Posted: 2/04/05

Steven Curtis Chapman and family view adoption as the 'visible gospel'

By Shannon Baker

Baptist Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Award-winning Christian songwriter and recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman remembers his “aha moment,” when the gospel of Jesus Christ became amazingly clear to him.

“I have spent most of my life wrestling with the depth of Scripture–which is endless and eternal–with how I am to grab a hold of it with just the vapor of my life,” said Chapman, a celebrated Christian artist with 47 Dove Awards, four Grammy Awards, an American Music Award and 41 No. 1 radio hits.

Despite all his success in the music industry, for him, the “aha moment” came when he and his wife, Mary Beth, adopted their daughter Shaohannah from China.

“Until we adopted Shaohannah, I didn't fully understand the depth of what Jesus has done for us,” Chapman said. Without Christ “I was hopeless, without a future, without a name. … Then Jesus came into my life, gave me hope and a future. He gave me a new name.”

Calling adoption the “visible gospel,” a term he borrows from Christian author John Piper, Chapman said, “Adoption is the perfect picture of what God has done for each of us in making us his children through Christ.”

Pausing to let it all sink in, Chapman added: “God's done amazing things in our family. Without a doubt, adoption has been the most profound experience in God.”

The Chapmans experienced the miracle of adoption through the prompting of their oldest daughter, Emily. Already with three children of their own–Emily, Caleb and Will–the Chapmans adopted Shaohannah, who is now 5, in March 2000. Three years later, they brought home Stevey Joy Ru, now 2, and in the summer of 2004, they adopted Maria Sue, age 1. All three adopted daughters came from China.

In addition, the Chapmans began “Shaohannah's Hope” a nonprofit organization based in McLean, Va., that provides information and assistance to people who want to adopt but lack the financial resources.

The children of singer Steven Curtis Chapman pose for a group photo. Pictured are (top row) Will (12), Emily (18) and Caleb (13). They are holding (left to right) Stevey Joy Ru (2), Shaohannah (5) and Maria Sue (1).

“There are a lot of people who have room at their table but not room in their wallet for another family member,” Chapman acknowledged. “Yet there are roughly 34 million orphans around the world.”

“If God can adopt us into his family and call us his own, it is our hope that others consider following his example by adopting a 'fatherless' child into their families.”

To raise awareness about adoption, the Chapmans co-wrote their first children's picture book, Shaoey & Dot: Bug Meets Bundle. This first installment in a series about adoption retells Shaohannah's adoption adventure in a whimsical way. A portion of the proceeds of the book, distributed through Thomas Nelson, will go to support Shaohannah's Hope.

Chapman concedes the adoptions also have inspired his newest project, All Things New, his 14th record with Sparrow Records. The CD debuted in September.

The Chapmans' efforts have been noticed. They were honored in the Angels in Adoption Program, sponsored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization is dedicated to raising awareness about the tens of thousands of foster children in the United States and the millions of orphans around the world in need of permanent, safe and loving homes.

Angels in Adoption award winners are selected by members of Congress to represent their states at a Washington-based gala given in their honor.

The congressional institute also is a founding partner of National Adoption Day, a collective national effort to raise awareness about children in foster care who are waiting to find permanent families.

Now in its fifth year, National Adoption Day has celebrated adoption and has made the dreams of thousands of children come true by finalizing their adoptions.

National Adoption Day was held Nov. 20, when courts, judges, attorneys, child welfare agencies and advocates nationwide finalized the adoptions of thousands of children from foster care and celebrated and honored all families who adopt.

Since its inception in 2000, National Adoption Day has grown from events in eight jurisdictions to 50 states. That year, the Alliance for Children's Rights created and organized the first National Adoption Day with the support of the Freddie Mac Foundation and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

National Adoption Day now is sponsored by a coalition of national partners–the Alliance for Children's Rights, Casey Family Services, Children's Action Network, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the Freddie Mac Foundation and Target Corporation.

The growing support is necessary because about 542,000 U.S. children live in foster care. More than 126,000 of those are available for adoption–waiting for someone to discover the “visible gospel.”

Posted: 2/04/05

Christian Life Commission will retain familiar name

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–The Christian Life Commission gets to keep the name it has carried for nearly 55 years, the committee drafting new bylaws for the Baptist General Convention of Texas has decided.

The governance committee had considered Christian Life Council as an alternative to Christian Life Commission. The “council” language more effectively connected with the new governance structure, but some Texas Baptists believed the current “commission” name should be kept because of its familiarity around the state and its history of effective ministry said Wesley Shotwell, chairperson of the committee.

The committee decided the “wisest course of action was to keep the name Christian Life Commission because of its historic recognition across the state,” Shotwell said.

The panel had planned to conduct a scientific survey to test the name's recognition, but after more discussion members “decided that a survey was not the wisest use of time and money,” he said.

On another matter, the committee established a three-person subcommittee to analyze concerns about and possible alternatives to a proposed means of electing BGCT Executive Board members. Some members expressed concern that West Texas would not receive adequate participation under the proposed plan.

Subcommittee members are Mitch Wilson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Shallowater, near Lubbock; Jim Nelson, an Austin attorney; and David Nabors, treasurer and chief financial officer of the BGCT.

The subcommittee decision came after “healthy discussion about the issue of drawing sector lines and how to give people the best opportunity to have their voices heard,” Shotwell said. “We wanted to be sure we had completely thought out all of the ramifications of how we select Executive Board members.

“We want to make sure it's as fair as possible, but it will not be perfect.”

A proposed BGCT constitution approved on first reading at the convention's annual meeting in November 2004 calls for a system of electing board members based on resident Baptist membership in counties.

Because of the sparse population of Baptists in West and South Texas, an equal division based on membership would create large geographic “sectors” in those two regions from which board members would be elected.

In order to take effect, the proposed constitution must be approved at this year's annual meeting, Nov. 14-15 in Austin.

Posted: 2/04/05

Former Texas pastor finds
Hong Kong a fertile field for evangelism

By Orville Scott

Special to the Baptist Standard

Harry Lucenay, former pastor of First Baptist churches of Longview and San Antonio, said he witnessed and preached to more non-Christians in his first year as pastor of Kowloon International Baptist Church of Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, than during 30 years as a pastor in the United States.

Lucenay faces a challenge of trying to teach, preach and communicate with people speaking more than 50 dialects.

Texas Baptists Jim and Mary Humphries, former missionaries to Vietnam, described the scene at the church on a typical Sunday morning.

Worshippers crowd in for both the contemporary and traditional services. Since the sanctuary cannot begin to accommodate them all, the church uses other available space as overflow rooms.

“After the service, some worshippers make their way toward home in China, Hong Kong Island or down the streets and alleys of Kowloon City,” Humphries said. “Others linger to talk with church members, seek counsel and hungrily try to learn as much as they can about Jesus.”

Many “seekers” make an appointment to visit with Lucenay during the week. A British student visiting for the third straight Sunday said she had been inside a church previously only four times –when she was baptized as an infant and the three times she served as a bridesmaid at weddings.

She attended a Sunday school class taught by the pastor's wife, Nancy Lucenay.

On Monday, the phone rang. Mrs. Lucenay exclaimed to her husband, “Our British friend has just accepted Jesus as her Savior and wants to talk about baptism.”

Recently, the church's deacons received names and information about 30 people who were inquiring about Christianity. One deacon, who welcomed the task of contacting the people he had been assigned, said, “This is what I thought deacons were supposed to be about when I became a deacon.”

A young businessman whose son is physically challenged wanted to thank the church for ministering to his family. He installed video transmitting and receiving equipment in the sanctuary and overflow rooms.

“As we watched students and families responding to the ministry of Kowloon International Church, we couldn't help thinking that the seekers are looking for a family to give them strength,” Humphries said. “They have found that in the Kowloon church.”

Posted: 2/04/05

Did God send tsunamis to punish persecutors of Christians?

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS–Experiencing God author Henry Blackaby believes the tsunamis that hit South Asia were God's punishment of an area where Christians have experienced particularly intense persecution. But some missions experts with links to the region question both his theology and his assertions about persecution.

Blackaby told a Kentucky pastors' conference workshop he recognized God's hand of judgment in the tsunami after he saw a map published by Voice of the Martyrs showing areas of intense persecution of Christians worldwide.

Many of the areas highlighted on that map “match to a T” the tsunami's impact, he said.

He later told a reporter for Baptist Press: “If you read the Old Testament, especially, God is very concerned how the nations treat his covenant people. The nations that persecuted, offended and killed his people, God came down and destroyed them. And he's the same God today. He's just as concerned about his people.”

Voice of the Martyrs spokesman Tom White expressed appreciation for Blackaby's Experiencing God materials, but he took issue with the author regarding the tsunami.

“We do not agree with Blackaby's suggestion regarding the tsunami,” he said. “We do not agree that God was behind the deaths. Our Indonesia staff is rushing to deliver material and spiritual aid to the Muslims in that region. God desires all men be saved.”

The idea of God using natural disasters as instruments of punishment is “a biblical concept,” said Todd Johnson, director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Some Christians in South Asia have expressed the idea that the tsunamis were God's punishment for some wrongdoing, he noted.

But Johnson urged caution before definitively linking any natural disaster to divine wrath–particularly without the benefit of long-range hindsight.

“It's so difficult to know,” he said. “We don't want to write God out of the equation, as the secular world would do. But the problem lies in interpreting an event” either as God's judgment on evildoers or as a “wake-up call” to Christians.

Keith Parks, who served 14 years as a missionary in Indonesia before becoming president of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board and later coordinator for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions, agreed it's risky for Christians to try to interpret natural calamities as God's instruments for accomplishing his plan.

“My personal view is that God's way of working is so far above us and his thoughts are so far beyond our thoughts that we're on very uncertain biblical ground when we try to define God's purpose in natural disasters,” he said.

He pointed to the New Testament account in which Jesus asked whether some Galileans who were killed by Pilate or some people on whom a tower in Siloam fell were worse sinners than anyone else.

“It's hard for me to believe that these folks (in South Asia) were the most sinful people in the world,” he said.

Ebbie Smith, a Christian ethicist and missiologist who taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, agreed the Bible teaches God has used natural disasters at times to punish wrongdoing.

But he added: “Unless God says it's so, it's not our place to interpret it that way. Other parts of the world are likely as guilty as those that were hit, but it's not appropriate for us to make those judgments.”

Smith expressed concern that Blackaby's remarks would reinforce the negative ideas many people in South Asia have about Christians, and his comments could make Christian work in the region more difficult.

Blackaby needs to understand that “statements like this have consequences, and in a world of instant communication, words like this live on” and fuel conflict between Christians and other religions, said Charles Kimball, a professor of world religions and Christian mission at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Viewing the suffering caused by the tsunami as divine retribution for the persecution of Christians represents “horrifically bad theology,” said Kimball, chairman of the university's religion department.

“We hear that kind of–I don't know whether to call it dreadful or ridiculous–theological pronouncement every time there's a natural disaster,” he said. “I find it difficult to square with any understanding of God I can imagine or with how the Bible portrays God.”

Kimball pointed to the Christian communities in parts of South Asia the tsunami left devastated, the continuing threat of disease and the specter of orphaned children becoming victims of sex-traffickers.

“Is that how God works? For someone to suggest that God would bring about this suffering just to make a point–I find that offensive,” he said.

For some observers, the numbers just don't add up. Even if God either caused or allowed the disaster in South Asia to accomplish some corrective purpose, Johnson pointed out that while some persecution of Christians has occurred in the region, the most intense persecution was not in the areas hit hardest by the tsunami.

“It just doesn't make quantitative sense in that respect,” he said.

Indeed, reports on the Voice of the Martyrs website indicate persecution of Christians in three countries hit by the tsunamis–Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. But ethnic strife between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia has been centered in portions of the country not greatly affected by the tsunami rather than in the hard-hit Aceh province, which is almost entirely Muslim.

Aceh province is the only part of Indonesia specifically authorized to implement Islamic law, but the U.S. State Department in its report on the country last year noted “no criminal sanctions for violators … either Muslims or non-Muslims.”

The U.S. Commission on International Freedom listed only two tsunami-affected nations–India and Burma–as “countries of particular concern” regarding religious freedom abuses.

Burma suffered minor losses from the tsunami compared to other neighboring countries. And the commission was divided in its decision to name India as a country of particular concern because conditions appeared to improve there after the ruling fundamentalist Hindu party lost in the most recent national elections.

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, served on the U.S. Commission on International Freedom at the time the group issued its listing of countries of particular concern. Land was unavailable for comment.

Regardless whether persecution is more intense in South Asia than in other parts of the world, Stan Parks, international liaison with the Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated WorldconneX missions network, said he would “categorically disagree” with Blackaby's assessment.

“If anybody deserves judgment, it's Christians who hoard the gospel and who lavish God's blessings on themselves with bigger buildings and finer homes,” he said, adding if God gave people what they deserved, American Christians would have more to fear than non-Christians in South Asia.

Parks recently returned from a nine-day trip to Indonesia–where he served 10 years–to meet with Christian leaders, as well as business and governmental representatives.

He acknowledged some Christians in the region saw the tsunami as evidence of God's wrath. But they viewed it in terms of divine judgment on themselves for not sharing the gospel more diligently with their non-Christian neighbors.

Parks noted that people around the globe who haven't heard the gospel already are in the middle of “a spiritual tsunami, sweeping them into an eternity of separation from God,” and in some respects, the tidal waves that hit South Asia were evidence of God's mercy rather than his wrath.

While disasters happen in a “sinful and fallen world,” it appears God has used this natural tragedy to “break down barriers,” he said.

Rather than trying to discern the meaning behind disasters, Parks said Christians have a responsibility to respond to new opportunities to share God's love with needy people who have not heard or seen a Christian witness.

Robert Marus of the Associated Baptist Press Washington Bureau contributed to this article.

Posted: 2/02/05

CYBERCOLUMN: My season on the brink

By Brett Younger

“We don’t have a coach for your son Caleb’s team. I don’t know what we’re going to do. I guess children better get used to being rejected, but this isn’t that hard. The coach only has to be at one practice and one game a week. You’d think someone would think these kids are worth two hours. It makes me want to cry.”

The 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard suggested that there are moments that call for a “leap of faith,” but this may have been more of a “look before you make a leap of studipity” moment.

I had never started a phone conversation with “My name is Brett Younger, and I’m your basketball coach.” The 2020 NBA All-Star team sounded no more confident than I did.

“Have you played much basketball?”

Brett Younger

“No, but my mom says I have to play something.”

I borrowed a copy of Youth Basketball: The Guide for Coaches and Parents. The author makes Bobby Knight seem laid back. The book covers in detail: shooting (I’ve suggested our players aim in the general direction of the basket); dribbling (try to avoid hitting your own feet); passing (I hope to cut down on how often we scream “throw it to me”); defense (we try to get in front of players screaming “throw it to me”); and conditioning (I hand out candy).

I planned our first practice in detail. I would share our terminology, go over defensive and offensive philosophies, lay the groundwork for intricate plays and instill an understanding of man-to-man and zone defenses.

The practice I planned didn’t happen. It was less like a John Wooden practice and more like the inside of a popcorn popper. Quantum physics says it is possible for matter to be in two places at once. After coaching 11-year-olds, this is no longer hard for me to believe.

I said, “The off guard sets a screen on the point guard’s man as the three cuts across the line.” When I blew the whistle everyone ran in random directions.

I patiently explained, “In a zone defense, each player is responsible for an area of the floor.” When I blew the whistle, everyone chased the ball.

We ended up playing “outshoot the coaches” (Assistant Coach Graham Younger kept this from being embarrassing). We had a few layup races and a rousing round of “king of the hill.” As we finished our first practice, I wasn’t sure they had the nuances of the pick and roll, but I liked my players (and still like calling them “my players”).

The parents had other concerns: “My son’s uniform is too small.” (They’re all the same size.) “Where is Johnny’s basketball?” “My mother’s car won’t start. She told me to come and get you.”

Just before tip-off of our first game, I made a slight change in the defense. Instead of a 2-1-2 match-up zone, we would have three players chase the ball. On offense we would stick with our plan of ignoring the plays.

In French Louisiana, the Creole word “lagniappe” refers to an extra, unexpected gift of grace. In a moment of pure, unlikely-to-be-repeated lagniappe, we won our first game. The coach’s son hit seven of nine shots and made the coach look smarter than he is.

I know I’m making too much of this sacred hoops experience, but it reminded me that the hardness of the world threatens to keep us from seeing the extra, unexpected gifts of grace. Annie Dillard said, “The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand.” Some of those pennies land on basketball courts.

Brett Younger is pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth and the author of “Who Moved My Pulpit? A Hilarious Look at Ministerial Life,” available from Smyth & Helwys (800) 747-3016.

Posted: 2/04/05

Around the State

Two Texas Acteens have been named to the 2005 National Acteens Panel. Abby Baldridge is a member of Rocky Point Church in Steph-enville, and Martha Sicking is a member of First Church in Bay City. In addition, several Texans also have been selected by the Woman's Missionary Union as Top Teens of 2005. Included were Shannon Burdett of First Church in Midland, Ashley Nash of Freeman Heights Church in Garland, Elizabeth Santamaria of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza in Houston and Kimberly Zimmer of First Church in Kingwood.

Houston Baptist University will host an open house for prospective students and their families Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Mabee Theater. For more information, call (281) 649-3211.

A single adult retreat sponsored by San Jacinto Baptist Association will be held Feb. 25-26 at Lake Tomahawk Baptist Encampment in Livingston. Open to singles of all ages, the cost is $35. Donna Schmoyer of First Church in Houston will be the retreat leader. Send registration to the association at P.O. Box 1533, Baytown 77522-1533. For more information, call (281) 422-3604.

Wayland Baptist University will hold a one-day seminar called “Crossing Cultures for Ministry” Feb. 26 in the McClung Center, room 211. Patty Lane, director of intercultural initiatives for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will lead the seminar. It is aimed at bridging cultural gaps within communities. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with lunch provided by the university. There is no charge to participate, and additional materials will be available for purchase. For more information, call (806) 291-1165.

The sculptural works of Waco artist and Baylor art professor Terry Roller are on display at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in an exhibit titled “Dangerous Art.” The exhibit is in the Tyson Gallery of the Townsend Memorial Library and will continue through March 4. It is free and open to the public.

Alan Page, Minnesota's first African-American Supreme Court justice, will be the speaker for Hardin-Simmons Univer-sity Academic Foundation's McIntyre Distinguished Speaker Series April 27. The event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Abilene Civic Center's conference room. Page not only is known for his time on the judicial bench, but also as a member of the “Purple People Eaters,” the famed defensive unit of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970s.

Ted and Sue Getterman received Baylor University's 2005 Founder's Medal Jan. 31. Both Baylor graduates, the Gettermans have endowed scholarships in the schools of music, business and education, athletics and Truett Theological Seminary. They also made the largest gift to women's athletics in Baylor's history, resulting in Getterman Stadium, home of Baylor softball. They are members of Columbus Avenue Church in Waco.

Debbie Kubo of Arlington and Pam Foster of Haslet have been endorsed as chaplains by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Both serve with healthcare institutions.

Pamela Bryant has been named head of the department of physical sciences at Howard Payne University. She joined the university's faculty in 2001.

Three Texans were among New Orleans Seminary's December graduates. Joel Bratcher, Baptist Student Ministry director at Texas A&M University, received the doctor of ministry degree. Benton Bush, whose home congregation is in Sagamore Hill Church in Fort Worth, also received the doctor of ministry degree. Brent Spears of Houston received the master of divinity degree.

Anniversaries

John Crowe, fifth, as pastor of River Bend Church in Fulshear.

Cary Todd, fifth, as youth minister at First Church in Columbus.

Stan Ortner, 25th, as pastor of First Church in Bremond.

First Church in Farmers Branch, 135th, Feb. 20. A catered lunch will follow the morning service. Sam Under-wood is pastor.

Burke Church in Diboll, 116th, March 13. Members first thought this would be a centennial celebration, but information with an earlier founding date was discovered. All early church records have been lost, and anyone with information regarding the church's history is asked to contact the church at 3855 Tidwell Road, Diboll 75941-9802. Bonner Magness is pastor.

Lake Brownwood Church, 25th, March 13. Lunch will follow the morning service. For more information, call (325) 784-6930. Arthur Switzer is pastor.

First Church in Texas City, 100th, March 16-20. Events will kick off Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the dedication of a state historical marker. A pizza party reunion will be held Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. for former and current youth and youth workers. Cost is $5. A brunch will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by tours of the church beginning at 11 a.m. A dinner will be held at the Doyle Convention Center beginning at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. Sunday's service will begin at 10 a.m. For more information, call (409) 945-2309. Bobby Tollison is pastor.

Retiring

Cliff Herrington, as associate pastor of First Church in Conroe, Feb. 27. He was ordained in 1950 at El Paso Church in Roby. He served the church as pastor from 1964 through 1982, when he became pastor of First Church in Georgetown. He retired there in 1990, returning to Conroe to serve in an unofficial pastoral capacity. He was called as associate pastor in 1998. A retirement celebration will be held Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.

Event

First Church in Center will hold a women's conference March 4-5. Janet White is the featured speaker. Kim West will lead the music. Prior to Feb. 15, the cost is $20, including lunch on Saturday. Registration at the door is $25. Registration will begin at 6 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Childcare will be provided for children under age five for a small fee. They will be fed a sack lunch Saturday. For more information, call (936) 598-5605.

Deaths

Robert Campbell, 88, Jan. 4 in Longview. He was pastor of churches in Looney, Cotton Flat, Dodd City, Rotan, Oyster Creek, Pledger and Kermit. He was a member of Emmanuel Church in White Oak at the time of his death. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Carthel, Freeman and Mel; and sister, Geneva. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Jean; sons, Dale, John, Stanley and Thomas; daughter, Lori; brother, Don; sister, Mary Lou; 16 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Elliott Smith, 79, Jan. 21. Ordained at Gambrell Street Church in Fort Worth, he was pastor of churches in Texas, New Mexico and California. He began working with the Home Mission Board in California in 1971, retiring in 1994 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He was preceded in death by his son, Norman, and his wife, Ruth. He is survived by his daughters Cindy Smith and Nancy Smith.

Bob Herman, Jan. 21 in Abilene. Herman joined the Hardin-Simmons University mathematics faculty in 1960 and became head of the computer center in 1966. He also was business manager of the Region XIV Education Service Center in Abilene 29 years. He is survived by his wife, Anne; son, Alan; daughter, Pam Dugger; father, Harry Herman; sister, Joyce Herman; and six grandchildren.

Jimmy Walker, Jan. 22 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. A long-time pastor in Alabama and Mississippi, he was the father of one-time Texas Woman's Missionary Union staffer Cindy Gaskins. Walker and his wife, Charlotte, also served 21 years as Foreign Mission Board missionaries in Malawi, Rhodesia and Bophuthatswana. He is survived by his wife; daughters, Cindy Gaskins, Caroline Engle, Cheryl Stone and Colleen Burroughs; and 10 grandchildren.

Ernestine Carver, 98, Jan. 22 in Amarillo. She was the wife of Texas pastor Douglas Carver. Their ministry together began in White Deer. Other churches served included First Church in Harlingen, University Church in Abilene and First Church in Pampa. She began playing piano in church at age 12 and was pianist at the Pampa church for many years. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1966. She is survived by her daughters, Carolyn Byrd and Gwen Loerwald; three grandchidren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Rudy Hernandez, 77, Jan. 28 in Grand Prairie following a battle with cancer. Hernandez was a former officer of both the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. He was pastor of churches in San Antonio, Menard, Eden, Galveston, Fort Worth and Corpus Christi. Since 1973, he was president of Rudy Hernandez Evangelism Interna-tional. He was the first Hispanic evangelism director of the BGCT, serving from 1955 to 1969, and was second vice president of the both the BGCT and the Southern Baptist Conven-tion. He later was president of the SBTC. He is survived by his wife, Lucy; children, Robert, Mary Elizabeth, Ruben, Eunice and Gina; 12 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Leon Vorpahl, 86, Jan. 29 in Hillsboro. He was pastor of churches in Troy and Bartlett before serving First Church in Sinton 13 years. He left there to become pastor of First Church in Hillsboro, where he served 21 years prior to retirement. He was in ministry 60 years following his ordination at First Church in Beasley. He was a former member of the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Human Welfare Commission. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Elmer and Marvin; and sisters, Ella Solomon, Lorene Walzel, Elbertha Gerke and Lillian Boone. He is survived by his wife, Ardis; daughters, Kathie Boyd and Lynette Jones; son, George; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Revivals

First Church, Earth; March 4-6; evangelist, Joel Gregory; music, Jeff and Cindy Petillo; pastor, Jeff Huckeby.

Spring Creek Church, Weatherford, March 6-9; evangelists, Bill and Vicki Murphy; pastor, Mike Martin.

Posted: 2/04/05

BGCT clears hurdle toward BWA membership

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

The North American Baptist Fellowship–one of six regional bodies in the Baptist World Alliance–voted in January to accept the Baptist General Convention of Texas as a member.

The BGCT and the Baptist General Association of Virginia became the first two state conventions granted membership in the North American Fellowship.

In the past, Texas Baptists related to the BWA through the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC withdrew from the BWA last year alleging theological liberalism, a charge refuted by Baptists around the world.

“For decades Texas Baptists have enjoyed healthy fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the Baptist World Alliance,” said Don Sewell, director of the BGCT's Texas Partnerships Resource Center.

“Through our BWA connections, we can participate in far more evangelism, church planting and community work than we can ever experience without such vital ties. Our BWA friends are biblically conservative and evangelistically zealous. I admire their faith and their joy in the Lord in spite of tremendous obstacles.”

Messengers to the 1997 BGCT annual meeting in Austin voted for the convention to “explore the possibility of the BGCT becoming a member organization” of the BWA.

That option was not open until last year, when the BWA altered its rules for membership, which previously had been limited to national Baptist bodies.

The BGCT Executive Board will be asked in its March 1 meeting to approve pursuit of BWA membership, said BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade.

If so, Sewell will present the application to BWA's membership committee during a March 7 meeting in Falls Church, Va. If that committee approves, Baptists from around the world will vote on the BGCT's application during the BWA Centennial Congress July 27-31 in Birmingham, England.

The BGCT already is a financial supporter of the BWA and its ministries. Last year, Texas Baptists gave $129,000 to BWAid projects through the Texas Baptist World Hunger Offering. They also have spent $50,000 a year on church planting efforts of the European Baptist Federation, which is one of the six regional BWA fellowships.

Posted: 2/04/05

Book Reviews

Who Can You Trust? Overcoming Betrayal and Fear

by Howard E. Butt Jr. (WaterBrook Press)

Whether we're talking husbands and wives, clergy and congregations, or co-workers and bosses, trust issues challenge every human relationship. For a culture that seems to live so easily at the extremes of cynicism and gullibility, Howard Butt provides a careful and much-needed reflection on the “narrow way” of trust and even timely mistrust.

Just as in his three previous works, Butt writes in his now-characteristic and compelling style of synthesizing Christian spirituality, sound psychology and personal authenticity to produce a grace-based, honest and hope-filled exploration of trust. The work is divided into three major sections–exploring the trust-versus-mistrust dilemma, then a foray into understanding human nature and why we do what we do, followed by a thoughtful exploration of how we change and grow in wisdom.

What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to books@baptiststandard.com.

Butt is at his best when he illustrates his points with both street-level and historic examples of relationships where trust and betrayal have wrestled in real life. His artistry in putting flesh on our faith through stories and dialogues will help readers hear hope for growing through the trust issues in their own lives.

Who can you trust? You can trust the wisdom of Howard Butt.

Brad Russell, pastor

The Springs Church

San Antonio

My Journey with Hepatitis C
by Johanna Wrinkle (RoseDog Books)

This is a poignant story told from the perspective of common concern. Wrinkle, a prominent English teacher among Texas educators, tells her story to encourage fellow travelers who also suffer from Hepatitis C or any other chronic illness. She does not paint herself as either hero or martyr. She does not fill the book with advice. Instead, she tells her story–one that others as patients and caregivers can relate. From the “I have what … ?” question, to the hours of waiting, the maze of hospital corridors, bedside manners, wondering if her family is getting tired of her tiredness, and waiting four years for a liver transplant that is yet to happen, Wrinkle honestly tells all. She pays tribute to the blessing of the human community, faithful family, longtime friends, Sunday school classes, study clubs and support groups. All receive recognition for giving help and strength.

Along the way in this common journey, Wrinkle underscores faith. Hers is the story of strength in Christ and faith in his future promises. Whether you are experiencing the pain of a chronic illness or caring for one who is, this book might be helpful to you in your journey.

Stacy Conner, pastor

First Baptist Church

Muleshoe

The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience
by Ron Sider (Baker Books)

Evangelical Christians divorce their spouses at a rate roughly equal to the general population, physically abuse their spouses at least as frequently as their neighbors, embrace the same materialistic values as the larger society and are more likely than most people to exhibit racist attitudes. These findings lead author Ron Sider to conclude the same evangelical American Christians who embrace teachings about miracles in biblical days deny the gospel's transforming power in their own lives.

Sider relies heavily on research by George Barna, and some readers who question Barna's methodology may quibble about the exact numbers the author cites to illustrate his point. Even so, Sider's overall diagnosis seems sound, particularly when he points to what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace” as the root cause of scandalous evangelical disregard for the “whole gospel.” Readers familiar with Sider's earlier work, particularly Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, won't be surprised that his view of holistic gospel not only includes personal reformation, but also encompasses societal transformation. He insists preaching the gospel means proclaiming the transformational kingdom of God, not just offering an exclusively individualistic view of personal salvation.

At 140 pages, Sider's latest book is a quick read, but the challenges he presents keep it from being easy reading.

Ken Camp, managing editor

Baptist Standard

Dallas

The Power of Praying Together: Experiencing Christ Actively in Charge

by Oliver W. Price

A Baptist pastor recommended Oliver Price's book on corporate prayer to me. My friend said the principles in the book had changed the Wednesday night prayer service at his church back in the late '80s. Two hundred of his 400 members are regularly attending the Wednesday night prayer service. I read the book because I was curious to find out what would make his people excited about attending a Wednesday night prayer service that is entirely devoted to prayer. The principles in this book have changed my prayer life and given me a deeper understanding of the power of believers praying together.

Tommy Malone, president

Texas Baptist Men

McKinney

The Listener (originally titled The Heart Reader)
by Terri Blackstock

I eagerly await each of Terri Blackstock's Christian novels and had just finished River's Edge when my husband gave me The Listener. Blackstock answers the question,

“What if you could hear what God hears?” Sam Bennett wakes one morning able to hear people's unspoken needs. He struggles to be a faithful witness, drawing people to Christ and fellow believers to the Great Commission. The author inspires Christians to ask and answer the question, “What must I do?”

Kathy Hillman, Immediate past president

Woman's Missionary Union of Texas

Waco

Leadership
by Rudolph Giuliani

This book reminded me that effective leadership is more than just having the right thing to say at a time of crisis. Giuliani was prepared to be an effective leader on 9/11 because he had used good leadership principles long before the crisis came. In church, leaders want to be effective in crisis, but we cannot be effective leaders in crisis unless we have laid a foundation for effective leadership before the crisis hits.

Wesley Shotwell, chairman

BGCT Governance Committee

Azle

Posted: 2/04/05

Baptist Briefs

Baptist Heritage sermon contest announced. Feb. 15 is the deadline for submitting Baptist heritage sermon manuscripts for a competition sponsored by the Baptist History & Heritage Society and the H. Franklin Paschall Chair of biblical studies and preaching at Belmont University. Awards include $400 for first prize, $300 for second prize and $200 for third prize. For contest guidelines, visit www.baptisthistory.org or e-mail Pam Durso at pdurso@tnbaptist.org.

CBF chaplain tapped for national committee. George Pickle, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's associate coordinator for chaplaincy and pastoral counseling, recently was elected a member-at-large on the executive committee of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces. The national conference is the leading organization for military chaplain endorsers and is the organization that relates directly to each chief of chaplains and their staffs of all branches of the armed forces.

Christian educators focus on engaging culture. "Equipping the Church to Engage the Culture" is the theme of the Baptist Association of Christian Educators' 50th anniversary celebration Feb. 24-26 at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga. George Gallup Jr., chairman of the George H. Gallup International Institute in Princeton, N.J.; Michael Lindsay, speaker and consultant on the role of religion in public life; and Sue Mallory, author of "The Equipping Church," will be featured speakers. For more information, visit www.baptisteducators.org.

Former Southern Seminary VP dies. Harold Songer, former vice president of academic affairs for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., died Jan. 23 at age 77. Songer, who retired in 1992, also was a senior professor of New Testament interpretation at Southern. He wrote the Commentary on James in the Broadman Bible Commentary and many articles for professional journals. He is survived by his wife, Florence Rains Songer; son, Christopher Songer; and a sister, Irene Laffe of Jacksonville, Fla.

History & Heritage Society meeting set. "Women in Baptist History" will be the theme of the Baptist History & Heritage Society's annual meeting June 2-4 at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. The Fellowship of Baptist Historians auxiliary will meet in conjunction with the event June 2. For more information, visit www.baptisthistory.org.

Semple serves New Mexico convention. Longtime Texas Baptist pastor and denominational leader James Semple will become acting executive director of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico March 1. Semple, who served 12 years as director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas' State Missions Commission and 25 years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Paris, has been interim evangelism ministries director for the New Mexico convention since last May.

Posted: 2/04/05

BUA students and members of a local churches in Guayaquil, Ecuador, spent the pre-dawn hours on Christmas morning giving hot chocolate and sandwiches to homeless people, including a man living in a cardboard box. A group of boys in Ecuador listen to the gospel, presented by students from Baptist University of the Americas. (Photo courtesy of Baptist University of the Americas)

BUA volunteers share gospel in
four Latin American countries

By Craig Bird

Baptist University of the Americas

SAN ANTONIO–Students at Baptist University of the Americas take the “Americas” part of their school's name seriously.

Case in point: Between semesters, three student-initiated and student-led groups and one group recruited by a short-term mission agency went “on mission” in four Latin American countries.

As a result, in Chile a Brazilian led a group of pre-teens and young teenagers to Christ. In Colombia, a leadership training team prayed for 175 conference participants, and 300 showed up. In Costa Rica, four BUA students worked as interpreters for Anglos from the United States, holding crusades in San Jose. In Ecuador, students walked the streets of Guayaquil from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Christmas morning, sharing hot chocolate, cheese sandwiches and the love of Jesus with homeless people. And that's just for starters.

Nahomi Munoz, a senior at Baptist University of the Americas, made new friends of all sizes during a between-semesters mission rip to Chile.

“The Bible says that where there is no vision, the people perish. So, I guess it is equally true that where there is a great vision, people thrive,” Marconi Monteiro, dean of students at the San Antonio school, said after listening to reports from the students when classes resumed in mid-January.

“These young men and women have a heart for spreading the gospel, a love for people and a passion for service that not only reflects what BUA is about but enhances it. These students got guidance and advice from faculty sponsors and help with paperwork from BUA staff, but the vision was theirs, and so was the working out of those dreams.”

The Colombia group began planning and raising funds in spring 2004, and the Chile and Ecuador teams were sparked by the formation of a student missions organization at BUA last fall. The Costa Rica connection came through Javier Elizondo, the school's academic dean, who has a longtime relationship with International Commission.

In Colombia, the mission emphasized strengthening the local church so it could be more effective in evangelism and ministry, said Joel Gomez-Bossio who headed up that effort.

“We wanted to help meet a huge need there to train leaders for new churches,” he said. The seven-member team, working closely with Iglesia Bautista El Calvario in Barranquilla, led four days of simultaneous workshops.

Participants could chose two from among nine options–worship, Christian education, children's education, youth ministries, church planting, pastoral ministries, marriage enrichment, women's ministry and dealing with family violence. Aided by promotion on the city's Christian radio station, attendance exceeded expectations.

“One group even rented a bus,” Gomez-Bossio said. “And we've already been asked to come back again.”

Four students went to Chile, partnering with three local Baptist churches to work in four locations.

“We started out in small towns outside of Santiago, but when we worked in the capital, we totally changed our approach, because people in the city are so different from those in the rural areas,” Daniel Munoz explained. His group worked with youth groups, using clowning, mime, drama and workshops in addition to evangelistic preaching and witnessing.

Claudia Munoz, a Baptist University of the Americas student, clowns around with Chilean children during an evangelism event in Chillan, a small town south of Santiago.

The Chileans were amused by the unusual accents of the students but were a bit confused when Rodrigo Serrao preached. Although he could talk with them in Spanish, his sermons were in English and had to be translated.

“That's because my Spanish isn't good enough to preach in. When they found out I was from Brazil and spoke Portuguese, they understood,” he explained.

“God reminded me of my purpose on this earth, and that is to show my love for others by using my gifts and talents completely to minister to children,” Claudia Munoz said. “From the beginning, people were open and listened to us. … In some way, we left a little of us in each of those we met.”

Six students, including a husband and wife medical team, ministered in Ecuador. A women's conference in Babahoyo attracted 120 women, 40 percent of them non-Christian; youth rallies and children's activities were very popular, and the volunteers at medical clinics treated 220 people in six days while providing the opportunities to evangelize and give professional counseling, said group leader Enrique Ramirez.

Two cases were particularly memorable, volunteers said. Nelly Monroy, a 51-year-old who came for a check-up without knowing anything was wrong, registered a blood pressure reading of 200/140.

“We thought the gauge was broken, but it really was that high,” Maura Moran Escobar explained. “We told her she was in danger of having a stroke at any minute and immediately started her on medications we had brought with us.”

Later, a 36-year-old woman came to a clinic. The doctors were puzzled at first because of the black coating in her mouth and throat, until they discovered she had been eating charcoal for the past three years. The team provided both medical treatment and psychological counseling.

The BUA student mission team that went to Chile improvised a children's game involving a volleyball net and catching water balloons in a towel.

“The best thing is that both of the women, along with many others, were saved out of those experiences,” Ramirez said. “Senora Monroy was a living illustration of a spiritual truth we shared–she was in danger of dying but didn't realize it until someone took her blood pressure. And lost people are in danger of dying and going to hell and don't even know it unless we love them enough to go and tell them.”

Perhaps the group's most emotional experience came in the pre-dawn hours Christmas morning. Equipped with five gallons of hot chocolate and 150 cheese sandwiches, they walked the streets of Guayaquil, sharing food, cheer and their faith with homeless people.

The last week before classes resumed, four students worked in Costa Rica after International Commission, an evangelistic association focused on church-to-church partnership projects, contacted Elizondo with a need for translators.

All four came back wanting to go again. Each was assigned to a different team working with individual churches.

Jaime Masso was assigned to Iglesia Bautista Misionera in Alajuela, where the team “reached 77 people for the Lord.” Masso, from Puerto Rico, added he had “never in my life experienced anything like this. It was a great experience I would like to repeat.”

Iglesia Bautista Roca De Salvacion, a church that serves this poor neighborhood in Barranquilla, Colombia, was one of scores of congregations "Baptist and non-Baptist" that BUA students trained leaders for during a intra-semester mission trip.

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Posted: 2/04/05

CYBERCOLUMN:
Tears tell tale of love

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, thinking of tears. Tears fall between the ears; they fall in the midst of years.

Just recently, I watched CNN detail a train wreck in Los Angeles. A suicidal man parked his SUV on the railroad track in an apparent suicide attempt. He fled his vehicle at the last minute. The parked vehicle derailed a train.

The story unfolds: Two trains derailed; people died; police officers charged the SUV driver with manslaughter; and a truck driver named Dean Jaeschke rescued a victim from the raging flames. The real-life story possesses the agony and ecstasy of life, the drama of the bizarre, and the tragedy of death.

What captured my attention in the story was the ending. The rescued victim from the raging fla

mes later died in a hospital. The truck driver drove home, received the sad news, and shed tears. “It really shook him up,” said his wife, Deborah. “It takes a lot to make that man cry, and when he came home, he was crying.” Tears flowed like rainwater dripping from a rock.

The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins says, “Now no matter, childe the name: Sorrows springs are still the same.” Fredrick Buechner says he saw his mother cry a few times, not so much when she lost her husband to suicide, but in her late 50s, when she had all her upper teeth pulled. C.S. Lewis walked through the “dark chasm of grief” when he lost his wife to cancer. He adds, “You can’t see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears.” Tears tell a story.

Just the other day, I performed a wedding ceremony. The bride cried while the groom smiled. I witnessed a lady sobbing during a worship service. I watched a 6-year-old cry after falling on a basketball court. I observed a man cry when telling me about his estranged wife. I must confess sometimes I cry: when my daughter went off to college; visits to cancer patients at hospitals; and at the end of emotional movies like The Notebook. Tears reveal the story of life.

This tearful discussion leads me to this: Jesus wept (John 10:35). When tears trickled, it tells us of love. Jesus wept because his friend Lazarus had died. Jesus even wept over the city of Jerusalem because he loved the people so much. Tears reveal Jesus’ love.

So here I am under the old oak tree, thinking tears. Dean Jeaschke’s story reveals love. Tears speak to the passion, emotion and even the stress of life. Healthy people cry. Tears cleanse the soul. Dean cried because of love. That’s why I sometimes cry and, probably, you, too. Mostly, it’s why Jesus wept. He loved. And it’s probably why he weeps even now. He loves you.

Now, those kinds of tears aren’t so sad after all, are they?

John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines.