Posted: 7/23/04

Churches that hit dead end need
to turn around, consultant recommends

SAN ANTONIO–When a person hits a dead end, he needs to turn around. And congregations that have plateaued or are declining need to do the same thing, according to a Dallas Baptist Association consultant.

Roosevelt Broach, the association's director of church planting and development, noted 85 percent of Southern Baptist churches have either level or declining membership, indicating a lack of healthy congregations.

“We've got to turn it around,” he said. “We've got to stop this.”

Congregations have life cycles, Broach said. They typically start with a purpose and move toward goals. In the process, they create a structure for growth. When that is established, a church is at its height, with strong ministry.

Then the church begins to fade. Members become nostalgic and remember the way it used to be. They start questioning why the church is not as strong as it should be. Then the congregation becomes polarized. Finally, the church splits.

To prevent a congregation from weakening, leaders must start a new cycle when they sense the church needs it, Broach said.

Restructuring is painful for the church and the leaders, he acknowledged. But it is essential.

Strong pastoral leadership is the key to reinvigorating a congregation, he stressed.

This method of leadership matches the biblical model of shepherding more closely than the traditionally accepted pattern of gentle guidance, Broach noted. Shepherds guide sometimes, but they also have to prod, push and drag other sheep to get them to move in the right direction.

Still, a fighting church will not grow, Broach said. He urged pastors to meet with church leaders every few months, if not each month.

Ministers are responsible for building congregational unity, and leaders must be consistent models of a Christian lifestyle, Broach said.

Their actions must match their words, and they need a healthy family life. Biblical teaching in all facets of the church is necessary.

A church that faithfully lives out its mission through an appropriate structure will be effective and grow with unity, Broach predicted.

Posted: 7/23/04

African American Fellowship
sets goals for missions growth

By Janelle Bagci

BGCT Summer Intern

SAN ANTONIO–The African American Fellowship of Texas Baptists intends to raise awareness of student mission opportunities in the next year and increase the number of African-American student summer missionaries by more than 12 times.

The pastors' group pledged to send 50 African-American volunteers to the mission field through the Baptist General Convention of Texas student summer missions program–an increase from the four students commissioned this year.

The African-American church leaders also promised to help their students know about opportunities for mission work.

“We want to impact our communities,” fellowship President Jerry Dailey said. “The best way to do that is for our children to be involved.”

In other business, the African American Fellowship encouraged leaders to represent African-American churches in the BGCT, which also sponsors the fellowship's annual meeting.

Fellowship leaders praised the convention's recent efforts to place ethnic minorities in leadership roles. For the first time, ethnic minorities hold two out of the three elected offices. Ethnic minorities also chair all seven committees appointed by BGCT elected officials.

But African-American chur-ches must continue voicing their opinions and being an integral part of the BGCT, said Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

“We need to embrace what we're a part of,” Bell said. “Our hand is out to help,” not receive a handout.

At the close of the meeting, participants discussed plans to advocate a federal marriage amendment.

Howard Caver of World Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth distributed pamphlets to help church leaders contact their legislators to voice their support for an amendment.

“If we don't speak out for morality, who will?” Caver said. “They want to hear from the church.”

The fellowship's officers were re-elected to their positions: President Dailey, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in San Antonio; Vice President Ronald Edwards, pastor of Minnehulla Baptist Church in Goliad; Secretary Bell; and Treasurer Marvin Delaney, pastor of South Park Baptist Church in Houston.

Next year's annual meeting will be held in Fort Worth, and the 2006 meeting will be in Lubbock.

Posted: 7/23/04

Chicago pastor urges church leaders
to leave markers for next generation to follow

SAN ANTONIO–Christian leaders need to leave “markers” so future generations will know “where the leadership stood” when God worked through them, Chicago Pastor Lacey Curry said during the African American Fellowship/Church Health and Growth Conference.

Citing the Old Testament story of Joshua telling the Israelites to leave stones marking where God parted the Jordan River, he said such markers tell others “this is where the Lord himself intervened and made possible some things that would not otherwise have been possible.”

Markers help leaders begin correctly, added Curry, pastor emeritus of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Chicago.

“Many times, we're trying to build lives out of stuff that has no life in it,” he said. Markers help a leader “start with the right stuff.”

“Leave the markers so that the youngsters will have the right start,” he added.

Markers also help leaders know where they are after they have begun.

Because “a lot of things do get cloudy,” leaders can reflect on markers left before them and recognize when they are “trying to go somewhere halfway and call it the end,” he said.

Markers also help leaders know when they have arrived where they were going.

“I'm thinking that the main problem of this generation”–with its houses, cars and other material things–is that it “does not know when it has arrived,” Curry said.

Markers tell others, “This is where the successful folks stood when the storms of life were raging,” he noted.

Posted: 7/16/04

Five churches honored for CP giving

SAN ANTONIO—The Baptist General Convention of Texas has honored five African-American congregations for their contributions through the BGCT Cooperative Program in 2003.

The honors are based on resident church membership. The five categories and honorees are:

1-50 members: Good Shepherd Baptist Church, Lubbock; Pastor Robert McKenzie; $5,010.

51-100 members: New Bethel Baptist Church, Houston; Ira Coleman; $2,137.

101-150 members: Disciples of Faith Baptist Church, Houston; Kerry Ganther; $2,984.

151-250 members: Community Baptist Church, El Paso; Milton Walker; $4,605.

251 or more members: Westside Baptist Church, Lewisville; Kenneth Blake; $90,000.

Posted: 7/23/04

Voices of Praise deliver musical gospel message to Spain

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–More than 100 people made decisions for Christ when pastors put their musical talent to use during a recent mission trip to Spain.

Voices of Praise, a 13-member group made up primarily of pastors, performed in five packed venues in Spain. One of the performances was in front of more than 1,000 people in a civic center where the Christian message previously was not allowed. About 104 individuals made spiritual decisions.

Charlie Singleton, pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, said the energy of the people, movement of the Holy Spirit and tremendous fellowship created a “different atmosphere” in the venues where God was allowed to work.

Two women pray during a worship service.

Texans and Spaniards bonded through meals, conversations and hours spent meeting people after concerts.

“They (Spaniards) showed up, but more importantly, God showed up,” said Roy Cotton, consultant for the Baptist General Convention of Texas Church Multiplication Center.

Michael Evans, director of the BGCT African-American ministries office, said God moved in amazing ways because the volunteers allowed God to use their singing talents.

Mission work largely is letting God use a person's gifts, he said.

The trip resulted from two years of planning by the BGCT African-American ministries office, the BGCT Texas Partnerships Resource Center and Jorge Pastor, a Spanish minister who invited the group because he noticed Spaniards are interested in African-American gospel music.

The Texas Baptist group performed classic gospel pieces such as “Oh Happy Day,” “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Order My Steps” to excited Spanish crowds. Each night, a member of the ensemble also told about the power of God.

Members of the group said they acted like themselves, and God gave their words and actions power to impact lives. In addition to the Spaniards who made decisions, the group also ministered to and among Gypsies, a population commonly looked down upon in Spain.

Mission trips such as this one remind him of God's work around the world, Singleton said.

“I love to see the way the Lord works,” he added. “It gives you a whole different perspective. Sometimes we get so caught up here, we forget he is the same God around the world.”

The trip encouraged the group to become more active in missions through singing, Evans said.

Part of the group performed back in Texas during the African American Fellowship/Church Health and Growth Conference in San Antonio.

Evans hopes the testimonies of participants urge other Texas Baptist African-American churches to get involved in partnership missions, whether in Spain, Nigeria–the site of the African-American ministries office's official partnership–or somewhere else through Texas Partnerships.

The trip “really convinced individuals in our group who never had been involved in missions before to get more involved in mission work,” Evans said.

Posted: 7/23/04

Understanding differences in personality types can help
church staff head off potential conflicts, consultant says

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–Most church staff difficulties have more to do with personalities than with issues, a Baptist General Convention of Texas consultant said.

Each person approaches his or her job differently, creating conflicting work styles that can lead to staff problems, noted Sonny Spurger, consultant for the BGCT Center for Christian Leadership.

“It's not the issues that get us in trouble,” Spurger said in a seminar during the African American Fellowship/Church Health and Growth Conference. “It's how we deal with them. And how we deal with them comes from who we are.”

Spurger used a common personality test to help participants assess their own character type. That information helps them understand what they want from their jobs and supervisors, as well as how they respond to conflict.

Spurger referred to the four character types by the letters–D, I, S and C.

“D” is a vision-caster with strong leadership ability who deals with decisions and conflict swiftly and strongly.

“I” is a person-oriented individual with strong networking skills. He or she also may be disorganized.

“S” is loyal and hard-working but has a tendency to be a people-pleaser and occasionally noncommittal.

“C” is the most likely to be susceptible to depression but is a detail-oriented planner who prefers to work alone.

Spurger, a self-proclaimed “I,” pointed out that every person is a blend of the characteristics and can work to strengthen tendencies.

The ideal church staff, which includes paid and volunteer leaders, consists of all four personality types, because each one has a strength that is needed to lead a church well, Spurger said.

If a staff can recognize which type each member is, the group can understand how to be a more productive and positive unit, he added.

Each person will see how co-workers prefer communication in different situations, Spurger said.

The Center for Christian Leadership can lead church staffs in more detailed testing and assessment of personality types and spiritual gifts.

A consultant will help staff members understand strengths and weaknesses as well as how to improve chemistry.

For more information about the tests, call (214) 828-5278.

Posted: 7/23/04

Fitness means exercising good
stewardship of 'temple,' speaker stresses

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–Being healthy is not just about losing weight and looking good; it's about “physical stewardship” of the body throughout life, fitness trainer Marsha Taplett insisted.

“We are on a Christian journey and a wellness journey,” Tap-lett said during a seminar at the African American Fellowship/ Church Health and Growth Conference.

She called for a holistic approach to wellness that reflects how Jesus told people to love God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength in the Gospel of Mark.

The heart represents emotions; soul, spirituality; mind, thought processes; and strength, the physical, Taplett said.

“Think of our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit,” she said. “Physical stewardship is an act of worship.”

She compared a person's body to a church sanctuary.

“We wouldn't put our trash in the (church) sanctuary, because we give reverence to our sanctuary,” she said.

Christians should treat their bodies with similar reverence, she urged.

“Spirituality will always be before physical, but they're always together,” she added. “If you're emotionally not well, you're not well.”

And the same goes for physical, mental and spiritual health, Taplett added.

“A healthy body enables us to be ready to serve God,” she said. “If we're not at our best physically, we're not at our best in ministry.”

She encouraged participants to “think about physical activity and eating right as an everyday lifestyle.”

In regard to proper nutrition, Taplett said, “My philosophy is, we shouldn't diet.” Sensible eating and balance are best.

“We're supposed to have carbohydrates, protein and fat,” she said, referring to various weight-loss plans that severely restrict consumption of such items.

Taplett encouraged participants to not skip meals, noting, “Every time you skip a meal, you set up your body to retain body fat.”

“We can't get so caught up in looking good,” she said. That's making the body an idol. “That's extreme. That's out of balance.”

Taplett listed several components of a fit body–cardiovascular ability, muscular strength, flexibility, balance and posture–and gave simple suggestions for how to improve in those areas.

Cardiovascular: Walk at least 15 minutes a day to maintain the heart's health. Biking and aerobics also are helpful.

Muscular strength: A person doesn't have to lift weights to strengthen muscles, Taplet said.

She had class members stand in front of their chairs and then move downward halfway toward a sitting position.

That simple exercise increases lower-body strength and is an example of the type of exercise that work muscles without lifting weights.

Flexibility: Bending over and touching toes is an example of stretching that helps a person maintain “range of motion,” she said.

Most people cannot touch their toes at age 40 simply because they don't do it. “It's never too late to get it back,” she added.

Balance: Taplett suggested “something as simple as lifting one foot.” A person can do that while standing in a bank or checkout line, while washing dishes or just waiting for someone.

Posture: How people present themselves is important, she said. It's as simple as standing and sitting with back straight and shoulders back. “If we're not conscious of it, we lose it,” she observed.

“Whatever you have today, you want to try to maintain it,” Taplett said. And “it's OK to add this kind of activity in our churches.”

Posted: 7/23/04

Learning styles of Bible study pupils
require varied teaching approaches

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–The Bible is powerful, but Sunday school teachers need to vary their methods if they are going to make it stick with their students, according to a Baptist General Convention of Texas youth consultant.

Jane Wilson, a youth Bible study consultant with the BGCT, noted eight general ways students learn.

Bible study leaders who intend to engage young people fully must step beyond their own natural tendencies and use techniques that students relate to better, Wilson said.

This may involve hands-on activities, art projects, dramas or varying verbal presentations, she explained.

Teachers do not have to cater to each style every week, but they need to incorporate several teaching techniques in each class, Wilson noted.

“Bible study should be a place where the word of God is heard and lives are changed,” she said in a seminar during the African American Fellowship/Church Health and Growth Conference.

The learning styles include:

The traditional learning style is verbal, where students study through reading, writing and speaking words. Young traditional learners prosper with stories, debates and essays.

Visual learners grasp ideas by creating pictures or visual representations, such as sculptures.

Reflective students like time to themselves to meditate about ideas before returning with a response.

Physical learners gain knowledge through participation. Dramas, field trips and sports help these youth.

Natural learners enjoy being outdoors and relating stories to their knowledge of nature.

Logical thinkers look for patterns and like to reason their way through difficult questions.

Musical learners express themselves and relate well to lyrics and melodies. Music is highly emotional to them and can carry deep meanings.

Relational students learn by interacting with other people. They hear what others have to say and form an opinion as they hear others' viewpoints.

One learning style does not indicate higher intelligence than another, Wilson said.

It simply reflects the gifts God has given that person, she explained.

By varying teaching styles, leaders are enabling different students to use their gifts in church, she added. Teachers also are allowing Scripture to have a better chance of impacting a student's life.

No matter the style a leader uses, he or she must teach the Bible, Wilson stressed.

She encouraged seminar participants to have a short time designed to transition their conversations from their personal lives to the general topic of the Bible study.

Wilson rounds out a lesson by trying to get students to apply the lesson to their lives.

Sometimes she asks them to commit to an action and write that deed on a note card. That helps the Bible take hold in their daily lives, which is the point of study.

Scripture and the Holy Spirit will do the rest, Wilson said, noting: “The word of God is inherently powerful.”

Posted: 7/23/04

Homecoming for children's home
stirs memories, sparks gratitude

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

SAN ANTONIO–A trip to the past nourished the souls of former residents of Baptist Child & Family Services who converged on the San Antonio campus for their first alumni reunion in decades.

“Most of us hadn't seen each other for 30 or 40 years, and that's just too long,” said Adela Esquivez Booth, a prime mover in organizing the event. “It was a long day, and the weather was hot. But when it was time to leave, nobody wanted to go. We stood around hugging and crying–clinging to one more memory, one more conversation.”

Even though they mentally traveled back in time, BCFS alumni also affirmed the present.

They applauded loudly when BCFS President Kevin Dinnin told them: “People who began this place had no way of knowing how God would use their efforts. The name of the agency has changed, and the programs have expanded, but we continue to bring hope to people who are having trouble.

“Each of you who lived here as young people is a part not only of what we were but what we have become and what we will do in the years ahead. You are a part of a ministry that last year helped 23,000 people–all across Texas as well as in Eastern Europe and Mexico. And it all began at Mexican Baptist Orphanage.”

Among those clapping hardest were “the three Hernandez girls” whose plight in 1943 sparked the movement that led to the Mexican Baptist Orphanage and, eventually, to Baptist Child & Family Services.

Lois Hernandez Tanner, Margie Hernandez Yruegas and Gloria Hernandez Padilla were 6, 5 and 4 when their mother died. Denied places in Catholic orphanages because of their religion and in Baptist and other Protestant homes because of their race, they were taken in by Nannie Tynes Bailey.

"Mommy took care of us for 4 1/2 years as well as raising the issue with Texas Baptists. She lost her job because she spent so much time looking after us, but people listened to her," Padilla explained, holding up a copy of the brochure about the need to help children like the Hernandez sisters Bailey wrote and distributed across the state.

“I want to thank the Texas Woman's Missionary Union, the San Antonio Baptist Association and the Baptist General Convention of Texas for responding and creating the Mexican Baptist Orphanage. None of us could have accomplished anything without their help.”

Alumni President Maria Mirales Carrillo, a resident in 1963-68, hailed the turnout as “proof we have a bond with each other and with this place.” She spoke candidly of her own anger at people who attempted to help her.

“I was rebellious when I was here. I brought a lot of baggage with me, and it took me a long time to get over it,” she explained. “All my housemother had to give me was love, and she taught me more by her actions than even by what she said.

“I was still rebelling even after I left. I was saved here when I was 12 years old but never grew in my faith until I was an adult. It was hard trying to raise my kids right when I had not had parents. I had some bad marriages and a bad life until I finally realized that there was no one else to go to for help except Jesus Christ.

“We all need to remember that there are still lots of kids out there who are just like we were, who need our help even if it is just an encouraging smile.”

One popular activity during the weekend was visiting the newest residential cottage and comparing it to their living conditions.

“There aren't enough chairs at the table. Where does everyone sit?” asked Myron Punzo, now the postmaster of Whittier, Calif.

State regulations limit cottage populations to eight children, but most of the alumni lived in cottages with 12 children.

They also remembered former alumni, a feat of mind that prompted the gathering.

“Three of us who are school teachers started playing where-is-so-and-so at an educators' convention last year. We decided to get together in San Antonio in November and invite seven or eight other alumni we were in touch with,” Booth said. “We had such a great time that we decided it was too good not to share and started meeting the first Saturday of every month and contacting as many people as we could about having a reunion.”

When Carrillo told Dinnin about the project, he pledged BCFS to underwrite all the expenses for the 2004 reunion and contribute $1,000 for subsequent gatherings.

Posted: 7/23/04

Former children's home residents fondly recall
tasty Mexican meals as one housemother's labor of love

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

SAN ANTONIO–Whether it was a grateful gasp of recognition (“he still wears the same hat”) that greeted Leslie Pullin or the public appreciation of Beatrice Gasca Atu (“no other housemother cooked us Mexican food”) for her culinary generosity, former staff members were a welcome part of the alumni reunion at Baptist Child & Family Services.

Pullin and his wife, Louise, worked at what originally was called Mexican Baptist Orphanage from 1952 to 1981. Alumni recognized the white straw cowboy hat even before they saw the couple's faces. Later, alumni produced photographic evidence–40- and 50-year-old images of Pullin wearing identical headgear.

The quiet, slim Pullin maintained the grounds and vehicles at the home and spent hours with the kids driving the bus that took them to church and on outings. Mrs. Pullin was in charge of the clothing dispensary–and the star of some photographic memories as well.

“She always had everything so well organized that whenever we needed any clothes, we'd go see her, and she would take care of us immediately,” Adela Esquivez Booth recalled. “But what I liked best was when she would take us shopping in downtown San Antonio for our Easter outfits. That's the pictures I have in my album.”

Atu, the first Hispanic housemother, began a 17-year stint at the home in 1953–two years after placing her own three daughters in the facility because, as a single mother, she could not provide for them.

“So, I raised my girls here along with all the others I got to take care of,” the 77-year-old explained. “I had a great time here. Our cottage usually won most of the trophies in the July 4 competitions.”

Atu began as a relief housemother, rotating among the cottages while the permanent houseparents had time off. That's how she gained universal acclaim for preparing and serving the traditional Mexican food most of the children were used to before coming to the children's home.

Posted: 7/23/04

American confidence in First Amendment up

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)–Americans' confidence in the First Amendment, which fell after the attacks of 9/11, is up again, according to a new survey.

The First Amendment Center in Nashville, Tenn., has released its 2004 survey results on the “State of the First Amendment,” which suggests Americans' concern for protecting freedoms is at levels not seen since before Sept. 11, 2001.

The survey, conducted in conjunction with the American Journalism Review, showed that when asked whether the First Amendment goes too far in the protections it guarantees, 65 percent said it did not, up from 49 percent in the 2002 poll.

“Despite the ongoing war on terrorism worldwide and regular warnings from authorities about domestic attacks, a significant majority of Americans continue to support a free and open society,” said Gene Policinski, acting director of the First Amendment Center, according to the Associated Press.

A majority of the 1,000 people polled said religiously offensive speech should be allowed, but racially offensive speech and patently offensive music should not be protected.

Paul McMasters, Freedom Forum First Amendment ombudsman, published a commentary on the findings, citing a “troubling disconnect between principle and practice when it comes to First Amendment rights and values. Americans in significant numbers appear willing to regulate the speech of those they don't like, don't agree with or find offensive.”

When asked to list specific rights guaranteed under the First Amendment, only 17 percent of Americans named freedom of religion, a slight decline from previous years. Other freedoms named less frequently were freedom of the press, assembly and petition.

McMasters wrote that one goal when beginning the survey was to see where education on the subject of the First Amendment is needed.

“The educational challenge is great,” he wrote.

Posted: 7/23/04

Hunger Hounds track down donations
to alleviate suffering, fight hunger

By Janelle Bagci

Texas Baptist Communications

KILGORE–A man and woman living in a shack in the poorest area of town know what it's like to go to sleep hungry. But the mentally disabled epileptic couple still set aside $60 from their meager earnings for world hunger.

Their gift went to Hunger Hounds, an informal organization committed to alleviating hunger.

Hunger Hounds was founded in 2003 as the brainchild of businessman Charlie Whiteside. The loose network of laypeople began as a grassroots effort after Whiteside received a “calling in the night.”

Whiteside, a member of First Baptist Church in Kilgore, said, “the calling was almost audible” to raise money for world hunger throughout Texas.

Christians have the opportunity to “save a lot of kids,” he explained. “There's just too many starving to death out there.”

After receiving money from speaking engagements and donations, Whiteside donates all proceeds to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, administered by the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission.

Giving to the offering “was up 25 percent in the earlier part of the year as opposed to last year,” Whiteside said. “I don't know how much of that is due to us,” but it is encouraging.

“If we had 20 more people like Charlie, it would make a huge difference in the offering,” said Joe Haag of the CLC.

Whiteside covers essential expenses out of his own pocket and speaks to groups in Texas, requesting money to support the BGCT hunger offering. He hopes to garner more support through churches around the state.

Although he hasn't been able to collect as much money as he expected, he remains hopeful.

When first promoting the idea, Whiteside received close to $4,000 from his home church, and money still is coming in, he said. One woman found the Hunger Hounds web site and donated $5.

“If these people can do it, why can't we?” Whiteside asked.

The potential for the hunger offering would increase if each Sunday school class in each church would pool its money, he observed.

Whiteside “feels committed to doing this for the long haul, not just a couple of months.”