Posted: 4/05/07

Explore the Bible Series for April 15

Acting like Jesus in the face of suffering

• 1 Peter 3:13-4:6

By Kathryn Aragon

First Baptist Church, Duncanville

I wonder if we confessed to people when we witness that Christianity is a life of suffering if there would be as many Christians. There certainly would be fewer shallow Christians.

C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying: “We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, ‘Blessed are they that mourn.’”

That’s not one of the promises that first attracts us to Christianity. And once we settle into our faith and learn that Christianity is supposed to be difficult, we still resist the idea.

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Our reading this week begins with words that echo our feelings about how things ought to be. “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” (3:13). It’s a thought we like to hold on to. Christianity is supposed to solve our problems, not create new ones.

Unfortunately, though, for many Christians doing good really does bring harm. In our callous, atheistic world, it’s easy to understand. God tells us his wisdom is foolishness to man (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, when non-Christians see God’s precepts lived out, they find them ridiculous, and the people who dare to be so different are rejected. This form of suffering we can understand, even if we don’t like it.

Sadly, though, this isn’t the only persecution Christians incur when they try to obey God. Some of our greatest suffering will come at the hands of other Christians who either judge us because our behavior makes them look bad or reject us because it convicts them.

Regardless of its source, however, we must accept the truth of suffering. Paul tells us, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus tells us we are blessed when we are hated, excluded, insulted and rejected because of him. But he takes this teaching one step further when he says, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26). Not only are we to expect suffering. We must worry if it doesn’t happen.

So where do we turn? How do we reconcile our desire to obey God with the consequences of obedience? It’s time we Christians lay down our rose-colored glasses and accept the truth. We like to talk about being like Jesus, yet we refuse to agree with his thinking. The truth of the matter is we never will successfully act like Jesus until we begin to think like him. We must accept suffering as a natural part of our faith, and we need to learn to respond to it properly.

There’s only one problem. Even if we fully accept the idea of suffering, most of us don’t really know how to respond to it. We’d like to be more Christ-like, but we don’t know how. Four suggestions follow.

Measure actions against God, not men

First of all, we have a tendency to be people-pleasers. Somehow ideas have developed that Christians can’t stand up for themselves or disagree with others. Sometimes we can’t even speak the truth because the truth just sounds un-Christian. So when we are confronted for being different, we find ourselves in conflict. We must choose between disobeying God and displeasing people.

What do we do? The Bible reminds us we should not fear the reactions of people. “Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Although this isn’t a side of God we like to dwell on, it’s the truth. We need to concentrate on being God-pleasers rather than people-pleasers.

Furthermore, when troubles come our way, we tend to look to other people to know how to act. If we are called down, we can always compare ourselves to others. “I’m only doing what everyone else does.” Or, “So-and-so did worse than I did.” This tendency to compare is wrong.

God is the only standard we should measure ourselves against. The Apostle Paul says: “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12-18). The wise man only measures his actions against the plumb line of Jesus and his word. Any other measure is faulty.

Respond, don’t react

The dictionary defines “react” as acting in response to a stimulus. To respond, on the other hand, is to act in return. Although the difference is subtle, it is clear. Pavlov taught dogs to react to the ringing of a bell. So when he rang the bell, the dogs were no longer in control. Instead, they merely reacted in the way they were programmed to behave. Reacting is not a voluntary action. The stimulus is the controlling factor.

Conversely, responding retains control. A response is a plan of action put into motion. It isn’t programmed behavior but a choice. When we react, we give up control to the thing that causes us to react. What’s worse, when we give up control in this way, we also give away God’s ability to control us.

Most of us tend to react to people and life’s circumstances. Rarely do we really sit down to evaluate the right and wrong of how we act. Instead, we react to life in keeping with the emotions aroused by circumstances, emotions that rarely line up with God’s expectations.

The answer to this problem is to make a plan. We must know what God expects and what we believe, and then decide how we will respond when different problems arise.

Paul said, “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly” (1 Corinthians 4:12-13). This is no accident. Paul didn’t respond this way because he’s naturally nicer than the rest of us. No, he made a decision. And unless we make a similar decision, we will continue to react to life. Christian behavior doesn’t just happen. It’s a hard decision made over and over again.

Keep your focus on God

Like Peter walking on water, if we take our eyes off Jesus, we won’t be able to maintain the miracle of Christlike behavior. Responding rather than reacting to life requires our constant focus on God. It demands we remember our ultimate goal. All too often, we forget this life isn’t the end. One day, we will stand before God for judgment and on that day we want to have a “clear conscience” (4:6). By basing our behavior on God’s expectations rather than the world’s, we will be able to do just that.

Paul puts it this way: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). It’s easy to fix our eyes on our problems and conflicts. But when we refocus and put our eyes back on Jesus, those problems become less of an issue. Sure, returning kindness for cruelty is difficult, but it makes more sense when we’re looking at Jesus.

Know God’s word

If we don’t know God’s desires for us, we’ll never measure up to his standards. One of our greatest failings as Christians is taking other people’s word for what God says rather than discovering for ourselves what God wants. Knowing life would be difficult, God wrote the manual.

He gave us the Bible to teach us how to respond to life properly. If we want to please God, we need to understand that he is our best source for finding the answers to life’s difficulties. If our exact problem isn’t in the Bible, the concept is. We need to talk to him, read his word, and know him personally. Then our choices will be based on truth and we’ll begin responding to life rather than reacting to it. We’ll regain control over our behavior, which means we have a better chance of achieving Christlikeness.

The epitome of Christlikeness

As anyone who’s ever tried it knows, pure obedience to God’s commands makes us different. For better or for worse, it also tends to attract attention. People don’t understand Christlike behavior. They don’t understand why we would choose to obey Jesus even when it causes suffering.

If we’ve followed the four steps outlined above, however, we’ll be ready with an answer: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (3:15-16).

Furthermore, the way we respond to suffering is evidence of our faith. We can all agree suffering is stressful, and the behavior we exhibit while under stress tends to reveal the true condition of our hearts. If we have really allowed God to change our hearts, we’ll respond to stress with Christlikeness rather than reacting to it as the world does.

God promises suffering, and we need to adjust our attitudes to accept it. But we need to keep it in perspective. As Jesus says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).

And we mustn’t forget God also promises blessings. “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12).

Discussion questions

• Do you tend to measure your actions against God’s expectations or the world’s?

• Do you react to stress or respond to it?

• When under stress, how can you remember to keep your focus on God?

•Are you a personal student of God’s word? What could you do to carve out more time for reading the Bible?

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

Posted: 4/05/07

TBM delivers computers to Mexico

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

ZACATECAS, Mexico—Students in Zacatecas, Mexico, don’t send e-mail or search the Internet for resources for their homework. But that is about to change.

Texas Baptist Men volunteers recently delivered 40 computers to a school in Zacatecas.

“It is amazing the impact these computers can have on the students and their families,” said Dick Talley, TBM logistics consultant/volunteer recruiter.

Upgrading from pens and pencils to computers enables the students to move their academic training into the 21st century, and it also enables them to connect with loved ones, he noted.

“It is difficult for many of the students to stay in touch with their families,” Talley said. “So with these computers, they can communicate with family members who don’t live or work at home or in Mexico.”

As the students send e-mails to their family members, do Internet research and type out assignments, the computers will open doors to share the gospel and reach others for Christ, Talley noted. 

God has worked through the computer ministry to open doors, develop relationships with communities and government leaders, and grow new churches, he said.

Last year, TBM delivered more than 300 computers. Since it launched its computer ministry, TBM has delivered computers to countries around the world, including some predominantly Muslim nations.

BGCT Community Missions specialist Gerald Davis has helped TBM develop the computer ministry.

“We recently received a generous computer donation from a Dallas-Fort Worth company,” Davis said. Several Texas companies have donated new computers, funds or old computers to the men’s mission organization. TBM volunteers refurbish the older computers before delivering them around the world. To donate computers or help fund the ministry, contact Talley at (214) 381-2800 or (214) 828-5350.

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

Posted: 4/05/07

Houston students unite to serve in Acuña

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON—When a group of Texas Baptist students arrived to set up clinics in Acuña, Mexico, local residents already were lined up to be examined. They continued lining up all day long, and the students worked into the night looking after them.

It was worth it to spread the gospel, the students said.

More than 30 people conducted medical clinics in Acuña three days during spring break through an effort coordinated by Baptist Student Ministries Director Jason Harrell. The team included two doctors from Houston hospitals, nine Rice University students who served as translators, 15 University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical Center students and four students from the Baylor College of Medicine.

The group split into two teams and served more than 100 people through clinics in two locations a day.

Josh Griffin, a first year student at UT Health Science Center, said people open up to doctors about their lives. They share physical, emotional and spiritual issues.

“I really enjoy serving is the biggest thing for me,” he said. “I believe health care is something everybody needs. It’s a huge opportunity to share the love of Christ. When you’re helping someone with their physical needs and helping them in that way, there’s a huge opportunity to share Christ’s love.”

Amy Moreno, a sophomore at Rice University who served as a translator, said she was encouraged by the people of Acuña. Residents shared testimonies of God’s healing power and protection of their lives.

“It was really good to talk them and get to know them,” she said. “Each of them had their own story.”

Samuel Lance, a second-year student at UT Health Science Center, said he took part in the trip because it was designed to share the gospel. The students set up in locations arranged by local churches, whose members can follow up with the people they met at the clinics.

Using the gifts and skills God has given a person to reach out to others in the name of Christ is what he called Christians to do, Lance said.

“Medical missions is a mandate for a Christian physician,” he said.

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

Posted: 4/06/07

CYBER COLUMN: Wielding power like God

By Jinny Henson

“Jesus knew that God had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him” (John 12:3-5).

Absolute power. Absolutely uncorrupted. Here stands Jesus in the verge his own sacrificial death, having everything under his power. He could have opted out. He could have been an earthly king theoretically; he could have painted the sky chartreuse and flooded the world with boysenberry yogurt.

It was all under Jesus’ power. Do we really get that he could have turned the wheels of history in an opposite direction? Refused to follow through and fulfill his destiny? Dodge the utter humiliation, pain and rejection waiting for him in a few, small hours.

We see, later in the garden, Jesus wrestling with these very questions. Jesus prays for the cup of death and sacrifice to pass when squarely he could have engineered it to pass or called angels to rescue him. Jesus resigned his all-powerful self to God’s will in beautiful restraint.

How would you utilize such power? Would you spend to the last cent for your own fulfillment and manipulate each flake of power for your entertainment? I fear, like Bruce Almighty, that I would be totally enamored with such power to make my world the way I would like for it to be. There are many circumstances I would engineer, but mopping men’s feet would not be one of them. Aware of all of the outs and options, the earthly exaltations and adoration, he instead chooses to humbly serve.

Let the powerless serve, isn’t that the American way? Let the optionless be beholden and exploited by us. They’ve got no power; what is their reprise? We all understand how the upper hand works; the one with it can manipulate, the one without it has no recourse. Let the voiceless settle for their rightful place as we, through absolutely no merit of our own, enjoy our power. Who needs to pray when we can fix things ourselves? Well, the Son of God, for one.

It is clear from this passage that Christ was intentional with his power. I wish he wouldn’t have been. It would give me an easy out toward hedonism. He revealed the father’s completely inverted economy and instructed his followers to do the same. To use power for others, to refrain from the easy road when they could take it and to give the outcome of our lives to God when we have a life we could save and live for ourselves.

The religious leaders hated him, the common man sought vindication and validation by his earthly kingdom, which Christ vehemently turned down. Then, after a meal, having all power, he funnels all of his options into a simple basin of water and does what only God would do.

He serves.

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.

Updated: 3/30/07

Mohler’s ‘gay baby’ blog stirs bio-ethics debate

By Robert Marus & Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP)—Even if a genetic cause for homosexuality is found, gay behavior would still be “sin,” and Christians should support a genetic cure for it too, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler claimed.

Comments by Mohler in a column on his personal website are prompting strong reactions from the left and right. His column—titled “Is Your Baby Gay? What if You Could Know? What if You Could Do Something About It?”—appeared on www.albertmohler.com.

The scientific evidence is mounting that human sexual orientation may be fixed by genetic and biological factors, he wrote, contradicting what many conservative evangelical leaders have asserted for decades.

“The discovery of a biological factor would not change the Bible’s moral verdict on homosexual behavior,” he insisted.

Rather than excusing homosexual behavior, such a genetic discovery could lead to pre-natal ways to eliminate homosexual orientation, Mohler said, adding Christians should support such a development.

“If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin,” he noted.

Mohler did not specify what treatments would be morally acceptable. His article raised the hypothetical possibility of a prenatal “hormone patch” that could reverse sexual orientation before birth, but he neither approved nor disapproved it. In an unusual clarification posted on Baptist Press, he ruled out “genetic therapies” and added: “The only cure for sin itself is the cross of Christ. No therapy will cleanse us of sin.”

Mohler’s blog prompted national news articles in Associated Press and Religion News Service, as well as a sit-in on the Southern Seminary campus by the gay-rights group Soulforce.

Mohler also said that the discovery of a biological basis for homosexuality would be “of great pastoral significance, allowing for a greater understanding of why certain persons struggle with these particular sexual temptations.”

He continued, “For the sake of clarity, we must insist at all times that all persons—whether identified as heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, transsexual, transgendered, bisexual, or whatever—are equally made in the image of God.”

However, gay-rights supporters and at least one biologist said Mohler’s assertions were misguided, at best.

“He’s willing to play God,” said Harry Knox, a United Methodist minister who directs religious outreach for the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign. “He’s more than willing to let homophobia take over and be the determinant of how he responds to this issue, in spite of everything else he believes about not tinkering with the unborn.”

A University of Minnesota biologist, meanwhile, posted a blog entry that said Mohler’s suggestion was both naïve and potentially dangerous.

The discovery of a specific “gay gene” is highly unlikely, wrote P.Z. Myers on his Pharyngula blog (scienceblogs.com/pharyngula). In fact, he said, several factors—genetic, hormonal, environmental and psychological—may contribute to the formation of any person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

“I will confidently state that it both will and will not be shown to be genetic,” he said, in response to a reporter’s question. “There will be factors that predispose one towards homosexuality, but they will also be important in affecting other behaviors, and their expression will be contingent on the environment. It’s not going to be simple.”

In his blog, Myers also noted that the research to discover any potential in vitro “cure” for homosexuality likely would lead to the very kinds of embryonic research Mohler opposes.

“It would take years of experimental work on human and nonhuman embryos—embryos that would not survive the experiments—to build up that repertoire of reliable expertise,” he wrote.

Myers also faulted Mohler—who, he notes, is a creationist who believes God created the universe just a few thousand years ago—for attempting to delve into complex bioethical discourse.

“Does anyone else find it incredibly jarring when these guys talk about scientific research and then suddenly switch gears and start telling us what a god tells them is his personal opinion? You do not know ‘God’s moral verdict,’ Albert Mohler. You’re making it up as you go along.”

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

Updated 3/30/07

Dismissed professor files lawsuit
against Southwestern seminary

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

FORT WORTH (ABP)—Former professor Sheri Klouda has sued Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, charging fraud, breach of contract and defamation for forcing her out.

Klouda, who was hired in 2002 to teach Hebrew in a tenure-track position at the Fort Worth school, lost her job last year—allegedly because of her gender. She filed the lawsuit in federal court.

Her termination set off a firestorm in the Southern Baptist blogopshere. Klouda’s supporters have filed complaints with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools asking them to investigate Southwestern for “a serious breach” of accreditation guidelines in connection with the firing.

Public outcry at the dismissal—which has been reported not only in the blogs and Baptist news outlets but also the Dallas and Fort Worth daily newspapers, the Associated Press and Religion News Service—has given the issue unexpected national prominence.

Benjamin Cole, the pastor in Arlington who filed the academic complaints, called Klouda’s dismissal a “terrible injustice.”

President Paige Patterson’s “negligence has taken the seminary to a new low,” Cole said, adding if school trustees do not hold Patterson accountable to the policies governing faculty tenure, then the federal courts should condemn the trustees and the president.

“To quote the Apostle Paul, the civil authorities are no terror to those who do right,” he said. “But to those who do wrong, they are instituted of God to punish evildoers. If I was a trustee or administrator at Southwestern Seminary today, I think I would be terrified.”

Klouda’s story first broke Jan. 17 in a post by Wade Burleson, an Oklahoma pastor who runs a popular blog about Southern Baptist Convention Life (kerussocharis.blogspot.com). Burleson said Klouda, who had received several grants and awards during her collegiate and seminary years, was dismissed by Patterson because of her gender.

The school didn’t want women teaching men in the theology department, Burleson said.

Van McClain, chair of the school’s board of trustees, has refuted the claims of removal, explaining in a letter posted on another Southern Baptist blog that Klouda “did not have tenure and, like hundreds of professors around the U.S. every year, was told that she would not be awarded tenure.” The letter was posted on sbcoutpost.blogspot.com, whose proprietor is Georgia pastor Marty Duren.

After Patterson became Southwestern’s president in 2003, he personally assured Klouda the change in administrations would not jeopardize her position, she said.

However, school officials told her in 2004 she would not get tenure, she added. Her contract was terminated in December 2006, and she now teaches at Taylor University in Upland, Ind.

The Association of Theological Schools board of commissioners has not taken any action in the matter.

The suit is Klouda v. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, No. 4-07CV-161-A. It was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. Klouda has retained an attorney from Tulsa, Okla.

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

Storylist for week of 3/19/07

Managing Editor Ken Camp traveled with Buckner International through Kenya and Ethiopia. His reports appear in our March 19 print edition.. New articles on Ken Camp's trip to Africa: • Pure Religion: Volunteers export hope to African orphans • Buckner Kenya leader pours himself into poor children • ‘If it cost me my life to save 1 child, I still would come' • How you can support ministries in Africa … Ken Camp's Original Dispatches: • A bright hope for foster children (2/24) • Laying a cornerstone in Ethiopia (2/23) • Sent to live at New Life Home (2/22) • In Nairobi's Gehenna (2/21) • Visiting a Masaai village (2/20) • Slums, churches and a new hope (2/18) • New regulations slow us down (2/17) • An African journey begins (2/16)

• Texas rural poverty ministry helps residents in colonias

• Retooling required for reaching others

• Casino proposal predicted to roll slack promises, not big jackpots

• Balmorhea's Kids in the Kitchen dish up doses of love

• The Quarterly Report of Cooperative Giving for October through December, 2006

• On the Move

• Around the State


• Southwestern, McKissic back away from ‘tongue'-lashing

• Baptist Briefs


• Faith and Values Awards' star shines brightest on Nativity, Commandments

• Faith Digest


• Book Reviews


• Classified Ads

• Cartoon

• Texas Baptist Forum

• On the Move

• Around the State


• EDITORIAL: Starter kit for a new kind of convention

• DOWN HOME: Why a true Baptist loved folks so well

• TOGETHER: Two events need prayer & support

• RIGHT or WRONG? Gospel 'of' or 'about'

• Texas Baptist Forum

• Cybercolumn by Berry D. Simpson: Reading habits and expanded horizons



• BaptistWay Bible Series for March 18: Christian community is worth the effort

• Bible Studies for Life Series for March 18: Jesus takes care of us

• Explore the Bible Series for March 18: Boldly Donning a New Identity

• BaptistWay Bible Series for March 25: Ready to do ministry in a new way

• Bible Studies for Life Series for March 25: Jesus restores our life

• Explore the Bible Series for March 25: Submission: The sign of a well-ordered life



Previously Posted
• Philanthropist John Baugh remembered as “spiritual giant”

• Southwestern Seminary seeks trustee's removal

• Pastors, laymen challenged at Panhandle conference

• Court will not review policy banning NY nativity scenes

• NAE leader responds to pressure on global warming

• ‘Comfortable' Christians lose touch with the world, Mosaic pastor insists

• Baptist workers provide training to church leaders in China

• Baptist agency offers PAL to young adults leaving foster care

• BWA committee nominates first non-white general secretary

• Don't ignore date violence, youth ministers told

• CLC supports stiffer penalties for repeat child abusers

• Baptist leaders call Baugh a ‘hero' & a ‘giant'

• Archaeologists, evangelical critique documentary

• Abolitionist Wilberforce's life a model for modern Christians, historian says

• Friends bring friends to Jesus

• SBC leaders acknowledge Baptist bloggers here to stay

• Page cautiously optimistic about Southern Baptists

• Will associations, conventions become relics?

• Tolerance, not uniformity, needed to keep SBC together


• See a complete list of articles from our previous 3/05/ 2007 issue here.

Updated: 3/30/07

Paul Powell to retire; Garland
named dean at Truett Seminary

Paul Powell has announced his plans to retire as dean of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary May 31, and New Testament scholar David Garland has been named his successor.

Randall O’Brien, provost and executive vice president at Baylor University, announced Garland’s appointment, effective June 1, noting he was the unanimous choice of the Truett faculty.

David Garland	Paul Powell

Garland is associate dean for academic affairs and the William B. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures at Truett Seminary.

In February 2001, Powell, the retired president and chief executive officer of both the Robert M. Rogers Foundation of Tyler and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annuity Board was appointed as Truett’s dean. During Powell’s six-year tenure, Truett Seminary’s enrollment more than doubled to 381 students, while the seminary’s endowment increased to more than $38 million.

“I would say of Paul Powell what (former Houston Oilers football coach) Bum Phillips once said about Earl Campbell: ‘He might not be in a class by himself, but it surely doesn’t take long to call the roll,’” O’Brien said. “Paul Powell has carved his name into the Baylor University Hall of Fame, where he will stand forever as a giant on the George W. Truett Seminary landscape. There are a lot of great Texas Baptists, but there is only one Paul Powell.”

Following his retirement, Powell will stay involved at the seminary as special assistant to the dean.

“Being dean of Truett Seminary has been a wonderful way to cap off my career,” Powell said. “I came to help give a clear identity to the school, to help people realize that we are a Christ-centered, Bible-based seminary committed to our historic Baptist principles. Our mission is to train the next generation of ministers and missionaries. Our vision is to be the premiere Baptist theological seminary of the world. I feel we have helped to clarify our identity and made the seminary more church-centered with a strong emphasis on preparing ministers for the local church. While older and more established seminaries are in decline, Truett is emerging as the seminary choice among true Baptists.”

Garland began his tenure at Truett Seminary in 1997 as professor of Christian scriptures and was appointed to the Hinson Chair in 2005. He was appointed associate dean for academic affairs at Truett in 2001, as Powell began as dean.

Before coming to Baylor, Garland taught more than 20 years at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., serving as chair of the biblical division and as the Ernest and Mildred Hogan Professor of New Testament.

A magna cum laude graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and U.S. Navy veteran, Garland received his master of divinity and doctoral degrees from Southern Semimary and also completed postgraduate work at Eberhardt-Karls Universität in Tübingen, Germany, and Macquarrie University in Sydney, Australia.

Both O’Brien and Powell joined other seminary scholars and Baptist leaders in praising Garland’s appointment as dean. 

“David Garland is a nationally renowned New Testament scholar whose biblical commentaries meet with acclaim among scholars, ministers and laymen,” O’Brien said. “He is a gifted homilist, much in demand in our churches, a careful exegete and an inspirational teacher and mentor for our ministerial students. Having served as associate dean of the seminary for the past six years, David brings a wealth of experience to his new position as dean, along with the unanimous endorsement of the seminary faculty. No doubt David is the person for the hour.”

“I am very pleased that my associate David Garland will be the new dean,” Powell said. “I recommended him to President Lilley because I believe he is the best person to keep Truett church-centered and to carry it to greater heights. He has been invaluable in handling all academic matters during my tenure. I don’t know of anyone more capable than he.”

“The appointment of David Garland as Paul Powell’s successor pleases me greatly,” said Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. “I have known David over the past eight years and believe he brings to this task great skills in biblical interpretation, theological insight, homiletical power and administrative ability. He is a great friend to students, and he is a true Baptist with a great kingdom commitment. As Texas Baptists get to know this good man, they will be confident that the future of our ministerial training at Truett Seminary is in really good hands.”

“David Garland is widely recognized in the world of New Testament studies for his careful and insightful scholarship, particularly his commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew and on Paul’s Corinthian letters,” said Richard B. Hays, the George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at Duke University’s Divinity School. “Truett seminary is fortunate to gain Dr. Garland’s leadership, for he is a scholar who represents the highest academic standards, while at the same time understanding the practical needs and concerns of the church.”

In addition to his research, teaching and administrative duties, Garland directed both of Truett Seminary’s self-studies for accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools, from 2000 to 2002 and 2005 to 2007.

“In that time, the seminary has doubled in enrollment and received its first accreditation,” Garland said. ”In the most recent comprehensive evaluation site visit last week, the visitors complimented us on the strength of our program and remarked informally that we are one of the best kept secrets in the country – ‘almost too good to be true.’ This success was made possible through Dean Powell’s tireless fundraising and commitment to connecting the seminary to the local church. I intend to maintain that vision, but no one could ever fill his shoes. He is a giant among Texas Baptists.”

“Well known as an accomplished New Testament scholar and pastor, Dr. Garland has been instrumental in Truett’s rapid growth and development,” said Tisa Lewis, director of accreditation and institutional evaluation for the Association of Theological Schools. “In his gentle, unassuming way, he immediately welcomes students, colleagues and other constituents of the seminary. Dr. Garland’s distinguished experience in the classroom, the pulpit and as Truett’s chief academic officer for the past seven years will serve him well as he moves this fine school toward an even brighter future.”

Garland is the author or co-author of 17 books, including the just-released Flawed Families of the Bible: How God’s Grace Works Through Imperfect Relationships, written with his wife, Diana Garland, dean of Baylor’s School of Social Work. Three of his books have been honored with major awards, including:

• Mark: The NIV Application Commentary (Zondervan, 1996), which was awarded the 1997 Silver Medallion for reference works and commentaries by the Christian Booksellers Association;

• Gospel of Mark, pages 204-317 in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Zondervan, 2002), edited by Clinton E. Arnold, honored with the 2003 Gold Medallion for reference works and commentaries by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association; and

• 1 Corinthians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Baker, 2003), honored with two awards: the 2004 Silver Medallion for reference works and commentaries by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association and the 2004 Award of Merit from Christianity Today.

Garland also has written numerous articles and reviews for scholarly journals and dictionaries and currently serves as editor of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary. He has given more than 25 invited academic lectures at universities and colleges in Germany, Australia and throughout the United States. He has remained closely connected to the local church, serving as interim pastor at 17 churches in Kentucky, Indiana and Texas.

An elected member of the international Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, Garland also is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion. From 2003 to 2004, he was president of the Association of Dean of Schools Partnering with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. In 2001, he served on the executive committee for the Institute for Biblical Research and from 1993 to 1998 as a member of the board of advisers of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation in Jerusalem.

In 2005, Baylor announced that an anonymous donor had established The David E. Garland Chair in Preaching, acknowledging the leadership, vision and devotion to ministry that characterizes Garland’s service in the pastorate and as a professor. The Garland Chair at Truett Seminary will be filled in fall 2007. At the same time, another anonymous donor established the Diana R. Garland Endowed Chair in Child and Family Services, recognizing the Baylor School of Social Work’s growth and excellence under Diana’s leadership.

The Garlands are members of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco. They have two children, Sarah and John, and a daughter-in-law, Abby. In addition to the books they have written together, Garlands received the Priscilla and Aquila Award for Those Who Have Risked Their Necks for the Gospel (Romans 16:3-4) from Christians for Biblical Equality in August 2003.

As Garland assumes the mantle as dean, Powell can list multiple accomplishments at Truett under his leadership, including the January 2002 opening of the 64,000-square-foot Baugh-Reynolds Campus of Truett Seminary on the Baylor campus. Other accomplishments include:

• Increased endowment to more than $38 million, while the average American seminary has only $8 million in endowment

• Increased enrollment from 150 to 381 students

• Began a two-year home study program that has an enrollment of 190

• Began six pastors’ conferences that draw 1,500 ministers to the campus each year

• Began a monthly pastoral newsletter to pastors with information about Truett and pastoral helps

• Endowed three chairs and two lectureships

• Endowed The Kyle Lake Center for Effective Preaching

• Established an annual preaching award to recognize Truett’s outstanding preaching student each semester

• Began an annual Founders Day to recognize the contribution of George W. Truett to the cause of Christ

• Established a referral/placement service to help churches and Truett graduates

• Began an honorary alumnus program that now has close to 400 members

• Began holding own commencement exercises at the seminary

• Written and given to ministers more than 25,000 books to make Truett known among Baptists.

“Paul Powell has been a gift to Texas Baptists,” Wade said. “His great passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for mentoring young ministers and getting Truett Seminary off to a great start has blessed all Baptists, who yearn for authentic Baptist witness in our world. He has been another Apostle Paul to our churches. His sense of humor and his habit of being straightforward in his preaching and conversation have left a great impact on Baptist life. I have been especially grateful for the way he has opened Truett Seminary to our Hispanic, African-American, western heritage and bi-vocational ministers for conferences and growth opportunities. Truett Seminary has become a gathering place for all Texas Baptists.”

A noted Baptist leader and Distinguished Alumnus of Baylor, Powell earned his bachelor’s degree from Baylor in 1956, as well as a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1960. He holds five honorary degrees from East Texas Baptist University, Baylor, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Campbell University and Dallas Baptist University. He is the author of 42 books, as well as numerous articles and chapters as a contributing editor or writer.

In addition to his leadership of both the Rogers Foundation and the Annuity Board, Powell served in numerous offices with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, including service as president from 1985 to 1987. A former Baylor regent and board chairman, Powell also has served as president of the board of advisers for Texas Baptist Leadership and as a trustee of Baylor Medical Center, ETBU, UMHB and the Texas Baptist Children’s Home in Round Rock.

Powell also served as pastor for 34 years at Texas Baptist churches in Belfalls, Troy, Taylor, San Marcos and Tyler, where he was pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church from 1972 to 1989.

He has received numerous honors, including distinguished alumni awards from Baylor in 1988 and Southwestern Seminary in 1990, the Presidents Medallion Award from Campbell University in 1998, the Herbert H. Reynolds Awards for Exemplary Service to Baylor in 1999, the George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award from the Baylor Alumni Association in 2005, and the “Heart of A Champion” Award from the East Texas chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes in 2006.

Powell and his wife, Cathy, a 1956 Baylor graduate, have three children, Kent, Mike and Lori, and three grandchildren, Jordan, Katie and Matthew.

“I love Baylor and have been closely associated with it for 23 years – 16 as a regent and seven as an employee,” Powell said. “I will continue to work for Truett on a part-time basis as special assistant to the dean and will be involved in fundraising, writing and representing Truett to the churches.”

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

Updated 3/30/07

Christians join war protest in Washington

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Thousands of Christians braved frigid temperatures, icy conditions and even arrest in Washington to protest the Iraq war.

The “Christian Peace Witness for Iraq” began with a service at Washington National Cathedral and ended with about 200 protesters being arrested in front of the White House March 16. It kicked off a weekend of demonstrations marking the four-year anniversary of the war, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 American military personnel and thousands of Iraqi military and civilians.

Raphael Warnock, pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, addressed an estimated 3,000 worshippers at the cathedral, criticizing the Democrat-controlled Congress as “too morally inept” to bring a speedy end to the war. But he also dressed down President Bush, who has begun implementing an unpopular plan to “surge” America’s troop levels in Iraq with more than 20,000 new personnel.

“Mr. Bush, my Christian brother, we do need a surge in troops. We need a surge in the nonviolent army of the Lord,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “We need a surge in conscience and a surge in activism and a surge in truth-telling.”

According to organizers, the 3,000 at the cathedral were augmented by 400 more who watched a closed-circuit broadcast of the service at Washington’s New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Katie Barge, spokesperson for the sponsoring coalition, said about 1,500 of the protesters marched three miles from the cathedral to Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. There, she said, about 1,500 other protesters joined them for a candlelight demonstration.

Of those, Barge said, 222 crossed the street to pray in front of the executive mansion, resulting in their arrests. Protesters on the sidewalk in front of the White House are required by law to keep moving or face arrest.

More than 700 had originally signed up for the civil-disobedience demonstration, but the inclement weather may have suppressed their numbers, Barge said.

Evangelical, Catholic, mainline Protestant, Pentecostal and other Christian groups opposed to the war—including the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America—helped organize the protest. Its organizers called “for an end to the U.S. occupation, real support for our troops, a total rejection of torture and an international commitment to the physical and human reconstruction that is so desperately needed in Iraq.”

Lucas Johnson, a student at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and a member of the Baptist Peace Fellowship board, participated in the event. He said he felt so compelled to provide a Baptist witness against the war that he caught a bus from Atlanta to Washington with Presbyterian protesters, and then he returned to Atlanta the same night.

“There were several points when I had to hold back tears considering the human cost of this war,” he said. “I am so thankful that Baptists were able to play a role in this experience; I regret that there weren’t more of us there.”

He also apologized publicly for Baptists and other evangelicals who used theological criteria to justify the war from its start.

“There are times when I get so discouraged by the abuse of the gospel; hearing the subtle and more blatant endorsements of this war in the name of the Christian faith has made me sick for a long time,” Johnson said. “I think I needed to be there for the (event)—not just to speak out, but as an act of repentance.”

At least one conservative Christian group criticized the event. The Institution on Religion and Democracy— a Washington-based think tank that promotes conservative causes in mainline Protestant denominations—called the protest “an anti-U.S. rally, not an anti-Iraq war rally.”

The group also accused the event’s organizers of viewing the United States “as the exclusive culprit in all international crises. Their political and spiritual myopia offers nothing constructive to Christians and other people of faith who genuinely seek a peaceful and just world.”

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Updated: 3/30/07

Hammond elected NAMB president,
plans closer relationship with IMB

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (ABP)—In a unanimous vote March 21, trustees of the North American Mission Board elected Geoff Hammond president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s stateside mission body.

Hammond, 49, will start full-time work for NAMB May 22. Hammond is currently senior associate director of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. Trustees recommended him for the new position March 1, after a nine-month search to replace disgraced president Bob Reccord.

Hammond was born in Nigeria to parents working for the SBC’s International Mission Board. He graduated from Spurgeon’s Seminary in London and received a doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

In a media call, Hammond said he planned to use his experience as an international missionary in his new position at the North American board, which directs domestic outreach efforts for the 16-million-member SBC.

“The fruits of IMB missionary work” have come back to the United States, he said.

“I’ve always believed that there could be closer relationships between NAMB” and the International Mission Board,” he said. “There are so many things that IMB missionaries have discovered overseas that we could use here as we try to reach ethnic groups and unreached people groups.”

For Hammond, that work includes groups in western and northern states like Montana and North Dakota. He said he faces a “steep learning curve” when it comes to learning about church-starting in the West, but “I have a heart to work with those folks and reach out to them,” he said.

Other challenges, not the least of which involves joining an organization that faced a tumultuous year, include “understanding the huge potential we have with our partners to multiply our ministry.” The mission board should encourage lay people to pray for missionaries and remain active in the life of the organization, he said.

“I hope that having sat on the other side of the table is always something I remember,” he said. “I think the thing that every state convention has is a different context, a different way of working. I want to remember that. I want to remember that all state conventions are different.”

Hammond will face scrutiny as the replacement for Reccord, who resigned in April 2006 after allegations of financial mismanagement, conflicts of interest and autocratic leadership. Later that year, trustees instituted policies on honorariums and solicitation of contracting bids. And since some of Reccord’s personal business ventures were considered in direct competition to NAMB interests, trustees issued stricter protections of intellectual property.

A “whistleblower” policy was also implemented to help alleviate “a culture of fear” that prevented employees from questioning irregularities in the organization, according to previous trustee statements.

Greg Faulls, search committee chairman, said the board instituted new policies to restore trust and protect the new president and trustee board.

“The policies I think only made the agency look more attractive to a potential executive because what we were doing was creating an atmosphere where it was going to be easier to trust and create a stronger foundation of trust,” he said.

NAMB chairman Bill Curtis said one of the board’s top priorities was—necessarily—to choose a president with proven integrity. The prolonged search to find a candidate who fit the bill, he said, made the organization stronger.

“I think the spirit of our meetings is very indicative of the health of our board,” Curtis said. “No one would certainly deny the fact that we’ve been through a very challenging year as an agency. We’ve had the opportunity to spend some time refocusing on vision and clarifying the role of the North American Mission Board. And through this year … God has really grown the trustees together in an amazing way.”

Southern Baptists should have confidence in the commitment the board has to follow Hammond, Curtis said.

Hammond, who called integrity one of the “greatest things a Christian disciple can have,” said he plans to lead with openness and accountability.

“I seek to understand before I know. That’s going to be an important part of how I lead,” he said. He said he planned to meet with NAMB’s interim vice presidents later that day to discuss plans for the new administration.

A former pastor, seminary professor, church-planting strategist, and missionary to Brazil, Hammond held his position at the conservative Virginia state convention for five years.

He and his wife, Deborah, have two sons.

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Updated: 3/30/07

Baylor engineering team to bring
electricity to Honduran village

By Matt Pene

Baylor University

WACO—Baylor University graduate student Ryan McGhee has spent nearly every free minute the last several months doing one thing—trying to build a device that will bring a basic necessity to people in need.

“It’s an act of worship for me,” said McGhee, who is pursuing his master’s degree in engineering at Baylor.

Baylor engineering students (left to right) Jonathan Crabtree, Leah Richter and Ryan McGhee explore the feasibility of installing a hydroelectric generator on a small river near Pueblo Nuevo, a remote village in north central Honduras.

“I have been given a specific skill set for engineering work, and while I’m not the type of person who can get up in front of a church group and play music, I can sit behind a desk and do calculations. Hopefully I can bring glory to God that way.” 

McGhee, who attends First Baptist Church of Woodway, is part of a team of about 20 Baylor undergraduate engineering students with the Engineers with a Mission group. They are designing and building a turbine that will help power a hydroelectric generator. The generator will be used to recharge individual batteries, which will be used for home lighting in 54 homes in Pueblo Nuevo, a remote village of 500 located in the north central part of Honduras.

Most of the residents are poor farmers who use homemade kerosene "candils” for home lighting. The candils are glass jars of kerosene with a cloth wick cut from old clothing. They are costly, give poor light and are a fire hazard. 

“It’s incredibly basic there. Most residents can only light their homes for short period of time,” McGhee said. “It feels good that we can help them.”

The group is building some parts of the system and using off-the-self items for other parts. In August, McGhee and a few other students will travel with Brian Thomas, an engineering lecturer at Baylor who is the faculty adviser for Engineers with a Mission, to Pueblo Nuevo and spend about a week building a weir—or spillway—and a water intake system that is required for the generator.

Jonathan Crabtree, a sophomore mechanical engineering student at Baylor University, takes measurements of a stream in Honduras.

The trip will be the second time the group has traveled to Pueblo Nuevo. Last December, Thomas, McGhee and a small group of students spent a week exploring the feasibility of installing the hydroelectric generator on a small river near the village. They determined the river could sustain such a system.

Thomas and his group are partnering with a network of churches in Honduras that are supported by Denver-based Mission to the Americas. A few hundred small churches have been established in this area of the country— some in urban areas and some in rural areas. Pueblo Nuevo has a small new church and a bivocational pastor. Baylor’s group is coming in through the pastor’s network.

“The network is very important because they lend us credibility,” Thomas said. “It seems to the villagers that the church brought us in, and it illustrates God’s provision for them.”

Thomas said the entire experience is transformative for the students, stretching them spiritually, mentally and physically. Aside from the grueling 12-hour work days it will take to construct the weir and water intake system, seeing the living conditions first-hand can take its toll. Each night, the group holds discussions about poverty, wealth and suffering.

“It’s sometimes a shock to our students to see people dealing with suffering and being afforded no opportunities,” Thomas said. “Each night, we ask the students questions like what are the spiritual moments of the day and how does this affect your relationship with God.”

Since 2002, hundreds of Baylor students and faculty members have traveled to countries around the world, such as Honduras, exploring what it looks like to serve God by using the skills and expertise from their major and field.

The students hope the generator project will improve the lives of these village children.

These “discipline-specific” mission trips allow students to serve indigenous populations by offering basic health care (pre-med, pre-nursing students), literacy education (education students), technological infrastructure (engineering and computer science students) and religious education (pre-ministry students), among other efforts. As part of the trip, students reflect on their missions experience through designated readings, shared discussions and personal journaling.

“By helping students see how their specific abilities and interests may be of service to others and how Christians are called to loving responsiveness to those in need, the program aspires to help inform a long-term sensitivity to a Christian calling, whether in the context of professional or lay ministry,” said Dub Oliver, vice president for student life at Baylor.

In 2005, two teams returned to Honduras, while more than 140 students, faculty and staff from engineering, music, medical, leadership and ministry took part in the first campus-wide trip to Kenya. Last summer, as teams returned to Kenya and Honduras, an exploration team from Baylor visited Armenia to establish future mission projects.

This spring and summer, Baylor will send teams to Honduras (medical, deaf education, ministry and engineering), Kenya (music, education and seminary), and Armenia (outdoor recreation, engineering, business, environmental and general ministry).

The engineering Honduras trip is part of a much larger Baylor project to bring “appropriate technologies” to developing countries. The appropriate technology approach is based on helping people in other countries develop needed infrastructure, such as clean drinking water and reliable power sources. The approach also helps locals identify timely products utilizing their natural resources to produce for the world market.

Thomas credits Walter Bradley, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Baylor, for introducing him to the concept of appropriate technology. Since the concept took flight a few years ago, interest has been growing at Baylor. Thomas and his students have traveled to about six separate countries, constructing appropriate technologies that provide a better quality of life. In fact, interest at Baylor has increased so much that the School of Engineering and Computer Science started an appropriate technologies class.

Other Baylor schools also are getting involved. Thomas is partnering with the entrepreneurial program at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business to provide a business model for each appropriate technology. In the case of the Honduras trip, local residents will be charged a small fee by the owner of the generator, in this case the local pastor, to use the generator. Baylor business students are providing a business model so the system is financially self-sustaining.

“The system can’t rely on monetary donations forever,” Thomas said.

While all of the Baylor students who travel on the trips pay their own way, there is still a cost to bring the supplies to these countries and construct the appropriate technology. Thomas estimates the upcoming Honduras trip will cost about $5,000, which he is in the process of raising.

“We are minimizing poverty, directly improving their way of life and building them spiritually. On the student side, we are giving them an intercultural experience and cultivating the view that life is a service,” Thomas said. “We are doing so many things, we just have a small financial hurdle.”

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Updated: 3/30/07

Generous Arkansas family receives
generosity from TV makeover

By Stella Prather

Arkansas Baptist Newsmagazine

MURFREESBORO, Ark. (ABP)—Thanks to a popular network television show and an eclectic array of others, one Arkansas Baptist family now has a lot more room to breathe.

Dennis and Kim Collins, their son, Mitchell, and the five young cousins they’ve cared for during the past few years recently received the keys to their new five-bedroom, 4,900-square-foot home. The massive new manse is the focus of an episode of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

The Murfreesboro, Ark., family is the latest recipient of a new home constructed by the Extreme team and RealSteel construction company of Rogers, Ark. Along with their son, Mitchell, and the “nieces and nephews,” as Kim Collins calls the cousins, the family first set eyes on the home after spending a week at Florida’s Walt Disney World. The trip came courtesy of the hit show.

The family attends Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, where Mrs. Collins serves as pianist. Mitchell, now a teenager, survived a rare form of brain cancer when he was 3 years old. The ailment left him with a mental handicap.

Mitchell is active in raising funds to help make patients comfortable while at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, a place with which he is all too familiar. He raises money to help the hospital by collecting soft-drink tabs from aluminum cans.

The couple took in the extra brood after Mrs. Collins’ favorite cousin and her husband were killed in a car accident. The Collinses refused to allow the state’s court system to separate the children, now ages 5 to 16, according to their pastor, Troy Carroll.

The family previously lived in a 1,927-square-foot house. They closed in their carport to create an extra bedroom. Last year, they built an addition with another bedroom and bathroom. But quarters still were cramped for the eight-member family.

Crews from the show bulldozed that home Feb. 19. For the next seven days, more than 1,500 volunteers—almost as many people as live in the tiny hamlet of Murfreesboro—worked 24 hours a day to help in the building project.

Among the volunteers were several Arkansas Baptists, including 25 from Red River Baptist Association’s disaster-relief team. Using the association’s rice cookers, the volunteers worked with the RealSteel team’s catering operation, serving soup to workers and other volunteers.

Joe Burt, the association’s director of missions, said he was privileged to help out for a deserving cause.

“It was a great experience to see so many volunteers come to meet this family’s need and to be a part of the support team for the volunteers,” he said. “It interested me seeing the initial home that this family lived in with eight people and then to know that a new home was built in less than seven days that more than met their needs.”

Murfreesboro’s First Baptist Church also pitched in, allowing the church van to serve as one of several shuttle buses for the project. They transported visitors and volunteers from Murfreesboro to the construction site, a few miles outside the town.

RealSteel president Steve Butcher and his wife, Yavonne, are members of Pinnacle Hills Church in Rogers, Ark. Along with local volunteers and skilled laborers, RealSteel brought a 70-person building crew from Biloxi, Miss. The team has been rebuilding in a community that Hurricane Katrina destroyed a year and a half ago.

The company has worked with the TV show before, on home construction projects in Missouri and another Arkansas town.

RealSteel’s Butcher, on the company’s website, said, “Without consideration for their own comfort, the Collins family fought to reunite five children that were struck with grief of separation from each other after the loss of their parents. … During the construction of this house, and of the airing of the show, many lives will be touched. Even though very few participants will ever meet the family, each volunteer and worker will become part of the Collinses’ extended family and will forever be blessed by the experience. Whether received on earth or in heaven, the greatest rewards always come from helping others. I recommend everyone give it a try.”

Yavonne Butcher, who served as volunteer coordinator for the project, called the Extreme project a “joy” and a “blessing to be a part of.”

“It is priceless to help others,” she said tearfully. “This has been a great opportunity to help. We know God put this all together for us to help this family. … You know it is a God thing when it all comes together and … you have blessed someone. I’ve been blessed, and … I know all those involved will be blessed.”

Hundreds of spectators, volunteers and the football team and cheerleaders from the University of Central Arkansas were there for the home’s unveiling.

The looks on the Collinses’ faces when the home was revealed were “worth all the hard work,” Carroll, their pastor, said. “One of the children said, ‘Wow, we won’t have to share a room now.’

“This family has gone through so much with Mitch and his ordeal, and then they took … in all these children and gave them a loving and secure home. They are well deserving of this new home,” Carroll said.

The new home was one of several surprises the family received when they returned to Murfreesboro, he noted. During the unveiling festivities, University of Central Arkansas officials presented each of the six children with college scholarships. Two other colleges, Carroll said, have since offered similar college opportunities for the children, as well as for Dennis, Kim and their adult son, Zach.

Another donor paid off Dennis’ truck loan, and a local repair shop overhauled the vehicle, Carroll said.

“It has just been an amazing time for them,” he added.

The show airs Sunday nights on ABC. The Collins family edition of the show is set to premiere April 22.

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