Nov
6
Fair Trade Market
Filed Under CLC Events, Good News Goods | Leave a Comment
Texas Baptists can host a fair trade market at churches where you sell Trade as One product at a single event, usually in the fall. However, a way for churches to engage with these issues and directly support the good work being done is by signing up to be a Good News Goods "Trading Post." As a "Trading Post" partner churches will sell fair trade consumables, coffee, tea, sugar, rice, olive oil, lotions, chocolate and cosmetics on a regular basis.
First Baptist Austin
Wilshire Baptist Church
Dallas, Texas
Nov
5
Isaac- November 2008
Filed Under ISAAC Updates | 1 Comment
Did Illegal Aliens cause the Subprime Meltdown? As the shockwaves surrounding the current economic crises reverberate throughout the economy, many people are wondering how this crisis happened and who is to blame. Curiously, illegal aliens have been named as one of the main culprits for the sub-prime debacle. On the October 9, 2008 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, cable news commentator, Roger Hedgecock claimed that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) "was talking about 5 million illegal alien home mortgage loans that have gone bad." This claim was later repeated by some talk-radio hosts. Mr. Hedgecock never attributed a source for his claim.
That same day, the Phoenix Business Journal quoted HUD officials as saying that there was no basis for the story and stated that the agency “has no data showing the number of illegal immigrants holding foreclosed or bad mortgages.” Read the Article…
Afterwards, another talk-radio station claimed their source was a retired “Immigration and Customs Enforcement” (ICE) officer who said “five million illegal immigrants nationwide may hold home mortgages.” The article does not state how a retired ICE official would have knowledge regarding HUD’s internal data. The radio station’s article also claimed that a HUD employee, who would only identify himself as “Brian”, claimed that only 2.3 million HUD mortgages were held by immigrants. Read the Article…
The blame game for the sub-prime mess will continue. While some illegal immigrants may have mortgages in foreclosure, the official government agency in charge of tracking such data, HUD, claimed that there was no data to support the claim that 5 million illegal alien home mortgages are in some process of foreclosure. As you research and form your own conclusions, please remember to verify your sources and “separate the wheat from the chaff.”
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Nov
5
TBOWH- November 2008
Filed Under TBOWH Updates | Leave a Comment
“Give Texas Something to Say Grace Over” is the theme for the 2009 Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger and the new resource packets which have just been mailed to several thousand of churches and individuals across the state. The 2009 theme reflects the close connection between TBOWH and the goal of Texas HOPE 2010 to provide food for hungry Texans and—as explained in some detail in the September e-newsletter—meeting our $2,000,000 giving goal between now and the end of 2010 will allow us to focus on several new Texas-specific initiatives.
The 2009 theme scripture is Luke 7:21-23, the story of Jesus’ answer to John the Baptist’s question, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus’ answer to John’s question turns out to be a clue not only for John, for us as well:
In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me. (Luke 7:21-23)
We take no offense to Jesus if we pattern our obedience to God’s Kingdom after his—if we too reach out to the most vulnerable people around us with food they do not have and hope they desperately need. Through TBOWH, we can provide food for immediate relief and help to move out of poverty. If you would like to receive your own 2009 TBOWH resource packet, please email us at alicia.enriquez@bgct.org.
One final update: On October 23, several dozen Texas Baptists met at the BGCT offices in Dallas to find out how they could become TBOWH advocates in their areas. Through the course of the day, they learned about the history and scope of the Offering, about several of the individual ministries supported by the Offering, and about strategies for promoting the Offering in their own church and in churches in their vicinities. If you would like to become an advocate for TBOWH and for the people in need the Offering helps, please contact Joyce Gilbreath for more information (phone 214-828-5172 or email).
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Nov
5
The Christian Life Commission of the BGCT has reviewed the following public policy priorities for the 81st session of the Texas Legislature that begins January 13. These priorities, in a number of different issue areas, will serve as a guide for the work of the CLC public policy staff.
While the number of issues and priorities is long, it is by no means exhaustive or fully inclusive of all the advocacy work the CLC will do. Each legislative session is unique and poses its own challenges and opportunities for a positive impact at the capitol and in the state. Many bills will be filed in each area and the CLC will be monitoring and taking appropriate action as the session develops.
It is important to remember that the CLC does not speak for Texas Baptists, but to and with Texas Baptists and our elected officials about policies that are, just, ethical, biblically based and for the good of all Texans. The CLC is committed to ensuring that Texas Baptist churches, pastors and lay people are informed about the legislative process in Austin. Throughout the session the CLC will be sending regular updates on the progress of a variety of issues and will periodically send more time-sensitive alerts to let you know when your voice can have the greatest impact with lawmakers.
The CLC is always eager to host folks who want to speak out on issues at the capitol and welcomes volunteers who are passionate about one of our issues and would like to be engaged in the process. Please contact the staff in the Austin office (Julie.Valentine@bgct.org) should you want to be in Austin to work on an issue and lend a hand.
Alcohol and Addiction
- Promote regulatory programs targeted at sellers, parents and adults, including keg registration
- Support parental notification of campus-related substance abuse
- Fund programs for at-risk youth so they do not enter the juvenile justice system
- Fund substance abuse and mental health programs for youth incarcerated in TYC facilities
- Repeal laws that hinder the accuracy of substance abuse reporting, substance abuse screening and intervention
Children and Family Issues
- Promote the development of an interagency strategic plan on children’s issues to elevate coordination and accountability across all child-serving agencies
- Provide access immunizations and health insurance for all children in Texas
- Ensure that the public and private eligibility system of the CHIP and Children’s Medicaid eligibility system work well together
Church/State
- Defend the right of churches and church members to participate in the political process while protecting the autonomy of the church from misuse by politicians
- Support efforts to protect the ministries of churches in communities with hostile ordinances
- Oppose any private school voucher proposals that would fund sectarian education with tax dollars
Criminal Justice
- Advance prison chaplains within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Adopt safeguards to detect and protect innocence throughout the Texas criminal justice proceedings
- Advocate for continued reform of the Texas Youth Commission including measures that promote rehabilitation and community-based treatment
- Support special drug treatment prisons, substance-abuse treatment centers, treatment diversion programs, and halfway houses for minor offenders
Education
- Promote the expansion of adult literacy and learning through workforce development, postsecondary access and expansion of ESL
- Support teacher training and family incentives to expand dropout prevention and drop out recovery programs
- Support parental choice and standards of excellence and accountability for Texas charter schools
- Oppose providing public money for private sectarian use including vouchers
Environment
- Support renewable energy technology as one source for Texas’ rising energy needs
- Support recycling of electronic waste
- Promote incentives for energy efficiency and measures that reduce air pollution
Gambling
- Maintain and protect family-friendly tourism and family-friendly industries in Texas
- Oppose casinos and other gambling expansion as a business model for Texas
- Support regulations, prosecution and penalties regarding 8-liner machines
- Oppose electronic bingo machines, VLTs, and the legalization of poker tournaments
Health and Long Term Care
- Support quality of care improvements and strengthen Texas’ long term care infrastructure
- Support small businesses coverage plans for high-quality health coverage
- Support statewide outreach programs for health coverage and health care
- Monitor and assess changes to the Texas Advance Directives Act
Immigration and Trafficking
- Support efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform on the national level
- Support border security and law enforcement policies consistent with humanitarian values
- Support efforts to protect and care for victims of human trafficking
- Support law enforcement to pursue those who trade in and profit from human trafficking
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Nov
5
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is launching its first major Federal effort to educate parents about teen prescription drug abuse. This national public awareness campaign will begin with advertising during this year’s Super Bowl.
Though overall teen drug use is down nationwide, more teens abuse prescription drugs than any other illicit drug, except marijuana; more than cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine combined. Every day, 2,500 kids age 12-17 abuse a prescription painkiller for the first time and more people are getting addicted to prescription drugs.
Drug treatment admissions for prescription painkillers increased more than 300 percent from 1995 to 2005. Teens are abusing prescription drugs because many believe the myth that these drugs provide a "safe" high. Especially troubling is that the majority of teens who abuse prescription drugs say they are easy to get and are often free.
When used correctly and under the care of a health provider, prescription drugs provide many benefits. But there are serious consequences to abusing prescription drugs or combining them with alcohol or other drugs, as many teens do. ONDCP has released a full report: "Prescription for Danger: A Report on Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse Among the Nation’s Teens." (.pdf) and to view the ads visit TheAntiDrug.com.
View more substance abuse resources…
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Nov
5
Disposable People – in the New Slavery of the Global Economy
Despite the fact that all countries but two have outlawed slavery, millions of people are enslaved across the globe. They are disposable people, literally thrown out with the trash. These disposable people are held captive not by force of law, but by the raw exercise of power and violence. Kevin Bales says these modern day slaves are “Disposable People – in the New Slavery of the Global Economy”. In this phrase that links the archaic term “slavery” with yesterday’s headline “the Global economy”, we are awakened to the real horrors of global exploitation.
In the recent freefall of the financial system, we have been given an object lesson to confront our assumptions about the benign nature of the global economy.
We are waking up and looking more closely at the connections between ethics, motives, truth and global economy… “New slavery of the global economy”…the phrase shocks us. We somehow assume that our modern-day, market driven global economy would not yield the heinous byproduct of slavery…but even here sin abounds.
Lauran Bethell is a tall striking American woman, Recipient of the Baptist World Alliance Human Rights Award. For 14 years she has served as Director of the New Life Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand which ministers among victims of human trafficking. As an American Baptist missionary, she has started ministries in Eastern Europe, Czech Republic and now in the Netherlands where Bulgarian gypsies are often trafficked into forced prostitution. My husband Roger and I met Lauran at her apartment at the International Baptist Seminary in Prague. Human trafficking, she said, happens in all nations – including 17,000 victims in the US. Primarily it is a crime of bonded labor where people are forced by coercion and violence to work to repay loans that are perpetually growing.
This inescapable labor, in many cases, hides behind legal fiction – initially papers are presented, assurances of good wages and hopeful futures are made, but once in the labor situation – whether prostitution, sweatshops, or other labor, the coercion and perpetual debt become chains of slavery. Local law enforcement is sometimes complicit and sometimes ill equipped to recognize or prosecute the crime.
In addition to Lauran Bethell, if you went to New Baptist Covenant earlier this year you may have met Lia Scholl, founder of Star Light Ministries, Susan Ormanson founder of Night Light Ministries in Thailand or Charity Marquis of Night Light USA ministry in Los Angeles. Ministries like Night Light and Hagar Design create job training, shelter, emergency care, relational evangelism in a micro-business setting with fair wages to help women and children rescued from trafficking have productive lives.
There are several channels for giving to support these ministries – When you give to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, the CBF Global Missions Offering, to the Baptist World Alliance, to Global Women – you are supporting these ministries. Please continue to give through these offerings.
There are two men that are making a difference to combat the effects of human trafficking: Nathan George, a British layman , he left his corporate job to follow God’s call to help exploited people after visiting ministries like Night Light and Hagar. Nathan founded TradeAsOne. Through purchasing the goods of these ministries, they grow. The CLC supports TAO and we are helping to create markets that you can have in your church – Good News Goods!
The second is Shelton Green, a corporate lobbyist in Austin; he lobbied for chambers of commerce and Texas business interests, he was confronted by the tragedy of human trafficking; he saw what happened in places like Thailand. American businessmen bombarded with child exploitation and prostitution. He knew that Houston Texas and El Paso Texas are two trafficking highways. Shelton has a heart for victims and a message for perpetrators. Shelton is launching an awareness campaign through Texas bars and restaurants – posters and coasters – with a catchy message on one side and the true story of human trafficking on the other. “What’s Your Response?” the campaign asks.
The question haunts us all. What to do about such an evil and global problem? One thing is to start right here in Texas. Thanks to the leadership of Attorney General, Greg Abbott and Dallas Representative Raphael Anchia, the Texas legislature will have the chance to answer two important questions "How do we adjust existing laws and rules to provide services to victims of trafficking?’ and ‘How do we effectively prosecute the crime of human trafficking?"
The Office of the Attorney General has just released a report Texas Response to Human Trafficking (pdf); it is a comprehensive look at laws and regulations in Texas. Beginning in January, there is a plan to adjust the code and create some new law to be able to define and prosecute the crime of human trafficking, help victims and enforce penalties to recover costs for victims’ services. I urge you to help support these bills – they will
- Add civil racketeering to complement criminal laws.
- Add laws to prosecute businesses that exploit children and regulate sex-related businesses.
- Create more law enforcement training and update the database. Texas has a special training task force for law enforcement led by Captain Lucas Terry, and assisted by Rev Bruce Peterson, a BGCT pastor and part time police chaplain from Alvin. Every city needs law enforcement training on this crime.
- Provide legal remedies that fine perpetrators to help victims get their money back and pay for victims services.
Two months ago, I was at the United Nations. There is magnificent art from around the globe throughout the UN complex and at the end of sunlit hallway was an art display that looked like children’s work, but it wasn’t. There were large pieces of paper – adult size – adults had lay down and traced around their silhouette like oversized paper dolls. They were each a victim of aids or human trafficking. Each silhouette was filled with paint, beads, scraps of fabric and colorfully written prayers of hope, forgiveness and resurrection.
Deuteronomy 26 was there in embellished script…
“Remember the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us by imposing hard labor on us. We cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord – through the stuttering Moses – brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm…”
What to do? God will show you as you Pray for these ministries, give to offerings that free victims and build lives, buy Fairtrade goods, help support Texas lawmakers… Is it enough? No, anything I can think of is not enough.
Back in Lauran Bethell’s apartment in Prague, she said “I hang out in red light districts; I pray with women at bars, I find people work one job at a time, I save a child. Is it enough? No, it isn’t enough.”….but my “not enough” and your”not enough” and our”not enough” in God’s hands and with the compassion of Christ becomes just enough to bring in the kingdom of God and put slavery away.
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Nov
5
CLC Breakout Sessions
Filed Under CLC Events | Leave a Comment
Monday, November 10th Session One 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Addressing Human Trafficking in Texas
Tomi Grover & Shelton Green
Don’t’ Slip on the ICE: A Few Basic Issues Your Church Should Know
About Immigration Law and Ministry
Richard M. Munoz
Monday, November 10th Session Two 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Substance Abuse in Your Community: What Can Your Church Do?
Carrie Beaird
Ministering to the Stranger in Our Land – ISAAC Helps Churches Serve Immigrants
Richard Munoz
Tuesday, November 11th Session Four 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Good News Goods
Nathan George of Trade As One
Keeping Your Church OUT of Court
Stephen Reeves & Darren Moore
Nov
5
Ethics in Action- Good News Goods
Filed Under Ethics In Action | Leave a Comment
How to host a Good News Goods in your church? There are three ways.
1. Texas Baptists can host a Good News Goods Market at churches as a single one or two day event, usually in the fall. A variety of consumable and non-consumable products are sold. The Good News Goods Market requires church volunteer support for set up, sales & inventory. It is a colorful, fun way to share with the whole community.
2. A second way is to host a Good News Goods Trading Post. The Trading Post is a mini-market of consumable products only. The partner church sells fair trade consumables, coffee, tea, sugar, rice, olive oil, lotions, chocolate and cosmetics on a regular basis designating particular Sundays to set out a table and sell fair trade consumables or by having a supply of products at the church office, coffee shop or bookstore. The church will keep a stock of product and reorder from www.goodnewsgoods.com whenever they run low on stock.
3. A third way is as a Good News Goods HOPE Partner. Churches sign up to be "HOPE" partners through www.goodnewsgoods.com and are given a purchasing code. Congregants will link to TradeAsOne.com, buy products on line and then Trade as One will ship, for free, all the items bought by a church to the church. This is an opportunity for a congregation to focus on a whole series of justice issues, discover Christ’s call for us to take action, and to use their spending power as consumers to take tangible action to bring hope and dignity to many across the world.
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Nov
5
Good News Goods is part of the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, and seeks to fight poverty through ethical purchasing. Seldom do we know how the goods we purchase impact “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40). Some of the items we buy are made by slaves, some of the fruit we eat is harvested by indentured laborers, and some of the carpets we walk on are made by women and children who realize almost no return for their work. Through Good News Goods, Texas churches have an opportunity to host markets and where we can buy things we need and at the same time know that we are helping people in need instead of hurting them.
By simply redirecting a small proportion of what we already buy, we have incredible power to bring good news to the poor (Luke 4:18). Such purchases are an important step in moving beyond charity to justice because buyers get a fair return for their purchases, because sellers get fair compensation for their work product, and because fairly engaging people in need in the marketplace is an expression of God’s righteousness (Amos 5:11-24).
The sale of items made by missional micro-businesses provides a living for the people in need. There is also a second gift. In addition to the funding of mission enterprises through a purchase, ten percent of the proceeds from the sale of Good News Goods products in Texas Baptist Churches are donated to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.
A number of trusted partners help connect Texas Baptists to these fair-traded products. A primary partner is Trade as One, an organization whose core concern is to use sustainable small business in the developing world. Another partner is Woman’s Missionary Union through WorldCrafts, a nonprofit ministry which imports handcrafts from 31 countries and markets them in the U.S. Both Trade as One and WorldCrafts are Fair Trade organizations which ensure that craftsmen, artisans, and laborers are paid and treated fairly. Other partners include the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Baptist World Alliance, and the development ministries directly supported by the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.
The program officially launches in January 2009, but several churches are piloting Good News Goods Events and programs in Fall 2008. Through events at churches our Texas Baptist churches will encounter the stories of women, men and children who have suffered the worst of global tragedies, such as human trafficking, forced commercial sex, children fleeing genocide, HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty. We also can work to bring hope to many through several partnership options for churches. One example is signing up to be a Good New Goods “Trading Post,” where Fair Trade goods will be sold regularly in churches. We hope to provide simple, sustainable, and effective ways for BGCT church members to change their spending habits in a way that brings “good news to the poor.” (Luke 4:18)
The wisdom of the Old Testament teaches us that we ought to “Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17) Texas Baptists have yet another opportunity to “do good” and together we can serve “the least of these.”
Who is Trade as One?
Trade as One is a supply partner for Good News Goods and supplies Fair Trade products that come with meaning and stories behind them. (On Nov 10 & 11, you can visit Trade As One at the CLC booth at the BGCT Annual Meeting in Ft Worth). Trade As One was started by Nathan George, a British Christian who left a corporate job to bring markets and missions together. Trade As One uses spending power rather than donations as the means to bring jobs to the poorest of the poor by offering products that US consumers need. The products are all of extremely high quality and made by innovative and ethically responsible organizations in the developing world. Trade as One’s core concern is using sustainable business to address the issue of global poverty. All manner of related abuses and misfortunes come from poverty – human trafficking, AIDS, commercial sexual exploitation, gender abuse, lack of medical care and access to education. There are many organizations that rescue people from spiritual and physical enslavement and provide jobs for them making products that relatively affluent western people would buy if they knew of them. Trade As One partners closely with faith communities because they believe that faith is a powerful and under-utilized motivator for ethical purchasing in America. By choosing to substitute ethically traded goods for conventional ones, people have daily opportunities to put their values and faith into action.
“Despite the fact that the Bible has a lot to say about our stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to us, we sometimes don’t see the connection between our spending habits and the Kingdom of God. By directing our spending to help the people Jesus called ‘the least of these,’ we support his mission to ‘bring good news to the poor,’ which was so central to his understanding of God’s Kingdom” said Nathan George.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The dignity of the individual will flourish…when he knows the means to self-improvement.” By using our spending power as consumers we will be supporting those who bring jobs to the poor that give them the power to control their destinies and to live with hope and dignity.
As we seek to build the Kingdom here we continually find new ways to change culture, serve the poor and build community.
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.