Judge Strikes Down Iowas Same-Sex Marriage Law

KCRG-TV reports today:

By Mark Geary, Reporter

By Becky Ogann

IOWA — Gay couples in Iowa are celebrating. Thursday afternoon, a Polk County judge struck down Iowa’s ban on gay marriage.
Read More>>

Also, CNN reports:

(CNN) — An Iowa district court ruled Thursday that same-sex couples can marry based on the state constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment, court documents show.

An Iowa district judge ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.

The ruling was in response to a December 2005 lawsuit brought by six same-sex couples seeking to wed. They were denied marriage licenses and claimed such treatment violates equal-protection and due-process clauses in the Iowa constitution.

The court also struck down a state law declaring valid marriages are only between a man and woman.

The Iowa District Court for Polk County advances the case to the Iowa Supreme Court which will make a final decision on same-sex marriage, according to Lambda Legal, a gay and lesbian legal organization representing the couples.

The 63-page ruling, written by Judge Robert Hanson states: “Couples, such as plaintiffs, who are otherwise qualified to marry one another may not be denied licenses to marry or certificates of marriage or in any other way prevented from entering into a civil marriage pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 595 by reason of the fact that both persons compromising such a couple are of the same sex.”

The law describing marriage as between a man and a woman, “constitutes the most intrusive means by the state to regulate marriage. This statute is an absolute prohibition on the ability of gay and lesbian individuals to marry a person of their choosing,” Hanson wrote. Read More>>

While the Chicago Tribune reports:

By DAVID PITT | Associated Press Writer

7:45 PM CDT, August 30, 2007

 

DES MOINES, Iowa - A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa’s law banning gay marriage and ordered the county recorder to permit gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Less than two hours after word of the ruling was publicized, two Des Moines men applied at the Polk County recorder’s office for a marriage license, and for the first time the application was accepted. The process of granting a license to marry in Iowa takes three days.

Gary Allen Seronko, 51, was listed as the groom and David Curtis Rethmeier, 29, the bride on the application.  Read More>>

Now, more than ever we need a Constitutional Amendment to protect traditional marriage before more liberal judges impose their agenda upon the people.  Government of the people, by the people, and for the people has been replaced by government of the judges, for the judges, and by the judges.

SBCToday to launch

I found this article tonight on the ABP News website:

NEW YORK (ABP) – Four conservative pastors are joining the increasingly wild and wooly frontier of blogs discussing the state of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Robin Foster, Wes Kenney, Tim Rogers, and Joe Stewart have announced the launch of a new blog called SBC Today (www.sbctoday.com).

Rogers, pastor of Yadkin Baptist Church in Statesville, N.C., said the blog will be used to help restore Baptist unity through Biblical discipleship and Baptist identity. Read More>>

From the SBCToday website:

Four Southern Baptist pastors have announced their intention to launch a new blog that grows out of their conversation about a renewed focus in biblical discipleship and Baptist identity. The pastors are Wes Kenney, of Valliant, Oklahoma; Robin Foster, of Perkins, Oklahoma; Joe Stewart of Littlefield, Texas; and Tim Rogers of Statesville, North Carolina. All four have already established blogs of their own. Read More>>

The launch is set for September 10.

sbc IMPACT will launch September 1

A new blog has appeared!  It is sbc IMPACT and it is a collaborative effort between several prominent SBC bloggers. As it states on it’s site:

sbc IMPACT!, an exciting, new collaborative blog site, will officially launch on Saturday, September 1.

sbc IMPACT! is the vision of a group of Southern Baptist bloggers who desire to host a truly edifying, thought-provoking, civil community for the examination and discussion of issues that affect Southern Baptist churches.

Read more>>

The Last Resort?

The story is told of an emergency meeting of the deacons called by the senior pastor. At the end of the meeting with nothing accomplished, the pastor threw up his hands in frustration and said, “There’s nothing left to do but to pray!” One of the deacons looked at him and replied, “Oh, no! Has it gotten that bad?”

Today, we have many problems inside and outside the church. It seems that we only turn to God in prayer when we see nothing else that can be done. We treat prayer as a spiritual weapon of last resort rather than the weapon of first choice. We make our plans then ask God to bless them instead of asking God what would He have us do.  Maybe the solution to our problems lie not in programs or paradigms but prayer.  Heart-felt, sincere prayer asking God what He would have us do then doing that.

Five Reasons Why I Love Jesus: Jim Austin

I was tagged a while back with the question, “Five Reasons Why I Love Jesus.” I thought it would be interesting to pose this question to some people in the leadership of our Convention. I would like to thank Jim Austin for responding to my inquiry as to “Five Reasons Why I Love Jesus.” He gave me seven! I am excited about the future of our state convention under his leadership. Below is his response to the question:

Quinn,

This is in response to your request for my five personal reasons why I love Jesus (I’ve listed 7) to list on your web blog…

1. He redeemed me when there was no hope for such
2. He forgives me more than any human could
3. He empowers me to do the supernatural
4. He uses me in spite of my weakness
5. He understands me, He’s already faced all that I ever will
6. He blesses me in ways I could never deserve
7. He’s coming for me…and it could be any day

Jim Austin

Executive Director-Treasurer

South Carolina Baptist Convention

Is This Hate Speech? The Future?

What’s in a Name?

I got this in an email today and i just have to share:

The famous Olympic skier Picabo Street (pronounced Peek-A-Boo) is not just an athlete….

She is now a nurse currently working at the Intensive Care Unit of a large metropolitan hospital.

She is not permitted to answer the hospital telephones. It caused too much confusion when she would answer the phone and say,

 

Picabo, ICU.

(A good clean joke is hard to find these days — pass it on! )

Men’s Dinner: August 13, 2007


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A Matter of Perspective

I was reminded today of the story about the artist, the preacher, and the cowboy who went to the Grand Canyon one day.

The artist looked at the Canyon and said, “What a beautiful picture to paint!”

The preacher looked in awe at the Canyon and said, “Behold, the creative power of the LORD!”

The cowboy looked at the Canyon and said, “Bad place to lose a cow.”

When you look at the church, what do you see?