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NEW ORLEANS (BP) – The National African American Fellowship (NAAF) of the Southern Baptist Convention will announce three new state fellowships and a support network for the wives of senior pastors ahead of the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Wives of senior pastors face unique challenges that NAAF is poised to help them address, NAAF leaders told Baptist Press. “There is an unmet need and an opportunity to encourage and support the wives of senior pastors,” NAAF Executive Director Dennis Mitchell said, “by helping them to develop a support system. The hope is that just as we have NAAF state fellowships, that wherever we have a state fellowship there can be a first ladies’ support system.” NAAF at-large board members Kim Hardy, a Bible teacher, author and wife of Dexter Hardy, founding pastor of Lifepoint Church in Marietta, Ga.; and Peggy Alexander, a Christian education director and wife of former East Bay Baptist Association (San Leandro, Calif.) Director of Missions Lyman Alexander, will lead the initiative. New state fellowships are in varying stages of development in North Carolina, Alabama and Arizona, Mitchell said, applauding respective state convention executive directors for their support. NAAF events in advance of the SBC annual meeting kick off with a worship service June 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, 8282 I-10 Service Rd. in New Orleans, where host pastor Fred Luter will preach. NAAF will honor Luter, past NAAF presidents and retiring NAAF historian Robert Wilson and others at the worship service. The worship service will mark the 30th anniversary of the gathering that spurred NAAF’s formation, Mitchell said, and will kick off a yearlong recognition of NAAF’s 2024 30th anniversary. “June, 30 years ago at Brentwood Baptist Church in Houston, that was the first gathering of a fellowship that one year later would officially become NAAF,” Mitchell said. “Our 30th anniversary, technically, will be June of 2024. That’s when NAAF was formally established. However, we’re going to kick off a yearlong 30th anniversary celebration in New Orleans, an entire year celebrating 30 years, culminating in June of 2024.” “Moving Forward Together” will be the theme of the combined celebrations of the first fellowship and the formal establishment of the group. The theme, Williams said, “is an emphasis on our legacy churches and pastors, with our emerging leaders and pastors and with church planters. There’s the sense here that NAAF wants to really chart a course forward that includes these ministry leaders.” NAAF will further honor Luter by attending the Fred Luter Jr. Student Center Dedication Ceremony and Celebration June 14 from 6-9 p.m. at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS), 3939 Gentilly Blvd. in New Orleans. “Dr. Luter has been a faithful servant and pastor in New Orleans and beyond,” Williams said. “His work has impacted the Southern Baptist Convention nationally as a former SBC president. He has touched many of our lives personally, pastorally. And Dr. Luter’s record and character speak volumes to us, especially during our time today. “The honor of having the student center named after him is a reflection of that kind of faithfulness and that kind of character and that kind of service for the glory of God.” NOBTS trustees approved at their April 2022 meeting the renovation and renaming of the student center to honor Luter as part of a $12 million campus renovation. In its business meeting June 12 from 4-6 p.m. in rooms 201-202 of the convention center, NAAF will elect new officers including a vice president, secretary and parliamentarian. Current President Frank Williams will remain in his post, serving a third year, as NAAF works to establish a greater sense of continuity in its administration. The business meeting is billed as an opportunity for pastors to focus on upcoming initiatives and plans to empower African American churches, leaders, and planters for the work of the Great Commission through resources, networking, and more. Hardy and Alexander will lead the wives of senior pastors in an organizational meeting during the business meeting time slot, NAAF leaders said, with a meeting location being finalized. NAAF will present its annual George Liele Missions Banquet June 12 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Mosaic Room of the convention center. Williams will preach the banquet sermon at the event named in honor of America’s first missionary and raising money to fund missions. Tickets, $65 each, are available here. With Wilson’s retirement after serving nearly two decades as NAAF historian, Lyman Alexander of California will assume that role, Mitchell said. In addition to the three new state fellowships, NAAF has fellowships in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland-Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania-South Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, according to naaftogether.org. NAAF represents and serves pastors of about 4,000 majority African American Southern Baptist churches and missions, collaborating with SBC entities and humanitarian and advocacy groups in its work. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer. #MAY23

PLYMOUTH – My good friend and counterpart in Arizona, David Johnson, recently wrote an article and it was published in the Baptist Press. I wanted to share just an excerpt from it that I feel is very helpful for many of us in the Southern Baptist Convention today. There has been so much negativity and conflict within our ranks, one could almost believe that all we do is fuss and fight, and never accomplish anything for the Kingdom. The fact is quite the opposite. That does not mean that we have no problems or issues that need to be addressed. We do! It has often been said, “When two or more of us gather together, someone is ticked off about something!” Thus is the nature of a people who are passionate about their Lord, and serious about the work of ministry to which we have been called. Also, when you have millions within our churches, the law of averages tells us there are going to be some real stinkers among us. Every family has some crazy uncles, and we have our fair share, and our family tree produces some real nuts. I choose to be part of this family we call Southern Baptist for a plethora of reasons. Do we have faults? Yes. Are there some fissures forming within our ranks? Possibly. Do we need to make some changes? Obviously. Is it really worth it? Absolutely. The SBC family may be a mess at times, but it is still our family and good families stay together and work through their problems. The following is from an article by David Johnson, Executive Director of the Arizona Convention. It is by no means an exhaustive list but a very good reminder. 18 good things about being Southern Baptist right now: We are reaching the nations together through the International Mission Board to address the world’s greatest problem: lostness! We are planting new churches together in our state and across North America through the North American Mission Board. We are preparing people for all kinds of ministry through our seminaries around the country. We are not ignoring the sexual abuse issue. We have recognized the problem and are taking action to address it. We are helping people in crisis through Disaster Relief in places that have experienced devastating events like hurricanes, tornadoes, fire, and floods. We are responding to human needs around the world through Send Relief in refugee camps, clean water wells and famine projects. We are staying true to biblical truth as expressed in our shared confession, The Baptist Faith and Message (2000). We are helping churches share the Gospel through evangelism training and equipping partnering with the North American Mission Board. We are helping feed the poor through hunger relief funds provided by the World Hunger Offering. We are reaching college students with the Gospel through collegiate ministries on campuses around the country. We are responding to children and families in need through children’s homes and family ministries in our states. We are working to revitalize and replant churches in our local associations. We have a resource for advocacy and expertise dealing with political issues that affect us through the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. We are taking care of retired pastors and their widows in need through Mission Dignity. We are the most ethnically diverse denomination in America, which gives us greater strength and a stronger witness to the world. We have a network of state conventions and local associations to partner together for more effective ministry and mission work. We have the best resource for Bible study and discipleship materials in the world through Lifeway Christian Resources. We still have the best missionary supporting system on the planet, the Cooperative Program! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tim Patterson is Executive Director/Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Elected unanimously in May of 2015, Patterson formerly served for 9 years as pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. He also served as trustee chair and national mobilizer for the North American Mission Board. #MAY23

CANTON – I have always had a heart for two things: God and children. I spent my life loving and serving kids in church, at camps, and have always been a sappy Jesus lover. As a child I had all these dreams of living my life abandoned to Jesus, serving Him, and loving kids that are not my own by fostering, running an orphanage, and adopting. My husband and I decided to start fostering during the heart of the Pandemic as we were sitting at home desperately desiring that God use us to accomplish his glory. We desired to show struggling families compassion, and take care of vulnerable children. We wanted to offer what we have to God to use it for His plan. In my mind I must have pictured fostering as this sweet, idyllic triumph of ours. Dan and I, these wonderful parents, loving kids through the tough times. Which IS true. But fostering, in my experience, has been much more like a constant fight. I often gird up my loins, put on armor, and go into battle, bruised, weary and disillusioned. I am so tired and weary. And maybe you are too. When I have time alone with the Father I picture myself as a warrior child, coming desperately to my Father for rest. Because this is hard! We are constantly at the mercy of adults who don’t know this child, the whims of broken and desperate people, changes to schedule and plans, and workers who change often. There are so many hard things about fostering. However, my greatest struggle has been with someone I didn’t expect. Me. My flesh is so weak. Nothing has demonstrated this more than being a foster parent. I want to wrap my baby up and protect him. I want to take control. I want my plans to come true. I am often anxious, sad, and desperate. I resent the sacrifice and hardship it brings along with it. I get angry, often irrationally. I tell God I deserve to be this boy’s momma. I think my ways are better than an almighty God whose loving kindness already has this baby’s future planned out. I constantly require bringing my thoughts and my heart under the submission of Christ. To know that He is the Loving Father with complete sovereignty. That’s the best truth. So, I lay myself before the God I love with all my idolatry, anger, fear, and anxiety. And I repent. I seek forgiveness. I remind myself that this baby is not mine, (even if we adopt) that his real father is our Heavenly Father who loves him more than I ever could, and has plans greater than mine could ever be. In a position of very little control, I see who truly is on the Throne. I am just a steward, a temporary owner of this precious little life. Yet, the one who holds it is his Creator. I find peace knowing God loves this child more than I ever could. And that He has planned his life from the beginning of time. I work (hard) to take every thought captive to Christ, to rest and find strength in Him. This choice we made has changed me more than I think it’s changing the children in our care. God is using me, yes, absolutely! But more than that He is molding me, shaping, and refining me to be MORE useful, more obedient and more like HIM. It urges me to ask you: where are you weary and need rest? Where is life and circumstances getting in the way of your true worship of God? What hard places in life might God be using to teach you and make you more like Him? My prayer for you and for me is that we would keep our eyes on the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That we would seek His kingdom and His righteousness no matter the cost. That we never stop boldly knowing and seeking Him. And Hey! If this article touched something in you to become a foster parent, we NEED Christian foster parents. Maybe that is the hard thing God is calling you to right now… If you're interested in Fostering check here: https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/adult-child-serv/foster-care ABOUT THE AUTHOR Claire Carty is a wife and foster momma in Canton, MI. I adore my husband, our foster son, our doggie Daisy, pink sunsets, and summertime. I am a former teacher and now work at an engineering company. #MAY23

PLYMOUTH – I recently heard someone say that during a stressful situation, as Jesus followers we should be the calmest person in the room. Why? Because we know that God is in control. He is Sovereign. He is the Creator and Sustainer of life. I don’t know why I have to remind myself to call out to God for help during moments of fear or frustration instead of it being a spiritual muscle memory response. But God pours out a promise on us in His Word, Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears." This month we’ll celebrate our mothers. As moms, we set the example for our families. Our children, other family members, and friends all unintentionally observe and evaluate how we handle difficult times as Jesus- following women. Is the way I express stress and frustration what a true disciple of Christ should be exhibiting? Not always… I remember well when my husband, Tony, and I were working as IMB missionaries to France and one of my adult children was going through something horrible with her husband and 3 young children. My heart was broken for them. We did everything we could over the phone, praying, and crying with our daughter. I felt shattered and struggled not to rush back to the US to ‘fix’ things. I felt panicky and out of control. But God, full of love and grace for both me and our daughter, poured out Scripture verses that covered my heart like a gentle balm: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27 "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22 God used that time in my life to deepen my trust and show me how completely dependent I need to be on Him. He cares about our sorrows, frustrations, and stresses. Psalm 94:18-19 gave me a firm foundation to stand on when I felt my world crumbling: When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. My daughter leaned on a church’s small group to help her grow strong as she overcame the crisis with God’s help and wisdom. I love the verse from Psalm 94:22, "But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge." Why would I ever want to go through the storms in my life without His help and guidance? I’ve been able to help others with what God taught me during that crisis and many others that I’ve had since then. But God in His mercy had me share with other mothers that were sinking in despair, how God calmed and strengthened me during my rough times. Keeping our hearts tuned to God is difficult when the struggle seems bigger than our Savior. God is calling us to live our lives as women of God, totally reliant on Him. May our lives be a strength and encouragement to those around us, always pointing them to God and asking for forgiveness when we mess up. May we serve everyone who the Lord brings into our path, including our precious families. May our hearts be ever learning to love and obey the Lord more. When the crazy storms of life come our way, may we be the calmest person in the room. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jamie Lynn is the Communications Director for the BSCM. Jamie loves working for the Michigan churches at the State Convention Office. She is married to Dr. Tony Lynn, State Director of Missions and enthusiastic follower of Jesus Christ. They have 3 married children and 9 amazing grandchildren. #MAY23

DETROIT – What makes America unique is its great ability to unite despite differences. America is considered a melting pot that has the ability to unite civilizations, races, ideologies, and religions together in orchestrated harmony. Despite all the differences and the wars that are taking place between different cultures and religions outside of the United States, here, we live in harmony together both in the spiritual and the political arenas. The genius of those who charted the constitution is that it provided equal and free access without discrimination and with no regard to race, political affiliation, religion, or creed. What a great accomplishment! But do you understand that this great and wonderful provision puts a great responsibility on the church? Because of our constitution, the world desires to become part of this great nation. Immigrants from other countries pour into the United States seeking the freedom, life, prosperity, accessibility to worship without the fear of being persecuted. Unfortunately, the church has not always been prepared to embrace and serve the needs of those who migrated or escaped persecution seeking refuge in this country. If the American churches do not reach out to immigrants and refugees, it goes against our call in the Gospel. While the Church is opening its eyes to the needs of other nations, it is often blinded to the influx of refugees and illegal immigrants who are now here in our state. Large sums of money are raised for mission work to reach the world with the Gospel message, but many of these same nations are represented in the refugees who come to America. The immigrants are flooding communities with their cultures, religions, and languages to the point that the mission field is now not only outside the US, but actually inside every community, city, and state. I see the need for our American churches to steer the direction of missions to the needs of the refugees and immigrants inside our borders while still engaging to reach the outside world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can reach the nations by starting with the people who have moved into our state as neighbors. The mission we are called to fulfill includes our own Jerusalem and Samaria. The church must move forward before time runs out. Churches must continue announcing the truth of the Word of God. Every U.S. president inaugurated puts his hand on the Bible affirming the foundation of justice, liberty, and freedom given in this land. Many Americans do not realize that some of the nations coming to this country come from places like the Middle East where Christians are under attack. It is imperative that the church move forward and proclaim boldly the message of truth and love in the Bible, and especially the Lord Jesus Christ whose message and life transforms the human race. It is our responsibility to stand for what God has entrusted to the Church. The Church MUST act firmly and move forward before time runs out. A sobering word I leave with you was uttered by Christ himself warning and questioning the Church by asking, “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on earth?” Luke 18:8 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Amgad Beshai is the pastor of the Evangel Arabic Baptist Church in Troy, Michigan. He and his wife, Eman, have a daughter, Vernie, and two sons, Kevin and Chris. #MAY23

ALTO – It is the first anniversary of losing my mom. With losing her, also came the rapid decline and the eventual loss of my father. I know I am not alone in losing a parent, or even the loss of both in a short time. However, they were my parents and my loss. The call came at the beginning of December telling me my mom had fallen again, and they found a mass on her brain that was not there in September. I rushed home to Ohio. I will never forget sitting with the oncologist team as they told us they were not recommending treatment. My mother had 1-2 months max. She would need to go to a rehab center and may never come home. They also told me my mother would forget who we were, how to swallow, and would be in much pain in the end. My parents still lived on their own. My father was relatively healthy, and my mom’s main caregiver. I looked at him and asked “Dad, do you understand what they are saying?” He was in so much shock we had to explain it to him several times. I went to my childhood home that night and sobbed. “God, how am I going to get through this? I don’t live here!” My thoughts were, she will never come home again, I will never get to take her shopping (she loved to shop), never get to take her to lunch, never go on another drive to see nature. But God had other plans. After 21 days my mother was strong enough to come home. I brought her home Christmas Eve. We contacted a care company that could be with my parents on the weekends, and my sister and I would take every other week. God gave me the opportunity to minister and slowly say goodbye to my mom as well as witness to my father who was not a believer at the time. I was able to take her shopping and to lunch one last time. I took them out for drives whenever weather permitted. Although we are not always granted prayers the way we ask for them, God gave me mine. I was able to spend the next 5 months every other Monday through Friday with my parents. God was my strength and my peace. When days were hard and lonely, I would sing hymns and songs of praise with my mom. The first few months she was even able to sing with me. I meditated on verses of strength and joy in the Psalms. I laughed at the funny things that in her mind she thought were going on. I wish I could tell you I was always joyful and patient. I was not! There were many sleepless nights with long days, but God would always renew me. Not only did we get FIVE months, but my mother never had any of the effects of the tumor. She knew us, just not all the circumstances. She never knew she was sick and was never in pain. One of the last songs I sang to her while she was awake was the “Goodness of God''. I love the first few lines. “I love You Lord. Your mercy never fails me. All my days I’ve been held in Your hands. From the moment that I wake up un?l I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness of God.” I could not pen words that are truer for my life. He is Good, Faithful, He is Lord. He gave me strength to endure not only her passing, but my father 8 months later. I can assure you that He is there in the Darkest nights. He is close, He will sustain you. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Laura Render graduated from Georgetown College with a BA. She has served at Lakeside Community Church for over 31 years as leader to women and families. She is a mother and grandmother. She also is a realtor with Keller Williams. #MAY23

LANSING, MI (BP) – Sam Black walked outside his Florida home decades ago and saw his older brother and a friend reading a magazine sideways. “That didn’t make any sense. How can you read sideways?” The teenagers turned the magazine around and exposed a 10-year-old Black to pornography, a centerfold of a nude woman that piqued Black’s curiosity. “And though I grew up in a Christian home I didn’t step away,” Black said. “Dopamine focuses your attention when sexual cues are picked up. It can focus your attention very well. And all kids are naturally curious about what the opposite sex looks like naked. That’s normal. “But,” Black said, “while that curiosity is normal, pornography – and especially today’s pornography – is often violent and so much more. It’s overwhelming for a child. But even just plain nudity, I stepped forward and I wanted a closer look.” The early exposure, fueled by what Black describes as a violent and controlling hypocritical Christian childhood home, sent him spiraling into a pornography addiction that he didn’t understand or conquer until after he married. Two-thirds of men and a third of women who regularly attend church say they struggle with pornography, Black said, sharing research from the National Library of Medicine that also aligns reduced church attendance and participation with pornography use. Now 55, he helps churches provide a safe place for men and women to honestly confess pornography use and find grace-filled healing. Black is director of life change education for Covenant Eyes, an ecumenical, relationship-driven accountability ministry aimed at helping adults overcome pornography. Black found healing through a church ministry his wife invited him to early in their marriage. While his path to addiction is common, Black describes his path to recovery as unique. Most pastors, he said, don’t have a good understanding of pornography addiction and how to lead victims to recovery. “I really do have a great sense of empathy for pastors and ministry leaders on this in general,” he said. “Often there is not a safe place (at church) to have this conversation, so people feel a great deal of shame, especially something like pornography. “I mean we have looked at (First) Corinthians 6:18 and Paul has warned us that when we sin sexually the sexually immoral person has sinned against their own body,” Black said. “We have used that as a warning, but we’ve not given anyone an opportunity to say, ‘This is the warning because Paul is not saying this sin is worse in God’s eyes; he’s divinely warned us that the effects of sexual sin are more damaging to the person in their mind, body and spirit.’” Black describes sexual sin as a detonating bomb that impacts relationships, pointing out that pornography use is a major contributor to 56 percent of divorces in the U.S. “Paul is begging us to pay attention to sexual sin,” Black said. “But we don’t stop with the warning. We help give people a pathway to freedom.” Seminary training often does not address the issue of pornography, Black said. In preparing to write a new Covenant Eyes resource that releases in May, “The Healing Church: What Churches Get Wrong About Pornography and How to Fix It,” Black searched for churches that were ministering well to those overcome by pornography. “Not just to be drawing from my own experience,” Black said. “I wanted to go out and find churches that were doing this work well, and show (other churches) the examples of that restorative process where they were creating safe places, or safe processes, that fit their denomination, that fit their theology (so that) in their churches they were bringing freedom to men and women and teens who were struggling deeply with pornography.” Such struggles negatively impact the religious landscape and church ministries, research has found. “There’s a direct correlation between pornography use by the individual,” Black said, “and reduced church attendance, diminished faith, increased religious doubts, less volunteerism.” Black shared the study “Seeing is (Not) Believing: How Viewing Pornography Shapes the Religious Lives of Young Americans,” available at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine. “If pornography use weakens attachment to religion among young Americans,” researchers wrote in the abstract to the study, “as viewing pornography becomes more common with each generation, it may contribute to rising secularization among younger cohorts. Thus, to the extent that younger generations are increasingly exposed to pornographic materials, and to the extent that viewing pornography has a secularizing effect, these factors may shape the future landscape of American religion itself.” Black has found churches that not only didn’t provide a safe place for people to discuss their struggles with pornography, but he found churches that punished believers for seeking help. “I found many churches who literally kicked out people from their church, or especially (those involved in) any volunteer efforts. Not only was he stripped of any of his duties in the church,” Black writes of one man who asked his pastor for help, “but he was told that you can’t attend church unless you do so with your wife accompanying you. There were numbers of people, men and women, who just didn’t feel safe.” Black described to Baptist Press a “spectrum of safety” varying among churches that spans from one extreme of accepting sinners without encouraging them to change, to the opposite extreme of denying that the person struggling has actually accepted Jesus as Savior. “What we need is that center,” he said, “where it’s safe to come as you are, even Christians who are struggling, but it’s not OK to stay how you are.” Children are being exposed to pornography as early as 6 years of age, Black said, when their brains are not fully developed and they are not able to reason rationally. “There’s a lot to this that really makes it harder for a child to turn away,” Black said. After exposure, pornography can become a way of escape from life’s struggles that continues as a coping mechanism into adulthood. “Children and teens learn to begin escapism at a young age, and that escapism follows through their adolescence and teen years, and then into their adulthood, often into their trade school or college, and then into marriage,” Black said. “And then when it comes into marriage, we’re like, ‘Oh, you’re not supposed to be doing this.’ “Well, they’ve been doing it for often a decade or more, and suddenly we’re just expected to shut that valve off that has been going full tilt for a while. But it has been ingrained in their mind, body and spirit, and so we need to address this struggle in mind, body and spirit as well.” Before Black began his recovery journey, he used pornography as a panacea for whatever ailed him from childhood into adulthood. “When I felt fear or frustration or anger, I didn’t even realize that I was using pornography as a dirty bandage for how I was feeling,” he said. “That would expand to things like boredom and I didn’t do well at school or something happened at school, or you name it. I didn’t feel good about myself, I could run to pornography. “And I would carry pornography with me from middle school, to high school, through college, into my marriage.” He was becoming agnostic when his wife invited him to a marriage class at a small church in their community. “These people were not like any Christians I had met growing up,” Black said. “They would close the door and the facilitators would turn around and look at the class and smile real big, and say, ‘This is a safe place. What is said here stays here.’” People told of personal struggles they were seeking to overcome and become more Christlike. There, Black was relieved to discover that pornography could be compulsive or addictive. “From a secular perspective that meant evolution didn’t make me this way,” he said. “And from a religious perspective, God didn’t make me this way, and I didn’t have to stay this way. “And with the support of men, good reading, a lot of understanding and growing, I began a pathway, a journey – that didn’t come overnight, but came with that kind of support – to live in freedom.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer. #MAY23

PHILADELPHIA (BP) – Scripture engagement remains down among Americans, but a widespread curiosity gives ground for evangelism, the American Bible Society (ABS) said in releasing the first chapter of its 2023 State of the Bible survey. Only 47 million Americans, or about 18 percent of the adult population, ranked as Scripture-Engaged in the 2023 study, using a descriptor based on Bible use and its impact in one’s life. Scripture-engaged described 49 million adults in 2022, down from 71 million adults in 2020 or about 27 percent of the adult population. While Scripture engagement remains low, adults ranked in a category termed the Movable Middle grew by 10 million from 2022 to 2023, the study found, rising to 76 million. The movable middle spiked to 95 million in the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic year, but dropped back to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, reverting to 66 million. The ABS finds hope in the newest numbers. “The Movable Middle is awash in curiosity, with more than two thirds (68 percent) “very” or “extremely” curious and only a smidgen (3 percent) not curious at all,” the ABS wrote. “Granted, there’s a difference between wondering and actively searching, but this is a start. Curiosity is a growth platform for Bible ministry in the U.S. How will we respond?” While 138 million adults are ranked as Bible Disengaged – those who score lowest on the Bible engagement scale – the number is lower than the 145 million who were characterized as disengaged in 2022. And those who are disengaged see Scripture as increasingly central to their lives and impactful in their behavior. “That leads us to say that, not only are there 10 million fewer Bible Disengaged Americans than there were last year, they aren’t as disengaged as they used to be,” the ABS said. “If the trend continues, we might see even more migration into the Movable Middle in 2024.” Participants in the study registered frustrations in Bible reading. Including all three categories of scripture engagement, 26 percent said they don’t have enough time to read the Bible; 17 percent don’t know where to start, 16 percent are not excited to read Scripture, 15 percent have difficulty relating to the language, 9 percent find the layout difficult to navigate, and 8 percent find the stories confusing. But those who do read the Bible cite positive motivations including wanting to be closer to God (47 percent), gaining wisdom for making life decision (20 percent), for comfort (15 percent), learning God’s nature (9 percent), learning how to treat others (4 percent), a sense of duty (3 percent) and to fulfill class or Bible study requirements (2 percent). The ABS encourages churches to engage members in Scripture by asking communities about their practices, motivations and frustrations regarding the Bible, sincerely listening to their answers and finding ways to help; making a positive case for the benefits of Scripture engagement in youth, showing people how to start reading Scripture, and creating or curating mood-based resources to engage those who rank as Bible-disengaged. The ABS released its first chapter of the 2023 study April 6 and plans to release subsequent chapters monthly, focusing on Changing Faith and The Faith of Our Mothers, Flourishing and the Bible, Spiritual Vitality in America, The Faith of Generation Z, The Bible and Behavior in America, Technology and the Bible and Giving it All: Philanthropy and Service. Now in its 13th year, the State of the Bible annually looks at the Bible, faith and the church in America. The ABS collaborated with the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC) in designing the study conducted online and via telephone to NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel. The 18-minute survey, conducted Jan. 5-30, produced 2,761 responses from a representative sample of adults 18 and older within the 50 states and D.C. The first chapter is available here. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer. #MAY23

BOSTON (BP) – Had it gone as planned, Josh Wyatt’s wife Becky and their three young children would have been outside Marathon Sports when the first explosion blasted the storefront at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. Wyatt himself was on a plane, hoping to land and join his family as they cheered a family friend who was running the race. “By the grace of God that morning, one of my wife’s friends talked her out of going to the finish line,” Wyatt, founding pastor of Charles River Church in Boston, told Baptist Press. “They said it would be just too difficult with three young children to meet me there. I’m so grateful to the Lord that she took that advice.” As Boston marked the 10th anniversary of the bombing, Wyatt’s family – his children now 16, 14 and 12 – and members of his congregation cheered him as he joined a field of 30,000 in the iconic race and clocked a personal best of 03:00:22, he told Baptist Press. “It was a stark contrast to 2013,” he said. “Ten years later, there was so much joy and excitement, and (we were) just able to see the resiliency of the city, and that was very encouraging. We had lots of folks from our church family scattered throughout the marathon course cheering me on. (There was) lots of joy compared to the horror of that day 10 years ago.” Charles River Church ministered to the community and first responders after the 2013 bombing that killed three pedestrians on race day, a police officer who was killed in a confrontation with the bombers and a second police officer who died in 2014 of a head injury suffered in pursuing the suspects. Another 281 were injured along the route. The tragedy lit a fire in Wyatt’s heart. The 2023 race was his third Boston Marathon in a line of several he has run. “That year when the bomb went off,” he said, “from that point forward there was a draw in my heart towards all things Boston Marathon. I just love the race. I love the people of Boston. From that point forward I just started to feel a tug towards the marathon. I eventually started to do the work to qualify for the marathon, and I0 marathons later I found myself running my first Boston marathon. “Yesterday I set a personal record and had the best time I ever had.” Wyatt planted Charles River Church in 2012, and it had about 40 members when the bombing occurred. It has grown to 280 members, with some of them classified as covenant members who have signed church covenants or pledges. Aided by others, the young church distributed care packages to medical workers at Massachusetts General Hospital where many of the injured were taken. Running the race on the 10th anniversary of the bombing was important to Wyatt. “It just meant so much to me,” he said. “It means I’m joining so many of my friends in this city who love this city and are excited to see the city bounce back and show its resiliency after just a really horrific season.” The City of Boston held numerous anniversary events the weekend before this year’s race to honor victims, with family members of those killed participating, Boston.com reported. Killed in the bombing were Martin Richland, 8; Lingzu Lu, 23, and Krystle Campbell, 28. Police officers who died were Sean Collier in 2013 and Dennis Simmonds in 2014. Many of the injured lost limbs in the bombing. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' senior writer. #MAY23

WASHINGTON (BP) – Refugee resettlement in the U.S., a cause promoted by Southern Baptists and other evangelicals, doubled in March from the previous month, the Department of State said in its monthly report. The U.S. accepted 6,122 refugees in March, double the February total of 3,069 and far surpassing previous months this fiscal year ranging from 2,152 to 2,481. Yet, if resettlement continues monthly at the March count, resettlement would fall far below the annual national cap of 125,000, the National Immigration Forum reported. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) praised the increase but said more progress is needed. “It is encouraging to see, at long last, the U.S. refugee resettlement program regain traction in helping the most vulnerable reach safety” ERLC Policy Manager Hannah Daniel told Baptist Press. “There is certainly more work to be done in rebuilding this vital program, but these recent numbers offer a first glimpse that progress is being made. “Southern Baptists remain committed to supporting the refugee resettlement program, welcoming those who arrive in our communities, and sharing the Gospel with as many of them as possible.” At the March rate, the U.S. would accept about 55,000 refugees through the fiscal year ending in September, less than half the number allowed. Resettlement through March this fiscal year is 18,429. The ERLC has advocated for an increase in the refugee resettlement ceiling and the amount of resources committed to the work to help a range of refugees including those persecuted for their faith and those fleeing hostile authoritarian regimes. Texas accepted the largest number of refugees in March – 1,664 – although the report doesn’t indicate whether the refugees remained within the state. Others accepting the largest numbers, according to the State Department, were New York at 1,125, California with 1,089, Kentucky, 964, and North Carolina, 850. The smallest numbers were reported for Mississippi, which accepted none; followed by Alaska with 11, Arizona with 12 and Louisiana, 26. Refugees predominantly came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2,441; Syria, 711; Afghanistan, 495, and Iraq, 169, but numbers and origins vary greatly monthly. An influx of asylum seekers at the southern border is anticipated in May when Title 42 limitations aimed at controlling COVID-19 will expire. The limitations allowed asylum seekers to be returned to their country of origin or the country through which they entered the U.S., often Mexico. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer. #MAY23

PLYMOUTH – Vacation Bible School is an incredible outreach opportunity. Why? “If you total it up, VBS results in 15 hours of intense discipleship, the gospel being shared daily, and 7 months of ministry in 1 week. IT’S WORTH IT!” (LifeWay.com). Go all out with VBS this summer. It changes lives! Many believers across the country and beyond had their first encounter with the Gospel in VBS. Ask any group of Christians at a conference about VBS and there likely will be someone there whose life was impacted. Need more leaders? Thousands of today’s Sunday School and Small Group leaders had their first teaching experiences in VBS. Many churches intentionally staff VBS with a primary leader, an assistant, and a teenage helper in each group knowing that VBS starts many of them on a lifelong ministry of teaching the Word of God! From the Worship Rally to Bible Study, Missions, Crafts, Snacks, Music, and Recreation, the whole church is working together to share the Gospel and make disciples. Special Note: If you are using Lifeway VBS materials, apply for a $250 VBS grant at: https://www.bscm.org/grants. (Please note that we use the same form for all Evangelism Grant Requests including this special VBS grant). Interact with your community through evangelistic block parties, movie nights, wild game dinners, sport camps, concerts in the park, and more. Perhaps your church could volunteer to serve at a community event like “Hometown Days.” Give water out at a local 5K run. Clean up a local park or help paint classrooms at a local school. The BSCM will help you with evangelism grants up to $1,000. For long term ministry in your community, Send Relief has excellent training materials to get your church started in compassionate ministries. Send Relieve is a collaboration between the North American and International Mission Boards to help churches be the hands and feet of Jesus in a world filled with needs. Send Relief recently released ministry courses to empower your church to: Respond to sudden emergencies and disasters Embrace newly arrived refugees Fight the epidemic of human trafficking Meet basic needs in your community Show love to local children in foster care I worked through the Send Relief: How To Strengthen Your Community course. It contained 6 video lessons, a 21-page Church Guide to Ministry, Reflection Questions, and a City and Target Community Assessment. The course was informative, thought-provoking, and helpful. The free courses are available at: https://courses.sendrelief.org. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mike Durbin is the State Evangelism Director for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Before joining the state convention staff, Mike served as Church Planting Catalyst and Director of Missions in Metro Detroit since 2007. He also has served as a pastor and bi-vocational pastor in Michigan, as well as International Missionary to Brazil. #MAY23

WINDSOR, ONTARIO – It was early Thursday morning. We met in the usual breakfast joint where the eggs-and-bacon special was always $2.99. Here we could talk openly and honestly. We met here every week for years. We shared a lot of life in that spot. Four guys huddled in a booth talking about kids, marriages, careers, hopes, joys, and church. One guy was a parts manager at the local Ford dealership. Another, a social worker. Steve was the city Parks Manager. And I was a young pastor with two small kids. On this day, when I walked through the door, my heart was heavy, and they could sense it. I tried to keep it together emotionally because the restaurant was full, and I didn’t want to break down and cry in front of all these people. The mayor and some of his cronies were sitting just two tables away! Our daughter Jamie was not quite three years old, but something serious was going on with her. We would later discover that she had a rare genetic condition that could cause severe mental and physical disability. In this breakfast meeting the weight of the world was on my shoulders. The pressure in my chest was so intense I could hardly breathe. But I was The Pastor to these men, and I had to “hold it together.” At least that’s what I told myself. That’s what pastors do, right? I finally cracked and told the guys what was happening in my soul and in my home. It wasn’t pretty and I was scared. Broken, scared, and so alone… Our daughter was three and she could not walk or talk or feed herself. Our marriage was strained. I didn’t know what to do. I felt paralyzed. “I don’t think I can walk out of this place,” I said. “I am so drained and broken-hearted.” That’s when Steve said to me with tears in his eyes, “Then let us carry you!” That was more than 30 years ago, but I will never forget those words. “Let us carry you.” When we survey the life and ministry of the apostle Paul, we see his confidence in the sufficiency of the gospel, his commitment to making disciples, and his willingness to suffer for Jesus. But there’s another, often overlooked, feature of the Pauline mission: friendship. As Paul planted churches throughout the Roman world, he didn’t do so as a one-man band. Paul was relationally connected. He traveled with friends, stayed in their homes, and visited them. He worked and preached alongside his friends. He encouraged them and stood by them. A quick read through Acts shows Paul’s commitment to, and genuine concern for, his friends: Barnabas, Titus, Silas, Luke, Priscilla, Aquilla, Lydia, Onesiphorus, Epapharoditus, John Mark, the Ephesian elders, and more. In Romans 16, he mentions more than 30 names. The list oozes with affection. It magnifies the gospel, demonstrates grace in diversity, and contains moving expressions of honor. In our zeal to help churches take their next step and accelerate the gospel movement in Michigan, we emphasize Paul’s pattern of preaching the grace of Christ. But we should also highlight his deep commitment to friendship. Jesus regularly strengthens us through the presence and ministry of others. Consider Paul’s statement about Titus: “For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without, and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Cor. 7:5–6). God used Titus to give Paul a boost. Let’s learn to carry one another, encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thess. 5:11). I lead a cohort of pastors once a month in which we help one another seek first the kingdom of God, accelerate gospel movement, and develop a healthy, humble posture in ministry. If you need more information about forming a cohort in your area, please contact Pastor Luke Bilberry of Chapel Pointe Church, Hudsonville, MI at Be The Church. He’ll be glad to help! Eugene Peterson once said that “Friendship is a much-underestimated aspect of spirituality. It’s every bit as significant as prayer and fasting.” So, Pastor, who are your friends? Who is pouring into your life? What can you do to cultivate gospel friendships in your sphere of influence? Who will carry you? ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Garth Leno is the Pastor/Planter Care Specialist with the BSCM. He serves in a similar role with the Canadian National Baptist Convention, and he is the founding pastor of The Gathering Church in Windsor, Ontario, a church he planted with his wife, Patty, and a few of their friends. #MAY23