Posted: 3/07/08

Circles of Support help teens
devise a plan for the future

By Haley Smith

Baptist Child & Family Services

SAN ANTONIO—When young people age out of the foster care system, they are required by law to sit down with a counselor or social work to develop a plan for the future and learn about available benefits. But a program offered by Baptist Child & Family Services goes far beyond what the law requires.

Circles of Support, part of the agency’s Preparation for Adult Living program, help teenagers make the transition to independent living.

Circles of Support meetings offer foster youth along a support system and the opportunity to work together to plan and accomplish goals for the future. (Photo by Martin Olivares/BCFS)

Initially, the program contracted to perform 96 Circles of Support meetings its first year; it provided 135 planning meetings for teens coming out of state, ensuring the young people knew where to go for help and how to access resources available to them.

Now halfway through its second fiscal year, the program plans to complete 175 support meetings before August, according to Coordinator Jessica Salinas.

“I usually ask the young person to give me a list of names of who they would like to invite to their meeting,” Salinas said. “They often invite biological families, teachers, pastors and foster parents, forming a true circle of support.”

The young adult and the people he or she invites to attend bond over a meal provided by the agency, since the meetings tend to last several hours.

“I don’t know what it is about food, but eating together seems to break down so many walls in our meetings,” Salinas noted.

The state coordinator also attends the planning meeting at the Preparation for Adult Living transition center, which presents the chance to discuss issues and options.

“We use the opportunity to focus on the young person’s strengths, as it does no good to focus on weakness,” Salinas explained. “We want to know how we can help, whether that is through continued therapy or other options.”

Ideally, meetings should take place when the young person in foster care is age 16, but some planning meetings are not scheduled until he or she is 17 or 18. The agency creates a priority list based on age and circumstance.

“For example, we just had a student known for having a tendency to run away. Although only at the age of 16, we went ahead and rushed a COS meeting,” Salinas said. “We want to make sure these kids know the benefits available to them and the fact that they won’t be eligible if they check out of the system early.”

The agency attributes the success of the program to the cooperation and teamwork of related organizations, as well as a positive connotation surrounding the program.

Most referrals to the program come from Child Protective Services workers who later receive a copy of the established plan.

“CPS likes the Circles of Support program because they are often so busy that it helps to have assistance with the task,” Salinas said. “We had trouble in the beginning getting referrals because people didn’t know the purpose of the program. Everyone seems to take advantage of our services now though.”

In rare cases when a teenager is not interested in having a support meeting, the CPS worker makes a plan with the youth without family and friends in attendance.

Child Advocates of San Antonio also supports the Circles of Support program with a quarterly service in which both organizations then tag team to solicit referrals from CPS.

The overall connection to other programs fuels the system, generating awareness of the opportunity, with expectations of numbers rising for next year. For example, youth often begin their training with the Preparation for Adult Living program at age 16, where they attend six classes. The last class titled “Planning for the Future” introduces the students to Circles of Support and gives them the opportunity to sign up for the program.

The program also works with several partners in the San Antonio area to help students fulfill their plan. Alamo Work Source assists in finding the students employment prior to and pending graduation. Norma Davila, president of Education Source, helps secure scholarships and financial aid.

The youth’s transition worker—along with everyone in attendance at the meeting—receives a copy of the plan so they can work together to help the young adult achieve the goals.

“Before these support meetings, young people would leave care and after a gap of one or two years, they would find their way back to us, but at that point in crisis mode,” Salinas said. “This program ensures that those young adults don’t slip through the cracks.”

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

Posted: 3/07/08

Wes Craig visits churches and ministry centers to learn how Project Ruth can help facilitate the needs of Roma church leaders. (CBF photos courtesy of Wes and Susan Craig)

Baptists provide opportunities
to oft-shunned Roma people

By Carla Wynn Davis

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

BUCHAREST, Romania (ABP)—Susan and Wes Craig learned early during their three-year assignment to Romania that most locals are disgusted by the minority Roma people, often called “gypsies.” And that’s what made a particular church meeting so powerful.

While talking about his work at the Gypsy Smith School, which provides education and training to Roma church leaders and evangelists, Wes Craig noticed a Romanian man with his hand on the shoulder of a Roma boy. Their relationship seemed like that of a father and son—something that flies in the face of Romanian social norms. Craig said he saw, in that simple act, Christianity at work.

“A Romanian treating a Roma like family is a demonstration of the power of the gospel and a testimony to how God can change a heart,” he said.

Susan Craig ministers at the Ruth School for Roma children.

Supported by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Craigs have worked with the Roma people since 2006. They are part of Project Ruth, a Bucharest-based charity established in 1992 to help Roma children, who often drop out or fall inescapably behind in school. The organization’s Ruth School helps children re-start and finish their education.

“At Ruth School, (the children) all are given the opportunity to receive a school education through grade eight,” said Susan Craig, a Houston native. “At the end of the eighth grade they take a national exam, and if they pass, then they can continue their education at an academic high school.”

Susan Craig works in the Project Ruth office as a coordinator of activities, volunteer trips and day-to-day logistics.

Her husband works in theological and leadership education with Roma pastors at the Gypsy Smith School. The school helps Roma like Sandu, a friend of the Craigs who continues to serve as the administrator of his church even though his non-Christian parents harass him for his faith.

The school gives Sandu the support he needs to grow as a Christian, Craig explained.

Wes Craig banters with some Roma childen.

“At the school, Roma church leaders are encouraged and further equipped for the ministry (to which) God has called them,” he said. “For the Roma of Romania to be reached with the gospel, it really must come through Roma reaching Roma, and this is one way we can encourage and support this.”

Project Ruth survives on donations and involvement from churches in the United States. The Craigs’ church, DaySpring Baptist Church in Waco, provides prayer and encouragement. And a group from the church will visit them this spring.

Boulevard Baptist Church in Anderson, S.C., has also long helped the ministry by sponsoring children at Ruth School, raising financial support for specific projects and sending teams of church members to help in tangible ways.

It’s just a simple example of how a local church can make a lasting and meaningful impact in the world, both Wes and Susan Craig agreed.

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

Posted: 3/07/08

Obama speech to denomination
spurs IRS investigation of UCC

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)—A speech Sen. Barack Obama made last year to his fellow Congregationalists has spurred an Internal Revenue Service investigation that threatens the tax-exempt status of an entire denomination.

Leaders of the Illinois senator’s United Church of Christ are fighting back, saying the IRS charges are baseless and “disturbing.”

In a letter dated Feb. 20 and received by church officials Feb. 25, IRS official Marsha Ramirez said “a reasonable belief exists” that the denomination violated federal law. Churches and other nonprofit groups organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code are barred from endorsing or opposing candidates and political parties.

Sen. Barack Obama speaks to the United Church of Christ's synod meeting in June 2007. (See video of Obama's speech here)

The UCC is generally considered the nation’s most liberal large Protestant body. Obama has been an active member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for more than two decades. Trinity is the UCC’s largest congregation.

In the IRS letter, Ramirez said the agency’s concerns “are based on articles posted on several websites” that described Obama’s June 23 appearance at the UCC’s biennial General Synod meeting in Hartford, Conn.

The senator—by then an announced Democratic candidate for president—spoke to about 10,000 church members, according to the denomination and news accounts.

But UCC officials said they took pains to ensure that the speech was not perceived as a campaign event or an endorsement of the candidate.

Obama was invited “as one of 60 diverse speakers representing the arts, media, academia, science, technology, business and government. Each was asked to reflect on the intersection of their faith and their respective vocations or fields of expertise,” a UCC news release said.

It also said church officials invited Obama as a church member rather than in his capacity as a candidate and said they asked him to speak a year before he declared his intention to run for higher office.

“The United Church of Christ took great care to ensure that Sen. Obama’s appearance before the … General Synod met appropriate legal and moral standards,” UCC General Minister John Thomas said. “We are confident that the IRS investigation will confirm that no laws were violated.”

Prior to the speech, a church official told the crowd that the appearance was not intended to be a campaign event and that campaign-related material and other forms of electioneering would not be allowed inside the event venue.

The IRS letter claimed that “40 Obama volunteers staffed campaign tables outside” the Hartford Civic Center, where the event was held. But church officials said they barred any campaigning inside the venue.

Thomas said that, while he believes the investigation will ultimately acquit the denomination, he nonetheless is concerned about its effect.

“The very fact of” the investigation’s existence “is disturbing," Thomas said. “When the invitation to an elected public official to speak to the national meeting of his own church family is called into question, it has a chilling effect on every religious community that seeks to encourage politicians and church members to thoughtfully relate their personal faith to their public responsibilities.”

IRS officials do not discuss such investigations with the press because tax information is private. But several ministries and local congregations have been warned and investigated in recent years for electioneering.

The agency currently is investigating Southern Baptist pastor Wiley Drake for using church letterhead and a church-sponsored radio show to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Last year, the IRS ended an investigation without any sanctions against All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif. It had been under investigation for a guest sermon its former rector had given just before the 2004 presidential election. In it, he strongly criticized the war in Iraq but said he believed that both President Bush and his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, were good Christians.

IRS officials contended that the sermon amounted to an endorsement of Kerry over Bush. The church contested the charge. In a September letter to the congregation announcing that it was ending its investigation without penalty, IRS officials said they continued to believe the church had illegally intervened in the election.

All Saints’ legal defense ended up costing more than $200,000, according to church leaders. Anticipating a similar financial burden for the UCC, Thomas sent an appeal Feb. 27 to church members asking them to donate to a special legal-defense fund.

“In order to adequately defend ourselves, as well as protect the broader principle of the freedom of religious communities to entertain questions of faith and public life, we will need to secure expert legal counsel, and the cost of this defense, we are told, could approach or exceed six figures," Thomas wrote. “This is troubling news.”

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

Posted: 3/07/08

Volunteer missionaries needed for Eagle Pass

By Analiz González

Buckner International

EAGLE PASS—It’s been almost a year since the tornados ravaged Eagle Pass, but huge needs continue.

Church leaders in the area are seeking to help, but they need the assistance of upstate volunteers, said Dexton Shores, Buckner International’s director of ministry development in Mexico and along the border,

“They showed me a list of 10 families with major house damage that haven’t gotten any attention,” Shores said. “Most of it is roofing, sheetrocking, window installing, door installing and things like that. Any size church could come and help, but it is something financially accessible for smaller churches who think they might not be able to afford a mission project.”

Iglesia Bautista Peniel, First United Methodist Church and First Baptist Church in Eagle Pass offered to provide lodging for $10 a night per person. They have also supplied construction materials. The churches are teaming up with people of all Christian denominations in the recovery effort through a project called Interfaith Recovery Effort.

“If there are churches that can bring more material, that would be great,” Shores said. “But if not, we can still use the help of anyone who can help with construction reparation. They just need someone who can hammer in nails.”

People also are needed to work with children and youth to teach Vacation Bible School.

“We’re afraid that if we don’t get some people signed up soon, they’ll make summer plans and then these people won’t be helped,” Shores said. “They need a lot of help.”

Monica Rich, volunteer coordinator for Interfaith Recovery Effort, said her group has brought together volunteers of different Christian denominations to rebuild homes.

“There are still about 21 families left that we would like to help,” Rich said. “One week we had Methodists, Baptists and Catholics all working together. It is always a positive thing to have peace building among the different denominations that haven’t necessarily been used to working together in our history.

“We are welcoming people to come have their youth summer mission trips here, bring their senior citizens—there is something for everybody to do.”

For more information, contact Dexton Shores at (210) 771-2904 or e-mail Dshores@buckner.org.

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

Posted: 10/14/05

Relationship-building key
to interfaith witnessing

By George Henson

Staff Writer

CEDAR HILL–Whether a Christian is witnessing to a Muslim, Hindu or postmodernist, the keys to evangelism are relationship-building and prayer, speakers told a group at Mount Lebanon Baptist Encampment.

Dallas Baptist Association sponsored the conference, titled “The Cross, Crescent and Karma: Meet Your New Neighbors.”

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, said Abraham Sarkar, director of Gospel for Muslims. He attributes growth in part to a massive missionary campaign to spread Islam throughout America.

Sarkar, also an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University, speaks with firsthand experience, because he was sent to the United States to convert Americans to Islam.

Even as a young child, Sarkar woke at 4:30 each morning to say the first of his five daily prayers. At age 13, he began training to become an Islamic leader.

“I was a very devout Muslim at that point. I knew I could die for my religion. I knew I could die for Islam,” he said.

A dream that God had placed him in a lake of fire was the beginning of his change of heart.

As a university student after coming to America, Sarkar read the Bible and came to the point where he put a Bible in one hand and a copy of the Quran in the other and asked God for direction. He accepted Christ as his Savior on April 14, 1992.

His parents disowned him, and his brothers promised to kill him if they saw him.

“The gospel was free to me, but it cost me everything to follow Jesus Christ,” he said.

Sarkar acknowledged his faith journey was not typical.

The key ingredient to reaching Muslims is prayer, because it must be the Holy Spirit who draws them, Sarkar insisted.

Living as a good example also is important, Sarkar said, “because you are the only Jesus some will ever see. Good works mean a lot to Muslims.” Many Muslims, especially those who are foreign-born, believe America is a Christian nation. Based on what is exported is through Hollywood and other media, many Muslims see Christianity as a decadent religion. It is important to show that Christians are moral people, he stressed.

Other important components are to be loving and to share what God has done for you personally.

The opportunity to have a personal relationship with God is a key point to reaching Muslims, he said. While Muslims believe they and Christians worship the same God, their religion offers no personal relationship with God and thus no assurance of salvation, Sarkar said. Passages in the Quran point out that even Mohammed died without assurance of his salvation.

Islam also has no counterpart to the Holy Spirit to give comfort or direction. The concept of a personal God can be attractive to Muslims but only after the development of a relationship and a steady example has won a Christian the right to be heard, Sarkar said.

A professor at a Texas university and former Hindu, who asked that his name not be used, said many of the same things appeal to Hindus, even though Hinduism and Islam have nothing in common.

The important thing is to establish a trusting relationship, he said, but doing that involves getting the opportunity. Being friendly, fair and courteous go a long way toward friendship with Hindu people, he said.

Christians should begin conversations with Hindus by telling how God has worked in their lives, because Hinduism is built on doing things good enough to progress in faith and does not involve a personal relationship at all, he said.

Other key elements to develop the relationship are to learn of the Hindu dietary habits, dress modestly and use a Bible that is not marked or highlighted in any way because that can be taken as a sign of disrespect to a holy book.

Also, be aware that it may be a long process, he said.

“Most Indians do not like deep-fried chicken like we have here, but they like chicken curry. Take time to understand them and present to them Christianity as chicken curry, something they will accept,” the professor said.

Hinduism has no central dogma and is primarily a search for truth through doing good deeds, seeking wisdom and being devoted to God, he explained.

Most Americans are drawn to Hinduism through its health aspects such as yoga, breathing exercises and diet, he added.

The Hindu population is rising dramatically in the United States, he said. Only about 2,000 Hindus lived in the United States in 1964. That number now is about 1.6 million, mostly professionals, he said.

“It is much easier to reach Hindus that are here, rather than in India, where they are insulated,” he said.

The postmodern generation of America is deeply spiritual, but that does not translate into being Christian, said Pastor Jim Denison of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.

Postmodernists have a problem with the concept of absolute truth. “If that works for you, that's fine; just don't try to push it on me. You have no right to tell me what to believe,” is the mindset, he said.

That may be part of the reason why within a three-mile radius of his church, there is a population of 147,000 people, but a survey of churches showed attendance was only 14,000, he commented.

“Yet nearly all of them think they are Christians,” Denison said of those who don't attend church. “They are not Muslim, Hindu or Buddhists, so they must be Christian.”

While that may be the way they think of themselves, they remain without Christ, and churches have to approach them differently if they are going to be reached, he said.

“For me to assume at Park Cities Baptist Church that those people are going to come to Christ because we open the doors Saturday nights and Sundays is a fallacious assumption,” he said.

“In Dallas, we think the church is still in charge, but it is not,” Denison said. About 1.5 million residents of Dallas County have no relationship to Christ he said.

Statistics are far worse in other areas–in Washington, 3 percent of the population are Christian; in New England, approximately 10 percent are Christian.

“American spirituality is tolerance; don't hurt me and I won't hurt you.”

With the absence of absolute truth, postmodernists will tolerate anything but have a deep faith belief in nothing.

“Early on, missionaries to Hindus found they had no problem convincing people Jesus was God. In a culture with 4,000 gods, what's 4,001. That culture is starting to be felt here,” he said.

There needs to be a renewed effort to communicate what Christianity really is about, he said. “It's not a call to try harder to be better, but to let the love of Christ live through you.”

The way to gain inroads with postmodernists is the same as with Hindus and Muslims–“find a way to meet a relevant need.”

Also, walk the talk of Christianity. The mindset should be “I'm going to walk so closely with Jesus that he can work through me,” he said. The testimony of what God is doing in a Christians life also is an important tool to reach postmoderns, Denison said.

“In a postmodern world, people are drawn to stories; that's why people are drawn to reality TV,” he said.

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

Posted: 3/05/08

Texas Baptists held at gunpoint in Mexico

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ARANSAS PASS—The pastor and three members of First Baptist Church were held at gunpoint in northern Mexico during the first week of February.

The group was traveling with a two missionaries and a hitchhiker they picked up on a scouting trip Feb. 7 when a vehicle loaded with men began driving aggressively toward them.

The group pulled over and was commanded to get out of the sports utility vehicle.

Instead of complying, the church members noticed automatic weapons in the vehicle of the men who pulled them over and tried to escape.

The group made it to the next town, but the gunmen soon pulled next to them.

After forcing the SUV to stop, the bandits pulled the Baptist mission volunteers out of the vehicle and pushed them to the ground. A man held an automatic weapon at their heads.

“As I’m laying down, I’m praying, ‘Lord protect us,’” Pastor Marshall Johnston said.

After searching the Texans’ vehicle and finding only Bibles and food, the bandits let the Baptists go.

The group could sense the prayers other people offered for them, Johnston said. He gave thanks for God’s protection and looks forward to pursuing God’s call upon First Baptist Church to work in Mexico. His church is planning a trip to the area in July.

“It gave us pause for about three seconds,” Johnston said. “Then we were like ‘No, the enemy’s not going to get this victory.’ We’re planning on going back.”

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 3/03/08

TAKE ME TO: Top Story |  Texas |  Opinion |  Baptists |  Faith & Culture |  Book Reviews |  Classifieds  |  Departments  |  Bible Study



• Children's home opens cottages to leadership program for intercultural youth



• Follow the Money


• Follow the Money

• Cash receipts and disbursements present challenges for churches

• BGCT board allocates funds, approves missions partnership, hears reports

• Friends, family honor Wade at dinner

• When a teen becomes pregnant, what should a youth minister do?

• On the Move

• Around the State

• Texas Tidbits


• Baptist Briefs


• Congress considers workplace freedom bill again

• Online site tackles self-destructive behaviors

• Americans fluid in their religious affiliation, Pew study reveals

• Grassley targets ministries' alleged abuse of tax laws

• Church of England short on Bibles

• Does God protect selected disaster victims but not others?

• Faith Digest


• Book reviews in this issue: How to Talk to Your Doctor: Getting the Answers and Care You Need by Patricia Agnew, The Ten–Second Prayer Principle by Mark Littleton and The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary by Mark Sanborn.

• Books probe God factor in U.S. politics

• Anne Rice explores Jesus' public ministry in new novel


• Classified Ads

• Cartoon

• Around the State

• On the Move

• Texas Baptist Forum


• EDITORIAL: Fresh beginning & the way forward

• DOWN HOME: Coming in 1st place in a dog contest

• IN BETWEEN: Turning Texas Baptists toward hope

• 2nd Opinion: Sermons, storytelling & novels

• RIGHT or WRONG? True religion

• Texas Baptist Forum



• BaptistWay Bible Series for March 2: Unveiling the weakness of a king

• Bible Studies for Life Series for March 2: Did You Take Your Smart Pill Today?

• Explore the Bible Series for March 2: Responding to God in faith

• Bible Studies for Life Series for March 9: Hey yous guys–or, faith in the second person plural

• Explore the Bible Series for March 9: Learning about God's faithfulness


Previously Posted:
• Craig Turner to step down as Hardin-Simmons president

• San Antonio parenting education program seeks to break cycle of abuse

• Endorsement prompts IRS to investigate California pastor

• New Baptist Covenant criticism continues to come from both left & right

• Panhandle speakers encourage personal evangelism, trust in God's provision

• Gloer named to Garland Chair of Preaching at Truett Seminary

• Pastor-politician points to Muslims as source of Kenyan violence; experts disagree

• CLC files ethics complaint against gambling PAC

• Scam callers preying on churches' compassion

• Rural poverty initiative takes Dallas church to five areas in five years

• Persistence pays off for ETBU graduate

• CBF council approves budget, reports revenue shortfalls at February meeting

• BCFS given lead role in emergency care for medical special needs

• Human Rights Watch blasts U.S. on Kenya violence



(Go here to see our complete coverage of the New Baptist Covenant meeting).



• See articles from the previous 2/18/08 issue here.

Posted: 3/05/08

Kidnapped worker, Afghan driver
apparently dead in Afghanistan

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (ABP)—A kidnapped aid worker with a Texas Baptist background and her Afghan driver are believed dead, according to the agency that supported them.

Cydney Mizell, 50, and Muhammad Hadi, whose age is unknown, were taken at gunpoint Jan. 26 while working in Kandahar, Afghanistan. While their employer, the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation, has not been able to confirm their deaths, a spokeswoman said the organization has received “credible reports” of the news.

Cydney Mizell

Mizell and Hadi were abducted together in a residential neighborhood while on their way to work. No suspects have been named in the case, and a Taliban spokesman told the Associated Press he could neither confirm nor deny his group’s involvement in the kidnapping.

A statement from George and Peggy Mizell, Cyd Mizell’s parents, said they were “heartbroken” to receive news of the apparent death of their daughter and Hadi.

“While these reports remain unconfirmed, we are beginning to accept that the hoped-for outcome may no longer be possible,” the family’s statement said.

Mizell, who attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene and graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, was an English teacher at Kandahar University and taught embroidery lessons at a school for girls. She also helped women start projects to generate income for their families, according to the foundation’s website.

The initial capture sparked a rare protest by more than 500 Afghan women, who asked local officials to find the pair. The 90-minute demonstration included prayers and speeches calling on government leaders—or the captors—to act, according to reports.

“Cyd knew before she went to Afghanistan that it could be a dangerous place, but she went because she loved the Afghan people and dedicated her life to serving them,” George Mizell said in the statement. “We are trying to understand why someone would kill a gentle, caring person who came to their country to help the poor. Many of the people of Kandahar came to love her almost as much as we loved her, and all of us share her loss.”

She spoke Pashtu fluently and was wearing a burqa when she was captured, according to Asian Rural Life Development Foundation. The California native was not accompanied by any form of armed guard when she was taken.

Hadi, also known as Abdul, had worked two years as a driver for the foundation. Updates from the group described the father of five as “quiet and unassuming but very protective of the employees he works with.” His family had received daily visits and support during the crisis, foundation officials said.

Hostage-taking in Afghanistan has increased in recent years. In the last year alone, 23 Christian aid workers from South Korea, two German construction workers and two Italian journalists were kidnapped. Two of the South Koreans were killed. Many foreign governments end up paying ransoms to free citizens kidnapped in Afghanistan.

The Asian Rural Life Development Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works with the poor in 12 Asian countries. It supports food-for-work projects, development of irrigation systems and rehabilitation and health-care centers.

Jeff Palmer, international director for the foundation, declined requests for interviews citing security issues, but he issued a statement noting Mizell was the first worker from the organization to be taken hostage.

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

Posted: 3/05/08

Academy president announces retirement plans

By Cindy Rollins

San Marcos Baptist Academy

SAN MARCOS—San Marcos Baptist Academy President Vic Schmidt has announced to the school’s trustees his plans to retire July 1.

“I would have preferred to serve the academy for several more years, but some health issues prompt me I leave at the end of this school year,” Schmidt said.

When Schmidt was named as the academy’s 12th president in November 2001, he brought to the post a unique perspective, having served the school in three previous positions. He joined the academy staff in April 1992 as the commandant of cadets and dean of boys. He then served as principal from July 1997 until June 2000, when he became executive vice president.

Prior to joining the academy staff, Schmidt completed 24 years active duty in the U.S. Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He served in a wide variety of command and staff positions in the United States, Vietnam and Germany.

“The academy has experienced remarkable growth and development while President Schmidt has been in charge,” said Bobby Dupree, vice president of development.

Enrollment has increased by more than 30 percent, aided by record-setting re-enrollment, he noted.

Numerous construction and campus improvement projects occurred under Schmidt’s direction, and he was instrumental in initiating a comprehensive strategic plan that establishes a roadmap for the academy’s future, Dupree said.

“Vic always has the academy’s best interest at heart,” he said. “Even with his retirement, he’s placing the academy on a road to an even brighter future. All the elements are in place to ensure the right person is selected to carry on with the mission of the academy.”

Schmidt served the academy “with honor and distinction,” trustee board Chairman Billy Belcher said.

“He was the right person for the right job at the right time, and we sincerely appreciate all that he has done to move the academy forward,” he said.

Mel Shook will chair a three-member search committee to seek a new president for the academy. Interested individuals are invited to submit a letter of application and resume to SearchCommittee@smba.org or San Marcos Baptist Academy, Attention: Search Committee, 2801 Ranch Road 12, San Marcos 78666. Individuals requiring additional information and those interested in providing nominations for the position may contact Beverley Elliott at (512) 753-8008.

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

Posted: 3/04/08

BaptistWay Bible Series for March 9

What does our prayer say about us?

• 1 Kings 8:22-36, 41-51

By Kenneth Jordan

First Baptist Church, Alpine

I grew up in a time when kids still roamed free. The thought of someone causing us harm was foreign (at least to us). For me, the worst thing that could happen would be for us to get home later than we were supposed to and face the wrath of Mom and Dad. It was a time when my friends and I would ride our bikes all over town doing pretty much what we wanted to.

There was, however, the consistent admonition of my mother. When we would be getting ready to strike out on our own, she would say, “Don’t embarrass your mother.”

As my childhood years faded into the life of a teenager, I came to discover that Mom had spied all over the city. She had a way of knowing where we had been, what we had done and what the consequences would be long before our bikes were parked in our back yard.

Mom’s advice reminded us we were to not only listen, but to adjust our behavior accordingly. It didn’t take too many times of getting into trouble for me to begin to take Mom seriously.

As we look at the prayer of Solomon in 1 Kings 8, we find someone who took God (and prayer) seriously. Take a moment and read through his prayer (vv. 23-53). It is a long prayer (see how long it takes you to read it aloud). Some folks in the congregation probably began to fidget. There is a lot that Solomon says in this prayer regarding his understanding of God’s covenant and God’s purpose for Israel.

But there is another thing that jumps out at me as his prayer unfolds: His belief that God will take an active part in responding to his prayer.

Read through the prayer again. Count the number of times that the plea of “hear” is combined with action. Hear and forgive (v. 30). Hear and act (v. 32). Hear and forgive (vv. 34, 36, 39 and 50). Hear and do (v. 43). Hear and uphold their cause (v. 49).

Sprinkled in the midst of the actions are expectations such as bring them back, teach them the right way to live, send rain, deal with each man according to all he does. Solomon’s prayer was direct. His communication was honest. His faith that his God was not only inclining an ear but lending a hand is obvious.

When my mother sent us out of the house with her admonition, she was expecting us to not only listen, but to act in a given way considering our circumstances. She wasn’t ambiguous as to her desires.

If we can learn something from Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem, perhaps we could learn to mold our prayers into a more direct form of communication. Rather than concern ourselves with posture or vocabulary, we could spend time telling God our heart. Rather than pray only when things are going well, maybe we should consider (as Solomon did) that there will be times when we blow it. Instead of avoiding God when the conviction of his Holy Spirit falls on us, we should prepare for it ahead of time and know not only how we should act (confession), but remember how God promises to respond.

If you read to the end, you know Solomon was not a perfect man. That does not negate the fact that he understood prayer and understood the God to whom he prayed. We should all be so fortunate to come to a better understanding of both.

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

Posted: 3/04/08

Bible Studies for Life Series for March 16

Looking for love in all the wrong places

• John 3:16; 1 John 3:16-20; 4:15-18; 5:2-5

By Gary Long

Willow Meadows Baptist Church, Houston

There is a hunger for love in our electronic age, and you don’t need to go very far to find the evidence. At this writing, there are more than 1,000 websites to help you find your perfect mate and the trend shows no signs of slowing down.

The online dating business is booming as corporations capitalize on people’s need for companionship. The cost to subscribe to your average online dating site is between $24.95 and $54.95 per month, according to one web source.

Or take a look at the number of ads on the popular website www.craigslist.com in the personals section—people are online looking for everything from a long-term relationship to a one time “no strings attached,” hookup for sex only.

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Wired magazine reported two years ago that, “Twenty years from now, the idea that someone looking for love without looking for it online will be silly, akin to skipping the card catalog to instead wander the stacks because ‘the right books are found only by accident.’ Serendipity is the hallmark of inefficient markets, and the marketplace of love, like it or not, is becoming more efficient.”

While the methods of modern amore may be more efficient, that doesn’t make love any less messy. Divorce rates are high, even among Christians. Some estimate that as many as 70% of single people are sexually active before marriage and—even worse—as many as 1/3 of married people have cheated on their spouse. You and your students likely have been touched by some of these statistics in painful ways.

From a theological perspective, it would appear one significant reason for these trends is that while humans recognize the need for love in their lives, they lack a clear sense of what love really looks like. This isn’t to say that using online dating is wrong, but the Bible texts for today suggest the reason we don’t know love when we look it in the face is that we have not fully experienced the love of God.

The manner and degree of God’s love is well-framed by John 3:16, and it serves your students well to discuss the significance of God’s love as displayed in the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. Until we can come to the understanding that God’s love is total, complete, perfect and ultimately fulfilling, humans will continue to rove and roam in search of that perfect love.

In popular culture, this notion is best illustrated in the movie Jerry McGuire, when Jerry exclaims to his gal that he’s trying to woo back to him, “You complete me.” The prevalent view is that we are able to find love that satisfies our every yearning (“completes me”—in other humans. But the reality from a Christian worldview is that only God can offer us that kind of love. Or, in the words of Augustine’s prayer, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”

And then what?

Once a person understands these principles of love, these ideals must be converted to action. Part of what feeds the cultural obsession with the sexual aspects of love, as mentioned above, is a second fallacy about the nature of love in us. That falsehood rests in the belief that love is something we feel rather than something we do. The agent of God’s love is action that shows us God’s love.

When it comes to giving gifts at Christmas and birthdays, it may be that “it’s the thought that counts.” The common feeling we call love can be easily simulated by chemicals such as mood altering drugs or the euphoria we get from eating chocolate. But love is substantiated by what we say and do, not by what we think or how we feel. Love is not implied, it is displayed.

When we truly understand God’s love for us, we must realize we also are to act in loving ways toward other believers, especially toward any who are in need. The lesson for this week highlights this appropriately with a good look at another 3:16 passage—and 1 John 3:18 summarizes this well: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Are you looking for a cultural tie-in for this lesson?

Some of your learners may appreciate the old Waylon Jennings song “Looking for Love.” The heartache described in this song really does tell the tale of loneliness and isolation in our age. This song gives you the opportunity to discuss how we often confuse the various kinds of love in this life.

Lookin’ for Love

I’ve spent a lifetime looking for you

Single bars and good time lovers, never true

Playing a fool’s game, hoping to win

Telling those sweet lies and losing again.

I was looking for love in all the wrong places

Looking for love in too many faces

Searching your eyes, looking for traces

Of what I’m dreaming of …

Hopin’ to find a friend and a lover

God bless the day I discovered

Another heart, lookin’ for love.

I was alone then, no love in sight

And I did everything I could to get me through the night

Don’t know where it started or where it might end

I turned to a stranger, just like a friend

I was looking for love in all the wrong places

Looking for love in too many faces

Searching your eyes, looking for traces

Of what I’m dreaming of …

Hopin’ to find a friend and a lover

God bless the day I discovered

Another heart, lookin’ for love.

You came a knocking at my heart’s door,

You’re everything I've been looking for.

No more looking for love in all the wrong places

Looking for love in too many faces

Searching your eyes, looking for traces

Of what I’m dreaming of …

Now that I found a friend and a lover

God bless the day I discovered

You, oh you, lookin’ for love.

In all the wrong places

Looking for love in too many faces

Searching your eyes, looking for traces

Of what I’m dreaming of …

Now that I found a friend and a lover

God bless the day I discovered

You, oh you, lookin’ for love.

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

Posted: 3/04/08

Explore the Bible Series for March 16

Growing spiritually through crisis

• Genesis 32:6-12, 24-31

By Donald Raney

First Baptist Church, Petersburg

Life is unpredictable. No matter how much we might plan, our best-paid plans often are thrown out by a crisis situation which arises unexpectedly. While the severity of the crisis may vary, most often our initial response is fear and anxiety over our perceived ability to overcome the situation and return to “normal.”

After the initial shock is dispelled, many turn to anger and complain about the inconvenience or the way their schedule has been disrupted. Some simply decide to “grin and bear it;” determined to struggle through the circumstances in their own strength. Still others decide they simply cannot handle it and collapse into despair.

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Common to all of these responses is the perspective that the crisis situation is exclusively negative. Yet it often is within the unexpected crises of life that we can experience the most significant spiritual growth. It simply depends on how we choose to respond.

Throughout his life, Jacob experienced a number of crisis situations—times that called for confrontation. Perhaps the clearest example of this was when he prepared to return home after years running from his brother knowing that returning meant he would have to face Esau. As we study his story, we can learn several important lessons about how we might grow spiritually through crisis.

Use common sense (Genesis 32:6-8)

As Jacob approached his family home, he sent delegates to meet Esau and determine his intent. When they returned with word that Esau was coming with 400 men, Jacob naturally assumed Esau intended to attack or capture Jacob and his party. Acting out of common sense, he divided all he had so if Esau did attack, half of his party would escape.

God has given us many different gifts which enable us to navigate through life during the good and rough times. One of those gifts is what we often refer to as “common sense.” Common sense is that understanding of how the world works which we develop as we grow and experience life. It helps us to anticipate problems and try to avoid them. It helps us to almost instinctively know what to do in a given situation.

All of us have some level of common sense. Yet often when believers experience times of crisis, we can underappreciate or fail to trust our common sense in responding. We may see it as too much a part of the flesh and seek a more “spiritual” response to the circumstances. Instead of taking action when it is needed, we can choose to wait and pray about the situation, perhaps allowing the situation to worsen. While we should always have a daily habit of prayer, we also should trust the common sense which God has developed within us and respond to crisis with action.

Pray (Genesis 32:9-12)

While Jacob did act out of the common sense he had developed over the years, he also had learned his continued survival always had been the result of God acting on his behalf. Thus once he had secured his family and belongings, he turned to God in prayer. Notice that his prayer was not simply, “Lord, help me.” He specifically called to mind God’s promises to him and the fact that he was following God’s call to return home. He believed God would fulfill his promises and that confidence allowed Jacob to approach God boldly.

For a committed believer, there is perhaps no more automatic response to a crisis situation than to pray. In the face of intense crisis, even nonbelievers almost instinctively turn to prayer. How many stories have we heard of so-called “foxhole confessions” where a soldier in the midst of combat will make all kinds of promises to God if God will allow them to survive.

Prayer is indeed a vital part of any relationship with God. When crisis hits, we can only see our immediate circumstances in light of what we see as our resources for handling the situation. But God can see the true severity of the situation and how it fits into the larger picture.

For believers, God also has promised that nothing will touch us that does not come through God first, and God will never allow us to be utterly crushed by circumstances. Therefore as we call out to God in the midst of our crisis, we can do so on the basis of his promises to us knowing God always is faithful to uphold his word to us.

Learn from God (Genesis 32:24-31)

After he had prayed, Jacob continued to act to protect his family and to try and defuse Esau’s anger. He sent all of his family and belongings ahead across the river while he remained behind. He knew this would be the last night before his confrontation with his brother, and he no doubt continued to cry out to God.

During the night, a mysterious figure came and wrestled with Jacob. There is much debate concerning the identity of this figure. The point of the story is not the identity of the assailant, but the life-changing character of the encounter. Jacob leaves the confrontation with a new name and a reminder that his real struggle was in his relationship to God. Jacob to come to realize that God’s approval comes only when stopped striving and humbly cling only to God.

Often when we face times of crisis, we are tempted to think the answer is in making changes or struggling to get ourselves out of the situation. But most often the real issue is not in the outward circumstances, but within our own hearts. Sometimes the point of the crisis is to teach us to stop struggling and learn to more fully trust God. Our circumstances often are the most effective tools God has to teach us what he wants us to learn. The question is whether we will see our crisis as an opportunity to learn from God.

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