Posted: 1/09/04

New models emerging for
ministry to homeless population

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

New approaches to helping the homeless population are giving hope to Christians who want to get people off the streets and into warm housing.

Jefferson Street Baptist Center in Louisville, Ky., which deals primarily with mentally ill and substance-abusing homeless people, is on the verge of offering a ministry organizers hope will meet needs and transform lives.

See Related Articles: • HOMELESSNESS: No easy answers • Advocates for homeless see little hope apart from spiritual renewal • New models emerging for ministry to homeless population • Number of hungry in developing countries increased in late 1990s

In the next month, the ministry will launch an 11-unit permanent-support housing complex. It will give homeless individuals diagnosed both with mental illness and substance abuse issues a place to stay. Staff members will serve as secondary caseworkers for each resident and teach practical skills such as budgeting, hygiene and apartment cleanliness.

They also will be first detectors in case a resident regresses by not taking medication or abusing substances and will report to the person's primary caseworker, provided by an outside agency.

“We will catch issues earlier. We will see them every day,” said Rick Brenny, executive director of the center.

The outreach goes beyond the scope of more traditional ministries that provide meals, clothes and temporary housing. While those are effective at meeting needs, a transformational element is needed, said Gerald Davis, consultant in the Baptist General Convention of Texas Missions Equipping Center.

Davis is looking to create an outreach network in Texas cities that will help churches work together to rebuild the lives of the homeless. The network would include feeding, clothing, training, housing, transitioning, rehabilitating and job placement.

This comprehensive approach is the key to fighting homelessness, according to Donald Whitehead, executive director of the nation's oldest and largest advocacy group for the homeless, the National Coalition for the Homeless.

Permanent-support housing is a more cost-effective way of serving the homeless, no matter how long they stay, Brenny noted. The service is cheaper than providing food, hospital care, substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling to people who remain on the street.

Jefferson Street Baptist Center clients, who receive a government subsidy for the mental illnesses, will be required to pay a minimum contribution of $25 a month for rent and utilities. But they will have clean, safe housing to live in and improve their lives.

While residents can choose to stay in the apartment complex permanently, some will use the complex as a stepping-stone to self-sufficiency, Brenny said.

Homeless individuals are showing interest in this new approach to helping them. Without advertising, there is a 15-person waiting list to get a room, Brenny said.

“We could fill as many of these units as we could provide,” he added.

Posted: 1/09/04

HOMELESSNESS:
No easy answers

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Social acceptance and compassion fatigue are leading Americans to leave needy individuals out in the cold, according to advocates for the homeless.

See Related Articles: • HOMELESSNESS: No easy answers • Advocates for homeless see little hope apart from spiritual renewal • New models emerging for ministry to homeless population • Number of hungry in developing countries increased in late 1990s

Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, said the public believes homelessness is an accepted byproduct of capitalism. People incorrectly view the homeless as being in their condition because they do not want to work.

Homeless people worship beneath I-35 at the Church Under the Bridge in Waco.

When people see no decline in homelessness, their preconceptions about the homeless are reinforced, said Whitehead, leader of the nation's largest advocacy group for the homeless.

This notion of a never-improving homeless population hurts Christian outreaches, said Jimmy Dorrell, executive director of Mission Waco. The negative connotations make it difficult for homeless ministries to raise funds.

Dorrell encounters this firsthand as he raises funds to construct Waco's first shelter for the chronically homeless.

He acknowledges it is difficult to get someone on sound financial ground, a sad fact that demoralizes workers. Volunteers continually give of their time, energy, resources and hearts, but seldom see someone get off the streets, he said. Workers burn out and give up hope, believing the socio-economic factors are too great to overcome.

Directors of Christian ministries have to alter many Christians' perceptions of what it means to have a successful homeless outreach, Dorrell said. While ministry leaders would like each person to find a home, success comes in many small steps.

Whitehead agreed success is largely an individual measurement. Victory can be as simple as entering a rehabilitation program, eating a warm meal or finding a temporary job.

“Success depends on the individual,” Whitehead stated. “For some people accessing treatment is success.”

This redefinition of success is important for Christian businesspeople, as well, Dorrell argued. Christian efforts are largely dependent on believers who are willing to give a homeless person a job and a chance, he said. A job does not guarantee a person will get a home, but it gives him a better opportunity.

These steps, no matter how small, are movements in the right direction, Dorrell reminded. Christians must continue to minister to people in need, despite the length or difficulty of the work ahead.

“In the kingdom of God, you can't give up on these people,” Dorrell commented. “But it's hard to convince results-oriented church people of that. Change may be as small as getting a day-labor job today or finding a safe place to sleep for a few days.”

Texas Baptist Communications

New approaches to helping the homeless population are giving hope to Christians who want to get people off the streets and into warm housing.

Jefferson Street Baptist Center in Louisville, Ky., which deals primarily with mentally ill and substance-abusing homeless people, is on the verge of offering a ministry organizers hope will meet needs and transform lives.

In the next month, the ministry will launch an 11-unit permanent-support housing complex that will give dually diagnosed homeless individuals­those with mental illness and substance abuse issues­a place to stay. Staff members will serve as secondary caseworkers for each resident and teach practical skills such as budgeting, hygiene and apartment cleanliness.

They also will be first detectors in case a resident regresses by not taking medication or abusing substances and will report to the person's primary caseworker, provided by an outside agency.

“We will catch issues earlier. We will see them every day,” said Rick Brenny, executive director of the center.

The outreach goes beyond the scope of more traditional ministries that provide meals, clothes and temporary housing. While those are effective at meeting needs, a transformational element is needed, said Gerald Davis, consultant in the Baptist General Convention of Texas Missions Equipping Center.

Davis is looking to create an outreach network in Texas cities that will help churches work together to rebuild the lives of the homeless. The network would include feeding, clothing, training, housing, transitioning, rehabilitating and job placement.

This comprehensive approach is the key to fighting homelessness, according to Donald Whitehead, executive director of the nation's oldest and largest advocacy group for the homeless, the National Coalition for the Homeless.

Permanent-support housing is a more cost-effective way of serving the homeless, no matter how long they stay, Brenny noted. The service is cheaper than providing food, hospital care, substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling to people who remain on the street.

Jefferson Street Baptist Center clients, who receive a government subsidy for the mental illnesses, will be required to pay a minimum contribution of $25 a month for rent and utilities. But they will have clean, safe housing to live in and improve their lives.

While residents can choose to stay in the apartment complex permanently, some will use the complex as a stepping-stone to self-sufficiency, Brenny said.

Homeless individuals are showing interest in this new approach to helping them. Without advertising, there is a 15-person waiting list to get a room, Brenny said.

“We could fill as many of these units as we could provide,” he added.

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

Posted: 1/09/04

Volunteers work at Manna, a ministry to the homeless sponsored by First Baptist Church of San Antonio, offering hot meals and a Christian message of hope.

Advocates for homeless see
little hope apart from spiritual renewal

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Spiritual renewal is the key to homeless people overcoming their personal issues and getting off the street, according to leaders of Christian ministries.

Ministries that provide food, clothing and job training effectively meet immediate needs, but they need to be combined with a spiritual effort to transform lives and move people toward attaining their own housing, said Charles Little, a deacon at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Dallas.

See Related Articles: • HOMELESSNESS: No easy answers • Advocates for homeless see little hope apart from spiritual renewal • New models emerging for ministry to homeless population • Number of hungry in developing countries increased in late 1990s

Christian revival leads to a change of lifestyle and morality, said Little, who teaches a Bible study twice a week prior to serving lunch to homeless people in his community. God can help people overcome vices that keep them homeless, he insisted.

“We truly believe once they give their lives to Christ, God will begin to work in their heart,” Little said. “He will provide the means.”

Rick Brenny, a Baptist leader in homeless ministry and executive director of Jefferson Street Baptist Center in Louisville, Ky., has seen spiritual efforts produce results in his outreach.

Less than 30 percent of people served at homeless ministries typically find permanent housing, but 38 percent of his clients are off the streets, Brenny said. And an additional 40 percent are making progress toward that goal.

There is a lot of work to do, ministry leaders said.

Laws nationwide are pushing the homeless off street corners and preventing them from sleeping in public but not providing enough shelters to care for them, said Jimmy Dorrell, director of Mission Waco.

And Americans are not inclined to try to help the homeless, because they never see the situation improve, Dorrell added.

Personal issues also hurt the homeless. According to statistics from the National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness, two-thirds of the homeless population reported either substance use, mental health problems or both. As much as half have both concerns.

Broken down further, 38 percent of the homeless population indicated alcohol issues, 26 percent said they have drug problems and 39 percent told of some form of mental health problems.

These challenges often prevent the homeless from holding steady jobs, Dorrell said. They either get high or drunk and miss work, or they do not take their medication and are unable to function.

Despite their problems, only one in 100 enter a rehabilitation program, said R.B. Cooper, minister of church and community outreach at First Baptist Church in San Antonio.

If they get in a program, only one in 30 get clean, Dorrell noted.

Facilities to treat the mentally ill homeless are few, Cooper said. Non-governmental outreaches typically do not have the funds or trained personnel to provide needed medication and treatment, Cooper explained. State institutions limit how long an individual can stay.

With the deck so stacked against the homeless, God is their hope to straighten out their lives and end their addictions, Little said.

Baptists largely use relationships to share the gospel with the homeless.

Dorrell started Church Under the Bridge to minister to the needy in Waco.

Volunteers dress casually and mingle with the homeless during the services, held beneath Interstate 35.

The friendships that develop help the homeless understand they still are important to others.

“In most cases, they have conviction of sin,” Dorrell reported.

“What they don't have is self-valuation. They don't see they are worth saving.”

Cornerstone Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in San Antonio link Bible studies with meals. A Bible lesson is given before a meal at both sites.

A consistent Christian presence speaks volumes to the homeless, said Gerald Davis, a consultant in the Baptist General Convention of Texas Missions Equipping Center.

Homeless ministries show needy individuals that churches care about them and want to help, Davis added.

The efforts let the homeless know the message of hope and redemption is for them as well.

“The most effective thing is being there for them,” Davis said. “Let them know you are serious and sincere about wanting a relationship with them. Let them know you are serious and sincere about helping them.”

Posted: 1/09/04

Number of hungry in developing
countries increased in late 1990s

ROME (RNS)–The number of hungry people in developing countries rose during the second half of the 1990s, despite a concerted campaign against hunger in the world, the United Nations reports.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in its report on “The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2003” that the total number of the hungry in the developing world dropped by 37 million in the first half of the 1990s, then rose by 18 million in the second half of the decade.

See Related Articles: • HOMELESSNESS: No easy answers • Advocates for homeless see little hope apart from spiritual renewal • New models emerging for ministry to homeless population • Number of hungry in developing countries increased in late 1990s

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The latest estimates “signal a setback in the war against hunger,” the report said. Nations represented at the World Food Summit in 1996 pledged to reduce the number of undernourished people worldwide by half by 2015.

“The goal can only be reached if the recent trend of increasing numbers is reversed. The annual reductions must be accelerated to 26 million per year, more than 12 times the pace of …the 1990s,” said Hartwig de Haen, head of the Food and Agriculture Organization's economic and social department.

By U.N. estimates, 842 million people were undernourished from 1999 to 2001, the most recent years for which figures are available.

The hungry included 10 million in industrialized countries, 34 million in countries in transition and 798 million in developing countries.

Contributing factors to increased hunger include low economic, social and agricultural growth; high population growth; frequent food emergencies; conflict; and AIDS.

The U.N. report said Latin America was the only region in which the number of hungry has dropped since the mid-1990s, and only 19 countries, including China, succeeded in reducing the number of undernourished throughout the decade.

Conflict increased hunger in Central and West Africa, the report noted.

Posted: 1/19/04

CYBERCOLUMN:
Embrace imperfection

By Jeanie Miley

My favorite movies of this season have left me with unresolved and unanswerable questions. Each of them had characters who endured unfulfilled dreams, unrequited love and the challenge of imperfection and incompletion that is so like … well, life.

Being entertained by a movie is fun, but I really like being challenged to think thoughts I’ve never thought before. I love to be provoked to explore paradox and irony. I like wrestling with unimagined possibilities, even when I am pushed out of my comfort zone and asked to accept and embrace life as it really is, imperfections and all.

Jeanie Miley

The imperfections of life in the movies remind me of a plaque I saw during the weeks when I was trying to create the perfect Christmas for my family.

“Embrace Imperfection,” the plaque says. And all this time, I thought imperfections were to be confessed, repaired, ignored or hidden!

It would never have occurred to me to embrace imperfection, for I was brought up on the serious admonition to “be perfect,” missing the point that the meaning of “perfection” had a whole lot more to do with being whole and healthy than following rules and regulations.

As a major Queen of Self-Improvement Projects, I lived a lot of years under the misperception that I could and should be perfect, if only I tried hard enough. I put myself through a lot of stress and unnecessary unhappiness, working myself over in first one way and then another, in an attempt to reach the goal of perfection, a goal that became more and more elusive with each stage of my life.

Often, the perfection so many of us pursue is more about external appearance than an internal state of grace. Ironically, the striving for perfection itself often creates imperfection, brokenness, hypocrisy and distortion. The obsession with perfection, which cannot be attained, often sabotages excellence, which is possible!

I am convinced God is right in the middle of my imperfections, attempting to work for good. God is present in the inadequacies and insufficiencies, the growing edges, the broken places, the addictions, the character defects and the wounds. He is at work in that part of myself that I want to hide, even from myself. He is in the places that cause me shame and guilt, attempting to bring what is dark out into the light, not to embarrass and expose me, but to make me whole.

And so it is that I am launching out into this new year with the plan to discover what on earth it means to embrace imperfection instead of hiding it and denying it. I’m going to launch out into the deep and accept those things I’ve been trying to fix and repair that I cannot, with all of my resources, do anything about.

I’m going to start this year with my mind and heart open to see what God might want to do with what I have disowned and discounted.

The truth is that I don’t have to get all fixed up to make God love me. There’s nothing I can do to keep God from loving me, but, thankfully, I don’t have to earn his love, either. All I have to do, one day at a time, is come to the Healer, just as I am. And just as I am really is the only way I can come, after all.

That, for me, is Good News for this new year.

Jeanie Miley is an author and columnist and a retreat and workshop leader. She is married to Martus Miley, pastor of River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, and they have 3 adult daughters.

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

Posted: 1/19/04

COMMENTARY:
Use MLK Day to reflect

By Scott Sharman

Pastor of Alsbury Baptist Church, Burleson

I drove to the post office this morning only to find it closed in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday.  My first reaction was one of mild frustration.  My next was to consider why this day is set aside as a national holiday.

Several years ago I read "A Letter from a Birmingham Jail," the letter penned by King to white clergy critical of his efforts.  The letter powerfully defended the non-violent protests against institutionalized racism in Birmingham, Ala.  Furthermore, Dr. King questioned why the white clergy was criticizing rather than joining the protests.

Some believe America is past the need for the challenges presented by Martin Luther King Jr., forgetting that Sunday morning at 11:00 remains the most segregated hour in America.  Some believe that because public water fountains and restrooms no longer bear signs that read, "Colored," America no longer needs the message of justice and equality he championed.

Eighteen years ago I read an article that claimed growing churches do best when structured along demographic lines.  The author argued that churches are healthiest when the congregation looks the same.  While this may be argued sociologically it is indefensible theologically.

Fifteen years ago I shared with fellow ministers that our church had baptized three young men the Sunday before.  The simple truth that three individuals made public their personal commitment to walk with Christ was cause enough for praise but this was also the first time anyone could remember that our church had had an impact on a black family.  As I shared the testimony a fellow pastor muttered, "I hope you washed the baptistry when you were done."

Ten years ago I preached a message about the need to embrace the truths proclaimed by Dr. King, captured in the powerful statement from his March on Washington speech, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."  Following that message an influential member of the church said to me, "I hope you've gotten that out of your system."

Seven years ago I listened with anger as a man, a deacon in my church, told stories during a Sunday School party and peppered his language with the word, "nigger."

A year ago I was told that it was understandable that I was moving from Fort Worth to Burleson since the neighborhood was "getting darker every day."

A week ago I listened to a woman lament the fact that a church she had once been part of was struggling to keep its doors open, explaining the reason was not a lack of vision nor a reluctance to embrace missions and ministry, but because "blacks were moving into the neighborhood."

Some see no need for a national holiday that commemorates the birthday of arguably the single-most influential civil rights leader in American history.  I would have to agree if our reaction is frustration because banks and public buildings are closed.  If the reaction, however, is to prayerfully consider our own attitudes and actions then the holiday serves its purpose.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  Galatians 2:28

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

Posted: 1/15/04

Collection of antique records reflects ‘old time religion’

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DEL VALLE—Lee Laake loves the past. It’s the future that troubles him, particularly the future of his treasured gospel music collection.

Over the years, Laake has collected about 200 Southern gospel phonograph records still in playable condition. Many are 78s, some dating from as early as 1916. Others are 33s, dating from the 1950s and 1960s.

Hear an mp3 sample of a 1916 recording of “Good News, Chariot’s Comin'” by the Tuskegee Institute Choir.

He found many himself. His friend Ralph Boschert in Odessa discovered others in antique shops and estate sales.

Some of the Bakelite-covered pressed-wood records are so old they were recorded on only one side, with the other remaining flat without grooves.

“I don’t really know what to do with them, but to me they represent a major piece of the timeframe in the history of the gospel,” Laake said. “Churches tend to delete songs and add new songs, but these old songs still are a big part of the gospel.”

Lee Laake listens to a recording of old gospel music.

Initially, Laake, a member of River Road Baptist Church in Austin, was drawn to the crank and variable-speed phonographs on which the records were played, but he quickly developed an affection for the records themselves.

Part of the attraction of the songs was that he could identify with so many of the lyrics, he said.

“‘There’s No Housing Shortage in Heaven’—that’s the name of one of the songs. I can identify with that because at the end of World War II there was a definite housing shortage. My father wanted to build us a house, and he couldn’t even find the wood,” Laake recalled.

“The older music, you can close your eyes and listen to them and project yourself back into that time frame and see what they are singing about. You can tell just from listening to them that they had a totally different viewpoint on things.”

On a recent afternoon, Laake listened to the Tuskegee Institute Singers wax melodic on the tunes “Good News” and “Live a-Humble” on the Victor Talking Machine label, circa 1916.

“It just fascinates me how they harmonize without any instruments in the background to help,” he said.

As much affection as Laake has for the records, he has decided that it is time for them to become someone else’s treasures.

“I think it’s time for them to find a new home with someone who will take care of them and enjoy them,” Laake said. “I kind of think of Ralph and me as having rescued them from the trash can. I’d hate to see them wind up there now.”

Still, Laake doesn’t know what to do with the collection, whether to look for a buyer or find a music school that might be interested in them.

“I could use the cash, but the main thing is to find someone who is still interested in these old songs,” he said. “They might even listen to them and rearrange them somehow and get the young people singing them again.”

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

Posted: 1/15/04

Bush proposal brings attention
to church's responsibility to the 'stranger'

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Churches' responsibility to care for "aliens and strangers" as the Bible commands transcends legal issues about immigration policy, according to David Guel of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

While President Bush's proposed temporary worker visa program could change the legal status of up to 8 million undocumented aliens, Christians' obligation to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of immigrants remains unchanged, he added.

Christians should obey laws, but sometimes following God means doing the right thing regardless of legalities, said Guel, regional associate with the BGCT Church Multiplication Center.

"If not for civil disobedience, the Egyptians would have killed off baby Moses," he said, alluding to an incident in the Old Testament book of Exodus when Hebrew midwives disobeyed a mandate from Pharaoh requiring them to kill male Jewish newborns.

Ministry to immigrants–without regard to their legal status–falls into the same category, said Guel, whose doctoral project at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary focused on developing a strategy for ministry to undocumented aliens.

"A lot of our Baptist folks are reluctant to help people who are in this country illegally because of concern about breaking the law. But that's a non-issue when there is a hurting human being in front of you," he said.

The church's role is neither to enforce laws nor to facilitate lawbreaking, he added. The church's role is to minister to human needs in Jesus' name.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, reports 1.04 million undocumented Hispanics in Texas, Guel discovered.

"A thousand cross the border each month," he said. "That has ministry implications for us," he said.

Now Guel is taking his findings to churches, associations and other groups, seeking to increase awareness and urging Christians to develop "intentional ministries" to immigrants.

"When you do something with intentionality, you do it all the way in terms of devoting budget and staff to it," he explained.

Last year, messengers to the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and the BGCT approved resolutions encouraging ministry to immigrants "documented and undocumented, through prayer and action."

Immigration policy is the focus of an interdenominational study committee that includes representatives from the BGCT and the Texas Conference of Churches. The BGCT Christian Life Commission also has enlisted an intern from the Baylor School of Social Work and Truett Seminary to conduct an in-depth project exploring the issue over the next few months.

Suzii Paynter, director of citizenship and public policy with the BGCT Christian Life Commission, convened a meeting in Austin last month bringing together representatives from widely varied religious and human rights organizations to examine immigration issues.

Guel presented his research findings and recommendations to the group.

He told them about conducting small-group interviews in San Antonio, McAllen and Houston with 25 currently undocumented immigrants, as well as individually interviewing four formerly undocumented Hispanic Baptists.

Those interviews documented the hardships and dangers immigrants encountered as they entered the United States, their reasons for taking such risks and incidents when any churches helped them. Guel also asked them to suggest, based on their own experiences, ways churches could develop "intentional ministries" to immigrants.

Most said they arrived hungry, tired and ill after exposure to the elements.

"For many, the journey necessitated days of going without food, water, shelter and sleep. Many walked for miles through all types of terrain, encountering all kinds of snakes and wildlife," he said.

Currently undocumented aliens, in particular, told those stories. Since the advent of Homeland Security, illegal border crossings at borderland cities have become more difficult, forcing illegal immigrants to risk crossing in remote and isolated areas, Guel noted.

Others entered the United States with the help of "coyotes," a term used to describe smugglers of human cargo.

"Three women were transported in the trunk of a car from Del Rio to San Antonio, non-stop," Guel said.

"In one case, an individual was jailed for four months because authorities wanted him as a witness against a coyote. He had no legal representation for a long time and did not know the language."

Some churches already offer ministry to undocumented aliens, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services knows it, Guel noted.

Northwest Hispanic Baptist Church in San Antonio, for instance, has established a ministry center near a major employer of undocumented workers, according to Pastor Roland Lopez. While the center is open to all needy people, many who find help there are illegal aliens.

Guel interviewed a senior Border Patrol officer who confirmed his agency's written service policy mandates that officers generally not enter churches or schools. Unless the Border Patrol is pursuing an illegal alien who has committed crimes against people or property, as opposed to someone who simply has violated legal residency statutes, a church generally is considered an inviolable sanctuary, he explained.

That same officer told him churches should not feel obligated to investigate the legal residency status of needy people before offering them help. He explained that his agency "has the charge to determine the legal status of an individual, not the church. The church should do what it's called to do."

Guel recommended several ways churches can minister to immigrants:

Create awareness. "Educate the congregation. It's amazing the response when people see the needs."

Meet immediate needs. "Provide food, a place of rest, and a change of clothing and shoes."

Offer referrals. "Create a referral list of agencies, medical clinics and legal offices that are willing to assist the undocumented person in times of need and emergencies."

Help aliens gain legal status. Churches can offer English as a Second Language and citizenship classes. "Consider making the church a center accredited by the Justice Department for assisting undocumented persons through the maze of legalization."

Focus on children. "Look into the well-being of the children of undocumented workers." Help them with school orientation, and provide them access to school supplies.

Provide spiritual counsel. "Find a way to offer God's love and share his plan of salvation."

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

Posted: 1/09/04

'Big God' leads small church
to take on complex ministries

By George Henson

Staff Writer

FORT WORTH–At one time, Pastor Howard Caver did not want to be given a nursing home, but now he and his small church are preparing to spend $4 million to build one.

Leaders of World Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth eventually did take that first nursing home, but not without coaxing from God.

The nursing home was a gift, but Caver was not sure it was coming from above. An owner of 11 nursing homes decided to retire and sold all the properties. After a time of losing money, however, the new owners gave back one of the homes, saying it had too many problems to fix. The man still didn't want it and decided to give it to a church to run.

Because of its history of community ministry, World Missionary Baptist Church was on top of his list.

Caver initially was not thrilled. “I was really nervous about it because I didn't know anything about running a nursing home,” he said. “All I knew was that I'd heard it was a good way to get sued.”

Although as a pastor he had on occasion visited people in nursing homes, he also had a personal aversion to nursing homes.

“I've never liked nursing homes,” he admitted. “Prior to this, I would send other people out to minister in nursing homes, but I had only been once or twice myself–to see people in wheelchairs and not able to do anything for them. I didn't like that.

“The first miracle was for God to change my heart and to teach me that being there is often enough,” he said.

That lesson was a little while in coming, however, because Caver still was not convinced it was a good idea for the church to take over the nursing home.

When he presented the idea to his congregation, he acknowledged its potential for ministry, but he also was open about the liability the church might be taking on. The nursing home had a history of deficiencies when state inspections were conducted and also was losing about $25,000 a month.

Because of those concerns, he told his congregation the vote had to be unanimous. If one person voted no, the church would not take the nursing home.

“I was secretly hoping somebody would vote no, but everyone was excited about it, and the vote was unanimous,” he explained. “We never would have been involved in this unless God said to, and that was what that unanimous vote meant.”

Caver and his congregation now owned a building valued on tax rolls at $400,000 and a nursing home license valued at $1 million.

Convinced God ordained the ministry, Caver sought to get the home running in a manner that would be pleasing to his church and God. Patient care became the priority, he said. Prayers and Scripture readings over the intercom system greeted residents each day, and gradually things began to turn around. Sixty days after the church took over, state inspectors returned to find zero deficiencies, a first at this nursing home.

That is not to say that everything was smooth sailing. Often the money coming in did not meet expenses.

“I can smile now, but God has tested my faith, and God has tested my patience. Myself and my congregation must have at least mustard-seed faith,” he said.

Caver and his daughter-in-law both went to school and earned accreditation as nursing home administrators, and the ministry began to turn around. Soon after, however, a pharmacy chain offered to buy the property for $1 million to build a new store.

The church used the money to begin drawing up plans and buying property for a new nursing home facility. The eight acres at Village Creek and Wilbarger Roads in the Stop Six area of Fort Worth is large enough that Caver dreams of someday moving the church and its grade school to the site as well.

Having the school and the nursing home together would enable the generations to minister to one another, he said. And the school, the students and parents far outnumber his congregation, as will the number of patients in the 81-bed facility.

“If we were a congregation of 2,000 or 3,000, no one would pay attention. But when the students and parents in your school outnumber your members and when you have a nursing home where just your staff outnumbers your congregation, people notice,” he said.

The nursing home will not be the only one in the area, but it will be the first one to be built in the last 30 years, he said.

“Some will probably want to move to our facility because it is new, but what it also will do is to put pressure on these other facilities to improve their care and facilities, so in a sense it's a win-win proposition for all the patients,” Caver said.

The facility, to be called Immanuel, just as the church dubbed its first effort, will include a chapel for residents and their families. The facility will continue a bold Christian witness.

The mortgage company wanted an entity to guarantee the $4 million note to build the facility, and the regional Housing and Urban Development office has approved the project. As soon as written confirmation comes from Washington D.C., papers will be signed. The church plans to break ground this month. Construction should be completed by next fall.

While running a school and a nursing home are a large endeavor, Caver said his church is merely attempting to follow the leadership of God: “We serve a big God, and we are attempting to do big things under his leadership.”

The congregation's willingness to attempt big things is based on Scripture, in particular Ephesians 3:20, which says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

“That just blows my mind,” Caver said, “because I can think of some big things and God can do much, much more than I can imagine.”

Posted: 1/14/04

Fike takes Christian comedy seriously

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Al Fike takes Christian comedy seriously. That's why he decided to move it from church fellowship halls to established urban "improv" comedy clubs.

"There are not many church gymnasiums that are really set up for low-light environment where comedians can perform and people can enjoy a meal," Fike said.

Fike has performed as a Christian comedian for 28 years, mostly at church-related events.

Al Fike adding music to comedy.

"It's great that I get paid now for what I used to get beat for doing when I was a kid," he quipped.

Last summer, he called one of the owners of the Addison Improv in north Dallas. Fike told him it was about time an established Christian comedian was allowed to be a headline an act at a secular comedy club.

The owner surprised him by saying he already was considering a family-friendly "clean comedy" night at his club.

Fike told him not everybody agrees on the definition of clean comedy, so he should advertise it as Christian comedy instead.

About 200 people attended the first Christian comedy night at the Addison club last June. "The next time, they must have oversold, because we had 270," Fike said, noting the club comfortably holds about 250.

While attendance dropped when school started, Christian comedy night has continued to expand. Starting Feb. 10, Fike will bring Christian comedy night to Houston, and he hopes in the future to start a similar event in Fort Worth and Little Rock, Ark.

Each performance features acts by Fike and three or four other Christian comedians. All performers are required to sign forms stipulating what is acceptable in their routines.

He thinks the comedy nights are meeting real needs.

"A lot of people are tired of raunchy humor, and they want to go to a place where they can enjoy a comedy show without being afraid of getting offended and having to get up and leave," he said.

While the events are geared primarily toward a Christian audience, they also offer opportunities for low-key evangelistic outreach, Fike added.

"We have a lot of walk-ins in Addison from the hotel next door," he said. "Now that gives us the opportunity to tell about why we do it. We don't preach, but at the end of the show I just say, 'Here's what Christian comedy is all about. It's the joy we find through faith in Jesus Christ.'"

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