Posted: 8/03/07

Religion still ‘marginalized’ in foreign policy

By David Anderson

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—U.S. foreign policy officials have shown an increased understanding of religion’s importance to American diplomacy, but the government’s activities in that area display a “lack of strategic thinking” that hampers efforts abroad, according to a new report.

U.S. officials do not have “a clear set of policy objectives or tactical guidelines for dealing with emerging religious realities,” said the 92-page report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. “Offices, programs and initiatives are more often happen-stance than coherent.”

The report’s lead author was Liora Danan, a research assistant at the center. Titled “Mixed Blessings: U.S. Government Engagement with Religion in Conflict-Prone Settings,” the report says the government still needs a policy that can encourage broad public discussion and programs sensitive to religious realities.

“To consider all of the roles religion can play in conflict-prone settings, the government must expand beyond a threat-based, Islam-focused analysis of religion and embrace a broader understanding of world religions,” the report says.

While noting the government’s approach to religion in conflict-prone settings has improved in recent years, the report argues international religious freedom—the most visible religious issue in American foreign policy—“remains marginalized.”

“Government efforts have also belatedly and not entirely successfully considered religion’s role in promoting terrorism, while a public diplomacy campaign has scrambled to assure Muslim communities abroad of shared values, without always listening to the different priorities of various communities.”

Among the failures, the report cites “the U.S. government’s underestimation of the potential for sectarian violence in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraqi invasion.”

And, it adds, while policymakers “are now aware of the pervasive sectarian divisions in the area, they remain at a loss about how to respond. … The United States continues to try to contain violence without addressing the differences that lead to bloodshed.”

The report argues that countering the appeal of religiously motivated violence requires a deep understanding of the motivation behind the aggression.

In urging the U.S. government to better inform the public and policymakers about the role of religion in international conflicts, the report lists a host of recommendations, including clearer definitions of the legal parameters for engaging with religious issues, expansion of foreign exchange programs and increased government partnerships with faith-based groups abroad.

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Burned Iraqi children need
medical supplies; chaplain seeks help

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—A Baptist General Convention of Texas-endorsed Army chaplain is encouraging churches to send medical supplies to support a U.S. military-run medical clinic in Iraq for child burn victims.

U.S. military personnel treat as many as 100 young people a week in South Central Iraq during the winter and 25 a week during the summer. One in five patients is burned as a result of the conflict there. Most of the burns are a result of accidents, since many Iraqis cook with gasoline and heat their homes with diesel heaters.

In the process of working on the burns, doctors also discover and treat other medical issues children have. In extreme cases, children are referred to a nonprofit group that seeks to provide free medical care.

“The burn clinic offers the only medical facility where trained doctors and medics see burn victims and offer sanitary medical treatment,” said Army Chaplain Mark Richardson, who made the request for supplies. “Without the clinic, numerous children each year would contract infections, would be disfigured and some would die of complications from burns.”

Bobby Smith, director of BGCT chaplaincy relations, said Richardson’s request is an opportunity to meet the physical and spiritual needs of Iraqi children.

“Chaplain Richardson’s primary responsibility is to provide pastoral care to United States military personnel and their families, but his ministry heart goes beyond that to try to meet the needs of hurting children in Iraq,” Smith said. “This request empowers Texas Baptists to reach their arms around the globe to help one of their own minister there in a practical way.”

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Texas Baptist Forum

Future of missions

Discussion of the need for career missionaries and their role (July 9) contained quotes that show an incomplete view of missions. 

• Jump to online-only letters below

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

“We’ve got to give a very strong message, I speak to the Muslims now, that these martyrs aren’t going to heaven. These sinners are very much going to hell.” Shahid Malik British minister of international development and a Muslim, on violence committed in the name of Islam (CNN/RNS) “Instead of looking at global warming as Jerry Falwell has called it, ‘Satan’s diversion,’ we should see it as a note from God that says: ‘I said to be a steward, my children. Sin has consequence, and if you pollute this earth, there will be a price to pay. But it’s not too late, and with my help you can restore Eden.’” Richard Cizik Vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, quoted among a dozen people giving “12 Ideas for the Planet” (Newsweek/RNS) “I can’t think of a religious group he didn’t offend. He even did a cartoon that upset the Episcopalians, and you know how hard it is to upset Episcopalians.” John Shelton Reed Longtime friend of the late editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette (The Washington Post/RNS)

To say sending congregational members overseas is cheaper is based on incomplete accounting:  It costs much more because of the proportion of travel costs, but this falls on individuals and does not show up as a budget line item.  Also, to say outsiders should never plant churches overlooks the fact the first congregations in a community, whether defined by barriers of language, religion or distance, will always involve outsiders. Subsequent church multiplication will be done by local believers. 

Serious ministry depends on language abilities, cultural awareness and trust. These are developed over time.  People on a typical mission trip usually are dependent on translators, unable to build relationships with any but a few locals who speak English well. 

It was said that local people, not foreigners, can and should plant churches, and they can do it cheaper.  Doesn’t that also apply to distributing relief goods, construction projects and many of the other things that “mission trips” do? 

Let’s be honest: Too many mission trips have their biggest long-term impact in the lives of those who go, not in the lives of people who were visited. U.S. church members gain understanding of the place they visit, a new burden and vision, but let’s not confuse that with making disciples.

Pete Unseth

Duncanville

Immigration reform

Your well-intended editorial on immigration (July 9) leaves one to believe you support an immigration program that would allow millions of less fortunates into our country, simply because their personal circumstance dictates they must work for sub-standard wages and grovel in the dirt because big business is willing to make this “sacrifice” for them. 

This is the common thread that runs through so-called immigration programs. It has now reached the level of being an untouchable sacred cow. It reminds me of the rock ballad by Meatloaf of the 1980s: “I would do anything for your love, … but I won’t do that!”

Jesus would address this entire program. Not just the part friendly to big business.

P. Guillott Jr.

Beaumont

Bravo! Juan Castro hit the nail on the head about immigration (July 23). 

God has sent these folks to our doorstep so we might sow and gather. We should not and must not concern ourselves with politics, but we must reach out to all with the love of Christ. 

Jesus teaches, “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” When we look at others based on race, national origin and lifestyle (homosexuality), then we lose our ability to witness. 

Everyone, no matter their heritage, needs Jesus. He is the Answer.

Jack Graham

Paris

Children’s church

“Be ye not separate” discourages having a children’s worship service (July 23). I could not disagree more.

I have conducted children’s worship for almost 30 years and have seen children’s lives transformed as they learned to worship by practicing in an atmosphere tailored to their level. I have had the opportunity to lead numerous children to the Lord during children’s worship.

A good children’s worship will contain all the elements of worship, including worship in song, giving, prayer and a sermon followed by an invitation. The sermon, however, could be brought through magic, puppets or even the old-fashioned chalk drawings.

As far as the concern about not “witnessing the rituals of faith,” I always set up a “field day” to adult worship when the church conducts the Lord’s Supper, so children can see what is happening and then ask questions later. I also make sure they witness at least one baptism.

I am currently writing a book about my experiences and how to conduct children’s worship. It looks like it is really needed.

Bill Wissore

Venus

Politics

I have just read the editorial about Christians discussing politics (June 25). I applaud the reader who was making the claim regarding the “slippery slope” of discussing politics in a publication such as the Baptist Standard. I have recognized from almost the first day of Marv Knox’s editorship that his Democratic politics were almost to the point of being blatant. It is certainly possible to write editorials in the Baptist Standard without pushing one’s own political agenda.

I realize the fundamentalists have tried to take over the Republican party and this has made the moderates embrace the Democratic party. While I am far from being a fundamentalist as far as my religion is concerned, I am a conservative politically, and I reject wholeheartedly the claim in the editorial that we need Marv Knox’s political views for informational purposes. It does sound as though you feel that the reader of the Baptist Standard is without knowledge of the facts in our society today to the point that you need to enlighten. Please! I think you would find that most of us are well read. I have many friends who vote the Democratic party, but we don’t try to influence one another politically.

It would be well if Marv Knox realized that the “thoughtful reader” with whom he had the Internet discussions understood more than just how his politics permeate his Baptist Standard writings.

Marjean Kitts

Arlington

Global warming

It is disturbing to see Christian leaders supporting the global warming theory. Much of what we hear from advocates like Al Gore is exaggeration. 

There have been natural swings in global temperature forever, with previous warming followed by ice ages. There was another period of warming 1,000 years ago that led to the inhabitation of Iceland and Greenland and increase of agricultural production. It is not true that all scientists are concerned about this situation.

The National Academy of Science has stated, “A causal linkage between the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and observed climate change in the 20th century cannot be unequivocally established.” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has said, in regard to global warming, that he is “not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with.”

Certainly I’m not saying we should not be good stewards of God’s creation, but the Baptist General Convention of Texas should not be spending any of its funds to support what is basically a political situation.

Jeff R. Moore

Fredericksburg

Career missionaries

Having been both a denominationally funded career missionary for 31 years and a volunteer missionary in retirement, count me with those respected mission leaders Rob Nash, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; Clyde Meador, International Mission Board; Bill Tinsley, WorldconneX; and Ed Stetzer, LifeWay Christian Resources who affirm the necessity of career missionaries to effectively train and equip nationals.

A phone call from the  international director of a mission-sending agency in my other home country interrupted my reading of the July 9 Baptist Standard. After warm greetings, he and I spent time remembering those initial years of the now-large missionary sending agency he leads.  In earlier years—not days—a few committed youth found strength to continue mission outreach efforts through the encouragement, prayers and support of career denominationally supported missionaries. Those missionary efforts birthed then, through years of struggle, now reach literally around the world.

Do career denominationally funded missionaries have a future?  My vote is a resounding “yes.” 

Bettye Ann McQueen

Shreveport, La.

Kimball and pluralism

Hearing “Kimball” and “Carter” used to alarm only opposing Dallas high school teams. Now, however, Kimball and Carter should alarm every Bible-believing Texan.

Wake Forest University’s Charles Kimball, at the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ Christian Life Conference, claimed only common God-roots for Christianity, Islam and Judaism. But, in earlier presentations and interviews, Kimball declared himself a “pluralist” and expressed that “absolutist” claims of Christians do “tremendous harm all over the world.”

President Carter, according to recent reports, has referenced at least two paths to God other than salvation in Jesus. To Carter, a Mormon is a Christian and Judaism is an equally legitimate path.

Charles Kimball and Jimmy Carter aren’t in Texas, so why should Texas Baptists be alarmed? Here’s why: Attendance at its January announcement meeting in Atlanta reveals that the main proponents of Carter’s Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant include Wake Forest’s Divinity School and the BGCT.

Because, as Charles Wade said in response to the Kimball concern, “We Texas Baptists affirm that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through him,” this incompatibility alarm will only be alleviated by one of two responses—Carter refuting the reports and reporters, or the BGCT rescinding its sponsorship of his new movement. If neither happens, the question begging to be asked will be, “If, and since, it can’t be an ‘authentic Baptist witness,’ what is driving the BGCT’s involvement in Atlanta?”

Chuck Pace

Lake Jackson

More on tongues

After hearing so much about speaking in “unknown tongues,” I feel sure each of us has had this experience, and have perhaps never given it a second thought.

I often find myself unconciously humming a tune, even saying to myself, “ta, tee, ta” etc., which out loud would sound like nonsensical noise, yet to me, in my head, a symphony is playing out in a manner of elation to me.

At times when I feel the Spirit near, I also may find myself doing the same with an old religious hymn—elation to me, but noise to my right mind. Could this be an “unknown tongue”? If so, we are all guilty.

J.W. Daniel

Weatherford

Have we as Christians forgotten whom the Bible is about? The Southern Baptist division over speaking in tongues (June 25) is a ploy straight from the pit of hell to keep us from our mission.

At the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), God saw that man’s one language was being used for vanity.  Once again, man wanted to be a god.  This is God’s simplest teaching throughout the Bible: “Thou shalt have no other god before Me.”  It was not time for the Savior to come; God confounded their language so they could not communicate. 

Not until the day of Pentecost, when once again the people were in one accord, did our Holy Spirit come!  He restored the ability to speak in other languages and to understand other languages. Acts 2:8 asks, “And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?”  This was God’s doing, in his time, for his purpose, for his glory!  It was time for the world to know its Savior—Jesus Christ!  It was time for believers to spread the gospel: The truth that Jesus Christ, who without sin died for all who had sinned.  Without him there is no way unto the Father! 

Adding to what Christ did on the Cross is saying what he did is not good enough.  The gift of tongues is being used today. It is used to translate the gospel into other languages so that his story can be spread so that others may hear in their own tongue where they were born!  

Rhonda D. Pope

Gilmer

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Most Muslims worldwide say
suicide bombings unjustified

By Omar Sacirbey

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—George Bush and Osama bin Laden are both losing the battle for Muslim hearts and minds, a new report shows.

The Pew Global Attitudes Project, a 47-nation survey, found that rising prosperity in the Islamic world has helped slash support for terrorism and bin Laden but has not changed minds about the United States, which most Muslims still view as a military threat.

Majorities in 15 of 16 Muslim countries surveyed said suicide bombings rarely or never can be justified, the report said. The Palestinian territories were the exception, where 70 percent of respondents said suicide bombing sometimes or often is justified.

The percentage of Muslims saying suicide bombing is justified fell sharply since 2002 in five of eight countries where the trend could be measured. In Pakistan, for example, 9 percent of Muslims said suicide bombings to defend Islam often or sometimes are justified, compared with 33 percent in 2002.

Bin Laden’s popularity also fell. Between 2003 and 2007 in Jordan, support for the al-Qaeda leader declined from 56 percent to 20 percent. In Lebanon, it decreased from 20 percent to 1 percent.

But America’s image remained “abysmal” in the Muslim world, the report said, with solid majorities in every country saying they saw the United States as a military threat.

The report also found mixed support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and growing worries about the spread of violence between Shiites and Sunnis.

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

Posted: 8/03/07

On the Move

• Neil Adams has resigned as pastor of Bethlehem Church in Douglassville.

• Zachary Ailshie to Glen Cove Church in Coleman as pastor.

• Charles Ashley to First Church in Aubrey as minister of music.

• Craig Bermender to Pond Springs Church in Austin as pastor.

• Chris Bottoms to Friendship Church in Groves as pastor.

• Don Cole to First Church in Murphy as pastor.

• Dustin Creech has resigned as pastor of College View Church in Abilene.

• Gary Downey to Heights Church in Liberty as interim worship leader.

• Brian Durr to Congress Avenue Church in Austin as minister of youth and education.

• Michael Eaton has resigned as pastor of Holiday Hills Church in Abilene.

• Mike Gann to First Church in Luella as music minister.

• Sue Garland has resigned as minister of youth and children at Calvary Church in Harlingen.

• Paul Guthrie to First Church in Canton as interim student minister.

• Bruce Hickman to Marystown Church in Burleson as interim pastor.

• James Howard has resigned as pastor of Cass Church in Atlanta.

• Ben Lagasse to First Church in Dimmitt as interim youth minister.

• Jason Lane to Potosi Church in Abilene as youth minister.

• Clayton Ledbetter has resigned as minister of music at Grace Temple Church in Denton.

• Dwight and Rachel Merrell to Trinity Church in Lytle as music and youth leaders.

• Jeremy Moore to First Church in Luella as youth minister.

• Shawn Paschal to South Burleson Church in Burleson as pastor.

• Nick Reeves has resigned as minister of youth at Crescent Heights Church in Abilene.

• Jim Rust to Antioch Church in Atlanta as pastor.

• Scotty Sanders to Valley Creek Church in Flower Mound as executive pastor.

• Larry Strandberg has resigned as pastor of First Church in Cresson.

• Brad Sutton has resigned as minister of music at CrossRidge Church in Little Elm.

• Burlie Taylor has completed an interim pastorate at Glen Cove Church in Coleman.

• John Waller to First Church of Sherwood Shores in Gordonville as music and youth minister.

• Cody Whitfill to River Valley Christian Fellowship in Bastrop as pastor from Broadview Church in Abilene, where he was youth pastor.

• Terry Wilkins has resigned as pastor of First Church in Chappell Hill.

• Kyle Wilson to University Church in Houston as director of student ministries from First Church in Corsicana, where he was student pastor.

• Daryl Woerz has resigned as associate pastor at First Church in Whitesboro.

• Jeremy Woods to Fairview Church in Sherman as associate pastor.

• Walter Wright to First Church in Tulia as minister of music, where he had been interim.

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Battling Baptists kissing
cousins to peace churches

By Jennifer Harris

Word &Way

aptists are known for being theologically diverse. And that diversity extends to Baptists’ relationships with their theological cousins, the Quakers, Mennonites and Brethren—the historical peace churches.

“Although a few Baptists have opted for pacifism on occasion, most fit better into the category known as pacificism, by which is meant they regard war as a horrible option for resolving disputes between nations, but still concede its inevitability on occasion. Sometimes, human beings must pay the supreme price to preserve freedom, eliminate oppression and injustice or end other evils,” wrote Glenn Hinson in a 2004 Baptist History and Heritage article, “Baptist attitudes toward war and peace since 1914.”

While historians disagree on the role of Anabaptists in influencing Baptist origins, Hinson, senior professor of church history and spirituality at the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, says there is clear evidence of a connection between the Waterlander Mennonites and the General Baptists, the earliest group of Baptists in England.

“A group of English refugees who became Baptists lived in a bakery owned by a Mennonite,” he said in an interview.

“There is some evidence, too, of Anabaptist influence on the other group of Baptists, called Particular Baptists. In addition, I think we can safely say that Baptists and Quakers in England came out of the same womb, Puritan Separatism, even though they didn’t get along very well.”

Bill Leonard, dean of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University, points out that as early at the 17th century, Baptists had several points where they distinguished themselves from Anabaptist groups.

“Baptists would take an oath,” he said, pointing out one distinction. Anabaptist groups, on the other hand, do not. Baptists also have a loyalty to the state, Leonard said. In times of hostility, that loyalty has led Baptists to move to a just-war theory.

World War II in particular led many Baptists to step away from pacifism.

“World War II became a kind of watershed for Baptists—a recognition that there are certain times when evil is so awesome that there is no other response to be made,” Leonard said.

Baptists didn’t want to let other conflicts rise to the level of Nazi Germany, Leonard said. “They didn’t want to let … (the Holocaust) happen again.”

Hinson said Baptists have typically started peace movements just before wars, but joined the fight once hostilities began.

“I think Baptists read Scriptures, especially the Gospels, enough to recognize that war is contrary to God’s purpose,” he said. “If it can be avoided, we should do so. Consequently, as questioning goes on about entering a war, Baptists have often joined those who oppose it.”

He also pointed out that Baptists participated with other Puritans in the English Civil War from 1642 to 1646 and have fought in most wars since.

Both Hinson and Leonard acknowledged there have been noted Baptists who are pacifists, including Walter Raushenbusch and Harry Emerson Fosdick.

In Leonard’s book Baptist Ways: A History, he points out that conservative preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon spoke out against war.

“Although apparently not a member of the Peace Society, Charles Haddon Spurgeon condemned militarism in general and the Crimean War in particular. In a well-known sermon, ‘War and the Spread of the Gospel,’ he declared, ‘And I do firmly hold that the slaughter of men, that bayonets, and swords and guns, have never yet been, and never can be promoters of the gospel.’”

The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America has provided opportunities for pacifist Baptists to work together since the early 1980s. Hinson says the Baptist Peace Fellowship has been slowly growing in recent years.

The Southern Baptist Convention makes what appears to be a strong peace statement in its Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Still, the SBC is the only religious body that backed the invasion of Iraq, Hinson said.

“Part of the reason for that is that the South has always been more militant that the rest of the country, and most of the military installations in the U.S. are located in the South,” he explained.

“Apart from Southern Baptists, however, you can see a strong peace emphasis in the American Baptist Churches, among Conservative Baptists and in some of the smaller Baptists bodies. That echoes what is happening in other denominations.”

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Churches keep peace within by
focusing on troops—not on the war

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Many Christians with deeply held opinions on an increasingly unpopular war find themselves worshipping with fellow believers on the opposite side of the political divide.

Feelings particularly run high in communities near military installations. And some leaders of churches in those areas have adopted an unofficial policy for keeping the peace in their congregations—pray for the troops, and “don’t ask, don’t tell” opinions about the war in Iraq.

“We just don’t talk about it,” said David Morgan, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Harker Heights, near Fort Hood.

Trinity Baptist regularly prays for the troops and seeks to minister to military personnel and their families. As the conflict in Iraq has continued, Morgan said, he has begun to hear some spouses of soldiers raising questions about the war. But generally, active-duty military personnel and their families are reluctant to voice opinions about policy, he noted.

“If you’re a soldier, it is understood that you do not question the commander-in-chief—even at church,” he said.

Similarly, attention at Central Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., has focused on concern for troops and their families rather than on political discussions regarding the war.

“It hasn’t caused a conflict here. We’ve got a strong military crowd—lots of veterans in the congregation,” Pastor David Turner said. “There’s a recognition among them that things (with the war) aren’t always going the way they want to. Their support is often for the troops and not for the way the war is conducted.”

Turner insisted his congregation has plenty of other pressing issues to handle, and it has chosen not to “get sidetracked” by debates over the war in Iraq.

“Unless you have a good reason to make this an issue, I can’t imagine doing it. There are always so many potential conflicts in churches, most people don’t need another one.”

In El Paso—home to Fort Bliss—members of First Baptist Church have steered clear of divisive political discussions. Instead, the church has focused on supporting the troops and praying both for them and for the elected officials who make decisions about their future, said Pastor Richard Rush.

“We believe we have a responsibility to pray for those who are in authority over us and to seek God’s guidance on their behalf,” Rush said.

Prayer also has been the focus at Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio—home city to Fort Sam Houston, Randolph Air Force Base and Lackland Air Force Base, among other installations.

“I’m sure we have a wide variety of opinions in our congregation about the war, but it’s just not something we’ve made a point of conflict or controversy,” said Pastor Judson Edwards.

Instead of debating the merits of the war or the way it is being carried out, Woodland has directed its attention to praying for the troops, for their families and for injured military personnel at Brooke Army Medical Center, Edwards said.

“Rather than becoming a divisive issue, it’s been more of a rallying point—a unifying thing for our church—as we’ve focused on prayer. We’ve been united in our concern for the troops and in our prayers for getting them home safely,” he said.

Another San Antonio congregation—Covenant Baptist Church—likewise has concentrated on praying “for everyone whose lives are being disrupted by the war—our soldiers, along with the Iraqi people and the people of Afghanistan,” said Pastor Gordon Atkinson.

But unlike many other congregations, Atkinson reports a general consensus of opinion in his church about the conflict in Iraq—and a willingness to discuss it.

“Most of our folks think this war is terribly wrong,” he said.

“We talk about it a lot informally. …There’s quite a bit of grousing about it around the tables.”

With additional reporting by Robert Dilday of the Virginia Religious Herald.

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Have Baptists lost their prophetic voice?

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

Beginning with the ancient Christians martyred by the Roman Empire and running through Thomas Becket and to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and beyond, church leaders often have spoken truth courageously to the secular powers-that-be — regardless of the consequences.

But, in the months leading up to the increasingly unpopular Iraq war, did the United States’ powerful conservative evangelical community step away from its responsibility to convey hard truths to the government? The answer, it seems, varies depending on one’s views on the war—both past and present.

“I think (conservative evangelicals) abdicated or relinquished their prophetic role from the beginning” of President Bush’s administration, said Adam Taylor, senior political director for Sojourners/Call to Renewal, a progressive evangelical group that opposed the war from the start.

But Richard Land, the head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public-policy agency, said he thinks he and other conservative evangelicals who supported the war vocally were fulfilling their roles properly.

“I think that most of the evangelicals I think of—the majority that supported liberating Iraq and the minority who didn’t support liberating Iraq by military force—both spoke truth as they saw it to power,” he said. “And if they do that, they’re certainly speaking prophetically.”

Land led a group of five prominent evangelical leaders who, in the run-up to the war in the fall of 2002, signed an open letter declaring that Bush’s designs on Iraq satisfied the criteria of Christian just-war theory.

Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s then-dictator, “attacked his neighbors, used weapons of mass destruction against his own people, and harbored terrorists from the al-Qaeda terrorist network that attacked our nation so viciously and violently on Sept. 11, 2001,” the letter said.

Its signers included Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson. In a Dec. 2002 article for Christianity Today magazine, Colson argued that the classic definition of Christian just-war theory should be “stretched” to accommodate a new age in which terrorism and warfare are intertwined.

He concluded that “out of love of neighbor, then, Christians can and should support a preemptive strike” on Iraq to prevent Iraqi-based or Iraqi-funded attacks on the United States or its allies.

Charles Stanley, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta and a former Southern Baptist Convention president, even argued from the pulpit that war sometimes may be divinely justified.

“Throughout Scripture, there is evidence that God favors war for divine reasons and sometimes uses it to accomplish his will. He has also given governments and their citizens very specific responsibilities in regards to this matter,” Stanley said, in a sermon broadcast internationally on his television program.

Polls at the time and later on showed white evangelical Christians were among the war’s strongest supporters. But along with the rest of the public, evangelical support for involvement in Iraq has slipped considerably in polls taken over the last year.

Nonetheless, Land said he continues to believe the decision to attack was right at the time, even if the war itself has been mishandled.

“I still think that the liberation of Iraq was a noble cause, and it also was in the self-interest of our country and the other countries in the region,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “And it certainly caused the fall of one of the more dastardly personages of the 20th century in Saddam Hussein.”

But, with a sizable number of Americans now saying the war was a mistake for America, Sojourners’ Taylor said the fact some of the evangelical community’s most prominent leaders seemed to endorse Bush’s agenda whole-heartedly makes the war a mistake for evangelicalism itself.

“In terms of the credibility of the evangelical voice and community, certainly it’s had an impact,” he said.

Evangelicalism has “become something of an appendage of the Republican Party” to many non-evangelical Americans, Taylor said.

“Even if we may disagree on how those Christian values should be applied to public-policy issues, we think we could agree … on the importance of maintaining your prophetic integrity. And having an uncritical view of the war really compromised that prophetic integrity.”

To Baptist historian Bill Leonard, there are precedents for Christian leaders being burned for cozying up to presidents. He noted many of the same conservative evangelicals who have defended the war previously criticized progressive evangelical sociologist Tony Campolo for serving as one of President Clinton’s spiritual confidants during his adultery-and-impeachment scandal.

“Earlier than that, Billy Graham himself had to come to terms with his close friendship with Richard Nixon after Watergate. And that was one of the cases where even Graham himself talked about his own sense of having been compromised,” said Leonard, dean of Wake Forest University Divinity School.

But Leonard also noted disillusionment over the war has created a “teachable moment” among evangelicals and contributed to a growing discontent with the Religious Right among some younger evangelical leaders.

“There is evidence among certain … emerging-church leaders who look over the fence, in a way, and who see where identification with one political party has taken some of their counterparts and their mentors and have pulled back from that,” Leonard said.

“Because they see where this can take you when the government goes sour or when particular things go in directions that are religiously compromised or questionable.”

Land, however, said such an understanding of evangelicalism’s current dynamics assumes he and other leaders viewed Bush’s desire to go to war uncritically—and the war itself has been an unmitigated disaster.

“I don’t know any evangelicals personally who I had any suspicion” were mincing their words to Bush over the gravity of his decision to go to war, Land said. He noted he has long been an advocate of American military action to liberate the oppressed.

“You understand I’m someone who argued for (the first President) Bush … to intervene in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and one who argued for President Clinton to intervene in Kosovo and praised him when he did so,” he said. “I’m a pretty strong advocate for intervening when we can to stop human-rights atrocities.”

Land also noted that, whether he and other U.S. evangelical leaders wrongly paved the way to Iraq or not, the U.S. military is there now.

“To me, the discussion about whether or not we should have gone into Iraq militarily is an interesting discussion, … but it’s also an abstract one,” he said.

“And the question is, now, what is the best way to win this war in a way that will benefit the Iraqi people and the people of the region and the United States?”

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Faith changes little over a lifetime, research reveals

By Shona Crabtree

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Michele Dillon and Paul Wink have interviewed scores of septuagenarians about their faith—or lack thereof—and compared their answers to those they gave during their teens and middle age.

What did they discover? People really don’t change much over time—religiosity in early adulthood is comparable to that in late adulthood, with a dip in middle age.

Other data include: religiosity peaks during teenage years; “spiritual seekers” (those who remain interested in religion while not being tied to one particular faith or tradition) and more church-oriented people are equally altruistic; and religion serves as a psychological buffer only for the elderly in poor health.

Dillon, professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, and Wink, professor of psychology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, are the husband and wife co-authors of In the Course of a Lifetime: Tracing Religious Belief, Practice, and Change. The book uses statistical analysis and personal narratives to tell the story of religion in everyday lives.

The study is unusual, in part, because of the interdisciplinary collaboration of its authors but also because of its longevity, which enabled the authors to examine religion over time, and its breadth, with extensive interviews and detailed narratives.

Beginning in the 1920s, the University of California-Berkeley social science study interviewed more than 400 people, many of whom were subsequently interviewed about a range of topics, including religion, during their adolescence and again in the 1950s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.

The last round of interviews in the late 1990s included almost 200 people.

The data had not been mined in detail for its religious content, Dillon said. When she and Wink started going through the reams of research, they realized they had a treasure trove.

“I was really taken with this data, by the richness of their individual lives rather than just looking at the aggregate patterns,” she said.

The study lacked racial, geographic and religious diversity. It consisted primarily of white people in Northern California’s Bay Area who were predominantly Protestant and Catholic. But it was socio-economically diverse, Wink said.

Wink was surprised by the stability of religion in individuals over time.

“There are changes, but the changes are … more like a gentle ebb and flow rather than drastic changes,” he noted.

The findings challenge the dominant theory that older people become more religious when faced with death and health issues. The study also shed some light on middle age, which typically suffers from a paucity of psychological re-search, Wink said.

Previous studies examining people from their 50s to their 70s indicated a significant increase in religiosity. Taking a longer view showed that people actually return to levels of religiosity experienced in early adulthood.

Having school-age children tended to increase religious involvement, but it decreased, according to the study, when people reached their 40s and 50s and their children left home.

Religious participants fared better psychologically than nonreligious people, Wink and Dillon said. Precisely why being religious helps is difficult to determine, they said, but it may provide a sense of meaning in the face of adversity.

“I think religion does really give people what you might call a deeper sense of meaning, a deeper way or a frame by which to interpret some of the stuff that happens in life,” says Dillon.

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Sometimes you want to go where
everybody knows your name

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ELTON—When Randy Rather walks into Tidwell Baptist Church near Greenville, he’s knows everyone—their names, their likes and dislikes and their families. And they know nearly everything about Rather, their pastor.

It’s this atmosphere that makes people feel welcome in small-membership churches, according to pastors who serve in them. Small numbers of people create an environment where people can foster deep relationships with the entire congregation.

“I think one of the things that draws people is there’s a chance things can be really personal, whether you’re talking about being in a Bible study, choir or worship,” said Dwayne Wheat, pastor of Berea Baptist Church in Big Spring. “There’s an obvious hole when someone’s missing.”

The same camaraderie exists among small-church pastors, who recently gathered for their annual meeting, supported by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

This year, the Texas Baptist Bivocational/Small Church Ministers and Spouses Association elected Rather as president, Baptist General Convention of Texas Congregational Strategist Robert Cepeda as vice president, Rosalind Ray of Fairy Baptist Church in Fairy as second vice president, Ellen Goodson of Memorial Baptist Church in Denton as secretary and Danny Rogers of Field Street Baptist Church in Cleburne as treasurer.

About 70 percent of more than 5,600 congregations affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas average fewer than 100 people each week in Bible study.

Pastors indicated the same factor that draws people to small churches —relationships—keeps them there, as well.

“Pastoring a small church is one of the most rewarding things you can do because you have a relationship with every person,” Rather said.

Small churches are like family businesses, he said. Members know each other, and each has a role. Small churches often require a high degree of commitment from their members, because each person is vital to the congregation’s ministry, he explained.

“A smaller membership church is never a second-class church,” Wheat said. “It holds great opportunities for people who want to find a place to minister, who want a place of service, who want a place to grow.”

David Keith, pastor of Carlton Baptist Church in Hamilton Association, said it’s important to remember members of small churches are trying to serve God like members of larger churches. They sense God moving in their lives and respond. People, many of whom would never attend a larger congregation, come to know Christ as Savior through small churches.

“We’re serving the Lord as effectively as churches with 9,000 or 10,000,” Keith said. “There are needs in rural areas, too.”

Rather echoed Keith’s thoughts. “The ministry of the small church is reaching hearts in a large way, one at a time.”

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

Posted: 8/03/07

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

Posted: 8/03/07

Ministry to orphans still changing
lives amid turmoil of Sri Lanka

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

ATTICALOA, Sri Lanka —Out of sight doesn’t mean out of danger for Sri Lanka’s orphans. Even though the world’s interest in the Indian Ocean island country waned rapidly after the December 2004 tsunami, many survivors of that disaster still are caught in the decades-old civil war that pockmarks the northeastern part of the nation.

The tsunami caused 35,000 deaths in Sri Lanka on Dec. 26, 2004, while the civil war is believed to have resulted in 70,000 casualties in 20 years—including 5,000 in the last 20 months.

Many Texas Baptists became well acquainted with Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, in the aftermath of the tsunami when Baptist Child & Family Services’ overseas division, Children’s Emergency Relief International, and Texas Baptist Men responded to pleas for help and were assigned to the coastal town.

BCFS/CERI established a long-term presence in Batticaloa, on the border between the government-controlled area and the region controlled by the secessionist Tamil Tigers. At the request of the Sri Lankan government, the agency created a prototype foster care program. Almost three years later, about 200 children are receiving health care, education and hope for the future through that program.

And despite ongoing fighting and dwindling resources, the family service agency recently opened a pilot program on the southwestern coast and plans to double the number of children in care over the next 12 months.

Government records list 2,560 children nationwide who lost both parents in the tsunami, including 700 in Batticaloa and another 275 at CERI’s new program site. The 200 boys and girls being cared for represent the starting point to address the situation.

Each child receives about $30 monthly, which foster parents must account for in detailed reports. In a first for the country, CERI caseworkers make regular in-home visits to monitor care and provide guidance. Monthly training sessions also are offered for the foster parents.

“Attendance is around 95 percent, even though many of them have to walk several miles to the meetings,” said Basil Fonseka, a Sri Lankan who is CERI’s program director. “We require that a minimum of 10 percent of the monthly stipend go into a savings account the child can access at the age of 18 for higher education or to establish a suitable micro-enterprise program. And some foster parents are putting more than 30 percent, $10, in the accounts each month.”

Program participants re-flect the religious makeup of the country with Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Chris-tians all represented in the foster homes.

“God knows every Sri Lankan child by name, and God’s people can provide the funding we need to expand this ministry,” CERI Executive Director Dearing Garner points out.  “After visiting in the homes of our foster children with the national staff a few months back, I came away convinced that we have no choice. Too many lives are being touched by Jesus’ love for us to stop or even stay at the same level.”

Garner, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Kingwood before becoming executive director of the overseas agency, won’t have trouble finding motivation to raise funds and mission volunteers for the Sri Lanka program.

“Sri Lankans are such beautiful people who work hard and are generous even in the middle of poverty,” he explained. “In every home—without exception—I met foster parents deeply committed to providing the best possible care and children who are thriving after having their hope for a solid future restored.”

A CERI volunteer mission trip to Sri Lanka is being planned for no later than next spring, Garner noted. More information about BCFS/CERI is available by e-mail at dgarner@bcfs.net, by phone at (800) 830-2246 and on the internet at www.bcfs.net.

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