Posted: 12/22/06

Explore the Bible Series for December 31

Working together to accomplish God’s will

• Nehemiah 1.1-11; 2:1-20; 3.1-32

By Howard Anderson

Diversified Spiritual Associates, San Antonio

The returning Jews showed spiritual lethargy and a coldhearted indifference toward God. Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and successfully led a 52-day rebuilding of the wall. Under the leadership of Nehemiah, the people were motivated to work cooperatively.

Heartbreaking news (Nehemiah 1:1-11)

Nehemiah, whose name means “the Lord comforts,” was a highly placed statesman associated with Ezra in the work of reestablishing the people of Judah in the Promised Land. The month Chislev corresponds to our November-December (Ezra 10:9). “The 20th year” (444 B.C.) refers to the 20th year of the rule of Artaxerxes (464-424 B.C.). Artaxerxes was the same Persian king who had commissioned Ezra to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1). “Shushan the palace” was about 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf, in present day Iran.

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Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, had visited Jerusalem and returned to Shushan. This journey, which covered nearly a thousand miles one way, would probably have taken at least four months. Nehemiah was concerned about the Jewish people and Jerusalem.

Life was difficult for the people in Jerusalem. This difficulty was due in large part to the condition of “the wall in Jerusalem.” In the ancient Middle East, a city wall provided protection for the inhabitants. The condition of a city wall also was seen as an indication of the strength of the people’s gods. The ruined condition of the wall of Jerusalem reflected badly on God’s name.

Nehemiah was deeply disturbed. Without a wall, Jerusalem was vulnerable to attack. The riches of the temple treasury (Ezra 8:15-36) would have been quite a temptation for Israel’s enemies.

Nehemiah acknowledged God’s government of the world, including his sovereignty over the pagan king over Nehemiah, the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. By using “covenant and mercy” together, Nehemiah was holding God to his promises. The Lord had staked his character on his loyalty to his covenant with his people.

“Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open.” Nehemiah asked God to look at him and listen to him as he prayed. These words were designed to encourage the one praying, for God does not turn his ears from or close his eyes to his people (Exodus 2:23-25), “the children of Israel.” Nehemiah indicated the continuity of the Jewish people of his day with the Israelites of the past. He then confessed the sins of his father’s house as well as his own.

Israel had sinned against the Lord and against his commandments. Nehemiah included himself among the sinful people by using the word “we.” Commandments, statutes, and ordinances describe the totality of God’s law (Nehemiah 9:13-14).

After confessing his sin and the sin of the people, Nehemiah reminded God of what he had said. “I will scatter you abroad among the nations” is an illusion to God’s covenant in Leviticus 26:27-45 and Deuteronomy 30:1-5. Nehemiah was born in Persia, a distant nation, because of God’s fulfillment of this promise.

The Lord had promised that if the nation of Israel would return to him in obedience, he would regather them to their land. Nehemiah addressed the Lord as a covenant-keeping God. He confessed his and the people’s sin because the law demanded confession (Leviticus 16:21). Then he held God to his covenant to return Israel to the land: “bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.” The ultimate intent of God’s covenant was not just to return the people, but also to return them to the place where God had established his name.

“Now these are thy servants and thy people.” Nehemiah was suggesting to the Lord the time was right, the people were right and the task was right to restore Jerusalem. “By thy strong hand” is one of the phrases associated with God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 6:1; 13:14; 15:6).

Building plans (Nehemiah 2:1-20)

Four months after hearing the report from his brother about Jerusalem, Nehemiah still was grieving over the conditions in Jerusalem. “The king” noticed Nehemiah’s sad expression and concluded it was caused by “sorrow of heart” rather than physical illness. Persian monarchs believed just being in their presence would make any person happy. Yet, Nehemiah was about to request the emperor’s permission to go to Jerusalem, suggesting he would rather be somewhere other than in the emperor’s presence. On top of that, it was Artaxerxes who had ordered the work on the wall to be stopped (Ezra 4:21-23). Nehemiah had reason to be afraid.

Addressing the king with proper respect, Nehemiah related the burden of his heart, “the place of my fathers’ sepulchers.” This phrase was designed to catch the king’s attention. In many Asian cultures, a connection with the burial places of one’s ancestors was a matter of great importance.

“So I prayed to the God of heaven.” Even though Nehemiah had come into the presence of “the king,” he had never left the presence of the true King of Kings. After his silent prayer (v. 4), Nehemiah spoke boldly, asking for permission to leave the king’s palace to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.

Nehemiah knew he needed safe passage for his journey to Judah, so he requested “letters” from the king to show to “the governors beyond the [Euphrates] River.” His plans were detailed. He asked the king for permission to go to Jerusalem (v. 5), for letters to ensure safe passage (v., 7) and also for provisions. Nehemiah requested a letter addressed to “Asaph,” (v. 8) the man in charge of “the king’s forest,” to enable him to obtain supplies of lumber for three projects: (1) gates of the palace, (2) the wall of the city and (3) his personal house. Jerusalem had plenty of limestone for building projects. But timber, necessary for making roofs and others parts of large building projects, was scarce, “according to the good hand of my God.”

The king graciously granted Nehemiah all he had requested, but Nehemiah knew the ultimate source of his provisions was God.

The only people who knew Nehemiah’s building plans were the few men who had made the secret night ride with him (v. 12). Nehemiah encouraged all the people to assist in rebuilding the city’s walls. He emphasized it was not just his idea to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, but the idea had come to him from the Lord (vv. 8, 12). In response to Nehemiah’s challenge, the people replied: “Let us rise up and build.”

Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem all were unhappy about Nehemiah’s coming. They accused Nehemiah of false motives and plotting rebellion against the king. He ignored their accusations. The same three opponents still are unhappy and trying to block the work of God in the 21st century. Nehemiah asserted that God was involved in what he was doing. Nehemiah’s motive was not rebellion against the king, but submission to God.

Reporting progress (Nehemiah 3:1-32)

Eliashib the high priest and the other priests were the first people to start rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. At this point in Israel’s history, the priests were the leaders. There were no kings or judges, so the people looked to the priests for leadership. It is significant that the high priest and the priests “built the Sheep Gate.” The Sheep Gate was on Jerusalem’s northeast side, just north of the temple and was used for bringing sheep to the temple for sacrifice. The priests dedicated the repaired gate, wall and tower to the Lord. They knew that unless God blessed the city with his presence, no walls and gates would keep the people safe (Psalm 127:1).

The narrative moves around the perimeter of Jerusalem in a counterclockwise direction. “Tower of the Hundred … Tower of Hananel,” a northern section of Jerusalem, opened up to the central Benjamin plateau where enemy forces could attack most easily from the north. The rest of the perimeter of the city was protected by the natural valley topography.

The Fish Gate was so named because merchants sold fish on the northern side of Jerusalem. Men of Tyre and other seacoast towns routinely brought fish to sell (Nehemiah 12:39; 13:16). The Old Gate was in the northwest corner. The Broad Wall and Tower of the Ovens were on the west side. The Valley Gate was on the west side and is where Nehemiah began and ended his inspection trip of the wall (Nehemiah 2:13-15). The Dung Gate, also known as the Refuse Gate, was at the southern tip of the city where a common sewer ran to the Kidron Brook into the Valley of Hinnom. The Fountain Gate was in the southeast and the Water Gate was near the Gihon Spring in the east. The Horse Gate was in the northeast sector. The East Gate was located to the east of the temple mount. The Miphkad Gate, also know as the Muster Gate, was located in the northeast sector.

The people worked together—not just in the same place, but also in cooperation. Goldsmiths, merchants and bricklayers labored on the wall.

Discussion questions

• What has God asked you to undertake that the cooperation of others is needed to accomplish?

• How do we know if a task is of our own desires or if it comes from God?

Posted: 12/22/06

Holiday Health: Don’t ditch diet during holidays

The holidays are right around the corner, and that means parties, family get-togethers and plenty of favorite comfort foods. What would a holiday be without turkey, dressing, pie, cranberries and more?

Is it possible to navigate the holidays without ruining our diet? Yes, said Dee Rollins, clinical dietitian and nutrition educator for Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine. The key is to be conscious of what we eat.

Rollins offers these eight tips for healthy holiday eating:

1. Never go to a party hungry. Many people skip meals before a party. That sets them up for failure. Instead, eat regular meals that day and have a small snack before you leave home. Try cheese and crackers, a piece of fruit or peanut butter on toast.

2. Remember why you’re there. The party may be based around food, but you’re there to socialize. Make eating secondary. Don’t hover around the food table. Take what you want and move away.

3. Enjoy your favorite holiday foods. Select the special foods you might not get at any other time during the year—like dressing and gravy—and savor them. Skip the rest. Rollins’ philosophy is, “If it isn’t ‘to die for’ wonderful, why eat it?”

4. Watch the calories that come with beverages. A glass of wine might be 150 calories, while a cocktail with fruit juice might have 200 calories.

5. Portion size counts. We may be expected to overindulge during the holidays, but over time, we’ll pay the price. If the portion you’ve been given is super-size, you don’t have to eat it all at once. Enjoy a small helping and ask if you can take home the rest.

6. Pay attention to your body. It takes 20 minutes for the signal to reach our brain that we’re full.

7. Don’t forget to exercise. Many people may turn to food when they feel overwhelmed. When our stress level goes up, we eat more and sleep less. Exercise can help. Make it part of your holiday routine.

8. Be a helpful hostess. Offer the healthiest food you can. Alter a recipe so it’s low-fat or lower in sugar. Make the brownies bite-size. Plan a beautiful spread with fruit and vegetables. People will eat what you serve.

For more information about Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine, visit www.BaylorHealth.com.

Posted: 12/22/06

Holiday Health: How to survive flu season

It’s flu shot season and this year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added a new recommendation for flu shots for children ages 6 months to 5 years.

“What we’ve found out is that up to one in 1,000 children can be hospitalized for complications from the flu—that’s higher than we thought initially,” said Steven Davis, an infectious disease specialist on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Irving. “One of the most important things people can do is talk to their physician about getting vaccinated.”

Not only do young children frequently come down with the flu, they often spread it to their grandparents. And grandparents who are weak or have chronic conditions like diabetes or lung problems may risk complications from the disease.

“There’s lots of flu transmission over the holidays, with people traveling, visiting extended families and taking public transportation,” Davis said.

He recommends two tried and true (but underused) strategies for keeping yourself and others healthy:

Wash or disinfect your hands frequently. “It’s common sense, but it can be very helpful in preventing transmission in flu season,” Davis said.

Cover your cough. “We remind people in the ER, if they cough or sneeze, to use a tissue and hand disinfectant,” Davis said.

If you do get the flu, see your doctor right away. Medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza can cut the intensity and duration of symptoms.

But who needs a shot? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these people should get a flu shot every year:

• children ages 6 months to 5 years.

• people 65 years of age and older.

• people 2 years old or older who have an underlying, long-term illness.

• women who will be pregnant during flu season.

• people who live in nursing homes or other chronic-care facilities.

• people who are 6 months to 18 years of age and take aspirin daily.

• health care workers who have contact with patients.

• people who have or take care of a baby under 6 months old.

For more information about Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine, visit www.BaylorHealth.com.

Posted: 12/22/06

Holiday Health: Ways to care for your heart

With Christmas approaching, many of us are already in shopping mode, gathering gifts for friends and loved ones. This season, why not give yourself a present—the gift of a healthy heart.

Here are four ways to put your heart at the top of the list:

1. Know the risk factors for heart disease. They are smoking, age, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and family history.

2. Know your numbers. Blood pressure and cholesterol are the big culprits in heart disease. Do you know your numbers?

“Blood pressure is normal when the top number, the systolic reading, is less than 120,” said Kanti Agrawal, a cardiologist on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Garland. The lower, or diastolic, number should be below 80.

When it comes to cholesterol, “We recommend that people have their first complete lipid profile around age 20, repeating every five years after that if levels are within the normal range,” Agrawal said.

The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dL, LDL (bad cholesterol) less than 100 mg/dL, and HDL (good cholesterol) higher than 40.

If your numbers are high, talk with your physician about medication and lifestyle changes to bring them down.

3. Know the warning signs of heart attack.

• Pain, squeezing or pressure in the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back.

• Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck or jaw.

• Shortness of breath.

• Sweating, nausea or lightheadedness.

If you experience these symptoms, call 911. Faster treatment equals less heart damage.

4. Practice prevention. Stop smoking, lose weight, exercise regularly, lower your cholesterol and lower your blood pressure. The most important step you can take? See your doctor for a regular checkup.

When you take care of your heart, you give yourself a gift that lasts season after season.

For more information about Baylor Medical Center at Garland, visit www.BaylorHealth.com.

Posted: 12/22/06

Holiday traditions vary among
Baptists around the world

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Waves crash along a sandy shore, flip-flops rest on a towel, and the smell of barbecuing shrimp drifts through the air. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. At least, that’s the way it looks in Australia—or South Africa, for that matter.

How Baptists celebrate Christmas varies from country to country and culture to culture around the world, but Christ remains the focus of the holiday festivities.

Christmas falls in the heart of summer for Baptists living in the Southern Hemisphere, and many of them celebrate Christmas near beaches and swimming pools where they can cool off.

Scott Houser, a Baylor University graduate and missionary in South Africa, combines elements of Christmas celebration from South Africa and the United States.

“It’s the height of summer here in December, so rather than snow, we’re likely swimming,” he said. “We’ve never owned a traditional big Christmas tree, but rather, have a three-foot high wire tree decorated with African beads. … It’s hardly big enough to place presents under. We do try to have the traditional Christmas and Thanksgiving fare such as turkey, dressing and sweet potatoes.”

In the Netherlands, Sinterklass delivers presents on Dec. 5, and Dec. 25 is reserved for the religious celebration of Christmas, noted Zan Sellers, a BGCT-endorsed chaplain stationed in Schinnen, Netherlands.

Many military personnel view the holiday as time to spend with friends and family, Sellers said. Because soldiers often are away from their families, they treasure the moments they can spend with them.

“For most military, Christmas is a time for family,” he said. “Most of us have been gone to foreign lands during holidays without our families, which enhances the Christmas season when we are with our families.”

Most Nigerian Baptists turn their Christmas Eve programs over to the youth, who lead dramatic interpretations of Christ’s birth and musical events, said Solomon Ishola, general secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention. The presentation is followed by an evangelistic invitation. The service may last until midnight, after which many Nigerian Baptists go house to house singing Christmas carols.

“Christmas is a time to remember that God showed his love for us by giving us his son Jesus,” Ishola said. “It is Christmas that has made it possible for us to be free from all our sins.”

In Israel, Baptists use the holiday to share their faith. Increased attention is focused on Nazareth, the biblical home of Jesus, which opens avenues for Israeli Baptists to enter into conversations about God.

They participate with other Christians in a ministry called Nazareth Village, which recreates a first-century town. The site draws local residents and tourists, providing an opportunity for many people to hear the gospel.

Israeli Baptists also work with other Christians in a publicity campaign with billboards that read “Jesus is the Fest” and provide a toll-free number and website for people to contact for more information about Jesus.

“Baptists in Israel are around 2 percent of the total Christian population, but this small community of faithful followers of Christ is vibrant and celebrates Christmas in a very special way—trying to draw the attention of all people of Israel to the reason billions around the world are celebrating Christmas,” said Bader Mansour, treasurer of the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel.

Posted: 12/22/06

CYBER COLUMN:
Merry Christmas

By Berry D. Simpson

Saturday morning, Dec. 16, Cyndi and I woke up about 8 a.m., a true weekend indulgence. Cyndi left to take Lady the Running Labrador around the block before leaving for her class, and I squeezed in a run. It wasn’t my best run, I must admit. I spent an hour and a half in a four-minute-walk-11-minute-run rotation, all designed to rebuild my left knee. But really, it was a great run, because it was good for my heart and soul. My knee feels much better than it did a year ago, I can run better, I’m not eating pain-reliever every morning for breakfast, and I don’t wake up in the middle of the night with aches and pains. I’m thinking if I can drop another 20 pounds after Jan. 2 and keep my mileage constant, I will regain my old form from, well, at least four years ago, such at it was. What I’m trying to say is this:

I can smell hope in the air—hope of another marathon or two, maybe even an ultra on dirt—and hope is a mighty thing. Christmas is near, and the air smells like hope.

After returning from my run, I poked around the house doing laundry and reading the paper. Then I drove to that fine dining establishment, Whataburger, to drink coffee while reading my Bible and working on my Bible study lesson for Sunday morning. It was a good, relaxing time, and I got a lot of work done, except for the city-related conversations with people who recognized me and wanted to know about whether Cracker Barrel was moving to town and whether we should allow oil and gas drilling within the city limits and why do so many drivers run red lights. But everyone was smiling and enjoying each other, because Christmas is just a week away.

Leaving Whataburger, I drove to Gold’s Gym, where I met Cyndi for her Body Pump workout class, an intense hour of high-rep weight training that leaves me exhausted and crawling to the door afterwards. But Cyndi played Christmas music for the cool-down stretching, and it was great. I was rejuvenated.

We drove together to Rosa’s on Midland Drive for our traditional Saturday taco lunch, where we saw so many people we know we hardly had time to eat. The restaurant was abuzz with shoppers, and it was exciting.

After lunch, Cyndi and I split up. She went to school to work on her campus newsletter, and I went on a mission to find a couple of those spiral-tree-like lighted yard ornaments. As it turned out, I was two weeks too late to find what I wanted.

I went to Home Depot. I went to Lowe’s. I went to the traditional Wal-Mart. I went to Hobby Lobby. I went to Ace Hardware (or, as I call it, Handy Dan). I went to the new Wal-Mart. I was unsuccessful everywhere I went, but surprisingly, I wasn’t frustrated about it all. I had a great afternoon driving around town and walking through crowded stores, something I wouldn’t have anticipated. It was meditative and soothing. Maybe because Christmas was coming, or maybe because I was alone and didn’t have to worry that I was wasting someone else’s time taking so long. In truth, I would rather have been home holding hands with Cyndi, but maybe that would come later. I could’ve made a few more stores if it hadn’t become dinnertime.

So Cyndi and I had delicious homemade gumbo and toasted garlic bread at Pete’s and Cindy’s house. I’ve eaten Pete’s cooking before and knew what to expect, so it was hard to drive the speed limit to his house and not break into a trot up the sidewalk to his front door.

After gumbo, we all drove over to the Ector County Coliseum to watch the Christmas presentation by First Baptist Church of Odessa. We especially loved the first part with big Celtic drums and dancers and singers and joy.

The Christmas season can show up in a lot of ways; maybe in driving around town mile after mile, or digging through picked-over Christmas ornaments, or eating homemade gumbo, or even running and lifting weights. It all counts. Jesus came to be with us in life as we live it, and what a glorious thing he did.

Merry Christmas.

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

Posted: 12/22/06

Baptists urge Wal-Mart to practice Golden Rule

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)—Wal-Mart, the self-styled low-price leader, can’t seem to get a break these days. While the giant retailer has recently come under attack from pro-gay groups for backpedaling on diversity initiatives, a group of Baptist pastors and leaders has spoken against Wal-Mart for exploiting workers in order to increase profits.

Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, recently lead the charge against Wal-Mart on national TV. He appeared Dec. 15 on CNBC’s On The Money to discuss a letter and television ad in which Joe Phelps, pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., demanded the retailer adhere to the Golden Rule—Jesus’ command to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

The TV ad, which aired Dec. 14 in 25 states and 43 markets, was funded by the union-backed WakeUpWalMart.com. The group accuses the company of gender-based discrimination, child-labor law violations, and failure to provide health care to workers.

Parham appeared on CNBC opposite Ira Combs, pastor of Greater Bible Way of the Apostolic Faith in Jackson, Mich., who defended Wal-Mart for its history of creating jobs and providing inexpensive goods in low-income neighborhoods.

On the show, Parham said Jesus would be “more concerned about health care for the children of Wal-Mart employees than low prices.”

“When we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who gave us the moral imperative, the Golden Rule, and … we believe that the Golden Rule challenges American consumers to think about where they should shop,” he said in the interview, which is archived on CNBC’s website.

Parham said all people of faith affirm the value of the Golden Rule, so Wal-Mart should “strive to be a Golden Rule company — not follow secondary standards and seek only profit for a few.”

Combs responded by pointing out that Wal-Mart is “not running for sainthood” but operates in a capitalist, free-market system. He said the store has become a target simply because it meets consumer needs better than competitors. In a subsequent recap of the event, Parham noted Combs serves on an advisory group recruited by Wal-Mart to counter negative public opinion.

“I think that the problem here is this is not really a theological question and debate, this is really an ideological one, which deals with social and economic issues,” Combs said. He also blamed Parham for philosophy “steeped in a great deal of the union philosophical bent with regard to how these businesses and corporations should operate and carry out their business.”

On the WakeUpWalMart.com TV spot, Phelps asked shoppers: “If these are Wal-Mart’s values, would Jesus shop at Wal-Mart? Should you?”

Apparently, the answer is no. In a column that appeared on ethicsdaily.com, Phelps said shopping at Wal-Mart is “an insult to God. … What we buy matters to others and to God.”

Phelps said he made the ad to “wake up the American consumer, especially those with Bible values, to the reality that our buying power has real power to affect a lot of people around the world.”

“Everyone wants lower prices, but not at the expense of neighbors who work for Wal-Mart, or people around the world who make their products,” he wrote. “Our purchasing choices are the crucial link in granting companies like Wal-Mart our tacit permission and our financial support to continue practices that exploit the young, the vulnerable, and the working poor.”

A spokeswoman for Working Families for Wal-Mart, a group formed to defend the store, called the ad campaign “shameful,” especially during the holidays. “While the union leaders are wasting their members’ dues on an attack campaign, Wal-Mart is benefiting tens of millions of working families through its low prices and quality job opportunities,” she said in a press statement.

More than 176 million people shop at Wal-Mart each week. The retailer has more than 1.8 million employees worldwide, 1 million of whom have health plans, according to the Wal-Mart website.

Phelps is a board member of the Baptist Center for Ethics, which commissioned a petition letter to the same effect as the TV commercial. The letter, drafted by Parham, was sent in partnership with WakeUpWalMart.com to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. As of Dec. 19, 132 people had signed it, including activist Tony Campolo, seminary professors and many Baptist pastors.

Calling themselves “moral theologians,” the signers said: “We believe that Wal-Mart has been given and entrusted with much wealth, power and influence,” the letter said. “Wal-Mart’s leaders need to recognize their moral obligations to be good stewards of what the corporation has been given and entrusted, not simply through acts of charity but with justice for working-family employees who have built, but not necessarily benefited, from Wal-Mart’s vast earnings.”

WakeUpWalMart is sponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

Posted: 12/21/06

A Truly Awesome Christmas

By Travis McClinton

Ah, the joys of the season are upon us. Christmas Trees, cookies and cake, peppermint sticks, the crisp breeze of a December wind, and the wonder in the eyes of children as the excitement of the glorious day comes closer. The feelings swell your heart, and overflow with happiness.

Being a father of two, this time of year always makes me giddy like a child myself. But the other day made me realize how wonderful this time of year truly is.

One Friday, I went to pick my children up from school and overheard my son talking to a friend of his. Living in the age of technology, they were, of course, talking about one of the new video games on the market. The words, “wow,” “amazing” and “awesome” came up in the conversation. I normally let things like this go, but I decided to ask Andrew what he meant by “awesome.” He told me it was something cool and incredible. I sat quietly and nodded. Then he asked why.

I told him “awesome” has a slightly different meaning than “cool.” I told him it means to leave someone in awe and wonder. My littlest child finally perked up and asked what I meant. So I told them that to be in awe and wonder is to be so amazed, that your legs feel weak, you are speechless, and you are just filled with so much joy that you can’t keep still. We talked more about the definition of “awesome” until Erin asked, “Daddy, what do you think is awesome?” Hundreds of things flooded my mind. The birth of my children, the day I got married, and the day I graduated from college all came forth.

Then in the back of my mind, a tiny thought slowly appeared and I almost wept. When I was young, I loved to listen to my little record player. And the record I literally wore out was A Charlie Brown Christmas. And from that, I remembered my favorite passage of Scripture.

Luke 2:8-14

Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Both children sat quietly. Then, being of inquisitive natures, they both asked why. I sat back, and began to tell them.

Imagine, a quiet and cold night. You and your friends are sitting on a hill watching hundreds of sheep, trying not to fall asleep. Then you see a small pin prick of light off in the distance slowly building in brightness. You nudge your buddy, and he sees it as well. It grows and grows, brighter and brighter. Soon, your sheep are twitching, and your buddies are starting to get a little nervous. Finally, you see a light that is brighter than day glowing around a person hovering just above you in the sky.

By this time, you are trembling with such fear, you can’t stand, you’re body is stiff and cold, and you can’t keep calm. You’re terrified. Then a voice so gentle, but commanding attention, falls on your ears, saying, “Fear not,” and immediately you’re calm.

This angel then tells you that what you are about to hear is a sign for a momentous occasion: Not far from where you are is a baby that is just now coming into this world. A Savior for all mankind. He who will save all from sin. A child who would be Christ. A child who will be born in humble surroundings, but will do amazing things.

For a brief moment, you think nothing could be more amazing than what you have just witnessed. Then slowly, like a small hum, a sound starts building. You notice the light getting brighter than you thought it could. And then the most beautiful sound flows through the air. A chorus of amazing voices that stagger you even further to the point of sobbing and weeping for joy. Those voices of such amazement singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

And in the blink of an eye, they’re gone. You don’t move. You’re afraid it was a dream. You turn your head slowly and notice the same look on your friends’ faces. Was it real?

In a heartbeat, you’re running faster and faster to the nearby town. You don’t know where to go, but are drawn to a small barn. You skid to a halt. And you look in the small feeding trough, and there lying in old cloths is a small baby boy, with a peace and calmness that wafts throughout the small group of people.

You then realize what you are seeing and what has just happened. You, a lowly shepherd, have been told the most amazing news. News that will shake the world. News of such amazing importance, it has been told to you. You then know that whatever may come, all that matters is that you were told of Jesus’ birth. And you will always remember it.

Silence gripped my children. I smiled. I knew that through their amazement they were the shepherds who have been told an amazing thing. They would always remember what was said this day. And I knew just how they felt.

Later the next week, my son’s teacher called me and told me my son told her the story I entrusted them. She thanked me for reminding them, as well as her, what Christmas is truly all about. And she told me what Chirstmas story she will be giving her family this year.

I’ll always tell my kids the Christmas story. And I know that one day, I will tell my grandkids, too. But I will always remember what my son told me, through huge eyes, but with the quietest whisper of a voice, “Wow, Dad, that is AWESOME!”

Travis McClinton is an information technology trainer for the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, based in Dallas.

Posted: 12/21/06

Baylor’s oldest new graduate
receives long-awaited degree

By Cynthia Jackson

Baylor University

SHREVEPORT, La.—The list of graduates at Baylor University’s December commencement included M.L. “Hub” Northen, who enrolled at the school 81 years earlier and left Baylor in 1929 one credit short of a degree.

Northen, who is 100 years old, was unable to attend the ceremony due to health concerns. But Terry Maness, dean of Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, told the assembly Northen is the oldest person ever to obtain a degree from Baylor.

Northen arrived at Baylor University in 1925 with $100 his parents had managed to save. He paid his tuition by cleaning Brooks Hall for 25 cents per hour. And for an extra 35 cents a day, he lit a fire at 3:30 a.m., so students could take their morning baths.

When the Great Depression hit in 1929, Northen quit school to begin fulltime work to help support his family financially. At the time, he lacked only one class credit to earn his degree.

Through the years, Northen organized Baylor alumni and supported the university’s sports recruiting efforts, but he never claimed to be a Baylor graduate.

But in 2004, when he and his wife, Annie Lee, moved to a care facility, his family discovered something while sorting through the Northens’ household items to prepare their house for sale.

“It was the biggest shock to all of us to find in a bunch of rolled-up documents a 1929 diploma of graduation for Marvin Lafayette Northen,” said grandson Gary Northen Jr.

He asked his grandfather about the diploma and learned it had been mailed by mistake.

“He then told me that he was one class short of the graduation requirements—a single chemistry class,” he said. “Although apparently an error on the part of the records department, since he did not attend graduation at the end of the quarter, the diploma was mailed to him at his home in Holland, Texas.”

His grandfather explained when he received it, he didn’t have enough money for postage to send it back to the university.

The grandson made some inquiries at Baylor, and that resulted in his grandfather being awarded a bachelor of business administration degree during Sunday morning services at Trinity Heights Baptist Church in Shreveport, La., Dec. 3.

The ceremony was a surprise to his grandfather and to the rest of the Northen family.

“I understand … that you have held on to a signed diploma proclaiming your degree from Baylor University,” David Pennington, interim chair and professor of chemistry, wrote in a letter to Northen. “But because of your honesty, you never claimed to have earned that degree because you lacked a single chemistry course, Chemistry 101.

“Therefore, it is my genuine pleasure to inform you that because of your honesty and 81 years of experience in the interim, you are hereby granted credit for Chemistry 101, fulfilling the last of your formal degree requirements for that BBA degree and legitimizing your status as a genuine graduate of Baylor University.”

Many letters poured in from old friends, Baylor supporters, Baylor officials and Baylor athletic coaches past and present, including legendary football coach Grant Teaff.

“There are supporters, and then there are people like Hub Northen,” Teaff wrote. “The kind of person who thinks every recruiting class is the best one ever recruited, and that every team, even if they stumble a little along the way, is the best team Baylor ever had.”

Baptist Standard Editor Emeritus Toby Druin also sent a letter of congratulations.

“Every conversation we have had has given me a deeper appreciation for the university and for your love of the school and the days you spent there and the esteem you have for it today,” Druin wrote. “I am sure that no one bleeds more green and gold than M.L. Northen.”

Baylor President Emeritus Hebert H. Reynolds wrote to Northen: “You are undoubtedly the most senior person to ever receive a Baylor degree after having diligently pursued this goal for the past 80 years! You have been one of Baylor’s finest stalwarts since the day you stepped on the campus in the 1920s, and all of us who have known you through the years have the utmost respect for you as a person, as well as a son of Baylor who has never wavered in your love and support of your beloved alma mater.”

Posted: 12/21/06

BGCT African-American
ministries director named

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—Charles Singleton, pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, is leaving the church he founded 22 years ago to become director of African-American ministries for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

“The African-American congregations of the BGCT are growing and are committed to reaching all the people they can for Christ and discipling them in his call and way,” said Charles Wade, BGCT executive director. “I am excited and proud that Rev. Charlie Singleton has agreed to answer God’s call and our invitation to serve in this strategic role.  He will be a great leader among us.”

Singleton becomes the third BGCT African-American ministries director in more than two decades. He assumes his new post Jan. 1.

Ron Gunter, BGCT associate executive director and chief operating officer, praised Singleton’s ministerial experience.

“Rev. Charlie Singleton is a wonderful leader who will give the BGCT great direction for the future in the area of our African American Ministries,” Gunter said. “He is a well known and respected leader that will take our ministries to a new height. We are blessed to have him on our staff.”

Singleton served on the BGCT Executive Board from 2002 to 2006, the BGCT mission funding committee since 2001 and as a BGCT field representative in Tarrant County for African-American ministries since 1998.

Singleton is president of the Tarrant Baptist Association Pastor’s Conference, and he has held numerous other offices with that organization, including moderator in 2004.

“I see this as an opportunity to connect more African-American congregations with the convention,” Singleton said. In his new role, he hopes to bring a “spirit of collaboration, not only with the African American Fellowship but with other affinity groups”

During Singleton’s tenure at First Missionary Baptist, the congregation started the Southeast Hispanic Baptist Church to minister to the Hispanic population in the area and fostered an extensive youth outreach ministry. Thirty-three new members have joined the congregation this year. The church grew from 70 to nearly 300 members under his tenure.

Singleton believes the congregation and the city will consider his legacy as “having a pastor’s heart for the church and the community.”

The Fort Worth pastor also founded Miller Avenue Christian Academy, an academic and spiritual ministry to children two years old through second grade. His congregation collaborated with Fort Worth school district to develop tutoring and other after school outreach programs.

Singleton also served in various community roles including tenure on the Fort Worth City Planning Commission and Allied Communities of Tarrant County.

Singleton has participated in mission trips to Brazil, Nigeria, West Africa, Spain, England, India and South Africa.

Singleton’s ministry experience dates back to 1975 when he was ordained as a pastor at St. Paul Baptist Church, Calif. He served as associate pastor there two years. Singleton was pastor of Antioch Baptist Church of Fort Worth from 1981 to 1984. He was a founding member of the African American Fellowship.

Singleton is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

Posted: 12/20/06

Chrismukkah? Hybrid holiday shows
tension in religiously blended families

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)—There’s a new winter holiday on the rise, and it could be the perfect opportunity to enjoy Fa-La-La-La Latkes, Blitzen’s Blintzes, and Christmas trees filled with “menorahments.”

It’s not Christmas. And it’s not Hanukkah. It’s both. And the humor and religious syncretism behind the hybrid holiday “Chrismukkah” cut to the heart of modern-day tensions in American society.

According to the United Jewish Communities’ National Jewish Population Survey, roughly 31 percent of married Jews in the United States have non-Jewish spouses. For Jews who married after 1995, the intermarriage rate is nearly 50 percent.

Chrismukkah was invented for Jewish-Christian families who decide to celebrate both holidays. The term had its first wide pop-culture appearance in 2003, thanks to a mixed-faith family featured on the now-canceled Fox television show The O.C.

But several new books are taking the holiday at least semi-seriously, reflecting the increasing number of American families that blend Christianity and Judaism.

Chrismukkah: The Official Guide to the World’s Most Beloved Holiday by Gersh Kuntzman, and Chrismukkah: Everything You Need to Know to Celebrate the Hybrid Holiday by Ron Gompertz, both extol the virtues of the Dec. 15-25 celebration. Judaikitsch: Tchotchkes, Schmattes & Nosherei by Jennifer Traig and Victoria Traig also highlights the new holiday alternative.

Gompertz, a Jew who moved from New York to Bozeman, Mont., founded the website www.chrismukkah.com. He is married to the daughter of a pastor in the United Church of Christ, and the couple has decided to raise their daughter in the Jewish faith.

Gompertz’s family chooses to celebrate Hanukkah. But in addition to lighting the menorah and frying latkes—that’s a traditional Hanukkah potato pancake—they add a Christmas tree.

“Frankly, it’s fun to challenge the status quo and question tradition,” he said. “Chrismukkah has gotten people talking, allowing expression of diverse opinion, and it’s helped bring Jewish intermarriage issues to mainstream cultural awareness.”

While he sits on the board of directors for Bozeman’s synagogue and calls himself “a proud Jew,” Gompertz recognizes compromise as a key part of fostering a good marriage with his wife, Michelle. It’s one of the reasons they launched the website as a project to express their views as a “real interfaith family.”

“While we are typical in the sense that … we never had a political or theological agenda, we certainly don’t believe we represent the beliefs of all interfaith couples,” he wrote on his website. “That said, it has been a nice surprise to find how many others share our beliefs and values. We’ve found that by celebrating both December holidays … we manage to keep peace and harmony within our family.”

Chrismukkah fans say the event celebrates both Christian and Jewish beliefs, even if it is a bit tongue-in-cheek. It’s a state of mind for the season—a “multicultural mish-mash of the cherished holiday rituals we grew up with,” Gompertz wrote. And that’s one of the reasons the website is popular, he said.

But the reason Gompertz likes his new holiday is exactly why Chrismukkah critics dislike it.

In 2004, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and the New York Board of Rabbis issued a joint statement disparaging the holiday for misrepresenting the spiritual aspects of Christmas and Hanukkah.

“Chrismukkah is a multicultural mess that glosses over the historical significance of both Hanukkah and Christmas,” said William Donohue, the Catholic League’s president.

“In this vein, we would agree with the recent statement on mixed marriages prepared by the U.S. Catholic-Jewish Consultation Committee. It branded attempts to raise a child simultaneously as both Jewish and Catholic a ‘violation of the integrity of both religious traditions, at best, and, at worst, syncretism.’ From a Catholic perspective, anything which contributes to this phenomenon should be resisted, and that would include Chrismukkah.”

The term has also been used disparagingly in recent years by some as a way to describe the commercialization of Hanukkah and the dominance of commercialized Christmas in American culture.

Rabbi Jeremy Schneider of Temple Shalom in Dallas said Hanukkah is ultimately about maintaining a Jewish belief system in the face of a larger majority belief system surrounding the Jewish community. To create a “hybrid” holiday, he said, insults both Christianity and Judaism.

“Even if the majority of Christians do not take their religious symbols seriously, that does not give Jews license to adopt them and proclaim them secular or American symbols,” he said in an e-mail interview. “I urge my congregants to (imagine) how we would feel if Christians started wearing a tallit, a Jewish prayer shawl, or a yarmulke, a Jewish head covering, and ‘de-Judaized’ them for their own purposes.”

In an essay called “Confronting the December Dilemmas,” Ron Wolfson said that by adopting Christmas and its customs, Jews introduce symbols and traditions into their families that are foreign to Judaism. Wolfson is a Jewish educator and president of Synagogue 3000, a Jewish networking and resource center with offices in New York City and Los Angeles.

Christmas celebrates the birth of a Messiah whom Jews do not recognize, and Hanukkah celebrates the right not to assimilate into the dominant non-Jewish culture—the very thing that Jews who celebrate Christmas are doing, he said.

“Many Jewish educators will advise parents to give children who want to celebrate Christmas a very important message: Christmas is someone else’s party, not ours,” Wolfson wrote. “Just as we can appreciate someone else’s birthday celebration and be happy for them, we can wonder at how beautiful Christmas is, but it is not our party.”

Jewish people have many more holidays than just Hanukkah to celebrate, Wolfson continued. It may be difficult to convince Jewish children that they don’t need to trim a Christmas tree or wait for Santa, but once they have experienced the meaning and beauty of their own Jewish traditions, he said, children “will understand that to be Jewish is to be enriched by a calendar brimming with joyous celebration.”

Who knows? The kids might not even miss that kosher fruitcake.

Updated: 12/15/06

Warren confesses he was
‘blind' to AIDS epidemic

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP)—For 20 years, Rick Warren was wrong about AIDS, he told listeners at the 2006 Global Summit on AIDS and the Church.

The megachurch pastor and best-selling author said he initially wasn’t afraid of AIDS, nor did he judge those who had it.

“It’s not a sin to be sick,” he said. But he just didn’t care about it.

Fortunately for him, he said, his wife did care. Four years ago, Kay Warren’s compassion led the couple to travel to several countries in Africa to learn about the disease.

Since then, the Warrens, who founded Saddleback Church in Southern California, have worked to raise awareness in their church and among Christians worldwide with the ambitious goal of eradicating the contractible immune deficiency.

Warren told conference listeners he can’t believe he was “so blind to something this big,” adding that it makes the bubonic plague look “like a picnic.”

Indeed, the statistics about people with HIV/AIDS are astounding. In the United States, more than 1 million live with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Worldwide, more than 40 million people have it, and experts project that by 2010 a total of 100 million people will have carried HIV.

To get Christians involved, the Warrens invited AIDS experts, policymakers, religious leaders, medical researchers and ambassadors to their Lake Forest, Calif., church for a two-day summit headlined by Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) with video presentations from Bono of the rock group U-2 and Bill and Melinda Gates.

The event, attended by more than 2,000 people—many of them AIDS-fighters themselves—featured training sessions and seminars, plus free AIDS testing for anyone who came.

As an example to other Christian leaders, Warren was tested for HIV a year ago, along with 60 of his staff members. Obama and Brownback also agreed to undergo a public AIDS test.

And despite some criticism from the evangelical community that Warren should not work with Obama because of the senator’s pro-choice stance on abortion, the pastor said he will cooperate with anyone who wants to work against AIDS, no matter what motivations he or she may have.

“I think the Jesus way of change is always to show love, even to your critics,” he said. “We will work with whoever wants to work to save lives and let the chips fall as they may. … I don’t care what motivation you have. Let’s just get it done.”

Kay Warren had that same feeling of urgency when she first learned about the 12 million African children orphaned by AIDS.

Until then, she told the crowd, she thought AIDS was “a gay disease, as though that meant it was something I didn’t have to care about.” But then, in 2002, she picked up a news magazine “and suddenly caught a glimpse of a new reality. It rocked my world.”

At that moment, “it was as if my senses had been awakened and that was all I could see,” she said. If Christians do not become “seriously disturbed” by the millions of people who die every year from AIDS, she continued, they will have lived lives using the wrong measure of success.

Of course, when Warren first realized her obligation to help AIDS victims, she said, she faced several obstacles–barriers that also stop churches from taking action– ignorance about the disease; irrational fear about contracting it; worry about what others will think; and paralysis because of the sheer size of the problem.

All of her fears were unfounded, she said. Humanly speaking, it is impossible to end HIV, she said, “but with God, it is possible. With his church, when you and I show up, I do believe there is hope.”

“Jesus was not worried about his reputation. Ever. Ever!” she said. “Jesus Christ lived boldly. He talked to those he was going to talk to. He talked frankly. He talked straight. Jesus hung out with everybody and anybody — prostitutes, tax collectors. And Jesus didn’t give it a thought. And if Jesus didn’t put any barriers around the people he would hang out with, who was I” to do so?

The Warrens’ conference is the first to promote a solely church-based strategy to mobilize millions of Christians to work toward the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. They said they hope pastors who have used Rick Warren's best-selling Purpose Driven books—which have spawned a small publishing industry and a burgeoning worldwide network of churches— will use strategies and resources from the conference to develop AIDS-fighting plans within their congregations.

Those local churches, Warren said, are the only force that can eradicate the disease. In many parts of the world, he said, the Christian church is the only civil-social structure. And the church is the “only truly global organization, existing in every country and in thousands of indigenous people groups that are not represented by the United Nations or any multi-national corporation.”

With such a historic, widespread, efficient base, not to mention a divine mandate to help the orphan and widow, Warren said, the church must help.

“The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence,” he said. “We are blessed to be a blessing. God does not bless you just so you can feel good. He blesses you to be a blessing to others.”

He pointed out that Americans, if they have any food in their refrigerators, clothes on their backs, and roofs over their heads, are richer than 75 percent of the world. Most Americans have access to good health care, and “most people of the world would love to have your problems,” he added.

God commands the fortunate to help those in need, Warren said. Quite simply, God didn’t cause AIDS to happen, but he allowed it, according to Warren, and God’s plan for AIDS is that Christians help those affected by it.

“We have to care because Jesus modeled it,” he said. “Jesus is the most compassionate person who ever lived. If you want to be like him … then you have to care about people who are sick. AIDS is a terrible scourge, a terrible pandemic. It is also the greatest opportunity to show love to the world.”

“The world has been living with AIDS for 25 years, and rather than it getting better, it has gotten worse,” Warren said. “It will never be solved by government alone…it will never be solved by churches alone. … It will never be solved by (non-governmental organizations) alone. We have to work together.”