Posted: 3/31/06

Around the state

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor social work program and advisory board will present its annual ethics conference April 20 from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The conference is free. Sherry Carroll will present “Do the Right Things, For the Right Reason, In the Right Way.” For more information, call (254) 295-4555.

• Howard Payne University will be the site of the “Best of the Best Books of 2005 for Children and Young Adults” exhibit and workshop April 21 and 22. The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, with participants eligible for 7.5 hours continuing professional education credit. A $25 fee covers a meal and handouts. For more information, access the website at ww1.hputx.edu/ hotlit/home.htm.

• A reunion for alumni, faculty and staff of Decatur Baptist College will be held April 22 at the Wise County Heritage Museum in Decatur, site of the former administration building of the college. The college, the forerunner of Dallas Baptist University, moved to Dallas in 1965. For reservations or more information, call (214) 333-5601.

• Sophia Young, a 6-foot-1 senior forward for the Baylor University Lady Bears basketball team, has been named an Associated Press first-team All-American. She is the first Baylor basketball player, man or woman, to be so honored. Young finished her college career as the Big 12 Conference all-time leading scorer (2,480 points) and rebounder (1,316). She was named the Big 12 Player of the Year the past two seasons.

• Six people have been chosen as this year’s inductees into the Hardin-Simmons University Hall of Leaders. The inductees are O.C. Pope, pioneer church starter and third president of Simmons College; Francis McBeth, music composer, teacher and HSU graduate; Truett Latimer, HSU graduate elected to the Texas House of Representatives at age 23; Frank Junell, civic and financial leader; Willis Whitfield, developer of the “clean room” for scientific laboratories; and Betty Stephenson, a pioneer for women in medicine.

• Neely Floyd has been crowned Miss East Texas Baptist University. Other honorees included DeAndra Walker, first runner-up; K’Lynn Childress, second runner-up and best talent; and Courtney Warren, Miss Congeniality.

• Sue Weaver has been named director of campus recreation at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Anniversaries

• Tommy Hood, 10th, as pastor of Lakeshore Drive Church in Weatherford, March 17.

• First Church in Rule, 100th, April 15-16. Saturday’s festivities will begin at 6 p.m. with a light meal in the fellowship hall. Following the meal, there will be a time of congregational singing as well as group and solo music presentations. Easter Sunday, Sunday school will begin at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. After the service, a catered meal provided by the church will be served in the Rule ISD cafeteria. After lunch, a return to the church will be marked by singing, testimonies and remembrances. Those wishing to speak or sing are asked to call (940) 997-2321. Also call if planning to participate in either meal. Josh Stowe is pastor.

Retiring

• Byron Allen Jr., as pastor of Laird Hill Church, near Kilgore. He has served the church 14 years and has been in the ministry 58 years. All five of his children are active in Baptist churches, with his three sons all ministers. He is available to serve as an interim or supply pastor, and can be reached at allenbj@gower.net.

Deaths

• Shirley Ditmore, 72, Nov. 30 in El Paso. She and her family served 30 years with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Conven-tion in Costa Rica, Peru and the Baptist Publishing House in El Paso. She served primariliy through music, teaching many to play the piano so that churches could have music for their worship. She also led a weekly evangelistic service at a women’s prison in Lima, Peru. She was a member of Coronado Church in El Paso. She was preceded in death by her mother, Donna Tibbs, and her daughter, Shellie LeBlanc. She is survived by her father, Newton Tibbs; husband of 50 years, Steve; sons, Steve and Jose; daughter, Susan Beardsley; sisters, Charlotte Stevens and Melinda Allison; and six grandchildren.

Children at The Heights Baptist Church in Richardson recently put together gift bags for the children of women living in area shelters. The children were moved to action after hearing two women from the Compassionate Hearts Ministry, which ministers to homeless women. Benjamin Randall, Jennifer Wise, Shelby Scott and Matthew Johnston are shown decorating the gift bags that were filled with toys and other goodies, as well as notes of encouragement and Scripture verses.

• Grady Kays, 51, Jan. 19 in Olney in an automobile accident. He was pastor of Gibtown Church in Poolville and also an aircraft mechanic. He previously had been pastor of Joplin Church in Jacksboro and Osage Church in McGregor. He was preceded in death by his brother, Coston. He is survived by his wife, Alicia; daughter, Jessica Carter; son, Aaron; and four grandchildren.

• Hollis Yeilding, 92, March 14 in Gatesville. A 1943 Howard Payne University graduate, he was ordained as a minister in 1938 at Coryell Church in Gatesville. He ministered at many churches over the course of 60 years, retiring at Pidcoke Church in Gatesville in 1998. He also served two terms on the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and served as a trustee of Hendrick Memorial Hospital 18 years. He was a member of First Church in Gatesville. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Everett, Ralph and S.L. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Margaret; daughter, LaNell Spears; sons, Kenneth, Hollis Jr. and David; brothers, Albert and Howard; sisters, Vaun Dean Jennings and Catherine Baker; eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

• Martell Hilburn, 72, March 15 in Waco. Her husband, Glenn, was a longtime professor of religion at Baylor University. She was a preschool Sunday school teacher at First Church in Waco many years. A lover of nature, she enjoyed watching and listening to screech owls who returned annually to an owl box in her backyard to lay their eggs and raise their young. She was preceded in death by her daughters, Ellen and Vickie Hilburn. She is survived by her husband of 52 years; sons, Jeffrey and Kelly; and four grandchildren.

Events

• A Bible prophecy conference will be held April 9-12 at Belmont Church in Denison. The conference will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday, proceed at 5 p.m. that evening and will meet at 7 p.m. Monday through Wednes-day. Bob Farber, a Jewish-Christian evangelist from Whitesboro, will be the speaker. The conference theme is “Signs of His Coming” and will cover prophecies Farber sees as being fulfilled in Israel, Europe, Russia, China and the Middle East. For more information, call (903) 815-5425. Grady New-some is pastor.

• First Church in Orange will present an Easter pageant titled “Forever Triumphant” April 12 and 13. The dramatic musical will be held in the church’s family life center, beginning at 6:30 p.m. both dates. John Bickham is minister of worship, and Barry Bradley is pastor.

Licensed

• Fred Sullivan and Darrell Lee to the ministry at Northlake Church in Dallas.

Ordained

• Casey Cockrell to the ministry at First Church in Bruceville.

• Herietti Beraki to the ministry at Gospel Light Eritrean Church in Dallas.

• Jack Graham to the ministry at Immanuel Church in Paris.

• Steve Holland, John Michalak, Herman Ratliff and Louis Vandiver as deacons at First Church in Lott.

• Greg Couk and David Darling as deacons at Good Hope Church in Three Rivers.

• Darrell Modling as a deacon at Zephyr Church in Zephyr.

Revivals

• Immanuel Church, Paris; April 9-12; evangelist, Rick Davis; music, The Attaways; pastor, Randall Scott.

• Belmore Church, San Angelo; April 16-19; evangelist, J.B. Bitner; music, Palmer McCown; interim pastor, Earl Dunn.

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: 3/31/06

Two suspects jailed in Orange church arson

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

ORANGE—West Orange authorities jailed two juvenile suspects in connection with the March 5 arson of McDonald Memorial Baptist Church in Orange.

The two teenaged boys allegedly broke through a glass door and set a series of fires inside the church’s sanctuary. Investigators believe the boys had been on a vandalism spree, spray-painting satanic symbols and other graffiti on houses and businesses along the street, before they broke into the church, Pastor Danny Gilliam said.

“The inside of the sanctuary had so much smoke damage that we’ll probably have to tear out everything,” Gilliam said. “They destroyed at least a dozen pews, probably damaged the piano and organ beyond repair and broke out 40 individual panes of stained glass.”

No evidence points to McDonald Memorial as a specific target, he noted.

“It appears they were just coming down the street with their spray-paint cans, and our church was on the corner—the first one they came across,” Gilliam said.

Arsonists appeared to set fire specifically to a large Bible at the front of the sanctuary and attempted to torch the piano, he noted.

“It’s been a headache, and it hurt a lot of our people” to see their worship center desecrated, Gilliam said. “They had to work through some anger, but we’re coming together and moving beyond it. Our people really are starting to pray for these guys who did it.”

The church has not cancelled any services or ministries, he added. Worship services are being held in the gymnasium of the church’s family life center.

Central Baptist Church in Port Arthur allowed McDonald Memorial to borrow padded chairs, First Baptist Church in Orange provided a temporary sound system and the Baptist General Convention of Texas gave the church a grant to buy sound equipment.

“It looks like these boys may have ruined their lives, but they didn’t accomplish anything if they were trying to disrupt our church. We haven’t missed a beat,” Gilliam said.

The church will celebrate its 75th anniversary April 30 as scheduled, and Vacation Bible School will be held as usual this summer, he noted. The fire caused only one serious disruption to the church calendar.

“I had to meet with a bride who has a July wedding scheduled to tell her, ‘Unless you want to get married in the gym wearing tennis shoes, you might want to think about changing locations,’” Gilliam 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: 3/31/06

BGCT designed to meet churches’ wishes

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—If a church needs help from the Baptist General Convention of Texas, should a church representative: (a) call the service center at the Baptist Building; (b) contact a regional congregational strategist; or (c) directly phone somebody he or she knows on the BGCT Executive Board staff?

The correct answer: (d) any of the above.

The revamped BGCT organizational structure—with a centralized call center in Dallas, congregational strategists and church starters located around the state and Dallas-based specialists who work primarily in interdisciplinary teams—provides multiple ways churches can access the state convention’s resources, staff leaders insist.

“We want to be available to our churches however they feel most comfortable relating to us,” said David Nabors, BGCT chief financial officer and treasurer.

The new approach may appear confusing to Texas Baptists familiar with the old structure of centers, departments and divisions, all based at the Baptist Building. But the new system grew directly out of desires expressed by Texas Baptists around the state, said BGCT Chief Operating Officer Ron Gunter.

“This is not something we just pulled out of the sky. It’s what churches asked for,” Gunter said.

Over the last two years, the BGCT has worked to bring its organizational structure in line with convention-approved strategic priorities. First, the BGCT dealt with governance issues—changing the bylaws and constitution, reducing the size of its Executive Board by more than half and giving the board greater decision-making authority.

While those matters were being resolved, BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade and his staff conducted listening sessions around the state and brought together focus groups to explore ways to improve the staff structure.

“The consistent messages we heard were: ‘Give us the resources where we are. Decentralize. And get out of Dallas,’” said Chris Liebrum, special assistant to the executive director.

In response, the BGCT has deployed congregational strategists and church starters to nine service areas around the state. Congregational strategists have a broad, general understanding of available resources and are trained as “first-responders” when churches have urgent needs, he explained.

“Congregational strategists are the 911 call,” Liebrum said. “They offer three things to churches. First, they are generalists who have a broad knowledge base. Second, they will be able to get there quicker than somebody based in Dallas. And, in time, they will be ones who will have a personal relationship with the churches in their areas.”

Since laptop computers and cell phones provide remote access to databases and other resources, most field personnel will spend the bulk of their time on the road visiting churches and will not have permanent offices—including field staff who serve the Dallas area.

“Why provide office space for someone who is supposed to be out in the field?” Gunter asked.

While BGCT staff in specialized areas—such as church starting—have served around the state for many years, deployment of generalists has caused some Texas Baptists to question whether the state convention is duplicating a role often performed by associational directors of missions.

“It looks like we are reinventing the wheel,” George Mosier of Dallas wrote in a Baptist Standard letter to the editor, published in February. “We already have area missionaries or directors of missions strategically placed around the state.”

Congregational strategists should neither duplicate nor usurp the role of a director of missions, Gunter ex-plained. They have been urged to build close working relationships with directors of missions in their service areas and let them know of their desire to serve alongside them as a support.

At the same time, everyone involved needs to recognize and respect the autonomy of the state convention and associations and realize each exists to serve churches, he added.

“Our churches have spoken to us and told us this is what they want, and we are going to serve our churches,” Gunter said.

In filling the congregational strategist posts, he added, staff leaders sought to respond to another message delivered in listening sessions—hire field personnel who have recent, hands-on experience in local-church or associational settings and an affinity for congregational life.

At the Baptist Building in Dallas, most personnel serve on an operational team—such as congregational leadership, research and development, or missions, evangelism and ministry—the leader of whom reports directly to Gunter.

The service center—a new office directed by Gus Reyes where staff initiate and respond to general phone calls about available resources—operates 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.

“The physical arrangements in the Baptist Building had to be redesigned in response to the reorganization and a need for different space configurations,” Nabors said. “No Cooperative Program dollars were used.”

When the BGCT sold its downtown property in the late 1980s at the height of the real estate boom and built the current Baptist Building when construction costs were low, it enabled administrative staff at that time to create an endowment fund that has continued to fund remodeling needs for more than 15 years, he noted.

Likewise, up-dates in computer systems and other technology have been provided through designated endowment funds —not Cooperative Program money, he added.

And while some staff have retired or moved to other ministries, the current number of BGCT Executive Board employees roughly equals the number of staff prior to the reorganization, Gunter said.

Staff leaders haven’t been surprised some Texas Baptists have asked hard—sometimes critical—questions about the reorganization. Major organizational changes don’t occur painlessly or flawlessly, Liebrum acknowledged.

“We hear the criticisms, and we’re not blind to the challenges some have expressed,” he said.

And while the basic structure is in place now, specific elements will be subject to “constant tweaking” so they can be improved, Gunter added.

“We want to provide what churches asked for,” he said. “We’re here to serve churches.” 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: 3/31/06

Baptist Briefs

No bond for accused church arsonists. The three men charged in the string of 10 church fires in rural Alabama will not seek release on bond from their federal charges, their lawyers said. Matthew Lee Cloyd, 20; Benjamin Moseley, 19; and Russell DeBusk Jr., 19, could have been released on a $50,000 bond with strict conditions. Instead, Moseley’s lawyer said his client’s concern for the affected church members determined his decision to remain in jail. In addition to the federal charges, each man is charged with state arson and burglary charges. If convicted on all state counts, each suspect will face between 15 and 150 years in state prison. As for federal charges, each man faces between seven and 40 years in federal prison.

British Baptists set to select general secretary. The Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain has nominated Jonathan Edwards as its next general secretary. The nomination followed the retirement announcement of General Secretary David Coffey, president of the Baptist World Alliance, and the Baptist Assembly will vote on it April 28. Edwards, 50, has served as a South West Baptist Association regional minister since 1998 and became a team leader for the group in 2002. Prior to serving with the Church Missionary Society in India, he studied law at St. John’s College, Oxford, and trained for Baptist ministry at Oxford’s Regent’s Park College. Upon approval by the Baptist Assembly of his nomination, Edwards will begin his new position next fall. The fifth-largest Christian denomination in the United Kingdom, the Baptist Union of Great Britain has more than 2,100 churches in England and Wales.

Fort Worth leader nominated for CBF post. Harriet Harral of Fort Worth has been nominated to serve as the next moderator-elect of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Harral, who has served on the Fellowship’s Coordinating Council since 2003 and is current chair of the Council’s personnel committee, will be presented to the General Assembly for a vote as moderator-elect during its annual business session at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga., in June. Nominations for moderator-elect can be made from the floor of the Assembly. Harral operates The Harral Group, a consulting firm that specializes in organizational effectiveness. A member of CBF of Texas’ coordinating council, she is a member of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, where she serves as deacon.

Ouachita to explore graduate theology program. Ouachita Baptist University trustees, meeting in executive session March 9, urged the Arkansas university’s administration to explore the feasibility of launching a graduate program in theology. The action came in the form of a joint resolution from the administration and the trustee executive committee and passed by a unanimous vote of trustees.

Saddleback Church marks 20,000 baptisms. Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., celebrated its 20,000th baptism in its 25-year history in a quiet ceremony March 19. Pastor Rick Warren immersed Mario Soto, a 24-year-old resident of Aliso Viejo, Calif., in an outdoor baptismal pool. Soto, who was among about a dozen adults baptized that day, marked another milestone in life the night before when he became engaged to be married. Saddleback averaged about 1,300 baptisms each year between 1996 and 2004. Last year, the church baptized 2,501 new converts.

Two nominees announced for SBC second VP. Two pastors—one from California and the other from North Carolina—will be nominated for second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention at the annual meeting, June 13-14 in Greensboro, N.C. Bill Dodson, pastor of Bell City Baptist Church near Farmington, Ky., announced he plans to nominate Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., and Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, said he will nominate J.D. Greear, pastor of the Summit Church in Durham, N.C., for second vice president. Drake has been a regular at the microphones of SBC annual meetings, making motions about various cultural issues—including calling for a boycott of Disney entertainment—and has been an advocate for homeless people. Greear served two years as a missionary in Indonesia.

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: 3/31/06

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: 3/31/06

Cuba travel rules protested

By Adelle Banks

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Seventeen U.S. senators have joined more than 100 members of the House of Representatives to protest Treasury Department rules that have blocked some religious organizations from traveling to Cuba.

Religious leaders attended a Capitol Hill meeting called by the members of Congress who had sent word of their concerns about the policy changes to Treasury Secretary John Snow.

“We are dismayed, and even outraged, at the loss of these licenses and what we view as unjustified interference in and hindrance to the mission of the church,” said John McCullough, executive director and CEO of Church World Service.

Some of the affected groups have traveled to the communist island nation for more than a decade, meeting with partner churches and attending conferences. Those affected include the National Council of Churches, the American Baptist Churches USA and the Alliance of Baptists, which no longer have licenses, and organizations such as the Presbyterian Church (USA) which now has a more restrictive license.

Representatives of the Treasury and State departments attended the meeting, and religious leaders delivered letters to Snow and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed by a dozen officials of religious groups. The letters state the groups believe Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is un-fairly granting less restrictive licenses to local churches in the U.S. than the ones national organizations have.

“Any premise that the U.S. government is favoring a particular religious group over another is categorically wrong,” Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said when asked about the concerns.

The office issuing the licenses is continuing to grant them but is trying to be certain that “legitimate religious travel” occurs, she explained.

“This policy also helps to ensure that those simply looking for R&R on the island are no longer able to line Castro’s pockets under the pretext of religious travel,” Millerwise said.

The religious leaders strongly denied that their groups had misused licenses and asked Snow to address those that might have.

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: 3/31/06

DOWN HOME:
He wishes she wouldn’t speculate

The other day, Joanna started a conversation: “Babe, if you out-live me … .”

I just hate it when my wife talks like that.

When this happens, she’s either telling me something I don’t like to think about (like insurance or taxes), something she thinks I’ll forget (like where she keeps the key to the safe-deposit box), or something she wants me to do (like remember to give such-and-such to so-and-so).

I don’t really mind being told, reminded and/or directed. Jo’s pretty good at telling, reminding and/or directing me at times when she’s not discussing her own mortality. In fact, if she didn’t remind, tell and/or direct me fairly often, I’d be a mess.

Of course, I do mind thinking about the possibility of walking through a portion of my life without the gal who tells, reminds and/or directs me about something practically everyday. I could get over not knowing something, forgetting something and/or wandering around for lack of direction. But I’d hate like the dickens not having her by my side, whether or not I need to be told, reminded and/or directed.

Sometimes, I think I’m selfish to hope that someday, when the time comes, she out-lives me. It’s sort of like when dear friends move to another city. The folks who move may be sad to go, but they’re on a new adventure. The ones who stay behind have to pick up the pieces as they inhabit the same old landscape, only this time without the companionship of loved ones who mean so much to them and who infuse those places with meaning and vitality.

When our girls were little, I absolutely knew who they would need the most if they were left with only one parent—their mama. While I did my best to be an engaged, involved, loving and supportive daddy, Jo was gravity in our home. The girls got their bearings each day from her.

Now, the calculus of who goes first is more complicated. Lindsay’s married; Molly’s in college. Their day-to-day need for either of us has changed. And, boy, is that a change in parenting. Especially if you’re a parent who enjoys—no, loves—daily interaction with your kids. But that’s a story for another column.

Although we’re both relatively young (Our friends say, “Fifty is the new 35,” and we’re not there yet), we’ve reached the stage of life and marriage we’ve contemplated in friends and family: Which one of the two could best handle living alone?

That’s a highly speculative question. The “answer” is based on observations about who’s most self-sufficient—which actually has more to do with toughness and socialization skills than cooking and doing chores. But when the subject comes up, I usually think about personal faith. Who will be able to rely on God and depend upon divine resources to survive the loss of the love of a lifetime?

You’re probably saying, “Awww, this is morbid.” You’re probably right.

And I don’t intend to think about it again. At least until Jo comes in and says, “Babe, if you out-live me … .”

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

Posted: 3/31/06

EDITORIAL:
Rahman case offers lesson in liberty

Thank God, our Christian brother Abdul Rahman will not be executed for his faith. His close call with death illustrates a vital—and, unfortunately, often-misunderstood—distinction between democracy and religious liberty.

Rahman became a Christian 16 years ago. This winter, Afghanistan government officials arrested him. Prosecutors wanted to put him to death for forsaking Islam in favor of Christianity. They could bring such charges because the Afghan Constitution is based on Islamic Sharia law. Many Muslims believe the law demands death for apostates who leave the Islamic faith.

Rahman’s case attracted worldwide attention. The Vatican, the United States and numerous nations put pressure on Afghan leaders, urging them to free Rahman.

Pope Benedict XVI called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to release Rahman out of “respect for every person’s freedom of conscience and religion,” Religion News Service reported. “I am certain, Mr. President, that dropping the case against Mr. Rahman would bestow great honor upon the Afghan people and would raise a chorus of admiration in the international community.”

The Afghan government acquiesced. The lead prosecutor dropped the charges against Rahman, claiming he was “mentally unfit to stand trial.” While religious leaders resented the implication that embracing Christianity is a sign of mental instability, they rejoiced that he was freed.

But Rahman still wasn’t safe. Citing Sharia law’s death-sanction for apostates from Islam, many Afghan religious leaders called for his assassination. The United Nations pleaded with Western countries to grant him asylum, and Italy stepped up to the cause. “We are very glad to be able to welcome someone who has been so courageous,” Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.

So, Rahman—theoretically, at least—has found security in Italy. He is banished from his homeland, but his faith reportedly remains intact. And he is free to worship God as his relationship with Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the record of Scripture lead him.

American Christians’ response to these events has been almost as riveting as the life-or-death drama played out on Rahman’s behalf in Afghan courtrooms. Many U.S. Christians, particularly evangelical Christians, were shocked and appalled—shocked and appalled—that a person could face the death penalty in democratic Afghanistan simply for the “crime” of becoming a Christian.

They correctly noted the United States played the key role in liberating Afghanistan from the Taliban, the Islamic extremists who put the country in a choke-hold for years. They also correctly pointed out the United States and other Western countries helped establish a democratic government in Afghanistan—a government that would hold open elections and place the nation’s political and governmental power in the hands of the people.

But they incorrectly assumed democracy equals religious liberty. Democracy equals majority rule. It means that, when people vote, the candidates and parties who gain the most votes get to run the country. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the rights of Christians or other religious minorities will be protected in an overwhelmingly Islamic nation. A country, like Afghanistan, could be completely democratic and still impose the majority’s religious will upon the minority.

You can understand the confusion. The people who were shocked and appalled by Afghanistan equate democracy with how government functions in the United States, where we have both a democratic government and guaranteed religious liberty. The U.S. Constitution brilliantly bestows our democratic privileges—citizens get to vote, and majority rules. But it is the First Amendment to the Constitution that guarantees religious liberty for all people, even—no, especially—minorities.

Ironically, the First Amendment is denigrated and, some would say, even imperiled today. Many conservative Christians who are comfortable in their majority status don’t understand why the religious liberty of minorities—such as Muslims, Jews and Hindus—should be protected. They seem to overlook the fact right is right and religious liberty should be a protected right. And they ignore the changes brought by demographic tides, and the possibility that, one day, their children or grandchildren might be religious minorities who seek, like Abdul Rahman, the freedom to practice their faith.

What a pity if U.S. Christians behave no more morally, compassionately and graciously than Afghan Muslims.

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard

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

Posted: 3/31/06

From pulpit & pumper, pastor battles blazes

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

KRESS—When Dan Reynolds isn’t saving souls, he’s out saving lives.

Reynolds serves both as pastor of First Baptist Church in Kress and as captain of the community’s volunteer fire department.

Involvement with the fire department helps him contribute to the town and meet people, he believes.

The position already has helped him connect with the other men in the department, many of whom now attend First Baptist Church. People get to know him as another firefighter, not a minister in a suit and tie, he noted.

“I’ve been able to witness to many of the guys,” Reynolds said. “Now we’ve got half the department coming to our Sunday school.”

Dan Reynolds

His fire department service also has allowed him to minister to families who have been affected by fires. After putting out a fire, he can introduce himself as the pastor of First Baptist Church and ask if a family needs any help.

Reynolds’ work in the fire department has created more than ministry opportunities. Recently, it created quite a ruckus when the department was called to help with the large wildfires that spread across West Texas.

During Sunday school, pagers went off in several classrooms as volunteer firefighters received the call.

Their captain—who also is their pastor—gave the men their assignments, and then Reynolds went on to preach in the morning worship service. The next morning, he joined his men in the field, fighting fires alongside them.

Even there, his mind was not too far from a biblical image.

“For the first time in my life, I had a visual picture of what hell will look like,” Reynolds said. “As I was standing there, everywhere you looked as far as the eye could see was fire.”

Reynolds added he is pleased to invest in his community however he can. He cooks hamburgers at high school sporting events.

He meets people at the feed store each morning. He seeks to minister to everyone in Kress.

“I’m there for First Baptist Church as pastor,” he said. “But as a member of the fire department, I’m there for the whole community.” <

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: 3/31/06

Foster named BGCT communications director

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas has named Ferrell Foster to lead its communications efforts.

Foster became director of the BGCT Communications team April 1 after serving as the group’s interim director nearly a year.

Ron Gunter, BGCT associate executive director and chief operating officer, praised Foster’s work as interim director and looks forward to him leading the convention’s communications effort in a changing media landscape.

“Ferrell has demonstrated true leadership and organization skills in this interim,” Gunter said. “He has proven he can handle the job of director of communications. I have the utmost respect for Ferrell’s capability and look forward to a long tenure of serving Texas Baptists together.”

Foster has served in three other roles with BGCT communications— director of news and information, director of creative services and news writer.

He also served with Illinois Baptist communications staff 12 years, including three years as the editor of the Illinois Baptist. Before that, he was on the public relations staff at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

An ordained deacon and minister, Foster currently is on the Baptist World Alliance advancement and communications committees.

He holds a master’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University, now Texas A&M University at Commerce.

He and his wife, Trese, have six children and four grandchildren. They are members of First Baptist Church in Athens. 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: 3/31/06

Former Baptist Building
may house homeless in Dallas

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)—As the heads of two Christian organizations, Jake Walters and Larry James both want to do good. But the ways they’ve decided to follow Jesus’ command to love others are mutually exclusive—at least for now.

Walters, headmaster of Dallas’ First Baptist Academy, believes the safety of children in his care must pre-empt goodwill toward the homeless. And so he opposes a new housing project 200 feet from his school that will house many poor—and some formerly homeless—people.

James, executive director of Central Dallas Ministries, which is proposing the housing project, sees providing housing for homeless and low-income people as one of the most effective ways Christians can show God’s love.

At the center of the dispute is a downtown Dallas building at 511 N. Akard Street that housed the offices of the Southern Baptist Annuity Board and the Baptist General Convention of Texas in the 1980s.

Central Dallas Ministries wants to build a 209-unit housing project in the 15-story building. Fifty of the apartments would go to formerly homeless people, while most of the rest would be used for low-income tenants.

Of the six people who addressed the issue to a Dallas City Council special session March 28, Walters was the only opponent to speak. The council approved the project 13-1, even after Walters wrote parents of First Baptist Academy’s students urging them to contact city council members to sway their opinion.

The council vote doesn’t automatically mean the project will begin, but it allows Central Dallas Ministries to seek special tax credits.

The plan requested $1.75 million for the renovation, which also will create ground-floor retail space and two floors of offices for Central Dallas Ministries. It also requested more than $11 million in low-income tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Walters and other leaders from First Baptist Academy have voiced concern over perceived lack of planning and the potential safety hazard for the small children who attend the K-12 school.

“I am very upset about this. It’s driving my parents absolutely crazy,” Walters said in an interview. “Had they done any planning, they would never have put (the school and the apartments) together. … This is just a bad idea.”

Workers at Central Dallas Ministries have a different opinion.

“We will have 24-hour security with a crime watch on every floor,” James said.

“Residents will be subject to extensive criminal background checks, and no child predators or other violent offenders will be allowed.”

The editorial board of the Dallas Morning News agreed the project is a good idea, writing in an editorial: “Undoubtedly, many other problems contribute to their plight, chiefly mental illness and addictions. But No. 1, as far as solving our problem with the homeless, is creating places where they can live until and while those other issues are addressed. That’s why Central Dallas Ministries’ plan to turn a 10-years-vacant office tower into affordable units for homeless and low-income people is potentially very good for downtown Dallas.”

But for parents of First Baptist Academy students, “perception of safety is everything,” and Walters doesn’t see how anything short of “making it like a prison and getting the police to guard it” would ease that concern.

Walters also said the school would take drastic measures to make parents feel safe, even if it came to moving. “We will do whatever we can to protect the rights and safety of our children,” he said. “We have to respond to responsibly meet the safety and security requirements of our clientele.”

Managing Editor Ken Camp contributed to this article. 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: 3/31/06

May men want to see ‘house
that faith built’ completed

By George Henson

Staff Writer

MAY—To the men of First Baptist Church in May, a certain house in Cross Plains always will be the house that faith built.

The men are supplying the sweat, labor and materials, God is supplying the money, they insist.

While most building projects begin with a budget, the men’s mission team at First Baptist began only with an overriding sense of purpose they believe God had given them to rebuild one of the many houses destroyed by the wildfires that raced through Cross Plains.

The men’s ministry had about $5,000 in its account, and Heart of Texas Baptist Area matched that with $5,000 more from funds it had received from the Baptist General Convention of Texas, but that left them short of the amount needed to build the home for the single mother and two sons who live with her.

That did not slow the men, however. They started building, and after two days had laid the foundation, had it framed, and put some of the roof trusses up.

And they had a debt of about $4,000.

Still, they didn’t worry.

“The Lord said do it, so we’re going to do it,” said Jim Jackson, a lay leader in the group. “We don’t know where the money is coming from, but it will come.”

The building project has been helped already through the generosity of others, said Bennie Williams, another group leader. A lumberyard gave the men a discount, and men from Rocky Creek Baptist Church in Brownwood did all the electrical work.

In recent days, First Baptist in May held a fund-raising dinner that brought in about $2,200, and Victory Baptist Church in Brownwood sent a check for $5,000.

Pastor David Pate said the men still are $10,000 to $15,000 short of what may be needed, but it has been good to see God work. Churches or individuals who wish to help may call the church at (254) 259-2182.

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.