Posted: 2/23/06

Family Bible Series for March 5

Christ demands top priority in a Christian’s life

• Luke 9:57-62; 14:25-33

By Greg Ammons

First Baptist Church, Garland

“What is expected of me?” This is a question we often pose before making significant commitments. It is an appropriate and fair question.

This question also is appropriate as we contemplate our spiritual journey. As believers in Jesus Christ, what exactly does our Lord expect of us? Jesus was very clear in answering this question as he journeyed toward the cross.

For a printer-friendly version, click on the printer icon at bottom of page.

In our first text (Luke 9:57-62), the setting was a special training mission. It lasted only a few brief months between the Feast of Passover and Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus and his disciples were ministering in the Galilee region, and the Master was teaching his disciples some valuable lessons about following him. In approximately one year, Jesus would be crucified, and he wanted his disciples to have a solid foundation to follow.

In the second passage (Luke 14:25-33), the setting was more public. Great crowds followed Jesus, yet he taught them the same principles of discipleship. If you want to be a faithful follower of Jesus, then you must place him first above all.

Christ above personal comfort (Luke 9:57-58)

Frank Tyger once wrote, “Some people will do anything to be able to do nothing.” Jesus did not want his followers to have this attitude, so he spoke to them about the discipline of placing him above personal comfort.

As they were walking along the road, a man approached Jesus and made a bold proclaimation. “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). Matthew tells us the man was a scribe. Scribes were notorious for their bold promises, yet they often lacked follow-through.

Jesus reminded the scribe that following him meant rejecting shallow commitments. Our Lord declared, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (v. 58). Jesus made it clear that following him often would cost the luxury of personal comfort.

As Jesus calls each of us to follow him today, we must be reminded, like the scribe, that complete discipleship calls for complete surrender. Jesus Christ must be placed above all, including any personal ease we must surrender.

We often hear stories of missionaries and vocational Christian workers who sacrifice personal comfort for the kingdom of God. We think their calling is above and beyond our own. However, God calls each believer in Jesus to place him over personal comfort.

Christ above family loyalty (Luke 9:59-62; 14:25-26)

As Jesus continued with the disciples, two other men were offered the wonderful opportunity of following him. Both men rejected the offer by giving excuses concerning their family. If these men were scribes, like the previous man, then these religious leaders were well versed in excuses.

The first man said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). Most likely, the man’s father hadn’t died yet, but the man didn’t want to leave his father to wander the Judean hillside with Jesus. Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury their dead” (v. 60). Some theologians have contemplated such a harsh reply from Jesus. But he perceived the man only was offering an excuse.

Likewise, the second man declared, “I will follow you Lord, but let me first say goodbye to my family” (v. 61). Jesus responded with an ancient, agricultural proverb common in biblical days: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (v. 62). You cannot plow a straight furrow if you are looking back.

Christians often are faced with the dilemma of how to relate to family members while serving the Lord. Are we to neglect our families in serving Jesus? Are we to turn our backs on loved ones in order to follow Christ? Should we stay home from worship when family drops by unexpectedly? Should we take God’s tithe and use it to help family members?

Jesus gave us answers to such familial dilemmas when he boldly asserted in Luke 14:26 that believers must “hate” family members or they cannot be his disciples. “Hate” is a powerful verb, which our Lord chose to use. He was employing what was known in ancient writing as exaggerated contrast. Jesus did not mean we are to literally hate our family members. His point was that following him must take precedence over all others, including our family members.

Christ above any cost (Luke 14:27-33)

During Jesus’ later Perean ministry, he further instructed his followers on the cost of discipleship. He told them there would be a cross to bear (14:27).

Then, our Lord punctuated his declaration with two analogies. The first referred to a person intending to build a tower first counting the cost to see if the funds were sufficient to complete the project (14:28-30). The second referred to a king contemplating war against another king and counting to see if his army was sufficient to win the victory (14:31-32). In either case, a calculated deliberation was required in order to determine the cost of the project.

In much the same way, Jesus said his followers are not to make rash, hasty decisions in following him. There will be costs associated with following Jesus. We must sit down, count the costs and then place Christ above all.

Martin Luther, the German reformer of the 16th century, once stated, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing and suffers nothing is worth nothing.”

Are you willing to pay the cost of following Jesus? The faithful follower of Jesus places unquestioned allegiance to him over any other cost.

Discussion questions

• Which personal comfort of yours are you tempted to place above service for Christ?

• In what ways have family members hindered you in your following Jesus? In what ways have family members helped your walk with him?

• What is the most costly item you have surrendered to follow Jesus?

Posted: 2/23/06

Explore the Bible Series for March 5

Knowledge of Christ influences relationships

• Isaiah 1:1-4:6

By James Adair

Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio

What Christians believe has been the center of debate and controversy from the first century to the present day. Should Gentile converts be circumcised? Did the divine Christ descend on the human Jesus at baptism? Was Christ “of the same nature” as God the Father? Does Christ have two natures (divine and human) or one (divine-human)? Does the bishop of Rome have authority over other sees? Are the body and blood of Christ literally present in the eucharist? Which has greater authority, the Bible or the traditions of the church? Does God call women to positions of leadership within the church?

For a printer-friendly version, click on the printer icon at bottom of page.

Creeds and statements of faith are recited by many Christians on a regular basis, and some see them as a means of separating faithful (or true) from unfaithful (or false) Christians. Interestingly, Jesus never gave a list of doctrines the world could look at to determine who really were his followers. Instead, he said, “You will know them by their fruit.” In so doing, he endorsed the approach of prophets like Isaiah, who understood God to be more concerned with treatment of others than with doctrines and rituals.

The book of Isaiah has been called the theological high-water mark of the Old Testament, and the first few chapters address many of the major themes that will recur throughout the book—sin and punishment, repentance and forgiveness, peace and justice, concern for the poor, and the future reign of God, to name a few. We will explore selected passages and highlight applications from this prophetic book that apply to believers today.

Isaiah 1:1-20

The people of Isaiah’s day were diligent about bringing the correct sacrifices to the temple, and they worshipped God at all the appropriate times. However, their behavior toward their fellow human beings invalidated all their religious practices. “I hate your sacrifices!” God said. “I’m tired of your festivals” (vv. 11-14). “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood” (v. 15).

This statement is ironic, because someone performing a sacrifice naturally would have bloody hands, but the prophet is speaking figuratively about the human blood that stains the hands of the worshippers. Instead of empty ritual, this is what God demands: “Cease to do evil; learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow” (vv. 16-17).

Does our Christianity consist of doing good to those in need, or are we content merely to congratulate ourselves for our orthodoxy?

Isaiah 2:1-4

Out of the ashes of World War II, the nations of the world came together with the goal of creating a lasting peace. War had ravaged many parts of the world repeatedly during the previous century, and the advent of the nuclear age was a harbinger of death on a previously unimagined scale. The League of Nations, born after World War I, failed to bring peace to the world, but delegates from around the world remained convinced an international peace organization was vital for the survival of the human race. The negotiations led to the creation of the United Nations. The preamble to the U.N. charter spells out its goals, which include:

• Save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

• Reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights.

• Establish conditions under which justice … can be maintained.

• Practice tolerance and live together in peace.

To stress the organization’s focus on ending war, the cornerstone of the U.N. headquarters in New York City bears an inscription from the book of Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their speaks into pruning hooks” (v. 4).

The message of this section from Isaiah is clear: God desires a world where warfare, hatred and internecine conflict are replaced by peace. Anything short of peace fails to meet God's standard for human behavior.

Isaiah 3:13-15

The recent electoral victory of Hamas in Palestinian elections shocked and dismayed much of the world, because Hamas is best known in the West for its violent campaign to destroy the nation of Israel. What is less well known is that Hamas builds hospitals, schools and relief centers for poor Palestinians. The concern for the poor is one of the fundamental tenets of Islam.

If outsiders were describing the characteristics of Christianity today, would they list care for the poor as one of our fundamental principles?

Isaiah, like all the other prophets, as well as Jesus himself, has much to say about his contemporaries’ treatment of the poor, and it is not complimentary. “What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?” he asks in the Lord’s name.

God calls particular attention to the rich, whose wealth has come at the expense of the poor. While we may not think of ourselves as rich, by the world’s standards, the average American is very wealthy. When we realize about one-third of the world’s population tries to survive on $2 per day or less, our obligation to the poor is obvious and biblical.

Isaiah 4:2-6

After the judgment that is to come upon the people, the prophet imagines a new Holy City worthy of the name. He describes it as a city whose bloodstains have been cleansed, a city overshadowed by a fiery cloud that represents the presence and glory of God.

For Christians, this vision of God’s reign does not refer to a particular geographical location or even a specific point in history. Rather, it refers to God’s presence with those whose lives have been cleansed through grace and who experience the life-transforming power of God on a daily basis.

We may summarize these first four chapters of Isaiah succinctly:

1. We as humans have sinned against God.

2. God offers us forgiveness if we repent.

3. God expects the redeemed to live lives that reflect God’s concerns for peace and justice.

Some people say Christianity isn’t about what you do; it’s about who you know. Remember, however, that the people of Isaiah’s day also claimed to know God intimately. The prophet might argue who you know doesn’t really matter if you don’t do anything about it.

Discussion question

• What difference has your relationship with Christ made on the way you deal with others?

Posted: 12/19/03

Church makes community interaction a fine art

EAGLE LAKE–A small Texas Baptist church became an art gallery for a day this fall, as church members sought to help their community connect the dots between faith and art.

Artists involved with the Art & Soul event at First Baptist Church of Eagle Lake included Jessica Thacker, Margo Harrison, Tony Tyler and Sandra Benge The group is shown Pastor Chris Thacker and Tyler's scultpture, “The Dance.”

Following the lead of a successful similar event in 2001, members of First Baptist Church of Eagle Lake hosted “Art & Soul: A Celebration of Faith and Art.”

Church members Margo Harrison and Sandra Benge coordinated the Sunday afternoon event. They began contacting local artists, encouraging them to share their works with the community and informing them that each piece would be displayed gallery-style in the church's Fellowship Hall.

Tables were set up, draped with cloths and fabric. Wooden partitions used at the county fair became backdrops for the pieces.

Volunteers created a virtual museum, with displays ranging from photography to woodworking. Adjoining Sunday School classrooms were transformed into four-walled easels highlighting quilts, ceramics and glasswork. Local high-school art students brought sketches, paintings and poetry.

More than 80 artists contributed their works for the show, which drew about 150 people.

Dramatic readings and monologues were recited. The high school drama team performed a section of their fall production. Also, Christian artists Jeremy and Jamie Wells of Houston provided a lecture and visual demonstration.

“This event was not a worship service,” explained Pastor Chris Thacker. “No songs were sung, and no sermon was delivered. Yet God was at the center, recognized as the chief Creator who welcomes his children's offerings, their artistic expressions of faith. For faith, like art, tells a story that beckons people to look, ponder, ask questions and ultimately, believe.”

Posted: 2/22/06

NAMB outsourcing raises
conflict of interest question

By Joe Westbury & Greg Warner

Christian Index & Associated Baptist Press

ATLANTA (ABP)—Steve Sanford, a paid consultant who advised the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board to outsource most of its media operations, has been hired to provide many of those outsourced services by his longtime friend, NAMB President Bob Reccord.

Mission board officials declined to say if the arrangement poses a conflict of interest. But spokesman Marty King said, “I understand why people would ask about that.”

Reccord did not make himself available for an interview.

In early 2003, NAMB hired Sanford, a personal friend of Reccord’s from their days in Virginia, to conduct an audit of NAMB’s media strategy. Sanford presented the audit to Reccord in the fall of 2003. NAMB officials say it led the agency to outsource many jobs in its communications unit. Forty positions were eliminated, and 31 employees were terminated, according to a report by the Christian Index, newspaper of Georgia Baptists.

Much of the work was handed off to InovaOne, a company founded by Sanford, as well as other companies.

Sanford, however, insisted there was no connection between the audit and the work his company is now performing for NAMB.

NAMB Chief Operating Officer Chuck Allen defended InovaOne as simply a transition company helping NAMB outsource the workload.

The audit has not been made public, but NAMB officials said they do not dispute the connection between the audit and the layoffs.

The fall 2003 terminations removed many long-term employees from NAMB’s ranks—editors, writers, graphic designers and a video production team—some with more than 25 years experience with NAMB and its predecessor agencies.

Throughout 2005, InovaOne took on more of NAMB’s workload. Sanford’s company was given the contract to produce the “Who Cares?” evangelistic media strategy and the new “316 Network.”

“We deeply regret the necessity of eliminating any positions that affect NAMB staff members,” NAMB said in a public statement, but added nothing “underhanded” was involved.

“We believe our constituents want us to operate with the mindset of efficiency and effectiveness that characterizes the best-run companies but with a heart for ministry,” the statement said. “We believe we should focus as an agency on our core assignments of evangelism, church planting and sending missionaries.”

The Christian Index article also questioned Reccord’s extensive schedule of speaking and writing that is unrelated to NAMB’s work.

Reccord and his wife, Cheryl, operate a ministry called Total Life Impact, which lists Cheryl Reccord as a motivational speaker and promotes books by both.

“It’s Cheryl’s ministry,” King said. “He supports her. Sometimes he joins her. But it’s her ministry.”

King said he did not know how much money the couple makes through their personal ministry.

Reccord keeps a clear separation between NAMB-related speaking engagements and his personal ministry, NAMB officials said.

Reccord has spoken on Focus on the Family’s national radio program, was featured at Promise Keepers rallies, has been a guest on The 700 Club, and granted interviews to publications such as Today’s Pentecostal Evangel. On all of those occasions, according to the organization’s websites, he spoke on general topics, such as how to raise your children and safeguard your marriage against infidelity.

Reccord plans to speak at all 19 Promise Keepers rallies nationwide this year. He told the NAMB staff he has reworked his schedule to accommodate the requests and may be unavailable for any additional NAMB speaking engagements for that time frame—nearly half of the year’s Friday evenings.

At NAMB’s recent board meeting, Reccord told trustees that 56 percent of Promise Keepers participants have a Southern Baptist affiliation, implying the men are just the market to hear his message and be ushered into a mission lifestyle.

But when contacted by the Index, Steve Chavis, communications director for Promise Keepers, painted a slightly different picture.

“We don’t actually break the denominations down by individual groups,” he said. “But our research shows that 25 percent of our attendees claim some kind of Baptist affiliation. That includes all groups across the Baptist spectrum—Southern, American, National, whatever.”

The NAMB response said Promise Keepers President Tom Fortson told Reccord the Baptist participation was 56 percent.

The statement said only “two or three media appearances” out of Reccord’s thousands of speeches and interviews were not related to NAMB, and that even those “were focused on helping laity be on-mission Christians.”

Steve DeVane of the North Carolina Biblical Recorder contributed to this article.

Posted: 2/17/06

Blended family

By Russ Dilday

Buckner Benevolences

MESQUITE—Between bites of cereal and swigs of juice at the breakfast table, the Moers family’s three children seem to be talking at once. Mom prepares food, while the two sisters lean on each other, playing with each other’s hair. Dad sips coffee and answers a deluge of questions from the middle child, a son.

The youngest daughter stands out among the other family members not just because she’s the only African-American in a family of fair-skinned blonds, but also because of her smile, charm and distinctive name—Precious.

The warm family scene represents a snapshot her adoptive parents have pictured for most of their lives.

“We both talked about adoption before we ever got married,” said Christine Moers, a homemaker. “Both of our fathers are adopted, so we knew we would adopt, whether we had biological children or not.

“We gave birth twice,” she explained, pointing to daughter Mackenzie and son Andrew. “But adoption was never a Plan B. It wasn’t a second option. We always knew we’d grow our family through adoption.”

Precious drinks from her sippy cup at a typical morning breakfast at the Moers’ house in Mesquite. Precious was adopted by the Moers family through Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services.

The couple “considered a lot of avenues” when they decided the time was right to adopt. “We considered looking through the state and international adoptions, but we could not find our fit. When we first spoke to Buckner, they were thorough and compassionate,” she said.

“I know (Buckner adoption staff) prayed for us by name, that they prayed for our child by name. They helped us integrate our faith with our adoption. They prepared us for things I think other agencies wouldn’t.”

Michael Moers agrees. “The thing I love and respect about Buckner is that I know they love us,” said Moers, minister of youth at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas. “Every worker there knows our name, they genuinely care and are interested in our family and our life. If at any time we were to ask for help, they would give it.”

Moers admitted the family’s adoption desire was unique. “We didn’t adopt because we couldn’t have children. For us, it was wanting to provide a home to a child who needed a home.”

But the couple laugh when asked what kind of home they offered.

“We provide a very noisy, active home,” she said. “We love a lot and laugh a lot.”

They also note life has changed since the adoption.

“When you go from two children to three, you basically go from man-on-man defense to zone defense,” she said. “Once you get used to it, it’s not bad. All three of our children are completely different. Birth or adoption, it doesn’t matter.”

For Moers, the change in lifestyle started “on the day the adoption was final.”

“Following the entrustment ceremony, the foster mom left, the birthmom left and there we were. All of a sudden it hit me: ‘We’ve got three children instead of two. We went to lunch to celebrate, and then we had a 7-month-old who needed a nap. I thought, ‘What did we get ourselves into?’ But now, it’s just normal life.”

The pair emphasized adoption is not easy and requires, in their words, “a faith step” from adoptive parents.

“We never feared adoption,” she said. “Our fathers were adopted, and their parents adored them and loved them. There was no question about that. We never had the concerns others have, because we saw the reality of that. For us, part of our faith step was extended family and answering their questions.

“A lot of people say that adoption ‘messes up’ life,” she added, admitting: “Some of the things your adoptive child brings into your home are going to be complicated, but some of the things your birth children bring into your home are going to be complicated. We never worried about the fact that it was going to complicate things. If you don’t want a complicated life, don’t have children. That’s part of parenting.”

Another part of their adoption faith step, he said, “was paying for it. We just live on my income, but our church family and other friends really stepped up and helped. There were a good handful of people who helped us afford adoption. It’s a blessed time when friends and loved ones step up and help you do something like this.”

While many supported their adoption of Precious, some expressed concern over the cultural issues involved in a trans-racial adoption.

“There were people in our life that at first didn’t quite know what to do with the racial issue,” Moers said. “Now after two years, I don’t pick up on any people in our lives who are uncomfortable. She’s just one of the family and part of our church.”

“We feel like she’s just as much of a Moers as any other Moers. For whatever reason, when I met Precious two years ago, she just connected with me. When we made our first visit to her foster home, she just responded to me. People tell me she’s a daddy’s girl.”

The Moerses have learned to embrace the things that make Precious distinctive, while at the same time making it clear she belongs in the household.

“There are some people who have some racial biases,” Mrs. Moers said. “For us, there’s a balance that Precious is one of us. She’s a part of the family, and there’s no question about that. But we celebrate that her hair is different from ours and her skin is different than ours. Our neighborhood is very integrated, and that is important to us. We build friendships with families that have different ethnic backgrounds. We love it, and it hasn’t been a problem. It’s just made life more interesting.”

Perhaps Precious’ unique family life will result in the toddler growing up “to be what she is supposed to be,” she hopes. One of the things we want for her is a really solid self-esteem and a love and respect for her birth family and the decision they made.

“Precious has had some more opportunities in life than she would have had had her birthmother parented her,” she said. “And at the same time, we feel like the ones who are blessed. A lot of people focus on Precious and all we’ve done for her. At the same time, we feel like she’s the one who’s changed life for us and brought everything to us.”

Posted: 2/21/06

New Air Force guidelines get mixed reviews

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Pentagon officials have revised a set of guidelines on religious freedom in the Air Force after complaints from members of Congress and some religious groups.

But the revisions met with mixed reviews from groups with interests in the struggle over religion in the armed services.

“This interim guidance outlines the basic principles we expect all military and civilian airmen to follow as we solidify formal policy,” said Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, Air Force deputy chief of staff for personnel, according to a Pentagon news release.

But Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the revisions look like “an effort to water down” the original draft because of pressure from Religious Right leaders.

The earlier draft, released in August, was intended to address a controversy centered on the religious climate at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In April, Lynn wrote Pentagon officials a letter complaining that there was a pervasive and systematic bias in favor of evangelical Christians at the government-run school. The letter detailed incidents in which administrators, faculty and upper-class cadets at the academy allegedly promoted evangelical forms of Christianity or harassed cadets of minority faiths.

An outspoken parent of two Jewish cadets and a Lutheran chaplain at the school soon echoed AU’s complaints.

Among the allegations were several incidents in which faculty or administrators promoted evangelical groups or beliefs in ways the complainants found inappropriate or coercive—such as repeated attempts to convert non-evangelical cadets and prayers or religious promotions at events with cadets of differing faiths. The charges also included several incidents in which cadets of minority faiths were harassed or humiliated by fellow cadets.

The Air Force issued a report on the academy and the guidelines to deal with the controversy.

But in October, a group of conservative congressmen—led by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.)—wrote to President Bush complaining about the new guidelines. Jones and his colleagues claimed that the document’s proposed solution—that only “non-sectarian” public prayers were appropriate at events where airmen of many faiths would be present—limited the religious freedom of Christian chaplains who wanted to pray in Jesus’ name.

“The current demand in the guidelines for so-called ‘non-sectarian’ prayers is merely a euphemism declaring that prayers will be acceptable only so long as they censor Christian beliefs,” Jones wrote.

However, the old guidelines did nothing to prevent Air Force chaplains from giving sectarian prayers at voluntary events where only members of their faith would be present— such as on-base worship services or Bible studies.

In a nod to Jones’ complaint, the revision inserts a line noting that chaplains “will not be required to participate in religious activities, including public prayer, inconsistent with their faiths.”

Lynn noted that the revised document contains no similarly explicit protection for regular military personnel.

“This reads like the big problem is that somehow chaplains were losing their right to be religious,” he said. “But these regulations and guidelines came out of specific abuses and practices at the Air Force Academy. This is what they were supposed to remedy, and I think that this draft is a real serious retreat from the sensitivity expressed in earlier drafts from minority religious viewpoints.”

Lynn also faulted the revised guidelines for deleting a list of specific routine military events in which public prayer would typically not be appropriate. In the original guidelines, examples included “staff meetings, office meetings, classes, or officially sanctioned activities such as sports events or practice sessions.”

But the new document simply says public prayer “should not usually be a part of routine official business.”

And, Lynn noted, the old guidelines included a separate list of events that, “consistent with long-standing military tradition,” could be solemnized with “a brief non-sectarian prayer.”

“Because they took out all that specific language, I feel like more and more activities will be included,” he said. “They seem to want to hedge all their bets and to be able to have a person in authority pray at many different events and say that, ‘Well, this is an exemption to the general principle.’“

Lynn also faulted the revision for shortening the guidelines cautioning officers and upperclassmen against proselytizing their inferiors in the Air Force chain of command.

“This doesn’t have all that language about the significance of a superior officer and a person of lower rank and all those sensitivities,” he said. “It just doesn’t recognize the power differential that caused so many of the problems at the Air Force Academy itself.”

But the Air Force’s Brady said most of the changes simply were to streamline the document.

“We found that we could more effectively express them with leaner, broader verbiage,” he said. “These guidelines help clarify religious respect issues and provide a simple document that is easy for all airmen to comprehend.”

Lynn didn’t accept that assertion. “I don’t think this is a shorter document just because people thought it was too wordy. I think it’s a shorter document because people didn’t want so much emphasis on the rights of adherents of minority religions in the Air Force,” he said.

At least one group that had criticized the earlier guidelines expressed approval of the new ones.

“The guidelines appropriately caution superiors against making comments that could appear to subordinates to be official policy. With that in mind, they properly state that ‘superiors enjoy the same free-exercise rights as all other airmen,’“ said Tom Minnery, senior vice president of Focus on the Family.

“Just as important, we hope these guidelines will bring an end to the frontal assault on the Air Force by secularists who would make the military a wasteland of relativism, where robust discussion of faith is impossible.”

Posted: 2/21/06

Evangelicals conflicted
over global warming stand

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Conflict may be heating up between two groups of evangelical Christian leaders over the issue of global warming.

At stake are the hearts and minds of evangelical Americans and the politicians who listen to them—not to mention the future of the planet.

At a recent press briefing in Washington, a broad coalition of conservative, centrist and progressive evangelicals announced a campaign to raise awareness about the issue of climate change in the evangelical community. The campaign’s leaders also say they intend to pressure government leaders to take steps to arrest or reverse global warming by cutting down on the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Scientists agree that increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” can create an effect that traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere, gradually building up average air and ocean temperatures.

The group, which includes megachurch pastor and Purpose-Driven Life author Rick Warren and 85 other evangelical leaders, released a statement called “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action” at the press event.

“For most of us, until recently this has not been treated as a pressing issue or major priority,” the statement read. “Indeed, many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians. But now we have seen and heard enough to offer the following moral argument related to the matter of human-induced climate change.”

The statement asserts:

Global warming is real.

It likely will produce droughts, rising sea levels and more intense tropical storms that will hurt the poor most.

Christian theology demands a response.

That response is needed urgently.

“This statement is groundbreaking; it lays a foundation in our community for building a consensus on the need for action in addressing global warming,” said Jim Ball, a Baptist who is director of the Washington-based Evangelical Environmental Network. EEN brought the leaders together.

“There is a theological and moral set of motives behind the signatories,” said Duane Litfin, president of Wheaton College and a signer of the statement. “As we see the unfolding effects of the degradation of our environment, the ones who will be impacted the most egregiously … are those people—those nations—who are most vulnerable.”

Many meteorologists and other earth scientists have theorized that increasing global air and water temperatures could lead to more extreme weather events—such as larger hurricanes, more severe droughts and more intense heat waves. Several statement supporters cited Christians’ biblical mandate to defend the poor and powerless.

“Recently we have not only seen a significant increase in the numbers of people who are caught in the midst of the storms of life’s disaster—such as homelessness, hunger and poverty—but we have seen in recent years a significant increase in the numbers of people who are caught in the storms of natural disaster,” said statement signer Todd Bassett, national commander for the Salvation Army. “My involvement in this campaign … is because of my belief that our Lord looks upon the needy with love and compassion.”

Among the signers are several Baptist college presidents, including David Dockery of Union University in Tennessee, David Black of Eastern University in Pennsylvania, Douglas Hodo of Houston Baptist University and Lee Royce of Mississippi College.

But consensus doesn’t exist on the issue for another group of evangelicals. Just a week before the EEN announcement, the National Association of Evangelicals said it would not be taking a stand on the issue of global warming, disappointing many Christian environmentalists.

In 2004, leaders of the NAE approved a statement asserting that Christians have “a sacred responsibility to steward the Earth and not a license to abuse the creation of which we are a part.” NAE, an umbrella group for evangelical denominations and congregations, claims 30 million members.

In January the group’s president, Ted Haggard, received a letter from a group of politically connected evangelical luminaries urging NAE not to take a position on global warming. The 22 signatories of that letter included Focus on the Family head James Dobson, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship, conservative Presbyterian televangelist James Kennedy and Republican activist and Religious Right author David Barton.

The letter said that Christians “disagree about the cause, severity and solutions to the global warming issue” and asked NAE not to go beyond its previous statements by taking a position on climate change.

“Global warming is not a consensus issue, and our love for the Creator and respect for his creation does not require us to take a position,” the letter said. “We are evangelicals and we care about God’s creation. However, we believe there should be room for Bible-believing evangelicals to disagree about the cause, severity and solutions to the global warming issue.”

Land debated EEN’s Ball on CNN the day after the press conference. Land said there is not a consensus among Southern Baptists that global warming is real, and scientists differ as well.

Calvin Beisner of Knox Theological Seminary, who helped organize the NAE’s opposition, challenged the assumptions behind the EEN statement. He said that, while virtually every earth scientist agrees that average temperatures have increased somewhat in recent years, not all are agreed that human carbon-dioxide emissions are the cause, that global warming will have catastrophic effects, or that cutting CO2 emissions would even be able to reverse the temperature trends—or do more harm than good.

Beisner, a professor of social ethics at the conservative Presbyterian seminary in Florida, cited a handful of scientists who are skeptical about the prevailing wisdom in the scientific community on global warming. Critics in the scientific community have called these scientists outliers, noting that many of the studies discounting global warming’s existence and effects were either funded by oil-related industries or that they came from scientific bodies closely associated with fossil-fuel producers.

Nonetheless, Beisner said, enough doubts exist that supporting drastic measures to curb global warming could do more economic harm than good — thus hurting the poor.

“Part of the actual regime for reducing (greenhouse-gas) emissions is putting additional taxes on the consumption of energy – (namely), making it more expensive to use,” Beisner said. “When you do that, you are going to increase costs.”

Since the poor spend virtually all their income on basics—food, shelter, transportation—the prices of which are dependent on energy costs, Beisner said, “If we increase basic costs to them, we can put millions of them over the brink.”

However, the statement from the Evangelical Environmental Network called for legislation to reduce emissions “through cost-effective, market-based mechanisms.” In 2005, the Senate passed a bipartisan non-binding resolution calling for such efforts.

Beisner said another potential economic cost associated with combating climate change is the government or private funding allocated to paying for the anti-warming measures themselves. “The money we spend on that cannot be spent on other efforts to help the poor,” he noted.

But one Christian expert on renewable energy sources said those economic arguments ring hollow.

“This is probably the single biggest fallacy of renewable energy,” Peter van Walsum, an environmental studies professor at Baylor University, told Associated Baptist Press. “The best way to preserve energy is efficiency. And efficiency is not an economic cost; it’s an economic benefit.”

Because a fossil fuel-based economy will not be viable in the future—since oil and natural gas are finite resources—van Walsum said, conserving fossil fuels and using renewable energy sources will also end up helping poor people in the long run.

“You’re basically taking money that you would have spent on one sector of the economy and spending it on another, and you’re getting benefits,” he said.

For example, the money spent on infrastructure for constructing solar energy plants or wind-energy plants would provide short-term economic gain. And maintenance of the plants would provide long-term jobs.

Relying on such resources would also reduce costs, domestically, associated with dependency on fossil fuels. “The amount of money we spend on importing oil is huge,” van Walsum noted. “The economic argument (against combating climate change), I think, is heavily lobbied by the fossil-fuel industry.”

He cited a theological reason for conserving fossil fuels.

“Waste, to me, is a sin. Why do we take a resource that has been given to us and just squander it?” van Walsum asked. “There’s plenty of biblical warnings about being good stewards, and to waste we are being bad stewards.”

But Beisner cautioned both sides against using inflammatory theological rhetoric when talking about climate change. “This debate should not be presented as an area of moral conflict between the people of God,” he said. “There are people of good will on both sides of this. For either side to present it that way…I think is very mistaken.”

Posted: 2/21/06

Buckner Seeks African-American
Families to Host Black Orphans from Russia

Buckner Orphan Care International, a subsidiary of the 127-year-old Buckner Benevolences in Dallas, is seeking African-American families from the Christian community to host two black orphans from Russia this summer. The children will spend two weeks in the metroplex in June with Buckner Angels from Abroad.

Jennifer	Marisa

Launched in 2004, Buckner Angels from Abroad allows adoption-minded families the opportunity to host orphaned children ages 6-12 when they visit the United States during their two-week summer vacation. For the first time, this year’s Angels contingent will include two black orphan sisters from Orphanage No. 9 and Veritsa Orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia. Jennifer and Marisa are 8 and 9 years old, respectively, and represent Russia's small black orphan population who–according to orphanage directors–are predestined to a life of prostitution, crime and early death due to their underclass standing in a largely monochromatic, post-communist society.

The Angels will stay in host family homes during their visit to Dallas and will participate in several Buckner-organized events, including a family picnic, Vacation Bible School, cultural and recreational excursions and a swim party. In addition, host families may plan their own activities around the schedule of events. Buckner staff will be in daily contact with each host family to lend support and guidance as needed. In addition, interpreters will be available to assist families with communication.

Interested families are required to attend an information workshop on Saturday, March 4 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco. The host family application deadline is March 31.

For more information, contact Stacie Bukowsky, special events coordinator for Buckner International Adoption, at (214) 381-1552 or sbukowsky@buckner.org or visit www.bucknerinternationaladoption.org.

Posted: 2/21/06

Chinese Christian leader Wenzao Han dies

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

NANJING, China (ABP) — One of China's most prominent modern-day Christian leaders has died at the age of 83.

Wenzao Han died Feb. 3 in Nanjing. He served from 1996 to 2002 as president of the China Christian Council, and in other capacities with the organization, which is the officially state-sanctioned Protestant denomination in China.

China's communist government placed severe restrictions on religious freedom during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. However, it allowed some Christian churches to re-open beginning in 1979. The China Christian Council was established the next year, combining several different Protestant traditions. According to the group's website, it is a "post-denominational movement" where, "In the spirit of mutual respect, Christians with different faith and liturgical backgrounds worship God together."

However, human-rights groups continue to criticize the Chinese government for periodic attempts to repress unofficial Protestant "house churches" not affiliated with the CCC, as well as Chinese Catholic bishops and churches that continue to be loyal to the pope's authority.

Han was head of the CCC when, in 1997, it complained about a Southern Baptist Convention agency's practice of sending clandestine missionaries to work in China as humanitarian workers, circumventing the involvement of the CCC or the government.

According to Don Sewell, a missions-partnership with the Baptist General Convention of Texas official who knew Han from his travels to China, "Chinese Christians have lost a great man in Dr. Wenzao Han."

Sewell said that, despite being forced as a young Christian to work in labor camps, Han "never lost his joy, optimism, or faith" and that Han "related to the new regimes in the Chinese government with aplomb. His message harbored no bitterness, nor revenge; he acted like Jesus."

Han's funeral was held Feb. 9 at a Nanjing funeral home, followed by a memorial service at Mouchou Church in Nanjing. He is survived by his wife, two sons and three grandchildren.

Posted: 2/21/06

COMMENTARY:
On the death of Han Wenzao (1923-2006)

By Britt Towery

The news of the death of Dr. Han Wenzao in Nanjing caught my wife and me by surprise. Jody put her hand to her mouth, for it was like losing a member of the family. We paused to pray for his wife Zhuo Zhaohua, who was by his side for six decades.

For my wife and I, Han was as fine a Christian leader as we have ever met. The term "Christian statesman" fit Han Wenzao perfectly. We enjoyed the fellowship of the Hans in their home and work with the China Christian Council which he led for many years.

In 1953 when Jody and I felt God's leading us to China as missionaries political realities made it impossible. We took the next best assignment, that of Taiwan, the Republic of China, some 100 miles off the East China coast.

The mainland of China became the People's Republic of China in 1949 under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party. America broke relations with the PRC and recognized Taiwan as "China." The Taiwan government and China proper remain to this day in an unresolved civil war. Though the two governments still do not recognize each other, they work well together in making money.

We were living in Hong Kong when the first opportunity to visit the China mainland came in 1982. Communist China was opening to the West more under the leadership of Chairman Deng Xiaoping. Christian churches began to receive their property back and worship in them was made possible by the able leadership of Bishop K.H. Ting and Han Wenzao.

In 1985 the Amity Printing Company was organized with Han Wenzao in a leadership role. The United Bible Societies of the world made possible the publishing of the Bible and hymn books in China for the first time in over 40 years. At the same time the Amity Foundation began programs for foreigners to teach English and other languages in universities and institutes. Work in health care and rural development helped the Chinese to see that Christianity was good for the country. His efforts narrowed the gap between believers and the citizens who knew so little of Christianity.

The Communist had made a great deal of how Christianity entered China with the blessings of foreign governments and had a part in the attempted dividing up of China as Africa had been treated by the European powers. It has taken time for the truth and value of Christianity to the people as a whole.

I met Han Wenzao the first time on a rainy February day in the Nanjing Theological Seminary. It was 1984 and after an exchange of letters arrangements were made to meet. My purpose was the possibility of making a documentary film that would relate what Christians in China had been through and where they were at the moment. There were to be no foreigners in the film, only testimonies by lay and clergy.

The need for Christians around the world to learn first-hand these things drove me to see if the SBC Foreign Mission Board would back such a venture. They were not as easy to convince as Han. As we talked for hours, he ask if I were a Baptist like Jimmy Carter or Jerry Falwell. Even then he knew the difference. I was the first Baptist he had met.

The film was made by the FMB (now International Mission Board) "Winter is Past" in 1985. Han's brief appearance in the film reveal the kind of man of faith he was. He told of the people loving the Bible and the faith of the re-opening churches were completely on biblical foundations.

Now, 20 years later, Amity has published over 40 million Bibles in China. (I have often said, that Chinese Bible is the only thing made in China that Wal-Mart does not sell.)

In 1994 on one of my last visits to China Han met my plane in Beijing and drove me to my hotel. As busy as he was with the People's Consultative Conference going on at the time, he wanted to keep up with his friends. I admired his ecumenical spirit and his many international trips opened the eyes of many that China was entering a new era in Christian history.

The healing between the Christians in Taiwan and the mainland was further strengthen when Samford University honored Han and a Taiwan colleague, Chow Lien-Hwa, with doctorates. That university should be proud of such an honor at a time when healing was needed between Taiwan and mainland China.

As Philip Wickeri, close friend of the Han family, wrote: "May they [the family] find comfort in knowing that he will be remembered all over the world, and that his work for China, for the Amity Foundation and for the Church will constitute his living legacy."

Britt Towery of San Angelo was a missionary in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong for 30 years.

Posted: 2/17/06

Texas Baptist Forum

Missing a good friend

I have lost a good friend. Phil Strickland died.

Those words haven’t completely sunk in yet. He fought cancer for so long, and so courageously, I thought he might finally win the fight. Every day he whipped cancer was one more day God blessed us. Every day he fought was one more day the children of Texas had their most effective voice. Every day Phil got up and went to work, when most of us would stay home, was one more day Texas legislators knew there was a voice of reason in the chaos of the culture wars that have engulfed our state. Every day Phil fought to stay with us was one more day defenders of religious liberty had a passionate ally.

Phil Strickland was a paradox. He was as comfortable on the deer lease as he was at a black-tie affair in North Dallas. Phil was serious and incredibly funny. He was a politician and strategist who was intensely spiritual. He had white skin, but his heart belonged to African-Americans and Hispanics. He was judicious in his speech but never failed to be heard on important issues.

He would disagree with you in a strategy meeting and somehow draw you into his friendship. He was a public figure who loved his family most. He traveled the world, but his favorite vacation was a trip down a Texas river, in a canoe, with his dog.

I will miss him.

Ed Hogan

Houston

Church, state & phones

“Gospel lighthouses or cell phone towers?” (Jan. 23) seems to commend churches for using their facilities for commercial purposes. However, if the cell towers are placed in areas where there were zoning restrictions on height of a structure and where the church got exemptions from this restriction for their steeple or other structures, placing a commercial enterprise in this church structure amounts to abuse of the privileged status.

In addition, if the church is not paying taxes at the usual commercial rate for this secular endeavor, it should be. If it is not paying taxes on the cell phone facilities located on their property, this could, and perhaps should, open the church to taxation on all of its property. 

Leaders should think carefully about this “free money” to carry on the mission of the church in spite of LifeWay pushing these projects and Steeplecom making the arrangements.

The statement by Steeplecom President Tom Moylan that these commercial enterprises will funnel “millions—no, billions—of dollars into the kingdom of God” certainly makes jumping into these commercial enterprises tempting. But is it compatible with separation of church and state, or is it just using the status of the church in a commercial and secular way?   

Sherman Hope

Brownfield

Reinventing the wheel?

In the last issue of the Standard (Feb. 6), a two-page spread promoted the nine new areas of emphasis, with each area adding a congregational strategist to work alongside a regional church-planting strategist.

The accompanying story said this was an action of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.  I served until recently on the Executive Board and would have been hard to convince that we need this. It looks like we are reinventing the wheel.

We already have area missionaries or directors of missions strategically placed around the state.  Couldn’t we train them to do this work or give them assistance? The old program could use tweaking, but this looks like an overlap of strategy and emphasis.

I pastor in Dallas Baptist Association at Pleasant Terrace Baptist Church, and we have a thriving Hispanic mission.  This came about through the able work of our Dallas Baptist Association under the guidance of Gary Hearon. Some BGCT funds help, but that program already existed. 

Are we now competing with our historic and faithful associations and areas?   

George M. Mosier

Dallas

Theory, not fact

I was saddened when I read Brent Walker’s opinion about evolution (Jan. 23). It is a shame to think that Christians are willing to accept the beliefs of scientists over the infallible word of God. First Corinthians 1:18-31 teaches us about accepting the wisdom of man over the wisdom of God.

Evolution is a theory! It changes as scientists find flaws in their earlier theories that used to be taught as fact. As well, there are a great number of scientists who believe in a literal six days of creation, just as Genesis teaches us. Not all scientists believe in evolution. It should never be taught as a fact. Evolution is a theory!

This truly is a matter of faith. Could God have created the world and life in billions of years by using evolution? Sure, but did he? What does the Bible tell us? Why did God spell out very clearly in Genesis 1 that the earth was created in six literal days? (“There was evening, there was morning … .”) He clearly indicated that each day was a literal 24-hour day. He has given us his word so that we would not be deceived by the ideas of men.

Christians, it is time we stand behind the word of God, no matter what men say. Science is not foolproof and constantly changes, but the word of God is perfect and never changes. Which will you believe and teach your children?

David E. Jones

Jayton

Story of evolution

I’d like to tell my story of evolution: In 1928, I was in the fifth grade. The teacher told us we came from monkeys. I would not admit it was so. I had to sit in the corner, the first and only time I sat in a corner.

I went home and told my mother. She got the well-worn Bible down and read, “In the beginning, God … .” That was all I needed. My parents were true Christians. I still believe “In the beginning, God … .”

I believe all the Bible. In times like these, to remember “God is love” and “God is still on his throne” is hard.

Wilma Brown

Glendale, Ariz.

Jaw-dropping shock

Only rarely do I read an article that makes my jaw drop in utter shock, but Roger Olson’s article “Why ‘inerrancy’ doesn’t matter” (Feb. 6) did the trick. This professor at Truett Seminary openly advocates the Bible having mistakes.  Yet out of the other side of his mouth, he states his belief that the Bible is “infallible.” Anyone with reason would find this very strange. 

To prove the Bible wrong, he quotes 1 Corinthians 10:8 and Numbers 25:1-9, and how the first says 23,000 people died, and the second says 24,000 died.  Is it hard to believe Paul may have had access to historical records that said 23,000 died in one day, while the Numbers passage says 24,000 people died in all?

A man of faith does not trust his wits above the inspired word of God. If the Bible is wrong here, where else is the Bible mistaken?  Is the Bible also wrong about capital punishment, human sexuality/gender roles, or any other controversial issues? I am sure Olson can correct all the errors of the Bible for us. I can only assume he believes Jesus was mistaken when he said God would preserve his word until all things are fulfilled (Matthew 5:18).

While I am deeply saddened by Olson’s thoughts, there will never be a better advertisement for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Tim Overton

Louisville, Ky.

Petty bickering

My thanks to Roger Olson for his objective and informative article about a word that has, unfortunately, divided Southern Baptists into two factions.

We Baptists better do as the Bible admonishes us to do: Quit this petty bickering over selfish interests and get on with the work we are supposed to be about—spreading the gospel of Christ.

Rex A. Reddy

Corsicana

Paul’s numbers

While agreeing with Roger Olson (Feb. 6) that some on both sides of the inerrancy discussion are being way too disagreeable, I do need to respectfully point out the verses he cited do not appear to show that the Apostle Paul made a mistake as he claims.

In Numbers 25:9, the New English Translation Bible reads, “Those who died by the plague were 24,000.” In Numbers 25:4-5, an indefinite number of leaders were to be arrested and executed, and in Numbers 25:8, an execution ends the plague. These events appear to cover more than one day and would indicate that deaths occurred by execution as well as the plague. Moses totaled all deaths from the plague during its run, which is a different group of deaths than Paul cited.

The New English Translation Bible shows Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:8 as, “23,000 died in a single day.”

Note that Paul appears to describe the number who died from either cause in one day, while Moses describes the total number of people who died from the plague.

There is no external evidence to prove or disprove the correctness of either man’s number; and without the number of executions or the days during which deaths from either cause occurred, one should not use Moses’ number to unequivocally declare Paul’s number to be a mistake.

Rod Norville

Houston

Religion and Evolution: mutually exclusive

There’s no greater dichotomy than the difference between religion and evolution (Jan. 23). They are mutually exclusive!

Evolution, the belief that we all came from a gas explosion 12 billion years ago, is not only not scientific, it violates every known law of science and was long ago disproved. Scientifically, evolution couldn’t start, nor is there a mechanism to propel it from protozoa to people.

Louis Bounoure, president of the Biological Society of Strasbourg, said, “Evolution is a fairy tale for grown-ups.”

T.N. Tahmisian of the Atomic Energy Commission, said, “In explaining evolution, we do not have one iota of fact.”

Malcolm Muggeridge, said, “Evolution … will be one of the great jokes in the history books of the future.”

Intelligent design should be taught in science class, and evolution should be relegated to a philosophical discussion in social studies. The foolish decisions made by courts and judges, turning our Constitution on its head, are legendary. It’s no surprise when they come down on the wrong side of this issue.

What is surprising is that any ordained Baptist minister would champion teaching America’s children lies in science class rather than truth.

Brian Burgess

Peacock

Coretta Scott King

Thousands of mourners waited for hours in freezing rain at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church and the state capitol rotunda to pay their respects to the “first lady of the civil rights movement,” Coretta Scott King. President Bush and former President Clinton led the list of dignitaries at memorial services.

Coretta Scott King was much more than a devoted wife and partner of the celebrated civil rights leader. She traveled throughout the globe on behalf of peace and nonviolence, racial and economic justice, minority rights, religious freedom, the poor and homeless, educational opportunities, nuclear disarmament and ecological sanity. She helped found organizations advocating social justice, received honorary doctorates from more than 60 colleges and universities, and wrote three books and a nationally syndicated column.

Coretta Scott King was also a vegan, who eschewed all products of animal suffering, including meat, dairy, eggs, leather and cosmetics containing animal ingredients or tested on animals. Her strong belief in peace and nonviolence extended to the violence perpetrated against billions of innocent sentient animals in America’s factory farms and slaughterhouses.

Her passion for justice extended to the most downtrodden living beings on the planet—the animals bred, abused and killed for food, fur, research and entertainment.

Coretta Scott King truly practiced what she preached. And for that, I salute her.

Damian Hale

Dallas

Commandments for Gentiles

Amen to Roger Olsen for asserting “why inerrancy doesn’t matter” (Feb. 6)! It seems inerrancy is to fundamentalists as anti-communism was to Joseph McCarthey. Hint of it, and you are blackballed.

I agree with Olson. Furthermore, I put my trust in God himself to guide me into his way, whether it is in his book, my circumstances, instruction from my fellow Christians and any number of ways that God can impress upon me through his Holy Spirit. 

That said, I have another question. According to Acts 15, the council in Jerusalem decided that the Gentiles should not be burdened with the laws as given by Moses. Instead, they accepted that God himself was living in people and that salvation was by faith alone in Jesus. Therefore, they decided to reduce the “commandments” to the following: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.”

Why post the Ten Commandments? We Gentiles only have these four given to us by God through the Jerusalem Council. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to post these four?

We don’t really “get it.” The important thing is the continual relationship/communication with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit—not a “to do or not to do” list without errors!

Steve Livengood

Stamford

Love not the world or Super Sunday

The Bible says: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. The one loving the world does not have the love of the Father in him. For all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world, and the world is passing away and the desire of it; but theone doing the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

Jesus said, “I do not pray for the world” (John 17:9).

Jesus also said, “I am not of the world” (John 17:14).

Jesus added, “They (his followers) are not of the world.” Also, “The world has hated them because they (his followers) are not of the world” (John 17:14).

So, what do we do? We (the church) take the world into our churches and try to sanctify the world by having “Super Bowl Sunday” to entice the young people to fellowship around the world.

What kind of conflicting message are we giving to our young people? No wonder the church has lost its spiritual power.

Ernest V. May Jr.

Livingston

Making God a liar

Apparently, we do not have any journalists who are Bible scholars who would know the teaching of the evolution of man makes God a liar. It is recorded, “He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son” (1 John 5:10). That record is the first book of Moses, called Genesis, and the last book of Revelations.

Would there be an editor of religion who would know that “all flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes and another of birds” (1 Corinthians 15:39).

For those who have never read the Bible, the creation of Adam and Eve was as adults without any parents (Genesis 1:26-27) by God.

Those who teach the evolution of man are making God a liar the same as those who approve of homosexuality, and they are guilty of it.

In a nation under God, we have ungodly teaching.

B.D. Norman

Dallas

Inflated egos

Why does the Baptist circle grow smaller? The Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board has decreed missionary applicants must be baptized in Southern Baptist churches, etc. The Apostle Peter warns, “There are people who are deliberately stupid, and always demand some unusual interpretation” (2 Peter 3:16).

Stupid is not the complete answer. Inflated egos must continuously be fed by making new rules. 

IMB trustees might go for this: Require all missionaries to be baptized by trustees where Jesus was baptized. Wouldn’t that be great?

Since God changed the course of the river, sand would have to substitute for water.  “Covered with sand” is a better picture of being buried.  

If egos had weight, some would need wheelbarrows.    

Rex Ray

Bonham

Bible will defend itself

Hooray for that 19th century British Baptist, whoever he was, who refused to enter the biblical inerrancy debate of his age, the Downgrade Controversy.

He held: “Who? Me? I’d just as soon defend a lion or a tiger. Just turn the Bible loose; it’ll defend itself.”

John Slay

Dallas

Posted: 2/20/06

CYBER COLUMN:
Landmarks

By Berry Simpson

The guys and I were sitting around discussing our current book, Soul Salsa, by Leonard Sweet, and we spent some time on this question: What was the best day of your life, and what was the worst day of your life?

Sweet believes disciples should landmark the moments in their lives. It’s important to know when you’re having one of life’s best moments, or worst. And we should landmark both in our memories. Not to simply be stuck in the past, but as an exercise to remind us that it’s the individual moments that make our lives worth living.

Answering the question is harder than it sounds, because we tend to round off our memories and don’t dwell on specific days. We all had to think hard to decide on best and worst.

For me, I decided my worst day was in the summer of 1986, when my employer told me I was no longer being transferred to California. Four months earlier, the vice president of operations offered me a position as district engineer in the Rio Vista office. On paper, it was a parallel transfer, but with respect to budget and activity and company visibility, it was a big opportunity to step up the corporate ladder. Cyndi and I traveled to Lodi, Calif., to look around and meet my future co-workers, and even though there were no houses we could afford to buy or rent, we were very excited about making the move.

Well, toward the end of May, still in Texas, I was in a quarterly production meeting with a lot of bosses when the regional manager pulled me aside and told me my transfer was going to be delayed for awhile and, in the meantime, see if I could hang out with the vice presidents in the room and try to make a good impression. I was stunned. I’d planned to leave for California the next day, we’d sold our extra car, Cyndi quit her job, we’d attended going-away parties, we were ready to go, and now I was supposed to enter some corporate fraternity rush to make a good impression to earn the position I’d already been offered. It was humiliating.

The delay stretched across the summer, leaving us feeling homeless and unneeded. Finally, months later, the regional manager told me the entire transfer had been canceled. The future was over.

That was my worst day. I felt like a failure to my family because I didn’t make the cut. I thought I’d never be one of the big boys. In fact, I never really recovered. After that day, I never worked late or worked as hard as before, and the best of my imagination and creativity—my best assets—went to other ventures and no longer to my job.

My best day was in 1983 when I ran my first marathon, the Golden Yucca Marathon, in Hobbs, N.M.

It was an unlikely best-day scenario. The race had only a handful of runners, so most of the time I was running entirely alone with no other runners visible in front of me or behind me. Cyndi was off in Lubbock at a seminar; my parents who lived in Hobbs were out of town for some reason; my grandmother was in town to cheer me on except that she was actually at my parent’s house babysitting Byron (3 years old) and Katie (6 months old).

It was raining when I crossed the finish line. Two race officials stood in the rain to record my time and my name on a clipboard, and then they ran back inside out of the rain. I stood alone in the middle of the road, rain falling on my head, my entire body was soaked in sweat and rain water, feeling like the king of the world.

I knew at that moment that I could do anything. Anything! I’d slipped over the imaginary line when no one was watching, and I was changed forever. I knew I’d never be a fast runner—I had the wrong body type and wrong metabolism—but I knew I would always be a marathoner. Like George Sheehan wrote, “I not only became a man, but accepted the man I was.” Standing in the rain, I was a manly man—no, I was The Man. It was a beat-the-chest moment. It was one of the best days of my life.

So you may ask: “Why should I care about Berry’s best or worst day?” In fact, you probably shouldn’t. But in reading my stories, maybe you remembered your own more clearly. Remembering those stories adds value to the moments of our lives.

Berry Simpson, a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland. You can contact him through e-mail at berry@stonefoot.org.