Baptist Briefs

Baptist Briefs

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Judge grants church planter's motion to stay in U.S. An immigration judge granted a motion allowing a Baptist church planter facing possible deportation to Mexico to remain in the United States. Hector Villanueva, who arrived in the United States 38 years ago as a toddler, found his legal status in jeopardy last August when his application for citizenship revealed a 16-year-old felony conviction in California. That was before he accepted Christ in prison and prior to passage of a law that immigrants who commit a felony can be deported. Villanueva, the bivocational pastor of Iglesia Bautista La Roca in Siler City, N.C., receives support from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina as a church planter. In granting Villanueva's request for waiver, the judge said the evidence indicates the father of six has lived an "exemplary life" since his prison term and that he is "completely rehabilitated." While granting the waiver, the court warned Villanueva such a waiver can be granted only once, and any conflict with the law in the future would be grounds for immediate deportation.
 
Australian Baptists oppose same-sex marriage. Baptist leaders in Australia issued statements recently opposing a proposal to change the current legal definition of marriage to include gay couples. John Beasy, national president of Australian Baptist Ministries—formerly the Baptist Union of Australia—said members of Baptist churches in the nation "overwhelmingly support" the current definition of marriage as between a man and woman and oppose moves to change it. "A strong society needs a strong commitment to marriage and family," said Rod Benson, an ethicist and public-issues spokesperson for Australian Baptist Ministries. "Marriage is best understood as the union of a man and a woman, and the law is best left as it is." Australia's current 1961 Marriage Act defines marriage as "the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life." A same-sex marriage bill introduced in 2009 would have removed all discriminatory references based on sexual or gender identity from the 1961 law. The bill did not pass, but Parliament passed a motion asking all 226 members to consult with their constituents about whether gays should be allowed to marry. More than 50 church leaders representing Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant denominations recently wrote letters to Parliament members, kicking off a campaign supporting the current definition of marriage as between a man and woman.

Bibles needed for India. Book-Link, an arm of Fellowship of Baptist Educators, is collecting Bibles, theological books, biblical reference books and other materials to send to India. It costs about $4,500 to ship a 20-foot container filled with 747 boxes of books to India. Book-Link has shipped about 2 million Christian books, journals, tracts, Christian music CDs and cassette tapes to more than 5,000 recipients in 82 countries at no cost to those who received them. For more information, contact Olin Williams at Book-Link International, 100 Book-Link Way, Eubank, KY 42567, e-mail him at [email protected] or call (606) 379-17334.

Compiled from Religion News Service

 


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