Posted: 6/22/07

Around the State

• San Marcos Baptist Academy has received a $500,000 donation to fund a new sports and fitness center. The gift, made by Don and Nancy Mafrige, both 1955 graduates of the academy, is the largest ever given by alumni.

• Houston Baptist University has announced the creation of the Elsa Jean and Don Looser Endowed Scholarship. Looser, who has announced his retirement as vice president of academic affairs, has served the university more than 44 years. His wife also served as a faculty member for three years.

San Marcos Baptist Academy has broken ground on an alumni plaza in preparation for the school’s 100-year anniversary in the fall. The alumni plaza will feature items that were part of the original campus. San Marcos Academy was located on Academy Street in San Marcos from its founding in 1907 until it moved to its present location on Ranch Road 12 in 1982. Several lamp posts, a central fountain and bricks from the downtown campus will be used to construct a memorial garden plaza outside the entrance to the school’s Carroll Hall. Construction of the plaza has been funded by Mary Nelle Payne Grusendorf, SMA class of 1948, and Nancy Payne Willingham, SMA class of 1950. Participating in the groundbreaking were Grusendorf, SMA Vice President for Development Bobby DuPree and Willingham. (San Marcos Baptist Academy/Photo by Don Anders)

• Seventeen Dallas Baptist University students explored educational developments and leadership trends in South Korea earlier this month as a part of the school’s new doctor of education in educational leadership program. The students and their faculty sponsors partnered with local education leaders and visited a variety of K-12 schools and universities. Future trips abroad are being planned in conjunction with the program. For more information, call (214) 333-5484.

• Each summer, undergraduate and graduate students serve across the country and around the world working alongside Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions field personnel and Fellowship partners. Mary Beth Cooper of Gainesville, working with immigrants in Fredricksburg, Va.; Ashley Gatta of Round Rock, serving with Touching Miami with Love in Florida; Mary Beth Gilbert of Dallas, teaching English as a second language in Macedonia; Matt McGee of Arlington, serving in Southeast Asia; and Bethany Williams of Rising Star, who is serving as a service volunteer in Southeast Asia are among the more than 30 students taking part this summer.

• Robert Sartain, professor and chair of the department of mathematics at Howard Payne University, was named the school’s outstanding faculty member. Charles Barr, university grounds supervisor, was the recipient of the outstanding staff member award. Excellence in teaching awards were presented to Athena Bean, John Ferguson, Gary Gramling, Jason Lively and Julie Welker. Excellence in service awards were presented to Randy Weehunt and Glenda Huff.

• The board of trustees of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has approved Edna Bridges and J.A. Reynolds for designation as faculty emeritus. Bridges was a professor of education at the school from 1967 to 1993, and Reynolds served as professor of Christian studies from 1962 until 1999.

• Martha Cross, director of development at Wayland Baptist University the past six years, has been named executive director of institutional advancement at Wayland. She is a member of First Church in Plainview.

Anniversaries

• Ecclesia Community Church in Waco, fifth, June 17. Tony Stang is pastor.

• First Church in Sunrise Beach, 40th, June 23. A time capsule burial and memorial stone gathering were part of the commemoration. Bruce Clifton is pastor.

• First Church in Poolville, 130th, July 15. An afternoon of fellowship, food and reunion will follow the morning service. Former Pastor Tommy Galik, now Life Stage Pastor No. 2 at First Church in Weatherford, will preach. Christopher Keefer is pastor.

• Ciro Garcia, 45th as pastor of Iglesia Betania in Austin, July 15. He will celebrate his 85th birthday the same day. The celebration will begin at 3 p.m. Special messages can be sent to the church at 1117 Tillery Street, Austin 78702.

• Joel Thielepape, 60th in ministry, July 21. A come-and-go reception will be held in his honor from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Woodlawn Church in Austin, where he served as interim pastor and now attends.

Retiring

• Armo Bentley, as pastor of Tolar Church in Tolar, July 1. He has been pastor of the church 12 years and in ministry 33 years. He also has been pastor of Southside Church in Winters, East Cisco Church in Cisco, First Church in Rising Star, Second Church in Vernon and North Cleburne Church in Cleburne. He and his wife, Juanita, plan to spend the warmer months near children who live in Oregon, and winter months in Cleburne, where they also have children.

Deaths

• Linwood Peterson, 86, May 25 in Chesapeake, Va. A graduate of Southwestern Seminary, he was pastor of First churches in Ben Franklin, Enloe, Leander and Rockdale, and Immanuel Church in Temple. He also was pastor of churches in North Carolina and Virginia. He was preceded in death by his son, David; brother, H.O. Jr., and sisters, Lois Sanders and Ismae Brinson. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Mary Margaret; daughters, Donna Peterson and Paula Groover; son, Dale; sisters, Bernice Croom, Elsie Peterson and Mary Lennon; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

• Gerald Doyle, 80, May 25 in Kerrville. He was baptized at First Church in Vernon in 1941, and in 1946 committed his life to Christian ministry. He was a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University and Southwestern Seminary. In 1959, he and his wife, Mauriece, were appointed by the Southern Baptist Convention Foreign Mission Board to serve in Ecuador. They served in the cities of Quito, Manta, Guayaquil and Cuenca, where they helped start 33 churches before retiring in 1993, when they returned to Texas. He was a member of Sunrise Church in Kerrville. He is survived by his wife; sons, Chad and Eric; daughters, Marla Fuller and Renda Ziegler; brother, Joe; and sister, Juquita Hall.

• Bonnie Mae Moore, 92, June 2 in Columbus, Ga. She was a Southern Baptist missionary 33 years in Nigeria. She became fluent in the Hausa language and wrote a Bible commentary in that language. She was preceded in death by her brother, Milton.

• Lynne Cox, 55, June 5 in New Boston. She was the wife of Ken Cox, pastor of First Church in New Boston. She served the church as pianist and organist. She also sang in the church choir, sang solos and led the music for Vacation Bible School each year. She composed music and performed the compositions with ensembles at Texas Komen Race for the Cure events. She is survived by her husband; sons, Brooks and Casey; daughters, Amanda, Rachel and Clara Cox; and twin sister, Lane McFarland.

• Bill Tanner, 77, June 10 in Belton. He was a former president of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, serving the school from 1968 until 1971. A Baylor University graduate, he distinguished himself as a preacher during the youth revival movement. He held a master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Houston and also a doctorate from Southwestern Seminary. He was pastor of West End Church in Houston, Field Street Church in Cleburne, Broadway Church in Houston, and First Church in Gulfport, Miss., before taking over the reins as the head of the Belton school. During his tenure as UMHB president, the school went from being all-female to fully co-educational. He left UMHB to become president of Oklahoma Baptist University and stayed there until 1976, when he became president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Home Mission Board. During his 10 years of leadership there, 5,480 new missionaries were appointed to serve across the country. In 1986, he returned to Oklahoma to serve as executive director and treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. He retired in 1996. He was preceded in death by his son, Mark, and grandson Geoffrey Tanner. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Ellen; sons, William Jr. and Keith; daughter, Kimberly Salter; and 10 grandchildren.

Events

• The Telestials of Hendersonville, Tenn., will perform in concert at 7 p.m. June 29 at Mount Calvary Church on Highway 105, halfway between Moss Hill and Batson. For more information, call (936) 298-2966. Carlton Bailey is pastor.

• The Double Portion Band will perform July 4 at 4 p.m. at First Church in Sunnyvale. Charles Wilson is pastor.

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

Posted: 6/22/07

Atheists view ‘radical Christianity’ as threat

By Adelle Banks

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—More than half of atheists and agnostics think “radical Christianity” is just as threatening in the United States as “radical Islam,” a new study reveals.

The Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif.-based research firm, found 56 percent of atheists and agnostics agree with that view. The firm, which often looks at opinions of religious Americans, delved into the beliefs of people of no faith and compared them to religious adults over a two-year period.

Researchers found the proportion of atheists and agnostics increases with each younger generation. They make up 6 percent of Elders (those 61 and older); 9 percent of Boomers (ages 42-60); 14 percent of Busters (ages 23-41) and 19 percent of people between 18 and 22.

People of no faith tend to be younger and more often are male and unmarried, researchers found. They are less likely to be registered to vote (78 percent versus 89 percent of believers). They also are less likely to serve or personally help a poor or homeless person (41 percent versus 61 percent of believers).

Researchers also found these disparate groups had some commonalities. They were equally as likely to consider themselves to be good citizens, as placing their family first, and as being reliable and loyal individuals.

The findings were based on a series of nationwide telephone surveys between January 2005 and January 2007. The studies included a total of 1,055 adults who identified themselves as agnostics or atheists, giving the overall sample a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The cumulative sample of 3,011 adults with an active faith had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.

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

Posted: 6/22/07

Book Reviews

101 Amazing Truths about Jesus That You Probably Didn’t Know, by Mark Littleton (Howard Books)

Most of us know that Jesus was born of a virgin, died on a cross and rose three days later, but what about the things many Christians do not know? Did Jesus pay taxes? Was he an only child? Did he ever lose his temper? Did he like to have fun?

Mark Littleton answers these questions and more by taking an in-depth look at Jesus’ life.

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

Using contemporary language and modern examples, Littleton makes Jesus’ life applicable to the average person. He uses Scripture references to back up his claims.

At the end of most of the truths, Littleton recaps and asks questions, forcing the reader to reflect on his or her own life. For this reason, 101 Amazing Truths about Jesus would make a great devotion for groups or individuals.

By knowing who Jesus really is and understanding how he lived, Littleton says, we not only will be encouraged to live a better life, but we also will deepen our relationship with him.

It is important to study Jesus, as Littleton notes, because “Who you say Jesus is, determines where you will spend eternity.”

Jessica Dooley

Communications Intern

Ardmore, Okla.

Perfecting Kate, by Tamara Leigh (Multnomah)

Katherine Mae Meadows narrates her own story in Tamara Leigh’s Perfecting Kate. The 30-something San Francisco artist longs to marry a fine Christian man. But after fiancé Christopher Stapleton dumps her because she couldn’t bear children, she resolves to happily embrace “singledom.”

Just when Kate seems content, she meets two attractive bachelors—neither of whom quite meets her Christian criteria. Michael Palmier, author of The Make-Up Bible, chooses Kate and her model-beautiful housemate for media-covered makeovers. Then Dr. Clive Alexander hires Kate to create a mural for the children’s burn unit. But Michael continues trying to make Kate over when they begin dating, and Clive can’t move past the tragic deaths of his wife and young son. Then the unhappily married Christopher re-enters her life. Even as Kate works on the mural and her male relationships, she struggles to work on her God relationship.

Not only does Tamara Leigh craft a suspenseful romance, she tackles the issues of infertility and self-esteem, raising the question, “Just how much should a woman change herself to please others, especially men?”

Kathy Robinson Hillman, former president

Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas

Waco

Now My Eye Sees You, by Greg Ammons (Hannibal Books)

Becoming a parent, particularly in later life, changes everything, especially the way one views daily life, family, commitments and relationships. Pastor Greg Ammons is living out these adjustments. And in this book, he is amazingly transparent in his confession of new understandings concerning a love he has just begun to comprehend.

This book will open new vistas of understanding concerning God’s workings with us and challenge our often ill-conceived perceptions of God the Father. To be sure, he loves us; but to what degree does he indulge us? How necessary is it for us to spend time with him? What are the benefits we gain in his presence, and what are the difficulties we encounter when we ignore him? How is our image of God sharper, more distinct when seen through the eyes of a little child? And how do we as parents become more like God when we relate to our children as he relates to us?

The book is engaging and delightful, uplifting and entertaining, never heavy or pedantic. Read it and be refreshed.

Gary L. Hearon

Executive director emeritus

Dallas Baptist Association

Dallas

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

Posted: 6/22/07

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

Posted: 6/22/07

DOWN HOME:
Have the sidewalks gone to the dogs?

Joanna and I got run off the sidewalk the other evening.

Not by thoughtless children on bicycles. And not by reckless teenagers on skateboards.

Worse: By their parents. Or, to be more specific, by their parents walking their dogs.

Jo and I love our “new” neighborhood. We moved here last fall. And one of the best things about living here is running in the morning and walking in the evening.

The tall, mature trees (well, for this part of Texas, they’re tall) provide a beautiful canopy, as well as a haven for songbirds. And the streets curve amid gently rolling terrain, which in the light of dawn and dusk is soothing and lovely.

So, I enjoy running to the sounds of chirping birds in the morning, and Jo and I get a kick out of walking and listening to the tree frogs in the evening.

About the only thing that’s ever annoying about our evening treks is the dog-walking.

To be fair, most dog-walkers in our neighborhood are friendly and courteous. When they see someone coming, they guide their canines onto the grass to let other homo sapiens pass by on the sidewalk. But quite regularly, we encounter at least one person or couple who apparently think their dogs own the sidewalk, and everyone else should just get out of the way.

OK, I know I sound like a curmudgeon. Stepping off the sidewalk and passing on the grass doesn’t give us shin splints. We’re no worse for the wear.

But it’s the principle of the thing: Human beings are more important than dogs. People should have the right-of-way. Everybody should know that. And everybody should care.

“People can be so rude,” Jo said the other evening, when we got out of earshot. “Rude” is the operative word.

And rudeness doesn’t just manifest itself on suburban sidewalks. Brett Younger, who writes a monthly cybercolumn on our website (baptiststandard.com), recently described his son’s high school graduation. The kids were well-behaved. But the grownups were awful. Even after administrators pleaded for decency and decorum, they acted like seventh graders in an unattended cafeteria the last day before Christmas break. Whooping. Hollering. Blasting noisemakers.

Maybe I’m making too much of all this. But it seems the little ways we show disrespect for others build up. Soon, everything is about “me,” and I don’t have to care how it impacts “you.”

Sadly, Christians—who profess we believe God made all people in God’s own image—often sprawl in the big middle of rudeness. And when we disrespect others, we disrespect the God who made them.

So, be nice.

And make your dog walk on the grass.

—Marv Knox

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

Posted: 6/22/07

EDITORIAL:
We need to discuss faith & politics

A reader recently submitted a thoughtful, articulate letter about a set of articles that appeared in this paper. Perhaps you read her letter in the June 11 issue. She wrote, in part:

“I was dismayed to read stories and analysis of the better-known U.S. presidential candidates in a recent issue of the Baptist Standard, even though I didn’t fault the information provided. I’m interested in politics and am a political party member, but I believe in separation of church and state.

“I don’t argue politics at church, and I don’t argue religion at political party meetings. I wouldn’t read a government publication or a party flyer to help me decide whether to be a Christian or which denomination to join, and I don’t read the Standard to help me decide how to vote.”

She and I enjoyed a lively, enlightening e-mail exchange, in which she expressed concern about the “slippery slope” of politics and the importance of “holding the line regarding nondiscussion of politics” in her church.

Her concerns are valid, and they are shared by thousands of Christians. We recognize the danger of discussing either politics or religion in “polite” company, and we understand talking about politics and religion can be incendiary. The cover package in this issue of the Standard illustrates how difficult it is to walk that razor-thin line of Christian citizenship.

Her letter represents what I believe to be misperceptions about how to live our faith in the political world and express our political convictions among the faithful. Baptists historically have advocated separation of church and state. But separating Christians from politics distorts that heritage. She raises two points. Let’s look at both:

• Politics in the Standard. The information we offered about faith-related positions of the major presidential candidates was scrupulously nonpartisan. We simply provided facts about candidates’ stands on key issues.

As Baptists, we trust individuals to make up their minds on how to vote. But the Standard has a responsibility to provide good information so they can make up their minds responsibly. Factual, unbiased material about candidates’ views on faith-related issues rarely appears in the secular media. So, we feel a sense of duty to provide news you can’t get elsewhere. We’ll never endorse a candidate or tell you how to vote, but we would be negligent if we didn’t help you get all the information you need to make up your mind.

• Politics at church. Sure, politics can be a slippery slope. But people of faith who care about the whole world live on that slope already. Reasoned, balanced reporting gives them traction to get a toehold.

A reason many Christians think only one political viewpoint represents the “Christian” position is because so many churches and church leaders are silent. Consequently, the shrill “religious” voices in the secular media are the only “Christian” messages they hear. So, when strident, self-assured religious leaders tell them there’s only one “Christian” position, they reflexively believe it. However, if they participated in reasoned, measured discussions with friends and people they respect in their own churches, perhaps they would begin to consider other possibilities. While some people vote as they do based strictly upon their religious convictions regarding abortion and homosexuality, many others vote quite differently based upon their religious convictions that Jesus focused more on caring for the poor, welcoming the stranger, and ministering to the sick and the imprisoned than he did talking about sexual behavior. We need to consider both perspectives.

Many Baptists are so scared of disagreeing with each other that they fail to discuss hard but vitally important issues of life in the context of biblical faith. You think Jesus avoided controversy? Absolutely not. Talking about politics at church can be scary and hard. But if we will be open, honest and loving, we can demonstrate not only mature Christian faith, but also model citizenship.

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

Posted: 6/22/07

Faith Digest

Most Republicans doubt Darwin. Republicans are far more likely to doubt the theory of evolution than Democrats, a new Gallup Poll revealed. Sixty-eight percent of Republicans say they doubt humans evolved from lower life forms over millions of years; only 40 percent of Democrats hold the view. The poll was conducted by telephone last June and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. In a separate Gallup poll this May, respondents were asked to choose between three hypotheses about human origin and development. Just 14 percent believed God had no part in the process, while 43 percent believed God created man in present form. A full 38 percent took a centrist view, affirming that man evolved but God guided the process. Beyond political parties, the poll also found a correlation between church attendance and belief in evolution. Those who seldom or never attend church are three times more likely to be evolutionists than those who attend church weekly.

Bishop urges three-minute Sabbath in transit. An Anglican bishop has asked thousands of British rail commuters to spend a few minutes each day doing precisely nothing. To help them keep track of the three minutes of stress-beating silence he was urging upon them, Stephen Cottrell handed out miniature egg timers—which he called the “gift of time”—to travelers as they rushed by him at the train station. “By learning to sit still, slow down, by discerning when to shut up and when to speak out, you learn to travel through life differently,” Cottrell said. The cleric took his cue from a recent study by Britain’s University of Hertfordshire that found the walking speeds in 32 cities around the world had increased by 10 percent over the past decade.

Ministry seeks to make fishers of men. Ed Trainer takes men and boys out fishing on the waters of British Columbia, Alaska and beyond to teach them about God. His group, International Fishing Ministries, rose up out of Trainer’s passion for fishing, his frustration with traditional worship and statistics suggesting women populate most church pews. “Church is too boring for men,” Trainer said. “Church is set up like a country club for women. For me, after five minutes of a sermon, I’m off in my mind fishing on some stream somewhere. … We decided to go out into God’s creation, pointing men to a Christian experience through fishing.” Trainer figures about 10 to 15 percent of the men who go fishing with him make a lasting faith commitment to Jesus Christ.

Scout chapel demolished to avoid offense. A woodlands chapel in Britain used by Boy Scouts and Girl Guides for nearly 70 years as an open-air place of peaceful worship has been demolished because Scout officials feared it might offend non-Christians. The Scout Association ordered removal of the rudimentary cross and basic altar, plus the wooden pews that had been fashioned from old telephone poles when volunteers built the chapel between World War I and World War II. A campfire circle replaced the chapel near the Belchamps Scout Center at Hockley, in east England, as part of an “updating” that manager Nigel Ruse said would “turn it into a place of worship of all faiths and not to exclude anyone from Scouting.”

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

Posted: 6/22/07

Baptists throw a lifeline
to flooded Gainesville

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

GAINESVILLE—Duke Dowling, pastor of Southside Baptist Church, admits he doesn’t know much about home repair. He can’t refurbish the more than 300 flooded homes in his community. He can’t even fix the home of the one family in his congregation whose home was swamped. But he knows plenty of people who can.

“I can’t build,” he said. “But I can go out and find people who can.”

In cooperation with volunteers from around the state, Texas Baptists are wrapping their arms around Gaines-ville in the wake of flooding that killed five people. Baptists were among the first to respond, with local church members feeding victims and collecting items to distribute.

Texas Baptist Men teams began serving more than 600 meals a day for flood victims and recovery workers. TBM volunteers also are cleaning out victims’ homes.

Mark Fuller, minister of discipleship and evangelism at First Baptist Church, is coordinating volunteer teams working in Gainesville. TBM volunteers are surveying houses and letting him know how many volunteers are needed at each location.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas is working alongside TBM, offering financial assistance for flood victims that are part of BGCT-affiliated congregations. TBM’s work and BGCT disaster response efforts are supported through designated disaster relief offerings.

Fuller and Dowling said they are grateful for the assistance Texas Baptists are providing. The help encourages faster recovery in the area and helps congregations expand their ministries in the county.

Christians are called to help each other in times of need because they are children of God, Dowling stressed. The Texas Baptist family is rallying around Gainesville.

“We are the eternal family,” he said. “This is your family.”

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

Posted: 6/22/07

Tyler physician’s care for Iraqi
refugees opens doors for ministry

By Jessica Dooley

Communications Intern

YLER—Dick Hurst, a medical doctor and layman at First Baptist Church in Tyler, has journeyed to northern Iraq and the surrounding region at least a half-dozen times—including a trip earlier this year—to care for refugees and orphans.

And due in large part to the relationships he has built the last 16 years, multiple ministries are working together to meet needs in the region.

Hurst first traveled to the Iran/Iraq border with Texas Baptist Men in 1991 after the Gulf War. He discovered refugees living in what resembled sheds or barns more than houses. Some were physically injured, and nearly all struggled simply to survive, he recalled.

By providing sugar, salt, flour, clothes, blankets and basic medical attention, Hurst helped refugees withstand the harsh living conditions.

Little relief work was being done in Iraq, so when the chance to visit opened up, he took it.

“This was my chance to help a special people, and a unique opportunity for Christians to minister in the heart of the Islamic world,” Hurst wrote in his book, Religion, an Accident of Birth.

In spite of rough plane rides, life-threatening road trips and even being named to Saddam Hussein’s “hit list” as an American helping Kurds, Hurst retained a passion for Iraqi refugees.

That passion led him to team up with other organizations working in Iraq and opened doors for him to return.

In addition to helping with refugees, he also traveled with Baylor University professors to help rebuild the higher education system in northern Iraq.

Most of Hurst’s work with refugees and orphans has been through Concern for Kids, an organization launched by Robert and Roni Anderson, who began work in Iraq in 1992. Hurst now serves on the ministry’s board of directors.

He also has helped facilitate the involvement of other organizations committed to helping Iraqi refugees.

For instance, due to doors Hurst helped open, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has provided more than $13,000 to help the refugees, specifically those who have fled to Jordan. Funds provided by the fellowship are funneled through two programs—the Hope Clinic and the Nazarene Compassionate Ministry.

The Hope Clinic’s main concern is offering health care in a Christian environment, while teaching the patients about the love of Jesus Christ. According to its website, the clinic is open two days a week and receives more than 50 patients each day.

Nazarene Compassionate Ministry, reaches out to refugees by providing food, blankets, heaters and mattresses and by meeting other human needs.

Hurst shies away from any attention directed toward him for his humanitarian work. He believes it’s no less than what any Christian should do, given the opportunity.

“As Jesus said, ‘When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.’ Just let it be natural,” he said. “It only seems right to help these people.”

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

Posted: 6/22/07

Texas Baptist Forum

Recycle of abuse

Thank you for keeping clergy sexual abuse in the news (June 11). 

I have been carrying the burden of this tragedy for over five years and still have tears running down my face. I don’t know if I will ever be the person I was before it happened to me.  

• Jump to online-only letters below

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

“I sometimes marvel when people running for office are asked about faith and their answer is: ‘Oh, I don’t get into that; I keep that completely separate. My faith is completely immaterial to how I think and how I govern.’ And to me that’s really tantamount to saying that my faith is so marginal, so insignificant, so inconsequential that it really doesn’t impact the way I live. I would consider that an extraordinarily shallow faith.” Mike Huckabee Republican presidential candidate and former Baptist pastor, discussing faith and politics at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (RNS) “He’d say, ‘Just a moment, Lyndon,’ put the phone on his chest, and then motion for me to come in. To me, that said I was more important than the president of the United States! I’d crawl up on his bed, content just to lie there with my head on his chest.” Ned Graham Recalling times during his childhood when his father, evangelist Billy Graham, was on the phone with then-President Lyndon Johnson (Charisma/RNS)

Since there is not much that can be done in my case, I am praying that changes can be done to keep others from suffering.

Kaye Maher

Oviedo, Fla.

As a Baptist, a deacon and an attorney, I have been in and worked with churches where there was alleged misconduct and confessed and proven sexual misconduct.

I did not find an important fact in any of the articles on clergy sexual abuse or the sites to which they referred: When there is sexual misconduct, frequently there also is misuse of authority in other ways, including financial misconduct.

Also, where financial misconduct or other misuse of authority is found, there will often be hidden sexual misconduct.

If the church does not have strong and courageous lay leadership, one or both will be ignored or concealed, and frequently the abuser returned to a position of authority.

Just as sexual misconduct is a disqualifying sin, so is financial misconduct and so is abuse of authority.

In the business and government sector, such people lose their jobs and frequently their freedom. Our churches should do no less than we expect of nonchurch organizations.

Forgiveness can only follow true confession and repentance, and restoration must occur in the context of continuous and public accountability and oversight by the lay leadership of the church.

Ralph E. Cooper

Waco

I appreciate the article on restoring clergy and other ministerial leaders to ministry. I had the experience of belonging to a Baptist church where, within about a year’s time, we lost two wonderful ministers because of their sexual sin. Neither has ever returned to the ministry.

Later, I entered ministry myself and began working with men in ministry who were caught up in sexual sin. Five out of six did return to ministry, and their ministries are incredible today. So here are some thoughts on the subject, based on my own experiences:

• God’s calling on one’s life is irrevocable. Sin doesn’t change that calling.

• Sexual predators must leave leadership roles in the church. No church can afford the legal risk. After restoration, they will need to look for other ways to answer God’s call in their lives. This is a natural consequence of the sin.

• Churches often punish and isolate the individual and their families. James 5:16 tells us, “Confess your sins to one another and be healed.” So, the individual must be taught to confess and do it well.

• Once restored, the individual should be required to participate in an accountable relationship that can be verified, where James 5:16 is practiced at least weekly. When this occurs, the individuals usually have even more effective ministries. They have a depth of experience and knowledge of God’s grace that transforms lives.

Larry Walker

Plano

New ‘neighbors’

When we discuss immigration, law and moral relativism, perhaps we should remember that Jesus violated the law when he healed a sick man on the Sabbath and justified it with moral relativism: If a man’s ox is in the ditch, won’t he get it out?

His disciples broke the law when they harvested grain on the Sabbath, and Jesus justified it by reminding that David desecrated the temple when he ate the shewbread because he was hungry. Jesus violated Roman law when he blessed Peter for declaring him the Messiah.

The second-greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Perhaps that can extend beyond the Rio Grande.

Robert Flynn

San Antonio

Execution as torture

I am against torture and the death penalty. Unfortunately both recently happened to Christopher Newton in Ohio. A 20-minute execution took two hours. If this isn’t cruel and unusual punishment, then what is?

I am bothered that many conservative Christians support the death penalty. Jesus, who was executed, once said, “Whatever you do to the least among men, you also do to me.” The death penalty should be abolished.

Chuck Mann,

Greensboro, N.C.

Islam and peace

Cadets are taught Islam as part of “winning the peace” (May 28).

Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. The Apostle John teaches about love, but also testing the Spirits. I can’t see how Islam believes that Jesus came in the flesh to be our Redeemer and Savior. Jesus should never be compromised for anything. John admonishes us to have nothing to do with any teaching that does not teach that God came in the flesh as Jesus Christ to save the world.

Islam believes Jesus was merely a good teacher and prophet. How will we win the war without the peace of Jesus? We need to do as John writes, and test the Spirits. Jude tells us that God knows all about “false teachers,” so we need not be concerned with Islam.

True peace is in the faces of people that have put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. True peace is in the presence of the Holy Spirit. True peace won’t happen without Jesus. I have never looked in the face of any person who believes redemption is in anything or anyone other than Jesus and seen the joy and peace that radiates from the face of a Christian.

God still reserves for himself men and women that spend much time in prayer, who haven’t bowed a knee to any other.

Joyce Brumley

Grand Prairie

Judging worship

I read with interest Robert Tucker’s well-written “Leave judgment in the parking lot” (May 28). I agree there is much to learn and appreciate from the full range of sacred music, including contemporary. As a believer in broadening the perspective of the congregation to the universal church, our choir has sung such recently composed “rhythmic and multi-dimensioned” works as the Brazilian “Psalmo 150,” the African “Betelehemu” with conga drums, and many modern arrangements of spirituals with “syncopated complexity.” I also agree the best works of the church triumphant, the “cloud of witnesses” with whom we worship, should be included.

However, in my limited experience with commercial contemporary Christian music, I have found little that has “added tones for harmonic color” or is “engaging, creative and spontaneous,” although most is definitely “emotionally charged.” The compositions I have run across mostly have been repetitive, vapid and musically uninteresting with poorly written and sometimes appalling lyrics. Apparently, I have not been diligent in my search.

I have heard of the use of Bono’s music in a U2charist, but that does not seem to compare with Bach’s “Mass in G Major” or his “Aus der Tiefe,” both of which we presented last Good Friday. Do you know of a commercial contemporary Christian music piece with the pathos and power of Vierne’s “Kyrie Eleison” or the ethereality and emotion of Rutter’s “Requiem”? I would love to consider a piece with similar complexity, nuance and spiritual energy.

Dolan McKnight

Richardson

Thank you for the 2nd Opinion column on worship by Robert Tucker.

I consider it a privilege to know Rob Tucker personally, and I am thankful for his expert opinion regarding differing worship styles and our attitudes toward them.

He is just one of several Howard Payne University administrators and faculty members who had a tremendous impact on the life of my daughter, who recently graduated from HPU. My Hardin-Simmons University roots run deep, but President Lanny Hall and company are doing something really “right” at Howard Payne, and I pray that God will continue to richly bless their school and their efforts.

Randy Dale

Temple

Falwell’s legacy

I am sure the writer of “Mixed blessing” (May 28) is a wonderful person who in 50 years of ministry has won hundreds of thousands to Christ; shepherded a little country church into one of the largest in America; started what is now America’s largest Christian university; created ministries to alcoholics, addicts, orphans and homeless; and provided care and adoption services for unwed mothers in addition to making countless appearances around the world taking a stand for biblical morality (what the politically correct now call “politics”).

But if not, the Bible warns us to be careful about “touching the Lord’s anointed” and “judging another man’s servant.” I thank God for Jerry Falwell and pray that God would raise an army of equally tirelessly dedicated men to continue his legacy.

Brian Burgess

Haskell

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

Posted: 6/22/07

On the Move

• Jason Ames to First Church in Three Rivers as youth director.

• Tom Bilderback to First Church in Whitesboro as youth minister.

• John Carl to Northlake Church in Garland as pastor from First Church in Whitney.

• Rick Carney to Bones Chapel in Whitesboro as pastor.

• Kurt Dempsey to Walnut Springs Church in Walnut Springs as education/youth minister.

• J.L. Edwards to First Shiloh Church in Thrall as pastor, where he had been interim pastor.

• Rick Eubanks to Oak Grove Church in Burleson as minister of music/youth from Grand Parkway Church in Sugar Land.

• Pete Freeman to Central Church in Jacksonville as interim pastor from First Church in Longview, where he was interim associate pastor/senior adults.

• Gaines Gibson to First Church in Point as minister of youth from Lone Oak Church in Lone Oak.

• Michael Godfrey to True Course Ministries in Waco as executive director. He is available for interims and supply work.

• Alcides Guajardo to Primera Iglesia in Mineral as pastor.

• John Laque has resigned as pastor of Bethel Church in Rockport.

• Rodney McCaleb to Dorcas Wills Memorial Church in Trinity as minister of music.

• Donnie McCarter to Marcelina Church in Floresville as pastor.

• Bill Meek to Country Chapel Church in Sherman as minister of music.

• Wade Smith to First Church in Norman, Okla., as pastor from Georgetown Church in Pottsboro.

• Russell Stanley to First Church in Rule as pastor from Calvary Church in Seymour, where he was interim pastor.

• Randy Thompson to First Church in Tom Bean as youth minister.

• Nathan Warren to Smyrna Church in Atlanta as minister of youth.

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

Posted: 6/22/07

Weary pastors stave off stress
by scheduling ‘personal Sabbaths’

By Matt Kennedy

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)—Consummate counselor, powerful preacher, lasting leader—these are descriptions often used to characterize a respected pastor. Avid fisherman and beach bum are not.

But Bruce Prindle, pastor of First Baptist Church in Midlothian, values fishing and lying in a folding chair next to the waves just as much as his more traditional pastoral duties.

By taking long vacations and enjoying a relaxing Sabbath, Prindle tries to escape the stress of dealing with building projects, multiple services and budgets. He believes his counseling, preaching and leading abilities are diminished when he fails to take proper rest.

Prindle is not alone. Many other pastors echo his commitment to avoid “burnout”—the emotional state of approximately 100,000 pastors, according to Alan Klaas of Mission Growth Ministries.

Studies show that if pastors don’t effectively manage their stress levels, it leads to devastating results. According to a 1998 Focus on the Family study, 1,500 pastors leave their assignments each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention within local congregations.

Mike Wilson, associate professor of pastoral ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said pastoral burnout stems from a pastor’s inability to identify how much he can handle. He said the process leading up to actual burnout usually is gradual.

Joel Gregory, professor of preaching at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, said the repetition of delivering the same sermon for multiple services could lead to greater stress.

Gregory said burnout often results from a condition he called “repetitive stress syndrome,” which he defines as the anxiety of knowing that Sunday is coming. Feeding the pastor’s need for creativity through art, music, travel and reading fiction are ways to combat that syndrome, Gregory noted.

In a 1991 survey of pastors by the Fuller Institute of Church Growth, 80 percent of pastors said their pastoral ministry affected their families negatively, and 70 percent of pastors said they do not have someone they consider a close friend. Prindle said he’s lucky to have such a close support system of friends and family to help him when he’s experiencing too much stress.

“For the past 20 years, I’ve met regularly with mentors to seek advice,” Prindle said. “I am also lucky to have a staff that I can trust, because I make a point to never hire anybody that I know I can’t get along with.”

He also makes an effort to develop friendships outside of the church in order to relate to people as a person, not just as a pastor.

In the last 28 years, Steve Stroope, pastor of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, has guided the church from an average attendance of 57 people who met in an abandoned bait shop to more than 10,000 across 7 locations, including a service at Dawson State Jail.

Stroope is a likely candidate for burnout after managing such rapid growth, but he said he is enjoying his work more than ever.

“Through the use of delegation, teaching teams and video simulcasts, I am able to specialize in the tasks that I do best,” Stroope said. “I’m working smarter, not harder.”

The teaching team concept of rotating sermons given by selected staff members gives Stroope the chance to preach 26 weekends out of the year.

“Teaching teams alleviate a lot of my stress, and they give the church an opportunity to hear from a number of different voices,” Stroope said.

Video simulcasts give Lake Pointe the flexibility to broadcast a sermon from one or more designated preachers to all of Lake Pointe’s locations at once.

Delegation and technology are helpful tools to avoid stress, Stroope said, but the key to avoiding burnout is to preserve a restful personal Sabbath. He believes a lot of ministers forget the importance of taking set time off from their regular duties to relax. Ministers should incorporate that time as a “holy habit” to fill their “emotional tank,” he said.

The importance of rest was not always so clear to Stroope. Two decades ago, he was struggling to find the answer to a question that had plagued him: “How am I going to keep up this pace?”

He was leading a church of about 550 members at a single location, was trying to do almost everything himself, and was having trouble saying “no.” Then the answer finally came to him.

“I realized that there is only so much time in the day, and that it was time to get my priorities straight,” Stroope said. “I found out that taking a personal Sabbath was a non-negotiable, because I was not sustaining the needs of my congregation by giving them a tired minister.”

Stroope’s personal Sabbaths usually consist of time spent with family and friends at barbecues, reading the Bible or other books, or in long walks with his wife after supper.

“I still run up against stress problems all the time,” Stroope said. “But now it’s just a matter of recognizing what I’m doing and realizing when I need to slow down.”

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