c. 1998 Religion News Service
More than 50 Christian leaders affirm SBC family statement
(RNS) More than 50 Christian leaders _ many from prominent evangelical ministries _ have signed an affirmation of the statement on the family adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in June.
The signatures were gathered by Dennis Rainey, founder of FamilyLife, a Little Rock, Ark.-based affiliate of Campus Crusade for Christ that focuses on marriage and family issues. The Baptist statement affirmed heterosexual marriage and the belief the Bible mandates wives to”submit … graciously”to their husbands.”I knew that the vast majority of Bible-believing Christians would not only agree with their statement but embrace it unashamedly as the timeless truth of Scripture,”Rainey said at a Dallas press conference Wednesday (July 15) during the CBA International Convention, an annual meeting of Christian retailers.”That’s why I felt compelled to write key Christian leaders in industry, church and ministry to give them the opportunity to stand in support of what is one of the most important issues of our time.” The statement, which reads”I affirm the statement on the family issued by the 1998 Southern Baptist Convention,”was signed by, among others, Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson, Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney, National Religious Broadcasters president Brandt Gustavson and Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.
Most of the signatories’ spouses also signed the statement.
The Baptist statement also said husbands and wives are of”equal worth before God”and declared that the husband is to be the provider, protector and the leader of the family.
Rainey said while the Baptist statement’s inclusion of the word”submit”provoked much controversy, he wished more people would focus on the statement’s description of marriage as a lifetime commitment between a man and woman.”Divorce is shredding families and crippling the next generation spiritually, emotionally and morally,”said Rainey.”I stand with the Southern Baptists as they exalt the marriage covenant and in calling responsible citizens to fulfill their marital vows.” Rainey added that he believes scriptural standards should be held above cultural ones.”We cannot sacrifice our marriages, our families and our children on the altar of political correctness,”he said.”I would like to challenge critics to, instead of punishing Christians for taking a much-needed stand, call all citizens to fulfill their responsibility of keeping their covenants.” Other signatories included Reinhard Bonnke, evangelist and founder of Christ for all Nations; Kay Cole James, dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University, the Virginia Beach, Va., school founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson; Sam Moore, president and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers; Kay Arthur, executive vice president of Precept Ministries; Todd Hunter, national director of the Association of Vineyard Churches; and Wayne Grudem, president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
Lyons resigns Virginia school board position
(RNS) The Rev. Henry J. Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, has stepped down from another board position in the wake of charges against him.
Lyons was pressured by former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder to resign from the board of Virginia Union University. Wilder becomes the president of the Baptist-affiliated school in Richmond on Aug. 1.
Lyons’ board resignation on July 14 came the day after Wilder denounced him on the former governor’s weekly radio show as a”sham and a shylock,”The Washington Times reported.”That kind of money that this man has wasted and spent _ pilloried the people _ he should be denounced,”Wilder said.
The embattled St. Petersburg, Fla., minister, was indicted July 2 on federal charges including fraud, tax evasion and extortion. He has pleaded not guilty.
Lyons resigned from the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in November 1997 when he was under investigation for allegedly mishandling church funds.
Salvation Army in U.K. to shed military uniforms
(RNS) In an effort to shake its”quaint and Victorian”image, the head of the Salvation Army in the United Kingdom and Ireland has decided to do away with the group’s dark-blue uniforms.
Commissioner John Gowans said in their place he hopes to introduce”something cheerful and less intimidating _ less military,”according to a report by Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.”People love us very much in a sentimental way, but without any clear idea of what we’re about,”he said.”… However, our image is quaint and Victorian. We must correct that in whatever way we can.” A recent survey revealed that most Britons are more familiar with the group’s brass bands and trademark uniforms than their good works, such as feeding the hungry and disaster relief efforts.
Eight in 10 Britons recognize the Salvation Army as a church and social welfare provider, but less than half of those polled had specific knowledge of what the Army does.”This isn’t Victorian England, and anything that gets in the way of being relevant must be looked at,”Captain Bill Cochrane told ENI, adding that other highly visible aspects, such as the group’s brass bands, will continue.
The Salvation Army was founded in London in 1865. It has 1.7 million church members in 103 nations worldwide.
International Reformed churches group criticizes persecution bill
(RNS) The World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the international body that represents some 214 Reformed and Presbyterian churches around the world, has criticized congressional efforts to pass legislation penalizing countries that infringe religious freedom.”If this bill is passed, vulnerable people _ Christian minorities in countries like China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan, Iraq _ will be affected,”said the Rev. Seong-Won Park, WARC secretary for the department of cooperation and witness.”The concept of religious freedom should be imposed by the political authorities of other countries.” He noted that”even (President) Clinton and (Secretary of State) Madeleine Albright don’t like this bill,”Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency reported.
WARC, whose member churches have some 75 million members, has sent a letter to Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., objecting to the proposed legislation sponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
The legislation calls for sanctions against countries that persecute people on the basis of faith.
WARC said its concern”and that of our member churches both in the USA and in the nations against who sanctions might well be applied, is that such sanctions would be counterproductive to religious communities deemed to be suffering from persecution.”Strong support for human rights and religious minorities on a multilateral basis through the United Nations would be far more productive than having the U.S. government function as the `protector’ of persecuted religious minorities through applying economic and political sanctions against their government.”We urge the U.S. Congress to reject such a unilateral approach,”the letter to Clinton and Gingrich said.
Swiss Christian to head World Alliance of YMCAs
(RNS) An evangelical Christian from Switzerland has been chosen as the next president of the World Alliance of YMCAs, the world’s largest Christian youth association.
Martin Vogler, 48, succeeds outgoing president David Kwang-sun Suh of South Korea to head the Geneva-based organization that has some 30 million members in 128 countries.
Vogler was general secretary of the Swiss YMCA from 1979 to 1987 and its president from 1988 to 1993. He considers himself part of the evangelical wing of the Reformed Church, reported Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.
Quote of the day: Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa
(RNS)”Although youth is supposed to rebel against a strict church, I look back fondly on the instruction I received at Clarkebury and Healdtown. The values I was taught at these institutions have served me well throughout my life.” _ Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa, expressing gratitude for the education he received at Christian mission schools during a speech to the Methodist Church of South Africa on the eve of his 80th birthday.
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