Posted: 9/19/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 28

Followers of Christ give evidence of citizenship

Matthew 7:13-29

By David Jenkins

New Hope Baptist Church, Big Sandy

True followers of the Lord Jesus Christ will give evidence of their citizenship in God's kingdom.

Even though first century believers were generally rejected by their society, they reflected the characteristics of Christ so consistently that, in derision, they came to be called “Christ's ones,” or Christians (Acts 11:26). Yet they were not “clones.” They were unique individuals whose natural strengths were enhanced by God's Spirit.

Today God continues to impact a lost world through the various personalities and strengths of his people. Clearly certain basic actions are going to be taken by all who will become genuine kingdom citizens. The Sermon on the Mount concludes with four warnings from Jesus, each explained by four contrasting actions.

Choosing the right path

Often the Christian life is referred to as “the straight and narrow,” no doubt taken from these words of Jesus. Actually, the word traditionally translated “straight” (v. 13) comes from the Latin word “strictum,” which means “narrow.” Jesus meant the “narrow gate” is restrictive and prohibits entrance by those who do not meet his requirements. Obviously, the “wide” gate is far more appealing. The “broad” road is wide or spacious, and easily accommodates the crowd and all their baggage.

In verse 14, a different word for “narrow” or “straight” is used which usually refers to persecution. Jesus was saying the way of discipleship is restrictive and often includes opposition and persecution. The emphasis is not on the narrow and wide roads themselves, but upon where they lead. The narrow road leads to eternal life, which begins with the new birth and is consummated in Christ's everlasting kingdom. The broad road leads to “destruction,” a word used to describe not only the end of physical existence, but also a hopeless destiny of eternal death.

Bearing the right fruit

Jesus was a Galilean and grew up in the most fertile area of ancient Palestine. Fruit-producing vines, bushes and trees abounded. Naturally, he would draw upon agriculture for many of his parables and metaphors.

On his trips south to the Judean territory, he saw many shepherds who spent their lives caring for and protecting their sheep. Certain prophets were like “wolves in sheep's clothing.” They purposely tried to deceive by passing themselves off as true believers.

Several popular cults today teach their followers to use orthodox Christian terminology. Jesus implied that if we look closely, we will recognize they are producing the wrong fruit.

The buckthorn bush produced small, black berries which, from a distance, could be mistaken for grapes. In passing, flowers growing on certain thistles might appear as figs. Pretenders may deceive for a time, but inevitably they reveal their true colors. Jesus told his disciples he was sending them “as sheep” in the midst of wolves, and warned them to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

Expressing the right claim

Jesus turned here from the metaphorical (trees and their fruits) to reality–what will actually happen at the judgment. The title “Lord” during the early part of Jesus' ministry meant little more than “teacher” or “sir.” After his resurrection, however, the word was most often related to worshipping him by confessing his deity.

In addressing Jesus in this manner, these people were desperately trying to claim a connection with him that did not exist. His contention was that mere “lip service,” calling him “Lord,” would not gain a person entrance into his kingdom. Only those who do the will of the Father, which includes repentance and faith followed by works of righteousness that glorify God, will qualify.

These false followers claimed to have prophesied and cast out demons in Jesus' name. Jesus rejected their claim and added not only that they were evil doers, but that he had never known them. Satan is a master counterfeiter and psychologist and is capable of deluding people in remarkable ways.

Laying the right foundation

Jesus' analogy brought to the minds of his hearers the dry wadi beds that can flood quickly when the spring rains come. One man built his house on the flat, sandy bed, while the other man sought out a firm, rocky plateau. When the flash floods of the springtime came, the man who had built in the wadi bed discovered his house was quickly swept away as the swift waters eroded the sand. The same waters had no effect on the solid rock foundation of the house built by the wise builder. Perhaps Jesus had in mind Proverbs 10:25: “When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.”

Jesus' message is that true kingdom citizens are those who not only listen to his words, but dare to put them into practice. Those who give only mental assent to his words will not enter his kingdom. The good works they have done will have only glorified themselves and not Christ.

Question for discussion

What is the only acceptable basis for entering God's kingdom?

Posted: 9/19/03

Landmarks highlight church's destiny

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

WHITNEY–In 1942, the few remaining members of Fort Graham Baptist Church closed the doors and donated the building to a farmer who wanted to dismantle it and build a barn.

That day, one woman of the church broke down and wept near a tree, begging God to rebuild the congregation.

By 1992, the church had restarted and was growing. At a building ceremony near the same tree, that woman declared the expanding church an answer to her 50-year-old prayer.

More than 10 years later, Pastor Allan Lane warmly reflects on the meaning of landmarks around the church campus–the tree where the woman cried, the pristine white steeple, the centuries-old oak tree and the parking lot. Each has a story. Each is used for ministry.

The church facilities are an avenue for the church to meet people. Youth commonly play basketball and skateboard in the church's parking lot. Teenagers practice driving there. Families picnic in a field behind the church. Friends spend time together on a wooden deck under the large oak to the side of the church.

The facilities house 12 Sunday School classes and an after-school program for 100 students, including 40 teenagers. Three hundred students recently attended a football post-game event on the deck. The church witnessed 55 baptisms this year.

But ministry doesn't stop at the property line. The church has several groups that do door-to-door visitation. Five Bible study groups meet off-campus–two in homes, two in aging-care facilities and one in a recreational vehicle park.

Two past Bible studies grew into churches. The congregation also supports other new works in the area.

Lane helped form the Lake Whitney Ministerial Alliance, which distributes $150,000 in federal funds to people in need. The alliance started an assisted living facility and a hospice program.

The outreach is needed in the area, Lane noted during the Baptist General Convention of Texas-sponsored Evangelism Summit. A divide formed between the financially well-off around the lake and the impoverished residents further away from the body of water, he explained.

The Lake Whitney area is believed to have the highest number of methamphetamine labs per capita in Texas.

The church's location makes it ideal as a place for people of various economic levels to meet and discuss issues, Lane asserted. The congregation has unified differing factions of the area and found ways for them to work together to build community and strong families.

“This was a forsaken community, and there are forsaken communities all over this state,” Lane said, describing the condition of the area when the church started.

“Where there are places we say that are not safe for people, that's exactly where a church should be started. Churches ought to be offering a sense of hope, understanding and community.”

However, location without commitment to action leads nowhere. People considering joining the church are strongly encouraged to be involved in ministry.

“I articulate we are here to serve, not to be served,” said Lane, who is bivocational.

The church reassesses community needs every five years, considering demographic studies and discussions with churched and non-churched individuals about where ministry is needed.

“You have to overcome the initial inertia of not looking past yourself,” Lane said. “A church has got to be outward. You can't be thinking me, my focus.”

Posted: 9/19/03

Gaddy warns of sacrificing freedoms

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

OKLAHOMA CITY–Americans are scared, so fearful that they will trade freedom for security, according to a former Texas pastor who now leads the Interfaith Alliance. But truth-telling is the antidote for fear-mongering intolerance, Welton Gaddy asserted.

Gaddy, former pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, addressed a “Religious Freedom Celebration,” Sept. 11 in downtown Oklahoma City, sponsored by Associated Baptist Press.

Noting the attack on the Murrah Federal Building less than a half-mile from where the meeting was held, as well as the second anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Gaddy observed that Americans are gripped by fear.

“Fear transforms people's lives to the point where they are willing to give up freedom for security and sacrifice fundamental rights for a promise of safety,” said Gaddy, who also serves as pastor for preaching and worship at Northminster Baptist Church in Monroe, La.

And fear breeds intolerance, he added. “In an environment of fear, difference becomes a moral category. To be different is not to hold an alternative opinion or religion. To be different is to be wrong, to be considered a threat, even, some would say, the embodiment of evil.

“The presence of such a view of differences in a land of great diversity is a threat to democratic discourse, to interfaith cooperation and to the realization of a civil society.”

Religious bodies throughout the United States are divided by “hot button” issues such as homosexuality, the role of women and the institutional relationship between religion and government, Gaddy noted.

“These issues prove controversial and even divisive within themselves. However, when self-serving power grubbers grab these issues and wield them as wedges, tools for the advancement of their narrow agendas, these issues for discussion and debate become litmus tests for loyalty and orthodoxy that bring about separation, division and schism within one tradition after another,” he said.

In this environment, Americans must “work hard” to maintain the degree of religious freedom they have enjoyed in the past and to secure it for the future, Gaddy asserted.

“At the intersection of religion and politics, a sizable shotgun wedding has taken place between religion and politics–the politicization of religion and the religiofication of politics. … How that marriage fares will determine the shape of religious liberty in this nation in the future–if, indeed, religious liberty exists in the future.”

Noting that “when religious freedom is in trouble, both religion and freedom are in trouble,” Gaddy urged reporters of religion to tell the truth.

“Telling the truth is not easy. But the religious press must stay the course and continue the hard work of truth telling,” he said.

And telling the whole truth about religion is critical in a context where religion is at the heart of many top news stories, he added. “From politicians' manipulation of religion to promote partisan causes, to religionists' efforts to manipulate politics for sectarian gains, to terrorists' claims to be servants of the Almighty, to governmental leaders appeal to deity and morality to support their policies of war, religion is an unmistakable component of today's news.”

Gaddy urged news organizations to pay close attention to the role of religion throughout the 2004 elections.

“I hope political reporters and religion reporters across the nation will report on religion in the various campaigns with the same kind of scrutiny that will be devoted to economic policies and foreign affairs, citing not just how religious language is used by candidates, but exploring the meaning of what is said,” he asserted.

He also called on reporters to be sensitive to labels, particularly when it comes to attributing acts of terrorism to followers of a particular faith.

“Characteristically, terrorist acts by Muslims are attributed to Islamic fundamentalists, while similar acts by Christians are reported apart from any reference to religion,” Gaddy observed. “The atrocity perpetrated in this city was a terrorist act by a Christian fundamentalist that was anticipated and applauded by many in the Christian Identity movement.”

Posted: 9/19/03

Fort Worth church plants
a monument to Sept. 11 victims

By George Henson

Staff Writer

FORT WORTH–A partnership of prayer and patriotism produced a plethora of emotions at a service commemorating the lives of the 3,000 people who died Sept. 11, 2001.

The service held Sept. 10 at Hulen Street Baptist Church in Fort Worth was the product of the church's communications team.

Gary Morey, a member of that team, said work on the service began in early July. One of the chief goals of the service was to minister to church member Lynda Kelly, who lost a sister working at an insurance company on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Center's south tower.

A color guard prepares to march amid the field of memorial flags at Hulen Street Baptist Church.

“We wanted to make sure Lynda knew we hadn't forgotten and that the church knew we hadn't forgotten,” Morey said.

Last year, the church had a big, complex commemoration, explained Pastor Jim Pannell. But this year, members wanted something different.

“We felt probably less attention would be given to the anniversary this year, and if we could focus some attention on it, it would be our time and energy,” he said. “But also we wanted to do something not quite as elaborate or complex. We wanted something simple, because simple is often more profound.”

The communications team came up with the idea of placing 3,000 small flags on the church's north lawn in the shape of the two towers and the Pentagon.

“We wanted something visual,” Pannell said. “When you think 3,000, that's a number and so impersonal. But when you think each one of those flags represents a life, that's overwhelming.”

It was overwhelming for the team preparing for the event as well. They quickly discovered that placing the flags in the ground was emotional work, Morey said.

“We wanted to make sure that each flag was not just there, but straight, because each one represented a person. As the day went on, it began to heat up, some the glue didn't hold and the flags began to fall. We rushed out there to put tape on them or whatever needed to be done to keep them looking nice. We wanted each one to look just as grand as it could.

“We almost began to feel that we were caretakers for a cemetery, and it was up to us to preserve the dignity of the people those flags represented,” Morey continued.

A mother and daughter pray as they plant a memorial flag in the church lawn.

The service included patriotic music sung by the congregation, praise band and children, a brief word from Kelly and Pannell, a message from a chaplain at the Joint Reserve Base and a presentation of the flag by a local color guard. Everyone attending had a chance to fill in purposefully left gaps in the design by placing a flag with the name of a person who died in the attack.

Preparing those flags with names was an especially difficult task, Morey said. “We got those names off the Internet, and beside each person's name was a face. Looking into those people's faces made it difficult.”

In addition to the four people who actually placed the thousands of flags in the ground, another member stayed up the entire night before turning water on and then off and on again to soften the ground without making it a quagmire. Another member fashioned a cross from heavy gauge steel.

All that effort formed a visual impression Hulen Street members hope will not quickly fade.

“Things become memories and then forgotten so quickly in our society, we thought it important to do something to keep this day in our history from being shoved to the backs of people's minds as a distant memory,” Pannell said.

Posted: 9/19/03

IMB will require career candidates
to serve three-year apprenticeships

AUSTIN–All new candidates for long-term missionary service with the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board will be required to complete a three-year apprenticeship before achieving career or associate status.

The new policy was enacted by IMB trustees during a Sept. 8-10 meeting in Austin.

Tom Hatley, chairman of the IMB mission personnel committee, told trustees research shows that missionaries who serve short-term overseas assignments before serving as career missionaries suffer fewer transition problems, become effective more quickly and serve longer than workers without previous experience.

Trustees learned the budget that will be recommended for 2004 will reflect a $20 million reduction from the current budget.

The change will not affect personnel currently serving in the board's short-term programs or candidates already in the approval process, Hatley said.

Trustees also learned the budget that will be recommended for 2004 will reflect a $20 million reduction from the current budget.

Half that reduction reflects a lowered income projection, while the other half represents $10 million in capital expenditures that will not be made until the operating budget is met, said John Hatch, chairman of the trustees' finance committee.

The proposed budget would reduce missionary operating budgets by 7 percent and plans no salary increases for missionary personnel or stateside employees.

The budget assumes Southern Baptists will reach the $133 million goal for this year's Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions. That goal is 15 percent larger than last year's goal, which was not met and contributed to a financial crisis that forced staff layoffs and a reduction in missionary appointments.

IMB President Jerry Rankin discussed with trustees concerns that “church-planting movements” implemented by missionaries may not accurately be described as Baptist.

“That is a valid question, and the answer is shaded by one's perception,” Rankin said. “Are they Baptist in terms of their strict adherence to the pattern and teaching of the New Testament? Probably so. Are they Baptist in terms of replicating the traditions and forms of what we know as Baptist in America? Not necessarily. Are they identified as 'Baptist' churches? Not always.”

Southern Baptist workers and their overseas partners reported 8,369 churches organized in 2002. Nearly 3,535 of them were started in one church-planting movement in Asia.

Because those churches are autonomous, missionaries do not control what those churches will believe and practice, Rankin said. And in some places, denominational labels are illegal or may cause persecution, he added.

IMB missionaries use the Southern Baptist Convention's 2000 Baptist Faith & Message statement to explain who Southern Baptists are and what they believe, Rankin said. Sometimes churches even adopt the Baptist Faith & Message as their own faith statement, he added.

“The main issue is to understand the nature and the power of the gospel,” Rankin said. “Many have identified a church-planting movement as a movement that is out of control as churches plant churches. Is that not what we want to happen?”

Posted: 9/19/03

Woodland members Warren Blanchard, Kay Nolan and Martha Morse join in a class discussion.

Laity Institute classes 'go deep' at local churches

By Craig Bird

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio is as sports-minded as the next congregation. But when folks there talk about “going deep,” it may not have anything to do with football, or even fishing.

It could have everything to do with Woodland's enthusiastic involvement with the Texas Baptist Laity Institute. In that case, digging has to do with mining the riches of Scripture, delving into Baptist history, mastering methods of ministry or understanding the complexities of other religions.

Woodland Baptist Church member Mary Johns (above) participates in a Texas Baptist Laity Institute class held at her church.

Certified mentors/instructors lead small-group studies in college- and seminary-level courses. Students commit to 12 two-hour class meetings. They also pay $100 per course and purchase required textbooks.

“Many long-time Christians have been around the block so many times–same songs, same sermons, same Sunday School lessons–they may have lost some of the excitement,” Pastor Jud Edwards said. “Those who take these classes will learn new things that will excite them and renew their commitment.”

Ann Bell, former associate pastor at Woodland, suggested that the church consider the program, believing it would be a good fit for the 500-member congregation. But she and Edwards both were surprised at the strength of the positive response.

Bell, who now serves as a pastoral resident at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, contacted about 20 Woodland members who are seminary-trained, hoping two or three would be interested in undergoing the required Laity Institute training to become mentors.

Instead, she got nine “I'd love to” responses, and eight were certified. One withdrew for health reasons.

“That overwhelming response points to a perceived need to bridge the gap between theological education in our seminaries and local churches,” she said.

Last March, four mentors team-taught a free, four-week sample class on “Baptist Faith and Distinctives.”

Regular classes started with “Introduction to the New Testament,” and now Woodland has two classes meeting–a second New Testament survey in addition to an introduction to the Old Testament. Future classes are planned in pastoral care for lay ministry, introduction to Christian ethics, introduction to theology and church history.

Any church member can benefit from scholarly, in-depth study through Texas Baptist Laity Institute, Bell stressed, but there are direct benefits for deacons, Sunday School teachers and other ministry volunteers.

As they apply their new knowledge and understanding, “Woodland's entire congregation will become more aware of Christian history, theology and Scripture and thus become more committed, practicing their faith with renewed energy and passion,” she said.

Martha Morse, a medical doctor who grew up in Colombia where her parents were Southern Baptist missionaries, was pleasantly surprised by the almost immediate impact the New Testament class had on her spiritual walk.

“Sermons and Bible studies and personal devotions now have a deeper, more connected meaning when I bring the additional understanding to the experience,” she explained. She thinks everyone would benefit but warns, “People may have their faith threatened if it is dependent on pre-conceived notions and not a relationship with the Lord.”

Woodland Baptist Church member Mary Johns (above) participates in a Texas Baptist Laity Institute class held at her church. At left, Woodland members Warren Blanchard, Kay Nolan and Martha Morse join in a class discussion. The relatively new Baptist General Convention of Texas model takes intensive studies of the Scriptures to local congregations.

Posted: 9/19/03

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Poor strategy

The Baptist General Convention of Texas' decision to conduit funds so fired/resigned International Mission Board personnel can continue in their former places of service has a pleasant ring to traditional Southern Baptists.

But it is poor missions strategy.

E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

In its early days, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was swamped with inquiries from missionaries about switching their appointment to CBF. Our early missions leaders (Keith Parks and Harlan Spurgeon) wisely counseled those under FMB appointment they would need to resign from their current appointment, apply to the Fellowship and importantly, if appointed, they would not serve where they had previously. Parks and Spurgeon made wise decisions then. They are wise practices for the BGCT now. The great risk is exporting the Southern Baptist Convention mess to areas of the world where the Baptist witness is fragile at best. It breeds local confusion and prolongs turmoil.

Traditional Southern Baptists long for days that are gone and will never return. The proactive way to face the future is to simply face the future. There are more than 2 billion who have yet to hear the name of Jesus.

The wise counsel for fired/resigned IMB personnel is to pray the good work they started will carry on. Trust it to those who chose to remain. Live in confidence that God is opening new doors to share the gospel. Continue their God-given call but in a fresh setting among those who have yet to hear. And pray God prospers groups that facilitate the holy calling to missions service.

Harold A. Phillips

Liberty, Mo.

Dispensationalism & peace

One member of our extended family purchased a home and for religious reasons installed a second dishwasher. It seems that just keeping two sets of dishes (one to be used for foods containing meat and another for those with milk) is not enough; the dishes also must be washed separately.

To most of us, this seems like a rather ridiculous practice, especially since it is apparently based very loosely on just a single verse in the Bible, Exodus 23:19, which states, “Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.”

Was this sort of strained interpretation part of what Jesus was warning his disciples against when he told them to be on their guard against “the yeast of the Pharisees”?

Much of what is known as dispensational theology looks suspiciously like the product of similar human speculations except that its Talmud is called the Scofield Reference Bible.

Until recently, I had regarded most of those speculations as a sort of harmless hobby; however, it is becoming evident that some on the Far Right are needlessly complicating the Middle East peace process with their beliefs. They may even outdo the Israelis themselves in arguing that the Palestinians have no rights whatsoever to any part of Palestine.

I beseech thee therefore, brethren, to read through the whole Bible at least once without using the dispensational spectacles and consider whether some other conclusions about Israel's place in the plan of God might possibly be correct.

James O. Morse

McGregor

Proud of fundamentalism

I have been a fundamentalist for 53 years and proud of it. My fundamentalism is defined by a dear friend, Herschel Hobbs, as set forth in his book, “The Fundamentals of Our Faith,” which I have taught in Bible classes in a very respected university and Bible institute.

I also agree with a well-respected author, Leon Morris, who states fundamentalism is a wonderful, God-honoring position, and it is not, as he states, “bibliolatry,” as some would have us to believe.

May God help us to be this type of fundamentalist and respect the Bible as the “fundamentals of our faith.”

R.T. Ware

El Paso

Separation of church & state

Judge Roy Moore in essence says he has the right to place any monument he wants in the courthouse. If Moore were a Buddhist, almost every American would say placing a statue of Buddha in a courthouse would be illegal.

Moore broke the law by openly defying a court order from a higher court. In America, what is illegal for one is illegal for all.

I wonder how many lost souls have been attracted to Christianity by these recent events? I suspect more are repulsed than are attracted by these demonstrations and rhetoric. Rather than unthinkingly following a pied piper, we should rejoin our Baptist forefathers who had the foresight to insist on separation of church and state.

Charles McFatter

Semmes, Ala.

Pick & choose

I cannot comprehend the ongoing controversy concerning the removal of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama courthouse when the majority of Christians totally ignore the fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

Can we pick and choose any one to disregard?

Consider Deuteronomy 12:32: “See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.”

Ted K. Bailey

Carrollton

Single parents

Running short of copy at the Baptist Standard? In finding it for the most part informative of Texas Baptists and the progress made to counter otherwise overbearing conservatives, I happened upon “Seven in 10 U.S. children still live with two parents” (Sept. 8). This is information I really need to know as a Baptist?

Really! What does that say to the otherwise forgotten three children who don't live in a two-parent environment and to single parents? They don't fit the mold as the traditional Baptist family unit?

Try to convince my two children we are not a family. Come on guys, you are beginning to teeter into the land of the apocalypse.

As a single mother of two who has contributed greatly to singles and Texas Baptists steering away from this mindset, I view this as a non-eventful article for a broad-based informational tool of Texas Baptists. Next time you need an additional article, I'd be glad to contribute by telling the challenges that “singles” face with rearing our children alone, juggling between job and a Christian family lifestyle, overcoming the affirmation that married adults are overall more wholesome than single adults. In many cases, I think not.

I'd go a step further to comment on the success of having met those challenges, the inspiration that children contribute to the single parent in their faith walk and how those children encourage and motivate us to capacities that we didn't know were present when suffocated by a non-contributing marital partner.

Sandra Magee Womack

Pasadena

God's 'glory'

John Piper and those who follow him would do well to study the biblical meaning of God's “glory,” as well as the dictionary definition (Sept. 8).

Exodus and 2 Corinthians give the clearest explanation. Note these verses:

“Moses said to God, 'Show me your glory, I pray'” (Exodus 33:18). “God answered, 'You cannot see my face; … while my glory passes by … I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen'” (Exodus 33:20, 22-23).

Here, God directly equates his glory with his face, the revelation of his true nature.

In 2 Corinthians 4:6, we have the same identification: “It is God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

We bring glory to God by helping people see what God is like, by introducing them to Jesus Christ. God wants no other glory.

Velma Stevens

Fort Worth

Word of God

Which Bible is the true word of God?

We have hundreds of “new,” “revised” and “improved” versions to choose from.

Now, the Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay Christian Resources has come up with another version, the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

I care not what Bible other Baptists may choose, but as for me, I will continue to use my old King James Version.

I am convinced it is God's preserved word. …

Also, the Ten Commandments are God's word, and he expects us to obey them.

We were told in John 14:15: “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Like Ted Koppel said, “They are the Ten Commandments, not the Ten Suggestions.”

If our U.S. Supreme Court outlaws the Ten Commandments and the Holy Bible, this nation will be in danger of God's judgment.

We were warned in Psalm 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

Elsie Graham

Olmito

What do you think? Submit letters for Texas Baptist Forum to marvknox@baptiststandard.com or Box 660267, Dallas 75266-0267.

Posted: 9/19/03

LifeWay anticipates
$14 million surplus for fiscal year

GLORIETA, N.M. (BP)–LifeWay Christian Resources should record a $14 million surplus of income over expenses for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, trustees were told at their fall meeting.

The Southern Baptist Convention publisher expects to post 2003 revenues of nearly $421 million, $6.3 million more than last year.

“LifeWay has demonstrated good stability in a weak economy,” Chief Operating Officer Ted Warren told trustees during their semi-annual meeting at LifeWay's conference center at Glorieta, N.M. He credited the introduction of new books, Bibles and literature, sound operations and tight expense control for LifeWay's success.

Funds provided from operations–money for reinvestment in ministry expansion after all expenses are paid–should be $14 million, or 3.3 percent of revenue, Warren said.

Trustees adopted a record 2004 operating budget of $445.4 million, a 5.8 percent increase over projected 2003 revenues, along with capital expenditures of $14.7 million.

In other reports, trustees learned:

More than 20,000 churches used LifeWay's “Great Kingdom Caper” resources for Vacation Bible School this summer.

The LifeWay Christian Stores division completed 12 store openings or acquisitions in the last year, bringing the total number of stores to 119. No new stores are planned for 2004.

LifeWay Christian Stores plans to launch a “Christian Classics” section featuring more than 100 titles “every Christian should read.”

The complete Bible in the Holman Christian Standard translation will be available for purchase by next spring. LifeWay's translation may be viewed in its entirety now on www.lifeway.com in the online Bible reference library.

Some of Broadman & Holman's top-selling products in 2003 included “Faith in God and Generals,” a Civil War book that complemented a major motion picture; “Praying God's Word” by Beth Moore; a revised edition of “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby and Claude King; and “Brothers, We are Not Professionals,” by John Piper.

The corporate affairs division is leading a companywide initiative to “connect seminary students to LifeWay for life.”

At Glorieta, Holcomb Auditorium and classrooms have been remodeled, along with the Chuck Wagon and Holy Grounds Cafe, Chaparral Hall and the Texas Main A & B hotels. The lake also has been improved and stocked with fish for catch-and-release sport fishing. LifeWay is studying the feasibility of an 18-hole golf course at Glorieta.

LifeWay International is establishing a presence in key “economically viable and financially self-sustaining” global markets. The strongest of these, administrators reported, currently are for Spanish products in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, Spain and Mexico. English products were reported to be strong in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa.

Posted: 9/19/03

Volunteers needed in Lubbock

Texas Baptist Men Builders completed more than half the work on a new residential facility for My Father's House in Lubbock, but additional volunteers are needed to finish the massive construction project, according to Shirley Madden, executive director of the ministry.

Volunteers from each of the Texas Baptist Men Builders groups–crews that specialize in building churches, encampment facilities, furniture or cabinets–teamed up to spend three months on the Living and Learning Center project.

My Father's House of Lubbock currently is located at Iglesia Bautista Templo, where it offers Christian Women's Job Corps training, teaching job skills and life skills to women in need. Texas Baptists help support Christian Women's Job Corps, a ministry originated and sponsored by Woman's Missionary Union, through gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions.

The Living and Learning Center–being built on 4.3 donated acres near Lubbock's Lowrey Field–will add a residential component to Christian Women's Job Corps. 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.

Recently, students in the Lubbock Independent School District's building trades classes started working on the project, and some local church groups and individuals also have volunteered. But many more volunteer builders and "prayer warriors" are needed, Madden said.

Volunteers with any experience in drywall hanging, taping and bedding, bricklaying, landscape sprinkler system installation, painting, tile setting, carpet laying or exterior siding installation are needed.

The ministry also needs financial assistance and donated supplies such as carpet, tile and paint, Madden added. In time, the center will need equipment for its kitchen, laundry and daycare center.

“We also are praying for a missionary couple to come and live free in the center and be our on-site grandparents, to serve as godly role models for our women,” Madden said.

Contact (806) 799-0990 or srmadde@attg.net.

Posted: 9/19/03

BGCT-supported pastor in Moldova
offers only evangelical presence

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Romeo Gindea serves as pastor of the only evangelical church in his town. In fact, it's the only evangelical presence in a region of seven cities.

Gindea lives in the small town of Suruceni in the Eastern European nation of Moldova. He set out to establish an evangelical presence in the town after graduating from the Technical University of Chisinau in 1999.

He serves as an indigenous missionary of the European Baptist Federation. The Baptist General Convention of Texas Partnerships Resource Center helps support 13 such ministers through its partnership with the federation.

Upon arriving in Suruceni, Gindea and his wife, Antonina, met two evangelical Christians and their children and began building a congregation. The small group holds Wednesday Bible studies and Sunday worship and prayer services in his home.

Soon after Gindea arrived, he and the other believers determined to show a movie about the life story of Jesus twice in two days. They were encouraged when a group of youth watched the video intently the first night.

But their hopes were dashed when the mayor and an Orthodox priest prohibited the presentation.

“After a short analysis, we have seen that many youth and children were interested in that movie,” Gindea wrote. “As a conclusion, the people and the oldest part of the village are against the gospel. They consider themselves very religious people and proud. It is hard to work with such people.

“Nevertheless I do believe in this village are many people in which God will change their minds and hearts.”

Down but not defeated, the group pushed onward. The church uses Christian holidays and birthdays as avenues to invite people to their group to hear the gospel. During the Christmas season, church members sing carols announcing Jesus' birth throughout the city.

Still, people were hesitant to enter the church, Gindea said.

“People are very reserved. They hardly respond to our invitations,” he explained. “Some of them kept coming for a while and then quit. Why they stopped, we don't know. Maybe because the age difference. I am young, and they are much older than me.”

Then the congregation made a concerted effort to reach the children who appear more open to the gospel. The church helped several youth attend Christian camps, and other children want to go to a camp. The church would like to hold an event for local youth.

The pastor also works as a part-time computer science teacher to help him meet more children and parents in the town of 3,000.

Now, the church is growing. Six adult believers and several teenagers are regulars at the church. People are becoming more comfortable with visiting the church.

“Our vision is through evangelism to make more groups of fellowship and Bible studies,” Gindea reported. “Later, we will get all those groups together, and we will pray that the final of all this will be a little living church of Jesus Christ.”

Posted: 9/19/03

Officials must testify in Navy chaplains' suit

WASHINGTON (RNS)–A U.S. district court judge has ruled that members and staffers of the U.S. Navy's chaplain selection boards must give testimony in lawsuits charging the military service with religious discrimination.

The opinion by Judge Ricardo Urbina of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejects the Navy's defense that the boards' proceedings should be kept private. Plaintiffs in two cases, including one that is a class-action suit, sought the testimony, saying it was relevant.

In both cases, current and former Navy chaplains have sued the Navy, alleging it favors liturgical Christians over non-liturgical Christians when promoting its chaplains.

“Without addressing the merits of the plaintiffs' claims, the court concludes that the plaintiffs have provided an adequate factual basis for their belief that the requested testimony will provide evidence of government misconduct,” Urbina wrote.

“The various reports and statistics cited by the plaintiffs are adequate at this stage to support a belief that the Navy engaged in discrimination against non-liturgical chaplains.”

Posted: 9/19/03

On the move

Frank Baker to Proctor Church in Proctor as minister of youth.

Tommy Billings to Guadalupe Association as executive director.

David Boncler to Vista Grande Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., as youth pastor from Parkside Church in Denison.

John Boubel to Rolling Oaks Church in San Antonio as pastor from Mayfield Park Church in San Antonio.

Bob Brooks to Dallas Baptist University as chairman of the music department and associate dean of Fine Arts from Wilshire Church in Dallas, where he was minister of music.

Joseph Cano to Coulter Road Church in Amarillo as associate pastor of student ministries.

Joe DeLeon to First Church in Jasper, Ind., as minister of youth/children from Primera Iglesia in Arlington, where he was associate pastor for youth/praise and worship.

David Dinkins to Highlands Church in LaMarque as pastor.

Adam Espurvoa to Iglesia Emanuel in Bastrop as pastor.

John Garcia to Iglesia Cristo El Rey in Robstown as pastor.

Bob Joyce to Shady Shores Church in Shady Shores as pastor.

Jess Little to First Church in Claude as pastor.

Dick Maples has completed an interim at First Church in El Paso and been named pastor emeritus for serving the church both as pastor and interim.

Ezy Martinez to Central Church in Luling as children's ministry intern.

John Noblett has resigned as youth pastor at Sadler Church in Sadler.

Kenneth Noles has resigned as minister of music and youth at Calvary Hills Church in San Antonio.

Ben Ondrak to Second Church in Lubbock as associate pastor for student ministries from First Church in Dothan, Ala.

Jearl Petree has resigned as pastor of Baptist Temple Church in San Benito.

Larry Phenneger to Trinity Church in Royse City as pastor from Twin Cities Church in Sherman, where he was youth/music minister.

Grover Pinson to Anchor Fellowship in Ingleside as pastor.

Debbie Potter to Trinity Church in San Antonio as minister to children.

Richard Rush to First Church in El Paso as senior pastor from First Church in O'Donnell.

Liz Sanders has resigned as minister to preschool at First Church in Waco.

Kevin Stacy has resigned as interim minister of music at First Church in Cameron.

Tommy Stogner to Oakville Church in Oakville as pastor.

David Tatum to Coulter Road Church in Amarillo as associate pastor of music.

Bob Wimberly to New Baden Church in New Baden as interim pastor.