“If you could tell the whole world one thing, what would it be?” I asked a Ugandan girl as I recorded her answer on my camera.

With a beautiful smile on her face she simply responded, “I would tell the world that love conquers all.”

One group of students engages in preparation for a debate defending the position that Africa can be transformed through political change. Another group asserted that education and a grassroots movement can change Africa.

Over three days, I had the opportunity to help organize and lead a group of teenage students through a youth conference focusing on unity and leadership. Not only were we able to discuss equality, gender roles in society, self-esteem, confidence, trust and perseverance, but also were able to put some of these topics into action. At one point, I found myself standing on a ledge with my hands in my pockets, slowly falling backwards into these students’ arms—trusting they would catch me. They caught me, and we followed up by talking about trusting others and why people should trust them.

On the final day, we organized a debate. The topic was “How to Change Africa”. They debated change would be best—a grassroots approach of educating the people or a political approach of changing leadership. Through the debate and various discussions, I found myself very impressed with teenage students that deeply desire to change and improve their nations, Africa and the world.  It is my prayer that leaders will rise up in this next generation, because they are a vital part of the future.

Since the youth conference, I have been reminded of Galatians 5:13, which says, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (ESV).”  Being a part of building a foundation of leadership centered on Christ in student’s lives at the youth conference has challenged me to become more like Christ in my own journey of serving God and serving others with love in Uganda.

Robyn Cash, a student at Sam Houston State University, is serving in Uganda with Go Now Missions.

The faint smell of rain in the air mixed with the aroma of foods from nations around the world as people gathered for a party at the Center of Hope in Uganda.

The party kicked off as Sudanese, Congolese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Canadian, American, Korean and Ugandan women, children and men began to enter the front gates. Some carried traditional foods, and many entered hungry and ready to eat.

Party participants filled plates with food from Sudan, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Canada, America, Korea and Uganda.

Although I had been in Uganda only six days, I knew this “fellowship, food and fun” party would allow me to meet current and future students at the Center of Hope. Even though in the morning we faced some challenges with a lack of water and electricity, God restored each before the party began.

The rest of the day was devoted to building relationships and having fun with students and their families. There were opportunities to register for conversational English, art, sewing, computer, sports and Bible study classes at the Center of Hope for the upcoming eight weeks. Laughter, music, dancing, and a short presentation on Eritrea filled the afternoon.

The party provided a great way to be introduced and see all of the different cultures I will be living and working alongside this semester.

Robyn Cash, a student at Sam Houston State University, is serving in Uganda with Go Now Missions.

America’s longstanding tradition of tolerance served us poorly in this season of religious rancor. Toleration often takes a timid turn when it encounters strong opposition. This summer, we witnessed the weakness of toleration. It was a dispiriting debacle.

As you know, Muslims want to open a community center, including a mosque, in lower Manhattan. The location is several blocks from Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center twin towers fell and 2,752 people lost their lives on 9/11—Sept. 11, 2001. Debate over the “Ground Zero mosque” has disclosed the still-tender scar on our national psyche. We continue to grieve the horrific loss of life. We remain afraid of terrorism in the name of Allah.

Politicians and pundits dashed to the debate. With general elections just a few weeks away, they angled to exploit the 9/11 tragedy nine years later. Turns out, baiting voters with globs of grief is as American—and, they hope, as effective—as fishing with dynamite.

Unfortunately, few voices rose on behalf of the Muslims’ religious liberty. That’s because America has become a tolerant society.

At its founding, the United States viewed religious liberty as a right. The earliest U.S. citizens valued freedom of religion so much they enshrined it in the First Amendment of the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” A right is inherent. It cannot be rescinded or abridged. The Constitution prevents Congress—and, according to the 14th Amendment, the states—from infringing upon the free exercise of religion.

Unfortunately, you’d never know it by listening to most politicians and commentators, who are clamoring against the mosque in lower Manhattan. Blame it on tolerance.

You see, rights are absolute, but tolerance is conditional. For decades, Americans proclaimed “tolerance” for many and varied religious groups. Give most folks the benefit of the doubt; they talked about “tolerance” when they meant to discuss “freedom” and “liberty.” But words have meaning, and by proudly waving the flag of toleration, we slowly surrendered commitment to religious rights.

Here’s how the late George W. Truett, venerable longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and Baptist Standard readers’ Texas Baptist of the 20th Century, put it: “Our contention is not for mere toleration, but for absolute liberty. There is a wide difference between toleration and liberty. Toleration implies that somebody falsely claims the right to tolerate. Toleration is a concession, while liberty is a right. Toleration is a matter of expediency, while liberty is a matter of principle. Toleration is a gift from man, while liberty is a gift from God.”

Unfortunately, many Baptists today do not concur with Truett’s contention. They oppose the right of Muslims to open a mosque. In so doing, they repudiate the convictions of Thomas Helwys, one of the first Baptists, who died in prison for telling King James I all people should be free to worship as conscience directs. They revile the memory of Roger Williams, the first Baptist in America, who was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for refusing to allow his infant child to be baptized and who founded Rhode Island as a safe haven for people of all faiths and no faith. They refute the testimony of John Leland, a Virginia Baptist pastor who convinced James Madison to include religion guarantees in the First Amendment.

Yes, we still grieve the deaths of 9/11. Yes, we wish the Manhattan Muslims would exercise restraint and exhibit compassion by moving their mosque farther away from Ground Zero. But we dare not participate in denying their right to build their mosque. If we tolerantly undermine religious liberty, who will stand up for churches when Christians no longer comprise a majority in America?

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard. Visit his FaithWorks Blog.

It’s a boy! Lindsay and Aaron even have the “pictures” to prove it.

At least that’s what Lindsay, our older daughter, told me. She called from the doctor’s office to report the news about the baby she’s carrying.

“We’re having a boy,” she said when I asked the question we’d all been wondering.

This is a first for our family. I’m married to Joanna, as you probably know. Lindsay, obviously, is a girl. And so is her sister, Molly. So was Betsy, the dog who helped Lindsay and Molly grow up. And so is Topanga, the dog who has kept me company most of the time since L&M flew the ol’ coop.

So, for awhile there, we were on a girl-girl-girl-girl-girl roll. Along the way, we added a couple of guys—Aaron for Lindsay and David for Molly. Now we’re launching the next generation with a boy.

This should be interesting. Not only will Jo and I figure out how to be grandparents. But we’ll also figure out how to relate to a little manchild.

After almost 27 years of experience, we’ve got girls down pat. Along the way, I learned how to tie bows in the backs of Sunday dresses, brush hair, assess the merits of all manner of dolls, crack jokes to take the sting out of verbal evisceration and sing along to the lyrics of more Hollywood musicals than you could imagine.

Now, it’s going to be about balls and trucks and bicycles and wrestling and fishing poles and video games. I can hardly wait. Although I may be a bit rusty, I figure that, with the guidance of this little boy, I’ll get the hang of it soon enough. (Well, maybe not video games, but bring on the rest … .)

Lindsay announced on—where else?—Facebook they’re naming their son Ezra. They didn’t ask my opinion, but I like their choice. A lot.

The original Ezra is known in the Old Testament as a priest and scribe. He led about 5,000 Hebrews from captivity in Babylon back to their ancestral home in Jerusalem. Ezra was a superb scholar of the Torah—what we know as the first five books of the Bible and also call the Law. Under his leadership, the people renewed their devotion to the Scripture—God’s word to them—and in so doing, they reformed and reclaimed their faith.

So, Ezra served as a double guide for his people. He guided them back home to the land promised to them through their ancestors. And he guided them back to the God of their fathers and mothers. Both that land and that God also happened to be theirs, which they discovered through the leadership and example of Ezra.

Our little Ezra will have big sandals to fill as he lives out his name. I won’t be around to see the end of it, but I’ll pray for him to dwell in the spiritual home of his ancestors, his family.

Meanwhile, I plan on countless games of catch, bountiful bowls of ice cream, and a jillion corny jokes. That’s the part of grandparenting I’ve already figured out.

Following a recent service at our church, a visitor tripped over a curb. She maintained to people around her that she was all right but then asked for an ambulance to carry her two and a half blocks to the hospital. By the late afternoon, she was asking for money from the church to cover personal expenses. We are called to empathize and have compassion, but this incident has the tone of a set-up. What should we do?

I would like to say I have no experience with your circumstances, but I do. The irony of my story is that I had been teaching the Parable of the Good Samaritan prior to the accident. I did not know the injured woman, but when I saw those with her, I was torn between compassion and legal worries.

We were grateful our church is incorporated and our insurance premiums are paid in full. Incorporation eliminates the possibility that one or two members can be selected for legal action. If your church is not incorporated, the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission has a wonderful notebook, “Keeping Your Church Out of Court,” that will be helpful to you.

Another point of gratitude for our church, which will bring relief to your situation, is your insurance agent’s expertise. A trained agent will be able to give you guidance and insight as you walk through this process.

When an accident happened in our church, I called our insurance agent, who advised me regarding the various steps in the process of caring for this injured woman. The agent told me to give her his phone number. I explained to her that we wanted to help her through this experience and one of the ways we could do that was to give her the number of our insurance agent, who could answer any questions regarding her medical expenses.

The emergency room physician determined she merely suffered a sprain. Within hours, the woman’s concern was not her knee, so she began asking for cash. Our insurance agent advised that, if we began issuing benevolence checks, we would be taking on the role of the claims agent. The claims agent is charged with looking at the depth of and the legitimacy of need.

While necessary, all this discussion of process and steps does not remove the call of the gospel that compels us to help those in need. And according to Jesus’ famous parable, we are to render aid, even when we are uncomfortable. One of the ways we care for the person in need and help our churches is to secure reliable insurance. The other is to listen to the Holy Spirit and resist every urge to judge and protect, rather than giving aid because we are fearful someone might create problems for us.

Jesus’ question, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor?” still must be answered.

Stacy Conner, pastor

First Baptist Church, Muleshoe

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.

The Southern Baptist North American Mission Board recently honored Texas Baptists for starting more congregations in 2009 than any other state group. This was the second year in a row the BGCT led all state conventions in church starts and the third year out of the last four.

In 2009, Texas Baptists helped to establish 262 congregations out of a total of 1,364 churches started by the Southern Baptist Convention. Eighty-four of these were church-sponsored, and the rest were organic. In 2008, the BGCT started 251 congregations out of a total of 1,578 conventionwide. These included eighty-two that were church-sponsored.

Even during difficult economic times, church starting continues to be a key priority for Texas Baptists and is supported through gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions and through the Texas Baptist Cooperative Program, the convention’s primary giving channel. More than $3.2 million is projected for church starting in the proposed 2011 budget. One and a half million dollars will come from CP gifts and more than a million dollars from Mary Hill Davis. The remainder will come from NAMB and donor-designated gifts.

Much still is said about mistakes made in starting new churches in the Valley several years ago. Without a doubt, mistakes were made, and a lot of money was misused. However, the BGCT learned from this tragic situation. The staff and Executive Board implemented policies that administer these funds and also encourage new churches to grow into strong congregations. Paul Atkinson, who leads our Texas Baptist church-starting efforts, said 95 percent of the churches facilitated by the BGCT continue to share the hope of Christ within their communities. This is a much higher survival rate than recorded by most groups involved in starting congregations.

Some of the success comes from mentorship of sponsoring churches. Our church-starting staff does a wonderful job meeting with leaders of new congregations, encouraging them and holding them accountable. The Executive Board mandates quarterly personal visits with these congregations. Yet churches start churches. The state convention can provide funding and supervision, but churches provide the models, leadership and often even members that give these new churches life.

As we all consider the Acts 1:8 mandate, are there ethnic or affinity groups that are unreached in your neighborhood or community? Can your church buildings accommodate multiple language groups? Are there high-density housing facilities that offer unique opportunities to take the church to the people? Are our institutions offering training throughout Texas for every pastor God calls to lead these churches? Is God calling you to be a part of one of these new congregations?

Despite the success, Atkinson believes God is calling Texas Baptists to do much more. He is working toward a goal of starting 1,000 congregations a year by 2018. “With 3,500 colonias in Texas, each with 500 homes and no Christian witness, I’ve got three years of work right there,” he said.

Randel Everett is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

Gracefully, Genevieve put her head down on the pillow, took a few gentle breaths, and then she was gone.

Her spirit had moved on—passing through the veil to the eternal place where, I believe, a communion of saints joyfully awaited her arrival.

I felt her leave—something I’d never experienced before, despite having lost many people dear to me over the years. I had never been there for the moment where life moves into death and the spirit departs.

Bearing witness to her home-going was profoundly sacred. I felt honored to be with her in that holy place, to tell her how much we loved her and how much joy she had brought to all who knew her, to tell her not to worry and that it was OK to go to the place where the pain would be gone and she could run and swim and play again.

“Say hi to everybody for us,” I whispered. “We love you.”

Sitting next to Genevieve’s great pillow, each with a hand on her body, one of us offered a spontaneous prayer thanking the Creator for making such a marvelously sweet, patient and loyal friend and for blessing our lives with her company.

A more holy moment I’ve scarcely felt in my life.

She was about 10 years old when she passed this summer.

A beautiful blonde with huge, soulful brown eyes, she was a consummate swimmer—taking daily dips in the ocean near her home. How appropriate her name means “white wave.” Surely she was a white wave of devotion, a constant companion and loving guardian to her adoptive family of four.

Genevieve also was a dog, a golden Labrador.

As I reflected on what transpired in the moments before and after her death, Genevieve seemed like so much more than “just” a dog. She was, like her eyes, soulful. C.S. Lewis pondered aloud about such “soulish” creatures and whether they, like us, live on in the hereafter.

Genevieve wasn’t my dog. She belonged to dear friends. Sadly, when G—as she was known—fell ill, her family was out of the country and couldn’t make it back in time.

It was an honor to be with G at the end. I felt I was standing in proxy for her family, who couldn’t be there physically but who were praying for her from so many miles away.

“There is no distance in the spirit,” I thought, stroking G’s thick, butterscotch-colored coat. “They’re here, too.”

It feels crass to refer to such soulish animals as “pets” and their families as “masters.” No wonder St. Francis of Assisi referred to animals as his “sisters and brothers.”

Some of the more jaded or stuffy among us might find it absurd to talk about the death of a dog in such sacred terms. But I was there; I know what happened.

God was in that room, too. God’s spirit gave that dog life, and when it was time to move on to her eternal rest, the spirit left G’s body and she—the essential thing that made Genevieve herself—was gone. I call that her spirit.

Do dogs go to heaven? When my 10-year-old son asked me that earlier this week, I said yes. Despite a general uneasiness around dogs, especially big dogs, my son just loved G. She was special. Careful. Grace-filled.

I love the answer Billy Graham gave when asked a similar question about dogs and the hereafter some years ago: “God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he’ll be there.”

Do animals have spirits that live on after death, like humans do? I think so, yes. Jesus came to redeem the world entire—and that, in my mind, means everybody and every thing. So why not the four-legged creations sent as our companions?

Even Martin Luther seemed to think so, and I’m not going to argue theology with the father of the Reformation.

“Be thou comforted, little dog,” Luther said. “Thou too in resurrection shall have a little golden tail.”

Amen.

Cathleen Falsani is the author of The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers. (RNS)

“It is true that more Muslims around the world than one might wish sympathize with some of Osama bin Laden’s thinking, view America as an aggressor nation and accept as justified some of what Americans view as terrorism. But it’s also true that many more Muslims reject such thinking, see Islam as a fundamentally peaceful religion and view al-Qaeda as foreign and repugnant.”

Washington Post

In an editorial on the proposal to build a mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan

“To those Americans who happen to be Muslim, I say: Please do not think that the hatefulness of a few visible ‘Christians’ represents the views of all the rest of us. Some of us are just as appalled by what we are witnessing as you are.”

David Gushee

Christian ethicist at Mercer University, about the proposed Islamic community center near New York’s Ground Zero that is opposed by some conservative leaders (Huffington Post/RNS)

“Demons aren’t lazy. Christians are.”

Donald Crosby

Pastor from Warner Robins, Ga., arrested for protesting the local high school’s mascot, the Demons (RNS)

Muslim activists

More than a war of words regarding militant Islamic terrorism, we need Muslim activists!

To understand that need, we must recognize the problems of Christian terrorism. It was rampant in Nazi Germany. Christians used terror-type activities against the Indians after Christians landed at Plymouth Rock. Christians engaged in terrorist activities as part of the Ku Klux Klan. Peaceful Christians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Roger Williams took a stand against Christian terrorism in their days. I am not aware of any Muslim taking a similar stand against militant Islamic terrorism.

Instead of taking a stand against the militant Islamic terrorism action in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, Muslims want to place a mosque near that disastrous militant Islamic terrorism activity. Until I see a Bonhoeffer-type activity against terrorism come from a person of Islamic faith, I question claims of the existence of peace-loving Muslims.

Actions speak louder than words.

Bill Osborne

Houston

Speaking up for God

In her rebuke of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood (Aug. 16), Shirley Taylor rightly points out the obvious—men are pigs. She woefully omits the reality—women are too.

Experience should confirm what Scripture declares: The human heart is “desperately sick, deceitful above all else,” whether it’s wrapped in the stride of a man or the touch of a woman, the ebony of a Kenyan or the ivory of a Scot, the jingle of the rich or the groan of the poor. All wallow gleefully in the hog-slop of sin until the Savior washes them clean.

On the wickedness of both men and women, Taylor and I agree. When it comes to her assessment of the council, she flirts dangerously with libel. “The council came into being with the express purpose of suppressing women and elevating men,” she states. That’s a pretty stout accusation.

Her charge runs directly counter to the council’s stated vision—“proclaiming God’s glorious design for men and women.” I would not begrudge anyone who would want to argue those words spin cleverly from the world of marketing and politics, but I would simply point out the council has consistently affirmed a tenable biblical position “that men and women are equal in the image of God, but maintain complementary differences in role and function.”

Taylor wonders who will speak up for women. I’m thankful the council speaks up for God. Does not the Potter have a right over the clay?

Ben Mullen

The Colony

Church/state

Thank you for “Lines of church-state separation may get blurry in disaster zones” (July 19). The long history of abuse and persecution has made it difficult for there to be any significant cooperation between these religious and government powers. It is about power, and as long as either seeks to dominate the other, the tension and abuse will continue.

My 15 years of experience as president of Arizona Baptist Children’s Services demonstrated church and state can work together without compromising their respective principles. When money is involved, establishment of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency can become a venue of cooperation with the separation still in place.

C. Truett Baker

Phoenix

Burn the Quran?

On Sept. 11, some Christians in Gainesville, Fla., plan on having a “Burn the Quran Day,” even though they were denied a fire permit. This is the idea of a “pistol packing” pastor named Terry Jones and his Dove World Outreach Center.

Didn’t Jesus tell us to love our neighbors, as well as our enemies? Didn’t he tell us to turn the other cheek?

Christians shouldn’t be involved in book burnings. What laws would Jesus break? What books would Jesus burn ?

Chuck Mann

Greensboro, N.C.

Flag Pole Hypocricy

Does this scene sound familiar? A group of people stand outside, crying out to their God, babbling on with empty phrases, hoping others will see their spiritual superiority.

Jesus spoke directly against this self-righteous public piety during his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:5-8). As a youth minister, I, too, was guilty in the past of promoting this behavior by encouraging my students to attend the annual prayer spectacle See You at the Pole.

When students gather at their school’s flagpole for SYATP, they reenact the hypocrisy that Jesus condemns—prayer at the street corners to be seen by others, using empty phrases and meaningless blabber.

Is having an annual public spectacle of prayer really necessary? We should pray without ceasing throughout the year (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Many of those who attend SYATP are Christians with good intentions, but when Jesus prayed, he did not make it a public event. He instead retreated from the public eye (Mark 6:46; Matthew 14:23; Luke 9:18; John 6:15).

On Sept. 22, many people will participate in SYATP. While they do so, I encourage followers of Christ to “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). I encourage you to “not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).

Kyle Tubbs

Sweetwater

Following is the winning essay in the 2010 Religious Liberty Essay Contest , sponsored by the Religious Liberty Council of the Baptist Joint Committee. The author, Nathan Webb, is a senior at Lumberton High School. He is the son of Bob and Dianne Webb and attends First Baptist Church of Loeb.

The relationship of government and religion in America has long been a controversial topic. Early colonists came to America with the hope of creating a nation in which their religion was not controlled or restricted by the government. The church should be free from the intrusion of the state, and the government should be free from being controlled by the church.

As our society constantly changes, it is difficult to determine where the line between church and state should be drawn. In John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, he strongly advocated the absolute separation of church and state. A complete separation is good for both government and religion. Both are better served when they are free to pursue their different, but complementary roles in society. The challenge of implementing this principle is as great today as it was in 1960.

Then-U.S. Senator Kennedy’s speech was precipitated by criticism he received because of his religious affiliation. There had never before been a Catholic President, and there were those who implied that his religion would affect his judgment as commander in chief, or that other religions might somehow be diminished.

This pattern repeated itself in the 2008 Presidential election, when then-senator Barack Obama was criticized by his adversaries with the false claim that he was a Muslim. They asserted that this might compromise his loyalty to America as a “Christian nation.” While President Obama clearly stated his Christian beliefs, his religion should not have been a factor in voters’ judgment of his ability to govern. As President Kennedy stated, the Presidency is “a great office that must be neither humbled by making it the instrument of any religious group nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group.” (Kennedy)

The Chief Executive must represent and uphold the ideals set forth by the Constitution for all American citizens, regardless of their beliefs.

A contemporary challenge to church-state separation is in dealing with a call for government aid to religious organizations in providing community assistance. In 2001, President George W. Bush launched an initiative to expand opportunities for government funding to faith-based groups that provide social services. While this sounds good on the surface, it inevitably results in one of two unacceptable outcomes.

By definition, the goal of most religious organizations is to promote the acceptance of their beliefs. Since proselytizing would preclude their receiving government funding, they must either renounce or dilute their mission as a church in order to ethically accept money from the government. “The state-imposed regulations and conditions inevitably dilute the faith in faith-based programs. As they say in Washington, with shekels come shackles.” (Haynes)

The other, equally unacceptable alternative would be that the church accept state funding, and continue to promote its religious beliefs in the government-sponsored program. This practice would be in direct violation of the law regarding church-state separation. In the first outcome, the church gains financially, but loses its stated purpose; in the second, the church fulfils its purpose, but the state is put in the unlawful position of advancing religion.

Both the church and the government would be better served by simply cooperating, while keeping their efforts independent and autonomous.

An instance where we have clearly departed from a separation of church and state is by the existence of an ambassador to the Vatican. Even as a practicing Catholic, President Kennedy opposed this arrangement. He recognized that this relationship was contradictory to a healthy understanding of church-state separation. This system has continued, although it is an obvious violation of the spirit of the First Amendment.

To be consistent, the government should also appoint an ambassador to the National Council of Churches, the United Methodist Church, and the Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists. More troubling than this favoritism shown to the Catholic Church is the apparent attempt of the government to become entangled in religious affairs to gain a political advantage.

We can be proud of the many ways in which America has upheld religious liberty throughout our history. Each week, millions of Americans worship in the church of their choice without fear of government interference or reprisal. Churches are able to speak truth to power because they are not compromised by dependence on government support. Parents can send their children to public schools without fear that students will be proselytized by any religious group.

Because of our commitment to religious liberty, diverse groups of people in our country can live and work together without being torn apart by religious strife. It is difficult to imagine the America we know and love without this basic understanding of church-state separation.

While the First Amendment of the Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” (US Const., Amendment 1) it is left to the courts to decide how these provisions are to be applied today. This is important to all Americans because when any group attains a majority, there is a temptation to blur the line of separation when it is favorable to them. However, in order to protect the free exercise of religion for all, the rights of the minority must be preserved.

President Kennedy pointed this out in his speech when he said, “For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been – and may someday be again – a Jew, or a Quaker, or a Unitarian, or a Baptist.” (Kennedy)

President Kennedy’s assertion that church and state should be absolutely separate is as essential as it is difficult to maintain. However, this separation serves as a crucial safeguard for religious liberty, a right that should be fiercely protected as a value that remains rare among the nations of the world.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor stated, “Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must answer a difficult question: Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly.” (McCreary County v. A.C.L.U.)

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Restore benefits

I still am in shock over the cut in insurance benefits for our retired Southwestern Seminary professors (July 5). Many of these professors are the people God used to help prepare me and many others for ministry.

I realize these are difficult days, but surely there are other places to cut the budget before we take from those who have given sacrificially over the years. Most of these professors have much fewer places to cut in their personal budgets than our seminary.

I plead with President Paige Patterson and seminary trustees to reconsider this decision.

Dan Curry

Arlington

Apology demanded

When a theology is so bad, something must be done. A group of women took a bold step this summer and demanded an apology from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood for a subversive teaching of the Scriptures.

The council came into being with the express purpose of suppressing women and elevating men. That is arrogance, and they should bow before God and confess their sin.

From birth, boys are told they are to be the leaders over women. It begins in the churches and finds favor in the homes, and the result is these boys grow up with an inflated belief in themselves and their ability to speak for God.

We can find no words Jesus spoke that would give men authority over women or a man authority over his wife. We find redemptive power in the blood of Christ to both men and women equally. We don’t want to control anybody. Why should anyone be in control of us?

The council claims the redeemed husband has leadership over his wife, but when a boy is taught from birth he is superior to all females, his mother included, you cannot suddenly tell him he is to exercise this power only after he is redeemed. From his point of view, he was redeemed the moment he came out of the womb.

Will you speak up for women?

Shirley Taylor

Willis

‘Not a Christian issue’

We are in dire need of immigration reform. Too bad the “immigration reform” legislation proposed by the administration is not reform.

The sole purpose of the legislation is to create 11 million new and grateful voters. It is not about a human-rights issue or anti-Hispanic rhetoric. These are the issues raised to deceive the uninformed and naive about the real problems of illegal immigrants.

It certainly is not a Christian issue.

Fred Rosenbaum

Gainesville

Giving the surplus

Michelle Covington’s 2nd Opinion column, “Bigger barns and mega-churches,” (July 19) is excellent.

May I suggest an alternative expression of her last sentence? “Why spend resources to build bigger houses when we can live in smaller settings and give the surplus away?”

This echoes the idea of living a “war-time lifestyle”—as many did during World War II—in response to our current time of spiritual warfare.

Larry Burner

McKinney

More on Royal Lane Baptist Church

I read with interest comments regarding the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ action toward Royal Lane Baptist Church.

The reality is, however, that it is not homosexuality but economic greed  that is eating away at our culture and its institutions,   including the religious ones.

Straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel?  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Eddy Carder

Prairie View

Homosexuality in the Bible

Bruce Lowe’s letter mentioned at least three times the Bible says “nothing about homosexuals” (July 19).

I would like to quote from my Ryrie Study Bible: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

They both can’t be right. Who is wrong? How does Lowe explain Leviticus 18:22? Is he saying God is wrong?

Judy Upchurch

Atlanta

Tea Party

For David Gushee to label the Tea Party movement as unbiblical is ridiculous. That’s not to say every member or every action is done in a Christ-like manner, but Gushee and Jim Wallis have bought into the mainstream media characterization that the TP members are a bunch of right-wing zealots.

As they and their supporters of this Congress and this president continue their push toward the secularization of America, all the TP members are trying to convey is that enough is enough when it comes to federal taxation and government regulation. There is a better way. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and give to the poor, not to the government.

Steve Kent

Dallas

What do you think? Send letters to Editor Marv Knox by mail: P.O. Box 660267, Dallas 75266-0267; or by e-mail: marvknox@baptiststandard.com. Maximum length is 250 words.

I find myself missing everything about Colorado—the significantly cooler and less humid weather, breathtaking views, the pristine yet quirky town of Fort Collins, the art culture, my host families, the interesting locals, the passionate church planters, and the encouraging company of my teammates. It was so sweet to spend each day without the time constrictions of organizations and class to simply serve a community with the love of Christ.

I spend much of my time thinking about the people I met and wondering what they are doing, hopeful that they continue to grow on their spiritual journey. At times, I feel discouraged that I cannot physically be there to offer a hug or a smile when they are facing painful experiences or to rejoice with them when something in the Bible clicks for the first time.

However, I am grateful for the moments I was given over 10 weeks. God used those moments to show me how to love generously, selflessly and more like him. I am trying to remember that I have a lifetime of those moments waiting to be obediently lived out as I follow Christ.

The mission has not ended. Instead of looking back on the summer as a great time in my life that I loved well, I want it to transcend into every season of my life, in whatever location I may be, as a lifestyle of love for the One who has saved me and for the people around me who do not know him.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned this summer is the importance of telling our stories about how God is working in our lives. As I have been sharing with people who ask about my summer, there are a variety of stories both big and small of how God worked. There are little stories of answered prayer for rain to stop when we were trying to do ministry and how God continuously provided places for me to live. And there are big stories of God’s faithfulness to move in individuals’ hearts as we learned to be consistent in friendships no matter the response we got in return.

As I told my stories all summer, I was encouraged by Colossians 4:7-8, where the Apostle Paul speaks of his friend who helped him to tell his experiences: “I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.” Think about the ways God is teaching you through daily occurrences and share those moments with others, as it can inspire them to fall deeper in love with the Lord, too. 

Amber Cassady, a communications student at Texas A&M University in College Station, served as a student missionary correspondent in Colorado with Go Now Missions.