Posted: 9/03/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 12

Worship begins with a glimpse of God's holiness

Isaiah 6:1-13

By Angela Hamm

First Baptist Church, Lewisville

Of all the attributes of God, holiness is the one that seems to take center stage. In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah was given a vision of God and his holiness. This week's lesson will show how Isaiah responded to God's holiness.

The dictionary suggests these definitions for holiness: “to divide,” “to mark off” and “to set apart from all else.” The word “holy” has come to mean “spiritually pure, sacred, sinless.”

A.W. Tozer describes God's holiness in this manner: “We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and admire his wisdom, but his holiness he cannot even imagine.”

Isaiah saw the Lord

In Uzziah's 52-year reign, many people were away from the Lord and involved in sin; therefore, Isaiah was living in a critical time in history. Although Isaiah was already a prophet, he was being called to a more difficult task. Isaiah's mission came in the form of a vision directly from God.

Isaiah 6:1-4 records the greatest vision anyone can ever have–to see the Lord! Isaiah saw God on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. At God's side were seraphs. The seraphs' task was to give glory to the Lord. The seraphs praise with a threefold repetition of the word holy. Repeating a word three times for emphasis is common in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 22:29; Ezekiel 21:27). God is holy, holy, holy, and no one else is close to being like him. God was the central object of all praise.

This image of God is designed to point us to God's majesty, which should move us to reverence and awe. Worship begins when we catch a glimpse of God's holiness. Worship begins when we stop and grasp the awe, wonder, power and sacredness of God.

Isaiah saw himself

After this incredible glimpse of God, Isaiah saw himself as he really was. He was convicted of his sinfulness. He no longer felt worthy. Isaiah cried out: “Woe to me! I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips.”

As Isaiah looked at his life in light of God's holiness, he was most conscious of his unclean lips. Isaiah was a prophet of God. Isaiah's role was to represent God to the people. The avenue for this representation was by mouth. His lips were used by God and for God, yet Isaiah saw his lips as sinful. When Isaiah stood in the presence of the living God, he became aware of his sinfulness, his arrogance and his self-righteousness.

Isaiah saw God's cleansing power

When Isaiah realized his sin, the cleansing began. The seraph took a live coal off of the altar with tongs, flew over and touched Isaiah's lips. The live coal was not intended to hurt but to heal. The coal was a symbol of purification and cleansing. Matthew Henry said, “The seraph being kindled with a divine fire put a new life into the prophet that fired his soul with a zealous love for God.”

Isaiah saw his mission

God is now looking for a messenger. Isaiah, who has been transformed by grace and made alive by the mercy of God, says: “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah's encounter with the holiness of God enabled him to respond to God's call. Isaiah understands a nation of people are in desperate need of the same cleansing he has just received. Isaiah was willing to commit his life to God's service.

A modern-day insight

How do we respond to the holiness of God? With awe? With reverence? Annie Dillard gives this enlightening observation: “Why do people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.”

Dillard is reminding us we serve a holy, powerful God who needs to be sought after with reverence and awe. God is holy, and his holiness motivates people to respond by confessing sin and serving him with all their hearts.

Discussion questions

Can you think of a time when you had an awesome spiritual experience?

How can you and I effectively reflect God's holiness in the world?

What is God calling you to do this week? How are you going to respond to God's call?

Posted: 9/03/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 19

Christ is the only way to the throne of God

John 14:1-14

By Angela Hamm

First Baptist Church, Lewisville

Jesus is the one and only way to God. He is the source of all transformation. Jesus offers people who are spiritually dead the very way, truth and life of God. Our victory is in him and in him alone.

When Christ is being formed in us, when we open ourselves up to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, when we continue to grow in our love for God and people and when we begin seeing the world differently–the result should be increased intentionality to be with people outside our Christian community. This is God's primary plan for our lives, the one Jesus modeled so powerfully, to spread God's grace and truth person to person until there is an epidemic of changed lives around the world.

The promise of a place

This chapter begins with disciples who were troubled and discouraged. They were troubled because (1) they were aware Jesus would soon leave them, (2) Jesus told them Peter would deny him, (3) Judas had mysteriously left them and (4) they had just had their last meal with Jesus.

They were confused and possibly getting nervous about the days ahead. So, Jesus starts with a pretty amazing statement, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Jesus gives his disciples two reasons for not letting their hearts be troubled.

The first reason is found in Jesus' statement, “Trust in God; trust also in me.” Jesus is telling his disciples to believe in God. When they believed in God, they also would believe in him. One author writes, “The identity of Jesus and the Father was so complete that belief in one demanded belief in the other.”

Second, Jesus says he is going away to prepare a place for them –for all those who believe in him. This can mean a place in heaven, but it also can mean a place here and now. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, we are reconciled with God, and through faith in Jesus, we can have a relationship with God now.

The promise of a person

Jesus' statement, “I am the way and the truth and the life”, is the sixth of Jesus' seven “I am” statements in the Gospel of John (6:48; 8:12; 10:9, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). Jesus says he is the way–he is the way to God, and the way to eternal life. Jesus is the way because he is the truth and the life. Jesus is the truth because he accurately explains the truth of God to us. Jesus is the life because he has God's life inside and provides that life to us. Jesus can lead those who trust him on the right path.

Jesus' words, “No one comes to the Father except through me” stressed salvation is not obtainable through many ways. All who come into God's presence must come through Jesus; no one can come any other way. Only one way exists, and this is through belief in Jesus.

A story is told of a missionary traveling to a remote village to train leaders of the local church. A guide was selected to take him to the village because the only way to reach this remote place was to walk through the jungle. The journey started out without much of a problem; the path was good and easy to follow. Soon, however, the path literally disappeared as the guide cut away at the overgrown jungle with his machete. The missionary grew concerned and asked, “Where is the path?” The guide smiled; looking back, he told the missionary, “I am the path.”

Looking for directions? Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Follow him.

The promise of prayer

God will continue the work of Jesus through his disciples and through you and me. The Holy Spirit empowers us to do God's work, share the gospel with others and bear fruit. Prayer is one of the ways we can stay connected with God. Prayer is an avenue of seeking God. Prayer allows us to ask God to put people in our path who do not have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ so we can share the incredible gift of salvation with them.

Practical helps

The gift of salvation has been offered to us through Jesus, but each of us must respond by receiving it (John 1:12; Romans 10:13).

This is how we are to respond–ask Jesus to forgive our sins and lead our lives. God will give us the strength and guidance to make a fresh start and to begin living a life pleasing to God (1 John 1:9; 1 Peter 3:15).

When we respond by putting our faith in Jesus, a spiritual transformation occurs. God's Spirit comes into our lives and changes us from the inside out so we can begin our spiritual journey (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Discussion question

Who do you know who needs to hear Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life?

How is your prayer connection holding up? How can prayer help you communicate that Jesus is the only way to God?

What is God leading you to do today?

Posted: 9/03/04

Florida vouchers ruled unconstitutional

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (ABP)– A divided state appeals court has upheld a lower court's ruling that the state's school-voucher program violates the Florida Constitution.

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the state's First District Court of Appeals ruled the voucher program is unconstitutional because it allows government-funded scholarships to be spent at religious schools.

The relevant section of the Florida Constitution states no state money “shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid … of any sectarian institution.”

Attorneys for Gov. Jeb Bush and other Florida officials had argued the program was constitutional because the provision in question did not impose any greater restriction on funding of religious schools than does the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court said a similar Ohio voucher program did not violate the clause of the First Amendment that forbids government from making a law “respecting the establishment of religion.”

Authoring the majority opinion, Judge William Van Nortwick said that argument was spurious.

“For a court to interpret the no-aid provision … as imposing no further restrictions on the state's involvement with religious institutions than the (federal Constitution's) Establishment Clause, it would have to ignore both the clear meaning and intent of the text and the unambiguous history of the no-aid provision,” he wrote.

Van Nortwick also said a more recent Supreme Court ruling–the Locke vs. Davey decision, handed down earlier this year–meant provisions such as those in Florida's constitution did not violate the other half of the First Amendment's religion clauses–that government could not limit religious expression.

But Judge Ricky Polston dissented, saying the Florida provision shouldn't be interpreted as being any more restrictive than the First Amendment.

He also said the state government already provides indirect funding to religiously affiliated groups and shouldn't treat schools any differently.

“There is no distinction between this Opportunity Scholarship Program and the state Medicaid program that funds religiously affiliated or operated health care institutions providing free or subsidized medical care,” Polston noted.

“Other examples are legislative programs providing public funds to any public or private person or organization for preservation of historic structures, rent paid to churches for use of their facilities as polling places, and government subsidized pre-K or childcare programs operated by churches or faith-based organizations.”

The case, Bush v. Holmes, began when a collection of civil-rights and educational organizations sued the state on behalf of a group of Florida parents who believed it was unconstitutional. In 2002, a trial judge agreed with them, and ordered the program halted.

Bush and other state officials appealed the ruling.

In the current ruling, the appeals court asked the state Supreme Court to review the case.

Posted: 9/03/04

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Salt & light

In reference to your editorial on some Christians' decision to remove themselves from society (Aug. 23): We must be “salt and light” in the world, not sheltered from it!

Our deeper problem is we shelter ourselves from real involvement and yet live so much like our neighbors that we cannot challenge anyone. Most differences are surface matters–we don't drink or smoke, etc. Otherwise, we share their priorities and lifestyles.

Suppose Christian families really lived differently from their neighbors. What if they had fewer activities (ballet, soccer) and dined together almost every night? What if the family went together to visit a nursing home each week? Or regularly invited their neighbors over? What if they saw life in terms of opportunities to serve rather than opportunities for self-satisfaction? And what if they were known as the household to turn to in an emergency, because they love people?

Instead, Christian families go in different directions every evening. Kids spend only minutes a day with their parents, like their friends. Evenings are spent in silence in front of the TV, or family members are apart in their own worlds.

We can't be salt and light if we are not different from our neighbors–no more involved in the community than them. We must do many things differently and give up some of the “advantages” our neighbors enjoy (TV time, “exciting” activities, etc.).

Creating a “Christian society” is worthy, but we must do this within the existing community. This means sacrifices and lifestyle changes.

Let's get busy!

Fred Smith

Lynchburg, Va.

Carter's Christianity

I find the contrast between Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Carter by Joyce Lucas (Aug. 23) quite interesting.

If Lucas had ever read any of Carter's books, she would know he does not favor abortion and certainly is “pro-family and pro-traditional marriage,” in her words.

It bothers me that some Christians believe only Republicans are the righteous people. Personally, I'll take Jimmy Carter's brand of Christianity over George W. Bush's, or Jerry Falwell's for that matter.

Donald O. Baxter

Oklahoma City

Other issues

With reference Joyce Lucas' letter concerning her support for George W. Bush (Aug. 23): Why do some Christians believe there are only two issues–gay rights and abortion–in every election?

As a pro-life Democrat, I challenge Christians to think and reflect on the many other issues facing voters–presidential leadership, educational funding, foreign policy, government spending and deficits, tax loopholes for the wealthy, Social Security, alternative fuels, alliances with other nations, nuclear proliferation and health insurance.

And isn't it truly pro-life to support taking good care–it's called stewardship–of God's creation? So how about thinking about clean air, clean water and preservation of our great natural parks and forests?

And concerning Jimmy Carter's Sunday school class: I have seen him teach. His lessons are biblical and reflected in the positive actions in his own life. Here is a man who continues to travel the world helping people find new resources for better health and new housing for the poor and indigent. Did not Christ reflect upon these as ways to live out the Christian life?

Let's not forget that Scripture and our lives need to reflect more than just two issues.

Welcome to the big, wide world of Jesus Christ!

David Huebner

Spring Hill, Tenn.

Innocent blood

Joyce Lucas' letter regarding Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Carter (Aug. 23) obviously was trying to make a point for the re-election of George W. Bush.

Yes, God's word does have something to say about shedding innocent blood. But Lucas must be reminded the present administration made the unnecessary, unjustified invasion of a country that had done nothing to America. The administration has sent almost a thousand Americans and several thousand innocent Iraqis to their deaths.

The invasion of Iraq is one of the biggest mistakes any president of the United States has ever made. So, why doesn't he admit his mistake and get out of Iraq?

Do you think the Lord is excusing him because he says he is a “compassionate” conservative?

Ross Redding

Denton

Worldly church

While on vacation last year, my wife and I were surprised that we couldn't find a Christian radio station that played anything but contemporary gospel music. The loud, brash boom of gospel rock, with lyrics no one can understand, is also replacing traditional gospel music in many evangelical churches.

While the world gets churchy, the church is getting worldly. Babbling-brook music wants to change the deep flow of gospel music, but when church music makes you want to dance instead of worship, something's wrong. Who said the church had to fit in the world anyway?

Are our hymns of calm reasonableness going to die? Will the church go rock like the world? It hasn't happened yet, but it's sure heading that way. If old-time gospel music does die, some people won't even know it's gone.

But some will. And we'll mourn its death.

Doug Fincher

San Augustine

Posted: 9/03/04

African-American scholarships,
ministries benefit from missions offering

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

MANSFIELD–In 2002, a group of Texas Baptist church leaders made an initial trip to minister in Nigeria with the help of funds from the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

That trip began a partnership between the Nigerian Baptist Convention and the Baptist General Convention of Texas African-American ministries office.

Since then, Texas Baptists have taken several trips to minister there.

Texas Baptists plan to start a water purification project at the Nigerian Baptist seminary. Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield recently sent 20 computers to Nigeria with the help of a grant.

Thousands of lives have been touched because of that initial Mary Hill Davis-financed trip, said Michael Evans, director of BGCT African-American ministries.

This seems to be the pattern with Mary Hill Davis Offering-funded ministries, which he called the “springboard for equipping people to do more ministry throughout Texas, this nation and the world.”

“I don't think we would have half the success we've had without the Mary Hill Davis Offering,” he said.

About $35,000 in Mary Hill Davis funds is allocated for African-American ministries.

Nearly 800 African-American college students have received scholarships through money given in the offering.

Scholarship recipients must be members of Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated churches who want to use their college education to strengthen the work of local churches. Nearly 40 people apply each semester for about 12 scholarships.

“When you give someone a scholarship, you're saying we want you to be equipped with these tools for ministry,” Evans said.

Erica Carter, a scholarship recipient from Concord Baptist Church in Dallas, is attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying to become a marriage and family counselor.

She hopes to improve lives by improving family relationships.

The scholarship “means a lot in the sense that it helps me pay for tuition and complete my degree–complete what God has called me to do,” she said.

Posted: 9/03/04

Bear track stars bring home Olympic gold

ATHENS, Greece–Jeremy Wariner, a junior at Baylor University, ran a personal best 44.0 to win the gold medal in the 400 meters and lead the United States to a sweep in the event at the Olympic Games.

Americans Otis Harris and Derrick Brew completed the 1-2-3 finish in the race, with Harris coming in second at 44.16 and Brew taking third at 44.42.

Wariner, from Grand Prairie, follows in the footsteps of former Baylor student and current 400-meter world record holder Michael Johnson.

Both men were coached by Clyde Hart, who is entering his 43rd year as head track and field coach at Baylor.

“It's an incredible feeling. I ran just like I was supposed to, like Coach Hart wanted me to,” Wariner said.

“I didn't get the lead right away, but I worked the turn better than I have all year.”

Wariner became the first sprinter in history to sweep every 400-meter title in a single year, winning the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships, the U.S. championship and the Olympic gold medal.

Baylor athletes now have won the last three Olympic 400-meter titles, with Johnson taking gold in 1996 and 2000.

Johnson ran a 43.18 for the world record in Seville, Spain, in 1999 and ran a 43.49 for the Olympic record in Atlanta in 1996.

“He ran a perfect race. That's what we've been working for all year, and he's earned it,” Hart said.

“To have a (Baylor runner) win gold three Olympics in a row, I'm not sure if that's ever been done before.”

Wariner and Baylor Senior Darold Williamson also won gold in the 4×400 relay race, the final track and field event of the Summer Olympics.

Wariner ran the third leg and Williamson of San Antonio ran the anchor portion of the relay.

The Americans' time of 2:55.91 fell barely short of the Olympic record, set by the U.S. at Barcelona in 1992 and the world record set by the U.S. in 1998.

Compiled from Associated Baptist Press and other reports

Posted: 9/03/04

Sexual purity movement marks 10th anniversary at Olympics

By Chris Turner

LifeWay Christian Resources

ATHENS, Greece (BP)–The 10th anniversary of the True Love Waits sexual purity movement culminated in the shadow of one of the ancient world's most impressive ruins, once a site of hedonistic indulgence.

Richard Ross and Jimmy Hester, co-founders of the movement that originated with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, called on youth of the world to make a stand for sexual purity by remaining sexually abstinent until marriage.

The event was held during the Summer Olympics on a hill adjacent to the Acropolis, site of the Greek Parthenon.

Kelli Dees, a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, prays over some of more than 460,000 True Love Waits cards as ruins of ancient Greece stand behind her.

In addition to challenging the few hundred in attendance, the call to purity was webcast through www.truelovewaits.com and still is available for viewing.

The True Love Waits event was held in cooperation with Lay Witnesses for Christ International and featured Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic gold medalist.

A highlight of the event was the arrival in Athens of more than 460,000 commitment-to-abstinence cards from youth in more than 20 countries, including 200,000-plus from South Africa. Several thousand more pledges were made, but the cards did not arrive in Athens prior to the event. True Love Waits team members learned of the additional cards through e-mail.

“I believe the diversity of countries from where we've received either cards or word of commitments made shows the global scope of True Love Waits,” said Hester, director of student ministry at LifeWay.

“It has had a positive impact in cultures around the world, and it is simple to understand why. True Love Waits is based on God's biblical design for human sexuality. He intended for sex to be between a man and a woman and within the boundaries of marriage. That is the message we unapologetically proclaim here in Athens.”

Event organizers scheduled the Athens rally during the Olympics to celebrate the past 10 years and more than 3 million American youth alone who have made an abstinence pledge through True Love Waits and to raise awareness for a biblical approach to abstinence.

“You stand before a holy God today, and you have to make a decision,” Ross challenged the audience. “Do you love God to the point where you are willing to set yourself apart from what the world is doing so that you can be a holy vessel through which he can work?”

Lewis challenged the youth to “set yourself apart in your group by being a leader and not giving in to what others are doing.”

The international setting was an appropriate place to celebrate the success of True Love Waits because of how the ministry has spread globally, Hester noted. It was introduced in Uganda 10 years ago, and Ugandan First Lady Janet Musevani credits it as the reason for a dramatic decrease in the number of newly diagnosed cases of AIDS in her nation. Most of True Love Waits' global expansion has come in the past four years, taking root in more than 85 countries. More than 100 organizations–secular and religious–have adopted True Love Waits to promote sexual abstinence.

Teenagers who pledge to remain sexually abstinent until marriage are 34 percent less likely to have sex than those who do not take virginity vows, according to a study published in 2001 by the American Journal of Sociology. The pledge works, the study suggested, because it creates an “identity movement” or “moral community” that provides peer support for teens.

It is an environment Ross is hoping will take root in countries like Greece, where abortion has become a key form of birth control and the average girl may have multiple abortions before she reaches age 25.

Sixty-seven percent of sexually experienced teens in the United States say they wish they had waited longer before having sexual intercourse, according to a survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Ross believes a similar survey done in countries like Greece would reveal similar results.

“Sexual activity outside of marriage leads to all types of tragic consequences,” Ross said. “You can see the escalation around the world in sexually transmitted diseases and the AIDS crisis spiraling out of control. The very sad thing is that it is all very much avoidable if young people heed God's biblical precepts. My prayer is that countries like Greece will be transformed because Christian young people make a moral stand and influence their peers not just for sexual purity but lead them to a personal relationship with Christ. The two are very much related.”

Posted: 9/03/04

Texas WMU volunteers in Athens urge
Olympic visitors to enter heavenly race

By Julie Carlson

Baylor University

ATHENS, Greece–Millions watched while some of the world's greatest athletes raced for Olympic medals. But three Texas women journeyed to Athens to talk to people about a different kind of race–the one the Apostle Paul described in the ninth chapter of the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians.

Kathy Hillman of Waco, Suzy Wall of Hereford and Joline Wiley of Kenedy were part of an eight-member team from Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Illinois who traveled to Greece with Woman Missionary Union's International Initiatives.

In Athens for almost two weeks, including the first week of the Olympic games, the women offered hospitality to visitors at the First Greek Evangelical Church and helped staff an exhibit at the church titled “The Other Race.”

“The basement of the church housed the exhibit, which explored the history of the Olympics and showed how it related to the athletic imagery and language in Paul's writings,” said Hillman, president of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas and a Baylor University associate professor.

“Upstairs in the sanctuary, there was a loop PowerPoint presentation that showed Paul's movements in Greece. And then in the foyer, there was an exhibit titled 'Strive' that featured athletic artwork created by children and teenagers from around the world.”

During the five hours each day that Hillman's team staffed the exhibit, they witnessed to people from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq to Hungary, China, Vietnam, Russia and points in-between.

“Primarily, we were there to greet people and talk to them about the 'other race,” Hillman said.

“For example, I spoke with a young man from Albania, who had attended college in the United States. He believed in God but said he was struggling between Islam and Christianity. I talked with him a long time, and he finally admitted what he couldn't understand was how someone who lived 2,000 years ago could die for him. That gave me an opportunity to talk about Jesus.”

Wall, a member of Frio Baptist Church in Hereford who also served at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, said that openness was a very special part of the experience.

“Anytime you were around people, you discovered why the Olympics are such a great opportunity for International Initiatives or any other missions group–the people are just so willing to talk,” she said.

“If you went to their country, they might walk right past you without saying a thing. But at the Olympics everyone talks to everybody. That makes it so easy to touch people quickly.”

Wiley, a member of First Baptist Church in Kenedy, agreed.

“We talked to people from either 52 or 53 countries that we know of–just to meet and talk to people from so many different parts of the world was wonderful,” she said.

The church was located in the heart of Athens with Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus across the street and the Acropolis behind it. The cycling and marathon routes passed in front. To attract people to the exhibit, free water and restrooms were offered and the exhibit was air conditioned.

As part of their duties, Hillman's team distributed packets of information that contained part of the New Testament in eight languages.

They also distributed a brochure titled “More Than Gold” that gave short testimonies and provided space for recording Olympic results.

The ministry team attended some Olympic venues, including water polo and volleyball matches.

They also went to a taping of the “Today” show, watched as the Olympic torch passed in the front of the church and made a side trip to Corinth.

“But we were there to work. We knew less about what was going on at the games than the people back home who were watching on TV,” Hillman said.

Plans already are under way for International Initiatives trips to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and the 2008 games in Beijing. Hillman hopes to be part of those teams.

“There is a spirit of openness at the Olympics that I'm not sure I have seen at other times,” she said.

“You talk to everybody, whether they are next to you on the Metro or sitting beside you at an athletic venue. If they speak English, then you talk.”

With additional reporting by Staff Writer George Henson

Posted: 9/03/04

On the Move

Ken Andress to First Church in Albany as interim pastor.

Ivan Birch has resigned as pastor of Second Church in Ranger.

Larry Carson to First Church in Ralls as pastor from Emmanuel Church in Hoensbroek, Netherlands.

David Cash has resigned as pastor of First Church in Ranger.

Barry Clingan to First Church in Trophy Club as pastor.

Ellis Dean to North Pointe Community Church in Lubbock as pastor from Shadow Hills Church in Lubbock.

Keith Dibble to Prestonwood Church in Plano as children's ministry intern from Indian Hills Church in Grand Prairie, where he was minister of education.

Don Hollister to Pilot Grove Church in Whitewright as pastor.

Tim Hooten to First Church in Happy as minister of music.

Jed Humphrey to South Georgia Church in Amarillo as minister of music.

Dan Kuykendall has resigned as pastor of Genesis Church in Hereford.

Jim Medley to First Church in Spearman as pastor from First Church in Rankin.

Grady Newsom to Belmont Church in Denison as pastor.

John Silva to Community Heights Church in Lubbock as pastor.

Brian Swiggart to Park Hills Church in San Antonio as youth pastor from Immanuel Church in Odessa.

Joe Zillmer has resigned as pastor of First Church in Washburn.

Posted: 9/03/04

Abilene counselors want playground time
to be healing time for troubled children

By George Henson

Staff Writer

ABILENE–Counselors in Abilene are praying play time will become healing time for troubled children.

The counseling center of First Baptist Church in Abilene recently dedicated a playground specifically devoted to play therapy.

Play therapy has long been a staple in counseling children, said Jennifer Smothermon, staff therapist and director of development at the Ministry of Counseling and Enrichment in Abilene. But the playground enables counselors to take that therapy outdoors.

“It may be that this has been used somewhere else, but we went through many journals trying to research this, and we haven't been able to find another instance where this is being done in a Christian counseling setting,” Smothermon said.

While the counseling center is a ministry of First Baptist Church in Abilene, it is located a few blocks away.

“About 95 percent of the people we see are not members of First Baptist Church, and for at least some of them, it helps that they're not coming to a church building. Also, for those who are members of the church, being away from the church property gives them a greater measure of confidentiality and privacy,” Smothermon pointed out.

A fence will surround the playground with a wall facing the road that will look like the buildings at the church. The fence and wall also will provide confidentiality to the therapy.

Elements of the playground will be much like any other.

“It's more how it is used than how it is built,” Smothermon explained. “It's not a recreational tool where you just send kids out to play. Any time a child is on the playground, a counselor will be working with them.”

For example, a child with an anxiety disorder might be led to cross a bridge to help him or her learn how to deal with fear or how to move on to a new stage, she said.

“We've been working with the children indoors through conventional play therapy. This will be a new arena to use to help them work through their issues,” she said.

Research, fund raising and going through the church committee processes have led to a two-year journey from concept to completion. Donations to build the $54,000 therapeutic playground have come from the First Baptist Church of Abilene Foundation, the Community Foundation of Abilene, the Greathouse Foundation, the Junior League of Abilene and several individual donors.

One woman who tragically lost a child donated $10,000.

“She wanted to help with anything that might draw children to counseling who were not able to work out their problems on their own,” Smothermon said.

While the use of an outdoor therapeutic playground may be a new concept, Smothermon said, therapeutic gardens have been used successfully for years, and that was the original springboard to bringing play therapy outside the walls.

Currently, the counseling center sees people from 34 counties, and about one-third of them are children. She expects the playground may bring more children to the center.

Children come to the center with a wide range of psychological and emotional issues. Many of them have problems dealing with the divorce of their parents.

“It's really very interesting, because the church initially wanted to begin this type of ministry because of the problems they saw coming out of the disintegration of families, and that is still the main reason children come here. Generally, however, if it is classified as a psychological disorder, we see it,” Smothermon said.

Among those are anxiety disorder, attention deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder and others.

The fee is $75 per hour, but that rate can be adjusted to meet the needs of an individual family, Smothermon said. For more information, call (325) 672-9999.

Posted: 9/03/04

Americans hold complex views on religion, politics, poll shows

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A new poll suggests American voters hold complex–and seemingly contradictory–views on religion and politics.

The poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Center for the People and the Press reveals both Democrats and Republicans have strengths and weaknesses on religious and ethical issues.

For instance, a majority of respondents–52 percent–said they viewed the Republican Party as more religion-friendly than the Democratic Party.

Forty percent said the Democrats were friendlier to religious values.

But an identical 52 percent majority of voters favored Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry's view on embryonic stem-cell research, which President Bush opposes. That figure is up significantly from a similar poll in 2002.

Similarly, while 53 percent of respondents said they were comfortable with the way Bush's religious beliefs affect his policymaking, he and Kerry were statistically tied on the question of whether voters were comfortable with the amount of time each candidate spent talking about his faith.

Fifty-six percent of respondents were comfortable with Kerry's discussion of faith, while 53 percent were comfortable with Bush's religious language.

The poll also showed a majority of Americans (60 percent) oppose same-sex marriage, but only 34 percent of all respondents consider a candidate's views on the issue a “very important” factor in deciding how to cast their vote.

Another 30 percent of respondents said the issue would be “not at all” important in their electoral decision-making.

A majority of white evangelicals surveyed viewed the marriage issue as “very important” in their decision-making, but no other ethnic or religious grouping in the poll showed more than 35 percent of its voters considering the issue as being of top priority.

Bush has endorsed a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage nationwide. While Kerry has said he opposes legalizing same-sex marriage, he also opposes the amendment and supports marriage-like civil unions for same-sex couples.

The survey also revealed something of a schizophrenic view of the role of religion in the public square.

While an overwhelming majority of respondents–72 percent–support the display of the Ten Commandments in government buildings, 65 percent of respondents opposed the idea of churches endorsing political candidates or parties.

Republicans in Congress have proposed a bill that would allow churches to maintain their tax-exempt status while endorsing candidates or parties–something tax law currently bans nonprofit organizations from doing.

Many conservative evangelical Protestant leaders have expressed strong support for the bill. But the poll showed, even among evangelicals who attend church weekly, only 42 percent supported the idea.

Testing whether respondents agreed with the stance of some Catholic bishops, who have said in recent months they would withhold communion from Kerry or any other Catholic politician who supports abortion rights, respondents overwhelmingly disagreed.

Of all voters, 64 percent said it was improper to deny communion over the issue.

Among Catholics, disapproval for the practice was even higher. Seventy-two percent of Catholics disagreed with denying communion to those who oppose the church's policy on abortion rights.

Even among Catholics who attend church weekly or more often, 63 percent said bishops should not deny communion to politicians over the issue.

The poll was conducted in early August. It involved 1,512 adult respondents from across the nation.

Posted: 9/03/04

Cheney, Bush differ on same-sex marriage

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–Vice President Dick Cheney surprised many of his and President Bush's most conservative supporters by publicly differing with the president on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Cheney's comments came one day before Republican Party officials ratified platform language that strongly endorses Bush's support of a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage.

The platform committee also declined to include a “unity plank” sought by some moderate Republican groups that would have acknowledged that differences exist amid party members on gay-rights and abortion-rights issues.

During a campaign stop in Davenport, Iowa, Cheney indicated he was maintaining the same position on legalizing same-sex marriage he espoused during the 2000 presidential campaign–the decision should be left up to individual states. He also publicly acknowledged, reportedly for the first time, that his daughter, Mary, who works in his campaign, is a lesbian.

When an audience member asked him what he personally believes about gay marriage, according to a White House transcript of the event, Cheney responded: “Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it's an issue that our family is very familiar with. … With respect to the question of relationships, my general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone.

“People ought to be … free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to.”

However, Cheney also said Bush “makes basic policy for the administration” and the president had endorsed the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment in February because Bush believed some state and federal courts “were making the judgment or the decision (on legalizing same-sex marriage) for the entire country.”

Cheney also said the constitutional amendment–which failed a July vote in the Senate by a wide margin and is expected to come up for a vote in the House in September–“hasn't had the votes to pass.”

Both gay-rights activists and conservative Christian groups criticized the administration for the conflict in message between Cheney's statements and the party's official stance.

“Vice President Cheney must explain how he can stand behind a platform that discriminates against families like his,” said Cheryl Jacques, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

“There are millions of Republican families who don't want to see their sons and daughters discriminated against. It must be hard for these families, including the vice president's, to reconcile their own support for inclusion and this divisive platform.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said: “I find it hard to believe the vice president would stray from the administration's position on defense policy or tax policy. For many pro-family voters, protecting traditional marriage ranks ahead of the economy and job creation as a campaign issue.”

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, downplayed Cheney's difference with Bush.

“Politically, this is not that big of a deal because this is not any different than what Dick Cheney's been saying,” Land said in Baptist Press.

“It's just that he's publicly distancing himself from the president's position.

“The president's position is strongly supportive of the Federal Marriage Amendment, which is the only position that counts.”