Posted: 11/18/05

Rogers kept SBC's steering
wheel turned to the right

By Bob Allen

EthicsDaily.com

MEMPHIS, Tenn.–Three-time Southern Baptist Conven-tion President Adrian Rogers, whose 1979 election sparked a revolutionary leadership change in America's largest Protestant denomination, died Nov. 15.

Rogers, 74, suffered from colon cancer and pneumonia.

Rogers was the first of a string of SBC presidents elected in what supporters called the “conservative resurgence” and hailed as a return to the denomination's historical, conservative roots.

Progressive and mainstream Baptists described a fundamentalist takeover, marked by a decade of character assassination and political dirty tricks.

In a 1979 sermon, Rogers outlined an ideal of all Southern Baptist churches as having a pastor “who believes in the inerrant, infallible word of God.” He cited an appeal to cast out the “liberal rattlesnakes and termites” in the convention.

Rogers' SBC election set up a string of presidential wins by fundamentalist pulpiteers, who for 15 years energized the conservative movement with sermons defending the Bible as “inerrant”–meaning literally true in every word–and denouncing those who disagreed as “liberals.”

In their 1999 book, In the Name of the Father, Carl Kell and Raymond Camp, both communications professors and lifelong Baptists, said moderates failed to come up with a counter-rhetoric to the theme of an “error-free” Bible trumpeted by charismatic SBC presidents such as Rogers, Bailey Smith and Jerry Vines.

“From a rhetorical perspective, the victory of the battle was won on national rostrums in the sermons of the presidents,” they wrote. “For 15 years, the leaders of the Southern Baptist Conven-tion produced the finest defense of pulpit sermons on a single theme that had ever been seen or heard in the 150-year history of the denomination.”

In 1980, Rogers set the tone for future leaders in the first president's address of the inerrantist movement. In a sermon titled “The Decade of Decision and the Doors of Destiny,” Rogers quoted Bible verses describing Scripture as the word of God, God-breathed, God-given, eternal and, therefore, perfect.

“So, when we speak of the Bible as 'truth, without any mixture of error' (from the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message) we are referring to the original manuscripts,” he said. “The Holy Spirit guarded the original writers from error.”

Rogers' rhetoric went far beyond the spotlight of the annual convention, however.

He once told ministers in a discussion of academic freedom that professors at Southern Baptist seminaries should be required to teach “whatever they are told to teach. And if we tell them to teach that pickles have souls, then they must teach that pickles have souls.”

Rogers made his voice heard on the SBC Peace Committee, appointed in 1985 to determine the sources and solutions to the SBC controversy. Among findings reported to the convention in 1987 was that most Southern Baptists believed Adam and Eve were real people, that the books of the Bible were written by the authors they are attributed to, that miracles described in Scripture actually occurred and that history in the Bible is accurate and reliable.

“We call upon Southern Baptist institutions to recognize the great number of Southern Baptists who believe this interpretation of our confessional statement and, in the future, to build their professional staffs and faculties from those who clearly reflect such dominant convictions and beliefs held by Southern Baptists at large,” the committee recommended.

Rogers chaired another committee charged with revising the Baptist Faith & Message in 2000. Revisions included altering a statement from the 1963 version on Scripture that read, “The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted in Jesus Christ” and adding a sentence on the church that says, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

In addition to shifting SBC theology, Rogers' presidency also started a trend toward political alliances with the far right.

During a visit to the White House in 1979, Rogers told President Jimmy Carter, a lifelong Baptist whose 1976 campaign introduced the term “born again” into America's political lexicon, “Mr. President, I hope you will give up your secular humanism and return back to Christianity.”

Rogers stressed a pastor's duty is to influence his church members' political decisions, but it can be done without endorsing a specific candidate, which under IRS regulations a church cannot do without losing its tax-exempt status. If a pastor “has done his job,” Rogers wrote, “his members will prayerfully and correctly use the standard of God's word to select the right candidate.”

Rogers opposed the rise of Calvinism, which has been embraced by a number of younger SBC leaders. He argued the Bible says nothing about God picking only a selected few to go to heaven while willing for the rest of the world to perish.

A native of Florida, Rogers was pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in the Memphis, Tenn., area from 1972 until March 2005. During his tenure, membership grew from 9,000 to 29,000, and the church relocated to the suburbs.

Posted: 11/18/05

Texas WMU celebrates
125 years of missions service

By Teresa Young

AUSTIN ­ Woman's Missionary Union of Texas celebrated the mission organization's 125th anniversary with a program weaving history and service.

The program relayed much of Texas WMU history through dramatic vignettes presented by Janna Walker and her daughter, Caroline, of First Baptist Church in New Braunfels.

While looking through an attic trunk of family heirlooms, the pair shared WMU's history, from the organization's founding in October 1880 by Fannie Breedlove Davis to the present-day leadership.

Between historical vignettes, speakers described missions experiences. Minette Drumwright Pratt of Fort Worth told about helping to organize an international prayerwalking venture in 1994.

David and Laurel Fort, missionaries to West Africa, spoke about their work ministering to and encouraging other missionaries in their region.

“We have the privilege of visiting with families and seeing what God is doing,” said David Fort. “God is at work in the spiritual darkness of West Africa, and the light continues to shine.”

Charlotte Watson, minister of missions at First Baptist Church in Georgetown, shared a testimony about partnerships missions.

“Being missions-minded isn't enough today,” she said. “The challenge is being missions engaged and sending people to the frontlines of mission work.”

Lupe Koch of Fort Worth, president of the Texas Baptist Nursing Fellowship, described her recent experiences ministering to evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, working in San Antonio's First Baptist Church on a triage team. She spoke about the blessing of using her vocation to serve God and encouraged other nurses to get involved.

“Continue to share your light, so Christ can be seen in you,” Koch said.

Karen Hatley of Lorena, a board member for WorldconneX, spoke about how the information age is making missions easier for many. Connections to missionaries are available through e-mail and cellular phones, and solar-powered DVD players are available for showing gospel films in remote locations.

Texas WMU President Nelda Taylor-Thiede concluded the program with her vision for the organization, which she summarized as the “three stars” of prayer, preparation and people.

“WMU has been about relationships, and that is more important now than ever,” she said. “Go out and let your light shine for him.”

Posted: 11/18/05

Historic Texas Baptist church
'still alive and growing,' pastor reports

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AUSTIN–Texas' oldest continuously active missionary Baptist church is “still alive and growing,” Butch Strickland told the Texas Baptist Historical Society.

Strickland, pastor of Independence Baptist Church, near Brenham, and curator of the Texas Baptist Historical Center Museum, presented a brief history of his church to the historical society's gathering prior to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Founded Aug. 31, 1839, Independence Baptist Church met in brush arbors and homes initially. Its first building–built in 1853–burned in 1872.

Among the items rescued from the fire was the pew occupied by its most famous member–Sam Houston, hero of the battle of San Jacinto and president of the Republic of Texas. Pastor Rufus Burleson baptized Houston in Little Rocky Creek, two miles south of the church, on Nov. 19, 1854.

Other Texas Baptist notables on the membership rolls of Independence Baptist Church include: George Washington Baines, Lyndon Johnson's great-grandfather; Henry McArdle, an art professor at Baylor University who painted pictures of the battle of the Alamo and battle of San Jacinto that hang in the state capitol; Fannie Breedlove Davis, president of the first consolidated women's missions group in Texas; and Anne Luther Bagby, pioneering Texas Baptist missionary to Brazil.

The early history of Independence Baptist Church became intertwined with the history of Baylor University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Strickland noted. Both schools trace their beginnings to a charter granted by the Republic of Texas to Baylor at Independence.

Baylor's first president, Henry Lea Graves, was the first of Baylor's presidents to serve as the church's pastor.

An early pastor at the church, T.W. Cox, was instrumental in founding Union Baptist Association, the first association of churches in Texas. Cox later became a follower of Alexander Campbell's movement–which birthed the Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ denominations–and was ousted from Baptist life in 1841.

Independence Baptist Church “has stood against doctrine untrue to our biblical heritage and stood up for those who would proclaim the truth,” Strickland said. “It has stood against anti-missionary movements and even sent from its walls missionaries all over Texas, the United States and even to foreign fields.”

When railroads and major highways bypassed Independence, the community–and the church–dwindled. But in recent years, as city-dwellers have relocated to the rural area near Independence, the church has experienced a resurgence.

In the near future, Strickland reported, the church will relocate across the road from its historic location, and the Texas Baptist museum will occupy the entirety of the old church building.

Independence Baptist Church “has endured periods of heartbreaking decline and enjoyed the blessings of God in church growth,” he said.

The Texas Baptist Historical Society honored two authors with church history writing awards–Billye Freeman Pratt for Spreading the Light: First Baptist Church Kingsville, Texas 1904-2004 in the category of churches with resident membership 500 to 1,000 and Ron Ellison for Calvary Baptist Church Beaumont, Texas: A Centennial History 1904-2004 in the category of churches with membership greater than 1,000.

During its business meeting, The Historical Society elected President Van Christian of Comanche, Vice President Ellen Brown of Waco and Secretary-Treasurer Alan Lefever of Dallas. Emily Row of San Angelo and Mark Bumpus of Mineral Wells were elected to the society's executive committee.

Posted: 11/18/05

Ministers, layman honored at banquet

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AUSTIN–A retired children's home administrator, a dentist involved in missions construction and a bivocational pastor committed to helping immigrants gain legal status in the United States received Texas Baptist Ministry Awards at a banquet held in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

The Baptist Standard and Baylor University presented the awards to Jack Green, former president of South Texas Children's Home in Beeville; Butch Peters, a layman from University Baptist Church in Houston; and Alejandro Camacho, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Cristiana in McKinney. Honorees received their awards at a banquet sponsored by Baylor's Truett Theological Seminary.

Green, who served a quarter-century at South Texas Children's Home and 55 years in Christian ministry, received the Winfred Moore Award for lifetime ministry achievement.

Green served student pastorates at Hay Valley Baptist Church in Gatesville and Walnut Springs Baptist Church in Walnut Springs while he attended Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theolog-ical Seminary. After he completed his seminary studies, he accepted the pastorate of Baptist Temple in Uvalde and later became founding pastor of Shearer Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio.

In 1973, trustees of South Texas Children's Home in Beeville invited Green to become president and chief executive officer of their agency. During his tenure, the children's home's endowment grew from $1 million to more than $19 million. Under his direction, the Beeville-based agency grew into a multi-service organization that includes a second child-care program in Goliad and both emergency care and a family ministry centers in Corpus Christi.

Throughout his tenure at the children's home, Green served 27 churches as interim pastor and many others as a revival preacher. He also helped found Parkway Baptist Church in Victoria.

Peters, a dentist from Houston, received the Mary Mathis Award for lay ministry.

He first led a group of volunteer carpenters on a mission trip in 1980, the year he was baptized at University Baptist Church. For the decade that followed, he led a crew that worked on churches from Mexico to South Dakota and from Kentucky to Utah.

Along the way, he encountered Andrew Begaye, a Southern Baptist missionary to Native Americans, who shared his idea of building churches across the Navajo nation. Peters caught his vision, and over the next 16 years, he led a crew to build one church every year in some part of the reservation. The trips grew to include not only builders but also volunteers who conducted Vacation Bible Schools and sports evangelism camps. In 2004, about 300 volunteers from nine churches built two churches, and 31 people were baptized at the dedication services of those churches.

In the future, Peters plans to expand the volunteer building ministry to help small churches in Texas and surrounding states.

Camacho, a McKinney pastor, received the George W. Truett Award for ministerial excellence. As director of Immigration Services, a nonprofit organization accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals, he helps guide immigrants through the complex process of becoming a documented worker or United States citizen.

A native of Mexico, Camacho arrived in Texas and came to faith in Christ in 1972. Eight years later, he felt God's call into Christian ministry. He became a United States citizen in 1992 and began studies that led to his authorization to represent immigrants.

Camacho is the only Baptist minister in Texas accredited by the Department of Justice to practice immigration law in federal immigration courts. He provides free counsel to about 300 people each year who need help with immigration law. He also has helped lead conferences on immigration around the state, raising awareness about the needs of immigrants and the role churches can play in ministering to them.

In addition to devoting time to help undocumented immigrants become legal residents in the United States, Camacho also has served his denomination as an officer of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and as president of the Collin County Hispanic Baptist Fellowship.

Also at the dinner, the Truett Alumni Association presented Kyle Reese, pastor of First Baptist Church in San Angelo, its distinguished alumnus award.

Posted: 11/18/05

Varied evangelism methods
can be effective, Shuffield says

By Emily Row

AUSTIN–When he was 8 years old, Wayne Shuffield thought becoming a Christian was all about going to heaven. He was ready for Christ to welcome him into heaven at that very moment. Only later did he realize that God leaves people on earth to help bring others to know Christ.

Shuffield, director of the missions, evangelism and ministry team of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, believes God creates divine appointments for Christians to share their faith with non-Christians.

In an overly scheduled, busy world, Christians can miss those divine appointments if they are not sensitive and ready to share, Shuffield told participants at a seminar held during the BGCT annual meeting.

“Our problem as Baptists is not knowing what to say or how to share Christ,” he said. “It's a listening problem. We are not ready to share or are not listening for opportunities.”

But many people become uncomfortable at the mention of evangelism, Shuffield continued. They think that it means door-to-door evangelism. For some Christians, this is a very natural way to share the message of Christ. Others find this prospect very uncomfortable, he noted.

Shuffield described six other ways to share Christ for people uncomfortable with this approach.

The first alternative is an intellectual approach, he said. The intellectual evangelist is prepared to talk to individuals of other faiths. Shuffield reasoned that this approach can be effective with others who have strong spiritual beliefs or with college students who are comfortable with intellectual arguments.

Other people may feel more comfortable with the style represented by the woman at the well, Shuffield said. The Samaritan woman simply told her story. She provided a testimony of the way Christ had touched her life.

The third type of evangelism Shuffield suggested is “storying.” Through telling both personal stories and Bible stories, Christians may have the opportunity to share the reality of Christ.

Relationship-building provides a fourth avenue for sharing Christ. Relational evangelism grows in the atmosphere of close relationships with friends and family members. In the context of those relationships, Christians have opportunities to share Christ.

The last two evangelism techniques Shuffield shared are inviting non-Christians to participate in an experience where they will be exposed to the gospel and ministering to other people in Christ's name to open doors for sharing Christ.

Posted: 11/18/05

Worship should unify,
not divide, educator insists

By Craig Bird

AUSTIN–The one thing that should be the most unifying feature of congregational life–worship–often becomes the most divisive element, because churches ask the wrong questions, an East Texas educator told participants at a seminar held during the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Thomas Webster, dean of the school of fine arts at East Texas Baptist University, led a session on how to develop creative worship.

“You will never hear me say a particular style of worship is good or bad, because worship is not about style or the elements in the service,” he said.

“I know of contemporary services that work great at one church, but the same elements in another church totally fail, and the same is true of traditional or blended or any other style.”

When things go wrong, churches tend to focus on the elements of the service instead of determining the purpose of worship and the priorities of worship for a particular congregation, Webster said. Only when those issues are settled should anyone pay attention to the practices of worship, he insisted.

“We only get our people together for corporate worship for a very short time, maybe just an hour a week,” he pointed out. “So that time needs to do what God wants it to do. Worshipping together is intended to be the single most unifying thing we do, not something we fight over.”

The purpose of worship “is closely related to the purpose of life itself since we are created to know, honor, glorify and love God,” he said. “Worship is a response to that purpose, and worship is a means to that end.”

Each church needs to determine the priorities of the worship service in relationship to the overall church program.

“How do we reconcile the need to worship and still meet the needs of God's people, build God's kingdom and meet the needs of the church?” he asked.

By honestly evaluating what the church does well and what it does not, it will become clearer what the elements of the worship service should be, Webster continued. In the overall church program, worship is just part of the puzzle.

Worship should offer people the opportunity to seek forgiveness through repentance, offer thanksgiving, foster deeper understanding of God and his word, and challenge them to commit to obedience to God's will, he said.

Worship leaders should “talk with the people in your church who have the deepest and richest private devotional life and model that private worship in the public service” because the relational aspects toward God are the same, Webster said.

“True worship must be a way of living,” he said. “Those who truly worship in private live lives that bring honor and glory to God daily and have a deeply meaningful worship experience in the corporate setting. If we do worship right when we gather, it will change the way we live and worship the other days of the week too.

“Coming into the presence of an all-holy and all-powerful God in our private devotionals is wonderful, but it is uncomfortable, too, because he is all-holy and all-powerful,” he said. “Does our public worship reflect that experience?”

Posted: 11/18/05

Teens illustrate what they need spiritually

By Miranda Bradley

AUSTIN–A roomful of parents and youth Bible study leaders waited to hear Bryan Hall of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin teach on how to encourage a teen's spirituality. They didn't realize their lesson would come primarily from the teens themselves.

The seminar, held in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting, opened with an exercise where each person was asked to list what they would like their teens to take with them to college.

Hall then opened the door to awaiting teens, luggage in tow.

“Let's hear what they had to say,” Hall said.

Seventeen-year-old Alicia Sherrill held up a bottle of water representing purity.

“Help me understand the value of this,” she said. “Teach me to always strive to have this with me.”

Each teen shared simple items that had a deeper meaning.

“I hold in my hands a court order,” 16-year-old Liz Andrasi said. “This is to ensure that I am a witness to others. It is important for parents to share their experiences with us. It's very cool when my parents tell me who they are praying for so that I will know how important it is.”

Later Andrasi held up a small tree, which symbolized a strong root system.

“We need to have strong roots so we can search out and know what we believe for ourselves,” she said.

Included among the items was a gift box, to show the enjoyment of giving and a gavel for respect for authority.

“The bottom line,” Hall concluded, “is it has to be in our lives for our kids to learn it. It can't just be a Sunday or Wednesday night thing. God has to be part of who we are every day. That is when our kids will grab hold of it. They'll want to do it too because it's authentic.”

Posted: 11/18/05

BGCT mission and heritage
'not for sale,' Wade insists

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AUSTIN–Texas Baptists are a “blood-bought people” who must not be turned away from their divinely appointed mission, Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade emphasized during the state convention's annual meeting.

Reflecting on an offer from an equity group that mistakenly contacted Wade to inquire about brokering a sale of the BGCT, he said the convention already has been bought and paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The BGCT is “not for sale. Not to people who want to buy us for money. Not to those who want to turn us away from our mission, nor to those who would have us pursue some lesser cause,” he said. “We have a passion to see people reconciled to God, to touch and reach people in Jesus' name, and we're not for sale.”

Using the acronym B-A-P-T-I-S-T, Wade outlined a seven-fold challenge to Baptists in Texas.

Begin new churches.

At least 11 million Texans claim no church, and the state's population has grown by 4 million in the last 10 years and likely will grow by another 2 million within the next five years, he noted.

Wade challenged Texas Baptists to start 1,500 churches in the state by the end of 2010.

“We must start more churches in the next five years than we ever have because there are more Texans than there have ever been before,” he said.

Affirm the children.

“How we treat children in our homes, churches, communities and state matters to Jesus,” Wade said. “I believe God is calling Texas Baptists to love and care for all the children of Texas.”

Some of the poorest children in the nation live in Texas, he noted. He challenged Texas Baptists to strengthen families, pray for teachers, provide ministries to benefit children and help elected representatives understand the needs of children.

Wade paused to pay tribute to Phil Strickland, longtime director of the BGCT Christian Life Commission, as “an example to all of us” in serving as a tireless advocate for children in need. Strickland, who has been battling cancer and has been hospitalized twice in recent months for pneumonia, was unable to attend the annual meeting.

“By working together, we can affirm the worth of every child,” he said. “And we can work earnestly and without ceasing to see that every child in Texas has a safe place to sleep, food enough to eat, quality education, medicine when they are sick–and know that Jesus loves them.”

Pray for God's peace.

Wade urged Texas Baptists to pray for peace in families, churches, communities and nations, and he challenged them to work for justice.

“Praying for the salvation of souls, the unity of the church, justice in the land, harmony among the diverse communities and peace in the world is especially our work,” he said.

Transform lives and communities.

Wade challenged every Texas Baptist congregation to be “a Jesus kind of church” that brings about transformation and reconciliation.

“Transformational churches expect change to happen in people's lives,” he said. “Transformational churches bring life and hope to the communities they serve.”

Inspire courageous servant leaders.

“Servant leaders lead people to achieve great goals that bless the church and their community, rather than goals designed to bring reward and recognition to the leader,” he said.

Share in giving.

In order to achieve other goals, Texas Baptists must work together and pool resources through the Cooperative Program unified giving plan, Wade insisted.

“You will know your church has caught the vision when they begin to see the Cooperative Program not as an expense to be borne, but as an engine by which your church can connect with thousands of other churches and become part of a great train delivering boxcar loads of eternal blessing to thousands upon thousands of people every day of the year,” he said.

Touch the world.

Wade encouraged Texas Baptist churches to see ministry in their communities as the starting place, not the finish line.

“Every church can have at least one ministry in its local community and one ministry somewhere else in the world,” he said. “You can go local, and you can go global. And you can double that every two years.”

Posted: 11/18/05

Young pastors learn from elders

By Mark Wingfield

AUSTIN–If you're ever tempted to quit, call a friend first and talk it through.

That was one of several pieces of advice from a panel of seasoned pastors to younger pastors and church staff members during a seminar at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

While the challenges of ministry are greater than when these pastors began their careers several decades ago, the rewards remain great as well, Pete Freeman, Charles Johnson and Ken Hall told the young ministers.

Freeman is pastor of First Baptist Church of The Woodlands; Johnson is pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio; Hall is president of Buckner Baptist Benevolences and a former Texas pastor.

The greatest threat to the integrity of the church today is not theological but practical, the trio of pastors agreed. That practical challenge is embodied in leading churches to become outwardly focused, missional and not consumer-driven, they explained.

“Leading my church to be a global church with a local address is the hardest thing I've ever done,” Freeman confessed. He lamented that most church-growth models today are “consumer-driven.”

The church is not to be changed by culture but instead to challenge culture, Freeman added. “We are to impact culture.”

The missional church movement advocated by the Baptist General Convention of Texas holds more promise for the future of the church than the youth revival movement of the 1950s, he said, noting he had been a part of that earlier movement.

The changes for which a younger generation advocated 50 years ago were more internally focused, revolving around counting more people in churches and the numbers of people attending revival meetings, he said. The missional church model instead seeks to grow the kingdom of God without regard for whether that benefits an individual church.

This runs counter to the consumer-driven mentality, which says, “God loves the world, but he loves me a little bit more,” Johnson added.

Ministers and churches also must beware of thinking they can achieve ultimate spiritual growth, Hall warned. “We get to a level of spiritual growth, and we think we've arrived.”

Although the path of church ministry may have grown more difficult, the church at large is becoming more globally focused and is advancing, Hall said.

“A lot of your members think about the good old days, and they weren't that good.” For example, he said, “At the height of growth in Southern Baptist churches, we had the Civil Rights Movement. … Those weren't the good old days,” because the church too often wasn't focused outwardly.

The test for churches and pastors today should be service, Hall said. “If it's not about service to others, it's not about Christianity.”

Preaching this message may not be easy, Hall warned. “Our people, while they will espouse change … to engage culture, they're not there.”

Posted: 11/18/05

Missions Foundation honors
four for missions contributions

By Haley Wright

AUSTIN–The Texas Baptist Missions Foundation honored four individuals for their missions contributions during a banquet held in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Shirley and Paul Piper Jr. received the Adventurer Award for Leadership in Missions. The award honors an individual or church who has advanced missions through significant missions activities, outstanding financial support or leadership in ministry opportunities.

The Pipers have provided no-interest and low-interest loans for new churches, helped build a hospital in Paraguay and Mexico, purchased a tool trailer for Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders and provided funding for apartment ministries in Amarillo, Dallas, El Paso, Austin, Houston, Lubbock, Arlington and San Antonio.

San Antonio Baptist Association staff member Camille Simmons received the Innovator Award for Creativity in Missions.

The Innovator Award is bestowed upon a church or individual who developed a model for missions that others can adopt.

Charles Price, director of missions for the San Antonio Baptist Association, called her a woman with “creative solutions for kingdom advancement.”

She was honored for her work in missions that are aimed at meeting real human needs.

Joy Fenner received the Pioneer Award for Service in Missions, given to a person who is committed, creative and cooperative.

Under her leadership, Woman's Missionary of Texas enlarged its ministry with language churches by not only providing curriculum in seven languages for the week of prayer for Texas missions, but also by developing the Language Advisory Council and the African-American Advisory Council.

She was instrumental in the creation of WorldTouch, the endowment of Texas WMU, and she worked with national WMU to pioneer the national and state endowment partnerships called Touch Tomorrow Today.

Posted: 11/18/05

CYBER COLUMN:
God is at work

By Jeanie Miley

Stepping onto the elevator in the hospital, I pushed the button to the emergency room and leaned against the wall while the elevator carried me down to the basement. I had no idea what was facing me on that warm fall morning, but a phone call had turned my world upside down. I was amazed at how calm I was.

Life has a way of walloping you suddenly, now and then. And at other times, things that have been brewing for a long time suddenly make you realize you’ve arrived at the place you’ve been traveling to for a very long time. As far as I can tell, no one makes it out of here without encounters with scary times and hard times.

Later, looking back on the terrors of our family’s recent crisis, I gave thanks over and over for the people who have modeled faith for me in the past. I gave thanks for those who have taught me the ways of practicing the presence of Christ, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the Scriptures I had memorized in the easy times that came to my mind in the hard times to instruct me and comfort me.

“I’m frightened, frayed and fatigued around the edges,” I told my friends when they inquired about how I was doing, managing our crisis. “But, at the center, I’m really calm.”

Through the shakiest times in my life, my bedrock Scripture eventually bubbles up into my conscious mind to remind me that “God is at work in all things, attempting to bring about good.” Even when I’m thrown off-center or thrown to the mat, my basic, intentional orientation in life, practiced when times aren’t so tough, does finally come back to me to stabilize me. Even when I’m on a rollercoaster, being thrown between hope and despair, the reminder of the reality of God’s sovereign and abiding love does finally reach me.

Admittedly, sometimes the hardships and shocks of life are so shattering and shocking that it takes some time to remember that the Source of life is constantly at work, and that is why we need each other as reminders of God’s faithful, loving presence.

Now that I’m past the latest rollercoaster ride, I know that I must deepen that learned discipline of practicing the presence of Christ. I must become even more conscious of the ways and means God has of meeting us in the ordinary moments of everyday life. I must return again and again to the practice of opening my mind and heart to God. I must ask God to increase my sensitivity to the gentle movements of his Spirit so that I will not miss the guidance and direction of God in the midst of my life. Even more, I want to sharpen my hearing so that I can detect the still, small voice of God in the details of my life.

God is at work in all things, bringing order out of chaos and discernment in the midst of confusion.

God is at work in all things, extending mercy and grace, in spite of the difficulties of the moment.

God is at work in all things, asking us to surrender to his intentions, and the places where we are resisting most, we may be blocking God’s tender mercies toward us.

God is at work in all things, when things turn out like we want them to, but most especially, when they don’t.

God is at work in all things, even when I cannot see it or believe it.

God is at work in all things, and his work is always love.

Jeanie Miley is an author and columnist and a retreat and workshop leader. She is married to Martus Miley, pastor of River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, and they have three adult daughters. Got feedback? Write her at Writer2530@aol.com.

Posted: 11/18/05

Around the State

Twelve East Texas Baptist University students have been inducted into Alpha Chi, a cross-disciplinary national honor society. They are Matthew Arnett of Midland, Erin Beck of Crosby, David Mark Clark of Longview, Taylor Johnson of Marshall, Leslie Nelson of Sulphur Springs, David Rogenmoser of Boyce, La., Katy Romero of Hemphill, Tony Romero of Hemphill, Marid Spellings of Lufkin, Jenny Wheeler of Longview, Amanda Whitehead of Palestine and Wendy Whitehead of Kirbyville.

Bonnie Hinkle has been named faculty member of the year at Dallas Baptist University. She has taught at the school seven years and is an associate professor of education and director of the master of education in school counseling program. She is a member of Hampton Road Church in DeSoto.

Howard Payne University recognized seven outstanding alumni and two recently retired faculty members during the school's Alumni Awards banquet. Honored as distinguished alumni were Dalton Bigbee and Jana Bloom. Daniel Peterson was honored as an outstanding young graduate. Twila Miller Smith was named coming home queen, and Al Langford was named grand marshal. Steve and Sophia Faulkner received the medal of service. Recently retired faculty members Donal and Marjorie Bird also received the medal of service.

Charles Reid has received the distinguished alumnus award from Houston Baptist University. Reid currently is the house Mozart tenor at the national theater in Mannheim, Germany. Cathy Neben received the university's meritorious service alumnus award for her work as a volunteer.

Twenty-eight students graduated Nov. 5 from the Baylor University Law School. Professor Gerald Powell was selected by students to deliver the commencement address.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Alumni Association conferred honorary membership to Floyce Moon, 93, for her service to the school.

Celeste Louder of Hereford was crowned Miss Wayland Baptist University 2006. She was sponsored by the school's Baptist Student Ministries.

Rachel Shapard, a part-time chaplain with Advanced Home Health and Hospice in Lubbuck, has received endorsement from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Retiring

James Weir, as minister of senior adults at Lamar Church in Arlington, Nov. 8. Weir served the church in that capacity since 1996. He previously served as the church's pastor at its founding in 1983. Weir also was pastor of the church's sponsor church, North Side Church in Arlington, beginning in 1966. His other pastorates include First Church in Jacksboro and South Park Church in Grand Prairie. He was in the ministry 56 years.

Death

Agnes Smiley, 93, Nov. 9 in Longview. She was elementary director and director of preschool education at First Church in Longview 26 years. During that time, she began the church's weekday education programs. She also saw a need for Christian education for handicapped children and their parents and started a program that has grown over the last 30 years to serve 70 people. She also led many conferences and workshops across the nation, and she wrote numerous articles for children's education publications. After retiring as preschool director in 1977, she continued serving the church as wedding consultant and church hostess. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd, in 1995. She is survived by her daughter, Becky Pierce; three grandsons; and three great-grandchildren.

Events

The Sammy Glass Family will be in concert at First Church in Devers Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. For more information, call (936) 549-7653. Harry McDaniel is pastor.

Grammy and Dove award-winning Christian artist Steve Green will perform a Christmas concert with choir and orchestra of The Heights Church in Richardson Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. Gary Singleton is pastor.

First Church in Austin will present Angels over Austin, a walking tour guided by angels as participants seek the Christ Child. Encountered along the way are wise men, a talking star, Roman officials, a tax collector, camels and others. The 20-minute experience is free. Angels over Austin will be held Dec. 10 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Dec. 11 from 9:30 a.m. until noon. The journeys on Sunday will be followed by the annual Christmas music from 11 a.m. until noon. The choir and orchestra will perform the Christmas section of Handel's Messiah. For more information, call (512) 476-2625. Roger Paynter is pastor.

Ordained

Shane Berry, Troy Burnett, Harold Harbour and Chris Sageser as deacons at First Church in Cotton Center.

Gerald West, Perry Seaman, Mike Fontenot, Jim Crenshaw and Josh Ardoin as deacons at First Church in China.

Steve Gilley, Gary Wimbish and Ron Arnold as deacons at First Church in Milford.

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