Posted: 3/11/05

'Storying' and a slower pace
reaching Ugandan villagers

By Sue Sprenkle

International Mission Board

KAABONG, Uganda—Looking up from his daily chores, a village elder saw a group of men in the distance picking their way across the dry, rocky terrain. The presence of a stranger among them attracted his attention, but he continued working.

A few days later, he saw the same group walking and talking with the stranger.

“Again and again and again I saw this group of men walking past my village,” Longole said. “I had to know what their purpose was.”

So, one day, he went early to the walking path and sat waiting for the men to pass. When International Mission Board missionary John Witte and two companions came upon Longole, they stopped to chat.

“What happens when you pass by?” Longole asked.

Witte, a Texan from First Baptist Church in Midland, said he walked from village to village teaching about God.

Without hesitation, the village elder responded: “Is it so important that you should share with me and my village? We will listen.”

Witte, together with other two men from the area, soon began teaching the Bible through chronological Bible storying in the village of Kajiri. As the group began learning the Bible through oral stories, Longole said it was the first time he had heard Jesus’ name.

One year later, Longole and many others made their faith in Jesus Christ known at a special ceremony drawing together surrounding villages to celebrate the end of the first round of chronological Bible storying. The small group was baptized in a makeshift baptistry—a canvas bathtub filled with water.

The baptisms marked the special day when everyone gathered to eat and retell all of the Bible stories they had learned during the past year. The villagers also performed songs, dramas and dances they made up depicting the different Bible stories.

Longole and other new Christians noted God sent his word to them through a messenger “on foot.” Witte walked from village to village to model how to plant churches in a way reproducible by the Dodoth people, who live in the remote northern province of Uganda. There are not many cars in this area, nor many bicycles. Most people walk from place to place.

“I learned earlier in my career that when I drove my car, it modeled that was the best way to plant churches,” Witte said. “So, when I asked the guys I had been discipling to start planting churches, they couldn’t do it because they didn’t have a vehicle. They were not willing to walk. After all, the teacher never walked.

“When I started walking to villages, the people saw that they could walk to another village and teach them a story.”

Witte admits that initially this method is slow in getting churches started. However, in this part of Uganda, the Dodoth are getting a vision for telling others about Christ. Longole explains that telling someone about Christ is as easy as walking down the path to the next village.

“One time, I went to visit another area. I walked there. I took a tape of Bible stories to listen to while I was gone for the night,” he said. “I sat outside playing the tape and people gathered all around me to listen. I heard them saying, ‘This is true. This is true.’

“They asked me to come back and to teach them more truths. Now, I walk there to tell them the stories that I’ve learned in my own village. God changed my heart, and he is changing their hearts. I will keep walking to other villages to tell them about the word of the Lord.”

Posted: 3/11/05

Influence of Decalogue on U.S. law debated

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)—The Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of government displays of the Ten Commandments, and one local official thinks he knows why such displays are legal.

“American law is all about God,” said Allan Watson, mayor of Monroe County, Tenn. Watson, a member of First Baptist Church in Madisonville, Tenn., is fighting a legal battle to keep a display of the commandments in the county’s courthouse. The dispute is on hold pending the outcome of two similar cases argued before the high court.

In a more nuanced way, many other defenders of Decalogue displays assert the legality of such monuments — saying the commandments played such an integral role in the formation of Western legal codes that commemorating them in courthouses or other government buildings is natural.

 “Justices of this court, decisions of lower courts and the writings of countless historians and academics have long recognized the significant influence that the Ten Commandments have had on the development of American law,” wrote Acting Solicitor General Paul Clement in a brief submitted to the Supreme Court. Clement, representing President Bush’s administration, was arguing in favor of Ten Commandments displays in the McCreary and Pulaski County, Ky., courthouses.

Likewise, during oral arguments before the Supreme Court March 2 on that case and another Ten Commandments case, some members of the high court themselves made similar statements.

“Of course it (our system of laws) stemmed from the religious beliefs of those who came to the United States,” said Justice Steven Breyer, addressing the attorney for the group suing for the Kentucky display’s removal.

And the Kentucky counties included an explanatory document in their display, claiming “The Ten Commandments provide the moral background of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of our legal tradition.”

But those presumptions may be incorrect, according to some church-state and history experts.

“On the contrary, the historical record reveals that: the influences on early American law are largely secular; any early religious influences declined during the nation’s founding; the American government’s central founding documents have nothing to do with the commandments; and, to the extent that the Ten Commandments’ non-religious precepts are consistent with current law, those precepts are universal (and even predate the Ten Commandments),” wrote David Friedman, representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky in their lawsuit against the counties, in his brief to the high court.

In fact, according to Yeshiva University law professor Marci Hamilton, early American law grew almost entirely out of English Common Law—which, in turn, was pre-Christian in its origins.

“The development of the Common Law grew out of the Roman Empire,” she said. “So, the notion that you can identify at one point in time the primary influence any one set of commands had on our law—it’s just indefensible.”

Hamilton, a Presbyterian, specializes in church-state law and American history. She once served as a law clerk to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a moderate who is considered a crucial “swing vote” on church-state cases.

Hamilton said a quick reading of the commandments themselves makes her case. The first five laws—demanding the worship of God alone, barring graven images, prohibiting taking God’s name in vain, observing the Sabbath, and honoring one’s parents “so that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee”—are explicitly religious in nature.

And, she noted, although the last five commandments —banning murder, adultery, theft, perjury and covetousness —aren’t explicitly religious, many of them have parallels in virtually every other legal system in the history of humankind. That includes law codes, such as the famous Code of Hammurabi, that predate the Decalogue.

“There are all these different influences that contributed to what we have now,” Hamilton said, “and this attempt to own the culture” by asserting that one religious tradition was the primary or even a significant source of the laws “is indefensible—it’s hubris, unfortunately.”

Hamilton’s argument is similar to those found in friend-of-the-court briefs submitted in the case—including one that University of Texas Law School professor Doug Laycock penned for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

But Brigham Young University law professor Brett Scharffs said that, even given those considerations, the Ten Commandments still are an important symbol of the development of law in the Western tradition. Though American law may not show a direct linear descent from the Decalogue, he said, “I think the Ten Commandments are very much in the background in the creation of the American government as an example of lawmaking or lawgiving.”

They are important to legal history, Scharffs asserted, because “Moses as a lawgiver is an important early example of what law is or what law means.”

However, he acknowledged, there’s a reason that the Code of Hammurabi and the Seven Pillars of Islam aren’t commemorated in scores of government buildings around the nation like the commandments are.

“I think the people who donate (such monuments) are interested in communicating the religious message. I think they’re making a point about what they believe to be eternal and important,” Scharffs said. “So, if we’re going to say they’re going to be displayed because of their historical significance, I don’t think it’s a really accurate account of the reason they’re displayed.”

Connie Davis Bushey contributed to this story

Posted: 3/10/05

Newspaper profiles faith of Judge Roy Sparkman

By Erin Curry

Baptist Press

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (BP)–Roy Sparkman has developed a reputation as an honest, fair district judge who expects sufficient preparation from those who bring cases to his courtroom in Wichita Falls.

Last fall, the Texas Lawyer newspaper portrayed him as someone whose Christian faith helps him measure with a straight stick.

“I was a little surprised that so much of the article focused on my church membership, Christian background and concerns lawyers may have had concerning that aspect prior to my taking the bench,” said Sparkman.  “At the same time, I took it as a compliment that they believed I had lived my life in such a manner that they knew I was a Christian and sought to live by Christian principles.”

The article said Sparkman is a “bottom-line, big-picture person” who doesn’t want to waste anyone’s time in the courtroom.

 “He runs a tight ship,” Stephen Bjordammen, a lawyer familiar with Sparkman’s style, told Texas Lawyer. “When he says 8:30, you need to be there at 8:30. When he says, ‘Let’s take a 10-minute break,’ it’s a 10-minute break.”

Sparkman, 53, was a trial lawyer for more than two decades and won the bench for the 78th district in 2000.

Stephen Briley, a lawyer in Wichita Falls, told Texas Lawyer he was concerned before Sparkman took the bench that he would not be fair because “he is a conservative, a Republican and a lifelong defense lawyer.” But his assessment changed after watching Sparkman at work.

 “You get a fair shake in Roy’s court,” he said.

Once the article was published, Sparkman said he received feedback from several friends who agreed with the positive statements made about him. Some Christian friends appreciated the fact that his faith was included.

 “I got the impression that some people were encouraged by the fact that a Christian could stand on principle, yet still make it in the legal world and be respected both as a professional and as a Christian,” he said.

Sparkman, a deacon at First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, said the foundations of his faith were laid by parents who taught him the importance of daily devotions, church attendance and other keys to a close walk with God.

“I seek to have a quiet time daily, attend church regularly, teach a Sunday school class for newlyweds and pray daily for wisdom in the decisions I make,” he said.

As a judge, Sparkman often makes decisions that deeply impact people’s lives, such as which parent will be allowed to raise a child, whether someone will go to prison for the rest of his life or whether someone will experience financial ruin as a result of his ruling.

“In my mind, all of those types of decisions necessitate a foundation of values and a source of wisdom that is much deeper and more encompassing than what the world can offer,” he said. “Through the experiences over the years, the confidence and assurance that I have received through my faith and staying in the Bible and receiving regular Bible teaching have proven invaluable in going through difficult days, difficult challenges, difficult decisions and even sometimes attacks on my faith.”

Sparkman recalled an experience from his time as a practicing attorney when both sides had fought aggressively in court and his client had won. The opposing counsel then told Sparkman, “And I thought you were supposed to be a Christian.”

 “That was a very personal attack to me, it hurt deeply, and yet I did not believe I had done anything ‘un-Christian,’ so I ultimately took it as a compliment that the lawyer thought that was the worst thing he could say to hurt me,” Sparkman said.

In 1992, a defeat after his first run for district judge caused him to rely even more intently on God, Sparkman said. The loss was public, he was mentally and physically tired, and he started immediately to second-guess and wonder why God would allow him to lose after he felt led to run.

 “I still had my faith, but I found myself discouraged,” he said. “At that point, God brought me to Isaiah 40:31, ‘… but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.’”

Over time, Sparkman realized that the loss was in fact something positive because more time in private practice benefited him financially, he was able to accomplish some things professionally that he would not have done as a judge, and the path was cleared for him to run unopposed in 2000.

 “Through that verse I was able to wait until another time and be renewed, and things worked out better than I could have imagined,” he said.

While he said he does not feel worthy of being made an example of, Sparkman acknowledged the need for more Christians in the marketplace, those who will stand up for Christ in the midst of a society that questions their faith—sometimes aggressively.

“In that greater context of where many Christians perceive our society and nation today, not so much as a compliment to me, but in general, I think Christians are very excited to see Christians that have managed to succeed in some challenging areas like the legal field but still maintain integrity and Christian principles,” he said.

Posted: 3/10/05

Hestorff says less is more
in ministry to 'Millennials'

By Lance Wallace

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (ABP) — Sometimes the best way to minister to youth is by offering them less, said veteran youth minister Sam Hestorff of Bayshore Baptist Church in Tampa, Fla.

Youth ministry often contributes to the overwhelmingly busy lives of young people, Hestorff said.

He advised youth at his church to do more by doing less. He reduced youth time on Wednesdays to 30 minutes and started a study hall with church members as tutors.

Citing statistics from his doctoral research at Fuller Theological Seminary, Hestorff said Millennials —the generational cohort that includes today’s youth—average 70 hours a week of school and extra-curricular activities.

“They are getting so fragmented, so compartmentalized, that they don’t see how it all fits together,” Hestorff said. “The object of adolescence is to figure out who they are. They don’t have any time to sit down and figure out who they are.”

This time crunch causes teens to give up church and youth group activities. By reducing the time required of Bayshore’s youth, he said, he actually increased their involvement. “At least I get to see them now,” Hestorff said. “Before, they weren’t even coming on Wednesdays.”

During a recent workshop devoted to youth ministry, sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Hestorff cited social trends among Millennials, those born between 1980 and 2002. He applied the trends to ministry, offering ways to shape church programs for youth in a contemporary setting.

“In the ‘80s, if you built it, they came,” said Hestorff, who is also the president of Professional Ministry Consultants Inc. “It’s not true any more.”

Hestorff identified six trends: Millennials are too busy, all alone, stressed out, believers in relative truths, remaining in the period of adolescence longer, and connecting to peers through “clustering.”

Bayshore has a small-group-based model in which the teens have a group meeting in a home each week led by adult volunteers. Hestorff said the smaller group attracts young people because they are more accountable to their peers, and the groups are formed around natural affinities. And by utilizing volunteers, Hestorff has expanded his ministry.

“The church-growth movement killed the church,” Hestorff said. “As a result of that, we have church hopping. The attitude is ‘I’m going to the biggest and best thing out there.’“

The loneliness trend springs from feelings of parental and institutional abandonment, according to Hestorff. To combat it, churches and parents must not abdicate their responsibilities just because teens complain about them. Parents and youth ministers must stay involved in the lives of teenagers, Hestorff said.

The isolation Millennials feel, plus their busyness, leads to overwhelming stress, the third trend Hestorff identified. “This is the first generation of kids who are suffering from stress-related illnesses.”

Their stress comes from school, biological sources and family conflict, Hestorff said. Effective youth ministers have to deal with a range of stress that may come from all three sources.

The Millennials’ worldview is much broader than that of teens even 10 years ago. Hestorff pointed to the influence of the Internet and a media-driven culture that is more multicultural, multireligious and multisensory. All of these inputs make it difficult for a teenager today to accept one, universal truth.

“When I was growing up, I barely knew anyone who was Methodist,” Hestorff said. “Now kids have friends who are Muslim. That’s how they come up with the attitude of ‘your truth may not be my truth.’“

With the onset of puberty getting earlier and earlier and the age of adulthood moving later and later, Millennials will spend a longer time in this uncertain age of adolescence than previous generations, Hestorff said.  From a programming standpoint, churches have to see this trend and reach out to young adults across the full age range of 10 to “twentysomething.”

The final trend is how Millennials run around together. Hestorff called the new method of peer-group selection “clustering.” It begins at mid-adolescence and the goal is to be accepted. A cluster is usually no more than five to eight students and tends to be gender specific. A cluster is formed around a similar self-concept and parental attachment, Hestorff said.

“Kids are no longer looking for a group to hang around with,” he said. “They are looking for families.”

Posted: 3/10/05

Court rules funding OK for Americorps students to teach religion courses

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a program that is part of President Bush’s plan to fund social services through religious charities.

The U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled the Corporation for National and Community Service does not violate the First Amendment by allowing college students teaching in the AmeriCorps program to choose to teach at religious schools—even if they teach religion courses.

A three-judge panel of the court unanimously overturned a lower court’s decision that said the practice creates the appearance of government endorsement of religion, even if program participants obey regulations that require them not to count the time they spend teaching religion.

The appeals court also ruled that a $400 fee the government program pays the participating schools is legal, even if the money goes directly to a religious school.

“Individual participants who elect to teach religion in addition to secular subjects do so only as a result of ‘their own genuine and independent private choice,’“ wrote Circuit Judge Raymond Randolph in the court’s opinion.

“The AmeriCorps program creates no incentives for participants to teach religion. They may count only the time they spend engaged in non-religious activities toward their [1,700] service-hours requirement,” he continued. “And if they do teach religious subjects, they are prohibited from wearing the AmeriCorps logo when they are doing so.”

The decision was the result of a lawsuit that the American Jewish Congress filed against the Corporation for National and Community Service—the AmeriCorps program’s sponsoring organization—and the University of Notre Dame, which operated an AmeriCorps program that placed students in Catholic schools.

Last year, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled the program unconstitutional, because a “reasonable observer” would conclude that the AmeriCorps teachers had governmental imprimatur for all subjects they taught, even if they didn’t count the religious classes in their hours. She also said the direct government payments to religious schools violate the First Amendment.

But the appeals court said AmeriCorps has sufficient safeguards in place to assure that government money is not being spent on religious instruction, and that the payments to religious schools come as a result of the private choice of the AmeriCorps program participants rather than direct governmental action.

“This is a key victory for the faith-based and community initiatives, but even better it’s an extraordinary victory for the poor children who are served,” said Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in a conference call with reporters shortly after the decision was handed down.

But a spokesman for a group that opposes Bush’s plan and filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case said there are plenty more legal battles ahead over the issue.

“This is one skirmish in a much larger legal battle, and there are other cases pending in courts around the country that will give us a much better picture of where the judges stand on this issue,” said Joe Conn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. “The AmeriCorps program, it seems to me, is set up quite differently from most faith-based programs. … So, this just isn’t going to be a good test.”

Posted: 3/10/05

Kim refuses to criticize SBC's alternative to BWA

By Trennis Henderson

Kentucky Western Recorder

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (ABP)—Korean pastor Billy Kim, president of the Baptist World Alliance, declined to criticize a Southern Baptist plan to bring “like-minded Baptists” together to form an alternative to BWA.

Kim said there are enough human needs around the world for all Baptists to address. Concerning a planned July meeting in Poland between Southern Baptist Convention leaders and sympathetic Baptist groups, Kim said, “Let’s pray for them. … We hope they can help other struggling Baptists around the world. We don’t want to alienate any Baptists for any personal reason.”

Last June, the Southern Baptist Convention withdrew its membership and financial support from BWA, an international fellowship of 210 mostly national Baptist unions. Southern Baptist leaders complained the alliance is too influenced by “liberal” Baptists, including the rival Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which recently gained BWA membership.

Southern Baptists set aside some of their financial support withdrawn from BWA—until recently $425,000 a year—to establish an alternative organization of “like-minded” Baptists worldwide.

Southern Baptist leaders confirmed the July meeting in Poland, which conflicts with BWA’s 100th anniversary celebration, but downplayed its importance.

“To call the meeting with some of the European Baptist leaders an ‘organizational’ meeting would be a mischaracterization,” said Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee.

BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz called the Poland meeting “a slap in the face to Baptists in the rest of the world.”

Kim, a conservative widely praised by SBC leaders, said Baptists around the globe “ought to be working together to help out struggling Baptists who are in the minority.”

Kim, who retired in December after 45 years as pastor of Central Baptist Church in Suwon, South Korea, will conclude his five-year presidency of BWA this summer at the Baptist World Congress in England.

“The places I’ve been, they’re very, very positive about BWA, and they also are still working with the Southern Baptist Convention,” he said.

Posted: 3/9/05

BaptistWay Bible Series for March 20

Holy living calls for holy relationships

Leviticus 19:1-4, 9-18, 32-37

By Wayne Smith

First Baptist Church, Lamesa

The disorganized rabble Moses led out of Egypt was not prepared to function as God's covenant nation. So Moses, following direction from God, led the Israelites to Mount Sinai. Here they built a portable house of worship and received the laws to shape them into a holy nation–set apart for God's purpose.

The first lesson in this study covered the ritualistic sacrificial system and how acts of worship demonstrate obedience to God. The second lesson dealt with the Day of Atonement on which the nation of Israel was annually reconciled to God. This week's lesson is taken from Leviticus 19, a part of the “Holiness Code” (Leviticus 17-26).

The Holiness Code was to teach the Israelites how to separate themselves from the pagan practices of their neighbors. Without consistent steady guidance and vigilant leadership, the Israelites adopted and incorporated practices which interfered with their worship of Jehovah.

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

God foresaw the need for the Holiness Code when he told the Israelites: “You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in Canaan, where I am bringing you” (18:3).

God reminded Moses in Leviticus 19:1 to “be holy because I am holy.” Israel not only was required to worship a holy God, but also to practice holiness in interpersonal relationships.

Becoming holy for God's purpose requires obedience to God's directions for relationships with people. The Israelites were to be set apart to be used by God, but they were not to function in isolation. They were to work within a society centered on worship of God and developed through people.

They were not to function in isolation. Implementing God's plan of redemption for the whole world could not be accomplished by withdrawing from the world. Moral behavior demonstrated obedience to God's plan for using Israel.

The Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai, are the foundation for God's covenant relationship with Israel. The commandments define both the duties to God and toward other people. The passages we focus on from Leviticus 19 reflect some of the Ten Commandments given to Moses as the basis for holiness in relationship to God and with one's fellow man. A reading of Exodus 20:1-17 is effective preparation for studying Leviticus 19.

Leviticus 19:1-2

Israel was a holy nation because God himself is holy. The Israelites worshipped God as “the Lord your God,” and they were told to have no other God but Jehovah. Worshipping a holy God required them to be holy themselves–totally obedient and set apart for his purpose.

Leviticus 19:3

The Israelites were to respect their fathers and mothers. God has instituted the family system as the method through which society would be established. Respect for parents is vital to the family system.

Leviticus 19:3-4

The nation of Israel was to observe the Sabbath and not make idols or gods of cast metal. Respect for a holy God demanded nothing be allowed to come before or profane God's name.

Leviticus 19:9-10

The Israelites were to feed the poor and the alien by leaving gleanings in the field. These unfortunate people were taken care of without being forced to beg for food.

Leviticus 19:11

Theft of property was violation of the law. Deception practiced by swearing falsely in God's name was condemned. Individual property rights were to be respected, and a holy character was not to be compromised.

Leviticus 19:13-18

Defrauding or robbing a neighbor was condemned. Ethical treatment of the physically challenged was directed. Fair judgment is required for all people–rich or poor. Slander, endangerment and hatred are listed as hindrances to relationships.

Leviticus 19:18

Jesus himself provided the commentary on this verse in Mark 12:28-31 when he stated the admonition to “love your neighbor as yourself” was the second-most important commandment.

Leviticus 19:32-34

Respect for the aged and love for aliens are evidence of obedience to God through caring for others.

Leviticus 19:35-36

Honest business practices show respect for God through ethical treatment of people in the marketplace.

Christ himself gave us the motivation for carrying out the requirements for holy behavior. In Mark 12:28-31, Jesus answered a question about which commandment was the most important. He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (v. 30). Then he said: “The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (v. 31).

Application

Moses was following God's direction in the Sinai wilderness for instructing the Israelites in how to live a holy lifestyle. Since we do not live under the same conditions and we have the written word of God to guide us, we may feel superior to the Israelites. We may think we have incorporated the teachings of the Bible into our thoughts and actions and further study of the Old Testament record is not necessary. Thus, we fail to identify with the Israelites.

We need to realize our moral behavior reflects our relationship with God, whether we are an ancient Israelite wandering in the desert or a modern entrepreneur working in an electronically driven society.

Interpersonal relationships are vital for the fulfillment of God's will for our lives. We cannot exist in a vacuum, separated from people. We grow through our relationships with God and with other people. We open our lives up to God's direction by forming relationships with other people. Their needs can challenge us, and sometimes even their mistreatment of us can motivate us.

Discussion question

How does my treatment of other people reveal my love for God?