Posted: 9/30/05

Executive Board business
takes backseat to testimonies

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Texas Baptist disaster relief reports from South Asia, New Orleans, southeast Texas and rural West Texas highlighted the Sept. 27 Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board meeting.

At the same meeting, the board approved a $49.4 million budget proposal, elected new officers for a reorganized board and authorized charter changes for two institutions and a revised relationship agreement with the Baptist Church Loan Corporation.

Chief Financial Officer David Nabors reported Texas Baptists gave $1.4 million for disaster relief following the South Asia tsunami and more than $1.7 million after Hurricane Katrina.

Stan Parks with the WorldconneX missions network described the impact of Texas Baptists' contributions as he talked about relief and recovery in Indonesia following the tsunami that hit last December.

David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans, told how his congregation–which may have been halved in size by Hurricane Katrina–wants to help rebuild its city.

Both used the same word to describe the disasters: “unimaginable.”

The tsunami left 500,000 still homeless months after the floodwaters subsided, Parks noted. But 80 percent of the people who have provided long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts in the country are Christian, and their presence has profoundly affected the Muslim area, he said.

WorldconneX was instrumental in “knitting together” 15 organizations and working closely with a broad network of about 50 groups in the region, Parks reported.

“Christians are being the hands and feet of God there,” he said. “You have been a part of sharing the gospel in a place where 99.9 percent of the people had never heard it before. Now, not only have they heard it, they've seen it and experienced it.”

Crosby, who went to New Orleans from First Baptist Church in Temple 10 years ago, saw the hurricane reduce his church's landscaped property to “a brown field,” and he told the board, “More than half of my congregation may not return.”

Even so, his church wants to play a key role in helping New Orleans rebuild–particularly building homes for families trapped in poverty for generations.

BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade reported to the board that the convention's Administrative Committee allocated $1 million from a trust to Baptists in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to help them recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Of that amount, $300,000 is directed to the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. Also, a portion of the funding has been set aside to help predominantly African-American churches affiliated with four National Baptist conventions, he added.

Gary Smith of Dallas, off-site director of Texas Baptist Men disaster relief operations, told the board 14 emergency food service units–including volunteers from Arkansas, California and Ohio–were activated in Texas, serving evacuees of both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Smith requested continued financial support, prayer support and volunteer help for what he described as a “long haul” ministry.

BGCT Executive Board Chairman John Ogletree told how his congregation–First Metropolitan Baptist Church in Houston–joined other churches in Union Baptist Association in opening their facilities and their homes to evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.

One family brought a mentally ill man from New Orleans to the church, he recalled.

“We thought the whole family would be staying with us. They left him,” he said, his voice choked with emotion. “Now he is part of us. He is our brother.”

Josh Stowe, an Executive Board member and pastor of First Baptist Church in Rule, reported during miscellaneous business about Texas Baptist Men's disaster relief ministries when unseasonable floods hit his area this summer.

Neither FEMA nor the state government offered Haskell County assistance, but Texas Baptists responded to needs in the rural area, he said.

Texas Baptists serve hurting people not only in major disasters that capture international headlines, but also “remembering the little places,” he said.

In his last address to the board, BGCT President Albert Reyes reflected on how events in the past year–both global in scope and deeply personal–remind Christians that “life is fragile and change is certain,” but Christ's call for his followers to be servants remains constant.

“I am a servant. I wash feet,” he declared, emphasizing a lesson he learned anew this year.

“Let's grab a towel, go to our knees and serve the world next door, to the glory of God.”

In other business, the Executive Board approved a $49,437,000 budget recommendation from the BGCT Administrative Committee for 2006–an increase of more than $2 million over the current year.

Messengers to the state convention's annual meeting, Nov. 14-15 in Austin, will vote on the budget proposal.

Of the $49.4 million total budget, $41.3 million depends on Texas Baptist Cooperative Program giving, a 3.5 percent increase over 2005.

The balance will be provided by gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions, endowment income, allocated funds and fees.

The proposed budget allocates $400,000 for merit salary increases for Executive Board staff.

Due to organizational restructuring in the BGCT Executive Board staff, rather than presenting a detailed breakdown of departmental budgets, the proposal includes a provision that the convention's strategic plan direct 2006 budget priorities.

At the annual meeting in Austin, BGCT messengers will consider governance changes as an integral part of that reorganization.

Among other things, the Executive Board will be scaled back from 235 members to fewer than 100.

The board elected Bob Fowler, an attorney from South Main Baptist Church in Houston, as chairman of the board for next year, contingent on his election to the new Executive Board. Fowler has been chairman of the Administrative Committee but is not a member of the current board.

The board re-elected Jim Nelson, an attorney from Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, as vice chairman.

The board also approved:

A charter change for Texas Baptist Children's Home & Family Services to allow the agency to create Children at Heart Ministries as a separate “umbrella” nonprofit corporation for some of its services.

A charter change for Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio, establishing the entity as a supporting foundation related to the BGCT.

A revised relationship agreement with the Baptist Church Loan Corporation, declaring the BGCT as the sole member of the corporation, establishing the corporation as a related ministry of the convention and granting the corporation board the right to elect 25 percent of its members, with 75 percent elected by the BGCT.

A merger of the Texas Baptist Laity Institute with the BGCT, bringing it into the BGCT Executive Board structure in the institutional ministries section.

Recommendations regarding governance during the transitional period after messengers to the annual meeting act on changes in the constitution and bylaws.

New documents provided by GuideStone Financial Resources regarding the retirement plans for churches and Executive Board staff to position them for anticipated legislative changes.

Resolutions of appreciation for Wayne Merrill, who retired as president and chief executive officer of Baptist Memorials Ministries, and Robert Sloan, who stepped down as Baylor University's president to become chancellor.

Posted: 9/30/05

Hoops bring hope to youth in Astrodome

By David Coffield

Hardin-Simmons University

HOUSTON–When spirits were lowest at the Astrodome among displaced Louisiana residents, Sanford Mouton offered an outlet that–at least temporarily–took their minds off their losses from Hurricane Katrina.

“I saw how this tragedy was impacting the kids, and my heart just went out to them. I knew they needed some direction and structured activities that would allow them to be kids again during this difficult time,” said Mouton, a Hardin-Simmons Uni-versity graduate.

Mouton put to use his experience as a former high school coach and founder of Play-makers University, a sports program designed to help shape values and build character.

He started by organizing conditioning sessions and training drills that used up the children's restless energy to help them sleep better at night.

Next, he organized teams to encourage shelter residents to get to know each other and learn to cooperate.

Mouton told Houston businessman Jim MacInvale about the budding intramural program and the need to expand resources to accommodate the scores of participants. MacInvale donated an outdoor recreation complex that featured a basketball area with 15 goals, video game areas and a play area with inflatable games for the younger kids, as well as a worship center. As word spread, the complex became a center of hope and part of the daily routine for hundreds of players and spectators.

Mouton also contacted Kenny Smith, sports commentator and former two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets, to secure 30 courtside seats for children at a special NBA All-Star hurricane relief game in Houston.

Children who had lost everything were able to meet NBA stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, as well as musician Kanye West, who joined the group at courtside.

“Many of these people have had their faith jarred a bit and are scared of what tomorrow holds for them,” Mouton said.

“I feel, as a Chris-tian, it is my duty to let them know that the Lord is in charge and as long as they lean on him, they will not only make it through this, but they can look forward to new beginnings tomorrow.

“I felt that God called me to take an active role in the restoration of these people's faith. I've spoken to literally hundreds of men, women and children, discussing their present life and the life they can have through Jesus.”

Posted: 9/30/05

Texas Baptist Forum

Seven literal days

When someone who claims to love the Bible, as Mark Chancey says he does, also objects to a literal and historical six days of creation (Aug. 22), he identifies himself with those who have chosen to superimpose the theory of evolution upon the creation account God revealed in Genesis 1.

Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.

"The first Baptist minister lost his life through a dance, for Herod's birthday ball led to the murder of John. Since then, Satan has found the dance to be his helpful ally, a fruitful mother to sin. To multitudes of young people, the polished floor of the dance hall has been the toboggan slide to hell." John Linton Evangelist (The Sword of the Lord) "My faith and religious beliefs do not play a role in judging. I look to the law books. I don't look to the Bible." John Roberts President Bush's nominee for chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, answering senators' questions about his Catholic faith. (RNS) "Religious high horses are pleasing to ride. Tussles over right-opinion build crowds, fund movements, sell books, amass power and enable us to avoid the inconvenience of what Jesus actually said and did. Institutional maintenance keeps the gospel at a safe distance. Dividing and labeling people makes it unnecessary to actually deal with people." Tom Ehrich Writer, consultant, workshop leader and Episcopal priest from Durham, N.C. (RNS)

He has chosen to accept the idea that each day represents a period of time called “long ages.”

Had God meant for a day to represent unknown billions of years in his revelation of how he created all things, one might wonder how the children of Israel knew when a seventh day of rest was to be observed.

Yet when God commanded the children of Israel to keep the Sabbath as he had kept it, neither he nor the children of Israel had any problem with six days of work and one day of rest (the Sabbath) each week just as time is measured today (Genesis 1:1-2:4; Exodus 16:11-30; 20:8-11; 31:14-18). Read Hebrews 11:3.

Nora Ann Best

Henderson

BGCT value

Jeff Paul hopes money will not stop the Southern Baptist Convention from terminating its relationship with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Sept. 19).

This is precisely why the SBC clings to the BGCT and its churches.

I have served in Dallas churches 12 years and never received a phone call, note or visit from any SBC employee offering assistance to my congregation's ministry. Still, my church gives sacrificially to the SBC. Our percentage of giving to the SBC makes us stand taller than most SBC churches, including those of many SBC leaders. The SBC needs us and thousands like us.

Everything I receive from the SBC has a pricetag. SBC materials and conferences are outrageously expensive and inadequately developed for our ministry circumstances. With the SBC, nothing is free–neither materials, programs, people, nor churches. Money is the issue with the SBC.

But I cannot count the hundreds of times BGCT employees have called me, supported me, prayed for me, lifted me up, assisted my ministry and given materials to encourage and assist my church. How could I be anything else than a Texas Baptist?

Paul thinks the SBC and BGCT are dissimilar organizations; true, but not in the way he proposes. If the SBC went away, we might retain money–nice, since we desperately need air conditioning repairs. How is my church helped by the SBC? But if the BGCT went away, much of our encouragement, realistic resources and wisdom for ministering in this difficult situation would be gone.

Mark Dunn

Dallas

Correction

A Sept. 19 letter claimed, “A story is told of some 800 (Indonesian) Chris-tians asking permission of their government to worship on a special day. They were refused. They retreated to the mountains for worship, and the tsunami struck down the town. God's revelation saved the Christians!” The urban legends website Snopes.com reports this event did not take place. Snopes traces the story to fourth-hand rumors.

Posted: 9/30/05

BGCT ministerial student population tops 3,000

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

More than 3,000 undergraduate students are preparing for ministry at Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated universities.

That includes more than 1,500 Baptist students who receive scholarships from the convention. Another 1,700 students have indicated they are preparing for vocational ministry but for a variety of reasons are ineligible for or do not apply for the BGCT scholarship.

The number of BGCT-supported undergraduate ministry students on Texas Baptist campuses has increased 4.5 percent this year from last year, helped by the accreditation of Baptist University of the Americas, which serves 157 BGCT-scholarship students.

BGCT-affiliated universities are Dallas Baptist University, Baylor University, Wayland Baptist University, Hardin-Simmons University, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Houston Baptist University, Baptist University of the Americas, Howard Payne University and East Texas Baptist University.

An additional 426 convention-supported students were enrolled in ministry-focused master's-degree programs on Texas Baptist campuses during the fall of 2004. Enrollment in these programs has increased from 181 in 1996.

Women make up more than 43 percent of undergraduate ministry students on Texas Baptist campuses. Nearly 25 percent of BGCT-supported students at Hardin-Simmons' Logsdon Seminary are female, and 16 percent of BGCT ministry students at Baylor's Truett Theological Seminary are women.

Looking at the overall student population, Texas Baptist schools are gaining ground in reflecting their respective communities ethnically. In the past five years, the number of ethnic minority students in BGCT-affiliated schools and universities has risen from 26 percent to 35 percent.

Baptist University of the Americas has a student body comprised of more than 86 percent ethnic minorities. Dallas Baptist University, Houston Baptist University, Wayland Baptist University and San Marcos Academy all have minority ethnic enrollments that account for more than 30 percent of their total headcount.

Posted: 9/30/05

Texas Baptists provide showers of blessings

By Ann Maniscalco

Special to the Baptist Standard

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss.–Texas Baptists offered “showers of blessings” to bone-weary disaster relief workers in a coastal Mississippi town following Hurricane Katrina.

Volunteers from First Baptist Church of Comanche staffed a specially equipped air-conditioned trailer to provide blessed relief in the form of showers and laundering facilities.

The trailer–built in the body shop of a member at the Comanche church–has a compartment of three showers for women, and another with three men's showers. The rear is equipped with two sets of heavy-duty washers and dryers, which keep the towels and washcloths laundered.

On a particularly busy day, 82 people came to use the showers. Typically, anyone wanting a shower simply will sign in, grab a towel and washcloth, and if a stall is available, go right in. At peak times of the day, there may be a line, but this allows the Baptists from Comanche to chat with people from around the country.

Some days are busier than others, the team has learned.

“We were here until 11:00 last night,” said Neeley Keith of Comanche, who came to Ocean Springs with his wife, Velda. “Ever how many it takes, that's how many we give.”

Robert Williams and Bo Lacy of Comanche joined the Keiths in staffing the shower trailer. Williams was one of the builders of the specially equipped unit.

“A member of the church donated a stock trailer, and the members sold it and bought the box trailer to build the shower” with additional donations, Williams explained.

Comanche church members followed the example of a previous shower trailer, but they made a few changes to the original design–including making the unit completely washable, inside and out.

“The floor is like a bedliner of a truck,” Mrs. Keith said. The inside flashing seals the unit so it can be sanitized and hosed down with clear water nightly, she explained.

Another team from First Baptist Church of Comanche–Jerod Easley, and Arleta and Russell Gillette–staffed the unit the previous week. All three took time away from work to be part of the ministry.

“It's all volunteer,” Gillette said. “The Lord built the trailer and got the people to volunteer.”

A small group of men had attended a disaster relief seminar, and on the way home had talked about [the shower unit], he recalled. Donations of money and labor made the “showers of blessings” trailer a reality, with builders, carpenters, plumbers and electricians from the church offering their time and expertise. The unit was completed in June 2003 and activated the next month for Hurricane Claudette relief efforts, Gillette said.

The unit normally hooks into a water line and empties into a sewer drain. The on-demand water heaters provide continuous hot water. Towels, washcloths, soap and shampoo all are provided.

In addition to traveling to serve in hurricane relief efforts, the unit has been used in community missions. During the summer, about 300 Texas teens and adults who gathered to do rehab work on 20 houses around the county used the unit.

The late afternoon sun filtered through the trees where the shower unit was set up. After a sweltering day that saw temperatures reach the mid-90s, several men gathered to wait their turn to shower. Mrs. Keith checked the women's side, found it empty, and gave the gentlemen the all clear to go ahead.

A volunteer from North Carolina soon exited the unit with a long, satisfied sigh.

“You know how good that felt?” he said, beaming. “I think I'll go back!”

Posted: 9/30/05

Mobile medical clinic workers
treat thousands in Louisiana

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

BATON ROUGE, La.–The killing winds of Hurricane Katrina had barely moved north when two mobile medical units from Baptist Child & Family Services inched their way into Baton Rogue, literally following road crews clearing away limbs, debris and downed power lines from Interstate 10.

In fact, the two vehicles–one based in Laredo and the other in San Antonio–headed for Louisiana while I-10 was still closed, arriving in Louisiana just as officials allowed traffic back in.

Over the next two weeks, Baptist Child & Family Services staff and volunteer medical personnel saw 10,000 individuals, treating about 4,000 and providing medicines to most of the others.

“The first week or so, the two teams were seeing 1,000 patients each day in areas where people had been without any medical attention for days,” said Cindi Garcia, who heads up the agency's program utilizing the mobile units.

“Minor cuts and bruises, major illnesses and everything in between–no one had been there to attend to them. When those clinics-on-wheels arrived, they got a wonderful welcome.”

That welcome included a surprise visit from music stars Gloria and Emilio Estefan; film and television stars Andy Garcia, Daisy Fuentes and Jimmy Smits; and baseball legend Tommy Lasorda, who toured the areas to encourage the evacuees and the volunteer workers.

The celebrities delivered donated medicines and told the staff how proud they were of the job they were doing. When a Baptist Child & Family Services administrator expressed appreciation for their visit and donation, Andy Garcia replied: “We should be thanking you for what you and your agency are doing. We are Christians and really appreciate all this. We just showed up. Your people are doing all the hard work.”

“The first few days were a bit complicated because we were scrambling for supplies and volunteers,” said John Myers of Castroville, who worked with the units the entire time.

“But after one of the churches where we were parked (Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rogue) put up information about what we were doing on its website, the folks at Angel Flight and some others at Baptist Medical Dental Fellowship found out about us, and resources started rolling in.”

Baptist Child & Family Services purchased $40,000 of psychotropic drugs and collected another $200,000 of donated medicines to ship to the units where it joined a flow of contributions.

“I bet we had $1 million worth of medicines,” Myers said. “We were able to set up the pharmacies, one for prescriptions the doctors wrote and another for over-the-counter medicines. These people didn't have aspirin or cough syrup, either.”

“People would come in and get what they needed,” said Rosa Raygoza. “When we told them to put their money away that they didn't have to pay, many of them literally broke down and cried, asking over and over, 'You mean it's really free?' They just couldn't believe it.”

She also saw immediate changes in herself after seeing first hand the devastation of property and people's lives.

“The first day I acted like it was a normal work day and put my nail polish on just right and fixed my hair just so,” she said.

“But after that first shift, seeing the situation, I went straight to putting all my energy into helping those folks. My appearance wasn't nearly so important when people were trying to put their shattered lives back together.”

The unit's reputation also attracted visitors from the Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency who came by to get suggestions of how to set up medical work in other areas.

“God always provided what we needed, no matter what,” Myers noted.

One unit's generator refused to work several times in critical situations. The first time it happened, “A guy named Mark walked up while I was working on the generator,” Myers recalled. “He wasn't from the area but had driven down to see if there was anything to do to help–and he knew everything about generators.

“At another location, the wheelchair lift got stuck in the up position and I couldn't get it to move, and it turned out that about 100 power company line workers were housed in the same church where we were parked, and they knew just what to do.”

God's providence included more than mechanical miracles, Raygoza is convinced.

“We wound up with teams of people from all across the United States who had never met each other working in difficult situations with desperate people,” she explained. “But we all got along great and worked great together. God put the people in that place at that time that needed to be there.”

Posted: 9/30/05

On the Move

Sherry Baker to First Church in Sherman as associate director of preschool ministries.

Lance Beaumont has resigned as minister of worship/ creative arts at First Church in Burleson.

Andrew Bursey to Freedom Community Church in Midlothian as youth minister.

Bill Campbell to First Church in Anton as pastor.

Ken Cunningham to First Church in Coleman as youth pastor.

John Darling to The Crossing Church in Mesquite as minister of music.

Marvin Denison has resigned as pastor of First Church in Cumby.

Cory Divio to First Church in Desdemona as youth minister.

Melanie Green to First Church in Sherman as children/ preschool director.

Chris Irving to Muldoon Church in Muldoon as pastor.

Scott Jordan has resigned as pastor of First Church in Gunter.

Chuck Lauver to Crestmont Church in Burleson as minister of youth.

Jonathan Leftwich to First Church in Rockport as minister of youth.

Kevin Martin to Crestmont Church in Burleson as minister of praise and worship.

Ronnie McGrew to Harvest Hills Family Church in Weatherford as education minister.

Rob Merriman to First Church in Shelbyville as pastor from First Church in Denton, where he was university minister.

Randy Mohundro has resigned as music minister at First Church in Collinsville.

Tony Moye to First Church in Cameron as minister of youth.

Jeff Perkins to Fairview Church in Mineral Wells as youth minister.

Matthew Raines has resigned as youth minister at First Church in Cisco.

Tommy Rosenblad to First Church in Bartlett as pastor from Williams Creek Church in Axtell.

Adam Snidow to First Church in Springtown as youth minister.

Paul Sudolcan to First Church in Floresville as youth minister.

Scott Tharp to South Burleson Church in Burleson as pastor

Jeff Tilden to Oak Crest Church in Midlothian as youth/education minister.

Kenneth Van Horn to Great Hills Church in Austin as college minister.

David Watterson to First Church in Amarillo as minister of young adults.

Jeremy Webb to Layton Avenue Church in Milwaukee, Wisc., as pastor from Harris Creek Church in McGregor, where he was minister of youth.

J.B. Word to Riverwood Church in Corpus Christi as interim pastor.

Wade Yarbo to Cedar Creek Church in Whitney as pastor, where he had been associate pastor/youth minister and, in recent months, interim pastor.

Kelly Yeary has resigned as director of preschool ministries at University Church in Houston.

Posted: 9/30/05

Lufkin church offers
whole-hogged hospitality

By Scott Collins

Buckner Benevolences

LUFKIN–Pastor Elton Musick is one Baptist preacher who won't mind people leaving his church. That's because when the latest visitors leave Grace Baptist Church, he knows they will be returning home.

The congregation's short-lived attendance boom started with a couple of cars in the parking lot Sept. 22. By the time Hurricane Rita hit Texas about 100 miles south of Lufkin, more than 300 people had joined the members of this congregation.

Grace Baptist Church pastor Elton Musick (right) talks with evacuees from the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ from Silsbee before supper.

“These folks have always risen to the task,” Musick said of his congregation. “It's exciting. It shows that our church is living the gospel. I don't have much use for people who are just talkin' it and not doin' it.”

Grace Baptist was not initially registered as an evacuation center, but evacuees from further south “came down the road and saw cars here. I couldn't turn them away,” Musick said.

Because the church is on U.S. Highway 69 just north of Lufkin, people fleeing the hurricane's arrival Sept. 22 and 23 stopped when they saw other cars in the parking lot. Many evacuees feared running out of gas before they left Lufkin. Since the church is on the edge of town, it became a popular stop.

Among the evacuees seeking refuge were Pastor Arthur Smith and about 40 members of his family and church, Faith Temple Church of God in Christ in Silsbee.

“There was no place to stay, so we just kept going north,” Smith said. By the time they arrived in Lufkin late on Sept. 22, there was no place to stay, so the group slept in their cars that night.

Arthur Smith, pastor of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ in Silsbee, blesses a meal provided for Hurricane Rita evacuees.

The next day, they stopped at a store to buy supplies and met 82-year-old Ford Roddam, a member of Grace Baptist. When Roddam heard the group's plight, he told them to go find Musick and Grace Baptist Church.

“God was working in our midst and making connections,” Smith said. “It's been about as close to home here as you can get without being there. This church did a fantastic job with this. They got a lot of on-the-job experience.”

Smith should know. His congregation had just resettled four evacuee families from Hurricane Katrina when they found themselves fleeing Hurricane Rita.

The pastors agreed the greatest challenges of housing so many evacuees have been where to sleep and what to eat.

The first night, they removed the pulpit and cleared pews in the church sanctuary to make room for evacuees to sleep.

The church filled so quickly, there wasn't time or money to purchase food, so they improvised, Musick said. His brother killed a hog, brought it to the church and they cooked it on a grill. The next day, they cooked two more hogs.

“That's all we had,” Musick said.

By Sept. 27, help arrived from the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Texas Baptist Men, who set up a feeding truck in Lufkin. TBM provided 42 cans of chili and 11 loaves of bread immediately, and the BGCT crew is feeding the evacuees two meals a day, Musick said.

“If the BGCT hadn't sent their feeding trucks out here to Harmony Hill, we'd still be scrounging pigs out of the fields,” he said.

Grace Baptist Church members Lauretta Collins (left) and Dorris Davis prepare supper for Hurricane Rita evacuees living at the Lufkin church.

Throughout the ordeal, God has brought help from surprising sources, Musick observed. One woman, a refugee from New Orleans who had fled to Houston only to end up in Dallas, spent $360 to travel by taxi to Lufkin to meet her daughter. They never connected. She found herself at Grace Baptist, where she told Musick she wanted to buy food and cook for the entire group.

“She fried chicken and made chicken spaghetti,” he said. “Then she went back to Dallas.”

Another woman was sitting on the tailgate of her pickup by the side of Highway 69. When Musick asked if he could help, she said she needed to use the restroom. He offered the church's facilities.

As she was leaving, she handed the pastor $20, which Musick refused.

“I don't have a home. I don't have anywhere to go, but I do have money,” she told him.

“Take it and help someone else.”

While the future is uncertain for Grace Baptist's evacuees, they are thankful for what they have today. And Pastor Smith said he has been encouraged to see the response of fellow Christians.

“For a church to open up their hearts and show this type of hospitality and compassion is remarkable,” he said. “It's what missions and Christianity is supposed to be all about. It's supposed to be more than just coming to church on Sundays. People who don't do this kind of thing are missing a blessing.”

“If churches hadn't bailed these people out, they'd be on the streets,” Musick added. “I believe with all my heart that this disaster is going to bring out the best of the best and the worst of the worst.

“I'm wore out, but I'm having the time of my life. I have had more fun, and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself.”

As evacuees and church members began their Wednesday night worship service, Grace's music director led the group in singing. His first selection had special meaning: “This world is not my home. I'm just passing through.”

Posted: 9/30/05

RESPONDING TO HURRICANE RITA

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

TYLER–Some Texans who volunteered in shelters for Hurricane Katrina evacuees talked about how they could be displaced themselves one day.

Within two weeks, that day arrived. More than 2.5 million people evacuated the upper Texas Gulf Coast as Hurricane Rita threatened, and many found shelter in churches throughout East and Central Texas.

Bobby Vincente of Port Neches, who worked in a shelter in southeast Texas following Katrina, couldn't help but think it's better being a volunteer than an evacuee.

Workers at First Baptist Church in Tyler prepare dinner for more than 200 people who evacuated their homes as Hurricane Rita approached the Texas coast.

He and his wife found themselves in both roles–guests and volunteer workers–at the First Baptist Church in Tyler shelter.

The Vincentes would have preferred to stay in a hotel, but like many others, they found housing outside of shelters in short supply. They discovered no vacancies between the Gulf Coast and Austin. Traveling from Houston, they found no hotels south of the Oklahoma state line.

The Vincentes–who traveled with their two grandchildren–gave their time, helping serve more than 200 other people who took the same journey as them, following a government call for coastal evacuation.

“The shoe was on the other foot so to speak a few weeks back,” Vincente said. “Now we're the evacuees.”

Joseph Henry's story mirrors the Vincentes. He led children's activities at a shelter for Katrina victims. After evacuating, the Bridge City resident found himself staying with his in-laws in Tyler. He also put his skills to work leading children's activities at First Baptist Church in Tyler.

“I do this to keep my mind off it,” he said. “If I don't, I'm going to be the basket case with the high blood pressure–worrying, crying and end up in the hospital. I can't afford that. I've got kids to raise.”

Uncertainty surrounds his life outside the shelter. He may not go home for another week. When he arrives, he does not know what he will find.

“I don't know what I'm going to come home to,” he said. “I'm hoping … I can salvage something, but I'm preparing for the worst. It's very, very stressful deep down inside. But right now, I can't show that. I've got a mission to do.”

Robert Bardin, minister of education at First Baptist Church in Tyler, said his church wants to help evacuees in any way possible. If it helps them to serve, he helps make that happen. The congregation wants to be the presence of Christ in these people's lives, he said.

“I think its all part of being a Christian. I think this is exactly what Christ has called us to do–to help those in need with whatever resources we have.”

Posted: 9/30/05

2nd Opinion:
'Big issues' confront Baptists today

By Charles Deweese

Five big issues rise to the top in Baptist life in 2005. These–and all issues–challenging Baptists today both disrupt forward progress and must be measured by the plumb lines of Christ, Scripture and the historic Baptist values of freedom, cooperation and accountability:

Raw secularism. Baptists' raw secularism daily rips holes into their morality and spirituality. No facet of Baptist life is exempt from the temptation to succumb to the powerful influence of worldly enticement.

The good news is that millions of Baptists regularly fight off the secularistic impulse and its temptations through private prayer and Bible reading, corporate worship, attention to Christian ethics and massive contributions to humanity through Christ-centered discipleship, education, lifestyle evangelism, ministry and missions.

Widespread rejection of historic Baptist views of church-state separation. Today, church-state issues dominate religious news. Faith-based grants, “Justice Sunday” telecasts, Ten Commandments cases, Supreme Court appointments, religion in public schools, religious discrimination, religious fundamentalism's cozy relationship with right-wing politics–these are just some of the topics that work their way into the news.

Early Baptists in England and America in the 1600s stated vigorously through life and writings that a state church was a mockery of New Testament teaching, an affront to infants baptized into it against their will, an endorsement of civil religion and a disservice both to the church and to the state. Those Baptists took two simple positions: Coerced faith driven by directives of the state is meaningless, but free faith driven by liberty of conscience and sheer voluntarism is the pattern taught and practiced by Christ.

Loss of the prophetic voice in Baptist newspapers and pulpits. Many Baptist state paper editors and preachers have abandoned the prophetic element of their calling. They simply refuse to provide authentic “Thus-says-the-Lord” editorials and sermons.

Several factors account for prophetic decline. First, many Baptist state newspapers and pulpits have been converted into public relations outlets. Second, many editors and preachers are not familiar with the thousands of highly prophetic writers and preachers in Baptist history who, at whatever risk was necessary, simply told the truth. Third, job security sometimes provides a powerful motivation to keep one's pen quiet or mouth shut. Thank God for editors and preachers who boldly present the prophetic claims of Christ.

Persistent fragmentation. Baptist fragmentation started in the early 1600s, and it never has stopped. Today, in the United States alone, there are more than 50 Baptist groups or subgroups. Basic reason: No authority exists in Baptist life that can control how Baptists think, believe and practice their faith. The power of dissent, nonconformity and liberty of conscience drives Baptists in different directions.

Crises, however, have helped some Baptists rediscover more accurate biblical perspectives of what it means to be Baptist. They also have learned some valuable lessons through controversies. For example, championing biblical causes in the context of heated debate, even if it results in organizational fracture, can lead to spiritual progress.

Entrenched fundamentalism. Religious fundamentalism has rigidly entrenched itself into some facets of Baptist life. Built on the need to control religious thought, faith and practice, fundamentalism constructs tactics designed to guarantee such control. It is a religion of regulation, rather than deregulation.

Despite it all, wonderful resources for Baptists result when fundamentalism systematically squeezes out of its camp Baptists who refuse to buy into its tenets and practices. New seminaries emerge. New mission programs are born. New publications find the light of day. New centers for ethics and Baptist history come into being. New life is breathed into hurting people.

My reply to these and other big issues facing Baptists is this: Being Baptist still is worth the effort.

The best Baptist principles acknowledge the lordship of Christ and are biblically based. Further, they are positive and rise above negativity. They recommend aggressive efforts to be in the world, but not of it. They urge appropriate contributions to church and state, but not a marriage between the two. They make bold calls for justice by editors and preachers, not pathetic departures from the prophetic call. They offer opportunities for conversations and joint actions among Baptist groups, not endorsements of continuing segregation and relational breakdowns. And they endorse liberty of conscience and authentic voluntarism, not the control orientation of fundamentalism.

Charles Deweese is executive director-treasurer of the Baptist History and Heritage Society in Brentwood, Tenn.

Posted: 9/30/05

ABOVE LEFT: Bob Childers of Immanuel Baptist Church in Paris pours a can of peas into a pot. Texas Baptist Men cooked peas, chicken and rice for lunch one day in Beaumont. ABOVE RIGHT: Jim McConnell of Texas Baptist Men directs disaster relief teams into proper position. (Photos by John Hall)

Texas Baptist Men provide disaster relief

Texas Baptist Men disaster relief volunteers continue preparing thousands of meals a day for Texans who evacuated their homes as Hurricane Rita moved across the state. Texas Baptist Men, along with relief teams from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Michigan, Montana and Ohio, are trying to help these individuals and families in their time of need. Texas feeding units are stationed in San Antonio, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Center, Canton, Beaumont, Corrigan and Wichita Falls.

Posted: 9/30/05

Texas Tidbits

Baylor law, business scholarships endowed. Baylor University received gifts from Brazos Higher Education Service Corporation of Waco to establish endowed scholarship funds in the Baylor School of Law and the Hankamer School of Business. Deans will award the scholarships to full-time students on the basis of merit and need. The Brazos Higher Education Service Corporation Inc. is a nonprofit company that facilitates the delivery of financial aid to postsecondary students. For more information, contact Bill Dube, director of Baylor's Endowed Scholarship Program, at (254) 710-8601 or e-mail William_Dube@baylor.edu.

Buckner president receives honorary doctorate at DBU. Dallas Baptist University presented Ken Hall, president and chief executive officer of Buckner Baptist Benevolences, with an honorary doctor of divinity degree during the school's fall convocation. During Hall's tenure as president, Buckner has grown into one of the nation's top social service ministries, annually serving nearly 100,000 people through programs for children, families and senior adults. He is the fifth president in Buckner's 124-year history and is past president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Hall is a graduate of the University of Texas at Tyler and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before assuming the leadership of Buckner, he served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Longview, Crestview Baptist Church in Midland, Eastwood Baptist Church in Gatesville and Riverside Baptist Church in Stephenville.

DBU campaign totals $13.4 million. Dallas Baptist University has raised $7.9 million as part of the Ruth Ray Hunt Challenge Grant Campaign, making the school eligible to receive $5 million in matching gifts from the Ruth Ray Hunt Philanthropic Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas to help professional leadership, academic excellence, student activities and scholarship aid, student spiritual life and overall university facilities. These gifts, combined with the $500,000 gift given by the Hunt family to help launch the campaign in 2000, bring total funds raised through the Hunt Campaign to $13.4 million.

ETBU sets Tiger Day preview event. East Texas Baptist University will host "Tiger Day," a preview event for prospective students and their families, Oct. 8. There is no cost to attend. Sessions include sports information, campus ministry opportunities, band, choir and theater, admissions and financial aid, as well as separate parent and student question-and-answer times. Participants also can attend the Tigers football game versus Texas Lutheran University at 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.etbu.edu or call (800) 804-ETBU.

High Plains ministry contributes to Katrina relief. High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation and Baptist Community Services sent $15,000 to the Baptist General Convention of Texas for disaster relief immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck. Residents and employees donated an additional $16,510 in three weeks. The agency also authorized employees who volunteered with any recognized nonprofit disaster relief organization to take up to five days off with full pay, over and above vacation time, and it provided funds to a local Christian organization to send labor and aid to Louisiana and Mississippi.

Wayland offers scholarships for Katrina evacuees. Wayland Baptist University in San Antonio will offer scholarships for qualified Katrina evacuees who remain in the area, beginning with classes in the term that starts Nov. 14. The scholarship includes one tuition-free class during the first term enrolled and one tuition-free class for every paid course in the following terms. For more information, call (210) 826-7595 to set up an appointment with an academic adviser.