Posted: 11/30/07

Baptist volunteers spread
cheer by ‘Serving Irving’

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

IRVING—For more than a decade, members of Oak View Baptist Church in Irving have spent Thanksgiving “Serving Irving.” Willow Bend Baptist Church in Plano also helped this year to provide more than 2,000 traditional Thanksgiving meals to apartment complexes throughout the city.   

Sergio Matassa, Oak View’s minister of missions, coordinated the outreach ministry. Six teams of volunteers helped with the project.

Volunteer Alyssa Raley serves meals to a family on Thanksgiving at The Raible Place Apartments in Irving. (Photos/Leann Callaway)

The promotion team hung flyers on doorknobs throughout the area around each serving site to let people know of the event. The pie-baking team baked more than 200 pies of assorted flavors. The packaging team gathered for each serving location.

The cooking team began food preparation on Wednesday evening and finished Thanksgiving morning. After Angelo’s Restaurant in Irving closed Wednesday night, the cooking team was allowed to use its facility to prepare meals.  

A serving team of 150 volunteers served the food, and a set-up team loaded tables and chairs and distributed them to the various sites.

All ages volunteer to help with Serving Irving, and many make it a tradition. Many young couples said this project has taught their children valuable lessons about helping others. 

“We try to set an example for our children and teach them to appreciate what we have and to see what the rest of the world is like,” said John Woodard, who volunteered with his wife Randi and two sons, Corey, 8, and Caleb, 5.

“I’m excited because we got to help people who needed food for Thanksgiving, and they got to hear about God,” 6-year-old Kamryn Bingham said.

Along with providing Thanksgiving meals, the ministry also provides food for the soul.  Volunteers had opportunities to tell people about Jesus Christ while passing out Bibles and gospel tracts. 

“We just feel incredibly blessed in our life, and we feel like it’s our responsibility as Christians to share Christ’s love with the world,” said Joy Hale, who volunteered with her husband Charlie and two daughters, Bailee, 8, and Ellie, 6.

“I help with Serving Irving so people will know that God loves them,” Bailee Hale said. 

 

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/30/07

Approximately 560 members of the Brownwood community enjoyed the 24th annual Community Thanksgiving Feast held at HPU. Additionally, 1,305 individuals had the meal delivered to their home that day.

Thanksgiving feast serves nearly 2,000

BROWNWOOD—More than 130 volunteers served 1,976 meals to friends and family in Brownwood area at the 24th annual Community Thanksgiving Feast on Thanksgiving Day at the Howard Payne University Mabee Center.

“Howard Payne University’s Mabee Center was filled, as 560 guests enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving meal prepared by the university’s Sodexho Food Service,” said Bill Fishback, coordinator of the event for the past 15 years and assistant vice president for business and human resources at HPU. Last year, 620 people were served at the Mabee Center and 1,305 meals were delivered to families in the community.

The staff of HPU’s Sodexho Food Service donated their time preparing the food so others can enjoy the Thanksgiving meal.  

“We have the best university food service anywhere,” said Fishback. “Don Green and his staff did another outstanding job preparing the food for our friends and neighbors. And then, many of them go home and do the same thing for their own families.”

“It’s great fun to see so many people visiting, hugging and laughing, whether they were standing in line with their family to get meals to deliver or gathered at a table enjoying being together for Thanksgiving.”

Meanwhile, 1,416 meals were delivered by volunteers or taken by friends to homes in the area, Fishback said.

The annual tradition has been supported throughout the years by numerous individuals and organizations.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/30/07

Texas Tidbits

Couple gives $5 million to Baylor. Baylor University received a $5 million gift from Clifton and Betsy Robinson of Waco. The gift will establish the C. Clifton Robinson and Betsy Sharp Robinson Endowed Scholarship Fund in the Honors College at Baylor. The scholarships will provide need-based financial assistance for academically gifted incoming freshmen, as well as some current Baylor students, who will be known as Clifton and Betsy Robinson Scholars. Scholarship recipients will study in any of the four Honors College programs—Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, the Honors Program, University Scholars and the Great Texts Program —established when the Honors College was created in 2002.

Music scholarship established at HSU. Francis McBeth recently established an endowed scholarship at Hardin-Simmons University to benefit sophomore, junior or senior theory composition majors in the School of Music. McBeth, a former Cowboy Band member and 1954 Hardin-Simmons graduate, served 40 years on the faculty at Ouachita Baptist University, and he was the conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in Little Rock from 1968 to 1972. He received the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s Sudler Medal of Honor in 1999, and he was appointed the Composer Laureate of the State of Arkansas.

Baptist Health Foundation grants $4 million. Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio granted more than $4 million to 74 local and area organizations this year. Recipients included San Antonio Baptist Association, which was granted $250,000 for health ministries. During its first three years, Baptist Health Foundation in conjunction with 2005 grants from the former Baptist Health Services Foundation has awarded more than $11 million in healthcare related grants to 162 organizations in the San Antonio area.

Valley Baptist Medical Center receives international honors. Nurses, physicians and staff at Valley Baptist Health System were honored with three international awards. The awards include the highest honor bestowed by the Worldwide Conventions and Business Forums’ Global Six Sigma Summit. The Platinum Award for the Most Outstanding Organizational Achievement is presented for achievement in improving quality by an organization from any industry, not just health care. In addition, Valley Baptist and its employees received two other awards—Best Achievement of Six Sigma in Healthcare and Six Sigma Vice President of the Year, presented to Tomas Gonzalez. Six Sigma is a quality improvement program that focuses on improving processes in business, industry and organizations.

Convocation honors Borrego. The Hispanic Convocation of the Laity named Baldemar Borrego, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, to its hall of fame during a recent gathering at Highland Lakes Encampment. A letter of commendation from President Bush stated, in part: “The celebration of faith continues to be central to the lives of Americans, offering strength, hope and guidance to people across the country. By sharing God’s teachings, you have helped to enrich lives and have served as an inspiration to your church and your community.”

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/30/07

TOGETHER:
Gratitude to God prompts giving

In this wonderful time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, our hearts are filled with gratitude for our families and friends, for our churches and the gospel, for our work and time to rest, for our country and our world.

Counting your blessings always is a good thing to do.

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

In my life, this has been the time that I have thought more carefully about giving than at any other time of the year. Perhaps you are the same way. I have no doubt that much of that has to do with Christmas and the giving of gifts to family and friends. But it also has to do with giving mission offerings so that the “best gift I give is to Jesus.” After all, it is his birthday that I celebrate. So making sure the most expensive gift I give is to advance his name and the good news of the Redeemer’s kingdom always has seemed to me to be the right thing to do.

The best motivation for giving always is gratitude. We give because God first gave to us. He gave us life and bountiful provisions in creation. He has given us new life and a sense of significance in salvation. We celebrate creation and redemption, earth and heaven, new life now and eternally. We marvel at the fullness and richness of God’s bountiful love. We find courage to press on in life’s most difficult trials. And we have learned in years of giving that we never have out-given God.

Our people give so generously. One dear family has for some years given several thousand dollars through the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation to distribute among Texas Baptist camps because they rejoice in how many children and young people make life-changing decisions in the camp services each year.

Money from the Berry Fund for missions blesses struggling Baptists around the world in places such as Laos, Guatemala, Spain, Liberia and the northeastern United States.

Texas Baptists have sent a giant generator to the Nicaraguan Baptist Hospital in Managua. That gift will help save lives and lead many to our Lord.

I have in my files remarkable stories and expressions of gratitude from the disaster areas of South Texas and New Orleans. Your generosity when Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf regions continues to make a difference in lives.

I have a letter from the president of the Baptist seminary in Ogbomoso, Nigeria, thanking our Texas Baptist partnership missions leaders and the leaders of several of our Baptist schools for hosting three Nigerian teachers who came to visit us, share their lives and carry back to their classrooms the experience of spending three weeks in Texas.

With all the opportunities to give through your church and to many of our Baptist institutions, I encourage you to be generous in your support. If you would like to help our BGCT work in a specific area, you can contact Bill Arnold at the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation by calling (800) 558-8263. He can help you make sure your gift is used according to your wishes in making a difference for Christ in the world.

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/30/07

Critics: Doctrinal standard
leaves evangelical society ‘exposed’

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

SAN DIEGO (ABP) – To its critics, the current doctrinal standard of the Evangelical Theological Society leaves the group indecently “exposed.”

And two of the society’s members have submitted a proposal to tighten the document into a more specifically evangelical declaration of theology—something a Catholic couldn’t sign in good conscience. But other society members worry it may signal the beginning of an inquisition at an already-turbulent period in the society’s life.

Professors Denny Burk and Ray Van Neste proposed the change in a business session at the society’s recent annual meeting, held this year in San Diego. It came months after Francis Beckwith, a professor at Baylor University, resigned from his position as the society’s president after declaring he had returned to his Catholic roots.

Beckwith’s announcement caused a stir in the society and the wider evangelical world. Society members will have one year to consider the proposal before voting on it.

Leaders say the group’s current formula—known officially as its doctrinal basis—is deliberately not called a “doctrinal statement.” The difference between the two concerns the document’s openness. While a doctrinal basis functions as a basic outline of principles for scholarship within differing theological disciplines, a doctrinal statement functions more strictly as a set of parameters or essential beliefs for one particular church or denomination.

The society’s current doctrinal basis states: “The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. God is a Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.”

Van Neste, a professor at Baptist-affiliated Union University in Jackson, Tenn., first presented a paper at a previous society meeting asserting that the current basis “leaves the ETS embarrassingly exposed.” During the presentation, he suggested adopting the doctrinal basis of the United Kingdom’s Tyndale Fellowship, which is analogous to the ETS in Great Britain. That statement is also used by the UK’s Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship.

Burk, a professor at Criswell College in Dallas, didn’t know Van Neste before hearing the presentation. But they quickly joined forces, and began to refine their suggestion. Their newest proposal would use the British statement with the current ETS statement added. An additional section would define the “written Word of God” as the 66 books of the Protestant Bible. The resulting document forms an 11-point statement of belief.

Craig Blaising, a Baptist theology professor and member of the ETS executive committee, told the group the change would alter the way the doctrinal basis has been used.

“There would be a major change,” he said, later adding that the British groups use their statement “as a synonym for a confession of faith. The Evangelical Theological Society has not used the theological basis in that way.”

Burk and Van Neste are adamant that their document is not a confession or doctrinal statement and wouldn’t change the way the society uses its basis.

Blaising, executive vice president and provost of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, told the group that according to society rules, the executive committee may choose to endorse proposed changes to the ETS constitution. That document has been changed “eight or 10 times” in the society’s history, he said.

The committee, Blaising said, has chosen not to endorse Burk and Van Neste’s proposal.

Some rank-and-file society members at the meeting said they dislike the proposal. One ETS member who asked not to be identified said she didn’t think the amendment had “a snowball’s chance” of passing. Another said he thought the timing was all wrong: “The ETS needs a chance to breathe.”

Some of the reticence comes from fears that the change will prompt a witch hunt for society members who may not fall completely within the new, more detailed, parameters. Some worry the change is the first step in the society embracing all-out Calvinism or fundamentalism. Other reservations stem from the proposal’s roots, since no broad-based ETS committee was responsible for the statement’s formation.

Other critics have expressed concerns that having only one year’s worth of discussion isn’t enough. James Borland, the society’s secretary and treasurer, said he and the executive committee had requested that the professors withhold formally submitting the proposal this year, in order to foster more discussion.

But Van Neste, who wrote the paper that led to the proposal back in 2001, said he wanted to “get it out there” sooner rather than later.

“Some people see this as a negative effort to kick more people out,” Van Netse said. But his supporters see it rather the opposite, he said. “We want to make it a positive declaration of what we believe.”

Nonetheless, the professors acknowledged that it will be what Van Neste called “an uphill battle” to get the 80-percent supermajority needed to approve the change.

The proposal’s sponsors are using blogs and other Internet tools to foster discussion and rally support. Already, more than 40 people have posted their names on www.amendets.com, an online forum supporting the changes.

So far, Beckwith, who is no longer a member of the society, has not commented publicly on the proposed amendment. In a previous blog entry about his return to Catholicism, however, he had said he could, in good conscience, affirm the current statement.

“There is a conversation in ETS that must take place, a conversation about the relationship between evangelicalism and what is called the ‘Great Tradition,’ a tradition from which all Christians can trace their spiritual and ecclesiastical paternity,” he wrote. “It is a conversation that I welcome, and it is one in which I hope to be a participant.”

That conversation is coming sooner than some had suspected—or desired.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/30/07

State resolutions focus on alcohol,
gambling, homosexuality, abuse

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINTON (ABP)— Sins of the flesh—specifically concerning liquor, gambling and sex—were among the most popular subjects of resolutions passed by Baptist state conventions this fall.

Although many state conventions avoided resolutions on controversial issues of any kind during their annual meetings, a handful addressed issues such as hate-crimes legislation involving protections for sexual orientation, the sexual abuse of minors, and the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

At least four major state conventions passed resolutions denouncing homosexuality—the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, the Alabama Baptist State Convention, the South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

The Oklahoma, Alabama and South Carolina groups specifically denounced the expansion of federal hate-crimes statutes to add crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation. The laws already provide additional punishments for crimes motivated by a victim’s race, national origin or religion.

Alabama’s resolution focused on opposing the hate-crimes provision that is currently attached to the Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 1585. The bill is currently stalled in the Senate. The Alabama resolution said it would encourage President Bush to veto the entire bill if it is passed with the hate-crimes provision intact, and said Alabama Baptists would oppose any bill that limits the ability of Christians “to preach and speak biblical truths” about what they say God says about “homosexual activities.”

Many conservative Christian groups have said the bill could create a slippery slope that would lead to pastors or churches being silenced for fear of “hate crime” accusations stemming from exhortations against homosexuality.

The bill’s supporters have countered by noting that the bill deals only with actual crimes and not mere speech, that it specifically says it is not intended to limit the free-speech rights of religious groups or leaders, and that the First Amendment protects churches anyway.

Nonetheless, Oklahoma Baptists also mentioned federal hate-crimes statutes in opposing any “legislation that potentially criminalizes speech and beliefs, which would threaten our First Amendment rights."

On liquor, several state conventions passed resolutions discouraging expanding the sale of beverage alcohol. In Alabama, messengers commended Gov. Bob Riley (R), himself a Baptist, for reversing a decision that allowed a state-owned store to experiment with Sunday liquor sales.

Messengers to the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting, meanwhile, overruled their own resolutions committee’s decision not to bring a statement to the floor that unequivocally denounced the production, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. They voted to bring the resolution up for discussion and a vote, and it spurred lengthy debate.

David Tolliver, the convention’s interim executive director, used his address to messengers to urge Missouri Baptists to look to the spirit of the Bible rather than its letter in opposing all alcohol consumption.

“I understand that the Bible does not say, ‘Thou shalt not drink,’” David Tolliver said. “But I want you to hear me very carefully this evening, and I will be clear to say that I believe the only biblical position for Christians in this 21st century Show-Me State environment that we live in is total abstinence.”

Tolliver said that’s because of Paul’s admonitions in Romans not to be a stumbling block to other believers who may engage in behaviors that, while not inherently sinful, can lead to sin. Consuming alcohol “causes brothers and sisters to stumble, and therefore it is wrong,” he said.

Gambling—traditionally a frequent subject of Baptist resolutions—again received the attention of several conventions in states where gambling expansion or lottery measures are under consideration.

Arkansas Baptists passed a resolution opposing a lottery, saying is “the most regressive tax in use today” because it exploits the “lower socioeconomic strata” and “only serves to redistribute money from the many to a very few.”

South Carolina Baptists reiterated their “vigorous opposition” to all forms of gambling and specifically targeted plans by a state Native American tribe to open a high-stakes bingo operation. The expansion of gambling by a Native American tribe on their autonomous land within the state also received denunciation from Alabama Baptists. They approved a resolution opposing efforts by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to expand slot-machine and high-stakes lottery gambling on their land.

Several state conventions passed resolutions denouncing child sexual abuse by church leaders. In Alabama, the resolution on child molestation expressed "moral outrage and concern at any instance of child victimization" and urged Alabama Baptist churches to perform background checks on potential employees to weed out abusers. It also acknowledged that a task force of state convention officials had written guidelines for Alabama Baptist congregations on dealing responsibly with child-abuse situations.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Storylist for week of 12/03/07

TAKE ME TO: Top Story |  Texas |  Opinion |  Baptists |  Faith & Culture |  Book Reviews |  Classifieds  |  Departments  |  Bible Study





• Preaching: Stand and Deliver


• Baylor and Texas Baptist Men bring clean water to Mongolian town

• Ghana minister to Texans: ‘We need help'

• Church greeter has firm grip on thousands of names

• Lewisville volunteers share pure water and Living Water in Guatemala

• Howard Payne coeds mentor girls at juvenile correctional facility

• Engage conferences designed to inspire, equip for evangelism

• South Texas church helps hunters feel at home

• Musical couple begins new phase of ministry in Australia

• Baptist volunteers spread cheer by ‘Serving Irving'

• Thanksgiving feast serves nearly 2,000

• Around the State

• Texas Tidbits

Preaching: Stand and Deliver
• Preaching: Stand and Deliver

• Integrity demands preachers avoid pulpit plagiarism

• Lectionary helps some Baptist preachers feed their flocks a ‘balanced diet'


• Oklahoma Baptists vow to continue ministering to illegal immigrants

• State resolutions focus on alcohol, gambling, homosexuality, abuse

• Persecution's blessing: church growth in India

• Baptist Briefs


• Critics: Doctrinal standard leaves evangelical society ‘exposed'

• Diverse group of Christians seeks better relationship with Muslims

• Groups say hunger stats, food prices up

• Conservative Christians show growing acceptance of divorce

• Baptist bell-ringer tolls for Episcopal weddings, funerals

• Need help understanding the Old Testament? Ask an African Christian

• Faith Digest


• Book Reviews


• Classified Ads

• Cartoon

• Around the State

• Texas Baptist Forum


• EDITORIAL: A view from both sides of the pulpit

• DOWN HOME: Children of Zacapa: God bless them all

• TOGETHER: Gratitude to God prompts giving

• RIGHT or WRONG? The loudmouth

• Texas Baptist Forum



• BaptistWay Bible Series for December 2: Let me introduce Jesus

• Bible Studies for Life Series for December 2: Recognizing the Savior

• We're sorry, but the Explore the Bible lesson for Dec. 2 is not be available this week.

• Bible Studies for Life Series for December 9: Getting ready for the Savior


Previously Posted:
• British Baptists: ‘Sorry about slavery'

• Louisiana Baptists pass measure taking full control of institutions

• South Carolina Baptists OK move toward 50-50 CP split

• Oklahoma Baptists vow to continue ministering to illegal immigrants

• Georgia Baptist resolution criticizes Baptist blogs

• California Baptists adopt budget, reject measure related to Baptist Faith & Message

• Words of Hope ministry changes outlook for people with AIDS

• Ugandan Baptist pastor counsels people with AIDS

• Ecumenical group wants to mobilize Christians to abolish genocide

• Will neurotheology cause faith to wane? Not likely, experts say

• N.C. Baptists cut WMU funding, loosen ties with colleges

• No clear winners in contested Tennessee Baptist Convention

• Virginia Baptists change budget for educational entities

• Baptists offer relief to Bangladesh after killer cyclone hits

• Child dies following accident involving TBM volunteers in Mexico

• Former pastor returns money to congregation; church agrees to give funds to BGCT


• See articles from the previous 11/19/07 issue here.

Posted: 11/30/07

RIGHT or WRONG?
The loudmouth

A member of our church consistently becomes rowdy—talking too much and loudly—during our business meetings. His behavior is extremely distracting, and some members have quit attending because they know he’ll be there. Something needs to change, but how?

The issue you relate is one faced by many churches. Individuals like the one you have described are not rare. A friend of mine has suggested the person’s name is Legion (meaning “many”)!

I wish I could offer a simple—and guaranteed-to-work—answer. I can’t. You have taken an important first step by realizing that something has to change. You cannot ignore the situation and hope it will go away. The longer you wait, the more likely Legion is to inflict long-term damage on your congregation. The decision made by some members to stop attending business meetings is an indication of the harm already done. Keep in mind your responsibility to be redemptive, both to Legion and the church.

Begin with prayer—for Legion, for those who will take leadership in addressing the situation and for those who have stopped attending. Pray for wisdom and guidance in conversations that must occur. Pray for a spirit of reconciliation among all who are involved. Pray that God will help you understand why Legion acts as he does. Is he addressing substantive issues that need further dialogue and resolution? Or does he fit the description of a difficult church members as named by Brooks Faulkner in his book Getting on Top of Your Work: Manual for the 21st Century Minister? Difficult church members may: (1) “run right over you,” (2) feel “entitled to your preferential treatment,” (3) “talk your ear off,” (4) have “a temper like Mount St. Helens,” or (5) be “an unpleasable perfectionist.”

You may have to visit personally with Legion and express the concerns that have been raised. Seek common ground. Although Legion’s behavior may be inappropriate, he is expressing involvement and passion. He cares for his church.

Legion may never change, but don’t let him derail the church from its work. His behavior may be an attempt to use the congregation’s fear of conflict to impose his will on the church. Enlist the help of members who have quit attending. Visit with them, and help them realize others share their frustration. Encourage them not to allow one person to drive them away from participating in your church’s decision-making process.

Evaluate the procedures you use in business meetings. Set guidelines. Limit the amount of time and the number of times any one person can speak to an issue. Legion may perceive he is not being heard. His actions may be the way he assures he will not be ignored. Make sure your procedures are fair and everyone has a chance to speak.

David Morgan, pastor

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University's Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/28/07

Bible Studies for Life Series for December 2

Recognizing the Savior

• Isaiah 53:1-12

By Steve Dominy

First Baptist Church, Gatesville

The suffering servant is one of the most powerful and influential images in the Bible. Its influence carries from its inception in Isaiah through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and into the image of the church. The servant is portrayed in what are called “The Songs of the Suffering Servant,” found in Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52 and 53. These songs introduce the theme of vicarious suffering and are among the most remarkable in the Old Testament.

The earlier servant songs identify the servant as Israel, and then later, the prophet. In Isaiah 50, in which the prophet is identified as the servant, the servant’s suffering was not due to his sins but was the result of his faithfulness to the mission God had given him.

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

If you do much study on the servant passages, you will find there is some argument over the nature and identity of the servant. Perhaps the best way to approach these songs is to see them as a progression. Israel was formed to be God’s people, to be a light unto the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the nations, but Israel was in need of being saved as well. The prophets were sent to call Israel back to God, and they did call out a remnant. The servant of Isaiah 53 is the one through whom salvation is accomplished.

The servant songs reach their climax in the text for this weeks’ lesson, Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12. If we look at the pronouns in this passage—“we,” “our,” “us,” “he,” “him,” “his”—we can get a clue as to the identity of the servant. Isaiah 53:4-6 indicates the servant is neither Israel, the remnant nor the prophet.

The Servant does for them what they cannot achieve in themselves. He takes their suffering upon himself and becomes the means of their salvation. It is important that we recognize the suffering of the servant because it is the means by which we know peace and healing.

The first question to ask of this passage is, “For whom did the Servant suffer?” If we look at the passage, we see the Servant’s suffering is on behalf of others. In verses 4-5: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, … he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.” We see again in verse 8, “… for the transgression of my people he was stricken,” and in verse 12, “he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” All of these carry the implication that servant is the substitute for us all. This idea is made explicit in verse 6: “the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.”

The second question to ask is, “For what end did the Servant suffer?” Examining the passage with this question shows the Servant’s suffering was for the purpose of redemption. Verse 5 says, “the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah goes on to say the “servant will justify many.”

Suffering for the sake of suffering serves no purpose at all; it is without meaning. The Servant’s suffering accomplishes redemption. We can undergo a great deal of suffering and torment if we know it serves a purpose or achieves a goal. Redemption is the goal toward which the Servant suffered.

We also can ask, “What brought the Servant to endure this suffering?” The Servant is not merely a servant; he is the obedient servant. The Servant’s suffering was in keeping with the will of God. Verse 6 says, “The Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all,” and verse 10, “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer … . The Lord makes his life a guilt offering … the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.” For us to say suffering is God’s will means we also must recognize it is part of God’s work to conquer sin.

Suffering is not the end of the story. Beyond suffering, the Servant knew the victory of God. Verses 11 and 12 tell us: “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied. … Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great.” It is not clear whether this specific passage implies the resurrection, but it is clear suffering does not have the last word.

The relationship between the Suffering Servant and the Messiah is not made clear until the New Testament. Israel’s misconceptions as to the nature of the Messiah make this clear. Jesus fulfills the roles of the Davidic Messiah and the Suffering Servant in his own person and work. He is the King of the Jews, and he takes his throne by suffering on the cross.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/28/07

British Baptists: ‘Sorry about slavery’

SWANWICK, England—Baptists in Britain have apologized for their role in the slave trade.

The Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, at its recent meeting in Swanwick, England, passed a resolution of apology.

“We offer our apology to God and to our brothers and sisters for all that have created and still perpetuate the hurt which originated from the horror of slavery,” the resolution said.

The council, which made the transatlantic slave trade the main focus of its meetings, further repented “of the hurt we have caused, the divisions we have created, our reluctance to face up to the sin of the past, our unwillingness to listen to the pain of our black sisters and brothers, and our silence in the face of racism and injustice today.”

British Baptists acknowledged “our share in and benefit from our nation’s participation in the transatlantic slave trade” and “that we speak as those who have shared in and suffered from the legacy of slavery, and its appalling consequences for God’s world.”

The apology was a response to the “the pain of hurting sisters and brothers,” and to “God speaking to us,” and stated an intention to “turn the words and feelings we have expressed today into concrete actions.”

The 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade is being observed this year. The trade brought millions of kidnapped and captured Africans as slaves mainly to the Americas in exchange for money, guns, and other goods, and was officially abolished by the British in 1807. Slavery in the British colonies was itself abolished in 1838.

Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam said the apology brought him a “deep feeling of relief.”

Callam, a Jamaican descendant of African slaves, was elected BWA general secretary in Accra, Ghana, in July.

“By this single action, the (Baptist Union of Great Britain) has taken a giant step in restoring the special place it once enjoyed in the affection of many Baptists around the world.”

Noting his disappointment that the British had not made an apology at the BWA service of memory and reconciliation held at the Cape Coast Slave Castle in Ghana in July, the BWA leader hoped that “now that this has happened, some of us can bring closure to the experience of the service at the slave castle” and “are now better able to partner with our fellow Baptist Christians in the BUGB to deal with the issues of prejudice and racism which are our collective charge today.”

Baptist Union of Great Britain General Secretary Jonathan Edwards said, “God led us not to a simple conclusion about an agonizing part of our history, but to a new way of relating to one another as a gospel people within which we take full account of the people that we are today and the histories that have shaped us.”

Based on reporting by the Baptist World Alliance

 

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/16/07

BaptistWay Bible Series for December 2

Let me introduce Jesus

• Mark 1:1-20

By Andrew Daugherty

Christ Church, Rockwall

Mark’s Gospel begins with a suddenness and abruptness that characterizes much of the book. There appears an urgency in the rhythm of his writing that reflects the earnestness of this message of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (v. 1). Part of his urgency is to reveal who Jesus really is.

Mark’s opening statement speaks directly to the identity of Jesus. Who Jesus is as Christ, the Son of God, is affirmed in his baptism under the ministry of John the Baptist. At his baptism, Jesus’ identity is fully disclosed: “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’” (v. 11).

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

Rather than focus on Jesus’ need of baptism for the forgiveness of sins, Mark’s Gospel appears to instead direct our focus to our own identity in relationship to the identity of Jesus.

As Jesus’ identity is revealed through his baptism, we are made aware of the deep importance of discovering our own identity in God. Jesus’ baptism invites us to discover that the good news of Jesus Christ concerns the message of repentance. Therefore, Mark introduces us to the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ based not on his book but on the message of repentance introduced by John the Baptist.

Repentance was a central message of the movement John was helping inaugurate. Baptism introduced this repentance movement and reflected the universal scope of a vision that included hope for salvation under the loving rule of God’s love. The proclamation of John the Baptist stirred up all kinds of expectation, excitement for the fulfillment of long-awaited dreams for the kingdom of God. John addresses the crowds and says, “There is a kingdom coming—prepare the way of the Lord.”

Because Mark closely associates John’s message with Jesus’ baptism, we can see a close link between identity and repentance. Repentance demands we confront the sometimes hard and penetrating truth about ourselves. It’s hard to neglect the way things really are with us when we are being dipped and dunked in water, over against more sophisticated adult sensibilities.

As we know, change can be difficult. Maybe this is why we sometimes have an aversion to the word “repentance.” The Greek word “metanoia” means “change,” “turn around.” It is like a voice saying: “Tend to your soul. Get in touch with what’s really going on inside you. Pay attention to what is arresting your attention and fueling your desires. Prepare. Get ready. Step back. Look around. See what you need to see. Feel what you need to feel. See the truth about Christ. Then maybe you can see the truth about yourself.”

Baptism is a way of plunging in to this new truth. When John dipped people down in dirty Jordan water, they were liberated to live as children—sons and daughters—of God.

United Methodist Bishop Will Willimon adds this about the practice of baptism: “Tell me that baptism is insipid, outdated and irrelevant; then go with me to the sandy bank of a dark, deep river in low country South Carolina where a black Baptist preacher in a white robe baptizes nearly every Sunday afternoon, and watch him plunge those new brothers and sisters three times each into the deep as the congregation sings ‘I’ve Been Through the Waters.’ He holds them under as they thrash around a bit. Then, he and two deacons at his side bring them forth, wet and washed and dripping like newborn babies. Someone could get killed like that! Someone could get wet. It will literally scare the devil out of you. Precisely.”

John was on to something. Judaism was resplendent with stories of “passing through the waters”—the people of the Exodus journeys and for those who had returned from Babylonian exile. And they were familiar with desert dryness and wilderness wandering. Moses and a burning bush, 40 years of Israelite wandering, and now, John the Baptist.

Such desert experiences often emphasize a physical journey. But the wilderness metaphor can represent the inner journey without borders and boundaries that leads us to places we could never visit otherwise, even with clouds, pillars of fire or the latest version of Rand McNally maps.

Either way, the desert is not a popular place, and few are those who choose to go. It is a scary place full of danger that threatens our comforts, our ideas and even our very lives. It is an out-of-the-way place along the jagged edges of our lives. The desert is a place where one confronts the forces of darkness and wrestles desert demons with names too numerous to mention and secrets too painful to tell. The wilderness is the place where we confront the truth of who we are. It forces us to find out what we’re made of and for what we are willing to live.

Thomas Merton, the 20th century literary monastic, wrote of the 4th century Egyptian desert mothers and fathers: “What they sought most of all was their own true self, in Christ. And in order to do this, they had to reject completely the false, formal self, fabricated under social compulsion in ‘the world.’ They sought a way to God that was uncharted and freely chosen, not inherited from others who had mapped it out beforehand. They sought a God whom they alone could find, not one who was ‘given’ in a set, stereotyped form by somebody else.”

And furthermore he continues: “Obviously such a path could only be traveled by one who was alert and very sensitive to the landmarks of a trackless wilderness.”

The wilderness precisely is where John chose to inaugurate the message of a kingdom coming. The word of God can break suddenly into our lives in the rough and lonely places. The word of God can come even “in the wilderness.”

Discussion questions

• Discuss Mark’s link between Jesus’ identity at baptism and John’s message of repentance.

• What may I do to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming and make life as God intends a real possibility for me and others?

• What may I do in response to God’s word in the wilderness places of my life? News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 11/28/07

Bible Studies for Life Series for December 9

Getting ready for the Savior

• Luke 1:5-25; 57-80

By Steve Dominy

First Baptist Church, Gatesville

What is it that you hope for this year? With kids around the house, our list grows with every TV commercial. But more than the stuff and the things, what is it that you hope and yearn for, that you anxiously await?

Hope springs eternal this time of year. It is evidenced in the movies we watch and the songs we sing each year. But what is the basis of our hope? Is it just a renewed feeling because of the lights and the songs? Or are we brought to hope because of the faithfulness of God?

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

There is the real reason for our hope. Christian hope has nothing to do with sugar plum fairies. It has everything to do with the faithful God who is Immanuel, God with us.

Ultimately, it is the faithfulness of God that we see in the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was a priest—he was performing a duty that might fall on a person only once in a lifetime. Zechariah was a member of the eighth order of priests, the division named Abijah. There were 24 divisions of priests named for Aaron’s 24 sons, and they served in the temple for one week, twice a year. This was hardly an everyday occurrence; it was a great honor for Zechariah to be chosen. It is the first step in which we see God’s faithfulness played out.

Zechariah was chosen by lot. We might think of this in the same way we think of drawing straws, or throwing dice; the winner is selected purely by chance. This is not the case with choosing by lot in the Old Testament and before the coming of Pentecost in the New Testament. Luke doesn’t tell us Zechariah was chosen by lot simply because it is an interesting historical footnote.

Until the time of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, casting lots was one of the methods used to determine God’s will. When the disciples chose Matthias to replace Judas as one of the 12, they did so by praying and then casting lots. It is interesting that Luke mentions both of these events, but never mentions it again following Pentecost. Right from the beginning of his Gospel, Luke lets the readers know God is at work. There is no coincidence to be found in Luke’s narrative. It is purely the work of Israel’s faithful God.

We also see God’s faithfulness displayed in the confines through which he worked and the people through whom he worked. God is at work through the institutions, practices and rituals of Judaism. Zechariah is a priest. He is on duty in the temple, offering incense to God in prayer and worship. Luke reveals God working in the practices of the believing community. It is within the heart of Israel’s life that God begins this new work. He will not abandon them, whether they choose to accept that or not.

Zechariah and Elizabeth fall within the faithful of the community of Israel. We are well aware of the corruption of Israel’s institutions, but within that corruption are people who are faithful. That certainly is the case with Zechariah and Elizabeth. Luke says of them that they were “upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.” Here again is evidence of God’s work and faithfulness—that he chooses a time of worship with faithful people to reveal he is sending the forerunner of the One who would take away the sin of the world.

We usually think Mary and Elizabeth were roughly the same age, because we know they were related and evidently were close enough for Mary to spend three months with Elizabeth. But Zechariah and Elizabeth were well along in years; they were well past the time for having children. Elizabeth falls into the same category as Sarah. Everyone knew her time had passed.

Isn’t interesting that God tends to bring something special from those we would never expect? Abraham and Sarah, Hannah, Rebekah, Rachel and now Elizabeth. Isn’t it also interesting that it became accepted that barrenness was a sign of God’s displeasure and a sign of disgrace? And yet Israel was born from Abraham and Sarah, a couple no one believed would ever have children. Every good Jew, and even the half-hearted Jews, would have known that story. Zechariah and Elizabeth continue the story of God’s faithfulness begun with Abraham and Sarah.

Zechariah and Elizabeth’s response to God’s faithfulness took very different paths. Zechariah responded to Gabriel in an almost dumbfounded manner, “How can I be sure of this?” and is made silent until God’s promise is fulfilled. His silence is a sign God will fulfill his promise and Zechariah must trust that God will fulfill his promise. Elizabeth responds with rejoicing, “The Lord has done this for me.” There is no disbelief for Elizabeth, just an outpouring of gratitude for God’s grace.

Though their responses are different in the first part of the story, when the promise is fulfilled and the child is brought to be circumcised, Zechariah’s response becomes one of gratitude and overwhelming joy. He celebrates God’s faithfulness to the promise Gabriel brought in the temple, but notice the difference. He now celebrates God’s future faithfulness in the One to whom John will point. Even faithful people have doubts on occasion, but those doubts have been erased for Zechariah, and he celebrates the coming salvation of Israel.

This is a story not necessarily about what God will do with our desires. It is a story about the people God uses in his work and their response to God’s work. It is about a faithful God working through faithful people to achieve his purposes in this world. God’s faithfulness revealed in this story should point us to faithfulness to him in every area of our lives. It should bring about in us a celebration and joy that cannot be kept to ourselves but must be made known to a world that does not know him. News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.