Posted: 4/13/07

Small coffee company takes
‘fair trade’ one step further

By Joanna Corman

Religion News Service

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—For the 15 years that Tom Angus worked for a company that negotiated the lowest possible prices for coffee beans, he occasionally would travel to Costa Rica, meet with farmers and hear about their desperate poverty and how they were losing their land.

Angus insists he was able to remain “mentally disconnected” from the poverty he saw.

Yet on Sunday mornings, when his pastor at Pioneer Congregational Church here would talk about living out one’s faith, something would nag at him.

By 2003, Angus could no longer ignore that nagging feeling and quit his job.

Tom Angus and Jinxi Allen founded Beneficio Coffee Co. in 2004. The company takes the Fair Trade coffee model one step further by giving part of its profits back to the communities where the coffee beans are harvested.

In May 2004, with his friend and fellow church member Betty “Jinxi” Allen, Angus started Beneficio Coffee, a Sacramento-based importing and roasting company.

But rather than adopt the Fair Trade model that guarantees a fair price for coffee growers, the pair wanted to go further.

Most Fair Trade companies buy coffee from grower’s cooperatives for $1.26 a pound; Beneficio pays $1.39, plus a separate wage for coffee processors.

After deducting its expenses, Beneficio channels 20 percent of its proceeds back to the farming communities, and sends an additional 10 percent to a charity of the buyer’s choice.

And because the company bills itself as “more than Fair Trade,” it has opted not to pay 10 cents a pound for a Fair Trade label from a certifying organization.

Instead, it gives that money directly to the farmers.

“It makes you think when you’re picking up that cup what your choices are and how much of a blessing it is, and how much work goes into that simple daily pleasure that is so cheap for us, but literally decides someone’s future,” Angus said.

So far, most of Beneficio’s customers are churches, but it also sells to schools, service organizations, small companies and individuals over the Internet. The company is nearly at the break-even point, Allen and Angus say, and they are working on lining up investors.

Beneficio—which means “benefit for all” in Spanish—is part of a growing movement of for-profit companies for which social and environmental gains are as important as profits.

Stephen Hamilton, a retired United Church of Christ pastor in Portland, Ore., who makes presentations about Beneficio at churches nationwide, says buying coffee from a socially responsible company lets him be faithful to God.

“From a mission point of view, from a theological, spiritual point of view, if there’s violence in the world then we seek to correct the violence,” he said. “What we’re doing by our choice of purchasing coffee is helping (the farmers) to be more self-reliant but not depend upon any other organization to be able to do that.”

In 2004 and 2005, the company gave $16,900 to the farmers and to groups in the United States. Some of that money bought uniforms and supplies for children in Costa Rica, allowing some to attend school for the first time, and a year’s worth of lunches for 55 orphans.

John Sage, co-founder and president of Pura Vida Coffee, a for-profit Fair Trade company in Seattle, said it’s plausible for small companies that have strong relationships with their customers and growers to shun the Fair Trade label.

“You can very reasonably say we know we do as good or a better job in terms of ensuring economic opportunities and environmental stewardship and so we don’t need the mark,” he said.

So far, Beneficio has sold roughly 37,000 one-pound bags of its “heavenly blend” coffee for $6.25 each—a miniscule slice of the nation’s $11 billion specialty coffee market.

Still, the company is making a big difference to the families on the ground, said Gilbert Ramirez, international operations manager for CoopeAgri R.L., a Costa Rican coffee grower’s cooperative that processes Beneficio’s coffee.

“Beneficio is the only company that gives back money to the coffee farmer in this region,” he said. “Beneficio Coffee opened our eyes because it’s a new way to make a business.”

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

Posted: 4/13/07

Book Reviews

River Rising by Athol Dickson (Bethany House)

Welcome to 1927 Louisiana. Pilotville is a sleepy little Gulf Coast town, unique it its equal treatment of all people, regardless of their color. It’s a town that takes pride in its generous spirit while turning a blind eye to the shroud of fear that sits heavy on its African-American citizens. Until, that is, Reverend Hale Poser arrives in search of his past.

River Rising is a story about the search for a lost baby girl by a man in search of his parents. What he discovers is that Pilotville, an apparent oasis of equality, is really the last stronghold of slavery and racism.

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

The novel also is the story of faith. And as we follow Poser’s realization that he is a miracle worker, we discover the greatest mystery of all. True faith is something we must work out “behind our backs.” The moment we become aware of it, it disappears.

River Rising is a poignant look at the subjects of faith and racism. A seeming island in the midst of a segregated South, Pilotville becomes a metaphor for modern society, and we can’t help but re-examine our own assumptions about equality. Are we indeed equal in every way except where it matters most?

Let the reader decide.

Kathryn Aragon

First Baptist Church

Duncanville

The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living With a Grande Passion by Leonard Sweet (WaterBrook Press)

Coffee fans, Leonard Sweet will have you salivating for a sip of your favorite latte or wanting the feel of that hot mug of java between your hands as you absorb his fresh musings on coffee and insights into the Starbucks atmosphere and way of doing business.

Our culture desires to have EPIC spirituality (Experiential, Participatory, Image-rich and Connecting), and your local Starbucks coffee shop offers this EPIC experience every day.

Sweet suggests followers of Christ, the church, can learn lessons from a coffee shop microcosm of society and a company that knows people want something even more savory than a beverage. God invites us into a life of immersive relationship and experience with him that is truly EPIC.

The book additionally provides questions to brew up small-group conversation.

There may be no better way to debrief Sweet’s ideas than to share this spiritually rich discussion over a warm, dark communal cup of joe.

Greg Bowman,

minister to students

First Baptist Church

Duncanville

Why Study the Past? The Quest for the Historical Church by Rowan Williams (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams asks some timely and thought-provoking questions in this little volume: Why is the study of history important for the modern church? What lessons does history have to teach Christian believers in the 21st century?

In each age, the church has had to define itself against the movement of culture in which it stands. So, the study of history should include the attempt at understanding the different ways of thinking about the varying circumstances and events that greatly influenced the writings, reactions, and theology of the people who have gone before.

This approach can help us to be salt and light as we view ourselves in changing times today. Or, as the archbishop states, “A church that shares the widespread and fashionable illiteracy of this culture about how religious faith worked in other ages is grossly weakened in its witness.”

Ultimately, the person of Christ, God’s presence in history and his Scripture are the anchors that bind the body of Christ through the ages.

Greg Bowman, minister to students

First Baptist Church, Duncanville

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

Posted: 4/13/07

Baptist Briefs

Georgia Baptist communicator killed.

Diane Reasoner, 57, longtime communications specialist for the Georgia Baptist Convention, was killed in an auto accident April 1 in metro Atlanta. Her husband, Richard, clinical director of Christian Counseling and Psychological Service, in Suwanee, Ga., was injured in the three-car accident on Interstate 985 that killed two and seriously injured five others. Diane Reasoner had worked for the Georgia Baptist Convention 20 years. She oversaw the work of the Georgia Religion News weekly radio program, electronic media, the convention website, public relations and print materials. She also was developing Georgia Baptists’ Internet radio ministry, scheduled to launch in May. In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons, Rich and Rob, and three grandsons. Reasoner was a member, along with her husband, at First Baptist Church of Duluth, Ga.

Baptist historian to be honored.

Alabama Baptist historian Wayne Flynt will receive Baptists Today’s annual Judson-Rice Award for leadership with integrity. Flynt—who taught at his alma mater, Samford University in Birmingham, before joining the Auburn University faculty in 1977—is regarded as a strong advocate for the poor and as a bridge builder across racial divides. A tutoring program he organized at Rosedale High School in Homewood, Ala., produced the first African-American students to attend Samford. More recently, Flynt helped found Sowing Seeds of Hope, a long-term ministry effort in rural Perry County, Ala., and the Alabama Poverty Project. He has written and lectured extensively on race and poverty.

ABP opens New York bureau.

Associated Baptist Press has launched a news bureau in New York City. ABP Assistant Editor Hannah Elliott opened the independent news service’s New York bureau March 15, a little more than a year after she joined ABP’s staff and began running its Dallas bureau, working from the Baptist Standard office. Her husband, Spencer, recently accepted a promotion with a financial-services firm, transferring him from its Dallas office to New York. Elliott will continue to fill the assistant editor’s role, which includes writing, editing and posting stories online. ABP Executive Editor Greg Warner said the organization plans to re-staff the vacant Dallas bureau when funds are available.

National Baptist group rejects paroled former leader.

Henry Lyons, former president of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. and convicted felon, was defeated in his bid for the presidency of the Florida General Baptist Convention. Participants at the state convention’s annual meeting instead elected James Sampson of Jacksonville, Fla., to lead Florida’s oldest predominantly African-American religious group, which is associated with the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Lyons, 65, gained notoriety in 1999 when a Florida jury convicted him of state grand theft and racketeering charges. They also found that, while president of the National Baptist Convention, he stole millions of dollars from convention partners like the Anti-Defamation League. He ended up serving more than four years in state prison and will remain on federal probation until 2008. The scam was uncovered after Lyons’ then-wife set fire to a $700,000 home owned by Lyons and his mistress. A subsequent investigation into Lyons’ personal affairs uncovered his other misdeeds. Lyons currently serves as pastor at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa, Fla.

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

Posted: 4/13/07

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

Posted: 4/13/07

Self-examination benefits
church with pastor, too

By Jonathan Petty

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW—At some point, every church needs to step back and re-evaluate its purpose. Micheal Summers, Wayland Baptist University’s director of church services, believes an intentional interim minister can most effectively lead churches through that process, but churches with pastors can benefit, also.

Summers has served as intentional interim throughout his 10-year tenure with Wayland. In his experience, he always has seen churches grow as a result of the process.

“I have seen more progress toward the people of God doing the work of God than I have seen in most pastorates,” Summers said. “Basically, we focus on why we are here. What is our purpose?”

The process transforms members from people who “are here to be entertained,” or those who “are here to just sit and watch,” to people who are actively involved in the work of the church, he said.

Intentional interims lead the church in a process that begins by setting up a leadership team with the purpose of looking at five areas of the church—history, organizational structure, identity and vision, denominational and mission linkages, and preparation for the new pastor.

Churches—not the intentional interim minister—decide for themselves what changes need to be made, he stressed.           

“The people themselves do the studies, surveys and evaluations,” Summers said. “It’s not a thing of the pastor doing it for them. The intentional interim has no agenda. He is there to help whatever church he is in to find out who they are and to follow what God is leading that church to do.”

Introspection and evaluation are good for every church and every congregation, Summers said, and churches do not have to wait for an interim period to go through the process. Certified intentional interims also are available to consult with churches to help lead them through this process.

While the overall process may take six months to a year, Summers also has developed a church tune-up program that he offers to churches that would like to spend a weekend looking into this process.

“We do the same kinds of things we do in the intentional interim but in a weekend format for churches who have pastors,” Summers said.

“That has been very effective to open their eyes to why they are here and what they are doing. We won’t solve everything in a weekend. We won’t look at everything in a weekend.

“It is just a tune-up, but hopefully from that, they can springboard and do some further follow-up.”

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

Posted: 4/13/07

Standard, others launch
new era of collaboration

The current print edition of the Baptist Standard represents the first in a collaborative venture that also involves Associated Baptist Press and the Virginia Baptist Religious Herald and soon will expand to include the Missouri Baptist Word & Way.

The editorial staffs of each partner in the venture now work together to select content for many of the pages that contain stories of general interest, including the cover stories and related articles. Lindsay Bergstrom of Associated Baptist Press then provides the graphic design for each of those jointly planned pages.

The collaborative arrangement not only provides cost savings for partner publications that split the cost of the design fee, but also broadens the scope of each newspaper, Baptist Standard Editor Marv Knox noted.

“Baptist Standard readers will benefit from the combined newsgathering resources of our partners as we work together,” Knox said.

At the same time, he added, each newspaper maintains its own editorial freedom, and readers will see no significant drop in state-specific news coverage.

To accommodate its partner publications, readers may notice the redesigned Standard is printed on a slightly smaller page. However, the average page count per issue increases from 20 to 24 pages.

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

Posted: 4/13/07

2nd Opinion:
Good manners & speaking truth

By Beth Newman

The early onset of the presidential campaign has brought a call for a “return to civility.” There seems, however, little prospect for any immediate restoration of such civility, assuming it ever existed. We’re not sure any longer what such civility would look like; and there is a great deal at stake.

In Cormac McCarthy’s novel No Country for Old Men, Sheriff Bell is speculating on the causes of violence enveloping his Texas county: “It starts when you begin to overlook bad manners. Any time you quit hearin’ ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am,’ the end is pretty much in sight.” This observation provoked some amusement for reviewers, but McCarthy is quite serious. He knows—and we ought to remember—manners always are a code for something deeper. They proceed from a prior understanding of the world.

But as odd as it might sound, “manners” as lack of offense has led to a distortion of Christian discipleship. The pressure to be nice, maintain civility, get along, be agreeable has crippled our ability to speak truthfully. Too often, these kind of “manners” picture God as a therapeutic nice guy who simply wants us to be nice too.

As is well known, Jesus’ words offended his listeners time and again.

Recently in my theology class, we have been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together. When Bonhoeffer wrote this classic, national socialism was on a steep rise in Germany. Many Christians willingly gave their allegiance to its ideology. In the face of a politics based on lies, Bonhoeffer sought to discern how Christians might learn to live more truthfully so that they would be capable of speaking the truth.

This simple classic is about life together in Christian community, yet its simplicity belies the profound grasp Bonhoeffer had on costly discipleship. He rightly perceived that only when Christians practice speaking the truth to one another, through confession, encouragement, admonishment, hymn-singing, prayer and other such practices, would they be able to live and speak truthfully before the world. His concern was not whether truthfulness “offends” or violates a code of agreeableness. In his context of Nazi Germany, too much was at stake to worry about merely trying to get along for its own sake.

And what about our context?

We might be tempted to think, “Well, Bonhoeffer lived in more urgent times, as Hitler and his cohorts were carrying out their monstrous plan.”

But this tempting thought is deceptive. In every time and place, Christians are called to speak truthfully to and about those powers and allegiances that easily compromise their lives and thus make Christ’s body less visible.

The question is, “Are practices of truthful speech in place in our faith communities?” Are we able to confess our sins to one another? Are we willing to have others admonish and encourage us in our times of need? Are we able to see ourselves as members one of another, such that we recognize God has given us our brothers and sisters in Christ, in all their strengths and weaknesses?

Christian manners are not about civility or agreeableness, nor are they ways of manipulating so as to get our way. They are rather faithful habits that enable us to live truthfully before a world that easily gets lost in deception.

We—as Christians—live in a world that is increasingly fragmented, and there is no more important task facing us than the forging of a vision of the common good based on the truth of who and whose we are.

Beth Newman is professor of theology and ethics at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. Her column is distributed by Associated Baptist Press.

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

Posted: 4/13/07

DOWN HOME:
Bundle of fur mends broken hearts

Guilt pangs strike at the oddest moments.

Like when I’m cuddling with her, amazed by her comely looks and loving nature. Suddenly, I realize the reason she’s here is because the one who came before her no longer is part of my life.

Then, when I’m startled or excited, I forget for a second, and I call her the name of the one who came before her. Although she never acknowledges the slip, I feel absolutely awful.

Adjusting to a new puppy never is simple. Especially when the one who came before her was part of our family 14 years.

Betsy grew up with our daughters. We got her when she was 6 weeks old, on Molly’s fifth and Lindsay’s eighth birthdays. She quickly made herself at home. We trained her to ring a bell by the back door; she trained us to get up and open the back door whenever she wanted to go outside. When one of us got sick, she hovered like a nurse. She always met me at the door at the end of the day. We celebrated her birthday and hung her stocking with ours at Christmas. After awhile, we couldn’t imagine life without her.

But since Betsy aged about seven years for every one of ours, the ravages of time finally caught up with her. First, she went deaf. Then, almost simultaneously, she started losing her vision and had a hard time using her back legs.

If the vet had tried to talk me out of what I asked him to do, I would’ve crumbled. But he assured me the hardest decision also was the most loving. So, we said goodbye to Betsy.

We grieved for more than a year. Especially during breakfast, and right after work, and at bedtime. Life wasn’t the same.

But, finally, we decided the time had come to enter the next phase of our lives. Thanks to the Dallas Morning News classifieds and the Internet, we found Betsy’s adorable successor.

In the old days, we would’ve said she’s a mutt. But nowadays, every dog has a lineage, and ours is a cava-tzu. Her father is a cavalier King Charles spaniel, and her mother is a shih-tzu. Best I can tell, she’s got her daddy’s spaniel personality (think doggy attention-deficit disorder) and her mother’s looks (think Ewoks from Star Wars).

We named her Topanga. If that name isn’t familiar, then you didn’t raise kids in the ’90s. One of the favorite TV programs at our house when Lindsay and Molly lived in it was Boy Meets World. One of the main characters—with a mane as thick as you can imagine—was a girl named Topanga.

Before we picked up our puppy, I’d been considering names. The other contender was Winnie, from The Wonder Years. But the moment I saw that little ball of brindle-and-white fur, I knew Topanga would be a fit.

When I consider all of creation, I’m amazed at God’s wonder and majesty. But when I count my blessings, I thank God for dogs.

–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: 4/13/07

EDITORIAL:
BGCT prepares for torch to be passed

Charles Wade’s announced retirement means 2007 will be an exceptional year for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Of course, Wade won’t retire as executive director of the BGCT Executive Board until early next year. But several processes that will occur in the coming months will ensure 2007’s legacy as a red-letter year in BGCT history: Wade will spend much of the year focusing on work begun during his tenure, seeking to complete several projects. A committee selected by Executive Board and BGCT officers will nominate Wade’s successor, who should be elected in early fall. And the executive director-elect should work alongside Wade for three months, seeking to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

So, 2007 will be a pivotal year for the BGCT, as one era ends and another begins. This doesn’t happen often. In the past century, only 14 people have held this post, and that number was padded by three short tenures in the late 1920s and early ’30s. Only five leaders have been executive director in the past 54 years, and the impact of each rippled into the tenure of the next one. History teaches us the shadow of Wade’s legacy will fall onto the new days of his successor.

At the proper time near his retirement, the Baptist Standard will offer a retrospective of the eight-year Wade administration. Now, however, several items bear remembering.

Almost every Texas Baptist who heard Charles Wade speak since November 1999 heard him urge all of us to “love people up close to Jesus.” That phrase encapsules three values deeply engrained in his DNA:

• Love. Wade brought a tender pastor’s heart to this job. During a long pastoral ministry, he continuously demonstrated his love for people. That love expressed itself most clearly in Mission Arlington, the ministry started while he was pastor of First Baptist Church in Arlington, which demonstrated love for the folks Jesus called “the least of these,” who need not only salvation, but also food, clothing, shelter, medical care, counsel and someone to hug them—literally and tightly.

Through these years, he also demonstrated his love for Texas Baptists. He has worked tirelessly to show his love for pastors and church staff, going out of his way and expending time he didn’t have to spend time with them. He also has loved the Baptist Building staff unconditionally.

• People. If anything, Charles Wade is a people person. About the only thing he loves more than worshipping with people is visiting with them afterward, learning their names and sharing their stories. I have watched him closely when I knew he was bone-weary, and yet he was the picture of energy when he was with people, simply because he adores them.

• Jesus. Never doubt that our Savior is the center of Charles Wade’s life. One of the defining moments of his tenure happened early on, when he stood on the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention—outnumbered by the thousands—to urge the SBC not to remove a vital reference to Jesus from the Baptist Faith & Message statement. He didn’t do that because he wanted to fight fundamentalism; he did it because he loves Jesus.

Another word that is not included in that phrase but that defines Charles Wade is courage. During the darkest hour of his tenure, he exhibited the courage to invite outside investigators to get to the bottom of the Valley scandal. He also exhibited courage in leading the most significant reorganization of convention governance in a half-century and a major reorganization of Executive Board staff.

The full implications of governance changes will be determined under the leadership of Wade’s successor, as will completion of the staff reorganization.

In the meantime, pray for Charles and Rosemary Wade and for the committee that will nominate a successor.

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard.

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

Posted: 4/13/07

Fair Trade sales skyrocket

By Katherine Boyle

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Fair Trade sales are skyrocketing across the nation, with programs selling more coffee, handicrafts and chocolate from Third World countries than ever before.

“Fair Trade gives people of faith the option of an ethical consumer choice,” said Kattie Sommerfeld, the Fair Trade projects coordinator at Lutheran World Relief, where handicraft sales have doubled over the past year. “It’s a holistic approach to helping development.”

Prices for Fair Trade products are set by the Fair Trade Labeling Organization, which comprises a number of national groups, traders and farmer representatives.

Fair Trade prices are based on the cost of production, a sustainable income for the farmers or producers, and “living wages” for workers.

Agricultural products, for example, include a 5 percent per-pound premium that goes to a farming cooperative for investment in social projects and infrastructure improvements in the country of origin. Fair Trade products also are grown in an environmentally safe manner and with humane labor conditions.

Many Christian and Jewish organizations obtain their Fair Trade products through Equal Exchange in Bridgewater, Mass., the nation’s oldest and largest for-profit Fair Trade company.

When the Equal Exchange Interfaith Program went national in 1997, 57 churches were involved. To date, more than 16,000 religious organizations have purchased Fair Trade products through the Interfaith Program. In 2006, the Interfaith Program brought in an estimated $6.6 million in revenue, up from $5.9 million in 2005.

For many consumers, buying Fair Trade is a way to express their religious faith. They pay a little more but have the satisfaction of knowing they are doing their small part to support workers in poor countries.

A number of private and public universities have joined the Fair Trade campaign as well. They include Wheaton College, a Christian liberal arts university outside Chicago, and the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., which began offering Fair Trade coffee in its dining halls and in many campus restaurants in 2004. Notre Dame also holds an annual Fair Trade handicrafts sale.

In the United States, Fair Trade imports are regulated by TransFair USA, a member of the Fair Trade Labeling Organization. During the first half of 2006, the organization certified nearly 80 percent more Fair Trade coffee than during the first half of 2005. Products such as cocoa, rice and sugar also have seen increases.

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

Posted: 4/13/07

Faith Digest

Amish school reopens after shooting. Amish children entered their new school in Lancaster County, Penn., exactly six months after a gun-toting neighbor walked into their old schoolhouse and shot 10 students, killing five. The Amish demolished the old schoolhouse to erase a reminder of the horror experienced there. Four of the five girls who were shot Oct. 2 have returned to the new school, called New Hope Amish School. The fifth, a 6-year-old, needs a feeding tube and is not able to communicate, the Associated Press reported.

Flying imams test tolerance. Six Muslim imams filed suit after being thrown off a US Airways flight when other passengers reported suspicious behavior. The imams allegedly were praying in their seats, speaking negatively about President Bush and the Iraq war and asking for longer seatbelts, which passengers feared would be used as weapons. The imams are suing the airline, the airport and “those who may have knowingly made false reports against the imams with the intent to discriminate against them,” according to a letter from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based Muslim civil rights group. The news prompted the U.S. House to pass shield laws to protect individuals who report suspicious behavior.

Baylor tops list of Christian schools. Baylor University topped the list of Relevant Media Group’s first-ever ranking of top Christian colleges and universities in the United States. Five colleges, ranging in size and location, made the list. Calvin College ranked second, followed by Pepperdine University, Wheaton College and Biola University. The list, created by Relevant’s magazine editors, was compiled to offer readers a chance to preview available Christian campuses that ranked high on a scale of academics, student life and spiritual life.

Woman claims religious right to eat monkey meat. A Staten Island woman claims she has the right to eat protected species in keeping with her religious beliefs. But prosecutors contend Liberian-born Mamie Manneh Jefferson illegally imported pieces of protected wildlife that carry the risk of infectious diseases. They argue she failed to show that eating the meat arises from a sincere religious belief. More than a year ago, federal agents at JFK International Airport allegedly discovered 65 pieces of illegal smoked bushmeat—including green monkey, hamadryas baboon and antelope—buried beneath smoked fish in a shipment to Jefferson from Guinea. Agents later found 33 pieces of bushmeat in the garage of Jefferson’s home. Jefferson is a member of a church that blends Christianity with African traditional religion. As part of their religious practices, they eat boiled, blessed bushmeat on Christmas and Easter and at ritualistic events such as weddings and baptisms, believing it brings them closer to God. If ultimately convicted on the federal smuggling charge, the 39-year-old defendant could face up to five years in a federal penitentiary, a fine, or a combination of the two. She currently is serving a two-year state prison sentence in an unrelated case for running over her husband’s girlfriend in the parking lot of a movie theater in February 2006. The victim survived.

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

Posted: 4/13/07

Texas Baptist named to
head international aid ministry

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

Dearing Garner, longtime Texas Baptist pastor, has been named executive director of Children’s Emergency Relief International, the Houston-based overseas arm of Baptist Child & Family Services.

Garner previously headed the agency’s work in Africa. Steve Davis, who had the organization’s work in Moldova, has been named associate executive director of the agency.

Garner joined the staff in December 2005, just months after retiring as founding pastor of First Baptist Church of Kingwood after 27 years, to continue his lifelong involvement in partnership missions. For several years, he had been working closely with Children’s Emergency Relief International in Moldova on Operation Knit Together—an ongoing ministry he founded in 1999 to provide shoes and a Christian witness to the residents of Moldova’s government orphanages.

“At my first staff retreat, I mentioned that CERI should look at Africa. And before I knew it, I was put in charge of doing just that,” he explained. “I wanted to be part of CERI because I had seen firsthand its philosophy of working with national Christians to help children and families, and I had seen the passion and commitment of the staff. This opportunity was too big a blessing to pass up.”

Garner has been a member of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board and a trustee of Houston Baptist University.

Garner, a Virginia native, graduated from Carson-Newman College before earning his master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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