Posted: 1/06/06

Church activists see federal
budget as moral document

By Kevin Eckstrom

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–When mainline Protestant leaders assembled in the nation's capital last March to denounce President Bush's proposed budget as “unjust,” they were received much like the Old Testament prophets they look to for inspiration–just another lonely voice, crying out in the wilderness.

By year's end, the budget they rejected as immoral had passed through Congress, although only by the narrowest of margins. Vice President Dick Cheney was called in to break a 50-50 tie in the Senate.

Even though they lost the budget battle, activists say they succeeded at something more important and long-lasting. They have finally been heard, they say, and have discovered a way to portray arcane budget debates into stark moral choices that test the nation's commitment to the poor.

“I think what's changed is over a period of years … there has emerged a wide agreement that poverty is a central biblical concern, and that did not used to be the case,” said Wes Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Church in America. “That's a gigantic shift.”

Activists were quick to claim credit where they could.

Jim Wallis, founder of the anti-poverty group Call to Renewal, is arrested by Capitol Police officers during a protest against the budget outside the U.S. Capitol. (RNS photo courtesy of Ryan Beiler/Sojourners)

“When we began this year, no one would have guessed that the vice president would be needed to break a tie on the budget,” said Maureen Shea, director of the Episcopalians' Washington of-fice. “Our advocacy made a difference.”

Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, added, “Our voices of opposition were heard and have provided a tangible sign that the church is living out the gospel of Jesus Christ … in our own day.”

For years, Catholic and mainline Protestant churches have lobbied for social service programs to aid the poor. In the 1980s, Catholic bishops said the U.S. budget is–or should be–a moral document.

But 2005 marked the first time they came together in a concerted, coordinated effort to save those programs.

Poverty exposed by Hurricane Katrina, combined with millions in tax cuts that critics argue benefit the wealthy, helped focus the debate.

Experts say the 2004 elections, which saw the emergence of “values voters” and the awakening of a moribund progressive community, may have helped focus activists' attempts to paint the budget as a values issue.

“The basic concern about the poor and preventing budget cuts is not a new concern,” said John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. “They're just more vocal and active about it than they have been in a long time.”

Last month, 114 activists convened by Call to Renewal, a progressive Christian anti-poverty group, were arrested outside the U.S. Capitol in a peaceful protest against the budget. Such a direct confrontation over the budget marked a new strategy for activists, and it got them noticed.

“These voices were heard, and they were heard as voices that had a real religious integrity to them, and that's the first step,” said Granberg-Michaelson, who attended the protest but was not arrested.

The protest, organized by Call to Renewal founder Jim Wallis, included young and old, black and white, evangelical and liberal. Wallis said his group had taken the debate beyond traditional “liberal-conservative” lines.

But a major challenge that remains is broadening that message to other faith groups that are more galvanized by hot-button social issues like same-sex marriage and abortion.

Indeed, the influential Family Research Council urged a vote in support of the budget bill, and Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, called the budget boring and dismissed the debate as more “liberal social gospel.”

Green, an expert on religion and politics, said church groups succeeded in “laying down a marker” for future budget debates and even the 2006 elections, but must find a way to widen their appeal.

“This group is preaching to the choir and not to the whole church yet,” Green said. “That's a real challenge that they face, how to broaden their message to other groups.”

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: 1/06/06

Church bulletin errors tickle the funny bone

By Heather Horiuchi

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–It has long been said that to err is human. But to forgive mistakes in church bulletins may be divine.

If lists of church bloopers are an accurate indication, the need for forgiveness is great. The unintended funnies, often passed around on the Internet, give the spiritually minded an excuse to let loose with a belly laugh.

"Things are so solemn, grave and violent, we need to lighten up," said Cal Samra, editor of the Joyful Noiseletter, a Portage, Mich., publication that collects unfortunate typos that find themselves in church pews.

Bloopers he prints have been verified as authentic, Samra said. However, certain identifying factors occasionally are omitted to prevent potentially embarrassing situations from being made public.

Here is a sampling:

“The church had a going-away party for the pastor. The congregation was anxious to give him a little momentum.”

“John Smith, ordained as a deamon, will pastor two churches in Fannin County.”

“We will have a special holiday bingo and dinner on Monday evening. You will be given two bingo packs, which cover all games played, and your choice of children or roast beef for dinner.”

“Please drop off diapers, size 3, at the Saint Raphael's parish office during regular office hours for Sister Jane.”

Britain's biggest online Christian magazine, shipoffools.com, regularly posts "the 10 most recent gaffes, blunders and Freudian slips from sermons, prayers and church newsletters, as seen and heard by our readers."

It adds, “All painful examples are gratefully received.”

The website discovered that British churchgoers at one congregation were invited to “prayer and medication” while another invited attendees to socialize over “coffee and mice pies.”

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: 1/06/06

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: 1/06/06

Transitions spotlight new face
of Baptist higher education

By Hannah Lodwick

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)–Three of the nation's largest Baptist universities each have chosen a different strategy in selecting the president who will shape the school's future. Now pundits wonder which model will emerge as the new face of Christian higher learning.

Baylor University's election of John Lilley, 66, as president comes after a time of division among alumni, faculty and administrators over academic freedom and the nature of Christian education. Lilley's status as an “outsider” from Nevada could help defuse the strife.

Mercer University, recently cut loose by the Georgia Baptist Convention, elected a champion of academic freedom, Baylor Interim President Bill Underwood, as president–raising a flag for the historic Christian liberal-arts tradition.

And Samford University seems to have chosen a safe route. Presidential nominee Andrew Westmoreland is president of Ouachita Baptist University, which has preserved close ties with Arkansas Baptists and avoided the conflict that has divided so many other denominational schools.

While each school's vision of a Christian college is different, each could play a role in defining the future of the Baptist university–and Christian higher education as a whole.

But the presidential changes at three of the five largest Baptist schools–educating a total of 25,000 students–are only part of the picture. Baptist colleges from coast to coast are experiencing upheaval of one sort or another.

John Lilley

On the same day in mid-November that Mercer and Georgia Baptists parted ways, Georgetown College left the Kentucky Baptist fold, and Tennessee Baptists acknowledged Belmont University is cutting ties as well.

These are only the latest in a string of defections dating back several decades–Averett, Furman, Stetson, Wake Forest, Richmond. While other schools retain their Baptist ties, the trend is well established and accelerating–the largest and richest Baptist colleges are going it alone, and others who have the ability will follow.

At Baylor, Lilley's arrival creates an opportunity for change at the world's largest Baptist university.

Lilley, characterized as a consensus builder, comes in as a relative unknown from outside the “Baylor bubble,” untainted by the unrest at the university.

While he has been a Presbyterian in recent decades, many believe this son of a Baptist pastor still has the Baptist credentials to get the job done.

Provost Emeritus Donald Schmel-tekopf supports Baylor's policy that its president be a practicing and active Baptist Christian.

“John Lilley passes this test in his willingness to join a local Baptist church in Waco just two days after he was named president-elect of Baylor,” Schmeltekopf said. “I think this approach should also be used as needed in the hiring of members of our religion department.”

Although Schmeltekopf affirms that Baylor is explicit about its Christian affiliation, he notes that no Baylor documents refer to an official confession of faith, as is the case at Samford.

“I believe Baylor and Samford are much closer in their commitment to the unity of knowledge as expressed through faith and reason than Mercer is,” Schmeltekopf said. “While there is a great deal of divergence on this point at both Baylor and Samford, both tend to see faith not only as an expression of redemption, but also as a genuine source of understanding.”

That concept of the “unity of knowledge”–that faith and learning not only cohabit the Christian college campus but confirm and nurture each other–is at the heart of the conflict at Baylor and other schools.

Despite differing opinions about how to apply statements of faith, Schmel-tekopf said, most large Baptist universities still are intentional about being Christian, if not explicitly Baptist.

Ironically though, Schmeltekopf says one of the conflicts in the Baptist denomination today is that church members have permitted relatively minor issues to “trump our common membership in the Christian family of faith, the community of all believers.”

“The one and only acceptable 'ideology' of the Baptist university is the God-ideology of the historic Christian faith, the God who is revealed in Scripture and in the church–the God who is at work in the world,” Schmeltekopf said.

“That's a radical ideology, and we must be discerning personally and in our institutions to understand what God's will is.”

Others at Baylor believe the historic Christian faith plays an important role not just in the president's office but in the classrooms filled by Baylor's 13,800 students.

Randy Wood, professor of education at Baylor, sees Lilley's arrival as a unifying force on campus. He said the faith emphasis at Baylor separates it from other schools like the University of Texas and Texas A&M University. For Wood, Baylor's “faith component” comes from biblical Christianity more than a specifically Baptist background.

While Baylor's changing of the guard comes as a potential turning point in the history of the university, Bruce Gourley, associate director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University, said Mercer President Kirby Godsey has kept the Macon, Ga., school close to its Georgia Baptist ties.

In Gourley's opinion, shared by many, the challenge of a successful Baptist university involves balancing a Christian worldview with competitive academics. Gourley believes Godsey has done both.

“He has been very committed to the Baptist heritage and continually staying connected to our Baptist roots,” Gourley said. “I've been very impressed that he was and is striving to emphasize that heritage.”

Godsey, 68, will retire June 30. His replacement–Underwood, formerly a law professor at Baylor–added his personal touch to Baylor soon after he became interim president. He immediately shook up the administration, replacing Provost David Lyle Jeffrey. Underwood and Jeffrey disagreed about the proper role of academic freedom at a Christian university.

Jeffrey declined to comment for this article.

Union University President David Dockery, a former visiting professor at Samford, said Baptist schools are first and foremost Christian institutions that should hire the best and brightest Christian scholars. Within those contexts, he said, schools that remain Baptist should give priority to hiring Baptist scholars.

“I think it is healthy to have a majority of Baptists on the faculty,” Dockery said. “I think it is valuable and healthy, however, to have representation from different traditions as well. We need commitments characterized by serious and rigorous academics and an unapologetic commitment to the Christian intellectual tradition.”

Some faculty members at Samford feel the same way. For the Alabama Baptist university of 4,440 students, an intentional focus on Christian distinctives fosters academic freedom in the midst of a specifically Baptist heritage.

Samford has not tried to loosen its relationship with the Alabama Baptist Convention. And while it adheres to the Baptist Faith & Message statement, it uses the traditional 1963 version, not the more rigid 2000 revision.

Samford's president of 22 years, Tom Corts, will retire in May.

David Chapman, dean of the Howard College of Arts and Sciences at Samford, said the new president must “provide a clear signal to the direction of the university, ensure that the academic mission of the school is upheld, and relate well to all of the university's constituents.”

“Samford has attempted to chart a course in which the school remains loyal to its Baptist heritage without becoming a political football in denominational politics,” Chapman said.

“Christian colleges and universities have a pivotal role to play at this time when the nation seems divided over many moral and spiritual issues. Instead of ignoring controversial issues, the college needs to provide a space where the issues of our day–from al-Qaida to Terry Schiavo–can be discussed intelligently and civilly, regardless of one's faith tradition.”

As strife in Baptist life has increased and denominationalism waned, many Baptist colleges have recreated themselves to appeal less to the traditional Baptist student and more to the broader Christian, or evangelical, one.

The real challenge for Baptist universities comes in balancing this openness to other “faith traditions” with ties to their Baptist state conventions. And that is where the drive for quality Christian education becomes intertwined with two factors usually viewed as unbecoming for Christians to crave–cash and control.

For more than a decade, the drive for academic excellence has led some colleges to reduce or sever ties with Baptist conventions, especially when the convention expects its financial support to translate into influence over the school's decision-making.

Occasionally the university has used fear of a convention takeover as justification for breaking away–as was the case with Baylor in the 1990s and Belmont more recently. And to be fair, the rise of conservative influence in some state conventions has brought calls for tighter reins on Baptist college curriculum and student life.

Chapman insists control is the wrong model. Instead of churches and conventions viewing colleges as children to be controlled, he said, the relationship should consist of mutual respect and cooperation.

“Baptist colleges fulfill an important role not only in preparing future clergy but in educating young people with a variety of vocational goals who will be the backbone of the churches they attend,” he said. “They also serve as places where Baptist history is researched and archived, where the connections between Christianity and culture can be discussed openly, and where church leaders can meet for dialogue and inspiration.”

The most recent convention-college split is taking place at Belmont University, which has decided not to remain affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention, although the convention helped found the school in 1952.

Meanwhile, at Mercer, President Godsey recently reassured students that the school's split from Georgia Baptists is not a crisis. “It's not going to have a huge impact on students, and administrators are taking care of it.” Godsey also said he hopes the “school stays a Baptist university”–a desire echoed by his successor, Underwood.

Messengers to the Georgia Baptist Convention voted to sever their 172-year-old ties to Mercer and its 7,315 students because of significant disagreements over doctrinal and social issues, particularly homosexuality.

Walter Shurden, executive director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer, said although the convention unilaterally has begun the process of terminating its relationship with Mercer, he sees no signs it will “impact Mercer's sense of mission as an institution of Christian higher education.”

Thanks in part to the intensity of rising academic standards and the emergence of national rankings of universities, Christian schools face increasing pressure to compete with secular universities.

Schmeltekopf worries that pressure will push some Christian colleges to concede the high moral ground on hot-button issues–those driven by ideology.

And with even the smaller private schools aspiring for academic recognition, critics say, the Christian worldview and lifestyle take a back seat on campus–relegated mostly to the liberal arts school or religion department.

Schmeltekopf maintains this need not be the case.

“The Christian college or university is a total experience, made coherent by our commitment to God and to the community of faith which surrounds us,” Schmeltekopf said. “Importantly, this means that there is no place where God is off limits, and that includes in particular the classroom and the research lab and the professor's office.”

It is precisely that assertion–that academic excellence and Christian character are inseparable–which has caused such a stir at Baylor. While people on both sides of the argument agree the two go hand-in-hand, they seldom see eye-to-eye on what such an integration of values looks like.

For some, like Wood and Schmeltekopf at Baylor, staying true to the Baptist heritage doesn't necessarily mean severing all ties with state conventions. At Baylor, 25 percent of its board is named by the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

For the 850 full-time faculty members at the school, that means the university is kept before the Baptist people in a concrete way without subjecting it to denominational control.

Union's Dockery is a conservative who believes Baptist institutions must become “intentional about reclaiming the Christian intellectual tradition.” He said truth and love are much more than social constructs–they are grounded in God's self-revelation in Christ.

“Christian colleges and universities must help the church at large move out of the intellectual ghetto,” Dockery said. “The kind of anti-intellectual, personal, inward and subjective Christianity we see around us in popular Christianity is not representative of the best of the great Christian intellectual tradition, which we must work to reclaim and revitalize.”

As the leadership in Baptists' flagship colleges changes hands, some wonder if Christian higher education will be the same.

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: 1/06/06

2nd Opinion:
'We are partners in shaping … lives'

By John Lilley

The Baylor University board of regents, in electing me as the university's 13th president, has given me a great opportunity to come back and lead an institution that had a transforming effect on my life.

Arriving on campus in the late 1950s, fresh from Louisiana, Baylor opened a whole new world to me. I not only received outstanding instruction and mentoring from Baylor professors who cared deeply about me and my calling, I was taken in by the wonderful Baylor families who worshipped at First Baptist Church in Waco. First Baptist became my home away from home. Two days after my election as Baylor's president, my wife, Gerrie, and I united with this church. It was a true homecoming for me.

Also during my student days, I had the opportunity to serve as music director at three Texas Baptist churches–Mountain Baptist Church in Gatesville, Eastside Baptist Church in Killeen and Alice Avenue Baptist Church (now Park Lake Drive Baptist Church) in Waco.

The good people of these churches encouraged me and allowed me to grow spiritually and professionally, while providing me a source of financial support. My two summers of youth-led revivals, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, similarly contributed to my spiritual and professional development.

Of course, I would have had none of these life-changing opportunities were it not for the vision of Texas Baptists, who founded this great university in 1845. Of the 15 colleges and universities chartered by the Republic of Texas, only Baylor survives. To this day, more than 160 years later, the motto Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana–for Church, for State–has held true. Baylor exists to serve the church and society.

I believe Baylor has long been the crown jewel of Texas Baptists. Over the years, through many ups and downs in its relationship with the Baptists of this state, Baylor has never wavered it its commitment to serve those who gave birth to this institution. Because I have such a great belief in, and respect for, this relationship, it will be my intention as president of Baylor to ensure that those bonds are strengthened. Texas Baptists need the support of Baylor, and Baylor needs the support of Texas Baptists. We are partners in shaping the lives of young people who will go out into this world to serve and to lead.

Over the next few months, I will be visiting Baptist churches across this state. I look forward to making many new friends and connecting with the thousands of Baylor graduates who serve these churches as staff members and lay leaders.

Baylor is special to Texas Baptists. I have known that for a long time because I am a beneficiary of the partnership. I now consider myself to be a steward of that relationship. Baylor must, and will, continue to serve Texas Baptists.

Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana.

John Lilley began his tenure as president of Baylor University this month.

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: 1/06/06

DOWN HOME:
Two memories to last a lifetime

For a few minutes, I felt like the most handsome guy on the planet.

Call it good-looks-by-association. I was still the same me, just dressed up in a tuxedo. But I had the most beautiful bride–our oldest daughter, Lindsay–on my left arm.

We stood at the back of our church, waiting for her wedding to begin. Those were golden moments–the serene calm in the middle of an enormously hectic day.

Lindsay and I had time to talk. I won't tell you exactly what we said. That's daughter-daddy confidential information. But I will tell you I'll hold that conversation in my heart all the days of my life.

Then, the music started, and I walked Lindsay down the aisle to take the arm of Aaron Kahler, the love of her life.

Almost any father of the bride will acknowledge an open secret: No guy in the world is worthy of his daughter. But I was compelled to make an exception for Aaron.

When I asked Lindsay why she wanted to marry him, she said he loves God more than anything. He's her best friend. He accepts her as she is, takes care of her, tells her he loves her and thinks she's beautiful. And he makes her laugh–a trait her mama, Joanna, and I always advised her to seek in a mate.

So, I walked Lindsay down the aisle with clear-eyed confidence. And with gratitude to God–for a darling daughter and for the man whose life God had braided with hers.

While I doubt any money actually changed hands, my friends who would have bet I'd cry all the way through the marriage ceremony looked shocked afterward.

Lindsay and Aaron asked me to perform the wedding. And since my friends know I can cry over a good commercial, they just knew I'd blubber through this wedding.

Truth is, Lindsay, Joanna and I did our crying a few nights earlier. The wedding was on Saturday, and on Wednesday, Jo, Lindsay, her sister, Molly, and I had time alone together.

We ate a home-cooked meal around our dinner table, just as we had done countless evenings before. Dinner at home always has been my favorite parenting time. Just the four of us, enjoying good food, each other's company, and laughter and stories from our day. So, naturally, I cried as I tried to say the blessing. They gave me a hard time, but we all felt the sense of the occasion–our last dinner at home, just the four of us.

Then, as Lindsay and I had promised for years, we drove to the video store to rent Father of the Bride. “You know you need to cry it out,” Lindsay told me. “So, Father of the Bride is just what you need.” She was right. Lindsay, Jo and I laughed and cried our way through the movie.

The best part of the evening happened when Lindsay gave us a handwritten book of her favorite memories–132 experiences of her growing-up years that shaped her life and brought her joy. Jo, Lindsay and I sat on our bed reading and laughing and crying.

That evening and at her wedding, we made two more memories I'll always treasure. One stained with tears; one–contrary to popular expectation–not.

–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: 1/06/06

EDITORIAL:
Lessons from an exploded mineshaft

Gladness and relief melted into sadness and grief last Wednesday morning. Like millions of Americans, I scoured the newspaper as I poured my first cup of coffee. The most important headline reported encouraging news: “12 of 13 trapped miners survive.” I prayed as I poured milk over my cereal, thanking God for the safety of a dozen West Virginia coal miners I never would know.

A short while later, my wife, Joanna, walked in from the bedroom, where she had been watching TV. “What an awful tragedy; 12 of those 13 miners died,” she said. I showed her the newspaper article, confident–or maybe simply hoping–the happier report was true.

She called me as I drove to work. Unfortunately, the TV report she heard had been based on the latest information: Miscom-munication at the mine led to an incorrect early report. Instead of 12 survivors, the Sago Mine explosion claimed their lives, leaving only one survivor.

When I got to work, I read an e-mail from a friend, who wrote late the night before: “I realize that many in the media will not recognize why those 12 miners in West Virginia were found alive. They live because Christ lives, and when he is with you–regardless of where you find yourself or what conditions you find around you–he is the Breath of Life, and you can live.”

I wondered about my friend's faith. Would it shrink in the harsh glare of reality? The Breath of Life did not sustain those coal miners when carbon monoxide filled their lungs. If faith is built on a belief that Christ can make a person invulnerable to danger or immune to disease, what happens to faith when calamity knocks people to their knees and disease rusts their armor?

Later that day, I read a news article that illustrates a tragic shortcoming of such theology. CNN quoted John and Ann Casto, who lost her cousin in the mine. Casto heard both reports–first, that 12 miners survived, and then, that 12 died–with the miners' families, friends and neighbors at Sago Baptist Church. When the erroneous good news arrived, “they were praising God,” Casto said. But when they finally heard the truth, “they were cursing.” Mrs. Casto described the miners' loved ones' feelings graphically: “We have got some of us … saying… that we don't even know if there is a Lord anymore. We had a miracle, and it was taken away from us.”

Of course, it's not fair to assess survivors' theology based solely on what they say or do in the aftermath of catastrophe. They speak from raw emotion, not reason. If God is willing to accept their curses, and the Holy Spirit intercedes for them “with groans that words cannot express,” who are we to judge? Still, we would be foolish not to learn from the Sago Mine disaster and ponder implications of the contrasting responses to the erroneous and accurate reports of what happened down there.

Of course, Christians understand that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights” (James 1:17). But we back ourselves into a theological corner when we build a case for God's love and Christ's presence based on positive outcomes to calamitous circumstances. Think of the inverse logic: If we claim miners survived because the Breath of Life was present to draw life-giving oxygen out of death-dealing carbon monoxide, then what are we left to say when miners die? Is God absent? That's the line taken by scoffers and atheists; Christians should take care lest we give them theological cover.

The testimony of Scripture affirms two vital truths regarding tragedy and suffering.

First, a relationship with God and belief in Christ do not exempt us from horrible events. Throughout the Bible–Jacob, Job, Jeremiah, Jesus and Paul, to name just a few–the faithful suffered as much (and in many cases, more than) the ungodly.

Second, God is present in the midst of suffering, feeling all our pain more acutely than we feel it. Psalm 46 and Romans 8 state this truth magnificently. As God told Joshua, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5), Jesus said to his followers, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Jim Bennett died in Sago Mine. He was a vibrant Christian, said his son-in-law, Daniel Meredith, who predicted Bennett spent his final hours “witnessing to people … organizing and praying.” Although God didn't bring Bennett out of that mine, God was down there with him, comforting him and welcoming any of Bennett's friends he led to faith in Christ just before they departed this broken earth.

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard.

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: 1/06/06

From the fanciful science fiction themes of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (above) and Star Wars (below) to the classic Åmerican Western Shane (right), Hollywood has presented its share of on-screen Christ figures. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Films, Universal Pictures, Paramount)

Hollywood makes peace with God–when it pays

By Joanna Connors

Religion News Service

HOLLYWOOD (RNS)–A mysterious visitor arrives from the heavens to walk among us. At first, hardly anyone believes in his existence. Gradually, though, more and more people come to know and follow him, as he teaches lessons of love to the meek and powerless.

The powerful consider him a threat, however, and when they capture him, he dies. Then, a miracle: He comes to life again through the force of love, and he leaves the world of humans to rise back to the heavens. The people who love him will wait for him to return, forever.

Recognize the story? Of course, it is one of the central stories of Western culture. Most American children know it well before they go to school, absorbing its lessons through repetition.

It is E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.

It also is, with some variations, the story of The Matrix, Shane, Star Wars, Superman and countless other movies made by that “godless” cabal, Holly-wood–including the latest, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

As the culture wars roil over marketing Narnia directly to church groups–not to mention over teaching of evolution, the separation of church and state, and the supposed war on Christmas–now might be a good time to pause, take a deep breath and reflect.

Contrary to popular belief, Hollywood not only believes in God–Hollywood loves God.

Its reasons for loving God might not be pure. In fact, the reasons might be mostly crass and commercial, especially now, after Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ made $604 million worldwide. But if you're looking for true, come-to-Jesus awe, you don't have to look much farther than the executive suites of the industry the Monday after The Passion had an $83.3 million opening weekend.

Gibson's triumph inspired renewed professions of faith in Hollywood–faith in the profit, if not the prophet. But whatever the reason, God is one of the great stars of the movies. He always has been, along with Moses, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and a wide assortment of angels.

Movies have embraced religion and the stories of both the Old and New Testaments from their very beginnings, more than 100 years ago. Among the first movies, both made in 1898, we can find the Passion play of Oberammergau and the temptation of St. Anthony. In 1912, the director of From the Manger to the Cross actually filmed on location in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and other sites in the Holy Land.

Cecil B. DeMille and D.W. Griffith mined the Bible for many of their films, starting a tradition of retelling Bible stories that stretches from The Greatest Story Ever Told all the way to The Passion of the Christ.

But the explicit retelling of Bible stories does not begin to cover the presence of Christ-figures, biblical allegories and plain old expressions of religious faith buried in movies that appear to be straightforward entertainment.

E.T. happens to be one of the more interesting cases in this category.

Its marked similarities to the story of Jesus make it seem almost as blatant an allegory as the lion's death and resurrection in Narnia.

E.T. has the power to heal with just a touch. He reveals a glowing heart. He sacrifices himself for Elliott, the lonely, melancholy boy searching for a father figure in the wilderness. When E.T. ascends to the heavens, he tells Elliott he always will be with him.

Yet Melissa Matheson, who wrote the E.T. screenplay, has been quoted saying she recognized the connections only after seeing the movie, and director Steven Spielberg, who is Jewish, considered it a sci-fi movie about American suburban dreams.

That makes the connections all the more uncanny. It suggests just how deeply rooted these stories are in Western culture. It also makes one last observation worth a doctoral thesis: The ones who almost kill E.T. are scientists who have been questioning his existence and searching for hard proof.

Spielberg shot E.T. from a low, almost knee-height perspective. He wanted the movie and E.T. himself to be seen from a child's point of view.

Deliberate or not, children, the innocents, usually are the first to “see” the Christ figure in movies. They are the first to believe in him and worship him, echoing “and a little child shall lead them” from the Bible.

A child leads the way in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in which author C.S. Lewis made the youngest child–Lucy, the most innocent–the initial believer. She continues to believe even when her brothers and sister mock her, eventually bringing the “sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve” into the fold.

We see Shane, directed by George Stevens and released in 1953, through the eyes of a child, too. Joey Starrett, the son of homesteading farmers in the valley beneath the Grand Tetons, is the first to see the enigmatic stranger, Shane (“Someone's comin', Pa!”) and the first to worship him. (“I just love Shane!”)

Shane (played by Alan Ladd) is one of many “saviors” in American Westerns, which often play out as religious allegories. Clint Eastwood, for instance, paid direct homage to Shane in Pale Rider in 1985 and returned to the same themes in Unforgiven.

Shane's resemblance to Jesus is hard to miss. He stands up for the meek and the oppressed in an epic battle between good and evil. He turns the other cheek several times, when the bad guys antagonize him.

You even could argue that he performs a “miracle” when he helps bring down the big stump on Joe Starrett's property.

It cannot be a coincidence that after he has “sacrificed” himself (and his hopes for a peaceful life among the ordinary people in the valley), the last line of the movie is: “Shane! Come back!”

Both The Matrix and the Star Wars series set the Christ allegory in science-fiction. Neo (Keanu Reeves), the hero of The Matrix, has a dual identity, a life in two worlds, and is identified as “The Chosen One” (Neo is an anagram of “one”). He comes to save the oppressed “real” humans in Zion; he fights a dark evil; he dies; and he comes back to life. He is “baptized” (with the choice of pills) by a John the Baptist figure, played by Laurence Fishburne, who announces his coming.

Star Wars features both the Fallen Angel, Darth Vader, and the Chosen One, Luke Skywalker, who fights for the oppressed in the epic battle between light and dark, good and evil. Luke must retreat to a wilderness, of sorts, to find the Force within. The Force makes him invincible.

Likewise, Superman has dual identities in two worlds, comes to save the oppressed, fights evil, and so on.

Some movies are less comprehensive than E.T and The Matrix. But the more you look for God, Jesus and religious themes in movies, the more you find.

They turn up in every genre, from comedy (Monty Python's The Life of Brian, George Burns in Oh, God!) to horror (The Exorcist).

So, it turns out C.S. Lewis' lion, Aslan, is in good company. He can join a divine club that includes not just Ladd, Reeves (both Keanu and George) and Mark Hamill, but also Morgan Freeman (Bruce Almighty), Michael Clark Duncan (The Green Mile) and Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

If God is everywhere, as Christians believe, then evidently “everywhere” includes the red carpet and the multiplex.

It even includes the one place many evangelical Christians believe harbors Satan himself–Hollywood.

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: 1/06/06

Kokomo Baptist Church near Gorman is pictured before and after the fire that destroyed its facility. For information on Baptist General Convention of Texas relief efforts for victims of the wildfires, call (888) 311-3900.

Wildfires destroy Kokomo church,
prompt outpouring of ministry

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

GORMAN–Wildfires that swept across thousands of acres in North Texas burned down Kokomo Baptist Church, near Gorman.

While members of the church were preventing wildfires from destroying homes in their community, a fire turned their church into a “pile of rubble” Dec. 31, Deacon Woodrow Browning said.

Church members remained upbeat despite losing their facilities, Browning said. The church has successfully overcome this situation before. The most recent fire happened 37 years ago after an apparent electrical fire burned down the church.

The facilities were rebuilt then and can be rebuilt again, he noted.

“God is already working in it,” Browning said. “We've got to stick together. We're a close-knit group.”

First Baptist Church in Gorman, First Baptist Church in Cross Plains and Huckabay Baptist Church in Stephenville were among congregations that provided shelter or supplies to families impacted by the wildfires.

At least 50 people received clothes, food or other supplies from First Baptist Church in Gorman, said Interim Pastor Barry Schahn, and the church made a commitment to meet any needs brought to its attention.

If needy families “don't see (what they need), they write it on a piece of paper, and we make some calls and get it,” he said, adding other congregations helped keep supplies stocked at his church.

“We've been trained to give and not expect anything back. We're God's people set at the gate to help those without clothes, without food,” Schahn 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: 1/06/06

Texas Baptist Forum

Frog in the kettle

Your editorial chiding Christians for “angry, militant proclamations of 'Merry Christmas'” (Dec. 19) reminded me of a recent experience I had at lunch with my wife and another couple.

• Jump to online-only letters below

Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.

"Lost: 29 trees. Gained: More light." Calder Baptist Church A sign on the Beaumont church's property during cleanup from Hurricane Rita. Jim Fuller is the pastor. "Anti-Christian persecution and discrimination around the world … is ugly, it's growing, and … the mass media seem to generally ignore or downplay its gravity." Charles Chaput Catholic archbishop of Denver, speaking at a panel discussion on religious freedom on Capitol Hill. (The Washington Times/RNS) "I want to give all of my body to my husband." Katie McMunn A 17-year old who promised abstinence until marriage when she slipped on a "chastity ring" at a pro-abstinence event in Pittsburgh. (The New York Times/RNS) "Hip-hop has what all corporate America wants–18-35-year-old employed adults with growing families. That's why you see Russell Simmons producing clothes, Snoop Dogg hawking Chrysler. Everyone wants us. Why not the church?" Tommy Kyllonen Senior pastor of hip-hip Crossover Community Church in Tampa, Fla. (USA Today/RNS)

As we prepared to partake, we held hands and said a blessing. A nearby diner rose and complained to the manager that our public display had offended him and his companion, who were atheists. The manager told him he would in the future seat the man in a prayer-free section.

Witnessing, I had always thought, was an essential part of Christian living. If we surrender to atheists on issues such as “Merry Christmas” or public creches or elimination of any mention of Christ in public school, will we be like that frog that starts out in the pan of tepid water and, as the heat is gradually raised, accommodates himself to the condition until he finally is boiled and dies?

In your last paragraph, you quote John 3:16, and you italicize “whosoever.” Perhaps you should have italicized the next and clarifying phrase, which is: “believes in him.”

Bill Bruce

Houston

Support for missionaries

I am concerned for the financial support of Southern Baptist missionaries around the world. As far as I know, international missions are primarily supported by the Southern Baptist Convention through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Offering.

However, Baptist churches are leaving the ultra-conservative SBC and joining one of the moderate state or national conventions/fellowships. How does the money get collected and distributed to the international missionaries?

Van Penrod

Houston

Editor's note: The Baptist General Convention of Texas collects and distributes special offerings according to the churches' wishes. Those include the Lottie Moon Offering for the SBC International Mission Board and the Global Missions Offering for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, as well as the BGCT's own Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions and its World Hunger Offering, plus the Annie Armstrong Offering for the SBC North American Mission Board.

Appeal for reconsideration

I was grieved to learn of the recent decision by our International Mission Board trustees to exclude those who speak in tongues from missionary service.

Rather than allow the spectrum of Southern Baptist life to be represented by our missionary personnel, recent decisions have excluded a significant number of faithful Baptists. There is a silent but important minority of Baptists who use the gift of tongues in doctrinally sound and nondivisive ways.

These faithful Christians should not be disqualified over a gift of the Spirit that Scripture clearly teaches should not be forbidden (1 Corinthians 14:39). Even the Apostle Paul would be disqualified for missionary service through the IMB under this new policy (1 Corinthians 14:18).

I appeal to IMB trustees to reconsider. One can understand when missionary personnel are disqualified for immorality or immaturity, but how can we justify disqualifying missionary candidates over a gift from God?

Heath Powers

Runge

Time to reach

As the former gang member Stanley “Tookie” Williams was executed in California and the talk shows were filled with discussions about it, I heard one comment that Scripture upholds capital punishment. I agree that it does, but we must also consider that although it upholds capital punishment when necessary, it does not teach that it is in God's will for us to rejoice over taking a man's life.

Instead, we (as Christians) should feel sorrow over Williams taking innocent lives and his apparent lack of repentance and making his peace with God before having to face judgment of where he will spend eternity. Every soul is precious!

Scripture teaches us there is time for us to obey, but also there comes a time when no one can work. I wonder how many tried to reach him with the gospel while he was alive on this earth? And how many wasted their time complaining about the material side?

Daniel Younger

Itasca

More on Crimm

Unbeknownst to me, some very kind Texan, whose identity I now know, submitted a Texas Tidbit on my behalf concerning my interest in evangelist B.B. Crimm–“Cowboy Crimm” (Dec. 2). As a result, three people have contacted me; and not only have I heard some new tales, but I have made three fine new friends.

If anyone knows Raymond Goforth from Lancaster, I would appreciate hearing from him again. He left a call on my recorder but was cut off before he was able to leave his telephone number. My numbers are (336) 454-0828, home; (336) 686-2043, mobile; and (919) 761-2249, office. My e-mail address is jlutzweiler@sebts.edu.

James Lutzweiler, archivist

Southeastern Seminary

Wake Forest, N.C.

SBC hypocrisy

I am constantly amazed at the blatant hypocrisy of the Southern Baptist Convention. 
First, we are told that we ought to boycott Disney because of “gay days” at their theme parks.  Second, many fundamentalists within the convention warned parents about Harry Potter because of its fascination with witchcraft and wizardry, although, I dare say, most of those criticizing the books have never read them.

 Then, as soon as the SBC’s LifeWay Christian Resources finds an opportunity to use a Disney movie about a lion, a witch and a wardrobe to make a fast buck, they get in bed with Disney, advertising LifeWay stores as “your Narnia headquarters.”  

Go figure.

Mark Johnson

Macon, Ga.

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: 1/06/06

On the Move

Vernon Andrews to Choate Church in Kenedy as pastor.

Jeff Ashley to Tolar Church in Tolar as music minister.

Glynn Beaty has resigned as pastor of Old Time Church in Riesel.

Wayne Blackshear has completed an interim pastorate at Adamsville Church in Lampasas and is available for interims, intentional interims, revivals or supply at (254) 709-5888.

Jim Bradberry to Shady Shores Church in Denton as associate pastor.

Randy Brown to Calvary Church in Lufkin as pastor from Mooringsport Church in Mooringsport, La.

Tim Brown to Countryside Church in Clearwater, Fla., as pastor from First Church in Maud.

Andrew Cantrell to Open Door Church in Queen City as minister of youth.

Johnathan Cantu to Great Oaks Church in Richmond as youth minister.

Charles Collett to First Church in Kopperl as pastor, where he had been interim.

Matt Cook to Second Church in Little Rock, Ark., as pastor from First Church in Rosebud.

Bruce Cox to White Mound Church in Mound and Cowboy Church in Coryell County as pastor. He was interim pastor of White Mound.

Russell David to Calvary Church in Lipan as music minister.

Carey Dyer to Lakeside Church in Granbury as minister of music and worship.

Ed Eaton has resigned as pastor of First Church in Nash.

Bob Elliott has completed an interim pastorate at Calvary Church in Lufkin.

Keith Ferguson has resigned as minister of youth/family at First Church in Ovilla.

Mike Golden to Fairview Church in Granbury as associate pastor.

Douglas Hallam has resigned as minister of worship at First Church in Ovilla.

H.A. Hanks has completed an interim pastorate at South Seminole Church in Seminole.

Mikel Hatfield to First Church in Lewisville as student minister.

James Hoskins has resigned as minister of youth at First Church in Moody.

Drew Howard to First Church in Lipan as interim youth minister.

Aaron Johnson to First Church in Lometa as minister of youth.

Tut Jones to Indian Gap Church in Hamilton as pastor.

Jimmy Law to Mustang Church in Denton as pastor.

Ben Mullen to First Church in Hebron as pastor.

Bryan Price to First Church in Winnsboro as interim pastor.

J.R. Raley has resigned as pastor of Calvary Church in Quinlan.

Kenny Rawls to First Church in Nixon as pastor from Baptist Temple Church in San Benito.

Danny Rogers has resigned as pastor of First Church in Cranfills Gap.

Tom Ruane to Rockett Church in Rockett as interim pastor.

Julio Samayoa to First Church in Amarillo as minister to children.

Chad Shanks to Eastwood Church in Gatesville as youth minister.

James Shugart has resigned as pastor of First Church in Mount Calm to begin a ministry called “Pursuing Your Dreams.” He is available for interims, supply and revivals at (254) 749-2926.

Ryan Smithee to Lakeside Church in Granbury as associate minister to students.

Jackie Stanfield to First Church in Linden as pastor.

Rick Sydnor has resigned as pastor of New Hope Church in Lone Oak.

Isaac Torres to Iglesia El Buen Pastor in Beeville as pastor.

Eric Walsh to South Seminole Church in Seminole as pastor.

Suan Watson has resigned as children's minister at Highland Church in Denton.

Michael Weaver has resigned as pastor of Lakeway Church in The Colony.

Marv Whittenburg to Levita Church in Gatesville as interim pastor.

John Woods to First Church in Hamilton as minister of music.

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: 1/06/06

Samford faculty oppose planned
intelligent design lecture

By Thomas Spencer

Religion News Service

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS)–A planned lecture by a proponent of intelligent design has upset Samford University faculty who don't want the Baptist-affiliated school to be perceived as endorsing alternatives to evolution.

A resolution introduced in the College of Arts and Sciences' faculty senate describes intelligent design as a political movement, not science.

The resolution, by Samford geography professor Max Baber, questions whether Samford should involve itself in a movement that seeks to inject religion into science education in the public schools.

“In accordance with the spirit and letter of Samford's foundation statements, we affirm that church and state should remain separate,” Baber's resolution reads. “We therefore protest the president's decision to involve Samford in a political movement that stands in direct opposition to that principle.”

The senate has formed a committee to examine the issue. The Feb. 23 speaker is John Lennox, a research fellow in mathematics at Oxford University's Green College in England. He is one of a comparatively small band of academics who argue that the complexity of biological life suggests a designer guides the process.

Samford President Tom Corts cooperated with a local Christian ministry group, the Fixed Point Foundation, on plans to bring Lennox to the university.

Corts maintained he doesn't understand the controversy surrounding the visit.

Intelligent design is an issue in the news, and while the school's science department teaches evolution, that doesn't rule out the involvement of an intelligent designer, Corts said.

“This is a university, and you are supposed to talk about ideas,” he said.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.