North Carolina's Constitution Anti-Separation Of Church And State

Weird stuff all around:

No faith, no service?

I was surprised to learn that the North Carolina Constitution has a provision that disallows persons who don't believe in God from public service. The issue came to light after Cecil Bothwell, who describes himself as a "post-theist," was elected to the Asheville City Council, creating a stir among some conservatives and making national headlines.

Bothwell is a long-time environmentalist, resident, and author. He has been a syndicated coumnist, wrote a best-selling guidebook to Asheville, and in 2007 published a biography of evangelist Billy Graham, who lives in nearby Black Mountain. Bothwell belongs to the Unitarian Universalist Church, which is home to many folks who are skeptical about God's existence but still value spirituality, fellowship, and social justice. That's not enough to satisfy critics, including Mark Creech, who leads the North Carolina-based Christian Action League. I appreciate Mark, especially with regard to his opposition to alcohol and the lottery, but I have to disagree with him on this one.

It's true -- and a bit mind-boggling -- that the N.C. Constitution seems to think belief in God is an essential characteristic for all office holders. You can look it up:

Article Six, Section 8 says
The following persons shall be disqualified for office:
First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.
Second, with respect to any office that is filled by election by the people, any person who is not qualified to vote in an election for that office.
Third, any person who has been adjudged guilty of treason or any other felony against this State or the United States, or any person who has been adjudged guilty of a felony in another state that also would be a felony if it had been committed in this State, or any person who has been adjudged guilty of corruption or malpractice in any office, or any person who has been removed by impeachment from any office, and who has not been restored to the rights of citizenship in the manner prescribed by law.

It's interesting to note that atheists are disqualified even before would-be candidates who aren't qualified to vote or who have committed treason or other felonies.

Dr. Cartledge goes on to state:

Relying heavily on David Barton's The Myth of Separation, which argues against church-state separation, Creech holds that "the founders" intended only that there should be no denominational test (Anglican, Presbyterian, etc.), assuming that all potential office holders would be Christian. In addition, he suggests (with the late D. James Kennedy) that those who don't believe in God have no external basis for life-affirming values and thus have no business serving the public.

Read the full article here: Baptists Today Blogs: No faith, no service? Mark Creech's arguments are typical theocratic nonsense.

When Baptists Go Wild

Here is a video from our Youth fundraiser at our traditional Winter Follies gathering:



I do have to say I am proud of our Youth and how they serve Christ and the world around them---so since I saluted the elderly in my last post, it is only natural that I salute the youth as well as part of the celebration of Pentecost. This Summer the Youth of FBC-Wilmington are going to Carolina, Puerto Rico (which ironically enough I got a hit from the other day). Anyways, I must salute the Youth Group of FBC-Wilmington as well as Youth Groups around the world who serve Christ, their churches and communities.

My Grandfather: Deacon Emeritus Of Oxford Baptist Church

This Sunday we went to Oxford, North Carolina to celebrate my grandfather's service as a deacon of Oxford Baptist Church. We really surprised him, which was nice! Unfortunately he wasn't feeling well that day but at least he was honored. It truly is a sad thing to watch loved ones grow old and slowly wither away especially since medical science makes life seem to go on and on far past the point it should. However, we must always rejoice in all the triumphs the elderly undertake just to make it through the day so I count it a blessing to have three grandparents still living at this point! Anyways, my grandfather was the second ever recipient of a Deacon Emeritus Award at Oxford Baptist Church, so it was neat to spend Pentecost Sunday with family that has served Christ, their churches and communities for many years and beyond---even my Uncle Cameron got to take time off of the church he pastors to be there. Here is the bulletin from that day though there is no mention of my grandfather which helped aid to the surprise element:

Providence Baptist Church-Hendersonville Calls Their Second Female Pastor

Thanks to Looking4God's tweet on Twitter for the heads up:

Religion Notes
Published: Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 8:58 p.m.

Lee called as pastor at Providence Baptist

Providence Baptist Church, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation, voted unanimously May 3 to call Julie Merritt Lee as pastor. Lee, who will assume her pastoral duties following the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in July, is the church’s second woman pastor.

The Rev. Gail Coulter was assistant pastor at First Baptist Church in Asheville before becoming Providence’s first pastor in 2002. In addition to being the church’s pastor, Coulter also served a term as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship moderator before retiring from the pastorate in 2008.

Lee, a 2005 graduate of Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, currently works as a pastoral resident at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas. Wilshire began its residency program in 2002 for the purpose of preparing future ministers for moderate Baptist churches.

Providence Baptist Church, 1201 Oakland St., Hendersonville, was featured in the lead article in this week’s Associated Baptist Press e-newsletter.

Brueggemann to be lecture series speaker

The Rev. Walter Brueggemann, the first speaker in the semi-annual Walter E. Ashley Memorial Lecture Series of 2009, will be featured at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, June 6, and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 7, at Hendersonville First Congregational United Church of Christ, Fifth Avenue West at White Pine Drive. A world-renowned Old Testament scholar and author, as well as a United Church of Christ minister, Brueggemann will be speaking on “The Psalms: Singing Trust and Telling Truth,” with each of the three lectures being a different aspect of that topic.

The June 6 topic at 10 a.m. is “Hard Road from Obedience to Praise.” The 2 p.m. topic is “Faith in the Depths.” The June 7 topic at 3 p.m. is “Faith as Gift and Impossibility.” The sermon’s title at the 11 a.m. service is “Being Present When the Will Is Read.”

Tickets to each lecture may be purchased in advance for $10 at the Main Street Visitor Center, Malaprops in Asheville, Highland Books in Brevard and at the church. If available at the door, tickets will be $20.

Scholarships available for conference
Montreat Conference Center has announced the availability of scholarship funds for “Faith and Environment: Embracing God’s Call to Be Green.” Scheduled for July 7-11, it is a new conference at Montreat.

Located on 4,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, 2,500 of which are protected wilderness, Montreat Conference Center is a picturesque setting for this national gathering of environmentalists and all who share a sense of responsibility for the well-being of creation. The program includes keynote lectures, worship and a variety of workshop on topics ranging from stream ecology to photography and facility greening to global hunger.

For more information about the conference, to register online and to apply for scholarships, visit www.montreat.org/current/2009-faith-and-environment.

Compiled by the Times-News staff.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.

Belated Congratulations to Rev. Lee, may she serve her congregation well!

The One Lamb: A Movie For Easter

It seems that more and more independent Christian themed movies are being released nowadays which is a good thing. Here in time for the Easter season is one of them:

The One Lamb is a 2009 American Christian film directed by Bryan Forrest,[1] set to be released on March 30, 2009. It stars John W. Price, Alyson Lowe, Anna Holmes and Bryan Forrest. It is unrated.[2] It was financed by University City United Methodist Church, in North Carolina.[1]


[edit] Plot
The One Lamb is the story of Jackson Price (Bryan Forrest) who is diagnosed with cancer, and determined to atone for the sins of his past. He once had everything going his way, but in a moment of weakness he lost everything. He was abandoned by his wife, learns he is dying of cancer, and may not live long. But he's determined to fight, and with a little help from a pastor named Earl (John W. Price), he tries to achieve redemption for his past failures while hoping and praying for a happy, healthy future.

Here are further details from the Official Website:

In the dead of night, lying across the steps of an altar in an abandoned church, a man lies broken and confused. How could he have fallen so far?

Just days before, he was a power broker, a young, hot campaign manager for a candidate for the US Senate. His picture graced the covers of national magazines touting him as the new “Golden Boy” of American politics. And his future was shining bright. Now, alone in this unfamiliar place, everything he once had is lost. Crying out into the darkness for help, the voice of a stranger answers “I’m going to help you my son”…

Jackson Price awakens to find himself in a hospital bed. Here, at the bottom of his fall from grace, is where he will learn he has cancer. And he is going to have to fight to save his life. All alone and facing an uncertain future, Price seeks out the stranger who answered his cry in the darkness.

In a small town deep in the country, far away from the fast paced life he once lived in the big city, Price will find Earl. Earl enjoys the simple life of the country. He delights in taking long afternoon naps. He enjoys sitting in his rocking chair on the front porch sipping cold glasses of sweetened iced tea. And this stubborn, retired black preacher and the young city boy will become fast friends.

Earl cares for Jack as he battles the cancer trying to take his life. And helps Jackson to realize he is going to have to abandon everything he understands and learn to trust in something much bigger than himself. Ultimately, for Jackson to save his life…he is going to have to surrender it.

Jackson learns that he is losing his fight with cancer. In a race against time, Earl will lead him to the One who has the power to give him new life. Turning from his selfish ways of the past, Jackson forgoes any further treatment and attempts to run a marathon to inspire thousands of others to have hope and to never give up.

Audiences will stand up and cheer at this inspirational story of courage and faith. Come along on this incredible journey as Price races against time and his past to reach the finish line where he will find the One who will set him free…the One who will give him new life…

And Here's The Preview:

---or see it in fullscreen here:

CBFNC General Assembly Day 1

Today I helped my mom and our Assistant Pastor Brad Smith setup exhibits at Snyder Memorial. While I was there I checked out the Youth room and thought I saw a picture of a girl I went to FMA with. Anyways, I'll blog more thoroughly on the General Assembly when I get home as we are staying with my grandmother in Dunn and it's hard for me to use her computer.

In closing here is a snippet of a post by Tony Cartledge from another CBFNC event I went to:

In a closing message, Mike Queen, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wilmington, said Baptists are “tribal people.” Christians have divided themselves into many tribes, he said, and Baptists have developed tribes of their own, but “that’s how it’s always been in the Kingdom of God.

Queen noted how Moses instructed the Israelites to encamp by tribes surrounding the tabernacle, each flying its distinctive banner. Thus, “both unity and uniqueness were celebrated” in the peoples’ “corporate identity as children of Israel and particular identity as members of their tribes.”

As a former president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) General Board, Queen was a tireless advocate for unity within the BSCNC during the 1990s, an effort that ultimately ran aground in the rising conservative tide that now dominates the state convention. During the same period, CBFNC emerged as an alternative nexus of cooperation and fellowship for those who felt disenchanted with or disenfranchised by the BSCNC.

“I spent a long time chasing the wrong things in Baptist life the past 25 years,” Queen told the congregation. “CBF of North Carolina is my tribe in the Baptist nation,” he said, “but it is not a denomination to be won: it’s all about mission and freedom.”

“It’s exciting to be a part of something that is still new and filled with hope we can scarcely imagine,” Queen said. That hope can be found in Jesus alone and calls for vigilant focus, he said, for “When you fall in love with an institution, you may lose the ability to follow Jesus.”

“The easy part of our faith is to believe,” Queen concluded. “The following part gets hard: that’s where we need one another.”

In a key component of the convocation, representatives from 23 organizations recognized as CBFNC ministry partners joined CBFNC leaders and the congregation in a litany of common mission and mutual support.

The Curran/Currin Family And Coffin Ships

Irish Clan Map

Currin Coat Of Arms

On Saint Patrick's Day, I have to thank my ancestors for taking the long and perilous journey across the Atlantic to escape the potato famines in Ireland and religious persecution in County Donegal, Ireland/Northern Ireland. In fact, one of the reasons why most of my side of the Curran/Currin family are in North Carolina is because the coffin ship they were on shipwrecked off the coast of North Carolina and a bunch of them ended up staying here.

More on Currin/Curran family history: Currin Surname, Curran Surname, Currans In The United States, Currins In The United States and Famous Currans/Currins In America:

Alvin Curran (born 1938), American composer
Catherine Curran O'Malley (born 1962), a Maryland state judge
Charles Curran (theologian) (born 1934), Catholic theologian
Charles Courtney Curran (1861 – 1942), American painter
Chuck Curran (born 1939), an American politician
Francis Earl Curran (1912 – 1992), an American politician
Jack Curran, an American High School athletics coach
Joseph Curran (1906 - 1981), an American labor leader
J. Joseph Curran, Jr. (born 1931), an American politician
Kevin Curran (disambiguation)
Margaret E. Curran, a United States Attorney
Pearl Lenore Curran (1883 – 1937), American author who wrote as Patience Worth
Robert Curran (disambiguation)
William Curran (Maryland), an American politician
Curran Oi, (born 1990), an American figure skater


John Currin- John Currin (born 1962) is an American painter
David Maney Currin- David Maney Currin, Sr. (November 11 , 1817 – March 25 , 1864 ) was a Tennessee attorney and politician who served in the Confederate …
Nathan Currin- Member of Family Force 5
The Rev'd Beverly Madison Currin, Ph.D., Rector Emeritus of Christ Church Parish and author to name a few.