Posted: 10/29/07

Early messenger count tops 1,500 in Amarillo

More than 1,500 messengers were registered at the Baptist General Convention annual meeting by 11 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 29, two hours before the opening session.

This afternoon, messengers will vote on the 2008 Cooperative Program budget and elect a new president. Announced nominees are Joy Fenner—a former missionary to Japan, executive director emeritus of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas and the endorsed candidate of Texas Baptists Committed—or David Lowrie—a West Texas pastor whose backers have called for an "open election" and who have expressed discontent with recent actions by BGCT leaders.

Fenner would be the first woman BGCT president. Lowrie would be the first second-generation BGCT president and the first nominee in the last two decades not endorsed by the moderate Texas Baptists Committed political organization. Lowrie was endorsed by several Baptist bloggers.

Check back throughout the day for updated news from Amarillo.

Posted: 10/29/07

First woman BGCT president elected

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AMARILLO—Messengers to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting narrowly elected the first woman president of the state convention—and continued a two-decade string of officers endorsed by the moderate Texas Baptists Committed organization.

Fenner, a former missionary to Japan, executive director emeritus of Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas and incumbent BGCT first vice president, was elected over Panhandle pastor David Lowrie. Fenner received 900 votes (52 percent), compared to 840 (48 percent) for Lowrie.

Fenner’s election marked another in a series of presidential elections demonstrating BGCT diversity. In recent years, the state convention has elected its first Hispanic president and its first African-American president.

Many convention messengers attributed the close margin of Fenner’s election less to her gender and more to dissatisfaction with current BGCT leadership, as well as the other nominee’s West Texas ties.

Lowrie—who would have been the first second-generation BGCT president—had been endorsed by several Baptist bloggers who called for an end to what they saw as the Texas Baptists Committed organization’s control over the BGCT.

They also called for change in BGCT leadership in light of a church-starting fund scandal in the Rio Grande Valley, a recent round of layoffs at the Baptist Building in Dallas and a ruling by the presiding officer at the 2006 BGCT annual meeting that essentially allowed the Executive Board to trump the decision-making authority of convention messengers.

Posted: 10/29/07

‘No confidence’ in Executive Board motion introduced

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AMARILLO—A motion expressing “no confidence” in the directors of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, as well as a competing motion objecting to it, were introduced during the Monday afternoon session at the BGCT annual meeting.

Michael Chancellor, pastor of Crescent Heights Baptist Church in Abilene, introduced the no-confidence motion, and Dan Malone from First Baptist Church in El Paso introduced the motion of objection.

Other motions included calls for:

• Naming a committee to cast its vision through the year 2020.

• The BGCT Executive Board’s administrative subcommittee to examine the chief operating officer’s position in light of staff reorganization to determine if it is necessary.

• The Executive Board to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of the Baptist Building’s service center.

In other business, messengers approved a $50.1 million Cooperative Program budget by about a two-to-one margin. Several messengers went to the microphones to raise questions about specific aspects of the budget proposal—particularly the decreased funding for the missions, evangelism and ministry section.

Gary Morgan from the Cowboy Church of Ellis County called the reduced funding for that area “almost unconscionable.”

Messengers also approved a special agreement with Baptist Child & Family Services to allow the agency to elect two-thirds of its trustee board and for the BGCT to elect one-third of the board.

In other business, messengers gave initial approval to a constitutional amendment that will clarify the decision-making authority of the convention in annual session.

The amendment to Article VII, Section 1 of the BGCT constitution says, “The Executive Board shall have charge and control, except when otherwise directed by the convention, of all the work of the convention, including missions, education and beneficence, in the interim between its sessions.”

The motion of clarification was prompted by outcry following a ruling by the presiding officer at the 2006 BGCT annual meeting, who said a decision by the Executive Board in a called meeting immediately prior to the annual meeting “pre-empted” action by messengers to the state convention.

Constitutional amendments require two-thirds approval at two consecutive annual meetings.

Posted: 10/29/07

Tyler pastor elected first vice president

By Blake Killingsworth

Dallas Baptist University

AMARILLO—Messengers to the Baptist General Convention of Texas elected Mike Massar, pastor of First Baptist Church in Tyler, as first vice president.

Massar received 967 votes, compared to 257 for Lee Saunders, minister of church development at Garden Oaks Baptist Church in Houston.

Massar has been pastor in Tyler since 1997, previously serving for nine years as senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Clemson, S.C.

A West Texas native, Massar grew up in Midland and received his undergraduate degree from Baylor University. completed graduate training at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Oxford University and the Graduate Theological Foundation at Notre Dame.

Massar has been active in Texas Baptist life, having served on several committees and boards, including as a member of the BGCT nominating committee, member of the East Texas Baptist University board of trustees and chair of the Christian Life Commission.

Massar was nominated for the position by Roger Paynter, pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin. Saunders was nominated by David Montoya, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Mineral Wells.

Posted: 10/26/07

RIGHT or WRONG?
Need for forgiveness

We recently discussed forgiveness in Sunday school. When we talked about seeking God’s forgiveness, a longtime member said he never sinned, so there was little application to him. How can we helpfully address this matter?

I imagine your class is a lively bunch! If you would allow me to broaden the task, I think you might be able to help every person in the class. This may be a learning experience for everyone if the discussion is allowed to grow beyond the obvious offender of grace.

Perhaps your classmate is operating with a rather shallow or narrow understanding of the nature of sin. He is suggesting he does not sin, and in his understanding, he does not. Sin probably means violating the most obvious Ten Commandments. He can rightly proclaim he does not steal, does not kill, does not lie or does not commit adultery. Yes, many people could boast of being sinless if sin were held only as these strongly stated sins. And it is quite possible your friend is able to ignore the challenge of worshipping only one God. Or he is capable of constricting coveting to matters related only to his next-door neighbor who drives an old pickup truck. If sin means publicly violating these commandments, then most of us could declare ourselves sinless.

But the nature of sin involves more than just a few public sins. Sin is that push within us to rebel against the work of God in our lives. Jesus declared in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder.’ … But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment. …” Sin is more than just a few strong outward public actions. Sin is the motivation and the rebellion within us to resist God. Jesus reveals the true nature of our hearts and the need for God’s grace and forgiveness.

I have a hunch that your friend, while stating what appears to be a rather bold position, is not alone in your class. Most of us carve out niches or realms of influence in life where we are comfortable with the sin around us and present within us. We are comfortable with certain attitudes. We grow accustomed to profanity on the television. We are calloused to the hatred spewed forth on talk radio. We are accommodating of sinful attitudes within us. We walk through the routines of our lives, and we develop callousness for sin within us and surrounding us. 

Perhaps the best way of helping your classmate would be to take inventory of your own life and confess the areas where sin is quietly hidden away. Your honesty might be the start of growth for everyone in your Sunday school class.

Stacy Conner, pastor

First Baptist Church

Muleshoe

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University's Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.

Posted: 10/26/07

All-State Choir & Band trip to Germany still on

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

In spite of budget reductions and cutbacks in the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board staff, the scheduled Texas Baptist All-State Choir and Band’s Mission: Germany trip next summer will proceed as planned, organizers have announced.

The Texas Baptist All-State musicians had been invited to participate in the Baptist World Youth Congress in Leipzig, Germany, and perform at several venues in Berlin and Wittenberg.

“One of the concerts will be in the International Baptist Church in Berlin, where the minister of music is one of our own alumni, Paul Rogers, who graduated in 1992,” said Tim Studstill, BGCT director of music and worship.

Students will spend July 22-27 on the Dallas Baptist University campus, learning music and preparing for the mission trip. They will leave for Germany July 28 and return to Dallas Aug. 5.

The future of Texas Baptist All-State came into doubt when Debbie Smith, music and worship projects coordinator, was named among the 29 full-time BGCT Executive Board staff included in a recent round of layoffs.

When members of the Texas Baptist All-State advisory council learned her position had been eliminated, they called an emergency meeting, and the group agreed to press on with the trip to Germany.

“We felt like we heard God say, ‘Go,’” said Stephen Holcomb of DBU, choral conductor for Texas Baptist All-State.

Now, he said, music leaders are trusting God will provide the finances to allow Texas Baptist All-State to continue.

“The council felt strongly that we need to continue with Mission: Germany,” Studstill said. “The 32-year history of Baptist All-State needs to continue because of the value it adds to the lives of our students and to Texas Baptist congregations.”

Holcomb agreed, characterizing Texas Baptist All-State as an investment in the future of church music in the state.

Although all the details have not been finalized, Studstill has made arrangements to engage Smith on a contract basis as Baptist All-State coordinator.

“This will allow for a seamless, and virtually unnoticeable, shift in administration of this ministry,” he said. “The unfortunate aspect is that we will be working now not only to raise funds to help with mission scholarships for our students, but we will be raising funds to help fund Debbie’s contract salary.”

Texas Baptist All-State received two sizeable donations ($25,000 and $10,000) for Mission: Germany, as well as smaller contributions through the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation, Studstill noted.

Even so, leaders recognize the current estimated cost for each participant—$3,400—limits participation, and they are continuing to seek donations to provide scholarships.

“We know it’s a huge hurdle,” said Derrel Thompson, an advisory council member and minister of music and education at Valley Grove Baptist Church in Stephenville. “Still, we felt like we need to press forward with it and trust God to provide.”

Contributions to help lower the cost per participant can be sent either to the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation, designated “All-State Mission: Germany Fund,” at 333 N. Washington, Dallas 75246-1798 or directly to the BGCT Music and Worship Team at the same address.

The deadline for auditioning for either All-State Choir or All-State Band is Nov. 15. Registration forms, audition information and general information about the mission trip are available at www.bgct.org/allstate. For more information, e-mail debbie.smith@bgct.org or call (214) 828-5237.

Posted: 10/26/07

Around the State

• East Texas Baptist University has received a gift from retired educator and businessman J. Lloyd Woods to provide lighting for the ETBU Tiger baseball stadium. Woods, of Tenaha, is an honorary lifetime member of the university’s board of trustees. The Tigers’ first night baseball game will be held Feb. 8.

• Baylor Research Institute in Dallas is collaborating with Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City to provide a shot of hope for lymphoma and myeloma patients. The medical organizations are attempting to develop vaccines for the cancers, which affect the immune system. They’re also studying better ways to diagnose other autoimmune disorders, such as arthritis and lupus.

• Don and Paula Cribbs, missionaries to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, are on furlough at First Church in Cleburne. They can be reached at (817) 641-5264 or at don@ gmail.com.

First graders in the Music Makers Choir at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas receive their own copies of the Baptist Hymnal. Presenting the hymnals are Music Associate Sarah Stafford and Music Minister Doug Haney. Children shown are Tanner Cabaniss, Brooke Bateman, Tristan Vathis, Hannah Granberry, Jace Dooley, Remy Covert, Allison Dalton, Cullen Bryant, Anna Fogg, Isabella Fogg, Riley Covert, Austin Nadalini, Blake Brown and Daniel Mirochna. The choir is directed by Janice and Bill Jernberg.

• Nicole Bromley, founder of OneVOICE and author of Hush: Moving from Silence to Healing after Childhood Sexual Abuse, will speak Nov. 7 at First Baptist Church in Brownwood as part of Howard Payne University’s chapel program.

• Baylor Health Care System has been ranked 15th on the 2007 Information Week 500 list, which ranks information technology providers. No other health care system ranked higher. David Muntz, senior vice president and chief information officer, said Baylor’s referring physician portal, use of radio frequency identification devices and deployment of web technologies helped earn the rating.

• William Hopkins, an attorney from Austin, will speak on “Legal Aspects of Social Work Practice: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You” at the Baylor University School of Social Work’s Preston M. Dyer Workshop from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Mayborn Museum Theater. The workshop provides the opportunity to earn three continuing education hours in ethics for social work practitioners. Cost of the workshop is $40 for social work practitioners and $20 for Baylor field supervisors, both of which include CEU expense. There is no cost for students, but they must register. For more information: e-mail Krista_Barrett@baylor.edu or call (254) 710-6400.

• British television and film composer and Anglican curate Steven Faux will speak at Howard Payne University Oct. 31–Nov. 2 in the schools of Christian Studies and Music & Fine Arts. He also will perform and speak at 7:30 p.m Nov. 1 at First Church in Brownwood. Faux is an ordained Anglican curate at St. Michael’s Without in Bath, England.

• Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth will inaugurate the Bobby L. and Janis Eklund Chair of Stewardship during its chapel service Nov. 7. It is the first chair of stewardship established in a Southern Baptist seminary. Scott Preissler, professor of stewardship, will be installed into the new position. Bobby Eklund is president of Eklund Stewardship Ministries in Hurst.

Anniversaries

• 150th for First Church in Denton in May 2008. Former members and staff are asked to write Bob Billups at bobb@fbcd.net or call (940) 382-2577.

• 120th for First Church in Brady, Nov. 18. A fellowship meal in the family life center will follow the homecoming service, where former pastor Ray Ash will preach. More information is available by calling (325) 597-2956.

Retiring

• L. Lee Walker as director of missions for San Jacinto Association after 30 years on the staff and 57 years in the ministry, effective Jan. 31, 2008.

Death

• Wendell Lee King, Sept. 7 in Dickson, Tenn. He was pastor of five churches in Texas and one church in Tennessee during his years of ministry. King is survived by his wife, Thelma; sons Sterling and Kenneth; daughter Edna; and three grandchildren.

Event

First Church in Alvin is planning a “gathering of the generations” homecoming April 12. More Information is available by calling Delane Hargrove at (281) 331-4827 or contact Billie White at (281) 585-6095 or by e-mail at now2@sbcglobal. net.

Ordained

• Mark Terry for the ministry at First church in Huntsville. He is pastor of Walker County Cowboy Church, which is a mission of First Church in Huntsville.

• Wallace Corley and David Roberts as deacons at Mount Sylvan Church in Mount Sylvan.

Posted: 10/26/07

Seven young Baylor alumni
to be honored at homecoming

The president of a Texas Baptist facility for the aging is one of seven Baylor University graduates who will be honored as 2007 Outstanding Young Alumni during Baylor’s annual homecoming celebration.

The Baylor Alumni Association will present the awards Nov. 2 during the first performance at Pigskin Review. The awards recognize professional achievement and distinguished service by Baylor alumni 40 years old or younger.

Pat Crump	Marie Brown

Pat Crump, a 1991 Baylor graduate, has served as president of Baptist Memorials Ministries in San Angelo since 2004. After earning a master’s degree in gerontology from Baylor in 1993, he worked one year with a nursing center in Albuquerque, N.M., before moving to the newly opened Baptist Memorials Center in San Angelo.

He served for 10 years as president of healthcare services, overseeing the operation of a long-term care facility, an Alzheimer’s facility, a pharmacy and a home health agency.

Crump has served on several boards that provide services for the aging and currently serves on the executive committee of the Baylor Alumni Association.

He and his wife, Jeana Elliott Crump, have three children—Grayson, Greer and Caroline. They are members of First Baptist Church in San Angelo, where he teaches in the youth department and is a past deacon chairman.

Another Texan, Marie Brown of Denton, is a social worker with the Denton County Health Department. Brown, a 1992 graduate, has more than 15 years experience with children and families in counseling and direct case management and previously worked with the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.

While she was a case manager in the private sector of the foster care system, the Texas State Foster Parents Association nominated her for Case Manager of the Year. She is a past director of the Baylor Alumni Association and past president of the Dallas Baylor Alumni Chapter, and she received the W.R. White Meritorious Service Award in 1999 and Bear Hunter of the Year in 2006.

Kirk and Suzanne Anderson Person of Bangkok, Thailand, are the first husband-and-wife team to be recognized as Outstanding Young Alumni.

They work with SIL International, a nonprofit, faith-based organization specializing in serving the lesser-known language communities of the world. She teaches at the Chitralada Palace School, and he directs external affairs for the Mainland Southeast Asia branch of SIL International.

As residents of Thailand since 1995, they have helped to develop an alphabet for the previously unwritten Bisu language and worked with several literacy and translation projects, including a Muang translation of the entire New Testament and key Old Testament passages.

Other recipients are:

• Saad Ehtisham of Wichita, Kan., senior vice president of clinical operations with Via Christi Wichita Health Network.

• Phil Lakin, executive director of the Tulsa Community Foundation in Tulsa, Okla., and former regional development director for Baylor. He is a deacon at Southern Hills Baptist Church.

• Michael McLendon of Franklin, Tenn., associate professor of public policy and higher education at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. He chairs the university’s graduate program in higher education leadership and policy and directs the graduate program in public policy and education.

Posted: 10/26/07

Bexar County youthful offenders
find a second chance with KAPS

By Haley Smith

Baptist Child & Family Services

AN ANTONIO—A growing number of South Texas juvenile offenders are hearing good news—jail is not their only option—thanks to an expanding relationship between the Juvenile Probation Department and Kids Adverted from Placement Services.

KAPS, a program of Baptist Child & Family Services that has provided intensive family preservation services for youthful offenders for nine years, recently received an additional $325,000 from Juvenile Probation. This has allowed the program to increase from four to six the number of three-person teams—which translates into helping an additional 56 families a year.

“We think programs such as KAPS are ultimately going to take the place of (incarceration in Texas Youth Commission facilities) and other traditional methods,” said Jeannine Von Stultz, director of Mental Health Services for Bexar County Juvenile Probation who championed the funding increase.

Bexar County courts, realizing the positive effects of KAPS, are ordering the counseling for more teens as the last chance before being sentenced to juvenile detention. Because of the substantial length of the waiting list to get into the program, juveniles often get in trouble with the law again and find themselves back in court before they receive the chance to benefit from KAPS’ services—one reason behind the additional funding.

“Our waiting list is anywhere from 25 to 30 families at any given point who usually wait a time period of about three months or longer,” said Janie Cook, BCFS executive for teen and youth services. “The additional funding should cut the waiting list in half.”

Until recently, the Texas Youth Commission was assigned to handle young people through the age of 21 who had committed a variety of misdemeanors. However, because of serious allegations of physical and sexual abuse, TYC now is allowed to handle offenders who commit serious felonies until age 19.

Due to this change in policy and the fact many youth in TYC were released early from their sentencing, the state gave money back to juvenile services, which—in turn—redirected a portion to KAPS.

Because research that shows non-traditional counseling programs such as KAPS produce a better success rate than traditional psychotherapy methods, the juvenile probation department continues to rely on KAPS, Von Stultz said.

“I believe the reason for this is that the families sent to these programs usually have multiple issues in addition to the legal issue at hand regarding their child. Often things as simple as transportation keep the family from going to their assigned counseling,” Von Stultz explained.

“KAPS goes into the family’s home, breaking through initial apprehension and practical barriers such as transportation, to get to the heart of the matter.”

KAPS’ goal is to support the family as a whole, offering other resources not part of traditional treatment methods and addressing practical needs such as food and housing.

“When families come to be part of the KAPS program, they obviously are not always happy about the court order. But by the end, they usually tell us that they appreciate the fact that we don’t give up on them. Our staff is pretty tenacious,” Cook explains. “Many of these families feel that the system has let them down, and we want to show them that’s not the case.”

With the additional funding, KAPS is forming two new teams to meet the growing need to minister to the youth assigned to their care. As part of the team expansion, KAPS is in the process of filling four new staff positions, including two case managers and two case manager aides and one therapist, to increase capacity to handle more teens.

Although 75 percent of the funding will go to serve young people who might have originally ended up in TYC, the money also provides adequate resources to improve the KAPS program as a whole.

“The ultimate goal of the Juvenile Probation Department and KAPS is to serve the kids in our community, using TYC as a last resort,” Cook said. “Any additional funding we receive helps significantly in these efforts.”

Posted: 10/26/07

One blogging minister
nominates another for first VP

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

A Baptist blogger from Mineral Wells plans to nominate a Baptist blogger from Houston for first vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

David Montoya, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Mineral Wells, has announced he will nominate Lee Saunders, minister of church development at Garden Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, for office during the BGCT annual meeting in Amarillo.

“He has been an active part of BGCT life, is familiar with our history and heritage, and is familiar with the controversies within the convention in recent months,” Montoya said.

“On his blog, he has offered wise, temperate responses as events have unfolded over the past year.”

Saunders, 50, described himself as an “under-the-radar kind of person” who never particularly aspired to elected office in the state convention but agreed to allow his nomination because Texas Baptists “need a choice.”

“I think I could bring in some diversity and contribute to a spirit of unity” in the BGCT, he said.

In an Oct. 23 posting on his weblog— deepintheheart.wordpress.com —Saunders voiced his hope for restored trust in the BGCT.

“The BGCT is not going either to the liberal left or the fundamentalist right. I think it is accurate to say that it is safe from both of those extremes. But it is in trouble, as a result of poor decisions made by the current administration, it is in transition, and it has lost the trust of many of its supporting congregations,” he wrote. “At this particular point in its history, with other factors related to paradigm shifts taking place in the way we do church and ministry, that’s not a good place to be.”

Texas Baptists need to fulfill the promise of recent themes, such as “Together, we can do more,” even though “there are forces and pressures pulling and pushing on the BGCT right now that have the potential to pull it apart.”

Regardless of the outcome of votes at the annual meeting, Saunders urged readers of his blog “not to burn any bridges.”

Prior to joining the staff at Garden Oaks Baptist Church in February 2006, he was assistant principal at Clay Road Baptist School in Houston. Before taking that administrative post, he was chair of the Bible department at Fort Bend Baptist Academy in Sugar Land.

He also was on the faculty of George Sanchez High School in Houston and has served four churches in Texas, Arizona, Missouri and Kentucky as minister of education and youth.

Saunders is a graduate of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz., and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a former Home Mission Board summer missionary, and he has worked as a project coordinator for the World Changers program of the North American Mission Board each summer since 2000.

Posted: 10/26/07

Texas Baptists launch young leaders network

By John Hall

Texas Baptists Communications

AUSTIN—The Baptist General Convention of Texas recently started a young leaders network in an effort to encourage Baptists younger than 40 in their efforts to strengthen churches.

The Texas Baptist Young Professional Leaders Network has had 160 people connect with it in its first five months of existence. Many of the members are connected through Facebook, an online social networking site popular with college students and recent graduates.

The group is scheduling a series of dinners around the state where 20-something young adults gather to discuss Baptists beliefs and reasons they are Baptists. Then they brainstorm ways they can strengthen Baptist churches.

“Demographics indicate that significant numbers of people 18 to 34 are leaving the church, but many young people are drawn to historic Baptist principles,” said Alexis Cooper, who is helping form the network. “This growing group of talented professionals has the potential to be the spark that ignites a revival across the state that could radically change the world around us. And we’d like to see that God-given potential realized.”

The network is focused on developing and empowering lay leaders and building connections between young adults. As a result of early discussions with these young adults, some of them plan to attend the New Baptist Covenant Celebration in Atlanta, Ga., together in January 2008.

“When we come together, we learn from each other,’ Cooper said. “Hopefully, we take what we learn and use that to strengthen the ministry of our congregations.”

For more information, call (888) 244-9400 or e-mail Alexis.Cooper@bgct.org.

Posted: 10/26/07

Evangelicals are moving into power,
but ends can be unclear, author says

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (ABP)—There’s no question that in the last few decades evangelical Christians have asserted their growing power in America’s public life.

But veteran reporter Hanna Rosin asks, “By what method and to what end?”

Rosin, a former Washington Post reporter, spent more than a year observing life at Patrick Henry College, a 7-year-old liberal-arts school in a Virginia town just outside the nation’s capital.

The result was God’s Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America.

Patrick Henry, named for the famous Founding Father and headed by home-schooling activist Michael Farris, aims to give ambitious evangelical students the ammunition they need, via a classical liberal-arts education, to fight the so-called “culture wars.”

“They explicitly put themselves close to Washington because they kind of see themselves as a training academy for politics,” Rosin said of the college.

She noted that its early graduates already have made a mark on Washington, with many of them rising through the ranks of President Bush’s administration as well as serving powerful Republican members of Congress.

The students, faculty and administrators at Patrick Henry tend to be very conservative, and most favor

using government to advance what they believe to be the Christian cause.

“You’ve got the most extreme in religion and the most extreme in ambition, and you try to marry those two together,” Rosin said.

However, she said, many former Patrick Henry students—who often come from sheltered backgrounds—get to Washington or the statehouse and discover politics isn’t always as pure a calling as they imagined.

“They discoverer that young Republicans drink, and they sleep around, and they go to Oktoberfest and all the things that … young conservative Christians are not supposed to do,” Rosin said.

And, since legislative work in a democracy often requires significant compromise to get anything done, ideological purity becomes difficult to maintain when holding the reins of power.

“As we all know, becoming part of the mainstream tends to dull your edges a little bit,” Rosin said. “I think there’s just an inverse relationship between vocalized religious extremism and political success.”

While Rosin did her research, Patrick Henry went through a significant amount of turmoil due to a conflict over academic freedom between administrators and many of the faculty and students. Several faculty members left the school.

Rosin noted many would-be culture warriors, when confronted with ideas in the books Patrick Henry’s curriculum very purposefully includes, often reach conclusions other than those the school’s founders might have envisioned.

“It’s perfectly possible that Nietzsche and Kant are much more interesting to you than your Bible class, all the sudden,” she said.