Posted: 12/29/04

CYBERCOLUMN:
Leave the lights on

By Brett Younger

Every once in a great while, I see a jogger and react in a way that is incomprehensible to thinking people: I say to myself, “I should start jogging.”

(I recognize that many intelligent people feel the more understandable response to runners is to turn the steering wheel ever so slightly so that they run back up on the curb where they belong.)

My unexplainable longing to jog usually doesn’t last long enough for me to put on my tennis shoes, but on rare occasions, I forget how much I hate jogging and run (throughout this column, I will be using the verb “run” in the broad, general sense) for a few days. The key to my success as a runner (I am using the noun “runner” in the same general sense) is that I don’t run very far (I am not embarrassed by embarrassingly short distances) or very fast (it can take several minutes for me to pass a parked car). The only part of jogging at which I excel is “jogger’s face.” While runners claim that they enjoy running, the look on most jogger’s faces is complete anguish. Even though I don’t jog far enough or fast enough to qualify for any genuine anguish, whenever a car or another jogger passes I huff and puff and contort my face as if my heart, lungs and every muscle in my body are about to explode. When they are out of sight, I sit on the curb and rest.

For a couple of weeks, I ran around a couple of blocks near our house. The whole trip was less than a mile. (I say this only to prove that I was telling the truth when I said that I am not embarrassed by embarrassingly short distances.) The highlight of my jaunt was an out-of-the-ordinary yard about 4/10 of a mile from our house. At night, when the lights are on, you can spot it from about 3/10 of a mile away. The most striking feature is the Christmas lights. The lights, which are in a Mulberry tree, are a startling variety of colors. There’s also a red birdhouse with a black roof and an invitation to “See Rock City.” A big red bow adorns a holly wreath. Orange, purple, pink, red and white gladiolas and lilies cover every spare inch. I hope I never have to use my jogger’s face near this spot, because it’s hard not to smile at this yard.

Not long after I started jogging, I had a conversation with some people who lived in the area. I asked: “What’s the story with your neighbor’s Christmas lights? That’s an interesting yard.” They quickly made it clear that the yard is not as amusing to them as it is to me: “Those stupid Christmas lights have been up for years. … It makes me furious when I think about what that yard does to my property values. … I am sorely tempted to buy a BB gun just to shoot those lights. … &%$*!”

I started to rethink my feelings. Perhaps the yard wasn’t as wonderful as I originally thought. Maybe I would feel differently if I lived nearby. Perhaps 4/10 of a mile into my run, I was experiencing the “jogger’s euphoria” about which veteran joggers talk.

One Sunday evening, I was gradually, leisurely making my way around the neighborhood when I saw a woman working in “the yard” just up ahead. I sped up so that 10 minutes later, when I was in need of a break anyway, I was able to stop and say: “Your yard is really interesting. Is there a story behind the Christmas lights?”

She smiled and said, “Yes, there is.” She pointed to the house across the street and identified a particular window. “The elderly woman who lives there came to stay with her children seven years ago. She’s in her nineties now and seldom leaves her room. After her first Christmas here, she went on and on about how much she enjoyed looking at the lights and bright colors in our yard. We’re the only view she has. When Christmas was over, we didn’t have the heart to take the lights down. We decided that as long as she’s around, we’ll leave the lights on.”

How many times are our aggravations someone else’s Christmas lights?

Leave the lights on.

Brett Younger is pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth and the author of “Who Moved My Pulpit? A Hilarious Look at Ministerial Life,” available from Smyth & Helwys (800) 747-3016.

Posted: 12/31/04

SBC withdrawal from BWA top news story of 2004

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP)—The Southern Baptist Convention's withdrawal from the Baptist World Alliance was the top Baptist news story of 2004, according to a survey of journalists.

The murder of four SBC missionaries in Iraq was the second most significant story, followed closely by President Bush's re-election with support from so-called "values voters."

The annual survey of Baptist state newspaper editors was conducted by Associated Baptist Press, an independent news organization based in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Baptist World Alliance, an international umbrella organization representing 211 Baptist bodies, lost its largest member and funder in June. The SBC's conservative leaders said BWA harbors theological liberalism, a charge denied by the Virginia-based alliance and many of its member groups worldwide. The action became official in October, costing BWA $300,000 a year.

In the deadliest tragedy in 157 years of Southern Baptist missions history, four International Mission Board missionaries were killed in their car March 15 in Mosul, Iraq, by unidentified assailants wielding automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

The relief workers were researching the need for a water purification site. Killed were Larry T. Elliott, 60, and Jean Dover Elliott, 58, of Cary, N.C.; Karen Denise Watson, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif.; and David McDonnall, 29, of Fort Worth, Texas. McDonnall's wife, Carrie Taylor McDonnall, 26, was severely wounded but survived.

Conservative Southern Baptists, who strongly supported George W. Bush's re-election Nov. 2, have since celebrated the growing influence of moral issues in American politics and called for Bush and the Congress to push ahead with reforms to outlaw gay marriage and abortion, appoint conservative judges and expand federal funding for faith-based charities.

The other top stories of 2004 were:

4. Gay marriage—particularly its approval by the Massachusetts Supreme Court and gay marriages held in San Francisco and a couple of other municipalities—prompted a nationwide outcry from conservatives and legislative attempts to prohibit it.

5. Four deadly hurricanes smashed into Florida, other Southern states and the Caribbean in late summer, killing more than 100 people, damaging dozens of churches and triggering Baptist disaster-relief work.

6. Mel Gibson's blockbuster movie "The Passion of the Christ" debuted in February amid charges of anti-Semitism, but pre-Easter audiences responded favorably, producing record ticket and DVD sales. While the movie made Jesus' death a topic of water-cooler conversation, evangelical Christians turned the box-office phenomenon into an outreach tool.

7. Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage were passed in 11 states Nov. 2 in reaction to legalization in some jurisdictions. Two other states approved bans earlier.

8. The SBC International Mission Board adopted guidelines in July requiring volunteer mission workers to endorse the more conservative 2000 version of the "Baptist Faith and Message" statement. The endorsement is already required of IMB missionaries.

9. Congress defeated the Federal Marriage Amendment on a procedural vote July 14. The defeat of the constitutional ban was hailed as a victory by gay-rights activists, but the vote triggered a cascade of state gay-marriage bans and energized a conservative electorate.

10. The SBC North American Mission Board voted Feb. 4 not to endorse female chaplains in cases "where the role and function of the chaplain would be seen the same as that of a pastor." The move brought an end to the SBC's endorsement of female chaplains for the military, but may not prevent women from serving as hospital chaplains.

Other stories ranking high in the minds of Baptist editors were a study showing the number of "declining" Southern Baptist churches on the rise, the worldwide reaction to the election of a gay Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's fight against making the SBC the "sole member" of its corporation, ensuring trustees could not break away from the SBC.

A separate survey of religion writers at the country's daily newspapers produced a tie for the No. 1 news story of the year. At the top of the poll by Religion News Service were "The Passion of the Christ" and the role of faith in Bush's re-election.

The rest of the top 10, according to the religion reporters, were: 3. gay marriage, 4. the denial of communion to pro-abortion politicians by some Catholic bishops, 5. the international Anglican report on New Hampshire's gay bishop, 6. the Supreme Court's approval on technical grounds of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, 7. the U.S. role in Iraq, 8. the trial of two lesbian ministers by the United Methodist Church, 9. the controversy over homosexuality in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and 10. the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Posted: 12/30/04

CYBERCOLUMN: Cold and safe

By Berry D. Simpson

One recent Saturday morning, I ran in the cold rain, and it was wonderful.

It wasn't all that cold, actually, in terms of general North American winter weather—maybe in the low 40s. And it wasn't raining all that hard—simply a steady but gentle rain and certainly no downpour.

The biggest problem about running in the rain in Midland is not the water falling from the sky but the water flowing down the streets. The city uses the major streets as drainage channels. We have little else to choose from in this flat land, and sometimes the stream of water running down the middle of the street is wider than I can jump with my untrained legs. I end up splashing one foot in the water and soaking my trailing foot that usually passes directly into the airborne splash.

So, the coldest parts of my body that morning were my wet feet, but even they were comfortable, since running generates heat in my feet. I was warm enough.

One of the reasons I like to run in the rain, especially cold rain like this, is because I have a great waterproof rain jacket especially designed for running that my wife, Cyndi, bought a few years ago. I wanted one for a long time, but I couldn't justify the expense in my own mind, knowing I'd use it only occasionally. But Cyndi solved my dilemma by giving the jacket to me for Christmas. I don't get to wear it often enough, if you ask me.

When I'm bundled up with my hood pulled over my head, I am isolated from the world; I am insulated from the prying eyes of all the nosy automobile drivers and pesky onlookers who have nothing better to do than watch me as I run by and try to decide if I am someone they know. I wear my outfit like a cocoon.

I ran again in the cold rain the following Monday evening. It was 42 degrees and raining. As it turned out, running in the rain was actually the warmest part of my day. I was cold everywhere I went Monday—in my office, when I was studying, at my noon meeting downtown, while I was working, and even as I drove around town. It was one of those days when I started out with a chill, and I never caught up. But running outside, wearing my stuff, well, I was protected from the elements, and I was generating heat, and I was comfy.

I'll admit I wear more clothes when running than I used to, either because I'm becoming more cold-natured as I get older, or because I learned that no one was impressed when I suffered through a cold run wearing only a T-shirt and shorts. If I overdress, I know I'll be miserable during the second half of the run, but if I underdress, I'll be miserable the entire time.

I realize for all my love of running in the cold, 40 degrees isn't so bad. The rest of the country would love to have 40s in winter. In Wisconsin, they probably lay out for a tan in the 40s, so happy to be that warm. Even so, most of my Midland friends thought it was too bad for running on either Saturday or Monday. Except, that is, my backpacking friend Blake, who says, "There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear."

Running in the summertime heat is all about exposure and openness and minimal apparel. I have no protection from the outside world because I am wearing as little clothing as possible. It is just me alone, open to the world. But on that Saturday morning run, with my hood pulled up and my earphones playing “Morning Edition” and my sleeves pulled down past my gloved fingers and the bill of my hat hiding my eyes, well, I was anonymous. I was safe. I was hidden and protected. It was great.

The thing is, I wouldn't want to live my whole life like that. I may feel safe when hidden from view, but safety isn't all there is to living. The joy in my life comes from teaching and writing and communicating and, well, exposing myself, so to speak.

I want to share what God has done in my life so other people can join me on the journey and allow him to do the same for them. I can't do any of that living in a cocoon.

Berry Simpson, a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland.

Posted: 12/24/04

Samford honors Wanda Lee, WMU executive director

Wanda Lee, executive director of the Southern Baptist Woman's Missionary Union, has been named an alumnus of the year by Samford University.

A 1969 Samford nursing graduate, Lee served as president of WMU from 1996 to 2000 when she was named to her current post. She is the first woman in WMU history to hold both positions.

Lee has been active at all levels of WMU—church, association, state and national. Early in her career, she worked as a registered nurse in hospitals in Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and the Windward Islands, where she and her husband, Larry, were missionaries from 1979-81. WMU, an auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, employs about 115 staff members at its Birmingham headquarters and has more than a million members of all ages in Baptist churches worldwide.

"As CEO of the premier woman's missionary support organization in America, Wanda

Lee applies all the sensitivity and care she learned as a nurse and nurse administrator to the promotion of missions," Samford President Thomas E. Corts said. "In our diverse world, hers is an extremely important task and she fulfills it with a warm, genuine Christian spirit."

Samford University is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention.

Posted: 12/24/04

Suit filed to block 'intelligent design' theory from schools

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Two civil-liberties watchdog groups have filed the first known lawsuit to prevent public schools from teaching the theory of "intelligent design."

Critics of the theory, including supporters of evolution, call it "junk science" and say it is a back-door way to teach creationism. Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against the Dover, Pa., school board to bar the district from teaching intelligent design.

The theory argues that an "intelligent agent" guided the development of life on Earth, using that assertion to explain alleged gaps or inconsistencies in the theory of evolution. Conservative evangelical Christians have been intelligent design's main promoters.

Many mainstream scientists, including many Christian biologists and anthropologists, have criticized intelligent design as pseudo-science.

On Oct. 18, the Dover Area School District Board passed, by a 6-3 vote, a resolution requiring students to "be made aware of gaps/problems" in evolutionary theory. The district—in a small town near the state capital of Harrisburg—then produced a statement that ninth-grade biology teachers at Dover High School would have to read to their classes.

The statement asserts that "gaps in the theory (of evolution) exist for which there is no evidence" and points to an intelligent-design text, "Of Pandas and People," as available for students who "would like to explore this view."

The groups filed the lawsuit on behalf of 11 Dover parents who oppose the teaching of intelligent-design theory in their children's classrooms. It charges that such teaching violates the First Amendment's ban on government endorsement of religious views.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled that public schools could not teach creationism, which is the belief that God created the world—according to many advocates, in six literal, 24-hour days several thousand years ago.

"Intelligent design is a non-scientific argument or assertion, made in opposition to the scientific theory of evolution, that an intelligent, supernatural actor has intervened in the history of life, and that life 'owes its origin to a master intellect,'" the suit charges.

Dover science teachers opposed the policy at the time of the board's vote, and the three board members who voted against it later resigned in protest.

The suit further contends that "Of Pandas and People" was published by a group that promotes so-called "creation science" and Christianity, and that the school board's purpose in recommending it was religious.

"As far as we know, this is the first (legal) challenge of the intelligent-design concept being taught in science classes," said Americans United spokesman Joe Conn. Intelligent design is "clearly not coming from the science community; it's coming from ideological sources," he said.

A statement posted on the school district's website said that the schools' attorney was reviewing the lawsuit and that administrators would not comment on the case until the review was completed.

The Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which promotes intelligent design, nonetheless called the Dover school policy "misguided" and said it should be "withdrawn and rewritten."

"When we first read about the Dover policy, we publicly criticized it because according to published reports the intent was to mandate the teaching of intelligent design," said John West, associate director for the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, in a Dec. 14 press release. "Although we think discussion of intelligent design should not be prohibited, we don't think intelligent design should be required in public schools.

"What should be required is full disclosure of the scientific evidence for and against Darwin's theory," he continued.

The case is Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District.

Posted: 12/24/04

Investigation pending into Southeastern Seminary finances

By Steve DeVane

North Carolina Biblical Recorder

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP)—The Wake County District Attorney has asked the State Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina to look into finances at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Colon Willoughby, the district attorney, said he has not received a report from the State Bureau of Investigation.

"We asked for some preliminary information to try and determine if an investigation is warranted," he said.

Bureau spokesperson Noelle Talley said Willoughby asked her agency to conduct interviews and provide him with information. She did not know the current status of the inquiry, but said no formal investigation is underway. Jerry Higgins, director of public relations for Southeastern, said the school had no comment.

C. B. Scott, a former director of special projects at Southeastern, said he was interviewed by a bureau agent in November. The agent told him that he could expect to be interviewed more thoroughly later.

Scott said the agent's questions focused on a car given in 2003 to an aide of former seminary president Paige Patterson. Scott was one of two seminary whistleblowers who brought the potentially illegal transaction to the attention of school officials and was later fired.

The seminary initially considered the six-month-old car a gift but later received a $6,500 check from the aide's father-in-law to pay for the vehicle. The check was marked as "unrestricted" and a tax-deductible receipt was issued, which experts say is a violation of tax laws. The seminary said it later corrected the "mistake," sending the father-in-law a letter saying the money was not tax deductible and sending the aide an IRS form stating that a portion of the car's value should be treated as income.

Scott said the bureau agent interviewed his wife, Karen, in mid-December. Karen Scott served as human resources and payroll manager for Southeastern and is now an accountant for Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa.

C. B. Scott, who was fired by Southeastern in March allegedly for reasons unrelated to the car, is now director of development for the Middle Creek Bible Conference near Gettysburg, Pa.

Southeastern officials asked auditors to take a closer look at the seminary's financial procedures, in part due to the controversy surrounding the car. Auditors made "a number of constructive suggestions for improvements" to financial procedures but did not adjust their "unqualified opinion" of the school's finances, the seminary said.

Posted: 12/24/04

Posted: 12/17/04

'As India goes, so goes the Great Commission'

By Erich Bridges

International Mission Board

MUMBAI, India (BP)–What country is home to thousands of millionaires and nine of the world's richest billionaires, makes more movies than Hollywood, boasts the world's largest democracy and is home to 24 million Christians, including 19 million evangelicals?

India.

Americans whose most vivid impressions of India come from old National Geographics and Rudyard Kipling's jungle stories might update their mental file with these facts:

Eighty percent of India's 1.07 billion people–second only to China in total population–are Hindu.

But more than 130 million Muslims call India home, and some estimates range above 150 million. That rivals the combined population of all countries in the Arab Middle East.

The Indian middle class–those earning $2,000 to $4,000 annually–now numbers 300 million, larger than the entire U.S. population. It's expected to approach 450 million within the next five years.

Massive rural-to-urban migration likely will double the population of India's cities within two decades. That's equal to “all of Europe, all of a sudden, needing water, sanitation, drainage, power, transportation, housing,” says an Asian Development Bank official.

No fewer than 555 million Indians are under the age of 25, and Indian universities produce more than 1.5 million graduates each year.

The booming Indian economy was forecast to grow 8 percent this year as Indian industries match or surpass some of the world's top producers.

India has some 200 million English-speakers. The nation's vast collection of people groups also speaks several hundred other languages and dialects.

Pilgrims seeking spiritual cleansing in the sacred Shipra River offer fire to their gods. (Matt Jones Photo)

Three Indians made Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most powerful and influential people this year–Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and information technology mogul Azim Premji–reputedly the world's fourth-richest man.

Make no mistake: India still faces enormous problems of poverty and need. The poor in some 800,000 towns and villages still account for the great majority of the population. About 300 million people live on less than a dollar a day. As many as 3,000 Indian farmers in a single state–Andhra Pradesh–have killed themselves over the last six years because of debt and drought.

India has the world's largest number of working children–up to 115 million. Many toil in sweatshops. At least half the population cannot read.

Meanwhile, many of the graduates pouring out of the nation's universities can't find decent jobs. Despite economic growth, too many applicants are competing for too few positions. The government counts 40 million jobless workers, while the vaunted Indian info tech industry employs fewer than 1 million.

But India has made amazing progress on many fronts–economic expansion, education, technology. Its scientists, academics, computer specialists, entrepreneurs and entertainers are challenging–and often surpassing–the best other countries can offer. Expectations are soaring.

Hundreds of India's ethnic, religious and caste groups live in geographical or social isolation from each other, looking at the rest of this vast “nation of nations” with curiosity or suspicion. Many a south Indian, if set down somewhere in the north, would be as bewildered by the customs and languages as someone from the U.S. heartland parachuting into Scandinavia.

In other places, particularly the cities, different peoples and cultures mix and mingle in seemingly countless combinations. Mumbai–or Bombay, as it also is known–is India's largest city and is a world unto itself.

India boasts nearly 20 million evangelicals, such as this member of Andheri Baptist Church. Yet 80 percent of the country's 1.05 billion people are Hindu. (Matt Jones Photo)

With more than 17 million people jammed into a 180-square-mile peninsula, Mumbai is the financial capital of India, the film capital, the organized crime capital, the AIDS and prostitution capital. It is the home of India's most expensive real estate–and Asia's biggest slum. Multitudes live under plastic tarps on the streets, and others dine with old money at the exclusive stadium cricket club, where the joining fee is $30,000.

Travelers on Mumbai's sidewalks and crowded commuter trains can rub shoulders with stock traders in $1,000 suits, beggars, college students, Muslim women covered by black burqas, Punjabis, Tamils, Kashmiris, Bengalis, Assamese, Gujaratis, Keralites.

“Diversity is India,” observes a leading Christian strategist who lives there. “You can lose yourself in all the challenges and unlimited horizons for missions in this country. You could pour a thousand lifetimes into India and never exhaust it.”

India's 24-million-member Christian community is growing, but it remains a small minority of the national population of 1.07 billion.

India and its immediate South Asian neighbors have more than 200 people groups with populations exceeding 1 million. Nearly half of the world's unreached people groups live in India and the South Asian region. South Asia, which includes India, has half of the world's Last Frontier population–more than any other region.

India alone is home to 14 “super-mega” people groups with more than 10 million members each currently “unengaged” by a church-planting movement strategy. In other words, Christians are not yet focusing on any of these groups in a way that will result in growing, self-sustaining church movements. Just one of these ethnic peoples, the Rajput, totals 40 million souls.

“As India goes,” the Christian strategist said, “so goes the Great Commission.”

Posted: 12/17/04

Around the State

Ronnie Kidd has been re-elected president of the the Hardin-Simmons University Alumni Association. Linda Perkins will serve as president-elect. Other leaders include Andrea Howey, Larry Moss, Karen Johnson, Erin Maddox, Karen Gurganus, Debbie Young, Deborah Ashmore, Ann Scargall, Pat Kelley, Billy Bob Neff, Janis Altom, Vance Cooksey, Dean Taggart, Donald Tittle, Dorothy Kiser, Debbie Harruff, Bea Shakleford and Fred Ewing.

Twelve East Texas Baptist University students participated in a model United Nations conference in Chicago. Representing the Marshall school were Amanda Bishop, Ben Bryan, Clarissa Knabenshue, Ginna Hobbs, Hollie Klumpp, Jay Carriker, Jon Roach, Keith Guthrie, Mark Jackson, Paul Potter, Ryan Abt and Ryan Fason.

South Texas Children's Home and the Baptist General Convention of Texas hosted a day of inspiration and dove shoot for South Texas pastors and staff at the STCH Boothe Campus north of Beeville. More than 50 guests participated in a Bible study and fellowship led by Ed Rogers of Georgetown and Homer Hanna of Beeville followed by a dove hunt and barbeque meal. Enjoying a laugh about the doves that got away are (back row, left to right) Greg Taylor, pastor of First Church in Beeville; David Nabors, CFO and treasurer of the BGCT; Bill Fowler, pastor of First Church in Pleasanton; Mike Flanagan, pastor of First Church in Pharr; Jim Furgerson, BGCT South Texas regional office associate; Michael Murphy, pastor of First Church in Smithville; and Jad Hubbard, deacon at First Church in Smithville. Front row from left, Ross Chandler, pastor of First Church in Hondo; Jerry Haag, president and CEO of STCH; Charles Wade, executive director of the BGCT; Lee Bevly, pastor of First Church in Skidmore; and Ruben Perez, deacon at First Church in Pharr.

Eleven University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students were accepted into the 25th annual Central Texas Art Competition. Top awards were earned by senior art majors Katherine Salter, Paula Smith and Brian McClure. Other UMHB students accepted into the competition were Tabitha Lovelace, Dean Youngblood, Nancy Holder, Katy Seals, Lea Wulbrecht, Hope Greeley, Melinda Hawkins and Karen Burgess. One hundred sixty artworks were chosen from 400 entries.

Science students at Wayland Baptist University will be able to add another dimension to their studies, thanks to a grant from the Welch Foundation. The $75,000 grant will cover three summers of an undergraduate research program in the chemistry department. The 10-week program will employ four students as research assistants on two different projects. One project will deal with investigation of the Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory gene, which produces natural steroids. The other will deal with methods for removing nitrogen from compounds placed in water.

Fifteen students from Houston Baptist University will be listed in the 2005 edition of “Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.” They are Christine Abraham, Brittney Adams, Kathryn Bowser, Gary Horn, Jamie Kelly, Mina Madani, Anadita Pal, Adrienne Parson, Mary Payton, Leena Samuel, Melanie Stuff, Amber Syphrett, Lisa Underland, Sarah Upton and Rachel Werner.

Mike Jones, a former coach at Howard Payne University who has been serving as the university's director of student support services, has been named athletics director at HPU.

Anniversaries

James Wilcox, 10th, as pastor of South Prong Church in Waxahachie, Dec. 1.

Marcus Sheffield, 15th, as pastor of First Church in Mexia, Dec. 3.

Betty Downey, 20th, as pianist at First Church in Big Spring, Dec. 9.

Deaths

Cecil Meadows, 99, Nov. 17 in San Angelo. He was the retired pastor of several rural churches in Missouri and Arkansas, as well as San Saba, Rochester, Earth and Grand Prairie. He had lived at Baptist Memorials in San Angelo the last 29 years. He was preceded in death by his wives, Millicent and Mary Nell. He is survived by his daughters, Margaret Sprinkle and Evelyn McAnelly; sisters, Hazel Coleman, Effie Hawkins and Jaunita Haughey; brother, Howard; four grandchildren; and five great grandchildren.

Robert Clogston, 82, Nov. 28 in Houston. He was ordained to the ministry in 1954 at First Church in Berclair, his first pastorate. He was pastor of many churches in the Houston area and established churches in Montana and West Virginia with the Home Mission Board. In 1965, he joined the Harris County Sheriff's Department and in 1967 became chaplain under the auspices of the HMB. In 1977, he received the Special Services Award for services above and beyond the call of duty while serving as staff chaplain with Harris County. He is survived by his wife, Ellen; sons, Wes and George; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Ted Lucenay, 79, Dec. 2 in Waco. Lucenay grew up in Hollywood, Calif., where one of the members of his household was Pete, the “Our Gang” comedy show dog, owned by his father. He was a former mayor of Robinson. He was a trustee of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor nine years. He was a deacon at Columbus Avenue Church in Waco, serving as chairman two years. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Helen; daughters, Dicque Oliver and Adelle Lucenay; sons, Harry and Tom; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.

Eugene Hoover, 72, Dec. 3 in Temple. A pastor 54 years, he served Merriman Church in Ranger, Webb Church in Arlington, Ridglea Church in Fort Worth, Calvary Church in Denison, Memorial Church in Temple and Travis Oaks Church in Lago Vista. After retiring from full-time ministry, he entered the intentional interim ministry program and served at First Church in Rockdale and Keys Valley Church in Belton. He is survived by his wife, Carol; son, John; daughter, A'Lisa Ozment; and six grandchildren.

Ed Riley, 92, Dec. 12 in Norman, Okla. He was a member at First Church in Wheeler, where he was a deacon 37 years. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary Mitchell. He is survived by his wife, Erma; son, Bob; daughters, Nelda Cote and Ann Henderson; brother, Earl; sisters, Minerva Jones, Wilma Barker and Hannah Chapman; 13 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren.

Events

The Southern Congregational Parish Nurse Conference will be held Jan. 21-22 at First Church in Nederland. Sponsored by Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospitals, the theme will be “Jars of Clay.” Keynote speakers will be parish nurse program coordinator and Assistant Chaplain Anne Osborne Gifford of North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills; Debbie Seider, congregational nurse coordinator of Methodist Health System; and Linda Garner, Baylor University associate professor of nursing. Special music will be brought by His Song. For more information or to register, call Becky Seymour at (409) 212-5648.

The Todd Keller Family of Plainview will be in concert at First Church in Devers at 10:45 a.m. Jan. 2. Harry McDaniel is pastor.

Posted: 12/17/04

BaptistWay Bible Series for Dec. 26

Christians should invest in eternal treasure

Matthew 6:19-34

By Todd Still

Truett Seminary, Waco

Having warned his disciples against becoming hypocritical spectacles by parading their piety before other people (6:1-18), Jesus turns in his “sermon” to address another critical issue that can distract or even undo those who would seek to follow him–the accumulation of and devotion to material wealth (vv. 19-34).

At the outset of the passage we are studying this week, Jesus enjoins his listeners not to stockpile treasures on earth (vv. 19-21). He calls them to be marked by generosity (vv. 22-23). Instead of being beholden to mammon and absorbed by anxiety over bare necessities, those who follow Jesus are to serve God and seek his kingdom, believing the heavenly Father is willing and able to care for his own (vv. 24-34).

In theory, most people would agree with Job's sober assessment of life and death: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there” (v. 21). As one preacher quipped, “Hearses do not pull U-Hauls.”

Be that as it may, it is probably true that a majority of Christians living in the Western hemisphere do not take seriously enough Jesus' command, “Do not to store up treasures for yourselves on earth” (v. 19). Despite knowing that material possessions are transitory and should be secondary, our conspicuous consumption and frantic accumulation continue.

We too frequently forfeit the opportunity to be rich toward God and too infrequently treasure what truly matters. Modern-day Christians who live in relative affluence would be unwise not to be unsettled by Jesus' sobering statement, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 21).

Whereas a person who treasures treasure above all else is likely to be greedy, an individual who views money as a means and not as an end may well be generous. By speaking of the eye as the lamp of the body and by referring to one's eye as sound or unsound, healthy or unhealthy, Jesus appears to be suggesting that a person who has a sincere or single eye will be generous and full of light even as the one who has an “evil” eye will be stingy and full of darkness (vv. 22-23). Moreover, “if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness” (v. 23).

Far from being innocuous, Jesus warns that money and other material things can be sinister and can even become one's master. Those who follow Jesus are to be cognizant that they cannot simultaneously serve God and money. A divided heart results in fractured affections, and the God who commands us to love him above and beyond all else will brook no rivals. It is as ironic as it is tragic that while “In God we trust” is printed on United States currency, we sometimes succumb to the temptation to depend upon our money and that which we can purchase with it rather than upon God (v. 24).

While it is both natural and responsible to concern oneself with basic human needs such food, drink and clothing, Jesus cautions his disciples not to be consumed with anxiety about such things lest they become enslaved to them. He asks his followers to realize that life is more than food and the body is more than clothing (v. 25).

For illustrative purposes, Jesus appeals to the heavenly Father's care for the birds of the air. Although they do not sow or reap or gather into barns, they are fed by him (v. 26). Additionally, Jesus asks his listeners to consider how beautifully and adequately the lilies or wildflowers of the field are clothed. So decked out are they that even King Solomon would pale in comparison (vv. 28-29).

By pointing to carefree birds and well-donned flowers, Jesus intends to do more than show himself an astute observer of and great admirer of nature. Primarily, he wants to impress upon his disciples that even though God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, he cares much more for them. So, even as God sees fit to feed the birds and clothe the flowers, God will see all the more fit to feed and clothe them (vv. 26, 30).

Jesus would have affirmed the psalmist who wrote, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).

If the principle of simple trust in and reliance upon God that Jesus promotes in this passage strikes us as somewhat naïve and overly passive, we would do well to consider the ultimate origin of the gifts and graces that we presently possess. Do we really believe God is the one from whom all blessings flow? Or have we become “practical atheists” who work and worry and worry and work within what amounts to a closed-world continuum (v. 32)?

Jesus' instruction to his followers about money and anxiety should cause his disciples today to reaffirm our belief in God's care and keeping and should prompt us to redouble our efforts to seek first God's kingdom and righteousness (v. 33). This would include, among other things, a deep gratitude for and a warm generosity with our material resources.

Whether or not we are willing to admit it, we are in fact limited in power and perception (vv. 27, 34). If for no other reason, our own human limitations provide reason enough for us to entrust ourselves anew to an all-powerful, all-knowing God who cares for birds, lilies and those of little faith.

Discussion question

Is your trust in God reflected in your giving to others?

Posted: 12/17/04

BaptistWay Bible Series for Jan. 2

Jesus offers nuggets of wisdom to his disciples

Matthew 7:1-27

By Todd Still

Truett Seminary, Waco

Matthew 7 is comprised of seven sections of instruction (vv. 1-5; v. 6; vv. 7-11; v. 12; vv. 13-14; vv. 15-23; vv. 24-27) plus a conclusion (vv. 28-29). In this lesson, we will overview the contents of this third and final chapter of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

On judging

Chapter 7 commences with the command, “Do not judge in order that you might not be judged” (v. 1). This verse has become rather popular in contemporary American culture where it typically is construed to mean: “You have no right whatsoever to call my actions or convictions into question.”

The verses following this admonition cast aspersions upon this common, if mistaken, understanding. Jesus does not call his disciples to jettison moral and theological discernment; rather, he prohibits hypocritical judgment among his followers and enjoins his disciples to exercise mercy and demonstrate humility when judging fellow believers (v. 2).

Disciples not only are to recall “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (5:7), but also are called to examine themselves before dispensing correction or discipline (7:3-4). For some reason, it always is easier to sweep off the doorstep of another. It is far more prudent, however, to correct our own spiritual vision before seeking to assist others with theirs. Beware Christians who think they possess perfect spiritual vision and perception. It is possible they are being hypocritical (v. 5).

Dangerous dogs and pearl-less pigs

Although enigmatic, Jesus' injunctions not to give what is holy to dogs lest they turn and maul you and not to throw pearls to pigs lest they trample upon them seem to serve as a warning to not pollute or profane what is sacred. This verse also may suggest that believers should be discerning and deliberate in their relations with outsiders. “Airing the church's dirty laundry” in the public square or button-holing unbelievers on street corners may sully the community, engender hostility or be an exercise in futility. It is wise to realize that pigs eat pods not pearls, and rabid dogs want meat not bones.

On prayer

Jesus further underscores the importance of prayer in the lives of his followers in 7:7-11. Disciples are instructed to ask, to seek and to knock and are informed they will receive, find and gain entry (vv. 7-8). Although sinful, most earthly fathers provide for their children's needs (vv. 9-10). God, who is not tainted by evil, is both willing and able to give good things to those who ask him (v. 11).

This passage should not be construed to mean that believers have been granted heavenly carte blanche. Disciples should pray with the model prayer in mind (6:9-13). Nonetheless, Christians should be fully aware they pray to a gracious God, not a divine despot.

The Golden Rule

The person who aspires to live by the so-called Golden Rule does well. Not unlike other rabbis of his day, Jesus taught his followers to treat others with the treatment they desire from others. In essence, Jesus is instructing his disciples to love their neighbors even as they love themselves. This is never easy, especially when one's neighbor is an enemy (5:44). This simple principle lay at the very heart of the law and the prophets, not to mention the gospel.

On gates, trees and foundations

As the Sermon of the Mount nears its end, Jesus calls his disciples to enter by the narrow gate and walk the hard road. To be sure, a wider gate leads to a primrose path, and it is far and away more popular. Despite its alluring beginning, the wide way leads to spiritual disaster, whereas the arduous road leads to spiritual life. Although following Jesus leads to Golgotha, death will give way to life (vv. 13-14).

From its inception, the church has had to cope with counterfeits. Jesus warns his followers not to be eaten alive by ravenous wolves who pose as innocent sheep (v. 15). The way to differentiate between “real McCoys” and “fine decoys,” Jesus instructs, is by their fruits (vv. 16, 20). Even as a tree is known by the fruit it bears or fails to bear (vv. 17-18), prophets may be discerned as true or false by the fruit they produce. Orthodox confessions and miraculous manifestations must be supported by loving obedience to the heavenly Father (vv. 21-23).

Jesus concludes his message from the mountain by comparing those who hear and heed his words to a wise man who built his house upon the rock. Although this location did not preclude storms from coming, it did prevent the house from falling. Those who fail to embrace Jesus' instruction are likened to a foolish man with his house on the sand. When the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew against this house, it could not withstand such a storm (vv. 24-27).

In 7:28-29, Matthew reports the crowds were amazed at Jesus' teaching. They particularly were impressed that Jesus taught with authority and not as a scribe–that is, he did not think it necessary to rehearse rabbinical opinion on each and every issue he addressed. Furthermore, 8:1 informs that the crowds (not merely his disciples) followed Jesus as he descended the mountain. Whether they (and we) will follow him as he ascends Mount Calvary is another question that awaits an answer.

Discussion question

What wisdom in this lesson did you need to hear?

Posted: 12/17/04

Voting faculty nix Baylor president;
supporters find fault with referendum

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

WACO–A majority of Baylor University faculty who voted in a nonbinding referendum on the leadership of President Robert Sloan believe he should be dismissed.

Sloan's supporters already have pointed out the 418 voters calling for the president to be fired still is less than half of the faculty–but just barely.

Results posted on the faculty senate's website showed 59 percent of 838 eligible faculty voted. Of the 490 votes cast, 85 percent were against retaining Sloan as president.

“The results of the referendum unequivocally confirm and reinforce the position that the Baylor faculty senate has taken in its two no-confidence votes against President Sloan in September 2003 and May 2004,” said a public statement from the faculty senate on its website.

“Over the course of the last 18 months, various Baylor administrators have continued to assert publicly and in private meetings that the opposition to President Sloan's leadership was limited to a small, vocal group of faculty. The results of this referendum clearly refute that assertion.”

On the contrary, said Baylor Regents Chairman Will Davis of Austin, the referendum “sheds no new light on the fact that a segment of faculty do not agree with the current administration” at the Texas Baptist university.

“I would remind all Baylor constituents that the board of regents has the sole responsibility for determining who serves as president of the university,” Davis said.

“I hope that the administration will continue to make progress in reaching out to faculty to address their concerns and that the faculty will reciprocate.”

The Baylor University administration offered no further comment.

Student Body President Jeff Leach called the referendum “divisive” and “ineffective in achieving reconciliation” at the university.

“The results of the referendum do nothing but to once again state what we already know–that there are debates and divisions that still remain amongst the faculty over President Robert Sloan and his administration,” Leach said. “All parties should realize that the ultimate responsibility in this dilemma lies with the board of regents. We call for divisive steps such as these to come to an end so that Baylor students can move forward, continuing to be proud of the university that we all love so dearly and so that true unity and reconciliation may be achieved.”

A public statement issued by 20 Baylor faculty–including Douglas Henry, director of the Institute for Faith & Learning, and Robert Kruschwitz, director of the Center for Christian Ethics–critiqued both the methodology and motivation for the faculty senate referendum.

“Debating ideas is the hallmark of academic life; taking polls is the province of politicians,” the group said. “Professors should be in the business of debating ideas. The Baylor faculty senate's recent referendum was a political move that did not give any such opportunity, even as it was also a flawed and invalid means for assessing faculty opinion.”

The faculty said the regents “cannot possibly welcome the presumptuous rhetoric of some senators that the referendum has 'established a precedent' for the future conduct of the faculty.”

The group dismissed the votes calling for Sloan's dismissal, pointing out that half of the eligible faculty either did not participate or voted in Sloan's favor.

But the faculty senate applauded the “courage and integrity” of faculty members who cast ballots.

“We do know and appreciate that they did so in the face of semi-official calls for a boycott and in many cases placed their professional future in jeopardy,” said a statement on the faculty senate website.

Bill Carden, president of the Committee to Restore Integrity to Baylor, agreed, saying, “The results of the referendum speak for themselves, regardless of any spin that anyone might try to put on it.”

A little more than a year ago, Baylor University regents voted 31-4 to affirm Sloan. But by May, his support on the board had eroded to the point that he retained his job by one vote. A motion to ask for his resignation failed in an 18-17 secret-ballot vote.

In September, the regents voted to postpone indefinitely a call for Sloan's resignation. At the same time, they unanimously rejected the faculty senate's call for a facultywide referendum on Sloan's presidency. The faculty senate proceeded with the vote anyway.

The McLennan County elections office conducted the referendum from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 at the faculty senate's request.

The next regularly scheduled board of regents meeting is Feb. 4.