
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-09/19/2016

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FIRST-PERSON:   Wins & losses
by Brian Hobbs
Date: September 19, 2016 - Monday

OKLAHOMA CITY (BP) -- The football season is underway, and gridiron glory is now on the line across the nation.

It's amazing how slim the margin can be in a game being won or lost, between a winning and losing season. Just one play going right or wrong can tip the entire outcome of the game and season. And once a W or L is posted in the standings, those results are on record permanently and remembered -- for better or worse -- for years to come.

Sometimes Christians who are involved in cultural issues are tempted to do the same thing, to count something as a win or loss permanently. Take for example, when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to grant same-sex marriage licenses. When that ruling happened, we chalked it up as a significant religious liberty win.

If, on the other hand, when the White House issued a decree that people self-identifying as transgendered can use whatever restrooms or locker rooms they want, social conservatives rightly chalk that up as a loss.

In both cases -- indeed in almost every culture war example I can think of -- the wins and losses are not necessarily permanent. While Davis' case has been won, another clerk might face another lawsuit. If the transgender decree is not upheld by the court (in fact, one Texas district recently issued a preliminary injunction, thus blocking it for the time being), another judge might rule another way later.

As Christians who are trying to engage the culture with the Gospel, we must avoid falling into the trap of viewing all wins and losses as permanent and final. If we view it that way, a defeat on key issues like life or marriage might lead us toward a mindset to give up. Or conversely, when we achieve victories on key issues, we might grow lax in our prayers and efforts while our opponents on the issue continue to advance.

If "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," as the saying goes, surely continual prayer and effort is the price of engaging the culture.

Now, all of this is not to say there are no permanent wins and losses. In fact, what fuels our passion to fight for the unborn is the knowledge that abortion takes a human life and is final (though we know that there is forgiveness for those who have had abortions and that, on the resurrection day, death will be swallowed up by life).

This sense of permanency also is what fuels our evangelism efforts. We realize that when it comes to people's lives and salvation, the results are permanent. When a person dies, they were either won or lost to the Lord. There is no second chance after death to change that.

But isn't it a blessing to know that, while we share an active part in working toward soul-winning, God is in control of those wins and losses? And isn't it a blessing that because of Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection, He grants to us eternal life in Christ, the ultimate victory? That's the kind of win no one can take away.

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Suits in Ohio, Minn. join list of Title IX challenges
by Bonnie Pritchett/WORLD News Service
Date: September 19, 2016 - Monday

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP)-- Lawsuits recently filed in Ohio and Minnesota have joined the burgeoning docket of cases challenging the Obama administration's Title IX guidance on gender identity and restroom use in public schools. The suits illustrate the issue's divisiveness -- the Ohio school district refuses to accept the federal government's demands, while the Minnesota district accepted the redefinition of "sex," prompting parents to sue.
Families in Virginia also are challenging a local school district's decision to adopt new definitions of gender and sex, and last week the state supreme court agreed to hear that case in the coming months. An unidentified student and that student's parents, along with a school district resident, sued the Fairfax County School Board after it voted to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in its nondiscrimination policy. A lower court upheld the policy, and the families appealed.
Attorney Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represents the plaintiffs, argued the school board's decision violated state law prohibiting local entities from establishing nondiscrimination policies more comprehensive than state law, which does not include the district's three additions.
Due to parental backlash and the advancement of a similar case to the U.S. Supreme Court, the school board voted in July to temporarily suspend the policy pending further review. In a statement released after a closed-door session, the board said "it needs additional time to evaluate the legal issues surrounding the regulation, including a case now pending before the Supreme Court on this topic from a Virginia school district."
The other case involves a transgender student's lawsuit against the Gloucester County School Board, which wants to keep locker rooms separated by biological sex. The U.S. Supreme Court indicated in August it would hear that case.
Meanwhile a group of Minnesota parents added their lawsuit, Privacy Matters v. DOE, to the growing list of plaintiffs outraged by what their attorneys call a "legally baseless directive" and their school district's submission to the federal demands.
Before school started this year, the Virginia School District, about 60 miles north of Duluth, Minn., amended its nondiscrimination policy to include protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The changes came following the May release of a Department of Education and Department of Justice "guidance letter" directing all publicly funded schools to allow transgender students to use the restrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
As a result, a male student who identifies as female joined the girls' track team and began using the girls' locker room to change for workouts. In the subsequent lawsuit, filed by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the student is referred to as "Student X."
"Early in the season, Student X changed fully or partially in a restroom stall, but then after changing he would sit on a bench in the locker room while Girl Plaintiff A and other girls changed their clothes," the lawsuit states.
Before long, Student X began changing in front of the girls, "stripping down to tight women's boy short-style underwear" and "would dance in a sexually explicit manner -- 'twerking,' 'grinding' or dancing like he was on a 'stripper pole' to songs with explicit lyrics," according to the lawsuit.
When district administrators refused to rectify the situation, parents sued. The lawsuit, filed Sept. 7 in district court, asks the court to suspend the local policy and invalidate the Department of Education's Title IX interpretation.
In Ohio, the Highland Local School District has refused to comply with the DOE directive. In a lawsuit challenging the guidance, the district said it will not allow "a student who professes a gender that conflicts with that student's biological sex to access intimate facilities like overnight accommodations, locker rooms, showers, and restrooms designated for and used by students of the opposite sex."
ADF filed a motion in July on behalf of the district's Board of Education, asking a federal court to prevent the DOE from withholding federal funds from the district while the lawsuit is pending.
"Defendants and their agents are openly and aggressively threatening to revoke those schools' federal funding simply because they are trying to balance the rights and interests of all students," the lawsuit states.
Noncompliance could cost the Highland Local School District up to $1 million a year in federal funding -- much of that earmarked for special education and lunch programs for underprivileged students, according to the district.

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For widows & others, church met flood with love
by  Philip Timothy/Louisiana Baptist Message
Date: September 19, 2016 - Monday

WELSH, La. (BP) -- A church and its pastor provided hope where there was little and gave unconditional love when it was needed most during south Louisiana's record flooding.

Battling rising floodwater himself, pastor Pat Deshotel and members of First Baptist Church in Welsh set aside their own problems to aid their neighbors.

Special attention was given to a pair of widows in the town of 3,000. Each lost a husband just before the rain and flooding began in mid-August.

"I couldn't imagine losing a spouse and then having to face the devastation of the flooding.... They didn't even have time to grieve before the flooding began," Deshotel said. "I knew both ladies and their husbands well, and I could not let them go this alone."

Joe Bertrand died Aug. 9 after a long battle with cancer, leaving behind his wife Judy after 49 years of marriage. Victor Thomas passed away the following day leaving behind his wife Shannon. While Judy Bertrand, a Roman Catholic, had family nearby, Shannon Thomas, who is affiliated with a non-denominational church, did not.

"Judy had eight feet of water in her home and Shannon's trailer was surrounded by water," Deshotel said. "I made sure we did everything we could to help them. We became their family."

First Baptist also became a safe haven for others, distributing critical supplies, hot meals and "a little muscle." Then the church became a command center for disaster relief efforts, all the while continuing to minister to everyone regardless of religion.

"The Catholic priest, who is a very good friend of mine, told his church people to thank the congregation of First Welsh because of what we have been doing for everyone," Deshotel said. "Truthfully, all we were doing was shining the light of Christ's love. Our efforts were helping people to learn about our Lord."

As assistance from sister churches in the Carey Baptist Association, the Louisiana Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention began to arrive, the church turned into a staging area for the teams.

"It was amazing to see so many volunteers," Deshotel said. "I really want to compliment the Carey disaster relief teams led by Rob Tibbitts. They really have &#91;disaster relief&#93; organized well and they were just great to work with."

In four arduous weeks after the flooding, First Baptist cooked for 60 to 70 disaster relief volunteers for 15 straight days; assisted teams with mud-out and mold remediation; and handed out donated supplies and money to all in need.

"On any given day there were 35 to 40 members of the church helping in some way," said Deshotel, who celebrated his fourth anniversary Sept. 4 as First Baptist's pastor in Jefferson Davis Parish. "I am truly humbled to be called their pastor."

Teams wrapped up their relief efforts Sept. 1, having completed work on 52 homes and ministry to hundreds of people.

"There is a lot of damage here and will be for some time," Deshotel said. "Unlike elsewhere, we did not receive the media attention or the tremendous outpouring of assistance. We just had to rely on each other, our faith and our Lord. And we did.

"Now we turn our attention to rebuilding," the pastor said. "We have a long, hard six month ahead of us and people are going to continue to need our help. We will be here and we will continue to help everyone who needs it."

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Christians massacred in Central African Republic
by Morning Star News/East Africa correspondent
Date: September 19, 2016 - Monday

NAIROBI, Kenya, (BP) -- Muslim militants slaughtered 26 civilians in a predominantly Christian village in the Central African Republic on Friday (Sept. 16), the worst violence in the embattled country in months, sources said.

Rebels from the former Seleka group attacked the village of Ndomete, about 220 miles north of the capital city of Bangui, at 8 p.m. and went door-to-door killing Christians, a source in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo told Morning Star News.
Fighting between Seleka, officially disbanded in 2013, and Christian "anti-Balaka" militias has increased in the past year, but government and U.N. officials said Friday's attack targeted civilians. Violence between Muslim and Christian militias hit nearby Kaga-Bandoro, where the Central African Republic's U.N. peacekeeping mission reportedly quelled the violence over the weekend, but an area Christian leader cast doubt on the country's ability to bring order.
"If the government is not going to beef up the security, then we are going to defend ourselves," he said. "We shall not keep quiet as our brothers are dying."
Hostility between Muslims and Christians worsened in 2013, when Seleka deposed then-President Francois Bozize and installed Michel Djotodia, a Muslim. Djotodia announced the disbanding of Seleka in September 2013, but the rebels have since rampaged throughout the country, killing Christians and political enemies, leading to the formation of Christian militias to counter them.
Human Rights Watch has documented executions, rape and looting by ex-Seleka fighters. On May 28, 2014, rebels killed 11 people in a grenade and shooting attack at the Church of Fatima in Bangui.
In February former prime minister Faustin-Archange Touadera was elected president, bringing hope that political and religious conflict would subside, but rebel and militia fighters are still active outside the capital.


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N.C. restroom bill doesn't deter SBC annual meeting
by David Roach
Date: September 19, 2016 - Monday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BP) -- Amid controversy over North Carolina's controversial transgender restroom law, Southern Baptist Convention leaders estimate they're less than two weeks away from finalizing contracts to hold the 2023 SBC annual meeting in Charlotte.

And they say they're glad to support the state for its moral stand on gender and sexuality.

SBC President Steve Gaines said that "while other organizations such as the NCAA, NBA and NFL are seeking to punish North Carolinians for their state government's bold and appropriate stand on gender and sexuality, Southern Baptists have voted and are resolute about holding our annual meeting there in 2023."

"Because we are staunch advocates of religious liberty for all, we have no intention of changing our minds," Gaines told Baptist Press in written comments. "My prayer is that other businesses and organizations will join us and make North Carolina their preferred choice for conferences, conventions and other similar events.

The SBC's vote to schedule its 2023 annual meeting in Charlotte came at the convention's St. Louis annual meeting this summer, less than three months after North Carolina legislators adopted House Bill 2, an antidiscrimination law which does not include sexual orientation or gender identity among legally protected classes. The law also requires individuals in state buildings to use restrooms that correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificates.

In response to the law, some organizations have cancelled events in North Carolina as an expression of support for so-called homosexual and transgender rights. Among groups to cancel plans in the Tar Heel State are the NCAA, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the NBA and various businesses and recording artists.

"If more state politicians would follow North Carolina's lead in this," Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., said of HB 2, "we could stop the unprecedented bullying and intolerance that is seeking to erode our religious liberties in America. Now is the time for all Bible-believing Christians to lovingly, firmly stand up for righteousness and common sense."
 
Convention manager Bill Townes told BP the SBC Executive Committee staff has been working since 2014 to schedule an annual meeting in North Carolina and considered HB 2 as it sought to finalize a recommendation to the Executive Committee. In June, the EC forwarded the recommendation to the full SBC.

"We take into consideration a lot of things" when scheduling annual meetings, Townes said. "We certainly were aware of that issue that was happening in North Carolina, and we thought it wasn't bad for us to be there and support that city."

The opportunity to support North Carolinians "fell in line with what we were already thinking" in terms of convention sites, Townes said.

The economic impact of the 2023 annual meeting is estimated at more than $8.5 million for Charlotte-area businesses, Townes said.

North Carolina Baptists welcomed the SBC's support.

Allan Blume, editor of North Carolina Baptists' Biblical Recorder newsjournal, told BP the state's Baptists are "thrilled to welcome the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting back to our state for what will be the second time in 107 years. The announced presence of our brothers and sisters in Christ offers a positive statement for our embattled state."

Previously, the SBC annual meeting convened in North Carolina in 1872, 1897, 1916 and 2006, according to the 2016 SBC Annual.

"As many know," Blume said in written comments, "some radical voices launched a smear campaign, including boycotts of the state, after our state legislature passed House Bill 2 earlier this year. The bill provides privacy and protection for women and children in public restrooms and locker rooms -- matters that are rejected by a promiscuous culture.

"Concert artists, conventions, professional sports and college sports events have been cancelled or moved out of the state through an aggressive campaign of misinformation and unparalleled hypocrisy. We appreciate the support of our Southern Baptist family," Blume said.

Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, told BP he is "delighted" at the SBC's support.

"It's a matter of great importance that at this time, the largest Protestant denomination in the country is demonstrating their support for North Carolina's stand on the bathroom bill, HB 2," said Creech, who pastored Southern Baptist churches in North Carolina 20 years before transitioning to his current role.

The 2023 annual meeting is slated for June 13-14.

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Teen is youngest legal euthanasia victim in Belgium
by Diana Chandler
Date: September 19, 2016 - Monday

BRUSSELS, Belgium (BP) -- A terminally ill 17-year-old has become the first minor to die of euthanasia in Belgium, the French news agency AFP reported Sunday (Sept. 18).

Belgium lifted age restrictions on euthanasia in 2014, becoming the first country in the world to allow terminally-ill children of any age to choose death, as long as certain conditions are met.

Neither the teen's identity nor medical condition prior to the procedure were disclosed by Belgium's federal euthanasia commission charged with considering such requests, AFP reported.

"Fortunately, there are very few children who are considered &#91;for euthanasia&#93; but that does not mean we should refuse them the right to a dignified death," euthanasia commission chief Wim Distelmans told AFP.

Commission member Jacqueline Herremans confirmed to the AFP that the procedure was conducted in accordance with Belgian law, which requires -- among other stipulations -- requests from a recipient who is conscious, capable of making rational decisions and suffering from physical instead of only psychological pain.

Belgium is among at least five countries including the Netherlands, Luxembourg, India and Colombia that allow euthanasia, distinguished by the physician dispensing a death-causing agent directly, according to the online resource newhealthguide.org.

Active euthanasia is illegal across the U.S., but physician-assisted suicide, distinguished by patients themselves administering a prescribed lethal medication, is legal in California, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state. Passive euthanasia, in which patients refuse treatment or require pain management to hasten death, is legal across the U.S., newhealthguide.org said. 

Belgium's law requires that child recipients of euthanasia be deemed "in a hopeless medical situation of constant and unbearable suffering that cannot be eased and which will cause death in the short term," AFP said. Requests must be made by the minor, studied by a team of doctors including an independent psychiatrist or psychologist, and approved by a parent.

Other Belgian minors have requested euthanasia but were denied, Herremans told AFP, describing the approval procedure as "very controlled," "often very long," and particularly difficult when it concerns minors.

Euthanasia killings totaled more than 2,000 in Belgium last year among all ages, AFP reported.


