The Uncertain Future of Faith-based Child Care

Earlier this week, the same-sex adoption bill (SB320/HB7013) passed the Senate. The bill aligns Florida law with previous rulings from the courts that a ban on same-sex adoptions was unconstitutional. Immediately, the House began working on a bill that would protect faith-based organizations, such as Florida Baptist Children's Homes. HB7111 is a bill that seeks a "conscience clause" to the same-sex adoption legislation that would allow faith-based organizations to continue to qualify prospective parents for adoption in accordance with its beliefs and values.


The bill has passed the House but has been met with substantial opposition in the Senate. The Senate legal position is that the bill is "duplicative and unnecessary." They believe that the Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act will adequately protect the desire for faith-based organizations to operate within the parameters of their religious beliefs and convictions. The Senate legal opinion fail sto take into account two real-world factors:  

1. Activist courts are engaging in ideologically-driven and result-oriented decisions in cases involving gay rights.
2. A number of faith-based organizations have been forced to close in states that have similar religious freedom legislation, but do not have conscience clauses (Catholic Charities in Boston and Washington DC). With the legalization of same-sex marriage, adoption and foster care agencies that partner financially with the state are being forced to qualify same-sex marriage families as potential adoptive families.

Florida Baptist Children's Homes helped 106,000 children last year. We want to help another 106,000 this year. FBCH will continue to operate according to its values and convictions, but such operation will be tested in the courts. There are groups that would rather see less children helped than to see faith-based organizations be given the freedom to operate within the context of their beliefs.

Same sex adoption is legal in Florida and there are many agencies that will gladly qualify same-sex couples for adoption. There is enough need with regard to our children so that all of these agencies can work for the benefit of children under the terms of their individual worldviews.

The Senate Rules Committee will be reviewing the bill this Monday, April 20. Our Senator is Charlie Dean. He is not on the rules committee, but he may know those who are and have some influence with them. His email is Dean.Charles@FLSenate.gov. Here is a link to the Rules Committee should you feel compelled to contact them and ask them to support the conscience clause language found in HB7111: Support HB7111

Dominican Republic Day 5

DR Blog, Thursday, March 5, 2015

Parkview Baptist Church

We began our devotion by singing happy birthday to Anita. We all agreed that there is nothing more noble than serving others on your birthday. Charles Snipes talked about two words in the Bible that have made a difference in his life. "Come" unto me..."go" into the world. When we come to Jesus, we are compelled to go and share with others. Charles shared how fortunate he felt to be able to do this kind of work.

Today was our last day of work. We primed the interiors of three more houses bringing our total to four houses completely primed and ready for paint for the next group. We went back and saw the houses we painted on Sunday and Monday. These were houses whose walls were built by one group, stuccoed by another, and primed by another. By today, the Dominican workers had run electric, and installed light fixtures, cabinets, and doors. We are reminded of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor." Ultimately, we each do our part, according to God's design, and the kingdom advances to the glory of God.

Over the course of several days, over 100 children heard Bible stories, learned principles of the Golden Rule, sang songs about Jesus, and made crafts that we pray will remind them of our time with them. This afternoon we went out to the baseball field (built by a previous Orphan's Heart team) and played with the children for a couple of hours. We played everything from baseball, to frisbee, to jump rope, and volleyball. We were pleased to be able to leave the sports equipment with Pastor Cavier and pray that it will be another tool to help him share Jesus with this community that he has been called to serve.

Our guides, Howie and Fernandez, treated us to a couple of brief excursions on the way back to our apartment. We got a personal tour of the local coffee manufacturer, saw how they dried the beans and got a free sample. We stopped by an ice cream shop (yes, we had ice cream before dinner.) Then we drove out to the beach and enjoyed a nice breeze and beautiful view.

Highlights:
We saw this week how God puts the right people in the right place at the right time. He multiplied our efforts so that we were able to accomplish more than what the site manager ever expected of us. Mission trips develop special kinds of small group relationships--relationships that are not just confined to a classroom, but built on doing the work of the kingdom and sharing the love of Jesus with others. We trust that we have demonstrated that love this week. We trust that exposure to the needs of this community will make us more sensitive to the needs in Lake City. We pray that being missionaries in the Dominican Republic will help us to be better missionaries at home.

Dominican Republic Day 4

DR Blog, Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Parkview Baptist Church

Our hostess, Ivelisse, treated us to a Dominican dish for breakfast this morning called mangu (mashed up green plantains.) She has been a wonderful hostess this week. The food has been excellent. Jim started our day with a devotion from 2 Timothy 2:11 and talked about the joy that comes from serving the kingdom. We trust that God is pleased with the work we have already done and will joy in the work to come. Our motivation is to lift up Jesus as our Savior with the work being done as a mere vehicle to advance the Kingdom.

Today on the job site, we built the second half of the wall on our house. This part of the project required teamwork for every aspect of it. We had some people on ladders and some on the ground all day. We went from passing blocks up the ladder earlier in the day to passing buckets of concrete later in the afternoon. Our team finished the walls and still had time to put primer on the interior walls of another house.

We had a record number of children come to the children's program today (about 75). Pastor Cavier joined our team for the day and told the story of David and Goliath. In keeping with the Golden Rule theme, the children learned about being trustworthy today. They decorated bags that we will use as goodie bags for the last day tomorrow.

Before heading back to the apartment, we drove up the mountain to the aqueduct that the government has built that will eventually provide water for future irrigation systems in the community. We got a great look at the houses and community transformation center. We also stopped by the river where Jim treated himself to a quick swim.

Highlights:
During the lunch period, several members of the team walked down to the school in town. The staff and faculty were extremely welcoming to our team. While we were at the river, three little girls from our children's program met us and walked with us. It was really neat to see them reach out and hold Jennifer's hand as we walked down the trail. Anita enjoys holding babies so that some of the older siblings can do the craft assignments. We pray that we make much of Jesus as we make new friends.

Dominican Republic Day 3

DR Blog, Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Parkview Baptist Church

Our day began at the breakfast table with Anita bringing our morning devotion. In anticipation of building walls today, she shared Ephesians 2:19-22, a verse that reminds us that we are citizens of God's kingdom, members of God's family, and bricks in God's dwelling place. The building we built today is made of styrofoam, but it is held together with steel and concrete. Our lives and our churches are nothing more than styrofoam, but they become strong when they are held together by Jesus.

Pastor Cavier was leading devotionals with the workmen as we arrived on site. Our team began gathering blocks for building the walls on house number 59. Only the outside steel was in place so we began building the outside walls while a crew drilled the holes in the slab for the steel on the inside walls. We marked the "cornerstone" with our church name. By lunch we had finished the first half and we were ready to place the steel and pour the bond beam after lunch. We poured the concrete (by hand using buckets) and still had time to prime the exterior of a fourth house.

The overall theme of the week for the children's programs is "The Golden Rule." Today's lesson focused on being honest. The children had fun learning about Jonah.  In addition to the snack time, which is always a hit, the children really enjoyed playing with bubbles. The children had made individual letters  that spelled "The Golden Rule" and they were excited to see their letters up on the stage today. 

Highlights:
Geraldine was moved by a little boy who stood up during the prayer and repeated it as it was being said. Our team was glad to hear that some of these children would be available to sponsor through Orphan's Heart new child sponsor program. Charles enjoyed the camaraderie of the Dominicans as we worked side by side with them today. They taught us some Spanish words and we taught them some English words. They really have a great work ethic and attitude. With every block the team put into place, we were reminded that Jesus is our Cornerstone and His Church is His chosen dwelling place.

Dominican Republic Day 2

DR Blog, Monday, March 2, 2015

Parkview Baptist Church

The day started with Geraldine Snipes leading our devotions before breakfast. She shared Acts 15:36 and a personal story of a church she and Charles worked on and then revisited several years later. The church, once thriving, was now in disarray--a great reminder that our church must remain on mission and outward focused, always ready to do the kingdom work God has called us to do.

It was awesome to see Pastor Cavier leading pre-workday devotionals with more than fifteen of the workers when we arrived on site. He was teaching them about the parable of the wheat and tares. Much like many small groups in our churches, the men seemed reluctant to speak when the pastor asked questions, but a few did and for the most part, the majority of men were engaged in the teaching. Devotions are not mandatory, so we are praying that God is using Pastor Cavier to do a great work here among these men.

Work today was much like yesterday. We painted the interiors of two more houses bringing our total to four (one more than expected.) After lunch we primed the exteriors of three houses to get them ready for paint. We were grateful that God blessed us with cloud coverage and a good breeze. It made painting outside very enjoyable. We met some of the neighborhood children as they stopped by to see what we were doing.

The ladies did a great job in two Bible sessions with the children. The morning session had about twenty children and the afternoon session had more than forty. Our team was prepared with enough snacks and balloon animals for everyone! The Bible lesson for today was the story of the Good Samaritan and the theme of the lesson was "be kind."

We met a pastor from Santiago, DR, whose ministry focuses on impoverished families who use their children to scour garbage dumps for items that may be resold or recycled for pennies. They help get the children away from the garbage dumps and into schools.

Highlights:
Jennifer met a young man, twelve years old, who was caring for four younger siblings and the conversation was a blessing even though it was in really broken Spanglish. Mike learned how to roll a bicycle tire using a cut plastic milk jug tied to a stick (a trick he learned from Luis.) Jim souped it up by painting white walls on it. One young lady, about thirteen, had to leave a little early because she had to go fix lunch for her younger siblings. We realized today just how important family is to this culture and we feel blessed to to be included in their family.

Dominican Republic Day 1

DR Blog Sunday, March 1, 2015

Parkview Baptist Church

We are grateful to God for a safe and uneventful travel day, yesterday. A few of us immediately began enjoying the cuisine choices that are not readily available in Lake City--pastelitos in Miami and empanadas in Santo Domingo. I promise that these posts will not be all about food, but we enjoyed fresh mango this morning as we gathered for breakfast and our morning devotions. We have certainly enjoyed the hospitality of our hosts.

Our first day on site was a blessing. We worshiped with the gathering at the Community Transformation Center. The pastor taught the people two new songs, "Draw Me Close to You," and "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High." Of course they were sung in Spanish but we sang along with them. Pastor Cavier preached from John 2:1-8 and really pressed the fact that Jesus is our only hope because Jesus is our only true God. (At least that is what we think he was saying.) I do know that he preached verse by verse and appreciated the expository method by which he preached.

After worship, the team began painting the interior of a house and very quickly worked up an appetite for lunch. After lunch, the men finished up the interior painting of two houses (with multiple coats.) The ladies had a great Bible time with almost thirty children. They introduced the Golden Rule and talked about caring for others. The children were excited to color pictures and get their snack.

Since we were still adjusting to the new schedule, morning devotions were moved to the evening. Pastor Mike shared some thoughts about the four different types of missions commissions in the Bible and encouraged the team to make much of Jesus during our stay.

Some highlights:

As our ladies were teaching the children a song, the children began singing it in their own language. It was a joy to see the families together. We were grateful that so many children came back in the afternoon.What a great reminder that the kingdom is much bigger than any one ethnicity or nation.

SBC, GCB: Is It Really About Our Name?

Over the past year, there has been much discussion about the possibility of a name change for the Southern Baptist Convention. This idea is not a new topic of discussion among Southern Baptists. But with the renewed SBC emphasis on church-planting, many of the church planters claimed that identification with the SBC created a hindrance to their planting efforts. Bryant Wright, President of the SBC, appointed a task force to research the implications and impact of a name change. What they found is what most most of us already knew--legally changing the name would be expensive and rebranding would be very difficult.

But the task force did make a recommendation that would allow church planters to identify themselves with the SBC using a non-legal SBC descriptor, GCB or Great Commission Baptists. SBC churches and church plants are autonomous, meaning they are self-governing, self-identifying, and self-theologizing within the framework of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (or like-minded confession.) This means that churches can call themselves whatever they want and include any descriptor they choose in their name. Many SBC churches have already made name changes and have removed "Baptist" from their names because they believe they serve areas where that label is a hindrance to their work. They did not need convention approval to do this. Neither do Church planters need our permission to use this kind of descriptor.

At the convention, there was much debate over affirmation of the addition of this descriptor to the SBC. Those against the descriptor missed the point of what this motion was really about. They rightly said that the motion wasn't necessary. They at times incoherently tried to make a case against rebranding. One even argued that since we were not fulfilling the Great Commission, we would be lying to call ourselves Great Commission Baptists. I was saddened by some of these arguments simply because this motion was not about the name of the SBC. The motion was really an opportunity for our convention to overwhelmingly support our church planters and the evangelistic work that they are doing in difficult areas of our nation. Many of these arguments really affirmed how little the churches in our denomination understand the difficult dynamics of church planting.

This motion was a plea from our church planters, many of them young and just out of seminary, for support from our denomination for their work. It was a chance for us to empathize with them and appreciate them for what they do. It was an opportunity for us to show them that they too have a voice in their convention. Debate over this motion only added to their skepticism about the SBC. It gives them cause to abandon the denomination that they may feel ultimately abandoned them. We will continue to wonder in amazement why our denomination is in decline if we continue to indirectly ignore the voice of our new generation of pastors and leaders.

The resolution passed, 53% to 47%. I am glad that the motion passed. I am saddened that it was such a close vote. At some point, Southern Baptists (at least 47% of us) are going to have to stop looking backwards, longing for the glory days of the way things used to be. We need to be forward thinking and that means affirming our planters who are theologically and doctrinally like-minded and giving them the tools to be successful Southern Baptist church planters, planting Great Commission focused Baptist churches.