Posted: 11/10/06

DOWN HOME:
Teenagers don’t live here anymore

You never know when lightning will strike, thunder will clap and you’ll realize nothing will ever be the same again.

This happened in church the other day.

(I know; novel idea: Life-changing revelation in a Sunday-morning worship service.)

Actually, it happened while our pastor made the announcements.

(Stranger still: “And, ladies, don’t forget the Woman’s Missionary Union pot-luck luncheon and planning meeting Tuesday.” Ka-boom! “You know, Honey, I suddenly feel called to missions in the Congo.”)

Quite unexpectedly, it happened during an announcement that didn’t even have anything to do with Joanna and me. At least not anymore.

Stephen, our pastor, was telling all the parents of teenagers about a special training session on how to be parents of teenagers when he announced the date, “… next Sunday, Nov. 12.”

Right then and there, it hit me: “On that Sunday, Nov. 12, Jo and I no longer will be the parents of a teenager.”

We became parents of our first teenager 10 years and three days earlier. That’s when Lindsay, our oldest daughter, turned 13. Molly, our youngest daughter, turns 20 and transports herself from teenhood this year on Nov. 12.

People joke about teenagers all the time, but I’m going to miss those teen years.

Not that all was rosy. There were days—probably when the girls were about 13 or 14—when I wondered if I could just freeze-dry those darling daughters and thaw them out when they turned 20. That seemed like thoroughly logical ruminations for a father facing the foibles and frustrations of those years between childhood and adulthood.

But for the most part, we had a fun ride.

When they entered their teens, both Lindsay and Molly resembled children. They looked to their mother and me for daily provision as well as for emotional and spiritual support.

But by the time they both reached the Big 2-0, they had blossomed into thoughtful, self-reliant young adults. Even more important than how they excelled in school, learned to cook and clean, realized they need to pay attention to basic car maintenance, and chose friends wisely, they both became far more spiritually mature than I was when I was their age. I’m trying to think if anything about parenthood has been more gratifying than that fact … and nothing comes even close.

During their teen years, we made memories that will last our lifetimes: Trips to the beach. Halftimes at football games, as they danced with the Farmerettes drill team. Teaching them both to drive. Proms. Graduations. First days at college. A host of fantastic moments.

Of course, parenting never is “over.” I realize that when I talk to my grandmother about my mother. But the teen years have come to an end. As a parent, I can paraphrase the prayer of Dag Hammarskjold: “For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.”

— Marv Knox

Posted: 11/10/06

EDITORIAL:
Go Away, Walk Away & the big picture

Many Texas Baptists have responded to the church starting scandal in the Rio Grande Valley in either of two ways. Some just want it to go away. Others think they might just walk away.

The Go Away and the Walk Away positions are understandable. But they’re too narrow and will not lead the Baptist General Convention of Texas where God wants us to go.

Most people can relate to the folks who want this problem to just Go Away. Many Christians instinctively turn away from scandal and shy away from conflict. They realize scandal and conflict divert unbelievers from Christ, dissipate the enthusiasm of immature Christians and even discourage mature Christians. So, they believe the best plan is to pretend these difficulties don’t exist, or, failing that, to quit talking about them as quickly as possible. Several inherent weaknesses accompany this approach:

• Just because you won’t name it doesn’t mean it’s not there. This is the “elephant in the room” syndrome. Relationships strain and integrity frays when people in a community—family, church or convention—ignore the obvious. As a family grows increasingly sick and dysfunctional because nobody will talk about Uncle John’s alchoholism, a convention will decline if it ignores a moral problem, such as deception and waste of missions money.

• Public sin calls for public atonement. The Bible is chock-full of cautionary tales about public sin that festered, multiplied and killed until the sinner publicly repented. What’s more, Jesus cared so much about sin and discord within the church that he insisted reconciliation should be achieved before worship is resumed (Matthew 5:23-24). He offered a step-by-step pattern for dealing with sin within the church (Matthew 18:15-17). Jesus didn’t shirk responsibility to confront scandal or shy away from conflict. The notion that confrontation has no place in the church is not based on the teachings and actions of Christ.

• Trust will not return until credibility is restored.This is a key issue for the BGCT. Churning change that consumed the convention in recent years left nerves on edge. Now, with the scent of scandal burning in our nostrils, many Texas Baptists don’t trust each other enough to move forward together. We must deal with these issues and form a foundation to believe in each other again.

If you think Go Away is bad, Walk Away would be even more damaging—to the BGCT and to the kingdom of God.

The murmur of Walk Away has been on the lips of what seems to be an increasing number of youngish pastors and can-do laypeople in some of the convention’s stronger churches for awhile. Fed up with what they describe as disorganized reorganization, sluggish responsiveness and a rudderless ship, they tend to think they would be better off going it alone. Their thinking reflects denominational discord, generational shifts and social trends.

The danger now is that scandal might provide the excuse some need to walk. They can tell themselves they already have the resources they need to “do church” and practice missions. In fact, the creeping temptation is to transfer funds that historically supported convention causes into programs and ministries of the church. This tragedy transcends finances. If these churches slip away from active involvement, the convention will lose the impact of vibrant, creative congregations, ministers and laypeople.

And for all their vibrancy, the Walk Aways are missing the big picture:

• They equate the BGCT Executive Board with the BGCT itself. This is understandable; we often use the terms interchangeably. But the Executive Board and its staff compose but one component of a much larger convention, which includes 5,700 churches as well as more than two dozen agencies and institutions. To be sure, the Executive Board has been the focal point of reorganization, which has been slow, uneven and mind-numbingly frustrating. But that’s not the whole convention.

• They’re inclined to throw the baby out with the bath water. Even though the Executive Board has had its troubles, it’s still an organization of tremendous potential. Its vision needs to be refined, and its resources must be focused. But with the help of Texas Baptists and committed staff, it can provide resources and connectivity for the convention.

• The sum is still substantial. Beyond the Executive Board, the BGCT’s institutional life is unparalleled. Together, we’re educating the next generation of leaders, preparing ministers, meeting human need, respecting our elders, healing the sick and doing mission work all around the world. Churches that walk away from the BGCT could distance themselves from these wonderful ministries, diminishing the churches’ blessings and the ministries’ impact.

This is why the Executive Board members, who meet Monday, Nov. 13, must act decisively to respond to the scandal, restore trust and move the BGCT forward.

The problem won’t go away, and we must not walk away.

–-Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard.

Posted: 11/10/06

Young filmmaker issues casting call

By George Henson

Staff Writer

BROWNWOOD—Always wanted to see your face on the silver screen but probably won’t make it to Hollywood?

If a casting call in Brownwood seems more within your travel budget, a Howard Payne University student has a project that might be worth consideration.

Brandon Powell will hold casting auditions for his feature-length film project, Trial By Self, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Auditions will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and at 2 p.m. Friday. They will conclude at 11:30 p.m. both days and will be held in the Howard Payne English department building.

The 23-year-old student said he wants to cast the film centering on family relationships with people who share his Christian values.

The script, written by Powell, calls for 16 speaking roles, including five primary actors and numerous extras.

Powell expects the film to cost about $10,000 to make, and it will be shot next summer in and around Gorman, his hometown.

“It’s not about faith, but without saying anything, it brings it up. I think people are smarter than we give them credit for. You don’t have to hit them over the head with it for them to get it,” he said.

The distribution plan calls for the film to be screened initially at film festivals.

Powell has invested not only years writing and polishing the script, but also a great deal of cash, he noted.

“I don’t have a car because I have a very, very nice camera,” he said.

Despite his youth and inexperience, Powell is passionate about his project and confident it will be a source of pride for all involved.

“And I definitely can offer them exposure, because it will be taken to numerous festivals,” he said.

While he acknowledges obstacles to get his film to this point, he has no doubt the film will be made.

“God keeps sending me little encouragements all along the way,” he said.

Assistant Director Jolie Mayfield of Hardin has offered Powell script criticisms and is ready to take the next step.

“I’ve seen it in print, but I think to see it filmed is going to be really great,” she said.

For more information, contact Powell at newdionysuspictures@hotmail.com.

Posted: 11/10/06

Evangelicals distance
themselves from Haggard scandal

By Adelle Banks

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—As Ted Haggard expressed sorrow for being a “deceiver and a liar,” leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals distanced their organization from the man who led it three years.

“Most people—I’m not sure everyone—separate this tragedy from NAE. They consider it a tragedy of a man, a pastor and not an NAE scandal. That’s the good news,” said Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental relations of the Washington-based association.

“The bad news is, it surely impacts the evangelical world, and that includes the NAE.”

As evangelicals across the country recoiled from one of their own being caught in a sex and drug scandal, the organization that represents them chose an interim president.

Both Haggard’s 14,000-member church in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the NAE cut ties with Haggard after he admitted to “sexual immorality” with a male escort.

“I am so sorry,” Haggard wrote in a letter read to members of New Life Church during its two worship services Nov. 5. “I am sorry for the disappointment, the betrayal and the hurt. I am sorry for the horrible example I have set for you.”

The letter came after the church’s board of overseers announced he had been dismissed for sexually immoral conduct, and after Haggard said in a television interview he had acquired—but not used—methamphetamine and sought a massage from a male escort in Denver.

The NAE’s executive committee selected Leith Anderson, pastor of a Minnesota Baptist megachurch, to serve as interim president while a permanent replacement for Haggard is sought.

“Internally, I think most evangelicals will not tie what happened with Ted Haggard to NAE,” said Anderson, senior pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minn.

“They will understand that if there are 45,000 churches (affiliated with NAE), that 44,999 of them have leaders that did not misbehave and that one person misbehaved and that that is an anomaly.”

Externally, he said, people looking from the outside at evangelicals may attempt to paint them all with one brush.

“There will be those that will think the worst of evangelicals because of this, and I’m sorry about that,” Anderson said.

“This is not who we are. This is not what we do. This is an exception.”

Haggard’s letter was paired with a shorter statement to the church’s women from his wife, Gayle.

“For those of you who have been concerned that my marriage was so perfect I could not possibly relate to the women who are facing great difficulties, know that this will never again be the case,” she wrote, pledging her commitment to her husband. “My test has begun; watch me. I will try to prove myself faithful.”

The immediate steps taken by the NAE indicate the scandal is individual, not institutional, said Luder Whitlock, executive director of Trinity Forum in Orlando, Fla.—a faith-based nonprofit that aids business and professional leaders. Whitlock compared it with the scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who resigned from Congress after allegations surfaced of inappropriate e-mail exchanges with congressional pages.

“In this instance, no one (in NAE) knew … in so far as I know,” Whitlock said. “Once they did know, they were duty-bound to deal with (Haggard) or else then it became an NAE scandal. As long as it’s the person, and the organization dealt with it appropriately, it’s just the realization anybody can sin.”

Kevin Mannoia, a former NAE president, said Haggard’s statement seeking forgiveness will open a process that can help him heal.

The NAE, too, will move past this eventually, he predicts.

“I think it will hurt the organization,” he said. “I’m not ready to say that it’s unrecoverable. By God’s grace, anything can be redeemed, and that’s why I extend grace to Ted personally as well.”

Likewise, Haggard’s church said it is planning its own recovery. “Our last chapter has not been written; in fact, a new book is now beginning,” reads a note on the church’s website. “The New Life Church family’s best days are ahead.”

Posted: 11/10/06

Hispanic Convocation stresses leadership

By Orville Scott

Special to the Baptist Standard

SPICEWOOD—More than 500 participants at the 2006 Convocation of Varones Bautistas at Highland Lakes Camp and Conference Center were challenged to be “prayer warriors” for Christ and leaders for God in their families and churches

Convocation Coordinator Eli Rodriguez of Dallas noted five and 10 people were in the prayer room, praying for each speaker as he or she spoke, and he was convinced it had a clear impact on their messages.

“The most important thing you do as a leader is pray,” said Lorenzo Peña, director of associational missions for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Ministry must reach into communities and not be confined to what is done inside the four walls of a church building, said Victor Rodriguez, pastor of South San Filadelfia Baptist Church in San Antonio.

“We must go out and reach the lost for Christ,” Rodriguez said. “Get away from the walls of the church. The temple is not the church.”

Baldemar Borrego, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, issued a call for “servants who are willing to follow God’s orders.”

“Regardless of our situation, we need to remember God is still in control,” Borrego said. “We need to start over and put God where he belongs.”

Christian leadership begins with submission to Christ, said Albert Reyes, president of Baptist University of the Americas.

“One who leads follows Christ first,” Reyes said. “Surrender and accept the specific assignment of the Father.”

Christian leaders must pass three tests, Reyes said: Can they be trusted with the word of God? Can they be trusted when nobody is looking? Do they follow God’s orders?

Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade stressed the importance of cooperation.

“All of us cannot do alone what all of us can do together,” he said.

Wade urged pastors to help church members become strong leaders.

“No church can be stronger than its leaders,” he said.

Alfonso Flores Jr., pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista Mexicana in San Antonio, emphasized the essential attributes of Christian leaders.

“Leaders must have character, conviction, concentration and confidence, all centered around Jesus Christ,” Flores said. Flores and Wade were among recipients of the Double Diamond Awards, presented for contributions to the growth of the Hispanic Baptist Convocation of the Laity.

Others honored were Rolando Lopez, associate director of missions for San Antonio Baptist Association; Damon Hollingsworth, Texas Baptist Men region 20 leader; Eve Rodriguez of Dallas who began the Ministers’ Wives’ Conference at the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas; Leo Smith, executive director of Texas Baptist Men; and Sam Marroquin, director of a large choir from Houston area churches.

Posted: 11/10/06

Inner-city Houston churches
seek community transformation

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON—Some people view Elmo Johnson as a mover and a shaker—an entrepreneur for God who is leading his church to transform lives for God in the inner city.

Johnson, a former Houston Baptist University baseball player, is pastor of Rose of Sharon Baptist Church. He sees himself as a faithful member of God’s team, and he faces far more pressure on this playing field than on any baseball diamond where he competed, because now he’s competing for lives.

“We’ve buried a lot of kids in this neighborhood,” Johnson said. “We buried 20 kids one year. We had 20 funerals for young people here in the Fourth Ward.

“Kids are killing kids here. One kid was shot to death because he beat another neighborhood boy to a drug dealer’s car to purchase illegal substances.”

Two other boys reportedly doing drugs stole a car, then ran from police and hit a tree. One died instantly; the other swallowed his drugs and died later.

Several inner-city ministries, including Macedonia Baptist Church, Friendship Baptist Church, Bible Way Baptist Church, Antioch Baptist Church, West University Baptist Church and Rose of Sharon Baptist Church formed a coalition to turn the community around.

But the mission particularly is important to Johnson and Rose of Sharon.

The 67-year-old church sits squarely in the shadow of downtown Houston and less than a block away from Founder’s Cemetery, where the city’s forefathers, the Allen Brothers, are buried. The community commonly known as Fourth Ward originally was known as Freedmen’s Town, given by freed slaves who settled it.

Once a desolate, dirty and destructive neighborhood in the inner city, the city’s oldest African-American community is developing into a sanctuary for God’s work. But it took many deadly confrontations to spur the revolution.

Elmo Johnson talks with a neighborhood resident outside his church in Houston's Fourth Ward.

“One time, a kid got shot on the street, and I couldn’t sleep anymore,” Johnson said, with tears in his eyes. “I prayed to God. He said to me, ‘Get out of these four walls and into the community.’”

These days, Johnson seldom meets a stranger in the neighborhood. Practically everyone knows him—particularly the first-time homeowners who benefited from a partnership he developed.

Johnson brought together the city government, real estate developers and federal agencies to build affordable housing in the Fourth Ward. The homes were made available at low-interest rates to residents who never realistically expected to own a home.

“I’ve been blessed,” said Diane Garza, a Fourth Ward resident. “This is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

With Johnson’s help, Garza now owns her own home—a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a two-car garage. She can enjoy riding bikes through the neighborhood safely.

Down the street, another church neighbor claims he would not be celebrating his own home today without Johnson’s assistance.

The 30-member congregation is extending its faith beyond the church walls. Top priorities are taking care of the senior citizens, young adults and young girls and boys on the street.

“We still lost eight kids this year. We buried eight kids,” said Johnson with frustration in his voice. But in a community where drugs and danger walk hand in hand, Johnson has not only prayed for a miracle, he has seen one.

“The makeup of the community is changing,” Johnson explained. “Where weeds and illegal activity once reigned, we now have gates and eight-foot fences.”

Where weeds once stood, a new three-story senior citizens’ apartment complex is rising across the street from Rose of Sharon. After losing her home to new development, an elderly woman is happy again after Johnson worked to ensure there would be an apartment building constructed just for senior citizens. That woman now sits on the porch of a nice new homae—reciting poems and visiting with neighbors.

Cementing partnerships and relationships, Johnson keeps on working. Recently, Trammell Crow and a group of its volunteers called “Elmo’s Army” also constructed 100 new apartment homes for area families. Now, one of the church’s more critical goals is to reach the young people through education. This month, Rose of Sharon Baptist Church announced its partnership with the nearby Gregory Lincoln Learning Center, a Houston Independent School District middle school of nearly 700 students.

The church’s 53-year-old pastor secured partnerships with Rice, Texas Southern University, University of Houston, Lakeland Baptist Church and Deer Park Baptist Church to provide tutors for the students.

“We want to give these kids an alternative to selling drugs and stealing,” Johnson said. “We want to ensure that no kid will drop out of K through 12.”

The adopt-a-school program is a move to teach young people trades such as plumbing, roofing and electrical work to keep them from a life of crime. Students first must commit not to sell drugs. They also must commit to get a high school diploma or a GED and to get life-skills training.

Recently, Rose of Sharon purchased $2,000 worth of school uniforms and shoes for 100 kids, other clothes, 25 backpacks, food and toys.

Pastor of Rose of Sharon for 22 years, Johnson is excited about the wonders God is working. Church members have refurbished and painted a little red schoolhouse called the Georgia Woods Learning Center. Inside, parents and children will have the opportunity to take classes to improve their literacy.

Deacon Willie Scott, a former drug addict and an ex-convict, returned to the Fourth Ward and started From Jails to Jobs to help others like himself develop skills to keep them out of trouble.

But Johnson is quick to note Rose of Sharon Baptist Church is not alone in its efforts. Other churches in the inner city also are doing their part to help spread the gospel and save lives.

“The Lord has been kind,” noted Johnson. “We think he’s making a difference through us, and it will give the families here new hope and new lives.”

Posted: 11/10/06

Islamic groups denounce
Baptist’s ‘takeover’ remark

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (ABP)—Leaders from a prominent American Muslim group have denounced reported comments by the Missouri Baptist Convention’s executive director claiming “Islam has a strategic plan” to take over the United States.

Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said David Clippard’s assertions “are too bizarre to even comment on.”

David Clippard	Ibrahim Hooper

According to two Missouri newspapers, Clippard, in his address at the opening session of the convention’s annual meeting Oct. 30 in Cape Girardeau, said Muslims are trying to infiltrate North American schools and take over U.S. cities in order to impose Islam and Islamic law on an unwilling populace.

“They have a plan to take over,” he said, according to Cape Girardeau’s Southeast Missourian newspaper.

“They are trying to establish a Muslim state inside America, and they are going to take the city of Detroit back to the 15th century and practice Shar’ia (Islamic religious) law there,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Clippard saying.

In his message, Clippard claimed there are now 300,000 Muslims in Detroit, which would comprise a majority of that city. However, in a 2000 survey, the Association of Religion Data Archives estimated that 46,492 Muslims lived in Wayne County, Mich., which includes Detroit. The largest religious body in the city in 2000 was the Catholic Church, with 451,069 adherents.

According to 2004 estimates by the American Religious Identity Survey, about 1.5 million adult Muslims live in the United States.

Hooper noted the Detroit metropolitan area long has been home to a large Arab-American community, but many of those are Catholics and other Arab-American Christians.

Clippard, reached via e-mail, cited multiple sources for the assertions and figures he quoted, including several books and research institutions. A “primary source” for the material, he said, was Jim Slack, an official with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board in Richmond, Va.

Clippard claimed that Slack “has a primary Muslim scholar’s paper that documents the plans for Detroit,” but said he had not read it. Slack did not respond to a telephone message requesting comment by press time.

Clippard also reportedly said the Saudi Arabian government has funded more than 100 Islamic study centers and mosques in North America—including ones on or near the University of Missouri campuses in Columbia, Rolla and St. Louis.

According to the Post-Dispatch, a spokesman at the St. Louis campus said the Saudi government does not subsidize the university’s Muslim Student Association or the school itself.

In addition, Clippard said, the Saudi Arabian government paid for 15,000 Muslim college students to come to North America to study with the intention, he claimed, of taking the continent for Islam.

“What they are after is your sons and daughters,” Clippard said, according to the Post-Dispatch. “They are coming to this country in the guise of students, and the Saudi government is paying their expenses.”

CAIR’s Hooper said Clippard’s claims about schools also are baseless.

“If he has evidence of that, I’d like to see it—but the Muslim Student Association has many chapters on college campuses around the country, just as other faith groups do,” he said. “They’re all just students trying to pass their courses like anybody else. Somehow to claim that they’re (there to form an Islamic revolution), paid for by the Saudi government, is, again, too bizarre to even be commented on.”

Clippard said the Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada is the conduit for Saudi funding of campus Islamic centers.

A telephone number listed on the group’s website was disconnected, and nobody from the group had responded to a message sent to the contact e-mail address listed on the site by press time for this story. But a statement on the site says: “We do not receive funding from overseas governments. We do not accept funding from any one source that might potentially seek control of MSA National’s agenda or affairs.”

Hadia Mubarak, a former president of the group who is currently a member of CAIR’s board, echoed that statement. The MSA and its regional and campus affiliates “have absolutely no connection to Saudi Arabia or any foreign government, for that matter,” she said in an e-mail interview. “In fact, it is a policy of our organization to refuse any funding from foreign governments, as this is an indigenous organization created by American Muslims for American Muslims.”

Clippard, for his part, told the Post-Dispatch that his comments were not borne of hatred for Muslims. “I don’t hate Islamic people,” he said. “We need to love these folks, go after them and love them, one at a time.”

Posted: 11/10/06

Mentally challenged minister
through Meals on Wheels

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

TYLER—Senior adults in the Tyler area recognize residents of Breckenridge Village—a Baptist Child & Family Services facility for mentally handicapped adults—as more than recipients of ministry. They know them as welcome visitors who deliver Meals on Wheels to their homes.

“Many people think of our residents as people who only receive care, but the concept behind Breckenridge Village is to provide the opportunity for them to live as full a life as possible,” Executive Director Charles Dodson said. “That includes having the opportunity to be servants, to do things to help others.”

Except for the driving, Breckenridge men and women take care of the entire operation. That includes picking up the meal kits at the Meals on Wheels operations center and making individual home deliveries.

“Often the Meals on Wheels person is the only other human the seniors see that day,” noted Mike Powell, director of Tyler’s Meals on Wheels. “It is the emotional highlight of their day—often much more important even than the nutritional food.”

The Breckenridge Village volunteers are not on the job because Powell wants to make them feel good—he welcomes the help.

“We provide 3,000 meals a day across 10 counties,” he says. “That’s larger than the Meals on Wheels in Los Angeles. We need all the help we can get, and we need help we can depend on.”

Breckenridge Village meets the challenge. In 2003, its team of residents was was named “Volunteer of the Year” for Tyler.

“The more volunteers we have, the more of our funds we can invest in meals,” Powell added. “So, we see Breckenridge’s participation as a plus for both agencies. They get good experience, and have a good experience. And our seniors love them. Some even call and ask that we send the Breckenridge folks to their house on a regular basis.”

One of those fans, an elderly widow who asked that her name not be used, said that while all the Meals on Wheels volunteers are nice, there is something special about Breckenridge Village.

“They just light up my day, because they always are so happy and always ask how I’m doing,” she explains. “They aren’t in a hurry to get to the next house. It’s like I’m the most important person in the world to them. When you live alone and can’t get out much, that is a wonderful gift.” The feelings are mutual. “One girl was sick and couldn’t do the deliveries one day, and it really made her sad,” said Linda Taylor, director of development at Breckenridge Village. “She kept saying, ‘If I don’t take them their lunch, they won’t get anything to eat today.’ We finally convinced her that her friends from Breckenridge Village would take care of it until she was feeling better and could resume volunteering.”

On a typical day, six to eight residents, ages 24 to 45, load up the van for an afternoon of Meals on Wheels volunteer work. Conversations include lots of playful kidding, impromptu singing and occasional tearful outbursts.

The woman they all call “Mother Hubbard” lives up to her nickname, taking over control and command responsibilities for the operation. She directs unpacking each meal, passing the food from the back to the front and usually provides explicit instructions about how the volunteer is to get the job done.

The sense of fair play is extraordinary as they take turns to be sure everyone gets equal opportunities to participate. The actual delivery is a solo operation—but all the other residents visibly root their friend on and explode into applause and cheers when he or she returns with an empty tray. There is a visible disappointment when the last meal is delivered.

“Sometimes we puzzle about what Jesus exactly meant when he said we should become as little children,” Dodson added. “But surely this is one example.

“Our residents do this because they want to do something kind and loving. Not only do they not expect any reward, they don’t even think about that. Their reward is the smile of the person they serve. They give in the same simple spirit of joy as they receive care at Breckenridge Village.”

Posted: 11/10/06

Scholarships help missionary kids

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

ATLANTA (ABP)—When Mercer University recently announced it will provide undergraduate tuition scholarships for children of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship global field personnel, it joined a significant number of Baptist schools that provide scholarships for “missionary kids.”

Available for full-time students at both the school’s Macon, Ga., and Atlanta campuses, the scholarships will last eight semesters.

Mercer University President Bill Underwood, who presented the scholarship plan at the national CBF meeting in June, said the plan will honor “dedicated CBF field personnel” wanting to provide a college education for their kids.

“This is an opportunity for the university to re-emphasize its mission of empowering people and transforming communities through ministry and missions,” he said in a university statement.

Larry Brumley, Mercer’s senior vice president and chief of staff, said President Emeritus Kirby Godsey conceived the idea for the awards last spring and worked with current President Underwood to see it through.

With Mercer’s annual tuition of $24,000, the scholarships make an extremely significant statement about the commitment of Mercer to CBF missionaries, he said.

When it comes to offering scholarships for children of ministers and missionaries, though, Mercer isn’t alone. Many Baptist schools across the nation give funds to missionary kids.

Officials at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., for instance, have offered scholarships to children of Baptist missionaries for years.

Philip Poole, executive director of communications, said the school gives a maximum annual award of $3,200 for up to eight semesters. It makes no distinction between missionaries from the Southern Baptist Convention or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, he said.

At Dallas Baptist University, the Missionary Kid School Allowance of varying amounts goes to missionaries in active service who have college-age children.

The school even offers a prorated scholarship for some former missionaries, depending on the dates of service.

At Baylor University in Waco, dependents of missionaries actively serving a Baptist international mission agency can get up to $2,500 toward the cost of tuition.

Wendy Norvelle, associate vice president of the International Mission Board, said the SBC agency also gives ample funds to missionary kids.

For children who are eligible, the board gives up to $2,500 per semester, for a maximum of eight semesters. Several qualifiers apply, however, the first being that the child must have been on the mission field for 36 months to receive the funds, she said.

According to a statement from Rob Nash, CBF’s global missions coordinator, all the financial aid gives substantial help to workers “who make significant financial sacrifices in order to pursue their calling to the most marginalized and least evangelized of the world.”

“The expense of a college education weighs heavily on the mind of any parent,” he said.

“Mercer’s generosity ensures that our field personnel can carry on their ministries without being unnecessarily burdened by such concerns.”

Posted: 11/10/06

Principles learned at Miracle
Farm serve alumni in military

By Courtney Cole

Miracle Farm

FORT RILEY, Kansas—U.S. Army Pvt. Josh Butler holds deep convictions about the importance of character and the value of hard work.

“It takes discipline and respect to make a good soldier. At Miracle Farm, I gained both, and I learned to respect others,” reflected Butler, who enlisted in the Army one year ago.

“This experience helped prepare me for my experience in the military.”

Pvt. Josh Butler serves with the Army’s Fourth Brigade, 128th Infantry Division.

Butler spent formative years at Miracle Farm, a residential ranch program of Children at Heart Ministries.

Today, he serves in the Army’s Fourth Brigade, 128th Infantry Division.

Butler, now 20, takes his four-year commitment seriously. Most recently, he and his brigade have been in the field training as they prepare to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.

“I don’t quit, and I’m motivated to keep going no matter what,” said Butler. “I’ve got a job to do, and I’m going do it to the best of my ability.”

Pfc. Will Tarbutton, a Miracle Farm alum now stationed in Iraq, sent an e-mail to say how his experience at Miracle Farm prepared him for what he has encountered since he joined the military.

“My decision to join the Army was motivated by the desire to gain personal stability in my life and to learn some much-needed discipline,” Tarbutton reflected.

“It was Miracle Farm that helped me learn to rely on God when there is nothing else. I can definitely say without a doubt that he has given me strength where I have had none.”

Tarbutton joined the Army Reserves in April 2004 and spent 18 months working as a unit supply specialist. In February 2006, he signed up for active duty.

By late June, Tarbutton’s unit, the 410th Military Police Company based at Fort Hood, had deployed to Camp Stryker in Baghdad, where they’ll remain 12 months. He serves as part of a personal security detachment squad for his company commander and battalion-level officers.

His experiences at Miracle Farm also taught him patience and the importance of effective people skills, he noted.

Enduring the relentless Iraq heat puts patience to the test, but he said God remains faithful to renew his strength as his unit continues making progress in the field.

U.S. Spc. Sean Gabriel enlisted in the Army Reserves in June 2004, shortly after graduating from Georgetown High School. He signed on until 2009 and serves one weekend a month with his unit.

Gabriel smiled as he recalled how his two-year stay at Miracle Farm paved the way for his positive experiences during nine weeks of basic training and 29 weeks of job training.

“I learned how to get along with other people who are different than me, and I developed a lot more patience,” Gabriel said.

“Dean and Debbie Forland were my house parents and great role models for me. They were easy to relate to, and we established a lasting relationship.”

On the weekends Gabriel reports to Fort Hood, he stays busy repairing the weapons and electronics on Apache helicopters.

During his civilian stretch, he lives in Pflugerville, and he recently signed on as a consultant for an insurance brokerage based in San Antonio.

Another Miracle Farm alum, Mark Brown, had dreamed of becoming a soldier since childhood. In spring 2001, he fulfilled that dream by joining the U.S. Army.

Brown quickly moved through coveted assignments as an Army Honor Guard member and instructor to his current spot with an Army Airborne special operations unit.

Since December 2004, he has been stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C.

Brown has faced some sobering assignments in the past five years, including pulling bodies out of the Pentagon with his unit following terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Earlier this year, he returned home after a four-month deployment to Iraq. His squad already is preparing through intense field training to deploy again in January 2007 to Afgha-nistan—Brown’s fourth deployment in just three years.

The months spent away from his family while in a war zone are tough. Brown and wife, Tabitha, celebrated their third wedding anniversary last month.

He cherishes time with her, their 2-year-old daughter, Kyli, and year-old son, Colten, and takes advantage of every moment he has with them while at home. But he remains committed to military service.

“I’ve learned to be more disciplined, received good training physically and mentally and have traveled and taken in a view of the real world during my military experience,” Brown reflected.

“There is a great camaraderie with the guys in my squad and platoon, respect is mutual, and the bond is deeper than brothers.” Brown said his experiences during his two years at Miracle Farm prepared him for what he would face in the future.

“The leadership style used by my mentors was effective in instilling a strong work ethic in me and the drive to take pride in my work,” Brown shared.

“I learned the discipline necessary to stick with it no matter what and embraced the commitment to do a job to the best of my ability.”

Posted: 11/10/06

New Orleans churches’ recovery
a barometer of city’s health

By Bruce Nolan

Religion News Service

NEW ORLEANS (RNS)—All over the New Orleans area, houses of worship, just like other institutions, are dragging themselves back to some sense of normalcy after Hurricane Katrina.

Some are healed. Some still suffer trials. Some are indefinitely comatose, shuttered and perhaps dead—whether they be grand churches like the permanently closed 150-year-old St. Rose of Lima, or modest street-corner churches like the wrecked hulk of Mount Carmel Ministries in the Lower 9th Ward.

But until now, the scope of the damage largely was unclear.

In the first systematic accounting of churches across the metro area, a new survey shows more than half of 800 churches in New Orleans and Plaquemines Parish, and almost two-thirds of nearly 60 churches in St. Bernard Parish, still were closed in July. Overall, around metro New Orleans, about 60 percent of 1,500 churches had managed to reopen by midsummer, according to the survey, organized by researcher Bill Day at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Experts say a church’s recovery is a rough indicator of a neighborhood’s health. Physically embedded as they are, churches suffer the same physical damage their neighbors endure. More-over, they require a certain amount of local vitality to reclaim a foothold.

But they are catalysts as well. Experts say if churches, temples or mosques can re-establish an early presence in a devastated neighborhood, they can attract and encourage pioneers who will do the heavy lifting in rebuilding communities.

“One of the problems I see in our communities is a loss of hope. People are getting depressed; they’re feeling like they’re alone,” said Day, an associate professor of evangelism and church health.

In addition to functioning as places of worship where people flock to seek community and renewal of spirit, churches and other houses of worship offer meeting space and provide rudimentary social services like child care or after-school tutoring.

Frequently, they function as clearinghouses for information about families or businesses returning to the neighborhood.

“The church’s presence in a community assists not just its members, but others around them. Part of the church’s purpose is to minister to people going through difficult circumstances. If that presence is lost,” Day said, “that’s going to impact the repopulation of the community.”

In Central City, for instance, Baptist Builders, a coalition of moderate Baptist churches, has helped rebuild Greater St. Mark, Little Zion and Greater Emmanuel Baptist churches, Elmo Winters said.

“Before Katrina, they had alcohol and drug abuse programs, tutoring programs—all of the things that address the ills of our communities,” Winters said.

Day began the research with a base list of 1,508 churches that had existed before Hurricane Katrina in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes. The list, compiled by Baptist Community Ministries, was substantial but not exhaustive.

For instance, it included only three of about 20 local synagogues and Islamic mosques.

Day said his graduate student investigators fanned out last spring and early summer and visited every church on the list. If the church appeared closed, they looked for evidence of recent activity, interviewed neighbors where possible and followed up in other ways.

They hoped to learn whether congregations had pulled themselves together and were meeting off-site in temporary quarters, a common occurrence in post-Katrina New Orleans.

If so, Day counted the church “open,” no matter the condition of the building.

Day’s information was current only until the end of July. Since then, of course, many churches have reopened. Indeed, anecdotal evidence suggests the number of churches announcing they were reoccupying their old quarters increased sharply in August and September, around the first anniversary of the storm.

Having developed basic recovery numbers, Day hopes to broaden his research to identify which characteristics helped churches recover.

In coming months, Day will measure the significance of variables such as physical damage, insurance shortfall, neighborhood vitality and denominational affiliation to see whether they are strong predictors of a church’s recovery.

Not surprisingly, early indicators show a church’s size, its income, the repopulation of the neighborhood and whether the neighborhood was filled with homeowners or renters were good predictors of success, Day said.

The neighborhood’s median or per-capita income seemed not to be a good predictor, based on early data, he said.

“That’s somewhat surprising. I really don’t know why,” he said.

Belonging to a denomination also seemed to help an institution’s chances for recovery because it connected a damaged church to wealth and resources outside the community. But being a member of a denomination can cut two ways.

Faced with uninsured flood losses of $120 million, Archbishop Alfred Hughes was forced to perform triage last spring. In reorganizing worship in 142 parishes of the archdiocese, he closed 30 damaged churches to regular worship, including eight small parishes and missions.

Parishioners were assigned to neighboring parishes until their own churches could be restored. Meanwhile, Hughes channeled insurance and relief money into surviving churches until others could be repaired.

Bruce Nolan is a staff writer for The Times-Picayune of New Orleans

Posted: 11/10/06

Pastor/policeman carries a Bible, wears a badge

By Greg Garrison

Religion News Service

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS)—Police Officer Marvin Anthony Neal patrols the streets of Birmingham most mornings, but on Sundays, he patrols the pulpit at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Alabaster, Ala.

Neal became pastor in August but works as a patrol officer on the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift in Birmingham’s south precinct.

“I’ve seen him work a beat all night Saturday night and have to go in the pulpit on Sunday morning,” said Timothy Woods, pastor of Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in North Birmingham, who is one of Neal’s mentors. “I pray for him.”

Members at Neal’s church tend to see him as pastor, not policeman, but they respect his other job.

“He’s an inspiration to the church,” said Danny McKnight, a trustee for Galilee Baptist.

Neal grew up in Detroit and moved to Alabama as a teenager. He was on the wrong side of the law as a juvenile with a misdemeanor theft charge.

“I stole something, and they caught me,” he acknowledged. Neal was sentenced to two years’ probation as a youthful offender. “My life turned around then.”

Neal decided to pursue law enforcement as a career, but the theft charge almost kept him from getting work, even though juvenile records usually are sealed.

“I had to go back to the courts and have them expunge it,” he said.

He went to the police academy and worked for the Alabama A&M campus police from 1994 to 1997. He also felt called to ministry. In 1997, he was licensed to the ministry and ordained—the same year he joined the Birmingham Police Department. Working as a patrol officer, he has responded to hundreds of violent incidents, including homicides.

“It gives you a deeper insight on death because you see it so often,” Neal said. “The death part is final. You see them take their last breath. It gives you a sense of the magnitude and importance of life.”

Neal also serves as a police department chaplain. He has never hesitated to share his faith with fellow officers.

“People have come to Christ right in the cruiser with me,” he said.

He also preaches to people he meets on the street.

“I’m trying to offer something other than a ticket and a gun,” Neal said. “I’ve had crack addicts and alcoholics throw their crack pipes away when I pray for them.”

Neal first served as a pastor in 2003. That’s when he began frequently alternating between a police cruiser and the pulpit.

“He’s trying to hold up what’s right, and justice,” Woods said. “They can really work hand in hand. He’s responsible for the lives of people with both professions.”

There’s no conflict in carrying a badge and a Bible, Neal said.

“You’re trying to keep people from jail, and on the other end you’re trying to keep people from hell,” Neal said. “I’m always preaching about staying right—civically, socially and spiritually. I thank God for both jobs.

“It’s enough to keep you praying. I wouldn’t trade it.”

Greg Garrison writes for The Birmingham News in Birming-ham, Ala.