metro kansas city VISIT US AT TOP MO VIES EDITION facebook/metrovoicenews or metrovoicenews.com A look at DEEP AND WIDE the best TOUR WITH ANDY STANLEY family- friendly movies of 2017 PAGE EVENTS CALENDAR | Page 14 18 CELEBRATING FAITH, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY IN KANSAS CITY VOLUME 29 • NUMBER 1 January 2018 FREE– TAKE ONE! Metro Voice to end print edition, expand online After 29 years, we Focus on the Family and many denom - inational newspapers and magazines. It are making changes was a great honor and we share it with to reach the our readers, advertisers, staff and the many churches and organizations that next generation distribute us each month. By Dwight & Anita Widaman Our second milestone comes with K-12 and College this, the January 2018 issue of the paper. 2017 marked two important mile - As of our print date for the January edi - Expo Feb. 24 stones for the Metro Voice. In April we tion (which was before Christmas) we were presented with an “Award of Excel - became the oldest independent Chris - Features Christian K-12 lence” at the annual convention of the tian newspaper in North America. & 50 Christian Colleges Evangelical Press Association. The We will hold that distinction for two award was for newspaper of the year. months––January and February. Febru - Happy New Year from Dwight, Hannah & Mason Potter, Anita and Emma Widaman. By Dwight Widaman The EPA is the professional organiza - ary will be our last printed newspaper tion for evangelical magazines and as we transition to a totally digital pub - conclusion that we could better serve cult to do when you reach a certain age. The area’s only Christian education newspapers across North America and lication with a weekly email sent to our loyal readers AND gain a new gen - It is no secret that those over 50 still expo, including the largest Christian beyond. Familiar names of members in - thousands of readers. eration of readers if we were willing to enjoy the feel of a printed publication in college fair, celebrates 20 years on Sat - clude Christianity Today, Decision Mag - We have been praying about the de - change and adapt to technology and their hands. Younger generations typi - urday, Feb. 24. The free event is 10 to azine, to a host of publications from cision for some time. We came to the reading habits. That’s something diffi - See METRO VOICE page 23 2pm at Colonial Presbyterian Church at 9500 Wornall Rd. in Kansas City. It’s organized by Metro Voice. BEHIND THE NEWS A K-12 Northland Open House will also be held Thursday, March 1. KANSAS CITY The event hosts the best area private K-12 schools and high schools, home - 2018 Annual Respect Life Issue MARKS VIOLENT schooling resources as well as Christian colleges from 16 states. Colleges include MILESTONE IN 17 many from out-of-state including Moody Bible Institute, Grand Canyon, Church holds prayer Union University plus dozens of others from Missouri, Kansas. vigil for city’s 137 In addition, free 45-minute seminars murder victims so are offered on topics like: “K-12 Parent Panel Discussion”, “Homeschooling far in 2017 101”, and “Finding Financial Aid and In early December, Norton FAFSA.” Heights Community Church in For info visit metrovoicenews.com Kansas City held a prayer vigil for the 137 homicide individuals murdered in Kansas City so far in 2017. The church also posted 137 highly visible crosses in its Northeast neigh - borhood to honor the dead and call attention to the ongoing carnage in Kansas City. “The future must bear hope, there must be a better way and hopefully next year there will be fewer,” Pastor 3 6 Peter Judd told Fox4kc. 0 4 At press time, Kansas City had al - 6 ready passed last year’s extraordinary O M totals and racked up the highest body , 4 t i 1 count since 1993. e m 1 c 1 i Tony Botello of Tony’s Kansas City m o u X V unspins the statistics. “This has been S O o s ’ r B See HOMICIDES page 23 t e e O e M P L GET 50% OFF YOUR ADVERTISING! CALL 816-524-4522 OR EMAIL [email protected] 2 • January 2018 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– metrovoicenews.com n facebook.com/metrovoicenews –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Metro Voice KS senator wants to return power to local school boards For the “Year In Review” and State Sen. Dennis Pyle, a Hiawatha An 11-member, bipartisan special in - $1.2 billion less than a year ago. Republican, will introduce a constitu - terim committee met to discuss options Kansas Policy Institute estimates law - noteable deaths in 2017, tional amendment to prevent the to respond to the Court’s ruling. Justices makers would need to nearly double the Kansas Supreme Court from hijacking stopped short of naming a specific dol - state property tax rates to raise $600 visit metrovoicenews.com public education and closing schools. lar amount necessary to appease the million. The Kansas Legislature faces a possi - state Supreme They would ble impasse over school funding when Court, but legisla - “Parents deserve to need to increase it returns to Topeka in mid-January. tive staff told the have the decisions that sales tax rates to The Kansas Supreme Court ruled committee that the impact their children nearly 8 percent, or unconstitutional a re - state’s budget will add an almost 20 cently-adopted funding be short of projec - and schools, made by percent surcharge mechanism and gave tions by 2019, even their elected school to income tax rates lawmakers a deadline of without adding new to raise the money April 30 to adopt a new money to school boards–not unelected the state board of one for judicial review. funding. judges.” education recom - Justices implied they “It would seem mends. PYLE might close schools if from the opinion –Dennis Pyle A constitutional the legislature doesn’t that the court is demanding some addi - amendment is another way lawmakers find an adequate and equitable funding tional expenditure of funds,” said. Rep. could end the ongoing school financing solution that meets court muster. Blaine Finch, an Ottawa Republican court battles. According to a new poll, Pyle said his proposed amendment who serves as the interim committee an overwhelming majority of Kansas would limit the authority to close chair. voters think lawmakers should consider schools to local boards of education. The Kansas State Board of Education a constitutional amendment to end the “Parents deserve to have the decisions estimated that school districts need school funding wars. that impact their children and schools, $600 million in new funding to meet “Putting the issue of school authority made by their elected school boards– the court’s objectives. Raising such before the voters is a sensible proposal not unelected judges,” Pyle said in a funds present a daunting task for law - for resolution of these continuing costly press release. makers, who retroactively hiked taxes by legal battles,” Pyle said in a release. news briefs Grassroots success ernment statute to print messages that conflict with his Christian con - (WNS)--Delaware announced last week it is pulling a proposed rule victions. Fayette Circuit Judge James Ishmael agreed that would have allowed students to change their gender or race with - and reversed the commission’s ruling. But the commis - out parental consent or knowledge. In response to public outcry, the sion appealed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which state announced it is sending the proposal, Regulation 225, back to the ruled in Adamson’s favor in May. The government Delaware Department of Education for substantive changes. “We’ve agency appealed again, this time asking the Kentucky never seen so many people engage on an issue in such a unified way Supreme Court to weigh in. The Kentucky high court as we did with this regulation,” said Nicole Theis, president of the could have refused to hear the case, letting the appellate court ruling Delaware Family Policy Council. “We’re thanking God for the media op - in Adamson’s favor stand, but it did not. portunities to inform people and sound the alarm to wake up parents.” Boys sometimes allowed Kentucky high court revives bias case (WNS)--Girlguiding, the UK’s version of the Girl Scouts, announced (WNS)--The Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to hear the discrim - that boys who identify as girls will be allowed in girls-only tents, rest - ination case against Blaine Adamson, owner of Hands On Originals, a rooms, and showers. The change was announced as part of Lexington, Ky., print shop. And that could be a problem. Up to this the Girlguiding “Supporting Trans Members” policy. The point, Adamson has won all rounds in the case brought against him policy also says it is not a requirement, or even best prac - by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission. tice, for leaders to tell parents that a transgender member The commission ruled in 2014 that Adamson violated its nondiscrimi - will attend a residential or overnight event with their nation ordinance when he declined to print T-shirts promoting a gay daughters. These changes follow another controversial decision: pride festival for a local LGBT organization. Adamson appealed to a In January, the group announced that men who identify as a woman state circuit court judge, arguing he should not be compelled by gov - can be Girlguiding leaders without notifying troop parents. Metro Voice –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– metrovoicenews.com n facebook.com/metrovoicenews –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– January 2018 • 3 New study reveals an American ‘Tale of Two Patriotisms’ By Paul Strand otic." 57% of conservatives said the Na - tional Rifle Association is, only 24% of Two new surveys show conservatives liberals.