CLC weighs benefits
of anti-porn partner

By Brian Koonce
Staff Writer

JEFFERSON CITY – Taking a stand against the threat of pornography in Missouri’s homes and churches was one of the main topics for discussion at the most recent meeting of the Christian Life Commission (CLC) of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC).

Representatives from the newly established St. Louis chapter of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families (NCPCF) brought the issue before the group and proposed a potential partnership.

“The sexualization of our culture is dragging our country down, and it’s affecting our churches,” said John Splinter, executive director of the St. Louis office. “We want to work with churches, pastors and Christian educators and give them the tools and resources to help them in this fight.”

This meeting was only to introduce NCPCF to the CLC, and no decision on a partnership was made. However, CLC Chairman Phil Gloyer, laity, Forest Park Baptist Church, Joplin, said he believed the issue is one worth tackling and a potential partnership worth exploring.

“Honestly, I think we’d be fools if we didn’t put this on the front burner,” he said.

Commissioner Brian Baker, who is a Republican state representative from Belton, agreed.

“I think the CLC is in a good position to help get this issue out in front of our churches,” he said.

Discussion about potential future partnerships including working with associations, distributing NCPCF material at the CLC’s booth at the MBC annual meeting, use of NCPCF in local churches, and hosting regional conferences.

In other business, commissioners heard a report from Abram Messer from Missouri Cures Without Cloning (MCWOC), a campaign to amend Missouri’s Constitution to definitively ban human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Amendment 2, which passed in 2006, claimed to ban human cloning, but specifically allowed for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) which is a form of cloning. After battling the courts to get on this year’s ballot, MCWOC is ramping up for a massive grass roots initiative campaign to be put on the 2010 midterm ballot.

“Mid-term election turnouts are totally different,” Messer said. “First of all, they are lower, but we also know that historically, mid-term elections have a more consistent and more conservative turnout. Those are the people we’re going to be targeting for 2010, the people who are really dedicated to the issue.”

Messer said MCWOC hopes to recruit 6,000 volunteers to get signatures on the petition. So far they have 2,400. MCWOC also requested $36,000 in funding from the CLC, although commissioners did not make a final decision.

After some discussion, the commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter to the MBC’s Executive Board endorsing a bylaw change concerning presidential appointments to convention committees. Commissioner David Krueger, pastor, First Baptist, Linn, reported on MBC Alcohol Policy, explaining that the motion by the MBC Executive Board would add a bylaw that would include abstinence from alcoholic beverages of those appointed to said committees. The Committee on Continuing Review previously ruled that the motion does not conflict with the governing documents of the Missouri Baptist Convention, and will recommend to the Executive Board that they adopt the Bylaw under Article 8, and that they include the Bylaw recommendation in their report to the convention during the MBC annual meeting.

Kerry Messer, lobbyist for the CLC, updated the commissioners on legislation passed this session and urged them to draft a letter to the governor and legislators in favor of calling a special session to deal with pro-life legislation. The session ended before senators voted on a bill that would have made it a crime to coerce a woman into having an abortion.

The CLC also voted to draft a resolution on global warming based on the 2007 resolution passed by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in San Antonio. The resolution affirms man’s stewardship of the Earth, acknowledges that there is scientific debate on the subject and urges caution in accepting the theory that global warming and/or climate change is a man-made crisis. The 2007 SBC resolution can be read at http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=1171. The CLC will present the resolution at the MBC annual meeting in St. Louis in late October.

Gloyer also called for nominations for the CLC’s Distinguished Service Award.