Oct

It was quite a party! It was great fun to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the CLC. Thanks to all of you who were there and to those who couldn’t come but joined in spirit. Like all events, there are built in limitations – the venue, the time, the date etc. This made me ponder about all the things that never make the program, but in some way capture the mission, dedication and spirit of the CLC.

Here’s a brief tribute to those things

CLC Interns have walked in the door confused about their gifts and future plans, and left to enroll in seminary, law school or to lead work in churches across the world or begin careers in the halls of influence and power. Letters have come in from these former interns all around the nation and world – grateful for the mentoring and direction of the CLC.

CLC ministry partners in family services and counseling ministries have spoken about their own shortcomings with honesty, humility, acceptance and compassionate care. Through these ministries lives have been restored and countless relationships deepened. When broken relationships have been laid on the table, new beginnings have been the hallmark of redemptive ministry through the CLC.

CLC interfaith ministry has continued outreach to leaders in all faith traditions lending respect and genuine openness to friendship and collegial efforts. The CLC has joined faith leaders from many traditions to learn about each other and from each other including Bishops and judicatory leaders from all branches of the Christian family tree, Rabbis (both US and abroad), Imams, deacons and inspirational partners.

CLC writing teams of pastors and laity have tackled the most sensitive of issues with deliberative and courageous dedication and cooperatively edited their reports to the convention with systematic care – capital punishment, AIDS, human trafficking, clergy sexual misconduct, clergy ethics, racial tensions, issues of Biblical justice and equity.

CLC has supported women in ministry and sought to encourage the use of gifts by many daughters of Baptist churches across our state and the world. Women have exercised their gifts as commissioners, directors, pastoral supporters and expert advisors to the work of the CLC.

CLC consultants and partners have given above and beyond the parameters of contracts and requests with generous gifts of talent and devotion: MLB web design, Anderson Consulting, Baptist University of the Americas, Baptist Standard, Trade as One, Buckner, Maston Foundation, South Texas Children Ministry, Baptist Child and Family Services, Logsdon Seminary, Truett Seminary, Dan McGee Associates, Baptist World Alliance, local Baptist Associations , Baylor University School of Social Work, ethics professors and leaders from Wayland, Baylor, Hardin Simmons, Howard Payne, Dallas Baptist University.

What mathematician could calculate the impact of dedicated Christian leaders? The CLC has been a home and place of service for many of the current and former BGCT leaders. For 60 years, the CLC has been the beneficiary of the talent and commitment of BGCT officers, Executive Directors, and outstanding cadre of CLCommissioners, pastors, friends and supporters.

When it comes to the program, there is no word count for excellence. The future is bright and beckoning for the CLC. I expect to see you there.

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Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Oct

26

Living the Christian Life – October 2010

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It seems that too often churches tend to operate under the guiding principles of “we’ve always done it that way” and, “we’ve never done it that way before.” While holding fast to certain traditions is a virtue in the church, basic procedures and modes of operation have to adapt to changing times. For the benefit of the church and its members, common sense safeguards must be in place to reduce liability, promote a safe environment and insure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Such safeguards are not only necessary to prevent a financial loss, but are also crucial for compelling moral reasons. No church wants be sued by a disgruntled former employee, uncover child abuse, or be the site of an accident. Church members deserve the reassurance that their leaders are good stewards of their tithe and trust.

Several recent news reports testify as to how important and damaging legal issues can be for a church including clergy sexual misconduct (Mega-church subject of sexual harassment suit), hiring practices, and liability issues.

The CLC has a resource that will help church staff and laity to understand what policies need to be in place and what practices should be followed to protect their church.

Keeping Your Church OUT of Court is a legal guidance manual for churches that focuses on prevention. The resource offers recommendations and suggestions on a wide variety of common legal issues affecting churches such as IRS compliance and employment law. It also includes 85 pages of practical guides, including church policy checklists, sample forms, and document templates. Newer churches will find KYCOOC particularly helpful in insuring that basic church structure and policies provide the best possible legal standing and protection. For well established churches, KYCOOC can serve as a reference for common legal questions that arise. After using this resource, churches will be educated and equipped to proactively confront many common, challenging legal issues.

The Christian Life Commission, in partnership with the law firm of Bourland, Wall & Wenzel, P.C. of Ft. Worth, first published Keeping Your Church OUT of Court in 1995 and released an updated third version in 2008. The third edition is available in computer disc form or in a printed binder by calling the CLC. In addition to providing this resource, the CLC and Bourland, Wall and Wenzel, P.C., are available to conduct seminars or workshops to provide an overview of the material and answer any questions congregations may have.

Our society is becoming more and more litigious and it seems people are more likely to run to the courthouse or wield the threat of a lawsuit as a weapon. While we would like to think that churches are immune from such conflict, we know that’s just not the case. By practicing sound operating procedures and taking common-sense precautions, churches can avoid potentially crippling lawsuits. Get a copy of Keeping Your Church OUT of Court and take the opportunity to institute positive changes in your church operation.

To order a copy of Keeping Your Church OUT of Court, 3rd Edition please call the Christian Life Commission at 214-828-5190.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Oct

26

Substance Abuse – October 2010

Filed Under Substance Abuse Updates | Leave a Comment

Just this week an important study was published from SAMHSA that shows that the use of illicit drugs among Americans increased between 2008 and 2009. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) (pdf) shows that the overall rate of current illicit drug use in the United States rose from 8.0 percent of the population age 12 and older in 2008 to 8.7 percent in 2009. This rise in overall drug use was driven in large part by increases in marijuana use.

The annual NSDUH survey, released by SAMHSA at the kickoff of the 21st annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, also shows that the nonmedical use of prescription drugs rose from 2.5 percent of the population in 2008 to 2.8 percent in 2009. Additionally, the estimated number of past-month Ecstasy users rose from 555,000 in 2008 to 760,000 in 2009, and the number of methamphetamine users rose from 314,000 to 502,000 during that period.

In addition, research shows that efforts must be reinforced and supported by the messages kids get from their parents. Past-month marijuana use was much less prevalent among youth who perceived strong parental disapproval for trying marijuana than among those who did not—4.8 percent versus 31.3 percent, respectively.

The church can make a difference by sending a clear message to young people and providing parents with the tools to effectively discuss these issues with their kids.

Check out the Addiction Ministry Education Network page on Facebook.
Become a fan and you will receive updates about events and links to important news articles.

CLC Substance Abuse Ministry Podcasts
Pathways to Prevention Website
www.hazelden.org

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Oct

26

Public Policy Update – October 2010

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CLC Sets 82nd Session Legislative Priorities

The Commissioners of the CLC have reviewed and approved the following public policy priorities for the 82nd session of the Texas Legislature. These priorities, in a number of different issue areas, will serve as a guide for the work of the CLC public policy staff.

This session, Texas faces the prospect of a large budget deficit estimated to be a minimum of $18 billion. The CLC is concerned with both where and how the state seeks to generate revenue and where and how the state will cut spending. We encourage the state to seek equitable means of revenue generation that will grow with demand and not burden those who can least afford it. In addition, we ask that the state refrain from drastic cuts to state services that aid our most vulnerable citizens.

This list of issues and priorities 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 of our issue areas. The CLC will be monitoring their progress and taking appropriate action in support and opposition as the session develops. In addition, the staff will be monitoring bills pertaining to religious liberty, family life and health and long term care.

Throughout the session the CLC will be sending regular updates on the status of a variety of issues and will periodically send more time-sensitive alerts to let people know when their voice can have the greatest impact with lawmakers.

Gambling Expansion

Oppose the introduction and expansion of predatory gambling enterprises including casinos in order to fund state revenue
Maintain and protect our family-friendly tourism industry and other family-friendly businesses in Texas
Support enhanced regulation, prosecution and penalties for 8-liner machine operators
Oppose electronic bingo machines, VLTs, the legalization of poker tournaments, and continued attempts to expand Texas Lottery games in ways not contemplated by voters when approved in 1992

Predatory Lending

Support legislation that will close the loophole in Texas law allowing payday and auto title lenders in Texas to charge borrowers unlimited rates and fees on small loans

Hunger, Nutrition and Poverty

Improve access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps) to help Texas families afford a nutritious diet
Increase participation in the Summer Food Service Program so that more children in Texas will continue to receive nutritious meals when school is out
Promote policy solutions that help increase nutrition and reduce obesity
Create a local, sustainable, and accessible food system for all Texans

Environment

Support renewable energy in Texas as one source for rising energy needs including increasing the amount of clean energy available by raising the Renewable Portfolio Standard
Support programs that facilitate the recycling of electronic waste including televisions.
Create and promote incentive programs for churches and other nonprofit organizations that make investments in solar energy and energy efficiency measures more affordable

Human Trafficking and Immigration

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.

Alcohol and Addiction

Promote regulatory programs targeted at sellers, parents and adults, including keg registration
Support efforts to pass smoke free ordinances in public locations including the workplace.
Support raising the excise tax on beer and alcohol in order to raise revenue and reduce under-age drinking

Criminal Justice

Adopt safeguards to detect and protect innocence throughout the Texas criminal justice proceedings
Advocate for continued improvements in the juvenile justice system 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
Support the development and expansion of re-entry programs including access to basic safety-net services for those who have completed their sentence.

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 within public school systems, standards of excellence and accountability for Texas charter schools and oppose providing public money for private sectarian use including vouchers

Texas Faith For Fair Lending

The Christian Life Commission, alongside Texas Impact and the Texas Catholic Conference, has established a faith-based coalition to fight predatory lending practices in Texas. The coalition is unique in that it is a grassroots effort by people of faith to change these horrible practices in our state.

Currently, almost all payday and auto title lenders operate in a loophole in state law that sets no limits on the rates and fees they can charge Texans on small dollar, short term loans. It is common for the rates and fees charged to be the equivalent of 500% APR. These high cost loans are hurting Texas families. They are immoral, unethical and in direct contradiction of the religious values that most Texans hold.

Individuals, congregations, and other groups of faithful Texans are joining together as Texas Faith for Fair Lending to urge the State Legislature to close this loophole. We demand these lenders operate within the Texas Finance Code and stop taking advantage of our neighbors.

For more information, please visit the Texas Faith for Fair Lending website at http://www.texasfaithforfairlending.org.

To sign the petition supporting fair lending laws in Texas, please visit the Take Action portion of the website: http://www.texasfaithforfairlending.org/Take_Action_.html

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Oct

26

TBOWH Updates – October 2010

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Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – October 31. Prepare now. Download 5th Sunday video, Meeting Needs, Changing Neighborhoods, a snapshot of World Hunger ministries transforming lives in New York City.

A Day in the Lives of the Families we serve in Oaxaca

The roads are dirt, the journeys are long and life is complicated. To have a better perspective of the situation that these families experience day after day, we visit so that we can share a day in the lives of families that Buckner Mexico serves in the municipalities of Xoxocotalan and Zaachila in Oaxaca where we have two feeding centers and community ministries.

The Economy
Most families live in extreme poverty and survive on an average of 800 pesos or $67 dollars a week. And if that seems like very little, consider that with this amount, they must sustain their families that average four children with clothing, food, school supplies, books, & uniforms. Seems difficult? Let me share a little more.

Our families generally live in shacks made of tin or sheet metal with dirt floors, no electrical service, no water, no sewer. The water is bought from water trucks that pass by their houses for 15 pesos or $1.25 a barrel, but this water is not fit for drinking water. In order to cook, they must buy propane tanks or cook with firewood. For most, the light from the sun is the only light they have.

Housing
The tin/sheet metal houses of our families usually do not have windows and are exposed to all the changing conditions of the weather. In a single room, they will have one or two beds where the entire family sleeps.

Do you know what an outdoor toilet is? They know exactly what it is – a hole in the ground that is utilized as their toilet because there is no plumbing or sewage. A daily bath or personal hygiene is not all that common for the families we serve in Oaxaca. Since water is scarce and expensive, a good bath only happens about once a week, which results in stomach viruses and skin diseases which are very common.

Education
A common factor that we have detected is the very low educational level of most parents. Most of them have only been to elementary school, which speaks to the educational deficiency that also affects their children who struggle to take advantage of any educational opportunities.

Without the help of tutoring through after school programs, the cycle of little education will continue to reproduce itself from one generation to the next.

Work
The vast majority of the parents work in the construction field as helpers, laborers, brick masons or recycling garbage – work that pays horribly low wages. When we consider that most families are rather large with an average of six per family, the situation is even worse. For most families, this means that the head of the family is away at work most of the time, leaving the mother in charge of caring for and seeing that children get their education. Most mothers do not have job skills and are limited to either child care or domestic work.

The social structure of the family is severely fragmented which causes dysfunction: the dads are the providers and the moms are the caretakers, educators and managers. The reality for most of the families we work with in Oaxaca is that they are simply struggling to survive from day to day without any expectations of improvement. If life for them merely consists of trying to meet the basic needs of today without any hope or vision for the future, do you think there is nothing we can do?

We dream as a team and we are doing what we can to feed hungry children in our feeding centers and create real Community Transformation Centers. The food that we provide to our families is the first step to begin to make an impact on these communities where God has given us the opportunity to work meeting needs such as education, healthcare, and job skill training.

We do not want projects that simply put a band aid on the problem; rather we want to be agents of change that foment growth, empowerment, and a community consciousness that results in an improved quality of life for our families.

Because you give, we are able to give back to those in need.

Donate now!

NEW DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO FOR YOUR 5TH SUNDAY PROMOTION

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Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Oct

26

ISAAC Updates – October 2010

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Many concerned pastors and church leaders call the ISAAC Project frequently to get answers to all kinds of questions about immigrants. “Can we get in trouble with the government for helping them”? “Are we breaking the law by opening our doors to them?” “Do we tell them that they have to go back to their countries”, “Can we help them get a job in the United States without breaking the law”? These are some of the most common inquiries we deal with on a daily basis.

Our “unlawful presence” laws passed in 1996 have made it extremely hard for many undocumented immigrants who could adjust status to do so. Only a small portion of the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in our country can find legal relief in order to become lawful permanent residents. But it is a different matter when it comes to loving and accepting these people as they come to our churches on any given Sunday.

In order to address these valid and pertinent questions, the ISAAC Project will host an immigrant outreach conference titled Strangers Among Us: Reaching, Loving and Serving the Immigrant Community on December 3 at Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio. This training will address the most common questions asked by churches that are involved in reaching out to immigrants in their midst.

Richard Muñoz will give a presentation about the legal issues that churches in Texas face regarding illegal immigration, such as hiring, transportation, benevolence and church starting. If you or your church are asking these questions, you will find it worthwhile to travel to San Antonio and listen to what Richard has to share.

Jesús Romero will talk about how churches in Texas can establish federally recognized and accredited immigration service sites. Doing this type of ministry is a valuable service to the immigrant community, as many notarios and other unscrupulous people take advantage of them by charging thousands of dollars in exchange for filling out immigration forms and providing legal services that they do not have the credentials to offer. Most often than not, immigrants are scammed by these people.

Joseph De Mott, founding partner of De Mott, McChesney & Armendáriz in San Antonio will talk about the nuts and bolts of American citizenship. Many people in our churches believe that all that these immigrants have to do to “be legal” in the United States is to pick up a form, fill it out and submit it. In reality, it is not that easy at all. Mr. De Mott will share in detail about the process of becoming a United States citizen.

Ruth McChesney will give a presentation about the process by which churches may petition the Federal government for religious workers and ministers. Many pastors do not know that the process to get an R-1 visa for these ministers has become increasingly difficult after 2008, when the laws that govern the granting of this visa changed. Mrs. McChesney will explain the process in detail.

The cost of attendance is $85, which covers registration, all printed materials and a catered lunch from Bernard’s Creole Kitchen. The conference will take place from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. We are extending an invitation to our friends from other Christian denominations that are involved in loving the immigrant community. Our hope is to educate the Body of Christ about immigrants and issues related to immigration law, serving and loving them. Help us spread the word and pray about getting involved in immigration ministry. We’ll see you in San Antonio this December.

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Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

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Oct

26

In The News – October 2010

Oct

26

A Word From Suzii – The things that never make the program

Oct

26

Living the Christian Life – October 2010

Oct

26

Substance Abuse – October 2010

Oct

26

Public Policy Update – October 2010

CLC Sets 82nd Session Legislative Priorities

Texas Faith For Fair Lending

Oct

26

TBOWH Updates – October 2010

Oct

26

ISAAC Updates – October 2010