Posted: 5/26/06

Executive Board endorses
ongoing probe in Rio Grande Valley

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board overwhelmingly endorsed an ongoing investigation into alleged mishandling of church-starting funds in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

With only one dissenting vote, the board approved a Church Missions & Ministries Committee recommendation endorsing an investigation initiated by the board’s chair and vice chair and the convention’s officers.

The committee recommended the board endorse the convention-initiated investigation rather than launch its own probe as requested by Palo Pinto Baptist Association’s executive board.

At the recommendation of its Administration Support Committee, the board also approved up to $50,000 for the investigation and granted the board’s chair and the BGCT executive director the ability to authorize an additional $50,000, if needed.

The money will be drawn from contingency funds in convention reserves—not Cooperative Program budget money.

Questions surround cell-group missions reported as church-starts in the lower Rio Grande Valley from 1996 to 2003. Critics claim some church-starts that received BGCT financial assistance never existed, and some individuals profited by claiming to start multiple, nonexistent “mystery missions.”

BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade told the board he had heard concerns expressed off-and-on several years about how church-starting funds were used in the Rio Grande Valley. But every time he inquired about the issue, he felt satisfied by explanations received indicating proper procedures and policies had been followed.

After questions resurfaced last year around the time of the BGCT annual meeting, Wade said further inquiries by staff generated “more heat than light.”

Consequently, he initially contacted an accountant he knew from First Baptist Church in Arlington to investigate the alleged improprieties. The accountant, Mike Steiger, offered his services as a volunteer, Wade said.

After Palo Pinto Association passed a resolution calling for an independent Executive Board investigation—and after some critics raised questions about Wade’s personal ties to Steiger—all parties involved agreed to engage an attorney to head the probe. “We could not afford any perception of a conflict of interest,” Wade said.

So, BGCT Executive Board Chair Bob Fowler of Houston and Vice Chair Jim Nelson, along with the BGCT officers—President Michael Bell of Fort Worth, First Vice President Steve Vernon of Levelland and Second Vice President Dan Wooldridge of Georgetown—enlisted Brownsville attorney Diane Dillard. (See related story.)

In his opening report to the board, Wade stressed the importance of finding out the truth behind the allegations.

“If there has been wrongdoing, we will identify it and hold accountable any who participated in it. If there are ways to make amends to those who have felt hurt or misunderstood in these matters, we will do so. If there are lessons to be learned about how we can improve our church-starting strategies, we will learn them and implement corrective procedures,” he said.

“I would encourage us all to be kind in our comments about others, patient as the process works out, prayerful for all who are involved and willing to act decisively when we know the truth.”

Roberto Cepeda, chair of the Church Missions & Ministries Committee and pastor of First Baptist Church in Los Fresnos, said ongoing controversy had paralyzed church-starting initiatives and strained fellowship among churches in Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association.

“We cannot effectively address church-starting in the Rio Grande Valley until this issue is addressed and taken off the table,” he told his committee.

The Executive Board also approved an additional $250,000 grant above budgeted funds for WorldconneX to help the missions network create a system that will enable Baptist churches to send their own international missionaries. Money will be drawn from the J.K. Wadley Mission Fund.

In other business, the board:

• Adopted a policy manual regarding legal matters; the BGCT annual meeting; convention institutions, ministries, programs and services; the board; and its employees.

• Accepted and approved the 2005 financial audit report by Grant Thornton. The audit provided an unqualified or clean opinion that the financial records materially and fairly presented the convention’s financial position and results of operations.

The auditor recommended some net assets be reclassified and about $1 million in Texas Baptist Men assets not be included in the BGCT financial statements since the BGCT does not nominate a majority of the TBM directors.

• Approved a recommendation that the BGCT preserve its state convention matching retirement contribution for ministers and the protection section—life and accident insurance—for all eligible church employees through GuideStone Financial Services. That will require the BGCT to begin absorbing one-half of the cost of the protection section in 10 percent increments over five years beginning next year.

• Appointed Pat Gross of Hunter’s Glen Baptist Church in Plano, Bob Herrera of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Julio Guarneri of Iglesia Bautista Getsemani in Fort Worth, Sandra Martinez of Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas and Charlotte Greenshaw of First Baptist Church in Garland to the Missions & Ministries Committee’s missions funding group.

• Named Betty Morton of First Baptist Church in Plainview to the board of Baptist Community Services, replacing a vacancy created by the death of Bob Callen.

• Adopted a resolution of appreciation for Doug Hodo, who retires June 30 after more than 19 years as president of Houston Baptist University.

• Approved restated articles of incorporation for Hendrick Medical Center, allowing the medical center to elect one-fourth of its governing board.

• Adopted a resolution recognizing the 300th anniversary of Philadelphia Baptist Association—the oldest surviving Baptist association in the United States—next year and encouraging a special emphasis on Baptist associations in 2007.

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: 5/25/06

BaptistWay Bible Series for June 4

New Testament churches faced challenges

• 1 Timothy 1:1-19

By Joseph Matos

Dallas Baptist University, Dallas

In many ways and in differing contexts, we tend to have “good old days” syndrome. We long for the way things used to be, as if to say current circumstances are undesirable. One common practice is to compare the church of today with that described in the book of Acts (see chapters 2, 4 and 5). Seldom do today’s churches exhibit the harmony among believers and their devotion to the apostles’ teaching described in that book. This leaves us longing for “the good old days.”

A closer reading of the New Testament, however, reveals the good old days really weren’t always that good. Much of it was written to address some kind of problem facing the churches. There were internal conflicts and external threats; there were matters of doctrine and of behavior. One could almost make the case that if the church had no problems, there would have been no occasion to write the documents we have.

For a printer-friendly version, click on the printer icon at bottom of page.

1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are known as the Pastoral Epistles. And while they are instructive in many ways, Paul did not write these as “Introduction to Ministry” manuals for Timothy (in Ephesus) and Titus (on Crete). For in addition to instructions on the appointment of various types of leaders and what should be taught to different age groups, he also wrote to equip these men to respond to threats from false teachers who would influence the churches toward wrong beliefs and immoral behavior (and often the two were interrelated).

Timothy’s task: Remove the false teachers

After the opening salutations to Timothy, Paul gets right to the point. He reminds Timothy why he left him in Ephesus, to “command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer” (v. 3). The prohibition is against teaching something different (see vv. 10-11 ). Likewise, Timothy was to put an end to their focus on "myths and endless genealogies" (v. 4).

Interpreters still debate whether Paul referred to a form of Gnosticism (understanding “genealogies” as eons) or a form of Judaism (mythical interpretations of Old Testament genealogies). Paul makes clear at the end of verse 4 the results of such: these “promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith.” It appears Paul is concerned with teachings which (and teachers who) clearly oppose the central tenets of the faith as well as quibble over secondary matters. Paul instructs Timothy to put a stop to these people.

Paul then clarifies for Timothy the goal of his command. He wants Timothy to draw people back to love. Apparently, these people were not concerned about love but about their pet beliefs. Paul identifies the source of love—a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith (v. 5).

But those in question “wandered away from these” (v. 6). Instead, they have majored on minors. Paul calls it “meaningless talk.” Ironically, these people also wanted to teach the law. But Paul declares their ignorance leaves them woefully inadequate for such a task. He says, “they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm” (v. 7).

Paul also hints at the potential for them to misuse the law. So in verses 8-11, Paul describes the function of the law; it is mainly to pronounce judgment on those who would break it. But in addition to acts of sin, the law also judges “whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (v. 10). Sound doctrine—that is, healthy, whole, correct—is defined by the gospel Paul was entrusted to preach (v. 11). Reminiscent of Galatians 1:8-9, Paul sets the standard for what is correct teaching; it is the gospel he originally preached.

God’s amazing grace toward Paul

His comment about being entrusted the gospel calls Paul to reflect on what a great privilege it is and how unlikely a candidate he originally was for the task. He humbly acknowledges the work of God’s grace and mercy in his life. He was a “blasphemer” a “persecutor” and a “violent man” (v. 13). Reflecting on his call then reminded Paul that truly “Christ came into the world to save sinners” (v. 15).

When Paul thought of sinners, he declared himself the prototype: “of whom I am the worst.” He again acknowledged he was where he was because of the mercy shown him and nothing else. Thus, in contrast to these would-be teachers who were arrogant despite their ignorance, Paul expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve the Lord. Such reflection caused Paul to burst out in praise to God (v. 17).

Timothy’s task: Fight the good fight

Paul once again turns to his command to Timothy (v. 5). Paul’s instructions to Timothy are in keeping with the words of Timothy’s original call and commission, and if Timothy would put them into practice he would “fight the good fight” (v. 18). It is difficult to know whether “keeping faith and a good conscience” (v. 19) constitute the means by which he would fight or its outcome. However, Paul’s command to press on is accompanied by an example of failure.

Hymenaeus and Alexander “rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith” (vv. 19-20).

Once Timothy purged the church of unhealthy doctrine and behavior, he could take Paul’s prescription for maintaining a healthy church.

Do not be disheartened to learn the early church was not perfect; instead take heart that we have instructions from the New Testament on how to respond to wrong beliefs and immoral behavior.

Discussion questions

• How could false teachings enter the church so soon, even during the lifetime of the apostles?

• Did the church in Ephesus remain true to Timothy's leadership (see Revelation 2:1-7)?

• What unhealthy doctrines and moral failures threaten our churches today?

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: 5/25/06

Family Bible Series for June 4

Caleb demonstrated an enduring faith

• Numbers 13:30; 14:6-9; Joshua 14:6-14

By Greg Ammons

First Baptist Church, Garland

Legend says Phedippides, a Greek soldier, was sent to Athens to announce the powerful Persian Empire had been defeated at the Battle of Marathon. Supposedly, he ran the entire distance from Marathon to Athens without stopping—21.4 miles. After the messenger announced to the city of Athens that the Persians had been defeated, he promptly collapsed and died. From this legend, the name “marathon” has become associated with an endurance race of a similar distance.

During June, our lessons will focus on godly men of faith. In this week’s lesson, we examine Caleb, a powerful man of God whose faith endured the years. Much like the Greek soldier, Caleb endured to the very end. In looking at Caleb’s example, we can see how our faith can endure as well.

For a printer-friendly version, click on the printer icon at bottom of page.

Meet faith’s challenges (Numbers 13:30; 14:6-9)

The Israelites were at a challenging crossroad. They were encamped at Kadesh-Barnea, on the southern edge of the Promised Land. God had promised the land to his people, yet they were fearful of the land’s inhabitants. The Israelites had heard the people were large, vicious and powerful.

As a result, the Israelites decided to send spies into the land to observe and return with a report. Each of the 12 tribes had one representative on the “spy committee.” When the 12 men returned with a report of the land, only Joshua and Caleb said the Israelites could meet the challenge. Caleb said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (13:30).

The majority won and the Israelites decided not to attempt to conquer the land. Caleb grieved over the decision and tore his garment as a sign of his displeasure (14:6). He had faith to meet the challenge and encouraged God’s people to do the same. “And do not be afraid of the people of the land. … Their protection is gone but God is with us. Do not be afraid of them” (14:9).

Life often issues challenges to us. The challenge may appear in the form of a relationship fracture, a financial difficulty, death, an illness, the loss of a job or another area. Yet, believers can face any challenge with faith and know the same God who empowered Caleb will strengthen them.

Believe God's promise (Joshua 14:6-9)

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness 40 years after refusing to believe God’s promise. Later, Joshua and Caleb were the only spies allowed to enter the Promised Land since they believed God.

As Hebron was given to Caleb, he spoke with Joshua about believing God’s promises. Caleb recalled: “I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report about my convictions” (v. 7). Caleb stated, “I followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly” (v. 8). As a result, God promised Caleb, through Moses, the land upon which his feet walked would be his inheritance. Caleb’s children would enjoy the land forever (v. 9). Caleb believed God’s promises.

There are more than 2,000 specific promises made by God throughout the pages of the Bible. Believers can claim these promises and know our Lord will not break one of them. Someone noted God’s promises do not break when you lean on them.

Perhaps you are in a situation where God wants you simply to claim his promise. The eternal God of the universe does not lie. You can trust his word.

Remain loyal (Joshua 14:10-14)

Caleb remained loyal to God many years. He was 45 years old when Moses sent him to spy out the Promised Land. He was 85 years old when God gave him Hebron as his inheritance (v. 10). The Lord blessed Caleb with strength and the possession of a land because he was loyal to his God. “So Hebron belonged to Caleb … because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly” (v. 14).

Polycarp was the faithful Bishop of Smyrna from A.D. 70 to A.D. 155. He was a powerful witness for Jesus Christ and remained loyal to his faith in the midst of persecution. He was urged by the Romans to recant his faith or die. Polycarp replied: “For 86 years, I have served my Lord, and he never did me any harm. How then can I now blaspheme my King and Savior?” The executioner replied: “I have respect for your age. Simply recant and live.” Polycarp refused to give up his faith and was burned at the stake.

Many Christians today have served faithfully many years. Through both joys and trials, their faith and service have remained strong. If you find yourself inconsistent in your daily walk, make a commitment today to become more faithful. God blesses loyalty. May you serve with strength in the coming days and be a person, like Caleb, whose faith endures to the very end.

Discussion questions

• What challenges have you faced recently as you try to live by faith?

• Which of God's many promises has brought you the most comfort?

• What keeps Christians today from being more loyal to 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: 5/25/06

Explore the Bible Series for June 4

Exploring the problem of evil in the world

• Job 1:1-2:13

By James Adair

Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there so much suffering in the world? If God is good and also all-powerful, how can God allow evil to exist?

These questions deal with the issue of theodicy, or the justice of God, and they are issues people have wondered about since the time when the idea of monotheism arose. Polytheistic religions have no such questions, first because their deities aren’t necessarily seen as good, and second because no one god or goddess is all-powerful.

Monotheistic religions that rely heavily on ritual as a means of appeasing God can get around the problem by proclaiming the person who suffers has broken some taboo or hasn’t performed the required ritual in the right way. Another way that people within a monotheistic system can avoid the issue is by assuming the person who suffers (or some family member, as in John 9:2) has sinned and is therefore deserving of punishment.

For a printer-friendly version, click on the printer icon at bottom of page.

One of the main themes of Job and Ecclesiastes—books that present alternatives to the traditional wisdom perspective found in Proverbs—is that we don’t live in a moral cause-and-effect universe. Over the next three months, we will explore these two books in some depth, to see how they answer questions that arise in a world in which God often doesn’t act as we might expect and in which God sometimes acts contrary to our idea of fairness.

Job 1:1-22

One common explanation for why people suffer is that they deserve it, that God is paying them back for a life of sin or for specific evil deeds. Groups and individuals often are blamed for their own misfortunes, as when some people blamed the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on the sins of Americans in general, or when others blamed the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the sins, of New Orleans citizens.

Such attempts to rationalize human suffering fail when applied to the book of Job (as they do when applied to real life situations as well). The author of the book states unequivocally in the first verse that Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” He did not suffer because of his sins.

That is not to say Job was perfect, though some translations, notably the King James Version, use the word in 1:1. However, according to any system of justice based on merit, Job did not deserve to suffer the loss of his family, property and health as he did.

So we return to the initial question: why do bad things happen to good people? The first chapter of Job suggests three answers to that question. First, good people sometimes suffer because of sin. That doesn’t necessarily mean they suffer because of their own sin. Job suffered because of other people’s sin. The Sabeans stole Job’s oxen and donkeys, and the Chaldeans stole Job’s camels, and both groups killed some of Job’s servants. Job suffered because of the sins of the Sabeans and the Chaldeans.

Second, good people sometimes suffer because of natural disasters. The fire of God (lightning?) burned up Job’s sheep and some more servants, and a great wind caused the house where Job’s children were eating to collapse, killing them all. Lightning strikes, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, blizzards, heat waves, floods, tsunamis—these all are natural disasters that affect good and bad alike.

It’s important to note that these two causes of suffering are not mutually exclusive; suffering caused by natural disasters also can be caused in part by sin. When Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in 1998, thousands of people were living in squalid conditions on the sides of hills in the capital of Tegucigalpa. Huge mudslides buried these people alive.

That people should live in such conditions when the world has the riches to provide decent housing for everyone is an indication of structural sin, which combined with a natural disaster to magnify the suffering of the poor. Ask yourself a question: will more people die when a hurricane hits Florida or when one hits Bangladesh? Why? Poverty is a structural sin that makes natural disasters worse than they otherwise would be. It is no accident the poor in New Orleans suffered disproportionately from Hurricane Katrina last year.

Third, good people sometimes suffer for unknown, and ultimately unknowable, reasons. The scene in heaven where Satan accuses Job and God lets Satan do his worst to Job is obviously a literary device (How would the author find out about Satan’s challenge to God?), but it raises an important question: is God a capricious God who plays games with the lives of people? If so, then what do we mean when we say God is good?

Believers must be content at times to accept suffering without knowing a reason, if there even is one. Suffering and death are natural parts of life, as are joy and contentment. We frequently ask why God lets us suffer, but do we ever ask why God lets us rejoice? What have I done that God should bless me with the family, health and possessions I have? How can a good God overlook my sins and failures?

The mysteries of life are great, but I have confidence the God I serve is aware of everything that happens to me and cares about me deeply. In the end, that’s more important to me than knowing why things happen.

Job 2:1-8

The first two chapters of Job are one of only three Old Testament passages that refer to Satan; the others are 1 Chronicles 21:1 and Zechariah 3:1-5. In fact, in the references in Job and Zechariah, “Satan” should not be understood as a proper name, since the Hebrew literally reads “the Adversary” (the meaning of the Hebrew word satan).

Unlike in the New Testament, where Satan appears frequently as evil personified, the Adversary in the Hebrew Bible functions as an accuser, similar to a prosecuting attorney who brings charges against one presumed to be righteous. Satan is not castigated in Job for causing Job so much suffering, for the ultimate responsibility for Job’s dilemma lies not with Satan but with God, who permits Satan to act. The changing idea of Satan within the Old Testament and between the Testaments is a good illustration of the development of doctrine over the centuries during which the Bible was being written.

Job 2:9-13

After she sees the calamity that has befallen her husband, Job’s wife urges him just to “Bless God and die,” according to the Hebrew text. But of course she didn’t really say, “Bless God and die.” She said, “Curse God and die,” as the ancient versions and most modern translations indicate.

Why does the Hebrew text say what it says? At some point in the transmission of the text, scribes decided juxtaposing the words “curse” and “God” was a bad idea, because a person innocently reading the text could actually pronounce a curse on God, albeit unintentionally.

Changing the text to prevent an inadvertent curse may strike modern readers as strange, but it raises two important points. First, it reminds us the words we say are important, for they reflect our view of God. I’m not talking here primarily about profanity, as in a list of words we shouldn’t ever say. I’m talking mainly about the content of our speech, which is more important than the specific words we use.

Second, changing the text to avoid an accidental curse reminds us that while we should avoid cursing God with our speech, it is even more important to avoid cursing God with our actions. The name of God can be dragged through the mud without ever uttering a single cuss word, so it is dangerous to put so much emphasis on avoiding profane speech that we forget to stress the importance of avoiding profane deeds.

Discussion questions

• How do you respond to someone who says something like this: “Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment on New Orleans because of the city’s sins. Does God punish the good along with the wicked” (Genesis 18:22-33)?

• What do you make of the wager Satan makes with God? How does the portrayal of God in Job 1-2 compare with the way you picture God in your mind?

• How does the portrayal of the Adversary in Job 1-2 compare with the picture of Satan we find in the New Testament?

• What are some ways in which people can curse God through their actions?

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: 5/26/06

Adoptive parents fill
empty nest, meet child’s needs

By Marv Knox

Editor

ABILENE—New parents Anna and Mike Chancellor’s love shines brighter than all their birthday candles. And their compassion trumps conventional expectations for couples their age.

Ordinarily, 55-year-olds don’t adopt an 11-year-old son.

Fifty-five is an age when most couples enjoy their “empty nest.” With children grown, educated and independent, couples that old typically focus on the free time, discretionary income and leisure they set aside to raise a family.

But the Chancellors are focusing on homework, tae kwan do lessons, and tending to the special needs of a son who bounced from abusive birth parents, through two foster homes and past two failed adoptions before landing on their Abilene doorstep.

With sons Tim and Joseph grown and on their own, the Chancellors adopted James last year. That changed all their lives forever.

“Anna and I never saw this coming,” Mike Chancellor acknowledged, although they did talk about adoption—about 30 years ago.

They met after Mike graduated from Howard Payne University while Anna was attending East Texas Baptist University. They got married in 1974 while both were students at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“We were one of those couples who thought we might have trouble having children,” he reported. After two years without children, they discussed adoption but also started fertility testing.

But not long afterward, she became pregnant with Tim, who was born in 1977. Joseph followed in 1979. Although they talked about adopting another child during those early years, the busy-ness of raising two active boys soon put that out of mind.

Thirteen years ago, they moved to Abilene when he became pastor of Crescent Heights Baptist Church. She soon started working at Hardin-Simmons University. An institutional grant paid for both boys’ undergraduate degrees at the Baptist school, and both parents also earned graduate degrees in counseling.

“The guys hung around through college,” Chancellor said.

“We had the perfect ‘empty nest’—they moved from home, to the dorm, to apartments. But they lived here in town, and they both would swing by.”

Tim and Joseph both graduated from Hardin-Simmons in 2000. A year later, they each moved “more than halfway around the world,” as their dad describes it. They served as missionaries—Joseph in Thailand and Tim elsewhere in East Asia.

“When they left, they really left,” their mom observed.

Tim returned home in 2003 and soon married and started a family. He now is a patrolman in Rockwall and lives in Greenville. Joseph came back to the United States in 2004. He is on the staff of Purpose Driven Ministries of Saddleback Com-munity Church in southern California.

After their sons left for the mission field, the Chancellors enjoyed their new station in life. They had more time to devote to causes they hold dear, including her private counseling practice and their joint ministry to hurting ministers and their families, as well as to their own aging parents.

Part of her private practice, Big Country Family Therapy Associates, involved working alongside a child-placement agency that coordinates both foster care and adoptions. Eventually, her primary task was to design mental health treatment for foster children.

And that’s how she met James. The boy was 7 when Child Protective Services removed him from his biological family.

“I was there the day he was placed,” she remembered. “And I did counseling with him through the years.”

By the fall of 2004, Child Protective Services caseworkers focused on getting James—by then 10 and already living with his second foster family—adopted.

A couple of attempts failed. The second time around, James already had started visits with his adoptive family. But the prospective family was not prepared for a little boy with a speech impediment who had been bruised physically, spiritually and emotionally by shameful treatment compounded by instability.

James’ caseworker, foster mother and Anna Chancellor realized they could not send him into an adoptive family that didn’t understand his special needs.

“His caseworker called the adoption off, and I had to tell him,” she recalled. “I was devastated. Usually, I try to keep my objectivity. But James just had to be adopted. As he would get older, adoption would become increasingly problematic.”

So, she went home and talked to her husband.

“Mike said, ‘We’re not too old to adopt,’” she said. “It had been in the back of my mind. But when he said the A-word, that was confirmation.”

Chancellor received separate confirmation, he added.

“We were doing an intercessory prayer study at church, using material by Andrew Murray, whose analogy is that God is like a loving father who finds great delight in his children,” he explained. “What I realized was that a lot of the great joy of my life was being a dad.

“Through the years, God had sent not only my sons, but also a lot of guys into my path whose dads were absent or distant. I became their surrogate dad, and this still was part of my life.”

As he thought about the possibility of middle-aged adoption, Chancellor weighed the human inclination toward a life of ease against the opportunity to deeply impact another child’s life.

“What an incredibly selfish thing—to feel that, by raising your own children, you absolve yourself from responsibility for anyone else,” he explained.

“Here this kid pops up. All he ever wanted was a mom and dad, to be safe and loved. How better could I spend the next 10 years than walking with a kid who never had what my boys had—unconditional love and safety?”

The Chancellors completed 30 hours of training and officially served as James’ foster parents for six months before his adoption was completed last December.

“This changed our lives completely,” she said. Not only did they re-enter the world of raising a young child, but this child carried the weight of burdens too heavy for his slender shoulders.

So, the Chancellors lifted those challenges—special education, emotional immaturity, delayed intellectual development, speech problems and hyper-needy desire for attachment.

Slowly, steadily, James has progressed, she observed. “This has been a whole lot harder than I thought it would be. … (But) the joy of having James is to begin to see him achieve. He has a lot of strikes against him. But he’s getting better. We see the little victories.”

For his part, James has embraced both faith and family. He has accepted Jesus as his Savior, and he takes pride in being a son as well as a younger brother to Tim and Joseph. “I’m part of it,” he says of the Chancellor family.

They express grateful support for the help they have received from others.

“What has made this more manageable” has been the encouragement and tangible help provided by their family and by members of Crescent Heights Baptist Church, he said. “This whole thing would have been much harder without our church family,” she added.

The Chancellors downplay the special nature of their commitment to James

“It’s not going to be perfect here. We’re not perfect,” Chancellor said. “But he’s safe, in a stable environment, in a network of folks who love him. … I can’t imagine what his future would be if he stayed in (the foster-care system) until he ages out. And many kids do.”

In fact, he thinks many more Texas Baptists ought to do something about that.

“I’m concerned about what the state of Texas did to this child,” he stressed. “James’ condition was made worse by a system that pushed him on a family who didn’t want him.”

Unfortunately, the system reflects not only a shortage of funds, but also an acute shortage of people willing to adopt Texas children.

“Over 1,100 Texas kids are in foster care, waiting for adoption,” he said. “Many Texas Baptists could take one child and do our best.

“What if 1,100 middle-aged Texas Baptist couples—couples who are in reasonably good health, whose families have been good to us—what if we step up and each take one challenging child who has been through so much? We could give them the best our lives and experiences have to offer.

“Out of 5,700 churches, I can’t believe there’s not 1,100 middle-aged couples who could do this.”

The Chancellors hope and pray other Texas Baptists will share their dream for James with all the other Jameses out there.

“How much can he recover? I pray he will be a mighty man of God, a man of faith,” she said as tears welled in both their eyes. “He’s made his first step. He understands Jesus loves him.” 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: 5/26/06

Around the State

• A one-week program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will afford children ages 10-16 the opportunity to learn basic Chinese conversational phrases and the Chinese writing system. The program will be held June 5-9 from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Cost is $40. For more information, call (254) 295-4556.

• The Center for Cultural and Language Studies at Baptist University of the Americas will hold its annual summer cultural immersion experience June 7-14 at the San Antonio campus and culminate with a weekend practicum in Piedras Negras, Mexico. The experience begins with classroom instruction on both the beginner and intermediate levels. Conversation experience is provided through interaction with international students at the university. Field trips around San Antonio develop knowledge and appreciation of the Hispanic culture, while interaction with a local church immerses participants in the worship and fellowship practices of the Hispanic culture. The program culminates with a weekend of living among members of a church in Piedras Negras. Cost is $400 for the week, exclusive of housing. Members of Baptist General Convention of Texas churches receive a $50 scholarship through the Mary Hill Davis Offering. For more information, call (210) 924-4338, ext. 202.

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Conservatory of Music is taking enrollment for four Kindermusik camps to be held June 26-30. The age-group breakdowns are newborn through 18 months, 18 months through 3 years old, 4- and 5-year-olds, and 6- and 7-year-olds. Some classes require an adult caregiver attend the class with the child. Prices range from $85 to $140 and include materials. Register in the conservatory office, Room 208 in Presser Hall, by June 2.

Students from Hardin-Simmons University joined with their counterparts from Abilene Christian University in an effort to call attention to the plight of thousands of Ugandan children kidnapped each year and forced into the rebel army. The students packed up blankets, sleeping bags and backpacks and walked to the parking lot of First Church in Abilene for the “Global Night Commute.” High school and college students around the country participated in local events. About 400 people participated in Abilene.

• Baptist University of the Americas graduated 98 students this month—more than double the entire enrollment of the school seven years ago. The ceremony marked the school’s 60th class of graduates. The school is in the process of relocating from its 12-acre site to a location of more than 70 acres across Interstate 35 in San Antonio. Construction is under way for a student housing village and dorms that will be completed in fall 2007.

• Hardin-Simmons Univer-sity’s Logsdon School of Theology recognized its outstanding students during a spring awards program. Spot-lighted for their achievements were Cole Detwiler of Richard-son; Jaci Jackson of Hollis, Okla.; Cody Neinast of Little-field; Jake Mills of Abilene; Ryan Vanderland of Midland; Jessie Davis of Pensacola, Fla.; Wes Henson of Quitaque; Aaron Kahler of Midland; Jay Patterson of Lihue, Hawaii; Kathy Smith of Arlington, Carl Smith of Carlsbad, Calif.; Craig Bermender of Leander; Matt Mc-Gowan of Cross Plains; Justin Dunn of Shawnee, Okla.; Bryan Holmes of Corpus Christi; Mark Moore of Abilene; and Meredith Stone of Bryan.

• The Baylor University Alumni Association presented Jerold McBride and Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade with the George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award. A retired Texas pastor, McBride was ordained in 1951 and served several Texas and Oklahoma churches, including more than 30 years at First Church in San Angelo. Wade was pastor of First Church in Arlington from 1976 until 2000.

• Chris Liebrum and Michael Toby have been granted honorary doctorate of humanities degrees by Howard Payne University. Liebrum is the executive coordinator of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and Toby is pastor of First Church in Woodway, where he has served 28 years.

• Dallas Baptist University awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to 565 students this month. Degrees were presented to 376 undergraduate students and 189 graduate students. Wayne Stevenson was presented an honorary doctor of humanities degree. He is a member of First Church in Plano.

• Kellye Brooks, assistant professor of business at Houston Baptist University, received an Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit from the National Academic Advising Association. Earlier in the year, Brooks was named HBU adviser of the year. She has been on the school’s faculty since 1992.

• David Mohn, vice president for enrollment management and marketing at East Texas Baptist University, will retire May 31. Mohn has served the school 29 years in various capacities. Mohn also served First Church in Hallsville as bivocational minister of music 25 years before retiring there.

• Daniel Breed of Bryan was presented the Williams-White Award for the practice of Christian social concern at Southeastern Theological Seminary at the school’s spring awards chapel.

• Eighty-eight students received awards at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor during the spring awards chapel. Students earned medals based on effort, academics or character; awards in an area such as scholastic achievement, service to the university or a special talent; or a monetary scholarship to use in coming semesters. Daniel McFarland of Port Lavaca, Nathan Nipp of Houston, Joshua Plant of Aus-tin, Jeremy Kee of Georgetown, David Twilleager of Copperas Cove and Aaron Van Wey of Jersey Village all received the Dorothy Hughes Weatherby Presidential Endowed Scholar-ship for ministerial students. Tiffany Jennings of Harker Heights received the George W. Truett Baptist Theological Seminary Scholarship and the Outstanding Graduating Senior in Christian Studies award. James Burns of Lorena received the Zondervan-UMHB Award for Excellence in Biblical Hebrew. Sarah Durham of Kennard received the Stella P. Ross Memorial Medal for the Outstanding Christian Young Lady, and Terence Waldron of Montgomery received the Outstanding Christian Young Man medal.

Anniversaries

• Terry Horton, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Hallettsville, April 9.

• Jerry Smith, 20th, as pastor of First Church in Clifton, May 10, not 10 years, as reported in the May 15 edition of the Baptist Standard.

• Jonathan Smith, fifth, as associate pastor at First Church in Richmond, May 15.

• County Line Church in Rogers, 150th, June 10-11. The celebration will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday with singing and fellowship. Former pastors expected to be present for Sunday’s service include Russell Pogue, Luther Dillard, Weldon Hicks and Gary Hillyard. Former music director Bruce Mercer and his family will bring the special music. A meal will follow the morning service. Steven Taylor is pastor.

• Reagan Wells Church in Uvalde, 100th, June 25. Descendents of the church’s original seven families will be recognized. Jack Nelson and Mag Gibbens will be recognized as the oldest living descendents of the originating families. Nelson, 93, serves the church as an active deacon. Also to be recognized are all the people baptized in the Dry Frio River. A lunch will follow the morning service. An open house will follow that afternoon, not only at the present building but also at the old Heard School building, where the church met for many years. A reception will be held in the fellowship hall. Alvie Stiefer is pastor.

• First Church in Perryton, 100th, July 8-9. An open house will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, with a hamburger cookout to be held at 6 p.m. and a worship service at 7 p.m. Former staff and members expected to participate in the evening’s worship service include Ganelle Pearce Hamp-ton, R.D. Jones, Susie Wilson, Suzanne Wood, Mike Key, Jerry Key, Nina Pinkston, Bob Law-rence, Charles Coulter, Gary Hall, Russell Pogue, O.K. Bow-en and Gerald Johnson. A continental breakfast will be available from 9 am. to 10 am. Sunday. Doug Riggs will preach. A lunch will follow the morning worship service. Church history books and cookbooks will be on sale. For more information, call (806) 435-3641. Richard Lav-erty is pastor.

Death

• E.P. Ramsey, 75, Oct. 25, 2005, in Crockett. He was pastor of First Church in Crockett from 1961 to 1991. He also was pastor of churches in Lufkin, Beckville, Clayton, Reliance, Garrison and Kountze. He served several churches as interim pastor after his retirement in 1991. He was a trustee for East Texas Baptist University for more than 20 years. His wife, Ethel, died 12 days after his death on Nov. 6. They are survived by their sons, Perry and Tom; and daughter, Deborah Williams.

• Johnny Barrett, 85, May 9 in Graham. He was a retired Baptist minister who was pastor of churches in Tonk Valley, Loving, Newcastle, Wizard Wells, Dublin, Vanderbilt, Goliad, and on the staff of churches in Dallas, Seagoville and Caddo. He was a member of First Church in Graham at the time of his death. He was preceded in death by his brothers,

J.B., Foster, Horace and Slim. He is survived by his wife, Rachel; daughters, Jana Golightly and Rachel Ann Hearne; sons Johnny, Billy Jack and David; sister, Louise Brooks; 25 grandchildren; and 36 great-grandchildren.

Ordaineds

• Matt Smith to the ministry at First Church in Temple.

• Jacob Flores to the ministry at Eisenhauer Road Church in San Antonio.

• Richard Alexander, Mich-ael Baze, W.E. Carpenter, Richard Fuchs, Zack Glover and Richard Lee as deacons at Macon Church in Mount Vernon.

Revivals

• Open Arms Church, Lone Oak; June 4-7; evangelist, Herman Cramer; music, Paul and Christy Newberry; pastor, Jeff Thompson.

• Reavilon Church, Green-ville; June 11-15; evangelist, Herman Cramer; music, Paul and Christy Newberry; pastor, David Hawkins.

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: 5/26/06

Few see church linked to spiritual growth

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)—Almost three-fourths of Americans claim to be Christians, but fewer than one in five considers church the place to deepen their faith, a recent survey reveals.

Less than 20 percent of American adults believe participation in a congregation is critical to spiritual growth, and just as few agree that only through participation in a faith community will they reach their full potential, the Barna Research Group reported.

Based on interviews with 1,003 adults from across the nation, the telephone surveys also found as few as 17 percent of adults said “a person’s faith is meant to be developed mainly by involvement in a local church.”

Only one-third of all evangelicals—a group considered most likely to attend church—endorsed the concept.

And while 72 percent of Americans claim they have personally committed themselves to Jesus Christ, less than 50 percent attend religious services on a weekly basis.

“These figures emphasize how soft people’s commitment to God is,” evangelical researcher George Barna said in the report. “Americans are willing to expend some energy in religious activities such as attending church and reading the Bible, and they are willing to throw some money in the offering basket, but when it comes time to truly establishing their priorities and making a tangible commitment to knowing and loving God, most people stop short.”

The results should challenge church leaders to foster a “more positive community experience,” Barna said.

Instead of a generic church model, which emphasizes attendance and experience-driven services, he said, churches should try for relationships that are less fluid in nature.

“Jesus’ example leaves no room for doubt about the significance of involvement in a faith community,” he said, adding that a “biblical understanding of the preeminence of community life” takes strategic planning and time.

The survey queried a random sampling of people 18 years and older living in the continental United States.

The geographic distribution of survey respondents corresponded to that of the U.S. population.

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: 5/26/06

Multi-faceted immigration ministry needed

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—While lawmakers call for comprehensive immigration reform, Texas Baptists are creating a comprehensive ministry to immigrants.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas is looking at the immigration issue from multiple angles. A complex issue such as immigration requires many different types of ministry, said Jim Young, BGCT social justice specialist.

“A comprehensive immigration ministry should address all issues of the human situation,” he said. “Holistic ministry moves from relief to development and will consider the immediate needs of food, clothing, shelter and medical attention.

“These relief opportunities will then allow the church to consider the sustaining needs of legal status, literacy, workforce development and spiritual growth. These efforts should not be limited to immigrants but to all persons and families that Jesus pointed to as ‘the least of these, my brothers.’”

For many years, Texas Baptists have sought to meet the needs of immigrants through ministries such as English-as-a Second-Language classes, clothes closets and food pantries.

The Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission has called for public policy reform that includes safe borders and a fair, efficient way for undocumented workers to become citizens.

The BGCT Immigration Taskforce, an effort supported by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions, recently has launched an effort to train Texas Baptists to help undocumented workers seek a change in their citizenship status. About 50 people attended the first training session.

People who help immigrants with their citizenship status must be certified by the government. Two BGCT-affiliated churches currently serve as certified centers for immigration assistance.

The training sessions are part of a plan to create a statewide network of centers based in Baptist churches that can help undocumented immigrants. As individuals are trained, the taskforce already is creating a program to help churches become certified locations for immigration assistance. For information about immigration training, call (888) 244-9400.

The BGCT Hispanic Education Taskforce also is examining immigration because of its affect on public schools. Immigrants have special economic, language and physical needs that in turn produce unique challenges to the education system.

Suzii Paynter, CLC interim director and member of the BGCT Hispanic Education Taskforce and BGCT Immigration Taskforce, noted the immigrant population in Texas creates a large mission field where Texas Baptists are needed more than ever.

“Immigration law is going to change,” Paynter said. “We know that. If we are set up to help our churches, that is another way we can facilitate ministry.”

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: 5/26/06

Baptist Briefs

Calvinist and evangelist square off in 1st VP race. A neo-Calvinist apparently will face off with an evangelist for first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention this summer. Mark Dever, pastor of Washington’s Capitol Hill Baptist Church and a popular leader among SBC Calvinists, acknowledged he would allow himself to be nominated for the post. Keith Fordham, an evangelist from Fayetteville, Ga., will be nominated for the slot by Bill Britt, president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. Fordham is the immediate past president of the conference.

Louisiana pastor to be SBC 2nd VP nominee. Jay Adkins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Westwego, La., will be nominated for second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention by Joed Rice, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Ashland, Ky. Adkins, 33, expects to graduate from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a master of divinity degree this month. Earlier, Kentucky pastor Bill Dodson announced he would nominate Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., and Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, said he would nominate J.D. Greear, pastor of the Summit Church in Durham, N.C., for the second vice president’s post.

Southern Baptists make up with Mickey Mouse. In the latest—and perhaps final—symbolic act of reconciliation between the Southern Baptist Convention and the Walt Disney empire, First Baptist Church of Orlando leaders baptized more than 100 people May 21 in a Disney World lake. The baptisms followed lifting a boycott that started in the 1990s, when SBC leaders criticized Disney Chairman Michael Eisner for instituting gay-friendly products and company policies. SBC members also decried perceived sexual licentiousness in some Disney movies. Eisner has since left the company, and the SBC formally terminated the boycott in 2005, although small pockets of the anti-Disney sentiment remain.

Baylor offers family ministry workshops at CBF. Two concurrent workshops in Baylor Social Work’s Family Ministry Academy will be offered June 21 in conjunction with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Atlanta. The academy is sponsored by Baylor’s Center for Family and Community Ministries and offers three one-day workshops for congregational and lay leaders on how to strengthen and support family ministries. Family Ministry 101 is an introduction to the changing dynamics of family and how congregations can meet them at their various points of need. Family Ministry 201 will explore in the morning session the concept of missional family and how congregations can meet the needs of these families, as well as the importance of shared history. In the afternoon, FM 201 offers three concurrent sessions—“Loss throughout Life,” “For Better, for Worse: Ministry to Couples at Various Stages of Marriage” and “Being Intentionally Intergenerational.” A panel discussion will conclude the day. The workshops, both at the Omni Hotel at the CNN Center, will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cost is $100 per workshop, with materials included. Lunch is not provided. For more information, call (254) 710-4417.

Kentucky board affirms gay student’s dismissal. Members of the Kentucky Baptist Convention Mission Board voted to affirm the University of the Cumberlands’ recent decision to dismiss an openly homosexual student for violating the school’s code of conduct. The board action did not address a pair of lawsuits related to an $11 million state budget allocation to the University of the Cumberlands to help establish a pharmacy school. Opponents say the state money is inappropriate because of the school’s policy against homosexuals and its religious nature.

Southern Baptist Koreans meet separately from SBC. The Council of Korean Southern Baptist Churches in America will meet June 19-22 on the Wheaton College campus—one week and 800 miles removed from the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Greensboro, N.C. Council leaders decided last year to break with tradition and not meet in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting.

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: 5/26/06

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: 5/26/06

2nd Opinion:
God is sovereign over his sovereignty

By Roger Olsen

Baptists have a habit of recycling hot theological topics. God’s sovereignty and human free will is one that keeps coming around. Right now, the debate between Calvinists and Arminians is heating up again. Recently, a Baptist seminary president suggested that the Southern Baptist Convention has no room for Arminians, which should come as quite a shock to the millions of believers in free will who are loyal Southern Baptists.

What many people miss is that Calvinists and Arminians agree God is sovereign and God rules providentially over creation and predestines people to salvation. Their areas of agreement are much larger than their disagreements over specific interpretations of these biblical concepts.

Sovereignty has to do with God’s governance of all things; the Christian doctrine of God’s sovereignty is that God is in charge of the universe and everything in it. He rules over it. Providence is nearly identical with sovereignty; it deals with the way in which God rules over his creation.

Predestination is another doctrine linked to God’s sovereignty, but it is not identical with providence. Predestination is the biblical teaching that God foreordains or foreknows which of his human creatures will be saved. The “elect” are chosen by God. On these doctrines, Calvinists and Arminians agree. They disagree on the role free will plays in whether a person is among the elect and thus predestined by God. Calvinists deny free will as power of contrary choice and argue that God’s grace is irresistible. Arminians believe in free will as power of contrary choice and say grace is never imposed on anyone; people can and do resist the grace of God.

Following Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius (who died in 1609), Arminians believe God is sovereign. In fact, God is so sovereign that he is sovereign over his sovereignty. In other words, God limits his power to make room for human power of free choice, including freedom to resist grace. Free will is not a relic of human goodness that survived the fall in the garden; it is a gift of God’s grace that enables us to respond freely to the offer of Christ in the gospel.

Calvinism is belief in divine determinism; God is the all-determining reality who sovereignly plans and controls all events, including the free choices of humans. Arminians ask how free people can be if their decisions are controlled. Arminians wonder how God is good and loving in light of the combination of evil in the world and God’s all-determining sovereignty and power. Even the most die-hard Calvinist hesitates to lay sin and evil at God’s doorstep. After talking about God’s all-determining power, they wince at saying God determined the fall of humanity in the garden or Hitler’s holocaust. A hardy few press on and say God even caused the terrorist acts of Sept. 11.

Those of us who believe in real freedom of will, liberty and power of contrary choice see that as the only escape from making God the author of sin and evil. A God who determines people to sin, even if only by “efficacious permission” (withdrawing the grace necessary not to sin), is the ultimate sinner. A God who could save everyone, because salvation is unconditional, but passes over many—sending them to eternal damnation—is morally ambiguous at best. As John Wesley commented, if this is love, it is such a love as makes the blood run cold.

Admittedly, most Calvinists do not follow the logic of their own view of God’s sovereignty to its good and necessary conclusion. They affirm God is loving, but they say that “world” in John 3:16 refers not to everyone but to people of every tribe and nation—the elect. God loves all people in some way but only the elect in every way.

Arminians embrace the universal love of God for all people created in his image and likeness. God is not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9) because he desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).

Clearly, God does not completely get his way, because he is sovereign over his sovereignty and allows sinful people to thwart his will. But that in no way detracts from his greatness or power; it is evidence of his self-limiting and loving respect for people.

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

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

Posted: 5/26/06

TBM volunteers rebuild homes in Cross Plains

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

CROSS PLAINS—Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders helped two families in West Texas rebuild their lives by rebuilding their homes.

A team of builders finished building one Cross Plains home and rebuilt another in three weeks. A wildfire in early January affected more than 90 homes and killed two people in the community.

Bill Pigott, who coordinates TBM’s retiree builders, said the group was pleased to be able to help two families whose needs were identified by First Baptist Church in Cross Plains and by city officials.

“The main thing we went to Cross Plains for was not necessarily to build anything,” Pigott said. “I know God can make things happen. He can build buildings. Our main purpose was to impact the community.”

In the process of building the homes, TBM volunteers had the opportunity to share their faith with many people. They spoke of why they were there and what they hoped to accomplish.

“God did not call us to build,” Pigott said. “He called us to witness. Building is just a tool to witness.”

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.