Posted: 9/21/07

Explore the Bible Series for September 30

Take part in missions

• Matthew 9:35-38; 10:5-14, 26-31

By Travis Frampton

Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene

Have you ever heard about a pastor who embezzled money? What about an affair between a youth minister and a music minister? Priests who molest children? Deacons who have secret sins? A megachurch spending most of its money on building campaigns? Evangelists who preach a “prosperity gospel”? A husband and wife who on their way to church have a knock-down, drag-out argument in front of their kids?

This week our topic is missions. In the verses under consideration this week, much emphasis is placed on spreading the gospel. Nevertheless, the focus in these verses is not on foreign missions (as in, for example, Matthew 28:19-20). Instead, our passage is about the disciples sharing the news of Christ Jesus to their brothers and sisters in the faith (first-century Jews).

Jesus was directing them in what might be called “closer-to-home” missions! In chapter 10, verse 7, he told them to proclaim to those who believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph that the kingdom of heaven is near. Essentially, he told them to evangelize believers. Remember that even Paul understood early Christianity as the “true Israel.” Early Christianity was not something that began new unto itself; it was an extension—the fulfillment—of the Law and the Prophets. Jesus had not yet commissioned his followers to preach to the Gentiles. It seems that the Jewish Messiah believed missions should begin first within the inner circle of the people of God. His message of repentance and forgiveness started with those closest to him.

Jesus was Jewish; the disciples were Jewish; the large majority of the crowds following him in Matthew’s story were Jewish. “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Matthew 9:35). Gentiles did not congregate in synagogues; Jewish observers did.

Jesus asked his disciples not to go “among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near’” (Matthew 10:5-7). An analogy can be drawn between Jesus sending his disciples to share his message in the synagogues and the need for evangelism in the church. When taking the questions above into consideration, the argument is not difficult to make. Church leaders and church members, as much as anyone else, need Jesus. For without his spirit, how can the church effectively be Christ’s body.

Paul spends most of his time in his letters “evangelizing” the early church, preaching the good news to Christians in Rome, Philippi, Corinth, Galatia and Thessalonica. The latter correspondence is a good example. One of the major problems in Thessalonica was that several Christians there were engaging in questionable sexual behavior. Paul encourages them not to “lust like the heathen, who do not know God” (see 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).

He tells the congregation that “we sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith” (1 Thessalonians 3:2). Timothy, as a missionary to the Thessalonians, was sent to strengthen and to support them in their faith.

Paul and Timothy had already shared the good news with them. Several Thessalonians responded to Paul’s preaching, had converted to early Christianity and were baptized. Yet a number of Christians there remained unchanged morally after Paul left and needed continued encouragement from the evangelist.

Evangelizing the church

Mission work should include evangelizing the church. The church is not Christ. It is his body. Being Christian does not mean one possesses Jesus. It means he or she follows his teachings (1 John 2:6).

The church needs to hear his word about repentance and forgiveness of sins before its members are sent out to proclaim the “good news.” Christian missions should begin with each individual believer before he or she “goes out to all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Missions will not be effective if we ourselves do not do everything he has commanded us. Jesus warned the “religious” about their tendency to look for a speck in a neighbor’s eye, but all the while harboring a plank in their own.

Sometimes the church does not do everything it has been commanded. It embezzles; it commits adultery; it molests children; it has secret sins; it is concerned with matters of wealth and prosperity; it does not model healthy relationships before children. Yes, the church needs healing. It is an imperfect body with ailments, and it too needs Christ as the Great Physician.

What then distinguishes the church from the rest of the world?

The love of God.

As Baptists, we are located within a tradition that commenced shortly after the Protestant Reformation; and, as followers of Christ within this tradition, we should protest our own sins and reform our own behavior. Imagine what others would think about the church if it spent most of its time reforming itself, bettering itself, so that the love of God could be seen instead of heard. Until people see Christ in us, until they see the Word become flesh in us, they will hear only words. They will not hear the good news of the kingdom of heaven. They will be unable to understand the gospel. Not because they do not have ears to hear, but precisely because they have eyes to see.

Discussion questions

• In what ways does the church still need to hear the gospel?

• Where do you think missions should begin?

• How do you think the behavior of Christians affects the church’s mission?

• Why do you think Jesus told the disciples to concentrate of the house of Israel first when commissioning them to spread the gospel message?

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

Posted: 9/21/07

Rap tells story of foster
child’s forgiveness of mother

By Haley Smith

Baptist Child & Family Services

KERRVILLE—Jacob Favela vividly remembers standing outside a bar in the middle of the night with two trash bags full of toys in hand, watching his mother drive away. He was five years old.

Neither will he ever forget, years later, an elderly woman beckoning him to her porch. “Jesus loves you, young man” was the sum of the conversation. 

The first incident ushered him into the world of state care, a series of emergency shelters, foster homes and group homes that finds him—at age 18—involved with Preparation for Living program, a Baptist Child & Family Services program in Kerrville.

Jacob Favela

Watch the video of Forgiven here.

The second changed his life—and has led him to help others.

Professionals who work with children from similar circumstances insist Favela’s his story is all too common, but how he has redirected the avalanche of his emotions is definitely uncommon.

A rap called “Forgiven” serves as his musical message to his mother: “Hey mom, it’s your older son talking to you. I want to do what’s right, mom. I’m trying to reach out to you. I love you mom, but your love hurts. Said you’d give me the best, but you put me through the worst…”

The rap achingly reflects how Favela’s mother made decisions that hurt him and his siblings, leaving them to face the world alone while she ricocheted in and out of drug and alcohol rehab. Though filled with turmoil and anger, the message is ultimately one of forgiveness and Favela’s testimony of finding the Lord.

Favela recently performed the song—already viewed by almost 8,000 people on YouTube—and shared his Christian testimony at the National Independent Living Conference in Denver.

“I’m not a troublemaker, even though many view me that way because I am a foster kid,” Favela said. “But I am a troubled child because of my background and the things that had happened to me—the very things which inspired to me to begin writing” as a 14-year-old.

“I used to feel animosity and blame towards my mom which made me constantly angry and disappointed. As I started writing, my emotions went from anger and sadness to finding peace in my situation,” Favela explained.

“It was as if my heart was changed as my words changed on the paper. I love my mom. She’s going to be my mother no matter what. All I can do is forgive her, have faith and pray. But I also forgive her for me. I don’t want that weighing me down.”

When Favela joined Preparation for Living, which works with youth aging out of foster/group home care, his music became not only a personal therapeutic tool for forgiveness, but also a way to share his insights with others.

He wants to encourage young people in similar situations and give them hope—the way a stranger encouraged him with her brief reminder of his value. 

As a young teenager, eight months after running away from his latest foster home, he was walking up and down streets looking for work. Passing through a residential area, he saw a woman sitting on her porch who motioned for him. As he approached the woman, she looked into his eyes and whispered, “Jesus loves you, young man.”

That was the sum total of the conversation. Favela didn’t say anything. But, after pondering the thought for several days he picked up the phone and called Texas Child Protective Services and put himself back into state care.

He hopes that the words in his songs will provide the same inspiration for others.

“When I get to talk with someone going through something like I went through, I always tell them to keep their head up,” Favela said. “Don’t let circumstances change you and expect yourself to do great things and you will.

“Every time I sing the song or read the words, I feel like I’m able to overcome and let go of the bitterness and hurt a little bit more, and I want others to experience that too.”

Favela hopes that his music will someday lead to reconciliation with his mom, the original intention of the song.

“As of now, I don’t think my Mom has heard my song. I don’t even know where she is,” he said. “But it’s my hope that someday I can give a special performance specifically for her and that she would understand how I feel.“

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

Posted: 9/20/07

Baylor students take ‘First Step’
into community service

By Katie Brooks

Baylor University

WACO—Together, Baylor University students removed graffiti scrawled on the walls of downtown Waco businesses, cleared debris from along the Brazos River, improved walking paths in a scenic part of the city, and framed a Habitat for Humanity house for a local family.

The students experienced a crash-course in the importance of service and vocation as they participated in the recent First Step community service project.

More than 1,000 new students provided clean-up efforts to dozens of downtown Waco businesses and locations, and they saw tangible results by the end of the service experience, said Karin Klinger, associate director for student activities.

Baylor students move a completed piece of the house frame to its place with the rest of the Habitat for Humanity house.

“Students worked hard, laughed a lot and were able to connect with one another and with members of the Waco community. The upperclassmen student leaders involved said it was the best First Step experience Baylor has facilitated in years,” Klinger said.

As a part of the emphasis, hundreds of members of Baylor’s Class of 2011 took part in Project Build Hope. The volunteers framed the first Habitat for Humanity home to be fully funded by Baylor’s chapter of the non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. The house-framing project also celebrated the 20th anniversary of Baylor Habitat, the organization’s first collegiate chapter.

“The framing went exceptionally well. All the student groups moved through the site efficiently and enthusiastically, and we had a well-framed house by the end of the day,” said Anna Sauer, a senior accounting major from Fredericksburg and treasurer for Baylor Habitat.

Sauer was glad so many freshmen had the opportunity to learn about Habitat for Humanity and take part in the 20th anniversary house-raising.

“I hope that their experience with us that day will be ranked among their favorite memories at Baylor,” she said.

The completed Habitat for Humanity house frame remained on the Baylor campus for one week to draw support for the project before 15 Baylor Habitat volunteers disassembled it and moved it to its permanent location, said Sonya Maness, a senior archaeology and museum studies major from Houston and president of Baylor Habitat.

It is scheduled for completion in November.

During the week the house frame remained on campus, Baylor Habitat members held an “open house” to help spread the word about its mission. Students and faculty who passed by the frame signed it and wrote encouraging messages to the family.

Habitat members said that although the messages eventually will be covered when the house is complete, the encouragement and hope are woven forever into the innermost part of the house.

Baylor Habitat will dedicate the house at 10 a.m. Nov. 17, at its new location—1117 Brown St. in Waco. Guests will include community members and leaders, Baylor Habitat members, Waco Habitat staff and friends of the receiving family, Maness said.

At the dedication, Baylor Habitat officers will present the new homeowners with gifts for their home, she said.

“Habitat for Humanity is a program that reaches beyond simply providing a family with a home. Habitat creates stable and sustainable neighborhoods, making our city a better place to live. It teaches college students how to live outside of themselves, and it brings people from all walks of life together for a common good,” Maness 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: 9/18/07

Missouri Baptist conference center
wins latest round in legal battle

By Vicki Brown

Associated Baptist Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP)—Windermere Baptist Conference Center will not face a trial this year in its continuing legal battle with the Missouri Baptist Convention, thanks to a judge’s ruling.

The decision is a victory for the center, encouraging supporters but angering attorneys for the state convention, who called it a “delaying tactic.”

At a Sept. 10 hearing, Cole County, Mo., Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan granted Windermere’s request to reschedule the trial, which had been set to begin on Oct. 12. Attorneys for the center praised the judge’s ruling as an opportunity to present additional information to the court.

It would have been the first jury trial in the ongoing litigation between the convention and five formerly affiliated institutions. In 2002, the Missouri Baptist Convention filed a lawsuit to regain control of Windermere, the Baptist Home retirement-facility system, the newspaper Word & Way, the Missouri Baptist Foundation and Missouri Baptist University.

The convention’s suit seeks to have the institutions’ charter changes declared illegal. The five had changed the corporate documents in 2000 and 2001 to remove the convention’s power to elect the agencies’ trustees.

Callahan ruled after defense attorneys argued that a new motion filed on Aug. 21 might eliminate the need for the trial. The motion, filed on behalf of Windermere, the Baptist Home and Word & Way, asks the court to rule on contract claims in the latest version of the state convention’s lawsuit.

In the suit Missouri Baptist Convention lawyers contend the entities’ corporate charters and the convention’s governing documents—its constitution and bylaws, its business and financial plan, and the Executive Board’s articles of incorporation and bylaws—create a contract.

“We asked for additional time so that the court could consider our motion,” Windermere Attorney Kurt Odenwald said after the hearing. “A lot of information has been provided to the court. We feel this will help all parties, and we believe it may obviate (do away with) the need for a trial. Some issues in the motion will apply to all the entities.”

Convention Attorney Charles Hatfield saw no reason to reschedule the Windermere trial. “We agreed to hear the case, and all parties are available,” he said. “We saw this as another attempt to delay, apparently a successful one.”

Judge Callahan will hear arguments on the defendants’ motion Nov. 20. He rescheduled the Windermere trial for Feb. 4-8, 2008, with jury selection set for Feb. 1.

At the Sept. 10 hearing, the judge also denied a convention request to halt further discovery—requests for information and depositions. Hatfield argued that convention attorneys wanted to concentrate on preparing for the Windermere trial.

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

Posted: 9/14/07

RIGHT or WRONG?
Doctrinal disagreements

I’ve just come across the statement:  “In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.” Where does that come from, and is it actually a valid principle for congregational relationships?

Richard Baxter, a 17th century English clergyman, is credited with a slight variation of this statement from his long and prolific career as pastor, writer and theologian. Baxter held deep theological and political convictions during a tumultuous period of English history. Eventually, he became alienated from the Church of England, but he spent his life seeking unity among numerous Protestant groups. Baxter once wrote:  “In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity.”

At first glance, each phrase makes sense for congregations. There are foundational beliefs and behaviors essential to the Christian life and Christian community. There is one God. Jesus Christ is Lord. Reject these, and there is no common faith. Necessities, by definition, require unity.

Nonessentials, on the other hand, call for freedom. Congregations need to grant liberty on matters such as what version of Bible to own, whether to wear a coat and tie to worship, how often to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and whether to have a worship service every Sunday night. No harm is created when liberty is granted, because these are nonessential matters.

All congregational relationships deserve to be conducted with charity. It is easy to be loving when we agree, less so when we grapple with real differences. The New Testament teaches us to love everyone, whether we agree with them or disagree. The Spirit arms us with traits like patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control, all of which are useful in treating others in a loving manner.

Baxter’s slogan generally is a good one, but the devil is in the details. One church member believes a doctrine is essential for salvation, church membership or, for that matter, fellowship. Other members consider that same doctrine to be peripheral or nonessential. Who decides what is essential and nonessential? Most Baptist churches leave that to the congregation. But some want to empower the pastor, deacons or denomination with that responsibility. And what criteria are used to make such judgments? Many would argue the Bible. But whose interpretation of the Bible?

There is no simple, neat solution where one congregation’s essentials are another congregation’s negotiables. For this reason, the third phrase is the most useful in congregational relationships. Even when we cannot agree on essentials and nonessentials, we can treat each other with respect as brothers and sisters in Christ, and if not brothers and sisters in Christ, then as human beings for whom Christ died.

Michael Clingenpeel, pastor

River Road Church, Baptist, Richmond, Va.

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.

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

Posted: 9/14/07

CYBER COLUMN:
Thinking baseball

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old tree, thinking baseball of all things. John Grisham, in his book about baseball, Bleachers, says: “Football was king and that would never change. It brought the glory and paid the bills.” I am under this old oak tree, thinking baseball in the start of football season and realizing that Friday night lights and football is king in Texas while thinking baseball and the game of life. Or in the words of the poet Langston Hughes, “Jesus ain’t you tired yet?”

My life as pastor is a wonderful life. Never mind that preaching, as they say, is “between two worlds,” the temporal and the spiritual, and on some Sundays, since I preach three times on Sunday morning, I hit a single, a double, a triple or a home run. And, yes, while on some Sundays I strike out, at least I have the privilege of walking up to the preaching plate to take my swings again on the next Sunday.

My life as a pastor is a wonderful life. Not long ago, one of our church members asked me, “What do they call you around here?” I replied, “Call me whatever: pastor, preacher; hey you—and call me to dinner anytime!” The man looked at me rather seriously and said, “No, really, what do they call you?” I searched for the right words and tried to figure out simultaneously as my mind churned like a computer who “they” was and said, “I guess if I have to be called something I prefer ‘pastor.’” He replied, “Well, son, all that education, I think you deserve respect and a little formality. They should call you doctor.” I smiled as we shook hands, and about that time, because God’s timing is always perfect, a 7-year-old church member, a boy who was also my neighbor, yelled, “Hi John!” Ah, first base laughter after a Texas League single.

My life as a pastor is a wonderful life. One guy called the church one day and asked the receptionist a question. I love the questions and have a few for the Lord when I get to heaven, like “Why could the Dallas Cowboys not keep Coach Tom Landry longer? Why did the Mavericks not win a championship? And, in baseball, Lord, why could the Texas Rangers not climb out of the cellar most seasons? Why did you not give them Nolan Ryan from the start?” The guy calls the church with the question, “Is it OK if I jog when the pastor preaches?” Now “preaches” rhymes with “peaches,” and if I were from Georgia, I would eat a peach for every time people called with questions, but that was one question I had never been asked nor have heard since.

“Jog?” I asked. “Yes,” the receptionist said. “He says that he likes a church that inspires him, and when he gets inspired by the preaching, he fills with the Holy Spirit and likes to jog around the worship center while the pastor preaches.” Football is king in Texas, and I told the receptionist to tell him he is welcome, but please do not jog. I told the staff, football is king in Texas, if he jogs, tackle him, pray with him, but by all means no jogging while I preach. The guy never showed up, and I do not like peaches, but the ministry is interesting place, and you can see and hear a lot on second base.

My life as a pastor is a wonderful life. I must tell you, I am never bored and ministry is the most exhilarating, creative, energizing and exhausting place a person could ever be. I find people who live with pain and uncertainty and anxiety and misery and happiness and joy and laughter and sadness all thrown into the same heart and put on a smile like a clown when the inside feels a frown. Cheslaw Milosz once said, “There are days when people seem to me a festival of marionettes dancing at the edge of nothingness.” There is hopelessness out there, and in my life as pastor, I encourage them to run to Jesus and find hope in him and keep running amid the their marionette lives of clown and frown and find meaning, not in the madness of it all, but in the mercy and Master of all. I am at third base. Jesus ain’t you tired yet?  Will we make it home?

My life a pastor is a wonderful life, but sometimes you enter into the unknown and the cloud of the unknowing, and you gasp for breath and ask the Lord for Holy Spirit inspiration that will keep you jogging, and you pray like mad that he does not forget your name, and the Lord longs for you to call him by name, and you do, and you realize how much you need God and Christ and the Holy Spirit to jog your heart and how important life, in its spirituality and simplicity, really is. Are you following me? We’re talking baseball, life and making it home.

Josh Fant lived in our community, and I served as his pastor. He played baseball in our town and wore number 19 on his jersey and died of a heat stroke at 18. Yes, he wore 19 and died at 18. I love being a pastor, but when a young person die,s you double the grief and silence the tongue on explanations. God’s grace is sufficient, and the Presbyterian preacher George Buttrick was right, “Life is essentially a series of events to be borne and lived through, rather than a series of intellectual riddle to be played with and solved.” When Josh passed away, life hurt, events seemed like a blur, and I wanted to solve riddles: Why this? Why now? Why? Why? Why?

C.S. Lewis says in A Grief Observed that he wanted to escape the pain of grief. “If I knew any way to escape, I would crawl through the sewers to find it.” I have discovered in life’s riddles and in life’s grief that the only thing a person can really do is live through it and hang onto Jesus like a rock climber might cling to a rope.

Oh, Josh wore number 19 and lived to be 18 and loved baseball. He had a good sense of humor, and from all I can tell, followed Jesus and tried to get others to turn to him. Life, when it ends, can be summed up as time, place and people. He lived from 1989 to 2007; spent time on the baseball diamond and had a 90 mile an hour fastball, so I am told; and he touched people’s lives. At Josh’s funeral, his fellow teammates wore their baseball jerseys, and many of the people who attended the funeral wore white wristbands with a purple number 19 printed on it. Pictures and a video of Josh told stories—at birthdays, by the pond at his house, with friends, at baseball games and one at his high school graduation. It’s the text message generation, so I am sure students in the crowd had pictures of Josh on their cell phones and memories of Josh in their hearts. He was 18 and wore number 19, and if I knew any way to erase the pain, I would crawl through the sewers to find it. I guess we can all be thankful that Jesus ain’t tired yet and that he never sleeps nor slumbers nor faints nor is weary and that in the exhaustion of grief his love and comfort are real and refreshing, and his grace is sufficient even when our words are not.

One picture stands out when I remember Josh—a home-plate celebration after an exciting victory. Life is like baseball—strikeouts and home runs, errors and game-saving catches, and the agony of defeat and the euphoria of victory. Still, the point is to make it home, to home plate where Jesus lives. On the first base of life, look in, look out and look up to God because life is short. On second base, make the most of every single day. On third base, be long of the things that matter in life—love and forgiveness and kindness and friendship and encouragement. Ultimately though, we can only find our way home by knowing Christ and playing the game of life for an audience of one: Jesus Christ.

So here I am under his old oak tree, knowing football is king and thinking baseball. The crisp fall air has arrived, and reminds me that Jesus is king and that my life as a pastor is a wonderful life. Life hurts. Riddles come. And even in as the shadows lean dark and dreary over life like shadows on the field of a baseball stadium, still hope springs eternal, and Jesus never wearies of loving us in the pain or greeting us when we make it home. Or in the words of Jesus, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy hearted.”

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: 9/14/07

Around the State

• Tony Martin, professor of Greek, New Testament and world religions at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, will speak at a ministers’ forum at noon Sept. 20. His topic will be “Biblical Ideas Relating to the Issue of Suffering in Human Exper-ience.” The presentation will be held in Shelton Auditorium. For more information, call (254) 295-4606.

• East Texas Baptist University will hold a preview event for prospective students and their families Sept. 29. There is no cost to attend, and visitors will receive information about academic programs, financial aid, campus life, ministry opportunities, tours of the campus and tickets to the ETBU football game. For more information, call (800) 804-ETBU.

• Baylor University will hold the Parchman Endowed Lectures Oct. 2-4. Ben Witherington, a professor of New Testament interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary, will deliver the lectures, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. each day. For more information, call (254) 710-7347.

• Kelvin Kelley has been named to the faculty of Logsdon Theological Seminary, and also has been appointed assistant to Hardin-Simmons University President Craig Turner.

• Mark Tew has been named vice president for academic affairs at Howard Payne University.

• Rhonda Dyer has been named executive director of STARRY, the Round Rock-based emergency shelter, counseling and foster care arm of Children at Heart Ministries, a Baptist General Convention of Texas agency.

Anniversaries

• Kevin Moore, fifth, as pastor of Beulah Church in Millsap, Sept. 8.

• Mark Martin, 30th, as pastor of Epting Memorial Church in Denison, Sept. 14.

• Hampton Road Church in DeSoto, 60th, Sept. 23. Testimonies from charter members and special music will highlight the service. Jerry Raines is pastor.

• First Church in Sandia, 100th, Sept. 30. A meal and afternoon song service will follow morning worship. Jimmy Hisel is pastor.

• Lane Park, 50th in ministry, Oct. 6. He has served 41 years as a pastor or ministerial staff member and nine years with Marketplace Chaplains USA as a corporate chaplain. He is a member of First Church in Plano.

• First Church in Teague, 130th, Oct. 14. James Semple will be the guest speaker, and former Music Minister Josh Rhodes will lead worship in the morning service. There also will be a reunion of the 1970s youth choir directed by Jerry Morris. A catered meal will follow the morning service. A time of testimony is planned for the afternoon. For more information, call (254) 739-2353. Darrel Beggs is pastor.

• First Church in San Marcos, 150th, Oct. 20-21. Saturday will include a barbecue meal, basketball and horseshoe tournaments, and a historical exhibit beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday will include a worship celebration and building dedication beginning at 10 a.m., followed by a meal. Reservations are required for the Sunday meal. For more information or to make reservations, call (512) 392-3377. Mark Newton is pastor.

• First Church in Wolfe City, 125th, Oct. 20-21. Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday with a pot luck dinner followed by music, testimonies and fellowship. A meal will follow the Sunday morning service. The meals are provided, but an indication of attendance is requested by Oct. 12 by calling (903) 496-2560. Kevin Mitchell is pastor.

• Allen Heights Church in Allen, 25th, Oct. 21. Leon Aduddell will be the guest preacher, and former Minister of Music Mark Stewart will lead the music. A barbecue lunch will follow the morning service. For more information or to make lunch reservations, call (972) 727-9136. Byron Jackson is pastor.

• First Church in Smiley, 125th, Oct. 27-28. A song service will be held Saturday at 6:30 p.m. A time line with pictures, memorabilia and other church artifacts will be on display. Sunday morning’s service will feature testimonies and special music. A lunch and afternoon service will follow. People with items to include in the timeline or who need other information can call (830) 587-6133. Marvin Miles is pastor.

Deaths

• Lowell Rollins, 73, July 26 in Huntsville. After beginning his ministry in music in Louisiana, he served at First Church in Atlanta, Birchman Avenue Church in Fort Worth, Calvary Church in Beaumont, First Church in Port Arthur, and Cockrell Hill Church in Dallas. He also was a member of The Century Men and the Singing Men of Texas. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Arlene; daughters, Terri Marroquin and Marili Lindstrom; son, Lowell Jr.; sister, Rose Marie Wallace; and 10 grandchildren.

• Abraham Enrriques, 70, Aug. 1 in Corpus Christi. After retiring from the U.S. Army after 31 years, he was pastor of El Redentor Multicultural Church in Kingsville, First Baptist Church in Robstown and Primera Iglesia in Robstown. He was active in the Baptist General Convention of Texas, serving as president of Varones Bautistas, and later on the Executive Board of the BGCT. In addition, he was a member of the Robstown Ministerial Alliance and moderator of both Corpus Christi Association and Coastal Bend Association. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Adela; son, Albert; daughters, Annette, Anna and Amy Enrriques; brothers, Arturo Sr., Abel, Alfredo and Arturo Jr.; sisters, Alicia Gonzales, Asenet Quintero and Anita Esquivel; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

• John Vaughan, 72, Aug. 28 in Marshall. He was a professor of English at East Texas Baptist University from 1967 until his retirement in 2002. He had been a member of First Church in Marshall since 1973. He is survived by his brothers, Tommy and Harold.

• Dot Pettit, 86, Sept. 10 in Black Mountain, N.C. She and her husband were attending a reunion for emeritus missionaries at Ridgecrest Conference Center when a train struck the car she was driving. She and her first husband, Marlin Hicks, were appointed as missionaries in 1950 and served in western South America until his death in 1957. She was transferred to the Baptist Spanish Publishing House in El Paso in 1958 and continued to serve until her retirement in 1985. She is survived by her husband, Max.

Revivals

• Bell Avenue Church, Amarillo; Sept. 30-Oct. 3; evangelist, Paul Cherry; music, The Cherry Family; pastor, Danny Logan.

• Belmore Church, San Angelo; Sept. 30-Oct. 3; evangelist, Jerry Griffin; music, The Mike Anderson Family; pastor, Toby Irwin.

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

Posted: 9/14/07

Amarillo minister to be nominated for BGCT
second vice president at hometown meeting

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AMARILLO—Citing his effectiveness in mobilizing laity for missions involvement, Bill Brian has announced his intention to nominate Jeff Raines, associate pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo, for second vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Election of officers will top the business agenda at the BGCT annual meeting in Amarillo, Oct. 29-30.

Brian, an attorney and member of First Baptist in Amarillo, noted Raines has involved more members in hands-on missions during his 10 years on the church staff than at any time in the congregation’s history.

“Jeff is one of the bright new leaders among Texas Baptists whose focus is on missions as expressed in the local church, as well as among churches cooperating in direct partnership with each other and in our BGCT,” Brian said.

Characterizing Raines as “a gifted communicator, known for his scholarship,” Brian said the BGCT would benefit from the energy and willingness to “think about missions in new ways” he would bring to the second vice president’s position.

Raines said he would not have considered himself for the convention officer’s post.

“I agreed to do it because I love the BGCT, and I want to serve any way I can,” he said.

If elected, Raines hopes he can help lead the state convention to “pursue missions and point churches toward missions,” he said.

“I want to see churches embrace the missions task themselves—to recognize we can’t give it to someone else to discharge for us.”

He has served on the board of directors for WorldconneX—the missions network created by the BGCT—since its inception, and he currently chairs the board.

Raines, 36, also hopes to increase the participation of young ministers in the state convention—particularly service on boards, commissions and committees.

“I think I can bring a perspective from my generation, and I would hope to get more of my peers involved with BGCT life through the appointment process,” he said.

Raines graduated summa cum laude both from Baylor University and Truett Theological Seminary, where he was part of the first graduating class.

He is working on a doctor of ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his final project is a study of “an international perspective on short-term missions.”

Raines was licensed to the ministry at First Baptist Church in Arlington and ordained by Meadowbrook Baptist Church in Robinson, where he served as pastoral assistant.

He and his wife, Darcie, have a 5-year-old son, Mark.

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

Posted: 9/14/07

Book Reviews

This Immoral Trade: Slavery in the 21st Century, by Caroline Cox and John Marks (Monarch Books)

Two hundred years after William Wilberforce succeeded in his long crusade to abolish the British slave trade and 144 years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in the United States, at least 27 million people are enslaved in the world today.

Caroline Cox, former deputy speaker of the House of Lords, and John Marks, a human rights campaigner and researcher, highlight the modern blight of slavery in its varied manifestations—sexual trafficking, forced labor, child soldiers and debt bondage.

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

Cox and Marks conducted extensive interviews with former slaves in Sudan, Uganda and Burma. About two-thirds of the book is filled with those first-person accounts, allowing readers to hear directly from people whose stories otherwise would remain untold and whose voices otherwise would be left unheard.

Much of the 19th century abolitionist movement had its roots in Christian commitment. Cox and Marks issue a clarion call for a new movement to end slavery worldwide in the 21st century.

Ken Camp, managing editor

Baptist Standard, Dallas

Hidden Treasures: Walking the Back Roads of the Bible in Search of Truth, by Judson Edwards (Smyth & Helwys)

Hidden Treasures is a wonderful title expressing what the reader will find in this book by Judson Edwards. He takes the reader behind scenes well known to Bible readers. An example is Ezekiel 3:15, where Edwards examines the phrase, “I sat among them for several days—overwhelmed” to illustrate the best way to communicate “is to sit among them”!

Edwards has kept the chapters short and pointed. He has added questions for reflection and discussion for each chapter that makes the book useful for small groups.

I found the book interesting, probing and a fast read, which makes it a delight to all who take this journey.

I encourage you to walk these back roads of the Bible with Judson Edwards.

Leo Smith, executive director

Texas Baptist Men, Dallas

The Fred Factor, by Mark Sanborn (Doubleday)

This is a motivational book, written by a motivational speaker, based upon the life of a motivated postman named Fred who goes above and beyond the call of duty to make a positive impact upon the lives of people with whom he has contact.

Inspired by the extraordinary service of Fred, Mark Sanborn began to use their daily encounters as illustrations when traveling the country giving speeches on leadership, team building, customer service and mastering change.

Sanborn expounds upon the four qualities that represent the essence of what he refers to as the Fred Factor: Everyone makes a difference; success is built on relationships; you must continually create value for others, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny; and you can reinvent yourself regularly.

This book was such a practical portrait of how each one of us can positively impact the lives of others, I even made my children read it.

Bobby Dagnel, pastor

First Baptist Church, Lubbock

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

Posted: 9/14/07

Call clarification important at Baptist schools

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Sometimes a Christian young person may report receiving a crystal-clear call from God. But more often, he or she may feel like there’s some static on the line.

That’s the conclusion of guidance directors who work with ministry students at some Baptist schools.

“A majority don’t know exactly what to make of this—whether it’s a call to vocational ministry or simply to be a good servant of the Lord in whatever they do,” said Omer Hancock, director of in-service guidance at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology.

As soon as a student at a Texas Baptist school expresses a calling to ministry, the in-service guidance office typically begins an ongoing dialogue with the student.

“At the very least, we want them to know our office exists and that we’re not just for religion majors. We’re here for any student who has an interest in ministry as a vocation,” said Jeter Basden, director of ministry guidance at Baylor University.

Each step along the way—from applying for scholarship assistance to helping students gain hands-on field experience—is designed to help students clarify their calling.

For instance, Basden noted, Texas Baptist ministerial students can apply for a scholarship offered by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. As a part of the application process, students must secure certification from their home church and a letter of recommendation from their pastor.

“This, in itself, is an affirmation of the call for the student,” he said.

See related articles: • Hearing the Call • Ministers hear call through many voices • East Texas church gives stamp of approval to 82-year-old's ministry • When it comes to missions, there's something in the water in Red Springs • Call clarification important at Baptist schools

Required courses that provide an overview of the functions of ministry help clarify calling.

“A lot of students come here as Christian young people who want to serve the Lord but maybe not in vocational ministry,” Hancock said. “We try to be positive with the student. We let them know, ‘If it’s what God wants you to do, it’s OK.’”

Some students’ call to ministry is confirmed when they are undergraduates, but “they do not have becoming the pastor of a church in their sights,” said David Garland, dean of Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary. “I think that the seminary, however, is now the setting where this calling is being heard and affirmed.”

When he was a student, Garland recalls professors who would tap promising students on the shoulder, pull them aside and ask if they had considered graduate school.

“I would never do that today, given the over-population of Ph.D.s and the shortage of jobs,” he said.

Instead, he and the faculty who work with him encourage students who are not already considering the pastorate to recognize that God might be calling them to that place of service.

Truett also seeks to bring students into contact with ministers who find fulfillment and joy in serving as pastor of a local church, Garland added.

“In George Truett’s day, the church singled him out and said, ‘You are going to be a pastor whether you think you are or not.’ Today, that does not happen. I do not think that it happens in undergraduate programs. It now tends to happen in the seminary,” he said. 

Some students who did not plan to become pastors when they entered seminary—and even some who expressed their intention to follow God’s call anywhere except into the pastorate—change their minds while at seminary, Garland noted.

“But that is the way it is with God’s call,” he said. “You usually don’t see what’s coming.” 

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

Posted: 9/14/07

Candidates’ religious commitment
not a big voter draw, survey shows

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—A new survey of voters’ attitudes toward presidential candidates shows that being perceived as highly religious may not help the 2008 hopefuls much.

The study, released by two bipartisan public-interest groups, also suggests many issues most important to conservative religious voters aren’t as important to the wider electorate.

The poll involved telephone interviews with 3,002 adults in early August and was sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

“The candidates viewed by voters as the least religious among the leading contenders are the current front-runners for the Democratic and Republican nominations—Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, respectively,” the study says. “On the other hand, the candidate seen as far and away the most religious—Mitt Romney—is handicapped by this perception because of voter concerns about Mormonism.”

The survey found only 16 percent of respondents viewed Clinton, a Democratic senator from New York, as “very religious.” However, she outpaced Giuliani, the Republican ex-mayor of New York City, whom only 14 percent viewed as strongly religious.

Nonetheless, majorities viewed all major candidates of both parties as at least somewhat religious. And the two other main Democratic candidates—Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards—were viewed by more respondents as highly religious than were any of the Republican candidates other than Romney. Twenty-eight percent said they thought Edwards is very religious while 24 percent thought the same of Obama.

The next most religious major candidate was Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, at 19 percent. Sixteen percent thought former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, the latest GOP candidate to enter the race, was very religious.

Forty-six percent of respondents considered Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, the most religious major candidate.

But while a large majority of respondents—including both self-identified Democrats and Republicans—considered it important for a president to have strong religious beliefs, a significant number said they were uncomfortable with Romney’s membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A full 25 percent of Republican or Republican-leaning voters said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who is a Mormon. Of those, only 54 percent had a favorable view of Romney, versus 82 percent of all Republican respondents.

The idea of a Mormon president was least popular among white evangelical Republicans who attend church weekly. Of that group, 41 percent said they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon.

The issues most important to voters remain foreign policy and economics rather than social controversies many conservative Christian leaders have emphasized.

“White evangelical Protestants are the only major political or religious group in which a majority (56 percent) says that social issues like abortion and gay marriage will be very important in their presidential voting decisions,” the report says.

“Even among white evangelicals, however, social issues trail domestic matters and the war in Iraq: 72 percent of white evangelicals cite the economy and other domestic issues as very important, while 66 percent rate the war in Iraq as very important to their vote.”

Among the survey’s other findings:

• The percentages of voters who think secular liberals have too much control over the Democratic Party and religious conservatives have too much control over the Republican Party have decreased since 2005.

• A large majority of respondents in all religious and ethnic categories oppose churches endorsing political candidates, with 63 percent of all respondents opposing such endorsements and only 28 percent favoring them.

• Significant majorities of the public continue to support abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research and oppose legalizing same-sex marriage.

• Diversity exists among white evangelical Protestants even when it comes to controversial social issues. Of respondents in that category, 31 percent supported both embryonic stem-cell research and unlimited or mildly limited access to abortion, and 14 percent supported same-sex marriage.

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

Posted: 9/14/07

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