The Christian IndexMay 4, 2016 | Reaching the World Through Mission Georgia | www.christianindex.org

By Gerald Harris/Editor ROME – Aaron

Kelton, new head football coach of the Shorter University Hawks, has been doing a lot of recruit-ing. He is also putting his team through the paces of spring prac-tice and seems to be very optimistic about the future.

Kelton accepted the Shorter coaching position in January after having coached the William College Ephs since 2010. He follows Phil Jones as the Hawks sec-ond-ever head football coach. He is also the first African American coach in the Gulf South Conference.

Kelton has an affable, gregarious, congenial personali-ty with an infectious smile. His birth cer-tificate indicates that he is 48-years-old, but his winsome smile and athletic profile make him look years younger. In fact, he looks like he could still take a few snaps from the quarterback position, a role he played in both high school and college.

The new Shorter head football coach is from Boston, MA, where he was a four-year letterman in foot-ball, basketball and baseball at Wellesley High School. As the Wellesley Raider’s quarterback and

defensive back he led them to beat the Natick Red Hawks (where five years earli-er the 1984 Heisman Trophy recipient Doug Flutie played in high school), and ended their 49 game winning streak.

Aaron and his twin brother, Andrew, both played football on the same team in high school and college.

The Kelton twins went to Springfield College, a private, coeducational institu-tion of higher learn-ing in Springfield, MA. Springfield College, formerly the International YMCA Training School is where James Naismith,

sports coach and inno-vator, invented the sport of basketball in 1891.

“He was a great athlete for us.”

Mike Delong, who was head football coach at Springfield during the Keltons’ playing days, said of Aaron, “I can still see him running a naked bootleg for a TD against Norwich in the rain. He was a great athlete for us.”

One of Aaron’s most memorable foot-ball experiences in college was winning the Mayor’s Trophy in the annual Springfield College vs. American International College football game at the end of the season. He recalled, “(During my time at Springfield) We never lost the

Mayor’s Trophy.”After college

Kelton went back to Wellesley High School to start his coaching career. Delong com-mented, “He took a non-traditional route into coaching and he has just worked and worked his way up the ladder to be a coordinator in the Ivy League (before going to Williams College where he was head coach before accepting the Shorter job).

Recipient of four NFL Bill Walsh Fellowships

During his career, Kelton received four NFL Bill Walsh Fellowships, which enabled him to serve as a member of the coaching staffs of the Arizona Cardinals in 2009, Indianapolis

Colts in 2007, Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008, and the Miami Dolphins in 2013. He also attended the NCAA Expert Coaches Academy in Miami in May 2006.

Kelton graduat-ed from Springfield with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and is currently working on completing a master’s degree in integrated studies from Virginia State and he and his wife Charlotte are the proud parents of a daughter, Kelsi.

Kelton grew up in Concord Baptist of Boston and trusted

Christ as his Savior as a young teenager. He stated, “Mom always had us in church. I am not ashamed to talk about Christ. I want to influence my play-ers by my walk and talk and let them see that Christ is the chief influence in my life.

“When I think of my role here at Shorter I want the players on my team to know that football helped them get an education and that through football they will receive clarity about the path God wants them to take.

“I want them to get a good job and become productive citizens. I want them all to know Christ per-sonally and use their testimony to influence the lives of others – to pay it forward.”

Coach Aaron Kelton understands that much of coaching involves teaching and giving instructions to his players. He is an excellent teacher and motivator. SHORTER UNIVERSITY/

Index

Shorter’s Aaron Kelton: personable and positive

I am not ashamed to talk about Christ.

THE CHRISTIAN INDEX | May 4, 2016 2

By Gerald Harris/EditorCLEVELAND

– Thursday, March 17, was perfect for outdoor activities in most of Georgia and especially in Cleveland where the sun was shining brightly and a gentle zephyr enhanced the atmosphere of the day. However, the event that made the day special was the groundbreaking for the George Blaurock Student Wellness Center.

The significant gathering for the momentous occasion included Cleveland city and White County officials, leaders from the business community, Georgia Baptist pastors and laity, Georgia Baptist Convention president Thomas Hammond, Georgia Baptist Mission Board per-sonnel as well as TMC trustees, members of the Board of Visitors, administrators, faculty, and students.

Emir Caner, president of Truett-McConnell, began his message to his audience by explaining why he was not wear-ing a tie for such an important occasion, stating, “I only wear a tie for two reasons: first, for funerals and second, if someone wants to donate a million dollars to the college.”

Suddenly, Caner produced a tie from his pocket with the comment, “However, I did bring a tie if anyone wants to make

that kind of dona-tion.”

Not about brick and mortar

Caner announced that the new well-ness center would become the largest building on campus. It will house the new basketball arena for intercollegiate games, a 9,000-square-foot aquatic center, an aer-obics room, a fitness center, indoor track, two racquetball courts, a training room, office suites, and a student café.

Caner stated, “The transformation of our campus and the expansion of our facil-ities will allow Truett-McConnell to wel-come more students who have a heart for the Lord and a call on their lives.”

The TMC presi-dent added, “As con-struction gets under-way, remember, such a project is not about brick and mortar; it is about preparation and discipleship and raising up a generation of believers who will love the Lord, love His Word, love the Church, and love the lost.”

Caner continued, “People have asked, ‘Why call the building the George Blaurock Student Wellness Center’? We have selected his name because we wanted to honor those who have died for their faith, as did George Blaurock. We want to honor those who

have demonstrated an unwavering resolve to stand for their faith regardless of the con-sequences.”

George Blaurock was born in Bonaduz, Switzerland in 1491 and became a Catholic priest. In 1524 he traveled to Zurich after making a break with the Catholic Church. He joined Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz in fol-lowing the reformer Ulrich Zwingli.

However, it did not take long for these men to become unhappy with Zwingli’s understand-ing of the Scripture. Zwingli denounced the beliefs of Grebel, Manz, and Blaurock and they were for-bidden to hold Bible studies together any more.

Blaurock and his

friends prayed for guidance; and when they had finished their prayer on Jan. 21, 1525 he stood up and asked to be baptized.

Grebel proceeded to do so, thus making Blaurock one of the first Anabaptists in Europe. Because of Blaurock’s zeal and commitment to God’s Word, Caner asserted that he became known as the “Hercules of the Anabaptists.”

Blaurock and Manz had worked closely together, but their ministry came to an abrupt end on Jan. 5, 1527 when Felix Manz was martyred by being baptized in the freezing waters of the Lammat River in Zurich.

Subsequently, Blaurock was banished from Switzerland and moved to Austria in

1527. He became pastor of a church in 1529 after its leader was martyred. In six months he baptized many people and founded a number of churches. However, Blaurock’s work ended with his arrest, torture, and martyr’s death. He was burned at the stake near Klausen, Austria on September 6, 1529.

Blaurock’s final words were, “Forsake your sins, and contin-ue no longer in your hardness, sickness, and blindness … When you can have a physi-cian who can heal all your infirmities, and who will afford his service gratis” (Matt. 9: 12).

George Blaurock is remembered as a man of action. If he knew what was right, he tirelessly and forcefully pursued it with all his might. He represents an unashamed voice of truth, which stands as an example of com-mitment for modern Christians living in America.

So, the Student Wellness Center at Truett-McConnell is appropriately named for one of the most heroic saints of the 16th century. The students have already abbreviated the Blaurock’s name to “The Rock” – a fitting name for an Anabaptist with a bed-rock commitment to Christ and for those who want to establish their lives upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

Emir and Hana Caner prepare to put on their construc-tion hats and choose a shovel to break ground for the Blaurock Student Center, already referred to as “The Rock.” GERALD HARRIS/Index

Student Wellness Center at Truett-McConnell named for heroic Anabaptist

THE CHRISTIAN INDEX | May 4, 2016

J. Robert WhiteExecutive Director

OPEN DOOR

J. Gerald HarrisEditor

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EDITORIAL

When taboos are tolerated, chaos will ensue

When the United States

Supreme Court legal-ized same-sex marriage last June 26th I knew that would eventually open the door to all kinds of aberrant sexu-al behavior.

What I didn’t real-ize was how open that door already was. For example, polygamy is now more popular than ever. According to a June 2015 Gallup survey the percentage of Americans who find polygamy to be morally acceptable has more than doubled since 2001. In 2001, only seven percent of Americans deemed polygamy morally acceptable. Now 16 percent say they do not find it objection-able.

Not only is polyg-amy gaining wider acceptance, but pedo-philia, which was once considered to be almost universally condemned, has more recently become trivi-alized and now headed in the direction of being normalized in our society.

The next ‘logical’ stepNow, the latest

socially acceptable sexual perversion, at least in some sectors of society, is incest, or what is being called “genetic sexual attrac-tion.” Michael Cook of Mercatornet.com writes, “Kim West was studying in California when she had a child out of wedlock. She gave him up for adop-tion and returned to England. Nearly 30

years later she learned that her son Ben Ford wanted to contact her. When they met, they immediately felt an overwhelming sexual attraction. Ben ended up abandoning his wife and moving in with his mother. They live together and are considering having children.”

Cook then adds, “Having accepted the logic of same-sex marriage, it is difficult to reject the logic of legalized incest.”

New moralityWhen I was in

seminary I had an ethics professor that required us to read Joseph Fletcher’s book Situational Ethics. The book gave evi-dence of Fletcher’s attempt to elevate a

new morality and the “law of love” as the litmus test for whether something was right or wrong. However, one can rationalize much deviant behavior in the name of love, but without biblical guide-lines, he has no way of knowing whether what he is doing is loving.

It was during those days that Billy Graham warned against “the new morality,” and stated, “The new morality is nothing more than the old immorality.”

The “new morality” is nothing less than a moral relativism that can be defined as a lack of moral abso-lutes. Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles, writes: “It (moral relativism)

Georgia needs, and deserves

to have, a Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Georgians have worked diligently over the past couple of years to get such a law on the books. Similar legislation has already been approved in more than 30 states. A lot of people worked very hard to get this bill passed in Georgia this year. Finally, it was approved by both the Senate and the House and was sent to Governor Deal’s desk for his signature.

His response to all of this good effort for a wonderful cause is to veto the bill.

Like many of you, I

asked, “Why?” Surely, he didn’t buy the frail argument that this bill would guarantee discrimination against homosexuals. Surely, he didn’t believe that the well-root-ed motion picture industry in Georgia would pull up stakes and move somewhere else. Surely, he didn’t believe the NFL would bypass Atlanta for the Super Bowl game in order to move it to another state that already has a Religious Freedom Restoration Act in place.

Surely, the Governor didn’t worry about Disney’s threats to pull out of Georgia. If they did, wouldn’t they

have to close Disney World since Florida has already signed into law a Religious Freedom Restoration bill? The hypocrisy of Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Delta, Disney, and others that gladly carry on with their business in states that have already approved the very same legisla-tion we are seeking in Georgia is colossal if not laughable.

I want to thank all of you who called and wrote your senators and representatives, the Office of the Speaker, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, and the Office of the Governor. This arti-cle gives me a good

opportunity to express my personal appreci-ation for Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle. Casey is a fine Georgia Baptist and a member at Blackshear Place Baptist Church in Oakwood. Thank you, Lieutenant Governor for your extraordinary efforts!

I want to thank Mike Griffin, who labored for an unhealthy number of hours to help all of us have a voice at the Capitol this year. Working at Mike’s side this year was Tom Rush. Tom was a tremendous asset to our work at the Capitol and provided some great support for Mike.

So, where to from here? Efforts are already underway to have a stronger and more successful effort in 2017. This matter will never go away until it is on the books in Georgia. The community of faith in Georgia has a right to have protection for the free exercise of their religion. This is a core value of America and of Georgia.

is the belief that just because something is true to you doesn’t mean that it is true to me. Moral relativism teaches that we are all basically good, and if we do something bad, it is because we are vic-tims, the result of our upbringing or environ-ment.

In short, those who want to jettison any kind of absolute moral stan-dard and give license to any kind deviant behav-ior are minions of Satan and responsible for what is sure to become an unruly, chaotic, and anarchic society.

THE CHRISTIAN INDEX | May 4, 2016

This special edition of The Christian Index is distributed online bi-weekly at www.christianindex.org to provide additional content to readers who prefer a print version of the publication. To read additional stories of how God is working through Georgia Baptists, visit the website daily for stories that inspire and inform.

The Christian Index is a publication of the Georgia Baptist Convention, 6405 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, GA 30097. Our editorial office can be reached at (770) 936-5590. J. Gerald Harris serves as Editor.

4

ACROSS 1. Will come out of

Jacob (Num. 24:17)

5. Try 9. Hungry 14. Coca-___ 15. Scent 16. Sifter (Amos 9:9)17. “Cast me not ___”

(Ps. 51:11)18. Judgment seat

(Gr.)19. Ms. Lauder20. Deep sleep21. Bahrain capital23. “Behold, I ___ an

Angel” (Ex. 23:20)

24. Romp around26. Après ___28. Business name

ending (abbr.)29. Pine31. Cooking measure-

ment (abbr.)34. Pizza brand37. Noah found this

in the eyes of the Lord (Gen. 6:8)

39. Snack40. “Even to your

old ___ I am he” (Isa.46:4)

41. Arab Peninsula country

42. Closes, as in 2 Sam. 13:17

44. “For their ___ is mighty” (Prov. 23:11)

47. Until, as in Job 18:2

48. Exploiter

50. Gov. agency responsible for food and drug regulations

51 . Grown in a pod (sing.)

52. Best, as in Ps. 81:16

56. Ali, with 40 Thieves

59. Absolute ruler63. Fasted’s opposite64. What the trumpets

sound (Joel 2:1) 66. Raise, as in John

2:2067. PC Security card

(abbr.)68. Types, as in

Ps. 78:4569. Ship part

(Isa. 33:23)70. Gas burner used

in laboratories71. “Thou God ___

me” (Gen.16:13)72. Prophet of Tekoa

(Amos 1:1)73. Not now

DOWN 1. Kerchief 2. The Lord is a

strong one (Ps. 61:3)

3. Crockett battle site

4. R&B singer Charles

5. Southern crop 6. Eve’s garden 7. Core 8. Trolley 9. Employ10. Ending for

Jehovah, meaning “Lord our banner” (Ex. 17:15)

11. Lavish party12. Evening, as in

Gen. 19:113. “A prophet

mighty in ___” (Luke 24:19)

21. Cooper automo-bile

22. Tree of Isa. 44:14.25. “I will make dark-

ness ___” (Isa. 42:16)

27. Cask29. “His ___ is not

turned away” (Isa. 9:12)

30. Dorm dweller31. “The tongue

can no man ___” (James 3:8)

32. Former wound33. Writing tool in

Isa. 8:1

34. What Maaseiah kept (Jer. 35:4)

35. Patmos is one36. Unusual

(Dan. 2:11)38. Cannot be

scourged (Acts 22:25)

39. Jerusalem to Salim (dir.)

43. Take to court, as in Matt. 5:40

45. Exertions46. Condense49. Hypocrites’ look

(Matt. 6:16)51. “Thou shalt see

my back ___” (Ex. 33:23)

53. “God created the heaven and the ___” (Gen. 1:1)

54. “A precious cor-ner ___” (Isa. 28:16)

55. Dallas dweller 56. Deep voice57. Sweet-smelling

herb from Ps. 45:8 (sing.)

58. Gave birth, as in Gen. 4:2

60. Writer Bombeck61. Jesus’ coat was

without this (John 19:23)

62. El ___, TX65. Montana time

zone67. Stroke an animal