Posted: 12/13/06

Bible Studies for Life Series for December 24

Jesus, God’s greatest gift to his people

• Luke 1:26-35; 2:4-7

By Kenneth Lyle

Logsdon School of Theology, Abilene

A colleague recently told me a story that well illustrates the importance of remembering and reflecting on the Christmas story of Jesus’ birth.

Several years ago, my friend took her 3-year-old granddaughter to see a “walk through Bethlehem” presentation at a local church. By her account, the church had done an excellent job of recreating the look, feel and, yes, even the smell of an ancient, Palestinian village complete with shops, homes, artisans, soldiers and animals.

At the end of the “walk,” participants were ushered into the manger scene where Mary, Joseph and a very real baby Jesus shared the small, cave-like space with the anticipated donkey, sheep and goat.

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Carol and her granddaughter stood staring at the scene. The 3-year-old was transfixed—gazing intently at the dramatization before her. Soon, the line behind them began to grow, and Carol convinced her reluctant granddaughter it was time to move on.

As they walked out of the church, Carol remembers her granddaughter began to cry. Carol asked her, “What’s wrong?” Her granddaughter’s reply stopped Carol in her tracks and gave me reason for pause as she related the story. Through tear-filled eyes the little girl protested to her grandmother, “I wasn’t finished at the manger!”

For most people in the world, and for some in the church, Christmas is a time for gift giving and receiving, for parties and presents, for visiting with family and friends. While some in the world and most in the church acknowledge the significance of Jesus’ birth as the reason for all this activity, many spend not enough time at the manger. Over the next two weeks, the lessons from Luke’s account of the good news of Jesus’ birth give us the opportunity to spend some time at the manger, reflecting on the significance of Jesus’ birth.

Along with Matthew, Luke’s Gospel provides the marvelous “Christmas” details that make up much of our experience of the Christmas season. While Matthew tells the tale of a star in the sky, wise men from the east, a raging King Herod and an escape to Egypt, Luke relates the story of a government imposed census, a journey to Bethlehem, shepherds in a field and angels heard from on high.

Luke, perhaps more than Matthew, is determined to demonstrate the historical setting and reliability of the story he presents. The consummate historian, Luke goes to great pains to make sure the reader knows precisely when these events take place. Luke tells us of a census commanded by the emperor Augustus, but adds, “This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria” (2:2). Luke’s level of precision lets the reader know that these things happened at a particular time (during the first census, not the presumed second or perhaps even third census ordered by the emperor).

Luke’s concern for historical exactness lies second to his concern for demonstrating how these events fit into God’s plan for the world. In the focal passages, Luke demonstrates God’s role in the events taking place by focusing on the role of angels who function as the messenger force of God.

God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary (1:26-27). Previously, the angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah (1:11), and subsequently, to the shepherds in the field (2:9). Luke wants the reader to know the events portrayed here are not accidents of history, but rather, a part of God’s plan to save the world.

When Gabriel comes to Mary with his announcement that she will give birth to a son, Luke emphasizes three elements. First, Luke describes Mary as “highly favored” 1:28 and as one who “has found favor with God” (1:30). Clearly, we are to understand that Mary was a good person who had garnered some merit from God; however, her merit is not what sets her apart.

If there is anything special about Mary we find it in her accepting response to God’s grace extended to her. Her reply to God’s great initiative to her comes in 1:38, “May it be to me as you have said.”

Second, Luke tells us the name of the child will be Jesus (1:31). Matthew’s account also provides this detail about the name of the child; however, Matthew provides the explanatory note, “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua, which means, “The Lord saves.” Jesus’ very name constantly reminds us of God’s saving purpose.

Third, Luke reminds the reader of Mary’s virginal status. There is no denying the scandalous circumstances described by both Matthew and Luke surrounding the Jesus’ birth. An engaged couple who have not come together sexually end up pregnant (Matthew 1:18-19). In other times and in other places, this would be the kind of story we would cover up; but the Gospel writers do not cover it up, and in fact, this virginal conception becomes the centerpiece of narrative.

That both Luke and Matthew see fit to include an account of “the virgin birth,” lends veracity and credibility to the claim of Jesus’ unique status as God’s son. Discussions of the virgin birth should focus on the virginal conception of Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit and not on the mistaken notion that Mary was perpetually a virgin. Mary was a real woman, really married to Joseph and the mother of other children (Mark 3:31-33).

Gabriel’s announcement to Mary also provides information about the child Jesus. The description of Jesus in 1:32-33 focuses on Jesus’ status as God’s son. This child “will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of this father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke connects the birth of this child to the history of Israel and to the future of the world. What God has begun comes to the beginning of completion in the birth of this child.

The opening verses of chapter 2 (vv. 1-7) famously describe the lowly circumstances of Jesus’ birth in a manger in Bethlehem. The rejection of this weary family looking for a place to rest foreshadows the rejection of Jesus by his own people.

The power of this narrative should not be underestimated. Many nominal, once-a-year churchgoers will hear and feel this story in the depth of their being. Allow folks to spend some time at the manger, but remind them Jesus did not stay a baby. Jesus, Luke tells us, grew up and found favor with God and the people around him, and he did and said marvelous things. Most importantly, Jesus’ died for the sins of the world, and conquered death by his resurrection.

When we accept God’s gift of grace, when we say as Mary said, “may it be to me as you have said,” we experience the gift of Jesus in our lives. This is the good news that begins with the birth of a baby in a manger in Bethlehem.

Discussion questions

• How do the Gospel writers emphasize the significance and uniqueness of Jesus’ birth?

• Why is it important for Christians to reflect on the story of Jesus’ birth annually?

• How might we take to heart Mary’s words, “May it be to me as you have 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: 12/13/06

Explore the Bible Series for December 24

Honor the Savior’s birth with worship

• Matthew 1:18-2:12

By Howard Anderson

Diversified Spiritual Associates, San Antonio

Joseph, the husband of Mary, was a direct descendant of David. Jesus was not the physical son of Joseph. Mary conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Christ is the “Anointed One.”

We honor the Savior’s birth by recognizing him as the King of Kings, who came to provide salvation for all sinners and by inviting him to be king in our lives. Jesus is the reason for the season.

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Heeding the angel’s message (Matthew 1:18-25)

In Jewish culture, espousal was a covenant made about a year before the consummation of the marriage. It was during the one-year period of espousal that Mary was found to be pregnant. The fact that Mary was a virgin at this time is clearly implied by the phrase “before they came together” and by the righteous character of Joseph and his desire to divorce Mary when her pregnancy became known (v. 19).

Joseph wanted to divorce Mary on the grounds of infidelity. Joseph could have made the divorce a public matter, or he could have gone through a private ceremony before two witnesses. Being a gracious and “just man,” Joseph decided to keep it private.

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel” is a quotation from Isaiah 7:14. In this verse, the prophet Isaiah consoles King Ahaz of Judah. A coalition of two kings was opposing Ahaz. Isaiah tells Ahaz the plans of his enemies would not succeed. As a sign to Ahaz, a son would be born of a woman, and before that boy reached the age where he could tell right from wrong, the two kings would no longer be a threat to Ahaz.

Matthew makes it clear that Isaiah’s words find their ultimate fulfillment in the virgin birth of Jesus, a sign to people of all ages that God was with them.

Joseph “knew her not” is a Hebrew idiom for cohabitation and fatherhood (Genesis 4:1, 17, 25). He did not know Mary physically until after she gave birth to Jesus. The clear implication of verse 25 is that Mary was a virgin only until the birth of Jesus. The brothers and sisters of Jesus were younger siblings born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus’ birth (Matthew 13:55-56).

Seeking the King (Matthew 2:1-8)

The events of chapter 2 probably took place some months after Jesus’ birth. “Herod the king” is Herod the Great, who reigned over Palestine from 37 B.C. until his death in 4 B.C. Herod’s reign was marked by cruelty and bloodshed. The “wise men” were a priestly hereditary caste who uttered prophecies, explained omens, interpreted dreams and practiced divination (Daniel 2:2, 48; 4:9).

The words “born King of the Jews” would have struck terror and fury into the heart of Herod. “His star in the east” may refer to a star supernaturally introduced into the heavens. The star reappeared to guide the wise men to Christ (Matthew 2:9).

The first mention of the Jewish council—“chief priests”—reveals the Jewish leaders were alerted early to the coming of the Messiah. Their quick recital of Micah 5:2 showed their prophetic astuteness about the messianic prophecies (Matthew 2:6).

Honoring the Savior (Matthew 2:9-12)

The wise men undoubtedly would have been discouraged by their failure to find the King in Jerusalem among the leaders. The reappearance of the star must have brought great joy and encouragement to them.

“Gold” symbolized royalty; “frankincense” was a fragrance; and “myrrh” was the ointment of death. “Being warned of God in a dream” underscores the supernatural character of Christ’s advent. In a revelatory dream the angel told the wise men they should not return to Herod, and they departed for their own country another way.

Discussion question

• How can we best honor the birth of 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: 4/16/04

Dine on the sweet bread of life, speakers urge at Congreso

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–Speakers challenged more than 3,700 young people to dine on the “pan dulce” of Jesus–the sweet bread of life–at the Texas Baptist Hispanic Youth and Singles Congreso.

Gregg Matte, founder of Breakaway Ministries in College Station and pastor-elect of First Baptist Church in Houston, encouraged the young people to act on the principles of their faith. God wants to work in amazing ways if Christians will follow him whole-heartedly, he said.

God not only will work through believers, but also will shower blessings on them, Matte added.

“It's walking with Jesus,” he said. “It's dining on the sweet bread. It's saying, 'Jesus, I want you to do something through me.' That's living the fabulous life.”

Walking in faith may be “fabulous,” but it often goes unnoticed, he said.

Many times believers will not be recognized for their personal Bible studies, worship or moral stands.

Christians must persevere, Matte urged. Small actions strengthen a believer's spiritual life. A strong spiritual life leads Christians to reach out to non-believers. Those actions are noticed and sometimes lead to opportunities to share the gospel.

Matte reminded the crowd of Baruch, a scribe mentioned in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah. Baruch wrote the words God gave Jeremiah, playing the simple role of a scribe without much fanfare, but he held an integral role in delivering God's message, Matte said. The same small but important roles are lived out by Christians today.

“God calls specific people to strategic locations for significant reasons,” he said. “It's not an accident you live where you live.”

Because their faith often goes unnoticed, some Christians tend to see only bad circumstances around them, overlooking God's blessings, said Daniel “Tiny” Dominguez, youth minister at Iglesia Bautista Getsemani in Fort Worth.

“It's funny how we look at our lives and never see the blessing of God,” Dominguez said during the event, sponsored by the BGCT Center for Strategic Evangelism. He encouraged the audience to examine their lives and faith. He called them to love God and follow his desires.

Greg Matte leads a time of prayer and commitment during the Texas Baptist Hispanic Youth and Singles Congreso in San Antonio. More than 180 people made professions of faith in Christ.

Young people flocked to the altar and filled aisles to commit their lives to Christ following the messages. More than 180 people declared faith in Christ for the first time. More than 200 rededicated themselves to following God. About 135 said they feel called to vocational ministry for the first time.

More than 900 people participated in mission projects throughout San Antonio. Most groups distributed Christian material in neighborhoods. Some led backyard Bible studies. One team painted portions of a church.

Fabian Ramirez, president of the 40th annual Congreso, said the meeting met the needs of the participants. The messages, projects and seminars provided information that the young people can use in their churches.

“Youth are responding to the messages,” Ramirez said. “People are worshipping like they're hungry, and they're being fed.”

The crowd also gave more than $2,200 for college scholarships to assist Hispanic Baptist students.

Scholarship recipients are: Travis Cuellar of Primera Iglesia Bautista in San Antonio; Mariam Haro of Templo Bautista Emmanuel in Fort Worth; Steve Gonzales of La Promesa Baptist Church in San Antonio; Jose Alvarenga of Mission Bautista West End in Houston; Ruth Alonzo of Segunda Iglesia Bautista in San Marcos; Maribel Santamaria of Nueva Esperanza in Houston; Nereida Ceniceros of Mission Nueva Vida in Brownwood.

Also receiving the scholarship are Crystal Amaya of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Weatherford; Amanda Nino of Antioquia Baptist Church; Albert Ruiz of El Pueblo de Dios in Dallas; Jacqueline Sotelo of La Promesa Baptist Church in San Antonio; Angelica Ramos of Iglesia Bautista Grace in Houston; Andy Arango of Iglesia Bautista Getsemani in McAllen.

Others earning scholarships are Yvette Mata of La Promesa Baptist Church of San Antonio; Angel Rodriguez of La Promesa Baptist Church; Shawn Gamiochipi of Iglesia Bautista Hispana Unida in Houston; Anita Molina of Sunny Slope Baptist Church in San Antonio; Amaris Castellon of University Baptist Church in Huntsville; Clara Herrera of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Eldorado; Victor Morales of Iglesia Bautista Ebenezer in Dallas.

Scholarships also were awarded to Brook Burelsmith of Morning Star Baptist Church in Abilene; Rosalinda Vara of Iglesia Bautista Grace in Houston; Maria Torres of Nueva Vida in Greenville; Matthew Gonzales of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Edinburg; John Cantu of Primera Iglesia Bautista in New Braunfels; Maria Hernandez of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza in Pasadena.

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: 12/08/06

Group asks SBC to reconsider tongues policy

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

ARLINGTON (ABP)—A group of Baptist pastors and church leaders at a Dec. 5 roundtable discussion voted unanimously to ask Southern Baptist Convention officials to reconsider restrictive policies regarding speaking in tongues.

The more than 80 pastors and laypeople who attended the half-day event at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington also agreed to submit a resolution on “partnership and free religious expression” at the next SBC annual convention, to be held June 12-13 in San Antonio.

Cornerstone Pastor Dwight McKissic, whose congregation is one of the SBC’s largest predominantly African-American churches, convened the meeting in light of controversy over charismatic worship practices in Southern Baptist life.

Billed as a discussion on “Baptists and the Holy Spirit,” much of the discussion focused on some Southern Baptists’ use of a “private prayer language,” or utterances in personal prayer that are a form of speaking in tongues.

McKissic moderated the discussion along with fellow Arlington pastor Ben Cole; and Oklahoma pastors Wade Burleson and Art Rogers. The group included several black Southern Baptist pastors, many of whom echoed the concerns of the organizers.

Glossolalia—the biblical term for tongues-speaking—has been a touchy subject for Southern Baptists for many years, in part because it has led to discord within many churches. More recently that concern has shifted to include private prayer languages.

Last year, trustees of the SBC’s International Mission Board voted to disqualify missionary candidates who admit to using a private prayer language.

Burleson, an IMB trustee, opposed the new restriction despite the fact that he does not practice any form of glossolalia. His outspoken opposition to the policy, fueled by his popular weblog, caused a national stir among Southern Baptist leaders.

“We Southern Baptist pastors and leaders have met in Arlington in order to model what it means to put aside our differences on secondary issues for the sake of cooperative gospel ministry,” Burleson said. “We desire unity in the essentials, liberty in the non-essentials, and charity in all things.”

Opponents say the prayer-language restriction goes too far in dictating personal worship practices, excludes worthy Southern Baptists from denominational service, and represents an unnecessary and unbiblical narrowing of parameters for cooperation.

In the resolution, the group affirmed their “fundamental Baptist distinctive as advocates of religious liberty, especially as it relates to free expression in the public and private worship of followers of Jesus Christ.”

“We are opposed to any attempt to narrow the parameters of cooperation among Southern Baptist churches to limit the full recognition, participation and partnership among member churches on account of preference for worship styles or acceptance of spiritual practices consistent with the teaching of Holy Scripture,” the document said.

Resolution writers said they deliberately did not mention “tongues” or “private prayer language” in the text in an effort to “get to the root” of the prayer-language debate.

The controversy escalated after McKissic mentioned private prayer language and criticized the IMB policy in an Aug. 29 chapel sermon he delivered at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

McKissic noted that he has used a private prayer language since his seminary days at Southwestern in the early 1980s.

After the comments, Southwestern President Paige Patterson decided an electronic version of McKissic’s sermon would not be placed on the seminary’s website, even though doing so is the usual procedure for chapel messages. Patterson has said his rationale for the decision was that most Southern Baptists would not agree with McKissic’s opinions on ecstatic utterances.

For Burleson and his colleagues, though, the issue isn’t about speaking in tongues; it’s spiritual freedom.

"It's not about the public use of speaking in tongues," Cole said. "Our concern is that policies about these private prayer languages have been enacted without a clear rationale. It is no secret that if these polices had been in place over 30 years ago, the current president of the International Mission Board, Jerry Rankin, would not be in place. We don't need fewer missionaries like Jerry Rankin. We need more missionaries like Jerry Rankin."

Rankin has said he has used a private prayer language.

McKissic went so far as to say he would not disagree if SBC boards instituted policies opposed to public glossolalia. It’s the private stuff he’s worried about.

“We’re talking about private devotion,” he said. “We’re talking about private worship. Honestly, I have no problem if the board wants to prohibit public speaking in tongues… but to forbid private speaking (in tongues) is a problem.”

Burleson said although he does not personally speak in a private prayer language, he stands beside McKissic as an “evangelical brother, Southern Baptist leader, and (someone) with whom I and my church will unashamedly cooperate with in ministry for years to come.”

And while many Baptists associate the practice of tongues with Pentecostals and other charismatic groups, a Pentecostal church and a charismatic church are two different things, Burleson said. That’s one reason why Southern Baptist churches that espouse private prayer languages can and should remain Southern Baptist.

“I think the term ‘charismatic’ is relative,” he said. “The word ‘charismatic’ means ‘grace-gifted.’ By that definition, every church in the Southern Baptist Convention is charismatic. … But none of us sitting at this table are Pentecostal,” who believe tongues-speaking should be normative for all Christians.

In other business during the event, pastors voted to ask LifeWay Christian Resources, the SBC’s publishing house, survey Southern Baptists to discover “where Southern Baptists are on the issue of tongues, private prayer languages, and the acceptability of their use within our denomination.”

According to Cole, 85 to 90 percent of the people who attended McKissic’s roundtable are actively engaged in Southern Baptist ministry. He declined to guess whether or not the meeting reflected the opinions of many Southern Baptists, calling instead for the LifeWay survey to produce specific numbers.

Cole did say, however, “the tide is turning. … There are Southern Baptists who feel disenfranchised by the church apparatus.”

And while the Dec. 5 group has no plans to become an organized body, it includes members who are “affiliated by our common concern for the convention,” Cole said.

Cole warned that policies narrowing the parameters of cooperation beyond clear biblical teaching is damaging the SBC.

Such constraints cause the denomination to lose its common mission and evangelistic edge, he said. “We’re trying to do triage on the Southern Baptist Convention.”

The conference was officially called the “Sandy Creek-Charlestonian Baptist Roundtable,” a reference to two early worship traditions that emerged in Baptist life in the American South during the 1700s. Baptists in and around Sandy Creek, N.C., were known for an emotional and demonstrative worship style. Meanwhile, the tradition that developed out of the First Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C., encouraged a much more formal and cerebral approach to worship.

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: 12/11/06

Bible Studies for Life Series for December 17

The intermingling of faith, hope & love

• 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

By Kenneth Lyle

Logsdon School of Theology, Abilene

In the concluding verse of this week’s focal passage, Paul writes the justifiably well known admonition: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Faith, hope and love—ideas often linked together by Paul (Romans 5:2, 5; Galatians 5:5-6; Ephesians 4:2-5; Colossians 1:4-5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 5:8). Faith, hope and love—seen today, as then, as life-changing gifts from God. It is faith, or more precisely Jesus’ faithfulness to God’s plan to save the world, that allows us to have hope (Romans 1:16-17). Hope, the result of faith, that allows us to live with confident expectation about what God has done, is doing, and will do in the world. Love, that quality for which Paul claims the privileged position amongst the three, expressed in word and deed in and through the community of God.

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Discussions of love often lend themselves to curious and difficult comparisons. In English, we really only have one word for “love.” We express our “love” for fried catfish with perhaps the same enthusiasm that we say “I love church!” We announce our undying love for our husband or wife, and then turn around and say, “I love ice cream.” Obviously, we don’t mean the same thing in each instance.

There are other words we could employ—affection, appreciation, enjoyment, admiration—but, we generally resort to the easy and often used “I love …”—fill in the blank.

Hellenistic Greek provides a way through the maze of conflicting understandings about the nature of love. The language employed by the New Testament writers held several words which translate into English as “love.” Eros, or erotic love, suggests the feeling between lovers. Storge, or affection, expresses the feeling of parents to offspring. Philia, or friendship, speaks of the bond between friends, brothers or sisters. Different words for different sentiments.

The word most often used by New Testament writers to express the peculiar kind of love expressed by God to humanity, by Christian to Christian, and from Christians to the world is agape. In 1 Corinthians 13:13, the King James Version renders agape as “charity,” placing the focus on the necessity of Christian love for the world. Agape expresses love as the love God has for us, and when applied to Christians, agape expresses the reality that Christians should act in behalf of others without taking into consideration their worthiness.

In addition to the variety of terms used to express the variety of loves we have, we also must consider the verbal nature of these nouns that mean love. As we have seen with faith and hope, nouns often have a verbal element that forces us to ask the question, “Is this thing (faith, hope, love) something I have or something I do?” The long answer made short is, yes!

We possess faith, but it must be exercised. We hold on to hope, but we live it. Likewise, we have love, but we must express it.

I am reminded of a skit performed at a Baptist Student Union meeting a long time ago where the main character received the gift of God’s love. He held on tightly to the wonderful feeling of love, grasping it in his hands, refusing to share with passersby. At the end of the skit, the miserly holder of God’s love risked a peek into his clasped hands only to see that God’s love—God’s agape—was gone! Love is something we have, but it also is something we do.

Paul’s discussion of love in 1 Corinthians comes after his reflection on the variety of spiritual gifts expressed in the church (1 Corinthians 12). The church at Corinth faced many of the same kinds of difficulties the 21st century church faces today.

The church was divided into various factions that looked to different personalities for leadership (1 Corinthians 1:10-7; 3:1-23). There was a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of spiritual experience, and how to be both a spiritual and physical person in the world (1 Corinthians 5-8). This misunderstanding of spiritual experience expressed itself either in libertine behavior that indulged the desires of the flesh or ascetic tendencies that prohibited natural human behavior. Perhaps worst of all, some in the church were trumpeting their spiritual gift over and against the spiritual giftedness of others.

Against this backdrop, Paul discusses the variety of spiritual gifts available the church. Paul admonishes the Corinthians and Christians of all ages that differences in spiritual gifts allow the church to minister effectively in the world. They are not a reason for boasting. Everyone in the church cannot do everything, but each one can do and should do something, and no single gift is more important than another.

Paul concludes his discussion of spiritual gifts by encouraging us to “…eagerly desire the greater gifts,” and he begins his discussion of love by saying, “and now I will show you the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31).

The lesson writer outlines the focal passage focusing on the priority of love (vv. 1-3), the practice of love (vv. 4-7) and the permanence of love (vv. 8-13). This outline provides a convenient, appropriate and easy to remember means for focusing themes in this text.

In the opening paragraph, Paul draws our attention to the various kinds of sound that might fill our churches; the deep discussions that may dominate our Sunday school classes; the charities that vie for our attention; and he reminds us all of this is worthless without love. As Christians, all our actions must be grounded in love.

The central paragraph describes Christian love in powerful descriptive terms—patient, kind, not envying, not boasting, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeping no record of wrongs, not delighting in evil, rejoicing in truth, protecting, trusting, hoping and persevering. Easy words to memorize, read and talk about, but difficult tasks to complete. But, as Christians we are not excused from the practice of love both to each other and to the world.

In the final paragraph, Paul reflects on the permanence of love. While other things like knowledge will pass away, Paul is convinced “love never fails.” Paul acknowledges that while we may not understand all there is to understand, love remains above all things. There is faith, there is hope, there is love; but Paul reminds us that the greatest of these things is love.

Discussion question

• How are faith, hope and love interwined?

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: 12/11/06

BaptistWay Bible Series for December 17

In the light of the noonday, darkness abounds

• John 4:1-30; 39-42

By David Wilkinson

Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth

Jesus, as depicted in the Gospels, could be described in a lot of ways. But one thing he clearly was not was boring. No one left an encounter or conversation with this itinerate preacher-prophet-teacher-miracle worker-son of a simple Galilean carpenter thinking Jesus was dull.

Jesus was interesting. He was fascinating. He was mysterious. All these qualities—and more—are wonderfully evident in the contrasting, back-to-back conversations recorded in Chapters 3-4 of the Gospel of John.

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A surprising conversation

The story of Jesus’ conversation with “the woman at the well,” unique to John, is among the best-known stories of the gospels. Its placement following Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus is strategic, and the narrative, as well as the conversation itself, unfolds masterfully.

The fact that they were in Samaria at all probably had the disciples muttering to themselves as they went into the village to order take-out for lunch, leaving Jesus alone at the well (v. 7). Every self-respecting Jew, when traveling from Judea to Galilee as Jesus and the disciples were (v. 3), literally went out of his way to avoid the province of Samaria and any interaction with its occupants who were viewed by the Jews as unclean traitors and inferior heretics.

The disciples, therefore, had good reason to be “astonished” (v. 27) when they returned from the market to find Jesus talking one-on-one in a public place with a woman who also was a Samaritan—one social and religious faux pas compounded by another.

The comment that Jesus “had to go through Samaria” (v. 4) clearly refers to an inner, Spirit-led decision in striking contrast to social and religious custom. Jesus had every reason not to go through Samaria and, as it turns out, only one reason to do otherwise—the opportunity for an extraordinary conversation with a despised foreigner who in turn became the catalyst for introducing her townspeople to the Messiah.

Jesus’ need to go through Samaria is consistent with the central message of the Gospel—that “God so loved the world.” The story of the encounter with the Samaritan woman illustrates the “whosoever” of John 3:16. Learning that “whosoever” really does mean everyone is a key theological lesson not only for the first disciples, but also for the early Christian community, as the story of Acts dramatically reveals.

Comparing conversations

Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman echoes the earlier conversation with Nicodemus. Both the similarities and contrasts in these back-to-back conversations are striking and purposeful.

Nicodemus, a fellow Jew, approaches Jesus at night for a private conversation between teachers about theological concerns. The woman, a foreign Samaritan, is approached by Jesus in a public place, and the ensuing conversation occurs in the broad daylight in the middle of the day. Nicodemus is a religious leader presumably with a respectable reputation, while the Samaritan woman’s reputation is questionable at best. That she was at the well at noon in the heat of the day, rather than in the cool of the evening when most women gathered to socialize as they filled their water pots, also may suggest she felt ostracized.

Both Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman interpret Jesus’ words literally, while Jesus is speaking on a deeper, spiritual level. To each person, he offers the same gift, but wrapped in different metaphors of “born from above” and “living water.” In both conversations, Jesus exhibits the spiritual insight that enables him to penetrate quickly to the heart of the matter. In both cases, he touches a spiritual nerve: “He unmasks the spiritual emptiness of the one who seems righteously self-sufficient and opens up the alienation of the second, caught in a maze of tangled relationships,” commentator Roger Fredrikson said.

“Living water”—i.e., running water or spring water—was (and still is) greatly prized in Palestine. In literature, this precious water became a symbol of divine wisdom and teaching (Isaiah 55:1-3, Psalm 36:9, Jeremiah 2:13). Jesus, however, applies this rich metaphor to himself, “referring to his divine revelation and to the Holy Spirit who will be given as living water to those who accept that revelation,” theologian Raymond Brown points out.

The power of testimony

The progression of faith in this account unfolds masterfully. On the woman’s part, the conversation moves from surprise to curiosity to interest to witness. In a parallel sense, Jesus moves from stranger to prophet to Messiah, underscoring the dynamic quality of the gospel’s emphasis on “believing in Jesus.”

This story also illustrates the power of testimony. God uses the Samaritan woman’s testimony—despite her spotty moral resume and the tentative nature of her own faith in Jesus (she never makes an explicit declaration of faith in Jesus as the Messiah in this account). As one of my seminary professors liked to say, “God is perfectly capable of hitting a straight lick with a crooked stick.” The result is that “many” come to believe in Jesus “because of the woman’s testimony” (v. 39). Furthermore, Jesus stays two more days at the invitation of the villagers, and “many more” come to faith (v. 41).

The story concludes with an affirmation of faith in Jesus at two levels. The first is the response of the people to the testimony of the woman and to the words of Jesus. The second is the implied invitation to the reader to respond to the witness of the gospel. Faith in Jesus can be prompted by the testimony of a witness (in this case, the Samaritan woman or the larger Gospel account), but ultimately seekers must claim it for themselves.

We are invited to affirm with the Samaritan villagers, “It is no longer because of what (others have) said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world” (v. 42).

Discussion questions

• Who are the “Samaritans” in our society who challenge our commitment to the “whosoever” invitation of the John 3:16?

• The purpose of our testimony is to point others to Jesus. In what ways is the Samaritan woman a model for us as witnesses to the truth found in Christ?

• Like the Samaritan villagers, we must claim our faith in Jesus “for ourselves,” rather than relying indirectly on the testimony and the experience of others. How has this happened for you?

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: 12/11/06

Explore the Bible Series for December 17

God works through spiritual leaders

• Ezra 7:8-10; 9:1-2, 4; 10:1-5

By Howard Anderson

Diversified Spiritual Associates, San Antonio

Ezra proves to be a godly spiritual leader coming to Jerusalem during the reign of Artaxerxes, probably over a century after the completion of the temple in 516 B.C.

Ezra was a priest and a scribe. He descended from Aaron through Phinehas and later Zadok. His purpose for going to Jerusalem was to study the law of the Lord, to do it, and to teach the statues and ordinances in Israel. Jerusalem needed the law of God. Ezra’s teaching was needed to give solidity and strength to the Jewish community struggling against pressures to surrender its ethnic and theological identity.

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God needs godly, spiritual leaders to teach his word. God’s work necessitates good stewardship and generous sacrifice. Gross violations of God’s word must be acknowledged in prayer and confession. God’s leaders must make God’s call for the separated life clear to God’s people.

Returning to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1-8:36)

The events of chapter 6 took place during the reign of King Darius. Now we are jumping forward many years to the reign of Artaxerxes (464-424 B.C.). Ezra, the leader of the second return to Jerusalem (circa 458 B.C.) is introduced with a long genealogy, demonstrating that he was from a priestly family—the family of Aaron.

Ezra not only was from a priestly family, he also was a skilled scribe—one who copied and studied the law. After the exile, the office of scribe came into prominence, in some ways replacing the prophet in importance and eventually eclipsing even the role of the priest. “The law of Moses” refers to God’s law. Moses may have been the person most closely associated with the law, but it was the Law that “the Lord God of Israel had given” (v. 6).

Throughout his life, Ezra had concentrated fully on the study, practice and communication of the word of God. Ezra diligently searched the Scriptures so he could live by them and teach them to Israel. Because of this, the gracious hand of God empowered him (v. 9). The words in verse 11 describe Ezra with exceptional praise by referring to him as “the scribe’s scribe” or the teacher of scribes.

Three sources of offerings for the temple are listed: (1) the silver and gold of the king and his counselors, (2) the silver and gold of the people of Babylon and (3) the freewill offering of the Jewish people who remained in Babylon. “The house of their God which is in Jerusalem” is a reference to the temple (vv. 13-19).

Ezra was given authority to set up a judicial system with the power to punish. Although the magistrates and judges had authority over only Jewish people, their authority extended beyond Jerusalem to Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine (vv. 25, 26).

“To beautify the house of the Lord” is a reference to the reestablishment of moral, spiritual and religious life (v. 27). Ezra was encouraged with renewed vigor and gathered leading men of Israel to return to Jerusalem with him (v. 28).

“These are now the chiefs of their fathers” (8:1). The list of people who returned to Jerusalem recalls the list of the men for war at the time of the anticipated conquest of the land of Canaan (Numbers 1:26). Their chiefs represent 12 families, and the number of males in each family is given. The total number of the heads of families who accompanied Ezra back to Jerusalem was 1,496 (vv. 2-14).

The people began to assemble at the river on the first day of the first month. During the course of the first three days, Ezra discovered there were no Levites among the travelers. During the next eight days, Ezra enlisted Levites (vv. 15-20), entreated the Lord (vv. 21-23) and entrusted the traveler’s considerable load to the priests and Levites (vv. 24-30). The returnees then departed from the river on the 12th day of the first month. The trip took about three and a half months.

Confessing sin (Ezra 9:1-15)

Both the leaders and the people of Israel had failed to remain separate from the Gentiles who lived in the land (9:1, 2). The Jewish returnees were marrying the pagan peoples of the land, a practice the Law of Moses expressly prohibited (Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3).

Ezra felt an overwhelming sense of shame. His prayer was one of confession (v. 6). Though Ezra had not participated in this sin himself, he identified with the sins of the people. Ezra further acknowledged that the people’s sinful actions were part of their history. The whole nation—“kings and priests,” as well as the people—had sinned in the past, and they had suffered for it at “the hand of the kings of the lands” (v. 7).

In verses 10-12, Ezra confessed the sins of the nation by referring to what “the prophets” had preached. The prophets prohibited intermarriage with Gentiles (Deuteronomy 7:1-3; 23:7; Malachi 2:10-16).

Ezra ended his prayer not by asking for forgiveness, but by declaring God was “righteous” (vv. 13-15). Israel was guilty and deserved whatever justice God gave them.

Turning from sin (Ezra 10:1-44)

Many people in Israel were concerned about the sin in their midst. So while Ezra wept, prayed and confessed, these people “assembled” around him and “wept very sore” (10:1).

Making a “covenant” with God means binding oneself by an oath to God to do something. It was the most binding form of commitment a person could make (v. 3). Shechaniah said, “arise” (v. 4) reminding Ezra it was his responsibility to teach Israel the law of God.

“Within three days” was a reasonable demand because the more distant cities all were within three days’ journey to Jerusalem (v. 8). According to the law, the money from the sale of “forfeited” property went into the temple treasury (Leviticus 27:28-29, where “devoted” means “forfeited”).

The people faced two problems: (1) There were too many of them for the investigation to be done in a day or even two days. (2) The weather would not permit them to stay in Jerusalem. The people who traveled from a distance could not stay in the city, living and sleeping in the open air, during the cold, rainy period. They requested their rulers organize the investigation (vv. 10-14).

“And gave their hands” (v. 19) also may be translated “they gave their promise.” The symbol of raising hand to take an oath still is practiced in many cultures. With this sign, the Israelites agreed to put away their unlawful wives and offer a sacrifice according to the requirement of Leviticus 5:14-19. Although this promise and sacrifice are mentioned only in connection with the priests, it is likely everyone on the list fulfilled these requirements. Even though some had had “children” with their pagan wives, they still separated themselves from them (v. 44).

Discussion questions

• If Ezra was empowered by his knowledge of Scripture, can the knowledge of God’s word also empower our lives? Most would answer yes, but how do we go about living out empowered lives?

• Does God still call people to separate themselves from sin? How do Christians fight being enmeshed in a pervasively sinful culture?

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: 12/08/06

BGCT responds to clergy
sex abuse; victims want more

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)—Recent sex scandals among Catholic and evangelical leaders are prompting renewed calls for action against clergy sexual abuse. But with research indicating such abuse is more prevalent among clergy—including Baptists—than other counseling professionals, abuse-victim advocates are asking if enough is being done.

Comprehensive studies are difficult to find. But a 1993 survey by the Journal of Pastoral Care found that 14 percent of Southern Baptist ministers admitted to engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior. Seventy percent said they knew another minister who had.

A 2000 Baptist General Convention of Texas report indicated more than 24 percent of ministers said they had counseled at least one person who had sexual contact with a minister. The BGCT report called the level of sexual abuse by clergy “horrific” and noted that “the disturbing aspect of all research is that the rate of incidence for clergy exceeds the client-professional rate for both physicians and psychologists.”

Christa Brown, an attorney from Austin, maintains www.stopbaptistpredators.org. She works with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, an organization of survivors of clergy sexual abuse. She also recently handed out brochures at the annual BGCT convention in Dallas.

“We call upon the Baptist General Convention of Texas to stop shielding clergy predators and to take action for the protection of kids,” the SNAP leaflet said. It called on the BGCT to hire independent experts to investigate sexual abuse cases within the convention.

Brown, 54, who said she was abused by a Southern Baptist youth minister in 1968, insists if Baptist leaders cared enough about protecting kids from clergy abuse, they would not let congregational autonomy be an impediment to action.

But representatives from the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board staff take issue with Brown’s characterization. They say they’re actually the only Baptist group to take a proactive stand against clergy abuse—all the while working within a denominational structure built to maintain autonomy in local churches and resist top-down management.

Emily Row, coordinator of BGCT leader communication, said her initial reaction to hearing from any victims group is one of sadness. She acknowledged that “there have been and continue to be gaps within the system,” and said she understands “the grief and the anger and the frustration that is bound to be a process of having been a victim.”

Still, she said, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about how the BGCT deals with clergy misconduct, and some of it is hearsay.

“Groups like SNAP say that we are harboring people guilty of sexual misconduct,” Row said. That’s not the case, she added. Instead, churches can report sexual misconduct to a confidential file on a volunteer basis.

“What happens is that duly-elected members of a church provide us with information of incidents of sexual misconduct…. It has to be in writing.”

That practice is intended to protect both the accuser and the accused, Row said.

The issue of confidentiality versus secrecy has remained a large part of the debate, especially concerning the BGCT’s file of ministers who reportedly committed sexual misconduct. SNAP officials criticized the Texas file in a letter they delivered Sept. 26 to the SBC Executive Committee in Nashville calling for an independent review of Baptist abuse.

But BGCT leaders point to the file as proof they’re doing more than other Baptist groups in trying to stop sexual abuse. Indeed, while the file remains confidential, it is a step that others have not yet taken, Row said.

Row stressed that the “file of incidents” is often misunderstood. If a minister is convicted of any indecency or confesses to such, then church leaders can choose to report it to the list. And other churches can have access to the file as well, if they submit an official request.

To check the “confidential, not secret” BGCT file, an elected member of a church must submit a written request inquiring about a particular person. Should that specific person appear on the list, BGCT officials “respond with a form that says if the person indicated has an incident on record in that file.”

“Because we’re autonomous as Baptists, we can’t make anyone tell us anything,” Row said. “Our information is only as good as the church information that is provided, which means that when a church doesn’t report to us what has happened, we don’t have any way of knowing, and that information is not in the file.”

Any clergy members recorded as public sex offenders against children are listed in public records, and churches “are encouraged” to reference those lists. Those names are not listed on the BGCT site because “it’s already part of public record,” Row said.

Christa Brown, however, called that limited availability a “very dangerous way of thinking.” FBI reports say less than 10 percent of child molestation cases are ever detected, much less prosecuted, so hundreds of cases go unreported in public databases every year.

“The contents of that file are kept secret from the very people who are most in need of knowing what’s in it—the parents in the pews of Baptist churches,” Brown said.

Secrecy contracts, or agreements that forbid the victim from speaking about the inappropriate contact, have contributed to the problem, Brown said. Often, women who had an affair with a pastor are asked to quietly leave the church in order to save themselves—and the church—the embarrassment of a scandal.

“Even if (Baptist leaders) can’t actually remove men from ministry, they could at least take on the obligation to inform people in the pews when there is information about a minister reported for molesting a kid,” she said. “To keep that kind of information a secret from parents is unconscionable.”

For her part, Row stressed that not all of the people in the file were guilty of criminal behavior or child abuse. Some are included because of adultery with consenting adults, for instance. Others may have looked at legal pornography. And she urged churches to contact authorities immediately in cases of illegal behavior, harassment or rape.

What’s more, the BGCT has an “intervention specialist” who deals with cases of clergy misconduct, Row said. And the convention has published several guides on ministerial ethics, one specifically about preventing and confronting clergy sexual misconduct.

In June 2002, the Southern Baptist Convention also passed a resolution on the sexual integrity of ministers. It urged seminaries to emphasize ministerial integrity in the training of pastors and other leaders, and called on civil authorities to punish to the fullest extent of the law sexual abuse among clergy and counselors.

“We call on our churches to discipline those guilty of any sexual abuse in obedience to Matthew 18:6-17, as well as to cooperate with civil authorities in the prosecution of those cases,” the resolution said. “…We pray for those who have been harmed as a result of sexual abuse and urge our churches to offer support, compassion and biblical counseling to them and their families.”

Phil Strickland, in a letter of introduction for Broken Trust: Confronting Clergy Sexual Misconduct, wrote that 96 percent of sexual exploitation by professionals involves a man in power capitalizing on a woman’s trust. The late director of the BGCT’s Christian Life Commission, Strickland said clergy sexual misconduct happens when a person in a ministerial role engages in sexual contact, threats or sexual behavior with a congregant, client, employee, student, staff member, colleague or volunteer.

Sometimes it’s done once, spontaneously, by a leader who is emotionally vulnerable and lonely. Other times, the abuse happens from a leader who has a pattern of abusing power—a serial abuser who actively looks for opportunities to take advantage of congregants.

“Congregations should conduct background checks on prospective staff and assure appropriate supervision of all staff,” said Strickland, who died last year. “If there is a complaint of sexual misconduct, the church must act immediately to investigate and intervene properly and responsibly.”

Dee Ann Miller, an author and former Southern Baptist missionary, has worked with people affected by clergy abuse for more than 15 years. Of the 2,500 clergy-abuse survivors she has helped, she said on Brown’s website, at least 300 of them claim to have been abused by Southern Baptist clergy.

Miller, who wrote How Little We Knew: Collusion and Confusion with Sexual Misconduct, said she had good response from Baptists when she first got involved with the issue in 1995. But she sees little progress toward training ministers and lay people to prevent and deal with sexual misconduct.

“I could not understand then and still have only partial understanding of the rationale that would put other individuals and congregations at risk while giving ‘opportunity for restoration’ to a perpetrator with multiple victims…,” Miller wrote in a series of essays for Baptists Today.

In an issue so mired in hurt and mistrust, solutions seem few and far between. Miller and Brown have repeatedly and emphatically said the BGCT’s action is “not even close” to proper investigation and prevention of misconduct. Brown has called it “a bit of talk and some words on paper” that effectively recycle predators from church to church.

Row maintains that the convention has committed to improving “communication and to make use of our clergy sexual-misconduct file.” Convention leaders truly want to prevent sexual abuse and help those whom it affects, she said.

“My hope is that as more of these instances are made public knowledge, that churches will see the need to begin to report these things,” Row said. “That they will see that they can be a part of bringing about a solution. My hope is that those who have been bold enough to step forward and say something will be rewarded.”

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: 12/08/06

CYBER COLUMN:
Wishing for Christmas

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, wishing for Christmas. Here in our town, it feels like Christmas. Ice, sleet and snow fell from the sky. Winter’s chill thrills the air. Giving swells in my heart. And Christmas soon comes!

The old preacher Philips Brooks in the 1800s said, “The earth has grown old with its burden of care, but at Christmas it is always young.” How true. When it snowed here recently, I wished for inches, white covering the earth like a cotton blanket. I longed for the snow to pile up so I could grab the neighborhood kids and slide on boxes, throw snowballs and fix hot chocolate. I also wanted to run down to Blockbuster and rent three movies, Elf and The Chronicles of Narnia and It’s a Wonderful Life, just hear those infamous movie lines: “I know him! I know him!” and “It’s always winter but never Christmas” and “See (George) Bailey, you’ve had a wonderful life!” Ah, Christmas soon comes!

Christmas is about the birth of Christ, to be sure, as a star hung over Bethlehem, wise men and shepherds and a pregnant Mary riding a donkey and Joseph in his wide-eyed innocence. Christmas is portrayed so many ways, from It’s Christmas, Charlie Brown to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Rein Deer to Santa Claus I, II, and now III to The Miracle on 34th Street to the local church pageant with bathrobes and broomsticks and fresh-faced children as shepherds and wise men to million-dollar extravaganzas with enough glitz and glitter to sparkle beyond anything Hollywood could do. From the programs and pageants to the Christmas lights on my street, you cannot help but love Christmas. It soon comes!

But for all Christmas is, it’s an emotional time. Every year, I send a letter to families that lose loved ones. As one lady who lost her husband said recently, “I am not looking forward to Christmas!” Christmas is an emotional time because of separation—families separated by war, divorce and geography. Christmas is an emotional time because of the sentiment that goes with it. I never really knew my great grandmother, “Big Mama” as we called her, and I am not sure why we called her that, but she lived with us for a period of time after my mother recovered from a car wreck. I can remember that she gave me an electric helicopter and that was before X-box, iPod and all the electronic jazz kids have today. I was 5 years old, and the sentimental memory still lives in my mind and heart.

Christmas also bears the mark of hope—for a new year, for a fresh start, for a gift, for a the joy of giving, for the wonder of Christ in all he means when we pause in peace to reflect and anticipate who Christ is and the core values of Christmas—peace, love, joy, Emmanuel and “he has come to save us from our sins.” Christmas soon comes!

As a pastor, people, memory and reflection filter through my mind at Christmas. “Doc,” my friend and chiropractor, would always call at Christmas, take our family out to eat, and we’d drive around and look at Christmas lights. “Snap, crackle, pop” my back would go when he fixed it from time to time and especially that one time when I could barely walk after playing basketball. “Padre,” he would say, “get your self down here to the office, and I’ll have you playing again in a couple of days!” I limped painfully into his office and he snapped, crackled and popped me and I played basketball two days later. Miracle it was! Christmas is about the Miracle, and it soon comes!

I think of Christmas, and I remember Phyllis, “the Philistine” as she signed her letters to me. Throughout the year, she called needing something. She had troubles in her life, too numerous to count. She depended on the church. It was her life and once upon a time a place for her to find comfort. I saw her before she died recently. Barely able to speak, tubes running through the veins, her voice weak as hospice cared for her, and she thanked me and the church for helping her and apologized for all the trouble she caused. Granted she did cause trouble once in awhile, but the church was about all she had. Every Christmas, Phyllis was one of those people we made sure we helped. She wrote a poem before her death and sent it to me in a letter. Here it is, titled, “Some People”:

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.

Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing of their wisdom.

Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever, the same.

She signed it: “Freedom butterfly” and wrote it on butterfly stationery. It was the Philistine’s way of saying thank you and her way of expressing a wish that she was ready to go and be with Jesus, free from pain and life as she agonizingly knew it. Christmas conjures up the footprints of Mary and Joseph and Jesus and those indelibly left on our hearts and a time to reflect on “some people” in this wonderful thing called life. Christmas is about the Footprint, and it soon comes!

Then I remember Frank. Frank had cancer, smoked like an incinerator and had no money, no family and no etiquette. He died a pauper. The church paid $959 for his funeral. And Frank left letters notes and gifts. One Christmas, he left me wooden church with a cross. I still have the church. One cold December day, he dropped it off at the church. He wrote mysterious words on notes:

–“Friends are what makes humanity eternal, love is God made visible;”

–“Beauty is the image that you can see even though you may close your eyes;”

–“A moment of anxiety becomes a moment of adoration when our eyes are fixed on him.”

Frank drove an old beat-up blue Cadillac, “my welfare Cadillac” he once laughingly called it, planted flowers at the church and watered them one spring and died one cold February day while I was reading to him in the nursing home. I read the Psalms, and he cried and slipped into glory, and I will never forget it. The Christmas before he died, I took him a red poinsettia from the church. He struggled to breathe, could barely talk, but you would have thought I had delivered a brand new Cadillac or a gift of the pearl of great price. He thanked me and cried and asked me to beg God for his mercy. That Frank, some people stick in your heart and brain like peanut butter to a jar. Christmas is about Mercy of God dripping into our hearts like a salty tear on the wounds of life, and it soon comes!

Then there was Daniel. It was Christmas evening, and my wife baked chocolate-chip cookies, and I went by the oil lube place where Daniel lived. He got kicked out of his house. He slept at his work. Never mind that Daniel had this pit bull dog that scared me to death one summer day when he asked me to come to his house. I arrived, we talked about the trials of his life, and then he stripped his shirt off, pointed to scars from some Mafia fight he had down in Miami, and he yelled at the top of his lungs. I prayed like mad, and he would not let me leave. Daniel calmed down, and then I did all I knew to do—share the gospel. Daniel wept, accepted Christ, fell to his knees and hugged me, and by God’s grace I raced past the pit bull dog and darted back to church. Sometimes in the ministry, the drama is too much too handle, but by God’s grace you survive. Daniel himself was a survivor. When I delivered the cookies that Christmas Eve at 9 p.m., Daniel was drunk as a skunk, lonely, alone on a wide sea and thanked me for the cookies and begged me to come in. He took the cookies, and I wished him a Merry Christmas. The last time I saw Daniel was at a convenience store when he walked over to my car, I rolled down the window, and he muttered, “Pray for old Daniel; he’s in the lion’s den again!” I have not seen Daniel since that moment, but I wonder about him. “Old Daniel’s’s in the lion’s den again” rolls around my brain like a marble spinning down a cylinder. All I have been left to do is wonder about Daniel and his lion’s den. Christmas is about a Person who came to save some people, all people, you and me in the person of Jesus. And Christmas soon comes. I sense the wonder!

Christmas soon comes, and all I am left to do his wonder. Jacob Niles tramped the Appalachian Mountains in search of folk music in 1925. He moved to New York and with inspired creativity, he used the folk music of the mountains to write this Christmas song entitled “I Wonder As I Wander,”

I wonder as I wander out under the sky, How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.

For poor on’ry people like you and I…

I wonder as I wonder out under the sky.

When Mary birthed Jesus ‘twas in a cow’s stall,

With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.

But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall,

And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,

A star in the sky, or a bird on a wing,

Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing,

He surely could have it, ‘cause he was the King.

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, wishing for Christmas, agreeing with Jacob Niles, remembering the sentiment and the Savior and a cast of characters, Mary and Joseph and Doc and Phyllis the Philistine and Frank and Daniel in the lion’s den. Christmas soon comes! I love the Miracle of it all and the Mystery and the Mercy. O, how I love the Mercy, and the Joy. All I can do is sit here and wonder as I wander. Sense the Wonder and drink in the Joy! Merry Christmas!

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.

Posted: 12/08/06

COMMENTARY:
Black Friday

By Jinny Henson

It was Black Friday, the fabled day after Thanksgiving and I had absolutely no desire to shop. The consumerism, the materialism…I was taking the moral high ground and refusing to shop. My mother and I discussed how crazy people were to get up at dawn’s crack and fight fellow citizens for the last low-priced cart wheeling tiger or karaoke machine.

But then I realized we needed orange juice and milk. Hmmm…you know, Target had such great prices on those things….a full .17 cents cheaper on the O.J. and a whopping .23 on the milk. It was the only fiscally responsible move one could make.

The parking lot looked deceptively empty. As I ventured inside I was actually surprised at the lack of humanity therein. I decided innocently enough just to breeze through the electronics section. Between the 13 steps of the Entrance sign and the first check out station something animalistic took over within me. I spotted two hand-held DVD players in a basket, shocked that they still had any left. I asked the lucky souls where they had found these barganzas at the late hour of 9 a.m. when the sale started promptly at 5.

“Over in electronics….we got two of the last ones.”

Uh-uh. The gauntlet was thrown down. If there was even one of those individual DVD players left in the entire store, it was mine. My basket, on two wheels now, spun around the corner in haste. I was like a crack addict jonesing for the next hit. Something internally propelled my body forward as the mild-mannered “It’s really about Jesus’ birthday” alter-ego watched on in horror, unable to tame her.

I read each approaching basket for clues as to my proximity to the DVD player. Searching the end caps in my peripheral vision, I darted through the clothing, “furnishings,” and bedding. Finally, I arrived! But, was I too late?

Each one of the 600 carts I sped past had a player in it. How many could this store stock at once and if every Target on the planet had them on for this cheap, what were my odds?

I quickly arrived and asked the photo lady whose job it was clearly not to know where the sale items were where the hand-held DVD players were. “Let’s see…” She sneered patronizingly and lazily gestured, “They were right over there. You know, the sale did start at 5.”

Undaunted, I figured that there had to be at least one indecisive consumer like me out there; prone to put large cuts of meat back in the cereal aisle and stick woks on top of the tropical fish when I changed my mind. So, my strategy revamped, I set out on recon.

Like the 7 foot cut out of the dude in camo just 2 rows over, I was a hunter with no intention to leave without my prey. Up and down the aisles I searched. “Just one.” like Rain man I mumbled repeatedly, “Just one.” I was serious about this because only 33 other stores advertised these gadgets and who knows when I could next find one. It may mean me waiting, say, until 12:30 or possibly even later. This was a limited offer and the profundity of it all had not escaped my notice.

Up and down, to no avail. Then suddenly a strange thing happened as I began to drift farther and farther from the frenzied electronics department…the veil lifted as quickly as it had descended. I began walking away from any possibility of that once in a lifetime bargain and simply walked toward my gallon of milk. I was momentarily a Patty Hurst, held captive by the manipulative, endorphin-elevating shopper’s thirst. But not for long.

I gathered my milk, selected my orange juice and checked out. My senses had returned and my emotions, cooled. I had a good laugh at what an incredibly easy mark I was and made an important vow. Next year. there’s no way I’ll be so foolish. I’ll get there right at 5.

Jinny Henson is an author and stand-up comic who performs for churches and comedy clubs nationwide. When not unleashing her wacky sense of humor, this Baylor University graduate is a preacher's wife, nutty blonde and soccer mom. You can find out more about her at www.jinnyhenson.com.

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

Posted: 9/19/03

Can a university be distinctively
Baptist and academically excellent?
—Or …

By Chris Seay

As I travel the country speaking to pastors, I get a lot of questions about my commitment to our denomination. I believe denominations are quickly becoming dinosaurs. So, many wonder why I invest my time and resources as a Texas Baptist. I tell them straight up that the Baptist General Convention of Texas is more like a family than a denomination. While segments of the Baptist faith have been fighting with moderates, Jews, Catholics and Mickey Mouse, my friends in Texas have been focusing on being the presence of Christ, starting churches, feeding the hungry, caring for orphans, opposing the death penalty and avoiding the wrong kind of controversy.

Maybe I spoke too soon. While the BGCT has remained above the fray, Baptists on the Brazos have locked themselves in a no-holds-barred cage match and thrust the worst stereotypes of people of faith onto the international stage. I, for one, have had enough. If being in the Baptist or Baylor family means taking sides and arms against one another, then I am opting out.

Baylor's quest: Joel Gregory Ella Wall Prichard Chris Seay

The world we live in has changed. If the booming churches of the 1950s were the Baptist equivalent of the Promised Land, then we are living in exile. Emerging generations have little connection with Christ or the church; they see Christians as irrelevant and angry, and church involvement is at an all-time low. The new world is post-modern, post-colonial, post-Christian and post-denominational.

My calling is to be a missional leader in that new world, pointing people toward the beauty of the redemption found only in Christ. Fighting Baptists are making that job harder every day. Back me in a corner, and I'll come out swinging, but I don't want to fight. There are better and more important things to do.

I especially don't want to watch Baptists exchange blows. “Saturday Night Boxing” on HBO has become one of my favorite pastimes, but those guys fight much fairer than Baptists. They tap gloves before they start, back up when the opponent is down on the mat and often hug after 10 long rounds. Baptists fight 'til the death, and many pastors like me are walking away from the institutions that seem hell-bent on self-destruction.

A decade and a half removed from the heyday of denominational controversy, a group of old-school Baptists are returning to the ring like an elderly George Foreman for one more fight. If the unrestrained tirade we heard this summer in the Ferrell Center is any indication, this attack is as vulgar as a Mike Tyson bout and equally bewildering. We only have one satisfactory foe–the fundamentalists–so we pin their face on every opponent we encounter. The chubby mug of Jerry Falwell or Paige Patterson is being carefully pasted on the profile of Baylor President Robert Sloan. If you look twice, you will see clearly that it doesn't fit the six-and-a-half-foot-tall president.

Maybe you can't teach old dogs new tricks. In 1990, we needed some pit bulls to protect Baylor and the BGCT from a takeover, and they did their job. The problem with pit bulls is once they have been trained to fight and they get their first taste of blood, they become killers and eventually have to be put down. It is time for the warriors to lay down their swords. There will be problems and disagreements, but they should be solved in a face-to-face sit-down, not by maligning one another in anonymous documents, the Baptist Standard or the Houston Chronicle.

Call me an idealist, but I have dreams to see all denominations work together. On the mission field, it is common to see pastors abandon their denominational dogma for the sake of the gospel. The reality of a world in need of the redemption found only in Christ creates a focus and clarity we lack. Conflict is inevitable; it is the distinct way we deal with it that makes us Christian.

Those who are airing nasty thoughts to the press are making matters much worse. To the faculty member who called Sloan “an evil person,” I am bringing a vote of no confidence until he learns to talk nice. To the alumna who offered to donate money for Sloan to start his own school (a la Bob Jones), I'm offering matching funds for her to take anger-management classes. If you are unable to say something kind, or at least speak in a cordial manner, it is time to stop talking. And so I shall.

Baylor has a long tradition of appointing ordained pastors to her presidency. With a few exceptions, the presidents have been pastors. It is safe to say the learning curve is steep when making the transition from the pulpit to the chief executive office of a large university. Robert Sloan has made plenty of those mistakes. He has the respect of Baptist churches and was appointed to close the gap between Baylor and Texas Baptists. He is an extraordinary Bible teacher, family man and friend of the church. He also has failed to rally other significant populations of faculty and supporters to his cause–mostly due to some highprofile gaffes and differences in values. But blunders and semantics don't justify the hostility and hatred in the air in Waco.

Baylor always has been a lighthouse for intelligent young pastors. God has blessed me as a pastor and author by the things that I learned there. While at Baylor as a young student/pastor, President Herbert Reynolds came to visit my church. After the church service, he embraced me with the kindest words a mentor could speak to a young minister and silently dropped a hundred dollar bill in my shirt pocket (only Dave Bliss gives out more money than our former president). The administration of Baylor University has always sought a strong relationship with the church and her pastors. Which is the reason all these leaders must sit at a table to pray, critique, apologize, vent, listen and reconcile.

Baylor exists for the sake of the church. She is “Pro Ecclesia” and “Pro Texana.” So, resolve these differences. Our success in Texas rests in Baylor's hands.

The path of peace is not easy. It is time to seek a better way. Jesus said clearly that the world would know his disciples by the way we love one another. I wonder who they think we are; we fight more often than Oscar de la Hoya or Mike Tyson.

It is time for the lovers to take the helm of denominational life. The work of the gospel has very little to do with power. It is more about grace, service and reconciliation. In the midst of the controversy at Baylor, we need the fighters to embrace their enemy and allow for the transition to peacetime.

Chris Seay, a Baylor graduate, is an author and pastor of Ecclesia in Houston

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: 12/01/06

Around the State

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor art department will sponsor the 10th Christmas Workshop Dec. 9 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This year, the workshop will include a musical component, and a fee of $15 will be charged instead a gift collection as in years past. Children under 6 must be accompanied by an adult for the entire time. Children will make a variety of Christmas decorations and then will be entertained by Toucan Jam, a duo that plays musical instruments from around the world. Children who wish to attend only the musical portion of the event will be charged $8. Space is limited, and prior registration is recommended. For more information or to register, call (254) 295-4676.

• Phil Rhodes has been named director of institutional research and assessment at Houston Baptist University, effective Dec. 11. He most recently was senior research analyst at Baylor University, serving in that position since 1998.

• Audrey Chumchal was crowned 2007 Miss Mary Hardin-Baylor at the university’s annual pageant. Chumchal, who represented the freshman class, is a biblical studies major. Others honored included Lindsey Harkrider, first runner-up; Katrina Esco, second runner-up; Leslie Anne Estes; and Martha Sicking, fourth runner-up.

• Richard Blackaby, a well-known Canadian Baptist leader, was awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree by Dallas Baptist University during its fall convocation. He is president of Blackaby Ministries International, founded by his parents. For 13 years, he was president of Canadian Baptist Seminary in Cochrane, Alberta. He also is the author of several books. His father, Henry Blackaby, is author of the best-selling Experencing God.

• Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary Alumni Association has honored Anne Burton with its distinguished alumni award. Burton is a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missionary. She has served in Los Angeles as a chaplain at the University of Southern California, worked with migrants and refugees in North Africa, taught English as a Second Language and ministered among international students and visiting scholars. Prior to working with CBF, Burton worked at Rice University and Texas Medical Center in Houston through the Texas Baptist Student Ministries as intern associate director.

• The Texas Baptist Men group of Sur Zarzamora Church in San Antonio is reprinting the 20-volume commentaries of Joshua Grijalva at the request of churches whose pastors want to use them. The cost for 250 sets is about $13,000. For more information, contact Pastor Guadalupe Fonseca at 9339 S. Zarzamora Street, San Antonio 78224-2106.

• Susan Pigott, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology, has been named a founding fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. It is the first academy dedicated to the enhancement of ethical status of animals through academic publication, teaching and research.

Anniversaries

• Dan Chrestman, 10th, as pastor of The Fellowship of Tapestry in Hurlwood, Nov. 10.

• Tommy Culwell, 10th, as pastor of Colonial Hill Church in Snyder, Nov. 24.

• Baptist Temple in San Antonio, 95th, Dec. 10. Former pastors Mark Newton and Loren White will preach. Former Minister of Music Phillip Smith and his wife, Charre, will bring the special music. Following a catered lunch, Christian entertainer Clifton Jansky will present a concert.

Deaths

• James Grider, 71, Oct. 14 in Dallas. A bivocational pastor, he also worked as an auto mechanic. The Campbell resident was preceded in death by his sisters, Lilly Faye Grider, Alline Grider, Pauline Odessa Joe and Jessie Grider, and a brother, Earl. He is survived by his wife, Joyce; daughters, Debbie Byrd, Cathy Smithey, Debra Wade and Linda Payne; son, Dwight; brother, Frank; sisters, Hazel Branch, Bobbie Hutchins and Ruby Hensley; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

• Ennis Kirkland, 79, Nov. 11 in Jasper. Ordained in 1965, he was pastor of Calvary Church in Jasper, First Church in Spurger, Bon Weir Church in Bon Weir and Plum Ridge Church on Lake Sam Rayburn. A member of Hillcrest Church in Jasper, he was interim pastor of numerous Southeast Texas churches. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Bobbie; daughters, Brenda Kay and Becky Gulley; sister, Joyce Hanks; and two grandchildren.

• Don Tew, 65, Nov. 20 in Austin. An architect, Tew designed 68 church sanctuaries and buildings, including Hyde Park Church in Austin, where he was a third-generation member. He also was the architect for 30 Central Texas schools. He served the Austin church as a Sunday school teacher and chairman of deacons. He was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease last year. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; sons, Todd and Monty; and eight grandchildren.

• Russell Pogue, 87, Nov. 20 in Valley Mills. As a student, he was pastor of churches in King, County Line and Val Verde. After graduation, he moved to the Panhandle and was pastor of churches in Kress, Friona, Hereford, Wellington, Peters-burg, Cisco and Spearman. After retirement, he served two years in Uganda with the Southern Baptist Mission Service Corps. After returning to Texas, he held several interim pastorates and was director of missions for Bosque Association from 1995 to 2005. He was a member of First Church in Valley Mills. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Howard and George. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Imogene; daughter, Lois Ferguson; sons, Jim, Dan and Ed; brother, Paul; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

• Dorothy McDowell, 81, Nov. 26 in Dallas. She was a retired employee of the Baptist Standard. She was preceded in death by her husband, Alvin. She is survived by her sons, Ronald and Mikal; daughter, Pamela Risley; sister, Rosa Harris; six grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

• Sidney Moore, 87, Nov. 27 in Dallas. She devoted her life to God and family. Her father died when she still was in her early 20s. At that time, she became the sole-support for her mother and three much younger siblings. Although she had several opportunities for marriage, she chose to remain single and provide a home for her mother and a future for her siblings. She held several jobs, but then found her niche at the Baptist Standard, where she retired after more than 30 years of service. She was preceded in death by her brother, T.E., and sisters, Beulah Jones and Annie Carson. She is survived by her brothers, Cecil and Donald.

Events

• Pleasant Grove First Church and First Church of Urbandale, both in Dallas, will merge in a unification service Dec. 31. Urbandale’s facilities will be used for the joined congregations, while Pleasant Grove will provide the ministerial staff. Prior to joining, on Dec. 9 at 10 a.m., a celebration service will be held at the Pleasant Grove Church site to honor the congregation’s 103 years of ministry to the community. Causey Gram is pastor.

Addie Barton

• First Church in Salado will dedicate a historical marker at noon on Dec. 10 recognizing Addie Barton, pioneer missionary to Mexico. She taught school in Saltillo, Mexico, from 1883 until 1910, when the Mexican Revolution forced her home. After returning to Salado, she worked with Mexican refugees until her death in 1921. The marker will be placed next the to church's historic bell, crafted in 1879. The bell will be rung as a part of the ceremony. After the ceremony, a fajita lunch will be served by the Texas Baptist Men Disaster Relief Feeding team. Brian Dunks is pastor.

• The seventh annual Waco Christmas Celebration will be presented at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9 and at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at Columbus Avenue Church in Waco. A cast of more than 200, including a 100-voice choir, along with handbells, ensembles and choreography, will be featured. There is no cost, and tickets are not required. Doors open 30 minutes prior to performance times. David Hardage is interim pastor.

• Gambrell Street Church in Fort Worth presents “A Choral Evensong in Accordance with the Anglican Cathedral Tradition” Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. Clyde Glazener is pastor.

• Baptist Temple in Houston will present Handel’s Messiah Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. The sanctuary choir, directed by Edward Crowell, will be joined by organist Lew Zailer and the Fidelis String Quartet of the Houston Symphony. Admission is free, and complimentary childcare is provided for children 5 years old and younger. Kelly Burkhart is pastor.

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.