Posted: 9/5/03

ETBU student's ministry highlights heroes

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

MARSHALL–Every child needs a hero, Michael Barron figured. And given good role models, every child has the potential to become a hero to someone else, he reasoned.

That's the philosophy behind the Hero program, an after-school ministry for low-income children Barron launched last year at East Texas Baptist University.

It started as a homework assignment. Barron was required to plan and implement a ministry project as part of a ministry foundations class, a required course for ETBU students receiving ministry tuition assistance from the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Texas Baptist churches will provide about $1.7 million this year in ministerial tuition assistance for undergraduates at eight BGCT-affiliated universities through their Cooperative Program giving.

Barron thought about his involvement with low-income children through his home church, a non-denominational congregation in Greenville. He wondered if anything comparable existed in Marshall.

“I thought about what I saw here. Once I recognized the need, God gave me a vision for it,” he recalled.

Barron envisioned an after-school program where ETBU students would “hang out” with children who would be considered “at risk.” The university students could offer tutorial sessions, play games and tell Bible stories.

“It's a struggle for kids to find good heroes. That's why so many look up to professional athletes or celebrities,” he said. “Through this program, a student can be a hero to these kids–the kind of hero who will tell them they are created by God and loved by God. And in time, they can be a hero to someone else.”

The teacher for the ministry foundations class was Dane Fowlkes, who serves as university chaplain and as pastor of Marshall's Bel Air Baptist Church. Barron shared his vision for the Hero program, and he asked Fowlkes if Bel Air Baptist Church could help.

Fowlkes, a former Southern Baptist missionary to Kenya and India, said he had been seeking ways to lead the church toward becoming “a transforming presence in the community.”

The church agreed to make its facilities available for after-school ministries and included the Hero program in its budget. Several church members also volunteered to bake cookies for the children and help with tutorials.

Barron posted fliers around the ETBU campus to recruit student volunteers. About one-third of the students who remained active in the ministry throughout the spring semester were Barron's ETBU Tigers football teammates.

“It was a start-up process last semester,” he explained. “We had just a handful of kids who stayed the whole semester. But these were children who didn't have many friends. They needed a place to fit in, and they found that in Hero.”

Recently, Barron met with the superintendent of the Marshall Independent School District, and he hopes the Hero program can move its after-school programs to several school campuses this year.

“Instead of the kids having to come to us at the church, we want to bring the program to them,” he said.

At the same time, Bel Air Baptist Church hopes to offer parenting seminars, divorce recovery groups and other ministries for the parents of children in the Hero program. The church has started moving from a “survival” mindset toward a vision of becoming an inclusive, community-centered congregation, Fowlkes said.

“The Hero program has helped us in that transition toward becoming Christians who make a difference in our community,” he said.

Posted: 9/5/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Sept. 14

Paul reminds readers of heavenly citizenship

Philippians 1:18-30

By John Duncan

Lakeside Baptist Church, Granbury

To live as a Roman in Philippi meant to live life focused upon the bread and the circuses. “The bread” meant dinner parties, the grain dole from the Roman government, three meals a day, and trips to the marketplace (the agora) to purchase food much like a trip to Wal-Mart. “The circuses” in the Roman world was descriptive of the Roman's penchant for entertainment, for chariot races, for the duels of the gladiators, for sporting events and even for trips to the theater to watch dramatic performances. It also meant to live in the Roman colony of Philippi as a Roman citizen with its laws, duties and conduct.

To live as in Rome was to live in the ideals of Rome, to live under the watchful eye Rome's emperor and to live with a view toward Rome in its glory. In Philippians 1:27, Paul exhorts the Christians at Philippi to conduct themselves as citizens of the gospel of Christ. Paul chose words to describe what it meant to live as a citizen who honors Christ, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Paul considered his citizenship in heaven. It motivated him to live his life in Philippi under Christ with its grace, duties and conduct. How could Paul live as heavenly citizen while on earth?

Paul's belief: Supply from heaven

Paul prayed because he knew God would supply or furnish the necessary power for the gospel to change lives, even through preaching (Philippians 1:19). Paul yearned for people to live as citizens of Christ and to know Christ personally. Paul rejoiced because Christ delivered him (Philippians 1:19). He lived in expectation, like a child looking out the window in anticipation of seeing something exciting (Philippians 1:20, a possible reference to Christ's second coming). Paul lives in hope (Philippians 1:20), not wishing to shame Christ and longing to speak of Christ with boldness. Paul's one desire in living is to magnify Christ. Paul reiterates here John the Baptist's grand theme when speaking of Christ: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Paul most likely has in his mind a pending court case where he will stand trial and defend the gospel. Yet his passion is living as a citizen of Christ, not with rights, but with its privileges. Paul knows that living as a citizen of Christ while on earth means that whether the judgment is life or death, he still knows God is in control. Paul notes, “To die is gain,” a monetary banking term meaning “interest earned” (Philippians 1:21). Paul knew living or dying for Christ produced heavenly rewards greater than earthly interest on a bank account.

Paul's feeling: Spiritual tension

Every believer in Christ's kingdom lives in dynamic tension–between heaven and earth, the spiritual and the temporal, and the spirit and the flesh. Christians encounter a tug-of- war between God's higher ways and our ways (Isaiah 55:7-8). Jesus expressed this tension in the Sermon on the Mount as seeking first God's kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Paul spoke of this tension by calling his life a temporary tent (2 Corinthians 5:1). The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins contested life as an inner turmoil between right and wrong where “selfwrung, selfstrung, sheethe-and shelterless, thoughts against thoughts in groans grind.” Life grinds and groans like parts of an engine grinding in tension against each other.

Paul expresses his own tension between the citizenship of Earth and his desire to enter heaven. On one hand, he desires to raise the anchor, loose his ship and set sail for his heavenly port where Christ dwells–to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23). On the other hand, he yearns to keep his life staked like a temporary tent so that he may abide with his fellow believers, to preach the gospel and to minister as Christians joyfully advance in their faith (Philippians 1:23-25).

In the grind and groan of life, Paul never loses sight of grace. To live in heaven with Christ as a citizen is better, but to serve Christ by ministering to others is a joyful necessity while on earth (Philippians 1:23-24). The tension of heaven and earth struggles, but God supplies grace to his heavenly citizens on earth. Paul never forgets two relationships–Christ and people.

Paul's challenge: Stand strong

Paul challenged Christians to conduct themselves as citizens of heaven (Philippians 1:27). Paul's use of the word for “conduct” (“politeuomai,” or polity) is a Roman word indicating to manage one's life as a Roman citizen to honor the Roman Empire. Paul turns the word indicating to manage one's life as a servant of Christ to honor Christ in his kingdom.

To honor Christ requires living like a soldier who stands strong in life's battle. It also means competing in life's race looking to Christ while agonizing for the faith (Philippians 1:27). Life as a battle and as a race means facing adversaries, suffering and even facing personal agony, but God supplies strength by his Spirit and salvation (Philippians 1:28-30). Paul's one aim in life or death in his quest for heaven from earth is to magnify Christ by living for Christ is his glory.

Question for discussion

What encouragement do you find in this passage of Scripture?

Posted: 9/5/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Sept. 21

Humility is a key ingredient in good relationships

Philippians 2:1-11

By John Duncan

Lakeside Baptist Church, Granbury

The saying goes, “Pride is like a man's shirt. It is the first thing on and the last thing off.” Augustine, in his Confessions, talked of “men so blind that they take pride in their blindness.” He admitted his own pride, a hard thing to do. This Scripture passage speaks of pride's cure and the most essential element for peace with God and harmony in relationships–humility.

Fred Craddock gives context to humility in Philippi, “What we know for sure, however, is that Paul regarded as inappropriate to the body of Christ the selfish eye, the pompous mind, the ear hungry for compliments and the mouth that spoke none, the heart that had little room for others, and the hand that served only the self.”

Paul's antidote for pride was humility. Paul's prescription for a healthy church was humility. Paul's model for humility was Jesus. Christian service and church unity begin with Jesus. Paul looks at Jesus' eye, mind and heart.

Be like?

Paul never forgets the cross in his own suffering or in encouraging the early church. He encourages the saints, an encouragement flowing from the life of the Holy Spirit in him. Paul invites the Christians to unity, a mind joined to Christ and lives focused on one purpose. To use Rick Warren's phrase, Paul desires the church to be “purpose-driven.”

The church's primary purpose was not to be driven for success, an aim prone to produce pride, but to be driven to service, an aim prone to reproduce the life of Christ in them. Paul yearns for the church to experience joy beyond daily circumstances, a joy which surrounds itself with encouragement, comfort, fellowship, affection and compassion (Philippians 2:1-2).

Paul's purpose of joy led him to deliver two commands: (1) Do nothing out of self-seeking pursuit for honor; (2) humble yourself and focus (Greek, “scope”) upon the interests and needs of others (Philippians 2:3-4).

Paul sounds like Jesus saying go the second mile or give someone the coat off of your back in his Sermon on the Mount. Paul's concept of genuine virtue, of which the world of the day had deep desires, centers not on the development of the self as much as it centered on the development of the soul for service. Paul's idea invites a deliberate decision to Christian virtue that means valueing others before you value yourself. The Bible scholar Moule calls this “self-forgetful cooperation.” Paul's two commands narrow to one practical, action-packed word–humility.

Humility maintains, according to the scholar Vincent, lowliness with “a sense of sinfulness” (Romans 3:23). Martyn-Lloyd Jones acknowledges the tension between vain-glory and humility. He says, vain-glory “is just another term, of course, for pride, man's conceit, and, according to the Bible, that is the ultimate source of discord and all these troubles.” Paul called for unity of heart, mind, soul and purpose individually and corporately as a church. Rather than raise a fist, Paul preached the Christ-like humility of bending the knee.

Example

In Paul's training in the world of philosophy and rhetoric (speech) he learned the classic Roman feature of giving a command (humble yourself) and then presenting a picture or example of what the command calls for.

Here Paul states the charge–humility. Next, he paints a word portrait for individuals and displays a model for the church of genuine humility–Jesus Christ. Paul tells us that the life of Jesus was a life of humility. He expresses that in a hymn (Philippians 2:5-11). Scholars believe these words were sung as a hymn in the first century church. What portrait of Jesus did the apostle Paul paint? What hymn did first century Christians sing?

Paul challenged the followers of Jesus at Philippi to think. Have the mind of Christ. Possess the attitude of Jesus. Think in the way of humility.

Henry Nouwen once challenged Christians, “What needs to be guarded is the life of the Spirit within us.” Paul here calls for Christians to guard the life of Christ's Spirit, to make Christ the example to follow, and to relate to people in the way Christ related to them. You need only to look to the Gospels to view specific examples of Jesus' Spirit, example and relationships. Think like Jesus.

Paul speaks of both the divinity and humanity of Jesus as he invites Jesus' followers to think like Jesus.

Three essential elements flow from this passage on Jesus' humility. These three elements serve as a key to humility in your life and in the church. First, completely empty the soul of self (Philippians 1:7, literally, “kenosis,” that is, to empty). When Christ fills the heart, he empties the old life and fills it with his new. Christ's life in us makes us think of God. It moves us to care for and think of others.

Second, humility pursues the cross (Philippians 1:8). Jesus as the supreme example of humility gave his life on the cross. Pursuing the cross involves sacrificing because Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice.

Third, humility bends the knee (Philippians 2:9-11). The hymn of Philippians sets forth an example of Christ as the mode of maintaining church unity and as the model for church growth–serving with the mind of Christ. Confess Christ now. After all, one day every one will confess Christ.

Questions for discussion

Is humility a trait we cultivate in our culture? Why or why not?

Posted: 9/5/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 14

Worship is meant to glorify God, not self

Matthew 6:1-18

By David Jenkins

New Hope Baptist Church, Big Sandy

Hypocrisy is not always the blatant, “in-your-face” kind of false piety demonstrated by many of the Pharisees and other religious leaders of Jesus' day. Sometimes it is very subtle, even cloaked in a false humility that can appear genuine. Being the omniscient Son of God, Jesus recognized insincere motives immediately. Because the human ego by nature demands praise, Jesus knew the most effective citizens of his kingdom must be continually conscious of this inherent weakness.

In their effort to build their own bridge of righteousness to God, the Jews drove down three great pilings–acts of righteousness, prayer and fasting. All three of these activities were good when done in the right way and with the right motives. Jesus did not condemn these good works. He merely said they became worthless and even harmful when done in the wrong way.

He obviously was dealing with hypocrisy. According to the Greek definition of the word, a hypocrite was an actor, a pretender a performer. Sadly, the modern way that we “do church” often encourages performing for applause rather than ministering for the glory of God.

Doing acts of righteousness (6:1-4)

“Acts of righteousness” can cover a broad range of good deeds done to help others. Jesus emphasized giving to the needy because the Jews considered almsgiving the most important religious duty. The same Hebrew word was translated both righteousness and almsgiving. To them, to give to the needy and to be righteous were the same thing.

Some even believed giving alms would assure forgiveness for past sins. They considered the perfect gift was given so that the one receiving it did not know from whom it came, and the giver did not know who received it. There was an ancient rabbi who, when he would give alms, would drop money behind him so he would not see who picked it up.

It was not long, however, until the actual practice of doing “acts of righteousness” began to fall far short of the godly precept. It became far more gratifying to do good works so that others might see the act and praise the actor! Jesus said that what our right hand gives should be so secretive our left hand could not find it out. Could it be that the “right hand” represents the good deed, and the “left hand” the selfish ego? All of our good works must be done for God alone, who will bless us openly with his grace.

A lesson in proper praying (6:5-15)

In beginning his discussion about prayer, Jesus connected it to doing good deeds with the conjunction “and.” It is just as important to pray aright as it is to do one's acts of service to honor God. Many of the religious leaders had a wrong concept of prayer. They would stand in the synagogues and in the streets when they prayed.

Nothing was wrong with “standing,”–that was a typical Jewish posture in praying. It was where they stood–places where they could be seen and heard. “Seen by men” means literally to “shine” before men. True prayer is characterized by the inner motive and the attitude of the heart. Jesus urged his followers to make sure their praying was personal and private. Even prayers offered publicly should reflect a genuine communication between one's heart and God.

Jesus also condemned the long, repetitive prayers offered to impress people rather than to communicate with God, who already knows our needs before we share them. True prayer is more establishing a relationship than a means of entreaty. To drive home his point concerning prayer, Jesus gave his disciples a model prayer right in form, content and spirit. Not a single, unnecessary word appears in the model prayer. It is a prayer only a disciple of Christ can pray.

Six petitions make up this prayer. The first three have to do with God and his glory, and the second three deal with our needs and necessities. Only after we give God his supreme place in our lives are we to focus on our own needs and desires. Prayer must never be an effort to bend God's will to meet our needs, but rather a determination to submit our wills to the will of God.

How not to fast (6:16-18)

Among the Jews and early Christians, fasting often accompanied prayer. The law required people to fast only on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27). To the Jews, fasting and sorrow went together. The Pharisees fasted so people would consider them unusually holy and righteous. They disfigured their faces with ashes when they fasted in order to call attention to themselves.

Jesus did not forbid nor minimize the practice of fasting. He warned his followers to do nothing to call attention to themselves when they fasted. On the contrary, they should wash their faces and appear as normal as possible. Fasting should be a time when we forego anything, even food, that would distract us from concentrating on God.

Question for discussion

Do my acts of worship glorify God or myself?

Posted: 9/5/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 21

Christians should align priorities carefully

Matthew 6:19-34

By David Jenkins

New Hope Baptist Church, Big Sandy

The kingdom citizens who please God are those who regularly examine their priorities, from a daily assessment of what is immediately important to us to those priorities that affect us over a longer period of time.

Though the specifics differ, the priorities in the lives of the people in Jesus' day were generally the same as ours. They longed for earthly treasures that would provide security, as well as for simple possessions such as acceptable clothing and good food. After dealing with these earthly issues, Jesus shifted his emphasis to eternal treasures in heaven.

Priorities out of order inevitably produce worry and anxiety, which paralyze our ability to exercise faith in God's concern for our needs. Just as these words of Jesus are timely in relation to our concerns today, they surely struck a sensitive nerve in the lives of those who were listening to him that day in the Galilee.

Stockpiling the true treasure (6:19-21)

Jesus was about to show that heavenly rewards were not material or tangible. Not only do earthly treasures offer no lasting security, they are subject to inevitable destruction. Jesus mentioned “moth and rust.” Fine clothing was considered part of a person's wealth. Moths can create havoc with a garment. The word translated “rust” literally means “eating away,” and could have referred to spoiling grain stored in silos by rats and vermin. Also, thieves were able to dig through the baked clay walls of many of the houses and steal valuables the owner had stored away.

The place where treasures are stored is important because that which makes a treasure valuable depends on the affection of the heart. Those whose treasures are on Earth will have their hearts anchored in this world, which is destined to pass away. When our hearts are focused on heavenly treasures, we can know they will never be lost.

Keeping the window clean (6:22-24)

In this simple illustration, Jesus moved from the heart to the eye, comparing the eye to a window through which our understanding is lighted. The condition of a window will determine the way in which things are seen in a room. If the window is frosted, dirty, colored or distorted, objects in the room will not be seen clearly. Spiritually, the heart functions as the eye through which we observe both things and people.

If the eye is “good” (“single”), an undivided loyalty to God and to his law will determine our lifestyle as believers. On the other hand, the “bad” (“evil”) eye will be tempted to focus on both God and things. Such a condition will weaken our loyalty to God and distort our ability to determine the direction God would have us go. And this, in turn, will create spiritual darkness within us.

When our hearts are being continually washed clean by God's word (Ephesians 5:26), we will see not only “things” in proper perspective, but people as well. The “bad eye” can be distorted by prejudice, jealousy and an elevated sense of self-importance. The “good eye” sees every person as one whose soul is precious in God's sight.

Jesus said clearly it is not possible to serve two gods at once, for if we love one, we will eventually despise the other (v. 24). We cannot adore both God and material things at the same time. The word translated “serve” literally means “to be a slave to.” If we belong to God, we have no rights of our own. He demands our total loyalty. We do not ask, “What do I want to do?” but “What does God want me to do?” This single focus will keep us following God in the pathway of righteousness.

Overcoming the worry monster (6:25-34)

When we take seriously Jesus' principle set down in verse 24, we can see why he emphasized the futility of worry. He did not mean we were to assume a careless, irresponsible attitude toward life. “Take no thought” would be better translated “stop worrying.” The word Jesus used means “to worry anxiously,” and has nothing to do with a normal, sensible concern.

The hand-wringing kind of worry weakens our faith and trust in God. If God is the source of our life, would he fail to provide those things necessary to sustain that life? Jesus drove this truth home with the simple illustration about God's care for the birds. Martin Luther pictured the little birds as “live saints” who sing their praises to God without the least worry, and are fed by him every day.

Jesus stated further that worry will not lengthen life. Linear measures are often used in the Bible in regard to time. If anything, worry shortens life. Then, to illustrate his reference to raiment, Jesus compared the beauty of the lilies growing wild to the glory of Solomon dressed in his royal robes. The flowers Jesus referred to had a grass-like foliage, and had a brief life span. Jesus summed up his warning against needless worry by urging his disciples to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness. Then, without fail, their everyday needs would be met.

Question for discussion

How do your life priorities measure up beside Jesus' formula?

Posted: 9/5/03

	A student pauses for a time of reflection outside the UTA BSM before ministering to international students.
Volunteers count the $11,000 offering given for missions.
A group of students examine missions material they picked up from exhibitors. (Becky Holt/BGCT Photos)	Kent Barlow, director of Baptist Student Ministries at the University of Texas at Dallas, prays during a worship session

Students 'Focus' on faith

A Stephen F. Austin University student converses with another Focus participant between sessions.

FORT WORTH–About 3,500 college students spent their Labor Day weekend at Focus, a Baptist General Convention of Texas event offering spiritual preparation at the start of the school year.

Gregg Matte, founder of Breakaway Ministries, and Voddie Baucham, a well-known youth speaker, encouraged the students to concentrate on developing themselves spiritually while reaching out to non-believers on their campuses. "Focus" isn't just the name of an event; it's what every Christian needs to do, Matte said.

A focus on faith development, as well as educational development, will lead to greater vision for God's work and more relationships that further the kingdom of God, he explained. Matte urged the students to move beyond a "pep rally for God" and using worship as a drug.

By gaining a larger vision of the world and of where other Christians fit in, students can avoid the temptation to think Christianity is "all about you," he said. The students gave offerings of more than $11,000 to support BGCT student mission efforts. Most of the participants stepped out from the Fort Worth Convention Center to minister in a variety of settings throughout the Metroplex.

They helped with apartment ministries, a food pantry and clothes closet at Mission Arlington and ministered to international students at the University of Texas at Arlington. They also did door-to-door evangelism with members of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Fort Worth.

Posted: 9/5/03

Above Jack Tennison (center) of First Baptist Church in Seguin, demonstrates the proper way to use a power planer to Harry Stallings and Loyd Ervin. Above left: John Rushing of New Braunfels applies glue to a board, while Melvin Warren of Waco works on a large board that will become the side of a chest. Left: Lora Morris of Clarksville, Ark., works alongside Texas volunteers to make dresses for orphan children in Juarez, Mexico. (Kent Harville Photos)

Furniture builders make a case for volunteerism

By Sara Horn

LifeWay Christian Resources

GLORIETA, N.M.–Next time you visit LifeWay Conference Center at Glorieta, look carefully at any new furniture in the rooms. There's a good chance it was built by Texas Baptist Men.

A group of more than 40 Texas Baptist Men and wives currently are on a two-month assignment at the New Mexico conference center, building more than 230 pieces of furniture, including bunk beds, headboards, dressers and desks.

Power saws whine and sawdust flies as the retired men work quickly through their list of projects.

The wood is provided, but the volunteers bring everything else–the tools, the labor and a servant attitude.

This year, they're working in the basement of one of Glorieta's cabins, which also serves as their headquarters. The women work upstairs, sewing and crafting child-size clothing, quilts and blankets for an orphanage in Juarez, Mexico.

“I've always liked the fine precision work and craftsmanship” it takes to make furniture, said Jack Tennison, who was a math professor and department chair at Texas Lutheran College for 25 years before retiring. Tennison is responsible for coordinating the volunteers.

He and his wife, Kathryn, are members of First Baptist Church of Seguin. They have participated in Texas Baptist Men projects with the camp building ministry since 1994. Tennison first thought of creating a furniture ministry in 1996 after a mission trip to Canada, where he helped build office furniture for a seminary.

The group has traveled widely across the United States, Canada and Texas. They've built more than 3,000 pieces of furniture, Tennison said.

The couple sold their home six years ago and now travel full time in an RV.

“You meet such wonderful people,” Mrs. Tennison said.

“You really feel like your life is worthwhile doing something that's helping people,” said Narlene Copel, a member of First Baptist Church of Mount Pleasant, as she sat behind a sewing machine working on a little girl's jumper. “Instead of sitting home and twiddling your thumbs, you can work where you're needed.”

The furniture and sewing ministry is ideal for Copel and her husband. She previously owned a fabric store, and her husband is a retired forester whose hobby is woodworking.

The churches where the volunteers attend often donate supplies such as tools and fabric.

“This is all for the Lord,” Tennison said. “He's the reason we're here. When I leave a job, I leave it to the Lord's hands, and let him use it however he wishes.”

Posted: 9/5/03

Gibson 'softens' Passion story
but Jewish leaders skeptical of movie

By Kevin Eckstrom

Religion News Service

LOS ANGELES (RNS)–Director Mel Gibson, under heavy fire from Jewish groups for his $25 million movie on the death of Jesus, has “softened the story” and made changes to make “The Passion” more palatable to critics, according to a spokesman.

Scheduled for release next year during Lent, “The Passion” has some Jewish groups nervous it will portray Jews as responsible for the death of the Christian Savior.

Paul Lauer, marketing director for Gibson's Icon Productions company, said Gibson has edited the film to show more “sympathetic” Jewish characters who were not calling for Jesus to be crucified.

“We believe we have softened the story compared to the way the gospel has told it,” Lauer said in an interview. He pointed to Matthew 27:25, in which the Jewish mob calls for Jesus' blood “to be on us and on our children.”

“That's in the gospel,” he said. “It's not in our film.”

In addition, Lauer said, the character of Simon of Cyrene, who was forced to carry the cross for Jesus, will be clearly labeled a Jew in the film. A shouting mob will include voices opposing the execution, Lauer said.

Faced with vocal Jewish opposition, Gibson is mounting a pre-emptive public relations offensive to counter his critics–all for a film that is still being edited. After regional screenings, Gibson has lingered with his audiences to listen to their advice.

In an effort to soothe concerns, Gibson also hopes to launch “The Jewish Initiative” to recruit Jewish and Christian leaders to discuss the film's effects on Christian-Jewish relations.

“We've gone out of our way to accommodate this process because we felt it was necessary and important and to show that we care and that we're not callously sitting back saying, 'Screw you, we're going to make the film we want to make,'” Lauer said.

Jewish groups, however, remain unconvinced. Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Gibson has been unwilling to preview his film for anyone but “pre-screened audiences.”

“The fact that Mel Gibson says this is a work in progress is something we welcome. I don't make light of it,” Foxman said. “We respect his creative rights, but we also believe that creative rights come with a certain responsibility.”

Invited Christian leaders who have seen the film offer near-universal praise. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, told the New York Times that Gibson was “the Michelangelo of this generation.”

Lauer agreed screenings were for “people closer to our circle of contacts,” but told the Times “there is no way on God's green earth” critics like Foxman will be invited to previews. Foxman and others, he said, have been “dishonorable.”

The ADL first raised concerns in June after a group of nine Christian and Jewish scholars reviewed a draft script and concluded the film portrayed Jews as “bloodthirsty, vengeful and money-hungry.”

Gibson threatened to sue after he said the draft script used by the scholars was stolen. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops arranged for the script to be returned and apologized to Gibson.

Rabbis who have screened the film say it threatens to undo decades of progress between Christians and Jews after the Vatican refuted the deicide charges in the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965.

Gibson, however, belongs to a conservative Catholic group that rejects the modern papacy and Vatican II, including its overtures to non-Catholics and Jews.

Rabbi James Rudin, senior interreligious affairs adviser for the American Jewish Committee, emerged from a Houston screening “troubled” by what he saw as the film's suggestion that Roman authorities were powerless to stop the murderous rage of Jewish leaders.

“The emphasis should be more on what killed Jesus, not who killed him,” Rudin said.

Posted: 9/5/03

Posted: 9/5/03

Texas Heritage Awards honor
Bishop, Colton, Craft and Leavell

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

Four longtime denominational leaders were honored at the third annual Texas Baptist Heritage Awards banquet, held Aug. 21 at Union Station in Dallas.

The Baptist Distinctives Committee and Texas Baptist Heritage Center of the Baptist General Convention of Texas presented awards to Amelia Bishop of Austin, C.E. Colton of Dallas, Lynn Craft of Athens and Landrum Leavell II of Wichita Falls.

Bishop, who served as president of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas from 1984 to 1988, received the Mary Hill Davis Texas Missions Award for exemplifying the Texas Baptist commitment to missions and ministry to all people in all places.

Bishop worked on the Texas WMU staff in the early 1950s as state young people's secretary and was vice president of Texas WMU from 1980 to 1984. She and her husband, Ivyloy, now deceased, both taught at Wayland Baptist University, and she also taught at the high school in Plainview.

She has served on the BGCT Executive Board and various Texas Baptist committees. She also has been a member of the Truett Seminary advisory board and the Texas Baptist Laity Institute board.

Bishop is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is the author of two devotional books and a biography of Texas WMU leader Eula Mae Henderson.

Colton, longtime pastor, author and former chairman of the religion department at Wayland Baptist University, received the J.B. Gambrell Denominational Service Award for contributing to the understanding and advancement of Baptist distinctives through Texas Baptist denominational service.

Colton was pastor of Royal Haven Baptist Church in Dallas for nearly 30 years before retiring in 1987. He is a former vice president of the BGCT and former chairman of the Baptist Standard board of directors. He also served as a trustee of the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

He holds degrees from Baylor University, Southwestern Seminary and Central Baptist Seminary and is the author of 16 books on a variety of topics.

Craft, president of the Baptist Foundation of Texas, received the Sam Houston Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to Baptist causes and his community as a lay leader in civic and business life.

He has served the Baptist Foundation of Texas more than three decades. He was named executive vice president in 1972, and the foundation's board of directors elected him as president in 1976.

Craft is a certified public accountant who holds an undergraduate accounting degree from Baylor University and a master's degree in banking and finance from Southern Methodist University. He is a deacon and Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Athens.

Leavell, former pastor and seminary president, received the George W. Truett Religious Freedom Award for advocacy of religious liberty and separation of church and state.

Leavell served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls and was president of the BGCT from 1971 to 1973. He served from 1975 to 1994 as president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

He served as a trustee of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, and in 1996 he contributed to a book of sermons prepared by the BGCT Baptist Distinctives Committee.

Posted: 9/5/03

Poll: Americans more concerned about Islam today

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A new poll shows Americans are increasingly worried about Islam.

The poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center shows Americans generally are comfortable with religion playing a role in civic life.

But white evangelical Christians differ sharply from African-Americans on religious views and political commitment, the poll also revealed.

The number of Americans who think Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence increased significantly in the last year.

In a March 2002 Pew survey, only 25 percent of respondents said Islam is more likely to encourage violence. In the new survey, 44 percent said “yes” to that question. The increase of 19 percentage points in one year is considered significant.

White evangelicals, at 51 percent, were the most likely group to answer “yes” to the question, but their figures were statistically the same as white mainline Protestants, of whom 50 percent believed Islam was more violent than other religions.

The figures for evangelicals and mainline Protestants were much higher than those for Catholics, African-Americans and respondents expressing little or no religious commitments.

But respondents still held a generally positive view of Muslim-Americans.

Fifty-one percent expressed a favorable view of Muslim-Americans, and only 24 percent expressed a negative view. That is statistically unchanged from the 2002 survey, which showed a 54-to-22-percent positive-to-negative view of Muslim-Americans.

The survey, conducted from June 24-July 8, involved 2,002 adults.

Posted: 9/5/03

Conference advances Jewish evangelism

HELSINKI, Finland (BP)–Participants in an international conference on Jewish evangelism adopted a statement underscoring Jesus' divinity and, among other items, applauding improved relations between Arab and Jewish believers.

The seventh Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism international conference, held Aug. 7-12 in Helsinki, Finland, drew a record 200 participants from 18 countries. Participants presented reports and heard updates on Jewish evangelism from around the world.

The Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism was born in 1980 at a meeting in Thailand sponsored by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism. Participants with an interest in Jewish evangelism began meeting every three or four years. The committee also has local chapters, including one in North America.

“We call on believers worldwide to share the good news with the Jewish people, making every effort to relate the gospel in culturally appropriate ways, while maintaining that there is salvation in no other name,” the statement says.

Participants said they “observe with concern” that some people “do not consider verbal proclamation of the gospel to Jewish people a necessary part of the Great Commission. While we appreciate all those who care for the material needs of Jewish people, we are saddened when the eternal need of the Jewish people is not directly addressed.”

The statement also praised improved relations between Arab and Jewish followers of Jesus: “We rejoice in the progress towards reconciliation between Jewish and Arab believers which testifies that the bond believers share in Jesus transcends all political and geographic barriers.”

But the statement criticized Christians who place their national identity above “their unity with others in the universal body of believers.”

Addressing the instability in the Middle East, the statement acclaimed Christ “as both the road and map to true shalom with God and one another.”