Posted: 5/12/06

IMB reinstates missionary couple

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP)—Under a new agreement, officials at the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board have reinstated a missionary couple they threatened to fire for establishing a church in the West African nation of Guinea that did not meet the board’s criteria for being a Baptist church.

Wyman and Michelle Dobbs, who have worked for eight years among the Fulbe Fouta people in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation, have agreed to adhere more precisely to the IMB’s guidelines for cooperation with missionaries of other denominations, according to a news release from the IMB.

Dobbs said in an interview that he and his wife were “very excited” IMB officials had allowed them—under the guideline policy—to work with non-SBC churches “in fulfilling the Great Commission.”

“We recognize many opinions and concerns are out there as to why this happened,” Dobbs said, adding he didn’t have answers for those asking that question. “We’re just thankful the situation has been resolved.”

Dobbs also said the prayers and support expressed by church members, missionaries and friends encouraged his family as they worked within the bounds of IMB regulations to resolve the problem.

Those regulations spell out five levels of ministry cooperation between IMB missionaries and other Christian missionaries. Each level has parameters for cooperation that are increasingly strict, depending on what kind of work the collaboration will support.

Forming new churches comes in at the next-to-highest level, and the guideline there requires the cooperating missionaries to agree to the doctrinal standards expressed in the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, the SBC’s confessional statement. IMB missionaries already must affirm agreement with the statement.

According to the IMB release, a document the Dobbses signed in 2003 when starting the church—called the Tinka Agreement—did not “adequately communicate” the parameters of partnership in church-planting to the other missionaries.

The Tinka Agreement included signatures from missionaries affiliated with the Assemblies of God, the Christian Reformed Church, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Youth With a Mission and the Swiss Evangelical Alliance Mission. IMB leaders apparently object to some doctrines espoused by the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

IMB regional leaders in West Africa said they could not determine the couples’ “commitment to the appropriate level of partnership and a clear commitment to planting indigenous Baptist churches.”

After an April 29 appeal to Gordon Fort, the IMB vice president for overseas operations, the Dobbses told Fort they would agree to plant Baptist churches under the authority of IMB guidelines. However, the guidelines do allow “local churches overseas” to express Baptist beliefs and practices in “different ways according to the needs of their cultural settings.”

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: 5/12/06

School allows Christians equal access

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

PLANO—A middle school Christian student group settled a lawsuit against the Plano Independent School District, granting the group the same privileges as other groups.

The school district paid $100 to 13-year-old Michael Shell, founder of Students Witnessing Absolute Truth, and agreed to pay attorney fees associated with the case. The district admitted no wrongdoing.

The group, which meets before classes start at Haggard Middle School, was listed on the school’s website, but the principal removed it. It later was reposted, but without a listed sponsor, although it had one.

Shell also testified the group was not allowed to have a financial account with the school as all other student clubs are.

School trustees changed district policies to allow SWAT the same privileges as those granted to nonreligious groups. SWAT now has equal access to fundraising activities, student activity accounts, bulletin boards and school webpages as other student-run clubs.

Suzii Paynter, interim director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, said the policy change gives the group what the Equal Access Act guarantees—equal access for all student groups, religious or nonreligious. That access is determined on a local level.

“You have to give religious groups the same rights as other groups,” she said.

It is beneficial for school districts to have clearly defined policies regarding student groups, Paynter noted. Groups like the Texas Association of School Boards provide guidelines schools are encouraged to use. Moving too far from those suggestions can lead a school district into court.

“These are fair principles, and they work,” she said. “They keep you out of court.”

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: 5/12/06

NAMB trustees regroup, move on
after Reccord’s resignation

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (ABP)—North American Mission Board trustees took the first steps down the road to the missions agency’s recovery May 1-2, two weeks after their embattled president resigned under pressure.

“We walked away with a great deal of unity and a much better spirit,” outgoing trustee Chairman Barry Holcomb of Alabama said. “We are ready to walk forward.”

The trustees met for the first time since Bob Reccord resigned April 17. A report of a trustee investigation, released March 23, faulted the missions leader for poor management, autocratic decision-making, extravagant spending on failed ministry projects, apparent conflicts of interest in no-bid contracts for a friend, and creating a “culture of fear” that prevented staffers from questioning the abuses.

The trustees also said Reccord spent time and money on events and projects on the periphery of NAMB’s mission and was absent so much he couldn’t provide consistent, day-to-day oversight “to properly manage the agency,” which directs and coordinates Southern Baptist mission work in the United States and Canada.

Some trustees said before the May 1-2 meeting that Reccord could face a vote of dismissal if he did not resign ahead of time.

Reccord was on hand May 1 for a closed-door session during which he addressed the trustees. Holcomb said the meeting was “just sort of between us” and a way for Reccord and the trustees to close the books on his nine-year tenure at the agency.

Trustees elected new officers at the meeting. They did not name an interim president but agreed to study the need for one. “We are not moving at any breakneck pace,” Holcomb said. “The time has come for the board to take a few slower steps.”

Prior to the meeting, Holcomb appointed two committees—one to seek a permanent president and another to draft policies designed to govern future presidents’ actions and prevent further abuses.

No details were released about the severance package for Reccord. Sources indicated Reccord received two years’ salary plus other benefits, but Holcomb and other trustee leaders declined to discuss the specifics.

He also declined to say who is responsible for approving a severance agreement, referring those questions to NAMB’s human-resources office. A representative was not available.

Bill Curtis, elected trustee chairman in a rare contested vote, declined to discuss the specifics of Reccord’s severance in an interview before the meeting.

However, when asked about the report of two-years’ salary, he said “there is precedent at other SBC agencies” for such a settlement.

Curtis, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Florence, S.C., and author of the investigative report critical of Reccord, was elected chairman by a 3-to-1 margin over Florida pastor Ted Tray-lor in a vote that reflects the board’s division over Reccord.

As outgoing first vice chairman, Curtis might have expected to be elevated to chairman without opposition.

Traylor was one of 41 SBC pastors and leaders who issued a statement April 21 defending Reccord and affirming his integrity, character and accomplishments at NAMB.

The trustees themselves adopted a similar statement May 2 that also affirmed Reccord’s integrity, character and accomplishments.

Also elected officers were First Vice Chairman Tim Patterson, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., and Second Vice Chairman Dennis Culbreth, pastor of River Oak Church in Chesapeake, Va.

There is no uniform practice for awarding severance to SBC agency executives who leave under pressure, and most settlements are not reported in detail.

• In 2003, Ken Hemphill took early retirement from Southwestern Baptist Theologi-cal Seminary, reportedly under pressure from some trustees and SBC leaders. At 54, he was given a one-year paid leave, which allowed him to qualify for full retirement be-nefits, including health insurance for life. He later took another job with the SBC.

• In 1999, Mark Coppenger was fired as president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in a dispute with trustees over his behavior and performance. He received a $40,000 severance package.

• In 1994, Russell Dilday was fired by trustees of Southwestern Seminary in a dispute over leadership and the school’s direction. Dilday, 63 at the time, received his full salary for 18 months, after which he qualified for full retirement, plus health insurance and additional benefits.

• In 1991, Lloyd Elder took early retirement from the Sunday School Board as trustees declared an impasse over his “management style, philosophy and performance.” He was given full salary for an undisclosed period of time, then approximately half of his annual pay in retirement, in addition to health insurance and other benefits.

Hannah Elliott and Lindsay Bergstrom contributed to this story.

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: 5/12/06

Memphis Declaration voices dissatisfaction

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP)—About 30 Southern Baptist conservatives from diverse backgrounds announced they repent of the “triumphalism,” arrogance and isolationism they believe threatens the integrity of the 16-million-member denomination.

Saying they represent “disparate constituencies” in the Southern Baptist Convention, the participants met behind closed doors in Memphis, Tenn., early this month and later issued a “Memphis Declaration,” expressing concern and dissatisfaction over the current direction of the SBC.

But the group stopped short of proposing a candidate for SBC office or actions to be taken at the SBC convention next month—to the surprise of some participants.

Couched in terms of repentance, the statement says in part: “We publicly repent of triumphalism about Southern Baptist causes and narcissism about Southern Baptist ministries which have corrupted our integrity. … We publicly repent of an arrogant spirit that has infected our partnership with fellow Christians … .”

The closed-door Memphis meeting was organized by a group of mostly young pastors who have called for more openness in SBC life, particularly among agency trustees.

Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, acknowledged he and a few others called the invitation-only meeting. Only one media representative, Don Hinkle, editor of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s conservative Pathway newspaper, was invited.

The meeting included participants in the SBC’s loose-knit young leaders network, “emerging church” pastors, Baptist bloggers, leaders of Calvinist groups in the SBC, and others on the outside of convention leadership.

Some in the Memphis group are urging dissident International Mission Board trustee Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla., to be nominated for SBC president during the Greensboro, N.C., convention as an alternative to the established leadership. So far, he has declined interest publicly. But in a recent blog, he seemed more open to the possibility.

The “Memphis Declaration” is posted at www.twelvewitnesses.blogspot.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: 5/12/06

U.S. allies violate human rights

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Several U.S. allies remain among the world’s most egregious violators of human rights, a nonpartisan federal panel reported.

In addition, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said, two nations whose oppressive governments U.S. forces have helped overthrow since 2001—Iraq and Afghanistan—are in danger of joining that infamous list.

Commission members made public their 2006 annual report and recommendations during a press conference in Washington. The 1998 law that created the panel requires it to report annually on the status of religious liberty worldwide and recommend the State Department name nations that commit or tolerate severe and egregious violations of religious freedom as countries of particular concern. Administration officials retain ultimate authority to make those designations and impose appropriate sanctions.

Commissioners recommended the same 11 nations for that status as they did last year—Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Although the commission has long recommended country of particular concern status for those nations, the State Department has failed to follow that recommendation for Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and has been slow to take action against Saudi Arabia.

In September—a year after the State Department declared oil-rich Saudi Arabia a county of particulasr concern—Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice placed a 180-day waiver on implementing any sanctions against the Saudi government.

“This waiver expired in late March 2006,” said Nina Shea, the commission’s vice chair and director of Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom.

“As of today, no action with regard to Saudi Arabia has been announced by the U.S. government. … Since religious freedom conditions in Saudi Arabia have not substantially improved in the last year, the U.S. government should not hesitate in taking significant action.”

Shea said Saudi Arabia has not shown significant improvement on religious freedom since the State Department’s 2004 country of particular concern designation.

The Saudi government bans public worship by religious groups of any sort other than those following the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam.

Shea said government officials occasionally raid even private Christian worship services, which are supposed to be legal.

In Pakistan, the panel’s 250-page report said, “Sectarian and religiously motivated violence persists, … and the government’s response to this problem, though improved, continues to be insufficient and not fully effective.”

The commission also called special attention to the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“In these two countries, where the United States is directly engaged in political reconstruction, the universal right to religious freedom is imperiled,” wrote Michael Cromartie, the commission’s chairman, in a letter to Rice accompanying the report.

He noted several recent incidents in which Afghan citizens were charged with crimes—some carrying the death penalty—for contradicting Islam. Cromartie also noted lawless conditions in Iraq have led to regular sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, as well as an atmosphere of fear that is causing many Christians and other religious minorities to flee the country in “an exodus that may mean the end of the presence in Iraq of ancient Christian and other communities that have lived on those same lands for 2,000 years,” he said.

Commissioner Preeta Bansal, a human-rights attorney, told re-porters the new Afghan consti-tution, the makeup of the nation’s judiciary, and the government’s inability to impose order in large parts of the country outside Kabul have combined to worsen the situation there.

The full report is available on the commission’s website at www.uscirf.gov.

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: 5/12/06

Baptist foster care continues in troubled Sri Lanka

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka—As the threat of full-fledged civil war grows in Sri Lanka, a Texas Baptist agency cares for a growing number of orphans on the boundary of the fraying ceasefire line.

A foster program developed by Children’s Emergency Relief International, the overseas arm of Baptist Child & Family Services, has placed 96 orphans with 48 families, with another 600 children on the waiting list.

The ministry has added about 20 children a month for the past three or four months, said Basil Fonseka, national program director.

“Our goal is to have 200 children enrolled by December—maybe 300 if the resources are there,” he said.

Basil Fonseka,director of the CERI foster program for orphans in Sri Lanka, visited BCFS programs in San Antonio in April. Here he tours the Preparation for Adult Living program that works with young adults who have aged out of the Texas foster care system. (BCFS photo by Marla Rushing)

Those projections were made before the already-unraveling ceasefire between the government and the Tamil Tiger separatists was strained by a suicide bombing, fire fights at sea and at border checkpoints, and cancellation of the latest round of peace talks.

In two decades, about 60,000 people have died in fighting between the Singhalese-dominated central government and the ethnic Tamils, who have waged a war for autonomy. If total warfare returns to the northeastern part of the country, “we can’t begin to imagine what will happen to the children,” Fonseka added. “They already suffer under the triple blows of poverty, war and the tsunami,”

A female suicide bomber, dressed as a pregnant woman, detonated explosives at an army hospital in Colombo April 25 as the commander of the Sri Lankan army arrived. The blast killed eight people and wounded 27 others, including the general, who was critically injured, the Asian Tribune reported.

In response, the government launched air and artillery attacks on Tamil Tiger bases in the eastern province just north of Batticaloa where the Children’s Emergency Relief International program is based. An estimated 12 people—including civilians —died and between 15,000 and 40,000 refugees fled the area. A gun battle erupted at a checkpoint along the ceasefire zone April 29. At least two earlier sea battles were fought off the eastern coast of the country. Violence has increased steadily since early December, ending two years of tense—but generally peaceful—ceasefire.

International observers, including Hu-man Rights Watch and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission—the group trying to broker the peace talks, have condemned both sides.

Meanwhile, Children’s Emergency Relief International staff continue their work in Batticaloa, putting together the nation’s first foster program. The coastal town, which straddles the ceasefire line, is where Texas Baptists concentrated their relief efforts immediately after the tsunami.

One part of the CERI foster program for orphans is the use of art therapy to help orphans express the feelings left over from the tsunami. This young man draws of seeing people washed from vehicles and drowned. (BCFC photo by Craig Bird)

“The government and the people know we are all Christians and that this work is funded mostly by Christians in America. But they also know we are not using this as a way to proselytize. In our own way, we are contributing to building relationships and trust among different ethnic and religious groups and aiding national peace efforts,” Fonseka explained.

Foster parents’ monthly meetings with staff serve as a linchpin of the program. More than 95 percent participate, Fonseka noted, “even though most of the families live five or 10 miles from our office and have to walk or bicycle to come.” Local government officials also attend.

The meetings focus on training foster parents in such diverse areas as financial management, nutrition and health care.

Foster parents, all relatives of the orphans, frequently come to the Children’s Emergency Relief International staff for prayer—especially for physical problems, he added. Every-other month, the children join their foster parents at the meetings.

Four case workers make regular visits to each home, providing more training and making sure the children are cared for properly.

Children’s Emergency Relief Inter-national provides $30 a month per child.

“Since all of our families are below the poverty line—and in Sri Lanka that is defined as $1 a day per family—you can see what a difference it makes to the grandmother or aunt or uncle that has taken in these orphans,” Fonseka said. “That money provides food security and clothing and ensures school fees will be paid.”

Not only do foster parents have to turn in receipts each month before receiving the allotment; they also are required to place a certain percentage into a savings account. Children’s Emergency Relief International will organize the families into groups of 12 that can combine their savings for capital to set up small enterprises to produce things they couldn’t produce individually. Children’s Emergency Relief International will provide training and help find markets for the products.

Another project links the foster families with volunteers to build houses. “Most of our families are living in shacks or rented rooms,” Fonseka explained.

“For $1,000, we can build a two-room house and hire some of the foster parents as part of the construction crew. Other families will be expected to volunteer their labor, since others will volunteer when it is their turn,” he said.

Fonseka spent 10 days in Texas in late April, learning how Baptist Child & Family Services operates its foster program and speaking in churches.

A Wednesday night session with a prayer group at First Baptist Church in San Antonio resulted in a commitment to support the Children’s Emergency Relief International effort with constant and focused prayer. Pastor Don Guthrie also organized an impromptu love offering that brought in $700.

Fonseka immediately suggested it go toward building a house for an elderly woman raising her two orphaned grandchildren in a tiny mud-walled room.

“All we need is another $300,” he later told Marla Rushing, Children’s Emergency Relief International director for Southeast Asia.

The following Sunday, after a short talk at First Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Fonseka and Rushing were visiting with members when a young boy stepped through the crowd, put a pile of bills into Fonseka’s hand, said, “My dad said go give this to you,” and disappeared.

“Nobody knew who he was, but when we counted it, there was $300 there,” Rushing recalled, pointing out the specific need was not mentioned publically.

“I was amazed, but Basil wasn’t. He just said, ‘I knew God would provide.’ So when he assures me that God is going to give us the $50,000 we need to keep this program going and growing, I have to believe him.”

Rushing will lead a group of volunteers to Sri Lanka in August and organize future trips. Fonseka said volunteers should plan to spend a minimum of two weeks.

“Part of the time could be spent building houses, but we need English teachers for the children, too, and we want the volunteers to have time to develop relationships with the Christian churches in Batticaloa.

Finally, we want them to spend time in the foster homes to get a firsthand experience of what God is letting CERI do.”

Information about Children’s Emer-gency Relief International’s Sri Lanka program is available at ww.bcfs.net or by calling Rushing at (210) 832-5999.

In addition to mission trips, sponsorships for Sri Lanka orphans also are available.

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: 5/12/06

Feeding the hungry disarms
terrorists, author insists

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Humanitarian aid is the most potent weapon the United States can deploy against terrorism, veteran congressman Tony Hall believes.

Providing food for one’s enemies not only fulfills a basic teaching of Jesus Christ; it’s also good foreign policy, said Hall, an evangelical Christian who served 12 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and recently completed more than three years as ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food & Agriculture in Rome.

“When we feed hungry people—and help them solve other problems—we create goodwill that can last for generations, cement alliances and make us safer in an often-dangerous world,” he writes in his new book, Changing the Face of Hunger.

“To fight terrorists who label us the enemy of the poor and the oppressed, we must make clear that we are the poor and oppressed’s best friend.”

The world does not lack the food necessary to eliminate chronic hunger; it lacks the political and spiritual will to bring about change, he said in an interview.

“We grow enough food to feed everybody,” said Hall, a three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“We need more political will and more spiritual will. We need more people of faith involved.”

In 1993,when Congress eliminated the House Select Committee on Hunger—which Hall had co-founded and chaired—he went on a highly publicized 22-day fast to raise awareness and express his solidarity with the world’s hungry people.

Hall traces his intense commitment to justice for the poor and food for the hungry to an admonition by Mother Teresa of Calcutta and a question by a Christian mentor who helped disciple him.

When Hall asked Mother Teresa how she could hope to make any impact on the world’s vast problems, she said, “You do the thing that is in front of you.”

And when Hall met in a small group of Christians in Washing-ton, D.C., about two years after his conversion, one of them asked him, “Tony, don’t you think it’s time you brought God into your workplace?”

Hall initially resisted. “I didn’t want to be seen as a politician who wears his religion on his sleeve,” he explained.

But witnessing firsthand the pressing needs of hungry people in the United States and around the globe fueled Hall’s passion for justice.

He visited famine-stricken Ethiopia, investigated human rights abuses in Romania, traveled to North Korea six times to witness hunger in a Communist country closed to most American officials, and brokered a deal with Mu’ammar al-Gadhafi so food from the United States could be trucked through Libya and delivered to refugees in Sudan and Chad.

Hall, an Ohio Democrat, bridged partisan politics to build alliances with colleagues such as Frank Wolf, a conservative Virginia Republican, who shared his concern for human rights and global security.

“We can put aside partisan differences by concentrating on the things we agree upon,” he said.

“It’s hard to demonize others when you spend time together, pray together and really get to know them.”

Hall remains convinced issues of hunger and poverty can be a place where most people of goodwill can find common ground if they see for themselves the needs of hungry people—whether in a refugee camp on the other side of the world or at a homeless shelter in their own community.

“I’ve traveled to 120 nations,” he said “And I take people with me to show them, to educate them.

“I’ve taken politicians and businessmen to see the good and the bad—programs that work and programs that don’t work.”

People of different faiths and different political philosophies recognize compassion as a virtue, he stressed.

By approaching the problem from different perspectives, they offer a variety of solutions—governmental aid, personal charity, small loans to benefit micro-enterprise, literacy programs and health care education to improve standards of living.

“Some of the most effective programs are public/private partnerships between government and business,” he said.

Christians, in particular, have a responsibility to meet human needs and become advocates for poor and hungry people, he said, noting the Bible includes more than 2,000 verses concerning the poor.

“If each of us just did the thing that is in front of us, that would take care of half the problems in the world,” he said.

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

Posted: 5/12/06

Law mandates training for camp workers

By George Henson

Staff Writer

Churches throughout Texas are required to make extra preparations for summer camps this year, as a new state law outlining training for adults who work with children and teen-agers goes into effect June 1.

The new law requires every adult—paid or volunteer—who is in contact with children at camp to undergo training focused on sexual abuse and child molestation. At the end of the training, each adult worker must take a written test to demonstrate understanding of the material.

State law already requires criminal background checks of adults who have contact with children at camp. A sex- offender background check also is required. The checks can be done by going to the website https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/. The fee for criminal background checks is a little more than $3 each. Sex offender background checks are free.

The Texas Baptist Camp Managers Association and the staff of the Baptist General Convention of Texas worked together to develop curriculum to meet state requirements for the training, including a test. The curriculum is available on a DVD distributed by camp managers to churches that will attend camp this summer.

The curriculum is mandated to include “the definition and effects of sexual abuse and child molestation; the typical behavior and methods of operation of child molesters and sex offenders that put children at risk; the warning signs and symptoms associated with sexual abuse or child molestation, recognition of signs and symptoms and recommended methods of intervening and reporting suspected abuse; and the recommended rules and procedures for youth camps to implement to address, reduce, prevent and report suspected sexual abuse and child molestation.”

All workers 18 years old or older are required to complete the training.

Tom Leamon, director of Camp Chaparral Baptist Assembly in Iowa Park and president of the Texas Baptist Camp Managers Association, said the new law has its pros and cons.

“It’s good in one sense, because anything that goes toward safeguarding the well-being of our children is positive, but it is going to be a burden in implementation,” he said.

As the licensed party, the camps are responsible for making sure workers complete the training stipulated in the law.

The camps will be required to ask churches for documentation on all volunteer workers at the time they arrive and keep those records on file.

Since it sometimes happens that the planned adult worker cannot attend and a last-minute substitute has to be found, Leamon said Camp Chaparral will be prepared to lead a course for anyone who could not receive the training before arrival. Churches should check to see if on-site training will be available at the camp they plan to attend, Leamon advised.

Currently, training is not required for camps such as Super Summer held on college or university campuses. Some officials believe this immunity for colleges and universities will be lost in the next legislative session.

The intent of the law is positive, Leamon said in a statement posted on the camp’s website.

“The best way to deter abuse from happening at our camps is to develop an environment that puts the offender, rather than the child, at risk. An adequate screening process, proper supervision and accountability will discourage this type of offender.”

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: 5/12/06

Attorney will guide BGCT
church-starting investigation

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—An attorney will guide an investigation into alleged mishandling of Baptist General Convention of Texas church-starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley.

BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade has asked officers of the Executive Board and the state convention to engage an attorney to head the probe. The investigation focuses on how church-starting funds were used from 1996 to 2003 in Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association and what is now The Borderlands Baptist Association.

The amount of money in question is unknown at this point but will be determined early in the investigation, Wade said.

At the same time, a BGCT Executive Board standing committee has been asked to deal with a request that the board conduct its own investigation into the matter. Palo Pinto Baptist Association’s executive committee unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the board’s involvement.

Executive Board Chair Bob Fowler of Houston has assigned the matter to the Church Missions and Ministries Committee, chaired by Robert Cepeda of Los Fresnos. The committee will bring a report to the full Executive Board, either recommending or not recommending board action, Fowler said.

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

In 1996, the BGCT Annual listed 92 churches and 38 missions in Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association.

By 2003, the Annual reported 105 churches and 240 missions in the association. Of those 240 missions, 151 listed as their sponsors six of the 10 churches that formed The Borderlands Baptist Association the following year. Listing as a mission in the BGCT Annual does not necessarily mean a congregation received BGCT funding.

Questions about improprieties regarding church-starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley initially surfaced about five years ago.

“Dr. Wade consulted with BGCT staff and concluded at that time that there was no need for an investigation,” a statement issued by the BGCT said.

“In December 2005, new information came to Dr. Wade’s attention that prompted another round of internal investigation. He and other BGCT executive leaders then determined that an independent, outside investigation was needed.”

In an interview, Wade explained he made two or three trips to the Valley when the questions first arose specifically to “get to the bottom” of the allegations, and he received what he believed were reasonable answers from trusted sources.

But last year, after the BGCT annual meeting in Austin, allegations “kept bubbling up,” Wade said. In addition to renewed concerns expressed by Texas Baptists in the Valley, questions raised by Mexican Baptist leaders about some church-starting practices prompted his desire for further inquiry.

Initially, Wade enlisted Mike Steiger, an accountant from Arlington and former partner in a global management consulting firm, to conduct a financial investigation. Steiger offered his services as a volunteer, the statement issued by the BGCT communications office said.

But Steiger and convention officials concluded “the timeframe and the complexity of the issues pointed to the need to engage legal counsel to guide the effort,” the BGCT statement said.

Fowler and Executive Board Vice Chair Jim Nelson of Austin, together with BGCT President Michael Bell of Fort Worth, First Vice President Steve Vernon of Levelland and Second Vice President Dan Wooldridge of Georgetown, will engage an attorney to guide the investigation.

The officers are considering several lawyers, and they will make their decision prior to the May 22-23 Executive Board meeting, Fowler said.

“I’d like to think it will be a two- to three-month process, but we can’t be certain at this point,” he said of the investigation. Fowler anticipates the probe will be completed in time for the Executive Board to receive a report at its Sept. 25-26 meeting.

The investigation will be funded out of reserve or contingency funds, Fowler said. Money will have to be allocated by the Executive Board unless there is enough contingency funding in the budget, he added.

Having convention and Executive Board officers hire an attorney to guide the investigation is “a step in the right direction,” said David Montoya, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Mineral Wells, who has used his Internet blog to lead the call for a probe. But Montoya still would prefer to see the process led by an Executive Board-elected committee.

“It seems to me that it is still being managed by a few rather than being openly dealt with,” he said. “We need complete openness now. This has been managed for damage control for too long. Texas Baptists deserve answers.”

The BGCT normally funds church-starts through a cooperative agreement between the convention, an association of churches and a sponsoring congregation. The BGCT’s emphasis on church-starting dates back to the 1980s and the Mission Texas long-range plan. It has continued in recent years, with Texas Baptists starting 191 congregations last year and setting a goal of 250 new churches this year.

“Texas Baptists place a high value on starting new churches, and the BGCT directs millions of dollars into the most strategic locations around the state,” Wade said. “We take very seriously this missions and financial responsibility. That is why we want to investigate this and determine how the money was used.

“The BGCT has always functioned in a transparent financial environment, resulting in a high level of confidence in the integrity of the organization and its leaders. We are committed to making sure this continues.”

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: 5/12/06

Bible reading on rise, survey reveals

By Nate Herpich

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—A survey shows the percentage of Americans who say they regularly read the Bible continues to increase.

The survey, conducted by the Barna Group, found 47 percent of respondents said they open the Bible on a weekly basis, up from just 31 percent in 1995 and 40 percent six years ago.

The survey also polled respondents on six other religious behaviors, including church attendance and attending small groups like Bible studies.

Forty-seven percent said they attend church on a weekly basis, up from 37 percent a decade ago, while 23 percent said they attend small- group functions affiliated with church.

Twenty-seven percent of those asked said they volunteer through church, while 24 percent said they attend Sunday school, up from 17 percent in 1996.

Increased participation in all of these religious behaviors at the same time marks the findings as unusual, said survey director George Barna.

“The intriguing possibility is that with most of our key behavioral measures showing increases at the same time, there is the possibility that this may herald a holistic, lasting commitment to engagement with God and the Christian faith,” he said.

The Barna report was based on data taken from 1,003 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone. The Barna Group is a private, for-profit corporation in Ventura, Calif., that conducts research on spiritual development.

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: 5/12/06

Book Reviews

Finding Our Way Home: Turning Back to What Matters Most by Mark R. McMinn (Josey-Bass)

Finding Our Way Home is inspirational and thought-provoking. From a very personal perspective, McMinn discusses our God-created desire for both adventure and “home”—that secure place in which we are fully known and loved.

These two forces are evident in our human relationships and in our relationship with God.

They sometimes are guided by God, but at other times controlled by our sinful selves. When we allow these desires to take us away from God and each other, there is a longing that draws us back to God and to wholeness with others. God pursues us actively, moving toward us with redemptive love, encouraging us to change direction.

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

McMinn provides an excellent discussion of the “redemptive language of turning back” found in the ideologies of psychology, theology and spirituality. Additionally, he gives a beautiful commentary on the incarnation as God’s ultimate provision for “finding our way home.”

This book is worth reading more than once.

Margaret Hunt Rice, executive director

of student services and regional outreach

University of Houston-Victoria

Seventeen Roadblocks on the Highway of Life: And How to Move Around Them by Brian Harbour (Smyth & Helwys)

Last summer, our family traveled to our favorite vacation getaway—Pagosa Springs, Colo. But along the way, we were confronted with a roadblock. We waited on the side of the road for two hours while pavers paved and workers worked. Roadblocks are not something any of us look forward to, but we all face them from time to time.

Brian Harbour has written a new book that addresses this theme, Seventeen Roadblocks on the Highway of Life: And How to Move Around Them, which I highly recommend.

According to John 10:10, Jesus came to give us life—not just an ordinary life, but an extraordinary, abundant life.

This life Jesus offers is marked by joy, peace, confidence, security and fulfillment. Unfortunately, many Christians do not live up to our privileges. We don’t experience the abundant life offered by Jesus.

Why not? The simple answer is that so often we face roadblocks that prevent us from moving down the road to abundant living.

Harbour identifies 17 roadblocks and offers strategies to navigate around these roadblocks.

Harbour offers a wealth of illustrations and quotes for any pastor who wishes to preach about any of these roadblocks. For the Christian who wants to move around these roadblocks, this book provides Scriptures, models and strategies to help.

David Harp, pastor

First Baptist Church

Stanton

Holy Blood, Holy Grail: The Secret History of Jesus, The Shocking Legacy of the Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln (Dell)

As a pastor, I found reading Holy Blood, Holy Grail to be a difficult task on many levels. The hypothesis of the book was deeply disturbing.

The authors set out to prove that the historic search for the Holy Grail would actually lead to the discovery that Jesus married Mary Magdalene.

As a result of this theoretical marriage, Jesus had children, and his lineage continues in Europe. This “holy blood” secret had to be hidden from the Catholic Church because of its threats to the foundations of orthodox Christia-nity.

It was obvious from reading this book that Dan Brown used the hypothesis of Holy Blood, Holy Grail for background information for his best-selling novel The DaVinci Code.

But to me, Holy Blood, Holy Grail read more like historical fiction than scholarly research.

If you plan to read the book, it might be helpful to begin your reading with “Part Three: The Bloodline.”

Otherwise, you may find yourself lost and confused in the early details.

When you read how the authors dealt with the New Testament, you will understand how they came up with such a bizarre hypothesis for the book.

David Lowrie, pastor

First Baptist Church

Canyon

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: 5/12/06

Baptist Briefs

Alliance pledges to confront racism. At its annual convocation in Birmingham, Ala., the Alliance of Baptists pledged to remake itself into “an anti-racist organization.” While the three-day meeting focused primarily on confronting racism and working toward reconciliation, the estimated 500 participants also agreed to consider a boycott of oil giant Exxon-Mobil, saying the high price of oil and gas deepens worldwide poverty, and dependence on fossil fuels threatens creation. A resolution called on the company to invest significantly in cheaper and less hazardous energy sources. During the annual business session, members were told the Alliance surpassed its goal for the annual missions offering last year. But for the second year in a row, it finished the year with a deficit, which was paid out of reserves. The organization already has a $16,000 deficit for 2006, against an annual operating budget of $374,000. Members elected Jim Hopkins, pastor of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, Calif., as Alliance president for the coming year. Kristy Arnesen Pullen, a laywoman from Reston, Va., was elected vice president. Amy Jacks Dean, co-pastor of Park Road Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., was elected secretary.

CBF plans conference for chaplains & counselors. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will sponsor a conference for chaplains and pastoral counselors June 21 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta. The event, featuring Central Baptist Theological Seminary President Molly Marshall, is scheduled prior to the CBF General Assembly June 22-23 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. A luncheon for chaplains and pastoral counselors on June 23 at the Omni Hotel will feature a presentation on contemplative prayer by Loyd Allen, professor of church history and spiritual formation at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. Both events require advance registration. To register, contact Jen Van Camp at (770) 220-1645, jvancamp@thefellowship.info or George Pickle at (770) 220-1617, gpickle@thefellowship.info.

Mercer strengthens Baptist ties. Mercer University trustees voted to amend the school’s charter to require that Baptists comprise no less than half the governing board and adopted a bylaw provision stipulating university presidents be Baptist. The trustee actions followed a formal separation initiated by the Georgia Baptist Convention last November and several public pronouncements by university leaders—including President-elect Bill Underwood—calling for a clear Baptist identity.

NAMB chair appoints two committees. Barry Holcomb, chairman of the North American Mission Board’s trustees, has announced appointment of two committees—a presidential search committee and an executive-level policy committee. The search committee, made necessary by the resignation of NAMB President Bob Reccord, will be chaired by Terry Fox, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan., and co-chaired by David Crump of Broken Arrow, Okla. Other NAMB trustees serving on the search committee are Bill Curtis of Florence, S.C.; Ellie Ficken of Montgomery, Ala.; Greg Faulls of Owensboro, Ky.; Barbara McCormick of Tigerville, S.C.; Michael Palmer of Salmon, Idaho; Ryan Palmer of Baltimore, Md.; and Jeff Shirley of Rockwall. Larry Thomas, director of missions for the Little Red River Baptist Association in Heber Springs, Ark., will chair the executive-level policy committee, and the vice chairman will be Ron Wilson of Thousand Oaks, Calif. Additional members of the executive-level policy committee are Reva Daniel of Clinton, Miss.; Mack McCarthick of Lovington, N.M.; Tim Patterson of Jacksonville, Fla.; Paul Pope of Bonne Terre, Mo.; David Thompson of Old Hickory, Tenn.; and Rob Rogers of Rincon, Ga. The committee will recommend accountability-focused policies for NAMB’s next executive leader, in keeping with the trustee task force report that led to Reccord’s resignation.

SBC president announces appointments. Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch appointed Byron McWilliams of First Baptist Church in Odessa and Diana Martinez of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Irving to the SBC Committee on Committees. The committee will meet in Greensboro, N.C., just prior to the SBC annual meeting June 13-14 to nominate members of the Committee on Nominations. Welch also named Nathan Lino, pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church in Humble; William Moody, pastor of First Baptist Church in Silsbee; and Ryan Rush, pastor of Bannockburn Baptist Church in Austin, to the Tellers Committee.

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.