Posted: 7/27/07

African American Fellowship
honors past, looks to future

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

AUSTIN—As African American Fellowship of Texas members paid tribute to the legacy of the group’s late president and honored the leadership of a statesman, they also were challenged to act by another legendary Texas pastor during the James W. Culp Banquet.

Tears glistened on the faces of Sheila Edwards, sister of the late president Ronald Edwards, and many participants, including Michael Evans, fellowship secretary and pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield, recalled the legacy of the former pastor of Minnehulla Baptist Church in Goliad.

Nearly 200 pastors and church leaders participated in the 15th annual African American Conference held in Austin.

“We are blessed by the great memory of a great man,” Evans said as he noted Edwards’ leadership and mission-minded ministry.

Keynote speaker Isadore Edwards, pastor of New Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, urged pastors to see the world’s growing problems as opportunities.

“For the church, it’s a great time to be alive,” Edwards said. “Lay the foundation now for future generations.”

Preaching from Joshua 17:14-15, the 81-year-old pastor encouraged African-American leaders to meet life’s challenges.

“If you find the hill country of Ephraim too narrow and confining, climb into the forest and clear ground there,” he said. “If black people are such a powerful people, then get up and stop complaining. Go out there, see those tall timbers and cut them down for yourself.”

Too many young preachers want large congregations, but are not shepherding them, he insisted. Some young pastors, Edwards added, are “fleecing the flock and building a nest for themselves.”

Nothing that God doesn’t want “lethargic” leaders, who say “that’ll do,” Edwards emphasized God wants productive leaders.

“I’m not black by mistake. God gave me potential, preparation and power. So get up. Go up. It’s a high mountain with great trees. Cut it down for yourself,” he said.

Further, Edwards encouraged fellowship and Baptist General Convention of Texas leaders to push past themselves through prayer and power.

Another legendary African-American leader, Marvin Griffin, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Austin was honored for being a “trailblazer” in ministry and for being a part of the BGCT 38 years.

Jerry Dailey, pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in San Antonio, honored Griffin with an award recognizing his long-time leadership. Griffin, who is in his 90s, was unable to attend the banquet.

Called to serve as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in 1969, Griffin led the congregation in a mortgage burning ceremony during the church’s 100th anniversary celebration in November 1975. Later, he initiated a Meals-on-Wheels program for the elderly and started radio, television, tape and bus ministries. 

Under Griffin’s leadership, Ebenezer Baptist recently formed a new partnership involving day care and economic development, including a private developer, the Lilly Endowment, the city of Austin and Nations Bank. A building project in excess of $1 million is underway, according to the church’s web site.

Fellowship leaders also recognized Kenneth Blake, pastor of Westside Baptist Church in Lewisville, and his congregation as the largest giving African-American church to the BGCT Cooperative Program.

In other conference developments, the fellowship announced a new mission focus and named Tyler as the host city for the 2008 16th African American Conference.

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

Posted: 7/27/07

African American Fellowship
elects new officers, casts vision

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

AUSTIN—The African American Fellowship of Texas elected a slate of officers during the organization’s 15th annual conference at First Baptist Church in Austin.

Fellowship Vice President John Ogletree, pastor of First Metropolitan Church in Houston, was elected president. Ogletree assumed the president’s post after Ronald Edwards, who was president of the fellowship, died May 31.

Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth and former president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, was elected as the fellowship’s vice president. 

The fellowship re-elected Michael Evans, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield, as secretary and Marvin Delaney, of South Park Baptist Church in Houston, as treasurer.

The body also elected Steven Young, pastor of New Generation Baptist Church in Tyler, as assistant secretary and Elmo Johnson, pastor of Rose of Sharon Baptist Church in Houston, as assistant treasurer. 

In memory Edwards, the fellowship voted to lend as much support as possible to the former president’s church, Minnehulla Baptist Church in Goliad.

“We plan to provide pastors who will rotate every Sunday to preach and help lead the congregation during this difficult time,” Ogletree said. “We also plan to assist the church in finding a new preacher.

In other action, the group voted to support and be a part of the New Baptist Covenant celebration, scheduled for January 2008 in Atlanta.

Announcing his vision for the year ahead, Ogletree stressed a “focus on making the fellowship a strong viable organization for Texas pastors and serving the needs of churches belonging to the fellowship and the BGCT.” He added that the African-American group wants to secure feedback from the local fellowships in an effort to sharpen African-American leaders. 

The fellowship’s leaders plan to ask veteran pastors to help support pastors of new churches by volunteering to coach and mentor them in their ministries, Ogletree added.  

In other business, the fellowship named Ryan Edwards, nephew of the late president, as the recipient of the Michael Evans Scholarship, a $1,000 college scholarship.  

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

Posted: 7/27/07

CYBER COLUMN:
Optimism’s reward

By Jinny Henson

The beginning of the journey to Disney—the place where dreams come true—was innocuous. Sunscreen, shorts, our own water bottles and snacks because the tickets cost as much as a compact car. We were set. I had the “unofficial” guide highlighted, which my uptight husband had some issue with since it came from the library. Such a wet blanket that man is. Sheesh.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, approached the metal detector and shucked our footwear. I was careful to reign in my sense of humor since a sign blatantly reminds passengers to refrain from making ANY jokes—a thrown-down gauntlet for a comic, I might add. I just want to sing, “gun, gun, gun, gun, gun, gun,” to a Mambo beat whenever I see that thing.

Safely inside our connecting flight (this airplane was an older model; it actually had the ashtrays IN the bathroom.) we took off. Due to bad weather in Memphis, our flight was diverted to Little Rock. Hopes dashed, we festered, incarcerated, in the capsule of broken dreams. My husband asked, “Didn’t some airline get sued for holding people on the runway for 17 hours?” He knows just how to reassure the kids. I maternally sweep up the carnage.

“I wish we could just go on one plane and get there,” my 8-year-old innocently expressed. In a Stepford Wives moment, I plastered a patina of calm on my boiling innards and said it wouldn’t be that long and that I would buy him another pack of $2 trail mix from the steward. He was busily distributing more water from an industrial-sized bottled-water jug, which John said he probably just refilled from the airplane faucet. You even had to grab your own cup. We only do it first class.

After 90 minutes, the storm cleared. We were in line to take of for the 20-minute flight to Memphis. As luck would have it, that left just enough time to miss our connecting. Arriving in Tennessee at 5:06, we glanced at the monitor and saw where the flight to Orlando left at 5:00. My cup perpetually half full, I noticed the gate number, and gripped with the adventuresome spirit of Sacagawea, screamed at the family to follow me. We sprinted to the opposite end of the terminal. John lagged behind, convinced that our ship had sailed.

We arrived at the gate, which was empty, the door locked and I could hear the faint echoes of the King lowing “Are you lonesome tonight?”

My optimism is rarely rewarded by life. I should learn by now not to exert myself for the slim chance that something could happen. Not one for regrets, I was certain that we at least had to try. We may have appeared crazy, but if there was the slightest shred of hope that we could get there, we had to attempt it.

This shred-of-hopeness has often led to my deep disappointment. My husband is the rock of Gibraltar. Nothing flusters the man. God did this on purpose. This very moment, he is systematically cutting cantaloupe in perfectly even geometric wedges. I lop the melon into quarters John-Belushi “Samurai Deli” style and sling it on the table. Without him, my kids would most likely view Ding Dongs as a dinner entrée and play in the rain. OK, we still play in the rain, but you get my drift. He is the measured voice of reason that keeps me grounded, helps me focus and has made me a better woman.

But sometimes, unexpectedly, the worm turns and bolsters my naiveté. Out of nowhere, up scurried a ticket agent. She asked for our boarding passes, which of course were in Half-Empty’s pocket 20 gates back. I let out a primal shriek “John,” which shook even the swine on the Memphis BBQ sign down to his pickled feet.

He was as stunned as I was as the stewardess unlocked the door. We were quickly ushered into our flight, which, it turns out, was actually held for us.

Four nights later, after two days of Disney and two at the ACME Marriage Conference (a GREAT combination….any trip to Disney will make you want a divorce—from your entire family,) John and I were seated for the evening banquet with Millard and Linda Fuller. You ever get the feeling that you’ve been seated at the wrong table?

The Fullers founded Habitat for Humanity, which has built homes all over the world. They now build houses through The Fuller Center for Housing. As we watched the Country Music Television’s video of their epic life story of how they have been God’s provision for thousands of downtrodden individuals, I grinned to myself. Perhaps the best things in life—like vision, grace, and optimism—are their own reward.

Jinny Henson travels the country as a Christian comedienne. John, Maggie Lee and Jack are an endless source of material for her. You can find out more about her at www.jinnyhenson.com

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

Posted: 7/26/07

Gay-friendly Baptist groups excluded
from New Baptist Covenant event

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP)—The organization sponsoring an upcoming historic pan-Baptist gathering has told two gay-friendly Baptist groups they cannot participate in an official capacity.

The North American Baptist Fellowship, under whose auspices next year’s “Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant” is being held, has informed the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America that they cannot become affiliates of the NABF. Therefore, they cannot be official participants in the event.

“This is not a rejection of either organization or the people in those organization[s],” wrote Alan Stanford, general secretary of the NABF, in an e-mail alerting leaders of the two groups to NABF’s decision. “It is a recognition that we can not hold together the large coalition of Baptists needed to create a new Baptist voice in North America and address the issue of sexual orientation at the same time. We ask for your forbearance and understanding.”

The event is scheduled for early 2008 in Atlanta. It is designed to bring together as many different Baptist denominational bodies in North America as possible, including those of Southern Baptist, American Baptist and African-American Baptist heritage. Organizers—who include former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton—have said they hope to unite an ideologically diverse array of Baptists around the common causes of promoting evangelism, fighting poverty and supporting religious freedom.

But Ken Pennings, executive director of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, said organizers are ignoring one of the biggest social-justice issues by avoiding the controversial topic of sexuality and the church.

“This sort of thing ought not to go on in Christ’s church,” he said in an e-mail responding to Stanford. “Here we are at a critical juncture when Baptists of all stripes are coming together to take a strong stand for justice for all of God’s children, and the very people in American society being scapegoated and marginalized the most … are not going to be invited to participate.”

To become official sponsors of the celebration, the organizations would have had to become affiliates of the NABF, which is comprised of the denominational bodies in the United States and Canada that belong to the Baptist World Alliance, as well as those groups affiliated with them.

In an interview, Stanford said inviting groups with explicitly pro-gay stances—the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists is made up of congregations open to homosexual members and the Baptist Peace Fellowship counts supporting gay rights as a justice issue—would imply changing the terms of the meeting. That could cause an already fragile coalition to unravel, he said.

“We agreed that we would focus on those things that there was broad agreement about, and there is not broad agreement on this subject,” Stanford said. “So, while everyone thinks that (sexuality) is a topic of grave concern—it is a topic that needs lots of discussion and prayer—it was not a part of the stated agenda from the beginning. And so I think a lot of the North American (Baptist) leaders thought that his would be changing the agreed-upon terms.”

But Pennings said such an attitude betrays the purpose and name of the celebration itself. “This really is more like the Old Covenant than the New Covenant,” he said. “Why would we want to participate in this? There’s nothing new about this; it’s the same old exclusion.”

The criticism of the event from the left is new, but organizers of the celebration have already received extensive criticism from the right. Some leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention—also not invited to participate in an official capacity because it is no longer a member body of the NABF or the BWA—have characterized the event as excluding conservatives. Others have cited Carter and Clinton’s involvement in the event as simply a way to drum up Baptist support for Democrats, even though organizers have also enlisted prominent Baptist Republicans as speakers.

Although the Baptist Peace Fellowship and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists will not be official participants in the celebration, individual members and participating churches of both groups will. Both Pennings and Evelyn Hanneman, the Peace Fellowship’s interim director, noted that the vast majority of their partner congregations are affiliated with national denominational groups that are member bodies of the NABF and BWA.

“In fact, three Baptist Peace Fellowship members are part of a planning committee” for the celebration, Hanneman said. “So, they’re interested in keeping us off the table for our stance on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues, and yet we’re already at the table in some ways.”

Hanneman said the Baptist Peace Fellowship would likely try to hold an auxiliary event during the celebration to discuss gay rights and other peace and justice issues.

Pennings said he initially considered recommending that the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists supporters protest the celebration but now thinks the organization will simply encourage its supporters to go to the event and call subtle attention to the issue of sexuality in Baptist life. The association’s leaders likely will “urge our constituency to show up in full strength … and we’ll wear our rainbow stoles and our buttons, and we’ll be a visible witness there,” he said.

Stanford said he hopes all interested in bringing Baptists together will support the covenant celebration, recognizing that “the most significant thing is that we have a vast diversity, especially the Anglo and the African-American groups that have never worked together in any significant 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: 7/20/07

Around the State

• Baylor University has announced a $1.2 million gift from the estate of John Reagan Harris of Center that will establish an endowed scholarship, as well as the John Reagan Harris Endowed Music Ministry Excellence Fund with the Baylor School of Music’s Center for Christian Music Studies. The scholarship was established with a preference to graduates of Harris’ alma mater, Center High School, or other Shelby County high schools.

• San Marcos Baptist Academy marked the 100th anniversary of the approval of its charter July 10. On that date in 1907, President J.M. Carroll also supervised laying the cornerstone of the first building, and a spontaneous collection raised $25,000. San Marcos Academy will commemorate its century of preparing young people for college during its Founder’s Day and Homecoming celebrations Sept. 14 and 15.

• Two missionaries with Texas ties have been appointed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Christy Craddock, from Calvary Church in Waco, will serve with Touching Miami with Love in Miami, Fla., as a Global Service Corps volunteer. Janée Angel, from First Church in Burleson, will serve as an affiliate in Brussels, Belguim.

Bob Riley, president of East Texas Baptist University (left), was presented a gift by past board of trustees Chair D.M. Edwards of Tyler (center), for his 15 years of service to the university. The wrought-iron sculpture of a tiger’s face peering through bamboo and jungle foliage was created by an Italian artist, framed on a raw silk backing. Also pictured is Clint Davis, current board chair and pastor of First Church in Mount Pleasant. Riley became the 11th president of the Marshall university July 16, 1992. A celebration of his anniversary is scheduled to coincide with ETBU’s fall convocation, Sept. 7.

• Bettie Girling has been awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree from Howard Payne University. The award was presented at a special ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. She was one of the last graduates of Daniel Baker College in 1952 before it consolidated with Howard Payne University. In 2006, HPU established the Bettie and Robert Girling Center for Social Justice, an undergraduate multidisciplinary initiative involving the departments of social work, sociology, psychology, legal studies and criminal justice. The center was named for the Girlings in recognition of their leadership gift to restore the Coggin Academy building that houses the center.

• More than 350 graduating high school seniors in Texas have been awarded scholarships totalling nearly $1.5 million to attend the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor this fall.

Anniversaries

• Robbie Sutton, 20th, as children’s minister at The Heights Church in Richardson, June 15.

• Rodney Bowman, 15th, as pastor of First Church in Angleton, June 22.

• Steven Hartwick, 10th, as executive pastor of First Church in Corpus Christi, July 11.

• Rod Payne, 20th, as minister of media at First Church in Wichita Falls, July 15.

• Oakland Heights Church in Longview, 50th, Aug. 4-5. A barbecue lunch will be held on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. in the Family Life Center. A concert featuring former and present soloists, groups and instrumentalists will follow from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. An open house will be held on Sunday beginning at 8:30 a.m. The morning worship service will feature a reunion choir and former Pastor Lavonn Brown. To make reservations for the lunch or for other information, call (903) 753-0291. Tom Roberson is pastor.

• Primera Iglesia in Bryan, 85th, Aug. 11-12. The celebration will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday with a time of fellowship and a look at the church history through photographs. A service of music and testimony will begin at 4 p.m., followed by a meal at 6 p.m. A worship service is scheduled for 7 p.m. Special music and a celebration sermon are set for 11 a.m. Sunday, to be followed by a meal. Julian Silva is pastor.

Retiring

• Dusty Rhodes, after 41 years of music ministry, June 30. He served a number of churches as bivocational minister of music, including Faith Church in Sweeny and First Church in West Columbia. The last six and a half years of his ministry were in full-time service at First Church in Seguin. He is available for supply and interims at (830) 491-1187.

• Dan Crawford, after 22 years as professor of evangelism and missions; chair of prayer at Southwestern Seminary, Aug. 31. He also was pastor of two Texas churches, director of Baptist Student Ministries at three Texas universities and national evangelism consultant with the North American Mission Board, plus short-term assignments with the International Mission Board in China, Germany, Canada, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Deaths

• Sonny Manuel, 71, July 1 in San Antonio. He was a pastor in Huntsville before moving to San Antonio, where he was pastor of Palm Heights Church 27 years. He also spent several years in Peru as a missionary. He was instrumental in organizing several stadium crusades in San Antonio. He also served as director of Palm Heights Baptist School and was president of the Texas Association of Baptist Schools for two years. He and his family made several gospel music albums and traveled extensively singing and preaching in revivals. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Joy; sons, Charlie, Kerry and Terry; daughters, Bambi Rigal and Angela Carleton; brother, Ron; sisters, Paulette Muray and Jean Love; and 10 grandchildren.

• Ralph Lynn, 97, July 10 in Waco. Lynn was a professor of history at Baylor University from 1952 until retiring in 1975. A favorite of students, he was the recipient of the Herbert H. Reynolds Exemplary Service Award and the Retired Faculty and Staff Award in 1986. He was a member of the James Huckins Society of the Medallion Fellowship (cumulative gifts to Baylor greater than $250,000), a charter member of the Old Main Society and a lifetime member of Baylor Alumni Association. He supported numerous university causes, including an endowed professorship, the Baylor Libraries, Bear Foundation, Baylor/Waco Foundation, Alumni Association, History Excellence Fund and various academic scholarship funds. He was a member of First Church in Waco, where he taught a college men’s Sunday school class for about 30 years. He also hosted a reunion in conjuction with Baylor’s homecoming at his home every year since 1952. He contributed columns to the Waco Tribune-Herald for more than 40 years. Lynn was preceded in death by his wife, Bessie Mae, in 1992 and by his wife, Barbara, in 2000. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy.

• Willie Scott, 42, July 10 in Houston. Scott, a deacon at Rose of Sharon Church in Houston, was shot and killed by robbers at his clothing and shoe business. Scott was founder of Jails to Jobs, a nonprofit organization that trained ex-offenders to do construction work. He is remembered as a spiritual leader who had helped many former inmates on the road to a new life. Scott had himself escaped a life of criminal conduct and drug addiction many years ago. He is survived by his wife and 2-year-old son.

Licensed

• David Caldwell to the ministry at First Church in Haskell.

Ordained

• Curt Edgerton to the ministry at Liberty Church in Bridge City.

• Will Alley to the ministry at First Church in Belton.

• Charlie Brown, Coley Gatlin, Dan Pifer, Will Reid and Jon Sibert as deacons at Trinity Church in Kerrville.

• Jud Griffith and John Williamson as deacons at Tolar Church in Tolar.

Revival

• Elm Grove Church, Waelder; July 29-31; evangelist, The Seale Family; music, The Seale Sisters; pastor, Hoyt Hunnicutt.

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

Posted: 7/20/07

Baptist bloggers start hanging out
together in the same SBC ‘outpost’

By Robert Dilday

Virginia Religious Herald

ARLINGTON (ABP)—Reforming bloggers who have challenged the Southern Bap-tist Convention establishment for the past two years are consolidating their efforts to create a new Internet presence they say will be the “premier site for Southern Baptist news and commentary.”

Ben Cole, Marty Duren and other SBC bloggers—whose call to open the closely held power structure of the SBC prompted anger from the denomination’s leaders—have said they would reduce the focus on convention issues in their individual blogs.

But they have agreed to collaborate, continuing their calls for reform on one blog—www.sbcoutpost.com—a weblog that had been administered only by Duren, a Buford, Ga., pastor. He could not be reached for comment, but a news release said the site will “provide a forum for ministry ideas, missionary support, church revitalization and denominational reform.”

“I think most bloggers are stepping back to let the convention rest,” both for personal and strategic reasons, said Cole, a pastor in Arlington. “You can’t maintain a full offense for an undetermined period of time.”

At the same time, the conversation about SBC issues continues forward, he said. And he hopes to increase participation in the blogs.

“The new SBCoutpost is an effort to get the conversation in one place,” he said, adding 50,000 people visited the site in two weeks.

In addition to Cole and Duren, SBCoutpost will feature at least nine contributors, mostly pastors.

One prominent blogger who will not be closely associated with the new collaboration is Wade Burleson, the Oklahoma pastor whose writings about the SBC International Mission Board trustees brought blogging to the attention of many Southern Baptists.

“I may every now and then contribute to the Outpost, but I like the immediacy of having your own blog,” Burleson said.

The exact nature of SBCoutpost—whether blog or news service or some combination—still is undetermined. The bloggers’ press release noted “the day has passed for monopolies in news and information.” But at least initially, the site is less likely to generate and distribute news stories than to offer a forum to discuss them. Cole said SBCoutpost won’t replace existing news services.

One blog feature Cole said he expects SBCoutpost to continue is the distribution of “primary sources.”

“Largely, blogging has been providing documentation that has never been seen before,” Cole said. “This is different in that a whole document or a whole letter has been provided, rather than an edited version in a news story.”

Hannah Elliott of ABP contributed to this article.

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

Posted: 7/20/07

Book Reviews

Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World by Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger (Fireside)

This book is written by two brothers who caught the vision of service to others. Life is very simple when you choose to live the “me to we” philosophy. From the founding of charitable organizations to the testimonies from the famous and the common, the authors present examples of how to find meaning in a material world.

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

Craig Kielberger started the Free the Children organization in his home to combat child slavery and persecution. Marc Kielberger’s story begins with his immersion into the slums of Bangkok, Thailand. He co-founded the Leaders Today organization, which gives young people the opportunity for hands-on experience in schools and communities around the world.

This book is unique because the conclusion of each chapter lists action items for the reader. The authors’ intent is that the reader takes action to implement the “me to we” lifestyle. This is a great book for anyone interested in or being called to serve in missions.

Jerry Bradley, president

Children at Heart Ministries

Round Rock

The Divine Appointment by Jerome Teel (Howard Fiction

)

What does the murder of a young lawyer in middle Tennessee have to do with the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice in Washington, D.C.? It takes a young journalist, with the help of an anonymous caller, to fit the pieces of the puzzle together—if he manages to live long enough, that is.

Jerome Teel’s second book, The Divine Appointment, weaves together a murder in Tennessee and the political machinations revolving around the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice. As in any political thriller, what ensues is murder and intrigue that spans the entire East Coast. The president believes he is in the White House “for such a time as this.” Will he play the political games, or will he trust in God?

Teel has done it again. In the best tradition of Clancy and Grisham, The Divine Appointment keeps us guessing while reminding us God is in control. If you like the modern-day thriller minus “pepper words” and compromising situations, you’ll love The Divine Appointment.

Kathryn Aragon

First Baptist Church

Duncanville

The Sermon on the Mount: A Theological Investigation by Carl G. Vaught (Baylor University Press)

The late Carl G. Vaught, distinguished professor of philosophy at Baylor University, has provided a wealth of keen insights to the Sermon on the Mount. Although I have preached through Matthew 5-7 in its entirety on at least two other occasions, Vaught’s nuanced reading of the biblical text inspired me to prepare and preach a sermon series that would cover 10 months in 2006-07. It was a time that I will look back upon as being a marker in my own spiritual life.

While there is no shortage of commentary material on the Sermon on the Mount, Vaught avoids the verbosity that characterizes several of the more well-known, historical works in this genre. Having read Vaught’s book, I will forever read Matthew 5-7 with a different eye.

Bobby C. Dagnel, pastor

First Baptist Church

Lubbock

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

Posted: 7/20/07

Pieces fall in place to restore passion

By Whitney Farr

Communications intern 

LA LUZ, Mexico—As Texans Saul Roldan and his son Emmanuel prepared for a mission trip to Mexico, Philemon, a pastor in La Luz, was losing his passion for Christ, dropped out of the ministry and began questioning his salvation altogether.

Philemon prayed for restored passion, but he felt God was not listening.

And that’s where their stories connect.

The Roldans left San Antonio equipped with Bibles, EvangeCubes and magic tricks for La Luz, where their team was scheduled to do medical missions.

“Magic tricks helped me break the ice, because everyone likes to be surprised,” Emmanuel said. “The simplest trick would blow them away, and they would look at me like I was a celebrity, which I used as an avenue to explain how in life it’s easy to be fooled.”

Emmanuel made coins “disappear,” which captivated Philemon’s children. So, Emmanuel began sharing the story of Jesus with them as his father looked on.

Philemon came over to see what grabbed his children’s attention and met Saul Roldan. As Philemon spoke of tough issues concerning God’s sovereignty, losing his salvation and not feeling God’s presence in his life anymore, Emmanuel wondered if his dad would be able to give the man any answers or encouragement.

“When my dad finally got to speak, I was blown away,” Emmanuel said.

After Philemon shared with Roldan that he felt God had dropped him because of mistakes he made recently and his lack of fervor for Christ, Roldan explained that a Christian’s spiritual journey is not all about feelings. He then answered the question of abandonment by asking Philemon about his own children.

He asked if Philemon’s kids had ever disappointed him. After Philemon nodded, Roldan asked, “But they are still your kids, right?”

“We are God’s children, and no matter what we do or how far we stray, we are still his,” Roldan stressed.

The man asked again: If he were still a child of God, why wasn’t God listening to him? Why wasn’t God answering his prayers and pleas for a divine intervention and a spiritual renewal?

The puzzle was coming together. Everything was connecting.

“We’ve planned this trip for a year, and if the whole purpose of this trip was for God to use me to talk to you, it was all worth it. God has heard your cry and answered your prayer,” Roldan said. “He has orchestrated all this perfectly so that I could talk to you.”

Emmanuel was in awe, thinking about the big picture God was painting and the little, but important, role he and his father had played.

“I was like, ‘Wow, Dad, I had never thought of it that way.’ If I hadn’t gone up to those kids with the cube, my dad may have never come by,” Emmanuel said. “I was so proud of my dad—he never held back. I really admire that about him.”

The Roldans participated in a trip to minister to an unreached people group in Mexico through the Baptist General Convention of Texas Border/Mexico Missions. Such trips are supported by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions and the BGCT Cooperative Program.

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

Posted: 7/20/07

Border, upstate churches team up
to press gospel deep into Mexico

By Whitney Farr

Communications Intern

A LUZ, Mexico—Sixty-two indigenous people groups call Mexico their home. And after 100 years of Baptist mission work, half of them still have not heard the Christian gospel.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas’ Border/ Mexico Missions program is changing that by connecting Texas Baptist churches along the Mexico border with Baptist churches in other parts of the state for mission trips to unreached people groups. The partnerships allow border churches with cultural and linguistic expertise to cooperate with churches that have money to support extensive mission efforts.

“For 38 years, Texas churches have gone to the border for mission trips,” explained Dexton Shores, director of BGCT Border/ Mexico Missions for the past eight years. “We thought it was time that the border churches be senders instead of recipients.”

Members of New Hope First Baptist Church in Cedar Park, Northwest Hispanic Baptist Church in San Antonio and Trinidad Baptist Church in Laredo traveled 29 hours by bus to the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, where they reached out to people through Vacation Bible School, leadership training, medical and dental clinics, hair cuts and evangelistic films in Santa Maria, San Marcos and La Luz.

“We made history here,” said Saul Roldan of Northwest Hispanic Baptist Church. “They had never experienced anything like this before.”

Just a week earlier, Christian evangelicals were kicked out of nearby Juquila, dumped 50 miles away and threatened with death if they ever came back.

Amazingly, city officials in San Marcos allowed the Texas Baptists to conduct their outreach from a basketball court in the center of the community, just behind the Catholic church, Shores reported.

“And even more amazing than that, … the village’s mayor offered his personal bathrooms for us to use, came to the Vacation Bible School and participated in the pledge of allegiance to the Bible and the Christian flag,” he added. “There was no hostility toward us as Christians, whatsoever.”

The BGCT’s effort to evangelize unreached people groups in Mexico is supported in part by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

In the three villages, Guillermo Lozano, a physician, treated 218 patients; 129 people received dental attention; 101 people got haircuts; 85 Christians were trained in church leadership; and 131 people made decisions to become Christians.

A 27-year-old woman who visited the clinic described how extreme pain from arthritis had stolen her will to live. Elizabeth Ochoa of Trinidad Baptist Church told the woman how God healed her arthritis.

“She had given up on life,” Ochoa said. “We were able to minister to her and tell her about the Ultimate Healer. She accepted Christ and left happy. To see the expression on her face change was so rewarding. We saw the hand of God that day.”

In San Marcos, a five-foot-deep ditch in the road made travel to the clinic difficult. So, Saul Juarez of Northwest Hispanic Baptist Church and some men from the village brought two truckloads of rock and another load of dirt and filled in the hole.

“They were amazed that we would serve them like that,” Juarez said with a huge smile. “I attribute the salvations that night to all the hard work those men did that day.”

A drunken man who wanted to stop drinking alcohol because it was destroying his life and his family visited with Roldan and Rudy Cantu of Northwest Hispanic Baptist Church.

“Seeing him hand his life over to Jesus—that was something else,” Roldan said.

Something strong enough to offset many Texans’ reluctance to go deep into Mexico because of the long travel time, rough conditions and financial costs, Shores said.

“Not only is it worth the visible results and the privilege to minister to churches who feel so forgotten, but it is worth it for the change we will see in the people who were served,” he said. “You can’t put a dollar amount on that.”

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

Posted: 7/20/07

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

Posted: 7/20/07

Want your kids to keep faith?
Take a chance on college degree

By Michelle C. Rindels

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Apparently the ivory tower is not undermining the faith, after all.

A new study from the University of Texas indicates college graduates are far more likely to maintain their religious beliefs and practices than those who never attended college.

Researchers found four-year college students and graduates are least likely to neglect church attendance, say religion is less important in their lives or abandon their faith altogether. Those who do not pursue a degree are the most likely to leave religion behind.

“Many people assume college is public enemy No. 1 for religion,” said assistant professor of sociology Mark Regnerus, author of Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers. “But we found young adults who don’t experience college are far more likely to turn away from religion.”

Jeremy Uecker, a graduate student and lead author of the study, said the findings suggest the culture of campuses is changing.

“Religion and spirituality are becoming more accepted in higher education, both in intellectual circles and in campus life,” he said. “Religious students are encountering a much less hostile environment than in years past.”

Among those least likely to leave their faith are Jews, Catholics and black Protestants, who often tie religion to cultural heritage.

Women, Southerners and individuals whose parents still are married also are unlikely to abandon religion.

Researchers drew from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which tracked more than 10,000 Americans from adolescence through early adulthood from 1994 to 1995 and again from 2001 to 2002.

The complete study, titled “Losing My Religion,” appears in the June 2007 issue of the sociology journal Social Forces.

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

Posted: 7/20/07

Ministry to children changes
moms’ & dads’ lives, too

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Children’s pastors across the country continue to reach families by first reaching children.

Parents—Christian and non-Christian alike—want what’s best for their respective families, children’s ministry leaders report. Parents want their children to be brought up correctly and loved in a physically, emotionally and spiritually safe environment.

When churches provide that environment, they gain opportunities to minister to parents as well as their children, explained Art Murphy, director of Arrow Ministries, a children’s ministry consulting firm.

Adults are looking for services that assist them in raising their children, Murphy noted.

“We have so much opportunity to reach unsaved people because the world is looking for help,” he said.

Jeanette Harvey, minister to children and preteens at First Baptist Church in Port Neches, said she regularly sees families become part of her congregation after the church initially met the needs of a child.

Harvey told about a young girl who attended Sunday school with a friend and learned about the church’s upcoming Vacation Bible School. She enjoyed Sunday school and invited her brother to come with her to VBS. The children liked that and invited their mother to church. Now, the entire family is part of the congregation.

Harvey has followed the same principle in her own life, choosing to become a member of a church that first ministered to her children. “When the church reached out to my toddlers, that’s the one I wanted to go to,” she recalled.

To serve parents, churches must design children’s ministries to reach out to them as well, said Diane Lane, Baptist General Convention of Texas preschool/children’s ministry specialist.

The ministries may include parenting classes, keeping parents informed about what is being taught in Bible study and inviting parents to participate in children’s activities.

“The children are a gate to the family, but use that also to educate the parents,” she said.

A comprehensive children’s ministry that also reaches adults requires leaders to design the effort to achieve that purpose. “It’s not babysitting,” said Deborah Upton, associate pastor for children at First Baptist Church in Richmod, Va. “It’s a ministry where we are partnering with parents in the spiritual development of their children. We want to offer something that is quality and meets that need.”

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