Posted: 8/13/04

Stem cell research becoming a focus of Presidential campaign

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—On the third anniversary of a controversial decision by President Bush limiting embryonic stem-cell research, both parties' presidential campaigns focused on the morally contentious topic.

In Aug. 9 campaign appearances, Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards and first lady Laura Bush offered arguments for and against the practice.

Edwards, a senator from North Carolina, told reporters his running mate, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, would ease restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research if elected. In a conference call from Chicago, Edwards called the Aug. 9 date “a sad anniversary.”

The Kerry-Edwards campaign also issued a statement calling Bush's stem-cell policy an “ideologically driven ban.”

Meanwhile, Laura Bush told the Pennsylvania Medical Society, “I hope that stem-cell research will yield cures,” according to the Washington Post. But, she added, “We don't even know that stem-cell research will provide cures for anything, much less that it's very close.”

President Bush announced three years ago—in the first prime-time television address of his presidency—that he would limit federal funding for stem-cell research to $100 million and limit the scope of that federal research to “lines” of embryos that already existed in laboratories.

The cells, harvested from five-day-old embryos, have the potential to grow into many different kinds of tissue. Scientists hope that continued study on the cells will enable the creation of replacement tissues that can be used to treat or even cure many debilitating and terminal conditions, such as Parkinson's disease or spinal-cord injuries.

Anti-abortion activists oppose embryonic stem-cell research because, under current procedures, harvesting the cells destroys the embryos. But polls show that a majority of Americans —as high as 70 percent in some surveys —approves of the research.

Kerry's campaign has been focusing on the topic for several days. Delivering a radio address, Kerry said, “We must look to the future not with fear, but with the hope and the faith that advances in science will advance our highest ideals. … We're going to lift the ban on stem-cell research. We're going to listen to our scientists and stand up for science. We're going to say yes to knowledge, yes to discovery, and yes to a new era of hope for all Americans.”

Kerry said he opposes creating embryos for the purpose of research.

Edwards endorsed a set of ethical guidelines governing the research that is essentially identical to a set of standards for stem-cell research that Clinton administration officials had devised but never put into effect. Among those standards were the requirement that the embryos studied would be unwanted extras from fertility treatments that would have been destroyed or remained permanently frozen anyway.

Asked about the subject, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said, “The president does not believe we should be creating life for the sole purpose of destroying it.” McClellan also said there had been “a lot of misreporting about this issue” in the press, because Bush's announced policy was not a ban on research. “The United States has no limits on private stem-cell research,” he told reporters.

The Bush administration has provided much more generous funding to research on stem cells harvested from adult sources, which also shows promise for treating some previously terminal or debilitating conditions. However, many scientists and activists believe the embryonic cells show better potential for treating certain conditions.

But, when asked how the president would react to criticism that ideological considerations shouldn't trump scientific progress, McClellan said, “You go down a dangerous, slippery slope when you try to divorce ethics from science.”

Posted: 8/13/04

CYBERCOLUMN:
St. Paul goes to the writing workshop

By Brett Younger

My wife, Carol, and I recently attended a “spiritual writing workshop” at St. John’s College in Santa Fe. The 15 students in our class took turns shredding one another’s stories, sermons and essays. It was helpful, but by the end of the week, I wondered what would happen to 1 Corinthians 13 if the Apostle Paul first submitted it for review to a writing workshop.

“OK, Paul, you know the rules. You have to be quiet until we finish critiquing your piece. Who wants to start?”

“I love the way Paul grabs our attention with tongues of men and of angels. It’s the first time I’ve pictured an angel’s tongue.”

“Noisy gong or clanging cymbal is repetitive. He should go with ‘noisy cymbal.’”

“Give away my body to be burned is way over the top.”

“How do we feel about this repeated refrain, I gain nothing?”

“There’s something going on here that Paul isn’t telling us. Some woman hurt Paul. I feel his pain.”

“I don’t want to sound mean, but this reads like the kind of poetry you hear at weddings.”

“Love never ends is too Hallmark card.”

“I notice Paul doesn’t have a title. ‘Burning Love’ would work.”

“Can Paul use that Johnny Cash line, ‘Love is a burning flame’ or is that plagiarism?”

“What about something catchier, like ‘Love is a many splendored thing,’ ‘Love makes the world go round’ or ‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry’?”

“What’s the context? Do you think this is part of a larger piece?”

“Maybe this is just me, but I read this as a church newsletter column. I mean that as a compliment.”

“Paul uses too much religious language, even for a church newsletter. Some of this reads sort of King James.”

“In the second paragraph, this laundry list of adjectives is dull. Love is patient. Love is kind; love is not envious … . I wrote in the margin, ‘yadda, yadda, yadda.”

“A good exercise for Paul would be to go through the piece and circle all the times he uses the word ‘it.’ ‘It’ shows a lack of imagination. Paul should invest in a thesaurus and look up synonyms for ‘love.’ He could use ‘affection,’ ‘fondness’ or ‘passion.’ Maybe “love” in another language, like amour or agape.”

“Paul needs illustrations. Instead of describing love, he needs to show us what love that believes all things looks like.”

“I wish Paul would insert ‘when I was a child, I wrote like a child.’”

“I like through a glass darkly, but I wasn’t sure if it’s supposed to be a window or a door.”

“I don’t understand why faith and hope suddenly show up in the last sentence. It’s disconcerting.”

“I could have skipped as for tongues they will cease. This is still much better than that ‘Romans’ thing Paul brought last time. That was really confusing.”

“I think we agree that while Paul shows a great deal of promise, like all of us, he needs an editor. Paul, I hope you don’t feel bad about your writing. Paul? Did anybody see where Paul went? I’m sorry he left because I wanted to remind him how easy it is to miss the point.”

Brett Younger is pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth and the author of “Who Moved My Pulpit? A Hilarious Look at Ministerial Life,” available from Smyth & Helwys (800) 747-3016.

Posted: 8/06/04

Bivocational ministers' group changes name

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

BELTON–The Texas Baptist Bivocational Ministers and Spouses Association changed its name and became more closely aligned with the Baptist General Convention of Texas at its recent meeting, adopting a revised constitution.

The group, now called the Texas Baptist Bivocational and Smaller Membership Ministers and Spouses Association, specifically mentions in its constitution that its primary constituency is BGCT “supporters.”

The director of the BGCT bivocational and smaller church development office will be the association's adviser.

Bob Ray, one of the group's core leaders, currently holds that BGCT position. The BGCT funds the association's annual meetings.

“We are a part of and have always been a part of the BGCT,” said Randy Rather, a member of the constitution review committee.

But the document does not go so far as to exclude ministers of churches that are affiliated with other conventions. “Persons who have a heartbeat for bivocational, smaller membership ministry in Texas” also are eligible for membership.

That clause allows the association to continue fellowship with ethnic ministers who are affiliated with bodies other than the BGCT, Rather said. The group largely is focused on encouraging and networking small church ministers across the state.

“We want to open our association to ministers across cultures,” said Rather, pastor of Tidwell Baptist Church in Greenville.

The organization's revision also narrows eligible voters to members who pay the annual membership fee, which is $10. Previously, anyone who attended the annual business meeting could vote.

By paying the fee, voters are showing their commitment to the association and passion for small-church ministry, Rather said.

The new constitution also imposes term limits on elected officials. No one can serve more than three consecutive one-year terms in any one position. After three consecutive terms, he or she can serve in another capacity or choose not to be an officer.

After taking a year in another position or serving as an at-large member, that individual can serve again in the position he or she once held for three terms in a row.

This is a change for a group that primarily has had the same people in leadership roles for several years.

“That allows more people to be involved in leadership in our association,” Rather said.

Following the unanimous adoption of the constitution, the group elected a new slate of officers. David Keith, pastor of Carlton Baptist Church in Carlton, was elected president. Rather was named first vice president, and Roberto Cepeda, a former bivocational minister who lives in Los Fresnos, was chosen as second vice president.

The group re-elected Rosalind Ray as secretary and Tom Echols, pastor of Eagle's Wing Baptist Church in Crowley, as treasurer.

Posted: 8/06/04

Biblical ignorance, lack of prayer lead to conflict, mediator says

By Toby Druin

Editor Emeritus

SAN ANTONIO–Ignorance of what the Bible says about relationships and lack of prayer are common denominators in most church conflicts, said Blake Coffee, a San Antonio attorney who heads a growing ministry to congregations in trouble and those seeking to avoid it.

Coffee is executive director of Christian Unity Ministries, an organization he founded in 1995.

His father, Ken, was a pastor, associational director of missions in San Antonio and associate director of the Baptist General Convention's State Missions Commission before retiring in 1999 and now is associated with his son in Christian Unity Ministries.

Coffee earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Texas Tech University and had a successful litigation and mediation practice with a San Antonio firm when he said he felt led of God to leave it in March 1995.

A couple of years earlier, he had gone through the Experiencing God discipleship study and had become a facilitator for that program.

“It really opened me up for any possibility the Lord had for me,” he said. “It made me sensitive to a call out of the law firm. I left and did not know what I was leaving to. I just knew that I was supposed to leave.”

A phone call from Dick Maples, then director of minister/church relations for the BGCT, help give him direction, he said.

“Dick asked me to come and learn from his experiment in solving church conflicts,” he said. “As an attorney, I had been involved in mediation and had gotten involved in some leadership areas in my own church, First Baptist of San Antonio, which was in pain over a split. So I was learning about unity from the pain in my own church, and it motivated me to want to learn how to bring people together.

“Dick awakened a call within me, and the more I looked at conflicted congregations the more I felt called to address it.”

Since then, he has developed a package of seminars and retreats for churches. They include sessions on unity, leadership and biblical accountability, as well as a retreat to train pastor-search committees and a seminar to help a church examine how it is building spiritually while building physically.

The services are conducted for a love offering except where he is called in on an intervention case and charges a fee. With the ministry up and going, he has joined another San Antonio law firm as a mediator and litigator.

Coffee leads 25 to 30 of his conferences a year, and a team of associates he has developed are leading more. Last year, one of his advisory board members led one of the conferences, “Five Principles of Unity,” in the Ukraine. This October, eight to 10 more will participate in two citywide crusades there.

Everything they do, Coffee said, is designed to help a church achieve the kind of unity Christ intended for it and to help it avoid–or at least minimize–conflict that seems so pervasive, especially among Baptist congregations.

“I probably don't have any better read on it than anyone else who is regularly in a number of congregations,” Coffee said of how many churches are in conflict. “But I would say a good percent are in the middle of conflict or have just come out of it and a good many are getting into it.”

“There are lots of levels of conflict in a church, and there is a level that is healthy,” he added. “People will disagree, and they will discuss it and move on and it is a good thing.

“Where it becomes unhealthy is when communication with each other begins to break down, and the issues go underground and are no longer on the table, out in the open.”

Such breakdowns may be the result of dysfunctional communications patterns of longstanding that have made conflict difficult to manage, he said. They can be caused by abusive pastors or leaders in general.

“But the more common example,” he said, “is where there is conflict, and we don't talk about it, where the church culture frowns on overt conflict and lets it fester. It goes underground and is really unhealthy.”

When he uses the term “conflicted congregation,” Coffee means a level of conflict in a church that has not been dealt with biblically and that involves unresolved pain.

At least one common denominator in most church conflicts, Coffee said, is a church's ignorance of the Bible and what it says about relationships or a decision to ignore what it says about relationships.

“God's word is one big story about reconciliation, not only man to God, but man to man as well,” he said. “Paul's letters are all filled with guidance about how we relate to each other. A foundational Scripture for our ministry has always been Jesus' prayer for unity in John 17:20-23, and for me personally it has been Romans 12:18.”

“The Bible doesn't speak so much to the concept of organizational reconciliation,” he said. “In biblical terms, it's always about individual relationships. Organizational reconciliation is nothing more than multiplied individual reconciliation.

“So reconciliation is an individual thing, and it occurs only if people want to be reconciled. Where we have had failures (in achieving reconciliation), 99 percent of the time it's been where we have gone into situations where individuals don't want to be reconciled. If one person doesn't want it, there won't be any reconciliation.”

The church at large, he said, can do a lot toward building a foundation for reconciliation by creating a culture where reconciliation is expected; where broken relationships are not accepted.

“I think that's what Jesus and Paul mean when they speak of relationships,” he added.

Too often, Coffee said, the church is influenced by the world, and the world is not about reconciliation.

“We live in a world where true, genuine confession and reconciliation and being involved in one another's lives are not part of the culture, which is resistant to seeking help. That pattern makes it difficult for churches, where often so much pain has been inflicted that the road back to congregational good health is a long one.”

The good news, he added, is that more and more churches are recognizing problems early and are seeking help, wanting to address issues while they are healthy.

“If we are in 25 to 30 churches annually, all but a handful are healthy. And most are doing the preventive things to stay that way,” he said. “They are like healthy couples going to marriage enrichment retreats to ensure they stay healthy, and I rejoice in that.”

A key to good congregational health is prayer and improved biblical literacy, Coffee said.

“I don't think we pray enough corporately,” he noted. “We don't have a full appreciation for what prayer is all about. We must not believe it works, and that leaves us vulnerable.

“The problem is not that we don't have prayer meetings; it's that no one comes. Most churches have prayer meetings, but only 2 percent of the active members are there.

Churches must begin to create a culture that values interpersonal relationships, which have suffered in a climate that stresses getting decisions made quickly, getting programming done and simply following a checklist, he said.

“The church has to hold relationships with everyone in the church at high value. We must have accountability. We need a cultural shift where I as a church member feel free to bring a group close enough to hold me accountable in every area of my life.

“When we have that, when we have that woven into the fabric of the church, we will have gone a long way toward resolving conflicts before they can begin.”

Posted: 8/06/04

Canadian Southern Baptists take steps toward name change

By Frank Stirk

Canadian Horizon

TORONTO (BP)–After being known for 20 years as the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists, messengers to the annual meeting in Toronto voted to take the first tentative step toward considering a new name.

By a show of hands, roughly two-thirds supported a motion instructing the convention's national leadership board to name a committee to study “the possibility of a name change … that will better reflect our mission in our nation and our world.”

The committee will present its recommendation at next year's annual meeting in Calgary.

Ian Buntain, professor of church planting and evangelism at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Cochrane, Alberta, introduced the motion during the recent convention at Canada Christian College.

Having “southern” in the title has proven counterproductive, Buntain said.

“When Canadians think 'south,' they think 'America.' And so we're called 'the American denomination.' That's not helping us reach Canadians,” he said.

“Our name needs to represent what we are about, instead of where we came from. We need to celebrate where we came from, we need not be ashamed of where we came from, but we need to look to the future.”

A similar motion to study changing the name of the Southern Baptist Convention–because its churches now blanket all of the United States and not just the Southern states–also was debated at its annual meeting in Indianapolis in mid-June. It was defeated.

Posted: 8/06/04

DBU students seek to
'turn the tide' against AIDS in Africa

By Kristi Brooks

Dallas Baptist University

DALLAS–In an effort to “turn the tide” against the spread of HIV-AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, a group of Dallas Baptist University students spent a month there this summer, carrying a message of sexual abstinence to students in Swaziland's schools.

The students–along with DBU faculty and staff members–made the commitment to go to Swaziland following an on-campus appeal last October by Bruce Wilkinson, Christian author and founder of the Dream for Africa organization.

Students learned nearly half of the people in Swaziland between the ages of 25 and 29 are HIV-positive, and a 15-year-old Swazi has about a 20 percent chance of living to age 30.

“With this incredible charge before us, university administration began planning and praying,” explained Blair Blackburn, DBU executive vice president. “Throughout the fall and spring semesters, letters asking for prayer, financial support and encouragement were sent to many friends and families of the university and students. As the financial support poured in, we knew that God's hand would guide this mission.”

Blackburn organized a four-member leadership team from DBU for the trip–Jay Harley, director of spiritual life; John Adams, coordinator of auxiliary services; Nikki Walker, a former Journeyman missionary to Swaziland; and Bob Garrett, professor of missiology.

The team endured a 20-hour plane ride to South Africa and then traveled by bus to a Youth for Christ camp outside Johannesburg. The following day, the students began training and learning the curriculum they would present in the Swazi schools. After a week of intense training, they left by bus for Swaziland and were ready to go to the schools.

Every morning for three weeks, the 30 teams of 10 to 14 people were sent out to schools all over the nation of Swaziland. Each team had two to four DBU students, along with college students from around Swaziland and South Africa who also had committed to abstinence.

“The teams were multi-ethnic and culturally diverse to generate a variety of teaching and creativity,” Walker said. “The most important thing we wanted to show was unity among the nations. It was about empowering those who live there, because they are the ones who really can make a difference in their country.”

Students showed a movie, “Beat the Drum,” that depicts a young boy who has been orphaned by AIDS. Then they followed up with a workbook based on the film designed to encourage student discussion about how values affect actions.

“We used the movie as a platform to discuss the issues the students face on a regular basis in a non-threatening way,” said Lance Gardner, a DBU senior. “The Swazi people are the nicest people you may ever meet, but they don't discuss their problems out loud.”

Dallas Baptist University students Isaac de los Santos and Karissa Muilenburg spend some quality time getting to know the students from Swaziland. More than 100 volunteers from DBU spent a month in Swaziland teaching lessons on sexual purity.

DBU junior Jacob Holt added: “It's almost like they think if they just don't talk about their problems, by ignoring them, they'll go away. The reality is, they are slowly killing themselves off by not talking.”

The students knew the missions experience would be tough, but nothing prepared them for the stories they would hear from the Swazi students.

“I knew it would be a hard trip, but it was difficult in ways I wasn't expecting,” explained Michelle Brackett, a DBU senior. “Hearing stories from young teenage girls tell about how they have been abused since a very young age by a teacher or family member was horrifying to me.”

Each day at the schools, the teams were stretched more and more to be flexible, gracious and loving, team leaders noted.

“I don't think our students struggled with cultural differences. It was the heavy issues the Swazi people encounter on a regular basis that challenged them,” Adams said.

“I would venture to say most social workers in the U.S. may never hear or see some of the things our students saw. Swaziland, it seems to me, is a country that has literally hit 'rock bottom' in so many areas–socially, spiritually, economically, educationally and morally. And yet, our students addressed the concerns brought to them with grace, confidence, tact and strength that only comes from a total and complete dependence on the Holy Spirit.”

Garrett expressed pride in the DBU students' commitment and courage, saying: “They were passionate about telling the Swazi youth that God wanted to bless them and give them hope for a long life. They were so clear in standing up for sexual abstinence and fidelity, and they did not blink at asking students to receive the Lord.”

In the evenings, teams met back at the camp to recount the events of the day. After dinner they would spend several hours singing, praying and worshipping together.

“Our team always prayed together first thing in the morning, and then I would spend time by myself in the evenings praying,” Holt recounted. “This trip showed me how vital and necessary prayer is. I can't stop the AIDS pandemic, but I can pray. I can cry out to God on behalf of these people.”

Many Swazi students came forward during Friday assemblies to take a pledge of sexual purity and commit their lives to Christ.

“If just one Swazi commits to a relationship with Jesus Christ and to sexual purity until marriage, that could be an entire family that is saved,” Harley said.

Several students returned to Dallas with confirmation of a call to full-time mission work, and others, like Brackett, received some clarity on their role with missions.

“This trip made me realize that while I may not be called to full-time missions, I want to be involved with other mission trips when the opportunities arise,” she shared.

For Holt, the trip confirmed his desire to serve as a missionary in a foreign country. “I have a huge burden for the people of South America, and I hope to some day serve as a missionary there,” he said.

The missions experience was a month-long lesson in servant leadership, Adams noted.

“Our students were truly tested and stretched in Africa, and their understanding of the call God has placed on their lives blew me away,” he said.

Posted: 8/06/04

Coalition urges Supreme Court
to ban death penalty for minors

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A broad coalition of concerned parties–including Nobel laureates, scientific leaders, foreign countries and American religious denominations–is urging the Supreme Court to ban the death penalty for offenders under age 18 at the time they commit their crimes.

Groups and individuals as diverse as former President Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, the American Medical Association and the American Baptist Churches USA filed simultaneous friend-of-the-court briefs in the case of Roper vs. Simmons. The high court's justices agreed earlier this year to hear the case, which deals with the 1993 murder of a Missouri woman.

According to court records, Christopher Simmons–who then was 17–and a 15-year-old accomplice broke into 46-year-old Shirley Crook's home near St. Louis. They said they only intended to burglarize the home. However, fearing that Crook would later be able to identify them, Simmons and his accomplice bound her and threw her over a bridge into a river. Crook drowned.

In 2003, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned Simmons' death sentence as unconstitutional. The state appealed the decision.

The friend-of-the-court briefs argue on several different grounds against executing criminals under 18 at the time they commit their crimes.

In a separate 2002 decision, the justices ruled that executing mentally retarded criminals violates an evolving national standard of decency on what qualifies as “cruel and unusual punishment,” which the Constitution forbids.

The briefs filed this summer ask the justices to apply similar reasoning to crimes committed by 16- and 17-year-olds.

The court already has banned the death penalty for minors 15 and younger at the time they commit their offenses. It last visited the issue for older minors in 1989, when it ruled such punishments were constitutional.

But the new briefs argue the nation's consensus on the juvenile death penalty has evolved since then.

Only seven states have executed juvenile offenders since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment. Of those executions, the vast majority have taken place in Texas.

Death sentences imposed on juveniles have become increasingly rare, and 31 states have banned the practice. The United States is one of only five nations around the world to execute juvenile offenders.

The various medical professionals argue in their brief that additional research on the mental, emotional and psychological development of teenagers since 1989 casts doubt on the legitimacy of imposing the death penalty on minors.

The religious leaders, in their brief, argued their denominations' views added to the emerging “broad social and political consensus” against executing juvenile offenders.

Allowing the death penalty for juveniles permits “a radical inconsistency in the law to persist because, in virtually every area of law, a person's youthfulness is taken into account unless the state is contemplating the ultimate question of whether to take his or her life,” the brief, written by attorneys for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, argued.

“This anomaly, in which a blind eye is turned to the immaturity of youth when that immaturity is most relevant and its consequences most severe, cannot be reconciled with our nation's evolving moral sense about what is right and just in contemporary America,” the brief continued.

Religious groups represented in the brief included the American Baptist Churches USA, the Alliance of Baptists, the United Methodist Church, the Greek Orthodox Diocese of America and the American Jewish Committee.

Other briefs filed in Simmons' favor represented medical and psychiatric professionals, child-advocacy groups, civil-rights groups, attorneys, former U.S. diplomats, families of murder victims, and a group of foreign governments and legal organizations.

The justices are expected to hear oral arguments in Roper vs. Simmons this fall.

Posted: 8/06/04

Social justice takes back seat to hot-button political issues

By Sandi Villarreal

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)–Same-sex marriage and abortion are overshadowing other moral issues in the presidential election, even among Christian voters, who make up the overwhelming majority of the electorate.

“It has to do with the nature of our political structure,” said Gerald Zandstra of the Acton Institute, a conservative public-policy organization. “Our leaders function in the same self-interested way as anyone else.”

Zandstra said politicians campaign for issues on which they can differentiate themselves from their competition. Abortion, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research are more simplistic issues with clear positions, he said.

“You can't look at homelessness and say if you are for it or against it,” Zandstra said.

Richard Troxell, founder of Universal Living Wage, said the issue of poverty is being ignored by politicians because poor people are not a sought-after constituency.

“Who is going to speak for these people?” Troxell asked. “I don't think (poverty) is being addressed at all. There are 3.5 million people who are going to experience homelessness this year. … We see no plan to end homelessness or even address the issue in a pragmatic way.”

According to polls, an overwhelming majority of American voters–both liberal and conservative–identify themselves as Christians. And while Christians have a theological stake in a broad spectrum of issues, it's the hot-button, often sexually charged, issues that get most of the attention.

For example, Roman Catholics–who have a track record of grass-roots involvement on poverty and other social-justice issues–made headlines recently when some Catholic bishops said they would deny Democratic candidate John Kerry communion because of his pro-choice stance on abortion.

Other Christians criticized the bishops for elevating one moral issue while ignoring others. But among many evangelicals, a narrower political agenda is becoming commonplace.

When he addressed the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis, Pastor Steve Gaines of First Baptist Church in Gardendale, Ala., honed the list to two: “I personally believe with all of my heart that the two issues that will determine what God will do not only with America, but to America, are abortion and homosexuality.”

Why are some issues more politically potent than others?

Barry Hankins, professor of church-state studies at Baylor University, said the paradox has been around quite some time.

“The abortion issue got religious conservatives involved in politics in the 1970s and '80s,” he said. From there, these groups got involved in other human-life issues such as stem-cell research and same-sex marriage, he said.

Many religiously conservative groups are more motivated about abortion because they believe actual life is being taken, Hankins said. Social justice issues that involve human suffering–such as poverty and homelessness–don't hold the same sense of urgency.

Not all religious voices are remaining silent on those issues, however.

One group trying to gain a hearing for a broader social agenda is Call to Renewal, a network of churches and faith-based organizations that work to overcome poverty through public-policy activism. Jim Wallis, head of the organization, told the Washington Post he believes the Religious Right's agenda is “out of touch” with most Christians' concerns.

“Do we really think that Jesus' primary concern in this election year would be a marriage amendment–with the poverty rate rising, with one in six of all U.S. children and one in three children of color living below the poverty line, with more than a billion people around the world living on less than a dollar a day?” Wallis asked.

The National Association of Evangelicals also has noticed the lack of attention paid to poverty. A position paper being drafted by the NAE, titled “For the Health of a Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility,” reminds evangelicals of their duty as citizens to address not only abortion and same-sex marriage but poverty and social welfare.

“The Bible calls rulers to shoulder certain responsibilities for the economic well being of their people,” the draft document reads. “We urge Christians who work in the political realm to shape laws pertaining to wages, education, taxation, immigration, health care and social welfare that will protect those trapped in poverty and empower the poor to improve their circumstances.”

This year's presidential candidates have not been completely silent on social justice matters.

President Bush's main effort to address poverty has been his faith-based initiatives, which channel federal money to religious groups for charitable efforts. He has touted this plan since the beginning of his presidency, but some critics have denounced it as a dangerous intermingling of church and state, saying federal money brings federal regulation.

Wallis, an early supporter of Bush's faith-based initiatives, said the plan has been “reduced to a photo op.”

But he also criticized Kerry for his lack of attention to these issues. In the same article, Wallis wrote that Kerry hardly has mentioned lower-income families and instead is courting the middle-class vote.

Issues of poverty and social justice likely will never have the political impact to take center stage in elections, say some observers. Candidates “might tip their hats to living wage or faith-based initiatives,” Zandstra said, “but they're not going to make them large planks in their platforms.”

Hankins of Baylor said some of the blame rests on the media's attention to “flashpoint” issues.

“It comes down to the press coverage of controversy,” Hankins said. “Human-life issues are so controversial that they get more coverage.”

John Couretas, communications manager for the Acton Institute, agreed with Hankins, calling the attention to these issues “pack journalism.”

“People tend to write about what others are writing about,” Couretas said.

Even without a headline-hungry media, Hankins noted, it would be difficult for candidates to “campaign on a platform of helping the poor.”

“There is a large constituency that is pro-life, and there is a large constituency that is pro-choice,” Hankins said. “There is not a large constituency for the poor.”

Posted: 8/06/04

Pastor's slideshow voting
guide sparks complaint with IRS

SPRINGDALE, Ark. (ABP)–Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a religious-liberty watchdog organization, has filed a complaint with the IRS against the 14,000-member First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., the largest church affiliated with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, for what it considers partisan politics, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The church's pastor, Ronnie Floyd, preached a patriotic sermon July 4 during which he encouraged members to "vote God" in the November election. Floyd did not mention either President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry by name, nor did he indicate which candidate he personally favored. Rather, he urged members to vote "by the authority of God's word, Christian values, convictions and beliefs."

But Americans United claims the message crossed the line of the Internal Revenue Service Tax Code for tax-exempt churches, which prohibits churches from participating or intervening in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.

“Pastor Floyd's presentation seemed more like a Bush campaign commercial than a church service,” said Barry Lynn, Americans United executive director, in a statement.

During the sermon in question, Floyd–a prominent Southern Baptist leader–called the November presidential election “one of the most critical elections in U.S. history. … Rarely have we seen two candidates so diametrically opposed in their convictions.”

Contrasting the candidates' stands on same-sex marriage, Floyd stated, “One candidate believes marriage is a God-ordained institution between one man and one woman and has proposed a constitutional amendment protecting marriage.” A photo of Bush appeared on a screen behind Floyd as he spoke those words.

“The other candidate was one of only 14 U.S. senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996,” Floyd continued as a photo of Kerry appeared. Similarly, he contrasted the candidates' views on abortion and other issues.

An IRS tax guide for churches notes it is acceptable for churches to speak out on moral issues, provide non-partisan voter-education guides and encourage people to vote, but they must not “favor one candidate over another.”

Americans United filed a similar complaint earlier against televangelist Jerry Falwell, also a Southern Baptist, saying Falwell endorsed Bush in an e-mail to supporters and also urged followers to send money to a political-action committee that supports Republican candidates.

Floyd referred questions about the Americans United complaint to Alan Damron, an associate pastor of the Springdale church.

“There is no time in the sermon where Ronnie endorses by name any candidate over the other,” Damron said. “He does not even take a position personally.”

The church stands by the sermon and believes it does not violate the IRS codes, Damron said. He insisted the church simply is proclaiming God's truth and encouraging people to live by biblical values and principles.

Damron said church leaders have consulted with Matthew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, which works with Jerry Falwell Ministries. Staver told them the sermon in no way violates any IRS code.

“We believe what we are saying and doing is right,” Damron said.

Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, a Washington-based religious-liberty group that advises churches on political involvement, disagreed with Damron's assessment, saying Floyd's sermon was a violation of IRS rules.

“He clearly violated the letter and spirit of the ban on electioneering,” Walker said.

“About the only thing he did not say was 'Vote for Bush.' But those three words would have added nothing to the sermon. Even a child would understand whom the sermon urged his listeners to vote for.”

While Floyd's supporters might argue his comparison of candidates was nothing more than a “multimedia voter guide,” Walker said, “it would be hard to make the case that it is accurate and unbiased.”

Posted: 8/06/04

San Angelo-area volunteers start pilot
Christian Men's Job Corps program

By George Henson

Staff Writer

SAN ANGELO–Roger Juli-en knows a good thing when he sees it.

While touring the Christian Women's Job Corps program in San Angelo and hearing one woman testify about how the program had impacted her life, Julien began to wonder why there wasn't anything of the same sort for men.

He found Woman's Missionary Union had a blueprint and outline for a program for men, but it never had been implemented.

Thanks to Julien and a number of other men in Concho Valley Baptist Association, the Christian Men's Job Corps is now a reality.

While the San Angelo program is the pilot for a program to mentor men and give them additional skills to help secure a job or to better their employment, the women's program is flourishing in 80 locations across the country.

The program calls on participants to attend classes three nights a week for eight weeks. Each class includes Bible study as well as life skills such as personal finances, legal issues, basic computer training, communication skills, resumés, job opportunities and interview skills.

Julien recognized the potential in the approach, but he still initially was reluctant to develop the program for men.

“In February 2003, I got real passionate about it, but I didn't tell anybody for two weeks, hoping I could get out from under it. But nobody said anything, and God didn't say anything. He just wouldn't let me sleep,” Julien recalled.

Having been involved in prison ministry 14 years, he immediately recognized its application for men released from prison.

“I knew we needed to do something for the men coming out of prison because so many had no place to go. The number of repeat offenders was alarming to me,” he said.

Julien, a layman at Immanuel Baptist Church in San Angelo, said the program not only will benefit the men involved, but also will help their families as well.

“We feel like the Christian Men's Job Corps is going to be a benefit to the whole family by putting these men back into a position of leadership in the home,” he said.

The men came to the program from a variety of sources–through the recommendation of law enforcement authorities, from churches in the association and some just walked in off the street. The first class ranged in age from 18 to 54 years old.

While there are other programs that teach life skills, two facets of the program make it both unique and life-changing–Bible study and mentoring, Julien said.

Those aspects of the Christian Women's Job Corps program that were accentuated in the testimony of the woman lit the fire in Julien's heart.

She told him she had cut all ties with her family and had no food, clothing, self-esteem or hope before coming to the program. She added that had changed since being involved with the program and the women who had shown her the love of Christ. She also told Julien she had given her life to Christ that very morning.

“I was so impressed with her testimony. I thought, 'That's the answer to the problem we're having with the men right there,'” he said.

“I was sure I had too much on my plate to get it started, though, and God didn't argue with me–he just didn't let me sleep,” Julien said.

Jean Law of San Angelo wrote 24 Bible study lessons that chronicle how God has redeemed and used people throughout history despite their mistakes. Lenard Hartley, a retired minister, heads the mentoring aspect of the program. Working with a host of other men throughout the association, and even a few non-Baptists, the program has completed its first rotation, and Julien said the program has been successful.

“We started with six men, and we ended with six, and I think they have learned some good lessons like authority is a friend and not an enemy,” he said. “The classes also have given them the ability to gain better employment.

“They also have gained some self-esteem and learned that they are someone special and that God loves them. They were most interested in the Bible studies as they learned that God has used survivors throughout history,” he added.

One of the men made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ through the program, Julien said.

More than 100 people attended the graduation ceremonies for the men.

Already calls are coming in about the next session, scheduled to begin Sept. 13.

“The program showed us that not only did the students learn and grow, but also the mentors learned and grew, and the teachers grew in their perspectives on some things.”

Posted: 8/06/04

Serving God in dark places is a privilege,
shooting survivor tells new missionaries

By Mark Kelly

International Mission Board

TYLER (BP)–The hardships of missionary service can be discouraging, but worshipping God in a spiritually dark place is a privilege beyond compare, Iraq shooting survivor Carrie McDonnall told 58 new missionaries in Tyler.

McDonnall, the lone survivor of a March 15 shooting that claimed the lives of her husband, David, and three other Southern Baptist workers, spoke during an International Mission Board appointment service at Green Acres Baptist Church.

“As I was preparing for tonight, I thought about what I could say to encourage you,” McDonnall said to her new co-workers.

“One thing I knew was that I wanted to share a Scripture with you, a Scripture that David clung to and referred back to on those days when he needed encouragement.”

She quoted Psalm 108:3-5 from the New International Version: “I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.”

“One night, this verse sunk in as we worshipped on a rooftop in a village where there had not been a believer for centuries,” McDonnall recalled.

“Many of you are going to find yourselves in places like that, where there are no believers or possibly never have been.

“Consider it a privilege that you may worship the one true living God in a place where there is only darkness.”

McDonnall warned the new missionaries not to be surprised when everything goes wrong and life gets hard.

“There are times when you will need to focus on the Lord's faithfulness,” she said. “He is the one who is called 'faithful and true.'

“In those times when nothing seems to go right and all you can cling to is the call you have obeyed, remember this: God is faithful. That is his name. He will do what he put you there for.

“He will be exalted among the nations. The earth will be filled with his glory. Your work is not in vain, nor does it go unnoticed.

“In this world, you will have tribulation, but take courage. Jesus has overcome the world. Not 'will overcome.' He has overcome this world.”

Overseas service can be extremely difficult, and many people don't understand why missionaries go, said Gordon Fort, the board's new vice president for overseas operations.

The truth, he said, is that the love of Christ compels missionaries to go–and compels them to stay when things get difficult.

“People will ask you why you are doing what you are doing,” Fort said.

“The reason is that, deep in your heart, you are compelled by the love of Christ. There is something inside of us that says if we don't go, those who have not heard will spend eternity separated from God.

“One of the things that keeps us on the mission field is that when God calls, we cannot help but obey. We lay our lives on the line, in obedience to the call of God.

“Never forget to walk in that obedience every day you are on the field.

“It's an unending quest. You might have a victory today, but the victories of today will not guarantee tomorrow's battles. You have to fight them each day. Obey your master.”

Even new missionaries aren't spiritual giants, he noted. The only hope anyone has of being used by God is to “live a sacrificed life.”

“You know you're not a spiritual giant. In fact, some of you are wondering, 'How did I make it through this process?'” Fort said. “You know you are human beings like everyone else in this room.

“But if you will remember to live a crucified life every day, you will experience the power of God flowing through you.

“That is what will make the difference wherever you go.”

“Do you want God to do something great with your life?” Fort asked. “Do you want God to use you for sake of his kingdom? Then just spiritually see yourself climb up on an altar, there to be consumed by the fire of God's Holy Spirit until he burns you to ashes. Then let him take what is left and let him mold you with his hands into an instrument he can use.”

Posted: 8/06/04

'777' on the pager means somebody is praying

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DALLAS–Prayer and pagers are being brought together in an innovative way that benefits congregations and people in need.

Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas and First Baptist Church in Richardson are using pagers to let people on their prayer lists know when church members are praying for them.

“We say a lot of times that we will pray for someone, and this is a good way to put feet to that,” said Jack Martin, minister of pastoral care at Park Cities Baptist Church.

The pagers are given to people in need of prayer, and then the congregation is supplied with the number to the pager. The number 777 is typed in to signal that someone is praying specifically for that person and his or her need.

The person praying intentionally doesn't indicate his or her telephone number. That way, the person being prayed for doesn't feel obligated to return the call.

“These people don't need to be returning any calls. They need to know that someone is praying for them,” Martin said.

It's a good thing they don't have to return the calls, because they often number into the hundreds.

“My biggest fear on starting this thing is that we'd give somebody a pager and nobody would call. That would be awful, but it's been just the opposite,” said Bill Webb, associate pastor of spiritual development at First Baptist in Richardson. “It took about a day and a half for us to know this would work.”

Martin's experience has been similar. “They often get calls of up into the hundreds, and that can be an amazing thing to a family that is in a tough situation,” he said.

It is not just the person with the pager that reaps benefits from the ministry, however.

“It's a benefit in that it keeps those who can't be in attendance from being pushed to the backs of our minds, and it lets them know they haven't been forgotten,” he said.

He said it also has been a boon to Sunday school classes. "I've heard comments like: 'We'd been wondering how best to minister to this family, and this works well,'" he said.

It also provides an opportunity for homebound church members to stay in touch.

“Shut-ins can pray and call the number, and that allows them to remain active in a part of the church's ministry, even if they aren't able to leave their homes,” he said.

While envisioned as a ministry to the church's members, Webb said, the pager ministry has become known outside the church as well.

A church member's son who had a brain tumor was one of the first to receive a pager. He estimates 3,500 pages have alerted him that he has been the subject of someone's prayers.

“He says is such a blessing to know that there are people who have been praying for him and his situation who don't even know him,” Webb said.

A couple of the Richardson pagers now are with people with no immediate connection to the church but who heard about the ministry and wanted to know how they could get on the pager prayer list.

Park Cities only gives the pagers to people in extreme situations.

“We don't give them out to everyone who goes into the hospital; it has to be a pretty serious situation,” Martin said. But the gravity of those situations makes it especially sweet for the prayer warriors when someone recovers, he added.

First Baptist in Richardson gives the pagers to a variety of people in a variety of circumstances.

“We don't really have any rules. We're still making this up as we go along,” Webb said.

Both churches use six beepers. Sometimes they all are assigned; sometimes they are not, and more pagers are readily available from the supplier.

The ministry demands little in either time or money, Webb noted. “It's very little effort on my part–and well worth what little effort it takes and the small amount of dollars we spend maintaining the pagers.”

Both churches use the same pager company, which charges them $5 per month for the service. Park Cities uses pagers it already owned but was not using. First Baptist leases its pagers for $1 per month.

“You just can't imagine how much good this has done for everyone involved for only $5 a month,” Martin said.