Posted: 6/20/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for June 29

Paul exhorts Christians to continue maturing

Galatians 4:8-20

By Jim Perkins

Madison Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio

Let's admit it: There are times as a parent when we become extremely frustrated with the behavior or decisions of our children. Then, in an attempt to cause them to realize the absurdity of their attitudes and actions, we sometimes “interrogate” them. The Apostle Paul adopts a similar relational methodology in his letter to the Galatians.

Examine your behavior

In this particular passage, the urgency of the situation forced Paul to question rather bluntly his “dear children” (4:19). The specific nature of the situation that gave rise to this sense of urgency can be determined through an examination of 4:8-11.

Paul was direct and forceful in verse 8 when he reminded the Galatian Christians that in their pagan, pre-Christ days they worshipped a god who was really a no-god that had enslaved them. On the other hand, they had been freed from the basic, “miserable principles” of the world through a personal, saving encounter with Christ–a life-changing event initiated and completed by our mighty God (4:9).

The Galatian Christians faced a grave danger now, though, as they encountered a new basic, weak principle of the world. They now faced not the moralism and legalism of their former paganism, but instead the legalism of Jewish religious practices. Paul knew this temptation to adopt a “Jesus plus” strategy to complete salvation could result in a new slavery to “special days and months and seasons and years” (4:10)–a slavery that would lead one away from and not toward Christ in a simple faith-based relationship.

The apostle was transparent and honest in expressing the gravity of the situation: “I fear for you” (4:11). While we cannot be absolutely certain as to the exact nature of Paul's fear, it certainly included the element that some would show themselves not to have placed their resolute trust in Christ alone as Savior. Instead, they simply had moved from one type of enslavement to another–from the world's miserable principles to the legalism of Jewish religious principles. Paul certainly prayed for and expected better of them.

Enjoy your blessings

Two vital elements are central to this portion of the passage (4:12-16): The Galatians' relationship with Paul, and the great joy they had experienced in their encounter with Christ. The exact nature of Paul's physical problem is incidental, not central to the meaning of this section; therefore, we will spend little time on it. Suffice it to say that the problem seems to have been physical, and it might–just might–have involved his eyesight (see 6:11).

On the basis of their close relationship, Paul reminded his Galatian readers to “become like me, for I became like you” (4:12). He had become one of them, spending time with them and developing an intimate spiritual relationship as dear as and somewhat resembling a “father/child” relationship. Because of that, Paul now encouraged them to become like him, in that his life was a walk of faith and complete trust in Christ: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God” (2:20).

That walk of total trust in Christ–which brings the presence of the indwelling Spirit–produces a Christian distinctive that was central to Paul's life and always should be central in the life of every Christian–joy (see 5:22; from the word “blessed” used by Jesus in the Beatitudes). As the Galatians were foolish enough to allow themselves to become enslaved again to the narrow legalism of worldly principles, that joy would disappear rapidly: “What has happened to all your joy?” (4:15).

Strive for maturity

In this final portion of the passage (4:17-20), we sense something of the passionate, fatherly feelings Paul had toward the Galatian converts (his “dear children”) in the midst of his fervent warning against the Judaizing group. These interlopers desired more than a change in the Galatians' minds: The Judaizers were “zealous” to win them over to a cause that was “for no good.” An added part of that process, unfortunately, was the desire to “alienate” Paul's Galatian converts from the apostle (4:17).

Remember also that Paul did not denigrate the zealous portion of their personality or pursuit. It would have been perfectly acceptable for the Galatian Christians to be spurred on toward a zealous attitude–providing “the purpose is good” (4:18). The Judaizers' purpose, however, was to change the Galatians' loyalty from Christ alone to “Christ plus works of the law,” which could only result in a renewed enslavement to that which was less than Christ (4:9).

Paul suffered such an anguish concerning the fate of his beloved Galatian friends that he could only describe it as “the pains of childbirth” (4:19). His earnest desire was not that they be won over to become followers of Paul, the Judaizers or any other group. Instead, Paul desired for them to mature in their walk with Christ in such a way that “Christ is formed in you” (also a maternal concept). This statement concerns the process of maturing in Christ that is substantively the same as Paul expressed in his letter to the Corinthian (2 Corinthians 3:18) and Colossian believers (Colossians 3:10).

Question for discussion

By what “process” will Christ be formed in you? Refer to this passage, Colossians 2:6-3:17, Ephesians 4:22-32 and Philippians 4:4-9.

Posted: 6/20/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 29

God's holy Lamb is worthy to be worshipped

Psalm 100:1-5; Revelation 5:1-10

By Tim Owens

First Baptist Church, Bryan

One way the church shows itself to be a community of God's grace is by worshipping God. This is the very reason God forgives and transforms people–to ignite the hearts of people to express their love and obedience to God.

Many people worship their own self-interests–their money, possessions, leisure, family, etc. They do not acknowledge God as worthy of their praise and obedience. They may attend services of worship, but their attendance may be nothing more than a routine void of a personal encounter with God.

In Psalm 100, the psalmist calls on God's people to express their praise, thanksgiving and love to God.

Little children have a limited perspective of what it takes to provide food, clothing and shelter. For them, all the necessities of life just seem to appear. One of the first signs of maturity on the part of any child is when, without prompting, the child spontaneously comes to say, “Thank you, Mom and Dad, for what you have done for me.”

It also is a sign of spiritual maturity when, as a way of life, the believer says to God, “Lord, thank you for who you are and what you have done for me.” This is the heart of worship–expressing praise, love and thanksgiving to God.

One of the distinguishing marks of Psalm 100 is the frequency of commands. The psalmist commands God's people to shout, serve, come, know, enter, give thanks and praise. Worship is not based on emotion. God is worthy of worship, whether the worshipper feels like worshipping or not. Worship is commanded, and when Christians worship, God is honored and glorified.

This is the chief end of worship–not for Christians to feel better about themselves, but that God is honored and glorified. Notice the object of one's praise: “Shout for joy to the Lord. … Serve the Lord. … Come before him” (Psalm 100:1-2). The focus of Christian worship is always on God and what he has done for the believer.

The picture of Psalm 100:4 is the gate to the temple of God. It is as if God is saying, “Do not come into my presence without expressing praise to me.” As God's people worship him, they cannot do so without praise and thanksgiving. It is always right for the corporate worship of God's people to be reverent, but it is unforgivable for it to be dull. The psalmist says: “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. … Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:2, 4). The most dominant characteristic of God's people as they gather to worship God is their expression of joyful praise and adoration to him.

What motivates this kind of worship? First, the goodness of God motivates the worship of his people. The psalmist says: “For the Lord is good” (Psalm 100:5). In worship, Christians affirm that God in his very nature is good. Regardless of circumstances and feelings, they confess that God is the very essence of goodness.

Second, the faithfulness of God motivates the worship of his people. The psalmist says: “His love endures forever” (Psalm 100:5). God's love never wavers. God loves, not because there is something in the object that is loveable, but because it is his nature to love. His love never changes. God's love is the same today as it was for the psalmist and as it was when it was poured out on the cross of Jesus Christ. There is absolutely nothing anybody can do that would ever diminish God's love toward his people. This is the basis for the church worshipping together.

Revelation 5 details John's vision of heaven, where Christ is pictured as ruling, triumphant and therefore worthy of the worship of the people of God. John is writing to Christians who are struggling for their lives. They were being forced to worship the Roman emperor, and if they did not worship him, they faced death.

The scroll being sealed up represents the uncertainty of the final outcome. John and his fellow believers longed to know both their own outcome and the outcome of their persecutors. John wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll. John's weeping ceased when, in Revelation 5:5, Jesus steps forward. Who is worthy to open the scroll? Jesus Christ is worthy. Why is he worthy? He is worthy because he is the triumphant one.

In John's vision, Jesus is seen standing in the middle of God's throne, but John also can see the scars and wounds on the Lamb of God. The Lamb, Jesus Christ, triumphed through his perfect life, his atoning sacrificial death for the sins of the world, his bodily resurrection and his ascension back to the right hand of God. The Lamb has triumphed, and because he has triumphed he is worthy to open up the scroll.

The outcome of all human beings is determined by their response to the Lamb. He holds the keys to eternal life or eternal death. This brought joy and assurance to the persecuted Christians, knowing that their ultimate destiny was controlled and secure in their Lion-Lamb Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, they worship the Lamb.

John's vision closed with the thrilling scene of the triumphant saints and an adoring universe giving praise and worship to the triumphant Christ. This was to bring courage to the hearts of John's first readers, as it should today.

Question for discussion

How do we make sure our worship is worthy of Christ?

Posted: 6/20/03

IMB has spent from reserves for three years

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

RICHMOND, Va.–The International Mission Board spent nearly $37 million more in 2002 than it received in income, according to the treasurer of the Southern Baptist Convention agency.

In his report to IMB trustees May 7, Treasurer David Steverson explained reserve funds had been tapped to pay the bills in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Steverson's comments are taken from minutes of the meeting made available to the Baptist Standard. The meeting was held in Framingham, Mass.

“Clearly, we cannot continue to sustain such a large gap between income and expenses,” he told the board. “We are fortunate in that we had reserve funds that could be drawn upon to support our work in 2002. These reserve funds were available because of additions to reserves in the 1990s, when we experienced good investment returns.”

Steverson said the board had tapped those reserves “some” in 2000, “more” in 2001 and then drew down “significant amounts” in 2002. The $37 million draw-down in 2002 covered 13 percent of total expenditures for the year.

“We need to keep in mind that when we spend reserve funds, it not only is reflected in a reduction in our total assets, but it also reduces investment income available to be budgeted in future years,” he added.

In light of the IMB's current financial challenges, trustees approved a plan to reduce spending this year by $10 million. The board recently announced elimination of 61 positions at its Richmond headquarters and said it will cease publication of its flagship magazine, Commission.

The $10 million figure came from the gap between $115 million in gifts to the 2002 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the $125 million offering goal. Gifts to the offering increased 1.15 percent over the previous year, even though the total fell short of the budgeted goal.

IMB officials have not publicly stated a projection for this year's total shortfall, although they have acknowledged missing the offering goal will compound an already tight situation.

In 2002, the IMB received 52 percent of its income through the Lottie Moon Offering and 32.6 percent through the SBC's Cooperative Program unified budget. The balance of income came primarily from investment income, hunger and relief funds, and field-generated funds.

The recent downturn in the national economy has hit the IMB hard, as it has many non-profits. Steverson reported the IMB's total cash and investments at year-end were $66 million less than the previous year-end. More than $50 million of that loss was due to sagging investments.

“We had $25.5 million in investment income in our 2002 budget and not only did not earn that amount, we actually had unrealized losses on our investments of just over $25 million,” he explained.

Unlike many religious agencies that have experienced declining contributions on top of decreased investment income, the IMB has continued to receive more money each year from Southern Baptists. In real dollars, combined contributions to the IMB through the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Offering have increased $58 million (32 percent) over the past five years, from 1998 to 2002.

In 1998, Southern Baptists sent the IMB $180.55 million. In 2002, the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon provided $238.96 million to the IMB.

However, expenditures have increased even more rapidly, as the board has sought to send out more than 1,000 new missionaries annually. The 1,000 goal includes both long-term and short-term workers, with short-term workers accounting for about 60 percent of those sent.

“None of our income sources came anywhere close to keeping up with our expenditures,” Steverson told the board. “Our missionary support expenditures reflect the increased numbers of missionaries who are serving around the world.”

Other sources of overseas expense have been reduced to help feed the missionary expansion, he added.

Despite the deficit spending, the IMB does have something to show for its investment, Steverson told trustees.

“We have record numbers of new missionaries, as well as record numbers of baptisms, churches, new churches and outreach groups. Church membership is at an all-time high, and more people are involved in discipleship, Bible study and leadership training than ever before. … We can rejoice that while we have spent significant amounts, we have significant results to show for what was spent.”

The treasurer also added warnings, however, that the IMB “must make significant adjustments if we are to prepare ourselves for the future” and that the current pattern of spending is “not sustainable over a longer term.”

Posted: 6/20/03

Three interns serve BGCT trio

Three Baylor University students are working this summer in a joint internship sponsored by the Baptist Standard, Buckner Baptist Benevolences and the Baptist General Convention of Texas communications center.

The bylines of Kambry Bickings, Jenny Hartgraves and Heather Price will appear in the Baptist Standard and other Texas Baptist publications this summer as they report on the activities of churches, individuals and agencies.

Bickings is a professional writing major from Little Rock, Ark. She is a graduate of Arkansas Baptist High School and will enter her senior year at Baylor in the fall.

In Waco, she attends Antioch Church, and she is active in Delta Delta Delta soriority as well as the Baylor Buddies mentoring program.

Hartgraves is a senior journalism/public relations major from Abilene, where she is a member of First Baptist Church. In Waco, she attends Highland Baptist Church.

She is a recipient of the President's Scholarship at Baylor and was named among the top 100 students in her freshman class. She is active in the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society and the Chi Omega sorority.

Price is a senior journalism/public relations major from Austin. She has sold ads and written for the Baylor Lariat and done publicity work for Highland Baptist Church in Waco and for Baylor's Truett Seminary.

Last fall, she was recognized as the top ad salesperson for the Lariat.

Each intern will spend three weeks at each participating BGCT office.

Posted: 6/20/03

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
No compulsory creeds

A recent letter suggested B.H. Carroll, James P. Boyce, John Broaddus and E.Y. Mullins all used confessions of faith in a creedal manner (June 2). I beg to differ.

In the “Centennial Story of Texas Baptists,” published in 1939, the editor summarizes 12 Baptist distinctives that have generally characterized Baptists since our beginnings.

Articles 7 and 8 state:

“The right of every believer to read and interpret the Scriptures for himself versus authoritative creeds and dogmas, officially decreed and to be accepted and believed without doubt or denial.

“The religious efficiency and sole authority of the Bible versus the Bible as supplemented and interpreted by ecclesiastical decisions and dogmas.”

Baptists have long had statements of faith. They have never been compulsory or authoritative creeds.

Paul Powell, Dean

Truett Theological Seminary

Waco

Crystal-clear Calvinism

In his article titled “Baptists urged to 'reframe' their discussion about Calvinism” (June 2), it sounds as if Dan Stiver wants to reframe the debate on Calvinism in terms of attractiveness of the concepts rather than biblical soundness.

The primary objection to Calvinism–I prefer the term “sovereign election”–raised by most people is that essentially it is not fair. No one would protest the concept of God's looking down the corridor of time to see who will make the right decision to receive his Son in faith as being fundamentally unfair.

But if this is the concept the Apostle Paul was describing in Romans 8, as most people assume, why did he anticipate and then refute the “that's not fair” argument in Romans 9? The only reason I can think of is that he knew he was describing an unpopular concept–that ultimately it is God who determines who will receive mercy and who will receive justice.

No, the doctrine of sovereign election is not very popular. I don't know anyone who was born a Calvinist. I struggled with the doctrine for a long time, testing it against one passage of Scripture after another, until I finally began to understand that all things are from God and through him and to him–not me.

It is all about God's glory, not mine. Then the beauty of this doctrine became crystal clear. And now, like John Piper, I can delight in it, because I delight in God.

Roger Holtzclaw

Houston

All Scripture inspired

I notice that a new interpretation of the Scriptures has seemingly been expressed by some in our convention regarding the fact that we are to adhere to the teachings of Jesus more than the teachings of Paul.

The Bible is the word of God–all of it. Second Peter 1:20-21 states, “First of all, no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will … but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” This means that the Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible. The whole Bible.

The four Gospels were written by the Spirit. The same author gave us the epistles of the New Testament. Several books, but one Author.

In 2 Timothy 3:16, we read, “All Scripture is inspired by God.” Not just the Gospels, but all Scriptures. We must accept them all as valid–and inspired of God.

Ewell J. Humphreys

Fort Worth

Biblical worldview

George Barna can report and interpret his polls and research, but I challenge his definition of what one must believe and promote in order to have a Christian or a biblical worldview (June 2).

When I read his eight principles he uses to define a biblical worldview, I found no mention of eight other principles he needed to include–exclusive monotheism (though he does mention God as Creator); spirit and life as the basis for mind and soul; the reality of the created world (the Logos did become flesh, not soul or mind); time as linear, not circular; the reality of faith and repentance; effective witness, ministry and mission; the centrality of resurrection in eschatology and hope; and the basic necessity of personal relationship holding one's worldview together into a coherent whole.

I can only hope Barna is not just parroting the latest popular theological correctness on one narrow view of what constitutes a biblical worldview.

Cyrus B. Fletcher

Baytown Posted: 6/20/03

Mongrelized worship

It sounds as if Rick Stone's rebuttal (May 12) to Mindy Foti's letter (April 14)–“It isn't what we like; it's what God likes; not where we are comfortable, but where God is worshipped”–is saying, in effect, “God doesn't like what you like, but he does like what I like.”

This refrain is heard repeatedly–“not what we like, but what pleases God.”

Who decides?

If we do not find an atmosphere reverent, then our worship is compromised by boredom or distraction.

If we are turned off, either by the still, small voice or the joyful noise, there is a thin line between compromising and being compromised.

Both voices are valid, but must every congregation mongrelize?

In our eagerness to “grab market share,” we try to mix oil and water.

Why can't “alternative” for traditional churches mean “alternative” to what everyone else is doing, not “alternative” to what we are already doing so well?

Jim Cymbala, Rick Warren and other contemporary proponents and pioneers urge caution in forcing a viable fellowship to uproot. Rather, new areas, new congregations–a point largely missed in the amateurs' rush to clone.

“Blended worship” suggests “blended families,” by definition something lost, through death or divorce–a substitute for the ideal, requiring more effort, too often resulting in more a “suspension” than a “solution.”

Respect, on the one hand, seems to mean tolerance, on the other, forced conformity.

Harriet Kelley

Dallas

Missing the mark

I take issue with the following statement Marv Knox makes in “Christians must not block path to Middle East peace” (June 2): “Still others point to the Palestinians' long occupation of the land and conclude Palestinians hold at least as much right to the land as Jews.”

This statement seems to indicate he too has succumbed to the false notion that there was once a Palestinian nation, or even a large number of Arab-Palestinian people located within the present-day boundaries of Israel. This is “the big lie” the present-day Arab-Palestinian people, most of whom were originally from the country of Jordan within about the last 70 years, have been trying to convince the rest of the world.

If Hitler were alive today, he would be proud of their methods and efforts to legitimize such a lie–and laugh at the ignorance of history, naivete and gullibility of the rest of the world.

However, let me quickly and fervently state, I think the Baptist Standard is the best Southern Baptist state denomination paper in existence, and the one that best tells it like it is! Also, I think Marv Knox is still “on the mark” 99 percent of the time–he just took his aiming eye off the target a second this time before he pulled the trigger.

Joe W. Telford

Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

What do you think? Submit letters via e-mail to marvknox@baptiststandard.com or regular mail at Box 660267, Dallas 75266-0267. Letters must be no longer than 250 words. They may be edited to accommodate space.

Posted: 6/20/03

Toombs' 'Little Tommy'
character headed to Texas camps

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Standard

Wearing red overalls and a yellow baseball hat, Tom Toombs looks like a big kid.

And he quickly lets anyone who cares know that he still is one–at heart.

It's all part of his unique way of captivating youth audiences as he shares messages of Christ's love.

Toombs' ministry and trademark “Little Tommy” character were created to provide “love, laughter and lessons.”

In 1976, Toombs began incorporating the arts of illusion, comedy, drama, mime, balloons and storytelling with the message of salvation. In 1985, Toombs felt called into a vocational ministry.

The innovative performer has accumulated many credits, ranging from performing at the Dollywood theme park to the Rebecca St. James national tour.

By engaging audiences in his performances, Toombs “speaks truth through the arts,” he said. And his routines are designed for all ages to enjoy.

“The laughter breaks down barriers, thus deep lessons can be learned while people are having fun,” he explained. “Drama is a powerful tool to reach people with the gospel. It leaves the audience with a vivid picture of what was being said.”

Toombs makes more than 250 appearances each year, including school assemblies, church services, camps, retreats and revivals.

Throughout the summer, Toombs will perform for Texas youth groups at Mount Lebanon Baptist Encampment. He also will participate in Super Summer at Hardin-Simmons University July 14-18.

During his first week at Mount Lebanon, Toombs performed for about 900 children attending preteen camp and said he was thrilled to see God moving in the lives of the children and youth.

“My favorite part of what I do is meeting the best people and seeing how God is working as I travel across the country,” he said.

Posted: 6/20/03

On the Move

Kimberly Case to Windsor Park Church in DeSoto as children's ministries director.

Michael Carter to North Naples Church in Naples, Fla., as associate pastor and youth director from River Road Church in Amarillo, where he was pastor.

Jamie Curry to First Church in Floresville as youth minister.

Jay Davis to Windsor Park Church in DeSoto as student minister.

Hollas Hoffman to First Church in Smithville as interim pastor.

Matt Jones to First Church in Sanderson as interim pastor.

Donovan Martin to Highland Church in Lubbock as minister of students and recreation from University Church in Arlington, where he was minister to students.

Todd Melton to River Bend Church in Fulshear as minister of music and education.

George Mosier to Pleasant Terrace Church in Pleasant Grove as interim pastor.

Ernie Nelson to Greggton First Church in Longview as minister of music.

Susan Pisarra to Southern Hills Church in Oklahoma City as director of childhood ministries from First Church in Wichita Falls, where she was associate director of preschool and children's ministries.

Neal Todd to New Beginnings Church in Cedar Creek as pastor.

Scott Venable has resigned as university minister at First Church in Brownwood.

Posted: 6/20/03

Opportunity knocks at this camp
for Texas' hard-knocks teenagers

By George Henson

Staff Writer

NEWTON–With boys everywhere, at first glance this could be a Royal Ambassador camp. Boys are playing basketball, talking to counselors, wondering how much longer until dinner.

There's a difference not obvious on the surface, however. More than half these boys have had run-ins with the police and are on juvenile probation. More than 80 percent of them have no previous association with church. All of them need to see a Christ-like example.

For almost 40 years, churches of Golden Triangle Baptist Association have provided a means for troubled adolescents to learn about Jesus, many for the first time.

The program is called Opportunity Camp, and it is offered in separate sessions for boys and girls.

Dion Ainsworth, associate director of missions for the association, has provided leadership for the camp for 23 years. During that time, he said, he's seen almost everything from fist fights to a youth going berserk and threatening others with a pitchfork. But he's also seen many lives changed for eternity.

Ainsworth recalled a school counselor who had referred a boy to Opportunity Camp.

“We had a guidance counselor tell us that when school started up after the summer, that boy looked her up. He told her, 'I found Christ, and my whole life has changed.'

“She told me, 'You just have them for that one week, but we get to see the difference you make.' She had tears in her eyes when she told me that boy was killed in a car accident last December, but he will spend eternity in heaven now because of Opportunity Camp,” Ainsworth said.

First priority in enrollment for the camp goes to youth on juvenile probation in Jefferson and Orange counties. Last year, more than 75 percent of the youth who attended were on probation.

If space still is available, registration opens to adolescents referred by Child Protective Services and school counselors.

A few years ago, Ainsworth had to have a heart-to-heart talk with some to the juvenile probation officers–they weren't sending him kids with serious problems anymore.

“I had to tell them: 'If you're not sending us kids who have lots of problems, there's no reason for us to have Opportunity Camp. They could go to a regular church camp and just have a church scholarship them,'” he recalled.

Opportunity Camp is different than a regular church camp.

“This is for kids who are at high risk, kids who wouldn't make it through a regular camp,” he explained. “They would be sent home the first day for fighting or for some other thing.”

At Opportunity Camp, one counselor is assigned to every four campers, and the small groups always stay together. The added supervision makes it less likely something bad will happen.

“They also like getting a lot of attention,” Ainsworth said. “They may not act like it, but most of them like it.”

That means dorms built to hold 20 or 30 people have only four or five occupants, which creates higher operating expenses for East Texas Baptist Encampment, where Opportunity Camp is held.

“It's hard for them to break even on Opportunity Camp,” Ainsworth admitted. “They have to see it as a ministry.”

Campers also don't pay anything to attend because churches in the association pick up the tab. That includes transportation, T-shirts, Bibles and a nurse, among other things.

“Some of kids just show up with the clothes on their back, but we take care of them. We just make a trip to Wal-Mart,” he said.

The camp is highly structured and includes little free time. Campers are supervised at all times. Spiritual themes are interwoven with fun activities. On the rifle range, for example, campers are taught not only about safety but also about how sin is missing the mark of God's plan for their lives.

Small-group times also include communicating with God, weightlifting, how to be secure and numerous other topics.

The days are long–sometimes not ending until midnight or after. “We know they're not going to sleep until about 1 a.m. anyway, so we use that energy,” Ainsworth said.

Opportunity Camp is segregated, with boys there Monday through Wednesday afternoon and girls arriving Wednesday evening and leaving Saturday morning.

Twenty-five campers made professions of faith in Jesus Christ at this year's camp, and 10 more made rededications.

That is what brings back most of the counselors year after year.

“This is one of the hardest camps to be a counselor in,” Ainsworth admitted. “In church camp, they have at least seen the kids they are with before. Here, they don't know any of the kids until they get on the bus. … It's tough, but the rewards are great.”

Lionel Vandergriff, 64, has been a counselor four years.

“The first year was probably the hardest,” he admitted. “It was a new experience, and I didn't know what to expect. I was the only counselor who lost all his boys five minutes after they got off the bus; they scattered like a covey of quail. But I struggled to remember their names and got them all back. I really struggled with coming back the next year.”

But he was drawn back by the memory of what happened at the end of the camp.

“Those boys shared about their home life, and when we got back to that church parking lot, they went back to that same home life,” he said. “I was there being met by my wife and grandchildren. I just thought, 'I'm so blessed, how can I not go back and try to give back?'”

Sherry Thompson, director of this year's girls' camp, has been involved for 18 years.

“At church, you see God's working in kids' lives gradually, but I'd never seen a dramatic change of girls getting on a bus cussing each other, spitting and trying to fight, and then accepting Jesus Christ and being totally different,” she said.

“You can see Jesus at work at Opportunity Camp, and it has increased my faith because I have seen miracles, real miracles. I've seen girls come in spitting and snarling and going out as gentle as lambs.”

She admits Opportunity Camp is not for the faint-hearted.

“The girls we deal with have a real hard shell around their hearts, and it's for protection,” she explained. “You have to love them through that hard shell to get to the soft part.”

Posted: 6/20/03

Hawkins reports on
Annuity Board options, urges fitness

By Tony Martin

Mississippi Baptist Record

PHOENIX–In a climate of uncertain financial stability, O.S. Hawkins gave a glimmer of hope to participants in the Annuity Board's investment programs.

Addressing 7,000 messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix June 18, Hawkins said: “In this past year, America has seen something that hasn't been seen in the past 70 years, and that is three consecutive years of decline in the equity market. I don't think I have to tell any of us that who watch our retirement accounts.”

However, there is good news, he added: “Since the trough of that market back in October of 2002, every retirement equity fund we have is up over 25 percent. We're having one of the greatest years in investments we've had in a long, long time.”

Hawkins cited the benefits of the protection section of the Annuity Board's retirement program, stating that all participants in the retirement program automatically receive a $100,000 survivor benefit and a $500 per month disability benefit.

He rebuffed the assessment that churches might do better buying programs on the open market.

“Insurance continues to be our biggest challenge,” Hawkins acknowledge. “We're in a national crisis. We have been giving strategic focus to these insurance issues.”

Since moving administration of health insurance claims to the Principal Life Insurance Co., more than 90 percent of claims have been processed within 10 days, he reported.

He outlined three steps the Annuity Board is taking to address health insurance issues.

“First, we're taking responsibility,” he said. “We've totally revamped our program for 2004. Since we get no money to subsidize our program, it becomes a matter of claims paid out versus premiums received. Some people couldn't get in because of underwriting issues. Unfolding in 2004, we hope to provide a limited benefits program to get those folks in as well as their families.”

Second, a wider range of deductibles and plans will be available, Hawkins said, with options to move from plan to plan.

“The deductibles will make a big difference in the premiums,” he explained. “People who are paying a thousand dollars a month in premiums can choose a higher deductible and have their premiums decline by 40 to 50 percent. We've got a real attack going on the affordability issue.”

Hawkins admonished Baptist ministers to take responsibility for the health insurance crisis by taking better care of themselves.

“Forty percent of the claims we paid out last year were due to preventable diseases,” he said. “If we would get ourselves in physical shape by exercising and eating properly, it would be astronomical how we could reduce the rate of medical insurance.”

Third, Hawkins said he has written letters to deacons in SBC churches, telling them the church needs to take responsibility for providing the best staff benefits they can. Churches also should provide benefits such as annuity and insurance separately from the minister's pay, he advised.

Churches that fail to provide adequately for their ministers leave those ministers to struggle in old age, he warned, noting that “our biggest heartbeat is our relief effort.”

He showed a video about the plight of retired ministers and their spouses who don't have sufficient funds to retire.

“We have over 9,000 pastors and sometimes their widows living on $200 or less a month in benefits,” he explained. With help from the Adopt an Annuitant program, “we've been able to move our annuitant benefits from $75 a month to $200 a month for a single widow and $260 a month for a couple,” he reported.

Posted: 6/20/03

Appeal on chaplains policy tops SBC business

By Bob Terry

Alabama Baptist

PHOENIX–Should Southern Baptist military chaplains be ordained ministers?

Navy Capt. Al Hill thinks so. During the opening session of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix June 17, Hill offered a motion requiring that ordination to pastoral ministry be required for all people endorsed for military chaplaincy by the convention's North American Mission Board.

Hill's motion was one of 12 presented during the two-day meeting. Nine, including Hill's, were referred to SBC entities, and three were ruled out of order. No miscellaneous business item, including Hill's, was debated by the 7,070 messengers gathered in the Phoenix Civic Center.

Hill, a messenger from First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Va., said he was satisfied with the decision to refer. “At least we have the issue back on the agenda,” he said in an interview. “Prior to this meeting, it seemed the door was closed to further consideration.”

Hill and other military chaplains contend the current NAMB policy of not requiring ordination for military chaplaincy service reduces Southern Baptist chaplains to “religious social workers.”

“It is like sending our troops into battle with defective rounds,” said Army Chaplain Capt. Randy Moore, currently stationed at Fort Benning, Ga. “Southern Baptist chaplains need the best equipment possible. That means ordination to me.”

NAMB changed its policy on chaplains in order to avoid endorsing female chaplains who have been ordained. Although the U.S. military requires all chaplains to be ordained in their faith traditions, NAMB officials contend they will find a way for women to continue serving as chaplains without ordination.

SBC conservatives, including those among NAMB's trustees, believe the Bible forbids ordination of women, but they are open to women serving in chaplaincy roles.

A NAMB spokesman said he is confident the concern of military chaplains will be seriously considered by the agency, including additional conversation with senior military chaplains.

A motion instructing the SBC Executive Committee and other SBC entities to accept funds from Baptist individuals, churches, associations, conventions and organizations originally was ruled out of order because it called on messengers to “exercise authority given to the trustees of the various entities.”

However, the order of business committee offered to meet with Brian Kaylor of Union Mound Baptist Church in Elkland, Mo., to reword the motion in a way that would make it acceptable. After the motion was reworded, it was referred to all SBC entities impacted by the proposed action.

The motion appeared aimed at the decision by the SBC Executive Committee not to accept funds from a recently formed state convention in Missouri. The new convention was formed after changes in leadership of the traditional state convention, the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Five motions were referred to the SBC Executive Committee. Two messengers moved that the SBC annual meeting be held in their respective areas. Bob Mackey of Parma Baptist Church in Ohio asked that the annual meeting be held in Cleveland by 2010 or as soon as possible. Ben Brazal of King of Kings Christian Fellowship in Bronx, N.Y., moved that the convention meet in New York City.

Bobby Greene of Beulah Baptist Church in Kents Stone, Va., asked that the convention calendar include an annual emphasis on God's creation being done in six 24-hour days and on the worldwide flood.

The Executive Committee also will consider a motion requesting a special offering to be collected in July for the International Mission Board to help make up shortfalls in the mission agency's budget. The motion was offered by Greg Hyland of River Valley Community Church in Lebanon, N.H.

Messengers also voted to refer to the Executive Committee a request that proposed resolutions be distributed to the messengers at least one session prior to their consideration.

In addition to the motion by Chaplain Hill, NAMB received two motions dealing with efforts to reach internationals in the United States. Jamal Buhara of Phoenix asked for increased “attention and funding” for ministries to Middle Eastern immigrants. Lawson Lau of Illinois asked for cooperation between NAMB and the IMB to reach 2 million international students and scholars studying in the United States.

Two motions by Wiley Drake of First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, Calif., were ruled out of order. Drake's first motion sought to amend the annual meeting's order of business to allow a five-minute report from Crusade Radio, a program which he directs, about its support for President Bush. Drake's second motion sought to suspend SBC Bylaw 20 to allow presentation of resolutions from the floor. Bylaw 20 requires advance submission of all proposed resolutions. Earlier, the resolutions committee declined to accept resolutions from Drake because they were not submitted prior to the meeting.

Also ruled out of order was a motion by Roy Davis of North Shreveport Baptist Church in Louisiana asking that the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention be declared host of the SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. In declaring the motion out of order, the order of business committee reminded messengers that state conventions are autonomous bodies and cannot be instructed by the SBC.

A motion to reconsider the reduced budget allocation to the Baptist World Alliance was offered by Jim Stroud of Third Creek Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn. After determining that Stroud had voted for the budget the previous day, the motion was introduced and soundly defeated.

Posted: 6/20/03

SBC appeals to homosexuals to become heterosexual

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

PHOENIX (ABP)–The Southern Baptist Convention wants its churches to begin “ministries of compassion” to homosexuals to encourage them to abandon the gay lifestyle.

The SBC's Task Force on Ministry to Homosexuals, which reported its findings to the annual convention in Phoenix, said it identified 40 to 50 Southern Baptist churches that already have “intentional” ministries to homosexuals and speculated that perhaps thousands of other SBC churches minister to gays and lesbians in informal ways.

Likewise, many resources already exist to help homosexuals and churches that want to minister to them, task force members said. Several websites have been established to link interested Baptists to resources.

Jimmy Draper, a task force member, said the initiative is a first step.

“We have not strategized a new program,” said Draper, president of Lifeway Christian Resources. “We are trying to get churches to get a heart for this, and the resources are there if they will do that.”

Although the task force is encouraging Southern Baptists to reach out to homosexuals with compassion and grace, members concede the new initiative will not likely silence critics who accuse the SBC of gay bashing because of its insistence that homosexuality is a sin. Protesters from Soulforce, a pro-gay group, rallied outside the Phoenix Civic Center earlier during the convention, as they have in past years.

“My guess is they will continue to say we are anti-gay because we … say that the lifestyle they are living is inconsistent with the gospel,” said Richard Land, a task force member and president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

“I know that some of the critics have said … you have to accept their lifestyle to accept them,” Land added. “That's intolerant of them. That's intolerance. They're saying we have to deny our faith in order to meet their standard of acceptance. We can accept them and not accept their lifestyle, in the same way we accept alcoholics … and heterosexual philanderers.”

Task force members insist gays can abandon homosexuality by the power of God. Messengers to the convention agreed, adopting a resolution emphasizing the power of God to “transform” homosexuals.

Task force member Bob Stith said Mel White, Soulforce leader and former Southern Baptist, “doesn't want to allow people to choose” to leave homosexuality. “We believe people should have the right to chose to change,” said Stith, pastor of Carroll Baptist Church in Southlake.

But Brenda Moulton, coordinator of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, responded in an interview that programs to help homosexuals leave the lifestyle “are hurtful to the gay individual.”

“If one believes that sexual orientation or gender orientation is part of the diversity of God's creation, then to try to change that would be hurtful,” she said. “To change that would be comparable to trying to change eye color or skin color.”

According to Moulton, the American Psychological Association says “ex-gay reparative therapies,” such as those proposed by the task force, not only can be harmful but don't work. Moulton said she herself tried to change her homosexual orientation.

“I didn't feel as close to God as I did when I finally came to terms with my sexuality and accepted it as part of God's creation,” she said. “I felt like a whole person instead of a person who had been trying to split myself into two pieces.”

Land, who served as pastor of a church near the French Quarter in New Orleans in the 1970s, said “a third to a half” of the church's members were former homosexuals, indicating the switch can be made.

“It is hard to leave this lifestyle,” he acknowledged. “I became aware it is much more difficult to do outside of Christ.

“I can think of no crueler joke that has been played by the devil than to have this lifestyle described as a 'gay' lifestyle,” he added, “because I have found it to be one of the loneliest, one of the saddest, lifestyles that I've had the misfortune to observe. I felt nothing but compassion and sadness for people who found themselves in this lifestyle.”

Tim Wilkins, another task force member, is a former homosexual who said God's power enabled him to abandon homosexuality. “I did not consciously choose to have same-sex attraction, but I did choose to give in to it,” said Wilkins, founding director of Cross Ministry, a North Carolina-based Christian ministry to homosexuals.

When he was gay, Wilkins said, if someone had suggested he would one day be married, he would have laughed. After deciding to leave the homosexual lifestyle as a matter of Christian obedience, he said, he later experienced “a dramatic change” at age 33 and developed an attraction to women. He now has a wife and two daughters.

“There is no such thing as a gay Christian,” Wilkins said.

However, at least one task force member disagreed with that assertion.

“Neither I nor the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission believe it is impossible to be a homosexual and a Christian,” Land said. But as with Christian racists, Land said, it is impossible to be gay and live a life consistent with the gospel.

Task force members tried to distance Southern Baptists from anti-gay groups that preach hate. “That is nauseating to me,” said Draper, who suggested Southern Baptists should apologize to gays who have been the targets of hate.

Wilkins said loving homosexuals does not require affirming their practices. “I love homosexuals more now than when I was one,” he said, but he added, “The highest form of love does not withhold the truth.”

Task force members said Southern Baptists will have to overcome much fear and misunderstanding of gays in order to minister to them. They should treat gays just like other people in need of salvation, members advised.

“What we're really calling our churches to do is practice lifestyle-blind evangelism … to homosexuals, to any group,” Land said.

Posted: 6/20/03

Rankin: 'Break down wall of Islam'

By Jennifer Davis Rash

Alabama Baptist

PHOENIX–International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin sent out an urgent plea to help “break down the wall” of Islam during the closing session of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 18.

Using video presentations and interviews with IMB representatives, volunteers and friends, Rankin told how missionaries and missions volunteers are needed to reach the Muslim world for Christ.

“It is God's time for the gospel to penetrate those barriers in the Muslim world,” Rankin said. “It is the providence and power of God, moving to fulfill his purpose that he will be exalted among all nations and people and tongues. The only question is: Will we be found faithful?”

At the same time, Rankin reported the IMB will appoint only 100 long-term missionaries for the rest of the year due to financial constraints. The 100 will be chosen from among 308 applicants, he said.

“The $115.1 million given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering last year was the most ever given, but the increase in giving (has) not kept pace with the numbers God is calling from our churches,” Rankin said. “Southern Baptists gave $9.4 billion (to their churches) last year, but less than 2.5 percent was channeled into overseas missions through the International Mission Board.

“How will we give an account to God for our failure to send those called out of our churches for such a time as this?” Rankin asked.

Noting the recent termination of missionaries for not affirming the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, Rankin said: “Much has been published about missionaries being terminated, but the largest number of missions personnel to serve is right now. We have 5,545 doctrinally sound missionaries who are fully responsible to the churches that support them.”

Those missionaries are engaged in successful ministries, he added.

“Last year, your missionaries gained access to 146 new people groups who had the opportunity to hear the gospel for first time and planted congregations of indigenous believers as an ongoing witness and ministry,” he reported.

Rankin also noted that through the ministry of IMB workers and their ministry partners, 421,436 new believers were baptized in 2002, and 8,369 churches were started in Eastern Europe.

During a question-and-answer time, Tom Higginbotham of Judson Baptist Church in Walker, La., asked for clarification about whether Scripture was included on the food boxes recently collected for distribution in Iraq. During the convention sermon, O.S. Hawkins had referenced “liberals” protesting Scripture citations in the boxes.

“Dr. Hawkins said the liberals did not want Scripture in them,” Rankin responded. “He did not say we did not accompany them with Scripture. Scripture is on the box, and there are wonderful opportunities to share the gospel.”

Bob Arthur of First Baptist Church in Springdale, Ark., also talked about the Iraqi food boxes live via satellite from Baghdad. With a group of 30 volunteers in Iraq, Arthur asked Southern Baptists to send teams to Iraq during the next 120 days.

“Food cartons are going to arrive in late July or early August,” Arthur said. “We need Southern Baptist teams there to distribute those boxes in Baghdad and surrounding communities.”

Arthur cited needs for volunteers to help with cell-church training, structural repairs and water filtration systems.

“There are 100,000 people living without an operating sewer system in one area,” he said.

The pastor of the Protestant Evangelical Church of Baghdad told Arthur there are 2,500 born-again believers in Baghdad, he said.

“The military liberated Iraq externally, but only Christ can liberate it internally,” Arthur said. “The needs are phenomenal. We cannot fail at this point in history. We must respond as God leads us as individuals and churches.”