Posted: 2/20/07

Dispatches: Visiting a Masaai village

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Tuesday, Feb. 20, Masaai Mara wildlife preserve, Kenya

The past two days, our team members have grown to love the natural beauty of God's creation in Africa, and we have grown to love each other. Yesterday morning, we left Nairobi on a single-engine turboprop plane and flew west over the Rift Valley, landing on a dirt airstrip at the Masaai Mara wildlife preserve.

Lioness with cub at the Masaai Mara wildlife preserve.

We spent most of the afternoon yesterday on a photo safari, then we rose before daybreak this morning for another early morning photo shoot in the wild. Our guides drove open-top 4X4 Land Cruisers down dirt roads through the preserve. We saw so many cape buffalo, impala and gazelle that we became almost blasé about them.

Since we were divided among two or three vehicles, different members of our team saw a variety of wildlife. I was amazed to see two different elephant families, a herd of about a dozen giraffe, a cheetah nuzzling its mate and–most impressive of all to me–a lioness making her way across the savannah, gently holding her tiny cub in her mouth, while another older cub ran along behind her trying to keep pace.

• A bright hope for foster children (2/24) • Laying a cornerstone in Ethiopia (2/23) • Sent to live at New Life Home (2/22) • In Nairobi's Gehenna (2/21) • Visiting a Masaai village (2/20) • Slums, churches and a new hope (2/18) • New regulations slow us down (2/17) • An African journey begins (2/16) • How you can support ministries in Africa

Later, we visited a Masaai village. Our guide explained that everyone in each village was a blood relative, so they always married from outside their village. Members of the village hold all things in common–their cattle, sheep, goats and the money they collect from tourists who buy their handicrafts. The sight of families–both in the animal kingdom and in this different culture and people-group–caring for their young and sharing with each other reminded me of the reason we are in Africa.

God has raised up some of his people here to provide love, nurture and a sense of belonging for orphans who might otherwise never know what it means be part of a family. We can help be a part of that.

David Slover talks with a Masaai.

Along the way, I felt like all the members of our team really began to bond with each other. Kyle Henderson led us in playing silly word games while we waited under a thatch-roofed shelter at the airstrip, waiting for a plane that was late. Some of the pastors told war stories about a few of the early churches they or friends of theirs had served. We compared the ages and interests of our children.

Team members brainstormed ideas about how their churches could plug into the kinds of ministries Buckner is doing in Kenya and wants to do in Ethiopia. And some opened up their hearts and lives in moments of transparency, sharing their deepest struggles and prayer concerns.

Ken Hall said the scheduling of the photo safari early in our trip was by design. In part, it allowed us a stress-free time to relax and let our body-clocks adjust to the change of time and season. It also gave us an opportunity to enjoy recreation together and become comfortable with each other. He told me much of what we will see and experience the rest of the week will be intense and emotional, and we need that comfort level with the other team members so we will feel free to talk about the experience and process it.

Tomorrow, we get to deliver sweaters and book bags to the children at a Buckner-supported slum ministry.

Posted: 2/21/07

Dispatches: In Nairobi's Gehenna

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Wednesday, Feb. 21, Nairobi, Korogocho slum

Today we saw the presence of Christ in the heart of hell.

Nairobi's Korogocho slum is home to somewhere between 350,000 and 600,000 people, roughly half of them children and teenagers. The average lifespan of a boy in that slum is 14 years. Girls live a little longer, but many end up dying of AIDS after turning to prostitution, just to survive.

Euticauls Wambua Nzengu–"Pastor Eutychus"–has spent two decades serving there. He grew up in eastern Kenya, the product of a polygamous marriage. Eventually, he went to Nairobi seeking a job and lived with his uncle, who was a pastor. Twenty years ago, he came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. And almost immediately, he felt God calling him to work with the children of Korogocho.

• A bright hope for foster children (2/24) • Laying a cornerstone in Ethiopia (2/23) • Sent to live at New Life Home (2/22) • In Nairobi's Gehenna (2/21) • Visiting a Masaai village (2/20) • Slums, churches and a new hope (2/18) • New regulations slow us down (2/17) • An African journey begins (2/16) Also read Buckner International President Ken Hall's blog on the trip. • How you can support ministries in Africa

Pastor Tim Watson from First Baptist Church in Longview helps a child from the Kariobangi Baptist Youth Center in Nairobi's Korogocho slum try on a sweater delivered by a Buckner mission team.

For nine years, he worked with the children at Highridge Baptist Church and started the youth program at that congregation, which meets in a room at the Kariobangi Baptist Youth Center.

Later, that church sent him out to plant another congregation–Baptist Chapel–which, in turn, has launched three mission churches. Ever since the Southern Baptist International Mission Board withdrew its support from the youth center, Pastor Eutychus has directed its programs as a local church ministry.

A few months ago, 60 students from early preschool to about the fourth grade attended daily classes at the center. Today, 210 children from the slum fill seven classrooms. Older teenagers have the opportunity to learn a trade–hairdressing for women and woodworking for men–in the center's vocational education program.

Students receive a nutritious meal at noon–the only meal many of them are sure to eat on any given day. The center does not have an ongoing medical clinic, but it has hosted visiting physicians on occasion, and they averaged about 500 patients a day.

When we arrived at the center, and Ken Hall caught sight of Pastor Eutychus, he quietly said to a couple of people standing near him,"We're on holy ground right here, holy ground."

Indeed it was, but the surrounding area was anything but that.

Looking over the walls around the center, it was easy to see–and especially smell–Nairobi's largest garbage dump.

Jay Chastain of First Baptist Church in Longview helps a child try on a sweater.

We saw trash pickers making their way through the rancid mounds, looking for anything of value. And we saw women washing out plastic trash bags in a dirty stream so they could sell them to someone who needs plastic sheeting for shelter.

Eutychus told us we were fortunate today. It was one of the rare days the smoke from burning trash was not wafting over the slum. He said TB had become endemic in the area because of the persistent smoke.

Tim Watson immediately made the connection. When Jesus described hell, he compared it to Gehenna–the smoldering garbage dump on the outskirts of ancient Jerusalem.

This place really is hell on earth, and Pastor Eutychus literally is trying to snatch these children out of hell–in every sense.

Our group was privileged to deliver bags of donated sweaters to the youth center. Unfortunately, the student population had grown so rapidly in recent months, we didn't have enough sweaters for all the children. So, Eutychus selected about a dozen to receive sweaters today, more will get the remaining sweaters soon and Buckner will send additional sweaters later.

Our team sorted the sweaters by size, and then several people helped the lucky few children try on their new sweaters. Today was Jay Abernathy's birthday. He told us he couldn't imagine a more meaningful way to celebrate the occasion.

On Sunday, we saw poor-but-beautiful children filled with joy, living at the Baptist Community Center. Today we saw children in rougher circumstances, but hardly less joyful, attending classes at the youth center. But outside the gates of the center, we saw children who looked at us with eyes that held no joy, no hope.

Just across a rough, dirt road littered with debris, I saw a toddler playing just outside the door of his parents‚ shanty. Less than two feet away, raw sewage ran in a drainage ditch. The Kariobangi Baptist Youth Center is just a small candle burning in a dark place–an oasis of hope in a sea of hopelessness. But we also saw reason to hope.

While we were at the youth center, we met Joseph. He told us he grew up "a stone's throw away from here. This is home to me." He described some of the hardships he faced growing up in a slum where most families live on less than $1 a day. He helped his family by doing domestic chores and working as day laborer, but he also managed to go to school.

Joseph went on to become a house parent at the Baptist Community Center we visited on Sunday. He resigned recently when he married Elizabeth, who works with Dickson at the Nairobi Baptist Center.

Because of the living arrangements at the BCC, married couples cannot be house parents in an all-girls or all-boys dorm. But Joseph was too valuable a worker to lose, so he was made an assistant to help with the ministries.

He told us: "Thank God, he saw me through, and I feel God calling me to minister among other children who are struggling as I did."

Pastor Eutychus, likewise, has made the decision to follow God's call and invest his life in the lives of slum children. He undoubtedly has received offers to go elsewhere. He has held key positions in the denomination˜in Kenya, on the African continent and within the global fellowship of the Baptist World Alliance. He is a brilliant and articulate man. But he has chosen to remain. Ask him why, and he answers: "If Jesus came today, I know he would be here. And if I leave, who will continue this work?"

Today, we went to hell. And we saw Jesus at work there.

Posted: 2/22/07

Dispatches: Sent to live at New Life Home

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Thursday, Feb. 22, Nairobi, New Life Home

When I heard we were going to visit a home for HIV/AIDS orphans, I expected to see a hospice. But children in the New Life Home are not sent there to die; they are sent there to live.

Clive and Mary Beckenham opened the New Life Home in Nairobi in 1994. The Kenyan government registered the home to provide care for orphaned and abandoned children—particularly children with HIV/AIDS. Since then, the ministry has expanded to include homes in five other locations.

• A bright hope for foster children (2/24) • Laying a cornerstone in Ethiopia (2/23) • Sent to live at New Life Home (2/22) • In Nairobi's Gehenna (2/21) • Visiting a Masaai village (2/20) • Slums, churches and a new hope (2/18) • New regulations slow us down (2/17) • An African journey begins (2/16) • How you can support ministries in Africa

Susan Bush from First Baptist Church of Athens at the New Life Home.

The facility is not a Buckner-sponsored ministry, but Buckner has a close working relationship with the home, which is affiliated with Barnabas Ministries. Some children who aged out of the New Life Home have gone on to live at the Baptist Children's Center, and Buckner has provided some financial support to New Life.

When we arrived at the site, we were struck by the contrast to the slums we saw yesterday. As we entered the sparkling-clean, state-of-the-art facility, we looked at before-and-after photos of children who entered the home. One particularly striking pair of photos showed an emaciated, listless-looking child who entered the facility and the same child—bright-eyed and well-fed—wo weeks later.

Not all children who enter the home survive. In some cases, the AIDS virus is too far advanced. But when many of the babies are taken off infected mother's milk and given proper medical treatment, they not only survive but thrive.

In a play area for creepers and crawlers, we found nine babies receiving hugs, kisses and plenty of attention from a half-dozen workers. Before we could enter the room, we all were required to wash our hands.

Jay Abernathy, pastor of First Baptist Church in Palestine, and Tim Watson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Longview, play with Eunice, a child who lives at the New Life Home in Nairobi. New Life provides a home for abandoned and orphaned babies–many who have HIV/AIDS. Buckner wants to start a similar home for babies in Ethiopia.

After seeing that area, a worker showed us the isolation nursery. New arrivals go first to intensive care and then to the isolation nursery. Babies who contract communicable diseases also are kept in the isolation area so other children —particularly babies and toddlers with compromised immune systems—are not put in danger.

We saw women rinsing diapers, loading them into washing machines and then hanging them out on a 64-foot clothesline to dry. We met a group of student volunteers from a Pentecostal college in Norway who were on a mission in Kenya. And we experienced the joy of cradling, hugging and playing with the children.

The New Life Home is inspirational—literally. It offers a model that can be modified and made culturally appropriate in other settings in Africa. Ken Hall explained that Buckner wants to build a home for abandoned babies—some HIV-positive—in Ethiopia, where we will fly later this evening.

Posted: 2/23/07

Dispatches: Laying a cornerstone in Ethiopia

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Friday, Feb. 23, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Contrasts. That's the only word to describe our experience in the last couple of days.

We've seen people picking through trash heaps in an urban slum in Nairobi, looking for food scraps to eat. And we've dined with the president of Ethiopia at a community feast in his hometown.

We've spent the night at Addis Ababa in what is probably the most luxurious hotel I've ever seen, and we've driven a few blocks where old women and little children stood begging on a street corner. We've seen jungles and savannahs, skyscrapers and thatch-roofed huts. We've learned to say hello in Swahili and in Amharic˜at least, I hope that's what we were saying. We've seen what Buckner and its partners have established in Kenya, and some of the fruit it is bearing. And we've seen the genesis of a new partnership develop with Buckner in Ethiopia, where the ministry is beginning with the blessings of the government. We've seen what is in Kenya; we've caught a glimmer of what can be in Ethiopia.

This morning we traveled by bus from downtown Addis Ababa to Bantu, a rural area where President Wolde-Giorgis has given 10.2 hectares to Buckner to build a school. On the way, we grew to know and love Pastor Getahun Tesema, who has headed the Bright Hope ministry in Ethiopia for six years as a partner with Buckner. Getahun grew up in Ethiopia but fled the country in 1989 at age 22. He spent two and a half years in a refugee camp in Kenya. "I had been brought up in the Christian tradition with all its formality, but that is where I developed a personal relationship with Christ," he told us.

• A bright hope for foster children (2/24) • Laying a cornerstone in Ethiopia (2/23) • Sent to live at New Life Home (2/22) • In Nairobi's Gehenna (2/21) • Visiting a Masaai village (2/20) • Slums, churches and a new hope (2/18) • New regulations slow us down (2/17) • An African journey begins (2/16) • How you can support ministries in Africa

Eventually, Tesema moved to the United States, where he worked as a taxi driver, attended Dallas Theological Seminary and was part of the Ethiopian Baptist Church in Dallas. But he felt called back to his homeland, and he returned to Ethiopia to found Bright Hope ministry. The ministry ranges from evangelism to economic development—a vital need in a country plagued by unemployment and 70 to 80 percent illiteracy.

Buckner partnered with Bright Hope in its ministry to orphaned and abandoned children. Ethiopia is home to 4 million orphans—about 500,000 of them affected by AIDS. In Addis Ababa alone, 300,000 children live on the streets. Today, we saw the beginning of two ministries to address that need—a school in Bantu and a baby home in Addis Ababa.

We were privileged to participate in the groundbreaking dedication ceremony for the educational center in Bantu. Phase one of the building program will be a school for about 300 pre-Kindergarten to 4th grade children. Phase two would extend the curriculum through the 8th grade. Eventually, Getahun hopes the school also will include a post-primary component, with preparatory school for college-bound students and vocational training for young people who want to enter the work force.

Ken Hall and Getahun joined Ethiopia's president in setting the cornerstone for the building. Both the president and Ken spoke to the assembly, which not only included people from throughout the community, but also national media representatives and the district governor. Ken received title to the land for the school, and he promised construction would begin as soon as the building materials could be secured—a commitment of about $500,000. He also announced that Bright Hope formally was merging with Buckner to become an Ethiopian-led ministry, and he pledged that the school would exist to serve the people of Bantu. "In accepting the title to this land, we give it back to the children of Bantu," he said.

After the ceremony, we joined the president and other dignitaries under a tent for a lavish feast of traditional spicy Ethiopian dishes. We noted the large quantity of food, and Ken explained that after the president and his guests were served, the entire community would be able to participate in the meal.

Getahun explained about 200,000 Oromo people live in the Bantu district, and they are among Ethiopia's poorest people. He hopes the school will be a model that can be replicated elsewhere. His dream is to see 20 schools in 20 districts within 10 years, benefiting up to 1 million children and youth. Getahun also intends to start a church that will meet at the school, because there is no evangelical church in the area.

After lunch, we returned to Addis Ababa where Getahun showed us the baby home that is under construction. The three-story building going up in the western part of the sprawling city blends in well with the neighborhood—respectable-looking and built to last, but not opulent or Western in its appearance.

The home will take abandoned and orphaned babies birth to age 3. Buckner will have an adoption office at the baby home, handling both domestic and international adoptions, again with the permission and blessings of Ethiopia's president. A social worker will help place the children in adoptive homes.

Tomorrow, we will learn about Buckner's foster care program in Ethiopia and meet with some foster families to hear their stories.

Posted: 2/24/07

Dispatches: A bright hope for foster children

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Saturday, Feb. 24, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

After seeing some of Getahun's ministries this morning and visiting with him, I've decided "Bright Hope" is aptly named.

At the ministry's office, Getahun presented copies of his annual report for 2006, showing how more than 400,000 people benefited from the varied social ministries. With an annual budget of $500,000, the ministry includes foster care, programs for street children, basic skills development training, care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, food services and educational ministries.

Getahun Tesema's Bright Home ministry offers sewing classes for destitute women in Addis Ababa.

Bright Hope not only places children in foster homes, but also helps foster families become self-sufficient by offering micro-loans to help them start small businesses. Similarly, they help farmers by providing them high-yield seeds, and the farmers repay them by giving back seed from their next harvest.

Getahun told us the greatest challenge he has faced has been fundraising, and his greatest frustration has been spending time raising money when he could be spending that time in ministry. The merger with Buckner will lift much of that burden and allow him to devote his energy to supervising the people involved in direct, hands-on ministry to children in need.

• A bright hope for foster children (2/24) • Laying a cornerstone in Ethiopia (2/23) • Sent to live at New Life Home (2/22) • In Nairobi's Gehenna (2/21) • Visiting a Masaai village (2/20) • Slums, churches and a new hope (2/18) • New regulations slow us down (2/17) • An African journey begins (2/16) • How you can support ministries in Africa

On the way to a ministry site, I had the chance to visit with Getahun and learn more about him. He grew up in Shashamane, a small city in southern Ethiopia. When civil war broke out in Ethiopia and the communist government conscripted young men for the front lines—essentially using them as cannon fodder—he escaped to Kenya. He spent the next two and one-half years in a refugee camp outside Nairobi.

An American missionary-evangelist witnessed to him while he was in the refugee camp, and that is when he committed his life to Christ. Since Kenya did not allow all the refugees to resettle in their country permanently, Getahun applied to the United States and was accepted there. Working his way through school as a taxi driver in Dallas, he first attended Christ for the Nations Institute and then earned a degree in Christian management from Dallas Baptist University.

He later earned degrees in theology and Christian counseling from a university based in California (not Dallas Theological Seminary, as I had been told earlier). He also served as a minister at the Ethiopian Baptist Church in Dallas.

When he returned to Ethiopia with his wife to tend to some family affairs, he saw the need in his home country. "I saw a child in a dumpster, eating what he could find. I couldn't stop crying," he said. "The Lord moved me and used that to call me to Ethiopia. I determined that if it cost me my life to save one child, I still would come back."

Bright Hope Buckner teaches poor women in Addis Ababa the shoemaking trade.

He and his wife, Tegist, started their ministry with 20 children they rescued from the streets. They rented a house, a sewing machine and shoe-making equipment. Then they began training the youngsters in as seamstresses, tailors and cobblers.

Getahun holds dual citizenship in the United States and Ethiopia, and he undoubtedly could live a more comfortable life in America. But he and his wife have chosen to invest their lives in caring for the needy of their country. Three years ago, they adopted three abandoned girls, each from a different family of origin. Their adopted daughters now are 4, 8 and 12.

"I think God is happy with us because we keep our attention on the needs of the poor," he said.

We saw an example of the shoe-making and sewing classes that Bright Hope/Buckner offers in Addis Adaba. Many of the women in the classes are mothers who had turned to prostitution to support their children.

Buckner President Ken Hall presents a gift to Ethiopian President Wolde-Giorgis.

We also met a group of foster children and their caregivers. They welcomed us warmly, eager to shake our hands and have their photos taken. They welcomed us in limited English, and they seemed genuinely appreciative of the gospel song we sang for them.

After lunch, we had to change hotels, since the Sheraton was overbooked for the weekend. Then we spent a little time shopping for souvenirs for family and friends back home, and we visited a wonderful little coffee shop.

Believe it or not, we spent the evening at the presidential palace at a state dinner. Ethiopia's president insisted on entertaining us royally with a five-course dinner. He seems deeply moved by Buckner's desire to help meet the needs of children in his country.

Yesterday, when we were in Bantu, a little girl seemed startled when she saw Jay Abernathy. Her mother explained through an interpreter, "She saw you in a dream." Someone later explained that we probably were the first white people the little girl had ever seen, and many of the rural people believe white people are angels—particularly a blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy like Jay.

If being an angel means being a messenger of God, maybe they are right. We have a message to share, and a God-given responsibility to share it.

Tomorrow, we return home. But we don't have the luxury of going home as the same people we were a little more than a week ago.

The Buckner Africa mission vision team arrives at the Ethiopian presidential palace.

We cannot claim ignorance of the needs children face in this part of Africa. We must tell the story of orphaned and abandoned children, and we must support the ministries that are reaching out to them. We cannot turn our backs on Dickson, Getahun and those other people who are meeting the needs of poor children in Jesus‚ name.

We cannot forget the faces of smiling children at the Baptist Children's Center, the hugs we received from toddlers at the New Life Home or the empty stares of the hopeless children in the streets of Korogocho. We cannot forget the young mothers in Addis Adaba who are learning an honest trade so they no longer feel trapped into selling themselves to save their children, nor can we forget the foster families who are becoming self-sufficient at the same time they are rescuing children from the streets.

To whom much is given, much will be required. In God's name and for the sake of God's children, we cannot fail to act.

Updated: 3/16/07

Rx for church leaders:
Both rest and joy

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW—Church leaders should find both rest and joy in Jesus Christ as they serve their congregations and communities, speakers told participants at the 86th annual Panhandle-Plains Pastors’ and Laymen’s Conference at Wayland Baptist University.

D. L. Lowrie, pastor emeritus of the First Baptist Church in Lubbock, brought words of encouragement to pastors and laity in a series of messages about encountering Jesus in everyday situations of service and ministry.

In one sermon, Lowrie addressed ministry in small churches in a “megachurch world.” He pointed to the biblical example of John the Baptist, who refused to be discouraged when he was questioned about his diminishing number of followers as people turned to Jesus.

“The perception in small churches is sometimes that they aren’t adequate in some way, and they are always being compared to the big megachurches. Instead of finding the joy in ministry, they suffered depression and frustration,” Lowrie said. “The way to have joy in ministry in these settings is to look at John’s response.”

John found joy in ministry was rooted in gratitude, a joy of service and that of accomplishment, he said.

“What you’re doing is designed by God. You may be there because that’s the pleasure of the Father and a gift of his mercy, not a reward for your piety or righteousness,” he said. “As John said, ‘A man has nothing except what he has received from the Father.’ You should find joy in service to God by giving your all for that church in his name.”

Pastors and laity alike should find joy in helping others encounter Jesus through the ministry roles each plays, he stressed.

“We nurture a love for the Lord, not a love for ourselves. You’re to measure your ministry not by how people feel about you but by how they feel about the Lord,” he said. “That’s why John could say, ‘I’m happy to decrease as long as he increases.’”

David Dykes, pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, brought a series of messages about individuals in the Bible who encountered Jesus and the results of those experiences.

Dykes preached on several encounters with Jesus, including that of the demoniac in Luke 8. The scenes, as he interpreted them, featured a disturbed man, a demonic prayer for mercy, “deviled ham” as the demons are cast into the swine, and a delivered man, brought to sanity by Jesus’ healing touch.

“We sometimes try to treat the symptoms of a problem, but Dr. Jesus always goes to the root cause of a problem,” he said. “Anyone who comes to him finds that his power will change them for eternity.”

Howard Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo, spoke on the Lordship of Jesus. Other speakers included Bill Tinsley of the WorldconneX missions network and Randy Newberry, mobilization strategist with the International Mission Board, both of whom spoke on ministry and missions opportunities.

During lunchtime meetings, Dykes also spoke on leadership principles from the life of Jesus, and Jerrie Ann Salvato of Sheffield encouraged women with her testimony and songs about finding rest and healing in Jesus.

The conference also included a special session for Hispanic pastors and laypersons.

Officers of the Panhandle-Plains Conference elected at the meeting include President Richard Laverty of First Baptist Church in Perryton, President-Elect Steve Martin of Parkview Baptist Church in Plainview, First Vice President Troy Richardson of Temple Baptist Church in Amarillo, Second Vice President Gerald Bastin of First Baptist Church in Crowell and Secretary/Treasurer Charles Bassett of First Baptist Church in Weatherford.

Updated: 3/15/07

Baptist workers provide training
to church leaders in China

By Laurie Entrekin

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

SICHUAN PROVINCE, China (ABP) — What’s the greatest spiritual need in China today?

Bill and Michelle Cayard, Houston-natives who have worked in China since 2003, believe the country desperately needs more churches and trained leadership.

Case in point: Sichuan, a Western province of China where the Cayards live, is home to 100 million residents. But Sichuan has only 120 registered churches and 95 ordained pastors.

Bill Cayard teaches at the Hua Mei International Education and Training Center, which was started by Chinese Christians.

“Though small by percentage, Christian congregations in China grow quickly,” Bill Cayard said. “I wish space wasn’t an issue. We can see firsthand (that) as soon as space is available, a church is filled with seekers and Christians. People come out of curiosity. Neighbors invite neighbors, saying, ‘The Christian faith has a lot to offer. Come and see what you think.’”

As field personnel for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Cayards’ ministry lies primarily in partnering with Chinese pastors and churches. They often deliver greetings from congregations in the United States to churches in Sichuan province.

“We believe linking churches from the United States and China in partnership will allow us to learn from each other and to build up God’s kingdom,” Michelle Cayard said.

“Chinese churches are often resource-poor but faith-rich. They have withstood tests and trials that would severely test the faith of most American churches. One way we can encourage Chinese churches is to expand their vision of how they can reach their communities. Basic discipleship and leadership training are key.”

The Cayards also partner with Chinese Christians to organize seminars, pastor retreats and online courses for master of divinity programs.

“A church we recently visited will offer training next spring for 100 lay leaders from 20 different churches,” Michelle Cayard said.

“Those in attendance will receive basic instruction for preaching, theology, church administration and pastoral counseling. Most areas in Sichuan try to conduct such lay training one time a year, according to the farming schedules.”

Better education for lay leaders and pastors is vitally important, she said, especially for city churches looking to attract more young people, who tend to be more educated than older generations.

“The majority of churchgoers in China today are in the working class,” Michelle Cayard said. “As economic situations become more and more prosperous, it will become necessary to reach out to every segment of society. Those who are better educated will feel more comfortable learning from a well-educated pastor.”

The Cayards use Bible stories as part of their English-language lesson plans as one way to share their values without seeming confrontational to students.

Their work with Chinese organizations like the Hua Mei International Education and Training Center, started by Chinese Christians to help the poor and reach Chinese who may know little about Christianity, is a way of legally working in China.

“Hua Mei is a bridge between Chinese Christians and Western Christians, enabling social ministry,” Bill Cayard said. “Through this organization, CBF is able to partner in ways that are completely legal within Chinese society.”

In addition to teaching two classes at Hua Mei each week, the Cayards participated in English camps through Hua Mei at a large public boarding school last summer.

With 60 foreign teachers and more than 400 students, the two camps not only used Bible stories for lessons but also fostered a sense of Christian community through sports, campfire singing, drama and performances by a Christian worship band.

And they have more partnerships planned, from assisting in church construction and renovation to helping supplement rural pastors’ salaries and offering scholarships to students pursuing theological education.

It’s a lot of work, but it’s all good, the couple agreed.

“This is a great time in China,” Bill Cayard said. “People are curious and hungry for something to fill a void in their lives. God is using this opportunity, and lives are being transformed with the good news of Christ.”

Updated: 3/15/07

Don't ignore date violence, youth ministers told

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DALLAS—Abuse and violence in dating relationships is too prevalent to ignore, a gathering of youth ministers learned at a workshop at Lakeside Baptist Church in Dallas.

Representatives from

“Dating violence affects all types of people—all races, all ages and all economic groups,” said Eric May of Brighter Tomorrows.

While men can likewise be sexually assaulted, women are six times more likely to be victimized.

“Sexual assault is any type of sexual activity that you don’t agree to,” said Robin Reed, another Brighter Tomorrows educator.

Warning signs that the relationship may not be healthy include jealousy and possessive behavior; making all the decisions; frightening and unpredictable behavior; a history of violence; pressure to do things; abuse of drugs and alcohol; blaming; a history of bad relationships; a belief that men are to be in total control; warnings from friends and family; and relationships that become quickly intense.

“Sexual assault is not about lust. It’s about power and control,” Reed said.

Statistics show that 250,000 youth are sexually assaulted in Texas each year.

Many are surprise to find that 73 percent of sexual assault victims are victimized by someone they know, she continued.

The adolescent sexual assault curriculum provided by the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault puts those numbers even higher for teens. The curriculum purports that 56 percent are assaulted on a date, 30 percent by a friend, 11 percent by a boyfriend, and only three percent by someone they don’t know.

The curriculum goes on to state that 78 percent of victims tell their parents, but only five to six percent call law enforcement authorities.

Youth ministers were counseled to be prepared to learn that someone in their youth group has been a victim of sexual assault.

The proper responses include making them feel safe, remind them to preserve evidence and help them get health services immediately. Also, remind the victims they are not at fault, that they are not alone and that, in time, they will heal.

Many victims wonder if they somehow caused their attack, but Reed said consent is a very definite thing.

“Consent is defined by words or overt actions indicating a freely given permission to perform a particular sexual act. It is not a failure to resist or the absence of a ‘no.’ It is the presence of a ‘yes,’” she said.

Posted: 3/16/07

Around the State

• Houston Baptist University will be the site of a performance by the Southwestern Singers from Southwestern Seminary March 20 at 10:10 a.m.

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will hold its eighth annual health fair, Health Quest 2007, March 23 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The communitywide event will showcase more than 50 exhibitors from a variety of health- and wellness-related businesses.

• Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, will be the guest preacher at the spring revival of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The old-fashioned tent revival will be at 7 p.m. each evening, March 26-28.

Anniversaries

• Herman Martinez, fifth, as pastor of Templo Alpha and Omega in Waxahachie, March 9.

• Chuck Vance, 40th in ministry, March 18. He has been pastor of Calvary Church in Anna the past two years. The date also marks the church’s 33rd anniversary.

• George Nelson, 10th, as pastor of Grace Fellowship in Brenham, March 18.

• Gerald Spriggs, 10th, as minister of education at Eastridge Church in Red Oak, March 23.

• Curtis Jefferson Jr., 20th, as pastor of New Hope Church in Weatherford, March 25. A pre-anniversary service will be held March 23 at 7 p.m. with Joel Gregory as the guest speaker. A celebration service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

• Tracy Watson, fifth, as pastor of Padre Island Church in Corpus Christi, March 25.

• James Pool, 10th, as pastor of Tabernacle Church in Ennis, March 30.

• Oak Street Church in Graham, 75th, April 21-22. On Saturday, an ice cream social will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday’s worship service will be at 10 a.m. and will be followed by a catered meal and afternoon festivities. For more information, call (940) 549-3313. Joe Finfrock is pastor.

• Bacon Heights Church in Lubbock, 40th, April 22. The 10 a.m. worship service will be held at the Trinity School Great Room and will be followed by a catered meal. Author Stephen Mansfield will be the guest speaker. The meal will be $5, and tickets must be reserved by April 15. To make meal reservations or for other information, call (806) 795-5261. Jerry Joplin is pastor.

• Memorial Church in Pasadena, 70th, April 29. Festivities will include a reunion choir performance and a catered meal. For more information and meal tickets, call (281) 998-9051. Blake Lander is pastor.

Retiring

• Billy Dunn, after 52 years of chaplaincy ministry, Dec. 31. Dunn spent 35 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, with three tours of active duty that included a 16-month tour in Korea, a 30-month tour in Germany and a 19-month tour in Vietnam. He was chaplain of the Lufkin State School, Texas Department of Aging and Disabilities Services more than 34 years prior to his retirement at the end of the year.

• Mack Caffey, as pastor of First Church in Zapata, Jan. 28. He was pastor of the church more than five years and was in ministry 55 years. Among his other pastorates was Northwest Church in Corpus Christi, where he served 15 years. He is available for supply preaching and can be reached at (361) 241-6885.

• Brian Harbour, as pastor of First Church in Richardson, April 30. He has served the church the past 17 years of his 41 years of ministry. The church will hold a reception in his honor April 29 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. He served churches in Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida and Arkansas before coming to Richardson in 1990. He was chairman of the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 2002 and 2003. He also served on the board of the Baylor Alumni Association from 1991 to 1993 and from 2005 to 2006. He was on the board of advisers that recommended establishing Truett Seminary and served on the seminary’s board of advisers the first five years of its existence. He was an adjunct professor at the school until 2005. He also served on the Baylor board of regents from 1995 until 2005, and he has been a member of the board of Baylor Health Care System in Dallas since 1995. During his retirement, he will be available for supply and interim work and will teach classes at Dallas Baptist University. He also has established a nonprofit organization named Seminary-Plus that will provide coaching and continuing education to pastors.

Deaths

• Lonzell Payton Jr., 61, Jan. 26 in Bryan. He had been in ministry more than 22 years, serving as pastor of Morning Star and New Birth Temple churches in Bryan. He spearheaded merging two racially segregated churches into one, now known as North Bryan New Birth Church. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Shirley; sons, Lonzell III and Justin; brother, Jesse; sisters, Gladys Arcement, Vanessa Conners and Marilyn Payton; parents, Lonzell and Ollie Payton; and one grandchild.

• C.O. Moore, 87, March 4 in Bruceville. He was president of the Waco Baptist Senior Council. At Bruceville Church, he had been head deacon and Sunday school superintendent. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Geneva; daughter, Charlene Pamplin; three granddaughters; and two great-grandsons.

Events

• First Church in Rio Vista will hold a ministers’ wives’ tea April 21 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Rhonda Rhea, humorist, author and pastor’s wife, will be the guest speaker. Cost is $10 and due by April 14. To make reservations or for more information, call (817) 240-5464.

Ordained

• Chantz Cutts to the ministry at First Church in Lexington.

• Mark Lewis to the ministry at Dixie Frontier Church in Whitesboro.

• David Cornelius, Bill Evans, John Goodell, Trent Phillips, Charles Steed, Shane Tyree, H.D. White and Jack Young as deacons at First Church in Amarillo.

Revivals

• First Church, Goldthwaite; March 25-28; evangelist, Craig Curry; music, Dan Turner; pastor, Doug Holtzclaw.

• First Church, Slaton; March 30-April 1; evangelist, Joel Gregory; pastor, Cleve Kerby.

Posted: 3/16/07

Balmorhea’s Kids in the
Kitchen dish up doses of love

By George Henson

Staff Writer

BALMORHEA—While some people might think First Baptist Church in Balmorhea should consider closing its doors, the congregation is too busy cooking up ways to minister to children and their families to give that idea much thought.

The little church sits in the shadow of the Davis Mountains. It usually counts less than 10 people in Sunday school and, on a good Sunday, 25 in worship services. The majority are over 60 years old, and there are no children.

For the last couple of years, the church has had no official pastor, but retired Presbyterian minister Roy Byrd brings the messages each Sunday.

Still, the congregation has stoked its ministerial fires by serving the children who attend school next door. On Thursdays and Sundays, children crowd into what once was the church’s parsonage for cooking lessons.

The church started concocting the recipe for its Kids in the Kitchen ministry as it prepared for the 2005 Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

“One of the things we read about in those materials were children eating out of the garbage,” Mary Barfield explained. “You look around here, and you realize immediately this is not a wealthy community.”

She checked with the school district and learned 100 percent of the students received free lunches.

“They told me that if a school has more than 90 percent who qualify, they just make it across the board, and we exceed that 90 percent,” the retired educator explained. “And if they are struggling economically, they are also struggling in other ways.”

Those facts whetted Barfield’s appetite to minister to Balmorhea’s children, but since none attend church, she began to think of ways to get them there.

Children carefully prepare their ironing board grilled-cheese sandwiches.

Her thoughts turned to the enjoyable times she spent cooking with her children and grandchildren.

“In my experience, I’ve never known a child who didn’t love to cook. When they get older, it’s work, but when they’re young, it’s play,” she said.

So, flyers went up on the school bulletin board and in the post office, and the children came. Four-year-olds through second graders attend on Thursday afternoons after school, and third grade and older children participate on Sunday afternoons. The cooking classes run from October through December and February through May.

“We started out thinking we would have mostly girls, but we were wrong. We had boys. Now it’s more of a mix, but that first year, it was 10 boys and three girls,” Barfield said.

In its second year, the program averages seven to nine children on Thursdays and more than 10 each Sunday. The Sunday they made apple pies, 17 children participated.

The children learn a variety of skills, including liquid and dry measurements. They also practice their reading skills as they read their recipe. As they eat their snacks, Barfield reads a book to them.

The children also expand their eating habits, not only eating American foods they might not have tried, but international foods as well.

All of the children who attend Kids in the Kitchen are Hispanic, so the Iraqi dinner they prepared was a change for them—and their teachers too.

“When we prepared the Iraqi dinner, this gave us a chance to talk to them about how hard it is to grow up in a country where a war is going on,” Barfield explained. It also was an interesting experience for the children to eat the Chinese noodles and stir-fry vegetables with peanuts they prepared with chopsticks.

The children also are challenged to try new American foods, such as the eggplant dish they prepared.

“There were a lot of ‘yewwws’ while we are mixing things up, but no matter what we have made, the children not only try what they prepare, they eat it up. And if there are any leftovers, they take them home to their families,” Barfield said.

“I try not to cook things that I (usually) cook,” Barfield said. “I want it to be as fresh for me as it is for them.”

The children also have learned many inexpensive practical ideas that allow them to help prepare meals for their families. They have learned to prepare omelets in a plastic bag and to cook grilled-cheese sandwiches on an ironing board. The children always are excited when they report that they prepared their family’s meal.

Barfield and Katie Byrd are two of the primary volunteers, but it’s a ministry the entire church has supported, they said.

“From the very beginning, the church has been very supportive,” Barfield said. “When we grew to the point that we needed to move to the parsonage, there was never a question. Anytime we say we need something, the church is very forthcoming.”

While none of the children attends church services, the women remain confident God is blessing their efforts. One boy’s grandmother began attending, and all the families came to see the gingerbread houses the children made at Christmas.

Those successes encourage the women. And one girl who had been attending Kids in the Kitchen made a profession of faith in Christ during Vacation Bible School last summer.

“We believe it was the combination of her being exposed to a positive, caring attitude for months as well as what she learned that week at Vacation Bible School,” Barfield said.

The proof’s in the pudding.

Posted: 3/16/07

Book Reviews

Where Was God? Answers to Tough Questions about God and Natural Disasters by Erwin W. Lutzer (Tyndale House)

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Asian tsunami, Erwin Lutzer, senior pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago, thoughtfully offers a short, biblically informed view of natural disasters and the questions disasters raise about the character of God and the potential response of believers.

In the end, we must be present with, grieve with and help victims of disaster rather than spend our time debating and trying to interpret for others why God allowed such things to happen. As Lutzer puts it, “Many of us are better at trying to explain natural disasters than we are at weeping over them!”

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

He also writes, “Disasters remind the living that tomorrow is uncertain; so we must prepare for eternity today.” Even observing news of catastrophic events should remind us all that our lives are fragile and we must eventually face judgment. So, we should follow Christ and be prepared for any eventuality.

How we live each day and how we respond to suffering say something of Who we worship. “When disasters come, God is not on trial, we are.”

Greg Bowman, minister to students

First Baptist Church

Duncanville

Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ Within Your Personality Style by Mike Bechtle (Baker Books)

The Apostle Paul’s charge to his timid understudy Timothy, “Do the work of an evangelist” has sent chills up the spine of every believer with an introverted personality. In a society that favors and rewards extroverts, it’s unfortunate that most approaches to evangelism training are designed with the presumptive expectation that the learner will have an outgoing and engaging disposition.

One of the most valuable contributions of this book is to help the reader to understand his/her “spiritual type.” I expect few in the community of faith give any consideration to the fact each of us has a spiritual type that parallels our personality type. Some are expressive, demonstrative and outgoing, while others are quiet, reserved and reflective. We should not suppose that any one type is more or less “spiritual” than any other type but should, instead, recognize that each one plays a significant role in the rich diversity that is the body of Christ.

The author, Mike Bechtle, does a masterful job in helping every kind of spiritual/personality type in the family of faith discover how they can most effectively do the work of an evangelist.

Bobby Dagnel, pastor

First Baptist Church

Lubbock

Mysteries of the Southern Baptist Beliefs Revealed by Joseph Miller (AuthorHouse)

A distinguished naval surgeon and longtime Baptist layman drops anchor to discuss the 18 articles of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, or what he calls the Southern Baptist “mysteries.”

The work provides a polemic for the King James Version of the Bible and sutures discussions of nearly every theological and moral issue imaginable into a commentary of the Southern Baptist Convention’s most controversial statement of faith.

The 2000 Baptist Faith & Message’s greatest controversy is seen in its treatment of women.

The Baptist Faith & Message receives a fatiguing “physical” through examinations of the King James Version rendering of every Scripture passage it cites. The treatment is exhausting, though not-so-thorough. The scuttling of the Jesus criterion from Article 1 is ignored in favor of a defense of the King James Version. The 2000 BF&M preface is completely unnoticed—jettisoning any discussion of credalism.

This volume shares many valuable insights, but its absence of anchor amid biblical languages, manuscripts, hermeneutics and English biblical translation leaves this remedy without harbor.

Miller’s main salvo is that the 2000 BF&M does not concisely teach the plan of salvation. Yet his volume remains at sea, not delivering the decisive corrective to a meritorious observation.

Mark Dunn, pastor

Rosemont Baptist Church

Montrose, Colo.

Posted: 3/16/07

Baptist Briefs

Agee announces retirement from college association. Bob Agee has announced his retirement as executive director of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities, effective at the association’s June 2007 annual meeting or “as soon thereafter as a new executive director can be named.” Agee, 68, was president of Oklahoma Baptist University and also served as executive director of the Consortium for Global Education, a sister organization that promotes partnerships between association members and more than 80 colleges and universities worldwide.

History/heritage society moving to Mercer. Headquarters of the Baptist History and Heritage Society will relocate to Mercer University’s Atlanta campus in July. The move comes on the heels of the American Baptist Historical Society’s decision last September to consolidate and relocate its archival collections to Mercer’s Atlanta campus. Both relocations are major steps in Mercer’s aspiration to become a national center for Baptist scholarship.

LifeWay names Waggoner VP. Brad Waggoner has been elected to the new position of vice president for research and ministry development at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville. Tenn. Waggoner has taught at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Wayland Baptist University in Plainview and East Texas Baptist University in Marshall. He also was minister of education and college pastor at Elmcrest Baptist Church in Abilene.

Crawford to lead Richmond seminary. Florida pastor Ron Crawford will be nominated as president of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Va. The pastor of College Park Baptist Church in Orlando will be presented for election by the board of trustees of BTSR, an 18-year-old moderate Baptist seminary with more than 300 students. A native of Virginia and former trustee of the seminary, Crawford will succeed Tom Graves, who last fall announced he is retiring for health reasons. Graves, 58, has battled multiple sclerosis for several years. Crawford, 55, holds master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University, and a master of public administration degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. He previously served as pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., and was president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.