Posted: 10/3/03

Churches' drop in missions giving hits BSM

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Unless congregations increase their support, Baptist collegiate ministries could become the ministries of interested individuals rather than of churches, campus ministers warn.

Financial support for Baptist collegiate ministries has declined during recent years as national convention, state convention, association and church budgets have shrunk due to decreased giving and declining returns on investments.

Typically, state Baptist conventions pay for some campus ministers' salaries and for maintenance on Baptist Student Ministry buildings. Associations pay for some salaries and programming funds.

The California Southern Baptist Convention offers the most significant exception to this pattern. About 10 years ago, the convention eliminated funding for full-time campus ministers due to a budget crunch. In California and in newer-work states where resources are slim, campus ministries often are run by Mission Service Corps volunteers.

But in the larger state Baptist conventions, major funding for campus ministry has continued to come through the state office.

Ministries at Baptist universities enjoy a financial advantage because the school usually pays for all programming and sometimes covers multiple salaries and building costs.

Denominational struggles are hurting support for campus ministries, particularly in states with two conventions.

When churches pull out of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, they pull funding from the college ministries affiliated with the convention unless church funds are designated specially for the outreaches.

“Statewide, it's a tough time,” reported Darrell Cook, director of the Virginia Tech Baptist Student Union. “Watching different resources, we see we won't be able to do as much here.”

In Texas, Baptist student ministries are affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and some churches do not fund them because of that, said Joel Bratcher, director of the Texas A&M Baptist Student Ministry.

“Sometimes churches defund the BGCT, and that affects us,” he explained. “Sometimes they give directly to the BSM; sometimes they don't.”

The Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, both formed by conservatives in recent years, do college ministry through local churches rather than the traditional Baptist Student Ministry. Both new conventions start churches that cater to college students and encourage existing churches near schools to start college programs.

To counter the decreasing funds, campus ministers have had to examine their programming and think in terms of long-range effects, said Bruce McGowan, director of the BGCT Center for Collegiate Ministries.

“We have had to ask ourselves why we are on campus and what would Texas Baptists support,” he added. “It has helped us ask what do we need, what do we do, and get creative.”

Despite this refocusing, many ministries have cut staff positions and hours.

According to national statistics compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources, 886 Baptist collegiate ministries currently are led by 512 full-time directors, 170 part-time directors and 160 volunteer directors. In some cases, an outreach has one staff member.

Of the 107 Baptist student ministries in Texas, 24 have part-time directors, 17 volunteer leaders, and three are intern directors. There currently are two interim directors, and eight are looking for leaders.

College ministries in newer-work areas for Southern Baptists–including California, the Northwest and New England–are overwhelmingly dependent on volunteers who raise their support from churches, associations and individuals.

In many cases, these volunteers provide necessary administrative and program assistance for the one paid staff person, said Eric Black, who serves as a Mission Service Corps volunteer with his wife at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque.

“There's a mentality the Cooperative Program (unified budget) is bottomless and covers everything,” Black said. “The BGCT knows that is not the case. Money only goes so far. People are floored we are not supported by the Cooperative Program.”

As Mission Service Corps volunteers, the Blacks receive training and endorsement from the BGCT but not financial support.

The lack of funding makes it harder to recruit people to work on California campuses, which educate one in seven college students nationwide, according to Neil Walker, director of Christian Challenge at the University of Southern California.

“What I find is most of the workers prefer to be in the Midwest where they can draw a steady paycheck, whether that's the most fertile ground or not,” he said.

With the decrease in budget and staff has come the added responsibility of fund-raising for BSM leaders, explained Arliss Dickerson, director of the Arkansas State University Baptist Collegiate Ministry. Campus ministers now must look for funding sources outside the traditional means.

“We have always called ourselves a ministry of the churches,” Dickerson commented. “More and more we are becoming a ministry of interested individuals.”

Some campus ministries have launched alumni groups that contribute significantly. Virginia Tech alumni provide ministry assistance as well as financial support to the Baptist Student Union.

“Our alums have done a great job filling those gaps and serving those needs,” Cook said.

The Virginia Mission Board, affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia, created a website to network and track college ministry alumni. The site includes a link to the Collegiate Ministries Endowment Fund, where individuals can donate money to support the state's Baptist collegiate ministries.

While Cook is encouraged by the convention's efforts to supplement the funding to the college ministries, he noted a statewide endowment is a “hard sell” because alumni are attached to a local work, not the statewide effort.

The lack of church funding for Baptist student ministries may end the Baptist presence on some campuses, Dickerson warned. While larger ministries that have enough alumni may be able to survive financially and possibly grow larger, work at smaller schools could die out, he explained.

In Texas, the BGCT has been able to stave off budget cuts from reducing ministries on the state's largest campuses, but funding cuts have impacted some smaller campuses.

In the last eight years, at least five part-time positions were eliminated, and part-time salary commitments were cut in half. One campus has gone from a full-time to a three-quarter-time director.

Several campus ministries were combined into one regional effort. For example, Chris Stanley works with Brazosport College in Angleton and Alvin Community College in Alvin.

Associations now pay part of the BSM director's salary on six campuses.

The state student ministry staff has been reduced by two. Two regional coordinator positions in the state office also were eliminated.

In the 2004 BGCT budget, which overall represents a 10 percent reduction from the current year's budget, the Center for Collegiate Ministry maintained a flat budget of $3.9 million.

The vast majority of the Center for Collegiate Ministry's budget goes to personnel expenses. According to the budget book presented to the BGCT Executive Board Sept. 30, the BGCT pays salaries for 32 full-time campus ministers and 29 part-time campus ministers.

These Texas Baptist campus ministers served 43,000 students last year, including 12,000 who were consistently involved throughout the year.

Posted: 10/3/03

Tarleton student ministry sets
up shop in a campus tavern

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

STEPHENVILLE–A couple of days each fall, the Baptist Student Ministry at Tarleton State University encourages college kids to go to a bar–not to drink, but to enjoy a free meal and hear the gospel.

As part of its outreach to new students in early September, the BSM sponsors two Wednesday lunches at a tavern across the street from the Tarleton campus. The bar is closed at lunchtime, but the owner makes the building available to the campus ministry.

“We'll have students who go there who won't go to anything else we do,” said Darrell Samuelson, BSM director at Tarleton.

Churches in the Stephenville area provide the covered dish lunches at the popular student hangout. Samuelson acknowledged a couple of congregations have objected to an event at a bar. But most view it as a chance to bring a Christian witness to students who might never set foot in a church or in the BSM building.

Students are drawn to the familiar bar by the free food. While they eat, they listen to a Christian testimony by a local celebrity such as the university's football or baseball coach.

“Some of the students feel less threatened in that setting,” said Trey Felan, baseball coach at Tarleton. “We've got their attention for a little while. Maybe we'll reach somebody, or maybe a seed will be planted for later.”

Felan, a layman at First Baptist Church of Stephenville and an on-campus adviser for the BSM, spoke at a recent luncheon, using baseball analogies in his brief message based on the fourth chapter of 2 Timothy. He encouraged students to prepare “in season and out of season” for whatever lies ahead.

“Like athletes who train in the off-season, as Christians we need to be prepared by staying in the (Bible) and in prayer. That way, when we have the opportunity to witness, we're prepared to do it. And when we have setbacks, whether it's a time when we stumble or when tragedy comes, we're prepared for it. I tried to tell them what I tell my players, 'When you make a mistake, learn from it and then move on.'”

In addition to the bar outreach, the BSM also sponsors about a half-dozen other activities–most of them centered on free or low-cost food–designed to reach new students. For the last two years, the university has embraced the events as part of its welcome week schedule.

“In the first two days of school, we gave away 60 dozen donuts and hundreds of sno-cones,” Samuelson said. As volunteers distributed the sweet treats, they invited students to attend a Tuesday luau. The outdoor Hawaiian-style party featured the BSM praise band and a Christian testimony by a student leader.

One of the most popular outreach activities is the “big feed” on the third day of the new semester. Volunteers set up grills in an open area near the men's dormitories, and they offer steaks for 99 cents.

“That event really reaches the guys. They smell the meat cooking all morning, and that brings them out,” Samuelson said. “They can't believe it's not just hot dogs, but that they can get a real steak for 99 cents.”

In less than a month, the BSM made significant contact with at least 700 students through the events, Samuelson said.

“We know that because we printed 800 devotional guides, and we've distributed all but 100 of them,” he said. Students, alumni and faculty at Tarleton wrote the 40-day inspirational guides.

Event organizers acknowledged that only a fraction of the students they contacted will become active in Baptist Student Ministry, but that's not their ultimate goal.

“It's not about numbers involved in the BSM. It's about getting the gospel to numbers of students who aren't in church anywhere,” Felan said. “We may not get to see the harvest, but we're planting seeds.”

Posted: 10/3/03

Shoe donations run ahead
of funds to ship 200,000 pairs

DALLAS–Unprecedented success collecting shoes and socks for orphan children worldwide has led to the urgent need of additional funds for shipping and storage, according to officials at Buckner Orphan Care International.

Tiffany Taylor, director of the Shoes for Orphan Souls project, said more than 220,000 pairs of new shoes have come to Buckner in 2003, leaving the organization strapped for cash to ship the shoes, socks and shoelaces.

Some of more than 200,000 pairs of new shoes donated to Buckner's Shoes for Orphan Souls project sit boxed in a warehouse, waiting for shipment to orphans around the world.

“We were hoping for 150,000 new shoes,” Taylor said. “So in some ways, we're suffering from our own success.”

Taylor said Buckner needs $100,000 in donations to cover costs associated with the international shipping. Buckner has received donations throughout the shoe collection period for the purchase of new shoes. However, the number of donated shoes far outpaced cash donations designated to cover shipping.

“We're fortunate to have wonderful volunteers who sort the shoes and prepare them for shipping,” she said. “So we don't have to worry about costs related to that part of the process.”

Taylor added that because Buckner hopes to distribute the shoes before winter in places like Russia and Romania, “there is a sense of urgency that we ship these shoes as soon as possible, so we need the funds immediately.”

Along with expenses related to shipping the shoes, Taylor said Buckner has been forced to lease additional warehouse space in Dallas to store the shoes as they arrive from across the country. Currently, Buckner is keeping the shoes and socks in three storage facilities, including a 25,000 square-foot warehouse.

This is the fifth year Buckner has operated the Shoes for Orphan Souls program. In 2002, 103,000 new pairs of shoes were collected and shipped to 28 countries.

For more information about donating to the Shoes for Orphan Souls project, call (877) 7-ORPHAN. Donations marked “For Shipping” may be made through the Internet at www.shoesfororphansouls.org or by sending a contribution to: Shoes for Orphan Souls, 600 N. Pearl, Suite 1900, Dallas 75201.

Posted: 10/3/03

BWA president appeals for SBC to stay

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)– “Stay with us. Pray with us. Evangelize with us,” the president of the Baptist World Alliance urged the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee Sept. 22.

Billy Kim said he “invited myself” to travel from Korea to present a five-minute BWA report regularly provided during the Executive Committee's two-day meetings in Nashville, Tenn.

Kim did not directly reference the circumstances prompting his appeal. Earlier in the session, however, Morris Chapman, president of the Executive Committee, welcomed Kim and the BWA's general secretary, Denton Lotz, to the meeting and briefly noted that a BWA study committee formed several years ago by the Executive Committee has been reactivated.

Chapman said the SBC “is reviewing and evaluating the affiliation of the convention with the Baptist World Alliance. … As we all know, objectives, priorities and purposes change over time within all of our organizations and periodic evaluations become necessary.”

Chapman and other SBC leaders have criticized the BWA for granting membership to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. At the SBC annual meeting in June, the convention's $425,000 allocation to the BWA was reduced by $125,000 for the coming year, and speculation has been widespread that SBC leadership intends to separate completely from the BWA.

Kim thanked Southern Baptists for their part in creating the BWA in 1904 and for their support over the years. “I beg you, stay with us in the Baptist World Alliance,” he urged.

Kim, a pastor in Seoul, Korea, appealed to the unity of believers Jesus prayed for in John 17.

“The closer we grow to Christ, the closer we grow to one another,” Kim said. “Christian unity is supernatural because it comes from God's nature. It is only experienced in fullness as we draw close to him.

“The unity, though, does not mean uniformity in everything. In the Trinity there exists a unity in diversity–three distinct Persons yet they are one.

“Jesus' prayer for unity does not mean that we all should be the same, though many Christians mistakenly assume that,” Kim said. “Too many think other believers should be just like themselves … read the same books, promote the same style, educate their children in the same way, have the same likes and dislikes.”

Kim acknowledged that “there are a lot of differences. I don't like all the unions and conventions that belong to the Baptist World Alliance … . But we come together as a unity, as a force. … May God help us. In a kingdom with empowered growth, we need everybody together who believes that Jesus is the only Savior to go out in the highways and hedges and help them come to know Christ and baptize them in order that we will meet them in 'Hallelujah Square' in heaven.”

Posted: 10/10/03

Episcopalians meeting in Dallas say
church 'under condemnation' by God

By Kevin Eckstrom

Religion News Service

DALLAS (RNS)–Claiming they are the "rightful heirs" of the Episcopal Church, more than 2,700 conservatives sketched out the foundations for an "emerging church" that will result from what seems an inevitable split with their denomination over homosexuality.

The insurgents, angered by their church's acceptance of an openly gay bishop and same-sex union ceremonies, ended their emotional 48-hour convention Oct. 9 with a plea for church officials to be disciplined by overseas bishops in the Anglican Communion.

"We appeal to the primates of the Anglican Communion to intervene in the Episcopal Church to discipline those bishops in the Episcopal Church who, by their actions, have departed from biblical faith and order," said the appeal, issued by the American Anglican Council.

The appeal said the 2.3 million-member denomination is "under God's judgment" for its confirmation of an openly gay priest, Gene Robinson, to serve as the next bishop of New Hampshire.

The petitions will be delivered to a high-stakes London summit of the chief bishops of the 38 member churches in the Communion. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion.

The conservatives asked sympathetic bishops in Africa and Asia to "guide the realignment of Anglicanism in North America" and vowed to stop giving money to the national church and instead give it to "biblically orthodox mission and ministry."

While organizers declined to offer specifics, it was clear they are preparing for a future beyond the traditional structures, rules and leadership of the Episcopal Church.

"We already have everything we need for the new alignment," said David Roseberry, rector of Christ Church Episcopal in Plano and co-host for the rally. "We have bishops, we have leaders, we have seminaries, we have curriculum, we have momentum, we have spirit."

A delegation sent by the church's presiding bishop, Frank Griswold, to observe the Dallas meeting was turned away because organizers said there was no "observer" status. In response, Griswold said he was concerned "when Christians use inflammatory rhetoric when speaking of one another or issue ultimatums."

The conservatives have withdrawn their request for the primates to establish a "parallel province" that would co-exist alongside the Episcopal Church. Instead, leaders now want an overhaul of the current structure. Without it, Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh predicted an exodus of evangelical parishioners.

"If the primates do nothing, the realignment will be a devastated Episcopal Church. That's the reality," Duncan told reporters. "Should they fail, we're going to have to find homes where we can fit in."

Ultimately, the future rests with the primates and their leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The conservatives face the tricky test of rallying the faithful to organize for the future, all the while aware that change could be months or years in coming–if it comes at all.

David Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council, appealed for patience in his closing "marching orders" at the conference. "Don't jump ship until we can get the lifeboats in place," he said.

"We say to Pharaoh, 'Let my people go,'" Duncan said to wild applause after participants sang the old gospel hymn "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus, Ye Soldiers of the Cross." "And we say to Jesus Christ, 'Your army awaits your command.'"

Posted 10/10/03

CYBERCOLUMN:
Is this all there is?

By Donna Van Cleve

I couldn’t wait for my senior year in high school. The seniors were the top dogs who had all the status and power on campus, seemingly coasting their way through that last year.

Homecoming queens, editors, sweethearts, favorites, valedictorians, salutatorians, the most fill-in-the-blanks, the most likely-to-whatevers, scholarships, honors. All these were bestowed on seniors for their accomplishments in their educational, extra-curricular and social endeavors.

Donna Van Cleve

But once I became a senior, it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. I remember thinking, “Is this all there is?” It was a lot more fun looking up to upperclassmen and looking forward to something rather than arriving as a senior and looking down at underclassmen and back at missed opportunities or half-hearted efforts.

I had yet to learn to cherish life and live in the moment. I spent more time worrying about the future and regretting the past, along with envying those things that I didn’t have or experience. I remember thinking that by the time I was a senior, I would have it all together. I quickly realized that becoming a senior did not make me all-knowing and all-cool. On the contrary, I was just as insecure and ignorant about life, realizing I still didn’t have all the answers. And yet I felt compelled to act as if I did.

I am rapidly heading into the senior years of my life, and unlike high school, I am not looking forward to it.

I am still quite comfortable in this stage of looking up to my parents—letting them continue to be my role models and forge the way for me. I am not looking forward to the time when my siblings and I are the next class in line to graduate into the afterlife. But this time I’m at peace going into my senior years knowing that although I still don’t have all the answers, I have learned some of the most important things in life. And being cool just isn’t that important anymore.

Some refer to life as a hill. The first half is a continuous climb. Some areas steeper than others. The last half is a downhill slide. I think life is more like a sphere, eventually returning full circle. Our lives begin with no choice, and for most people, it ends with no choice. It begins with complete dependence on others and often ends with complete dependence on others.

What happens in-between is what we are given to work with, along with the ability to reason, choose and create. Of course, one’s upbringing and environment can have a tremendous effect, positive and/or negative, on those abilities and the freedom to use them. Adversity can be a destructive or constructive influence in our lives. The same can be said of prosperity. Is character built through the easy times, or is it forged in those hard times?

How many folks drift through life, accepting what comes along, what is handed to or forced upon them, following the habits and traditions of a family, religion or culture without question? How many will come to the senior years of their lives and ask, “Is this all there is?” not realizing that all along it was within themselves to choose and create the kind of life worth cherishing and enjoying. Too many of us are depending on the externals in life to experience joy—other people, material possessions, things happening to them—rather than seeking to know joy from within. And on the other hand, how many allow their lives to be destroyed by the externals, oftentimes the very same things we thought would bring us joy?

A sphere is a figure with every point on its surface at an equal distance from the center. I think that is a wonderful analogy of mankind to God. No one person or group is any closer to God than the other. The only distance involved is due to a person’s or people’s rebellion or lack of awareness of the reality and truth of God, who is accessible through a relationship with Christ Jesus.

I am learning to live in the moment. I am learning to cherish life and to live with the choices that I have made. I am learning how to change those things in my life that need changing—questioning and sifting through everything—hanging onto what’s important and lasting, and parting with those things that aren’t. And the older I get, the shorter that list becomes. In fact, my last breath will instantaneously cull the list down to two things: 1) God and 2) me. The same can be said for everyone, since everyone will have to face God, but not everyone will experience the same eternity.

And for Christians, even heaven will be experienced differently for each of us based on the works we do in this life. We don’t talk much about that, preferring to focus on our salvation by grace, a most wonderful gift of God. Then it’s easier for us to continue to live life as if this is where we get all the “real” living done before we’re promoted to that eternal worship service.

I went all the way through school without really understanding—deep down—that those years of education were preparing me for life. I looked at my senior year as the end of something, rather than the beginning that it actually was. I think that’s how many of us tend look at our lives here on earth—as an end to something rather than a preparation for eternity. Would we live our lives differently if we honestly understood that truth?

Is this all there is? We Christians know it’s not, but we’re far from truly understanding—deep down—that what we do now will greatly impact our lives in heaven.

Donna Van Cleve is a writer and wife of one, mother of two, and grandmother of Audrie, and is a member of Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin.

Posted: 10/3/03

Conservatives may not be pleased with Gov. Schwarzenegger

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–Although religious conservatives were among the most ardent boosters of the effort to recall California Gov. Gray Davis, they may end up with more than they bargained for.

Now they have another governor who is, in their estimation, "liberal" on social issues.

With Davis, a Democrat, ousted and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, overwhelmingly elected in the Oct. 7 vote, conservatives across the country celebrated the Republican capture of the highest office in the heavily Democratic state. But conservative religious groups in California and elsewhere reiterated some of their criticisms of the governor-elect.

While Schwarzenegger has said little of substance about his views on many specific issues, he has called himself a "moderate," and his campaign has cast him in favor of abortion rights and gay rights. Schwarzenegger also has expressed support for human cloning. In a speech, he said opponents of the practice are "religiously fanatic."

Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council, sounded a note of caution Oct. 8: "As a self-described 'moderate Republican,' will Gov. Schwarzenegger resist the strong left-wing lobby that so consumed Gov. Gray Davis' time in office?"

"Mr. Schwarzenegger has said that his time in office will be spent trying to fix the massive budget deficit and economic problems California now faces," Perkins continued. "But with his 'moderate' views on abortion and the homosexual agenda, will the Schwarzenegger administration soon find itself kowtowing to the same liberal activists that are used to running the Sacramento puppet show?"

Randy Thomasson, director of the conservative group Campaign for California Families, said before the election that Schwarzenegger's stances on abortion-rights and gay-rights issues means "the Terminator is terminating family values."

However, Thomasson struck a more cautious tone after the election results came in–with exit polls showing a large majority of voters who considered themselves social conservatives voted for Schwarzenegger over his social-conservative rival on the ballot, state Sen. Tom McClintock.

"The election of Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a rejection of pro-life, pro-family values. This was about saying 'no' to a corrupt governor and saying 'yes' to a Hollywood celebrity who pledged to clean up Sacramento," Thomasson said in an Oct. 7 press release. "Pro-family citizens will be watching Gov. Schwarzenegger very closely so that he doesn't undermine marriage, parental rights and religious freedom, or push abortion and the homosexual agenda like Gray Davis did."

Lou Sheldon, head of the Washington-based Traditional Values Coalition, also warned Schwarzenegger that he should reconsider his earlier positions on social issues. "I know I speak for many religious conservatives in California who hope and pray that Gov. Schwarzenegger will think and act differently than actor Schwarzenegger or candidate Schwarzenegger," he said Oct. 8.

Prior to the election, Sheldon had campaigned against Schwarzenegger–even paying for television ads that showed the actor's face morphing into that of Davis.

"The ultimate message is there's no difference between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis, so what's the purpose of the recall?" Sheldon said, according to an Oct. 1 San Francisco Chronicle article.

Conservative Republican U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa and Bill Simon, a conservative candidate who narrowly lost to Davis in the 2002 gubernatorial election, both were forced to bow out of the race after Schwarzenegger threw his hat into the ring. Ironically, Issa is the one who helped get the recall campaign off the ground, heavily financing the petition drive that initiated it.

In an Oct. 9 Washington Post column, conservative pundit George Will lamented Schwarzenegger's election and the Republicans who supported it. "The odor of what some so-called conservatives were indispensable to producing will eventually arouse them from their swoons over Arnold Schwarzenegger," he wrote.

Posted 10/3/03

Article List for 10/6/03 issue