Caner and TMC to be commended for steadfast convictions

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Applause is met by Emir Caner's announcement that Truett-McConnell College will soon become a university. Applause is met by President Emir Caner's announcement that Truett-McConnell College will soon become a university.

MARIETTA – Truett-McConnell’s president Emir Caner announced to messengers at the Georgia Baptist Convention that in May of 2016 the first master’s graduate in the seventy-year history of the college will walk across the stage with a master of arts in theology; and that when he receives his diploma it will not say "Truett-McConnell College," but "Truett-McConnell University."

Caner stated, “We are changing by expansion, but not by vision. We are always going to be a school in the mountains of north Georgia that honors the Lord Jesus Christ and loves him, His church, and the lost.”

When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 Caner was told the college would have to hand out abortion-inducing drugs. It’s part of the health care plan and you can’t do anything about it, they were told. If they refused to do it they could be fined up to $3.5 million a year, which would essentially shut down the college. Caner, his administration, and faculty’s resolve is steadfast.

This summer an appellate court ruled they had to hand out the drugs or they would be fined, but two days before a September 1st deadline the court put a stay on the order.

The TMC president reminded messengers that at the GBC annual session in 2014 he indicated there was a possibility that Truett-McConnell would go before the Supreme Court, because the school administration stands actively against the abortifacient mandate that comes from the Affordable Care Act.

Caner explained, “We will continue to stand, because [Nov. 7] we got word that Truett-McConnell is going to the Supreme Court. We are going to stand for life and we are going to stand for liberty.

“Now, the beauty of this decision on the part of the Supreme Court that few have recognized is this: the Supreme Court chose not only to take the case of Truett-McConnell and the 187 co-plaintiffs beside us, but they chose to take every case – all seven of them. And for the first time, in a very rare move by the Supreme Court we as Christian institutions and non-profit charities are going to stand together for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ – not one of us, but all of us.

“And this is why it is so important – it is time to recognize the cries of those who desperately need our voice. It’s the cry of a baby, but it is not happening in the nursery of the church. It is not happening in the arms of a mother. It is happening in the womb. It is happening as they call out begging someone to stand for life and liberty. And it is time for seasoned saints who have been fighting for generations and it is time for youthful warriors to stand up and be counted for the Lord Jesus Christ.

“We’ve got to be like the prophet Daniel who stood before the lion’s den and simply said, ‘My king will deliver me.’ But those three beautiful words, ‘but if not, let it be known to you, oh, king, that we do not serve your gods, neither will we worship your golden image, which you have raised up.’

“This is our time,” declared Caner. “This is not the end of the battle; this is the beginning of the battle. And we will stand before the Supreme Court in February – March. We will hear the decision in June.

“This is not the end. It is the beginning of a generation that will be counted for life, for liberty, and for the Gospel and this time is our time. And even if He doesn’t deliver us in June, if not, we will still stand and we will not bow before another image and we won’t worship another God.”

2015 GBC annual meeting, liberty, Supreme Court, Truett-McConnell