Posted: 9/03/04

Same-sex marriage bans hit obstacles

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–An elections panel in Michigan and a state judge in Louisiana have presented obstacles to same-sex marriage bans in those states.

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 along party lines when asked to certify petition signatures for a proposal to amend the Michigan Constitution. The amendment would not only ban homosexual marriage, but also marriage-like civil unions between partners of the same sex.

The deadlock means the proposed amendment will not appear on the November general-election ballot in that presidential-battleground state.

Supporters of the amendment said they had collected far more than the 318,000 petition signatures needed and had expected the board's certification of the petitions to be merely a formality.

But the board's two Demo-crats–who voted against certification–said they thought the amendment would ultimately be ruled unconstitutional because it would void contracts and benefits arrangements between partners of the same sex.

Similarly, a state judge in Louisiana ruled that a proposed ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions in that state would violate the Louisiana Constitution.

Civil District Judge Christopher Bruno of New Orleans said the proposal violated two tenets of the state's charter–that constitutional amendments may not deal with more than one subject, and that they must appear on the ballot on a statewide election day. The vote in Louisiana is scheduled for a special election Sept. 18.

Two other Louisiana courts ruled against gay-rights activists who had sued to stop the amendment from appearing on the ballot. However, those rulings dealt only with procedural matters and not with the amendment's constitutional merits.

The conflict between courts in Louisiana means the state's Supreme Court will have to rule on the matter.

Posted: 9/03/04

Stadiums become sacred space for some megachurches

By Bob Smietana

Religion News Service

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (RNS)– Stop by a typical church on a weekday night, and you might find an Alcoholics Anonymous group or Boy Scout troop meeting there. At Faithful Central Bible Church, you just might find Madonna.

That's because Faithful Central is among a small but growing number of megachurches using sports and entertainment facilities as their houses of worship.

This spring, the pop star spent six weeks rehearsing for her Re-Invention Tour at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif., the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers, now owned by Faithful Central. Madonna also used the church/arena to kick off her tour with a concert.

For most of the time, “Madonna's set was on one end of the Forum and ours was on the other,” said Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, pastor of Faithful Central, which bought the Forum in 2000. The church had been planning to build a new building when it became available.

“To build a new, 5,000-seat church would have cost $18.5 million,” Ulmer said. “To buy the Forum cost us $22.5 million, and we have unlimited space to grow. It's not a bad investment.”

Worshipping in unique settings is nothing new for Faithful Central. Since Ulmer became pastor in 1992, this predominantly African-American church has moved four times –from a 450-seat traditional building to a high school and two converted warehouses before settling at the Forum.

About 6,000 people attend the 10 a.m. Sunday service at the arena, with another 1,000 attending a 7 a.m. service at “the Tabernacle,” a converted warehouse. The two services will be combined later this year.

“Our church wouldn't know what to do in a stained-glass, padded-pew structure–we haven't been in one for so long,” Ulmer said.

The Forum isn't completely converted to a church space. It still hosts concerts and sporting events when not being used for worship.

Ulmer said the building is a “tool for ministry”–offering the public positive forms of entertainment while employing 500 to 600 people at each event.

Besides, he said, what else do you do with a building that seats 18,000 people on the other six days a week?

Faithful Central is not the only church to take over a sports arena. In Houston, the Compaq Center–former home of the Rockets–is being converted for use by the 30,000 member Lakewood Church. It's scheduled to reopen next spring after a $75 million renovation. Lakewood has signed a 30-year lease on the building, which will seat 16,000 for worship.

Scott Thuma of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research doesn't think many other churches will follow in the footsteps of Lakewood and Faithful Central. Instead, he said, most megachurches build “a sanctuary that looks like a stadium,” complete with giant projection screens and stadium-style seats.

At least two churches, he adds–Creflo Dollar's World Changers Church International in College Park, Ga., and the Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles–meet in buildings that resemble the Astrodome. Crenshaw Christian Center's building is called the Faith Dome.

There is something fitting about a former stadium becoming a church, Thuma said.

“It's not that much of a stretch to go from one national religion–football, baseball and basketball–to another,” he said. “The stadium space, in some sense, already has a sacred feeling.”

Ulmer admits it feels odd to be preaching in the same venue where he once watched the Lakers play. But what makes worship sacred, he said, is not the place–it's God working in the lives of people.

“Theologically,” he said, “we emphasize that the church is the people. The building has been sanctified and consecrated when the people of God are gathered and the presence of God fills the place.”

Some of the banners from Laker championships are still in place at the Forum, Ulmer said.

“We say that we are still building champions. We are continuing the legacy of building champions.”

Posted: 9/03/04

Texas Baptist Men serve in Florida
after one storm, await arrival of another

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

BARTOW, Fla.–Long after the rain caused by Hurricane Charley stopped, Texas Baptist Men quietly continued meeting needs in the wake of the storm that blasted the Western Florida coast in mid-August. And they prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Frances.

The statewide Texas Baptist Men feeding unit and chainsaw crews served as part of a massive Baptist relief effort in Florida before their units relocated to Georgia to wait out Frances.

More than 100 Southern Baptist disaster relief teams responded to the wreckage left by Charley. Volunteers prepared more than 800,000 meals, provided nearly 15,000 showers, cleaned more than 3,000 homes and washed nearly 2,000 loads of laundry throughout the state.

The state-wide Texas Baptist Men food service unit, one of several Texas feeding teams that have served for some duration, prepared more than 31,000 meals. A Texas Baptist Men communications unit helped coordinate all the Southern Baptist disaster relief units.

Larry Burks, a member of First Baptist Church in Plano who coordinated the statewide unit, said conditions were improving in the state, but a lot of work remained.

Workers had reconnected much of the power near Bartow and were moving south to harder-hit areas.

Trees remained down. Some areas still did not have electricity. Homes were missing roofs. Other houses had trees lying in the middle of them.

“The need is there, and more and more people are needing help,” he said.

Frank Brooks, associate pastor of education and activities at First Baptist Church in Bartow, Fla., said the Texans' work inspired and elevated the congregation.

After seeing the Texas Baptist volunteers, members began trying to help other people in need, he said.

Having the unit at the church also reminded the town their congregation was there to reach out in service, Brooks said.

The ministry helped church members make contacts that can become opportunities to share the gospel.

Residents witness kindness in the actions of disaster relief volunteers, Burks said. He hopes they also saw Jesus.

“I think what they see is Southern Baptists cutting trees, cleaning and feeding them,” Burks said.

“There's only one thing they could think–that we are doing a good deed in the name of Jesus.”

Brooks said residents were upbeat as neighbors came together to help.

Some residents were gathering and cleaning one house at a time as a team.

But they were aware danger lurked on the horizon in the form of Hurricane Frances.

Posted: 9/03/04

Agency relies on churches to
connect poor to state aid programs

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

AUSTIN–A Texas state agency has assigned a job to churches–help connect needy people to governmental assistance programs.

Last year, the legislature passed and the governor signed HB 2292. That bill sought to transform the state's health and human services agencies by collapsing 12 entities into one large one with four departments. It also changed the way people apply for state benefits.

The transition is under way, and the business plan of the new Texas Health and Human Services Commission reveals a role for community-based organizations and churches are a part of that.

The state is expecting churches and other community-based organizations to be the front door for one-fourth of the people applying for state aid, including Medicaid, welfare, food stamps and mental health services, said Suzii Paynter, director of citizenship and public policy for the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Christian Life Commission.

State projections anticipate the need for 1 million volunteer hours and 627 volunteers annually to help people apply for state aid. All of those volunteers would come from community-based organizations, including churches.

This new approach is necessary because the Health and Human Services Commission will close hundreds of offices around the state in the next few years, beginning this fall, according to its business plan.

Today, most people who apply for state benefits do so at one of 381 Department of Human Services offices administered by the agency's staff, says a report from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a group that challenges key portions of the state plan. The state also “outstations” staff at hospitals and community health centers to help people apply for Medicaid.

That report anticipates 200 state offices will be closed and 4,500 staff people will lose their jobs.

The state is moving to a process built around “call centers,” probably three of them, that will be operated by a for-profit corporation on contract, Paynter said. Applications for state aid will come to the centers via telephone, the Internet, mail, fax and community organizations, including churches.

By closing offices and reducing staff, the state hopes to save money and make the process simpler for those applying. In the past, different application processes have been required for different types of assistance. In the new approach, there is only one application process.

But no one really knows yet how the new system will work, so advocates for the poor and other disadvantaged groups express concern that the old system is being dismantled before the new one has been tested, Paynter said.

Some of the cost savings for the state will come by consolidating the work of hundreds of state offices into the call centers. One application process also will bring savings. Another large portion of the cost savings will come at the expense of churches, nonprofits and other community organizations.

“Local communities will be forced to absorb additional costs, meaning less money for other services,” Paynter said. “It has a domino effect whenever the state cuts funds for services. Local groups pick it up.”

But concerns are about more than cost; they're about service.

Churches and other community organizations will provide the “person-to-person contact” with benefit applicants, Paynter said. Helping an applicant may be “a very time-consuming part of the process because of the nature of the clients and their needs.” These people often are in crisis, have a language barrier or need help with documentation.

“My concern is that this is a labor-intensive part of the process,” she said.

One projection calls for 250,000 applications to be handled during the 1 million volunteer hours, Paynter said. That comes to an average of four hours per application.

Whatever the actual hours involved, the state is “expecting the applications served by community-based organizations to be time-consuming,” she said.

Paynter expressed five concerns regarding the role of community organizations:

“Clients will not receive proper services and will perceive a system that is inconsistent, inefficient and regionalized.”

“Tithes, offerings and charitable gifts are not given to replace the state infrastructure,” rather they are for “direct service and ministry.”

“Screening and applications tasks will be vulnerable to error, fraud or personal bias.”

“There is no test plan before closing regional DHS offices.”

Churches and other community-based organizations “have not been included in the process of making a business plan.” Only in recent days have state officials expressed a desire to involve community-based organizations in making future plans, she added.

Texas Impact, which represents mainline Christian denominations, is producing an online reference for churches that explains the new system, she said. Visit www.texasimpact.com.

Posted: 9/03/04

Texas Tidbits

American Family Association honors Sloan. The American Family Association presented its highest award to Baylor University President Robert Sloan for "exceptional and devoted leadership to God and country." Tim Wildmon, president of the association, made the presentation, which was carried live on more than 200 American Family Radio affiliates nationwide. Wildmon was at Baylor for a news conference with Christian singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman, who will perform a free concert in Waco Sept. 18 at Floyd Casey Stadium. Founded in 1977 by Don Wildmon, the American Family Association is a national Christian organization that focuses primarily on the influence of television and other media on society.

Baylor, Hardin-Simmons picked 'best in west.' Baylor University in Waco and Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene have been selected by The Princeton Review in the 2005 edition as among the "Best in the West" colleges and universities. They are among 23 Texas schools featured, including 13 private or church-related schools and 10 state schools.

Endowed scholarship named at UMHB. An endowed presidential scholarship at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has been named in memory of Delores Hinton of Temple. She was one of seven people killed in a bus accident on Feb. 14, 2003, including five members of Memorial Baptist Church in Temple. Hinton–who devoted 20 years to public education as a teacher, counselor and administrator–retired from UMHB in 1991 after 10 years as a professor of education and director of the mid-management graduate program. The scholarship will benefit students preparing for a teaching career.

Immersion Spanish classes slated. The Baptist University of the Americas Center for Cultural and Language Studies will host the fall session of immersion Spanish language and culture classes Oct. 18-22 on the school's San Antonio campus. Classes feature a balance of classroom instruction, field trips and conversational interaction with BUA students from Latin America. Cost for the immersion classes is $200 for the week, which includes all expenses except housing. Texas Baptists are eligible for a $100 scholarship provided through the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions. For more information, call Mary Ranjel at (210) 924-4338 or (800) 721-1396 or e-mail mranjel@bua.edu.

Jesus in Islam Symposium slated at HBU. Houston Baptist University's College of Arts and Humanities is co-hosting a Jesus in Islam Symposium with the Houston Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 in Glasscock Center on the HBU campus. The symposium is a Muslim/Christian dialogue with three Muslim scholars speaking on "The Religion of Islam," "Jesus in Islam" and "What Really Happened to Jesus After His Crucifixion." The event is free to the public. For more information on the symposium, contact Sharon Wiser at (281) 649-3000, ext. 2212.

DBU establishes endowed scholarship. Dallas Baptist University has established the Edward and Jan Spann Endowed Scholarship Fund to benefit students in the College of Fine Arts. Ed Spann served in the DBU College of Fine Arts 15 years and was named dean in 1992. Spann retired as dean at the end of the 2003-2004 academic school year, but continues to serve as a part-time professor. Jan Spann is a member of the DBU Women's Auxiliary Board. She has taught elementary school and was one of the first two teachers at the DBU Lab School when it first began to offer classes in 1990.

Correction: An article in the Aug. 23 Baptist Standard about Houston Baptist University's Bible in America Museum included incorrect contact information. The correct e-mail address is dseverance@hbu.edu. For more information, visit the website at www.hbu.edu/bia .

Posted: 9/03/04

TOGETHER:
Mission statement focuses on 'doing'

What shall we give ourselves to do the next few years in the Baptist General Convention of Texas? For the past five years, we have assisted churches and related ministries to be the presence of Christ in the world. Churches across Texas have asked themselves, “If Jesus came to our town, where would he go, who would he talk to, what questions would he ask, who would he comfort and who would he confront, what would make him cry, what would cause him to laugh?”

When you know the answer to those questions, you have a pretty good idea what the agenda for your church and your life needs to be. Churches begin to change when they realize they are the continuing presence of Christ in the world. If the church is, as Paul describes it, the body of Christ, then the church is the continuation of the incarnation of God in the world. The church is making visible and tangible the reality of Christ Jesus so people can get close, can experience the warmth, can know God. The effectiveness of a church in conveying that truth is dependent on two things–their obedience to God's call and commands as made known in Scripture and their sensitivity and openness to the Holy Spirit.

So, why am I suggesting we craft a new mission statement for the BGCT? Because the current one is more about “who” we are than “what” we are called to do. We need a better description of what we are to do to help churches achieve their goals.

The mission statement that is being proposed to the Executive Board this month says: “The Baptist General Convention of Texas encourages, facilitates and connects churches in their work to fulfill God's mission of reconciling the world to himself.”

This is a great biblical theme: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). What Jesus did on the cross was break down the wall of separation that divides the world's peoples and offer to us all the peace that comes from being one in him.

God still is in the business of reconciling the world to himself. That is what he calls all of us to join him in doing. It includes evangelism, personal witnessing, Bible teaching and preaching, friendships, caring ministries, missions, Christian stewardship of the creation and the conviction in the church that we exist not for ourselves but for the world God loves.

The arrow words in the mission statement are “encourages,” “facilitates” and “connects.” The work of the BGCT will be to stand beside the churches so that we encourage them to see the possibilities around them; facilitate access to high-quality, cutting-edge, biblically sound and culturally appropriate resources and consultations; and connect them to one another for the most effective ministry and missions work ever before achieved.

What about related ministries? The institutions and associations are key players in our vision. Core strategies, to be outlined over the next few weeks, will describe our plans to work in dynamic cooperation and with increasing collaboration so the churches we all serve will be strengthened.

The developing news about our strategic planning initiative will be printed in the Baptist Standard. We will keep you informed about our progress and the prayers we need! Please don't forget to pray for me every time you read this column.

We are loved.

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

Posted: 9/03/04

One year after Texas approves tort reform,
Baptist hospitals seeing substantial benefit

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–About a year after Texas capped the amount plaintiffs could seek from hospitals for pain and suffering, Texas Baptist hospital and retirement- care leaders are singing the reform's praises.

Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated hospitals have seen a considerable drop in the number of malpractice suits against them since the legislation passed, said Michael Waters, retiring president of Hendrick Health System in Abilene.

That pattern in Texas Baptist institutions reflects a larger trend among hospitals in the state. Texas hospitals reported 1,922 lawsuits against them Sept. 1, 2002, to Aug. 31, 2003, the Texas Hospital Association reported. That number fell to 539 lawsuits from Sept. 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.

With the drop in lawsuits has come a drop in malpractice liability premiums. The Texas Hospital Association reports its members' premiums were down 8 percent for the fiscal year 2004 and decreased 17 percent for fiscal 2005.

Prior to the tort reform, hospitals were paying hundreds of thousands of dollars each month to protect themselves from immense lawsuits, Waters said. Hendrick was being sued once every couple months. The hospital received about 40 suits the week before the reform passed.

Legislators declared plaintiffs could seek no more than $250,000 for pain and suffering from a care facility. There is no cap on how much people can seek for actual damages.

Since tort reform, Hendrick has not been sued, Waters noted. Leaders have dropped the amount of funds allocated to legal protection and invested the rest of the money into health care and ministry.

“What really did hurt us was the lottery mentality that was in place before tort reform,” Waters said during a recent BGCT Human Welfare Coordinating Board meeting.

Wayne Merrill, president of Baptist Memorials Ministries in San Angelo, said he has seen a similar drop in lawsuits against Texas Baptist retirement-care facilities.

“I think it's great,” he said. “It cut down on insurance.”

In other business, the BGCT Human Welfare Coordinating Board approved a proposed 2005 budget of slightly more than $15.9 million, up from last year's $15.5 million.

Most of the allocations remained the same, but funds were shifted away from hospitals' education support and into their chaplaincy and charity- care allocations. This shift more accurately reflects who will use the money.

Overall, child and family care, health-care and aging-care allocations all increased slightly.

The board also elected as chairman Jerry Becknal, pastor of Cranes Mill Baptist Church in Canyon Lake. Mark Neeley, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mineola, was elected vice chairman.

Board members approved a resolution of gratitude and appreciation for Waters' 24 years of service at Hendrick.

Posted: 9/03/04

Homeland Security taps Victim Relief Ministries for lead role

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–Victim Relief Min- istries, an interdenominational nonprofit organization related to Texas Baptist Men, will take the lead in mobilizing the country's faith community in the event of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty crisis.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security enlisted the national organization to train volunteer victim-relief chaplains during sessions in southern California, Dallas and New York City.

Gene Grounds, the organization's executive director, wants to develop “first response” teams in the nation's 100 largest cities, with help from at least 10 percent of the churches in each site. Response teams would meet the immediate needs of victims, and other trained church groups would minister to them in the long term.

The group follows the model Grounds sees in the biblical story of the good Samaritan. The Samaritan met immediate physical and emotional needs but also provided long-term care for the man who was robbed and beaten.

Texas Baptists help support the ministry through their gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

Victim-relief chaplains fill a niche in the system, said Rickey Hargrave, a police chaplain and board member of the Dallas organization. While police chaplains minister to police officers and fire chaplains serve firefighters, they rarely serve victims, especially for long periods, he said.

“On the front end of the tragedy, everyone responds until the person gets released from the hospital or there is a funeral,” Grounds said. “Then the victim is left to ask, 'Where did everyone go?' Our task is to answer, 'Who is there after the police are gone?'”

This ministry can help people recover faster from trauma, Hargrave said. Volunteers provide immediate and continuing counseling.

“We are here to help people through difficult times, helping them return to normalcy, helping them return to a place where they can see there is a loving God,” Hargrave said.

Victim-relief chaplains minister in other situations as well, including violent crime scenes, natural disasters and car crashes, noted Bobby Martin, director of church program ministry for the Dallas Baptist Association.

“People are searching for life answers after these tragedies,” he said. “And, of course, the life answer is God.”

Victim Relief Ministries has trained 1,200 volunteers nationally, Grounds said. Five Texas Baptists recently took a training trip to Israel, where they learned about ways to minimize trauma related to terrorist attacks.

Of the volunteers Victim Relief Ministries has trained nationwide in the last few years, 455 are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Texas has seven victim relief chapters, including Houston, Johnson County and Central Texas.

For more information, visit www.victimrelief.org.

Posted: 9/03/04

Church discovers benefits of holistic wellness;
sees lives changed through emphasis on health

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–At first glance, The Springs Baptist Church may seem a little like an exercise infomercial.

The pastor lost 50 pounds. A member lost 30 pounds. A 65-year-old woman and her husband have started a workout regimen. And each loves it.

A deeper look reveals not a collection of over-achieving health fanatics, but a group of people looking to live out their faith more fully.

The congregation stresses that each aspect of humanity is linked to other characteristics, and Christians are called to love God with their hearts, souls, minds and bodies, said Pastor Brad Russell.

That emphasis translates into church-sponsored wellness and recovery classes in addition to Bible studies.

The classes attempt to deal with emotional, substance and physical issues that plague people in a way that points them to God, Russell said.

The push goes beyond the classroom. The congregation discusses trying to have healthy food at the visitors' table and started a running group.

Members do not always run together, but they support each other and bond around their common interest.

The church is seeing lives changed. People are becoming healthier. They are rethinking their eating habits and exercising. Some are working through emotional issues in the classes.

“One of my concerns is that there are people who are strong in many ways, but not well,” said Russell, who will lead a seminar during a Health Ministries Conference Sept. 10-11 in San Antionio, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas Missions Equipping Center.

“To be the strongest person you can be, you need to take care of yourself, spiritually, physically and emotionally.”

Poor physical condition affects the way a person encounters God, Russell noted. An unfit individual is more likely to get depressed, and depression can lead a person to question God's goodness.

A person who is in good shape has the energy to do God's will, he continued. Ministry can call for long hours in crisis situations that drain the body. A person must be able to persevere when needed.

“If I neglect my body and don't take care of it, it's just as much a sin as if I neglect reading the Scriptures and studying the Bible,” said Judy Sinter, age 65.

“It goes hand in hand,” Jennifer Minx echoed. “Again, it's intuitive. God uses our physical bodies to work through us, and if we take care of our bodies it follows that he can do more through us.

“God tells us that our bodies are temples, so we should treat them with the same respect that we treat physical sanctuaries as a way of worshiping him.”

Wellness has a universal appeal, Russell added. Talking about it opens conversations about spiritual issues.

Through those discussions, lives can eventually change, he maintained.

“It has an appeal for everyone,” he said. “Even the most unchurched person wants to be well.”

Posted: 9/03/04

CYBERCOLUMN:
Talent and energy

By Berry D. Simpson

When Cyndi and I learned our weekend assignment for Rock the Desert (a Christian concert weekend) was to drive a 16-passenger van carrying Kutless, a Christian rock band from Portland, I looked them up on the Internet and realized, “We don’t have enough tattoos to hang out with these guys.”

Well, as it turned out, we didn’t need tattoos. No matter how much tattooing or piercing or spiky hair or black clothes we might have added, we still would’ve looked like their parents. And worse, parents trying to look cool.

In fact, the more we drove these guys around (from performing stage to sponsor’s tent to merchandise tent to artist’s hospitality trailer … and like that), the more we felt like their parents. And the more they treated us that way. (You’ll have to ask Cyndi about the conversation she had with one of the guys. The kind of conversation a boy should have only with his mom.)

And then the guys took the stage and fired up their guitars. What were once sweet young men turned into screeching thumping banshees. Like parents of college freshmen, Cyndi and I said to each other, “What happened to those sweet kids we use to have?”

The next afternoon, on Sunday, we drove another band around, the Warren Barfield Trio.

When we first picked them up at their hotel, they were like zombies, exhausted from too many days on the road and too little sleep. I wondered, “How could this be a band for Rock the Desert?” They act more like an easy-listening act. But then, up on the stage, Warren started playing his North Carolina R&B, and I was convinced. I loved his music, and vowed to buy a CD as soon as possible.

After their performance, the trio of guys was absolutely energized. I guess performing—no, the music—poured adrenaline into their bodies and woke them up. The change was amazing.

I enjoyed the weekend, even though it came with sacrifice. Serving on the transportation team meant we missed a lot of the music and most of the live performances, but it also meant we got to know a few of the performers personally. It was great fun. I love hanging around talented people who are masters of their craft. I tell myself that if I hang with guys who excel at music and songwriting, some of their gift, or maybe a little of their inspiration and motivation, will rub off on me, and I’ll become better at what I do.

Why would talking to a young songwriter about life on the road make me a better engineer, or a better teacher, or a better writer, or a better anything, you may ask? I don’t know, but I am counting on it. I guess I am like one of those people who hang around their wealthy friends hoping some stray cash will fall to the ground and they’ll be close enough to scoop it up. I want to be standing next to one of God’s artists in case God decides to send another dose of inspiration, and some of it might splash on me.

What I enjoyed most was watching the bands perform from back stage. I found a spot against the elevated platform where I could lean my arms on the stage and get my own personal up-close view of the musical energy and total abandon of their performances.

I don’t know how to do that myself. I don’t know how to give 100 percent in a wild burst. I am always holding back a lot of my energy, maybe even most of my energy, in reserve for future use. Just like I will never spend the last dollar in my wallet, I never give the last bit of myself.

I’m not bragging, by the way. I wish I knew how to make the big instantaneous commitment that will put me in the league with Kutless and Warren Barfield. I guess I’m more afraid of failure than inspired by success. My fears overcome my passions. Like writer and marathon runner John Bingham, I often wonder what it would be like to capture “that young spirit of risk, to break free from passive restraints and protective packaging and total security and do something that scares me a little.”

Where am I going with this train of thought? I don’t know, except to say thanks for the opportunity to spend a couple of days driving around in the heat and dust, being inspired by young artists who have deep gifts from God. I’m already thinking about my tattoos for next year.

Berry Simpson, a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland.

Storylist for 9/06/04 issue

Our Front Page Articles
• Academy staff see themselves as missionaries

• Churches front and center in proposed BGCT strategic plan

• Texas offers theology students multiple-choice answers



• Anglos no longer majority in Texas; BGCT responds to changing needs

• Wichita Falls church makes splash with water park baptism

• BGCT president considers proposed reorganization dramatic but overdue

• Churches front and center in proposed BGCT strategic plan

• African-American scholarships, ministries benefit from missions offering

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

• Bear track stars bring home Olympic gold

• Sexual purity movement marks 10th anniversary at Olympics

• Texas Baptist Men serve in Florida after one storm, await arrival of another

• Agency relies on churches to connect poor to state aid programs

• One year after Texas approves tort reform, Baptist hospitals seeing substantial benefit

• Homeland Security taps Victim Relief Ministries

• Church discovers benefits of holistic wellness; sees lives changed through emphasis on health

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

• On the Move

• Around the State

• Texas Tidbits

Back to School at Texas Baptist Educational Institutions
• Children find hope for a new school year at backpack bash

• Texas offers theology students multiple-choice answers

• B.H. Carroll Institute takes 'back-to-the-future' approach to theological education

• Two Hardin-Simmons staff go from marketplace to campus

• Williams resigns as Baptist Laity Institute head; program's future 'up in the air'

• Houston-based online program offers theology classes for church planters

• Baptist University of the Americas holds strategic role, president maintains

• BGCT, Richmond seminary offer online classes for ministers of small churches

• Academy staff see themselves as missionaries

• San Marcos Baptist Academy makes major changes this year

Previously Posted
• Interfaith dialogue at Wayland Baptist University-Lubbock

• Nation needs visionary Christians in pulpits, courthouses, Falwell insists

• Baptist Distinctives Committee presents annual Baptist Heritage awards

• BGCT-endorsed chaplains top 200; most are first-time endorsements

• Chaplains offer tips for hospital visitation
• Road was sometimes rocky, but still led to mountains

• SPAMARAMA reaches Houston youth

• Baptist Briefs



• Wichita Falls church makes splash with water park baptism



• Stadiums become sacred space for some megachurches

• Florida vouchers ruled unconstitutional

• Americans hold complex views on religion, politics, poll shows

• Same-sex marriage bans hit obstacles

• Cheney, Bush differ on same-sex marriage



• On the Move

• Classified Ads

• Cartoon

• Around the State



• EDITORIAL: Demographic data point to needs

• EDITORIAL: Will the 'crops' be watered

• DOWN HOME: What big teeth you have, Satan

• TOGETHER: Mission statement focuses on 'doing'

• ANOTHER VIEW: Church directories & U.S. politics

• Texas Baptist Forum

• Cybercolumn by Berry D. Simpson: Talent and energy



• BaptistWay Bible Study for Sept. 12: Paul knew what it was to be unfairly maligned

• LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Sept. 12: Make sure there is room for Christ in your life

• LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 12: Worship begins with a glimpse of God's holiness

• BaptistWay Bible Study for Sept. 19: Magnify the words written on your heart

• LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Sept. 19: Like John the Baptist, draw people to Jesus

• LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 19: Christ is the only way to the throne of God


See articles from previous issue 8/23/04 here.