warren_rick_82503

Posted 8/13/03

Rick Warren sees his role as Bible
'translator' for 21st century people

By Ted Parks

Religion News Service

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (RNS)–Before his junior year in high school, Rick Warren knelt in a cabin at summer camp. “God, if you're really alive, I want to know you,” he prayed. The response? Nothing he could hear or see. “No thunder, lightning,” Warren said. But it didn't deter him.

Three decades later, Warren writes non-fiction best-sellers and leads one of the largest evangelical congregations in America. His “The Purpose-Driven Life” has hovered on the New York Times hardcover advice best-seller list for more than 25 weeks. The Saddleback Church near Los Angeles where he is pastor shot from seven at its founding in 1980 to more than 17,000 who currently crowd into six weekend services. He has been a guest in the George W. Bush White House.

Rick Warren with his wife, Kay.

The secret of his preaching and publishing success? Warren sees himself as a communicator, as someone able to transmit the mysteries of the faith to ordinary 21st-century people.

“I am in essence a translator,” Warren said in a recent interview at Saddleback. “I love to challenge myself to teach theology to non-theological people, without telling them it's theology and without using theological terms.”

Those who hear and read Warren believe he makes his message not only clear but relevant.

Warren is “understandable to people,” said Paul Wilkes, author and program director for Pastoral Summit, a North Carolina-based organization dedicated to strengthening individual churches. “There's a hunger in people's hearts he … has an insight into.” He “really hits people where they live.”

“I think he is one of the best teachers in the world,” said Matt Moser, a church worker from Zurich, Switzerland, who was among the thousands of pastors and church leaders at a recent “Purpose-Driven Church” conference at Saddleback. Moser especially appreciated Warren's ability to connect with nonbelievers.

There's preaching in Warren's blood. One ancestor studied under the great 19th century English evangelist Charles Spurgeon and came to America as a circuit-riding preacher, he said. And Warren's father was a minister. But the mega-church pastor made clear he never intended to follow in the steps of his preaching forbears.

Growing up in small-town Redwood Valley, Calif., Warren liked the challenges and opportunities of leadership, serving as class president several years. His keenest interests were politics and government. While a sophomore in high school, Warren won an appointment to serve as a page in the U.S. Senate.

The summer before he was scheduled to go to Washington, Warren took a job as lifeguard at a Christian camp. Observing lives of faith he sincerely wanted to imitate, Warren said, he decided to have a talk with God. And despite the lack of proof anyone was listening, the future pastor's life began to change. No longer interested in politics, he turned down the chance to work in Washington.

Warren started a Christian prayer group at school, then started getting invitations to speak in churches. He sidestepped, not marched, into ministry. “I just kind of veered in that direction,” he said.

After graduating from California Baptist College, Warren left for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. While in Texas, Warren wrote the country's 100 largest churches to find out what made them grow. He decided a key factor in developing healthy churches is continuity of leadership.

The conclusions of his research mirrored his own longing. If he could only stay wherever he went, Warren promised, “God, I'll go any place in the world.”

And although he and his wife, Kaye, wanted to go overseas, they felt the divine answer was no. Spending their last $1,000 on a U-Haul trailer, the couple headed back to California, hosting the home Bible study in January 1980 that eventually would mushroom into Saddleback Church.

Besides shepherding his own flock, the Saddleback leader reaches out to other ministers. On his “Pastors.com” website, Warren offers an e-mail newsletter, “Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox.” His e-mail ministry tips reach 83,000 church leaders weekly.

In the second half of the 1990s, Warren took on the IRS when he saw a chance to impact the lives of his fellow pastors across the country. Like many other clergy, Warren had claimed a housing deduction under a parsonage allowance that gives ministers a tax break on their homes. After auditing several of the pastor's returns, the IRS assessed Warren's home at what he insists was well below its actual value, ruling that he had excluded too much money from his taxable income.

Believing the tax law unclear and that he was not the only one to suffer from its vagueness, Warren mounted legal challenges and won. Later, when the government appealed, the appeals court challenged the constitutionality of the parsonage allowance itself. But after President Bush signed the Clergy Housing Allowance Clarification Act into law in May 2002, the appeal was dismissed.

For Warren, the fight wasn't about money. “I'm going to take this to court on behalf of every pastor in America,” he said. “I was doing this for the other people.”

Even with the national prominence, the Saddleback pastor insists his love is the local church and his goal is not fame, but positive spiritual influence.

“I'm still dealing with the day-to-day things that pastors go through,” Warren said. “I'm not a bureaucrat … I'm a spiritual entrepreneur.”




mcgill_protest_82503

Posted 8/13/03

Operation Rescue protester disrupts worship service

By Steve DeVane

N.C. Biblical Recorder

CONCORD, N.C.–A protester was arrested at McGill Baptist Church in Concord, N.C., July 13 after he stood up at the end of a worship service and started shouting.

McGill was expelled from Cabarrus Association in April for baptizing two gay men.

The protester, Steven Borchert of Lafayette, Ind., was at the church with a several other people from “Operation Rescue – Operation Save America.” The group opposes homosexuality, abortion and Islam, according to its website.

The group, which moved its headquarters to Concord this year, held a series of protests and other events in the Charlotte area July 12-20.

Borchert was charged with first-degree trespassing and resisting, obstructing or delaying a law enforcement officer. He served four days in jail, officials said.

Officials with Operation Rescue could not be reached for comment, but the group's director, Flip Benham, said what Borchert did was inappropriate, according to the Independent-Tribune, a newspaper that covers Concord and Kannapolis.

“We did the right thing, but there we did it in the wrong way,” he said. “It is our responsibility, and we need to own that sin.

Steve Ayers, McGill's pastor, said church members considered going to visit Borchert in jail but were told by authorities that he was so agitated their visit likely would make the situation worse.

At the conclusion of the church's 8:45 a.m. worship service, Borchert stood up and shouted repeatedly: “This is a den of iniquity. This is an abomination before the Lord.”

He was among a dozen members of the protest group in the service that morning. Another 25 protesters were stationed outside the church building.




cartoon_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

"Let's try that new church down the street," you said. "What harm can come from that?"

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




ex_gay_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

Ex-gay warns of winning argument, losing neighbor

By Hannah Lodwick

Associated Baptist Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP)–Sy Rogers, an author and speaker who lived as a woman for 18 months, has apologized to Exodus International delegates and members of the homosexual community for “a church that would rather win an argument than a neighbor.”

“Jesus didn't rail against the Romans. He railed against those who loved the law,” Rogers said. “You who are far from God can be reconnected to him through Christ. Whatever you think of us is OK, (but) he wants you to know him as a father.”

Rogers provided the evening's keynote address for about 1,000 “ex-gays” and their pastors, counselors and family members who convened in Orlando, Fla., this summer for the largest conference of its kind in the world.

Now in its 28th year, the Exodus conference provides a week of workshops, worship and testimony for homosexuals who have rejected the homosexual lifestyle. The sometimes-controversial organization has more than 135 affiliated ministries in 17 countries.

Now married and a father, Rogers says he was sexually violated as a child and spent years living as a homosexual. As recounted in “One of the Boys: The Sy Rogers Story,” he took hormone replacements in preparation for a sex change but decided against the operation at the last minute.

In his speech, Rogers said it didn't matter if critics attended the conference to spy or scoff; many Exodus participants started out that way too. Protestors from gay support groups have picketed conferences and disrupted performances in years past.

“We are not your enemies,” Rogers said to any critics in the audience. “We understand that you may not understand. Our message to you is not about change. That's putting the cart before the horse. This isn't self-improvement. This is about establishing the lordship of Christ in your life.”

Rogers also addressed parents of homosexuals and people who still struggle with homosexuality. He offered encouragement from the sexual struggles of Rahab, David and Samson. The issue of sin for those biblical characters, he said, proved no threat to a God who provides redemption.

“God has a history of sexual stuff,” Rogers said. “So, if this is new to you, have hope in God for whom this is not.”

Rogers urged individuals who struggle with feelings of shame and guilt about homosexual urges to take hope. Like diabetics who need a doctor to provide insulin, he said, they could get righteousness only from “Dr. Jesus.”

That change would prove a struggle, he warned.

“While I felt dirty, he made me feel clean again and again,” he said to thunderous applause. “But it wasn't magic deliverance, to be sure. Not 'one, two, three; now you're free.'”

But some people bristle at the implication homosexuals need “deliverance” at all.

Laura Montgomery Rutt, director of communications for Soulforce, said even using the term “homosexual lifestyle” misrepresents homosexuals.

“It's not living a lifestyle,” she said. “I have a gay brother, and he goes to work every morning just like I do. It (homosexuality) is morally equivalent to being left-handed.”

Soulforce's mission statement says it is “an interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.” The group frequently pickets Southern Baptist Convention meetings.

Soulforce leaders say the problem with Exodus is its approach.

“The problem lies in expecting other people to follow the same path,” Montgomery Rutt said. “It is not a valid path for everyone. Many people have struggled in ex-gay ministries.”

Rogers apparently has heard that argument before. “Whatever skepticism you may have, I understand,” he told the Orlando audience. “But as things change, the impossible becomes the possible.”

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




exodus_inter_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

Exodus International's convention
touts 'freedom' from homosexuality

By Hannah Lodwick

Associated Baptist Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP)–A panel consisting of a mental-health counselor, a former lesbian now mother of three and three men who consider themselves “ex-gays” held a press conference this summer to promote “freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ.”

The press conference was part of the annual meeting of Exodus International, a Christian group that says reorientation of same-sex attraction is possible based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The group says homosexuals can learn to resist same-sex temptation and find their identity in Jesus rather than in homosexuality.

Critics of the movement say it uses misinformation to make people think they have a problem when they don't.

About 1,000 participants spent five days in Orlando, Fla., attending workshops, worshipping and listening to speeches. Topics included same-sex attraction, family support, transsexual issues and ministering to homosexuals.

Exodus proponents say working through underlying relational and abuse problems plays a large part in the process of change.

“Christ offers a healing alternative to those with homosexual tendencies,” the Exodus mission statement says. “The individual is freed to know and experience true identity as discovered in Christ and his church.”

The panel also spoke about the changing role of Exodus, a 28-year-old interdenominational non-profit organization, which now wants to teach the larger church how to minister to homosexuals.

“For many years, Exodus has been an organization working with the individual,” said former homosexual Alan Chambers, executive director of Exodus International of North America. “We believe in this day and age it is important to educate the church. Our desire is to be within the body of Christ to take the lack of information and present research and studies … to equip an army of believers.”

Fueled by events like the recent Supreme Court decision to overthrow anti-sodomy laws, the debate about the role of homosexuals in the church has become increasingly volatile. Groups like Exodus say they can help bring unity to the church.

Joe Dallas, an ex-homosexual and author of “Desires in Conflict,” said the sodomy ruling and recent legalization of homosexual marriage in Canada represent cultural changes that call for response.

“When a culture experiences a change, millions of people look to their spiritual leaders to see whether the change should be celebrated or a cause of concern,” Dallas said. “We are helping to call the church to a balance … that involves compassion and conviction in equal force.”

While secular homosexual groups regularly and publicly oppose Exodus, it faces criticism within Christian circles as well.

One primary area of disagreement involves what Steven Baines, a homosexual Christian activist, calls “debunked” psychological evidence. Baines said ex-homosexual ministries like Exodus destroy homosexuals' belief that God made them as a special part of his creation. Instead, Baines said, Exodus uses misinformation that makes people think they have a problem. Rather than finding freedom, Baines said, the guilt Exodus produces leads people to depression and suicide.

“It's shaming for people,” said Baines, who now works for People for the American Way. “People read the Scriptures and they pray, and they read and they pray, and they think they are damned if they don't change.”

Baines grew up a Southern Baptist and even served on staff at First Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C. He now attends a Disciples of Christ church in Washington, D.C.

“We need to take seriously that these people (Exodus participants) are repressing their sexuality,” Baines said. “They have no long-term empirical evidence that they sustain a heterosexual life in the long term.”

Exodus leaders acknowledge they commonly are accused of homophobia and homosexual-hatred, but they insist they promote freedom and love. They classify homosexuality with other “sexual sins,” which they say can become a thing of the past.

And, they say, the issue of homosexuality is too big for Christians to ignore.

“The church finally had to come together and take a stand on the issue, promoting not what we're against, but what we're for,” Chambers said. “We have a great opportunity to proclaim what we're for–God's freedom.”

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




explore8_17_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Aug. 17

The body's most powerful muscle–the tongue

James 3:1-12, 17-18

By Jim Perkins

Madison Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio

We need to change the words to the old saying we repeated as a child: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words always will have the power to hurt me (and every person).”

Consider your accountability

James began chapter 3 of his letter with a statement based on truth and served as a warning: Christians teaching the great truths of the word of God will be held to a high degree of accountability for their teaching. Perhaps that accountability was due not only to the vital importance of the subject material, but also because of the widened sphere of influence of the teacher. In verse 1, James evidently included himself as one of these teachers held accountable (“we who teach”); he did not, however, recommend that anyone should pursue that responsibility.

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Let us be careful not to misinterpret James at this point. Every believer is responsible for what he or she says, as James strove to explain in the remaining portion of chapter 3, and especially in verse 2: “We all stumble in many ways.” Because of that, fidelity to the Lord and personal responsibility for every word spoken was a theme highlighted in every chapter of his letter (read 1:26; 2:12; 3:1-12; 4:11-12; 5:9, 12).

Take control

According to 3:2, any individual who consistently controls the tongue gives evidence of an admirable spiritual maturity. That maturity, in turn, equips one for the challenges and opportunities of life.

That this control of the tongue is both extremely vital and extraordinarily difficult was the focus for James in the three illustrations he included in verses 3 through 8. Specifically, three small and what might appear to be somewhat powerless elements (a bit, rudder and small spark) are capable of exerting tremendous influence over diverse situations and the lives of others. A one- pound bit can control a thousand pound horse, a large ship driven by powerful winds can be controlled by a small rudder and a tiny spark can start a ravaging forest fire. So also is the tongue a “small part of the body,” yet it is capable when steered by evil of firing up a “world of evil among the parts of the body (the individual and the church body)” (3:5, 6).

The effort to control the tongue and invest its energies in that which is positive and edifying might be difficult, but it is possible. Remember, the same Holy Spirit who brings “love, joy and peace” also produces the fruit of “gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23)–a control that can guide the tongue in proper speech.

Seek consistency

James included an appropriate example in 3:9-12 of a problem in the churches that illustrated the challenge facing his fellow believers as they sought to control their tongues. We all (both then and now) tend to be people who participate in a worship rich in praise to God yet impoverished by its paucity of encouragement for fellow believers. Notice how James chose to illustrate the duplicity characteristic of their (and our) worship and lives–they praised God out of one corner of their mouths and cursed those made in his image (Genesis 1:26) from the other corner of their mouths.

Our consistency in speech should mirror that which we find characteristic of God's creation: The spring brings forth fresh and not salty water, and the tree and vine bring forth fruit consistent with their kind and appropriate to the season (3:11-12). As it is easy to grasp the logical necessity of this, so it must be apparent to us that speaking well of God must be accompanied by speaking well of and edifying his people.

Be careful

To bring this section to an appropriate conclusion, James mentioned two kinds of “wisdom” in 3:13-18. In so doing, the author provided his readers, and us, with yet another practical application of his teaching concerning self-control and wise use of the tongue.

The believer who desires to display the life and mind of Christ in his or her person will recognize that the first kind of “wisdom,” mentioned in verses 14-16, actually is a display of the attitudes and actions of the world separated from God. This wisdom is characterized by “bitter envy and selfish ambition” that divides and destroys the church, promoting “disorder and every evil practice” (3:14, 16). These attitudes and actions speak in the worst way of that which is “earthly, unspiritual, of the devil” (3:15), and probably could be thought of as giving rise to the “cursing” of verse 10.

The wisdom God gives, as might be expected, produces the exact opposite attributes in his people. Where there would have been strife and envy, now life is characterized by the outflow of those attitudes and actions that are “pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere,” resulting in a “harvest of righteousness” (3:17-18).

Questions for discussion

bluebull What is the greatest challenge you face in “controlling the tongue”? What about your church?

bluebull How can you and your (small) group react proactively to redirect speech in a positive direction?

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




explore8_24_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Aug. 24

Submission to God is key to glorious living

James 4:1-17

By Jim Perkins

Madison Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio

On rare occasions, the situation demands we raise our voice or shout to be heard over the din of the drivel competing for the loyalties of those we love. During those times, a shout is worth the risk and the investment of our energies!

Need for submission

James carefully considered the issues at hand and decided those matters demanded the strong, “shouting” words of advice we find in chapter 4, especially those in the first five verses. To that end, he employed strong words that left little doubt as to the problems or challenges faced by the recipients of this letter.

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It appears the outward symptoms of their situation were “fights” and “quarrels” (4:1) that disrupted the fellowship of believers. The inner problem causing these outer symptoms, however, seems to have been founded on a “friendship with the world”–and a resultant “hatred of God” (4:4)–that structured their response to the “desires (passions) that battle within you” (4:1). As a result, their response to these passionate desires became an exercise in coveting and seeking that which they could not have, and hating–perhaps even murdering–those who obstructed the path to obtaining that which they coveted desperately (4:2). The end result was their prayers became warped and misguided, with no chance of receiving that for which they asked (4:3).

The scenario James described in this section demonstrated the deep need they had to humble themselves before the Lord and seek his enabling presence and guidance. James described the reason for their (and our) need and the hope available to them in verse 6 as he quoted Proverbs 3:34: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Blessing for submission

Their need for God's assistance and guidance in life depended on a particular response to God: “Submit yourselves, then, to God” (4:7). In this setting, “submit” might mean to forego one's own rights and renounce one's independent will in order to place oneself under the authority and leadership of God. Thus, with deep conviction one could say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

The command to “submit yourself to God” is one of 10 commands in verses 7-10 that might refer back to James' quotation of Proverbs 3:34 (4:6). In order for God graciously to gift those who would forego the poison of pride, James challenged all believers, with a sense of urgency, to submit to God, resist the devil, come near to God, wash your hands, purify your hearts, grieve, mourn and wail, change from laughter to mourning and joy to gloom, and humble yourselves before God (compare to 1 Peter 5:5).

These believers needed relief from the depredations and destruction promoted by the enemy. By turning to the Lord in humility and submission, the community of believers could experience the peace and freedom only God can bring. As they gladly decided to “humble yourselves before the Lord, the Faithful One would fulfill the promise of real spiritual victory: and he (the Lord) will lift you up” (4:10).

Reason for submission

In this last section of our text (4:13-17), James offered a concrete example from everyday life that illustrated the vital importance of a sincere and honest submission of ourselves to the Lord. This short passage references the lives of two different groups of people, detailing their attitudes toward life and their public utterances concerning their plans for the tomorrows.

The first group (verses 13 and 14) might consist of fellow believers, but their life commitment to self seems to be evidenced in the foolish arrogance of the words found on their tongues. Listen to the folly of their self-sufficiency as they chose to leave no room for the providence of God in their future: “Tomorrow we will” (4:13). Their presumption was that they controlled the tomorrows of life, a presumption James quickly discounted: “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” Indeed, life is marked by uncertainty and brevity, like the “mist” of the morning that suddenly appears and just as quickly vanishes (4:14). They were guilty of the grievous error of boasting and bragging (4:16) of their own self-sufficiency, when indeed they had none!

The second group, on the other hand, voiced a simple faith in and dependence on the Lord. Although the statement of verse 15 seems perfunctory at first glance (“If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.”), notice the attitude of submission and dependence contained within. These believers gladly gave God the place of lordship in life, for they were willing to seek and abide by his desire for their lives: “If it is the Lord's will.” Only then would they move on to another business venture–which for James brings no judgment or condemnation. Also, this group recognized life itself is dependent on God: “If it is the Lord's will, we will live”–that is, they recognized their next breath was dependent on and a gift from God. In this statement and as a result of this attitude, then, we find a group living out the meaning of verse 17–know the good you should do and go do it for God's glory!

Question for discussion

bluebull Write a practical, personal application for “submitting to God.” How can you do that every day in life?

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




family8_17_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Aug. 17

God uses those who perservere through the test

Genesis 41:15-16, 25-28, 33-40

By Tim Owens

First Baptist Church, Bryan

Joseph's years waiting in prison must have been one of the most perplexing seasons of his life. Bitterness and despair could have taken over. Through his steadfast faith in God, Joseph experienced intense preparation for his future responsibility and exaltation.

God knew when that day would come, but Joseph did not. God did not reveal all of his plan to Joseph because that would have destroyed his process of transformation in bringing Joseph to an explicit faith and trust under every circumstance of life.

Joseph's test had a maturing and steadying effect upon his character. God was teaching Joseph that daily faithfulness in ordinary duties is the best preparation for future service. In many respects, those years in prison were without doubt the most vital and critical years of Joseph's life. It had already been more than 10 years since he had been sold as a slave, and it would have been easy for him to have doubted the validity of the dreams God had given him. Just when there seemed to be hope of getting out of prison, the butler forgot about him.

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Moses' experience is similar. Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the desert while God was working with him–preparing him to be an effective instrument.

How long does God have to work with his servants until they are ready to follow him with unreserved loyalty and obedience? God's people in every generation need to accept a timeless, spiritual principle: Those whom God greatly blesses and uses will persevere through times of intense testing. It is impossible to be used significantly by God without persevering through seasons of testing.

When God's people are going through seasons of testing, there are three things they should remember. First, in the long term, God's way is always the best way. Believers have to learn to take the long look in life. As God trains his people for his ultimate plan, they have to be willing to accept some form of hardship, knowing that God's process is always working for their ultimate good and usefulness.

Second, God's time is always the best time. God was working out his purpose through Joseph. It was impossible for Joseph to realize it at the time, but later he could look back and see God's time had been exactly right– everything had worked out. God does not act too early or too late. He is never in a hurry but accomplishes things in his own time.

Third, God's grace is sufficient. He will give his people the grace they need to be patient. James teaches that when patience has its full work, the product is maturity. God is seeking to teach his people valuable lessons so they will be mature believers.

Preparation is a major season of life for those whom God uses. It is usually a longer period of time than God's people expect. The person whom God is preparing must appropriate God's promise: “I will never forget you. I will always be faithful to you.” God will take longer than most people are prepared to take in building a deep, wide and strong foundation of Christian effectiveness. The Lord never gets ahead of schedule. He never gets behind schedule. God's timing is always perfect. Part of God's timing always includes a season of preparation, during which he builds the foundation strong. The servant of God must allow God to take as long as he sees fit. God prepared Jesus 30 years for a three-year ministry. God majors on preparation. His counsel is, “Wherever you are, be faithful and obedient.”

Joseph's willingness to let God prepare him in God's way and God's time paid off. Pharaoh had two dreams. He called in all of the wise men of his kingdom and asked them, “Tell me what these dreams mean” (paraphrase of Genesis 41:8). None of the wise men of Egypt could interpret his dreams. At this point, the cupbearer remembered Joseph and how in the past he accurately interpreted dreams. When Joseph came before Pharaoh, he said: “I don't interpret dreams. If you are looking for a human dream interpreter, you have come to the wrong person. But, Pharaoh, God interprets the meaning of life” (paraphrase of Genesis 41:16).

One has to note the absence of pride in Joseph's life. Here was his chance to say, “Pharaoh, I will interpret your dream if you will let me go.” But rather, Joseph says: “I don't have anything to do with interpreting dreams. Everything I have is God's. He does everything. It is not me; it is God.”

During the season of long, intense preparation, God had removed the selfish pride in Joseph. It left Joseph totally dependent upon the Lord.

After Joseph's godly counsel to Pharaoh, Pharaoh responded by promoting Joseph. He put a royal signet ring on his finger, dressed him in royal linen and placed a gold chain around his neck. Second in line, right behind Pharaoh, was Joseph. In God's perfect timing, he exalted his servant.

All of this took place because God planned it, but all of this took place because Joseph sought to please God and resisted the temptation to sin. Rather than gratifying the flesh, Joseph sought to glorify God. Joseph found that godliness paid enormous dividends. He experienced the truth of what Jesus stated in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be yours as well.”

Question for discussion

bluebull How can you see God's hand at work and not just the trial?

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




family8_24_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Aug. 24

A primer for mending broken relationships

Genesis 45:4-8, 25-28; 46:1-5

By Tim Owens

First Baptist Church, Bryan

Joseph was sold into slavery by his 10 brothers because of jealousy. There was a broken relationship between Joseph and his brothers. In Genesis 45, one reads how God can heal broken relationships. If there is to be forgiveness and reconciliation in a broken relationship, the one who has been wronged must be willing to take the initiative. This is what happened in the life of Joseph.

Whenever forgiveness and reconciliation take place between estranged parties, there are certain spiritual dynamics present. First, there is conviction of sin. When a relationship is broken, sin always is involved. Usually both sides have sinned. For forgiveness and restoration to take place, there must be conviction of sin.

When the brothers arrived in Egypt, they did not recognize Joseph. He was a teenager when they had last seen him. He now had the appearance of an Egyptian. He spoke the Egyptian language. They could never have anticipated that their brother was a high-ranking official in the Egyptian government.

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Joseph looked at them and said, “You are spies” (Genesis 42:14). He put them in prison for three days, and as they came out of the prison, they were convicted of their sin. They said to one another, “All of this is happening to us because of what we did to Joseph” (paraphrase of Genesis 42:21).

Second, there is confession of sin. Reuben spoke up and said: “I told you we should not have sold the boy. His blood is now upon us” (paraphrase of Genesis 42:22). They began to confess their sin openly.

Third, there is repentance. One recognizes definite signs of repentance in the 10 brothers. Joseph put tests out before them. He watched their body language and listened to their conversation. He detected absolutely no jealousy. He further tested them when he placed his cup in Benjamin's bag. Instead of blaming Benjamin, they all came back and said, “We will all face the consequences of our sin” (paraphrase of Genesis 44:16). Joseph saw the brothers had genuinely repented of their sin.

Genesis 45 presents six steps Joseph took to restore the broken relationships with his brothers. First, he met alone with his brothers. He dismissed everyone except his brothers, and only before them did he disclose his identity. Restoration begins when the parties agree to meet together privately and discuss matters with openness and honesty.

Second, he offered them unconditional forgiveness. In Genesis 45:5, Joseph says, “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here.” He spoke a word of forgiveness. Restoration is possible only when the offended party is willing to forgive with no strings attached.

Third, he affirmed God's sovereign plan. By this time, Joseph knew all that happened to him was according to God's plan. He said to his brothers, “I now know that God was working in all these circumstances.” If forgiveness and restoration occur, there has to be the affirmation that God uses even the most difficult circumstances to accomplish his plan.

Fourth, he actually restored the broken relationship. It is possible to meet alone with the estranged party, to offer them forgiveness, and to affirm God's sovereignty, but then to say, “You go your way, and I will go mine.” Joseph did not say that. He was willing to go the extra mile and say: “I want you and all of our family to move down here to Egypt because there are five more years of famine. I want us to be a family again.” When one is truly seeking reconciliation, the goal is relationship.

Fifth, he blessed his brothers with generosity. Joseph gave to his brothers and their families the region of Goshen. This was the best part of Egypt. It was the part of Egypt where the Nile River would not overflow, where they could raise their flocks and herds. Joseph said, “I want to give you the best I have.” Genuine acts of kindness and generosity are powerful in the process of restoring broken relationships.

Sixth, he enjoyed restored fellowship with his brothers. What a dramatic scene as Joseph went to every single brother, embraced them and kissed them. They sat down and talked together. There was restored fellowship.

Many Christians approach forgiveness like: “I am willing to forgive them if they are willing to own up to what they did. I am willing to forgive them if they are willing to suffer a little bit like I did. I am willing to forgive them if … if … if.” This is not the spirit of forgiveness.

The Bible never teaches that Christians are to wait for somebody else to respond when seeking reconciliation. Rather, it teaches that Christians are to take the initiative in restoring a broken relationship, and they are to offer forgiveness unconditionally. After all, this is what God has done for sinners. God took the initiative, and in his Son he said to the world: “I want to restore relationship with you. I want to forgive you. I want to bless you with my generosity. I want to enjoy restored fellowship with you.”

Questions for discussion

bluebull Are both parties always at fault when relationships crumble?

bluebull How can a person who has been wronged forgive enough to make the first move toward reconciliation?

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




gay_marriage_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

Bush weighs in on defining marriage

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)–President Bush joined the chorus calling for a legal restriction against homosexual marriage, while new polls suggest public opinion may be turning in favor of such a limit.

Religious Right leaders are hailing those developments as a double blow to the cause of gay rights. But homosexual activists offer a different interpretation.

The administration is “looking at the best way” to protect marriage as an institution for heterosexuals only, the president said.

"I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, and I think we ought to codify that one way or the other."
—George W. Bush

“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, and I think we ought to codify that one way or the other, and we've got lawyers looking at the best way to do that,” Bush told reporters.

While noting he believes in the “sanctity of marriage,” Bush added, “It's very important for our society to respect each individual.

“On the other hand, that does not mean somebody like me needs to compromise on an issue such as marriage. And that's really where the issue is headed here in Washington, and that is the definition of marriage.”

Bush did no go so far as to endorse a proposed constitutional amendment currently making its way through Congress, however. The amendment would define marriage in strictly heterosexual terms and would override state provisions recognizing same-sex marriage or “civil unions” that offer most of the same benefits of marriage while reserving the term itself for man-woman unions.

However, in a follow-up press briefing, White House spokesman Scott McClellan elaborated on Bush's stance.

“This is a principled stand,” McClellan said. “This is a view he feels very strongly about. And the president will not compromise on that view. … Make no mistake about it, the president is strongly committed to protecting the sanctity of marriage and defending a sacred institution that he believes is between a man and woman.”

Regarding the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which has gained more than 75 sponsors in the House, McClellan said: “Obviously that is something to look at in this context. But we need to see where these court cases come out.”

The Federal Marriage Amendment has yet to be introduced in the Senate, although some senators seem ready to support it.

Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll released July 28 seems to show a dramatic reversal in a long-standing trend toward greater public acceptance of homosexuality.

While gay-rights supporters celebrated the June Supreme Court ruling that overturned state laws against homosexual sex, conservative observers say the new polling data show a backlash to the ruling from the American public.

The Gallup poll of 1,006 adults, conducted in mid-July, revealed that 48 percent of Americans believe sexual relations between consenting adults of the same gender should be legal, while 46 percent believe it should be illegal. That is a dramatic turnaround from a Gallup poll May 7, when 60 percent of respondents said gay sex should be legal and only 35 percent said it should be illegal.

The turnaround also was evident in support for legalizing “civil unions.”

In May, equal numbers of respondents supported and opposed the idea–at 49 percent each. But in a more recent poll, 57 percent of respondents opposed legalizing gay civil unions, while only 40 percent supported the idea. That is the strongest opposition and the weakest support in the seven Gallup polls taken on the subject since 2000.

Chris Purdom, co-coordinator of the Philadelphia-based Interfaith Working Group, offered this explanation: “The polling is all over the map on this” because the Supreme Court decision, as well as other recent news involving gay-rights issues, means people are being forced to confront an issue about which they haven't made up their minds.

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headstart_bill_81103

Posted: 8/8/03

Charitable choice component
slows advancement of Head Start bill

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)–The popular Head Start program is the centerpiece of another “charitable choice” controversy in Congress.

In a flurry of bills passed in the last week of legislative business before Congress' August recess, the House of Representatives passed the School Readiness Act of 2003 on a 217-216 vote.

Among other provisions, the bill contains a section that would allow pervasively religious groups to receive government funds for Head Start, a 38-year-old early-childhood-education program. However, it would allow the groups to retain the right to discriminate in hiring based on religion.

Although churches, mosques and other religious organizations have the right to take religion into account in hiring decisions with their own money, most federal social-services grant programs prohibit funding organizations that practice religion-based hiring.

The House passed the bill after representatives rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., that would have stripped it of the employment-discrimination exemption. Woolsey's amendment failed on a 199-231 vote.

The bill is part of an ongoing effort by the White House and its ideological allies in Congress to expand government's ability to fund social services through churches and other pervasively religious providers. The plan is sometimes referred to as “charitable choice” or the “faith-based initiative.”

In May, the House reauthorized the Workforce Reinvestment and Adult Education Act of 2003, which included similar employment-discrimination exemptions for religious groups conducting federally funded job-training programs.

Church-state separationist groups decried the Head Start bill, as they did the earlier legislation.

“The House has just passed a terribly flawed bill,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “There is no justification for allowing employment discrimination in federally funded programs. This advances the Bush administration's 'faith-based' initiative at the expense of civil rights and civil liberties.”

Many religious leaders–including the Washington office of Bush's own United Methodist Church–opposed the bill, Lynn noted. But Bush has said such legislation is necessary to create a “level playing field” and prevent discrimination against religious providers in competition for federal social-service grants.

Bush and his supporters have argued that requiring religious providers to conform to the employment standards of other groups unnecessarily forces them to compromise their religious mission in order to receive federal funding.

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howardpayne_rainey_8103

Posted: 8/8/03

Retirement means teaching duty for Rainey

By Heather Price

Texas Baptist Communications

BROWNWOOD–While retirement means rest for most, Frankie Rainey plans to use his retirement to provide rest to others.

Rainey, pastor of Crestmont Baptist Church in Burleson, said it has “always been one of my dreams to be able to ask a college to let me volunteer to come in and teach for one of their professors (so) he can have some time off for rest.”

After serving 22 years as a pastor, Rainey will volunteer as a professor at Howard Payne University in the fall. He will teach introductory Bible, Greek and pastoral ministry classes.

In addition to serving seven Texas churches, Rainey also taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and was a professor of Bible and biblical languages at Howard Payne from 1979 to 1993.

“As someone with his credibility and background, we are just tickled to death that he is coming, and he offered to do it for free,” explained Donnie Auvenshine, vice president of academic affairs at Howard Payne.

Rainey felt the call to teach while he was a student at Southwestern Seminary.

“I had a wonderful, godly professor, and during the course of taking Greek, I found myself thinking: 'I would like to do that some day. I really would.'”

After many years as a pastor, Rainey believes he is fully prepared to begin teaching again.

“I am a pastor-teacher. That's my calling. No doubt about it,” he added. “I love college kids, and I want to be in on the training for their future.”

When Rainey taught at Howard Payne the first time, he had a wonderful reputation with the students, Auvenshine explained. “He was one of the most beloved professors to serve at this school. It took him three weeks to become the most popular professor on campus.”

Now, Rainey expects two things while teaching.

“I expect that the Bible will be more of a living book for those students at the end of the semester than it ever has been before,” he said. “And I expect that the Lord Jesus will be more of a living reality to the students than he ever has been before.”

Although Rainey will start teaching in August, he will not be eligible to draw Social Security for another three months.

“We know it's the right thing to do, even though August through November we'll be without income,” he said. “It's no problem. We believe it is God's will, and he will take care of us.”

Rainey's wife, Sue, is caring for her elderly mother in Burleson. She plans to stay there while Rainey lives in Brownwood during the week and travels home on the weekends.

“We know it will be hard, but we are willing to do it because the Lord has called us,” he said.

Calvary Baptist Church has provided its new mission house as a temporary home for Rainey while he is in Brownwood.

Rainey plans to teach at Howard Payne for at least two semesters. After that, he hopes to relieve professors at Baptist colleges in new-work areas.

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