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Today’s News Headlines

PERSECUTION DECLINING IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO TECHNICAL CONFERENCE BRINGS TRANSLATORS TOGETHER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CALLED KEY TO SECURE, STABLE SOCIETY STUDY: PASTORS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY IN U.S. THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY A PRIME TIME TO SHARE GOSPEL MAGAZINE FEATURES PASTOR’S PURPOSE-DRIVEN APPROACH

Today’s News Stories

PERSECUTION DECLINING IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO When the Tzotzil-speaking people of Chiapas, Mexico, began coming to Christ in the 1960s, opposition from religious traditionalists surged. Tribal chiefs assaulted Christians and destroyed their homes. A few evangelicals suffered martyrdom. Thirty years later, some 25,000 Tzotzils live in exile. However, an underground church formed in the province of San Juan Chamula, heart of traditionalist Tzotzil religion, and today half the population of some villages is evangelical. Two years have passed since the last major attack against Christians. Chiapas-based missionary Vern Sterk credits the decrease in persecution to greater cooperation among local churches, pressure from international groups and improved state government under Pablo Salazar, the first evangelical governor in Mexican history. (Compass)

TECHNICAL CONFERENCE BRINGS TRANSLATORS TOGETHER A special conference is under way that will help clear the path for the spread of the gospel around the world. JAARS, which speeds Bible translation for Wycliffe Bible Translators and others, is hosting Wycliffe’s Computer Technical Conference. Wycliffe’s Brian Chapaitis, who helped organize it, said, “Technology moves so fast that we need to bring these people back from the field so that they can get a cross pollination of ideas. Many of them are working on similar tasks, but they’re so isolated that they don’t know what their neighbors are doing. This is an opportunity also to train many.” Chapaitis said these types of conferences will help with their Vision 2025 plan. “We would like to see a start of the Bible translation process in all of the remaining languages of the world. That’s a God-sized task. If you would like a career in Bible translation, no matter what your skill, we can use you.” There are 3,000 languages still without Scripture. (Mission Network News)

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CALLED KEY TO SECURE, STABLE SOCIETY Top experts in religious freedom confronted issues raised by national security concerns and terrorism and issued a preliminary statement emphasizing how respect for religious freedom was essential for security and a stable society. Meeting in Washington, D.C. Nov. 15-17, the board of experts of the International Religious Liberty Association examined the terrorist situation and the response of the national security community. In reacting to terrorist threats, states have sometimes infringed on freedom of religion and conscience causing counter productive results, the experts concluded. “Respecting freedom of religion is often a more effective tool in winning loyalty of citizens and in achieving peace than weapons and coercive measure,” the statement affirms. “Responses to terrorism and security threats must take these dimensions of religions seriously,” since “failure to grasp the role that religious beliefs are playing in motivating terrorist activities will result in reduced security.” The document sets out a list of 17 principles that deal with terrorist activities, duties of the state, and the responsibilities of religious believers and communities. These include statements that “religion should never serve as a justification for hatred, disrespect of others, or criminal violence; indiscriminate violence, threats and other acts of terrorism cannot be justified under international law; and security should not become the ultimate value of a society, even under the threat of terrorism. ” (ANN)

STUDY: PASTORS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY IN U.S. A large majority of pastors predict that alternative religions and New Age spirituality will become more influential in the next decade. A recent study conducted by Ellison Research of Phoenix indicated that 82 percent of ministers expect a growing influence of non-Christian faiths and 55 percent think New Age spirituality will increase in impact in the next 10 years, the Associated Press reported. The alarming findings of a survey of Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists and Pentecostal/charismatic ministers show that many pastors are not upbeat about the future of Christianity in America. The 567 pastors polled by the Arizona organization were at their most pessimistic when asked about “overall freedom of religion in the U.S.,” with 44 percent anticipating declining freedom of religion. In addition, 41 percent predict decreasing influence of Christianity in Americans’ daily lives in 2012 than it is in 2002. Pastors were even less likely to feel there will be a rise in “the influence of Christianity in national politics” with only 9 percent predicting increased Christian influence in that arena. (Charisma News Service)

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY A PRIME TIME TO SHARE GOSPEL An evangelical ministry is encouraging Americans to use the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday to lead people to Christ. The American Tract Society says since Thanksgiving is a time to focus on God, many people are already prepared to hear the gospel. To help in that effort, ATS has a Thanksgiving tract which describes how faith had a hand in America’s history, and also tells the reader how important it is to have their own personal faith in Christ. Go to http://atstracts.org/ to get this tract. (Mission Network News)

MAGAZINE FEATURES PASTOR’S PURPOSE-DRIVEN APPROACH Rick Warren appears on the cover of the Nov. 18 issue of “Christianity Today” above a headline stating he may be the most influential pastor in the country. The magazine’s seven-page spread cites the influence of Warren’s “Purpose Driven” model, one that is used in churches around the globe. And it suggests that Warren’s “regular guy” approach is not only non-threatening to pastors, it helps them to see the obvious. “If Rick Warren is a Regular-Guy pastor, Purpose-Driven is a regular-church approach — easy to miss because it seems so ordinary,” writes Tim Stafford in the CT article. “Purpose-Driven is built around five fundamental purposes — fellowship, spiritual maturity, service, evangelism and worship — which just about any church, large or small, Pentecostal or Episcopal, can get behind.” Warren has trained approximately 180,000 pastors through his “Purpose-Driven Church” seminars, and his book of the same name has been a best-seller since its release in 1995. Warren is pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Warren and his wife, Kay, started Saddleback 22 years ago with a handful of people in the living room of their rented condominium. “He cares about world missions, pouring money into making Purpose-Driven resources available in the Third World,” Stafford continues. “And most of all he cares about soul winning.” (Baptist Press)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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