Posted: 2/02/07

Book Reviews

Beyond Racial Gridlock: Embracing Mutual Responsibility by George Yancey

(IVP Books)

University of North Texas sociologist George Yancey is willing to ask the hard questions and talk about the tough issues that build barriers between races in this country. And he does it out of love of God and love for God’s people. This is a book written mainly for the church—that it would take the lead in racial reconciliation.

Yancey critiques four major models the secular world uses to try to fix racial problems in America. These approaches don’t work, he says, because they don’t take into account that sin is a reality and that humanity is full of it—depraved.

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

As an African-American, Yancey adds to the humble tone of the book by vulnerably sharing some of his own hurts and sinful tendencies that give insight into the pains, fears and reactions of other minorities. Only by the different races listening to each other, owning up to sin and embracing mutual responsibility can Christians grow together and change the course of the past, he notes.

If pastors and lay leaders were to read this book and humbly take its principles to heart, we could see a change in race relations in this country, and our churches could be a mulitiracial witness to the world of reconciliation, healing and grace—all to the glory of God!

Greg Bowman, student minister

First Baptist Church

Duncanville

Lending Your Leadership: How Pastors are Redefining Their Role in Community Life by Nelson Granade

(Alban Institute)

Lending Your Leadership is about pastors and their leadership in the community. Granade, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wilkesboro, N.C., makes the case that the ministry of the church and the pastor is extended by the pastor’s community leadership.

Granade writes with detail and insight about leadership in our fast-changing culture. He combines background study and personal experience.

This North Carolina pastor maintains that the larger issues of the community call the pastor to be involved in more than just the role of critic or complainer.

Pastors’ schedules often leave little time for community in-volvement, and some are not inclined to that role, but the author makes the biblical and theological case for this broader role.

Bill Blackburn, president

Partners in Ministry

Kerrville

I Saw Him in Your Eyes by Ace Collins

(Vision Press)

Although I devoured I Saw Him in Your Eyes in one sitting, I wish I had savored each chapter, using them as 20 inspiring daily devotionals.

Ace Collins profiles such well-known Christians as television and movie star Dale Evans Rogers; Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden; singers Larry Gatlin, Pat Boone, Charlie Daniels, Don Reid, Woody Wright and Cynthia Clawson; former Miss Alabama Denise Davis; Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy; authors Karen Kingsbury, James Scott Bell, Crystal Bowman and Terri Blackstock; ministry leaders Nancy Coen (Servant Ministries), Richard Stearns (World Vision), Jerry Burden (Gideons), John Cathcart (World Missionary Evangelism) and Fern Nichols (Moms in Touch).

Then he tucks into the book the not-so-famous Elizabeth Swank and Ron Bal-lard, a Sunday school teach-er and her paralyzed student, who tore down physical barriers for the handicapped in Fort Worth and throughout the United States.

However, Collins doesn’t dwell on the accomplishments of the famous. The book’s subtitle reads “everyday people making extraordinary impact.” So instead, he tells the stories of the everyday people who impacted them—the people in whom they saw Jesus—from family members to pastors, from acquaintances to unassuming church members.

Collins writes with assurance that as everyday people we can make an extraordinary impact if we, too, reflect Jesus in our eyes.

Kathy Robinson Hillman,

former president

Woman’s Missionary Union

of Texas

Waco

Posted: 2/02/07

Baptist Briefs

Ethics conference scheduled. Christian Ethics Today will sponsor an ethics conference June 27 in Washington, D.C., to address “The minister and politics: How to be prophetic without being partisan.” The free conference is scheduled prior to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s general assembly, June 28-29. Featured presenters are prominent evangelical author Tony Campolo, Sojourners founder Jim Wallis, Minneapolis pastor Greg Boyd and Melissa Rogers, former general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty.

Organizers deny politics behind Atlanta convocation. An ambitious plan to unite Baptists in North America around the compassionate message of the gospel is not secretly a plan to get Baptists to elect Hillary Clinton as president, one of the plan’s leaders said. Bill Underwood, a co-organizer of the effort with former President Jimmy Carter, said former President Bill Clinton’s offer to lend his star power to the upcoming Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant is not a covert political move. On Jan. 9, leaders of 40 Baptist denominations and organizations in the United States and Canada—led by Carter and “cheered,” as he put it, by President Clinton—announced a commitment to put aside social and theological differences to unite most Baptists behind an agenda of compassionate ministry. The effort will begin with the celebration, which is set for January 2008. But Richard Land, head of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and Rick Scarborough, a Lufkin-based Baptist minister who heads the Vision America organization, questioned the timing. Scarborough noted the January 2008 celebration is “not coincidentally nine months away from the next presidential election.”

South African pastor killed during Bible study. Phillip Mokson, founding pastor of Masiphumelele Baptist Church near Fish Hoek, South Africa, was shot and killed Jan. 22 as he taught a Bible study inside the church building. Family members including his wife, children and grandchildren witnessed the event. The gunman also shot and seriously wounded a young woman, who was known to have spurned his romantic advances, despite the efforts of another pastor to protect her. After others had left the church, the man reportedly reloaded, turned the gun on himself, and took his own life. The gunman had been baptized as a member in late 2006, and Mokson had sought to counsel him during a period of deep depression. The man, known as Vusi, had attempted suicide at least twice. On one occasion, Mokson had discovered him hanging inside the shack where he lived and cut him down.

Mission opportunities open in China for students. Short-term mission opportunities for college or university students are available between May and August through Volunteers for China. Students may work with fulltime Christian teachers at a medical college in Suzhou, May 14-31, to sponsor American culture events for Chinese college students. Students can participate in a cultural exchange with 150 Chinese college students in Changzhi, July 17 to Aug. 5. Participating exchange students who choose to remain in China Aug. 6-19 have the opportunity to lead an English-language camp for Chinese high school students in Changzhi. Also in July and August, students may teach conversational English or medical English for two-, three-, four- or six-week terms in Changzhi. Tentative cost per participant for each project is $1,000 to $1,200, plus roundtrip airfare. Longer term oral English positions also are available that provide a stipend, room and airfare. A valid United States passport is required for all projects. For more information, contact Ann or David Wilson at (865) 983-9852 or e-mail cen29529@centurytel.net.

Mercer student engagement ranks high. Mercer University has scored significantly higher than its peers on a major survey of student engagement and learning. The National Survey of Student results showed Mercer ranks above its peers in all five benchmark areas of the study—level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment. Mercer also earned high marks for spiritual development, academic rigor and overall learning. The national survey assesses student involvement in the educational opportunities provided by colleges and universities nationwide. This year, approximately 260,000 first-year students and seniors on 523 college campuses nationwide participated in the survey.

Posted: 2/02/07

Carter defends Palestine book at Jewish university

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald

Religion News Service

WALTHAM, Mass. (RNS)—Former President Jimmy Carter faced critics at predominantly Jewish Brandeis University, apologizing for failing to make clear in a new book that terrorism is never justified as a political tool.

But Carter defended his book”s controversial title—Palestine Peace Not Apartheid—by telling a capacity crowd of about 1,700 that he aims to be “provocative” and draw attention to the fact “Palestinians are being terribly treated” in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Carter’s one-hour visit came amidst an ongoing storm of protest that erupted when his book hit store shelves in November. Prominent Jewish groups have denounced the man they regarded as a friend of Israel, and more than a dozen advisers at the Carter Center in Atlanta resigned in protest.

Carter received a standing ovation upon arrival and applause for many statements during the event, but student questioners nevertheless grilled him.

One asked whether he had meant to justify the use of terrorist tactics as a bargaining chip in a passage that says, “It is imperative that the general Arab community … make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Roadmap for Peace are accepted by Israel.”

“That sentence was written in a completely improper and stupid way,” Carter said to applause.

“I apologize,” Carter said, adding that “acts of terrorism are not justified at any time or for any goal.”

In introductory remarks, Carter recast his book’s central argument, telling the crowd: “Israel will never find peace until it’s willing to withdraw from its neighbor’s land and to permit the Palestinians to exercise their basic human and political rights.”

Carter urged Brandeis students to visit the West Bank. There, he said, they will see firsthand how Palestinians have lost access to major roads and to much of their best land, and how the force behind some 500 checkpoints “makes the lives of Palestinians almost intolerable.”

One questioner suggested that the term “apartheid,” which is most often used to describe racially segregated South Africa, might exacerbate Middle East tensions rather than soothe them. But Carter stood by his decision to use it in the title.

“My bottom line is there have been no peace efforts for five years,” Carter said. “Palestinians are being terribly treated, and that treatment in this country is not well known. So I chose that word to be provocative.”

Carter’s indictment of Israel for building a security wall beyond its borders packs a sting in part because of his credentials. As president in 1978, he brokered the landmark Camp David Accords, which established a framework for peace between Israel and Egypt. In 2002, he received the Nobel Peace Prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.”

Students said they turned out to hear arguments from a man who long had presented himself as an ally.

“He had always been pro-Israel and defending Israel, so I was surprised” by the book, said Lauren Papiernik, a freshman from Miami.

Carter confided surprise of his own as he recalled reaction he has received to the book.

“I’ve been hurt, and so has my family, by some of the reaction,” Carter said. “This is the first time I’ve been called a liar, a bigot, an anti-Semite, a coward and a plagiarist.”

Carter also rebutted suggestions that Saudi donations to the Carter Center have swayed his views: “I’ve received no benefit at all from these sources, and I never will.”

After the talk, graduate student Adam Kancher of New Orleans shared mixed reactions.

“When you use words like ‘apartheid,’ just like ‘holocaust,’ you bring up historical references, and it becomes a loaded word,” Kancher said. “I don’t think he addressed it well enough, (but) he didn’t have to come (to Brandeis), and he came, and for that I give him credit.”

Speaking at the same podium 40 minutes after Carter, Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz took the former president to task for trafficking in “simplicities” rather than “complexities.”

Palestinians have had numerous chances since 1938 to establish a state but “never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” Dershowitz said.

Despite an honorable track record as a peacemaker and mediator, Carter has taken sides now, he asserted.

“President Carter has become an advocate for a maximalist Palestinian view, rather than a broker for peace,” Dershowitz said.

Posted: 2/02/07

Posted: 2/02/07

DOWN HOME:
How neat: Scholars defend messiness

Joanna walked into the room, a look of triumph lighting her lovely face. She carried a new edition of Time magazine, opened to a book review, which she laid in my lap.

“See?” she said.

What she meant was: “See, I’ve been telling you this for 30 years. I’m right; you’re wrong. Now, somebody has gone out and done a bunch of research that debunks your myth. It’s in a book, for everybody to read. So, I’m right and you’re wrong.”

That’s what she meant. But we’ve been together so long, all she had to say was, “See?”

Immediately, I saw. The headline told the tale: “Messy is the new neat.”

For years, she’s been trying to tell me I’m “too neat.” To my way of thinking, that’s like saying a slice of her chocolate pie is “too big” or a pot of coffee is “too fresh” or the Texas sky after a spring rain is “too clear.”

Some things just aren’t “too” anything.

And that goes double for neatness.

Of course, my friend Dan says he thinks my mother potty-trained me at gunpoint, and that’s why I’m so obsessive-compulsive about many things, including neatness.

So, I have developed (and I realize this may sound weird) a theology of neatness.

Think of the precise order of God’s universe. Consider the elegance of mathematical equations, the majestic structure of musical chords and the irrefutable symmetry of a DNA double helix. Ponder the clean and logical balance of an Oreo cookie, the delineation of light from darkness or the way unskilled and untrained bees build a perfect honeycomb. You just know God meant the world to be neat and orderly.

But Jo found this article about a book called A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder, by Eric Abrahamson, a professor at Columbia University, and David Freedman, who teaches at the University of California at Berkeley.

Abrahamson and Freedman contend that being neat “costs” too much. Neat people spend too much time picking up and straightening up, and that is counter-productive. Of course, Abrahamson admits he’s “a bit of a mess,” so how’s a neat person really supposed to trust him?

Abrahamson and Freedman’s best argument for maintaining a “moderately messy” lifestyle is creativity. As Exhibit A, they point to Earl Sutherland, whose cluttered desk somehow inspired him to discover how hormones regulate cells, a scientific feat that won him the Nobel Prize.

For all our married life, Jo’s been insisting what the Time article says Abrahamson and Freedman’s research proves: Time, energy and money can be better spent on something other than neatness.

Still, I can’t shake the holy notion that God, who created order out of chaos, wants us to go and do likewise—making messy things neat.

And if the Swedes ever give a Nobel Prize for being able to dress in a dark closet and come out with socks matching slacks and tie, shirt and jacket perfectly coordinated, only neatniks will make the final cut.

–Marv Knox

Posted: 2/02/07

EDITORIAL:
Confusing, illogical, irresistible prayer

Sometimes, technology can be a burden. These days, it shadows most of us wherever we go. E-mail piles up faster and deeper than snow in a Panhandle blizzard. Take a trip, and you come home to a stream of voicemails long enough to make your ear fall off. And don’t even get me started about programming the video recorder.

But one area of modern technology is absolutely sweet, golden, wonderful. That would be speed dialing on my cell phone. At any moment, I can punch one of three numbers, and a moment later, I’m talking to one of the three most precious women in my life—my wife and our two daughters. They’re scattered from Coppell to Waco to Orlando. But thanks to cellular technology, their voices are never more than seconds away.

Maybe my mind is quirky, but I thought about my love affair with four cell phones—mine, and Joanna’s, Lindsay’s and Molly’s—as I contemplated our feature story in this edition of the paper. In a way (and I know this is a mundane analogy), prayer is very much like cellular technology. Hard as it is to imagine when I think about how much I love talking to my three girls, prayer is even better. Can you comprehend the significance of prayer? You can pause, redirect your thoughts and, in an instant, converse with the Creator of the universe, God Almighty.

Seems like I’ve been praying all my life. In fact, I can’t remember a time when prayer was not central. Almost as soon as I could speak, my parents taught me to pray—simple prayers of thanksgiving to God. As a child and later as a parent, mealtime prayers spiced breakfast, lunch and dinner as much as the black pepper and Tabasco sauce I love to pour on food. Most workday mornings for the past 11 years, I’ve “redeemed” the almost-unbearable Dallas morning commute by communing with God. And my favorite moments of our worship service are when the lights dim, heads bow and we spend time in solitude with God.

Still, I’ve got to confess. Prayer is the hardest part of my Christian life. Maybe that’s not true for you. I hope it’s not. But it is for me. A couple of things about prayer prey on my mind, and I doubt I’ll ever reconcile them:

• Sometimes, prayer seems like a dropped call on a cell phone. You know—you’ve been talking and realize nobody’s been on the other end of the line for several minutes. Prayer can be like that. Of course, this says more about me than it does about God. But sometimes, the complete otherness of God is disquieting. I find myself wishing God would speak. Preferably in English, but I’d take Spanish and try to figure out at least a few of the words.

• Intercessory prayer is the hardest. At least it’s hardest to make sense. If God is loving, then why must we beg God to do loving things for hurting people? If God is sovereign, then what difference does prayer make? God’s going to do what God’s going to do. And if God will indeed change God’s mind, then is prayer something like a cosmic referendum, where majority wins or at least a plurality rules? X-number of Christians pray for Mrs. Jones, and she goes into remission. X-minus-1 Christians pray for Mrs. Jones, and she dies. That doesn’t seem very just.

OK, maybe you’ve never struggled with prayers that bounce off the ceiling and back onto your head. And maybe you’ve never stayed awake late, late into the night wondering about the efficacy of baring your soul on behalf of someone you love. Good for you. But in the world where I live, rubber-ball prayers and serious questions about intercession are just part of the messy stuff of faith.

Still, I find myself irresistibly drawn to prayer. I’m compelled by two forces—obedience and need.

First, I pray because Jesus commanded us to pray. He said, “When you pray …,” not, “If you pray ….” We have the Lord’s command and model, so how could we refuse?

Second, and at least as important, I pray because I must. Just as I must talk to Joanna several times a day and I must visit with my young-adult daughters at least every few days, I must talk to God daily. So what if my pleas do not change God’s mind and shape God’s intentions? God loves me more than I love myself and wants to visit with me, to share my life. (Genesis clearly teaches this was God’s intention. Experience clearly confirms this is God’s desire.) The importance of prayer is building and maintaining a relationship with God, not dictating a cosmic wish-list. Prayer has much more to do with discerning God’s will for my life and conforming my will to God’s than bending God to my wishes. And for that matter, the best prayer happens when I am silent before God—listening, even when I cannot “hear.”

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard.

Posted: 2/02/07

Faith Digest

Christian literature distributors to merge. Two of the world’s largest distributors of Christian literature— the Colorado-based International Bible Society and British-based Send the Light—have announced their intention to merge. The Bible society, founded in 1809, has been focused on distribution of Bibles, working with partners such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Campus Crusade for Christ, as well as churches and individuals who use its Bibles for evangelism. Send the Light, founded in 1957, helps Christian companies in the United States distribute a range of products—including books, music, tracts and home schooling materials—to European and other international locations.

Church of the Nazarene reports growth. Worldwide membership in the Church of the Nazarene has increased by one-third during the past decade, according to its recently released annual report. The church has 1.6 million members, having gained nearly 700,000 members since 1999. The church’s biggest increases have been outside the United States. Last year the church grew by 5.7 percent overseas, while domestic growth was less than 1 percent. The church has experienced a slight decline in service attendance in the United States and Canada, although Sunday school participation has gone up 1 percent. There are nearly 19,000 Church of the Nazarene parishes across the world; about 700 new churches were added in the last year.

Court nixes teachers’ scarves. A Bavarian court ruled Muslim teachers in southern Germany may not wear headscarves or any other symbol of their faith that could be construed to clash with Western or Christian values. The Islamic Religious Community of Berlin had filed a lawsuit to protest a Bavarian ban on teachers wearing headscarves. The Bavarian constitution calls for religious freedom, but it also calls for children in public schools to be raised by Christian standards. The court ultimately decided a constitutionally endorsed education was the more important goal, and allowing certain clothes and symbols could endanger the educational system in Bavaria. But the court ruling still means a nun’s habit is acceptable garb for a teacher, since that garment adheres to the constitution’s Christian standards. The case likely will be appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court.

Muslims disturbed by TV drama’s plot. When a terrorist network set off a chain of suicide bombs on the new season of Fox’s hit drama 24, the fictional plot line mirrored the nightmares of many American viewers—including American Muslims. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Islamic civil rights group in the United States, criticized the story line, suggesting it could foster discrimination against American Muslims. The council also expressed concerns the program’s impact would help build public support for measures to deny civil liberties to Muslims. Fox responded to the council’s concerns by issuing a written statement, noting that past seasons of 24 have portrayed villains such as a “shadowy Anglo businessman, Baltic Europeans, Germans, Russians, Islamic fundamentalists and even the (Anglo-American) president of the United States.” The council also protested when Islamic terrorists were portrayed on the show two years ago. To help allay its concerns, Fox ran a commercial reminding viewers that the plot was fictional and not representative of all Muslims.

Former Salvation Army leader named NAE chief. The National Association of Evangelicals has chosen Todd Bassett, former national commander of the Salvation Army, as its executive director. His new role will include oversight of the National Association of Evangelicals’ administrative, communications and financial activities.

Posted: 2/02/07

Employees of Justice, Homeland
Security receive religion training

By Katherine Boyle

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—The departments of Justice and Homeland Security have begun training employees to better understand and protect the civil liberties of American Muslims, Sikhs and other minority ethnic and religious groups in the wake of Sept. 11.

They also are attempting to involve Muslims and Sikhs in the homeland security effort “in a positive way,” said Daniel Sutherland, who was appointed as the first officer for civil rights and civil liberties at the Department of Homeland Security in 2003.

Both Muslim and Sikh Americans have dealt with increased prejudice, according to studies and crime reports, though Sikhs adhere to a religion founded in India that is not associated with Islam.

The discrimination ranges from the inconvenience of airport searches to the death of Balbir Singh Sodhi, a turban-wearing Sikh from India who was gunned down just days after the Sept. 11 attacks by a man who mistook him for a Muslim.

The Department of Homeland Security now holds regular forums in Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Washington and Buffalo, N.Y., to ensure agency officials are meeting with people from Arab and Muslim communities. Local FBI officials and federal prosecutors often attend.

The Department of Homeland Security tries to ensure all its employees “understand how to work with American Arabs and American Muslims, as well as travelers from the Arab and Muslim world,” Sutherland said.

“We’ve produced a couple of training products on that (topic), which you might call cultural competence training,” he added.

“We emphasize to our work force that we are not asking them to engage in something that is politically correct or what some people call sensitivity training; we’re just trying to give them the skills they need to do their jobs most effectively.”

Their most recent release is a DVD called “Introduction to Arab American and Muslim American Cultures Course for DHS Personnel.”

“Lastly, we’re looking for ways to increase our employment of people with experience in the Arab-Muslim world or specialized language skills,” Sutherland said.

The Justice Department also has used videos to train its staff. In recent weeks, the department released “On Common Ground,” a film for law enforcement officials that educates them about Sikhs and other South Asian Americans.

Sharee Freeman, director of the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service, said her organization partnered with the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund after witnessing how “shaken” the Sikh-American community was after Sept. 11.

Previously, the Justice Department released the video “The First Three to Five Seconds” to help law enforcement officials distinguish between “a threat or a cultural norm” when interacting with American Arab and Muslim communities.

DHS also used the film to educate its employees.

Both the Justice Department and DHS need “to draw the communities into the homeland security effort and ask about recommendations on how we can do better. Our goal is to develop strategic partnerships with key parts of the American Arab and Muslim communities,” Suther-land said.

Posted: 2/02/07

On the Move

• Jacob Benson to First Church in Waxahachie as minister to students.

• Paul Brand to Bulverde Church in Bulverde as youth minister.

• Mark Bryant to First Church in Wimberley as pastor.

• Fernando Charles has resigned as pastor of Primera Iglesia in San Marcos.

• Rex Clayton to Calvary Church in Tishomingo, Okla., as pastor from East 4th Street Church in Big Spring.

• Dena Dalton has resigned as director of community ministries and lay mobilization at Trinity Church in San Antonio.

• Lenard Dossey to First Church in Yancey as pastor.

• Bill Fowler has resigned as pastor of First Church in Pleasanton to take a position as assistant professor of Christian studies at Howard Payne University.

• Michael Goodman to Yorktown Church in Corpus Christi as minister of music and young singles.

• Darren Heil to Central Church in Blooming Grove as pastor from First Church in Mertens.

• Derek Hutter to South Garland Church in Garland as youth minister from First Church of Urbandale in Dallas.

• Ken James to First Church in Mertens as interim pastor.

• George Kelly to Pond Springs Church in Austin as interim pastor.

• Ralph Lee to Trinity Church in Cordova, Tenn., as executive pastor from First Church in Round Rock, where he was administrator.

• Jay Lewis to Fairview Church in Levelland as pastor.

• Paul Lively to Bellaire Church in Lubbock as pastor from First Church in Morton.

Posted: 2/02/07

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING:
Intercession aside, do Baptists have a prayer?

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Baptists understand numbers. That’s how churches measure success in baptisms, Bible study attendance, budget giving and building campaigns.

But for all their talk about the importance of prayer, Baptists seem less certain how to measure the effectiveness of prayer ministries.

Counting the number of people signed up for an intercessory prayer ministry or listing answers to prayers may provide some means of charting progress, but those are secondary measurements, said Ted Elmore, former director of prayer and spiritual development with the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board staff.

“How many people (in a congregation) are delighting in God? By praying, we learn communion with God. We may not get answers to our questions, but we become a people who are contented with God. The measure of effective prayer is whether people are walking in communion with God and growing in their contentment with God,” said Elmore, a member of 121 Community Church in Grapevine who works with churches as a life design coach and consultant.

Church members’ deeper walk with God becomes demonstrated in their attitudes and actions. Praying people are eager to serve, willing to forgive and growing in grace, he insisted.

Deirdre LaNoue, a Baptist historian and former professor of spiritual formation at Mount St. Joseph’s College in Cincinnati, agreed.

“Jesus told us that the greatest commandments in all the law are to love God with all that we are and to love others as much as we love ourselves. If those participating (in prayer) are being drawn into a deeper love for God and if people are being truly loved and served, I think these are clues that the prayer ministry is effective, although I grant that this can be hard to measure,” LaNoue said.

Small groups provide a context in which the prayer life of members best can be gauged, Elmore stressed.

“Effectiveness is best measured in small groups where people agree to be held accountable in covenant with one another. That’s where you get a sense of the spiritual growth of one another,” he said.

A child at Iglesia Bautista Segunda in Corpus Christi prays. Betty Talbert, director of spiritual formation at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary, insists adults can learn about prayer from children. “Until the age of 10, most children meditate—think prayerfully about God—regularly. … They stop believing mostly because of the cynicism of adults around them,” Talbert said.

Betty Talbert, director of spiritual formation at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, likewise emphasized the importance of small groups. Small groups focused on prayer have a long history in Baptist churches, she noted.

“Traditional effective intercession was associated with Sunday school, Woman’s Missionary Union and Wednesday night prayer services,” she said. “These groups in Baptist life were small enough to know the details of the lives of (church members) or missionaries for whom they were praying and to be encouraged by reports that their prayers were being answered. So, the small group is just a resurrection of what we, as Baptists, traditionally have done.”

When small groups within a larger fellowship focus on prayer, pride becomes a potential pitfall to be avoided—along with the perception that the small group is “holier-than-thou,” LaNoue noted.

“The danger of pious pride is a deadly one,” she said. “I think the best antidote for it is making sure the leadership constantly teaches and trains on the idea that prayer is a means of service. I don’t think we teach enough on the virtues. Certainly, humility and generosity are key. I think we should be watchful of our attitudes and anything else that can cause division in the body. Leadership must be proactive.”

Church leaders can help the church as a whole develop a closer connection to prayer-based small groups, Talbert added. For instance, a pastor may lead a worship service celebrating the decisions of members who have committed to spiritual growth through involvement in small groups. As a part of the service, he could invite the whole congregation to pray for those members.

“This approach has the goal of letting everyone in the church be a part of what is happening with the groups,” she said.

Church leaders also can promote harmony by working to enlist new people for prayer-based small groups.

“Be certain that all members feel welcome to join groups at any time,” she said. “If everyone is always welcome, no feeling of superiority develops inside or outside the group.”

Baptists can grow spiritually by focusing on different types of prayer, she added.

“Try new prayers. Let some folks do contemplative prayers. Let others do prayers of adoration using Psalms as their text,” Talbert suggested. “Ask folks to use journals and write their prayers or write answers to prayers.”

Baptists typically have focused almost exclusively on intercessory prayer, LaNoue observed.

“Some disciplines that might bring more balance to our prayer life are the more contemplative aspects of gazing upon God in love and adoration, listening and reflecting on what we hear from our conversation with him, even just learning to rest in the presence of God through prayer, without needing to accomplish anything,” she said.

God transforms lives when people open themselves to him, Elmore noted. Devotional Bible reading, combined with periods of quiet meditation, provide a context in which the Holy Spirit shapes lives, he added.

“There is a lot to be said for solitude—for shutting out the noise of the world and just listening. God uses his word to teach us to hear his voice,” Elmore said.

“In solitude and meditation, the Holy Spirit works, shaping us. … It is through prayer and meditation—not activity, but being in the presence of God—that we find satisfaction.”

Fasting, journaling, simplicity, service, solitude and confession represent some of the spiritual disciplines Christians historically have found helpful aids to spiritual growth, but LaNoue noted not every Christian responds equally well to every discipline.

“We are not meant to be cookie-cutter Christians. I think our unique temperaments tend to dictate the ways we are most comfortable relating to God,” she said.

“But this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stretch ourselves and try to keep the relationship fresh and creative by utilizing a variety of disciplines. This might require trying things that are outside my usual comfort zone. Some of the spiritual disciplines that I have studied over the years have deeply enriched my prayer life.”

Spiritual disciplines are just tools to be used or not used, depending on how effective they prove for a particular individual, she noted.

“Whenever we start comparing ourselves or using the disciplines as a measure of how spiritual someone is, the disciplines become legalistic and destructive,” she warned.

“The disciplines are not an end in themselves; they are a means to an end. They place us in the path of God’s grace and transformative power, if we practice them with the desire for him and nothing else.”

Posted: 2/02/07

After 10 years, church finally
has a home of its own

By George Henson

Staff Writer

BELLVILLE—Harkening to the past promises growth for the future of a congregation looking to put down its roots.

Mill Creek Baptist Church never has had a place to call home.

Since beginning in Pastor Monte Byrd’s home 10 years ago, the congregation has bounced from the community center to a public school to a private school to a German dance hall.

Pastor Monte Byrd believes the high profile location and towering steeple of Mill Creek Baptist Church will draw worshippers to the building constructed by Texas Baptist Men Builders.

“We’ve basically been in every rental facility in town,” Byrd said.

Thanks to the Texas Baptist Men Builders, those wandering days have almost reached their end.

The church’s high steeple and narrow lines will recall an earlier tradition of church architecture. The design is one Byrd had admired when passing a church in Brenham.

When the builder of the Brenham church was contacted, he donated the building plans.

As Byrd looked recently at the nearly completed structure with a team of builders whose average age is 72 worked industriously, he was quick to mention the debt the congregation owed the crew.

“We couldn’t have begun to build this without the Texas Baptist Men Builders. There’s just absolutely no way,” he said.

While the congregation has been faithful, with several families’ membership dating back to the church’s nascent months, the lack of a permanent facility may have hampered growth.

“If we see 30, it’s a good Sunday,” Byrd acknowledged.

That might be about the change. The church will sit at the top of a hill overlooking one of Bellville’s main thoroughfares.

“We’re going to go from where nobody knows where we’re at, to having one of the most visible spots in town,” Byrd said.

When the church began thinking about building a permanent facility, Byrd was asked where he would like to build if he could choose any spot in the city.

“I picked this one,” he said.

When the search for the land’s owner was made, it was discovered she was living in a nursing home. Two months later, she died, and the family sold the congregation the 2 1/2–acre site for $40,000.

The congregation has received affirmation from God throughout the building process, Byrd said. In addition to willingness of the TBM Builders to take on the project and the availability of the prime choice of location at a price they could afford, there have been other things as well.

Wayne Simpkins (right) and other Texas Baptist Men Builders work on Mill Creek Baptist Church in Bellville, providing the congregation its first permanent home. The church started 10 years ago in Pastor Monte Byrd’s home, and it met most recently in a German dance hall.

For example, the church will have a steeple that will spire above the roof to give the church a long sightline to passing traffic. After it arrived, however, Byrd was told a crane would be needed to lift it to the top of the building. He found himself at a loss because there was no money left to rent a crane.

“The heating and air conditioning contractor heard about our problem, and told us: ‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of the crane.’ That’s the way it’s been throughout this whole project—God’s fingerprints are just everywhere. One thing after another, God has just taken care of it,” Byrd said.

The construction is not only building excitement in the Mill Creek congregation, but others in the community of 3,800 have been watching the building go through the construction stages.

“Outside of our group, we’re attracting a lot of people who say the building reminds them of the church of their childhood and all that stood for, and I never planned that. I just liked the way it looked,” Byrd said.

But none of it, he repeated, would have happened without the skills of the retired builders who made the plans reality.

Paul Bottoms of First Baptist Church in Jewett is one of those skilled laborers. In more than three years he has been serving on the team, he has participated in building 35 churches.

“It’s just extremely rewarding—spiritually, physically and mentally,” he said. “I just can’t think of a better way of spending my time than serving the Lord.”

He also enjoys the company.

“If you went into a small church like ours and picked out the two or three most dedicated and loving Christian folks, that would be representative of the folks you find on a Texas Baptist Men build,” he said.

Involvement with the builders also brings a great deal of satisfaction, he added.

“The churches are always so thankful, and while we work for the glory of God, that’s real nice,” Bottoms said.

After more than 17 years as a TBM Builder and a veteran of 175 church builds, Wayne Simpkins of First Baptist Church in Bryan headed up the build in Bellville.

He enjoys working on churches so much that he quit his job years ago so he could do it full-time.

“One of the main things is that you know that you’re doing something that will last forever. How many things can you do that really leaves a legacy? Even if they only reached one or two people, that would be worth it,” he said.

“We’re doing mission work. Some people think you have to go out of the country to do mission work, but this is mission work. Every one of these people have been called to do this. We all could be home holding down a chair, but this keeps us active and a lot more healthy.”

Simpkins left Byrd a bit of a challenge.

“I told him if they don’t fill it up in a year, we’re going to come back and tear it down,” he said with a gleam in his eye.

“But we tell them all that, really, and we haven’t torn one down yet.”

Posted: 2/02/07

Texas Tidbits

DBU offers Patriot Preview event. Dallas Baptist University is offering a look at campus life during a Patriot Preview event Feb. 10 for high school juniors and seniors, college transfer students and their parents. The Patriot Preview begins at 8:30 a.m. with a breakfast with DBU professors. Prospective students then will be given the opportunity to attend mock classes and interview for scholarships. For parents, Patriot Weekend will feature information seminars on topics such as financial aid, campus life, parent services, and the application process, plus the chance to meet DBU administrators. The weekend event also will include a student-life fair. DBU will waive the application fee for students who apply during Patriot Weekend. The cost for the event is $25, which includes two meals for both students and parents. For more information about Patriot Weekend, students or parents may contact the office of undergraduate admissions at (214) 333-5360, or register online at www.dbu.edu/patriotday.

Baylor regents approve practice facility. At a called meeting, the Baylor University board of regents unanimously adopted a proposal to construct an on-campus football training facility. The $22 million facility, which is being funded with private resources, likely will be located adjacent to Baylor’s other athletics facilities at the Turner Riverfront Complex. Games will continue to be played at Floyd Casey Stadium. Construction of the practice facility will take about 18 months. A final review of the project plans and specifications has been scheduled for the Feb. 8-9 regents meeting.

Orientation for Mexico missions slated. The Baptist General Convention of Texas Border/Mexico Missions office will hold three free meetings to help churches find Mexico missions projects and learn how they can minister along the Texas-Mexico border. Two meetings Feb. 16-17 will orient mission leaders to the Rio Grande Valley and Eagle Pass as well as the Mexican cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Piedras Negras and Acuna. Texas Baptists can register for the Rio Grande Valley meeting—which also will orient mission workers to Reynosa and Matamoros—by sending an e-mail to svbrmission@rioplexwireless.com or calling (956) 968-3161. Texas Baptists can register for the Eagle Pass meeting—which also will orient mission workers to Piedras Negras and Acuna—by sending an e-mail to delriouvalde@sbcglobal.net or calling (830) 278-5351. The third meeting is Feb. 23-25 and will orient mission leaders to El Paso, the Big Bend area and Juarez, Mexico. Texas Baptists can register for this training event by sending an e-mail too juanfepba@sbcglobal.net or calling (915) 544-8671.

Panhandle-Plains Conference set. The 86th Annual Panhandle-Plains Pastors’ and Laymen’s Conference, Feb. 19-20 at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, will feature messages, music and fellowship all centered on the theme “Encountering Jesus.” Speakers include Bill Tinsley, leader of the WorldconneX missions network; D.L. Lowrie, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Lubbock; Howie Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo; David Dykes, pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler; Ed Sena, pastor of Emanuel Community Baptist Church in Lubbock; and Randy Newberry, mobilization strategist for the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.