Posted: 3/05/04

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Posted: 3/05/04

Temple volunteers cook 'casseroles for Christ'

By George Henson

Staff Writer

TEMPLE–Churches looking for new recipes for ministry can come to First Baptist Church in Temple. The women there have one they'd like to share.

About four years ago, women's ministry leaders at the church brainstormed ideas about how to expand their outreach. One leader, Martha Pope, told about a friend in Arkansas whose church used casseroles as a ministry tool. After garnering more information, the women launched their “Comfort Casseroles” ministry.

“We tweaked what the group in Arkansas was doing to make it do what we wanted it do, but we can't take credit for the idea,” said Kathy Cox, who oversees the ministry.

The Temple group can take credit, however, for making it a long-term outreach and benevolence ministry with continuing vitality.

Each week, one of four groups works for about an hour preparing either chicken spaghetti, chicken and wild rice, beef stroganoff or a soup. Each group also prepares cookies while getting the main dish together.

The ingredients already are available when they arrive. The church hostess knows which group is scheduled for each week and has their recipe, so she buys the ingredients in bulk to keep costs down. Costs are about $150 a month for the ministry.

The women then mix the ingredients and divide them into 10 to 15 casseroles each week. They come in three sizes–an individual-sized pan, one that will feed from two to four people and a large one that will feed four to six people–with leftovers.

“When you come to our freezer, you not only have a choice as to what casserole you will take, but also what size,” Cox said.

After the meals are prepared, three things go on the top cover of the casserole–a rendering of Psalm 28:7, instructions on how to prepare the meal and a list of ingredients to alert anyone with food allergies.

Casseroles are wheeled from the kitchen to a special freezer that is accessible to the entire church. A sign-out sheet enables members to list what has been taken and to whom.

Jenni Zimmerman and Elizabeth Bandy bake cookies for outreach and benevolence at First Baptist Church of Temple.

“The primary purpose of the sign-out sheet is so that we won't have duplication,” Cox said. “That way we won't have two or three people taking the same thing to the same person on the same day.”

Members use the food for a variety of ministries, she said. Sometimes deacons take it to first-time guests of the church. Others go to shut-ins or people moving to the area, as well as those experiencing illness or the death of a family member.

“Sometimes someone will take one to someone because there is something to celebrate,” Cox said. “We have a lot of people who are part of the medical community living around here, and there could be a young couple that completes their residency requirement. Someone might take them a casserole and say: 'Congratulations. Just stick this in the oven, light some candles for a romantic dinner and take a night off.'”

As the ministry flourished, the women felt the time arrived for a name change.

“We were calling it 'Comfort Casseroles,' but we soon realized that not everyone we were taking them too was in need of comfort,” Cox said. The ministry now is called “Casseroles for Christ.”

She cautions, however, that the ministry does not attempt to relieve the church's Sunday school classes of their ministry responsibilities.

“This ministry is not to take the place of what the Sunday school classes do in case of an illness or the birth of a baby, but to supplement that,” Cox said. The casseroles sometimes give a class an extra day to organize its ministry efforts.

Kathy Cox of First Baptist Church in Temple makes sure the freezer is stocked with casseroles church members deliver as an outreach and benevolence ministry.

Most all of the women who began the ministry four years ago still are participating, she said. About 30 women give an hour each month to prepare the casseroles.

“We still love doing this. We love being able to give something back and love being together for that fellowship time,” Cox said.

“Also, we get notes, letters and all kinds of things for people who have been touched by the ministry. It's just wonderful to give back to the church and the community and to know we are meeting a need in so many families.

“And so far, we've never had one refused. If we ever have anyone refuse a casserole, I think we'd all fall over.”

The supply of casseroles in the church's freezer continually needs to be replenished, she noted.

“In four years, we've never had so many in the freezer that we've had to say: 'Stop. We don't need you to cook this week,'” she said. “In a church our size–we have about 650 in Sunday school–there are a lot of people who have needs and things to celebrate.”

Several other churches heard about the ministry and have come to the Temple group for more information, which they have gladly passed on.

Most have made some changes to fit their goals, just like the Temple women did when the ministry crossed over from Arkansas.

But the end result is a ministry that nourishes body and spirit.

Posted: 3/05/04

Health care chaplains maintain they serve in pastoral role

By Craig Bird

Associated Baptist Press

FORT WORTH (ABP)–If military and prison chaplains serve in “pastoral roles,” then so do chaplains in hospitals, hospices and nursing homes. So say a number of medical chaplains and the professional organizations that oversee their work.

There are parallels between the homesick soldier in Iraq who turns to her chaplain for spiritual answers and the unchurched patient in the cardiac-care unit who asks to see the hospital chaplain because she can't sleep, the chaplains say.

Likewise, the Death Row inmate who wants help in praying for his salvation so he can be baptized is much the same, the chaplains say, as the nursing home resident who has outlived all the pastors he has ever known and who asks his chaplain to let him take the Lord's Supper one last time.

And like military and prison chaplains, their counterparts in the medical world are expected to minister to spiritual needs all along the spectrum of belief systems–not just those of the chaplains' theological and denominational preference.

“I am the only pastor many of these children and their families ever know,” said Ann Miller, director of chaplains at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, and a member of Broadway Baptist Church. “I bury more children in a year than most traditional pastors do in a lifetime.”

But that understanding is at odds with the position recently taken by the North American Mission Board, the chaplain-endorsing agency for the Southern Baptist Convention, which is opposed to women serving in pastoral roles. NAMB said in February it will no longer endorse female chaplains for military or prison settings but will endorse female chaplains for medical settings because their function is not pastoral.

The NAMB trustees were responding to a motion at the SBC's annual meeting last June asking them to reconsider their 2002 decision to stop endorsing ordained women in any area of chaplaincy, while still endorsing women in all categories who are not ordained.

The motion was spearheaded by Southern Baptist military chaplains who argued that endorsing female military chaplains who are not ordained would seriously undermine the spiritual effectiveness of all ordained military chaplains. So NAMB trustees voted last month to cease endorsement of any females to chaplaincy positions “where the role and function of the chaplain would be seen the same as that of a pastor.”

According to NAMB, soldiers and prisoners look to their chaplains for counseling, weddings, funerals, preaching and baptism, but hospital chaplains are not called to perform many of those “pastoral duties.”

Terry Fox, NAMB trustee chairman, said since hospital chaplains are not expected to perform pastoral duties, particularly those involving the Lord's Supper and baptism, “We are happy with women being hospital chaplains.”

The rationale rests heavily on the fact that local, ordained and male pastors are just a phone call away from any hospital, hospice or nursing home in America, while the same is not true for military personnel and prisoners.

Indeed, according to the ethical standards for medical chaplains, the first option is to call in the patient's minister of choice. But what happens, they ask, when the patient has no connection to a local church or, because of an emergency situation, the local pastor is not available?

According to a 2002 study conducted by the five largest professional chaplain associations in North America, 58 percent of patients surveyed could not name “a spiritual counselor with whom they could identify.” And a significant number of patients who do indeed have pastors choose not to inform them of their medical situation, the study noted.

The same study, called “Professional Chaplaincy,” listed the job requirements of medical chaplains as designing and leading religious ceremonies of worship and ritual such as prayer, meditation and reading of holy texts; worship and observance of holy days; blessings and sacraments; memorial services and funerals; rituals at the time of birth or other significant times of life cycle transition; and holiday observances.

NAMB's own website calls hospital chaplains pastors. “They are ministers called by God and trained to serve in an environment of sickness, pain, birth, death and continuous learning experiences,” the website says. “They function as pastor, prophet, teacher, administrator, counselor and evangelist.”

All chaplains, not just those in the military and in prisons, “are often called on to administer the sacraments, preside at memorial services, funerals, etc.,” said Teresa Snorton, executive director of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education in Decatur, Ga. “In cases where ordination is not possible, a pastoral care department would have to make sure someone else were available to perform these functions,” she said in an e-mail interview.

“The SBC's recent decision (not to endorse ordained female chaplains) would seriously impede the function of any SBC female chaplain,” Snorton added. “In these perilous times, we need the presence of chaplains in so many sectors of public and community life. These chaplains, whether male or female, need to be equipped to respond fully to the needs of the people they are called or assigned to serve.”

When Jeffrey Funk of Placentia, Calif., was a full-time hospital chaplain, he said, he averaged 75 funerals a year–including some for patients who were members of a local church “but the family felt closer to me than their pastor.”

When a patient dies and the family doesn't have a church connection, they often turn to the hospital chaplain “because they have had a positive rapport” while the chaplain was ministering to the patient, explained Funk, now executive director of the Hospital Chaplain's Ministry of America.

“I'm a hospital chaplain, and I do everything a pastor would,” insists Colleen Martin, a member of Western Hills Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

“We minister not only to patients but to patients' families and to staff. I have preached memorial services, conducted funerals and administered communion. I have sat by the bedside of dying patients and read their favorite Bible passages to them. I have rocked a dying infant and wept with his grandmother. I have stood all night by the bedside of a young man who bled to death. His final request was to ask me to pray for him one last time. I have heard dying patients' final confession for salvation, as well as confessions of sins they had on their conscience. I refuse to close any doors to Christian witness.”

Martin's husband, Dan, also is a chaplain, working with numerous hospices and nursing homes.

They often work with aged men and women who, though “pillars of their congregations,” have been sick so long that “no one remembers them at church anymore.”

“Colleen and I did a joint baptismal service for a very ill man who requested it,” said Martin, former editor of Baptist Press, the SBC's news service. “I did a sprinkling because he was too frail to immerse. It was something he needed to do, and we were honored to do it.”

A few weeks later, the Martins did his memorial service.

“I feel I do more hands-on ministry as a hospice chaplain to patients, families, staff, co-workers than I ever did in my years as pastor of a church,” Martin insisted.

Posted: 3/05/04

Children need parents to listen carefully
to their questions about God, experts advise

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Children can begin to understand God if parents and churches will help them grasp him, according to ministry leaders.

Children and preschoolers struggle to comprehend many abstract aspects of God–his ability to know all, do all and be everywhere at once–because their minds can understand only concrete characteristics they have experienced, according to Catherine Stonehouse, professor of Christian education at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.

Parents and church leaders must actively try to make abstract concepts about God more concrete for children, Stonehouse said. For example, a parent who cares for his child helps the young one begin to understand how God cares.

Caring can be modeled in congregations, as well, Stonehouse said. Children need to be included in the larger church family to model love.

“As a child grows and comes to understand God, the most important thing they know is God's unconditional love,” Stonehouse said. “Those that most easily understand that are those who experience love.”

Bible stories play an important role in helping maturing children understand God, agreed Stonehouse and Diane Lane, preschool/children's consultant for the Baptist General Convention of Texas Bible Study/Discipleship Center. Young children who are learning to read still do not understand abstract concepts but can comprehend ideas in stories.

However, children reading stories or hearing someone read them is not enough, Lane and Stonehouse said. Adults need to discuss the story with them to make sure children understand the lesson. Activities such as dressing up and acting out biblical stories also help children understand lessons, Lane said.

Discussion of the story helps children internalize biblical lessons and prevents them from misinterpreting Scripture, the specialists commented. Memorizing and rewriting verses can help children learn about God.

“If they never open (the Bible) up, they won't be able to see there are spiritual truths that they can apply to their lives,” Lane said.

Adults should expect children to ask questions, Stonehouse and Lane said. Children may be aware of a “great other” as early as 18 months, Stonehouse noted. They are curious about what God is like and how the world works.

Questions will range from asking where the wind comes from to what will happen when they die, Stonehouse said. Parents must be prepared to give biblical responses and honestly admit when they do not know an answer. Parents and children can find answers together.

Typically, children's questions are not as deep as they come across, Stonehouse cautioned. Listening carefully and knowing the child can help adults provide helpful information.

“We need to find out what the child is asking,” Stonehouse said. “Often we go off on some deep theological tangent.”

In addition to dealing with specific questions and needs, churches should intentionally recognize children's accomplishments, Lane encouraged. Small actions such as displaying children's artwork and letting young people keep their baptism video and first Lord's Supper cup show children the church values them.

Churches need to prepare parents to answer their children's questions, Lane and Stonehouse agreed. They recommended congregations encourage parents to form small groups where they can help each other when issues arise.

“I think it's important for parents to realize they're not alone,” Stonehouse said. “If they desire to be a spiritually nurturing parent, God will work with them in beautiful ways.”

Posted: 3/05/04

Texas children deserve quality education, commission says

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–After hearing a leading Texas educator say the state is at a “great watershed moment,” the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas voted unanimously to approve several proposals related to school finance, including opposition to gambling and school vouchers.

Commissioners also instructed CLC Director Phil Strickland to “urgently request an immediate meeting” with Gov. Rick Perry.

Strickland reported that up to this point the governor has not responded to the CLC director's efforts to arrange a meeting regarding the school finance, vouchers and gambling issues.

Texas political leaders are in the midst of trying to work out a solution to the state's school finance woes.

The effort may lead to a special called meeting of the Legislature as early as March 29.

Several circumstances have conspired to create the situation.

Last year, the Legislature voted to kill “Robin Hood,” which had forced more wealthy school districts to share money with poorer ones.

Also, there is a state limit on local property taxes that fund much of today's education expenses, and many school districts already have reached that limit.

The result is a need for more state revenue, and a number of tax proposals are being considered.

The CLC did not endorse a particular solution but rather adopted a number of principles to guide the CLC staff in regard to public education and school finance.

It did, however, vote that increased gambling revenue should not be considered as an option.

Prior to the commission's decisions, Mike Moses, superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District and former state commissioner of education, addressed the CLC and the board of Texans Against Gambling.

“We're talking serious business here” as the state deals with this “watershed moment,” he said.

Moses hopes the state will seek long-term solutions, not short-term answers.

With the state's “exploding minority population” and the English language deficiencies that come with heavy immigration, the state's economic future is in jeopardy if it does not provide the funding needed to maintain an educated and trained population, Moses said.

Suzii Paynter, the CLC's director of citizenship and public policy, said Baptists have a “moral obligation to see that Texas provides all children with a quality education.” And beyond that, it “makes good business sense to see that Texas public schools produce an educated work force.”

It's “far better to push now for real legislative reform than to further delay and risk” facing an even greater problem in the future, not just in school finance but state financing in general, she said.

“The Legislature listens when business and community leaders speak with a united voice.”

In taking official action, commissioners voted to “strongly” oppose the expansion of gambling in the state. Cost-benefit studies “clearly show” that legalized gambling costs $3 for every $1 of revenue it produces, the motion stated.

The CLC approved another motion “strongly” opposing the use of vouchers to fund religious education with tax dollars on the basis of religious liberty and the separation of church and state.

Yet another motion instructed the CLC director to “convene a special committee to study the impact of a state income tax.” The commission took no position on the issue.

Strickland told commissioners he envisions the committee including people from other faith groups, as well as business leaders.

The commission voted to approve two lists of priorities that will guide the CLC.

The priorities regarding public education are:

Maintain equity and adequacy, which are constitutional requirements.

Provide adequate education along with adequate funding.

Fund a substantial portion of school costs from state tax revenues.

Achieve major property tax relief.

Require additional school funding to be directed toward improving student performance.

Maintain a school property tax levy to promote local control and accountability.

Provide reasonable student cost adjustments.

Permit “unequalized local enrichment” with limits.

Priorities regarding public school financing include:

New tax revenues should be drawn from a combination of taxes to spread the burden.

Current inequities in the state tax system should be fixed.

Individuals should continue to bear a fair share of the school tax burden.

New taxes on business should be ones that “would not materially adversely affect” the economy.

New taxes on business should be “reasonably passed on in the marketplace.”

New taxes should grow with the state's growth.

Gambling revenue should not be part of the public school funding formula.

Posted: 3/05/04

Mission volunteers bring smiles to Indian faces

By Toby Druin

Editor Emeritus

WAXAHACHIE–Robert Cox and Walter Jones returned to Texas from India with smiles on their faces–smiles almost as broad as those worn by the hundreds of people whose teeth they worked on and the thousands who found faith in Jesus Christ while they were there.

Cox and Jones are fellow members of First Baptist Church of Waxahachie. For the last several years–five trips in six years for Cox and three for Jones–they have been part of a group sponsored by evangelist Tom Cox (no relation to Robert Cox) and his wife, Kay, doing evangelism and medical missions in remote villages along the southeast coast of India.

A dentist in Waxahachie for 45 years, Cox retired in 2000 but stays current in dental techniques. Jones, who serves as his assistant, holding a flashlight and sterilizing equipment, was a transportation coordinator for Coca Cola for 23 years before retiring in 1998.

This year, for two weeks they joined 71 other people from 18 states, all paying their own way, to share the gospel of Christ, do dental work, fit eyeglasses and tend to other medical needs among people who are desperately poor and have little chance of getting medical attention otherwise.

They ministered in five cities. Cox and Jones, as they have in previous years, were among four groups of 26 volunteers who worked around Bobbili, a city of 300,000 near the coast, about halfway between Madras and Calcutta.

The volunteers were housed each night in a girls school compound operated by an Indian Christian couple, who minister to 175 girls as well as operate an orphanage there and care for another 125 boys in another facility.

Each day a team consisting of a pastor/team leader, two counselors, a nurse and a dentist, physician and optometrist went to the outlying villages to meet the needs of the people. For almost all of them, the yearly visits from the Americans are their only opportunity for medical care. For instance, Cox said, only one government dentist has the responsibility for all of the people of Bobbili.

The trips to India are made in late January and February to take advantage of the dry season, which permits travel over dirt roads to remote villages. This year, however, it rained for several days after their arrival, limiting travel into some areas. Nevertheless, they were able to treat hundreds of people, pulling their teeth or giving them medicine to ease their pain. The optometrist with Cox's and Jones' team fitted people with 1,136 pairs of glasses during the 10 days. Most of the glasses were donated by the Waxahachie Lions Club and members of First Baptist Church.

Before the medical clinics are held, the people who come for treatment are presented a gospel message. This year, more than 2,000 indicated they were making a decision to accept Christ as Savior. They will be counseled by local pastors to make sure they understand their decision, a process that often takes as much as two years. Those who follow through on it will be baptized and become members of local churches in the future. About 150 were baptized in a compound tank during Cox's and Jones' visit this year.

“There are a lot of rewards in making this trip,” said Jones. “It is a time of spiritual awakening and renewal for me. I get as much out of it as the people we visit, and it was especially significant this year to see 150 people baptized at the same time. Many church members may not see 150 people baptized in a lifetime. Another 100 were baptized at another site.”

The area is dominated by the Hindu religion, and Hindu priests try to influence the people not to attend the clinics, said Cox.

“On our last day there this year,” he said, “we were in a village where we had never had a ministry. It was an area with a strong Hindu influence, and often the Hindu priests spread rumors that bad things will happen to people who accept treatment. Because of that, only five people would allow me to extract teeth. Another 15 or 20 came through and said they wanted medicine only, so I was only able to give them Tylenol or Ibuprofen for their pain.”

“Nevertheless,” he added, “they are required to talk to the counselor after seeing me, and while I thought the clinic had been a disaster, she told me that 20 of them had made professions of faith in Christ.”

Cox and Jones also participated in the dedication of two church buildings, both in outlying villages. The buildings, about 17 by 28 feet and constructed of mud bricks, replaced bamboo huts.

Because individual members of First Baptist Church of Waxahachie have provided much of the $3,000 funding for the buildings, the churches have taken on that name–Third First Baptist Church of Waxahachie in Chinnavalsa and Fourth First Baptist Church of Waxahachie in Nakkodavalsa.

The Indian Christians do not erect a building until there are at least 10 families in the congregation. A building is a special witness to the community, said Cox, since many villages have no public buildings.

At the dedication in Nakkodavalsa, Cox said, the church members met them a half mile from the village with drums, a horn and a man who whistled.

“They danced and celebrated while leading us to the village,” he said. “A sign welcomed us, and when we got there, we marched three times counterclockwise around the church, signifying the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and then had prayer at the door and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Besides those of us on the stage, there were 120 people seated in the building, all four windows were crowded with people looking in, and it was standing room only around the door. The people were ecstatic.”

Though Cox and Jones pay their own expenses, their Sunday school department and First Baptist Church of Waxahachie have contributed to the work. The church contributed $1,000 for medical supplies for the most recent trip.

Cox made his first trip to India in 1997, following his son, David, who lives in Weatherford and who also is a dentist and had been enlisted by Tom and KayCox.

On his first trip a year earlier, David Cox had met a woman who told him she had been praying for a year that God would send someone to help her baby, who had been born with a cleft palate and lip. David Cox and the area director of the Baptist ministry in India found a reconstructive surgeon who volunteered to do the surgery on the young boy, Karthik Desari, for free, and Cox's Sunday school department gave $1,000 to pay for a month's hospitalization.

“The Hindu priests had told the mother that the gods were persecuting her and her family for being Christians,” said Robert Cox. “But nine more people accepted Christ because of what was done for them.”

David Cox held dental clinics there the next year, and the 4-year-old boy served as a doorman for the clinic.

Tragically, however, the next year he was bitten by a cobra and died. The balance of the money that had been contributed for his continuing care was spent for a memorial to him in the shape of a cross.

When the boy's village gave land for a church, Cox's and Jones' Sunday school department raised $3,000 for the building, and they dedicated the Karthik Memorial Baptist Church to his memory.

“Karthik had a tremendous impact, even in death,” said Cox. “Some 75 people have become Christians because of his influence.”

Both Cox and Jones plan to return to India.

“I will go back for sure,” said Jones, “although I don't know about the coming year. I have to go back to check on the seeds we planted this year. We had 451 in our group who raised their hands indicating they had accepted Christ. Many will backslide because of peer pressure, but enough of the 451 will continue that from them more will come to Christ. We are planting the seeds of the Christian religion in India.”

Posted: 3/05/04

DOWN HOME:
Just last night, I dreamed that …

Do you dream?

Maybe I should put it another way: Do you remember your dreams?

I've been thinking about dreams for several weeks, ever since Jan Jarboe Russell spoke to the Texas Baptist Media Forum in late January.

Jan's an incredibly gifted journalist–a syndicated columnist and contributing editor at Texas Monthly. Someone asked how she peels back the layers of personality and writes such insightful sketches about people's lives.

She explained that when she gets stymied in an interview, she often asks her subject what he or she dreams about. Interesting. I've interviewed thousands of people, but I've never asked about their dreams. (Not very Freudian of me, is it?)

Jan also mentioned that she interviewed a prominently religious Texan who claims he never dreams. Up until that moment, I might've claimed I don't dream or seldom dream. But this guy always seems disingenuous, so I figured his answer has to be bogus and decided to do better.

So, every morning as my feet hit the floor, I ask myself what I dreamed that night. Mostly, I still draw a blank. But many mornings, I start the day off with a laugh, wondering how the synapses of my brain put those ideas together, and with a few moments of introspection, wondering what, if anything, they mean.

Of course, some mornings, that's (pardon the expression) a no-brainer. Like one morning last week, when I woke up to recall the most-rerun dream of my life: I'm still in school, and it's late in the semester, and I find out I'm enrolled in a course, but I've never attended class, and I've got to take the final exam.

That's a common anxiety dream. Scads of my friends tell me they've dreamed some version of it. And to tell you the truth, I should've seen it coming. I went to bed late, fretting over how I was going to meet all the obligations I'd created for myself at work and church. (My wife, Joanna, says I can erase that dream forever by learning to pronounce one word: No.)

At least I haven't dreamed the stranded-naked-and-have-to-get-home dream since I was, oh, 19 years old. And I haven't had the stranded-on-the-side-of-a-mountain-and-can't-reach-the-rope dream since I worked at … well, that's another story for another time.

The more I think about Jan's question, the more I like it. She also asks people about their favorite Bible stories, and one of mine is closely connected: It's about Joseph interpreting dreams. Joseph understood that God communicates through our dreams.

And while I don't claim to have figured it all out, I believe that's still true. God can teach us some things if we'll pay attention. More importantly, God wants us to see the divine vision for our lives, which we view not while we sleep, but as we read the Bible, ponder and pray.

Posted: 3/05/04

EDITORIAL:
BGCT must seize singular moment for significant change

If the coming months live up to their potential, our children and grandchildren will look back on 2004 as a “kairos” time. A holy and sacred season. A divine moment. A blessed occasion when Texas Baptists stepped forward with unusual faith, vision and spiritual creativity.

Their verdict will hinge upon the work of four revisioning teams that have been asked to take a thoughtful, intense look at the Baptist General Convention of Texas. BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade named and President Ken Hall affirmed the committees–one comprised of laypeople skilled in corporate leadership, two made up of church ministers and another formed from Baptist Building staff–to analyze the structure, mission, vision and ministry of the convention. (An article about their work can be found here.)

The BGCT's revisioning challenge has been discussed among concerned Texas Baptists for several months now. Strategically, this is the most important task our convention will undertake this year. It's not merely speculative or theoretical. The results will chart our course far into this century.

This is true because of something we all know: Texas is changing–changing more rapidly every year. We're on the verge of becoming a non-majority state, where no ethnic group comprises a majority of the population. But not long after that, we'll become a Hispanic-majority state. We're also becoming a younger state, with the median age descending, even as the age of many of our most-noted churches is increasing. We're becoming more and more urban, not just because some of our rural areas are declining, but because our cities and suburbs are burgeoning. And if economic and political trends continue, we're likely to become even more divided between the haves and have-nots.

So, if Texas Baptists intend to be the “presence of Christ” to a state that looks radically different from the Texas of today and almost inconceivable compared to the Texas where we grew up, we've got to be willing to make drastic changes, to re-tool so that we can apply our resources to meet the spiritual and physical needs of Texans as they really exist, not as we imagine them to be.

We know that talk about change makes people nervous. It's frightening, mostly for two reasons.

First, we understand that change impacts people–people we love and respect. Baptists, more than members of most subcultures, are averse to making people change. That aversion draws from a strength; we don't want to hurt or inconvenience people we care about. And in Texas, we have some of the best Baptists anywhere. Not only do we not want to hurt them, but we don't want to lose them.

But such change, even serious reorganization, doesn't mean we hurt people or remove them from ministry. We need the best efforts of all of us, and we have the resources to channel willing and able Texas Baptists toward places of useful service to God.

Second, when we've been working hard, we're a little bit insulted by a call for change. It implies we haven't completely succeeded, that we've missed the mark somewhere. This especially stings here, where Texas Baptists have earned a wonderful reputation for ministry innovation. Baptists and other Christians across the country and around the world have copied our innovations.

But the change we face is too deep and broad to be accommodated without significantly stepping up the depth and breadth of our innovation. We've got to distinguish between program innovation and strategic structural reformulation. Of course, we'll always need to adapt and modify our programs. But if we're going to have the resources we need to minister to Texas of tomorrow, we've got to reallocate resources on a scale we've never approached.

You know what this means. Unless we start cloning workers and printing money in the basement of the Baptist Building, we've got to find ways to re-channel our human and financial and spiritual resources to meet overwhelming needs. They're too numerous to name here, but some of the most pressing include training multitudes of vocational and lay ministers, starting and resourcing local churches to represent Christ in their shifting communities, reaching the escalating numbers of Hispanics who call Texas home, banding together to do missions across our state and far beyond, educating the coming generations of leaders, providing for the human needs of the “least” among us, and on and on.

Remarkably gifted and creative Texas Baptists make up the revisioning teams. They will consider many issues. They would do well to look at these three areas, seeking to harvest enormous financial, human and spiritual resources:

Convention organization. The BGCT conducts its business through myriad committees, commissions, boards and other groupings. Overlap and redundancy abound. And participation in the Executive Board, with more than 200 members reflecting all the wonderful diversity of our convention, is reduced to three mind-numbing, seat-flattening endurance tests called “meetings” each year.

The revisioning teams could suggest how to reduce and streamline the committee-commission-board system to save money, involve members more productively and make participation more worthwhile.

Institutional consolidation. God has blessed the BGCT with tremendously vibrant institutions. Not only do they provide amazing ministry, but they also supply richness and texture to our life together as Texas Baptists. We need them and value them tremendously. But they also are extremely expensive, and our institutions' ministries often suffer because of the cost of doing business.

The revisioning teams could suggest how to consolidate key business and operational functions of our institutions to achieve maximum cost-efficiencies. If they could save dollars while preserving the institutions' functional autonomy and corporate identity, our cause would advance.

Service placement. A dominant theme of the BGCT is service to churches. Unfortunately, research indicates many, if not most, of those churches are plateaued or declining. We've got to do a better job of helping our churches embody the presence of Christ in their communities.

The revisioning teams could suggest how to channel resources more directly to the churches. Perhaps we need to place resources closer to the churches, or team up with other groups who offer resources, or enable strong churches to resource weaker churches. These are vital challenges that will become significant opportunities.

The appointment of the revisioning teams comes at an appropriate time, coinciding with the service of this year's convention officers. They represent much of Texas Baptists' ethnic diversity–Anglo, Hispanic and African-American. All three officers have been pastors of vibrant, growing congregations, and their hearts beat for local churches. President Hall now is president of Buckner Baptist Benevolences, one of the BGCT's strongest institutions, who has managed significant change during his decade of leadership. First Vice President Albert Reyes now is president of Baptist University of the Americas, the most crucial institution in Texas for shaping the spiritual dimensions of the state in the next century. Second Vice President Dennis Young remains pastor of Missouri City Baptist Church, which he founded after succeeding in the business world. When Wade receives the revisioning teams' reports, they will help him chart the BGCT's map into the future.

Pray for the revisioning teams, that they will see clearly and think creatively. Pray for Wade and the other convention leaders, that they will be inspired as they synthesize the revisioning reports into a cohesive concept. And pray for all of us as Texas Baptists, that we will follow God's leadership through changing times so our changeless Savior will be exalted and millions of lives will be saved.

–Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

Posted: 3/05/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for March 14

The qualities of servant-leaders enumerated

1 Timothy 3

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

God redeems people and places them in churches for worship and Christian growth. Paul recognized the importance of churches and established them wherever new believers resulted from his ministry. He knew churches needed order, true teaching and godly living.

Churches need servant-leaders to produce growing Christians. God chooses these leaders from those he has already called out. 1 Timothy 3 describes the qualities God seeks. Since God calls out leaders from the congregation, and since we find no hierarchy among Christians, all Christians should possess these qualities.

Extensive, heated debate has often accompanied the interpretation of these verses. Much of the discussion has revolved around the identities and tasks of the offices the Apostle Paul names. I often have wondered if this has diverted us from his primary purpose.

Paul was one of the first to share insights into the developing church organization of his time. A glance at the New Testament reveals that the names of servant-leaders such as overseer, deacon and elder overlap and appear at times to be used interchangeably. Furthermore, the words used for these leaders have been understood both as offices in the church and as functions.

We are closer to what Paul wanted to teach when we focus on the functions of these leaders and the character he insisted they possess. Character is most important, but Paul's words also hint at some of the tasks. Christians have every right to expect exemplary behavior from their leaders, which all Christians ought to model.

Qualities of overseers

(vv. 1-7)

“Overseer” comes from a verb that suggests “caring for” or “looking after.” Paul commended the person who aspired to become someone who looked after the church. Such a desire was noble. But as if to make certain the person seeking such a role did so for the right reasons, Paul listed some qualities overseers should embody.

Paul stressed godly character and virtue. God expects marital faithfulness from them. The phrase “husband of but one wife” has spawned many interpretations including (1) monogamy (having only one wife at a time), (2) married only once (not remarrying after the death of spouse or divorce), (3) never divorced if married, (4) married (no single persons) and (5) fidelity to one's spouse.

The last interpretation best fits into the general nature of these instructions. Clearheadedness and balanced judgment benefit the overseer. Servant-leaders must be able to teach, to make clear and obvious to Christians what being Christ's follower means.

Overseers should be free from traits that hinder their ability to perform the role God gives them. Paul condemned the excessive use of alcohol, which could lead to brawls and violence. Servant-leaders should avoid treating Christians roughly when correction is necessary. Obviously, one should refrain from physical violence, but servant-leaders ought to resist being rough in word and demeanor. Instead, the overseer should be gracious, kind, committed to avoiding quarrels and honest.

Proper care for one's wife and children in the household displays the overseer's ability to care for believers in God's family. The home serves as a laboratory where relational skills are developed.

Paul rejected new converts as overseers because they might fall into the sin of pride. Novices who long to assume the task of overseer need to have time to demonstrate their transformed character.

Qualities of deacons

(vv. 8-10, 12-13)

Paul listed a second category of servant-leaders, “deacons.” In addition to the qualities appropriate for overseers, he added several attributes when he described their moral ideals. They must be earnest and conscientious about their roles in the church. Like overseers, they need to speak honestly. They must have settled convictions about the salvation revealed in Jesus.

“Deep truths” literally reads “mystery.” It does not suggest a need to find clues to, but that God had revealed this hidden truth. Like overseers, deacons must have demonstrated these qualities for a period of time (“first be tested”).

Qualities of women (v. 11)

A third category of servant-leaders Paul named was “wives.” “Women” is the literal translation. Interpretations of this word include (1) “deacons' wives,” (2) “women deacons” and (3) simply “women.” Paul urged these women to exercise the same qualities as overseers and deacons and warned them against slander and gossip.

Christian character for all (vv. 14-15)

Paul's circumstances prevented him from visiting Timothy, so he wrote this short letter until he could instruct him in person. Paul identified one of his main purposes in writing in verses 14-15, “You will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household.” Paul wanted believers to know how to live and wanted to stress the importance of proper relationships between Christians in the church.

Paul concluded this section by describing churches as “the pillar and foundation of the truth.”

Question for discussion

Is this organizational structure still appropriate?

Posted: 3/05/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for March 21

A godly character is a key part of evangelism

1 Timothy 4

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

The Apostle Paul repeatedly had reminded Timothy and the Ephesian church of the need to witness to the salvation Christ offered. Paul stressed the best way for Christians to witness was through godly living. Living blameless lives provides the best witness believers can offer.

The emergence of false doctrine in the church threatened 1st century churches. The re-emergence of false doctrines threatens churches today. Christians lament the breakdown of our society in which Christianity was once so prominent. Now it seems churches are struggling with movements that challenge the very essence of Christianity. People are searching for spiritual meaning in life, but they are looking in all the wrong places.

Reject ungodly teachings (vv. 1-5)

Paul reminded Timothy that false teachers were not unexpected. The Holy Spirit had predicted them. Early Christians expected to confront false teachers in the days prior to Christ's second coming. Paul's use of “in later times” expresses the same idea as his use of “last days” (2 Timothy 3:1).

Christians cannot accept false teaching and maintain integrity in the faith. Following “deceiving spirits,” the false teachers, meant abandoning their commitment and loyalty to God in Christ. The false teachers appeared pious but actually were Satan's agents in leading believers astray. Paul described them as “liars.” The devil had branded them as slaves, reflecting the ancient custom of branding slaves to indicate ownership.

Paul finally detailed the false teachings–no marriage and abstaining from certain foods. These prohibitions likely found their roots in the belief that all fleshly desires were evil. While Paul taught marriage was not always best for Christians, he admitted it was good (1 Corinthians 7:7-9). Rejecting certain foods may have reflected the Jewish teaching that some foods were unclean.

Paul countered that believers knew that God created all food to be enjoyed. Christ did not come to burden us with further laws. He came so we might be made alive in the Spirit. Gratitude to God is the proper response for food set before us..

Pursue godliness (vv. 6-10)

Paul moved from denouncing errors to instructing Timothy on how to respond to them. A church beset with false teachers needed advice from its pastor. “Brethren” suggests closeness of the Christian community. Timothy, God's “servant” (literally, “deacon”) needed daily spiritual nourishment to provide the sound guidance needed.

Appropriate action meant rejecting that which had no Christian foundation. Paul called these false teachings senseless. Timothy needed to replace an attention to “worldly fables” with a focus on obtaining godliness.

Paul was not thinking of exercise and healthy diets when he wrote of bodily discipline in verse 8. He likely was referring to the unacceptable dietary restrictions of the false teachers. Such rigorous abstaining might conceivably provide some earthly benefit, but godliness helps the Christian in both this world and in the future life.

The words, “a trustworthy statement,” refer to verse 8, but verse 10 amplifies and explains that verse. In essence, “trustworthy statement” describes both verses. Christians strive in this world because they have received God's promise of eternal life. Paul described this future eternal life as a hope. Hope is not wishful thinking, but a confidant assurance that God will keep his promises.

God wants to redeem all people. Paul labored to share with non-believers the joy and hope he had as a Christian so they might be saved..

Demonstrate godliness (vv. 11-16)

Paul grew increasingly personal as he continued his instructions. He urged Timothy to command and teach the things Paul was sharing with him here and in previous conversations.

Timothy's timidity may have reduced his effectiveness. Paul encouraged him to not let his comparative youthfulness limit him in any way. What he lacked in experience could be overcome by daily exemplifying godly conversation and character. His behavior would demonstrate love for Christ and other Christians, faithfulness to Christ and moral integrity.

Paul commanded Timothy to keep emphasizing the public reading of Scripture. Timothy needed to follow the public reading with exhortation and explanation of the world.

Let me suggest that you consider how much you read the Bible in your class and in worship times. Many classes and churches would do well to read aloud more of God's word in study and worship.

Paul recognized God had endowed Timothy for ministry. Paul charged Timothy to nurture this gift and not be careless about it. Others, noted by the word “presbytery,” had joined Paul in affirming Timothy's gift of special service by the laying on of hands.

Nurturing the gift means cultivating the qualities he used as a pastor. Proper focus included both practicing and reflecting upon his tasks as a pastor. Others would note his progress in these gifts if he gave the gifts their proper attention. Timothy's perseverance would strengthen the church as he expanded his Christian development and provided others the opportunity to hear the gospel and become believers too..

Question for discussion

Is a demonstration of godly character still valued in the world today?

Posted: 3/05/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for March 14

Prophets don't point to answers, but to God

Judges 6:1, 7-10, 12-14, 25-32

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

Jesus said we are to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13). This lesson is about how the people of God can be that kind of influence in a faithless world. The key verse of our text is, “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15).

Avoid the danger of applying this passage to America. America is not God's recently acquired people who have taken the place of his ancient first choice.

Let's get it straight. Let's apply Gideon's question to the salt. How can we keep the salt of which Jesus spoke from losing its saltiness? How can we keep the church on the right track in a world of spiritual terrorists who always are seeking to derail the witness of the people of God? Gideon is a good example for us.

Due to the severity of Midianite captivity, the people who had been unfaithful began to call upon the One who is always faithful and just. God answered with a person.

Words alone never seem to reveal the heart of God for his people. Someone has to walk on the stage of history in flesh and blood and show us the word of God.

God did not just give deliverance. He gave a deliverer. Gideon would put a stop to the spiritual hemorrhaging of Israel. He would expose the evil that like spiritual SIDS was sneaking into the nursery of Israel's national development and stealing away their infant faith. How did he do it? How can we?

The first description of Gideon found in the text is that he was a prophet. “When the Israelites cried to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet …” (Judges 6:7-8). Like the many prophets of Israel who would follow him, Gideon would be a spokesman for God.

God needs people who will stand up for the truth today. Modern prophets, today's Gideons, will not be known for their fleece-making but for their truth-telling. Christians must become faithful spokespersons for God in a world that needs the truth.

Prophets are students of the past. We most often think of prophets as spiritual weathermen. They predicted things. Prophets were spiritual historians first. They had an eye on the past before they gazed to the future. Listen to Gideon's message. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me” (Judges 6:8-10).

This is a recitation of Israel's history. Gideon knows the story, and he tells it to those who have forgotten it. He is a wordsmith, refusing passive verbs to describe an active God. “God brought,” “God snatched,” “God drove,” “God gave” and “God said.” “Don't forget” is the first message of a true prophet. He starts with what was before going to what will be. As a teacher, you are a weekly reminder of the story of God and how each of us fits into it. Be a prophet.

Prophets don't avoid tough questions. In fact, they ask them. He asks the angel of the Lord, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13). Then he asks, “Lord … how can I save Israel?” (Judges 6:15).

Is your class a place where people can voice their doubts? John once sent a messenger to Jesus and asked if he really was the Christ or if they should wait for somebody else (Matthew 11:1-11). It was on this occasion that Jesus said John was the greatest to be born of a woman. Good words from the Master on behalf of a doubter. Be a prophet!

Prophets seek a personal relationship more than an impersonal answer. Gideon did not get the kind of answer we expect. He instead was promised a presence–the presence of God (Judges 6:16).

Don't give in to the pride of being the answer man each Sunday morning. God's answers are not formulas and propositions. We get something better than that. We get God. When people are tempted by the trials of life to turn back on faith, they do not need a new proposition. They need a new presence.

Israel had not simply left good teaching about God. They left God. But he did not leave them. He was coming after them. The Hound of Heaven was on the scent, and he was not about to give up the chase. This is the prophet's hope. He is a God who never gives up on people who quit too easily.

How do we oppose false beliefs? We bring people the presence of God. With your class, seek to be the presence of God in your community. Be a prophet! Be a Gideon. Happy studying and faithful service!

Questions for discussion

Do you sense the people of America are really seeking a prophet?

What would have to change in your life for you to fulfill the office of prophet?

And yet another question that will spark great thoughts in your mind.

Posted: 3/05/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for March 21

Refuse to compromise when life's trials come

Daniel 3:1-2, 4-6, 13-18, 21, 24-25, 27-28

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

Do you have a favorite kind of story? As a child, I liked westerns. Now I am more interested in science fiction or fantasy. Everybody likes a mystery. Our literature is enriched by the varieties of potential kinds of stories.

The Bible is full of different kinds of stories as well. One of my favorite story types in the Old Testament is the contest story. The Egyptian plagues and the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel are examples of the God of Israel against the gods of Egypt and Baal respectively. They are not stories of which gods had the best followers or prophets. They are stories of which people served the best god.

The focus of this week's lesson is another such contest story. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego have refused to worship the king's graven image. Nebuchadnezzar threatens not only them, but their God with the words: “If you do not worship it (the image of gold), you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (Daniel 3:15).

In the end of the story, Nebuchadnezzar says, “… no other god can save in this way” (Daniel 3:29). The issue in these contest stories is not just the faithfulness of God's people. It is the message of God's faithfulness on behalf of his followers.

Faithfulness begins with a choice. This choice must take place before the time of testing comes. In our story, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego have already made a choice. It was the choice to follow God alone. The proclamation of the king demanding idol worship put our three heroes into the crucible of faith. Their choice would be tested. Like Daniel before them, they would not give in to the spiritual bullying of their tyrant king. Their victory was not in the furnace alone. It occurred before the fire was heated seven times hotter. It took place when they determined whom they would follow.

Now is the time to decide who will be Lord or our lives. Then when the testing comes, we will know already which way we need to turn.

You can be sure your faith will be tested. Life is a test tube where elements are mingled and reactions occur. New things are formed. In the case of the believer, that new formation involves the confirmation of choice and the transformation of character.

God validated the earlier choice of our faithful trio. He honored their commitment to him and brought them through their fiery ordeal without so much as a scorched hair or even a smoke-scented garment.

Someone has said that hard times do not create character, they reveal it. That may well be true. Their character was revealed, and the God who never ceases to “work together for good to those that love him,” goes on “molding them into the image of his Son” (Romans 8:28-29).

Could you thank God for a fiery furnace trial? James said we could, not because of the joy of the trial, but because of the completion of character (James 1:2-4).

When our faith is tested, we can be sure God will be there. Three went in the fire and three came out. Between these bookend experiences was a fourth person. The fourth friend in the flames was variously described by Nebuchadnezzer as a man, a son of the gods and an angel. He covered the bases with his trio of descriptive titles. One thing is clear–he knew the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was with his children in the midst of their ordeal. He always is Immanuel, God With Us.

How would you interpret this story if the three friends had died in the furnace? In church history, the martyrs did not often walk away from the tormentor's flames. They burned. Prophets are flammable.

Each week you continue on a spiritual journey in your class. Some members have been to the fiery furnace and if not severely burned they at least smell smoky. They look and smell more like the leftovers from the fire sale on the Wal-Mart parking lot than they do the new spring merchandise at Neimans. Their life has been messy. Together, remember that God's faithfulness extends beyond the grave to a place where tyrant kings cannot threaten and bully. It may feel like Good Friday now, but Easter is coming.

Maybe that is what our three friends had in mind when they said: “The God we serve is able to save us, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17, 18).

We have come back to where we began in this lesson. God is faithful. Because he is faithful, we can be too. Encourage faithfulness. Minister well to those who have been burned. Share grace, forgiveness and hope. Happy studying and faithful service!

Questions for discussion

What other contest stories from the Old Testament do you recall where God proved his dominion?

When you read the story of the fiery furnace, what is the main piece that you will try to recall when trials next come to your life?

Does being burned in the trials of life offer evidence of a life lacking in faith?