Posted: 5/13/05

Baylor nursing students share gift of life in Uganda

By Judy Long

Baylor University

KIWOKO, Uganda–Liz Chang offered a priceless gift while serving at a Uganda hospital as a missions volunteer.

She and her fellow registered nurses were on a lunch break at the small African hospital where Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing missions team worked. A nurse on the hospital staff stepped into the break room with an urgent request for type O-positive blood. A severely anemic 5-day-old girl, born at home, had just been brought to the hospital.

Without hesitation, Chang volunteered. Once she started donating her blood, the nurse who was supervising the procedure made an unusual request. She asked if Chang would mind if they took a little extra.

“Take as much as you need,” she replied.

Liz Chang watches a 5-day-old girl who received blood. MIDDLE: Children wait for their check-up at the children's home in Rakai.

Her donated blood not only saved the infant girl's life but also provided for two other newborns.

Baylor's team of four students, all about to graduate from the family nurse practitioner master's degree program, and their faculty sponsor, Lori Spies, served three weeks in Uganda.

They worked in the Kiwoko hospital and set up clinics, dispensed medicines and tested children for HIV at two orphanages–one in Uganda's capital, Kampala, and one at a rural location in Rakai.

“The hospital's equipment was simple, but sterile,” Spies reported of the laboratory where Chang donated blood. “With the exception of asking to take extra, the experience was like giving blood in a professional lab here. It was a great learning experience.”

Since most of the students work at the Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, they were able to witness an interesting contrast between the two hospitals.

“The physician there practically gave us a one-on-one tutorial in tropical medicine,” Spies said. “But it's a different practice there than in the U.S. It was enlightening,” she said, adding that diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and intestinal worms are seldom seen in the States.

The students study tropical medicine throughout the Baylor program, and the family nurse practitioner degree is designed to prepare them equally to use their nursing skills in developing countries or in the United States.

The student volunteers saw a significant number of malnutrition cases at the hospital.

“They were the worst cases I've ever seen, but the hospital staff handled them well,” Spies reported. “The malnourished children stayed at the hospital a long time, and the nurses taught parents about nutrition and tried to determine what was happening in the home to cause the problem. They engaged in what we consider a high standard of nursing in this country.”

The hospital treated one stage of malnutrition with intravenous rehydration, while a more advanced stage required use of a nasal tube.

“They use the tube if the child is too weak to hold a cup. Sometimes, parents wanted to refuse to allow their child to be treated with the tube because they viewed it as an indication the child would die. But when they heard how quickly a child perked up after insertion of the tube, they consented,” she said.

In the rural children's home in Rakai, the team stayed in the orphanage and ate plenty of traditional African food.

“We ate a staple called atokay–a starchy vegetable that they mash and serve with a sauce,” Spies recalled. “It was often served with rice and peanut sauce, or they had meat with broth to pour over the rice. Sometimes they cooked cabbage or greens, and they also had a lot of beans. Part of the fun was knowing we were eating what the kids were eating. It was much more of a natural diet than what many American kids eat.”

At the rural home, the team saw skin disorders, but not as much scabies as they expected. Scabies is a common skin condition caused by a mite. They treated all the children for intestinal worms because those are so common in Africa.

“We also saw ulcers, respiratory infections and more malaria than we saw in the city,” Spies recalled.

Rose Nanyonga, a Ugandan student at Baylor's nursing school, said she was shocked by the reality of the lives of the orphans, even though she grew up in Uganda.

Rose Nanyonga (l) and Lori Spies care for a special-needs child in the children's home in Kampala.

“I was not emotionally prepared for it. I grew up there, but I have been so far away for a long time. I was glad that we could make a difference for them. It doesn't take much to make an incredible difference,” she said.

“This trip focused on taking health care to more than 500 children, which was a wonderful gift. A lot of these children had never had a physical examination or seen a health care provider.”

Nanyonga's unusual journey to faith began with childhood training to become a witch doctor, a prestigious career usually reserved for men. Her decision to embrace Christianity at the age of 15 angered her family, and she was forced to flee for her life. Her journey eventually led her to Dallas, where she is completing her master's degree at Baylor and will graduate as a family nurse practitioner this month. After graduation, she plans to return to Uganda to make changes in public health care policy.

Nanyonga has tentatively accepted a job in Uganda as director of nursing at International Hospital in Kampala, founded by the missionary couple who adopted her when she left her tribal home.

“It will take me out of the arena of family nurse practitioning, but it puts me in an area where I am critically needed. I'll be able to use my leadership, teaching and nursing skills,” she said.

“It will be wonderful to work with other Ugandans who care about the practice of medicine. You can do so much with people from other countries, but it would be better for the country if Ugandans–people who speak the language–could manage the health care and coordinate input from other countries.”

Nanyonga hopes to establish a nursing education center where schools from other countries could send people as students and teachers. “But we'll see how it goes,” she added.

Spies believes a yearly trip to Uganda would be the perfect capstone medical mission trip for the family nurse practitioner program.

“It's my plan to return each year with a team of Baylor students to help these children who live in such great need,” she said.

Nanyonga wants to tell others about the children's plight. “I and the others who went on this trip will carry those children and their story in our hearts. We want the children to know they are not forgotten, for there are millions more children like them in Uganda and the world,” she said.

Nanyonga saw her life reflected in the children they served.

“Any one of them could have been me,” she said. “Someone obviously invested in my life for me to have come from where I did and be where I am. I would like to see people to invest in those children's lives. If my life has been touched, I believe it can happen for every one of them.”

Posted: 5/13/05

Church offers respite for Alzheimer's caregivers

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ROUND ROCK–Wednesday mornings at One Way Baptist Church are filled with laughter and fun. Tables in the fellowship hall fill with people sharing stories and smiling at thoughts of days gone by.

A woman recalls stories about relatives who have passed away. One man relives war experiences in the jungles of Vietnam. Another man relays his daily workout routine before demonstrating each of his exercises.

These are the narratives of their lives. Each anecdote has a special meaning to the storytellers. But each tale must be taken with a grain of salt.

The people sharing stories are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Their memory comes and goes; reality intermingles with fantasy. Some go as far as to acknowledge it occasionally, saying, “My memory isn't as good as it used to be.”

The gathering is one of a few Alzheimer's respite programs in the Austin area that provides caregivers a break each week. Five clients make up the group, and a list is forming of people who want in the program when more trained volunteers come forward.

Every caregiver who brings someone to the group also is a relative of the person they are caring for. They spend the overwhelming majority of their time watching over those they love. Those can be long, isolated days. “It's like having a kid at home all day,” said Debra Schultz, whose husband, Bob, has Alzheimer's.

The church program frees some of Schultz's week so she can run errands or take a break without worrying about her husband. Each of the church's volunteers is trained to care for people with Alzheimer's.

Clients seem to enjoy themselves as well. The church provides breakfast and lunch, as well as a variety of activities. The group creates crafts, sings some of its favorite songs, exercises and spends time working in a garden on the church grounds.

Geraldine Hines, who directs the program, said she can see the ministry's impact on its clients. They become more comfortable conversing with others. Their moods are lifted.

The ministry “gives him the opportunity to socialize with others,” Debra Schultz said of her husband. “You can say it keeps him busy, but it's more than that.”

For the church, the program represents several aspects of the congregation's ministry, said Pastor Bernard Buhl. Members are encouraging fellowship and demonstrating Christ's love for people by caring for those in the community. A devotional also is given each week.

“It's an outreach on our part,” he said.

While the ministry is for people with Alzheimer's and their caregivers, volunteers said they are blessed by helping. Smiles come across their faces as they discuss working with their clients.

The people who serve in the ministry are not simply volunteers; they are people who care. Each client is greeted with a hug every week. If a client has car trouble, a church volunteer will pick him up. Hines creates a CD of pictures for each person's birthday to help them remember the past year.

“It's just very joyful,” she said. “I rarely feel sad. I know the clients as they are now. I don't know them as they were. I accept them as they are.”

Posted: 5/13/05

Around the State

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Conservatory of Music is taking enrollment for three Kindermusik Camps. The three camps will take place the week of June 20-24. “Creatures in the Ocean” is for ages 18 months to 3 years old. Students and parents will be introduced to waterfront friends such as the seagull, crab, dolphin, octopus and whale. They will sing to Calypso music and make music with shakers. The class meets from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. each day, with the caregiver staying the entire time. Cost is $85. “Confetti Days” is for children ages 3 to 5 and costs $115. It will meet from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Music will be woven throughout with movement, art, language, drama, play and storytelling. Children ages 5 to 7 are offered “Around the World,” a camp meeting from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Children will take an imaginary trip to countries around the world. Cost is $140. Call the conservatory office at (254) 295-4868 for more information.

Greg Solomon, Christy Stanlake and Phil Wilson have been selected as Outstanding Young Alumni at Hardin-Simmons University. Solomon, a 1983 HSU graduate, is president and CEO of the Burleson Area Chamber of Commerce. Stanlake, a 1994 graduate, is a member of the faculty at the United States Naval Academy, teaching a range of theater and English courses. Wilson, a 1990 graduate, is Gov. Rick Perry's deputy chief of staff.

Nathan Reyna has joined the Howard Payne University biology faculty as an assistant professor.

Sara Smith has been inducted into the Gilewicz Hall of Fame at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Smith is the 28th inductee into the hall honoring musicians. She is a 1953 music education graduate and a current trustee of the university.

South Oaks Church in Arlington recently dedicated its 18,000-square-foot worship center. It features a state-of-the-art sound, video and lighting system; a large gathering area; a large classroom; a conference room; and choir suite. Dan Curry, pastor of the church 13 years, said the facility is the result of the church's "dream to reach our area" for Christ. The church had worshipped in the gymnasium. "South Oaks has been dreaming of this day since I became pastor–the dream of having a true worship center," Curry said.

Brian Runnels, a 1981 graduate of Houston Baptist University, will return to his alma mater as dean of the university's College of Arts and Humanities. Currently a professor of music and graduate coordinator at Murray State University in Kentucky, he will join the HBU faculty June 1. James Taylor, current dean of the college, has announced his retirement effective May 31.

Robin Hardy of Harleton was named winner of East Texas Baptist University's 58th annual Senior Girl Call-Out. The script for the ceremony has remained the same since it was initiated in 1947. Hardy, a member of Harleton Church in Harleton, was selected based on Christian character, social conciousness, personal poise, academic achievement and spiritual vision. Twenty-six other senior girls participated in the ceremony.

Maxey Parrish, lecturer in journalism at Baylor Univer-sity, has been named the recipient of the Collins Outstanding Professor Award. As winner, he was recognized at commencement exercises, received a $10,000 cash prize and delivered a public lecture. The award is funded by the Carr P. Collins Foundation, and recipients are chosen annually by a senior class vote.

Retiring

Clifford Neal, after more than 18 years as pastor of Rayburn Church in Sam Rayburn. He has been in the ministry more than 50 years, serving several Texas churches and as a vocational evangelist. His wife, Donna, was the church's music director 18 years and also is retiring. He will be available for revivals, supply and interims beginning in June. He can be contacted at (409) 698-9265.

Anniversaries

Blanconia Church in Beeville, 150th, April 17. David Mundine is pastor.

Larry Grayson, 10th, as associate pastor/music and worship at First Church in Lewisville, May 1.

Sam Houston, 20th, as pastor of Woodrow Church in Covington, May 22.

Greg Smith, 10th, as pastor of Calvary Church in Denison, May 28.

Jason Burden, fifth, as pastor of First Church in Chilton.

Deaths

Roger Woodall, 85, March 26 in Lubbock. He attended Southwestern Semin-ary and preached at many area churches as a student. He was pastor of churches in New Mexico, Louisiana, Arizona, Colorado and Texas, including Temple Church in El Paso and Fairview Church in Amarillo. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Kathryn; daughters, Mary Kay Hunter, Sue O'Donnell and Becky Gast; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Ben Welmaker, 89, April 29 in Lufkin. He was a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Seminary. In 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and attended chaplain's school at William & Mary College. After the Navy, he was called as pastor of Central Church in Livingston. In 1950, Welmaker and his wife, Janis, were appointed by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board to Cali, Colombia, where they served 31 years. He was president of International Baptist Theolog-ical Seminary there when it opened in 1953 with three students. He also worked to start churches throughout Colom-bia. After returning to East Texas in 1979, he started five churches during the next 21 years, including Blanchard and Beacon Bay churches in Livingston. He also started two Spanish-language churches. After retiring to Pinecrest Retirement Community in Lufkin in 2000, he held worship services in the chapel and led Bible studies. He is survived by his wife of 64 years; son, Ben Jr.; daughters, Janie McAllister and Patricia Abney; and three grandsons.

Ordained

Sisavath Ketsatha to the ministry at Alamo City Christian Fellowship in San Antonio.

Rodney Hobson to the ministry at Lone Oak Church in Snook.

Scott Talbert to the ministry at McDade Church in McDade.

Sid Bergoon as a deacon at First Church in Taft.

Mike Haley as a deacon at McDade Church in McDade.

Jason Beck, John Beck, Loy Bozarth, Glen Hardcastle, Curtis Hubbard, Johnny Leftwich, Kyle Lyons, Joe Monden, Mike Morrison, Ray West and Phil Young as deacons at First Church in Gainesville.

C.L. Youngblood and Jack Modisette as deacons at Herty Church in Lufkin.

Charles Gibson, Stephen King and Larry Kremling as deacons at Calvary Church in Gainesville.

Events

The Goldens will be in concert at Braeburn Valley Church in Houston May 29 at 6 p.m. For more information, call (713) 774-7491. Preston Dupré is pastor.

A Christian comedy showcase will be held at The Heights Church in Richardson June 6 at 7:30 p.m. Hosted by Al Fike, it will feature Chonda Pierce, Tim Hawkins and Ms. Vickie. Tickets for the show are $10 at the door, with family four-packs available for $30. For more information, go to www.theheights.org. Gary Singleton is pastor.

Revivals

Savannah Church, Jeffer-son; May 15-18; evangelist, Jim Moss; pastor, Robert Shaddix.

Union Center Church, Rising Star; May 15-18; evangelist, Herman Cramer; pastor, Jerry Eckhart.

Posted: 5/13/05

Book reviews

Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers by Chap Clark (Baker Academic)

Prominent researchers have turned their attention to adolescent behavior in recent years. Cold, hard statistical numbers can tell us much about the teenage population's behavior, but they usually do not tell us why youth act the way they do and why they think what they think.

Fuller Theological Seminary professor Chap Clark has done parents and those who work with teenagers a great service by going beyond the numbers to look at the current youth culture and reveal what adolescents actually are saying and feeling about their own behavior.

During his research, Clark spent more than six months as a substitute teacher and “participant-observer” in a California high school, where he sat down, talked with and carefully listened to students every day.

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

He discovered that teenagers subsist in their own culture with unspoken rules and standards and that this subculture runs much deeper than he previously thought.

One of his main conclusions: Most of our teenagers are living in a world of their own that is defined by their hurts, fears and isolation, and, in general, adults don't understand this world. So, the youth pushes himself/herself even further away from those who should help and provide guidance.

This is one of the best books written about youth in the last decade. It is not a fun read, but it hits the issues dead center to help us understand what our youth are facing, so that we may be more intentional in being there for them. Highly recommended for youth ministers, lay youth workers, educators and parents.

Greg Bowman, minister to students

First Baptist Church

Duncanville

The Vanishing Power of Death by Erwin Lutzer (Moody Publishers)

Every person born on planet Earth encounters death. The dying process starts immediately after birth. How a person views the dying process depends on his or her relationship with God.

In The Vanishing Power of Death, Erwin Lutzer offers reassurance and hope for those who know Christ. He depicts death as a welcome transition into eternity with God rather than a fearful experience. He quotes the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

Lutzer, the senior pastor of Moody Church in Chicago for more than 21 years, has conducted countless funerals and has comforted numerous people on their deathbeds.

He documents Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, giving unbelievers the knowledge and opportunity to trust Christ as Savior.

Readers will find Lutzer's writing style clear and understandable.

The Vanishing Power of Death provides fresh confidence for Christ-followers and a way of hope for those still on the journey to God.

Connie Cohn

The Heights Baptist Church

Richardson

Five Leadership Essentials for Women: Developing Your Ability to Make Things Happen compiled by Linda Clark (New Hope)

This book focuses on communication, relationships, time management, group building and conflict management. Each chapter is filled with practical information that helps leaders know how to sharpen those skills. No matter what kind of leadership role a woman holds, she will find this book a helpful tool. It is great to have a book for women written by women!

Carolyn Porterfield, executive director

Woman's Missionary Union of Texas

Dallas

Forgive for Good by Fred Luskin (HarperSanFrancisco)

Luskin, director and cofounder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, offers a practical guide for putting into practice a profound spiritual imperative. Called “by far the best book on forgiveness” by Harold S. Kushner, Luskin's book ably takes the reader through the processes of forgiveness, processes that empower a hurting person to “forgive 70 times seven.”

Jeanie Miley, author & lecturer

Houston

Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Riverhead)

Lamott won't be everyone's cup of tea because she is brutally, sometimes crudely, honest about her experience as a relatively new Christian. Growing out of the challenges of single parenthood, recovery from addiction and the everyday encounters with real life, Lamott's faith confessions are a breath of fresh air to those looking for ways to navigate life's sometimes treacherous waters where God's unconditional love and life's unforgiving harshness intersect each other. Lamott's raw honesty can bring you to tears on one page and laughter the next but never leaves you lacking for reasons to keep on believing.

Glen Schmucker, pastor

Cliff Temple Baptist Church

Dallas

Posted: 5/13/05

Baptist Briefs

Denominational Servants Network meeting slated. The African-American Southern Baptist Denominational Servants Network will hold its annual meeting at 1:30 p.m. June 19, at Berean Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., prior to the June 21-22 SBC annual meeting. The third volume of The Journal of African American Southern Baptist History is due for release at the meeting. Roy Cotton, regional consultant for the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Church Multiplication Center, and Sid Smith, director of the Florida Baptist Convention's African-American division and executive director of the network, co-chair the history project. In addition to remarks by Rosevelt Morris, network president and director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention's office of prayer and spiritual awakening, the network's program will include addresses by Smith, Cotton and Andre Punch, church growth and black church consultant in the BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship Center.

Korean fellowship plans SBC meeting. The Council of Korean Southern Baptist Churches in America will hold its 14th annual meeting June 20-22 in Nashville, Tenn., in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention. The opening dinner will be held at the Holiday Inn Express Downtown at 5 p.m. Monday. On Tuesday, a preaching conference with six guest speakers–including Inhwa Park, pastor of First Korean Baptist Church in Dallas–will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the SBC Building at 901 Commerce St. The council's business meeting, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the SBC Building, will include the election of officers, discussion of bylaw amendments and strategies for global outreach, departmental reports and award presentations.

Ministers' wives set 50th annual meeting. Southern Baptist ministers' wives will celebrate their 50th annual gathering June 21 in Nashville, Tenn. Kay Warren, whose husband, Rick, is founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., will speak about being a purpose-driven woman during the luncheon in the Nashville Renaissance Hotel at 11:45 a.m. Advance tickets, at $10 each, may be ordered by sending a check payable to the SBC Ministers' Wives Conference and a self-addressed stamped envelope to Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 South Topeka, Wichita, Kan. 67211, or call (800) 254-2022 or order online at www.lifeway.com. Tickets purchased at the annual meeting will be $12 each.

National African American Fellowship planned. "Witness For My Lord" will be the theme for the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting. The fellowship's opening session, at 5 p.m. June 19, will be a worship service at Simeon Baptist Church in Nashville. The business session will be at 4 p.m., June 20, at the Nashville Hilton Inn and Suites.

Directors of missions meeting set. The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors of Missions, June 19-20 at the Sheraton Music City in Nashville, Tenn., will feature an in-depth look at the history of and purpose of Baptist associations. Speakers include D.L. Lowrie, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Lubbock; Jimmy Draper, president of LifeWay Christian Resources; and David Smith, director of missions for the Austin Baptist Association. For more information, visit www.sbcadom.net.

Hispanic Southern Baptists plan reunion. The 18th annual reunion of the National Fellowship of Hispanic Southern Baptist Churches begins with a simultaneous evangelistic crusade involving nearly all of the Hispanic Baptist churches in Tennessee, June 12-19. After the Crossover Nashville evangelistic effort June 18, Hispanic fellowship participants will gather at Tulip Grove Baptist Church in Old Hickory, northeast of Nashville, for a 7 p.m. concert and worship celebration. Conferences will follow the next day, beginning at 1:30 p.m., and a business session led by Fellowship President Heberto Becerra, pastor of First Hispanic Baptist Church in Plantation, Fla., will be held at 3 p.m. Also on June 19, a Hispanic Church Planting Celebration sponsored by the North American Mission Board will be held at 6 p.m. at Haywood Hills Baptist Church in Nashville. For more information about the National Fellowship of Hispanic Southern Baptist Churches, contact Julio Fuentes at (305) 206-7575 or julhist@aol.com or visit www.confraternidad.org.

Graham moves headquarters, crusade site. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has moved its international headquarters from Minneapolis to Charlotte, N.C., where a $27 million facility on 63 acres of land off Billy Graham Parkway was dedicated recently. In related news, the site for the upcoming crusade in New York City has been moved from Madison Square Garden to Flushing Meadows Park in order to accommodate anticipated crowds. The crusade, scheduled for June 24-26, could be the 86-year-old Graham's last, although he has been invited to conduct another evangelistic event in London this fall.

Fish nominated for SBC second VP. Evangelism professor Roy Fish will be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention second vice president during the SBC's annual meeting June 21-22 in Nashville, Tenn. Fish, a seminary professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for 40 years, will be nominated by Ted Stone, a trustee at the Fort Worth seminary. In April, Southwestern's trustees named the seminary's new school of evangelism and missions for Fish. Born and reared in Arkansas, Fish came to faith in Christ while pursuing his undergraduate degree at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He holds two degrees from Southwestern Seminary, including a doctorate in church history.

CBF Global Missions coordinator resigns. Barbara Baldridge, coordinator of Global Missions for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, will resign effective May 31, citing personal reasons. Baldridge, 54, has served in the top Fellowship missions post since 1999, first jointly with her husband, Gary, and then as sole coordinator since February of this year. Gary Baldridge, 54, retired at the end of December 2004 to pursue a career in writing. CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal appointed Jack Snell, associate coordinator for missions field ministries, as acting global missions coordinator. Vestal said he will recommend Snell as interim coordinator during the June meeting of the Coordinating Council, which is expected to appoint a committee to seek a permanent coordinator at the same time.

Gardner-Webb elects president. Trustees of Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., unanimously elected Frank Bonner president of the Baptist-affiliated school May 1. Bonner, 57, provost and senior vice president there since 1992, becomes the 100-year-old school's 12th president July 1, replacing Frank Campbell, who served as interim president since 2002.

Illinois Baptist executive director resigns. After a little more than two years on the job as executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association, Wendell Lang has resigned to accept a position as pastor of West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn. His resignation from the Illinois Baptist post is effective May 27, and he begins his new job June 1. Lang came to Illinois from Oklahoma after serving as pastor of First Baptist Church of Pryor 14 years. He was elected executive director in January 2003.

Virginia state paper editor named. James White, a Virginia Baptist employee and former pastor of First Baptist Church in Newport News, Val., will become editor of the Religious Herald June 1. White, 54, who has been department head for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board empowering leaders team since 2003, was elected by trustees of the Herald, newsjournal of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. He will succeed Michael Clingenpeel, who resigned as editor in August 2004 to become pastor of River Road Church, Baptist, in Richmond. White is a graduate of Wiliam Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., and holds master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. White and his wife, Connie, have two children and two grandchildren.

Posted: 5/13/05

For 10 years, Agape Meal
shows love to homeless people

By George Henson

Staff Writer

FORT WORTH–More than 300 people gathered at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the church's Agape Meal. Many of the guests could not have received an invitation in the mail because they have no address.

This is not a soup kitchen or buffet-style meal. Round tables seating eight each have a host. When the guests arrive, they are greeted and seated at the tables covered by white tablecloths, set with real plates, glassware, silverware and linen napkins.

Everything possible is done to show the guests that while they may be homeless, the church and God still know they are people of worth.

A volunteer serves iced tea at the Agape Meal, a ministry of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth. (Photos by George Henson)

“There's nothing throw-away used,” said Billie Wilks, worship leader for the meal. “It's the same set-up we use when the church family sits down. It's the same on Thursday as it is on Wednesday evening when the church eats.”

Roast beef was the entrée for the celebration meal, and that's not unusual. No corners are cut. “It's always a hot meal,” said Dan Freemyer, director of community ministries. A paid kitchen staff prepares the meal. Broadway has such a high reputation for good meals that the church hosts community organization luncheons almost daily, he said.

The Agape Meal is much more than a meal, however. It also is a worship service–integrated so tightly the two can't be separated, Freemyer said.

Even before the meal begins, a responsive reading is read, although many have committed much of it to memory. After giving thanks for the bread and reciting the Lord's Prayer, each person passes the basket of bread on the table to his neighbor with the words, “The Lord wants you to have this bread.”

Instrumentalists provide dinner music.

Scripture reading and preaching, congregational singing and prayer requests also are a part of the weekly Thursday night meal that concludes with communion for those who wish to come to separate chapel to take it–about 10 to 15 percent each week, Freemyer estimated.

Both Freemyer and Wilks recalled one night when a prayer request was answered so swiftly and completely all present clearly saw the hand of God.

A man was earnestly pleading for prayer for his mother and brother whom he had not seen in years. Before he could finish, another man across the room stood and said, “That's my brother.”

“It was an amazing thing,” Wilks recalled. “They were both there and they had no clue until one stood up to ask prayer for the other one. It was a wonderful reunion, and there were tears all across the room.”

The anniversary meal was quite a bit different than the first Agape Meal. Ten years ago, about 40 people, primarily from one Sunday school class, stood ready to host and serve a meal to those with homes in the transitioning community and those without homes. They waited anxiously for their opportunity to serve, but only about 15 “guests” attended.

Attendance was sparse the first few months, but they persevered, and Pastor Brett Younger is glad they did.

“In some ways, that meal is one of the most Christian things we do,” said Younger, who became Broadway's pastor five years ago.

Like Younger, Freemyer arrived in Fort Worth after the meal's beginning, and he said it was one of the things that excited him about joining Broadway.

“I was looking at it from the perspective of a church social worker, and I thought finally I might get to be a part of something that connects the church with the community,” he said.

“Churches are often good at providing services but not nearly so good at fostering relationships with those in need of those services.”

While the guests do not pay anything for their meal, they give so much more back to the church through those relationships, Younger said.

“This started as a ministry to a group of people, but now it's a shared ministry with them giving so much back to us as a church,” he said.

Some who attend the Agape Meal also are beginning to worship at Broadway on Sunday mornings, Younger said, which also is a blessing.

“My children know the names of homeless people. That's such a gift to my family. They will be better Christians than I am because of the Agape Meal,” Younger said.

One Broadway tradition is that the last 24 people to join the church older than age 11 serve communion on Easter Sunday.

“This year, one of those serving communion was a homeless person,” Younger said. “That's just wonderful.”

Younger, a regular attender at the Thursday night meals, said praying with the homeless can make a person more aware of the power of prayer.

“It's different to pray on Thursday night, 'Give us this day our daily bread' when you know that the people standing around you are not going home to a full refrigerator,” he said.

Younger said the meal also is a huge blessing to volunteers who host tables and serve.

“The people who have volunteered have ended up loving it,” he said. “Billie Wilks, for example–she works at IBM all day, and then she gets to come here and be Jesus for someone.”

“We have volunteers who are more regular on Thursday than they are on Sunday, and I'm not sure that says anything bad about them,” he continued.

He also has been blessed by the guests who attend the meals. As a host, he has made several friends. One man invited him to his home–a tent in a ravine in the midst of a the inner-city.

“It has helped me, and I think our church, to treat people as individuals, Younger said. “You can't categorize the homeless any more than you can anyone else.”

One of the men who now is homeless holds a doctorate in Russian. Another is an accomplished organist.

Younger said the meal also helps him to stay focused on what's really important in his and the church's ministry.

“Most pastors I know get so frustrated with getting caught up in the trivia,” he said. “This meal helps us so much to remember why we are here.”

Younger recalled a man who arrived one night and sat at the table but didn't put anything on his plate. Younger volunteered to go to the kitchen to get him a meal, but the man stopped him, saying: “I already ate. I just came here to be treated like a human being.”

And while no corners are cut in providing the meal, it is not a drain on the church budget. As a matter of fact, it's not even in the church budget and never has been.

“People provide for this ministry out of their own pockets, and they are so passionate about it, money has never been a concern. We've never had to make a plea. It's not a budget item, but it would be if it needed to be,” Younger said.

Posted: 5/13/05

Posted: 5/13/05

Grads represent leadership potential

By Albert Reyes

In just a few weeks, thousands of our youth will participate in high school and university commencement exercises all over Texas. In fact, Baptist University of the Americas will graduate 76 students, our highest number in our 58-year history. Commencement exercises also are being held at San Marcos Baptist Academy, Baylor University, Dallas Baptist University, East Texas Baptist University, Howard Payne University, Hardin-Simmons University, Houston Baptist University, Wayland Baptist University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. These new graduates represent leadership potential for our families, our congregations and for our communities across Texas.

Texas Baptists share in the blessing of commencement exercises through their participation in the Texas Cooperative Program that invests into the lives of our students. Through the Cooperative Program, we impact more students together than we could alone. We thank the Lord for the lives of each graduate and his or her family. To some degree, our future is in their hands.

At BUA, we celebrate the accomplishments of each graduate, and then we turn our attention to goals of the fall semester. The demand for our students is very high, and the supply is quite low. We are working diligently to meet the need for cross-cultural Christian leaders equipped in a predominantly Hispanic context.

This challenge becomes even more daunting when we realize that the high school dropout rate for Hispanics in Texas is over 50 percent. Only 9 percent of Hispanic students in Texas attain a college-level education, versus 21 percent for African-American students, 34 percent for Anglo-American students, and 54 percent among Asian-American students.

Significantly high dropout rates for Hispanics impact our society on many levels. Hispanics enter the workforce less prepared and less educated for their careers. They are unable to earn wages needed to sustain their families, they produce less income, and they produce less tax revenue for our city, county, state and federal governments. A Hispanic high school graduate will earn $200,000 more than a dropout in his or her lifetime. A Hispanic with a bachelor's degree will earn $600,000 more in his or her lifetime. And a Hispanic with a master's degree will earn $1.7 million more in his or her lifetime. Hispanics with bachelor's degrees pay twice as much in taxes, and those with a master's degree pay three times as much in taxes.

Educational opportunities where students can learn in a faith-oriented context pose the best methods for impacting a student, a family and perhaps a generation of future Texas Baptists.

So what would happen if Texas Baptists committed themselves to a zero-tolerance posture for high school dropouts among our Texas Baptist youth? What if we determined that, as a family of Texas Baptists, we would not allow any more of our students to drop out of high school? We would provide a constant flow of freshmen for our Texas Baptist universities, and we would change the lives of the next generation of Texas Baptists.

I am very encouraged that the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Christian Education Coordinating Board has passed a recommendation that will be presented to our Executive Board May 24, calling for a task force to study the Hispanic high school dropout issue. If approved by the Executive Board, the presidents of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas will jointly appoint a 15-member task force to study this issue and develop recommendations to address this issue with solutions aimed at Hispanic students.

Please pray for the Executive Board as they consider this recommendation.

It could impact our future!

Albert Reyes, president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, is president of Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio.

Posted: 5/13/05

CYBERCOLUMN:
Transition

By Berry D. Simpson

So, yes, it’s true. My daughter is getting married soon. I’ve known this was coming for about a year, officially; a little longer, unofficially. This is the first time I’ve been brave enough to write about it.

My official notice came last June, when we were hiking up Guadalupe Peak. Cyndi and Katie were about 100 yards up the trail ahead of Drew and me. We were just past the wooden bridge, walking along the southeast face of the peak near the summit where the mountain drops off severely into a steep cliff extending hundreds of feet down. To slip off the trail at this point would mean a tumbling slide through gravel and yucca and cactus and big, sharp rocks.

It was at this point along the hike that Drew drew up the courage to tell me he wanted to marry my daughter and wanted my permission and blessing. My first words were, “You’re a brave young man, Drew, to ask that right here beside this cliff.” He said his friends back at college had questioned whether this was the smartest place to bring it up. (Cyndi thinks I have the story all wrong. She thinks that if I’d said no, Drew would have pushed me over the edge and claimed, “Mr. Simpson’s last words before he tragically fell to his death were, ‘Yes, you can marry Katie!’” Cyndi may be right.)

I remember back when we first got these kids, these babies, we were so excited. I looked forward to those first few steps on their own.  I imagined a cute little baby tottering across the room with arms outstretched saying, “Daddy, Daddy!” No one warned me that same baby would use his new skills to sneak around the corner and out of sight and disappear in Dillard’s department store and scare us all to death. I thought our children would always walk toward us, not away from us.

I also remember driving our son Byron to Rusk Elementary for his first day at school. I expected an emotional separation, and I was trying to be strong and dependable, but Byron didn’t even want me to walk him to class. He jumped out of my car, his giant backpack in place, and trotted toward the front door, eyes pointed determinedly toward the future. He never looked back. He was gone around the corner before I had time to be brave.

About two years after that, Byron worked out a low-traffic route so he could ride his little bicycle to school. It was a long convoluted path through the quieter parts of our neighborhood and kept him away from cars and scary intersections. At first, I followed behind him in my car, but by week’s end, he was tired of my clandestine supervision and said: “I can do this myself. Stop following me.” Like that, he was gone.

By the time I finally got used to my kids riding off on their own on bicycles, they wanted to take up driving cars. While the notion of teenagers driving is pretty scary, it’s not much scarier than toddlers learning to walk. It’s exciting to watch them drive off into the future with tires screeching and CD player blaring. That is, until they turn the corner and go out of sight and don’t look back—and don’t come home on time.

In the summer of 2001, Cyndi and I put Katie on an airplane to Denmark so she could spend an ENTIRE YEAR WITHOUT COMING HOME as a Rotary Exchange Student. I handled the goodbye scene at the airport with dignity, surprised how easy it was to send her off to the other (way more liberal) side of the world. I didn’t get emotional at all until the five-hour drive home, which I had to make all by myself.

All by my self! I cried all the way home, singing the Hall and Oats song in my head, “She’s gone … .”

So, friends recently sponsored Katie’s shower, and it was a wonderful weekend. Katie and Drew were overwhelmed by the generosity—by the endorsement—of our giant Midland family. They left most of their gifts at our house since we have room to store everything. I’m not complaining about that since their new stuff is way better than ours. Especially the towels: same color as ours, but much softer.

I couldn’t be prouder of my little sweetheart girl, and I’m looking forward to this next phase of our relationship. But transitions like this are easier to write about in retrospect than they are to live through in real-time.

If I could tell Katie and Drew—and for that matter, Byron—one thing, it would be this: Life is full of new beginnings and fresh starts and transitions. They can be very exciting. Sometimes they make you cry. Just keep your eyes firmly fixed on the future and on God, and don’t disappear around the corner too fast without telling me where you are going.

Berry Simpson, a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland. 

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 5/13/05

Day of Prayer participants
assemble to 'get God's attention'

By Marv Knox

Editor

AUSTIN–Standing on the steps of the state capitol, Baptists called down God's blessings on Texas May 5.

Albert Reyes, president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, asked God to grant Texas Baptists “special creativity and extra energy and imagination” to reach their state with the gospel and to meet human needs in Jesus' name.

Reyes conceived the prayer rally and called Baptists from across Texas to stop for prayer late in the morning on the National Day of Prayer. About 100 people attended the event; they came from as far away as El Paso, Dallas-Fort Worth and the Rio Grande Valley.

“My goal was to gather together for prayer,” Reyes said in an interview. “The minimum requirement was three people, for Jesus said, 'Where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.'

“We came here not to get attention (of Texans), but to get God's attention” on behalf of Texans.

Rally participants prayed for a range of needs, which included:

Children. "God, bless the children, parents and grandparents," pleaded Michael Evans, the BGCT's director of African-American ministries. He specifically asked God to protect the children of Texas, half a million of whom live in poverty and more than 100,000 of whom are uninsured.

“Help us as adults to serve as a guiding light, as broad shoulders to stand on. Use us, so we can be useful to them,” Evans prayed.

“God, bless them to be better than we are now, than we will ever be. The hope of our future rests on their shoulders.”

Austin, Travis County and the entire state. David Smith, director of missions for Austin Baptist Association, asked God to guide and bless city, county and state leaders.

He also asked God to make himself real to all Texans, “that we might catch a glimpse of you, that we would seek you with our whole hearts.”

Missions. "The world has come to our doorstep; thanks for the opportunity and for the challenge to tell people who you are," prayed Nelda Taylor Thiede, president of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas.

“Father, we need you. … Let us never forget what love and sacrifice came through Jesus Christ,” she said. “May we always be bold in speaking of your love and power” to fellow Texans.

Revival. "Sometimes, we think this world revolves around us and forget how vital is our relationship with you," acknowledged Charles Whitmire, pastor of Crestview Baptist Church in Austin.

“We confess we don't know you as we should. (But) we want desperately for our state and nation and people to turn their attention to you. We want desperately to see revival. We confess we are closed to you. … Help us to seek your way.”

Texas Baptists have a hard time fulfilling the divine biblical mandate to “seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God,” Whitmire admitted. “Help us to be a people who want justice, who treat people fairly,” he prayed. “Teach us to love as you love. … We have such a hard time loving people who are not like us. Help us to be like you and love people who are far from you. … Help us to live lives that truly reflect Christ.”

The BGCT. Reyes led in prayer for the convention's 23 institutions, whose educational, child care, health care and aging care ministries touch 10 percent of the state's population every year. He asked God to grant Texas Baptists the energy and resources to meet the state's overwhelming needs.

He also prayed for the 2005 BGCT annual meeting, which will be held in Austin Nov. 14-15, as well as for the convention at large.

“We humble ourselves,” Reyes prayed. “Without you, we can't get anything done worthwhile. Help us to live in a way that is worthy and pleasing to you. … Do something supernatural beyond our wildest imagination.

“Bless us. Cause your face to shine upon us, and give us peace.”

Shortly after the BGCT prayer rally, Reyes led the invocation for a multi-denominational prayer rally, also on the south steps of the capitol.

Posted: 5/13/05

DOWN HOME:
One night down, with forever to go

Joanna worried about my snoring.

That wasn't what I expected when I came home after my semi-annual dental exam with some bad news.

Normally, trips to the dentist are no big deal. I've got incredibly hard teeth, only one of which has ever had a cavity.

I come by these hard teeth naturally, since I was raised in the far north Texas Panhandle, where the water is naturally fluoridated. Our teeth aren't very white. But they're hard.

And apparently semi-famous. When I was in seminary halfway across the country, my dentist looked inside my mouth and said: “I'll never need to do anything to your teeth. But I can name within four or five places in the United States where you grew up.” When I said, “the Texas Panhandle,” he laughed and nodded his head.

Just the other week, I visited my ol' pal Marc–college classmate, lifelong friend and personal dentist. This time, he wanted to paint enamel on three teeth where my gums have eroded.

“You're grinding your teeth,” Marc said.

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “Every time a church drops the Baptist Standard, I grind my teeth. I could bite nails in two.”

“No, in your sleep,” Marc corrected. He explained that my nocturnal gnashing pushes my teeth apart, wears down my gums and leaves some of the roots exposed.

So, in addition to painting enamel on my teeth, he wanted to fit me with this hard-plastic clip that would keep me from grinding in the night.

When I told Jo, I thought she'd wonder how much all this costs. Maybe she'd even tease me about needing real dental work after all these years.

But no. She wondered if this would make me snore. “Snore worse,” is what she actually said. She worried about whether I might keep her awake.

Of course, nobody really knows how much they snore. I think I'm a light snorer. I only consistently snore when I lie flat on my back. That's nothing. I've got friends who have to wear those sleep-apnea gas masks to keep from snoring. Once, when we went on a deacons' retreat and slept overnight in a cabin full of bunk beds, I dreamed I'd wandered into a herd of water buffalo. Up against those guys, I'm not bad.

But Jo's not married to “those guys.” And the only snorer she's concerned about is me.

By the way, you don't want to get between my wife and her sleep. She's beautiful, sweet, kind, funny, generous and supportive. But the woman needs her sleep.

So, if it's a choice between grinding my teeth or this new device causing me to snore, she'll order my dentures.

Later this week, I'm performing the wedding for our young friends Lindsey and Matt. In all our marriage counseling, we didn't discuss snoring. But I'm thinking about adding a line to the ceremony: “… in sickness and in health, in snoring and in silent slumber … .” And I'll pray that God's grace is sufficient to cover a multitude of snorts.

By the way, Jo said the next morning: “Hey, I didn't hear you snore.”

Thank the Lord and my ol' pal Marc.

—Marv Knox

Posted: 5/13/05

EDITORIAL:
Friendship provides key to connecting

Two years into our marriage, Joanna and I moved 400 miles and set up housekeeping in a community entirely new to us. Since we had been “raised right” by faithful Baptist parents, we immediately started searching for a church home. The first Sunday, we visited the church that met closest to our duplex. Now that was an unusual experience. The worship reflected a different strain of our Baptist heritage, and it all seemed unfamiliar and awkward. So, we kept looking. We visited two or three other churches, each with worship and Sunday school much more familiar to our Texas tastes. But the young couples in the first church befriended us. They embraced us in their circle of fellowship. Soon, we decided that adapting to a different worship style was a small price to pay for being part of such a warm and loving congregation. We joined that church, and it blessed our family–not only Jo and me, but later our daughters–beyond our wildest imagination.

While that church may have been unique, our experience wasn't. A new Gallup Organization poll commissioned by Group Publishing documents the close connection between human friendships, spiritual maturity and deep satisfaction with church.

“Church members who have a best friend at church are 21 percent more likely to report attending church at least once a week and 26 percent more likely to report having a strong, more active faith in God,” explains Michael Lindsay, a sociology research affiliate at Princeton University and analyst of the survey, which is recorded in a new book, Friendship: Creating a Culture of Connectivity in Your Church.

“Respondents with a best friend at church were also more likely to say their faith is involved in every aspect of their lives and that they have a close friendship with God,” adds Lindsay, a Baylor University graduate and former assistant to the president at Dallas Baptist University.

The new survey's results showed:

87 percent of respondents who say they have a “best friend” at church also say they are very satisfied with their church.

84 percent of church members who feel “our spiritual leaders seem to care for me as a person” are very satisfied with church. This compares to just 24 percent who are neutral or dissatisfied with their church.

About 90 percent of church members who feel as if they “belong” at their church and a similar percentage who feel “loved and accepted” report strong satisfaction with their church.

In his analysis, Lindsay describes how churches can support this sense of belonging by supporting affinity groups that allow members to focus on shared interests and passions; by assimilating new members into the ministries, Bible studies and other activities of the church; and by being affable, such as placing greeters at the church doors.

Congregational friendliness and concern translate directly into involvement. For example, 67 percent of members who describe their church as “very caring” and 65 percent who believe their church is “very friendly” attend once a week. This contrasts with once-a-month attenders, 6 percent of whom think their church is caring and 8 percent of whom feel it is friendly.

Friendship tracks directly to spiritual transformation, the poll revealed:

The No. 1 indicator a respondent would agree that “faith is part of every aspect of life” is having a “best friend” at church, with 74 percent in that category affirming the statement.

Similarly, 74 percent of members who said they “strongly feel valued and respected” at church also said they would describe their faith as “a friendship with God.”

“Deep, lasting friendships borne out of faith and nurtured in the church may be the single most effective strategy in reinvigorating the American church,” Lindsay claims. “Indeed, faith grows best in community, and friendships at church change lives.”

In addition to Lindsay's analysis of the new poll, Friendship: Creating a Culture of Connectivity in Your Church includes 90 ideas–developed by the Group Publishing staff–to help children's, youth and adult ministries build a “culture of connectivity” in church. The book also includes a compact disc with a PowerPoint training session to teach leaders and volunteers how to build connectivity.

And it's all free. Every year, Group Publishing tithes its profits to support local-church ministries. This year, it's giving away the Friendship … book and CD. To order, call (800) 747-6060, ext. 1324, or visit www.group.com/giveback.