Christian Action Commission

The Yazoo Clay of Our Day

Rob Chambers

Whenever someone plans on building a house, the design and type of materials are always considered, but the foundation is always where the building begins.

The Bible talks about the foundation of a house and its correlation to one’s spiritual house.  The quality of a spiritual house depends on the spiritual foundation.  If one has a bad foundation they will have a house with structural problems.
In Mississippi many house foundations have been built on a type of soil called Yazoo clay.  Yazoo clay has a distinctive, yet destructive, property of expanding and contracting by as… Read Full Article

Jimmy Porter speaks on Choctaw Indian casino

Charlotte Graham of Laurel Leader-Call

Jimmy Porter, executive director of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board’s Christian Action was special guest at a meeting held to hear and discuss issues related to the proposed establishment of a casino in Jones County.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering, member of First Baptist Church Laurel, was also a guest presenter.  Click here to continue.

Health bill condemned by pro-lifers

Baptist Press and Local Reports

WASHINGTON (BP and local reports) — The U.S. House of Representatives passed a controversial health-care bill March 21, deeply disappointing pro-life Americans who hoped a small group of Democrats would block legislation they say will permit federal funding of abortion and likely increase the rate of the procedure.

Mississippi Con-gressmen Travis Childers and Gene Taylor, both Demo-crats, voted against the bill along with Republican Gregg Harper. Democrat Bennie Thompson voted in favor of the legislation.

Childers is a member of East Booneville Church, Booneville. Harper is… Read Full Article

Land predicts a ‘tsunami-size’ voter backlash over healthcare vote

Richard Land

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, expressed disappointment with those who passed the healthcare legislation, despite the opposition of the majority of American people.

“What a tragic day for American medicine and for our nation’s citizens. This healthcare legislation will lead to the overwhelming majority of Americans living shorter lives, and experiencing more pain and suffering before they die.

“A majority of Americans are enraged that their elected representatives would so callously disregard their expressed convictions and pass legislation a majority of the populace clearly does not want.”… Read Full Article

Substance Abuse: Methamphetamine

Rob Chambers

Much has been said in the news about the illegal drug methamphetamine (or meth) and cold and sinus medications like Sudafed containing the drug pseudoephedrine.

Meth is a highly addictive, illegal drug that has an intense stimulating effect on the brain.  Meth typically contains ingredients like Drano and ammonia nitrate (fertilizer), but the necessary ingredient for producing meth is pseudoephedrine.  Without pseudoephedrine meth cannot be made. 

In response to widespread use and problems associated with meth, Mississippi lawmakers recently passed a law that will make cold and sinus medications like Sudafed available only by a doctor’s… Read Full Article

MS Personhood Amendment

By Rob Chambers

Personhood Mississippi, a pro-life organization, is seeking to end abortion in Mississippi by amending the Bill of Rights section of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi. 

Their approach is a two-fold initiative consisting of a statewide petition and a statewide vote.

First, Personhood Mississippi is seeking to collect and certify 90,000 signatures from registered voters (equally divided throughout Mississippi).  They will need to gather these signatures by February 13, 2010.  Those that sign the petition agree that unborn human beings ought to have the same legal status and right-to-life as persons who are born.

Former Planned Parenthood director details turn of heart

Bonnie Pritchett - Dec 14, 2009

Abby Johnson had never felt so alone. Sitting in her Planned Parenthood office and weeping, Johnson, who was raised Southern Baptist, knew God had called her to leave her job as director of the women’s health and abortion clinic and join forces with the Coalition for Life advocates just down the street in Bryan, Texas.

The call was unmistakable. But the courage to take the step of faith to leave her job with no other prospects in sight and invest herself in a movement that was diametrically opposed to the life she had lived for the past eight… Read Full Article

Fifteen Principles for Successful Health Care Reform

While the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission remains opposed to the health care bills moving through Congress, we strongly support bringing reform to the nation’s health care system. Offering a framework for acceptable reform, the ERLC has outlined “Fifteen Principles for Successful Health Care Reform.” To view those principles, please click here (62 KB PDF).

Reprinted with permission from The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

The Emerging Homosexual Agenda

By Doug Carlson - Sep 22, 2009

With the nation’s eye zeroed in on health care reform, liberal lawmakers are seizing the moment to move forward another one of their top priorities: the homosexual agenda.

The first of two recent maneuvers is a direct assault on marriage. Last week, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced legislation that would overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, commonly known as DOMA, which defines marriage for federal purposes as between a man and a woman and prohibits the federal government from forcing same-sex “marriage” upon states. Under Rep. Nadler’s Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 3567), the DOMA wall—erected 13 years… Read Full Article

Speaking and living the truth in love

By Rob Chambers

While in high school my typing teacher had her students type repeatedly the following phrase: “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.” The general emphasis of this phrase is to call people to action.  It is a summons that affords people the opportunity to step forward and prove their goodness and loyalty.

Does the Bible issue a similar summons for Christians to rise up and demonstrate their goodness and loyalty?  Have Christians received the call to exemplify, speak, and preserve truth as it relates to moral issues beyond the… Read Full Article

Analysis of Health Care Reform Bill

By Tom Strode

DOWNLOAD THE HEALTH CARE REFORM ANALYSIS HERE

The health-care reform bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives “is extremely dangerous legislation to the health and wellbeing of most Americans” for a variety of reasons, the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity says.

The proposal — America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, H.R. 3200 — would endanger the lives of the unborn and elderly, increase taxes and health-care costs, and extend government’s reach into Americans’ private lives, according to an analysis by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).

… Read Full Article

Resources on Preventing Sex Abuse

See the link below for an assortment of records and links to better equip you to exercise diligent scrutiny when hiring staff or choosing volunteers in an attempt to protect your church from the devastating effects of sexual abuse and other moral failures of those in ministry. 

Click here for Resources on Preventing Sex Abuse

Healthcare Reform Mandates

The President and the majority leadership in Congress are still determined to include a public health insurance option in the healthcare reform plan.  Developments last week revealed another feature about the dangerous nature of this plan. Forcing business to provide healthcare for employees and mandating abortion as a service of public healthcare.

The ERLC, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention in D.C., reports the following information on these “healthcare reform” mandates:

The Money Mandate

Under this mandate individuals are fined $1,000 under the Senate plan if they don’t have coverage. Business… Read Full Article

Justice Sotomayor?—More for some, less for others?

(Click this link for more information about nominee Sotomayor)

President Obama, while a presidential candidate, gave a very important speech (March 18, 2008) on race in America. In that speech he said that “Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race…So when they…hear that an African-American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed…resentment builds over time.”

Those were brave and important words for then-Senator Obama to… Read Full Article

Foes: Gay hate crimes bill could target churches

Tom Strode

April 29, 2009

Note: Click HERE for status of H.R. 1913

Legislation to extend hate crimes protections to homosexuals and transgendered individuals could severely restrict religious freedom, foes of the proposal said April 28 as they sought to rally opposition.

Members of the House of Representatives and leaders of evangelical Christian and conservative organizations, including the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity, warned about the bill’s impact at a Capitol Hill news conference on the eve of the measure’s consideration in the House. The Democratic leadership was expected to bring the Local… Read Full Article