Posted: 3/03/06

As Boomers age, care
facilities make adjustments

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Most Baby Boomers haven’t retired yet, but they already are changing retirement and aging-care services.

Boomers—born in the two decades after World War II—have started evaluating retirement and health care groups as they help care for their parents and are expecting more personalized care that enables them to be more independent when they retire, said Pearl Merritt, vice president/general manager of Buckner Retirement Services.

And retirement centers and aging-care facilities are moving to provide what boomers are seeking. Some are examining ways of providing meaningful health care in people’s homes by using technology. Others are looking to create more of a community feel to their facilities with approaches similar to suites that many colleges offer. Central gathering locations are common.

The changes go beyond the living facilities and locations. Boomers want to remain active in their latter years, so organizations are building wellness centers as well as hike and bike trails.

“We’re already seeing the fact that they want more space like office space, wellness centers,” Merritt said. “They have a different level of expectations. Certainly, we want to meet their expectations.”

Even social activities and dining are changing. Meal services are becoming more upscale and diversified to give Boomers greater options.

“They want more choices,” said Pat Crump, president/chief executive officer of Baptist Memorials Ministries in San Angelo. “They want different size accommodations. They want more people.”

The anticipated population surge puts aging-care and retirement facilities at a strategic place to minister to a large segment of the population, Crump said.

He looks forward to his organization sharing Christ through its caring attitude and services.

But he added Baptist Memorials Ministries can only do so much. Rather than trying to do everything, Crump is leading his organization to concentrate on specific areas of ministry. He wants Baptist Memorials Minis-tries to be excellent in everything it does.

With a great ministry opportunity, Boomers also present a challenge. Crump’s group loses money on every Medicaid patient, and there appears to be no solution to the problem in sight. There will be many people who cannot afford the medical care they need, but there is no way to cover the costs.

Social Security and education re-form are getting much of the attention, but Medicaid and Medicare are becoming bigger issues on a daily basis, Crump said.

“The opportunity’s huge to minister and try to take care of folks,” he said.

“At the same time, we’re limited to what we can do. I think the government is expecting the not-for-profit community to do more than it can do.”

Posted: 3/03/06

Aging Boomers poised to
redefine culture … again

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

In their teens and 20’s, they redefined pop culture. In their 30’s and 40’s, they challenged the traditional role of women. Now in their 50’s and 60’s, Baby Boomers are poised to change American culture once again.

The generation that once refused to trust anyone older than 30 begins turning 60 this year, bringing its penchant for inquiry, said Carole Barasch, spokeswoman for AARP of Texas. Like music, war, civil rights and the role of women before them, issues such as health care, spirituality and aging are sure to come under intellectual fire as Boomers search for a meaning to their lives.

And if the past is any indication, changes will be made in practice and perception, Barasch said. “Settling for a pat answer isn’t necessarily one of their character traits as a generation. They do question.”

But trying to figure out what those changes will be is difficult, because the generation is so diverse, Barasch added. They are used to a variety of choices and expect that to continue in their latter years.

In Texas alone, Baby Boomers —defined as people born between 1946 and 1964—make up more than 25 percent of the population. About 60 percent of that group is white, but more than 25 percent are Hispanic and more than 10 percent are African-American. Boomers cover the gamut of economic and physical health, as well as political and social viewpoints.

Prognosticators do not agree what the changes will be, but concur Boomers are not slowing down to make them. Individuals in this generation may retire from a job but probably will not stop working in some capacity.

Boomers will take part-time jobs, possibly in other fields, said Charles Tolbert II, chairman of the Baylor University sociology department. Many will be greeters at Wal-Mart, while others will become adjunct faculty at community colleges. For some, this will be an exploration into reinventing themselves; for others, it will be a financial necessity.

Part-time workers may help companies transition from one generation to another, said Jim Ellor, director of Baylor Institute for Gerontological Studies. When Boomers retire, they take with them years of experience. Employing them on a part-time basis can enable corporations to train less-experienced employees who need to take on more responsibilities.

Boomers who do not continue to work may invest themselves in volunteer opportunities, an appealing option for churches, Tolbert said. Retirees may want to spend their time serving in various church ministries or volunteering in church offices. Retired ministers may serve as interim ministers at other churches.

Perry Collins, associate professor at Wayland Baptist University, said staying busy actually may keep some Boomers healthy. They tend to define themselves by what they do. If they lose that, their health may begin to fail. “They tie a great deal of their identity into their role as a worker.”

Committing to volunteer work will help some Boomers find meaning for their lives, said George Young, minister to people age 50 and older at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.

“I think (Boomers) are attracted by seeing some things that other people are doing with their lives that are really counting,” he said. “I think they realize they are not going to be the president of that or this other, so they might as well do the best they can right now. I think if they see opportunities they can plug into, they really look that over and say, ‘Hey that would be nice.’”

Not all Boomers, Tolbert cautioned, will be as giving or unselfish with their time. Materialism runs strong in this generation, and some will choose to live as comfortably as possible. They have been consumers all their lives, and that probably will not change.

Activity may be Boomers’ way of not thinking about aging because the age group still resists the notion of growing older, several polls indicate. They prefer to talk about “aging gracefully” and “living fully.” The talk about “wellness” issues instead of health care.

They may not want to think about it, but at some point they are going to realize they have more life behind them than ahead of them, Ellor said. That notion may send a generation that has been called many things from hippies to yuppies on another spiritual quest for fulfillment.

This is a great opportunity for Christians, Young contended. It is the ideal way to help Boomers serve across generations. “I believe no time in history will be better to reach the Boomer for Christ if we will keep working at it. Some of these Boomers may be new Christians. They may have met Christ in their later years, and they get so excited.”

But this time also is a great challenge, Ellor said. Many Boomers already have dismissed the church for one reason or another. “The Baby Boom is going to force our churches to take on hard issues,” he said. Leaders will need to speak about what a significant life is and what the end of living means philosophically.

However these issues play out, the influence of this generation cannot be understated, Ellor and Tolbert agreed. It will affect nearly every aspect of American culture. In states like Florida, a culture of older people already exists in places, marking a trend that could sweep the nation.

“It will largely depend on where you live,” Tolbert said. “We talk about blue states and red states. We might be talking about gray states.”

Posted: 3/03/06

Retiring Boomers may fill needs in churches

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—A surge of Baby Boomers does not necessarily mean a wave of retirements, but it does mean business as usual may change.

Casey Bailey, senior human resources consultant with HRHouston Group—which serves the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Buckner Baptist Benevo-lences and South Texas Children’s Home—already sees many Baby Boomers who want to work well past what traditionally has been called retirement age.

In general, she sees supervisors and senior management working longer, while individuals in administrative and clerical positions retire earlier. The retirement decisions are tied directly to individual health, financial resources and potential for retirement health benefits. This dynamic actually will help businesses as they become led by younger generations because the transition will be smoother, Bailey said.

Baby Boomers are able to share their knowledge and experiences with younger people over a longer period of time. Younger generations will gain valuable information that, when coupled with their strong technology skills and higher education, cause them to become a greater asset in the workplace, she noted.

Younger generations bring new ideas and methods to an organization, Bailey observed. They may want to implement a new structure or utilize more technology than the Boomers. As more Busters and younger individuals attain mid-management and senior-level positions, the culture of an organization will change.

Some organizations, particularly churches, may benefit from hiring retired people on a part-time basis, Bailey said. Many retired people look for work to supplement their income or provide health benefits. This could be especially helpful to small congregations looking for a pastor. Experienced ministers may be looking for just such a church where they can serve.

Above all, the wave of Baby Boomers pushing toward retirement means organizations must plan in providing benefits to employees that will assist them to plan for retirement, Bailey said. Retirees most likely will need more benefits and for a longer period of time due to the continuing rise of healthcare and related expenses.

The rising cost of health insurance easily can add up over time, leaving organizations scrambling to continue to care for employees and retirees. To prevent this, Bailey recommends organizations regularly evaluate their benefit programs. It is possible to cut costs while maintaining comprehensive benefit plans, she said.

Posted: 3/03/06

Texas Baptist Forum

Baptismal confession

I asked Jesus to be my Savior and Lord when I was 4 years old. The reason wasn’t only because I didn’t want to go to hell, but also knowing that I would be living my life without God really bothered me.

At the time, I knew I should be baptized, because God commands it and it’s also a way for me to show the people around me that I have become a Christian. I didn’t want to be baptized because I was afraid of how deep the water was. I wasn’t afraid of water, just of being held under too long.

Jump to online-only letters.

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

“For people everywhere, the United States is a partner for a better life. Short-changing these efforts would increase the suffering and chaos of our world, undercut our long-term security and dull the conscience of our country. I urge members of Congress to serve the interests of America by showing the compassion of America.” George W. Bush In his State of the Union address, urging congressional support for foreign aid “As long as I serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me.” Samuel Alito U.S. Supreme Court justice, in a letter to author/activist James Dobson, read by Dobson on his radio program (New York Times) “I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you." Mandisa Hundley American Idol contestant and worship leader at Christian women’s conferences, responding to judge Simon Cowell after he criticized her weight (RNS/BP)

Last year, I saw people younger than me be baptized, and that helped me to not be so afraid.

This morning, I will be baptized to show the people around me that I am a Christian and that I’m following what Jesus told me to do, which is to be baptized.

Being baptized doesn’t make me a Christian. It just shows on the outside what happened on the inside when I became a Christian. When I became a Christian, my sins were taken away. When they put me under water, it shows my old life being buried, and when they raise me up, it shows me rising with a new life.

Jonathan Mooney

Alvin

Editor’s note: Uncoached and unprompted, Jonathan wrote this letter and gave it to Assistant Pastor Gene Tipton shortly before Tipton baptized him at Heights Baptist Church in Alvin earlier this year.

Integrating atmosphere

I enjoyed reading the articles that discussed whether an atmospheric model or an integrating faith and learning model is best for Baylor University (Feb. 20). And I appreciate the new president’s call for a balance in which both models apply.

Personally, I don’t see how you can have a Christian atmosphere without an integrating faith and learning approach to learning.

David Blagg

Dublin

Glimpse of God

We were delighted to see the attention the Baptist Standard recently gave to discussions about the character and future of Baylor University.

Our only real disappointment with the articles was the oft-repeated but mistaken claim that the “integration model” requires that Christian faith must somehow be forced into every subject and every class.

As a statement by the provost’s office in October 2003 makes crystal clear, faculty members have never been required to integrate faith and learning in the classroom.

At Baylor, the integration of faith and learning has nothing to do with “creationism,” overt demonstrations of piety in the classroom, or “Christian mathematics.” It has everything to do with examining the ways our scholarly assumptions interact with ideas, allegiances and institutions that make up the world that God has created and redeemed.

These assumptions vary from subject to subject, and there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. Whether and to what extent these questions are brought into the classroom depends on many factors, the most important of which is the judgment of the individual instructor.

The integration of faith and learning is a task that can only be done well in a community of learning where scholars trust, learn from and challenge each other.

We believe that when every voice is heard and weighed, when no one is silenced or unduly privileged, something of the truth that sets us free will reveal to us a glimpse of the face of God.

C. Stephen Evans, university professor of philosophy and humanities

Barry Hankins, professor of history and church-state studies

Barry Harvey, associate professor of theology

Ralph C. Wood, university professor of theology and literature

Baylor University

Waco

Theory v. law

It is quite distressing to hear of ministers who decry the opponents of Darwin’s theory of evolution, a theory that assumes spontaneous origin without mention of a possible divine author of creation. Can’t people of God recognize a godless declaration, an atheistic philosophy, imposed as fact upon our schoolchildren for generations?

Darwinian theories of evolution are theories only, never attaining status as scientific law.

They are based entirely upon suppositions by a segment of scientists that we and our environs came about by happenstance alone during billions of cosmological years.

Life for us on this planet can exist only when thousands of variables are adjusted and maintained in coordination. Odds against that occurring at random are in the megamillions. 

With a lifelong background of science, I, too, believe in evolution, designed and engineered by a supreme being.

I also believe the Law of Increasing Entropy that states, when applied to the closed system of our universe, that all systems tend to become totally random and disorganized. It is natural law, affirmed by Einstein, not a theory. It negates spontaneous evolution entirely.

The universe heads toward chaos unless there is a divine power countermanding it by intelligent design.

Of the 50 U.S. states, all 50 begin their constitutions recognizing a higher being.

Would that preachers display such unanimity!

Val F. Borum

Fort Worth

Override of liberty

To use the powers of government to pass science off as religion or religion off as science is wrongheaded. A free and thinking people do not need government telling them their faith in God is nothing more than a scientific theory or that their scientific theories must conform to another person’s religious beliefs.

Within his first encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI uses words that echo the U.S. Constitution’s first and 14th amendment guarantees of freedom from state-sponsored religion. He writes, “The state may not impose religion, yet it must guarantee religious freedom and harmony between followers of different religions.”

Counter to this, some religious zealots are bent on pressuring local public school boards into requiring teachers to insert into their lesson plans a new certitude of these true believers, intelligent design creationism. They are free to believe what they will. However, this attempt to use government to promote their religious ideology should be troubling to all people who prize freedom of conscience.

State-sponsored proselytization is a greater threat to our religious freedom than it is a mistaken sally into the domain of science.

Science has and will continue to weather all sorts of misdirected and dead-ended efforts. However, our freedom of conscience may not fare so well.

The override of this liberty would mark the entry of our nation into an intolerant period in which all sorts of intellectual and spiritual pursuits were subject to suppression.

Sam Osborne

West Branch, Iowa

Man’s logic

Brent Walker makes very good points about the religion/evolution debate (Jan. 23). I am a science teacher and Southern Baptist.

I believe that God spoke, creating everything we see, touch, taste, feel and smell. Every argument starts with basic facts—evolution from geological history (of which there are no eyewitnesses) and “intelligent design” from the basis of the Word who created it (also no eyewitnesses). 

It was man’s logic and rationale that “created” all living things through evolution.

Once you get a few basic logically sounding “truths,” such as “all processes occurred in the past the same way that they are occurring in the present” and “younger layers of earth are deposited on older layers,” then we developed radioisotope dating and geological relationships. Suddenly, we discover that our earth is billions of years old! And there is a chain of increasingly more complex living things until ultimately an animal developed by chance called man.

Creationism is a “belief.”

If you evaluate the basis of scientific proofs, you will realize that it, too, is a “belief” system. Their “laws” are based on what is the most logically reproducible explanation that people can “think” of, using only things we sense today. It is not based on eyewitness reports of what happened those billions of years.

So we perpetuate the lie that is being taught in school because it is the most provable by our senses and man’s rationale. A belief system based on man’s logic—evolution.

Steve Livengood

Stamford

A recovering Baptist

I’m celebrating my sixth year of sobriety as a recovering Baptist. Yet I fell off the wagon and visited the Baptist Standard website, in particular, the Texas Baptist Forum. I was shocked, though I shouldn’t have been, by the same tired, worn-out diatribes—inerrancy, evolution, if you show the Super Bowl at church, you’re going to hell, blah, blah.

I don’t miss the turmolic, hair-splitting, scriptural-dissecting, ungodly, un-Christlike nonsense.

I now attend a nondenominational Christian church. I am free to believe God took as much time as he deemed necessary to create the world. If he took a handful of dust or a series of apes, he did it!! If he took 10 million years, he did it!! That’s all that should matter.

I’ll never accept the 10,000 years, plus or minus, that the literalists insist it took for creation, and I’ll never accept that believing in a longer-than-literal creation will somehow bar me from the kingdom. I will recognize reasonable scientific descriptions that some things existed earlier than others, some things adapted, and some things did not adapt and died off, much as humankind will, given our willful bent towards self-destruction, alienation, segregation and ignorance. In all, creation was a grander, much more complex event than could have ever been put in the pages of a book.

I believe Jesus died for all of our sins—period. Let me grapple with my Bible, my science book and my own fate.

Hope to see you all at the finish line.

Mark Clark

Flower Mound

Using government to promote religion is greater risk

To use the powers of government to pass science off as religion or religion off as science is wrongheaded. A free and thinking people do not need government telling them their faith in God is nothing more than a scientific theory or that their scientific theories must conform to another person’s religious beliefs.

Within his first encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI uses words that echo the U.S. Constitution’s first and 14th amendment guarantees of freedom from state-sponsored religion. He writes, “The state may not impose religion, yet it must guarantee religious freedom and harmony between followers of different religions.”

Counter to this, some religious zealots are bent on pressuring local public school boards into requiring teachers to insert into their lesson plans a new certitude of these true believers, intelligent design creationism. They are free to believe what they will. However, this attempt to use government to promote their religious ideology should be troubling to all people who prize freedom of conscience.

State-sponsored proselytization is a greater threat to our religious freedom than it is a mistaken sally into the domain of science. Science has and will continue to weather all sorts of misdirected and dead-ended efforts. However, our freedom of conscience may not fare so well.

The override of this liberty would mark the entry of our nation into an intolerant period in which all sorts of intellectual and spiritual pursuits were subject to suppression.

Sam Osborne

West Branch, Iowa

Posted: 3/03/06

CYBER COLUMN:
Grace reigns

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, remembering Don Knotts in his passing at 81 years of age and Mayberry RFD. I must tell you that I did not spend much of my childhood watching programs like the Andy Griffith Show and the nostalgic town Mayberry.  Later in life, I learned to watch cable TV’s Nick at Night and see Don Knotts in his quirky role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife. Laughter reigned.

I find myself reflecting that we live in the dream of a Mayberry world that in actuality is an iPod world. I live in Granbury, Texas, a place where people once referred to our town very much like Mayberry. After all, we had a Dairy Queen, a drive-in-theater, a local radio station that aired high school sporting events, old roads where once in a while a tractor slowed traffic, and a lake where fishermen could fish on the grassy banks on a warm day. Mayberry reigned.

iPod has arrived now in the 21st century. Dairy Queen has been replaced by Chili’s. The drive-in theater is still open, but a newer theater with stadium seating airs the latest flicks. The local radio station has surrendered to the satellite radio in cars and on computers. Traffic is now slowed by sprawling roads and busy intersections and drive time takes longer than it used to, no matter the destination in our town. Fishing has even changed—high-powered boats and sophisticated technology that measures the depths of the lake and even tells you if fish school nearby. Just the other day, I saw young man jogging on the street with headphones in his ears and his iPod blasting the musical tunes of who knows, Lifehouse? Carrie Underwood singing Jesus Take the Wheel? Or maybe Coldplay? Or just maybe, Casting Crowns belting out Lifesong. iPod reigns.

I remind myself of the old quote: Three things in life remain constant—death, taxes, and change.

I sit here and ponder the church of the 21st century: Do we long for a Mayberry church in an iPod world? Anyone who lived in the fabulous ’50s would probably answer a resounding yes. But what about a person born in 1990? They much prefer iPod, I am sure.

The landscape in Granbury changes daily: Home Depot, Loews, new roads, new construction, new schools, and traffic with drivers zipping about while talking on cell phones.  The landscape of denominational life, church life, and the Christian life changes daily, too. Pity the poor pastor who faces the challenges of navigating the worship styles, the expectations, the challenges, the struggles, the shifting dynamic of stewardship (from giving tithes to giving to a cause), and the complex problems churches and people face. Or celebrate the fact that Christian leaders stand on the brink of the greatest opportunity to produce life change by the power of the Gospel.

God’s truth remains. Jesus is our One constant. And the gospel speaks to an iPod world just like it did in a Mayberry world.

So here I am, sitting under the old oak tree, sipping lemonade. In a Mayberry, world lemonade was lemonade. In an iPod world, lemonade might be raspberry or strawberry or the pick of your choice. We live in the age of multiple choice. Yet one simple constant remains: Jesus Christ. I long for a Mayberry world, but I live in an iPod world, so all I can do is adapt in the complexity of the times, but cling to the glory of the gospel in its simplicity.

Augustine in his Confessions in the fourth century spoke of God’s light, change in his own life, Jesus his anchor, and concluded that a thirst and hunger for God answered his deepest questions in the complexity of life: “In this way, O Lord, you create happiness and give it to us to ease our lives.” In a Mayberry world where people often long to go back to remember happiness, Augustine invites us to live in the present moment and to look toward the future to discover our true happiness and ease in the light, strength, and humble mercy of God. May God’s grace reach us to find happiness in him. Grace reigns!

John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines. You can respond to his column by e-mailing him at jduncan@lakesidebc.org.

Posted: 3/03/06

RIGHT OR WRONG?
What to do with worn out Bibles

We have several old Bibles that probably need to be destroyed. We want to be respectful of God’s word. What should we do?

This is a great question, particularly for Christians who have a high view of the sacredness of Scripture. Without being too facetious, it also is a great question, because it is nice to be reminded that there are worn-out Bibles.

Too often, our Bibles sit on shelves in pristine condition, rendering moot the question of how to dispose of them.

I am assuming the Bibles are worn past the point of giving them away to someone or donating them to a library, and thus they actually need to be destroyed.

The problem for Christianity is that there is no official designation of how to handle the disposal of Bibles. Islam provides very strict rules for disposing of copies of the Quran, as does Judaism with old Torah scrolls. Some of the difference comes with Christianity’s view of Scripture.

Most Christian traditions see the sacredness of Scripture in the meaning of the text as the revelation of God. The value is in the revelation, not the physical ink and paper. Part of this distinction developed from the fear of breaking the commandment concerning worshipping an idol, even if it was a Bible. The Bible is the word of God, but it is not God. Christians worship the Word who became flesh, not the words written on paper.

Thus, there is nothing in Christian tradition or theology to keep you from simply placing the old Bibles in the trash. Let me make a comparison. Recently, as my church observed the Lord’s Supper, we found that a box of the bread had become very, very stale. The wafers tasted absolutely horrible. Now, the Lord’s Supper shouldn’t make you wince when you take it. Therefore, we threw the bread away. No ceremony; we just pitched it in the trash. Were we being sacrilegious? Were we casting away the body of the Lord? Obviously not.

Neither are you destroying the Word of God when you throw away an old Bible. No individual Bible has that power. Let’s face it; even the original manuscripts were destroyed long ago.

However, many, if not most, Christians are uncomfortable with that solution. Baptists, particularly after the last 25 years of arguments over the Bible, might even feel they had committed the unforgivable sin. Others would surely at least suggest it. So what is a viable alternative?

The most generally acceptable solution appears to be either burying or burning the old Bible.

One method would be to take the old Bible to a remote place and bury it where it will likely not be trampled on. Burning the Bible could follow the rules of respect for the destruction of an old American flag by burning.

An interesting idea might be to contact your church and see if the church would be interested in having a ceremony. The church could announce the ceremony and ask the congregation to bring all their old Bibles together and have a time of celebration regarding the wonderful use these Bibles had served.

Done correctly, it could be a good time of worship and thankfulness to God for the blessing of his word.

Pray about your options, and then follow through as God leads you. Then buy a new Bible and wear it out too.

Van Christian, pastor

First Baptist Church, Comanche

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.

Posted: 3/03/06

Number of NAMB missionaries dropped

ATLANTA (ABP)—The number of career missionaries funded by the North American Mission Board has dropped 10 percent since 1997, the Georgia Baptist state newspaper reported, despite promises the restructured Southern Baptist agency would expand mission work in America.

The decrease is among a number of efforts by NAMB that have failed to meet expectations since the Southern Baptist agency was formed in 1997, according to a news analysis by the Christian Index newspaper. Both NAMB and the Index are based in the Atlanta area.

Bob Reccord directed the massive Southern Baptist Convention restructuring effort in the mid-1990s and later was tapped to lead NAMB, the centerpiece of the new denominational structure. But the mission board has not lived up to its promises, the Index reported, and Reccord’s leadership has raised concerns among Georgia pastors and former employees.

Other NAMB shortcomings cited by the Georgia Baptist paper included:

• Lack of a consistent evangelism strategy, illustrated by the failure of two national evangelistic campaigns.

• Loss of momentum in church-planting efforts.

• Outsourcing of jobs to a secular company started by a friend of Reccord’s, while NAMB employees were laid off.

• A drop in NAMB cash reserves from $55 million to $23 million.

NAMB officials insist the charges distort the facts and ignore successes. The Index analysis looks at the North American Mission Board since it was formed in 1997 by combining three Southern Baptist Convention entities.

The report concludes that, while NAMB has accomplished much, it has failed to produce the anticipated results.

After the newspaper initially released its story, NAMB issued a response through Baptist Press, the information service of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee.

NAMB criticized the article for a lack of balance and for not including NAMB responses to key charges.

“The North American Mission Board is extremely disappointed that the (Georgia) Christian Index would bypass accepted journalistic standards by running a story about NAMB that (a) hides behind anonymous ‘critics’ conveniently labeled as ‘observers’ or ‘onlookers’ or ‘some who assert’; (b) fails to include NAMB responses to these criticisms as provided by NAMB executives during a recent two-hour interview; (c) contains inaccuracies and innuendoes even after being told the facts by NAMB representatives; and (d) times the release of the article for maximum damage to North American missions,” the statement said.

NAMB announced in January 2000 that it had reached the SBC’s Bold Mission Thrust goal of 5,000 missionaries in North America. But the actual number of missionaries on the field depends on how you count them.

The number of long-term, NAMB-funded missionaries actually has dropped since 1997, the paper says, while self-funded volunteers now make up more than half of the missionary total.

NAMB regularly claims more than 5,300 North American missionaries are funded through the SBC’s Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. A closer look shows only 2,942 are long-term missionaries funded by the offering. The remaining 2,422—or 45 percent—are self-funded volunteers who serve through NAMB’s Mission Service Corps.

When Mission Service Corps was founded in 1977, its workers were categorized as volunteers. To avoid any confusion, the Home Mission Board—NAMB’s predecessor—included them in the total missionary count but kept the volunteer designation. Volunteers had to serve a minimum of two years before they were listed in the missionary personnel count.

NAMB, on the other hand, removed the volunteer status, lowered the service requirement to four months and commissioned them as full-fledged missionaries, which blurred the line of who’s who in the headcount.

Meanwhile, the number of NAMB-funded career missionaries actually has declined by 329 since NAMB’s first year—a drop of 10 percent—while the MSC volunteers have jumped by 827, or 34 percent.

NAMB acknowledged the number of nonvolunteer mission workers—what NAMB calls “career” and “limited-term” missionaries—has declined since 1997.

NAMB said the drop is explained by the rising cost of health benefits, a rash of recent early retirements, and the inability of state conventions to fund many jointly appointed missionaries.

But NAMB said the agency’s classification of missionaries has been handled consistently and openly. Furthermore, NAMB said information about its missionary total breakdown is available on its website at www.namb.net, under the tab “sending missionaries” as well as in its annual report to the Southern Baptist Convention. There are three broad categories of NAMB missionaries, the entity says—career, limited term and Mission Service Corps.

This article is based on a story by Joe Westbury, first published in the Christian Index, and is supplemented with new information from NAMB and Associated Baptist Press.