The 3 - February 26, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, has more developments regarding the issue of malpractice in the area of gender treatments and surgeries, with the AG of one state looking into events at a hospital and lawmakers in another trying to prevent these incidences from occurring. Also, a Jacksonville, FL ordinance is being challenged because of the possibility of silencing a faith-based bookstore owner from sharing her faith with customers.  And, the leadership board of the Southern Baptist Convention has made some decisions in areas of abuse and women in church leadership.

MO officials to look into operation of gender clinic, TN legislators vote on bill to ban gender treatments and surgeries

Not only are state legislators attempting to restrict harmful surgeries and treatments that claim to alter a minor child's biological sex, but the activity and irresponsibility of gender clinics are being exposed.

Liberty Counsel reports on its website that:

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that his office has launched a multi-agency investigation into the Washington University Pediatric Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital after a former employee went public and accused the hospital of lying to parents and harming hundreds of children with puberty blockers and mutilating surgeries.

Bailey is quoted as saying, “We have received disturbing allegations that individuals at the Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital have been harming hundreds of children each year, including by using experimental drugs on them. We take this evidence seriously and are thoroughly investigating to make sure children are not harmed by individuals who may be more concerned with a radical social agenda than the health of children..."

Meanwhile, another state has taken up the cause of minor children who are in harm's way through treatments and surgeries that claim to help a child change his or her gender.  The Tennessean that the Tennessee House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill to that effect, stating:

The bill prohibits children from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgical procedures.

People who received the treatments as minors would also be able to sue parents, guardians and physicians for authorizing the care under a statute of limitations under the legislation.

The article also notes, "If it becomes law, the bill would officially take effect this summer and give existing patients until March 31, 2024, to cease treatment..." The bill now goes to Governor Bill Lee, who has indicated, according to the article, "he is 'supportive' of the bill's content."

FL SOGI law forces Christian bookstore owner to stay silent about faith

Over the past few years, municipalities have passed ordinances that would offer special status to individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity, or SOGI.  Opponents of these laws have expressed concern that they could pose a threat to people of faith who do not agree with the gay lifestyle.

Case in point has occurred in Jacksonville, FL, which has a Human Rights Ordinance on the books. The Alliance Defending Freedom website reports that the ordinance "forbids communications that could lead someone to feel “unwelcome” based on various protected traits."

That would include a Catholic who runs a Catholic bookstore, and ADF has gone to court to protect the owner's right to discuss faith principles in the store she owns, the Queen of Angels Catholic Bookstore. The owner is Christine DeTrude, and the ADF website states that...

...The bookstore serves all customers and gladly sells its products to anybody but DeTrude and her bookstore staff cannot speak messages that violate their faith. Thus, they affirm that men and women are different and cannot use pronouns or titles that don’t align with a customer’s sex. DeTrude also wants to explain this policy and her Catholic beliefs about gender and sexuality in her store and on the store’s website.

But, this would violate the HRO and result in punishment for the store, so ADF has filed a lawsuit against that ordinance in federal court. ADF Legal Counsel Rachel Csutoros is quoted as saying, “Christie, owner of Queen of Angels Catholic Bookstore, gladly serves everyone, but she can’t speak messages that go against her religious beliefs. Yet Jacksonville is illegally mandating Queen of Angels abandon its religious beliefs—the very faith that motivates the store to open its doors to customers every day.”

SBC governing body partners with gay-affirming organization to run abuse response, questions loss of operating dollars

There are a significant number of members of the Southern Baptist Convention who believe that the denomination as a whole has drifted from its Biblical foundations.  There are also leaders of the SBC that believe that everything is OK, except for one area - sexual abuse.  And, efforts to combat the heinous activity of sexual abuse on a national level, rather than at the local church level have led to some unfortunate consequences.  

Some of those consequences emerged from the latest 2-day meeting of the SBC Executive Committee.  According to The Baptist Paper: 

“The (investment funds) have been cut in half,” said EC member Monte Shinkle of Missouri. “We dropped $6 million this past year. We have $6 million left … it doesn’t look good.”

Mike Bianchi, interim chief financial officer, noted the EC received an unqualified opinion (which is good) on its 2022 audit report, but the auditors emphasized “the sexual abuse issues, the DOJ investigation and the deteriorating liability of the EC” as concerns.

The current pace is “unsustainable,” Bianchi said, noting options such as liquidating assets (including the EC building), changing financial arrangements, obtaining other financing, etc., were discussed with the auditors.

Furthermore, the organization hired by the original Sexual Abuse Task Force, which was empaneled almost two years ago, Guidepost Solutions, has been facing it own share of criticism.  Its support of the LGBTQ agenda, tweeted out last June and reinforced now as details are emerging about causes to which it has contributed, has been facing criticism. Georgia's Christian Index states:

The SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force recommended using New York-based Guidepost Solutions to establish and maintain a database of pastors who have been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse at an estimated cost of between $1.5 million and $2 million.

"Credibly accused" is a term that has raised some concerns.  Writing last year for The Federalist, attorneys Jon Whitehead and Joshua Abbatoy wrote, regarding the original task force's recommendations: "...there was...widespread criticism of the recommendations as not biblical, not Baptist, and not just." They wrote:

Guidepost proposed that the SBC should maintain an “offender information system,” a public list of those “credibly accused” of sexual abuse and those who “aided and abetted” them. As Matthew Schmitz noted in the Wall Street Journal, this standard “trample[s] the rights of the accused.”

And, those seeking to expose the SBC as rife with abuse have now exposed it to an investigation by the Department of Justice.  Ideally, the national organization should be empowering local churches to deal with unfortunate charges of abuse in their congregations, not accepting liability for what may have transpired.  

And, the attempt to paint the entire denomination of millions as being insensitive and misogynistic due to the sins of less than a thousand men across the country has been characterized as being unfair, and is being used to divide believers and to undermine the Baptist Faith and Message position, based on 1st Timothy chapter 2, about women in leadership. The EC this past week determined that five churches were "not in friendly cooperation with the Convention," according to The Christian Index. 

Saddleback Church was one of the five; until recently, it has been pastored by Rick Warren...the article says:

The Executive Committee said the action was taken becasue Stacie Wood, wife of Saddleback’s current lead pastor Andy Wood, is “functioning in the office of pastor.”

But the controversy began in 2021, when Warren ordained three women as associate pastors, prompting discussions within the denomination about possibly expelling the megachurch.

Warren retired last year after 42 years at Saddleback. He made an emotional speech in June 2022 at the Southern Baptists’ annual convention in Anaheim, Calif., standing by his ordination of women. He told delegates who debated the issue, “We have to decide if we will treat each other as allies or adversaries.”

These churches can appeal the decision.  Saddleback was being considered for this distinction last year, but the Credentials Committee had said that the BF&M was not clear on women in pastoral leadership.  

The 3 - February 19, 2023

In this week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is news out of yet another U.S. state preventing surgeries and treatments that claim to help a minor child change his or her sex.  Also, in Oklahoma, transgender activists protested inside the State Capitol there against legislation in that state that has similar goals.  And, the FCA in a school district in California has temporarily been banned from that district pending a hearing before a federal appeals court. 

Another state takes a step to protect children from gender malpractice

One by one, states across America are seeing the light regarding the harm to minor children that is being perpetrated in the name of so-called "gender-affirming care," which actually is just the opposite. Manipulative treatments, mutilation of bodies, and more are being exposed now - and the governor of another state has signed a bill into law that is designed to provide protection. 

Liberty Counsel reports this on its website:

...South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed a bill into law that bans harmful and experimental puberty blockers and mutilating irreversible surgeries for children and teens who struggle with gender confusion.

Gov. Noem signed HB 1080, also known as the “Help Not Harm” bill, after the state legislature overwhelmingly passed it 30-4.

South Dakota is now the seventh state to enact legislation to protect children from these procedures, joining Utah, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas.

The article goes on to say: 

According to the new law, “a healthcare professional may not, for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of, or to validate a minor's perception of, the minor’s sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor's sex.”

This would included puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgeries.  

OK trans activists invade State Capitol building

But there are some who are supportive of transgenderism who will not take "no" for an answer.  We have seen that there are those in the LGBTQ+ movement that do not allow for an alternative view on sexuality and are willing to punish Christians and other people of faith for opposing homosexuality and transgenderism.

Some of them were on display recently in Oklahoma, as the New York Post reported earlier this month: "Transgender rights activists occupied the Oklahoma state Capitol’s rotunda...to protest a push...to limit so-called gender-affirming care in the state."

The article reported that, according to the Oklahoma Daily, some 150 people, chanting and holding signs and banners, entered the rotunda to protest these bills.  The article says:

One of the new proposals, Senate Bill 129, would ban health care professionals in the Sooner State from referring anyone under 26 for gender-affirming care, including both surgical and non-surgical interventions.

The second bill, Senate Bill 252, aims to prevent anyone under 18 from undergoing a sex change operation.

The Post article said, referring to Gov. Kevin Stitt: "In his State of the State address...Stitt called for a statewide ban on gender affirmation surgeries and other treatments for minors, the Oklahoma Daily said.

One protestor said: "Lawmakers fear the trans community as if trans people are coming for their kids, but in reality, trans people just want to live and mind their business..."  But, we see in instance after instance that there is a significant effort to do force the trans agenda on children, and those that protested inside the Capitol building were certainly not minding their business. 

Ruling in favor of FCA under court scrutiny

At Faith Radio, we are so appreciative of the ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, that provides young people with Christian teaching and fellowship, and provides an avenue for students to come to Christ. WORLD Magazine reported recently on a court case, in which FCA was sued and received a positive ruling, that is now in danger of being reversed.

The article notes that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that, "the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at San Jose’s Pioneer High School had a right to follow its statement of Biblical beliefs about marriage and sexuality."  But, recently, the 9th Circuit had set that ruling aside, meaning that, as WORLD puts it, "For the time being, the school district may ban the group unless it opens its leadership to students who do not adhere to its statement of faith."

Article writer Steve West says: 

Even though the appeals court directed the school to recognize FCA and allow students to meet, the controversy did not end, Becket counsel Daniel Blomberg told me. School officials complied, approved FCA’s request for official recognition but then refused to recognize any other student clubs throughout the district. Rather than meet and be subject to harassment by other students and some teachers, FCA students decided to meet privately for prayer.

The article goes on to say:

At this point, there is nothing to prevent the school district from ejecting FCA from campus once again, said Blomberg. “The students are no longer protected from the same school district that has been attacking them for years,” he said. Becket attorneys are evaluating whether to seek protection from the appeals court while the case is reconsidered.

The full 11-member appeals court will be hearing the case on March 20 in California. 

The 3 - February 12, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes some background on what is being termed a "revival" at a Kentucky university that went non-stop after a chapel meeting last Wednesday.  Also, a Jacksonville church is calling on members to affirm the Biblical viewpoint of sexuality and the sanctity of marriage.  And, a former Georgia police officer who affirmed the Biblical definition of marriage on his personal Facebook page has resigned after receiving opposition.

Asbury students gather non-stop for revival meetings

For some on the campus of Asbury University in Wilmore, KY, it may have seemed to be a normal Wednesday morning.  But, when God shows up - in His own way, according to His timing, He begins to do what He does - loving people and changing lives.  MinistryWatch reported:

On the morning of February 8, a seemingly normal chapel service took place at the campus’s Hughes Auditorium. It included a message about confession and repentance, according to reports. After the service was over, a group of students stayed behind to continue worshiping. Then more joined them.

The article quoted from Asbury Theological Seminary Vice President of Formation Matt Barnes, who stated this on Facebook: “God began pouring out his love among the students in a profound way. The students continued praying and worshiping even though chapel had concluded..." The MinistryWatch article said:

Asbury December graduate Elle Hooper told the Asbury Collegian, “I am one of many who have been praying for this since my freshman year. To be here and witness to this is life-giving.”

The Christian Post reported on what God has been doing on the campus; its report included comments from Alexandra Presta, the Executive Editor of the Collegian; it stated:

“I had left for a few minutes but then felt called to return. Since then, it hasn't stopped. It's been a mix of worship, testimony, prayer, confession, silence,” she explained, calling it “a full experience of the Holy Spirit.”

Presta estimated that as many as 1,000 people have come to the revival gathering since it started, noting that while “some have come and gone,” there are others who “have slept on the floor and continued to praise God nonstop.”

Jacksonville church issues statement on Biblical sexuality, requires members to affirm

The Church should be bold to declare what we believe; there should be no ambiguity regarding salvation, sin, holiness, and other areas where the Bible speaks clearly.

The Blaze website reported on a church in Jacksonville, FL where members, in order to retain membership, are being required to affirm their view on sexuality from a Biblical viewpoint.  The article said:

Last October, leaders of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, developed a statement that recognizes exclusively traditional Christian beliefs regarding marriage and sexuality.

"As a member of First Baptist Church, I believe that God creates people in his image as either male or female, and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not individual choice," the first half of the statement reads.

"I believe marriage is instituted by God, not government, is between one man and one woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression," the statement concludes, citing passages from Genesis, Matthew, Corinthians, and Romans to support that teaching.

The Senior Pastor of the church is Heath Lambert, who conducted a Q&A session about the statement.  The article reported:

Lambert and others hosted a question-and-answer session to address concerns regarding the statement. One woman who attended the meeting with "her partner" claimed that the statement erases the "existence" of "LGBTQ+ people."

But, the pastor rightly believes that sharing about God's standards is the loving thing to do, stating: "It is the ultimate demonstration of hatefulness for Christians to know about sin, to know that sin will separate sinners from God forever, and yet refuse to call sinners to repentance," adding, "On the other hand, it is the love of Christ to point out sin and call people to faith in Jesus."

Police officer in GA resigns after backlash against post on marriage

Jacob Kersey was a new police officer in the city of Port Wentworth, GA, outside of Savannah, according to an article at The Daily Signal, but he ran into trouble when he posted 20 words affirming the Biblical view of marriage on his personal Facebook page.  The article stated:

Kersey’s supervisor asked him to remove the post after someone complained.

When the young officer refused, he was placed on paid administrative leave. Kersey was ultimately given a choice by his command staff: Either agree not to post views that could be seen as controversial or face losing his job. Ultimately, Kersey made the choice to resign, explaining that he refuses to abandon his religious convictions.

In a Daily Signal podcast transcribed on the website, Kersey said:

"...I knew immediately that there’s no way that I could back down. Especially after standing up and encouraging people, saying, “Hey, stand up for what you believe. Don’t be silenced. Don’t let cancel culture cancel you. Share your story.” And I’ve been saying that for years.

And then when it happened to me, at first I was like, “I don’t know if I want to do this or not. There’s going to be a lot of naysayers.” But at the end of the day, I knew what I had to do. And I believe part of that was the Holy Spirit coming in and in the moment letting me know, “Hey, you have to do this.”