Posted: 11/14/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Nov. 23

Paul shines the light of truth into the darkness

Acts 17:16-34

By David Jenkins

New Hope Baptist Church, Big Sandy

Athens was a noted center of philosophy, religion, art and architecture in the ancient world. Surrounded by mountains, it was the cultural capital of the world. Within its walls were four famous hills–a rocky hill known as the Acropolis on which stood the Parthenon, the crown of Greek architecture; the Areopagus, or Hill of Ares, north of the Acropolis, where Paul probably preached his famous Mars' Hill sermon; the Pynx, farther west; and the Museum, which was located to the south.

Because Jews from Thessalonica were in hot pursuit of Paul, who was the object of their jealous wrath, some of the Bereans to whom he had been preaching escorted him overland to Athens. He sent word back to Silas and Timothy to meet him in the Grecian city as soon as possible.

A ministry in synagogue and marketplace

Because of his strict monotheistic background as a Jew, Paul found the pagan temples and statues of the gods in Athens totally repugnant. It was said there were more statues to the gods in Athens than in the rest of Greece put together. Though no longer the political power she had been in the past, Athens still was a great university town. People came from all over the world to drink from her fountains of learning.

Frustrated and grieved by this overwhelming influence of paganism, Paul quickly sought out the synagogue. There he could reason with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles concerning Christ as the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies in Old Testament Scripture. The synagogue apparently was near the downtown marketplace or city square where the people met to talk–for in Athens, they seemed to do little else. In the synagogue and in the Agora (marketplace), Paul “reasoned” with the people. He opened his teaching to a general, free discussion. Luke recording that Paul did this “every day” suggests a somewhat protracted ministry in Athens.

The sermon on Mars' Hill

Of the four famous schools of philosophy founded in Athens, only two remained in Paul's day–the Stoics and of the Epicureans. The Stoics, who believed in many gods, were religious and sober-minded thinkers. The Epicureans were irreligious materialists who had an atheistic outlook and believed pleasure was the chief end of humanity. They considered the world a place of chance, without God or meaning.

Judging from their remarks, neither the Stoics nor the Epicureans understood the nature of Paul's preaching at first. They associated him with one of many itinerant philosophers who came through Athens. Paul had preached Jesus and the resurrection, and they considered Jesus a “strange god” they had not heard of before. The resurrection particularly was offensive because the Stoics held only a vague belief in life after death, and the Epicureans believed everything terminated with death.

Both the Romans and Athenians considered it unlawful to teach or worship unauthorized gods. Even though this placed Paul in jeopardy, they were willing to take him to the Areopagus (or court) to hear him more fully. The Areopagus was noted for its justice, where 12 superior judges held court.

Paul's message before the court was divinely inspired as he seized upon the concept of this altar dedicated “to an unknown god.” This very God, whom nobody seemed to know, became the subject of Paul's preaching. What a stroke of divine wisdom God gave Paul to use this tool to “legally” preach Christ! They had built an altar to this God whom they did not know!

Recognizing the philosophical thinking of his audience, Paul's message to them answered the three great questions of philosophy: “whence, what and whither.” If we were to outline his sermon, we would discover three points: (1) The origin of all things (vv. 24-26); (2) the nature of all things (vv. 27-30) and (3) the end of all things (v. 31). Paul's powerful conclusion was that the desired end of humanity is fellowship with God through repentance and faith in the resurrection of Christ. To reject God is certain destruction.

The product of Paul's preaching

Paul's mention of the resurrection sparked quite a reaction among his hearers, with some mocking him and others wanting to hear more. Apparently the court found insufficient cause for punishment in Paul's teachings.

We are not told how many were won over to faith in Christ by Paul's sermon. Among the new believers who were named was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagite court. He was a man of good reputation, intelligence and social position in Athens. Also listed was “a woman named Damaris and others.” These constituted the first fruits of the gospel preached in Athens. Whether or not a church developed immediately as a result of Paul's visit in Athens, we are not told. Nonetheless, the high court of Athens and many of the people heard, from the lips of Paul, the good news of God's redeeming grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Questions for discussion

How did Paul deal with the frustration caused by his pagan surroundings in Athens?

How can Christians bear witness for Christ in hostile situations?

Posted: 11/14/03

Illinois rejects 2000 BF&M as sole faith statement

By Michael Leathers

Associated Baptist Press

MARYVILLE, Ill. (ABP)–Messengers to the Illinois Baptist State Association's annual meeting soundly rejected a last-minute attempt to make the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message its official faith statement.

Instead, they adopted the recommendation of a state association's committee to affirm six faith statements–including four versions of the Baptist Faith & Message–as a consensus of what most Baptists believe.

The IBSA's 97th annual meeting was held Nov. 5-6 in Maryville, a St. Louis suburb. Messengers voted on the six faith statements–the 1925 Baptist Faith & Message; its revisions in 1963, 1998 and 2000; the Philadelphia Confession of Faith (1742); and the New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833)–on the meeting's opening day.

The IBSA is now one of a handful of state Baptist conventions that have gone on record to reject the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, which was approved at the national Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting as its official statement of faith. Three years ago, Illinois rejected by a four-vote margin amending the IBSA constitution to add an amendment on the family, which was added to the Baptist Faith & Message by the SBC in 1998.

Patrick Stewart, pastor of First Baptist Church of St. Charles, made the motion to insert into the committee's recommendation a sentence giving official status to the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message. It's good to affirm multiple faith statements, he said, but “we need to have a single standard.”

Stewart is a trustee of the International Mission Board, a national Southern Baptist agency that oversees missionaries serving in foreign countries. That agency recently required its missionaries to affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message as a condition of continued employment.

By selecting an official faith statement, the state association would not violate the long-held Baptist beliefs in soul competency and local-church autonomy, Stewart said, but it would give direction to whom the association hired and how its committees worked. Having an official statement of beliefs is also important, he said, because it's not enough to “say the Bible alone is going to be our standard.” Episcopalians are being torn apart over the issue of homosexuality, he said, and both sides say the Bible represents their views.

Just because some misinterpret the Bible, countered Keith Stanford of Springfield, that should not prevent Baptists from making the Bible their sole standard. “We're not going to all agree,” said Stanford, an associate pastor of Western Oaks Baptist and former IBSA president, adding it was time to settle the issue and move on.

By affirming all six faith statements, the IBSA will build consensus among its member churches, said Lanny Faulkner, director of missions of Central Baptist Association. Faulkner was one of two messengers who presented a motion at the IBSA's 2001 annual meeting to affirm the six faith statements.

Speaking the next day, outgoing IBSA President Larry Richmond observed that “the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message may be an issue to some, but it is not an issue over which we should divide.”

In other annual-meeting developments, Don Sharp, pastor of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church of Chicago and IBSA vice president, was elected president with no opposition. Sharp is the first African-American elected IBSA president since Eugene Gibson Sr. served in 1997. Fred Winters, pastor of First Baptist of Maryville, was elected vice president.

Posted: 11/14/03

Iraqis gratefully receive food boxes sent by Baptists in Texas & beyond

By Mike Creswell

SBC International Mission Board

CENTRAL IRAQ (BP)–Iraqis cheered as a volunteer team moved through their neighborhood to give out cartons of food sent by Southern Baptist churches across America.

Children ran up to the five men from Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., like they were long-lost uncles, giggling and jostling to get close. Mothers handed over their babies to be held, and the few men around extended greetings.

If there were any anti-American feelings, they were well-hidden in this impoverished Shiite Muslim village, where some families had relatives killed or tortured under the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Muslim women in central Iraq carry home boxes of food provided by Texas Baptists and Southern Baptists in America. Many families have lost husbands and fathers in Iraq's wars, leaving widows and children struggling to survive. Baptists sent 45,000 boxes of food like these to Iraq.

“It reminded me of kids coming up to Jesus,” marveled Jim Walker, a digital press artist from East Bend, N.C.

The 10-day project in late October and early November was one part of a massive, months-long Baptist effort to help the Iraqi people.

During late October, the last of 69 truckload-sized cargo containers–carrying a total of 45,000 boxes of food–arrived by truck and were off-loaded in a warehouse for distribution to needy people across Iraq.

Many thousands of Baptists in America had stuffed each carton with about 70 pounds of flour, sugar and other basic foodstuffs, enough to feed a family of four for several weeks. If all 45,000 cartons could be stacked up, the pile would have been more than eight miles high.

Distribution of the cartons was halted in August because of fears that supporters of Saddam Hussein might target humanitarian workers. Even during this period, however, a small crew of workers continued to distribute food, working through Iraqi churches, community councils and other organizations.

Under the leadership of a retiree from Greer, S.C., about half the food has been distributed, and the rest should be delivered by the end of this year.

In one neighborhood, hundreds of food boxes were delivered to a school building in a poor area far from downtown. People have built modest homes of mud bricks on land taken by squatter's rights. Raw sewage runs through the dirt streets, and livestock wander unimpeded.

Village council members had determined the most needy families to receive food boxes. Volunteer team members went with the government leaders, who carried lists of eligible families. The families were given tickets entitling them to claim a food box.

At one home visited by volunteers Larry Ledford of Winston-Salem and Hal Newell of Lewisville, N.C., , a man dressed in a working man's uniform humbly accepted the gift while his family peeked from the door of their simple mud-and-brick home. “There are seven children in this household, and they have no food at all,” a village leader said through a translator. Two of the volunteers prayed for the man after giving him a voucher for a food box.

Although few people in the community spoke English, they understood who was bringing the food.

One man said it was the Christians from America bringing food. “Where are the Muslims?” the man asked, recounted volunteer Doug Wells, a sales analyst with a baking company in Winston-Salem. “It struck me that the people realize we're trying to help them. And we're trying to show them the love of Christ.”

Some food boxes were distributed through Muslim mosques, which function as community centers. One local leader said the mosque maintains a list of needy families and delivered food to those.

Posted: 11/14/03

OUT OF ORDER:
Ten Commandments judge ousted

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ABP) –Halfway through his term, “Ten Commandments judge” Roy Moore has been ousted as the head of Alabama's judicial system.

The Alabama Court of the Judiciary voted unanimously Nov. 13 to remove Moore as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. The vote followed a dramatic one-day trial that featured a former Moore ally, Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, now prosecuting the judge.

Moore no longer qualified to hold his post because he violated judicial ethics by openly flouting a higher court's order, the judiciary panel determined.

The judge, long an outspoken advocate for displaying the Ten Commandments on government property, had been suspended since August, when he defied a federal judge's order to remove a stone monument to the Ten Commandments he had placed in the state Supreme Court's headquarters.

The 5,280-pound granite monument–engraved with the Protestant King James translation of the biblical commandments–ultimately was removed from the rotunda of the Alabama state judicial building.

Moore's fellow justices on the Alabama Supreme Court overruled his decision to keep the monument in place.

Shortly after the judiciary court's decision to remove him, Moore told supporters and journalists he had “absolutely no regrets,” adding, “I have done what I was sworn to do.”

During his trial, he told the judiciary court he would return the monument to public view if he were reinstated as chief justice.

William Thompson, presiding judge of the Court of the Judiciary, said Moore had given him and his colleagues no other choice.

“The chief justice placed himself above the law,” Thompson said, adding Moore made the court's decision easier because he “showed no signs of contrition” for his action.

The president of a Washington-based group whose attorneys helped argue the original case against Moore's monument said the court's decision was the final vindication of their lawsuit.

“The Court of the Judiciary has served the cause of justice,” said Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Moore flagrantly announced his intention to violate a federal court order, made a mockery of the legal system and created an unseemly media circus.”

Religious Right leader James Kennedy of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., called the judge's removal a deplorable example of judicial tyranny.

“Moore is being punished for upholding the rule of law, for following the will of the voters, for faithfully upholding his oath of office and for refusing to bow to tyranny,” Kennedy said.

“For too long, too many elected officials have bowed in submission to lawless federal court edicts that set aside life and liberty. They have stood by as, case by case, God and biblical morality have been removed from public life. At some point, the representatives of the people must defend the rule of law and oppose tyranny.”

Although most legal observers believed the court would rule against Moore, the panel had several options from which it could have chosen. Removal required a unanimous vote, but other options for punishment–such as further suspension or censure–would have required only a majority.

Alabama voters elected Moore chief justice of the state Supreme Court in 2000. He campaigned as the “Ten Commandments judge” after a highly publicized battle over a similar display in his courtroom when he was a county magistrate. Alabama is one of the few states that elects its Supreme Court justices.

After his election to the Supreme Court, Moore had the monument crafted and placed in the courthouse in the middle of the night July 31, 2001. A group of Alabama attorneys and three national civil-rights organizations then sued Moore, saying the monument violated the U.S. Constitution's ban on government establishment of religion.

Last year, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson agreed and ordered the monument removed. However, he delayed implementing his own order pending review by a higher court.

In July, a panel of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld Thompson's ruling. Thompson then issued the August deadline for the monument's removal. Moore claimed removing the monument would violate his oath of office, because he believed the Alabama Constitution required him to “acknowledge God.”

Moore continued to receive his $170,000 annual salary during his suspension. That will now end. Republican Gov. Bob Riley will appoint a judge to take Moore's place on the state's high court.

The Court of the Judiciary is an ad hoc panel that meets only to consider such cases of ethics charges against a sitting judge. It is made up of nine members who are a mix of judges, lawyers and laypeople elected by their peers or appointed by state officeholders.

Moore may appeal to have the case re-heard by his colleagues on the Alabama Supreme Court. They could choose to recuse themselves from the case, in which case a special court would be appointed by Gov. Bob Riley or chosen by the justices themselves.

Moore also will face a battle to retain his credentials as a lawyer. Richard Cohen of the Southern Poverty Law Center, another group involved in the original lawsuit, reportedly said his organization will file a petition with the Alabama Bar Association to have Moore disbarred.

Posted: 11/14/03

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Intestinal fortitude

I am all for this new anti-partial-birth abortion law.

Partial-birth abortion was not supposed to be a lifestyle choice for would-be parents. It was to be used to end a pregnancy for those children with serious problems.

E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

The children who are aborted are considered to be alive and have all the same rights as anyone else. Most are “viable,” and both sides agree.

If a child is developed enough to survive on its own, then it should not be aborted, even if science can sustain the child until it can sustain itself.

Thanks to President Bush for signing this law. It's about time someone had the intestinal fortitude to do this!

William Williams

Quinlan

Smiling face

I commend George W. Bush for his actions concerning the partial-birth abortion ban.

This is a great time in America. We are proving humanity will be held in the highest esteem when constructing our laws.

I will have a smile on my face when I think of the babies that now have a chance to live.

Adam Laurie

Denton

President's approach

I like your suggestions for modest, reasonable steps for faith-based initiatives (Nov. 3). It certainly would fit Republican ideas to reduce taxes on the public and let them give directly to charitable organizations.

There are a couple of possible reasons for taking the approach the president is taking.

Tax money is going to government-run relief efforts, and the Republicans would like to get rid of those. Shifting tax money to private organizations would let them say they are not heartless in cutting government programs.

And Republicans may actually want the government to determine where charitable giving will go. Perhaps they prefer that people not give to some of the “far-out” groups or to groups that promote ideas conservatives oppose.

Jim Skipper

Pearland

Jesus, not guns

A dog, a gun and a dad are the things every boy needs (Oct. 6)?

Every little boy needs a dog–well, yes, unless he lives in rental property where pets are not allowed or the family can't afford it. Nice, but not essential.

Every little boy needs a dad–agreed! A dad like Paige Patterson describes is what boys need; that's essential.

But a gun?! No! Instead, the weapon every boy needs to face life is Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and the teachings of the Bible that the Holy Spirit can progressively use to arm him with the full armor of Christ (Ephesians 6:10-18).

This is what will make of every little boy a true man in the likeness of Christ. Not a gun!

Josie Smith

El Paso

Primitive differences

I read your editorial on what makes a Baptist church “Baptist” (Nov. 10) and would like to point out an impression that bothers me. That is your view of Primitive Baptists.

You use the term “hyper-Calvinist Primitive Baptists” and leave the impression that this covers all Primitive Baptists. I would say it does not.

Within the Primitive Baptists, there are two groups, and they are as different as night and day. While it is true that there are Primitive Baptists who believe just the way you describe, there are also Primitive Baptists called “Progressive” who do believe in mission work and evangelism.

While we are both “Primitive,” we are worlds apart in belief and do not associate with one another in fellowship.

Bill Brown

Rockwood, Tenn.

Carroll & women deacons

Paige Patterson states that, under his leadership, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is “headed to a full and thorough reaffirmation of the doctrine of B.H. Carroll” (Nov. 3).

May one assume that this includes encouraging the ordination of women as deacons, a policy instituted, according to Alan Lefever of the Texas Baptist Historical Collection, under Carroll's leadership while pastor of First Baptist Church of Waco?

Doug Jackson

Corpus Christi

Institute's real test

I have to strongly disagree with Paige Patterson's comments about the B.H. Carroll Institute, “The real test will be whether they have honored Carroll's name or just used it” (Nov. 10).

The real test is this: Are these four men working for the glory of God?

I know two of these men and can honestly say that their goal is working to glorify God through teaching.

Since the outrageous ousting of Russell Dilday as Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president almost 10 years ago, the seminary's goal has been status, politics, increasing numbers for the wrong reasons, invoking a standard way of thinking and firing those who did not adhere to their ways and sign their so-called faith statement. (Remember all those missionaries out there who were fired while trying to do the Lord's work but would not sign the “statement”?)

What about God? What about freedom of worship?

Yes, God directs us and asks us to do his will, but did he tell Abraham, Moses or even Jesus they had to sign something before they could do it and they would not be allowed to do his work if they didn't?

Knowing two of these men personally, I know their goal is not to impose the things that sadly Southwestern Seminary has morphed into, but to bring back honor and glory to Carroll's name, God's people and God–not to self.

Our blessings are with these four men; our prayers are with Southwestern.

Suzanne Duncan

North Richland Hills

Evolution of textbooks

The computer and the science of artificial intelligence have introduced significant new understanding of patterns within the life sciences.

The discovery of DNA has changed the understanding of life science much as the discovery of the atom changed the physical science. Computer study of patterns using artificial intelligence techniques has mapped thousands of patterns within the living cell. The living cell is made up of a huge number of molecules whose activity is directed by the DNA.

Probably the most revealing new discovery is the DNA pattern of each living species. A pattern known as genome describes the DNA unique to each species.

Just as the atoms have families of metals, liquids and gases, a species' genome has similarities within groupings of similar species.

While similar, one species is so different from another that the hypothesis of Darwin that species developed through evolutionary change is as questionable as the alchemist changing lead into gold!

Because of the complexity, science might still be identifying new patterns for another 200 years. New discoveries will come faster when the hypothesis of Darwin is no longer taught in Texas schools.

William H. (Bill) Osborne

Houston

What do you think? Submit letters for Texas Baptist Forum via e-mail to marvknox@baptiststandard.com or regular mail at Box 660267, Dallas 75266-0267. Due to space considerations, letters must be no longer than 250 words. They may be edited to accommodate space.

Posted: 11/14/03

Court ruling favors case of Missouri Baptist University

By Vicki Brown

Missouri Word & Way

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP)–A Missouri judge has given an initial legal victory to one of the institutions locked in a messy legal spat with the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brown ruled Nov. 10 that the state convention is not the “sole member” of the Missouri Baptist University corporation. The ruling dismisses the convention's contention that it is the university's sole member, which would have meant that only the convention has the authority to change the university's corporate charter.

In 2001, four convention-related institutions–the university, the Word & Way newspaper, the Missouri Baptist Foundation and Windermere Baptist Conference Center–changed their charters to allow each entity to elect its own trustees rather than to allow the convention to elect them. Trustees for The Baptist Home–a convention-related retirement-home system–had taken similar action a year earlier.

The trustee boards' moves to become self-perpetuating came after a lengthy battle by fundamentalists to take control of the convention's governing structures. They had largely won that battle by 2001 and attempted to fill open spots on the agencies' boards with like-minded conservatives.

The convention then filed a lawsuit against the five institutions to force the entities to rescind the new charters.

University attorneys filed a summary judgment motion asking the judge to determine whether the convention is a corporate member, as the convention had claimed. According to

Missouri Baptist Foundation legal counsel Larry Tucker, the other entities also have filed motions for judgments on member status. Those cases most likely will be argued sometime early next year.

Tucker noted that Brown ruled the convention did not become a member of the university's corporation simply because it traditionally had elected or appointed the university's trustees.

University attorney Clyde Farris argued the university changed its charter in 1997 to reflect changes in Missouri's not-for-profit laws made in 1995. The charter noted that the corporation would have no members.

Lead convention attorney Mike Whitehead contended that under the statutory definition of election, the convention should be considered a corporate member. He noted that members of a for-profit company are protected by stock shares, while members of a not-for-profit agency are protected by governance.

“The legislature says … that people who have the right to vote should be called members,” Whitehead said. “If someone else (other than the institution) has the ability to appoint directors, then the rights of that someone, even if it is an entity, must be protected.”

Whitehead added that the convention has “a right to control the governance” because it “birthed and founded the entity.”

He contended university President Alton Lacey changed wording in the institution's charter to read that the convention elects trustees rather than appoints them. Whitehead said the relationship between the two entities remained the same. The change “doesn't amount to a relinquishment of the known right to choose the trustees,” he said. “The process did not change until the college made a unilateral decision in 2001 … . It's the 'gotcha' that lets them walk away with a multimillion-dollar entity.”

Farris responded that the university never has been a convention asset. “It has never been on their financial statements,” he said.

The attorney acknowledged the convention helped start the university, but said the convention never owned it. The convention could have owned the university, but “they didn't want to because they didn't want to accept the liability responsibility,” Farris said.

Posted: 11/14/03

Moderates ponder future in North Carolina after ninth loss

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP)–Conservative David Horton was elected president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina Nov. 11 in what was anticipated as a make-or-break election for moderate Baptists in the state.

Moderate David Hughes, 51, pastor of First Baptist Church in the host city of Winston-Salem, garnered 40.5 percent of the 3,840 votes cast–a weaker showing than either candidate anticipated.

“I was surprised, because the elections are always so close,” said Horton, pastor of Gate City Baptist Church in nearby Greensboro. He received 59.5 percent, the largest winning margin for a non-incumbent since 1987 and the largest since 1996 for a presidential candidate facing opposition.

Horton's election is the ninth in a row won by conservative presidential candidates. He succeeds conservative Jerry Pereira, 49, pastor of First Baptist Church of Swannanoa, who would have completed his second term as president but died four days before the convention, following a six-month battle with cancer. In an unusual move, Pereira endorsed Horton and other conservative officer candidates.

Even before the vote, there was speculation among messengers that moderate Baptists would disengage from the state convention if they lost another election, perhaps forming a new convention as has been attempted in a few other states.

After the election, Horton, 43, told reporters he hopes moderates will continue to accept the place open to them in the convention. “There has been a place at the table … for moderates and conservatives, and there will continue to be a place at the table for moderates.” He added moderates and conservatives still agree on more issues than they disagree.

Hughes, however, suggested many moderates no longer feel “a sense of place and belonging.” The sound defeat gave moderates “a clear-cut answer” for the future, he said. “While I'm disappointed with the choice that was made, I'm glad there is more clarity than there was before.”

“Today the convention spoke for the ninth year in a row…. That's very definitive,” Hughes told reporters in an unusual joint press conference with Horton. “This convention is lining up squarely behind the Southern Baptist Convention, and I think that it's good to get out on the table where things stand.”

Hughes said there is “a sense of discouragement and resignation among moderates. … I've been trying to get them to stay involved.” But he admitted that encouragement has been met with mixed reviews.

He predicted moderates will take some time to assess the situation, then gather to determine their course.

“Not all moderates will do the same thing,” he said. “These folks are like herding cats; they are very independent thinkers. … It will be well into next year before it's clear who might be doing what.”

Jim Royston, executive director-treasurer of the convention, said the staff will continue to work with all 3,803 churches in the convention, regardless of their alignment. He credited both Horton and Hughes for “rolling up their sleeves” and working within the convention.

“I wish this was an example of shared leadership,” Royston said, a reference to the aborted proposal to alternate the presidential position between conservatives and moderates. Horton and Hughes became friends when both worked to pass the “shared leadership” plan, which was defeated by convention messengers in 1999.

“I think the convention has to decide to do shared leadership,” Horton responded. He said the plan failed “because the convention didn't want to be given parameters” for convention officers. He said the current system is “a good process.”

By most accounts, the presidential election was in part a referendum on the conservative shift in the Southern Baptist Convention, now in its third decade. Horton's support for the SBC was mentioned at least four times in the three-minute nomination speech from retired Winston-Salem pastor Mark Corts.

And while Hughes suggested in recent weeks that the North Carolina convention should consider reducing its funding of the SBC to address its own budget shortfall, Horton said after the vote, “I think my election signals strong support for continued giving to the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Horton said the SBC is “really worthy of our support,” and he encouraged Baptists in the state “to do everything we can to give more to the Southern Baptist Convention” and the North Carolina convention.

Meanwhile, North Carolina Baptists twice affirmed a decision to oust McGill Baptist Church in Concord from the state convention for baptizing two men presumed to be gay.

Messengers overwhelmingly voted down a motion Nov. 11 to reconsider the ouster. A day earlier, the convention's Executive Committee affirmed the earlier decision by Executive Director-Treasurer Jim Royston to remove the church. The committee's Nov. 10 vote followed a lengthy discussion and an interview with church representatives.

McGill's baptism of the two men led to the church's ouster from the Cabarrus Baptist Association last April.

Posted: 11/14/03

On the Move

Ron Allen to Avenue D Church in Brownwood as pastor.

Abraham Almendariz to Iglesia Calvario in Buckholts as pastor.

Robert Bennett to Handley Church in Fort Worth as pastor from Freedom Church in Amarillo.

Judy Bryant to Second Church in Lubbock as associate pastor to children and families.

Drifty Cates to Pine Ridge Church in Sour Lake as pastor from First Church of China.

Truitt Cockrell has resigned as pastor of Woodbury Church in Hillsboro.

Cristobal Cruz to Emmanuel Church in Olden as pastor.

Joe Dacus to Leona Church in Leona as pastor.

David Diggs to Live Oak Church in Gatesville as pastor.

Michael Ferguson to Vaughan Church in Abbott as pastor.

Sergio Flores to Marquez Church in Marquez as youth minister.

Rick Gibbs has resigned as youth minister at First Church in Wortham.

John Hall to First Church in Tom Bean as pastor from First Church in Runge.

Mark Heath to Cornerstone Church in Fairfield as pastor.

John Henson has resigned as pastor of First Church in Brownwood.

Matt Hollingsworth to First Church in Taylor as youth minister.

Ronnie Hood to Fellowship Church in Longview as pastor.

Michael Howe to Corinth Church in Cisco as youth minister.

James Huffstetler to Kirvin Church in Kirvin as pastor.

Matt Kirk to Shenandoah Church in Cedar Park as youth minister.

Carole Jay to First Church in Whitney as children's minister.

Martin Knox to First Church in Temple as pastor from First Church in Grandview.

Adam Marquardt to The Heights Church in Richardson as executive pastor from Colorado Community Church in Englewood, Colo., where he was pastor of family life and foreign missions.

David McGee to Calvary Church in Gladewater as pastor from Emmanuel Church in Corsicana.

Mike Midkiff to East Texas Baptist University as director of public relations and marketing from Friendship Church in Marshall, where he was pastor.

Keith Moore to First Church in Hillsboro as minister of education.

Brett Moreland has resigned as pastor of Bethel Church in Buffalo.

Bill Nichols to Hebron Church in Yoakum as music director.

Mike O'Neill to Coastal Bend Association as director of missions.

Ben Overby to First Church in Smithville as youth minister.

Kenneth Parker to Hebron Church in Yoakum as pastor.

Fabian Ramirez to Iglesia Southside in Robstown as interim pastor.

Atila Runyan to Lamount Drive Church in Amarillo as pastor.

Matt Singleton to New Life Fellowship in Scapoose, Wash., as youth minister from Kirvin Church in Kirvin.

Joul Smith to First Church in Rising Star as youth minister.

Stanley Stamps to Covenant Church in Hillsboro as pastor.

Troy Stickland has resigned as pastor of Belle Plain Church in Brownwood.

Brent Trahan to First Church in Angleton as minister of music.

Salvador Treviño has resigned as pastor of Grace Church in Comanche.

Don Tyra to Latham Springs Encampment as assistant manager for properties from Mildred Church in Corsicana, where he was youth minister.

Gamaliel Villatoro to Primera Iglesia in Buffalo as pastor.

Posted: 11/14/03

Prisoners' religious freedom challenged

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A federal appeals court has struck down part of a law that is the latest in a series of federal attempts to protect certain aspects of religious freedom.

On Nov. 7, a three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously said part of a federal law designed to protect prisoners' religious freedom was unconstitutional.

The judges said the portion of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, known by the acronym RLUIPA, dealing with inmates violated the First Amendment's ban on government endorsement of religion.

“RLUIPA has the effect of impermissibly advancing religion by giving greater protection to religious rights than to other constitutionally protected rights,” wrote Judge Ronald Lee Gilman for the panel.

Congress passed RLUIPA in 2000 as a response to the Supreme Court, which in 1997 overturned a similar 1993 law as it applied to state and local governments.

Both RLUIPA and the earlier Religious Freedom Restoration Act, known as RFRA, were designed to restore a high legal standard of protection for free exercise of religion. The Supreme Court had lowered that standard with its 1990 Employment Division vs. Smith decision.

In that case, the court threw out a legal test that required a government entity to prove it had a “compelling state interest” before it burdened an individual's or group's religious freedom. RFRA restored that standard, putting the burden of proof on the government in such cases.

The Supreme Court struck down RFRA as it applied to state governments on the grounds that it violated states' rights. However, it still applies to federal entities.

In the latest case, four Ohio inmates of various religions sued the state government, claiming their rights to free exercise of religion were being unnecessarily violated by prison officials. While a lower court agreed, the 6th Circuit did not, agreeing with attorneys for the state that RLUIPA emphasized religious rights while ignoring other fundamental rights of prisoners.

Saying that there is little “evidence that religious rights are at greater risk of deprivation in the prison system than other fundamental rights,” the judges noted that, under RLUIPA a non-religious prisoner would have much less legal recourse than a religious prisoner who believed that prison officials were violating his fundamental rights.

“The primary effect of RLUIPA is not simply to accommodate the exercise of religion by individual prisoners, but to advance religion generally by giving religious prisoners rights superior to those of non-religious prisoners,” the opinion said.

The 6th Circuit's ruling applies only in the four Midwestern and Southern states covered by the 6th Circuit. It is in conflict with rulings by the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit and Chicago-based 7th Circuit, which have upheld the constitutionality of RLUIPA.

The discrepancy between federal courts makes it likely that the Supreme Court will ultimately agree to hear a case on the constitutionality of RLUIPA.

The 6th Circuit's decision also only applies to the part of RLUIPA dealing with prisoners' rights. The court did not rule on the other main aspect of the law, which restored a high level of legal deference to churches and other religious organizations in zoning disputes with municipal governments and other property-use issues.

Posted: 11/14/03

Texas Tidbits

NASA leader at UMHB. NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe spoke to 1,000 people in Walton Chapel at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Nov. 5 about the future of NASA. Delivering the university's McLane Lectures,

O'Keefe (center) with Drayton McLane and UMHB President Jerry Bawcom.

he encouraged students to be leaders for tomorrow in exploration and discovery, calling it an adventure. "My hope is that many of you will help to participate in the adventures to come, whether you are working for NASA, discovering new ways to heal the sick or teach the young, or charting new pathways in business enterprise like Drayton McLane," he said, referencing the namesake of the lecture series. Regarding the Columbia shuttle disaster, O'Keefe said, "We should recognize that every step of the way in the age of flight, we have achieved our breakthroughs and triumphs only after having suffered through enormous setbacks, learning from them and rebounding to continue our unceasing efforts to explore the unknown."

DBU honors faculty member. Curtis Lee, associate professor of biology, has been named Faculty Member of the Year at Dallas Baptist University. He was cited for being among students' top pick when choosing classes over a number of years. Lee and his wife, Sharon, are members of South Oaks Baptist Church in Arlington, where she serves as minister of education.

Baylor regents hear reports. At the conclusion of the Baylor board of regents meeting Nov. 7, the university issued a news release saying regents "heard interim reports" from three review committees named at the September regents meeting. Those committees are charged with examining concerns about faculty relations, the faculty hiring process, admission of provisional students, preserving Baylor traditions, the university's financial model, indebtedness, conflicts of interest among regents, tuition increases and pending litigation against the university. Regents also approved a new department of statistical science.

Posted: 11/14/03

TOGETHER:
Three great things about BGCT '03

Years from now, we may look back on the 2003 Baptist General Convention of Texas session in Lubbock as one of the most significant events in our history. Three things make me hopeful that is true.

First, we changed the format. We offered 44 breakout events, providing opportunities for leadership development and an occasion to discuss important issues. Response was greater than expected, and many rooms were overflowing. I heard the encouraging words “candor” and “openness” used to describe the workshops, as well as the comment: “This is real help for my church. Do this again.”

CHARLES WADE Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

The missions program was moved to the middle of the convention, and Texas Baptist Men and Woman's Missionary Union of Texas met Sunday evening rather than Tuesday afternoon. The result was improved attendance at all these missions-oriented events.

My thanks to the officers of the convention, the order of business committee and our staff for the creativity, tenacity and hard work involved in making these successful changes. Of course, we want to continue to improve, so we will evaluate carefully feedback received as we begin making plans for next year.

Second, we celebrated the founding of a new missions enterprise, WorldconneX. God is guiding as we enter into a new missions paradigm where churches feel a personal, hands-on responsibility for doing missions in the world. Bill Tinsley, the first elected leader of WorldconneX, and his board have asked Stan Parks to join the staff to help give birth to this new missions vision.

In my judgment, WorldconneX has enlisted two of the finest mission practitioners in the world. Both have first-rate minds and a passion for missions. Together, they bring a broad range of experience and expertise to this great challenge.

Third, we entered into a partnership with the National Baptist Convention of Mexico. We pledged to work with them in building bridges of understanding and mutual commitment to reach the people of Texas and Mexico for Jesus Christ. Our Texas Partnerships Resource Center is helping coordinate this effort from our side of the Rio Grande.

We met Tuesday afternoon with the combined leadership of NBCM, BGCT and Hispanic Baptist Convencion to continue the planning process, resolve several matters and hear encouraging reports.

For years, our churches and institutions have worked in Mexico, and Mexican pastors have contributed to our outreach to immigrants in Texas. Now, there is a way for us to help coordinate, encourage, evaluate and improve all our efforts.

Pray with me for the success of these initiatives. You never know what will grow from a mustard seed!

For example, in 1951 Wayland Baptist University admitted its first African-American students, becoming the first university in the old Confederate states to integrate. One student was George May, later a leading Texas Baptist pastor. In Lubbock, our convention elected as second vice president his son-in-law, Dennis Young, who has become one of our finest leaders . He will serve with new BGCT President Ken Hall of Buckner Baptist Benevolences, and First Vice President Albert Reyes of the Baptist University of the Americas.

Pray for the elected leaders of our convention as they help us move forward in advancing all the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom by assisting our churches and related ministries to be the presence of Christ in the world.

We are loved.

Posted: 11/14/03

Veggies uprooted to a new garden

CHICAGO (RNS)–A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of Big Idea Productions, makers of the best-selling VeggieTales video series, to Classic Media, owner of “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “Lassie” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Classic Media will pay a reported $19.3 million for Big Idea, according to the Chicago Tribune. The sale is expected to close by mid-December.

Classic Media had agreed in September to pay a reported $7.5 million for Big Idea. But an open auction was held Oct. 27 for the company's assets, including rights to Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, stars of the VeggieTales series, which has sold close to 30 million copies.

“I'm very pleased Classic Media has been confirmed as the new owner,” said Phil Vischer, founder of Big Idea and voice of Bob the Tomato. “Everyone at Big Idea is looking forward to working with them to advance our ministry to families in new and exciting ways.”

Despite VeggieTales' popularity, Big Idea has had significant cash flow problems. According to the Tribune, the company lost more than $18 million in 2002, the same year it released the self-financed “Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.” The film earned more than $24 million at the box office but cost close to $20 million to produce, little of which was recouped.

In April, Big Idea also lost a $10.6 million lawsuit to its former distributor, Lyrick Studios, which also distributes “Barney.”

Three new VeggieTales episodes are scheduled for 2004, including “An Easter Carol,” in February. Classic Media plans to continue producing additional VeggieTales in the future.

“We are very enthusiastic about the addition of Big Idea to our portfolio of kids' and family properties,” said Eric Ellenbogen, chairman and CEO of Classic Media. “The creators at Big Idea are enormously talented, and VeggieTales is a wonderful name in family entertainment. We look forward to many new productions and to supporting the Big Idea mission and the great relationship they have established with their audience.”