Posted: 10/29/04

CYBERCOLUMN: Alive

By Berry D. Simpson

We rode our all-terrain vehicles very fast up dusty roads to the Continental Divide at about 10,000 feet, up near the timberline. At first, the road was wide and smooth, and we just flew, driving wide-open, eating dust from the driver in front. As we got higher, the road got narrower and rougher, with winding turns through the trees. We drove through a little snow, but not as much as we’d’ve liked. There were plenty of dips to jump, and it was great. It was all about riding too fast and trying to stay aboard the ATV and keeping up with the group and not giving the rider behind a reason to say, “You sure are a slow driver.”

It reminded me of skiing in the trees near Aspen with friends back in the 1980s, when we skied narrow trails, too fast for comfort, too narrow for control, too close behind the skier in front to react if they fell, but doing it anyway because the thrill outweighed fear of crashing. As a result, we all skied better and faster than we should have.

It was the same with the ATVs—too fast and too bumpy, on trails through trees and along cliff faces with long drop-offs. It was too much fun staying together to think about slowing down.

Berry D. Simpson

The thing is, I’ve never done anything like that in my life. I’d ridden on an ATV a couple of times before, carrying feed or tools for Cyndi’s grandfather, but he would’ve killed me if he’d seen me driving his ATV like that.

This day, I was riding way above my skill level, and I’m sure I came closer to crashing than I knew. Since I’m not a natural risk-taker, but a risk-minimizer, much of the fun was living in the scary world outside myself.

It’s amazing what men will do to keep from being dropped by the group. We’ll do anything to stay on the team. Later in the day, I was surprised to learn that most of the other guys I was with had never ridden like that before either. I thought I was the only first-timer faking my way.

I did better when I learned to stand while riding over the rough spots. It wasn’t so jarring on my back, and my legs worked like shock absorbers, keeping me stable while the ATV jumped the rocks and holes. It was tiring, but my upper-leg muscles are strong, stronger than my back.

I noticed on the downhill stages we were cruising at 45 mph—wide open on these rented ATVs. It was a good thing, though, since 45 mph was fast enough to kill us if we made a mistake. My friend Jon said he had to remind himself he was a family man and 45 mph on a dirt road on an open ATV was plenty fast enough.

The last set of roads where David took us was the roughest, with more dips and higher bumps and jumps. We were flying off the tops, catching air and landing hard, always too fast for our own good. It was exhilarating. It was amazing. It was renewing. It was reason enough to be a man.

On several occasions, we found mud holes on the backside of a particular jump. I say we found them, which is to say we found them by landing in the mud. When we got back to the parking lot just in time to turn our ATVs back to the ATV man, well, we were a mess. We were grinning like little boys, but we were a dusty and muddy mess. We were filthy. We were beautiful.

Men draw courage from each other. We are braver when standing beside one another (or riding beside each other). When Robert E. Lee’s men moved across the broad valley near Gettysburg to attack Seminary Ridge, they advanced in long lines, walking shoulder to shoulder, pressed between the men on the left and on the right. Feeling the shoulders of the other men made each man braver. They shared their courage.

John Bingham wrote, “So it shouldn’t come as a surprise, as this generation reaches something that used to be called middle age (48?), that we’d be looking to recapture that spirit of risk. We naturally want to break free from passive restraints and protective packaging and total security and do something that scares us a little. It’s what we grew up on. It’s what makes us feel alive.

Berry Simpson, a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 10/27/04

COMMENTARY:
Another Christian voting guide

By Brett Younger

I just received my “2004 Election Voter Guide Concerning Key Moral Issues and the Values War.” These “non-partisan” guides (ministers receive lots of them) dance around church/state election laws without ever being “non-partisan.”

The Citizen Leader Coalition lists issues by which Christians are to decide how to vote. They claim that the eight biggest religious concerns include (I wish I were making this up) government-sponsored prayer in public schools, a constitutional amendment on marriage, support of the Boy Scouts and assaults on Mel Gibson. I pray, I’m married, I was a Cub Scout and I loved “Braveheart,” but I feel certain that God must think there are bigger religious issues facing our country—issues that don’t seem important to either major political party:

Brett Younger

Caring for the poor is a religious issue. While both parties argue over the middle class, no one is putting forth courageous policies that offer a real chance to poor families.

War is a religious issue. Jesus’ call to be peacemakers and love our enemies would seem out of place in either party’s platform.

Telling the truth is a religious issue. After each debate, several media outlets printed lists of lies each candidate has told. Both lists are getting longer.

Neither of the major parties is making a serious effort to consider how free trade might alleviate hunger, how basic medical coverage would alleviate suffering or how scrupulous concern for justice in the international arena could alleviate anger towards our country.

Christians are smart enough to consider issues beyond how candidates feel about Mel Gibson. Corporate ethics, capital punishment and the environment matter to Christians because our faith has something to say about honesty, revenge and creation.

When Dorothy Day was criticized for what observers saw as the inconsistency of her “radical” political life and “conservative” religious life, she responded: “I don’t act politically on the street or worship in church to fit in with people who are radical or people who are conservative. I read the Bible. I try to pay attention to the life of Jesus Christ. I try to follow his example. I stumble all of the time, but I try to keep going—along the road he walked for us. I belong to a church, and when I made the decision to join it, I knew my whole life would change. For me, everything is religious—politics and the family and work, they all are part of our obligation—to follow our Lord’s way.”

Imagine the good our country could do if Christians followed our Lord’s way and took God’s concern for the poor, peace and honesty into the voting booth. What wonderful things would happen if our values were derived from the life of Jesus Christ rather than politics?

Sincere Christians can choose to vote for President Bush or Senator Kerry—for reasons deeply rooted in their faith. We can and do disagree on how to enhance human rights, protect children, promote racial reconciliation and support gender equality. We may also share frustration that our politicians tend to appeal only to individual interests, national interests and special interests. Faith leads us away from narrow partisanship to act for the good of all people and live with concern for others.

On Nov. 2, I will get up early and walk down the street to Westcliff United Methodist Church to cast my ballot. I will vote with appreciation for that privilege and disappointment at the choices we’ve been given.

Brett Younger is pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 10/26/04

CYBERCOLUMN:
Priests and kings

By Jeanie Miley

Prowling around in the book of Isaiah in preparation for teaching my Thursday morning Bible study, I suddenly got curious about what it was that old King Uzziah had done that had set off such a bad turn of events for himself and the Hebrew people.

My curiosity took me back to 2 Chronicles 26 and an appalling account of the downfall of a man who started out as a good king who did what was right in the eyes of God, apparently seeking God in all things.

Jeanie Miley

What riveted my attention to the story, however, was the turn in the story when Uzziah, who had become increasingly more powerful, fell victim to his own greed, pride and arrogance. Uzziah’s downfall was secured when he went into the temple to burn incense, presuming to perform a sacred task that had been assigned to the priests, the descendents of Aaron, who were consecrated specifically by God to burn the incense.

What caught my attention and held me spellbound to the old, old story was the searing awareness that when kings and such take over the sacred tasks that belong to those called out by God to mediate the sacred, the people get confused, and trouble breaks out for everyone.

On the other hand, when the priests are not vigilant about their sacred calling, when they don’t guard their hearts, their pulpits and their altars with all diligence against the temptations of power and prestige, and when they are seduced away from their primary and holy task of reconciling people to a vital, personal, love relationship with the Almighty, the people they have been entrusted to lead get confused and lost.

"And when the people get confused, they think that the politicians speak for God and the priests can tell them how to vote!"

Finishing with my preparations, I finally came to the point of putting my Bible and commentaries away and turned on the evening news. That old, old story kept playing in my head as I watched the news channel through the next couple of hours, and the next morning, I woke up with the solemn conviction about how dangerous it is for everyone when the kings think they are priests and the priests think they are kings. Indeed, confusion reigns when the plans that God set in motion for how things work best get perverted by the greed for power, control and supremacy.

Poor old King Uzziah. He broke out in leprosy, but that was only the beginning of the trouble that filtered down to the children of Israel in the terrible way that rot always does flow downward from the top.

"People exploited other people and use them as objects.

"Cities were plundered.

"The people of God were enslaved.

"People chased after false gods.

"Injustices of all kinds reigned.

"War broke out over and over.

"The goodness of God was spurned, and his gifts were misused."

The people saw good as evil, and evil as good, and could no longer tell the difference between darkness and light, for they had become blinded by pride and arrogance and their utter confusion.

And all the time, they worked really hard to fashion fine and fancy worship to impress God and divert his attention from the fact that they had lost their way and played the harlot, hooking up with the very practices and people who would use them, abuse them and discard them.

It’s a dangerous thing to read the Bible seriously, and I suppose that is why there is so much biblical illiteracy, even among those who, when polled, want to be counted in the column that says “Christian.”

From where I stand, it seems to me that it might not be a bad idea for those of us who love the church and also love the world to take a thorough look at what happened to the children of Israel when their leaders got confused and tried to be something that God never intended them to be and refused to be what God has called them to be.

It’s a sobering reality that God will not be diverted, and his purposes will not ultimately be perverted, no matter how hard we try to turn his ways upside down and inside out.

We frail and fallible human beings may get confused, but the Holy One never does, and for that, we must give thanks.

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

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 10/22/04

Toothbrushes needed in Afghanistan

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Baptists are sending toothbrushes and toothpaste to a Baptist General Convention of Texas-endorsed chaplain who will use the supplies to teach hygiene to Afghan children.

Army Chaplain Carron Naber has been working with young people in a Bagram, Afghanistan, school. She mentioned to Reba Gram in the BGCT Chaplaincy Relations Office that she needed at least 5,000 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste to teach the students in 16 villages. If she receives more, she would distribute them among the Afghans.

Gram quickly began spreading the word, and several hundred toothbrushes have been sent. BGCT Executive Board staff members donated nearly 200 toothbrushes by Oct. 14. A dentist donated almost 250 toothbrushes. Several Dallas-area churches have become involved.

Texas Baptists can collect and ship these items directly to Naber. Her mailing address is Carron A. Naber, 125TH Signal, APO AE 09354. Do not identify her as a chaplain on the package.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 10/15/04

First Church in Orange recently presented a check to provide tuition, fees and books for two students at the Baptist University of the Americas. Abraham Garcia of Sonora, Mexico, and Adriana Oviedo of Hutto were the recipients. Presenting the check to Arnie Adkison, vice president of development, were deacons and missions committee members Weldon Townsend, Preston Nichols and Don Ball. “Baptist University of the Americas is the most important learning institution in Texas as far as reaching the Hispanic community,” Townsend said. “If we don't train leaders and lay people now, we will miss the window of opportunity we have.”

Around the State

The Central Texas Book Club of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will discuss “The Idea of a Christian College” by Arthur Holmes at 7 p.m. in the Lucile Capt Amphitheater Oct. 26. Panelists will include Bill Tanner, associate professor of computer science; Steve Oldham, assistant professor for Christian studies; David Guess, assistant professor for music; and Harry Sweet, assistant professor for management and marketing.

Joe Alcorta, professor of Spanish and coordinator of minority relations at Hardin-Simmons University, has written “A Collection of Hispanic Proverbs and Sayings.” The 161-page paperback has 10 chapters on proverbs relating to love, business, good advice, spiritual matters, time, food, family and friends, money and other topics. He joined the faculty in 1971.

East Texas Baptist University Director of Development Larry Wickham has been awarded the professional designation of certified fund raising executive by CFRE International. Wickham, a bivocational pastor at Midway Church in Tyler, joined the university staff in 2002.

Dee McFarland has been promoted to general ledger manager in the controller's office of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. She had been general ledger accountant for the BGCT since 1997. She is a member of First Church in Kaufman.

Hardin-Simmons University's Richardson Library underwent a first-floor renovation recently. New floor tile was laid in the public part of the first floor, an original library typing room was remodeled into an office for the theology librarian; and the former Duffy Auditorium has been remodeled into the Duffy Theological Center. Shown before the theology bookshelves that now are housed on the first floor are (l-r) Alice Specht, dean of libraries; Teresa Ellis, theology librarian; Tommy Brisco, dean of the Logsdon School of Theology; and David Thompson, a student working on a master of divinity degree.

Houston Baptist University has announced new appointments to its faculty, including Lisette Barton, instructor in nursing; Valerie Bussell, assistant professor in psychology; Lawrence Clark, assistant professor in English; James Furr, associate professor of Christianity; Lorraine Killion, assistant professor of kinesiology; and Robert Linder, interim director of the School of Music.

David Brewer of First Church in Odessa and Harry Wooten of Royal Lane Church in Dallas were among the ministers of music honored with awards of distinction by the National Religious Music Week Alliance.

Abilene Association will hold its annual meeting at Elmcrest Church in Abilene Oct. 18. Broadview Church in Abilene will be recognized as church of the year. Pastor David Cason will accept a plaque honoring the congregation. Price Mathieson, pastor of Lawn Church in Lawn for 29 years, will be named pastor of the year. C.V. Blake, pastor of young adults, median adults and men's ministry at First Church in Abilene, will be honored as the staff member of the year. Juanita Reeder of South Side Church in Abilene will be named lay person of the year. The annual sermon will be brought by L.W. Hutchinson, pastor of Mount Sinai Church in Abilene.

Anniversaries

Whitecreek Church in George West, 25th, Sept. 26. Richard Mayberry is pastor.

Jeff Todd, 20th, as minister of music at Ovilla Road Church in Red Oak, Oct. 1.

Porfirio Bas, fifth, as pastor of Primera Iglesia in Lubbock, Oct. 1.

Kenneth Winchester, 25th, as pastor of Pleasant Valley Church in Post, Oct. 1.

Ivy Fendley, 10th, as minister of education at Mount Olive Church in Paris, Oct. 4.

First Shiloh Church in Williamson County, 150th, Oct. 9. Larry Givens is pastor.

First Church in Queen City, 125th, Oct. 16-17. Mike Lovely is pastor.

Ruben Perez, fifth, as pastor of Primera Iglesia in Slaton, Oct. 17.

Lino Castaneda, fifth, as pastor of New Jerusalem Mission in Sherman.

Benny Mayo, 40th in the ministry. While most of those years of service have been as minister of education and administration, he currently is minister of senior adults at Southwest Church in DeSoto.

Retiring

Dillard Wilbanks, as associate pastor/minister of education and program administration at Travis Avenue Church in Fort Worth, Sept. 5. He had served the Fort Worth church 10 years. He had previously served at First Church in Houston and First Church in Jonesboro, Ga.

Danny Cowart, as minister of education at Fairview Church in Sherman. He served the church 14 years. He previously served Woodland and Woodforest churches in Houston.

Bob Bade, as associate to the general secretary of the International Baptist Convention in Frankfurt, Germany. He previously served churches in Mississippi, Texas and Missouri as associate pastor, and in Darmstadt, Germany, as pastor. He has been in the ministry 35 years. He and his wife live in Burleson raising Haflinger horses. He is a part-time chaplain at Huguley Medical Center in Fort Worth.

Deaths

Eugene Shipley, 78, Aug. 16 in Fort Worth. He was a minister 50 years, 25 of those as pastor of Cedar Shores Church in Morgan. He was preceded in death by his son, Timothy. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary; daughter, Elizabeth; and son, Jonathan.

Ora Nadine Robinson, 75, Sept. 15. She was the wife of Texas pastor Alvin Robinson, who preceded her in death in 1989. He was pastor of First Church in Brenham from 1965 to 1979. Later he served as chaplain of the Richmond State School. She is survived by her daughter, Glenda Kay Burleson; and sons, Keith and Mark.

Elizabeth Baugh, 87, Oct. 1 in Abilene. She was executive director of the Abilene YWCA 35 years. She was a 1937 graduate of Hardin-Simmons University. She received the school's distinguished alumni award in 1986. She was preceded in death by her husband, Worth, in 1976.

Bob Hitt, 80, Oct. 3 in Abilene. Hitt was active in civic organizations including serving on the boards of Hendrick Medical Center and Hardin-Simmons University. He served as chairman during his final term on the board. The university bestowed on him distinguished alumnus status, and he also earned the John J. Keeter Award for alumni service to the university in 1994. He was ordained as deacon at South Side Church in Abilene, and he continued his service at First Church in Abilene, where he was a member at the time of his death. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Doyle and Joe Lee; and sister, Wanda McCuiston. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marilyn; daughters, Elizabeth Barber, Janet Murray, Mary Nell Harrington and Nancy Haddox; sister, Barbara Harris; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Events

Friendship Church in Weatherford dedicated its family life center Oct. 17. A lunch and tours were part of the festivities. Toby Easley is pastor.

First Church in Dallas voted Oct. 3 to begin construction on a 220,000-square-foot addition. The $44 million Criswell Center will become the main entrance to the church. The eight-story facility will include educational space, a bookstore and café, a dining/conference hall, two chapels, a large atrium and fellowship mall, staff offices and prayer tower. Groundbreaking has been set for March 2005, with completion expected for mid to late 2006. Mac Brunson is pastor.

West Main Church in Alice honored Gladys Johnson for 50 years of work with preschoolers Oct. 10. She said during a time of testimony that she never was told as a child that Jesus loved her. After a neighbor invited her to church and she received Christ as her Savior, she began working in the preschool area to be sure someone told them that Jesus loved them.

First Church in Kennard will dedicate its sanctuary Oct. 31. A luncheon will follow the morning service. For more information, call (936) 655-2173. James Durham is pastor.

The 100th anniversary of the Dallas Woman's Missionary Union will be celebrated Nov. 1 at The Heights Church in Richardson. Dellanna O'Brien, former executive director of national WMU, will be the guest speaker for the event, which will begin at 9:30 a.m., when a complimentary breakfast will be served. Registration will continue through Oct. 27 at (214) 319-1175. To meet the needs of women who cannot make the daytime event, a program will be held that evening at First Church in Allen, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Missionary KayLyn McGowan will be the guest speaker. Dinner will be available for $7 with reservations made by calling (972) 562-5818.

Ordained

Myung Kyo Lee to the ministry at Abilene Korean Church in Abilene.

Warren Buxton to the ministry at Wynnewood Church in Dallas.

Erskine Anavitarte to the ministry at Ferris Fellowship in Ferris.

Chance Horner, Brent Fine and Vance Burrow as deacons at Clearfork Church in Hawley.

Bill Green as a deacon at Pawnee Church in Pawnee.

Revivals

Olden Church, Olden; Oct. 18-20; evangelist, Ted Elmore; pastor, Ron Bostick.

Clearview Church, Marshall; Oct. 24-27; evangelists, Wade and Jennifer Burleigh; pastor, Dan Brown.

First Church, Devers; Oct. 24-28; evangelists, The Cherrys; pastor, Harry McDaniel.

Tolar Church, Tolar; Oct. 31-Nov. 3; evangelist, Malcom Ellis; music, Sherman and Tammy Aten; pastor, Armo Bentley.

A reunion of missionaries to Mexico gathered 176 people (above) to Gambrell Street Church in Fort Worth Oct. 9. They came from Texas, Virginia, California, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico and Mexico.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 10/17/04

Texas Baptist Forum

Convention overhaul

I am so excited about the reorganization of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

I commend and affirm the leadership and bold visionary efforts of our officers, Administrative Committee and executive director! They realize that if we as Texas Baptists want to impact our world for Christ, changes must be made now.

E-mail the editor at –Marv Knox E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

The Executive Board's approval of the mission, vision, values and priority statements is a great first step for Texas Baptists. I look forward with anticipation for these statements to be put into a workable form.

The proposed changes concerning the Executive Board are long overdue. Anyone who has ever served on the Executive Board and stayed awake during the process is well aware of its impotency.

In its current system, the Executive Board makes decisions that often are ignored by well-meaning individuals, coordinating boards and others. Many times, the current system is a waste of resources, energies and time; not to mention poor financial stewardship.

David Currie is correct when he says, “The new system greatly strengthens the board's authority and influence” and, I might add, its effectiveness. It's about time for an overhaul; my rubber stamp is just about worn out.

We pastors need to take our own advice: “What is good for the body is what is best for the body.”

Pete Freeman

The Woodlands

Inconsistent approach

Help me understand what I am missing in regard to Morris Chapman's opposition to the Baptist World Alliance fund-raising appeal to individual churches (Oct. 4).

When the BGCT proposed budget changes a few years back, my church got a letter from Chapman criticizing the change and suggesting that my church designate a higher portion of its gifts to the Southern Baptist Convention instead. If SBC policy states that “in no case shall any convention entity approach a church for inclusion in its church budget or appeal for financial contributions,” then it would seem Chapman violated that policy then.

Now, a non-convention agency, the BWA, wants to speak directly to my church, but he doesn't want that to happen.

I get appeals in the mail every day from Christian organizations all over. Does Chapman intend to block those appeals as well? I doubt it.

If SBC leadership chooses not to participate with Baptists worldwide through the BWA, so be it, but Chapman should not interfere with my church's right to hear from the BWA and to freely support its work.

Morris Chapman and the SBC do not own the franchise to First Baptist Church, Pleasanton–Jesus does!

Bill Fowler

Pleasanton

Time of innocence

I would take exception to Tom Ehrich's rather dismal and cynical view of the 1950s (Sept. 20).

Having lived every one of my teenage years in the '50s, I can speak from experience and tell anyone who was not lucky enough to have lived as a young person during that 10-year time frame that it was one I would go back to in a heartbeat. The pros far outweigh the cons, hands down.

Kids today have to contend with more violence and classroom disruption today than 50 years ago. They have to worry about guns, knives and drugs being brought to school. Teen pregnancy is a much too common occurrence today, so common that many communities have set up special schools to accommodate them.

Our biggest problems in the '50s in school were running in the halls, throwing spitballs and talking in class. Contrast slipping off and having a beer or smoking a cigarette way away from home or school with alcohol consumption today by young people. Cigarettes pale in comparison with smoking pot and doing hard drugs.

I could go on and on and make my case, but I am sure time and space will not allow for it, so I will close with just one more thought: Compared to today, the '50s were a time of innocence–in the music, in the schools and in my community, which for me was Pineville, La.

T.H. Holloway

Amarillo

God & man

Let God be God, and let man be man. God became a man in Jesus, but let not man become God.

God cannot be limited to a system of theology.

God cannot be put in a theological box. God works in ways beyond the recognition of man.

All that can be known about God is not recorded in the Bible, is not limited to the contents of the Bible, is not limited to a system of theology.

The Jews had put God in a theological box and crucified their Messiah. So can we.

The Jews could not be restored to repentance, having fallen away. Can we?

Ernest V. May Jr.

Livingston

Poll prayer

God promises, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

In 1990, a group of teens gathered around a flagpole to pray for their schools. Little did they know God would turn their humble meeting into an international movement called See You at the Pole. This was the 15th year that millions gathered around flagpoles to pray for their schools.

Adults could learn a lesson from these kids and gather to pray. I challenge Christians to commit to See You at the Poll–the election poll.

Christians should pray and vote. Before voting, pray that God will help you vote according to his will and not according to party or opinion polls. Pray for every voter who will vote in your polling place and every candidate. Pray for forgiveness of personal and national sins and for God to send the greatest revival America has ever seen. It's the most important thing you can do for America.

Every church should be involved in the election process by actively encouraging voter registration and voting. On election day, all church vans should be offering free rides to the polls for anyone who needs them. Every Christian from age 18 to 118 should practice their God given right–pray and vote.

See you at the poll!

Doug Yount

Jacksonville

Jesus' party

God is not a Republican or a Democrat.

Jesus got a lot of second-guessing from conservatives who didn't understand that people with different views were still includable to walk with him.

One of the reasons this country was founded was to avoid mixing political arguments with religious beliefs. This previously resulted in wars and persecutions of all sorts.

Jane Crawford

Seabrook

Church & state

Frankly, I am disturbed by the political overtures based on “faith-based initiatives.” I am unalterably opposed to the possible intermingling of tax money with (private and parochial) school assistance … that sounds so inviting and well-meaning.

I am further disturbed by pressures to allow pastors to endorse specific candidates, political parties and other issues of direct political interest.

Many think they are doing the Lord's will by imposing their perceptions of how the country should be run. They have no conception of the meaning of the separation of church and state.

The opinions herein expressed are my own, and I realize many of my friends and others have differing points of view.

Happily, we live in a nation that permits expressions of opinion.

Bill Chafin

Amarillo

Absolute garbage

I was appalled when I read the letter by F.A. Taylor that you chose to print, in which he said he didn't understand how a person could be a Christian and a Democrat (Sept. 20).

How desperate the editor of the Baptist Standard must be to fill space to stoop to printing such absolute garbage as this.

I am ashamed of you and suggest you go back to school to learn how to edit a Christian newspaper.

I write not for my church, but for myself, a Christian, a Baptist and a Yellow-Dog Democrat.

J.J. Harryman

Bedford

Voting values

A neighbor told me he was a diehard Democrat. I told him I didn't understand what that meant. He said, “It means that even if Satan himself was running for office under the Democratic ticket, I would vote for him!” Wow!

Yes, the environment, health care, jobs, public education and the war in Iraq are important. But they should not be put on the same level as murdering babies or the homosexual agenda. I wouldn't call murdering thousands of babies a day in this country “a speck in my brother's eye” (Luke 18:16).

Some great nations in the past were destroyed from within by homosexuality. Is that what will happen to America? I pray not (1 Corinthians 6:9).

Some call me a legalist. Well, if that means standing up for God's word and not taking it out of context, then I am one.

I heard a brother in Christ say, “If you have a problem with God's word, take it up with him.”

Henry Bean

Wingate

Conflated issues

I am less than amused by the conflation of religion and politics by certain of our Republican brothers and sisters.

Let me tell you how you can quickly identify such conflated Republicans: First, if Christ were here today and declared himself a Democrat, conflated Republicans would berate Jesus in the same manner as he was berated by the Pharisees and Sadducees of his day. “Love your enemy? Pay taxes? What a bleeding-heart liberal!”

Second, if Satan declared himself a Republican, these party adherents would fall all over themselves trying to make him the secretary of defense–“Now we will show those (insert favorite pejorative) what for!”–or the secretary of health and human services–“Get those lazy (insert second favorite pejorative) off welfare!”

Finally, without tongue in cheek, it is not hard to understand how a Christian can be a conflated Republican–sad, but not hard.

Ron Jackson

El Paso

Different day

I didn't read F.A. Taylor's letter about Jesus and politics, but it obviously hit some nerves (Sept. 20). I was a Christian and a Democrat for many of my adult years. I never voted straight ticket; I voted for the candidate who most reflected my values. (He is representing me, is he not?) I could not tell any difference between the parties as far as moral values were concerned.

Today is a different day, however.

How can a person who is aligned with biblical principles vote for a party that is diametrically opposed to almost everything the Bible teaches about values?

I don't believe God is going to judge a person's Christianity on his political party. Surely no reasonable Christian would believe that he will. But the Bible says when we lose our saltiness we are going to be trampled underfoot by the world.

Hello! Looks to me like that's what's happening to Christians in this country, and much of it is the result of sitting on the sidelines while the liberals run the ball down the field.

Wake up, Christian! Mark your ballot for the men and women who will take a stand against immorality.

Anson R. Nash Jr.

Corpus Christi

Political salvation

The old people taught us that the Anti-christ would sit upon the throne of the church and that it would be an empty framework, a shell–a military, economic, political and spiritual entity, void of the Spirit of the Lord.

If conservatism and their newly evolved party deny the kingship and headship of the Lord Jesus Christ over his church and hand it over to the Republican party and its champions, we will have that military, economic, political and spiritual entity that is a framework, a shell, the one that is void of the Spirit of the Lord.

And that is exactly the direction that we are going when we are told we must be a Republican to be saved.

Jesus Christ saved my soul, and anybody's soul that is saved is saved by him. Salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through grace is where it is at, and that is where I stand–on the Rock–faith in the redemptive power of the one that died on the cross for my sins: The Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Bonnie Parvino

Avinger

Support the BWA

After helping lead the Southern Baptist Convention to rebuke the Baptist World Alliance for alleged liberal doctrine that was never substantiated and to dominate any entity that violates the narrow precepts of Nashville nuance, Morris Chapman stood in the ranks of those who thought it wise to withdraw from any relationship with Baptists around the world.

Now he has the audacity to complain that the BWA is reaching out to those Baptists who resented this action by seeking financial support (Oct. 4).

Southern Baptists elected to sever a long and meaningful association with a global family of Baptists and after having done so, evidently think that their definition of ethics is also superior to the BWA and attempt to find fault with those who attempt to monkey with the money!

Chapman urges us to believe BWA fund-raising violates some “policy” that affects the Cooperative Program. In a failed attempt to usurp, intimidate and control this group, SBC leaders decided they could do a better job of global representation and led a few thousand voters to decide for many million non-voters to walk out!

When grace is gone and love has left, our churches need to support the BWA. And if that means taking money from the coffers of SBC control, so be it!

Edward Clark

Danville, Ky.

'Womanist' theologians

I’m glad to see Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is so forward thinking!

Southwestern President Paige Patterson says of a woman who believes she is called to the pastorate, “She would read the womanist theologians here” (Sept. 6).

This is a great step forward for Southwestern in allowing its women students who feel God’s call to the pastorate a chance to read womanist theology. When I was at Southwestern, Renita Weems and other African-American feminist theologians weren’t even mentioned in my classes. It is commendable that Patterson allows, and even seems to encourage, women to read womanist theology, the expression of the feminist theological thought from the perspective of African-American women.

I wonder if the other Baptist schools in Texas have Weems and other womanist theologians on their reading lists.

Kevin Griffith

Grand Prairie

Use contemporary music to reach the lost

I read the “worldly church” letter (Sept. 6). I am constantly reminded that Jesus told us to go into the world and reach the lost.

The lost are not going to hear his message if they won’t stop at the radio station or church where they think only “old timers” or “squares” are located. Those producing and playing contemporary music have learned that if people will listen, they will hear the message.

While I fit both of these musical descriptions, my preference would be old hymns and classical music. Southern gospel is too contemporary for my tastes. But the message in the current hip-hop and rap gospel is not designed to reach me; it is there for those lost souls who have never heard our golden-oldies of hymns.

Jesus didn’t insist that the old traditions be the only traditions. We have done that to ourselves. He met with the sinners and told the traditionalists that they had to go out into the world to reach the lost, not sit back and wait for them to come to us.

Contemporary artists have heard the call and have the right idea. Besides, I suspect that when “Ode to Joy” first came out, there were those who complained about how the church was going downhill with these new songs.

Oliver W. Harbison Jr.

Elgin

Stop labeling people

I find F.A. Taylor’s words (Sept. 20) highly offensive. I am a Democrat and proud to be one.

Perhaps if Taylor would read Matthew 25:31-45, he would find a rather lengthy discourse on what Jesus would do, then or now. For Taylor to say, tongue in cheek or not, that he cannot understand how a Christian can be a Democrat demonstrates anything but a Christ-like spirit.

It’s time for folks to stop, to cease and desist from labeling people

Un-Christian because they do not agree with their own person political positions.

Barbara Kent

Fort Worth

Danger of dialogue with Muslims

Muslims who participated in Houston Baptist University’s Jesus in Islam Symposium purported to tell us “what really happened to Jesus after his crucifixion” (Sept. 6)? Don’t we already know the answer to that?

I realize we need to witness to Muslims, but do we not risk validating their false beliefs with this approach?

Gene Rowell

Cedar Hill

Lesson in Baptist polity

Seems to me Morris Chapman needs a refresher course in Baptist polity.

When the convention voted to leave the BWA, that was a convention decision, not a local-church one.

As a free and autonomous local Baptist church, we are free to choose where we send our money and with whom we associate. The boys in Nashville need to remember who pays the bills up there.

Michael L. Simons

Cleburne Texas

Be open when choosing a pastor

Are churches and pastor-search committees tying the hands of the Lord? I have come to terms that many churches are tying the hands of the Lord.

I was so glad when First Baptist Church in Houston called Gregg Matte. I thought other churches would open their minds and see what a person can do when he is called to preach. I have received so many letters saying that because I do not fit what the church wants they would not even give me a second thought.

The other thing is that I am in Missouri, and Texas is so far away.

I have been trained in the intentional interim ministry, but churches seem to tie the hands of the Lord here as well. If a man has no Seminary, no previous experience or lives far away, do not apply.

I hope if you are looking for a pastor, you will turn it over to the Lord and ask him to place the man he has for your church. Please do not look at his education or at his experience. If he does not have the experience that the church wants, take the step of faith and let the Lord work not only in life of the church but in the life of the pastor.

Fred Stroman

Lees Summit, Mo.

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News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 10/15/04

Women's ministry in The Woodlands
prayerwalks public school hallways

By George Henson

Staff Writer

THE WOODLANDS–“Prayer changes things” may sound like bumper-sticker theology, but a group of Houston-area women took the truism to heart, and it's become the impetus behind their new ministry.

The women's ministry team at First Baptist Church in The Woodlands is praying in the halls and cafeterias of two local schools in what they hope will become a farther-ranging ministry.

Their effort is an outgrowth of the women's ministry focus for the year–First HOPE. “The 'first' obviously comes from it being a ministry of First Baptist Church in The Woodlands, and the 'hope' is an acronym for 'Heaven Opens Possibilities for Everyone,'” women's ministry Coordinator Sharon Shackleford said.

Prayerwalking at the schools dovetails into that objective perfectly, said Kay Carlyle, a member and past coordinator of the women's ministry team. “This will be our flavor of the year–that everyone can have a means to serve the Lord. Prayerwalking is one of the ways women can do that.”

Prayerwalking became a focus of the women's ministry after several of the women went on a Celtic mission trip with prayerwalking as a focus. Shackleford said the trip to Wales opened her eyes to the possibilities of praying onsite for public school teachers and students.

The women have access to two schools, where they can pray as they walk the halls and open areas. They do not interrupt classes or activities, and they wear special name badges so they are not security concerns.

“You wouldn't know what these people are doing by just looking at them,” Shackleford said. “We are just walking and praying for patience and wisdom for teachers, that they would be kind and just show the love of God in all they do.”

Prayer is directed primarily to the needs of teachers, because they set the stage for what goes on in the classroom, she said.

“We do pray that the children would be attentive and receptive to the kindness of the teachers and feel the fruits of the Spirit as it is evidenced in their teachers. The fruit of the Spirit is one of the best things we can demonstrate for our children.”

The two campuses also have a box where teachers can place their concerns for the prayer team.

“We can't call it a 'prayer box,' but when the teachers let us know of specific concerns they have, we can definitely make those things a matter of prayer,” Shackleford said. “There may even be opportunities for us to help with a meal or some financial gift. We just want to let the teachers know that there are people who care about them and pray for them.”

On days when special testing or other activities make walking the halls inconvenient, the women walk the perimeter of the school grounds, she said.

While the ministry has partnerships with two schools, they are not the only two schools that are prayed for, she pointed out.

“We encourage the women to pray for the schools and teachers of their children in their homes. They can be effective prayer warriors there as well,” she said.

The important thing is to pray, Shackleford said.

“One of the things I learned on my mission trip is that you talk to God about people before you talk to people about God,” she said.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.