Posted: 7/11/03

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Integrity of congregational life

Certain Baptists are setting forth the idea that “the priesthood of the believer” has traditionally meant for Baptists that “each individual worshipper is solely accountable to God and free to worship in his own manner.” Such an idea passes neither the test of Scripture nor of long-term Baptist tradition.

E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

First, the term “the priesthood of the believer” is not New Testament language. In the passages pertaining to this subject (1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 1:5b-6; 5:9-10; 20:6), the term is either “priesthood” or “priests” (plural). The New Testament knows no solitary priesthood of Christians, only a priesthood shared with other believing priests.

Second, the New Testament closely connects the priesthood of all Christians with the offering of “spiritual sacrifices” such as those of worship (Hebrews 13:15; Romans 12:1), witness (1 Peter 2:9), stewardship (Philippians 4:18) and service (Hebrews 13:16). The stress is on responsibilities rather than on rights.

Third, if the worshipper is a member of a Baptist church, he/she is responsible to the other members of the church as well as being accountable to God. Read the text of almost any Baptist church covenant, and you will see that much is said as to how members are responsible to and for their fellow members of the body of Christ.

Baptists at their best for the last four centuries have been church people whose longing for “soul freedom” from political oppression or ecclesiastical tyranny never deprived them of the integrity of their congregational life.

James Leo Garrett Jr.

Fort Worth

Ethics vs. livelihood

In “Huge farms harvest ethical issues” (June 9), Gary Farley discussed price controls, gene pool limits, lost jobs, environmental damage and farmers' hard economic life.

He described the farms: “4,000 piglets in large, enclosed sheds”; “10 buildings in which several thousand baby chicks are fed constantly”; “litter from the chicken houses is cured and fed to the steers”; thousands of dairy “cows spend their days on concrete … forage and grain is brought to them”; “each pond produces thousands of fish each year.”

Not mentioned–veal calves raised in crates, laying hens living entire lives in cages or continually-impregnated mares kept immobile and thirsty so their concentrated urine can be harvested for human hormone prescriptions.

On the old family farm, animals were destined for the dinner table, but until then they led normal-for-their-species outdoor lives with something other than manure for lunch. They died in the end, but their days were not generally a living hell.

Albert Schweitzer said: “Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures. … Any religion … which is not based on a respect for life is not a true religion.”

Euphemistically calling torture “farming” says more about us than about animals, and it's a great example for kids of keeping our ethics and compassion separate from our livelihood.

Ann Carson

Amarillo

Gnats & camels

New Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson, avid supporter of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, which limits the role of women in ministry and decrees the graceful submission of women to their husbands, disenfranchises those Baptists who do not agree with him concerning these tenets.

At the same time, he seems to close his eyes in support of his colleagues, particularly Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who strongly hold to the non-biblical Calvinist doctrines of limited atonement and irresistible grace. Patterson has publicly affirmed he, himself, does not accept these doctrines.

Somehow, one must be reminded of Jesus' condemnation of the religious leaders of his day in Matthew 23 concerning straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel.

Bob King

Grand Prairie

Patterson & Parcells

Your editorial on Paige Patterson (June 30) was one of your best ever. I salute you.

I would like to add a couple of things about him. It was my privilege to study under his dear father, T.A. Patterson. Dr. Pat was asked one time in a missions class about his prayers for his son. He replied that he and his wife had always prayed that God would give Paige courage, and he went on to say he had lived to see those prayers answered.

Paige Patterson's courage is inspiring and contagious. Anyone who does not think Southwestern Seminary will be better with Paige at the helm because he is a “fundamentalist” might as well say the Dallas Cowboys won't be better with Bill Parcells because he was a New York Giant.

Welcome back to the promised land, Dr. Patterson!

Gerald Johnson

Tow

Wholeness in Christ

The article on the Southern Baptist Convention's task force on homosexuality was very good (June 23). I would like to make one important clarification and offer one objection.

The headline stated the initiative was to encourage homosexuals to become heterosexuals. First, we believe the biblical position is that all people are created heterosexual. Homosexuality is a condition that may result from a variety of factors. No ministry with which I'm familiar states that their goal is to convert people to heterosexuality.

The goal is for people to experience wholeness in Christ.

One result of this would be freedom from homosexuality. For some, this will result in marriage. Others may choose the biblical calling to celibacy.

It does not necessarily mean they will never have a temptation any more than we could say that all ex-alcoholics never have a desire to drink again. It does mean that they have the tools to deal with that temptation, as they would any other temptation.

In this struggle as with others–drugs, alcohol, lust–we must understand the distinction between temptation and bondage.

My objection deals with allowing Brenda Moulton space to espouse views that are inaccurate with no correction or rebuttal from anyone. The secular media regularly allow Mel White to state the “born that way” argument and the American Psychiatric Association arguments that therapy is wrong and harmful and even leads to suicide. Ample facts exist to refute both arguments.

Those who would report these claims should at least check them out.

Bob Stith

Southlake

Forward & back

The SBC took a step forward when it said it would stop its homophobia. We hope.

A liberation theology leader said that to be true to liberation theology, he must be especially concerned for those who are most oppressed in society; he believes those are the homosexuals.

Theologian John Cobb commented: “There is serious competition for that (most oppressed) spot. But it is clear that whereas in most other oppressions the church has given at least some support to the oppressed, in this case the church has been the leader in the oppression.”

Then the SBC took two steps backward. It declared homosexuality sinful and changeable. Psychologists, beginning with Freud, say homosexuality is unchangeable.

Ten thousand homosexuals commit suicide annually in America because they can't face living with a society and church that condemn them so, and they can't change. Many of these die because of guilt heaped on them by messages like the SBC's.

Helmut Thielicke wrote that when we realize there is “constitutional homosexuality,” we must “accept” the fact that it is “incurable”; then “our attitude toward (it) changes.” Then he said homosexuality is “a divine dispensation” (Luke 19:13f.).

Bruce Lowe

Dallas Tow

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.

Posted 7/14/03

Texas Baptists Committed convocation
focuses on religious liberty

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

SAN ANTONIO–“Where have all the Baptists gone?” the head of a religious-liberty watchdog group asked members of Texas Baptists Committed July 11.

Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee in Washington, D.C., opened the annual TBC convocation with a message that set the stage for two days of talks on religious freedom.

He was joined on the program by a Republican who is working to reclaim her party from the Religious Right, a Democratic Texas Congressman, three pastors, a theologian and a Baptist lobbyist.

The recurring theme of the messages was that Baptists helped secure religious liberty in the United States but Baptists today are leading a campaign to dilute that liberty.

“Religious freedom truly is under attack,” explained David Currie, TBC executive director. He cited “an assault led by Baptists on the First Amendment” and called Texas Baptists to “preserve what our forebears worked so hard to achieve.”

Walker traced the lineage of Baptists who have sacrificed for religious liberty through the ages, including Thomas Helwys, Roger Williams, John Leland and George W. Truett.

“Baptists helped forge the American experiment in religious liberty,” he declared. But today, too many Baptists “believe faith can best be advanced with the help of Herod.”

Although enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, religious liberty first is a gift from God, Walker asserted. “Soul freedom is universal.”

He then rebuffed several common arguments used to weaken the claim of separation of church and state.

America is not a “Christian” nation, he said, and Christianity should not be “given a leg up” to advance its cause, Walker said. Nor should government promote religion at all, even if it doesn't prefer one religion over another, he said, citing three rejections of such a concept during the drafting of the Bill of Rights.

Further, it is not enough to advocate freedom of religion without freedom from religion, he added. “Without freedom from religion, we don't have freedom of religion.”

Baptists must recover their heritage as defenders of religious liberty for all people, Walker said.

This effort will be aided as Baptists remember what it is like to be a minority group and reread Scripture to see Jesus' example, he continued. “Jesus never took a coin from Caesar or a handout from Herod to advance his mission.”

That theme was echoed by Weldon Gaddy, a former Texas pastor who is executive director of the Interfaith Alliance in Washington, D.C.

He said people often ask him, “Why are you so adamant about religious liberty?”

The answer, he said, is “because I was raised a Baptist. I believed in the separation of church and state before I knew what it was. That was because I went to Training Union.”

Today, advocating religious liberty is part of his faith and part of his patriotism, he added.

Look to the past to see the dangers that lie ahead, he warned. “History documents a sad tendency. The majority always feels it has a right to impose its opinion on the minority.”

Yet Baptists historically have stood against such coercion, he said, citing the example of early American Baptists who were persecuted and jailed for preaching the gospel without a license.

“Religious freedom serves as the foundation for other freedoms,” he said. “Once religious freedom is gone, other freedoms are likely to fade as well.”

Like Walker, Gaddy lamented that the times are changing.

“We stand at a U-turn in our national commitment to religious liberty,” he warned. “We will have to fight hard” to keep it from eroding further.

Baptists must realize that their nation and their communities are more religiously diverse than ever before, Gaddy said, noting that the United States is “the most religiously pluralistic nation in the world.”

Growing up in West Texas, he recalled, he knew one Jew and no Catholics, Hindus or Buddhists.

“It's a different world,” he reported. “We are a religiously pluralistic nation like none other.”

But that means religious liberty is “more essential today than it has ever been,” he continued. “Religious liberty provides the various religions in our society a means of walking together.”

Religious liberty also serves as a protection against civil war, Gaddy added, urging the crowd to examine the number of nations in conflict today due to warring religious groups where religious liberty does not exist.

“Religious freedom is vital for the good of all people and for the glory of God who wants all people free,” he said.

Contrary to common perceptions, not all Republicans concur with the Religious Right and seek to break down the wall of separation between church and state, said Sondra Epstein, a Republican activist from Houston.

She described herself as a member of “several Republican mainstream organizations” who wants Texas Baptists to understand that the Religious Right seeks to “take over government” and radically alter the meaning of religious liberty in America.

“To my heartfelt sorrow, they are doing this through the Republican Party,” she said.

But not all Republicans share the ideals of the Religious Right, she added. “There is a rift in the Republican Party similar to the one Baptists have experienced.”

She lamented that too often today the Republican Party “wraps itself in God as if it has a monopoly on his thoughts.”

Epstein urged her fellow Republicans who cherish separation of church and state to vote in the primaries, which is “where moderate Republicans lose.”

She also urged them to communicate with legislators to counter the more extreme voices of the far right. “Republican legislators mostly hear from extremists,” she said.

Like the other speakers, Epstein urged Texas Baptists to advocate religious liberty for all people. “If all religions in America don't have a future, then no religions have a future.”

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, a Democrat from Waco, picked up the theme by declaring that “religious liberty in America as we know it is at great risk.”

“We must act now, and we must act boldly,” he urged. “The sacred wall of separation is being torn down in Washington brick by brick. We simply cannot let that attack succeed.”

The fight for church-state separation, he said, is the single most important issue of his congressional career, and it now intersects a wide range of legislation.

He cited two aspects of President Bush's faith-based initiatives as the greatest current threats to religious liberty. One is an effort to allow taxpayer funding of houses of worship, and the other is an attempt to allow religious discrimination in hiring for publicly funded jobs.

“These attacks did not begin during the Bush administration, but for the first time, the full effort of the administration is behind it,” he said.

Edwards referred several times to a “well-organized, well-financed” network of Religious Right activists. These ideologues, he said, want the American people to believe that separation of church and state is a “myth” and the concoction of religious liberals.

In reality, he explained, the concept of a wall of separation was articulated by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to a group of Baptists in Danbury, Conn. Baptists, he and other speakers noted, were at the forefront of advocating for the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Edwards explained how he has been targeted by the Christian Coalition and other Religious Right groups because he supports Baptists' historic understanding of religious liberty.

One Christian Coalition mailing to constituents in his district labeled him “anti-American” and “anti-Texan” for not supporting a school-prayer bill.

He asked: “Since when is it anti-American and anti-Texan” to believe government shouldn't force students to pray?

Likewise, he critiqued legislative attempts to mandate posting the Ten Commandments in schools and public buildings. He denounced the “ludicrous idea of having government … review religious documents and determine which ones can be placed on schoolhouse walls.”

It is ironic, Edwards said, that political conservatives who want to limit the role of government at the same time insist on giving government more power to dictate citizens' religious practices.

“The Bill of Rights was designed to protect all citizens,” he said. “To deny that right to any person is wrong.”

Edwards urged Baptists to once again become passionate about religious liberty. The most effective way to influence legislators, he said, is to organize groups of 50 to 100 concerned citizens and ask legislators to meet with them.

“If we're going to be in the big leagues on this fight,” he said, “we can't use Little League tactics.”

Other speakers at the July 11-12 convocation included Suzii Paynter, director of Christian citizenship with the Texas Christian Life Commission; Mark Newton, pastor of First Baptist Church of San Marcos; John Petty, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church of Kerrville; John Ogletree, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church of Houston; and Javier Elizondo, dean of academic affairs at Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio.

Posted: 7/11/03

"Is it dolphin-safe?"

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.

Posted: 7/11/03

Cookies and juice multiplied
to El Paso medical outreach

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

EL PASO–Eleanor Poe's ministry started with orange juice, cookies and a message for neighborhood youth. Thirty years and 18,000 patients later, the El Paso Baptist Clinic continues serving God and community.

Poe and her husband, Joe, began serving youth in South El Paso through simple services three decades ago. About 60 children came to hear the Bible, but the Poes saw an equally urgent physical need in the community–primary health care.

About 37 percent of El Paso residents have no health insurance, explained Eleanor Poe, founding director of the outreach. Many of the uninsured live in inner-city El Paso, where the clinic is located.

Poe recruited a doctor from First Baptist Church in El Paso, and the clinic was born. Although leaders did not advertise their services, the clinic's strong reputation in the community encouraged growth.

When the clinic needed a place to accommodate its growing clientele, organizers built a 1,000-square-foot addition to El Centro Baptist Church, which sponsors the work.

Residents were attracted by inexpensive services from doctors each Saturday. Visits cost 25 cents for the first 10 years of the clinic. Later, fees were doubled, and patients now pay a dollar. The charge is waived for those who cannot afford it.

The clinic's doctors serve only people without insurance. Those with insurance are directed to other appropriate services.

“Not a Saturday comes that we don't get people that have been turned away from somewhere else,” Poe said.

Needs-based ministry like that performed at the El Paso Baptist Clinic is one of the 11 characteristics of church health identified by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The convention's Center for Community Ministries promotes the outreach.

A network of 185 volunteer workers and 40 doctors donate their services to the clinic. About 18,000 patients have entered the outreach.

Patients fill all the seats and line the walls in the fellowship hall at El Centro Baptist Church during typical Saturdays. On particularly busy days, patients may overflow out the doors. The clinic averages 80 to 150 clients a week.

A worker reads each patient a Bible verse and gives him or her a tract as they go to an examination room.

Three paid staff members handle paperwork and follow up throughout the week. Although the budget is tight, Poe said the ministry makes the long hours worthwhile.

The clinic now needs more resources to continue its ministry. Poe would like to hire several staff people to take some of the load off the current workers. She also wants to relocate the clinic to gain more room and let the church expand.

“We need to move out because the church needs those rooms for Sunday School,” she said.

Although the clinic faces challenges, the community's response to the work excites Poe.

“They see the love and see you care,” she said. “They know where we stand. The atmosphere is one of talking about Jesus.”

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.

Posted: 7/11/03

Hispanic Convention ratifies mission
partnership to start 400 churches

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–The Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas at its annual meeting approved a strategic missions alliance with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to help start at least 400 Hispanic churches in the United States by 2010.

Four days later, the partnership was affirmed by participants in the CBF general assembly in Charlotte, N.C.

CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal signs an agreement between the CBF and the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas during the CBF general assembly in Charlotte, N.C. He is flanked, clockwise, by Jimmy Garcia, director of Hispanic work with the Baptist General Convention of Texas; Antonio Estrada, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention; and Phill Martin, CBF moderator and member of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas.

To achieve the goal of baptizing 10,000 new Hispanic Christians in less than eight years, the CBF and the convention also agreed to help establish compañerismos–regional fellowships–throughout the nation to train, equip and encourage church leaders.

More than 2,100 people, including 945 registered messengers, attended the 93rd annual meeting of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas June 22-24 in San Antonio. Antonio Estrada, who completed his term as president of the convention, told messengers their officers and strategic planning committee had endorsed the cooperative agreement with the CBF.

“I believe this is God's will,” Estrada told the convention, adding that the presidents of the compañerismos across Texas also had expressed support for the proposal.

However, some messengers maintained that the missions alliance had not been adequately communicated to rank-and-file church members around the state. Roland Lopez, pastor of Northwest Hispanic Baptist Church of San Antonio, made a motion that the matter be tabled for study until the 2004 convention. While Lopez expressed his support for church starting, he said, “I sincerely believe we need more time to know without a doubt what we're getting into.”

Rudy Camacho from Iglesia Bautista Genesis in Fort Worth, past president of the convention, challenged messengers to consider the national challenge of reaching Hispanics with the gospel. “This is an opportunity to reach out. We must not let this opportunity pass,” he said.

At least one messenger also raised questions about the role of Hispanic Baptist Theological School of San Antonio in the agreement. As originally proposed, the covenant was to be a three-way agreement between the Hispanic Convention, CBF and HBTS, with a goal of enlisting and training 400 Hispanic Baptist pastors by 2010.

After the convention, Albert Reyes, president of the school, clarified that the covenant approved by messengers to the Hispanic Baptist Convention was strictly between the convention and the CBF. At this point, the school's trustees have not approved any covenant.

“We are interested in pursuing a cooperative agreement with the CBF in the future, and I certainly hope the details of that agreement will be worked out,” Reyes said.

Messengers defeated the motion to table by about a 2-to-1 margin and then passed the original proposal regarding the alliance with the CBF.

“This will be my legacy,” said Estrada, pastor of the South Main Hispanic Baptist Church of Houston, immediately after the vote. “I challenge you in the name of Jesus to establish 400 new churches all over the United States.”

CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal, who publicly signed the “covenant” with the Hispanic Baptist Convention, commended the convention for its open exchange of different views and for the amicable spirit of the discussion.

“We at the CBF came to the Hispanic Baptist Convention because we needed your help,” he said. “We wanted a partnership to reach people for Christ. We pledge to you that we will be good partners, worthy partners, in this great and bold enterprise.”

Estrada and Vestal also publicly signed the agreement during the CBF general assembly, where participants rose in a standing ovation.

New officers of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas are President Alcides Guajardo, retired home missionary and pastor from Beeville; First vice President Angel Vela of Iglesia Bautista Westway of El Paso; Second Vice President Manuel Rios from Iglesia Bautista Monte Calvario in San Antonio; Third Vice President Micaela Camacho of Iglesia Bautista Genesis in Fort Worth; and Secretary Martin Ortega of Iglesia Bautista Emanuel in Midland.

In other business, the Hispanic Baptist Convention also elected Alcides Guajardo, a former home missionary and retired pastor, as its new president.

Messengers chose Guajardo from among a field of four nominees that also included Baldemar Borrego of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza of Wichita Falls, Angel Vela of Iglesia Bautista Westway of El Paso and David Tamez of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Tyler. In a runoff race, Guajardo drew 239 votes, compared to 188 for Borrego.

Messengers re-elected Vela by acclamation as first vice president. They also re-elected Manuel Rios from Iglesia Bautista Monte Calvario in San Antonio as second vice president and Micaela Camacho of Iglesia Bautista Genesis in Fort Worth as third vice president.

Martin Ortega of Iglesia Bautista Emanuel in Midland was elected secretary, succeeding Rolando Rodriguez of Iglesia Bautista Hampton Place in Dallas.

Messengers also approved a resolution calling on members of the United States Congress to approve legislation correcting a “broken” immigration system.

Roland Lopez of San Antonio noted that the current system often leads to abuse, exploitation, discrimination and even death, noting the recent instances of undocumented aliens who died of heat exhaustion in crowded 18-wheelers.

Lopez, who is pastor of a church that includes people of nine Latin American nationalities, emphasized the biblical basis for churches to minister to “aliens” and “strangers” who come seeking freedom and prosperity.

“It is not a violation of federal or state law to provide ministry to undocumented immigrants,” he noted.

In his final presidential message, Estrada elaborated on the convention theme, “Jesus Christ: Foundation for the Family.”

Jesus Christ is the only sure foundation for proper instruction within the family, as well as the foundation for right relationships, Estrada said.

“Whatever we plant in the hearts of our children, sooner or later we will harvest,” he said. “As parents, God has given us a treasure in the lives of our children.”

The 2004 meeting of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas will be June 23-26 at South Padre Island.

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.

Posted: 7/11/03

New hunger resource available

By Jenny Hartgraves

Staff Writer

DALLAS–New educational materials for churches to teach about world hunger have been produced by Bread for the World Institute, in cooperation with the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and others.

“Hunger No More” is designed “to get non-activists engaged in discussion in which they can learn from one another as well as from the materials,” officials said.

More than 800 million people in the world go hungry each year, and nearly 33 million Americans don't know whether they can afford their next meal. But to many Texan's dismay, the top four poverty-stricken cities in the nation are in this state–McAllen/Mission, Brownsville, Laredo and Bryan/College Station.

The “Hunger No More” packet includes materials for both children and adults, and it follows many pervasive themes from the Bible about hunger–the Garden of Eden, the Promised Land of milk and honey, manna in the wilderness, and the feeding of the thousands in the Book of Revelation. It also includes handouts for people who cannot attend study groups, links to policy websites, statistical updates on hunger and family-friendly materials to engage Christian communities and interfaith discussions.

The focus of “Hunger No More” is “to reduce by half the number of people who live on less than a dollar a day and reduce by two-thirds the number of children who die of hunger by the age of 5,” said Phil Strickland, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission and a trustee of Bread for the World. “Our hope is that 'Hunger No More' will be used by many churches in the convention and that they will not only teach people about the biblical mandate to respond to hunger needs but also teach them how to do so.”

Bread for the World is a nationwide Christian citizen's movement.

For more information or to order "Hunger No More" materials, visit the website at www.hungernomore.org.

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.

Posted: 7/11/03

Kidney transplant quest leads
Lake Jackson men to greater faith

By George Henson

Staff Writer

LAKE JACKSON–Every time Jerry Deere thinks of Chuck Pace, he's reminded of John 15:13.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” the verse says.

“I'm very indebted to Chuck,” Deere said. “He's my hero.”

And Deere said he felt that way even before Pace donated a kidney to him.

Chuck Pace and Jerry Deere (Todd Yates/The Facts Photo)

“I had always admired him because of what I had seen of him at church, but I guess you would say it had been from afar,” Deere explained.

The saga of how Pace's kidney wound up in Deere's abdomen started almost a year ago. One Sunday morning last year, Pastor John Hatch of First Baptist Church in Lake Jackson brought Deere up from his regular spot on the third pew and told the congregation of his need for a kidney. Hatch said if anyone had ever thought of donating a kidney, the time might be right.

“I was crying,” Deere recalled. “I'm 6-foot-4-inches and 64 years old, but I had big ol' tears running down my face. I had no idea he was going to do that.”

Three people came forward after the service to tell Deere they were willing. As much as he wanted a kidney, he told them it might be prudent to give it a little more thought.

“I was concerned that it might be an emotional response, not a well-thought-out rational one,” he recalled. Those fears were well-founded, as only one woman later decided she wanted to pursue testing to see if she was a good match for Deere.

“She was a match, and we got all the way to the final test and found she might have some precursors to kidney disease herself,” Deere said. “That being the case, she needed both of her kidneys.

“That put me back at ground zero. I didn't have any other prospects.”

Shortly after that, Pace, minister of education at the Lake Jackson church, told Deere, “I need to see you in my office.”

“I didn't know what was going on, but I had been a Baptist long enough to know I had to be in trouble,” Deere joked.

Pace told Deere he had consulted with his family, his extended family and Hatch and wanted to explore the possibility of donating one of his kidneys to Deere. Tests confirmed he was a good match, and the surgeries were done May 23.

This was no spur of the moment decision for Pace.

“When we became aware late last year that Jerry was in need of a donor, and that living donors were a consideration, I pretty quickly felt a leading,” Pace recalled. But when the others came forward, and especially when it looked as if a suitable donor had been found, he put those thoughts away.

Then, when it became apparent another donor wasn't forthcoming, Pace again sensed God's prompting, he said.

And it had to be God's prompting, he declared. “I'm not the most likely guy to do anything that involves a doctor's office. But if God tells you to do something, you do it.”

He quickly discounts the hero label, though.

“I've told a few folks who wanted to say something like that, that in our church and probably in every church there are people who would do the same thing,” he said.

Maybe, but Deere isn't buying the humility.

“The surgery was physically much more difficult for Chuck than it was me,” he explained. “They had to cut a major artery and remove a rib and other things for him. All they had to do to me was open me up and plug it in.”

Both men said the experience has changed them.

“It has been the most humbling experience of my life,” Deere said. “I had always been very self-reliant, and I know to be given a gift like this was only through God's grace. I just give glory to God that it all worked out this way and that there haven't been any complications.”

“It's been a strengthening time in my faith,” Pace confirmed as well. “It reminds me, and seems to remind others, of the sacrifice Christ made for us, and makes it even more real. We may have this greater awareness because of taking part in something God so obviously put together.”

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.

Posted: 7/11/03

Two Texas Baptist authors take aim

at faith connections in 'The Matrix'

By Kambry Bickings

Staff Writer

While some see in “The Matrix” disturbing patterns of violence and confusion, two Texas Baptist authors see instructive parallels to the Christian gospel.

In “The Gospel Reloaded,” Chris Seay and Greg Garrett urge readers to enter “The Matrix” in a different context, viewing the movie's theme as a spiritual allegory.

The blockbuster film, which now has a sequel called “The Matrix Reloaded,” is packed with dynamic action, death-defying special effects and profound questions about what in life is real and what is imaginary.

Characters leap across sky-scrapers, dodge death with seconds to spare and appear to live different lives in separate worlds.

In “The Gospel Reloaded,” Seay and Garrett examine how the themes and plot in the original film parallel the biblical story of salvation. Their intent, they said, is to help connect the unchurched with concepts of faith.

Garrett, associate professor of English at Baylor University, said more people will be exposed to spiritual ideas from watching “The Matrix” than from going to church.

“The reality is that for emerging generations, the theater has become the new sanctuary,” said Seay, pastor of Ecclesia, a Baptist church addressing the postmodern culture in Houston. “We have to ask how these directors have managed to usurp our authority as the primary storytellers. There is something for all of us to learn, whether we are pastors or professors or just people of faith.”

In the book, Seay and Garrett acknowledge: “This isn't the gospel according to Larry and Andy (Wachowski, the films' creators), but rather a popular culture artifact that explores religious and philosophical issues by creating a new pattern of myth.”

One of the strongest forms of comparisons is found in the main characters, Seay and Garrett contend. Morpheus, one of three main characters in the movie, can be viewed as symbolic of both God the Father and John the Baptist. He is portrayed as the protector and head, as well as the forerunner to the chosen one.

Neo, whom the film coins as “the one,” represents a Christ figure, according to Seay and Garrett. Neo is chosen and equipped, just as Jesus prepared for 30 years before entering his ministry, and then he is sent to redeem the world. In one of the movie's final scenes, Neo has been killed by his enemy, Agent Smith, but “resurrects” to defeat him in the end.

The third main character, Trinity, is a beautiful, fearless woman, who may symbolize the Holy Spirit of God himself, the authors contend. Trinity comes to Neo, telling him he is the chosen one. Just as the Holy Spirit often heralds events in the Scripture, Trinity also acts as a messenger to Neo, preparing him for the future.

Not only do the characters reveal biblical symbolism, but much of the theme development and plot points back to the Bible, Seay and Garrett write.

The world of “The Matrix,” the world humans live in, represents the destruction, calamity and hostility on Earth today, according to Seay and Garrett. The three main characters and their companions represent the world's Christians, who see the darkness and the prison of sin humans live in but cannot see, feel or smell.

“The Matrix” is a sort of Paradise Lost, according to Seay and Garrett. Just as Jesus redeemed the human race through salvation, Neo is the chosen one in the Matrix sent to rescue the human race, with Trinity and Morpheus aiding him along the way.

The authors acknowledge elements in the film may be disturbing to some traditional Christians, especially the levels of violence and the apparent references to other world religions.

However, violence also is a part of Scripture, Seay and Garrett note, pointing out that Jesus did not come only as the Prince of Peace but he also came with a two-edged sword. Scripture indicates God ultimately will defeat the enemy through spiritual warfare.

“The Gospel Reloaded” reminds its readers that when Jesus entered the temple being used as a marketplace, he was outraged, and he overthrew the tables and moneychangers.

“The action and violence of the film series may be the most effective way to draw in the crowds and communicate a spiritual message in a media-saturated world,” Garrett said.

With the proper perspective, viewers may be reminded of greater spiritual truths, the authors contend.

“The Matrix insists that we are part of a larger living story,” the book explains, “that miracles can happen, that individuals can play a part in their own redemption, that death is not the end.”

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.

Posted: 7/11/03

Missions network on track for '04

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–Texas Baptists' currently unnamed missions network could have an official name by August and a staff leader by September. And the network should be ready by January 2004 to begin helping churches and individuals make connections to “advance Christ's call to missions,” according to the network's board of directors.

At a June 30 board meeting, Mark Dunn of Crestview Baptist Church in Dallas presented a report from the group's organizational committee, including a timeline for constituting the network as a non-profit organization.

The board should be able to discuss proposed bylaws and articles of incorporation–as well as consider recommended names for the network–at its Aug. 7 meeting, Dunn said.

The organizational committee has been working with an Austin-based consulting firm to develop a list of possible names and conduct the necessary legal and market research on each of them.

Although the network's board has been meeting since February to develop its purpose statement and begin the search for a paid staff leader, its formal organizational meeting will be Oct. 23. At that meeting, the network will formally constitute as the board adopts articles of incorporation and bylaws and elects officers.

Dennis Young of Missouri City Baptist Church reported the search committee created to find a staff leader has received resumes and letters of recommendation for 26 candidates, after eliminating duplicates and incomplete submissions.

Although the original deadline for receiving recommendations was June 27, the search committee agreed to continue accepting recommendations as it continues its work.

According to the original timeline developed by the search committee, the board of directors set Sept. 9 as the target date for filling the leadership post, “pending the emergence of a leader and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.”

If elected by the board of directors in September, the network's leader would be presented to the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board Sept. 30 and to the state convention at its annual session in Lubbock Nov. 10-11.

Recommendations are being received by Albert Reyes, chairman of the search committee, at Hispanic Baptist Theological School, 8019 South Pan American Freeway, San Antonio 78251. To protect confidentiality, all recommendations should be sent by mail or by special delivery. No phone or e-mail recommendations will be accepted.

Jeff Raines, chairman of the board's research and development committee, presented a resolution that the network's staff leader be empowered to “investigate office space outside the BGCT offices, while accepting BGCT help in information technology and other technical matters.”

At the recommendation of the research and development committee, the board also adopted a resolution affirming the work of various BGCT missions-related program areas, as well as Texas Baptist Men and Woman's Missionary Union of Texas. The resolution encouraged the network's future staff leader to “establish close, cooperative, non-duplicative working relationships” with the existing Texas Baptist missions personnel.

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.