Posted: 8/19/05

Winding path leads musician to Hardin-Simmons

By David Coffield

Hardin-Simmons University

ABILENE–When he was growing up as the musically talented son of a piano teacher and a police officer, people who knew George Crane never would have predicted the winding path he would follow–through drug abuse and prison before he found God's purpose for his life and a supportive community at Hardin-Simmons University.

Crane showed considerable talent as a young musician in Cleburne. His mother was a university-trained piano teacher, and he was a gifted student.

When his family moved to Fort Worth, where George's father became one of the city's first African-American law enforcement officers, he was encouraged to follow his father onto the police force.

He already had a significant music scholarship in hand, but his father prevailed, and he went to the police academy. He ranked second in his class at the academy, but a series of poor choices changed the course of his life.

He experimented with an illegal substance. A subsequent failed drug test resulted in his expulsion from the police academy.

Crane enrolled in college to study music, but drug abuse undermined any progress he might have made, and he left school in 1979. Crane moved home and fell completely into the drug culture.

Local authorities noticed the frequent comings and goings of known drug users from his house, and it wasn't long before he was arrested. From 1986 until 1994, he was sent to prison four times for drug-related crimes.

“Back in the early days, there was Alcoholics Anonymous, but nothing for drug users. Prison was the answer for addicts,” he said. “I didn't help much. To me, drugs weren't a problem. It was everybody else who had a problem.”

Crane finally found the spiritual connection that was to guide his life while at a transitional facility in Abilene. He credits the behavioral therapists with re-igniting his hunger for God and his desire to experience Christ's forgiveness and love.

He participated in a Walk to Emmaus spiritual retreat, seeking God's presence. Soon, he found his life slowly coming back together. He began to dream again and see possibilities for a future.

“I can't tell you how many times I passed by the Logsdon Chapel at Hardin-Simmons and just stared at the wonderful stained glass window. I believe God was telling me that I needed to do something with the life I have left,” he said.

While working for a local contractor, a last-minute reassignment changed his life. Instead of going out of town on a construction job, Crane was given the task of cleaning carpet in the home of Pam Williford, dean of the Irvin School of Education at Hardin-Simmons.

During a mid-morning break, Crane–who had been eyeing the piano in one of the rooms–asked if he might play it. Astonished at Crane's talent, Williford asked about his training, and his story began to unfold.

He told her about his brief college career and his dream of completing a degree.

Williford told Crane about her affiliation with Hardin-Simmons, and by the end of the day, the two had made arrangements for him to come to the university for admission and enrollment.

Crane entered Hardin-Simmons in 2003, and now, at age 48, he is on-track for graduation in December 2006.

Williford is one of Crane's most enthusiastic supporters.

“He ignites a class discussion with his energy. He is a sponge soaking up every iota of new knowledge and skill in his classes,” she said. “He has endeared himself to students, staff and faculty. He thinks I brought a blessing to him by helping him make his past-due dream a reality. Truth is, he is a huge, huge blessing to me.”

While working toward a degree in history and public relations, he recently composed the sound track and contributed visual artwork for a communications/media class video documentary of the historical legacy of pioneer West Texas rancher Charles Goodnight.

He currently is working with Montie Hubbard Goodin of the Armstrong County Museum, writing the music for a theater production based on the lives of Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight.

Crane credits God and university faculty and staff for his success.

“God inspires me and gives my life meaning. The people at HSU inspire me. They truly believe in giving a person a second chance to build their lives,” he said. “They made it possible for me to be an instrument (for God), to be happy, to be joyful and to have purpose.

“At first, I wanted to hide my past, but so many people seem to know my story and take something positive from it, that it's becoming really obvious to me that my life is supposed to be open to people, so they can see God at work in the life of someone who really made a lot of bad decisions.”

Posted: 8/12/05

Baylor students apply classroom
skills during mission to Kenya

By Haley Wright

Baylor University

Baylor University students from a variety of academic disciplines put skills learned in the classroom to work on the African mission field during the largest mission trip in the university’s history.

More than 140 Baylor students, faculty and staff drawn from the deaf education, education, engineering, journalism, outdoor recreation, social work and telecommunications programs partnered with missionaries and organizations in Kenya.

In addition to the discipline-specific teams, other groups participating in the Africa ’05 mission trip included Baptist Student Ministries and men’s choir, as well as teams focused on leadership, women’s issues and medical needs.

Nancy Pfanner led the deaf education team that worked with the Kenya Christian School for the Deaf in Oyugis, a town about eight hours west of Nairobi. The team’s goal was to make a lasting, positive impact on the children and staff at the school by bringing much-need training, supplies and other resources that could be used for years to come.

Baylor students developed lesson plans and language therapy sessions long before they ever left for the trip, Pfanner explained. Each student was responsible for one “piece of the puzzle,” which was put together with the other components to form a comprehensive educational program for the children, she said. Once in Kenya, they taught by involving the children in recreation, crafts, drama and other activities.

Team members said one of their most memorable experiences was the day they took a field trip to a zoo and to Lake Victoria, located only about a half-hour from the school. For many of the children, it was their first experience riding in a vehicle, seeing a lake, drinking a cold soda and eating pizza—all things most American students take for granted.

The students also led a Sunday worship service with the deaf community.

“I looked around that crowded room and saw our Baylor students playing with, hugging and talking to these children who had been discarded by society because of their deafness,” Pfanner recalled. “God’s love transcends distance, race, culture and disabilities.”

Walter Bradley led the business-engineering team to complete two projects while in Kenya.

Baylor University student David Spann offers a piggyback ride to children in Kenya.

The team first partnered with Harmon Parker, founder and director of Bridging The Gap Africa, to build a 130-foot-long pedestrian bridge over a river that divides the community in West Pokot for most of the year. The bridge will save the villagers more than 2.4 million miles walking as they travel to the market, schools and for medical care. After the dedication of the bridge, Parker told them in Swahili that the bridge was a gift from God and that the team was just God’s means to bring it to them.

The business-engineering team also completed the design, fabrication and installation of a solar panel, lighting system and laptop computer for the Kenya Christian School for the Deaf.

Three water-related projects in East and West Pokot, as well as many projects associated with potential commercialization of coconuts and their husks, were identified while the team was in Kenya, and students and faculty started preparatory work during the summer. The work will expand in the fall, as more students get involved in the projects through course assignments.

Baylor’s Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship will develop business plans in master of business administration classes, using ideas generated on the Africa ’05 trip and the technology developed by the engineering department.

Rebecca Beteet participated in Africa ’05 as a member of the journalism team who was assigned to cover the accomplishments of the leadership team. Members of the journalism team were dispersed among the other 12 teams. Journalism students interviewed pastors, community leaders and other Kenyans with whom Baylor partnered to record the activities and projects changing the lives of the people they encountered.

“The thing that impacted me the most was appreciating what I have,” Beteet said. “When I looked at the Kenyan people, I didn’t feel sorry for them, because even though they were living in cow-dung huts, they lived life with joy. I just wanted to make their lives better in any way that I could. I realized I take so many things for granted.”

Steve Graves, director of university ministries and missions, already has started organizing a return trip to Kenya in 2006. He hopes future trips to Africa and other parts of the world will accomplish the same things he believes happened on this trip.

“I want each trip to be a life-changing experience for students, that they would see how God can use them in their field to make a huge difference in the world, whether that be in a foreign land or in the United States,” he said. “Also, that we would support and encourage indigenous Christians and missionaries in their long-term work. I hope that with future trips, as we make long-term investments, we’ll be able to offer even more in terms of the resources and expertise we bring to the table in each field.”

Posted: 8/19/05

Rainer to lead LifeWay

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)–Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources will vote Sept. 12-13 on the nomination of Thom Rainer to head Southern Baptists' official publishing arm.

Rainer, 50, is founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

If elected by the 59-member board, Rainer will succeed Jimmy Draper, 70, who is retiring after 15 years at the helm of LifeWay, one of the largest Christian publishing companies in the world.

Rainer is expected to assume his new duties Oct. 17 and work alongside Draper until February.

LifeWay, with 124 retail stores, recorded total revenue of more than $428 million in fiscal 2004.

Before pursuing full-time vocational ministry, Rainer studied corporate finance and worked in corporate banking in Atlanta and Anniston, Ala.

Rainer is the author of 16 books.

His recent Breakout Churches examines the characteristics of growing congregations.

A graduate of the University of Alabama, Rainer earned both the master of divinity and Ph.D. degrees at Southern Seminary. Prior to joining the Southern faculty, he served as pastor of churches in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Indiana.

He has served as a church consultant and church-growth conference speaker for several years and is president of Rainer Group Church Consulting.

He also is president of Church Central, a website he formed with Internet publisher NetWorld Alliance that offers training and other resources for church leaders.

“Dr. Rainer has proven himself to be a successful leader of the local church and at the seminary,” said search committee Chairman Rick Evans. “He is a gifted man of authority in the areas of trends within the Christian church and in church growth.”

Rainer and his wife, Nellie Jo, have three sons–Sam, Art and Jess.

Posted: 8/19/05

Mane Mission seeks record to benefit ministry

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

TYLER–A Texas-sized challenge to support a Texas Baptist ministry is making a run at the Guinness Book of World Records Oct. 8-9 in Tyler.

Breckenridge Village, a residential facility for mentally handicapped adults operated by Baptist Child & Family Services, will be a primary beneficiary of the two-day Mane Mission event, focused on taking the world record for “largest horse/pony parade” away from Medellin, Colombia.

Pierre de Wet, whose sister is a resident at Brecken-ridge Village, came up with the idea for Mane Mission when he learned the ministry was trying to get out from under the burden of $3 million in construction debt.

“You need more than money; you need people to know who you are and the great work you do,” he said.

A Breckenridge Village resident gets up close and personal with some of the horses and riders.

In recent months, he has worked to promote Mane Mission throughout the United States and Canada.

In addition to a hoped-for turnout of more than 8,000 horsemen, riding four abreast over a two-plus-mile trail on the Crowded 6 Ranch, there will be a horse-mounted church service, cowboy poets, chuck wagon cooking, a live auction of classic western items and a raffle of collectibles customized with the Mane Mission logo, including a pickup truck. Musical events include a concert by Randy Owen, lead singer of the country-pop group Alabama, and the Tyler Symphony Orchestra.

“Already, riders from California, Florida, New York, Michigan, Tennessee and Missouri have registered, and the support from across Texas has been impressive,” said Baptist Child & Family Services President Kevin Dinnin.

“Many of them aren't Baptists. The only common denominator is a love of horses and a desire to help out a worthy cause. But this would be a great opportunity for Texas Baptist churches, Sunday school classes and youth groups–not to mention riders from BGCT institutions and agencies–to spend a fall weekend and be part of ministering to our mentally handicapped brothers and sisters at the same time.”

The specifics of the ride are fairly rigid, in order for the results to be certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Only individual riders age 14 and older will be part of the official count, but younger riders as well as wagons will be allowed to take part in the spectacle as space allows.

Registration fees, while an important aspect of the fund-raising effort, are optional. According to the Mane Mission website: “While we are trying to break the record, we also are raising funds for mentally challenged citizens. … We understand people will be able to give at different levels, and we want everyone to be able to ride.”

Organizers hope the event will draw more than 20,000 spectators, who also will have the opportunity to make donations.

The Randy Owen concert will be at the Oil Palace auditorium in Tyler, but the parade will take place at the Crowded 6, about 12 miles outside the city.

The 2,000-acre ranch also is available to participants for primitive camping. There are no water or electricity hookups. Fires will be allowed until midnight, as long as they are monitored.

About 500 volunteers, including on-site veterinarians, will provide the staffing to make the event happen.

In addition to Breckenridge Village, some of the proceeds will benefit the Association of Retarded Citizens of Tyler/Smith County.

Complete information and registration about the event is available at www.manemission.org or by calling (903) 526-6263. Information about Breckenridge Village is available at www.breckenridgevillage.com or www. bcfs.net.

Ann, a resident of Breckenridge Village of Tyler, gets ready to ride a law enforcement horse

Posted: 8/19/05

Howard Payne student fulfills
missions calling in Peru

By Jocelyn Delgado

Communications Intern

BROWNWOOD–A Howard Payne University student used his new passion for film to fulfill his calling to a higher passion–Christian missions.

On an 11-week mission trip to Peru, sophomore telecommunications student John Wilson applied his studies by filming two documentary videos for missionaries.

Wilson traveled with a team of 10 missionaries. The group, sponsored by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, worked in Peruvian villages, often living with a family, learning customs and playing soccer with villagers.

One video documents Wilson's travel with fellow missionaries involved in the soccer ministry. The second documents a mission strategy to get churches involved in this particular area by adopting a people group or local village.

“The whole motive is to try to get the Peruvian people in this area to really reach their own people,” Wilson said.

The goal is to enlist sponsoring churches that will make a three- to four-year commitment, promising to evangelize and disciple a people group or village, with the eventual possibility of building a church.

Originally, Wilson applied as a missionary evangelist, not a filmmaker. Through the application process, Wilson mentioned film editing as a skill. The next thing he knew, he spent most of his trip observing through a lens.

At first, it was difficult to get used to being the “video guy on the side,” Wilson said. After awhile, it seemed an advantage, because some felt more comfortable talking to the guy who wasn't out front.

Wilson took a few opportunities to step out from behind the camera to speak to Peruvians directly. Although the team had a translator, Wilson used what Spanish he had learned in school to communicate.

As he walked along the road one day, a man approached him and started speaking to him in Spanish. Wilson said he was confused at first but somehow was able to communicate.

“This is the first real time God has really given me this opportunity to share in Spanish,” he said.

Posted: 8/19/05

Student missionaries see God at work in Thailand

By Meghan Merchant

Communications Intern

KHAO LAK, Thailand–Pictures of missing people nailed to trees serve as a reminder, months later, that the devastation of the Dec. 26 tsunami remains in Thailand.

Yet in the midst of the wreckage, God is moving, said Keith Garner, director of Baptist Student Ministries at Texas Tech University and leader of a Go Now Missions trip to Thailand this summer. Go Now Missions is the Baptist General Convention of Texas collegiate student missions program.

Because of help the Thais received from Christian organizations and missionaries, Garner's team of students from across Texas saw people in the largely Buddhist country say, “Thank you, God” after receiving the food the students brought for them, he said.

A child in Thailand receives much-needed food from Baptists in the United States.

Thais told the 10-person team that many humanitarian aid groups have “dumped stuff” off for them, but the Christian groups were consistent and there for the long haul, said Dawn Younger, a trip participant and former Texas Tech BSM intern.

Help from short-term missionaries and relief workers has “made a huge impact on their being open to Christianity because they see we really care,” Younger said.

Since the tsunami, many churches have sprouted in villages, and missionaries are trying to find locals to teach new believers, she added. While the team was told it probably would not see a return on its work, members saw about 100 families become Christians, Garner said.

After Garner returned home, he learned 16 new believers were baptized in a waterfall, because “the people don't want to be near the ocean.”

“There's a massive harvest taking place,” Garner said. “I think it will explode in the coming weeks and months.”

The loss and despair from the tsunami have left the people searching for peace. Garner told of a man who lost 11 family members in the chaos but had found peace in Christ. He was eager to show the team his Bible and wanted someone to disciple him.

Kyle Roach, a student at Texas Tech, helps deliver rice to a refugee camp in Thailand.

The team distributed food and dry goods to refugee camps through a local relief foundation.

For many Thais, this was their only food source outside of fruit from trees. Despite the daily rain showers, team members brought supplies to villages, a gesture Thais saw as “an act of love because they saw us putting ourselves in harm's way to minister to them,” Garner said.

Most of the Thai people have some form of housing now, although of a far lesser quality than before the tsunami, Garner said.

Multiple families share one-bedroom shacks. And while reconstruction has begun, the beach, which he said still was littered with clothing, shoes, pacifiers and debris, will most likely never be the same.

More than the physical needs they saw, Younger said, many of the Thai people needed someone to talk to and share their story.

Her team visited a village that had not yet been reached by any humanitarian aid groups.

“One of the main things they said they needed was just someone to spend time with them,” she said. “They wanted someone to be there for them and listen to them as part of the healing process.”

Months after a devastating tsunami struck South Asia, its impact still is readily apparent.

Posted: 8/19/05

Wayland BSM launches
worldwide missions strategy

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW–During the next few years, students at Wayland Baptist University will have the opportunity to visit several regions of the world doing missions work, based on a plan unveiled by the Baptist Student Ministries program.

BSM Director Donnie Brown said the long-range missions plan allows the program to prepare better for coming trips and to formulate a strategy for missions experiences for Wayland students and staff alike.

“Instead of just doing whatever sounded good at the moment, we wanted to have a plan to give some direction and order to the missions program,” Brown said. “Students have different interests and gifts, so this will provide different opportunities to use those gifts.”

The plan calls for a Wayland group to visit each of the five world regions, as designated by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, within a 10-year period or less.

The regions are defined as the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Pacific Rim. Each year's plan includes trips to at least two of the regions as well as opportunities within the United States and the West Texas area.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for students to be involved in various types of ministries–urban and rural, children and adults, evangelism and prayerwalking, and others,” Brown added.

The strategy includes weekly missions projects already in place through the BSM, such as apartment ministry to children, prison ministry and servant evangelism experiences.

Mission Emphasis Week will involve a campus focus on missions with special speakers planned, panel discussions and a missions fair. Students will continue to be encouraged to pursue missions service through the Baptist General Convention of Texas-sponsored Go Now Missions program over the summer or for a semester. In the past, many Wayland students have participated in such ventures.

Major mission trips will involve two-year partnerships with Wayland contacts in various regions of the world. Brown said he wants to partner with alumni who may be serving in various countries in order to plan mission work.

For the coming two years, for example, Brown has planned a summer trip to Budapest, Hungary, to assist former Wayland students Mark Aderholt and Shanna Buck, both of whom currently are serving there. Brown also is planning a summer trip to Australia, where Wayland alumni Clinton and Jennifer Staj, Salem Posey, and Greg and Sara Howle are serving as the band Zuigia. A trip to Asia is set for 2007 and 2008.

Mission trips to South Padre Island for the spring break Beach Reach evangelism effort will continue, with First Baptist Church in Plainview leading that trip. Other projects on tap include a return to North Dakota, where students helped lead a Disciple Now weekend over spring break in March, and return visits to El Paso and Mexico. Short weekend service projects will be offered at various community agencies in the Plainview area and in Lubbock and Amarillo.

Brown hopes the long-range plan will allow for greater involvement by Wayland faculty and staff in missions with students, both on major trips and in area service projects. He also hopes churches will get involved by helping to sponsor trips or provide resources.

Brown is seeking support from Wayland alumni and others willing to partner with the BSM in this endeavor in the following areas:

Providing prayer support and/or becoming a prayer partner for student missionaries.

Participating in mission trips as an adult sponsor.

Giving financially to offset the cost of mission trips.

Serving as a contact in target areas and partnering on mission ventures.

For more information or to get involved, contact Brown by phone at (806) 291-3595 or by e-mail at brownd@wbu.edu.

Posted: 8/19/05

Around the State

San Jacinto Baptist Association will present its third annual single adult conference Oct. 1 from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Northside Church in Baytown. Don Piper, author of the book 90 Minutes in Heaven, will be the speaker. The cost of $25 includes lunch and an autographed copy of the book. To register, call (281) 422-3604.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship endorsed 32 chaplains and pastoral counselors at its endorsement council meeting held in Grapevine. Texans receiving endorsement include Cherry Moore, chaplain with Hospice Brazos Valley in Bryan; Joseph Gross, chaplain with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Dallas; Mary Lewis, a CPE resident at Audie Murphy Veterans Memorial Hospital in San Antonio; and Cindy Goza, board certified chaplain for the Association of Professional Chaplains in Houston.

After 25 years as worship leader for Paisano Baptist Encampment, Ed Wittner has retired. Wittner's connection to the camp began in his youth. His parents, Robert and Lillie Wittner, lived on the grounds while his father was a pastor and director of missions for District 7, which included the Big Bend area. Nathan McBride, pastor of First Church in Lamesa, will begin his term as worship leader in 2006.

Dallas Baptist University awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to 211 students at its summer commencement held Aug. 5. Keith Bruce, coordinator of institutional ministries for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, was presented an honorary doctor of divinity degree during the ceremony.

Howard Payne Univer-sity's School of Business has been granted specialized accreditation of business degree programs by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education Board of Commissioners. HPU has been working toward this special accreditation seven years. It places the school among the top 30 percent of business programs in the nation, said Les Plagens, dean of the School of Business.

Shane Fuller, an East Texas Baptist University assistant professor of theater arts, has won a sketch-writing contest sponsored by the Christians in Theatre Arts organization. His sketch titled “Love for a Lifetime” was originally written for Life Point Church in Longview to complement a series on love preached by his pastor.

Houston Baptist Univer-sity has announced several faculty promotions. Dan Kram-lich has been named professor of music; Connie Michalos, professor of English; and Lilita Olano, professor of bilingual education. Promoted to the rank of associate professor are Jamie Johns, Christianity; Tom Kennedy, psychology; Martha Maddox, psychology; and Eric Van Caemelbecke, chemistry. Attaining the rank of assistant professor are Lisette Barton, nursing; and Alexis Knapp, management.

Austin Daniel, a senior music composition major at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, served as a student conductor for the Texas Choral Directors Association at its annual convention. Twelve collegiate conductors from across the state were selected to participate in the exercise which includes constructive coaching from reknown conductors.

First Metropolitan Church of Houston recently broke ground on a 43,000-square-foot sanctuary that will have a seating capacity of more than 1,500 people. The building campaign has followed the theme of “Taking Stake–For God, For Others, For Eternity.” John Ogletree Jr. is pastor.

Jana Allen, director of Baylor University's Executive MBA program in Dallas, has been elected to serve as the next chair of the Executive Council Board of Trustees for the Executive MBA Council. The council has more than 200 member colleges and universities worldwide that offer more than 300 programs in 25 countries. She will assume her role at the council's annual conference to be held Oct. 30-Nov. 2 in Barcelona, Spain.

Dale Coln will retire as director of pediatric surgery at Baylor University Medical Center this month after 18 years of service. He will be honored at a celebration at the Texas Rangers baseball game Aug. 27. Tickets can be purchased at jcange@texas rangers.com.

Anniversaries

David Vernon, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Taft, Aug. 14.

Pamela Culbertson, fifth, as minister of youth at Gaston Oaks Church in Dallas, Aug. 15.

Wayne Watkins, fifth, as education minister at First Church in Rosenberg.

Harris Avenue Church in San Angelo, 65th, Sept. 11. Former pastors A.J. Kennemer and Earl Dunn will preach in the morning service, and the Sons of Light music group will perform. A brisket lunch will be served at noon. The afternoon program will feature music and former Pastor Travis Monday. Milton Tyler is interim pastor.

Crescent Park Church in Odessa, 50th, Sept. 16-18. Activities will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. with a meal to welcome former ministers. Saturday will feature a look at the church's past from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and a music ministry reunion from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be no Sunday school the next morning, but a special service will begin at 10 a.m. Former Minister of Music Barry Owens will lead the music, and former Pastor C.B. Hogue will preach. A meal, with a cost of $5 for adults and $3 for children, will follow the service. Reservations are requested at (432) 366-4476. Wayne Shuffield is interim pastor.

Handley Church in Fort Worth, 100th, Sept. 17-18. A potluck dinner will be held Saturday beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sunday's activities will

begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue through the afternoon. Robert Bennett is pastor.

Oak Crest Church in Midlothian, 20th, Sept. 25. A meal will follow the morning service, which will include former Youth and Associate Minister Bryan Richardson as guest preacher. The afternoon program will include old photographs, memorabilia, videos and guest speakers including Larry Johnson, director of missions for Ellis Association. Former staff members expected to attend include youth ministers Patrick Wilson and Paul Stohler, and Minister of Music Chris Wagner. Jerry Hall is pastor.

Retiring

T.J. Norvell, as pastor of Quietwood Church in Dallas. He served the church almost nine years and was in ministry 40 years. He is available for supply at (214) 381-7046.

Bill Ballou, as pastor for senior adults at First Church in Abilene, July 9. He had served the church nine years in that capacity. His ministry spanned 42 years as he served as minister of education at Travis Avenue Church in Fort Worth and First Church in Amarillo, as well as churches in Georgia and Mississippi.

Linda Dudley, as children's minister at First Church in Amarillo. She served the church 10 years.

Deaths

A.W. Blaine, 97, July 25 in Bonham. A graduate of Hardin-Simmons University and Southwestern Seminary, he was pastor of churches in Benjamin and Vera until 1941, when he was called to active duty as a military chaplain. After his time in the service, he was missionary of Palo Pinto Association before becoming pastor of First Church in Muleshoe from 1945 until 1954. He was pastor of North Park Church in Sherman from 1954 until his retirement in 1972. He moved to Collinsville and continued to serve on boards and committees of Grayson Association and Lake Lavon Baptist Encampment. He was preceded in death by his wife, Edith, in 1995. He is survived by his son, Al; daughter, Barbara Thomas; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

David Wivagg, 61, Aug. 10 in Waco. He was professor of biology and director of undergraduate studies at Baylor University. He taught at Baylor from 1979 until his death. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca; daughter, Jennifer Wivagg; sons, Jonathan, Peter and Eric; brothers, Peter and Bob; stepson, Cody Cassell; step-daughter, Kelly Margot; and three grandchildren.

Clift Brannon Sr., 87, Aug. 11 in Longview. His life's pursuit was the conception, publication and distribution of the Soul Winner's New Testament, of which more than 5 million have been printed. Beginning his adult life as an attorney, he worked as a lay minister for 10 years before entering full-time evangelism in 1945. He served as vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, president of Texas Baptist Men and president of the Conference of Texas Evangelists. He was a deacon at First Church in Longview since 1946. Brannon witnessed to General Manuel Noriega in his prison cell after his arrest by U.S. authorities. He later baptized Noriega in the Federal Court House in Miami, Fla. He was preceded in death by his brothers, George, Wesley, Bill and Louis; and sisters, Polly Cross and Vera Robinson. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Ruth; daughters, Beverly Brown and Madeline Jones; son, Clift Jr.; sisters, Mary Ellen Hall and Grace Betts; five grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

Event

Northside Church in Victoria will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its school Sept. 18. Former teachers and alumni are invited to be recognized in the morning worship services. A reception will be held from 2 p.m to 4 p.m. For more information, call (361) 578-1568. Tim Williams is pastor.

Revival

First Church, Floydada; Aug. 27-31; evangelist, Homer Allison; music, Zechariah's Song; pastor, Anthony Sise-more.

Posted: 8/19/05

Controversy surrounds National Council on Bible Curriculum

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

As students load their backpacks for school this fall, a growing number include the Bible among their textbooks.

But critics–including Christians eager to see teenagers seriously study the Scriptures–assert some public school Bible courses are designed to promote a sectarian belief and advance a political agenda.

Few of the parties involved question either the value or constitutionality of Bible courses–provided they are nonsectarian and academically sound.

In the Supreme Court's 1963 ruling on Abington v. Schempp, Associate Justice Tom Clark wrote, “It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities.”

Other court rulings, notably Epperson v. Arkansas in 1968 and Stone v. Graham in 1980, underscored the constitutionality of teaching about the Bible and religion.

“Because biblical literacy is an important part of what it means to be an educated person, study of the Bible should be included in the public school curriculum,” said Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. “Much of art, music, literature, law and history in Western civilization are incomprehensible without some knowledge of the Bible.”

The challenge, he said, is to make sure that any study about the Bible in public schools is both constitutionally and educationally sound.

“That means providing teachers with materials and lessons that are objective and balanced and offering in-service training to any teacher selected to teach a Bible elective. It can be done. But it takes work,” said Haynes, who has been involved in helping develop a forthcoming high school curriculum for the Bible Literacy Project.

But one course in particular–The Bible in History and Literature, produced by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools–has drawn fire from the Texas Freedom Network, a civil liberties watchdog group.

About the National Council

The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, based in Greensboro, N.C., claims its curriculum has been approved for use in elective courses in 37 states by 312 school districts, including 52 in Texas. To date, 175,000 students have taken the course, and 92 percent of the school boards that have been approached have voted to implement it, said Council President Elizabeth Ridenour.

The council does not release lists of all districts using its curriculum to protect them from being “brow-beaten and threatened,” said Mike Johnson, an Alliance Defense Fund attorney and member of the council's board of directors.

Instead, the council directs inquiries to a few flagship districts that have agreed to respond to questions. In Texas, the two flagship districts are the Brady Independent School District, about 75 miles southeast of San Angelo, and the Brazosport Independent School District, on the Gulf coast south of Houston.

Tracey Kiesling taught in the Brady Independent School District seven years and now serves as the local teacher trainer for the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.

This fall marks the beginning of the ninth year Brady has used the curriculum, and Kiesling taught the course the first four years in the district. About 18 students a year have taken the course in Brady, she noted.

“It is vitally important to offer a course of this nature because of the way the Bible crosses virtually all other parts of the curriculum,” she said. “Basically, we're into the second generation of Bible illiterates, and much interpretation in especially literature, science, history and the arts is lost if the student does not have at least some knowledge of the Bible.”

Ryan Valentine with the Texas Freedom Network agrees with Kiesling about the importance of public school students learning about the Bible, but he faults the National Council's approach.

“The Texas Freedom Network is all for teaching the Bible in public schools as long as it satisfies the two criteria we keep harping about. It has to be nonsectarian in purpose, and it has to be academically rigorous. The problem with this (curriculum) is that it fails miserably on both counts,” said Valentine, director of the Texas Faith Network, a branch of the statewide civil liberties group.

Critiquing the curriculum

Mark Chancey, who teaches biblical studies in the religious studies department at Southern Methodist University's Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, wrote a 32-page report for the network critiquing the material.

Chancey supports the study of the Bible by public school students, but he finds fault with the approach taken in the National Council's curriculum.

“Asking a biblical scholar if the Bible should be taught is like asking a chef if he likes to cook,” he said. “I think students are well served to have familiarity with the Bible, and I think it's important to our cultural literacy. I also wish students got more exposure to the diversity of religions–in America and around the world. Now, more than ever, we need that.”

The council's curriculum consists of a 290-page teacher's guide, along with a CD of The Bible Reader: An Interfaith Interpretation, an out-of-print book first published in 1969 that includes commentary from Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish perspectives. It sells for $150 directly from the council and more if purchased from secondary sources.

In his report, Chancey gives the teacher's guide for The Bible in History and Literature a failing grade on at least three counts.

He maintains it is a sectarian document that “attempts to persuade students to adopt views … held primarily within certain conservative Protestant circles.”

He asserts the scholarship is shoddy, failing to cite sources clearly and sometimes reproducing other materials word-for-word without sufficient attribution.

And, he said, “Much of the course appears designed to persuade students and teachers that America is a distinctively Chris-tian nation.”

A sectarian document

Chancey maintains the curriculum presents statements of faith as indisputable facts. For instance, he quotes passages in which the Bible is referred to in a manner-of-fact way as “the word of God” and a study on the gospels that urges readers to “picture Matthew as he begins his inspired book.”

He also cities passages in the teacher's guide in which Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

“It's not as if they had a whole unit on why Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecy. But it's their assumptions that come through loud and clear. … Their own theological presuppositions come through very, very clear, and are often stated in a way that implies they are actual and normative,” Chancey said in an interview.

The curriculum's failure to distinguish clearly between objective, verifiable facts and statements of faith is a key failure, Valentine added.

“There's a difference between saying, 'Christians believe Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy,' which is a statement of fact and appropriate in a curriculum, and saying, as a matter of fact, 'Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.' That's where this curriculum crosses the line,” he said.

Chancey also takes issue with underlying assumptions presented in the curriculum, such as its teaching that the Bible is composed of 66 books, divided into the Old Testament and New Testament.

“As Protestants–as Baptists and Methodists–the Bible they are talking about (in the curriculum) looks very familiar to us because it's basically the Protestant Bible. To Jews, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, this doesn't look very familiar,” he said. “A good curriculum should be sensitive to the differences between the Bibles of the different faith groups.”

Chancey also believes the curriculum relies too heavily on one translation–the King James Version.

“Students who study this curriculum are receiving an introduction to a specific Bible–the Protestant Bible,” Chancey asserted in his report. “That Bible is presented as the standard; Bibles of other traditions, if they are mentioned at all, are often presented in ways that imply that they are deviations from that Protestant standard.”

However, an explanatory note on the first page of the National Council's teacher's guide states: “This curriculum has been prepared using the King James Bible because of its historic use as the legal and educational foundation of America, but school districts are free to use whichever translation they choose, or they may allow each student to use the translation of his or her choice. Sometimes the student can benefit from comparing translations in and out of class.”

Chancey acknowledged the material sometimes includes learning activities and statements that present a nonsectarian view, but he said these are few and far between.

“The material makes occasional attempts to be nonsectarian, but it's not successful. It falls far short,” he said.

The council's curriculum has been thoroughly scrutinized by curriculum experts, legal authorities and local school board personnel, and in no way has it been found to be sectarian, Kiesling insisted.

“We have personally worked with persons having Ph.D.s in curriculum in designing our curriculum; constitutional scholars from at least Princeton and Notre Dame praise our curriculum highly; and hundreds of school board attorneys and school board members of different political parties across the nation laud our curriculum,” she said.

“Also, every bit of material in the guide has gone through batteries of attorneys to assure that it complies with the law.

“The facts remain that our curriculum is sound according to the experts, … not even one teacher has been brought up on even one incident, and we have more schools calling and coming on board all the time.”

Poor scholarship

In his report, Chancey asserts the National Council materials directly reproduce lengthy passages from other sources, sometimes citing incorrect sources and sometimes failing to cite any source.

“When the number of pages copied directly from sources with minimal or no rewording and pages identical or nearly identical to uncited sources are totaled, the count approaches 100–approximately a third of the book,” Chancey wrote.

In an interview, he characterized the material as “thoroughly plagiarized … the kind of thing that gets students kicked out of school and gets teachers fired.”

The teacher's guide also includes errors, such as saying a sword–rather than a spear–pierced Jesus' side as he hung on the cross; stating that Herod built a synagogue, rather than correctly saying he renovated and expanded the temple in Jerusalem; and citing incorrect dates, he noted.

Attorney Johnson said, in all instances, the National Council obtained permission before reprinting material from other sources. Omitted citations of sources and factual errors will be corrected in future revisions of the material, he said.

Kiesling dismissed the criticism as inconsequential.

“Some of those flaws have been brought to our attention and most of them are unfounded, and some are simply typographical errors,” she said. “We are always working to improve our curriculum guide, as any good organization would do.”

But beyond problems with attribution and simple errors, Chancey also faulted the curriculum for its dependence on material from questionable sources not recognized by the established academic community.

“Showing creation science videos in class is, to me, one of the strongest examples of that,” he said, pointing to at least three learning activities in which teachers are encouraged to use materials produced by the Creation Science Museum in Glen Rose.

“Literal six-day creation is clearly a sectarian belief, and a 6,000-year-old earth is a sectarian belief most Christians would not accept,” he said. “The simultaneous existence of humans and dinosaurs–that's what's in these videos–old-school, new-earth creation science.”

Chancey also pointed out the curriculum's reliance on a book written by evangelist Grant Jeffrey, as well as the teachers' guide's characterization of J.O. Kinnaman as a “respected scholar” in the field of archeology. Kinnaman claims Jesus visited Great Britain, he claims to have seen Jesus' school records in India, and he reported finding a secret entrance to the Great Pyramid of Giza where he said he discovered records from the lost continent of Atlantis. He also claimed the pyramid was a 35,000-year-old radio transmitter built to send messages to the Grand Canyon.

Political agenda

A unit in the curriculum titled “The Bible in History” deals exclusively with American history, and it presents the view, as stated on the National Council's website, “The Bible was the foundation and blueprint for our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, our educational system and our entire history until the last 20 to 30 years.”

“This looks like an attempt not only to get a particular theological perspective into the public schools, but also a particular political ideology,” Chancey said.

The unit relies heavily on work by David Barton of Aledo, founding president of Wall-Builders and author of widely circulated but often-rebutted books asserting the Christian roots of American government.

Aside from the internal documentation for some sources, of the curriculum's 34 endnotes, more than one-third cite Barton's books, and his video, Foundations of American Government, is recommended viewing in the first unit as an introductory activity.

“The first thing they want students to do when then come into this curriculum, before they are even asked to open a Bible, they are sent to David Barton,” Valentine noted.

Much of the chapter consists of quotations about the importance of the Bible and Christianity, attributed to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Abraham Lincoln, among others, set against the backdrop of an American flag and other patriotic imagery.

The authenticity of some of the quotes has been questioned, the truthfulness of others has been refuted, and even Barton has acknowledged some of the quotations he cited in his early work could not be confirmed.

“We have quotes–some of them spurious–one after another about why the Bible and Christianity are great,” Chancey said. “I happen to agree that the Bible and Christianity are great. But the way these quotes are strung together with the American flag and soldiers in the background–this is really, in my mind, a disservice both to the flag and the Bible, particularly when you have fake citations that seem only to have an agenda of persuading students to buy into a particular ideology.”

The National Council's advisory board includes not only Barton, but also Howard Phillips, chairman of the Conservative Caucus; D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries, founder of the Center for Reclaiming America; former Southern Baptist Convention President Charles Stanley from First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga.; and Marshall Foster, president of the Mayflower Institute.

The organization's website carries endorsements of the curriculum by organizations including the American Family Association Center for Law and Policy, Concerned Women of America, the Eagle Forum and the Liberty Legal Institute.

“To assign motive is difficult, but it's also difficult to ignore the list of endorsing organizations and the board of advisers,” Valentine said. “The simplest … (Internet) search of the names of the board of advisers takes you to a network of websites that unquestioningly have a political agenda.”

Responding to criticism

A news release posted on the National Council's website and widely distributed to media takes to task Chancey's report and the Texas Freedom Network's criticism of the curriculum, which the release labels as an “attack by anti-religion extremists” with a “radical agenda.”

In part, the release said, “It should come as no surprise that a small group of far-left, anti-religion extremists like the Texas Freedom Network is so desperate to ban one book–the Bible–from public schools.”

The public statement alleges Chancey took passages from the teacher's guide out of context and misrepresented them.

The curriculum does not suggest, and the National Council does not recommend, “that any public school teacher ever take a personal position regarding the truth or falsity of any biblical passage, nor commentators' positions about such passages. The (council) carefully instructs teachers of the course that public schools must remain objective and neutral in their treatment of religion,” the news release said, adding the curriculum “has never been legally challenged, because it clearly passes constitutional muster.”

The public statement quotes Ridenour: “It is ironic that a group which claims to be against censorship is now attempting to become the biggest censor in the state of Texas. At its root, the (Texas Freedom Network's) real objection to our curriculum is not the qualifications of our academic authorities, but the fact that we actually allow students to hold and read the Bible for themselves, and make up their own minds about its claims. This is something no other Bible curriculum does, and (the Texas Freedom Network) can't stand it.”

The Texas Freedom Network fears genuine academic freedom, and it wants to deny local school districts the right to decide which elective courses to offer students, she asserted. “That is not freedom; it is totalitarianism.”

Both Chancey–a former Baptist Student Union summer missionary who now attends a United Methodist church–and Valentine–a deacon at University Baptist Church in Austin, a congregation affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists and the American Baptist Churches, USA–disputed the charges that they are anti-religion and want to ban the Bible.

“I teach the Bible because I love the Bible,” Chancey said. “I wrote this report because I wanted to make sure that when the Bible is taught, it's taught with the best possible curriculum. And I wanted to make sure our students didn't have to worry about groups with sectarian agendas. That's what this is all about–to make sure the Bible receives the respect and the treatment it deserves.”

Valentine believes the National Council's curriculum trivializes a very serious and sacred subject.

“Responding as a Christian–as a Baptist–the most dangerous part about this curriculum is it makes Christians look silly, and it makes our Scriptures look trivial,” he said. “And that's the last thing we need to broadcast to society at large–particularly to students who may be making their minds up about faith choices. To treat the Bible such a trivial fashion is deeply hurtful to all Christians. That's why, in my mind, Christians should be leading the charge against this in the schools.”

“We're not out to ban the Bible,” Chancey added. “We're out to protect the Bible from curriculum that doesn't do it justice.”

Posted: 8/19/05

Christian teachers walk the
line between church & state

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Many Christian public school teachers see their vocation as more than a job; they view it as a divine calling. But some wrestle with how to follow Christ without stepping out of bounds.

Teachers should start by keeping in mind, and in balance, the two key clauses about religion in the First Amend-ment–“establishment” and “free exercise,” said Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Com-mittee on Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C.

The establishment clause forbids government-sponsored speech endorsing religion, but the free exercise clause protects private speech endorsing religion, he explained.

As they talk with students in tax-supported schools who are required to be in their classrooms, schoolteachers cannot use their position to promote their faith. But outside the classroom, they don't give up their individual free exercise rights, he noted.

Walker pointed to a guide recently produced by his agency that stated: “As representatives of the government, teachers and administrators must remain neutral toward religion while carrying out their duties. For example, teachers do not have the right to pray with or in front of their students during the school day.

“They do, however, maintain their free exercise rights outside the school setting and in situations where it is obvious they are acting in their individual capacities, such as praying and participating in Bible study in the teachers' lounge or at the lunch table.”

The Baptist Joint Committee–along with organizations including the National Education Association, the American Jewish Congress, the Christian Legal Society and the National Association of Evangelicals–endorsed two booklets produced by the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University–The Bible & Public Schools and A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools.

Among other answers, the booklets offer a consensus approach to dealing with religion in public schools, as expressed more fully in Finding Common Ground, a comprehensive guidebook about religion and public education, produced by the First Amendment Center. In summary, a school may:

Approach religion in an academic, but not a devotional, manner.

Strive for student awareness of religions, but it should not press for student acceptance of any particular religion.

Sponsor study about religion, but it may not sponsor the practice of religion.

Expose students to a diversity of religious views, but it may not impose, discourage or encourage any particular view.

Educate about all religions, but it may not promote or denigrate any religion.

Inform students about various beliefs, but it should not seek to conform students to any particular religious belief.

Beyond these guidelines, education professors at a couple of Texas Baptist universities offer their own insights about how they encourage students to be “salt and light” in public schools in appropriate ways.

Howard Payne University holds an informal commissioning service for students who graduate from its education program, said Bob Peters, dean of the university's School of Education.

“It's a recognition that they are going into a mission field as examples, role models and people of commitment,” he said. “It's a way of saying we know they are going into what is often a difficult environment, but they are going with our thoughts and prayers.”

The mission of Howard Payne's teacher preparation program is to “prepare competent, confident Christian teachers,” Peters noted. To aid in that process, the school is developing a self-analysis tool to help students reflect on their commitment.

“There are ways to measure competency and confidence, but when it comes to asking what it means to be a Christian teacher, students have to examine themselves,” he said.

The working draft of the self-analysis document encourages students to evaluate themselves on qualities such as dependability, loyalty and the characteristics identified in the New Testament as the fruit of the Spirit. The tool also asks students to ask if they view the world in a uniquely Christian way and if they will “humbly but gladly assume the responsibility of serving as a role model” for students.

The responsibility of serving as a role model figures prominently in the thinking of many Christian students preparing for careers in public education, said Perry Glanzer, assistant professor at Baylor University's School of Education.

Glanzer surveyed 60 future teachers regarding how they expected to live out their Christian commitment in public schools.

“Many of them anticipated fulfilling their calling by having a positive influence on the moral character of students. They saw themselves as being role models,” he said.

One student wrote, “I hope my students will learn honesty and integrity from my actions and mannerisms.” Another future teacher responded: “My faith will influence the way I act in the classroom–how I present information and my behavior towards my students. … I want the joy of my spiritual life to flow into the everyday activities in my classroom.”

Glanzer believes Christian teachers can be positive influences through their moral example, teaching methods and interactions with students, but he wants education students to move beyond that in their thinking.

“While these are certainly important and legal ways to integrate one's Christianity into the classroom, I also think Christian teachers should have a passion for learning and for truth,” he said.

“They should care about ideas and the consequences that true or false, good or bad ideas have upon children and adults. They should also help older students understand the worldviews behind different perspectives.”

Christian teachers can teach commonly agreed upon moral virtues and values such as forgiveness, compassion, honesty and responsibility, he said.

“I also challenge future Christian teachers to be known for their fairness and justice in dealing with the whole range of students in the classroom,” he said. “One of the ways that they can do this is to make sure and accurately portray all religions and by showing justice or fairness to all sides in various controversial arguments.”

Christian teachers have a responsibility to make sure religion is not excluded from academic discussions when it should be appropriately included, he added.

“Christian teachers can help provide balance in the curriculum,” he said. “They should allow and even encourage assignments or discussions that incorporate the religious dimension of life. Their curricular choices should also make sure to include the religious dimension.”

The balancing act may be tricky, but stakes are too high for teachers to take their jobs lightly, he noted.

“Being a Christian public school teacher is a unique calling with a high level of responsibility,” Glanzer said.

“It is different than other vocations because you're working with children made in God's image. You can enhance and develop that image to make children more like Christ, or you can tarnish it and wound it. You also have the chance to learn from the children who have so much to teach us.”

Posted: 8/19/05

Book Reviews

The Bible and Healing: A Medical and Theological Commentary by John Wilkinson, M.D. (Eerdmans)

The title is precise. It is not a history of Christian healing (touched on) or a systematic theology of Christian healing (regularly alluded to but never developed) but a survey of the Bible and healing.

There is one ambiguity. Wilkinson knows that “the Bible and medicine” is a much smaller topic than “the Bible and healing,” but the book leans as hard on medicine as it can. That is, it scours the text for any scrap of anything we today might recognize as medical, and it uses medical terminology and categories wherever it can. (Don't be intimidated.)

Wilkinson gives no support to religious avoidance of medical care and little encouragement to faith healers. But he is frank that medical technology is largely absent from Scripture.

His focus on healing as well-being induced by care may seem too spongy for some. Still, he deals with just about every imaginable passage, in original languages, and so his text serves as a baseline for further discussion.

Mark Thames, pastor

Lower Greenville Community Church

Dallas

Finding God's Vision: Missions and the New Realities by Bill Tinsley (Veritas Publishing)

What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to books@baptiststandard.com.

Everyone knows “times have changed,” but the key to success is understanding how to respond to the changes. That understanding is what Bill Tinsley offers in his latest book on missions. The author of the church-planting classics Upon This Rock and Breaking the Mold now explains to us the seven new realities of the 21st century and how they are impacting the way we do missions.

This is not just theory. Tinsley cites dozens of contemporary examples to show how the church is changing its approach to fulfilling the Great Commission, giving special emphasis to churches bypassing agencies to step up to the front line of the battle and then sending their laity out to lead the charge.

Tucked away in an early chapter is a real jewel on how individuals and churches can find God's vision for themselves. Tinsley should know: he leads WorldconneX, an agency dedicated to “connecting God's people for God's vision.”

David Williams, pastor

First Baptist Church

Flower Mound

Jesus, King of Kings by Preston Alford Taylor

”End-time novels should be seen as fiction,” Preston Taylor writes. In a day of pop religion and waves of deception coming to confront the church, Taylor cuts to the chase and nails down basics of the faith. He presents Revelation as a blessing that actually has understandable dramas instead of confusing sci-fi symbols.

This is one of the best books on Revelation, with contemporary meaning and scholarship that is humble but evident.

Taylor deals with hundreds of accurate Scripture references taken in context, which link the whole message of Jesus as king of kings using both the Old and New Testaments with unusual agility. Taylor uses history to remind and make comparative analyses of coming events according to biblical record. He reminds us that Stalin had 30 million people killed, and from the Dark Ages to the Reformation there were 50 million killed, yet the antichrist will be the worst dictator in the history of mankind.

This is a must read for the Christian who would like to start thinking with clarity about the New Testament book that many avoid like a plague. The heart of a missionary is evident, the clarity of a scholar makes it sound doctrinally and the passion of a pastor/teacher teaches a difficult book with vibrant understanding. Preston Taylor has written many books, but this might be his crowning work of diligence and help to the church of today. Don't miss the challenge!

Mike Barrera, pastor

United Baptist Church

Laredo

The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Priscilla Papers, Sojourners and Vital Theology (periodicals); Sightings and EthicsDaily.com (websites)

T.B. Maston often reminded his students, “Keep the Bible in one hand and a good magazine in the other.” These journals are my favorites to keep me aware of my world and to remind me how the gospel applies to the issues of our day. The first two provide the best conservative-liberal balance of contemporary religious news. Priscilla Papers offers the finest biblical-theological studies on gender issues. In Sojourners, Jim Wallis keeps me aware of key social issues like poverty and war. And Vital Theology helps me think theologically. The two websites are free and outstanding. My favorite journal is listed below my name.

Joe E. Trull, editor

Christian Ethics Today

Wimberley

The Golden Ocean and Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (W.W. Norton & Co.) and Friedman's Fables by Edwin H. Friedman (Guilford Press)

The Golden Ocean and Master and Commander both are about life in the British navy in the 18th century. These are fascinating books that put one in the life of another time and place. They are action adventures and have absolutely no church members in them. Friedman's Fables is a collection of stories that illustrate life lessons. I read them for sermon support but found them more entertaining than useful for that purpose.

Steve Vernon, pastor

First Baptist Church

Levelland

Posted: 8/19/05

Baptist Briefs

African-American conventions partner with college. Officials from four leading African-American Baptist conventions gathered at a Kentucky Baptist college recently to launch a new partnership. Meeting at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky., leaders of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Progressive National Baptist Convention and National Baptist Convention of America agreed upon an arrangement that will include archiving important African-American resources and increasing the number of minority students at the predominately white school. Already, the college houses the Kentucky Underground Railroad Research Institute on campus in a building that once served as slave quarters.

Retiree Ministries Retreat registration tops 400. With more than 400 registered in advance, the Retiree Ministries Retreat at Glorieta Conference Center, Sept. 19-23, will be one of the largest meetings of the year at the New Mexico retreat center. "Do It Now" is the theme of the retreat, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Glorieta Conference Center and LifeWay Christian Resources. BGCT Executive Director Emeritus Bill Pinson will lead the Bible study; D.L. Lowrie, retired pastor of First Baptist Church in Lubbock, is the featured preacher; and Dick Baker, music evangelist and retired minister of music at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, will lead music. To register, call toll-free (800) 797-4222.

Oklahoma pastor tapped as IMB vice president. Southern Baptist International Mission Board trustees are expected to approve Tom Elliff, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Del City, Okla., as the mission board's senior vice president for spiritual nurture and church relations. Board trustees officially will ratify his selection during their Sept. 12-14 meeting in Pensacola, Fla. Elliff, 61, has been pastor of the Oklahoma church 20 years. He served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.