Posted: 8/06/04

Houston youth experience international missions at home

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON–Students from Tallowood Baptist Church found an international mission experience this summer–inside their hometown's beltway.

More than 100 young people split into eight groups and crossed Houston, ministering alongside congregations. Some teams helped lead Vacation Bible Schools; others painted church walls; others yet helped congregations make initial contacts in communities.

Middle school and high school students ministered to Chinese, Russian, Nigerian, Native American and Filipino groups in Houston during the trip, facilitated by Cathy Dundas of the Baptist General Convention of Texas intercultural initiatives office.

Ashley Smith, 17, of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston holds Priscilla during Vacation Bible School held in a Houston apartment complex. Children played games, did crafts and studied the Bible. More than 100 Tallowood young people split into eight groups and crossed Houston, ministering alongside multi-ethnic congregations in a variety of community ministry projects, evangelistic outreach efforts and missions endeavors. (John Hall Photo)

Serving with the different churches exposed the group to cultures some of them would encounter only on foreign mission trips, said Jerome Smith, the church's youth minister.

“The reality is the world is here,” he said. “This week we are sending groups all over the world, but inside the loop.

“It's pretty amazing to drive down the street and experience a whole new world.”

While the trip had an international flair, students were encouraged by the opportunity to impact their community with their faith.

“We chose to stay in Houston this year to spread Christ's love in the city where we live,” Ashley Smith, 17, said.

Group members working with the Russian Messianic Congregation in Houston said they saw God move in a “powerful” way. They planned to work in an apartment complex all week, using a clubhouse as the base for Bible studies, games and a swimming party, but they were told at the last minute they could use the clubhouse for only three evenings and could not advertise their activities in the complex.

The day before the students were to begin ministering, they drove around the neighborhood seven times praying and praising God–following the Israelites' example of marching around Jericho in the book of Joshua.

The group felt God leading the team to a park and began advertising that games would be held for children the next day. But when the group set up, no one was there.

Students and leaders held hands in a circle, and each prayed children would come. As the prayer ended, the volunteers looked up to see children coming in groups of fours and fives.

“It was incredible,” Margaret Booth, 17, said. “It was awesome. It was very encouraging because it's like even though so many doors closed, so many others were opened.”

Susan Pratt, who led one of the groups that taught Vacation Bible School at the Northwest Chinese Baptist Church in Sugar Land, said the Tallowood students expanded churches' outreach but also served as encouragers.

Uri Zahora, who leads the Russian Messianic Congregation, agreed the students were giving him a “major boost” spiritually.

Watching the young people build relationships with Jewish children in an effort to share the gospel was uplifting to him.

“The Lord is showing himself strong,” he said.

Jacob Robison, 18, said he hopes the students' efforts will help cultivate the seed of faith in the hearts of the children they served.

“We're trying to show these kids God's love,” he said.

To set up a similar mission experience, contact Dundas at (713) 932-9760 or the intercultural initiatives office at (214) 828-5372.

Posted: 8/06/04

Around the State

Hardin-Simmons University has awarded the first doctoral degree in its history. Receiving the degree was Lance Cotton, who earned the doctor of physical therapy degree. He currently is working in Seattle, Wash., in an acute-care facility.

Two Texans were among 35 chaplains recently endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Craig Butler is a clinical pastoral education resident at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, and Cindy Wallace is a chaplain at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco.

Hardin-Simmons University has announced the addition of 14 faculty members. New faculty include Terry Sergeant, professor of computer science; Amy Miles, visiting instructor of English; Steve Neves, assistant professor of art; William Mouat, assistant professor of voice and director of the opera program; Amy Roberts, associate professor of nursing and director of the master of science in nursing program; Melissa Milliorn, assistant professor of social work; Eileen Kendrick, instructor of education; Kayla Christianson, visiting instructor of communication; Nancy Hildebrand, instructor of nursing; Timothy Maddox, associate professor of philosophy; Kristi McAuliffe, assistant professor of German; Eric Coleman, assistant professor of criminal justice; Joseph Bailey, instructor of communication; and Shaylee Burling, visiting instructor of business and accounting.

Houston Baptist University has announced the retirements of eight faculty members. They include Beth Boyce, professor of Spanish; Daton Dodson, professor of German and English; Doug Gehrman, director of the master of science degree in human resource management; Don Griffin, associate professor of health studies; Bobbie Law, assistant professor of nursing; Nancy McCreary, assistant professor of music; Sebron Williams, professor of education and psychology; and Ruth Ann Williamson, professor of education. Williamson also was one of two recipients of the Opal Goolsby Outstanding Teaching Award. Robert Towery, assistant professor of chemistry, also was a recipient of the award to honor superior teaching skills in the classroom.

Dennis Dillin, professor of chemistry at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, recently participated in a workshop titled “Sherlock Holmes to Real-Life CSI” at the National Science Foundation's Center for Workshops in the Chemical Sciences. Dillin, a 29-year member of the faculty at UMHB, was chosen as one of 16 individuals from across the nation to participate in the special workshop. Participants studied crime scene investigation, serology, fingerprinting techniques, ballistics, arson investigation, drug identification, DNA profiling and more.

Larry Fink, professor of English at Hardin-Simmons University, has published his first book, “George McDonald: Images of His World.” The book is filled with photographs of homes of 19th century author George McDonald.

Baptist University of the Americas has expanded its music program. Maria Monteiro has been promoted to assistant professor of music as evidence of the new focus. Adjunct instructors will be utilized so that six or seven music courses can be offered each year. All students are required to take a music-appreciation course, but now they have the option of a minor in music. A music major is in the school's long-range plans.

Howard Payne University sophomore Brian Prewitt won grand prize at the national Focus photography competition. Prewitt, a business administration and Academy of Freedom major from Plano, said he received the camera for Christmas and began taking pictures for fun this spring. He is a member of Prestonwood Church in Plano. HPU President Lanny Hall presented Prewitt with a commemorative medallion in recognition of his showing at the competition.

Donald Looser, vice president for academic affairs, and Mary Ellen Spore, secretary for the department of music, have been named recipients of Houston Baptist Univeristy's Outstanding Staff awards. Looser has been on staff since the first students enrolled in 1963. Spore has been on the university's staff 17 years.

Jerry Rogers, bivocational pastor of Orchard Road Church in Lewisville, was named teacher of the year at Meadowbrook Christian School there.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions Dallas office has added two staff members. Laura Cadena is missions partnership relationship manager, and Timothy Wood is volunteer missions program manager.

Jim Jones and Kelley Tragesser have joined the Hardin-Simmons University enrollment staff. Jones is director of financial aid, and Tragesser is director of recruiting.

Houston Baptist University has announced that Judy Martin, director of development, also will begin coordinating alumni activities.

Anniversaries

Gary Bradley, 20th, as associate pastor of Baptist Temple in San Antonio, Aug. 1.

Parker Church in Grandview, 100th, Aug. 8. Former Pastor Allen Kyle will speak at a 2 p.m. celebration. Souvenir fans with a history of the church will be given. John Hollingsworth is pastor.

First Church in Jacinto City, 60th, Aug. 15. A lunch will follow the morning service. A video chronicling the church's history will be shown. For more information, call (713) 672-2802. Rick Blount is pastor.

Pine Ridge Church in Sour Lake, 130th, Aug. 22. Jerry Redkey, director of missions for Sabine Neches Area, will preach in the morning service. Lunch will follow. An afternoon program will feature the dedication of the old church bell. Former pastors and music ministers are expected to speak. Drifty Cates is pastor.

University Church in Hous-ton, 30th, Aug. 28-29. A concert and dinner will be held Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. An anniversary reception will be held between the morning services. The church gave “gifts to the community” as its primary means of marking the anniversary. Robert Creech is pastor.

South Park Church in Alvin, 50th, Aug. 28-29. An open house and program are planned for Saturday at 6 p.m. There will be activities throughout the day on Sunday. For more information, call (281) 331-3902. Bruce Peterson is pastor.

Rick DuBroc, 25th, as pastor of First Church in El Campo, Aug. 29. A barbecue luncheon will be held at the church in his honor.

Second Church in Abilene, 45th, Aug. 29. Pastor Joe Prim celebrates his fifth anniversary that day.

Santos Ramirez, 10th, as pastor of Primera Iglesia in Richmond.

School Creek Church in Lampasas, 125th, Sept. 1. Jerry Perkins is pastor.

First Church in Aledo, 125th, Sept. 5. A picnic will follow the morning worship service. A petting zoo, bounce house, games, hayrides and a car show also are planned. Lee Brewer is pastor.

Port Caddo Church in Marshall, 85th, Sept. 5-6. Former Pastor Byron Banta will preach in the Sunday morning service. A Labor Day picnic will be held at 5 p.m. For more information, call (903) 938-8849. John Sullens is pastor.

Retiring

David Mohn as minister of music at First Church in Hallsville Aug. 22. He has served there 25 years. A reception will be held at 6 p.m. on his last Sunday.

Ordained

Blake Thomas, to the ministry at Wildewood Church in Spring.

Marc Keith, James Kincaid, Kyle Hooper, Kirby Smith and Freddie Spaulding as deacons at First Church in Port Neches.

Deaths

John Ivy, 82, July 16 in Amarillo. He was a member of First Church in Amarillo and had been a Baptist minister most of his working life. He is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Nancy Sires; son, Weldon; sister, Mary Jo Baker; and brother, Jim.

David Garland, 83, July 21 in Fort Worth. He was a distinguished professor emeritus of Old Testament and Hebrew at Southwestern Seminary. He taught at the seminary from 1958 to 1991. He also was interim pastor of Oak Grove Church in Burleson from 1982 to 1991. Upon his retirement from the seminary, he assumed the title of pastor and served the church until 1998. He was the author of the commentary on Habakkuk in the Broadman Bible Commentary series, as well as Bible study guides on Amos, Isaiah, Job and Hosea for Zondervan Press. Before joining the seminary's faculty, he was a pastor in Arkansas and Indiana. He also was a participant in the U.S. Navy's pre-chaplain program from 1943 to 1945. He is survived by his wife, Ellenor; daughter, Jane Crumby; and son, David.

Events

Children attending Vacation Bible School at Orchard Road Church in Lewisville brought $362 to meet the needs of children in Cameroon, Africa. Jerry Rogers is pastor.

Three people from Collin County have been commissioned as Mission Service Corps volunteers. Sandra Callahan of Waddill Street Church in McKinney will work with the Christian Women's Job Corps of Collin County. Dick and Gerri Jenkins of Hunter's Glen Church in Plano will assist in Texas Baptist Men efforts.

Revivals

First Church, Gainesville; Aug. 15-18; evangelist, D.L. Lowrie; music, Mike Fiddler; pastor, Mark Denison.

Mount Sylvan Church, Mount Sylvan; Aug. 15-18; evangelist, Paul Powell; music, Norris Cash; pastor, Robert Davenport.

First Church, Kildare; Aug. 22-25; evangelist, Jim Moss; music, Bubba Talbert; pastor, Todd Lawrence.

Posted: 8/06/04

San Antonio church collects, fills
backpacks for 525 South Texas children

By Scott Collins

Buckner News Service

PROGRESO–Elementary school children in Progreso are going back to school this year with a heavy burden, thanks to the Fellowship at Westcreek in San Antonio.

In less than seven months, members of the new church collected more than 525 backpacks and delivered them to the South Texas community as part of a recent weeklong missions project sponsored by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Texas and Buckner Children and Family Services.

The church, which is less than a year old, averages between 50 and 60 on Sundays.

But members passionately embraced the challenge of providing a backpack filled with school supplies for every elementary child in Progreso, according to Pastor Ken Noles.

He and his wife, Brandie, initially presented the idea of collecting 100 backpacks. But a visit to Progreso early in the process revealed that about 500 children attended Progreso Elementary School.

Armed with that information, Pastor Noles returned to his congregation, and with his wife, upped the goal to five times the number of people who attend the church.

That's when church member Julie White came forward and said she felt God's call to be the point person for the project.

“At that point, it wasn't just our vision, it was the whole church's vision,” Brandie Noles said. “Everybody got behind it 100 percent.”

As momentum for “Operation Backpack” picked up, she said, children took collection boxes to their schools, members canvassed their neighborhoods door-to-door and Boy Scouts distributed flyers seeking donations of backpacks, school supplies and money.

Along with organizing the drive, White took on the responsibility of converting cash donations into school supplies.

“Part of God's providence is that just after we decided that God was leading us to bring 500 backpacks to the Valley, a local business put backpacks on sale for $5,” the pastor said.

Noles estimates the value of each backpack and supplies at about $10.

The project served as a catalyst for the new congregation, Noles said. “It galvanized us,” he said.

“It brought us together around a common goal, and everyone began to mobilize around this particular thing. It drew us together as a fellowship. It also turned our focus outward, because we were seeking input and support from people way outside our church.”

Noles added he knows of at least two families that have become involved in the church specifically because of Operation Backpack.

“This has been the most meaningful thing aside from the launch of our church that The Fellowship at Westcreek has done,” he said.

Noles added that Operation Backpack is not an end in itself.

“We kind of see it as a means to an end, because what we're doing is providing a inlet into that home to sometime down the road go in and share with them why we did this.”

White, who became the driving force behind the project, said she felt God spoke to her heart and instructed her to take the lead.

“I have the gift of loving children and the gift of motivation,” she said. “I felt like it was my job to get behind the church family and get them motivated.”

White added that her work on Operation Backpack was extremely satisfying and gratifying. “It's proven to me what goals I can set and what I can accomplish whenever I have God at my back. I can do just about anything. After doing this, I am convinced I can do just about anything.”

At times when she became discouraged or doubted the success of the project, White said, “God sent somebody through for me each and every time. It's been a joy and a blessing.”

Posted: 8/06/04

Baylor regents take no action on president,
reaffirm commitment to Baylor 2012 vision

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

WACO–In spite of boasts by his opponents that they had the votes to unseat him, Baylor University regents took no vote on embattled President Robert Sloan, other than affirming the long-range plan that has become the centerpiece of his presidency.

Sloan apparently survived another milepost in his tumultuous nine-year tenure as Baylor University's president when the school's regents met July 21-23 for a three-day retreat to discuss Baylor 2012–the school's 10-year vision.

They emerged from the meeting with Chairman Will Davis of Austin announcing the regents unanimously had reaffirmed their commitment to Baylor 2012. He also told reporters the board had taken no vote regarding Sloan's presidency.

Baylor 2012 is a plan championed by Sloan to make Baylor a top-tier university by expanding the school's facilities, reducing class sizes and recruiting professors committed to academic excellence, scholarly research and Christian values.

Critics claim the plan has increased debt to a quarter-billion dollars, pushed tuition to levels unaffordable by students from middle-income families and forced instructors to meet narrow and rigid religious tests.

Twice in the last year, the university's Faculty Senate passed votes of no confidence in Sloan as president.

Regents responded last September by affirming Sloan by a 31-4 vote. But at the board's May meeting, he came within one vote of losing his job. During a closed-door session, a motion to ask for Sloan's resignation failed by an 18-17 secret ballot.

At that same meeting, John Baugh, a major Baylor benefactor from Houston, warned he would ask the university to repay loans and return financial gifts he made if the board failed to rescue Baylor from “the paralyzing quagmire in which it currently is ensnared.”

Even though no vote had been on the agenda of the July 23 regents meeting regarding Sloan's continued employment, prior to the meeting some regents had expressed their clear expectation that someone would introduce a motion to dismiss the president.

And the Committee to Restore Integrity to Baylor–a group opposed to Sloan's leadership–claimed there were enough votes to oust Sloan.

No motion was introduced during the business session, and questions about Sloan continuing as president were not even discussed, Davis told reporters following the closed-door regents business session.

“Divisive issues did not arise,” Davis said.

The night before the regents' vote, a Waco television station reported that Sloan rejected a $2 million buy-out. Davis said no severance package had been discussed to his knowledge.

Sloan said he was “very encouraged” by the meeting and especially by the regents' strong affirming of Baylor 2012.

“I am committed to Baylor University, and I plan to remain as Baylor's president,” he said.

Ken Hall, president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, addressed the board at the beginning of the retreat–“rather candidly,” according to one regent. Hall told the regents the turmoil revolving around Baylor was detrimental to Baptist work in Texas, and they needed to resolve matters.

Richard Scott, vice president for development at Baylor, also spoke to the regents, offering a similar plea for a different reason. Fundraising has become increasingly difficult due to the continuing controversy, and he urged them to settle their differences, a regent recounted.

Sloan, 55, is a native of Coleman. Before assuming the university presidency, Sloan was dean of Baylor's Truett Theological Seminary.

He served on the Baylor religion faculty from 1983 to 1995, and he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1980 to 1983.

Sloan has been pastor or interim pastor of close to two dozen churches.

Posted: 8/06/04

Baptist Briefs

GuideStone offers online help. Investors with GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention–formerly the SBC Annuity Board–can use the Internet to view online presentations or participate in interactive seminars for retirement planning. Presentations cover key topics for ministers and church employees such as enrollment in the church retirement plan, advantages of consolidating investments and how to know if you are invested appropriately for retirement. For more information on this new service, visit the website at www.guidestone.org or call toll-free at (800) 262-0511.

Retired seminary professor Blevins dies. James Blevins, former professor of New Testament interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died July 24 in Louisville, Ky., after a long-term illness. He was 67. Blevins was on Southern Seminary's faculty from 1976 until 1999, when a severe case of diabetes forced him to take early medical retirement. Blevins was widely published on the Book of Revelation, including his 1984 book "Revelation as Drama," and was known for his dramatic presentation of Bible characters.

Veteran missionary Bryant dead at 74. Thurmon Bryant, longtime missionary to Brazil and former senior administrator of the International Mission Board, died July 27 in Fort Worth at age 74. A native of Claud, Okla., Bryant and his wife, the former Doris Morris of Sudan, were appointed by the Foreign Mission Board in 1958. Bryant served 17 years as a field missionary in Brazil and almost 20 years on the mission board staff. He was a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to missionary appointment, he was pastor of three Texas congregations–Prairie Point Baptist Church in Groesbeck, Friendship Baptist Church in Cleburne and First Baptist Church in Grandview.

American Baptists may cut missionaries. The American Baptists Churches USA may lose up to a fifth of its missionary force unless its missions agency can raise enough money to overcome its current financial crisis. The head of International Ministries, the ABC's mission-sending agency, said in a recent memo to missionaries the agency may eliminate up to 36 of its 150 missionary positions–28 by recall and eight by attrition–unless it can raise $1.5 million quickly to erase a projected shortfall.

Peace fellowship names director. Gary Percesepe, an American Baptist minister and teacher, has been named coordinating director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America. He is associate pastor of First Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio. Percesepe has taught philosophy at the University of Dayton, Wittenberg University and St. Louis University, and he served as founding director of the honors program at Cedarville University.

Seminary names communications director. Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has named Cory Miller as communications director. Miller, 28, served First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, Okla., as communications director two and a half years. He worked at three Oklahoma daily newspapers and a collegiate sports magazine group. A native of Ardmore, Okla., Miller is completing his undergraduate degree at Southern Nazarene University-Tulsa. Previously, Miller attended the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, majoring in journalism/public relations.

Seminary opens Internet classes to locals. Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has eliminated a 75-mile distance requirement for students taking Internet classes through its Computer Assisted Seminary Education program. The move, approved by President Phil Roberts this summer, opens up seminary Internet classes to potential students living in the Kansas City metropolitan area or within 75 miles of campus. More than 30 hours of seminary credit can be earned through online classes.

Posted: 8/06/04

Baptist World Alliance General Council looks to the future

By Trennis Henderson

Kentucky Western Recorder

SEOUL, South Korea (ABP)–Pledging to focus on the future, leaders of the Baptist World Alliance convened their first global meeting since the Southern Baptist Convention voted in June to withdraw from the international Baptist body.

The BWA General Council meeting attracted about 300 participants from more than 30 nations, including such diverse settings as Australia, Croatia, Ghana and India as well as the United States. The council is a representative body that conducts the business of BWA, which holds a worldwide congress once every five years.

BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz, speaking during the General Council's opening session, noted that BWA “has gone through a tremendous year of encouragement and support from Baptists all over the world.”

While not specifically referencing the SBC departure, which cost BWA its largest member and donor, Lotz told participants, “It would be wrong to say we did not have a break in our fellowship.” Noting that BWA has gone “through some deep waters,” he said the division has caused “great distress … particularly to our minority conventions all over the world.”

“But we are not here to look at the past,” he declared. “We're here to look at the future.”

Emphasizing that “unity is a central doctrine of all Christian faith,” Lotz said, “We believe Jesus' prayer in John 17 for unity is part of the authority of Scripture for all Baptists and all Christians.

“When we do not work for unity, then we are part of the movement of disunity,” he warned. “One of the greatest hindrances to evangelism in the world is the lack of unity in the church. … If we cannot mirror that unity, we are not being faithful to that Scripture we believe.”

While several Southern Baptist individuals attended the weeklong meeting in Seoul, only one of the SBC's 17 General Council members participated–Wanda Lee, executive director of national Woman's Missionary Union.

Though the SBC's withdrawal from the BWA doesn't officially take effect until Oct. 1, Southern Baptist leaders such as BWA Vice President Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee; BWA executive committee member Jimmy Draper, president of LifeWay Christian Resources; and BWA study and research committee Chairman Richard Land, president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, declined to attend their final meeting as BWA representatives.

Citing WMU's commitment to continue working in cooperation with the BWA women's department, Wanda Lee said, “The women's department is an auxiliary to BWA, just as WMU is an auxiliary to the SBC.” Noting that WMU helped establish the BWA Women's Department in 1911, she added, “For us to not participate in prayer with all the women of the world is unthinkable.

“When you look at the world climate in which we live, Baptists need to speak with one voice in regard to religious freedom, separation of church and state, and on behalf of those who have no voice and are persecuted,” Lee said. “We continue to pray for reconciliation in the Baptist family.”

In his written report to council members, Lotz refuted charges leveled by the SBC committee that recommended withdrawal from BWA.

“The BWA is not a liberal organization,” he wrote. “It strongly affirms the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith as proclaimed in holy Scripture, which we accept as the authoritative word of God.

“The BWA does not promote women as pastors of churches nor does it argue against the practice,” he added. “Since we affirm the autonomy of Baptist bodies, it is the prerogative of local churches and their member bodies to make decisions on ordination.”

Lotz also countered the SBC's charge of anti-Americanism. “The BWA is not anti-American,” he wrote. “We are citizens of the kingdom of God and loyal citizens of our own nations.”

He also addressed a charge concerning a pair of gay-friendly American Baptist churches, which was raised by former SBC President Paige Patterson during debate about the SBC leaving the BWA.

“The BWA does not support homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle, believing it to be incompatible with the teachings of Scripture,” Lotz wrote.

Emphasizing that BWA “affirms without reservation that marriage is a holy state and only between a man and a woman forever,” he added, “There is not one BWA member body that affirms, promotes or approves of gay marriage.”

Despite the SBC's decision to withdraw from BWA, Lotz said BWA still “hopes for and will work for reconciliation with our Southern Baptist brothers and sisters and prays for their return to the historic and international Baptist world family.”

Posted: 8/06/04

BWA to launch global evangelism strategy at 2005 meeting

By Trennis Henderson

Kentucky Western Recorder

SEOUL, South Korea (ABP)–Baptist World Alliance will launch a global evangelization strategy during next year's centennial BWA World Congress in England.

The announcement was one of several actions taken by the BWA General Council during its recent meeting in Seoul, South Korea. The council is a representative body that conducts the business of BWA, which holds a worldwide congress once every five years.

The Seoul meeting attracted more than 300 participants from 33 nations, including such diverse settings as Australia, Croatia, Ghana and India as well as the United States.

The council also adopted a budget for BWA, nominated a new BWA president to serve a five-year term, and adopted new bylaws that open BWA membership to churches and individuals instead of national groups only.

Playing off the 2005 congress theme, “Jesus Christ: Living Water,” the five-year evangelism emphasis will feature “Living Water” conferences around the world.

BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz said the alliance has received a $600,000 matching grant to help fund evangelism training and rallies throughout the effort. Tony Cupit, BWA's director of evangelism and education, will coordinate the world evangelization strategy.

“We want to encourage in the next quinquennium a strategy for world evangelization to bear witness to Jesus Christ,” Lotz told participants.

“Let me be very clear that as Baptists we believe that Jesus Christ is our only way of salvation,” he said. “There is no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved. That's who we are as Baptists. That's why we come together. We're a missionary movement.”

Urging Baptists around the world to continue to “work together for religious freedom,” Lotz said, “No other time in history has experienced more persecution.

“Sixty thousand Christians are killed every year for their faith. That is why we as Baptists need to be more and more concerned about religious freedom in the 21st century because the clash of civilizations is more real than ever before.”

In other action, council members approved bylaw changes that will permit associate membership for local Baptist churches and other organized Baptist groups such as state Baptist conventions, colleges and mission organizations. The changes also permit individual Baptists to become personal members. BWA membership previously was limited to national or regional Baptist conventions and unions.

“This has nothing to do with the present controversy we have,” Lotz said, alluding to the recent withdrawal of its largest member body, the Southern Baptist Convention. “We began almost 10 years ago to ask the question: 'What does membership mean in the 21st century?'

“This was a long time coming,” he added, noting the proposal addresses “the new understanding of koinonia, what fellowship is all about.”

Council members unanimously affirmed the nomination of David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, as BWA president for 2005-2010. His election will be held during next year's Baptist World Congress in Birmingham, England. The council also elected Lotz to another five-year term as BWA general secretary.

Participants approved a 2005 budget of $1.85 million, the same amount as the alliance's 2003 income prior to the SBC eliminating its $425,000 annual contribution. While gifts from member bodies are expected to be down approximately $255,000 from the current year–due mostly to the defunding by the SBC–major increases are projected from individual donors and investment income.

Council members approved Lairam Jesus Christ Baptist Church, a convention of 80 churches in northeast India, as the BWA's newest member body.

A Korean Baptist children's choir performs as part of "An Evening with Korean Baptists," an evangelistic rally that attracted more than 4,000 participants. The event was held in conjunction with the recent Baptist World Alliance General Council meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

Alluding to the convention's 21,000 members compared to the withdrawal of the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention, T. H. Vanlalzauva, Lairam's general secretary, told council members, “After the withdrawal of the SBC from BWA, we are the first to play the role of rebuilding BWA's membership.”

Affirming that BWA membership “is very significant for our church,” he added, “I enjoy very much the life and fellowship of BWA.”

The council also voted to suspend temporarily the membership of Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches in India, which has split into three groups due to conflict over property. Noting that the conflict has escalated into violent clashes, Lotz said the internal controversy “has been a tragic witness for the cause of Christ.”

As BWA leaders seek to help facilitate reconciliation, council members voted to suspend the convention's membership until March 2005 and re-evaluate reconciliation efforts at that time.

Council members also heard a progress report from BWA's 21st Century Committee, which will present its final report next March.

The committee, chaired by David Goatley, executive secretary of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Missions Convention in Washington, D.C., is seeking to provide a long-range strategy for BWA ministry.

Noting that BWA “builds fellowship and community, promotes vibrant Baptist identities, networks resources and serves as a global voice,” the report adds that it “equips and empowers Baptists” in the areas of missions and evangelism, religious liberty and human rights, and relief and community development.

Affirming that BWA is “highly valued, greatly loved and deeply appreciated” by member bodies around the world, Goatley said committee members are seeking to maintain “appreciation for history yet innovation for a vibrant and vital witness for the future.”

The General Council meeting also featured reports from regional Baptist groups in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and North America. And the council heard “Window on the World” testimonies from Baptist leaders in Cambodia, Hungary, Nepal, Nigeria, Malaysia and the United States.

Posted: 8/06/04

SBC withdrawal from BWA compromised worldwide
Baptist testimony, general council resolution asserts

By Trennis Henderson

Kentucky Western Recorder

SEOUL, South Korea (ABP)–The Southern Baptist Convention's withdrawal from the Baptist World Alliance has caused “a compromise of the worldwide testimony of all Baptists,” a BWA General Council resolution declared.

Declining to respond to specific accusations aired by an SBC study committee, the resolution notes BWA “rejects the charges made by the SBC leadership and supports the efforts of the BWA officers and staff to respond to these charges.”

The SBC, one of the founding members of BWA in 1905, voted in June to withdraw from the international Baptist organization. The SBC study committee accused the BWA of a “continual leftward drift” in recent years.

BWA leaders around the world strongly denied the charges but were unable to persuade SBC officials to remain part of the alliance.

The SBC's withdrawal, set to take effect Oct. 1, will reduce BWA's global membership from approximately 48 million baptized believers to 32 million.

BWA also will lose the SBC's $300,000 annual contribution, which was reduced last year from $425,000.

Despite the SBC action, the resolution expresses gratitude for “the enormous contribution made by the Southern Baptist Convention in the formation of the Baptist World Alliance 100 years ago and in the continued development and effectiveness of the Baptist World Alliance since its inception.”

It also cites regret over the SBC's decision “to withdraw from the world Baptist family, resulting in loss of unity and a compromise of the worldwide testimony of all Baptists.”

The resolution expresses hope “for a future reconciliation and renewal of SBC membership” and “welcomes those from the SBC who wish to participate in the life of the BWA.”

The resolution was adopted without debate or opposition.

Other resolutions adopted by the council:

Encourage all Baptists to attend BWA's centennial world congress July 27-31, 2005, in Birmingham, England. The congress is held every five years, and organizers anticipate more than 12,000 participants from around the world.

Urge Baptists to participate in the BWA's 2005-2010 “Christ the Living Water” global evangelism emphasis.

The resolution affirms BWA's “strong conviction that salvation is offered to the world through Jesus Christ alone by means of his life, death and resurrection and continuing mission.”

Endorse the Micah Challenge, an initiative by more than 270 evangelical Christian organizations to help reduce world poverty by 50 percent by the year 2015.

The emphasis will seek to address such issues as extreme poverty and hunger, reducing diseases such as HIV/AIDS and reducing the debt of the world's poorest nations.

Affirm the Korean Baptist Convention, the meeting's host organization, for its “faithful witness to the gospel both within South Korea and in its mission work throughout the world.”

The measure also expresses concern for “the continued division of families and communities in the north and south of Korea,” urges “a peaceful resolution of the inspection regime for nuclear power facilities in North Korea” and expresses hope for “the ultimate peaceful reunification of the peoples of Korea.”

Posted: 8/06/04

ANOTHER VIEW:
Morality demands war against AIDS

By Dale Hanson Bourke

When thousands of AIDS experts gathered in Thailand this summer for the International AIDS Conference, they considered economic impacts and political pressures, as well as social issues and cultural barriers.

And no matter what their expertise, they shared the same concern: Although the world is in the throes of the worst health disaster ever known, the average person knows little about it and cares even less.

According to statistics released by UNAIDS, the disease has taken a devastating worldwide toll since it was identified in 1981. There have been 20 million deaths, as many as 38 million additional people infected with HIV, and an estimated 14 million orphaned children–yet we remain a country largely in denial.

The reasons for this are both obvious and painfully subconscious.

Most obvious is the enormity of the problem. Unless you have visited a country where the sale of coffins is the fastest-growing industry, it is hard to understand how devastating such numbers can be. With more than 3 million people dying every year from AIDS, the impact has been compared to 20 fully loaded 747s crashing every single day. But even such comparisons seem incomprehensible.

To Americans, the worst seems to be over.

The early devastation of AIDS seems to have given way to a more optimistic response. While researching a book on AIDS, one of the responses I most often received when I asked about knowledge of the virus was “Magic Johnson.” Many people see the former basketball star as emblematic of the shocking first reaction to AIDS in this country and his continuing apparent good health as evidence that things aren't so bad after all.

But after the obvious, we must look at what many are calling us to consider as a matter of conscience. AIDS is now present in every country in the world, but 70 percent of those infected live in sub-Saharan Africa. Whether because of overt racism or simply unwillingness to consider the largely poor population of the region as important to U.S. interests, we have regularly ignored wars, famines and health crises in that region.

“What does it really have to do with us?” one man asked me with bold candor as I interviewed him about his views on the global AIDS pandemic.

And then there is the morality issue. Scratch beneath the surface, and many people admit they believe AIDS is largely due to a person's poor choices regarding sexual practices, partners or drug usage.

The facts that many monogamous, married women are infected by their husbands and many children are HIV-positive because they had the misfortune of being born to a mother who carried the virus are viewed as exceptions. Yet these “exceptions” now number millions of people.

And then there are the thousands (or millions–no one knows for sure) of poor Chinese who gave blood in order to have enough money to feed their families and are now infected, along with the children who play in the city dumps where hospitals discarded tainted syringes. Not to mention the doctors and nurses infected during operations and those who received routine treatment in hospitals before blood supplies were tested.

The world of those infected with HIV/AIDS does not line up as innocents and guilty, no matter how puritanical a measure is used. Yet most charities–even those with a largely churchgoing base–admit that raising money to fight AIDS is one of their toughest challenges. Some report getting letters from donors who think supporting such a cause is not a good use of funds.

And perhaps that's where we should be talking about morality. Many of us have wondered how our parents or grandparents were able to stand by while the Holocaust occurred. Some of us have wondered why we did so little for the Bosnians or Rwandans when they were being systematically slaughtered. Perhaps ignorance could be cited.

But the AIDS pandemic has occurred during a time when almost every American has access to the Internet. Even if our newspapers don't cover an issue, we routinely find ways to stay on top of hometown news, distant weather reports and international sports scores. Yet dozens of web sites about AIDS receive relatively few “hits.”

In a time when religious and political leaders seem polarized on many fronts, it is time for them to unite in calling every one of us to join the war on AIDS. It starts with educating ourselves about the facts and ridding ourselves of prejudices and myths. It includes moving out of our comfortable denial and confronting the hard truth.

And if nothing else, it means that we must understand that unless we act decisively, we are leaving our children with a moral deficit so vast that they will spend much of their lifetime dealing with not only the political, economic and cultural consequences, but also the shame of what the previous generation so blatantly chose to ignore.

Dale Hanson Bourke is a consultant to humanitarian organizations and the author of the forthcoming book “The Skeptic's Guide to Dealing With the AIDS Pandemic.” Her column is distributed by Religion News Service

Posted: 8/06/04

Crossover Indiana yields more
than 1,900 professions of faith in Christ

By Lee Weeks

Baptist Press

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)–A year of planning and praying by Indiana Southern Baptists combined with volunteer support from across the country resulted in 1,932 professions of faith in Christ during Crossover Indiana, an evangelistic blitz accompanying the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis.

John Rogers, director of evangelism and prayer for the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, said the professions of faith were recorded through revival crusades, evangelistic block parties, prayerwalking, street evangelism, door-to-door spiritual opinion surveys and other initiatives.

“Only heaven will reveal how many more will get saved out of Crossover because of the burden these new Christians have to see their family and friends come to Christ,” Rogers said.

More than 120 of Indiana's 430 Southern Baptist churches and missions participated in the Crossover effort, which included 70 evangelistic block parties and 97 weekend revivals statewide.

And nearly 1,000 volunteers–about half from out of state–joined the Crossover outreach.

Eighty professions of faith were recorded during the weekend revivals held across the state before and following the SBC annual meeting. About 50 Florida pastors and evangelists led the revivals as part of the Florida Baptist Convention's ongoing partnership with Indiana Baptists.

Jon Beck, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, located about an hour south of Indianapolis in North Vernon, said the Crossover efforts have brought a renewed sense of purpose to his congregation of nearly 300 people–the only SBC church in a county of 20,000 residents.

About 20 people from Beck's church volunteered at two inner-city block parties in Indianapolis June 12. Since then, Beck has baptized about 20 new Christians at Bethel Baptist.

Crossover “was the first time some people in our church had done ministry outside the four walls of our church, outside our community,” Beck said.

Rogers said he hopes ongoing follow-up efforts by Indiana churches with prospects and new believers will result in record baptisms for the state in 2004-05.

An estimated 70 percent of Indiana's 6.2 million people don't profess to be Christians, while Southern Baptists across the state number nearly 100,000.

Dick Church, manager of personal evangelism for the North American Mission Board, which sponsors the annual Crossover effort nationally, said local churches are encouraged to connect with new Christians 10 times over the next four weeks following their decision for Christ. The plan is to begin discipling them in the faith and involve them in the church.

“Follow-up is always a top priority for Crossover,” Church said.

Several ethnic churches were bolstered by the Crossover outreach, Rogers said. For example, 75 professions of faith were recorded at one block party and revival crusade in a Hispanic neighborhood in Seymour, Ind. “Crossover really gave a shot in the arm to some of our Hispanic works,” he said.

Work of NAMB's inner city evangelism teams in African-American communities resulted in more than 850 professions of faith.

Rogers also reported that 1,499 phone calls from across the state were received by NAMB's evangelism response center in response to an evangelistic television advertising campaign.

Thirty-seven professions of faith were recorded by phone, and about 1,000 requests were taken for a free DVD of the film, “The Hope,” which outlines the gospel. The DVDs will be hand-delivered as part of the local church follow-up response.

Posted: 8/06/04

CYBERCOLUMN: Changes

By Berry D. Simpson

I once heard a motivational speaker say he gave his sales consultants hand-held spotlights for their cars, powered from the cigarette lighter, so they could find unknown houses on new streets by shining the lights on the curb to read the numbers. He said that in sales, if you weren’t lost in a new neighborhood looking for an unfamiliar house at least once a week, you weren’t serious about your business because you weren’t pushing out beyond the familiar.

What he said was true for more than just sales. If I’m not occasionally lost and unsure, I’m probably not growing as a person.

Cyndi and I have made some big changes this summer of our 25th year of marriage, especially in our teaching ministry. We’ve taught an adult Bible study class on Sunday mornings since 1990, and from the very beginning we were teaching our own peers—couples about the same age as us, with kids about the same age as ours, who grew up with the same music we did and lived through the same national and world events.

Our next teaching assignment will be a new class of young adults, age 20 to 29, the age-group of our own children. These youngsters grew up in a significantly different world, with strange influences and unusual music. Most of them don’t even have a favorite song by the Doobie Brothers and don’t know any names from the Watergate hearings.

I’m a little concerned that my cultural references and 1970s hipness won’t translate. Of course, what I don’t worry about is energy and creativity, since Cyndi is on my team, and I have no doubts about her skills and talents.

I guess I want to be Superman, able to perform at a high level anywhere and everywhere. Superman was super wherever he went. His crime fighting took him all around the world and even into space, yet no matter where he went, he was still faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, could bend and crush steel with his bare hands, and still had X-ray vision. That is the kind of teacher I want to be.

But I am afraid I am more like Spider-Man. I have useful skills, but they depend on my surroundings. Spider-Man has a problem if he ever leaves New York City. His greatest asset is his mobility—his ability to fly through the city swinging on his webs, or climb vertical surfaces using his barbed hands. But what would Spider-Man do if he suddenly found himself fighting crime in Monahans, Texas? He’d have to shoot his webs across the street and then just run over to the other side. He couldn’t do much swinging in a one-story town.

He wouldn’t be helpless. He’d still have those barbed hands, but they would give limited advantage in a town where the highest structure can be climbed with a tall stepladder. And he’d still have his spidey sense, so he might be able to anticipate trouble before it started and be in place to catch the bad guys and wrap them up in a sticky spidery web. He’d still be useful, but definitely dependent on his surroundings.

Our last Sunday teaching our present class will probably be Aug. 15. This change should be a simple who-cares move, but it is painful. We are leaving people we love. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 says, “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.” Cyndi and I have poured our lives into our class, and they are some of our closest friends.

But I’m not really worried about all this. A better word to describe the way I feel is excited. Not excited to leave the people I love, but excited to begin a fresh, new work. Excited to pull out my spotlight and find my way through a new neighborhood.

I may need to learn a few new cultural references, but I don’t expect teaching this young group to be so much harder. I, like all teachers, am at my best when I don’t worry so much about hitting a specific target but instead focus on projecting from my heart. The source is more important than the aim.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “No man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself. Lose your life, and you will save it.”

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.

Posted: 8/06/04

DOWN HOME:
TP can't wipe pain of 'lasts'

Within the week, we'll pull out the camera, pose our “baby,” Molly, beside a dining room chair and repeat a ritual we began 15 years ago.

Since her big sister, Lindsay, started kindergarten, their mother and I have taken pictures of the girls standing beside a chair every year on the first day of school.

When they were little, the chair provided a useful object of scale. By comparing their height to the back of the chair, we could tell how much they grew from year to year. Long after their steady height rendered the comparison moot, we maintained the tradition, just to keep a chronicle of the passage of time.

Our first-day-of-school portrait gallery presents a chronological panorama of our daughters' lives. The photographs remind us of favorite clothes, braces, glasses, contact lenses and hairstyles, all of which changed from year to year. And they also reveal to us bright eyes and familiar, somewhat-anxious smiles, all of which remained essentially the same.

Now we begin the lasts. Molly starts her senior year at Lewisville High School. And since she's our youngest child, we're embarking upon a school year of doing things for the last time. Last football season, last rounds of exams, last spring break, last honors programs, last prom, last-last-last.

You probably know me well enough to appreciate the fact I don't like this one bit. Raising our daughters has been the greatest joy in this daddy's life. I get misty-eyed when I watch a father with his preschool daughters, and I ache to start the process all over again.

Of course, I can't. So I'm prone to sappy nostalgia that–because it embarrasses Lindsay and Molly, not to mention their mama, Joanna–I try to keep to myself. It's hard.

That's why I'd like to thank Molly's friends Brayden, Justin and Mitchell, who recently reminded me about all those aspects of fatherhood I won't miss when they're over.

They TP'd our front yard. And I've got to admit, they created a work of art. Ray, my across-the-street neighbor, said, “That was the most thorough, symmetrical TP job I've ever seen.” But, hey, these guys are experienced.

So, when Molly's gone and our “nest” is empty, I won't miss cleaning toilet paper out of our trees. Here are some other things I won't miss when we send our youngest off to college:

Pulling hairballs the size of small rodents out of the upstairs shower drain.

Tripping over flip-flops and sneakers when I walk through the kitchen in the dark in the morning.

Waking up tired because I couldn't get to sleep as long as a kid o' mine was out.

Well … that's it. I'm done. Can't think of any more. Through my children, God has blessed me beyond my imagination. I love being a dad, and I'm going to miss the girl when she goes away next fall.