Posted: 6/27/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for July 13
Freedom brings possibilities and responsibilities

Galatians 5:16-26

By Jim Perkins

Madison Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio

Freedom brings possibilities and responsibilities. Citizens enjoy the freedoms we have inherited and also the responsibility to engage every opportunity for service to his or her fellow citizens. Our greatest challenge, perhaps, is to know where and how best to invest our lives and energies to become this type of citizen.

Reason

The Galatian Christians faced a similar challenge–they had gained freedom from the obligation to observe the law in order to be justified before God. They still faced the opportunity and responsibility, however, to fulfill God's perfect spirit and intent of the law by serving one another in love (5:13-14). Paul addressed how that could be accomplished in 5:16-18.

Paul's simple and yet profound solution is introduced in verse 16–“live (literally “keep on walking”) by the Spirit,” which means to live with your conduct directed and energized by the Spirit. As they were guided and directed by the Holy Spirit they would not be distracted or tripped up by the designs of the Judaizers or the libertine tendencies of their “sinful natures.”

This address by Paul is to the Christian community, and in verse 17 he described the ongoing conflict–a veritable war–in the life of the believer. This is no evenly matched struggle between the flesh and the Spirit, however, for the Christian following the leadership of the Spirit will experience victory in this intense and unrelenting conflict.

Warning

Paul chose to include two lists in this discussion of life by the Spirit. This first list (5:19-21) is a catalog of vices chosen because by their very nature they could provide an appropriate example of the “acts of the sinful nature” (literally “works of the flesh”) Paul insisted could not be a part of the Christian's life.

While we do not have the space here to define and discuss each vice listed, two aspects of this list should be noted. First, lists of vices and virtues were common in the ethical literature of Paul's day. The apostle did not attempt to replicate those lists in his letter or to provide an exhaustive list of all probable vices–he admits to that impossibility in verse 21–“and the like” (or, “I could go on and on”). Instead, perhaps Paul chose to include many of the acts of moral rebellion against God that were prevalent in the Galatian communities, especially as pertained to their present situation where the activities of the Judaizers had prompted infighting (5:15).

Second, Paul closes this section with the forceful warning of verse 21: “Those who live like this” will be excluded from the kingdom of God. One should not interpret this as a reversal of Paul's position in chapters one through four (salvation by faith in Christ alone). See this, instead, as a statement of the obvious: One who chooses daily to walk according to the flesh and habitually perform the acts of the sinful nature demonstrates that his or her life is not marked by the new life of Christ within (2:20; also 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 19-20).

Evidence

The list of the works of the sinful nature Paul included seemed to scatter in a chaotic dispersion of life decayed and separated from God. The list of the “fruit of the Spirit” (note the singular) in verses 22 and 23 represents the life of the Spirit in the believer, which causes remarkable virtues or graces such as these to flow naturally as an outcome of the Christian's life. It is not surprising that Paul chose to list love (agape, or God's type of love) first here, for some would suggest that it is the fountain from which the other graces flow.

Paul's statement in verse 23 that “against such things there is no law” does not mean that he researched the matter and found no law against the fruit of the Spirit. Here we deal with that which is not prescribed or proscribed by any law; instead, it is the natural outflow of the presence of the risen Christ.

Remember here also that Paul probably did not intend for this list of graces to be exhaustive (note the “such things” of verse 23). Instead, see it as representative of the results of belonging to Christ and crucifying the sinful nature.

Results

Paul returned in verse 25 to the indicative/imperative construction with which he began chapter 5. The very life we live is because of the presence of the indwelling Spirit; therefore, we must “keep in step” (march in line) with the Spirit. Living by the Spirit is the inner reality, then, while walking by the Spirit is the outward manifestation of that reality. Again, the life-giving root for life is the presence of the Spirit, while walking daily by the Spirit is the fruit that results from that life.

Life in the Spirit will have a practical, ethical outcome in everyday life. Still cognizant of the strife mentioned in verse 15, Paul now exhorted the Galatian believers in verse 26 to forsake the jealousy, envy and divisiveness of the sinful nature and instead allow the fruit of the Spirit to grow in the midst of their fellowship(s).

Questions for discussion

This section of Scripture speaks to Christian discipleship. What spiritual disciplines would you need to include daily in your life to grow in your discipleship to Christ?

Posted: 6/27/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for July 6
Use your freedom for the benefit of others

Galatians 5:1-15

By Jim Perkins

Madison Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio

As this week of celebration of the Fourth of July recognizes, citizens of the United States of America enjoy unique and greatly cherished freedoms. We will be appreciated and considered a wise people, however, as we express that freedom in responsible service to our country and others.

Stand firm

The Apostle Paul was a master at expressing Christian truths and encouraging Christians to live out those truths. Such is the case in verse 1 of this passage. Paul encouraged the Galatians to “become what you are;” to celebrate the freedom they had in Christ by standing firm against any who would make them a slave again to the law.

Remember, Christian freedom is freedom from the ravages of sin and the hopelessness of attempts to be justified by works of the law, and also then, freedom to serve God and others with a pure, Christlike love.

The “yoke of slavery” (5:1) that threatened the Galatian Christians most certainly was the opposite of the honorable and empowering “yoke” of Christ (Matthew 11:29). Here that yoke was the empty path of the powerless legalism promoted by the Judaizing interlopers–a kind of legalism akin to the “weak and miserable principles” (4:9). Paul cautioned the Galatians that their freedom in Christ was endangered by the temptation they now faced.

Express your faith

Verses 2-6 of this passage contain the pivotal and forceful center of Paul's warning to the Galatians–and all Christians. The first half of the section focuses on the apostle's stern warning to the Galatians: If they added circumcision to faith in Christ as a requirement for salvation (5:3), they would have in effect adopted a new “Jesus-plus” gospel, which would be no gospel at all (1:7).

In fact, adopting the legal obligation for obedience to one point of the law (here, circumcision) would obligate them to obey every aspect of the law–which would be impossible and ineffective (2:16; 3:11). Effectively, they would be turning their backs on salvation through faith in Jesus, alienating themselves from him and God's grace (5:4).

Paul, however, hoped for and expected much better of them. By faith in Christ they had received the indwelling Spirit, who encouraged them of the surety of their salvation (5:5). As a result, Paul could state as a certainty that for the Christian circumcision was a nonissue–it truly did not matter whether a Christian was circumcised or not. What did matter was a true faith in Christ which expressed itself through acts of love (5:6).

Stay the course

In this portion of the text (5:7-12), Paul referenced two groups of people: the Galatian Christians and the Judaizing interlopers. Paul condemned the Judaizers, who had come to the Galatian churches with an evil agenda. The apostle employed an athletic metaphor in verse 7 to describe their activities–a runner in a race stumbles when someone steps in front of him and cuts him off. Likewise, the Galatian Christians had been made to stumble after the circumcision group threw them into a state of confusion with persuasive arguments concerning the necessity of circumcision to complete their salvation (5:8, 10).

Paul reminded the Galatian Christians, however, that no matter how the circumcision group disparaged his reputation, the fact remained that Paul the Christian did not preach nor support the “Jesus-plus” gospel of faith in Christ plus circumcision as a legal requirement to complete salvation.

The fact Paul was still persecuted–presumably by the Jews for preaching freedom from the law (Acts 14)–was ample evidence he preached the message of the cross exclusively (5:11).

Serve others

Paul concluded this section with an ethical exhortation to the Galatian believers (5:13-15). These “brothers” in Christ were called by God to be free from the principles of the world and the inadequate legalism of the law. Liberty in Christ, however, did not equate to license to live a life of moral rebellion. They were free, but that meant freedom to serve God and others in a life exhibiting the nature and life of Christ, not the “sinful,” fallen human nature of the unredeemed.

As a matter of fact, loving and serving one another in a Christlike manner could be seen as a type of fulfilling the total spirit and intent of the law (Romans 13:8-10). It was to that attitude and action, then, that Paul directed them–even though apparently at this time he was aware of other disabling and destructive attitudes and actions in their midst (5:15).

Their disagreements were probably the result of the theological turmoil introduced by the Judaizers. Paul reminded the Galatian Christians that if they continued to “bite” and “devour” one another (strong verbs descriptive of wild animals attacking one another), they would surely destroy the unity and fellowship of the community of believers.

Questions for discussion

What destructive issues could be or have been introduced into your fellowship? How can you proactively and redemptively address those issues?

Posted: 6/27/03

Some Bush supporters
question his action for the poor

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A group of Christian leaders–including some of the most prominent supporters of President Bush's “faith-based initiative”–is expressing frustration with Bush's record on issues of economic justice for the poor.

“I am within a hair's breadth of concluding that the faith-based initiative is a cynical cover for ignoring the poor,” said Evangelicals for Social Action President Ron Sider in a June 12 interview. Sider was echoing comments he made in a meeting with White House domestic-policy officials June 9.

“I don't want to reach that conclusion,” he continued. “I think in some important way, this president does genuinely care about the poor, but that's got to be demonstrated in funding for effective programs.”

Sider as well as other evangelical, mainline Protestant and Catholic leaders under the auspices of the Christian anti-poverty group Call to Renewal, concluded a week of prayer meetings, press events and lobbying visits with administration and congressional officials in Washington June 12. The meetings were intended to promote more of a focus on programs that assist in poverty reduction and less on tax cuts.

They came in the midst of wrangling in Congress over provisions of Bush's $350 billion-plus tax-cut bill. In May, shortly before the passage of the bill's Senate version, Republican leaders cut from it a per-child tax credit that would have benefited the lowest-income families.

When Democrats protested the omission, the chamber quickly passed another bill extending the credits to low-income people. But such a bill may get bogged down in the House, where Republican leaders have tied the child tax-credit bill to $82 billion more in tax cuts–most of which would benefit wealthy taxpayers.

“When money is being diverted to war and homeland security plus a big tax cut, there is little left for poor people,” Call to Renewal head Jim Wallis told reporters after meeting with congressional leaders June 10.

Wallis and 34 other Christian leaders signed a June 9 letter sent to Bush outlining their concerns regarding faith-based and other groups that provide social services to the poor, saying the tax bill was just one symptom of an overall attitude that doesn't prioritize poverty alleviation.

“Mr. President, the 'good people' who provide such services are feeling overwhelmed by increasing need and diminishing resources,” the letter read. “And many are feeling betrayed. The lack of a consistent, coherent and integrated domestic policy that benefits low-income people makes our continued support for your faith-based initiative increasingly untenable.”

Baptist leaders who signed the document included American Baptist Churches General Secretary Roy Medley, ABC President David Hunt, and Baptist sociologist and popular speaker Tony Campolo.

Sider, Wallis and many of the other leaders who signed the letter were among the earliest supporters of Bush's faith-based proposal–the centerpiece of which would expand government's ability to give grants to churches and other religious organizations to perform social service work. The initiative has met with major legislative opposition because of church-state and employment-discrimination concerns, but Bush has implemented much of it by administrative action and executive order. White House officials portrayed it as the centerpiece of what they regularly referred to as Bush's “compassion agenda.”

In the June 10 press briefing, Wallis told reporters his organization and others had lived up to their end of the bargain with government but didn't feel like Bush was reciprocating adequately on poverty issues.

“The president has said the faith and community leaders need to be at the table when social policy is talked about, and we haven't been,” Wallis said. “We're (only) at the table when faith-based initiatives are talked about.”

The administration understands these leaders' concerns, said Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and one of the administration officials who met with the group. In a June 12 phone interview, he defended Bush's record on poverty issues and said the White House and the leaders merely had differences on how best to go about eradicating poverty.

“I have a lot of respect for Jim (Wallis) and Ron (Sider); I don't have a critical word to say about either one of them,” Towey said. “I think the president has been trying to bring new resources to the table; the question is, 'What is the most effective way of doing it?' You look at government spending, but you also look at effective use of resources.”

Towey said Bush's policies ultimately will help the poor by creating jobs as well as providing more effective social services.

“When I go to homeless shelters, drug treatment programs in America, or prisons with inmates about to get out, one of their top concerns is 'I need to find a job,'” he said. “And the president believes the tax cuts will stimulate the economy and job growth. This ultimately will help the poor.”

Posted: 6/27/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 13

The law of Moses is not equipped for salvation

Galatians 3:10-14, 18-25

By Tim Owens

First Baptist Church, Bryan

Growing out of the historical context of Galatians 1-2, Paul addressed the question of the purpose of the Mosaic law in Galatians 3-4. Paul told what the law could and could not do.

The Mosaic law was never meant to be a way of salvation. The Mosaic law was never meant to be a means by which a person maintained a relationship of favor with God. Salvation is experienced by God's grace through a person's faith in Jesus Christ, not by striving to keep all God's commandments.

Even believers can begin to think that although they were saved by grace, they must keep all of God's commandments to maintain their relationship with God. To adopt such a view is the attempt to earn and maintain God's favor through one's own efforts. In Galatians 3, Paul is encouraging believers to reject all forms of legalism and to live by God's promise and gift of grace.

What causes legalism (trying to earn salvation and God's favor by keeping religious laws) to be so enticing? One would think a person would be attracted by grace, not legalism. There seems to be something in the hearts of all human beings that wants to play a major role in securing salvation for themselves. To acknowledge one cannot save himself/herself, or at least play a major role in it, demands humility. Many people are unwilling to admit their total dependence on God. That is why every other world religion, unlike Christianity, teaches that human works contribute to gaining personal salvation.

The Galatians seemed captivated by this idea. Paul wrote them to show the impossibility of relating to God on the basis of keeping God's law.

In Galatians 3:10, Paul quoted Deuteronomy 27:26 to show the law requires complete and constant obedience. If people want to relate to God on the basis of keeping his laws, they cannot choose only the ones they want to keep; they must keep all of God's laws. If a person obeys every law of God except one, that person is guilty before God.

Paul assumes the impossibility for any human being to give complete and constant obedience to all of God's laws. Since God and his law are perfect, it is therefore impossible for any human being to earn favor with God by obedience to his laws. God gives his forgiveness and favor to those who by faith receive what Jesus Christ did for them. Through faith in Christ a person is counted righteous in God's sight.

This is the very heart of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ has done for humanity on the cross what it could not do for itself. “He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Paul is presenting the substitutionary nature of Christ's death. Through faith in Christ's death, people can be set free from the penalty and slavery of sin. How? Christ paid the price for them. He suffered the punishment for sin that human beings deserved to suffer. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”

In Galatians 3:13, Paul quoted Deuteronomy 21:23 to confirm what he said about the cross of Christ: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Every criminal, who was sentenced to death under the Mosaic law and executed was then hanged on a tree as a symbol of God's rejection.

Hanging on a tree was an outward sign of a person who was cursed in God's sight. To be nailed to a cross was the equivalent to being hanged on a tree. Christ being crucified on a cross was the equivalent of having died under the curse of God. No wonder the Jews found it almost impossible to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. How could the Christ, the anointed One of God, instead of reigning on a throne, hang on a tree?

Such an act was incredulous. Jesus dying by hanging on a tree was an almost insurmountable stumbling block to the Jews, unless they saw by faith that the curse he bore was for them. Jesus did not die for his own sins; he became a curse “for us” (Galatians 3:13).

Christianity says only in the person and work of Jesus Christ did God act for the salvation of humankind. A person has to be in Christ in order to receive God's salvation.

How does a person become united to Christ? The answer is “through faith.” Paul quoted Habakkuk 2:4 in Galatians 2:11: “The righteous will live by faith.” He then says it himself in Galatians 3:14: “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

Faith is receiving all of Jesus Christ personally. Faith is not a human work. The value of saving faith is not in faith itself; it is in the object of faith, Jesus Christ. Faith says, “Christ was lifted up on the cross for my sins. I believe it is only there that I am made right with God.”

Galatians 3:18-25 reinforces that the purpose of the law was to show a person's guilt before God and his/her need for Jesus Christ. Now that Christ has come, there is no longer a need for a tutor like the rituals of the Old Testament, which were designed to show people their sinfulness and guide them to Christ.

Does this mean that Christians are free to disobey the commandments of God? Of course not! The believer's freedom from the law is not a freedom to sin, but a freedom to serve and obey God even more completely–from the heart.

Questions for discussion

Does the law serve a purpose today, or did Christ replace the law?

Posted: 6/27/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 6

Nothing but the blood of Christ can save

Galatians 1:6-12; 2:15-21

By Tim Owens

First Baptist Church, Bryan

Someone once asked an evangelist how he accounted for the thousands of religions in the world. The evangelist stunned the questioner by observing there were not thousands of religions in the world, but only two. He said, “One religion says that we are saved by doing something, but Christianity says we are saved by having something done for us.” His statement sums up the message of Galatians.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians because certain preachers were perverting the gospel of grace and faith in Jesus Christ. As Paul began his letter, he did not follow his customary pattern of expressing gratitude for the readers after his opening greeting. Rather, he launched into a scathing rebuke against the Galatian believers and their desertion from the gospel of faith in Christ.

The book of Galatians answers the relevant life question: What is the true gospel? The answer is quite simple. The true gospel is the good news that people are made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:6 presents the issue leading the Galatians away from Jesus Christ–adding to “salvation by grace through faith.” Paul was amazed the Galatians, who had eagerly accepted his gospel message, could so quickly embrace another message that contradicted the gospel. To add to Christ's redemptive work on the cross was “deserting the one who called you.” The Galatians were guilty of deserting the true gospel that is rooted in the sacrificial death of Christ for a “different gospel” that was based on human works.

This other gospel was not really a gospel. The word “gospel” means “good news.” The Judaizers' “gospel” could not make a person right with God, so the Judaizers' “gospel” was no gospel at all.

Today many religions and religious denominations claim to preach “the gospel of Jesus Christ.” However, a closer examination of their message reveals the fact that they claim a person is saved by faith in Christ and by observing religious customs such as baptism, church membership or keeping laws, rules and regulations. Galatians 1:7 teaches that adding to the finished work of Jesus Christ in order to be saved perverts the true gospel.

Galatians 1:8-9 pronounces a divine curse on anyone who perverts the gospel of Christ by adding to it or subtracting from it. Anyone perverting the gospel is to be “eternally condemned.” Paul was stating a solemn warning: Anyone perverting the true gospel would be in danger of eternal destruction. Christians should be extremely careful to evaluate every message about Christ on the basis of Scripture, not on the basis of the personality or human credentials of the messenger.

Apparently, the Judaizers thought Paul was making it too easy for Gentiles to be saved. They accused him of reducing the requirements of salvation, because he was preaching the Gentiles were under no obligation to practice Mosaic rituals like circumcision.

Today one may hear the same charge against those who preach that salvation is by grace and not by works. Such teaching is often referred to as “easy believism” or “cheap grace.”

Galatians 1:11-12 strengthens the claim that Paul's message of grace was of divine, not human, origin. Had Paul invented the message, it would have been much like that of the Judaizers, since Paul was a Jew himself. That his message proclaimed salvation by grace alone indicated it was from God. It was on the road to Damascus that Jesus Christ intervened in Paul's life, at which time Paul embraced the grace of God.

Galatians 2:16 represents the heart of the Galatian letter–justification before God is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. The word “justification” refers to God's action of declaring the sinner righteous on the basis of Christ's death on the cross. Keeping the commandments and the law of God can never make a person right before God. When Christ lived a sinless life and died on the cross, he fulfilled the law's requirements for every believer.

When men and women become Christians, they identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. To be “crucified with Christ” means to acknowledge that Christ died in the sinner's place on the cross. He suffered the punishment from God all people deserve. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is present in every believer to give victory over sin and ultimately over death itself.

Being united in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ means the old life of the believer is finished. In Christ, the believer has risen to a new life. Christ lives inside the believer, giving the believer new desires for holiness and obedience. It is not that believers do not sin again. They do, but believers do not delight in sin. The whole tone of life has changed. Everything is different, because through faith Christ has invaded the believer's life.

In Galatians 2:21, Paul brings his message to a sharp point: If any human works are necessary in order to be right with God, then Christ's death was incomplete and unnecessary.

Question for discussion

Does the phrase “a Christian wouldn't do that” indicate there are some things a Christian must do or some actions that would prohibit Christ from redeeming a life?

Posted: 6/27/03

THREE ALARM GOSPEL:
Ministry to first responders

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

TEMPLE–Twenty years ago, when Michael Haynes left the pastorate to become an author, speaker and chaplain, he vowed he'd never go back.

“I swore I would have to have a stamped letter from heaven to even consider going into the pastorate of any sort,” said Haynes, who had served four churches in 17 years.

That letter recently arrived in Haynes' mailbox.

After a plane crashed into a house in Temple, firefighters arrived on the scene and saved three victims but lost two. One of the firefighters on the scene that day struggled to understand why he hadn't been able to save the other two.

As a chaplain to the Temple fire and police departments, Haynes was called in by the fire chief to help, which he did.

But then he got the letter–maybe not directly from heaven, but close enough to get his attention. The wife of the firefighter he helped wrote to thank the chaplain for his care, and she added, “Now, if we can just get him back in church.”

“I thought, 'Man, that's my stamped letter,'” Haynes said. “I couldn't run away from home on this one.”

In that letter, Haynes heard God's voice telling him something he believes he already knew: Firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and other “first responders” need a church of their own.

The result is First Responders Fellowship, a mission congregation sponsored by Immanuel Baptist Church and Memorial Baptist Church in Temple.

The fellowship meets at 10:30 Sunday mornings in the chapel at Memorial, beginning with coffee and doughnuts, followed by worship and Bible study.

Haynes, having received his stamped letter from heaven, is pastor.

In addition to the two sponsoring churches, the mission is supported by Bell Baptist Association and the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

The spiritual and emotional needs of first responders are unique, according to those involved in launching the new effort.

Surveys show about 70 percent of police officers have no church affiliation, reported Roy Parker, pastor at Memorial and also a police chaplain. “Their divorce rate is the highest of any profession in the United States. They have built shells around themselves; they've got barriers; they don't trust people; they're suspicious; they are in high-stress situations constantly.”

“Traditional churches aren't meeting their needs,” added Haynes.

But what these first responders need is more than a visit from a chaplain or counselor, he added. “First responders will commit to structure. They won't commit to something that is not institutional. For the most part, they're structured people in their professions.”

The First Responders Fellowship offers a level of institutional structure while allowing enough flexibility to meet the peculiar schedules of emergency workers. Workers on duty can drop by for the initial conversation and refreshments, and those not on duty can stay for the Bible study.

And, more importantly, they're welcomed into a community of people who understand the occupational stresses they and their families live under.

The first service was held May 4, and average attendance is about 20, Haynes said.

Currently, he's teaching a series on controlling and conquering anger.

Haynes is well-equipped to minister to this subset of the Texas population.

In addition to his pastoral experience, he's been a police chaplain nearly 20 years. He got an intensive dose of experience in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing and then working at ground zero in New York City after the World Trade Center attack.

In New York, he worked with Texas Baptist Men and Victim Relief Ministries to minister to emergency workers and train others in how to minister and counsel.

Out of that experience, he wrote a curriculum for victim chaplains.

Haynes also operates a school called the Faith Based Counselor Training Institute that offers training for counselors in 35 states and a ministry called Crisis Chaplaincy Care.

First Responders Fellowship, he said, takes what he already was doing with emergency workers and applies it in a church-based context.

And it's a model he believes could be duplicated across the nation. He compares it to the highly successful cowboy church movement in Texas.

Supporting the mission work has brought new enthusiasm to the sponsoring churches as well.

Memorial is the church that lost five members in a bus crash on I-35 on Valentine's Day. Based on that experience that brought many members closer to the work of first responders, the church has enthusiastically embraced the outreach.

“They just felt like life has come out of tragedy, that light has come out of darkness,” Haynes said. “They got behind this like nothing I've ever seen.”

On Aug. 3, Memorial plans a “First Responders Appreciation Day.” The church has invited police, fire and rescue workers to attend its morning worship in uniform. After being recognized and thanked in the service, the guests will be served lunch.

Michael Harkrider, pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church, has walked with Haynes through the conception and launch of the new ministry. Haynes is a member at Immanuel.

“It's been received very well,” Harkrider said. “People are excited about it.”

Some, he said, questioned why the first responders couldn't just come to their existing church services. “We just had to tell them we are living in a day when specialized needs need specialized ministries,” Harkrider explained. “We're seeing all kinds of new types of churches that are doing that.”

Posted: 6/27/03

Fisherman refuses to belly up to the beer

By George Henson

Staff Writer

NACOGDOCHES–When it came right down to it, Lendell Martin decided the priority of his life was being a fisher of men, not just a fisherman.

Martin balked last year when the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, commonly known as BASS, added Busch Beer as a sponsor. Part of the agreement between the brewery and the fishing federation was that all anglers would wear Busch patches on their clothing and sport the Busch logo on their boats.

“They made it mandatory that you had to wear that Busch beer patch,” Martin said. “Of course, I made a call, and they said it was what everybody was doing. They brought up the racing industry and said it would allow them to pay out more money.”

None of those things addressed Martin's concerns.

“BASS has these programs like 'Get hooked on fishing, not on drugs,' and then they want us to wear a beer company's patch,” he noted. “That's what wrong with a lot of our kids–we speak with forked tongues.”

Martin confessed, however, that even though he made his decision not to wear the patch even before he finished reading the letter, it was something he continued to think about.

“The flesh wanted me to wear the patch and just go on fishing, but I didn't think that's what the Lord would want me to do,” he said. “I had some problems with alcohol years ago, and the Lord took that away from me. I never felt like I was an alcoholic, but the problems I had in my life then were all related to the alcohol. I just didn't think I could sleep at night if I wore that patch.”

Most importantly, Martin did not want to do anything that would hurt his testimony as a Christian.

“In my heart, I knew that if I >put that Busch beer patch on I would jeopardize my testimony. Our job is to bring others to know Christ, and I don't know how that is going to help me do that. I've done enough I'm not proud of, but I'm not going to do any others that I can help. I've got too many black marks already.”

Martin's decision to reel himself in has not been painless. With the decision not to fish BASS tournaments, he lost about $100,000 in sponsorships this year.

“It has cost us a lot of money, but Scripture tells us he'll open doors and provide for us, and he does,” Martin said.

One of those doors God has opened for Martin is providing time to lead his congregation, Highway 259 Baptist Church, in constructing a new sanctuary.

“The Lord knows a lot more about what's going on than we do,” he said. “If it hadn't been for this, I wouldn't have had as much time to help with the building.”

If he has a little more time to give to his church, his church also has given him support during this time.

“Your church family gives you strength, and my church family has been a big asset to me while I've been going through this,” Martin said.

He said his pastor, Garrel Faulkner, didn't tell him what he should do, but asked him two questions–“Are you living for God, or are you living for BASS?” and “Are you willing to compromise?”

While Martin decided his walk with Christ wouldn't allow him to compromise, he doesn't belittle the Christians still on the BASS tour who elected to wear the Busch patch.

“I feel like a lot of them wear the patch because of the financial aspect, but they don't feel good about it because they pull that sticker off their boats as soon as it comes out of the water. They don't even want to pull their boat home with it on there,” he said.

After 20 years on the BASS tour, Martin said he feels like he's starting all over again, establishing himself on a new tour and finding new sponsors. But with his cattle and a few other things he has going, he believes he'll survive.

At least his witness remains intact, he said, which is important to someone who sees his job as reeling in the really big ones.

“The Lord has used me to witness to a lot of men,” he said. “While you're out in a boat, they pretty much have to listen to you. If I was wearing that patch, I just don't think my witness could have been as strong.”

Posted: 6/27/03

Baptist Health taps Gaston as v.p.

SAN ANTONIO–Baptist Health System has named George Gaston III as its vice president for ministry to oversee the spiritual direction of the system and its five San Antonio hospitals.

The new position was created by Vanguard Health Systems after acquiring the hospitals earlier this year. The system had been an institution of the Baptist General Convention of Texas before being sold to the for-profit corporation.

Gaston currently is pastor of First Baptist Church of Corpus Christi. He previously served as assistant vice president for spiritual development and community outreach at Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston.

At the Houston system, he supervised 15 chaplains and a Clinical Pastoral Education program. His major accomplishment there was to establish a comprehensive program for spiritual wellness.

From 1979 to 1983, Gaston served as assistant professor in pastoral ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“In his new position, Dr. Gaston will take the lead in assuring that the faith-based nature of our system remains a vital part of the Baptist Health System mission,” said Baptist Health System President Kent Wallace. “He will support the pastoral care team of chaplains and oversee the continued development of Clinical Pastoral Education. He will serve as the chief liaison between BHS and the faith community, and in particular, with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. In addition, Dr. Gaston will provide pastoral support to the BHS leadership team and will bring his spiritual outlook into the decision-making process at the executive level.”

Gaston is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Seminary.

He and his wife, Susan, have two children and four grandchildren.

Posted: 6/27/03

Fire destroys historic sanctuary
of First Baptist Church in Jasper

By George Henson

Staff Writer

JASPER–The building is gone, but First Baptist Church in Jasper is alive and well, Pastor Ron Vickers reported.

“Memories and things are lost, but the church is the people,” Vickers said.

Flames roared through the multi-floored building in the early morning hours of June 17. An early investigation pointed toward an electrical cause, possibly because numerous renovations had tied various systems of wires together.

An education building not connected to the sanctuary was not damaged.

The congregation and members of the Southeast Texas community met on the grounds that evening for a service and to comfort one another. Vacation Bible School, which began the evening prior to the fire, probably will not be rescheduled this year, the pastor said.

Among the most cherished items lost in the blaze were the church's stained-glass windows, imported from Germany when the building was constructed in 1943. Vickers estimated their value at about $2 million due to their age and craftsmanship.

The windows could be replicated with modern technology for about $160,000, he added, “but the value to the people here was much more than that.”

First Baptist Church is rich in history. It has been holding services at the same location since Christmas morning 1855. On the Sunday after the fire, First Baptist held its services and Sunday School at First United Methodist Church, about a block away.

About 300 people attended Sunday morning services, 100 more than most Sundays, and then walked over to the Baptist church grounds.

“There had been a service there every Sunday since that Christmas morning in 1855, and we weren't going to let that tradition come to an end,” Vickers said. “We sang a song and said a prayer, and that was important to a great many people. The traditions we're able to keep alive, we're going to keep.”

Minister of Music Tracy Speed led those gathered in singing three songs–“God is So Good,” “Oh, How I Love Jesus” and “Alleluia.”

“We just wanted to remember how good God has been to us even in this time that many people consider a disaster,” Speed said.

Many people have come by the church to offer their sympathies or leave a small gift, he said. “Many of these are members of other churches, but some are not. It just goes to show how God has impacted so many lives through the ministry of this church over the years.”

Seeing the charred remains of the building has been hard for many church members, but Vickers believes it has brought his congregation closer together.

“There's been a lot of tears shed, and a lot of reminiscing of memories, but as a whole they've rallied together very well,” he reported. “There have been some long hours on the phone and in person talking, and it hasn't just been from the pastor to the people; they've also been very supportive to me through this time.”

First Baptist has received support from the entire religious community in Jasper, Vickers said. Every church in Jasper joined the Methodist church in offering use of its facilities, he added.

“Jasper has had some bad publicity, and a movie said that therewere two Jaspers–a white one and a black one. Well, I told my people, 'There may be two towns in Jasper, but there's only one church.'”

Posted: 6/27/03

Posted: 6/27/03

Discrimination alleged by

Missouri convention employee

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.–Already embroiled in a legal battle with five of its institutions, the Missouri Baptist Convention now faces an investigation by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for possible mistreatment of an employee.

Former convention controller Carol Kaylor said the EEOC will file formal discrimination charges against the convention within the next few weeks. Kaylor notified the EEOC of her intent to file charges after Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director David Clippard fired her April 10.

The convention's attorney, however, counters that Kaylor was fired by Clippard for engaging in “unauthorized tampering with the executive director's computer and e-mail files,” according to a convention news release.

Attorney Michael Whitehead said convention President Monte Shinkle appointed a committee to investigate the facts surrounding Kaylor's alleged misconduct, and the committee concluded the termination was justified.

Kaylor's attorney, however, contends the former controller was the victim of discrimination.

“Our basic contention is that she was forced out of her position because she opposed practices that were demeaning to her and to other employees of the Missouri Baptist Convention as women,” said attorney Michael Berry.

Although Kaylor has not yet released details of the case, she said she decided to take formal action because of treatment she has received since the convention hired Clippard in August.

“In my 18-plus years in the accounting profession, I've never experienced the kind of treatment I have experienced since August,” she said.

Shinkle responded: “We regret that Mrs. Kaylor feels that any anything said or done by Dr. Clippard was demeaning to her. Our investigation has convinced us that Dr. Clippard did not mistreat or demean anyone. A ministry organization has the right to expect undivided loyalty and candor from its management team. We have complete confidence in Dr. Clippard, and we are confident that this employment decision will be upheld as lawful.”

Kaylor said Clippard had “banned” her from the Baptist Building in Jefferson City.

Whitehead countered that was too strong a word.

“Any employee terminated under these circumstances would reasonably expect to be asked to restrict visits to the building for business purposes and to make appointments,” he said. “Mrs. Kaylor has been in the building on several occasions since her termination.”

The convention's news release pointed out that Kaylor had been hired into the position by the previous executive director, Jim Hill, who resigned because he said he could not work with the fundamentalist majority that had taken control of the convention's Executive Board.

Posted: 6/27/03

A note to Baptist Standard readers
about the summer print schedule

A revised summer publication schedule for the Baptist Standard will take full effect after this issue.

The Standard reported earlier that the newspaper's board of directors approved a summer publication schedule that skips print publication on seven weeks as a cost-cutting measure.

Print issues have been skipped two weeks already. After this issue, the skip weeks will occur on an every-other-week cycle. The next print issue of the Standard will be dated July 14.

At the same time, the Standard has redesigned its website to provide daily updates of fresh news and feature stories, as well as links to religion news of interest around the world.

Eliminating the print issues will save the Standard more than $100,000 in postage costs, explained Editor Marv Knox. The cost-cutting is necessary, he said, due to the deflated value of the newspaper's endowment earnings over the last two years. The Standard, although an agency of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, receives no Cooperative Program funding and must be financially self-supporting.

“Reducing the number of print issues is not our ideal action, but it is the only reasonable way to continue to fulfill our mission without being financially irresponsible,” Knox said. “We hope readers will notice that we have beefed up the size and content of the issues that are published, so that total content will not diminish.

“Also, we are discovering that more of our readers are finding the Standard's website to be the fastest way to know what's going on in Texas Baptist life.”

Church newsletters that are published by the Standard will continue to be mailed every week, even when the paper is not printed. Knox asked church newsletter subscribers to be patient as details of this transition are worked out with the U.S. Postal Service.

“We know some of our newsletters arrived more slowly than normal last week, and we apologize for the inconvenience,” he said. “We hope to have worked out all the issues with postal delivery soon.”