Posted: 3/03/06

Faith, family & finances can test pastors’ integrity

WACO—Faith, family and finances are three points where many ministers find their integrity tested, a veteran pastor and denominational leader told a ministerial ethics conference.

Authentic spirituality, stability at home and a nonmaterialistic lifestyle demonstrate wholeness—“a person who has it all together,” said James Carter, former director of church-minister relations for the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

“An effective, ethical minister is a person of integrity,” said Carter, who served 30 years as a pastor. He spoke during a conference at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary, sponsored by the Christian Ethics Today Foundation.

“The minister’s faith must be a growing faith,” Carter said.

Ministers need to read the Bible devotionally and with the goal of being shaped by it, not just routinely seeking sermons and teaching material, he insisted.

“There is danger in handling the holy. The minister can become too familiar with the holy and the sacred,” he warned. “Spiritual disciplines can become perfunctory.”

The minister’s home is the place where integrity and faith are demonstrated in intimate relationships, Carter noted. Quoting a Mormon ad campaign about family values from several years ago, he said, “No other success compensates for failure at home.”

Stress in ministry can create stress in marriage—particularly when the divine calling into ministry comes later in life.

“Many ministers’ spouses did not marry a minister. They’re not the one who received the call,” he said.

In practical terms, the minister can strengthen relationships at home best by giving priority to family time.

“Time together is a key ingredient for a happy home life,” he said, advising ministers to write appointments with spouses and children on the calendar, and then honor the commitment. “Schedule it, and then protect it. It’s more important than a lot of the appointments you keep.”

Money management presents another test of integrity for many ministers, Carter said.

“Church leaders do not appreciate being embarrassed by their minister’s financial irresponsibility,” he said. “Handling finances responsibly is a spiritual discipline.”

Carter warned against the misuse of credit, the burden of debt and the poor Christian witness that conspicuous consumption presents. He also urged every minister to “practice what you preach” concerning tithes and offerings.

“All that a minister is, as well as all that a minister owns, is a trust from God,” he said.

Posted: 3/03/06

Around the State

• Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager and Lead Like Jesus, will be the featured speaker for the Heavin Lecture in Christian Principles and Business Leadership to be held at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor March 20 at 11 a.m. Blanchard will speak on principles found in The Simple Truths of Leadership, his latest book. The event is free and open to the public.

• Houston Baptist University will hold its spring preview weekend for prospective students March 24-25. Students and parents will receive information on admissions, financial aid, housing and scholarships. Students also have the opportunity to sit in on a mock lecture in the area of their choice. There is no cost, but reservations need to be made by calling (281) 649-3211.

Dallas Baptist University recently was host to Joseph Kim, pastor of Wonchon Baptist Church in Suwon, South Korea, along with the Kidz Chorale from Central Christian Academy in Suwon. During a chapel service, the children sang praise and worship songs, performed a pantomine skit, exhibited tae kwon do abilities, and demonstrated a traditional fan dance.

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will hold Health Quest 2006 March 24 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Mayborn Campus Center. The health fair is free and open to the public. More than 50 exhibitors from a variety of health and wellness businesses will participate. Health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, visual acuity, lung function and body fat will be available. As a part of the event, a five kilometer family run will be held at 8 a.m. March 25. Late registration for the run will be held from 6:30 a.m. until 7:45 a.m. prior to the race. Register for the race at www.runtex.com. Saturday events will feature free immunizations, a bounce house, healthy snacks, games, prizes and nutrition booths. Member of the Centex Barracudas indoor football team also will be present.

• Troy Mays of Amarillo received the 2006 Founders Medal in appreciation of his support and commitment to Baylor University. Established in 1969, the Founders Medal is reserved for men and women whose service and contributions have been unusually significant to the life and future of the university. Mays is a member of Baylor’s Development Council, Old Main Society and Baylor Bear Foundation and is a lifetime member of the Baylor Alumni Association. He is a member of First Baptist Church in Amarillo.

• Don Guthrie, pastor of First Church in San Antonio, received an honorary doctorate degree from Wayland Baptist University’s San Anto-nio campus Feb. 19. He has been pastor of the church 10 years.

• Andrea Reyes of Dallas is serving as a spring intern with the Baptist Joint Committee. She is a 2004 graduate of Dallas Baptist University and anticipates a master’s degree in business administration from DBU with a concentration in conflict resolution. She is the daughter of Gus and Leticia Reyes. Her father is director of the call center at the Baptist General Convention of Texas and is on the pastoral team of Cockrell Hill Church in Dallas.

• The University of North Texas Baptist Student Ministry is looking for alumni who were involved in its ministry. The BSM would like to keep them informed of programs and activities, especially alumni functions. Contact the BSM at (940) 387-6331 or untbsm alumni@gmail.com. James Quesenberry is interim director.

• The Dallas Baptist University baseball team presented Harold Norris with its DBU Patriots Legends Award. Norris served the school more than a decade as chief financial officer, and while eliminating a $5.8 million debt found enough money to preserve the baseball team. He currently serves as a DBU trustees. He is a member of Prestonwood Church in Plano.

Anniversaries

• Myung Lee, 20th, as pastor of International Church in Abilene, Jan. 29.

• Terry Turpin, 10th, as preschool/children’s coordinator at First Church in Longview, Feb. 26.

• Domingo Duenez, 15th, as pastor of Primera Iglesia in Dalhart, March 5.

• Louis Johnson, 15th, as pastor of North Park Church in Abilene, March 5.

• Jerry Davis, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Collinsville, March 15.

• First Church in Hamlin, 100th, March 24-26. Activities will begin with registration at 6 p.m. Friday and a welcoming fellowship at 7 p.m. Saturday at 9 a.m. there will be coffee and doughnuts as the visiting continues. Various choirs and instrumentalists will practice throughout the day, and a banquet will be held at 6 p.m., followed by a time of testimony. A meal will follow the worship service on Sunday. Donny Harbers is pastor.

• Larry Griffin, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Thorndale.

Retiring

• Gary Fore, as associate pastor of First Church in Wimberley, Jan. 15. He served the church five years and had been in ministry more than 40 years. He served four churches in Illinois as pastor and was minister of music and youth at First Church in Vidor and Memorial Church in Beau-mont.

• Jerry Johnson, as pastor of First Church in Liberty, April 16. He has served the church more than 24 years and has been in ministry 44 years. Previous pastorates include First Church in Rosebud, First Church in Poteet and Connally Heights Church in Waco.

Deaths

• Marjorie Caldwell, 91, Feb. 6 in Houston. A speaker, author, radio personality and counselor, she also was a professional charm and modeling teacher. A longtime Bible study leader for women at First Church in Houston, she taught Sunday school for college students 30 years. A marriage counselor since 1975, she was a counseling staff member at First Church. A guest speaker on James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, she also hosted her own 30-minute radio show eight years. Twice, in 1970 and 1990, Houston Baptist University selected her as Woman of the Year. She also served the school as a trustee. She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Chuck Sr.; son, Chuck Jr.; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

• Harvey Hulse, 80, Feb. 17 in Leakey. A pastor of Texas churches 63 years, he served in Canadian, Lipscomb, Locust Grove, Truscott, Allendale, Miles, Alamo, Harlingen, Leakey and Bandera. He moved to Leakey in retirement and was interim pastor to churches in Leakey, Campwood, Sabinal and Utopia, and supply preacher to many others. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Ruby Jo, three brothers and two sisters. He is survived by his wife, Mildred; daughters, Kitty Ricci, Billie Schneider and Jo Dean Brice; sons, Harvey Jr. and Heath; step-children, Kevin Fortney and Kelly Donaldson; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and six step-grandchildren.

• Aranna Watson, 94, Feb. 24 in Baytown. She came to ÛÇBaytown in 1941 and was employed by First Church in Goose Creek (now Memorial Church in Baytown) as education director and church secretary. She remained there until 1948. From 1948 through 1976, she worked with South Texas Girl Scout Council and the San Jacinto Girl Scout Council as a field director, field adviser and director of field services. Camp Aranna, near Baytown, is named for her. From 1948 through 1955, she was choir director at Wooster Church in Baytown. In 1977, she joined the staff of San Jacinto Association to work with senior and single adults. She served as special ministries consultant until Dec. 31, 1997, when she began working as a Mission Service Corps volunteer until December 2003. She was preceded in death by her sister, Wilma Watson; and brother, Charles Watson. "

Events

• Southwest Chinese Church in Stafford will host Open Win-dows: Looking into Metaphors, a photography exhibit by Nan Dickson. A reception will be held March 19 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit will open March 19 and continue through April 2. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends. The event is free and open to the public. Dickson was a photographer for the Baptist General Convention of Texas from 1979 to 1988, and she worked as public relations director for the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor from 1988 to 1995. She is president of Lord Ministries, providing prayer retreats, personal discipleship, publishing and photography. For more information, call (281) 495-1511. "

• David's Song will perform a Southern gospel concert at First Church in Blanco March 19 at 6 p.m. Rusty Hicks is pastor. "

Revival

• Tolar Church, Tolar; March 5-8; evangelist, Richard Jackson; music, Mickey Daniel; pastor, Armo Bentley.

Posted: 3/03/06

Audio Adrenaline sees music
as avenue to challenge youth

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

Audio Adrenaline has been a prominent force in Christian rock music nearly 15 years, selling more than 3 million records and racking up 18 No. 1 singles.

Lead vocalist Mark Stuart, bass guitarist Will McGinniss, guitarist/vocalist Tyler Burkum and drummer Ben Cissell formed the band on the campus of Kentucky Christian College, and in spite of their success, they remained focused on using their music as a platform to challenge students to make a global impact for Christ.

Stuart’s parents served as missionaries in Haiti, and Audio Adrenaline works closely with several missions organizations, including the Go Foundation, which helps plug youth directly into a missions organization that matches their strengths.

Audio Adrenaline lead vocalist Mark Stuart traveled 3,000 miles in 11 days on his Victory motorcycle on the “Hands and Feet Across America” benefit ride.

“Growing up in Haiti, I saw my parents go through a lot,” Stuart said. “They worked hard trying to make a difference in a Third World country. In the midst of that, my sister was diagnosed with leukemia. There are stories like that from missionaries and God’s servants all over the world. But I think God’s people are at their strongest when they’re broken, because God can use them to do incredible things when they say, ‘All I can do is rely on God.’”

Last year, Audio Adrenaline established the Hands and Feet Project—an orphanage in Haiti that the group is building from the ground up. The goal of this project is to create a children’s village that would provide a caring a environment for orphaned children with a home, food, education and the love of a Christian family.

The band’s “Hands & Feet Across America” benefit motorcycle ride—in which Stuart traveled 3,000 miles in 11 days on his motorcycle—and the band’s online charity auction raised more than $60,000 for the project. Auction items included the motorcycle Stuart used in the benefit ride, as well as a live Audio Adrenaline performance.

While performing at a variety of youth events, including the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ Youth Evangelism Conference, Audio Adrenaline encourages youth to share Christ in their everyday surroundings.

“At our concerts, we want people to experience God and worship him,” Stuart said. “It’s more than having a great time at our shows. We want people to be challenged in their walk with the Lord. The worship movement is so strong now, and we want to challenge kids not to fall in love with feeling good about worship so much that they build a wall around themselves in their youth group. They need to take their worship to their schools and community.

“We encourage youth to get out there in the world and share Christ … even if it’s just at their next-door neighbor’s house or their school. I think we need to encourage youth to be the leaders of today and not wait until tomorrow to make a difference. They need to stand up and say: ‘I think this is the way that God wants us to work. I want to lead this group, and I want to be empowered by God to be a leader in my community and in my school.’ It’s all about putting worship into motion, putting faith into action worldwide.”

Posted: 3/03/06

Mother-daughter duo string together a ministry

By George Henson

Staff Writer

MARLIN—After more than 80 years, many people are ready to retire from ministry, but LaVonne Moore began hers just four months ago. It involves putting bracelets on wrists, smiles on faces and—most importantly to her—Jesus in hearts.

Moore shares a room at the Golden Years Rest Home in Marlin with her daughter, Vicki, and it is there that they have developed their own private assembly line for turning out tools for missionaries far and wide to share the gospel.

The mother and daughter make beaded bracelets that use five colors—each color symbolizing the transforming experience of knowing Christ. They attach a slip of paper to every bracelet that explains the significance of each color bead. Since the bracelets they make now grace the wrists of children in Mexico, the explanation has also been translated into Spanish.

The bracelets have been used by churches in Marlin, Waco and Houston to share the gospel with children, as well as North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

The two women also have been doing their own distribution among the residents, staff and visitors of Golden Years Home.

In a little more than four months, the Moores, members of Trinity Memorial Baptist Church in Marlin, have turned out more than 6,600 bracelets.

This ministry was born out of a craft project conceived by Janice VanCleave, a volunteer at the nursing home and a member of First Baptist Church in Marlin.

“It began with a box of beads that Janice gave me to play with,” LaVonne Moore said. “We started making necklaces for big girls and small girls; I don’t know how many, but it was multitudes.”

The necklaces were given to displaced hurricane victims. In addition, they also began to make small key chains, but when VanCleave presented the idea of making the gospel bracelets, the Moores really got excited.

“The necklaces were pretty, but the bracelets, they are worthwhile,” LaVonne Moore ex-plained. “It was something fun to do, but also something that made a difference.”

And making a difference is important to the Moores.

“When you get my age, you feel like you’re not worth much, but Janice has found a way to make my life meaningful,” she continued.

One of the things the Moores are excited about is the scope of the ministry. VanCleave’s daughter sent 250 of the bracelets to a missionary friend in Mexico to use in his ministry.

“When we gave them to him, you kind of got the idea that he didn’t really know what he was going to do with them. But within a week, he had given them all out with the free lunches he supplies to the children there. And then the children started taking them back to school to give to friends, and soon he was asking for more,” VanCleave explained.

He is not the only one asking for more bracelets. Other missionaries and missions groups have heard about the bracelets, and the demand is outstripping what the Moores can provide.

Also, a church has requested more necklaces for their church store, where underprivileged children can pick up presents for themselves and others.

That is fine with VanCleave, because she visualizes nursing home residents across the state making the bracelets, but she acknowledges that it probably will take the cooperation of Christians outside the nursing homes.

“It provides people a way they can witness for the Lord, but it will probably require some outside assistance,” she noted.

The Moores make their bracelets with no assistance—Vicki strings the beads while her mother ties the knots to keep them in place. VanCleave provides the materials.

Others may need someone to tie the knots, VanCleave acknowledges, but she said the end result is worth any effort.

“I would very much like to encourage others to get involved with nursing home residents. They are a real joy in my life. In fact, when I feel discouraged, I am cheered when I visit my friends at the nursing home,” she said.

LaVonne Moore said VanCleave has made a lasting impression on her life.

“Used to, I wondered why God let me live to be this old. Now I know it was to make these bracelets.

“I used to think there was nothing I could do. You have a lot of time to think here, and you think, ‘I had a lifetime to witness to others and to make someone’s life brighter, and I didn’t do it, and now it’s too late.’

“I kind of felt like an old dirty used-up dishrag, but now I know that’s not true. Now I know God can use me. He can use me to make bracelets, and he can use me to say to someone, ‘Smile, God loves you.’”

Posted: 3/03/06

BAPTIST BRIEFS

Birmingham church named national landmark. 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., the site of a 1963 bombing that killed four girls, has become a national historic landmark. The bombing brought national attention and outrage, speeding passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Three former Klansmen were convicted in the bombing. U.S. Secretary of Interior Gale Norton signed a proclamation that gives the church building the nation’s highest historic distinction. National status protects the church from being destroyed for any federal project and could make it easier to raise money to maintain and restore the building. A church foundation has raised just under $3.3 million in a $3.8 million restoration campaign.

Yemeni executed for killings of Baptist medical workers. The Yemeni gunman who killed three Southern Baptist medical workers in 2002 was executed by firing squad Feb. 27, according to wire reports. Abed Abdul Razak Kamel was shot in the central prison of the southern Ibb province as judicial officials observed, Yemen’s Saba state news agency reported. Kamel was convicted for the Dec. 30, 2002, shooting deaths of Jibla Baptist Hospital director William Koehn, physician Martha Myers and purchasing agent Kathleen Gariety. A pharmacist was seriously wounded but later recovered. Kamel admitted in court to coordinating the attack with Islamic militant activist Ali al-Jarallah. Al-Jarallah was executed Nov. 27 for plotting the medical workers’ deaths and for assassinating a prominent national politician. The Jibla Baptist Hospital provided care for thousands of people in the impoverished Middle Eastern nation for more than 30 years after it was started in the Ibb province by Southern Baptist workers. It was reopened in 2003 by the Yemeni government’s health ministry.

LifeWay names VP. Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources named Tom Hellams vice president and executive associate to newly installed President Thom Rainer. Hellams will be chief coordinating staff member of the executive management team. Since 1997, he was executive assistant to President Al Mohler at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

Mission Center names building for McWhorter. A new building for Houston’s Gano Mission Center has been named for home missionary Mildred McWhorter, who retired in 1992 after 30 years as director of the Houston Baptist Centers. The Mildred McWhorter Missionary Building will provide dorm rooms for short-term volunteers, three private apartments for long-term volunteers, two conference rooms, dining and kitchen facilities, offices and a prayer room. The 7,400-square-foot facility is scheduled for completion in May. The Gano Mission Center, just north of downtown Houston, is one of three Baptist mission centers in the city.

CBF council approves $17 million budget. At its February meeting, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Coordinating Council approved a $17.05 million budget for 2006-2007—a 3.5 percent increase over the previous year’s $16.47 million budget. The council also adopted a motion to give the CBF’s Advisory Council more oversight over the planning of the annual CBF general assembly. Bo Prosser, CBF’s coordinator for congregational life, reported the 2006 general assembly will begin with a summit on HIV/AIDS, featuring keynote speaker David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a Christian citizens’ group that advocates for reduction of hunger and poverty.

New Oklahoma editor named. The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma board of directors named Ray Sanders editor of the Baptist Messenger. He succeeds John Yeats, who now works as communications director for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Sanders, 42, led the state convention’s communications staff seven years. He will continue in that role in addition to his new task as executive editor of the Baptist state paper. He holds an undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism and mass communications from the University of Oklahoma, and he has worked in broadcast news, corporate communications and public affairs in Oklahoma and Washington, D.C. He is a member of Council Road Baptist Church in Bethany, Okla., where his wife, Stephanie, is minister to young adults. They have six children.

South African Methodist keynote speaker at CBF. A Methodist minister from South Africa will address the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly June 22-23 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. Trevor Hudson of Northfield Methodist Church in Benoni, South Africa, will be the keynote speaker at the assembly. Other program highlights include presentations by CBF Moderator Joy Yee and Coordinator Daniel Vestal and a commissioning service for new Global Missions field personnel. For more information, visit www.thefellowship.info.

Posted: 3/03/06

Posted: 3/03/06

Partnership yields church
building for Chinese Christians

By Lance Wallace

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

YANTING, China—Seventy Christians in a Chinese city of 200,000 people have a new place to worship, thanks to an unusual partnership between Chinese Christians, a Houston Baptist church and Anglican relatives of one of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Global Missions field personnel.

CBF Global Missions field personnel Bill and Michelle Cayard brought together these partners to play a crucial role in the life of a small church that had sought their help to make their dream of a church building a reality.

“They’ve dreamed, they’ve invested, they’ve stretched as far as they can,” Cayard said. “So we committed the funds to get them the rest of the way there.”

In late November 2004, an English-speaking Chinese pastor told the Cayards about a small congregation in Yanting that had purchased an old factory building for their church.

The State Administration for Religious Affairs, the arm of the Chinese government that relates to churches in the country, helped provide old chairs for the group to begin meeting in the facility.

As the members celebrated having their new facility, the government also stipulated that the church look like a church. That’s when the pastor went to Cayard, a former construction manager, for help.

Although the Cayards are just completing language school and settling into their place of ministry in Chengdu, the opportunity arose for them to involve CBF. Members of their home church, South Main Baptist in Houston, contributed $5,000 for the project.

By March 2005, the construction began on a new roof, windows, gables and a cross to begin the factory’s transformation.

When Cayard’s aunt and uncle, Bev and Ben Sibley of Orlando, Fla., came to China for a visit, the Cayards took them to the facility and showed them the progress. Despite having no connection to CBF, the Anglican couple rallied friends and family to put forward an additional $5,000 to purchase pews.

The actual cost of the church benches was about $2,500, leaving the remainder to be used for scholarships for Chinese students to attend seminary and for subsidies for pastors’ salaries throughout the province.

Now, Yanting Christian Church has a more visible witness to their community.

“It brought tears to my eyes when we drove into Yanting and saw the construction progress,” Cayard said.

The construction project recently was completed.

“This is the first place of worship for the Yanting Christian Church,” Mrs. Cayard said. “This is a significant step for this church and this community.”

Throughout the process, the Cayards have been grateful for the cooperation and support of the local State Administration for Religious Affairs and the Sichuan Provincial Christian Council.

“We were encouraged that the local government leader met us at the church upon our arrival to thank us, along with the church leaders,” Cayard said.

“With the church leaders, we prayed together both in Chinese and English. It was very moving. The government official then joined us for a celebratory banquet lunch.”

Yanting Christian Church will have to grow into the facility. The small congregation doesn’t come close to filling the facility, which will seat 600. The Cayards can’t wait to visit when the place is packed.

“The way the Chinese church works is that by this time next year, it will be standing-room-only,” Cayard said. The building is equipped with a small kitchen that the members are using as a base for a ministry of feeding those in poverty.

“It is so encouraging to see them reaching out beyond their doors to engage the needs in their community,” Mrs. Cayard said. “We were blessed to be a small part of their growth.”

Posted: 3/03/06

Down Home:
Grace & patience, or a big ol’ crash

Road construction ought to be labeled Texas’ State Business. You know, like the mockingbird is the State Bird and the monarch butterfly is the State Insect.

Almost anywhere you go across the Lone Star State, particularly in the cities and suburbs and along the interstate highways, you confront road construction. We’re growing so fast, and our roads are so run-down, we can’t build them or repair them fast enough. (Note to parents: If you want your children to be employed all their lives, set them up as paving contractors.)

All this road building has prompted a singular desire: Just one day before I retire, I will drive all the way to and from work without taking a construction detour or passing a construction cone. When I describe this dream, my spiritually sensitive friends stammer in wonder: “You really do believe in miracles, don’t you?” Most lack such faith. “It’ll never happen,” they predict.

Usually, road construction is simply annoying. We live by the clock, and time is precious. So, creeping through a construction zone at 5 miles per hour gets on the ol’ nerves. Worst of all, unless you can afford a helicopter, you can’t do much about it. But wait, and wait, and wait.

Sometimes, however, road construction is plain dangerous. Take the intersection of Interstate 30 and Loop 12 in far west Dallas, or Irving, or Grand Prairie. (Who knows exactly where the city limits are out there?)

Since I-30 between Dallas and Fort Worth used to be a tollway, the interchanges are, in precise engineering terminology, goofy. If you haven’t been on them, I can’t describe them so you’ll understand.

Now, in an effort to widen the interstate and simplify the interchanges, the Texas Department of Transportation is laying miles of rebar and pouring tons of concrete. Meanwhile, the engineer who designed the I-30/Loop 12 interchange has given northbound drivers who want to go to Fort Worth and southbound drivers headed for Dallas about, oh, 17 inches to swap lanes.

Judging by the looks on faces, driving from Loop 12 to I-30 will improve your prayer life. Or make you cuss like a sailor.

Panic sets in when a driver in the next lane—frustrated by crawling through construction delays—hugs the bumper of the car just in front of her. It’s the closest normal drivers ever get to NASCAR, only without all that high-tech safety equipment.

Unexpectedly, this insane interchange between two too-busy roads has taught me lessons about the spiritual qualities of grace and patience. Although we’re both headed in different directions, we’re crossing paths in dangerous territory, and we have more in common than we have apart. If we’re both bound-and-determined to get our spot, the results would be disastrous. But when we show respect and allow the other a little room, we swap lanes easily.

This highway interchange is like a lot of other “intersections” of life, even in church: When we respect the image of God in fellow travelers, our journey is safer and more pleasant. Even if it’s still scary.

–Marv Knox

Posted: 3/03/06

Fairview church discovers:
‘A little child shall lead them’

By George Henson

Staff Writer

COPPERAS COVE—The aptly named Fairview Community Church sits well off the main drag in Copperas Cove, next to an elementary school and in the midst of houses.

It’s what Pastor Paul Wrightsman calls a neighborhood church—a church built primarily to reach people in its immediate vicinity.

“I’ve grieved over the loss of neighborhood churches,” he said. “Even though I wasn’t a Christian, my childhood memories were of neighborhood churches—a Vacation Bible School here, a Sunday school visit from time to time, and it was always with friends who lived close by, and we’d walk on down to the little neighborhood church.”

Fairview Community Church is being revitalized as just such a neighborhood church. And consistent with Wrightsman’s memories, it’s children who are doing a lot of the inviting.

When the church began in 1959, most of its members lived in the surrounding neighborhood. As their incomes increased, however, many homeowners moved, and most houses in the area became rental properties, Wrightsman said.

The neighborhood began changing ethnically, as well, and Fairview began to decline, he continued.

“The church hadn’t really realized that and hadn’t really tried to reach out,” Wrightsman observed.

The congregation dwindled to the point that when Wrightsman was called as pastor in 2002, “they spent two weeks calling people and looking under bushes for people to come and vote, and they found 29.”

Their number had increased to around 50 about a year ago when the church decided to invite the neighborhood to a Wednesday-night meal.

A sign in front of the church offered an open invitation for soup and sandwiches. The offer of food was all the enticement some children in the neighborhood needed.

“But even hungry kids don’t get too excited about soup and sandwiches on a regular basis,” Wrightsman said.

So, the Wednesday night meal was transformed into a potluck dinner brought by the congregation, “and then it really took off,” he said. “Kids started bringing kids. That’s what kids do, and now we sometimes have 40 here.”

And it’s not just the children who are coming.

Wrightsman recalled that two of the boys got into a fistfight before the meal one Wednesday night. He separated them, but they wouldn’t calm down and continued to threaten each other.

After the police were summoned, the boys calmed down, and Wrightsman allowed them to stay to eat. Before the meal was served, one of the boys asked if he could go get a friend.

“I told him, ‘Go get him, your mother, your daddy; bring anybody you want.’ And he did,” Wrightsman said.

The boy’s mother and father stood in line to be served when the father asked Wrightsman if he called the police on his boy.

“I told him yes, and if I had to, I would do it again,” Wrightsman recalled. “He didn’t seem too happy with that response, but three weeks later, I saw that same daddy in the kitchen helping wash the dishes.”

The influx of so many children also has been an adjustment for a congregation that had been composed primarily of older adults.

“It’s gotten a lot louder around here,” Wrightsman said. “But like I told a couple of our ladies last week, it sure does sound sweet.”

One of the things that has made the volume more bearable is seeing the children and their parents also become more regular in Sunday attendance. One of the children—a recognized leader—recently accepted Christ as her Savior and was baptized.

“That has given us an additional responsibility, because now everybody wants to be baptized, and I want to baptize them, but I want to make sure that they are making legitimate faith commitments and not just following her lead. I want it to be real for them,” Wrightsman said.

The congregation also is adjusting its facilities, and the church is considering enlarging the room where the Wednesday meal is served.

The congregation—both longtime members and newcomers—have been an encouragement, Wrightsman said.

“This church has been a real eye-opener for me,” said the 69-year-old pastor, who still rides a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. “It has reinforced for me the power of prayer.

“God listens, and God answers. The only time God has not answered my prayers for this church is when he’s had a better idea.

“God is attentive to our hearts, our prayers and our work, and he always, always outgives you.”

One thing God gave Fairview Community Church before the children arrived was an influx of younger adults such as Terry Dunn, Wrightsman noted. Dunn grew up in the neighborhood, but he did not attend the church. After a career in the Navy, he returned with his wife to live in his childhood home.

One day, they took a walk and happened by Fairview. Wrightsman and his wife, Sue, were working outside on the church grounds. As the Dunns passed, Mrs. Wrightsman stopped working and asked the couple if they attended church. When they said they did not, she invited them to Fairview. They visited the next Sunday, and now Dunn serves the church as minister of education and administration. He delights in what the neighborhood children have brought to his church.

“These children have definitely raised the noise level, but with that comes a new level of energy and anticipation,” Dunn said. “And it’s also good when your comfortable routine gets shaken up and you get a fresh perspective on things.”

One person changed by the arrival of the children is Joy Baker. She leads a choir, ages 4 to 15—recently numbering 36 in rehearsal.

While the music is important, she said, the relationships she has developed are far more vital.

She recalled a conversation with a child who was baptized. The girl told Baker about how many hugs she had received.

“I asked her if that was a good thing or a bad thing, and she said it was a very good thing. But then her cousin piped up and said the church was the only place they got hugs,” she recalled.

“It doesn’t really matter what I’m able to accomplish with these kids musically, but what matters is that in the church, they know they have a place to go and know they will be loved.”

And it’s right in the neighborhood.

Posted: 3/03/06

Technology enables hearing-impared to experience worship

By George Henson

Staff Writer

RICHARDSON—A Texas Baptist church is using technology to make worship more accessible to hearing- impaired members and guests.

Through the use of Computer Access Real-Time—CART—translation, hearing-impaired worshippers at The Heights Baptist Church in Richardson can read the words of songs and sermons from a computer screen.

While many churches use sign interpretation, Esther Kelly of the Deaf Action Center in Dallas said that reaches only a small segment of the population.

“Of all people who are hearing impaired, only 6 percent to 8 percent know sign language. That means that there’s a huge population who need this type of help,” she said.

Susan Jones translates during a recent committee meeting of the CART ministry at The Height Baptist Church in Richardson.

CART is federally mandated for the hearing impaired in many arenas, such as college classrooms, to give equal access.

Churches are exempt from that law, but it points out the need for such a ministry, she said.

“I always joke that if you see someone falling asleep in church, it’s probably because they are not hearing, not because they are bored,” Kelly said.

She knows from personal experience. Kelly’s hearing loss came as an adult. For six years, she continued to teach Sunday school with the help of another teacher but then went home before the worship service because she couldn’t hear the sermon or read sign language.

“There are a lot of people like me who just stop going (to church). They don’t say anything because many, many people with hearing loss hide it,” she said

“I wish churches would get a vision here and see the mission field that’s out there. Churches won’t be overwhelmed with people because they have CART, but it has to be looked at as missionary work. How many people have to be reached before it’s worth doing?”

To keep up with the pace of speech, CART volunteers need training as court reporters, said John Palmer, senior adult minister at The Heights Baptist Church.

“It is not for people who have minimal skills in that area, because the words can come fast and get rather long,” he explained.

The Heights Baptist Church has two volunteers who meet the criteria—Michelle Varner and Susan Jones. Varner translates the 9:15 a.m. service, and Jones serves at the 10:50 a.m. service.

While Varner’s job requires her to take legal depositions, Jones works primarily as a CART operator for the hearing impaired in college classrooms and training sessions for corporations.

Many of her clients have cochlear implants and can hear well in small-group situations, but they still struggle in larger gatherings, she said.

The ministry at The Heights began when Jones noticed a man with a cochlear implant. On impulse, she asked him if he would be interested in her providing CART translation for him, and he said he would.

Sam Sewell, a 30-year member of the church who serves as usher chairman, is grateful Jones started the ministry. His 28-year-old daughter, Amanda, was born hearing impaired.

“Reading lips, she can get about 80 percent of what’s said,” he explained. “With CART, she gets 100 percent.”

That type of testimony energizes Jones.

“It’s just so satisfying, and it makes me feel like I’m really contributing to kingdom work,” she said.

Four or five people read the sermon from laptop computers most Sundays at The Heights, Palmer said.

But as congregations continue to age, the need may become greater, he pointed out.

“Growing old is a progressive series of little events that gradually isolate you, so anything we can do to prevent that, we want to do it,” he said.

Anyone involved with court reporting would have the equipment needed to perform the service, Jones and Palmer stressed. That means any expense to the church would be minimal if that person was a part of the congregation.

If the church needed to hire someone to do the translation, the cost could run as much as $125 per hour, depending on the location.

But as Sewell said, “That might not make it cost effective, but we’re not in the business of being cost effective.”

Posted: 3/03/06

Executive Board approves
Texas/Missouri partnership

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—At its inaugural meeting, the reconstituted Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board ap-proved a three-year partnership linking Texas Baptists with the Baptist General Con-vention of Missouri.

The board ratified a strategic partnership agreement with the Baptist General Con-vention of Missouri, a fellowship of 125 churches formed when fundamentalists gained control of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

According to the agreement, staff from the Missouri and Texas state conventions will meet for annual joint strategy-development sessions, where they will collaborate on program initiatives and resource development.

Baptist World Alliance President David Coffey underscores the importance of Texas Baptist involvement in the global Baptist fellowship.

“We value this relationship with Texas Baptists. Not everybody wants to have a relationship with us,” said Missouri Executive Director Jim Hill.

The Southern Bap-tist Convention refused contributions from the fledgling Missouri convention, cutting it off from representation at the SBC annual meeting, and the institutions affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Missouri have been embroiled in a prolonged legal dispute with the Missouri Baptist Convention.

However, Hill noted, the Baptist General Convention of Missouri has been received into the North American Baptist Fellowship and will seek full membership in the Baptist World Alliance, following in the steps of the BGCT and the Baptist General Association of Virginia.

During a two-day board meeting, directors also approved budget reallocations to fit the revamped BGCT organizational structure, named committees and subcommittees for the revamped Executive Board and heard a challenge from Baptist World Alliance President David Coffey.

The 90-member Execu-tive Board met for the first time since BGCT annual meeting messengers granted final approval to governing documents that reduced the board’s size by more than half and granted it greater decision-making authority.

“This Executive Board has the opportunity to shape the decisions for which it is accountable,” said BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade, who told directors they were “making history.”

The Executive Board’s five standing committees—Executive Committee, Audit Committee, Administration Support Committee, Institu-tional Relations Committee and Church Missions & Ministries Committee—met for the first time.

The committees appointed subcommittees composed entirely of Executive Board directors, as well as councils, commissions and groups that also include Texas Baptists not on the board.

BGCT Chief Operating Officer Ron Gunter introduced the staff operations team and presented an update on restructuring. Congregational strategists and church starters have been deployed to nine service areas around the state, and affinity group strategists are in place to serve African-American, Hispanic, intercultural and Western heritage churches, he reported.

The board approved a recommendation from its Administration Support Committee authorizing budget transfers and reallocations within the approved $49.4 million budget to conform to the reorganized staff structure.

The board also approved a $1.77 million advance budget for the reorganization, with funding to come from income and unrealized gain on trust funds and any Cooperative Program receipts exceeding the approved budget.

BWA President David Coffey underscored the importance of Texas Baptist involvement in a global Baptist fellowship that seeks to become known as “good news people” and “living water people” who are committed to meeting both physical and spiritual needs.

“We need Texas Baptists, and I dare say Texas Baptists need the world family,” he said.

Through the BWA, Texas Baptists have an opportunity to join Baptists worldwide in evangelism and holistic missions, addressing the problems of human trafficking and HIV/AIDS, combating poverty, working for peace and standing for religious liberty and human rights, Coffey said.

In other business, the BGCT Executive Board approved:

• Engaging the Grant Thornton accounting firm to conduct the 2005 financial audit.

• Bylaws revisions for the Baptist Foundation of Texas to bring terminology into compliance with the reorganized BGCT structure.

• Routine bylaws revisions for the Baptist Health Foundation of Texas.

• Using $750,000 in unrestricted funds for contingency to meet missions and ministry needs in 2006.

Posted: 3/03/06

On the Move

• Henry Adrion to Iola Missionary Church in Iola as interim pastor.

• Bruce Ammons has resigned as pastor of ministry development at First Church in Katy to teach the Conquering Debt God’s Way seminar full-time. He can be contacted at (806) 780-7615.

• Bobby Atwell to First Church in Joshua as transitional pastor.

• Malcolm Bane to First Church in Navasota as interim pastor.

• Wes Barnet has resigned as pastor of First Church in Pettus.

• Mac Brunson to First Church in Jacksonville, Fla., as pastor from First Church in Dallas.

• Raymond Butler to Second Church in Lampasas as pastor.

• Ron Cooper to Calvary Church in Quinlan as pastor.

• Eddy Curry to Pioneer Drive Church in Abilene as minister of education from First Church in Plainview.

• Cecille Davis to First Church in Burleson as minister of worship/creative arts.

• Stephanie Gates to First Church in Cleburne as minister of children.

• Dan Gilmore to Second Church in La Grange as minister of music and education, where he had been interim minister of music.

• Matt Killough to First Church in Grand Prairie as youth pastor from Oak Knoll Church in Fort Worth.

• Paul Lemon to First Church in Lillian as minister of music.

• Kay Nimitz to First Church in Lillian as minister to children.

• Ric Owens to Nolan River Road Church in Cleburne as minister of music.

• Harvey Patterson to First Church in Luella as pastor.

• Gary Redding to Buel Church in Cleburne as interim pastor.

• Kevin Steger has resigned as associate pastor at First Church in Burleson so that he can work full-time for Light Over Europe Ministries.

• Charles Wisdom to Waller Church in Waller as pastor.