Posted: 9/17/04

Volunteers develop longterm love for borderland

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

GEORGETOWN–Travelers to the Mexican border town of Acuña find families living hard lives in great need. And if timed properly, they also witness a group of Texas Baptist churches ministering to the people living “an hour and a half past the Great Commission,” mission volunteers in one Central Texas community say.

For the 12th consecutive year, a coalition of congregations spearheaded by First Baptist Church in Georgetown recently served in and around the border town of Acuña. This year their sphere of ministry expanded to several hours outside the city.

Volunteers from 14 churches ministered in a variety of ways throughout the area. Medical clinics, manned by Texas and Mexico volunteers, served 580 people in four days and four locations.

Volunteers pulled about 80 teeth and distribued 450 health kits and 15 baby care kits. The team also gave away 240 pairs of glasses and more than 30,000 vitamins.

The medical relief may be the easiest ministry to measure, but it's not the most important work, said Carol Hyndman, who worked on a medical team. While doctors and nurses work, other volunteers share the gospel with the families who are waiting. That can have a much stronger impact.

“I hope that somewhere along the way someone has said something that brings them back to the saving grace of Jesus,” said Hyndman, a member of Northridge Community Church in Round Rock.

She also praised the work of the volunteers who led the Vacation Bible schools. About 67 children attended the events each day. The Texas Baptists partnered with Mexican leaders in an effort to strengthen local ministries and encourage leaders, said Charlotte Watson, minister of missions at First Baptist Church in Georgetown.

Texas Baptist volunteers provided arts and crafts materials and snacks for the Vacation Bible Schools, but Mexican leaders taught the lessons. Vacation Bible schools increase the number of contacts a pastor makes, Watson said. Those initial relationships develop into later ministry opportunities.

The volunteers found an unexpected ministry opportunity of their own as they entered Acuña. They were invited to serve in a nursing home, where volunteers visited residents, produced a puppet show and fit glasses for those who needed them.

But residents were touched particularly when the Texans went the extra step by shaving the men, clipping nails and applying lotion to and massaging women's hands, Watson said.

“It was one of the most tremendous mornings,” the minister of missions said.

Brad Reeves, who coordinated the team's travel, noted the volunteers' actions were all meant to point Mexicans to Christ. The Texans' faith in God propelled them to act as they did.

“It's a demonstration,” said Reeves, a member of First Baptist Church in Georgetown. “It's an act of kindness. It's a response to God's love.”

Each year the trip re-energizes Hyndman. The hugs and smiles of grateful children spur her to return.

“I love going across the border and seeing those smiling faces,” she said. “You really can't explain it until you experience it.”

Posted: 9/17/04

Number of poor Americans lacking
health insurance rises for third year

WASHINGTON (ABP)–The number of Americans living in poverty rose 3.4 percent last year, to 35.8 million people, while the number without health insurance climbed to 45.0 million, an increase of 1.4 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

It was the third straight annual increase for both categories.

About 12.5 percent of the population lived below the poverty line in 2003, an increase of 1.3 million from the 34.5 million in poverty in 2002. The number of children in poverty rose as well, to 12.9 million or 17.6 percent of those under 18 years old.

The average poverty threshold in 2003, according to the Census Bureau, was $18,810 for a family of four, $14,680 for a family of three, $12,015 for a family of two, and $9,393 for unrelated individuals.

Meanwhile, the average household income, when adjusted for inflation, remained unchanged in 2003 at $43,318.

The percentage of Americans without health insurance rose slightly, from 15.2 percent to 15.6 percent, but the increase was smaller than in 2001 or 2002. A census official said the increase paralleled the rise in unemployment.

“Certainly the long-term trend is firms offering less generous (benefit) plans, and as people lose jobs they tend to lose health insurance coverage,” bureau analyst Dan Weinberg said.

Posted: 9/17/04

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM
Carter clarification

In your Aug. 23 issue and at other times, I have noticed an incorrect description of my belief concerning abortion.

As a Christian, I have never believed that Jesus Christ would approve abortions except, perhaps, to save the life of the mother.

Jimmy Carter

Plains, Ga.

Democratic ID

I am amused by the letters of our Democratic brothers and sisters in the Sept. 6 Texas Baptist Forum.

Let me tell you how you can quickly identify a Democrat:

First, if Christ were here today and declared himself a Republican, Christian Democrats would find fault with him. He would have been too brutal and uncompassionate by driving the money changers out of the temple. He should have sat at a table with them and negotiated the issues with them and then held hands and sang praise songs.

Second, if Satan declared himself a Democrat, excuses would be made for him such as God was very unfair by “booting” him out of heaven, since “he was only expressing himself.”

Finally, with tongue in cheek, I cannot understand how a Christian can be a Democrat.

F.A. Taylor

Kempner

'Big Two'

This is in response to David Huebner's letter (Sept. 6) regarding Joyce Lucas' comments (Aug. 23) about George W. Bush.

The many other issues Huebner lists–besides same-sex marriages and abortion–are political, cultural, social and financial.

But the Big Two–same-sex marriage and abortion–require Christians to take a stand. These two issues are directly opposed to biblical truth and are an affront to all that is holy. The other issues will be with us and have been with us since before Christ. But the two big ones have just popped up and will, if not stopped, destroy society.

That's why Christians cannot morally and spiritually support any candidate or organization that supports these two totally heathen policies.

Mick Tahaney

Port Arthur

Coercive taxation

Your editorial regarding responses to demographic shifts in Texas (Aug. 6) is concise and to the point. Having been a wide-eyed political liberal prior to my salvation, I would identify what you spoke of as social morality and economic ethics as the redistribution of wealth for the purpose of maintaining power. I confess I have never seen this or any other government take care of the cause of genuine poverty effectively, regardless of how much money was thrown at it.

The tool of coercive taxation does provide the left with the ability to take money out of one person's pocket and put it in another's, thus making it a certainty that the one on the receiving end will vote for them next time around. Cynical I know, but it has proven true over the 55 years I have watched our system at work.

Nonetheless, great suggestions and a word to the wise.

Tom Edwards

Palmetto, Ga.

National cornerstone

Across America, actions of organizations and individuals have convinced local governmental leaders, schools and much of the public that any expression of Christianity or public display of its symbols is unconstitutional.

It is time that Christians of the Bible Belt not be the silent majority but stand firmly for what we believe is right by speaking out on these issues.

The cornerstone of our democracy is God. Our Founding Fathers were God-fearing men, who first invoked the aid of deity before entering upon the laudable undertaking of writing the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Throughout these noble documents, you will find spiritual reverence given to God.

The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Does this mean separation of church and state or separation of God and state? Our forefathers' intentions were for churches and religion to be free from government rule, not to take spirituality out of our government.

The cornerstone of our laws is the Ten Commandments. As you walk up the steps of the Supreme Court building, you can see near top of the building a full row of law-givers facing one in the middle. It is Moses holding the Ten Commandments.

Today, we see many trying to chip away and remove the “cornerstone” of America's moral foundation.

The cornerstone of a building is the first stone laid and strongest part. If you remove the cornerstone, the building will weaken, and soon it will crumble.

James Denby

Huntington

Carolina bound?

Regarding your editorial opposing the Christian Exodus movement (Aug. 23), I guess the Jews should have remained slaves in Egypt and the protestants should have just stayed in England! Forget the long history of Christians packing up and leaving when evangelism was futile or cultural differences too great to overcome.

I guess we should be thankful that Southern Baptists weren't around back then. No telling where we would be–or wouldn't be.

Jay Banks

Tennessee Colony

Scriptural worship

Jesus Christ is the same “yesterday, and today, and forever,” according to Hebrews 13:8. God is always the same. He is always at work to complete his plan. He is at work today in music too, just as he was yesterday and will be tomorrow. Do we draw the line?

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Colossians 3:1). Here we see that God wants us to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs in our worship. As a song leader, I fear rebuke for not singing the psalms.

Many people today do not know the hymns but have come to love them as they were incorporated into worship with the contemporary songs. Many have also come to love the contemporary songs as they were incorporated into worship with the hymns. It works both ways.

We should concentrate on keeping our worship scriptural. One who is truly in the ministry of music will seek God's guidance in each and every song service. He also should have a clear direction from God as to how he is to lead. Congregations should seek such leaders.

Controversy? Refer to Colossians 3:16, “teaching and admonishing one another.” We should be careful what we teach. One day, we will stand face-to-face with the Author of it all.

Ross H. Hardwick

Devine

Posted: 9/17/04

On the Move

Robert Arrubla to Iglesia Nuevo Amanecer as pastor.

Carl Bilderback has completed an interim pastorate at Hyde Park Church in Denison.

Andy Buchanan to Calvary Church in Garland as pastor.

Josh Deerinwater to First Church in Wichita Falls as junior high minister from First Church in Joy, where he was pastor.

Antonio Estrada has resigned as minister to Hispanics at South Main Church in Houston to enter the clinical pastoral education residency program at Methodist Hospital in Houston.

Aaron Fenlason has resigned as minister of youth at South Burleson Church in Burleson.

John Hassert to Hyde Park Church in Denison as pastor, from First Church in Snellville, Ga., where he was minister to children.

Blake Hockaday to Bell Avenue Church in Amarillo as youth minister from Southeast Church in Amarillo.

Chris Johnson to First Church in Covington as minister of youth.

Bob Lynch to Union Grove Church in Richards as pastor.

George Martin to Central Church in Luling as pastor from First Church in Nixon.

Tommy Morris has resigned as minister of youth at First Church in Lillian.

Michael Murphy to First Church in Smithville as pastor from Parkview Church in Lufkin.

Mell Plunk to Fellowship Church in Morgan's Point as pastor.

Stephen Roberts to North Shore Church in Avinger as pastor.

Glenn Tatum has resigned as pastor of First Church in Stockdale to become worship leader at a California church.

Paul Winegeart has resigned as youth minister at Bell Avenue Church in Amarillo.

Posted: 9/17/04

Posted: 9/17/04

U.S. News ranks six Texas Baptist
schools among top half in nation

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

This year's college rankings are in–at least according to U.S. News and World Report magazine–and six Texas Baptist schools are rated in the top halves of their respective categories.

Baylor University, the only school affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas that is considered a “national university” in the rankings, garnered a tie for 84 with Iowa State University. There are 248 national universities in the rankings.

The BGCT has three schools in the top half of the “Western Universities-Master's” category, and Hardin-Simmons University is highest at 41. It is followed by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at 47 and Houston Baptist University at 58. There are 129 schools in the category.

Two BGCT schools are in the “Western Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor's” category. East Texas Baptist University ranks 13, and Howard Payne University is 17. There are 41 schools in the category.

The rankings are based on a formula that considers “peer assessment” scores, average freshman retention rate, average graduation rate, percent of classes with less than 20 students, student-faculty ratio, admissions selectivity, SAT/ACT scores, student acceptance rate and other factors.

The rankings appear in the Aug. 30 issue of U.S. News & World Report.

Posted: 9/17/04

Adrian Rogers announces retirement plans

CORDOVA, Tenn. (ABP)–Adrian Rogers, prominent pastor and standard-bearer for the Southern Baptist Convention's “conservative resurgence,” announced he will retire in six months from the church he has led 32 years.

Rogers, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn. a suburb of Memphis, announced his plans to the congregation Sept. 12, his 73rd birthday.

“He said tonight that he was announcing his retirement; that he would continue to pastor for six months,” said Mark Dougharty, Bellevue Baptist's associate pastor.

Rogers told the congregation that during the six months a search committee will seek his successor. Bellevue, with more than 28,000 members, is one of the largest Southern Baptist congregations in the country.

Rogers was three times elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention–the first in 1979, launching a succession of fundamentalist presidents who took control of the largest non-Catholic denomination and reshaped it around biblical inerrancy and conservative social values.

Rogers reportedly plans to continue his worldwide radio and television ministry in retirement. He also plans to start a training institute for pastors and will teach at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, which he helped found.

Born in West Palm Beach, Fla., Rogers was pastor of First Baptist Church in Merritt Island, Fla., before moving to Memphis in 1972.

He is only the third pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church since 1927–a legacy that includes the famed R.G. Lee.

Under his leadership, the congregation moved from its downtown Memphis location to the current 377-acre campus in Cordova.

Rogers was elected SBC president in 1979 with the help of a movement spearheaded by Paige Patterson, then president of Criswell College, and Paul Pressler of Houston. He declined to serve a traditional second term at the time but later was elected in 1986 and 1987, helping solidify the fundamentalist hold on the convention and its trustee system.

Posted: 9/17/04

Shepherd church committed to obedience, no matter what

By George Henson

Staff Writer

SHEPHERD–Leaders of First Baptist Church in Shepherd believe the key thing about being a “key church” is obedience–even when obedience requires a double dose of persistence.

Since becoming a part of the Baptist General Convention of Texas' key church program, the Southeast Texas church between Livingston and Cleveland has helped start about 12 missions, Pastor Preston Baker said. Four of those congregations still are meeting.

“We've had a lot more failures than successes,” Baker acknowledged, “but you've got to willing to do that. You've got to be willing to take a risk. You've got to be obedient.”

Shepherd and the surrounding area are home to several pockets of population, and many of the people who live there will not come to church in town, Baker said. “Some don't want to come to town, and some don't want to go to 'that big church.' We're trying to give them alternatives.”

First Baptist Church–which averages about 150 in attendance each Sunday–has gone where those people live to offer Backyard Bible Clubs, conduct door-to-door surveys of spiritual needs, hold outdoor gospel music concerts and serve barbecue to the residents.

“And sometimes it has all just come back void,” Baker admits.

That doesn't stop the church from trying, however.

“We're often putting feelers out, and if we get any response we try to start a Bible study or a mission there. We're not giving up on these people,” he said.

The lack of immediate success has not discouraged the congregation, Baker insists.

“The majority has seen the need, and even the mission churches that failed probably baptized 10 people. We don't give up an area. We wait awhile and try again,” he said.

“We're not the only church here, and we're not saying we're the only one doing anything. All we're trying to do is whatever we can to reach our community for Christ. We are at least showing people that we care, and we are establishing contact points which may help us reach people in the future.

“We're just trying to be practical about it–we know a lot of people are not going to come here, so we are trying to find a way to go to them.”

Besides the four missions still operating–two of which were started in partnership with Tryon-Evergreen Baptist Association–the church has had several successful outreaches to the community.

While Shepherd's population is only about 2,000 people, the Helping Hands food pantry the church started 10 years ago helps feed 40 families a month. Other churches, as well as school and civic organizations, now help with the ministry. Bibles in Spanish and English also are available for the asking.

The church sustained an afternoon children's ministry with Bible study and tutoring at an apartment building that drew many children. The church has led a senior-adult Bible study on its property and another at the local nursing home.

“We've had our successes and good ministries,” Baker said. “And like the Helping Hands ministry that grew out of the concerns of a Sunday school class, all of these were started because someone had a burden to do something to reach out. These haven't been my ideas, but the ideas of laypeople.

“We do tell people, 'If you feel a call and want to start a ministry, we'll help you and support you.' We've done a lot of ministry that wouldn't have been done without a particular person feeling a call and being available at a particular time.

“It's been a joy for me to be a part of it. I've been almost as much an observer as a participant. It's great to watch someone grab hold of a ministry and stick with it.”

C.H. Murphy, director of missions for Tryon-Evergreen Association, said that while the Shepherd church is the smallest church participating in the key church program in the association, it has not stopped them from being in the forefront of the association's work.

“They have a great kingdom vision,” he said. “Anytime we need help for a mission or to start a church, all we have to do is give them a call, and if they can help, they will.

“We've had some good ministry through the efforts of First Baptist Church in Shepherd. They've had some disappointments, but they have kept on keeping on.”

Being a part of the key church effort helps keep the church focused on missions, Baker said. A key church council helps decide how to distribute the 3 percent of the church budget dedicated to key church efforts. He estimates 15 percent of the church's receipts go toward mission efforts, even though finances are a constant struggle for the rural church.

“We try to give missions the same level of priority as our youth, education and music ministries. It's definitely a priority,” he said. “It's easy to become a selfish church and just think about ministering to the people who are already coming, and I think becoming a key church helps you not to be that selfish church but to look outside your four walls.

“We're sold on the key church program, and we believe there are a lot of benefits, even from what may seem to be failures. If you're not willing to take risks, you're not going to get into this.

“We never go into an area expecting failure, but we sometimes know an area may be harder than others. We're sure are not trying to fail, but we don't fear it either. If you believe there's somewhere you're supposed to minister, you don't stop because of failure–you keep going until you find success.”

Posted: 9/17/04

After 57 years of service, Levelland
church secretary files away memories

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

LEVELLAND–When Charlene Shifflett started working at First Baptist Church in Levelland, she struggled to figure out office machines. Little did anyone–including Shifflett–realize she would outlast the machines many times over and become the “backbone of the congregation.”

She laughs frequently as she looks back on her 57 years as the congregation's financial secretary, a position she accepted shortly after graduating from high school. She retired Aug. 29.

“I was just looking for a job,” Shifflett said with a giggle.

She remembers toying with a mimeograph machine, a messy printer that makes copies by pressing ink through a stencil, with the help of one of seven pastors she would serve. It took awhile, but together they figured out how to work each piece of office equipment.

Shifflett becomes even more upbeat as her thoughts transition to the congregation and staff members. It is the love she felt among the staff members and church that kept her going.

“It just became my home,” she said, referring to pastors as brothers, church members as brothers and sisters and younger people as her children.

And members of the congregation think of her the same way. Loyce Newman, one of Shifflett's friends and a member of First Baptist Church, said many people view the secretary as a sister. Younger members see a mother, and the youngest children consider her another grandmother.

Shifflett's pure heart shines in every moment of her life, Pastor Steve Vernon added.

Newman said she turns every life difficulty into a ministry opportunity.

Beyond her work, she has ministered in the nursery and taught Sunday school.

She's also a “walking reference,” Vernon said. She seemingly knows everything about the church's history. She remembers pastors, staff and members alike. The congregation knows Shifflett puts her heart into her work and performs up to the highest standard.

“It's a little hard to put in words,” Newman said of what Shifflett means to the congregation. “She's been an all-around person in the church.”

Shifflett is thankful for the relationships she has had during her tenure, but has sensed it's time to retire. The decision does not sadden her. She laughs again as she talks about a “surprise” retirement banquet Aug. 29 the congregation knew she knew about.

She will continue being a part of the congregation and is training her successor. When her protégé struggles, Shifflett reminds her gently that “after 50 years, you won't have to worry about it.”

Retirement may be a far cry from handling the books regularly. She plans to spend more time with her grandchildren and hopes to follow her passion, painting. In particular, the secretary wants to teach children to be painters so they can experience the same joy she has in her hobby.

“I don't know if I'll even want to balance my checkbook, but I'll always paint,” she said.

Posted: 9/17/04

Texas Tidbits

Singles witness at state park. About 150 single adults spent part of a holiday weekend sharing their faith with vacationers at Garner State Park in south central Texas. It was the final event of the Single Adult Labor Day Conference at nearby Alto Frio Baptist Encampment, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Christian Life Commission. The singles divided themselves into teams–face-painting, bracelet-making, water-giveaway, prayer-walking–and spread out around the park. They ended the day by serving more than 500 hotdogs to visitors.

UMHB ministers' forum slated. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor's College of Christian Studies will sponsor a monthly on-campus forum open to ministers of any denomination. Tony Martin, UMHB religion professor, will speak on wisdom literature of Israel at the first lunchtime forum, 11:45 a.m. Sept. 23. Participants may purchase lunch at the school's dinning hall or bring their own. For more information about this or other College of Christian Studies programs, call (254) 295-5075.

Kingwood congregation marks church-starting milestone. Iglesia Bautista Hispana Woodridge in Kingwood recently was recognized as the 1,000th church start facilitated by the Baptist General Convention of Texas Church Multiplication Center since 2000. Eduardo Mecca is pastor. The congregation is tailored to reach middle- and upper-income Hispanics who prefer to worship in Spanish, a demographic few Texas Baptist churches are serving, said Abe Zabaneh, director of the center.

Dead Sea Scrolls come to Houston. Hidden for almost 2,000 years in remote caves in the Judean desert, the Dead Sea Scrolls will be exhibited at the Houston Museum of Natural Science from Oct. 1 through Jan. 2. Regarded as the greatest archeological find of the 20th century and rarely seen outside Jerusalem, these scrolls include some of the earliest surviving textual records of the books of the Old Testament. For ticket information, visit www.hmns.org or call (713) 639-4629.

UMHB program accredited. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor's community counseling program has been accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Council accreditation is important when a graduate seeks national counselor certification and state licensure as a professional counselor.

Statewide Hispanic convocation set. Baptist men from across Texas are expected to attend the Hispanic Baptist Convocation of the Laity at Highland Lakes Camp and Conference Center near Austin Oct. 15-16. Already 800 men have been trained at several mini-convocations this year, and the number is expected to surpass 1,000 during the convocation at Highland Lakes Camp. As a result, volunteers have established about 80 Brotherhood chapters in Hispanic Texas Baptist churches, and the number is expected to surpass 100 soon, said Eli Rodriguez of Dallas, coordinator of the convocation. Key events at the convocation include a leadership awards program honoring Alcides Guajardo, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, and Javier Rios, president of Varones Bautistas, "Ring of Honor" awards to Baptist men who have served 25 years or more and recognition of training teams. Key speakers include Alfonso Flores, pastor of First Mexican Baptist Church of San Antonio; Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; E.B. Brooks, director of the BGCT church missions and evangelism section; and Leo Smith, executive director of Texas Baptist Men.

Correction: An article in the Sept. 6 issue of the Baptist Standard, "Texas offers theology students multiple-choice answers," inadvertently referred to East Texas Baptist University as East Texas State University. ETBU offers two 60-hour associate degrees, and those credits can be applied toward the 120 to 133 hours required for a bachelor's degree.

Posted: 9/17/04

TOGETHER:
Give generously to support missions

In this new century, Texas Baptists already have started 1,008 new churches. We are ahead of our goals and grateful to God for his blessings on our efforts to work with established churches in giving birth to new congregations all across our state. Hispanic church starts number 608 of these, and there have been new churches started in 18 different languages.

You are doing some of your best mission work when you give through the Texas Cooperative Program and the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions. We have increased our commitment to new church starts through both of these missions-funding channels.

This year's Texas missions theme–“Plant … Water … Harvest”–comes from Paul's admonition to the Corinthian church that in God's economy of evangelism and missions, one person may plant a gospel seed, another may water the seed, but only God can give the harvest. But God does call us to plant and water, and he calls us to wait patiently for the harvest. At the appropriate time, God will send us into the fields to gather the harvest he has provided.

I have been in Happy, Alice and Pearsall this past week, talking with pastors and church members about our partnership in the gospel of Christ. Every time I go into the fields of Texas, I am renewed in my heart and stretched in my soul. Texas Baptists want to touch all of Texas and as much of the world as possible. There seems to be nothing too big or daunting that you will not, with God's help, set out to accomplish.

Woman's Missionary Union of Texas sponsors more than 30 Christian Women's Job Corp sites where volunteers are at work helping women who need job skills have the opportunity to accept a “hand up, not a handout.” Your gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions make this possible. The testimonies of these women who can now care for their children, who now take justified pride that they can achieve their goals, who have become mentors for others, who have found that Jesus really does make the difference in their lives will cause your heart to swell with gratitude that you had a part in helping make that possible.

One of the most exciting developments in our state mission strategy is to see our Texas Baptist institutions grow more and more involved in helping our churches do mission work. Texas WMU has taken note of these effective mission efforts and assigned some of the Mary Hill Davis Offering to assist our universities, hospitals and child-care ministries in direct mission activities. This collaboration is one of the ways Texas Baptists are going to be more effective in missions work than we ever have been.

I encourage you to be a part of all we are doing together by giving generously through your church to the Mary Hill Davis Offering.

While Texas WMU is busy with helping hundreds of mission activities come to pass across Texas, our Texas Baptist Men also are at work. Hurricanes have devastated much of Florida and the Gulf Coast in recent days. Our Texas Baptist Disaster Relief units were among the first to arrive, and they will continue to be involved as long as needed. The BGCT receives funds to aid in disaster relief. What you have given before made it possible for us to be there early, and what you give now will enable us to stay late and be ready for whatever comes. Every dollar given for disaster relief is used for disaster relief when you give it through the BGCT.

I thank God every time I think of you.

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas

Posted: 9/17/04

Overseas transplants may
promote human organ trafficking

By Mandy Morgan

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–If Thomas Diflo, a doctor, hears his patients talk about going abroad to buy a kidney, heart or lung, he advises against it. If they do travel out of the country to purchase an organ, he will refuse to provide follow-up treatment.

Diflo and others in the medical community warn that Americans traveling overseas for body parts are fueling a trade in human organs that exploits the world's poorest people.

But in the United States, where more than 85,000 people are on waiting lists for organ donations, desperate patients are taking dramatic, risky action, even though the exchange of money for human organs has been illegal since 1984.

Some Americans go so far as to seek destitute people overseas who may believe they have no other choice than to sell their bodies in order to support their families, reported Eric Cohen, a resident scholar at the Washington-based Ethics and Public Policy Center.

“There are practices that happen in other parts of the world we shouldn't promote by going over there to buy” organs, Cohen said. “We don't want a system where living people would rather have money than their organs.”

Twenty years ago, Robert Veatch, a professor of medical ethics at Georgetown University, argued that allowing the sale of organs would unethically encourage poor people to offer their body parts for economic gain. But he since has changed his views.

“Let's admit that we've failed and let the poor do whatever they have to do to survive,” Veatch said. “If they are utterly desperate, the one thing that is worse than banning the sale of organs is letting them starve to death. In a better world, we'd have a decent welfare program so no one would be coerced.”

But the poor aren't the only ones who see the need to deal.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 6,000 Americans will die this year while waiting for an organ donation. Only 25,000 transplants took place in the United States last year, and the demand for organs is growing rapidly.

“The need for Americans to go abroad is contingent on the shortage of existing organs in the United States,” Veatch said.

The health care and legal systems of some developing countries may not ensure top-notch medical care and accountability, according to critics of the international organ trade.

“You don't know what you're getting involved in,” Veatch said, adding that people engaged in the organ trade may not be trustworthy. “There are anecdotes of people getting transplanted and having medical complications.”

Jim Cohan, a Los Angeles-based international organ transplant coordinator, said sending Americans abroad for transplants is about saving lives and prolonging the quality of life. In the past 12 years, Cohan has arranged for 450 people to have transplants in such countries as China, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa and South Korea.

“Without me, most or all of those people would die,” said Cohan, who charges $125,000 for coordinating a kidney transplant and $240,000 for arranging a lung, heart or liver transplant. The fees include travel and surgery expenses for the organ recipient and a companion.

“I'm the last stop. People who have been on a waiting list for years are the ones I'm able to do my work with.”

Reports indicate some donors do not give their organs voluntarily.

In 2001, a U.S. State Department official testified he had heard of organs being harvested from Chinese prisoners while they were still alive. He also had been told Chinese prisons scheduled executions to accommodate the needs of organ recipients.

“In China, the vast majority of donors are prisoners who have been executed,” said Diflo, an associate professor of surgery at New York University Medical Center who has treated six patients with trafficked organs who were not under his care before the transplants.

“I know about it from patients I've seen and some of my other contacts. The patient makes the arrangements through an organ broker to travel to China.”

A Chinese Embassy spokesman denied the practice, calling such stories “fabrications.”

“Any form of trade of human organs is prohibited by the Chinese government,” said spokesman Sun Weide. “The Chinese public health institutes accept voluntary organs upon their death to rescue the very sick people and for scientific research. Bodies of executed criminals may be used, but the prisoners or their families voluntarily approve that.”

Michigan State medical anthropologist Debra Budiani conducted hundreds of interviews with doctors, patients, religious leaders and asylum seekers in several Middle Eastern countries and said all of the asylum seekers feared what might happen if they received medical treatment. They had heard rumors of others undergoing operations, only to discover they had missing organs unrelated to their illness.

Last year, 20 percent of organ donors in the United States were classified “other unrelated,” according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, a public-private partnership that coordinates organ donation in the United States.

Federal and state legislators are trying to devise ways to avoid the corruption of human organ sales while at the same time encouraging organ donation.

Earlier this year, President Bush signed into law the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act. It authorized $25 million to be spent reimbursing organ donors' travel and other expenses as well as promoting public awareness of organ donation. Outright payment for organs remains illegal.

“The current system of organ donation strikes the right balance between promoting medical progress and preserving the dignity of the human person,” ethicist Cohen said. “If we tried a system of paying for organs, the organ supply would go up but the ethical cost is too great.

“Turning the body into a commodity and the dangers of creating a coercion of people who might want to sell their organs is too great. We have to think about culture as a whole.”