Welcome back to another wrap-up post here at CBFblog.com. This week, we’re highlighting blog posts and stories from and about field personnel, a former CBF moderator, disaster recovery efforts in Oklahoma, church-state separation, a new church start and much more.
Take a few minutes and read some of the snippets below and check out a few links.
Keith Herron, pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo., reflects on his tenure as CBF moderator over at Word & Way. Here’s a snippet:
The most difficult aspect of his service personally was maintaining a balance among the church, his home life and CBF, he said. “Sometimes I went weeks without a day off.”
But he treasures the many new friends he has made. “I’ve had the chance to meet new people all across the country…. My reservoir of friends has really grown over this year,” he said.
Don Byrd of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty blogs about the recommendation of a committee created by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), urging the federal government to remove restrictions that prevent churches from engaging in electioneering/endorsing candidates and other forms of partisan politicking. Don’t miss Byrd’s analysis:
If we got rid of every law suffering from enforcement dysfunctions, I’m not sure how many would be left standing. The ban on tax-exempt politicking makes sense on a number of levels. So too does the IRS’ careful enforcement strategies that emphasize education over punishment, though the rise in open flaunting of the law may force a reconsideration of that approach. Pulpit endorsements would jeopardize congregational health and undermine campaign finance regulations, not to mention the spirit of church-state separation.
Via CBF Romany Ministries, CBF field personnel Keith Holmes and Mary van Rheenen share about a recent visit by a team of women from their church in the Netherlands who traveled to Moldova to work with local Romany Christians.
How are Baptists engaged in the relief and recovery efforts following the devastating tornadoes that hit Oklahoma three months ago? Read this report by Leah Allen of The Baptist Standard:
PHOTO/Leah Allen
Texas Baptists’ disaster recovery ministry recently partnered with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and World Vision to help meet many of those needs through Loving Oklahoma. Organizers modeled the disaster recovery effort after a similar initiative, Loving West, when volunteers helped the Central Texas town devastated by a fertilizer plant explosion.
Loving Oklahoma volunteers scattered across a widespread area from El Reno to Shawnee to aid in debris pick-up, house construction, donation sorting and other needs.
Over at the CBF Church Starts mission community, recently commissioned CBF church starter Bob Cheatheam writes about starting a country church in a mobile home park in Texas.
Melissa Rogers, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and longtime CBF Baptist, recently joined Secretary of State John Kerry to announce the opening of the Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of State. Watch the announcement video.
David Odom is executive director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School. In the fourth post of a blog series on the keys to leading change, Odom retells a childhood story about CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter. Read Odom’s post here.