Posted: 2/3/06

N.C. executive director nominated

By Tony Cartledge

North Carolina Biblical Recorder

ASHEBORO, N.C. (ABP)—Leaders of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina have nominated for the convention’s executive post a candidate with support from across the spectrum of the deeply divided statewide body.

The convention’s board of directors voted, without opposition, Jan. 24 to recommend Milton Hollifield Jr. as its new executive director-treasurer. Hollifield currently is executive leader of the convention’s missions growth evangelism group.

His nomination must be ratified by convention messengers at a special called meeting April 11 in Winston-Salem.

A search committee chaired by Robert Jackson, pastor of Peninsula Baptist Church in Mooresville, N.C., first recommended Hollifield to the group’s executive committee. His nomination then was passed on to the board of directors, who gave Hollifield standing ovations after he made remarks and as he returned to the auditorium following the vote.

The executive director-treasurer position became vacant when Jim Royston resigned unexpectedly last July to return to the pastorate. He held the post seven-and-a-half years.

Hollifield, 55, has worked for the convention 12-and-a-half years, coming in 1993 as director of the evangelism division. During a restructuring in 1999, he became executive leader of the newly formed mission growth evangelism group. In that role, he supervised the church growth and evangelism team, the church planting team and the campus ministries team.

Hollifield’s North Carolina Baptist roots go deep. He is a native of Swannanoa, N.C., and a graduate of nearby Mars Hill College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

Hollifield previously has served as an associate pastor of West Asheville Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C., and as pastor of First Baptist Church in Stanley, N.C. Hollifield worked two years as director of missions for the Gaston Baptist Association near Charlotte prior to joining the state convention staff.

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

ON THE MOVE

• Art Allen has resigned as pastor of Salt Creek Church in Brownwood.

• William Allen to Spring Street Church in Waco as interim pastor, where he was music minister.

• Cory Ash to First Church in Bangs as interim minister of music.

• Shelly Barber to Highland Church in Denton as interim children’s minister.

• H.G. Barnard to England Grove Church in Commerce as pastor.

• Dennis Bell to Bethel Church in Graham as pastor from Illmo Church in Scott City, Mo.

• Darrick Bledsoe to St. John Missionary Church in Waco as pastor from Spring Street Church in Waco.

• Scott Blevins to First Church in Plainview as youth minister.

• Stan Brister has resigned as pastor of Pottsville Church in Hamilton.

• T.J. Burgett to Meadowbrook Church in Rockdale as youth pastor.

• Wade Cashion to Ida Church in Sherman as pastor.

• Don Casper to First Church in Kempner as pastor.

• Robert Cheatheam to Elmdale Church in Abilene as pastor.

• Justin Coffey to First Church in Sulphur Springs as minister to middle school students from Central Church in Marshall, where he was youth pastor.

• Andrew Crosby has resigned as minister of youth at First Church in Lampasas.

• Robert Crowder to First Church in Avinger as pastor.

• Gary Day to First Church in Zephyr as pastor.

• Daniel Downy to First Church in Memphis as pastor from First Church in Lorena, where he was associate pastor.

• Randal Eberle to First Church in Whitewright as minister of music.

• Laura Edmondson to First Church in Waxahachie as minister to children.

• David Edwards to First Church in Corsicana as pastor.

• Candelario Espinosa has resigned as pastor of Primera Iglesia in Chilton.

• Drew Finch to First Church in Bangs as minister of youth.

• Diane Garcia to My Father’s House in Lubbock as resident assistant.

• Jimmy Gilbert has resigned as pastor of Cornerstone Fellowship in Caddo Mills.

• Tim Hale to First Church in Midlothian as minister of worship.

• Jerry Hall has resigned as pastor of Oak Crest Church in Midlothian.

• David Harbour to Mount Gilead Church in Keller as pastor from First Church in Orangefield.

• Tye Howard to Iglesia de los Vaqueros in Waxahachie as pastor.

• Matt Isabell to Calvary Church in Mexia as interim music minister.

• Kevin McCullough to Calvary Church in Brenham as worship leader for the contemporary service.

• Billy Morse to First Church in Natalia as pastor.

• Tim Neely to Midway Church in Springtown as pastor.

• Carr Parrish has resigned as pastor of Buel Church in Cleburne.

• Tim Penney to First Church in Gonzales as minister of students from First Church in Monahans.

• Russ Polson to Rayburn Parkway Church in Bronson as pastor.

• Brian Roberson to Live Oak Church in Gatesville as minister of youth.

• Steven Schafer to Highland Church in Denton as interim youth minister.

• Joseph Schaloff to Lebanon Church in Cleburne as pastor.

• Ted Spear to Faith Church in Iowa Park from First Church in Colorado City.

• Phillip Thomas to Calvary Church in Cisco as pastor.

• William Tollett to Northside Church in Corsicana as minister of education/administration.

• Jim Watson to First Church in Charlotte as interim pastor.

• Glen West to Caps Church in Abilene as minister of music.

• Phil Williams has resigned as minister of music at Forest Avenue Church in Sherman.

• Wesley Willie to Forest Glade Church in Mexia as pastor.

• J.B. Word has completed an interim pastorate at Riverwood Church in Corpus Christi and can be contacted at (361) 854-1618.

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

Oprah’s message makes spiritual impact

By Rachel Pomerance

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—For millions of people struggling with their daily woes, there is a lifeline. Her name is Oprah Winfrey.

Despite a recent on-air admission that she “made a mistake” in promoting a discredited book about addiction recovery, Oprah is a spiritual force.

In telling stories of hard-won triumph, including her own, Oprah is known for a piercing optimism twinned with a you-can-do-it toolkit for improving one’s lot. She also gives her face to her mantra—“Live Your Best Life”—radiating an exuberant smile and winning gestures on the cover of each issue of her best-selling O magazine.

But Oprah is even more than a trusted fountain of helpful hints on everything from relationships to shoes. In her book, The Gospel According to Oprah, Marcia Nelson compares Winfrey to evangelical icon Billy Graham. The book is the latest in a series that have explored the spiritual components of pop icons, beginning in 1965 with The Gospel According to Peanuts.

Nelson writes that Oprah “is not really in the business of pastoring, but she can be described as pastoral. A good deal of what she is about is edifying, uplifting and wholesome. She complements rather than rivals those institutions that promote spirituality.”

Indeed, Oprah’s message of empowerment resonates with viewers seeking answers and encouragement amid the tension in their personal lives and a world in turmoil. Preaching that message, Oprah recently found herself in trouble regarding A Million Little Pieces, a book by James Frey, a recovered drug addict whose memoir she promoted, pushing it to best-seller status.

The book’s claims later were discredited by The Smoking Gun, an investigative website. During a Larry King interview with Frey on CNN, Oprah called in to defend the maligned author and urge readers who had found hope in his tale of addiction to redemption to “keep holding on.”

But later, with Frey as a guest on her show, Oprah reversed course.

“I made a mistake,” she told her viewers, “I left the impression that the truth does not matter, and I am deeply sorry about that because that is not what I believe.”

In publicly admitting her wrong, Oprah follows a long line of television preachers who confess, inevitably receiving forgiveness from loyal followers.

According to an unscientific poll last year by Beliefnet, a website that explores religion and spirituality, 33 percent of some 6,000 people said Oprah has a greater “spiritual impact” on them than their clergyperson. “People find in Oprah what they can’t find in other religious or spiritual leaders,” Nelson said. “People relate to Oprah because Oprah has paraded her problems on stage for 20 years.”

At the same time, Oprah is no stranger to God-talk, drawing on the power of faith easily and frequently. “God uses good people to do great things,” she said last year at the Washington, D.C., memorial service for Rosa Parks.

Speaking last April at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Oprah began by describing herself as a child in segregated Mississippi, finding in church the encouragement and attention that she found nowhere else. She recalled her grandmother showing her how to wash clothes by hand and telling her to watch carefully because she’d be doing the same kind of work some day.

“The voices of the world told me I was poor, colored and female” and therefore not worthy of a glorious future, Winfrey said. “But God had another vision for me.” Despite her appeal, comparing Oprah to an ordained spiritual leader is problematic, said Steve Salerno, author of SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless.

People are putting their faith in a business, motivated by ratings and earnings, and not necessarily someone’s best interests, he said.

Salerno said of Oprah’s company, “Harpo Productions is very much a billion-dollar profit-making company, and if you start talking about spirituality in that context, I worry about the sincerity of it all.”

Others say the industry Oprah peddles, while making her one of the world’s richest women, also has done a lot of good.

“Oprah embodies hope,” said Steven Tipton, who teaches sociology and ethics at Emory University and its Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. “Not only for success in work, love and weight loss. But hope for living a life of loving, giving care that extends from friends and family to the larger community.

“She exemplifies the ideal of being a person who does well and does good, of being seen and accepted for who you are, not what you are, across the dividing lines of caste, class and gender.”

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

Buckner Family Pathways provides circle of support

By Felicia Fuller

Buckner Benevolences

DALLAS—For more than a decade, Cawindy Spead’s downcast eyes revealed things she can talk about only now.

“I was the classic abused wife,” said Spead, a 36-year-old mother of two. “My first marriage was to my son’s father. Day One was terrible. He hit me. I was more like a maid service than a wife. I ended up staying in the marriage about five years.

“My second husband, we married in 2003. He was a minister and an addict. He put us out—me and my children. He didn’t want his family any more. We are in the process of divorce.”

Cawindy Spead and her two children, ages 12 and 1, live in one of 14 Colonial-style apartments designated for Family Pathways participants on the Buckner Children’s Home Campus in east Dallas. (Photo by Tasasha Kelly)

After the couple separated, Spead—pregnant with her second child—moved in with a fellow church member. Soon thereafter, she ran into an old friend who told her about Buckner Family Pathways.

“She gave me hope, told me I could get my life together. This place, she said—I could stay there for two years, finish my education and get assistance with childcare, transportation and other necessities.”

“Too good to be true,” she wondered aloud.

“Too good to pass up,” the friend assured.

On faith, Spead completed her application and waited.

She recalls the same friend was praying with her when she received word her candidacy was being considered. “I wasn’t going to answer the phone, and she said, ‘No, answer it.’” On the other end, Family Pathways manager KaSandra Jones invited Spead for an interview.

Through a partnership with El Centro Community College, Buckner assists Family Pathways participants with college admissions, financial aid paperwork and scholarship resources. (Photo by Tasasha Kelly)

“They did a criminal background check, and about three-and-a-half, four months later, I was accepted,” she said. “I was in shock.”

Today, she and her two children, ages 12 and 1, live in one of 14 Colonial-style apartments designated for Family Pathways participants on the Buckner Children’s Home Campus in east Dallas. And with a B average in her nursing studies at North Texas Professional Career Institute in downtown Dallas, Spead’s financial future finally is coming into focus.

“I took (the college entrance exam) two times, and I kept failing,” she said. “The last time, I prayed about it, and I took it again, and I passed. Sometimes I still can’t believe my good fortune. God has given me a second chance. I have a sense of peace. I tell God I am willing to make whatever sacrifice it takes for me to get wherever I need to be.”

Founded in August 2004, Family Pathways is the latest version of the Family Place model implemented in 1997 in Lufkin and repeated in Amarillo and Midland to aid single mothers seeking self-sufficiency. What began in Dallas with eight families today is at capacity with 14 families, including 28 children.

“Buckner Children’s Home is excited about the opportunity to serve families in need of a safe and healthy environment, giving single moms an opportunity to complete their education and transition into a better way of life,” said JoAnn Cole, administrator for Buckner Children and Family Services of North Texas.

“Program participants are provided a continuum of support through affordable housing, quality childcare, vocational training, parenting education, mentoring, budget training and life skills.”

Through a partnership with El Centro Community College, Buckner assists participants with college admissions, financial aid paperwork and scholarship resources. The college also gives Family Pathways participants a stipend to help defray childcare and transportation expenses. Mentoring is offered through Christian Women’s Job Corps onsite at Buckner.

“It’s all in an effort to eliminate barriers to advancement,” Cole said. “Families are strengthened and so are our communities as these women move from dependency to self-sufficiency.”

For Spead, that means no more downcast eyes.

“Being here has really lifted my spirits. I wasn’t even aware of the blessing that I had, because I was so down in the dumps at the beginning. But then God just lifted my head and said: ‘Girl, look up. Look at what you have.’”

Much like Family Place in Lufkin, Amarillo and Midland, criteria for acceptance into the program include college readiness—successful completion of the Texas Higher Education Assessment exam. And Buckner keeps close tabs on participants’ academic progress, requiring a minimum 2.0 grade-point average—3.5 for health majors.

“The structure works perfect for me, especially since I have not been in school in 10 years,” noted Nia Willis, a 30-year-old mother of two.

Willis moved to Family Pathways in December 2004 after an unsuccessful bid for Family Place in Lufkin.

“I didn’t know I was pregnant with my daughter. I got accepted, but I couldn’t go,” she explained. “My sister said, ‘Let me try,’ and she went down to Lufkin and got accepted. There was nothing on the Internet that said Dallas had a program, but I called anyway. They called me and interviewed me, and I got accepted.

“You don’t get an opportunity once and mess up and then get it a second time. My confidence in being here is that I am clearly shown this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Like Spead, Willis is studying nursing at North Texas Professional Career Institute, where she maintains a B average.

“I am considered a sophomore now in the LVN (licensed vocational nurse) program. There are four semesters, so I graduate Aug. 29,” she said, crediting the emotional and spiritual support Buckner provides with helping her stay the course.

“They have Bible study. (Manager KaSandra Jones) is very spiritual, and if I need to come to her and talk, she’s open to that,” she said. “They minister to us … a circle of support … women reaching out to other women.”

And the children are equally blessed by the experience, participants stressed.

“When I moved here around Christmas time (2004), I told my boys, don’t expect anything real big,” said nursing student Patrice Leonard, a 28-year-old mother of three. “I told them, ‘You probably won’t be getting any gifts.’ I wasn’t working, so my money went toward moving in here. (Buckner) helped a lot. They received bikes, clothes—an abundance of things.”

Patrice’s son Latra, 10, remembers the day well. “I didn’t think I was going to get anything. I was like, ‘My mama doesn’t have any money right now.’ And then me and my brothers woke up, and there was toys all over there in the living room by the tables and stuff. I told my brothers, ‘We have to go wake my Mama up.’ It was great. I like it here.”

For more information about Buckner Family Pathways, contact KaSandra Jones at (214) 319-3462.

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

Purity pledgers more likely to wait until their honeymoon

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

WACO—Many church-going Texas Baptist young couples acknowledge having sex before marriage, but they are much more likely to wait until their honeymoon if they take a formal purity pledge like True Love Waits, research reveals.

Byron Weathersbee, interim university chaplain at Baylor University, analyzed sexual purity pledges and sex education in a Christian context as the focus of his doctoral dissertation.

He surveyed young married couples in Texas Baptist churches to examine how—and how much—churches made an impact on their sexual behavior.

Six out of 10 Texas Baptist young people who made sexual purity pledges abstained from sexual intercourse until marriage, but only three of 10 who didn’t take a pledge remained chaste, Weathers-bee found.

All of the surveyed individuals—who had been married less than five years—professed faith in Christ, 99 percent attend church, 84 percent said they grew up in church and 87 percent grew up in a two-parent home.

Even so, 62 percent of the males and 65 percent of the females engaged in sexual intercourse before marriage, he discovered.

Nine out of 10 who acknowledged sexual activity prior to marriage never took a True Love Waits purity pledge.

“To a large degree, we’re missing it,” Weathersbee. “The young people are receiving the data, but they’re not translating it into values that result in a lifestyle of purity and holiness.”

Weathersbee confessed he was “blown away” by how few Christian parents are engaged in talking to their children about sexuality.

“And I’m convinced if it weren’t for the menstrual cycle that forces mothers to deal with their daughters, it would be even worse,” he added.

The strength of the True Love Waits emphasis lies in the way it involves parents, a supportive network of peers, the church as a whole and the community at-large in emphasizing the importance of a pure lifestyle, Weathersbee said.

The overall sexual abstinence movement—both faith-based and secular—clearly has reaped positive benefits, said Richard Ross, who pioneered the True Love Waits program in 1993.

“The fact is, rates of teenage sexual activity rose for 20 unbroken years. Then came True Love Waits and from that the broader abstinence movement. From that moment on, rates of teenage sex have dropped every year for 12 unbroken years,” he said.

Ross pointed to a study published three years ago in Adolescent Family Health that credited the decline in adolescent pregnancy in the United States primarily to the increasing number of sexually abstinent teenagers.

“It clearly shows that increased abstinence accounted for 67 percent of the decrease in pregnancy for girls ages 15 to 19,” said Ross, professor of student ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Some research has led analysts to conclude many American teens are substituting other sexual behaviors for intercourse. For instance, a report released by the National Center for Health Statistics last September found more than half of American teens ages 15 to 19 engaged in oral sex.

Weathersbee’s research also revealed “only 27 percent of the young people entered the marriage bed chaste,” having refrained not only from intercourse but also from other practices such as oral sex.

But Ross insists teens who take faith-based abstinence pledges understand their promise to mean any sexual behavior.

“The results are clear. Teenagers who make a pledge of purity not only have lower rates of intercourse; they also have lower rates of other risky behaviors—including oral and anal sex,” he said.

Teens who take the True Love Waits pledge promise to enter “a lifetime of purity” that includes—but is not limited to—refraining from sexual intercourse until marriage, he noted.

“Every teaching book for True Love Waits carefully makes the point that teenagers are pledging lifetime purity in thought, look and touch,” Ross said. “We also teach: If it involves a sexual organ, it is sex.”

True Love Waits leaders have written a grant proposal to fund a study comparing faith-based abstinence programs to other secular programs, he noted. While some studies have pointed to high failure rates among abstinence programs in general, Ross believes Christian programs will show dramatically different results.

“Kids at school make a promise to a notebook. True Love Waits teenagers make a promise to God Almighty,” Ross said.

Instead of relying solely on will power and self-discipline, Christian young people “experience the power of God as they resist the tug to the dark side,” he added.

True Love Waits programs build on years of preaching and religious education that stress the sanctity of marriage and the importance of sexual purity, whereas school-based programs may devote only a few class periods to the subject of sexual behavior before students are asked to abstain, he noted.

Christian sexual purity pledges like True Love Waits also involve parents and a supportive faith community, but school-based promises generally are “solo events” that leave teens isolated, he added.

“School programs almost never offer follow-up nor do they tie pledging teenagers to a supportive peer network,” Ross said. “True Love Waits teenagers continue to receive teaching and support year-round on purity, and they experience accountability and support from all the other True Love Waits students.”

Weathersbee agreed the True Love Waits purity pledge—particularly with its emphasis on a lifetime commitment to purity and holiness—offers young people something many of them deeply desire and desperately need. And for students who want to “go counter-cultural,” it gives them something positive to rebel against—prevailing lax attitudes about sexuality, he noted.

“The purity pledge gives students an exit ramp off a fast lane they don’t want to be on,” he said. “It brings their eyes up to a grander vision. Students really want to buy into something meaningful.”

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

RIGHT OR WRONG?: Friends with a pot of gold

A friend approached me the other day with what he called “a tremendous money-making opportunity.” To participate, I needed to give him $1,000 up front, and my part would be to find people who would put up $1,000 to me. He’s my friend, so how should I respond?

This question raises two important ethical issues. The first concerns the nature of this “money-making opportunity.” It sounds like a Ponzi scheme. These illegal pyramid schemes are named for Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands of New England residents in a postage stamp speculation scheme in the 1920s. Ponzi promised his investors he could double their money in 90 days. The average investor gave Ponzi $300. At the height of his scheme, he had estimated income of $1 million per week. Ponzi went bankrupt and was sent to prison. Later, he re-emerged in Florida and began a pyramid land scheme. He went to prison again and died in poverty in Brazil in 1949.

One might be tempted to think such scams were only successful in the past. Unfortunately, they continue to work in the 21st century. Based on a “rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul” principle, the schemers, like Ponzi, use the investments of new investors to pay off early investors. But eventually, the whole enterprise collapses.

Many people cannot see the endemic problem with such schemes. I am reminded of a friend who was excited about going into the “worm farm” business. When asked to whom he was going to sell the worms, he responded, “To people going into the worm farm business!”

There are several obvious problems with participating in such a scheme.

First, the New Testament teaches that we are stewards of everything that God entrusts to us. As 1 Peter 4:10 puts it, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” That’s why we have an obligation to investigate any “money-making opportunities” to ensure that they are sound investments.

Second, if you know that such an opportunity is bogus, you are encouraging immoral, if not illegal, behavior by participating. Jesus said, “What good is it for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul?” And the eighth commandment is still, “You shall not steal.”

Third, if you know that the scheme is bogus or even questionable, it would be wrong to involve anyone else—especially a friend—in such an enterprise. To do so would be the equivalent of profiting from the poor. Jesus and the Hebrew prophets condemned such behavior.

All of this brings me back to the second major ethical issue. This concerns the characterization of the person who approached you as a “friend.” Many Christians have been approached with similar propositions. Usually, they are approached by someone they perceive to be their friend. I question whether this perception is accurate. Would a real friend involve you in a questionable enterprise?

There are companies that specialize in pyramid marketing. Some of them encourage Christians to recruit fellow church members. Often this is done under the guise of a friendly invitation to a church member’s home. When you get there, you discover you have been tricked into listening to a sales presentation. Those issuing these invitations are told by their employers to conceal the true nature of the invitation. There is no doubt that this marketing technique works, but it is certainly not Christian and should not be employed by anyone claiming to follow the teachings of Christ. Tell your friend: “I can’t participate in this kind of investment. I don’t want to trade on my friends.”

Philip Wise, pastor

Second Baptist Church

Lubbock

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.

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

Belton church broadens scope of sanctity of life focus

By George Henson

Staff Writer

BELTON—Annual sanctity of life emphases are common in many Baptist churches, but Suzanne Besser led First Baptist Church in Belton to broaden its scope beyond discussions of abortion and euthanasia.

Besser acknowledges her passion for the sanctity of human life has its roots in a friend’s decision to have an abortion more than 20 years ago, but she feels it’s important to not make abortion the central focus for her church’s Sanctity of Human Life Fair.

“We’re focusing on what God is doing, rather than what the enemy is doing,” she said. “We use this time to spotlight life-affirming organizations.

“God has taught me that we can be much more effective when we bring the peace that passes understanding into our conversations with people who have strong opinions about sanctity of life issues. We’re not to share with others about sanctity of life issues with closed fists but with open hands that God fills with his peace and love.”

The “Celebrate Life with a Show of Hands” theme around which the Belton church based its recent Sanctity of Human Life Fair bears that out. Ministries spotlighted at the Sunday afternoon event included resources for people with disabilities, an exhibit about chiropractic health, a chemical dependency rehabilitation clinic, a grief and support group, child placement centers, a criminal justice ministry, a maternity shelter, assisted living centers and the Ronald McDonald House for parents of hospitalized children.

The fair included an exhibit dealing with abortion issues, but down the aisle was a booth where volunteers fingerprinted children for identification purposes. Workers helped the children incorporate their fingerprints into artwork that made the experience totally non-threatening.

Another table offered information on setting up living wills, funeral arrangements and other end-of-life topics.

“For 20 years, I’ve been asking people to think rationally and in non-polarizing ways about sanctity of human life issues. The Sanctity of Human Life Fair is a big step toward rational, non-polarizing approaches to these complex issues,” Besser said.

“Some of the people I’ve talked to about the fair are a bit skeptical at first, but once they realize that this is something completely different, they are excited about the concept.”

Pastor Andy Davis insisted the event has been a good thing for his congregation.

“We believe in the celebration of life and the sanctity of life. Some of the groups that participate in the fair are ministries that we support financially and others we don’t, but they are all excellent ministries,” he said.

“The fair has exposed our people to some of these ministries and we’ve have several people in the last year get involved with them. And that’s a good thing.”

Besser would like to see the fairs spread across the state, and she has prepared a notebook of materials to help other churches organize their own fairs. For more information, call Miracle You Ministries at (254) 939-8420.

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

Why ‘inerrancy’ doesn’t matter

Truett Seminary student recruiters tell me the most frequent question they receive when promoting the seminary at Baptist colleges and universities is about biblical inerrancy. Does the seminary teach that the Bible is inerrant? Do the professors believe in inerrancy? The answers are easy. As a good Baptist seminary, Truett does not dictate what people must believe on secondary matters of doctrine; the professors vary in their views of biblical accuracy while holding firmly to biblical authority.

“But wait a minute,” someone will say. “How can you believe in biblical authority and not believe in inerrancy?” That’s an important and valid question that needs to be addressed. I hope you will bear with me as I rush in where angels fear to tread.

For at least the past century, the word “inerrancy” has been a buzzword of controversy among evangelical Christians and Baptists in the United States. Nowhere else has it been such a catalyst for debate and division. For centuries, equally sincere God-fearing, Jesus-loving, Bible-believing Christians were satisfied to say that the Bible is inspired, authoritative, trustworthy and (often) infallible. “Inerrancy” was raised as a standard against liberalism and higher criticism of the Bible by the rationalistic Princeton theologians of the 19th and early 20th century. Their names are familiar to all students of American theology: Archibald Alexander, Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge, Benjamin B. Warfield and J. Gresham Machen. As a group, they formed a dynasty of conservative evangelical theology that helped launch the fundamentalist movement in the early 20th century.

Perhaps the greatest influence of all was exercised by Warfield, who published scores of scholarly and popular books and articles on subjects related to the Bible. He believed strongly in and defended biblical inerrancy. But he did not think belief in it necessary for authentic evangelical faith. Another great evangelical thinker of that time was Scottish theologian James Orr, who did not believe in inerrancy. Warfield and Orr were friends and worked together to fight off liberal theology. Orr contributed to the series of booklets called The Fundamentals that gave the movement its name.

For a long time, evangelical Christians agreed to disagree about inerrancy. Then came the book that fell like a bombshell on the evangelical theological playground—Harold Lindsell’s 1976 The Battle for the Bible. The editor of Christianity Today declared biblical inerrancy an essential of evangelical faith and denounced evangelicals who would not affirm it. I was in seminary when the book was published, and I felt the fallout. Suddenly, the peaceful evangelical spirit of respect in spite of disagreement died under the onslaught of an evangelical inquisition about a word.

We still are living with the negative results of that book and of the controversy—perhaps better termed heresy hunt—it launched. Many people are not satisfied to know that I believe the Bible is God’s authoritative, supernaturally inspired, written word and that it is infallible. They are not satisfied that, like many conservative evangelicals, I affirm the Bible is perfect with respect to its purpose. It cannot and does not fail to communicate God’s transforming message to us. It is the unique instrument of the Spirit’s revelation of Jesus Christ and the gospel to God’s people and the whole world.

The trouble is that, by and large, “inerrancy” has become a shibboleth—a gate-keeping word used to exclude people rather than to draw authentic Christians together for worship and witness. Even its most ardent and staunch proponents admit no existing Bible is inerrant; they attribute inerrancy only to the original manuscripts, which do not exist. They kill the ordinary meaning of the word with the death of a thousand qualifications. If you doubt that, please read the Chicago Statement on Inerrancy, which usually is considered the standard evangelical account of the concept.

Think about this: If the Bible’s authority depends on its inerrancy but only the original manuscripts were inerrant , then only the original manuscripts were authoritative. The logic is impeccable and irresistible. And if “inerrancy” is compatible with flawed approximations, faulty chronologies, and use of incorrect sources by the biblical authors, it is a meaningless concept.

Some defenders of inerrancy will argue that when Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:8 that 23,000 Israelites died in a single day, he was not in error, even though Numbers 25:1-9 records of the same event that 24,000 died. How is this not an error? One strategy is to say that Paul actually wrote 24,000, but an early copyist made the error. Another strategy is to say Paul was not trying to give a flawless performance in statistics and therefore, given his purpose, this should not be considered an “error.”

Neither strategy is intellectually honest. The best approach is to admit Paul made a mistake but one that in no way misrepresents God’s message to the Corinthians or to us.

The fact of the matter is that I believe much the same about the Bible as many conservative evangelical theologians and biblical scholars who insist on the term “inerrancy” as a test of authentic evangelical faith. I just don’t think that’s the best word for what we believe. What we all believe that really matters is that the Bible is inspired, authoritative and infallible in all matters of faith and practice. Our difference lies in the fact that I don’t think a word is all that important; what’s important is our common belief in the Bible as God’s word.

Roger Olson is professor of theology at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary.

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

BGCT names 10 regional congregational strategists

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas has named 10 congregational strategists—convention staff members who will live in designated areas around the state and work with churches in their assigned regions. They will begin serving on the field by March 1.

Most of congregational strategists will work from their homes, and each is expected to follow a plan for strategically ministering to every church in a particular area, said Andre Punch, who directs the group.

Strategists will be trained to meet a variety of ministry needs and prepared to offer customized assistance to churches, Punch said.

Each strategist will work with a church starter and consultants for affinity groups such as African-American, Hispanic and Western Heritage congregations.

The new strategy comes as a result of Texas Baptists urging the BGCT to deploy staff members across the state, where they can meet needs quickly and efficiently, Punch explained.

Every church—large or small, rich or poor—has needs, he said. Some leaders simply need encouragement; others require more tangible assistance. Congregational strategists will be able to meet both needs and everything in between, he stressed.

“We will be a convention that will be near the local church, and we will be able to respond to the local church in a meaningful way,” Punch said.

Area strategists enable the BGCT to cultivate relationships better with churches and understand best how to serve them, said Ron Gunter, BGCT chief operations officer and associate executive director.

“The point of what we’re doing is to connect us to the local church,” he said. “We’re here to serve the local church.

“We will touch every church in Texas at its point of need. We will help churches become all that God wants them to be.”

Charles Davenport is the congregational strategist for the Panhandle. He will work with Church Starter John Silva, who also will serve Far West Texas, where Robert Cuellar is congregational strategist. Mateo Rendon will work with Hispanic congregations in the Panhandle.

Noe Trevino will serve in the Rio Grande Valley as a church strategist, and Fred Ater will do the same in a region extending from the south edge of San Antonio to Corpus Christi. David Tamez is the church starter for both these regions.

Strategist Ben Hanna and Church Starter David Guel will serve in Houston. Cathy Dundas will continue to work with ethnic groups in Houston, and an African-American consultant will serve the city in the near future.

Tim Randolph is the strategist for Central Texas north of San Antonio. He will be teamed with Church Starter Marty Mosher.

Jim Furgerson will be the congregation strategist for San Antonio.

Congregational Strategist Dennis Parrott will team with Church Starter Randy Gilchrist to work in East Texas.

Church Starter Roy Cotton and Congregational Strategist Richard Mangum will work together in Dallas and the areas north and east of the city.

Paul Atkinson has been named a congregational strategist and will work with Abe Zabaneh in Fort Worth and the area north and west of the city.

Ron Nolen will work with Western Heritage congregations—cowboy churches—across the state. Michael Evans will do the same with African-American churches, and Patty Lane will minister to what has been called the intercultural group statewide.

Frank Palos will work with Hispanic congregations statewide, and Bob Ray will focus on bivocational and smaller-membership churches across Texas.

Each strategist was chosen specifically for strong relational skills and familiarity with specific areas, Punch said. Most have roots in or currently reside in their assigned areas. They already know many church leaders in an area and can build upon those relationships, he emphasized.

Punch believes the convention’s efforts to provide local customized assistance could help revolutionize the spiritual landscape of Texas.

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

Texas Tidbits

Baylor sets date for inauguration. John Lilley will be installed as Baylor University’s 13th president at a 2 p.m. ceremony on April 21 in the Ferrell Special Events Center. Baylor University Board of Regents Chairman Will Davis of Austin has appointed David Sibley to chair an eight-member presidential inauguration committee to oversee plans for the event. Others serving on the committee are Wes Bailey, James Bowden, Tommy Bowman, Harold Cunningham, Sue Getterman, Ramiro Peña and Donell Teaff, all from Waco.

Church library convention slated in Houston. “Launch Pad for Libraries” is the theme of the statewide 2006 Texas Baptist Church Library Convention, March 9-11 at Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston. Author Robert Flynn of the Texas Institute of Letters and his wife, Jean, a retired teacher and librarian, are keynote speakers. Conference session topics include “libraries in the 21st century,” “weeding and inventory,” “book repair,” “family night at the library” and “archival restoration, preservation and conservation methods.” Individual registration cost before Feb. 10 is $55; late registration is $60. For more information, contact Naomi Taplin or Autumn Hendon at (972) 331-2235.

Epicenter conference changes location. The Baptist General Convention of Texas-sponsored Epicenter conference, which will focus on spiritual formation for kingdom impact, has changed venues to Park Central Baptist Church in Dallas. The event remains scheduled for March 3-4. Reggie McNeal, director of leadership development for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, headlines a group of Christian leaders who will ask participants to examine the way they develop leaders. Other key speakers include Bob Roberts, founder of GlocalNet and pastor of Northwood Church for the Communities in Keller; Jeff Christopherson, pastor of Sanctuary of Oakville near Toronto, Canada; and Nancy Ortbeg, church consultant and former teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill. For more information, call (888) 747-7700 or visit www.bgct.org.

Former president to lecture at UMHB. Former President George Bush will be the guest speaker for the McLane Lecture at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Feb. 10. The McLane Lecture brings nationally recognized speakers to the university to promote awareness and information about issues concerning business. It is sponsored by Temple resident and Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane and hosted by the College of Business. Tickets will be required for admission.

UMHB names VP. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has named Bill Townsend vice president for external relations. Townsend, who served previously as vice president for institutional advancement at Louisiana College in Pineville, La., will oversee the offices of alumni relations, alumni development, planned giving, corporate giving, foundation relations, records, research, marketing and public relations. Prior to Louisiana College, Townsend was the acting director of the National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law and was assistant dean for professional services at Mississippi College School of Law. His wife, Cindy, is director of women’s missions and ministries at the Louisiana Baptist Convention. They have two children.

Correction: The article “Baptist chaplain in Kuwait seeks conversation-starters” published in the Jan. 23 Baptist Standard contained incorrect contact information. The correct address is Chaplain (Captian) Rick Brunson, TF 1-6 Infantry, HHC, 1-6 INF, APO AE 09330. 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

TOGETHER:

Peace, transformation a heart’s desire

In my previous column, I shared with you the first two of my soul’s desires—beginning new churches and affirming children. Here are two more heart-cries of my soul. Texas Baptists, I appeal to you that we:

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

• Pray for God’s peace. No one can be at peace until he finds the presence of God in his soul. Every heart has a God-shaped vacuum. When people try to fill that emptiness with anything less than God, the idol they embrace leaves them disillusioned and yearning for what they do not have. Only God can fill that place God designed for himself.

Pray, too, for peace in communities and nations. Communities that have experienced disasters of flood, fire and wind over the past few months move through their pain with courage and resolve, grateful for the care of those who come to their aid. But after a while, jealousy, suspicion, cynicism, grief and loss all can begin to trouble the collective heart of the community. They need our prayers and our faithful support over a long period.

In regard to peace in the world, a recent study shows incidents and casualties of war have been trending down for 15 years. While terrorism is on the rise, armed conflict has declined from 40 incidents in 1991 to 25 in 2004. Deaths per war also have plummeted.

It is not an empty gesture to pray for peace in the hearts of men and women and in community and world affairs. We are a praying people, and God has promised to hear our prayers.

• Transform lives and communities. I was in the Beaumont area and in New Orleans this past week. Texas Baptists have sent $3 million to $4 million into those areas to help the churches help people, and we have provided hands-on ministry in a variety of ways. Now the people in these communities seek to move forward.

Pastors in Beaumont sense a kind of “post-hurricane funk” hanging in the air. People are tired of waiting for insurance adjusters to finish their work, and they’re frustrated as they realize it will take longer than they thought to get back to normal. As we prepared to pray for one another, one pastor said: “Let’s don’t pray that things will get back to normal. Pray instead for revival. Normal is not what we want.”

In New Orleans, people found refuge in the new First Baptist Church building when floodwaters forced them to flee their homes. It created a mess, but the church became a place of safety during the storm and its aftermath. The pastor told me how he had prayed after their beautiful new building was constructed that God would help them know how to connect with the neighborhood and express the love that is in their hearts for the people of New Orleans. Now, in the midst of mind-numbing loss, they have another opportunity to do something that will speak God’s love into aching hearts. They will build 40 new homes in the Upper Ninth Ward with Habitat for Humanity and, by God’s Spirit, help to transform their city.

And transformation is what we seek throughout Texas. The BGCT is deploying a staff of congregational strategists, church planters and affinity group leaders around the state. They have been charged with helping churches discover how to become increasingly transformational—making a life-changing, eternal difference in people’s lives and bringing transformational change to their communities.

Keep praying because the One who loves you wants to hear from you.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

NCharles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.ews 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

Austin author promotes virtuous reality to teens, parents

By Andrea Higgins

LifeWay Christian Resources

AUSTIN (BP)—Sometimes Vicki Courtney would prefer to be oblivious to what goes on in teen culture. But the mother of three knows bewildered parents need help combating the barrage of disturbing trends that tempt teens.

Instead of retreating from what can be shocking terrain, Courtney exposes what uncommunicative teens conceal. Then, she provides parents with practical strategies and conversation starters to reach a technologically transformed generation gap with unchanging biblical truths.

“God has afforded me to be in the trenches,” said Courtney, who lives in Austin with husband, Keith, and three children—Ryan, Paige and Hayden.

Her Virtuous Reality Ministries reaches more than 150,000 teenagers and their mothers through its website, books, resources and events.

“We’ve done the homework for Mom and Dad. I want to encourage and empower moms to remember that, while at times it may seem overwhelming, God has given us everything we need to counteract the culture that bombards them.”

One emerging trend—unknown to many parents—involves teenaged girls who set up their own webpages with online diaries, she said.

“Whereas I kept a diary under lock and key so my brother couldn’t find it and ruin my life, girls today are keeping their diaries online,” Courtney said, describing this as a situation with dangerous implications, as girls often reveal more than just their thoughts.

“Our kids are so much more technologically advanced than we are. For parents, no sooner had we figured out what was going on with e-mail, they moved into instant messaging and blogging.”

She also alerts parents to the raciness of today’s teen literature and recommends biblical strategies to counteract the media’s sway.

When Courtney started Virtuous Reality, the response of college students made her realize the urgent need for her ministry to reach even younger girls and to keep the lines of communication open, both as friend and mother.

In 2000, Courtney launched her online magazine, www.virtuousreality.com, for college women and later expanded her outreach to middle school and high school girls and mothers.

She developed what she calls Yada Yada events to reach seventh- through 12th-graders and, in 2004, Yada Yada Junior began for third- through sixth-grade girls and their mothers.

Courtney’s ministry began proclaiming virtue as the new vogue about a year and a half ago, and the message struck a responsive chord.

On her new www.virtuealert.com website, she gives moms quick tips on topical issues, helping them prepare for—and therefore avoid—knockdown, drag-out disagreements in the department store and advising them in getting web-wise.

Courtney’s first book, Your Girl: Raising a Godly Daughter in an Ungodly World, and accompanying journal for mothers, Yada Yada, were best sellers within a month of their release in April 2004.

In 2006, Courtney, in conjunction with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, will host Your Girl events in Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida.

The conferences, she said, focus on the keys to raising confident daughters in a culture gone mad, addressing just what mothers are to do in the face of cultural pressures against purity and modesty.

Courtney has developed a mother-daughter Bible study and DVD series based on Your Girl, due to be released through LifeWay next summer. With studies for both moms and daughters that can be conducted independent of each other, the unique study also includes “talking points” to bring them back together afterward.

“She is right on target with what she’s trying to communicate to moms and daughters,” said Faith Whatley, LifeWay’s director of women’s ministry. “She has such a passion for it.”

Courtney said her perspective as a former agnostic propels her ministry to counteract cultural confusion. She became a Christian at age 21, when a college friend invited her to a Christian conference.

She enjoyed debating Christians on campus and was not expecting to come to faith in Christ at the conference.

“I had chased after everything the world promised would make you happy,” she said. “I didn’t ever expect I’d be converted there. I hope that I will never forget those 21 years.”

Courtney began her speaking ministry in 1995 and developed her Virtuous Reality event ministry geared to college women in 1998.

“Many of the girls were coming up and telling us, ‘I wish I had something like this when I was younger,’” Courtney said. That inspired her to reach and teach even younger girls that the only true liberation is found in Jesus Christ.

“Sadly enough, for a lot of college women, it was more of a recovery effort for everything from sexual promiscuity (to) abortion, eating disorders, sexual abuse and low self-esteem,” Courtney said, adding that such problems are not exclusive to non-Christians.

“In ministering to college women, we found our Christian girls were dealing with the same issues as any other girl.”

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.