By Tom Strode
Baptist Press

DALLAS — Messengers to the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention affirmed the dignity and worth of women, denounced all forms of abuse and called for sexual purity among Christian leaders in adopting 16 resolutions Tuesday (June 12). [Read more…]

By Julie McGowan
Baptist Press

DALLAS — International Mission Board trustees approved the appointment of 47 new missionaries sent by Southern Baptist churches to take the Gospel to the nations during their June 10-11 meeting in Dallas.

The new missionaries were part of a Sending Celebration June 12 during the evening session of the SBC annual meeting at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Trustees also heard an update on the presidential search; received a financial report on the entity; reiterated IMB’s “zero tolerance” policy on abuse; and elected 2018-2019 officers during their meeting held in conjunction with the June 12-13 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas.

Chuck Pourciau, presidential search committee chairman, reported the committee is making progress and working in unity toward determining God’s direction for the entity’s next leader. He said the committee has moved from determining what kind of person they’re seeking to considering candidates.

“This is a great committee,” said Pourciau, senior pastor of Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport, La. “God’s been in our midst, and I thank God for how He led [Rick Dunbar] in putting together this committee.

“We are committed to finding God’s leader,” Pourciau said. “We want to see God glorified.”

Lottie Moon $5m ahead

In their support services committee, trustees reviewed IMB’s 2017 audited financials and its current financial position. “We are on strong financial footing, and by God’s grace we have the resources we have,” reported Seth Polk, the committee chair. “We thank God for the faithfulness of His people in giving.”

At the end of May, IMB had received $66,840,768 in Cooperative Program (CP) funding for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which started Oct. 1. The total is $1,014,337 (1.54 percent) ahead of last year. The IMB had received $142,683,654 so far for the 2017-2018 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering campaign, which began Oct. 1, 2017, and ends Sept. 30, 2018*. This total is $5,161,874 (3.75%) ahead of last year’s LMCO receipts. The total represents money received by the IMB or postmarked by the close of the last business day of May 2018 and includes receipts from the SBC Executive Committee, state conventions, churches and individuals.

Trustees also adopted a resolution of appreciation for the work of Randy and Kathy Arnett, who served as missionaries from 1986-2018, and died on March 14 while serving in Africa. The resolution reads: “The International Mission Board, SBC, herein expresses deep appreciation for faithful service to God through this board and pledges special prayer support for the family during days ahead.”

‘Zero tolerance’

In response to issues arising in the SBC in recent months, trustees and IMB leaders reiterated the board’s policy on abuse and harassment.

Dunbar said, “The IMB leadership and the trustees want you to know that we are committed to zero tolerance for child abuse and sexual harassment among our personnel — and we are also committed to communicating and cooperating with our partners to guard against those behaviors.”

If anyone “sees or suspects something, they need to say something,” Dunbar said, noting IMB policies provide multiple avenues to make a report, including a confidential hotline designated for this purpose: –866-292-0181. If anyone has personally experienced or observed child abuse or sexual harassment among IMB personnel in the past, they are urged to contact IMB through the confidential hotline. It is IMB’s policy to investigate all cases regardless of when they occurred.

Whenever a church, SBC entity, other ministry or any employer sees “IMB” on the resume of someone looking to serve with them, they are urged to contact IMB for a reference. Reference requests can be submitted to IMB’s HR department at references@imb.org. (The full text of IMB’s Statement on Child Abuse and Sexual Harassment is below.)

‘Everything hinges on God’

In his report to the trustees, IMB President David Platt shared two truths: 1) When God is with you, nothing and no one can stand against you; 2) When God is not with you, you have no hope. “Everything hinges on the fullness of God’s presence — everything,” he said.

Referring to Joshua 7:1-12, Platt explained that because of one man’s secret, hidden sin, God’s presence was not with the entire people of Israel. He told trustees, “We cannot underestimate the consequences of one man’s sin. Our sin never just affects us. Our sin always affects the people around us.

“I want to plead with you, for your own sake, for the sake of people right around you … for the sake of these missionaries we’re about to send out and, ultimately, for the Name [of Jesus] — to repent of any hidden or secret sin in your heart,” Platt exhorted trustees. “I want to urge us to repent of sin and to receive the grace that is available in Christ.

“The IMB’s greatest need in trustees and leaders around this room (including myself) is not innovation or organizational this-or-that — the greatest need is holiness and humility before God, that says, ‘I don’t want to hold onto any sin in my heart that will jeopardize the fullness of the blessing of God, not only in my life, but in the lives of those I’m leading, the lives of those I’m influencing,'” Platt said, inviting trustees to spend a few moments in silent confession before God.

Trustees also spent concerted time in prayer for the Walangchung people group of Nepal. The East Asian people has a population of 22,000 who primarily practice Buddhism, specifically Lamaism. There are possibly two known believers among the entire population, and the Bible is not translated into their language. Trustees prayed that God would call someone to take the Gospel to these people.

Six trustees were recognized for their service as they complete their terms: Dick Avey (Arkansas), June Coleman (Georgia), Andy Finch (Oklahoma), Jaye Martin (Texas), Richard Richie (Alabama) and John Ross (Texas).

Dunbar, a member of First Baptist Church in Madison, Miss., was elected trustee chairman for 2018-2019; Seth Polk, lead pastor of Cross Lanes Baptist Church in Cross Lanes, W.Va., was elected as first vice chair and Cecil Sanders, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Headland, Ala., second vice chair. Lisa Lovell, a member of First Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Ark., was reelected as recording secretary.

The next IMB trustee meeting and Sending Celebration is slated for Sept. 26-27 in Richmond, Va.

* The LMCO campaign year historically ran from June 1 to May 31 each year, but that campaign year did not align with IMB’s fiscal year, which runs January 1 to December 31. To help alleviate confusion, IMB finance leaders, in conjunction with the board of trustees, proposed to align the fiscal year and the LMCO campaign to October 1 through September 30. Messengers voted to approve the fiscal year change during the 2017 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. Therefore, gifts contributed from Oct. 1, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2018, will apply to the 2017-18 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Julie McGowan is public relations manager for IMB.

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IMB Statement on Child Abuse and Sexual Harassment

The IMB is committed to zero tolerance for child abuse and sexual harassment among our personnel. Further, the IMB is committed to communicating clearly and cooperating with our partners to guard against child abuse and sexual harassment.

Zero Tolerance Among Our Personnel

We regularly ask that anyone in the IMB who (a) believes he or she has personally experienced child abuse or sexual harassment, or (b) observes it happen to someone else, bring this conduct into the light by means of a secure report to IMB leadership. In other words, if anyone suspects or sees something, they need to say something. IMB policies provide multiple avenues to make a report, including a confidential hotline designated for this purpose: (866)-292-0181.

Anytime we receive a report of suspected child abuse or sexual harassment, we investigate those situations immediately and, if warranted, take the appropriate action to report it to local authorities and remove individuals from IMB employment. In the case of child sexual abuse, if we conclude that one of our personnel has committed child sexual abuse, that individual is terminated immediately. If IMB believes that any personnel has committed child abuse, our practice is to make a report to Child Protection Services in the state where the incident occurred or to the alleged offender’s home state. Moreover, IMB is committed to complying with mandatory reporting requirements and cooperating with any criminal investigations of abuse by our personnel. Further, we are committed to providing compassionate care to anyone who has experienced child abuse or sexual harassment.

Cooperation With Our Partners

All volunteers who serve with the IMB must undergo a 3-part background screening (criminal background check, references, and an interview) to ensure there is no history of activity that would pose a danger to children or others. All volunteers must also undergo training concerning child protection (IMB provides a training video that covers this). Specific resources and guidance for churches and volunteer trip team leaders is available here on our website: https://www.imb.org/for-churches/mission-trip-prep/.

Whenever a church, SBC entity, or other ministry sees “IMB” on the resume of someone looking to serve with them, we urge them to contact us. IMB’s practice is to terminate individuals who have engaged in child sexual abuse or other forms of misconduct. However, in some cases, an individual has resigned before IMB can terminate the individual, or the IMB does not find out about the misconduct until after the individual has left service with IMB. Therefore, IMB strongly encourages any church, entity, or other employer who is considering working or partnering with a former IMB personnel to contact IMB to obtain a reference on that individual. Reference requests can be submitted to IMB’s HR department at references@imb.org. IMB quickly responds to all reference requests by providing a release for that former personnel to sign authorizing IMB to share information from its HR file. In most all cases, IMB will have positive information to share. However, in the rarer cases where IMB has information to share concerning child abuse or sexual misconduct by that former personnel, or the former personnel refuses to sign the release, then the church, entity, or employer will be in a better position to evaluate a future relationship with that former IMB personnel.

Confidential Contact

The above statements reflect IMB’s present policies and practices. If anyone has personally experienced or observed child abuse or sexual harassment among IMB personnel in the past, we invite you to contact us on our confidential hotline at (866)-292-0181. It is our policy to investigate all cases regardless of when they occurred.

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

DALLAS — Personal evangelism and tithing are imperative for reversing declines in key Southern Baptist Convention metrics, SBC Executive Committee Interim President D. August Boto told messengers June 12.

Key statistics including top-enrollment seminaries and the largest Protestant membership in the U.S. can camouflage less favorable trends such as declining baptisms and a sharp dip in personal giving, Boto said.

“I think it’s important that we not overlook the whole picture,” Boto said in the EC’s Tuesday afternoon report at the SBC annual meeting. “I do want my report to be encouraging … but I also want it to cast a true picture, so we can be inspired to reach greater heights.”

In his interim role, Boto heads the national SBC office that receives donations for the national and international causes through the Cooperative Program (CP), the Southern Baptist channel that also supports missions and ministries at the state level, where gifts are received from local churches.

At least six states give 50 percent or more of their receipts through the CP, yet on average, local church giving to the CP has declined from 5.5 percent in 2013 to 4.86 percent in 2017, according to the SBC’s Annual Church Profile (ACP), Boto said.

“In the last 18 years, though our national ministry receipts have improved by just over $17 million, our state ministry support has shrunk by over $41 million,” Boto told messengers.

“We cannot forget that missions and ministries at the state level depend on the Cooperative Program too,” Boto noted.

Personal giving has dipped sharply since the 2008 economic recession, Boto said, and according to latest SBC statistics, baptisms have declined for eight of the past 10 years. The 254,122 baptisms churches reported in 2017 are 26.5 percent fewer than in 2007, according to the ACP. If each of the 15 million Southern Baptists led one person to Christ in one year, the size of the church family would double, Boto said, and simple tithing could greatly expand the SBC’s reach.

“Multiple studies reveal that if those of us who earn a wage simply tithed and did nothing more, our CP receipts would quintuple,” Boto said, defining a tithe as 10 percent of income. “If we just tithed and did nothing more, we could afford five times the number of the missionaries at home. We could support five times the number of missionaries abroad. Maybe have five times the number of college ministries to reach and strengthen students; perhaps a similar increase in the number of the seminary graduates.

“By any estimate, we could certainly expect a gigantic increase in all of our present fruit,” Boto said. “I do not mean to be self-righteous. My tithing may be a habit, but habits don’t make people righteous. Being washed in the blood of the Lamb does. A real relationship with Jesus does.”

Boto, an attorney and layman who serves as EC executive vice president, turned to Scripture to encourage Southern Baptists in evangelism and stewardship. He focused on 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Ephesians 6:19 and Ephesians 6:29-32.

A new resource the SBC is offering in partnership with popular financial speaker and author Dave Ramsey, “Leverage,” can help Southern Baptists not only give financially, but to share with spiritual testimonies, Boto said. Witnessing doesn’t require deep theological knowledge or a wealth of answers to potential inquiries, he said.

“Those things are helpful, of course, but it is most helpful to remember that God does all the leading, and provides the words,” Boto told messengers. “Some of the words He has already provided are in John 3:16. Those are great words, all by themselves.”

Also during the EC report, the importance of ministry on college campuses was underscored to messengers.

“Historically Southern Baptists have been at the forefront of reaching college students,” said Josh Miller, who is leading a church plant, Center Church, at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

“From the Northwest to the Southeast, pockets of Southern Baptist churches … are reprioritizing the campus with incredible results,” Miller said. “But if we’re going to reach the 22 million college students in North America, we as Southern Baptists must all reprioritize the campus.

“We must start seeing college students in our towns not as ‘those’ college students but as our college students. … [The] opportunity is in front of us and the question is how will we respond to it,” Miller said.

Justin Leitch who, with his wife Bailey, is assisting Miller and his wife Meredith in starting Center Church, told messengers, “When we were lost, you planted a church and reached us. When we were moldable, you trained us. When we wanted to plant a church, you invested in us and now commissioned us and sent us.

“To our Southern Baptist family, thank you … for the way that you are now launching us out to reach university students in a new context,” Leitch said.

By Barbara Denman
Baptist Press

DALLAS — J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., area, was elected the 60th president of Southern Baptist Convention during the 2018 SBC annual meeting in Dallas.

Greear will lead a diverse slate of officers including A.B. Vines, pastor of New Seasons Church in San Diego, first vice president; Felix Cabrera, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Central in Oklahoma City, second vice president; John Yeats, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, recording secretary; and Don Currence, minister of children and administration at First Baptist Church in Ozark, Mo., registration secretary. [Read more…]

By Erin Roach
Baptist Press

DALLAS — Personal finance speaker and author Dave Ramsey, addressing the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 12, urged pastors to lead people out of debt by teaching them what the Bible says about money.

“When you stand up in front of your congregation, you’re looking at a large number of people who do not have the ability to handle their money,” Ramsey, CEO of Ramsey Solutions and author of “Financial Peace University,” told messengers. [Read more…]

By David Roach
Baptist Press

DALLAS — A task force appointed last year to explore avenues of evangelistic renewal among Southern Baptists has released its final report, including a series of eight recommendations for individuals and groups at all levels of Southern Baptist life.

“We are convinced that these suggestions can be heartily embraced by all gospel-loving Southern Baptists,” the report stated, “regardless of differences in theology, methodology, or generational preferences.”

Released today (June 11), the report will be presented Wednesday morning by task force vice chairman Adam Greenway, a dean at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, following Paige Patterson’s June 8 resignation as chairman. The 18-member task force was appointed by Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines after messengers to the 2017 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix instructed him to do so.

The task force met three times over the past year, according to the report, and “prayed together, and talked extensively.”

In addition to its recommendations, the task force included in its report a series of 12 affirmations and denials related to evangelism.

Among the task force’s recommendations:

• That churches “conduct annual witness training events” and “adopt a goal for baptisms.”

• That pastors “model personal evangelism” and “present public gospel invitations of various kinds, calling unbelievers to repent and believe.”

• That seminaries “consider enhancing their curricular requirements in evangelism.”

• Thatthe North American Mission Board employ “senior level leadership” tasked with “involving churches, associations, and state conventions in outreach to the lost, as well as providing evangelism training and resources.”

• That the SBC Executive Committee designate a Sunday as “Baptism Day” on the convention’s calendar.

• That all Southern Baptists “renew with great urgency the priority of evangelizing the next generations” and use “God-called evangelists” as “a wonderful asset in evangelistic endeavors of various kinds.”

See the task force’s full report below.

**********

Report and Proposed Recommendations of the Evangelism Task Force Presented to the Southern Baptist Convention, Dallas, Texas, June 12-13, 2018

On June 14, 2017, Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines appointed an Evangelism Task Force whose assignment was to investigate the possibilities for renewal among Southern Baptists in evangelistic effectiveness for the third decade of the 21st Century. This Task Force has met three times, prayed together, and talked extensively.

The Task Force is a cross-section of pastors, denominational leaders, and seminary faculty members representing a spectrum of age groups and theological persuasions within the Baptist Faith and Message (2000). All members of the Task Force are aware of the different theological perspectives within our Convention. However, addressing those issues did not lie within the scope of our task.

Our assignment was to make recommendations on improving evangelistic effectiveness across our denomination. Furthermore, we are convinced that these suggestions can be heartily embraced by all gospel-loving Southern Baptists, regardless of differences in theology, methodology, or generational preferences.

The Task Force offers a series of twelve affirmations and denials followed by eight recommendations with the hope that God would look favorably on our Convention and allow us to shine the light of the gospel into the darkness and distress of our world.

EVANGELISM ARTICLES OF AFFIRMATION AND DENIAL

ARTICLE I

WE AFFIRM that evangelism is in part “soul-winning,” as the New Testament employs the words “winning” and “persuading” with regards to imploring unbelievers in the power of the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation (cf., 1 Cor 9:19-22; 2 Cor 5:11, 20).

WE DENY that evangelism should be employed through means of manipulation, coercion, deceitfulness, or intimidation.

ARTICLE II

WE AFFIRM that the Scriptures teach that gospel conversations should seek to include both clear presentations of the “good news” of salvation and genuine invitations for all people to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (cf., Matt 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-22; Acts 1:8; 2:26-39; Rev 22:17).

WE DENY that gospel conversations are merely general talk about spiritual things and that an evangelistic invitation may only be extended by a singular methodological approach.

ARTICLE III

WE AFFIRM that the heart of the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of the God-man,

Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins (cf., 1 Cor 15:3-4).

WE DENY that the gospel is a humanly-conceived invention or myth divorced from supernatural activity and actual historical reality.

ARTICLE IV

WE AFFIRM that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; that it is wrought by the Holy Spirit as people repent of their sins, believe in Jesus Christ, and receive Him by confessing Him as Lord and Savior (cf., John 1:12; 14:6; 16:8-11; Acts 2:37-38; 4:12; Rom 10:9-10; Eph 1:13; 2:8; Titus 3:4-7).

WE DENY that salvation can be achieved in and through a person’s own power, initiative, or self-actualization.

ARTICLE V

WE AFFIRM that evangelism is a spiritual discipline that every believer bears the responsibility to practice in order to be found faithful to our Lord’s commands (cf., Ezek 3:16-21; 33:1-11; Acts 18:5-6; 20:17-27).

WE DENY that evangelism is a spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit has endowed to some, but not all, believers, thereby excusing certain Christians from personal evangelistic responsibility.

ARTICLE VI

WE AFFIRM that our Lord’s Great Commission is a biblical mandate to be carried out by all true churches and faithful Christians until Jesus comes again (cf., Matt 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8).

WE DENY that the Great Commission was restricted only to the apostles and therefore is not binding upon believers today.

ARTICLE VII

WE AFFIRM that the Great Commission mandate is for believers to share the gospel verbally with all unbelievers so that they might repent of their sins, trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, be baptized (immersed) as witnesses to the truth of the gospel, and learn to obey all of Christ’s commands (Matt 28:18-20).

WE DENY that the gospel is primarily concerned with social justice, political engagement, or secular aims resulting in the call to personal repentance and faith being minimized or ignored.

ARTICLE VIII

WE AFFIRM that the gospel has societal ramifications, leading believers to engage in the biblical causes of justice and reconciliation (Luke 4:18).

WE DENY that the gospel only addresses personal spirituality and individual behavior.

ARTICLE IX

WE AFFIRM that evangelism and discipleship are interdependent and together constitute the whole of the biblical disciple-making process (Matt 28:18-20).

WE DENY theological and philosophical lines of argumentation or ministry strategies that seek to separate evangelism and discipleship.

ARTICLE X

WE AFFIRM that evangelism is a way of life to be learned and practiced, as God has gifted all believers with His indwelling Holy Spirit to enable them to witness boldly by His power (cf., Acts 1:8; 4:8; 4:31).

WE DENY that evangelism is merely a human activity or a church program.

ARTICLE XI

WE AFFIRM that a sinner’s prayer is a biblically appropriate and practically effective method by which lost people can personally receive God’s gracious offer of the gospel in repentance and faith (cf., Luke 18:13-14; John 1:12; Rom 10:9-13).

WE DENY that people are saved merely by mouthing the words of a specific prayer.

ARTICLE XII

WE AFFIRM that God gifts certain individuals to function as evangelists as a gift to the church in order to lead in the harvest and to equip believers for greater effectiveness in personal witnessing and corporate outreach in order to build up the body of Christ (cf., Acts 8:12; 21:8; Eph 4:11).

WE DENY that the ministry of the New Testament evangelist ceased at the conclusion of the apostolic age and therefore is not a valid expression of God’s calling and gifting today.

EVANGELISM RECOMMENDATIONS

1. To the churches — The Evangelism Task Force recommends that every Southern Baptist church:

A. Set aside one day per month as a special day of prayer for lost people and for the evangelistic effectiveness of our churches.

B. Select a witness training method and conduct annual witness training events.

C. Adopt a goal for baptisms that will challenge the church to increase its baptisms through leading people to faith in Christ and baptizing those converts.

D. Submit their Annual Church Profile report as one significant way of understanding our effectiveness in carrying out the first two aspects of the Great Commission. (We recognize the limitations of simply reporting numeric baptisms.)

2. To the pastors — The Evangelism Task Force recommends that pastors:

A. Model personal evangelism for their congregations.

B. Present public gospel invitations of various kinds, calling unbelievers to repent and believe.

C. Renew extending to followers of Christ God’s call to the pastorate, to missions, to evangelism, and to all other vocational ministries.

3. To the seminaries — The Evangelism Task Force recommends that each Southern Baptist seminary:

A. Conduct annual witness training events for employees and students.

B. Consider enhancing curricular requirements in evangelism.

C. Involve students and faculty indirect efforts to reach the lost through mission trips, local mission partnerships, and their local churches.

4. To the Directors of Missions/Associational Mission Strategists — The Evangelism Task Force recommends that you identify, celebrate, and use as training models churches and pastors who demonstrate evangelistic effectiveness resulting in baptized believers. We ask that you invite Baptist colleges, seminaries, state conventions, and churches who have effective evangelism ministries to assist churches that desire to increase evangelistic effectiveness.

5. To the State Convention Executive Directors — The Evangelism Task Force recommends that you prioritize evangelism in your staffing, training, and ministry as you equip the churches in your state(s). In addition, we ask that all your ministry efforts be infused with the consciousness of the lostness of humanity and the incomparable news of the love of Christ.

6. To the North American Mission Board — The Evangelism Task Force recommends that senior level leadership be employed and tasked with involving churches, associations, and state conventions in outreach to the lost, as well as providing evangelism resources and training events on a consistent basis, in order to help re-establish evangelism as a denominational priority.

7. To the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention — Recognizing that churches may choose their own date for a Baptism Day emphasis, the Evangelism Task Force recommends that a Sunday be set on the denominational calendar as “Baptism Day,” when all our churches are invited to work especially hard to lead people to Christ in the weeks prior to the selected date and to focus on a significant baptismal service in which the meaning of baptism is articulated in preaching and teaching.

8. To all Southern Baptists — Recognizing the challenge of evangelizing the younger generations, the Evangelism Task Force recommends that:

A. All parents, church leaders, pastors, and denominational entities renew with great urgency the priority of evangelizing the next generations, adapting our methodology without changing our theology.

B. God-called evangelists be utilized as a wonderful asset in evangelistic endeavors of various kinds, since while all Christians are called to be personal evangelists, God has always given some individuals unique giftings with respect to evangelism.

May Jesus Christ our Lord be honored in our efforts to introduce people everywhere to His saving grace.

Evangelism Task Force members:

Paige Patterson, chairman
Adam Greenway, vice chairman

David Allen, Jordan Easley, Nick Floyd, Noe Garcia, J.D. Greear, Jeff Iorg, Robert Matz, James Merritt, Doug Munton, Preston Nix, Bartholomew Orr, Matt Queen, Alvin Reid, Jimmy Scroggins, Jim Shaddix, Steve Gaines, SBC president (ex-officio)

By David Roach & Erin Roach
Baptist Press

DALLAS — The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee has disfellowshiped a Georgia church for alleged “intentional discriminatory acts toward individuals based solely on the color of their skin,” according to a recommendation adopted at the EC’s June 11 meeting in Dallas. [Read more…]