Posted: 12/03/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Dec. 19

Don't neglect praising God this holiday season

Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-20

By Leroy Fenton

Baptist Standard, Dallas

“Praise and worship” is not just a contemporary experience or music style played out in a church. The praise service of this passage took place with a shepherd congregation on a hillside with an angel for a preacher and a choir loft of heavenly host. The service then moved to a grotto barn stall. Like every service should, it concluded with the congregation going out to spread the good news to anyone who would listen.

The word “praise” is used 407 times in the NIV and with rare exceptions always refers to the praise of God as in this verse, “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God …” (Luke 2:20). This same New Testament word for “praise” is used seven other times (Luke 2:13, 19:37; Acts 2:47, 3:8-9; Revelation 19:5) to express joyful praise of God with the special sense of “telling” or “proclaiming.” The English word “praise” is from a French word meaning “to prize,” which comes from a Latin word meaning “price.” Therefore, praise prizes an object of value, merit or worth. “To praise” is to tell, commend, affirm, acclaim and approve the worthiness of God.

“Glorifying” is slightly different from “praising” in that there is a sense of acknowledging the honor and worth of God through “thinking” or “believing.” Praise recognizes and acknowledges the reality and majesty of God's divine, invisible nature. God's deserved glory reflects his divine nature, power and character. Praise (by voice) and glory (by thinking and believing) are given to God through worship.

The birth announcement was like thousands of starbursts in a world of darkness. On that cold, remarkable and mysterious night, the lowly shepherds, the first to see and hear, came to Bethlehem's manger stall to determine the truth of the angel's (messenger's) declaration (Luke 1:15). Seeing the glory of the Christ child in a manger, the shepherds “spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child” and went back to their sheep with praise on their lips and glorifying God in their hearts (2:17-20).

Praise him for his salvation

The incarnation event, God becoming flesh, has its soul and spirit in this ultimate statement of spiritual truth by the angel messenger, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” This Jesus, who was “Christ” and “Lord,” was above all “Savior.”

Joseph, faithfully attending to Mary's birth pains in a smelly stall, watched the Savior's small body slip unpretentiously from the womb and celebrated the future of this child of promise. God had provided his Son with a robe of humanity and a gown of cloth. Mary did not birth a baby boy to become a man on the throne of Israel but rather a baby boy, already God, who was to be the Savior of the world.

The incarnation is more than a divine birth; it is a divine work that takes place in the hearts of people who believe. Jesus, the fulfillment of prophesy, was not bound by the harsh, secular world of his own human nature and culture but rather became the Word of God's grace, the sacrifice of sin and the salvation of sinners. Only through his human birth could salvation for man be achieved. Tempted, but without sin, he came to die an atoning death to deliver humanity from the ravages of sin and provide eternal life. This good news was “for all the people” (v. 10). Have you allowed Christ to be your Savior and Lord?

Praise him for his peace

The angelic stanza, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace …,” was an outpouring of adoration, adulation and acclamation. One can conclude that peace will not come until all men praise him and declare God's glory. A host, an army, a multitude of many “heavenly host” filled the sky with voices harmoniously shouting the glory of this pauper prince of peace (vv. 13-14).

This inner peace comes when his salvation is embraced through faith that reconciles, bringing man and God back together, healing the separation created by human sinfulness. Peace is for those “on whom his favor rests,” who receive the unmerited grace or forgiveness of God (v. 14).

No president, world leader, holy war or world movement can bring peace. Real peace is the product only of Jesus, the Reconciler, who delivers us from sin and gives us all the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). Individuals and congregations that praise Christ as Savior and Lord are purveyors of this inner peace and, consequently, world peace.

Praise him for his coming

The shepherds urgently and quickly went to investigate what they had heard (v. 16). Fascinated with excitement, running down foot trails, clamoring over rocks and leaping ledges, the shepherds bound ahead to Bethlehem, “the town of David” (v. 11). The heavenly declaration convinced them the Lord had spoken, and they could not wait to “see this thing that has happened” (v. 15).

What a powerful experience to discover the truthfulness of God's word. They saw with their own eyes Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, exactly as had been told them. What they saw was not all there was to comprehend, but it was enough to stir their voices of praise and personal testimony. We must all join in with praise for his coming in the flesh to be our Savior.

Discussion questions

How will you assure that you take time to praise God during this holiday season?

What will it take to bring an inner peace to your life?

Posted: 12/03/04

100-year-old preacher finally slated
to receive seminary master's degree

FORT WORTH–Eugene Florence, 100, will receive a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth during the seminary's commencement ceremony at Travis Avenue Baptist Church Dec. 10.

Florence–who was featured in the Baptist Standard earlier this year–was 39 years old when he enrolled at the seminary in 1943 when only night classes were offered to black students. He took classes two nights a week for eight years before receiving a diploma in theology.

Southwestern Seminary began offering courses to black students at “Negro extension centers” in Beaumont, Austin, Waco and Mexia in 1940. But not until 1950 did seminary trustees pass a policy that allowed black students to be admitted to graduate level theological education.

By 1958, all six Southern Baptist seminaries admitted students regardless of race.

Seminary President Paige Patterson said the degree was the seminary's way of honoring a remarkable man as well as recognizing the institution's error in the past.

“He earned this degree according to the best information we could get,” Patterson said.

“But it was not given because at that time Southwestern Seminary didn't allow black students to come and get a master's degree. Our posture toward black students was wrong in those days.”

Southwestern Seminary also will award degrees to 295 students from 28 states and 10 foreign countries during the commencement ceremony.

Posted: 12/03/04

Temple church opens Great Commission Gallery as ministry

By Bill Bangham

SBC International Mission Board

TEMPLE (BP)–Warm walls, wood floor and generous lighting set the stage for simply framed photographs spaced precisely about the room. People, plates of finger food in hand, circle the exhibit while a string ensemble and keyboard play beneath the murmur of quiet conversation.

It could be a Saturday night gallery opening in the art district of many American cities. But this isn't New York or San Francisco or even Dallas.

It's Temple. And the gallery isn't in an art district, but in downtown Temple's First Baptist Church.

Still, it is an opening in the truest sense, with all the scramble of a new enterprise featuring the work of an internationally known artist.

"The Griffin Estate Edition of Black Like Me"–the first hardcover version of the 20th century classic published since 1977–appeared earlier this year, 45 years after the author's six-week experimental journey through the Deep South disguised as a black man. This cover photo, by Don Rutledge, was one of several images published for the first time in relationship to the project he undertook at age 29.(Wings Press Photo)

Called the Great Commission Gallery, this is a new ministry for First Baptist, and it's the first exhibit related to the church's Fellowship of Christian Artists. The current exhibit focuses on the photography of Don Rutledge, whose work documented Southern Baptist mission efforts across the globe for more than 25 years. Rutledge shot photos in more than 140 countries during the course of his long career.

The idea for the gallery began last year while First Baptist member Linda Schuchmann was reading Rick Warren's book, “The Purpose-Driven Life.” Schuchmann is a painter but had become deeply involved in other ministries around the church, and it had been years since she applied paint to canvas.

“That book helped me to realize the gift of art God had given me had to be used,” Schuchmann said. So she began painting again.

It was at the beginning of this year, just after the Christmas season, and she began working with an idea for expressing joy. She chose her colors–“beautiful colors,” she said–and in abstract expression, began spreading them on canvas, swirling and mixing them. When she finished, there in the midst of an expression of joy she suddenly saw the flames of Pentecost. It tied feelings for the birth of Christ with the beginning of the spread of his gospel throughout the world.

“I had not intended to paint flames of fire,” she said. “They were just there. I thought: I've got to share this with someone.”

A discussion with Doug Young, First Baptist's minister of education and administration, led to setting up a small display of the painting along with several other pieces of Schuchmann's art in his office. When she returned to collect them, Schuchmann got unequivocal affirmation from member after member of the staff. “Go for it,” they said. “Find a way to share this work.”

What began as a desire to share her work quickly evolved. Schuchmann began seeking a way to help other Christian artists share theirs. In March, the first meeting of Fellowship of Christian Artists was held at the church. There are now 25 to 30 artists involved. They meet monthly and include graphic designers, photographers, a ceramist and painters who work in oils, pastels and watercolors. They chose as their mission statement: “Drawing all people to Christ.”

They usually meet in homes. At each meeting, an artist gives his or her testimony and makes a presentation of their work. Students from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Temple College attend. “We have little children attend too,” Schuchmann added. “We're encouraging them in their development as artists.”

Early on, the fellowship began talking about holding an exhibit, and they quickly settled on Don Rutledge's photography.

“We had to have Don,” said local photograher Nan Dickson. “The work is beautiful; it's missions-related. It was a no-brainer.”

“In a sense, we had to have an exhibit before we had a gallery,” Schuchmann said. “The gallery wasn't a gallery, it was just a room.”

"Street Meal"— One of the photographs by Don Rutledge in the gallery at First Baptist Church in Temple.

That room–the future gallery space–was created when renovations opened a new passage connecting the sanctuary with one of the educational buildings. The room appeared to be of little functional value. It was dark. The carpet was stained and dingy. The walls needed painting. With an open entrance at each end, it was essentially a large, open hallway.

When it was offered to the fellowship for exhibit space, “We were content to use it as is,” Dickson said. But the church offered to paint it and replace the carpet. “We were thrilled,” she said.

“The closer the exhibit came, the more church members became involved,” she continued. When the old carpet was removed, the wood flooring was discovered. The church agreed to refinish it, install a new ceiling and add track lighting. Signage was donated. The result is a first-class gallery space.

On the same weekend First Baptist kicked off its Lottie Moon Christmas Offering effort for international missions, the gallery also opened.

The exhibit drew people from the community, students from the local university and college, photographers and friends of Rutledge, and missionaries he photographed both overseas and in the United States during his 15 years with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board and his 10 years with the Home Mission Board.

He and his wife, Lucy, were scheduled to attend, but could not at the last minute for health reasons.

But Rutledge's son, Mark, and daughter-in-law, Peggy, IMB missionaries to Haiti, and granddaughters Shannon and Abigail were there.

Pastor Martin Knox dedicated the 16-foot by 25-foot space and entry corridor to “give the glory to God” for the talents of Christian artists that would be shared with the greater community through the visual arts ministry.

The crowd wandered among the 20-plus prints, including images from Rutledge's missions coverage across the globe–South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, inner-city America, rural Alabama and Alaska–as well as several prints produced for John Howard Griffin's 1950s groundbreaking and controversial book on civil rights, “Black Like Me.”

A native of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Rutledge received a bachelor of arts degree from Tennessee Temple College and bachelor of divinity degree from Tennessee Temple Seminary, and graduated from the New York Institute of Photography.

Through assignments with Black Star, a leading New York City photo agency, Rutledge's work has appeared in hundreds of general-interest periodicals, specialized magazines and international publications.

Schuchmann said Rutledge is working on his memoirs of adventures in his missions service, with accounts of hazardous travel to remote destinations and his encounters with engaging people from around the globe.

“His pastoral sensitivity and keen eye,” she said, created images that capture Amazon tribesmen, heads of state, Native Americans, immigrants, missionaries “and people of many faiths from all walks of life, in places of luxury and in lands being destroyed by famine and wars.”

With additional reporting by Terri Jo Ryan of the Waco Tribune-Herald

Posted: 12/03/04

Billy Graham still preaching, filling stadiums at 86

By Marshall Allen

Religion News Service

PASADENA, Calif. (RNS)–At 86, Billy Graham moves a little more slowly. But his four-day California crusade revealed the evangelist still can fill stadiums with his classic presentation of the gospel.

More than 312,000 people heard the evangelist preach during the Greater Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Crusade officials said 12,539 people committed their lives to Christ.

Some experts in evangelism question the relevance and effectiveness of massive revival meetings. But Graham said people respond in greater numbers today to his invitations than they did when he started his ministry.

In 1949, about 350,000 people attended the eight-week crusade in Los Angeles that garnered the evangelist national attention.

Experts describe Graham's contribution to modern Christianity in superlatives. He's practically a Christian statesman and has been called “America's pastor.”

Worshippers clap and raise their hands at the Greater Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade. More than 312,000 people heard the evangelist preach during the four-day event at the Rose Bowl, and officials said 12,539 people committed their lives to Christ. (Lee Celano Photos)

Graham has preached the gospel to 210 million people in person, more than anyone else in history, and has trained thousands of international evangelists to spread the gospel. He has been called the greatest evangelist since the Apostle Paul.

But in an interview in Pasadena, Graham said he does not even consider himself a leader in the evangelical movement. He refused to take credit for effective strategies, attributing his success to the work of the Holy Spirit.

“I think I'm just a sinner saved by the grace of God,” Graham said.

Graham no longer is the youthful evangelist who crisscrossed the globe preaching the message of Jesus Christ. He used a walker and the assistance of his son, Franklin, to make his way across the stage at the Rose Bowl.

Franklin Graham now runs the day-to-day operations of the Charlotte, N.C.-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Billy Graham suffers from Parkinson's disease and tires easily, so he was sequestered during much of his stay in Pasadena. In his heyday, Graham said he preached to more people on the street than in his revival meetings.

Graham's health has become a constant topic of conversation, and people ask which crusade will be his last. The evangelist spent most of the past year in bed after breaking his hip and pelvis in two separate falls.

Now he preaches from a pulpit that allows him to sit down when he gets tired. He is scheduled to preach at one more crusade, in June in New York City, and said he might preach at another after that if his health permits.

Health struggles and the realities of aging have not made Graham dwell on dying, however. He said he reflected on his mortality in 1934, at age 16, when he recommitted his life to Christ at a revival meeting.

“I'm happy to go,” he said of dying. “I'm ready to go. I'm looking forward to it.”

Graham's wife, Ruth Bell Graham, 84, no longer accompanies her husband to crusades. Graham said he always is eager to return to her.

“We have a romance in our 80s by looking into each other's eyes,” said Graham.

“She's been an invalid for many years, and I love her more now, by far, than when I first married her.”

Marshall Allen writes for the Pasadena Star-News of Pasadena, Calif.

Posted: 12/03/04

Gypsy children receive more than education at Ruth School

By Carla Wynn & Peter Junker

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

BUCHAREST, Romania –On any given freezing winter day in southern Bucharest, Romania, children gleefully bound around the Ruth School's playground. These Roma (Gypsy) children might come from difficult circumstances, but while they are at the Ruth School, they are happy.

“Not every child (elsewhere) is happy to be in school. … That's a testimony to the work that's going on here,” said Andy Brockbank, executive director of Project Ruth, which oversees the Ruth School.

In addition to education, the school provides meals and hygiene programs through financial support from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's Offering for Global Missions and a substantial volunteer force. Based on 1 Corinthians 3:9, this year's offering theme is “Together … Being the Presence of Christ.”

The offering goal is $6.1 million with a challenge goal of $6.3 million.

Among a citizenry that suffered greatly in Romania during the Cold War, the Roma usually got the worst of the worst. Their children were denied education, slandered as too unintelligent to be worth the effort.

The Ruth School began in 1994, with a dozen Romany children learning to read.

Ten years later, the school juggles fitting more than 160 children in seven grades into four classrooms. Grades one through four operate in the morning, and grades five through seven are held in the afternoon.

The Ruth School was aptly named by a child. “A girl from the church suggested that we should call it Ruth because Ruth was a foreigner, and she was welcomed by the people of God,” said Oti Binacui, pastor of the Romanian church that organized the school.

The Ruth School is a true partnership. The Romanian church of 400 members and an $800 per month budget could never fund the school. Likewise, it would have been difficult for Americans to start the school without Romanian help.

“Together, it's a wonderful example of both partnership and sharing the vision of reaching out for the lost and for the needy in this community,” Binacui said.

CBF Global Missions field personnel assist Project Ruth by ministering to the Roma's many physical, relational and spiritual needs.

Binacui emphasized: “I say to churches, it's not good just preaching to people. … You need to roll up sleeves and do something. This is what Jesus does.”

Posted: 12/03/04

HBU, BGCT reach understanding;
convention will reduce funding

HOUSTON–Houston Baptist University and the Baptist General Convention of Texas have agreed to a “memorandum of understanding” that maintains their long-standing relationship, but with reduced funding for the school.

The statement “clarifies the implications of the school's fraternal relationship with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention,” said Keith Bruce, the BGCT's coordinator of institutional ministries.

Prior to 2000, the BGCT selected the trustees for the 44-year-old university. But in May of that year, HBU trustees voted to create a self-perpetuating majority on their board.

The BGCT escrowed its annual contribution to the university, and both groups appointed representatives to seek reconciliation.

That process led to a “relationship agreement,” approved by the BGCT Executive Board and HBU trustees in September 2001 and ratified by messengers to the BGCT annual session that fall.

The primary points of agreement allowed the university to select 75 percent of its trustees but called for the university to maintain its “unique affiliation” with the BGCT and not to enter into a “formal relationship” with any other convention or denomination.

The BGCT then restored much of the funding it had withheld from the university.

But in 2003, HBU trustees affirmed a fraternal relationship with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, which formed in 1998 and is comprised primarily of churches that have split off of the BGCT.

That fall, messengers to the BGCT annual session approved a motion calling for the convention's Christian Education Coordinating Board to “evaluate fully the implications of Houston Baptist University entering into a relationship with another state convention and to clarify the status of the relationship. …”

The coordinating board voted Nov. 22, and the HBU board of trustees voted Nov. 23 to affirm the new document, which states both bodies agree to “continue observing all provisions” of the earlier agreement and spells out more clearly what some terms mean.

The statement acknowledges “a difference of opinion” in regard to the terms “unique affiliation” and “formal relationship” but affirms that both the HBU trustees and the coordinating board arrived at their respective interpretations with “integrity, careful thought, and with no intent whatsoever” to breach the previous HBU agreement.

Re-affirming a unique affiliation with BGCT, the university will maintain its fraternal relationship with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention but will “give priority” to ministries of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the state's largest Baptist group, the memorandum says.

“Activities or programs which are directly funded or administered by BGCT, such as Baptist Student Ministry or in-service guidance, shall be conducted as prescribed by the BGCT and coordinated with” the coordinating board.

On the other hand, the coordinating board affirms HBU's “desire to reach out to its entire constituency” and to engage those constituencies through programs and ministries, including accepting scholarships.

Escrowed funds totaling about $200,000 will be released to the university. But about half of the amount will be designated to minority scholarships and to support the Baptist Student Ministry on campus, Bruce said.

Another category of BGCT funding for the school, however, will continue to be withheld from HBU.

A “block grant” of about $600,000 that was temporarily suspended in 2001 in response to HBU's unilateral action to change its trustee selection process will now be withheld indefinitely “in light of HBU's fraternal relationship” with the competing state convention, the memorandum says.

The coordinating board will continue to “encourage and evaluate HBU's relationship with the BGCT through its ongoing institutional review process,” the document says.

Future funding of the university is tied to HBU's “continuing adherence” to the earlier agreement and the memorandum of understanding.

A key provision of the earlier agreement also cited in the memorandum states HBU will elect “only trustees who have affirmed a commitment to carrying out the purposes and mission of HBU in cooperation with the BGCT. …”

The agreement has no “direct impact” on other BGCT-affiliated institutions, but it does send a strong signal to them, Bruce said.

“It signals to our institutions how much we value their relationship with the BGCT but also that there are concerns we have, and there are parameters on any association they might have with other entities,” he explained.

Posted: 12/03/04

Plainview layman establishes ministry
to take a bite out of world hunger

By Zach Crook

Wayland Baptist Trail Blazer

Jesus' words recorded in Matthew 25 about ministry to “the least of these,” along with the heartfelt cry of a Mexican Indian woman, led J.B. Roberts of First Baptist Church in Plainview to create a hunger-fighting nonprofit organization.

Seven years ago, Roberts attended a Plainview Rotary Club meeting where Eloisa Moya spoke. Moya, a Tarahumara Indian, explained that her people in the Sierra Madre Mountains of northern Mexico were starving due to drought and resultant crop failure.

The hunger had become so bad, parents were taking their children out of school and sending them to a local dump to scavenge through the garbage and find food for the family to eat.

Moved by the story, Roberts responded by establishing Hunger Plus–a nondenominational, nonprofit organization designed not only to feed hungry people around the world, but also to provide them with the means to become self-sufficient.

While the organization's board is comprised of Rotarians, Hunger Plus is not directly related to the Rotary Club.

However, with 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide, they provide the majority of the funding to keep Hunger Plus going.

Roberts said he hopes more Christians, especially Baptists, will get involved with the organization.

“Ephesians 2:10 is my favorite verse,” Roberts said. “It says, 'we are God's workmanship,' and that means it is our responsibility to help those in need. Sometimes Baptists act like works are such a bad thing, but they aren't. We are saved through faith only, but then we are commanded to do the Lord's work. … What motivates me and all the volunteers is the Lord and those needy people.”

From the initial project of helping the Tarahumaras, Hunger Plus has grown to include projects on every continent except Antarctica.

Hunger Plus has given more than 50 million servings of food to hungry people.

And food is not the only answer for Hunger Plus. Leaders of the organization also want to help people in need become self- sufficient. One way they do this is by providing solar-powered stoves that enable people to cook in areas that lack fuel, electricity and even wood to build a fire.

Often, Hunger Plus works with local aid groups to help the hungry.

One is in Mexico, where Hunger Plus agreed to provide one meal a day to the Tarahumara children if the local Catholic school would agree to educate them for half a day. This keeps the children out of the dump, and it helps them get the education they need to provide for their families later in life.

Roberts spends much of his free time traveling around the world to talk about the benefits of Hunger Plus to anyone who is willing to listen, including lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

But for all his efforts, 40,000 children a day still die of hunger, and Roberts desperately wants to change that.

“It's like the starfish story where, after the tide comes in, thousands of starfish are left on the beach to die. A caring soul starts picking them up one by one and throwing them back into the ocean,” Roberts said.

“We try to help out as many people as we can, but there are still starving people everywhere.”

For more information, visit www.hungerplus.org.

Posted: 12/03/04

Baptist volunteers spend Thanksgiving holiday serving Irving

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

IRVING–For more than a decade, members of Oak View Baptist Church in Irving have spent Thanksgiving “Serving Irving.”

Other congregations including Willow Bend Church in Plano and Irving Baptist Fellowship helped with this year's effort, which donated more than 2,000 traditional Thanksgiving meals to 17 apartment complexes throughout the city.

The meals consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, fruit salad and a slice of pie.

This year's outreach was coordinated by Jim Gerlach, Oak View's assistant pastor, and Sergio Matassa, Oak View's minister of missions. “Serving Irving is a great way to meet people in the community and show them we care,” he said.

Six teams of volunteers helped with the project.

The promotion team delivered door-knocker flyers in the area around each serving site to let people know of the event.

The pie-baking team baked more than 100 pies of assorted flavors.

The packaging team gathered the supplies that were used at each serving location.

The cooking team began food preparation on Wednesday evening and finished Thursday morning.

The serving team consisted of 150 volunteers who served the food.

The set-up team loaded tables and chairs and distributed them to the various sites.

“Serving Irving is very helpful to many people out there that have a need, and we can show them that our church cares,” volunteer Barry Newman said. “It's also a great opportunity for young people in our church to understand how to serve and reach out to the community.”

Another volunteer, Nick Kendall, a student at Texas A&M University who was home for the holidays, said, “It is an honor to serve within my church and community.”

All ages volunteer to help with Serving Irving, and many make it a tradition. For several years, David and Becky Staley have been the “chefs” for the service project, and it has taught their daughters Emily and Allison valuable lessons about helping others.

“I like helping people,” 6-year-old Emily said. “Not everyone has a family, and we get to help them.”

“I think some people need a little extra help during the holidays,” 8-year-old Allison said.

Along with providing Thanksgiving meals, the ministry also provides food for the soul.

Volunteers passed out gospel tracts and had opportunities to tell other people about Jesus Christ.

“By helping with Serving Irving, we get to show Christ's love to others,” volunteer Lynn Andrews said.

“I'm thankful that our church serves the community in this way, and I think it shows that our church members have a servant's heart. Everyone was pitching in and giving of themselves.”

Posted: 12/03/04

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM

BGCT frustration

I walked away from the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in San Antonio very frustrated this year. We all know much has happened in our great state over the past few years, but the weight of these issues seemed to press heavily on me and many I spoke with during the convention. It seems as if the BGCT has become its own worst enemy.

I was frustrated because in a time when it would seem there is a great need to draw our Texas Baptist churches together in unity, the BGCT has chosen to further fan the flames of separation.

I was frustrated that the desire to further study the constitution changes was not heard by the leadership, who simply offered up the promise of future actions to get what they wanted passed that day. The voice of the churches will grow even weaker while the voice of the BGCT “powers that be” will be even louder.

I was frustrated that for the second year the BGCT elected a person who is basically a convention employee. At a minimum, this gives the impression of a conflict of interest. To appoint a person who serves in the BGCT organization only works to further remove the church from the process of ministry and governance of the BGCT.

I am disappointed that politics and a corporate business attitude seem to be replacing the ministry of the BGCT.

Bob Alderman

Rio Grande City

Caregiver needs

I was interested in the story on the BGCT workshop led by Wesley Wells regarding Alzheimer's disease (Nov. 15).

I am a past 24/7 caregiver to my wife, who has Alzheimer's. I ended my 24/7 caregiver status when I finally had to place her in a nursing home.

One of the things we as Christians do is focus our prayers on the diseased person who has Alzheimer's. Believe it or not, they are not usually the person who is most in need of prayer. It is, in fact, the caregiver.

The diseased person is in the process of losing the cares and worries of the world, but the caregiver is picking up all the cares and worries that were once shared by a couple.

I discovered after placing my wife in a nursing home that I had, in fact, been depressed, and recovery began right after placing her in the nursing home.

I felt the reason I didn't feel peppy and happy and energetic as in the past had something to do with age (66) but soon realized that was not the case. I actually found out what it was like to wake up rested and ready to take on the day.

So, my suggestion in dealing with these situations is to reach out at every opportunity to the caregiver and be sure to include the caregiver in your prayers and on your prayer lists. They really need it.

Jay Sorrell

Pearsall

Justifiable war

Charles Reed seems to claim President Bush is immoral for going “to war against the people of Iraq” (Nov. 22). One might remember that during World War II we went to war with Germany, and they did not provoke us, and yet all historians will agree that was the good and right thing to do.

Reed claims Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Can anyone tell me what qualifies as WMD? It seems any weapon that can cause mass damage is a WMD. So, if that is the correct definition, then, yeah, I think they had WMDs.

Oh, and citing Kofi Annan as a good source for condemning the war, the recent headlines seem to suggest that he has some moral failings and shouldn't be quoted as a possible expert on the war in Iraq. Seems his hands, or at the very least his son's hands, were dipping into the goody wagon.

Peace would not have come to Europe had we not gone to war against Germany and Japan. And yet Hitler did nothing to us. Saddam did nothing to us, and yet our going in to Iraq has so far shown us his evil ways, comparable to Hitler.

Does one really think the oil for food deals would have stopped on their own? Would Saddam have just stopped being the tyrant that he is? War is sometimes necessary.

Pray for peace. Pray for justice, too.

Bob Cheatheam

Mason

Bush's supporters

The so-called conservatives of the Southern Baptist Convention who voted for George W. Bush voted to re-elect as president of the United States someone they would not have supported had he been running, instead, for the presidency of the SBC.

In a recent New York Times interview, Bush said, “I do not necessarily believe every word (of the Bible) is literally true.” Bush would have been labeled a theological liberal and unfit for the SBC presidency.

Just before the election, Bush said he favored civil unions (not gay-marriage?) for homosexuals so they could enjoy the legal benefits married couples have.

Bush allowed federal funding for some embryonic stem-cell research–giving tax dollars to study human life that had been created and destroyed for that purpose.

Bush repeatedly has said he favors the creation of a Palestinian state. That conflicts with the unbiblical, yet fervently held, beliefs of the dispensationalists now controlling the SBC.

Bush has maintained the belief that “Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the same God.”

I know SBC supporters think Bush now owes them everything they want. But remember, Bush also needed the support of Republicans like pro-choice, pro-gay and pro-gun-control Rudy Giuliani and Arnold Schwar-zenegger. I'll bet they expect some things from Bush, too.

Don't forget the Chinese proverb: “Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it.”

Mark Johnson

Macon, Ga.

Monopoly on truth

Leslie Hight and others have written about “social issues” (Nov. 22). Maybe our focus is misplaced.

Selectively picking and choosing only the sins that seem the most abominable limits our witness for God. Focusing all our attention on any single issue–whether it is same-sex marriage, abortion or others–limits what others see of the God we love and serve.

They notice that we are quick to say what God is against. Can they also notice what we say God is about?

The gospels tell of someone who changed the world through love, compassion and care. The command for us to follow his example doesn't include condemning others because their beliefs differ from ours.

A monopoly on the truth builds walls, not bridges. Christ was a bridge builder.

Scott Presnall

Waxahachie

Worship & 'us'

Clell Wright's emphases on worship (Nov. 22) holds much promise to help church leaders in an area of primary responsibility. But to say worship “is not about us” speaks only half a truth.

Yes, worship does not serve us. But when worship is authentic, does it not enable us? Does God really need our worship, or do we not need to worship, and if so, is not worship in part about us?

Some say worship without prayer is incomplete–that prayer is its essence. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he emphasized the wonder of our relationship with the Father (isn't that for us?), called us to hallow God's name–meaning his being. Then do not the words, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth” not require one's surrender to the rule of God in daily living?

Focused on God and his purpose, worship blesses the worshipper who reaffirms that God's will is to be done in his or her life without question.

Is not the authenticity of our worship judged by how it leads us to express our love of God with mind, heart and soul and our neighbors as ourselves when we leave (live out?) our worship experience?

Isn't this why worship holds first place in a church's life and why in its fullest expression begins with our focus on God but also includes enabling us as well–making it in part about us?

D. Leslie Hill

Lexington, Ky.

What do you think? Submit letters for Texas Baptist Forum via e-mail to marvknox@baptiststandard.com or regular mail at Box 660267, Dallas 75266-0267. Letters must be no longer than 250 words. They may be edited to accommodate space.

Posted: 12/03/04

Yarnell declines Louisiana College presidency

PINEVILLE, La. (ABP)–Almost two months to the day after Louisiana College trustees elected Texas educator Malcolm Yarnell as president of the school, he declined the position because of an ongoing controversy over governance and accreditation of the Baptist college.

“After accepting the presidency at Louisiana College, governance issues which would significantly impact my ability to lead the school were fully disclosed during the subsequent negotiations over the contract which the board of trustees desired,” Yarnell said in a Nov. 23 e-mail. Because of irreconcilable differences with trustees over those issues of governance, he said, he changed his mind about the presidency.

Yarnell will remain as an administrator and professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

“Although the trustee chairman and the executive committee and I have sought in good faith to resolve these issues to our mutual satisfaction, we have been unable to arrive at a 'meeting of the minds.' As a result, I have withdrawn my name from consideration as president,” he wrote.

The same search committee that recommended Yarnell will continue to function, according to school officials.

“The search committee plans to be very prayerful and deliberate, seeking the leadership of God's Holy Spirit as we continue the search process,” said Bill Hudson of Rayne, La., chairman of the college's board.

Trustee officers met at the school on the day Yarnell sent his e-mail. “Members of the search committee and the new (trustee) executive committee met today, and we have recommitted ourselves to conduct the search in a spirit of unity as we continue the process of seeking the next president of Louisiana College,” said Ed Tarpley of Pineville, chair of the presidential search committee.

Hudson and Tarpley also voiced confidence in the future of the school, despite the turn of events. “We respect his wishes to withdraw from the presidency of Louisiana College,” Hudson said. “We are confident that God, in his sovereignty, already knows who will be the next president of Louisiana College.”

However, there is a significant accrediting hurdle for the school to clear. A visiting team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools visited the college's campus in September. After the visit, the team issued a report, citing concerns about governance and administration at the school and the status of academic freedom.

College trustees responded to the report Nov. 14, pledging several actions to bring the school more into line with the agency's guidelines. They include better education of trustees on their appropriate role, and the re-integration of the faculty in development of policies affecting academic freedom.

Posted: 12/03/04

	Mission Arlington volunteers serve 10,000 families (Top) Mission Arlington Director Tillie Burgin shows volunteers Bonnie Reilly and Jacob Fielder where to go for their assignment. Reiley and Fielder prepared and served food for one of Mission Arlington's four community dinner locations. (Left) Mission Arlington volunteer Tasha Martinez delivers prepared meals to Emma Ramos and her family. More than 2,000 volunteers provided 10,000 families with food this Thanksgiving. (Bottom, left) Joseph Mitchell (left) and Shelton Markham (right) fill boxes with turkeys, stuffing, chicken broth and other Thanksgiving necessities. Each box carried a gospel message. Volunteers prepared and delivered both turkey baskets and hot meals. For more information, visit the Mission Arlington website at www.missionarlington.org (Photos by Cassie Tatum Hart)

Posted: 12/03/04

Mobile medical clinic will meet
healthcare needs in southern San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO–Baptist Child & Family Services, in partnership with Baptist Hospital System's Southeast Baptist Hospital, has moved to meet an urgent need on San Antonio's South Side.

A $250,000 mobile medical clinic will take medical care to people in some of San Antonio's neediest communities early in January 2005. The 45-foot vehicle will make prenatal and postnatal care available to women and children in southeast Bexar County and parts of Wilson County.

“The mobile medical clinic will make a daily improvement to the health of women and children in neighborhoods where the greatest need for this charitable care exists for free prenatal care, well-baby checkups and other clinic services,” said Kevin Dinnin, president and chief executive officer of Baptist Child & Family Services. “We are very pleased that Southeast Baptist Hospital has agreed to provide the clinical support for the mobile health unit.”

Southeast Baptist Hospital CEO Rick Marsh sees the mobile health unit as an extension of the hospital.

“The mobile medical clinic allows us to expand our reach into the community we serve, bringing vital prenatal care to moms who might not otherwise even see a doctor during their entire pregnancy” said Marsh. “So we are excited to be a part of such a wonderful community resource.”

Funds to purchase the mobile medical clinic were made possible due to a donation by members of the Baptist Health Services Foundation's associates council.

The council designated the proceeds of their annual Candlelight Ball this year to fund the mobile clinic. In support of the foundation's vision, Baptist Health System pledged a $100,000 sponsorship of the gala.

"We are familiar with the many healthcare needs in our community, and in keeping with our mission statement of strengthening and perpetuating not-for-profit healthcare, we were excited to be able to donate the proceeds of the Candlelight Ball for the mobile health unit," noted Nancy Torgerson, chairman of the associates council. "We felt privileged to partner with the BCFS, having seen their success in helping people live healthier lives, and to play a part in such an important gift to San Antonio."

“This gift demonstrates the best kind of caring,” Dinnin added. “The associates council members who selected this project have a deep sense of the value of reaching out to help others–a sense that is rooted in the Judeo-Christian values that guide their organization.

“BCFS operates a similar unit in the Laredo area, so we have seen how this kind of mobile medical unit has improved the health of women and children in rural South Texas. Now the people of San Antonio will see how a mobile clinic can improve the health of families right here in our back yard.”

George Gaston, vice president of ministry for Baptist Health System, said the clinic fulfills the system's mission of healing, teaching and Christian service.

“As a hospital system, we work to improve people's health in our five hospitals every day,” he said.

“But as a faith-based institution, that alone is not enough. We felt called to make this substantial gift to help enable the foundation and Baptist Child & Family Services to continue their not-for-profit missions of improving health.”

The clinic will be equipped with two complete examination rooms, an intake reception area, a laboratory, and a TV/VCR for educational purposes.

It will be available on certain days in a set location and will travel on other days.