Posted: 8/06/04

Canadian Southern Baptists take steps toward name change

By Frank Stirk

Canadian Horizon

TORONTO (BP)–After being known for 20 years as the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists, messengers to the annual meeting in Toronto voted to take the first tentative step toward considering a new name.

By a show of hands, roughly two-thirds supported a motion instructing the convention's national leadership board to name a committee to study “the possibility of a name change … that will better reflect our mission in our nation and our world.”

The committee will present its recommendation at next year's annual meeting in Calgary.

Ian Buntain, professor of church planting and evangelism at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Cochrane, Alberta, introduced the motion during the recent convention at Canada Christian College.

Having “southern” in the title has proven counterproductive, Buntain said.

“When Canadians think 'south,' they think 'America.' And so we're called 'the American denomination.' That's not helping us reach Canadians,” he said.

“Our name needs to represent what we are about, instead of where we came from. We need to celebrate where we came from, we need not be ashamed of where we came from, but we need to look to the future.”

A similar motion to study changing the name of the Southern Baptist Convention–because its churches now blanket all of the United States and not just the Southern states–also was debated at its annual meeting in Indianapolis in mid-June. It was defeated.

Posted: 8/06/04

DBU students seek to
'turn the tide' against AIDS in Africa

By Kristi Brooks

Dallas Baptist University

DALLAS–In an effort to “turn the tide” against the spread of HIV-AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, a group of Dallas Baptist University students spent a month there this summer, carrying a message of sexual abstinence to students in Swaziland's schools.

The students–along with DBU faculty and staff members–made the commitment to go to Swaziland following an on-campus appeal last October by Bruce Wilkinson, Christian author and founder of the Dream for Africa organization.

Students learned nearly half of the people in Swaziland between the ages of 25 and 29 are HIV-positive, and a 15-year-old Swazi has about a 20 percent chance of living to age 30.

“With this incredible charge before us, university administration began planning and praying,” explained Blair Blackburn, DBU executive vice president. “Throughout the fall and spring semesters, letters asking for prayer, financial support and encouragement were sent to many friends and families of the university and students. As the financial support poured in, we knew that God's hand would guide this mission.”

Blackburn organized a four-member leadership team from DBU for the trip–Jay Harley, director of spiritual life; John Adams, coordinator of auxiliary services; Nikki Walker, a former Journeyman missionary to Swaziland; and Bob Garrett, professor of missiology.

The team endured a 20-hour plane ride to South Africa and then traveled by bus to a Youth for Christ camp outside Johannesburg. The following day, the students began training and learning the curriculum they would present in the Swazi schools. After a week of intense training, they left by bus for Swaziland and were ready to go to the schools.

Every morning for three weeks, the 30 teams of 10 to 14 people were sent out to schools all over the nation of Swaziland. Each team had two to four DBU students, along with college students from around Swaziland and South Africa who also had committed to abstinence.

“The teams were multi-ethnic and culturally diverse to generate a variety of teaching and creativity,” Walker said. “The most important thing we wanted to show was unity among the nations. It was about empowering those who live there, because they are the ones who really can make a difference in their country.”

Students showed a movie, “Beat the Drum,” that depicts a young boy who has been orphaned by AIDS. Then they followed up with a workbook based on the film designed to encourage student discussion about how values affect actions.

“We used the movie as a platform to discuss the issues the students face on a regular basis in a non-threatening way,” said Lance Gardner, a DBU senior. “The Swazi people are the nicest people you may ever meet, but they don't discuss their problems out loud.”

Dallas Baptist University students Isaac de los Santos and Karissa Muilenburg spend some quality time getting to know the students from Swaziland. More than 100 volunteers from DBU spent a month in Swaziland teaching lessons on sexual purity.

DBU junior Jacob Holt added: “It's almost like they think if they just don't talk about their problems, by ignoring them, they'll go away. The reality is, they are slowly killing themselves off by not talking.”

The students knew the missions experience would be tough, but nothing prepared them for the stories they would hear from the Swazi students.

“I knew it would be a hard trip, but it was difficult in ways I wasn't expecting,” explained Michelle Brackett, a DBU senior. “Hearing stories from young teenage girls tell about how they have been abused since a very young age by a teacher or family member was horrifying to me.”

Each day at the schools, the teams were stretched more and more to be flexible, gracious and loving, team leaders noted.

“I don't think our students struggled with cultural differences. It was the heavy issues the Swazi people encounter on a regular basis that challenged them,” Adams said.

“I would venture to say most social workers in the U.S. may never hear or see some of the things our students saw. Swaziland, it seems to me, is a country that has literally hit 'rock bottom' in so many areas–socially, spiritually, economically, educationally and morally. And yet, our students addressed the concerns brought to them with grace, confidence, tact and strength that only comes from a total and complete dependence on the Holy Spirit.”

Garrett expressed pride in the DBU students' commitment and courage, saying: “They were passionate about telling the Swazi youth that God wanted to bless them and give them hope for a long life. They were so clear in standing up for sexual abstinence and fidelity, and they did not blink at asking students to receive the Lord.”

In the evenings, teams met back at the camp to recount the events of the day. After dinner they would spend several hours singing, praying and worshipping together.

“Our team always prayed together first thing in the morning, and then I would spend time by myself in the evenings praying,” Holt recounted. “This trip showed me how vital and necessary prayer is. I can't stop the AIDS pandemic, but I can pray. I can cry out to God on behalf of these people.”

Many Swazi students came forward during Friday assemblies to take a pledge of sexual purity and commit their lives to Christ.

“If just one Swazi commits to a relationship with Jesus Christ and to sexual purity until marriage, that could be an entire family that is saved,” Harley said.

Several students returned to Dallas with confirmation of a call to full-time mission work, and others, like Brackett, received some clarity on their role with missions.

“This trip made me realize that while I may not be called to full-time missions, I want to be involved with other mission trips when the opportunities arise,” she shared.

For Holt, the trip confirmed his desire to serve as a missionary in a foreign country. “I have a huge burden for the people of South America, and I hope to some day serve as a missionary there,” he said.

The missions experience was a month-long lesson in servant leadership, Adams noted.

“Our students were truly tested and stretched in Africa, and their understanding of the call God has placed on their lives blew me away,” he said.

Posted: 8/06/04

Coalition urges Supreme Court
to ban death penalty for minors

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A broad coalition of concerned parties–including Nobel laureates, scientific leaders, foreign countries and American religious denominations–is urging the Supreme Court to ban the death penalty for offenders under age 18 at the time they commit their crimes.

Groups and individuals as diverse as former President Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, the American Medical Association and the American Baptist Churches USA filed simultaneous friend-of-the-court briefs in the case of Roper vs. Simmons. The high court's justices agreed earlier this year to hear the case, which deals with the 1993 murder of a Missouri woman.

According to court records, Christopher Simmons–who then was 17–and a 15-year-old accomplice broke into 46-year-old Shirley Crook's home near St. Louis. They said they only intended to burglarize the home. However, fearing that Crook would later be able to identify them, Simmons and his accomplice bound her and threw her over a bridge into a river. Crook drowned.

In 2003, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned Simmons' death sentence as unconstitutional. The state appealed the decision.

The friend-of-the-court briefs argue on several different grounds against executing criminals under 18 at the time they commit their crimes.

In a separate 2002 decision, the justices ruled that executing mentally retarded criminals violates an evolving national standard of decency on what qualifies as “cruel and unusual punishment,” which the Constitution forbids.

The briefs filed this summer ask the justices to apply similar reasoning to crimes committed by 16- and 17-year-olds.

The court already has banned the death penalty for minors 15 and younger at the time they commit their offenses. It last visited the issue for older minors in 1989, when it ruled such punishments were constitutional.

But the new briefs argue the nation's consensus on the juvenile death penalty has evolved since then.

Only seven states have executed juvenile offenders since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment. Of those executions, the vast majority have taken place in Texas.

Death sentences imposed on juveniles have become increasingly rare, and 31 states have banned the practice. The United States is one of only five nations around the world to execute juvenile offenders.

The various medical professionals argue in their brief that additional research on the mental, emotional and psychological development of teenagers since 1989 casts doubt on the legitimacy of imposing the death penalty on minors.

The religious leaders, in their brief, argued their denominations' views added to the emerging “broad social and political consensus” against executing juvenile offenders.

Allowing the death penalty for juveniles permits “a radical inconsistency in the law to persist because, in virtually every area of law, a person's youthfulness is taken into account unless the state is contemplating the ultimate question of whether to take his or her life,” the brief, written by attorneys for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, argued.

“This anomaly, in which a blind eye is turned to the immaturity of youth when that immaturity is most relevant and its consequences most severe, cannot be reconciled with our nation's evolving moral sense about what is right and just in contemporary America,” the brief continued.

Religious groups represented in the brief included the American Baptist Churches USA, the Alliance of Baptists, the United Methodist Church, the Greek Orthodox Diocese of America and the American Jewish Committee.

Other briefs filed in Simmons' favor represented medical and psychiatric professionals, child-advocacy groups, civil-rights groups, attorneys, former U.S. diplomats, families of murder victims, and a group of foreign governments and legal organizations.

The justices are expected to hear oral arguments in Roper vs. Simmons this fall.

Posted: 8/06/04

Social justice takes back seat to hot-button political issues

By Sandi Villarreal

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)–Same-sex marriage and abortion are overshadowing other moral issues in the presidential election, even among Christian voters, who make up the overwhelming majority of the electorate.

“It has to do with the nature of our political structure,” said Gerald Zandstra of the Acton Institute, a conservative public-policy organization. “Our leaders function in the same self-interested way as anyone else.”

Zandstra said politicians campaign for issues on which they can differentiate themselves from their competition. Abortion, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research are more simplistic issues with clear positions, he said.

“You can't look at homelessness and say if you are for it or against it,” Zandstra said.

Richard Troxell, founder of Universal Living Wage, said the issue of poverty is being ignored by politicians because poor people are not a sought-after constituency.

“Who is going to speak for these people?” Troxell asked. “I don't think (poverty) is being addressed at all. There are 3.5 million people who are going to experience homelessness this year. … We see no plan to end homelessness or even address the issue in a pragmatic way.”

According to polls, an overwhelming majority of American voters–both liberal and conservative–identify themselves as Christians. And while Christians have a theological stake in a broad spectrum of issues, it's the hot-button, often sexually charged, issues that get most of the attention.

For example, Roman Catholics–who have a track record of grass-roots involvement on poverty and other social-justice issues–made headlines recently when some Catholic bishops said they would deny Democratic candidate John Kerry communion because of his pro-choice stance on abortion.

Other Christians criticized the bishops for elevating one moral issue while ignoring others. But among many evangelicals, a narrower political agenda is becoming commonplace.

When he addressed the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis, Pastor Steve Gaines of First Baptist Church in Gardendale, Ala., honed the list to two: “I personally believe with all of my heart that the two issues that will determine what God will do not only with America, but to America, are abortion and homosexuality.”

Why are some issues more politically potent than others?

Barry Hankins, professor of church-state studies at Baylor University, said the paradox has been around quite some time.

“The abortion issue got religious conservatives involved in politics in the 1970s and '80s,” he said. From there, these groups got involved in other human-life issues such as stem-cell research and same-sex marriage, he said.

Many religiously conservative groups are more motivated about abortion because they believe actual life is being taken, Hankins said. Social justice issues that involve human suffering–such as poverty and homelessness–don't hold the same sense of urgency.

Not all religious voices are remaining silent on those issues, however.

One group trying to gain a hearing for a broader social agenda is Call to Renewal, a network of churches and faith-based organizations that work to overcome poverty through public-policy activism. Jim Wallis, head of the organization, told the Washington Post he believes the Religious Right's agenda is “out of touch” with most Christians' concerns.

“Do we really think that Jesus' primary concern in this election year would be a marriage amendment–with the poverty rate rising, with one in six of all U.S. children and one in three children of color living below the poverty line, with more than a billion people around the world living on less than a dollar a day?” Wallis asked.

The National Association of Evangelicals also has noticed the lack of attention paid to poverty. A position paper being drafted by the NAE, titled “For the Health of a Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility,” reminds evangelicals of their duty as citizens to address not only abortion and same-sex marriage but poverty and social welfare.

“The Bible calls rulers to shoulder certain responsibilities for the economic well being of their people,” the draft document reads. “We urge Christians who work in the political realm to shape laws pertaining to wages, education, taxation, immigration, health care and social welfare that will protect those trapped in poverty and empower the poor to improve their circumstances.”

This year's presidential candidates have not been completely silent on social justice matters.

President Bush's main effort to address poverty has been his faith-based initiatives, which channel federal money to religious groups for charitable efforts. He has touted this plan since the beginning of his presidency, but some critics have denounced it as a dangerous intermingling of church and state, saying federal money brings federal regulation.

Wallis, an early supporter of Bush's faith-based initiatives, said the plan has been “reduced to a photo op.”

But he also criticized Kerry for his lack of attention to these issues. In the same article, Wallis wrote that Kerry hardly has mentioned lower-income families and instead is courting the middle-class vote.

Issues of poverty and social justice likely will never have the political impact to take center stage in elections, say some observers. Candidates “might tip their hats to living wage or faith-based initiatives,” Zandstra said, “but they're not going to make them large planks in their platforms.”

Hankins of Baylor said some of the blame rests on the media's attention to “flashpoint” issues.

“It comes down to the press coverage of controversy,” Hankins said. “Human-life issues are so controversial that they get more coverage.”

John Couretas, communications manager for the Acton Institute, agreed with Hankins, calling the attention to these issues “pack journalism.”

“People tend to write about what others are writing about,” Couretas said.

Even without a headline-hungry media, Hankins noted, it would be difficult for candidates to “campaign on a platform of helping the poor.”

“There is a large constituency that is pro-life, and there is a large constituency that is pro-choice,” Hankins said. “There is not a large constituency for the poor.”

Posted: 8/06/04

Pastor's slideshow voting
guide sparks complaint with IRS

SPRINGDALE, Ark. (ABP)–Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a religious-liberty watchdog organization, has filed a complaint with the IRS against the 14,000-member First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., the largest church affiliated with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, for what it considers partisan politics, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The church's pastor, Ronnie Floyd, preached a patriotic sermon July 4 during which he encouraged members to "vote God" in the November election. Floyd did not mention either President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry by name, nor did he indicate which candidate he personally favored. Rather, he urged members to vote "by the authority of God's word, Christian values, convictions and beliefs."

But Americans United claims the message crossed the line of the Internal Revenue Service Tax Code for tax-exempt churches, which prohibits churches from participating or intervening in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.

“Pastor Floyd's presentation seemed more like a Bush campaign commercial than a church service,” said Barry Lynn, Americans United executive director, in a statement.

During the sermon in question, Floyd–a prominent Southern Baptist leader–called the November presidential election “one of the most critical elections in U.S. history. … Rarely have we seen two candidates so diametrically opposed in their convictions.”

Contrasting the candidates' stands on same-sex marriage, Floyd stated, “One candidate believes marriage is a God-ordained institution between one man and one woman and has proposed a constitutional amendment protecting marriage.” A photo of Bush appeared on a screen behind Floyd as he spoke those words.

“The other candidate was one of only 14 U.S. senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996,” Floyd continued as a photo of Kerry appeared. Similarly, he contrasted the candidates' views on abortion and other issues.

An IRS tax guide for churches notes it is acceptable for churches to speak out on moral issues, provide non-partisan voter-education guides and encourage people to vote, but they must not “favor one candidate over another.”

Americans United filed a similar complaint earlier against televangelist Jerry Falwell, also a Southern Baptist, saying Falwell endorsed Bush in an e-mail to supporters and also urged followers to send money to a political-action committee that supports Republican candidates.

Floyd referred questions about the Americans United complaint to Alan Damron, an associate pastor of the Springdale church.

“There is no time in the sermon where Ronnie endorses by name any candidate over the other,” Damron said. “He does not even take a position personally.”

The church stands by the sermon and believes it does not violate the IRS codes, Damron said. He insisted the church simply is proclaiming God's truth and encouraging people to live by biblical values and principles.

Damron said church leaders have consulted with Matthew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, which works with Jerry Falwell Ministries. Staver told them the sermon in no way violates any IRS code.

“We believe what we are saying and doing is right,” Damron said.

Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, a Washington-based religious-liberty group that advises churches on political involvement, disagreed with Damron's assessment, saying Floyd's sermon was a violation of IRS rules.

“He clearly violated the letter and spirit of the ban on electioneering,” Walker said.

“About the only thing he did not say was 'Vote for Bush.' But those three words would have added nothing to the sermon. Even a child would understand whom the sermon urged his listeners to vote for.”

While Floyd's supporters might argue his comparison of candidates was nothing more than a “multimedia voter guide,” Walker said, “it would be hard to make the case that it is accurate and unbiased.”

Posted: 8/06/04

San Angelo-area volunteers start pilot
Christian Men's Job Corps program

By George Henson

Staff Writer

SAN ANGELO–Roger Juli-en knows a good thing when he sees it.

While touring the Christian Women's Job Corps program in San Angelo and hearing one woman testify about how the program had impacted her life, Julien began to wonder why there wasn't anything of the same sort for men.

He found Woman's Missionary Union had a blueprint and outline for a program for men, but it never had been implemented.

Thanks to Julien and a number of other men in Concho Valley Baptist Association, the Christian Men's Job Corps is now a reality.

While the San Angelo program is the pilot for a program to mentor men and give them additional skills to help secure a job or to better their employment, the women's program is flourishing in 80 locations across the country.

The program calls on participants to attend classes three nights a week for eight weeks. Each class includes Bible study as well as life skills such as personal finances, legal issues, basic computer training, communication skills, resumés, job opportunities and interview skills.

Julien recognized the potential in the approach, but he still initially was reluctant to develop the program for men.

“In February 2003, I got real passionate about it, but I didn't tell anybody for two weeks, hoping I could get out from under it. But nobody said anything, and God didn't say anything. He just wouldn't let me sleep,” Julien recalled.

Having been involved in prison ministry 14 years, he immediately recognized its application for men released from prison.

“I knew we needed to do something for the men coming out of prison because so many had no place to go. The number of repeat offenders was alarming to me,” he said.

Julien, a layman at Immanuel Baptist Church in San Angelo, said the program not only will benefit the men involved, but also will help their families as well.

“We feel like the Christian Men's Job Corps is going to be a benefit to the whole family by putting these men back into a position of leadership in the home,” he said.

The men came to the program from a variety of sources–through the recommendation of law enforcement authorities, from churches in the association and some just walked in off the street. The first class ranged in age from 18 to 54 years old.

While there are other programs that teach life skills, two facets of the program make it both unique and life-changing–Bible study and mentoring, Julien said.

Those aspects of the Christian Women's Job Corps program that were accentuated in the testimony of the woman lit the fire in Julien's heart.

She told him she had cut all ties with her family and had no food, clothing, self-esteem or hope before coming to the program. She added that had changed since being involved with the program and the women who had shown her the love of Christ. She also told Julien she had given her life to Christ that very morning.

“I was so impressed with her testimony. I thought, 'That's the answer to the problem we're having with the men right there,'” he said.

“I was sure I had too much on my plate to get it started, though, and God didn't argue with me–he just didn't let me sleep,” Julien said.

Jean Law of San Angelo wrote 24 Bible study lessons that chronicle how God has redeemed and used people throughout history despite their mistakes. Lenard Hartley, a retired minister, heads the mentoring aspect of the program. Working with a host of other men throughout the association, and even a few non-Baptists, the program has completed its first rotation, and Julien said the program has been successful.

“We started with six men, and we ended with six, and I think they have learned some good lessons like authority is a friend and not an enemy,” he said. “The classes also have given them the ability to gain better employment.

“They also have gained some self-esteem and learned that they are someone special and that God loves them. They were most interested in the Bible studies as they learned that God has used survivors throughout history,” he added.

One of the men made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ through the program, Julien said.

More than 100 people attended the graduation ceremonies for the men.

Already calls are coming in about the next session, scheduled to begin Sept. 13.

“The program showed us that not only did the students learn and grow, but also the mentors learned and grew, and the teachers grew in their perspectives on some things.”

Posted: 8/06/04

Serving God in dark places is a privilege,
shooting survivor tells new missionaries

By Mark Kelly

International Mission Board

TYLER (BP)–The hardships of missionary service can be discouraging, but worshipping God in a spiritually dark place is a privilege beyond compare, Iraq shooting survivor Carrie McDonnall told 58 new missionaries in Tyler.

McDonnall, the lone survivor of a March 15 shooting that claimed the lives of her husband, David, and three other Southern Baptist workers, spoke during an International Mission Board appointment service at Green Acres Baptist Church.

“As I was preparing for tonight, I thought about what I could say to encourage you,” McDonnall said to her new co-workers.

“One thing I knew was that I wanted to share a Scripture with you, a Scripture that David clung to and referred back to on those days when he needed encouragement.”

She quoted Psalm 108:3-5 from the New International Version: “I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.”

“One night, this verse sunk in as we worshipped on a rooftop in a village where there had not been a believer for centuries,” McDonnall recalled.

“Many of you are going to find yourselves in places like that, where there are no believers or possibly never have been.

“Consider it a privilege that you may worship the one true living God in a place where there is only darkness.”

McDonnall warned the new missionaries not to be surprised when everything goes wrong and life gets hard.

“There are times when you will need to focus on the Lord's faithfulness,” she said. “He is the one who is called 'faithful and true.'

“In those times when nothing seems to go right and all you can cling to is the call you have obeyed, remember this: God is faithful. That is his name. He will do what he put you there for.

“He will be exalted among the nations. The earth will be filled with his glory. Your work is not in vain, nor does it go unnoticed.

“In this world, you will have tribulation, but take courage. Jesus has overcome the world. Not 'will overcome.' He has overcome this world.”

Overseas service can be extremely difficult, and many people don't understand why missionaries go, said Gordon Fort, the board's new vice president for overseas operations.

The truth, he said, is that the love of Christ compels missionaries to go–and compels them to stay when things get difficult.

“People will ask you why you are doing what you are doing,” Fort said.

“The reason is that, deep in your heart, you are compelled by the love of Christ. There is something inside of us that says if we don't go, those who have not heard will spend eternity separated from God.

“One of the things that keeps us on the mission field is that when God calls, we cannot help but obey. We lay our lives on the line, in obedience to the call of God.

“Never forget to walk in that obedience every day you are on the field.

“It's an unending quest. You might have a victory today, but the victories of today will not guarantee tomorrow's battles. You have to fight them each day. Obey your master.”

Even new missionaries aren't spiritual giants, he noted. The only hope anyone has of being used by God is to “live a sacrificed life.”

“You know you're not a spiritual giant. In fact, some of you are wondering, 'How did I make it through this process?'” Fort said. “You know you are human beings like everyone else in this room.

“But if you will remember to live a crucified life every day, you will experience the power of God flowing through you.

“That is what will make the difference wherever you go.”

“Do you want God to do something great with your life?” Fort asked. “Do you want God to use you for sake of his kingdom? Then just spiritually see yourself climb up on an altar, there to be consumed by the fire of God's Holy Spirit until he burns you to ashes. Then let him take what is left and let him mold you with his hands into an instrument he can use.”

Posted: 8/06/04

'777' on the pager means somebody is praying

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DALLAS–Prayer and pagers are being brought together in an innovative way that benefits congregations and people in need.

Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas and First Baptist Church in Richardson are using pagers to let people on their prayer lists know when church members are praying for them.

“We say a lot of times that we will pray for someone, and this is a good way to put feet to that,” said Jack Martin, minister of pastoral care at Park Cities Baptist Church.

The pagers are given to people in need of prayer, and then the congregation is supplied with the number to the pager. The number 777 is typed in to signal that someone is praying specifically for that person and his or her need.

The person praying intentionally doesn't indicate his or her telephone number. That way, the person being prayed for doesn't feel obligated to return the call.

“These people don't need to be returning any calls. They need to know that someone is praying for them,” Martin said.

It's a good thing they don't have to return the calls, because they often number into the hundreds.

“My biggest fear on starting this thing is that we'd give somebody a pager and nobody would call. That would be awful, but it's been just the opposite,” said Bill Webb, associate pastor of spiritual development at First Baptist in Richardson. “It took about a day and a half for us to know this would work.”

Martin's experience has been similar. “They often get calls of up into the hundreds, and that can be an amazing thing to a family that is in a tough situation,” he said.

It is not just the person with the pager that reaps benefits from the ministry, however.

“It's a benefit in that it keeps those who can't be in attendance from being pushed to the backs of our minds, and it lets them know they haven't been forgotten,” he said.

He said it also has been a boon to Sunday school classes. "I've heard comments like: 'We'd been wondering how best to minister to this family, and this works well,'" he said.

It also provides an opportunity for homebound church members to stay in touch.

“Shut-ins can pray and call the number, and that allows them to remain active in a part of the church's ministry, even if they aren't able to leave their homes,” he said.

While envisioned as a ministry to the church's members, Webb said, the pager ministry has become known outside the church as well.

A church member's son who had a brain tumor was one of the first to receive a pager. He estimates 3,500 pages have alerted him that he has been the subject of someone's prayers.

“He says is such a blessing to know that there are people who have been praying for him and his situation who don't even know him,” Webb said.

A couple of the Richardson pagers now are with people with no immediate connection to the church but who heard about the ministry and wanted to know how they could get on the pager prayer list.

Park Cities only gives the pagers to people in extreme situations.

“We don't give them out to everyone who goes into the hospital; it has to be a pretty serious situation,” Martin said. But the gravity of those situations makes it especially sweet for the prayer warriors when someone recovers, he added.

First Baptist in Richardson gives the pagers to a variety of people in a variety of circumstances.

“We don't really have any rules. We're still making this up as we go along,” Webb said.

Both churches use six beepers. Sometimes they all are assigned; sometimes they are not, and more pagers are readily available from the supplier.

The ministry demands little in either time or money, Webb noted. “It's very little effort on my part–and well worth what little effort it takes and the small amount of dollars we spend maintaining the pagers.”

Both churches use the same pager company, which charges them $5 per month for the service. Park Cities uses pagers it already owned but was not using. First Baptist leases its pagers for $1 per month.

“You just can't imagine how much good this has done for everyone involved for only $5 a month,” Martin said.

Posted: 8/06/04

Houston youth experience international missions at home

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON–Students from Tallowood Baptist Church found an international mission experience this summer–inside their hometown's beltway.

More than 100 young people split into eight groups and crossed Houston, ministering alongside congregations. Some teams helped lead Vacation Bible Schools; others painted church walls; others yet helped congregations make initial contacts in communities.

Middle school and high school students ministered to Chinese, Russian, Nigerian, Native American and Filipino groups in Houston during the trip, facilitated by Cathy Dundas of the Baptist General Convention of Texas intercultural initiatives office.

Ashley Smith, 17, of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston holds Priscilla during Vacation Bible School held in a Houston apartment complex. Children played games, did crafts and studied the Bible. More than 100 Tallowood young people split into eight groups and crossed Houston, ministering alongside multi-ethnic congregations in a variety of community ministry projects, evangelistic outreach efforts and missions endeavors. (John Hall Photo)

Serving with the different churches exposed the group to cultures some of them would encounter only on foreign mission trips, said Jerome Smith, the church's youth minister.

“The reality is the world is here,” he said. “This week we are sending groups all over the world, but inside the loop.

“It's pretty amazing to drive down the street and experience a whole new world.”

While the trip had an international flair, students were encouraged by the opportunity to impact their community with their faith.

“We chose to stay in Houston this year to spread Christ's love in the city where we live,” Ashley Smith, 17, said.

Group members working with the Russian Messianic Congregation in Houston said they saw God move in a “powerful” way. They planned to work in an apartment complex all week, using a clubhouse as the base for Bible studies, games and a swimming party, but they were told at the last minute they could use the clubhouse for only three evenings and could not advertise their activities in the complex.

The day before the students were to begin ministering, they drove around the neighborhood seven times praying and praising God–following the Israelites' example of marching around Jericho in the book of Joshua.

The group felt God leading the team to a park and began advertising that games would be held for children the next day. But when the group set up, no one was there.

Students and leaders held hands in a circle, and each prayed children would come. As the prayer ended, the volunteers looked up to see children coming in groups of fours and fives.

“It was incredible,” Margaret Booth, 17, said. “It was awesome. It was very encouraging because it's like even though so many doors closed, so many others were opened.”

Susan Pratt, who led one of the groups that taught Vacation Bible School at the Northwest Chinese Baptist Church in Sugar Land, said the Tallowood students expanded churches' outreach but also served as encouragers.

Uri Zahora, who leads the Russian Messianic Congregation, agreed the students were giving him a “major boost” spiritually.

Watching the young people build relationships with Jewish children in an effort to share the gospel was uplifting to him.

“The Lord is showing himself strong,” he said.

Jacob Robison, 18, said he hopes the students' efforts will help cultivate the seed of faith in the hearts of the children they served.

“We're trying to show these kids God's love,” he said.

To set up a similar mission experience, contact Dundas at (713) 932-9760 or the intercultural initiatives office at (214) 828-5372.

Posted: 8/06/04

Around the State

Hardin-Simmons University has awarded the first doctoral degree in its history. Receiving the degree was Lance Cotton, who earned the doctor of physical therapy degree. He currently is working in Seattle, Wash., in an acute-care facility.

Two Texans were among 35 chaplains recently endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Craig Butler is a clinical pastoral education resident at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, and Cindy Wallace is a chaplain at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco.

Hardin-Simmons University has announced the addition of 14 faculty members. New faculty include Terry Sergeant, professor of computer science; Amy Miles, visiting instructor of English; Steve Neves, assistant professor of art; William Mouat, assistant professor of voice and director of the opera program; Amy Roberts, associate professor of nursing and director of the master of science in nursing program; Melissa Milliorn, assistant professor of social work; Eileen Kendrick, instructor of education; Kayla Christianson, visiting instructor of communication; Nancy Hildebrand, instructor of nursing; Timothy Maddox, associate professor of philosophy; Kristi McAuliffe, assistant professor of German; Eric Coleman, assistant professor of criminal justice; Joseph Bailey, instructor of communication; and Shaylee Burling, visiting instructor of business and accounting.

Houston Baptist University has announced the retirements of eight faculty members. They include Beth Boyce, professor of Spanish; Daton Dodson, professor of German and English; Doug Gehrman, director of the master of science degree in human resource management; Don Griffin, associate professor of health studies; Bobbie Law, assistant professor of nursing; Nancy McCreary, assistant professor of music; Sebron Williams, professor of education and psychology; and Ruth Ann Williamson, professor of education. Williamson also was one of two recipients of the Opal Goolsby Outstanding Teaching Award. Robert Towery, assistant professor of chemistry, also was a recipient of the award to honor superior teaching skills in the classroom.

Dennis Dillin, professor of chemistry at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, recently participated in a workshop titled “Sherlock Holmes to Real-Life CSI” at the National Science Foundation's Center for Workshops in the Chemical Sciences. Dillin, a 29-year member of the faculty at UMHB, was chosen as one of 16 individuals from across the nation to participate in the special workshop. Participants studied crime scene investigation, serology, fingerprinting techniques, ballistics, arson investigation, drug identification, DNA profiling and more.

Larry Fink, professor of English at Hardin-Simmons University, has published his first book, “George McDonald: Images of His World.” The book is filled with photographs of homes of 19th century author George McDonald.

Baptist University of the Americas has expanded its music program. Maria Monteiro has been promoted to assistant professor of music as evidence of the new focus. Adjunct instructors will be utilized so that six or seven music courses can be offered each year. All students are required to take a music-appreciation course, but now they have the option of a minor in music. A music major is in the school's long-range plans.

Howard Payne University sophomore Brian Prewitt won grand prize at the national Focus photography competition. Prewitt, a business administration and Academy of Freedom major from Plano, said he received the camera for Christmas and began taking pictures for fun this spring. He is a member of Prestonwood Church in Plano. HPU President Lanny Hall presented Prewitt with a commemorative medallion in recognition of his showing at the competition.

Donald Looser, vice president for academic affairs, and Mary Ellen Spore, secretary for the department of music, have been named recipients of Houston Baptist Univeristy's Outstanding Staff awards. Looser has been on staff since the first students enrolled in 1963. Spore has been on the university's staff 17 years.

Jerry Rogers, bivocational pastor of Orchard Road Church in Lewisville, was named teacher of the year at Meadowbrook Christian School there.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions Dallas office has added two staff members. Laura Cadena is missions partnership relationship manager, and Timothy Wood is volunteer missions program manager.

Jim Jones and Kelley Tragesser have joined the Hardin-Simmons University enrollment staff. Jones is director of financial aid, and Tragesser is director of recruiting.

Houston Baptist University has announced that Judy Martin, director of development, also will begin coordinating alumni activities.

Anniversaries

Gary Bradley, 20th, as associate pastor of Baptist Temple in San Antonio, Aug. 1.

Parker Church in Grandview, 100th, Aug. 8. Former Pastor Allen Kyle will speak at a 2 p.m. celebration. Souvenir fans with a history of the church will be given. John Hollingsworth is pastor.

First Church in Jacinto City, 60th, Aug. 15. A lunch will follow the morning service. A video chronicling the church's history will be shown. For more information, call (713) 672-2802. Rick Blount is pastor.

Pine Ridge Church in Sour Lake, 130th, Aug. 22. Jerry Redkey, director of missions for Sabine Neches Area, will preach in the morning service. Lunch will follow. An afternoon program will feature the dedication of the old church bell. Former pastors and music ministers are expected to speak. Drifty Cates is pastor.

University Church in Hous-ton, 30th, Aug. 28-29. A concert and dinner will be held Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. An anniversary reception will be held between the morning services. The church gave “gifts to the community” as its primary means of marking the anniversary. Robert Creech is pastor.

South Park Church in Alvin, 50th, Aug. 28-29. An open house and program are planned for Saturday at 6 p.m. There will be activities throughout the day on Sunday. For more information, call (281) 331-3902. Bruce Peterson is pastor.

Rick DuBroc, 25th, as pastor of First Church in El Campo, Aug. 29. A barbecue luncheon will be held at the church in his honor.

Second Church in Abilene, 45th, Aug. 29. Pastor Joe Prim celebrates his fifth anniversary that day.

Santos Ramirez, 10th, as pastor of Primera Iglesia in Richmond.

School Creek Church in Lampasas, 125th, Sept. 1. Jerry Perkins is pastor.

First Church in Aledo, 125th, Sept. 5. A picnic will follow the morning worship service. A petting zoo, bounce house, games, hayrides and a car show also are planned. Lee Brewer is pastor.

Port Caddo Church in Marshall, 85th, Sept. 5-6. Former Pastor Byron Banta will preach in the Sunday morning service. A Labor Day picnic will be held at 5 p.m. For more information, call (903) 938-8849. John Sullens is pastor.

Retiring

David Mohn as minister of music at First Church in Hallsville Aug. 22. He has served there 25 years. A reception will be held at 6 p.m. on his last Sunday.

Ordained

Blake Thomas, to the ministry at Wildewood Church in Spring.

Marc Keith, James Kincaid, Kyle Hooper, Kirby Smith and Freddie Spaulding as deacons at First Church in Port Neches.

Deaths

John Ivy, 82, July 16 in Amarillo. He was a member of First Church in Amarillo and had been a Baptist minister most of his working life. He is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Nancy Sires; son, Weldon; sister, Mary Jo Baker; and brother, Jim.

David Garland, 83, July 21 in Fort Worth. He was a distinguished professor emeritus of Old Testament and Hebrew at Southwestern Seminary. He taught at the seminary from 1958 to 1991. He also was interim pastor of Oak Grove Church in Burleson from 1982 to 1991. Upon his retirement from the seminary, he assumed the title of pastor and served the church until 1998. He was the author of the commentary on Habakkuk in the Broadman Bible Commentary series, as well as Bible study guides on Amos, Isaiah, Job and Hosea for Zondervan Press. Before joining the seminary's faculty, he was a pastor in Arkansas and Indiana. He also was a participant in the U.S. Navy's pre-chaplain program from 1943 to 1945. He is survived by his wife, Ellenor; daughter, Jane Crumby; and son, David.

Events

Children attending Vacation Bible School at Orchard Road Church in Lewisville brought $362 to meet the needs of children in Cameroon, Africa. Jerry Rogers is pastor.

Three people from Collin County have been commissioned as Mission Service Corps volunteers. Sandra Callahan of Waddill Street Church in McKinney will work with the Christian Women's Job Corps of Collin County. Dick and Gerri Jenkins of Hunter's Glen Church in Plano will assist in Texas Baptist Men efforts.

Revivals

First Church, Gainesville; Aug. 15-18; evangelist, D.L. Lowrie; music, Mike Fiddler; pastor, Mark Denison.

Mount Sylvan Church, Mount Sylvan; Aug. 15-18; evangelist, Paul Powell; music, Norris Cash; pastor, Robert Davenport.

First Church, Kildare; Aug. 22-25; evangelist, Jim Moss; music, Bubba Talbert; pastor, Todd Lawrence.

Posted: 8/06/04

San Antonio church collects, fills
backpacks for 525 South Texas children

By Scott Collins

Buckner News Service

PROGRESO–Elementary school children in Progreso are going back to school this year with a heavy burden, thanks to the Fellowship at Westcreek in San Antonio.

In less than seven months, members of the new church collected more than 525 backpacks and delivered them to the South Texas community as part of a recent weeklong missions project sponsored by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Texas and Buckner Children and Family Services.

The church, which is less than a year old, averages between 50 and 60 on Sundays.

But members passionately embraced the challenge of providing a backpack filled with school supplies for every elementary child in Progreso, according to Pastor Ken Noles.

He and his wife, Brandie, initially presented the idea of collecting 100 backpacks. But a visit to Progreso early in the process revealed that about 500 children attended Progreso Elementary School.

Armed with that information, Pastor Noles returned to his congregation, and with his wife, upped the goal to five times the number of people who attend the church.

That's when church member Julie White came forward and said she felt God's call to be the point person for the project.

“At that point, it wasn't just our vision, it was the whole church's vision,” Brandie Noles said. “Everybody got behind it 100 percent.”

As momentum for “Operation Backpack” picked up, she said, children took collection boxes to their schools, members canvassed their neighborhoods door-to-door and Boy Scouts distributed flyers seeking donations of backpacks, school supplies and money.

Along with organizing the drive, White took on the responsibility of converting cash donations into school supplies.

“Part of God's providence is that just after we decided that God was leading us to bring 500 backpacks to the Valley, a local business put backpacks on sale for $5,” the pastor said.

Noles estimates the value of each backpack and supplies at about $10.

The project served as a catalyst for the new congregation, Noles said. “It galvanized us,” he said.

“It brought us together around a common goal, and everyone began to mobilize around this particular thing. It drew us together as a fellowship. It also turned our focus outward, because we were seeking input and support from people way outside our church.”

Noles added he knows of at least two families that have become involved in the church specifically because of Operation Backpack.

“This has been the most meaningful thing aside from the launch of our church that The Fellowship at Westcreek has done,” he said.

Noles added that Operation Backpack is not an end in itself.

“We kind of see it as a means to an end, because what we're doing is providing a inlet into that home to sometime down the road go in and share with them why we did this.”

White, who became the driving force behind the project, said she felt God spoke to her heart and instructed her to take the lead.

“I have the gift of loving children and the gift of motivation,” she said. “I felt like it was my job to get behind the church family and get them motivated.”

White added that her work on Operation Backpack was extremely satisfying and gratifying. “It's proven to me what goals I can set and what I can accomplish whenever I have God at my back. I can do just about anything. After doing this, I am convinced I can do just about anything.”

At times when she became discouraged or doubted the success of the project, White said, “God sent somebody through for me each and every time. It's been a joy and a blessing.”

Posted: 8/06/04

Baylor regents take no action on president,
reaffirm commitment to Baylor 2012 vision

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

WACO–In spite of boasts by his opponents that they had the votes to unseat him, Baylor University regents took no vote on embattled President Robert Sloan, other than affirming the long-range plan that has become the centerpiece of his presidency.

Sloan apparently survived another milepost in his tumultuous nine-year tenure as Baylor University's president when the school's regents met July 21-23 for a three-day retreat to discuss Baylor 2012–the school's 10-year vision.

They emerged from the meeting with Chairman Will Davis of Austin announcing the regents unanimously had reaffirmed their commitment to Baylor 2012. He also told reporters the board had taken no vote regarding Sloan's presidency.

Baylor 2012 is a plan championed by Sloan to make Baylor a top-tier university by expanding the school's facilities, reducing class sizes and recruiting professors committed to academic excellence, scholarly research and Christian values.

Critics claim the plan has increased debt to a quarter-billion dollars, pushed tuition to levels unaffordable by students from middle-income families and forced instructors to meet narrow and rigid religious tests.

Twice in the last year, the university's Faculty Senate passed votes of no confidence in Sloan as president.

Regents responded last September by affirming Sloan by a 31-4 vote. But at the board's May meeting, he came within one vote of losing his job. During a closed-door session, a motion to ask for Sloan's resignation failed by an 18-17 secret ballot.

At that same meeting, John Baugh, a major Baylor benefactor from Houston, warned he would ask the university to repay loans and return financial gifts he made if the board failed to rescue Baylor from “the paralyzing quagmire in which it currently is ensnared.”

Even though no vote had been on the agenda of the July 23 regents meeting regarding Sloan's continued employment, prior to the meeting some regents had expressed their clear expectation that someone would introduce a motion to dismiss the president.

And the Committee to Restore Integrity to Baylor–a group opposed to Sloan's leadership–claimed there were enough votes to oust Sloan.

No motion was introduced during the business session, and questions about Sloan continuing as president were not even discussed, Davis told reporters following the closed-door regents business session.

“Divisive issues did not arise,” Davis said.

The night before the regents' vote, a Waco television station reported that Sloan rejected a $2 million buy-out. Davis said no severance package had been discussed to his knowledge.

Sloan said he was “very encouraged” by the meeting and especially by the regents' strong affirming of Baylor 2012.

“I am committed to Baylor University, and I plan to remain as Baylor's president,” he said.

Ken Hall, president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, addressed the board at the beginning of the retreat–“rather candidly,” according to one regent. Hall told the regents the turmoil revolving around Baylor was detrimental to Baptist work in Texas, and they needed to resolve matters.

Richard Scott, vice president for development at Baylor, also spoke to the regents, offering a similar plea for a different reason. Fundraising has become increasingly difficult due to the continuing controversy, and he urged them to settle their differences, a regent recounted.

Sloan, 55, is a native of Coleman. Before assuming the university presidency, Sloan was dean of Baylor's Truett Theological Seminary.

He served on the Baylor religion faculty from 1983 to 1995, and he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1980 to 1983.

Sloan has been pastor or interim pastor of close to two dozen churches.