Posted: 3/15/06

BaptistWay Bible Series for March 26

Saul’s search leads to his being found

• 1 Samuel 9:1-4, 15-21; 10:1, 9-24

By Joseph Matos

Dallas Baptist University, Dallas

Have you ever read passages from the Bible that raised as many questions as they gave answers? I have to admit the present passage is one of them.

1 Samuel 8-10 concludes the transition from the period of the judges to the monarchy. But a discerning reader might rightly ask: Was it wrong to ask for a king? If so, why did God grant the request? Why did God select Saul?

Setting the scene

Chapter 8 provides the background for our passage. Samuel had been a faithful servant of the Lord his whole life; but now he was old. Furthermore, while Samuel was a capable leader, his own sons, Joel and Abijah, were corrupt. The elders of Israel sensed the nearness of Samuel’s death, recognized the constant threat from the surrounding nations and feared what might happen if leadership transferred to Samuel’s sons. They saw the pattern of Eli and his sons repeating itself, and they wanted no part of it.

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Supposing there was only one solution to this dilemma, the elders approached Samuel with a bold request: “Give us a king to lead us” (v. 6).

Though initially “displeased,” Samuel “prayed to the Lord.” Despite the prediction in Deuteronomy 17:14-17 that the people would request a king, Samuel opposed this idea. Nevertheless, the Lord reassured Samuel their request revealed their rejection of himself as king, not Samuel. In this sense, the request for a king was wrong.

The Lord then enjoined Samuel to warn the people of the many burdens that would accompany rule by a king. Whether this was meant to dissuade Israel, who can know for sure? Samuel gave the warnings as directed. Yet, the people remained adamant, “We want a king over us” (v. 19). So God instructed Samuel to grant them their wish (v. 22). In a move indicating the people should await a response, Samuel sent them home.

The search for a king

Chapter 9 shifts to describe Saul, a heretofore unknown individual. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. His father was Kish, “a man of standing” (v. 1). He was “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the others” (v. 2). Might Saul be God’s man for king? Described this way, Saul appeared that he had the potential to be king. But learning more about Saul as we read on, we might wonder.

On one occasion, Kish sent Saul out to look for some lost donkeys. When he was unable to locate them, Saul worried his father’s concern would turn from the donkeys to him and his entourage, so he determined it was best just to return home. However, one of the servants suggested they inquire of the “man of God” (v. 6). So they went to find him.

At the same time, the Lord revealed to Samuel that his “search” would soon be over (vv. 15-16). A man from the tribe of Benjamin would come his way. Samuel would anoint him as leader over God’s people. As predicted, the next day, in a “chance” meeting, Saul found “the man of God,” Samuel, and Samuel found the soon to be king of Israel, Saul. When Saul inquired of the whereabouts of the “seer,” Samuel identified himself as the seer (vv. 18-19). But Samuel would reveal to Saul more than the whereabouts of his father’s donkeys.

Samuel declared Saul as the one to whom “all the desire of Israel turned” (v. 20). Samuel did not explicitly mention that Saul was to be king, but Saul rightly inferred the significance of the comment.

His response revealed his perceived inadequacies: Saul was from the smallest tribe, he said, of which his clan was the smallest (v. 21). Saul may have possessed the physical qualities, but he apparently lacked the invisible qualities. Despite Saul’s objections, Samuel anointed him as leader over Israel (10:1).

The announcement of the king

As if Saul needed them, Samuel noted three signs that would verify his selection as king: two men would assure him of the safety of his father’s donkeys; three other men would offer him food; and he would encounter a band of prophets, with whom he himself would prophesy when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. He would become a different person (vv. 2-7).

Even before Saul left Samuel’s presence “God changed Saul’s heart” (v. 9). All three events took place as predicted. Upon witnessing Saul prophesying, those who knew him responded in surprise. Surprise (or perhaps disbelief) may also describe Saul’s reaction, for when asked by his uncle of his encounter with Samuel, Saul only mentioned Samuel’s assurance of the donkeys’ safety; he made no mention of being anointing king.

At the appropriate time, Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah to reveal the identity of their king. After one final rebuke for requesting a king (“you have now rejected your God,” verse 19), Samuel ordered the people to arrange themselves by tribe and clan.

Supposedly by lot, Samuel chose the tribe of Benjamin, then the clan of Matri. However, when the lot fell on Saul he was absent. The people searched until the Lord revealed Saul hiding among the baggage. Saul did not act very kingly.

At last, Samuel announced Saul as God’s chosen one. With shouts of acclamation, the people declared, “Long live the king!”

Many celebrated, but some questioned Saul’s selection (v. 27). Chapter 11 would reveal Saul’s initial, but short-lived success.

Discussion questions

• What did Israel’s request for a king imply about their relationship with God?

• Why did God grant Israel a king?

• Why did God choose Saul?

• What other biblical narratives demonstrate God working in and for his people despite themselves?

• Recall an occasion when you did what was the acceptable thing, but not the best thing.

• What questions did this passage raise for you?

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: 3/15/06

Family Bible Series for March 26

Honor Christ through obedience

• Luke 19:28-32, 35-44

By Greg Ammons

First Baptist Church, Garland

What does it mean to honor someone? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, honor means “to confer distinction or hold in the highest regard.” Honor also implies the dignity you accord to a position.

What does it mean for a follower of Jesus to honor Christ? It means believers are to confer distinction upon their Lord and hold him in the highest regard. Christians are to live lives of dignity simply because of Jesus’ position as Lord.

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In Luke 19, Jesus was making his third and final visit to Jerusalem before his crucifixion. He traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem and back on the Sunday before his impending death on Friday. During this vital week, Jesus taught his followers what it meant to honor him.

Obey Christ as Lord (Luke 19:28-32)

Jesus approached Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives when he gave two of his disciples an interesting command. He told them to go to the village ahead of them and take a young colt they would find there (v. 30). The disciples were to untie the colt and take it. If anyone asked them about their actions, they were to tell them their Lord needed the young animal (v. 31). The two disciples obeyed exactly as Jesus had commanded (v. 32).

To honor Jesus, his followers must obey him. Often, his commandments make no sense to our logical reasoning, yet complete obedience still is expected. A church leader said recently, “If we continue to buy what we want, drive what we want, eat what we want and live where we want, then we have not submitted to the lordship of Christ.”

The Greek word for “Lord” is kurios, which means to give someone complete allegiance. It is closely related to the word “boss” in the English language. If the boss gives a command, the faithful employee will carry out the order. Since Jesus Christ is Lord, his faithful followers are to carry out his commandments completely. As a Christian, do you view Jesus as your “boss” and carry out each command diligently?

Praise Christ as king (Luke 19:35-40)

Jesus mounted the young donkey and rode it into Jerusalem. As he did so, his disciples spread their coats along the road and began joyfully to praise God in loud voices (vv. 35-36). “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God in the highest!” they shouted (v. 38).

When Jesus’ enemies, the religious leaders in the crowd, heard the praise, they ordered Jesus to rebuke the disciples (v. 39). He stated, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (v. 40). Even nature knows it is natural to praise the Creator. Mankind, the crowning creation, surely must return his praise.

Jesus accepted the praise of his followers as King. Although many in this crowd would forsake him just a few days later, he still accepted their praise as genuine. One of the greatest ways to honor Jesus today is to truly praise him from the depth of our heart.

Mark Twain once noted, “It is better to deserve honor and never have it than to have it and not deserve it.” Jesus deserves the highest honor as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. May his faithful followers give him the praise he so rightly deserves.

Share Christ’s concern (Luke 19:41-44)

As Jesus approached the city of Jerusalem, his heart went out to the citizens. He was moved with compassion and wept over the city (v. 41). Although his own approaching death brought no selfish tears, Jesus was moved with the plight of a city rejecting him.

In only 40 years, Jerusalem would be laid waste by a Roman army. In A.D 70, the Romans used an embankment to beseige the city and destroy it. Although the city was rejecting him, Jesus still showed concern for its residents.

It is easy to wish harm upon those who reject you. Yet Jesus gave his followers a wonderful example in that we are to display true love and compassion for even those who reject us.

Christ’s followers today still must be moved with the fate of those rejecting Jesus. Whenever a person fails to trust Jesus Christ by faith as Savior and Lord, the Bible declares clearly the person will perish. This fact moved our Lord to tears and should do the same for his followers today. A part of honoring Christ as Lord is sharing his same concerns.

Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish essayist and historian whose work was influential during the Victorian Era. Carlyle once said, “Show me the man you honor and I will know what kind of man you are.” What type of person do others know you to be based upon the honor you give to Christ?

Discussion questions

• Which commands of Jesus are difficult for you to obey? Why?

• What is your favorite way to praise the Lord?

• When was the last time you were moved to tears by a the plight of a lost person?

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: 3/15/06

Explore the Bible Series for March 26

God’s warnings are universal

• Isaiah 13:1-23:18

By James Adair

Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio

One of the biggest obstacles to understanding the prophetic books is that the material often is not arranged in chronological order. This situation especially is true of the three major prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Much of the material in these three books is arranged thematically rather than in historical order. In particular, each of these books contains a distinct section of oracles against foreign nations; in Isaiah, this section appears in chapters 13 to 23.

The chief duty of most prophets was to prophesy to their own people, so what is the setting and the significance of the oracles against foreign nations?

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Most scholars agree that although many prophetic oracles were directed toward foreign powers, the prophet almost always uttered those words within the confines of Israel or Judah, perhaps at a religious celebration of some sort. Amos 1:3-2:3 is perhaps the best example of a series of oracles against foreign nations delivered at a single time.

The significance of the oracles against foreign nations varies. All were oracles of judgment, but while some certainly are intended as warnings to foreign nations, others probably are better understood as warnings to Israel or Judah not to follow in the footsteps of the surrounding nations, lest they incur the same fate on the day of God’s judgment. We will examine a selection of Isaiah’s oracles against the nations in this week’s lesson.

Isaiah 14:3-23

Probably the best known oracle against a foreign nation in the book of Isaiah is found in Isaiah 14, but its fame is dependant more on a traditional, but hermeneutically questionable, interpretation than on an understanding of the passage based on history and context.

Isaiah 14 is part of an oracle, or series of oracles, against Babylon, and 14:3-21 is a taunt against the king of Babylon (v. 4). The taunt makes use of figurative, even mythological language to describe both the sin of the Babylonian king and the inglorious downfall that awaits him.

The description of the king does not allow us to choose from among the 14 or so occupants of the throne of Babylon during Isaiah’s long ministry, but the passage does make one thing very clear: the king, despite his delusions of grandeur, is a human being, and not one of the gods (14:4, 10-11, 16, 19-20).

At some point in the history of interpretation of this passage, readers noted the figurative language that described the king as the “Morning Star, son of the Dawn” (v. 12), who said in his heart, “I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, … I will make myself like the Most High” (vv. 13-14). Based on a combination of reading the figurative language literally, seeing the passage as referring to an extrabiblical Jewish tradition concerning the origin of the fallen angels, and overlooking the clear references to the king as a human being in the immediate context, many people concluded that the passage referred to Satan’s fall from heaven.

This interpretation gathered an important proof-text when Jerome translated the book of Isaiah into Latin in the fifth century, for he translated the term “Morning Star” with the Latin word lucifer, a word that literally means “light bearer,” but is used in Latin texts to mean “the morning star.” It also happens to be a word Christians adopted as a name for Satan, and on the authority of the Latin Vulgate, the King James translators rendered the word as “Lucifer” in their 1611 translation. All modern scholarly editions, however, translate the word as a common noun rather than a name, and that is certainly how the verse should be understood.

Taking into account the context of the entire taunt, the prophet is portraying the king of Babylon as a person who has a false sense of his own worth, comparing himself to the gods. The words the prophet directs toward this king who exalts himself in his pride are clear: “You are brought down to the grave (literally, Sheol), to the depths of the Pit” (v. 15).

The passage equally is applicable to people today who think themselves more important than others or who puff themselves up in order to lord it over their fellow human beings. Those who do so are in danger of a fall like that experienced by the king of Babylon, who imagined himself someone great, but found out to his dismay he was a mere mortal.

Isaiah 20:1-6

In response to Sargon of Assyria’s conquest of the nearby Philistine city of Ashdod in 711 B.C., Isaiah removed his clothes and walked about Jerusalem naked for three years (periodically, not continually). This story is shocking to our contemporary sensibilities as Christians, because we tend to view public nudity as pornographic. However, in Isaiah’s day, such public nudity would not have been viewed as sexual but rather as a sign of servitude, for only slaves could be forced to walk the city streets naked. Isaiah’s nakedness was a prophetic object lesson for Egypt and Cush (the region of Nubia and Ethiopia), but also for Judah: unless they repented, they would soon experience the shame of being slaves to the Assyrians.

When we see people in our cities and towns poorly clothed or acting in bizarre ways, do we look down upon them as shameful, or do we feel compassion for them? Perhaps we should view the homeless, many of whom are mentally ill, as a sign from God to awaken us to our pride and self-sufficiency. It is true for all of us that “there but for the grace of God go I.”

Isaiah 22:1-14

Every year during hurricane season, we hear of people who, despite evacuation orders, decide to ride out the storm at home. Some even get together and hold “hurricane parties,” as though they were daring the hurricane to strike them.

Perhaps such parties will be less fashionable this hurricane season, after the devastation that Hurricane Katrina wrought last year, but I would guess there still will be some who try to make a party out of a potential disaster.

After the Assyrian army led by Sennacherib withdrew from Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah, many citizens of the city rejoiced in their deliverance. Their joy was misplaced on two counts, however. First, the Assyrian threat remained real; they could return at any time. Second, although Jerusalem was spared, many of the surrounding towns and villages were devastated.

The proper response to the disaster, Isaiah said, was weeping and mourning, not riotous rejoicing (22:12-13).

Too often, we focus exclusively on ourselves and our immediate families or neighbors, and we forget that though we may have cause to rejoice in our own good fortune, we have neighbors who live a little further away who have reason to weep and mourn. Americans are good at responding to major disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Southeast Asia and the earthquake in Pakistan.

We are not as good at responding to problems that are chronic rather than acute, like the AIDS crisis in Africa, the suffering of war victims and refugees in the Middle East or even the poverty that affects about 50 million Americans.

While it is certainly appropriate to rejoice in God’s blessings, it is important to remember our neighbors who do not share in those blessings. When we do respond to the need we see around us, we need to take to heart Isaiah’s warning in 22:11: “You did not look to him who did it (delivered the people), or have regard for him who planned it long ago.”

God is in the business of loving people and meeting their needs. When we do the same, we should always remember that we are joining God’s ongoing work, not performing great works for which we deserve praise.

Discussion questions

• We are good at recognizing the sins and problems that affect other countries, but are we equally adept at speaking prophetically to the problems in our own country?

• What signs do we see around us that inform us of either the blessings or the possible impending judgment of God?

• How can we balance a proper appreciation for God’s gifts to us with a concern for the less fortunate, both in our communities and across the globe?

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: 3/14/06

BWA leaders hear of Lotz retirement,
Kazakh group's withdrawal

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP)—Leaders of the Baptist World Alliance found out at their March Executive Committee meeting that General Secretary Denton Lotz plans to retire and the Baptist Union of Kazakhstan has decided to leave the international federation.

Lotz, 67, said the process for selecting a new general secretary will begin immediately, and he hopes to announce a more specific time frame for his departure when the BWA General Council meets July 3-8 in Mexico City.

The BWA personnel committee will serve as the search committee. Baptists from each of the BWA’s six continental regions are represented on the panel.

Lotz, who has led the organization since 1988 and who earlier served as its evangelism director, said he and his wife, Janice, had turned to Scripture, prayer and the council of wise friends in making the decision. He also said he made the decision in complete freedom, with no pressure for him to retire.

BWA President David Coffey said the announcement causes a “heaviness of heart,” but it “takes a really good leader” to know when it’s time to make such a change. He added that it is a “great time to be a Baptist Christian” because the world body has attained a new level of maturity. As a result, Coffey said, this is a good time to begin the process of choosing a new general secretary.

Lotz and Tony Peck, secretary of the European Baptist Federation, also announced that a Baptist denomination from Central Asia had withdrawn from both BWA and EBF. Leaders of the Baptist Union of Kazakhstan cited many of the same reasons that leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention did when that body voted to withdraw from BWA in 2004, he said.

“They’re concerned about issues like holiness of life; they’re concerned that sin is taken seriously,” Peck said. “They’re concerned about the excesses of the charismatic movement. They don’t believe in women pastors.”

SBC leaders, in recommending to the denomination that it end its 99-year-old relationship with BWA, accused the worldwide umbrella group of being too tolerant of member bodies that, in turn, tolerated affiliated congregations or institutions with doctrinal stances that they oppose.

They also disagreed with BWA’s recommendation that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a moderate group that split from the SBC, be admitted as a full-fledged member.

BWA leaders responded that Baptist polity would not allow them to prescribe the doctrinal standards of member bodies.

EBF and BWA officials made much the same argument to Kazakh Baptist leaders and other Central Asian Baptist leaders during a meeting in Kyrgyzstan in February, Peck said. Leaders from the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Kyrgyzstan had expressed similar concerns, but had not announced any formal action to EBF or BWA, he added.

“I think the main issue is not those (doctrinal) issues themselves. It was what they are asking of the EBF and the BWA,” he said. “And we tried to remind them that we are not a church. … We are a fellowship of member bodies.”

But, Peck added, “this is quite a difficult idea for the Central Asian Baptists to get their mind around” in a region where Baptist denominations tend to be very conservative and authoritarian.

Kazakh Baptist leaders began expressing similar concerns to European Baptist leaders as early as 12 years ago, Peck said. They demanded that EBF and BWA separate themselves from any member denomination that allows churches to ordain women or take stands on other controversial issues with which Kazakh Baptist leaders would disagree.

But Peck pointed to BWA’s confessional statement and said the group was not a doctrinal police force.

“We’re not set up to be an organization that disciplines and excommunicates member bodies,” he said.

EBF is composed of more than 800,000 baptized believers in approximately 50 national or regional Baptist bodies across Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East. The Kazakh Baptist group has10,774 members in 289 churches, the EBF’s website says.

Peck also reported three other groups have joined the EBF in recent months—small Baptist unions in Sweden and Kosovo, as well as a newly founded Baptist church in Baghdad.

Ferrell Foster of BGCT Communications contributed to this story.

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: 3/14/06

American hostage found dead in Iraq

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—The lone American among four Christian peace activists who have been held captive in Iraq since November was found dead in Baghdad March 9, multiple news sources reported.

The body of Tom Fox, 54, was found in a garbage dump in the western part of the city. His hands were bound, and he had a single gunshot wound to the head.

Fox’s kidnappers had demanded the release of all Iraqis detained by United States and British forces and Iraqi police in exchange for the four hostages’ lives. In one of the story’s bitterest ironies, Fox and the other activists had opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, as well as the detainment of Iraqi prisoners who have not been formally charged with crimes.

The news came only three days after a videotape showing Fox’s British and Canadian colleagues still alive had buoyed hopes for the group’s loved ones and supporters. But Christian Peacemaker Teams, the group under whose auspices Fox traveled to Iraq, hinted at the time that they took Fox’s absence from that video as an ominous sign.

“In grief we tremble before God, who wraps us with compassion,” Christian Peacemakers leaders said in a statement released after Fox’s death. “The death of our beloved colleague and friend pierces us with pain…. We mourn the loss of Tom Fox, who combined a lightness of spirit, a firm opposition to all oppression, and the recognition of God in everyone.”

Fox was abducted Nov. 26 in Baghdad, along with Norman Kember, 74, who is a British Baptist; and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32. An Islamic group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness, previously unknown in Iraq, claimed responsibility for the kidnappings.

Gary Percesepe, director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, sent his group’s leaders an alert shortly after Fox’s death was announced.

“We continue in prayer for Norman Kember, Harmeet Singh Sooden, and James Loney, and call for their safe release—these who went peacefully to Iraq, on a mission of peace, who bear good will in their hearts for all men and women upon this earth,” he said.

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: 3/13/06

CYBER COLUMN:
Being human—in the family of God

By Jeanie Miley

As children of God, we are made in the very image of God, created just a little lower than angels.

And we are sinners.

On top of all of that, we who call ourselves Christian are brothers and sisters in Christ.

It’s a lot to ask of frail human beings, and yet the Scriptures include all three realities.

Driving home from our church retreat, I had plenty of time to think about our speaker’s wisdom and what it means to carry the responsibility and burden of the multi-faceted dimensions of being human. Pondering the trouble we humans have getting along in the family of God as brothers and sisters in Christ, it occurred to me that perhaps that is partly because we forget that each of us and all of us carry both the image of God and the tendency to sin.

It is an immature mind and childish thinking that insists that life fall into either/or, black/white, good/bad categories, being one or the other and not allowing for both. More than one thing can be true about almost everything and anyone, at any given moment, and maturity requires that our brains flex and bend enough to wrap around two realities at the same time. It is a grownup who can manage to tolerate ambiguity and ambivalence, paradox and irony and not lose his mind in the process!

It makes an enormous difference how I live in my community of faith when I can hold all three parts of my identity in tension. And I am a healthier member of the Body of Christ and a more loving and compassionate sister in Christ when I remember that my identity encompasses behavior, attitudes and speech that reflect an accurate image of myself.

I am, in fact, loving and nonloving. I can be generous and stingy. I am capable of being forgiving, tolerant and compassionate, as well as vindictive, intolerant and punitive. I have within me the capacity for tenderness and patience, and sometimes within the same day, I shock myself with my self-centeredness and insensitivity, toughness and impatience.

I am both courageous and fearful, noble and petty, selfless and selfish, often responding out of forces that I did not know existed in the underworld of my unconsciousness.

On any given day, I can behave as a mature adult and a petulant child, a cranky old woman and an idealistic adolescent!

It makes a big difference when I hold in consciousness the reality that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are, as well, made up of the complex and complicated motivations that I am and that all are made in the image of God and inclined to fall short of the glory of God.

And so, as we frail and fallible human beings stumble and falter together, attempting to be kingdom people while we strive to pay our bills and raise our children, solve our problems and fulfill our goals, we must be as patient with each other as God is with us.

Some people just want the “made in the image” side of human nature, and others focus only on our sin nature. Surely, we are called to the high and holy task of calling forth in each other that image of the divine that is stamped within our innermost being. Surely, we are called to give up being surprised at the sin nature in each other and use that energy, instead, to forgive one another.

Perhaps, if we can remember who we really are, and all of who we are, we can be better siblings in the kingdom of God.

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

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: 3/10/06

Three students arrested, charged
with nine Alabama church fires

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Law enforcement officials arrested three men March 8 in connection with a string of nine fires at Baptist churches in rural Alabama.

Benjamin Nathan Moseley and Russell Lee Debusk, both 19-year-old students at Birmingham-Southern College, said they set the fires as a "joke," authorities said.

Moseley and Debusk appeared in federal court March 8 on charges of arson and conspiracy, according to the office of Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. Later that day, officials also arrested 20-year-old Matthew Lee Cloyd, a student at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

If convicted, the students could face a minimum sentence of five years for each church they burned, according to U.S. Attorney Alice Martin. The three have a bail hearing scheduled for March 10.

"It's a good day for Alabama," Gov. Bob Riley, a Baptist, said at a March 8 press conference. The governor said that church members can "rest easier" knowing the fires did not constitute an organized attack on religion.

According to news reports, the suspects told authorities they initially set the fires as a “joke” and continued setting them in order to divert federal attention.

Joan Smith, a member of Antioch Baptist Church in nearby Fairview, told Associated Baptist Press she hopes the arrests create some closure for the churches affected by the fires.

“We just pray for justice and strength for the churches who went through this,” she said.

At the news conference, James Cavanaugh, an official of the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency, said his department used forensic evidence in identifying the suspects.

"We did not have a tip," he said.

An ATF affidavit said Moseley told agents the suspects drove Cloyd’s Toyota 4Runner when they set fire to the first five churches, according to the Associated Press. Cavanaugh told reporters tire tracks found at six of the burned sites matched those from Cloyd’s vehicle.

Bibb County Sheriff Johnny Isaac did not return phone calls about the case.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the arrests. More than 100 ATF personnel sorting through more than 800 leads worked on the case in the days following the initial fires, which burned during the early morning Feb. 3. All told, arsonists set fire to nine Baptist churches in nearly two weeks. A tenth fire, although ruled arson, has yet to be connected to the initial nine.

Fires completely destroyed Ashby Baptist Church in Brierfield, Rehobeth Baptist Church in Randolph and Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church near Centreville on the night of Feb. 2-3. The other two churches, Old Union Baptist in Randolph and Antioch Baptist in Centreville, sustained damage but escaped complete destruction.

All of the churches but Pleasant Sabine belonged to the Southern Baptist Convention, the statewide Alabama Baptist Convention and the local Bibb County Baptist Association.

Another string of fires Feb. 7 completely destroyed the Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, near Boligee, and Galilee Baptist Church in Panola. Dancy Baptist Church near Aliceville and Spring Valley Baptist Church near Emelle suffered some damage.

Police said at an earlier point during the investigation they suspected two young men of setting the fires. The likely motive for the fires was that the men simply liked to make and watch fires, federal agents said.

Grace Thornton of The Alabama Baptist contributed to this story.

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: 3/08/06

Lotz to retire as BWA general secretary

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Denton Lotz announced Wednesday, March 8, his intention to retire as general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance.

He made the announcement during the BWA Executive Committee Meeting. Lotz, 67, said the process for selecting a new general secretary will begin, and he will set a date for his departure at a later time.

The BWA Personnel Committee will serve as the search committee. All six continental groups of Baptists are represented on the committee.

Lotz said he and his wife, Janice, had turned to Scripture, prayer and the council of wise friends in making the decision. He made the decision in complete freedom, with no pressure for him to retire, Lotz said.

BWA President David Coffey said the announcement causes a "heaviness of heart," but it "takes a really good leader" to know when it's time to make such a change. Coffey said it is a "great time to be a Baptist Christian" because the world body has attained a new level of maturity; and, as a result, this is a good time to begin the process of choosing a new general secretary.

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: 3/08/06

Two arrested in Alabama church fires

By Hannah Elliott

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Law enforcement officials arrested two men March 8 in connection with a string of Baptist church fires in rural Alabama.

Ben Moseley and Russell Debusk, both college students in the Birmingham area, appeared in federal court on suspicion of burning 10 churches, according to the office of Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. Officials continue to search for a third person, Matthew Lee Cloyd, as a suspect in the case.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the arrest. The agency declined to comment directly on the arrests until a 2 p.m. CST news conference today.

On the night of Feb. 2-3, fires completely destroyed Ashby Baptist Church in Brierfield, Rehobeth Baptist Church in Randolph and Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church near Centreville. The other two churches, Old Union Baptist in Brierfield and Antioch Baptist in Antioch, sustained damage but escaped complete destruction.

All of the churches but Pleasant Sabine belonged to the Southern Baptist Convention, the statewide Alabama Baptist Convention and the local Bibb County Baptist Association.

Another string of fires Feb. 7 completely destroyed the Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, near Boligee, and Galilee Baptist Church in Panola. Dancy Baptist Church near Aliceville and Spring Valley Baptist Church near Emelle suffered some damage.

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: 3/08/06

BaptistWay Bible Series for March 19

Do not forget the Lord’s provision for your life

• 1 Samuel 7:2-17

By Joseph Matos

Dallas Baptist University, Dallas

Gary Parrett recently lamented the changing of words and phrases in some long-favorite hymns in an attempt to update the text for modern worshippers (“Raising Ebenezer,” Christianity Today, January 2006).

As the title of his article reveals, one change to which he takes particular exception is that found in the second verse of Robert Robinson’s 1758 hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The line reads: “Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by thy help I’m come.”

Several substitutions have appeared, but of them, few correspond to the significance—both biblical and personal—behind Robinson’s use of the term “Ebenezer.” The rationale given for the change is that “Ebenezer,” for many, means something very different from what Robinson intended.

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But what lies behind this change (and those found in other hymns) is not the phrase’s failure to remain relevant for contemporary worshippers, but a lack of Bible knowledge on the part of those worshippers. This really is unfortunate, because it is just one example among hundreds in which hymns reflect direct biblical teaching and/or occasions on which the Bible’s teaching became particularly meaningful for the writers.

This means that where there is a question about the meaning of a text, we should inquire as to the basis for the words and phrases used. In this instance, such inquiry would lead us to 1 Samuel 7, an account of Israel’s deliverance by God.

Chapters 4-6 provide the background for the crisis described in this passage. Israel has been defeated in combat by the Philistines, their perennial foe. After assessing their losses, the Israelites (wrongly) determined the reason for the defeat was waging war without the ark of the covenant.

However, in a subsequent battle, despite the presence of the ark, the Philistines again defeated Israel. In addition, they captured the ark and, as prophesied, Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were killed.

Upon hearing the bad news, not of his sons’ deaths, but of the capture of the ark, Eli himself fell over and died. While confidence in the ark did not result in victory for the Israelites, possession of the ark only provided misery for the Philistines. So they returned the ark to the Israelites.

Chapter 7 then opens with the Israelites mourning and seeking the Lord. Enter Samuel, who challenged them that if their mourning and seeking were genuine then they should act accordingly. He diagnosed their problem as divided loyalty between the Lord and foreign (Canaanite) gods and challenged them to return to singular devotion to the Lord. If they did that, God would help them defeat the Philistines. 1 Samuel 7:4 tells us they did just that.

If this pattern of sin, oppression, repentance (crying out to the Lord) and the appearance of a deliverer sounds familiar, it should. What we read in these verses is reminiscent of the plight of the Israelites described in the book of Judges, which plays itself out in the same cyclic pattern. In fact, Samuel is described as judging them (7:6, 15).

Upon the Israelites’ rededication to the Lord, Samuel gathered them at Mizpah (a significant meeting place prior to and during that time), and he interceded for them. For their part, the Israelites again expressed their repentance before the Lord in deed and word. They drew out some water, poured it on the ground and fasted. They then confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD” (v. 6).

The Philistines viewed this gathering as the perfect opportunity to attack Israel. Because of previous defeats, the Israelites again feared, but Samuel enjoined them to persistent prayer to God for deliverance. Samuel himself offered a sacrifice and “cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf” (v. 9).

The Lord was quick to respond in defending Israel. In a manner reminiscent of past battles, God employed a form of natural catastrophic event (here, he “thundered with loud thunder” v. 10) to throw the enemy into a panic (see, for example, Judges 5:4-5). Such confusion opened the way for the Israelites to pursue and defeat the Philistines.

To commemorate the victory, Samuel set up a stone monument between the towns of Mizpah and Shen, naming it “Ebenezer” (v. 12), from two words meaning “stone” (eben) and “help” (ezer). The reason for the name is clear: “Thus far has the Lord helped us” (v. 12).

In reality, the name was a bit of an understatement. God did more then help. Before the Israelites pursued the Philistines, verse 10 reports “they (the Philistines) were routed” in front of them. Israel pursued those that remained.

Previously, Samuel faithfully proclaimed the word of the Lord, stabilizing an internal crisis (chapter 3). Here he turned the people back to God, averting an external threat. The Israelites learned once again that reliance upon the Lord only and not upon foreign gods, or even objects designed to point people to God (i.e., the ark), was the “help” they needed for deliverance.

By erecting the “stone of help,” Samuel did his part to provide Israel with a constant reminder of God’s provision. However, that God kept the Philistines at bay as long as Samuel lived (v. 13) and that Israel later asked Samuel for a king (chapter 8) suggest this was a lesson Israel soon forgot.

Recently, we sang Robinson’s hymn at church. The original line was there. What an opportunity to recall this story of deliverance. May we not follow Israel’s example and forget how God has helped us.

Discussion questions

• How often have you forgotten God's provision in your life?

• If you kept a record of God's provision and rescue in your life, what would be in there?

• What tangible thing can you do to remember what God has done for you?

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: 3/08/06

Family Bible Series for March 19

Celebrate when people come to Christ

• Luke 15:1-7, 11-13, 22-24, 28-32

By Greg Ammons

First Baptist Church, Garland

A theologian once said, “The church exists for those persons who are not members of it yet.” Do you agree with this statement?

So often, churches are content with those who are members of their congregation at the present time. There is minimal effort to reach the unsaved and little or no celebration when a person trusts Jesus by faith for salvation.

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It is astounding that a Sunday school lesson on this topic is needed. You would expect any Christian would be overjoyed when another person becomes a Christian. However, this is not always the case.

This unit emphasizes how to be effective followers of Christ. One of the characteristics of a devout follower of Jesus is a sense of celebration when a lost person becomes a Christian. In Luke 15, Jesus told three parables about lostness and the accompanying joy when the lost was found.

Manifest compassion (Luke 15:1-7)

One of the most famous passages spoken by Jesus was in response to a complaint from the religious leaders that Jesus welcomed and ate with sinners (Luke vv. 1-2). Jesus spoke three parables of lostness in response to their complaint. The first parable was of a lost sheep (vv. 4-7), the second was of a lost coin (vv. 8-10) and the third was of a lost son (vv. 11-24).

In each instance, Jesus emphasized the extent to which one would go to retrieve the lost item. The one who lost the item had compassion. Also, in each situation, there was an accompanying joy when the lost item was found. However, in the case of the lost son, there was no joy from the older brother. Jesus was making the point of the lack of compassion experienced by the religious leaders when our Lord welcomed sinners.

In the original language, the word “compassion” is a compound word with a rich meaning. When the prefix “sum-” is added to the root word “pathos,” (sumpatheo), it means “to bring your feelings together and be touched with the feelings of another.” We get the cognate “sympathy” in the English language from this beautiful Greek word.

Does this describe your feelings toward people who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you honestly bring your feelings together and sympathize to the point of sharing their hurts and feelings?

Celebrate forgiveness (Luke 15:11-13; 22-24)

Jesus spoke a parable of a younger brother who demanded his part of his father’s inheritance now (v. 12). Legally, a father could give his inheritance while still alive. The son took the wealth and squandered it on a wild and lavish lifestyle (v. 13). The money was quickly gone, and the young man faced the dire conditions of a famine in the land (v. 14), while forced to feed swine (v. 15).

The young man came to his senses, noted his father’s servants back home lived better than he did and decided to go back to his father (v. 17). His desire was simply to be his father’s servant (v. 18).

The forgiveness the father extended to his son was complete. The father ordered his servants to bring the son a robe, a ring and sandals for his feet (v. 22). Each of these items represented sonship. The father had forgiven the young man completely and received him back as his son.

Then, the celebration of forgiveness began. The father ordered the fatted calf to be killed and a party be thrown in response to the son’s coming home (v. 23).

True forgiveness is accompanied by true celebration. Often, Christians rejoice they are forgiven by God, but do not rejoice over another’s forgiveness. In either case, forgiveness is cause for celebration.

Reject self-righteousness (Luke 15:28-32)

The main point of the story of the prodigal son is the response of the older brother. When you connect the brother’s response to the first two verses of the chapter, there is no doubt the point Jesus was making. He was showing the religious leaders’ complaint to be like the attitude of the older brother.

When the older brother noticed the party for the younger, prodigal brother, he was angered (v. 28). He asked why no party was thrown for him, since he had never left the father’s side. He didn’t even want to identify with his younger brother, as he called him “your son” (v. 30). There was no sense of joy from the self-righteous older brother.

Interestingly, the father could not enjoy the younger brother’s celebration because he had to console the older brother. Too often, today, it is difficult to enjoy the forgiveness God extends to sinners because so much time is spent consoling the older brothers in our congregations.

There is much irony in the conclusion of this story. The brother who was lost was found. Yet, the brother who never left home was on the outside looking in at the final celebration.

Self-righteousness is a dangerous sin. It creeps into the life of the most well-meaning believer and steals joy from the heart. As true followers of Christ, commit to reject any self-righteousness and truly celebrate when others come to Christ.

Discussion questions

• Do you demonstrate the kind of compassion God would expect?

• What keeps Christians from truly celebrating another’s forgiveness?

• Which of the brothers’ attitude most closely resembles yours?

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: 3/08/06

Explore the Bible Series for March 19

Share the refreshment of Christ with a thirsty world

• Isaiah 7:1-12:6

By James Adair

Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio

Much of the material in Isaiah 7-12 is familiar to us as passages associated with Christmas, especially the Immanuel prophecy in chapter 7 and the descriptions of the ideal king/kingdom in chapters 9 and 11. It is worthwhile, however, to examine these passages apart from their New Testament applications, for they had great meaning in their original context in 8th-century B.C. Judah.

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Isaiah 7:10-16; 8:1-4

As a nation born out of revolution, Americans historically have had a tendency to root for revolutionary movements that attempt to overthrow dictators or other autocratic systems of government. However, for every falling Berlin Wall, there’s a Tiananmen Square massacre. For every overthrow of a Ceausescu, there’s a brutal repression by a Saddam Hussein of the Shiites and Kurds.

In the ongoing struggle between idealism (revolution) and realism (playing it safe), the historical circumstances dictate the more prudent course—unfortunately, usually after the fact.

King Ahaz of Judah faced a historical scenario in which he was king of a small client state of the massive Assyrian Empire, when two bordering states proposed a revolt against their overlord. His neighbors Israel (Ephraim) and Aram (Syria) undoubtedly reminded Ahaz of a similar coalition’s victory more than a hundred years earlier at the Battle of Qarqar, where a contingency of local states led by King Ahab of Israel turned back the Assyrian army.

The Israelite King Pekah may have called on Ahaz to remember the victories Yahweh had wrought for the nation during the exodus experience and urged him to have faith. Ahaz, however, refused to join the anti-Assyrian coalition, whereupon Israel and Aram attacked Judah in an attempt to put a new king on the throne who would join their revolution (this conflict is often referred to as the Syro-Ephraimitic War).

It is in this context that Isaiah came to Ahaz with the promise of deliverance, not from Assyria, the larger long-term threat, but from the Israel-Aram coalition, the more immediate threat. Considering the threat to his place on the throne, Ahaz understandably was worried, and he considered the prudence of calling on Assyria itself for assistance in his struggle.

Isaiah warned against this course of action, promising God would deliver Judah without the aid of Assyria (Isaiah 7:14-16). In the eighth-century B.C. context, the meaning of this passage is clear. A pregnant woman (Isaiah’s wife, according to 8:1-4) will bear a son, and before his second or third birthday both Israel and Aram will be destroyed by the Assyrians.

The heart of the promise, and the link to its New Testament application, is the symbolic name that is given to the child: Immanuel, God with us. In the midst of revolution against an oppressive overlord, God is with the people of faith, but God also is with those who choose to endure oppression, believing the time for revolt has not yet arrived.

It is in this latter circumstance that it possibly is the hardest to sense God’s presence. Those who are on top of the world believe God put them there, and idealists who are fighting (literally or metaphorically) for a cause also find it easy to believe God is on their side in their struggle for justice, but what about those who endure hardship with little hope of even long-term relief? Isaiah’s Immanuel message is to a nation in just such a situation. Now is not the time for revolt, the prophet says, and you will have to continue to endure the bonds of Assyria for a long time, but in the midst of it, God is with you.

Isaiah 12:1-6

About 4,000 years ago, a Babylonian gardener named Enlil-Bani found himself elevated to the throne of Babylon. It was not a promotion he wanted.

It was an annual custom for the real king to abandon the throne on New Year’s Day, because that day was considered especially inauspicious for the ruler of the people. A slave or prisoner would take his place on the throne, clad in royal garb, and the populace would mockingly bow down before him, honoring him as king. When the day ended, the “substitute king” would be removed from the throne and executed.

When Enlil-Bani began his reign as king-for-a-day, he must have wondered what he had done to anger the gods. As he sat on his mock throne, a servant of the real king, Erra-Imitti, suddenly came running into the courtyard where the substitute king was seated, and he shouted the dreadful news that the king was dead.

Seizing on this unexpected twist of fate, Enlil-Bani proclaimed it was the will of the gods for him to remain on the throne permanently, and he proceeded to rule Babylonia 24 years. Undoubtedly, he rejoiced in his salvation on that day and on many subsequent days, too.

Isaiah foretold a time in which the people of Judah would rejoice in their salvation as well: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” The visual imagery is graphic. A well in the ancient Near East was a source of life, without which the inhabitants of an arid land would die of thirst. A well was a source of cool, pure water. Unlike a cistern, which filled when the rains came, but whose water quickly became lukewarm and a haven for mold and algae, a well offered refreshing, healthy water to quench the thirst and revive the spirit.

A well was a source of abundance. If a cistern cracked, it would lose its water, and in any case, during a drought the water would not be replenished. A well provided water in abundance, typically enough for an entire village, year in and year out. A well was a source of power. People argued over wells (Genesis 36:17-33) and even fought over them. To control a well or an oasis gave one power over one’s neighbors.

When the prophet spoke of drawing water from the wells of salvation (or wells that provide salvation), his listeners would have understood the importance of wells in their culture and the consequent value of the salvation. God’s salvation provides life, it refreshes, it is abundant and it offers power for living.

God’s salvation has eternal aspects to be sure, but it also is temporal. God wants believers to experience joy in this life as well as the next. Certainly the salvation the prophet proclaimed involved deliverance from the harsh circumstances of life, not just pie in the sky by and by.

God’s followers today still have access to the well of salvation. For Christians, it is interesting to note that in Hebrew the word “salvation” is “yeshua,” which is also the Hebrew form of the name Jesus. For us, salvation comes in the person of Jesus, but it is not intended for us alone. Just as a well supplies salvific, life-giving water in abundance, so our spiritual well, Jesus, provides us with life-giving living water, which we are to share with a thirsty world, so that they, too, may rejoice.

Discussion questions

• When has it been hardest for you to sense God’s presence?

• How will you go about leading someone to “the well” this week?

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.