U.S. archer: God has used struggles to 'deepen my trust'

Jennifer Nichols, competing at the Summer Olympics in archery for the U.S., faced an abundance of challenges -- and gained a renewed faith -- en route to the Games in London.  Photo by Teresa Iaconi/U.S. Archery. Photo Terms of Use

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Posted on Jul 30, 2012 | by Tim Ellsworth/Baptist Press


EDITOR'S NOTE: Tim Ellsworth, editor of BP Sports and director of news and media relations at Union University, is in London to cover the 2012 Olympics in tandem with Baptist Press' London bureau. Baptist Press will publish features about Christian athletes in the Olympics, recap results of their competition and cover Baptist initiatives to share the Gospel during the Summer Games and among Londoners' rich cultural milieu.

LONDON (BP) -- Jennifer Nichols admits that the road to this year's Olympics has been one of the most trying times of her life.

"My faith has been challenged more than ever before in the last few years," the U.S. archer said. "I really can see how the Lord has used the struggles and hardships I've had to deal with to deepen my relationship with Him and my trust in Him."

The trials, however, have proven to strengthen Nichols' faith in the Lord and to help her rest on Him in the midst of uncertainty and confusion.

"All I had was Him to run to," she said. "It has been hard and painful but so sweet at the same time. I can see how He has brought me back to really grounding myself in my identity in Christ, knowing that I am called to come and die and follow Christ to the cross for the sake of love.

"This is a firm foundation that cannot be shaken."

One of the challenges Nichols went through was the changing nature of the relationship with her sister, who got married in December. Nichols' sister was her traveling and training partner; the two had been practically inseparable for years. And while Nichols' knows that her sister's marriage was a good thing, it also meant that the one person who had been her closest companion now had someone else who was a higher priority.

She also faced some other family struggles as well as setbacks in her performance (failing to make the 2011 Pan American team) that took a toll on her confidence.

Through all of the difficulty, Nichols said she started questioning her faith. Was she really a Christian? Was she really walking in the favor and grace of God? She also realized that she had been living more legalistically, focusing on what she could do on her own to gain righteousness before God.

But Nichols said God ultimately brought her to repentance and a fresh understanding of His grace in her life.

"In all of it, the Lord just proved Himself so faithful," she said. "He showed me that I had placed so much of my identity and my priority in my family, rather than in Christ."

The Lord blessed her in other ways as well -- namely in providing a husband. At age 28, she will marry Chris Hardy this fall and shift her focus away from archery to being a wife and eventually, she hopes, a mother.

"Love requires sacrifice, and love for God requires obedience," Nichols said. "Because I love the Lord with my whole heart, I want to be able to lay down my life for this calling that He has for me going into marriage and being able to meet that calling as my husband's help-meet."

But before that happens, Nichols has her third Olympics before her. Though the U.S. women's team failed to medal in the team competition in London July 29, Nichols will compete in the individual event later in the week.

"Archery is not everything, and my value is not caught up in my performance," she said. "My treasure is in heaven and is in the love that I receive from my Lord.

"My purpose is to glorify God, and that's what I want to do at the Olympic Games. Of course, I would love to medal. But ultimately I want to place wherever the Lord has me so that I can give Him the most glory."
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Tim Ellsworth, in London covering the Olympics for Baptist Press, is editor of BP Sports and director of news and media relations for Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).

Aurora church, 1 mile from theater massacre, aiming to convey that 'God is real'

In Aurora, Colo., pastor Mitch Hamilton of Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church preaches the Sunday morning service in the wake of a lone gunman's killing of 12 moviegoers and wounding of 58 others.Photo Terms of Use

by Aaron Earls/Baptist Press

AURORA, Colo. (BP) -- Less than a mile separates the movie theater in suburban Denver where 12 people were killed and Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church.

Aurora pastor Mitch Hamilton told the congregation Sunday that the bulletins for the service would not be of much use -- they were printed Thursday and then "everything changed" just after midnight.

While none of Mississippi Avenue's members were among the victims, four were in an adjacent theater and escaped unharmed despite bullets flying through the walls. Nevertheless, trauma permeates the suburban Denver community after the slaying of 12 people by a lone gunman, who also left 58 wounded.

A tearful 6-year-old girl came into Hamilton's office with her mother and asked, "Pastor, why did my cousin die?"

Often visibly emotional during his sermon, Hamilton assured the congregation that even though their normalcy has been shattered, Christians can answer the question of "How do I take a step forward?"

Hamilton urged church members to do so resting in God's presence and His promise to never leave them and trusting in the person of Jesus Christ.

While the church has offered public prayer services and counseling since the tragedy, Hamilton sees Mississippi Avenue members as being a key facet of reaching out to the hurting.

"We are equipping our members," the pastor said, "to share with our community that God is real, that He loves them desperately and that He will walk this road with them if they will only turn to Him."

As is often the case after a significant loss of life, Hamilton has been asked, "Where was God in all this?" His answer, quite simply, is that "God is here."

"He is with each one walking this road and He offers His presence to any who will call upon Him," Hamilton said. "He was with the injured and the medical teams as they sought to preserve life. He was with the first responders as they responded to the call to save lives."

Moving forward, Hamilton said the greatest need for the community is prayer.

"The wounds that have been inflicted are too deep to be healed by words or resources. There are plenty who would offer both. We need the Spirit of God to fall on Aurora, draw her people to Him, and lead them into a personal relationship with Christ."

Hamilton asked prayers for church members to have:

-- opportunity to minister in the community.

-- ability to share the love of Christ with hurting people.

-- grace to care for those directly touched by the shooting.

On Sunday, Hamilton added, the church sang the modern hymn, "In Christ Alone," its words having taken on new meaning in such close proximity to such a devastating act of evil -- "No power of hell or scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand."
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Aaron Earls is a writer based in Wake Forest, N.C.

Chick-fil-A, in nat'l media storm, swims against cultural tide

by Michael Foust/Baptist Press


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- In a day when companies such as General Mills, Nabisco, JC Penney and Target seemingly compete to appear the most supportive of gay marriage, Chick-fil-A and its biblically-based values stand out -- and the nation and media are noticing.

As a company, Chick-fil-A takes no position on gay marriage, but comments Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy made to the Biblical Recorder newspaper -- in a story re-posted by Baptist Press -- have launched a media storm. The story, in which Cathy takes a biblical stance on the issue, has been mentioned on networks such as CNN and referenced by the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Associated Press and Huffington Post, just to name a few. It quickly became the most-read story on Baptist Press' website for the year. 

The company issued a statement Thursday (July 19) telling its customers that "going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena" and that its tradition is "to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -- regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender." It also noted that it has applied "biblically-based principles" to business management and will continue to do so. There are more than 1,600 Chick-fil-A restaurants. 

Cathy's comments were tame from a biblical perspective and would have gone unnoticed had they been made by the pastor at his home congregation, New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Ga. Yet in the current environment in which celebrities and companies on a weekly basis make statements affirming gay marriage, Cathy's statements stood out. 

Asked about the company's support of the traditional family, Cathy said in the Biblical Recorder story, "Well, guilty as charged." 

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit," Cathy said. "We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that."

'I'm gonna have to stop by there for spicy chicken sandwiches and a milkshake more often.' -- Glenn Stanton

Chick-fil-A's stores are closed on Sundays and the company, he said, "operate[s] on biblical principles." The media storm grew larger when a June 16 radio program was spotlighted in which Cathy underscored the need for children to have a mom and a dad.

"As it relates to society in general, I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than You as to what constitutes a marriage,'" Cathy said on "The Ken Coleman Show." "I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we would have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about." 

The Los Angeles Times story carried a headline, "Chick-fil-A's anti-gay-marriage stance triggers online uproar." The Washington Post included an online poll asking readers, "Will you continue to eat at Chick-fil-A?" 

The Human Rights Campaign -- the nation's largest gay activist group -- posted a Chick-fil-A logo on its website with a fake tagline, "We Didn't Invent Discrimination. We Just Support It." 

It remains to be seen whether the controversy will harm Chick-fil-A, but the company likely will survive and might even pick up some new customers. That's partially because its base is passionate about its food and, for the most part, apparently appreciates its traditional stance. That Washington Post poll -- although not scientific -- showed that 66 percent of respondents say they'll continue eating at the restaurant. As of Thursday afternoon, more than 35,000 people had commented on Chick-fil-A's Facebook page, the majority of them supportive of the company.

The company also likely will thrive because its base remains in conservative states. Texas has the most Chick-fil-A restaurants at 262. Including Texas, five states have more than 100 restaurants, and they're all in the South. North Carolina, which has 143 Chick-fil-A restaurants, passed a constitutional marriage amendment in May defining marriage as between a man and a woman. By contrast, the entire state of New York has one Chick-fil-A restaurant. Washington state doesn't have any. Neither does Oregon. Or Vermont. This means that many of those calling for a boycott don't have a restaurant in their area to boycott -- and they've likely never been to a Chick-fil-A. 

After watching the uproar, Focus on the Family's Glenn T. Stanton, who often debates the issue of gay marriage and takes the traditional side, told Baptist Press, "I'm gonna have to stop by there for spicy chicken sandwiches and a milkshake more often."

"We hear almost monthly of new major companies announcing their support for the gay community, regardless of what most of their customers want," Stanton said. "And here we have the CEO of a clearly on-the-record traditional values company simply saying he supports the traditional family and how tampering with it is contrary to God's will. And the split-second reaction from these activists is to slander him and his company in the press and blogosphere. It just takes one company taking an alternative position to make the gay activists and liberal press hit the ceiling. But that's where we are today."

Stanton said the message by some opponents of Chick-fil-A apparently is, "Speak up for the natural, traditional family and we will come after you."

"If you don't believe this," Stanton said, "just watch how Chick-fil-A will be treated in the coming months. They [Chick-fil-A's critics] are the new close-minded fundamentalists."

Even in responding to the controversy July 19, Chick-fil-A mentioned its traditional roots.

"From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business," the company's statement said. "For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family. Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."

This year especially, Chick-fil-A's stance on traditional values stands out. In June, General Mills -- whose products include Cheerios, Pillsbury and Green Giant vegetables -- announced that it is opposing a Minnesota constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Voters will decide the issue in November. Also in June, Nabisco's Oreo brand posted on Facebook a picture of an Oreo cookie with six colorful layers representing the gay pride rainbow. The caption: "Proudly support love!"

Target has sold gay pride T-shirts this year and recently began selling greeting cards with gay marriage themes. And JC Penney has placed pictures of gay dads in its catalogue. 
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Michael Foust is associate editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).

Hebrew Univ. scholar praises Dead Sea Scroll exhibition

by Keith Collier & Benjamin Hawkins/Baptist Press


FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Hebrew University scholar Shalom Paul praised the Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in the opening lecture of a series complementing the six-month event at the Texas campus.

Having had "the honor of opening up all of the Dead Sea Scroll exhibitions throughout the United States, each time with a different introductory lecture," said Paul, professor of Bible emeritus at the Jerusalem university and chairperson of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, "there are several things that are very unique about this exhibition."

"First of all, this is the first time ever that there is an exhibition taking place at a seminary.

"All of the others throughout the United States, from coast to coast, have been in museums. And I think that is really a feather in your cap. ... That is very, very special.

"Also, you will be surprised to hear that there are scrolls here that have never been exhibited before, that have never left the safe-deposit boxes before," Paul said. "And that is something very unique, that you can be aptly proud of -- that you can display to the community things that are unique."

During his lecture, Paul recounted why the Dead Sea Scrolls have value for understanding the Bible, early Judaism and the birth of Christianity.

Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, he said, the oldest copy of the Hebrew Old Testament available to scholars was transcribed 1,000 years after the birth of Christ. After having been copied and recopied by hand for more than a millennium, could this copy of Scripture have preserved the text as originally written?

"Then came the Dead Sea Scrolls, which now gives us manuscripts which are 1,000 years earlier [than the earliest copies we previously had]," Paul said. "And the amazing thing is that, when you look at the gigantic 22-foot Isaiah Scroll, it is very close to what we have today."

The Dead Sea Scrolls also give scholars insight into the diverse forms of Judaism that existed at the time that Christ walked the earth, Paul noted. These forms of Judaism provided the "matrix" in which early Christianity developed. The group from Qumran that preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls also shared some beliefs with early Christians, although these two groups differed in significant ways. For example, the Qumran group looked forward to the coming of a messiah -- actually, two messiahs -- and they believed in an imminent apocalypse.

Paul's July 10 lecture opened the Joan and Andy Horner Lecture Series, underwritten by Premier Designs and scheduled every Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the exhibition in Southwestern's MacGorman Performing Arts Center.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony, July 2, marked the beginning of the exhibition, which runs through Jan. 13, 2013. Representatives from the state of Israel, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Texas Senate and the city of Fort Worth were in attendance.

Guy Cohen, cultural attaché to the Consulate General of Israel, shared a word of greeting on behalf of the state of Israel. 

"I want to thank Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Hebrew University in Jerusalem for making this piece of life possible to travel from the Dead Sea in Israel to being seen here in Fort Worth, Texas, so far from where it was found," Cohen said.

"Discovering and learning about our history is the most significant step toward understanding our present and building toward our future," Cohen said. "We all know this and yet would rather deal with the present and plan for the future without acknowledging that the source to our present and our future is based upon the past, and the deeper we dig, the more significant the findings are."

Kristi Wiseman, a representative from state Sen. Wendy Davis' office, read a Texas Senate proclamation celebrating the occasion. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price also voiced a welcome to those gathered and expressed her appreciation for all the work put into bringing the exhibition to Fort Worth, especially the efforts of seminary president Paige Patterson and his wife Dorothy.

Patterson shared the significance of the preservation of the Dead Sea Scrolls over the years, saying, "By careful operation, these scrolls have been preserved."

"Why are they important? Why would they bring together the Christian and Jewish communities? They bring us all together because they represent the Word of the Lord, preserved now miraculously for more than 2,000 years so that we can know that what was written initially is essentially, exactly what we have today in your Bible -- the Word of God for God's people wherever they may be."

The exhibition includes a simulated archaeology dig site, which is a scaled replica of the ancient site of Qumran near the Dead Sea where the scrolls were found. The Smithsonian Institution donated 20,000 pounds of potsherds, which can be taken home by children who unearth them as they dig.

To learn more about the Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition and the corresponding archaeology dig site and lecture series, visit seethescrolls.com
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Keith Collier is director of news and information for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (www.swbts.edu/campusnews). Benjamin Hawkins is the seminary's senior newswriter.

Accounts of forced abortions in China only 'tip of the iceberg'

by Staff of Baptist Press


WASHINGTON (BP) -- Recent reports of women undergoing late-term abortions against their will are "only the tip of the iceberg" of the forced procedures that occur daily in China, a Christian advocate for human rights has told a congressional panel.

The new accounts of forced abortions have brought China's coercive, "one-child," population control policy to the world's attention in a way that is possibly unprecedented since it was instituted in 1979.

The story and photo of Feng Jianmei and her forcibly aborted daughter gained global attention online in June. Family planning officials kidnapped Feng, who was seven months pregnant but had no birth permit, June 2 in Shaanxi province and aborted her child when her family did not pay a fine. Authorities placed the body of her dead daughter next to her in bed. A Chinese dissident posted an account, plus a photo of the devastated mother and her dead daughter, online, and it went viral when the news broke June 12 in the West, according to testimony at a July 9 hearing before a House of Representatives subcommittee.

In written testimony for the panel, Bob Fu of the ChinaAid Association said Feng's "tragedy is repeated hundreds and thousands of times each day in China."

China's population control program generally limits couples in urban areas to one child and those in rural areas to two, if the first is a girl. Parents in cities may have second babies if the husband and wife are both only children. The policy has resulted in many reports of authorities carrying out forced abortions and sterilizations, as well as accounts of infanticide. It has helped produce a dramatic gender imbalance because of the Chinese preference for sons.

The Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights received accounts by Fu and Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women's Rights Without Frontiers, regarding other recently reported coerced abortions:

-- Hu Jia's baby was forcibly aborted at nearly eight months June 19 in Hubei province, according to a major Chinese newspaper, the Southern Metropolis Daily. 

-- Zhan Wen Fang, also of Hubei province, came forward to report her baby was forcibly aborted at nine months in 2008.

-- Cao Ruyi of Hunan province was taken June 6 by family planning officials in an attempt to abort her five-month-old unborn child. International pressure helped bring about a reduction in the fine officials were seeking for her unpermitted pregnancy, enabling her to leave the hospital where her baby was to be aborted. Yet, the threat to her unborn child continues.

Another mother, Pan Chunyan of Fujian province, underwent a forced abortion April 6 when she was eight months pregnant, according to a report by BBC News based on an account in the South China Morning Post.

A victim of the coercive policy provided testimony to the subcommittee by phone from Thailand, according to The Washington Times. Speaking through an interpreter, Guo Yanling described the forced abortion she underwent eight months into her pregnancy in 1995 while living in Guangxi province. Her voice faded into sobs, and she was unable to complete her testimony, The Times reported.

The result of China's population control policy is "a nightmarish 'brave new world' with no precedent in human history, where women are psychologically wounded, girls fall victim to sex-selective abortion (in some provinces 140 boys are born for every 100 girls), and most children grow up without brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles or cousins," said subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith of New Jersey in written remarks for the hearing.

Critics inside and outside China have addressed the "one-child" policy in the days since the forced-abortion cases were reported, Littlejohn said in her testimony:

-- Researchers with China's government-affiliated Development Research Center and 15 high-profile Chinese scholars called for reform of the population control policy in statements published July 3 and 5, respectively.

-- The European Parliament approved a resolution July 5 condemning Feng's forced procedure, as well as coercive abortion and sterilization globally. It also called for assurances its funds do not support such programs.

-- The U.S. State Department asked Beijing about the reports, a spokeswoman said in mid-June and reaffirmed the United States strongly opposes "all aspects of China's coercive birth limitation policies."

-- Abortion-rights leader Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, criticized China's forced abortion program as a violation of human rights in a July 4 letter to The New York Times.

Among Littlejohn and Fu's policy recommendations to the subcommittee were: (1) Congressional approval of a resolution condemning forced abortion and sterilization in China and calling on the regime to end its coercive population control program; (2) enactment of a law authorizing the president to deny entry into this country to those who have participated in enforcement of the "one-child" program or other human rights abuses in China, and (3) cut funds for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation if they are found to be collaborating with China's coercive program.

President Obama reinstituted support for the UNFPA in 2009 after President Bush withheld funding during the final seven years of his presidency because of his administration's finding that the agency aided China's program.

Xinhua, China's government-operated news service, reported July 11 the township in which Feng lives reached an out-of-court settlement with her husband and her in the amount of about $11,000 in American money.
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Compiled by Tom Strode, Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).

Laura Story sees 'Blessings' beyond awards

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by Whitney Jones/Baptist Press

ATLANTA (BP) -- "Blessings" is more than just a song that has garnered several key awards for Christian singer-songwriter Laura Story, it is her own tale of finding healing and peace with hardship.

Story's song came from her own personal struggle understanding God's plan after learning that her husband had a brain tumor early in their marriage. "Blessings," which she wrote about two years ago, was her way of working through the difficulties in her life and learning that God does not always immediately come to the rescue.

"It really was just my own process of coming to terms with the fact that sometimes God allows things in this life that we don't understand," Story told Baptist Press. "They may look like roadblocks in our lives but when we step back, trying to find the perspective, [we] see them as possible means for us growing in our faith, possible means for God showing us something about Himself or something about ourselves that we wouldn't see any other way."

The honors Story received in recent months for her song Blessings and her album of the same name include:

-- Top Christian song at the Billboard Music Awards

-- A Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Song

--Song of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year at the Dove Awards

In addition to her current album, Story wrote the popular song "Indescribable" sung by Chris Tomlin.

Although Story said she -- like most other Christian artists -- does not do her work for awards, she noted that she is glad her story of struggle was shared with others through several notable venues.

"As far as the awards of this world, it has been helpful as far as getting the message out about God's work in my life," she said. "So we celebrate that more than we do any metallic object I might be handed on a stage. It's certainly so much more about wanting God to take the platform and His message being known in our lives."

The song's message is not just a positive spin on life's hardships, however. Story said Blessings delves into the idea that sometimes health, wealth or prosperity is not what God wants for His followers. She poses this question: "What if there are character things that He wants to do in our hearts that are more valuable than any of the riches that this life can offer us?"

In addition to being a singer-songwriter, Story is a worship leader at Perimeter Church in Atlanta. Most Sundays, Story leads worship there, but she said she is thankful Perimeter also allows her to minister at other churches and get a sense of the atmosphere of the larger church.

"I definitely think the local church is still God's plan A," she said. "Anything I can do to encourage my local church and pour in here but also encourage other people in their local churches, that's what I really feel called to do." Story is doing just that, investing in her local church while also going on the road with her husband and band once or twice a week to encourage other believers across the nation.

Story published a 30-day devotional -- also titled "Blessings" -- based on the award-winning song. She also is planning to record a new CD this fall and join a tour in December called 12 Gifts.

But those are not the biggest of her upcoming plans. Story and her husband are expecting their first child later this year.

"We're excited and just grateful that God gives us so many opportunities just to minister and grateful He's blessing us with a baby to add to our dream, add to our story," she said.
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Whitney Jones is a writer for Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).