Posted: 8/24/05

Committee drafts proposal on
North Carolina churches funding CBF

By Tony Cartledge

North Carolina Biblical Recorder

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (ABP)—The North Carolina Baptist State Convention board of directors’ executive committee narrowly approved a budget proposal that retains direct funding for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, but it could limit representation from churches that choose to give all or the majority of their national missions offering through the moderate group.

The two-year budget proposal for 2006-07 calls for an additional one percent of budget receipts to be forwarded to national bodies supported by the convention’s four giving plans. Both the Southern Baptist Convention, funded by Plans A, B and D; and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, funded by Plan C, would receive 0.5 percent more in 2006, and an additional 0.5 percent increase in 2007.

For Plan C participants and churches in other plans that designate funds away from the SBC and substitute CBF, however, the portion forwarded to the CBF would no longer count as Cooperative Program receipts in determining the number of eligible messengers to the convention.

During the 2004 session, a motion to eliminate the giving plans failed by what appeared to be more than a two-to-one margin on a show of ballots, and a motion to get rid of Plan C was ruled out of order.

The issue of whether CBF contributions should count as Cooperative Program giving has been a major sticking point for those who oppose Plan C, Butler said, so the committee sought a compromise that would head off stronger actions in November.

“We talked with leaders at the CBF who didn’t see this as a problem,” Butler said. “We talked with leaders on the more conservative side who said this is a compromise they can live with and keep Plan C in place.”

Greg Mathis, pastor of Mud Creek Baptist Church near Hendersonville and a member of the budget committee, said he raised the idea after talking with many conservatives across the state who are bothered that money going to CBF is counted as Cooperative Program gifts—a term historically applied only to money shared between the state conventions and the SBC.

“I tried to do something that was reasonable and hopefully something acceptable to a majority of messengers, and hopefully continue with the optional budget plans,” he said.

Mathis said it was not his intention to make CBF churches feel like they are not full partners in the North Carolina Convention.

“It was a way to calm the waters, to compromise and to continue to work together,” he said.

Butler told the executive committee a preliminary study indicated the change would not affect the number of messengers for any churches, and it involves a relatively small amount of money, about 0.6 percent of total receipts.

“We’re trying to find a way to stay together. If we can find a compromise that both sides of the table feel they can accept and go with, maybe we can move ahead and not have to deal with this every year,” he said.

Several committee members expressed appreciation for the efforts to keep the convention together, but they said the change would send a signal that CBF-supporting churches are less acceptable than SBC-only churches, and not worthy of as many messengers.

Clella Lee, chair of the board’s Council on Christian Higher Education and a member of the executive committee, noted the state convention had adopted the term “Cooperative Program Missions Giving” as a way to distinguish the North Carolina giving plans.

“I thought (it) meant we could cooperate,” she said. “It makes me very sad and disappointed that that’s not what it meant.

“I feel like we have to make decisions based on principle, not based on what we think might happen. We should make decisions on the principle of what we as N.C. Baptists want to say to the world.”

Brian Davis, second vice president of the state convention, likened the situation to the difference between cutting with a chain saw or with a surgeon’s knife. If a motion to eliminate the giving plans was raised and passed at the annual meeting, he said, it would be like “a chainsaw massacre.”

But, “a surgeon can make a precise cut and bring healing,” he said.

The convention’s acting executive director-treasurer, George Bullard, addressed the board and convention officers and asked: “If this passes, do you believe the people who have said this is acceptable are advocates of it, and that they have a commitment to be proactive at convention to keep something more destructive from happening? Will you encourage them to do this?”

Board Vice President JoAnn Sanderson said, “Yes, but you can’t rule out wild cards,” because any messenger can make a motion.

The initial vote on the budget was eight in favor and seven opposed, with one abstention. The person who abstained asked to change his vote to indicate opposition, creating a tie. Butler, who normally votes only in the event of a tie, voted in favor, making the final vote nine to eight. Four committee members had left due to other commitments before the vote was held.

Larry Hovis, coordinator of CBF North Carolina, said in an interview that his organization receives no funds from any of the four plans, but “we still care very deeply about funding of CBF national ministries through the Baptist State Convention. While we’re gratified that funds for CBF national will be retained and will grow by one half percent, we are concerned about the signal it sends that somehow these contributions are second class or invalid or not legitimate. In the past CBF-related churches have been considered full partners in the Baptist State Convention. We hope this doesn’t signal a move toward exclusion.”

The budget will now be forwarded to the full board of directors for consideration at its Sept. 27-28 meeting. If approved by the board, the budget will come before messengers to the convention’s annual meeting on Nov. 16. Messengers can then vote to approve or amend the budget.

Posted: 8/23/05

BaptistWay Bible Series for Sept. 4

In the midst of change, God is there

• Joshua 1

By Ronnie Prevost

Logsdon Seminary, Abilene

Transition is a part of life. It is inevitable. Sometimes change is something to be desired and yet to be feared. As children mature, we no longer must treat them like infants, feeding them, changing diapers, etc. But as our children grow up, we age, too. And we are not what we used to be.

To most of us, many aspects of modern technology make parts of life much easier. Cellular phones, text messaging, Internet and e-mail all can make us much more accessible. But many people still find themselves incredibly lonely and isolated. And how well do neighbors today know each other as opposed to 30 or 40 years ago? Things just are not what they used to be.

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The same refrain often can be heard in our churches. Churches are faced with cultural shifts, generational changes, multiplication of diverse worship styles and many other trends and fads. And leadership within churches comes and goes. For example, how often can we hear in a church with a new pastor (or other new staff or leadership), “Things are not what they used to be”?

When confronted with the many changes life can throw at us—as individuals and as churches —there is something for us to learn from reading Joshua 1. Things for Israel just were not what they used to be. Moses was dead. Joshua had been designated successor to Moses, but he was different from Moses. Israel knew it. There was much room for the people to cry out for “the good old days.” But the way things were was not always so good.

Even when Moses was alive, Israel seemed to always be wishing for the good old days. In Exodus 14:11, when Israel stood before Yam Suph (often translated “Red Sea” but actually meaning “Sea of Reeds”) and Pharaoh and his Egyptian army were rapidly approaching, they cried to Moses, “Was it because there were there no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?”

In Exodus 16:3, just over two months after having been miraculously delivered from Egypt by God, they were hungry and cried to Moses and Aaron: “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Similar incidents occurred as recorded in Exodus 17:3 and in Numbers 13-14.

Moses had been given a huge task by God. He led Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness. But consistently the people had complained. Many times they had shown a lack of faith.

Now, it was Joshua’s task to lead God’s people. And this task was enormous, also. Joshua 1:1-4 records God’s telling Joshua of the expanse of territory Israel was to conquer. They were just one generation removed from slavery. They had not been an army. They had little military history or experience. But God gave Joshua a promise. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).

Things for Israel were not what they used to be. They were no longer slaves. They had to be an army. They were no longer strangers living in someone else’s land. Now, they were to take the land God had given them for their own.

So, perhaps the first lesson for us is that neither “things” nor we were as good as nostalgia can trick us into remembering. Things may not be the way they used to be, but new situations present new opportunities. Despite the many challenges they present, both the present and the future can be good and exciting. With God, we can claim as Browning wrote, “The best is yet to be.”

Though they had a new leader, one thing remained the same: God still was with them. Though Joshua was different from Moses, the same God had called them both. The same God had promised them both his presence and strength.

That is one of the many wonderful things about our loving God. Whenever God calls and commissions people to a task, God promises to be with them. That was true with Moses and Joshua. And it is true with us. God has called us to salvation and to service. The Great Commission Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:18-20 ends with the wonderful promise, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

That promise, like the God who made it, will never change. Cultures always have changed. Generations and leadership come and go. Things will never be the way they used to be—not in our personal lives and not in our churches. We could face these with a fatalism that easily surrenders and yearns for the good old days that never really were. But God has a more fulfilling and meaningful way for us to live. In the midst of this life of continuous change, we can live with hope, faith, courage, excitement and anticipation—because God is with us.

Discussion question

• What are some of the changes in your life, your church or your culture that most frighten you?

• How can God’s presence with you help you find opportunities for growth in those changes?

Posted: 8/23/05

Family Bible Series for Sept. 4

Purpose stems from a right relationship with God

• Ecclesiastes 1:13-2:22

By Donald Raney

Westlake Chapel, Graham

We all want to feel a sense of fulfillment in life; a feeling that our life has some real significance. Inherent in the human condition is a sense that there is more to life than we experience with our senses. We long to find that connection with the purpose of life.

We often look for purpose in a variety of places only to find most paths lead to dead ends and leave us unfulfilled. For example, many seek fulfillment through academic pursuits only to find that the more they learn, the more they learn how much they do not know. Others look for meaning in the quest for physical pleasures only to find the experiences never last. Still others accumulate possessions in an attempt to find their identity and find that “enough” is never enough. Finally, others strive for significance through personal achievements that draw attention to them only to discover that people soon forget their name.

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Ecclesiastes 1:13-2:11

The writer of Ecclesiastes had a lot to say about the many different paths people take in their individual quests for purpose in life. This writer, known only as Qoheleth, had followed many of these paths and tells us about his journeys.

He first seeks fulfillment through the acquiring of wisdom (1:13-18). Not only did this fail to satisfy, but he describes the quest for wisdom as a “heavy burden” that God has laid on humanity. God has given humanity a natural curiosity about the world and the intellect to seek answers. Yet each new discovery leads to new questions so that the seeker never reaches the end.

Often in our efforts to understand how to straighten things out, we come to the frustrating conclusion that some things are simply meant to be twisted. Sometimes the equations simply do not balance out. Through his many experiences, Qoheleth acquired more wisdom than any Israelite leader before him. Yet in the end, he concluded this quest for wisdom, like a life of madness and folly, is as futile as chasing the wind.

Qoheleth next indulged in the world’s physical pleasures (2:1-3). The implication is that he sampled all of life’s pleasures (v. 10), yet once again found the search futile. He concluded that laughter, pleasure and physical stimulation simply do not accomplish anything significant.

We are all aware of the fleeting nature of enjoyable experiences. “Time flies when you are having fun.” While Qoheleth does not appear to condemn these experiences or advise against partaking in them, he does conclude that even the sum total of the earth’s pleasures cannot provide one with a lasting sense of purpose.

The writer then sought fulfillment through personal achievements (2:4-6). He sought to build houses with gardens and pools of water that would stand long after his death. These retreats would also provide him, and presumably others, with opportunities to escape their daily lives and seek their purpose in a more tranquil setting.

In addition to these personal achievements, Qoheleth also amassed considerable personal possessions in his quest for a sense of significance (2:7-11). These possessions included not only gold and silver, but all of the trappings which characterized the life of the elite of his day. He accumulated all of the things that were designed to make life comfortable and worry-free. He indulged everything his eyes desired. Yet in the end, even this was considered to be “meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (v. 11).

Ecclesiastes 2:18-22

What was it that made these various pursuits unfulfilling? Why did they lead him to such a negative conclusion? Qoheleth provides us with a little insight into the answers to these questions in 2:18-22. He came to realize that at the end of years of toil, he must leave the products of his work to someone else.

Death comes to everyone, and we take nothing with us to the grave. Yet what appears to grieve Qoheleth the most is that the person who receives this inheritance did not work for it like he had and may foolishly waste it. Because of this, all of life is meaningless as the days are filled with futile work and nights are full of restless anxiety. This eventually led Qoheleth to despise the things for which he had toiled.

Throughout these verses, Qoheleth continually returns to his final overall assessment of humanity’s efforts to live and work in this world. It became a refrain throughout Ecclesiastes. “All is ‘hebel.’” Many translations translate this term as “vanity.” The NIV translates it as “meaningless.” The variety of translations demonstrates that the real essence of this term is (appropriately) difficult to capture.

Perhaps the best picture of this word is that of fog. While it may appear tangible at times, any attempt to grasp it leaves one with empty hands. As soon as the sun appears, it quickly dissipates and vanishes. It thus proves to be both deceptive and transitory. That is the image Qoheleth presents concerning the pursuit of purpose through knowledge, pleasure, achievements or possessions. While they may appear to offer real and attainable sources of meaning in life, they leave little of any substance for the searcher.

While Ecclesiastes was penned centuries before the birth of Jesus, still it provides clear teachings for multitudes trying to find purpose in life apart from a right relationship with God. Daily news is full of stories about people looking for meaning through the accumulation of wealth, status, fame or academic degrees. The good news of the gospel is that real significance in life can be found, and it does not require great effort on our part. All that is needed is simply to surrender all efforts through belief in Jesus and he will fill you with genuine purpose and life.

Discussion questions

• What other things do people pursue in their quest for purpose or significance?

• Is Qoheleth too extreme in his assessment of these pursuits as “meaningless”? If so, what is a proper perspective on them?

• How can we maintain a proper perspective on these pursuits?

Posted: 8/23/05

Explore the Bible Series for Sept. 4

What do you think about the gospel?

• Romans 1:1-17

By Trey Turner

Canyon Creek Baptist Church, Temple

People evaluate many things with only a glance. They evaluate politicians by soundbite words and actions. They evaluate which VCR or DVD will replace the one beginning to show its age. They evaluate restaurants, educational institutions and so much more—all of these from data they may not even be aware they are using.

Propose your own reasons people do this, but the speed of action and reaction in America demands it. Popular business and lifestyle books by Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point and Blink, seem to justify the quick and perceptive decision. He, of course, acknowledges the traps of the mere hasty decision.

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Now, note the title of the current lesson, “What do you think about the gospel?” Are people today making decisions about Christianity based on an impression? Are Christians making theological conclusions from their own experiences with the church, leaders or from what seems reasonable?

The Apostle Paul is asking the Christians in Rome to receive him based on some specific criteria, but it is not the presentation of his own experience or expertise. Romans is not a book where Paul details his own experiences except possibly making a self-admission about his weak human nature (7:7, 11, 14-24), or his growing understanding of God’s future plan for Israel (9:2-3; 11:25).

He asks the Roman Christians to receive him and his message because of the gospel. The gospel alone is the good news of Christ. Instead of saying, “This is my experience with the gospel,” limiting the ability of God to work to that which one believer could see God manifest; the believer will best say, “This is the gospel.” Paul’s confidence is in Jesus’ finished work of redemption now available to those who will receive it.

I show I believe it when I receive it (1:1-5)

The letter to the Romans begins with a traditional Greek form for introductions, yet immediately setting the tone for making the gospel of Jesus his central theme. Even while introducing himself, Paul emphasizes “this is me because of the gospel.” The gospel gives Paul new identity and new vitality for living.

Paul is called by God to convey the truth of the gospel that has been confirmed through the event of the resurrection. The resurrection “declared” Jesus’ deity! God also confirmed the truth of the good news by completely transforming Paul into the person the Christians in Rome will now experience. Equally, the Christian expresses confidence in the gospel when she or he personally receives it—and as with Paul, it begins to define them.

I show I believe it when I proclaim it (1:8-15)

After talking about the gospel, Paul shows the proof of his confidence with action. “I thank,” “I serve,” “I remember,” “I pray,” “I may have a harvest,” “I am obligated” each shows a contrast to the way this man lived before the gospel. Here is a man who is equally spent in his zeal, but the Christian Paul is a humble, busy worker for the one who loved him. The I-statements do not show selfishness but a desired partnership with the Roman Christians. Ultimately, he has confidence God will do the same amazing work of transformation in them as he personally has seen in himself.

I show I believe it because I affirm it (1:16-17)

These two verses are rightly favorites of so many Christians. Here, Paul tells the reason for the confidence he has in the gospel. The Roman Christians should have confidence that he comes with nothing greater. Likewise, no Christian should think that there are better ways for the church, Christian or minister to spend resources.

One can imagine Paul probably was ashamed when he found that instead of serving the Lord, Jesus said he had been fighting against him (Acts 9:5). Paul rose high academically studying with the great Jerusalem teacher Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) and likely saw some who should be ashamed at their presentation or preparation.

Paul had confidence not because he was prepared, skilled or because he had behind him an army of supporters. Paul had confidence in the gospel for no other reason except for all the gospel accomplishes. The message of Christ is the power of God—the salvation of those believing. The message of Christ is the righteousness of God—revealed and not earned. For that reason, the message of Christ is proclaimed and not kept.

Discussion question

• How do people first show their confidence in the gospel?

• In what ways do Christians show their confidence in the gospel during conversation?

• In what ways do Christians show their confidence in the gospel building new relationships?

Posted: 8/19/05

DBU, Buckner share love with orphans

By Hailey Erickson

Dallas Baptist University

A group of Dallas Baptist Uni-versity students and staff recently shared the love of Christ in orphanages in Guatemala.

Working through a partnership between their school and Buckner Orphan Care International, students led a Vacation Bible School, distributed donated shoes and painted the facilities at the orphanages.

Many orphanages in Guatemala City are overcrowded, and the children desperately look for affection and attention, the students and staff learned.

“I felt profoundly touched and deeply burdened in my heart for the people of Guatemala,” said Jashley Quast, a DBU junior. “I know that we all fell in love with the orphans of Guatemala. God opened our hearts from the very beginning to these precious children, and he also prepared the hearts of the orphans. The orphans' hearts were so amicable and eager to hear God's word.”

The students also spent several days ministering at a girls' home in Antigua. At times, the girls seemed unwilling to listen, but this only opened the door of opportunity to share the love of Christ.

“Some of the girls did not have a father, and it was good to see them smile when I told them about the Father in heaven who loved them,” said Fabian Ramirez, a DBU senior. “God really softened the hardest hearts to accept his word, and I'm blessed because I was a part of it.”

“I was encouraged to see how even through constant change of plans, the DBU team held together and was able to work through it all,” senior Libby Barnard said. “Even when we felt unprepared, like the 12 disciples with our simple two loaves and five fish, (Christ) used our willingness to serve him to touch many lives in Guatemala.”

For some, the Guatemala trip was a first encounter with missions, but for others it was a chance to work with Buckner again.

“Over the past year, I had the opportunity to organize shoes here in Dallas for Buckner, but I never dreamed that they could have been the same shoes I put on the precious feet of boys in Guatemala,” senior Jennifer Dyess recalled.

At the Eliza Martinez Boys' Home, for example, the team delivered shoes donated by people in the United States.

As the trip came to a close, the team had a difficult time leaving the children.

“It was wonderful to spend time with all of those children down there. Through the time we shared, we drew closer to each other, the orphans, and deepened our faith in God,” junior Nathanael Hoard said.

Posted: 8/19/05

European Baptists unlikely to join network

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP)–Baptist leaders in Europe predict the Southern Baptist Convention will have a hard time drawing Baptists from the continent into a new international network that, some say, will compete with the Baptist World Alliance.

After the SBC withdrew from the BWA charging the group with a “liberal drift,” convention leaders announced plans to start and fund a new international “fellowship” of like-minded conservatives.

In early July, nine Southern Baptists leaders met with 12 European Baptists in Warsaw, Poland, for what SBC executive Morris Chapman predicted “may prove in time to have been the inaugural meeting of a network that shall extend to every corner of the earth, creating a close fellowship among like-minded conservative Chris-tians.”

The 12 Europeans, who were not named in an SBC news release, came from six countries, most in eastern Europe and among the most conservative in the region–Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Romania.

But while many European Baptists are as conservative–or more so–than Southern Baptists, they are “very unlikely” to join the SBC's new network, said Bulgarian pastor Theo Angelov, outgoing general secretary of the European Baptist Federation.

“There are many conservative Baptist leaders in East Europe, and I am happy that none of them were there,” Angelov said of the July 1-2 meeting, which was held less than a month before 13,000 Baptists from around the globe met in England to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Baptist World Alliance.

Angelov said only two of the Europeans who participated in the July 1-2 meeting are official representatives of Baptist unions–Paul Negrut, president of the Baptist Union of R.S. Romania, and Vasil Vangelov, president of the Baptist Union of Bulgaria.

Negrut, president of a Romanian seminary in Oradea that receives funding from conservative Southern Baptists, was the only European union president to support the SBC's withdrawal from BWA. He also was responsible for enlisting Europeans to participate in the Poland meeting.

Vangelov, the Bulgarian president, “does not speak English, and he did not realize what the meeting would be about,” Angelov, Vangelov's predecessor, said in an e-mail interview. “I talked to him after he has returned, and nobody from Bulgaria is supportive of the policy of the SBC.”

Angelov predicted the SBC's efforts likely won't cause a split in the Baptist World Alliance, but it will sow division within world Baptist ranks, he said.

“I am only afraid that if the SBC leaders decide to use money that American churches are giving for mission work as a tool in this battle, then some Baptist unions will be tempted to cooperate. This behavior is not a Baptist approach. It is simply an ideology.”

Tony Peck, Angelov's successor as general secretary of the European Baptist Federation, which encompasses 51 unions including Romania, also said the SBC-backed network could prove divisive.

“We would see any attempt to divide the Baptist witness in Europe and the Middle East as undermining missionary effectiveness at a time when we need to unite our Baptist efforts to bear witness to the gospel on our continent,” Peck said.

“I received some assurances from the SBC that this meeting was not intended to start an alternative network to the BWA,” Peck continued. “And therefore, I was surprised to read the reported comments of Morris Chapman that 'the possibility of building a fellowship network of conservative Baptists around the world created a genuine and heartfelt excitement.'”

Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee, said the proposed conservative network poses no threat to BWA.

“Southern Baptist leaders do not envision a formal organization with a constitution and bylaws,” he stated in an e-mail. “We hope to build a network or fellowship with conservative Baptists wherever they exist in the world and strengthen our communication with them.”

Southern Baptist representatives at the meeting were Chapman; O.S. Hawkins, president of Guidestone Financial Resources, the SBC's retirement and benefits agency; retired Houston judge Paul Pressler; Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board; and five SBC seminary leaders–Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Philip Roberts, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Craig Blaising, provost of Southwestern; and Bill Wagner, professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

Posted: 8/19/05

Winding path leads musician to Hardin-Simmons

By David Coffield

Hardin-Simmons University

ABILENE–When he was growing up as the musically talented son of a piano teacher and a police officer, people who knew George Crane never would have predicted the winding path he would follow–through drug abuse and prison before he found God's purpose for his life and a supportive community at Hardin-Simmons University.

Crane showed considerable talent as a young musician in Cleburne. His mother was a university-trained piano teacher, and he was a gifted student.

When his family moved to Fort Worth, where George's father became one of the city's first African-American law enforcement officers, he was encouraged to follow his father onto the police force.

He already had a significant music scholarship in hand, but his father prevailed, and he went to the police academy. He ranked second in his class at the academy, but a series of poor choices changed the course of his life.

He experimented with an illegal substance. A subsequent failed drug test resulted in his expulsion from the police academy.

Crane enrolled in college to study music, but drug abuse undermined any progress he might have made, and he left school in 1979. Crane moved home and fell completely into the drug culture.

Local authorities noticed the frequent comings and goings of known drug users from his house, and it wasn't long before he was arrested. From 1986 until 1994, he was sent to prison four times for drug-related crimes.

“Back in the early days, there was Alcoholics Anonymous, but nothing for drug users. Prison was the answer for addicts,” he said. “I didn't help much. To me, drugs weren't a problem. It was everybody else who had a problem.”

Crane finally found the spiritual connection that was to guide his life while at a transitional facility in Abilene. He credits the behavioral therapists with re-igniting his hunger for God and his desire to experience Christ's forgiveness and love.

He participated in a Walk to Emmaus spiritual retreat, seeking God's presence. Soon, he found his life slowly coming back together. He began to dream again and see possibilities for a future.

“I can't tell you how many times I passed by the Logsdon Chapel at Hardin-Simmons and just stared at the wonderful stained glass window. I believe God was telling me that I needed to do something with the life I have left,” he said.

While working for a local contractor, a last-minute reassignment changed his life. Instead of going out of town on a construction job, Crane was given the task of cleaning carpet in the home of Pam Williford, dean of the Irvin School of Education at Hardin-Simmons.

During a mid-morning break, Crane–who had been eyeing the piano in one of the rooms–asked if he might play it. Astonished at Crane's talent, Williford asked about his training, and his story began to unfold.

He told her about his brief college career and his dream of completing a degree.

Williford told Crane about her affiliation with Hardin-Simmons, and by the end of the day, the two had made arrangements for him to come to the university for admission and enrollment.

Crane entered Hardin-Simmons in 2003, and now, at age 48, he is on-track for graduation in December 2006.

Williford is one of Crane's most enthusiastic supporters.

“He ignites a class discussion with his energy. He is a sponge soaking up every iota of new knowledge and skill in his classes,” she said. “He has endeared himself to students, staff and faculty. He thinks I brought a blessing to him by helping him make his past-due dream a reality. Truth is, he is a huge, huge blessing to me.”

While working toward a degree in history and public relations, he recently composed the sound track and contributed visual artwork for a communications/media class video documentary of the historical legacy of pioneer West Texas rancher Charles Goodnight.

He currently is working with Montie Hubbard Goodin of the Armstrong County Museum, writing the music for a theater production based on the lives of Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight.

Crane credits God and university faculty and staff for his success.

“God inspires me and gives my life meaning. The people at HSU inspire me. They truly believe in giving a person a second chance to build their lives,” he said. “They made it possible for me to be an instrument (for God), to be happy, to be joyful and to have purpose.

“At first, I wanted to hide my past, but so many people seem to know my story and take something positive from it, that it's becoming really obvious to me that my life is supposed to be open to people, so they can see God at work in the life of someone who really made a lot of bad decisions.”

Posted: 8/12/05

Baylor students apply classroom
skills during mission to Kenya

By Haley Wright

Baylor University

Baylor University students from a variety of academic disciplines put skills learned in the classroom to work on the African mission field during the largest mission trip in the university’s history.

More than 140 Baylor students, faculty and staff drawn from the deaf education, education, engineering, journalism, outdoor recreation, social work and telecommunications programs partnered with missionaries and organizations in Kenya.

In addition to the discipline-specific teams, other groups participating in the Africa ’05 mission trip included Baptist Student Ministries and men’s choir, as well as teams focused on leadership, women’s issues and medical needs.

Nancy Pfanner led the deaf education team that worked with the Kenya Christian School for the Deaf in Oyugis, a town about eight hours west of Nairobi. The team’s goal was to make a lasting, positive impact on the children and staff at the school by bringing much-need training, supplies and other resources that could be used for years to come.

Baylor students developed lesson plans and language therapy sessions long before they ever left for the trip, Pfanner explained. Each student was responsible for one “piece of the puzzle,” which was put together with the other components to form a comprehensive educational program for the children, she said. Once in Kenya, they taught by involving the children in recreation, crafts, drama and other activities.

Team members said one of their most memorable experiences was the day they took a field trip to a zoo and to Lake Victoria, located only about a half-hour from the school. For many of the children, it was their first experience riding in a vehicle, seeing a lake, drinking a cold soda and eating pizza—all things most American students take for granted.

The students also led a Sunday worship service with the deaf community.

“I looked around that crowded room and saw our Baylor students playing with, hugging and talking to these children who had been discarded by society because of their deafness,” Pfanner recalled. “God’s love transcends distance, race, culture and disabilities.”

Walter Bradley led the business-engineering team to complete two projects while in Kenya.

Baylor University student David Spann offers a piggyback ride to children in Kenya.

The team first partnered with Harmon Parker, founder and director of Bridging The Gap Africa, to build a 130-foot-long pedestrian bridge over a river that divides the community in West Pokot for most of the year. The bridge will save the villagers more than 2.4 million miles walking as they travel to the market, schools and for medical care. After the dedication of the bridge, Parker told them in Swahili that the bridge was a gift from God and that the team was just God’s means to bring it to them.

The business-engineering team also completed the design, fabrication and installation of a solar panel, lighting system and laptop computer for the Kenya Christian School for the Deaf.

Three water-related projects in East and West Pokot, as well as many projects associated with potential commercialization of coconuts and their husks, were identified while the team was in Kenya, and students and faculty started preparatory work during the summer. The work will expand in the fall, as more students get involved in the projects through course assignments.

Baylor’s Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship will develop business plans in master of business administration classes, using ideas generated on the Africa ’05 trip and the technology developed by the engineering department.

Rebecca Beteet participated in Africa ’05 as a member of the journalism team who was assigned to cover the accomplishments of the leadership team. Members of the journalism team were dispersed among the other 12 teams. Journalism students interviewed pastors, community leaders and other Kenyans with whom Baylor partnered to record the activities and projects changing the lives of the people they encountered.

“The thing that impacted me the most was appreciating what I have,” Beteet said. “When I looked at the Kenyan people, I didn’t feel sorry for them, because even though they were living in cow-dung huts, they lived life with joy. I just wanted to make their lives better in any way that I could. I realized I take so many things for granted.”

Steve Graves, director of university ministries and missions, already has started organizing a return trip to Kenya in 2006. He hopes future trips to Africa and other parts of the world will accomplish the same things he believes happened on this trip.

“I want each trip to be a life-changing experience for students, that they would see how God can use them in their field to make a huge difference in the world, whether that be in a foreign land or in the United States,” he said. “Also, that we would support and encourage indigenous Christians and missionaries in their long-term work. I hope that with future trips, as we make long-term investments, we’ll be able to offer even more in terms of the resources and expertise we bring to the table in each field.”

Posted: 8/19/05

Rainer to lead LifeWay

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)–Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources will vote Sept. 12-13 on the nomination of Thom Rainer to head Southern Baptists' official publishing arm.

Rainer, 50, is founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

If elected by the 59-member board, Rainer will succeed Jimmy Draper, 70, who is retiring after 15 years at the helm of LifeWay, one of the largest Christian publishing companies in the world.

Rainer is expected to assume his new duties Oct. 17 and work alongside Draper until February.

LifeWay, with 124 retail stores, recorded total revenue of more than $428 million in fiscal 2004.

Before pursuing full-time vocational ministry, Rainer studied corporate finance and worked in corporate banking in Atlanta and Anniston, Ala.

Rainer is the author of 16 books.

His recent Breakout Churches examines the characteristics of growing congregations.

A graduate of the University of Alabama, Rainer earned both the master of divinity and Ph.D. degrees at Southern Seminary. Prior to joining the Southern faculty, he served as pastor of churches in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Indiana.

He has served as a church consultant and church-growth conference speaker for several years and is president of Rainer Group Church Consulting.

He also is president of Church Central, a website he formed with Internet publisher NetWorld Alliance that offers training and other resources for church leaders.

“Dr. Rainer has proven himself to be a successful leader of the local church and at the seminary,” said search committee Chairman Rick Evans. “He is a gifted man of authority in the areas of trends within the Christian church and in church growth.”

Rainer and his wife, Nellie Jo, have three sons–Sam, Art and Jess.

Posted: 8/19/05

Mane Mission seeks record to benefit ministry

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

TYLER–A Texas-sized challenge to support a Texas Baptist ministry is making a run at the Guinness Book of World Records Oct. 8-9 in Tyler.

Breckenridge Village, a residential facility for mentally handicapped adults operated by Baptist Child & Family Services, will be a primary beneficiary of the two-day Mane Mission event, focused on taking the world record for “largest horse/pony parade” away from Medellin, Colombia.

Pierre de Wet, whose sister is a resident at Brecken-ridge Village, came up with the idea for Mane Mission when he learned the ministry was trying to get out from under the burden of $3 million in construction debt.

“You need more than money; you need people to know who you are and the great work you do,” he said.

A Breckenridge Village resident gets up close and personal with some of the horses and riders.

In recent months, he has worked to promote Mane Mission throughout the United States and Canada.

In addition to a hoped-for turnout of more than 8,000 horsemen, riding four abreast over a two-plus-mile trail on the Crowded 6 Ranch, there will be a horse-mounted church service, cowboy poets, chuck wagon cooking, a live auction of classic western items and a raffle of collectibles customized with the Mane Mission logo, including a pickup truck. Musical events include a concert by Randy Owen, lead singer of the country-pop group Alabama, and the Tyler Symphony Orchestra.

“Already, riders from California, Florida, New York, Michigan, Tennessee and Missouri have registered, and the support from across Texas has been impressive,” said Baptist Child & Family Services President Kevin Dinnin.

“Many of them aren't Baptists. The only common denominator is a love of horses and a desire to help out a worthy cause. But this would be a great opportunity for Texas Baptist churches, Sunday school classes and youth groups–not to mention riders from BGCT institutions and agencies–to spend a fall weekend and be part of ministering to our mentally handicapped brothers and sisters at the same time.”

The specifics of the ride are fairly rigid, in order for the results to be certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Only individual riders age 14 and older will be part of the official count, but younger riders as well as wagons will be allowed to take part in the spectacle as space allows.

Registration fees, while an important aspect of the fund-raising effort, are optional. According to the Mane Mission website: “While we are trying to break the record, we also are raising funds for mentally challenged citizens. … We understand people will be able to give at different levels, and we want everyone to be able to ride.”

Organizers hope the event will draw more than 20,000 spectators, who also will have the opportunity to make donations.

The Randy Owen concert will be at the Oil Palace auditorium in Tyler, but the parade will take place at the Crowded 6, about 12 miles outside the city.

The 2,000-acre ranch also is available to participants for primitive camping. There are no water or electricity hookups. Fires will be allowed until midnight, as long as they are monitored.

About 500 volunteers, including on-site veterinarians, will provide the staffing to make the event happen.

In addition to Breckenridge Village, some of the proceeds will benefit the Association of Retarded Citizens of Tyler/Smith County.

Complete information and registration about the event is available at www.manemission.org or by calling (903) 526-6263. Information about Breckenridge Village is available at www.breckenridgevillage.com or www. bcfs.net.

Ann, a resident of Breckenridge Village of Tyler, gets ready to ride a law enforcement horse

Posted: 8/19/05

Howard Payne student fulfills
missions calling in Peru

By Jocelyn Delgado

Communications Intern

BROWNWOOD–A Howard Payne University student used his new passion for film to fulfill his calling to a higher passion–Christian missions.

On an 11-week mission trip to Peru, sophomore telecommunications student John Wilson applied his studies by filming two documentary videos for missionaries.

Wilson traveled with a team of 10 missionaries. The group, sponsored by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, worked in Peruvian villages, often living with a family, learning customs and playing soccer with villagers.

One video documents Wilson's travel with fellow missionaries involved in the soccer ministry. The second documents a mission strategy to get churches involved in this particular area by adopting a people group or local village.

“The whole motive is to try to get the Peruvian people in this area to really reach their own people,” Wilson said.

The goal is to enlist sponsoring churches that will make a three- to four-year commitment, promising to evangelize and disciple a people group or village, with the eventual possibility of building a church.

Originally, Wilson applied as a missionary evangelist, not a filmmaker. Through the application process, Wilson mentioned film editing as a skill. The next thing he knew, he spent most of his trip observing through a lens.

At first, it was difficult to get used to being the “video guy on the side,” Wilson said. After awhile, it seemed an advantage, because some felt more comfortable talking to the guy who wasn't out front.

Wilson took a few opportunities to step out from behind the camera to speak to Peruvians directly. Although the team had a translator, Wilson used what Spanish he had learned in school to communicate.

As he walked along the road one day, a man approached him and started speaking to him in Spanish. Wilson said he was confused at first but somehow was able to communicate.

“This is the first real time God has really given me this opportunity to share in Spanish,” he said.

Posted: 8/19/05

Student missionaries see God at work in Thailand

By Meghan Merchant

Communications Intern

KHAO LAK, Thailand–Pictures of missing people nailed to trees serve as a reminder, months later, that the devastation of the Dec. 26 tsunami remains in Thailand.

Yet in the midst of the wreckage, God is moving, said Keith Garner, director of Baptist Student Ministries at Texas Tech University and leader of a Go Now Missions trip to Thailand this summer. Go Now Missions is the Baptist General Convention of Texas collegiate student missions program.

Because of help the Thais received from Christian organizations and missionaries, Garner's team of students from across Texas saw people in the largely Buddhist country say, “Thank you, God” after receiving the food the students brought for them, he said.

A child in Thailand receives much-needed food from Baptists in the United States.

Thais told the 10-person team that many humanitarian aid groups have “dumped stuff” off for them, but the Christian groups were consistent and there for the long haul, said Dawn Younger, a trip participant and former Texas Tech BSM intern.

Help from short-term missionaries and relief workers has “made a huge impact on their being open to Christianity because they see we really care,” Younger said.

Since the tsunami, many churches have sprouted in villages, and missionaries are trying to find locals to teach new believers, she added. While the team was told it probably would not see a return on its work, members saw about 100 families become Christians, Garner said.

After Garner returned home, he learned 16 new believers were baptized in a waterfall, because “the people don't want to be near the ocean.”

“There's a massive harvest taking place,” Garner said. “I think it will explode in the coming weeks and months.”

The loss and despair from the tsunami have left the people searching for peace. Garner told of a man who lost 11 family members in the chaos but had found peace in Christ. He was eager to show the team his Bible and wanted someone to disciple him.

Kyle Roach, a student at Texas Tech, helps deliver rice to a refugee camp in Thailand.

The team distributed food and dry goods to refugee camps through a local relief foundation.

For many Thais, this was their only food source outside of fruit from trees. Despite the daily rain showers, team members brought supplies to villages, a gesture Thais saw as “an act of love because they saw us putting ourselves in harm's way to minister to them,” Garner said.

Most of the Thai people have some form of housing now, although of a far lesser quality than before the tsunami, Garner said.

Multiple families share one-bedroom shacks. And while reconstruction has begun, the beach, which he said still was littered with clothing, shoes, pacifiers and debris, will most likely never be the same.

More than the physical needs they saw, Younger said, many of the Thai people needed someone to talk to and share their story.

Her team visited a village that had not yet been reached by any humanitarian aid groups.

“One of the main things they said they needed was just someone to spend time with them,” she said. “They wanted someone to be there for them and listen to them as part of the healing process.”

Months after a devastating tsunami struck South Asia, its impact still is readily apparent.