Pastor Wes and Rachel Church of First Baptist Church Columbia, wait at an airport on March 2 with plans to head back “in many hours” to the United States. – Facebook photo

Update: A group of Baptists who were in Israel when the U.S. and Israel launched attacks against Iran are reportedly headed home. See related update from Baptist Press. 

At least three South Carolina pastors and their wives were among Southern Baptists who were in Israel Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched a joint strike on Iran.

Two of the couples (Wes and Rachel Church of First Baptist Church, Columbia, and Josh and Allison Powell of First Baptist Church, Taylors) were part of a group led by Bryant Wright, former Send Relief President and pastor in Georgia, according to Travis Kerns, director of missions of Three Rivers Baptist Association in Greenville County.

A third couple (Richie and Gina Kingsmore of First Baptist Church, Greer) were in the country with another group, Kerns added. Kingsmore is the worship pastor at FBC Greer.

Kerns spoke during the morning worship service at Enoree Baptist Church in Travelers Rest and encouraged church members to pray for the situation in the Middle East and the safety of the South Carolina pastors and their spouses.

In an interview with The Baptist Paper on Monday (March 2), Kerns said it appeared all three of the South Carolina couples were preparing to leave the country by either sometime Monday or Tuesday. The Kingsmores had traveled to Egypt and were at the airport Monday.

‘Tense waiting game’

In addition to praying for safety for the South Carolinians and others seeking to leave Israel, Kerns encouraged people to pray for the military and government officials. “We have parents of active military In our association’s churches,” he said. “It hits very close to home.”

Kerns also called for Christians to pray for anyone involved in the Middle East situation who are not believers.

Two of the pastors in Israel also issued a call for prayer.

In an interview with WLTX 19 in Columbia, Wes Church noted that his trip to Jerusalem was meant to be a time of reflection in the Holy Land. Instead, he continued, the visit turned into a “tense waiting game,” as they scrambled to a bunker in their hotel at least four times.

“I think this is a good time for people of peace all over the world to be praying for peace in Jerusalem. And be praying for peace in the Middle East,” Church said. “And pray for these oppressed people that they might find freedom in this situation,” he added.

Steve Phillips, assistant pastor at the Columbia church, told WLTX that the church is monitoring and situation. “We’re just praying for the Lord to take care of them and to get them back safely.”

A group of pastors led by Bryant Wright, in white hat, stand together before departing their hotel. – BP photo / Submitted by Josh Powell

‘Sang together, prayed together in a bunker’

Josh Powell, pastor of First Baptist Church Taylors, sent a text to Baptist Press after the attack was launched on Feb. 28. He noted the group has been leaning on Scripture and one another. “We sang together and prayed together in a bunker below Jerusalem, two blocks from the temple site, knowing that our hope is in the Lord. … That’s where our health and strength come from,” he told Baptist Press.

Doug Mize, pastor of FBC Greer, told Fox Carolina News that his congregation is “very optimistic” about the situation. “One good thing about difficult times is that it reminds people of the importance of prayer,” he said.

International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood tweeted on the day of the strike, “As you pray for America’s soldiers in harm’s way, I urge you to also pray for our Southern Baptist missionaries, for national believers and for the lost who so desperately need the Lord.”

Chitwood confirmed that missionary families in the Israel are “currently unharmed.”

This story was originally published by the Baptist Paper. 

Hayle Swinson delivers an emotional testimony at a Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in support of SB542, authored by Sen. Randy Robertson, right, Feb. 25. – Georgia State Senate video

ATLANTA — A key Senate committee unanimously advanced Senate Bill 542, which would add clergy to Georgia’s “improper sexual contact” statute, during a hearing Wednesday evening, Feb. 25.

The bill, authored by Sen. Randy Robertson, would allow prosecutors to bring charges when a minister uses a counseling relationship to obtain sexual contact.

The committee voted after considering amendments that supporters said clarified language in the bill without changing its meaning, intent, or purpose. The measure now heads to the Senate Rules Committee for a final vote before it can be scheduled for consideration by the full Senate. [Read more…]

Baptist Press file photo / Brandon Porter

NASHVILLE (BP) – The legacy of a just-resolved case involving the North American Mission Board may be … nothing.

The Supreme Court’s decision to decline to hear Will McRaney’s case against the North American Mission Board, and thus leaving in place the decision of an appeals court in NAMB’s favor, led to assertions from critics that it placed Baptist principles such as church autonomy in jeopardy. Matthew Martens, NAMB’s private counsel who partnered with First Liberty Institute in this case, and Daniel Blomberg, a Becket attorney who filed an amicus brief supporting NAMB, disagree.

“Churches are better off now that this lawsuit is over,” said Blomberg. “For over a century, courts have recognized that pastors can’t sue churches for defamation over religious disagreements. Those longstanding protections are still safe today.” [Read more…]