Posted: 8/06/04

Baptist Briefs

GuideStone offers online help. Investors with GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention–formerly the SBC Annuity Board–can use the Internet to view online presentations or participate in interactive seminars for retirement planning. Presentations cover key topics for ministers and church employees such as enrollment in the church retirement plan, advantages of consolidating investments and how to know if you are invested appropriately for retirement. For more information on this new service, visit the website at www.guidestone.org or call toll-free at (800) 262-0511.

Retired seminary professor Blevins dies. James Blevins, former professor of New Testament interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died July 24 in Louisville, Ky., after a long-term illness. He was 67. Blevins was on Southern Seminary's faculty from 1976 until 1999, when a severe case of diabetes forced him to take early medical retirement. Blevins was widely published on the Book of Revelation, including his 1984 book "Revelation as Drama," and was known for his dramatic presentation of Bible characters.

Veteran missionary Bryant dead at 74. Thurmon Bryant, longtime missionary to Brazil and former senior administrator of the International Mission Board, died July 27 in Fort Worth at age 74. A native of Claud, Okla., Bryant and his wife, the former Doris Morris of Sudan, were appointed by the Foreign Mission Board in 1958. Bryant served 17 years as a field missionary in Brazil and almost 20 years on the mission board staff. He was a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to missionary appointment, he was pastor of three Texas congregations–Prairie Point Baptist Church in Groesbeck, Friendship Baptist Church in Cleburne and First Baptist Church in Grandview.

American Baptists may cut missionaries. The American Baptists Churches USA may lose up to a fifth of its missionary force unless its missions agency can raise enough money to overcome its current financial crisis. The head of International Ministries, the ABC's mission-sending agency, said in a recent memo to missionaries the agency may eliminate up to 36 of its 150 missionary positions–28 by recall and eight by attrition–unless it can raise $1.5 million quickly to erase a projected shortfall.

Peace fellowship names director. Gary Percesepe, an American Baptist minister and teacher, has been named coordinating director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America. He is associate pastor of First Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio. Percesepe has taught philosophy at the University of Dayton, Wittenberg University and St. Louis University, and he served as founding director of the honors program at Cedarville University.

Seminary names communications director. Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has named Cory Miller as communications director. Miller, 28, served First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, Okla., as communications director two and a half years. He worked at three Oklahoma daily newspapers and a collegiate sports magazine group. A native of Ardmore, Okla., Miller is completing his undergraduate degree at Southern Nazarene University-Tulsa. Previously, Miller attended the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, majoring in journalism/public relations.

Seminary opens Internet classes to locals. Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has eliminated a 75-mile distance requirement for students taking Internet classes through its Computer Assisted Seminary Education program. The move, approved by President Phil Roberts this summer, opens up seminary Internet classes to potential students living in the Kansas City metropolitan area or within 75 miles of campus. More than 30 hours of seminary credit can be earned through online classes.

Posted: 8/06/04

Baptist World Alliance General Council looks to the future

By Trennis Henderson

Kentucky Western Recorder

SEOUL, South Korea (ABP)–Pledging to focus on the future, leaders of the Baptist World Alliance convened their first global meeting since the Southern Baptist Convention voted in June to withdraw from the international Baptist body.

The BWA General Council meeting attracted about 300 participants from more than 30 nations, including such diverse settings as Australia, Croatia, Ghana and India as well as the United States. The council is a representative body that conducts the business of BWA, which holds a worldwide congress once every five years.

BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz, speaking during the General Council's opening session, noted that BWA “has gone through a tremendous year of encouragement and support from Baptists all over the world.”

While not specifically referencing the SBC departure, which cost BWA its largest member and donor, Lotz told participants, “It would be wrong to say we did not have a break in our fellowship.” Noting that BWA has gone “through some deep waters,” he said the division has caused “great distress … particularly to our minority conventions all over the world.”

“But we are not here to look at the past,” he declared. “We're here to look at the future.”

Emphasizing that “unity is a central doctrine of all Christian faith,” Lotz said, “We believe Jesus' prayer in John 17 for unity is part of the authority of Scripture for all Baptists and all Christians.

“When we do not work for unity, then we are part of the movement of disunity,” he warned. “One of the greatest hindrances to evangelism in the world is the lack of unity in the church. … If we cannot mirror that unity, we are not being faithful to that Scripture we believe.”

While several Southern Baptist individuals attended the weeklong meeting in Seoul, only one of the SBC's 17 General Council members participated–Wanda Lee, executive director of national Woman's Missionary Union.

Though the SBC's withdrawal from the BWA doesn't officially take effect until Oct. 1, Southern Baptist leaders such as BWA Vice President Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee; BWA executive committee member Jimmy Draper, president of LifeWay Christian Resources; and BWA study and research committee Chairman Richard Land, president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, declined to attend their final meeting as BWA representatives.

Citing WMU's commitment to continue working in cooperation with the BWA women's department, Wanda Lee said, “The women's department is an auxiliary to BWA, just as WMU is an auxiliary to the SBC.” Noting that WMU helped establish the BWA Women's Department in 1911, she added, “For us to not participate in prayer with all the women of the world is unthinkable.

“When you look at the world climate in which we live, Baptists need to speak with one voice in regard to religious freedom, separation of church and state, and on behalf of those who have no voice and are persecuted,” Lee said. “We continue to pray for reconciliation in the Baptist family.”

In his written report to council members, Lotz refuted charges leveled by the SBC committee that recommended withdrawal from BWA.

“The BWA is not a liberal organization,” he wrote. “It strongly affirms the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith as proclaimed in holy Scripture, which we accept as the authoritative word of God.

“The BWA does not promote women as pastors of churches nor does it argue against the practice,” he added. “Since we affirm the autonomy of Baptist bodies, it is the prerogative of local churches and their member bodies to make decisions on ordination.”

Lotz also countered the SBC's charge of anti-Americanism. “The BWA is not anti-American,” he wrote. “We are citizens of the kingdom of God and loyal citizens of our own nations.”

He also addressed a charge concerning a pair of gay-friendly American Baptist churches, which was raised by former SBC President Paige Patterson during debate about the SBC leaving the BWA.

“The BWA does not support homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle, believing it to be incompatible with the teachings of Scripture,” Lotz wrote.

Emphasizing that BWA “affirms without reservation that marriage is a holy state and only between a man and a woman forever,” he added, “There is not one BWA member body that affirms, promotes or approves of gay marriage.”

Despite the SBC's decision to withdraw from BWA, Lotz said BWA still “hopes for and will work for reconciliation with our Southern Baptist brothers and sisters and prays for their return to the historic and international Baptist world family.”

Posted: 8/06/04

BWA to launch global evangelism strategy at 2005 meeting

By Trennis Henderson

Kentucky Western Recorder

SEOUL, South Korea (ABP)–Baptist World Alliance will launch a global evangelization strategy during next year's centennial BWA World Congress in England.

The announcement was one of several actions taken by the BWA General Council during its recent meeting in Seoul, South Korea. The council is a representative body that conducts the business of BWA, which holds a worldwide congress once every five years.

The Seoul meeting attracted more than 300 participants from 33 nations, including such diverse settings as Australia, Croatia, Ghana and India as well as the United States.

The council also adopted a budget for BWA, nominated a new BWA president to serve a five-year term, and adopted new bylaws that open BWA membership to churches and individuals instead of national groups only.

Playing off the 2005 congress theme, “Jesus Christ: Living Water,” the five-year evangelism emphasis will feature “Living Water” conferences around the world.

BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz said the alliance has received a $600,000 matching grant to help fund evangelism training and rallies throughout the effort. Tony Cupit, BWA's director of evangelism and education, will coordinate the world evangelization strategy.

“We want to encourage in the next quinquennium a strategy for world evangelization to bear witness to Jesus Christ,” Lotz told participants.

“Let me be very clear that as Baptists we believe that Jesus Christ is our only way of salvation,” he said. “There is no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved. That's who we are as Baptists. That's why we come together. We're a missionary movement.”

Urging Baptists around the world to continue to “work together for religious freedom,” Lotz said, “No other time in history has experienced more persecution.

“Sixty thousand Christians are killed every year for their faith. That is why we as Baptists need to be more and more concerned about religious freedom in the 21st century because the clash of civilizations is more real than ever before.”

In other action, council members approved bylaw changes that will permit associate membership for local Baptist churches and other organized Baptist groups such as state Baptist conventions, colleges and mission organizations. The changes also permit individual Baptists to become personal members. BWA membership previously was limited to national or regional Baptist conventions and unions.

“This has nothing to do with the present controversy we have,” Lotz said, alluding to the recent withdrawal of its largest member body, the Southern Baptist Convention. “We began almost 10 years ago to ask the question: 'What does membership mean in the 21st century?'

“This was a long time coming,” he added, noting the proposal addresses “the new understanding of koinonia, what fellowship is all about.”

Council members unanimously affirmed the nomination of David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, as BWA president for 2005-2010. His election will be held during next year's Baptist World Congress in Birmingham, England. The council also elected Lotz to another five-year term as BWA general secretary.

Participants approved a 2005 budget of $1.85 million, the same amount as the alliance's 2003 income prior to the SBC eliminating its $425,000 annual contribution. While gifts from member bodies are expected to be down approximately $255,000 from the current year–due mostly to the defunding by the SBC–major increases are projected from individual donors and investment income.

Council members approved Lairam Jesus Christ Baptist Church, a convention of 80 churches in northeast India, as the BWA's newest member body.

A Korean Baptist children's choir performs as part of "An Evening with Korean Baptists," an evangelistic rally that attracted more than 4,000 participants. The event was held in conjunction with the recent Baptist World Alliance General Council meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

Alluding to the convention's 21,000 members compared to the withdrawal of the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention, T. H. Vanlalzauva, Lairam's general secretary, told council members, “After the withdrawal of the SBC from BWA, we are the first to play the role of rebuilding BWA's membership.”

Affirming that BWA membership “is very significant for our church,” he added, “I enjoy very much the life and fellowship of BWA.”

The council also voted to suspend temporarily the membership of Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches in India, which has split into three groups due to conflict over property. Noting that the conflict has escalated into violent clashes, Lotz said the internal controversy “has been a tragic witness for the cause of Christ.”

As BWA leaders seek to help facilitate reconciliation, council members voted to suspend the convention's membership until March 2005 and re-evaluate reconciliation efforts at that time.

Council members also heard a progress report from BWA's 21st Century Committee, which will present its final report next March.

The committee, chaired by David Goatley, executive secretary of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Missions Convention in Washington, D.C., is seeking to provide a long-range strategy for BWA ministry.

Noting that BWA “builds fellowship and community, promotes vibrant Baptist identities, networks resources and serves as a global voice,” the report adds that it “equips and empowers Baptists” in the areas of missions and evangelism, religious liberty and human rights, and relief and community development.

Affirming that BWA is “highly valued, greatly loved and deeply appreciated” by member bodies around the world, Goatley said committee members are seeking to maintain “appreciation for history yet innovation for a vibrant and vital witness for the future.”

The General Council meeting also featured reports from regional Baptist groups in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and North America. And the council heard “Window on the World” testimonies from Baptist leaders in Cambodia, Hungary, Nepal, Nigeria, Malaysia and the United States.

Posted: 8/06/04

SBC withdrawal from BWA compromised worldwide
Baptist testimony, general council resolution asserts

By Trennis Henderson

Kentucky Western Recorder

SEOUL, South Korea (ABP)–The Southern Baptist Convention's withdrawal from the Baptist World Alliance has caused “a compromise of the worldwide testimony of all Baptists,” a BWA General Council resolution declared.

Declining to respond to specific accusations aired by an SBC study committee, the resolution notes BWA “rejects the charges made by the SBC leadership and supports the efforts of the BWA officers and staff to respond to these charges.”

The SBC, one of the founding members of BWA in 1905, voted in June to withdraw from the international Baptist organization. The SBC study committee accused the BWA of a “continual leftward drift” in recent years.

BWA leaders around the world strongly denied the charges but were unable to persuade SBC officials to remain part of the alliance.

The SBC's withdrawal, set to take effect Oct. 1, will reduce BWA's global membership from approximately 48 million baptized believers to 32 million.

BWA also will lose the SBC's $300,000 annual contribution, which was reduced last year from $425,000.

Despite the SBC action, the resolution expresses gratitude for “the enormous contribution made by the Southern Baptist Convention in the formation of the Baptist World Alliance 100 years ago and in the continued development and effectiveness of the Baptist World Alliance since its inception.”

It also cites regret over the SBC's decision “to withdraw from the world Baptist family, resulting in loss of unity and a compromise of the worldwide testimony of all Baptists.”

The resolution expresses hope “for a future reconciliation and renewal of SBC membership” and “welcomes those from the SBC who wish to participate in the life of the BWA.”

The resolution was adopted without debate or opposition.

Other resolutions adopted by the council:

Encourage all Baptists to attend BWA's centennial world congress July 27-31, 2005, in Birmingham, England. The congress is held every five years, and organizers anticipate more than 12,000 participants from around the world.

Urge Baptists to participate in the BWA's 2005-2010 “Christ the Living Water” global evangelism emphasis.

The resolution affirms BWA's “strong conviction that salvation is offered to the world through Jesus Christ alone by means of his life, death and resurrection and continuing mission.”

Endorse the Micah Challenge, an initiative by more than 270 evangelical Christian organizations to help reduce world poverty by 50 percent by the year 2015.

The emphasis will seek to address such issues as extreme poverty and hunger, reducing diseases such as HIV/AIDS and reducing the debt of the world's poorest nations.

Affirm the Korean Baptist Convention, the meeting's host organization, for its “faithful witness to the gospel both within South Korea and in its mission work throughout the world.”

The measure also expresses concern for “the continued division of families and communities in the north and south of Korea,” urges “a peaceful resolution of the inspection regime for nuclear power facilities in North Korea” and expresses hope for “the ultimate peaceful reunification of the peoples of Korea.”

Posted: 8/06/04

ANOTHER VIEW:
Morality demands war against AIDS

By Dale Hanson Bourke

When thousands of AIDS experts gathered in Thailand this summer for the International AIDS Conference, they considered economic impacts and political pressures, as well as social issues and cultural barriers.

And no matter what their expertise, they shared the same concern: Although the world is in the throes of the worst health disaster ever known, the average person knows little about it and cares even less.

According to statistics released by UNAIDS, the disease has taken a devastating worldwide toll since it was identified in 1981. There have been 20 million deaths, as many as 38 million additional people infected with HIV, and an estimated 14 million orphaned children–yet we remain a country largely in denial.

The reasons for this are both obvious and painfully subconscious.

Most obvious is the enormity of the problem. Unless you have visited a country where the sale of coffins is the fastest-growing industry, it is hard to understand how devastating such numbers can be. With more than 3 million people dying every year from AIDS, the impact has been compared to 20 fully loaded 747s crashing every single day. But even such comparisons seem incomprehensible.

To Americans, the worst seems to be over.

The early devastation of AIDS seems to have given way to a more optimistic response. While researching a book on AIDS, one of the responses I most often received when I asked about knowledge of the virus was “Magic Johnson.” Many people see the former basketball star as emblematic of the shocking first reaction to AIDS in this country and his continuing apparent good health as evidence that things aren't so bad after all.

But after the obvious, we must look at what many are calling us to consider as a matter of conscience. AIDS is now present in every country in the world, but 70 percent of those infected live in sub-Saharan Africa. Whether because of overt racism or simply unwillingness to consider the largely poor population of the region as important to U.S. interests, we have regularly ignored wars, famines and health crises in that region.

“What does it really have to do with us?” one man asked me with bold candor as I interviewed him about his views on the global AIDS pandemic.

And then there is the morality issue. Scratch beneath the surface, and many people admit they believe AIDS is largely due to a person's poor choices regarding sexual practices, partners or drug usage.

The facts that many monogamous, married women are infected by their husbands and many children are HIV-positive because they had the misfortune of being born to a mother who carried the virus are viewed as exceptions. Yet these “exceptions” now number millions of people.

And then there are the thousands (or millions–no one knows for sure) of poor Chinese who gave blood in order to have enough money to feed their families and are now infected, along with the children who play in the city dumps where hospitals discarded tainted syringes. Not to mention the doctors and nurses infected during operations and those who received routine treatment in hospitals before blood supplies were tested.

The world of those infected with HIV/AIDS does not line up as innocents and guilty, no matter how puritanical a measure is used. Yet most charities–even those with a largely churchgoing base–admit that raising money to fight AIDS is one of their toughest challenges. Some report getting letters from donors who think supporting such a cause is not a good use of funds.

And perhaps that's where we should be talking about morality. Many of us have wondered how our parents or grandparents were able to stand by while the Holocaust occurred. Some of us have wondered why we did so little for the Bosnians or Rwandans when they were being systematically slaughtered. Perhaps ignorance could be cited.

But the AIDS pandemic has occurred during a time when almost every American has access to the Internet. Even if our newspapers don't cover an issue, we routinely find ways to stay on top of hometown news, distant weather reports and international sports scores. Yet dozens of web sites about AIDS receive relatively few “hits.”

In a time when religious and political leaders seem polarized on many fronts, it is time for them to unite in calling every one of us to join the war on AIDS. It starts with educating ourselves about the facts and ridding ourselves of prejudices and myths. It includes moving out of our comfortable denial and confronting the hard truth.

And if nothing else, it means that we must understand that unless we act decisively, we are leaving our children with a moral deficit so vast that they will spend much of their lifetime dealing with not only the political, economic and cultural consequences, but also the shame of what the previous generation so blatantly chose to ignore.

Dale Hanson Bourke is a consultant to humanitarian organizations and the author of the forthcoming book “The Skeptic's Guide to Dealing With the AIDS Pandemic.” Her column is distributed by Religion News Service

Posted: 8/06/04

Crossover Indiana yields more
than 1,900 professions of faith in Christ

By Lee Weeks

Baptist Press

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)–A year of planning and praying by Indiana Southern Baptists combined with volunteer support from across the country resulted in 1,932 professions of faith in Christ during Crossover Indiana, an evangelistic blitz accompanying the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis.

John Rogers, director of evangelism and prayer for the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, said the professions of faith were recorded through revival crusades, evangelistic block parties, prayerwalking, street evangelism, door-to-door spiritual opinion surveys and other initiatives.

“Only heaven will reveal how many more will get saved out of Crossover because of the burden these new Christians have to see their family and friends come to Christ,” Rogers said.

More than 120 of Indiana's 430 Southern Baptist churches and missions participated in the Crossover effort, which included 70 evangelistic block parties and 97 weekend revivals statewide.

And nearly 1,000 volunteers–about half from out of state–joined the Crossover outreach.

Eighty professions of faith were recorded during the weekend revivals held across the state before and following the SBC annual meeting. About 50 Florida pastors and evangelists led the revivals as part of the Florida Baptist Convention's ongoing partnership with Indiana Baptists.

Jon Beck, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, located about an hour south of Indianapolis in North Vernon, said the Crossover efforts have brought a renewed sense of purpose to his congregation of nearly 300 people–the only SBC church in a county of 20,000 residents.

About 20 people from Beck's church volunteered at two inner-city block parties in Indianapolis June 12. Since then, Beck has baptized about 20 new Christians at Bethel Baptist.

Crossover “was the first time some people in our church had done ministry outside the four walls of our church, outside our community,” Beck said.

Rogers said he hopes ongoing follow-up efforts by Indiana churches with prospects and new believers will result in record baptisms for the state in 2004-05.

An estimated 70 percent of Indiana's 6.2 million people don't profess to be Christians, while Southern Baptists across the state number nearly 100,000.

Dick Church, manager of personal evangelism for the North American Mission Board, which sponsors the annual Crossover effort nationally, said local churches are encouraged to connect with new Christians 10 times over the next four weeks following their decision for Christ. The plan is to begin discipling them in the faith and involve them in the church.

“Follow-up is always a top priority for Crossover,” Church said.

Several ethnic churches were bolstered by the Crossover outreach, Rogers said. For example, 75 professions of faith were recorded at one block party and revival crusade in a Hispanic neighborhood in Seymour, Ind. “Crossover really gave a shot in the arm to some of our Hispanic works,” he said.

Work of NAMB's inner city evangelism teams in African-American communities resulted in more than 850 professions of faith.

Rogers also reported that 1,499 phone calls from across the state were received by NAMB's evangelism response center in response to an evangelistic television advertising campaign.

Thirty-seven professions of faith were recorded by phone, and about 1,000 requests were taken for a free DVD of the film, “The Hope,” which outlines the gospel. The DVDs will be hand-delivered as part of the local church follow-up response.

Posted: 8/06/04

CYBERCOLUMN: Changes

By Berry D. Simpson

I once heard a motivational speaker say he gave his sales consultants hand-held spotlights for their cars, powered from the cigarette lighter, so they could find unknown houses on new streets by shining the lights on the curb to read the numbers. He said that in sales, if you weren’t lost in a new neighborhood looking for an unfamiliar house at least once a week, you weren’t serious about your business because you weren’t pushing out beyond the familiar.

What he said was true for more than just sales. If I’m not occasionally lost and unsure, I’m probably not growing as a person.

Cyndi and I have made some big changes this summer of our 25th year of marriage, especially in our teaching ministry. We’ve taught an adult Bible study class on Sunday mornings since 1990, and from the very beginning we were teaching our own peers—couples about the same age as us, with kids about the same age as ours, who grew up with the same music we did and lived through the same national and world events.

Our next teaching assignment will be a new class of young adults, age 20 to 29, the age-group of our own children. These youngsters grew up in a significantly different world, with strange influences and unusual music. Most of them don’t even have a favorite song by the Doobie Brothers and don’t know any names from the Watergate hearings.

I’m a little concerned that my cultural references and 1970s hipness won’t translate. Of course, what I don’t worry about is energy and creativity, since Cyndi is on my team, and I have no doubts about her skills and talents.

I guess I want to be Superman, able to perform at a high level anywhere and everywhere. Superman was super wherever he went. His crime fighting took him all around the world and even into space, yet no matter where he went, he was still faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, could bend and crush steel with his bare hands, and still had X-ray vision. That is the kind of teacher I want to be.

But I am afraid I am more like Spider-Man. I have useful skills, but they depend on my surroundings. Spider-Man has a problem if he ever leaves New York City. His greatest asset is his mobility—his ability to fly through the city swinging on his webs, or climb vertical surfaces using his barbed hands. But what would Spider-Man do if he suddenly found himself fighting crime in Monahans, Texas? He’d have to shoot his webs across the street and then just run over to the other side. He couldn’t do much swinging in a one-story town.

He wouldn’t be helpless. He’d still have those barbed hands, but they would give limited advantage in a town where the highest structure can be climbed with a tall stepladder. And he’d still have his spidey sense, so he might be able to anticipate trouble before it started and be in place to catch the bad guys and wrap them up in a sticky spidery web. He’d still be useful, but definitely dependent on his surroundings.

Our last Sunday teaching our present class will probably be Aug. 15. This change should be a simple who-cares move, but it is painful. We are leaving people we love. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 says, “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.” Cyndi and I have poured our lives into our class, and they are some of our closest friends.

But I’m not really worried about all this. A better word to describe the way I feel is excited. Not excited to leave the people I love, but excited to begin a fresh, new work. Excited to pull out my spotlight and find my way through a new neighborhood.

I may need to learn a few new cultural references, but I don’t expect teaching this young group to be so much harder. I, like all teachers, am at my best when I don’t worry so much about hitting a specific target but instead focus on projecting from my heart. The source is more important than the aim.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “No man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself. Lose your life, and you will save it.”

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.

Posted: 8/06/04

DOWN HOME:
TP can't wipe pain of 'lasts'

Within the week, we'll pull out the camera, pose our “baby,” Molly, beside a dining room chair and repeat a ritual we began 15 years ago.

Since her big sister, Lindsay, started kindergarten, their mother and I have taken pictures of the girls standing beside a chair every year on the first day of school.

When they were little, the chair provided a useful object of scale. By comparing their height to the back of the chair, we could tell how much they grew from year to year. Long after their steady height rendered the comparison moot, we maintained the tradition, just to keep a chronicle of the passage of time.

Our first-day-of-school portrait gallery presents a chronological panorama of our daughters' lives. The photographs remind us of favorite clothes, braces, glasses, contact lenses and hairstyles, all of which changed from year to year. And they also reveal to us bright eyes and familiar, somewhat-anxious smiles, all of which remained essentially the same.

Now we begin the lasts. Molly starts her senior year at Lewisville High School. And since she's our youngest child, we're embarking upon a school year of doing things for the last time. Last football season, last rounds of exams, last spring break, last honors programs, last prom, last-last-last.

You probably know me well enough to appreciate the fact I don't like this one bit. Raising our daughters has been the greatest joy in this daddy's life. I get misty-eyed when I watch a father with his preschool daughters, and I ache to start the process all over again.

Of course, I can't. So I'm prone to sappy nostalgia that–because it embarrasses Lindsay and Molly, not to mention their mama, Joanna–I try to keep to myself. It's hard.

That's why I'd like to thank Molly's friends Brayden, Justin and Mitchell, who recently reminded me about all those aspects of fatherhood I won't miss when they're over.

They TP'd our front yard. And I've got to admit, they created a work of art. Ray, my across-the-street neighbor, said, “That was the most thorough, symmetrical TP job I've ever seen.” But, hey, these guys are experienced.

So, when Molly's gone and our “nest” is empty, I won't miss cleaning toilet paper out of our trees. Here are some other things I won't miss when we send our youngest off to college:

Pulling hairballs the size of small rodents out of the upstairs shower drain.

Tripping over flip-flops and sneakers when I walk through the kitchen in the dark in the morning.

Waking up tired because I couldn't get to sleep as long as a kid o' mine was out.

Well … that's it. I'm done. Can't think of any more. Through my children, God has blessed me beyond my imagination. I love being a dad, and I'm going to miss the girl when she goes away next fall.

Posted: 8/06/04

EDITORIAL:
'How can you call yourself a Christian & vote like that?'

A young Texas Baptist minister recently encountered congregational conflict when a member of his church insisted affiliation with the minister's political party comes complete with a ticket to hell. Meanwhile, an older minister in another state created a furor when he apparently endorsed a presidential candidate from the pulpit.

This is only going to get worse.

Both major political parties have hired staff and launched initiatives to recruit conservative, church-going Christians to their cause. The presidential election is too close to call, and control of Congress is up for grabs. Both parties see Christians as the fulcrum upon which important outcomes will tilt. So, they're launching all-out efforts to win these voters to their side. The effort is so intense the IRS already has warned both parties not to influence churches to engage in political activity that would jeopardize their tax-exempt status.

More than ever before, close observers are hearing a common refrain: “How can you call yourself a Christian and vote X?” And believe it or not, the question sometimes ends with “Republican,” sometimes with “Democratic.”

Hard as it is for the most partisan among us to comprehend, many voters affiliated with both parties have picked their political position precisely because of their Christian beliefs. The reasons for these decisions are as myriad as the voters themselves. But two common themes tend to stand out. The Republican Party attracts many Christians because of its emphasis on personal morality, particularly sexual ethics. They're galvanized by Republican opposition to abortion and homosexual marriage. The Democratic Party likewise attracts many Christians because of its emphasis on public morality, particularly economic ethics. They're energized by Democratic demands for social justice and advocacy for the poor.

With so much at stake, the political parties practically salivate over Christian voters, particularly “conservative evangelicals,” as if they were a monolithic bloc. The scrutiny Christian voters will receive, as well as the pressure placed upon them, will only increase during the three months leading up to Election Day.

Unfortunately, the politics of polarization will increase too. We live in an era of political incivility. Rant-inspired talk radio and made-for-TV political shouting matches provide millions of Americans with what passes for “news.” Over and over, politicians and pundits proclaim one party is absolutely right and the other is absolutely wrong. They've created ideological wedges that have divided America.

We should help our churches weather the maelstrom. Our churches should:

Encourage individual involvement. Christians should be engaged in government and politics. Separation of church and state does not mean Christians and other religious people remove themselves from politics and government. We should not abandon the public square to totally secular forces. We have much to offer.

Check politics at the church door. Overt endorsement of a political candidate can jeopardize a church's tax-exempt status. More significantly, politicking in church can split congregations. Members of the same church may have religious reasons for supporting different candidates. As Baptists who affirm the priesthood of all believers, we should honor each other's convictions.

Back off the preacher. Zealous partisans sometimes exert pressure on their pastors and other church staff to bless, if not outright endorse, a candidate, candidates or party. Pragmatically, this is dangerous, because pastoral endorsement of candidates could cost a church its tax exemption. Theologically and spiritually, this also is dangerous, because ministers must serve all church members, no matter their party affiliation. If politics becomes a test of faith, members may not receive the pastoral care they need. And the pastoral task becomes harder than it already is.

Back off, preacher. Likewise, pastors and other church staff should not abuse their positions of trust through partisan promotion. Of course, they should speak to moral issues, but they must acknowledge and respect the broad range of such topics. They, of all people, also should recognize the pastoral dimension of their calling transcends political pontification.

Facilitate discussion. If done correctly, this will not violate the ban on politicking. Churches could sponsor panel discussions and other presentations on key issues. If all sides are presented by qualified representatives, the moderating is fair and the crowd remains respectful, the outcome can benefit everyone.

Promote education. Beware; many so-called “voters' guides” are shrewd, misleading and partisan. But voters need free and fair access to information. Christians, who cherish truth, should lead in providing educational materials that help voters decide. A hallmark of such information should be breadth and non-partisanship. Materials that provide “scores” probably are partisan.

Lead in prayer. We cannot overstate the importance of this election cycle. We must pray that God will guide us all–both to make wise choices and to reconcile our nation after the votes are cast.

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

Posted: 8/06/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Aug. 15

God participates in every facet of every life

2 Kings 20:1-21

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

God participates in every aspect of human life. In Hezekiah, we see divine involvement encompasses health, religious concerns and even politics. The Lord heard the prayer of the godly king, healed him and announced Babylon would one day conquer Judah.

Hezekiah's illness and prayer

A grave illness struck Hezekiah sometime during his life. Since God added 15 years to his life and he reigned 29 years, it may have been in his 14th year. We cannot be certain because “in those days” designates a general time. God sent Isaiah to tell the king to set his affairs in order. The prophet offered no hope. Isaiah's announcement may indicate the illness resulted from some act of unfaithfulness or simply may have been a forecast of its outcome. The message does not include the prophetic formula, “thus says the Lord.”

Hezekiah reacted to Isaiah's words by rolling over against the wall and praying–reflecting his deep commitment to God. Turning from Isaiah may have symbolized his rejection of the prophet's words as the only outcome.

The king's prayer contained no specific petition. Hezekiah reminded God he had walked faithfully before the Lord, was wholly devoted to Yahweh and had done what was good. The Old Testament elsewhere applied the phrase, “walked before you,” to other godly men: Noah (Genesis 6:9); Abraham (Genesis 48:15); and David (1 Kings 3:6). To walk “faithfully” meant to be reliable before God. The king's actions were good in that they reflected God's will.

Hezekiah “wept bitterly” as he prayed. Hezekiah turned to God who alone could alter his fate. He wept that he would die without a son to succeed him. Moreover, his illness may have occurred while Assyria still threatened Judah. A premature death with no heir and line of succession would have increased Judah's vulnerability.

Hezekiah's recovery

Isaiah had left the palace after delivering the bad news when the word of the Lord came with a new message for Hezekiah. The reasons for the second announcement are stated clearly: God had seen the king's tears and had heard his prayer with favor. The “middle court” identifies the area located between the palace and the temple.

God sent Isaiah back to Hezekiah, whom he called “the leader of my people.” He used the term to highlight that the reason for God's deliverance was for God's sake and because of God's promises to David. The word strongly associates Hezekiah with David. Both were righteous and godly kings.

The healing would occur the third day following Isaiah's pronouncement. God promised Hezekiah 15 more years to live. Isaiah applied a poultice of figs to the boil as a visible gesture of God's word. When Hezekiah asked for another demonstration of God's promise, the sun's shadow went back. This may symbolize going back to a time before Isaiah's first announcement, since prophetic words usually were not rescinded.

Hezekiah's visitors and Isaiah's rebuke

Envoys from Babylon visited Hezekiah after his recovery and after the passing of the Assyrian crisis. News of the king's recovery and the miraculous sign had spread (2 Chronicles 32:24). Merodach-Baladan presented letters and gifts to him in a proposal of alliance between the two nations, since Babylon was not yet the world power that later would threaten Judah.

Hezekiah received and entertained the messengers and accepted their peaceful overtures. He demonstrated good faith by showing them his treasures.

Isaiah again approached the king. Hezekiah openly admitted to the prophet that the envoys came from Babylon. Isaiah pressed him further, asking what he had revealed to them. We can appreciate Hezekiah's honesty as he told Isaiah he had shown them the treasures of the palace and temple.

Isaiah then uttered another prophetic word. His oracle may have no direct causal connection between Hezekiah's action and Judah's future since the word “therefore” does not occur. On the other hand, 2 Chronicles 32:25 mentions Hezekiah's pride. Babylon one day would replace Assyria as Judah's primary enemy. The Babylonians would pillage the treasures Hezekiah had shown them. Judah and Jerusalem would be destroyed. The Babylonians would forcibly deport some of Hezekiah's descendants. Judah's royal officials would become “eunuchs” in Babylon. “Eunuch” may refer to those who were physically made eunuchs, or it may indicate minor government officials. In either case, the future for Judah's kings included humiliation and subjection to a pagan and foreign nation.

Hezekiah accepted the prophet's message as a word from God. Some interpreters understand the king's reference to such a future as “good” as akin to “whatever will be, will be.” The king accepted the decree easily because it would come after his death.

Another view stresses God's grace. Judah deserved punishment. God would withhold the judgment until some future time. God's involvement in Hezekiah's life demonstrates the Lord can bless or punish, but not ignore.

Question for discussion

What keeps you aware of God's interest in your life?

Posted: 8/06/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Aug. 22

Applying God's word leads to renewed passion

2 Kings 21:1­23:25

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

Time for reading the Bible often falls prey to busy schedules and other priorities. To neglect Scripture risks ordering our lives according to human standards rather than God's ideals. King Josiah exemplifies that applying God's word to our lives leads to a renewed spiritual passion.

Discovery

Two wicked kings, Manasseh and Amon, followed Hezekiah. Manasseh's wickedness was so pronounced that God declared he would abandon his people to their enemies. Judah would never recover from this epoch in its history.

The godly Josiah became king after Amon died. Josiah's godly character was more like his great-grandfather, Hezekiah, than either Manasseh or Amon. The mention of his mother and grandmother suggests they played a significant role in his commitment to God.

Josiah's thorough devotion to God prompted him to restore the temple, which had fallen into disrepair during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon. During this cleansing, Hilkiah, the high priest, found the book of the law. This law may have included all of the first five books of the Old Testament, but at the least it included most, if not all, of Deuteronomy. Hilkiah gave this book to Shaphan, the king's personal secretary. After reading it to himself, Shaphan read it to Josiah.

Josiah reacted by tearing his clothes in shame. This expressed his readiness to repent according to the words of the law. He longed to demonstrate his obedience to God by keeping the words of the book.

The king recognized the nation's guilt before the Lord. God was rightfully angry with the people because of their sin. Josiah needed direction on how he and the nation might respond to God's word and avert punishment.

The king sent his advisers to seek prophetic insight concerning the law. The messengers consulted Huldah, a prophetess who was married to a temple official. “Prophetess” also designated Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4) and Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14). Some may be surprised to learn that prophets such as Jeremiah and Zephaniah, who were ministering at that time, were not consulted.

Huldah declared God's judgment on Judah was inevitable. However, God would withhold destruction until after Josiah's time because of the humility and devotion of the king.

Renewal

Josiah acted swiftly. He assembled the nation's leaders and summoned them to a covenant renewal ceremony. His action mirrors that of Moses and Joshua (Exodus 24:3-8; Joshua 8:34-35). “The people of Jerusalem” may refer only to their representatives, but the king may have gathered as many people as the temple grounds could hold. Special categories singled out by the narrator include rich and poor (“small and great”), as well as priests and prophets.

Although the king may have read the book to the people, a scribe most likely did so (Deuteronomy 31:9-10). The designation “book of the covenant” highlights the law's importance in the covenant between God and the people. This is the first time the phrase has been used in 2 Kings.

Josiah stood at the pillar, the spot reserved for the king. He stood there not only for himself, but also as the nation's leader. He personally pledged to keep the commandments and statutes. He also spoke as the people's representative as they, too, renewed their commitment to God's covenant.

Reform

The covenant renewal resulted in religious reform. The king instructed priests to remove and burn all the vessels in the temple used to worship Baal, Asherah and the host of heaven. Their presence in sacred precincts demonstrates the extent pagan worship had infiltrated worship of Yahweh. The king removed idolatrous priests–those who had led the people in heathen practices. These false priests had burned incense in the high places to Baal and various heavenly objects. A particularly offensive Asherah icon was burned with its ashes being scattered to convey its profaneness. Cult prostitutes associated with Baalism and fertility were eliminated. Local centers of worship that competed with the temple were destroyed. Other pagan centers of worship were likewise destroyed and desecrated.

A more positive aspect of the reform was the celebration of the Passover. Second Chronicles 35:1-17 describes the magnitude of this celebration. Citizens of Judah as well as those of the remnant in Israel joined at the festival. Not since the days of Samuel had Passover been observed in this manner (2 Chronicles 35:18). Josiah's actions elicited the summary that there was no king like him in Judah's history. He worshipped with all his heart, soul and strength (2 Kings 23:13; Deuteronomy 6:5).

The optimism of Josiah's reign came to a tragic end. He was killed in battle, and the permanence of his reform died on the battlefield. Future kings returned to wickedness as the nation resumed its death spiral.

Renewal brings God's favor on people. However, the decline of Judah reminds us renewal must have deep roots; that is, it must be internal as well as external.

Questions for discussion

What part of your life is due for a cleansing?

What reminders of a closer relationship with God might you find there?

Posted: 8/06/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Aug. 15

Christians need to follow God's word and grow

1 Peter 13-16, 22-25; 2:1-3,

11-12

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

Children use the expression, “When I grow up, I will … .” Adults are more likely to say, “If I grow up, I will … .”

I must confess that when “Calvin and Hobbes” and “The Far Side” were no longer in the paper, I had little reason to want to read one. “Geech” is a poor substitute. There was one episode I found amusing. The mechanic begins a line with, “When I grow up, I want to be … .” His friend points out he is grown up, at which point he looks down at his ragged self and says: “Dang! This is not what I wanted to be.” He apparently took a side road on the path to self-actualization.

What should a grown-up Christian look like? What sort of character traits should he or she have?

I suppose the simple answer to that question would be to say that when a Christian grows up, he should look a lot like Jesus. That seems to be the point of Paul in Romans 8:29 when he says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.”

Peter gives some good guidelines for what it means to be “conformed to the likeness of his Son.”

If you want to be like Jesus, be holy. “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy'” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

What does it mean to be “holy”? Before it is a character word, it is a positional word. “Holy” means to be set apart for a purpose. Jerusalem was a holy city because it was set apart from other cities for the purposes of God. The temple was a holy place because it was set apart from other buildings for the purposes of God. Christians are to be holy in that sense. You were set apart by God for his glory. You were set apart to serve him. Be holy!

The word also expresses character. Peter quoted Leviticus in verse 16. The basis for the Old Testament command to holiness is found in the holiness of God. We are to be holy because God is holy. Jesus expressed it similarly with these words, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Christians should be holy. We are set apart for God's service, and his service requires us to mirror his character. “Mirror” is a good word. The moon generates no light of its own. It gloriously reflects the light of the sun. Be holy!

If you want to be like Jesus, be loving. “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).

The word “purified” is the same root word as the word “holy.” Holiness always should lead to a greater love for others. It never should distance us from others. It should bring us closer to them. The byproduct of holiness is a deep love for others, not a judgmental spirit that divides us.

How did Jesus love? He loved enough to serve others rather than self. He loved enough to forgive. He loved enough to give himself for others. He then called us to follow him by taking up our cross. He invited us to love one another.

If you want to be like Jesus, be honorable. “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12).

Even the enemies of Jesus acknowledged he was honorable. They had to pay false witnesses to bear testimony against him at his trial. It was said of him in the gospels that he “went about doing good.”

Christians should be honorable. The result of their honorable behavior will be that those who are lost will see the good and honorable deeds of believers and also will glorify God.

If you want to be like Jesus, keep growing. “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1 Peter 2:1-2).

We have some things to put aside. Words like “malice,” “deceit,” “hypocrisy,” “envy” and “slander” tend to suggest problems in our relationships. These words describe sinful actions we might have toward others. We must make a conscious decision to put aside these characteristics. In their place, we are to long for the word of God. God's word will help us to grow up in our salvation. The idea is that we will become what God saved us to be. Keep growing. Make good choices. Most of all, choose God's word.

What do you want to be when you grow up? It is time for us to grow up and become what God saved us to be. He wants us to be like Jesus. Be holy! Be loving! Be honorable! Keep growing! We all have a long way to go.

Questions for discussion

Are you still maturing spiritually or has your growth stopped? Have you grown to be what you wanted to be?

What traits of a mature Christian do you see in yourself? Which ones still need to be cultivated?