Posted: 2/09/07

Explore the Bible Series for February 18

Have courage to act on faith

• Esther 5:1-3; 7:1-6, 9-10

By Howard Anderson

Diversified Spiritual Associates, San Antonio

Esther took her life in her hands by coming into the king’s presence uninvited, but the king received her and asked what she wanted. Esther revealed to the king she and all her people in his kingdom had been marked for death by Haman’s devious and evil scheme. On learning of Haman’s treachery, the king commanded he be hanged on the gallows Haman had built for Mordecai.

Christians should step out by faith whenever God calls them to do so, trusting God will work out his will through their obedience. When making an effort to defend particular groups or individuals, Christians should devise means of accurately presenting the facts to people who are in a position to help. We are to do all we can to defend helpless and vulnerable people, trusting God to use us to help them.

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Step out by faith (Esther 5:1-3)

On the third day following the third night, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s house. He was seated on the throne in the royal house, over against the gate. When he saw Esther, she obtained favor in his sight, and he held out the golden scepter to her. When she drew near and touched it, the king inquired of her request and promised it would be granted.

The queen’s simple request was that the king and Haman would make haste and attend a banquet prepared for him. The king, knowing that Esther must have had an unusual reason for daring to approach him, asked her what she wanted. He promised her “half of the kingdom.” Perhaps the phrase was a common form of exaggeration among royalty. Although it probably was exaggerated, the statement certainly showed the king’s favorable attitude toward her.

Who gave her wisdom to carry out such a plan is not stated. It could be she had a conference with Mordecai, or it may be divine inspiration alone guided her. In either case, Esther stepped out by faith and what she did was the right thing, and God worked out every detail of the plan for the good of his people.

State the facts (Esther 7:1-6)

Esther repeated her address (Esther 5:8) and now added her request. Esther asked the king to spare her life and the lives of her people. This latter appeal was an impassioned plea to the king in that she also disclosed her true identity to him for the first time. Esther told the king she and her fellow Jewish people “have been sold,” referring to Haman’s bribe to the king (Esther 3:9).

Esther’s speech had a dramatic effect on the king. She had aroused more than his curiosity. He was angry. The life of his own queen was in danger because of a plot by one of his trusted men.

Esther finally exposed the culprit. It was none other than Haman, the “adversary and enemy.” It is no wonder Haman was afraid before Esther and the king. In his evil plan to kill his enemy, he had unwittingly threatened the queen’s life.

See justice served (Esther 7:9-10)

Harbonah, the eunuch, spoke at a critical moment to the ruler. He disclosed the story of the gallows Haman had prepared for Mordecai and told the king where it was located. He reminded the monarch of Mordecai’s bravery on behalf of the king. Ahasuerus took Harbonah’s cue and commanded his servants to hang Haman on those very gallows.

Discussion questions

• Why is it sometimes hard to do what we know to be right?

• What was Esther risking by coming forward before the king? Is it similar at all to what Christians might face today?

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

Posted: 2/02/07

TOGETHER:
A way for Baptists to bless the world

Word comes to us that nine Christian pastors have been jailed in Zimbabwe. The Baptist World Alliance has called for release of these pastors, who are working for peace and justice. This is but one example of what is happening in many places. And it is one of the reasons it is so important for Baptists from across North America to gather in Atlanta a year from now.

There is strength in numbers and in unity. Texas Baptists will join Baptists from across Canada, Mexico and all 50 states to celebrate our unity in the great gospel of Jesus Christ. The special emphasis for this meeting will be to help Baptists speak a clear word to a watching and listening world that we are Jesus People.

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

We believe God loves the world so much that he sent Jesus and those who follow him into the world so people can have eternal life and not perish.

We believe God honors his word and his promises, and we can preach boldly the truth of God to a confused, broken and frightened world.

We believe God expects those who name themselves after Christ to live as he lived and love as he loved.

We believe following Jesus means following him into the streets where people are wounded, lonely, sick, suffering and lost.

We believe honoring Jesus and praising God cannot be done with integrity and meaning if we are not present with the people Jesus loves and died to save.

We believe that in Christ we are to treat one another as brothers and sisters who love one another, whatever our race or language.

We believe in religious liberty for all people. The gospel is free for all and cannot be limited by government nor should the church seek to use government to persuade or influence faith.

We believe faith is a matter of individual decision and response, prompted by the Holy Spirit. Faith is a gift of God’s grace and must never be the result of coercion.

We believe Jesus made it clear what he was about, and he made it clear we are to be about the same things. “As the Father has sent me, so send I you,” he said to the first disciples. To do what? Care for the sick and bring healing. Care for the prisoners and visit them. Care for the stranger and welcome them. Care for the homeless, the naked, the hungry and thirsty and do something about it. Care for the children, no matter how busy you are. Care for the oppressed and seek to release them from their bondage. Care for the lost and preach the gospel to them.

Where does that all come from? Jesus’ own words and deeds. It is all in the gospels. Note especially John 3:16-17, Luke 4:18-19, Matthew 25:34-46, Luke 7:18-23 and Matthew 28:18-20.

What could it mean to our world if we Baptists said all of this with one voice, from one place, at the same time? I believe it would bless the world. I believe it would draw people to Christ because they could say, “Look, how those people love one another.” It also could change the way Baptist churches see the significance of their mission and ministry in the world. And I believe it would encourage many churches that are not Baptist to want to be more about Jesus’ kingdom business, too.

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.

Updated: 2/08/07

Bible Studies for Life Series for February 11

True belief engenders action

• John 3:1-8,13-18

By Kenneth Lyle

Logsdon School of Theology, Abilene

The dramatic event of Jesus’ cleansing the temple precedes his nighttime conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus (John 2:12-22). In the verses immediately preceding the focal passage, the narrative provides an important transitional note. In John 2:23-25, we read about Jesus being in Jerusalem during the Passover feast and doing miraculous signs. Because of these “signs,” many people “believed in his name” (v. 23). However, the narrative tells us, “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men” (v. 24).

The sense of the statement is that Jesus did not believe in their believing. From the Gospel writer’s post-resurrection perspective, there was good reason for Jesus not to believe in the believing of every person. Here in these context verses, we see a portrait of humanity in every era. Jesus knows the hearts and mind of all people, and “not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 7:21). So what must a person do in order to be saved, to “see the Kingdom of God”? (John 3:3).

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The Gospel of John’s answer to that question comes in an encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. The story of Nicodemus’ visit to Jesus provides the occasion for the first of several long theological discourses given by Jesus in the Gospel. Each discourse surrounds an event or sign and contains one or more key statements about a key aspect of Christian faith (for example, “you must be born again;” “for God so loved the world …”).

In the opening verses of chapter 3, we learn about Nicodemus. He is an important man, a ruler of the Jews, a community leader, a member of the Sanhedrin, but perhaps most importantly, Nicodemus is a first-class example of why Jesus did not believe in all human believing. He comes to Jesus at night (v. 2). In John’s way of telling the story, this is more than just a time notification. Nicodemus’ “nighttime coming” to Jesus also is a symbol of his spiritual condition. Nicodemus is in the dark, both literally and spiritually.

John reveals to us Nicodemus has an ironic misunderstanding of Jesus’ identity. He says, “We know” (v. 2) but he really does not know. Nicodemus, like the others at the end of chapter 2, has put his faith in signs. The opening words of Jesus’ response—“no one is able”—contrasts Nicodemus’ finite, human perspective, with Jesus’ eternal, kingdom perspective.

In reply to Nicodemus’ signs-based faith, Jesus states: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (v. 3). The key word in the statement and the point of confusion for Nicodemus is the Greek word anÿthen, which can be translated as “again,” “anew” or “from above.”

Nicodemus clearly understands the statement to refer to another natural birth, which is an idea beyond his or anyone’s comprehension (v. 4). Jesus offers a clarifying statement about the necessity of being born of “water and the Spirit” (vv. 5-6). This phrase provides for various interpretations—water as representative of natural birth, Spirit as new life in Christ; water as baptism, Spirit as the gift of the Spirit.

All interpretive arguments aside, what seems clear is that Jesus speaks here about the human need to experience not just physical birth, but spiritual birth that comes from God. At this point, Nicodemus gets stuck.

Nicodemus’ final question “How can this be?” shows him to be stuck in the flesh. Like so many other characters in John’s Gospel, Nicodemus experiences a reversal. He comes to Jesus as a “knower” and leaves not knowing. The temporary departure of Nicodemus from the narrative paves the way for Jesus’ words about the nature and necessity of salvation (vv. 11-21). Nicodemus’ journey with Jesus is not complete.

John returns to Nicodemus in 7:50-51 and 19:39-42, and demonstrates his development toward belief. Here, however, the focus is on what Jesus says about God’s desire that all humanity experience abundant, eternal life in and through Jesus Christ.

There are very few “musts” for the Christian, but Jesus states one of them very clearly in the third chapter of the Gospel of John—humans must acknowledge that God has acted decisively in Jesus Christ to offer salvation to the whole world. God desires a relationship with all people everywhere, and that relationship is possible because of the gift of Jesus (v. 16). Those who believe in what God has done in Jesus are not condemned (v. 18); but those who reject God’s initiative are already experiencing condemnation.

Discussion questions

• What are the religious “musts” for most people in your church? How does your church communicate the “musts” to people who visit and attend?

• Do we ever use language that can be misinterpreted or misunderstood?

• How can we know Jesus “believes in our believing?”

• Do you have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?

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

Posted: 2/08/07

Zimbabwe police arrest 9 pastors
attending leadership seminar

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Zimbabwe police arrested nine pastors at a gathering of more than 300 church leaders in late January. At least one of the pastors was Baptist. The arrests were made public Jan. 30 by the Baptist World Alliance.

Raymond Motsi, pastor of Bulawayo Baptist Church, was among the group. The pastors have since been fined and released.

The pastors were charged with violating Zimbabwe’s Public Order and Security Act, which forbids gatherings of more than three without the approval from the police. The meeting was planned by a Christian Alliance group in Kadoma, more than 150 kilometers west of Harare, the country’s capital.

Christian Alliance has been accused by the Robert Mugabe-led government of plotting with opposition parties to overthrow his regime.

Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Alliance, said he is concerned about the continuing deterioration in the southern African country.

“We are concerned about freedom and justice worldwide,” he said in a press statement. “Ever since the BWA had a youth conference in Zimbabwe in 1994, Baptists around the world have fallen in love with Zimbabwe. We pray for the four Baptist conventions of Zimbabwe and have been concerned in the past years that many basic freedoms are being threatened.”

Lotz appealed to the Zimbabwe government to “release all pastors who in the performance of their gospel calling are working for peace and justice.”

He also asked Baptists to write their governments encouraging release of unfairly accused pastors and leaders.

“Baptists have always been concerned about religious freedom,” Lotz said. “Such freedoms are being eroded in Zimbabwe with the arrests and threats to the free exercise of religion.”

Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980 after the end of the apartheid rule of Ian Smith. Mugabe, a hero of the fight for the end of apartheid and for independence, was elected president but has become increasingly repressive over the years in his attempts to hold onto power. Many freedoms have since been curtailed and opposition groups banned, attacked or otherwise harassed.

The four Baptist conventions and unions in Zimbabwe have approximately 450 churches with almost 130,000 members.

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

Posted: 2/08/07

Former governor, Baptist
minister, runs for White House

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)—The latest long-shot presidential candidate is a Southern Baptist Baby Boomer from Hope, Ark., who served as governor of his home state. But this isn’t Bill Clinton, and he isn’t a Democrat. Instead, he’s a Republican, an ex-pastor and former president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

Mike Huckabee, in a Jan. 28 appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, announced that he has formed a committee to explore the possibility of running for president on the GOP ticket. Forming an exploratory committee is the first formal step in any presidential bid and allows the candidate to hire campaign staff and raise funds.

“I think America needs positive, optimistic leadership to kind of turn this country around, to see a revival of our national soul, and to reclaim a sense of … the greatness of this country that we love,” Huckabee said on the program. “And also to help bring people together to find a practical solution to a lot of the issues that people really worry about when they sit around the dinner table and talk at night.”

He recently completed 10 1/2 years as governor of Arkansas, during which he enjoyed high popularity ratings while working with a Democratic legislature to achieve several policy successes.

His mix of experience, communication skills, affability and policy pragmatism is causing some prominent political pundits to take note of his candidacy.

“Huckabee is the Republican to watch, especially if former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts doesn’t gain traction,” wrote E.J. Dionne in a recent Washington Post column. “Huckabee makes the case that he was as an effective governor who happens to be a serious evangelical, not the other way around.”

The son of a fireman, Huckabee was born and raised in Hope—also Clinton’s birthplace and boyhood home. He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University, the Arkansas Baptist State Convention’s flagship school, and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. After a few early years working in Christian broadcasting, he served as pastor of two sizeable Arkansas Baptist churches.

In 1989, while he was pastor of Beech Street First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Ark., Huckabee was elected president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. At the time—the height of theological conflict in the Southern Baptist Convention—Arkansas Baptist leaders considered Huckabee a moderate. He defeated Ronnie Floyd, who was pastor of the state’s largest church and an insider with the denomination’s fundamentalist leadership.

Huckabee entered secular politics as a conservative Republican in 1992 in an unsuccessful bid to defeat longtime Democratic Sen. Dale Bumpers. The next year, he won a special election to become the state’s lieutenant governor. That office catapulted him to the governorship in 1996, after an ethics scandal forced the resignation of Gov. Jim Guy Tucker (D). Huckabee was elected to two more terms.

He has embraced the policy positions of most conservative evangelicals on many social issues, like abortion rights and gay rights. But on Meet the Press, he downplayed his connections to some of the Religious Right’s more inflammatory rhetoric.

Host Tim Russert asked Huckabee about a past comment in which the governor said, “I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ.”

Russert asked: “Would you, as president, consider America a Christian nation and try to lead it … into a situation as being a more Christian nation?”

Huckabee said he would not in his official capacity. “I think it’s dangerous to say that we are a nation that ought to be pushed into a Christian faith by its leaders,” he said. “However, I make no apology for my faith. My faith explains me. … We are a nation of faith. It doesn’t necessarily have to be mine. But we are a nation that believes that faith is an important part of describing who we are, and our generosity, and our sense of optimism and hope. That does describe me.”

Pressed by Russert on how he would treat those of minority faiths given the “take this nation back for Christ” comment, Huckabee said, “Well, I think I—I’d probably phrase it a little differently today. But I don’t want to make people think that I’m going to replace the Capitol dome with a steeple or change the legislative sessions for prayer meetings.”

But, he continued, “What it does mean is that people of faith do need to exercise their sense of responsibility toward education, toward health, toward the environment. All of those issues, for me, are driven by my sense that this is a wonderful world that God’s made. We’re responsible for taking care of it. We’re responsible for being responsible managers and stewards of it. I think that’s what faith ought to do in our lives if we’re in public service.”

In response to a question about his opposition to abortion rights, Huckabee said that, while he opposed most legalized abortions, he also sought a broader understanding of what a pro-life ethic means.

“I think those of us in the pro-life movement, we have to do also some growing and expanding. We have to remind people that life, that we believe it begins at conception. It doesn’t end at birth. And if we’re really pro-life we have to be concerned about more than just the gestation period,” he said.

Huckabee cited anti-abortion legislation he had signed as governor, but he noted “we also did things that improved the environmental quality and the conservation issues that would affect a child’s air and water. We also made sure that he had a better education, that access to affordable health care would be better. So I think that real pro-life people need to be concerned about affordable housing. We need to be concerned about safe neighborhoods (and) access to a college education. That, for me, is what ‘pro-life’ has to mean.”

However, if he becomes the Republican nominee, Huckabee will likely deal with ethics questions that dogged him during his governorship. Arkansas Times columnist Ernest Dumas, who has been one of Huckabee’s most consistent critics, criticized him in a Jan. 30 column for exaggerations and misrepresentations in the Russert interview.

“It is itself not overly prized in politics, but there is one quality that a fresh and unknown candidate evades at considerable peril: truthfulness. The former governor has always had a problem with it when he seeks to embellish his record or clean up his mistakes,” Dumas wrote.

“The weakness was in full panoply in Huckabee’s short interview,” he continued. “Russert, who is not ordinarily a nervy interviewer, nailed Huckabee only once on a bit of flimflam —his role in the parole of rapist and murderer Wayne Dumond—and Huckabee may be lucky enough to avoid much contention over his exaggerations and diminutions of his Arkansas record. But his dissembling will catch up with him before the campaign moves far along.”

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

Posted: 2/08/07

Bellevue report: Assistant pastor
guilty of sex abuse against son

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

CORDOVA, Tenn. (ABP)—Paul Williams, minister of prayer and special projects at Bellevue Baptist Church, sexually abused his son 17 years ago, according to a report from the church’s investigative committee. The committee announced its findings to the congregation Jan. 28.

“Paul Williams engaged in egregious, perverse, sexual activity with his adolescent son over a period of 12 to 18 months,” the report said. “Paul became convicted of his actions, and he stopped. He asked for forgiveness from his son and never touched him inappropriately again. At that time Paul told no one else.”

Williams first came under public suspicion Dec. 17, after Bellevue leaders told the church he had committed a “moral failure” that required his leave of absence and an investigation into the allegations. Williams has since been fired.

The month-long investigation, lead by David Coombs, administrative pastor, included interviews with witnesses, the seizure of Williams’ computers, and three face-to-face interviews with Williams.

Williams, who had served at Bellevue for 34 years, told investigators he was sexually abused as a child.

Steve Gaines, senior pastor at the Memphis-area megachurch, told the congregation Williams had confessed the misconduct to him six months earlier. Gaines later said he should have immediately disclosed the information to church leadership. Gaines did not participate in the investigation.

At least 10 people affiliated with the church knew about the abuse before Dec. 7, when William’s now-married son and two friends told Gaines, the report said. The group included family members, a retired Bellevue staff member, and Jamie Fish, who works in the church’s Biblical Guidance office. Adrian Rogers, the now-deceased legendary pastor of Bellevue, reportedly was unaware of Williams’ abuse.

Christa Brown, founder of Voice to Stop Baptist Predators, said she isn’t surprised that so many people knew about the abuse. The “miracle” is that it was publicized at all, she said. Brown also works for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a volunteer self-help organization of survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

“In many ways, the dynamics of clergy abuse are akin to the dynamics of incest, except the church family is much bigger,” she said. “In most cases, other ministerial colleagues and deacons and often even church family members are simply not capable of receiving that kind of information about a beloved minister and objectively considering it, investigating, and doing the right thing.”

That’s why churches should use outside intervention with cases like this, Brown added. She emphasized that denominational offices should give congregations resources for handling clergy abuse. And she called for a denominational office— not run by the local churches—to which victims can report crimes.

“If a church with the sort of resources that Bellevue has … still did such an awful job of handling this, why would anyone imagine that churches with much lesser resources would be capable of handling it any better than Bellevue?” she said. “They aren’t. It’s usually even worse.”

Had Williams considered the welfare of the church family, he would have resigned, committee members said. While molesting a child is bad enough, to continue working in ministerial duties involving sensitive issues is without excuse, committee members wrote in the report.

“Starting with Paul, there appears to have been no serious consideration given by anyone to the health and safety of the Bellevue family,” the report said. “On Paul’s part, there appears to never have been any time in 17 years that any consideration was given to the effect that having a child molester on the ministerial staff of Bellevue Baptist Church would have on the church. His only consideration appears to have been to keep his job and, in the team’s opinion, to stay out of jail.”

According to the report, Williams did not seek help for himself or his son until recently, when his son initiated counseling. Williams told investigators he “checked every year or so to make sure all was right” between the two of them.

Calling the church “ill-prepared,” the report blamed a “lack of knowledge” for the delay in removing Williams from his post. No policies on problems of “a sensitive nature” existed, and a precedent of keeping those issues under wraps in order to protect the church and families from embarrassment led leaders to avoid disclosure, the report said.

“Policies, procedures and protocols were and are inadequate,” committee members said. “There has been a feeling that policy and procedures of this type (regarding sexual abuse) were more suitable for the world than for the church. This feeling is not only found in Bellevue Baptist Church, but also is prevalent across churches in general. The events relating to the Paul Williams issue have vividly brought to light the need for change.”

The investigation committee stated Williams “did not pose a danger or risk to children at the church” from 2006, when Bellevue Baptist Church ministers learned of his past sexual misconduct, until the time of his dismissal. However, some church members told interviewers they felt they had been violated by Williams when he asked inappropriate questions in the course of his ministerial duties.

The committee recommended that Bellevue provide or pay for counseling for those who felt they were harmed by Williams or felt hurt by the church’s inaction. Bellevue is in contact with the Tennessee Department of Child Services through its attorneys and is cooperating fully with that agency.

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

Posted: 2/05/07

LifeWay removes ‘questionable’ online titles

By Lonnie Wilkey

Tennessee Baptist & Reflector

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)—LifeWay Christian Resources has removed a number of pro-gay titles from its online store, LifeWaystores.com, after staffers became aware of the books’ availability.

EthicsDaily.com reported Jan. 29 that LifeWay had several authors listed on the site who promoted a “pro-homosexual” agenda. EthicsDaily is a news service of the Nashville-based Baptist Center for Ethics.

LifeWay was informed about the books and took prompt action to remove them, said Mark Scott, vice president of the Christian stores division of LifeWay.

“We checked out (the report) immediately and found that, in fact, several titles did appear on our third-party distributor’s list. We were unaware of these and removed the titles immediately,” Scott said in a prepared statement.

LifeWay is “enhancing its efforts to ensure that questionable books are filtered out of a massive list of titles available online through its third-party distributor,” he added.

The distributor makes available 130,000 titles to LifeWay and sometimes adds as many as 1,000 new titles each week, Scott said.

“LifeWaystores.com includes only about 100,000 of those titles, having eliminated nearly 25 percent of the books for a variety of reasons, most often because of inappropriate content,” he noted in the statement.

“In addition, LifeWay filters the titles electronically based on information from publishers and the reputation of authors and publishers for producing biblically-based material. Every week, dozens of inappropriate titles are removed successfully. And the electronic filtering and human-review processes are being improved to meet the high volume of new books hitting the Christian retail market.”

No mechanized filtering system is perfect, he noted, and a few inappropriate titles occasionally make it through the filtering system and onto the online list.

“When we become aware of these titles—often through an e-mail from a customer—we investigate them, and if we confirm them to be inappropriate, we remove them immediately,” Scott said in the statement.

LifeWay invites customers to contact the organization if they encounter books with messages that cause them concern, he added.

“Our customers place a high degree of trust in us to provide biblically sound resources,” he said. “We value that trust and strive to maintain it.”

LifeWaystores.com will also soon provide “Reading with Discernment” tags on certain titles that are requested for scholarly study but may not be appropriate for a broader Christian audience.

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

Posted: 2/07/07

Global warming calls for a Baptist response

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

AUSTIN—In the wake of an international report indicating humans very likely have caused global warming, Christian Life Commission Director Suzii Paynter called for Texas Baptists to lobby elected officials to rethink 18 proposed coal-fired power plants that would dump tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.

Scientists who subscribe to the concept of global warming believe industrial gases released into the atmosphere create hotter days, heat waves, droughts and stronger and more frequent hurricanes.

Christians have a responsibility to care for the environment, Paynter insisted. This includes examining the impact they are having on the earth through pollutants and waste.

The need is especially acute in Texas, where power plants produce more pollution than in any other state in the nation, she said. Pollutants are causing an increased rate of asthma and other respiratory illnesses in children.

And Texas air could become more polluted in the near future, she added. Gov. Rick Perry is attempting to fast-track 18 proposed coal-fired power plants in the state, which annually would dump an additional 78 million tons of carbon dioxide—the primary cause of global warming—into the atmosphere. That is more than double the carbon dioxide TXU currently emits.

More than 1.5 million children live within 30 miles of a power plant, where the greatest health impact is felt. Power plant emissions also have been linked to increased heart attacks, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and death.

While more power is needed, Paynter insists Texas also must protect its environment and its citizens. The proposed plants can use cleaner-burning processes that would not have such a dramatic impact on residents around them.

The Christian Life Commission is urging churches to contact elected officials and ask them to slow down the process so the issue can be thoroughly studied and the best solution can be found.

“Christ calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves and to serve the least of these,” Paynter said. “We must protect our children, the elderly and God’s creation by encouraging our leaders to choose cleaner power sources and a more economically sound path.”

Power plants and global warming are garnering media attention, but Texas Baptists should be concerned about other aspects of their environmental stewardship as well, she added.

Churches can be environmentally conscious and serve as a role model for the community as well by taking steps to avoid creating excess waste and becoming energy efficient. This can be as simple as changing the type of light bulbs a congregation uses to recycling church bulletins.

By taking steps like these, Paynter believes Texas Baptists would be continuing a long line of Christians caring for the environment.

“God has given us the earth as a part of his gift of creation,” she said. “When we are in his world, when we are near the things he has created, we are then connecting ourselves with a deep heritage of honoring God’s creation.”

For more information about environmental issues, visit www.bgct.org/clc or call (888) 244-9400.

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

Posted: 2/02/07

Texas Baptist Forum

New Baptist Covenant

I read with extreme interest regarding the convocation for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, designed to unite North American Baptists next year (Jan. 22).

If the best “laymen” that could be found to accomplish this task are Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, then the convocation is doomed before it ever meets.

• Jump to online-only letters below

Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.

“I believe in the culture war. And you know what? If I have to take a side in the culture war, I’ll take their side. Because if you give me the choice of Paris Hilton or Jesus, I'll take Jesus.” Alexandra Pelosi Filmmaker, discussing her new film, Friends of God, about evangelical Christians (New York Times/RNS) “I think about God a lot more than ever, though I used to ask him, ‘Help me make a good jump.’” Evel Knievel Retired stuntman (USA Today/RNS) “I don’t see how we can justify the death of one more American soldier in the cause of a ‘democracy’ such as the one on display at the execution of Saddam Hussein. Let’s bring the troops home.” David Gushee Professor of moral philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. (ABP) “Forgo anger, tobacco, intoxication and gluttony in favor of exercise, humility, charity, prayer and patience.” Nicholas Kao Se-tsean At 110 years old, one of the world's oldest priests, on his secrets for long life (Ecumenical News International/RNS)

If Clinton is a Baptist, then I am a former president. Carter may be a Baptist, but his extreme leftist politics make him an odd choice to lead this distinguished group of 80 leaders. It is noted that his Baptist church recently ordained his wife, Rosalynn, as a deacon, in direct violation of New Testament teachings on this subject.

Seems to me that if Baptists really want this thing to work, then they need to select better leaders, not “lightning rods,” for goodness’ sake.

Neal Murphy

San Augustine

Much excitement and anticipation make it hard for me to contain my emotions regarding the convocation for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant to take place in early 2008.

The time is far spent for “traditional Baptists” of sound theology and upright intentions to stand together as a single unit. The real voices of Baptists throughout our hemisphere have continued to demonstrate care and compassion for the spiritual and social ills that plague our country and our world.

One must admit, the message of our Lord’s love and compassion has been “hijacked” by those whose agenda has bent the ears of our critics, who have pointed the finger of ridicule, and who have claimed the “fundamentalist banner” of exclusion and ecclesiastical control.

The gathering of Baptists of all ethnic hues with a single focus makes the cause of the convocation meritorious and courageous. As I read about this meeting, I thought: “Finally, we are taking a step in the direction of reclaiming our autonomy. That’s the Baptist way!”

Michael Evans

Mansfield

It’s interesting the response from Baptist leaders to this effort to unite Baptists led by Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

Remember this—everything Clinton does and says has a political agenda. He is all about politics and enhancing his own legacy. Carter may seem to be this great statesman who travels the world on behalf of humanity, but like Clinton, he has a political agenda as well.

The damage these two men did to our country with their liberal, anti-family judicial appointments should cause all Christians to strongly analyze anything they do or say.

Is it a coincidence that this initiative to unite Baptists will be occurring in a year when Hillary Clinton will be running for president and they realize the necessity of winning the conservative and evangelical vote? I think not.

Don’t be taken in by these guys. What they say may seem noble, but their ulterior motivation is to advance the cause of the Democratic Party.

Steve Kent

Dallas

The goal of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in Atlanta is “to demonstrate Baptist harmony, based around the themes Jesus preached on in his inaugural sermon, recorded in the fourth chapter of Luke’s Gospel. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus said: ‘The Spirit of the Lord … has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.’”

To those of us profoundly grieved by the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention since 1979 and its ensuing divisiveness, it comes as no surprise that SBC leaders are declining, regrettably, to participate in the celebration. Their widely publicized goal, as opposed to the celebration goal, is to “go for the jugular.” May they weep and repent when they read Luke 9:54-56.

Peace, please.

Jim Brokenbek

Amarillo

Executive Board

I’ve waited since November for someone to clarify what actually happened at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting concerning the controversial out-of-order ruling of a motion made from the floor.

Prior to the annual meeting, the BGCT Executive Board voted to (1) initiate action to recover funds lost in the church starting scandal and (2) proceed with legal action against the wrong doers if to do so was cost-effective. This decision was to be made by the president of the convention, chairman of the Executive Board, executive director and BGCT lawyers.

The motion from the floor during the convention was basically to do the same and would have been duplicating. The issue already had been addressed by the Executive Board. I wish this had been explained at the time.

The passion of the moment and the need for the embarrassing personal attack to stop had a great influence on the ruling. The BGCT annual meeting in session always has top priority to conduct convention business. The Executive Board is composed of servants, elected by the convention, to represent Texas Baptists when the convention is not in session.

This explanation may be simplified, but it certainly is between the bar ditches.

Dan Griffith

Haskell

As a layperson who attended the BGCT annual meeting in Dallas, I am interested in fair reporting of the event. Much has been said about how to handle the investigation into the use of Valley church starting funds. It is a sensitive issue, and problems on our border are some of the gravest concerns our nation faces now. We must continue our Christian ministries in the Rio Grande Valley.

The cautious but stern recommendations made by the Executive Board offered a humane, thoughtful and judicious plan for pursuing this ongoing investigation. It was clear that a huge majority of our convention messengers did trust their wise and cautious approach. Appreciation and prayers are offered for our Executive Board members and Executive Director Charles Wade, who serve in humility, trustworthiness and wisdom. Thanks to each of them for their service in a difficult matter that involves far more than money.

Having been involved in volunteer mission trips to the Valley during the last four years, I have learned that plans made in advance for work to be done there will likely change by the time we get there. Gifts given for one thing may be more desperately needed for something else. Needs arise daily. Among the poor living in the Valley, there is some fear and distrust of authority figures. An investigation will be most difficult.

The battle is the Lord’s. May we “be still and know” him as we seek guidance at this time.

Harriet Carrell

Waterwood

To drink or not to drink?

I believe there is more pertinent information to be considered for the cause of “preaching total abstinence” and practicing it (Jan. 8).

Underage drinking was only briefly touched on. Here is a fact that rocked my world less than a year ago. Over 1,000 metropolitan, suburban and small communities across the county were surveyed on the major cause of death among our youth. The response was 100 percent: “More of our young people are killed by alcohol and alcohol-related occurrences than all other illegal and legal drugs combined.”

So, wake up, Baptists. This is a problem, and it’s not going away. If “preaching total abstinence” can save just one child’s life, then please, by all means, let us all not just preach total abstinence, but let us practice what we preach.

“Preaching total abstinence” from alcohol in the context of example rather than legalism is the way to go. But our example must always be Jesus when applicable, rather than any patriarch profile of the Old or New Testament.

The context in Jesus is that of a worthy sacrifice, when we understand that sacrifice means giving up something of value for something of greater value, as Jesus demonstrated on the cross.

Larry Judd

Dickinson

Jesus and his apostles drank real wine, as did others then and since, to avoid illness from bad water. Paul (1 Timothy 5:23) prescribed wine in place of water to prevent illness.

Wine was the safe sacramental drink for 1,869 years. Then, Thomas Welch learned to preserve grape juice by pasteurization to prevent it from going bad. Welch, an anti-alcohol Methodist, promoted his safe grape juice to replace communion wine for both religious and business reasons. Welch instigated the safe alcohol-free Lord’s Supper.

Harold Flynn

Houston

Embryonic stem cells

One of the ironies of the argument about stem cell sources turns on the fact parents with a brain-dead child who has no possibility of life are honored for allowing organs to be donated so that others can have a chance to live. 

However, many more parents find themselves with frozen embryos who have no chance at life, and they can only have them washed down a drain.

I suppose that it is a “slippery slope” issue, but the two cases seem similar.

Bennett Willis

Lake Jackson

Abstaining

I, too, had an “up tight” Baptist upbringing, and all through high school maintained an anti- or condemnation, even judgmental, attitude of all the ills considered sinful—drinking, smoking, dipping, bad language.

Once in the collegiate world, I found I was not prepared to handle social pressure of these vices and fell prey to the temptation to test their path. The next three years changed the course of my life and the people in my life.

While I believe abstaining from these vices and living for the Lord is the only way to pursue life, we as Christians cannot forget that to God sin is sin at any level. James 4:17 says, “To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” That’s a pretty basic definition of sin.

While we are in the world, we must realize our place in God’s plan is to live the abundant life, but be careful not to fall into a judgmental attitude, remembering the people around us struggling with the more noticeable or overt sin, and those who do not know Jesus are the target of our ministry.

John S. H. Ryker

Bixby, Okla.

Regarding Edward Clark’s letter (Jan. 22), what kind of true Christian “detests” anyone, for any reason? According to my dictionary, “detest” means to loathe or hate. This word probably shouldn’t even be in a Christian’s vocabulary.

Didn’t Jesus tell us, over and over again, that the second-greatest commandment is “to love our neighbor as ourselves”?

In my opinion, this exemplifies one of the biggest problems in the Baptist church (and many other churches) today: We do not walk our talk. We are hypocrites and Pharisees, professing to love all sinners (as Jesus did) but we do not possess the desire to actually do it, nor do we actually practice it.

What a sad state of affairs!

Debra Matlock

Quinlan

The Carter-Clinton Covenant

I am abashed at your position to stand with the likes of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

Have you read any of their books? Do you know where they stand on issues? They are both committed to creating big government and eroding the rights the people. They think that getting religious groups, such as Texas Baptists and the Southern Baptist Convention, to back them will contribute to their own power. They are loud voices who want to be heard for their much speaking. 

Empty words for itching ears.  Beware!!!!

Les Bailey

Killeen

Does the Baptist General Convention of Texas really need to be involved with the North American Baptist Fellowship and all the groups that are tossed into that group? Will this involvement really make the BGCT a better servant of Jesus?

After reading the statements of different pastors (Jan. 22) that the North American Baptist Fellowship does not want to be politically involved, why were President Carter and President Clinton chosen to be spokesmen for the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant? The group is already politically involved.

Joan Petri

San Antonio

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

Posted: 2/02/07

Prayerwalkers appeal to
God to take back community

By Laura Lacey Johnson

Special to the Baptist Standard

A new government program is bringing positive change to a crime-laced neighborhood not far from Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas. But church members determined to take back their community have appealed to a higher authority—by prayerwalking.

“The idea is to heighten the level of consciousness about the condition of the neighborhood and get the congregation more involved in praying for the spiritual climate to make the changes from the government program more viable,” said David Balyeat, interim minister for missions at Shiloh Terrace.

Shiloh Terrace held its first prayerwalk during a recent DiscipleNow weekend and targeted specific areas to “till the land” and identify places where the church can minister, he explained.

The church has planned additional prayerwalks, and participants hope to see the high crime rate—more than 1,500 offenses during 2006—decrease, Balyeat explained.

“At the end of the year, the police will provide statistics to see the effect of the spiritual” involvement, he said. “We will see change. God desires change.”

In their 1993 book, Prayerwalking, authors Steve Hawthorne and Graham Kendrick define the practice as “praying on-site with insight.”

“On-site praying is simply praying in the very places where you expect your prayers to be answered,” they wrote.

Hawthorne and Kendrick insist insight comes in three forms—responsive, researched and revealed. That is, prayerwalkers formulate prayers by using what they see during the experience, what they learn about the area from research beforehand and what they discern from the Holy Spirit.

“Lives are forever changed,” said a Texas Baptist missionary couple who recruit Christians to prayerwalk with them through a busy market in a mountainous region of North Africa.

“Even though we told them how to pray at home, they never understood until going and seeing for themselves,” the missionaries said.

David Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church of Canyon, recently participated in two prayerwalks in Asia to help develop what he called “new streams” of ministry opportunities where four of the church’s missionaries are serving.

“We drive so much these days,” he said. “There is something about walking. You don’t see as much when you drive. You become much more aware when walking than you could be even if you were driving slowly.

“Jesus walked everywhere he went. That may be part of the key to so many of the stories we read about in the Bible. Jesus was walking by people, not driving by.”

Distractions can abound for prayerwalkers.

“You have to discipline yourself so you are not just taking a walk,” Lowrie observed.

Hawthorne and Kendrick maintain one way to do this is by writing down Scripture passages ahead of time and referring to them on the prayerwalk, praying them in your own words.

In addition, it is important to remain focused, especially when immersed in and praying for a culture other than your own.

Members of the North African prayer teams have said they experienced “sensory overload” due to the unique activities found in the locations of the prayerwalks.

“The market is noisy with the hawkers,” the missionaries to North Africa noted.

“It is dirty compared to our grocery stores, with sheep and cows being slaughtered in open-air areas, teeth being pulled under a tent … and of course, the smells.”

Prayerwalkers may not immediately see the impact of their efforts, participants noted.

“One hundred years from now, when we are in heaven, it will be interesting to see if anyone we prayed for made it” to heaven, Lowrie said. “Prayer-walking may actually be a prelude to long-term intercession for a specific group of people.”

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

Posted: 2/05/07

CYBER COLUMN:
Pain and suffering

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, thinking of life in its ups and downs, in its hopes and dreams, and in its disappointment and suffering. C.S. Lewis once hailed life as a series of events with the “life of souls in a world” try to eliminate suffering from life: “Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself.” As much as I hate to admit it, souls alive suffer and survive.

Suffering, I do not like it. Just the other day, my youngest daughter and I were working out. You know—exercise, Rocky Balboa motivation and shed pounds and dress for success. After all, prom is just around the corner for her, and I could stand to lose a few pounds. It is also the time of year to trim a few pounds and prepare for the swimsuit season soon to follow. I asked her to hand me a free weight, one that I would  lift with my legs and arms, and low and behold she accidentally dropped it on my left knee! The pain and suffering were enormous. I can tell you I was not thinking of Jesus my High Priest of suffering nor Saint Peter’s admonition, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). I thought of the pain in my knee, and it was as if a lightning bolt had zapped me. Good news, though: A bruise ensued and the pain subsided.

Scholars and people in general spend a vast amount of time trying to figure out evil, suffering and pain. Why does an evil Osama bin Laden prey in a reign of terror? Why do people suffer through cancer and survive chemotherapy while their skin turns gray and they lose their hair? How does a pain in the knee communicate with the brain so quickly, and how much pain can people endure daily—pressures at work, the kids out of control, back pain that makes you start the day with Advil, the pain of watching a loved one die, or internal pain that boils beneath the surface of the skin, deep in the soul, like a volcano ready to explode?

Philip Yancey once explored suffering and evil in his book Disappointment with God. I guess I am too simplistic and figure suffering comes from the fall—you know, Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden and the apple that was not really an apple and snake in the garden, which in itself was enough to make you want to scream and all that stuff. And I figure, like C. S. Lewis, life produces the possibility of suffering if you live long enough. And I figure we bring suffering, much of the time, on ourselves. I think you know what I mean. Smile anyway! Praise God. Watch out for free falling weights! By the way, my knee is feeling better today.

I drove by the old church down the hill yesterday. We have two buildings here at Lakeside Baptist Church—an old one and a new one. The new building is high on a hill here in Granbury. A few folk wanted to call it a mountain, but I have seen mountains, snow-capped, ones filled with waterfalls that create a calm roar, and ones with trees that sing glory when the wind blows. The new church is not on a mountain, but rather on a hill. You can see the church from all over our county. The church has beautiful stained glass, which if you drove by it at night, would capture your attention. It has a steeple that once impaled upside down through the roof during a storm. I thought Harry Potter had arrived or the Wicked Witch minus her broom. The church is nice and, on most Sundays, fills up with people. I get confused some times: Am I in real estate, buying land and building buildings? Or am I in personnel management because it is my job to direct our staff and, generally, because life is about expectations, to keep most people in the church happy while managing people. Or am I a pastor, delivering Bread to hungry souls and pouring living Water on their dehydrated hearts and helping them maintain the steady diet of spiritual health in relation to Christ? Oh, I am a pastor, but it does get confusing sometimes, all these expectations. One thing I know, every Sunday a bunch of people show up, and I feel their pain. Most have lived long enough to have suffered, more than a hurt knee!

Oh, I drove by the old church. We still own it and do nice things in that old building—student ministry where we help young people consider their choices as well as their futures, Bible study, ministry to families with a preschool where one day they called me to come quickly because a man and woman, a divorced couple, were arguing in the church parking lot and it was bad, real bad. See, all these expectations. I raced down there in a breathless rush and told them to call the police. Am I the police? We also help women, many who have suffered enough at the hands of abuse, poverty and turmoil, to get their lives together and we train them for life skills and help them find jobs. Christian Women’s Job Corps, we call it. We do some nice things in that building, God-honoring ministry in that building that helps change lives. I feel good about that.

Still, for all we do now, the most common thing mentioned about that building to me in the community is the time the roof caved in. It was over 20 years ago, before I became pastor 20 years ago, when the Texas Baptist Men were building the church building. Architects and engineers did their work, and men poured the concrete foundation and prayed over it for Christ to be the foundation and raised the walls, and the trusses were placed on to hold the roof.  Plywood was added, and men were climbing that roof and sitting on it and using nail guns and the whole nine yards, when, poof, like a weight blasting a knee, the whole thing came tumbling down! The local newspaper, The Hooterville News, like the one in the old show Green Acres, showed up and took pictures. People who saw the roof cave in said it happened in slow motion. One guy rode the roof to the ground and injured his ankle, but, thankfully, only one person was hurt. Seems someone changed the plans without consulting the architect or an engineer, and the trusses were not strong enough to hold the roof. I think of C. S. Lewis’ quote about suffering, and for some people the roof has caved in on their lives. Pain ensues. Suffering becomes their friend, or enemy, however you look at it.

The community talks about the roof caving in like Britons talk about “The War,” WW II, as if it happened yesterday. The church members who were here on that day talk about another event—the day a boy, Tommy boy I will call him (not his real name), fell in a hole, a deep hole over 10 feet. He stood near the edge when the soft ground gave way and slid and fell and went kerplunk when he hit rock bottom, literally. Workers rescued him with a rope and laughed about the boy in the hole later, but Tommy boy has had a hard time since that moment, troubles, jail time and other junk. It seems he has had a hard time trying to climb his way out of a hole of suffering since that day. That’s the way life goes. One day the roof caves in, and another day you’re trying to dig your way out of a hole.

So here I am, sitting under the old oak tree, just pondering life, waiting for it to snow again, and musing over the madness of life’s falling weights, caving roofs, people digging themselves out of a hole and the suffering that attaches itself to life like a leach.

And then it hits me: I am so thankful for Jesus. He knows suffering, the cross. He knows people, their suffering. He knows of their pained knees, the roof caving in, and the holes from which they cry from the darkness while trying to climb toward the light.  And Jesus loves them, longs for them to heal from the bruises, yearns for them to raise the roof again, and desires for them to climb out of the hole to stand tall and live in the laughter and joy and peace and light again. He loves you. You do not suffer alone. And God has a plan. Yes, he does. Watch out, though, for flying weights! Check the roof once in while! Do not stand to close to deep holes, either! And trust in the Lord with all your heart!

John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines. You can respond to his column by e-mailing him at jduncan@lakesidebc.org.

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: 2/02/07

RIGHT or WRONG?
Human/civil rights

“Human rights” and “civil rights” are terms constantly voiced by minority groups. Are these terms synonymous? What responsibilities should accompany these rights?

This question is especially appropriate in 2007. As the United States tries to extricate its soldiers from Iraq, our country still hopes Iraq will become a nation that respects human and civil rights. With the undignified executions of Saddam Hussein and other convicted Iraqi leaders, the world has questioned whether any progress is being made there.

At the same time, this country is embroiled in an immigration debate in which these two terms have been used frequently. Some have labeled construction of a wall on our Mexican border and deportation of illegal-immigrant parents of a child born in the United States as inhumane acts.

How are we to understand and respond to these charges?

First, it is important to make a distinction between human rights and civil rights. Civil rights are reserved for citizens of a nation and guaranteed by law. For example, in our country, the U.S. Constitution guarantees certain rights for U.S. citizens. Other nations have laws that guarantee rights to their citizens. No nation completely fulfills its guarantees.

Human rights are rights every human being should have. These rights should be respected regardless of whether that person is a citizen of the nation where he/she lives. Of course, there are differences of opinion about what rights are human rights. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration included such rights as the right to freedom, security, equality before the law, nationality and property ownership. The United Nations passed this declaration because “… recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”

Often nations will decide certain human rights should become civil rights for its citizens. An example was the decision of the United States to abolish slavery and allow former slaves to become full citizens. Sometimes, nations will expand their definition of human rights to include rights previously only granted to citizens. An example would be granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. In the case of illegal immigrants in this country, there is a push by some to provide civil rights to them even though they are not citizens. Such action usually is justified on the assumption these civil rights really are human rights.

Philosophers and politicians who have advocated for civil and human rights always have done so with the proviso that every right entails a responsibility. This is recognized in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which declares in Article 29, “Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of personality is possible.” This means each person must meet “the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.”

As Christians, we recognize we have an obligation to respect and care for other people. We also have an obligation to meet our own responsibilities in society. This means respecting and advocating for civil and human rights for others. This two-faceted teaching is perhaps best summarized in the Golden Rule: Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.

Philip Wise, senior pastor

Second Baptist Church, Lubbock

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.