Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

FROM TRANSGENDER TO TRANSFORMED

Baptist Press

Francine, left, and Laura with a family photo album

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Francine Perry and her daughter Laura recently sat down to look at family photos. As they reflected on the good times, they also could see how God was at work, especially through the difficult times — and there were many of those.

On the heels of rebellious teenage years, Laura lived as a transgender man for nearly a decade of her adult life. Other than her family and select friends, though, most people just knew Laura as “Jake.” [Read more…]

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CHRISTIANS ARE LOSING THE CULTURAL WAR

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

If Christianity and culture were wrestlers, Christianity would be picking itself up off the mat. We (Christians) are being slammed by culture.

Nowhere is that more evident than views on the LGBTQ movement and same-sex marriage.

The biblical view of marriage as a union of one man and one woman is fading fast. [Read more…]

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N.C.’S REPEAL OF RESTROOM BILL CALLED ‘A LOSS’

By David Roach
Baptist Press

170331nc-state-houseRALEIGH, N.C. (BP) — North Carolina legislators have repealed a controversial law that required individuals in state buildings to use restrooms corresponding to the gender indicated on their birth certificates.

The repeal of House Bill 2 today (March 30) marked a compromise between Democrats and Republicans and culminated more than a year of contentious debate since the bill’s passage in April 2016.

North Carolina’s senate passed the repeal 32-16 following brief discussion. The house’s 70-48 vote to repeal HB 2 followed more than two hours of debate and came some 90 minutes after a noon deadline set by the NCAA for the Tar Heel State to overturn its restroom bill or lose the opportunity to host championship events in 2018-22. [Read more…]

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TENNESSEE LEGISLATORS KILL BATHROOM BILL

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

public restroom signs male female gender bathroom toiletNASHVILLE — Tennessee state legislators will not act upon the so-called “bathroom bill” for the second consecutive year.

The bathroom bill (SB771) would prohibit public schools from having policies that would allow students to use the bathroom or locker room of their choice based on what sex the student chooses to be. [Read more…]

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OBAMA-ERA TRANSGENDER BATHROOM ORDER RESCINDED

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

public restroom signs male female gender bathroom toiletWASHINGTON (BP) — The Trump administration has reversed an Obama-era directive that advised schools to open bathrooms and locker rooms to students based on their perceived sexual identity or risk losing federal funding.

The new ruling leaves bathroom use policies to the discretion of state governments and local school districts, but the issue is already set to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is scheduled on March 28 to hear a case from the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia challenging a lower court ruling allowing transgender teen Gavin Grimm to use the boys’ bathroom at school. Grimm, a biological female, identifies as male. [Read more…]

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ARE WE REALLY SURPRISED?

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Before it Hits the PressThe Boy Scouts of America announced Jan. 30 that the organization would begin accepting transgender members. In other words, what’s on the birth certificate doesn’t matter anymore.

The BSA stated: “Starting today, we will accept and register youth in the Cub and Boy Scout programs based on the gender identity indicated on the application.”

While sad to hear, is anyone really surprised? [Read more…]

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ABC DEBUTS TRANSGENDER CHILD ON TV

Baptist Press

161005modern-familyNASHVILLE — An 8-year-old girl who lives as a transgender boy appeared on the Sept. 28 episode of ABC’s “Modern Family,” portraying a transgender friend of Lily, the daughter of the show’s leading gay couple, the series’ director has announced.

Modern Family director Ryan Case identified the show’s first openly transgender actor on Twitter, saying, “He’s 8 years old, from Atlanta, and just happens to be transgender. He plays Lily’s friend Tom in this week’s Modern Family.”

Jeff Johnston, issues analyst for the marriage and parenting group Focus on the Family (FOTF), told Baptist Press the episode would likely confuse children. [Read more…]

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TRANSGENDER MOVEMENT TARGETS CHILDREN

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie Wilkey

Lonnie Wilkey

Growing up in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s I constantly heard adults bemoan the direction that television programming was heading.

Little did they know.

What seemed “over the top” then pales in comparison to programming on network television today. And even worse, there are more networks clogging the airwaves with questionable programming. In my early years there were the big three (ABC, NBC, and CBS).  More networks simply mean the more likely bad programming will continue to multiply. [Read more…]

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N.C. RESTROOM BILL DOESN’T DETER SBC ANNUAL MEETING

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Convention Center

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Convention Center

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Amid controversy over North Carolina’s controversial transgender restroom law, Southern Baptist Convention leaders estimate they’re less than two weeks away from finalizing contracts to hold the 2023 SBC annual meeting in Charlotte.

And they say they’re glad to support the state for its moral stand on gender and sexuality. [Read more…]

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BULLYING: NCAA TAKES ITS BALL AND LEAVES

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

160921ballMy 3-year-old grandson, Eli Beasley, is playing soccer this fall. Personally, I think he is too young to play in a league, but Pappy deferred to his parents.

Well, Eli is proving Pappy probably was right. He takes a notion to play and practice when he wants to, causing his mother a great deal of frustration. But when he decides to play, Eli tries to do what he is instructed.

In soccer, you are not supposed to use your hands (unless you’re the goalie). In Eli’s game last week, he didn’t particularly want to play but when the coach told him he could play with his soccer ball that piqued his interest so he went onto the field.

After a few minutes, Eli realized the players on the opposing team were trying to take his ball away from him. Obeying his coaches and not touching the ball with his hands, Eli decided the best course of action to take was to sit on his ball. My daughter took a classic photo of Eli sitting on his ball while two 3-year-old opponents looked at him with the most puzzled expressions, “What do we do now?” [Read more…]

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