Posted: 8/29/07

Old First Orange parsonage burns

By George Henson

Staff Writer

ORANGE—The parsonage of Old First Orange Baptist Church burned last weekend, destroying the home and its contents, but no one was hurt in the blaze.

Harris, who has been pastor of the church 12 years, said the fire appeared to start in the utility room, but an official cause has not been determined.

The fire was discovered by Harris’ 14-year-old son, Elliott. The youth was having a back-to-school gathering at the house and heard a noise. “He thought he heard someone at the door, but when he opened it no one was there, but he could see the flames coming out of the garage,” Harris said.

One of the family’s cars was totally destroyed, but Harris was able to save the other. It had grown hot enough, however, that much of the exterior plastic had melted and a good deal of the paint had blistered.

The parsonage was insured, but Bailey said the insurance on the contents is not near sufficient to replace what was lost. Even more troubling, he said, was the number of photographs and family mementos that were lost.

The family is looking for temporary housing and staying with friends until a more permanent solution can be secured.

Bailey said the last couple of years have been a trial for his congregation.

“It’s been a journey for us. We lost our sanctuary in (Hurricane) Rita and just dedicated it in May,” he said.

One thing that was not totally destroyed was his son’s Bible. The teenager recently has surrendered to a call to missions and was particularly interested in finding a Bible that is special to him. The Bible was found, soggy, to be sure, but at least whole.

The concern shown for his family and congregation has been gratifying, he said.

“I have cried more from the affirmation and generosity of people reaching out to us than I have over the loss,” he said.

He said a decision on whether or not to replace the parsonage had not been made.

He said that in the small community everyone is aware of the event.

“God is going to be faithful in what I sense he’s already doing—using this as a witness to the community,” he said. “I want the people of this community to see how God’s people come together to meet needs.”

A designated account has been set up at the Golden Triangle Baptist Association offices to receive gifts to help the family replace their belongings. Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 7728, Beaumont 77726.

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

Posted: 8/29/07

Bible Studies for Life Series for September 9

Feeling anxious about the future

• Daniel 2

By Steve Dominy

First Baptist Church, Gatesville

We noted last week that while the hero of the first chapter is Daniel, the main character of the story is God. All throughout the first chapter, we saw God at work in the circumstances of the story—God delivering Judah to Babylon, God causing an official to show sympathy to Daniel and God giving superior knowledge to Daniel and his friends. God’s sovereignty over the situations of life will be the recurring theme throughout the book of Daniel.

It is true once again in Chapter 2. In light of the direction of the study this week, three areas of the story are most important for us.

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The first is Nebuchadnezzar’s dream itself. In chapter 1, we are told that Daniel and his friends were found “10 times better than all the magicians and conjurers.” Many of the methods used by the wise men of Babylon would have been considered against Jewish law, but dreams were a means of divine communication both the Babylonians and Hebrews would have recognized. While Daniel would have been educated in Babylonian means of divination and religion, it is important to note that God did not choose those methods to communicate. God had spoken in dreams previously, specifically Jacob’s dream of the stairway to heaven, and it would not be a method condemned by the Bible. Daniel could interpret this dream without being unfaithful to God.

The second feature we need to pay attention to is the content of the dream. Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a statue with a head made of gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs made of bronze, its feet made partly of iron and clay. The dream also includes a vision of a rock being cut out, “but not by human hands.” The rock breaks the feet of the statue, and this imposing statue is reduced to dust and blown away by the winds while the rock grows to fill the entire world.

While there has been a great deal of energy spent on the determination of the kingdoms represented by the statue, we need to make sure our discussion does not distract us from the main point of the passage; all of these kingdoms will pass away, but the kingdom of God endures forever. The statue is made by human hands but the rock is specifically said to be cut, “not by human hands.” Daniel speaks to a people in a time of oppression and exile and encourages them that this present situation is not the end of the story.

Finally, we need to pay attention to Nebuchadnezzar’s response. Nebuchadnezzar responds with the recognition that Daniel’s “God is God of gods and Lord of kings.” Now let’s not make a leap that is too great, Nebuchadnezzar was not converted here. It would have been easy for him to include Yahweh with all of the other gods that he recognized. That does not detract from the fact that the most powerful pagan in the world fell at the feet of a servant and recognized the power of his God. Though Nebuchadnezzar fell at the feet of Daniel, he did so in recognition of the God whom Daniel served.

Throughout Daniel chapter 2, we see God at work. Though the mention is not explicit, it is evident God gave Nebuchadnezzar his dream. It also is made abundantly clear that God revealed to Daniel both the content and interpretation of that dream. The story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream reinforces the theme of Daniel: The circumstances of life do not determine the faithfulness of God.

There are a multitude of things in our world that can cause us anxiety—the war in Iraq, the threat of terrorist attacks and the fluctuations in the economy. It is easy to get caught up in the goings on of the world and lose perspective on the eternity of God. How many countries have fallen and changed leadership in our lifetime? We have seen the fall of the Berlin wall and the unification of a divided Germany, the fall of the U.S.S.R. into nation-states in that part of the world. We have seen numerous coups in different parts of the world; maybe Nebuchadnezzar’s dream continues to be fulfilled and the kingdoms of this world continue to pass away?

I remember the early ’80s when the United States bombed Libya. For about a month, I was convinced we were going to reinstate the draft and begin world war three. I also remember that Ayatollah Khomeni, Moammar Khadafi and Mikhail Gorbachev were at one point or another considered to be the coming of the antichrist. Yet, none of those things came to pass. Just like my worries about World War III, most of the things we worry about never come to pass. And if they do come to pass, our worry hasn’t done anything about the situation.

The presence and faithfulness of God we see so clearly in Daniel is echoed in the words of Jesus in Luke 12:24-25: “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?”

We don’t know all of the answers to the questions that come. But, the good news is that, no matter what, God has the last word. God and not cancer will have the last word, God and not war will have the last word, God and not death will have the last word. God will have the last word, you can say that out loud, and can count on his faithfulness no matter the circumstances of life.

Discussion questions

• Has God ever chosen to speak to you through a dream?

• How do people often respond to others who say God has communicated with them in this way?

• Are people too skeptical when someone says God has spoken to them regardless of the means?

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

Posted: 8/29/07

Explore the Bible Series for September 9

God’s sinless son

• Matthew 3:1-4:16

By Travis Frampton

Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene

“A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God’” (Isaiah 40:3). Matthew, Mark and Luke each use this well-known verse to introduce John the Baptist and the story of the baptism of Jesus. In order to understand the significance of this verse for Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of his ministry, the words of the voice crying out in Isaiah should receive close attention.

In 587 B.C., the Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed Jerusalem. They besieged the city, demolished the city walls and tore down the temple Solomon had built. The Babylonians captured Zedekiah (Judah’s king), gouged out his eyes, bound him in bronze fetters and led him back to Babylon as a captive. Several of the ruling class and the elite in the city of Jerusalem also were captured and taken into exile. Needless to say, the Babylonians were victorious that day.

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The Babylonian exile was an extremely painful formative period for the Jewish people. What would you do if you thought all was well, only to discover the next day the world had been turned upside down? Everything seemed relatively stable before Nebuchadnezzar made an appearance outside the walls of Jerusalem. Most of the Judean citizenry believed God dwelt in the house Solomon built, the Davidic messiah was securely positioned on the throne and all was well.

Then came the exile. Where was God in the midst of such destruction? Isaiah answered this question by insisting God had not deserted his people, but was using the Babylonians to bring judgment upon his people. Israel had committed outrageous crimes against God and humanity, and God was bringing justice. The Jewish people remained enslaved about 50 years. All seemed lost. Hope seemed a word forgotten. Until a voice cried out.

Hope cries out

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-2). This verse proclaims the end of the exilic period. The Persians had conquered the Babylonians, permitting all captives to return home if they desired. Many chose to do so. They set out to “prepare the way for the Lord.” Instead of following the usual roads and byways located along the Fertile Crescent, they envisioned a return to their homeland that would take them directly across the desert from Babylon. Those arriving in Judah initiated plans to rebuild the city, its walls and the Jerusalem temple. It was the beginning of something new.

So what does the exilic background of Isaiah’s day have to do with the New Testament? Matthew’s Gospel announced God beginning something new with the coming of Jesus. A first-century Jewish audience would certainly have known the historical context behind Isaiah’s message. They would have been very familiar with passages about God’s judgment in Isaiah 1-39, about how the Lord was preparing to punish their ancestors for their sins.

They also would have been equally familiar with Zephaniah’s “day of the Lord.” The exile was a day of “wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (Zephaniah 1:15). Utilizing the mighty armies of the Babylonians, God took Israel’s liberty away, made Jerusalem’s people slaves and imprisoned the Jewish messiah. But now—with the coming of Jesus—Matthew, Mark and Luke testified about the commencement of a new day.

Drawing upon the inspiration of Isaiah 40-55, the Gospel writers understood the life of Jesus as one where God was offering hope, life and salvation to both Jew and Gentile. The words from Isaiah, chapter 40, not only applied to the returning exiles from Babylon, but also spoke to those bearing witness to the life of Jesus. Matthew, Mark and Luke, each using the words of Isaiah, were crying out about the good news of God’s grace offered by the one baptized by John in the Jordan: “You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (Isaiah 40:9-11).

Baptism/wilderness

Baptism and wilderness. As far as Scripture is concerned, the two often go hand-in-hand. Baptism marks a change in one’s identity or character, and usually the wilderness follows. The word “wilderness,” when it appears in the Bible, often is misunderstood as a place of lush, plentiful vegetation. This definition, however, is inadequate because the “wilderness” of the Old Testament and the New Testament is just the opposite. It is desert region where water and vegetation are scarce, a place where sustaining life is difficult, where survival is a constant struggle.

Several obstacles present themselves to travelers crossing the desert. Where does one find food and water? How does one live? In the wilderness, life’s basic necessities become more important, the superfluous loses its attraction, and priorities come into sharper focus. The Christian life offers a transformed and abundant life (baptism) but also is not exempt from trials and temptations (wilderness). The wilderness prepares us; it makes us stronger.

Moses and the Israelites fled from Egypt by way of crossing water into the desert. They wandered in the wilderness 40 years. Under the leadership of Joshua, the Israelites crossed the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by John and then immediately led by the spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan.

Water is essential. It brings things to life. In the stories about Moses, Joshua and Jesus, passing through water indicated a change of identity. Moses and the Israelites were slaves on one side of the water and a free-wandering people on the other. Joshua and the Israelites were free-wandering people on the east-side of the Jordan and became a nation on the other. Jesus’ baptism marks a similar change; it is only after Jesus “passes through” the water that he is prepared for the wilderness. The baptism initiates the beginning of his ministry: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending upon him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:16-17).

Establishing the kingdom of God

As the Christ (the Greek word for the Hebrew word “messiah”), Jesus became a new Zedekiah. God’s Davidic king returned to Jerusalem to establish his kingdom. His kingdom, however, did not concern itself with political strength or military might. Instead, his domain was ruled with the most authentic and absolute power—the love of God.

We often look upon love as weak and believe brute strength, physical might and a stubborn will is the only way true power can, or should, be exhibited. Nevertheless, this assumption runs counter to the witness of the Gospels. Their pages record time and again that love is the only force able to turn our world upside down. Only love is able to make saints out of sinners. The kingdom of God is not like our world. In the kingdom of God, neighbors are loved and forgiveness always is granted. In God’s kingdom, the path to the throne is worn down by the hooves of a donkey. There a servant is the Messiah, because there Jesus is king.

Discussion questions

• What does it mean to say that Jesus is king?

• Did you experience the “wilderness” after you became a Christian?

• How does baptism change a believer?

• How does Jesus offer us hope 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: 8/27/07

Activists urged to focus on
future, not fundamentalism

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—God has blessed Texas and kept its Baptist state convention free from fundamentalist control largely through the efforts of Texas Baptists Committed, but conditions have changed, Baptist Standard Editor Marv Knox told an assembly of the moderate Baptist group in Dallas.

While fundamentalism could rise again, it no longer presents “the preeminent threat” to the Baptist General Convention of Texas, he stressed.

“Warning against the fundamentalist bogeyman sounds disingenuous,” he said. “Unlike past situations, the BGCT is not well served by defining itself by what it is against. Our future must be defined by what we are for.”

As advocates of freedom, Texas Baptists Committed should “not only allow but also affirm the right of all Texas Baptists to exercise their freedom of relationship,” whether relating to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or the Southern Baptist Convention, Knox said.

“The only line we must draw excludes coercion, intimidation and forced participation with any national organization that an individual, church, convention or other group cannot, in conscience, support,” he said.

“If we do cannot learn to forgive, if we cannot bless sisters and brothers who want to work with us while they also work with people with whom we disagree, if we cannot fix our focus on the future, then let’s write our epitaph: ‘Frozen by fundamentalism.’ And close our chapter.”

Knox urged the group to adopt a new role.

“More than any other group, Texas Baptists Committed can help our convention overcome apathy, renew relevancy and restore trust,” Knox said. “Fundamentalism no longer is our greatest threat. Apathy is, and it is choking us.”

Earlier in the day, Dallas Baptist University President Gary Cook offered another recommendation for Texas Baptists Committed—Stop endorsing candidates for BGCT offices.

Cook, who cited his longstanding involvement with Texas Baptists Committed and appreciation for the organization’s role in “protecting” the BGCT from takeover, participated in a panel discussion of presidents from BGCT-affiliated universities. He expressed his intent to vote for Joy Fenner in the state convention president’s race at the BGCT annual meeting in Amarillo.

Texas Baptists Committed has endorsed Fenner, a former missionary and retired executive director-treasurer of Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas, for BGCT president. David Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon, also has been announced as a nominee for the president’s post, citing his desire to see an “open” election.

But Cook encouraged Texas Baptists Committed to “not continue to endorse candidates in the years ahead” and to not nominate a first vice president with the understanding that person will be president the next year.

“Let’s trust Texas Baptists again,” Cook urged.

Turning from Texas Baptists Committed to the BGCT, Knox suggested a series of steps to take:

• Clarify identity. “The BGCT is much larger than the Baptist Building,” he said, acknowledging that many Texas Baptists—and often the Baptist Standard—have used the terms interchangeably. “So, if people don’t like something the executive director does, something the Executive Board proposes or a program the Baptist Building puts on, people who are bothered by it think they are angry and/or annoyed with the BGCT. And that’s just not right.”

• Feed strengths. “If you cited one factor that distinguishes the BGCT from every other convention—period—you would name our institutions,” he said. Knox proposed exploring ways to accomplish some Baptist Building-based ministries through institutions and to “figure out how to channel funds to those ministries.”

• De-balkanize missions. “Once upon a time, many Texas Baptists anticipated a synergistic organization that merged the strengths of Texas Partnerships and River Ministry and provided time-, cost- and energy-saving infrastructure for churches and institutions. And that never really happened,” he said.

Knox recommended consolidating missions efforts currently scattered across at least a half-dozen groups or organizations, and the suggested closer collaboration with institutions.

• Tell the story to everyone. “We must get the Standard in the hands of more Texas Baptists, and we must work closely to help them understand more fully how the BGCT at large is expanding the kingdom of God,” he said. “This would be in the best interest of everyone.”

• Rethink resourcing. The BGCT Executive Board staff probably should deploy more congregational strategists across the state “so their caseloads are more manageable,” he said. But the Baptist Building should move beyond the idea that it must produce all the resources churches need.

“Provide incentives for our institutions to equip churches,” Knox said. “Programming and training are their forte. Give them incentives to equip churches as well as they equip their own staffs or students,” he said.

The BGCT also should encourage peer-to-peer training and generate bulk purchasing power to lower the cost of resources produced by other groups so small Texas Baptist churches can afford them, he said.

“Fill niches, but stay out of ditches,” Knox added, building on that theme. “We should give up trying to provide resources just so we can say we provided them,” he said.

• Fund priorities. “We must adequately fund our priority endeavors, and we must cut the rest,” he said.

• Finish the Executive Board reorganization. “How are Texas Baptists supposed to take reorganization seriously when a ‘streamlining’ results in a larger bureaucracy and more employees?” he asked.

• Be the Texas of tomorrow—today. Respond to the demographics of the state, Knox urged, by starting more churches to reach ethnic and racial minorities, providing educational opportunities for racial and ethnic church leaders and modeling multi-racial, multi-ethnic cooperation in all areas of BGCT life.

“What a legacy, if we were known as the people who refused to let Hispanic and African-American children fall through the cracks of our educational system and drop out of school,” he said, citing one example.

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

Posted: 8/28/07

Hardin-Simmons pulls out
of magazine’s ranking race

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

ABILENE—Hardin-Simmons University has announced it no longer will participate in surveys conducted by U.S. News & World Report for its annual list of “America’s best colleges”—even though it has advanced in the rankings and been named a tier-one school in its division five consecutive years.

The Abilene university joined more than 60 schools nationwide that have disengaged from the magazine’s ranking race.

“Although many feel the U.S. News rankings are the ‘gold standard’ for comparing learning institutions, such rankings systems are not always the best tool for gauging a student’s learning experience,” Hardin-Simmons President Craig Turner said.

“Although HSU continues to advance in the U.S. News rankings, the university is exploring other qualitative comparative evaluation programs.”

Hardin-Simmons ranked No. 34 in the magazine’s “master’s-west” group—a regional category that includes colleges and universities granting primarily undergraduate and master’s degrees but few, if any, doctoral degrees.

U.S. News focuses largely on entrance scores, high school rankings and other criteria for entering students, but it does not seek any evaluation from current students or alumni, Turner noted.

Hardin-Simmons particularly takes issue with the peer evaluation process, since the magazine places it in the western division, but its accreditation and major relationships are to the east, he added.

“West coast institutions are asked to evaluate schools in Texas with whom they have no regular dealings and vice versa,” Turner said.

Leaders of several other Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated schools expressed reservations about the U.S. News ranking system, but some have opted for a “wait-and-see” approach for now.

East Texas Baptist University President Bob Riley met with his cabinet to weigh the pros and cons of continuing to provide information to the magazine, according to university spokesman Mike Midkiff. With the input of cabinet members, Riley decided to continue to consider ETBU’s options and to solicit the opinions of the deans of the university’s seven schools, he added.

ETBU ranked No. 12 in the magazine’s “baccalaureate-west” regional division for schools that offer primarily undergraduate liberal-arts programs where fewer than 50 percent of students receive degrees in traditional liberal-arts disciplines.

Howard Payne University President Lanny Hall called the U.S. News rankings “far from perfect,” but he added: “The rankings have brought unprecedented recognition to our university. … While we would like to see improvements in the rankings process, much of the information presented is very valuable to students and parents.”

Howard Payne received a No. 3 ranking in the magazine’s “best value” list, Hall noted.

Howard Payne is “not dissatisfied to the point that we are ready to withdraw from submitting data to the publication,” he added. “We will carefully consider our options. There is always the chance that the process might change between now and next year. If it is improved between now and next spring, we do not want to close the door to future participation.”

Wayland Baptist University President Paul Armes offered a more pointed criticism of the magazine’s rankings—particularly the survey that peer institutions complete.

“The survey lacks validity because so much of it is subjective,” Armes said, who noted he hasn’t filled out the survey on other universities for several years. “The idea that I would know how good an education … (is provided) by any of our regional schools—that I as an outsider could evaluate them accurately—is not realistic.”

Some of the criteria used by the magazine are “somewhat artificial and easily manipulated by statistical gains,” he asserted. Furthermore, most students who attend Wayland choose the school based on the recommendation of trusted friends or relatives, not its ranking in a magazine, he noted.

“In our case, one of the things that is mentioned a lot is the faith component, and that is not mentioned in U.S. News,” Armes said.

Houston Baptist University President Robert Sloan disagreed.

“We are in a competitive marketplace as a university, and we want to share information with parents and students who are in the decision-making process,” Sloan said.

HBU tied with the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at the No. 48 spot and Dallas Baptist University ranked No. 58 in the magazine’s “master’s-west” group—a regional category that includes colleges and universities granting primarily undergraduate and master’s degrees.

“As a distinctively Christian university, we know that our core values are not measured by the U.S. News & World Report ranking system, but there are criteria which correspond to our values as a student-centered campus,” he added, pointing to information such as average class size, the student-to-faculty ratio and the graduation rate.

“As an institution, we are not modeling ourselves after the criteria,” he said. “We know that measurement is a necessary component in the evaluation process.”

During Sloan’s tenure as president at Baylor University, one of his goals was to help that school achieve recognition as a “top-tier” national university in the U.S. News rankings.

John Barry, vice president for marketing and communications at Baylor, acknowledged, “Ranking systems of any type are quite often flawed in one manner or another.” He particularly noted the subjective nature of the U.S. News academic reputation survey completed by college presidents, chief academic officers and admissions directors.

“While other portions of the assessment are objectively based, the criticism relative to the subjective nature of the academic reputation survey is warranted,” Barry said.

Still, Baylor will continue to provide information “to a wide variety of college guide books, including those produced by U.S. News,” he said. U.S. News ranked Baylor University No. 75 in the “national universities” category this year.

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

Posted: 8/24/07

Wayland athletes share basketball
tips, gospel message in Europe

By Jonathan Petty

Wayland Baptist University

VILNIUS, Lithuania—Wayland Baptist University’s Pioneers basketball team took time out this summer to spread the gospel—and teach basketball skills—to young people in Lithuania and Poland.

Five Pioneers team members—Danny Storey, Michal Polanowski, Zach TeGrotenhuis, Lee Berend and Jason Griffin—joined Head Coach Robert Davenport and Assistant Coach Quinn Wooldridge in leading a weeklong basketball camp in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Wayland Baptist University Pioneer Danny Storey of Canyon talks with a group of young men during a basketball camp in Vilnius, Lithuania. Storey and the Pioneers led a weeklong camp in conjunction with Athletes in Action.

The Wayland mission volunteers worked with Athletes in Action. The group usually operates two camps in Vilnius each summer, but usually only coaches participate.

“We kind of personalized the camp for the kids because our players were there,” Davenport said.

The Pioneers spent several days with the campers teaching them the basketball fundamentals and sharing their Christian testimonies.

“It was really neat to watch the relationships between those kids and our kids,” Davenport said. “It’s just like our camps here—the kids get attached to them. There were about 35 kids in the camp, and probably half of them asked us to come back next year.”

Next, the team traveled to team member Polanowski’s hometown, Konin, Poland. Local response to Polanowski surprised the other Pioneers.

“Little did we know that Mike is a legend in his hometown,” Davenport said. “It is a city of about 100,000 people. Mike is the real deal there. We all thought that was pretty neat, and we gave Mike a hard time about it.”

While his teammates enjoyed sightseeing and eating the bountiful meals prepared by his parents, Polanowski was interviewed by local newspapers and television stations. At one point, Polanowski related his Christian testimony in for a video that will by used by Athletes in Action throughout his homeland.

“It was kind of neat to see things like that,” Davenport said. “We see Mike every day, and Mike is a great guy and does good things. But back in his home country, it’s amazing how big he is and how much of an influence he can really have.”

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

Posted: 8/24/07

Texas Baptist Men offer
relief to Erin victims

Texas Baptist Men dispatched two clean-out teams, a shower unit and recovery group to two West Texas towns flooded by the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin. Clean-out teams from Amarillo and Lubbock, a recovery team from Waxahachie and a shower unit from O’Donnell headed to Merkel and Hamlin.

The Ellis Christian Disaster Relief Box Unit took 2,000 moving boxes to help flood victims collect the items they would like to save. About 250 homes in Hamlin and 30 in Merkel were affected by flooding that occurred as a result of the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin.

Texas Baptist Men disaster relief efforts can be supported by sending a check designated “disaster relief” to Disaster Relief, Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron, Dallas 75227 or via credit card by calling (214) 828-5351.

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

Posted: 8/24/07

Irving church becomes missions
learning lab for students

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

IRVING—Oak View Baptist Church in Irving became a learning lab for seven student missionaries this summer.

Five of the workers served two weeks at Oak View before departing for assignments in the Middle East and Canada through the Baptist General Convention of Texas Go Now Missions program.

Two students—Laura Garcia from Kingwood College and Melanie Vasquez from Wayland Baptist University—remained at Oak View 11 weeks, helping with the church’s far-reaching missions work. 

“I feel called to help the underprivileged,” Garcia said. “I really want to be part of the hands and feet of Jesus and help those in need—to share the gospel and share Christ’s love. Oak View’s minister of missions, Sergio Matassa, has impacted our lives tremendously. He is an amazing, godly leader and example. He’s a hard worker and has taught us a lot. (He taught us) … to truly obey God and to be a missionary wherever we go—not just a one-time mission trip, but in our lives as Christians, we’re called to share Christ in our everyday surroundings.”

This summer, the student missionaries led Kid’s Clubs at local apartment complexes and volunteered at the Baptist Benevolence Ministries of Irving , where they stocked shelves, distributed food and witnessed to needy families.

They also went on mission trips with Oak View’s student ministry to support church plants in Hutto, near Austin, and in and Covington, La. 

“This was so different from what I expected,” Vasquez said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I want to serve Christ.  Working with other people and preparing for mission trips—it’s been an amazing experience.

“I’ve seen people in a different way and seen that everybody just wants to be loved and needs to know that they are loved.  We had so many opportunities to minister to people who had never heard about Christ before.  So many times, we think about going overseas to share about Christ, but there are people right next door who aren’t saved.”

A young boy draws a picture at a Kid’s Club.  Each Kid's Club was filled with activities such as games, crafts, songs and Bible stories.

Originally, Vasquez planned to spend her summer doing missions work in Russia, and Garcia was considering an assignment in Africa.

“We often get caught up in having a label of missionaries and thinking about foreign missions,” Garcia said. “But Jesus said to make disciples of all nations. I’ve learned about having a missions field wherever we go, not just when crossing a border. …. So often, I feel like I forget about the people in my community, at school, at work; they all need Christ. It’s not just about going overseas. God can use us in our everyday surroundings.

“We have learned a lot this summer—working with the people and seeing the joy of the children. Seeing kids open up and get so excited about hearing about Christ was amazing.  I loved building relationships and working with the kids at the mission locations.

“It was so amazing to see them wake up early on a summer morning to come to a Kid’s Club and to see how much fun they had.  Some of the kids would go to their friends’ apartments to wake them up and would invite them to join us.  Seeing that they wanted to learn more songs and wanted to spend time talking about Christ—it was great seeing how God worked. This experience helped me to learn that I can do that in my neighborhood back home.”

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

Posted: 8/24/07

Discipline-specific missions help
Baylor students apply learning to life

By Ashley Lintelman

Baylor University

About 125 Baylor University students joined faculty and staff in missions projects to meet needs in Armenia, Honduras, Kenya and Mexico.

Coordinated by University Missions, Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing and Baptist Student Ministries, each trip offered students hands-on learning and mission opportunities. 

A Kenyan student draws a picture of his “Teacher Tiffani.”

“While encouraging students to participate in church-based mission trips, Baylor also is offering discipline-specific missions as an expression of our identity as a Christian university,” said Rebecca Kennedy, director for University Missions at Baylor. “We want to create opportunities for students to understand and utilize their God-given gifts and abilities in serving others and spreading the love of Christ.”

Baylor’s inaugural trip to Armenia focused on laying the groundwork for future missions work that will focus on economic development, as well as evangelism and discipleship.

Walter Bradley led a team of engineering majors who joined students from two other universities to build two low-cost and energy-efficient model homes for low-income families. With the assistance and contacts of local Armenian-American builders, the team met its goals and already has requests for 15 additional homes.

A second Baylor team concentrated on business and leadership development. Marlene Reed, visiting professor in management, taught a leadership development course to Armenian business leaders and has agreed to work with University Missions next year to provide additional leadership for Baylor’s Outdoor Recreation/Tourism team project. Students from that team will work to build partnerships with local business leaders to create a sustainable tourism and outdoor recreation business.

Next summer, Baylor students and team leader Kelli McMahan, assistant director of campus recreation and program director for Outdoor Adventure Living-Learning Center at Baylor, will begin a long-term task of mapping trails for hiking and biking in Armenia.

Maxey Parrish, lecturer in journalism at Baylor, led a general ministry team to Armenia to provide social ministry and evangelism to unchurched villagers throughout the country. The team assisted a missionary and a local church through children’s Bible clubs, community carnivals and manual labor, and its members were part of the first evangelical Christian service to be conducted in the 1,500-year-old village.

“My favorite part of every mission trip I take is seeing my students exposed to situations in which the only way to succeed is to rely on God and see him at work,” Parrish said. “Putting (the trip) in God’s hands and leaving the results to him, you can’t help but experience him in a different way.”

Baylor students have served in Honduras since 2002, beginning with deaf education through the department of communication sciences and disorders. This year, five additional teams from engineering, education, nursing, medical and general ministry participated in the trip.

“Faculty and staff-led teams from various disciplines at Baylor create ways for students to explore what it looks like to serve God by using the skills and expertise from their major and field,” Kennedy said.

“Participating in discipline-specific teams often allows students to have even more to offer as they serve in international settings. Students also greatly benefit from learning and serving alongside professionals in their respective fields, and this experience can help shape a student’s view of their own future of service and ministry.”

Baylor students on the deaf education team worked with students in the only deaf school in Honduras, while team leader Lori Wrzesinski, director of Baylor’s American Sign Language program, focused on teaching English as a Second Language to Honduras’ deaf school teachers. This year Wrzesinski had her first graduating ESL class, Kennedy said.

Another team led by Nancy Pfanner, lecturer in communication sciences and disorders, helped a nonprofit organization in host an annual camp for deaf and hearing-impaired children.

Audrey Koenig (foreground) and Lori Spies (right) provide an ear exam to a patient in Honduras during a Baylor-sponsored mission trip.

The medical and nursing teams provided relief and assistance to local medical clinics. Baylor students gave immunizations to local villagers each day and used medical supplies to meet the needs of impoverished communities.

Nursing students provided health checkups to every child attending the host church’s school in Chuloteca. Students put together seminars on health, hygiene, nutrition and sexually transmitted infections at both public and private schools. A Baylor graduate student led an extensive question-and-answer session specifically for women both at the church and throughout the community.

Other teams included an education and general ministry team led by Baylor education professors Randy Wood and Rick Strot and Baylor BSM director Clif Mouser. Team members taught Bible stories and provided manual labor, health care and ESL training for teachers at a recently established Christian school at a church in a small Honduran village.

Seven Baylor students served with GoNowMissions, a Baptist Student Ministries program that offers students the opportunity to raise money and serve others for either a semester or for a summer. In addition to sponsoring a team to Honduras, the BSM also partnered with Habitat for Humanity to construct houses and provide practical relief to the people of New Orleans.

Meanwhile, a Baylor engineering team led by Brian Thomas, lecturer in engineering at Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science, built a micro-hydro-generator and installed a water purification system in Honduras.

For the third year in a row, 93 Baylor faculty, staff and students traveled to Kenya, the largest number of participants to date.

Led by Randall Bradley, director of Baylor’s Center for Christian Music Studies, and Sharyn Dowd, associate professor of religion, Baylor students used music to reach orphans and neighboring villages, while representatives from University Baptist Church in Waco built partnerships with Kenyan churches to provide social ministry within village communities.

Students from Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary trained future Kenyan leaders in HIV/AIDS education, evangelism, church leadership and community development, as well as business sustainability. The teams worked with several faith-based organizations in order to accomplish their goals.

Several freshmen and sophomore students provided general ministry to Kenya’s HIV/AIDS victims, orphans and widows. Despite the language barrier, students played games and learned songs with Kenyan children during their lunchtime.

Tiffani Riggers, a graduate assistant for University Missions and a team leader with fellow grad student Marquette Bugg, said Kenyan parents often are too tired to play with and show affection to their children due to long daily struggles to get money to feed their families. Giving individual attention to the children allowed team members to show God’s love by filling that parent-to-child void, she noted.

“Knowing that spiritually we made an impact is awesome, and we had a great reminder that we don’t always see the fruit of our works until we are in heaven,” Riggers said. 

 Also in Kenya, engineering students, faculty and staff continued to provide practical solutions for real-world needs, such as the installation of solar panels in a deaf school with no electricity, the construction of windmills to provide electricity for a school and the designing of a foot bridge to be built over a river in eastern Kenya.

In 2006, Baylor students created a non-profit organization called Omega Kids, which provides resources to Kenyan pastors who minister to orphaned street children. This year, Omega Kids donated money and helped a local pastor purchase land for a dormitory to be built specifically for street children.

Riggers reflected that the time in Kenya showed how much Americans take for granted, “from the amount and type of food that we choose to eat, to the clothes we wear.” Riggers described the desperate need, the incredible joy and indelible hope that the Kenyan people had, even while living in abject poverty. 

“It was a very special time for me, as I felt that our Baylor students were seeing how much they are a part of something bigger than just a mission trip,” Riggers said. “It was wonderful to get to worship God in a Kenyan church with my brothers and sisters and know that even though we may have been speaking different languages, we were worshipping the same God.”

Baylor’s nursing school continued a 30-year tradition of students providing care in Juarez, Mexico. While in Juarez, students set up free clinics inside a local church and offered complete health check-ups to assess the general needs of children and adults. Medication, prayer and health education were often provided. Clinics also are a way for the local church to make life-long contacts with people in their community, helping them to continue to reach those in need.

Another trip was planned in Mexico City, where faculty, staff and students were slated to continue to administer health check-ups to the housing community in Mexico City. 

“It is a practical exercise in servant leadership, improving health care and gaining skills and expertise as nurses,” Spies 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: 8/24/07

Summer missions moves UMHB
students out of ‘comfort zones’

By Jennifer Sicking

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

BELTON—Summer Caniglia heard stories about missionaries who spent years in Japan and never saw anyone come to faith in Christ. So, she was warned not to expect to see great results during her summer missions internship in Tokyo.

“In Japan, I had expectations that it would be hard—that there would not be any fruit,” she said.

But Caniglia, a University of Mary Hardin-Baylor senior management/Christian ministry major from Houston who served this summer as a missions mobilizer with the International Mission Board guiding short-term teams through the streets of Tokyo, met 20 people who made professions of faith in Christ, saw six baptisms performed and experienced two church starts.

“I learned not to put limitations on God,” she said. “He is mighty to save.”

Caniglia served as a summer missionary through Go Now Missions—a program UMHB Baptist Student Ministry Director Shawn Shannon highly recommends to students.

“Jesus himself lived a life of missions, crossing the greatest cultural divide there ever was, and those of us who follow him are walking in the overall pattern of his life,” she said. “This will lead us out of our comfort zones into dependence on God. I see students grow the most when they participate in one or more of the following—service, leadership and missions.”

Kristen Grogan, a senior business management major from Cedar Hill, wanted to return to Tokyo where she spent part of her Christmas vacation. Instead, she was sent to Boston and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I loved that during the summer, we were able to experience a variety of ministries in the New England area,” she said. “We were able to work alongside Haitian churches, an Arabic Evangelical church, collegiate church plants and many others.”

During her two months there, she participated in prayer-walking, painting houses, performing yard work, participating in vacation Bible school and backyard Bible clubs and teaching conversational English to international students.

“The Lord allowed me to see that one of the reasons I was there was simply to serve,” she said.

Kristin Bauer, a junior early childhood major from San Antonio, learned about fellowship within the Wolfenbuttel, Germany church while she ministered among youth in that city.

“In Germany, after the fifth grade, the students are separated into different schools by grade,” she said. “It was sad to go to the different schools and see the discrimination and segregation in them. One student at the Hauptschule, the lowest school, asked why we were there and why we cared about them. This was an opportunity to share God’s love with them and to let them know that we care about them and that we’re there for them.”

Relationships Bauer built in Germany have continued after she returned to the United States, including one with a Muslim girl who’s family emigrated there from Turkey.

“At one school, one Turkish girl really wanted a picture with me. As I saw her in the halls during passing periods, we were able to talk and swap e-mails,” she said. “Now, we’ve been e-mailing each other and I can see God’s work in progress. Even though we’re not over there, we are still able to share God with everyone over e-mails.”

Each of the students said they realized that if they are called to go by God, they must go and share the gospel message.

“God has a place for all of us to serve whether at home or abroad. It’s an act of obedience,” Caniglia said. “It’s not a choice. It is what we are told to do.”

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

Posted: 8/24/07

ETBU students, alum teach
summer classes in India

By Jeanie Pinkston

East Texas Baptist University

Some teachers jokingly say the three best things about their profession are June, July and August. An education student from East Texas Baptist University and two ETBU alumni agree with the punch line—but not for the usual reason.

Student Sheryl Breeden and 2006 graduates Megan Marshall and Ashley Causey spent their summer vacation teaching underprivileged children in southern India.

For Breeden, trip provided a first chance to be involved in international missions—and a chance to learn a lesson about the importance of love.

East Texas Baptist University alumni Ashley Causey of Alvin, Texas ties the shoe of a student at Adarsh Vidalaya Matriculation School in Kaydam, Tamil Nadu, India.

“One has to have love when you go to another culture. Without love nothing can be accomplished,” she said. “Love is the same in every language.” 

The India trip marked the second international mission experience for both Marshall and Causey. During the summer 2005, Marshall spent 10 weeks as an International Mission Board volunteer to South Africa, and Causey traveled to China with a group of ETBU students. 

In India, Marshall found it difficult to observe problems and be unable to help.

“I struggled because I felt like we were viewing India through a glass box, seeing many hurts and injustices among the people and having very little ability to do anything about it,” she said.

But Causey believed God taught her an important lesson about focusing on faithfulness rather than observable results. One morning after she arrived in India, she read a passage in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings in which God commanded the Israelites to make a valley full of ditches before they went into battle against the Moabites. Although the people didn’t fully understand, they obeyed, and God eventually used the ditches to help defeat the Moabites. 

The day after she read that Scripture, as she was riding to the school where she served, she noted people digging ditches.

“I think (God) was trying to make sure I got the point—that although my job may not have been glamorous, I was there to (figuratively) dig ditches so that the Lord could use those in times to come to defeat the stronghold Satan has on Southern India,” she explained. 

Although they didn’t see large numbers of people come to faith in Christ during their trip, Causey said, “I saw the foundation laid, and the ditches have been dug for God to do a mighty work in that nation.” 

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

Posted: 8/24/07

The death of a Lubbock church sparks new life

By Jessica Dooley

Communications Intern

LUBBOCK—As deacons carried a casket out the sanctuary doors, worshippers marked the death of Trinity Baptist Church in Lubbock and the birth of The Family Church @ 34th and Boston.

When Pastor Dan Reynolds arrived at Trinity Baptist Church in June, he and the congregation agreed to start a new church in the declining church’s facilities.

“As a church planter, I told them: ‘We shut down Trinity Baptist Church, and you allow me to do what I need to do. We move into a mission status, partner with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Lubbock Area Baptist Association and start from scratch building a brand new church’,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds, who has planted churches before, said members were considering shutting down Trinity Baptist Church before they called him. In its prime, the church had 1,000 members in Sunday school; by the time Reynolds came to Trinity, attendance had declined to around 25.

At the funeral, former pastors Bob Utley and George Ray shared eulogies. Gene Hawkins, retired associational director of missions quoted a passage from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, focusing on the theme: “a time to live and a time to die.”

Director of Missions Larry Jones gave the charge for the future of the new church. He preached from a text in the Old Testament book of Haggai: “This new house will be of greater glory than the former house.”

During the service, the church’s constitution and by-laws were placed in the casket, and the deacons of Trinity Baptist Church carried the coffin out of the sanctuary.

“This was a real unique thing—actually a funeral for the church,” Reynolds said. “It was just very encouraging seeing the excitement that the people had about the new start. It is a radical change from who Trinity Baptist has been in the past.”

At the service, 48 charter members agreed to a new convent and signed it. More are expected to sign, as the charter remains open until Oct. 31. The Family Church is also working on partnering with other area churches.

“We have to think outside the box as far as ministry,” Reynolds said. “For one of our renovations, we remodeled our foyer and turned it into a coffee bar. We wanted something that didn’t resemble a church when you walk in.”

Soon, the church plans to install a wall of flat screen monitors, so visitors can sit in the coffee bar and watch the service in a nonthreatening environment.

“It’s really a way of dropping some of those barriers that exist and they can walk into a familiar environment,” Reynolds said.

They also plan to make the coffee shop wireless and open it during the evenings for college students. The church will offer free coffee, Internet and printer use to attract students.

“We want to reach all aspects of the neighborhood that we live in. Free is the key,” Reynolds said.

Because many Lubbock churches are moving to the outskirts of the city, The Family Church wants to focus its ministry in the inner city. Some of the ministries it hopes to launch in the next year include a soup kitchen, clothes closet, computer skills training class, day care center, before/after school programs, and a church planting launching center.

“The church planting [launching] center will be done in cooperation with the Lubbock Baptist Association,” Reynolds said. “There is one wing of this building that can be completely isolated and has its own outside entrance. This section of the building has enough space to sustain an entire congregation up to 100 people.

“It has a room that will be remodeled into a kitchen. There is a fellowship hall, worship center, 12 to 14 classrooms, men’s and women’s restrooms and access to the baptistry when needed. The [church planting] launching center is the most vital part of the entire operation. While here, new churches will be able to witness ongoing, hands on ministry in us and reproduce it in themselves.”

With the death of the old and the birth of the new, the church plans to embrace a less-traditional ministry and hopes to fill its once-overflowing halls.

“The gospel cannot change, but the method must constantly change,” Reynolds said. “That’s the philosophy I have lived by since I’ve gone into ministry.”

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