Posted: 8/04/06

Anti-poverty advocates call for change

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Christian anti-poverty advocates are promoting a “Covenant for a New America” that calls for policy changes to build consensus across the political aisle and across denominations.

The document outlines three “fundamental commitments”:

• “Work must work and provide family economic success and security.”

• “Children should not be poor.”

• “Extreme global poverty must end.”

The covenant is designed to bridge conservative-liberal ideological divides in addressing poverty in the United States and worldwide. It seeks tax reform, education reform, housing affordability, immigration reform and crime reduction.

The covenant’s signatories include Daniel Vestal, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and Stan Hastey, executive director of the Alliance of Baptists.

The document was presented at a three-day conference held at Washington’s National City Christian Church and sponsored by the Christian anti-poverty group Call to Renewal and its companion magazine, Sojourners.

A copy of the covenant has been presented to each member of Congress, meeting organizers said.

At a rally on the Capitol grounds, Jim Wallis, the head of Call to Renewal and Sojourners, told meeting participants that the covenant marked “the arrival of a new special-interest group in Washington.”

“The group is the churches; the special interest is poverty. Poverty was the special interest of Jesus Christ.”

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: 8/04/06

Around the State

• Two hundred and seventy-seven students at Howard Payne University received academic honors for the spring semester. One hundred and twelve students were named to the President’s List by virtue of their 4.0 grade point average, 97 were named to the Dean’s List, and 68 students earned honor roll recognition.

Anniversaries

• Randall Bradley, fifth, as minister of music at Calvary Church in Waco, July 22.

• Steve Vernon, 15th, as pastor of First Church in Levelland, Aug. 20.

• South Plains Church in South Plains, 100th, Sept. 10. The church actually was organized on July 27, 1906, but chose the later date for the celebration. People with pictures or other items of interest can send them to the church at P.O. Box 98, South Plains 79528. A meal will follow the morning worship service. The afternoon has been set aside for fellowship and remembrances. Joe Weldon is pastor.

Deaths

• Inez Martin, 83, June 26 in Lindale. She was a member of Mount Sylvan Church in Lindale. She served many years alongside her husband, Gerald Edward Martin, in his ministry as a pastor and evangelist and as president and chancellor of Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal, Mo. Martin, who served as a president of the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference, preceded her in death on June 3, 2001. Survivors include sons, Gerald Martin III and John Martin; daughters, Sarah Edlund, Gerry Lynn Moss, Linda Kalish and Mary Martin; sister, Mary McNeill; and 14 grandchildren.

• Val Prince, 87, July 22 in Fresno, Calif., after battling cancer. He was minister of education at First Church in Galena Park from 1958 until 1962. He also served churches in Oklahoma, Missouri and California. He was director of training union ministries for the the California Southern Baptist Convention 16 years. He retired in 1981. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Bea.

• B.P. “Bill” Emanuel, 81, July 30 in Oklahoma City. Emanuel, a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, was pastor of Shady Grove Church in Greenville and Mayfield Church near Hillsboro while he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in the 1940s. He also served as pastor of Baptist churches in Oklahoma before he and his wife, Rebekah Sue, were appointed by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board to serve in Japan and the Philippines. Emanuel later was an itinerant evangelist, preaching in more than 60 churches and numerous camps and other evangelistic meetings. He was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Beverly Anne. Survivors include his wife; two sons, Paul Emanuel and Jim Emanuel; three daughters, Elizabeth “Len” Lister, Rebekah Markham and Marjorie Hatcher; brother, Wayne Emanuel; sisters, Geraldine Mangrum and Pauline Matthews; 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

• Marilyn Hillyer, 70, Aug. 2 in Tyler. She was a longtime Texas Baptist leader who served on the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board. She also was a member of the BGCT Missions Review and Initiatives Committee, which examined the convention’s relationship with the missions sending agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. She served as vice chair of the subcommittee that investigated the North American Mission Board. Her husband, Bill, has been a member of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and served on the BGCT executive director search committee. Her father, Howard Bennett, was a former president of East Texas Baptist University, and her uncle, John Hurt, was a former editor of the Baptist Standard. While she lived in Hawaii, she edited the Hawaii Baptist state newspaper. Hillyer was a longtime Sunday school teacher at First Church of Tyler, where she also served as a deacon. She was known for putting long hours of study into preparing for each lesson. She is survived by her husband; two daughters, Susan Kate and Frances Ridlehoover; and four grandchildren.

Events

• Shirley Ashlock has completed 50 years of consecutive service as director or leader of the fourth grade Sunday School department at Park Place Church in Houston.

• Memorial Church in Temple honored former Pastor R.B. Baker and his wife, Bettye, July 30. Prior to being pastor at Memorial, he served churches in Caldwell and San Angelo. He served the Temple church from 1963 until 1983, when he retired from pastoral ministry and became involved with the Barnabas Foundation, which aided churches and ministries with grants and donations. Mrs. Baker worked with Mission Arlington and had a special ministry to prostitutes, bringing them to know Christ and to leave that lifestyle. The Bakers later returned to Temple and rejoined the church. He was named pastor emeritus in 2005. Roy Parker is pastor.

Ordained

• Randy Rinehart to the ministry at Central Church in Wichita Falls.

• Drew Finch to the ministry at First Church in Bangs.

• Mark Moore to the ministry at Lawn Church in Lawn.

• Foster Wilcox to the ministry at Adamsville Church in Lampasas.

• Bert Duerer and Mike Bosley as deacons at Broyles Chapel Church in Palestine.

Revivals

• First Church, Wink; Aug. 11-16; evangelist, Ryan Dalgiesh; music, Micah and the Hubbard Family; pastor, Richard Ray.

• Mount Sylvan Church, Lindale; Aug. 13-16; evangelist, Charles Dodson; music, Allan Cox; pastor, Robert Davenport. 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: 8/04/06

Love for God, love of the
game motivate Texas author

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Hugh Poland—a Kentucky-born catcher who broke into the big leagues in 1943 when World War II drained the talent pool—played with four teams before the Cincinnati Reds released him May 28, 1948.

“So far as I can tell, he’s no relation to me,” explained a different Hugh Poland, author of Steal Away: Devotions for Baseball Fans. “I’m not a former ballplayer. I’m a minister of music.”

But Poland, who has served seven years on staff at Woodridge Baptist Church in Kingwood after nine years at a church in Corpus Christi, loves the game. And his book—recently published by Judson Press—allowed him to blend that passion with his Christian calling.

“It’s the book I always wanted to read and never could find, so I decided to write it myself,” he said. “I’ve loved baseball all my life. It’s all the memories of what a boy learns to love about it—the smell of saddle soap on a glove as you hold it up to your face out in the field, fresh-cut grass, snow cones—everything. And through the years, I’ve followed the game passionately.”

In fact, Poland holds membership in the Society for American Baseball Research—a group that brings together arcane trivia experts, academic numbers-crunchers and people who enjoy swapping stories about recently discovered bits of baseball history.

Poland wrote the devotional book for people like himself—as well as for athletes, coaches, umpires and chaplains.

“I wanted to put something in their hands they could use,” he said.

Poland’s book brings together testimonies of Christian ballplayers, managers and umpires, alongside spiritual lessons drawn from famous—and sometimes not-so-famous—incidents in baseball history.

He sent about 50 requests for information to past and present baseball personalities, and those queries yielded about 20 interviews.

He believes good stories offer the best vessel to deliver spiritual truth in an accessible way.

“The parables Jesus told and the conversations that followed were like a spiritual game of catch with his followers,” Poland said.

“At the heart of every baseball fan, there’s a love for the story of the game. Put people who care about the game together, and before long, they start sharing stories. Everybody wants to hear the stories, and a story can be the way to a person’s heart.” 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: 8/04/06

Book Reviews

C.S. Lewis’s Case for Christ: Insights from Reason, Imagination and Faith by Art Lindsley (InterVarsity Press)

An abundance of good books are available on that late Anglican layman whom many classify as “one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century.”

Art Lindsley draws from C. S. Lewis’ various books, letters and lectures to condense the Narnian’s thoughts and theology into a 200-page gem. In the process, we learn some of Lewis’ obstacles to faith as an atheist and how he answered those tough questions after coming to faith in Christ. The problem of evil and suffering, myth and religion, rationalism, belief in miracles, and the purpose of imagination in faith each get chapters.

What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to books@baptiststandard.com.

Having read most of Lewis’ writings, I especially enjoyed reading Lindsley’s take on what Lewis would say (or actually did say) about the important contemporary topics of postmodernism, moral relativism and religious pluralism.

The book leads the reader to ponder the famous intellectual’s writings on the claims of Christ and to decide whether Jesus was “liar, lunatic or Lord.”

Greg Bowman,

minister to students

First Baptist Church

Duncanville

The Prayer God Longs For by James Emery White (Inter-Varsity Press)

Jim White, founding pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, N.C., offers a deceptively succinct series of meditations on the Lord’s Prayer. White draws from deep waters, with footnoted sources ranging from Teresa of Avila to C.S. Lewis to Evelyn Underhill, Glenn Hinson, William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas. But he presents his findings in an approachable, easy-to-read format.

White explores what the Lord’s Prayer reveals about God’s character and the kind of communion the Father wants with his children. Examining the Model Prayer phrase by phrase, he concludes God desires prayer that is intimate, expectant, reverent, submitted, dependent, honest and humble. In a final chapter, he deals with questions such as what happens when people pray and how do we handle it when prayers seem to go unanswered.

This slender book can be read on several levels. Read it through quickly for an overview of lessons to be learned from the Lord’s Prayer. Read it slowly and contemplatively as a devotional aid and prayer guide. Then keep it handy as a source of timeless illustrations and priceless quotations about prayer.

Ken Camp,

managing editor

Baptist Standard

Dallas

Christ-Based Leadership By David Stark (Bethany House)

This is a practical, thought-provoking work that blends leadership principles of Scripture with modern business models. Stark challenges the status quo and stretches the reader. All 12 chapters present a question about leadership to be answered from the biblical text and then from successful business practice. Stark sees these as compatible—not competing—perspectives on corporate leadership.

This book is helpful to the pastor and to any person who seeks to rise to his or her leadership potential. Stark describes key elements to successful church leadership—faith in the people, equipping followers, a culture of excellence over a culture of winning. The leader must focus on others’ strengths while managing their weaknesses. Every church needs to know “what time it is” within the 10-step life cycle of the organization.

Stark is insightful. The book is well-written and thoroughly documented. This is not a work for the academic, but the practitioner. With natural flow and stimulating assertions, Stark captivates the imagination of any leader wishing to integrate biblical truth with successful corporate models.

Mark Denison, pastor

First Baptist Church

Gainesville 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: 8/04/06

Baptist Briefs

SBC president flip-flops on women in ministry. Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page has recanted as “radical” and “extreme” his early views advocating expanded roles for women in ministry. In his 1980 doctoral dissertation at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Page wrote: “There are solid biblical bases for a full recognition of the freedom and responsibility of women in ministry and the freedom of God’s Spirit to bestow the gifts for ministry upon men and women alike. The time has come to declare that since the public activity of a woman is in most areas no longer considered as a breach of the marriage vow and since the law of the land no longer denies to women the right to act independently in mixed gatherings, qualified women are eligible candidates for any office in the church.” But in a recent interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, he said, “I was trying very hard to conform biblical passages to some cultural preferences of the time.” Page insisted he became convinced “through personal study and prayer” that his dissertation was not exegetically sound and reflected the work of an “immature theologian.”

Leland Center president plans to step down. Randell Everett, pastor of First Baptist Church in Newport News, Va., will resign at the end of the year as president of the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, where he has served the past nine years. The Leland Center offers diploma, master of divinity and master of theological studies classes to about 150 students a year. Formed in 1997, the center emphasizes diversity and a commitment to churches in and near Washington, D.C. The center recently received full accreditation from the Association of Theological Schools and soon will become a partner in the Washington Theological Consortium.

IMB trustees elect mobilization VP. Trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board unanimously elected Ken Winter vice president for mobilization. Wendy Norvelle, mobilization’s associate vice president, served as interim vice president during the 18-month period since Larry Cox resigned in January 2005 to become director of WinShape International in Rome, Ga. Winter served as a chief financial and management officer before he became associate pastor of administration and later associate pastor for global missions at First Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, Fla. He joined the IMB staff in early 2004, and in November 2005, he was tapped to work with IMB President Jerry Rankin as his executive assistant.

National FAITH Summit set. A national FAITH Summit will be held Oct. 2-3 at First Baptist Church in Cullman, Ala. The event is geared toward pastors, ministers of education and congregational FAITH directors who have been conducting the Sunday school-based outreach ministry for at least three consecutive years. Dean Abernathy of LifeWay Christian Resources will lead four hours of training for experienced FAITH workers. Cost is $55 per participant, which includes one evening meal and summit materials. Reservations are required by Sept. 15. Contact Jim O’Dillon at First Baptist Church, 501 Second Avenue SW, Cullman, AL 35055-4108.

New Glorieta director named. LifeWay Christian Resources has named Hal Hill director of Glorieta Conference Center, near Santa Fe, N.M. Hill has been national camp manager for LifeWay since October 2004. Previously, he worked in LifeWay’s church recreation department and was director of a conference center near Seattle. He also worked for the Georgia Baptist Convention and the Brotherhood Commission and served on staff at three churches. He is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Hill succeeds Steve Grassfield, who served as general manager of Glorieta since January 2004.

Recipes from African-American churches wanted. Whirlpool’s African-American Network is sponsoring a “Spirit of Cooking” competition intended to find some of the nation’s best African-American church potluck dinner recipes. Gospel music star CeCe Winans and National Public Radio commentator Vertamae Grosvenor will serve as celebrity judges. Recipes can be submitted in one of four categories—“Jump-Up-and-Shout Main Dish,” “Too-Good-to-be-True Side Dish,” “Celestially Sweet Dessert” or “Bless Your Heart Health Conscious Alternative.” The deadline for entries is Sept. 25. Winners will be notified by Oct. 20. For more information or to submit a recipe, visit www.whirlpool.com/spirit. 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: 8/04/06

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: 8/04/06

Churches of Christ, Baptists
branch off same family tree

By Ted Parks

Associated Baptist Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP)—Some Baptists may remember hearing their Church of Christ neighbors called “Campbellites.” And most Baptists know Churches of Christ are strictly a cappella, preferring unaccompanied singing to pianos, organs or any other instrument. They may not know the group has Baptists in its family tree.

But Baptists, with their well-known history of discord, might be even more surprised to learn that the non-instrumental Churches of Christ and the pro-instrumental Christian Churches met peaceably this summer for the first time in 100 years.

Christian Church leaders invited members of a cappella Churches of Christ to join them in Louisville, Ky., for their annual meeting, the North American Christian Convention. With the theme “Together in Christ,” the 2006 NACC focused on unity between the two fellowships.

Both non-instrumental Churches of Christ and their instrumental counterparts, Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, trace their history to 19th-century religious reformer Alexander Campbell. A third group, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), shares the same roots.

A cappella Churches of Christ have remained separate from instrumental Christian Churches for more than 100 years. Their differences are based on divergent interpretations of scriptural references to musical instruments. Churches of Christ cite Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 as authorizing only vocal music, and they consider instruments as an unwarranted addition to the scriptural mandate to sing “in your hearts.”

In the Louisville meeting, convention speakers from both Churches of Christ and Christian Churches said it is time for members from the two traditions to quit quibbling and start cooperating.

“I would characterize our two fellowships as being on target doctrinally, but lacking in the areas of service and unity,” said Dave Stone, senior minister of Southeast Christian Church, a Louisville megachurch. “We’ve each been quite proud of our doctrinal stance in the truth area. It’s the love area where we tend to struggle. We can leave our petty differences behind us.”

Rick Atchley, preaching minister of Richland Hills Church of Christ in North Richland Hills, reminded the convention of the increased potential for witness and mission that unity brings.

Satan “knows that a divided church cannot reach a fractured world,” Atchley said, adding, “unity is an incredibly powerful apologetic.”

Atchley listed several joint projects between Churches of Christ and Christian Churches, including church plants, Hurricane Katrina relief and mission work in Africa. He recalled preaching under mango trees in the African nation of Zambia to an audience ravaged with AIDS.

“I don’t care if you want to sing with or without a guitar, just come stand under that tree and help me tell those people about Jesus,” he remembered thinking.

“Let’s wage unity,” he told the convention. “Let’s no longer be known for what we’re against.”

The combined convention worship services included both a cappella and instrumental music. The guitars, drums, trumpets and other instruments on stage accompanied some songs but remained silent on others. At times, the instruments would stop in the middle of a song so the audience could sing part of it unaccompanied.

With Churches of Christ traditionally strong in the South, particularly Tennessee and Texas, Baptists have often brushed up against their religious neighbors’ a cappella stance as the two groups vied for members. But believers in both camps may not realize the beliefs, practices, and even history they share.

Church historian Bill Leonard, dean of Wake Forest University Divinity School in Winston-Salem, N.C., pointed to the close ties between Alexander Campbell and Baptists on the early 19th-century American frontier. At one time, the Brush Run Church, where Campbell preached, was a member of the Redstone Baptist Association in Pennsylvania.

Though Campbell and the Baptists eventually parted ways, the reformer’s followers and frontier Baptist leaders shared key theological concepts. For example, Campbell sought to restore what he believed to be the simple worship and organization of the primitive church, whose practices had been corrupted by human dogmas.

Similarly, Leonard explained, “Landmark” Baptists extolled the virtues of the “true church,” which they identified with their own tradition. In the revivalistic fervor of the frontier, the two groups competed for members, each one trying to convince would-be converts that it alone bore the marks of Christ’s authentic followers.

Leonard said Baptists and churches tracing their origins to Campbell still share common ground. For example, both traditions practice baptism by immersion and cherish congregational autonomy.

While leaders from Churches of Christ and Christian Churches at the Louisville meeting hope for improved relations as a result of this year’s convention, they admit hard work lies ahead as they attempt to strengthen ties.

“I don’t think you will see many mergers of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. I do think you will see much more cooperation in ministry—church planting, missions, benevolence, Christian education,” Atchley said.

“For the most part, we will still meet in our separate congregations on Sunday. But I think we will start meeting together a lot more on Monday in the street to serve in Jesus’ name.” 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: 8/04/06

2nd Opinion:
‘Hard to tell Christians from lions’

By James Martin

The description of a special method of torture that U.S. soldiers inflicted on Iraqi prisoners sounded instantly familiar. As someone who has read many histories of the Christian martyrs, it didn’t take long to remember where the brand of punishment had been used before.

“Other detainees were locked for as many as seven days in cells so small that they could neither stand nor lie down,” Eric Schmitt recently wrote in The New York Times about U.S. special operations troops in Iraq.

In the 16th century, the Jesuit priests and brothers martyred in England were treated to the same deprivations. The torture used against my brother Jesuits, which had long been viewed as unnaturally cruel, is now used by my own country.

It even had a name. In his book Jesuit Saints and Martyrs, historian Joseph Tylenda relates how English soldiers captured Edmund Campion and two other priests in 1581. The three Catholics, who had been pursued throughout the country by “priest-hunters,” had not submitted to the Oath of Supremacy that recognized the Anglican religion, outlawed Catholicism and demanded citizens recognize Queen Elizabeth I as the head of the church in England.

On July 22, the three priests were dragged to the Tower of London to await execution. But before his death, Campion was placed in a notorious room known as the “little ease.”

Tylenda describes it as “a cell in which a grown man could neither stand upright nor lie flat.” After enduring the rack several times, Campion was hanged in early December. His body was disemboweled and hacked apart before a cheering crowd. Though other martyrs underwent even worse cruelties (the Catholic Church itself also was guilty of torture during the Inquisition), the “little ease” represents another sign of the unwillingness to regard one’s enemy as human.

The Catholic Church, to say nothing of most other Christian churches and mainstream religious traditions, opposes torture because it offends the inherent dignity of every human person. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick noted in June in conjunction with a statement from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture: “It is because of this that we all feel that torture is a dehumanizing and terrible attack against human nature and the respect we owe for each other.”

Many otherwise religious people believe torture is justified if it can save innocent lives. But as ethicists—religious and otherwise—have pointed out, this is a dangerous calculus.

Besides the historically dubious value of information extracted with torture, how many people is it permissible to torture to save a life? Would you torture one person? Ten? Twenty?

Torture is an affront to the dignity of the individual. And belief in this dignity is supposed to be cherished by the same politicians who proclaim their support of the “culture of life,” especially during election years. But respect for life does not end at birth; it should continue unbroken from birth to natural death.

In a nation where the name of Jesus comes too easily to the lips of political leaders, his most essential teaching is proving easy to ignore. Jesus said that we should love and even pray for our enemies—not torture them.

The degradations undergone by the Christian martyrs are now being employed by our nation against our enemies. In the new global Colosseum, it is becoming difficult to tell the Christians from the lions.

James Martin is a Jesuit priest and author of My Life With the Saints. His column is distributed by Religion News Service.

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: 8/04/06

Criswell era ends at Dallas First Baptist

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—An era ended at First Baptist Church of Dallas Aug. 2. Betty Criswell, widow of legendary Pastor W.A. Criswell, died at Baylor University Medical Center of Dallas of respiratory illness at age 93.

Mrs. Criswell stood beside her husband through his early pastorates in rural Oklahoma and nearly a half-century of ministry at the downtown Dallas church.

She also taught a popular and influential Sunday school class at First Baptist Church that was broadcast regionally on radio for close to 30 years. She taught the class—attended by up to 300 people—for the last time July 9.

“She devoted herself to Dr. Criswell's gospel ministry during his life, and after his death continued to preserve his legacy through First Baptist Church and the Criswell College,” a statement posted on the church’s website said.

“‘Mrs. C’ was a blessing and a beacon to all who knew her, as well as the many thousands who listened from her radio audience. We mourn her loss as a church family and staff and celebrate her homegoing to see her Savior face to face, whom she has so wonderfully served.”

Evangelist Billy Graham—a non-resident member of First Baptist Church in Dallas—issued a statement from his home in Charlotte, N.C.: “We join in rejoicing that Betty Criswell has joined her husband in heaven at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom she has served for so long. Her tremendous ministry will be greatly missed at First Baptist Church of Dallas.”

Mrs. Criswell born in Louisville, Ky. She graduated from Western Kentucky University.

She met her future husband when he was leading a prayer service in her hometown of Mount Washington, Ky. They married in 1935 in the chapel at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

She was preceded in death by both her husband and their daughter, Mable Ann Criswell, in 2002. She is survived by two grandsons and their families. 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: 8/04/06

DOWN HOME:
And for an encore, clean the garage

We have done the unthinkable.

Well, unthinkable to me, anyway.

Joanna, the brains of our outfit, however, has been thinking the unthinkable for quite awhile. My wife pays attention to trends and outcomes and scenarios. Plus, she loves me and wants what’s best for me.

So, we sold our house. And we agreed to buy a new one, which makes sense unless living in a washing-machine box under the overpass becomes the next home “thing.”

The primary reason we’re moving is because Jo loves me and doesn’t want me to drive 28 miles one-way through Dallas traffic to work and back any more. The secondary reason we’re moving is because Jo lives with me and is sick of listening to me whine about driving 28 miles one-way through Dallas traffic to work and back.

When we began to consider the previously unthinkable, we looked at three geographical options.

Option A is a section of Dallas immediately southeast of the Baptist Standard office. It’s so close to work I could go home for lunch. But we would have to pay a gazillion dollars for a house not much bigger than a washing-machine box.

Option B is a lovely section of Dallas, with stately decades-old trees, winding lanes and great homes. We couldn’t find any good reason not to move over there.

Option C is just a little south and possibly a smidge west of where we’ve lived in Lewisville for almost 11 years. The big difference is we could get away from Interstate 35 and simultaneously shorten and simplify my daily drive to work.

A few Sundays ago, while passing the offering plate, Jo mouthed to me, “We’ve got to talk after church.” We’ve been married and loved each other so long that she didn’t need to say what she said on the way to the car: “I can’t leave our friends here.”

We knew we would love churches near our potential Option A and Option B homes. But, as Jo said, “We’ve invested more than 10 years in these friendships, and you can’t walk away from that.”

She’s right, of course. Church is about many things. But the vitality and urgency of the friendships and spirit of community that embrace us when we’re part of a fellowship of faith we call church is profound.

So, we’re moving. But only a few miles away. It’s far enough to cut my commute tremendously, but not so far that we need to find another church family. The appropriate theological response to this development is clear and unambiguous: “Hooray.”

But back to the unthinkable. After our friend Andy helped us find a buyer for our home, I realized why I’d refused to think about ever moving away: The attic.

For almost 11 years, our attic has been the Dead Sea of our home. Stuff flowed in; nothing flowed out. Until a couple of Saturdays ago, when we spent hours working up there. Thirty-nine gallons of sweat and a rafter-conk on the head later, we had hauled about half our stuff out of there. Now, I can’t wait to take on the garage.

I must be crazy from the heat.

— 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: 8/04/06

EDITORIAL:
Sooner or later, one day will be final

Are we living in the final days?

The question has been asked quite a bit lately. With all the fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, even secular media have wondered if the time has come for the final showdown between good and evil. The End Times question inevitably arises when the nation of Israel goes to battle. Several reasons prompt such speculation.

First, some people say God has a special relationship with Israel. They point to the covenant between God and Abraham, recorded in Genesis 12. They equate the secular political state of Israel with the descendants of Abraham. And they believe God’s covenant with Israel—whether Israel is an ancient tribe, a religious people group or a modern nation—extends to today. So, they expect God to protect the nation of Israel.

Second, some people read the highly symbolic message of Revelation literally, interpreting it to mean a battle in the Holy Land could signal The End. This interpretation particularly applies if the fighting reaches the plain of Megiddo. Also known as Armageddon, it was the site of many ancient conflicts and the location of a prophesied battle in Revelation 16:16, “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Some interpreters of Revelation assume any battle at Megiddo, particularly a war with religious overtones such as the current conflict, could signal the final good/evil showdown.

Third, still others look to the third chapter of 2 Timothy, which says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.” It cites a litany of moral failures and cultural woes: “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” They point to these signs of “terrible times,” wave a newspaper and proclaim: “See? The end is near.”

So, are we living in the final days? Three answers:

• Yes.

Biblically and theologically speaking, we indeed live in the last days. But so did the apostles, all the popes, Martin Luther, our Baptist forebears and every other Christian.

We can divide history thus far into four epochs—(1) Creation to Abraham; (2) the Old Covenant, from God’s promise to bless the offspring of Abraham to the Messiah; (3) the life of Christ; and (4) the New Covenant or last days, from Ascension to Second Coming. Clearly, the Apostle Paul and first century Christians expected Jesus to return during their lifetimes, and so have believers in every generation. But we all have lived between Christ’s Resurrection/Ascension and his return, what Paul called the “last days.”

• It’s probably not what you think.

Many people expect the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it every time the Israeli army fires a gun. They believe God has a special deal to protect Israel, and the final battle will be fought on Israeli soil. This thinking is doubly flawed. First, the Old Covenant, the linchpin of God’s special relationship with Israel, ended with Christ. From a New Testament perspective, the church—not the Jewish people—is the new Israel, the recipient of God’s special relationship. Second, even if the Old Covenant were in effect and God still has a deal with the Jews, the nation of Israel is not the same as the people God promised to bless through Abraham’s “seed.” Although most of its citizens are Jewish, Israel is a secular nation. Many of its citizens are not even observant Jews. And why should the nation of Israel get picked? More Jews live in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel’s capital. If God were looking to protect the Jewish people, maybe God would keep a closer eye on Brooklyn than Haifa.

• Maybe; God only knows.

Jesus said even he did not know the day or the hour of his return; only the Father knows. The Bible says that, in God’s timing, a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day. So, we have no way of reading God’s calendar. Christians in every generation expected to see Christ’s return and live through the final days, and up to now, each of them has been wrong. Someday, some will be right. Not because they correctly interpret God’s calculus, but because they happen to be alive at the right time.

In the meantime, the days are numbered for each of us. We may not witness the Final Day, but our final day will come. And for us, that moment will be as ultimate as a future apocalypse. In the meantime, may we live expectantly and faithfully, inviting others to join us on the journey.

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: 8/04/06

All God’s children have
a place in corporate America

By Candace Goforth

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Experts suggest these ways to give employees room to express their faith without smothering others:

• Holiday swapping

Provide a process by which employees can swap days to cover religious holidays not included in the corporate holiday calendar. This could be as simple as providing a list of dates known to be observed by different faiths. Workers sign up for the days they need off and swap with others, subject to supervisor approval.

• Flexible paid time off

Instead of separating time off into banks for vacation, sick days and personal days, combine them into one large bank. Employees can use the time for whatever they like, including religious holidays that aren’t observed throughout the organization.

• Education

Whether through brown-bag lunches or seminars, employers can invite workers from different backgrounds to share their experiences and their traditions. These efforts can help individuals understand their similarities, but they must never be mandated.

• Maintain a strong anti-harassment policy

Include a clear prohibition of harassment on religious grounds. Indicate in writing that the organization will not tolerate harassing behavior that targets someone’s religious views or unwanted attempts to sway others toward a religious view.

• Handle complaints swiftly

Provide employees with an efficient way to make complaints about those kinds of harassment. Make sure they understand the procedure.

• Model appropriate expression

An organization’s mission statement or code of conduct can set the tone for the company’s expectation that employees treat one another with dignity and respect, but also emphasize that the focus of the company is productivity and service to its customers.

• Make basic accommodations automatic

When employees have to ask for particular provisions, such as time off for a holiday or a quiet place to pray, it invites the perception that those employees are getting special treatment.

Instead, put in place accommodations—designating a private space for prayer or quiet reflection and addressing time off for religious holidays—before the issue develops.

Sources: Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding; Cleve-land Society for Human Resource Management; Tom Wiencek, Brouse McDowell law firm. 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.