(RNS) The statistics, some evangelicals say, can no longer be ignored.

Eighty percent of young evangelicals have engaged in premarital sex, according to a new video from the National Association of Evangelicals, and almost a third of evangelicals’ unplanned pregnancies end in abortion.

It’s time to speak honestly about sex because abstinence campaigns and anti-abortion crusades often aren’t resonating in their own pews, evangelical leaders say.

In some instances, that is beginning to happen:

– At this month’s Q conference in Washington, participants were asked at the end of a session on “reducing abortion” if churches should support the use of contraception among their single 20-somethings. Responding by text message, 64 percent said yes, 36 percent said no.

– A “Sexuality and Covenant” conference this week (April 19-21) co-sponsored by Mercer University and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship includes on its agenda the statement that “marital sexual relationships” are not available for many Christians.

– In addition to its video, the NAE is preparing to distribute information packets to pastors that include testimonies from birth mothers and adoptees, as well as definitions of almost a dozen “prevention methods” ranging from abstinence to sterilization.

“This cultural moment calls for a both/and approach that I think can be challenging for churches,” said Jenell Williams Paris, a Messiah College professor, at the Q conference. “Both lift up the ideal of premarital chastity, and support people who do otherwise with knowledge and resources that can help them prevent pregnancy.”

Paris, who has authored books on Christian approaches to sexual identity and birth control, also was slated to speak at the Mercer conference.

Sarah Brown, the CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said the majority of the Q audience probably preferred reducing premarital sex over considering conception. But that may no longer be realistic.

“Isn’t it better for unmarried, sexually active young people to use contraception than to not use it, experience a distressing pregnancy and elect abortion?” Brown said. “It’s a difficult choice. It’s a difficult question, but I think that’s what we have to ask ourselves.”

More than 10 years ago, Sarah Walsh Landini, a Pittsburgh barista, was one of those evangelical 20-somethings who abstained. But at age 23, she didn’t, and within a month she was pregnant.

“The Bible says not to do it, but I think, for most people, they need more than that,” said Landini, now 35, who still sees her 11-year-old son, Jacob, whom she gave up for adoption. “We want to know why. And most of the time folks aren’t prepared to answer the question why.”

David Gushee, director of Mercer’s Center for Theology and Public Life, said the 15-year gap between the average onset of puberty and the average age of marriage is part of what has stopped some of the silence about sex.

“Maybe there is a trend, realizing that ‘just say no’ and True Love Waits is not enough, that we need a more thorough, more comprehensive and more realistic conversation that goes ahead and deals with the realities that we face in our time,” he said, “while attempting to ask what does the Lord require of us in this area.”

The discussions are reaching people where they are, said Anika Smith, director of Generation Forum, the NAE program aimed especially at reducing abortion among church members.

“I had a lot of people who came up to me when we showed our video and were crying and saying ,`That’s me,’” she recalled. “`That number up there, that was me. I had that abortion,’ or ‘My girlfriend had that abortion and didn’t tell me.’”

She said a sense of shame over premarital sex can lead an unwed woman to choose abortion, and while her organization doesn’t push contraception outright, it is trying to educate pastors about what’s happening between the sheets with the people in their pews.

“We need to create a safe space in our churches for this discussion to happen without shame or condemnation,” said Smith, who has single friends in their 20s who found support for unplanned pregnancies through their churches. She wants to see such churches become “not the exception but the rule.”

Evangelical leaders are grappling with how they can do more than simply decry abortion. Author Jonathan Merritt envisions in his new book, “A Faith of Our Own,” a community of churches working jointly to help birth mothers pay for diapers, doctor visits, schooling and day care. He said he was pleasantly surprised about the results of the nonscientific Q survey.

“If someone chooses to have sex outside of marriage or if they are married but unprepared to have children, I absolutely think they should use contraception,” he said.

Not everyone, however, is ready to advance the conversation to contraception.

Jimmy Hester, co-founder of  “True Love Waits,” an abstinence initiative started by the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Christian Resources, said: “Any discussion of contraception weakens the abstinence message.”

Although Landini admitted at the Q conference that she prayed for a miscarriage, she said that in the end, her unexpected pregnancy brought blessings.

“I’m proud of being a birth mom,” Landini said. “I’m proud of my decision. I’m proud of Jacob. I didn’t like some of the behaviors that got me into that behavior, but God has been good through that.”

SPOKANE, Wash. (RNS) After nearly 700 people tried to push Gonzaga University to rescind its commencement speaker’s invitation to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, supporters of the anti-apartheid hero responded with 11,000 signatures of their own.

Opponents claim the Jesuit school had lost sight of its Catholic values by inviting the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, to speak at next month’s commencement and receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Now a second petition is circulating, this one protesting the anti-Tutu petition.

Desmond Tutu at One Young World.

“For some time now the religious right, and Catholic right in particular, has been succeeding in creating these ridiculous controversies around who speaks on Catholic college campuses,” said Michael Sherrard, director of Faithful America, an online community sponsored by Faith in Public Life.

The original petition, spearheaded by Spokane attorney Patrick Kirby, called Tutu an inappropriate choice because he supports abortion rights, has made offensive statements toward Jews, and supports contraception and the ordination of gay clergy.

In response, Faithful America launched its own petition urging Gonzaga administrators not to back down. Within 48 hours, the petition gained 11,000 signatures.

Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh said the university would continue with commencement as planned.

“We are very much looking forward to having him,” he said. “I really believe that this is very consistent with what both the church and Jesuits want for its institutions; and of course in any community people will have different points of view around that. But we believe what’s most important here is celebrating the achievements of our graduates and faculty.”

McCulloh said the archbishop is an example to all Christians, particularly for his work fighting apartheid. “We’re not just simply choosing somebody who people know,” McCulloh said.

(Tracy Simmons is the editor of SpokaneFAVS.com)

Michael Williams in this new book How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens has created an incredibly valuable tool for the church. I highly doubt that you will have many people wondering what this particular book is about.

The title is as clear as puritan sermon titles, which often would go into entire discourses just to tell you what the sermon was about. Williams does not go to that extreme in titling his book, but he has chosen a very precise title for this work.

As one may guess the purpose of the book is to display how every book of the bible looks to Christ in its fulfillment. The book devotes a chapter to each book of the Bible. The first section of each chapter is devoted to giving the overview of each book of the Bible. Within this section Williams highlights major themes and key figures within the book. Also, within this section Williams offers a memory verse, which generally highlights a major theme from the book.

Next, Williams has a section titled, “The Jesus Lens.” Within this section, Williams points out how the particular book points to Christ and his finished work. I found this section to be extremely helpful, especially when looking to the Old Testament, where it is sometimes difficult to see Christ. Williams also does an incredible job at showing how the book of James is a Christian book pointing to Christ.

Often times when an expositor gets to the book of James, his sole focus becomes what he should do. As a result of this, James begins to sounds like a book whose focus is work’s righteousness.

Williams shows how the book of James is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us. As a result of what Christ has done for us, we now have commands which we are to follow. Our works are the fruit of one who has been changed by Christ’s finished work.

The next section of the chapter is called, “Contemporary Implications.” During this section Williams addresses how each particular book and its message will have an impact upon how we view our present reality.

Williams seeks to give the reader a “lens” through which he can apply the message of the text in their own day. Finally, Williams concludes by offering a “Hook Questions” section. Within this section Williams offers group discussion question, for those who are using this book for group discussions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Often time’s biblical theology (i.e. the study which focuses on looking at the full narrative of scripture as a whole) can be difficult to follow for those who are not acquainted with its jargon. Just like in every field of study, words often are created for simplicity of conversation, for the people who spend a great deal of time writing within their particular field.

Williams does a great job avoiding this language and providing an incredible introduction to the field. This book belongs on the self of every pastor and laity alike. If you are a pastor preparing to exposit a book of the Bible, you will definitely benefit from having this book upon your shelf. I am thankful Williams has written this book, in order that even young students of the Bible will be able to read all of scripture through the lens of Christ.

Publisher: Zondervan
Pages: 267
Binding Type: Paperback
Book Grade: A

The Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church has become the best-selling Catholic book in the world.

The catechism has sold 1.7 million copies. It takes the content  of the Catholic Church  and makes it more accessible to young people.

“1.7 million copies sold worldwide – but that’s just the beginning,” said Father Joseph Fessio, founder and editor of Ignatius Press.

Some of the things the catechism explain are Catholic doctrine, sacraments, morality and prayer.

“It’s been challenging at times to keep YOUCAT in stock,” said Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius, the publisher of the catechism in the U.S .

“YOUCAT is quickly becoming the go-to book for young people to deepen their faith. Pastors, school teachers, and catechists are using it in their religious education classes and Confirmation programs. Parents, grandparents, and godparents are buying it as a gift for young people. YOUCAT is an outstanding gift to the church.”

And work is continuing to expand the reach and impact of this landmark book.

“Young people are evangelizing their peers as well as deepening their own faith.”

“A special institute in Germany, staffed by young Catholics, is organizing international study groups and preparing new YOUCAT-centered activities and publications,” Father Fessio said.

“Like its big brother, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, YOUCAT isn’t a one-time publication. It’s a point of reference for young people around the world and a cornerstone of the New Evangelization.”

(RNS) Richard Land, the Southern Baptist Convention’s top public policy ethicist, apologized Monday  for failing to give proper attribution for material he used on his live radio show in which he criticized President Obama and black civil rights leaders for exploiting the Trayvon Martin shooting.

Land, the president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said, “On occasion I have failed to provide appropriate verbal attributions on my radio broadcast, Richard Land Live!, and for that I sincerely apologize,” in a written statement.

“I regret if anyone feels they were deceived or misled. That was not my intent nor has it ever been.”

In his radio show, Land described activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as “racial ambulance chasers” who, along with fringe groups like the Black Panthers, are fomenting a “mob mentality” in the Trayvon Martin case that is akin to what the Ku Klux Klan used to do to blacks in the South.

“This situation is getting out of hand,” Land said. “There is going to be violence. When there is violence it’s going to be Jesse Jackson’s fault. It’s going to be Al Sharpton’s fault. It’s going to be Louis Farrakhan’s fault, and to a certain degree it’s going to be President Obama’s fault.”

The plagiarism came to light when Baptist blogger and Baylor University Ph.D. student Aaron Weaver posted a partial transcript from one of Land’s shows on his blog, TheBigDaddyWeave.com. The unattributed remarks were made on Land’s March 31 show about media, race and Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black Florida teenager who was shot and killed by a neighborhood security guard.

Weaver discovered that more than half the material for Land’s short segment was quoted nearly verbatim from Jeffrey Kuhner’s March 29 Washington Times Op-Ed, “Obama foments racial division.”

After that discovery, Weaver listened to the third hour of the same program and discovered that Land again used unattributed material, this time from an article in “Investor’s Business Daily.” He discovered a third example in Land’s Feb. 4 show in which Land quoted from a Washington Examiner editorial.

Land said it is his practice to post the articles he uses on his website, and the show for March 31 does include a link to the Kuhner column on the “full show notes” page. Weaver called the link insufficient.

“Land made no mention of Kuhner during the segment,” Weaver said. “Listeners did not know that he was quoting Jeffrey Kuhner word for word.”

In his statement, Land explained that listeners familiar with the show understand his methods.

“While I do not use a script,” Land wrote, “listeners familiar with the program know that both the audio of the program and material I reference during the program are posted on the program’s website during or immediately following the broadcast. During the program I encourage listeners to share these links and content among their circle of influence. This has been standard operating practice for the program since its launch in 2002.”

Weaver said he suspects more examples will come to light. In an interview with The Tennessean, Weaver said “This isn’t someone stealing a few lines. It’s his whole commentary. He was so smooth doing it – it has to be something he has done in the past.”

Land concluded his statement by saying he is grateful the “oversight” was brought to his attention. “One can always do better, and I certainly pledge to do so,” he wrote.

Crossroad Bible Institute announced recently the launch of two new satellite campuses in Malawi in the midst of the recent unrest following the president’s death. Of seventeen CBI satellites now operating internationally, seven are located in Africa.

Earlier this month, the Malawian government withheld details about President Bingu wa Mutharika’s death for two days, sparking fears that the reigning political party would circumvent the constitution to bring in a new president.

The government eventually acted in accordance with the constitution, appointing Joyce Banda as Malawi’s first, and Africa’s second, female president. Previously, as the country’s first female vice president, Banda was an outspoken women’s rights advocate and publicly opposed the president, a surprising move for a woman in her society.

Along with international concern quelled by the smooth succession of power, Mutharika’s death brought celebration in Malawi. His rule was autocratic, and citizens hope for an end to repression and economic difficulties. Already, President Banda has fired government officials loyal to Mutharika and reinitiated contact with countries that suspended aid during his presidency.

Yet obstacles to improvement are significant: Malawi is considered one of the least developed countries in the world, with low life expectancy, high infant mortality and a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS.

Overcrowded prisons, some at more than 200 percent capacity, are plagued by unsanitary conditions, and the judicial system is corrupt and understaffed.

In this chaotic environment, Crossroad Bible Institute is providing prisoners with biblically based studies and steadfast support from the church. Two campuses have been opened, with Wale Junaid directing CBI Malawi North and Platwell Dindi overseeing CBI Malawi South.

“Most of the prisoners have no one and have never known real love. But God has them in a good place for His touch of mercy,” Director Dindi remarks. The government granted permission for the CBI program to be introduced in many Malawian prisons.

“Like other CBI satellites across the globe, these campuses offer the hope and dependability of the Gospel in the midst of political uncertainty, broken judiciary systems and inhumane prison conditions,” states Crossroad President Dr. H. David Schuringa.

CBI is a nonprofit prison ministry with over 42,000 students studying through satellite campuses on six continents. The program is provided at no cost to prisoners and their families.

Open Doors, an international Christian ministry which serves persecuted believers, is mobilizing Christians around the world to participate in a day of prayer Sunday for North Korea.

North Korean state propaganda says: “On April 15th, known as ‘Day of the Sun’ to the Korean people, mass celebrations will take place in Pyongyang and other cities in the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea). These will be colorful and vibrant. Throughout the world from Lima to Tokyo meetings, seminars and events will take place. To be in Pyongyang on the Day of the Sun is simply a wonderful experience without parallel.”

As part of the celebration, North Korea and its new leader Kim Jong-Un will reportedly launch a rocket this week which would showcase the country’s ability to fire a missile with allegedly the capacity to reach the continental United States.

Officially there is freedom of religion in North Korea. In practice, civilians do not have any rights. There is no freedom to build churches or to worship in homes. North Korea is ranked No. 1 on Open Doors’ 2012 World Watch List of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians.

Possession of a Bible or Christian materials is illegal and punishable by death. The proclamation of the gospel is strictly forbidden. Christian parents can’t even share their beliefs with their children until they are old enough to understand the dangers. Christians are viewed as “a danger to society” or “spies of the traitorous West.”

“For Christians inside North Korea their fear has increased as the government has mandated all the people to bow down to the gods of Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-Un and participate in the celebration,” says Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. Carl Moeller. “So scrutiny of the estimated 200,000 to 400,000 brave underground Christians has increased during the last few months. Some have been thrown into prisons. There are 50,000 to 70,000 Christians of the estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people living under horrific conditions in those prisons. Also, many North Koreans are chronically malnourished and unemployed.

“But we know that the Christians living under the most brutal regime in the world will be celebrating the true ‘Son’ Jesus Christ in their hearts. Please show your solidarity with Christians there by praying and fasting for them this Sunday and beyond.”

To show “One With Them” unity with its brothers and sisters in North Korea, Open Doors USA is providing resources at www.worldwatchlist.us/pray-for-north-korea. People can sign up to receive hourly tweets on Sunday, prayer points and other materials. The Open Doors USA Facebook page at www.facebook.com/opendoorsfans?ref=share will also feature North Korea, including the tweets.

In addition to the call for prayer on Sunday, global partners will join together in prayer during North Korea Freedom Week April 23-29. To register to receive information and how to participate in both events, sign up at www.worldwatchlist.us/pray-for-north-korea.

(RNS) The Oklahoma state Senate voted down a bill that would have prohibited state judges from considering foreign laws, including religious laws, in their decisions.

State Rep. Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City) submitted House Bill 1552 last year after a similar law approved by voters in a 2010 referendum was ruled unconstitutional.

Oklahoma’s House of Representatives approved the new bill by a vote of 76-3 in 2011, but it wasn’t heard in a Senate committee until this year. The Senate Rules Committee rejected the bill Thursday (April 5) in a 9-6 vote.

The bill was widely considered to have targeted Shariah, or Islamic law, as have other bills in several other state legislatures.  

“Our state has come a long way when you consider that people overwhelmingly supported a similar bill in 2010, and now such a bill can’t even make it onto the floor of the Senate,” said Muneer Awad, director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations.

Oklahoma is one of several states where anti-foreign law bills have died or been withdrawn recently, including Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Jersey. The movement to ban Shariah from state courts started in Oklahoma two years ago.

David Yurushalmi, a lawyer for the conservative Center for Security Policy that drafted the legislation on which the anti-Shariah bills are based, was not discouraged. “There is a strong grassroots movement that supports this legislation and that will keep putting these bills forward,” said Yurushalmi.  

DSB/KRE END SACIRBEY

(RNS) Gabe Lyons thinks Christian culture warriors are on the wrong path.

His sixth annual Q Conference, which opens Tuesday (April 10) in Washington, D.C., is an attempt to do things differently. With 700 participants gathered in a stately downtown auditorium, Lyons will play host to a distinct kind of Christian conference, one that seeks a respectful, constructive conversation on a host of issues confronting the nation.

Q, which stands for “question,” will allow 30 different culture leaders — from New York Times columnist David Brooks to Florida megachurch pastor Joel Hunter — to present their ideas for the common good during a two-and-a-half day confab.

“We feel we have a role to play in renewing the culture and holding back the effects of sin,” said Lyons, founder of Q, a nonprofit organization based in New York City. “We’re not to do it in an antagonistic way. We hope to do it in a hopeful way that gives witness to the rest of the world in how things ought to be.”

Part Clinton Global Initiative, part TED Talk, the conference is designed to highlight the best ideas rather than condemning the nation’s ills. Presenters are allocated three, nine, or 18 minutes to talk. Participants sit at round tables instead of rows, and time is built in for participants to reflect and talk about what they’ve heard.

That kind of format allows Q to include both Richard Land from the religious right and Jim Wallis from the religious left; both will share the stage Tuesday to discuss areas of potential agreement.

Lyons, a Liberty University graduate, said he realized nine years ago how little most Americans respected Christianity. That realization prompted him to acknowledge that the nation’s religious pluralism was here to stay, and that if Christians wanted their views to be given a thoughtful hearing, they had better quit resisting and start creating a culture that allows God’s love to break though.

His 2010 book, “The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America,” was a kind of manifesto calling Christians to quit cursing the darkness and start lighting a candle.

Land, who heads the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said he appreciates Lyons’ point, but thought it was overly simplistic. “Jesus called us to do both; He called us to be salt and light,” Land said. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Land said his own denomination, which is often cast as a judgmental culture agitator, is also among the nation’s largest providers of emergency disaster relief. In addition, its members give a higher proportion of their incomes to charity.

But Q participants are not about to compromise their evangelical convictions. On Thursday, participants will fan out across Washington to press Congress, the White House and the State Department on issues they deem important.

The difference, Lyons said, is the tone.

“It’s more civil, less fear-based,” he said. “There’s more appreciation for the intellect and a commitment to let the best ideas win out.”

(The Q Conference will provide a free video stream of its opening day sessions from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at http://www.qideas.org/live/).