Posted: 7/04/05

COMMENTARY:
O'Connor Got it Right on Religion

As most everyone knows by now, when Christians face a challenging spiritual or moral issue, we often ask ourselves, WWJD?–“What would Jesus do?” Playing on this theme, the joke among lawyers, especially among church-state lawyers, when we try to guess the outcome of a particular case or issue at the United States Supreme Court, has been to say, “WWSOCD?–What would Sandra Day O’Connor do?”

What Justice O’Connor has done today is announce her retirement from the nation’s highest bench. As the joke indicates, it is difficult to overstate her critical role in the determination of issues pertaining to the relationship between religion and government. Quite simply, her vote has often been the one that tipped the judicial balance toward ensuring that the government was restrained from promoting religion.

At the same time, Justice O’Connor’s jurisprudence has supported a vital role for religion in public life and strong protection for the exercise of religion. Thus, O’Connor’s voice has reflected a sensibly centrist position on church-state issues–firm restrictions on government’s role in the religious realm and strong support for the right of religious individuals and religious groups to express and otherwise practice their faith in public and private places.

On issues of religious expression, for example, Justice O’Connor has articulated an important line: “[T]here is a crucial difference between government speech endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion, which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses protect.” Thus, she has upheld a law that allows students at secondary public schools to organize chess clubs and Bible clubs that meet during non-instructional time. On the other side of the coin, she joined a ruling majority that struck down a public school’s practice of organizing votes that allowed students to use the school microphone to offer prayers before high school football games. The court held that the policy “establishe[d] an improper majoritarian election on religion, and unquestionably ha[d] the purpose and create[d] the perception of encouraging the delivery of prayer at a series of important school events.”

Justice O’Connor understood that religion has a key role to play in public life, but that it is religious individuals and groups that must control religious expression, not the government. Importantly, she recognized that allowing the government to promote religion not only violates the rights of conscience of those who don’t claim a faith, but also poses grave dangers for the faith that is favored. In McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, the Kentucky Ten Commandments decision handed down this week, Justice O’Connor wrote in a concurring opinion: “Voluntary religious belief and expression may be as threatened when government takes the mantle of religion upon itself as when government directly interferes with private religious practices. When the government associates one set of religious beliefs with the state and identifies nonadherents as outsiders, it encroaches upon the individual’s decision about whether and how to worship.”

In this same case, four dissenting justices, Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and Clarence Thomas, made it clear that they would not only discard the prohibition on governmental promotion of religion in many cases involving government speech, but that they also would back away from the prohibition on discrimination among faiths, a principle that heretofore has enjoyed wide, deep, and unwavering support from the Court. Justice O’Connor firmly rejected such a major break. In this case, she underscored the need for fealty to the time-honored First Amendment principle that “[the government] may not prefer one religion over another or promote religion over nonbelief.”

Justice O’Connor also has blown the whistle on these same justices in cases involving government funding and religious groups. In the 2000 case of Mitchell v. Helms, she explained that the plurality’s interpretation would allow the government to provide “direct money payments to religious organizations (including churches)” and allow “the participating religious organizations (including churches) [to] use that aid to support religious indoctrination.” While O’Connor acknowledged that the opinion of these four justices did not expressly approve such practices, she noted that it clearly “foreshadow[ed] the approval of direct monetary subsidies to religious organizations, even when they use the money to advance their religious objectives.”

Again, this should be a matter of concern not only for atheists and those of minority faiths (who are less likely to receive government funds), but also adherents of the faith that would be funded by the government. For what the government funds, it regulates and ultimately controls.

In her concurring opinion in the Kentucky Ten Commandments case, Justice O’Connor said:

"At a time when we see around the world the violent consequences of the assumption of religious authority by government, Americans may count themselves fortunate: Our regard for constitutional boundaries has protected us from similar travails, while allowing private religious exercise to flourish. . . .Americans attend their places of worship more often than do citizens of other developed nations and describe religion as playing an especially important role in their lives. Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?”

Only four justices on the current court would renegotiate church-state boundaries, but they could soon become a majority of five. President Bush will continue to be pressured to nominate a justice to the Supreme Court who would bring about deep and broad changes in our constitutional law, including the interpretation of the First Amendment’s religion clauses. Some people, including some religious people, believe that America has gotten religious liberty wrong in many respects and needs serious course correction.

I would say, however, that religious liberty is something America has usually gotten remarkably right. While Justice O’Connor’s approach is not perfect, it has played a key role in that accomplishment. President Bush should nominate someone to the court who will not force a renegotiation of church-state boundaries, but who will conserve the proud tradition of American religious freedom.

Melissa Rogers is an attorney who currently serves as visiting professor of religion and public policy at Wake Forest University Divinity School.

Posted: 7/01/05

Court ruling on 'eminent domain'
could jeopardize churches

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—A closely divided Supreme Court ruled municipal and other governments have broad power to seize private property—including houses of worship—for public purposes.

And while churches continue to enjoy heightened protection from such incursions due to First Amendment freedom-of-religion protections, the ruling means they may face increased attempts at property seizure and the costly litigation that often results.

In a 5-4 ruling, the high court upheld the right of New London, Conn., to seize and raze several private homes and replace them with a waterfront office, retail and housing project. The court’s majority held that the depressed industrial town’s leaders could claim and redevelop the property for the “public use” of creating new jobs and increasing tax revenue.

The court said the right of “eminent domain,” provided to governments by the Fifth Amendment, allows the project. The property is located on the Thames River, adjacent to a new $300 million research facility for a pharmaceutical corporation.

Homes that would be destroyed are located in the historic Fort Trumbull neighborhood. Many date from the late 1800s. One of the homeowners, Wilhelmina Dery, was born in her Fort Trumbull home in 1918 and has lived there her entire life. The house has been in her family more than 100 years.

Dery and others sued the city, saying such economic development was not a legitimate public use under the Fifth Amendment. Historically, eminent-domain seizures of private property were limited to such public uses as erecting schools, roads and airports. In 1954, the Supreme Court expanded the justifications for eminent domain, saying cities could seize “blighted” areas for re-development.

But the latest ruling means increasing tax revenues and creating jobs can also be viewed as legitimate public purposes for seizing private property.

“Those who govern the city (of New London) were not confronted with the need to remove blight in the Fort Trumbull area, but their determination that the area was sufficiently distressed to justify a program of economic rejuvenation is entitled to our deference,” said Justice John Paul Stevens, authoring the majority’s opinion.

Stevens was joined by justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy and David Souter.

But Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, in a tart dissenting opinion, said the ruling departed with decades of legal tradition on eminent-domain cases and would mean wealthy interests could always trump individual home and small-business owners in such cases.

“Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random,” she wrote. “The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms. As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result.”

Jared Leland, the media and legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, echoed O’Connor’s concern that the ruling renders the poor more powerless and also may make it more difficult for houses of worship to avoid getting entangled in such cases.

“By this (ruling’s) standard, governments are naturally going to target institutions that are, by definition, not creating tax revenue,” Leland said. “So, religious institutions could be inherently targeted or disparately treated or discriminated against because of their alleged lack of economic benefit to the community.”

The Becket Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief in this case, and has been involved in several cases in which municipalities attempted to seize church properties and replace them with for-profit economic development.

However, Leland also noted churches enjoy a heightened level of protection due to First Amendment protections. Additionally, federal and state laws make it difficult for governments to seize religious properties without compelling justification.

“So, religious institutions are still protected; unfortunately, the private homeowner has really lost a big battle today,” he said.

Posted: 7/01/05

Texas Baptist volunteers showing
Sri Lankans they're not just tourists

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

COLUMBO, Sri Lanka—Texas Baptists are showing residents of eastern Sri Lanka kindness they never expected, said David Beckett, director of Children’s Emergency Relief International work in the South Asia nation.

Beckett, who heads the Baptist Child & Family Services’ ministry in Sri Lanka, said Texas Baptists are exemplifying Christian faith that provides a stark contrast to other religions in the region.

The majority of relief workers from around the globe are Christians, Beckett noted. Workers from nongovernment relief groups such as Texas Baptist Men and Children’s Emergency Relief International are caring for people in eastern Sri Lanka regardless of faith background.

That attitude differs from the one Sri Lankans see among European tourists who spend money and leave. The Christian aid workers care for the people of Sri Lanka.

Christian compassion is drawing new interest about the faith along the eastern coast, Beckett said. People are converting to Christianity. Others are asking questions about Jesus.

The surge in new believers is coming despite the continuous threat of persecution, especially in smaller villages, Beckett said. Some people are shunned for converting to Christianity. Churches have been burned. Leaders have been attacked. But Sri Lankans continue their interest in Jesus.

Sri Lankans “see a light in a dark place,” Beckett said. “People are drawn to the light when they see something so different like that. I’ve heard so many times over the past months, ‘You people are not like we expected; you treat us differently than the way other people have treated us.’”

Increased Christian presence in the island nation has led followers of other faiths to try to explain why followers of Jesus are traveling from around the world to help them. Though some are meeting them rationally, rumors are swirling. One common rumor is the United States dropped a bomb near Indonesia that created the tsunamis. Christian Americans came to help because they feel bad about what they did.

The thought is unfounded, but significant, Beckett said. “What it shows is Christian Americans have had a huge impact on this island. So big, in fact, that people are trying to find ways to explain it. It’s just been amazing.”

Sujatha Rajadurai, a Sri Lankan working with Children’s Emergency Relief International, reinforced Beckett’s words. Christians around the world are inspiring Sri Lankan believers to be faithful. Locals are working together to improve living conditions even as political leaders continue fighting.

“It’s exciting me what (Texas Baptists have) done for us,” Rajadurai said. “They’re coming here. They’re sharing their love. It’s a different kind of love. I’m thinking if they’re coming again and again to share, everything would be nice for us to build up our life.”

Posted: 7/01/05

Graham's New York crusade
reflected heaven's diversity

By Berta Delgado-Young

Baptist Press

NEW YORK (BP)—As he has for 60 years, Billy Graham ended his three-day New York crusade by offering about 90,000 in the crowd a glimpse of heaven Sunday night. But as in perhaps no other crusade in his long history of evangelism, New York provided heaven’s face.

Tucked into a corner of Queens where more than 130 languages are spoken each day, the June 24-26 Greater New York Billy Graham Crusade drew more than 230,000 people from every part of the world—whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, people whose families came to America generations ago and people so fresh they still marvel at this nation and its freedoms.

The remarkable diversity reflects the host city, home to the sort of integration of God’s people Graham has advocated for all his career, and fitting for what many considered could be his last such gathering.

“Every nation on earth is truly represented on the sidewalks of New York City,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in his welcoming message. “And they are all here tonight.”

Tall signs dotted the crusade corner of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, guideposts for Koreans, Urdus, Arabs, Indians, Russians, Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish-speakers and many of the other ethnic groups that make up the patchwork of people in New York. They answered Graham’s calls to salvation by the thousands, some 8,300 over three days.

“I see white Christians, Hispanic Christians, Asian Christians, Jewish Christians,” said A.R. Bernard, chairman of the New York crusade’s organizing committee and pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn. “I see the body of Christ like it’s never been seen before.”

And even in that body, where small differences in teachings can lead to deep rifts, New York embraced all the differences as Graham preached that belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior unites all Christians as family.

Thelma Hardy grew up listening to Graham in Jamaica. In her 50s now, she said she wouldn’t have missed seeing him for the first time in person for anything.

“He is a godsend for New York for such a time as this,” she said. “Even before he started preaching, New York had already been touched by him. Just look around, people of all races have been encouraged by his visit.”

For Roman Hernandez, who moved to New York from Mexico just a few years ago, listening to the evangelist preach in person was “one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.”

“It’s a great honor for all the people who will make their way here this weekend,” he said. “It truly is like heaven will be.”

As MercyMe, a Texas-based band of white musicians performed “I Can Only Imagine,” a tall young Hispanic man held his New York Yankees cap in his right hand, his fists clenched in emotion, as he sang along.

Nearby, an Indian woman sang too as she steered her young son and daughter to a spot along the fence fronting the stage so she could take their picture with MercyMe vocalist Bart Millard’s face providing the backdrop on the large screen behind them.

At Saturday’s gathering, the South African band Tree 63 had played its first few notes when hundreds of young people of every color rushed to the stage—arms outstretched, dancing, clapping, singing along to the group’s best-known song, “Blessed Be Your Name,” and thousands of voices carried the chorus across the vastness of the park.

Small children clapped with joy from perches on their daddies’ shoulders. Moms and dads herded their families forward, their faces open and smiling and touched with joy. One young man stood in the midst of the crowd, eyes closed, head bowed in prayer as the music washed over him, then raised his arms in praise and joined Tree 63’s song of praise, “What Can I Do for You?”

And when it slid into the final words of “Amazing Grace,” many thousands in the crowd joined in that promise of faith.

Franklin Graham, who had earlier offered his testimony as a modern-day prodigal son who found satisfaction only in God, led his frail father to the large wooden lectern, a great effort for the elder Graham who responded to the cheers of the crowd with a small smile. Suffering from Parkinson’s, fluid buildup on the brain and prostate cancer, the 86-year-old evangelist shuffles with a walker, the lasting effects of a hip replacement and broken pelvis. Near him sat New York’s two senators, Charles Schumer and Hilary Clinton, and with her, her husband, Bill, the former president.

“I told [President Clinton] once that when he left the presidency, he should become an evangelist,” Graham said. “He had all the gifts. And he could leave his wife to run the country.”

Clinton called the evangelist an inspiration.

“He’s the only person I know who has never failed to live his space,” the former president said. “Hilary and I are honored to be here tonight, 46 years after I attended my first Billy Graham crusade.”

That first crusade for Clinton came at the peak of the segregation battles in his native Arkansas and the rest of the Old South. And when Graham was invited to lead a crusade in Little Rock, he refused until the organizers agreed the events would be fully integrated, Clinton said.

“God bless you, friend,” he said. “Bless you.”

Though he no longer delivers his message with the fire of his youth, and his last New York crusade seems an impossible distance from the 100 nights he preached at Madison Square Garden in 1957, Graham’s commitment to his core message never wavered, and thousands heard his voice and came forward.

“My old friend George Beverly Shea is 96. I’m 86, on my way to 87. I know it won’t be long before both of us are in heaven,” Graham said. “But the Bible tells us to be prepared, and we look toward death.

“You may have many more years, but you never know,” he told the crowd. “But this might be the last day of your life. And there comes a time when it will be too late.”

In New York, Graham went a long way toward bringing revival to the city, the crusade’s stated goal. But he only hinted at his own future, and he left the question of whether this was his final crusade unanswered.

Others offered hints. Singer Bill Gaither mentioned that he was first a part of the Billy Graham Crusade 20 years ago, when he introduced a song he’d recently written, “Because He Lives.”

“So it’s an honor to be here at the last Billy Graham crusade to sing it again,” Gaither said.

Cliff Barrows, longtime crusade associate who leads the choir, said on Friday that his evangelist friend is convinced he could keep going.

“But Billy would be the first to say that over the years we’ve experienced many physical difficulties,” he said. “It would have to be God’s indication to go overseas. Billy has the heart and the desire and the message, but the physical capability needs to be there, too.”

And Barrows mentioned that Graham is hesitant to leave his wife, Ruth, and their family.

“He has said goodbye to his family all his life,” Barrows said. “He’d like to spend time more time with them. And I think he should.”

But on Sunday, after Graham had thanked his two longtime associates who have been with him almost since the beginning, he also needled them a bit about the future.

“This is not the end,” he said, patting their hands as they stood beside him on stage. “They may think so, but I don’t.”

He continued, saying that he was asked just the other day whether this is the last crusade.

“I said, ‘It probably is—in New York.’ But I also said, ‘I never say never.’”

And as Graham introduced others on the stage, he mentioned one gentleman from London.

“We’re going to talk about going to London for a crusade,” the evangelist said. “But after being here, he may decide he doesn’t want us.”

And then he smiled.

Posted: 6/30/05

CYBER COLUMN: Amazing Grace

By Jeanie Miley

From the time I was a child, I have loved “Amazing Grace,” both the song and the Reality.

When I was a child, however, I always tripped and fell over that line about grace teaching my heart to fear. Somehow, my mind couldn’t wrap itself around that concept, given the teaching about grace being “God’s unmerited favor.”

I already had enough fears, and it seemed to me that God, as I understood him then, would surely be about the business of taking away my fears rather than giving me more!

In adolescence, I learned that “fear,” in the biblical sense, was more akin to awe and reverence. I understood that fearing God wasn’t the same thing as fearing snakes or hurricanes, but still, I just couldn’t connect the idea of grace and fear.

Frankly, as a young adult, I still didn’t like that line about grace teaching me to fear. I had come to believe that loving someone into the kingdom was a great deal more in line with the nature of God than trying to scare them in.

Having come through a series of life’s losses and traumas, and having survived a few crises and deep disappointments along the way, I get it now about how grace teaches a heart to fear. I don’t much like it now any more than I did when I was younger, but I get it.

To get it about grace, however, I’ve had to expand my definition of grace to understand grace as God’s extravagant, tough love that will not let us rest until we have come to the place of knowing our utter dependence on him. And in that knowing, we are able to accept things as they are, and we accept that it is we who are the creatures and God the Creator.

All along the way of maturing, we human beings get to face the illusions and delusions that we hold in our minds, consciously and unconsciously, and the venue for those disillusionments is often trouble and trauma, heartache and loss, failure and frustration. Every single difficulty we human beings encounter along our chosen pathway introduces us to our limited and limiting notions of who God is to us and who we are to God, and that is grace.

Along the way of maturing, we collect our smaller gods that prove our achievements, accomplishments and our ability to acquire, and then grace comes along and shows us that we have worshipped at the thrones of people, substances, activities and things that are not nearly big enough gods for human beings, made in the image of God.

In the middle of our tragedies and our triumphs, it is grace, indeed, that shows us that we have given our hearts to idols, and that we must, in fact, turn our fear—our awe and reverence—toward the jealous God who wants us only for himself. It is grace that reveals our inordinate attachment to the lesser gods and then makes us face the awful truth about our idolatry. It is, indeed, grace that makes us fear having any other gods but God.

Grace beams its light into the places where we are separated from God, going our own way and missing the mark, and then, grace brings us to salvation and wholeness, of better choices and healthier, higher roads.

I sing that troubling line differently now, for I have enough battle scars to know that when you love God, it puts all of your other fears in their proper place. I have learned that it really is grace that shatters the false gods and all of their lies, and grace that relieves our fears.

It really is grace that leads us through all our dangers, toils and fears, and it is by grace that I know and declare that it is God alone who merits that “fear” that will, finally, lead us home.

Jeanie Miley is an author and columnist and a retreat and workshop leader. She is married to Martus Miley, pastor of River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, and they have three adult daughters. Got feedback? Write her at Writer2530@aol.com.

Posted: 6/29/05

BaptistWay Bible Series for July 10

Rejection of Christ will bring judgment

• Revelation 8:1-9:6, 13-15, 20-21

By Wayne Smith

First Baptist Church, Lamesa

Last week’s lesson examined the first interlude (Revelation 7). This interruption of the narration of God’s prophecy occurred between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals on God’s scroll of human history. During the interlude, a message of reassurance was sent to suffering Christians. Although they had to endure persecution for a while longer, God knew their faithfulness and he had sealed them for eternal life in heaven.

This week, we will study the events that follow the breaking of the seventh seal. Seven angels stand before the throne of God and sound trumpets—signaling the coming events of judgment.

The seventh seal and the golden censer (Revelation 8:1-5)

This passage begins with heaven falling silent, waiting for the next act of God. Heaven is pictured as a combination of a temple and a throne room. There is an altar, incense and a censer before the throne. People surround the throne, awaiting pronouncement of judgment upon the world. Seven archangels, representing both worship of God and the authority of a king, occupy special places around the throne. The archangels stand ready to announce by trumpet decrees of God’s intervention in history.

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An angel appears before the altar with a golden censer filled with incense. Beneath the altar are the martyrs who cried out for justice and asked how long they must wait (6:19). They were told to wait a little longer. Now they will be given a more complete answer.

The altar holds the prayers of the martyrs and Christians still living and enduring persecution. The angel fills the censer with fire from the altar, mixes it with incense and throws it to earth. Symbolically, this act mingles the prayers of both the living and the martyred with the incense that rises up to God, who hears those prayers and responds. A terrific upheaval of nature occurs, signifying judgment has come.

The trumpets announce the devastation of nature (Revelation 8:6-13)

The first trumpet blast announces a hailstorm, similar to one of the plagues against Egypt prior to the exodus (Exodus 9:24). The hailstorm destroys a third of the vegetation on earth. The second turns the sea to blood and destroys a third of the sea life and a third of the ships. This event was similar to another of the plagues against Egypt (Exodus 7:20-21).

At the sound of the third trumpet, a celestial body (star) falls and poisons one-third of the fresh water on Earth, killing many people who drink the polluted water. The fourth trumpet sounds and one-third of the solar system darkens, altering the daily cycle of light and darkness.

Human life suffers because of the destruction of portions of the environment. The eagle signals that nature had been judged. Now the inhabitants of the earth will experience judgment (“woes”) as the remaining three angels sound trumpet blasts.

The punishment from demonic locusts (Revelation 9:1-6)

A star falls to earth at the sound of the fifth trumpet. The animated star opens a vault with a key. The vault is the abyss—a bottomless pit described in other passages of Revelation as the home of demonic beings (11:7; 17:8; 20:1-3). The abyss is a place of fire, and as it opens, dense smoke pours out.

A horde of locusts appears out of the smoke. Instead of devouring vegetation, as normal locusts do, these locusts behave like scorpions and sting people. They are commanded to attack humans, spearing only those who had the seal of God (See 7:3-4). The agony of the stinging locusts continues five months, the normal life span of locusts.

The constant pain is so great, people cry out for death rather than continue to endure the pain (See Job 3:20-21). But death does not come. The locusts resemble horses prepared for battle but have human faces. The sound of their wings thunders like horses and chariots rushing into battle. Abaddon, whose name means Destroyer, commands the army of locusts.

The destruction of the Roman Empire, represented by the advancing army of demonic locusts, would not occur swiftly. It would occur gradually and continually as Rome lived in fear of invasion and occupation by an enemy force.

The punishment from the vast army (Revelation 9:13-15)

The sixth trumpet blast is accompanied by a voice from the horns of the altar before God. The four angels who had been bound at the Euphrates River holding back the winds of destruction (See 7:1) are released to kill a third of mankind. The number of troops listed, 200 million, (v. 16) is probably symbolic of a massive, irresistible military force.

This army, unnamed but located beyond the Euphrates River, represents God’s judgment upon the Roman Empire.

The refusal to repent (Revelation 9:20-21)

In spite of the awesome events that occur, survivors of the plagues will not repent. They refuse to turn from their evil practices and seek forgiveness. They continue to worship idols and refuse to change their immoral behavior.

The sixth of the seven trumpets God’s warning to the enemies of his people that judgment is coming. The symbolism would have been clear to the readers of John’s letter. God was informing them that the oppressive Roman Empire would fall. Evidently, the opportunity to repent will be available up until the final moment of judgment. All who do not repent face the consequences.

On the other hand, those sealed for God will not face the end prophesied for God’s enemies. Although they will endure suffering here on earth, their promise of eternal life in heaven is secure.

Application

God will judge those who oppose him. Even though we struggle with the symbolism, the outcome is apparent. Receiving Christ does not guarantee exemption from persecution. But receiving Christ is the only way to gain eternal life in heaven. Regardless of how entangled we become in arguing and interpreting the symbolism, a simple choice emerges: We can either receive Christ or reject Christ.

Even the cruel Roman soldiers persecuting the Christians had the same opportunity. The consequences of either choice are evident.

Discussion question

• Do I really understand what it means to receive Christ as my Savior?

Posted: 6/29/05

LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 10

God’s armor helps fend off the darkness

• Ephesians 6:10-20

By Mitch Randall

First Baptist Church, Bedford

Complete darkness is a sight to behold. Recently, my family and I traveled down to San Marcos and toured a very large cave. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the cave and the stories that went with it. When we reached the deepest point of the cave, our tour guide said we were about to experience complete darkness. With one flick of a switch, we were in complete and absolute blackness. Needless to say, my 4- and 7-year-old children were a bit scared—not to mention their 34-year-old father.

However, once our tour guide switched the light back on after about one million seconds (well, maybe five seconds), there was a sense of relief from everyone. There was something terrifying about being so far down in the earth in complete darkness, but once the light was back on, everyone smiled and had a good laugh. I cannot help but think this might be like what the Apostle Paul might be referring to when he speaks about a great spiritual darkness upon the earth.

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Evil lurks in the shadows and darkness follows wherever it dwells. This evil is so powerful people throughout the ages have tried to define or name it. Scripture defines this evil as a powerful spirituality that tries to bring darkness upon the cosmos. Throughout Scripture, this incredibly powerful evil has been referred to as the devil. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Paul talks about how to combat this darkness trying to prevail against us.

Ephesians 6:10-12

The verse “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power” leads readers to believe something powerful is working against them. During the first century, Christians to whom this letter was intended, had many aspects of darkness working against them. From an established Jewish community, to pagan religions, to the Roman government’s investigation of them; the tide of darkness was turning.

Paul said these powerful forces were rising and their wave of evil would sweep down upon the heads of the first-century Christians. Evil was at work, and it was headed straight for the Christian community. Paul’s warning was not one of dire straits, but an alarm for preparation. Christians were being called to put on the armor of God.

Ephesians 6:13-17

Paul begins his armor language by encouraging his readers to “put on the belt of truth.” Without truth, everything built upon the precepts of Christianity would crumble. Jesus was the Messiah or everything was for naught.

“Putting on the breastplate of righteousness” suggests the importance of following the ways of Christ. During the dark days ahead, living a righteous life would be unequivocally pertinent.

“Shodding their feet with peace” is a direct correlation to Paul’s readers that the way of peace would be the way of Christ. The darkness that was about to consume the Christian community would be such an attack that it would have been easy to form a counterstrike against it. Yet, Paul says to wage war against the darkness surrounding them is through a peaceful way.

A “shield of faith” would defend them from arrows of eternal harm that will be catapulted at them. The “helmet of salvation” and the “sword of truth” would be the hope that would send them on through the darkness to embrace the light.

Ephesians 6:18-20

While putting on the armor of God, Paul encourages his readers to pray at all times. He gives his readers hope for the coming darkness, as he writes from the darkness of a cell.

I understand that this is an unconventional way of looking at this text, but this approach makes perfect sense if we conclude that Paul was precise in his assessment of what was coming. History tells us that Paul was right. An unavoidable darkness came over the Christian community in the face of Roman oppression. Those Christians needed as much hope to endure the things they endured than we can ever imagine. With Paul’s armor of God fitted upon them, their hope was in the hope of Christ.

Discussion questions

• What was the darkest point of your life? How did you feel?

• During that dark moment, did you wish you had something to give you hope?

• How can we wage war against the darkness of this world?

Posted: 6/29/05

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for July 10

Repentance is necessary to follow God

• Ezekiel 33

By Dennis Tucker

Truett Seminary, Waco

Ezekiel 33 returns to the critical theme of redemption and restoration of God’s people. We would do well to remember that the words of Ezekiel in chapter 33 address God’s people in exile with him in Babylon.

Contemporary readers of Ezekiel may be tempted to think the only people who need to repent are unbelievers, and perhaps even that they are the actual focus of this text in Ezekiel 33—but such is not the case. What makes this text so critical is that it puts the question to us directly: “Are we willing to repent?”

The critical nature of repentance

Despite our society’s willingness to overlook sin, and even to dismiss the notion of sin, chapter 33 makes it clear repentance is a matter of life and death. For those of us who know the truth and yet fail to announce it, even failing “to dissuade (a person) from his ways,” we will be held accountable for their blood. Such a statement appears shocking, at best, but it is a reminder that we must remain faithful in our task of calling people back to God.

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Earlier in the book, Ezekiel was told in his call narrative that he would carry out his ministry in “briers and thorns” amidst “scorpions” (2:6-7), but that he should remain obedient in performing his task. Now the magnitude of such a task is apparent in chapter 33—God explains that he will be accountable in some way if he does not speak.

Equally critical, however, is the role of the community that receives this message. If the community hears the message, yet fails to respond, they will die in their iniquity. We cannot assume we are only the ones who are announcing the sin of others—we are also those who have heard the call to repentance, and we too must respond faithfully.

So what is at stake? What does it matter whether one responds in repentance? The community in Babylon confessed in verse 10, “Our offenses and our sins weigh upon us, and we are wasting away because of them.” The word for “offenses” in Hebrew is pasha, which frequently means “rebellion” or “transgression.”

In ancient Near Eastern treaties, if a covenant partner rebelled against the superior partner in the relationship, then there were certain curses (and punishments) that would fall upon the rebellious party. In essence, the people were confessing that they understood themselves as a people who had forsaken their relationship with God. Further, they spoke of their sins (hatta). This word is frequently defined as “to miss the mark,” which in fact is an adequate translation of its meaning.

In essence, the people confessed that they failed to live as God’s people—they missed his mark. Perhaps most disturbing is their final confession: “We are wasting away because of them.” The verb maqaq is translated as “wasting away,” but elsewhere it is used to speak of wounded or rotted flesh (Psalm 38:5; Zechariah 14:12), or to the physical ravages of hunger and thirst (Ezekiel 14:12).

The community in exile understood that sin was ultimately destructive. The frankness with which they spoke about their sins and its effect on their lives serves as a welcome model to us. Our rebellious acts ensure we will miss the mark or standard set up by God and because of that, our relationship with God will be strained. And those who have lived in a strained relationship with God are fully aware of what it means to “waste away.” Frequently, people like to say, “Confession is good for the soul.” Ezekiel 33 seems to suggest confession is more than just good for the soul—it is the means to a restored life, lived fully in relationship with God.

A vision of repentance

Following the confession of sin by the people, God announced, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live” (v. 11).

We might ask what it would look like for those who “turn from their ways and live”? In our individualized and privatized world, we have made confession of faith and confession of sin a personal and internal matter—so much so that if we did not tell someone of our confession, it might go otherwise unnoticed.

The vision of repentance given to Ezekiel stands in stark contrast to our contemporary ideas. In verse 14, God says a wicked person must “turn away from his sin,” but he must also do what is just and right. In other words, our actions will give evidence of our confession.

Ezekiel provided two examples of such action (v. 15), but then he implored them to “follow the decrees that give life.” Both his examples and the larger statement he makes allude to issues of social justice—and in ancient Israel, social justice had to do with the care and concern for the larger community.

If we hear the call to repent, and take it seriously, we also must be prepared to take seriously the challenge to “follow the decrees that give life.” The forgiveness experienced through repentance should compel us into a life embodied with care and concern for the larger community.

Sadly, Ezekiel is told in verse 32, “they hear your words, but do not put them in practice.” Will we be any different?

Discussion questions

• Why is repentance such a hard thing for many people to do?

Posted: 6/24/05

Bush praises Baptists as 'soldiers
in the army of compassion'

By Tony Cartledge

North Carolina Biblical Recorder

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)–Touting his desire to build a “more compassionate society,” President Bush thanked Southern Baptists June 21 for being “soldiers in the army of compassion” who make a difference in America and the world.

In the process, he singled out as an example of that “army of compassion” a Florida church affiliated with the moderate Coop-erative Baptist Fell-owship rather than the Southern Baptist Convention.

Bush spoke to the SBC by live video from the White House. This marked the fourth year in a row that Bush has addressed SBC messengers–all by live satellite except for 2003, when he sent a taped message.

Bush quoted George Washington as saying that America's Baptists were the “firm friends of liberty.” “Today another president George W. thanks you because more than two centuries later, you remain firm in your dedication to God and country.”

“You believe that the ideal of religious liberty is a free church in a free state,” he said, describing freedom as “a divine gift that carries serious responsibilities” to build a more compassionate society.

Bush touched on four elements known to resonate with many Southern Baptists–a proposed “family amendment” designed to prevent homosexuals from marrying, continuing legislation to curtail the practice of abortion, the appointment of more conservative judges and government aid for faith-based organizations.

“Building a more compassionate society begins with preserving the source of compassion–the family,” he said.

“Southern Bap-tists are practicing compassion by defending family and the sacred institution of marriage,” he continued, to loud and sustained applause.

“Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of society, it should not be redefined by local officials and activist judges,” he said, to another round of cheers.

“For the good of (the) legal system, I will continue to nominate federal judges who faithfully interpret the law and do not legislate from the bench,” Bush said, calling for all of his nominees to get an up or down vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate. He thanked Southern Baptists for their “strong support” in that effort.

“Building a compassionate society also depends on building a culture of life,” Bush said, one that “defends its most vulnerable members at every stage of life” and “supports principles of ethical science.”

Ethical science must preserve human dignity, Bush said, citing his opposition to cloning and partial-birth abortion.

“A compassionate society will not sanction the creation of life only to destroy it,” he said.

“Finally, building a compassionate society requires that we mobilize our nation's armies of compassion to help the poor, the sick, and those who hurt.”

Faith-based institutions change hearts every day, but the government has discriminated against faith-based programs, he said. “That's why I signed an executive order that said that faith groups providing social services are entitled to the same access to federal money as other groups . . .

“Faith based groups should never have to forfeit their religious liberty to get federal dollars,” he said. “We want your help, we want your love, but at the same time you do not have to forget the mission of faith or ignore the mission of faith that calls you to action in the first place.”

Bush said billions of dollars had been made available to faith-based groups, citing a $5.8 million grant to College Park Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., to build 68 homes for low-income seniors. Ironically, College Park sent money to the SBC from 1928 to January 2004 but now affiliates with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which is composed largely of Baptist churches opposed to the SBC's rightward shift.

The church received government money for its social ministries beginning 22 years ago, long before Bush's faith-based initiatives, Pastor Ron Crawford noted.

With additional reporting by Analiz Gonzalez of Associated Baptist Press.

Posted: 6/24/05

Move to shift missions money to political action fails

By Marv Knox

Editor

NASHVILLE, Tenn.–The Southern Baptist Conven-tion turned back an attempt to redirect money from missions to political action during its annual meeting in Nashville.

Instead, SBC messengers approved the 2005-06 Cooperative Program budget of $189.9 million–as originally proposed by the convention's Executive Committee.

That budget allocates 50 percent of undesignated convention receipts ($94.9 million) to the International Mission Board and almost 22.8 percent ($43.3 million) to the North American Mission Board. It also directs 1.49 percent ($2.8 million) to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

But Rodney Albert, pastor of Hallsville Baptist Church in Hallsville, Mo., called on Southern Baptists to channel more resources into America's culture wars. He proposed amending the budget so that the International Mission Board's share would decrease to 49.75 percent of receipts, the North American Mission Board's portion would drop to 22.54 percent, and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission's allocation would climb to 1.99 percent.

“We are in a substantial cultural war,” Albert said. “We are fighting for the soul of America. But the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission gets one of the smallest amounts of budget.”

Southern Baptists are “fighting for the sanctity of life, … for the sanctity of marriage,” he said, citing their efforts in debates on everything from genetic use of stem cells to homosexual marriage.

“A budget reflects our moral values,” Albert said. And while both mission boards' budgets are supplemented by special offerings, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission depends primarily on the Cooperative Program budget and doesn't have enough money to accomplish all it needs to do,” he added.

“The battle (for American culture) is not coming. It is here,” he said.

But that battle will be won or lost in missions, countered Jim Wideman, executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England and a messenger from Rice Memorial Baptist Church in Northborough, Mass.

“Our purpose is not to save the culture of America; our purpose is to save the world,” Wideman said. “If our culture goes down, it won't be because we didn't spend more money for lobbying. If our culture is saved, it will be because we spend more money for evangelism.”

SBC messengers struck down Albert's amendment and approved the overall budget. In addition to the mission board and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the Cooperative Program budget directs $41 million to the SBC's six seminaries and historical library and archives, $1.4 million to Guidestone Financial Resources, formerly known as the Annuity Board, and $7.7 million to the SBC operating budget, which primarily funds the Executive Committee.

Among other business proposed by the Executive Committee, messengers voted to approve:

Changing the name of the Annuity Board to Guidestone Financial Resources. This was the second required vote to amend SBC Bylaw 14, making the name change official.

An amendment to SBC policies that enables a prospective messenger to present a “fax, e-mail, or other physical or electronically transmitted document” in substitution for an official SBC registration document.

Two future convention sites–Indianapolis, Ind., in 2008 and Louisville, Ky., in 2009.

The 2009-10 SBC calendar, which includes 32 items. This recommendation also deleted Baptist World Alliance Day from the SBC calendars in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Last year, the SBC withdrew from the BWA, comprised of 211 Baptist conventions worldwide.

Posted: 6/24/05

Southern Baptists approve
tribute to Billy Graham

By Marv Knox

Editor

NASHVILLE, Tenn.–Even though he could not attend, Southern Baptists' favorite son stood in the spotlight at their annual meeting June 22 in Nashville.

Billy Graham was away preparing for what may be his final crusade, but the Southern Baptist Convention approved a tribute honoring his life and ministry.

Then his grandson and namesake, William Franklin Graham IV, helped artist Terrell O'Brien unveil the model of a statue of the famed evangelist, which one day will stand in Nashville.

The Graham tribute capped a series of four citations of appreciation the SBC bestowed upon longtime Baptist leaders. The convention also honored Bill Crews, Jimmy Draper and Adrian Rogers.

“Probably, now there is no better known name in all the entire world when it comes to being a person of faith than 'Billy Graham,'” SBC President Bobby Welch said. “In addition to that, there has never been a man on the planet who has preached face-to-face to multiplied hundreds of millions. … Or preached such a clear gospel.

“He is one of us, a Southern Baptist. That's a pretty good son to have.”

The convention audience watched a video that sketched the details of Graham's life and ministry. It told how a 1949 tent revival in Los Angeles stretched into an eight-week preaching marathon that catapulted the young Graham to national prominence.

In the intervening 56 years, he has preached to 210 million people, “more than any person in the history of the world,” the video proclaimed. Graham has preached in 185 countries and has shared the gospel not only with millions of people, but also with presidents, dignitaries and world leaders.

The video contained several clips of Graham preaching the gospel down through the years and also included an interview in which he said, “I consider the call to the ministry the highest calling in the world … divine and eternal.”

SBC Executive Committee President Morris Chapman presented the framed tribute in honor of Graham to his grandson, called Will.

The tribute described Graham as “a transgenerational global icon” who has been “used by God to present the gospel to hundreds of millions of people around the world.” It cites his impact on “the lives of countless Southern Baptist pastors” as well as churches and evangelists through more than 400 evangelistic crusades around the world.

“I wish my grandfather could be here,” the younger Graham said. “He and my father (Franklin Graham) couldn't be here.” But they're both at work, serving God, he added, noting his grandfather was preparing to start a crusade in New York City two nights later.

“I want to say thank you to Southern Baptists,” Will Graham said.

“I don't want you to think, 'Man, I wish I could be like Billy Graham,'” he urged. “My grandfather and I would say: 'You're shooting too low. Aim higher. Be faithful to the one calling God has given you.' He's going to use you, just like my grandfather. … Say, 'Lord, use me.'”

The statue of Graham is titled, “There's Room at the Cross for You,” Welch said. It will feature Graham standing before a towering cross, dressed in a three-piece suit, with a Bible in one hand and his arms outstretched.

O'Brien, the sculptor, is a bivocational pastor from Wyoming. He will spend the next year crafting the full-sized version of the piece, which will be unveiled in June 2006, when the SBC meets in Greensboro, N.C. Later, it will be moved to Nashville.

Posted: 6/25/05

Motion to bring WMU under SBC authority introduced

By Marv Knox

Editor

NASHVILLE—The Southern Baptist Convention will consider bringing its women’s auxiliary under its authority, thanks to a motion from the floor of the SBC annual meeting.

The convention received 24 motions during the opening day of its 2005 gathering. Of those motions, 13 were referred to convention agencies for study and possible action, and 11 were ruled out of order.

The request to invite Woman’s Missionary Union to become an entity of the SBC was suggested by Leslie Stock, a messenger from Santa Fe Trail Baptist Church in Boonville, Mo.

Woman’s Missionary Union is an auxiliary to the SBC. WMU was founded independently of the convention in 1881. Its primary objectives are to educate Southern Baptists about missions, collect two offerings that provide major funding for the convention’s international and domestic mission boards, and provide hands-on opportunities for missions.

As an auxiliary, WMU raises its own funding and elects its own board and officers. The 12 SBC-owned entities receive their funding from the convention, and their boards all are elected by the convention.

Stock’s motion proposed the SBC “extend an invitation” for WMU to “become an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention to join the other SBC entities … in the work of missions and enjoy the benefits of being an entity of the SBC.”

Some observers suggested the motion could be used to bring WMU into stricter alignment with the convention. At the Nashville meeting, messengers completed the process of naming the SBC as the “sole member” of all 12 convention entities’ corporate organizations, making the SBC’s selection of their trustees—and subsequent control of the organizations themselves—practically irrevocable.

While Southern Baptists consistently have affirmed WMU’s zeal for missions, some leaders and others have claimed the women’s group has not adequately embraced the “conservative resurgence” that turned the SBC sharply to the right during the past quarter century.

WMU Executive Director Wanda Lee said operating procedure calls for referring requests for corporate changes to the WMU executive board, the organization’s governing body.

The motion was referred to the SBC Executive Committee for study.

Six motions referred to various SBC agencies asked the convention to:

— Expand ministry to single parents and their children, made by Gerald Dominy of Springfield First Baptist Church in Rogersville, Ala. “Single parents make up 10 percent of the (U.S.) adult population, and near 50 percent of children live in a single-parent home at some time during their formative years,” he noted.

The convention referred Dominy’s motion to 11 SBC agencies, exempting the Executive Committee, which does not have ministry program assignments.

— Create a liaison to “coordinate and enhance” the convention’s ministry to homosexuals. Bob Stith, pastor of Carroll Baptist Church in Southlake made the motion. He presented a similar motion in 2001, which led to formation of an SBC task force on ministry to homosexuals. Referred to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, LifeWay Christian Resources and the North American Mission Board.

— Request LifeWay Christian Resources to “make available once again through any and all willing local, hometown Christian book stores” its undated materials, including Vacation Bible School curricula. Referred to LifeWay.

— Make Guidestone Financial Resources—formerly called the Annuity Board— the primary (health care insurance) provider” for employees of all SBC entities. Referred to Guidestone.

— Request the International Mission Board to report on its plans for “continuing support of theologically conservative Bible schools, theological colleges, theological seminaries and other institutions” and to explain and reaffirm its intent to “continue to require theological training in a Baptist seminary for all full-time mission personnel.” Referred to the IMB.

— Study “whether or not a local church organized by the government as a 501(c)(3) state church is biblically correct.” Such a designation makes churches and other nonprofit corporations tax-exempt, according to the Internal Revenue Code. Referred to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Six additional motions referred to the Executive Committee asked for:

— Each state Baptist convention to provide “a good-faith estimate” of when it plans to divide its Cooperative Program budget receipts evenly between itself and the SBC. Currently, the 7-year-old Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, which sends 53 percent of receipts to the SBC, is the only state convention to achieve the 50/50 ratio.

— Recognition of the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship “as a formal evangelistic mission entity to Jewish people worldwide.”

— A moratorium on holding the SBC annual meeting on the week following Father’s Day.

— Permission to submit proposed resolutions up to the beginning of the afternoon session on the first day of the convention’s annual meeting. Current bylaws stipulate resolutions must be submitted at least 15 days in advance of the annual meeting.

— Placement of one woman on every SBC committee.

— Strengthening language in the bylaws to emphasize the possibility that messengers may immediately consider motions rather than refer them to SBC entities.

The 11 motions that were ruled out of order for various procedural reasons called for:

— Guidestone Financial Resources to justify its rates for health insurance.

— Designating a tithe of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s budget to the Center for Reclaiming America. This motion was presented twice, with slight modifications.

— Studying how the SBC evangelizes and ministers to single adults.

— Encouraging Southern Baptist churches to refrain from removing “Southern Baptist” or “Baptist” from their church signs and bulletins.

— LifeWay to examine “America’s Heart and Soul,” a movie produced by Disney, “and if it is biblically sound, to consider making it available to all Southern Baptists.”

— All SBC entities to “respond with increasing openness” to a “Covenant with Southern Baptists,” a document that would “provide Southern Baptists with the most complete, thorough and accountable business plan (and) business ethics.”

— Publication of “line-item expenditures and receipts in all financial areas from all reporting entities,” including salaries, bonuses, benefits and travel expenses for all convention employees, listed by name and title.

— Directing WMU to amend its charter to make the SBC its sole member.

— Directing LifeWay to make its materials, including Vacation Bible School curricula, available to non-LifeWay stores. This motion was similar to a similar request that was referred to LifeWay, except this motion commanded, rather than requested, the action.

— The SBC president to send a letter to Disney, “telling them we will end our boycott of their corporation.”