Posted: 4/15/05

Waco pastor leads church
to embrace ethnic diversity

By George Henson

Staff Writer

WACO–Brookview Baptist Church in Waco is finding the key to its growth lies in reaching out to everyone in the community, regardless of race.

The church called Kevin Avery, a student at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, as pastor last Easter, even though a pastorate wasn't what he had been wanting or expecting.

Avery, 30, and his wife, Dayna, had spent two years in China as missionaries, and he was looking forward to life as a seminary student.

“Most of the students at Truett give the administration a resume to keep on file for churches that inquire about staff, but I didn't do that,” Avery said. “I told God I was taking a break, and when he was ready for me to go back into full-time ministry to let me know. I don't know if that was the best attitude, but that's what I did.”

God came knocking in the form of a neighbor who arrived at his door and asked if he would temporarily fill the pulpit for a congregation of four people.

That was in March 2004. A few weeks later, the church called him as pastor.

He quickly set about making changes.

“They were on the verge of shutting the doors,” he acknowledged. “The financial situation was heading toward bankruptcy, and some drastic things needed to happen.”

The line item Avery cut from the budget was a salary–his own. He also told the church someone inside the congregation needed to start cutting the grass, because they would no longer pay anyone to do that job either.

The church now receives financial and volunteer support from the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Waco Baptist Association and congregations including Emmanuel, Western Heights and Calvary Baptist churches in Waco, First Baptist Church of Woodway and West University Baptist Church in Houston.

As Avery looked at his congregation, he realized how little they reflected the community. He estimates the racially diverse neighborhood surrounding the church is 40 percent Hispanic, 35 percent African-American and 25 percent Anglo.

The church's few members, however, all were Anglos.

Avery was equipped to reach out to that community, however. He speaks Spanish well after growing up in Southern California. His parents were Home Mission Board missionaries who worked with an itinerant chapel-on-wheels ministry to migrant workers.

That experience exposed him to poverty and the strains it can put on families.

Many families in the church's immediate vicinity seem to be moving up economically, Avery said. While the population appears transient, with many families coming and going, he has seen an improvement in the way families are caring for their property.

The church began a movement away from being “a white church” last summer when Avery's friends from Truett came to the church to help with a Vacation Bible School for local children. Sixteen children of varying hues came, and Brookview began to change its appearance, as well.

The number of adults didn't begin to increase until the end of 2004, but Avery now expects it to continue to grow.

“Some of the adults that are coming now have begun to catch the vision of a church that reflects the ethnic diversity of the community,” he said.

That particularly was evident on the church's high attendance day in late February. Thirty-one people came to Brookview–16 Anglos, 12 African-Americans and three Hispanics.

Avery is sure that sort of ethnic diversity is the church's future.

“We are actively pursuing having three co-pastors–one Caucasian, one African-American and one Hispanic. It is our vision to intentionally reflect and empower our diverse community through Christ's message of reconciliation,” he said.

He acknowledges, however, that dream has been elusive. “It is especially hard to find ethnic leadership. Most of the people who have the skills we are looking for already are serving somewhere else,” Avery said.

An African-American pastor is praying about joining the church, he noted.

Friends from Truett have helped as Bible study leaders, worship leaders and outreach leaders and taken on other responsibilities, but Avery sees that as a temporary measure.

“Long term, we know the leadership needs to come from the community. That's something that's easier to say than do, but we're working to train up leaders,” he said.

“Hopefully, we'll kind of work ourselves out of a job. Kind of like when we were ministering overseas. That's the way I look at it–that the people here would rise up to take over the leadership.”

After a slow start, he sees signs the church may be that multicultural congregation he envisions.

“We've been very encouraged the last few months,” Avery said. “Especially the first six months, we were finding it hard to be seen as anything but a white church, but now we're getting past that.”

Posted: 4/15/05

Homes needed for Angels from Abroad

“Angels” are looking to land in two Texas homes, according to Buckner International Adoption.

The adoption service is looking for Christian families to host two remaining sibling sets from Russia for its second installment of Angels from Abroad.

Introduced last year, the program allows adoption-minded couples and singles to host orphaned children ages 7 to 14 during their two-week vacation in Dallas June 4-20.

TOP: Dima, 11, and sister Kristina, 10; BELOW: Kostya, 12, and sister Elonara, 8, are Angels from Abroad who need host families.

The children will live in host family homes during their visit and participate in several events organized by Buckner, including a family picnic, Vacation Bible School, a swim party and other group outings.

Several families have agreed to participate, but hosts still are needed. The application deadline is April 29.

Kostya, 12, is described by caretakers as friendly, talkative and active, with an affinity for games. His sister, Elonara, 8, is easy-going, interactive, respectful and loving. Her interests include music, drawing and crafts. She develops strong attachments to people she knows and trusts.

Dima, 11, is quiet and patient and will do well in a family with similar traits. His sister, Kristina, 10, is happy, talkative, caring and hard-working.

Caretakers say both siblings are on par developmentally.

Hosts for Buckner Angels from Abroad must be Chris-tian and active members of a church. Couples and single women at least 25 years old are eligible. All participants must pass a criminal background check and home study.

Although most Buckner-sponsored activities for the angels will be held in Dallas, out-of-town hosts are welcomed.

“They may set up a temporary residency in the Dallas area for the first week and then have the angel visit their hometown during the second week,” said Mary Ann Hamby, community relations coordinator for Buckner International Adoption.

For more information on Buckner Angels from Abroad, or to apply to host, visit www.bucknerinternationaladoption.org.

Posted: 4/15/05

Buckner needs adoptive parents for brothers

Two young brothers now in foster care need adoptive families, according to workers with Buckner Children and Family Services of Northeast Texas.

“Brandon and Justin have been in care for a long while,” reported Callie Reneau, Buckner foster care supervisor. “They each need an adoptive family soon.”

Brandon, 9, is energetic and, according to his foster mom, loves books.

Brandon	Justin

“He asks a lot of questions and doesn't mind seeking out his own answers,” Reneau said. “He's interested in so many subjects.”

Justin, 10, is a sports enthusiast who loves being outdoors.

“Justin is an exceptional child with unique needs,” Reneau added. “I have seen him be very nurturing at times, and his kind heart is evident on these occasions. The family who adopts Justin will encounter a charming young man with great potential.”

Brandon and Justin currently reside in the same foster home. Each has a childhood marked by early trauma, resulting in placement with Child Protective Services, and each is learning to heal through the love and support of their foster parents, Reneau said.

“The boys are very affectionate. They are generous. They show a great enthusiasm for even the smallest experiences in life,” their foster mother said, recalling a trip to the movie theater–a first for the boys.

Neither Brandon nor Justin wants to miss anything, she added. “They don't want to miss school, even when they are sick. They want to go! That's their ap-proach to life.”

Brandon and Justin will need families willing and able to provide the unconditional love and consistent structure they need to thrive, Reneau said.

The boys are well aware of the importance of permanency, and they have made their wishes plain, she added. “It is a real heartfelt desire for both of the boys to have a forever family. That is probably their main wish in this world.”

Buckner Foster Care and Adoption provides training and support for foster and adoptive families. For more information, or to discuss adopting Brandon or Justin, call Buckner Children and Family Services of Northeast Texas at (903) 757-9383.

Posted: 4/15/05

Posted: 4/15/05

2nd Opinion:
Texas Baptists urged to pray May 5

By Albert Reyes

I recently had the privilege of speaking to the fifth annual Ethnic Worker's Summit, hosted by the Ethnic America Network in Irving. This network is comprised of ministers from more than 60 denominations across the United States. I was asked to speak on the subject of collaboration.

I started my presentation by reviewing three major reasons collaboration is needed at this time in our history. First, our context requires it. Given the multiple shifts taking place in our society, no one individual or organization is capable of seizing all the opportunities for the gospel in their context. Second, our constituencies expect it. The people we work with in our churches are business professionals, health-care professionals, educators, engineers and laborers who already practice collaboration in the workplace. Collaboration is not a new topic or practice for them. Third, our collective worldview predisposes us toward collaboration. Non-Western cultures tend to value cooperation more than competition.

So, why is collaboration absent from many places of ministry? What is required for collaboration to be operational in our midst?

Four major ingredients increase the possibility of collaboration–reconciliation, greater vision, confidence and humility. Reconciliation as opposed to alienation tends to increase the possibility of collaboration. Greater vision rather than a small vision leads us to the realization that we need other people, resources, creativity and energy to accomplish what we sense God leading us to do. Confidence in who God has made us to be and a clear understanding of how he has gifted us helps us learn how much we need other people to get kingdom things done. We need confidence rather than arrogance, a false sense of confidence that leads us to believe we do not need other members of the family. Finally, humility rather than pride teaches us we can get more done together when we don't care who gets the credit.

Texas Baptists have learned throughout history that we can do much more together than we can do alone. We have a long history of collaboration in missions and ministry through the Cooperative Program and the Mary Hill Davis Offering. And now we face greater challenges that will require greater collaboration to advance the cause of Christ in our changing world.

Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

One way we can collaborate is through prayer. I am inviting Texas Baptists to pray for missions, pray for our work together, pray that our feet will cross cultures with the gospel and pray that the financial support for our work together will increase. I am inviting Texas Baptists to join me at the south steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin May 5 at 11 a.m. to pray for 30 minutes during the National Day of Prayer. We will pray for Texas, for the Texas Baptist family and for our annual meeting that will be held in November.

If you can join me May 5 in Austin, please contact me by May 1 at (800) 721-1396 extension 207 or areyes@bua.edu in order to anticipate your participation. If you cannot come to Austin, would you be willing to gather Texas Baptists in your church or community to pray with us for 30 minutes that day?

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

Posted: 4/15/05

DOWN HOME:
Apartness is a part of raising children

One of the most difficult, yet fascinating, aspects of parenthood is dealing with the apartness of it all.

That's probably why I loved our daughters' infancy and preschool years so much.

Yes, parenting babies and young children is tedious and time-consuming. It's a 24/7 job. Most of it is manual labor.

But I always exulted in that feeling of being needed. Babies and preschoolers utterly depend upon their parents. Everything from feeding and burping and wiping bottoms to tying shoelaces and brushing hair and taking them everywhere they go. Not to mention reading bedtime stories and tucking them in and getting them up and and cuddling on the couch.

Even as I write this, my mind fills with splendid, vivid images of daddying our little girls. This was a deeply intimate, connected time. Lindsay and Molly weren't much “other” than Joanna and me. We were connected at the hip, sometimes literally.

Now, I know it's easier for a father than a mother to rhapsodize about the glories of those early years. I got up and went to work five days a week and spent nine or 10 hours a day with grownups. A stay-at-home mom like Jo had no such space. But she witnessed all the little occasions of life and learning. When we talked about them over the dinner table, I always felt a bit jealous.

I loved the tight closeness of babies and preschoolers.

Unfortunately, what they don't tell you in the delivery room is that from the time that baby leaves its mommy's tummy, it's all about separation, about moving on, about gaining independence.

This happens so slowly in the early years that you hardly notice. But when children start school, the pace accelerates and the degree of distance escalates.

We've experienced a double dose of this reality in the past week.

Molly's high school commencement invitations and cap and gown arrived. By the time you read this, she'll have less than 25 days of high school classes left. Our baby will walk the stage and keep walking toward college in the fall. For the first time, she'll make a home out from under our roof. Away. Apart.

A couple of days after Molly's stuff arrived, we saw Lindsay's engagement pictures. She and Aaron spent part of a day in a park with a photographer, getting “the” picture that symbolizes their love.

As I studied the pictures, I couldn't help but notice a couple of things.

First was how enormously happy they seemed. I saw that twinkle in Lindsay's eyes and spark in her smile that have thrilled me on all her happiest days.

Second was how they have become a couple. This isn't Lindsay and some boy she met. This is Lindsay and Aaron, young people in love, planning a wedding, dreaming of a lifetime together.

That means, of course, that she's taking more steps away from her mother and me. Not loving us less, but differently. Away. Apart.

I know this is what God intended, and it's why we raised them as we did. But I'm still getting used to it. Just give me time.

Posted: 4/15/05

EDITORIAL:
What can we learn from ticket scalpers?

Here's news from the well-now-I've-seen-everything department: Scalpers are collecting up to $190 for tickets to a religious service.

Popular pastor/TV preacher/author Joel Osteen is partway through his 15-city “worship tour” across America. The tour is an outgrowth of his successful TV show (according to Nielson ratings, the No. 1 “inspirational program” in the nation), which is broadcast from his charismatic Lakewood Church in Houston (according to Forbes.com, the fastest-growing congregation in America). The tour has been propelled by Osteen's enormously popular book, Your Best Life Now (according to the New York Times, a bestseller).

Osteen is so popular in Chicago that promoters extended his stay to two nights. He'll lead worship services in the Allstate Arena in suburban Rosemont, Ill., May 5-6. But even two nights in a major arena can't meet demand, so scalped tickets are fetching almost 20 times their $10 face value. (Folks who take pride in Texas' religiosity might be disturbed to know scalpers only got $100 for Osteen tickets in Dallas. Is Midwestern religious fervor twice as strong as Texas spiritual passion?)

Scalping for preaching raises questions.

What's Osteen doing–charging 10 bucks for people to come hear the gospel?

We're used to free grace and free preaching. So, on the surface at least, pay-per-pew religion sounds smarmy.

Osteen's people say it's about crowd control and convenience. Don Iloff, a spokesperson for the preacher, told the Chicago Sun-Times Osteen started charging admission at the request of arena managers, who worried about the crush of crowds. And Osteen's website, www.joelosteen.com, explains tickets save time. Since ticket holders have guaranteed seats, they don't have to stand in line all day, unlike worshippers who saw Osteen in Atlanta and Anaheim, before the ticket policy was implemented.

What will God do to people who charge $190 for tickets to a worship service?

We don't know.

Osteen and his staff have condemned the scalping. In fact, the ministry doesn't profit from ticket sales, Iloff said: “It's not a moneymaker for us. It costs $750,000 to put on the event. … Even at $10 apiece, it doesn't begin to cover it.”

What's Osteen got? How can he charge for tickets and still pack out huge arenas when so many churches, whose worship services are free, sit almost empty?

That's not an easy answer.

His critics claim he offers religion-lite: Upbeat health-and-wealth sermons that promote self-esteem and promise easy answers to hard problems. They say he preaches “watered-down Christianity” and “cotton-candy theology.”

Osteen counters that he doesn't preach health-and-wealth. “I've never preached one sermon on money, on just finances. I want to stay away from it,” he said on the Today show. He also contends his preaching has substance: “I can't say that there's not meat when you're talking about letting go of the past and forgiving people and not being selfish. … I just have a message of hope and victory.”

What's this mean for us?

On one level, not much. People in Chicago and Dallas and San Antonio and elsewhere will pay to see a preacher. In Houston every weekend, big crowds will pack Lakewood Church. Maybe we know some of these people; maybe we don't.

Many Baptists rush to find fault with Osteen's ministry. Some of the criticism is valid. We're leery of charismatic religion; we've seen abuses. We point to gospel themes of sin and justice; faith isn't all sweetness and light. And we note the shallowness of big-event religion; the local church is where people are discipled, ministry happens and community takes place.

Still, we shouldn't dismiss this story. People are paying scalper prices to attend a charismatic worship service where the preacher talks about hope and victory. That tells us untold numbers of people are lonely and hurting. They're longing to connect with a faith that binds their spiritual and emotional wounds. And it reminds us, as uncomfortable as we Baptists tend to be with it, that the Holy Spirit is powerful and at work among people who seek God.

Very likely, none of us will be a Joel Osteen, preaching to packed auditoriums of scalped seats. But we can be people of hope and victory. We can share the love of God, the fellowship of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit with hurting people all around us. We can practice “friendship evangelism” one-on-one. No scalping.

Posted: 4/15/05

Church aims to bring hope to city's west side

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

Jeremy Everett's office is across the street from this mosaic mural constructed for Pope John Paul's 1987 visit to San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO–The neighborhood has never seen a church like Iglesia de Esperanza, but it sure will seem familiar. At least that's the plan for a new congregation in the heart of San Antonio's west side that is a parallel–but integral–part of a Baptist-sponsored ministry to immigrants.

That work, in turn, is the focal point of a community development project in one of the country's poorest ZIP codes spearheaded by Baptist Child & Family Services in partnership with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, San Antonio Baptist Association, Trinity Baptist Church and the Cooperative Baptist Fel-lowship.

Iglesia de Esperanza, which means “Church of Hope”–will “have Bap-tist doctrine at its core, but we will practice a contemplative worship style and will integrate creative arts into that style,” explained Jeremy Everett, who heads up the effort.

Both of those aspects will resonate in the Hispanic neighborhood where murals adorn almost every available wall space, and the cadence of Catholic liturgy is part of the cultural DNA.

“I have been amazed at the people God has brought together with a heart for sharing his love with the west side,” Everett said. “I was not even sure the others were interested in starting a church, but they were. And it turned out that all of us turned out to be artsy and with a preference for worship that includes silence and community prayer and structured Scripture readings. It is the way we worship, and the fact that it fits into the community says a lot more about what God is doing than anything else.”

When Everett began the community development work on the west side last summer, he was given free rein to find out how the combined resources of the various Baptist partner groups could best be invested.

The greatest need that surfaced was to work with the stream of immigrants that pours into San Antonio. The program now is moving toward opening a hospitality house.

But from the first, Everett felt a pull to include a church in the mix. Part of that might reflect his own background as a third-generation Baptist minister, but it more closely reflected his understanding of the church's relationship with the poor.

“Doing church in the heart of the community makes a statement that we believe the church should shoulder the responsibility instead of depending on the government to take up all the slack,” he explained. “I believe one reason God instituted government was to care for the poor, and, in our society, there are things that the government will need to do. But the church was created to do the will of God on earth, and Jesus talked more about how to treat the poor and the powerless and our neighbors than just about anything else.”

The hospitality house will be part of church's outreach–but only a part. Using Luke 10:25-28 as its organizing principle, the new church aims to challenge its members to “love the Lord” with all their heart, soul, strength and mind–and their neighbors as themselves.

Everett will serve as one co-pastor, responsible for what church leaders call the “Outward Journey.” Key responsibilities include education and advocacy, community development–which will include the immigrant work–and lay mobilization.

The other co-pastor will provide direction for the the “Inward Journey” that also will include education and advocacy, along with spiritual disciplines and pastoral counseling.

The worship space will feature community-produced murals along the yellow and purple walls, and a communion table will be in a central, dominate space, “to give visual emphasis to our commitment to being a Christ-centered community,” Everett explained.

The goal is to have the second co-pastor and the director of the hospitality house in place by August.

The core group began forming last November when Everett and his wife, Amy, invited friends and acquaintances to small-group meetings at their home.

“We did Advent together and talked and prayed about what God wanted us to do on the west side,” he said.

Later, many of the group made a trip to Houston to see how an immigrant hospitality house there works. Afterward, Everett raised the possibility of formally forming a church–not really expecting a positive response.

“I really thought we might decide to just keep meeting on Sunday nights for a small group and keep going to our respective churches because it was comfortable,” Everett acknowledged. The group has attracted people who are members of Church of Christ, Episcopal and Catholic churches as well as Baptists. “But the response was overwhelming that we go for it. We will continue to meet on Sunday evenngs for our main service, and many of us will continue to relate to our 'home' churches. But I think we all feel that our primary church will be Iglesia de Esperanza.”

One proof of that is that the Everetts and another couple in the core group, Mark and Rachel Menjivar, will move into the neighborhood as permanent residents, and others already live there.

“You can do a lot of good things during working hours, but we want to be part of the community 24/7,” Everett said. “The people won't know if we are real and if they can trust us until they see us every day, living where they live and becoming part of what they do.

“The people here love their community, and there is a lot to love. There are always concerts and fiestas and just visiting back and forth. Basic community development says you need to be alongside the people of that community. “We just ask that everyone who hears about Iglesia de Esperanza pray for us and with us,” Everett added. “Prayer is at the center of what we are doing, and we know that is the only way God will help us identify and support the staff we need to add the programs we want to implement to show the people of the west side how much God loves them.”

Posted: 4/15/05

FAITH AND THE CITY:
Relationship-building crucial to urban evangelism

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Christians committed to sharing their faith with city-dwellers must learn to embrace paradoxes, urban ministers agree.

Crowded people crave relationships but build barriers, and hurried people with no time want other people to make long-term investments in their lives.

“We need multiple points of contact to establish trusting relationships,” said Tommy Goode, City Core Initiative strategist with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. “We need a missionary strategy for the city where we go to the people rather than a gathering strategy where we expect people to come to us in our churches.”

Those multiple points range from benevolence ministries and job-training programs for people at the lowest end of the socio-economic spectrum to coffee house ministries and art exhibits for urbane sophisticates in high-rise, high-dollar lofts. But the common denominator is relationships.

"There's no substitute for building relationships, and you have to work harder to find those venues in the city where you can form the relationships," said Camille Simmons, coordinator of ministry missions for San Antonio Baptist Association. She described many urban people as "disconnected and isolated."

Mistrust and fear present major barriers Christians must overcome before they can share the gospel with people in cities, said E. B. Brooks, coordinator of the BGCT's church missions and evangelism section.

“You have to touch people, and you have to touch them more than once to build trust,” Brooks said.

Building relationships and establishing trust requires long-term commitment, said Chris Simmons, who has been pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church near Dallas' Fair Park area since 1988.

“I was here five to seven years before I felt I was making an impact,” he acknowledged.

“You have to build bridges through relationships. Cold-call evangelism often doesn't work. … You generally cannot reach people through one-time big events and evangelistic meetings.”

Because city-dwellers are surrounded by people who demand time from their busy schedules, they often close themselves off, Simmons said. But while they have plenty of unsatisfying superficial contact with people, they hunger for deep, meaningful relationships.

“There are people, people everywhere in the urban context, but there's a lot of loneliness,” he said. When it comes to urban evangelism, “It's all based on relationships. If it's not relational, they will shut you out.”

Christians cannot effectively develop strategies for reaching cities solely by digesting demographic data and crunching numbers, said Dian Kidd, associate director of Union Baptist Association.

“We don't need to develop a strategy. We need to develop the attitude of being a missionary,” she said.

“Walk through the community. Spend time, and see the people. Get out there and find out who the people are.”

On one level, urban evangelism is a much simpler approach than the pre-packaged programs and expensive events many Baptists have come to associate with evangelism, she explained. But on another level, it's much more demanding, because it requires a fundamental change in attitude and a life-commitment.

“It's not big events. It's not memorizing certain evangelistic presentations. It's not presenting some complex, logical apologetic for Christianity,” she said. “It's just being the presence of Christ and entering into life alongside them.”

For different categories of urban-dwellers, the “incarnational witness” Kidd described demands different approaches.

The multi-ethnic nature of metropolitan areas demands culturally appropriate expressions of ministry and mission, she noted. And the sheer density of the population–where one ethnic group may bump up against another group within a block–makes church-starting and evangelism in that context even more challenging.

Among the urban poor, community ministries designed to meet needs continue to provide an effective avenue for establishing relationships, Simmons said.

“Meeting people at their point of need is key in an urban setting,” she said.

Churches respond most effectively when they work in partnership with other like-minded Christians and when they collaborate with other groups who may not share their faith commitment but who have the same goals for responding to human need, she added.

“Our churches must be willing to get out of where it's comfortable and get out into the middle of our communities to let their light shine,” she said.

In some ways, reaching affluent city-dwellers who isolate themselves in gated communities or behind the security locks of upscale lofts can be even more challenging, some urban evangelism strategists noted.

“We're not going to get through the gates. We're not going to knock on their doors. We're not going to hand them a tract,” Kidd acknowledged. But Christian co-workers and neighbors have opportunities to build relationships that can lead to a gospel witness in time.

“It doesn't happen on Sunday morning,” she said. “It happens throughout the week, where people live and where people work.”

Posted: 4/15/05

Frog Theatre gets jump on
ministry to college students

By George Henson

Staff Writer

FORT WORTH–The Frog Theatre may be an unconventional name for a church outreach ministry, but that may be the most conventional part of Second Chances' efforts to reach college students in Fort Worth.

Popcorn, soft drinks, candy bars and chips all are on display at a concessions counter, and a sandwich shop is ready to fill orders.

Visitors can sit in theater-style seats complete with cup holders or at restaurant-style circular tables while they watch movies or television programs on a 23-foot-by-15-foot screen.

The Frog Theatre includes four conversation areas, a coffee shop, five Internet-equipped computers and board games. The entire building is equipped to support wireless Internet computers.

It may not seem much like a church, but that's exactly the idea.

The Frog Theatre sits directly across the street from the Texas Christian University campus in Fort Worth, so students associate the name of the ministry with the university's mascot, the Horned Frogs.

“We call it the Frog Theatre, and to us it means 'Fully Rely on God.' For the TCU fans, it probably means something else, so I guess it has a little of both meanings,” Pastor Eric Myers said.

The students who cross the street sometimes come in search of a sandwich, a movie, to use a computer or just to hang out. But unlike a Baptist Student Ministry approach, students are not predominantly Baptist or even Christian. Buddhists, Muslims and atheists also come in for a break from their school day–something that also would not happen if the building looked like a more conventional church.

“If they look at the walls and see a church, they may not come in. Most won't come in,” Myers said. The ministry is built on a three-pronged ap-proach, he said.

“We build relationships with the people who come here, looking for an opportunity to share the gospel with them. When they accept that gospel, then we disciple,” Myers said.

For six days a week, the site is the Frog Theatre, but Sundays are set aside for it to be the place of worship for Second Chances church, which, by the way, meets at the unconventional time of 2 p.m., more or less.

“It's kind of laid back, so it's not like, 'It's 2 o'clock. Quick, somebody start the music.' Some weeks, 2 o'clock is when we're walking in,” Myers explained.

Those meetings are generally small gatherings of about 30 people, “but they are 30 hardcore Christians. We don't make it easy. If you don't want to evangelize, if you don't want to be discipled, if you don't want to be held accountable, Second Chances is not for you,” he said.

Myers is comfortable with the small number. “We have a cool enough venue that we could pack this place out, but that would be consumer Christianity, and that's not what we're about,” he said.

Many more people stream through the multifaceted ministry the other six days of the week, however.

A meeting area has been used by the staffs of local churches looking for place to get away, faculty and student groups from the adjacent university, and the Young Life group of a Fort Worth high school.

Movies are shown each afternoon, Monday through Saturday. Bible studies are held Monday and Tuesday evenings, with Tuesdays directed more toward students investigating the Christian faith.

Wednesday nights, the emphasis is on assisting local churches in outreach efforts. Youth ministers make reservations for their groups to come, and the Frog Theatre staff enlists a Christian band and a speaker. The charge is $4 per student. That covers the concert, the speaker, popcorn and a soft drink.

“This gives them a means to invite friends who would not normally come to church with them,” Myers explained. Youth ministers can make reservations for their group at www.frogtheatre.org.

A comedy improvisational team from the university draws hundreds to the theater on Thursday nights.

Friday and Saturday nights are Christian concert nights, the theatre is filled.

“We're trying to reach a postmodern generation and trying also to bridge a gap for Christian kids who don't want to go to a traditional church,” Myers explained.

The conversation areas with couches are well-populated thro-ughout the week.

“Community is the big thing with us. It has a home feel. Whether you know somebody or not, you can just sit down and feel accepted. We probably couldn't do this in a traditional building, because they would have a presupposition that we were going to try to force something on them,” he said.

“Talk about a neat way to do evangelism–it's a lot better than knocking on somebody's door and invading their space.”

Students who make the transition from the Frog Theatre to Second Chances realize the importance of growing in their faith, he said.

“The lights, the smoke, the giant screen–that's not what keeps them here. They are just as excited to go over to our house. They know this building is not the church. Everything doesn't happen here. This is a training ground–when they go to the Starbucks in the mall, they are much more comfortable sharing their faith, because they have already done that at the coffee shop here,” he said.

“If the kids we bring up in the faith see this as the church, we fail. This is the training ground. I have nothing against stained glass, and our faith is very vintage, but what we are doing here is training them for real-life experiences.”

“Fully relying on God” is more than just the anagram for name of the ministry; it's what brought Myers to Fort Worth. An Illinois native converted in 1997 at age 24 at a Promise Keepers rally, he knew no one when he and his wife came to Texas.

“We knew God had given us a heart to work with young adults, but we didn't know what form it was supposed to take,” he recalled. “As we prayed for direction, God kept bringing Fort Worth to mind–to both our minds.”

“We had no family, no job, no ties–just God leading us,” he recalled. Second Chances started in the Myers' home in Hurst.

After awhile, Myers began leading worship at Temple Baptist Church in Fort Worth, where he met Gary Lawrence, the other key leader in the Frog Theatre ministry.

“It's a vision God gave me more than five years ago,” Lawrence said. In early 1999, Lawrence was unemployed and “at a very low point in my life–financially and just about every other way.”

He said it also was a time when he became very close in his relationship to God. One morning at about 4 a.m., Lawrence was in his driveway, once again seeking God's direction. He said he was telling God how lost he felt since marketing and public relations were all he knew to do.

“God told me, 'Change the word 'marketing' to 'witnessing,' and your product is Jesus Christ, the best there is since it has no equal,'” Lawrence recalled. Also during that prayer, he said, God gave him a vision of a movie theater.

Lawrence, a member of Temple Baptist Church for 20 years, shared his vision with Myers, and they began to pray for God's leading in the next step.

The “aha” moment came when Lawrence, now a roofing contractor, passed by the theater across from the TCU campus and saw a sign that said it would soon be vacant. It wasn't long before he signed the papers and renovations began.

Both Lawrence and Myers recalled how Derek, a 23-year-old homeless man they found at a shelter and asked to help with the renovations, came to accept Christ.

“Derek got saved, and he did a 180 in his life. He's not here right now; he's gone back north where's he's from. Derek had some things in his past that he wanted to take care of, and he's gone back there to fix some of those things,” Myers explained.

“If only to see Derek's life change, it's all been worth it,” Lawrence added.

Tarrant Baptist Association is a staunch supporter. “It's really an exciting thing,” Jay Harris, associational church development director, said. “I love to take people over there and to see their initial hesitation. But after looking around and meeting the guys and hearing about the ministry that goes on there, they leave pumped and say, 'What can I do to help?'”

Myers and Lawrence dream of reproducing this idea in college communities across the country. They say abandoned or little-used theaters are located close to many university campuses, and they are looking to make them sources of life–eternal life.

Lawrence recalled a Wednesday night youth rally recently when many teenagers accepted Christ as Savior.

“Tears came to my eyes, and I thought, 'This is what it's all about–this right here.'”

Posted: 4/15/05

2005 pivotal in efforts to cut global poverty

By Kevin Eckstrom

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–One-third of the way into the 15-year U.N. program aimed at cutting global poverty by 50 percent, church leaders and activists say progress so far has been abysmal, and 2005 is a make-or-break year for the program.

The eight-prong Millennium Develop-ment Goals will fail unless governments commit the resources to achieve them, the Anglican archbishop of South Africa said recently.

“Globalization has accorded this world so much prosperity and progress, it is not only sinful but also morally wrong that there are people who go hungry every day,” said Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane.

Supporters say unless efforts are refocused at three key meetings this year, the world will fail to keep promises made in 2000 to combat poverty, hunger, lack of education, child and maternal mortality rates and HIV/AIDS.

Sparked by the Jubilee campaign in 2000 that helped erase crushing debt loads owed by poor Third World countries, religious groups from across the spectrum have shown unprecedented unity in fighting global poverty.

The One Campaign, for example, brought together a dozen Christian and secular relief groups to keep focus on the millennium goals. Last year, Ndungane helped inaugurate the Micah Challenge, a coalition of 260 nonprofit aid groups with the same goal.

Activists worry, however, that the world's attention span is fading.

Three meetings this year–the annual summit of G-8 nations in Scotland; a U.N. summit on the millennium goals next fall; and a December World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong–may determine the future of the initiative.

Last year, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the effort needs a “quantum leap” in order to meet its goals. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, said it's time for the United States and others to “get serious about getting the job done.”

A 2004 U.N. progress report found “no change” in tackling poverty and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa and “lagging progress” in South Asia. However, there was some success in northern Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and central Asia.

Tom Hart, director of government relations for DATA, the development advocacy agency founded by Bono, of the musical group U2, and part of the One Campaign, said the world has made measured progress on debt relief and efforts to combat the AIDS pandemic, but more needs to be done.

“The progress is good, and in a sense we can see a roadmap for how Africa can meet its goals, but we need to kick it up a gear,” he said.

Activists are looking to Washington to take the lead and are watching two key programs as a barometer for America's own commitments:

Millennium Challenge Accounts–President Bush's plan to commit $5 billion of U.S. aid by 2006 for developing countries that meet rigorous criteria, has been underfunded. So far, the program has received about $2.5 billion, and the White House has asked for $3 billion next year and hopes to reach $5 billion by 2007.

Global AIDS Relief–Bush surprised Congress in 2003 with a request for $15 billion over 10 years to fight HIV and AIDS around the world. So far, the program has gotten a little more than $5 billion from Congress, and Bush has asked for $3.2 billion in 2006.

What concerns activists is what happens after Bush spends $15 billion on AIDS or reaches the $5 billion goal for development next year.

Frank Griswold, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, who accompanied Ndungane to Washington, said God and the world will judge America on how it treats the poor.

“As a nation that freely uses religious language in its political rhetoric, we better take that language seriously and ask ourselves what it means to be a country that lives … for the sake of the world, not just our own self-interest,” he said.

Posted: 4/15/05

College classes explore the
gritty gospel according to Bono

By Charles Honey

Religion News Service

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS)–Dwarfed by a giant bank of TV monitors, the rock star Bono gyrates across the arena stage–a dancing shaman channeling the ecstasy of thousands of U2 fans.

“In waves of regret, in waves of joy, I reached for the one I tried to destroy,” he sings passionately. “You said you'd wait 'til the end of the world.”

Hands reach out to him as he walks among the faithful. Video clips show tidal waves crashing, lightning flashing and a woman wailing.

The soundtrack to apocalypse? No, it's a splice of a TV special about a U2 tour of the early 1990s.

It's also a sign of increased interest in the spiritual significance of this immensely popular Irish rock group.

The images are taken in by a class of Calvin College students, who are probing what Bono and his band have to say as Christians to the world of pop culture.

Plenty, Sharon Bemis says.

“You hear U2 everywhere,” said Bemis, one of 14 students gathered in a Calvin video theater on a recent morning. “They have so much more influence as Christians than most other people who claim to be Christian.”

Tim Gruppen calls them “brutally honest.”

“They say a lot of things many Christians would be ashamed to 'fess up to, some of the struggles they have,” Gruppen argues.

But why a class on U2, one of the world's most adored rock bands, at a conservative Christian college?

“Religion and rock 'n' roll can meld together,” insists Katie Arbogast. “U2 does the best job of it.”

Many scholars and clergy agree. They say U2 is an important spiritual influence on a youth culture more enamored of popular media than of the church.

“What they have to offer is a vision,” said Mark Mulder, who taught the U2 course during Calvin's three-week interim semester. “They're saying there's something wrong with the world. But at the same time, they offer a hope. The gospel message is embedded within.”

Mulder, who teaches sociology, sees the band bringing a Christian worldview to a “very elaborate cultural critique.” In that critique, they share common ground with other rock bands such as Radiohead and movies such as The Matrix trilogy, he said.

“If you listen hard enough, there are a lot of things going on in pop culture which really question the ordering of the world today and offer a vision of what things could and should be like,” said Mulder.

Beth Maynard also sees a spiritual surge in pop culture, from the rock groups Switchfoot and Evanescence to the TV show Joan of Arcadia.

“We're in a phase as a society right now where a great deal of theological reflection is happening in pop culture,” said Maynard, an Episcopal priest from Fairhaven, Mass. “U2 was in the vanguard of that.”

Maynard co-edited Get Up Off Your Knees (Cowley Publications, 2003), a collection of sermons based on U2 lyrics and biblical texts.

Maynard sees the group fertilizing the ground of pop culture for sowing the gospel, helping people take “small steps in the direction of God.”

“They seem to be seeking to just give an open invitation for people to move into the realm of asking questions about spiritual life, about God, about Christ. It's raising the questions but not overtly or forcefully prescribing the answers.”

The main man asking questions is Bono, the charismatic lead singer, lyricist and frontman of U2.

In recent years, Bono has become an ardent social activist, traversing the globe to combat the African AIDS epidemic and relieve Third World debt, and lobbying leaders from President Bush to Pope John Paul II.

Through his activism and his “music with a conscience,” Bono points listeners toward issues and introspection much as folk artists of the 1960s did, said Philip Goff, director of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University.

But Goff said Bono is hardly a squeaky-clean Christian, citing as evidence his use of “the F-word” at a 2003 Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

“On the one hand, while a lot of Christian young people would look at him as a great exemplar, some of them would turn him off immediately because he cursed,” Goff said. “He doesn't fit the usual idea of some evangelicals of what a Christian should be doing.”

But he also speaks a language understood by many young Christians, Goff adds.

“They do want to look at Christianity in different ways,” he said. “There's no doubt about it, his approach is more global, and this is a more global society.”

As a fan since college, Mulder felt U2's approach to spiritual longing and social justice merited a mini-course at Calvin.

Besides video clips and CDs, he's using the text Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman (Relevant Books, 2001). Mulder touches on the band members' personal faith.

They once were affiliated with a charismatic Protestant movement called Shalom, and Bono and bandmates the Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. have publicly professed to be Christians.

But the focus is on the group's recordings and performances. Mulder sees a strong thread of “Christian critique” throughout U2's three-decade career.

Some of the group's lyrics are explicitly scriptural, others more subtle.

“You can just tell by their art that they're very fluent in the Christian tradition,” said Maynard, the Episcopal priest.

“They understand the metaphors, the thought patterns of Christianity.”

That comes through clearly for Katie Arbogast. The Calvin student described a U2 concert as “a spiritual experience.”

“It's not down-your-throat Christian values,” she said. “You have to search for it and crawl for it.”