Posted: 7/09/04

EDITORIAL:
Paradox strengthens evangelism

Do you ever watch siblings and wonder, “How in the world did those people grow up in the same home, much less fall out of the same family tree?”

That's how I feel about Baptists. Much of the time, we're like mismatched sisters and brothers. We're born of the same stock, but we bear polar-opposite personalities. We carry the same name, but we sometimes sound like strangers.

We've been this way almost from the beginning–nearly four centuries, church historian Bill Leonard says. (See page 10.) More than any other faith group, Baptists have embraced paradoxical tendencies. We include in our ranks contradictory positions and perspectives on just about every item in the spiritual catalog except the notions that we're congregationalists and the church should be made up of Christian believers.

Baptists' predisposition toward paradox came to mind the other day, as I read an opinion piece by one of the finest, brightest young reporters for Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention's public relations arm. Describing his experience at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's annual meeting, he wrote: “I have yet to hear a CBF speaker passionately call upon Fellowship Baptists to proclaim the gospel to the world. I have heard many calls for feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless and demonstrating a Christlike attitude. But … the CBF displays seemingly minor concern for sharing the gospel with lost men and women.”

I daresay the vast majority of Fellowship Baptists would be shocked to learn that someone who spent three days with them would believe they express only “minor concern for sharing the gospel with lost men and women.” To their way of thinking, gospel-sharing is what they're all about. Over and over, they talked and preached and prayed and sang about the theme of their annual gathering, “Being the Presence of Christ.” (In fact, they spoke the phrase so often, the BP reporter good-naturedly referred to it as their “mantra.”)

This points us toward another Baptist paradox. How do we share the gospel? Which is most effective–proclamation or incarnation? Does someone who preaches the need for repentance reflect the gospel more accurately than someone who feeds the hungry and houses the homeless?

Advocates of both methods have Baptist history on their side. For more than 250 years, revivalism and evangelistic preaching have been Baptist hallmarks. Baptists' revivalist tradition exalts direct, confrontational evangelism that calls people to repent of their sins and get right with God. But for well more than a century, Baptists also have been leaders in bringing people to faith in Christ by meeting their needs in Jesus' name. For much of the past century, Baptist home and foreign missionaries who were most successful in evangelism were people whose day-to-day ministry served the physical needs of the poor and disenfranchised.

This paradox reflects Baptists' political divide. While contrary examples abound, for the most part, the group that now controls the SBC advocates aggressive evangelism via proclamation, while the Baptists who have lost the SBC tend to engage in incarnational evangelism. Both groups can be pretty smug about themselves.

The proclaimers live in a world where words are the most tangible assets. If you haven't told a sinner he needs to repent and seek forgiveness of his sins, then no verbal transaction took place and you haven't evangelized. The incarnators live in a world where physical actions take precedence. If you tell someone, “God loves you,” but you don't demonstrate that love by making sure that person has enough to eat, God's love seems shallow and you haven't evangelized.

Actually, true evangelism encompasses both. If Christians serve people in Jesus' name but never get around to telling others about Jesus, they fail to minister to deep spiritual need. But if Christians demand repentance but never demonstrate how Jesus makes a difference in people's lives, they undermine their message and deafen the ears of the very people they seek to save.

The same Jesus who said, “Go … make disciples” said his followers will be judged by how they minister to the “least of these.” Evangelism involves proclamation and incarnation. Baptists need to embrace this paradox.
–Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

Posted: 7/09/04

EDITORIAL:
Texas earns a big, fat F

The U.S. Census Bureau has released another embarrassing statistic: Texas ranks last in the percentage of adults who have received high school diplomas.

Only 77 percent of Texans age 25 and older have graduated from high school, according to an Associated Press report. That compares to a national average of 85 percent. This is the second year in a row Texas has trailed the rest of the states. A decade ago, Texas ranked 39th, when it also posted a 77 percent graduation rate. On the whole, U.S. graduation rates are improving.

The primary reason for Texas' decline is its failure to help Hispanics progress through the educational system. The Census Bureau report revealed only about half of Texas' 4.3 million Hispanics age 25 and up have earned high school diplomas. Meanwhile, Hispanics are the state's fastest-growing population. So, the overall rate will continue to slide if a greater percentage of Hispanics don't graduate.

State Demographer Steve Murdock predicted the high school graduation rate will have an economic impact on Texas.

“The downside is Texas could be less competitive” in the labor and business markets, Murdock said in a Houston Chronicle story. Texas “could be poorer, because we know educational attainment is the best predictor of income.”

Meanwhile, Texas' educational system is in crisis. The governor and the Legislature are at a stalemate over school finance. They have failed miserably to propose an equitable solution for strengthening the state's most vital resource–the brainpower of the leadership base and workforce of tomorrow.

Some people might say this is not a religious issue and should not be mentioned in a Baptist newspaper. They would be wrong. More than any other topic, Jesus mentioned care for the poor. Public education is a matter of caring for the poor. More importantly, it is a matter of preventing poverty for millions of Texans and improving the lives of all Texans. (And don't think this is just a charity case. If our workforce continues to decline, all Texans will suffer for it.)

If Christians care for the people of Texas, we must get involved. We need to demand that the Legislature pass and the governor sign a school-finance bill that is fair to all Texans, raises the graduation rate and doesn't sleep with the devil by funding education through expansion of gambling.

Our churches also must offer more English-as-a-Second-Language and other classes to enable immigrant Hispanic mothes and fathers to help their children. We know parental involvement is the No. 1 factor in educational success of children.

Christians can, and must, make a difference in Texas education.

Posted: 7/09/04

ETBU enters partnership with Chinese
university, plans 2005 conference

MARSHALL–East Texas Baptist University and Lanzhou University of Technology in Lanzhou, China, created a partnership after a visit by ETBU officials to China.

The partnership will produce an academic conference in Lanzhou next summer involving faculty from ETBU and other Texas universities and Chinese scholars who will present papers in English, said Jerry Summers, history professor at ETBU.

Paul Sorrels, ETBU vice president for academic affairs, signed the agreement, which also allows the exchange of students and faculty between the two universities.

East Texas Baptist University Vice President for Academic Affairs Paul Sorrels and Lanzhou University of Technology Vice President Wang Zhiping, sign an agreement of educational cooperation and scholarly exchange between ETBU and the Chinese university.

Sorrels and Summers met with representatives of Northwest Normal University in Lanzhou to discuss a similar relationship.

The ETBU representatives, who traveled to China with grant support from the Consortium for Global Education, planned the trip to make new contacts with Chinese universities and renew ETBU's relationship with Guangdong Teacher's College of Foreign Languages and Arts.

ETBU leaders also wanted to visit Hong Kong Baptist University, where ETBU students have participated in the international exchange program over the past decade.

“The trip also helped to show new ways for ETBU students and faculty to gain international experience and understanding, in accordance with the university's goal of providing 'a world of opportunity in a community of faith,'” added Summers, who traveled to China twice before and who teaches a course on Chinese history. “As the world's most populated and most quickly developing country, the People's Republic of China presents unlimited opportunities for educational and cultural exchange.”

Posted: 7/09/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for July 18

God requires unqualified obedience and service

2 Kings 13:1-25

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

God calls the community of faith to obedience and service. Those who disobey and neglect to serve may forfeit divine blessings. 2 Kings 13 recounts the consequences when two kings of Israel, Jehoahaz and Jehoash, abandoned God. On the other hand, this chapter relates that Elisha served God even as he lay dying.

Spiritual shortcomings

2 Kings resumes its account of Israel's fortunes in chapter 13 after a brief interlude to report on Judah's kings. Jehoahaz succeeded his father Jehu and followed him in the worship of the golden calves. He apparently did not sustain his father's purge of Baalism (2 Kings 10:18-28). While he would lead the nation to regain some of its territory, that gain would prove limited in scope because of his lack of faith and a succession of wicked kings.

The author of 2 Kings used the four-fold pattern of Judges to describe the religious situation at his time: 1) The nation sinned against God; 2) God punished them for their disobedience; 3) Jehoahaz prayed for God to deliver; 4) God gave them a deliverer. Invasion by foreign armies was connected to the nation's sinfulness.

God's anger burned against Israel because of persistent sin. Ancient peoples believed that when nations fought, the one with the most powerful god triumphed. Israel worshipped Yahweh as the one above all others. When Israel's armies were overcome, they needed to explain how an all-powerful God could be defeated. They did so by affirming that God allowed invaders to conquer them because of their sinfulness. Israel thus found itself repeatedly under Syria's (Aram's) domination.

Jehoahaz “sought the Lord's favor” because he understood God needed to fight for Israel. The verb, which means “to be sick,” suggests weakness and dependency. Jehoahaz turned to God because he was powerless to deliver the people.

The Lord “listened” to the king's request; that is, he both heard and answered it. The deliverance came only after Jehoahaz's death.

God promised the nation a “deliverer” (“savior”). Possible identities of this “deliverer” are many. He was probably a military leader able to defeat the Syrians and “give relief” to Israel. The most likely candidates are Jehoahaz's son, Jehoash (2 Kings 13:25), or his grandson, Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25,27). Israel regained nearly all of the land over which Solomon ruled during Jeroboam's reign.

Elisha also has been projected as the deliverer. The main reason is because when Jehoash visited him, he addressed him as “My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and horsemen of Israel.” This suggests the prophet had power to protect the nation.

God fulfilled this promise, and the people lived in peace without fearing their enemies “in their own homes as before.” God had restored some measure of security to them.

Despite God's deliverance, the people persisted in their disobedience. Any repentance was temporary. They continued to reject God and worship pagan deities.

Worship in the Northern Kingdom did not reject Yahweh but mixed this with worshipping pagan deities. The nation would choose which god they worshipped as they felt circumstances warranted. Yahweh seemed to be their God of choice when times were difficult and they could not free themselves from foreign captors.

This may explain why prophets still had some influence in the north, although a tension always existed between God's prophets and the king.

God's punishment continued. Within a short time, the armies were reduced to 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers. Estimates for Israel's military strength during Ahab's reign mention 2,000 chariots. Disobedience had critically weakened the nation.

Persistent service

Elisha appeared one final time in the story, as he played a part of God's plan to deliver Israel. Jehoash visited Elisha as the prophet lay dying and wept over his condition. He may genuinely have been grieving over the prophet's impending death, or he may have been concerned with losing the one person through whom God had earlier delivered the nation.

One last mission remained for the prophet. He had Jehoash to take his bow and arrows and prepare to shoot. Elisha then put his hands on the king's hands to signify that God's power would deliver. He shot an arrow to the east, in the general direction of Syria, symbolizing that Israel would defeat the Arameans at Apek. Elisha told the king to pick up his arrows and strike the ground with them.

Limited success

Jehoash hit the ground only three times. The king's lack of enthusiasm angered Elisha. Striking the ground only three times implied a lack of faith and zeal. Elisha declared God had been prepared to give Israel total victory of Syria. Because of the king's unwillingness to beat the ground more than he did, God promised only three victories.

Joash attacked Syria following the death of Hazael and recaptured the cities that had been lost during the reign of his father, Jehoahaz, but the victories were only three and only temporary.

Question for discussion

What competes for your worship?

Posted: 7/09/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for July 25

Conforming to world's standards is dangerous

2 Kings 14:1­15:38

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

Society promotes behavior unacceptable for Christians. Believers are to be in the world but not of the world. Jesus said disciples are to “let their light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Paul warned Christians against conforming to this world's standards (Romans 12:2). The examples of Israel's and Judah's kings demonstrate that what the world deems appropriate may be unfitting for God's people.

2 Kings 14 and 15 continue to alternate between the affairs of Israel and Judah. Confusion sometimes results from this intermingling of their histories. Sorting out the names of the kings can be hard.

This week's text evaluates each king individually. Some receive mixed reviews, but most are considered evil in God's sight. We do well to remember that the narrator appraised them from a spiritual and not a worldly perspective.

For example, two of the most successful kings from a worldly viewpoint, Israel's Jeroboam II and Judah's Azariah, receive scant attention in the 2 Kings's narrative.

Destructive pride

Amaziah generally merited good marks for his reign. However, the writer noted his righteousness did not equal King David's, the standard by which all kings were judged. He followed the godly policies of his father, Joash, but failed to cleanse the nation of high places used for worship. Once he had solidified his hold on the throne by killing those who had assassinated his father, he attacked the Edomites. His decisive victory there encouraged him to challenge Israel. This victory and subsequent attack on the Northern Kingdom show how a good person can go wrong.

Amaziah enlisted 100,000 mercenaries from Israel to join him in his invasion of Edom. When an unnamed prophet warned God would withhold divine favor if these warriors were allowed to remain, Amaziah sent them home. Upset at losing the possibility of pillaging conquered Edomites, they plundered some of Judah's cities as they returned home. Amaziah forged ahead, and Judah took Sela (modern-day Petra). The prophet chastised him for carrying back and worshipping some of the Edomite gods (2 Chronicles 25:5-15).

The king was determined to seek other conquests despite being chastised by the prophet. Buoyed by easy triumph and overcome with pride, Amaziah challenged Jehoash of Israel to battle.

Jehoash sought to discourage Amaziah. He replied with a story of a thorn bush that sent a message to a cedar tree requesting the tree's daughter in marriage. A wild beast responded by trampling the bush. The message likened Amaziah to the bush. He had become proud because of his victory of Edom. Jehoash warned him to stay home, relish that victory and not provoke additional trouble. Nonetheless, Amaziah attacked Israel's army at Beth-Shemesh, about 15 miles west of Jerusalem.

God's predetermined outcome became obvious. Israel humbled Judah. Judah's soldiers fled in disarray and defeat. Jehoash captured Amaziah. The southern king may have been freed soon afterward or imprisoned for as long as 15 years. His own bodyguard later assassinated him.

The northern armies counterattacked Jerusalem, where they razed about 600 feet of the city's wall. They added insult to injury by plundering both the temple and palace of their gold and silver. They took other hostages besides Amaziah and then returned home.

God's evaluation

Jehoash's son, Jeroboam, ascended the throne and expanded Israel's territory to the boundaries of Solomon's kingdom. Perhaps no northern king was as politically successful. However, 2 Kings devotes only two paragraphs to his 41-year reign. He maintained the idolatrous policies of his predecessors. Note God's sovereignty as the Lord used an ungodly king to accomplish divine purposes. Because God had promised not to blot out the name of Israel, the Lord saved them (2 Kings 13:5-7).

We see the magnitude of God's grace in these verses. Amos and Hosea were active during this time. Spiritual malaise accompanied the prosperity that had returned to the land. Worship became a formality and could be used to further oppress the powerless. Still, God offered the nation another chance to repent.

Sinful ambition and brutality

Israel's finest days quickly deteriorated into a death spiral. Zechariah succeeded Jerobaom, but his reign lasted only six months before he was killed by Shallum. Future kings' reigns would be tenuous and beset with difficulties. Shallum may have contributed to the rapid decline when he usurped the throne. He was neither called nor appointed as king but seized power without divine approval.

Shallum led the nation only a month before he too was assassinated. The author stressed Menahem's wickedness by noting he cut open pregnant women. This atrocity was associated with ungodly nations such as Ammon (Amos 1:13) and Syria (2 Kings 8:12).

Israel repeatedly rejected God and warnings from prophets. Disobeying God leads to destruction. We cannot live apart from God without reaping consequences of our actions. God may delay the effects of sinful actions, but eventually the time will come when we face divine judgment. We cannot indefinitely presume on God's grace.

Question for discussion

What are the benefits of obedience?

Posted: 7/09/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 18

Nehemiah was God's servant in Jerusalem

Nehemiah 1:2-7, 10-11; 2:4-8, 17-18

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

The book of Nehemiah tells the story of a man who helped to rebuild Jerusalem. Like many of the heroes of Scripture, he was not a professional spiritual man. He was a government worker attached to a foreign king's domestic service. It was not a particularly Baptist sort of job. He served wine in the royal household. He did so with a cheerful presence and winsome attitude.

The king took notice of his enthusiastic servant and questioned his hangdog appearance on one occasion. Nehemiah let him know he was depressed over the ruin of his homeland. The king asked what he would like to do about it. Nehemiah asked for a promotion of responsibilities. He wanted to be elevated from cupbearer to building contractor.

Nehemiah became a building contractor working under orders of the king to rebuild his ancestral city. It may have been a secular work to spend a life with bricks and mortar, labor negotiations, building permits and political intrigue. Yet nothing is secular when it is done to the glory of God. God used this man and his gifts to accomplish things religious leaders could not envision. You can be similarly useful in God's kingdom. How?

Be faithful where you are

I doubt you will find an ad in any paper in America seeking a building contractor with prior experience in cup bearing. To my knowledge, they do not teach cup bearing as a course in the school of construction management at Texas A&M. But King Artaxerxes was not looking for a contractor at the time. He was not looking for someone to rebuild the walls of a potential enemy state. His servant caught his eye for other reasons. He was faithful.

Jesus would teach a parable about servants who were faithful in little things being entrusted with greater things. Nehemiah began the journey of faithfulness with an entry-level position. He rose to greater responsibility, not only to King Artaxerxes, but to the King of Kings. He was like Joseph in Egypt, faithfully serving the needs of his prison guards until the opportunity for a higher call came along. When it did, he was ready. Be faithful where you are.

Be sensitive to suffering

When Nehemiah heard the plight of the surviving exiles in Jerusalem, he wept, mourned, fasted and prayed (Nehemiah 1:4). His attitude toward the remnant in Jerusalem was vastly different than Jonah's toward the Ninevites.

Jonah ran from God's call because he was afraid God would forgive the hated gentile city and heal them. Nehemiah ran toward God's call because he feared Jerusalem would never again reflect God's glory. He was seeking the blessing of Jerusalem, not resume enhancement. He wanted to see the suffering of God's people relieved, their usefulness restored and the glory of God returned to his ancestral home.

Be confident in God's word

Why should anyone hope for a future for Jerusalem under the circumstances? They were a laughingstock among the nations. Their only hope? God had made them a promise. Nehemiah dared to believe the promise was still valid. God would yet stand by his marker. The city would be delivered, not by the cleverness of Artaxerxes' faithful servant, but by the will of a sovereign and promising God.

Paul says we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). We often feel like less than conquerors. We feel more like “sheep to be slaughtered” (Romans 8:36).

Jerusalem was full of folks in Nehemiah's day who were sheepish in their faith. They were ready for the slaughter, resigned to their fate. A nation away, they had a countryman who still had more confidence in the promises of God than in the fickleness of history and circumstance. What could earthly kings do to thwart the promises of the God of kings?

Be open to the call of God

Nehemiah was open to the call of God. He did more than pray for deliverance. Like Moses before him, he was willing to be a deliverer in the hands of God. It would take all God's working through him to accomplish the task.

Read the story of Nehemiah. You may find the path there to your own service. He has a place for you.

I love Vacation Bible School. It does more than serve the needs of the children. It also builds the church. Every year, some parent drops a child off at our Bible school and then hangs around to keep an eye on their precious little one. We put them to work, preferably not in the room with their child. By the end of the week, they have met some adult friends, participated in something worthwhile for their children and found a place where their service is needed in a church. When these folks formally join the church, they are ready to work. They came in working.

I long for the day when our churches are filled with people like Nehemiah, people who will grieve over the downfall of the church. People who will pray, repent and seek the fulfillment of God's promises.

Questions for discussion

What has God burdened your heart about? What are you doing about it?

Posted: 7/09/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 25

Be faithful even when times are tough–God is

Habakkuk 1:2-6, 12-13; 2:2-4, 18-20; 3:17-19

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

Can you quote a passage from Habakkuk? I bet you can. Paul used one in his letter to the Romans. He quoted Habakkuk 2:4 in Romans 1:17. It was the text for his letter to the Romans. It was a sermon on faith. He said, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'”

Habakkuk saw a problem. What he saw was a nation, his own nation, which seemed to have turned its back on God. They had made justice a joke. Good folks could not get a fair shake in life. Citizens were not acting like God's chosen people.

He took his complaint to the right spot. He took it to God. God told Habakkuk he was doing something about the problem. He was raising up the Babylonians to punish his own errant folks. Already, the Babylonians were gobbling up nations faster than Baptists can finish off a pot luck dinner.

This seemed to Habakkuk like God was using a sorrier nation to punish a more just people. He again complained to God. “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” (Habakuk 1:13).

Habakkuk was playing a dangerous game. His two-prong strategy to win this match with God was to deny him sovereignty and to play comparative ethics with the Babylonians. God can't choose to use a people who aren't as good as us! God can! And he did!

God also told Habakkuk he was well aware of the shortcomings of the Babylonians. They would not escape his judgment. The time would come for them as well. It was not Habakkuk's place to condemn his Chaldean neighbors. God alone is the judge of the earth.

It was not Habakkuk's place to question God's actions. It was not his place to judge the nations. The only thing God asked of the prophet and his people was their faithfulness. “If you live by faith, you will really live.”

God sees the bigger picture. He chose a people to be his people. He asked them to be faithful to him alone. They turned their backs on their promise to serve him. When they did, God did not give up on them. He still reached out to them in love. It is the story of the Old Testament prophets. God sent them to his wounded people with a healing word. Babylon would yet be judged. God would return in his time, and his people would again be blessed.

In the meantime, God has a word for Habakkuk. He has a word for us, too. “The righteous will live by faith.” God's instructions have not changed.

What do modern-day Ha-bakkuks do when the world seems to spin off its moral axis? What do they do when good people are oppressed by evil empires? What do they do when the unrighteous swallow up the righteous? They stay faithful. They keep on believing God.

What does it mean to have faith in God? It means to take him at his word. It means we can count on him to keep his promises. We can trust him. It means to remember that he is God and we are not.

What does it mean to have faith in God? It means we can wait on him and know he will answer us with his presence. The God of all the earth will indeed do what is right. His grace is not slow. It is on time. God's time!

What does it mean to have faith in God? It means we not only believe his word, we do his word. Whether we feel like it or not, we obey what God has said. Habakkuk needs to stop complaining about what God will do and start obeying what God has already said. He does not stand alone in this. Modern-day Christians need to stop filling up some mythical complaint box and start looking for areas of ministry God already has provided.

Habakkuk got the message. Listen to his words. He said, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

This sounds to me like a man who has learned to trust God. He will believe God's word. He will do God' word. He will wait on God's deliverance. Sounds like a good plan of action. May we do the same until Jesus comes again.

Questions for discussion

Does anything in Habakkuk's time sound familiar with today's world?

What alternative do we have to complaining to God and telling him what needs to be fixed?

What does it mean to have faith in God?

Is there an area of ministry that God keeps bringing back to your mind that you have repeatedly put off?

Posted: 7/09/04

Hispanic Texas Baptist president
issues call for cooperation

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND–The Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas needs to cooperate with other Baptist groups and institutions to accomplish God's will in Texas and around the world, the group's president told its annual meeting.

Alcides Guajardo called the convention to emulate the Trinity and cooperate with other conventions and institutions to expand God's kingdom on earth. The biblical model of cooperation is needed to “accomplish God's plan.”

He pointed to several groups looking for help from the Hispanic convention. Texas needs 3,000 Hispanic Baptist churches, but there are just a few more than 1,200. Spain needs more churches. Central and South America have “urgent needs.” The Baptist University of the Americas needs support.

“We cannot do it ourselves,” he said. “No one can do it alone. There are millions in our state that need to be evangelized.”

Guajardo lauded Hispanics for increasing their giving through the Baptist General Convention of Texas Cooperative Program budget, which sends money to ministries in Texas and throughout the world. But he noted many churches still need to give.

That money leads to saved souls and transformed lives, the president said. Some of the people in the convention center converted because of ministries supported by the Cooperative Program budget or the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

Hispanics see the results of the giving. They also must give, Guajardo stressed.

“You know the needs and how many people ask us for help,” he said.

Guajardo called the convention to pray, asking God to help them see where ministry is needed. “We need to communicate to him and ask him to open our hearts,” he said.

In other business, the convention honored Buckner Baptist Benevolences for 125 years of ministry.

The convention also recognized three students who were awarded college scholarships: Sara Aké of Iglesia Bautista El Mesias in Dallas, Clara Ann Herrera of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Eldorado and Stacey Melendez of Iglesia Bautista Amistad in Waco.

Posted: 7/09/04

Hispanic Baptist missions giving
increased 12 percent in first quarter of 2004

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND–Texas Hispanic Baptist gifts to Baptist mission work increased significantly during the first quarter of the year.

Hispanic churches contributed $263,168 to the Baptist General Convention of Texas budget and various mission offerings through March 2004, an increase of about 12 percent over the first quarter of last year.

This follows a 14.6 percent increase in Hispanic church giving through the BGCT from 2002 to 2003.

The increase is the result of leaders of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and the BGCT stressing the importance of giving to the BGCT budget, said Richard Faling, consultant for BGCT Cooperative Program promotion.

Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas President Alcides Guajardo sent a letter to each Hispanic church that was not giving through the BGCT Cooperative Program and explained the need to give. Leaders from both conventions spoke with congregations about the far-reaching aspects of the Cooperative Program.

Guajardo again stressed the importance of giving during his presidential message.

These efforts have helped educate many Hispanic congregations that did not understand where the funds are used, Faling said. This work also helps church staff members know they are eligible for health benefits through GuideStone Financial Resources–formerly the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention–if they give enough through the BGCT Cooperative Program.

Rudy Camacho, who has promoted the Cooperative Program in Hispanic churches, said the increase in funds also is closely linked to the higher profile Hispanic Baptists have been given in recent years by the BGCT.

“We feel like we are an integral part of the BGCT,” Camacho said. “We have been included by the BGCT in all areas of work.”

Camacho and Faling agreed giving will continue growing as the number of Hispanic Baptist churches and Hispanic Baptists increases. “I see the curve continuing to go up,” Camacho said.

Posted: 7/09/04

FAMILY REUNION:
Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND–The Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas annual meeting is called “convencion,” but leaders and participants say it's more aptly called a family reunion.

Participants typically bring their families to convencion for a vacation. A strong tradition of attending the meeting is carried on from generation to generation.

Resolutions and controversial decisions that have become commonplace in many Baptist meetings are replaced with smiles, hugs and stories between people who have been friends since seemingly before they were born.

Families bond with other families. Participants share stories about past generations of other families as if they were their own.

Anastacia Molina of Las Milpas Baptist Church in Las Milpas, a 96-year-old former missionary, said the family atmosphere has kept her coming to convencion more than 50 years.

“I have always liked it because I always see old friends I know from the ministry,” she said.

Eddie Sanchez, pastor of Ross Avenue Baptist Church in Dallas, told his children convencion enables them to reap blessings they have not sown. Just like when he grew up going to convencion, older generations will care for and encourage them because of connections made by their parents.

“It's a wonderful experience,” he said.

The meeting is the primary place for Hispanics, especially first-generation immigrants, to network and discuss ways to meet their challenges, said Rudy Camacho, a longtime Hispanic Baptist leader.

“It is an opportunity for Hispanics, with our language and culture, to come together and worship together just as the BGCT does once a year,” Camacho said.

Worship, praise and fellowship take center stage at the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas.

The Hispanic Baptist family enjoys a unique status between independent convention and BGCT-supported fellowship.

The name Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas is largely tied to history, explained Dexton Shores, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas River Ministry, who has attended the Hispanic gathering 30 years.

The Mexican Baptist Convention existed long before coming under the wing of the BGCT in 1960, and it has retained the convention title even though it functions more like an ethnic fellowship, Shores said. The name later was changed to Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas.

The Hispanic convention is largely funded through the BGCT Cooperative Program. More than $100,000 was sent from the BGCT for the Hispanic convention through the Texas Cooperative Program this year.

Mateo Rendon, consultant for BGCT Hispanic ministries, noted the Hispanic convencion always has retained its own identity. Many of the people who attend convencion refer to it as “our convention” and do not attend BGCT annual meetings, he noted.

The Hispanic Baptist Convention has its own officers and constitution. It also has formed its own partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

“This is their convention,” Rendon said. “It's tailored to meet a specific niche, and those needs are met.”

Cooperation between the BGCT and the Hispanic convencion has strengthened and focused the work of the Hispanic convention, Camacho said.

“We have been more productive,” he said. “We have been more purpose-driven. But at the same time, we have kept our identity.”

Posted: 7/09/04

Scholarship recipient moves beyond
past, looks ahead to life of ministry

By Janelle Bagci

BGCT Summer Intern

ABILENE–Tighe Marie Watkins left a haze of alcohol, drug addictions and abusive relationships for the hope she found in Jesus one summer day in Lubbock.

Now, a life of ministry opens before her. Watkins, 21, plans to graduate from Hardin-Simmons University in May 2005 with a major in youth ministry and a minor in music.

Her education has been paid for, in part, through an African American Scholarship funded through the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions and administered by the Baptist General Convention of Texas' office of African American ministries.

African American Scholarship recipient Tighe Marie Watkins wants to work with teenagers, helping them to avoid making some of the bad choices she made before coming to faith in Christ.

Watkins grew up in Lubbock “with rich parents–rich in education, money and love.” She played soccer and the violin and ran track.

But from an early age, she learned to fit in with peers through partying–from the time she was 13 until she was 19.

Watkins became addicted to cocaine and alcohol in high school, and she became entangled in a destructive relationship that ended with her boyfriend going to jail for selling drugs. But this relationship shed some light on her dark situation.

“I believe God allowed me to step outside myself to see what we were doing,” she said.

During a summer camp in August 2001, she became friends with two Christian men, and they eventually invited her to a special service at Indiana Avenue Baptist Church in Lubbock.

The preacher gave an altar call offering salvation through Jesus to anyone who would accept. Watkins listened to him explain the way of salvation, thinking, “But you don't know what I've done.”

After the pastor emphasized the forgiveness of Jesus, Watkins prayed to her newfound Savior.

“How did I not know something so simple, so sweet?” Watkins said of her salvation. She kept telling friends, “Everything makes sense now.”

She experienced a radical transformation that involved completely quitting drugs and alcohol.

“I started reading the Bible. I was so excited,” Watkins said.

Watkins remembers going home one weekend and picking up the violin she had quit during her “rebellious years.”

“Amazing Grace” seemed to come from somewhere within her. She hadn't played in years, and she played the song straight through.

Watkins remembers her dad saying, “wow” because there's no way she could have done it. God did it, she said.

Remembering her earlier years playing, she said, “When I first started playing, I now know it wasn't for anything except to glorify God.”

Eventually, Watkins felt God calling her to youth ministry, and she transferred from Angelo State University to Hardin-Simmons.

“I didn't even know you could go to school and study the Bible,” she said. “I was so excited … that was exactly what I wanted to do.”

Watkins sees herself as a far cry from the broken woman she once was. She has found purpose through empowering young women and underprivileged youth.

“One day I was different. … I had peace, and I respected myself,” she said. Now, she wants to share that with others.

Watkins will get married to a young man she calls her “soul mate” after graduation from Hardin-Simmons.

“We have the same visions and passions,” Watkins said. Both Watkins and her fiancé plan to work with underprivileged youth in the inner city.

“I just can't even believe I would be graduating, … playing violin. I have so much joy. I'm marrying a godly man, and the relationships in my family are restored,” she said.

“It's nothing I could have done. I'm just so thankful.”

Posted: 7/09/04

Hardin-Simmons volunteers show
neighbors 'we care' about the community

ABILENE–Hardin-Simmons University faculty, staff and students recently put on their work clothes and walked across the street from the Abilene campus to paint a neighbor's house.

The “Good Samaritan” project developed from a relationship the university's Neighborhood Enhancement Program Coordinator Linda Carleton developed with Rebecca Deatherage, a retired social worker who owns the house.

In conjunction with Abilene's Connecting Caring Communities Program, Deatherage is the first Caring Partner to be identified in the HSU neighborhood.

Caring Partners volunteer one hour per week to build relationships with people on their block. A “We Care” sign is posted in their yards to identify them as Caring Partners. The Caring Partners also wear “We Care” pins to identify them in the community in order to raise awareness of the program.

The house is being painted this summer as a one-time community project in appreciation for Deatherage's work with the HSU Neighborhood Enhancement Program. She is working to take oral histories from residents in the neighborhood surrounding Hardin-Simmons for a newsletter.

The Neighborhood Enhancement Program has been established at HSU as part of President Craig Turner's initiative to involve the university family in community outreach.

Dan Cooper, professor of sociology and social work and director of international studies, is master carpenter for the project. The first two days of work consisted of scraping off old paint and caulk. Paint crews began next, and others provided minor repairs to trim and windows.