Posted: 10/31/03

FAMILY FILMS: One man's quest

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DALLAS–The dearth of family-friendly media programming has caused one North Texas layman to take the camera into his own hands.

“I quit going to movies. I quit watching television,” Lee Douglas said. “I just tired of all the profanity, violence, sex and innuendo. I just think someone needs to make good family movies–not necessarily Christian, but family movies.”

Douglas, who written, directed and produced training films for various corporations, recently sat that business aside to make his first feature-length film, “Roy 'n' the Rev.”

Humble Baptist Church in Hainesville and the Wood County Sheriff's Department both play key roles in the movie. Director Lee Douglas' goal is to make family-friendly films.

The movie features a con-man-turned-drug-dealer who is forced to a play the role of pastor to drive a rural church to ruin so the property where the church sits can be reclaimed by the heirs. Pretending to be a pastor, however, leads the con man to become involved in the lives of the people in the tiny community, including coaching a Little League baseball team. He enlists Roy's help with the team, and their friendship blossoms. Along the way, his treatment by the townspeople causes him to question his previous way of life.

While the film is not overtly religious, a Baptist church plays a key part and subtle anti-drug and anti-abortion stances run throughout.

“None of these things are done in an in-your-face kind of way, but they are just presented as a part of the people's lives who are a part of the story,” Douglas explained.

Douglas, who at age 70 says he has changed jobs about every three years, patented a line of baking products in the early 1980s. Proceeds from that venture have bankrolled much of the independent film venture.

The movie took five and a half months to film, but that is because all the filming was done on weekends, he said. “All these people have other jobs, and the weekends were the only time they were available.”

Filming was done in the East Texas communities of Mineola, Alba, Winnsboro, Quitman, Hainesville and Emory. Many of the actors are residents of those communities.

The film's theatrical premiere was given at a private screening at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas.

Douglas is working now on distribution, trying to decide if the film will be shown in theaters or marketed for church and home viewing.

Gwyn Little and Dot Pelton engage in a little beauty-shop gossip in a scene from "Roy 'n' the Rev."

The business side of film making is Douglas' least-favorite, he said, and he is anxious to start filming on one of the other four scripts he has waiting.

“I fully expect this one will make enough to pay for itself–paying all the people involved and taking care of all the production and post-production expenses,” he said. “If I hadn't thought–I guess 'known' is better word–that it would make money, I probably wouldn't have done it. Maybe, but probably not.”

Douglas said his research showed about 87 percent of all feature-length films are rated PG-13 or R.

“You read newspaper articles that say people are hungry for this sort of thing, that they are feeling beat down by all the violence, profanity and sex in most other films. I know there is a market for family-friendly entertainment.”

His vision is to make “feature family films that are entertaining with a lot of humor, and that make a point along the way without being made to make a point.”

Douglas wants to stay away from the Christian label because many people would stay away from the film for that reason and miss the good the film has to offer. Some “Christian films” are so pronounced in delivering their message that it is never heard by those who need to hear it, he said.

“Contrast the 'Left Behind' movie to Andy Griffith,” Douglas offered. “He was such a good moral person it made you feel good. 'Left Behind' didn't do that.”

In “Roy 'n' the Rev,” Douglas filled just about every role possible except acting–writing, filming, directing, editing, site selection, casting. He intended to be an extra in a scene, but he got so caught up in the details it was over before he had the opportunity.

Posted: 10/31/03

Stanley backs off statements on SBC and women

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

FORT WORTH–For the second time, Charles Stanley has been quoted in the secular press disagreeing with the Southern Baptist Convention's position on women. And for the second time, he contends he was misquoted.

In a taped interview with veteran religion reporter Jim Jones of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Stanley said the SBC mandate that wives should be graciously submissive to their husbands was “ridiculous.”

And the Star-Telegram indicated the former SBC president doesn't support the convention's prohibition on women serving as pastors.

The article was published in the newspaper's Oct. 18 issue. It was based on an interview given during Stanley's visit to Texas to promote his latest book, “Finding Peace: God's Promise of a Life Free from Regret, Anxiety and Fear.”

Six days later, the SBC's Baptist Press issued lengthy coverage of Stanley's remarks, including his assertion that his words had been twisted.

However, Jones released a transcript of the tape-recorded interview that verified the words he had quoted Stanley as saying.

According to that transcript, Jones asked Stanley about some other Christian denominations that allow women to serve as pastors.

Stanley responded: “Yeah, and for example in other countries of the world where men are not taking responsibility, women are beginning to be pastors of churches. The women are rising up in different places. So you can't go to somebody (in) like India or Japan or wherever it is and tell some woman who is preaching the gospel, people are being saved, lives are being changed, big churches (are being established) and say, 'You can't do that.' My feeling is this: You have to leave God's calling to whomever God calls. Period. And I just say no. I think getting into that was a mistake. What happened was it just stirred up anger and resentment toward Baptists that probably people hadn't even thought about Baptists before. And you know, if a woman is going to be submissive, she's not going to be submissive because of the Southern Baptist Convention. So it's just ridiculous.”

According to the transcript, Jones then asked: “Speaking of submissive, what do think about that issue? You know, they talk about every verse of the Bible where (you) have statements on submission.”

Stanley answered: “Well, Jesus said to honor one another. Submissive doesn't mean doormat. Submissive means you should submit yourselves one to another. That husband and wives understand each others' needs, try to meet each others' needs. The Bible talks about unity and oneness. If I love my wife and she loves me, we are going to come to some kind of agreement. But the emphasis is usually, 'OK, the man is up here and the woman is down here.' And so, that's the message that gets sent, no matter what you believe. So my feeling is that we don't need to discuss the issue.”

Jones asked further: “So you disagree on that issue with Southern Baptists?”

Stanley responded: “My opinion was it wasn't necessary for it to come up.”

In the Baptist Press coverage, Stanley contends Jones “did not quote me accurately, and I noticed he sort of rearranged a few things.”

The quotes attributed to Stanley in the Star-Telegram story, however, appear essentially as verified by Jones' transcript.

Stanley insisted to Baptist Press he does not disagree with other conservative SBC presidents and leaders on theological issues, as the story seems to indicate.

Further, he said of Jones: “He asked me specifically, which he did not include in his article, 'Would you vote for a lady to be the pastor of a church, a woman?' I said, 'No, I would not.' I said, 'That's my personal opinion, and I certainly respect other people's opinions, but I would not vote for a woman to be the pastor of a church.' But he never put that in the article.”

Jones responded that he has no recollection of asking such a question and that no such question or answer appears on his tape recording of the interview.

Stanley, pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta, was elected president at the peak of the battle between SBC moderates and conservatives. His re-election victory in Dallas in June 1985, when more than 45,000 messengers registered, is considered a pivotal moment in the so-called “conservative resurgence.”

However, Stanley later fell out of favor with some SBC leaders after he and his wife divorced and he stayed on as pastor.

Both edicts Stanley reportedly criticized were additions to the SBC's Baptist Faith & Message doctrinal statement approved by convention messengers in 2000. Those controversial additions were penned and promoted by some of Stanley's allies in the fight to change the direction of the SBC beginning in 1979.

The fact that Stanley was converted under the preaching of a female Pentecostal preacher in Danville, Va., has been previously reported.

In the summer of 2000, soon after the revised Baptist Faith & Message was adopted, Stanley told a group of pastors in North Carolina: “There are some godly women out there. I would never say that a woman could not preach. … You just can't put God in a box.”

Stanley quickly backed away from that report, however, saying his words had been “twisted and distorted” by the Charlotte Observer. At the time, he drew a distinction between a woman being a preacher and being a pastor.

He reiterated that distinction in his latest comments to Baptist Press.

“There are a number of women who are preachers who are preaching the gospel today, teaching the gospel today, and they are being very successful at it, and they are meeting people's needs,” he told BP. “You can't tell a woman who is called by God to teach that she cannot teach the word of God.”

There is a difference, he insisted, “between the authority of a pastor and a Bible teacher. And I think that's the distinction.”

Posted: 10/31/03

Seminary dedicates Houston campus

HOUSTON (BP)–A newly remodeled center for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's programs in Houston was dedicated Oct. 13.

The location was made possible when Park Place Baptist Church of Houston deeded its property to the seminary. Southwestern previously offered extension classes at Houston Baptist University.

The congregation continues to use the campus for regular church activities, while the seminary provides for the upkeep and renovation of classrooms and office space.

Cutting the ribbon opening the new Dalton Havard Center for Theological Studies Park Place Campus in Houston.

The seminary named the facility the Dalton Havard Center for Theological Studies Park Place Campus in honor of a Houston-based evangelist. Southwestern President Paige Patterson said Havard kept “a stellar record of faithfulness in the service of God.”

Patterson likened the dedication of the facility to Solomon's dedication of the temple he built and his father, David, envisioned. Solomon said the purpose of what the Israelites had done was to honor God's name.

Patterson prayed that the Houston campus might be a place where “God would come visiting and that it might be known that he is in regular attendance … that on the campus of this school people might see God at work.”

Park Place Pastor James Clark said the newly renovated facility is an example of God's grace and the faithfulness of his congregation. The church had pursued God's will with singleness of devotion, awaiting God's command at every turn and giving selflessly, he said.

Portions of the Houston facility also are named in honor of Houston area-pastors Remus Wright and Ralph West. Wright is pastor of Fountain of Praise church. West is pastor of The Church Without Walls.

The Houston seminary's development office is named for Edwin Crawford, Southwestern's director of development under former President Robert Naylor.

Posted: 10/31/03

Texas Men serves after floods

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communication

Texas Baptist Men in recent days has provided disaster relief to survivors of Hurricane Isabel in North Carolina and to flooded South Texas communities.

A chainsaw crew from Collin Baptist Association served two weeks in the area around Raleigh, N.C. The Texas Baptist volunteers helped residents clear damage caused by Hurricane Isabel.

When the lower Rio Grande Valley sustained extensive flooding in a series of heavy rainstorms, Texas Baptists responded with hot meals and a variety of clean-up services.

A food service crew from Lindale set up at Valley Baptist Retreat Center in Mission. The East Texas volunteers prepared 1,900 meals from the small regional disaster response unit.

A 20-member clean-up crew from Bluebonnet Baptist Association worked out of First Baptist Church in Brownsville, helping residents clean their flooded homes and businesses.

They were to be joined by up to 50 other volunteers from the San Antonio area for a weekend “cleaning blitz” Nov. 1.

Volunteers from Austin Association also brought their new laundry service unit to the Rio Grande Valley. The mobile laundry unit is the first vehicle of its type west of the Mississippi and the fourth one in the national Baptist disaster response volunteer network. The custom-made 16-foot tandem-axle trailer includes three washing machines and three dryers, with an on-board generator and propane supply.

Posted: 10/31/03

Texas Tidbits

HSU adds 12 to development board. Hardin-Simmons University's Board of Development welcomed 12 new members Oct. 24. Five of the new members are from Abilene: Juanita Reeder, Jimmie Kate Richards, Carolyn Welcome, Richard Young and Sam Waldrop. Other new members are Lynne Bridgeman of Allen; Kay Henard of Amarillo; George Hine of Brownwood; David Morgan of Harker Heights; Mike McMaude of Austin; Jon Wheeler of Midland; and Mac McCants of Dallas.

David Brooks

ETBU promotes Brooks. David Brooks has been promoted to vice president for student services at East Texas Baptist University. He will succeed Mark Warren, who is leaving Dec. 31. Brooks currently serves as dean of students. He came to ETBU in July 2002 from Ouachita Baptist University, where he was assistant professor of biology. He holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from ETBU and a master of science in plant pathology and microbiology and doctorate in zoology from Texas A&M.

UMHB features Paul Colman Trio. The Paul Colman Trio will be in concert Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the W.W. Walton Chapel at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Tickets may be purchased at the Information Station on campus for $10. The trio was named Artist of the Year two consecutive years by The Rock Across Australia, Australia's independent Christian music charts. For more information, call (254) 295-5150.

Schmeltekopf awards given. Two ministerial students have received Edward Schmeltekopf Servant Leader Scholarships from the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The BGCT Christian Education Coordinating Board approved scholarships for Stephen Tique Hamilton at Hardin-Simmons University's Logsdon School of Theology and Shannon Leigh Rutherford at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. The one-time $1,000 award, named for the BGCT's former associate executive director, is presented annually to a graduate of a Texas Baptist university who is continuing studies at Truett or Logsdon.

Bible conference offered. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will hold its annual Bible Conference Nov. 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The theme of the conference is "Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark." The conference fee is $20 per person, which includes lunch. Guest speaker will be Ken Lyle, associate professor of New Testament and Greek at the Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University. For more information, call (254) 295-5075.

Posted: 10/31/03

Wayland trustees approve funding for Amarillo site

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

SAN ANTONIO–Trustees of Wayland Baptist University approved financing for new property in Amarillo and heard reports of positive trends across the university system at their fall meeting.

The meeting was held in San Antonio, where trustees toured the San Antonio campus facility dedicated three years ago. An update on the campus also was a highlight of the meeting.

Remodeling work now is under way for the new Amarillo campus, which will be relocated to the property on Canyon Drive, off Interstate 27, in what previously was a Luby's Cafeteria. Signage is complete, and officials said they hope the campus will be fully functional by spring. The 12,153-square-foot property will bring added visibility to Wayland's campus in Amarillo and provide needed classroom and parking space.

The board also approved the university's annual audit, brought in a report by Becky Robert of Davis, Kinard & Co. of Abilene. The audit reported increased investments and net assets and a clean report of financial statements.

A report from the enrollment management committee pointed out several positive figures for the university, including an increase in system enrollment and credit hours, and in Plainview, a 13 percent increase in the freshman class, a 70 percent retention rate and increases in transfer students, incoming students and students receiving scholarships based on their scores on college entrance exams.

Jim Antenen, dean of the San Antonio campus, gave an update on the work there, which continues to grow in enrollment and number of programs offered. The campus enjoyed a 4.8 percent enrollment hike this fall over 2002 and is offering classes at three military installations in the city. Educational partnerships are in the works with several other entities.

In his president's report, Paul Armes related excitement at seeing successes at all Wayland's campuses, especially in terms of reaching those communities for Christ.

“Everywhere I go in the Wayland system, I meet people who have met Jesus in the Wayland campuses,” Armes said. “I have not been to a graduation ceremony that I have not been told by someone, 'I found a new life in Christ at Wayland.'”

In final business, the board elected new officers with terms beginning immediately. Bruce Julian of Perryton was elected chairman. Vernon Stokes of Midland was elected vice chairman. Sally Shaw of Lockney and Connie McMillian of Lubbock were elected to additional terms as secretary and assistant secretary, respectively.

Julian has served on the board since 1998 and has been vice chairman of the board and a member of the program committee. Stokes has served since 1997 and serves on the finance and program committees.

Posted: 10/31/03

212 DBU students commit to Swaziland

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

DALLAS–Bruce Wilkinson came to Dallas Baptist University Oct. 22 to talk about his new book, “The Dream Giver.” But moments before he was to speak, he changed his mind and responded to what he believes was God's prompting.

He spoke about his passionate concern for the children of Africa.

Author Bruce Wilkinson greets Dallas Baptist University senior Isaac De Los Santos after a chapel service at which Wilkinson called for DBU students to volunteer their summer to help the people of Swaziland. He was hoping to find 100 students willing to go, but 212 came forward

The result was 212 DBU students and several faculty and staff members committing to spend the summer in Swaziland, teaching about sexual abstinence outside marriage and meeting human needs.

Wilkinson, author of the best-selling “Prayer of Jabez” book and founder of Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, more than a year ago. Across Africa, he has been meeting with political and religious leaders, training pastors and advocating peace among warring tribal factions.

He told the DBU chapel audience about his dreams for Africa, and he recounted stories of meetings with kings and queens and prime ministers.

For example, he said, he was invited to speak to a group of religious leaders in Uganda. Within that meeting, he discovered, were members of warring tribes who would not speak to each other.

“Is there any reason God wouldn't bless Uganda?” Wilkinson asked the crowd, but got no response. Quiet.

Finally, a man said, “No, I don't think he is … because we kill each other. … We rape each other's wives, and we kill each other.”

Wilkinson invited one representative from each of the two major tribes to meet with him, and he told them, “All it takes is one tribe to say, 'I forgive you, I will not retaliate again.'”

In that setting, one of the tribal leaders took the first step: “Please forgive me for murdering you. Forgive me for raping your wives.”

Wilkinson reported that the other tribal leader began to tremble, then fell on his knees and said: “I forgive you. Please forgive me and my tribe.”

“When that was finished, these two men stood … and they fell on each other's necks and began to sob,” Wilkinson reported. “They both embraced each other as brothers.”

They each took the message of reconciliation to their tribes.

In Namibia, Wilkinson said, he was invited to speak to a gathering of 2,000 people along with the prime minister. There, he confronted the crowd with a prophetic message about the abuse heaped upon black workers by white farmers.

He called on a white farmer to be the first one to step forward, repent and vow to increase the pay of his workers.

Nobody moved, he reported, and the prime minister watched “in shock.”

Finally, one white farmer stood up, Wilkinson said, and then 50 stood across the front of the meeting hall.

But even the abuses of tribal warfare and unfair labor practices pale in comparison to the greatest need in Africa, Wilkinson told DBU students.

He described how he and his wife began to help hungry people outside their home in Johannesburg, but then they realized they alone could not solve the problem because the same people were hungry the next day.

“This is not right,” Wilkinson told the students. “This is not the will of God. If it's not the will of God, then something else is the will of God. … What's the answer? The answer is there.”

The answer, he said, is simple. His ministry has begun a program to help the hungry people of Johannesburg plant small gardens. The program, he said, has a 95 percent success rate.

For $25, his ministry can help one family begin to feed themselves, he said, explaining that $1 stays in the United States for overhead and $24 goes to the family in Africa.

And then he talked about the scourge of AIDS in Africa.

When he met with the president of Swaziland, Wilkinson said, he asked the leader what he could do to help him.

“Make me a Hollywood movie about AIDS,” the president pleaded, knowing that Wilkinson has begun a movie production company in Los Angeles as well. The movie is needed to help African people understand the misconceptions that perpetuate the spread of AIDS, the president said.

His company has since made that movie, and it is being shown in Africa.

Teaching sexual abstinence before marriage and faithfulness after marriage is the only sure solution to stop the spread of AIDS, Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson asked DBU students to make a personal commitment to helping Africa.

“Since the flood, there's never been a greater opportunity to make a difference in the world than there is today,” he said. “If you dream you have to make a lot of money, you have to give it up. … If you need to be in control of your life, you have to give it up.”

Wilkinson said he had been praying for 100 American college students to go to Swaziland this summer to work alongside 100 South African college students and 100 Swaziland students. The mixed-nationality teams will visit every school in the country with a message on sexual abstinence and marital faithfulness, he said.

“There's an opportunity to stop AIDS. You're not going to stop AIDS with people who are adults. You stop AIDS with the children. If they don't stop contracting it, the nations are dead.”

Wilkinson acknowledged again that he did not come to DBU with the intention to speak about the need in Africa or to make an appeal for student involvement. But God nudged him to change his plans, he said.

“I wonder if there's a hundred kids among you guys,” he said, who would “raise your own support (and) raise $500 for the person from Swaziland who has no food. … You will see the power of God move in your life like you've never seen before. But you will save people's lives.”

Immediately, students began to move down the aisle to the front of the chapel. Wilkinson greeted each one, shook his or her hand and counted off the number of respondents.

When Wilkinson finally stopped shaking hands and counting, he was surrounded by 212 students and several faculty and staff members. He asked that a photograph be taken so he could email it to the king of Swaziland.

“I am so proud of our students,” said DBU President Gary Cook. “When they heard from Dr. Wilkinson of the great need in Africa, they responded from their hearts. It was very moving to see 212 students come down the aisles to make a commitment to serve.”

Posted: 10/31/03

Missions network is WorldConneX;
Tinsley named inaugural leader

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–Nearly a year after the Baptist General Convention of Texas voted to create a new missions network, the previously unnamed entity has both an identity and a staff leader.

Meeting in Dallas Oct. 23, the network's board adopted WorldconneX as its corporate name and elected BGCT Associate Executive Director Bill Tinsley to lead the new entity, effective Dec. 1.

The 32-member board, with 27 present, met for more than three and a half hours in executive session before publicly announcing Tinsley as the inaugural leader of WorldconneX.

New WorldConneX leader Bill Tinsley.

During the open portion of its meeting, the board of trustees formally approved the WorldconneX name, adopted articles of incorporation and bylaws and named a seven-member administrative committee to work with the new leader.

“WorldconneX reflects what we are about as a network, and that is connecting God's people with mission opportunities and resources both here in Texas and the world beyond. It also reflects the connection of Christ to the world,” said Justice Anderson, board chairman.

Anderson will serve on the board's administrative committee with Albert Reyes of San Antonio, Keith Parks of Richardson, Carol Childress of Rockwall, Leon Miller of Kerrville, Frankie Harvey of Nacogdoches and Mike Stroope of Dublin.

Eschewing terms such as “chief executive officer” or “executive director,” the board of trustees chose simply to describe Tinsley's role as “network leader.”

“From the beginning, we have asked the Holy Spirit to be our CEO, and our search for a network leader could not have ended better,” Anderson said. “Bill Tinsley is a deeply spiritual, mission-minded individual with leadership experience at every level of Baptist life. He is a superb choice.”

In accepting the position, Tinsley said the challenge facing WorldconneX is “stepping beyond the traditional methods” of missions.

“God is moving in the emerging generation and among the laity with unprecedented power. Our task is to connect thousands of people in whose hearts and minds God is giving visions and dream to serve him around the world in bold and creative ways,” Tinsley said.

“To say I have all the answers about how we will do this and where it will take us would be misleading. The only way we could have all the answers would be to do what we have done before. We are moving into new regions and new areas where we will be challenged to learn together.”

Reyes, chairman of the board's search committee, said Tinsley possesses the characteristics, abilities, skills, experience and education the network needs in its inaugural leader.

“More importantly, we believe Bill has the vision and heart of a missional servant leader,” said Reyes, president of Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio and vice chairman of the WorldconneX board.

“The increasing chaos of our world, its resulting mission opportunities and the rapidly changing Baptist environment are the context in which the new mission network must operate. We cannot do business as usual, yet neither can we abandon our heritage,” Reyes said in the committee's official recommendation to the board.

“We believe Bill Tinsley and the team he will assemble can link the missions passion of Baptists that is inherent in our past with new approaches to connecting God's people in the cause of missions that will shape our future.”

The search committee received more than 50 resumes and letters of recommendation for the leader's post before narrowing the field of candidates and recommending Tinsley. In addition to Reyes, other search committee members were Childress, Karen Hatley of Lorena, James Heflin of Abilene, Kyle Reese of San Angelo, Paul Swinney of Tyler and Dennis Young of Houston.

In presenting the recommendation of the search committee, Reyes characterized Tinsley as an “authentic spiritual leader,” a “relational team leader” and a “lifelong missional leader.”

Tinsley, 56, has been BGCT associate executive director for two years. Previously, he was executive director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention from 1993 to 2001.

The committee's recommendation also noted that Tinsley is a product of Texas Baptist churches and institutions, having grown up as the son of a deacon at First Baptist Church of Corsicana, where he was licensed to the ministry. The committee also pointed to his “local, state and national connections with Baptist and other Christian leaders.”

“He understands well the diversity, dynamics and changing landscape of Baptist life in the 21st century,” the recommendation stated.

Tinsley graduated from Baylor University in Waco and earned master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

He was pastor of churches in Bremond, Mexia and Franklin before becoming founding pastor of First Baptist Church in The Colony. He went on to serve four years on the BGCT church extension staff before accepting the director of missions post in Denton Baptist Association, where he served from 1986 to 1993.

Tinsley and his wife, Jacqueline, live in Rockwall, where they are members of Lake Pointe Church, a congregation dually aligned with the BGCT and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. They have three children and three grandchildren.

At a reception after the board meeting, representatives of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas, Texas Baptist Men and various BGCT-related missions ministries greeted the new leader. Tinsley told the group, “I believe this represents a fulfillment of God's missions call on my life.”

“We do not intend to be a reactionary replacement of traditional Baptist missionary entities but want to offer an additional way to help churches who want to administer and support their own missions personnel and projects,” Anderson said. “We're not trying to create another traditional missions agency to compete with the existing ones. We want to be a broker of missions relationships and resources.”

Houston pastor John Ogletree, chairman of the BGCT Executive Board and a member of the WorldConneX board, signs the official articles of incorporation for the new missions entity. Inset at right: New WorldConneX leader Bill Tinsley.

Posted: 10/31/03

Worship is as important as breathing, Gaddy says

By Marv Knox

Editor

ABILENE–God demands worship because it is good for people, not because God needs to be worshipped, Welton Gaddy told a Hardin-Simmons University audience.

“Worship is as essential to life as breathing and as life-giving as breath,” Gaddy told participants in HSU's conference on music and worship.

Gaddy is pastor for preaching and worship at Northminster Baptist Church in Monroe, La., and executive director of the Interfaith Alliance in Washington. The conference was sponsored by Hardin-Simmons' Logsdon School of Theology and School of Music.

When people learn God commands worship, they appropriately ask why, he acknowledged. For example, a Texas newspaper reporter once asked if God is so egotistical that God has to receive praise and adoration all the time.

“This is a good question,” Gaddy conceded, stressing worship benefits the worshipper, not God.

“God calls on us to worship because through worship, we attain our best nature. Through worship, we do what we were created to do,” he said. “So, God is not insisting on praise for God's sake, … but for us to be the individuals we were created to be.”

Consequently, people cannot fulfill their human mandate without worshipping God, he said.

Gaddy defined worship as “a personal response to the call of God.”

“True worship is a voluntary act of willful praise given to God by persons created in the image of God and devoted to doing the will of God,” he said.

Emphasizing the voluntary nature of worship, Gaddy added: “Worship is laced with freedom. … Worship is not about divine puppetry.”

For worship to be authentic, God leaves humans free to obey or disobey the command to worship.

“It is out of freedom that worship takes on moral and ethical significance,” he added. “God summons into worship stammering, stuttering pilgrims; frustrated, frightened believers; awkward, inexperienced disciples; ashamed, burdened sinners.”

From those worshippers, “God is not looking for a good show, but for freely and sincerely offered praise …, praise that delights God and nurtures maturity among those offering it,” he said.

Worship is the church's most important activity, and it's biblically and historically linked inseparably to church fellowship, Gaddy noted.

“Practically, you cannot build a church on worship alone, but you cannot have a church apart from regular experiences of meaningful, God-directed worship.”

And worship is oriented toward God, not toward the worshippers, he insisted, citing the understanding of worship described by Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard.

If worship is compared to a drama, most people think of the ministers as the actors, God as the off-stage prompter of the action and the congregation as the audience, Kierkegaard explained. In reality, however, the ministers are the prompters, members of the congregation are the actors and God is the audience.

“Worship has only one purpose, just as worship has only one audience,” Gaddy said. “God alone is worthy of worship. …

“The church is to exist as a homeland of the soul into which people come to worship to give glory to God, pleasing God and thus allowing them to be the people whom God has called them and created them to be.”

Posted: 10/31/03

Churches called to excellence,
regardless of worship styles

By Marv Knox

Editor

ABILENE–Commitment to excellence–not performance of any particular style of music–provides the key to worship, Tom Stoker stressed during a conference on music and worship at Hardin-Simmons University.

“Do you want to change the world? Help people find a way to worship God. Help them find excellence,” urged Stoker, a congregational worship consultant and former Baptist minister of music.

Hardin-Simmons' Logsdon School of Theology and School of Music sponsored the music/worship conference on the Abilene campus.

Stoker acknowledged conflict over which style of music to use in worship has divided countless congregations, but he stressed attitudes that fuel the conflict miss the point of worship.

“Does God want us to fight over worship? Should it be divisive?” he asked. “No, God wants us to be loving, for God is love. It is only in a loving, trusting environment that we will approach the throne of grace and touch God in worship.”

Quoting the Apostle Paul, Stoker said Christians are to seek excellence in their worship.

“We are to concentrate on being our best selves, to think about being better than we are,” he said. “And who determines what is our best? That is where the dialogue must begin. To achieve excellence, we must first begin to talk and trust.

“We must reclaim our Baptist view of our relationship with God. … And if we want to hear from God, the best way to do so is to listen to as many different people's opinions as possible before moving forward.”

True worship of God begins with “dialogue with each other,” he noted.

“We must discover each other's talents and abilities, and then we must agree on the kind of worship that will occur in our (church) house based on our resources, architectural structures of our worship spaces, and the talents and abilities of the congregation.”

The answer to the worship question will be as unique as the congregation, Stoker reported, noting it depends upon the talents and abilities of church members themselves.

“It may be a praise team, it may be a choir, it may be worshipping with the sound of guitar, or organ, or piano, or it may involve an orchestra,” he said. “It may include those who dance, or sculpt, or paint or speak through drama.”

In seeking the worship styles that are right for an individual church, leaders should avoid consumerism that turns a service into an occasion to fulfill the whims and desires of members, he warned.

“We must be careful about turning Sunday worship into just another opportunity to say, 'Give me some of that,'” he said, citing William Willimon, dean of the chapel at Duke University.

Instead, worship should help people know Jesus and meet the needs Jesus places in worshippers' lives, Stoker said. “Plug people into Jesus, and the rest will take care of itself. Helping people meet Jesus will take care of it. And that requires excellence–excellent planning and excellent execution.”

Churches can incorporate several steps to facilitate worship excellence, he suggested. They include creating teams to assist ministers in worship planning, building a worship-resource library, “finding music the congregation can sing,” seeking texts that confront issues in people's lives.

When worship is “done right,” it enables people to experience God's love, Stoker said.

But one particular style is not better than another in accomplishing that feat, he added. “It is not that the worship of the post-modern church is better than the worship of yesterday's church. It is that we must offer to God our best efforts.”

That means varying worship and avoiding the same ritual every week, as well as not merely copying worship from another church, he said.

Churches also must beware making worship into “a commodity that the consumers drive us to create,” he said. “We must not give people what they want. We must be aware of what they need. We must help people meet God.

“My greatest concern about some seeker-driven worship is not that we don't need to make worship accessible to people. Worship should be accessible. But we must not allow a seeker to shape our view of God. The church must do this, and not all of the encounters with God will be easy, user-friendly ones.”

Churches should avoid “the latest, greatest fad” in worship, he cautioned, urging worship planners to incorporate the strengths of their heritage but also respond to needs of today.

“Speak new words, but don't forget the old language,” he said. “Find new symbols, but bring the old symbols along: That we might walk together toward the throne of grace. That we might walk together to encounter this living, loving wonderful God.”

Posted: 10/17/03

Hispanic Baptist Theological School family reunion SAN ANTONIO–More than 200 people attended homecoming at Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio Oct. 4. The annual event highlighted the diversity of the student body, especially at a food exhibit, where culinary delights from a dozen nations were represented. In the photo above, left, a Japanese student demonstrates how to layer the dish of noodles and soup he has prepared. Students and alumni presented displays of native attire and crafts as well. The day concluded with an authentic game of “football,” meaning soccer. The game pitted Mexico against “the world.” At the end of the allotted time, the score was tied, so everyone left a winner. A highlight of the day was the dunking booth (right), where children and adults alike lined up to take a chance at immersing HBTS President Albert Reyes. Several, including Reyes' own children, were successful. Featured speakers for the day were two HBTS alumni who now serve as mission workers in country closed to traditional missionaries. Their names could not be identified due to security concerns. Their college-age daughter, who now plans a career in missions herself, offered assurance to families considering missions service. “When God calls a couple to missions, he also calls their children, and he will equip your children to walk alongside you in living out your call,” she said. “Don't let concern for your children keep you from following God's will.”

Posted: 10/27/03

WorldconneX mission network names leader

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–Nearly a year after the Baptist General Convention of Texas voted to create a new missions network, the previously unnamed entity has both an identity and a staff leader.

Meeting in Dallas Oct. 23, the network's board adopted "WorldconneX" as its corporate name and elected BGCT Associate Executive Director Bill Tinsley to lead the new entity, effective Dec. 1.

The 32-member board, with 27 present, met for more than three and a half hours in executive session before publicly announcing Tinsley as the inaugural leader of WorldconneX.

During the open portion of its meeting, the board of trustees formally approved the WorldconneX name, adopted articles of incorporation and bylaws and named a seven-member administrative committee to work with the new leader.

"WorldconneX reflects what we are about as a network, and that is connecting God's people with mission opportunities and resources both here in Texas and the world beyond. It also reflects the connection of Christ to the world," said Justice Anderson, board chairman.

Anderson will serve on the board's administrative committee with Albert Reyes of San Antonio, Keith Parks of Richardson, Carol Childress of Rockwall, Leon Miller of Kerrville, Frankie Harvey of Nacogdoches and Mike Stroope of Dublin.

Eschewing terms such as "chief executive officer" or "executive director," the board of trustees chose simply to describe Tinsley's role as "network leader."

"From the beginning, we have asked the Holy Spirit to be our CEO, and our search for a network leader could not have ended better," Anderson said. "Bill Tinsley is a deeply spiritual, mission-minded individual with leadership experience at every level of Baptist life. He is a superb choice."

In accepting the position, Tinsley said the challenge facing WorldconneX is "stepping beyond the traditional methods" of missions.

"God is moving in the emerging generation and among the laity with unprecedented power. Our task is to connect thousands of people in whose hearts and minds God is giving visions and dream to serve him around the world in bold and creative ways," Tinsley said.

"To say I have all the answers about how we will do this and where it will take us would be misleading. The only way we could have all the answers would be to do what we have done before. We are moving into new regions and new areas where we will be challenged to learn together."

Reyes, chairman of the board's search committee, said Tinsley possesses the characteristics, abilities, skills, experience and education the network needs in its inaugural leader.

"More importantly, we believe Bill has the vision and heart of a missional servant leader," said Reyes, president of Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio and vice chairman of the WorldconneX board.

"The increasing chaos of our world, its resulting mission opportunities and the rapidly changing Baptist environment are the context in which the new mission network must operate. We cannot do business as usual, yet neither can we abandon our heritage," Reyes said in the committee's official recommendation to the board.

"We believe Bill Tinsley and the team he will assemble can link the missions passion of Baptists that is inherent in our past with new approaches to connecting God's people in the cause of missions that will shape our future."

The search committee received more than 50 resumes and letters of recommendation for the leader's post before narrowing the field of candidates and recommending Tinsley. In addition to Reyes, other search committee members were Childress, Karen Hatley of Lorena, James Heflin of Abilene, Kyle Reese of San Angelo, Paul Swinney of Tyler and Dennis Young of Houston.

In presenting the recommendation of the search committee, Reyes characterized Tinsley as an "authentic spiritual leader," a "relational team leader" and a "lifelong missional leader."

Tinsley, 56, has been BGCT associate executive director for two years. Previously, he was executive director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention from 1993 to 2001.

The committee's recommendation also noted that Tinsley is a product of Texas Baptist churches and institutions, having grown up as the son of a deacon at First Baptist Church of Corsicana, where he was licensed to the ministry. The committee also pointed to his "local, state and national connections with Baptist and other Christian leaders."

"He understands well the diversity, dynamics and changing landscape of Baptist life in the 21st century," the recommendation stated.

Tinsley graduated from Baylor University in Waco and earned master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

He was pastor of churches in Bremond, Mexia and Franklin before becoming founding pastor of First Baptist Church in The Colony. He went on to serve four years on the BGCT church extension staff before accepting the director of missions post in Denton Baptist Association, where he served from 1986 to 1993.

Tinsley and his wife, Jacqueline, live in Rockwall, where they are members of Lake Pointe Church, a congregation dually aligned with the BGCT and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. They have three children and three grandchildren.

At a reception after the board meeting, representatives of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas, Texas Baptist Men and various BGCT-related missions ministries greeted the new leader. Tinsley told the group, "I believe this represents a fulfillment of God's missions call on my life."

"We do not intend to be a reactionary replacement of traditional Baptist missionary entities but want to offer an additional way to help churches who want to administer and support their own missions personnel and projects," Anderson said. "We're not trying to create another traditional missions agency to compete with the existing ones. We want to be a broker of missions relationships and resources."