Posted: 10/17/03

Churches urged to develop crisis response plans

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Convention

It may not be a bus wreck. It could be a tornado, flood or fire. But chances are, every church will face a crisis some time.

Congregations need to be prepared, according to Baptist General Convention of Texas staff.

“It's not if it's going to happen. It's when. Trauma is going to come to every community,” said Milfred Minatrea, associate coordinator of the BGCT Church Missions and Evangelism Section.

Churches should designate a crisis response committee before a dire situation occurs, recommended Sonny Spurger, associate director of the BGCT office of minister/church relations. Members should have a variety of talents and backgrounds to provide a well-rounded knowledge base.

They should be armed with the contact information of appropriate authorities, networks and assistance programs, he added.

The committee, in conjunction with church leadership, should write out a plan of action that covers how the congregation will minister during a crisis–to members, visitors, the community at-large and through the media, convention leaders agreed.

Congregations should assess which crisis situations are more likely to happen in their contexts, Minatrea suggested. For example, floods are more likely to happen near rivers or the coast. Tornados are a threat in North Central Texas.

Leaders also should consider how the church would respond if a crisis hits while people are in the church's facilities, Minatrea continued. This should include identifying safe areas in the church's facilities and the best routes to get to those areas. Volunteers should be trained in the action plan and in grief counseling.

Ways to serve and minister to non-members who are in the buildings should be included in the plan, Minatrea said. And measures to care for children and to contact family members in other locations should be known.

The church also must keep its role in the community in mind when forming a crisis action plan, Minatrea cautioned. In addition to preparing for ministry to relatives of anyone injured or killed in a tragedy, plans should be made to help friends and acquaintances also.

The BGCT can connect local churches with chaplains to help with counseling when needed.

Bobby Smith, director of the BGCT chaplaincy relations office, encourages Christians to remember grieving is an extended process, he said.

When counseling others, believers express more by listening than by anything they say immediately after an incident, Smith added. “In almost every situation, people don't remember what you say. They just know you were there and you care. You cared enough to stand beside them in their pain and their anguish and their hurt.”

For more help on this topic, BGCT leaders encourage church members to attend the National Organization for Victim Assistance crisis response training Feb. 9-13 in San Antonio.

The weeklong event includes victim advocacy and counselor training courses, as well as training to address physical, emotional and spiritual needs in a crisis. It is sponsored by the BGCT and San Antonio Baptist Association.

Depending on the situation, a media frenzy can send a church scrambling if it does not have a crisis communication plan, added Becky Bridges, director of the BGCT Communications Center.

She recommends designating a location away from grieving members for reporters to work. The church should pick one person with a calm demeanor to serve as a representative to the media. That person should make a list of speaking points to address basic information in front of the media. Information should be updated regularly.

This effort can help keep the phone lines clear for family members as staff no longer have to answer the same questions repeatedly, Bridges said.

Although some church leaders may be reluctant to cooperate with the media, Bridges argued that the coverage provides a unique opportunity to spread the faith.

“Tragedy often opens up a door for sharing basic truths of the gospel when normally a reporter would edit out such comments,” she said. “It is a great time to put our beliefs into action by showing compassion, faith and caring to those who are watching us closely both in front of the camera and in homes, watching TV or reading the paper.”

Crisis situations are difficult, but the way churches handle them has a strong impact on their communities, BGCT leaders said. Following an appropriate action plan helps churches meet needs more effectively.

“No one is ready for disaster when it occurs, but we need to be as prepared as we possibly can be,” Smith reminded.

For information on the San Antonio event, call (888) 311-3900 or e-mail rgram@bgct.org.

Posted: 10/17/03

Database provides missions insights

SOUTH HAMILTON, Mass.–A new online database has been launched to provide support for Christian mission workers worldwide.

The World Christian Database (www.globalchristianity .org) is billed as a user-friendly searchable Internet database.

The database was developed by Todd Johnson, professor and director of the newly established Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and funded initially by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Steve Johnson, a CBF mission worker, illustrated a potential use of the database: One Northern Africa country with a population of more than 9.4 million people has a literacy rate of 67 percent but receives only 286 Bibles annually, even though there is religious freedom without state interference, according to the database. However, a second country with a population of more than 31 million, a 46 percent literacy rate and routine government obstruction of evangelism efforts receives more than 26,000 Bibles annually.

“While there may be many reasons for disparities such as this, the World Christian Database can quickly and easily highlight potential ministry opportunities,” Johnson said. “This site is a great starting point for churches, missions groups, Sunday School classes and other people who want to invest in mission activities.”

Todd Johnson, who is co-author of the “World Christian Encyclopedia” and “World Christian Trends,” has been collecting and publishing information contained in this database for more than 20 years.

“The launch of this site is as significant as the publishing of the first edition of the encyclopedia in 1982,” he said. “It is not intended to diminish the usefulness or value of those books. But where the text is presented from the viewpoint of the authors, this site allows users to set their own criteria and extract data that they deem most useful.”

Todd Johnson is well-known as a source for missions data. His work is published annually in the “Encyclopedia Britannica” yearbook and other publications, such as the “International Bulletin of Missionary Research.” Because of this, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity receives research requests nearly every day from students, churches and journalists, and nearly half of them are turned down.

“We really can't respond to all of them,” he explained. “Many of the requests are for data we don't have, or are too complex to answer in a timely manner. We hope the World Christian Database will allow many people to seek these answers for themselves.”

The site was developed in conjunction with Breuer & Co., a Boston-based data management firm. Advanced analysis tools were developed by the company and offered on the site in various forms.

On the public site, basic research and lists are available to all users. More advanced research is available by subscription. Special software has been developed for high-powered analysis and graphic capabilities for scholars and other research institutions, also on a subscription basis.

Posted: 10/17/03

North Carolina candidate proposes
dismantling all political groups

By Steve DeVane

N.C. Biblical Recorder

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP)–The moderate candidate for president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina has released a campaign platform that calls for dismantling political groups and decreasing the amount of money the state group sends to the Southern Baptist Convention.

David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, released the information in a four-part statement called “A New Vision for a New Day.”

Hughes said Beaufort layman Raymond Earp, who is running for first vice president, and Greensboro pastor Ken Massey, who is seeking the second vice presidency, agree with the statement.

All three have been endorsed by Mainstream Baptists of North Carolina, the state's moderate group. In November, they will face candidates endorsed by Conservative Carolina Baptists–Greensboro pastor David Horton, who is running for president; Phyllis Foy, a laywoman from Mooresville, who is running for first vice president, the office currently held by her husband; and East Flat Rock pastor Brian Davis, who is running for second vice president.

Hughes calls for groups like Mainstream Baptists and Conservative Carolina Baptists to be dismantled.

“I will ask for balance in appointments, working to assure that both moderates and conservatives have a meaningful place in the North Carolina Baptist family,” he said in the statement.

In an interview, Hughes acknowledged he helped form the Mainstream group, “but I'm now saying that the best thing that can happen is for all groups to shut down.”

Hughes said in his written statement that the convention needs to regain financial stability: “Plainly stated, our current budget formula and our multiple giving plans have contributed to the current budget crisis.”

Hughes said he would work toward changing Plan A, one of the convention's giving options, to increase the amount allocated to the state convention from 68 percent to 70 percent and decrease the amount given to the SBC from 32 percent to 30 percent. The plan would provide an extra $500,000 for use in-state, he said.

He acknowledged conservatives might react negatively to the plan to cut funds to the SBC, but he added, “We need to do something and do something quickly.” Hughes said he realizes some moderates, likewise, will be “surprised and confused” by his stance on the giving plans.

“While we had the best of intentions in creating the giving plans, and I myself have defended the giving plans in the past, it now seems clear that the state convention has suffered from them,” he said.

The state convention staff must “reinvent” itself to “meet the unique needs of an increasingly diverse array of churches,” Hughes said. A “growing number of North Carolina Baptists feel they no longer have a meaningful place in the (state convention) and are wondering aloud about their future relationship to the convention.”

Posted: 10/17/03

DOWN HOME:
We know the real hunter-gatherers

Our marriage has endured another test, and I look confidently to the future. Yet again.

Marriages periodically go through tests like this. And while they can be brutal, if you survive them, you figure the two of you possess enough love to last another lifetime.

Joanna and I endured our first test early in our marriage. We lived in Atlanta, one of the prettiest cities you'll ever find, but hilly, hilly, hilly. We just knew gas was going to $2 per gallon, and we conned ourselves into buying a small, fuel-efficient car. With a stick shift.

So, I taught my wife to drive a car with manual transmission. We yelled and screamed, but she became a fine driver with her left foot on the clutch and her right hand on the stick. And I knew we were meant for each other.

MARV KNOX Editor

Some people say wallpapering a bathroom is a similar marriage-testing experience. I don't know about that. Jo enjoys wallpapering, and I hate it. Given these proclivities, we've never tested our love against vertical stripes in a non-square room with only one “chair.”

We probably have endured many travails that try the marriage knot. But I don't remember them. Marital memory, which has a tendency to filter the hard parts, is kind that way.

However, we recently put it all on the line for the sake of our den. We bought a lamp. Not just any lamp, of course, because this item occupies a central place in our home. We bought “the” lamp.

When I go shopping with my wife, I question anthropology, archaeology, psychology and all the other -ologies I have been taught.

These sciences of human behavior tell us that, from the beginning of time, females have been the nesters and males have been the hunter-gatherers.

Open-minded social scientists have a technical term for this theory: “Baloney.”

Almost any honest husband who has shopped with his wife can tell you the female is far superior at assessing fertile gaming fields, stalking quarry and moving in for the kill.

Take our lamp-hunting trip, for example.

Jo knew exactly the part of town where we should hunt. She scoped out all the possible places to shop. She patiently led me to five or seven stores. (Since we visited some of them several times, I lost count.) She weighed and articulated the merits of each lamp and even negotiated a new lampshade, all before making the “kill.”

I, on the other hand, would've bought the first lamp that took a three-way bulb. But like mastodon hunters millennia before me, all I really cared for was bagging a trophy. Same goes for clothes, furniture, food. Everything but cars. A guy wants to get it, whatever “it” is, and get on with his life.

Fortunately, God knew we needed help, so he gave us wives. And if we survive these tests, we can live happily ever-after.

Posted: 10/17/03

EDITORIAL:
Unlike Elvis, O'Hair & Bigfoot, RM 2493 just lives on and on

Do you suppose Elvis and Madalyn Murray O'Hair are married and raising Bigfoot in a castle beside a lake in Scotland, where they go swimming with the Loch Ness Monster every afternoon?

This is just as likely to happen as Federal Communications Commission Petition No. 2493 is to become law and “stop the reading of the gospel of our Lord and Savior on the airwaves of America.”

The petition, often called RM 2493 in e-mails, faxes and photocopied missives, died Aug. 1, 1975, a couple of years before Elvis expired and 20 years before O'Hair suddenly discovered she was wrong about atheism.

Unfortunately, the rumor of RM 2493's impending threat won't die.

The latest version circles the globe faster than either Santa or the Easter Bunny, zapping through e-mails at warp speed and growing faster than The Blob.

This version usually begins with a header that says something like “Help Dr. Dobson” or “Dr. James Dobson pleads for action.” It goes on to warn that “an organization” has been granted a “federal hearing” before the FCC to support Petition 2493. “They got 287,000 signatures to back their stand!” the message pants. “If this attempt is successful, all Sunday worship services being broadcast on the radio or by television will be stopped. This group is also campaigning to remove all Christmas programs and Christmas carols from public schools! You as a Christian can help!”

It asks recipients to “sign” a petition at the bottom of the e-mail and then forward it “to everyone you think should read this.”

A previous version warned CBS television would discontinue broadcasting the “Touched By an Angel” show “for using the word 'God' in every program.”

Both rumors are hoaxes.

O'Hair never filed Petition 2493. In 1974, Jeremy Lansman and Lorenzo Milam asked the FCC to withhold licenses from religious TV and radio stations until it completed a study of their operating practices. The FCC denied their petition in the summer of 1975–more than 28 years ago.

But rumor of RM 2493 lives on–worrying Christians of goodwill, goading them to sign a meaningless protest–wasting time, energy and Christian credibility.

So, clip this editorial. Or copy the online version and save it in your computer. And when people pass on the rumor, set them straight.

Posted: 10/17/03

EDITORIAL:
Sky won't fall, however court rules

Sometime next year, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether public schools can lead children to say the words “under God” when they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. While this case will further define the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion …”), it will herald neither the dawn of a new era nor the end of the world as we know it.

The case has been brought by Michael Newdow, a California atheist and father of a child who attends public school. Newdow claims his daughter's constitutional rights are violated when a teacher leads her class in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance because it includes “under God.” The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined the words themselves are not unconstitutional but recitation of the pledge in public schools violates the Constitution. Following torrents of protest, the Supreme Court voted to hear the case.

A couple of approaches cast light on how this case might turn out.

An accommodationist approach would affirm inclusion of “under God” in the pledge, no matter when or where it is said. This theory holds that the First Amendment forbids Congress from establishing or supporting a specific religion. Short of that, government at any level can accommodate the religious beliefs of citizens and their religious practices. Reciting “under God” in the pledge would not constitute establishment of religion and consequently would be acceptable.

A strict separationist approach, however, would demand removal of the words, at least when the Pledge of Allegiance is said in public schools. According to this theory, the government violates the Establishment Clause any time it promotes religion or coerces citizens to participate in religion, both generically and specifically. So, a public schoolteacher, as an employee of the government, would violate the First Amendment by leading students to recite the pledge if it includes “under God.”

“Under God” supporters face a unique challenge in this case. Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the court's most conservative justices who normally could be counted as a vote for the accommodationist approach, has recused himself. He did not cite his reason, but it's presumably because his impartiality has been questioned, since he publicly criticized the 9th Circuit Court's decision. Since a 4-4 tie would affirm the lower court, at least five justices, not counting Scalia, must agree “under God” should stay.

Even before the case is heard, we can expect a victory for “under God” very well may be hollow. Searching for a way to counter the charge that overt religious acts or statements violate the rights of religious minorities, advocates often claim the words and deeds do not have significant religious meaning. Whether it's stamping “In God We Trust” on money, placing a nativity scene in a city park or delivering a “To Whom it May Concern” prayer at a public function, defenders often fall back on the notion the action does not serve a specifically religious function and therefore does not violate the Constitution.

This raises an obvious question: If a religious act doesn't serve a religious purpose, why bother? Of course, many faithful Americans worry about the erosion of culture. The very idea of dropping “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance seems like one more victory for God-haters. However, one can argue that the pervasiveness of half-hearted, watered-down religion provides most Americans an inoculation of “god” sufficient to prevent them from experiencing the real God Almighty.

For example, poll after poll shows the majority of Americans claim to be Christians and affirm the value of prayer, Bible reading and church attendance in their lives. But you'd be hard-pressed to prove it by attendance at church on Sunday, not to mention the way they live their lives and make moral decisions.

No one knows how the Supreme Court will rule on “under God.” But however the case turns out, the challenge will not arise when children rise and say the pledge, but when Christians try to convince a lost and dying world the only hope is to live under submission to God.
–Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

Posted: 10/17/03

After 300 years, Jonathan Edwards'
influence still muddled

By Jeffrey MacDonald

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–America's most notorious Puritan is back in the public eye. This time, however, it's not just hellfire-and-brimstone preachers who are walking in his footprints.

October marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Edwards, the bigger-than-life theologian, philosopher and pastor who quarterbacked the First Great Awakening in the American colonies. Events at sites from the Library of Congress to the Minneapolis Civic Center celebrate his life and vast legacy, the extent of which is still being discovered and debated.

Scholars say most Americans know just one thing about Edwards–he once preached the terrifyingly famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Yet at this tercentennial, many are discovering the instrumental role he played in shaping the institutions and culture they take for granted.

Jonathan Edwards

“Edwards is a person who is largely forgotten about or caricatured,” said George Marsden, professor of history at Notre Dame University and author of “Jonathan Edwards: A Life.”

“But Americans need to pay attention to their spiritual founding fathers because the culture is very secular and spiritual at the same time. A lot of people will find things in him that are really fascinating.”

Marsden points out, for instance, that Edwards figured prominently in America's endurance over the centuries as a nation of believers while Europe became increasingly secular. By launching a tradition of revivalism to stir up a love for God, Marsden argues, Edwards passed on a passion for saving souls that has re-emerged somewhere in every succeeding generation.

But it's not just evangelists, or even evangelicals, who can today trace the roots of their beliefs and practices to a man often pilloried for being dated, even in his own time. Protestants mobilizing today to improve society, or striving to connect with God in nature, are recognizing that their 19th century heroes were themselves deeply influenced by Edwards' writings on the purpose of life, according to Kenneth Minkema, editor of “The Works of Jonathan Edwards,” a 26-volume collection.

“He's always there in the background somewhere,” Minkema said. “For better or worse, Edwards is part of our makeup. He's part of the American character.”

Born Oct. 3, 1703, Edwards came of age in New England as a Puritan theocracy was giving way to a revolutionary democracy. Through this titanic shift, Edwards' writing and preaching bridged two worlds of thought: one of Calvinist trust in a sovereign God, the other of burgeoning Enlightenment trust in the powers of science and sheer reason.

With help from itinerant preacher George Whitefield and others, Edwards revived a waning Calvinism with a vengeance by rigorously defending orthodox doctrines and leading his sometimes resistant flock to tearful conversions in the 1730s. But it was Edwards' ability to understand and incorporate the cutting-edge of science and philosophy that made him a formidable intellect on the international stage and ensured him a spot in Christian history.

“In his letters to Europe, he was always asking: 'What do you see as the latest scientific book just published? Will you send it to me?'” said Elise Bernier-Feeley, archivist for the Edwards Collection at the Forbes Library in Northampton, Mass., where Edwards served as pastor for more than two decades.

“He was always thriving on new knowledge. … He felt compelled to tell his congregation the truth. I love him for that.”

Today, Edwards fascinates scholars and evangelical Christians alike. In universities, the number of graduate dissertations written on him doubles every 10 years, Minkema said, with recent interest primarily in his writings on ethics and moral virtue. Meanwhile, movements such as the Charismatic Toronto Blessing in the late 1990s have used Edwards' writings on “Religious Affections” to legitimize and advance their own projects.

Even the great spiritual question caused by Sept. 11–why would God allow this to happen?–makes Edwards especially relevant to today's culture, according to Alan Johnson, organizer of “Awakening Hearts and Minds to God,” a two-day Edwards conference Oct. 25 and 26 at First Church of Christ, Congregational at Wethersfield, Conn.

“He faced turbulent times. There was terrorism all around him with hostile Indians in the Connecticut River Valley,” Johnson said, noting that Edwards often feared for the safety of his wife and 11 children. “But he had such confidence in God's overall plan for the destiny of man that he brings a certain perspective of solidarity, of calm, of faith to everything.”

Such reassurance might seem surprising from the preacher of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” in which Edwards tells a quivering crowd, “'tis nothing but God's mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction.” But Marsden and others contend that “Sinners” is not typical Edwards.

“His primary emphasis in preaching was the love of God,” said Bob Davis, pastor of First Congregational Church of Millers Falls, Mass., and lecturer on Edwards. “The goal of his preaching was to move the soul of the individual hearer to change. It's (logical) thought that then moves the heart to change you. I follow Edwards, and that's what I try to do in my preaching.”

Followers of Edwards, both pastors and laity, are flocking this month to his old stomping grounds at Yale, northern Connecticut and Northampton. A 55-seat bus tour of significant sites for Edwards sold out before dozens of additional inquiries came in.

When Bernier-Feeley considers why Edwards draws so many admirers 300 years after his birth, she says: “He was authentic and unwavering. That's what they are looking for these days. If you're looking for someone worthy of being emulated, he is.”

Posted: 10/17/03

EEOC files against Missouri convention

By Vicki Brown

Missouri Word & Way

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP)–Officials of the Missouri Baptist Convention have received a formal complaint from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former employee.

Former controller Carol Kaylor notified the EEOC of her intent to file a complaint after the convention's executive director, David Clippard, fired her in April. An EEOC representative conducted a telephone interview with Kaylor June 10.

Michael Berry, Kaylor's attorney, said in June the complaint likely would charge the convention with demeaning Kaylor on the job. “Our basic contention is that she was forced out of her position because she opposed practices that were demeaning to her and to other employees of the Missouri Baptist Convention,” he explained at that time.

Clippard claims Kaylor was terminated with just cause.

Neither Kaylor nor her attorney will reveal the specific charges outlined in the formal complaint, which is directed against the convention as Kaylor's employer rather than against an individual. The EEOC handles a wide range of employment issues.

Clippard said the complaint has been turned over to the convention's attorneys. According to Kaylor, the EEOC's next step will be to seek information from the convention.

In June, Berry explained that the federal commission usually tries to mediate disagreements and proceeds with a limited investigation while trying to get the parties to negotiate a settlement. Kaylor said the EEOC has not yet contacted her about that possibility.

Posted: 10/17/03

ETBU nursing students plan Caddo Lake project

MARSHALL–Senior nursing students at East Texas Baptist University have joined forces with the Caddo Lake Institute to promote better health in the region.

Beginning this week, the students will survey residents of Uncertain, Karnack, Leigh and Smithland to determine their knowledge of a health advisory issued in 1995 by the Texas Department of Health. That advisory warned people not to eat more than two 8-ounce servings per month of certain fish from Caddo Lake because elevated levels of mercury were found in largemouth bass and freshwater drum.

On Oct. 21 and 22, ETBU students will go door to door in the four communities to assess a baseline knowledge of health and community concerns, explained Carolyn Harvey, dean of the School of Nursing at ETBU.

Residents will be asked questions about the Texas Department of Health warnings, and students will seek information about how often residents eat the fish at Caddo Lake and if they are experiencing any health problems.

Then on Nov. 1, a health fair will be held at the Karnack Community Center. Available services will include flu shots, cholesterol tests and diabetes test, and new research information on breast cancer and prostate cancer will be disseminated. Hair samples may be voluntarily donated for further testing of mercury levels in the area.

On Nov. 3-4, ETBU nursing students will follow-up with at-risk residents who were not able to attend the health fair. Follow-up visits also will be made to individuals whose screening results indicate possible health concerns. Referrals will be made to appropriate agencies as needed for any abnormal health screenings, Harvey said.

“All graduates of the nursing program are expected to be lifelong learners and servants to their community,” she explained. “This project is the best way to demonstrate that expectation to our students. The faculty is planning this event to teach our students how to provide health care for all.”

Posted: 10/17/03

HOME AT LAST:
Texans return to Ethiopia

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

More than 20 years after they were pressured out of Ethiopia by a communist government, a pair of former Southern Baptist Convention missionaries returned to the nation that has held their hearts for so long.

Ray and Lauralee Lindholm served as Foreign Mission Board missionaries from 1965 to 1983 in various countries but strongly connected with Ethiopia.

Their work in the nation was cut short in 1976 due to pressure from the communist government. They returned in 1980 but were unable to resume their previous ministry and ultimately could not get a work permit.

Ray Lindholm hugs a man in the countryside of Ethiopia. Lindholm and his wife, Lauralee, alternate spending two months in the country and two months in the United States through the Baptist General Convention of Texas Envoy program.

Although they returned to the United States in 1983, their hearts remained in the countryside of Ethiopia. They thought often of the friends, disciples and converts they had made.

“We longed for Ethiopia during the whole 20 years we were away from it,” Mrs. Lindholm said. “We tried to keep in touch, but it was almost impossible, as countryside people have no mail service. Eventually we lost track of them.”

The Lindholms settled in Texas, where they joined Windsor Park Baptist Church in De Soto and started a housing company, Kingdom Homes. The couple aims to spread the gospel by building relationships with people to whom they sell remodeled homes.

Now, the couple earns enough money through the business to return to Ethiopia for three stints a year as Texas envoys, a program of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Partnerships Resource Center. The couple provides all the financial support for their efforts, while the convention facilitates other logistical issues.

The Lindholms alternate two months ministering in Ethiopia with two months managing their company in Texas.

“While we can afford to pay for our own mission travel and expenses, we did not want to go on our own as missionaries,” Mrs. Lindholm said. “We wanted to be accountable to a body of God's people and to be assured of prayer support.”

The Lindholms spend much of their time trying to bring spiritual renewal to people tied by tradition to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the primary religion of the Amhara culture. The religion is steeped in tradition, and few people have or know the Bible, Mrs. Lindholm said.

“A good Christian is one who meticulously keeps all the laws,” she reported. “There is no thought of sins of the heart such as jealousy, envy or greed. Even lying, stealing and adultery are considered a normal part of life. The emphasis is on Virgin Mary rather than on Jesus. Many Orthodox Christians in the city are more enlightened, but few have access to a Bible or its teachings.”

The Lindholms attend an Orthodox church, where their digital camera has strengthened their outreach. They have become unofficial photographers for the congregation and have used the camera to meet more people.

The Lindholms pose with an Ethiopian family.

“We take pictures everywhere we go,” Mrs. Lindholm said. “We can show them to the people immediately in the window of our digital camera, and if we will see the people again, we print them and give them to them. Everyone is always delighted, as very few every have a picture of themselves.”

Tapping their talent, they are hoping to develop Ethiopia. They are teaching job and marketing skills, planning a food court and craft sales projects they hope will strengthen the economy.

“We are convinced community development goes hand-in-glove with showing Christian love and concern for what is most important to people,” Mrs. Lindholm explained.

However, the highlight of their trips has been reuniting with the first person they witnessed become a born-again Christian through their original work in the country. The man was a priest in the church who also served as the head wizard in the area.

After interacting with the Lindholms, the man publicly burned his magic books and began preaching the gospel, the couple said. Several people who were training to be wizards became believers as well.

The Lindholms learned that when the communists took over Ethiopia, this man was named a spokesman for the government and gained wealth.

He fell away from the faith and the people. The community turned on him when the government fell, and he became destitute.

He relocated, remarried and recommitted himself to Christ, Mrs. Lindolm said. And now the Lindholms are working to disciple him further.

This reunion is confirmation that God worked to bring the couple back and will continue blessing their work, Mrs. Lindholm said.

“When we returned to Ethiopia, God blessed us by helping us recall our Amharic and led us to discover virtually all our old friends,” she added. “Every day, it is exciting to see how God works. We feel very strongly that God has great plans for his kingdom in Ethiopia.”

Posted: 10/17/03

Evangelists say they'll keep on, despite changes

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

As fewer churches schedule traditional revival meetings, evangelists must faithfully believe God will provide, veteran evangelists said.

In 25 years as an evangelist, Rob Randall has witnessed a steady decline in the number of churches wanting to hold revivals. Randall, former president of the Conference of Texas Baptist Evangelists, reported that while churches commonly held two revivals a year in decades past, it is not uncommon now for a congregation to have one every five years at best. Countywide revivals are rare.

The number of Southern Baptist evangelists also is down. The Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists has about 500 evangelists on its mailing list, down from 700 to 800 in decades past, noted President Benny Jackson.

Consistent work is sometimes difficult to come by, and some evangelists have picked up part-time jobs or found other full-time positions to support their families, Randall said. Even when an opportunity presents itself, the vocational evangelist is at the mercy of a congregation's love offering for support.

“The evangelist … has to live by faith,” Randall said. “He doesn't have a regular check. He doesn't have a large support base usually. He is out there to sink or swim based on his own ability to raise money.”

Evangelists hear the whispers–and more often shouts–that the day of the revival meeting is over, but they remain unconvinced.

Jackson reminds critics that churches still hold revivals and people still make professions of faith in Jesus Christ. Those who claim the revival is dead have “their head in the sand,” he declared.

“Practically speaking, the revival meeting is the only thing I've seen that puts all the energies of the church to win the community for Christ,” Randall said. “Here's the dilemma: If someone will tell me the substitute, I'm for it. I've not heard it.”

Many church leaders, especially younger ones, do not understand the role of evangelists and hold preconceived notions about evangelists, said Jon Moore, president of the Conference of Texas Baptist Evangelists. Stereotypical images and well-publicized indiscretions of televangelists have hurt evangelists.

Fewer small churches are planning revivals because they are trying to copy the programs of mega-churches, Jackson suggested, and most mega-churches don't have revivals.

“They say the big church doesn't have revivals; they must not work anymore,” he explained. “But what happens is they don't do anything.”

Randall believes churches don't take issue with the effectiveness and purpose of evangelists but with the straightforward presentation of the gospel message.

“The bottom line is we are in a time of convenience. We go to church when we want to. We don't go to church when we don't want to. The seeker-sensitive church is designed to be non-confrontational. We don't want to call people to repentance. We don't want to hurt people's feelings,” he explained. “Paul says the preaching of the gospel is an offense. If you are not offending people, I would wonder what you are preaching.”

Because of this culture of convenience, putting on a revival meeting takes more energy than many congregations are willing to give, Randall said. A successful effort must be bathed in prayer, publicized and allowed to work, he added.

He believes the two- and three-day revivals used more often today are not as effective as the weeklong revivals of the past. Two or three days is not enough time for the evangelist to connect with the people or to allow God to work, he said.

But the work of the evangelist is urgently needed today, he stressed.”Our pews are full of people not willing to share their faith.

“There's a newness and a freshness to the evangelists' message. And the church needs to hear that.”

Posted: 10/17/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Oct. 26

Paul stays close to the cross in Colossians

Colossians 1:1-14

By John Duncan

Lakeside Baptist Church, Granbury

The city of Colossae was a Roman province, a city of Phrygia on the Lycus River near Mount Cadmus. The city served as a center of commerce where the locals produced a purple wool known as collosinus. The Apostle Paul most likely did not travel to Collosae (Colossians 2:1). The epistle has similarities in content and style to Ephesians. The church grew and Paul knew of the work of the church through Epaphras and Archippus (Colossians 4:12, 17).

Paul writes to emphasize the central message of Christ, his divinity and humanity. A.W. Tozier once said, “The whole course of life is upset by the failure to put God where he belongs.” Paul places Christ where he belongs in Colossians–the Savior and the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

Paul's theme

Paul's theme focuses upon Colossians 1:14, where he speaks of the redeeming blood of Jesus and forgiveness. Paul never strays far from the cross in Colossians. Paul gives his standard introduction in verses 1:1-2. He knows of their faith service and that they were “set apart” by God as saints. Paul gives thanks (v. 3). When grace abounds, gratitude overflows (vv. 2-3). Paul's prayer reached for heaven to impact the work of the church on earth. Paul's prayer reflected his Christian love and his excitement about God's work in Colossae.

Still, the cross expresses his heart as he writes. Paul speaks of the trilogy of Christian virtue–faith, hope and love. Paul hears of their active faith, a faith translated into a sacrificial spirit of service and unity (v. 4). A healthy faith inspires genuine brotherly love (D. A. Carson). Their faith produced faithfulness to the purposes of God that expressed itself in everyday life as Christians ministered (v. 2). Christ's hope anticipated heaven, but also encouraged their hearts in service through the strength of God's word of truth (v. 5). The cross of faith and hope finds meaning in three words– word, truth and gospel.

Faith and hope generated in their hearts combined to cause spiritual growth and fruitfulness of life (v. 6). The order of the words indicates an inner working of God's Spirit on the one hand and an outer extension of the gospel on the other (Abbott). Paul combated false teaching by emphasizing the truth. The cross reminds Paul of love, both Christ's through forgiveness and the Colossians in ministry. Christ's nature in a heart by the Spirit of God produces servants of Christ actively and visibly demonstrating love (v. 8). Love is, literally, “made clear or visible” when the cross of Jesus is central and when the Spirit of God motivates Christian action.

The cross anchors the church in truth and combats the false teachers in the Roman culture.

Paul's prayer

Paul understands the culture, challenges of faith, opposition to God's truth, struggles of the church and hope that inspires confidence in the joy of evangelism. Therefore, Paul prays specifically. Paul does not stop praying for God to fill the Christians with the knowledge necessary for daily living (wisdom) and making right choices (spiritual understanding) (v. 9). Paul's prayer is that the Christians will conduct themselves in a fruitful manner that pleases Christ (v. 10). He prays for God's grace to increase their knowledge and for strength to keep them strong in the spiritual battles.

Paul's prayer is for the Christians to gain power from heaven and because of Christ (v. 11). This power will supply the Christian servants with two necessary qualities for service: (1) patience–the ability to stay under the pressures and load of life by faith; and, (2) longsuffering–the ability to be slow to pay back a wrong when people oppose the gospel and even the church or Christians themselves. Christ's servants need these two qualities because living as a Christian in the darkness is never easy. Paul reminds them they are sharers of light (v. 12).

Paul's light

Paul knows the light is none other than Jesus Christ. He delivered the Christians as a rescuer from the darkness of sin, death, hell and the grave (v. 13). Christ transferred Christians from a world where darkness dominated the life and thoughts to one where we enjoy the love of God's Son, Jesus (v. 13). Two ideas flow from the Scripture passage: God rescues from darkness and removes the darkness by placing a person in the light and love of his Son. How might God's love in the Son be summarized?

Christ's love is best summarized as a ransom paid to release and free a slave (Christ redeems, v. 14). He also forgives by setting free from sin. Christ benefits the Christian with freedom and forgiveness. “Forgiveness is a most unnatural act,” writer Philip Yancey remarked. When Christ sets his people free, forgiveness transforms the heart and makes human forgiveness possible. Forgiveness through the cross and in daily relationships, therefore, by the cross, is a supernatural act supplied by the Spirit of God. For the Apostle Paul, the cross of redemption and forgiveness was both a theology of belief and a practical means by which to live in faith, hope and love.

Question for discussion

How can a Christian keep the cross of Christ as a focal point?