Posted: 4/28/06

Hispanic Baptist youth
challenged to ‘get into Jesus’

By Eric Guel

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON—A Fort Worth pastor urged more than 2,500 Hispanic youth and singles at the Texas Baptist Hispanic Youth and Singles Congreso to “get into Jesus.”

“I’m here to ask you tonight: What are you into?” said Julio Guarneri, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Getsemani in Fort Worth. “We want to belong to a group, a community; we’re looking for meaning. I’m here tonight because I’m into Jesus.”

While urging the young people to direct their passions toward Jesus, he offered several clarifications, helping conference participants to not misconstrue the meaning of “getting into God.”

Guarneri warned of the danger of searching for a spiritual feeling, because when the feeling fades, people tend to blame the church and God.

“It’s not about getting into a feeling,” he said. “You know when you get goose bumps when you’re in a place of worship? That’s when you get a feeling. There’s nothing wrong with feelings, but what happens when the feeling is gone?”

He urged listeners to not equate religious activity with commitment to Christ.

“Activity is how some people measure their spirituality,” he said. “The assumption is that the less involved you are in activities, the further you are from God. I think activity can be an idol in our lives that takes the place of intimacy with God.”

Guilt is not tantamount to spiritual growth, Guarneri explained.

“God’s purpose for putting conviction in your heart is to restore communion with you,” he said. “If you’re moving from guilt trip to guilt trip, you’re missing the point. He wants to lead you to repentance.”

The focus, Guarneri emphasized, should be a growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Get into Jesus as a person,” he said. “Get to know him, get to love him. He loves you.”

Congreso, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, drew participants from more than 130 Hispanic Texas Baptist congregations.

“Our goal was to really push for the fact that we can impact our world,” said Tiny Dominguez, BGCT Hispanic student events coordinator. “Hispanics aren’t a missions project. We’re called to do missions to the world.”

Sabrina Perrazas from Christian Fellowship Church in Midland said Congreso changed her life.

“This was the first time I have really felt the Holy Spirit inside of me,” she said. “I’m going to live for Jesus.”

Perrazas’ experience was not an anomaly, Congreso President Victor Cuellar said.

“Quite a few people made decisions for Christ; we actually ran out of decision cards on Thursday night,” he said. “By that standard, it was an awesome weekend.”

Posted: 4/28/06

Alcides Guajardo (left), president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, and Albert Reyes, president of the Baptist University of the Americas, addressed the Texas Baptist Hispanic Youth and Singles Congreso.

Hispanic Texas Baptist Congreso
calls for immigration reform

By Eric Guel

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON—Hispanic Texas Baptist youth and single young adults have called for immigration reform.

Their proclamation, issued April 15, called on government leaders to “pass just and compassionate legislation that addresses stronger border security, respect for the law and a process for citizenship with regard to U.S. undocumented immigrants.”

The proclamation was read to more than 2,500 Hispanic Texas Baptists gathered for a “solemn assembly,” by Alcides Guajardo, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas. The assembly took place at the end of the Baptist General Convention of Texas-sponsored Texas Baptist Hispanic Youth and Singles Congreso.

The formal announcement focused on Jesus’ ministry to the downtrodden.

“Jesus placed the poor and the oppressed at the center of his mission on earth,” the proclamation states.

Albert Reyes, president of the Baptist University of the Americas and BGCT immediate past president, presided over the assembly.

Read the text of the proclamation here.

“You have come together today in solemn assembly to pray, to seek God’s face and to pray for our nation’s leaders,” he said. “You have come to seek liberty and justice for all.”

The event—juxtaposed against recent school walkouts and massive demonstrations throughout the nation—was tranquil and contemplative.

“I think it’s critical for Texas Baptist leadership to demonstrate that, in the midst of crisis, we respond peacefully, in a law-abiding fashion and that we respond by prayer and action,” Reyes said.

Some assembly participants or their family members could be undocumented immigrants, Reyes noted, and this issue is pertinent to their lives.

“It’s not only about them; it’s about us,” he said. “It’s about how we’re going to respond to this issue.”

John Sanchez, a graduate student at Baylor University who attended the assembly to show his support for a peaceful resolution to the immigration issue, echoed Reyes’ sentiments.

“My parents were immigrants to this country,” he said. “This is an issue that’s very dear to me. I want to see our leaders—Baptist and otherwise—make the right decision on this because it’s going to impact the future of this nation for decades to come.”

Reyes urged young people at the assembly to seize the moment and take action.

“Do not let this moment die,” he said. “Follow the issues, continue to pray for our leaders, encourage your pastors and look for ways God will use you this week to minister to the poor, the prisoner, the blind and the oppressed in your community.”

Posted: 4/28/06

DBU students minister in apartments

DALLAS—Twelve children gather in one apartment, shoving, climbing and maneuvering around the table, straining to listen to a couple of college students.

Every week, students from Dallas Baptist University take part in missionary journeys like this one to neighborhood apartments, making a practical difference in children’s lives.

“What can you tell me about Egypt?” DBU student Denae Johnson asked, as she held a laptop computer, displaying scenes from her recent trip to the Middle East. Her audience was a dozen youth at an efficiency apartment in Arlington.

“It’s sandy,” one boy answered.

“It looks like Mexico,” another said.

Each week, Johnson and her classmate Megan Routh host a one-hour Kids Club at this apartment complex. They share Bible stories and snacks, allow children to tell about their day, and then go out with them and play.

Partnering with Mission Arlington through DBU’s Baptist Student Ministry, several student teams hold Kids Clubs at various apartments throughout the week. A typical afternoon has 10 to 15 children from kindergarten to middle-school age.

“We have to bring God to where they understand, to show that he cares about their school work, their mom’s apartment and their everyday lives,” DBU student Sonia Lee said. “It’s more challenging than I thought it would be, but it is very rewarding too.”

Mission Arlington pioneered the apartment-ministry model two decades ago.

“Our definition of church is what we do 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Tillie Burgin, founder of Mission Ar-lington. She reports that Mission Arlington currently operates 265 apartment ministries a-cross Arlington, Grand Prairie and Dallas. Com-munity feedback is great, particularly from parents who appreciate volunteers helping children with homework and offering a safe after-school environment, she said.

Ashley Pinkston, a junior at DBU, has been working with Kids Clubs more than a year. “We’re able to have weekly interactions with the kids and develop a lasting relationship with them, which is unlike taking a short mission trip,” she explained, “I think that is really important when ministering to kids.”

Posted: 4/28/06

DOWN HOME:
Postman delivers tidings of mortality

Sometimes, our mail carrier is so annoying. If he were a nicer and more thoughtful guy, he would sort through our stack every day and throw away all the junk that obviously doesn’t belong in our mailbox.

Come to think of it, he could provide a terrific public service by surveying his route and trashing stuff we don’t want. You know what I mean: Flyers for aluminum siding and credit cards and time-share condominiums and alternative sources of essential vitamins and nutrients. The only benefit all this mail provides is the exercise I get by carrying it straight from the mailbox by the front curb to the recycling bin in the garage out back.

Initiating a preemptive strike on junk mail would be nice and good, and I’d appreciate it enormously. Conversely, I’d like to see our postal carrier held personally responsible for delivering malicious, offensive and mean-spirited mail.

Sometimes, of course, he can’t know, unless he develops X-ray vision and can see if people actually sign their letters. But anonymous mail doesn’t bother me, since my assistant at work, Beth, tosses it for me, and I never know it arrives. Call that “stress-reduction by mail-elimination.”

But some of the offensive mail comes clearly marked to my home. Like the packet of material that recently arrived from the American Association of Retired Persons, who cordially invited me to join their Baby Boomer-burgeoning ranks. Who (or maybe it’s what) do they think I am?

I don’t have any problem being associated with “American,” “Association” or “Persons.” But receiving an invitation to participate in something that insinuates I might now be or soon be “Retired” is, well, a bit insulting.

Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate retirees. Some of my favorite people are retired. I hope to be retired one day. But that seems like a long way off. And thinking about it very hard right now seems sorta morbid, like pondering who’ll replace my knees or what kind of casket I’ll want.

Just because I’m going to have a nice-round birthday this year doesn’t necessarily give them the right to pretend I’m about to vault over the next 15 years (give or take) and start thinking of myself as, well, retired.

On the other hand, I’ve heard an AARP membership card can get you into places cheaply. Half-price movies sound good. Maybe by the time I receive my card, it’ll get me half-off on other things, too, like having my ears waxed and the top of my head shined. This is too painful to contemplate.

Which is precisely why I try to avoid it. And why the AARP package came as such a shock. We live in a youth-oriented culture. We value energy, exuberance and enthusiasm of youth. Many of our close friends have started claiming “50 is the new 35,” which sounds great to a bunch of folks who quit buying birthday candles years ago.

Still, God did a good work by structuring life in phases. Each one has blessed Joanna and me uniquely, surprisingly, refreshingly.

So, maybe “Retired” won’t be such a bad label. Someday.

–Marv Knox

Posted: 4/28/06

EDITORIAL:
‘Morality’ is more than sex we don’t do

The last time we met on this page, we talked about immigration and education. We discussed Texas’ march toward Hispanic-majority status and the necessity of educating Hispanic Texans. Specifically, we looked at two opportunities for improving lives as well as making our state stronger: (a) lowering the Hispanic dropout rate by at least 2 percentage points a year for at least 10 years, and (b) making education at the nine universities affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas accessible to Hispanics.

Elsewhere in that issue of the paper, we reported on how Albert Reyes, president of the Baptist University of the Americas, has called for U.S. immigration policy to reflect Jesus’ demand for justice for all people.

Predictably, some readers appreciated neither the editorial nor Reyes’ remarks. Their complaints followed a familiar theme: The church should take care of poor people, and the state should butt out. Of course, none of the complainers could cite a single church that is providing its prorated share of service to the poor—a proportionate ministry that, if copied by all the other Christian churches in the community, would be sufficient to meet the needs of the very young and very old and the disabled and vulnerable who live there. None of them offered to demonstrate that they have anted-up tithes-and-offerings sufficient to provide their share of their church’s share of all the care they say “the church” is supposed to offer. By the way, I’m batting 1.000 on that request—never have had anyone take me up on it.

As I listened to one long and angry voicemail (she said “socialist” at least three times and threw “liberal” in for good measure), I recalled one of the final—if not the last—speeches made by Phil Strickland, the longtime executive director of the BGCT Christian Life Commission and one of the finest champions of care for those whom Jesus called “the least of these.” In his last days, he asked a question that consumed him for decades: Why—in the buckle of the Bible Belt, in the state with the largest Baptist population, with churches on practically every corner, with a CLC in operation for 50 years—why does Texas rank at or near the bottom in so many indicators of compassion: Support for abused and disadvantaged children, education, single-parent families, the elderly, the disabled, and on and on?

Suppose you concur with the rationale that care for poor people is the job of “the church” and not “the government”—Phil Strickland’s question remains: Why are vulnerable people so bad off in Texas? With all our churches and all our Christian wealth, if we truly believe it’s our job to minister to “the least of these,” why don’t we? Even if you don’t believe in charity, then why don’t we have enough church-run and church-funded programs to train all the able-poor up out of poverty, provide Christian foster care and adoptive homes for every neglected and abused child, and offer dignified care for every person who gets old between the Red River and the Rio Grande? And even if you say, “The job’s too big,” then why don’t we at least try?

The reason stems from a classic paradox: Our strength is our weakness.

Texans, particularly Texas Baptists, always have been big on personal responsibility. We value independence, strength and self-reliance. So, we tend to question or look down on people who don’t possess those virtues. Similarly, we historically emphasized personal morality. We even joked about being known for what we’re against—smokin’, drinkin’ and dancin’. Joking aside, we defined morality as sins of the flesh. And just as we exalted personal responsibility, we made personal morality—sins we don’t commit—our talisman of virtue. Moreover, the raunch and promiscuity of our media-soaked culture has narrowed our parameters of morality to sex: We’re moral people if we don’t fornicate, adulterate, engage in homosexual acts and abort babies.

Problem is, that’s too narrow a definition of morality. Jesus talked about caring for the poor many times more often than he talked about sex. In fact, he seemed to have a soft spot—a measure of grace that makes us squirm when we think about it—for sexual sinners.

If we’re going to recapture the morality of Jesus, we’ve got to become a people who care about the things Jesus cared about. The gospels don’t mince words: Jesus cared an awful lot about poor people. If we want to think of Texas as being a moral place, then Texas ought to be known as the state that cares the most for the youngest and oldest, for the least and lost and vulnerable.

Our public morality must eclipse our private virtue.

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard.

Posted: 4/28/06

Faith-based initiatives director resigns

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—President Bush’s lieutenant for promoting government funding for faith-based social programs announced he is leaving his post.

Jim Towey, director since 2002 of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, will leave at the beginning of June to become president of St. Vincent College, a small Benedictine Catholic school in Latrobe, Pa.

“Under his leadership, the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has applied the compassion of America to help solve some of our most challenging problems,” Bush said. “His work on behalf of the poor and the sick has improved lives. I admire Jim for his compassion, his faith and his sense of humor.”

In his White House role, Towey has pushed hard to boost the faith-based plan—garnering him both plaudits from some religious conservatives and criticism from supporters of strong church-state separation.

At a press conference following his announcement, Towey told reporters he still believes in the project.

“President Bush’s faith-based and community initiative is deeply rooted in America’s heartland. It’s established. It will continue to bear fruit for years and years to come,” he said. “And I thank God for President Bush’s leadership on an initiative that has faced a steady headwind from Day 1.”

Towey’s tenure, and the office itself, have proven controversial. Opponents of direct government funding for pervasively religious charities cited church-state concerns in criticizing Bush’s move. Some successfully sued programs funded under the plan for violating the First Amendment’s ban on government endorsement of religion.

Towey, in characteristic style, was dismissive of such criticism during his farewell press conference.

“This is the death rattle of the voices that were heard when President Bush first took office, because the wall between church and state is still standing,” he said. “But faith-based groups have been welcomed into the public square, and the poor have benefited from having access to their effective programs.”

Both his predecessor in the office, John DiIulio, and a former Towey aide, David Kuo, ended up criticizing the White House’s handling of the issue after their departures. They and other former supporters of the plan have suggested Bush’s political operatives simply have been using it to gain support among religious voters—without actually expanding funding for social services.

But Towey said he believes the initiative is close to Bush’s heart.

“What I find exciting … is that this initiative, whenever it’s needed President Bush’s engagement, he’s been there. Never once in over four years when I went into see him was he opposed to a new initiative,” he said.

He also predicted the program’s continued existence, no matter who succeeds Bush in office when his term expires in 2009. “I think you’ll be talking about this for generations. Because we will never help our poor if we don’t give them reasons to change, and government can’t love, and government cannot bond and connect with our poor. They will never have the trust of the poor like a rabbi or a preacher or some of these grassroots groups that may have no particular faith at all,” he told reporters.

Towey’s sometimes-pugnacious rhetoric in defense of the plan has frustrated its critics. For instance, during his departure press conference, Towey twice called those critical of the initiative “secular extremists,” echoing a charge he has made in the past.

One critic of the faith-based plan, Holly Hollman of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, said that sort of rhetoric is unnecessary.

“On several occasions, the BJC voiced its concerns to him and sought ways to work together more constructively,” she said. “Unfortunately, Towey never seemed to recognize that people of faith criticized the initiative precisely because of their faith. The initiative diminishes the role of religion by threatening the independence of houses of worship, funding religious discrimination and blurring the line between church and state that protects religious freedom.”

Welton Gaddy, president of the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance and pastor of Northminster Baptist Church in Monroe, La., called on Bush to use the occasion to disband the faith-based office.

“Mr. President, for the sake of religious liberty, please stop mixing religion with politics in the appropriations process and stop violating the Constitution by sponsoring and funding favored religious groups,” he said in a press release issued shortly after the announcement.

In his press conference, Towey touted the program’s successes during his tenure.

“I’ll leave this office, after proudly serving here for four years, deeply grateful for the results and accomplishments that we’ve achieved,” he said. “The court has upheld repeatedly the initiative is constitutional.”

Chip Lupu, a law professor who monitors the legal state of the initiative for the nonpartisan Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, said Towey’s assertion isn’t entirely accurate. While federal courts have turned away two broad challenges to the entire program, results for the other recent lawsuits challenging specific religious programs as First Amendment violations have been far more mixed.

“It is true, no court has said the initiative taken as a whole is unconstitutional,” said Lupu, who teaches at George Washington University Law School. “But (Towey) knows that, in the cases in the lower courts that are initiative-related, there are five or six—and they’ve lost almost every one.” In addition, he noted, similar lawsuits are pending in other federal courts.

Lupu also criticized Towey’s use of rhetoric. The faith-based chief has been counter-productively combative in his characterizations of the initiative’s critics, he said.

Lupu also questioned two of Towey’s favorite assertions that, when read together, could reasonably be viewed as mutually exclusive. The first is that people’s spiritual needs must be addressed when providing social services, so government should fund groups that do so. The other is that the administration is, nonetheless, ensuring that explicitly religious activities provided by those groups won’t receive tax dollars, because that would be a clear constitutional violation.

“Jim Towey left office the same way he occupied it; he never wanted to take that stuff seriously, he never wanted to engage it straightforwardly,” he said.

The 49-year-old Towey is a Florida native who previously headed a nonprofit group dedicated to helping the elderly. He also served under Gov. Lawton Chiles (D) as the head of Florida’s Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. Towey, who holds a law degree, also served 12 years as the chief U.S. attorney representing the late Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity order of nuns.

Posted: 4/28/06

High Pointe responds to community

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

CEDAR HILL—The neighborhood around High Pointe Baptist Church is 43 percent African-American, but the church was nearly all Anglo.

The church unsuccessfully tried multiple times to minister to its neighbors, but families simply were not interested in coming to the church.

So High Pointe started an African-American church, The Fellowship at High Pointe, and the community has responded. More than 50 people attend the new church’s services. Because they see High Pointe cares about its community, African-American families also have started attending High Pointe Baptist Church.

The growth has convinced Keith Thompson, High Pointe’s minister of missions, that church starting is key to expanding God’s kingdom.

“That’s what we see as the most strategic and effective way to grow the kingdom,” Thompson said.

Church starting has become an integral part of High Pointe Baptist Church, said Pastor Toby Snowden. Members see people professing Christ as Lord, and they see lives changing.

The church believes in church starting so much that it is looking to create a resource and training center for church planters called the Southwest Center for Church Planting. Through this new entity, Thompson hopes to help start congregations across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

High Pointe Baptist Church has joined the Baptist General Convention of Texas in its effort to start 1,500 churches by the end of 2010. High Pointe has voted to start 15 churches by the end of 2010.

Snowden believes the goal of 1,500 churches could revolutionize the spiritual landscape.

“If churches took it seriously, I think it’s touching the hem of the garment of revival.”

Church starting already has changed High Pointe.

“We’re excited about it,” Thompson said. “We think church starting is the way to go.”

Posted: 4/28/06

Immigration prayer walk set in Wichita Falls

By George Henson

Staff Writer

WICHITA FALLS—While he believes in the importance of immigration reform, a Wichita Falls pastor doesn’t feel the May 1 boycott called for by many Hispanic leaders is the best approach. Instead, he has offered an opportunity for Christians to unite across ethnic and denominational lines for a prayer walk May 6.

Baldemar Borrego, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza in Wichita Falls and former officer of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, said he could not support the boycott because it would hurt the U.S. economy. He also fears many workers might lose their jobs because of their absence and feels children should be in school unless given permission from school officials to do otherwise.

Some other Hispanic religious leaders have looked askance at Borrego for his decision, but he insists he is doing the right thing. In Wichita Falls, a May 1 rally also was slated to include prayer, but Borrego said missing school or work to pray was unnecessary.

He is asking people who choose to attend the May 6 prayer walk to wear white T-shirts and carry only American flags.

The decision not to display Mexican flags initially met some opposition, he noted, but now most understand. Borrego told people that if many came carrying the flag of Mexico, “they will feel like they have been invaded by a bunch of illegal aliens.”

Borrego also asked people to consider how it would look if the situation were reversed.

“I am sure that if Americans paraded with American flags in another country, they would be immediately reprimanded by the local authorities,” he explained.

Borrego has asked that people of many ethnic backgrounds participate, and he pointed out many of the Hispanics planning to participate now are American citizens.

The prayer walk’s primary focus will be to pray for legislators as they make decisions concerning immigration reform, to pray for the families affected by those decisions and to pray for unity when opinions differ on so many important issues, he explained.

Borrego, a naturalized American citizen who was born in Mexico, said, “I am not ashamed of my origin, but I believe that if we think to live in this wonderful country, we must be participants and not only spectators.”

While some people have disagreed with his decision not to support the boycott, Borrego said his church has given him “100 percent support.” He feels the prayer walk is an important way to address the immigration reform question.

“This great nation has a lot of heart. They send missionaries all over the world, but right now, the world is already here,” he said.

Borrego has publicized the walk on the radio program he hosts on a local Hispanic radio station and expects 2,000 to 3,000 people to attend. The prayer walk is slated to begin at 9 a.m. at Third Street and Indiana Avenue in Wichita Falls.

Posted: 4/28/06

Katrina effort unites African-American Baptists

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)—Three historically African-American Baptist denominations have agreed to raise $1 billion for ongoing recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The National Baptist Convention USA, the National Baptist Convention of America and the Progressive National Baptist Convention have created the National Baptist Convention Develop-ment Initiative to oversee the effort, which will include funds for rebuilding houses, churches and businesses in New Orleans. Some funds from the plan will be earmarked for new homeowner classes and help with credit and mortgage problems.

The plan, besides being by far the largest amount of Katrina relief proposed by a religious group, also is a milestone of cooperation for three Baptist groups who have had sometimes-contentious relationships. Convention leaders have differed in the past over civil rights and other issues.

Formed in 1895, the National Baptist Convention USA spawned the National Baptist Convention of America in 1915 and the Progressive National Baptist Convention in 1961.

Progressive Baptist leaders chose to split with the mother convention because its leadership was not supportive of the civil-rights tactics of its founders, including Martin Luther King Jr., Benjamin Mays and Ralph Abernathy.

Politics aside, initiative officials say the organization will bring a cooperative renewal to the area, especially when it comes to raising and using the funds. They plan to get the money through financing from Chase Bank and from celebrities associated with New Orleans. The first projects funded under the initiative are slated to begin in June, and anyone in the city who suffered loss will be eligible to receive help.

Russell Odom, special projects director for the organization, said the main focus will be to get businesses—and life—back to normal for the victims of the hurricane. That goal is no small task: Katrina is estimated to be responsible for $75 billion in damages and at least 1,604 deaths, according to USA Today reports.

“Our goal is to work with local pastors and their congregations to get our churches reopened; to assist homeowners with renovating their homes, if possible, or rebuilding, if necessary; and to help businesses reopen,” Odom said.

Posted: 4/28/06

Texas Baptist Forum

Pride in possessions

I was a college sophomore when I bought my first car. It was a black 12-year-old ’41 Ford. Jones Chevrolet in Center stored it for me eight months while I made the down payment on it. It cost me $495, and I couldn’t wait to drive it home.

• Jump to online-only letters below

Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.

“When my soul was troubled, it was Billy I reached out to for advice, for comfort and for prayer. You could say Bill has been the conscience of our nation and sometimes of the world.” George H.W. Bush Former U.S. president, speaking in College Station as he awarded the George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service to evangelist Billy Graham (Houston Chronicle/RNS) “Academics often think of conservative Christians as rubes and dupes. The reality is that the real movers and shakers behind the evangelical movement are highly educated, thoughtful people with entrepreneurial skills, wealth and extraordinary management savvy.” Robert Wuthnow Professor of social sciences at Princeton University, commenting on a comprehensive study by Michael Lindsay, a sociology doctoral student (Princeton Weekly Bulletin/RNS) “What many people find disagreeable about the political use of evil is that it’s rooted in self-righteousness on the part of the speaker. It’s saying we’re entirely different from our enemies without any attempt to understand them.” Robert Gahl Professor of ethics and morality at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome (RNS)

I painted the dash tomato red and put a wheel cover and steering knob on it before driving it to East Texas Baptist College to show it off. Parking it every day in front of the dining hall assured me that everyone saw it. I was proud of that car!

When I was converted to the Lord, I was so proud of the Lord Jesus. I apologized to people I had offended, returned the 50 cents I’d stolen from Barney Bridges’ café and showed my new faith to everyone.

Many people don’t show off their cars like they used to. I’ve also noticed that many Christians don’t show the Lord off like they once did.

I wonder why.

Doug Fincher

San Augustine

Organ donors first

The generosity of live organ donors like Jerry Wooley (April 17) is remarkable. But we wouldn’t need many live organ donors if Americans weren’t burying or cremating 20,000 transplantable organs every year.

There is a better solution to the organ shortage: If you don’t agree to donate your organs when you die, then you go to the back of the waiting list if you ever need an organ to live.

Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It also will make the organ allocation system fairer. About 60 percent of the organs transplanted in the United States go to people who haven’t agreed to donate their own organs when they die.

Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a nonprofit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. They do this through a form of directed donation that is legal in all 50 states and under federal law.

Anyone can join for free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 888-ORGAN88. LifeSharers has 4,186 members, including 364 members in Texas. More than 400 members are minor children enrolled by their parents.

David J. Undis

Nashville, Tenn.

Methodists’ example

Food for thought: “Methodists across the nation will celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the milestone decision granting full clergy rights to women in the United Methodist Church this year. All 63 United Methodist conferences have special activities planned for the commemoration, according to the United Methodist News Service.”

With more women pushing for the same rights in the Southern Baptist Convention, is it not worthwhile to note that the Methodist Church’s decline accelerated with this unbiblical decision?

Let’s continue to teach and stand for God’s clear teaching concerning the pulpit and pastoring.

Michael Simons

Cleburne

Culture & Scripture

The third paragraph of Jim Salles’ letter (April 3), dealing with culture and Scripture and how the two interact, is an example of exegesis out of hand.

The fact the Bible consists of writings penned by those whose cultures defined women as little more than chattel should confirm that culture did, in fact, interact with the author’s basic concept of the role of women in that society. Presently, there are worldly cultures that still demean and diminish women, not only as pastors or teachers, but also as human beings.

If carried to its natural conclusion, Salles’ argument that Scripture should not be affected by culture would leave one hard-pressed to refute the notion that God continues to inspire men in their subjection of women to inferior status. Logic is in a lurch!

The life of Christ should be the plumb bob by which Christians relate to each other. The Apostle Paul is given credit for making statements that have become the wrecking ball of women’s aspirations to respond to what they feel is divine magnetism. The debate can rage over what he said, why he said it, or even if he said it. 

Those who pay attention know male and female are not combative entities, and with that light shining on the dark path of dogma, it should be clear that culture did, in fact, influence what was written in Scripture about women. It is demeaning and diminishing, and our Savior had no part in it.

Edward Clark

Danville, Ky.

Broader Christian perspective

In a time when many Baptist churches have abandoned Christian symbols, sing only songs written in the last decade and illustrate sermons mainly with film clips or current events, it is encouraging that Baptist churches like River Road, Royal Lane and Wilshire have realized the value of Lent, liturgy, lectionary and other ancient Christian practices (April 17).

Certainly, Baptists are free to adopt many styles of worship, but there are reasons these older forms have persisted for thousands of years.  First, when we worship, we are “compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses” that connect our service to the everlasting worship of God by Christians of all ages and all lands. Second, our children learn the prayers and songs of our founding fathers, including much of the greatest music ever written. Third, there is comfort and purpose in following the church year that mirrors the life and work of Christ, both in joy and in sorrow.

If we neglect these things, we miss out on the best of the past, do not learn the lessons of history, and can become provincial in our attitudes. 

I have attended Royal Lane and Wilshire. Their services are definitely Baptist, but they offer a glimpse of a broader Christian perspective that is both appealing and refreshing to the soul. It might be the type of service that refreshes your church.

Dolan McKnight

Richardson

Choices about war

A U.S. or Israeli preemptive strike on Iran would be a monumental mistake. Attacking Iran would show the United States learned nothing from its colossal mistake of invading and occupying Iraq. The anger stirred up in the Muslim community of Iraq would be multiplied many times over in the rest of the Muslim world if Iran were hit.

It is pure folly for any faction in the world to believe bullets, bombs and deadly nuclear weapons will win the peace. It is a sad commentary on the state of the world when people of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths cannot find the common, higher ground that leads to brother/sisterhood—peace. Far too many believers of each religion believe their faith is superior to the others and that God especially favors them.

I am a person of faith and hope, but I fear we are moving toward unthinkable, suicidal world holy war. The God of Abraham does not want that to happen but won’t stop it if humankind chooses to let pride, arrogance and greed drive its God-given freedom to make choices.

Paul L. Whiteley Sr.

Louisville, Ky.

What might have been

When I think about the recent actions of the International Mission Board trustees, it makes me mad and sad. It is a bit ironic and hypocritical for IMB and Southern Baptist Convention leadership now to say the trustees must either be loyal or keep quiet. 

If those rules would have been in place 20 years ago, great men like Keith Parks (Foreign Mission Board), Russell Dilday (Southwestern Seminary) and Lloyd Elder (Sunday School Board) would not have had their ministries destroyed.

Dan Curry

Arlington

Homeless & children

In all my experience, some 20-plus years either being homeless or dealing with homeless issues, I have never known of a homeless person to harm a child.  Yet I have heard of many people with homes who have done children a great deal of harm. Prejudice against homeless people—as expressed by some people affiliated with First Baptist Academy in Dallas (April 3) is what prevents many of them from ever overcoming homelessness.

Yes, I understand that there are some homeless people who are guilty of violent crimes, but the truth is, homelessness is not an indicator of criminal intent. Homeless people are most guilty of public intoxication and trespassing—as they often use doorways of businesses as shelter for sleeping and for some small protection from the weather. And yet most homeless people are not even guilty of that. The majority of homeless people make use of shelters and do not bother the public with their addictions and other personal defects. 

Mostly, the homeless just want to be left alone. They do not enjoy the harassment they often receive from citizens and the police. Time in jail severely interferes with homeless people’s needs to “self medicate” their addictions and mental illnesses.  This provides more than enough motivation to avoid trouble.

Kevin Barbieux

Las Vegas, Nev.

Faith in evolution

Having read "Two new discoveries answer big questions in evolution theory," plus another article about the Religious Left found at slate.com through a link from the Baptist Standard, the question arose: If what they say is true, why should I continue to believe in God at all, when respected experts and other eminent personalities also profess belief in God but at the same time dispute that he ever created anything?

If the millions of plant and animal species we know about all evolved, as many say happened, why should I continue to believe in the God whose creation story is told in the Holy Bible? How does one come down on both sides of this question?

Yes, God is our Savior and the Bible is true. However, he did not create us as the Bible indicates; we evolved over time. Can both really be believed by the same mind? Does anyone really think the science is conclusive on evolution anyway? Is evolution theory as settled as the Second Law of Thermodynamics? If not, aren't some exercising more faith in evolution than others do in Jesus Christ?

Further, with other advances in science now allowing us to see the living child inside the human womb, how do we reconcile God's love for all people with the practice of induced abortion? By valuing the child's life less than the parent's, have we not then made distinctions among ourselves, and become judges with evil motives? (James 2:4)

David Hammons

Fort Worth

Posted: 4/28/06

N.C. Baptists elect new
executive director-treasurer

By Tony Cartledge

N.C. Biblical Recorder

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP)—Milton Hollifield became the 14th executive director-treasurer of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention during a special called convention April 11—the first in the convention’s history.

An announced total of 1,066 messengers attended the meeting, approving Hollifield’s election with no apparent opposition.

A member of the convention staff since 1993, Hollifield had been serving as executive leader for the evangelism group. He was nominated by a search committee looking for a successor to former executive Jim Royston, who resigned last May to return to the pastorate.

The North Carolina convention has been divided in recent years, as fundamentalists and moderates battled over the election of officers and how church contributions should be handled. Several churches have been expelled over homosexuality and other issues, and some statewide board members have resigned over SBC policies, like the exclusion of women from pastoral roles.

Hollifield said during his installation that North Carolina Baptists work in partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and other mission sending groups to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of hurting people.

“I acknowledge there are significant differences among us,” Hollifield said. “But I am challenging you to focus on our points of agreement. I believe we will accomplish more united than we will as separate entities.”

The North Carolina convention’s executive committee and board of directors endorsed Hollifield’s nomination Jan. 24.

During the special convention session, Don Warren, chair of the board of directors, officially nominated Hollifield for the position. There were no other nominations, and Hollifield was elected on a show of ballots.

“The driving desire of my being, as your leader, is to help North Carolina Baptist churches achieve what God is calling each of them to accomplish in their respective fields of ministry,” Hollifield said, as he expressed gratitude for the confidence placed in him.

The son of a pastor, Hollifield worked in the funeral industry and for Duke Power before entering full-time ministry. He graduated from Mars Hill College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was associate pastor of West Asheville (N.C.) Baptist Church 1980 to 1982, pastor of First Baptist Church of Stanley, N.C., 1982 to 1991, and director of missions for Gaston Baptist Association 1991 to 1993.

Hollifield and his wife, Gloria, have one son, Judson, an attorney who lives in Asheville.

Posted: 4/28/06

Offering changes lives in Thailand

By Alison Wingfield

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

ATLANTA—The cost of a typical week’s grocery bill in the United States was all it took to change a life.

Money given last summer to the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Offering for Religious Liberty and Human Rights is being put to use to help hilltribe people in Thailand obtain legal status in that country. Individuals and churches also contributed a substantial amount to help with this project.

About $45,000 was collected at the 2005 CBF General Assembly for the first Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Offering, to be shared by the Fellowship and the Baptist World Alliance.

The remainder of the CBF portion will be used to fund projects with Fellowship partner churches ministering in areas where religious liberty issues exist. The offering will be collected again at the 2006 General Assembly June 22-23 in Atlanta.

For 5,100 baht, or about $123, a Palaung is able to register for an alien resident card, which offers significant residence rights.

“That is a lot of money for most Palaung families,” said Rick Burnette, one of CBF’s Global Missions field personnel. “They make somewhere between a dollar to two dollars a day.”

He and his wife, Ellen, work with various hilltribe people as liaisons with the Palaung and Kachin minority networks, assisting communities in finding ways to make a living, including sustainable agriculture, and dealing with related rights issues.

“This offering has been extremely timely,” Burnette said. “We don’t think it was merely coincidental.”

The Palaung registration fund fit the criteria of the Carter Offering, noted Don Durham, CBF Foundation president and chair of the committee responsible for disbursing the offering funds.

“This is what being the presence of Christ looks like when we engage the grassroots at home with the grassroots around the world,” Durham said. “A significant number of CBF churches were already involved with the Burnettes in funding this registration project. And there were individuals with no rights of any kind. Basic citizenship rights are the first step toward religious liberty rights.”

Providing direct assistance to those whose religious liberties are endangered or non-existent is a key objective used by the committee to determine where to distribute the funds, said committee member Jimmy Allen, chaplain and senior minister of the chapel of Big Canoe, Ga.

The Palaung registration fund “seemed a good fit for beginning this process,” Allen said. “They need help meeting the high costs placed on them to get the protection of being citizens of Thailand.”

Many of the Palaung and Kachin fled civil unrest in Myanmar during the last two decades and have settled in Thailand near the border with Myanmar. As immigrants, it has been difficult for them to get documentation to allow them to work.

Using $10,000 of the Carter Offering, along with another $30,000 in donations from churches and individuals, the Burnettes—working with a Christian development project—set up a revolving fund for those eligible to get this documentation.

First Baptist Church of Lee’s Summit, Mo., heard of the need after their pastor, Scott Harrison, returned from a two-week trip to Thailand, where he met the Burnettes and some of the Palaung. “The need was overwhelming, and knowing that our CBF missionaries would be able to oversee its distribution and make sure it got into the right hands was important to us,” Harrison said. “It was a tangible need, something we could do.”

Greenwood Forest Baptist Church in Cary, N.C., found out about the need when leaders contacted the Fellowship.

“It was a different way to help people in a far-away part of the world,” said Amanda Atkin, associate pastor.

Currently, the Thai government has said immigrants are eligible if they came to Thailand before Oct. 13, 1985. There is hope those who entered after that also will have opportunities to register.

“Among the Palaung and Kachin, we have identified 247 persons who are eligible to receive assistance from this fund so as to secure legal registration,” Burnette said.

After determining who is eligible, the group is screened by their communities, and if they are considered in good standing in the community, they can benefit from the fund, and thus obtain legal registration. They are expected to pay back what they have borrowed, with interest, over time, thus creating a sustainable fund.

“This fund eliminates a lot of uncertainty,” Burnette said. Legal registration “gives them rights to reside in Thailand, to access various benefits, including healthcare and education.”

Legal registration provides a first step for the Palaung and Kachin peoples toward realizing the religious liberty guaranteed in the Thai constitution.

The group hopes the Palaung and Kachin peoples will be able to access the sustainable fund for other applications related to land rights and forest rights, Burnette said.

For more about the Burnettes’ ministry, visit www.uhdp.org /uh/.