Posted: 2/12/06

COMMENT:
The pork chop

By Jinny Henson

Scientists recently discovered falling in love produces the equivalent of an amphetamine-induced high. I realize after 12 years of marriage that no human would voluntarily make this commitment unless they were smoking crack. Which leads me to this conclusion: God is pretty smart.

I’d done them; the blind dates. You go to be polite and have as much in common with the guy as the UnaBomber. My parents met on a blind date, and who was I to tempt fate should history repeat itself? I’m no obsessive-compulsive, but when you’re a girl dealing with something as serious as love here, you have to touch every light switch twice and avoid the cracks in the ground or you might just miss “the one.”

There was the relationship with the English major who insisted that we double date with other English majors. They would form the conversational Trinity discussing Thoreau and why he went into the woods. I, the intellectual Pee Wee Herman, was conversely pondering questions like, “In Dr. Seuss’ One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, why was the fish red? What made that fish so blue?”

I was convinced my junior year in college that God would either give me Steve or Mike for a husband, and I didn’t really care either way. I was being thoroughly generous in allowing God to give the final answer as to with whom I would grow old and wrinkly. Strangely enough, summer approached, and they both graduated from college having forgotten to fall madly in love with me. Since I had not even so much as gone out with either of them, I have no idea why this surprised me.

So, maybe not so lucky at love. But as I graduated from Baylor University and entered seminary, I sensed I was on the right track. My mother accused me of being too picky. I just didn’t want someone with incorrect grammar raising my children. Or someone who held his fork the wrong way. Or expected me in all of my Southern glory to actually PAY for my dinner. I knew Mom feared that my ship would never come in, but I had a fat beach umbrella and a cold Diet Coke, hunkered down in zestful expectation

Call it anticipation. Just the thought that Mr. Right could be standing behind me in the Cinnabon line thrilled me to no end. I was on the cusp and more ready for love than an Adkins dieter at an all-you-can-eat omelet bar.

The anticipation ebbed and flowed as my brain was being pumped full of theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Not such a hot crowd there. The field was rife with full-grown men in flood pants and tote bags. I was never going to marry a preacher, so I certainly wasn’t concerned.

My intentions were to get my master’s degree and head off to Atlanta and work for the Olympics. My friend Cindy Greeno at CNN and I already hatched a plan.

Besides, I was the bungee-jumping type. No holiness bun for this girl. I knew I was a pork chop with no desire to be squeezed into a Jell-O mold. Even if you blended the thing up and mixed it with Knox Gelatin, it still wouldn’t make.

I was never prim and proper and certainly didn’t reign in any of that “personality,” at seminary. My theology professor, Calvin Miller, began his brilliant discourse: “Jeremiah …”

“Was a bullfrog? “ I interjected. Oh, I was so proud of myself.

I looked normal enough on the outside, but my innards were blazing with wild dreams that no life as a preacher’s wife could hope to accommodate. I was quirky, too, giving no thought to stapling a hem in a pair of pants, spray-painting shoes a new color or trimming my own hair at midnight. My parents raised me to believe that anything was possible, whether it be do-it-yourself dentistry or painting the house. Life was one grand experiment to me, and the vanilla Minister’s Wife Petri Dish was one I could pass on.

A shoe then changed my life forever. I glanced down in Sunday school (what a messed up name for a place where adults go) and saw a good-looking shoe. My dad was men’s clothing manager for Neiman-Marcus and then Saks, so I knew a nice shoe when I saw one.

“Oh, I love your shoes!” I gushed in my filter-less way.

“Thank you,” he politely added with a furrowed brow.

“They remind me of my dad.” I emoted, head cocked respectfully with a pout as I thought of my sweet daddy.

He now looked at me as though I were nursing an octopus and politely nodded.

Shoe boy had a name: John. No tote bag either. I noticed as I flitted from class to class. He noticed my raucous laughter across campus. “There goes that crazy blonde,” he would tell his friends. No second thoughts, because I was never going to ever be a preacher’s wife.

OK, Watch this; this is funny. Tell God what you don’t want in life and see where it gets you.

It just so happened that John was going to be a pastor. As I would see him studying in the library or hear him ask for prayer for his mom who had cancer, I began having troubling thoughts. His dark hair, his discreet humor, the fire in his belly. This was one awesome guy that made Steve and Mike look like Napoleon Dynamite.

I was bitter in the realization that the best bakery in town just opened on a street I had forbidden myself to walk down. Darn that carrot cake. Just what was God up to? He asked me out—and paid. He was funny, irreverent, holy, smart and going to be a pastor? I didn’t know they came in this flavor.

Suddenly, I had visions of being the subject of prayer-request hour. “The preacher’s wife, well, we have learned that she has the demon of spontaneity and adventure. Let’s pray for her.”

I’d heard about girls at Wheaton College in Illinois who had “Passion and Purity” prayer times. Based on Elizabeth Elliot’s book, they would gather and pray for the pastor husbands they had not even met. I truly thought this was some wacky joke at first. Now, here I was entertaining the weensiest possibility that I would be in that sorority. Was I losing it or what?

Since Jesus had done a pretty great job with my life so far, I knew I had to pray about this—and quickly. Could this be my life? Could I really live in a parsonage and have 17 children named things like Zechariah and Shikinah? But this man is so incredible. I could tell he accepted me even in my most random of moments and even seemed smitten by my spunk. I couldn’t help but think that he liked me now, but what about when I teach the children to rap at Vacation Bible School and they garnish his wages?

My father in his infinite Bill Richardson wisdom had a solution to my quandary: “Reel him into the boat, Jinny, and if you don’t like him, you can always throw him back.” That innocent statement turned a corner in my mind, and I knew from that day on I would have to learn to deal with being a preacher’s wife.

I got Shang-Hied. Pure and simple. The old switch-a-roo. John asked me to marry him on top of Mount Mitchell while he was the camp pastor at Ridgecrest Camp for Boys just four months after our Feb. 13 date. We were married a year after that. We finished seminary together and in 12 years have had two kids, two parents’ funerals, started two churches and owned four houses.

The dreams I’d so fiercely treasured, convinced that no pastor’s-wife-life would allow have all come true. He is immensely proud of his wife, the stand-up comedian.

Only in God’s economy can what we fear the most become the treasure we would never choose to live without.

Jinny Henson is an author and stand-up comic who performs for churches and comedy clubs nationwide. When not unleashing her wacky sense of humor, this Baylor University graduate is a preacher's wife, nutty blonde and soccer mom. You can find out more about her at www.jinnyhenson.com

Posted: 2/09/07

Last of Arizona Baptist fraud
convicts sentenced to prison

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

PHOENIX (ABP)—One of the most egregious cases of fraud in non-profit history came to a close Feb. 2, when the former treasurer of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona was sentenced.

Donald Deardoff, 49, was ordered to serve four years in prison and pay $159 million to victims of an investment scam. He received the sentence after pleading guilty in 2001 to two counts of fraud. Four other former foundation employees were also sentenced to lesser punishments Feb. 2.

The decision for jail time came as a surprise from Judge Kenneth Fields, who could have classified the crimes as misdemeanors. Prosecutors had recommended only one year of time in the county jail.

Former foundation President William Crotts and General Counsel Thomas Grabinski were sentenced in September 2006 to eight and six years in prison, respectively, on fraud and racketeering charges. Both must pay $159 million in restitution to investors, although it’s unlikely they’ll be able to repay the full amount. They each earn 35 cents an hour working as a clerk and an aide in prison.

The foundation collapsed in 1999 after state regulators ordered it to stop selling securities. Controlled by the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, it had generated money by soliciting funds from clients —mainly elderly Baptists —ostensibly to build churches and retirement homes.

Instead, courts found, foundation leaders used the funds for a classic pyramid scheme. The foundation shuffled bad debt and overvalued property between phony companies, paying high profits to backers from the money paid in by subsequent investors.

About 11,000 investors lost more than $550 million in the foundation’s collapse.

The other four former foundation employees sentenced Feb. 2 were Harold Friend, 73; Richard Rolfes, 50; Edgar Kuhn, 62; and Jalma Hunsinger, 69. They received supervised probation terms and were ordered to pay thousands of dollars in restitution.

Posted: 2/09/07

Community service makes impact
on teens' faith development

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

WACO—Serving meals to homeless people at a church-sponsored shelter can have a greater impact than sitting in a pew every Sunday morning on how a teenager’s faith develops, a new study has concluded.

“Involvement in community service is far more significant to the faith development of teens than involvement in worship,” said Michael Sherr, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Baylor University.

But volunteer service in faith-motivated ministries to meet human needs has a direct impact on how involved teenagers become in a variety of religious practices—including worship, Bible study and prayer, he noted.

“The best scenario is involvement in worship and prayer, living out faith through service followed by time committed to study and reflection,” he said. “The ideal is preaching the gospel and doing the gospel together.”

Sherr worked with two colleagues in Baylor’s School of Social Work, Dean Diana Garland and Associate Dean Dennis Myers, and Terry Wolfer from the University of South Carolina on a study that examined how community service is related to the faith maturity and faith practices of adolescents in churches.

As part of a larger study funded by the Lilly Endowment, the researchers surveyed 631 adolescents from 35 Protestant churches in six states. They found an indisputable link between community service, faith maturity and faith practices.

“The fact is that service that gives kids a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives has a profound impact on their faith,” Garland said. “Faith is deepened when they feel called out to do something. Far more than recreational activities or retreats—or even Bible study and worship—it really matures their faith.”

That realization should make a difference in the way churches seek to reach teens and help them develop as Christians, she noted.

“Churches have tended to see service as an add-on. This study suggests they might think of it at the heart of ministry—as a way of engaging young people who are looking for their lives to have meaning and purpose and who find it pouring themselves out in response to the needs of others,” she said.

It also offers a way for churches to influence the lives of young people who may be reluctant to attend worship services or Sunday school classes but who are willing to join their friends in volunteer service, Sherr added.

If mature Christian adults work alongside teenagers and help them process what they learn through service, those teachable moments can make a profound impact on teens, he noted.

“Their faith is developing, and they don’t have to be in pews to do it,” Sherr said.

The greater the interaction between teenagers and the people who receive ministry—and the deeper the relationship between the teens and adult Christian mentors—the more profound the impact on faith development, Garland added.

“It’s a continuum,” she noted.

A one-day project cleaning up a city park, where teens work alongside adult role models, can have some impact. A project that puts teens in direct contact with people in need—such as volunteering in a homeless shelter or building a Habitat for Humanity house—makes a deeper impression. And ongoing contact with the same people over a long time, such as making Meals on Wheels deliveries or regularly visiting particular nursing home residents has the greatest potential for shaping faith, she explained.

“In the depth of relationships, young people learn to find God in one another,” Garland said. “It’s the interaction that matters. We learn faith not only by acquiring knowledge, but—more significantly—through relationships.”

In their report, the researchers concluded: “Involvement in authentic service to real needs, alongside parents or other adults whenever possible, accompanied by reflection on the connections between service experiences and religious teachings and other practices—perhaps with some pizza and ‘fun’ mixed in—can serve as a fruit-bearing path for ministry to teenagers. Moreover, this approach to ministry treats teenagers as partners in ministry rather than objects of ministry, an important and empowering distinction for developing new generations of spiritual leaders for today as well as tomorrow.”

Posted: 2/09/07

Healthy families bring others closer to Christ

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO—The peace Christ offers draws people to him—if they aren’t driven away by the conflict in Christians’ lives, David Hormachea, host of the Vision Para Vivir media ministry, told participants at the Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

Non-Christians want the peace and joy Christ offers through a relationship with him, but sometimes they are turned off when they look at the family lives of people who call themselves Christians, Hormachea told the conference, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. They see broken families, divorced spouses and fighting children and wonder how powerful the gospel can be, he added.

A member of the praise team from South San Fildelfia Baptist Church in San Antonio sings during the Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

Hormachea urged Hispanic Texas Baptists to focus on their families in an effort to reflect what life in Christ can be like. A healthy Christian family presents a positive image of Christ, he said.

Nurturing a healthy family requires parents who spend time reading and studying the Bible and growing in their relationship with God, Hormachea explained. Those parents should then invest themselves in each other and their children as Christ has called them to do.

The health of a Christian’s relationship with God is based on how well he hears God speaking to him through the Bible and prayer, he explained, comparing it to family relations. Similarly, the health of a married couple’s relationship is based on how well a husband and wife hear each other, he said.

If family members invest in each other, they will reflect the values of their faith and draw people to Christ, Hormachea stressed.

“An evangelistic church not only talks about Christ,” he said. “It lives its principles.”

Investing in one’s family does not mean there will not be any troubling times, Hormachea said.

Fabio Murillo plays the saxophone during the Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

“All families and all marriages will have conflict,” he said. But because healthy Christian families already have invested in themselves, they can more easily work through the conflict, he emphasized.

A relationship with Christ brings a joy to people that supersedes any difficult situation that may be happening, Hormachea said. God carries people through the tough times, strengthening them day-by-day.

“Individual happiness is not dependent on things, circumstances of our lives or the people we’re with,” he said.

Posted: 2/09/07

Sale of lottery doesn’t add up,
gambling opponents insist

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

AUSTIN—Gov. Rick Perry’s proposal to sell the lottery just doesn’t add up, according to Texas Baptist gambling opponents.

Suzii Paynter, director of the Texas Christian Life Commission, and Weston Ware, legislative spokesman for Texans Against Gambling, are two of many bipartisan leaders who questions Perry’s logic in wanting to sell the lottery to a private group a year after the lottery recorded its highest sales and when the state has a $14 billion surplus.

“Perry believes he can get $14 billion for the lottery,” Paynter said. “The surplus in the state is $14 billion. I find that a bit ironic.”

In his State of the State address Feb. 6, Perry proposed to sell the lottery and use the proceeds to create endowments that would fund public education, cancer research and a new health insurance program.

The state currently provides an overall direction for the lottery, but the strategy already is carried out by independent contractors who print the tickets, recruit distributors, collect data and ship tickets.

“Imagine the possibilities if we create a permanent endowment for public education, a permanent source of funding for making health insurance more affordable and available, and a long term source of substantial funding to fight a disease that touches the life of virtually every Texan,” Perry said in his address.

Perry’s proposal received a mixed reaction at best, with leaders from both parties stepping forward to question his plan. The proposed $8.3 billion public education endowment would yield about $750 million a year in interest, $250 million less than $1 billion the lottery contributes each year. Revenue from the lottery funds a small portion of the budget for public education.

Ware believes the projected drop in public education funding is one of the primary reasons selling the lottery is a bad idea, but he said it’s a bad idea for other reasons,as well.

“Number one, the numbers don’t work,” he said.  “That is the truth.  Number two, it would turn over to private companies a windfall monopoly on the operation of a vice that’s known to be addictive and harmful to society.”

Paynter wondered if Perry is trying to distance the state from a lottery that has not produced the support for public schools that was projected each year.

“I cannot resist in pointing out that the lottery has not always lived up to the promises that Texans expected when they approved it,” she said. “So in that light, I don’t blame the governor for wanting to sell it.”

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Washington, D.C., each have considered privatizing their lotteries, but none have done so. Privatization would provide up-front payments to states for long-term leases.

Perry argued in his address that Texas must act fast to sell its lottery before other states do.

“Two states are currently trying to sell their lotteries and several more are likely to follow,” he said. “If we delay, the market price is likely to be substantially less in the years to come. But if we act now, we can invest in our classrooms, our laboratories and hospitals—giving hope to those who need it most.”

Posted: 2/09/07

Aggies in New Orleans see
big picture of God’s work

By Marilyn Stewart

Louisiana Baptist Convention

NEW ORLEANS—Texas A&M University students from First Baptist Church of College Station see their part in rebuilding New Orleans much like the inner workings of the engineering systems they study—a small component in the larger machine that God is operating in New Orleans.

“We came to do whatever we could in four days,” recent A&M graduate Emily Guevara said. “Knowing that others will come behind us and continue the work makes us know that this is not about us; it’s about what God is doing.”

Ryan Plesko from First Baptist Church in College Station installs an interior frame.

Led by college pastor Ty Cope, the 14-member group was the third team from Expression College Ministry to work in New Orleans since Katrina. More than 50 of the 125 students involved in the college ministry have participated, and more teams are arriving.

The group postponed a mission trip to Thailand immediately following Katrina, going instead to New Orleans to clean up home interiors in the most heavily damaged areas of the city. Cope said the loss became real to the students as they carried out ruined pictures, children’s toys and mementos of every day life.

“That’s when it hit home that the flood impacted families,” Cope said. “And our love for the people of New Orleans began.”

Meaghan Gasch, a piano major and third-time team member, said the media accounts fell short in conveying the full extent of the devastation. Motivated by the enormity of the disaster, Gasch said, “We did things we didn’t think we could do.”

Recently, the college team worked in conjunction with Operation NOAH Rebuild, the initiative of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board to help rebuild New Orleans area homes.

What made the recent trip different, Cope said, was that the students were rebuilding—installing insulation and hanging drywall—rather than tearing out, and the students spent the week getting to know the homeowner.

Savannah Evans, a university student and member of First Baptist Church in College Station, uses an electric drill to hang drywall.

Lillian Freeman, a lifelong New Orleans resident, fled with her daughter and grandson to an upper story of an adjacent apartment complex when rising water endangered their safety. Her testimony to the students was that God has been faithful through it all.

“To see how God has taken care of her in something this big reminds me that God is sovereign and can take care of anything in life,” Gasch said.

Both veteran and first-time team members agreed getting to know “Ms. Lillian,” her grandson and her nephews was the most fulfilling part of the trip. Students spent time playing with the kids and purchased a football for the grandson.

“I’ve been hugging them every day since they came,” Freeman said. “It’s a miracle, and I’m passing NOAH’s name on to everybody I know.”

Working in New Orleans has given the students a vision beyond the dorm room and their own activities and has taught them to be servant leaders, Cope said. “They learn what love looks like.”

“Ty told us we didn’t come just to rebuild a house, but to show God’s love,” Guevara said. “We can’t solve every problem in the city, but we can help this family.”

Students from First Baptist Church in College Station pose with a New Orleans resident after working on her home.

Expression College Ministry emphasizes that faith is best communicated when serving others. Senior architectural student and third-time team member Ryan Collins said he has found his own faith bolstered when helping others.

The admonition in James to care for the widows and children in need is a call to action, Collins said. “Talking only goes so far. You have to go out and do.”

When asked if a one-week mission trip makes a difference, Collins said: “I may not see the difference we have made, but it doesn’t matter if I do. We are still called to be the light of the world.”

Posted: 2/09/07

BaptistWay Bible Series for February18

God still is a God who sends

• John 20:1-21

By David Wilkinson

Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth

Although the narrative of the fourth Gospel makes clear women were numbered among Jesus’ faithful followers, and several women played important roles in the unfolding drama of Jesus’ life and ministry, the spotlight has shined clearly on Jesus and his male disciples.

Now, in the dark despair that has followed Jesus’ brutal execution, the scene opens in chapter 20 with a solitary figure who makes her way before dawn to the borrowed tomb where Jesus’ lifeless body had been lain.

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“While it was still dark” (v. 1) is more than a description of the pre-dawn conditions. It echoes the theme of darkness and light woven throughout the Gospel. It also describes the heartbrokenness and grief Jesus’ followers had experienced on Golgotha—a darkness beyond any night they had known or imagined. Jesus had come as light and life into the world in the glowing promise that the darkness could not overcome the light (1:5), but that light and life had been snuffed out.

Witnesses to the wonder

Exhausted and numbed by grief, Mary Magdalene returns to the tomb. She had been among the small collection of followers who had gathered near the cross, watching helplessly as Jesus died (19:25). Now, according to John’s account, she is the first witness to the empty tomb. After seeing the stone had been rolled away from the entrance, she assumes grave robbers have come (not an unusual crime in that day). She runs to share that news with Peter and “the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved” (v. 2), assumed by many scholars to be John, the author of the fourth Gospel.

The unnamed disciple outruns Peter, peers into the tomb and sees only the linen burial cloths lying there, but does not enter. Peter steps inside and also sees the cloths, including one that had been placed on Jesus’ head, now rolled up and sitting to the side (vv. 5-6).

Significantly, as the unnamed disciple joined Peter inside the tomb, “he saw and believed,” despite the fact that the disciples “as yet … did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (v. 10). The statement not only underscores the nature of belief in Jesus, a theme of the Gospel, but anticipates Jesus’ response later in the day to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (v. 29).

Eyes of faith

Framing the experience of the two disciples, who then return to their homes (v. 10), is Mary Magdalene, and the next paragraph is a gentle and moving account of the first follower to see the resurrected Christ. Unlike the two disciples who saw only the grave cloths, Mary peers through her tears into the tomb and sees a pair of angels (v. 11). Surprisingly, there is no evidence of fear on her part. They ask why she is weeping, and as she responds, she turns to see Jesus.

Jesus repeats the angels’ question, but adds, “Whom are you looking for?” (v. 15), which, as we have seen, is one of the underlying questions of the Gospel narrative. The eyes of faith, however, are not yet focused, not yet free from the blindness of grief and despair. Mary sees, but does not “see,” and assumes the man is the caretaker or gardener. Only when she hears Jesus call her name does she recognize him. Just as he had promised, the sheep know the voice of the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep (10:11-18).

Jesus’ response to what must have been an immediate impulse to embrace him, asking Mary not to cling or hold on to him, may be the writer’s way of emphasizing that this brief portion of Jesus’ ministry is a kind of transition from his historical existence to his heavenly glorification and reunion with the Father. His mission now fulfilled, the close bond between teacher and disciple cannot simply be resumed on the old terms. Everything has changed.

Sent into the world

Later that evening, the disciples had gathered, perhaps in the same upper room where they had eaten the Last Supper. We only can imagine the range of emotions as they pondered what Peter and John had seen that morning and talked of Mary Magdelene’s report of her encounter with the Master outside the tomb. Suddenly, Jesus appeared among them.

“Peace be with you,” he said. Perhaps at that moment, several of them remembered his farewell speech when Jesus had assured them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (14:27).” After showing the disciples his hands and side, Jesus repeated the words, “Peace be with you,” and then added John’s form of the Great Commission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (v. 21).

The God of the Bible is a God who sends. So it comes as no surprise as we near the end of the Gospel that the risen Christ, who in the mystery of the Incarnation had been born into human history to live, minister and give his life as God’s Son, now speaks words of peace and commissioning to his stunned but overjoyed disciples as he prepares to send them into the world as witnesses to God’s love.

The disciples, and all who choose to follow Jesus, are more than followers. Christians are called to live in the world as God’s sent people. We are sent to share his mission, to live as he lived, to love as he loved.

Discussion questions

• What is the significance of the resurrection for you? What difference does it make in the way you live?

• What might happen if we were to take seriously our calling, our commissioning, as followers of Jesus who are sent into the world to live lives that are holy and wholly different from the rest of the world?

Posted: 2/09/07

Bible Studies for Life Series for February 18

When you see Jesus, you see God

• John 5:17-23,36-42,46-47

By Kenneth Lyle

Logsdon School of Theology, Abilene

My mother likes to tell a story about me when I was just a small child. It seems I had very definite ideas about who I was and what I should be called.

I am named for my father Kenneth Ralph Lyle, which makes me Kenneth Ralph Lyle Jr. I have never liked being Kenneth, Kenny, or worse yet, Junior. I have always preferred being called Ken. I suspect that preference stems from the fact that my father most often is called Ken.

When I was a little boy, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends got a big kick out of calling me Kenneth and waiting for my angered reply: “I’m not Kenneth! I’m Ken Lyle, Jr.!”

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Like father like son, or so the saying goes. With my own son, Walker, the connection rests not on our sharing the same name but stems from our similar features and modes of expression. Hardly a day goes by when someone does not say to me: “Walker is your spitting image.” When Walker was about 3 years old, like father like son took on a whole new meaning.

We were driving down a particular stretch of highway in Louisville, Ky., that was always filled with traffic. On previous occasions, when I had been in a hurry, I had made my displeasure with the crowded conditions very clear. On this day, however, I was in no particular hurry, but Walker, in his car seat was having none of it. As I sat patiently waiting for the light to change and the cars to start moving, Walker in his best imitation of me pounded on his car seat and yelled out, “Get out of the way you idiot!” Like father like son, indeed.

When you see the son, you see the father. This is perhaps the strongest and most important claim Jesus makes in John’s Gospel. Unlike the negative picture you might have of me in view of the actions of my young son; the Gospel of John makes it absolutely clear that God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, is seen and understood most clearly in the person of Jesus.

John makes this explicit claim from the very beginning: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). From that astounding opening assertion, the gospel continues reflecting on and amplifying that essential claim—like father, like son.

The focal passages come at the beginning of a cycle of events in John’s Gospel that center on a series of Jewish festivals. Here, an “unnamed feast” is the occasion for a miraculous healing of a man who had been “invalid for 38 years” (John 5:5). The narrative provides several interesting details about the healing, including information about the pool beside the Sheep Gate and the tradition about why sick people waited there for healing.

Most intriguing is the account of the conversation between Jesus and the man, including Jesus’ query, “Do you want to get well?” From a man 38 years invalid, the answer should have been obvious, yet his answer seems to indicate he had lost hope of ever receiving healing. Jesus heals the man, and then the narrative takes a dark turn.

Jesus’ healing action takes place on the Sabbath, and it sets in motion events which allow Jesus to reflect publicly on his vital intimate connection to God the Father. The healed man is caught violating Sabbath work rules by carrying his mat (John 5:10-13). The man’s interaction with the legalistic religious folks points them to Jesus as the perpetrator of this transgression, and they begin to persecute Jesus. Jesus’ answer to these legalistic religious folks provides an explicit claim of unique and unbreakable connectedness between Jesus and God the Father (vv. 17-23).

Jesus invokes powerful witnesses to the truthfulness of his claim. Jesus does not witness to himself (vv. 31-32); rather, he points to the testimony of John the Baptist (vv. 33-35); the testimony of his own mighty works (v. 36); the testimony of the Father (vv. 37-38); and the testimony of Scripture (vv. 39-40).

None of these proofs are adequate for Jesus’ opponents, but we should not expect them to be. Jesus concludes his statements to them with a resignation to their hardness of hearts: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (vv. 46-47).

John’s earlier claim, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (1:11) receives powerful corroborating evidence. The people who should have recognized Jesus most clearly, most clearly reject him.

That this story and discourse comes in the context of a cycle of festivals points to the clear contrast between those who see God in Jesus and those who see God in rules and regulations. Jesus comes to say that sometimes even institutionalized religious practices get in the way of seeing God at work in the world. Jesus is Lord of the festival, Lord of the Sabbath, Lord of creation. Jesus is the very intention of God, and when we see and experience Jesus, we see and experience God.

The sad truth is that some may never grasp or be grasped by this fundamental truth. John tells us “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). While it is true many beheld the glory of God in Christ, it is equally true that some just saw flesh.

For those who need absolute proof, there will never be enough—for those who experience God in and through Jesus Christ, absolute proof is not necessary. Like father, like son indeed—when you see Jesus, you see God.

Discussion questions

• Jesus’ claims of a special, unbreakable connection to the Father come in the context of challenges to his right to heal on the Sabbath. Is it possible we sometimes place limits on the lordship of Jesus over every aspect of life?

• Do you feel a need to have absolute proof of Jesus’ status as “the Word become flesh”?

• When you look at Jesus, what do you learn about God?

Posted: 2/09/07

Explore the Bible Series for February 18

Have courage to act on faith

• Esther 5:1-3; 7:1-6, 9-10

By Howard Anderson

Diversified Spiritual Associates, San Antonio

Esther took her life in her hands by coming into the king’s presence uninvited, but the king received her and asked what she wanted. Esther revealed to the king she and all her people in his kingdom had been marked for death by Haman’s devious and evil scheme. On learning of Haman’s treachery, the king commanded he be hanged on the gallows Haman had built for Mordecai.

Christians should step out by faith whenever God calls them to do so, trusting God will work out his will through their obedience. When making an effort to defend particular groups or individuals, Christians should devise means of accurately presenting the facts to people who are in a position to help. We are to do all we can to defend helpless and vulnerable people, trusting God to use us to help them.

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Step out by faith (Esther 5:1-3)

On the third day following the third night, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s house. He was seated on the throne in the royal house, over against the gate. When he saw Esther, she obtained favor in his sight, and he held out the golden scepter to her. When she drew near and touched it, the king inquired of her request and promised it would be granted.

The queen’s simple request was that the king and Haman would make haste and attend a banquet prepared for him. The king, knowing that Esther must have had an unusual reason for daring to approach him, asked her what she wanted. He promised her “half of the kingdom.” Perhaps the phrase was a common form of exaggeration among royalty. Although it probably was exaggerated, the statement certainly showed the king’s favorable attitude toward her.

Who gave her wisdom to carry out such a plan is not stated. It could be she had a conference with Mordecai, or it may be divine inspiration alone guided her. In either case, Esther stepped out by faith and what she did was the right thing, and God worked out every detail of the plan for the good of his people.

State the facts (Esther 7:1-6)

Esther repeated her address (Esther 5:8) and now added her request. Esther asked the king to spare her life and the lives of her people. This latter appeal was an impassioned plea to the king in that she also disclosed her true identity to him for the first time. Esther told the king she and her fellow Jewish people “have been sold,” referring to Haman’s bribe to the king (Esther 3:9).

Esther’s speech had a dramatic effect on the king. She had aroused more than his curiosity. He was angry. The life of his own queen was in danger because of a plot by one of his trusted men.

Esther finally exposed the culprit. It was none other than Haman, the “adversary and enemy.” It is no wonder Haman was afraid before Esther and the king. In his evil plan to kill his enemy, he had unwittingly threatened the queen’s life.

See justice served (Esther 7:9-10)

Harbonah, the eunuch, spoke at a critical moment to the ruler. He disclosed the story of the gallows Haman had prepared for Mordecai and told the king where it was located. He reminded the monarch of Mordecai’s bravery on behalf of the king. Ahasuerus took Harbonah’s cue and commanded his servants to hang Haman on those very gallows.

Discussion questions

• Why is it sometimes hard to do what we know to be right?

• What was Esther risking by coming forward before the king? Is it similar at all to what Christians might face today?

Posted: 2/02/07

TOGETHER:
A way for Baptists to bless the world

Word comes to us that nine Christian pastors have been jailed in Zimbabwe. The Baptist World Alliance has called for release of these pastors, who are working for peace and justice. This is but one example of what is happening in many places. And it is one of the reasons it is so important for Baptists from across North America to gather in Atlanta a year from now.

There is strength in numbers and in unity. Texas Baptists will join Baptists from across Canada, Mexico and all 50 states to celebrate our unity in the great gospel of Jesus Christ. The special emphasis for this meeting will be to help Baptists speak a clear word to a watching and listening world that we are Jesus People.

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

We believe God loves the world so much that he sent Jesus and those who follow him into the world so people can have eternal life and not perish.

We believe God honors his word and his promises, and we can preach boldly the truth of God to a confused, broken and frightened world.

We believe God expects those who name themselves after Christ to live as he lived and love as he loved.

We believe following Jesus means following him into the streets where people are wounded, lonely, sick, suffering and lost.

We believe honoring Jesus and praising God cannot be done with integrity and meaning if we are not present with the people Jesus loves and died to save.

We believe that in Christ we are to treat one another as brothers and sisters who love one another, whatever our race or language.

We believe in religious liberty for all people. The gospel is free for all and cannot be limited by government nor should the church seek to use government to persuade or influence faith.

We believe faith is a matter of individual decision and response, prompted by the Holy Spirit. Faith is a gift of God’s grace and must never be the result of coercion.

We believe Jesus made it clear what he was about, and he made it clear we are to be about the same things. “As the Father has sent me, so send I you,” he said to the first disciples. To do what? Care for the sick and bring healing. Care for the prisoners and visit them. Care for the stranger and welcome them. Care for the homeless, the naked, the hungry and thirsty and do something about it. Care for the children, no matter how busy you are. Care for the oppressed and seek to release them from their bondage. Care for the lost and preach the gospel to them.

Where does that all come from? Jesus’ own words and deeds. It is all in the gospels. Note especially John 3:16-17, Luke 4:18-19, Matthew 25:34-46, Luke 7:18-23 and Matthew 28:18-20.

What could it mean to our world if we Baptists said all of this with one voice, from one place, at the same time? I believe it would bless the world. I believe it would draw people to Christ because they could say, “Look, how those people love one another.” It also could change the way Baptist churches see the significance of their mission and ministry in the world. And I believe it would encourage many churches that are not Baptist to want to be more about Jesus’ kingdom business, too.

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

Updated: 2/08/07

Bible Studies for Life Series for February 11

True belief engenders action

• John 3:1-8,13-18

By Kenneth Lyle

Logsdon School of Theology, Abilene

The dramatic event of Jesus’ cleansing the temple precedes his nighttime conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus (John 2:12-22). In the verses immediately preceding the focal passage, the narrative provides an important transitional note. In John 2:23-25, we read about Jesus being in Jerusalem during the Passover feast and doing miraculous signs. Because of these “signs,” many people “believed in his name” (v. 23). However, the narrative tells us, “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men” (v. 24).

The sense of the statement is that Jesus did not believe in their believing. From the Gospel writer’s post-resurrection perspective, there was good reason for Jesus not to believe in the believing of every person. Here in these context verses, we see a portrait of humanity in every era. Jesus knows the hearts and mind of all people, and “not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 7:21). So what must a person do in order to be saved, to “see the Kingdom of God”? (John 3:3).

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The Gospel of John’s answer to that question comes in an encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. The story of Nicodemus’ visit to Jesus provides the occasion for the first of several long theological discourses given by Jesus in the Gospel. Each discourse surrounds an event or sign and contains one or more key statements about a key aspect of Christian faith (for example, “you must be born again;” “for God so loved the world …”).

In the opening verses of chapter 3, we learn about Nicodemus. He is an important man, a ruler of the Jews, a community leader, a member of the Sanhedrin, but perhaps most importantly, Nicodemus is a first-class example of why Jesus did not believe in all human believing. He comes to Jesus at night (v. 2). In John’s way of telling the story, this is more than just a time notification. Nicodemus’ “nighttime coming” to Jesus also is a symbol of his spiritual condition. Nicodemus is in the dark, both literally and spiritually.

John reveals to us Nicodemus has an ironic misunderstanding of Jesus’ identity. He says, “We know” (v. 2) but he really does not know. Nicodemus, like the others at the end of chapter 2, has put his faith in signs. The opening words of Jesus’ response—“no one is able”—contrasts Nicodemus’ finite, human perspective, with Jesus’ eternal, kingdom perspective.

In reply to Nicodemus’ signs-based faith, Jesus states: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (v. 3). The key word in the statement and the point of confusion for Nicodemus is the Greek word anÿthen, which can be translated as “again,” “anew” or “from above.”

Nicodemus clearly understands the statement to refer to another natural birth, which is an idea beyond his or anyone’s comprehension (v. 4). Jesus offers a clarifying statement about the necessity of being born of “water and the Spirit” (vv. 5-6). This phrase provides for various interpretations—water as representative of natural birth, Spirit as new life in Christ; water as baptism, Spirit as the gift of the Spirit.

All interpretive arguments aside, what seems clear is that Jesus speaks here about the human need to experience not just physical birth, but spiritual birth that comes from God. At this point, Nicodemus gets stuck.

Nicodemus’ final question “How can this be?” shows him to be stuck in the flesh. Like so many other characters in John’s Gospel, Nicodemus experiences a reversal. He comes to Jesus as a “knower” and leaves not knowing. The temporary departure of Nicodemus from the narrative paves the way for Jesus’ words about the nature and necessity of salvation (vv. 11-21). Nicodemus’ journey with Jesus is not complete.

John returns to Nicodemus in 7:50-51 and 19:39-42, and demonstrates his development toward belief. Here, however, the focus is on what Jesus says about God’s desire that all humanity experience abundant, eternal life in and through Jesus Christ.

There are very few “musts” for the Christian, but Jesus states one of them very clearly in the third chapter of the Gospel of John—humans must acknowledge that God has acted decisively in Jesus Christ to offer salvation to the whole world. God desires a relationship with all people everywhere, and that relationship is possible because of the gift of Jesus (v. 16). Those who believe in what God has done in Jesus are not condemned (v. 18); but those who reject God’s initiative are already experiencing condemnation.

Discussion questions

• What are the religious “musts” for most people in your church? How does your church communicate the “musts” to people who visit and attend?

• Do we ever use language that can be misinterpreted or misunderstood?

• How can we know Jesus “believes in our believing?”

• Do you have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?

Posted: 2/08/07

Zimbabwe police arrest 9 pastors
attending leadership seminar

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Zimbabwe police arrested nine pastors at a gathering of more than 300 church leaders in late January. At least one of the pastors was Baptist. The arrests were made public Jan. 30 by the Baptist World Alliance.

Raymond Motsi, pastor of Bulawayo Baptist Church, was among the group. The pastors have since been fined and released.

The pastors were charged with violating Zimbabwe’s Public Order and Security Act, which forbids gatherings of more than three without the approval from the police. The meeting was planned by a Christian Alliance group in Kadoma, more than 150 kilometers west of Harare, the country’s capital.

Christian Alliance has been accused by the Robert Mugabe-led government of plotting with opposition parties to overthrow his regime.

Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Alliance, said he is concerned about the continuing deterioration in the southern African country.

“We are concerned about freedom and justice worldwide,” he said in a press statement. “Ever since the BWA had a youth conference in Zimbabwe in 1994, Baptists around the world have fallen in love with Zimbabwe. We pray for the four Baptist conventions of Zimbabwe and have been concerned in the past years that many basic freedoms are being threatened.”

Lotz appealed to the Zimbabwe government to “release all pastors who in the performance of their gospel calling are working for peace and justice.”

He also asked Baptists to write their governments encouraging release of unfairly accused pastors and leaders.

“Baptists have always been concerned about religious freedom,” Lotz said. “Such freedoms are being eroded in Zimbabwe with the arrests and threats to the free exercise of religion.”

Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980 after the end of the apartheid rule of Ian Smith. Mugabe, a hero of the fight for the end of apartheid and for independence, was elected president but has become increasingly repressive over the years in his attempts to hold onto power. Many freedoms have since been curtailed and opposition groups banned, attacked or otherwise harassed.

The four Baptist conventions and unions in Zimbabwe have approximately 450 churches with almost 130,000 members.