Posted: 9/15/06

Celeste, 18, turned herself into the courts at age 15 in order to receive an education. Now, she is studying to be a lawyer and lives at the Buckner Transitional Girls' Home in Guatemala City.

Transitional home provides
refuge for teenaged girls

By Jenny Pope

Buckner Baptist Benevolences

It’s a bright, golden-colored refuge that rests among the hectic streets of Guatemala City. A bus stop sits across the way, and hatchback cars and colorful buses whirl by on their way to outlying territories. Outside it’s noisy, dusty and fast-paced.

See Related Articles: • Buckner brings hope to orphans in Guatemala • Transitional home provides refuge for teenaged girls

But inside the home is drastically different. It’s airy, open and calm. A plant-lined atrium greets guests upon entry; bedrooms line the walls with photos, stuffed animals and posters of celebrities; there’s a cozy living room with several couches and a TV; and fresh laundry flaps in the cool air outside an open kitchen.

The home is a refuge for the seven girls inside, not only from the streets of Guatemala, but also from the torment of their pasts.

Gaby, 14, tried to commit suicide at age 6 after losing her mother as an infant. She is one of the seven girls who lives at the Buckner Transitional Girls Home in Guatemala City.

Each girl has different story—abuse, gangs, drugs, abandonment, forced prostitution. But all have the same hope for their future—success. And for the first time in their lives, they finally have a fighting chance.

Buckner Orphan Care International opened the Tran-sitional Girl’s Home in January through a partnership with Guatemalan businesswoman Isabel de Bosch, owner of a popular food chain. The home seeks to provide a place for teenaged girls to prepare for their future after life in an orphanage, and allows each girl to go to private school and receive specialized tutoring.

“This is a home for true orphans, but also for talented, beautiful girls with potential,” said Leslie Chace, Buckner Orphan Care International director of Latin American ministries. “The Lord brought us the resources and by a miracle, the house has been transformed.”

Celeste, 18, is studying to be a lawyer. But when she was 15 years old, she turned herself over to a judge to be admitted to the government orphanages. It was her only hope to receive an education, she said.

“I never went a day without my mom hitting me,” Celeste began, explaining that her mother made her drop out of school in the sixth grade to help support the family. “Even when I didn’t do anything to deserve it, she would hit me with machetes, milk crates, and even bit me sometimes. She said if I told anyone about the abuse, she would send me to a juvenile detention center. And I was always too afraid that she would hit me more.”

Buckner’s Transitional Girls’ Home in Guatemala City offers safe haven for teenage girls escaping life on the streets and the torments of their past.

So Celeste remained silent until the fateful day, Oct. 4, 2003—her brother’s birthday—when she fled her home after yet another unexplained episode of abuse.

“I didn’t even have shoes on when I ran out of the house,” Celeste said, with teary eyes. “I was bruised all over, wearing a long skirt and a long-sleeved shirt to cover the bruises. I was just so anxious to get out of there, so I ran away.”

Celeste went to court five times, she said, but “nobody in my family wanted to take me in because my mom told them I was bad, a rebel. I knew I couldn’t go back home because my mom wouldn’t let me study. So I told the judge I would rather go to an orphanage.”

Celeste spent nearly three years at Manchen Girl’s Home in Antigua, where caregivers and Buckner staff say she was always “a good girl.”

“I learned really fast that the best thing to do was to be obedient,” she said. “I would help the staff by talking to the other girls and try to keep them from running away. Then, because I was doing well in school, I was eventually able to come here” to the transitional home.

Gaby, 14, loves to play soccer and draw. She hopes to teach or design cars one day. But when Gaby was only 6 years old, she contemplated suicide.

“My mom died when I was a year old,” she begins, explaining that since her father was placed in prison for her mother’s death, she and her siblings were shuffled from aunt to aunt most of her childhood.

“I remember one day when they took me to a community grave where my mother was buried,” she said.

“Her grave was all the way up at the top, so a man helped me climb up there to see her. Once I got to the top, all I could think was ‘I’m going to jump so I can be with my mother in heaven.’”

When Gaby was 12 years old, she began drinking and dating a gang member. Then she ran away from home. When she returned four days later, her aunt decided to place her at Manchen.

“I had a hard time” at Manchen, she said. “A lot of the girls wanted to beat me up. But one day I met an American mission team and they told me about God. They said that I was pretty because God made me that way. That was when I found God.”

Gaby started to perform better in school. She passed the fifth and sixth grade and anxiously waited to complete the seventh grade because her aunt promised that was when she would return for her.

“I kept waiting, but she never came,” Gaby said.

“So I ran away to Guatemala City and wandered the streets. I met a group of girls who would steal things and live on the streets, but I didn’t want to become like them. So I called Buckner.”

From there, Buckner worked to place Gaby into the transitional home where she has “changed a lot,” said Ada Ramirez, Buckner follow-up staff member in Guatemala.

“Gaby has a very strong character, and in the beginning she was very aggressive with me. But she has calmed down. I guess she really just needed some attention,” she said.

Though both Celeste and Gaby share turbulent pasts and deep scars, they have remained unhardened.

“Since I came to know God, I have felt more peaceful because I know that God loves me and is watching out for me,” Gaby said.

“I can finally trust God,” Celeste said. “I believe in him. I know that because I have gone through so much, God will bless me with many things. And he has. I have a house, food, friends, education—I don’t lack anything. If all goes well, I will go to college and have a career because people were here to help me.”

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

Posted: 9/15/06

Called board meeting focuses on Valley

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board officers expect to call a special board meeting by the end of October to consider the results of an investigation into the use of church-starting money in the Rio Grande Valley.

Jim Nelson of Austin, vice chairman of the board, said the complexity of the investigation made it impossible for investigators to finish the task by the regular Sept. 25-26 board meeting.

“We had hoped to have the report ready for the regular Executive Board meeting, but the volume of material to be studied and the large number of personal interviews to be conducted has pushed back the completion date,” Nelson said.

Board Chairman Bob Fowler of Houston and Nelson have monitored the work of the investigators, led by Diane Dillard of Brownsville, since they began June 1. Fowler was out of the country and unavailable for comment.

Given the expected size of the final report, an executive summary will be sent to all board members as soon as it is completed, Nelson said. The full report will be available to any member of the Executive Board who requests it.

The investigation began after allegations surfaced regarding possible mishandling of BGCT church-starting funds. Suspicions surrounded the large number of church-starts in the lower Rio Grande Valley from 1999 to 2005 and how BGCT funds were used in the effort.

Investigators are interviewing people and studying documents requested from the BGCT and from Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association, Nelson said. Interviews are being conducted in both English and Spanish, as needed. A fraud-certified forensic accountant also has been hired to assist in the investigation.

“This has been a very time-consuming process,” Nelson said. “Our investigators have worked extremely hard to gather and evaluate a large volume of data in a short amount of time.”

At the Executive Board’s regular Sept. 25-26 meeting, directors will be asked to authorize additional funding to complete the investigation. At this time, Nelson said he does not know the specific amount needed, but a figure will be determined before the meeting.

“In order to do this right and to ensure we will have a trustworthy conclusion to this investigation, we felt it important that we pursue every reasonable opportunity to gather information,” Nelson said. “The cost has been high, but it is critically important that we understand what actually happened, as best we can determine.

“Even though we don’t have the power to compel people to answer questions, we have been grateful and pleased that so many folks have been willing to help us in the process.”

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: 9/15/06

Cyberbullies harass, humiliate peers

By David Briggs

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Beware the wrath of a dumped boyfriend or girlfriend spreading rumors about a former partner on MySpace. Pity the middle-school student whose clothes, popularity or appearance becomes the object of derision in public chat rooms frequented by classmates.

These days, teenagers and their parents don’t have to look out just for sexual predators online. Some of their peers are turning into cyberbullies, using sites such as MySpace and Facebook to harass and humiliate classmates.

Religious groups and schools are responding to the explosive popularity of blogs by prohibiting access to MySpace, Xanga, Facebook and other social networking sites, and asking young people to let their faith guide them in cyberspace as they would on the playground or in the classroom.

Three years ago, there was no MySpace. Now the site and others like it have become part of kids’ lives. Young people use the social networking sites to talk, share photos and post personal journal entries on their pages or in chat rooms that can be specific to their schools.

At their best, blogs can help young people develop their voices as writers, enabling them to share their feelings and the challenges they face, say teenagers and adults who monitor these sites. The conversations and experiences also can help others through an often-tumultuous stage in life.

But these sites can cause real problems. In addition to sexual predators searching out potential victims, cyberbullying has become a growing concern.

That’s where Grace comes in—Grace Doe of Grace Notes, the teenage protagonist of the first book in author Dandi Daley Mackall’s new four-part fiction series, Blog On. Mackall, from West Salem, Ohio, developed the series with Zondervan, a Christian publisher, as a fun way to encourage young girls to use the Internet in positive ways.

Mackall, who often visits schools to find out what youth are talking about, said one young girl received 350 hate e-mails because of false information posted about her online.

Young people deal with cyberbullying in different ways. Some try to ignore the insults and bar people who post offensive remarks from their sites. By staying cloaked in anonymity, online combatants are less likely to learn how to forgive after a fight, Mackall said.

Fortunately, there is a flip side to cyberbullying, Mackall said.

“It’s easier to stand up for yourself or your friends in cyberspace,” she said.

In Grace Notes, Mackall’s main character is a shy person who considers herself invisible in school. But she finds it rewarding to share her experiences online. As the book goes on, Grace finds herself constantly having to revise the stereotypes of classmates she refers to in her blog as “Bouncy, Perky Girl” and “New Girl.”

Once Grace begins to know these people, and the anger they feel at her judgments from afar, she realizes both that her blogging can hurt others and that people are more complex than the boxes adolescents can use to classify one another.

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: 9/15/06

Predators make Web risky for teens

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DALLAS—Most teenagers don’t need a warning about the predators waiting on the Internet. That thrill is what drives some riskier behaviors, a Dallas assistant district attorney said. And that makes parents’ role in keeping children safe even more important.

Some teens may think flirting and sexual innuendo on the Internet is a safe risk, like riding a thrill ride at an amusement park, but that is a false assumption, said Brooke Robb, an assistant district attorney who specializes in prosecuting Internet crimes against children. She spoke to a group of youth ministers from Dallas Baptist Association churches.

“If they are at home, they feel safe,” Robb said. “But we have to educate our kids to know that if you are online, you might as well open your door and shout it to the world.”

About 30 million children use the Internet. Of those, one in four children has had unwanted exposure to sexual pictures on the Internet. One in five has experienced sexual solicitation. One in 17 has been threatened or harassed, and one in 33 has been the subject of aggressive sexual solicitation, Robb reported.

Of children who receive an invitation to engage in sexual activity, 70 percent are at home, and 22 percent are at someone else’s home. Sixty-five percent of those sexual solicitations come while in Internet chat rooms and 24 percent through instant messaging.

Social networking websites like MySpace are too new a phenomenon to have been factored into the research and are new areas for concern, she added.

While the easy solution seems to be to keep children totally off the Internet, school assignments and peer pressure make that increasingly difficult.

Parents need to be aware, however, that it is hard to be on the Internet and not be open to some level of risk, she said. Robb, using a scenario available for viewing at www.netsmartz.org, demonstrated how easy it is to gather information on children and teens—even those who try to remain anonymous.

The girl in the online demonstration does not include her real name, location or gender. But in a matter of minutes, an Internet savvy individual still could find a lot of information about her including the names of parents and sibling, where she went to school, telephone number and address.

“For even a kid who is relatively careful, the Internet can be a dangerous place,” Robb said. “Kids who are going to be on the Internet are going to be at risk, because they will be giving some personal information.”

In general, online victims share a set of common characteristics—low self-esteem, lack of parental oversight and isolation from a peer group, she said.

Children and youth are the “ideal victims” for predators, Robb said, because they are naturally curious, are led easily by adults, have a need for attention and affection, feel a need to defy parents, have low self-esteem and are not likely to report to parents or law enforcement. “If they say, ‘Someone sexually solicited me on the Internet,’ what is the reaction of most parents? No more Internet. So, they don’t tell,” she said.

Statistics show that only 25 percent of children and teens who are sexually solicited tell a parent and only 10 percent of cases are reported to law enforcement, she noted.

“And not reporting puts them in an even more vulnerable position emotionally,” she said.

About 99 percent of Internet predators are male, 97 percent act alone and 86 percent are 25 years old or older, Robb reported. And only 10 percent have a prior arrest for a sexual offense against minors.

“If law enforcement does not know they are predators, how can we expect our kids to?” she asked.

The most important thing for parents to do is establish ground rules for Internet use, she said. Sit down with your child and establish what sites can be visited, what online activities are allowed, who they can talk to, how long they will be online and where they can use the computer, she suggested.

Most youth who become victims spend hours online each day with little or no supervision. For that reason, she recommends the computer only be used in a common room where the child knows someone probably will pass by.

Also, parents should let their child know they want to discuss anything that happens that makes them feel scared or uncomfortable.

For some parents, they may want to prepare themselves beforehand for that type of conversation. Stay calm, and encourage them to confide in you, Robb suggested.

One of the key things a parent can do is to stay informed about the Internet. Know about filters, blockers and rating applications, and monitoring software. Go into a chat room and learn the terminology used. Ask your children to show you where they go on the Internet.

Also, be aware children are quick to find ways around filtering and monitoring software, and there is no substitute for a physical presence, Robb stressed.

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: 9/15/06

CYBER COLUMN:
Thinking of Carolina

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, thinking of the mountains of North Carolina. My family roots are there from way back, and I just went to visit two aunts in their eighties. I love the mountains and North Carolina, and on some days I may suddenly break out in song, James Taylor’s Carolina in My Mind.

Today I have Carolina in my mind. My grandfather served as a foreman in the mining industry. I imagine the business is much today like it was, with dump trucks and tractors with huge front end loaders and conveyor belts and blasting techniques, with dynamite and guys wearing hard hats and taking lunches to work in steel pales, and dust, grit and grime. My grandfather, best I can tell, was a man of the earth. He also lived as a man of heaven: Sunday school superintendent at Pine Branch Baptist Church in Spruce Pine, N.C.

John Duncan

My grandmother, Ruth, passed away on July 7, 1997. Her middle name was Easter, and if your middle name is Easter, because she was born on Easter in 1904, then you can pretty well decide that she was a spiritual person. She drank of Christ’s living water and began drinking it, like most of us do, early on. Legend has it that her mother, Ibbie Wilson, prayed every night in a house with the window open while the curtains blew in the cool mountain breeze. I never met her, but my great-grandmother prayed the devil out of things. From all I can tell, she took the Apostle Paul’s admonition to pray without ceasing seriously.

Alfred Lord Tennyson once wrote about prayer: “I will not cease to grasp the hope I hold of saintdom, and to clamor, mourn and sob, battering the gates of heaven with the storms of prayer, have mercy, Lord and take away my sin.” They say Ibbie Wilson prayed by the window, and you could hear her praying in the meadow below. She battered heaven with storms of prayer. I pray you have some dear soul in your life who prays and one dear soul who prays for you.

On my recent trip to North Carolina, I visited Pine Branch Baptist Church and its adjoining graveyard, a place where the relatives of yesterday have been given a place of rest.

I love the church, not just Pine Branch, but any church where the cross is lifted up and Jesus is glorified. Eugene Peterson once commented that what he liked about church was “the mess,” a conglomeration of people serving Christ that only Christ could make clean. Barbara Brown Taylor says the church, people, “need each other, to save us from self-righteousness,” and “we also need each other to keep us in shape for God.” We cannot go at it alone! We need God and each other. Frederick Buechner says the “visible church is all the people who get together from time to time in God’s name.” I think church is the body of Christ, alive, vibrant, human, divine, messy and clean all at the same time. Christ and his name form the common bond. Christ is the super glue.

I picture that mountain church like the church used to be, the center of God’s work, the center of the action, the focus of the gathering of people, the ones who smoked on the steps before church and the little babies who cried when the preacher screamed and the teenagers passing notes and shooting spit wads on the back row and the saints praying and amening and shouting and singing Amazing Grace and Give Me that Old Time Religion and Kum Ba Yah. I know church used to be where the community gathered and prayed and laughed over fried chicken and homemade biscuits and mashed potatoes and corn and green beans out of the garden on the annual church homecoming picnic while the children played. Problem is, that’s all changed, the Internet and all and Palm pilots and day planners and busy schedules and restaurants open on Sunday and cable TV and people working on Sundays to make a living and people finding rest in the graveyard near the front door of the church and mobility, and things aren’t the way they used to be anyway. Life changes, and I am not saying it is bad thing because, I must admit, I do like my iPod and I like to eat out on Sunday after church, but it’s just the way things go sometimes.

Oh, as I was saying, there was a time when the church used to be the center of community and God, for that matter, but now it’s the workplace and money at the center of most communities.

With Carolina in my mind, that red-brick mountain church and manicured graveyard brought back memories—of Preacher Joe Pitmann, who foamed at the mouth when he spoke, took long gasping breaths, and yelled when he preached the word of God because it’s the only way he knew to preach and yet people still talk about him like he’s a saint because he loved his flock like kids love candy; of Adam Duncan, who led the music one arm at a time and checked on our relatives and took them popcorn some nights and opened the church and closed it for years, so much so that when he died of cancer it left a big hole in the church; of other relatives and folks, too, people you called aunt and uncle even if you never knew how you were related to them. Then there was “Uncle” Faye.

I should tell you Faye was not really my uncle. Nor was Faye my aunt. She was a relative, for sure, and a woman who always came to visit when we arrived in the mountains. She had a dog, liked to sit on her porch and watch the TV with the volume on “loud” and talked of prayer and had this unique ability to blow on the wounds of life. Once I skinned my knee playing baseball or jumping over the boxwood bushes in the front yard of the house my grandfather built in the ’30s, I am not really sure. I cried. I moaned. I held my knee. I sat on the porch, and Faye calmed me and blew on the wound. If I were preaching, it makes for a great illustration, you know, something like “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” from Isaiah 40:1 or Hebrews 4:12, where it says that Jesus is our high priest whom we can trust and call on to find grace and mercy just in the nick of time. If I were preaching, I would tell that story of my Uncle Faye, who was not really my uncle and say that Jesus is like that; he blows on the wound and soothes our broken hearts. He heals. But since I am not preaching, I must tell you that my Uncle Faye could blow on a wound and heal like no nobody’s business. You are fortunate if you have a healer who blows on the wounds of your life. And you are blessed beyond measure if you let Jesus blow on the wounds of your life, too.

So here I am under the old oak tree. The space shuttle has launched. Scientists talk about an explosion of light. The Friday night lights, Texas football on Friday nights, has started up again, the parents cheering, the teenagers hanging out, and stars being born on fields of green. Church is in full swing. Fall is in the air. And Carolina is in my mind. And Jesus, well, he has you on his mind.

John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines. You can respond to his column by e-mailing him at jduncan@lakesidebc.org.

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

Storylist for week of 9/18/06

TAKE ME TO: Top Story |  Texas |  Opinion |  Baptists |  Faith in Action |  Faith & Culture |  Book Reviews |  Classifieds  |  Departments  |  Bible Study



Expanded Coverage: 9/11 Five Years Later
• Children of Abraham: Muslims view God, church & state through different lenses


• BGCT budget proposal reflects reorganization, other changes

• Called board meeting focuses on Valley

• Buckner brings hope to orphans in Guatemala

• Transitional home provides refuge for teenaged girls

• BUA breaks ground for major expansion

• Program offers training for Rio Grande Valley families

• ‘Jesus and Me' camp benefits Brenham's children

• Scrapbooking enables women to pass along their values

• On the Move

• Around the State

• Texas Tidbits


• Group critiques prosperity gospel

• National Baptist leader asserts nation, church abandoning ideals

• Baptist Briefs


• Volunteers share gospel with children in Dominican Republic


• Cyberbullies harass, humiliate peers

• Predators make Web risky for teens

• Georgia minister produces movie as tool for ministry


• Book Reviews


• Cartoon

• Classified Ads

• Texas Baptist Forum

• On the Move

• Around the State


• EDITORIAL: Eternal lament: Why did God do this?

• DOWN HOME: Not just a house, this was a home

• TOGETHER: Problems can lead to divine opportunities

• RIGHT or WRONG? Three parts of a larger whole?

• 2nd Opinion: A ‘giant' who cared for all children

• Texas Baptist Forum

• Cybercolumn By John Duncan: Thinking of Carolina


• BaptistWay Bible Series for September 17: Trust in a God who cares for you deeply

• Bible Studies for Life Series for September 17: Responding to the agony of defeat

• Explore the Bible Series for September 17: Listen to God's word and remain true

• BaptistWay Bible Series for September 24: Longing to be in the presence of God

• Bible Studies for Life Series for September 24: Passing on the baton of leadership

• Explore the Bible Series for September 24: Heed God's word through obedience


Expanded Coverage: 9/11 Five Years Later
• Who's Who in Islam: major groups

• Christian presence in Holy Land small and getting smaller

• Islam built on five pillars of worship & five pillars of faith

• Poll shows some prejudice against Muslims

• Children of Abraham: Muslims view God, church & state through different lenses


Previously Posted
• Higgs will lead BGCT western-heritage ministries

• For American Muslims, everything changed on 9/11

• Differentiate 'Muslim' from 'terrorist' scholars say

• No sweeping revival, but impact of 9/11 still felt in churches

• Negative perceptions of Muslims persist, panel says

• Volunteers at HPU Impact Weekend help rebuild fire-damaged homes

• FDA approval of new contraceptive stirs reaction

• Stem-cell advance raises hope, ethical questions


Wayland Student Summer Missions Report
• Skiles confronted world needs on NYC internship

• 'Auntie Joy' humbled by summer in Malawi

• Jalissa King traded basketball for shopping on Asia missions tour

• Student found niche helping renovate Philippine Baptist camp

• Student's technology skills helped support missions, humanitarian groups



See complete list of articles from our previous 9/04/06 issue

Updated: 9/14/06

BGCT says controls in place
to guard mission offering fund use

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—Contrary to allegations, there is no indication any Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions funds have been mismanaged, Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade said.

Financial controls are in place to ensure the Baptist Building staff administers funds from the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions according to plans approved by the Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas Executive Board, Chief Financial Officer David Nabors added.

One charge, leveled against the BGCT Executive Board staff by a source who asked not to be named, concerned Mary Hill Davis Offering funds being used to pay an employee’s salary without the knowledge or approval of the WMU and its board.

“It’s important to note that neither policy nor philosophy excludes salaries from being funded through the offering.” –Executive Director Charles Wade

“It’s important to note that neither policy nor philosophy excludes salaries from being funded through the offering,” Wade said.

He pointed to River Ministry, Texas Partnerships and LifeCall as programs where catalytic funds from the missions offering were used initially to pay salaries and benefits to help launch the ministries, with WMU’s approval. But using missions offering funds for BGCT Executive Board staff salaries is the exception, not the rule.

“In general, salaries and benefits are among the first items picked up by the Cooperative Program budget, as soon as possible,” Wade said.

A source also alleged funds from the missions offering were used in the past to cover administrative overruns in the church missions and evangelism area.

“Controls are in place to prevent that from happening,” Nabors said.

Specific accounts are established for Mary Hill Davis Offering receipts collected and disbursed by the treasurer’s office, he explained. The mission offering funds are not mingled with the general fund, and the annual financial audit regularly tests receipts to ensure they are used according to the donors’ desired purposes, he stressed.

Texas WMU Executive Director Carolyn Porterfield and Texas WMU officers met recently with Wade, Nabors and Chief Operating Officer Ron Gunter to discuss the Mary Hill Davis Offering.

At the time, Porterfield said, she was unaware of any allegations circulating about mismanagement of funds, but as a matter of course, she and the officers made their expectations clear.

“We said we expect Mary Hill Davis funds to be used according to the allocations approved by our board, and we were assured by leadership that is the case,” Porterfield said.

The Texas WMU Executive Board approves allocations for each year’s Mary Hill Davis Offering, but BGCT personnel whose program responsibilities include areas designated in the allocations administer the funds, she explained.

“I have always trusted our leaders and felt they acted with integrity,” Porterfield said.

“We must have the highest standards of accountability. If our board ever felt that was not the case, we would take action.”

Wade also emphasized if any specific concerns are brought to the Baptist Building staff’s attention, they will immediately investigate them.

“If there’s a problem, we can fix that. We can correct it,” he said.

BGCT program areas such as Texas Partnerships, River Ministry, collegiate ministries and church starting—as well as various BGCT-affiliated institutions—benefit from the Mary Hill Davis Offering, but Texas WMU holds the trademark on the offering.

“It’s not a BGCT offering. It’s a WMU of Texas offering. Our reputation is on the line. More than that, God’s reputation is on the line,” Porterfield said.

Texas WMU—which receives no Cooperative Program funds and is dependent almost entirely upon the Mary Hill Davis Offering for its budget needs—recently approved its own financial audit, separate from the BGCT’s audit.

The move had nothing to do with recent questions raised about the management of Mary Hill Davis Offering funds and was initiated last spring, she explained.

“We needed to establish a clear financial identity as a 501(c)(3) (not-for-profit organization). It’s simply a matter of following best practices in our business operations,” Porterfield 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: 9/13/06

BaptistWay Bible Series for September 24

Longing to be in the presence of God

• Psalms 42-43

By David Wilkinson

Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth

A few weeks ago, my wife and I drove 2,000 miles to leave our second child, our “baby girl,” for her first year at college—nearly four years to the day that we dropped off her older brother for his freshman year.

Dad did fine until the moment came to say good-bye on the sidewalk outside her dorm. The tears came as I wrapped my arms around Meredith and told her how proud I was of her and how very much I was going to miss her. And then I cried a few more tears as Melanie held her close and through her own tears whispered to Meredith the blessing from Numbers that she had so often shared with her at bedtime: “The Lord bless you and keep you … .”

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But the real ache came a few minutes later on our way to a nearby restaurant for our first dinner as official “empty nesters.” As I drove, I literally could feel the dull ache in my chest, the kind of pain that comes from a hole in your heart created by the absence of someone you love more than life itself.

When I read the opening verse of Psalm 42 in preparation for this lesson, I had a new appreciation for the psalmist’s ache for God: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God” (v. 1).

This time, however, my tears were ones of regret, for I had to confess to the God I love that I have all too rarely experienced the depth of a “heartache” for God as intimate and real as the pain I felt that night outside Boston.

Longing for God

In his Confessions, Augustine famously wrote, “God has made us for himself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in him.” Augustine described his search for genuine love that ultimately led him to God, concluding that “my real need was for you, my God, who are the food of the soul. I was not aware of this hunger.”

The writer of Psalms 42-43, which likely were composed as a single poem, used similar language, but with one important distinction. The psalmist is not a seeker, searching for meaning and purpose in life, who finds God.

The writer is a believer, a person who has experienced a life-giving relationship with God: “By day, the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me” (v. 8), and “I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy” (43:4). He is a worship leader who has experienced the joy of leading others in the worship of God (“I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,” 42:4).

Because of these experiences, the poet-singer longs for God’s presence with a yearning as deep as the deer that searches for life-giving water (v. 1).

We can only guess at the circumstances that may have led to the psalmist’s plight. Some have surmised he is suffering from a debilitating illness from which he has received no relief despite his appeals to God. Regardless, as our own experience affirms, physical pain and spiritual pain often are intermingled, with one impacting the other.

Remembering God’s presence

While Augustine has been credited as perhaps the first truly “self-aware” person in all of literature, he certainly had some earlier soul mates in the psalmists of Hebrew Scripture. This psalmist is experiencing profound spiritual anguish borne in the pain of God’s apparent absence. Indeed, as some of the great Christian mystics have reminded us through the centuries, the pain of God’s seeming abandonment is in a profound sense intensified by the contrast of knowing the loving intimacy of God’s presence (see comments on the lament of Psalm 22 in lesson 2).

As with some of the other laments in the Psalter, the writer’s agony is magnified by the presence of his adversaries who deride his faith with taunts of “Where is your God?” (42:3 and repeated in 42:10). For this reason, the poet longs not only for God’s renewed presence, but also for vindication and deliverance from his enemies (43:1). For him, God’s deliverance is not only a matter of faith but of justice.

Amid the roller coaster ride of trust and despair—the affirmation of “hope in God” versus the lament of “Why have you forgotten me?”—the psalmist finds secure footing in the reassuring and healing power of God’s gift of memory. He recalls the joy of worship (42:4) and the experiences of God’s “steadfast love” (v. 8) and guiding light (v. 3) that have led and sustained him.

When tragedy or pain or sorrow cause our knees to buckle and our stomachs to jump into our throats, we turn to memories of those times when God has proven faithful, both in our personal experience and in the lives of those who have gone before us. With the psalmist, we sing, “These things I remember!” (v. 4) and affirm the three-fold refrain: “Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my help and my God” (vv. 5, 11; and 43:5).

Finally, in those times when we, like the psalmist, feel God’s absence even as we long for God’s presence, perhaps we would do well to remember another line from Augustine that also seems to express the sentiment of the psalmist: “God is more truly imagined than expressed, and he exists more truly than he is imagined.”

Discussion questions

• What actions or spiritual practices would help cultivate the kind of intimate relationship with God and longing for God’s presence described by the psalmist?

• In what ways can you identify with the psalmist’s “roller coaster ride of trust and despair”?

• Can you recall difficult times when the memory of God’s faithfulness and steadfast love gave you comfort and hope?

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: 9/13/06

Bible Studies for Life Series for September 24

Passing on the baton of leadership

• Joshua 24:14-28,31

By Kenneth Lyle

Logsdon School of Theology, Abilene

This week’s lesson concludes the series dealing with Joshua and leadership. The lesson draws together and revisits several themes introduced in previous lessons and emphasizes the importance of helping others to lead.

The leadership theme in essence comes full circle as now the question “Who Me? A Leader?” transfers to the lips and minds of the next generation of God’s people. The remembering of victories and defeats leads to the challenge to serve God.

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Joshua 24 focuses on the covenant renewal gathering at Shechem. The events relate closely to Joshua’s farewell in chapter 23. There, Joshua “…summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them, ‘I am old and well advanced in years’” (v. 2).

Joshua proceeds to recount the immediate past history of the conquest and distribution of the land. Joshua emphasizes God’s primary role in all that took place: “You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you” (v. 3).

Joshua recalls the essential words of encouragement Moses and God gave to him at the outset of his leadership journey: “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or the left” (v. 6, compare Deuteronomy 31:6-13; Joshua 1:6-9).

Chapter 23 concludes with a reminder of the recent victories wrought by God on behalf of God’s people: “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God” (vv. 9-10). Joshua amplifies this call to love God with sobering reminders about the perils of violating God’s covenant (23:12-16).

The subtle transition to chapter 24 suggests a separate gathering; however, the flow and focus of the chapter closely parallel the presentation in chapter 23. Joshua summons together all the tribes of Israel (v. 1); he recounts the extended history of Israel (vv. 2-13); he places before all the people a challenge to serve God alone (vv. 14-27).

At least two important differences distinguish the farewell scene of chapter 23 from the covenant renewal gathering in chapter 24. First, Joshua’s farewell in chapter 23 comes in the form of a “testament,” a final word from Joshua to the people and their leaders. In chapter 24, the final words from Joshua come in the form of a dialogue between Joshua and the people—the difference between a final statement and a final conversation. The dialogical encounter increases the drama and suspense of the scene: Will the people respond positively to Joshua’s challenge? What choice will the people make?

The scene calls to mind Moses’ call to “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). The people there at Shechem enter into this conversation with Joshua fully aware of consequences of poor choices.

Second, the history recounted in the opening of chapter 24 extends to the earliest memories of the people. Joshua recalls the call of Abraham, the miracle of Isaac, the struggle between Jacob and Esau, and the transfer from Egypt (vv. 2-4). Joshua succinctly brings to mind the role of Moses and Aaron in the exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the flight from Egypt (vv. 5-6).

Joshua alludes powerfully to failure along the way with the terse turn of phrase, “Then you lived in the desert for a long time” (v. 6). Only then does Joshua turn to the more recent history of the conquest and occupation of the land (vv. 7-13).

While Joshua’s testament, or final words of chapter 23 bring to a close the narrative begun in Joshua 1, the historical review and dialogue of chapter 24 bring to conclusion the longer history and struggle of God’s people from the time of their beginning.

The focus on the conversation between Joshua and the people pushes the challenge to serve God beyond the boundaries of the historical event. Subsequent generations of God’s people can and must respond to Joshua’s challenge: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (v. 15).

The people’s response to Joshua’s challenge is instructive. Joshua dismisses their rather flippant initial agreement to serve God and suggests they will fail. The people protest, “…No! We will serve the Lord” (v. 21). Joshua capitulates, but reminds them, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord” (v. 22).

The encounter betrays the persistent human tendency to underestimate the cost of following and serving God. It calls to mind the encounters between Jesus and his disciples when he presents to them the true cost of discipleship. Peter, who has a brief moment insight into the identity of Jesus, “You are the Christ,” balks at the realization that he must serve a crucified messiah (Mark 8:27-33). All the disciples, who argue about who is the greatest without understanding, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). James and John, who want to be elevated to positions of honor and prestige, to positions of leadership, without understanding the true cost of “taking the cup” and “experiencing baptism” (Mark 10:35-40). Like the people before Joshua, they agree to something that they may not fully comprehend.

God’s gracious challenge still comes to those who enter the waters of baptism without counting the cost, who take the cup and the bread without considering the sacrifice, or who seek positions of leadership without understanding the nature of service. “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”

Discussion questions

• What has following God cost you? Would the cost be greater or less if you followed him more closely?

• What things in your life prevent you from taking more of a leadership role in the body of Christ?

• How are you going about molding others to grow in their leadership capabilities?

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: 9/13/06

Explore the Bible Series for September 24

Heed God’s word through obedience

• Hebrews 3:16-4:7, 9-13

By Howard Anderson

Diversified Spiritual Associates, San Antonio

God offers to humankind the blessings of a life far beyond what we can live without him. We must be willing to stake our lives on his promises.

In any realm of life, success depends on obedience to the word of the expert. God is the expert in life, and real happiness depends on obedience to him. While there is yet time, while we still can speak of today, give God the obedience he must have.

Example of disobedience (Hebrews 3:16-19)

What was it that caused the Israelites to disobey? Observe the three-fold movement of this calamity. First, there was the evil—unbelieving heart, faithlessness, and forgetting or ignoring the mighty power of God.

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Second, there was fear, brought on by that lack of faith. Rather than obey God’s command, they asked to choose a captain who would lead them back to Egypt. They whined and murmured against Moses for bringing them out into the wilderness. They were willing to go back into slavery in order to have the luscious foods they could grow in the delta of the Nile. Their minds were on their comfort, and they feared the rigors of desert life that would toughen them and make them ready for conquest.

Third, the result is a hardened heart—a will no longer stimulated by the desires of God. A hard-hearted person will stand before the people of God and declare, “I do not care what the Bible says because I am going to do it my way.” Let God or the pastor approach the hardened heart with a challenge, and that one will revolt in ridicule.

At this point, God comes down with the anger of his judgment and says, “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who did not believe” (Hebrews 3:18). Paul wrote: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23). The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

It is shocking how many churches are missing ministry opportunities because of hardened hearts. No one who disobeys God ever can enter his rest.

Concern for obedience (Hebrews 4:1-7)

The term “rest of God” appears multifaceted. It is the place of God’s design. God took the initiative and promised the people a good land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8). It is a spiritual principle that we always are to be in a responding mode to God’s initiative. His design is not a delightful take-it-or-leave-it option, but rather a mandate for acquisition. God’s design is the fulfillment of our highest identity and development. It is not negotiable. To respond in faith and obedience is to step into or enter that design and know all the sufficiency and peace implied in the term of “milk and honey.”

God matched the design for his family with his gracious design of rest. God is designer and builder of the house and the one who places a family in the house by the grace of Jesus Christ. So, rest is the abiding in an ultimate design for each of us—an abiding gained by a faith-response to the will of God. In the condition of rest, the faithful Christian experiences the exhilaration of creativity and productivity; stress and anxiety are minimized; joy lifts the spirit above the waves of normal frustration, and a holy purpose stimulates a vitality not overwhelmed by difficulties. Serenity and laughter are the marks of being in the place of rest. The rest of God is not cessation from activity—but a peace within the toil.

The opportunity to enter God’s rest remains open (“a promise” in v. 1). It is not too late. God offered rest to his people in Moses’ time and continued to offer it in David’s time. He still is patiently inviting his people to enter his rest (Romans 10:21).

Obedience is better than sacrifice and will lead to peace and rest in the midst of life’s continuation for the people of God. The blend of the themes of urgency and obedience are a clear invitation to the people of God (vv. 6-7).

Exhortation about obedience (Hebrews 4:8-13)

God’s true rest did not come through Joshua or Moses, but through Jesus Christ, who is greater than either one. Joshua led the nation of Israel into the land of their promised rest (Joshua 21:43-45); however, that was merely the earthly rest that was but the shadow of what was involved in the heavenly rest. The very fact that according to Psalm 95, God still was offering his rest in the time of David meant the rest offered was spiritual and superior to that which Joshua obtained. The attacks of enemies and the daily cycle of work was Israel’s earthly rest. The fullness of heavenly promise (Ephesians 1:3) and the absence of any labor to obtain it characterize the heavenly rest.

The word of God is comforting and nourishing to those who believe, and it is a tool of judgment and execution for those who have not committed themselves to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Some of the Hebrews merely were going through the motions of belonging to Christ. Intellectually, they were at least partly persuaded, but inside they were not committed to him. God’s word would expose their shallow beliefs and even their false intentions (1 Peter 4:5).

The word of God (John 12:48) and God himself are our judges. We are accountable to the living, written word (John 6:63, 68) and to the living God who is its author.

Discussion questions

• How do you know when you are residing in the rest that God offers?

• What would prevent you from entering into that rest?

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.

Storylist for week of 9/04/06

TAKE ME TO: Top Story |  Texas |  Opinion |  Baptists |  Faith in Action |  Faith & Culture |  Book Reviews |  Classifieds  |  Departments  |  Bible Study




• Ethicists say Colleyville pastor's real estate deal crossed line

• Bush's use of “Islamic fascism” prompts debate

• Wayland student, family fear persecution if they return to Comoros Islands

• Lebanon Baptists say goodbye to refugees, but ministry continues


Hardin-Simmons Student Mission Trips
• Hardin-Simmons students in Nigeria

• Nigeria Update: Candles in the wind

• HSU Update from Jos, Nigeria

• HSU adventure camp in Slovenia



• LIFE GOES ON: Crossroads project aims to rebuild in New Orleans


• Seminary pulls plug on trustee's online sermon

• Texas Baptists urged to adopt unreached groups in Houston

• Sweet dreams of urban transformation

• On the Move

• Around the State

• Texas Tidbits

• Quarterly Report on Cooperative Program Giving (pdf file)

Special: One Year After Katrina
• LIFE GOES ON: Crossroads project aims to rebuild in New Orleans

• Displaced New Orleans resident finds home at Gracewood

• Houston faith communities plan for future hurricanes

• East Texas church sends minister to southern Louisiana

• Texas Baptists urged to adopt unreached groups in Houston

• Miracle Farm offers refuge to Hurricane Rita evacuees

• Nederland church marks new beginning in new sanctuary

• Nehemiah's Vision helps Southeast Texas recover from Rita

• New Orleans churches radically changed by Katrina

• Churches become rallying points for New Orleans recovery

• Baptist volunteers make impact on Crescent City

• Volunteer director feels calling to restore Mississippi town

• Sabine Pass churches focus on rebuilding community

• Gulfport members learn church is not brick and mortar

• Pastor uses retirement funds to help restore church

• Couple left family, friends to run volunteer base in Gulfport

• Katrina giving did not hurt other charities, group says

• Inexperience hurt effectiveness of some Katrina relief groups

• Teens from FBC Wolfforth help Buckner get facilities back to normal



• Florida interview stirs controversy

• Baptist Briefs


• Baptist volunteers make impact on Crescent City


• Environment reveals evangelical rift

• Evangelicals part company with Bush on North Korea


• Book Reviews


• Classifieds

• Cartoon

• Texas Baptist Forum

• On the Move


• EDITORIAL: Offering touches lives across Texas

• DOWN HOME: Just take a picture of living-room stuff

• TOGETHER: Make an eternal difference in a life

• 2nd Opinion: Letters impact immigration reform

• Right or Wrong? Am I prejudiced?

• Texas Baptist Forum

• Cybercolumn by Berry Simpson: Talking to God


• BaptistWay Bible Series for August 27: The gospel transforms human relationships

• Family Bible Series for August 27: Maximize the opportunities God provides

• Explore the Bible Series for August 27: The love song of the Old Testament

• BaptistWay Bible Series for September 3: Meditate on the words of Scripture for wisdom

• Bible Studies for Life Series for September 3: Good leadership comes down to following Jesus

• Explore the Bible Series for September 3: Hold fast to the message of Christ


Previously Posted
• Loan Corporation cuts interest rates

• Cartoonist brings Christian faith to the funny papers

• New DBU students become oriented to community service

• BGCT trailer benefits cowboy churches

• Missions takes hit in proposed 2007 BGCT budget

• ‘Home Sweet Home Alabama,' thanks to relief groups


See complete list of articles from our previous 8/21/06 issue

Posted: 9/08/06

Luke Loetscher (third from left) is pictured with other members of his summer missions team in the Philippines along with Filipino workers who helped them in various projects. One named Kuya Tata (pictured second from left) was baptized by the group during the summer after receiving Jesus as his savior.

Student found niche helping
renovate Philippine Baptist camp

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW—There’s something to be said for finding your sweet spot—locating the place you’re meant to be.

For Luke Loetscher, that happened this past summer while he served as a summer missionary in the Philippines. A Wayland Baptist University junior from Cheyenne, Wyo., Loetscher has long had an interest in agriculture and especially in improving processes in farming, using his interest in science. He is also handy with tools, having participated in several construction-related service projects while at Wayland.

When he learned about the opportunity to travel to the Philippines with the Nehemiah Teams of the International Mission Board and work in construction and agriculture, the project sounded right up his alley. It was.

Loetscher grafts a mango tree in an effort to increase the yield for the farmer by improving the root system.

“This was an affirmation that God was preparing me for this for 20 years,” he said. “I have finally found the lock for my key—my niche. I had an idea before I went but this made it so much clearer.”

Loetscher arrived on the island of Mindanao on June 1 along with several dozen other students all working with Nehemiah Teams. After being split up into smaller teams of seven and sent to various parts of the Philippines, Loetscher’s team traveled to an area near the city of Butuan.

For the first month of their stay, the team did construction work on a camp and convention center owned by the Mindanao Baptist Convention. The camp, used as a retreat center for pastors and others on the island, was in great need of cement work and other projects. The team poured cement slabs for the living areas, built beds, dug a septic tank and built restrooms.

They also planted 200 banana trees and nearly 300 pineapple plants at the camp in order to provide an income-producing resource for the facility, which will no longer receive funding after December 2008 and faces closure.

During the second month, the team worked at an agricultural training center across the road from the camp, helping with usual farm tasks and harvesting.

“The training center incorporates agricultural training with the gospel, and through this, many Filipinos had come to believe in Jesus,” Loetscher said.

Wayland Student Summer Missions Report • Skiles confronted world needs on NYC internship • 'Auntie Joy' humbled by summer in Malawi • Jalissa King traded basketball for shopping on Asia missions tour • Student found niche helping renovate Philippine Baptist camp • Student's technology skills helped support missions, humanitarian groups

Assisting the Filipino farmers was satisfying to Loetscher and his team, especially knowing they were providing skills that would increase the profits for the farmers. While working with one particular farmer, the group helped him harvest his corn crop completely by hand. The crop had become small because he had no fertilizer and no way to stop the soil erosion that was threatening his crops.

“We helped him plant hedgerows along the side of the crop to prevent the soil erosion and provide a natural fertilizer for the crops,” Loetscher explained. “After the season, he just has to cut them down and spread them out for the fertilizer.”

Those types of skills and knowledge were what led Loetscher to believe he had found his calling. He’s confident enough that he’s already making plans to return to the Philippines in two years after he graduates to work at the farm and the camp and help them develop fundraising strategies to stay afloat.

“I worked with an agriculture extensionist there on these strategies to help the camp and the farm,” he said. “Our plan is to help support the local economy by buying coconuts, then producing coconut oil to sell there, and teaching others how to make coconut oil for profit.”

Loetscher said by producing the oil fresh instead of using a factory, there is a higher profit margin.

On the weekends, Loetscher and his team did ministry projects in the village of Mabuhay, working with house churches and their members. They became close to one member, a man named Kuya Tata, whom the resident missionary said had been delivered of demons and had come to faith in Christ just a week before. The man was baptized during the group’s visit, a move Loetscher said was a bold display of his newfound faith, given the culture.

Those two months in the Philippines left Loetscher with some valuable lessons he brought back home and to Wayland.

“As I come back, I realize that we’re all on mission. The same things I did in the Philippines we can do here,” he said. “We need to look for what we can do here and now and be on mission where we are.”

Loetscher serves with the Baptist Student Ministries at Wayland, heads the Servants With a Tool ministry—SWAT—and works with local Habitat for Humanity projects.

“My main thing is need-based ministry, looking at not only the physical needs but also the spiritual needs,” he said. “It’s a holistic thing. I want to meet needs at all facets.”

Luke Loetscher (center with shovel) and other members of the Nehemiah Team spread concrete out in one of the buildings of the camp and convention center at Mindanao in the Philippines.

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.