Posted: 8/10/06

Explore the Bible Series for August 20

Old age has its own rhythms

• Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14

By James Adair

Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio

After an examination of life from a variety of perspectives and inquiries into such issues as the possibility of knowing God’s will, the proper approach to life and the value of character, the book of Ecclesiastes ends with a poem on youth and old age (11:7-12:8), followed by an epilogue (12:9-14).

Whether the teacher actually wrote the poem as an old man, or whether he was projecting himself into the future, the poem stands as an inspiration and a warning to all who are young, or young at heart. The theme of approaching old age, and how to live one’s life in view of its imminent arrival, is a subject many poets have investigated. Robert Herrick urged people to make the most of their youth: “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles to-day, tomorrow will be dying.”

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Dylan Thomas took a more confrontational approach to old age. No, it can’t be put off indefinitely, but its assault on one’s vitality can be resisted. “Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” he wrote.

One of the most moving poetic descriptions of the challenge of old age is “Ulysses,” a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson, when he was only in his mid-20s. It depicts an aged Ulysses (Odysseus) at home in his kingdom of Ithaca, longing to return to sea. It is interesting to read “Ulysses” alongside the Hebrew poem of the teacher to compare their takes on the possibilities and pitfalls of old age.

Ecclesiastes 11:7-8

The teacher contrasts the days of youth, which are characterized by light, with the days of old age, which begin the “days of darkness,” that culminate in Sheol. Tennyson similarly uses the imagery of darkness to describe advancing old age: “The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks; the long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep moans round with many voices. Come, my friends. ’Tis not too late to seek a newer world.”

Ecclesiastes 11:9-10

The teacher advises the young to take full advantage of their youthful vigor: “Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”

Tennyson recognizes the relative advantages of youth, but he also believes not all who are young know how to live life. In the poem, Ulysses praises his son Telemachus, but he doubts he has the adventurous spirit necessary to really enjoy life. Because of his own experiences, Ulysses has come to understand that life is more than mere existence.

Tennyson writes: “Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades forever and forever when I move. How dull it is to pause, to make an end. To rust unburnished, not to shine in use! As though to breathe were life!”

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

Finally, the teacher describes the creeping obsolescence of the body that overtakes every person who reaches the so-called golden years. The bones (“strong men”) begin to stoop over, teeth (“the women who grind”) fall out, the eyes (“those who look through the windows”) see dimly. Sleep is fleeting and unsatisfying, phobias multiply and desire for the pleasures of life ceases.

Is old age really this grim, or can something more be made of it, despite the undoubted diminution of strength and vitality? Tennyson is realistic about old age, but he hopes life still will have challenges that may be faced and overcome: “Old age hath yet his honor and his toil. Death closes all; but something ere the end, some work of noble note, may yet be done, not unbecoming men that strove with gods. … Though much is taken, much abides; and though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are—one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.”

The teacher offers sage advice to his listeners to take advantage of the benefits of youth: strength, health, enthusiasm, vigor. Old age certainly has its drawbacks, as the teacher reminds us, but Tennyson also reminds us old age is not without advantages of its own—wisdom, experience, perspective, compassion.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

One of the favorite undertakings of certain educated Jews from the post-exilic period onward was the art of Gematria, or assigning numerical values to words based on the numerical values of individual letters, then using these numbers to generate other words and in other sorts of calculations. Like many other ancient peoples, the Jews used the letters of their alphabet to double for numerals. The first letter, aleph, represented 1, the second letter, beth, represented 2, and so forth, up to 9. Then the next letter, yodh, stood for 10, then kaph for 20, etc.

Gematria shows up in the book of Ecclesiastes in relation to the theme of the book: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” This phrase, which first appears in 1:2, then again with variations throughout the book, shows up for the last time in 12:8. It turns out that the numerical value of the phrase in Hebrew is 216, exactly the number of verses from 1:1 to 12:8, thus indicating that 12:9-14 is an epilogue, added after the book was initially completed, though probably not long after.

The epilogue gives a brief testimonial concerning the teacher and makes a few closing comments regarding wisdom. The most famous of the latter is a favorite of students, “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” Yes, but that’s not an excuse for not knowing the assigned material!

Discussion questions

• Both Dylan and Tennyson were younger than 40 when they wrote the poems mentioned above. How would you evaluate their descriptions of old age?

• Is there a positive note in the teacher’s description of senescence?

• What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of the poem on youth and old age in Ecclesiastes and Tennyson’s description of one old man’s dreams in “Ulysses”? Which poem strikes you as more realistic? As more inspirational?

Posted: 5/19/03

Congreso de la Frontera

brings families together

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico–More than 400 pastors, their spouses and children from both sides of the Texas-Mexico border reconnected and strengthened their families at Congreso de la Frontera in late April.

The family oriented conference was organized by Baptist leaders on both sides of the border.

“It was an exceptional thing. A number of concerns from all levels were expressed,” said Dexton Shores, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas River Ministry. “It was a phenomenal effort.”

Conference participants traveled many hours from places as far away and diverse as Colorado, Oklahoma and Mexico City.

Conference topics focused on social issues that pastors, their wives and their children face.

Plenary sessions focused on the biblical nature and characteristics of a strong family and featured Gilberto Gutierrez, president of the National Baptist Convention of Mexico, and Ricardo Vera, pastor of Emanuel Baptist Church in Englewood, Colo. Their spouses led conferences for the pastors' wives.

Adult-oriented sessions provided suggestions about how better to balance time between the church and family and reminded parents that the family is the building block of ministry. A minister's family life must be strong to set a model for a strong church, conference leaders said.

Pastors' kids found their breakout conferences particularly helpful for releasing pent-up frustrations.

Several youth said they had problems spending time with their fathers outside a church setting because the pastors are so busy. Some felt like their fathers put a higher priority on ministering to others in the congregation than on caring for their families.

The youth also described the social difficulties of growing up as a minister's kid. Some felt pressured to live up to the expectations of others while some said they were isolated because of their father's position.

One young person praised the event as a unique opportunity for the kids to vent their emotions, saying, “In all of our lives, we have never had anything like this as pastors' kids where we could express our frustrations, resentments and problems.”

Conference counselors represented the children's concerns in a dialogue between the youth and adults.

“More than anything, I think we were able to present another area of ministry that was much needed and which the pastors needed even more than they realized,” wrote Jack Calk, director of missions in Del Rio-Uvalde Baptist Association.

The event was sponsored by the BGCT River Ministry, which provided financial support. Several other groups supplied personnel for the event, including National Baptist Convention of Mexico, Hispanic Baptist Theological School, all Mexico border Baptist regional conventions, all Texas border Baptist associations and Texas Baptist Men, who fed the conference participants and many residents in two colonias.

Next year, organizers hope to hold another event for laypeople as well as ministers' families.

Posted: 8/04/06

Arizona foundation executive convicted

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

PHOENIX (ABP)—In what has been described as the largest case of fraud targeting a religious group, the former top executive and legal counsel for the Baptist Foundation of Arizona were convicted on multiple fraud-related counts.

A Maricopa County, Ariz., Superior Court jury convicted former foundation President William Crotts and Thomas Grabinski, the group’s former top lawyer, each on three counts of defrauding investors and one count of knowingly operating an illegal operation. They will be sentenced in September.

The jury also acquitted two of 23 counts of theft. Jurors reportedly determined that Crotts and Grabinski did not personally gain financially from the scheme.

The convictions are the result of a 10-month trial that came nearly seven years after the foundation collapsed and the fraud allegations first came to light, shocking the non-profit world.

The foundation, controlled by the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, declared bankruptcy in 1999 after state regulators ordered it to stop selling securities. About 11,000 investors—many of them elderly members of Baptist churches in Arizona and elsewhere—lost more than $550 million.

Prosecutors said Crotts, Grabinski and other foundation employees marketed the charitable fund to individuals interested in investing in a fund that would support Baptist and other Christian ministries. Bible-quoting foundation representatives claimed the investments would deliver above-average returns while helping to do God’s work.

However, the prosecutors said, the foundation’s investments actually were losing money. The executives created “off-the-books” corporations to hide the losses while touting strong returns to sell the foundation to new investors to cover those losses—essentially creating a non-profit pyramid scheme.

Defense attorneys countered that the foundation would eventually have been able to pay off investors if it had been able to wait out a bad real-estate market, but state officials shut the foundation down too soon. Jurors rejected that argument.

Five other foundation officials have already cooperated with prosecutors in the case, pleading guilty and testifying against Crotts and Grabinski. A sixth is reportedly too sick to stand trial.

The accounting firm Arthur Andersen—which also was connected to the massive Enron fraud scandal—in 2002 paid a record $217 million to Arizona to settle a lawsuit involving the Baptist case. Andersen served as the foundation’s accounting firm.

Steve Bass, the chief executive officer of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, expressed optimism in reaction to the verdicts in an entry on his weblog.

“Many in our Arizona Southern Baptist family are ready to close this chapter of our life together and move on,” he wrote. “As I visit our churches and hear our people, the BFA issue is no longer the ‘hot topic.’ It appears that our people have moved on to our greatest passion: sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with our world.”

As a caveat, though, he added: “Arizona is now watching us. Will we remain humble? Will we seek to forgive and to reconcile? Will we invest the kind of evangelism energy in what God has taught us through this experience as kingdom children? We must. For whatever we think of Bill and Tom, their trial is now over, and ours is just beginning.”

Posted: 8/04/06

Church’s foster care focus enriches Chester family

By George Henson

Staff Writer

LEWISVILLE—It may be unusual for a church to focus its ministry on foster care, but 12-year-old Cheyanne certainly is glad one North Texas church has done just that.

Orchard Road Baptist Church in Lewisville has made foster care the cornerstone of its ministry, and Cheyanne is the first child taken in by a family there. And soon, when she calls Terry and Stephanie Chester “Mom” and “Dad,” it will be official. Permanent adoption papers are making their way through the system.

Orchard Road is one of about 100 Texas churches of many denominations taking part in Congregations Helping in Love and Dedication (CHILD). The goal of CHILD is to recruit and license as foster parents at least two families from each participating congregation.

Congregations are also en-couraged to develop support services for their foster families such as respite care, reduced tuition for day care, tutoring and after-school programs, transportation, celebrations for special occasions and enrichment activities.

Orchard Road hopes to become just such a place of support. The Chesters say they already have felt the congregation’s support in the time Cheyanne has lived with them.

“The old saying that it takes a village to raise a child really is lived out here,” Chester said.

“Here, all the children are all our children,” Pastor Jerry Rogers said.

Now, the church is just waiting for the number of children in the church to increase—and not because of a baby boom. All but about three families in the congregation are going through the foster parent training.

Not all plan to adopt as the Chesters have, and some are training primarily to be available as respite foster parents. Regardless, the ministry is one the whole church supports, Rogers said.

While the church always has had a heart for children, he said, a particular incident about a year ago ratcheted that commitment to a higher level. Rogers arrived at church early one Sunday morning and found a teen-aged girl waiting for him outside the door. She said she was pregnant and needed to talk to the police. Investigators discovered she was only 16 years old and pregnant with her brother’s child.

The church particularly was rocked by the event because there had been a prior contact. Her parents had dropped off the girl the year before for Vacation Bible School with some younger siblings. The girl was too old for any of the classes, so she was made a helper for one of the teachers.

“We had to step out when the authorities got involved, and we anguished over that,” Rogers said. “The next week, we contacted Peggy, and it’s snowballed since then.”

The “Peggy” he contacted is Peggy Starkey, a Child Protective Services specialist who relates to faith-based organizations.

After Starkey explained the CHILD program, the Chesters knew God had sped up their timetable for becoming parents, they said.

“Stephanie and I had talked about doing this while we were dating, and we had thought it might be time in a few more years,” Chester said.

“But I think this was God telling us, ‘Don’t wait,’” his wife continued.

The Chesters felt an affirmation in that the day officials came to their house to do their home study, Chester, who had been unemployed for many months, received word he had a full-time job.

The couple initially thought they wanted a younger child—an infant preferably, but possibly a child as old as 8 years old. Later, they decided they would like a child up to 12 years old—Cheyanne’s age.

Cheyanne and the Chesters have been a huge encouragement to others in the church to go through the training to become foster parents, Rogers said. And the church has grown spiritually through the process.

“Spiritually, it is really not something you can describe, but the church has changed,” he said. “It may come down to the thought if we can’t help the least of these in this world, and the Cheyannes of this world are essentially helpless, then why are we here.”

Stephanie Fagins, who also is going through the training with her husband, said she has noticed a greater willingness to get involved in all the ministries of the church.

“The heart for service has increased,” she said. “Instead of 10 percent of the people doing all the work, it’s more like 98 percent of the people are involved.”

Orchard Road wants to become known as a resource for foster parents, Rogers said.

He wants families in the area who are foster parenting or considering it to know that his church is available to them.

“We want to grow and become known as a church for people who want to go through the process but not have to go through it alone,” he said.

“They don’t have to become members, but we prefer they do—not because we want huge numbers, but so we can add another level of accountability and also someone to come to when things come up that maybe weren’t expected.”

While some may feel that it’s unusual for a church to focus so much on foster parenting, Rogers believes his church is just trying to be obedient.

“It’s opened up another ministry for us to minister to the people and let them know that this is a place were they can find help and love,” he said.

“We didn’t want to be like everyone else, and we were looking for God to put something special on our hearts to do. This ministry reflects us trying to be obedient to the path God has put before us.”

Cheyanne and the Chesters are glad he did.

For more information about the CHILD program, call (512) 438-4516

Posted: 8/04/06

Mission East Dallas: A gift of healing

By Angela Best

Communications Intern

DALLAS—Francisco suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, but he has no insurance to help cover costs of treatment and medication.

Even so, he is on his third visit to the Mission East Dallas medical clinic, where he receives both treatment and medication at no cost. “I was looking for somebody to help me

and get medication,” he said. He discovered Mission East Dallas through a friend, who had been to the clinic before and recommended it to him.

Danica Simmons, a registered nurse at Mission East Dallas, treats Francisco, a patient at the ministry's clinic.

At Mission East Dallas, patients who are poor or uninsured not only receive free medical treatment, but also receive a healthy dose of Christian love.

“People who come here can see a big difference between here and big hospitals,” Francisco said. “I think it is a good place. They try to help all the people. They have good service. I think it’s perfect.”

Since officially opening its doors in 2002, the medical clinic has helped more than 5,000 patients in East Dallas, and at least 600 people have put their faith in Christ as a result of their efforts, said Executive Director Jenny Williams.

Mission East Dallas has come a long way since Elmin Howell, a Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church member and retired director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas River Ministry, discovered more than 50 percent of the people in East Dallas had no insurance.

That’s when Shiloh Terrace asked Williams to develop a medical clinic as a mission outreach of the church.

Initially, the clinic offered its services one evening a week. Currently, the clinic offers medical services four days a week and dental appointments as needed—usually one day each week.

The weekly Tuesday evening clinics remain their busiest time, however. Patients begin lining up at 4 p.m. and go through a registration process where they specify why they are visiting. Next, they enter a waiting area where bilingual workers ask if they have any prayer requests. After prayer, they are seen by a nurse and a doctor or nurse practitioner, followed by a pharmacist.

Once the patients have received their medication if needed, they visit the community resource and referrals office, and end with a time of spiritual counseling.

While the families are in the waiting area, children are involved in a program where they hear Bible stories. Children are invited to take two or three books home with them, to encourage literacy, along with a stuffed animal with Proverbs 3:5-6 attached to it.

The children’s program is just one of many programs Mission East Dallas offers. Parenting classes in both English and Spanish began in January of this year. More programs are in the works, including financial management training through the YWCA and bank volunteers, and health and wellness education classes through the American Heart Association.

A program for grandparents raising their grandchildren; a literacy program; ESL, GED and Spanish classes; a computer skills lab and job readiness training, including interviewing skills, dressing appropriately for job interviews and how to develop a resume, also are planned.

Mission East Dallas has only six volunteers on staff, and the ministry needs additional volunteers to help with its programs.

“We couldn’t make it without our volunteers—there’s no way,” Williams stressed. “Our volunteers are crucial to us. We would not exist without our volunteers.

“And I think that’s a sweet message to the community as they come in; they see all these faces, and they see the servant heart—they see that people are here out of the goodness of their own hearts, and of their time—reaching out to help people they don’t know.”

Some of the patients are so grateful for the help Mission East Dallas has given them that they choose to give back by volunteering themselves.

“One patient did construction, and while he didn’t have the money to pay, he had the construction skills to make repairs on one of our buildings,” Williams said.

Collaboration with other agencies is crucial, she stressed.

“And because we work with families who live in poverty and are uninsured, poverty in itself brings many needs, so we always look out into the community and work a lot, every day, with many non-profits and churches,” Williams said.

Donations also are essential to the ministry’s survival. “Ninety percent of what is in the medical clinic is donated—all of the exam tables, cabinets, desks, chairs, copiers and dental instruments … the books, Bibles, tracts, stuffed animals, health education literature,” she said, her voice trailing off.

The clinic has received some significant donations, including a sterilizing unit valued at $5,000 from Southwest Dental Confer-ence and a $4,800 developer for x-rays.

Mission East Dallas has a contract with Laboratory Corpora-tion of America that enables the ministry to get blood work done for patients at no cost and provides donated medications.

After Hurricane Katrina, the clinic saw a 25 percent increase in patient population, making the total of people helped 4,600 (1,800 visits and 2,800 community referrals) in 2005.

Fortunately, at that time, the National Association of Free Clinics donated more than $300,000 worth of medication.

But the needs continue to grow. Mission East Dallas hopes to have a full-time dentist on staff one day, and the clinic also is seeking funding to support a full-time nurse practitioner and support staff.

Williams now hopes that the medical and dental clinics will grow to be offered five full days—40 hours a week—in the near future, and she has faith God will provide the resources to make it happen. She also believes Mission East Dallas is exactly where God wants her to be.

“Growing up, there were areas in my life that I can very much relate to these people—being poor and having many needs that were not being met,” she said. “So, really it’s a personal connection that I have, and certainly my walk with Christ, and part of his emphasis was reaching the poor.

“The best part of my job is seeing people join together across our community, city and country, touching peoples’ lives in a positive, loving way. It is a true demonstration of Christ’s love shining through our volunteers and staff; touching peoples’ lives and making a difference.”

Posted: 8/04/06

Mission Lubbock worker
seeks to transform lives

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

LUBBOCK—An abandoned church sanctuary may seem like an odd place for people to try on shoes, select clothing and pick out kitchenware. But Judy Cooper sees it as a vast improvement over where the ministry to Lubbock’s low-income multi-housing residents started.

Cooper heads Mission Lubbock—a multi-housing ministry she launched in April 2005, patterned after the successful Mission Arlington model. She runs the ministry from the facility Carlisle Baptist Church occupied until last fall, when the struggling congregation closed its doors and gave its property to the association.

“Until then, I was operating Mission Lubbock out of my house, and it was getting pretty claustrophobic with all the boxes and clothing everywhere,” she said.

Lubbock Area Baptist Association is creating a multi-faceted missions center in the old church facility. In addition to serving as headquarters for Mission Lubbock, the association is in the process of turning part of the building into dormitory-style housing for out-of-town missions volunteers.

Cooper has served three years as volunteer multi-housing coordinator for the association. About 75,000 people in Lubbock live in multi-housing communities—roughly one-third of the city’s population—and more than two-thirds of the people in multi-housing have no church connection, she noted.

As she began to minister in the apartment complexes and mobile home parks, she soon realized many residents had significant needs.

“A lot of people moved into apartments with nothing to set up housekeeping and sometimes with just the clothes on their back,” she said. “We want to meet the people where they are and help them get back on their feet.”

Last year, Mission Lubbock worked with a Royal Ambassador camp at Plains Baptist Assembly and area churches to collect school supplies for needy children whose families live in multi-housing. The ministry provided supplies for 533 students, in partnership with New Millennium Baptist Church, a predominantly African-American congregation in Lubbock.

Mission Lubbock also gathered donated items for a winter clothing drive to benefit children in need. “Then we didn’t have much of a winter, so we have plenty of hats, coats and gloves left over for this next winter,” Cooper said.

In addition to its ministry to multi-housing residents, Mission Lubbock also works with the chaplain at a nearby prison to supply toiletries and personal hygiene items to inmates.

Mission Lubbock does not provide financial assistance to individuals, but it distributes without question donated goods to people who have needs, said Larry Jones, associational director of missions.

Cooper recalled one woman who had lost her job and timidly asked whether Mission Lubbock might provide supplies for her children—unsure whether she met the criteria for receiving assistance.

“I said to her: ‘Do you have kids? Do they need school supplies? Then you meet the criteria,’” Cooper recalled. “If somebody takes advantage of us, that’s between them and God. We’re here to meet the needs of the people God gives us.”

About 15 churches in Lubbock Area Baptist Association participate to some degree in Mission Lubbock’s multi-housing ministry, and Cooper wants to see that number grow. “I try to encourage smaller churches to partner with the larger churches,” she said.

Cooper remains convinced that once churches commit to working in multi-housing ministry, God will call out the volunteers needed.

She pointed to Bacon Heights Baptist Church in Lubbock, where a young-married Sunday school class decided to conduct a Vacation Bible School at a low-income mobile home park. Their efforts resulted in 14 professions of faith in Christ—and an ongoing one-year commitment by the class to continue serving the mobile home park residents.

“It changed their lives,” Cooper said. “We’re here to touch lives and change lives.”

Posted: 8/04/06

Forney volunteers successfully
evacuated from Lebanon

By Angela Best

Communications Intern

FORNEY—A volunteer missions team from First Baptist Church in Forney that had to be evacuated from Lebanon testified they found God’s peace in the midst of chaos and confusion.

“God can bring peace when it feels like there is no reality of that,” said team member Amy Byrd.

“I think it’s truly a comforting feeling to know that you are in the middle of God’s will—to be able to rest in his sovereignty,” echoed James Walker, fellow team member and East Texas Baptist University student.

The Forney volunteers—and another Southern Baptist mission team from Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Ga.—were safely evacuated from Beirut, as was Jennifer Wallace, a short-term volunteer with the American Baptist Churches International Ministries who had worked at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.

The 10-member team from Forney originally set out for an eight-day mission trip to Beirut to minister among the city’s Muslim community. They planned to go door-to-door to share their Christian faith and pass out Arabic New Testaments.

Four days later, the trip dramatically changed. Pastor Jimmy Pritchard of Forney and another team member were riding in a cab when their driver became animated after hearing a report over the radio. Israel had bombed Lebanon in response to a Hezbollah raid.

With violence escalating throughout the day, the Forney team booked the earliest available flight out of Lebanon. But the Beirut airport was bombed the day before their flight was to leave, stranding all who were trying to get out of the city.

“It was just surreal,” Pritchard said.

Fearing for their safety, the team members moved to a hotel in the mountainous region of east Beirut. From there, they witnessed the bombing of southern Beirut.

When the hotel filled with refugees, the team moved to the Arab Baptist Theological Semi-nary where they were welcomed “with open arms” by the Lebanese Baptists, Pritchard said.

Despite the ongoing attacks, the team was overcome by God’s presence in the city the following day when members attended a worship service at the largest Baptist church in Beirut.

Even though the ride to the church was harrowing, Byrd said, “From the moment we walked in there, just a peace and a sincere knowledge that God was in control over things took over.”

The team stepped into the church to the sounds of the organist practicing the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” and Pritchard was set to teach from Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

During his introduction to the congregation, an explosion occurred, and missiles intermittently struck the city throughout the service.

Walker recalled seeing an elderly man laying his head on one of the team member’s shoulders, praying and crying out to God: “Here these people are, coming out of their homes, coming so close to destruction to worship. I’ve never seen Christ’s love displayed like that before in my life.”

Lebanese Baptists watched over the volunteer missionaries until they left Beirut July 20. That day, the team worked through Lebanese military checkpoints and boarded the USS Nashville for an overnight trip to the airport in Cyprus, Greece.

A few days later, the team arrived safely back in Texas.

“Our team was incredibly strong,” Pritchard said. “If anybody had any fear, it was not evident. The Lord protected us and gave us a sense of peace.”

Peace—as well as a greater sense of God’s love and a trip that the team members will likely not soon forget. “This was absolutely the greatest adventure of my life,” Byrd said. “And the Lord willing, I’m going back.”

Posted: 8/04/06

Sloan recommended as
Houston Baptist University president

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

HOUSTON—Robert Sloan, chancellor and controversial former president of Baylor University, appears poised to assume the presidency of Houston Baptist University.

The HBU presidential search committee recommended Sloan at a special called meeting of the university’ board of trustees Aug. 1, and the board will reconvene Aug. 8 to vote on the recommendation.

“God’s hand has been in the prayerful and deliberate efforts of the search committee. They ultimately reached out to Robert Sloan, and—simultaneously—God’s hand was guiding him to HBU,” said Trustee Chairman Ray Cox of Houston, who praised Sloan as “a renowned Christian educator.”

The trustees affirmed the search committee and its recommendation at the called meeting, Cox noted.

Sloan spent two days on the Houston campus meeting with the search committee and trustees, as well as other groups including the faculty, staff, alumni and students who served on the advisory search committee—a group that also affirmed the recommendation, Cox added.

Sloan also participated in campus dialogue sessions with deans, faculty, administrators and staff.

“The members of the Search Committee feel (Sloan’s) leadership skills and vision for Christian education will make him the perfect choice to lead HBU into the future” Cox said.

If elected, Sloan will succeed Doug Hodo, who served as HBU’s second president from 1987 until his retirement in July. Jack Carlson, former SYSCO executive, is interim president.

During Hodo’s tenure, HBU’s endowment grew from $30 million to more than $75 million, and the school’s total unrestricted revenue increased from about $13.3 million to $33.3 million. Value of the total university plant grew from $19.7 million to $37.6 million.

Also during his time as HBU president, the university took steps to loosen its ties to the Baptist General Convention of Texas. HBU trustees voted in May 2000 to create a self-perpetuating majority on their board, rather than continuing to allow the BGCT to elect all its trustees. And three years later, HBU entered into a fraternal relationship with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, a fundamentalist group that broke away from the BGCT.

BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade praised the HBU search committee for its recommendation and said his “great hope” and expectation is that Sloan’s election as president would strengthen the relationship between HBU, the BGCT, its churches and its other institutions.

“The experience and passion for Christian education Robert Sloan would bring to the role as Houston Baptist University’s president signals a great future for this important institution, which is in such a strategic place in our state,” Wade said.

Keith Bruce, director of BGCT institutional ministries, likewise praised Sloan as “a man of deep Christian commitment who is highly committed to Christian higher education in the Baptist tradition.”

During Sloan’s tenure as Baylor’s president, he was “a most supportive friend and partner of the BGCT with a heart for the local church,” he added.

Sloan served as Baylor’s president from 1995 to 2005—a period marked both by significant expansion at the university and deep division within the Waco school’s varied constituencies.

During the last two year’s of Sloan’s presidency at Baylor, the Faculty Senate twice gave him “no confidence” votes, and the regents voted three times on Sloan’s continued employment—once coming within one vote of removing him from office.

Most of the criticism centered on Baylor 2012—the university’s long-range plan to become a top-tier national school—and Sloan’s implementation of it.

Supporters praised his vision for blending a commitment to strong Christian faith and high academic standards. Opponents accused Sloan of alienating longtime faculty, saddling the university with debt, sacrificing classroom teaching in favor of research and raising tuition so high that it priced Baylor out of the range of typical Texas Baptist families.

Baylor President John Lilley praised his predecessor for all that he contributed to the school, singling out Baylor 2012 as possibly “his greatest contribution” to the university.

“Its breadth and depth are such that it will serve as a guide for Baylor’s future,” Lilley said, expressing the school’s thanks to Sloan and his family and offering “best wishes and prayers for their future.”

Before becoming Baylor’s president, Sloan was dean of the university’s Truett Theological Seminary. He served on the Baylor religion faculty from 1983 to 1995, and he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1980 to 1983.

Sloan holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor, a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a doctorate in theology from the University of Basel, Switzerland.

Sloan was born in Coleman and grew up in Abilene. He has served as pastor or interim pastor at more than 20 churches throughout Texas and Oklahoma. He and his wife, Sue, have seven children.

Posted: 8/04/06

Anti-poverty advocates call for change

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Christian anti-poverty advocates are promoting a “Covenant for a New America” that calls for policy changes to build consensus across the political aisle and across denominations.

The document outlines three “fundamental commitments”:

• “Work must work and provide family economic success and security.”

• “Children should not be poor.”

• “Extreme global poverty must end.”

The covenant is designed to bridge conservative-liberal ideological divides in addressing poverty in the United States and worldwide. It seeks tax reform, education reform, housing affordability, immigration reform and crime reduction.

The covenant’s signatories include Daniel Vestal, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and Stan Hastey, executive director of the Alliance of Baptists.

The document was presented at a three-day conference held at Washington’s National City Christian Church and sponsored by the Christian anti-poverty group Call to Renewal and its companion magazine, Sojourners.

A copy of the covenant has been presented to each member of Congress, meeting organizers said.

At a rally on the Capitol grounds, Jim Wallis, the head of Call to Renewal and Sojourners, told meeting participants that the covenant marked “the arrival of a new special-interest group in Washington.”

“The group is the churches; the special interest is poverty. Poverty was the special interest of Jesus Christ.”

Posted: 8/04/06

Around the State

• Two hundred and seventy-seven students at Howard Payne University received academic honors for the spring semester. One hundred and twelve students were named to the President’s List by virtue of their 4.0 grade point average, 97 were named to the Dean’s List, and 68 students earned honor roll recognition.

Anniversaries

• Randall Bradley, fifth, as minister of music at Calvary Church in Waco, July 22.

• Steve Vernon, 15th, as pastor of First Church in Levelland, Aug. 20.

• South Plains Church in South Plains, 100th, Sept. 10. The church actually was organized on July 27, 1906, but chose the later date for the celebration. People with pictures or other items of interest can send them to the church at P.O. Box 98, South Plains 79528. A meal will follow the morning worship service. The afternoon has been set aside for fellowship and remembrances. Joe Weldon is pastor.

Deaths

• Inez Martin, 83, June 26 in Lindale. She was a member of Mount Sylvan Church in Lindale. She served many years alongside her husband, Gerald Edward Martin, in his ministry as a pastor and evangelist and as president and chancellor of Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal, Mo. Martin, who served as a president of the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference, preceded her in death on June 3, 2001. Survivors include sons, Gerald Martin III and John Martin; daughters, Sarah Edlund, Gerry Lynn Moss, Linda Kalish and Mary Martin; sister, Mary McNeill; and 14 grandchildren.

• Val Prince, 87, July 22 in Fresno, Calif., after battling cancer. He was minister of education at First Church in Galena Park from 1958 until 1962. He also served churches in Oklahoma, Missouri and California. He was director of training union ministries for the the California Southern Baptist Convention 16 years. He retired in 1981. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Bea.

• B.P. “Bill” Emanuel, 81, July 30 in Oklahoma City. Emanuel, a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, was pastor of Shady Grove Church in Greenville and Mayfield Church near Hillsboro while he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in the 1940s. He also served as pastor of Baptist churches in Oklahoma before he and his wife, Rebekah Sue, were appointed by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board to serve in Japan and the Philippines. Emanuel later was an itinerant evangelist, preaching in more than 60 churches and numerous camps and other evangelistic meetings. He was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Beverly Anne. Survivors include his wife; two sons, Paul Emanuel and Jim Emanuel; three daughters, Elizabeth “Len” Lister, Rebekah Markham and Marjorie Hatcher; brother, Wayne Emanuel; sisters, Geraldine Mangrum and Pauline Matthews; 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

• Marilyn Hillyer, 70, Aug. 2 in Tyler. She was a longtime Texas Baptist leader who served on the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board. She also was a member of the BGCT Missions Review and Initiatives Committee, which examined the convention’s relationship with the missions sending agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. She served as vice chair of the subcommittee that investigated the North American Mission Board. Her husband, Bill, has been a member of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and served on the BGCT executive director search committee. Her father, Howard Bennett, was a former president of East Texas Baptist University, and her uncle, John Hurt, was a former editor of the Baptist Standard. While she lived in Hawaii, she edited the Hawaii Baptist state newspaper. Hillyer was a longtime Sunday school teacher at First Church of Tyler, where she also served as a deacon. She was known for putting long hours of study into preparing for each lesson. She is survived by her husband; two daughters, Susan Kate and Frances Ridlehoover; and four grandchildren.

Events

• Shirley Ashlock has completed 50 years of consecutive service as director or leader of the fourth grade Sunday School department at Park Place Church in Houston.

• Memorial Church in Temple honored former Pastor R.B. Baker and his wife, Bettye, July 30. Prior to being pastor at Memorial, he served churches in Caldwell and San Angelo. He served the Temple church from 1963 until 1983, when he retired from pastoral ministry and became involved with the Barnabas Foundation, which aided churches and ministries with grants and donations. Mrs. Baker worked with Mission Arlington and had a special ministry to prostitutes, bringing them to know Christ and to leave that lifestyle. The Bakers later returned to Temple and rejoined the church. He was named pastor emeritus in 2005. Roy Parker is pastor.

Ordained

• Randy Rinehart to the ministry at Central Church in Wichita Falls.

• Drew Finch to the ministry at First Church in Bangs.

• Mark Moore to the ministry at Lawn Church in Lawn.

• Foster Wilcox to the ministry at Adamsville Church in Lampasas.

• Bert Duerer and Mike Bosley as deacons at Broyles Chapel Church in Palestine.

Revivals

• First Church, Wink; Aug. 11-16; evangelist, Ryan Dalgiesh; music, Micah and the Hubbard Family; pastor, Richard Ray.

• Mount Sylvan Church, Lindale; Aug. 13-16; evangelist, Charles Dodson; music, Allan Cox; pastor, Robert Davenport.

Posted: 8/04/06

Love for God, love of the
game motivate Texas author

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Hugh Poland—a Kentucky-born catcher who broke into the big leagues in 1943 when World War II drained the talent pool—played with four teams before the Cincinnati Reds released him May 28, 1948.

“So far as I can tell, he’s no relation to me,” explained a different Hugh Poland, author of Steal Away: Devotions for Baseball Fans. “I’m not a former ballplayer. I’m a minister of music.”

But Poland, who has served seven years on staff at Woodridge Baptist Church in Kingwood after nine years at a church in Corpus Christi, loves the game. And his book—recently published by Judson Press—allowed him to blend that passion with his Christian calling.

“It’s the book I always wanted to read and never could find, so I decided to write it myself,” he said. “I’ve loved baseball all my life. It’s all the memories of what a boy learns to love about it—the smell of saddle soap on a glove as you hold it up to your face out in the field, fresh-cut grass, snow cones—everything. And through the years, I’ve followed the game passionately.”

In fact, Poland holds membership in the Society for American Baseball Research—a group that brings together arcane trivia experts, academic numbers-crunchers and people who enjoy swapping stories about recently discovered bits of baseball history.

Poland wrote the devotional book for people like himself—as well as for athletes, coaches, umpires and chaplains.

“I wanted to put something in their hands they could use,” he said.

Poland’s book brings together testimonies of Christian ballplayers, managers and umpires, alongside spiritual lessons drawn from famous—and sometimes not-so-famous—incidents in baseball history.

He sent about 50 requests for information to past and present baseball personalities, and those queries yielded about 20 interviews.

He believes good stories offer the best vessel to deliver spiritual truth in an accessible way.

“The parables Jesus told and the conversations that followed were like a spiritual game of catch with his followers,” Poland said.

“At the heart of every baseball fan, there’s a love for the story of the game. Put people who care about the game together, and before long, they start sharing stories. Everybody wants to hear the stories, and a story can be the way to a person’s heart.”

Posted: 8/04/06

Book Reviews

C.S. Lewis’s Case for Christ: Insights from Reason, Imagination and Faith by Art Lindsley (InterVarsity Press)

An abundance of good books are available on that late Anglican layman whom many classify as “one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century.”

Art Lindsley draws from C. S. Lewis’ various books, letters and lectures to condense the Narnian’s thoughts and theology into a 200-page gem. In the process, we learn some of Lewis’ obstacles to faith as an atheist and how he answered those tough questions after coming to faith in Christ. The problem of evil and suffering, myth and religion, rationalism, belief in miracles, and the purpose of imagination in faith each get chapters.

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

Having read most of Lewis’ writings, I especially enjoyed reading Lindsley’s take on what Lewis would say (or actually did say) about the important contemporary topics of postmodernism, moral relativism and religious pluralism.

The book leads the reader to ponder the famous intellectual’s writings on the claims of Christ and to decide whether Jesus was “liar, lunatic or Lord.”

Greg Bowman,

minister to students

First Baptist Church

Duncanville

The Prayer God Longs For by James Emery White (Inter-Varsity Press)

Jim White, founding pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, N.C., offers a deceptively succinct series of meditations on the Lord’s Prayer. White draws from deep waters, with footnoted sources ranging from Teresa of Avila to C.S. Lewis to Evelyn Underhill, Glenn Hinson, William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas. But he presents his findings in an approachable, easy-to-read format.

White explores what the Lord’s Prayer reveals about God’s character and the kind of communion the Father wants with his children. Examining the Model Prayer phrase by phrase, he concludes God desires prayer that is intimate, expectant, reverent, submitted, dependent, honest and humble. In a final chapter, he deals with questions such as what happens when people pray and how do we handle it when prayers seem to go unanswered.

This slender book can be read on several levels. Read it through quickly for an overview of lessons to be learned from the Lord’s Prayer. Read it slowly and contemplatively as a devotional aid and prayer guide. Then keep it handy as a source of timeless illustrations and priceless quotations about prayer.

Ken Camp,

managing editor

Baptist Standard

Dallas

Christ-Based Leadership By David Stark (Bethany House)

This is a practical, thought-provoking work that blends leadership principles of Scripture with modern business models. Stark challenges the status quo and stretches the reader. All 12 chapters present a question about leadership to be answered from the biblical text and then from successful business practice. Stark sees these as compatible—not competing—perspectives on corporate leadership.

This book is helpful to the pastor and to any person who seeks to rise to his or her leadership potential. Stark describes key elements to successful church leadership—faith in the people, equipping followers, a culture of excellence over a culture of winning. The leader must focus on others’ strengths while managing their weaknesses. Every church needs to know “what time it is” within the 10-step life cycle of the organization.

Stark is insightful. The book is well-written and thoroughly documented. This is not a work for the academic, but the practitioner. With natural flow and stimulating assertions, Stark captivates the imagination of any leader wishing to integrate biblical truth with successful corporate models.

Mark Denison, pastor

First Baptist Church

Gainesville