Posted: 5/21/03

Charitiees find donors cool to Iraq aid

By Mark O'Keefe

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Charities ramping up U.S. campaigns to benefit war-torn Iraq are finding the early fund-raising climate much cooler than the 100-degree temperatures troops faced in the desert.

The reason? Many potential donors haven't yet perceived a compelling need.

“Iraq has not resonated with the American public as an object of private philanthropy,” said Richard Walden, president of Operation USA, a Los Angeles-based relief group. “If we could put the solution in a bottle, we would.”

Experts offer a variety of explanations for the sluggish start:

The war hasn't caused the full-blown humanitarian crisis many had expected. The United Nations, for example, had predicted up to 1.5 million Iraqi refugees would flee for neighboring countries. Dozens of charities have been at the borders, waiting with help, but only a handful of refugees have come.

Journalists fixated for weeks on battlefield news are just beginning to tell the heart-wrenching people stories that motivate donors.

Many charities, unable to enter the country during the war, are only now assessing Iraqi problems, much less prescribing specific solutions that some donors–especially large ones–require before giving generously.

Some Americans figure that whatever problems do emerge are the responsibility of their government, which has already committed billions of dollars for relief and reconstruction.

But the $2.5 billion approved by Congress “is just a drop in the bucket when you look at the needs of Iraq,” said Bathsheba Crocker, co-director of a project on postwar Iraq at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Charities play an indispensable role, helping people in ways government cannot, especially in this early stage of recovery when many Iraqis lack safe water and competent medical care, Crocker said.

Still, it's a tough sell.

Mercy Corps hopes to raise $2 million for Iraq in two months. In 21 days, it raised slightly more than $280,000–despite a radio and television advertising blitz, the latter on Al-Jazeera in an attempt to capture the attention of Arab and Muslim Americans.

The group's 1999 efforts for war-torn Kosovo, by comparison, garnered $1.6 million in the first 21 days.

A big difference between the two is the media, officials believe. In Kosovo, television showed thousands of refugees leaving their homes in fear. In Iraq, the main problem has been people staying in their homes without suitable water–a far less compelling story.

“Unfortunately, the images folks are seeing on the TV lately are of Iraqis looting their country, which is not likely to prompt people to dig deeply into their pockets,” said James Bishop, director of humanitarian response for InterAction, an alliance of 160 international relief and development groups based in the United States.

Some charities simply say the right time for major fundraising has not arrived.

Atlanta-based CARE already is working in Baghdad, restoring electricity, for example, to the 1,200-bed Al Yarmuk General Hospital, which was shelled during the war. But CARE has decided to create a detailed assessment of Iraqis' problems and the charity's solutions before making its pitch.

“We could go out and be very vague right now and say CARE will respond, just give to help Iraq,” said Brian Cowart, CARE's director of direct marketing. “But our donors expect us to be more specific.”

Posted: 5/21/03

Iraqi Christians appeal for religious freedom

VATICAN CITY (RNS)–Iraq's Christian patriarchs and bishops have appealed for full religious, social and political freedom for the Christian descendants of the prophet Abraham in Iraq's new regime.

The Vatican issued the text of a joint statement made in Baghdad by leaders of the Chaldean, Assyrian, Syrian, Armenian, Greek and Latin rite churches in Iraq, where Muslims make up 90 percent of the population of 23 million.

The leaders said they hoped that “all the Iraqi people, who have known a long history marked by conflicts and successes, may live without distinction of religion or race in liberty, justice and respect in inter-religious and multiethnic coexistence.”

Emphasizing Iraq's ancient culture, the leaders referred to the code that Hammurabi, king of Babylon, etched in stone, making law “the basis of the development of civilization,” and to Abraham of Ur, who became “the father of a multitude of peoples.”

It was in Iraq, they said, that Christianity and Islam met in “a respectful reciprocal coexistence.”

“By virtue of our origins as part of the most ancient people of this Earth, we demand for us and for all those who today inhabit it–constituting a majority or minority, united by a long history of coexistence–to live as full members in a state of law in peace, liberty, justice and equality according to the Charter of the Rights of Man,” the leaders said.

Iraq's new constitution must recognize Christians' “religious, cultural, social and political rights,” allow all citizens to take part in government, give Christians full citizenship and guarantee them full religious rights, the statement said.

The leaders said they wanted specific guarantees of “the right to profess our faith according to our ancient traditions and our religious norms, the right to educate our children according to Christian principles, and the right to organize freely, to build places of worship and, when necessary, other spaces for cultural and social activities.”

Posted: 5/19/03
LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for June 1

The gospel never should be compromised

Galatians 1:1-12

By Jim Perkins

Madison Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio

We live in an era when our actions and responses are directed quite often by a type of political correctness and cultural sensitivity that results in a canvas painted with a colorless gospel. Not so with the Apostle Paul–his is an uncompromising stance concerning the gospel message that leaves no doubt as to his confidence in salvation through faith in Christ.

Understand the basics

The foundation for the letter to the Galatians is firmly planted on the bedrock of two vital truths. First, the apostleship of Paul arose through a direct commission and assignment from God. His was a calling that came not from man, but literally “by Jesus Christ and God the Father” (1:1). This conviction expressed in verse 1 allowed Paul both to affirm the essential unity between the Father and the Son and to point back to the source of authority for stating his position that salvation is through Christ alone.

Second, Paul left no doubt as to the purpose and effect of Christ's coming. In 1:4, Paul stated Jesus Christ "gave himself for our sins" in order to "rescue us from the present evil age." Our salvation, t

hen, is dependent on what God has done for us in Jesus Christ–the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross that brought forgiveness for sins. That we are dependent on Christ and not our own abilities becomes evident in Paul's choice of the word "rescue." One who must be rescued has no innate ability and harbors no hope that he or she might be able to save themselves.

Reject perversions

Most would say the letter to the Galatians is a type of “pastoral letter” sent from a concerned spiritual mentor (the Apostle Paul) to churches in that region facing crises or needs–and especially here the danger of a compromised gospel. In addition, it becomes obvious that this letter and other Pauline writings also served the wider purpose to ground and instruct the churches in appropriate doctrine and Christian ethics.

The immediate crisis facing the Galatians was the “confusion” produced by those who sought to “pervert the gospel of Christ” by introducing a different gospel that was “no gospel at all” (1:7). Paul considered this insidious perversion of the gospel to be capable of causing the Galatian believers to desert “the one who called you by the grace of Christ” (1:6).

The source of this false and perverted gospel was a specific group, the “some people” of verse 7. Most interpreters posit these people were Judaizers, or people who believed and taught that Gentiles had to have faith in Christ and obey certain tenets of the Jewish law–especially circumcision–to be saved. One might call this perversion of the gospel a “Jesus plus” mentality: Faith in Jesus is good, but there is still more needed to complete or perfect your salvation.

Paul, on the other hand, knew this change in the gospel was not just a compromise capable of promoting inclusiveness. No, this was a perversion of the gospel message that substituted a “different gospel.” Here the word Paul used for “different” in verse 6 probably meant much more than “different so as to be only a subtle variation”; instead, it signified “different so as to be of a whole different kind or category.” Without any reservations, then, Paul insisted this non-gospel must be rejected because it is simply not genuine.

Affirm the source

Paul was extremely careful to explain the source of his preaching concerning the good news of Jesus Christ. This “gospel I preached” was most definitely not a gospel of man's invention, nor was it even the result of the teaching of another apostle (1:11-12). No, what Paul taught was nothing less than the truth revealed to him by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This begs the question, however, as to exactly when Jesus Christ revealed this gospel message to Paul. Most interpreters agree in pointing back to the Damascus road experience as the life-changing, formative occasion in Paul's Christian experience (read Acts 9). It was during Paul's trip to that city–a trip undertaken to expand the persecution of Christians–that Jesus revealed himself and the basic content of the gospel message.

This is not to say that Paul abstained totally from any conversation with the other apostles, or believers such as Ananias or Barnabas. It does mean, though, that the interpretation or significance of the facts related to the gospel came from Jesus Christ alone.

Questions for discussion

Do you believe the temptation or pressure to compromise the gospel message still exists today? In what form is pressure most likely to be experienced?

Draw up a “general guiding principle” you could apply to your experiences of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others. Look to Galatians 1:8-10 and 1 Peter 3:15 for guidance.

Posted: 5/19/03
LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 1

An urgent summons for evangelistic field hands

Matthew 9:35-38; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

By Tim Owens

First Baptist Church, Bryan

When Jesus looked upon the multitudes in Matthew 9:35-38, his heart was moved with love and compassion. He pictured the crowds of people as a flock of sheep–hopeless, helpless and exhausted. He also pictured an abundant harvest–a huge, overripe field of grain that needed to be gathered in.

What is Jesus' diagnosis as he looks out at the cities, towns and neighborhoods of Texas? He still observes a multitude of helpless sheep and a field of overripe grain. And perhaps, most importantly, he still challenges his people to pray for laborers to harvest the overripe field.

Jesus says in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Why does this situation persist year after year? Church attenders are many. Seminars and conferences are many. Programs are many. Evangelistic laborers are few. Why is there a shortage of evangelistic field hands?

First, the devil attacks God's people at the point of laboring f

or Christ. Try to imagine the impact of a church if every member was a dedicated laborer for Christ. Try to imagine the impact of a church if every member, upon leaving the sanctuary each Sunday, went out into the world with the consuming desire to make Christ known to others. The impact of such a labor force would be immeasurable.

The devil knows this, and thus, this is where he concentrates his efforts. He leads Christians to bicker among themselves over internal issues, so they will lose their focus on the external issue of people living and dying without Christ. He leads Christians to spend their time on many good activities, while they leave the very best activity undone.

The most effective source of power to counter-attack the devil is prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 9:38: “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” The battle in which Christians are engaged is a spiritual battle, and a spiritual battle must be fought with the spiritual weapon of prayer. God's people can pray Satan's efforts to retard the growth of evangelistic laborers will be overcome. Jesus implies that if his people will pray this prayer, he will answer their prayer by raising up more laborers.

A second reason there is a shortage of evangelistic field hands is that there is something inherently unpleasant about the idea of being a common laborer. People by nature want to be supervisors, managers, directors or executives, but not common laborers.

The word “workers” in Matthew 9:37 is the word for “field hand.” It refers to an agricultural worker. In the physical realm, the world does not get fed unless the field hands do their work. In the spiritual realm, the world does not hear about Christ unless the spiritual field hands do their work.

Romans 10:14-15 says plainly, “How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'”

The spiritual grain is ripe. It must be brought in. Somebody must harvest the crop. Christians must decide there is nothing humiliating about being the one who brings others to faith in Christ.

A third reason there is a shortage of evangelistic field hands is that Christians fail to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers. If Christians doubt prayerlessness is a major reason for the shortage of spiritual laborers, let them ask themselves: “What place does the prayer for spiritual workers occupy in our lives? Do we pray for evangelistic laborers?”

It is interesting to observe how Christians tend to treat the basic Christian disciplines. Instead of reading the Bible, they read books about the Bible. Instead of praying, they worry. Instead of laboring for Christ out in the world, they soothe their consciences by thinking or even saying, “That's why we pay the preacher.” Instead of praying for evangelistic laborers and participating in evangelistic harvesting, they occupy themselves with ecclesiastical busywork. Jesus' solution seems too simplistic–pray!

Two things will happen when Christians pray for evangelistic laborers. First, God will respond by raising up laborers. He will answer their prayers, because he desires far more than anybody to bring in the harvest. Christians must remember the harvest is comprised of people for whom Christ died. It is truly God's harvest.

Second, as Christians pray for laborers, their own hearts will become stirred to be some of those laborers. The love of Christ will compel them to go and share him with others (2 Corinthians 5:14). They will regard every human being from a spiritual point of view–that if anyone comes to faith in Christ, they will receive God's forgiveness and become brand new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16,17). They will joyfully assume the role of ambassador for Christ–boldly speaking the message of reconciliation that “God made Christ who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Question for discussion

Do you agree with these reasons for more Christians not being more involved in the harvest, or do you have other suggestions?

Posted: 5/19/03

Pastors' wives know joy and pain

By Jo Gray

Special to the Standard

Wanted: Adult female to serve without pay. Must be able to function without complaint as secretary, music director, nursery worker, janitor, auxiliary president and fund-raiser. On call 24 hours a day. Cooking abilities a plus. Good sense of humor helpful.

In many churches, this is the unpublished job description of the pastor's wife–perhaps the only profession that has no real job description but is deemed vital to her husband's success.

Lawyers do not depend on their wives to defend clients. Doctors don't need their wives in the operating room. But in many churches, a pastor needs his wife in the ministry.

Pastors' wives sometimes see themselves not only without a title or job description but without an identity.

“I've got a name, and it's not 'The Pastor's Wife,'” said one pastor's wife, summing up her frustration of being identified with her husband's occupation in a way most women are not.

“As soon as I am introduced as the pastor's wife, I know I will be seen as someone to fill a vacancy and provide chicken casseroles when the need calls for it,” said this woman, who asked not to be named.

Other pastors' wives find joy in what they once would have considered obligation. Lisa Newton, for example, has been a pastor's wife nearly 14 years. She currently teaches a Sunday School class of teenagers.

“When I was new to the ministry, I would have felt inadequate to teach,” she explained. “Now I do it because it is in my heart to do so.”

Ruth McKay, another pastor's wife, experienced a clear call from God to be a pastor's wife when she was 14. Today, she also finds personal fulfillment in teaching children at church.

Even after 50 years of being married to a pastor, she feels certain about her own call to serve. “God revealed it to me,” she said.

“You have to be willing and able to answer God's call,” McKay said. “I've done more of what God has wanted me to do rather than what the church wanted.”

Yet expectations often are hard to break.

Newton said she never will forget the time she was asked by a member of a small congregation if she played the piano or sang. When she told the inquirer she did neither, she was asked, “What do you do?”

“People just assume the pastor preaches and you must sing and/or play the piano,” Newton said. “It is part of the role and is often expected of the pastor's wife.”

Sometimes, this expectation becomes part of the job interview if churches are seeking a package deal when hiring the pastor, she said.

One of the hardest things for her as the pastor's wife, Newton said, is losing her own identity.

“As a mother, I am known as Brooklyn's mom or Brittan's mom. And I am known as the pastor's wife. I don't mind being called Lisa.”

The life of a pastor's wife can be lonely at times, Newton said, explaining that she and other pastors' wives live in a situation that, by its nature, limits close personal friendships.

“You're surrounded by people, yet you are often alone,” she said. “I believe this is why many pastors' wives become depressed and somewhat withdrawn. We all need someone we can be honest with and share our feelings with–someone to understand.”

Yet the pastor's wife cannot confide in the women of the church about family issues, because these are the women who confide in her husband when they themselves are faced with the same kind of issues.

“You have to minister to the minister, but there is no one to minister to me,” said one young pastor's wife who asked not to be identified. She fears that to share her real feelings is too big a risk to take.

Another young pastor's wife agrees but said there are times when sharing is important.

“I have learned, so far, that being in the ministry automatically puts you in that fish-bowl status,” said Melissa Adams, who has been a pastor's wife less than two years. “People are always looking for fault, which they will find at some point or another because we are human.”

She echoed Newton's feelings of loneliness.

“That sense of loneliness can soon allow self-doubt to creep into our lives,” she said. “We no longer feel we are doing a good job in any of our roles. The job we have doesn't always produce tangible results. That in itself can make us doubt our self-worth.”

McKay, on the other hand, said she and her husband have always been a part of the community in which they serve, which has given them no lack of friends or the time to feel lonely.

“I recall the words of an old church member who said, 'Being lonely is a sin,'” McKay said. “I'm inclined to agree. I read. I talk to the flowers. I even talk to my toes if need be.”

Jeanie Mayfield fell in love with and married a sailor who had no interest in serving God at the time. She has watched God work in the life of her husband, who currently is a pastor. And now as a pastor's wife, she has had to adjust to expectations that are beyond her expertise.

“I am totally inadequate at taking charge and planning dinners and a lot of functions,” she explained. “This was intimidating at first, but I have learned that God always blesses me with ladies who are very good at this sort of thing.”

Now widowed, Sharon Escobar served as a pastor's wife for more than 40 years. She was 16 years old when she married a minister.

“I was so young and inexperienced that my biggest problem was me,” she said. “I would lay awake at night and worry that I would ruin my husband's life because I was so ignorant.”

Escobar now realizes that a pastor's wife is first of all a human being with the same wants and needs as any other woman. Yet she knows members of the congregation do not always acknowledge this fact.

“I believe our expectations of ministry and the belief that certain things are expected of us as pastor's wives can cause a lot of frustration,” Escobar said, recalling how she felt when she had to be involved in every aspect of church work in her younger days.

“This resulted in a very tired wife and mother,” she said. “Gradually, I learned there has to be a balance in anyone's life if there is to be anything that is worthwhile.”

Success as a minister's wife also requires turning the proverbial “other cheek,” McKay added.

“I have swallowed a lot of hurt,” she said. “But it is better to take the criticism than to break up the church. I've been criticized for hugging, but if I can give a hug, it's one thing I can do that may make a difference.”

Sandy Brooks, too, has learned to deal with the hurtful things people say to her as a pastor's wife. She has served alongside her pastor husband 28 years.

She tries to consider the source and not let words get her down. “Negative remarks usually come from immature Christians,” she explained.

A key to surviving such incidents is to be secure, Brooks added. “We have to be secure in our relationship with our husband. We have to be secure in our relationship with the church, with God and with ourselves.”

And that gets back to calling.

“I believe being a pastor's wife is as much a calling as being called to preach,” Brooks said. “It is a calling, not a chosen profession.”

There is joy to be found in the journey, she insisted.

“Seeing lives change for the positive, that's what keeps us going,” Brooks said. “In the ministry, people come to us seeking help and reassurance. If everything around me is going bad but I can help one person, it is uplifting.”

Posted: 5/19/03

Ministers' families not perfect, Miley says

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SPICEWOOD–Ministers' wives need to overcome the pressure of perfection and strive for excellence in their lives, according to author Jeanie Miley.

While the stresses placed on ministers is well known, their spouses also face strenuous demands from their congregations and themselves, Miley said during the Baptist General Convention of Texas Ministers' Wives Retreat at Highland Lakes Baptist Encampment.

Many church people expect ministers' wives and families to be perfect at all times, said Miley, herself a minister's wife. With a laugh, she recalled the Sunday morning chaos of her and her children going to church. Each person was running in a different direction, and each person was mad at everyone else.

When they stepped out of the vehicle, however, they smiled “until their teeth were dry,” she said, knowing they were expected to be the picture of perfection.

Such expectations are impossible to reach, Miley reminded the audience. Instead, she encouraged them to try the best they could to be Christ-like.

“We live under this pressure to live perfect lives, which is a bunch of hooey because it's impossible to be perfect,” she said. “That's already been done, and we're not required to be perfect. It stands in the way of being excellent. So give up perfect and try for excellent.”

Being married to a minister does not protect a wife and family from the challenges every family faces, Miley reported. “Life's hard in the minister's home. Life's hard everywhere,” she said. “We're not special, and we need to get over thinking life should treat us one way or another because we're in the ministry.”

Ministers' wives are special in the same respect all humankind is–because they are made in the image of God, Miley said.

And every minister's spouse has spiritual gifts that can contribute to the health of the congregation, she added. Despite this knowledge, many spouses continually hide their talents to let others shine, because they believe that is the expectation, Miley said.

God asks each person to live a life for him, not stick to a “role,” she asserted.

“There is no role you play that is as important as your identity as a human being made in the image of God. And if you are born a woman and live your life as a role and die as a role, how sad.”

Posted: 5/19/03

Loss of 43 missionaries in a day called IMB record

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

The loss of 43 missionaries–including 13 who were fired— represents the largest mass exodus in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board.

“We've never had anything close to this,” said Alan Lefever, director of the Texas Baptist Historical Collection. “They've never had a controversy in the IMB like this.”

The 43 missionaries who parted ways with the IMB May 7 joined at least 34 others who previously had resigned or retired rather than sign an affirmation of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message as mandated by IMB President Jerry Rankin.

Names of the 13 terminated missionaries were not released by the IMB, but the list has been compiled by direct confirmation with the missionaries. (See chart at right.) The identities of all missionaries who have resigned or retired rather than sign the faith statement have not yet been ascertained.

Critics of the revised faith statement question its blanket prohibition against woman pastors, consider it to weaken the traditional Baptist doctrines of the autonomy of the local church and priesthood of the believer, and contend it places the Bible in higher esteem than Jesus as a guide to biblical interpretation.

But the primary conflict cited by missionaries is a feeling that signing any faith statement amounts to affirming a creed–something historically anathema to Baptists.

That concern is exemplified in a letter written to a regional IMB leader April 28 by Don and Angie Finley of Brazil, two of the missionaries whose resignations were accepted by the IMB May 7.

They declared they were “not resigning because we have a problem with grassroots Southern Baptists” or “because we have done anything wrong or have something to hide.”

“When a Baptist missionary sending agency demands doctrinal accountability on the basis of a man-made document rather than on the basis of Scripture, something is wrong,” they asserted. “When unnamed critics are taken seriously when they make vague, generalized and unsubstantiated accusations against doctrinally sound and spiritually committed missionaries, … something is wrong. When denominational politics takes precedence over mission priorities, and missionaries themselves are made pawns in a denominational political game, something is wrong.”

News of the IMB trustees' action also drew an expression of sadness from a subcommittee chairman of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Missions Review & Initiatives Committee. Dan Malone, an El Paso attorney, chaired the subcommittee that studied relations with the IMB last year.

“Of the many disappointments and frustrations since the so-called 'conservative resurgence,' the firing of God-called missionaries is far and away the saddest day of all,” Malone said. “I am particularly alarmed that it was President Rankin's request to his IMB trustees to take this action, because he had previously promised that missionaries would never be obligated to sign a doctrinal statement as long as he was president. The pressure placed on him and other IMB leaders must be intense.”

The 13 missionaries who were fired all were long-tenured personnel and represent a combined total of 273 years of service to the IMB.

Rankin and other IMB officials have downplayed the impact of the firings, resignations and retirements, noting that 98 percent of the agency's 5,500 field workers have signed the affirmation.

That is a valid statistic, but but it may not address the issue of what motivated the missionaries to sign, according to Bill O'Brien, former executive vice president of the IMB and global missions strategist now living in Birmingham, Ala.

Stating a yes-no count “doesn't judge the motivation of those who signed or how deeply they agreed with the revised Baptist Faith & Message,” O'Brien said. “We've talked with numerous missionaries who basically said, 'God called me here, and I'll sign in order to keep doing my ministry.' Additionally, you have 'yes' responses ranging from 'This is a wonderful statement of faith' to 'I can live with it.'”

The IMB faces a potential negative impact on morale and unity on the field between those who signed in order to protect their ministries or careers and those who embrace the statement fully, he predicted.

Earlier statements by missionaries confirm O'Brien's assessment that not all who have signed did so out of convictional agreement with the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message:

Rick and Nancy Dill, among those fired, wrote to Rankin in April noting, “The truth is, many missionaries have signed against their conscience because it was imposed upon them.”

The Finleys, in their April 2003 resignation letter, noted “there are those who have encouraged us to sign … so we can continue to fulfill our call.”

Jan and Tim Webb, at a November 2002 meeting in Virginia after they had resigned as missionaries to Mexico, said they considered signing so it would “secure” their ministries and they could “go on with their lives” and that they knew other IMB missionaries who also disagreed philosophically with the statement but were planning to affirm it in order to avoid ending their ministries.

The revised SBC doctrinal statement was the sole issue surrounding the firings. No criticism of the ministries of the dismissed missionaries and no suggestions of immoral or unethical behavior were offered by the IMB.

Texas trustees of the IMB are David Evans of Amarillo, Kyle Cox of Houston, John Hatch of Lake Jackson, Skeet Workman of Ropesville, A.C. Halsell of Plano, Mike Smith of Jacksonville, Hal Kinkeade of Springtown, Albert Lee Green of Lancaster, Stephen Swofford of Rockwall, George Cook of Pasadena, Bob Pearle of Fort Worth and Bill Sutton of McAllen.

With additional reporting by Craig Bird

Posted: 5/19/03

For her birthday, Texas-born missionary
got a pink slip from the IMB

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

As missionary Susie Dixon celebrated her birthday in Spain May 7, trustees of the International Mission Board were wrapping an unusual present for her–a termination notice.

Dixon and her husband, David, were fired by the IMB on Mrs. Dixon's birthday because they refused to sign an affirmation of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message as mandated by IMB President Jerry Rankin.

Mrs. Dixon saw the ironic timing as a blessing rather than a curse, however, her husband said. “For her, the fact that the termination vote came on her birthday just meant that there were lots of faithful supporters praying especially for her, enabling her to have a wonderful day in the Lord in spite of what else was happening.”

Southern Baptist missionaries' birthdays are listed on prayer calendars circulated worldwide.

The Dixons both are native Texans. He is from Greggton Baptist Church in Longview, and she is from First Baptist Church of Midland. They previously served at Iglesia Bautista Central and Primera Iglesia Bautista, both in Fort Worth. He is a graduate of the University of North Texas in Denton. She is a graduate of Texas Tech. Both are graduates of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In Madrid, he is academic dean and professor of Greek, New Testament and theology at the Spanish Baptist Seminary. She teaches in Christian education and discipleship.

In an electronic newsletter to friends dated May 7, the Dixons said they are confident God will carry them through the trial of termination. While IMB trustees declared them not to be working “in accordance with and not contrary to” the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, “we continue to affirm … that the Lord is sovereign and we are his servants, eager to conduct our lives and ministry in accordance with and not contrary to his word,” they wrote.

After 15 years of service through the IMB, the Dixons will return to Texas in July for two months of “terminal leave” as provided by IMB policy.

By fall, they hope to return to Spain with different financial support.

Before they leave the field, however, the Dixons will host two Texas Baptist volunteer groups in Madrid. The Wayland Baptist University choir and orchestra will arrive May 25, and a team of women from the Baptist General Convention of Texas evangelism office will arrive in June to lead a Women on Mission retreat.

Despite their current circumstance, the Dixons urged Texas Baptists to continue praying for the Christian witness in Spain, considered one of the most secular of the European nations.

The Dixons were among 31 Southern Baptist missionaries given a May 5 deadline by Rankin to either sign the faith statement or resign. Rankin told them they must sign to be “accountable” to the SBC.

But the Dixons questioned whether signing that piece of paper was a true measure of accountability.

“We have to ask whether such accountability should focus solely on those Southern Baptists in attendance at the 2000 convention which approved the current Baptist Faith & Message as the 'official' expression of 'our common faith,” the Dixons wrote in an April 24 letter to Rankin. “We personally know many Southern Baptists who help send and support us on the mission field who do not consider the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message to be an adequate expression of their beliefs. Entire state conventions could be cited as examples. Does their voice no longer matter in the Southern Baptist Convention?”

The Dixons said they chose to be fired rather than resign “for the sake of” those Southern Baptists whose dissent over the Baptist Faith & Message has not been heard. “When you terminate our service with the IMB, are you not sending a message of alienation to these faithful Baptist people to whom we also feel accountable?” they asked Rankin.

The Dixons detailed in their letter numerous ways in which they believe they have been “accountable” to Southern Baptists, including a thorough theological examination upon appointment in 1988, regular reports from the field and interaction with hundreds of volunteers from various states.

Like most other missionaries who refused to sign Rankin's required statement, the Dixons cited an aversion to signing a creed.

“By asking us to submit our ministry to any document other than Scripture, you are turning a corner that Baptists have historically not been willing to turn,” they wrote.

They added: “Southern Baptists have never needed a 'papal' committee to bring about conformity to one sole interpretation of biblical doctrines. … In Spain, our Roman Catholic friends and neighbors have a pope to tell them what the Bible means and how they should interpret it. As Baptists (we) cannot and will not affirm a document that seems to take us in that same authoritarian direction.”

Not even the Holy Spirit always conducts himself “in accordance with and not contrary to the current Baptist Faith & Message,” the Dixons asserted. “We need only witness events in China to discover that he does not: women serving as pastors, evangelists, church planters. They demonstrate that when it comes to winning the lost and gathering them into the kingdom, God uses any instrument available to do his bidding.”

As they return to Texas to regroup, the Dixons asked that Baptists pray not only for them but for their children–Daniel, 19; Joel, 16; and Michael, 10.

Dixon also lost his father to a stroke in April, and he asks prayer for his 90-year-old mother, who is facing several major adjustments.

But most of all, they urge Texas Baptists to pray for the people of Spain, particularly the immigrant population in Spain with whom they have been working closely.

“We'll celebrate our final immigrant meeting of the season on May 24,” they wrote, “and ask that you'd pray with urgency that we'll be able to communicate the Lord's vision to this precious group.”

Posted: 5/19/03

WORSHIP WITNESS:
Texas songwriter Chris Tomlin

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Standard

As Chris Tomlin travels across the country leading thousands of people in worship, he remains true to his Texas Baptist roots.

“I grew up in a Christian home and grew up going to a Baptist church in a small town in Texas, ever since the nursery,” he explained.

While growing up at Main Street Baptist Church in Grand Saline, Tomlin had an intense desire to be used for God. “As a young kid, I had given my heart and said, 'God, whatever you want me to do … .' I didn't pray to be a songwriter or worship leader, anything like that. I just wanted to be God's man and be available to go wherever God would lead me.”

By the time he was a junior at Texas A&M University, Tomlin felt a calling to lead others in worship.

“All through college, God was really starting to open doors for leading worship,” he said. “Around my junior year, I felt like it was a strong opening of the doors. I was kind of at a crossroads as to whether I was going to pursue a career in business or whatever, or whether I was going to walk by faith and follow these doors that God was opening.”

With that inspiration, Tomlin began to pursue a full-time ministry as a songwriter and “lead worshipper”–which he views as a better description of his calling, rather than “worship leader.”

“As God started giving me some songs to write, people were starting to sing these songs. It was a really exciting time. It was also scary because I didn't know how to do ministry as far as a livelihood, but God was faithful.”

Today, his songs like “Forever,” “We Fall Down,” and “The Wonderful Cross” are sung in churches around the country.

“All kinds of things are involved in the songwriting process,” Tomlin explained. “Scripture is a big part of it. Sometimes, a certain Scripture will jump out in a way that we've never seen before; that's always a big deal.”

After forming an idea, Tomlin said, the melody and lyrics usually come together about the same time. From there, he usually collaborates with his co-writing friends, such as band mate Jesse Reeves and Passion Conferences founder Louie Giglio.

“It's a good process; that way it gives another perspective, another angle, another idea,” Tomlin said. “Usually the idea comes, and I just usually sit with an acoustic guitar in my room and just see what happens. I have a lot of ideas all the time, just trying to put those ideas on paper. Worship is simply a response to God, and in songwriting, you're responding to who God is. All of life is worship; it's responding in that way, and it comes out in songs.”

Throughout the year, Tomlin and his band maintain a busy schedule, which includes many Baptist General Convention of Texas events such as the Hot Hearts Student Conference, Super Summer, as well as performing at Baptist youth camps and area churches.

“Our style is just what really comes natural to us,” Tomlin said. “It's how we play, how we feel it. We're not trying to put on anything or be anything. We're just ourselves, and that's our style of music.”

That style is “definitely more progressive,” he acknowledged. “Mostly, our heart is the spirit behind it versus the style. Styles come and go, but hopefully the spirit is what is really reaching people.”

When Tomlin isn't on the road, he is the lead worshipper at a church he helped start, Austin Stone Community Church.

“A big deal this year has been planting a church in Austin,” he said. “We've been on a few tours, and we're doing a Passion tour this fall. This summer, we're doing a lot of festivals, conferences and camps. As for next year's plans, I don't look that far ahead. God could change things at any moment, but I know that this year's a lot of travel, planting this church and living in a new city. We're kind of building our lives here.”

When preparing for an event, Tomlin carefully selects songs he feels will best suit the targeted audience, with the goal of leading others to Christ.

“Because each event is different, I try to figure out what it's about, who the people are and where they're coming from,” he said. “We always have a planned-out set list, but we always have options, and the guys in the band know that I could go anywhere at anytime. We have an idea of what we're going to do, but there's the option of seeing where the people are and through the spirit of God, knowing where the crowd is.”

Tomlin's popularity among churches is largely credited to the humility and passion he displays while leading others in corporate worship.

“You don't want people following you,” he noted. “You want people following God. I think you see that in a great example from King David. He had a very humble heart before God and really sought after God. Whether we ever sell another record or anything, I know we'd still be doing this because we love to travel and to do this. … If he never gave us another stage, I know that we would still play music, sing to him, and worship him.”

One of his own most meaningful worship experiences happened at the OneDay conference in 2000, when he and Matt Redman were leading the song “The Wonderful Cross.”

“We were blown away by the idea of the cross,” Tomlin said. “We had just been teaching about the cross. Everything was focused, and these students brought a cross from the back of the field and set it up. People from everywhere started running to the cross and wanted to touch it; thousands of people wanted to get close to it.

“They began to pick the cross up and surf it over the crowd. Wherever the cross would go, people's hands would move. They just wanted to get close to touch it. At that moment, we were just like, 'Where would we be without the cross? Where in the world? We surely wouldn't be here, and there wouldn't be any hope.'”

Posted: 5/19/03

Wayland keeps tuition rate steady

PLAINVIEW–Wayland Baptist University trustees have frozen tuition rates at the Plainview campus through spring 2004.

They retained the tuition rate of $270 per semester hour for undergraduate courses and $275 per hour for graduate courses.

The decision to forego an increase was based on consideration of the region's economy, said President Paul Armes. “We live in an area that has faced more than its share of economic struggles in recent years, and our recommendation reflected consideration of that.”

Estimated costs for a semester at Wayland's Plainview campus, including books, shared dormitory room and meal plan, is $5,542.

Trustees approved a $10 per credit hour tuition increase at Wayland's external campuses, the first raise for those sites in three years. That will bring tuition to $140 per hour for undergraduate work and $165 per hour for graduate courses.

Trustees approved a $33.9 million budget for the 2003-04 fiscal year, an 11.7 percent increase.

Trustees also adopted an amended mission statement that says: “Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging and distinctively Christian environment for professional success, lifelong learning and service to God and humankind.”

Posted: 5/19/03

Massive collegiate worship event coming to North Texas

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Standard

What happens when a generation comes together to pray, worship, and fuel their fire for Christ?

On Memorial Day weekend, college students from around the world will meet on a private 400-acre ranch in Sherman seeking a spiritual awakening in this generation. The event will be called OneDay.

A previous OneDay was held in May 2000 and was the largest collegiate gathering of its kind in 25 years, drawing more than 40,000 college students from 26 countries to Shelby Farms, Tenn.

Hosted by Passion Conferences, led by Louie Giglio, the assembly will begin May 24 and build to the focal point, OneDay, on May 26 and conclude May 27.

For three days, students will hear messages from well-known worship leaders focused around intercession, celebration, confession, reflection, adoration and repentance.

Leaders of Passion Conferences and OneDay03 said they are dedicated to uniting college students from campuses and churches across the nation, uniting them across ministry and denominational lines to seek God together in worship and prayer.

“We want people to really grasp the idea that it's a God-centered world and to live our lives in a very God-centered way,” said lead worshipper Chris Tomlin. “You'll see everything with the Passion movement that has '268 Generation' on it. People are always like, what's that? We've always been rooted in the Passion scripture, Isaiah 26:8, which says, 'Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your truth, we wait eagerly for you, for your name and your renown are the desire of our souls.'”

Tomlin continued: “That's what we want to be about. We want to hold up God in front of people as big as we can, and say here's the living God–live for this.

“Even as people from stage, we're not up there saying we've got it all together. We're saying we're in this with you. We want to lead you in this way, and I think it's very unique. We just want to pray that we step out of the way, and God is glorified, and that the people come who need to come.”

More than 1,500 volunteers are needed to help facilitate an event of this magnitude, which was open to ages 18 to 26, graduate students, adult leaders and students entering their senior year in high school.

“It's very university-driven, a specific age for them,” Tomlin said. “We're very excited, but we have no idea what God's going to do. We have no idea what to expect, but we really sense that it's going to be something very special from the Lord. This is different in that it's a solemn assembly–a gathering of people opening their hearts to God and being honest before the Lord.”

Many Baptist churches and colleges around the state, including Lake Pointe Church of Rockwall, First Baptist Church of Richardson, Dallas Baptist University and Hardin-Simmons University, are among the student ministries with large groups planning to attend OneDay03.

Posted: 5/19/03

Singles urged to be people of God

By Becky Bridges

Texas Baptist Communications

PASADENA–Like the first Old Testament patriarch of Israel, Christians are called out to become part of a new family. And that may mean leaving blood relations behind, according to Mike Stroope, professor of Christian missions at Baylor University's Truett Seminary.

“When God called Abraham, God was speaking to one individual and pulled him out of his comfort zone to create a new family,” Stroope told about 400 participants from 100 churches attending the Texas Baptist Single Adult Conference at First Baptist Church of Pasadena.

Christians, called to become part of a great community, will move toward a promise, he said. “God has promised us, just as he did the Israelites, that we will become a new nation that he will bless.”

God provides the power, Stroope added. “We demonstrate who God is by knowing him through relationship so others can marvel and wonder and talk about our God. We aren't walking around like any other people. We have now been brought nearer to God through Jesus.”

God's power can be demonstrated today by how Christians defy cultural bias and become one family despite heritage and cultural differences, the professor explained.

“I am Dutch and German. I've laid down my Dutchness to join this new community and have a heritage that began with Abraham. Pedigree doesn't matter as much as being a people of God.”

Christians must consider themselves “as now inside the tent, when we were once outside–as a part of a race, and born into a new nation,” Stroope said. Through a relationship with Jesus, Christians became a kingdom of priests and now are responsible for interceding for the nations.

“We are to proclaim his excellency and not just have a spiritual checklist. We should be careful that we not make community the point. The world isn't impressed with our theology. They aren't impressed with our technique,” Stroope warned.

Instead, Christian community exists for the name of God so that as believers walk together through neighborhoods and at their jobs, the world might marvel at their oneness, he said.