Posted: 7/22/05

Around the State

Noley Bice Jr., general counsel at Baylor University since 1998, has announced he will retire as the university's chief legal adviser Sept. 1. He will continue to serve in the position of counsel to Baylor. From his office at Baylor Law School, he will assist with the trial advocacy program and other curriculum.

Tony Davis has been promoted to the role of dean of students at East Texas Baptist University. Davis had been director of student life at ETBU. Prior to that, he was manager of technical services. He has been employed by the university since 1995.

New department chairs for biology, psychology, and family and consumer sciences have been appointed at Baylor University. Robert Doyle, associate professor of biology, and David Rudd, professor of psychology and neuroscience, began their duties as chairs of their respective departments June 1. Suzy Weems, regents professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, will begin her term as chair of family and consumer sciences in August.

Iglesia Emanuel in Bastrop baptized 10 people from the same family recently. Members of the Cerna family baptized that day included Lazaro and Maria, father and mother, twins Jaime and Jose, twins Efrain and Francisco and their siblings, Susie, Tony, Aide and Melissa. Eager to be photographed but not baptized was Lazarito. Wyldwood Church in Cedar Creek allowed the Bastrop congregation to use their facilities for the baptism service. Adan Espurvoa is pastor.

Several Hardin-Simmons University sociology and social work students received scholarships and awards, including Amanda Clark of Copperas Cove, the Doris S. Thornton Alumni Social Work Award; Bobbilynn Medley of Abilene, Wilson Award for Academic Achievements in Sociology and Social Work; Lupe Arvizo of Abilene, Everett E. Woods and Orabeth K. Woods Social Work Scholarship; Crystal Williamson of Arlington, the Everett E. Woods and Orabeth K. Woods Foundation Endow-ment Scholarship; and Sarah Bakker of Duncanville, Betty Hardwick Award of Excellence and the Annual Endowed Award in Sociology.

One Voice, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor's public relations ensemble, and members of the UMHB Concert Choir traveled to Austria and Germany last month in conjuction with a partnership missions project organized by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The choirs performed at churches and schools, and assisted missionaries in various activities.

Howard Payne Univer-sity recognized several staff and faculty members for their service. Rick Beelby, associate professor of exercise and sports science, was named the outstanding faculty member of the year. Terrie Wells, secretary in the School of Humanities, was named the outstanding staff member of the year. Retiring faculty and staff members recognized were Donal Bird, Marjorie Bird, Jerry DeHay, Ray Harvey and Jan Sartain. Excellence in Teaching certificates were presented to Marjorie Bird, Gary Gram-ling, Carla Hawkins, Dennis Horton and Ed Roth. Excel-lence in Service awards were presented to staff members Glenda Huff and Judy Kelley. Promotions announced included Olga Carter-Nix and Rob Tucker to professor, Jason Lively to associate professor, and Tonya Horner and Scott Owen to assistant professor.

Houston Baptist Univer-sity's marketing staff has won a “Best of Texas” award from the Texas Public Relations Assoc-iation and a Merit Award from the Admissions Marketing Report. The staff received a bronze award from the TPRA for a 20-page recruiting piece titled “Defining Relationships, Defining Lives.” The award from the admissions publication was for the school's “Listen to the Big Guidance Counselor in the Sky” newspaper ad.

Retiring

Joe Strange, as pastor of First Church in Lockett, June 26. He served the church more than a dozen years and has moved to Brownfield.

Charles Davenport, as pastor of First Church in Tulia, effective Oct. 2. Davenport began his ministry 47 years ago as pastor of Dawn Church in Dawn. He has been pastor of his present church 31 years.

Anniversaries

Pennie Olivo, fifth, as minister of preschool education at The Heights Church in Richardson, July 1.

North Cleburne Church in Cleburne, 100th, July 10. Keith Whitt is pastor.

John Curry, fifth, as pastor of First Church in Blackwell, July 17.

First Church in Quinlan, 125th, July 17. Lloyd Chris-tensen is pastor.

First Church in Cedar Hill, 155th, July 24. Scott Blair is pastor.

First Church in New Boston, 125th, July 31. A coffee and doughnut fellowship will start activities at 9 a.m. Tours also will be available. Pre-service music will begin at 10:15 a.m. The service will begin with ringing the church bell from the original church building at 10:30 a.m. Former Pastor Frank Brooks, who served from 1971 until 1991, will bring the anniversary message. A banquet will follow the morning service. For more information, call (903) 628-2531. Ken Cox is pastor.

Sidney Church in Sidney, 125th, Aug. 12-14. Revival services will be held Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Sunday services will be at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. A noon potluck meal will be held following the Sunday morning service. For-mer pastors speaking include Charles Johnson on Friday, Gregg Moore on Saturday, and Ralph Thompson and Donald Bean on Sunday morning. Raymond Jones will preach Sunday afternoon. Special music will be included in each service. Tony McCrohan is pastor.

First Church in Jacksboro, 130th, Aug. 14. Former pastors participating in the service, which will begin at 9:30 a.m., include Roy Ladd, Bill Merritt, Albert Warnken, Norman Rushing and James Weir. Former staff participating are Jim Raynick, Dick Jackson, Wayne Spoonts, Gary Sides and Phil Moore. Betty Tennison, wife of former Pastor Grayson Ten-nison, also will attend. A lunch will follow the service. While there is no charge for the meal, make reservations at (940) 567-3741. Dale Berry is pastor.

John Thielepape, 10th, as pastor of Meadow Lane Church in Arlington, Aug. 14. The church will hold an evening reception.

Greater Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, 40th, Aug. 28. Pastor J.K. Brooks is the founding pastor for the church, so the occasion also marks his anniversary.

Deaths

Cleo Evans, 89, May 9 in Garland. A minister more than 50 years, he was pastor of churches in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, including Henderson Street Church in Cleburne, Belmore Church in San Angelo and First churches in Los Fresnos and San Perlita. He also was manager of Camp Copass in Denton several years. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Edna; son, Cecil; daughters, Grace Glenda Clayton and Peggy New; brother, Bob; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Tommie Allen, 87, July 3 in Lubbock. He was ordained to the ministry in 1940. He was pastor of churches in Friona, Aspermont, Spur, Ralls and Hale Center. He also was pastor of pioneer mission churches in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. He was a member of the executive boards of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Alaska Baptist Convention. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Evelyn; daughters, Bronell Hambright, Adele Price and Betty Kersh; sons, Tom and Mike; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

David Eikenburg, 52, July 11. He served on the staffs of Gaston Avenue Church in Dallas and First Church in Seguin, and was pastor of McQueeney Church in McQueeney the last 14 years. He was preceded in death by his brother, John. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Beth; daughters, Jennifer, Gretchen, Maegan and Brooklyn; mother, Margaret; brother, Frank; and sisters, Madelyn Brooks and Livonia Glaves.

Events

Children attending Vacation Bible School at The Heights Church in Richardson brought an offering of $1,658.84, $1,000 of which was matched by Comerica Bank. The money helped fund a student mission trip to an inner-city area of Houston. Gary Singleton is pastor.

Wellborn Church in Wellborn will dedicate an 8,000-square-foot worship and education facility Aug. 21 at 3 p.m. A reception and open house will follow the

dedication service. The church has been ministering to the community since 1896. John Boyle is pastor.

Belmont Church in Denison will hold a homecoming service at 10 a.m. Aug. 21 to mark 52 years of service to the community. Former Pastor Charles Sneed will be the guest speaker. Lunch will follow. For more information, call (903) 464-9247. Grady Newsome is pastor.

Ordained

John Perez, to the ministry, at Memorial Heights Church in Gonzales. He is interim pastor of Iglesia Nueva Vida in Gonzales.

Joe Walton, to the ministry, at First Church in Stamford. He is director of missions for Double Mountain Association.

Billy Powell, to the ministry, at Second Church in Pasadena.

Wayne West, as a deacon, at Parkway Church in Bronson.

Denton Werley, as a deacon, at First Church in Crowell.

Revival

Concord Church, Bangs; Aug. 5-7; evangelist, Don Fawcett; pastor, Brad Davis.

Posted: 8/02/05

BaptistWay Bible Series for August 14

Follow God daily to be prepared for end times

• Revelation 17:1-6; 18:1-8

By Wayne Smith

First Baptist Church, Lamesa

Last week’s lesson examined Revelation 15 and 16. God’s final warning is issued to unbelievers before history is completed with final judgment. Seven angels hold seven bowls containing seven plagues. As each bowl is poured out upon the earth, unregenerate humanity is given another chance to repent. The rebellious earthly powers refuse and instead curse God.

This week, we examine a vivid description of the fall of the Roman Empire, pictured as a prostitute wallowing in sin and encouraging other nations to join her. This evil empire, in league with Satan, could not oppose God. Ultimately, degenerate Rome, along with its allies, will be devastated and lie deserted. Satan and his forces of evil will be defeated.

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The future of Babylon (Revelation 17:1-18)

One of the seven angels invites John to view the punishment of the great prostitute (Rome). The kings of the earth (other nations) have adulterated themselves by forming alliances with the Romans. John is carried away in the spirit to the desert.

Here a woman is sitting on a scarlet beast covered with blasphemous names and with seven heads and 10 horns. This beast represents the Roman Empire and its confederates. The woman (the great prostitute Rome) is dressed like a harlot and holds a cup of her evil adulteries (acts against Christians) She has her name written, as with all prostitutes, on her forehead, naming her as the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. She is drunk with the blood of the slain martyrs. She represents the city of Rome, the center of immorality and evil.

The beast the woman rides is the same one that rose from the sea in Revelation 13:1. The beast had received a mortal wound but had not been destroyed. Although emperors had been assassinated, the empire had survived and had continued to oppose God.

Eventually, the Roman Empire will be destroyed. Other evil empires will arise in opposition to God before history is completed. The angel further explains the seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills of Rome and also may represent seven kings. One interpretation has the seven heads representing ancient empires while another has them denoting seven specific Roman emperors. Still others believe the seven kings represent all the evil emperors who have ever ruled the Roman Empire.

Regardless of individual interpretation, the abusive power of the Romans has been judged and will be defeated. The 10 horns represent puppet rulers appointed by Rome and also may be representative of all evil alliances between nations throughout history. Internal strife is prophesied for the Roman Empire that will eventually weaken it so it can be invaded and conquered by foreign powers.

The fall of Babylon (18:1- 24)

John saw another angel coming down from heaven who announces, “Fallen is Babylon the Great.” Rome had become the center of evil for the entire world and her fall spectacular. Christians are told to flee the city, so they will not be contaminated by the evil and plagues there. Her sins are piled up to heaven, and God will remember them.

Rome now will experience what she has done to other nations and to Christians. She will experience plagues and be consumed by fire. Plagues will overtake her, and she will be consumed by fire. Nations who have joined Rome will be devastated and weep over her destruction. They will weep, cry and moan that the great city no longer is wealthy and therefore of no value to them. They will no longer trade for luxuries and take part in the opulent lifestyle of the Romans.

The angel throws a great boulder into the ocean to emphasize how great will be the fall of Babylon (Rome). All of glory of Rome has been destroyed, and it lies desolate. Rome has destroyed itself through self-sufficient pride, practicing and leading others to practice false religion, and persecuting the Christians.

The heavenly chorus (19:1-5)

John hears a multitude in heaven singing “praise the Lord” (hallelujah). As the 24 elders and the four living creatures worship before the throne, a voice commands all mankind to “praise our God.”

The vivid pictures of the fall of the Roman Empire and of end time events yet to occur illustrate the awesome power of God directed against Satan and his evil forces. Revelation also presents God’s love for and deliverance of his people. The love of God for all people, presented in opportunities for repentance, is evident until final judgment is administered.

Application

The schedule for end time events of history is unknown. But we can be confident, just as first century Christians were, that God is in control. Human history will end just as he wills. Our concern is not to write a timetable for the conclusion of history. Instead, we should seek to determine and follow God’s will for our lives.

Discussion question

• Do I constantly seek God’s will and walk daily in that will?

Posted: 8/02/05

Family Bible Series for August 14

Until Jesus comes, live faithfully

• Luke 21:5-36

By Mitch Randall

First Baptist Church, Bedford

At the funeral of a dear friend, two elderly men stood near the gravesite contemplating their friend’s death. They grieved for the widow, the children and the grandchildren. Watching this mournful scene play out in front of them, one the friends asked the other, “Hey, how much did Charlie leave behind?” Peering over his half-moon glasses, the other man replied, “All of it!”

It was the same type of common sense used by Jesus, when he surprised a group of temple gossips (Luke 21:5-6). Jesus was teaching in the temple and a group of Jewish faithful came by talking about the ornate beauty of the building. Overhearing them, Jesus decided to teach them something very valuable—even more valuable than the stones they adored.

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Readers will be wise to understand at what point this sermon is delivered. First, Jesus had just witnessed the elaborate practice of wealthy people making a show of themselves as they gave their tithes and offerings. He compared them with a poor woman he had witnessed. She gave little in direct comparison to the wealthy, but in the eyes of Jesus, she had given much more.

Second, the other gospels tell of an incident that would have been very close to this sermon. Jesus was very distraught at what was taking place in the temple, especially the corruption of money changers (Mark 11:15-19). The hard working faithful were coming to worship their God, but those inside the temple were cheating them. Jesus turned their tables and took a whip to them. Needless to say, Jesus was very agitated at the priorities of the temple elite. His stern warning about the destruction of the temple took many by surprise.

They asked him, “When will this be and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” Their question was the open door for which he was looking, so he launched into a warning and message. He wanted the temple gossips to understand the importance of eternal treasures, verses the shallow rewards of this world. The elaborateness of the temple would one day wither with time and invading armies, but the treasures of heaven are eternal.

Those seeking earthly treasures will be warning them about wars and insurrections. They will be using fear to bring about treasures for themselves. The world will be divided, and nation will rise up against nation. Instead of peace leading the way to future glory, war and destruction will lead the way for divine intervention.

Jesus warned about persecution for those who follow him before the end arrived. He spoke of family turning on family, so that the division of the world becomes complete as brother is set against brother. Jesus even took his destruction analogy a step further and out of the temple. He warned even mighty Jerusalem would fall. The pinnacle of Jewish faith will come crumbling down, but the eternal Father will not allow the spirit of his followers to falter.

Followers of Christ are to live by faith, knowing a day is coming when Jesus will return. True justice will reign as the world will submit to his authority, and all will live according to his reign.

Yet, until then, we are called to live faithfully. We are taught to love God with all of our heart, mind and strength; and to love others as we would love ourselves. We are called to be the very presence of Jesus in this world. We are called to love the sinner and help the poor. We are called to feed the hungry and befriend the straggler. Jesus will return one day, and when he does, let him catch us doing his work.

Discussion questions

• What does the world consider important? What does Jesus consider important? Do they contradict?

• How does the world of today compare to the world that Jesus speaks about in this text?

• What will you be doing when Jesus returns?

Posted: 8/02/05

Explore the Bible Series for August 14

Daniel’s faith was strong before the lion’s pit

• Daniel 6:1-28

By Dennis Tucker

Truett Seminary, Waco

Throughout the Old Testament, imprisonment or confinement was a powerful symbol for exile. The term for “prisoners” comes from the word “to bind” or “to tie” (asar). Such language appears in Genesis 39:20; 40:3, 5; Isaiah 42:7, 49:9 and 61:1; and in Psalm 146:7-8. We are told that in addition to being bound as Daniel’s friends were in chapter 3, prisoners were thrown in pits (see Jeremiah 37). The idea of the pit became associated with prison and more ominously with death itself (Psalm 88; Jeremiah 41:7-9). In Lamentations 3:53-55, the writer laments the exile, crying out: “They have flung me alive into a pit; and hurled stones on me; water closed over me. … I called on your name O Lord from the depths of the pit.”

The story of the lion’s den in Daniel has the power of such an association. For those who would have read the story found in Daniel 6, the lion’s den would have meant far more than simply a place of punishment for political dissenters. Those who read the story of Daniel would have associated the events of their own exile with the events surrounding the lion’s den.

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In both stories—that of Daniel among the lions and God’s people in exile—deliverance seemed quite unlikely. Yet it is in the midst of those unlikely places that God chooses to stand with the “bound” and the “imprisoned.”

Many Christians enjoy reading the story of Daniel and the lion’s den, but may miss the true transforming power of this text. The story is appealing because, in the end, the world is made right. Daniel is charged wrongly, thrown to the lions, but delivered. While appreciating the story, Christians struggle to determine how such a story is relevant to their lives. Must we be political dissenters to recapture the power of this story? Is this story only for those who have stood up for the faith against larger powers? If we limit the text to such readings, I fear we have deprived the text of its ability to intersect our own lives.

By understanding the lion’s den as symbolic of exile and imprisonment, the story may take on an added note of urgency for the reader. The questions that might have entered the minds of those in exile would have been: “Can we survive exile? Will God redeem us from this imprisonment?” And later Jewish communities under oppressive Greek rule would have wondered whether they could survive the persecution and imprisonment so many faced in that day. The story in Daniel is emphatic—God will redeem his faithful from the “pit.”

Although this scenario seems quite foreign for Christians in North America, people wake up daily imprisoned and in exile. The materialism and prosperity of our society has yoked us to jobs that strip us of the energy and time that might be spent on work for the kingdom. The frenetic pace of our lives keeps us in exile from one another and from God.

Many people silently live with the pain of knowing what it is like to live in the pit. The story of Daniel is a vivid reminder that we are never alone in the pit or in the fiery furnace. The God who redeemed his people out of exile is the same God who redeemed Daniel from the lion’s den—and he is the same God who can faithfully deliver us from our own exiles and imprisonment.

What is surprising in this narrative is that Daniel does not speak until after the night in the lion’s den. There are no words on the mouth of Daniel. Before Daniel entered the lion’s den, we might have expected a proclamation of faith, such as the one given by his friends in chapter 3.

But Daniel is silent—but not without faith. We are told in verse 23, “When Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” Imprisonment and exile often result in despondency and despair, belief that there is no hope in the face of insurmountable challenges.

But Daniel emerged from the pit—from imprisonment and exile—not because of what he said, but because of the faith he possessed. It was a faith that had been patiently nurtured in that upper room. Encounters with God in the upper room led to trust in God in the pit. Trust is not had in the crisis of life—trust is garnered in the ebb and flow of life, enabling one to endure when crises arise. We would do well to do the same.

Discussion question

• In your life, is there a sense of exile or imprisonment? In what areas do you feel in need of deliverance?

• How can you live your life to nurture the kind of faith exhibited by Daniel?

Posted: 7/29/05

Longtime Southwestern prof Cal Guy dead at 88

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP)—Cal Guy, one of Southern Baptists' most influential and innovative missiologists, died July 25 at the age of 88.

From 1946 until his retirement in 1982, Guy served as a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He was serving as chairman of the school's missions department when he retired.

According to a news release from the seminary, Guy "often challenged the mission techniques that were popular during the mid-20th century. Guy believed that missionaries were too 'westernized, institutionalized, building-ized, and subsidized' in their approach to missions."

His teaching, according to the seminary, influenced generations of Southwestern students who then went to serve as Southern Baptist Convention missionaries in foreign lands.

"In the fall semester of 1949, for example, when 1,435 students were enrolled at the seminary, Guy noted during a chapel service focused on missions that more than 300 of those students had declared their intention to go into missions service overseas," the seminary news release said.

Long after his retirement, Guy continued teaching and preaching. He continued to teach part-time at Southwestern, but also served stints at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.; and at Criswell College in Dallas.

Guy traveled extensively, visiting with and teaching indigenous Baptists in nations across the globe. According to an obituary provided by his funeral home, as recently as 2004, he organized and led a conference for Baptist pastors in Bangladesh — a nation with whose native Baptists he had enjoyed a long and productive relationship.

Guy also served as interim pastor of English-speaking Baptist churches in France and Belgium. He was part-time pastor of Retta Baptist Church near Fort Worth from 1951 to 1969. He was still a member of that church at the time of his death.

A native of Jackson, Tenn., Guy received his undergraduate degree at Union University and master's and doctoral degrees from Southwestern. He was preceded in death in 1994 by his wife, the former Terrye Maddox. He is survived by two children, two siblings and several nieces and nephews.

Posted: 7/29/05

BWA gathering reflects 'paradigm shift' Lotz says

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

BIRMINGHAM, England—About 12,000 Baptist Christians from around the world celebrated a century of togetherness at the opening of the five-day Baptist World Congress in Birmingham, England, with vibrant music, vivid pageantry and stirring stories of faith.

The Baptist World Centenary Congress returned to England, where in 1905 the Baptist World Alliance, now an international fellowship of believers from 200-plus countries, was formed. A century ago, 85 percent of the world’s Baptists were in Europe and North America, said Denton Lotz, general secretary of BWA. Now 65 percent of Baptists are in the Two-Thirds World, Lotz told the delegates.

“This is the new paradigm shift,” Lotz said as he asked delegates from Africa, Asia and South America to stand. The Southern Hemisphere may lack money, political freedom or clout, he said, but “they are going to re-evangelize the world.”

The July 27-31 Baptist World Congress in Birmingham is one of the largest gatherings ever of worldwide Baptists. Delegates swept aside any concern about recent terrorist attacks in nearby London.

As they made their way through the legendary English drizzle to the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham’s city center, many were unaware that several Birmingham residents were arrested earlier in the day as suspects in the London subway bombings.

“We prayed that you would come, despite the bombings and the terror alerts,” said incoming BWA president David Coffey of Great Britain. The delegates’ presence, he said, was a witness of faith to the victims of terrorism and to persecuted Christians around the world.

The evening gathering of Christians from many languages and nations was a re-enactment of Pentecost, said Coffey, general secretary of Baptist Union of Great Britain, who are hosts for the congress.

“Jesus Christ is head of this global family,” he said.

A procession of banners from BWA member nations, interspersed with colorful 20-foot streamers and delegates in native dress, weaved their way around the arena floor as delegates sang. They also experienced the traditional music and dance from various countries, including India and Korea. And they sang hymns, praise choruses, and in other musical styles representative of their diversity.

Delegates were welcomed to England with letters from Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called the world’s 35 million Baptists a “powerful force for good,” a diverse community “ready to challenge the powers that be.” Other messages came from the mayor of Birmingham and the private secretary of the Queen of England.

As a demonstration of their unity, the delegates were invited to recite together the Apostle’s Creed, an ancient declaration of orthodox faith used in many historic Christian traditions. They were led by actor Eric Petrossian in the role of Alexander Maclaren, who led the first BWA meeting in 1905 in a similar recitation.

Petrossian, quoting Maclaren’s address to the 1905 meeting, said the delegates were gathered not only to celebrate their diversity and fellowship but, more importantly, “in the name of Christ and by the power of the Spirit … the only source of power and peace.”

The opening session of the congress, which is held once every five years, introduced the meeting’s theme, “Jesus Christ, Living Water,” which also denotes a five-year BWA emphasis on evangelism. With drama, video and preaching, the delegates considered the centrality and life-giving nature of Jesus.

A youth drama troupe from Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, acted out the biblical story of Jesus with the woman at the well, then accompanied a recording of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” with choreography.

“As water is essential to life, so is salvation,” said Korean pastor Billy Kim, outgoing BWA president, who delivered the sermon for the session. In stories from Korean history and his own life, he told of the power of the gospel to transform lives. He noted that 30 percent of South Koreans are Christians today, in part because of the courageous commitment of an American determined to take the gospel to the island nation.

Kim, who recently retired as pastor of Suwon Central Baptist Church near Seoul, one of the largest Baptist churches in the world, was followed on the program by the Korean Children’s Choir and orchestra, in traditional costume, who performed a medley of familiar Western hymns in Korean and English.

Other musical groups from around the world sang in their native tongues as well as English, the predominant language for the congress.

Posted: 7/29/05

BWA session looks at world needs

Marv Knox

Editor

BIRMINGHAM, England—Christ’s love commands compassion for a world filled with suffering and pain, speaker after speaker told participants at the Baptist World Centenary Congress.

The Baptist World Alliance set aside an evening of its 100th anniversary celebration in Birmingham, England, to look beyond itself and examine the spiritual and physical needs of people around the globe.

A central element of that challenge is for Baptists to explain how Jesus’ resurrection and life translates into good news for people, both as they live their lives and as they consider eternity, stressed keynote speaker Myra Blyth.

The world is increasingly narcissistic and self-centered, suggested Blyth, a lecturer in worship and ecumenical studies at Regents Park College, the Baptist component of Oxford College in the United Kingdom.

And some critics claim Jesus was narcissistic, too, pointing to his series of “I am” statements in the Gospel of John, she conceded, noting how Jesus said, “I am …” and finished the phrase with such terms as the “Door,” “Bread of Life,” “True Vine,” “Way” and “Alpha and Omega.”

To the contrary, John’s snapshots of Jesus reveal his selfless willingness to follow God’s plan and his unselfish concern for humanity, she said.

“Jesus’ journey to the cross was no ego trip, but an outward journey pointing (people) to the one who sent him,” she insisted. “God’s self-giving nature (in Jesus) is the very opposite of self-centeredness” because he pointed people to Christ.

And Jesus’ “I am” self-descriptions have implications for Christians today, she said, adding: “We must take seriously what it means to be made in the image of God. … It is not pointing inward but pointing out. … The world needs redemption.”

To illustrate, Blyth focused on Jesus’ last “I am” description—“I am the Resurrection and the Life”—which he said to his friend Martha just before he raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead.

Martha had trouble understanding what Jesus said “not as a future event, but in the here and now,” Blyth explained. Martha could accept that Jesus bring her brother back to life at the end of time, but she couldn’t grasp that what Jesus said could be good news for her in the next few moments.

But Jesus’ compassion for people means his action in their lives is good news in the moment as well as in eternity, Blyth noted.

“Our calling is to be Easter people in a Good Friday world,” helping people to enjoy Christ’s blessings in their lives today as well as to trust in his promise of life in eternity, she said.

As such, Christians have an important message about Jesus, she insisted: “Life is stronger than death. Goodness is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate.”

In a variety of ways, speakers pointed to practical and spiritual implications of Christian compassion for the whole world:

— Through Baptist World Aid, the BWA’s relief arm, Baptists “meet people at the time of their greatest need,” reported Paul Montacute, Baptist World Aid director.

He recounted stories of how the BWA has ministered to victims of a volcano in Angola and the Congo, orphans and the ill in North Korea and survivors of the tsunami in Sri Lanka.

“One of the issues for Baptists is: How can we present a holistic gospel?” Montacute told the crowd. People need the gospel, but they also have physical needs that demand Christian response, he explained.

Baptists must not forget the “silent tsunamis” of poverty and hunger and disease that take lives around the globe every day, he urged.

“People are impoverished, not just one day a year (like a tsunami), but 365 days a year,” he said. Through Baptist World Aid, the alliance provides care in Jesus’ name to people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion or geography.

— Baptist women in Latin America have followed their spiritual compassion and worked to rescue families from violence throughout the region, said Amparo de Medina of Colombia, a BWA vice president from 2000 to 2005.

The movement began as a meeting of 120 Baptist women in Panama in 2000, she recounted. Since then, many television and radio stations, as well as newspapers and magazines, have promoted the campaign to stop violence in families, both in Latin America and the United States.

“I have seen the hand of God working,” she said. “Women of Latin America have broken the silence. Baptists, who are known for their defense of human rights, cannot be silent. … There is no peace without justice.”

— In Eastern Europe, Christian compassion for Marxists and communists is making a difference in their lives, noted seminary professor Parush Parushev, a former communist.

“Marxist socialism intellectually is very logical, but it is ethically deficient,” said Parushev, academic dean at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic.

However, the “holistic presence of God in lives” changes people like him, he said. “Communism lacks a moral dimension. Reason can give you law, but there is something beyond law—grace and compassion,” which only Christ can offer.

— Because they have compassion on the people who live in their part of the world, Latin American Baptists are strategizing to start an unprecedented number of churches, said Alberto Prokopchuk, the BWA’s regional secretary for Latin America.

Noting less than 1 percent of the population is Baptist and millions have no relationship with Christ, Prokopchuk said Baptists there sense a strong compulsion to “consolidate evangelization with the plantation of churches.”

New churches are needed to disciple new Christians, develop leaders and impact communities,” he said, announcing Baptists in Latin America hope to start 5,000 churches in the next 10 years.

“This vision should be a world vision for Baptists,” he said, inviting Baptists from elsewhere to help Latin Baptists in their endeavor and offering for Latin Baptists to go elsewhere to help other Baptists start churches.

BWA delegates gave voice to their conviction that compassion demands a practical response as they sang together: “Sent by the Lord am I / My hands are reaching now / To make the earth a place / in which the Kingdom comes.”

Posted: 7/29/05

First African elected to lead BWA women

By Esther Barnes

Canada Link & Visitor

BIRMINGHAM, England (ABP)—South African Dorothy Selebano was elected president of the Baptist World Alliance’s women’s department, the first woman from Africa to be named to that post.

Selebano was elected to the five-year term in office during the BWA Women’s Leadership Conference in Birmingham, England, prior to the Baptist World Congress.

She is the first president from Africa in the department’s 50-year history. She succeeds Audrey Morikawa of Toronto.

Fluent in six languages, Selebano holds bachelor’s degrees in nursing, sociology and theology. A nurse and midwife, she now works as an academic advisor at Potchefstroom University, a Christian institution.

Selebano has been president of the Baptist Women’s Union of Africa and a vice-president of the BWA. She edits the Baptist Women’s Union of Africa newsletter, Organ of News.

Her late husband, Wellington, was a pastor. She and her family endured a difficult life after his death in 1987. During the revolution against apartheid, her children were in white schools because no schooling took place in black townships. To pay high school fees and other debts, Selebano took four jobs.

Her family never went to bed hungry, she said, and she still seldom missed church and women’s meetings.

“I was faithful in my giving in spite of the financial constraints,” Selebano said. “I am a witness therefore that God is faithful. I want to emphasize that he enabled me through his Spirit to lead a Christian life in the midst of problems and struggles.”

Speaking about women’s identity at the conference, Selebano said, “In Africa a woman is treated like a child, slave, or piece of property. Our culture teaches that a woman may not ask questions. She must do as she is told.”

She urged the women in attendance to see themselves as God sees them.

“We should never allow others to declare who we are,” Selebano said. “We as women should appreciate ourselves. Respect ourselves. Value ourselves. Believe in ourselves. Recognize and utilize the potential in us.”

In accepting her new responsibilities, Selebano said women must use their potential to fulfill a purpose beyond themselves.

“There’s no time to waste,” she said. “The world is dying in sin. God needs women like you and me. … It’s up to us to tell the people about Jesus.”

In another action, Donna Groover of Oakton, Va., was named as secretary-treasurer of the women’s department for 2005-2010. She has served on the financial advisory council of the BWA women’s department for the past four years. She succeeds Alicia Zorzoli of El Paso, Texas.

Groover holds an MBA from George Washington University and has been director of administration at Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church, Va., since August 1999.