Posted: 11/11/05

Alabama Baptists deny
brouhaha over brewer's water

CLEWISTON, Fla. (ABP)–Southern Baptist disaster-relief leaders have denied reports–spread widely across the Internet–that a group of their volunteers in Florida refused to give water to victims of Hurricane Wilma because it came from a beer-brewing company.

A Fort Myers, Fla., television news crew first reported the alleged incident Oct. 28. NBC-2 reported workers cooking meals near First Baptist Church of Clewiston, Fla., under the banner of Southern Baptist Convention disaster-relief services, declined to hand out canned water provided by Anheuser-Busch.

The story was quickly picked up by several Internet weblogs, prompting criticism of Southern Baptists. But the Alabama Baptist newspaper reported the television station's story wasn't entirely accurate.

Keith Hinson, spokesman for the Alabama Baptist State Convention, said: “It is an absolute falsehood to suggest–as many irresponsible bloggers have–that the Baptist volunteers withheld the basic needs of life from Floridians impacted by the hurricane. Contrary to misinterpretations of news reports, no one was denied access to water.”

Southern Baptist feeding units–such as the one set up in Clewiston by Alabama Baptists–typically cook meals that either are distributed on site or taken out into the community by the Red Cross. Such sites often do not serve as distribution locations for water, ice or any commodities other than hot meals.

Vernon Lee, an Alabama Baptist volunteer at the site, told the Alabama Baptist paper the Anheuser-Busch truck arrived and was authorized by Red Cross officials to unload its cans of water, even though the site was not designated for water distribution.

Tim Bridges, pastor of the Clewiston church, said the Anheuser-Busch logo–an eagle inside a capital “A”–was offensive to him and some church members. “I didn't want to send out a mixed message,” he said, the Alabama Baptist newspaper reported.

“All that was said was that First Baptist Church people would not be the ones handing it out,” he explained. “We didn't refuse the water. Others were giving it out. We were handing out (SBC-supplied) water hand over fist.”

Red Cross volunteers, who were working the site with Baptist volunteers, apparently distributed the Busch water. And, the pastor added, Baptist volunteers would have done the same if they had run out of other water.

Baptist workers noted several other distribution stations nearby–including one across the street from the church–were handing out water as well.

“I would have no problem giving the people the (Anheuser-Busch water) if they were thirsty, but they were not thirsty,” Lee said.

Posted: 11/11/05

Brantley Center houses volunteers

NEW ORLEANS (ABP)–What do you do when you run a homeless shelter and the city has evacuated all the homeless? That's the situation facing Tobey Pitman, director of the Brantley Mission Center in New Orleans.

As the city rebuilds from Hurricane Katrina, Pitman is among the many local residents who must adjust to a new sense of normal. “We're retooling our ministry,” said Pitman, 50. “We've gotten out of the homeless business temporarily because there are no homeless.”

Instead, the Brantley Center reopened as a 250-bed dorm for Baptist volunteers coming from throughout the country to rebuild churches and homes. “There's at least a year's work to be done,” he said. “We just hope the interest is not lost in coming to New Orleans.”

Originally housed in a rented gambling hall, the center later relocated to a hotel in the French Quarter before it moved again to its current location in 1962. In the 1940s, it was named for Clovis Brantley, a local pastor and leader of the agency that became the North American Mission Board, who became known as the “father of urban ministries.”

Posted: 11/11/05

Baptist Briefs

Alabama Baptist conservatives declare mission accomplished. Alabama Baptist Conservatives, a network of pastors organized in 1997, officially disbanded recently, saying they accomplished their goal of steering the state's Baptist convention in "a conservative direction." The group–originally known as Southern Baptist Conservatives of Alabama–formed out of concern about Cooperative Baptist Fellowship activity in the state, said former moderator John Killian, pastor of Maytown Baptist Church in Mulga, Ala. "We did not want to go the direction of Texas and Virginia, where there was a split in the state convention and the original convention aligned with the moderate forces," he said.

Hungarian Baptists discover no quake survivors. A Hungarian Baptist Aid search-and-rescue team, who arrived two days after an earthquake hit Pakistan, found no survivors beneath the ruins of schools in northern Pakistan. However, the team attended to almost 400 casualties during their first five days on the scene. As the rescue and recovery work continued, hundreds of victims who had been without food came down from mountain villages carrying the injured with them. The Hungarian rescue team–two medical doctors, two paramedics, two technical-rescue experts, two rescue dogs, a rescue commander and a coordinator–helped search three school buildings and remove several bodies from the ruins. All the team members participated in distributing aid and helped guide helicopters to places of need. The unique work of the Hungarian team is coordinated through Baptist World Aid, the relief arm of the Baptist World Alliance. BWA is supporting the earthquake relief effort with an initial $40,000 grant to Hungarian Baptist Aid.

GuideStone offers dental plan choices. GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention will offer a choice of three dental plans through CIGNA Dental beginning Jan. 1. Southern Baptist ministers, denominational employees and seminary students are eligible to participate in the dental plans available through GuideStone. Dental plans for 2006 will include two plans available in all states and a dental HMO plan available in 35 states. A list of dentists participating in the CIGNA Dental network can be found at www.cigna.com or by calling CIGNA at (800) 244-6224. For rates and a summary of benefits, visit www.Guide Stone.org or call (800) 262-0511.

Posted: 11/11/05

Transforming Community:
Buckner helps Broadway
Church minister to homeless

By Jenny Pope

Buckner Benevolences

FORT WORTH–"I'm an addict. I'm addicted to crack cocaine," Johnny admitted. It's a short, truthful declaration that establishes the reason for Johnny's motivation–and torment.

”I'm trying to kick this dope habit,” he said.

“I was off of it for six years, but then I had a bad breakup and some other things, and I got back on it in 2000. I'm clean this morning. That's all I can hope for.”

Johnny (left), a crack cocaine addict, helps load groceries at the North Texas Food Bank for delivery to the Baptist Center food pantry, a Buckner Children and Family Services and Broadway Baptist Church collaboration located south of downtown Fort Worth. (Photo by Russ Dilday)

It's a bright, cloudless morning, but the sun hasn't warmed the streets Johnny has called home for three years. He's in line for a sack lunch at the Baptist Center, a daily ritual that lands him a lunch much like the one he receives today–a can of Vienna sausages, a bag of chips and a small package of animal crackers.

Included in his sack is a reminder of why the Baptist Center, a collaboration between Broadway Baptist Church and Buckner Children and Family Services, ministers daily to about 150 of the homeless in the area around the church. On a small photocopied piece of paper is John 3:16.

“This is my breakfast every morning,” he said. “It's a help and an uplift to know somebody cares about us. I see a wonderful smile from everybody up here.”

Johnny found Broadway Baptist Church to be a place where no one cares if your clothes are dirty, where boxcar word-of-mouth is always appreciated, and friendly, familiar volunteers never fail to lend a listening ear.

For nearly eight years, Broadway Baptist Church has collaborated with Buckner Children and Family Services to provide more than 14 social ministries to the steadfastly growing homeless and mental health/ mental retardation community in downtown Fort Worth.

“There's no way to separate the community ministries that are done here from the central identity of the church,” said Dan Freemyer, Buckner/Broadway director of community ministries.

“Our work is due in part to Buckner's focus on children and families and preventative and proactive programs, but its foundation is the leadership of our pastor and other church leaders who challenge the congregation to be the body of Christ, to be hospitable to folks that are usually forgotten.”

Adrain Blackwell, Buckner Lead Life Skills Specialist at Broadway Baptist Church, plays basketball with youth at the Buckner/ Broadway after-school program. (Photo by Russ Dilday)

Ministries include a food pantry and daily sack-lunch distribution, clothing closet, after-school program, Bible studies, a Straight Talk ministry with youth from the Bridge Youth Emergency Shelter, and Agape meal, which serves a first-class dinner to more than 200 homeless people every Thursday evening. On average, Broadway meets the needs of more than 1,000 people each week, said Scott Davis, director of the Baptist Center.

“We're located just south of downtown, a couple of blocks from the Homeless Day Resource Center, where a couple of night shelters are, and just down the street from the Hanratty apartment complex, which is primarily for MHMR clients,” Davis said.

“Missions is a big part of what this church is all about,” said Dan Reed, chairman of the missions committee for Broadway. “This is a low-income area where there are all kinds of places in the general vicinity for those who want to camp out–close to the railroad tracks, under the bridge, wherever.

“I asked a man once how he heard about us, and he said that he was in a boxcar in San Antonio headed toward Fort Worth. Another man told him, 'Hey, there's a church near the railroad tracks with a huge steeple. They'll serve you a good meal there.'”

But it's much more than just food. In addition to the daily sack-lunch and grocery distribution, more than 30 people receive a new pair of shoes, blue jeans, shirts or jackets and hygiene kits through the adult and children's clothing closet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. And many more receive financial assistance every day of the week.

Nancy Galassi, 20-year member of Broadway, volunteers with different Baptist Center ministries every day of the week but finds the most fulfillment through her work befriending troubled youth at the Bridge youth shelter close to the church. Every Tuesday night, Galassi and others gather with the children to play games and share their stories, but mainly just “be a friend,” she said.

“We try to just encourage them, give them hope. A lot of times they're not open. They'll say, 'I don't believe in God.' If anything, they're angry. But I think once they see and hear what he's really like, you'll see a change in the course of even a few weeks in their attitude.”

Another way Broadway impacts youth is through the after-school program with Pennsylvania Place apartment complex, where a Buckner community ministry program is located.

Tanisha Adams, mother of six and New Orleans evacuee, found refuge at Pennsylvania Place after surviving Hurricane Katrina and seeing her family scattered around the country. Without a car, the after-school program has been an answer to prayers and helped make her life “less hectic,” she said.

“When you're going through something that's so terrible, and you've got people who want to be there and help you get yourself together, and genuinely from their heart want to help, that really matters,” Adams said.

“A lot of (the kids) know what's out there,” said Yolanda Vallecillo, Southside Community Center employee who helps with the after-school program at Broadway. “We hope that coming here will help them know how to handle their lives better and learn to appreciate people and help others.”

Broadway is making changes to be more “preventative and proactive” by developing additional long-term programs, like the after-school program, to have a “big impact on a smaller group of people,” Freemyer said.

One such effort is collaborating with Family Pathfinders, a statewide welfare-to-work initiative that matches families in transition with mentoring teams to become more self-sufficient. Broadway is recruiting church members to serve on these teams and also is developing their own program to work with those who have even greater barriers to self-sufficiency.

“We want to combine the mentoring team approach with more extensive services, like providing rent and job training for those that we've identified through the Baptist Center and Agape meal,” Freemyer said. “We want to focus our time and resources on just a few individuals so that we're doing everything possible to help ensure their success and make a dramatic impact in their lives.”

Another program in the works is a citywide initiative to provide shelter to more homeless people through churches and places of faith. Similar to the Room in the Inn initiative in Nashville, Tenn., the second-largest homeless shelter provider in the city, this project would require extensive collaboration and planning but little investment, Freemyer said.

“It's a vision that extends the ministry of hospitality that we have with the Agape meal and with the Baptist Center,” he said. “It reinforces the idea of the church as a place of refuge.”

The latest attempt to provide a venue of refuge and hospitality was kicked off Oct. 31 as members of Broadway hosted a morning coffee hour with the homeless. Music, cinnamon rolls and tables were set up in coffee-shop style so that people stopping by the Baptist Center for sack lunches or financial assistance could come in and enjoy food and fellowship, Davis said.

“Some of the people who come here are starved for relationships with other people,” Reed said. “They're afraid of the relationships on the street and in shelters. I'm sure this will catch on.”

Building relationships with the community they serve is a huge part of Buckner and Broadway's ministry, which is why so many faithful volunteers give hours of their time to make a difference in someone's life.

From volunteers like Eloise Coffey, who has flawlessly packed lunches in the food pantry twice a week for a year like she's packing them for her own children to Peggy Mitchell, who has set up the Agape meal tables every Thursday for more than three years to create a “safe place” and help others “feel like human beings,” it is evident the members of Broadway are called to missions in action to transform their community.

“I like to think of it as love in action,” Galassi said. “In James it says, 'Faith without works is dead, and what good does it do to tell a brother who's in need of food and clothing to go in peace?' It's only when we really help them that the word carries a message. I've been blessed to be brought up in a home that shared that love, and it's only right to give it back out.

“It's a neat thing to see. It's not just one person. No one person could do all of this. It's a community of people who care and share in what all it entails.”

Posted: 11/11/05

Donation enables church's
enhanced community ministry

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DALLAS–Buckner Children and Family Services and Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas are partnering together to better meet the needs of the people living near the church.

Jeannette Sadler, a member of Cliff Temple, made a $1 million donation to Buckner to finance construction of a community center that will give residents in the community immediate access to a number of services.

“Her dream for years has been to help those in our community who are less fortunate by providing both the physical facilities and the programs to help them,” said Cliff Temple Pastor Glen Schmucker.

While plans have not been finalized, Felipe Garza, vice president and chief operating officer of Buckner Children and Family Services, said the building will house a variety of services. Possibilities include English as a second language, health and immunization clinics, technology and job training, and nutrition and parenting classes. Other social agencies also may be housed there. A substation of the Dallas Police Department is another possibility.

A community-needs assessment currently being conducted will decide what ministries will be housed in the community center, Garza said.

Preliminary plans call for the building to be between 6,000- to 8,000-square-feet.

The building for certain will be the home of Mission Oak Cliff, the nonprofit agency set up by Cliff Temple to meet the food and clothing needs of the community. Mission Oak Cliff was housed in a building behind the church until recent weeks when two arson incidents within a two-week period resulted in damage that required the building be leveled.

“We didn't miss a day of service, though,” said Jerry Spivey, Cliff Temple minister of education and administration. The food part of the ministry was moved across the street to a new location within Cliff Temple, and the clothing was sent to another church in the area with a clothes closet ministry.

The community center is the next step in a partnership that began earlier in the year. It began with a Buckner employee, Sandra Martinez, joining the Cliff Temple staff as director of community ministries. Buckner continues to help the church by paying her salary.

“We've been active in recent years in partnering with churches so that together we can better minister to the people in their communities,” Garza said.

Schmucker said Sadler's contribution to Buckner is a outgrowth of that partnership.

The building will be owned by Buckner on land leased to the agency by the church, he said. Buckner will provide staff, programming and pay for the upkeep of the building.

“There's just no way we could have handled these ongoing costs,” he said.

Buckner also will take ownership of Mission Oak Cliff and Ascend, the church's after-school program for children. The church will continue to support the programs with the same level of financial commitment, and church members will continue to be involved as volunteers in the ministries, Schmucker said.

The next step in the process is to decide exactly where the footprint of the building will be located. Plans are for the building to open in 12 to 18 months.

At its completion, the building will be called the Cletys and Jeanette Sadler Community Center, after the center's primary donor and her late husband, who was a teacher and East Texas rancher.

“It is a pleasure to give back something that I've been given in this holy place over 84 years,” said Jeannette Sadler, longtime member of the Oak Cliff church. “I was practically born in the basement (of Cliff Temple Baptist), and now I teach the oldest Sunday school class in the church.”

Posted: 11/11/05

BGCT leaders discuss bylaws changes

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Baptist General Convention of Texas leaders recently wrapped up more than 30 sessions across the state, where Texas Baptists discussed proposed changes in the convention's constitution and bylaws.

BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade facilitated 17 discussion groups across Texas. Pastor Doug Evans of First Baptist Church in Laguna Park led 15 additional groups. More than 1,000 Texas Baptists–ministers and laypeople–participated in the discussions.

The question-and-answer sessions helped convention leaders formulate the best way to divide the state into sectors from which BGCT Executive Board members will be selected, Wade said.

“We promised to be available to our Texas churches to help explain the provisions of the constitution and the proposed bylaws,” he said. “I've been encouraged by the questions raised and the consensus that has been gained.”

The proposed constitution and bylaws are meant to give the Executive Board more direct involvement in the decision-making process, he noted.

The documents reduce the number of BGCT Executive Board members and eliminate several of the convention's boards, commissions and committees.

The discussion sessions are a result of a request from last year's BGCT annual meeting. Messengers asked convention leaders to provide forums to discuss the proposed changes that will take effect if affirmed during this year's annual meeting in Austin.

Pastor Jon Becker of First Baptist Church in Weslaco said the discussion sessions allowed individuals to express their feelings about the proposed governance changes. He added that he went away from the meeting he attended feeling the BGCT was attempting to strategically place resources throughout the state and cut down on bureaucracy.

“There is a sense that the restructuring is taking place to help churches,” he said.

In addition to the discussions, the BGCT sent each church a copy of the new bylaws and constitution, and the bylaws appeared as a special insert in the Baptist Standard. A copy of the proposed bylaws and constitution is on the BGCT annual meeting web site at www.bgct.org/2005annualmeeting.

BGCT leaders–including Wade and Associate Executive Director/ Chief Operating Officer Ron Gunter –have continued talking with individuals about the changes via telephone and e-mail.

Posted: 11/11/05

Posted: 11/11/05

2nd Opinion:
Laws can add 'cheerful' to giving

By Sherre Stephens

It's that time of year–holidays followed by tax time. Did you know that nearly 94 percent of us wait until the 11th hour to prepare our tax return and ante up what we owe to Uncle Sam?

Perhaps the following tax tips will help you to be among the 6 percent who are not caught unprepared for tax season as 2005 draws to a close:

Be aware of tax changes that affect your 2005 return. The IRS includes a “What's New for 2005” section in its Form 1040 Instructions.

Make a checklist. A checklist helps you gather required documentation, such as W-2s, 1099s and supporting documents for deductions. Just check the Internet; many tax preparers provide checklists at no cost.

Maximize deferrals to your employer's retirement plan. When you defer the maximum amount, you decrease federal income tax withholding and enhance retirement savings. If you are younger than age 50, the maximum deferral is $14,000. At age 50 or older, the limit increases by $4,000.

Fund a traditional IRA. You have until April 15, 2006, to open an IRA and contribute up to $4,000 deductible for 2005; at age 50 or older, the limit increases by $500. Remember, your spouse may be able to contribute up to $4,000 to a separate traditional IRA–even if your spouse has little or no income.

Use up your flex dollars. The IRS relaxed the “use it or lose it” rule this year. If your employer took advantage of this change, you have up to two and a half months after Dec. 31 to spend your 2005 flex dollars. Don't forget that you can get tax-free reimbursements for over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin and antacids.

Make the most of eligible deductions. Charitable contributions can help reduce your tax liability. The Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 allows a 100 percent deduction of cash charitable contributions made by individuals between Aug. 28 and Dec. 31, 2005, to any public charity, including churches and ministries of a state or national Baptist convention. Therefore, an individual can make cash gifts to his church up to 100 percent of adjusted gross income and pay no federal income taxes for 2005. Gifts of appreciated property still are limited to 30 percent of adjusted gross income. Gifts from corporations are limited to Hurricane Katrina relief.

Defer income. If you are self-employed, you may have more latitude to defer income into 2006. Nevertheless, if you expect to receive a year-end bonus, ask your employer to hold the bonus and pay it to you in January.

Consider gifting. Take advantage of the annual gift-tax exclusion, which allows you and your spouse to save gift and estate taxes by making gifts up to $11,000 to an unlimited number of individuals.

Change your income tax withholding before year-end. Since the IRS treats withheld taxes as paid in equal amounts throughout the year, regardless of when withholding occurs in 2005, this can help you avoid underpayment penalties.

Sherre Stephens is a certified executive benefits specialist and director of executive and institutional benefit design for GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. This article is intended to provide general information and is not to be relied upon as tax or legal advice.

Posted: 11/11/05

Federal official addresses Hispanic laity

By Eric Guel

Texas Baptist Communications

SPICEWOOD–Christians have a unique voice that needs to be heard in government, Daniel Garza, deputy director of external and intergovernmental affairs under President George Bush, told the Hispanic Baptist Convocation of the Laity.

“Let's not interpret separation of church and state to mean that churches should not try to influence policy in government,” he said.

Garza encouraged conference participants to make a difference for God's kingdom by getting involved in the political process.

“If you don't get involved, either in Washington or locally, the secular world will get involved for you,” he said.

Garza affirmed God's sovereign role in putting people where they need to be to further his purposes.

“It is only by God's grace that I am serving the president of the United States in the White House,” he said, adding he was a high school dropout, but God brought him to serve the nation.

Convocation participants also heard an address by Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade and musical performances directed by Samuel Marroquin of Houston.

“I am always inspired when I am around Baptist people,” Wade said. “One of the great strengths of the Baptist General Convention of Texas is that we have such a diversity of participation, and the thing I've observed about our Baptist laymen and laywomen is they believe they can do anything God wants them to do. There's no quit in them. They're just there to try and make a difference for Jesus.”

Convocation Coordinator Eli Rodriguez of Dallas said Hispanic Baptist men are being transformed for Christ around the state, and the convocation is blessed to be a part of that transformation.

“Our men are realizing their responsibilities within the church, and acting on those responsibilities,” he said. “Lives are being changed.”

Posted: 11/11/05

DOWN HOME:
Like father, like son

“You remind me of your daddy,” Joanna said the other night.

Now, that's a comparison I like.

My daddy, Marvin Knox, is a straight-up guy, a devoted pastor and committed follower of Jesus Christ. He's also a teacher. He taught me much about how to be a father by the way he raised my sister, brother and me, and he showed me how to be a husband by the way he's always loved and doted on my mother. Plus, he lived at home the sermons he preached in the pulpit, so he has demonstrated a life of integrity and character.

But my wife wasn't talking about that. She was laughing, and I knew what she meant.

Immediately before her comparison, I had raved about the dinner she was cooking. It was one of my favorites–chicken piccata, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Over on the counter, past the stove, sat a pan of goldrush brownies.

My praise for her home-cooked meal probably was a bit effusive. I went on and on–not sarcastically, but ironically–about my joy in this tremendous meal we were about to enjoy.

“You remind me of your daddy,” she said. “This is exactly the way he talks when we go to your parents' house, and your mother fries chicken.”

Well, that's true. Daddy usually thanks us exorbitantly for coming for a visit–since it prompts Mother to pull out the skillet and prepare the best fried chicken any human being ever tasted. (And shame on anyone who ever ate it with a fork, but that's a story about a long-gone girlfriend.)

Someone once said, “The older we get, the more we become what we really are.” That's probably either scary or gratifying, depending upon the degree to which you manifest–or fail to manifest–grace, gladness, thankfulness, optimism, faith, energy and humor.

Someone also once said, “The older we get, the more we become like our parents.” I thought about that when Jo compared me to Daddy.

In an instant, it dawned on me that, now that our youngest daughter, Molly, has gone off to college, Jo and I have more in common with our parents than we have since we got married, or at least since Lindsay was born 22 years ago last week.

We have an “empty nest” now:

We're much more free to come and go, unbound from school schedules, youth events at church, the expectation of a child coming home from school every afternoon.

Given the absence of children to share our discussions, we're talking to each other more now. We've always been pretty good at communicating, but since Lindsay learned to talk and Molly chimed in three years later, we haven't gotten many words in edgewise.

Sometimes, we enjoy the solitude of an entire evening without TV, a feat once thought incomprehensible.

And with fewer mouths to feed, diminished expectations and the ease of eating out, I appreciate home cooking now more than ever.

–Marv Knox

Posted: 11/11/05

EDITORIAL:
'Pour out your heart' & fight hunger

True confession: Before I recently traveled to China with Buckner Orphan Care International, I fretted about going hungry. I'd heard “you don't want to know” the source of meat in many Chinese dishes. I wondered if meals would be appetizing, much less adequate. So, although I could stand to lose a few pounds, I weighed down my suitcase with protein bars, trail mix and nuts. Turns out, we ate wonderfully. With only one exception, the food looked similar to the fare served in nice Chinese restaurants back home. And although I did lose about four pounds, that had more to do with my dexterity with chopsticks than with the quantity and quality of Chinese food.

How off-base and selfish: Leading up to a trip of a lifetime, I wasted energy thinking about and shopping for transportable food so I could last a little more than a week overseas without feeling a single hunger pang. Maybe I'm willing to tell you this little story because I don't think I'm all that different from most Texas Baptists. We're food-centric. Many of our best get-togethers feature fellowship-hall tables laden with fried chicken, casseroles, home-cooked vegetables, and pies and cakes. We plan trips and visits with friends around where we'll eat.

This time of year, as we look ahead to Thanksgiving and an annual feast with family, Texas Baptists also think about food for others. This is the season when we collect the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. “Pour Out Your Heart” is the theme for this year's offering, and we will do that as we seek to meet the $800,000 goal.

Actually, $800,000 is a worthy goal–but only a fraction of what is needed to take on hunger in Texas, across the United States and around the world. According to Bread for the World and America's Second Harvest:

Worldwide, 852 million people are hungry, an increase of 10 million in just one year.

The largest groups of hungry are children and the elderly. Each day, more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. That's one child every five seconds.

More than 33 million Americans are classified as “food insecure,” meaning they are hungry or at risk of hunger.

The Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger is a wonderful investment in reducing hunger. Not only is all the money channeled to reduce poverty, provide food and secure clean water, but it is delivered in the name of Christ. Recipients not only get food; they receive the Bread of Life. Not only do they drink water; they are presented Living Water. The offering makes both a current and an eternal difference in lives. As you support the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, you carry the presence of Christ to the people he loves most–the “least of these” all over the world.

Good news for Baylor

So much for all the folks who think Baylor University's regents don't believe in miracles.

“Miraculous” echoed from the lips of Baylor regents after they unanimously elected John Lilley as the university's 13th president.

Just about everyone who has tracked Baylor's recent strife was shocked a candidate could receive a unanimous vote from the board, whose divisions have taken on legendary proportions. But Lilley, president of the University of Nevada at Reno, filled that bill.

One reason regents unanimously elected Lilley is he's lived outside the Baptist mainstream, where debating all things Baylor–particularly the administration of President Robert Sloan and the Baylor 2012 long-range plan–has been a preoccupation. He has not been branded by positions on either Sloan's tenure or the flashpoints of Baylor 2012.

Lilley also earned the regents' unanimous support because he is an impressive academic administrator and Christian leader. He meets presidential criteria outlined in a Standard editorial: First, he is able to lead Baylor to academic greatness. He can guide the university past its debate between classroom teaching and academic research, and he can lead it to champion both faith and learning. In so doing, he can help Baylor close its divisions. Second, he has demonstrated commitment to historic Baptist principles. “Eternal salvation by faith, not of works; immersion; soul freedom; priesthood of the believer–all those things I learned at my father's knee,” he noted. And although, for several reasons, he has been a member of Presbyterian congregations, he has told their pastors, “I may be joining your church, but I'm a Baptist.”

The regents could have helped Lilley by creating a reconciliation task force. But he's already talking about how to restore relationships, speaking a refreshing word, “listening,” to go with a hopeful word, “talking.” Now, all who love Baylor should pray for the university and her new president.

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard.

Posted: 11/11/05

Photo exhibit raises awareness about homeless

By Mark Wingfield

Special to the Baptist Standard

DALLAS–Duane is the reason Hal Samples started photographing homelessness in Dallas.

Not long after Samples first picked up a camera–soon after he returned to Dallas from a stint in a drug rehab program–he met Duane downtown. Samples had been photographing Dallas buildings almost on a lark.

Duane spotted Samples driving a nice car and offered to be his assistant–perhaps a means of making a few bucks.

The two talked, and Samples became fascinated with Duane's story.

They went down the street to a coffee shop to talk more and quickly cleared out everyone else from the business because Duane hadn't bathed in months.

Undeterred, Samples asked Duane what he would ask for if he could have anything he wanted. The question didn't register. So he tried another angle.

If he could be any superhero or have any superpower, what would it be?

Duane knew the answer: “I just want the power to be visible.”

Samples thought Duane meant he wanted the power to be invisible, like a comic book character. No, Duane said, he really wanted to be visible–for people walking down the street to see him, to know he was there.

That sparked an idea for Samples. The result is Hero to Zero, his means of using photography to raise awareness of homelessness.

He has photographed more than 800 homeless people and exhibits and sells the photos to advance awareness–to make people like Duane visible.

Twenty-four of these photographs are on display at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas through Nov. 23. The exhibit in James Gallery is open to the public without charge.

The matted and framed prints also are available for sale, with 30 percent of the proceeds going to support work with the homeless through the Wilkinson Center, one of Wilshire's mission partners.

The name Hero to Zero is taken from one of Samples' trademark expressions from his former life as a high-flying salesman at an auto dealership.

Every sales person, even the hero of the previous month, begins each new month at zero. It's a new challenge every month.

Samples has a strong identification with the people he now photographs, because he, too, seemingly has been to hell and back in his personal life.

After rocketing to success in car sales at a young age–moving from washboy to top salesman before he was 21–life came crashing down due to a drug problem.

Samples lost his wife, his home, his job and his money. He landed in an empty apartment as a shell of his former self.

With help from an uncle, he entered the House of Isaiah, an East Texas drug rehabilitation program. From there, he hit bottom and began to climb back up.

Today, Samples is an artist missionary with an inner-city ministry in Dallas.

Samples will tell more of his story and the story of homelessness in Dallas during a Thanksgiving worship service at Wilshire Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.

To read more about his journey and see samples of his photographs, visit www.herotozero.org.