Posted: 2/3/06

ABP hires Dallas-based news editor

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP)—Associated Baptist Press has hired Hannah Lodwick Elliott to become the organization’s Dallas-based news editor. Elliott began her new duties Feb. 1.

Elliott’s hiring fills a position left vacant since the fall of 2002, when cuts in funding from many of the news service’s traditional sources forced it to lay off long-time Managing Editor Bob Allen.

“After three years of carrying the daily responsibility of the news service, I am more than a little pleased and relieved to have Hannah’s help,” Executive Editor Greg Warner said. “This will allow me to focus more on writing, while giving better leadership to the rest of the staff. We are all going to benefit from restoring our staff to nearly full strength.”

Elliott, 24, graduated magna cum laude from Baylor University in 2004. Since then, she has been employed by Weber Shandwick, a public relations agency, working out of the company’s Dallas office on its American Airlines account.

While in college, Elliott gained experience as a reporter and editor for the Lariat, Baylor’s student newspaper, and in the sports department for the Waco Tribune-Herald. She also worked for KVTZ-TV News in her hometown of Bend, Ore.

She served as an ABP intern in the summer of 2003.

She married her high-school sweetheart, Spencer Elliott, Dec. 31. He is employed by the brokerage firm JPMorgan in Dallas.

“I’m excited about the chance to explore Baptist life in the region and in the nation.” Elliott said. “I think that matters of faith and belief are becoming more and more prominent in the national mindset, and I am looking forward to the chance to write and report on this.”

Elliott will work from Dallas, in office space provided by the Baptist Standard, which has cooperated with ABP for years. Marv Knox, editor of the Standard and a member of ABP’s board, said he looked forward to deepening the historic relationship between the two news agencies.

“As both an editor who relies on ABP news and a board member who cares deeply about ABP, I am thrilled Hannah has joined the staff,” Knox said. “She will make ABP an even stronger, faster, more reliable and more effective source of news and features. And because she will make ABP stronger, she will contribute to the strength of the many newspapers, like the Standard, that depend upon ABP.”

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: 2/3/06

Around the State

• The fifth annual Baylor University Sacred Harp Singing will be held Feb. 11 in the Great Hall of Truett Theological Seminary. For those new to Sacred Harp singing, a singing school will be held beginning at 9:15 a.m., with the official sing starting at 10 a.m. After a lunch break, singing will begin again and conclude at 3 p.m. Singing from the Sacred Harp, or shaped note singing, was a method used widely in smaller Protestant churches in the South to teach church members to sing parts. At this free event, all are welcome to come and go. For more information, call (254) 710-2360.

• Dallas Baptist University will hold its Patriot Preview Weekend for prospective students Feb. 11. At the one-day event, high school juniors and seniors have an opportunity to experience campus life and learn more about choosing a college. Students and parents are offered a series of informative seminars, as well as fellowship opportunities with other families and DBU faculty. Information on financial aid options, the admission process and campus life are highlighted. The cost is $25 and includes two meals for students and their parents. For more information, call (214) 333-5360.

• Baylor University history professor Thomas Kidd has been named the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship. The $40,000 stipend will allow him to work full-time on his forthcoming book Awakenings: The First Generation of American Evangelical Christianity, which is under contract with Yale University Press.

• Ron Brown has been named associate vice president for enrollment management/ director of financial aid at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Brown has worked at the university more than 17 years.

Anniversaries

• Dan Tice, fifth, as minister of education and youth at First Church in El Campo, Jan. 1.

• Byron Williamson, fifth, as pastor of Calvary Church in Rosenberg.

• Keith Brister, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Duncanville, Feb. 1.

• Gary Oncken, 15th, as music minister at Wildewood Church in Spring, Feb. 19.

• First Church in Balmorhea, 100th, March 11-12. Saturday will include a time of refreshments, fellowship, and fun and games beginning at 1 p.m. Donnie Melton, pastor of First Church in Rosenberg, surrendered to preach at the Balmorhea church as a high school student and will preach in the morning service. The Lord’s Supper also will be observed as a part of the 10 a.m. service. A lunch will follow. Roy Byrd is interim pastor.

Deaths

• Robert Coble, 73, Jan. 7 in Lufkin. A former student at Southwestern Seminary, he was a pharmacist at Memorial Hospital in Lufkin 33 years. He also served First Church in Lufkin as a deacon and preschool teacher. He was preceded in death by his brother, William; and sister, Eueline Pattillo. He is survived by his wife, Joy; daughter, Buffy Reitz; and one granddaughter.

• Jarman Bass, 82, Jan. 20 in Dallas. A 1943 graduate of Baylor University, he was an active Baptist layman. A longtime member of Park Cities Church in Dallas, he served nine years as a trustee of Baylor University and Baylor Health Care System. For six years, he was a member of the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He also served as a trustee of the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was preceded in death by his wife, Llewellyn. He is survived by his daughters, Bettie Vandivort and Beverly Childs; three grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

• Bobbie Bennett, 74, Jan. 20 in Garland. He was a Southern Baptist pastor, and also retired after 21 years of service in the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command. He was preceded in death by his sister, Helen Blake. He is survived by his wife, Lorene; sons, Duane, Bobby and Gary; daughters, Lora Aber-nethy and Malinda Vasquez; brothers, Howard Bennett and John Townsend; sister, Ruthie Howard; and 10 grandchildren.

• Sam Randolph, 71, Jan. 21 in Comanche. He was pastor of Texas churches 42 years, including First Church in Comanche, where he served from 1982 until his retirement in 1996. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Patti; mother, Grace; daughters, Kim Atkins, Stephanie Bucking-ham, Melinda Wilkinson and Jill Lewis; sisters, Betty Nelson and Myrna Fort; 10 grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

• John Max Cox, 78, Jan. 24 in Denison. A Howard Payne University graduate, the school awarded him an honorary doctorate in divinity in 1992. An educator and minister, he served colleges and universities in Texas, Arizona, California and Oklahoma. He also was pastor of First Church in Murphy and Edhube Church in Bonham, as well as two churches in Oklahoma. He also was minister of education and music at Central Church in Pampa. At the time of his death, he was a member of Parkside Church in Denison. He was preceded in death by his sister, Bethel Lea Orrick. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Billie Sue; daughter, Kathy Cox; son, David; sisters, Marcia Rives, Martha Whatley, and Claudine Creel; and one grandson.

Events

• Youth at First Cambodian Church in Houston recently presented a play to share the gospel message with their peers. About 175 people attended the play, with several making professions of faith in Jesus Christ. Savann Kruoch is pastor.

• First Church in Arlington broke ground on a $1.85 million expansion of the Hamill Welcome Center and entrance areas to the sanctuary Feb. 5. The project, scheduled for completion in late summer, is the first of 22 projects that will touch nearly every part of the church campus. Dennis Wiles is pastor.

• Cowboy Church of Ellis County’s grand opening for its newly constructed worship center will be held at 10 a.m. Feb 12. A dedication is slated for 5 p.m. that day, followed by a concert featuring award winning artists Susie Luchsinger and Mike Hammock, as well as some cowboy church bands from the area. The building is designed to seat up to 1,800 people, but seeks to maintain a country/ rural flavor. For more information, call (972) 935-9801. Gary Morgan is pastor.

Ordained

• Garrett Wooten, Dustin Messer, Steven Rothschild, Braxton Edwards, Joshua Price, Stephen Simmons and Adam Whigham to the ministry at Paramount Church in Amarillo.

• Kent Slack to the ministry at First Church in Gainesville.

• Ruben Harrison Jr. to the ministry at Primera Iglesia in Laredo.

• Ricky Passmore to the ministry at Crosspoint Fellowship in Pleasanton.

• Pete Houpt to the ministry at Trinity Church in Pleasanton.

• Ron Shuffield to the ministry at Ridgemont Church in Abilene.

• Jim Ellis and John Batson as deacons at Indian Hills Church in Grand Prairie.

• Tom Galbreath, H.C. Maples, Toby Owen, Julia Robinson and Oscar Voirin as deacons at University Church in Fort Worth.

• James Barton, James Wilson and Chris Zimmerman as deacons at First Church in Temple.

• Jeff Cade, Dalton Morrison and Brian Wear as deacons at First Church in Paris.

• Bryce Briscoe, Gerald Dickens and Mark Hearn as deacons at Memorial Church in Baytown.

• Roger Dreessen, Fred Huff and David Stone as deacons at Central Church in Luling.

• Garrett Cox, Mike Brister, Mike Webb, Paul Sanderford and Randy O’Rear as deacons at First Church in Belton.

Revivals

• First Church, Canyon Lake; Feb. 5-8; music, Clifton Jansky; evangelist, Bubba Stahl; pastor, Gordon Hightower.

• Porter Springs Church, Crockett; Feb. 12-15; music, Sherman and Tammy Aten; evangelist, Malcolm Ellis; pastor, Carl Standley.

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: 2/3/06

Baptist Briefs

Challenge grant to benefit Richmond seminary. Harwood and Louise Cochrane of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., have agreed to match every gift, dollar-for-dollar, contributed to the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond’s “Building our Future … Together” fund-raising campaign through July 31, 2007, up to $3 million. Gifts and pledges already received for the campaign total $8.4 million toward a base goal of $15 million and a challenge goal of $19 million. The Cochranes’ matching gifts will be earmarked for renovating a dormitory building with an eye to creating more of a residential campus community, seminary spokesman Nathan Taylor explained. Other gifts given in response to the challenge will be applied to the fund-raising campaign’s other goals. The seminary’s three other buildings currently are undergoing major renovations. For more information on the campaign, call (804) 355-8135.

GuideStone assets reach record high. GuideStone Financial Resources—formerly known as the Southern Baptist Annuity Board—closed 2005 with an all-time high in total organizational assets of $8.9 billion. In addition, the 13 GuideStone funds available to Southern Baptist participants turned in a positive performance for 2005 as well as positive returns since their inception on Aug. 27, 2001, agency officials reported.

Illinois Baptist executive director elected. The Illinois Baptist State Association board of directors unanimously elected Nate Adams as executive director during a special meeting. Adams, vice president for mission mobilization at the North American Mission Board, begins his new duties March 1. He succeeds Wendell Lang, who left the Illinois state convention last May to become senior pastor of West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn.

Louisiana College plans preview events. Louisiana College has scheduled two “Walk Like a Wildcat” preview events, Feb. 9-10 and March 9-10, to allow high school students to spend the night on campus in a residence hall and attend classes and extracurricular activities with current Louisiana College students. Students interested in participating in one of the events should contact the admissions office at (318) 487-7259 or (800) 487-1906 or register online at www.lacollege.edu/campusvisit.

Waco foundation pledges grant to heritage society. Christian Missions Concerns, a Waco-based foundation, pledged a $15,000 matching grant to the Baptist History & Heritage Society for the October 2006 publication of a series of pamphlets on Baptist origins. The pamphlets will be distributed free of charge to churches to educate Baptists about their origins in England and history in America. For more information, contact Charles Deweese at cdeweese@tnbaptist.org.org, or (800) 966-2278.

Youth Ministry Lab scheduled. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s annual Youth Ministry Lab, April 7-8, will include a conference for volunteer-led youth ministry programs in small churches. Other sessions will focus on youth ministry in large churches, student ministry, student praise bands, student leadership, adult volunteers in youth ministry and training for international missions experiences. Youth Ministry Lab speakers include Doug Fields, student pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., near San Diego; Ken Davis, a motivational speaker and communicator from Nashville, Tenn.; Allen Jackson, professor of student ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Mark Matlock, founder of Wisdom Works Ministries; and Emir Caner, a former Muslim who is now dean of The College at Southwestern. The Joel Engle Band will lead the lab’s worship sessions. For more information, call (817) 923-1921 ext. 6239 or visit www.swbts.edu/youthlab or www.sbcstudents.com.

N.C. retirement homes to name own trustees. The Baptist Retirement Homes of North Carolina has adopted bylaw amendments that allow the corporation’s trustees to elect their own successors. Previously, the bylaws called for trustees to be elected by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, which also had the power to remove trustees. Baptist Retirement Homes, founded in 1951, operates retirement communities in Albemarle, Asheville, Concord, Hamilton and Winston-Salem. A letter mailed to more than 9,000 Baptist leaders, residents and others said the criteria for choosing trustees has not changed—they still must be Baptists, with at least three-fourths holding membership in North Carolina Baptist churches. The changes were approved during a December meeting of the Baptist Retirement Homes trustees.

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: 2/3/06

Internet porn a click away for teenagers

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

An increase in the number of computers around the house may lead to a higher number of marital problems for the first generation of adolescents maturing with Internet access in their rooms, some youth ministry specialists assert.

For many young people, pornography is simply a click away as an increasing number of teenagers can surf the Internet without supervision in their rooms, said Leighton Flowers, who leads the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ youth ministry efforts.

In this environment, teen viewing of Internet pornography is extremely common, according to Scott Helbing, chief operating officer of Pure Online, a group that helps teens address their addiction to pornography.

Nearly every young man his organization has spoken with across the country has looked at pornography, as have an increasing number of young women, he said.

A recent survey revealed 70 percent of teens ages 15-17 said they have “accidentally” come across Internet pornography, Helbing noted. One-fourth of boys have lied about their age to gain access to a pornographic website.

In a survey of senior high school students who attended BGCT Super Summer events, 85 percent said they have struggled with pornography on some level, Flowers said.

Such common issues with pornography may harm the marriages of this generation, Flowers and Helbing fear. Social scientists commonly agree that pornography can desensitize a person to sexual acts, dehumanize sex and create intimacy issues.

“Pornography can drive a huge wedge between spouses and ruin the intimacy God has intended in the sacred bond of marriage,” Flowers said. “For singles, pornography can become a replacement for true sexual intimacy and can give them false expectations and mental scars that will only have a negative impact on their future relationships.”

Pornography creates a desire for more frequent and intense images to satisfy the same craving, Helbing said. Addiction, obsession over sex and an objectifying of women can result, he added.

However bad the effects of pornography are on the individual, the societal effects may be even worse. This is the first time American society has been this infiltrated by pornography so pervasively, Helbing said.

“We know the long- term effects on the individual,” he said. “In extreme cases, it can lead to child pornography, prostitution, and criminal punishment. I don’t think we yet know the consequences to society from the long-term exposure to pornography by a significant portion of the population.”

The potential emotional and relational damage of pornography is why Christ warned people of things that make them “lust in their hearts,” Flowers said. Teens are faced with this temptation more than ever before. How they handle it may determine the fate of their relationships, he insisted.

“We are in the midst of a huge social experiment in that we are waiting to see the impact of raising a generation with the Internet at its disposal,” Flowers said. “What will the impact be on the marriages of this cyber-spaced generation? I don’t know, but the possibilities scare me.”

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: 2/3/06

DOWN HOME:

Is talking to God like c-card fiasco?

We must’ve overlooked some fine print.

Maybe it was written just above a space we initialed, or below a dotted line we signed. Perhaps it was printed in 2-point type in a box we checked. Or didn’t check.

Somehow, Joanna and I signed up for a set of new his-n-hers credit cards.

They came with ultra-low interest rates. Unless, of course, we violated one of the credit card rules.

Credit card companies operate with enough rules—written by lawyers who used to be accountants who flunked Plain English in school—to make the Old Testament seem brief and uncomplicated. And they promise to punish credit card rule-breakers with all the vengeance of an Old Testament battle. I’m pretty sure words like “smite” and “lay waste” are in the contract.

But mostly, they punish rule-breakers by taking some of their money. You might think they would punish offenders by taking away their credit cards. You would be wrong. This would only punish the credit card companies, which make their profits by encouraging cardholders to run up enormous bills and then charging humongous fees for breaking rules about payments.

If they really wanted to punish rule-breakers, they would make them talk to credit card service representatives.

This is what we did, because we decided we didn’t want the shiny new credit cards.

Joanna went first. She’s stronger-willed than I, and we knew she’d do a better job of getting past the first guy we called. His job was to refuse to acknowledge that we didn’t want his precious credit cards.

Finally, he admitted he didn’t have “authority” to cancel our credit cards. After cajoling, he gave Jo another phone number for the credit-card-cancelling center.

The woman who answered the phone did a pretty good impersonation of the first guy, acting like she couldn’t understand the phrase “we don’t want your cards.” I think this was about the time Jo got tired and handed the phone to me.

Sensing we had brought in a fresh mouth, the woman quickly retreated, confessing that she, too, was not the person who could cancel our cards.

Believe it or not, we talked to two—or was it three?—more credit card people before I got through to somebody who understood my Texas accent when I said, “I’ve got scissors in my right hand, and I’m holding your cards in my left hand, and I’m about to cut them into six pieces, each.”

“Very well, Mr. Knox,” he said. “I’m cancelling your cards.”

After I talked to all those credit card people, I thought about prayer. At first, I was grateful God is a lot easier to reach and talk to than credit card people.

But then I wondered about the other side of it: Does God get as frustrated with me as I got with the credit card people? Does God get totally annoyed by my hard-headed refusal to listen? Do I miss out on the blessing of doing what God wants because I’m so fixated on my own agenda?

I need to listen more and talk less.

—Marv Knox

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: 2/3/06

Hill Country church gains from exchange

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DRIPPING SPRINGS—Participation in an international student exchange program provided Pastor Lonny Poe of Sunset Canyon Baptist Church with a real-life example of the effectiveness of worldwide Texas Baptist missions.

Texas Baptists built this church in Spain about 40 years ago.

When Poe read an e-mail soliciting host homes for international high school students, he told his wife, Deanne, “I’ve got something for you to think about.”

That conversation started a process that brought 15-year-old Maria Lopez of Castellon, Spain, to live with the Poes and their four children in Dripping Springs.

One reason the family had considered opening their home to an international exchange student was the opportunity to share their faith in Christ, Poe noted.

However, Lopez not only came from a Christian home, but a Baptist one—an affiliation claimed by less than 1 percent of Spain’s population.

And the Poes also learned—with a tinge of pride—that more than 40 years ago, Texas Baptists built the church the Lopez family attends in Spain.

“I think it’s quite a testimony to Texas Baptists,” Poe said.

While the Poes were unaware of the situation initially, the Lopez family had requested that Maria be placed with a Baptist family.

“I guess we qualified,” Poe quipped.

But just to be certain, the Lopez family traveled to Texas unannounced last May to attend services at Sunset Canyon Baptist Church. Poe recognized them from photographs the exchange agency had sent and introduced himself.

The families spent the next four days getting acquainted. In the process, they allayed any fears the Lopez family held for their daughter—much to the delight of the Poes.

“Maria has been an absolute joy,” Mrs. Poe said. “She knows all about us—all about our warts, all about our strengths and weaknesses, all our challenge areas.”

In the course of the year, the Poes also have been able to watch her faith grow. Shortly before December, she made her profession of faith in Christ public, and Poe baptized her. Sunset Canyon sent a video of the baptism to her parents so they could have a record of the experience.

“To be able to shepherd her faith experience has been humbling but a complete joy,” Poe said.

Having Lopez in the church also has been a blessing for members of Sunset Canyon Baptist Church, because she is a living representation of effectiveness of worldwide missions, he said.

Dripping Springs may sound like a remote rural outpost, but many Sunset Canyon members have traveled around the world, and other exchange students have come through the church, Poe noted.

Even so, learning to love a young woman who came to faith in Christ at a church in Spain started by Texas Baptists and who made her faith public at their church in the Texas Hill Country made a deep impression on church members, he noted.

Involvement in relief efforts for families effected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita—as well as assisting a local woman with home repairs—also helped give the church a more global missions perspective.

“Our folks in the last year have increased in their commitments to missions both financially and in a hands-on way, but I really don’t know if I can attribute that all to Maria. But seeing that they can have an impact on people’s lives, I do believe has made a difference,” he said.

While the end of the school year is only months away, the Poes expect the relationship to extend far beyond that. Lopez already has invited the Poes’ oldest daughter, Salim, to come to stay with her in Spain.

The families also expect to continue to keep in touch via webcam and Christmas gifts. Poe knows some people might consider that wishful thinking, but the same might have been said to those Texas Baptists 40 years ago who went overseas to build a church where Baptists were hard to find.

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: 2/3/06

EDITORIAL: Qing vases and teen sexual purity

Sometimes, personal decisions and individual carelessness create catastrophic consequences.

Ask the staff of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. A shoelace cost the museum three priceless vases.

On Wednesday, Jan. 25, a visitor walked around the museum with at least one of his shoelaces untied. Eventually, he tripped on the shoelace, stumbled down a flight of stairs, slammed into a wall and sent the Chinese Qing-dynasty vases crashing to the floor.

The vases are—were—about 300 years old. They sat safely on a window sill beside the staircase for decades. They were among the museum’s best-known artifacts. Nobody knows how many people admired their porcelain beauty through many generations. And a guy who tripped on his untied shoelace reduced them to shards in an instant.

“It was a most unfortunate and regrettable accident, but we are glad that the visitor involved was able to leave the museum unharmed,” museum Director Duncan Robin-son told the Associated Press, exhibiting both grace (he declined to name the man) and the British penchant for keeping a stiff upper lip.

Of the vases, Margaret Greeves, the museum’s assistant director, said: “They are in very, very small pieces, but we are determined to put them back together.”

Ironically, this story broke just as we prepared a package of articles on teen sexuality, abstinence and sexual purity for this paper. The Fitzwilliam Museum’s shoestring-broken Qing vases provide an appropriate metaphor for the tragic consequences of premarital sex and infidelity.

Let’s acknowledge this up front: Premarital sex isn’t the unpardonable sin. With the exception of AIDS, it isn’t even the end of the world. God is in the business of redeeming our sinful actions and bad choices. Birth parents often love and nurture babies conceived outside marriage. Countless families receive blessings from adopted children conceived by teenaged mothers. Many lives bruised by teenage sex have been made whole. Still, like vases put back together with glue, they’ll never be exactly the same again.

The easy reaction is to rail against secular society, decadent media and the absence of morals in the prevailing youth culture. I thought about this recently, as I passed through an entertainment district near a major state university. I wondered how students there possibly graduate as virgins. But as a father of daughters, I also grieved that so many young women feel compelled to use their bodies as bait for something that passes for a relationship.

Whether we like it or not, our children grow up in a sex-saturated culture, where God’s beautiful gift has been degraded to the degree it is almost unrecognizable. If we expect teens to be pure and chaste, we must immunize them against the perils. We can take several actions:

• Tell ’em they’re loved. Nothing says “I love you” quite like “I love you.” Every day.

• Give out hugs. Psychologists have confirmed people’s deep need for tactile affection. We need to be hugged. Isn’t your child better off hugged by you in your kitchen than by a boy or girl in the backseat of a car? If they need X-number of hugs, give X-plus-10.

• Build self-esteem. Telling them you love them and hugging them is a great start on self-esteem. But reinforce all their great, valuable characteristics by talking about them. Often. You may think your children know their value, but they’re barraged by messages that denigrate those qualities. You’ve got to help them see the truth in a world of doubt.

• Teach high standards. Turn embarrassing, awkward moments (especially from TV) into teachable moments. My girls got tired of hearing me say, “You know, we don’t do that!” when someone on TV talked about nonmarital sex. But now, when the subject comes up, they look at me, smile, and say, “We don’t do that!” Amen.

• Provide role models. Obviously, many single parents do an exemplary job of raising their kids. But researchers David Blankenhorn and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead have demonstrated teens desperately need opposite-sex role models and encouragers. Parents are the first line. But especially if you’re single, keep those children in church, where they are surrounded by caring, responsible, upright men and women.

• Set boundaries. When your kids were toddlers, you didn’t let them cross a busy street, because they could get hurt. Now, it’s the same with curfews, as well as their access to music, movies, TV and the Internet—and their friends.

• Encourage commitment. The True Love Waits abstinence pledge isn’t foolproof, but it radically increases the odds that teens will remain sexually pure until marriage.

Posted: 2/3/06

Trial by fire

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

RINGGOLD—When Kristi Caldwell talks about the fires that torched Ringgold, she doesn’t mention the size of the flames or the extensive damage they caused.

She names nearly every family affected by the fires—the Andersons, Grissoms, Dukes and Moraleses, just to name a few. She remembers each of their stories and knows where they currently live.

Caldwell recalls children looking for a sense of normalcy at school, days after their families lost everything. She remembers her second- and third-grade students crying in her classroom. Some wept all day long.

The images are stuck in her head and her heart.

“I’ve just gotten to know these people. It’s a wonderful community. The people are nice. They will go out of their way to help you. When you see people hurting, your heart goes out to them,” she said.

Caldwell was joined by many other kindred spirits in her congregation, First Baptist Church in Henrietta. While she and her fellow elementary school teachers collected clothes, furniture and toys, church member Mike Campbell began recruiting volunteers to remove debris and repair buildings in Ringgold.

Two Cameron students clean the bathoom of a home damaged by smoke.

Word spread quickly about what the church was doing and soon volunteers were calling from as far away as Wichita Falls and Lawton, Okla. On Jan. 28, more than 100 people—as many people as live in Ringgold—showed up to pitch in.

“It’s overwhelming,” said Tracy Douthitt, secretary at First Baptist Church in Henrietta. “There’s a lot of love there. Our church has been really good at supporting everyone inside the church, but to see them reach out is phenomenal.”

Volunteers divided into groups and worked in multiple locations throughout the town, each time at the request of residents. Some picked up barbed-wire fence and cleared land. Others cleaned homes. Caldwell manned a gym filled with items for those affected by the fires.

A Cameron University volunteer scrubs the ceiling of a Ringgold home that sustained substantial smoke damage.

“This is our Katrina,” said Ricky Guenther, pastor of First Baptist Church in Henrietta, referring to the hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast. “We wanted to get involved and help.”

Texas Baptist churches provided most of the volunteers. Leaders from several congregations replaced ceiling tiles in Ringgold Baptist Church. The congregation’s facilities were surrounded by fire but sustained only minor smoke damage.

Volunteers promoted the work of Ringgold Baptist Church everywhere they went. The workers may have a quick impact, but Ringgold Baptist Church will continue to be with the residents, said Doyl McMurry, pastor of Joy Baptist Church near Henrietta. Members of the church can continue ministering to those in need.

“I hope we can represent Christ well enough that they will take notice of the church and possibly be reached for Christ,” McMurry said. “More than anything, they need to know they are loved by God, the Creator of the universe.”

Eldon Johnson, pastor of Ringgold Baptist Church, said the volunteers are inspiring for his congregation and other congregations in the area. Believers are moved to action when they see other Christians living out their faith, he said.

“It’s a real boost not just to our people, but also to people in surrounding areas,” he said.

Cooperative efforts like this encourage Caldwell, as well. She sees people working across denominational lines to improve the community. Companies donated equipment. People without a connection to Ringgold wanted to help.

With the help of many who care, Ringgold can rebuild, Caldwell said. Workers cleared much of the debris. Some structures already have been replaced with portable buildings. Families are preparing to reconstruct their homes.

“I think this community is going to come out and be far better,” she 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: 2/03/06

Republic of Georgia getting
heat again; needs still remain

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

TBILISI, Georgia – A supply of natural gas into the Republic of Georgia has been restored and parts of the country’s capital city again have heat and electricity.

A Jan. 22 explosion destroyed a Russian pipeline that supplied much of the country’s natural gas, leaving Georgians to fight through the coldest winter in decades without heat or electricity. The pipeline was repaired Jan. 28 and natural gas is now flowing.

Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili of the Baptist Union of Georgia said gas has been restored in much of the capital city of Tbilisi, but some areas remain without an energy source for heat and electricity.

Georgians receive badly needed bread during a church service in Tblisi. On top of an energy crisis, many people are struggling to find food. (Photo courtesy of the Baptist Union of Georgia)

After days of staff members working around the clock with a wood-burning stove to keep a Baptist aging care facility warm, the home now has gas. All the residents remain healthy.

The crisis may be waning, but its effects remain, Songulashvili said. Many elderly injured themselves trying to get kerosene or diesel. Others are sick.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas has wired $10,000 to the Baptist Union of Georgia to meet needs there. The funds will be used to purchase blankets and food.

Texas Baptist support helps the bishop and other Georgian Baptist ministers be the presence of Christ in their communities, Songulashvili said. They are meeting needs and sharing the gospel.

“You help me and my colleagues to help the most vulnerable in the society,” he said.

For information about mission opportunities in the Republic of Georgia, call the Texas Partnerships Resource Center at (214) 828-5181 or send an e-mail to Texas_Partnerships@bgct.org.

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: 2/3/06

Online pornography: Helpful tips for parents

Parents to be involved in their children’s lives, urges Leighton Flowers, who leads the Baptist General Convention of Texas youth ministry efforts. Internet activity is one area where parental guidance can be especially helpful.

He recommends parents follow these tips if they are concerned about their children viewing pornography:

• Keep the computer with Internet access in a public location such as the living room or den of the house.

• Have set times of the day that the Internet can be accessed. For example, cut off the computer by 10:30 p.m. and limit the amount of time each child spends on the computer.

• Make sure there are filters and/or accountability software on the computer so online activity can be monitored. Teenagers are smarter than most adults when it comes to working a computer, he noted. Many know how to erase their tracks and fool their parents. Become educated on what filters and accountability programs are available.

• Educate children about online dangers, and make sure they know nothing really is anonymous while they are on the Internet. Then hold them accountable for their behavior online. “Whether they are willing to admit it or not, teenagers like boundaries, and those boundaries must be clearly defined by parents. Don’t take the easy way out. Protecting your child requires parental involvement,” Flowers said.

For more tips on how to deal with Internet pornography, visit www.onlinepurity.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: 2/3/06

Video shows peace activists held hostage in Iraq still alive

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—New video footage of a British Baptist and three other Christian peace activists held hostage in Iraq has buoyed hope among their friends and loved ones—weeks after their captors’ deadline for executing them.

After more than a month of silence, their abductors released a videotape Jan. 28 showing all four Christian Peacemaker Teams hostages alive. It was aired on the Arabic satellite news network Al-Jazeera, warning American and British officials to seize their last opportunity to save the captives by releasing all Iraqis detained by U.S.-led forces.

The tape did not include a deadline but bore a Jan. 21 time stamp. The hostage-taking group, which calls itself the Swords of Righteousness, had previously announced it would execute the four if their demands were not met by Dec. 7. It then reportedly extended that deadline to Dec. 10.

The hostages include Norman Kember, 74, a British Baptist; Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32; and American Tom Fox, 54. They were abducted Nov. 26 in Baghdad while on their way to meet with a Muslim group. In one of the story’s many ironies, the four were in Iraq to protest the very war and treatment of detainees that their captors also oppose.

The news of the videotape came only a day before Christian Peacemaker activists and supporters in Washington and Toronto were to culminate a series of events protesting the war and the treatment of Iraqi detainees. They included protests at U.S. government buildings.

“All of us in Christian Peacemaker Teams remain very disturbed by the abduction of our teammates,” read the organization’s statement. “James, Harmeet, Norman and Tom are peace workers who have not collaborated with the occupation of Iraq and who have worked for justice for all Iraqis, especially those detained.

“We continue to believe that what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments in their illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people. We continue to call for justice and human rights for all who are detained in Iraq. The innocent should not suffer in the place of those who have done wrong.”

The crisis also has involved the government of New Zealand, where Sooden is in graduate school. That nation’s prime minister, Helen Clark, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that several countries were continuing efforts to save the hostages.

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: 2/3/06

Restorative justice consortium proposed

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO—The Baptist General Convention of Texas and the University of Texas at San Antonio’s community and restorative justice office may create a consortium of restorative justice leaders.

The group would fall under the university’s College of Public Policy and would be a place to bring together academics and practitioners in restorative justice for discussion and research, said Tomi Lee Grover, restorative justice specialist for the BGCT.

Restorative justice ministries commonly are thought of as prison ministries, but the term actually refers to a larger effort, Grover said.

Ministers serve at multiple levels to prevent people from turning to a life of crime—ministering to inmates or working with former inmates to build productive lives, she noted. They also serve as volunteer chaplains with law enforcement agencies and work as advocates for the rights of victims of violent crime.

A consortium of leaders could aid this process by providing statistical information about how methods are working and developing new ministry models, she continued.

A cooperative effort between academicians and ministers is needed to have significant impact on society, Grover said. “It’s going to take a multifaceted approach to address the issues that are so difficult.”

Professors bring information and research to the forum, Grover said. They often know about worldwide trends that can help inform people interested in restorative justice.

Ministers offer practical stories and a passion for the field, she said. They often practice restorative justice by mentoring young people, counseling families, leading Bible studies and serving families touched by the criminal justice system.

The consortium is one way Grover is trying to raise awareness of restorative justice issues. She teaches classes on the topic at Howard Payne University and is talking with Baylor University and Dallas Baptist University about adding a community and restorative justice component to each school’s curriculum.

“The church can intersect with the criminal justice system in many, many ways,” she said. “Our goal is not only to get people involved at the educational level, but at the grassroots level.”

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.