Posted: 6/13/07

Former SBC missions leader Tanner dead at 77

BELTON (ABP)—William Tanner, former head of home missions for the Southern Baptist Convention, died June 10 in Belton at age 77.

Tanner was president of the SBC Home Mission Board from 1976 to 1986.

Under his leadership, the mission board began the Mission Service Corps volunteer missionary program , increased its emphasis on language missions, and strengthened partnerships between the agency and state Baptist convention partners.

Geoff Hammond, president of the North American Mission Board, expressed his gratitude for the legacy Tanner left for the home mission field.

“I am thankful for Dr. Tanner’s vision and foresight,” Hammond said. “All of us at NAMB will be thinking about and praying for Dr. Tanner’s wife, Ellen, and the rest of his family during this time of loss,” Hammond said. “A great servant has gone on to his reward.”

Ernest Kelley, who served as a coordinator working with state Baptist conventions in the western United States during Tanner’s tenure, said Tanner’s commitment to the Mission Service Corps program was essential to its strong beginning.

“Dr. Tanner immediately embraced the idea of Mission Service Corps and gave it the high-profile attention and funding it needed to get established and off the ground,” Kelley said. “He even insisted that the MSC office be located right next to his, so he could give it the attention it needed.”

Tanner was born in 1930 in Tulsa, Okla. He attended Baylor University, where he met Ellen Yates, whom he married in 1951.

After graduation, Tanner worked in churches in Texas and Mississippi, earning a masters degree from the University of Houston and a doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In 1968, Tanner became president of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. In 1971, he became president of Oklahoma Baptist University. After serving the HMB, he returned to Oklahoma in 1986 to serve as executive director and treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

Tanner was preceded in death by his parents, his son Mark Kyle Tanner, and his grandson Geoffrey Price Tanner. He is survived by his wife, Ellen, and their children: William Tanner Jr., and his wife, Paula, of Belton, Texas; Keith Tanner and his wife, Ginger, of Frisco, Texas; and Kimberly Salter and her husband, Mike, of Jackson, Miss. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren.

Memorial services will be June 14 at First Baptist Church of Belton. A private family burial will be in Waco prior to the memorial service.

Posted: 6/12/07

Calvinist churches targeted
by Florida Baptist Convention

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP)—Some Florida Baptists insist the Florida Baptist Convention is intimidating and demonizing churches that believe in Calvinism—and doing it with money contributed by the churches.

Convention executive director John Sullivan recently sent recordings of sermons by Sullivan’s former pastor Jerry Vines to every church in the state, apparently at convention expense, that identify Calvinism as a threat to Baptist life.

A week earlier, Sullivan sent one of his associates to a rural Panhandle county to confront local pastors about alleged “conflict” created by Calvinists in the Holmes Baptist Association. Sullivan’s emissary, Cecil Seagle, was at times “angry and mean-spirited” and tried to intimidate the pastors, according to the pastors’ detailed notes from the meeting, warning that Calvinism “is dividing the Florida Convention and a split is almost inevitable.”

Calvinism, a theological system that emphasizes the sovereignty of God over the free will of humans, is named for Reformation theologian John Calvin. According to a recent Southern Baptist Convention study, Calvinism is held by only 10 percent of Southern Baptists. Its advocates insist it was the theology of the SBC’s founders.

The four sermons from Jerry Vines, former SBC president and retired pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, are a series titled “Baptist Battles” that target four hot-button issues in Southern Baptist life—Calvinism, speaking in tongues, liberalism and “booze.” Since SBC leaders rid the convention of alleged liberalism in the 1980s, the other three have been frequent topics of discussion and division.

Coming immediately before the SBC annual meeting, where those issues are likely to stir debate again, Sullivan’s mailing was interpreted as an inappropriate political use of power.

“This is clearly political in its intent,” said one pastor in Florida, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. “Those of us who are conservatives and were part of the conservative resurgence are now being targeted.”

Vines’ sermons, recorded last year at a church in Georgia, were sent “through the cooperative efforts” of Sullivan and Eddie McClelland, president of Florida Baptist Financial Services, according to a letter from the pair that accompanied the boxed set.

Sullivan declined to talk about the project, how much convention money was spent, and if it was appropriate to spend it to advocate politically charged issues.

McClelland, however, said he was unaware of the nature of the project when he agreed for his convention agency to help fund it.

“I did not have any idea of the content. I did not know,” he said. “I was asked to raise money for one of Dr. Sullivan projects. He asked me for a gift.”

McClelland, whose agency makes church loans and operates retirement homes, a foundation and a credit union, said he does not know how much church-donated Cooperative Program money was spent on the mailing.

Asked if it was an appropriate expenditure of his agency’s funds, he said: “I’m not going to answer that question. I would not want to get involved in that. I did not know it was political. Our agency doesn’t get involved in politics. We serve all Florida Baptists.”

Tom Ascol, the most prominent Calvinist in the 1 million-member state convention, blasted Sullivan’s tactics in his blog. (www.founders.org/blog)

“This much is clear: The mailing of Dr. Vines’ sermon on Calvinism is a clear indication that the executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention has an agenda to demonize the ministers and churches in our state who believe what the founders of the Southern Baptist Convention believed regarding the grace of God in salvation,” wrote Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral and executive director of Founders Ministries, which promotes Calvinist theology. “This is a serious matter—very serious.”

In his sermon, Vines said Calvinism “kills” churches because it neglects evangelism by teaching that salvation is only for those whom God “elects,” not for everyone. He said Calvinistic pastors tend to be divisive, dishonest and prone to “intellectual pride.”

Ascol first reviewed Vines’ sermon last October, calling it a “complete misrepresentation of the theological heritage of the Southern Baptist Convention and the theological convictions of thousands of Southern Baptist pastors.” Sullivan made matters worse, he said June 6, by using “God’s money to send it to every Southern Baptist in the state!”

“This mailing comes on the heels of a very egregious attempt last week by a state convention executive to intimidate pastors in a local association in our state over the issue of Calvinism,” Ascol wrote in his blog, referring to Seagle’s meeting with the Panhandle pastors.

“It looks like the meeting was hijacked by those whose job it is to serve the churches that had invited them to meet in the first place,” he said. “This is a severe violation of Baptist polity and is an assault on the autonomy of local churches.”

The May 22 meeting with six Holmes Association pastors and some of their wives was set up to discuss a plan to revitalize small, rural churches, according to meeting notes drafted by Ryan Helms, one of the six, and affirmed by the others. Instead, Seagle turned the conversation to alleged “conflict” in the association. The association’s director of missions, a Calvinist, had recently resigned, in part over the issue.

Calvinism has “a negative impact” on churches, Seagle reportedly said, and two other Florida associations are “in turmoil” over it. He said the Holmes Association needed to resolve its conflict before moving on, and he reportedly singled out each of the pastors and asked if they had unresolved conflict.

The pastors—only one of whom is a Calvinist—said there was no conflict in the association.

Seagle said Sullivan had received complaints about the association, according to the meeting notes, adding that former director Paul Fries “tried to push Calvinism down my throat.”

The pastors, all officers in the association, disagreed that Fries was pushy about his beliefs. At that point, the pastors said, Seagle became angry and defensive, complaining the group was calling him a liar.

Helms, the one Calvinist pastor at the meeting, said he and his 30-member church had not caused any disruptions in the association over the issue and simply wanted to cooperate, the notes said.

Helms said he called Seagle after the meeting to try to clear the air. Seagle denied he was angry but said he will not tolerate being called a liar, according to Helms.

Ascol said he too tried to contact Seagle but had not been successful. “This issue is not about Calvinism,” Ascol said on his blog. “It is about integrity at every level of our denominational structure.”

Sullivan, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on the meeting.

Ascol called for an investigation of the incident and warned it would be “devastating” for the Florida Baptist Convention to “sweep this under the rug for the sake of friendships or a supposed ‘peace’ or ‘unity.’”

“Such a cover-up will undermine the kind of trust that is absolutely essential if a convention of churches is to move forward in cooperation,” he said. “… That would be a colossal failure of leadership and dishonoring to the God of truth.”

Posted: 6/12/07

WMU joins directors of missions
as associations celebrate 300 years

By Vicki Brown

Special Assignment

SAN ANTONIO—Unless associational leaders pray for and work with their churches, they run the risk of becoming “as obsolete as a horse and buggy in a NASCAR world,” Jim Henry of Orlando, Fla., admonished Southern Baptist directors of missions.

Henry, a former Southern Baptist Convention president and pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Orlando, was the featured speaker as the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors of Missions celebrated 300 years of associational work in the United States June 10.

The group focused on its history and its future during its annual session, prior to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in San Antonio.

Jim Henry

At the directors of missions’ invitation, Woman’s Missionary Union launched its own annual meeting by joining the associational celebration because of the two groups’ close relationship, WMU Executive Director Wanda Lee explained.

“We joined them out of that respect and love for our partnership,” Lee said.

Lee joined a host of agency heads to bring greetings at the celebration held at historic First Baptist Church of San Antonio, and hundreds of WMU members attended the session.

Using Mark 4:35-36 as his text, Henry challenged listeners to look back on associational history with “deep appreciation.”

Then, he noted, directors of missions must evaluate the present. After Jesus finished a long day of teaching, Henry said, he called his disciples to get into a boat and row to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

“What was on the other side?” Henry asked. It was the Gentile side where Jews didn’t go, he explained.

“Jesus was challenging his men … to go to a world they had never known. I call on you as DOMs to go to the other side … to our rapidly changing culture.”

Henry reminded directors of missions that churches have a choice when dealing with the world—separation from it, assimilation into it or association with each other to reach it.

The church is called to move from “limitation to innovation,” he added. “I call you to … challenge the churches to look at new things. Don’t be afraid of innovation. … Change can be very powerful for good.”

Associational leaders must move into the future, where Henry said they face “extinction or expansion,” depending on choices they make in ministry to their churches.

Based on his own informal surveys, Henry said he found that younger pastors often see the association as antiquated and unnecessary. They are not interested in institutions, but they do want to know directors of missions on a personal level, he said.

Younger pastors want to cooperate, but don’t want programs for programs’ sake, Henry added.

He encouraged directors of missions to love their ministers as pastors love their churches.

“I believe the director of missions who can work with entrepreneurial churches will find a supply of larger and middle-sized churches ready to work with smaller churches” to help them, Henry said. “My challenge to you is to go over to the other side until our Father calls us to be at his side.”

During their annual meeting, the national organization elected Russell Cook, director of missions for Pottawatomie-Lincoln Baptist Association in Oklahoma, as president; Wesley Pitts, director of missions for Long Run Baptist Association in Kentucky, as first vice president; and Ron Davis, director of missions for Greenville Baptist Association in South Carolina, as second vice president.

Tony Cartledge contributed to this story.

Posted: 6/08/07

CYBER COLUMN:
Drinking coffee

By Berry D. Simpson

Every morning when I get to my office, I go through the same routine: I turn on my computer and enter the password so it can run through the boot-up process. Then I walk down the hall to the breakroom coffee maker, move the half-filled pot of regular coffee up to the second warmer and start brewing a pot of decaf . While I wait for the pot to fill, I stand around and crack some jokes or talk about books or movies or theology and then fill my black coffee mug (black mugs don’t have to be washed as often as other colors; in fact, maybe they never have to be washed) and go back to my office and enjoy my coffee and read my morning e-mails.

The first cup of coffee is the best cup of my day. I never stop for coffee on the way to the office, and if I go somewhere for breakfast, I usually drink a Diet Coke. I don’t drink a lot of coffee—at most about three cups in a given morning. I seldom drink coffee in the afternoons unless it is very cold outside. I don’t drink much coffee at home, since Cyndi doesn’t drink it even though she often offers to make it for me.

I’ve read that people around the world drink more coffee than any other drink besides water—400 billion cups a year. And a cup of Starbucks costs $16 per gallon, or in oil and gas terms, about $672 per barrel. Even at that price, 24 percent of Starbucks customers visit 16 times a month.People don’t drink coffee to satisfy their thirst. It’s too hot to drink quickly; it must be sipped. I guess it’s possible that with enough milk or cream or foam, coffee might become a chugalug thirst-quencher, but I don’t think so. Coffee, like tea, begs to be savored. It’s a social drink, a hospitality drink. Maybe, the fact that coffee is served hot means it can’t be rushed. It slows down the pace of life an gives us permission to talk and be together.

Most of the time, I drink coffee like this: (1) during mornings in my office, usually alone; (2) in the evening when I’m reading or computing—usually someone, usually Cyndi, is with me; in fact, I seldom make coffee for myself at home; I drink it only when Cyndi makes it for me; and (3) over a lingering conversation. I also drink coffee during business meetings, but that’s mostly to keep myself entertained and keep my hands busy. Like author Leonard Sweet, I associate coffee with conversation, even though I most often drink it alone. If I join Cyndi at a Starbucks, I usually drink tea, because the coffee they serve is a bit strong for my taste. Until lately.

Cyndi and I recently listened to a podcast by pastor Erwin McManus, and he talked about his love for premium coffee and why he likes it and how it should be brewed. He claimed that being from El Salvador gives him better insight into coffee. Maybe he’s right. He made fun of people who prefer fast-food coffee to Starbucks because “Starbucks makes it too strong.” McManus said they’d trained their taste buds to appreciate the lowest quality and not the best, and how sad for them.

Well, I thought: What if Erwin McManus himself finds out I don’t drink premium coffee, either? I’ve been posting my journal entries on a website sponsored by his Mosaic ministries, called Voxtropolis. What if McManus is bored one day and surfs around the various postings on Voxtropolis and starts reading my journals and thinks to himself: ”These are really good. Maybe I’ll introduce Berry to my publisher and feature his writing at Mosaic.” And he calls me on the phone and says he wants to come to West Texas to meet me and talk about spiritual stuff and bond with me as two hip writers, and then he asks, “So where do you usually go for coffee?” What then? What will I tell him? I only drink office coffee? Meet me at Whataburger? He’ll drop me like a cheap Styrofoam cup.

So, I am confessing that I’ve succumbed to long-distance peer pressure. I’ve started working on my taste buds, training them upward. I’ve been ordering coffee instead of tea at Starbucks, and I’ve added another scoop to my morning ritual when I make coffee at the office.

I still drink decaf, hoping to avoid the damaging symptoms of high blood pressure and all, and I still drink it black, without foam, or ice cream, or candy, or any other additives.

But I’m working on my taste buds, training them to appreciate higher quality and stronger flavor. Who knows, it may come in handy if I ever get that phone call from my buddy Erwin. And I’m beginning to enjoy my newly upgraded life.

Berry Simpson, a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland. You can contact him through e-mail at berry@stonefoot.org.

Posted: 6/08/07

Around the State

• Rob Nash, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship global missions coordinator, will be the featured speaker at the Truett Theological Seminary luncheon scheduled during the CBF general assembly in Washington, D.C. The luncheon will be held from 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Friday, June 29, at the Grand Hyatt, Constitution Ballroom C/D. Reservations are required, and the cost is $50. For more information, call (318) 442-7773.

• Four students received doctor of ministry degrees at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary spring commencement ceremony. Receiving doctorates were Angela Bryant of Picayune, Miss., Charles Chu of Austin, Dean Meade of Victoria and James Palmer Jr. of Marshall. Three students also earned master of theological studies degrees, and there were 40 master of divinity graduates.

• Four Howard Payne University students have been selected to receive the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation scholarship in the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom Honors Program. The recipients, all juniors, are Emily Gore of Grand Prairie, Jennifer Middleton of Katy, Jordan Humphreys of Arlington and Tricia Rosetty of Houston. The scholarship provides $9,000 a year for two years.

A team from First Church in Georgetown travelled to Brazil and ministered in a variety of ways, including bestowing bags of small gifts and toiletries to children involved in an after-school ministry called Projecto Vida in Novo Hamburgo. This young boy was so excited, he immediately took his bag to his mother to show off his treasures. The team also participated in house-church meetings and assisted three missionary couples in reaching out to the German Brazilian people living in the area.

• Dallas Baptist University honored Jeannette Sadler and the Methodist Health System with its Good Samaritan Award at its annual partnership dinner. Sadler has been a member of Cliff Temple Church in Dallas 80 years and recently began work with Buckner International and the church to fund a community outreach center that will bear her and her late husband’s names. She also has served DBU as a member of the board of trustees and a financial donor. Methodist Health Systems was recognized for more than 80 years of meeting the health needs of North Texans.

• Harold Temple, emeritus professor of chemistry, has retired after 31 years of service at Wayland Baptist University. He is a deacon and longtime member of College Heights Church in Plainview.

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has approved new faculty for the fall, including Ted Barnes, dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts; Joy Ahlgren-Beckendorf, assistant professor of chemistry; Jacky Dumas, assistant professor of English; Martha Francis, assistant professor of psychology; and Karen Frederick, instructor, modern foreign language.

• San Marcos Academy’s 37 graduating seniors received more than $150,000 in scholarship awards to colleges and universities to continue their education. More than 95 percent of the graduating class has plans to attend college, and 81 percent already have been accepted to a four-year university.

Anniversaries

• Johnny Mansell, 20th, as pastor of Baylor Church in Ennis, June 1.

• Pleasant View Church in Dallas, 160th, June 2. Bob Hendley is pastor.

• Kenneth Coleman, 20th, as pastor of First Church in Godley, June 10.

• John Boyle, 20th, as pastor of Wellborn Church in Wellborn, June 10.

• Bill Thompson, 60th in ministry, June 18. A pastor more than 30 years, he entered a Bible-teaching ministry in 1980 and publishes a bimonthly newsletter, “The Scribe.” Churches he served as pastor include Woodlawn Hills Church in San Antonio, Hastings Church in Hastings, Okla., Woodhaven Church in Houston, Fellowship Church in Houston and Second Church in Victoria. He also has been interim pastor for about 20 churches and currently is preaching at First Church in Centerville, where he and his wife, Patricia, are members.

• Champion Church in Roscoe, 100th, July 14-15. A time of fellowship and reflection will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday. An opportunity for fellowship also will precede the morning service on Sunday. A meal and afternoon program will follow the morning service. Several former pastors are expected to attend. For more information or to request a spot on the program, e-mail championbc@ academicplanet.com. Bruce Parsons is pastor.

• First Church in Buda, 125th, July 15. A meal will follow the morning service. In a commemoration of Joshua 4, families are asked to bring a stone with the family name on it to be used to build a stone memorial in honor of the church’s history. For more information, call (512) 295-2161. Stephen Warren is pastor.

Retiring

• Aubrey Howell, as pastor of First Church in Burlington, Colo., after 50 years of ministry. He has served churches in New Mexico, four churches in Texas and the last 15 years with the Colorado church.

Deaths

• Adrian Garcia, 80, May 10 in Uvalde. He was a deacon more than 35 years at Iglesia Segunda in Del Rio, Primera Iglesia in Abilene and Iglesia Unida in Uvalde. He was a retired veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Anita; son, James; daughters, Lillian Newport, Ruth Roman and Linda Contreras.

• Suzanne Daines, 56, May 20 in Fort Worth. She was music director at Mount Pleasant Church in Comanche. She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Nick; sons, Matt, Brad and Doug; mother, Betty Jones; brothers, Crandall, Craig and Mel Jones; and two granddaughters.

• Weldon Wright, 85, May 21 in Savannah, Ga. He was a Baylor University and Southwestern Seminary graduate. Following his seminary graduation, he entered the Army as a chaplain, after serving as a Marine Corps pilot during World War II. After retiring as a chaplain in 1973, he was pastor of First Church in Henrietta. He was preceded in death by two brothers and a grandson, Jeffrey Tyson. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; daughters, Karen Tyson and Margaret Wright; son, John; sister, Mildred Howard; two granddaughters; and three great-grandchildren.

Event

• Iglesia Vida Nueva in Crowley will celebrate its first year of ministry June 22-24. For more information, call (682) 518-7681. Jaime Perez is pastor.

Licensed

• David Patterson to the ministry at Prairie Hill Church in Prairie Hill.

• Billy Gibbs to the ministry at Calvary Church in San Angelo.

Ordained

• Russell Stanley to the ministry at First Church in Rule.

• Gary Welch to the ministry at Northside Church in Corsicana.

Posted: 6/08/07

What to do if a minister
is accused of sexual misconduct

By Jim White

Virginia Religious Herald

Most pastors and staff members are aware that ministry sometimes puts them in unique circumstances with all kinds of people. Most also are aware that a rumor of wrongdoing often is enough to end an otherwise fruitful ministry. For this reason, wisdom requires taking precautions to protect one’s reputation and ministry.

Occasionally, however, the unthinkable will occur. Someone will accuse a minister of sexual misconduct. Because church members are trusting people, and because such allegations are rare, most never have considered what they would do if such charges were made against one of their ministers.

Although we all pray that no church will ever have to go through such pain, those who have are unanimous in advising others to plan ahead. Policies outlining a specific course of action in the event of such charges are invaluable because the process can be determined ahead of time without regard for personalities involved. Professionals heading children’s and youth ministries in denominational offices can offer helpful guidelines.

If the unthinkable happens:

• Prayerfully affirm your commitment to find the truth and be as fair as possible to all concerned. This will not be easy, because those making the accusations will be convinced of the staff member’s guilt and will demand immediate action. Occasionally, false accusations are made, so don’t jump to conclusions before having all the facts. You will have to simultaneously consider the welfare of the alleged victim, the accused, the church and the greater kingdom of Christ.

• Get the facts. Only what can be proven counts as a fact at this point. Everything else is allegation or assumption. Assume the accuser is truthful and the accused is innocent until you discover otherwise.

• Confront the accused with the allegation and the evidence, but do so with grace. If he is innocent, he will need your support through this ordeal and your help in healing. If he is guilty, he will need support of a different kind.

• If a law has been broken, you must report it. Some may disagree based on the sanctity of confessions, but the Catholic Church is reaping the consequences of such an approach. The kingdom of Christ ultimately is best served by openness and honesty.

• Know the legal ramifications and liabilities. Laws vary from state to state, so consult an attorney specializing in what you are facing and/or employee rights.

• Start a paper trail. Keep a timeline of every event in the process. You may need to go back to the minister’s employment. Did the church exercise due diligence in researching the person’s background. Were references called? What did they say? Was a background check run?

• If guilt is admitted or determined, make sure the person gets the professional help he needs. Sexual abuse is not easily treated and should not be attempted except by qualified professionals. Also, alert the office in your state convention office that handles ministerial referrals to be sure the person’s resume is not sent to another church.

• If the charges are false, support the minister in every way, including counseling and reasonable time off, if necessary, to deal with the trauma of being accused.

• Tragically, some situations become stalemated based on “he said, she said.” Even though wrongdoing cannot be proven, it is very difficult for effective ministry to continue under such a cloud of suspicion. And, unfortunately, references will be less than honest if they withhold this piece of information from churches that may consider him in the future.

Like our human bodies, the body of Christ—the church—is subject to infection and disease from within. To ignore it, or to simply relocate it to another part of the body only makes the sickness worse. The health of Christ’s church and the individual Christians within it requires diligence. 

Posted: 6/08/07

Breaking the cycle

How can churches escape the trap of recycling sex abusers?

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.(ABP)—What can churches do to prevent clergy sex abuse and break the pattern of recycling abusers? Even among activists and experts, there is no consensus—and sometimes loud disagreement—about the steps to be taken.

• A ministerial code of ethics. Doctors, lawyers and counselors have it. And so do most ministers, but not most Baptists, although the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission worked with a clergy ethics committee to develop a “covenant of trust” into which minsters and congregations could enter. Without the ability to withdraw ordination, participation is voluntary and enforcement impossible. But it’s a start.

• Seminary training. Condition Baptist ministers early to avoid moral compromise. But “ministerial ethics is rarely taught in our seminaries, although this area has become a major issue in church life,” said Joe Trull of Denton, who previously taught at an SBC seminary.

• Church-approved policies. What to do with an accusation? Who does an investigation? What about a leave of absence for the accused? How do you treat an accuser? Unless it’s in writing, a congregation will resort to self-protection—and have little legal protection. There are lots of resources and training available to churches, but few take advantage. Some conventions offer intervention assistance. But it all starts with a plan. The Faith Trust Institute of Seattle, founded by abuse pioneer Marie Fortune, has resources.

• Outside help. Churches need an independent review panel to receive accusations and oversee investigations—or at least an outside consultant to lend objectivity. This is not the church’s lawyer, however, since his or her duty is to protect the church.

“Local churches are not capable of handling abuse allegations on their own, and they shouldn’t have to,” said Christa Brown, a lawyer and sex-abuse activist whose story of molestation has brought unwanted national attention to the Southern Baptist Convention. Brown leads a Baptist-directed campaign for the Catholic-focused SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

“Churches are like families, and the dynamics of clergy sex abuse are very similar to the dynamics of incest,” she said. “Most congregations are not capable of objectively considering whether their much-loved and much-trusted minister might actually be someone who molested a kid.”

• Reporting abuse. It’s the law. Church leaders have to tell law-enforcement officials when they learn of sex abuse. But they don’t have to tell fellow church members—and often they don’t. Usually the reason cited is a need for confidentiality. But that only benefits the accused and forces the victim to shoulder the burden alone, advocates and counselors say.

Anti-abuse advocate Dee Ann Miller stressed the difference between secrecy and confidentiality. “To not be up-front about the general nature of allegations is secrecy,” she said. “To protect the victim’s identity in order to prevent embarrassment or retaliation is confidentiality.”

Congregations must encourage victims to talk, counselors say, whether to expose abusers or simply to heal. “Far too often, we see exactly the opposite—victims who attempt to speak up are treated with hostility by church and denominational leaders, and also by congregants,” Brown said. “Clergy-abuse victims can readily see that climate of hostility.”

When abuse is uncovered, churches and their lawyers often rely on confidentiality agreements—usually paired with financial settlements—to keep unsavory details out of public view.

But Miller states flatly, “There should never be a settlement that silences the victim.” Indeed, new Catholic canon law prohibits confidentiality clauses unless requested by the abuse victim.

Confidentiality agreements are “a travesty,” Brown added. “Speaking personally, I would suggest that it is a tactic that resists the movement of God’s Spirit, who might indeed work for healing and justice if Southern Baptists weren’t setting up so many roadblocks.”

• Abuser database. The public is used to criminal predator lists in secular world. But critics say they are inappropriate and unsavory for churches and denominations, not to mention a legal liability issue. In a realm where guilt is difficult to prove, and innocence is sometimes harder, what level of certainty is sufficient? Do you list only the convicted? Or do you include the indicted, the accused and those who confess or settle out of court?

SNAP’s stopbaptistpredators.com shows names and photos of Southern Baptist ministers “convicted, confessed or credibly accused.” That practice is “consistent with what Catholics are doing,” Brown pointed out. “Over 700 priests have now been removed from ministry, and most have never been convicted of anything.”

With convictions still rare, advocates say keeping the merely accused off the list is neither an adequate strategy nor necessary to preserve a presumption of innocence. Critics worry aggressive measures like the abuser database stack the deck against those falsely accused. But victims’ groups insist fabricated cases are exceedingly rare—less than 1 percent among child accusers, reports Darkness to Light.

“Even if (Baptist leaders) can’t actually remove men from ministry, they could at least take on the obligation to inform people in the pews when there is information about a minister reported for molesting a kid,” Brown said. “To keep that kind of information a secret from parents is unconscionable.

“For any innocent minister to be falsely accused of sexual abuse is a horrible thing. The only thing I can think of that would be worse would be to suffer actual abuse by a minister and then to be disbelieved or attacked by your faith community when you attempt to report it— and to see your rapist still standing in the pulpit.”

Posted: 6/08/07

Stepping over the line: Should sexually
straying clergy be restored to ministry?

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—Some Baptists consider sexual misconduct by clergy the unpardonable sin when it comes to hiring church staff, and many survivors of abuse agree. But others say it depends on which scarlet letter the minister wears—“W” for “wanderer” or a “P” for “predator.”

Ethicist Joe Trull accepts the distinction between wanderers and predators. He explained the difference between the two types of offenders in a book he and James Carter, former director of church-minister relations with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, wrote on ministerial ethics.

Building on categories first proposed by Marie Fortune—a pioneer in re-search related to sexual exploitation by clergy—Trull said predators are people who actively seek opportunities to sexually abuse their prey. The predator often is a dynamic figure with a charismatic personality who may play the part of a loving and concerned pastor, but he abuses his power and position to manipulate vulnerable people.

In contrast, wanderers tend to be vulnerable, needy people who are drawn to other vulnerable, needy people. Wanderers often are less successful personally and professionally than their peers, and they gravitate to people who will enhance their low self-esteem. After crossing boundaries into inappropriate behavior, wanderers generally feel shame, remorse and regret.

“The wanderer may be a candidate for restoration. Predators don’t think they’ve done anything wrong. Most predators are the type of people who think they are above the law and the rules don’t apply to them. … They should never be in the ministry or in any vocation where they are with vulnerable people whom they can take advantage of,” Trull said in an interview.

Around 1990, the Baptist General Convention of Texas Ministers Counseling Service launched a restoration program to help ministers put their lives back together after sexual misconduct.

The two-year program began with six months of career assessment, intense personal counseling and prohibition on any ministry-related involvement. During the second six months, the minister was allowed limited volunteer involvement in ministry and was required to participate in monthly counseling sessions. In the next six months, the minister was permitted to do vocational Christian work under close supervision. The last six months was spent preparing for re-entry into full-time vocational ministry.

BGCT Counseling and Psychological Services no longer sponsors a structured restoration program.

Christa Brown, a spokes-person for clergy sex abuse survivors, rejects the notion that any abuser should be restored to ministry under any circumstances.

“In the event a minister has committed sexual abuse, he should not be restored to service in ministry in any position in which others look up to him as a spiritual leader,” Brown said. “The weapons used by clergy sex abusers are the faith and trust of others and the mantle of authority that the church and denomination puts on their shoulders. These weapons must be taken away and cannot safely be put into their hands again.”

Brown acknowledges a distinction between misconduct and abuse. She criticizes Baptists for the tendency “to lump all sexually related matters under the same umbrella and call it ‘sexual misconduct.’”

“For example, I would characterize the much-publicized Ted Haggard scenario as ‘misconduct,’ but from the news accounts I saw, it does not appear to have been abusive,” she explained. Haggard resigned as head of the National Association of Evangelicals after a Colorado man alleged Haggard paid him for drugs and sex. Haggard was fired as pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs after he admitted to unspecified acts of “sexual immorality.”

Most victims with whom Brown has been in contact were abused as children or teenagers, but age alone does not determine whether a person is a victim of abuse or simply a participant in sexual misconduct, she insisted.

“Ministers can also sexually abuse adult congregants,” she said. “In Texas, it is a felony for a clergyman to use his position of spiritual trust to sexually exploit another—even another adult.”

Brown rejects the distinction between wanderers and predators, and she believes it creates a climate for continued abuse.

“From the many accounts I hear, it appears that Southern Baptists often wind up protecting the predator on the theory that he may be merely a wanderer. In doing so, they leave countless unsuspecting sheep at risk. No good shepherd would take such risks,” she said.

“Even if those who make this distinction are correct in recognizing two categories of offenders, Baptist leaders are still making a huge and terrible mistake in that they are effectively choosing to err on the side of restoring the wanderers rather than on the side of protecting against the predators.

“Even if there is some percentage who can legitimately be characterized as mere wanderers, are church and denominational leaders so very certain that they can tell the difference that they are willing to risk allowing serial predators to move on to other prey for the sake of giving wanderers another chance in another position of trust with another unsuspecting flock of congregants?”

Emily Row Prevost, who works in the BGCT congregational leadership development area, stressed the harm done by any clergy sexual misconduct, regardless how it is characterized.

“We are concerned with protecting people from situations in which they could be hurt,” she said. “Whether you distinguish between predators and wanderers or not, it is important for us to recognize that in any act of clergy sexual misconduct, people get hurt. The victim, the family of the perpetrator, the church and the community must all deal, in differing degrees, with pain, betrayal and issues of trust.”

In Baptist life, decisions about whether an offender should be restored to vocational ministry rest with individual congregations, she emphasized.

“Because Baptist churches are autonomous, this is a decision each church must decide for itself after diligent prayer, study and thorough investigation. Also, circumstances vary greatly,” she said, noting the state convention has services to help churches make informed decisions.

“But the decisions are up to the congregations.”

Posted: 6/08/07

Sexual predators often fly
under the radar at church

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

EW YORK (ABP)—Most people think they can spot a sexual predator. He’s the pale loner with greasy hair and quivering lips or the grinning lech who hugs too long and slowly rubs the backs of female co-workers—or church members.

Could be. But for every overt pervert, there are plenty more who go unnoticed—and unsuspected.

Predators gravitate to vulnerable people. They move into places where they are the highest authority and where that authority remains unquestioned. In some cases, that place is the local church.

Experts say there is no standard profile of a predator, no personality trait or background history that would link them in one group. Rather, predators have similar behavior patterns and desires, no matter whom they victimize. Pastors who have affairs, for instance, are much different from those who molest children. The former are morally wrong but usually not criminals. The latter are both.

Some experts insist philandering men typically fall into two categories. The “wanderer” gets emotionally involved with a woman, crosses boundaries, gives in to temptation and regrets it later. The “predator” actively looks for vulnerable women, takes advantage of them and moves on to other victims.

Whether with a vulnerable woman or a naïve child, however, the abuser always breaks a bond of trust. And while there’s no unique predator profile, in the end, they’re all the same— abusers rarely offend once, whether or not they planned the event and whether or not they regret it.

“We have this feeling that we could pick out a child molester in the crowd, but they look like your average, normal, trustworthy person. Sometimes they look more-than-average trustworthy,” Dave Mallinak, pastor of Berean Baptist Church of Ogden, Utah, said. “Another thing is we have this conceit that we could pick out a liar from a crowd—that I would know if someone is lying to me.”

Mallinak should know. He is working on a book for pastors counseling sex-abuse victims and has spent years tracking a former pastor whom he said molests teens in local churches before church leaders find out and fire him. Mallinak recently outed the accused pastor on his blog, sharperirony-.blogspot.com.

The naiveté of people who think they can discern a liar coupled with the trust people give to pastors can be a dangerous combination, Mallinak said.

“They become good liars,” he said. “Of course, we naturally want to trust our pastor and believe him, but once they’ve crossed that line, telling a lie is certainly not a hard thing.”

Gregory Sporer, an author and founder of Keeping Kids Safe Ministries, has spent almost 20 years counseling both abusers and the abused.

Staff or church member sex-offenders have two weaknesses, he said. The “give-away categories of behaviors” are boundary violations and generally suspicious behaviors. Most church offenders have months of boundary violations, or “grooming,” prior to the first sexual offense. They’ll choose children who seem emotionally vulnerable and gain their trust with seemingly innocuous contact. For most, he said, it’s a gradual spiral down from there.

“Pastor sex-offenders are not mentally ill, and they rarely have a criminal history,” Sporer said. “Christian men and women do not become sex-offenders overnight. For many, it starts with porn or an emotional bond with a teen or child, and over a period of time, a secret sexual sin with the teen or child emerges.”

Many predators start out as men or women addicted to porn or inappropriately attached to specific children, Sporer said. And according to Sexual Abuse, a Journal of Research and Treatment, church attendance and religious practices in sexual offenders is positively related to the number of their victims and the number of their sexual offense convictions.

Sporer said in his 35,000 hours of sex-abuse counseling, he has seen that dynamic multiple times.

“Some use adult porn, which may lead to teen porn,” he said. “Eventually, the porn doesn’t meet their sexual needs, and they look for teens or kids. Some pastors … develop emotional attachments to kids. Eventually the emotional attachments become sexual, and a child is molested.”

The cycle of pornography leading to abuse grows darker and deeper on a gradual basis, Sporer said, noting many offenders reported hating sex offenders before they became one.

What’s more, many predators report that after each offense, they would go weeks avoiding their victims, have intense self-loathing, increase Bible reading and beg God to “take their sin away” so they don’t go to jail.

And contrary to popular opinion, many sexual abusers were not themselves abused.

In the 1980s, Sporer said, several reports claimed most sex offenders were molested as children. It was used as an excuse for the chain of abuse, he said, but times have changed since then, especially with increased use of the polygraph test.

“Offenders thought they gained more sympathy if they lied about being molested as a child,” Sporer said. “There are some offenders with a history of being molested as a child, but it is not as significant a number as once thought.”

What is significant is that all clergy predators seem to desperately need what they abuse their position to get—power, pleasure, admiration and autonomy.

Mallinak, who became outraged when he saw a former pastor grope teen girls, said the pastor was obviously taken with the pursuit of pleasure and idle amusement. He also loved to be admired, Mallinak said.

“There was something intoxicating about the adoring eyes of his followers,” Mallinak said, adding that even he looked up to the pastor as a hero. Sadly, Mallinak later wrote on his blog, the pursuit of admiration “is like a tapeworm. It is always eating and never filled. A man who craves admiration, no matter how much he gets, will never be satisfied.”

The root of that commonality is sin, Mallinak tells his congregants. It’s not a “fundamentalist” problem or an organizational problem, he said. “It comes from (the predator’s) own flesh.”

Even though the cause of the abuse comes from within, historic Baptist autonomy can be a problem in tracking predators, experts agree. For Mallinak’s Utah congregation, which is an Independent Baptist church, “ultra-autonomy” is something of which to be proud. Predators take advantage of that, he said.

That tension between Baptist autonomy and accountability is one factor in learning to profile predators. Another is the question of whether predators can be rehabilitated.

Mallinak said all predators should spend the rest of their life in jail or “something more severe than that.” In his opinion, predators must never be allowed back in the pulpit in any capacity, since they have “violated a trust and are incurable.”

“Repentance—genuine repentance as opposed to the kind that demands that everybody forgive me right now—would involve a confession that what he did has limited his future,” Mallinak said. “In other words, if he really repented, then he would never seek another pulpit.”

Sporer, on the other hand, has called the idea that sex offenders do not change a “myth.” According to him, many of the 550,000 registered sex offenders in the United States attend church. Most of the church-attenders claim to be Christians with a strong desire to serve Christ, and most offenders who have been convicted and are registered are successful at not re-offending, according to a 2001 report by the Center for Sex Offender Management. The report said the average sex-offence recidivism rate, defined as re-arrest or reconviction, was 12 percent for child molesters over a five-year period.

Mallinak tells embittered victims that clergy predators are counterfeits who stand in the place of a real pastoral shepherd.

“When a pastor violates their trust … I think we have to remember that this is why we need Jesus Christ. This is exactly the reason. We have to rest on his grace and rely on that,” he said. “If it weren’t for the grace of God, none of us would make it.”

Posted: 6/08/07

Sex-abuse victims speak up to help
others & find healing themselves

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

NEW YORK (ABP)—Debbie Vasquez was 14 when her pastor started touching her inappropriately. She was 15 when he raped her and 19 when she had his baby.

Tina Boyd first was molested at age 11. Later, she was raped by her church bus driver. The rapist, whom she eventually married and divorced, has been arrested for dabbling in child pornography.

Vasquez told members in her church about the abuse but was disbelieved and accused of lying. Both women ultimately clammed up, refusing to acknowledge the molestation and living with their pain for years. Now, they’re using that pain to alert others to the danger of clergy sex abuse.

“The hurt from it is life-long. It’s not something that ever goes away,” Vasquez, 48, said. “The way that you’re treated if you ever tell anybody anything makes it worse. It makes it really hard to even have a relationship with anybody else, to even trust anybody. It’s not a hurt that ever goes away.”

Vasquez has filed a lawsuit against her former minister at the now-defunct Calvary Baptist Church in Lewisville. Pastor Dale Amyx acknowledged in court documents that he had a sexual relationship with Vasquez and had fathered her child. Texas court records also show Amyx was convicted in 1967 for giving alcohol to a minor.

Amyx used the Bible and his position to justify his actions, Vasquez said. And that made her situation even worse.

“Being molested by a minister is twice as bad as any other kind because of the spiritual and physical aspects,” she said. “Here is someone who is supposed to be a man of God. And if you’re made to feel guilty because of it, it’s a very strong message to that person for the rest of their life.”

It’ll take the rest of her life to heal from the abuse, she said, and it hasn’t been easy. Vasquez used to have panic attacks during sex, ended up getting a divorce and even tried to kill herself after she learned her abuser had taken up with a teenage girl.

Like Boyd, though, Vasquez decided to tell her story to anyone and everyone who will listen. It has helped her feel stronger, she said. They both think their openness could save others from a similar fate.

“It took me 10 years to admit to myself that this happened,” Boyd said. “I think I’ve healed as much as I’m going to heal. There are times when I still have moments of unforgiveness. Other than that, maybe I can heal by just finding a way to just let it go and be forgiving and to help as many people as I can.”

To that end, Boyd has created a website, www.notmyfamily.org, aimed at helping victims of sex abuse. A web-developer by trade, the 38-year-old mother provides a listening ear for abuse survivors and helps them connect with the tools they need to recover.

Boyd was married 11 years to the man who molested her. He has since been in jail and now has supervised custody rights to their three daughters.

Her current husband encouraged her to start the site after a friend confided that her daughter had been molested by a youth pastor. Earlier, the couple had learned at least five other families in their church had daughters who had been inappropriately touched.

“My husband comes home from work and said: ‘We have to do something. We have too much information and too much experience not to help people,’” Boyd said. “From that day, we began working on the website.”

Boyd and Vasquez are typical survivors of abuse; both went through periods of self-doubt, guilt and isolation. Boyd said she’d lie in bed at night and pray God would make her a better wife. When Vasquez became pregnant, church leaders forced her to go before the congregation and ask forgiveness as an unwed mother.

“Considering how bad I was doing, I’m definitely doing a lot better,” Vasquez said. “But I think the (difficult) thing is … trying to overcome the feelings of the guilt itself. I felt like there was nothing I could do. I thought I had to protect myself and my kids.”

Besides displaying their lives as a warning for other victims, the decision to file custody suits and lawsuits and become involved in a healthy church has helped each woman as well.

Their attitudes toward church, especially, are striking. Neither woman is bitter against God or their current pastoral leaders for the abuse. Boyd said she still believes God can make good things come out of bad things. Her life now, with a loving husband and well-adjusted daughters, is “totally unexpected.” Vasquez blames “the person, not really the church.”

“I know there have been other people who have been hurt, and they are extremely bitter. I really do believe in God,” she said, adding that she is unhappy with church leaders for not taking appropriate action and wishes denominational leaders would take an active stance against abuse.

In spite of her continued belief in God, it was more than 20 years before Vasquez and her children returned to church.

Her time back has been a “mixed bag,” she said. On one hand, some people have supported her journey through sex abuse and her desire to talk about it. On the other hand, some have made it clear it’s not a subject they want to discuss.

The topic of sex makes people uncomfortable, she said. But knowing that staying quiet allowed her abuser access to others pushed her forward. She said she realized that if she didn’t tell her story, “more and more people (could) get hurt.”

“I’m trying hard to be able to trust people again,” Vasquez said. “I’m trying hard to trust churches again. I want to have that ability. I would like to be able to have a relationship, to get married. I feel like I’ve gotten stronger since I’ve started talking about it. I’ve gotten stronger since I’ve realized there are other people than just me.”

Posted: 6/08/07

Are atheists now becoming
the new fundamentalists?

By Benedicta Cipolla

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Despite its minority status, atheism has enjoyed the spotlight recently, with several books that feature vehement arguments against religion topping bestseller lists.

But now even some secular humanists are saying they should embrace more than the strident rhetoric poured out in books like Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and Sam Harris’ The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation.

At a recent conference marking the 30th anniversary of Harvard’s humanist chaplaincy, organizers sought to distance the “new humanism” from the “new atheism.”

“At times, they’ve made statements that sound really problematic, and when Sam Harris says science must destroy religion, to me that sounds dangerously close to fundamentalism,” humanist chaplain Greg Epstein said in an interview after the meeting. “What we need now is a voice that says, ‘That is not all there is to atheism.’”

Although the two can overlap, atheism represents a statement about the absence of belief and is thus defined by what it is not. Humanism, meanwhile, seeks to provide a positive, secular framework for leading ethical lives and contributing to the greater good, its advocates insist. The term “humanist” emerged with the “Humanist Manifesto” of 1933, a nonbinding document summarizing the movement’s principles.

The Harvard event linked up via video to a conference on global warming at the Baptist-affiliated Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

Addressing both meetings was biologist E.O. Wilson, whose book, The Creation, urges the faith community to join the environmental movement.

Even as he complimented the “military wing of secularism” for combating the intrusion of dogma into political and private life, Wilson told the Harvard audience that religious people “are more likely to pay attention to that hand of friendship offered to them … than to have suggested to them, let us say, Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, which sets out to carpet-bomb all religion.”

In his book, Dawkins likens philosopher Michael Ruse, a Florida State philosophy professor who has worked on the creationism/evolution debate in public schools, to Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister best known for his appeasement policy toward Nazi Germany.

Ruse, in turn, accuses “militant atheism” of not extending the same professional and academic courtesy to religion that it demands from others. Atheism’s new dogmatic streak is not that different from the religious extremists it calls to task, he said. Dawkins was traveling and unavailable for comment.

The suggestion that atheists may be fundamentalists in their own right has, unsurprisingly, ruffled feathers.

“We’re not a unified group,” said Christopher Hitchens, author of the latest atheist bestseller, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. “But we’re of one mind on this: The only thing that counts is free inquiry, science, research, the testing of evidence, the uses of reason, irony, humor and literature, things of this kind. Just because we hold these convictions rather strongly does not mean this attitude can be classified as fundamentalist.”

More than a kinder, gentler strain of atheism, humanists insist their philosophy seeks to propose a more expansive worldview.

“Atheists don’t really ask the question, ‘What are the vital needs that religion meets?’ They give you the sense that religion is the enemy, which is absurd,” said Ronald Aronson, professor of humanities at Wayne State University in Detroit.

“There are some questions we secularists have to answer: Who am I, what am I, what can I know? Unless we can answer these questions adequately for ourselves and for others, we can’t expect people to even begin to be interested in living without God.”

Posted: 6/08/07

East Texas cousins keep Bible Drill
competition all in the family

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

ATLANTA—A family legacy took two East Texas teenagers to the national stage.

Fulfilling a commitment they made to their great-grandmother, cousins Tanner Shirley and Jessie Price from First Baptist Church in Atlanta advanced to the national round of Bible Drill competition in North Carolina June 8.

Last month, they won the Texas State Bible Drill, outranking about 1,000 other students from more than 170 churches and 60 Baptist associations.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas coordinates Texas Baptist Bible Drill competition each year.

Jessie captured the Texas junior high Bible Drill title in her fifth year of competition.

Tanner, who plays on his high school’s football and basketball teams as well as in the band, has learned the importance of discipline. This strategy paid off in Bible Drill, as he won first place in the state high school division.

It marks his second time at the national competition. In 2004, he competed for the national championship at the junior high level.

“We’re tickled to death and very, very proud of him,” said Sherri Shirley, his mother.

“He’s very excited to be headed back to nationals. And at state, it was clear he was motivated not to be outdone by his cousin.”

The trip to the national Bible Drill contest culminates a commitment Tanner and Jessie made to their great-grandmother, who died earlier this year at age 95. She was dedicated to their involvement in Bible Drill and emphasized the impact it could have on their lives.

Tanner’s mother used her grandmother’s commitment to motivate her son and his cousin.

“I told them their great-grandmother would be tapping on everyone’s shoulders, saying, ‘Look at those two great-grandchildren of mine.’ You go get up there, and do it for Grandma,” she said.

Other top-ranking high school students in the state competition were A.R. Mareno from First Baptist Church in Belton and Brittany Mayfield from Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cleveland, who tied for second place, and Elizabeth Rasmussen from First Baptist Church in Temple, who placed third.

In the junior high school division, Faith Walters from First Baptist Church in Albany and Blake Borenstein from Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano tied for second place, and Christa Juneau from Cornerstone in Cleveland placed third.