By Gerald Harris/Editor KENNESAW — Masey McLain, a charming, talent- ed, effervescent young lady, is the daughter of West Hills Church, Villa Rica teaching pastor Marty McLain and has been cast in the role of 17-year-old Rachel Joy Scott in the movie I’m Not Ashamed. I’m Not Ashamed is a recounting of the Columbine Massacre of April 20, 1999. That is the day two seniors, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 12 students and one teacher before taking their own lives. Scott, who was the first to be killed in the attacks. Three weeks before the shooting she had shard her faith with Harris and Klebold and encouraged them to turn to Jesus, but they responded by hating her all the more. After shooting her twice on the day of the attack and discovering she was still alive, Eric grabbed her by the hair, lifted up her head and asked her, “Do you still believe in your God?” Rachel’s response was, “You know I do.” The killers responded, “Then go be with Him,” and shot her in the head. A love for acting McLain is in her last year at Kennesaw State University. She fell in love with acting in the 9th grade when she had a leading role in her first play. After winning Most Outstanding Performance in her region’s One Act competition, she decided to pursue her passion and signed with a top talent agen- cy in Atlanta. Masey has appeared in a commercial with the Jonas Brothers and has appeared in TV, print, and film. Leads worship at home church Masey, who leads worship at her home church, testified, “I asked Jesus to come into my life when I was seven years old. My family was at a revival service, and I remember leaning over to my dad and telling him I wanted Jesus in my heart. After that, the Lord completely changed my heart and I remember start- ing to feel the Holy Spirit guiding me. Parents are a “huge influence” “My parents have been a huge influence in my life. My dad is a pastor, so I grew up learning about Jesus. He is a man who does everything through the lens of his faith. He lives by the Word of God at all costs, and has always been a huge example to me of what it means to follow Jesus. “The biggest thing that has facilitated my growth is the word of God. If I don’t discipline myself regularly to stay in His word, I’m pret- ty useless in how He wants to use me because I’m not communicating with Him. Just like any relationship involves constant commu- nication, so does mine with God. “I’ve discovered that no matter how old you are, digging in His word changes everything. Praying scripture does too. I’m not perfect, won’t ever be, and don’t ever have to be. I definite- ly mess up all of the time, but trying to rely on the One who is perfect to live through me, is the goal.” “Playing the part of Rachel Scott made a huge impact on my life. She did not have an easy life, and just like you and me, she strug- gled. Life can be hard and following Jesus is not easy. But it’s worth it to follow Him because He’s the only one who can truly satisfy our souls and give us hope. I’m Not Ashamed is slated to be released in August. Masey McLain, a Kennesaw State University student whose father, Marty, is teaching pastor at West Hills Church in Villa Rica, will portray Columbine High School student Rachel Scott. The movie is slated to come out in August. April 20 will mark the 17th anniversary of the shooting at the Colorado high school that left 12 dead, including the shooters. VISIBLE PICTURES/Special The Christian Index February 3 , 2016 | Reaching the World Through Mission Georgia | www.christianindex.org Masey McLain to portray Rachel Scott in “I’m Not Ashamed” “I’ve discovered that no matter how old you are, digging in His word changes everything. Praying scripture does too.” McLain stands with director Brian Baugh and actress Jennifer O’Neill.
Transcript
By Gerald Harris/EditorKENNESAW — Masey
McLain, a charming, talent-ed, effervescent young lady, is the daughter of West Hills Church, Villa Rica teaching pastor Marty McLain and has been cast in the role of 17-year-old Rachel Joy Scott in the movie I’m Not Ashamed.
I’m Not Ashamed is a recounting of the Columbine Massacre of April 20, 1999. That is the day two seniors, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 12 students and one teacher before taking their own lives. Scott, who was the first to be killed in the attacks.
Three weeks before the shooting she had shard her faith with Harris and Klebold and encouraged them to turn to Jesus, but they responded by hating her all the more. After shooting her twice on the day of the attack and discovering she
was still alive, Eric grabbed her by the hair, lifted up her head and asked her, “Do you
still believe in your God?”Rachel’s response was,
“You know I do.”The killers responded,
“Then go be with Him,” and shot her in the head.
A love for actingMcLain is in her last
year at Kennesaw State University. She fell in love with acting in the 9th grade when she had a leading role in her first play.
After winning Most Outstanding Performance in her region’s One Act
competition, she decided to pursue her passion and signed with a top talent agen-cy in Atlanta. Masey has appeared in a commercial with the Jonas Brothers and has appeared in TV, print, and film.
Leads worship at home church
Masey, who leads worship at her home church, testified, “I asked Jesus to come into my life when I was seven years old. My family was at a revival service, and I remember leaning over to my dad and telling him I wanted Jesus
in my heart. After that, the Lord completely changed my heart and I remember start-ing to feel the Holy Spirit guiding me.
Parents are a “huge influence”
“My parents have been a huge influence in my life. My dad is a pastor, so I grew up learning about Jesus. He is a man who does everything through the lens of his faith. He lives by the Word of God at all costs, and has always
been a huge example to me of what it means to follow Jesus.
“The biggest thing that has facilitated my growth is the word of God. If I don’t discipline myself regularly to stay in His word, I’m pret-ty useless in how He wants to use me because I’m not communicating with Him. Just like any relationship involves constant commu-nication, so does mine with God.
“I’ve discovered that no matter how old you are, digging in His word changes everything. Praying scripture does too. I’m not perfect, won’t ever be, and don’t ever have to be. I definite-ly mess up all of the time, but trying to rely on the One who is perfect to live through me, is the goal.”
“Playing the part of Rachel Scott made a huge impact on my life. She did not have an easy life, and just like you and me, she strug-gled. Life can be hard and following Jesus is not easy. But it’s worth it to follow Him because He’s the only one who can truly satisfy our souls and give us hope.
I’m Not Ashamed is slated to be released in August.
Masey McLain, a Kennesaw State University student whose father, Marty, is teaching pastor at West Hills Church in Villa Rica, will portray Columbine High School student Rachel Scott. The movie is slated to come out in August. April 20 will mark the 17th anniversary of the shooting at the Colorado high school that left 12 dead, including the shooters. VISIBLE PICTURES/Special
The Christian IndexFebruary 3 , 2016 | Reaching the World Through Mission Georgia | www.christianindex.org
Masey McLain to portray Rachel Scott in “I’m Not Ashamed”
“I’ve discovered that no matter how old you are, digging in His word changes
everything. Praying scripture does too.”
McLain stands with director Brian Baugh and actress Jennifer O’Neill.
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX | February 3, 2016 2
Clint Burkett has been called as the full-time youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Alma. The Georgia College in Milledge-ville grad-uate grew up attend-ing the church and had been serving as interim youth pas-tor since April.
Riverbend Baptist Church in Gainesville has called Mike Dorough as pastor. Dorough has served on staff of Second Baptist Warner Robins for the past 19 years. He is joined by his wife Julie and college-aged
children John Michael and Holly Ann. His first Sunday was Nov. 2
Troy Dykes has been called as senior pastor of Unity Baptist Church in Sylvester. Previously at Gresston Baptist Church in Eastman as senior pastor for three years, he has been in ministry since 1999 as a youth minister, pastor of missions, and senior pas-tor. His wife Cindy and daughter Amye join him.
Anniversaries
First Baptist Church in Stockbridge recently held a celebration service to honor Pastor Steve Murell’s 50 years in ministry.
Revival ReportsShellman Bluff Baptist
Church in Townsend held a Harvest Day revival with evangelist Keith Fordham on Jan. 10. pastor Andy Haman reports seven professions of faith and several rededica-tions.
MINISTERIAL MOVES
Gary Nobles, Jr., Sunday School director for Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Danville, presents Brenda Reece with an award on Nov. 15 for more than 45 years of service in the church nursery.
On Dec. 13 John Hull, pictured with his wife Sharon, was named the new senior pastor at Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta. A native of that city, Hull earned a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia before attaining his Master’s at
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Doctorate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. His ministry career includes stu-dent pastorates at New Salem Baptist Church in Kennesaw and at church plants in south-west Virginia. He served as pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church in Marietta for a decade, beginning in 1983, before
being called to People’s Church in Toronto, Canada as senior pas-tor. Most recently, he was president and CEO of John Maxwell’s EQUIP Leadership and Global CEO of Crossroad Global Media Group in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Calvary Baptist Church in Dawson called Alan Sanders as its pastor. His first service was Oct. 4. He will serve in a bi-vocation-al role. He has worked as a youth minister for the previous 10 years, with this being his first pastorate. His wife Missy, and their three girls join him. Calvary is part of Summerhill Association.
Clint Burkett
Mike Dorough
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX | February 3, 2016
J. Robert WhiteExecutive Director
OPEN DOOR
J. Gerald HarrisEditor
EDITORIAL
3
The reinvention of the conven-
tion introduced new concepts and new opportunities to mul-tiply the ministries of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. One of those innovations was the employing of field-based prac-titioners who would join our full time staff in strengthening our ministries.
We recently employed our first field-based practi-tioner. Tom Rush, pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Social Circle, agreed
to serve as an assistant with Mike Griffin at the State Capitol during this legislative session.
I think most folks understand why it is important for us to lobby at the Capitol for the moral integrity of our State. There are some, however, who ask, “Why do we even need to do that? We elect our legislators and trust them to do the right thing. That’s sufficient, isn’t it?”
You surely would hope so, but unfortu-nately every session we find new bills being
initiated that are not good for our chil-dren, youth, or adults. Casino gambling and horse racing, among other pieces of legis-lation, are touted as ways to help our chil-dren by strengthening education.
Wherever casino gambling and horse racing is legalized, the door is opened to other vices including human sex traffick-ing and prostitution. There is a move to legalize the cultiva-tion of marijuana in Georgia, which we oppose. It doesn’t
take a degree in rocket science to know what will happen (with eventual recreational use) if we begin grow-ing marijuana in our state.
I’m sorry that there are people who don’t understand why we Baptists have to get involved in social issues. They are prob-ably unaware that we are under a mandate from Jesus Christ to be the salt of the earth.
We will continue to speak for those things that are good for Georgia and challenge
those things that are not good for Georgia. So, you may ask, “Who made you judge of such things?”
To this, I would say what I said earlier, it doesn’t take a degree in rocket science.
By the time you read this in early
March, if things go according to plan, Pope Francis will have met again with Muslim leaders where they plan to discuss mea-sures that can be taken to spread understand-ing and awareness of the Islamic religion.
The new Bishop of Rome has constantly been in the news since his election in 2013. However, he has not been immune from controversy in the first three years of his papa-cy. For example:
• He decided to make both care for the environment and the dialogue between religions as the corner-stone of his papacy.
• He has gone on record stating that homosexuals are not to be judged.
• In October of last year he raised
eyebrows by saying, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense. It makes no sense.”
• He has overruled a longstanding tradi-tion by endorsing the usage of contraceptives by Catholics.
• The Pontiff has been publicly photo-graphed kissing the Quran. While Francis is not the first Pope to do so, one would have to wonder what kind of message that is supposed to send to Christians and Muslims around the world.
I wonder if Pope Francis would make any kind of distinction between the Quran and his “Ex Cathedra” utterances. “Ex Cathedra” is a Latin phrase which means “from the chair.” It refers to binding and infallible papal statements, which are declared by the Pope
when he officially teaches in his capacity as the universal shep-herd of the Church.
Unfortunately, as much as I would like to affirm the Pope’s infallibility for the sake of all devout Catholics, he is prone to be as fallible as anyone read-ing this editorial.
• In Francis’ visit to Turkey in November 2014 he went to the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul. He stood beside the grand mufti of Istanbul and prayed for two minutes, bowing his head and closing his eyes. At the end of his prayer, the grand mufti whispered aloud: “May God accept it.”
• The Huffington Post reported last November that Pope Francis ventured into the Central African Republic of Banqui, one of the world’s most dangerous
neighborhoods to implore Christians and Muslims to end a spi-ral of hate, vendetta, and bloodshed that has divided the nation.
After a speech by Imam Tidiani Moussa Naibi, Pope Francis said, “Christian and Muslims are brothers and sisters. Those who claim to believe in God must also be men and women of peace.”
I believe that Christians who have a common commit-ment to the exclusiv-ity of the Gospel and the inerrancy of the Scripture can work together seeking God, repenting of their sins and praying for revival, but any ecumenical movement that jetti-sons the fundamentals of the Christian faith and tries to homoge-nize core beliefs that are essentially contra-dictory will fail.
It appears to me
that Pope Francis and many others are moving rapidly in the direction of a one world church, because I can see this great religious monstrosity taking shape before our eyes even now, and it is being herald-ed as a step forward toward unity and world peace.
I personally fear that much of what we call Christianity could become part of this great harlot, because much of Christendom is estranged from God and thoroughly secu-larized and degener-ated.
God help us!
Moving headlong toward the one world church
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX | February 3, 2016
ACROSS 1. “Is there no ___
in Gilead?” (Jer. 8:22)
5. Tides 9. China Island: ___
Kong 13. Off - Broadway
award 14. Saw logs 15. Nighttime
(Gen. 19:1)16. Samuel’s role
(1 Sam. 9:19)17. Particle18. Asian humped ox19. Plasterwork21. Hezekiah’s water
holder (2 Kings 18:31)
23. “My ___ is easy” (Matt. 11:30)
25. Egyptian delica-cy (Num. 11:5) (sing.)
26. Christian org. for young athletes
29. “The Lord will ___ me” (2 Kings 20:8)
31. “Salute every ___ in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:21)
34. Coffee holder35. Inches forward37. Air (prefix) 39. “We shall also ___
(Rev. 6:15)71. Disciple nickname72. “Rejoicing in ___”
(Rom. 12:12)
DOWN 1. Springsteen nick-
name 2. Aid 3. Instead: “In
___of” 4. Seat of gold
(Ex. 25:17)
5. Bethel to Shiloh (dir.)
6. Pear type 7. Cooking tech-
nique from Luke 24:42
8. Senses 9. King who saw a
shadow (2 Kings 20:10)
10. “I will pass ___ you” (Ex. 12:13)
11. Gaza to Joppa (dir.)
12. African antelope14. Food cured 20. Musician Leonard 22. Four o’clock bev-
erage 24. “Fly away as an
___” (Prov. 23:5)
26. God’s anger (Isa. 42:25)
27. How beasts move (Ps. 104:20)
28. Senile30. Rests against32. The Lord hears
them (Isa. 41:17) 33. Three-wheeler 36. What the leopard
can’t change (Jer. 13:23)
38. Gumbo ingredient 40. “They sang praises
with ___” (2 Chron. 29:30)
42. More timid 45. Attention-getting 48. Hind’s partner
(Prov. 5:19)
49. Zambia capital 53. Batman’s partner 55. Asian bird 56. Appearance of
death horse (Rev. 6:8)
57. Persia today 58. “God called the
dry ___ Earth” (Gen. 1:10)
60. Coffee alternative brand
61. Tap in lightly 62. Eye infection 63. A little bit 65. “So many as the
stars of the ___” (Heb. 11:12)
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.
