®I)e Cljarlotte ^osit
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1997
12A
RELIGION
Early
leaders
had impact
Sunday
School Lesson
Devotional Reading: Acts 15:1-
11.
Lesson Scripture: Acts 4:32-37;
9:23-31; 11:19-30.
The unit we begin with today’s
lesson (which is also the final
unit of this quarter) looks at peo
ple who made a difference in the
early church through their faith
ful service for Christ.
The first of these individuals is
Barnabas. His contributions to
the early church was substan
tial. The three passages from
Acts 4, 9 and 11 in today’s lesson
text all show how he provided
needed encouragement at criti
cal times in the life of the early
church. As we study these exam
ples, we should give serious con
sideration to how we can foUow
his example by being encour-
agers of others. This is a min
istry in which every Christian
can participate. Like Barnabas,
every believer can make a signif
icant difference through encour
agement.
Verse 31 mentions that the
believers “were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and they spake the
word of God with boldness.”
Their bold preaching was one
result of the Holy Spirit's pres
ence. Their one heart and one
soul was another sign of the
Spirit’s influence. This oneness
manifested itself in a willingness
to share their possessions with
those in need. 'These Christians
did not consider aught, or any, of
their property to be private; the
needs of others were more
important to them than their
own.
We know that Joses (the
Greek form of Joseph) by his
more familiar nickname,
Barnabas, which was given to
him by the apostles. Barnabas is
an Aramaic name meaning son
of consolation, or “son of encour
agement.” Bar is the Aramaic
word for “son,” as in the name of
Simon Baijona (Matthew 16:17).
'The phrase son of is a Hebrew
idiom often used to describe a
person’s character or character
istics. For example, Judas, who
was the subject of last week’s
lesson, is referred to by Jesus as
a “son of perdition” in John
17:12. This meant that Judas
was a man characterized by evil
thoughts, words, and actions, aU
qf which contributed to his
4ownfall.
' Barnabas’s background as a
Levite meant that he would
have been quite knowledgeable
of the Mosaic Law. In addition,
Barnabas was a Jew whose
borne was outside of Judea
bmidst the influence of Greek
culture. He was of the country of
Cyprus, a large island located in
tire eastern Mediterranean Sea
'These ingredients in Barnabas's
background helped to prepare
bim for the important role he
^ould play in encouraging and
aiding the spread of the gospel
throughout new territories.
I Barnabas’ having land may
seem strange, since Levites,
Recording to the Law of Moses,
^ere not to be landowners
^Numbers 18:20-24); (Deuter
onomy 10:9). By this time, how
ever, such regulations were
apparently no longer recognized
or enforced.
; The sale of property and the
giving of the money from the
sale to the church was volun
tary. as Peter told Ananais in
Acts 5:4, “While it remained,
ivas it not thine own? And after
it was sold, was it not in thine
pwn power.” The benevolent
work that the church accom
plished through these funds was
handled primarily by the apos
tles. Acts 6 tells of how the apos
tles came to delegate this min
istry to another group of men, so
that they could give themselves
more fuUy “to prayer, and to the
word” (Acts 6:4).
PHOTOS/SUE ANN JOHNSON
Worshippers gather at St. Luke Baptist Church for a feliowship. A new program begun by the Congress of Nationai Black
Church highlights increased awareness of church safety.
CNBC begins innovative initiative
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
One of the nation's largest
Afncan American church organi
zations will begin a $12 million
initiative to help rebuild burned
churches.
The Congress of National
Black Churches, which repre
sents eight African American
denominations, unveiled its
Church Rebuilding and Arson
TYevention Initiative Monday at
the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C.
The group held its annual con
cave in Charlotte last fall.
The program, which hopes to
rebuild 50 burned churches with
fire-resistant materials over the
next three years, comes after
severed member churches were
destroyed over the last three
years.
“This initiative signifies
CNBC’s long-term commitment
to rebuild churches and restore
communities,” CNBC Chairman
Bishop Roy L. Winbush said.
“We also want to address the
underlying causes by working at
the local level to establish com
munity coalitions that will
remain in place long after the
physical edifice has been
restored.”
Bishop John Adams, founder
of the organization, said about
$3 million of the money will be
used to rebuild or repair black or
multiracial churches.
Adams said the rest of the
funds would be used to provide
churches with anti-arson securi
ty systems and for educational
efforts to increase understand
ing and reconciliation in commu
nities where churches have been
brunedi .
According to CNBC, there is a
financial gap of about $150,000
unpaid by insurance or other
resources after a typical church
burning. TTie $3 milhon will be
used to fill the gap at the 50
churches selected for help.
The group also stressed the
need to educate young people,
who have been charged in a
nmnber of burnings, about the
severity of the recent rash of
church arsons.
CNBC estimates more than
300 churches were damaged by
fire between January 1995 and
December 1996.
Through the end of August,
authorities have identified about
70 churches with black or mul
tiracial congregations where
race may have been a motive for
arson.
An equal number of fires in
white churches have been
reported in the southeast, where
white churches outnumber black
congregations 2 to 1.
The program, which will be
piloted in several southern
states, including the Carohnas,
will be partially funded by a $6
million grant by the Lily
Endowment, a philanthropic
organization that provides fund
ing to non-profit organizations.
the most important foundation
on which to build a community,”
Adams said. “We must inten
tionally build a new climate of
inclusion, quality and morality.”
The group represents more
than 65,000 churches and 20
million members nationwide.
Highlights of the initiative:
“Lily Endowment and CNBC
have been closely associated
since the 1970s,” Craig Dykstra,
vice president of the religious
division of the endowment said.
“We are pleased to support
CNBC in this important worth
while and complex effort.”
The endowment also pledged
its support for helping CNBC
bring local resources into the
program.
In the seven months since
President Clinton ordered the
Justice and Treasury depart
ments to oversee investigations
into the church burnings, the
National Church Arson Task
Force reported that arrests are
eight times the previous rate.
The task force announced last
week that authorities have
made 104 arrests.
“In many regions the church is
•The program wiU develop and
.jconduct technical assistance and
training workshops on rebuild
ing churches and gamering com
munity support.
•Churches wiU be educated on
how to effectively invest in secu
rity systems and fire retardant
materials and techniques.
•New churches will be
equipped with state of the art
fire retardant systems.
•The initiative will provide
church with insiuance counsel
ing and direction to identify pm-
dent policies.
•A documentary on church
burnings wiU be produced.
The group has established a
toU free number for more infor
mation, (800) 424-8808.
The Associated Press con
tributed to this article.
Court to
hear key
religion
cases
By Richard Carelli
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - A Supreme
Court that for the first time in
history is not predominantly
Protestant is poised to tackle
two key religious disputes.
The court lost its Protestant
majority last year, when
Clarence 'Thomas left a charis
matic Episcopal church and -
after 25 years - again became
an active Roman CathoKc.
Justices Antonin Scalia and
Anthony M. Kennedy also are
Catholics. Justices Ruth Bader
Ginsburg and Stephen G.
Breyer are Jewish. Chief Justice
William H. Rehnquist and
Justices John Paul Stevens,
Sandra Day O’Connor and
David H. Souter belong to
Protestant denominations.
Justices rarely discuss their
religion in public, but 1996
proved an exceptional year. In
addition to Thomas' action,
Scalia and Breyer spoke out.
In a series of speeches, Scalia
urged fellow Christians to pray
for “the courage to suffer the
contempt of the sophisticated
world.”
Breyer, addressing a Capitol
Hill gathering to commemorate
the Holocaust, referred to him
self as “a Jew, a judge, a mem
ber of the S.upreme Court.” And
he invoked several passages
from the Torah.
Do the highest court’s deci
sions reflect the religious scru
ples of justices themselves?
“Certainly,” answered Brent
Walker of the Baptist Joint
Committee for Public Affairs: “A
justice’s religious views are part
of the decision-making process.
It happens all the time.”
“Judges come into the process
with religious convictions they
cannot, and probably ought not,
shed,” Walker said.
Two cases, one from New York
and the other from Texas, will
be argued and decided by July.
In each, the court will help
define Americans’ religious free
dom and try to clarify govern
ment’s relationship with reli
gious institutions.
In the New York case, the
court will consider reversing its
12-year-old decision that
banned public school teachers
from offering remedial help at
parochial schools.
See SUPREME page 14A
Two Charlotte churches sold bogus bonds
By Jeri Young
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Texas couple swindled at
least a dozen midwestem and
southern churches in a con
struction scheme, prosecutors
say.
At least two Charlotte
churches and a Masonic lodge,
as well as a Shelby church
were bilked of more than $1
million through the sale of
bogus bonds.
The couple,. Solomon and
Rosalind Scaife of Dallas,
Texas, are accused of exploit
ing “the difficulty that African
American congregations have
historically had in raising con
struction funds from banks,”
the indictment against them
read.
According to the indictment
issued by the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service in St. Louis
and the Assistant U.S.
Attorney’s office, the couple
targeted poor, rural congrega
tions.
Rosalind Scaife would claim
to be a representative of a
national bond company that
would guarantee church
financing. The bonds were
secured by a first mortgage on
the building, giving investors
a share of the mortgage.
Prosecutors said last week
that the Scaifes typically sold
church officials on a plan to
sell bonds to church members
and use the proceeds to con
struct new buildings.
“The church members would
hear about her word of month
from another congregation,”
East St. Louis Postal
Inspector J.H. Broderick said.
“They assumed since it
worked for other congrega
tions that it was safe.”
Rosalind Scaife would access
church financial records to see
how much the church could
actually afford to spend. She
would also find out the
amount of previous bids for
Solomon, who pretended to be
a successful, experienced con
tractor. Rosalind Scaife did
not mention the scope of her
role in her husband’s con
struction company.
Broderick, who is investigat
ing the case, said the Scaifes
ran a sophisticated scheme.
Rosalind Scaife would pre
sent a bond package that
allowed church members to
invest personal money to
finance the project. She would
also advise congregations that
her husband could do the con
struction for less than other
contractors, often underbid
ding other contractors by
thousands of dollars.
Investigators say Rosalind
Scaife’s estimates were far
below what the church could
be built for.
“If you are having trouble
getting financing and you find
someone who can guarantee
you a loan and they say they
have a contractor who will do
it for less, of course you are
going to accept it,” Broderick
said. “That gives them a leg
up.”
Because Solomon Scaife was
See TEXAS on page 13A
Teacher loses court appeal that rehgion cost his job
By Laurie Asseo
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - A former
substitute teacher in Indiana
who says he wrongly was fired
for discussing religion with
students and silently reading
his Bible in class lost a
Supreme Court appeal today.
The court, without comment,
turned away Peter Helland’s
argument that the firing vio
lated his religious freedom.
Holland was a substitute
teacher in South Bend, Ind.,
public schools from 1979 to
1980 and from 1985 until
November 1993, when he was
dropped from the substitute
teachers’ list.
Helland’s termination letter
said fifth-grade students had
become upset because of his
discussion of religion and evo
lutionary theories. The letter
also said a teacher reported
Helland had taken a Bible to
his classroom.
Helland previously had been
warned about injecting reli
gion into his classroom pre
sentations, failing to follow
lesson plans and problems
with classroom management.
Helland sued, contending his
religious beliefs were the true
reason for his dismissal. He
said carrying a Bible whenev
er possible was part of his reli
gious belief.
A federal judge ruled against
Helland, saying, “A public
school system has a com
pelling interest in assuring
that its teachers do not use
publicly funded classrooms
and school property during
school hours to espouse a reli
gion.
The Constitution bans gov
ernment “establishment of
religion.”
The judge also said the
school system could seek to
assure that substitute teach
ers follow established lesson
plans. The 7th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals upheld the
ruling.
In the appeal acted on today,
Helland’s lawyers said he dis
cussed religion in class only in
response to students’ ques
tions.