Posted: 3/4/05

SUFFER THE CHILDREN:
State may look to private providers to ease CPS crisis

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

More than 500 Texas children died of abuse or neglect in a 2 1/2-year period. One-fourth of them had been investigated by Child Protective Services caseworkers. In response, Gov. Rick Perry issued an executive order last summer directing the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to review and recommend reforms in the system.

Faced with the challenge of implementing those reforms, some lawmakers in Austin now see private providers–including faith-based agencies such as child and family services affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas–as an answer to the crisis in Child Protective Services.

Representatives of those agencies welcome the proposed privitization of some Child Protective Services functions–sort of.

“One day, I feel like this is a time of unlimited opportunity for us to make the system better. The next day, I think I see a train wreck coming,” said Don Forrester, executive director of STARRY, a community-based agency of Texas Baptist Children's Home & Family Services in Round Rock that provides services to children, youth and parents in crisis. “Privitization is a good idea, but there are a lot of unknown variables. There's so much that's still up in the air.”

Some Austin lawmakers see faith-based providers–such as child and family services agencies affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas–as an answer to the crisis in Child Protective Services. (Photo courtesy of South Texas Children's Home )

A variety of legislative proposals are on the table, and agencies and lawmakers alike seem unsure exactly what may develop. But prominent voices in Austin have called for outsourcing two functions of Child Protective Services–foster care placement and the case management of families in crisis–so the governmental agency can concentrate on investigating and intervening in cases of suspected abuse or neglect.

“The state needs to focus on investigations and ensuring the safety of the kids,” said Felipe Garza, vice president and general manager of Buckner Children & Family Services.

Currently, about three-fourths of foster children in the Child Protective Services system are placed by private agencies, many of them faith-based.

Agencies fall into two broad categories–for-pay providers who receive government money and no-pay providers who do not.

Generally speaking, among Texas Baptist institutions, Buckner Children & Family Services and Baptist Child & Family Services are for-pay providers. Texas Baptist Children's Home is a no-pay provider, but its sister STARRY entity is a for-pay provider. South Texas Children's Home accepts no state or federal funds.

Agency representatives agreed the state demonstrates a strong bias toward placing children in private foster homes rather than residential cottage settings. Child Protective Services views residential campuses as “institutional,” even though house parents often care for fewer children per cottage than foster parents who operate group homes.

That's just one of the flaws in the current system, some provider agency personnel asserted.

“There's an inherent conflict of interest in the current system, where the state is charged with overseeing, licensing and regulating the care of children while at the same time the state is in charge of the house. The state does not make a good parent,” said Randy Daniels, director of operations for Buckner Children & Family Services. “Shifting the entire foster care responsibility to the private sector makes sense, but the revenue has to come with it.”

If lawmakers think they will save money by moving foster care responsibility to private providers, they are mistaken, Daniels said.

“The shift to privitization is not even cost-neutral. It will cost more,” he said, pointing to the example of Kansas, where a similar initiative was implemented.

In part, that's because the system has been underfunded for years, said Nanci Gibbons of Baptist Child & Family Services. It is difficult to provide quality programs because of the difference in the amount the state pays to providers and the actual cost incurred by agencies, she explained. However, she added, reputable private agencies are committed to providing quality of care that exceeds state-mandated minimum standards.

“CPS also will have to monitor for quality,” she added, noting this has been a criticism of the agency in the past, and the responsibility will be even greater–and the cost higher–if additional tasks are outsourced to private providers.

(Photo courtesy of South Texas Children's Home)

“Around our house, I like to remind staff that we can be very professional and unapologetically Christian with those we serve,” said Jerry Bradley, president of Texas Baptist Children's Home & Family Services. “Our Christian beliefs are not restricted by any relationship with government. We have a greater responsibility to be sure that we are providing quality care, while striving to exceed any regulation imposed by the state of Texas. That can be a dilemma at times, especially when legislation aimed at a problem hits us. Thus far, there has been no restriction on our exercising Christian principles, but we are concerned about attempts to improve the service delivery system through regulation.”

One thorny issue revolves around creating a level of mid-management to determine which agencies receive contracts.

“I have real concerns about how the decisions will be made about where the children will go,” Gibbons noted.

Another concern is a proposed “no reject/no eject” clause that could put some agencies in a position of accepting children whose specialized needs are beyond what a particular provider could offer, Forrester noted.

In addition to the foster care component of Child Protective Services, some legislative proposals recommend outsourcing case management–working not only with children, but also with families in crisis.

Several Baptist agencies already have multiple services to families, ranging from offering access to individual therapy and counseling to providing parent-education programs.

But agency representatives said the greater the involvement with troubled families, the greater the risk of legal liability, and they want lawmakers to offer some protection.

“There needs to be caps on liability when it comes to case management,” Garza said. “A couple of big lawsuits could put an agency out of business.”

“Would we even be able to get the insurance to do it? That's yet to be determined,” Forrester added.

To a large degree, it all comes down to allocating money, and Texas has a poor track record in financing services to abused and neglected children, Daniels observed.

In response to the governor's executive order, the inspector general's office at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission reviewed 2,221 Child Protective Services cases. The study found that in more than half of the cases where action was needed, caseworkers failed to maintain contact with the child, failed to review the case with a supervisor or failed to provide needed services.

In the 2003 fiscal year, Child Protective Services failed to investigate more than 55,000 reports of neglect and abuse–roughly 30 percent of all reports.

Observers agree that's due primarily to being understaffed. In 1998, then-Gov. George W. Bush declared the system “in crisis” when investigators' caseloads averaged 24. Now, monthly caseloads are between 72 and 75–the highest in the nation.

At the same time, funds for prevention programs have been cut and in many cases eliminated. Private providers, such as Baptist agencies, have tried to fill at least part of that void by offering a variety of mentoring, parenting, after-school, school-based and community-based programs.

But if private agencies accept the additional financial burden of more foster care and greater involvement with families in crisis, it will stretch their resources.

“Will we ever have to make a choice between prevention and caring for children who are in the system?” Daniels asked. “I don't want to be in the position of having to make that decision.”

Posted: 3/4/05

Abuse victim finds restoration at Buckner Children's Village

By Felicia Fuller

Buckner News Service

BEAUMONT–A family member stole her innocence. Her Heavenly Father restored her soul.

“I used to tell myself if I was a child of God, he wouldn't let me go through what I went through,” Tiffany said. “But I realized that what I went through was to build my testimony. I am strong. I survived. I am making something of myself.”

Though she appears a confident 19-year-old college student today, there was a time when Tiffany–not her real name–could scarcely lift her eyes or speak above a whisper. Her constitution was so fragile and her self-esteem so low, she didn't consider herself worthy to walk among common folk.

Raped at 6, suicidal at 7, homeless at 8 and snared into prostitution at 9, Tiffany had come to expect the worst from life and from those who claimed to love her.

There was a trusted relative. “I hated him doing that to me. I had that feeling deep inside my heart, and I didn't like it. I felt dirty. I thought for the longest time that I was crazy.”

Then a parade of predators followed suit. “By the sixth time, I just gave up,” she said shyly.

School was especially difficult, she said. “I was known as the stinky one in class,” she recalled. “Someone I thought was my friend told everybody I was molested. I became the outcast.”

For years after her parents divorced and after the family was evicted from their home, Tiffany, her mother and brother moved repeatedly, sleeping on park benches and in seedy motels–almost any place would do.

Panhandling and prostitution became primary sources of income. Eating scraps of food from dumpsters was commonplace. With all their belongings in storage, the children were left only with what they could carry on their backs.

Tiffany's body still bears the scars of wearing clothes and shoes three sizes too small– double-jointed toes and permanent bruises on her upper thighs.

Despite her horrid experiences, a glimmer of girlishness remains in this young woman forced to grow up far too soon. Her bedroom at Buckner Children's Village in Beaumont is strewn with stuffed animals, frilly pillows and shiny trinkets. Also among the layout is an assortment of Bibles.

“I never had a Bible until I came to Buckner,” she said, displaying a concordance signed and presented by Buckner President Ken Hall as a high school graduation gift.

After being bounced between foster homes, family and friends, Tiffany arrived at Buckner three years ago. Her counselor, Tammy Parsons, remembers her as foul-mouthed and fast on foot.

“She started stealing, skipping school, taking pills and having sex, which are all high-risk behaviors,” Parsons recalled. “She was acting out her emotional stuff. She needed higher structure. Things started getting worse and worse, and that's when she had to go to the residential treatment facility.”

The residential treatment center is a secure building on campus where children with severe behavioral problems are monitored around the clock. Residents adhere to strict schedules from sunrise to sunset. Activities are designed to build discipline, character and spirituality. No one is allowed outside the center except to attend campus school. Everyone receives weekly individual and group counseling.

“We have a behavior modification system here, which we apply to all of our kids,” Parsons said. “We try to be consistent and fair, and we're very clear about our boundaries and our rules. Many of our kids have no boundaries. They've never been taught respect for self and others. That's their biggest challenge.”

It was Tiffany's biggest challenge, too. “I was laying in my bed thinking, 'I'm locked up, popping pills, having sex, stealing, doing everything I promised myself I'd never do.”

During her stint in the residential treatment center, with only a Bible and school books as reading materials, Tiffany gave her life to Christ and resolved to break the cycle of dependency and depravity that had become her family mantra. Soon she re-assimilated into the general population at Buckner Children's Village.

“I learned a lot. I learned respect and how to hold myself, take care of myself,” she said. “I wanted to graduate and make something out of myself. I was determined to do that, and I changed.”

In the past several months, Tiffany has required less therapeutic intervention, Parsons noted. She graduated from high school last May and now is a college freshman majoring in child psychology.

Like many young adults, Tiffany has some apprehension about venturing out on her own. But her counselor reminds her Buckner is an ever-present source of help through programs such as Transition to Adult Independent Living. A partnership between Buckner Children & Family Services and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, TRAIL provides support and promotes self-sufficiency to young people 16 and older who have been in state-sponsored care.

“They can come back to us any time, and we're still there for them,” Parsons said.

Tiffany “has come a long way. As she goes through developmental stages and enters more intimate relationships, some of those old issues might come back up. If she chooses to let it control her life and be the center of her life, then it will be that. But if she chooses to deal with those issues, they won't become as powerful. Over the three years she has been here, those things don't control her.”

Of all the methods Tiffany has tried to purge the pain of her past–pills, sex, even ritualistic cutting–prayer has proved the most potent. Today, she encourages others like her to be victors instead of victims.

“When girls come with their problems, I say, 'Here, read this,'” she said, lifting her Bible. “Romans 10, verses 9 and 10 are for salvation. John 14 and 16 are about asking for the Holy Spirit.

“My favorite book of the Bible is Job because, after all that he went through, he would not curse God. Job lost so much, but he got so much more back. So have I.

“I got my pride back. I got my life back.”

Posted: 3/4/05

Shelter workers respond to
emotionally, physically abused children

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

SAN ANTONIO–They are the first responders to the emotional and physical wreckage of abusive and violent homes. With a maximum of 90 days to do their jobs, the men and women who serve as direct-care workers in emergency shelters for children must deal with the anger, fear and trauma of infants to 17-year-olds forcibly removed from their home.

Workers seek to introduce structure into their lives, closely monitor their behavior to assist in the needs assessment required by the court and try to begin the healing process of ruptured families.

“When a child dies from being beaten or starved to death, the tragedy gets everyone's attention for a while, but the problem isn't anywhere near solved just because the abusive boyfriend or the negligent mother is arrested,” said Toni Garcia, case manager at Baptist Child & Family Services' emergency shelter in San Antonio.

“The other children removed from that home need attention. In the long term, that may mean foster care or residential placement. But for the short term, they need a safe place with compassionate and concerned caregivers while all the pieces get sorted out. That's where we come in. This is a tough job emotionally, spiritually and physically, but it also is tremendously rewarding.”

She didn't always feel that way.

“The first two weeks, I cried almost all night every night because of what I was seeing,” she explained. “It's impossible to imagine what these kids have gone through, and dealing with it every day just broke my heart. My family was telling me I had to quit.”

Mike Mosley, the team leader for the Baptist Child & Family Services boys' shelter in San Antonio, intervened.

“Mike sat me down and talked straight to me. He told me to concentrate on the fact that we were the good guys here; that we were letting these kids get away from their problems to a safe place. Instead of focusing on all the bad things, I needed to remember that they would be worse off if we weren't doing our job.”

Mosley, a retired Army veteran, was just treating the new case manager the way he treats the young boys and teenagers who come into his care.

“It is easy to make the mistake of trying to be their buddy, but they don't need a buddy when they get here. They need a teacher,” he explained.

“You've got to keep yourself low and remember when they act up that they are just kids dealing with some tough times.”

Mosely, who has worked at the shelter six years, agrees it is a tough job.

“The first thing is you better be sure you were sent here by God because sometimes just wanting to do something to help hurting kids is not enough,” he said. “But if it's a calling, God will equip you with the insight and the gifts to be effective.”

The emergency shelter focuses on creating a Christian environment. On Sundays, there is a worship service on campus, and every-other Saturday, a local church comes on campus and provides social activities, Bible studies and praise worship. Wednesday night Bible studies are part of the program, too.

Kathy Openshaw, a nine-year veteran, sees the spiritual component as the most attractive aspect of working at the BCFS shelter.

“I worked for 26 years at a state facility, but I was frustrated because I was not allowed to incorporate spirituality and faith into what I was doing. Here we do that, and I can't tell you how important that is. Many of these kids we get have been abused, and they need faith to heal, and even more faith to be able to forgive those who hurt them so they can get on with their own lives in a whole and healthy way.”

Garcia sends the resident census to Child Protective Services twice a day, so the state always knows if any beds are open. A child will have his or her first hearing within 10 days of being removed from the home, at which time a judge will decide to rescind the removal or to assign the child for assessment.

In the latter case, the child returns to the shelter and begins intensive evaluation, including psychological testing if that is indicated. Detailed daily behavior reports from the shelter staff are key components in deciding what the long-term treatment plan will be. But within 90 days of the removal, the child will be transferred to a long-term placement.

“We are very fortunate, because we have so many services in one location,” Garcia added. “Having both a boys' and a girls' shelter means that siblings get to see each other and can be reassured that they are OK, and because we have an on-campus school, they can see each other there, too.

“If they are returned home but ordered to have intensive family counseling, we have that program on campus. If a child has been sexually abused, we are right next to the center where the child can be examined. If they are already parents themselves, there is another BCFS program that can teach them parenting skills. And, of course, we have our own residential cottages and foster care program, too. It helps create a sense of trust when a child accepts us and then remains as part of the BCFS system; there is a real carryover.”

The reference to parenting classes was not a hypothetical situation.

“We have a 16-year-old with us right now who has a 6-month-old baby,” Garcia said. “She was living with her boyfriend when CPS intervened because her 2-year-old brother was about to starve to death. All nine siblings were removed. She has been separated from her baby, too, for now and is going to be placed in a group home.”

Another current resident, a 16-year-old boy, also is bound for a group home, having overcome emotional problems that caused him to attempt suicide while he was in a juvenile mental facility. Sexually abused by both his mother and another woman who his mother gave him to and beaten by his uncle, he was addicted to several drugs when the state took custody.

“But he has responded well here,” Garcia said. “We think it is a real victory that his assessment plan is for a residential placement instead of returning to the mental facility.”

As the first-responders to childhood trauma, Garcia and her colleagues look for those victories where they can find them.

“Every once in awhile, I get to thinking I've seen it all,” she admitted. “But I quickly find out I haven't seen it all. We get another placement, and I read something else in a case file that breaks my heart for the first time. Then I remind myself that as bad as it is, they are a lot better off here, because of BCFS and Texas Baptists, than they would be in we weren't here doing our jobs. And that makes it all worthwhile–that and seeing them go from angry, frightened children who are actually sad to leave us after a couple of months.”

Posted: 3/4/05

CYBERCOLUMN:
Bonnie, a flower in the desert

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, remembering Bonnie, a flower in the desert of my life.

The year was 1987. In those days, life was a seed planted and soon to sprout. I pastored a small church in a rural community. The world at large buzzed with news—nuclear testing in Nevada; a plane crash killing 156 people in Detroit; the first heart-lung transplant in Baltimore; Fred Astaire died; Hillary Duff was born; Prozac made its debut in pharmaceuticals; Lethal Weapon was a popular movie; and Wal-Mart planned to build a Super Wal-Mart here in Granbury.

One hot August day in 1987, I stood on a porch. The boards creaked when I walked up the steps. I knocked on the door. Bonnie opened the door and invited me inside.

In the ensuing years, I spent time with Bonnie and her husband, Burl. I think of the words of the poet Walt Whitman when I think of Bonnie: “I anchor my ship for a little while only, My messengers continually cruise away or Bring their returns to me.”

I anchored my ship in Bonnie’s living room on many occasions. She was my messenger, often giving insight into God’s ways, church talk, her strong opinion about the way things ought to be and encouragement for the journey—during a time when my pastor ship sailed rough seas.

The church declined in 1987. My pastoral skills required excelled growth. The likes of Riley Robeson, John and Ruth Stewart, Dorothy Hand and Bonnie Dickson directed my life like a compass. They advised, spread wisdom, and poured water on my weary, dehydrated soul.

I anchored my ship for a little while only, myself the skipper, in the words of Whitman again, “How (I) the skipper saw the crowded and rudderless wreck of a steam-ship, and death chasing it up and down the storm.” The church declined. The church like a stearn ship appeared crowded and rudderless, a church ship on a wrecking course. The church, in my mind at least, seemed like death chasing it up and down the storm. The storm winds blew. The lightning and thunder raged. The storm rocked the ship, tossing it like a bottle on the rolling, ferocious waves.

Then suddenly the storm calmed. The church ship found a harbor of peace. The church suddenly grew, the church ship alive, vibrant, active, full of joy. And there on the shore amid the desert of my life a flower bloomed. Her name was Bonnie.

I stood at her gravesite just the other day. Bonnie lived 84 fruitful years. She once vowed after a storm on her farm never to shortchange God. She once told me I was the best pastor she ever had, “my brother John,” she boasted. She once helped calm a storm in the days of my youth. She once wrote a note in her Bible given to her by her son, Tom, one Mother’s Day in the 1960s. She wrote about God’s “true book.” She once instructed the preacher which verse to read at her funeral.

Now, almost 18 years later, I stood in the sunshine at the cemetery. In the words of Emily Bronte, life lengthens, “shadows on shadows advancing and flying!” The sun lengthened the shadows. The family walked through the valley of the shadow of death. And memory flooded my mind.

I remembered the porch, the door swinging open, the words, the night her husband, Burl, died, the storm, and the flower in the desert. And somehow, somewhere her words came rushing afresh, like a flower in the desert, like dew on fresh-cut grass, like a cool breeze whisping over a calm sea, the ship afloat in the calm. What were her words? Her words were similar to those she instructed to be read at her funeral, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me.”

I stood at the gravesite and gave thanks to the Lord for flowers in the desert, of whom Bonnie was one, a flower that blossomed in my life one August day.

Tom told me that she went peacefully, he slipping his hand into hers as she gasped for her last breath. As she breathed her last, she slipped quietly into God’s hand. And that’s where she is now—no longer a flower in the desert, but a flower radiating and wafting a scent of sweetness in heaven. And sometimes, yes, sometimes, that’s how life goes.

Let not your heart be troubled.

John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines.

Posted: 3/4/05

Execution of minors ruled unconstitutional by Supreme Court

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–The Supreme Court ruled March 1 that the execution of convicts who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes constitutes the sort of “cruel and unusual” punishment barred by the Eighth Amendment.

The high court's decision overturns one of its own cases from less than 16 years ago and means several dozen 16-and 17-year-old offenders currently on the nation's death rows –including 29 in Texas–will receive a new lease on life.

The 5-4 decision turned on the idea that, since the court last ruled on this issue in 1989, “the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society” have changed in regard to executing juveniles.

“When a juvenile offender commits a heinous crime, the state can exact forfeiture of some of the most basic liberties, but the state cannot extinguish his life and his potential to attain a mature understanding of his own humanity,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in the court's majority opinion.

“The age of 18 is the point where society draws the line for many purposes between childhood and adulthood. It is, we conclude, the age at which the line for death eligibility ought to rest.”

While 19 states still officially permitted the death penalty for minors prior to the March 1 decision, the practice has become exceedingly rare in recent years –with only Texas, Virginia and Oklahoma actually executing 16- or 17-year-old offenders in the past decade. Several other states have outlawed the practice since 1989.

In a dissenting opinion, the court's three most conservative justices–Chief Justice William Rehnquist and associate justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas–took Kennedy to task for appealing to international practices in his opinion.

But Kennedy, in noting that “the United States is the only country in the world that continues to give official sanction to the juvenile death penalty,” also said that reasoning did not control the majority's decision but merely “provides respected and significant confirmation” of the majority's decision.

“It does not lessen our fidelity to the Constitution or our pride in its origins to acknowledge that the express affirmation of certain fundamental rights by other nations and peoples simply underscores the centrality of those same rights within our own heritage of freedom,” Kennedy concluded.

Posted: 3/4/05

DOWN HOME:
Do redtip 'sticks' have real purpose?

Deb handed the phone off to her husband, David, and I got right to the point: “Do you provide marriage counseling?” I asked, somewhat anxiously.

David didn't expect that question. He owns a landscaping business and has one of the greenest thumbs I know. However, my guess is that very, very few folks have come to him for marriage counseling.

But he's a kind, good-natured guy who's always willing to help. So, after pausing briefly, he chuckled and answered: “Well, sure. I guess so.”

“Great,” I replied, “because I think maybe I really messed up this time. …”

David listened patiently as I described my plight. The redtip bushes on the southwest corner of our house were the culprit. OK, actually I was the culprit, but the redtips had provoked me into frenzied bushwhacking passion.

Those redtips have grown in that spot since our house was new, more than nine years ago. Early on, I naively thought they looked great about five feet tall. “I think I'll keep them trimmed about five feet tall,” I remember telling myself. Looking back, I'm glad I only talked to myself about horticulture and not something really significant, like stock investments or hair plugs.

Soon, the redtips were eight feet tall. Then they started brushing underneath the eaves of the roof.

I've trimmed them at least twice a year. A couple of times, I've almost fallen off the ladder, leaning out to trim the top inside branches. (If you ever start falling off a ladder while gripping the power switch of a hedge trimmer, you'll catch up on your prayer life real quick. I could write a book about it: 40 Nanoseconds of Purpose.)

But no matter what happened, the redtips grew up and out faster than I could trim. I was beginning to think they could film an episode of Lost in those bushes.

So, I did what any self-respecting guy with a semi-sharp bow saw would do: I whacked them down. Not all the way. Just down to anywhere from four to six feet high. But since all the leaves had grown to the outside of the monsters, only about 11 or 17 leaves remained after I got done.

My theory is that when the sap starts to rise, it will push new leaves out all over the bare-naked branches. And we'll have new, short redtips where the behemoths once towered.

Joanna looked them over and issued the ultimatum: “If they don't stop looking like sticks, you've got to do something.”

She's right. They look like sticks, leaning every which way on the southwest corner of our house. Only someone deeply into postmodern landscaping would say the redtip remnant looks good right now.

But David said if I put nitrogen under them, they may grow back. May grow back. So, I'm fertilizing and dreaming about what plants I'll buy if this doesn't work.

You know, yardwork–especially gardening–sometimes reminds me of a person's spiritual life. The task of pruning and weeding and cultivating never stops. Even then, you sometimes feel overrun. But for the grace of God (or a green-thumbed friend), you would be overrun.

–Marv Knox

Posted: 3/4/05

EDITORIAL:
Parents must keep eternity in mind

The woeful state of child protection saddens the soul and staggers the imagination. Multiplied thousands of Texas children suffer from abuse and neglect. A package of articles in this issue of the Standard describes that need and details how Baptist General Convention of Texas child care agencies are deployed to help children and strengthen their families.

But while the shortcomings of the state's Child Protective Services grab headlines, many well-meaning Christian parents benignly neglect the eternal spiritual needs of their children. We'll get to that point in a minute.

A new survey sheds light on America's parents. The Barna Group, the religion research organization headed by pollster/author George Barna, conducted the survey late last year.

Barna asked parents to name the qualities that contribute most significantly to “effectively raising children.” Patience was the No. 1 answer, listed by 36 percent of parents. Other qualities included demonstrating love (cited by 32 percent), enforcing discipline and being understanding (22 percent), faith commitment and identifiable religious beliefs (20 percent), good communication skills (17 percent), compassion (14 percent), listening (12 percent) and intelligence (11 percent).

While only 6 percent said setting goals was significant, parents readily ranked their goals for raising their children. The far-and-away leader was helping their kids get a good education, cited by 39 percent of parents. Second was helping their children feel loved (24 percent), followed by enabling their children to have a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ (22 percent), security (16 percent), helping children feel affirmed and encouraged (14 percent), providing a firm spiritual foundation (13 percent), delivering basic necessities such as shelter (12 percent) and food (10 percent), and helping their children feel happy (10 percent).

U.S. parents split evenly over whether they teach moral absolutes to their children, with 43 percent affirming moral absolutes and 45 percent denying them.

Unfortunately, the survey shows the faith commitment of parents does not significantly impact how children are raised. “We found that the qualities born-again parents say an effective parent must possess, the outcomes they hope to facilitate in the lives of their children … (are) indistinguishable from the approach taken by parents who are not born again,” Barna reported.

Even more discouraging are Christian parents' attitudes regarding their children's faith. Only 30 percent of born-again parents listed the salvation of their children as critical. “For that emphasis to not be on the radar screen of most Christian parents is a significant reason why most Americans never embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior,” Barna observed. “We know that parents still have a huge influence on the choices their children make, and we also know that most people either accept Christ when they are young or not at all. The fact that most Christian parents overlook this critical responsibility is one of the biggest challenges to the Christian church.”

He's absolutely right.

We understand the pathology of families that need Child Protective Services. Girls raised in this environment tend to be more promiscuous than girls raised in stable homes. Boys raised like this tend to be more violent and less responsible. So, these boys get these girls pregnant and leave them to raise their children alone. And the cycle starts again.

Ironically, Barna's research points to a spiritually destructive pathology in homes where Christian parents never would dream of physically abusing or neglecting their children. In 70 percent of those homes, guiding children to faith in Christ is not a parental priority.

This problem stems from at least two roots: First, too many Christians have an inadequate theology of salvation. They follow the secular stream of thought–being good is good enough. They really don't believe God would allow unredeemed sinners to spend eternity in hell. Second, too many Christian parents think the spiritual nurture of their children is somebody else's job. Just as they leave education to the schools, they leave spiritual nurture to the church. But studies consistently show parents provide the greatest, most lasting influence on their kids.

So, our churches must train parents. We must help them understand the doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ. We must help them accept their responsibility for raising their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Every child who falls through the Child Protective Services safety net suffers dire consequences. Every child who leaves a Christian home without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ may suffer eternal consequences.

Posted: 3/4/05

Religion front and center at Grammy awards

By Adelle Banks

Religion News Service

LOS ANGELES (RNS)–Religion played a prominent role at the Grammy Awards, with the late Ray Charles honored in the new gospel performance category and artist Kanye West winning in the top rap song category for “Jesus Walks.”

Charles posthumously won five awards, including one for gospel performance for “Heaven Help Us All,” a track from the Genius Loves Company album that featured him in a duet with Gladys Knight.

West's winning single was featured on the album The College Dropout. Last year that CD was pulled from consideration by the Stellar Gospel Music Awards because a nominating committee determined its overall selections–which included lyrics containing profanity–“were not in the best interest and spirit of gospel music.”

On the day before the ceremony, Mavis Staples accepted a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the Staples Singers, a gospel and blues group known for “I'll Take You There.”

Other gospel category winners were:

Best rock gospel album–Wire by Third Day.

Best pop/contemporary gospel album–All Things New by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Best southern, country or bluegrass gospel album–Worship & Faith by Randy Travis.

Best traditional soul gospel album–There Will Be a Light by Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

Best contemporary soul gospel album–Nothing Without You by Smokie Norful.

Best gospel choir or chorus album–Live … This Is Your House by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Posted: 3/4/05

Hispanic convocations set to train 1,000 volunteers

By Orville Scott

Special to the Baptist Standard

Hispanic Baptist Convocations of the Laity this year are expected to reach and train about 1,000 laymen to organize Brotherhood and Royal Ambassador chapters across the state, said Eli Rodriguez of Dallas, statewide coordinator for the program.

Last year, the one-day regional convocations and a statewide meeting trained volunteers who organized nearly 100 new Brotherhood and Royal Ambassador chapters, he noted.

“Our goal is to begin, in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and Baptist churches across the state, 100 more Brotherhood/Royal Ambassador chapters this year,” Rodriguez said.

The first regional convocations this year were at Iglesia Bautista in Houston and Iglesia Bautista Hillcrest in Tyler.

Other regional convocations will be held March 19 at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas, April 30 at First Hispanic Baptist Church in San Antonio, May 28 at Betania Baptist Church of Austin, July 23 in El Paso at a site to be determined and August 13 at First Mexican Baptist Church of Lubbock.

A statewide convocation of the laity is expected to draw about 400 people to Highland Lakes Camp and Conference Center Oct. 13-15.

Key speakers include Alcides Guajardo of Mineral, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas; Roland Lopez, pastor of Northwest Hispanic Baptist Church, San Antonio; Marconi Monteiro, professor at Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio; Javier Rios of Dallas, president of Varones Bautistas; Rick McClatchy, state Cooperative Baptist Fellowship coordinator; and Glenn Majors of Dallas, director of Cooperative Program planning for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

For information on the convocations, contact Eli Rodriguez at (214) 341-9435 or ERODRIGO@aol.com.

Posted: 3/4/05

STCH joins Buckner for Russia/Latvia mission trip

By Felicia Fuller

Buckner News Service

Buckner Orphan Care International and South Texas Children's Home will link arms and aims in Russia and Latvia July 31-Aug. 7.

Buckner maintains partnerships with the Russian and Latvian governments to help stabilize orphanage, foster and kinship care systems. Buckner Orphan Care International provides similar services in Guatemala and China. Buckner President Ken Hall will lead other mission trips April 30-May 15 to Guatemala and Oct. 13-23 to China.

This will be the second consecutive summer Hall has led a team to Latvia, a former Soviet block country on the Baltic Sea. Last year, a 25-member team from First Baptist Church of Longview traveled with Buckner to deliver food, shoes, clothing and other aid to children in several cities.

This summer, mission participants will distribute supplies, spread the gospel and build relationships with children and indigenous staff at area orphanages. From Latvia, the group will travel by train to St. Petersburg, Russia, where they will stay through Aug. 7.

In Russia, trip participants will tour established and emerging Buckner ministries. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Buckner Orphan Care International, which was formed in 1995 when Russian officials sought Buckner's counsel on ways to improve the country's orphanages. Today, BOCI partners with churches to serve children and families worldwide through humanitarian aid, mission trips, orphanage improvements and social services.

Referencing the joint trip with South Texas Children's Home, Hall said it lends greater credence to the cause when believers unite to serve others.

“Part of my role as president of Buckner is to cast a vision for our ministry. The more people who understand what we do, the easier that is to accomplish,” he explained.

South Texas Children's Home President Jerry Haag characterized the Russia and Lativa trip as “significant for South Texas Children's Home to learn how Buckner is meeting the needs of children worldwide. It's also very significant because it's our Baptist institutions joining together.”

Haag added his organization's travel objectives are threefold: “First is to meet the needs of the children we'll be visiting. Second is to gain experience and exposure to how Buckner is meeting the needs of children on an international basis. Finally, we want to make a determination of how STCH can meet the needs of children outside the South Texas area.

“Since 1952, STCH has been caring for the needs of children and families,” he continued.

“The method of that care has changed somewhat, but the mission is still the same–to meet the physical needs of those we care for while introducing them to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

“How very grateful I am for how Buckner has reached out and made a profound impact on children throughout the world. It will be exciting for us to witness the impact firsthand.”

Posted: 3/4/05

On the Move

John Allen to Living Proof Church in Cleburne as minister of youth.

Steve Allen has resigned as associate pastor of North Shore Church in Lewisville.

Clif Anderson to First Church in Longview as minister of evangelism/recreation from Johns Creek Church in Alpharetta, Ga., where he was recreation minister.

Jeff Bankhead to Central Church in Italy as pastor from Casa View Church in Dallas, where he was associate pastor and minister of education.

Mark Bass to First Church in Lillian as minister of youth.

Tracy Bearden has resigned as minister of youth at First Church in Mineral Wells.

Roy Canada to Westlake Chapel in Graham as interim pastor.

Landon Darilek has resigned as youth minister at First Church in Gorman.

Jonathan Fox to Windsor Park Church in DeSoto as student minister from Parkview Church in Mesquite.

Mark Fulmer to Brazos River Church in Granbury as pastor.

Wayne Gadman to Immanuel Church in Paris as minister of music and education.

Dennis Gibbons to Downtown First Church of Texarkana as pastor from Open Door Church in Queen City.

Samuel Glenn to Peniel Church in Greenville as pastor.

Roger Hall to First Church in Waxahachie as interim business administrator.

Ward Hudson has resigned as pastor of New Hope Community Fellowship in Venus.

Terry Hughes to First Church in New Boston as minister of adult education and outreach.

Jeremy Johnston to Colonial Hills Church in Cedar Hill as youth/children's minister.

Keith Kamman has resigned as minister to single adults at First Church in Conroe.

Bill Klinglesmith to Marystown Church in Burleson as pastor, where he had been interim.

Joe Leathers has resigned as pastor of First Church in Guthrie.

Joe Loughlin has resigned as pastor of Harris Creek Church in McGregor to begin Rekindle Ministries, a speaking and writing ministry of spiritual renewal directed toward ministers, missionaries and lay leaders.

Herman Martinez to Iglesia de los Vaqueros in Waxahachie as interim pastor.

Bob McCarty to Liberty Church in Avinger as pastor.

Tom Ogburn to First Church in Oklahoma City, Okla., as pastor. He had been associate coordinator for volunteer and partnership missions for Global Missions of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Dallas.

Marion Palmer to LifeSpring Fellowship in Corinth as pastor.

Uvaldo Quintela to Principe de Paz in Flower Mound as pastor.

Lori Raymond to Bethany Church in Breckenridge as children's director.

James Sain to Second Church in Vernon as interim pastor.

Frank Sanchez has resigned as pastor of Iglesia de los Vaqueros in Waxahachie.

Raven Sappenfield to First Church in Matador as music/ youth director.

Bruce Schmidt to Lamar Church in Arlington as pastor from First Church in Woodstock, Ga., where he had been minister of prayer and missions.

Carl Shroyer to Elm Grove Church in Lubbock as pastor.

Jim Spivey to Faith Church in Iowa Park as interim pastor.

Brett Stair has resigned as pastor of LifeSpring Fellowship in Corinth.

Jim Stevens to First Church in Portland as interim pastor.

Larry Strandberg to First Church in Cresson as pastor, where he had been associate pastor.

David Walker has resigned as minister of music at Crestmont Church in Burleson.

Guy White to First Church in Crane as interim pastor.

John Wills to The Heights Church in Richardson as executive pastor from Sagemont Church in Houston, where he was pastor of education and family ministry.

John Woods to East Paris Church in Paris as youth minister from Bethany Church in Breckenridge.

Posted: 3/4/05

Pastors/laymen focus on sharing
the gospel with next generation

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW–Churches, ministers and Christians in general must change their thinking and their actions to reach the next generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ, speakers at the 84th annual Panhandle-Plains Pastors' and Laymen's Conference insisted.

Chris Seay, pastor of Ecclesia in Houston, emphasized a need for Christians to know the changing culture and to allow themselves to be opened up in witness to others.

“If you begin to open up your soul and let people know who you are, be who we are, we can reach people,” he said. “We need to open the Scriptures so people don't just say, 'That's a good preacher' or 'That's a good person,' but 'That's a good God.'”

To reach emerging generations, Christians must be able to share how satisfying life in Christ is amid their search for meaning and purpose in life, he added.

His father, Ed Seay, pastor of First Baptist Church in Magnolia, added that reaching the next generation ideally begins in the home with parents, but that requires making sure the lessons being passed on are genuine.

Too often, he said, parents make the mistake of overemphasizing rigid rules and religious traditions and don't place enough emphasis on a relationship with Christ.

“We cannot expect youth to fit their new wine of faith into our old wineskin,” he said. “If we don't open ourselves and let them see our heart, they won't get our faith.”

Joel Gregory, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, led the Bible study for the conference, teaching from 2 Corinthians.

Lessons he noted from the Apostle Paul's life and ministry included that God always is leading the believer to triumph, even when the circumstances don't seem like it; the abiding nature of God amidst the disappearing landmarks of life; and the need to present the Word of God in its full strength, not in a diluted form.

Other speakers at the two-day conference at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview included Robert McKenzie, pastor of Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Lubbock; Jesse Rincones, pastor of Alliance Baptist Church in Lubbock; and Tommy Brisco, dean of the Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.

McKenzie emphasized the need to change methods in the church in order to impact a lost and dying world. Change begins with the desire to change, being tired of seeing all the sin in the world and wanting to impact the future, he said.

Rincones described the changing demographics of Texas, particularly growth in the Hispanic population. Reaching the generations, he said, requires changing attitudes about race and seeing the possibilities for ministry.

“This is not an invasion, but an opportunity to look across the tracks, the aisle, the church pew and say, 'What an amazing opportunity to reach people for Christ,'” he said.

Using three vignettes from Jesus' ministry, Brisco stressed the need to address the motivation with which Christians declare God's power to the generations.

There is a need to see the harvest with compassion, see people's need for a savior, be about God's will and his work and have mercy on those who don't immediately understand, he said.

The Pastors' and Laymen's Conference is sponsored by several associations, including Amarillo Area, Lubbock Area, Permian, South Plains, Caprock-Plains, Mitchell-Scurry, Red Fork and Top O' Texas.

New officers for the 2006 conference include President Steve Vernon, pastor at First Baptist Church in Levelland, Vice President Philip Golden, pastor at First Baptist Church in Denver City; President-elect David Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon; and Secretary-Treasurer Charles Bassett, vice president emeritus of Wayland Baptist University, in his 45th year working with the conference.