Posted: 2/13/08

Explore the Bible Series for February 24

Do you help or exploit?

• Genesis 25:29-34; 27:6-8, 15-19, 34-36

By Donald Raney

First Baptist Church, Petersburg

Perhaps more than anything else (with the possible exception of sporting events) political campaigns spark numerous and often passionate water cooler and coffee shop discussions. One does not have to participate in one of these long before hearing, “they will say anything to get your vote.”

Such a comment clearly reflects the almost universal cynicism concerning the motives and agendas of others. These feelings are directed not only at politicians, but also people who work in retail, banking, insurance and even occasionally the church. Such feelings of distrust or skepticism most often arise from real life experiences or observations of people in positions of influence taking advantage of others for personal gain.

Since the beginning of history, humanity has gotten increasingly adept and creative in the art of exploiting our fellow humans. Within the pages of the Bible, we can see this characteristic most clearly demonstrated in the story of Jacob and Esau. The Bible says even before birth Jacob, whose name means “deceiver,” constantly was seeking to gain an advantage over his twin brother. The story of his life provides every generation living lessons in interpersonal relationships.

Choose to freely help (Genesis 25:29-34)

Although they were twins, Esau was the older son and, within their culture, that entitled him to a double portion of the family estate when the father died. Jacob was deeply jealous of the birthright and constantly looked for opportunities to claim it for himself. One day that opportunity came when Esau returned from hunting hungry and asked Jacob for something to eat.

My mother always told me I should never go grocery shopping hungry because I would leave with twice as much as I needed. Physical hunger is a powerful force which can rob a person of clear reasoning and cause him or her to rationalize almost anything in its drive for satisfaction.

Jacob sensed Esau’s desperation and took full advantage by selling him a pot of stew for his birthright as the first-born.

Many times in life we meet people who have a need which we can meet. At those times, the temptation can be great to offer our help in exchange for some possession or returned favor.

Nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus ever ask for something in exchange for helping someone, and Matthew 5:42 calls all believers to do the same. God gives each of us abilities and resources in order that we might selflessly help others, not to use to exploit others.

Rejoice in the good fortune of others (Genesis 27:6-8)

Although he had sold his birthright, Esau still could obtain his father’s blessing which his culture said would secure a prosperous future. The day came when Isaac intended to give Esau his blessing. Apparently Esau was away from home and Rebekah informed Jacob of Isaac’s plan. Rather than finding Esau and sharing in the good news, Rebekah and Jacob conspired to insure that Jacob would receive the blessing.

While we do not like to admit it, we can often find it difficult to truly rejoice in the good fortune of someone else. It is part of our sinful human nature that on some level, we feel envious and question why it could not have happened to us. We may even quietly maneuver our self into position so that it will the next time.

Jacob had the birthright. He did not need the blessing. Yet his hunger for more saw an opportunity to get more, even if it meant deceiving his own father. One sure way to avoid developing a heart that exploits others is to build a habit of genuinely rejoicing with others in their good fortune.

Act with integrity toward others (Genesis 27:15-19)

As mentioned, gaining the family blessing would require Jacob to deceive his own father. Isaac suffered from failing eyesight and could only distinguish between his sons by feel and scent. This means the deception would require considerable secretive planning and effort.

It has been said integrity is how you act when no one else is around. Exploiting others requires much plotting and acting away from the eyes of others. It requires that we lie and deceive. It is precisely a lack of integrity which has led to so much wide-spread cynicism concerning politicians and other leaders.

Yet in Matthew 5:37, Jesus calls us to live lives of integrity towards others. If we desire to follow God’s commands and live lives that value others and offer real help when it is needed, then we must recapture the meaning of integrity.

Avoid harming others (Genesis 27:34-36)

Soon after Jacob’s deception of Isaac had resulted in Isaac giving him the blessing intended for Esau, Esau returned home. It did not take long for him to learn what had happened. Not only had Jacob swindled him out of this birthright as the eldest son, now he had robbed him of his father’s blessing. Esau could only blame himself for the loss of the birthright, but now Jacob had taken advantage of their nearly blind father while Esau was not around to steal this sacred gift from a father to his son.

The loss of Isaac’s blessing hurt Esau deeply and, understandably, that hurt led to anger and destroyed the relationship between the two brothers. For the next several years, Jacob would live on the run from Esau. Though he possessed the birthright and blessing of his father, he would be denied the opportunity to live in his father’s home and would not be there when his father died. This certainly not only hurt Esau, but his parents as well.

In our quest to fulfill our own plans, we often can deliberately or unintentionally do harm to others. Matthew 7:12 instructs us to treat others as we would like to be treated. The story of Jacob and Esau provides us with a concrete example of the results when we fail to be intentional in our efforts to avoid harming others.

Posted: 2/11/08

Bible Studies for Life Series for February 17

The Messenger

• Luke10:1-12,16

By Steve Dominy

First Baptist Church, Gatesville

Christianity is not rocket science, the basics of the faith and the outworking of that faith are not that hard to figure out. Jesus makes it pretty clear that his followers are to continue his work in this world. The hard part comes in the actual doing of his work in his world. It is one thing to know what we need to do, it is another thing entirely to be obedient to who Jesus calls us to be and what Jesus calls us to do. One of the most difficult things that Jesus calls us to do is to “be my witnesses,” but there is no way working ourselves out of it.

This statement may seem overly obvious, but the first step in acting as a witness is to have witnessed something in the first place. John says in 1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the word of life.” This is not something that they have made up, but is what they know first hand. The same is true of us, we speak of the one who has saved us and is at work in our lives conforming us to his image.

One of the distinctions that we need to make about the Christian life is that it is personal, not private. What Christ has done in our lives is intensely personal, if it is not then we need to examine our commitment to Christ. Because it is personal, it can be intensely difficult to share what Christ has done publicly. But that is what Christ calls us to do, if we do not bear witness to the work of Christ in our lives and in his world then God’s work in us becomes private, and we give ourselves permission to keep it to ourselves.

If we are ever to witness effectively then we must recognize the need of the world around us. A friend of mine recently said that he had the answer to all the world’s problems. He went on to admit that was a pretty arrogant statement, but it is an accurate statement; in Jesus we have the answer to all the world’s problems. But do we really believe that enough to act on it? Does Jesus really transform us into newness of life? Do we see those around us and recognize their greatest need as Jesus? If we never recognize the need we will never act on it.

As I sat in my office one day I wondered how many lost people there were in our town. One of the difficulties of ministry here is that we have fourteen churches on Main Street alone, you would think that the town was saturated with Christians, but that is not the case. I made a list that day of all the people that I knew were not believers and if I was not sure, then I at least knew that they did not attend church anywhere. Off the top of my head I came up with eighty-five people. I took the top five of the list and began to pray for them each day. After a little while three of them were baptized and the other two became faithful in church again. I tell you all of this to make the point that salvation is God’s work.

I think that is one of the points that Jesus was making here as well. When Jesus told his disciples not to carry a money-bag, traveling bag or sandals he was not allowing them to rely on their own strength but on God’s. If we are incapable of saving ourselves how in the world can we save anyone else? The answer is that we can’t, but we can bear witness to the God who not only can save but desires to save. Salvation is God’s work, it is not all on our shoulders, doing God’s work means relying on God’s power to complete it. Our work is to live faithfully following Christ and bearing witness to the reality of his work.

Even when we realize that we are being faithful and participating in God’s work it is hard to be rejected. After a hunting trip with some friends we decided to have a party to eat doves and play forty-two. I was the only single guy in the group and was informed that if I did not bring a date I could not come. The first girl I asked came up with excuse after excuse, she might as well have told me she had to wash her hair that night for all the validity of her excuses! If I had let all the rejections keep me from asking I would still be single today. That is the case with our witness as well, there are those who will reject us and the message we bring. Jesus lets his disciples know that when they are rejected, he also is rejected. Not only is he rejected, the one who sent him is rejected as well. We are not trying to win the approval of those to whom we witness, we bear witness to the Christ who saves because it pleases him. One of the verses I have relied on recently is Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I still trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Will we please Christ with our obedience to him as we bear witness to him?

Posted: 2/08/08

Baptists focus on relief after
deadly storms hit Mid-South

By Hannah Elliott & Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

JACKSON, Tenn. (ABP)—Baptist churches and organizations are both suffering and helping in the wake of deadly tornadoes that devastated the Mid-South Feb. 5-6.

According to initial National Weather Service reports, more than 60 tornadoes struck Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama. The storms killed at least 56, making the event the deadliest tornado outbreak in the United States in more than 20 years.

Among those killed was Fountaine Bayer, a member of First Baptist Church of Clinton, Ark., when a massive tornado laid waste to the Ozark town. Her son and daughter-in-law, John and Brenda Bayer, are International Mission Board missionaries in Mexico.

Another twister slashed through Jackson, Tenn., devastating the campus of Union University. Officials at the Tennessee Baptist Convention-related school said it suffered an estimated $30 million in damages.

Union was struck by another tornado in 2002, causing $2.6 million in damage. But the school’s president, David Dockery, said the most recent storm was “15 times worse.”

It destroyed much of the school’s residential complex. Dockery confirmed that 51 students had been hospitalized immediately following the storm, and nine suffered serious injuries.

Thirteen students were trapped in the rubble of destroyed dormitories, but freed after a five-hour emergency effort, according to a special blog set up to inform students, parents and staff about the situation at Union. The school’s regular website was knocked offline by the storm.

No students were killed, and none of those seriously injured had sustained life-threatening injuries, according to school officials.

Seventeen buildings on the campus were damaged, Dockery said in a letter posted on the site. Roughly 40 percent of the dorms were destroyed, and another 40 percent were severely damaged. Additional damage occurred to other academic and administrative buildings, he said. Classes are canceled at least until Feb. 18.

“‘Amazed’ is not quite even a strong enough word,” he said about the destruction. “I look around here in utter astonishment that dozens of people weren't killed."

Sarah Logan, a student at Union said on NBC’s Today show that God protected her from the storm.

“When you look at the desolation and destruction on our campus and realize there were 1,200 students here and not one single fatality, you can’t help but say that is a miracle and God was here protecting us,” she said.

Tim Ellsworth, a spokesman for the university, told CNN that students are working with the Tennessee National Guard to salvage personal items and retrieve cars. Local churches and university staff and faculty members have offered space to house students, he said.

Several of Union’s peer institutions have also offered their resources to the stricken campus.

Elsewhere in Tennessee, one of the strongest of the tornadoes destroyed Sharon Baptist Church in Savannah and the Christian school it houses. According to the Jackson Sun, rescuers had to dig a pregnant woman and her husband out of the church’s rubble. The couple and their unborn child survived, the paper reported.

Two Arkansas Baptist churches received minor damage. First Baptist Church of Clinton lost its church sign and playground equipment, while two vehicles in the church parking lot were damaged. The storm also knocked three large pine trees onto the roof of Pee Dee Baptist Church in Clinton.

Pee Dee Pastor Kyle Blanton lost his home to the tornado. He and his wife, Amy, and four children were in the house during the storm but did not suffer serious injuries. A tree also fell into the home of Jim Box, director of missions for the North Central Baptist Association in Clinton.

President Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff have told officials in the affected states they can count on federal help with the clean-up process.

The Arkansas Baptist State Convention and several other Baptist associations have also deployed feeding and chainsaw units to seven locations that were hit strongly.

Officials from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s disaster-response team said Feb. 7 they are still assessing how best to assist the storm victims. Charles Ray, CBF’s disaster-response coordinator, said no CBF partner churches had been damaged, and it could be a week before he knows how to help in that area.

Current CBF plans are to work alongside American Baptist Association responders, who are coordinating responses from bases at affiliated churches in Atkins, Ark., Ray said. The two groups have previously worked together in disaster-relief projects.

Union has established a relief fund for people wanting to help with the recovery. Donations can be sent to “Union University Disaster Relief Fund” at 1050 Union University Drive, Jackson, TN 38305. The university also is suggesting that people who want to help students consider providing gift cards that can be used in stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe’s or Home Depot.

With additional reporting by Baptist Press

Posted: 2/08/07

BaptistWay Bible Series for February 10

Discipleship in Dangerous Times

• Mark 13:1-13, 32-37

By Andrew Daugherty

Christ Church, Rockwall

Jesus has just told the disciples that the two cents a poor widow put in the offering plates were worth more than all the big checks written by the rich people. He has just given them more than a PhD’s worth of education about financial stewardship, but upon leaving the Temple, the disciples are more mesmerized by the size of the building than they are the sacrifice of the broke widow. They are stricken with an edifice complex over a stone facade that will one day be as negligible as the poor woman. Despite being an architectural phenomenon, the palatial Temple structure will one day lie as a pile of rubble. Jesus spoke matter-of-factly about the demolition of the Temple that would leave only a heap of dust and ashes.

Naturally the disciples want to know exactly when this is going to happen. Even more, they want to know what the events will be leading up to the sure-and-certain demise of this most holy site. Rather than give them a date and time to put in their Blackberries, immediately Jesus warns them about false teachers that will claim to be speaking on Christ’s behalf. He begins to describe what will be happening in the world leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple: wars and rumors of wars, nation rising up against nation, earthquakes and famines (13:7-8). About these circumstances, Jesus is quite candid, including his personal admonition that the disciples would endure difficult times, including torture, because of their association with him (13:9).

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The political and social unrest of the time is evident in Mark’s Gospel. Some believe Mark wrote after the destruction of the Temple and the war against Rome, offering insights about the meaning of its destruction in the aftermath of war. Imagine the poignancy of Mark’s account if his listeners were already witness to their friends being beaten or hauled off due to Nero’s persecution.

No doubt the people of Jesus day and Mark’s listeners would have had a sense of their world coming undone. If the life and times Jesus describes is commensurate with the experience of the people, then Jesus has a word to speak to our life and times, too. After all, his short list of the “signs of the times” is headlined each day in our morning newspapers. The news headlines then were just as bad as they are today.

Some parts of the Christian community have taken these experiences as more universal signs of the coming of the Son of Man as mentioned later in chapter thirteen. More than just a historical moment in Jewish life, the expectations of the “Day of the Lord” has been extended and applied to the contemporary expectation of Jesus’ “second coming.” Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth made him a lot of money many years ago, as he tried to uncover what even Jesus himself confessed he didn’t know: the day and hour when Christ would return. The more recent Left Behind Series suggests that a “rapture” will begin God’s end time events. In this scenario, some people will be snatched away by God while others will be left behind on earth to endure a tribulation period. Though this certainly is not the final word on the end times, it is a popular example of apocalyptic speculation that provokes a panicky sense of the future during turbulent times.

Scripture holds no classified information about the end times. However, whenever global crises arise, apocalyptic conjecture often accompanies it. Series of crises arise that make us question what exactly is going on in our world. Jesus says “keep awake,” meaning at least that our faith must bear through these disorienting episodes of natural disasters, social upheaval, political persecution, and national wars.

Penelope Duckworth, in a message called The Abomination of Desolation, echoes that apocalyptic writings emerge in times of crisis. "These ever-present forces are the well-springs of prophecy, poetry and art. But, in times of great stress, they emerge in bold and raw forms to enact perceived contemporary events on a cosmic scale. While the apocalypse is a strange form, we must not dismiss its power or influence, or even its truth."

Duckworth asks, "How can we understand apocalypse in this last decade of the twentieth century? Does it have meaning for our lives? I think it does. First of all, it speaks to our anxieties about the future. More than historical catastrophes, these passages speak to us of the last things—of the end of the world. They attempt to answer the anxious questions: Toward what end are we heading? Who or what will have the final word?

"The answer is always the same. God is in charge. Trust God through hell and back. Difficult times are to be expected, but the ultimate victory belongs to God…. Those who have trusted in God will be saved. I'm not suggesting that we simply trust and wait. Jesus taught us to live fully—to serve God and no other master; to turn to our neighbors with responsive love; and to trust that our acts of obedience justice and love will be part of God's plan.”

This message is another way of saying “Keep awake.” No matter how or when or where Christ may return, be the salt and light of the world in the meantime.

The story is told that I n colonial New England, state legislators were meeting one day when an eclipse occurred, causing the daytime sky to become very dark. Now when that happened, several of the lawmakers panicked and requested that they adjourn, thinking that the world was about to end. But then one of the legislators stood up and said: "Mr. Speaker, if we adjourn and this is not the end of the world, we will all look like fools. And if it is the end of the world, I would prefer to be found doing my duty. So I move, that candles be brought in and that we continue with our work."

Posted: 2/08/07

BaptistWay Bible Series for February 17

Not Me

• Mark 14:10-31

By Andrew Daugherty

Christ Church, Rockwall

There is high drama throughout Mark’s fourteenth chapter. At the Last Supper, Jesus again speaks candidly about what will happen, telling the disciples that he would be betrayed by one of his closest friends. At the beginning of this passage, the reader is told Judas already made arrangements for Jesus to be arrested. Judas becomes the chief informant in the plot to destroy Jesus.

Imagine the serious mood of this moment during the meal. By the time Jesus breaks the bad news to his friends around the table that one of them would betray him, the wine glasses are empty. The candles are barely burning. The only leftovers are the bread crumbs that have collected on the table; the way a table is supposed to look after a meal shared among friends. However, Judas seems not himself. He has hardly made eye contact with anyone the whole night. His head is low. His demeanor is quiet. The tension could have been cut with a butter knife.

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Mark’s Gospel delays the betrayal longer than John’s Gospel. In John, Jesus breaks off another piece of bread, dips it in the little bit of wine left and tells Judas to leave. Judas slides his clean feet into his sandals and walks out the door into the dark night; down the dirty trail of betrayal.

Here in Mark, Judas stays until dinner is over and then apparently makes a quiet exit. The next time we see Judas is when he arrives at Gethsemane with a crowd carrying clubs and swords.

After all they had been through together, Jesus must have felt Judas bury a metaphorical knife in his back before he ever felt the crown of thorns buried in his head. Jesus had trusted Judas as a friend and disciple. John’s Gospel says Jesus washed the feet of his disciples after sharing the Passover meal. Jesus had washed Judas’ feet, too. Jesus loved Judas anyway, even though Judas was going to walk out on him.

Country superstar Martina McBride sings a song titled, Anyway. The song in its own way depicts the spirit of freedom that comes with Jesus’ way of loving. Her lyrics say it like this:

God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway.
You can love someone with all your heart, for all the right reasons, and in a moment they can choose to walk away. Love ‘em anyway.

Jesus’ love doesn’t stop just because someone doesn’t act or feel the same way he does. He loves because he can’t help himself; it’s his nature to love. If Jesus only loved the ones who loved him back, he would have hardly been God become flesh. Love is as love does.

Jesus practiced the love he professed even toward somebody who would not return his love. Jesus wills to love Judas and thus practices the new commandment he passes down to his disciples: "that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another."

In Christian worship, beyond preaching or praying or singing, we see this kind of love most clearly expressed in the celebration of Communion. It is through this sacred meal that we remember Jesus offered thanks over the bread and wine before passing it among his disciples, of whom one had betrayed him, one would deny him, and all would desert him. Still he offered thanks, saying grace by offering up both words and his very life. Jesus managed to grace the dreadful night of his betrayal with gratitude.

So when you and I gather around Christ’s table, we remember his last supper and participate as disciples who have betrayed, denied, and deserted the one who offered up his life for us. But we also look forward to a future meal in the coming kingdom of God; in a time beyond time at which all those God has loved beyond our failures will gather together to celebrate the sacred feast of God’s joy.

In speaking of Jesus’ command to “Do this in remembrance of me,” Dom Gregory Dix in The Shape of the Liturgy asks:

Was ever another command so obeyed?  For century after century . . . men have found no better thing than this to do for kings at their crowning and for criminals going to the scaffold; for armies in triumph or for a bride and bridegroom in a little country church; for the proclamation of a dogma or for a good crop of wheat; for the wisdom of the Parliament of a mighty nation or for a sick old woman afraid to die; for a schoolboy sitting an examination or for Columbus setting out to discover America).

God invites people of all cultures and languages and experiences to enjoy the feast of God that we can never repay but only receive as a gift. This is what we express in the celebration of Communion or the Lord’s Supper. We celebrate that we are no longer strangers. We are friends. In that sacred moment, there is juice and bread and a friendly host, who is Christ himself.

Posted: 2/07/08

Panhandle Pastor’s and
Laymen’s Conference slated

PLAINVIEW—Author Calvin Miller will be a keynote speaker at the 87th annual Panhandle Pastor’s and Laymen’s Conference, Feb. 18-19 at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview.

Miller, a native of Enid, Okla., teaches at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School and has written more than 40 books of popular theology and inspiration.

Other key speakers on the program include Sandy Maddox from Orlando, Fla., a veteran conference and retreat speaker who leads the Treasures of Heart and Home ministry, and Leighton Flowers, youth evangelism director for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Musical guest Blake Bolerjack will perform mini-concerts during the Monday evening and Tuesday morning sessions.

This year’s theme, Transforming Churches Through Transformed Lives, focuses on Matthew 6:13-20. Various messages and Bible study will focus on this text and how it affects the lives of Christians and the church.

The two-day event will feature meetings, worship, messages, music and a golf tournament.

The entry fee for the Pastors’ Masters Golf Tournament at the Plainview Country Club is $40 and includes lunch and prizes. Anyone interested in playing in the golf tournament should call Micheal Summer at (806) 291-1165.

Posted: 2/07/08

Renewed violence forces Buckner to
cancel mission trips to Kenya through May

By Jenny Pope

Buckner International

DALLAS—All Buckner International mission trips to Kenya will be cancelled through May 2008, agency President Ken Hall said. The decision comes after violent unrest prompted by tainted presidential elections there Dec. 27.

The announcement follows a previous decision by Buckner to suspend mission trips until March. Hall and Vice President of Global Initiatives Randy Daniels announced the decision Jan. 30 after witnessing dangerous conditions first-hand in Nairobi and Kitale, Kenya.

“Flying over Kenya on our way to Kitale, we could see whole villages on fire and burgeoning refugee camps springing up,” Hall wrote on his blog.

According to recent reports from the Red Cross, more than 860 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced in the turmoil.

“This trip to Africa is reminding me that there is a very real presence of evil in our world,” Hall said. “Please pray for the people of Kenya and for this nation.”

Despite the violence, Hall said, the children Buckner cares for at the Baptist Children’s Center in Nairobi and Seed of Hope Children’s Home in Kitale are safe.

Daniels, who oversees Buckner International ministries in Kenya, said Buckner will continue to provide services to Kenya but will “rearrange the mission trips because we cannot guarantee safety at this time.”

George McCain, director of Buckner missions, has promised to work with mission teams to reschedule any trips planned to Kenya during this time. He said teams will plan to resume mission work in early summer.

“We all need to be in serious prayer for our brothers and sisters in Kenya,” he said. “Even though we cannot physically go there to help them right now, we know that God is there with them. And Buckner will continue to stand by their side. The needs are greater than ever.”

Buckner sent nine short-term mission teams to Kenya in 2007, including 166 people and six interns. The agency has been working in Kenya since 2002.

Posted: 2/06/08

Deadly Super Tuesday storms
devastate Union University

JACKSON, Tenn. (ABP)—Baptist-affiliated Union University was one of the hardest-hit spots as deadly tornadoes raked the Mid-South Feb. 5—the same day as Mardi Gras celebrations and the “Super Tuesday” primary elections.

The Tennessee Baptist Convention-related school’s campus sustained extensive damage as an evening tornado tore across the north side of Jackson, Tenn. The city of about 65,000 is located midway between Memphis and Nashville.

The Jackson Sun reported Feb. 6 that emergency workers rescued 13 students trapped in a demolished dormitory complex.

Union spokesman Tim Ellsworth told the paper that 51 students were transported to the hospital. While nine students had serious injuries, none of the injuries were life-threatening, he said. In an interview posted Feb. 6 on the website of local television station WBBJ, Ellsworth said school officials had confirmed that all of the seriously injured students “are going to be fine.”

However, he added, the campus “really looks like a bomb went off here.” He told the Baptist and Reflector, the state convention’s newspaper, that the university community was still in a state of shock the morning after the storm—but also a state of relief.

“It is incredible that no one has been killed,” he said.

Union’s two major residential complexes were mostly destroyed, and the roof was blown off one of the main academic buildings. That left the building flooded, according to Ellsworth.

Union University President David Dockery, in a Feb. 6 press conference, said the college received $2.6 million worth of damage from a tornado in 2002. The Feb. 5 storm was “15 times worse than that,” he said.

Ellsworth said classes have been canceled and will not resume before Feb. 18. “It will be a long time before the campus will be fully operational,” he said.

Storm victims off Union’s campus were not so fortunate. The same tornado killed two elderly residents in rural parts of Madison County, according to a Feb. 6 report in the Jackson paper.

And dozens of other tornadoes killed residents across the lower Mississippi Valley. As of midday Feb. 6, the Associated Press reported that 48 people had been confirmed dead in four states: 24 in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, seven in Kentucky and four in Alabama. The National Weather service received reports of 60 tornadoes in the region between the afternoon of Feb. 5 and the morning of Feb. 6.

That makes the event the deadliest tornado outbreak—and one of the largest—in more than 20 years. The death toll is even higher than the May 3, 1999, outbreak famous for a massive tornado that laid waste to large sections of Oklahoma City.

In Arkansas, the towns of Clinton and Atkins reportedly sustained direct hits from storms. Charlie Warren, editor of the Arkansas Baptist News, said Feb. 6 that he had not yet confirmed reports of the storms directly affecting any Arkansas Baptist congregations or institutions. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that one storm destroyed a Baptist church in rural Pope County, but Warren said that congregation is not affiliated with the state convention.

He said Arkansas Baptist disaster-relief officials were meeting that morning to coordinate information and begin formulating a response.

Several presidential candidates, in delivering victory speeches after the largest day of presidential primaries in the nation’s history, asked supporters to pray for the storm’s victims. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee both have strong ties to Arkansas, one of the hardest-hit states. Clinton’s Democratic rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, also asked supporters to pray for those affected by the bad weather.

President Bush took a moment during a brief Feb. 6 appearance at the Department of Agriculture to mention the storms’ toll and promise federal help. “Prayers can help, and so can the government,” Bush said. “I do want the people in those states to know that the American people stand with them.”

Compiled by Lonnie Wilkey of the Baptist & Reflector and Robert Marus of Associated Baptist Press. The story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Posted: 2/05/08

Explore the Bible Series for February 17

Do you seek the Lord’s guidance

• Genesis 24:34-48

By Donald Raney

First Baptist Church, Petersburg

Anyone who has spent much time around a church certainly has heard that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Believers understand that God desires to reveal that plan to each of us and to lead us in fulfilling that plan.

Our problem is that following God’s leading often is difficult and many times we must admit we fail to seek God’s guidance. As we face various decisions in life, it simply is easier to rely on common sense or our own ideas of how to accomplish our goals. Perhaps at times we face a situation we have faced before, and, knowing how God had led previously, we assume God would lead us to do the same this time, and we proceed without seeking God’s direction.

The Bible is filled with numerous accounts of those who neglected to seek God’s guidance and the difficulties they encountered as a result. Even the great heroes of faith from Abraham to Moses to David experienced times when they wandered off the path on which God was leading. In Genesis 24, there is a story of a simple unnamed servant who provides us with a prime example of someone who sought God’s guidance and found great success in what he was called to do. As we study his story, we can learn some of the keys that will help us make sure we are always seeking God’s guidance.

Identify your tasks (Genesis 24:34-41)

Before we can follow God’s guidance, we must first know what God is calling us to do. Many believers may feel they know or have some general idea about what God is calling them to do. They may feel God leading them into some particular area of ministry and assume that they know (or at least can figure out) how to accomplish the task when God may have a specific place or method in mind which is different. As the individual jumps into the task and encounters difficulties, he or she may either force the issue or give up and resort to following own path.

Abraham’s servant was able to complete the task to which he was called because he had taken the time to find out exactly what the task involved. He asked questions concerning the details and possible complications in completing the task before he started. If he had simply heard, “Get a wife for Isaac,” he may have chosen a woman from the local area or at any point between Canaan and Ur. Once he found one, he may have used force to persuade or compel the woman and her family. Yet this servant demonstrated a deep commitment to his master’s plan by taking the time to identify the specific task he was called to perform.

As believers today seek to fulfill God’s purpose for our individual lives, we need to always be certain that we demonstrate the same level of commitment to discern exactly what God is calling us to do.

Rely on the Lord (Genesis 24:42-44)

Having identified the task, Abraham’s servant again served as an example to those seeking to follow God by relying on God’s leading throughout the mission. As he traveled he certainly would have remembered Abraham’s assurance to him that God would lead him to the right place (v. 40).

Once he arrived at the place God led him to, he first prayed God would lead him to the right woman. He did not go into the nearest town to find the woman. He relied on God to lead the right woman to him.

Today, when we have a sense of the direction God is leading, there is the temptation to plot our own course to that goal based on our best information and what we see as possible or feasible. It can be tempting to simply proceed in the way that seems best or to seek out short cuts. We can even find ourselves rationalizing our actions by telling ourselves that we are ultimately accomplishing the end to which God has called us and that we are doing so while making the most efficient use of our resources and abilities. Yet God often does not call us to a particular task to see if we can efficiently accomplish it through our own ingenuity or effort, but to see if we are willing to let go of our own ideas of what is possible and fully rely on God through every step of the process.

Praise the Lord (Genesis 24:45-48)

Finding success in the tasks God calls us to brings with it a real danger that many fall victim to. Often when we accomplish a task, particularly one which requires considerable effort or a significant stretching of our faith, it is easy to forget God’s guidance and claim responsibility for the success for ourselves. Abraham’s servant easily could have felt pride in accomplishing such a difficult task for his master. Yet as soon as Rebekah and her family agreed to the plan, the servant bowed and worshipped God, thanking him for the success.

Far too many believers over the years have accomplished great things by following God’s leading only to come to the end of the task and take credit. As we seek to follow God’s guidance, God is at work around and through us in ways that we will never know or understand. Apart from God’s guidance and empowering, we could never fulfill his call. Just as we seek to rely on God’s guidance to complete the tasks to which he calls us, we should never forget to personally and publicly praise him for the success when the mission is complete.

Posted: 2/05/08

More than 1,600 Hispanic Baptists
gather for evangelism conference

By Nora Frost

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON—Tears fell like the emotional and spiritual baggage people carried to the Hispanic Evangelism Conference, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas Feb. 1-2.

Conference participants crowded in front of the altar and into the aisles each night to make spiritual decisions. People embraced and prayed for one another and for non-Christians around them as they professed Christ as Lord.

Featured preacher Alberto Mottesi encouraged Hispanic Texas Baptists to show compassion.

“The world is tired of religion,” Motessi said.

The best two ways to combat society’s apathy toward religion is by demonstrating loyalty to Christ and holiness before God, he said.

“Evangelism is a mandate from God,” said Roy Villarreal, a member of Iglesia Bautista Mount Horeb in McAllen. “This conference has prepared us and reminded us of that mandate. It has also helped re-establish the need for knowing the Bible.”

Though the Hispanic Evangelism Conference drew a large number of Hispanic leaders from churches, it also attracted about 300 future leaders in its student sessions.

Josh Fernandez, 15, of Katy, said he appreciated the contemporary worship and English workshops geared towards youth because he is able to relate and learn more from that culture.

Participants at the conference raised $5,700 as a love offering for the Asociación Bautista Latino América for rebuilding efforts in Mexico following Hurricane Dean.

Fueled by the conference’s Acts 4:33 theme, the more than 1,600 people in attendance said they were refreshed by the messages they heard, as well as the people they met.

“It was a great blessing to be able to learn from our brothers and sisters,” said Juanita Montoya, a member of Iglesia Bautista Hispana in Brookshire. “Plus, it has been great getting to know the great leadership that is around us.”

Workshops covered topics such as effective community outreach, new models for missions, personal evangelism and ministering to families along the border.

“This conference is a result of the diversified needs of Hispanic churches in Texas,” said Frank Palos, BGCT director of Hispanic evangelism. “It was resolved that Hispanics needed a conference to address the various types of needs in the church.”

Though the conference featured mainly Spanish workshops and worship, Palos said the conference was meant to serve the diverse cultural needs of Hispanic Baptists—Spanish- dominant, English-dominant and bilingual congregations.

Posted: 2/05/08

As Hispanic population grows,
so do ministry opportunities

By Nora Frost

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON—Hispanics are a fast-growing population in the country, bringing with them increasing ministry opportunities. But those opportunities aren’t addressed as easily as providing material and training in Spanish, said Frank Palos, Baptist General Convention of Texas director of Hispanic evangelism.

Worship culture for Hispanics is as diverse as its demographic composition. About 1,200 Hispanic congregations are affiliated with the BGCT. Although the majority of those churches worship mainly in Spanish, about one-third of them have bilingual worship services, and about 1 percent of the Hispanic churches worship in English.

Worship patterns also tend to be grouped around generational differences. Grandparents tend to prefer traditional and Spanish worship, parents are comfortable in bilingual worship and children prefer contemporary and English worship, Palos said.

Sergio Ramos, church activation specialist with the WorldconneX missions network, said it is an exciting time to be involved in the Hispanic community regarding ministry, and he particularly encouraged Hispanics to get involved in international missions.

Some of the most valuable traits Hispanics share are being able to adapt, having the capacity to blend in physically with different ethnic groups and the willingness to put passion before comfort, he said. Hispanic culture also places great value on relationships—an emphasis that is also highly regarded in other cultures, he noted.

“We are people-oriented,” Ramos said about the Hispanic culture. “We relate to cultures because we are a mix of cultures ourselves.”

Alberto Mottesi is convinced the next great evangelism movement will be in the Hispanic community.

“The community is growing very quickly, and we have to be able to share (our faith) in the most comprehensive words,” Motessi said.

That is why he said gatherings such as the BGCT’s Hispanic Evangelism Conference are so vital, event organizers agreed.

Plus, with the world becoming more internationally connected, more opportunities to become involved in ministry emerge.

“The world is changing. And if we don’t get on board, we are going to have a lot of people who don’t know Christ,” Ramos said.

Posted: 2/04/08

New Baptist Covenant: Unity.
Harmony. Now, what comes next? 

By Marv Knox

Baptist Standard

ATLANTA—Fifteen thousand participants in the New Baptist Covenant convocation arrived in Atlanta Jan. 30 seeking unity in Christ and departed Feb. 1 wondering where their quest will lead.

In the meantime, they demonstrated racial, theological and geographic harmony as they prayed, sang, listened to sermons and attended workshops focusing on ministry to the people Jesus called "the least of these" in society.

The unprecedented event brought together African-American, Anglo, Asian-American and Hispanic Baptists. They represented 30 Baptist conventions and organizations, all affiliated with the North American Baptist Fellowship, the regional affiliate of the Baptist World Alliance. They also heard from two former U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and a former vice president, Al Gore-all Baptists.

Participants scaled a 163-year-old wall that has divided the denomination since U.S. Baptists parted company over slavery more than a decade before the Civil War.

As women and men of numerous races sat side-by-side through sermons and hugged and laughed in hallways, they embodied a dream-come-true for Baptists who dreamed of racial reconciliation in their denomination.

"This is the most momentous event of my religious life," declared an emotional Carter, a son of the South and a lifelong Baptist.

For the first time in more than 160 years

"For the first time in more than 160 years, we are convening a major gathering of Baptists throughout an entire continent, without any threat to our unity caused by differences of our race or politics or geography or the legalistic interpretation of Scripture," said Carter, who co-chaired the gathering with Mercer University President Bill Underwood.

Carter's euphoria echoed the aspiration of another Baptist from Georgia, and the convocation fulfilled the prophecy of Martin Luther King Jr., Underwood told the crowd.

"Forty-five years ago, a native son of Atlanta, a Baptist pastor, shared with all of us his dream: One day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners would be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood," Underwood said to sustained applause.

"Today, here on those red hills of Georgia, Baptists have come together to take a step in the long and difficult journey toward achieving Dr. King's great dream. After generations of putting up walls between us-separation, division by geography, by theology, but most of all division by race-a new day is dawning. … Today, we all sit down together at the table of Christian brotherhood and sisterhood."

Leaders of most of the participating groups first affirmed the New Baptist Covenant in April 2006, when Carter and Underwood invited them to Atlanta to talk about bridging Baptists' racial, theological and geographic divisions by working together "to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity."

That effort piggybacked on a historic gathering of the four predominantly African-American Baptist conventions five years ago, plus ongoing discussions of unity within the North American Baptist Fellowship, NABF President David Goatley said.

• See latest photos and the latest video clips from the New Baptist Covenant Meeting. (And go here to see our complete coverage of the event).

New Baptist Covenant is a public witness

"The New Baptist Covenant is a public witness to our common commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed," explained Goatley, executive secretary of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention.

"Never before have Baptists on this scale sought to cross the boundaries we choose to live behind-ethnicity, ideology, theology. Never before have Baptists on this scale sought to explore ministries of this impact. Never before have Baptists on this scale come together for cooperation and collaboration for missional ministry impact.

"We are at the threshold of great possibilities," Goatley said.

Prior to the convocation, critics suggested one of those possibilities was politics.

They claimed organizers stacked the program in favor of Democrats, citing the presence not only of Carter, but also Clinton and Gore. Carter refuted that charge in a news conference, noting the all-Baptist program also featured Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Organizers invited Republican presidential candidate and former Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee, who accepted and then declined months ago, as well as Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., who bowed out at the last minute to campaign for another presidential candidate who attends a Baptist church, John McCain.

Completely unified

In the convocation's opening session, Carter made a promise that also sounded like a warning to all the other speakers. Imploring the diverse Baptists to make unity the distinctive element of their gathering, he pledged, "There will be no criticism of others-let me say again-no criticism of others or exclusion of any Christians who would seek to join this cause."

Near the end of the meeting, he told reporters the convocation lived up to his nonpolitical billing. "We have deliberately avoided any identification by politics," he declared. "It's been a wonderful mixture of cohesive, different groups. All of us, so far as I know, have been completely unified."

"Unity in Christ" provided the convocation's theme. Plenary sessions focused on creating Baptist unity by following Jesus' mandate set out in his first sermon: "to preach good news to the poor … to proclaim freedom and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Clinton, the closing speaker, called for unity toward a group with which many of the other participants disagree-the Southern Baptist Convention.

The SBC pulled out of the Baptist World Alliance-the organizational common denominator for all the groups affiliated with the New Baptist Covenant-several years ago, citing alleged "liberalism."

Clinton described the rift with the SBC as competing interpretations of the New Testament Epistle of James, "that people would know our faith by our works."

Baptists who gained control of the SBC focused on "works" related to issues such as opposition to abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment and gay rights, he noted, while "more progressive Baptists" focused on fighting poverty, protecting the environment and providing housing for poor people, he said.

They read Scripture in a different way

"I say this in good conscience: We all believe we are doing what we can. But so do they. They read the obligations of Scripture in a different way," he noted.

Calling for humility and respect, Clinton urged, "We should not let our response to the people who disagree with us be dictated by what they say about us or even how they treat people we care for. If there is any chance that this covenant can become an embracing one, that there can be a whole community, then there has to be a chance that we can find love."

Other speakers amplified the unity theme from a range of perspectives:

• Christian oneness centers on fulfilling Jesus' "radical mission," stressed William Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, one of the four African-American conventions, and pastor of White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

Jesus wasn't satisfied merely to bring relief to the persecuted and victimized, he explained, noting Jesus "concretized" his mission by seeking to reverse the structures and situations that caused oppression.

The heart of that quest is establishing justice and uprooting injustice, Shaw noted. "When God made mankind, he made us male and female-in his image. To do injustice to anybody is to do injustice to the reality of God, because we are in his image, and his image is not to be demeaned."

That calls Baptists to seek change in society, he added. "You can't embrace the mission of Jesus and not encounter the reality of injustice. He came not with actions of charity. He came to change. … Justice says we need to change the structures of victimization."

Baptist name is associated with exclusion

• Unfortunately, the Baptist name is associated with exclusion, observed novelist John Grisham, a member of University Baptist Church in Charlottesville, Va. "The reason is because, for so long, so many Baptists have worked so hard to exclude so many," he said.

Grisham offered Baptists three suggestions for seeking unity: Restore their good name by respecting diversity, stay out of politics and "spend as much time out on the streets in ministry as in the church."

"Jesus preached more and taught more about helping the poor and the sick and the hungry than he did about heaven and hell. Shouldn't that tell us something?" he asked.

• Love is the key to unity, claimed Julie Pennington-Russell, pastor of First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ga. She accepted an assignment to speak on respecting diversity, but she said respect isn't sufficient to build unity.

Respect alone "has no power to change something that is broken between you and me," she said. "Only love can do that. … Let love take you by the hand and lead you like a child to a new way of seeing that brother or sister, and look for Jesus in the face of that person," she said.

Protecting children

• Marian Wright Edelman called for Baptists to unify around protecting children. She cited a litany of statistics that reveal the depth of poverty, neglect and risk that describe the United States' 13 million children in poverty, noting they add up to a national catastrophe.

"They are not acts of God," said Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund. "They are our choices as citizens and as a nation. We created them; we can and must change them."

Churches "ought to be the locomotive, and not the caboose, in speaking up for children," she said.

• Baptists could express their unity by giving themselves-and their means-to rescue the poor, Tony Campolo said.

Jesus pronounced his priorities in Luke 4, beginning with preaching good news to the poor, noted Campolo, author and professor emeritus at Eastern University near Philadelphia.

"Do you think Jesus meant what he said, or do you think he was kidding?" he asked.

"There is nothing wrong with making a million dollars. I wish you all would make a million dollars. There is nothing wrong with making it, but there is something wrong with keeping it," he said. "My Bible tells me in 1 John 3:17, 'If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need but shuts off his compassion from him-how can God's love reside in him?'"

After calling on both individuals and churches to pour themselves into ministering to the poor, he shouted, "Rise up, you suckers, and go out and do the work of Jesus!"

Protect the environment

• Gore called for Baptists to protect the environment, pleading for participants in the convocation to make creation care one of their major initiatives.

The former vice president and Nobel laureate discussed the research behind his Oscar-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" during a luncheon attended by 2,500 participants.

"The evidence is there," Gore said. "The signal is on the mountain. The trumpet has blown. The scientists are screaming from the rooftops. The ice is melting. The land is parched. The seas are rising. The storms are getting stronger. Why do we not judge what is right? …

"There is a distinct possibility that one of the messages coming out of this gathering and this new covenant is creation care-that we who are Baptists of like mind and attempting in our lives to the best of our abilities to glorify God, are not going to countenance the continued heaping of contempt on God's creation."

• Ironically, the world-for the first time in history-began producing enough food to eliminate hunger altogether in the 1960s, Grassley said, noting one in seven people worldwide goes to bed hungry each night.

"Unfortunately, this condition, this increased food productivity, has not solved hunger throughout the entire world," he said. "Poverty, war, natural disasters contribute to the cycle of hunger. But we also confront 21st-century complexities that affect a wholesome, stable and deliverable food supply."

Grassley said increasing free trade will help alleviate hunger worldwide, but Christians in the United States should begin focusing on practical ways of alleviating hunger themselves. "If ever there was a time for unity, now is the moment-building consensus between agriculturalists and conservationists and building the food supply can create sustainable farming methods that protect the environment."

Protect strangers

• The presence of "strangers" in the world provides a point for Baptist unity, stressed Joel Gregory, a professor of preaching at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary.

"Behind us, in front of us, ahead of us we meet the face of the stranger in the word of God," he said. "It is not a marginal issue. It's a central concern."

Unfortunately, Christians often try to care for strangers, foreigners and outsiders in the abstract, Gregory said, but God calls them to care for the stranger "in his concreteness, in his particularity, in his idiosyncrasies. … Behind every generalization is God's particularity-that person in front of me right now."

• Another group that needs the force of Baptist unity is composed of the 47 million Americans who do not have medical insurance, said former Surgeon General David Satcher, of the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Health care

Inequities persist in the United States' health-care system, he noted. "An African-American baby is 2 1/2 times as likely to die in the first year of life as a majority baby," and globally, child-mortality disparities between he wealthiest and poorest countries are far worse.

"For me, that is not a political issue; it's a moral issue," he said.

• Setting the captive free also is a moral issue, echoed Charles G. Adams, pastor of Hartford Baptist Church in Detroit.

If Baptists do not share freedom with others, "then our souls will be destroyed and our freedom with it," Adams said. "We are free only if we face the challenge of freedom, do the work of freedom, fight the fight of freedom and die the death for freedom.

"We are filled with the Spirit only to empty ourselves in the liberation of others. We are loved only to love others. We are free only to accept the responsibility of setting others free."

Convocation participants fleshed out the repeated calls for unity through ministry in 32 special-interest sessions. They featured practical applications of the unity/service theme.

Continue what began in Atlanta

Those sessions are likely to provide the backbone of structure for fleshing out what the convocation means and how participants will continue what began in Atlanta, predicted Jimmy Allen, program chairman for the event.

Ministerial students who attended each session took notes on the outcomes and proposals for cooperation in ministry, he said. They also gathered e-mail addresses of participants who want to continue collaboration on a range of poverty, racial, equality, peacemaking and other policy issues.

"Where we go from here will be very important," Carter told reporters. "People stop me and say, 'We don't want this to be just a moment, but a movement.'"

This spring, the convocation leadership group will reconvene in Atlanta to consider hundreds of suggestions and discuss how to follow up, he said.

The answer will not be creating yet another Baptist convention, Allen added. "This movement will not be centralized. It can't be. … We're not an organized structure. We're stimulating and reflecting a movement of God that is bigger than us."

Answers likely will include opportunities for individuals, congregations and larger Baptist groups "to add our voice to common commitment" to implement the ideas for ministry that surfaced in Atlanta, Carter said.

Implementation of those commitments could answer one criticism of the New Baptist Covenant-absence of Southern Baptist Convention leadership, he added.

Full report to Frank Page

Carter noted he had developed a positive relationship with SBC President Frank Page, who initially criticized the endeavor. Carter also said he would provide Page with a full report on the convocation and its possible outcomes.

"The results of this meeting will determine how the Southern Baptist leaders respond to us," he predicted. "We will reach out" to them to participate in follow-up projects, he added.

Carter also debunked the notion that no Southern Baptists participated in the convocation. For example, his congregation, Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., allocates 5 percent of its budget to the SBC and 5 percent to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Many other Baptists churches follow that pattern, he asserted.

Historian Walter Shurden, recently retired director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University and one of the early organizers of the convocation, said the event could become "a major step in racial reconciliation and gender recognition of Baptists in North America."

"It's the most significant Baptist meeting in my life, after playing in the Baptist yard 55 years or so," he said. "I've never been to a Baptist meeting where there was the equality as well as the presence" of multi-racial, multi-gender participation.

"It bears the marks of the ministry of Jesus."