Posted: 2/17/04

Baptiststandard.com victim of virus attack

Hundreds of subscribers to the Standard's FirstLook newsletter received a flood of virus-generated e-mails Feb. 16-17. According to webmaster John Rutledge the immediate problem has been stopped, and stringent security measures are being put in place to stop any future outbreaks.

The Standard is moving it's website this week to a dedicated server, with more security controls and improved antivirus and spam blockers.

"We apologize for the inconvenience this caused our readers," Rutledge said. The e-mails initially contained a version of the "lovelorn virus" with attachments named "binladen_sexy.jpg" or "kiss.ok.exe."

Virus- tracking websites describe the Lovelorn virus as a mass-mailer virus with password-stealing routines, which activates on certain dates. The virus was last seen widely in April of 2003. It grabs random e-mail addresses from computers and places them in the To: and From: lines in an e-mail, then attaches itself to a random message it also has stolen.

"As far as we can ascertain, the virus captured the e-mail addresses of our newsletter list," Rutledge said. "Not only that, the server itself was compromised, and whenever someone e-mailed to complain about getting the bogus attachments, the message went to everyone on the list. That started an exponential cascade of e-mail that shut down our whole server, and many others," Rutledge said.

For those who received the initial virus-carrying e-mails, instructions on how to clean your computer of the virus can be found at http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_100272.htm or at the Symantec antivirus site at http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.nolor@mm.html.

Although the old newsletter list was compromised, the current one is secure. The FirstLook newsletter will be sent out as usual to our current subscriber list .

Posted: 2/19/04

Around the State

Recently approved for tenure at Hardin-Simmons University were Martha Kiel, associate professor of art and department head; Jooly Philip, associate professor of English and director of the writing center; and Jill Walters, assistant professor or psychology and coordinator of internships. Promoted to professor were Randy Armstrong, communications, and Andrew Potter, mathematics. Earning promotions to associate professor were Curtis Garner, counseling and human development, and Traci Thompson, English. Scot Miller was promoted to assistant professor. Retired faculty members approved for emeritus status were Taylor Rankin and Manfred Schubert.

Ruby Moody was honored by First Church in Rocksprings on her 90th birthday. She continues to play the church's organ each Sunday as she has done for more than 65 years. She is pictured with Pastor Ron Van Der Weert

Recently approved for tenure at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor were Ann Crawford, associate professor of nursing, and Audell Shelburne, associate professor of English. Approved for summer development leave were Deborah Jones, Sandra Wanner, Bill Harding, Raylene Statz and Peggy Craik. Harris Leonard also was added to the faculty as assistant professor of psychology.

Hardin-Simmons University professor Bob Fink's essay “Twenty Years of Teaching Creative Writing” has been published in the Winter 2004 issue of the electronic journal, The Cortland Review.

Anniversaries

Southmont Church in Denton, 25th, Jan. 25. Larry Reynolds is pastor.

First Korean Church in Lewisville, fifth, Jan. 25. It also was the fifth anniversary of Pastor Kyung Kim.

Dusty Thompson, fifth, as university minister at Southcrest Church in Lubbock, Feb. 1.

First Church in Lake Dallas, 125th, Feb. 8. Daniel Patrick is pastor.

Don Wilkey Jr., 25th, as pastor of First Church in Onalaska, Feb. 8.

Roy Thoene, 30th, as pastor of First Church in Gresham, Feb. 21. The western-themed celebration included guest speakers Paul Powell, dean of Truett Seminary; Danny Pickens, director of missions for Smith Association; and Paul Saylors, regional consultant with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Gary Singleton, fifth, as pastor of The Heights Church in Richardson, March 14. The celebration will feature a homecoming service of gospel music at 6:30 p.m. and a dessert fellowship to follow. Artists will include The Heightsmen Quartet, Clover, The Dudds, One Voice, the Faithful Men Quartet and comedian Al Fike.

Events

The Girls in Action leaders of Emmanuel Association recently recognized Willie Mae Sims, 87, as the oldest GA in the area. The recognition, at Friendship Church in Buna, was part of a nationwide celebration of the 90th anniversary of GAs. Sims related stories she recalled of being a GA as a girl and described her love of missions.

Hunters' Glen Church in Plano recently commissioned four people as Mission Service Corps volunteers: Kay Atkins, assignment pending; Doug and Sharon Grissom, Center for Global Ministries at Hunters' Glen; and Cal Westerhof, Life Challenge, a residential alternative to prison for young men, in Amarillo. Kim Hall is pastor.

First Church in Granbury has been awarded a Texas Historical Marker. The church was organized in 1866 near where Lambert's Branch enters the Brazos River. Pictured during the dedication are deacon Chairman Bill Oneal, Pastor David Becker and Vircy Macatee, the church's historian.

The Heights Church in Richardson will present a roundtable discussion of the movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” at 5 p.m. Feb. 29. The panel will include Kerby Anderson, executive director of Probe Ministries; Sandy Glahn, author and speaker; and Glen Kreider, professor of theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. The discussion will include the film's biblical and theological fidelity, the message and its impact on society. In conjunction with the roundtable, Pastor Gary Singleton is preaching a two-part sermon series on “The Passion Conversations” in the morning services Feb. 22 and 29.

Trinty River Association is sponsoring a gospel music concert to be held at Mount Calvary Church, between Moss Hill and Batson, March 9 at 7 p.m. Featured groups will be New Direction, Masters Family and Grounded.

First Church in Denton will be the site of a FAITH evangelism clinic April 26-29. The cost is $325 for pastors (kit included), $220 for Spanish-speaking pastors (kit included), and $125 for others. Register by calling (800) 254-2022 or online at lifeway.com/FAITH. Jeff Williams is pastor.

Retired

Chuck Stevenson, as associate pastor of First Church in Irving. He had two terms of service with the church that totaled 29 years. He previously served First Church in Mansfield, First Church in Alvin, Clarendon Drive Church in Dallas and Sunny Glen Church in Dallas. During his ministry, he served churches as minister of education, minister of music, minister of missions and associate pastor. He also was director of church services for Tryon- Evergreen Association eight years. He continues to live in Irving.

Deaths

Catherine Thomas, 100, Jan. 18 in Olney. She was a former member of the Hardin-Simmons University board of development and a life member of the President's Club. She was a member of First Church in Olney. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank, in 1969.

Earl Burgess, 72, Feb. 8 in Plano. Burgess was pastor at six Collin County churches from 1964 to 1993: Friendship Church in McKinney, twice; Shiloh Church in Wylie; Westminster Church in Westminster; Second Church in Plano; Snow Hill Church in Blue Ridge; and Branch Church in Princeton. He retired 10 years ago and became a member of Meadows Church in Plano. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; sons, James and Richard; brothers, Gerald and James; sisters, Adene Lowe and Glynda Ashe; and five grandchildren.

Correction: In the Feb. 9 edition of the Baptist Standard, the obituary for Dolores Nelson included a misspelling of her name. We apologize for the error.

Ordained

Doug Reid and Jacob Perry as deacons at First Church in Waxahachie.

Stefan Dorman, Jay Sawyer and Ben Telesca as deacons at First Church in Alpine.

Sunny Deanda, Jerald Martin, Peggy Epley, Gary Oostveen, Brad Herbert and Bill Peacock as deacons at Southland Church in San Angelo.

Clay Ames, Cliff Beaver, Glen Blisard, Tommie Conner, Tutt Garnett, Bennie Leps, Tommy Miller and Gene Preece as deacons at First Church in Elgin.

Joe Longwell as a deacon at First Church in Taft.

Grady Hall, Mike Hodges, Lonnie McDougal, Rex Plumlee and Lee Reese as deacons at First Church in Comanche.

Mike Barnett and Curtis Breaux as deacons at First Church in Belton.

Michael Barnes as a deacon at Valley Creek Church in Leonard.

Joe Stultz as a deacon at First Church in Bailey.

Ed Bingham, David Barganski, Waylon Walker and Mike Hiller as deacons at First Church in Sinton.

Revivals

First Church, Refugio; Feb. 22-25; evangelists, The Cherrys; pastor, David Parks.

First Church, Victoria; Feb. 28-29; evangelist, Barry Landrum; music, Matthew Blagg; pastor, Jim Shamburger.

First Church, Nome, Feb. 29-March 3; evangelists, The Cherrys; pastor, Les Jacobson.

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Posted: 2/19/04

Baylor Alumni Association names CEO

The Baylor University Alumni Association unanimously elected Jeff Kilgore as executive vice president of the association.

He succeeds Os Chrisman of Dallas, who has served as the association's executive vice president since December 2002.

Kilgore currently serves Baylor as university host, a position he has held for the last six years. Previously, he worked for three years as assistant director for development, programs and marketing for the Baylor Alumni Association.

Kilgore will serve as the chief executive officer of the Baylor Alumni Association, a non-profit organization founded in 1859 to support the interests of Baylor and its alumni.

Serving more than 100,000 living Baylor graduates around the world, the group publishes the national award-winning Baylor Line magazine, hosts such events as Homecoming reunions and Heritage Club, and recognizes alumni achievement through the Distinguished Alumni Award and other honors.

Kilgore and his wife, Stephanie, have two sons, Luke and John Patrick.

Jeff has demonstrated through his professional experience an ability to effectively manage programs and lead an organization similar in size and function to the alumni association,” said David Malone, who led the search committee.

”The search committee was drawn to Jeff because of his strong belief in and commitment to an independent alumni association as well as the breadth and depth of his existing relationships with alumni, regents, faculty, staff and administration of Baylor University, and his unbridled energy and enthusiasm.”

“I am very pleased with the appointment of Jeff Kilgore as executive vice president of the Baylor Alumni Association,” said Baylor President Robert Sloan. “Jeff's prior experience with the association and, more recently, his work with the university, uniquely equip him to serve in this strategic leadership position. I look forward to working with Jeff and the rest of the Alumni Association leadership as we jointly seek to serve the needs of Baylor alumni around the world.”

Posted: 2/19/04

Job changes noted for five BGCT staff

DALLAS–Two employees in the Baptist General Convention of Texas Communications Center have assumed new responsibilities.

Ferrell Foster has been named director of news and information services. He fills the post previously held by Ken Camp, now managing editor of the Baptist Standard.

Foster had been director of creative services in the Communications Center and has been a BGCT employee since 2000. Before coming to the BGCT, Foster was editor of the Illinois Baptist state paper.

Rand Jenkins was named director of creative services in the Communications Center.

He has worked as a project manager in the Communications Center since September 2002.

Before joining the BGCT staff, he was public relations director at Dallas Baptist University.

Three other BGCT Executive Board program staff positions have been changed, said Chris Liebrum, director of human resources.

Leighton Flowers' position as youth consultant in the Center for Strategic Evangelism has been made full-time. He had worked part-time in the role since fall 2003. He succeeds his father, Chuck Flowers, who retired for medical reasons in December.

“Chuck did an outstanding job of leading our Super Summer and youth evangelism efforts for over 14 years,” Liebrum said.

“He will be greatly missed. We look forward to his son, Leighton, taking these outstanding responsibilities to even greater heights.”

Naomi Taplin's position as librarian for the Texas Baptist Historical Collection and Center has been elevated to program staff. She will continue her same work and responsibilities in this area.

Karen Young's position as ministry assistant in the church facilities area has been moved to manager. She will have increased responsibilities in managing small church loans and matching grants, as well as disaster relief funding for churches.

Posted: 2/19/04

Texas churches picking Bible study material cafeteria-style

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–Ask Brad Williamson, minister of education at South Main Baptist Church in Pasadena, about the Bible study curriculum his church uses, and he needs to consult a spreadsheet to answer the question.

Understanding which class uses which material from which publisher can be confusing, so Williamson uses a spreadsheet to keep track of the curriculum and to let him know when material needs to be ordered.

Most of the church's adult Bible studies use BaptistWay Press curriculum. Some adults, as well as all the preschool classes, use LifeWay Christian Resources materials.

A marriage class uses another set of resources. A college class follows yet another. Williamson is considering using “The Purpose-Driven Life” in the near future.

“We're using a little bit of several things,” he said.

Williamson's situation has become commonplace as churches increasingly are inclined to combine a variety of materials from several publishers in Bible studies. Study leaders also are referencing several sources, including commentaries, curriculum and online information, as they prepare for each week's lesson.

About 37 publishing houses supply material to Texas Baptist churches, said Lynn Eckeberger, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas church health and growth section. Fifteen do so frequently.

Ministers are shopping to find which materials best meet the spiritual needs of their congregations rather than using curriculum because it is produced by a national or state convention, said Phil Miller, associate director of the BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship Center.

Church leaders are looking for materials that are effective, not flashy, Miller said. Brand loyalty is waning, especially with younger ministers.

Using several materials allows churches to tailor studies to each segment of the congregation, Miller said. Youth can grapple with peer pressure issues while young married couples focus on the importance of tithing early in the relationship. Each group receives the spiritual nourishment they need using resources strong in that area.

A group becomes excited about a study because they choose the topic, Williamson said.

“We want the freedom to choose,” Miller said. “The freedom to choose is good.”

To cater to the desire to use multiple materials, BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship Center staff stepped up consultative efforts and expanded their knowledge base, said Director Dennis Parrott.

Using multiple resources has several drawbacks, he said. If churches are not careful, they may have conflicting theologies presented in their studies. Leaders must be mindful that curricula reinforce the church's philosophy.

The BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship Center offers a literature selection guide to help ministers determine which materials are best for their church.

The move in many churches to focus more on book studies than Bible studies worries Parrott. While books can be helpful, the Bible provides the word of God, he said.

At South Main Church in Pasadena, Williamson takes care to make sure all materials encourage class members to delve into the Bible. “One of the things that concerns me is we need to maintain Sunday School as a Bible study session rather than studying a book about the Bible,” he said.

Practically, using several materials makes planning more difficult, Parrott said. Ministers must deal with teachers individually rather than as a department because they are using varying resources.

BGCT staff members can help ministers devise a Bible study plan. They listen to the needs church leaders describe and lay out several options that may help the congregation. Ministers can choose one of the options or go another route. Either way, the consultant will follow up on the discussion.

“We no longer control the information,” Miller said. “We are at best a conduit of information. We have got to work on relationships. We can no longer just pass material on to the church.”

Center staff aim to strengthen the work of churches, no matter what curriculum they choose, Miller and Parrott agreed.

“We really want to go in and help the local church be the best they can be in their context,” Miller said. “I think there will always be a need for that.”

Posted: 2/19/04

Baptist Briefs

New Orleans Seminary pressured to make SBC its 'sole member.' New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is under increasing pressure from the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee to change its charter to make the SBC the "sole member" of its corporation. Seminary trustees voted last October to decline a request to take that action. Following two hours of discussion, the SBC Executive Committee voted last week to ask the trustees to reverse course and amend the seminary charter during their spring 2004 meeting. The motion asks that the action be forwarded to the Executive Committee "for subsequent recommendation" to the SBC during its June 2004 meeting. If seminary trustees again decline to comply, the Executive Committee could ask SBC messengers to approve a motion to make the same request. Naming the SBC as sole member allows the convention to control the election and dismissal of trustees, while granting trustees authority to direct the organization's work and financial affairs. The requested changes would grant the SBC specific powers designed to thwart any possible attempt trustees might make to withdraw from the SBC.

Tax guide available. The Southern Baptist Annuity Board's annual Ministers Tax Guide for 2003 Returns is now available in print and online at www.absbc.org. Free printed copies are available by calling (800) 262-0511. The guide focuses on tax issues most likely to affect active and retired Baptist ministers. The guide supplements IRS materials and gives step-by-step instructions, including sample tax returns for ministers.

CBF launches new website. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has launched a new website at a new Internet address, www.thefellowship.info. Features on the home page include links to major areas such as Global Missions, church life and education; news and views; and search engines to access information.

True Love Waits cards arriving in Athens. The first 1,000 True Love Waits commitment cards recently arrived in Athens, Greece. The cards are signed by Zulu youth of South Africa and will be part of an international display celebrating sexual purity during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Organizers expect close to a million signed promises of sexual purity from Christian youth around the world will be displayed during the international True Love Waits celebration Aug. 22.

LifeWay launches online movie tie-in resources. LifeWay Christian Resources has launched a new site of online resources to help Christians communicate the gospel to people who become interested in Jesus due to the release of Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ." Access free materials by T.W. Hunt, Beth Moore and Daniel Akin at www.lifeway.com by clicking on the Passion banner located at the top of the screen.

Editors turn down $100,000. State Baptist newspaper editors declined an offer of $100,000 from a foundation to fund an independent inquiry into the Southern Baptist Convention's reasons for defunding the Baptist World Alliance. Members of the Association of State Baptist Papers rejected the offer from retired Southern Baptist leader Duke McCall to fund a study into an SBC committee's decision to withdraw membership and funding from the worldwide umbrella group. McCall is a former BWA president, Executive Committee head and president of two Southern Baptist seminaries. The funding would have come through McCall's family foundation. In discussing the offer, the editors disagreed over whether embarking on such an endeavor would imply their papers hadn't already covered the SBC-BWA issue adequately.

Pugh dies at 74. Quinn Pugh, executive director of the Baptist Convention of New York from 1984 to 1996, died Feb. 13 after open-heart surgery. He was 74. Pugh, a Texas native, also served as executive director of the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association from 1979 to 1984.

Posted: 2/19/04

Executive Committee endorses SBC
pullout from Baptist World Alliance

By Trennis Henderson & Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

NASHVILLE (ABP)–Southern Baptist Convention leaders intent on severing ties with the Baptist World Alliance have taken a major step in that direction.

Despite pleas from Baptist leaders worldwide and some Southern Baptists not to leave the BWA, the SBC Executive Committee voted 62-10 last week to approve a recommendation to withdraw SBC membership and funding from the BWA, the 99-year-old fellowship of 211 Baptist bodies worldwide.

Executive Committee members said protecting the SBC's theological identity is more important than preserving worldwide Baptist unity.

The proposal now will go to messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention in June for final approval. The action would take effect Oct. 1, deleting the final $300,000 of annual SBC support for the Baptist World Alliance, which has an annual budget of $1.7 million.

The Southern Baptist Convention, with 16 million members, is the largest member body and biggest contributor to the BWA, which represents 43 million Baptists. But SBC leaders say the international organization has become too liberal, a charge Baptist leaders worldwide deny.

The hour-long debate was limited to Executive Committee members only. BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz was present but was not invited to speak to the recommendation.

“We are, of course, very sad,” Lotz told Associated Baptist Press after the vote. “Any time there is a breach in fellowship, it is sad. … We're going out sad, but we're going out with love for Southern Baptists.”

SBC Executive Committee President Morris Chapman presented the two-page report and recommendation calling for the SBC to withdraw from the global Baptist organization.

He described an earlier report released in December as an interim report that serves as background to the committee's final recommendation.

The initial report complained the BWA sanctions theological positions contrary to Southern Baptists' conservative views and has ignored the SBC's complaints.

“Continuing to allow presentations that call into question the truthfulness of Holy Scripture, refusing to support openly the idea that all who are saved must come to the salvation through conscious faith in Jesus Christ, and promoting women as preachers and pastors are among the issues that make it impossible to endorse the BWA as a genuinely representative organization of world Baptists,” the study committee said.

The BWA, as well as its member groups, has consistently denied those charges. When the SBC announced its plan to withdraw last December, Baptist leaders from around the world voiced strong support for BWA and dismay at the charges of liberalism.

“The BWA rejects categorically this false accusation of liberalism,” Lotz said in December. “Of course, there is a spectrum of theological thought in all of our conventions, just as in local churches, but we belong to one another because we belong to Christ.”

In its final report, the nine-member study committee claimed some BWA leaders, including Lotz, “took the opportunity to vent what appears to be pent-up feelings of hostility about our convention” in response to the December report.

“Due to these revelations, we need not now justify or vilify, but can simply do what we preferred to do in the first place, which is to politely withdraw from an organization that, at least for us, no longer efficiently communicates to the unsaved a crystal-clear gospel message that our Lord Jesus Christ is solely sufficient for salvation,” the report stated.

Some Southern Baptist leaders, including study committee member Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board, said the SBC proposal is based in part on the BWA's decision last year to admit the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship into membership. Southern Baptist leaders strongly oppose the Fellowship, which was formed by Southern Baptists dissatisfied with the denomination's fundamentalist direction.

While “much has been made about the inclusion of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship into the BWA as having been the cause of our present recommendation to withdraw from the organization,” the final report added, “one soaked by a rain need not blame the last raindrop.”

“The decision of the BWA to include the CBF merely served as a confirmation that we must, as a convention, allow the world to see us without having to look through a BWA lens–a lens which for us has become too cloudy.”

The plan approved by the Executive Committee calls for SBC leaders to study how the convention “may establish an even closer bond of fellowship with conservative evangelical Christians around the world” and earmarks the deleted BWA allocation for that effort.

“For us, the decision is one of stewardship,” the report states. “If we can multiply the harvest by reapplying the funds, there is no true Christian who should take issue.”

“We believe we can take the money being contributed to the Baptist World Alliance and we can begin to build strong bridges with conservative evangelical Christian Baptists in all parts of the world,” Chapman explained.

While “we do not intend to organize a fellowship body similar to the Baptist World Alliance,” he said committee members believe international networking efforts will produce “a much stronger contribution to our witness to the world.”

The Executive Committee limited debate to committee members only, suggesting others would be able to speak to the BWA issue during the June SBC meeting.

Speaking against the study committee proposal, Executive Committee member Nancy McGuigan of Coatesville, Pa., read a resolution adopted by a committee of the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey.

Urging SBC and BWA leaders “to begin immediately to find a way for reconciliation for the good of the kingdom,” the resolution called on Baptists around the world “to pray fervently for God to bring unity through the power of Christ and to bring reconciliation between the BWA and the SBC for a unified witness to a world in need of Christ.”

Calvin Wittman, a pastor from Arvada, Colo., commended the study committee for its report. He affirmed the plan to withdraw from the BWA “since we are not in agreement theologically and in the ways we seek to practice the Great Commission.”

National Woman's Missionary Union President Janet Hoffman, also a member of the Executive Committee, issued a call for Baptist unity.

Citing WMU's commitment to continue to support the work of BWA and its women's department, Hoffman said, “It would be a blessing in the view of many if we did not rush to judgment” before SBC and BWA leaders explored ways to find unity.

Addressing the committee's focus on stewardship, Hoffman said, “There is a stewardship of witness involved here too.” She said the witness of the SBC's Empowering Kingdom Growth ministry emphasis “is diluted by division but is multiplied by unity.”

Bruce Martin, a pastor from Fayetteville, N.C., responded that SBC leaders also “have biblical responsibilities” that extend beyond a call for unity.

Citing the recommendation's call for the study committee to meet with BWA representatives prior to the SBC annual meeting, Martin proposed that the Executive Committee action be contingent on the outcome of that meeting. His motion was ruled out of order prior to the vote on the study committee proposal.

Chapman said the bottom-line question is: “Does the Baptist World Alliance best represent who we are to Christians and Baptists around the world or has the time come that Southern Baptists can best represent themselves? We do have the voluntary right to withdraw just as we have the voluntary right to engage.”

Bob Casey from Parkview Baptist Church in Gainvesville, Fla., came to Nashville prior the SBC Executive Committee meeting. There he began a weeklong fast and daily prayerwalk around the SBC building in a Joshua-like attempt to prevent the denomination from leaving the BWA. He had hoped to address the Executive Committee, but he was not granted permission.

Posted: 2/19/04

Ten Commandments back on display, but they're not alone

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ABP) –The Ten Commandments are back on display in Alabama's judicial headquarters, but their self-appointed cheerleader reportedly isn't happy about it.

Earlier this month, workers installed a display containing a manuscript of the Commandments as well as other historical law documents in the rotunda of the state's Judicial Building in Montgomery. The display is located near where the state's now-deposed chief justice, Roy Moore, had installed a different display of the Decalogue.

That display, which was removed by federal court order Aug. 27, was a 5,280-pound granite monument that featured, on top, a carving of the Protestant King James translation of the Commandments. The sides contained quotations from historical figures about the roles of God and government. It sat at the center of the rotunda.

But the new exhibit is a bit different. Besides being located away from the center of the rotunda, it contains a reproduction of the oldest known manuscript of the Commandments alongside seven other historical legal documents. They include the Constitution and the Magna Carta.

Federal courts have said displays that include the Commandments in educational exhibits along with other documents that contributed to the history of lawmaking are constitutionally permissible. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley installed such a display in the state Capitol building.

Moore was removed from his office Nov. 13 after the state's Court of the Judiciary ruled unanimously that he had violated judicial ethics by defying federal court orders.

During the summer, Moore was at the center of a highly publicized legal battle over the original monument. He had the statue installed in the rotunda of the state's judicial headquarters building in 2001 without consulting with or informing his colleagues on the Alabama Supreme Court.

Two federal courts ruled the monument was a violation of the First Amendment's ban on government establishment of religion. After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Moore's appeal, a federal judge ordered the monument removed.

Moore refused to comply with the order, saying it would violate his oath of office. That oath to uphold the Alabama and federal constitutions required him to “acknowledge God,” he said.

Moore's colleagues voted to suspend him from office temporarily, and workers in the building moved the statue to a room where it was locked away from public display.

But Moore reportedly is dissatisfied with the new arrangement. “First, they hid the Word of God in a closet, and now they tried to hide it among other historical documents,” he said, according to the Associated Press, about his former colleagues' decision to set up the new display. “Neither is an acknowledgment of God, and they know it.”

But the Huntsville (Ala.) Times' editors, in the paper's Feb. 9 edition, said Moore's own words on the topic betrayed his true motives. “Did you need any more evidence that Moore's goal throughout all this has been to promote his particular brand of religion?” they asked. “Does anyone fail to see why the federal courts ruled that Moore's monument promoted one faith over another?”

Moore has appealed his dismissal to the Alabama Supreme Court. His former colleagues have recused themselves from hearing the case, and a specially appointed Supreme Court was recently sworn in. That panel will hear Moore's appeal later this year.

Moore also has filed a federal lawsuit to attempt to regain his position, claiming his removal amounted to an unconstitutional “religious test” for public office.

Posted: 2/19/04

Judge dismisses most
counts in Dennehy lawsuit

WACO (ABP)–A Waco judge has dismissed six of seven counts in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of slain Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy.

Ralph Strother of Waco's 19th State District Court threw out the counts of alleged wrongdoing listed in the suit against Baylor and some of its officials. The remaining count says the defendants “intentionally, knowingly and/or recklessly” caused Dennehy's death.

He gave attorneys for the plaintiff, Patrick Dennehy Sr. of Tacoma, Wash., two weeks to refile their complaint.

Robert Laminack, a Houston attorney representing the father, said he did not believe anyone intentionally meant for Dennehy to die, but Baylor officials created an atmosphere and series of events that led to Dennehy's death.

The complaint alleges Baylor created an unsafe environment by hiring basketball coach Dave Bliss despite his being investigated at two other schools for NCAA violations, and when infractions occurred at Baylor, school officials tried to cover them up.

It also claims Baylor officials asked other basketball players to intimidate Dennehy so he would keep quiet about the violations. When Dennehy told coaches and administrators he felt threatened, he reportedly was ignored.

The university has acknowledged illegal payments were made to Dennehy and at least one other player.

One of Dennehy's former Baylor teammates, Carlton Dotson, confessed to shooting Dennehy and was indicted in August. He is set to stand trial March 22.

Defendants named in the lawsuit are Baylor; its board of regents; board chairman Drayton McLane; Baylor President Robert Sloan; former athletic director Tom Stanton; former basketball coaches Rodney Belcher, Dave Bliss and Doug Ash ; Paul Bradshaw, assistant athletic director for compliance; and Baylor basketball booster William Stevens. Stevens was dropped from the suit, however, because it was determined there was no case against him.

Following the ruling, Baylor officials released a statement saying they were pleased with the dismissals.

“It was the university's position that all of the individual claims being asserted were without merit,” the statement read. “Baylor is further gratified with the court's ruling that a university cannot prevent a criminal act from occurring off its premises when students are engaged in activities over which the university has no control.”

Posted: 2/19/04

DOWN HOME:
Cold or virus? Both are painful

Would you rather have a cold or a virus?

That's like asking another age-old medical question: Which is worse–vomiting or diarrhea? The answer, of course, is whatever's plaguing you at the moment.

Well, I just suffered from a cold and a virus back-to-back. I'll take the cold. Any day.

You know the kind of cold I'm talking about. Imagine cement stuffed up your nostrils, Tabasco sauce rubbed in your eyes and Silly Putty pounded in your ears. I'll spare you the gory details. Although, I have to admit, they're perversely fascinating.

You almost can't shake a cold this time of year in Texas. Colds just love roller-coaster weather, when it's 72 degrees, sunny and windy one day, then 36 degrees, cloudy and rainy the next. This is colds' favorite time of year.

Colds say: “Yeee-haw! Ain't life good? I'm going to climb up somebody's nose and give him a winter he'll never forget.” Colds can be jocularly disrespectful that way.

That's why choosing between a cold and a virus was so hard. Colds are no fun.

But this virus was worse. I didn't run a fever, but I got hot under the collar. I didn't suffer night sweats and chills, but it certainly gave me a big, fat headache and a pain in the neck.

This was a computer virus, and it infected the Baptist Standard's e-mail system. I'd rather have 10 colds than another virus like that.

You know the kind of virus I'm talking about. Imagine someone stealing your address book and sending out a bogus letter on your letterhead. Then, imagine that letter stealing the address book of everybody who received it, and doing the same thing all over again. And again. And again. I'll spare you the gory details of how it worked. Although, I must admit, they're technically fascinating.

Problem is, you almost can't shake a virus like that. We shut down our system. We applied a bunch of cyber-medicine I'll never understand. But that virus kept on working–in other people's computers, copying their address books, multiplying the e-mails and making people mad at a place with an address named “newsletter@baptiststandard.com.”

An interesting aspect of this computer virus parallels an interesting aspect of physical illness–how people respond to it.

We heard from some really nasty folks. I'm sad to admit some of them are fellow Baptists. All I can say to them is that they should pray their e-mail system never gets a virus like this. And if it does, they'll be better off not remembering how they acted this time.

But many folks responded beautifully. The ones who understand computer viruses were the most affirming and supportive. They know. They've been there, or they've been close enough they understand what it's like.

They offered a couple of Christlike qualities often in short supply–grace and forgiveness.

Posted: 2/19/04

EDITORIAL:
Our sins nailed Jesus to the cross

Who killed Jesus?

More people than ever will ask that question in coming weeks, as millions fill theaters to watch Mel Gibson's new movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” The film offers Christians an unprecedented opportunity to explain the gospel story.

The disquieting shadow of controversy has darkened the movie for weeks. Concerned Christians and Jews alike worried it would set off a new siege of anti-Semitism. History supports their fear. For most of the last 2,000 years, passion plays have sparked persecution of Jews. Moved by the cruelty of Jesus' torture and crucifixion, Christians followed an all-too-human impulse. They placed blame. Taking blame to an extreme, vicious people acted out of un-Christlike madness and extracted revenge on Jews. Some of the saddest pages of history have been written with their blood.

So, you can understand why many people, particularly Jews, have been scared. They fear a literal understanding of “The Passion” will lead to persecution of Jews all over again.

And while fear over Gibson's movie can be justified, it misses the point. Not of the movie itself, but of the historical event itself–the incarnation, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ.

It's a good news-bad news-good news situation.

The first good news is–and this is a story Christians must tell–the crucifixion of Jesus is not the Jews' fault. Yes, Jesus historically came and lived among the Jews in Palestine in what we call the first century A.D. Yes, Jewish religious leaders conspired with Roman provincial rulers to crucify Christ. But that was only an occasion of history. God promised to bless all nations through the descendants of Abraham, the first Jew, and God fulfilled that promise in Jesus. But God could have sent Jesus to another place in another time with the same spiritual effect. Later, Britons could've conspired with the French, or Texans could've conspired with Oklahomans. The Jews and Romans acted on the stage with Jesus, but they were bit players in God's drama. Today, Christians must stand against persecution of the Jews. We know the full story.

The bad news is you and I nailed Jesus to the cross. The Apostle Paul explained that every person sins and falls short of God's perfect will. The just consequence of that sin should be “death,” or eternal separation from God. But God loves us so much that God paid the debt of our sin by sending Christ–the only perfect, sinless and, consequently, sufficient sacrifice–to die in our place. So, you and I are just as guilty of Jesus' death as Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest, and Pilate, the Roman governor. If people are going to persecute others for Jesus' crucifixion, they should begin with you and me.

But the truly good news is that Jesus' passion is a story about love and forgiveness, not cruelty and hate. Despite the power of the Temple and Rome, Jesus–God in human flesh–controlled this greatest event in history. Jesus loved us so much that he willfully sacrificed himself so that he might accept the consequences of our sin for us. He died. He experienced the separation from God that we deserve. Fortunately, in the moment that defines all creation, he overcame death and arose from the grave. Now, all who accept him as Savior and Lord receive the benefit of his sacrifice. Although we will die physically, spiritually we will live forever with God–our glorious eternal destiny.

View “The Passion” as a movie of love, not hate. Feel the intensity of every blow, every cruelty as a gift from the heart of God, who suffered in Christ for our sakes. This movie tells the who and what, but not the why and how. One small way we can express true gratitude for Jesus' sacrifice is by sharing that gift with others. Use the discussions this movie will generate as opportunities to lead others to a personal, saving relationship with the one to whom this film points–Jesus.
–Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

Posted: 2/19/04

EDITORIAL:
Stand in the gap for BWA

Pleas of countless Baptists have fallen on deaf ears.

The Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee voted 62-10 to proceed with its plan to withdraw from the Baptist World Alliance, comprised of 211 Baptist conventions from around the globe.

Southern Baptist leaders accused the BWA of the dirtiest word in the Baptist dictionary, “liberalism.” Like “communism” in the McCarthy era, “liberalism” packs political potency for Southern Baptists. Never mind that BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz and President Billy Kim directly denied the charge. Never mind that Exhibit A in the Southern Baptist leaders' case proved to be bogus. Never mind that many conventions affiliated with the BWA far surpass the Southern Baptists in biblical conservatism. “Liberalism” is for losers, and the SBC likes to win.

Jerry Rankin, president of the SBC International Mission Board, acknowledged the real reason for the pullout. Last summer, the BWA voted to admit the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a group comprised of U.S. Baptists opposed to the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC. The SBC leaders hate the Fellowship so much they don't want to associate with any group that tolerates the Fellowship. And if they can't be in control, they won't participate.

The BWA is a wonderful organization. Most of its conventions represent Third World Baptists, often from places where Christians are impoverished and persecuted. They have much to teach U.S. Baptists about faithfulness, humility, sacrifice, worship, commitment, missions and divine hope born of suffering.

The BWA works on behalf of all Baptists. It provides encouragement, fellowship and support, particularly for Baptists often isolated from nurture. It provides training for ministers and clergy alike. It supports evangelism and missions and ministry to women and men. It works tirelessly on behalf of religious liberty, particularly advocating on behalf of persecuted Christians.

The SBC will take its money ($300,000 of the BWA's $1.7 million budget) and go. But the need for the BWA and its ministry remains. So, Texas Baptists and others must stand in the gap. Encourage your congregation to become a Global Impact Church, which directly supports the BWA. Contact the BWA Global Impact Department, 405 N. Washington St., Falls Church, Va. 22046; globalimpact@bwanet.org; (703) 790-8980, ext. 129.