants, stores or other locations around Bastrop. On one side are the words "Live Love Ministries" and on the opposite side is an encouraging word, with an invitation to attend a worship service or other activity at Bonita Road Baptist Church. The goal is to bless recipients and let them know they are loved and welcomed by the congregation. The effort has paid off, with many people coming to visit the church. During a recent service, a family attended because a member paid their meal tab at a local restaurant, leaving one of the cards that says "You've been blessed by Live Love Ministries of Bonita Road Baptist Church." Yet another of its ministry effort is the church's Just One Discipleship Initiative. A member is paired up with another person to invest in the person for a year through one-on-one discipleship. "The Bible says to reach the whole world, but this allows our members to have a personalized outreach to people closer to home," Johnson said. "We are trying to get outside the walls and be the church. These are simple approaches that make ministry very personal. "We like to say we are a Driveway Church," he continued. "Whether they are at the gas station, restaurant or ballfield, our members are getting outside our walls and talking about Jesus." --30-- This article appeared in the Baptist Message (baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Brian Blackwell is a staff writer for the Baptist Message. ********** 712 teens accept Christ at Tenn. evangelism conf. By Connie Davis Bushey NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Baptist and Reflector) -- Youth Evangelism Conference 2017 drew about 7,383 participants to Municipal Auditorium here March 10-11. At least 712 teens made professions of faith during the Friday evening session. In addition, 392 students recorded that they had been a lukewarm Christian but were ready to follow Christ as a dedicated disciple, 210 teens reported that they felt called by God to serve in missions and ministry, and 578 made other commitments. Also, thousands accepted the "Oikos" challenge of YEC 2017. Kent Shingleton, coordinator of Youth Evangelism Conference for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, told the teens that "Oikos" (oiee-kahs), a Greek word, means extended family. The students were challenged to share Christ with their Oikos because those are people they share influence with. "Ninety-five percent of believers came to know Christ because someone in their Oikos actually invested in them," the teens learned via a video. "In order to change the world, we must first change our world," said Jared Shingleton on another video about Oikos. Shingleton is youth pastor, Hope Fellowship Church, Smyrna, and Kent's son. "You see relationships are not by accident. … He (God) knows exactly who is there and we believe that God is ready to empower you to change your world." He added that his youth group recently nearly tripled in size after it began the Oikos strategy. At the end of the last session, teens identified and wrote down the names of 8-15 people, the average number of people most people have influence with or their Oikos. Then they committed to spend time with, pray for, and witness to their Oikos. Another part of the program were The Skit Guys, Tommy Woodard of Oklahoma City, Okla., and Eddie James of Dallas, Texas. They used humor to present the Ten Commandments, the rich young ruler, a person literally and figuratively being beaten up with a Bible, and several other messages. Kent Shingleton additionally reported that next year the 50th YEC will be held. To prepare, about 30 people who had "seen God work in their lives over the years at YEC" were videotaped during YEC, said Shingleton. Many of those videos will be shared through social media throughout the next year. Main message Friday night Dave Edwards, biblical communicator of Oklahoma City, spoke to the teens about how sin entered the world through Adam and Eve. Then he asked the students why the relationships in their families, dating life, churches, and youth groups were "falling apart" and what "fig leaf" they were hiding behind. Speaking from Genesis 2:25, 3:7, and 3:8, he noted Adam and Eve were in an idyllic situation yet they reached for the apple "and began all of this deception" which is "symbolic of them taking matters into their own hands," said Edwards. People often hide who they really are or their greatest insecurity or secret. This requires perpetual hiding and always looking for something new to hide behind, he added. People also begin to develop the thinking that if they ever become honest, they will be hurt. Some use substances such as alcohol or narcotics, cutting themselves, food, clothes, online persona, looks, intellect, cheerleading, band, religion, music, or art as their fig leaves, Edwards noted. Edwards told of his parents divorcing when he was 5 years old and not seeing his father again until he was 21. Then in school he couldn't read or write so he was placed in a class for slow learners until it was finally determined that he was dyslexic. He coped through all of this by being funny though he was hiding a lot, he explained. "Buried behind that thing you're hiding behind is a wonderful person," he observed. As seen with Adam and Eve, God initiates but doesn't invade our space and is not put off by our fig leaves or all the drama in our lives, he explained. Then God sacrificed an animal to clothe them which was the first sacrifice for sin and which was followed by God's sacrifice of Jesus for sin. Students today may experience "the eternal life of Jesus," Edwards said. If they accept it, the right friends and the right people to date will come into their lives and they will find a better atmosphere in their homes. In the middle of his broken home and his dyslexia he knew he wouldn't make it unless Jesus was living inside of him, he said. "Just like with Adam and Eve, God says to you and me tonight, 'Let's make a trade. You give me what you've been hiding behind and in exchange, I'll give you something that you'll never lose.' " Saturday morning speaker Luke MacDonald, executive pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Elgin, Ill., told the crowd of students they aren't "special, not even a little bit." His father is James MacDonald, the founding pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel which has seven campuses in metropolitan Chicago and the host of "The Walk in the Word" TV and radio shows. The pursuit of specialness develops selfishness and narcissism and leads to misery, he explained. "You my friend were made for more." "We don't need to be special; we don't need to be the best because we already know the best; we know the King." MacDonald referred to David, the shepherd boy who was the giant killer and then the greatest king of Israel. He is described in the Bible as "a man after God's own heart." Yet David was the only one of Jesse's eight sons to not be considered by his father to be a potential king. "If anybody was special David was, but the fact that he knew that he wasn't special is exactly what made him so significant." Many students in the crowd at the YEC could say honestly "I have a heart for God; I would love for God to use my life but I am the wrong person, so it's not happening." They may think this because they are bad at math or sports, chubby, have a learning disability, or are a girl. However, nearly all of the people in the Bible that God used had flaws and included prostitutes and murderers, said the pastor. "Do you know that God has already given you everything that you need to do exactly what He wants you to do today? It's so easy to get caught up in what we wish we had." David himself writes his belief that he's not special in Psalms 8, noted MacDonald. Like David the students also can learn "that the story is not about us at all. We just get to be a small part of the story of God." But God will do more through them than they could without Him, he added. "You're not special, but Jesus is. When you understand that, God can do anything, and I mean anything, in your life." Other news from YEC The YEC participants gave $9,186 toward the 2018 YEC overseas missions trip to Guatemala to support the Tennessee/Guatemala Baptist Partnership. The TBMB coordinates the trip every other year. In 2016, 78 youth and adult leaders served in Guatemala. YEC 2018 will be March 9-10 at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. --30-- This article appeared in the Baptist and Reflector (http://tnbaptist.org/BRNews.asp), newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Connie Davis Bushey is news editor of the Baptist and Reflector. ********** Mo. church takes gospel to El Salvador By Staff EL SALVADOR (The Pathway) -- A team of 13 people from First Baptist Church, Memphis, traveled to El Salvador in March to share the love of Christ. This was the church's fourth trip to the area, where they've partnered with churches in El Coco, El Tanque and San Isidro—small communities nestled in the mountains of the nation's border with Guatemala. "One of the greatest experiences of the mission trip was working side by side with Christian brothers and sisters from another culture who share a common goal in serving God," said Pastor Dan Hite in an article he submitted to the Memphis (Mo.) Democrat. Each year, as the church works in El Salvador, "the bonds of fellowship grow stronger," he added. "Mission trips like these," he said, "can be life changing, and it can be quite humbling to be so greatly blessed by those you go to be a blessing to." As in the past, the mission team from FBC, Memphis, worked with the children in these poverty-stricken communities. The missionaries from FBC Memphis, made up of 13 people of various ages (from teens to senior adults), divided into two teams to serve the three El Salvador communities. One team was invited to work in the schools in San Isidro. And in El Tanque the schools took children to the church, where they learned songs in Spanish and English, played games, made crafts and heard Bible stories. The mission group from FBC Memphis also distributed sewing machines, medicine, stuffed animals, yarn for making yarn dolls, toothbrushes, toys and nearly 800 pairs of shoes -- collected from various groups in Scotland County, Mo. "The two teams also participated in worship services in the evening, which was another great experience," Hite said. "The world gets much smaller when we worship and praise God with other cultures." Additionally, the mission group worshiped at the First Baptist Church of Chalchuapa and worked with children from a Christian school affiliated with the church. According to the Memphis Democrat, FBC Memphis not only brought the living water of the gospel to the people of El Salvador. They're also playing a part in bringing clean drinking water to the El Tanque community. A member of the mission team, Linda Blessing, is also a member of the Schuyler County Rotary Club. The Memphis Democrat explained: "One of the primary service interests of Rotary clubs worldwide is to provide sustainable sources of clean drinking water for people in nations where this is a problem. Linda was able to make connections with Rotary Club members in El Salvador and the community leaders of El Tanque to gain local support for the project and obtain necessary information regarding the project to bring back to share with Rotary clubs in Northeast Missouri." --30-- This article appeared in The Pathway (mbcpathway.com), newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention. ********** EDITOR'S NOTE: From the States, published each Tuesday by Baptist Press, relays news and feature stories from state Baptist papers and other publications on initiatives by Baptist churches, associations and state conventions in evangelism, church planting and Great Commission outreach, including partnership missions. Reports about churches, associations and state conventions responding to the International Mission Board's call to embrace the world's unengaged, unreached people groups also are included in From the States, along with reports about church, associational and state convention initiatives in conjunction with the North American Mission Board's call to Southern Baptist churches to broaden their efforts in starting new churches and satellite campuses. The items appear in Baptist Press as originally published. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Gateway Seminary dedicates Bay Area campus by Katherine Chute Date: April 11, 2017 - Tuesday FREMONT, Calif. (BP) -- Gateway Seminary dedicated a new campus in the San Francisco Bay Area April 8, fulfilling a promise that the institution would not abandon its presence there. But the story behind the new facility in Fremont, Calif., has two parts: one from the perspective of the Southern Baptist seminary -- formerly known as Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary -- and the other on the side of a church that was declining but wanted to continue its commitment to missions. "When we decided the seminary relocation would go forward, one of the most difficult parts of the decision was the feeling we were abandoning the Bay Area," said Gateway Seminary President Jeff Iorg, who saw the seminary also dedicate its new main campus in Ontario, Calif., in October. "We see the need in this area, so leaving was not desirable to us," he noted. "When we knew we were selling the property in Mill Valley, we also knew we wanted to build a new campus in the Bay Area." He said that a list of requirements for a new facility included a location in the Fremont area between the 680 and 880 freeways, situated on a major thoroughfare and near a rail transit station. He and other staff members looked at possibilities over a six-month period -- but buildings that fit the criteria were very expensive. One day in October 2014 Iorg's phone rang, and an area pastor said, "I wonder if I can talk to you for a moment about the Bay Area campus. I have heard that the Seminary purchased property in Fremont for that purpose." Iorg assured him that was not true. The pastor replied, "Well, I'm glad to hear that, because our church would like to give you our property." When Iorg brought up the property on Google maps, he said, "Looming in front of me was property located between the 680 and 880 freeway on a major thoroughfare, near a rail transit station," he said. "I asked him, 'Are you sure this is the property you're telling me the church wants to give the seminary?' And the pastor replied 'yes.'" So Iorg and Gary Groat, vice president for business services, visited the church, inspected the property and then went to lunch to discuss it. "Gary is a very analytical, realistic person," Iorg said, "so I asked him -- what am I missing? He replied, 'You're not missing anything. It's a miracle.' "We first heard from the pastor in October and by January, we owned the property, and had the opportunity to develop it to what you see it today," Iorg said. "The gift was magnificent: a church that realized that possibly the best use of their resources was in the training of future leaders at a seminary on this property." Larry Floyd, pastor of Discovery International Church that donated the property valued at $2.9 million, said they were unaware of the seminary's side of the story but that it was an example of God knowing both sides and bringing them together for His purpose. Floyd explained the church began as a mission in 1952, experienced difficulties that temporarily closed it and then it reopened in 1959. The church moved to the Fremont location in the 1960s. He began his role as pastor in 2007. "As time progressed to about 2009, there was an uneasiness," Floyd said. "We often prayed 'God, what are you doing with us here?' We would grow and then people would leave. At one time, we had someone from every continent in our church, so we changed the name to Discovery International Church. Our desire has always been for missions, but at the time, my wife and I were in our early 60s, and we were some of the younger ones in the church." The church had several leadership meetings, Floyd said, where the question was asked "has Golden Gate purchased property in Fremont yet?" He would reply, "I don't know. I heard they had." Floyd noted, "Time progressed, and as we were praying, God was making it more and more evident that this is what He wanted us to do." "As we looked at statistics on the Southern Baptist Convention website, we found there are still more than 1,400 unreached people groups, and we wanted to make some impact," he said. "What were we going to do? We began praying again." All along, they thought the seminary had already purchased property in Fremont. Finally, someone said, "Why don't you just call Golden Gate and find out what they plan to do?" That question precipitated the phone call Floyd made to Iorg. "The circumstances that took place were about timing," Floyd said. "At first we thought we had missed [the window of time], but the timing was such that we knew that this property should be used for His glory. "When we look back on what we did, we had to consider that most of our people were seniors with limited incomes," Floyd said. "But now students are going to be graduating each year going out in the world to share the Gospel. We couldn't have done that collectively. But now our church will always be on mission through our gift to the seminary." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Murder charges dropped against former pastor by Diana Chandler Date: April 11, 2017 - Tuesday MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP) -- The prosecution of former Southern Baptist associate pastor Richard Shahan should be dropped for lack of sufficient evidence to prove whether he stabbed to death his wife in 2013, Alabama Attorney General Steven Marshall announced Monday (April 10). Marshall filed a motion in Jefferson County Circuit Court to "nolle prosequi without prejudice" -- drop the prosecution without prejudice -- of 55-year-old Shahan, thereby preserving the right to prosecute if and when additional evidence becomes available. "A thorough review of the evidence and comprehensive attempts to discover new evidence led to the conclusion that the evidence currently in the State's possession is insufficient to move forward with prosecution," according to Marshall's press release. "Today's action effectively preserves the State's opportunity to prosecute the case at a later date if additional evidence is developed," the release noted. "There is no statute of limitation for the prosecution of murder, so this may be done at any appropriate time in the future." The circuit court judge had not ruled on the motion as of today (April 11), Alabama attorney general spokesperson Joy Patterson told Baptist Press, but the judge's ruling is considered a formality. Shahan, former children and families pastor of First Baptist Church of Birmingham, was arrested Jan. 1, 2014 in the death of his wife Karen, found stabbed to death in their Homewood residence in July 2013. At the time of his arrest, he was at Nashville International Airport in Nashville, Tenn., attempting to board a plane to Frankfurt, Germany. A prosecutor in the case, Leigh Gwathney, had accused Shahan of attempting to "begin a new life with his boyfriend … who he intended to marry," the news site al.com reported. Shahan had resigned his post at First Baptist Church on Dec. 31, 2013, saying he was taking a children's ministry assignment in Kazakhstan. Marshall's latest motion means Shahan, who had been under house arrest with electronic monitoring, can move forward with his life, his attorney John Lentine told al.com. The attorney general reached "the same conclusion we knew from the beginning," al.com quoted Lentine. Shahan was originally indicted by the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office. But the office recused itself from the case in December 2016, requesting that the Alabama attorney general assume the prosecution. A trial date had already been set for this May. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Church revitalization challenges draw state leaders by Keith Collier/Southern Baptist TEXAN Date: April 11, 2017 - Tuesday KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- State convention leaders from across the country gathered to discuss and strategize for revitalizing plateaued and declining Southern Baptist churches. This marked the fourth year for the state revitalization network meeting, which was held March 20-21 at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. Gary Mathes, who leads church revitalization efforts for the Missouri Baptist Convention, told the TEXAN the goal of the meeting was to discuss "how [Southern Baptists] might be more effective in the work of helping struggling churches become vibrant, healthy, gospel-centric, kingdom-expanding congregations once again." "To that end," Mathes said, "we share best practices in the work we do within our respective states, discuss common issues we all face, and collaborate on solutions we can offer to churches that call on us for help." One of the key matters addressed during the meeting was agreement on definitions for "revitalization" and "replanting" so leaders and churches are on the same page, Mathes noted. They defined church revitalization as "The supernatural work of God that restores health in a church, evidenced by submission to God's Word, right relationships among members, and a renewed commitment to Great Commission ministry." Their definition for church replanting is "The process in which members of a church discern God's leadership to dissolve their current ministry and work with other churches or denominational bodies to begin a new church for a new season of ministry in their community." The leadership team from the states is based on regions: Steve Rice of the Kentucky Baptist Convention (South), Randy Millwood of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (North), Gary Mathes of the Missouri Baptist Convention (Midwest), Darwin Meighan of the Nevada Baptist Convention (West), and Kenneth Priest of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (Southwest). Priest described the group as "a network of state conventions, but all of us have a heart to help the local church. If what one state is doing can help another state, we want to be a part of that and share that process." Rodney Harrison, dean of post-graduate studies at Midwestern Seminary, served as the host representative for the meeting and led a plenary session on Charles Spurgeon's strategy for church revitalization. Harrison, who teaches in both of Midwestern's doctoral degrees on revitalization, noted the seminary's interest in the topic as well as the number of state leaders who graduated from the school with the doctor of ministry in church revitalization. "The conference reinforced the cooperative spirit of Southern Baptists as being open and willing to learn from one another with regard to how can we best help struggling churches," Harrison told the TEXAN, adding that the meeting "demonstrates the [state] conventions not only care, [but] they have a plan to serve and support the local church." Joining Harrison as presenters at the meeting were John Mark Yeats, dean of Midwestern College; Mark Clifton, senior director of the North American Mission Board's replant team; as well as several state convention leaders and associational directors of missions. Clifton told the TEXAN he was "extremely encouraged" by the meeting because "state conventions are taking seriously the issue of declining and dying churches" and willing to work together. "At no time in our recent history has our overall convention been so focused on creating systems and strategies to rescue dying churches," Clifton said. "More recently we spent a great deal of time creating systems and strategies to plant churches. And that's well and good. But when the SBC plants 1,200 churches a year and closes 900 churches a year, the net gain is only 300 churches. That does not even come close to keeping up with the church-to-population ratio." Of those 900 churches that close each year, he said, "over 77 percent are in cities larger than 100,000 people. And the vast majority of those churches are older than 10 years of age. In other words, it's not new church plants that were closing. Nor is it churches within communities that are declining. The majority of churches that are closing are in communities that are growing and within our cities." NAMB has created resources to help churches and conventions, including books, training, video series, events, assessments, blogs and cohorts, Clifton noted. Pastors and churches interested in more information about these resources can visit churchreplanters.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Restrictions, hostilities increase for people of faith by Staff Date: April 11, 2017 - Tuesday WASHINGTON (BP) -- The world's religious adherents experienced greater government restraints and social animosities after two years of declines, according to a newly released study. The Pew Research Center reported Tuesday (April 11) the percentage of countries with "high" or "very high" levels of anti-religious policies or acts increased in 2015. The share of countries with such levels of government restrictions -- including laws, policies and actions -- edged up from 24 percent in 2014 to 25 percent in 2015. The percentage of countries with such degrees of religious hostility -- performed by individuals, organizations or societal groups -- jumped from 23 to 27 percent. Among Pew's other findings for 2015 in its study of 198 countries: -- 40 percent of the world's countries have "high" or "very high" levels overall of restrictions/hostilities, a rise of six percent from 2014. -- 79 percent of the world's population lives in these countries, a hike of five percent. -- 53 percent of countries reported "widespread government harassment of religious groups," an increase of 10 percent. -- 12 percent of countries documented more than 200 cases of the use of government force against religious groups, a growth of one percent. Among factors in the global increase in social animosities were rises in religiously related mob violence, assaults against and displacement of people of faith, and attacks to impose religious rules. Southern Baptist religious freedom leader Russell Moore said in response to the Pew report, "For millions, including many of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world, conscience freedom is constantly in peril. This new data confirms how urgent the need is for advocacy on behalf of so many who face danger for their convictions. “I pray that the United States would continue its important work for global religious freedom and, more importantly, that the church of Jesus Christ would tirelessly work and pray for our fellow believers who are being persecuted by Caesar," said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in written comments for Baptist Press. Government harassment and use of force against religious groups surged in 2015, Pew reported. Four of the five geographic regions examined in the report -- the Middle East-North Africa, Asia-Pacific, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe -- had increases in these categories. Europe experienced the greatest growth in government harassment or use of force against religious groups, with 53 percent of its countries showing such increases in 2015, according to the study. Sub-Saharan Africa was next, with 48 percent of its countries experiencing growth in such actions. The Middle East-North Africa, however, continues to lead all regions, with 95 percent of its countries marked by government harassment or use of force against religious bodies. In Europe, Jews and Muslims experienced social hostilities in more countries than did Christians, according to Pew. Such animosities against Jews were found in 33 of Europe's 45 countries and against Muslims in 32 European countries. Christians experienced such hostilities in 21 countries. Harassment and the use of force by European governments against Muslims came in a year when 1.3 million immigrants -- more than half from the Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria -- sought asylum on the continent, Pew noted. It also was a year marked by threats and deadly attacks by Islamic terrorists in European countries. Worldwide, Christians and Muslims continue to be harassed in the largest number of countries, according to the study. The number of countries in which Christians were harassed jumped from 108 to 128 in 2015. For Muslims, the number surged from 100 to 125. Twenty-three countries had "very high" levels of government limitations in 2015, an increase of seven from 2014. At the top of the list were Egypt, China, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Syria and Morocco. Last year, the U.S. State Department designated 10 "countries of particular concern," a category reserved for especially severe violators of religious liberty. They were Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. For its study, Pew relied on nearly a dozen sources, including annual reports from the State Department and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The Pew study may be accessed at http://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/11/global-restrictions-on-religion-rise-modestly-in-2015-reversing-downward-trend/?utm_source=adaptivemailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=17-04-11%20religious%20restrictions&org=982&lvl=100&ite=947&lea=204503&ctr=0&par=1&trk=. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ala. governor's resignation yields call to prayer by David Roach Date: April 11, 2017 - Tuesday MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP) -- After Alabama's governor pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and resigned amid allegations of illegal conduct to cover up an extramarital affair, the state's Southern Baptists expressed disappointment and pledged prayer. "More than anything, we need to pray for Gov. [Robert] Bentley," Alabama Baptist Convention President John Thweatt told Baptist Press. "Pray for his family. Pray for our new governor [Kay Ivey], lifting her up and asking God to give her direction and give her wisdom." Bentley, a Republican and Southern Baptist, pleaded guilty April 10 to converting campaign funds for personal use and failing to file a major campaign finance report, according to media reports. Shortly after the plea, he resigned, stating in a farewell address, "The consequences of my mistakes have been grievously unfair to you, my dedicated staff and my cabinet." Bentley also told the staff and cabinet, "I have let you and our people down." Among terms of the plea deal, the Montgomery Advertiser reported, Bentley will serve one year of probation, forfeit the $36,912 in his campaign account and perform 100 hours of community service as a dermatologist, his profession before entering politics. Bentley's resignation came the same day Alabama's House Judiciary Committee began an impeachment hearing. The committee released a report April 7 alleging Bentley misused state workers and resources to hide an affair with a political adviser. Bentley's wife of 50 years divorced him in 2015. A professing Christian, Bentley drew criticism in 2011 for inviting listeners during a speech to trust Christ as their Lord and Savior, BP reported at the time. Bentley is a member of First Baptist Church in Prattville. He is a former chairman of deacons at First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa. First Baptist Prattville pastor Travis Coleman told BP, "We have reached out to Gov. Bentley, are praying for him and are willing to help him in any way possible." Thweatt, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pell City, Ala., said moral failures among politicians are "especially devastating for us when it's a person who claims to be a believer." He added Christians should condemn the former governor's sin but not become judgmental. "There is an expectation of holiness for the child of God," Thweatt said. Because all believers are susceptible to sin and moral failure, "we've got to take steps to make sure we're walking in sanctification." Vice President Mike Pence is a positive example for fellow politicians and others, Thweatt said, noting Pence's 2002 claim he never eats alone with a woman other than his wife. Joe Godfrey, leader of the Alabama Baptist Convention's public policy auxiliary, told BP he feels "disappointment." While all believers sin, Godfrey said, the former governor's apparent "lack of remorse" seems antithetical to the posture a believer in sin should adopt. Walking with Jesus requires "humbling ourselves before a holy God and acknowledging our total dependence on Him," said Godfrey, executive director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program. Christians can increase the level of integrity in politics by becoming involved in the political sphere and staying "close to Jesus" in the process, Godfrey said. "Our only hope of overcoming the temptations of power and sex and money and all of those things is to stay close to Jesus," Godfrey said. Believers in politics "are called to be salt and light." A "bright spot" related to Bentley's resignation, Godfrey noted, is that it demonstrated the ability of Alabama's system of checks and balances to weed out unjust leaders. "In this case, the system eventually worked," Godfrey said. "It took time, but it eventually worked, and we were able to get rid of somebody that was breaking laws and doing things that he shouldn't be doing. There's some encouragement in that for all of us." Though Bentley was the first Alabama governor to be considered for impeachment by the state House, the news website AL.com reported, three of the last six governors have either been convicted or pleaded guilty to criminal charges. Also leaving office in Alabama during the past 18 months were House Speaker Mike Hubbard, who was convicted of 12 felony ethics charges, and Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was suspended for the remainder of his term for allegedly directing probate judges to disobey a U.S. Supreme Court order related to same-sex marriage. Ivey, a member of First Baptist Church in Montgomery, was sworn in with her pastor Jay Wolf holding the Bible on which she placed her hand. Wolf led the swearing-in ceremony's opening prayer. "Romans 8 says that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Let's pray for that result," Wolf said according to The Alabama Baptist newsjournal. "May she honor You (Lord) as she serves the people of Alabama."