Posted: 1/23/04

SBC leaders' BWA proposal sparks
international response, no reversal

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

NASHVILLE (ABP)–Despite pleas from Baptists around the world, there appears little chance Southern Baptist leaders will reverse or delay their plan to withdraw the Southern Baptist Convention from the Baptist World Alliance, the 99-year-old international fellowship it helped create.

Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee and chair of the study committee that proposed the break, declined to predict if the nine-member committee would reconsider.

“I will raise the matter for discussion in a conference call with the committee within the next two weeks,” he told Associated Baptist Press in an e-mail interview Jan. 15. But, Chapman added, “the position we have taken makes it very difficult to consider delaying or withdrawing the proposal. ”

In several e-mails to overseas BWA leaders, Chapman reiterated the committee's intention to use the money the SBC sends to the BWA–until recently, $450,000–to form an SBC-led alternative organization that would be run by the Executive Committee.

Several other study committee members–including denominational executives Paige Patterson and Jimmy Draper–could not be reached for comment. The committee's proposal will be presented to the SBC Executive Committee in February and, if approved, to the Southern Baptist Convention in June.

International response

The study committee's mid-December proposal sparked immediate objections from Baptists on six continents, including leaders from Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Sri Lanka, Romania, Russia and Norway.

Chapman acknowledged the criticism, as well as some support, but said the committee will not respond hastily.

“I need to wait long enough to give opportunity for most of those who are inclined to write to do so, in order that any evaluation the committee may make will be based upon a good cross-section of responders,” he told ABP.

“I feel obligated to keep the whole matter as low-key as possible. This means I may have to live with the public criticisms of Southern Baptist leadership until we have something to say that is well thought out before release.”

World Baptist leaders are protesting both the SBC's planned pullout and the allegations of liberalism the SBC says justifies the move.

“We declare unacceptable the allegation of liberalism made by the committee,” said Latin American Baptist leaders in one of the strongest statements.

“We deplore the recommendation of this committee,” the statement continued, “and we urge strongly the Executive Committee and the assembly of the SBC to reject this recommendation outright, so that this great organization may remain as a member of the BWA and may continue supporting its funding.”

The official statement was signed by seven Latin American leaders from four countries, including Fausto Aguiar de Vasconcelos of Brazil, president of the Union of Baptists in Latin America, and two BWA vice presidents.

A similar statement was issued by another of the six regional BWA groups, the European Baptist Federation, which covers Europe and the Middle East. The EBF executive committee pleaded with Southern Baptists to maintain the unity of worldwide Baptists.

“Do we realize how much our witness to the world will be harmed when we try to explain that we are different groups of Baptists who cannot work together?” the European leaders asked. “One of the biggest tragedies of contemporary Christianity is division.”

Baptists in Italy said the worldwide Baptist fellowship had been wounded and “enfeebled” by the SBC action, which was “made on the basis of false motivations and pretexts.”

The union's executive committee blamed the action on “fundamentalism, with its tendency towards intolerance and sectarianism.” That tendency “is the antithesis of our own Baptist tradition,” which owes much to the influence of Southern Baptist missionaries, the Italians said.

In a separate letter to Chapman, Branko Lovrec, a BWA vice president from Europe and former president of the Baptist Union of Croatia, said: “We are trying to develop Christian relationship with the similar evangelical(s) and other Christians in the specific countries and worldwide, and all of a sudden such news has been like a bomb. … I will devote my time to prayer that God can intervene and settle the matter so that we may not be ashamed before the unbelieving world, who will only rejoice in our separation.”

SBC leadership responds

Chapman, in his response to Lovrec, said the intention of the SBC proposal is not to sever relationships with Baptists worldwide but to relate to them directly, not through the BWA.

“While Southern Baptists certainly believe one of our objectives should be to promote unity in the body, we also wish to concentrate upon other matters critical to the spiritual well-being of every nation in the world, including our own,” the SBC leader said.

Chapman said the need for worldwide evangelism is paramount.

“Our heart's desire is to allocate the funding that has been going to the BWA for the purpose of coordinating conferences in other countries, if and when the Lord should guide other Baptist leaders to invite us,” Chapman wrote.

“In our missions, publishing and seminary education organizations, we have a host of people who are trained to lead conferences on a variety of topics, including Bible study, evangelism, church growth, etc.”

In his interview with ABP, Chapman said “no contingency plans were discussed” when the committee adopted its proposal.

“The SBC/BWA Study Committee did not decide to recommend withdrawal from the BWA as a tactic to reach an unstated goal of pressing for change in the BWA,” he explained.

“The recommendation is an honest expression of the conclusions reached unanimously by the committee. The last thing we would want is to be perceived as having decided upon the recommendation as a means of generating discussion and concessions.

“The committee members made a decision based upon over five years of appealing in various ways to BWA staff to hear our concerns,” he continued. “They listened but did not hear. We felt we had no other alternative, lest we become a problem for the organization and its staff, which is something we did not want to happen. As a result, the position we have taken makes it very difficult to consider delaying or withdrawing the proposal.”

New network proposed

The proposal from the SBC study committee suggests creating a new worldwide network of “conservative evangelical Christians.”

Some of the more conservative Baptist bodies around the world already have expressed interest in the new SBC-led organization, the committee said, raising the possibility of two competing worldwide organizations of Baptists.

But Latin America Baptists, a traditionally conservative group that said they consider themselves the “younger brothers of the SBC” because of the evangelistic work of Southern Baptist missionaries, said they want nothing to do with the new organization.

“We take the liberty of pointing out to our older brothers that, not only are we unwilling–under any circumstances–to go along with their efforts to create a new, parallel organization to the BWA,” the leaders said. “But, furthermore, we categorically reject the possibility.”

The Latin leaders also denounced charges of liberalism against BWA, which they called “a Christ-centered and Bible-centered organization.”

Allegations refuted

The report from the SBC study committee, which was drafted by Paige Patterson, accused the Baptist World Alliance of “advocating aberrant and dangerous theologies”–specifically, questioning biblical inerrancy, promoting women as pastors, and downplaying the doctrine of salvation only through Jesus.

The report also accused an unnamed German theologian of denying the Great Commission, Jesus' command to make disciples of all people, during a 1997 BWA-related meeting.

Ian Chapman, chair of the BWA theological education work group that organized the meeting, said that accusation “is totally false.”

“I am also saddened by the untrue statements that the (study committee) has leveled against the BWA to justify the SBC leaving,” Ian Chapman said in a statement.

“Over the past 10 years, I have served as the chair of the theological education work group and the doctrine and interchurch cooperation commission. Not once during these years have I heard a central doctrine of the Christian faith challenged.

“Never have I heard anyone deny the deity of Christ, the authority and inspiration of Scripture, personal salvation through Christ or Christ's atoning work on the cross.

“The charge of 'liberalism' leveled against the BWA is totally without foundation.”

Denton Lotz, BWA general secretary, agreed the organization–which counts 43 million Baptists worldwide–is not liberal.

“Actually, scholars have shown just the opposite, that the BWA has been more evangelical than ever,” he said in an editorial on the BWA website.

Meanwhile, several BWA leaders–including president Billy Kim of South Korea–insist the SBC's planned pullout is in response not to the BWA's theological stance but its granting of membership to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

The CBF, which broke away from the SBC in 1991 after battling similar Southern Baptist charges of liberalism, was admitted to the BWA in 2003 after a three-year process and over the objections of Southern Baptist representatives.

“Yet the CBF is not mentioned in the SBC document outlining why they are proposing withdrawal,” added Lotz. “Suddenly many accusations are made but CBF is not mentioned. And yet in Rio, SBC leaders came to us and said, 'If they (CBF) are in, we're out!'”

Despite the resounding support from leaders worldwide, Lotz told ABP no official action or protest from the Virginia-based organization is likely before the SBC Executive Committee meets Feb. 16.

The BWA's executive committee isn't set to meet until March, he said, and a special meeting is out of the question.

Both Lotz and Kim will speak at a rally in support of the Baptist World Alliance Jan. 27 at First Baptist Church in Plano. Feb. 1 is Baptist World Alliance Day on the denominational calendar.

Baptist World Aid defended

Leaders of BWA also responded to the SBC committee's accusation that Baptist World Aid, its relief and development arm, funds “questionable enterprises.”

Robert Ricker, an American who has chaired the BWAid committee for five years, asked the SBC committee to explain the accusation.

“The projects are great needs, handled through Baptist churches, monitored for efficiency and effectiveness,” Ricker said in a news release.

“Funds are dispersed under careful guidelines with high standards of accountability and with extremely low overhead.

“That any of our Baptist fellowships have unhappiness with BWAid is news to us,” Ricker said, “and we are sorry we were not talked to about it, including by the many members of the SBC who have served over the years on our BWAid board and executive committee. Scripture asks us that we go direct, not through national and international mailings.”

WMU reaction

National Woman's Missionary Union came out in support of the Baptist World Alliance Jan. 12, breaking ranks with the Southern Baptist leaders who want to withdraw SBC membership and funding.

Echoing the sentiment of other international Baptist groups, the WMU executive board issued a call for unity among the world's Baptists.

The WMU board addressed some observers' fear that an SBC-BWA split will divide Baptists worldwide into two competing camps, since the SBC has announced plans to start an alternative organization.

“As members of the body of Christ, we need each other–to pray for one another, to encourage one another, to learn from one another, and to stand together in one accord as a strong and bold witness to a lost world,” said Wanda Lee, WMU executive director-treasurer, who also serves on the BWA executive committee.

During a retreat near WMU's Birmingham headquarters, the group's executive committee affirmed the 93-year relationship between WMU and the BWA's women's department, which WMU helped form in 1911. Many of the leaders told how relationships built through the Baptist World Alliance changed their lives, according to a WMU news release.

In addition to unity and reconciliation, the WMU leaders encouraged prayer for Baptists “to have a strong, bold and credible witness; for wisdom, discernment and courage to do God's will; for a spirit of humility; for compassion for all people; and for comfort and relief for those who are persecuted for voicing their convictions,” the release said.

“It is through fellowship with Christ and other Christians that we experience personal growth and develop a deeper understanding of the needs around the world,” added Lee. “In the context of our missions task, it is through this fellowship that we become more effective as we grow in our passion and a sense of urgency to be light in a dark world.”

With approximately 1 million members, Woman's Missionary Union is considered the world's largest Protestant women's mission organization.

The 116-year-old organization educates and involves women, men and children in Christian missions.

Although not under the control of the SBC, WMU raises much of the money Southern Baptists spend on missions. In 1993, WMU declined the SBC's request to surrender its auxiliary role and become an agency of the SBC.

In its statement of support for the Baptist World Alliance, WMU said it also will continue to promote and support the annual Baptist Women's World Day of Prayer offering, which provides the only funding for BWA's women's department.

Like WMU, approximately 40 Baptist unions worldwide have some form of women's organization that relates to BWA's women's department, which functions as an auxiliary to the BWA.

Posted: 1/23/04

Study shows charitable choice based on false assumptions

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A new study suggests one of the main arguments for government funding of religious social-service providers might be based on false assumptions.

Researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis reported on a three-year study of the effectiveness of faith-based social-service pro-viders recently.

The project, by researchers from the university's Center for Urban Policy, is the most comprehensive study of the issue since 1996, when Congress enabled government funding of social services through churches and other religious organizations.

President Bush has attempted to further expand the number of government programs that can provide funding to religious charities.

Although advocates of the so-called “charitable-choice” programs often argue that religiously motivated charities are more effective at providing social services than their governmental or secular counterparts, the study's researchers concluded otherwise.

Among other results, the Charitable Choice Research Project found:

Religious organizations operating job-training programs placed 31 percent of their clients in full-time employment, while secular job-training organizations placed 53 percent of their clients.

Those placed in jobs from secular job-training programs were more likely to have health benefits and to work more hours than were graduates of religious programs.

“Relatively few” new religious groups in the states studied have begun accepting government money to perform social services.

Many opponents of charitable choice argue providing government grants to pervasively religious groups violates the Constitution's ban on government endorsement of religion.

Federal courts have made it clear that direct government funds cannot go to fund worship, devotional activity or other inherently religious acts.

However, the White House and other charitable-choice advocates have argued religious groups can use public funds for the secular aspects of their work while maintaining their religious character in other parts of their work.

The study's authors conclude that may be impossible to enforce.

“We found that states did not monitor constitutional violations and did little to educate (religious) contractors about constitutional compliance,” said Sheila Suess Kennedy, the project's lead researcher and a law professor at the university.

“We also found that congregational leaders had little familiarity with applicable constitutional constraints.”

In one part of the survey, 67 percent of congregational leaders who took what researchers described as “a simple questionnaire” on constitutional issues were unaware that government money cannot pay for devotional activities, such as prayer and Bible study.

The project studied religious and secular social-service providers in Indiana, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

Posted: 1/23/04

ANOTHER VIEW:
What are 'questionable enterprises'?

By Paul Montacute

It is now several weeks since leaders of Baptist World Aid asked the chair of the Southern Baptist Convention's committee on its relationship to the Baptist World Alliance to substantiate its accusation that the BWA has funded “questionable enterprises through Baptist World Aid.”

On Dec. 23, BWAid leaders wrote to Morris Chapman, asking for details of these “questionable enterprises.” Receiving no reply, a message was sent Jan. 5. Chapman replied: “There is no need to worry about an answer. Should the committee desire to expand on their original statement, I will send it to you.”

The BWAid leaders immediately replied they were “amazed that such a powerful committee of Southern Baptist leaders would make unsubstantiated accusations against a Christian ministry without the immediate ability to provide evidence of such 'questionable enterprises.'”

Pointing out that “time is of the essence here,” the BWAid leaders asked that “if you cannot immediately provide the evidence to back this allegation, please have the graciousness to retract it publicly right away, before any more harm is done to those involved in Christian ministry to 'the least of these' around the world, and the people they are assisting in his name.”

Chapman in his reply of Jan. 6 said: “I didn't say the statements were unsubstantiated. Had the committee planned to retract what we said, we would have had no reason to say it.”

This response left BWAid leaders wondering what these “questionable enterprises” are.

Looking back over 13 years of service with the BWA, I wonder, was it questionable to:

Feed and provide shelter 10 years ago for the hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees who fled genocide?

Provide pastors in Eastern Europe with Bibles, commentaries and other Christian literature?

Ship Bibles to Cuba?

Care for those who are HIV positive and AIDS-orphaned children?

Ship food to Moscow in the frozen winters?

Erect schools, clinics and other buildings for our Baptist conventions around the world?

Work with indigenous national leadership, empowering and enabling them in their humanitarian ministries?

Stand in the shoes of the most downtrodden at times of desperate need?

Encourage collaborative responses, such as in Baptist Relief Europe, so small and large groups of Baptists could be involved?

Care for those suffering from nearly a decade of war in the Balkans?

Support the Burmese refugees in the forest camps along the border with Thailand?

Pioneer agricultural projects so that villagers could learn to feed themselves?

Assist in rescuing and caring for those impacted by earthquakes and floods?

If these are questionable enterprises, then I am glad Baptist World Aid has been a part of them.

You can show your support for Baptist World Aid by sending donations to 405 North Washington Street, Falls Church, Va. 22045. Information on BWAid projects can be found at www.bwanet.org and BWAid@ Bwanet.org.

Paul Montacute is director of Baptist World Aid

Posted: 1/23/04

GUEST EDITORIAL:
Southern Baptists' rupture with BWA will wreck witness

By Jim Williams

A decision by the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee to recommend that the SBC withdraw complete funding support for the Baptist World Alliance will be tragic. Should that happen, my prayer is that messengers to the convention annual meeting next summer will vote it down and restore full support.

In a recent newsletter, BWA Executive Director Denton Lotz tells about a Baptist body in Northern India that had been “at war” for several years. Internal infighting was so intense that one person was actually murdered. Lotz and some of the BWA staff recently led that group in a reconciliation process, and it appears that unity has been restored to a once-divided Baptist convention.

How I long for such a spirit of reconciliation to take place in the Southern Baptist Convention. Though no one has been physically murdered, many godly men and women have been “slaughtered” on the altar of political control.

It's been said many times and in many ways, but let me say it again: The real issue here, as it has been since the beginning of the SBC controversy, is not theology (doctrine), but political control.

Before the so-called “controversy,” there were elements of liberalism in the SBC. But it was minimal, and we already had mechanisms in place that could have weeded out the isolated problems.

Most Southern Baptists, including those who have been excluded by current leadership, are very conservative, Bible-believing followers of Christ who long to see people everywhere come to know Jesus as personal Savior and to cooperate with each other in fulfilling the Great Commission.

Historically, we have placed high emphasis on the absolute authority of the Bible, evangelism/missions, local church autonomy, the priesthood of all believers, religious liberty, and the separation of church and state.

We have celebrated our “unity in diversity” and have respected differences of opinion on issues that were subject to interpretation. These are the same kind of Baptists who make up the member bodies of the Baptist World Alliance.

In my humble judgment, the Baptist World Alliance is a beautiful example of global Baptist witness and cooperation. It has never demonstrated a party spirit and has modeled servant leadership in its service to Baptist bodies now numbering above 200.

I have been personally involved in the BWA for many years, serving on the General Council and on commissions and committees. Never have I detected a party spirit, and charges that the BWA is influenced by liberalism are patently false. Baptists may disagree on certain issues like the ordination of women or on methodology. But we do not disagree on essential doctrines.

I am concerned that such a monumental decision will be decided by a dwindling number of messengers who attend the SBC annual meeting.

Let me encourage each messenger to prayerfully ask questions like: How will this decision impact global gospel witness? What difficulties will this create for missionaries who relate to national Baptist bodies–conventions? Do we realize how much of our witness to the world will be harmed because we cannot work together? What would Jesus think about this as a response to his prayer “that they may all be one … so that the world may believe” (John 17:21)?

Never in our history have Baptists been better blessed with financial resources. Never have Baptists had greater opportunity to join hands in fulfilling the Great Commission. Never have Baptists had more compelling reasons to model “agape” love to and in a world where nihilism, hatred and violence are rampant.

If this be true, then why should the global Baptist family be further fragmented? Why should we have to reinvent the wheel by establishing another global Baptist fellowship? Why can't we be big in spirit, in love, in forgiveness, in benevolence toward one another and in repentance ask God to bring renewal to the whole body just as he did with that Baptist convention in India.

I pray this will happen and plead with fellow Southern Baptists to keep our historic relationship with the Baptist World Alliance in place.

Jim Williams, executive director of the Baptist Medical-Dental Fellowship, is former executive director of the SBC Brotherhood Commission

Posted: 1/23/04

DBU launches Christian education
and leadership school, names dean

Dallas Baptist University has opened a School of Leadership and Christian Education that will offer master's degrees in Christian education and higher education.

The idea for the graduate-level Christian education program grew out of students' requests to learn more about serving in the ministry and equipping the laity, according to Bernie Spooner, newly appointed dean of the school.

“We found that many students and practitioners had most of the knowledge base to serve in a church, but they were uncertain how to implement this knowledge,” he explained.

DBU President Gary Cook asked Spooner in March 2003 if he would head the new program. Spooner worked in Baptist churches for 15 years and taught for two years at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary before going to the Baptist General Convention of Texas, where he served 22 years as director of the Sunday School/discipleship division. He is a graduate of Mississippi College, and he holds master's and doctoral degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Last June, DBU sent surveys to nearly 1,400 pastors, Christian educators and other ministers to discover perceived needs in training for ministry. The survey revealed a need for 27 competencies, and Spooner worked with a committee to develop the master of arts in Christian education degree plan.

“Once a student has completed 30 hours of core course work, plus 12 hours in a concentration, he or she will be prepared to serve as a minister of education, minister of adults, minister of youth, minister of childhood education, a college-campus minister, and in other Christian education roles,” he said.

The degree program includes field experience in a supervised ministry setting.

“We are learning that 'field-based ministry' provides incredible hands-on as well as service learning experiences to students,” said Judy Morris, director of the program. “Our goal at DBU is to assist students in taking the classroom knowledge and applying it in a field related to their desired ministry. This may involve doing field work at a hospital, a daycare, a church or even at a mission point.”

In addition to Spooner, DBU also has added one other dean, an associate dean and two new professors to its faculty.

Jeremy Dutschke has been appointed dean of the College of Adult Education. Robert Brooks has been selected associate dean for the College of Fine Arts, and he also will serve as the chair of the music department. Debbie Bigler has joined the DBU faculty as assistant professor of education and Nancy McLaughlin as assistant professor of education.

Posted: 1/23/04

DOWN HOME:
Tasty temptation to test Cowboys

Here we are, just a few days before the Super Bowl, and I'm already worried about next season.

Don't get me wrong. I'm shocked and amazed–and thrilled–with how Bill Parcells turned the Cowboys around this season. (Apologies to the Texans. In the far north Panhandle, I grew up closer to, oh, the moon than to Houston. So don't hold my lifelong love of the Cowboys against me. It's a quirk of geography. There; I said it. Don't we all feel better?)

Last summer, when Joanna and I took our Tennessee friends Brent and Jackie to the Cowboys' training camp, I never would have believed those guys could go 10-6 this year and make the playoffs. Terrific. One of the great turn-arounds in modern sports history.

But I'm holding out precious little hope for next year.

It's like this: Last week, the nation's fastest-growing donut franchise–I can't tell you its name, but it rhymes with “Misty Scheme”–opened a new store in Irving.

I'm not saying it's close to the Cowboys' headquarters at Valley Ranch, but Quincy Carter could throw a day-old donut from the parking lot into the south practice field.

That's too close. Those donuts are just too good.

Unfortunately, too many of those 'Boys are just too vulnerable. The tastebud is the Achilles' heel of the typical football offensive lineman. It's his weakest physical attribute. Flash a “Hot Now” donut sign in front of an offensive lineman one too many times, and you might as well tear up his contract and look for a good orthopedic surgeon. His knees and ankles are sure to go.

And although they don't look it, wide receivers and defensive backs are even more at-risk. They may not need a forklift to get out of bed in the morning, but they also can't beat anybody if they're carrying 15 extra pounds of donut lard in their spandex britches.

Of course, I wasn't privy to Coach Parcells' parting words to this year's team. Still, I guarantee he didn't tell them “Run Slower, Jump Lower” will be the slogan for the '04 campaign.

But before you Cowboys fans jump off Texas Stadium, consider this: I might be wrong. What do I know? Maybe next year's team will bulk up on “Bill's Donut Diet” and shove everybody else off the field. So, what do I know?

I know the Cowboys will have to be disciplined–donut shop or not–if they expect to improve next year. In the off-season, they'll need to watch what they eat and train hard. When the season starts, they must work diligently, focus and stay healthy.

And that's more or less like our spiritual lives. We must discipline ourselves through prayer, Bible study, worship and service.

The spiritual stakes make the Super Bowl look like tiddlywinks.

Posted: 1/23/04

Share Christ daily, evangelists urge

RICHARDSON—Every Christian is called to be a witness for Christ daily, but each must act with God's power to be effective, according to Texas Baptist vocational evangelists at the Texas Evangelism and Missions Conference.

Christians influence others every time they step out the door, said evangelist Paul Garcia of Plano. Believers can have a positive impact on others through small acts such as smiling, opening doors and speaking encouraging words.

“Not everyone is called to be a pastor, called to be an evangelist, but we are all called to share the gospel in our daily lives,” he preached.

Fortunately for Christians, God equips believers to share their faith through daily activities, Garcia said. The Bible guides believers through lifestyle choices and inspires Christians to model Jesus' love. God gives Christians power because he is with them.

Consistency between actions and beliefs provides a quiet but continuous testimony of the gospel, according to evangelist Leroy Hassler of Gladewater. Often Christians espouse their faith but do not back it up with their lifestyle, leaving non-believers to doubt the Christian message.

“We need to see more demonstrations of faith than preaching of the word,” Hassler said.

Christians also have an advantage because non-believers want the peace that faith brings to people, Garcia confirmed. They want the assurance the Lord provides.

If believers allow the Lord to work through them, he will lead them to non-Christians who are ready to hear the gospel, Hassler said. When the Holy Spirit moves, Christians cannot stop sharing about God's work.

“If the power of God is running through your life you will have trouble not talking about Him,” he said.

Posted: 1/23/04

Deacon says sharing faith, not running
the church, his most important responsibility

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

RICHARDSON — Deacons at First Baptist Church of Colleyville have taken their eyes off of “running the church” and have focused instead on sharing their faith and serving the church, said Ron Cogburn, deacon chairman.

Cogburn focused on the sharing part of that equation during a workshop on deacon evangelism ministry at the Texas Evangelism and Missions Conference.

Three years ago, Cogburn said, he had been a deacon for 15 years but never had led anyone to Christ. A man experienced in sharing his faith began to teach him. On their first time out visiting, they led three people to profess faith in Christ.

“I caught the passion,” Cogburn said. “I saw how powerful the gospel could be.”

He now seeks to share his faith with every person in whom he has a “meaningful contact.” He trusts the Holy Spirit to prompt him, and Cogburn always begins with a statement and a question that are printed on a small tract: “Jesus is coming! Are you ready?”

“Every deacon should be a soul winner,” Cogburn said.

He cited several things needed to develop an evangelistic deacon body:

Decide that soul winning is the most important thing deacons do.

Talk about soul winning, not running the church, in deacons' meeting.

Make meetings about Jesus rather than finances, the staff and other issues.

Follow the example of biblical deacons Stephen and Phillip, who were soul winners.

All difficulties in soul winning “stem from the heart,” Cogburn said.

When something really makes a difference in a person's life, he tells others about it, he said.

Cogburn listed three reasons people are not winning others to Christ.

First, Christians are “not going after lost souls,” he said. Believers should go where non-believers spend time. “We must seek them out.”

Second, Christians “often are not presenting Christ to the sinner,” Cogburn said. If people are to be saved, believers must talk to them about Jesus and about being saved.

Third, Christians who witness often are “not drawing the net,” he said. It's not enough to present Christ; the believer must invite the non-Christian to receive Christ.

Posted: 1/23/04

Language of love needs no interpreter, Hispanic leader says

By Marv Knox

Editor

RICHARDSON–Only one language really matters up and down the Texas-Mexico border, Hispanic Baptist leader Alcides Guajardo insists.

It's neither Spanish nor English; it's the language of love, Guajardo told participants in a seminar for River Ministry volunteers held during the Texas Evangelism and Missions Conference.

Sometimes, fear of being unable to communicate scares Anglo Baptists from participating in River Ministry, the Baptist General Convention of Texas' program for spreading the gospel along the Rio Grande, he said.

But love translates into any language, said Guajardo, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and a River Ministry consultant.

“The most foundational language in the world isn't English, although it is spoken all over the world,” he acknowledged.

“It isn't Spanish, although Spanish is the language of heaven. …

“It's the language of love. If you can communicate love, you are communicating a lot more than if you communicated specific information.”

River Ministry projects that help churches along both sides of the Rio Grande meet human needs are effective because they reveal God's love–and Baptists' love–directly to people, he said.

The Mexico-Texas borderland is full of “hardened sinners” who have heard the gospel and been put off by it, Guajardo reported.

The chief culprits are hundreds, if not thousands, of radio stations along the border, each beaming the gospel in Spanish into Mexico, he said.

The stations are so numerous that they overwhelm radio dials throughout the region, he said. “The people can't get the radio stations they want because of all the gospel stations. They're tired of it.”

However, Christians who speak the “language of love” through loving actions transcend both language barriers–the challenge of verbal communication and the annoying glut of gospel stations, he noted.

“God has been using people who speak the language of love,” he said. “Nobody's paying them to (minister along the border), so people want to know why they're there.”

And with a little translation help, Spanish-speaking people along the Rio Grande learn of God's love through Christians' love, he said.

Guajardo called on upstate Texas Baptist churches to help reveal God's love through Baptist churches along the border.

“You need to help them be the church for these people,” he pleaded.

For example, an upstate church may gather Christmas presents to distribute to families in a poor border community, he said.

The upstate Christians may look forward to the joy they will experience in seeing how happily their gifts are received.

But instead, the upstate church should allow the local Baptist church to distribute the gifts, he urged.

This will enable the local Christians to receive credit from their neighbors, and it will build relationships and strengthen the impact of their ministry.

“Empower the churches,” he exhorted. “Help them. Teach them so they can do things. … If we teach them, they can become established churches that can do missions.”

Posted: 1/23/04

Understand Hispanic culture before
evangelizing, pastor advises Anglos

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

RICHARDSON­Texas Baptists must understand Hispanics before they effectively can reach them, according to Rolando Rodriguez, pastor of Hampton Place Baptist Church in Dallas.

Hispanics are flooding communities, but Anglo churches are not reaching them, Rodriguez noted.

This leaves Anglo congregations that do not match increasingly Hispanic neighborhoods. To prevent this from occurring, church leaders need to alter their ministries to meet Hispanic needs as quickly as possible.

“Somehow you have to make a transition when you can,” he said during the Texas Evangelism and Missions Conference at First Baptist Church in Richardson. “Otherwise it will be too late.”

But to know the needs, Texas Baptists need to know the culture, he continued. Evangelism methods that effectively reach Anglos will not necessarily convert Hispanics.

Immigrants often do not speak English, and some do not want to learn, Rodriguez noted. They will not come to English services because they do not understand the language. Churches need to create Spanish ministries to cater to these Hispanics' needs.

However, creating a Spanish entry point is not enough to bring them to church, Rodriguez said. Church leaders must visit them consistently, spending considerable time talking about the prospective member's extended family.

The extended family is important to Latinos, Rodriguez said. They want to keep uncles, siblings, parents and grandparents together as much as possible.

“I want my family together for worship, Bible study, college, career,” he said.

Even visitation is different with Hispanics than Anglos, the Mexico native said. Latinos respect titles and formality, so pastors should introduce themselves as pastor. They also should wear suits and ties.

Do not expect Hispanics to address a church leader by his first name, Rodriguez said. They are accustomed to using titles as a form of respect.

Anglos should call adult Latinos hermano (brother) and hermana (sister) and children as mijo (boy) or mija (girl), Rodriguez suggested.

When an invitation to church or another activity is given, Anglos need to judge whether an answer is an individual's true desire, Rodriguez said. Hispanics are humble and will refuse an offer several times despite wanting to accept.

Once Hispanics are in the church, the same rules apply, Rodriguez said. Latinos will not approach a pastor because that is viewed as a powerful position. The pastor must come to them.

Church leaders also must remember to avoid publicly chiding Hispanics, Rodriguez added. The ethnic group tries hard to save face when possible. Anglos need to be sensitive to that need.

One of the more difficult aspects of Hispanic culture for many Anglos is the way Hispanics view time, Rodriguez said. While Anglos tend to be punctual, Hispanics value relationships more than time.

Latinos consider showing up at 3:30 for a 3 p.m. meeting as being on time. This will have to be an accepted part of church life with Hispanics in it.

“I've been at Hampton Place for 10 years. We still don't start on time,” he joked.

If Anglos are willing to be flexible and committed in reaching Hispanics, they can be successful, Rodriguez encouraged the breakout session audience. Knowing about the culture helps others be sensitive in sharing the gospel.

“We want to learn this to reach people for Christ,” he said.

Posted: 1/23/04

Relationships rule now, Miller tells Texas Baptists

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

RICHARDSON — Developing relationships with non-believers is the crucial beginning point in evangelizing people in today's postmodern culture, said author and teacher Calvin Miller.

Miller, a professor at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Ala., spoke in two settings at the Texas Evangelism and Missions Conference at First Baptist Church of Richardson. First he spoke to a gathering of about 100 Texas Baptists and then preached during a worship service. In both settings, he dealt with the importance of relationships in reaching people in a postmodern environment.

Evangelism “is sometimes not as hard as we make it,” Miller said during the worship service. The key is for the Christian to find similarities in his life and the life of another person.

Miller said he plays “the little game of like” in relating to other people. He asks, “How am I like this person? How are they like me?”

Today's relationships take place in a “plastic world” geared to entertainment but in which few people seem to be happy, the professor said

But “the happiest business in all the world is the joy that comes to the soul winner” when someone comes to Jesus Christ in faith, he added.

The joy of evangelism is caught up in the possibility that “when I've related to you enough, you may know Jesus,” Miller said.

In the smaller gathering, Miller elaborated on the importance of relational evangelism in a new “sensory apologetic” that rises out of the need to reach postmodern people who do not have an agreed-upon heritage, ethical code, standard of truth and religious priority.

In his sensory apologetic, “relational” is the first step. “You have to make friends with people in order to win them to Jesus.”

The second step is “experiential.” This refers to what people have experienced, not just factual data.

“The most powerful witness has always been testimony,” Miller said to illustrate the point.

Third is the artistic. Miller spoke of the importance of story, which enables an audience to move together toward understanding.

All of this together prepares the non-believer for dogma, the unchanging requirements of God.

In building his case for a sensory apologetic, Miller told of “the disjuncture of postmodernism” as competing worldviews have moved culture from a dominant theism toward other belief systems.

Theism had been the ruling idea in the West for centuries. It had three core values–conversion, exclusivity and doctrine, Miller said.

But Western culture has been changing. First, it has seen the growth of naturalism, in which people are seen merely as part of nature, not as God-created beings above nature.

Second, there is monism, a mystical preoccupation with the self.

Monism and naturalism have combined to produce “new age” thinking, while naturalism and theism have come together in theological liberalism.

Those viewpoints represent much of where the postmodern culture is today, but changes in the church also have negatively impacted evangelism, Miller said.

Many churches “have fallen prey to the loss of transcendence,” he said. “We have no vista points any more. Heaven is ill defined. Hell has come to not hardly exist” in many people's minds.

An anti-intellectual bent also has taken hold in evangelical Christianity. Miller noted how this notion conflicts with his own makeup.

“I have a tremendous desire to know and to learn. I have a tremendous desire to see people come to Christ,” the professor said. “I want to out-think the world … (and) out-love the world,” he said.

Posted: 1/23/04

No excuses for failing to witness, Hill says

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

RICHARDSON­God is calling all Texas Baptists to evangelize non-Christians around the world, according to vocational evangelist Ronnie Hill of Fort Worth.

There are no excuses for not sharing the gospel with non-believers because God uses Christians to advance his will, Hill told the Texas Evangelism and Missions Conference.

God uses individuals who are poor, weak or have little social status, Hill added. Likewise, he uses smaller churches with limited resources.

The Apostle Paul noted he was not an eloquent speaker, but God used him to spread the gospel beyond Israel, Hill said. God calls those whom society discounts because their work clearly can glorify him.

Christians simply need to offer non-believers the gospel, Hill preached. Too often pastors speak about topics without referencing the Bible or Christ's message of hope.

In some cases, they offer no invitations to make a commitment to Christ.

“You are not called to be a pop psychologist,” he said. “You are not called to be Dr. Phil or Oprah. You are called to be proclaimers of the gospel. So start proclaiming.”

The church's work should stretch far beyond its facilities, Hill said. Ministers should serve in positions that interact with the community, such as football chaplains and substitute teachers. Members should visit houses in their neighborhoods and share the gospel. Overseas mission trips should be strongly urged.

Inside the church, Hill encouraged leaders to use “God-anointed” evangelists for crusades and revivals.

Youth programs need more emphasis, Hill continued. Most conversions are made before people turn 18, so efforts to reach them should be bolstered financially. Youth ministers also need freedom to eat lunch with students and spend time with them.

He also pushed ministers to move baptisms toward the end of the worship service, because many non-Christians come to see their friends baptized.

However, they tend to leave immediately after the ordinance.

If the baptism happens after the sermon, those non-believers will hear the gospel and have a chance to respond.

“Put the baptism at the end,” he said. “Let people hear the gospel.”

God will bless and work through these kinds of efforts, Hill insisted.

“Don't tell me it doesn't work. I've seen it work,” he said.

He has seen vocational evangelists lead hundreds of people to God in one evening. Cowboy church Bible studies have brought some of the toughest men to faith. The Lord worked to transform Hill's father from an alcoholic to a minister.