Posted: 5/30/03

Gap on what's 'morally acceptable' not so wide

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ARLINGTON–The gap between Christians and the general population on key moral issues isn't as wide as most people think, Christian researcher George Barna said during a conference at Lamar Baptist Church.

One of his polls indicates 36 percent of all adults believe having an abortion is morally acceptable, while 19 percent of “born-again” Christians find the act morally acceptable. Five percent of adults and 4 percent of “born-again” believers said having an affair with a married person is acceptable.

Forty-three percent of all adults believe reading a magazine with sexually explicit pictures is acceptable, compared to 21 percent of “born-again” Christians who agreed. Thirty-six percent of adults believe getting drunk is morally up to par, compared to 20 percent of “born-again” believers who approve.

A quarter of all adults said a sexual relationship with someone of the same gender is morally acceptable, while only 9 percent of “born-again” believers gave the same answer.

Barna defines people as “born again” if they affirm to pollsters that they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lives today and that they believe when they die they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

The difference in perspectives between the general population and those who are “born again” may appear vast, but it's not sufficient to influence society or for the difference to be noticed, Barna insisted.

A 20-point difference would be needed for people to notice a distinction, and a much greater separation would be necessary to influence society, he said.

People's opinions on these moral issues often change, Barna reported, noting that even Christians often are swayed by the last strong stance they have heard.

Churches may be too “timid” when dealing with controversial issues, Barna asserted. “Born-again” believers do not seem to know where the church stands and therefore avoid discussions on moral and ethical issues, he said.

Barna identified five demographic groups he believes are “morally at risk”:

Adults under 35 years old who are activists and future leaders.

Men of all ages.

The wealthy.

Trendsetters of the West Coast.

Adults in churches of more than 500 members, whom Barna said are morally at risk because larger churches generally demand less accountability.

Percent of adults who describe behaviors as 'morally acceptable'
Behavior	All	Mainline	Not	Regularly	“Born
	Adults	Protestant	Mainline	Attend Church	Again”
Having an abortion	36	45	26	22	19
Sexual relationship with	25	24	13	13	9
someone of same gender
Having an affair with a married	5	3	5	4	4
person other than your spouse
Having an affair with a person	17	14	12	12	12
who is not married
Cohabitation	58	54	43	42	36
Using marijuana	25	21	17	15	11
Getting drunk	36	30	20	23	20
Cheating on income tax	9	6	4	6	4
Lying on a resume	9	10	8	9	6
Watching movie with explicit	49	44	33	33	29
sexual behavior
Using profanity	37	29	25	24	22
Breaking speed limit	39	39	34	33	33
Reading magazine with nudity	43	42	25	26	21
or explicit pictures
Source: Barna Research Group, based on national telephone surveys and reported in the
“Leading Your Church Forward” seminar by George Barna

Posted: 5/30/03

Barna questions whether
'born-again' have 'biblical' worldview

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ARLINGTON–The overwhelming majority of “born-again” adults lack a “biblical” worldview through which they interpret life, Christian pollster George Barna said during a conference at Lamar Baptist Church.

A whopping 85 percent of “born-again” adults do not have a biblical worldview, according to Barna's definition, but instead hold to alternative philosophies such as naturalism, postmodernism or nihilism.

“I think this is a silver bullet Satan uses to undermine the church,” Barna said at the Texas seminar that is part of his current national tour.

By Barna's definition, people with a biblical worldview affirm eight principles:

The existence of absolute moral truth.

The Bible as the standard of moral truth.

God as all-knowing and all-powerful Creator.

Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on Earth.

Satan is a real being.

Salvation cannot be earned.

Believers have a personal responsibility to share their faith.

The Bible is totally accurate in all its teachings.

Further, Barna defines people as “born again” if they affirm to pollsters that they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lives today and that they believe when they die they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

The problem, Barna said, is that few people who are “born-again” hold a “biblical” worldview.

Only 9 percent of “born-again” adults surveyed, for example, affirmed the existence of absolute moral truth and that the Bible is the standard of moral truth.

According to Barna, worldview affects how people behave. In a typical week, people with a “biblical” worldview are nine times more likely to avoid adult Internet material, fives more likely not to use tobacco products and three times more likely to boycott products, he said.

Also, they are three times more likely not to watch a movie because of objectionable content, 2.5 times more likely to pray for the president and twice as likely to volunteer to help the needy.

In the religious realm, people with this worldview are almost three times more likely to attend a Sunday School class, 2.5 times more likely to read the Bible and twice as likely to attend a service and volunteer at church.

“You have to think like Jesus before you can act like Jesus,” Barna said.

Church leaders appear to be in the dark about their members' beliefs, the statistics indicate, with almost 60 percent of pastors saying the majority of their congregations have a “biblical” worldview. Three of four senior pastors believe they do an excellent job of enabling people to develop a biblical vantage point.

Barna compared the ineffective way some churches drop information on their members to giving them a misnumbered game of connect-the-dots. Believers have information but have difficulty putting it together correctly, he said.

Churches should create a framework of ministry with proper values and sound Bible teaching, Barna urged. Church members must be held accountable and model a proper Christian lifestyle.

He challenged church leaders to instill a biblical worldview in their members intentionally by asking questions. Questions are less abrasive than correcting someone's beliefs, Barna believes. They force people to think, give ownership of answers and facilitate life application of principles, he continued.

“It's not about delivering more information,” Barna said. “Christians have all the information they need. What they need is a way to connect the information.”

Posted: 5/30/03

In rare case, Baylor regents launch
investigation of BGCT appointee

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

Baylor University's board of regents has launched an investigation of board member Jaclanel McFarland, reportedly on charges that she interfered with an undercover drug investigation on campus.

McFarland, a Houston attorney and former vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, denied the allegation. She contends she is being pressured to leave the board because she has opposed several recent initiatives of President Robert Sloan.

Sloan and other university officials declined to comment on the investigation or allegations against McFarland. “Our hands are tied because of the legalities involved in the investigation,” said Baylor spokesman Larry Brumley.

Executive session

The story broke in the Waco Tribune-Herald Saturday, May 17, the day after accusations against McFarland were made in an executive session of the board of regents. No one present in that executive session would comment to the Standard about what happened there.

The Tribune-Herald reported that a subcommittee of the regents concluded initial evidence warranted a full investigation by the board if McFarland did not resign. Brumley said the university could not divulge that evidence beyond the regents.

McFarland said she first heard rumors about an investigation on Wednesday, May 7. At that point, she called Sloan, she said, to ask if he knew anything about it.

Sloan told her he didn't wish to discuss the matter with her, she said.

McFarland then called Drayton McLane, chairman of the regents and a Temple businessman. McLane arranged for McFarland to meet on Friday, May 9, with himself, Sloan and Bill Brian, an attorney from Amarillo who also serves as a Baylor regent.

At that meeting, McFarland said, she was urged to resign from the board to spare her family “embarrassment.”

By her account, the visiting delegation warned her that criminal charges could be filed against her but that if she resigned from the board, they would intercede to have those charges dropped.

Both McLane and Brian declined to comment, citing confidentiality requirements of their duties as regents. Baylor spokesman Brumley said Sloan could not comment on the matter either.

Tip-off alleged

McFarland, who has been a visible figure within Texas Baptist denominational affairs, called the turn of events “surreal” and said she was shocked by the allegations against her.

Although the university has not publicly stated any allegations against McFarland, she and others reported she has been accused of tipping off members of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity to the presence of an undercover police officer.

According to press accounts, Baylor's Department of Public Safety placed an undercover officer inside the student population and he in turn pledged Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity this year. The 22-year-old officer enrolled in classes and lived in Penland Hall, a student dormitory.

The undercover operation came to a conclusion April 29 with the arrest of six people for selling illegal drugs and the arrest of one other for possession of illegal drugs. None of those arrested were reported to be members of the fraternity, although six of the seven were Baylor students.

A May 5 memo distributed to the university community by Baylor's chief of police, Jim Doak, said the “lengthy undercover operation” was designed to “remove individuals from the university community who were known to provide contraband to students and others.”

“At no time did anyone within the TKE fraternity nor anyone within Baylor Student Life have knowledge of this operation,” Doak wrote.

He reported that “no active members of the TKE fraternity were involved in any capacity with distributing contraband.”

The memo extolled the fraternity as a “model of efficiency” and reported it conducted pledge activities without hazing.

That reflects an improvement for the fraternity, which in February 2002 was suspended from campus for the rest of that semester due to allegations of hazing violations.

Doak concluded his memo by saying the public safety department “has achieved the stated goal of this operation.”

Yet, according to the Tribune-Herald, university officials have complained that the undercover operation was cut short because the officer's cover was blown. The newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying the seven arrests were minor compared to what Baylor law enforcement had hoped to achieve.

McFarland's 22-year-old son, Allen, has been a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, although he did not attend Baylor during the 2002-2003 academic year. He enrolled in the fall at McLennan Community College, then returned to Houston to work in his parents' law firm to save money for an overseas study trip.

Charges denied

University officials reportedly have alleged that Jaclanel McFarland knew of the undercover operation in her role as a regent and informed her son, who in turn tipped off members of the fraternity. McFarland explained to the Houston Chronicle: “Supposedly, I knew when no other regent did. I told my son, and he told someone who told someone.”

The regent affirmed to the Baptist Standard in a May 20 interview that she had no knowledge of the undercover operation prior to its conclusion and could not have told her son or anyone else about it. Other regents confirmed to the Standard that regents had not been told of the undercover operation.

“We weren't told about this,” McFarland said. “I didn't know about it until it came out on TV.”

While refusing to discuss what was said in the regents' executive session, McFarland said any evidence against her that she is aware of is “triple hearsay.”

McFarland said she spoke May 20 with Steve McConnico, an Austin attorney hired by the university to participate in the investigation. McConnico told her, she said, that he had no solid evidence against her or her son.

McConnico, a Baylor Law School graduate who works in the Austin law firm Scott, Douglass & McConnico, did not respond to the Standard's request for an interview.

The Standard could not ascertain whether any criminal charges or complaints have been filed against McFarland.

Likewise, the status of the regents' investigation of McFarland could not be determined. University spokesman Brumley declined to characterize the status of the investigation. It is being handled by “outside counsel” rather than in-house, he said.

Retaliation alleged

McFarland and others close to her have suggested that she has been targeted because of her vocal opposition to several recent decisions at Baylor. Although initially a strong supporter of Sloan, McFarland in recent years has become a vocal critic, particularly of the spending required to implement Baylor 2012, the university's 10-year strategic plan, and Sloan's recent purchase of a jet.

By her own account, McFarland gave Sloan poor marks on a recent job evaluation. She gave him D's and F's on the evaluation, she told the Houston Chronicle.

By multiple accounts given to the Standard, she led the charge against the jet purchase in a conference call between Sloan and some regents who questioned the purchase. Regents reportedly had been told about the $2.3 million purchase after a $100,000 deposit already had been made.

Brumley questioned the relevance of the jet purchase to the current investigation of McFarland. “Regents were completely in the loop on that,” he said.

McFarland also has opposed the university's increase in spending to fulfill the goals of Baylor 2012.

Although Baylor officials would not discuss details of the ongoing investigation, they implicitly rejected the assertion that McFarland is a victim of retaliation.

Removal process

If Baylor presses to remove McFarland from the board of regents, it would be the first time in the university's 158-year history for such a step to be taken.

The case would take on particular interest because McFarland is among the one-fourth of Baylor regents elected by the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Until 1991, the BGCT elected all Baylor's trustees. When the Baylor board amended the university charter to declare a self-perpetuating board, the BGCT worked out an agreement to elect one-fourth of the regents, with the remainder elected by the board itself.

Baylor's bylaws give minimal provision for removal of a regent, stating: “A director may be removed from his or her position as a director only for cause and by employing due process procedures applicable to private entities. The removal of a director may occur at a regular or called meeting of the board of directors, provided notice of intention to act upon the question of removing the director has been stated in the notice of the meeting as one of the purposes of the meeting.”

Parent protests

Meanwhile, the mother of a Baylor student who roomed with the undercover officer has complained that Baylor put her student and another roommate at risk in the undercover operation.

The Tribune-Herald reported May 22 that Diane Ambrosio, mother of 19-year-old Andrew Ambrosio, believes her son was placed at risk by the presence of the undercover policeman.

“I really feel like they used our sons,” the mother said, reasoning that a drug dealer could have tracked the officer back to his dorm room and harmed everyone present.

The May 22 story also reported that some Baylor students and members of Tau Kappa Epsilon suspected the undercover officer as early as last fall. “We knew he was a narc,” Andrew Ambrosio told the paper.

Ambrosio said the undercover officer also dated a Baylor student who apparently was unaware of his true role.

Ambrosio and the third roommate eventually learned the undercover officer was 22 years old when they found his wallet lying on the floor, he said.

All three roommates were present in the dorm room April 29 when police burst into the room and conducted a mock arrest of the undercover officer at the same time other arrests were made in Penland Hall.

The Tribune-Herald also reported that members of the fraternity confronted the undercover officer on the Friday before the April 29 raid, but the officer denied he was a police officer.

Raid results

On May 22, the Tribune-Herald also reported the names and charges against individuals arrested in the drug sting. The three students arrested in Penland Hall are 19; three others who live in apartments near the campus are 21. The seventh person, who was not a Baylor student at the time of his arrest, is 20.

Five of the six Baylor students were charged with misdemeanor counts related to selling or possessing marijuana, the paper said. One was charged with two felony counts related to drug delivery. The non-student was charged with four counts of delivery of a controlled substance and one count of possession of an illegal substance. Two of those charges are felony offenses and three are misdemeanors.

Posted: 5/30/03

Baylor, alumni association make peace

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

WACO–A recent disagreement between Baylor University and the Baylor Alumni Association has been patched up, officials with both entities report.

The Baylor Alumni Association operates as an independent entity from the university, although it traditionally has received major funding from the university and has occupied university-owned office space. The association is governed by its own board of directors.

Baylor administrators have complained at times that the alumni association has not been supportive enough of university initiatives. Alumni association leaders, on the other hand, have complained at times that the administration wants to squelch their independence.

Tensions turned to a new level, however, when the university last year started publishing its own magazine mailed to alumni and donors and beefed up its own alumni relations office. Both initiatives, Baylor officials said, were undertaken to better serve the needs of alumni and to fulfill the goals of the university's strategic plan, Baylor 2012.

The alumni association for years has published the only alumni magazine related to the university, the Baylor Line. It is mailed to about 25,000 dues-paying members of the association–about one-fourth of the university's living alumni.

On May 12, both the alumni association and the university announced they had signed an agreement outlining terms of future cooperation. The text of the document was not released, and a university spokesman said both parties had agreed not to talk about it. The only information provided came in a six-paragraph news release.

According to that release, the alumni association will continue to operate independently of the university, publish the Baylor Line and recognize outstanding alumni. The association will work with the university to sponsor homecoming events, the Heritage Club and Legacy Weekend.

Prior to the agreement, the university provided about $350,000 in annual funding to the alumni association. However, that funding will end May 31, according to Larry Brumley, acting vice president for university relations.

The association will continue to occupy university-owned office space in which the association has invested substantial resources, Brumley added.

The news release quoted both Baylor President Robert Sloan and alumni association Interim Executive Vice President Os Chrisman praising the agreement.

Posted: 5/30/03

Baylor to build new style of student housing

WACO–Baylor University broke ground May 16 on a $33 million, 212,000-square-foot student housing complex.

The North Village Residential Community is the first housing facility constructed on campus since 1967. It is scheduled to open in fall 2004.

Adding more on-campus housing is the second imperative of Baylor 2012, the university's 10-year strategic plan.

The university intends to house at least 50 percent of undergraduates on campus by 2012. Currently, freshmen are required to live on campus, and most other students live off-campus.

“By increasing the number of students who remain on campus during their college careers, we can foster a sense of community within the Baylor family and build a true learning environment inside and outside the classroom,” said President Robert Sloan.

North Village will be built between the new Dutton Avenue office and parking facility and the Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Building. Three more residential villages are planned at Baylor during the next 10 years.

In North Village, 180 of the 600 beds will be reserved for engineering and computer science students, who must apply and be admitted to the designated center for living and learning.

The remaining beds will be available for upperclassmen from other academic disciplines.

“This unique living-learning environment will foster a balance between serious intellectual pursuits and social interaction both in the classroom and living room, as well as encourage close interaction with classmates and with professors,” said Benjamin Kelley, dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Although the living-learning centers concept has been implemented previously at schools such as the University of Maryland, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Ohio State University, Baylor's residential community will be the first of its kind in Texas.

Over the next five years, Baylor hopes to have living-learning centers for students interested in international affairs, leadership, arts and sciences, and fostering a civil society. In most instances, the centers will require students to enroll in at least one common course, often will require a special admission process and may require additional expectations.

Posted: 5/30/03

Baylor regents re-elect McLane chairman

WACO–Drayton McLane of Temple has been re-elected chairman of the Baylor University board of regents.

McLane, chairman of the Houston Astros and McLane Group, will work alongside vice chairs Randy Ferguson, president of RWF Investments in Austin; Brian Harbour, pastor of First Baptist Church of Richardson; and Laree Estes Perez, vice president of Loomis, Sayles and Co. in Albuquerque, N.M.

In addition to officer elections, regents at their May 16 meeting adopted a $320.5 million budget for 2003-04 and approved plans to construct another parking garage.

Regents also approved stopping admissions into the doctor of education degree program for kindergarten through grade 12 administration and for higher education administration. The move also impacts the master of education degree for principal preparation.

According to a Baylor news release, the change was made “to reallocate resources to study and develop new graduate programs to more effectively serve public and private education.”

President Robert Sloan explained: “While we believe it is necessary to discontinue these current graduate programs in the School of Education, we are committed to continuing our efforts to develop new approaches in the preparation of leaders to serve in public and private education, both at the K-12 and higher education levels.”

The new budget provides for hiring 43 new faculty and staff and for a 27 percent increase in scholarships and fellowships. It also provides $3 million in renovation and deferred maintenance work.

It includes faculty raises based on merit. Staff salary adjustments will not be determined until September or October, said Baylor spokesman Larry Brumley, and are dependent upon enrollment numbers for freshmen and transfer students.

The increase in next year's budget “is being fueled by the second year of our new tuition structure,” Brumley explained. This was the first year for a new flat-rate tuition plan, from which previously enrolled students–mainly next year's juniors and seniors–were exempt.

The parking garage will be built on the current site of the Mark Twain Apartments, bounded by Cottonwood, Daughtrey, First and Second. The $10 million parking facility will support the new Baylor Sciences Building and the McLane Student Life Center.

Under terms of its current relationship with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Baylor's board of regents elected three-fourths of the board itself, with the BGCT electing the remaining one-fourth. At the May meeting, regents re-elected nine of their members to new three-year terms: Mary Chavanne-Martin of Houston, David Sibley of Waco, Donell Teaff of Waco, Carl Bell of Dallas, Toby Druin of Waxahachie, Phil Lineberger of Sugar Land, McLane, Belinda Reyes of San Antonio and Jim Turner of Dallas.

Posted: 5/30/03

Bible Bar packs a nutritional
punch with inspired formula

By Tom Feran

Religion News Service

ORLANDO (RNS)–Different people find different things in the Bible. Tom Ciola found a recipe–for snack food.

The directions weren't precise, he admits. Coming up with the right formula, which added a few organic ingredients for taste and texture, was “quite a challenge.”

But through trial and error, and with a bit of outside help, Ciola finally produced the Bible Bar. Resembling a granola bar, it's billed as a “highly effective appetite regulator” and a “great way to control hunger pangs while still providing your body with the highest level of biblical nutrition.”

“God was the first nutritionist,” Ciola said from his office in Orlando, Fla., noting that early in the Bible God commands, “You shall not eat of every tree in the garden.”

“It may be symbolic,” Ciola said, “but I've done a lot of research on the Garden of Eden story, and I believe the Lord was saying something about improper nutrition. The Lord put a high price on good eating habits and health.”

Ciola found inspiration for Bible Bars, however, in Deuteronomy 8:8, “where the Lord uses seven species of food to describe the goodness of the land. That intrigued me. I've been in the nutrition business all my life, and I've also been a Bible student all my life.”

The seven foods are wheat, barley, honey, olive oil, figs, pomegranates and grapes. All are laden with symbolic value and, Ciola learned, sometimes surprising nutritional value.

“I wasn't the first to stumble on the importance of these foods,” he said. “Many ancient Bible scholars and rabbis have studied the subject, and I found a number of theories about their importance. I thought, from a nutritional standpoint, as long as the Lord sees these as important foods, let's see if we can put them in a form people can eat day to day.”

That was seven or eight years ago. Ciola approached a candy company with the idea. The results, from a taste standpoint, were “absolutely horrendous.”

So he put the idea aside, “got hot on it again” three years ago, and finally got it to work with the help of a small Texas company–and the addition of organic puffed rice and raspberry flavoring.

This was something he could sink his teeth into.

Besides being a serious Bible student, Ciola has a background as a natural health advocate and bodybuilder. He opened a combination health food store and fitness club in Utica, N.Y., in 1970, and won the Mr. New York State title in 1975–the same year he founded National Health Products, which produces sports nutrition supplements. He organized the Natural Bodybuilders of America, which sponsored the first Natural Mr. America competition, excluding steroids and drugs.

He also wrote the nutrition guide “Moses Wasn't Fat,” which he titled after realizing the Bible said Moses died at 120, “and his eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished”–making him “an excellent physical specimen right up to his death and the epitome of everything my book stood for,” Ciola said.

Using the Bible Bar as the foundation, under National Health he started House of David, a distributor of “spiritual health products” in a growing field that includes such items as Testamints and edible Nativities.

House of David, at houseofdavid.net, handles such products as Bible Bread, Back to the Garden meal replacement powder and the new Bible Granola–as well as the chewy Bible Bar, which has 190 calories, 6 grams of fat and retails for $1.89 at about 2,500 health-food stores and religious bookstores.

“I've been accused of commercializing the Bible,” Ciola said, “but I'm a believer, and I believe I will have to answer someday for my actions.”

No problem there, he said–in the end, “it all goes back to the beginning. God does have a plan for us to eat properly.”

One more thing, Ciola added. Stay away from underripe apples.

Posted: 5/30/03

Baptist Briefs

Baylor names Schmeltekopf provost emeritus. Baylor University's retiring provost and vice president for academic affairs, Don Schmeltekopf, has been named provost emeritus. Schmeltekopf has accepted a two-year appointment as the Chavanne Professor of Christian Ethics in Business at Baylor's Hankamer School of Business. He also will teach an ethics course at the university's Truett Seminary and a course in higher education administration in the School of Education. During Schmeltekopf's 12-year tenure as provost, Baylor has added four academic divisions–Truett Seminary, the School of Engineering and Computer Science, the School of Social Work and the Honors College.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Ken Hemphill awards a master of arts in missiology degree to his wife, Paula, while presiding over his final commencement ceremony this month.

Terminated missionaries to speak. Two veteran missionary couples who left the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board because of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message crisis will address the breakfast meeting of the Mainstream Baptist Network June 27 in Charlotte, N.C. Larry and Sarah Ballew of Macau and Houston and Charlotte Greenhaw of Brazil will speak at 7 a.m. in the Charlotte Convention Center. Reservations should be made by calling (915) 659-4102 or e-mailing trusdle@txbc.org.

CBF repositions for Iraq. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has shifted its focus for post-war ministry in Iraq from refugees to meeting immediate needs as well as long-term infrastructure needs of the population within Iraq. CBF is preparing to restart ministry among the Kurds in northern Iraq that had to be suspended because of the military campaign. To date, CBF has channeled more than $40,000 from churches, individuals and existing CBF relief funds toward relief efforts in Iraq.

Golden Gate rethinking music. Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., will continue to offer music courses but will change the way it structures them, trustees were told in their spring meeting. Only 24 students are enrolled for the seminary's two master's degree programs in music, and "that is not enough to sustain them," reported Academic Vice President Rick Durst.

World Day of Prayer scheduled. Baptists will participate in the Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization June 8, focusing on more than 1 billion Chinese who have not heard the Christian gospel. Scattered throughout the world, from China, to Malaysia, to Mexico, and even Paris, the Chinese represent distinct ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Pastor elected Georgia editor. Gerald Harris, pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., has been elected editor of the Christian Index, newspaper of the Georgia Baptist Convention. He succeeds Bill Neal, who took a forced early retirement. Harris, 62, is a former president of the Georgia convention and currently serves on the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee.

Coppenger speaks at Midwestern. Mark Coppenger, who was fired as president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1999 for problems related to anger management, returned to the school May 13 to speak in chapel. His topic was bivocational church starting. Coppenger, who now lives in the Chicago area and is a pastor, will be named an honorary alumnus of Midwestern during the annual alumni luncheon June 18.

Posted: 5/30/03

Faith still stands at center of Buckner communities

By Scott Collins

Buckner News Service

A generation ago, churches stood at the center of nearly every Texas town, and religious faith permeated the communities. That spirit still lives at the five retirement communities operated across Texas by Buckner Retirement Services.

Buckner retirement residents “grew up when the church was literally the center of town,” explained Kenneth Harpster, chaplain at Buckner Villas in Austin. “There may have been one or two different churches–the Methodist, the Baptist or whatever. Sometimes the different denominations shared buildings, so if you joined on the Methodist Sunday, you became a Methodist, and the same goes for Baptist or whatever.

“Most all activity of the town revolved around the life of the church, so that is a very familiar part of the lives of many of the retired,” he added. “There are many good memories from those days.”

Senior adults who were raised in a time of faith and family still possess a strong faith that cannot be separated from who they are, according to Harpster and other Buckner chaplains. That's one reason Buckner chaplains and retirement community directors integrate faith throughout their communities.

“The faith piece is just kind of woven among almost everything we do,” said Ron Warner, executive director of Buckner Westminster Place in Longview. “It's not that we have a chaplain over here and we have chapel services over here, but it's woven into who we are … . It is part of everything we do.”

The same philosophy guides Craig Garrett, chaplain at Calder Woods in Beaumont.

“I am a firm believer that you can't segment a person's life,” Garrett said. “You can't … say we are only going to care for a certain part of a person's life. Health is something that encompasses more than one area.”

“As people get to know us, or they get to learn about our campus, there are some things that they readily pick up,” explained Mary Alexander, executive director of Calder Woods. “They pick up that we are built on a Christian foundation. When they hear that we have a chaplaincy program, they learn that we care about all people, not just Baptists. We care about people from all walks of life.”

Glenn Shoemake, executive director of Buckner Retirement Village in Dallas and the campus chaplain, agreed that faith weaves his community together.

“For me, part of what makes this a community is that by and large, our residents have devoted a significant part of their life to spiritual values as well as other values. When they came to the village, they were looking for an environment in which that spiritual part of their lives was still something that was valued and supported.”

Buckner chaplains work daily to meet the spiritual needs of community residents.

“My role is to comfort, to be that representative of God people may be looking for,” Harpster said. “I see that the particular faith needs of the residents are met. I attempt to make sure they have someone from their faith tradition to come see them and offer whatever is appropriate for them in their tradition.”

One of the most important roles he plays, Harpster said, is in the “ministry of presence,” to be a “representative of God in their lives.”

A major part of a chaplain's ministry with senior adults focuses on building relationships, said Rick Webb, chaplain at Buckner Westminster Place in Longview. “Aging is a process of changing relationships because relationships are lost.”

And while Buckner chaplains provide ministry to community residents, they also offer residents opportunities to minister to others. Residents often pray for each other and the Buckner staff during weekly prayer meetings and Bible studies. And they minister to other residents who are sick or have lost a family member.

The senior adults at Calder Woods prove that people continually grow spiritually, Garrett said.

“I have people come to Sunday School and almost every time, somebody will say: 'You know, I never thought of it that way before. I never heard that before.' That kind of floors me sometimes because these are men and women who have grown up in their churches. But often they teach me things. I have to be on my toes.”

Posted: 5/30/03

Tennessee ties link Buckner to new shoe partner

By Scott Collins

Buckner News Service

DALLAS–Lon Shoopman thought shoes would be a great way to tie First Baptist Church of Madisonville, Tenn., with Buckner Baptist Benevolences in Dallas.

After visiting the Texas-based ministry in March, he returned to Tennessee and presented the idea of collecting 1,750 pairs of shoes for the Shoes for Orphan Souls campaign sponsored by Buckner Orphan Care International.

The goal was significant because First Baptist Church is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.

The project itself was significant because both the church and Buckner Benevolences trace their origins to the same family.

But Shoopman didn't tell his congregation and the Madisonville community to stop at the historic number. Instead, more than 6,000 pairs of shoes were donated and delivered by church members to Buckner May 5.

“We feel like this is our offering to celebrate the anniversary,” said Greg Moses, who, along with three other church members, drove a truck loaded with the shoes more than 900 miles from Madisonville to Dallas.

“You can tell both were started by a Buckner,” added church member Allan Webb.

Daniel Boone Buckner founded the church in Madisonville in 1828. More than 50 years later, in 1879, his son, R.C. Buckner, started Buckner Orphans Home in Dallas. Next year, Buckner Benevolences will celebrate its 125th anniversary, and the church in Madisonville will be asked to participate.

“Daniel Buckner instilled two great things in his family and in the church that he founded–a concern for missions and a concern for people, particularly children,” said Shoopman, who has been pastor of the church 28 years.

During his trip to Dallas this spring, Shoopman visited the two-story log cabin at Buckner Children's Home. The cabin, the birthplace of R.C. Buckner, was built by Daniel Buckner in Madisonville and moved to Dallas as a historic landmark in 1912.

“To come and see this cabin is like going to Jerusalem,” Shoopman said. “This is where the legacy started. For me to stand where I know Daniel Buckner stood and espoused his concerns (for missions and children) to his children and to the church, that's just an amazing experience, a holy experience.”

Shoopman and members of his church say they are amazed at the similarity of First Baptist and Buckner Benevolences.

“We're a real missions-oriented, purpose-driven church,” said Brian Sizemore. Those characteristics also define Buckner, he added.

Robert Koch noted that the connection between the church and Buckner shows in the common goals of missions and ministry to orphans. During the shoe collection in Madisonville, members charted their progress by placing cutout footprints on the wall for every 100 shoes donated. So many shoes came in that the footprints “went all over the wall,” Koch said. “We ran out of room.”

Buckner President Ken Hall said reconnecting the church and Buckner Benevolences has been a “blessing for me personally and for our Buckner family in Texas. … It's been like finding a long-lost family member.”

Shoopman, however, had learned this spring just how deep the connection between the church and Buckner remains.

“When we celebrated our 175th anniversary March 4, I thought it would be neat during the service to have somebody read a passage about Daniel Buckner. I chose this fellow who has a really nice voice. He and his wife had been in the church six months or so,” the pastor explained.

“So he read this, but he started crying during the reading. I found out after the service that this couple had adopted a daughter from Buckner, and she is now a missionary in Nicaragua. He had no idea our church had any connection with Buckner in Texas, but he knew Buckner had provided him with a daughter.”

Posted: 5/30/03

Builders make Lubbock
home for three-month project

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

LUBBOCK–Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders expected high winds and rising temperatures when they agreed to tackle a construction project on the South Plains in late spring and early summer. But nobody told them to be ready for the mercury to drop 55 degrees in less than two days.

“Welcome to West Texas,” one of the builders quipped.

When temperatures plummeted from 103 to 48 degrees, volunteers bundled up in layers of any available clothes–a hodgepodge assortment of sweatshirts, flannel shirts, overalls and windbreakers. And they kept working to erect the framework for the new Living and Learning Center of My Father's House Lubbock.

“These are the most amazing people I've ever seen,” said Shirley Madden, executive director and founder of My Father's House Lubbock.

My Father's House currently operates at Iglesia Bautista Templo in Lubbock, offering Christian Women's Job Corps training. That ministry, originated and sponsored by Woman's Missionary Union, teaches job skills and life skills to low-income women. Texas Baptists help support Christian Women's Job Corps through gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions.

The Living and Learning Center–being built on 4.29 donated acres of prime real estate–will add a residential component to the Christian Women's Job Corps model. The center will include 18 two-bedroom apartments, classrooms, a commercial kitchen and day care and laundry facilities where women can gain hands-on job experience.

The Meadows Foundation recently approved a $250,000 grant for the building project, and another Texas-based foundation provided a $150,000 no-interest loan based on pledges made to the project. When My Father's House has $500,000 cash in hand, it will be eligible for a matching grant from the Mabee Foundation, Madden said.

Volunteers from each of the Texas Baptist Men Builders groups–crews who specialize in building churches, camps, furniture or cabinets–have teamed up for the Lubbock project, providing volunteer labor valued at $1.5 million.

The heavy, load-bearing steel framework for the Living and Learning Center proved a challenge for volunteers accustomed to working with wood.

“It's a lot different, but our guys are picking up on it,” said Bill Pigott of Glenview Baptist Church in Haltom City, coordinator for the building project.

Running the drill press at the Texas Baptist Men Builders furniture shop in Lubbock is 93-year-old Ed Smith of Faith Chapel Baptist Church in Brownfield.

“One thing about this bunch of guys–you name it, they can build it. And 99 percent of them wouldn't do it for the money. I know of two guys on the crew who each paid to have somebody put a roof put on his house before coming out here. They're something else.”

My Father's House Lubbock marks the 86th Texas Baptist Men volunteer building project for Chester Booth of First Baptist Church in Whitney.

“I have two brothers who are Baptist preachers, and I don't fit in that category. But building is something I can do,” said Booth, who generally serves as lead carpenter with the Texas Baptist Men Builders.

Wayne Pogue from First Baptist Church in Skellytown has worked on more than 30 projects with Texas Baptist Men Builders since joining the volunteers in 1986, usually as lead electrician on the crew.

“A friend called when the builders were at Plains Encampment. He asked if I wanted to volunteer for two or three days. That lasted a couple of weeks, and it was all it took to get me hooked. I've been working with them six or seven months a year ever since then,” he said.

“These are some of the best people I've ever been around. If I ever needed help, these are the folks I'd call on.”

To make the My Father's House Living and Learning Center a reality, 60 retired couples have turned Lubbock's Lowrey Field into a mobile home community, the athletes' field house into a sewing circle and a nearby motorboat showroom into a furniture mill for three months.

The volunteers are living in their mobile homes parked at the Lubbock Independent School District athletic facility, and local churches are serving meals for workers beneath the stadium bleachers.

While their husbands work either on the construction site or at a makeshift furniture factory down the road, wives sew curtains and valances for the windows of the Living and Learning Center, in addition to other ministry projects.

Texas Tech student Andrew Halton, a member of Austin's Hyde Park Baptist Church, works alongside Texas Baptist Men Builders Gaylen Harris from Parkview Baptist Church in Mesquite and Jim Bosworth of First Baptist Church in Navasota.

The Texas Baptist Men furniture builders are crafting beds, chests and tables for the 18 apartments at the Living and Learning Center.

The eldest member of the furniture builder crew is Ed Smith, 93. Smith, a member of Faith Chapel Baptist Church in Brownfield, started working with the Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders 25 years ago after retiring from the U.S. Air Force.

He moved from the church builders group to the furniture builders crew two years ago.

“I was looking for a better job,” he said.

So instead of climbing a ladder on a construction site, Smith spends hours a day on his feet running a drill press at the furniture mill.

“I've always loved to build,” he said. “I'd go crazy if I didn't have something to do.”

The youngest volunteer on the construction site is Andrew Halton, a business major at Texas Tech University. Halton's father at Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin read a Baptist Standard article about the volunteer building project, and he called Pigott to ask if his son could help.

The student started work right after completing his last finals of the spring semester. Halton said he is learning not only about the construction trade from the volunteer builders, but also about Christian living.

“I'm growing in my Christian walk,” he said.

During the first three weeks in June, My Father's House Lubbock needs volunteers to put asphalt shingles on the center.

“We're looking for a team of roofers, college-age, who want to give a week or two to My Father's House Lubbock,” Madden said.

Teams will be able to sleep in the facilities of area churches, and they will have access to the showers at the Lowrey Field athletic center.

Once the Texas Baptist Men volunteers complete their work in late July, additional volunteers will be needed in August for interior finishing work and exterior bricklaying, Madden added.

Bible study classes and WMU groups at various churches also are needed to “adopt” an apartment by decorating it. “We are excited for them to do that because it will seal their heart to our ministry, and they will 'own' a piece of the Living and Learning Center,” Madden said.

Prospective volunteers may contact Pigott at (214) 707-4379 or Madden at (806) 799-0990.

Madden said it's a privilege to work with spiritual “giants” like the Texas Baptist Men Builders.

“What a witness they are to all of us. I have never known a group that more perfectly lives out the Matthew 25 life than they do,” she said, referring to Jesus' admonition about caring for the needy. “And our community is seeing it up close and personal.”

For previous stories about My Father's House Lubbock, visit the archives at baptiststandard.com.

Financial contributions may be made directly to My Father's House Lubbock or through the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation. Call the foundation toll-free at (800) 558-8263,

Posted: 6/06/03

Around the State

A concert benefiting the Dallas Christian Women's Job Corps will be held at 7:30 p.m. June 16 at the Meyerson Symphony Center. The concert will include sacred, classical, patriotic and light jazz music. A number of musical artists will perform in addition to the choir and orchestra of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas. For tickets, call Delores Kube at the CWJC office at (214) 391-5511. All seats are reserved, and tickets are $15, $20 and $25.

Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University recently announced those students selected from Texas Baptist universities as Young Maston Scholar Award winners. The award originated as part of the T.B. Maston Christian Ethics lectures in 2000 and recognizes students who have done outstanding work in the areas of theology and ethics. Pictured are, front row, Vernon Davis, dean of the Logsdon School of Theology; Tori Oquinn, Hardin-Simmons University; Dusty Craig, Dallas Baptist University; Foy Valentine, ethics lecturer; Ethan Parker, East Texas Baptist University; and Grant Rothberg, Houston Baptist University. Top row, Andy Rodgers, HSU; Bill Tillman, HSU professor of ethics and T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics; Derek Hatch, ETBU; Jason Hatch, DBU; Daniel Dotson, Howard Payne University; and Josh Vaughan, HBU.

The Little George Havens Cowboy Camp Meeting will be held for the 37th year June 20-29. The camp meeting is on Highway 84 at Flying H Acres, between Santa Ana and Coleman. Many people bring wagons, tents and camping trailers and stay the week. Services are held at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily. Chuck wagon barbecue is served both Saturdays. The 10th annual Hispanic camp will be held July 2-6. For more information, call Lucy Havens at (214) 942-9874 or (532) 348-3686.

Danny Andrews, former chairman of the Baptist Standard board of trustees, has been named to the Panhandle Press Hall of Fame in Amarillo. Andrews has been editor almost 25 of the 35 years he has worked for the Plainview Daily Herald. He also was editor of The Trail Blazer, the student newspaper at Wayland Baptist University, and received the Communications Award of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He is a deacon at First Church in Plainview.

Faculty recently receiving promotions at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor are Ann Crawford, associate professor of nursing; Ann Eubanks, assistant professor of business; Kathy Harden, assistant professor of library; Gail Hill, professor of education; Darlene Lary, professor of nursing; Kathy Long, associate professor of nursing; Elizabeth Mallory, assistant professor of library; Colin Mason, assistant professor of fine arts; Mary Pihlak, professor of nursing; David Plunk, assistant professor of exercise and sport science; Audell Shelburne, associate professor of English; and Larry Woodward, associate professor of business.

Six students graduated May 30 fro the Clinical Pastoral Education extended student program of Baptist Health System's Institute of Health Education. Graduates are Maria Gonzales, Katrina Ornelas, Albert Salinas, Connie Jimenez, Aaron Grimaldo and Enrique Birriel. The programs trains people for ministry in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, mental health centers and congregations.

Anniversaries

Buddy Dudley, fifth, as pastor of Faith Church in Sweeny May 1.

Ken Wieser, 20th, as minister of administration and education at Heights Church in Alvin June 1.

Indian Hills Church in Grand Prairie, 50th, June 22. Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will speak in the morning service. Lunch and an afternoon program will follow at the Ruthe Jackson Community Center. Reservations required; call (972) 262-2884. Doug Simon is pastor.

First Church of Forest Hill in Fort Worth, 100th, June 22. Don Goates is the guest speaker, and Duane Blakely will be the guest musician. Don Mitchell is pastor.

Events

Quietwood Church in Dallas commissioned Lawrence and Fonda Koss as Mission Service Corps volunteers May 25. The church will hold homecoming services June 29 that will include a lunch and a 2 p.m. service. T.J. Norvell is pastor.

Mary Ann Iles was named organist emeritus at Calder Church in Beaumont June 1. She has been the church organist for 50 years. James Fuller is pastor.

The Texas Baptist All-State West Choir will perform at Pioneer Drive Church in Abilene June 9 at 7 p.m.

Rolling Oaks Church in San Antonio will feature Christian country music artist Clifton Jansky at its annual summer celebration June 29 at 4 p.m. A dinner will follow the concert.

Retired

Louis Vannatter, as pastor of First Church in Bulverde. He was pastor of the church five years and was in the ministry 40 years.

Death

Truett Sheriff, 91, May 17. Sheriff was director of the Baptist Student Union at Hardin-Simmons University from 1946 to 1956. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Eulene. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; daughters, Monica Landreth and Jane Ramsey; sons, Randall and John; step-children, Steve Ballinger, Judy Baxter, Joanne Pearson and Susie Blossom; brother, Everett; sister, Fay Bernard; 18 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Licensed

Andrew Baker to the ministry at Zephyr Church in Zephyr.

Ordained

Keith Johnson to the ministry at First Church in Valley Mills June 1.

George Bowie, Marc Mangrum and Hugh Wilder as deacons at Woodlawn Church in Austin.

Max Braswell, Chris Ferguson, John Tidwell and Jay Wright as deacons at First Church in Texarkana.

Revivals

Merit Church, Merit; June 8-12; *evangelists, Bill and Vickie Murphy; interim pastor, Bobby Bryan.

New Life Church, Greenville; June 15-19; *evangelists, Bill and Vickie Murphy; pastor, Robert Ingram.

Salem Church, Atlanta; June 18-22; evangelist, Willis Shankles; music, Danny Anderson and Joyce Blackburn; pastor, Gary Kessler.

Shiloh Church, Mexia; June 22-25; *evangelist, George Couch; *music, Dorthea Couch; pastor, George Courtney.

Pearl Church, Gatesville; June 22-25; *evangelist, Dennis Moody; pastor, Steve Taylor.

Liberty Church, Fate; June 22-26; *evangelists, Bill and Vickie Murphy; pastor, Wayne Tumey.

*vocational evangelist