Short Spots

IMB Trustees appoint 95 missionaries: Meeting May 22-24 in Albuquerque International Mission Board trustees appointed 95 new missionaries and elected officers for 2006-07.

Of the new missionaries appointed, nearly two-thirds, or 62, could not be named for security reasons because they are going to regions closed or hostile to a Gospel witness. The appointees represent the fourth-largest group of missionaries appointed in IMB history.

     Trustees also learned that the auditing firm KPMG has given the IMB an “unqualified opinion” for its financial statements, which means all required information was received in the required form and in agreement with the accounts. In a separate statement, KPMG indicated they found no material weaknesses in the IMB’s system of internal financial controls. [BP]

Judge strikes down Georgia’s marriage amendment: In a ruling sure to increase calls for passage of a federal marriage amendment, a Georgia state judge ruled May 16 that the state's constitutional marriage amendment – approved by 76% of voters in 2004 – violates the state constitution. In tossing out the initiative, Judge Constance Russell ruled that the amendment is unconstitutional because it deals with two subjects – "gay marriage" and same-sex civil unions. The amendment bans both. The ruling itself did not deal with the legality of "gay marriage" – only with a technical legal question as to whether the amendment's language was constitutional. The Georgia constitution prohibits amendments from dealing with more than one subject. Amendment supporters, though, contend that "gay marriage" and same-sex civil unions comprise the same issue. Legal in Connecticut and Vermont, civil unions grant homosexual couples the legal benefits of marriage without using the word "marriage." The ruling in Georgia is expected to be appealed.

      Including Georgia, 19 states have passed marriage amendments, and at least seven more states are expected to vote on them this year. The amendments prevent state courts from legalizing "gay marriage." An amendment has never lost at the ballot. [BP]

Former SBC Prof Opposes Marriage Amendment: A former Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ethics professor who taught at the school prior to its shift back to orthodoxy has joined a coalition of liberal religious leaders opposing a U.S. constitutional marriage amendment. Paul Simmons, who retired in 1992 – one year prior to the arrival of current President R. Albert Mohler Jr. – appeared May 22 at a press conference with a coalition of religious leaders calling themselves Clergy for Fairness.

The amendment, Simmons said, according to the Associated Press, "has the smell and feel of Salem" – a reference to the Salem, Mass., witchcraft trials of the late 1600s in which 20 people were executed.

Prominent groups in the coalition include the Episcopal Church, the Alliance of Baptists and the Interfaith Alliance.

A joint letter from the coalition says the amendment would "restrict the civil rights of millions of Americans" and "enshrine into the Constitution a particular religious viewpoint."

While at Southern, Simmons was criticized by conservatives for his pro-choice views on abortion. [BP]

Carlisle Driggers to retire from S.C. leadership post: B. Carlisle Driggers, saying “the time has come for me to announce my retirement,” will step aside as executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention on Feb. 28, 2007, after 15 years at the helm of the nation’s oldest state Baptist convention. His will be the second-longest tenure for an executive director in South Carolina. Charles Jones held the position for 17 years, from 1925-42.

    The search for a new executive director-treasurer will begin immediately with the appointment of a committee selected from the executive board by the chairman, Mike Hamlet, pastor of First Baptist Church in North Spartanburg. In a likely timetable, the search committee would bring its nomination for the position to the executive board at its Oct. 9-10 meeting and, if approved, move it forward for a vote by messengers to the annual meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention Nov. 14-15 at First Baptist Church in Taylors. [BP]

Casinos Increase Crime, study says: The Washington Post took note May 11 of a study by Earl L. Grinols of Baylor University and David B. Mustard of the University of Georgia that said casinos lead to significant increases in crime in communities where gambling is legalized. The researchers analyzed crime data collected from all 3,165 counties in the United States from 1977 to 1996 and examined local crime rates before and after casinos opened, The Post said.

      “Crime began to rise after the first year, slowly at first and then more quickly, until it had far surpassed what it would have been if the casino had never opened,” The Post explained. “By the fifth year of operation, robberies were up 136%; aggravated assaults, 91%; auto theft, 78%; burglary, 50%; larceny, 38%; and rape, 21%. Controlling for other factors, 8.6% of property crimes and 12.6% of violent crimes were attributed to casinos.”