Posted: 11/07/03

Evangelistic skateboard video finds unlikely host

By Shelby Oppel

Religion News Service

PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS)–Stephen Baldwin stood under the east end of the Burnside Bridge, wearing an “Army of the Lord” T-shirt with camouflage pants and directing a Christian-themed DVD of skateboarders and BMX riders.

As taping began on a recent Wednesday at Burnside Skatepark, the connections were hard to grasp for some Burnside regulars, like 33-year-old Nate Bemiller of Portland.

Actor Stephen Baldwin talks with BMX rider Bruce Crisman, 24.

“You're Stephen Baldwin?” Bemiller asked the actor, who wore a backward baseball cap with “Jesus” embroidered on one side and “God is good” on the other.

“We're just a bunch of Christian guys making a video,” said Baldwin, burly and tan. As if to make his purpose clearer, he pointed to a BMX rider, high in the air above the skate park. “He gets more air 'cause he's got Jesus,” said Baldwin, half-joking.

Although many don't know it, the actor known for his role as a career criminal in “The Usual Suspects” and, most recently, as part of the cast of ABC's reality show “Celebrity Mole” is a born-again Christian.

His newfound faith, and his friendship with Beaverton-based evangelist Luis Palau, are what led him to direct and host the DVD. Called “Livin' It,” the project is meant to reach teens with the gospel through the culture of extreme sports.

While the Baldwin angle adds a wrinkle, the link between evangelical Christians and skateboarding is nothing new.

Portland, in fact, is home to the nation's oldest “skate church,” a ministry begun in 1987 at Central Bible Church. Each week, 130 to 200 skateboarders show up to use 11,000 square feet in a church-owned warehouse, under the condition they stop for 30 minutes to listen to a “gospel message.”

The ministry has spawned imitators from California to Florida. And Christian “demo” teams travel the country, riding skateboards manufactured by Christian skateboard companies.

Palau, an evangelist who holds Christian music festivals around the world, has taken notice of the skate ministries' success. Since 2000, each of his festivals has featured a skate park with professional skateboarders and “skate evangelists.”

Last year, Baldwin met Palau at a festival in Syracuse, N.Y. That led to Baldwin's appearance at another festival in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this spring, which led to his role in the DVD.

The youngest of the acting Baldwin brothers (Alec, Daniel and William are the others), Baldwin, 37, has been in film and television since the 1980s, often playing the screwball comedian while earning a bad-boy reputation off the set.

“Stephen is really the perfect host because he's not the goody-goody Christian; he's not really known for that,” said Kevin Palau, Luis' son, who is executive vice president of Luis Palau Evangelical Association. The association is spending about $200,000 to produce the DVD.

Baldwin was raised as a Roman Catholic, which for him was a “relatively meaningless” experience and “kind of a scary deal,” he said. About two years ago, he explained, he was “captured by the Lord” and “born again.”

He calls the change “a predestined reality,” but he also credits his wife, Kennya, who is a Christian. She and the couple's daughters–Alaia, 10, and Hailey, 6–were in Portland for the filming.

“Livin' It” will feature footage of stunts by professional BMX riders and skateboarders, as well as interviews with the athletes talking about their faith. The roster includes BMX riders Rich Hirsch, John Greer and Vic Murphy and skateboarders Anthony Carney and Tim Burn.

Once the DVD is finished early next year, it will be sold to churches and Christian youth organizations for use as an outreach tool, but it may also be available in video stores, Palau said.

Bruce Crisman, a BMX rider who was a gold medalist at the Summer X Games in 2001, said he uses any opportunity to talk about his faith. “The Lord found me through a skateboarder,” the 24-year-old said. “Who knows what it could be for someone else?”

Jud Heald, a skateboarder from Missouri, acknowledged that skaters who actively proclaim a Christian faith are a small segment of the skateboarding world. But that makes their mission even more important, he said.

Bemiller, the skeptical skater who wandered onto the set, got a free board out of his chance meeting with Baldwin. When the actor saw Bemiller's board–illustrated with the word “terror” over an image of a woman's legs sticking out of a trash can–he gave him a new one with an image of a skull, a cross and the word “faith.”

“Get this local cat some grip tape,” Baldwin yelled to his crew.

He wasn't won over, Bemiller said, but he wasn't turned off either.

“They did a good job connecting with me, but I'm such an agnostic,” Bemiller said. “I've dealt with evangelical types before, but these guys are pretty laid back. I appreciate the subtle approach.”

Posted: 11/07/03

Did bishop slander by citing 'spirit of Satan'?

By Kevin Eckstrom

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–An Iowa judge will decide if the phrase “spirit of Satan” is basis for a slander suit after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in a dispute at a rural Iowa church.

On Oct. 20, the nation's highest court rejected a petition by the United Methodist Church in Iowa to dismiss the case. That move sends the 2-year-old case back to a judge in rural Butler County, Iowa, for trial.

On its face, the case is a simple defamation suit, but church-state watchers say it could hold important precedent on how much a secular court can or should involve itself in internal church matters.

“If the separation of church and state is to mean anything at all, it must mean that the government must not be able to reach its arms inside the doors of the church and regulate its internal activities,” said Hiram Sasser, a staff attorney at the Liberty Legal Institute in Plano, which is monitoring the case.

The case involves a 1999 letter written by a local church official about problems at a United Methodist church in Shell Rock, Iowa, population 1,298. Appealing for an end to divisions, District Superintendent Gerald Swinton noted that the “spirit of Satan” was at work in the congregation.

“Folks, when is enough enough? When will you stop the blaming, negative and unhappy persons among you from tearing down the spirit of Jesus Christ among you?” Swinton wrote.

The person at the center of the controversy, parishioner Jane Kliebenstein, said she was defamed by the letter because it falsely attacked her “integrity and moral character.” She and her husband sued for “fair and reasonable” damages.

A lower court threw out the case, saying it had no jurisdiction in the life of the church. The Iowa Supreme Court, however, said because the letter had been circulated publicly, the church's protection had been “weakened.”

“We conclude … that the phrase 'spirit of Satan' has meaning in a secular as well as sectarian context,” that results in an “unflattering secular meaning,” the seven-member court ruled last June.

Kliebenstein, 62, said she was “pleased” that her case is going forward but declined to talk about the specifics of the case. “It's been a difficult period, but I definitely believe in God,” she said.

Kliebenstein, a member for 36 years, was active in women's groups and sat on church committees, but the church's current pastor, Realff Ottesen, said she never was an active part in the “worship life of the church.”

Still, the decision was made to curtail Kliebenstein's “direct influence” in the church's affairs. Several members left in protest. Since then, Ottesen said the suit has been mostly a non-issue in the 216-member church.

“The lawsuit is not a subject of great discussion,” said Ottesen, who arrived in 2000. “It does not affect our daily life or our missional life. We're doing our thing.”

The case is expected to be heard next fall. The difficult part will be trying to determine the legal threshold of truth or falsity for a defamation case involving Satan, and whether Swinton wrote the letter maliciously.

Posted: 11/07/03

Spiritual sleuth studies violent religions to fight crime

By Sharon Schlegel

Religion News Service

TRENTON, N.J. (RNS)–Police were puzzled by the crime. A corpse had been disinterred in the cemetery, mutilated and left near a mausoleum covered with graffiti.

Eager for a trail to follow, police turned to Dawn Perlmutter, an expert on ritualistic murder and religious terrorism.

It turned out to be exactly the right move. Perlmutter immediately suspected the crime was linked to satanism and urged police to begin by talking to people at nearby stores selling occult books and symbols.

Police departments around the country call on Dawn Perlmutter to help identify evidence of religious rituals at crime scenes and find those responsible.

The perpetrator soon was brought to justice.

Probing strange and violent crime scenes is commonplace for Perlmutter, director of the Institute for the Research of Organized and Ritual Violence and a consultant to law enforcement agencies across the country.

A soft-spoken, auburn-haired woman in her early 40s, she has an open, easy manner that gives no hint of her days studying gruesome crime scenes and the extremist religious and terrorist groups behind them.

Her 440-page book, “Investigating Religious Terrorism and Ritualistic Crimes,” appeared in bookstores last month. It is being billed by its publisher as “the first complete resource to assist in crime scene identification, criminal investigation and prosecution of religious terrorism and occult crime.”

“There are literally thousands of new religions, many of whose theologies advocate violence, springing up in this country today,” Perlmutter said in an interview.

“I know of at least 150 satanic groups in existence, and more are being formed every day. Many of the white supremacy groups hide behind a Christian facade, distorting that faith and advocating an apocalyptic view of the world.

“What concerns me,” she said, “is that people are now using the Internet to create their own extreme religions and find followers. I've tried to be careful not to disrespect any religion, but I do draw a very clear line between what's legal and what's illegal.”

She tries to look at each group's practices from its unique perspective, in order to lend some in-depth understanding of members' motives, she said.

The book explains the organizational structure of satanic clans and covens and probes vampirism, voodoo, the Goth movement, fetishes, neo-paganism, sacrifice and blood rituals.

Perlmutter also addresses recruitment policies and indoctrination techniques, a subject that deeply worries her, she said. “I know recruiters for these groups are visiting college campuses. And they're finding followers through the Internet among lonely, alienated kids. People have no idea how prevalent these groups are. Everyone, especially parents, needs help to understand what's out there.”

Perlmutter never set out to pursue a career linked to law enforcement and gruesome crime. She grew up in Ventnor, N.J., in a happy, traditional family and had a strong interest in art. In college, she became intrigued by the religious symbols and idolatry so prominent in ancient religious art, and this led to a growing interest in philosophy.

She started to see how many of those ancient blood- or sacrifice-related symbols were making their way into modern life, often in distorted fashion.

So she began work on a doctoral thesis titled “Graven Images: Creative Acts of Idolatry,” later published as a book. In it, she tackled such contemporary subjects as violence in film.

Fully expecting to spend her life as an academic, Perlmutter taught at several colleges. But her growing acclaim as a crime-scene consultant convinced her to work in that field full time.

It all started when a friend asked her to help a New Jersey police officer pal who was bewildered by a murder case.

Looking over some autopsy photos, “I saw immediately that the types of mutilation shown were indicative of ancient rites of tribal blood mutilation, which could represent a traitor who betrayed a tribe. I told him to look at local gangs,” she recalled.

When her hunch proved accurate, the officer invited Perlmutter to speak to a law enforcement-related agency.

“It was received well, and I was asked to speak to two more groups. Every time I spoke, someone started asking me about specific cases.

“That's when the light bulb went off,” she said. “I realized that, in this way, I would have firsthand access to cases that would prove or disprove my theory about the relationship between violence and the sacred.”

She explains the theory this way: “In all religions, there has always been some form of religious sacrifice, and contemporary ritual homicide often mimics and distorts that.”

By working with law enforcement, she surmised, she would have a chance to learn more.

Philosophically, Perlmutter is a proponent of “the Girardian theory, the premise that violence and aggression are intrinsic in human beings,” she said. But that doesn't mean personal violence is inevitable. Non-destructive outlets for those emotions are part of every culture, she said, pointing to football, movies and TV as healthy avenues for catharsis.

“What's happening today is these new religions are not just serving as outlets of aggression, they are also filling a spiritual need. They're providing an ideology and a belief system for people who are very out of control and need a way to justify violence and gratify those needs.

“I don't think it's an issue of too many guns or even of bad parenting,” she concluded. “I think there's a real spiritual void.”

Posted: 11/07/03

Small church grows strong leaders

By George Henson

Staff Writer

KYLE–If it is true that leaders are born, not made, then the soil around Kyle is good for something other than cotton.

Immanuel Baptist Church, a rural congregation located amid cotton fields for all but the last few years since its founding in 1886, has turned out more than its fair share of leaders.

While never averaging more than about 75 people in attendance, and for many years considerably less than that, the church has made significant contributions to the leadership pool of Texas Baptists. Seven Baptist ministers have sprung from the membership.

Roland Alhart is a pastor in the northeastern U.S., and Curtis Lengelfeld is a pastor in New Mexico. Bill Lengelfeld and Richard Mayforth both left the tiny community in the Hill Country and found themselves around the world as missionaries in Japan.

The best known products of the church are the Schmeltekopf brothers. Bob Schmeltekopf served as pastor of Texas churches including First Baptist in San Marcos and Trinity Baptist in Kerrville, and then served 18 years as a director of missions in San Antonio and the Hill Country. Don Schmeltekopf served 12 years as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Baylor University. Ed Schmeltekopf was pastor of three Texas churches, including First Baptist Church in Burleson, and served 20 years as associate executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

And Immanuel Baptist Church isn't even a BGCT church.

Pastor Dennis Koger, who has BGCT roots growing up in First Baptist and Ridgecrest churches in Greenville and then teaching at Baylor University and San Marcos Academy, explained the congregation has had a close fellowship with the BGCT from its beginnings, however.

Even in its infancy, the BGCT recognized the need to reach out to people of various cultures, Koger explained. The BGCT was instrumental in helping the families coordinate the beginnings of the church, first organized as the First German Baptist Church of Kyle in 1886–the 11th Baptist church started through the efforts of Texas Baptists.

Driven by cultural and language considerations, the church first aligned with the German Baptist Convention, later becoming the North American Baptist Convention.

As to why the church is able to turn out such leaders, Koger says he believes several things play into the equation. Part of the answer he said he received from Bob Schmeltekopf.

“I asked Robert Lee, everybody down here calls him 'Robert Lee,' that question and he told me they had seen the dairy farm and that was not where they wanted to spend the rest of their lives. A terribly spiritual motivation,” Koger quipped.

“Seriously, though, I think it's the strong family context that affects everything these people do, and these are genuine people of faith. God just worked in the lives of these families to raise up leaders to do the things he wanted done,” he said.

Bob Schmeltekopf sees a few additional motivators as well: “A part of the German culture out of which that church was born was a tremendous work ethic. Pursuing the very highest achievement one could achieve was a focus of our parents. It was not only a matter of the work ethic, though, but also a part of their theology. Upward mobility was not looked upon as a curse, but as a blessing.

“The second thing was the leadership called to lead that little church was phenomenal. Sometimes, even as kids, we saw that in marked contrast to what some of the other little churches had,” he said.

In his case, a Methodist minister who doubled as the high school athletic trainer also played an integral part.

“He taped my ankles before every football game and before every basketball game. My senior year, he carted me around to nearly every Baptist school and just really had a huge impact on me.”

All of those things prepared him to be used by God.

“When God called me, there was no hesitation, no reluctance on my part,” Schmeltekopf said. “I was excited to be like my pastor and my friend who taped my ankles.”

While the cotton fields have begun to turn over to home sites for new families, the church still works to reach out to new children like the Lengelfelds and the Schmeltekopfs.

“It used to be the joke that you couldn't say anything bad about anyone because everybody around here was related. Now that's not true,” Koger said. “But we're going to build a new multipurpose building, and I think that will be a signal to the people moving in around here that we want them to come.”

Posted: 11/07/03

BGCT: Smaller Texas churches can grow

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Four of ten churches affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas have fewer than 100 resident members, according to convention statistics.

About 65 percent of Hispanic churches average less than 100 members, and 93 percent of reporting Hispanic missions serve fewer than 100 members.

Nationally, 60 percent of Protestant churches serve 100 or fewer adults in a typical weekend and just less than 2 percent have 1,000 or more adults.

Yet smaller churches face different challenges than larger churches and need unique attention, according to Frank Palos, associate coordinator of the BGCT Church Health and Growth Section.

Many times, members of smaller congregations stay so busy supporting the church that they may not have as much time to focus on spiritual matters, Palos explained.

He compared small church members to a football team where every player has to play offense, defense and special teams. The players work continuously without having time to reflect.

“Smaller churches can be effective if they will just focus and not try to do what the bigger churches do, and spread themselves out so thinly,” he said. “You've heard the phrase 'jack of all trades, but master of none.' In a smaller congregation, because of the smaller numbers, people sometimes confuse work for God for worship of God.”

Bob Ray, director of bivocational and small church development with the BGCT, said his experience in Texas shows members of smaller congregations are more committed to the church and their faith than members of larger churches. If they aren't committed, the church closes.

“In a smaller-membership church, you can't hide,” he said. “They're such a small group they have to be committed or the church doesn't function.”

While Palos understands the stereotypical picture of a small church is a wooden building in the country, he said the typical small church in Texas is changing. Small churches currently reach a wide variety of people in vastly different locales, ranging from the inner city to the suburbs to rural regions.

It is good for God's kingdom that small churches attract a different group of people than large churches, Ray added. Smaller churches serve a niche audience that would not be served by larger congregations.

“They are not going to go to First Baptist Church of a county seat,” he said. “They perceive they are not going to be as comfortable.”

Despite greater attention placed on large churches, small churches will continue to exist and reach people, Palos predicted. They have an equally important role as large churches and must do it to reach the world for Christ.

“I think the role is the same–to share the good news,” he said. “The opportunity to share the gospel may not be the same, but the role is the same.”

Ray reminds that numeric growth for the sake of numbers is not the mission of the church. Growth should come from church members acting more like Christ on a daily basis.

Palos believes the key to small-church growth is meeting needs. If a church is purposely meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the community, it will grow spiritually and numerically, he insisted.

Posted: 11/07/03

Southern Seminary to close day-care center

By David Winfrey

Kentucky Western Recorder

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP)–Citing a need for classroom space, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary officials have announced plans to close the school's Child Development Center.

The transition of Rankin Hall from day care to teaching space was one of several changes detailed in a revised campus master plan approved by trustees at a meeting where they also adopted a resolution against “open theism.”

In addition to closing the day care, the master plan outlines transforming a 76-year-old auxiliary gymnasium into two large classrooms and selling the 251-unit Village Manor Apartments to a private company, which will renovate the complex and maintain it as a low-income housing facility.

Seminary President Al Mohler characterized the Child Development Center's closing as a “forced option” based on the need for more classrooms.

“We are forced by enrollment gains to make difficult choices and must look to other options for child-care needs,” he said in a statement.

Three years ago, the seminary announced plans to close the center but reversed that decision after an outcry from those who had children enrolled in the center.

Currently, 72 children are enrolled in the center, according to seminary spokesman Lawrence Smith. Of those, 23 are students' children, 12 are employees' children and 37 are children of community residents.

According to data provided by the seminary for publication in the Southern Baptist Convention Annual, Southern has experienced enrollment growth in recent years, after a period of enrollment decline.

In the 1992-1993 academic year, the year before Mohler became president, the seminary reported a full-time equivalent enrollment of 1,792. For the 2001-2002 academic year, the latest for which comparable data has been published, the seminary reported an FTE enrollment of 1,731.

While essentially steady compared to a decade before, FTE enrollment has rebounded from a low point of 1,163 in 1997-1998. After Mohler's first year in office, FTE enrollment dropped annually for four years, then began to move forward annually beginning in 1998.

The seminary has experienced exponential growth in its Boyce College undergraduate program, which now counts more than 600 students.

Also, while FTE enrollment has returned to its previous levels, the number of graduate degrees awarded by the seminary remains below its former mark. In the 1992-1993 academic year, the seminary awarded 443 master's and doctoral degrees, 42 percent more than the 257 degrees awarded in 2001-2002.

Mohler told the board the campus expansion plan is necessary to keep the seminary on “war-time footing,” prepared to meet the needs of churches.

Churches are seeking ministers from Southern Seminary at a rate that exceeds the number of graduates produced annually, he said.

Posted: 11/07/03

Texas Tidbits

Baylor names master teachers. Two Baylor University professors–one living and one dead–have been named master teachers by President Robert Sloan. The master teacher designation is the highest honor granted to Baylor faculty members. Sloan bestowed the title on Ray Wilson II, professor of biology, and the late Helen Ligon, emeritus professor of information systems. These are the first master teacher designations granted during Sloan's nine-year presidency.

DBU invites prospective students. Dallas Baptist University will host a Patriot Weekend preview for prospective students Nov. 14-15. High school juniors and seniors will experience campus life through informative seminars, interaction with students and faculty, sessions on financial aid and an inspirational concert by DBU's student ministry team, Glowing Heart. Cost for the weekend is $25 and includes lodging, meals and a commemorative T-shirt. Call (214) 333-5360 or e-mail admiss@dbu.edu.

ETBU board elects officers. D.M Edwards of Tyler has been elected chairman of the trustee board at East Texas Baptist University. He is a businessman and member of First Baptist Church of Tyler, where he is a deacon. He will serve with Vice Chairman Clint Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant, and Secretary George Fitts, chief financial officer for Carlile Companies and a deacon at Central Baptist Church in Marshall. Also elected to the board's executive committee are Tom Lyles, a certified public accountant from Lindale; Jo Marie Jones, retired teacher and a homemaker from Jasper; Ken Branam, pastor of Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving; and Harlan Hall, minister of music at Central Baptist Church of Carthage.

HSU names Leavenworth. Russell Leavenworth has joined the Hardin-Simmons University advancement staff as a development officer. A 1999 HSU marketing graduate, he moves from the Abilene Philharmonic Association, where he has been director of marketing and development.

Posted: 11/07/03

TOGETHER:
Advance the kingdom of heaven

Clearly the theme of the kingdom of God was central to Jesus' gospel message: “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 'The time has come,' he said. 'The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news'” (Mark 1:14-15).

Perhaps you have heard your pastor say, “We must be about kingdom business,” as you were urged on to a vision that was not centered on just what was good for your local church.

Can we be concrete about what the kingdom of God is? Note what any kingdom anywhere is. A kingdom is a territory that is under the rule of a king. The kingdom operates where the king's rule is respected, his name is honored, his laws obeyed and his taxes paid. The lines on a map may say that an area of land is in the kingdom, but if in that province no one takes the word of the king seriously, then it is part of the kingdom in name, but not in reality.

CHARLES WADE Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

That is why Jesus taught us to pray earnestly: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus wants the will of God to be done in the earth, and everywhere it is, the kingdom of God is present.

The Apostle Paul imagined the Christian communities to be outposts of the kingdom of heaven at work in the world. In the midst of a corrupt and dying world, where “many live as enemies of the cross of Christ … their mind … on earthly things, … our citizenship is in heaven.” Or as Moffatt translates it: “We are a colony of heaven” (Philippians 3:18-20).

Our king reigns without benefit of sword or the engines of war. He has chosen to be content to let the rule of truth, peace, love and grace conquer the hearts of men and women. And wherever there are people who love Jesus and want to become like him, the kingdom of God is extended. That is why Jesus invited his hearers to “follow me.” And why they were called disciples.

We advance the kingdom of God by learning more and more every day what it means to grow to be like him and then actually following his way. The four Gospels are the textbooks for the life of Christ–when you know him there, you know him now. If we don't know what Jesus did, we can't even begin to know what Jesus would do!

In “The Divine Conspiracy,” Dallas Willard makes an intriguing observation: “The really good news for humanity is that Jesus is now taking students in the master class of life.”

When you hear the direction of Jesus sending you and your church into the world to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, healing for the sick, and God's grace and favor and you do it, the kingdom of God is there. When you eat with sinners, feed the hungry, examine your heart and repent of any self-righteousness, embrace the outcasts, welcome the children, take seriously the questions and aspirations of women as well as men who would follow Jesus, call for and live out a purity of life that flows from the heart, enter into prayer that draws you into the heart of God, you begin to see signs of the kingdom of God when it is in motion.

The theme for our Baptist General Convention of Texas annual session in Lubbock is “Your Church … Advancing God's Kingdom.” When we move out into our communities and world, being the presence of Christ, there the kingdom of God is advanced.

As I look at the program of our convention meeting and anticipate what we will be doing, I rejoice, for we are about the Father's kingdom business.

We are loved.

Posted: 11/07/03

Prof says BF&M needed for Trinity view

FORT WORTH (BP)–One word can make all the difference between voicing an incorrect view of God and confessing the God of the Bible, said Malcolm Yarnell, assistant dean of theological studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

That is precisely why changes to the Baptist Faith & Message, the Southern Baptist Convention's statement of beliefs, were necessary, Yarnell said in chapel Oct. 30.

“For a time in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I wondered whether a number of evangelicals were actually trinitarian,” he said. “The Trinity was notably absent from many evangelical pulpits for much of the 20th century … even among Baptists. The 1963 Baptist Faith & Message could easily have been affirmed by modalists.”

Modalism is the belief that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are “modes” of God's existence rather than true and coeternal persons capable of interacting with one another.

Early church councils, Yarnell said, rejected this heresy, but it still lives on today in numerous places–even among some Southern Baptists in the last century.

The 1963 Baptist Faith & Message noted that, “The eternal God reveals himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.”

“Fortunately, those who revised the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message stuck in one word that would make it impossible for a heretic to affirm it,” Yarnell said. “If you left it as it was, you only have the economic trinity but no essential Trinity. But the committee added one word, the word 'triune.'”

The Baptist Faith & Message now reads, “The eternal triune God reveals himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.”

Posted: 11/07/03

Court ruling on 'under God' will matter either way

By Kristen Campbell

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–The Supreme Court's decision to consider whether the 1954 addition of the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional has religious leaders weighing the possible impact of a court ruling on religious liberty.

The challenge of Michael Newdow, an atheist who objected to recitations of the pledge at his daughter's California public school, received national attention in 2002 when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Congress violated the First Amendment when it added the words “under God.”

In taking the case, the court will engage in a debate older than the nation itself.

The ramifications of its decision would affect the law in almost every state, according to Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the Washington-based American Center for Law and Justice.

The struggle to articulate and safeguard the nation's ideals of religious liberties never has been easy. But in recent years, as Americans have asked judges to define and protect rights constituents believe are articulated in the First Amendment, the battle has grown more emotional.

In the end, some of the war's spoils may not amount to much.

Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va., said he expects the Supreme Court to overturn the appeals' court decision unanimously.

“It seems to me highly unlikely to impossible that the court will reverse decades of thinking by justices, even though there is no Supreme Court case upholding the pledge,” Haynes said.

“There are many cases that have dicta, or have expressions of opinion by justices about the pledge, about other references to God, such as 'In God We Trust' or 'The Star Spangled Banner.' … Generally, these have been cited as ceremonial deism. And in some cases, justices have even said they have lost any religious significance they might have had. … They are no longer really religious expressions as much as they are sort of historic affirmations of our national identity and so forth.”

Haynes finds the situation ironic.

“Religious people, in my view, win little when they win the right to keep religion as long as it isn't meaningful,” he said. “Efforts to push for acknowledgment of God or religion by the state often end in doing more to harm authentic faith or religious expression than to enhance it.”

But Sekulow said, “It just would be a sad day for this country if we have to remove a phrase that actually arises out of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.”

In his dedication of the Pennsylvania military cemetery, Lincoln said: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us–that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion–that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain–that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom–and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Lincoln's use of religious rhetoric during a time of national crisis is far from unusual.

“When the nation feels very threatened, when there's high anxiety about the state of the nation and enemies from within and from without threatening the nation, there is always, really, in our history a kind of return to this affirmation of the United States as a nation under God to somehow assuage the anxiety, to somehow recover our strength,” Haynes said.

Such motivations may have played a part in adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance in the first place.

In the midst of Cold War concerns about political enemies some lawmakers described as “godless communists,” the Knights of Columbus encouraged Congress to amend the pledge to include the words “under God.”

In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower approved the change and stated, “From this day forward, the millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty.”

If the Supreme Court affirms the decision rendered by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, other national expressions of religious sentiment would undoubtedly be challenged, Sekulow and Haynes agreed.

“The political fallout would be profound,” Haynes said. “There would be such a backlash in the country.”

What's more, Haynes said, it could create an environment in which some might seek to amend the First Amendment in an effort to make clear that government can acknowledge God. Such action is unprecedented, Haynes said, and could weaken the country's commitment to religious liberty.

Even those Americans who don't want government involved in religion see these expressions as part of the nation's heritage and identity, Haynes said.

“Taking a stance that basically sanitizes public language, public discourse, of any religious reference is a mistake, as much of a mistake as trying to establish a particular religious confession as the religion of the nation,” said Christopher Viscardi, chairman of the philosophy and theology division at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala.

“If we get into the mindset of forbidding whatever somebody finds offensive, I think the intent as well as the functionality of the Constitution will be lost.”

Posted: 11/07/03

Virginians may withhold from Averett

By Robert Dilday

Virginia Religious Herald

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP)–Virginia Baptists will be asked to withhold about $350,000 they planned to contribute to Averett University next year until a dispute over homosexuality and biblical interpretation can be resolved.

The Baptist General Association of Virginia's budget committee has amended its 2004 budget recommendation, asking messengers at the BGAV's annual meeting this month to escrow Averett's allocation “until such time as the (BGAV) covenant committee … can reach an agreement with the university as to its future relationship” with the BGAV.

The budget committee recommends the money be released to Averett in April 2004 if a “resolution of our differences can be achieved by that time.” Otherwise, the budget committee will propose at the BGAV annual meeting in November 2004 a reallocation of the money.

The 144-year-old Averett has longstanding ties with the BGAV. Last year, the BGAV contributed about $450,000 to the university, most of it for scholarships for students from churches affiliated with the BGAV. The state association nominates about one-fourth of Averett's trustees.

But the Danville, Va., university drew the ire of some Virginia Baptists in August when John Laughlin, chairman of its religion department, wrote an article in a local newspaper endorsing the recent action of the Episcopal Church to ordain an openly homosexual bishop and criticizing a literal method of interpreting the Bible. In September, John Shelby Spong, a controversial retired Episcopal bishop, lectured on Averett's campus, reportedly saying that the God who is revealed in a literal reading of Scripture is “immoral” and “unbelievable.”

The comments are “contrary to stated core values of Virginia Baptists,” said John Upton, BGAV excutive director.

The Virginia Baptist Mission Board's executive committee sharply rebuked Averett Sept. 9, declaring, “We … express our strong dismay and disagreement at the tone and content of public comments by Dr. Laughlin on homosexuality and the nature of Scripture, which were published in the Danville Register and Bee … . Furthermore, we are disappointed in Averett University's decision to host an appearance by Bishop John Shelby Spong to speak to the community and students.”

In a resolution adopted Oct. 24, Averett's board of trustees expressed regret at “any perception that Averett University has diverged from its commitment to being Virginia's flagship Christian university.”

But it added, “The board continues to feel strongly that the individual views of any single member of the academic community are the views of that individual alone and neither speak for nor reflect the views and values of the faculty, administration, board of trustees or Averett University.”

Posted: 11/07/03

Wayland students back on the air with news show

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW–It's 3 p.m. on Thursday, and Paul Finley is giving the springs in an outdated office chair a workout with his nervous energy.

Rocking quickly and tapping his fingers anxiously on the control desk in front of him, Finley bounces questions around the bustling control room and into his headset microphone, making sure all parties are ready to begin.

News anchors E.J. Martinez and Kira Ingle prepare to go live to tape with the newscast from Wayland's television studio on the Plainview campus.

With everyone in place, Finley points a finger to his left, cuing the video operator to begin the introduction. A photo collage comes up on the screen, and the audio controller starts the music, cuing the anchors to begin their introductions.

Just a minute in, the tape featuring a recorded interview lags, and Finley calls the whole process to a halt. A few takes later, they're back on track and well into the newscast. But time is ticking away, and Finley's slight rocking says he won't really be able to relax until the last fade out.

Welcome to the world of television news. Even as a freshman at Wayland Baptist University, Finley has become familiar with the details of newscasts, having worked a few years at an Amarillo news station just out of high school.

But this is not a network station, and his cohorts are not professional anchors and cameramen. They're all students, getting experience in television production and a crash course in patience and diligence.

A project of Wayland's mass communication department, the weekly newscasts began airing a month ago and are seen on WIN-TV, Plainview cable channel 6, the Plainview affiliate of FamilyNet, on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Fridays at 4:30 p.m. The show features news from the campus as well as city and national news, with sports and profiles on Wayland faculty.

The 30-minute newscast is filmed, edited and staged completely within the Wayland campus. A working studio located in the Harral Arts Complex is home to the casts' two anchors, seniors E.J. Martinez of Mesa, Ariz., and Kira Ingle of Little Elm, and the camera operators, Tino Garcia, a sophomore from Plainview, and Curtis Beeman, a sophomore from Lovington, N.M.

Director Paul Finley takes the helm in the control room during a taping of Wayland's weekly newscast.

In an adjoining room, separated by a large glass window, Finley sits at the control desk, while Daniel Coutinho, a sophomore from Komoros, operates the teleprompter and senior Dean Forest operates the video tape decks. Jason DeGray works the audio controls at the back of the room, while Paul Sutton, a freshman from Abernathy, puts a final read on his sports report from a nearby desk. Steve Long, assistant professor of mass communication at Wayland, oversees the newscast as adviser.

“The newscast is primarily put on by students from my production class, and there are about 10 students involved altogether,” Long said. “Our journalism students also help gather and write stories, and we edit all the packages for stories together during the week.”

The newscast is the first regular attempt at such a project in nearly 20 years, Long said, and he's excited to see current students get involved.

“Back in the 1980s, they did a newscast regularly. They were trying to do it on a daily basis, though, and I think they just burned themselves out on it,” Long said. “Every year, I've brought it up to our students, and when we mention what's involved with it, I don't get much interest.”

This year, that changed. Long said Finley and Sutton became interested in the often-daunting project last spring and began talking it up to other students. The two spent the better part of the summer working on ideas for the newscast and getting the studio and equipment in line with their needs.

“We have all this stuff here and felt like we should do something with it,” Finley said. “If we're going to have a mass communication department, it just needs to be done.”

Two recent donations of used cameras and editing equipment–from First Baptist Church of Lubbock and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary–helped beef up the studio resources.

The experience has opened the eyes of students, who are learning exactly what is required in producing television news and the time commitment necessary to make it work on a college campus.