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Home  News & Opinions Press Room
Press Room
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 The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty seeks a part-time Development Assistant to work alongside the staff in Washington, D.C.
The Development Assistant will manage the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty’s eTapestry database, as well as the processes related to donor acknowledgement and reporting.
Responsibilities
A. Maintain the donor database and ensure data accuracy.
- Receive and input current contribution data – gifts, pledges and payments on pledges.
- Update donor records.
- Keep detailed and accurate records of contact with all donors and prospects, and work closely with the Director of Development to gather meaningful information on donors and prospects.
- Perform regular database maintenance and data clean up.
- Create and execute database training program for interns and staff.
- Maintain database results by setting and enforcing standards and controls.
B. Establish and maintain a structure within the database to effectively identify specific segments of data for various analysis and targeted outreach efforts.
C. Design, develop, test and run regular reports for staff.
D. Generate timely acknowledgments for all gifts from individual donors. Work with the Director of Development to ensure that processes for gift acknowledgments are maintained at all gift levels, for all donor types.
E. Keep organized paper records for reconciliations, audits and general hard copy history.
F. Assist with preparation of correspondence with individual donors, including fundraising campaigns, annual fund initiatives and special events.
G. Supervise interns to assist with data input and maintenance.
H. Other duties as assigned.
Required Skills and Experience
- Advanced experience with databases a must; Preference will be given to those with experience working with eTapestry or Raiser’s Edge.
- Thorough understanding of best practices for database development and maintenance.
- Strong attention to detail, organization and analytical skills.
- Dedication to building, improving and maintaining systems and keeping an organized office environment.
- Strong professional skills, including ability to prioritize, teamwork, problem-solving, verbal and written communication, and time management.
- Mastery of Microsoft Office.
- Fundraising and event planning knowledge is a plus.
The Development Assistant will be supervised by the Director of Development and the Executive Director.
This is a part-time position (21-hours per week). To apply, please send cover letter and resume to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
. Please include “Development Assistant” in the subject line. The position is open until filled; desired start date is July 15, 2013.
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 Recently, I served as a panelist at a symposium hosted by the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum called “Defining religious freedom: Current challenges, future directions.” The day-long event included two well-moderated panels and considerable audience participation, focusing on fundamental questions about religious liberty. With court challenges involving contraception and same-sex marriage as the backdrop, the symposium provided a rare and welcome opportunity for a broad, civil discussion about current and future religious liberty challenges in a changing landscape.
The conversation also reflected a need for more in-depth consideration of the free exercise of religion as we approach the 20th anniversary of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Click here to read the rest of the column.
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 Our good friends, Buddy and Kay Shurden, invited me to come to Macon to have lunch with them in the fall of 2004. They said they had something they wanted to talk over with me. You cannot possibly imagine how hard my jaw hit the floor when, after a very nice lunch, they handed me a check for $100,000 to endow a lectureship on religious liberty and the separation of church and state. This was an astonishingly generous gift from two teachers on the cusp of retirement after rearing and educating three children and performing many acts of generosity toward their church and other charitable causes.
Click here to read the rest of the column.
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The mission of the Education and Outreach Specialist is to expand the base of support for religious liberty. Education is key to building a sustainable and ever-increasing core of religious liberty advocates who can inform themselves and others about religious liberty, take timely action, and play an active role in their communities and houses of worship. Engaging the next generation of religious liberty advocates is an essential goal of this position.
Responsibilities
1. Understand and articulate the need for religious freedom, the separation of church and state, and the Baptist Joint Committee's mission.
2. Plan and implement a strategy to carry out the mission of this position.
3. Develop a strategy for maximizing the educational effectiveness of the BJC's existing programs and communications.
4. Establish and nurture relationships with groups that have previously visited the Center for Religious Liberty (CRL) and develop a plan to strategically approach new groups. Coordinate all aspects of a group's visit from determining its desired learning outcomes and level of preexisting knowledge to scheduling appropriate staff for presentations. Develop an assessment tool to gauge the effectiveness of presentations.
5. Reach students and young people on a national scale
a. Develop and deepen relationships with colleges, universities and seminaries by assessing the status of relationships with current partner schools and identifying priority schools for new relationships.
b. Develop a "catalog" of resources the BJC can offer to colleges, universities and seminaries.
c. Establish and nurture strategic alliances with Baptist and other Christian student movements. Establish the BJC as a thought and action leader at key, high-profile student conferences and events.
d. Coordinate the BJC's Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest and Shurden Lectures.
6. Develop appropriate educational materials, curricula and resources.
7. Collaborate with Communications staff to develop marketing materials appropriate for target audiences.
8. Collaborate with Development staff to maximize fund development.
Required Skills and Experience
- Proven ability to develop and execute a strategic plan, measure outcomes and track results
- Demonstrated excellence in oral and written communication
- Skilled networker with connections ranging across the breadth of the Christian spectrum
- Skill in connecting with non-Christians
- Bachelor's degree required; master's degree in theology or related field preferred
- Self-starter with strong initiative and tenacity
- Creative problem-solver
This position reports to the Executive Director and works closely with the Communications and Development directors.
To apply, please send cover letter and resume to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
. The position is open until filled.
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 WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer thanked the Baptist Joint Committee for filing briefs before the High Court, saying at Monday's opening of the BJC's new Center for Religious Liberty on Capitol Hill that "when you file briefs, they help."
Breyer continued, “It doesn’t mean you always win,” drawing laughter from the members of the Baptist Joint Committee Board of Directors and friends.
Breyer said he counts on friend-of-the-court briefs because they come from groups that often know more about the issues at hand than the lawyers from one of the parties.
Breyer spoke at the opening event for the Center for Religious Liberty, which is located across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court and two blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The Center will increase the BJC's work capacity as the organization continues to file briefs and work with Congress and the White House.
Importantly, it also expands the BJC's ability to accommodate additional staff and visitors as the BJC increases its education efforts. Staff will be able to host larger and more frequent groups of students, church members and clergy who visit Washington, D.C.
The office design — using wood and glass, a smart layout and advanced interactive technology — balances the needs of staff with the goal of providing visitors meaningful exposure to the work of the organization and Baptist heritage.
 The floor plan takes advantage of the BJC’s impressive view of Capitol Hill. The new Baugh-Walker Conference Suite is state-of-the-art space that doubles the BJC’s meeting capacity and highlights a southwest corner view of the U.S. Supreme Court building and the U.S. Capitol dome. The suite is named for BJC supporter Babs Baugh and BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker.
In addition to these features, the Center includes:
— Expanded office space for visiting scholars and advocates.
— Gallery space to highlight the history and mission of the BJC.
— Improved technological capabilities.
— Enhanced capacity for resources, curriculum and literature.
Click here to view more photos of the event.
Click here to watch Justice Breyer's remarks.
Click here to view the new Center for Religious Liberty.
Click here for photos from the dedicaiton ceremony of the Baugh-Walker Conference Suite.
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From the March 2013 Report from the Capital
 Growing up as a Native American in the Muscogee (Creek) Tribe of Eastern Oklahoma offers an interesting perspective on issues regarding religious liberty. While raised in the middle-class suburbs of Tulsa, the heritage and culture of the Creek people offered me roots for nourishment and valuable lessons for life. One such lesson came from hearing the heartbreaking story of my Creek relatives. Their story poured the foundation for my strong support for religious liberty and church-state separation.
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March 13, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jeff Huett 202-544-4226 / 202-680-4127
Cherilyn Crowe 202-544-4226 / 615-519-0620
WASHINGTON — The White House announced that Melissa Rogers, former general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, has been named the director of the administration’s faith-based office.
 Rogers will lead the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, an office first opened by President George W. Bush in 2001 and continued under President Barack Obama. A focus of the office under both administrations has been encouraging partnerships between public and private entities to help meet the nation’s social service needs.
A 2010 executive order issued by Obama addressed many of the church-state separation concerns voiced by critics of the Office. It amended prior federal policy by clarifying the government’s responsibility to ensure that partnerships are on secure legal grounds and do not violate the First Amendment’s ban on government promotion of religion. It incorporated many of the recommendations made by a task force Rogers led that was charged with reforming the office. That task force was composed of a group of religious and community leaders, including BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker.
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This year marks 50 years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided School District of Abington Township v. Schempp (1963), one of the “school prayer” cases that held that a state law requiring daily Bible readings in public schools is unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause, as applied to the states. Along with Engel v. Vitale (1962), a case decided the year before that struck state-written prayers recited each morning, the Schempp decision explained the way the Establishment Clause operates to ensure religious liberty differently than the Free Exercise Clause.
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Arizona's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) has been law for several years. The state's RFRA echoes the federal bill of the same name, requiring the government to demonstrate a compelling state interest to justify substantial burdens on religious exercise. Some lawmakers in Arizona ... |
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A florist who has been sued by Washington State's Attorney General over her refusal to provide services to a same-sex marriage has returned legal fire. Baronnelle Stutzman filed suit against the AG in response, alleging a violation of First Amendment rights.
The counter suit, filed b... |
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The April 2013 edition of