Archives
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‘Fear of God enables him to fear no man’
Posted: 7/21/06
A member of an evangelical Christian church near San Cristobal, Chiapas, worshipped during a service last November, when a team from Norvi Mayfield Ministries visited. (Photos by Craig Bird) ‘Fear of God enables him to fear no man’
By Craig Bird
Special to the Baptist Standard
SAN ANTONIO—A half-dozen Texas Baptist churches heard the voice of the persecuted church recently when Moises Guillen Solis Dominguez challenged them not to forget Christian brothers and sisters in Chiapas, Mexico.
Dominguez spoke at First Baptist Church in Gonzales, First Baptist Church in Lumberton, First Baptist Church in Silsbee, First Baptist Church in Kountze, South San Filadelfia Baptist Church in San Antonio and Nueva Jerusalem Baptist Church in Houston. He was sponsored by Norvi Mayfield Ministries, which has been working in Chiapas for years.
07/21/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Despite the danger, ‘closed’ countries lure Christians
Posted: 7/21/06
Despite the danger, ‘closed’
countries lure ChristiansBy John Hall
Texas Baptist Communications
DALLAS—As more Baptists serve in “closed” countries, more of them could find themselves in the same situation as the mission team from First Baptist Church of Forney, which was trapped in Lebanon.
See Related Article:
• In crisis, churches unprepared for dealing with mediaBut Christians appear to understand the risk and continue seeking these mission opportunities.
07/21/2006 - By John Rutledge
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EDITORIAL: ‘Best person available’ has character
Posted: 7/21/06
EDITORIAL:
'Best person available’ has characterMost Texans, as well as football fans everywhere, remember with fondness the formative years of the Dallas Cowboys, when they developed their persona as America’s Team. (OK, not “football fans everywhere.” Redskins and Eagles fans remember this with fear and trembling.) In those days, Tom Landry and Tex Schramm presided over the Cowboys. One simple principle prompted their gridiron greatness: Draft the best athlete available.
They might have had four terrific offensive linemen, but if the best player on the board was an offensive lineman, they drafted an offensive lineman. They needed a good defensive back, so they drafted the best athlete available—a basketball player who became an All-Pro defensive back. Their team’s victories validated their theory.
The Cowboys’ “best athlete available” principle often comes to mind. No, I’m not bucking for a front-office job with an NFL franchise. But I read papers, watch the news, and listen to people all over Texas and beyond. And whether it’s sports franchises, businesses, civic organizations or churches, the fine line between success and failure consistently parallels this principle. When the successful enterprises add new people, especially leaders, they select the best person available. To the contrary, those that are unsuccessful seem either (a) bound and determined to fill a particular slot a particular way or (b) distracted by superficial qualities that ultimately do not contribute to success.
We could discuss the infinite number of qualities that might define the “best person available” until Jesus comes back. But let me nominate one—character.
07/21/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Texas Baptist Forum
Posted: 7/21/06
Texas Baptist Forum
Completeness of 1
I was saddened while reading “Single ministers face multiple hurdles” (July 10).
It reminds me of how dangerous exclusion is within religious groups. Eventually, no one is able to stand the test. What amazes and confuses me is that “we say” we follow and love “a Single Man” and also forget the writer of most of the New Testament was “a single man” and yet will not even allow one to minister to God’s people.
Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.
“To say that men and women should not inject their ‘personal morality’ into public-policy debates is a practical absurdity. If we progressives shed some of these biases, we might recognize some overlapping values that religious and secular people share.”Barak Obama
U.S. Senator (D., Ill.), addressing a conference of about 600 Christian anti-poverty activists (ABP)“I didn't fancy the thought of being handed over to the Inquisition like Galileo.”
Stephen Hawking
The astrophysicist, who said Pope John Paul II discouraged him from attempting to figure out how the universe began (RNS)“I cannot imagine any development in human history, after the Fall, that has had a greater impact on human beings than the pill. … Prior to it, every time a couple had sex, there was a good chance of pregnancy. Once that is removed, the entire horizon of the sexual act changes. I think there could be no question that the pill gave incredible license to everything from adultery and affairs to premarital sex and within marriage to a separation of the sex act and procreation.”
Al Mohler
President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (New York Times Magazine/BP)What are we afraid of? Hmm. … What does that say about us?
07/21/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Texas Tidbits
Posted: 7/21/06
Texas Tidbits
Pilgrim provides record gift to DBU. Dallas Baptist University took a major step toward building its first chapel in 108 years, thanks to an $8 million contribution from Bo Pilgrim, chairman of the Pilgrim’s Pride poultry company. The gift represents half of the university’s $16 million chapel campaign. The 1,400-seat Patty and Bo Pilgrim Chapel will be located in the heart of the campus in southwest Dallas. “We are grateful beyond words for the generosity of Mr. Pilgrim,” DBU President Gary Cook said. “With this gift, we will be able to fulfill a dream for a chapel, which has been on the heart of members of the DBU family ever since we moved to Dallas in 1965.” The chapel will accommodate student chapel services and host major campus events. Additional space will be allocated for the Alumni Association office, intercessory prayer ministry and Cook Graduate School of Leadership. DBU has held chapel services in the Burg Center, a multi-use facility that doubles as the school’s gym. For information on the chapel campaign, contact Adam Wright by phone at (214) 333-5597 or by e-mail at adam@dbu.edu.
Baylor Medical named among top hospitals. For the 14th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has designated Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in seven specialties in its 2006 “America’s Best Hospitals” guide. Baylor Dallas made the list in each of seven specialties—digestive disorders (No. 20), endocrinology (No. 17), gynecology (No. 37), heart/heart surgery (No. 44), kidney disease (No. 34), neurology and neurosurgery (No. 42) and orthopedics (No. 22). Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation also ranked 20th among the nation’s top rehabilitation facilities.
07/21/2006 - By John Rutledge
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TOGETHER: Next generation deserves investment
Posted: 7/21/06
TOGETHER:
Next generation deserves investmentChildren and teenagers get a lot of attention from churches during the summer, and we are hearing great reports of decisions made and lives touched. This is happening through Baptist camps, Super Summer, Vacation Bible Schools, the Texas Baptist All-State Choir and Band, Youth Evangelism Conference, church mission trips and other activities.
Of course, children and youth ministries are not just for the summer. Every Sunday of the year, young people study God’s word in Sunday school, learn to relate to one another and discover the church and its leaders truly care for them.
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” Jesus-kind-of-churches reach out to children and young people. They pray for them and give them opportunities to know the Bible and to respond to the Holy Spirit’s invitation to follow Christ. These churches, like Jesus, know how to enjoy life, how to have a party with their kids. They are not stodgy, grim or afraid of life. They believe God loves every kid in town and are looking to reach out to every one of them.
If a church quits caring for children and youth, making a real place for them in the life of the church, soon a whole generation of kids comes and goes without the gospel making a difference in their lives. It can happen before you know it. A church can get preoccupied with other things, can go through division and hurt, and can disappoint through the moral failure of leaders.
07/21/2006 - By John Rutledge
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