JEFFERSON CITY – Leaders from Missouri Baptist entities – Southwest Baptist University (SBU), Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU) and the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (MBCH) – have had time to digest the June 26 United States Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage. They are unanimous in their disagreement with the court, but believe their legal standing is valid – for now – as they maintain the close, covenant relationship with the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) and a … [Read more...]
CLC’s religious liberty conference set for July 19
FULTON – Religious liberty advocate Joshua Hawley will join Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) lobbyist Kerry Messer to defend religious liberty at First Baptist Church here, July 19. The church will host “Celebrating America: Defending Religious Liberty,” an event organized by the MBC’s public policy arm, the Christian Life Commission (CLC). Hawley, founder of the Missouri Liberty Project and a member of the legal team that defended Hobby Lobby before the United States Supreme Court … [Read more...]
Will your church’s insurance be enough?
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, churches are worried about lawsuits. This isn’t an irrational fear. I don’t think any Court will soon order ministers to perform a service that conflicts with the minister’s faith. But there is a shift in public opinion that makes it plausible in the future. The definition of ‘fairness’ is changing. In the past, if one minister or church refused to marry a couple, the couple would find another minister or church. This was “fair,” … [Read more...]
Taking steps to protect our religious freedom
There can be little doubt where the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which redefined marriage to include same-sex couples, is headed with regard to religious liberty. The attacks on Christians – who refuse to go against their deepest held beliefs and cave to the fantasized reasoning of judicial tyrants, government hypocrites and bullying activists – are mounting by the day. For now, the targets are government workers and private business owners who are involved in the … [Read more...]
Nik Ripken: Lessons from the persecuted world for America
JEFFERSON CITY – The Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex “marriage” is seen by many as possibly triggering persecution for followers of Jesus in America. Nik Ripken is an authority on persecuted believers. “The Bible says we reap what we sow,” Ripken said. “We also cannot reap what we don’t sow. The church in America is reaping what they haven’t sown in America. …We haven’t been persecuted. How can we be so self-centered and we haven’t even lost anything yet? We need to stop … [Read more...]
Church planters win at U.S. Supreme Court
Just as everyone was headed home from Columbus, Ohio, from another productive Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, word came of a major victory at the U.S. Supreme Court for free speech and church planters. On June 18 the Supremes delivered a stunning, unanimous 9-0 victory for the 82-year-old pastor of Good News Presbyterian Church in Gilbert, Ariz., finding that the Town of Gilbert’s sign ordinance is content-based discrimination. The win paves the way for smaller congregations … [Read more...]
Naghmeh Abedini calls for husband’s release
WASHINGTON (BP) – The release of Americans imprisoned in Iran should be a condition of any nuclear deal with the Persian nation, the wife of imprisoned American pastor Saeed Abedini told the House Foreign Affairs Committee June 2. Following testimony from Negmeh Abedini and the families of other U.S. citizens imprisoned or missing in Iran, the committee passed a resolution stating, “Iran should release all detained United States citizens immediately and provide any information it possesses … [Read more...]
SCOTUS votes 9-0 to uphold free speech for church planters
WASHINGTON – On Thursday (June 18), the United States Supreme Court delivered a landmark win for free speech, ruling 9-0 in favor of Pastor Clyde Reed in the case of Reed v. Town of Gilbert. The Missouri Baptist Convention’s Christian Life Commission was among the friend of the court briefs filed on the winning side in support of Arizona church planting pastor Clyde Reed. The Court found that the town’s sign code, which generously permits an array of political, ideological, and other … [Read more...]
Abedini beating intensifies calls for release
TEHRAN, Iran (BP) -- American pastor Saeed Abedini has been "viciously" beaten in the Iranian prison where he is being held for his Christian faith, the American Center for Law and Justice reported June 10, prompting renewed calls for Abedini's release as a condition of any nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran. "It is crucial to speak out for Saeed as we approach the June 30th deadline between the United States and Iran," Abedini's wife Naghmeh said in a June 10 Facebook post. She … [Read more...]
Mule muffins: A liberal’s view of Christians, politics
There seems no end to the cacophony of liberals in the media demanding that there be no biblical influence on government. One of the most recent is David Rosman, columnist for The Missourian in Columbia, in his column, “Forcing religion into government is wrong.” To make his point, Rosman cites two instances where it was apparently attempted. The first was Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia requesting a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The church wanted to resurface … [Read more...]
Marriage, Supreme Court deserves fervent prayer
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Supreme Court will soon decide whether states can legally choose to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It is a watershed moment in our nation’s history. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has filed briefs with the court; argued in public and in private about why marriage, defined as the union of one man and one woman, matters as a social good; and more than there is space to list here. But beyond all this we as Christians and churches … [Read more...]
Preparing in advance of Supreme Court ruling
Marriage is not in the U.S. Constitution and therefore, according to that document, it is left to the states to define marriage. If the U.S. Supreme Court affirms what some renegade federal judges have done by redefining marriage, it will have legislated from the bench and prevented the democratic process – by the people – from settling the issue. It will shake the very foundation of our Constitution, bring into question the credibility of the federal judiciary and change our country in a … [Read more...]
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