Posted: 2/16/07

RIGHT or WRONG?
Homosexuals in the church

Please help our congregation answer a couple of questions we have been discussing: “To what degree should homosexuals be accepted in church? And what role(s) should they be allowed to take in church?”

I commend your church for its conversation regarding such a sensitive and potentially divisive issue. More churches need to follow your lead in frank and open discussions of this subject as they seek God’s guidance.

Not addressing the issue ignores the reality that many, if not most, churches already have homosexuals attending services. Studies have shown about 4 percent to 12 percent of the population has homosexual tendencies. That percentage equates to between eight and 24 people for a church with 200 people in attendance. Many churches already accept homosexuals, although they have not explicitly chosen to do so.

The struggle then is not so much with accepting homosexuals as it is with accepting “open” homosexuals. Many homosexuals have not consciously chosen their orientation, and many struggle with and resist those feelings. A congregation’s gracious acceptance of homosexuals might allow them a safe place to disclose their orientation and their struggles. They also could receive the support and encouragement of a caring people, which could help them to overcome any guilt that society and families have heaped upon them.

Churches need to be clear that they cannot bless homosexual activity, for it violates God’s ideal for sexual expression. While people may not select their orientation, they choose whether or not to be sexually active. (By the way, that statement also applies to heterosexual activity as well. Sexual desires and urges are not the driving force of the human personality.) Many never act on their homosexual feelings.

Churches need to recognize this discussion is shaped by a long history of sexual stereotypes, myths and fears. Let me dispel some of these. People with homosexual leanings are no more sexually active or promiscuous than heterosexuals. They are not inclined to make unwanted sexual advances.

The question about what role(s) the homosexual should play is more difficult. Churches have the responsibility to establish and maintain standards of godly behavior. That is part of “teaching them to observe all things.” Disagreements may arise over these standards, but we cannot deny their existence or the need for them.

A church’s policy on roles of appropriate behavior should include more sins than homosexuality. Sexual sins are not the only ones that need to be discussed when we assign responsibility. People’s attitudes toward their sins should be more determinative than which particular sins are singled out. People who flaunt their sexuality (either homosexual or heterosexual) should not be placed in roles as spiritual leaders.

Dan Bagby, in his book Crisis Ministry: A Handbook, suggests discussion of this issue ought to occur “in an atmosphere of biblical assumptions so they (congregations) may gain understanding, balance grace with responsibility, respect differences in a Christ-like way, and determine what boundaries they believe are in keeping with God’s will.”

Consensus on this issue remains elusive, and likely will remain so for many more years. A word from the Apostle Paul seems appropriate as we continue this dialogue. “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

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: 2/15/07

BaptistWay Bible Series for February25

Jesus still seeks followers

• John 21:15-23

By David Wilkinson

Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth

The Gospel that began with a prologue now ends with an epilogue. Scholars have suggested several plausible reasons for the addition of chapter 21, and there is probably more than one purpose at work.

The bottom line is that the fourth Gospel is made even richer and more complete with the accounts of the lakeside encounter between the risen Christ and seven of his disciples (vv. 1-14) and the intriguing dialogue between Jesus and Peter (vv. 15-19).

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

Do you love me?

Our focal passage (vv. 15-23) includes one final exchange between Jesus and Peter. No light is shed on whatever conversation may have transpired in private between Jesus and Peter after Peter had jumped from the boat and swam ashore ahead of the others who were toiling to drag ashore their sudden catch of fish. But after Jesus has served breakfast in a scene reminiscent of the Last Supper, he turns to Peter and asks: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (v. 15).

The ambiguous phrase “more than these” can be understood in several ways: Do you love me more than these disciples love me? Do you love me more than you love these disciples? Do you love me more than these things—the boat, the fish, this way of life, etc.?

When his denial was prophesied at the Last Supper, Peter was certain he knew better than Jesus what he would do and boasted he would follow Jesus even to death (13:37-38).

In light of Peter’s boasting, the first alternative seems most likely.

Jesus asks the question three times. Just as he had thrice denied Jesus, Peter is given the opportunity to affirm three times his love for Jesus. Further, Peter’s confession that only Jesus truly knows his heart now gives him the chance to follow.

A popular interpretation, following New Testament scholar Edward J. Goodspeed, points out that in the first two instances, Jesus uses the Greek verb agapaÿ for love but substitutes phileÿ in the third instance, while Peter uses the latter in each of his replies. Without following the exact form of the verb, the sense would be as follows: “Simon son of John do you agapaÿ love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord; you know that I phileÿ love you.” “Simon, son of John, do you agapaÿ love me?” “Yes, Lord; you know that I phileÿ love you.” “Simon, son of John, do you phileÿ love me?” “Lord, you know everything; you know that I phileÿ love you.”

Goodspeed and others stress the slight distinctions between the verbs. Agapaÿ, the same verb that appears in John 3:16, is used of divine love and often carries the connotation of will or purpose as well as affection. Phileÿ often suggests affinity, friendship or fondness. The New International Version brings out the possible nuance between the verbs by translating agapaÿ “truly love” and phileÿ “love.”

There certainly was less doubt about Peter’s attachment to Jesus than his will to love at all costs, and Jesus’ switch to phileÿ in the third question makes his probing of Peter even deeper, especially in light of Jesus’ reference to Peter’s martyrdom in verse 18.

This interpretation also helps explain Peter’s distress when questioned a third time, since Jesus would not only be challenging his love but would be implying it was superficial.

At the same time, it also is true both verbs express a high aspect of love and are used interchangeably in the fourth Gospel, even in the same context. Agapaÿ is used in 27 instances, referring to God’s love for humanity, one’s love for God, one’s love for another, and one’s love for things. Phileÿ is used less frequently (a dozen instances) but with the same connotations.

Whatever the distinctions in Jesus’ use of these synonyms, the larger point is found in the three-fold repetition that offers restoration to Peter.

Yet Peter’s restoration comes with a price. This is not a case of asking the question several times just to be sure Peter gets the answer right. Jesus doesn’t end with “Congratulations, Peter. You gave me the right answer.” Rather, the Good Shepherd who has laid down his life for his sheep (10:11-18) now passes the shepherd’s crook to this brash, impetuous, flawed-yet-faithful fisherman. While this task of tending the sheep may evoke tender pastoral images, there is nothing tender about the consequences. In his love for Peter, Jesus doesn’t pull any punches. For Peter, tending sheep will cost him his life.

Follow me

Jesus punctuates this three-fold question-and-answer session with the simple command to “Follow me” (21:19). Fred Craddock notes that “The command just stands there alone, without details, without suggestions, without further instructions.” Once again, the fourth Gospel’s emphasis on obedience is striking in its simplicity.

The Gospel ends where it began. Jesus’ invitation to his disciples-to-be to “Come and see” (1:39) had been followed by the command, “Follow me” (1:43). And so it is for us. We are invited to “come and see.” We are urged to believe. And we are commanded to follow Jesus, wherever that takes us.

Focus on me, not others

For Peter, nothing seems to come easily or simply. For Peter, faithful obedience would mean martyrdom, as it would for countless others since the first century. But martyrdom is not the only form of discipleship, as Peter discovered when he tried to deflect attention from himself to the Beloved Disciple (21:20-21). Jesus’ word to Peter was clear: The nature of your discipleship is not to be confused with that of any other. “The other disciples may be called upon to take another path, but that is not your concern. Christians are not to compare and contrast themselves with each other as though they were being graded on the curve. . . . Whoever takes the path of discipleship cannot know where it will lead. The disciples can only know that at the end of it is Christ,” Craddock wrote.

We are all tempted to compare ourselves to others. While we readily confess that following Jesus requires that we keep our eyes on Christ, at the same time we are aware of others in our peripheral vision, and we wonder about them. In response, Jesus lovingly but firmly reminds us, “What is that to you?”

Discussion questions

• In the exchange with Peter, Jesus offers not only forgiveness for Peter’s betrayal but healing and restoration. What is the significance of adding restoration to forgiveness?

• In what ways are we tempted to compare ourselves to other Christians in terms of our discipleship? How can we overcome this temptation?

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

Posted: 2/15/07

Explore the Bible Series for February 25

God never abandons his people

• Esther 8:3, 6-8, 11; 9:1-2, 20-22

By Howard Anderson

Diversified Spiritual Associates, San Antonio

It was customary for convicted criminals to have their property confiscated. The signet ring given to Mordecai signified his exaltation to Haman’s prime ministership.

Esther’s ability to handle the monarch was enviable. Mordecai was authorized to make a decree that the Jewish people could defend themselves. We see the vindication of the Jewish people’s enemies and the institution of the Feast of Purim held on the 14th and 15th days of Adar, the 12th month (February–March).

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

Deliverance through legal means (Esther 8:3, 6-8, 11)

Esther, knowing danger still lurked ahead for her people, pleaded passionately for their lives before the king. The queen continued to receive the blessing of the monarch as he again extended the golden scepter to her. Courageously, Esther implored the king to revoke Haman’s hateful decree against all the Jews in the empire.

“How can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” The questions reinforce Esther’s affecting and special plea to her king.

Mordecai had heard Esther’s entire presentation to the king. Ahasuerus, by reiterating what he already had done, communicated his support for Esther and her people.

In the Persian Empire, a royal decree could not be altered, but a second one could invalidate it; therefore, the king instructed Mordecai and Esther to write a second decree. The second decree would carry all the weight of the former one—but would reverse the expected results.

Verse 11 has occasioned controversy about whether the Jewish people were unethical toward their enemies. The Jewish people were given permission to slaughter even the wives and children of any people that would attack them; however, the Jewish people may not have carried out what was permitted, but killed only the men who attacked them (Esther 9:5, 6).

Christians in democratic societies have responsibility not only for obeying laws but also for doing what they can to influence just and equitable legislation.

Deliverance through victory (Esther 9:1-2)

On the 13th day of the 12th month (Adar, February-March) when the first decree was to be executed, and on the day the enemies of the Jewish people hoped to have power over them, they gathered in all the cities of the 127 provinces of the empire to “lay hands on” or kill their foes. The enemies of the Jewish people could not succeed in their assault against them due to a fear of them.

The officers of the king in all of the provinces helped the Jewish people. The fear of Mordecai, the new Grand Vizier, and his people fell upon all nations. As a result, the Jewish people were saved. Mordecai became great in the king’s house so that his fame went throughout all countries, and the Jewish people gained the victory over their enemies.

We can rely on the Lord to help his people take advantage of legitimate means of defeating those who would harm them.

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

Posted: 2/15/07

Bible Studies for Life Series for February 25

Sometimes it takes faith to find the proof

• John 6:30-31,35-36,41-47,66-69

By Kenneth Lyle

Logsdon School of Theology, Abilene

Several years ago, a popular movie about the business relationship between a down-on-his-luck sports agent and an aging football star brought the phrase “show me the money” into the popular culture. When people wanted to express their desire for sound, sure, reasoned proof of the facts, they would say “Show me the money!” The lesson for this week demonstrates that this familiar desire for absolute proof also infiltrates our religious sensibilities. Many in society and in church say, “Show me the proof” of God’s existence, of miracles, of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

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

People want proof. While fewer and fewer skeptics choose to engage the faith claims of the church with meaningful dialogue, those who do often seek objective proof of the existence God and the facts of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

Ironically, in recent history, the demand for absolute incontrovertible proof comes less often from skeptics and more often from committed Christians seeking to bolster their faith claims with hard scientific and historical facts. Seminars and centers abound that seek to provide scientific proof of the biblical accounts of creation, the flood, plagues and miracles. The faithful need not take issue with these efforts except to recognize that “Show me the proof” often falls on the lips of church folk and skeptic alike.

The Gospel of John originally spoke to an audience not too different from our contemporary setting. John’s first century church was made up of people from a different time and place than the people and events recorded in the Gospel. Writing to Christians and interested non-Christians in the late first century, John tells the story of Jesus to people who had not seen Jesus in person or heard his teachings directly.

John’s Gospel message moves the reader steadily toward a decision about the veracity of the claims made about Jesus. At the conclusion of the narrative, John bluntly states: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).

At a primary level, John understands people need “proof” in the form of signs in order that they may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. John carefully records seven “signs” that point to and confirm Jesus’ identity.

The ironic twist in John’s presentation of the story of Jesus is evident when we recognize that whenever proof is offered, it almost always is ignored or misunderstood. John explicitly demonstrates this interplay between “seeing and believing” “seeing and not believing,” and “not seeing and yet believing” in the account of Jesus' resurrection appearance to Thomas.

After hearing about Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas states, quite rationally, that he will not believe in the resurrection unless he sees Jesus stand before him. “Doubting” Thomas gets his wish, and a word from Jesus praising belief that does not come from direct experience: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). The hard, surprising truth of John’s gospel message is that faith trumps sight or experience. The gospel offers proof, but ultimately following Jesus is a matter of faith.

Such is the case in the focal passages for this lesson. As expected, the action of chapter 6 centers on another Jewish festival. John continues to demonstrate that Jesus is Lord over the Jewish institutions, and here the focus is on Passover (v. 4).

When we read this account with our Old Testament ears, echoes of the exodus ring clearly. In the opening verses (vv. 1-15), Jesus feeds a great multitude of people, and we remember God’s provision of food for the wandering tribes (Exodus 16:4-12). As Jesus’ strides out onto the water of the Sea of Galilee (vv. 16-24) we recognize God’s control over water, as at the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13-30). In the manner that God speaks to Moses from a burning bush—“I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), Jesus speaks to disciples in a storm-tossed boat—“It is I” (v. 20). The second “I am” statement of the chapter comes in verse 35 and makes the identification of Jesus with God explicit, “I am the bread of life.”

Jesus is the manna from heaven. Jesus is God who controls the wind and the waves. Jesus speaks correctly when he self-identifies as “I AM.” The signs are there for all to see. There is no lack of proof offered, but tragically, ironically, the people gathered around Jesus desire more proof: “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” (v. 30). Jesus engages their intellectual curiosity, arguing that proof does not yield faith (vv. 35-36; 41-42), and that faith comes as a gift from God (vv. 43-47). Jesus’ effort to “reason” with those who demand proof meets with murmuring, grumbling (v. 41, 61) and ultimately rejection—even by some of Jesus’ followers (v. 66).

The question remains: What proof is necessary or possible? Even in the face of exacting proof, some willfully reject God’s gracious initiative of relationship. Others receive the nourishment of manna from heaven without yielding the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Still others recognize the gift of God in Jesus Christ—a recognition that comes by faith and not by sight. An experience of Jesus, a seeing of Jesus, a belief in Jesus that comes as a gift from God.

Discussion question

• How do you understand the relationship between proof and faith? Between “seeing and believing” and “not seeing and believing?”

• Respond to the claim that in John’s Gospel “faith trumps sight or experience.”

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

Posted: 2/12/06

COMMENT:
The pork chop

By Jinny Henson

Scientists recently discovered falling in love produces the equivalent of an amphetamine-induced high. I realize after 12 years of marriage that no human would voluntarily make this commitment unless they were smoking crack. Which leads me to this conclusion: God is pretty smart.

I’d done them; the blind dates. You go to be polite and have as much in common with the guy as the UnaBomber. My parents met on a blind date, and who was I to tempt fate should history repeat itself? I’m no obsessive-compulsive, but when you’re a girl dealing with something as serious as love here, you have to touch every light switch twice and avoid the cracks in the ground or you might just miss “the one.”

There was the relationship with the English major who insisted that we double date with other English majors. They would form the conversational Trinity discussing Thoreau and why he went into the woods. I, the intellectual Pee Wee Herman, was conversely pondering questions like, “In Dr. Seuss’ One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, why was the fish red? What made that fish so blue?”

I was convinced my junior year in college that God would either give me Steve or Mike for a husband, and I didn’t really care either way. I was being thoroughly generous in allowing God to give the final answer as to with whom I would grow old and wrinkly. Strangely enough, summer approached, and they both graduated from college having forgotten to fall madly in love with me. Since I had not even so much as gone out with either of them, I have no idea why this surprised me.

So, maybe not so lucky at love. But as I graduated from Baylor University and entered seminary, I sensed I was on the right track. My mother accused me of being too picky. I just didn’t want someone with incorrect grammar raising my children. Or someone who held his fork the wrong way. Or expected me in all of my Southern glory to actually PAY for my dinner. I knew Mom feared that my ship would never come in, but I had a fat beach umbrella and a cold Diet Coke, hunkered down in zestful expectation

Call it anticipation. Just the thought that Mr. Right could be standing behind me in the Cinnabon line thrilled me to no end. I was on the cusp and more ready for love than an Adkins dieter at an all-you-can-eat omelet bar.

The anticipation ebbed and flowed as my brain was being pumped full of theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Not such a hot crowd there. The field was rife with full-grown men in flood pants and tote bags. I was never going to marry a preacher, so I certainly wasn’t concerned.

My intentions were to get my master’s degree and head off to Atlanta and work for the Olympics. My friend Cindy Greeno at CNN and I already hatched a plan.

Besides, I was the bungee-jumping type. No holiness bun for this girl. I knew I was a pork chop with no desire to be squeezed into a Jell-O mold. Even if you blended the thing up and mixed it with Knox Gelatin, it still wouldn’t make.

I was never prim and proper and certainly didn’t reign in any of that “personality,” at seminary. My theology professor, Calvin Miller, began his brilliant discourse: “Jeremiah …”

“Was a bullfrog? “ I interjected. Oh, I was so proud of myself.

I looked normal enough on the outside, but my innards were blazing with wild dreams that no life as a preacher’s wife could hope to accommodate. I was quirky, too, giving no thought to stapling a hem in a pair of pants, spray-painting shoes a new color or trimming my own hair at midnight. My parents raised me to believe that anything was possible, whether it be do-it-yourself dentistry or painting the house. Life was one grand experiment to me, and the vanilla Minister’s Wife Petri Dish was one I could pass on.

A shoe then changed my life forever. I glanced down in Sunday school (what a messed up name for a place where adults go) and saw a good-looking shoe. My dad was men’s clothing manager for Neiman-Marcus and then Saks, so I knew a nice shoe when I saw one.

“Oh, I love your shoes!” I gushed in my filter-less way.

“Thank you,” he politely added with a furrowed brow.

“They remind me of my dad.” I emoted, head cocked respectfully with a pout as I thought of my sweet daddy.

He now looked at me as though I were nursing an octopus and politely nodded.

Shoe boy had a name: John. No tote bag either. I noticed as I flitted from class to class. He noticed my raucous laughter across campus. “There goes that crazy blonde,” he would tell his friends. No second thoughts, because I was never going to ever be a preacher’s wife.

OK, Watch this; this is funny. Tell God what you don’t want in life and see where it gets you.

It just so happened that John was going to be a pastor. As I would see him studying in the library or hear him ask for prayer for his mom who had cancer, I began having troubling thoughts. His dark hair, his discreet humor, the fire in his belly. This was one awesome guy that made Steve and Mike look like Napoleon Dynamite.

I was bitter in the realization that the best bakery in town just opened on a street I had forbidden myself to walk down. Darn that carrot cake. Just what was God up to? He asked me out—and paid. He was funny, irreverent, holy, smart and going to be a pastor? I didn’t know they came in this flavor.

Suddenly, I had visions of being the subject of prayer-request hour. “The preacher’s wife, well, we have learned that she has the demon of spontaneity and adventure. Let’s pray for her.”

I’d heard about girls at Wheaton College in Illinois who had “Passion and Purity” prayer times. Based on Elizabeth Elliot’s book, they would gather and pray for the pastor husbands they had not even met. I truly thought this was some wacky joke at first. Now, here I was entertaining the weensiest possibility that I would be in that sorority. Was I losing it or what?

Since Jesus had done a pretty great job with my life so far, I knew I had to pray about this—and quickly. Could this be my life? Could I really live in a parsonage and have 17 children named things like Zechariah and Shikinah? But this man is so incredible. I could tell he accepted me even in my most random of moments and even seemed smitten by my spunk. I couldn’t help but think that he liked me now, but what about when I teach the children to rap at Vacation Bible School and they garnish his wages?

My father in his infinite Bill Richardson wisdom had a solution to my quandary: “Reel him into the boat, Jinny, and if you don’t like him, you can always throw him back.” That innocent statement turned a corner in my mind, and I knew from that day on I would have to learn to deal with being a preacher’s wife.

I got Shang-Hied. Pure and simple. The old switch-a-roo. John asked me to marry him on top of Mount Mitchell while he was the camp pastor at Ridgecrest Camp for Boys just four months after our Feb. 13 date. We were married a year after that. We finished seminary together and in 12 years have had two kids, two parents’ funerals, started two churches and owned four houses.

The dreams I’d so fiercely treasured, convinced that no pastor’s-wife-life would allow have all come true. He is immensely proud of his wife, the stand-up comedian.

Only in God’s economy can what we fear the most become the treasure we would never choose to live without.

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

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

Posted: 2/09/07

Last of Arizona Baptist fraud
convicts sentenced to prison

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

PHOENIX (ABP)—One of the most egregious cases of fraud in non-profit history came to a close Feb. 2, when the former treasurer of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona was sentenced.

Donald Deardoff, 49, was ordered to serve four years in prison and pay $159 million to victims of an investment scam. He received the sentence after pleading guilty in 2001 to two counts of fraud. Four other former foundation employees were also sentenced to lesser punishments Feb. 2.

The decision for jail time came as a surprise from Judge Kenneth Fields, who could have classified the crimes as misdemeanors. Prosecutors had recommended only one year of time in the county jail.

Former foundation President William Crotts and General Counsel Thomas Grabinski were sentenced in September 2006 to eight and six years in prison, respectively, on fraud and racketeering charges. Both must pay $159 million in restitution to investors, although it’s unlikely they’ll be able to repay the full amount. They each earn 35 cents an hour working as a clerk and an aide in prison.

The foundation collapsed in 1999 after state regulators ordered it to stop selling securities. Controlled by the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, it had generated money by soliciting funds from clients —mainly elderly Baptists —ostensibly to build churches and retirement homes.

Instead, courts found, foundation leaders used the funds for a classic pyramid scheme. The foundation shuffled bad debt and overvalued property between phony companies, paying high profits to backers from the money paid in by subsequent investors.

About 11,000 investors lost more than $550 million in the foundation’s collapse.

The other four former foundation employees sentenced Feb. 2 were Harold Friend, 73; Richard Rolfes, 50; Edgar Kuhn, 62; and Jalma Hunsinger, 69. They received supervised probation terms and were ordered to pay thousands of dollars in restitution.

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

Posted: 2/09/07

Community service makes impact
on teens' faith development

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

WACO—Serving meals to homeless people at a church-sponsored shelter can have a greater impact than sitting in a pew every Sunday morning on how a teenager’s faith develops, a new study has concluded.

“Involvement in community service is far more significant to the faith development of teens than involvement in worship,” said Michael Sherr, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Baylor University.

But volunteer service in faith-motivated ministries to meet human needs has a direct impact on how involved teenagers become in a variety of religious practices—including worship, Bible study and prayer, he noted.

“The best scenario is involvement in worship and prayer, living out faith through service followed by time committed to study and reflection,” he said. “The ideal is preaching the gospel and doing the gospel together.”

Sherr worked with two colleagues in Baylor’s School of Social Work, Dean Diana Garland and Associate Dean Dennis Myers, and Terry Wolfer from the University of South Carolina on a study that examined how community service is related to the faith maturity and faith practices of adolescents in churches.

As part of a larger study funded by the Lilly Endowment, the researchers surveyed 631 adolescents from 35 Protestant churches in six states. They found an indisputable link between community service, faith maturity and faith practices.

“The fact is that service that gives kids a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives has a profound impact on their faith,” Garland said. “Faith is deepened when they feel called out to do something. Far more than recreational activities or retreats—or even Bible study and worship—it really matures their faith.”

That realization should make a difference in the way churches seek to reach teens and help them develop as Christians, she noted.

“Churches have tended to see service as an add-on. This study suggests they might think of it at the heart of ministry—as a way of engaging young people who are looking for their lives to have meaning and purpose and who find it pouring themselves out in response to the needs of others,” she said.

It also offers a way for churches to influence the lives of young people who may be reluctant to attend worship services or Sunday school classes but who are willing to join their friends in volunteer service, Sherr added.

If mature Christian adults work alongside teenagers and help them process what they learn through service, those teachable moments can make a profound impact on teens, he noted.

“Their faith is developing, and they don’t have to be in pews to do it,” Sherr said.

The greater the interaction between teenagers and the people who receive ministry—and the deeper the relationship between the teens and adult Christian mentors—the more profound the impact on faith development, Garland added.

“It’s a continuum,” she noted.

A one-day project cleaning up a city park, where teens work alongside adult role models, can have some impact. A project that puts teens in direct contact with people in need—such as volunteering in a homeless shelter or building a Habitat for Humanity house—makes a deeper impression. And ongoing contact with the same people over a long time, such as making Meals on Wheels deliveries or regularly visiting particular nursing home residents has the greatest potential for shaping faith, she explained.

“In the depth of relationships, young people learn to find God in one another,” Garland said. “It’s the interaction that matters. We learn faith not only by acquiring knowledge, but—more significantly—through relationships.”

In their report, the researchers concluded: “Involvement in authentic service to real needs, alongside parents or other adults whenever possible, accompanied by reflection on the connections between service experiences and religious teachings and other practices—perhaps with some pizza and ‘fun’ mixed in—can serve as a fruit-bearing path for ministry to teenagers. Moreover, this approach to ministry treats teenagers as partners in ministry rather than objects of ministry, an important and empowering distinction for developing new generations of spiritual leaders for today as well as tomorrow.”

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

Posted: 2/09/07

Healthy families bring others closer to Christ

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO—The peace Christ offers draws people to him—if they aren’t driven away by the conflict in Christians’ lives, David Hormachea, host of the Vision Para Vivir media ministry, told participants at the Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

Non-Christians want the peace and joy Christ offers through a relationship with him, but sometimes they are turned off when they look at the family lives of people who call themselves Christians, Hormachea told the conference, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. They see broken families, divorced spouses and fighting children and wonder how powerful the gospel can be, he added.

A member of the praise team from South San Fildelfia Baptist Church in San Antonio sings during the Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

Hormachea urged Hispanic Texas Baptists to focus on their families in an effort to reflect what life in Christ can be like. A healthy Christian family presents a positive image of Christ, he said.

Nurturing a healthy family requires parents who spend time reading and studying the Bible and growing in their relationship with God, Hormachea explained. Those parents should then invest themselves in each other and their children as Christ has called them to do.

The health of a Christian’s relationship with God is based on how well he hears God speaking to him through the Bible and prayer, he explained, comparing it to family relations. Similarly, the health of a married couple’s relationship is based on how well a husband and wife hear each other, he said.

If family members invest in each other, they will reflect the values of their faith and draw people to Christ, Hormachea stressed.

“An evangelistic church not only talks about Christ,” he said. “It lives its principles.”

Investing in one’s family does not mean there will not be any troubling times, Hormachea said.

Fabio Murillo plays the saxophone during the Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

“All families and all marriages will have conflict,” he said. But because healthy Christian families already have invested in themselves, they can more easily work through the conflict, he emphasized.

A relationship with Christ brings a joy to people that supersedes any difficult situation that may be happening, Hormachea said. God carries people through the tough times, strengthening them day-by-day.

“Individual happiness is not dependent on things, circumstances of our lives or the people we’re with,” he 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: 2/09/07

Sale of lottery doesn’t add up,
gambling opponents insist

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

AUSTIN—Gov. Rick Perry’s proposal to sell the lottery just doesn’t add up, according to Texas Baptist gambling opponents.

Suzii Paynter, director of the Texas Christian Life Commission, and Weston Ware, legislative spokesman for Texans Against Gambling, are two of many bipartisan leaders who questions Perry’s logic in wanting to sell the lottery to a private group a year after the lottery recorded its highest sales and when the state has a $14 billion surplus.

“Perry believes he can get $14 billion for the lottery,” Paynter said. “The surplus in the state is $14 billion. I find that a bit ironic.”

In his State of the State address Feb. 6, Perry proposed to sell the lottery and use the proceeds to create endowments that would fund public education, cancer research and a new health insurance program.

The state currently provides an overall direction for the lottery, but the strategy already is carried out by independent contractors who print the tickets, recruit distributors, collect data and ship tickets.

“Imagine the possibilities if we create a permanent endowment for public education, a permanent source of funding for making health insurance more affordable and available, and a long term source of substantial funding to fight a disease that touches the life of virtually every Texan,” Perry said in his address.

Perry’s proposal received a mixed reaction at best, with leaders from both parties stepping forward to question his plan. The proposed $8.3 billion public education endowment would yield about $750 million a year in interest, $250 million less than $1 billion the lottery contributes each year. Revenue from the lottery funds a small portion of the budget for public education.

Ware believes the projected drop in public education funding is one of the primary reasons selling the lottery is a bad idea, but he said it’s a bad idea for other reasons,as well.

“Number one, the numbers don’t work,” he said.  “That is the truth.  Number two, it would turn over to private companies a windfall monopoly on the operation of a vice that’s known to be addictive and harmful to society.”

Paynter wondered if Perry is trying to distance the state from a lottery that has not produced the support for public schools that was projected each year.

“I cannot resist in pointing out that the lottery has not always lived up to the promises that Texans expected when they approved it,” she said. “So in that light, I don’t blame the governor for wanting to sell it.”

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Washington, D.C., each have considered privatizing their lotteries, but none have done so. Privatization would provide up-front payments to states for long-term leases.

Perry argued in his address that Texas must act fast to sell its lottery before other states do.

“Two states are currently trying to sell their lotteries and several more are likely to follow,” he said. “If we delay, the market price is likely to be substantially less in the years to come. But if we act now, we can invest in our classrooms, our laboratories and hospitals—giving hope to those who need it most.”

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

Posted: 2/09/07

Aggies in New Orleans see
big picture of God’s work

By Marilyn Stewart

Louisiana Baptist Convention

NEW ORLEANS—Texas A&M University students from First Baptist Church of College Station see their part in rebuilding New Orleans much like the inner workings of the engineering systems they study—a small component in the larger machine that God is operating in New Orleans.

“We came to do whatever we could in four days,” recent A&M graduate Emily Guevara said. “Knowing that others will come behind us and continue the work makes us know that this is not about us; it’s about what God is doing.”

Ryan Plesko from First Baptist Church in College Station installs an interior frame.

Led by college pastor Ty Cope, the 14-member group was the third team from Expression College Ministry to work in New Orleans since Katrina. More than 50 of the 125 students involved in the college ministry have participated, and more teams are arriving.

The group postponed a mission trip to Thailand immediately following Katrina, going instead to New Orleans to clean up home interiors in the most heavily damaged areas of the city. Cope said the loss became real to the students as they carried out ruined pictures, children’s toys and mementos of every day life.

“That’s when it hit home that the flood impacted families,” Cope said. “And our love for the people of New Orleans began.”

Meaghan Gasch, a piano major and third-time team member, said the media accounts fell short in conveying the full extent of the devastation. Motivated by the enormity of the disaster, Gasch said, “We did things we didn’t think we could do.”

Recently, the college team worked in conjunction with Operation NOAH Rebuild, the initiative of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board to help rebuild New Orleans area homes.

What made the recent trip different, Cope said, was that the students were rebuilding—installing insulation and hanging drywall—rather than tearing out, and the students spent the week getting to know the homeowner.

Savannah Evans, a university student and member of First Baptist Church in College Station, uses an electric drill to hang drywall.

Lillian Freeman, a lifelong New Orleans resident, fled with her daughter and grandson to an upper story of an adjacent apartment complex when rising water endangered their safety. Her testimony to the students was that God has been faithful through it all.

“To see how God has taken care of her in something this big reminds me that God is sovereign and can take care of anything in life,” Gasch said.

Both veteran and first-time team members agreed getting to know “Ms. Lillian,” her grandson and her nephews was the most fulfilling part of the trip. Students spent time playing with the kids and purchased a football for the grandson.

“I’ve been hugging them every day since they came,” Freeman said. “It’s a miracle, and I’m passing NOAH’s name on to everybody I know.”

Working in New Orleans has given the students a vision beyond the dorm room and their own activities and has taught them to be servant leaders, Cope said. “They learn what love looks like.”

“Ty told us we didn’t come just to rebuild a house, but to show God’s love,” Guevara said. “We can’t solve every problem in the city, but we can help this family.”

Students from First Baptist Church in College Station pose with a New Orleans resident after working on her home.

Expression College Ministry emphasizes that faith is best communicated when serving others. Senior architectural student and third-time team member Ryan Collins said he has found his own faith bolstered when helping others.

The admonition in James to care for the widows and children in need is a call to action, Collins said. “Talking only goes so far. You have to go out and do.”

When asked if a one-week mission trip makes a difference, Collins said: “I may not see the difference we have made, but it doesn’t matter if I do. We are still called to be the light of the world.”

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

Posted: 2/09/07

BaptistWay Bible Series for February18

God still is a God who sends

• John 20:1-21

By David Wilkinson

Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth

Although the narrative of the fourth Gospel makes clear women were numbered among Jesus’ faithful followers, and several women played important roles in the unfolding drama of Jesus’ life and ministry, the spotlight has shined clearly on Jesus and his male disciples.

Now, in the dark despair that has followed Jesus’ brutal execution, the scene opens in chapter 20 with a solitary figure who makes her way before dawn to the borrowed tomb where Jesus’ lifeless body had been lain.

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

“While it was still dark” (v. 1) is more than a description of the pre-dawn conditions. It echoes the theme of darkness and light woven throughout the Gospel. It also describes the heartbrokenness and grief Jesus’ followers had experienced on Golgotha—a darkness beyond any night they had known or imagined. Jesus had come as light and life into the world in the glowing promise that the darkness could not overcome the light (1:5), but that light and life had been snuffed out.

Witnesses to the wonder

Exhausted and numbed by grief, Mary Magdalene returns to the tomb. She had been among the small collection of followers who had gathered near the cross, watching helplessly as Jesus died (19:25). Now, according to John’s account, she is the first witness to the empty tomb. After seeing the stone had been rolled away from the entrance, she assumes grave robbers have come (not an unusual crime in that day). She runs to share that news with Peter and “the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved” (v. 2), assumed by many scholars to be John, the author of the fourth Gospel.

The unnamed disciple outruns Peter, peers into the tomb and sees only the linen burial cloths lying there, but does not enter. Peter steps inside and also sees the cloths, including one that had been placed on Jesus’ head, now rolled up and sitting to the side (vv. 5-6).

Significantly, as the unnamed disciple joined Peter inside the tomb, “he saw and believed,” despite the fact that the disciples “as yet … did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (v. 10). The statement not only underscores the nature of belief in Jesus, a theme of the Gospel, but anticipates Jesus’ response later in the day to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (v. 29).

Eyes of faith

Framing the experience of the two disciples, who then return to their homes (v. 10), is Mary Magdalene, and the next paragraph is a gentle and moving account of the first follower to see the resurrected Christ. Unlike the two disciples who saw only the grave cloths, Mary peers through her tears into the tomb and sees a pair of angels (v. 11). Surprisingly, there is no evidence of fear on her part. They ask why she is weeping, and as she responds, she turns to see Jesus.

Jesus repeats the angels’ question, but adds, “Whom are you looking for?” (v. 15), which, as we have seen, is one of the underlying questions of the Gospel narrative. The eyes of faith, however, are not yet focused, not yet free from the blindness of grief and despair. Mary sees, but does not “see,” and assumes the man is the caretaker or gardener. Only when she hears Jesus call her name does she recognize him. Just as he had promised, the sheep know the voice of the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep (10:11-18).

Jesus’ response to what must have been an immediate impulse to embrace him, asking Mary not to cling or hold on to him, may be the writer’s way of emphasizing that this brief portion of Jesus’ ministry is a kind of transition from his historical existence to his heavenly glorification and reunion with the Father. His mission now fulfilled, the close bond between teacher and disciple cannot simply be resumed on the old terms. Everything has changed.

Sent into the world

Later that evening, the disciples had gathered, perhaps in the same upper room where they had eaten the Last Supper. We only can imagine the range of emotions as they pondered what Peter and John had seen that morning and talked of Mary Magdelene’s report of her encounter with the Master outside the tomb. Suddenly, Jesus appeared among them.

“Peace be with you,” he said. Perhaps at that moment, several of them remembered his farewell speech when Jesus had assured them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (14:27).” After showing the disciples his hands and side, Jesus repeated the words, “Peace be with you,” and then added John’s form of the Great Commission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (v. 21).

The God of the Bible is a God who sends. So it comes as no surprise as we near the end of the Gospel that the risen Christ, who in the mystery of the Incarnation had been born into human history to live, minister and give his life as God’s Son, now speaks words of peace and commissioning to his stunned but overjoyed disciples as he prepares to send them into the world as witnesses to God’s love.

The disciples, and all who choose to follow Jesus, are more than followers. Christians are called to live in the world as God’s sent people. We are sent to share his mission, to live as he lived, to love as he loved.

Discussion questions

• What is the significance of the resurrection for you? What difference does it make in the way you live?

• What might happen if we were to take seriously our calling, our commissioning, as followers of Jesus who are sent into the world to live lives that are holy and wholly different from the rest of the world?

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

Posted: 2/09/07

Bible Studies for Life Series for February 18

When you see Jesus, you see God

• John 5:17-23,36-42,46-47

By Kenneth Lyle

Logsdon School of Theology, Abilene

My mother likes to tell a story about me when I was just a small child. It seems I had very definite ideas about who I was and what I should be called.

I am named for my father Kenneth Ralph Lyle, which makes me Kenneth Ralph Lyle Jr. I have never liked being Kenneth, Kenny, or worse yet, Junior. I have always preferred being called Ken. I suspect that preference stems from the fact that my father most often is called Ken.

When I was a little boy, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends got a big kick out of calling me Kenneth and waiting for my angered reply: “I’m not Kenneth! I’m Ken Lyle, Jr.!”

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

Like father like son, or so the saying goes. With my own son, Walker, the connection rests not on our sharing the same name but stems from our similar features and modes of expression. Hardly a day goes by when someone does not say to me: “Walker is your spitting image.” When Walker was about 3 years old, like father like son took on a whole new meaning.

We were driving down a particular stretch of highway in Louisville, Ky., that was always filled with traffic. On previous occasions, when I had been in a hurry, I had made my displeasure with the crowded conditions very clear. On this day, however, I was in no particular hurry, but Walker, in his car seat was having none of it. As I sat patiently waiting for the light to change and the cars to start moving, Walker in his best imitation of me pounded on his car seat and yelled out, “Get out of the way you idiot!” Like father like son, indeed.

When you see the son, you see the father. This is perhaps the strongest and most important claim Jesus makes in John’s Gospel. Unlike the negative picture you might have of me in view of the actions of my young son; the Gospel of John makes it absolutely clear that God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, is seen and understood most clearly in the person of Jesus.

John makes this explicit claim from the very beginning: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). From that astounding opening assertion, the gospel continues reflecting on and amplifying that essential claim—like father, like son.

The focal passages come at the beginning of a cycle of events in John’s Gospel that center on a series of Jewish festivals. Here, an “unnamed feast” is the occasion for a miraculous healing of a man who had been “invalid for 38 years” (John 5:5). The narrative provides several interesting details about the healing, including information about the pool beside the Sheep Gate and the tradition about why sick people waited there for healing.

Most intriguing is the account of the conversation between Jesus and the man, including Jesus’ query, “Do you want to get well?” From a man 38 years invalid, the answer should have been obvious, yet his answer seems to indicate he had lost hope of ever receiving healing. Jesus heals the man, and then the narrative takes a dark turn.

Jesus’ healing action takes place on the Sabbath, and it sets in motion events which allow Jesus to reflect publicly on his vital intimate connection to God the Father. The healed man is caught violating Sabbath work rules by carrying his mat (John 5:10-13). The man’s interaction with the legalistic religious folks points them to Jesus as the perpetrator of this transgression, and they begin to persecute Jesus. Jesus’ answer to these legalistic religious folks provides an explicit claim of unique and unbreakable connectedness between Jesus and God the Father (vv. 17-23).

Jesus invokes powerful witnesses to the truthfulness of his claim. Jesus does not witness to himself (vv. 31-32); rather, he points to the testimony of John the Baptist (vv. 33-35); the testimony of his own mighty works (v. 36); the testimony of the Father (vv. 37-38); and the testimony of Scripture (vv. 39-40).

None of these proofs are adequate for Jesus’ opponents, but we should not expect them to be. Jesus concludes his statements to them with a resignation to their hardness of hearts: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (vv. 46-47).

John’s earlier claim, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (1:11) receives powerful corroborating evidence. The people who should have recognized Jesus most clearly, most clearly reject him.

That this story and discourse comes in the context of a cycle of festivals points to the clear contrast between those who see God in Jesus and those who see God in rules and regulations. Jesus comes to say that sometimes even institutionalized religious practices get in the way of seeing God at work in the world. Jesus is Lord of the festival, Lord of the Sabbath, Lord of creation. Jesus is the very intention of God, and when we see and experience Jesus, we see and experience God.

The sad truth is that some may never grasp or be grasped by this fundamental truth. John tells us “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). While it is true many beheld the glory of God in Christ, it is equally true that some just saw flesh.

For those who need absolute proof, there will never be enough—for those who experience God in and through Jesus Christ, absolute proof is not necessary. Like father, like son indeed—when you see Jesus, you see God.

Discussion questions

• Jesus’ claims of a special, unbreakable connection to the Father come in the context of challenges to his right to heal on the Sabbath. Is it possible we sometimes place limits on the lordship of Jesus over every aspect of life?

• Do you feel a need to have absolute proof of Jesus’ status as “the Word become flesh”?

• When you look at Jesus, what do you learn about God?

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