Posted: 4/12/04

CYBERCOLUMN:
A necessary task in changing times

By Jeanie Miley

On my way to work, I made my customary turn onto a back street, only to discover that still one more street is “under repair,” delaying my arrival back at my office by 20 minutes.

I spent that 20 minutes going over my usual routes in this city, Houston, trying to think of one part of my usual traffic pattern that isn’t “under repair.” I failed, and the sad thing is that the biggest road upheaval is going to be “under repair” for at least three years! Between my house and the places I go on a daily basis, there will be traffic snarls and delays for three years.

Sometimes, I feel that life on the streets and roads of my city reflects the larger world in which I live and move. It seems that what I used to rely on as “stabilizers” in my life are also in transition, under repair, and, in some cases, under new management or under all new construction!

We are, indeed, riding the rapids of change at a breakneck speed. That which we used to count on to be there for us may or may not be there for us today, but if it is, it is likely that it will be there in a different form.

Banks and telephone companies change names over night, and then, again. Hospitals are in a constant flux, trying to keep up with technology and the demands of patients and their challenging new diseases. Education at every level is being challenged to keep up with the times, and yet, before educators can learn one method, that method runs out of time.

As a friend said to me when my favorite meat market was bought out by a chain, “Honey, that which you thought was nailed down has come undone.”

In the midst of the chaos, one would hope that one’s church would be the stable and stabilizing force, but, much to our chagrin, even that hallowed part of our lives is in transition. What we thought was permanent and unchanging in our religious lives is being challenged by the new, the different and what may feel to be the strange by those of us who are the staunch protectors and fervent defenders of the status quo, the establishment and the havens of rest.

“Adjust! “ demands a funny-looking creature hand-painted on a plaque I bought on vacation, and I look at him and smile, for his wise counsel seems a little more compassionate and understanding than the sometimes hostile, “Get over it!” I hear when I’m up against that which I cannot change and, often, do not understand and am resisting.

The important thing to do for those of us who navigate the challenging roads of life is to keep our own cars in repair, stay conscious while we’re driving and have some soothing music or educational tapes in the car for those times when the streets and freeways become parking lots.

And the necessary tasks for those of us who are still up and pretending to run our lives is to be intentional, consistent and tender in the care of our own souls. Transitional times are times to draw near to the Source. When the outer forms are shifting and the foundations of our lives are trembling, the most important thing of all is to take care of one’s own inner life, to stay awake at the wheel of life and to surrender to the creative, transforming, liberating Power of the One who does, after all, hold the entire world in his hands.

Jeanie Miley is an author and columnist and a retreat and workshop leader. She is married to Martus Miley, pastor of River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, and they have three adult daughters. Got feedback? Write her at Writer2530@aol.com .

Posted: 4/12/04

COMMENTARY:
America’s strongest foundation

By Megan Williford

When separation of church and state arises for discussion, more often than not, strong opinions are voiced quickly. One must ask several questions: What exactly does separation of church and state mean? What were the Founding Fathers’ intentions when creating the First Amendment’s free exercise and establishment clauses? Where does the line between separation of church and state begin? How long is it? And most importantly, where does it end?

America was founded under Judeo-Christian principles, and I believe the foundation, the solid ground laid before us with every possibility for freedom, liberty and the right to happiness, lies in the trust and faith in the church. In addition, I also believe that due to this solid ground instilled by our Founding Fathers, America is the greatest nation in the world.

Patrick Henry, one of the most radical Christians among the founders and famous for his speech where he shouted, “Give me liberty or give me death,” once said, “It cannot be too often repeated, or too strongly emphasized, that America was not founded by religionists, nor on any religion, but by Christians, on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

America was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles, and although not all of the founders were Christian—in fact, I believe many of them were not—they believed Christian principles and the word and commandments of God were holy and morally correct.

The most important concept in American life is freedom, one we so often take for granted. It is with these majestic words that the Bill of Rights begins, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” That is a statement of freedom. A statement conceived from a group of men whose only intention was to establish a successful, free nation. The Bill of Rights ensures the freedom of religion and gives everyone the right to practice any religion of their choice, or even to practice no religion at all.

However, with all of these freedoms, the founders came to the realization America was going to need some boundaries, thus the separation of church and state was born. According to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the establishment clause in Everson vs. Board of Education, neither a state nor federal government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws that aid one religion, aid all religions or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or remain away from a church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No tax in any amount large or small can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion.

Now, one cannot imagine a more ridged wall of separation, but constitutional scholar Laurence H. Tribe says: “As to other substantive rights (speaking of property, speech and petition), the Constitution establishes what is essentially a benchmark, a boundary, a line that government may not cross. But with respect to religion, the Constitution fixes no such single dividing line”.

In quoting this, my point is that, yes, separation of church and state does exist, and has for almost the entire duration of this country, and for good reasons, but there fails to be strict guidelines as to what constitutes separation. The lack of guidelines brings about the issues such as the Ten Commandments being displayed in courtrooms, “One nation under God” being said in the Pledge of Allegiance, and prayer in front of public audiences. These principles are part of what makes the United States of America what it is. They were instilled by our Founding Fathers and should remain a part of this country.

Furthermore, it is my personal belief that the prosperity and enormous success of the United States is due to the strong Christian principles and faith in God the foundekrs built this nation upon. In June of 1787, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin said when speaking of the constitution: “I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can arise without his aid?”

What Franklin said over a century ago is absolutely true. An empire cannot arise and prosper without the aid of God, and has America risen? Although that is a matter of opinion, I would find it hard to accept the belief that America has not developed into one of the most powerful, populous and prosperous nations in the world. America seems to have more of everything. Planes, cars, stop signs, television stations, actors, producers, the list could go on forever. This country also has more money and power than most as well as a superior military.

I give credit not only to the Founding Fathers for instilling the Christian principles in not only the Constitution, but society as well. But more importantly, I give credit to God.

Additionally, I am not the only one who looks to God for guidance. Our current president of this wonderful nation, George W. Bush, said on Sept. 14, 2001, a few days after the crisis of 9/11: “Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called the warm courage of national unity. This is a unity of every faith, and every background. On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask almighty God to watch over our nation and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that he will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank him for each life we now must mourn and the promise of a life to come. God bless America.”

Although the law emphasizing the separation of church and state is of huge stature and importance, one must not get so caught up in the legalities that we neglect the principles and values this country was founded upon. We must keep in our minds what 2000 Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Lieberman said in a “faith and values” speech at Notre Dame University: “The Constitution promises freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. We are after all not just another nation, but one nation under God.”

Megan Williford is a student at Texas A&M University and grew up attending Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston.

Posted: 4/08/04

First African-American graduate of
Southwestern Seminary still preaching at 100

By George Henson

Staff Writer

FORT WORTH—One hundred-year-old Eugene Florence has seen plenty of change in his lifetime, but the gospel of Jesus Christ and his heartfelt desire to preach it have not wavered at all.

Florence still preaches, drives his car and works in his garden in the Stop Six neighborhood of inner-city Fort Worth. Maybe the secret of his relative vigor lies in the fact he was born Feb. 29, 1904, so he has had only 25 birthdays.

While Florence's ministerial career has been a long one, it took awhile to get started. He was ordained at age 32 at New Home Baptist Church, a country church in East Texas.

"I wish I would have answered the call sooner—I believe I was called when I was 18 years old. But I didn't, and I got into some things that were wrong and had to spend a few days before I came to myself," he said.

Eventually, finances forced Florence from rural East Texas to Fort Worth.

"Everything was so poor in East Texas, even the land, so I couldn't make a living out there, so I came out here," he recalled.

In 1943, he began taking classes at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, but because African-Americans were not allowed to attend classes during the day, he started a long stretch of night school.

Florence recalled the advice he received: "They're giving some night classes out there (at the seminary). You won't get everything, but what you get will help you."

"So I went out there two nights a week for eight years and never missed a class," he said.

Roy Cotton, a consultant with the Church Multiplication Center of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, said: "The man is a walking, talking living legend. He went to Southwestern before 'coloreds' could attend. But the Lord had called him to preach, and he wanted a seminary education.

"He was the first of two African-Americans to graduate from Southwestern with a diploma in theology in 1951. I saw pictures of him receiving the diploma as the Fort Worth newspaper article read in 1951 regarding the two colored graduates: 'They received diplomas same as the ones the white students received.'"

During that time, Florence was preaching at Mount Ebo Baptist Church near Granbury. He spent the bulk of his ministry as pastor of Saint John's Baptist Church in Decatur, where he was pastor 29 years. All the while, he commuted from his home in Fort Worth.

The education he received in seminary allowed him to be a more effective pastor, Florence said.

"I gained the knowledge of how a build a sermon each week—how to make an outline and then preach from it,"he said.

While he still enjoys preaching, many Sundays now find him in a pew at New Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

"If I would just go and let people know I wanted to, I could preach every Sunday somewhere. But I don't want anybody to think I'm in it for the money, so I sometimes just go and listen to someone else preach," he said.

He does feel, however, that his preaching skills have stayed sharp.

"I stay with my thought or subject now, but when I first started I got off and went off through the woods and everywhere else. Now I stay with my subject and always end up with Christ. You end up with Christ, and no one can be disappointed," Florence said.

Posted: 4/02/04

Buckner marks 125 years of ministry
to children, families and the elderly

DALLAS–The vision for Buckner Baptist Benevolences began 125 years ago in the heart of R.C. Buckner and his love for “widows and orphans.” Today, it touches points around the globe.

Burdened by a deep concern for the weak and vulnerable, Buckner–a Baptist preacher and editor–traveled Texas to campaign for the creation of an orphans' home. He found an ally in Texas Baptist deacons. After a series of letters, he called for the formation of a Texas Baptist Deacons Convention.

At the deacons' meeting in Paris, Buckner sponsored a resolution to begin an orphans' home as soon as $2,000 could be raised, and those present named him fund-raising agent for the project. Under the shade of a spreading oak tree, Buckner passed a hat, putting the first dollar in himself. When the collection was counted, it totaled $27.

Buckner's Shoes for Orphan Souls humanitarian aid drive, expects to net its 1 millionth pair of new, donated shoes in 2004. The shoes are sent to children in more than 30 countries.

By the end of 1879, Buckner had collected $1,200, which he supplemented with a personal bank note. On April 9, 1879, a charter was filed with the secretary of state, and in December of the same year, Buckner rented a small cottage in East Dallas to care for the first three orphan children.

Within two years, Buckner had purchased 44 acres six miles east of Dallas, where Buckner Children's Home still operates today. Gradually adding land and property, the home owned more than 500 acres by the turn of the century. The home became almost entirely self-sufficient with its own school, farming operation, bakery, laundry and eventually its own radio station.

But even from those earliest days, the vision of R.C. Buckner was far beyond just the accumulation of land and the building of structures to house the homeless. His was a vision for helping children and families put together the broken pieces of their lives.

Today, Buckner Children and Family Services seeks to strengthen individuals and families through services ranging from parenting classes for incarcerated women to residential treatment for abused and neglected children to extensive non-residential services.

Buckner's vision also included care for senior adults. In the early days, row houses on the edge of the Buckner campus provided a place to live for retired pastors and missionaries who served as grandparents for the children living at the home.

The first “official” retirement community opened in 1954 with the Mary E. Trew Home in Dallas.

Buckner Benevolences now is one of the largest and most diversified private social care agencies of its kind in the nation, serving about 70,000 people each year.

Under the leadership of Ken Hall, the organization's fifth president, Buckner is expanding its ministry to children, families and senior adults.

Buckner Orphan Care International meets the needs of orphaned children around the world, with current programs in Botswana, Bulgaria, China, Guatemala, Kenya, Latvia, Mexico, Romania and Russia.

Through Buckner Orphan Care International's Shoes for Orphan Souls shoe drive campaign, more than 950,000 children in the United States and 30 countries have received new shoes, socks and shoelaces.

Posted: 4/02/04

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of Buckner by R.C. Buckner (left), who served as its first president from 1879 to 1919.

Buckner honors BGCT, Park Cities, orphans' home alumnus

By Russ Dilday

Buckner News Service

DALLAS–The Baptist General Convention of Texas, Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas and Buckner Orphans Home alumnus Bill Annis have been named recipients of the R.C. Buckner Founder's Award for their contributions to Buckner Baptist Benevolences.

The awards, which recognize organizations and individuals who have made a significant impact on the ministry of Buckner, were to be presented during the annual Founder's Day banquet April 2 in Dallas. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of Buckner by R.C. Buckner, who served as its first president from 1879 to 1919.

During its heyday as a residential home for children, Buckner Children's Home in Dallas served up to 800 children and provided its own school system, with organized sports teams.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas was slated to be honored with the R.C. Buckner Founder's Award for Philanthropist of the Year for its historic support of Buckner. Through the unified giving plan of the convention known as the Cooperative Program and the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions, the BGCT donates nearly $1 million annually to Buckner ministries.

In addition to its financial support, the BGCT “also assists Buckner in communicating our mission to Texas Baptist churches and their members,” Buckner President Ken Hall said. “This invaluable support helps churches and their members engage directly in the work of Buckner as volunteers and supporters.”

Hall is current president of the BGCT, a position held by R.C. Buckner for 19 years. In one of his last acts as BGCT president, Buckner ceded control of Buckner Orphans Home to the BGCT in 1914. Today, the BGCT nominates one-third of the Buckner board of trustees.

BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade noted: “The real recipient of this award is not the convention but the churches. We've acted on their behalf to help channel their funds to the place it ought to go.”

Park Cities Baptist Church was to receive the R.C. Buckner Founder's Award for Dedicated Church Service for its “heart and passion for missions and ministry” said Hall, who pointed to the 65-year-old congregation's very first offering as an example of its giving spirit.

“A portion of the gifts collected was donated to Buckner Orphans Home for the care of children. That gift began a relationship that continues today.”

From its beginning with three orphans in 1879, Buckner has grown to provide care for children, individuals and families in 25 cities and towns across Texas and in other countries. Buckner also has created new and innovative ways of offering prevention and intervention for at-risk children and families, senior adults and families wishing to share their homes through adoption. (Misty Keasler Photo)

Currently, individual members, Sunday school classes and the church as a whole are instrumental in the ministries of Buckner in Texas and internationally. Along with financial support, church volunteers work alongside Buckner staff as volunteers in Dallas, across the state and in other countries.

“Their work is a testimony to the commitment members of Park Cities Baptist Church have to the care and welfare of children,” Hall said.

Partnering with Buckner allows the church to follow a biblical mandate to serve others, Pastor Jim Denison said.

“Through Buckner, our members can individually know across a given year that they have helped fulfill Acts 1:8 by meeting needs with the Good News of God's love. It's offering a cup of cold water in Jesus' name. It's easy to do one or the other, but through Buckner, we're able to do both and were so grateful for that opportunity.”

Buckner alumnus Bill Annis of Houston was to be honored with the R.C. Buckner Founder's Award for Dedicated Service for his volunteer work with Buck-ner. Annis, who lived at Buckner Orphans Home (now Buckner Children's Home) from 1954 to 1963 along with his seven siblings after their father was killed in an accident, also is current president of the Buckner Home Alumni Association.

Annis is well-known among Buckner staff and volunteers because of his truck. The 53-foot trailer he uses in his business as a long-haul trucker is a billboard of Buckner logos, which were funded by the Alumni Association in support of Buckner. In addition, he uses the big rig to haul donations of shoes, medicine, teddy bears and other items for Buckner.

Acknowledging the award given in gratitude for his service, Annis showed equal gratitude for Buckner's contributions to his life.

“If Buckner hadn't been there for my mother, God knows where my brothers and sisters and I would have grown up,” he said. “When I grew up, there was an orphans' home, and they did a lot for my family and me. I try to give back some to them what they gave to me.”

The Buckner Home Alumni Association has been a consistent supporter of Buckner's ongoing ministry to children, Hall said. “And Bill, as their president and through his volunteer efforts, represents that spirit of support and volunteerism.”

Posted: 4/07/04

COMMENTARY:
Worth dying for

By Brett Younger

I’ve forgotten which war they were protesting, but I remember the words on the sign: “Nothing is worth dying for.” The person carrying the placard was cynical, honest and representative of prevailing sentiments.

Death has an increasingly bad reputation. Woody Allen spoke for most when he said: “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality by not dying.” Death is considered the greatest enemy.

If asked, “Is there any idea for which you would die?” wouldn’t you guess that fewer people would answer “yes” today than 50 years ago? When we say that someone has a “martyr complex,” we mean that he or she has an unhealthy attitude toward life. The implication is that people who are willing to die must be mentally unbalanced, because the ultimate value for healthy people is their own life.

Holy Week is given to the remembrance of a person who believed there was something of more value than his own life. Jesus died for the sake of truth. He held on to his vision of God as a loving parent—even at the cost of his own life.

Lent ends with an execution. People gather at the feet of the victim to ask the hard questions raised by his death: Is anything worth dying for? Are there people for whom we would die? Would we die for a belief or a hope? If we had only one truth for which to give our lives, what would it be? How should the certainty of our death lead us to live?

The root meaning of the word “martyr” is “witness.” The implication is that when people die for what they believe, they’ve said something important that we need to hear. Many of those who listened at the cross believed they heard that the best they could do was give their lives to the God of hope, no matter what the cost.

In a strange way, believing that there are values greater than our own life and coming to terms with our impending death helps us live. It’s OK to be afraid of dying, but we should be even more frightened by an incomplete life.

Our day-to-day decisions aren’t likely to lead to martyrdom, but each day we have to decide if we will give away our time and attention. Giving our lives away may mean turning the other cheek; standing with the people who are losing; doing good that will receive no applause; sitting in a home where someone has died; treating discarded people as children of God; shopping for someone else’s groceries; baking cookies that we won’t eat; reading stories to someone else’s children; taking flowers to someone who’s not our type; visiting someone else’s mother in the nursing home; watering someone else’s plants; washing dishes we didn’t dirty; discussing current events that don’t interest us; sending cards when we don’t know what to write; talking about faith when we would rather be silent; doing good for people who will do no good to us in return; weeping when others weep; praying not for an easier life, but for strength to give our lives away; discovering that if there’s nothing for which we would die, then we don’t have enough for which to live.

Brett Younger is pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas

Posted: 4/02/04

EDITORIAL:
More churches need to go bivo

Are churches needlessly starving their pastors? And what's the connection between pitiful pastoral pay and the plague of vacant pulpits?

A new study by Duke University's Pulpit and Pew Research on Pastoral Leadership validates these questions. The Duke survey documents a national shortage of pastors, which is especially acute in small rural and inner-city congregations. These churches have a hard time providing sustainable salary and benefits that can support a full-time pastor. (See the full story here.)

The survey shouldn't surprise anyone who's paid close attention to churches. At any given moment, about 12 percent of churches affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas are pastorless. Of course, every church is going to be pastorless from time to time. But many small churches are chronically pastorless, due both to short tenures and long vacancies.

Let's be honest: Pay is an issue. God calls pastors, but salaries sustain them and enable them to remain. And while their calling may be pure and passionate, pastors need a livable salary. Their cars break down, stomachs get hungry, children need braces, clothes wear out and health fails, just like laypeople. The problem is compounded when a church that cannot or will not pay a sustainable salary and provide fair benefits insists its pastor serve full time. The burdens and pressures on such pastors are enormous.

That's why, as the Duke study shows, pastors disproportionately feel God's “call” to churches that provide better benefits. And who can blame them? You can't name many laypeople who intentionally seek jobs that don't pay enough to raise a family.

More churches need to designate themselves as bivocational congregations and seek pastors who feel called to work in the community as well as labor for the Lord. While bivocational ministry is a tremendous challenge, it also can be liberating to pastor and church alike. The pastor is freed from the expectation of “getting by” on too-little income. The church is open to a broader array of possible pastors and the opportunity to enjoy longer pastoral tenures as well. And don't overlook an added bonus: Bivocational churches often act differently than congregations with full-time pastors. Since they vividly realize they aren't paying someone to do all their ministry for them, their per capita involvement in serving God and their communities many times exceeds previous expectations.

Posted: 3/12/04

Fort Worth evangelist shares gospel
message by clowning around the world

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

FORT WORTH—Eugenio Adorno, better known as Chagy the Clown, says he entertains audiences the same way secular circus acts do. But his performances have the added bonus of presenting the gospel.

"I am a creative evangelist who uses the art of clowning and many other tools to share the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ," he explained. "People say that laughter is the best medicine, but I want to share medicine for the lost soul."

Adorno, who was born in Puerto Rico, is a member of Templo Bautista Emanuel in Fort Worth. He performs 200 times a year as a clown for evangelistic crusades, Vacation Bible Schools, block parties and other outreach efforts. He also uses illusions, comedy, storytelling, balloon sculpting and juggling in his acts.

"Clowns bring laughter, but only God can fill a heart with joy," he said. "I enjoy making people of all ages laugh, but I am thrilled when I see people rendering their lives to our Lord, Jesus Christ."

Adorno also teaches in clown conventions and has created his own clown seminars, where he tells how a relationship with Jesus Christ changed his life.

"Part of this ministry is to share what I have been able to learn," he explained. "I use this opportunity to share my knowledge but most of all to share about Jesus, the one that has turned my life around."

Adorno came to faith in Jesus Christ at age 21.

"I heard about Christ through a female friend, Audria, who later became my wife," he explained.

At the beginning of their marriage, the couple committed themselves to full-time ministry and became missionaries for the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board. In 1992, they were commissioned as resort ministry directors for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Three years later, they moved to Fort Worth where Adorno attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In the last decade, Adorno's clown ministry has reached people all over the world.

"Every ministry opportunity leaves an impression in my life," he said. "It doesn't matter if the event is for a small group of 10 or for an auditorium with 30,000 people. God's power is evident in all of them."

One of his most treasured ministry experiences took place in 2002, when his parents attended a performance in Puerto Rico.

"As I finished the altar call, my father came to me and said that he invited Jesus into his life."

Posted: 4/02/04

Worship works when leaders relate
honestly to each other, Swindoll says

By Samuel Smith

Southwestern Seminary

FORT WORTH (BP)–Honest and supportive relationships between worship leaders are necessary for a church to reflect God's plan, author and radio Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll told participants at the 2004 Church Music Workshop at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Swindoll, senior pastor at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, and Bruce Stevenson, executive pastor of worship and music at Stonebriar, discussed how pastors and staff can work together.

“Relationships are the foundation. Just beyond the relationship with Christ is the (importance of) relationship with one another, and we don't tolerate lingering offenses or difficulties among individuals,” Swindoll said.

“If there is such, I'm not aware of it, and as soon as I'm aware of it, we talk it through. If we can't, somebody has got to go.”

Stonebriar Community church places high value on worship, he emphasized.

“We embrace worship as a major reason we are on the planet, and Sunday provides us with the opportunity to do it corporately,” he said.

Stevenson outlined five pillars of worship–education, balance, excellence, creativity and character.

Education ensures continuity between the history of the church and future generations, he asserted.

Both Swindoll and Stevenson emphasized the importance of balance in worship.

Acknowledging that many churches face dissension between members about worship styles, Swindoll put the issue in perspective.

“We have centuries of history, which is one of the treasures of the church,” Swindoll said. “It just fries me to think that everything is now about 1990 on. How dumb can you get? Nothing I preach is from 1990, but now it's all about 2004.”

Incorporating the great hymns of the faith and modern Christian music into worship services helps keep things interesting, Stevenson said.

“Chuck has often told me that people come up to him and say, 'I didn't like what you did this Sunday morning,' and his response is, 'Well, come back next week, because it will be different,'” Stevenson said. “We will seek to use every means that we can to bring the word of God to life and to bring worship to life as well.”

If someone consistently and uncharitably complains about the church's worship style, it may be in the church's and that person's best interest for him or her to worship elsewhere, Swindoll said. At the very least, worship leaders should not let the vocal minority shape how they plan worship services.

“You cannot let a carping critic or two shape your philosophy,” Swindoll said. “We are not here to give you what you want; we are here to provide what you need.”

Stevenson offered his own conviction about putting music-style preference ahead of true worship: “I think we, as worship leaders, will to some degree stand judged because of the way we have divided churches based solely on musical preference.”

Lack of creativity evident in many modern services is unworthy of the God Christians serve, Swindoll said.

“Many churches have become business meetings with music and words thrown in, and that angers me,” he commented. “God gets the leftovers.”

Authenticity in worship reflects one of God's attributes and is exactly what people need, he added.

“Bruce never makes me smile, or forces it, or dumb stuff like that. That is all manipulative stuff,” Swindoll said. “Some folks do not come to smile. Their hearts are broken. … They didn't come to play games. They came to meet with God.”

The pastor's relationship with the minister of music makes possible the implementation of a worship style that reaches out to everyone in the congregation, he said.

“Whenever I disagree with (Stevenson), I tell him. Whenever I think we may have gotten a little too extreme, I tell him. When I think we need to lighten up on something, I say it, and he is just as free to say to me whatever he needs to say,” Swindoll said.

“It is all about that relationship. If you are sitting on pins and needles, you cannot talk like that. You cannot even think like that.”

Posted: 4/02/04

Building campaign helped unify, strengthen
congregation, Mineral Wells pastor testifies

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

MINERAL WELLS–Members of Fairview Baptist Church identified a problem they are glad to have: Their sanctuary is too small for them to carry out their mission.

The congregation worked cooperatively to address the issue, said Pastor John Tunnell. Members understand their mission is to reach the 600 homes located within a five-mile radius of the church. Fairview Baptist is the only evangelical presence in the area.

Church members frequently “prayer-drive” streets and neighborhoods in their community. They are familiar with the spiritual lives of many people in the area, and they see the potential for church growth.

But the congregation must make room for the people. Its sanctuary is full with the 120 worshippers in the congregation. The church needs to expand, Tunnell said.

“I think everyone agrees. We love our church. We love our church family. If we're going to reach this area, we've got to expand. There's no choice.”

The Baptist General Convention of Texas Church Facilities Center helped the church design a building that would meet its needs. Then the congregation entered a United We Build campaign with the help of the BGCT stewardship office.

Joyous stewardship is one of the 11 characteristics of a healthy church identified by the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

The church formed several teams to garner excitement about the fund-raising and building campaign.

One team went into other members' homes to explain the need to build. Prayer vigils were held.

Ivan Potter, the BGCT's director of United We Build, led a weekend seminar to help the church prepare spiritually for the campaign. A harvest team went to homes to find out how much each family pledged to give.

Finally, the church celebrated the members' sacrificial pledging. Believers promised to give $200,000 toward construction of a new sanctuary. Weeks later, members gave the largest offering in the church's history.

Though the church has to raise more funds to build its facilities, Tunnell said Fairview is heading in the right direction. The building campaign is helping prepare the congregation for God to bring large numbers of people to the church, he noted.

It has built excitement and strengthened unity in the congregation, he said.

The pastor acknowledges he initially was nervous about a building campaign, but the congregation is stronger because of it.

“There's no way we could have a successful United We Build program without (Potter's) help and all the resources BGCT provides.”

For design help with new or existing buildings, contact the BGCT Church Facilities Center at (214) 828-5134. For help with building campaigns, contact the BGCT stewardship office at (800) 231-5096.

Posted: 4/02/04

Around the world, Moms in Touch lift up children in prayer

By Mary Jacobs

Religion News Service

DALLAS–Women carrying flags from around the world paraded through the cavernous ballroom. An audience of 1,600 women looked on, singing, eyes glistening, arms raised.

They had traveled here from 50 states and 38 countries. And they had one simple thing in common–all were Christian mothers who meet once a week, for one hour, to pray for their children and their schools.

“For such a time as this, we have been summoned here by God,” Fern Nichols said from the podium. “This is a family reunion.”

The gathering was the 20th anniversary celebration of Moms in Touch International. Nichols started the organization at her home in Poway, Calif., in 1984. Worried about her oldest son, who was starting junior high school, she invited a few other moms to join her for prayer.

Today, 20,000 groups meet in 95 countries, following the same basic pattern of prayer Nichols used at her kitchen table with the first group. The organization estimates about 150,000 women participate worldwide.

“God is working one mom at a time,” Nichols said. “And one day we want to have a Moms in Touch group praying for every child in every school in every nation.”

Nichols recently finished a book tour for “Every Child Needs a Praying Mom,” which she co-wrote with Janet Kobobel Grant. It tells of the organization's humble beginnings and rapid growth.

“People ask me, 'That's all you do–is pray?' But we think that's the greatest thing you can do,” Nichols said.

With her children grown, Nichols now attends a weekly “Grandmas in Touch” group and devotes her time to developing the worldwide organization.

Moms in Touch has expanded to include incarcerated mothers, moms who homeschool and groups that pray specifically for special-needs children, pre-schoolers, adopted children or “prodigals”–children struggling with problems such as addiction, depression or rebellion.

Marlae Gritter, the organization's national director, is one of the moms who has prayed for a prodigal. Joining Moms in Touch in 1991, she asked God for healing for her daughter, Michelle, who was angry, depressed and, at one point, suicidal.

Gritter said her prayer–that her daughter “see herself as God sees her”–was answered, and Michelle, now 21, has begun turning her life around.

Other moms shared stories of children restored from life-threatening illness or from drug and alcohol addiction and of schools “renewed” to be more accepting of Christian values.

Conference sessions offered training in how to lead and organize local groups. Nichols taught the four-step method of prayer used in every Moms in Touch meeting–praise, thanksgiving, confession and intercession.

Evelyn Christenson, 82, a veteran leader of prayer seminars, delivered the conference's keynote address. Her 1968 book, “What Happens When Women Pray,” inspired Nichols' approach.

Maragaret Bategeka-Ssekidde traveled from Kampala, Uganda, to attend the conference. After organizing 50 Moms in Touch groups in Uganda, she said she sees a difference in the children, who follow the example of their mothers.

“Children are like high priests,” she said. “They pray so beautifully for their fellow students.”

Martha Nichols of Cordova, Alaska, believes her prayers were answered–even though her son, Josh, age 13, was killed last November in a hunting accident.

“My prayer was that he would see other people through Jesus' eyes and love them no matter what,” she said.

At Josh's funeral, she said, dozens of people shared stories of how Josh had been a friend to the friendless, such as befriending a disabled boy and an unpopular girl. Many used the exact words she had used in her prayers to describe Josh.

With many participants coming from Africa, Latin America and Asia, the group was fairly diverse. Most Moms in Touch in the United States, however, are white. Leaders say they are working and praying to make the organization more inviting to African-American and Hispanic women.

Lisa Taylor of Denton, an African-American, spoke at the conference about arriving at her first meeting with Moms in Touch and seeing “a room full of pretty white women.”

She felt uncomfortable but eventually linked up with a group that clicked. She now leads a Moms in Touch group and told how the group's prayers and support helped her persevere through a crisis with her youngest daughter.

Some Moms in Touch groups combine prayer with “words and deeds”–offering encouragement to teachers and schools through homemade goodies and messages of support.

Although the group wants to bring “biblical values” into the public schools, it doesn't lobby or advocate. Prayer, members believe, is their best weapon against secular values, negative peer pressure or sexual experimentation.

“We are going right in front of every school,” Nichols said. “And we are saying, 'Satan, you cannot have them.'”

Posted: 4/02/04

Country church believes new life may
rest on the other side of the nearby cemetery

By George Henson

Staff Writer

SOMERSET–New life for Old Rock Baptist Church may rest just the other side of the cemetery, Pastor Melvin Schupp believes.

The church, built in 1866 after the congregation moved from another community, always has been small and rural. Even though a highway now runs within earshot, the church remains hidden from passersby.

Most of the drivers have other destinations anyway, but soon that will be changing.

Toyota plans to build a new plant nearby.

Already, land values are rising, and new homes are beginning to pop up.

“That Toyota plant is going in, and the population around here is growing like mad,” Schupp said. “What we're trying to do here is look to the future.”

For now, Old Rock Church's facility is big enough. “Twenty is a pretty good crowd,” Schupp admits. But the 74-year-old pastor is looking a few years down the road.

“We've set a goal to raise $200,000 in five years to build a new building. Where we are now, we have no room to build and no education space either,” he said.

The church is bounded closely on all sides by land. Part of the land belongs to a family not currently wanting to sell.

The rest is a cemetery that has almost as long a history as the church.

Schupp hopes one day the land on the backside of the cemetery can be secured for a new building–a site that would make the church visible from the highway and afford a larger footprint for a new facility.

While acknowledging some reluctance to leave the building where they have worshipped for many years, Schupp said the congregation realizes the need to prepare for the future.

“We don't want to move the church, but we don't have any room to build,” he said.

“They like the church they've been in for all these years, but they're ready to do what's needed.

“When you have people who have sat in the same pew for 50 years, it's a little difficult to move, but they're behind the idea.”

In the meantime, the church is investigating the possibility of erecting a tall cross at its current location so it can be seen from the road.

The Toyota plant is expected to employ more people than the current population of Somerset, and a number of support companies also are being built to service the plant.

The automobile plant should be completed in 2007.

“We're trying to get a jump on things so that we're prepared,” Schupp said.

He doesn't want the church's historical marker to be mistaken for a tombstone.