RE: Editorial: Ensure women in ministry is not a test of fellowship here

Sadly, one must search for any discussion of “women in ministry” on the Baptist General Convention of Texas website now. That topic was on the opening page in years past when the BGCT was not concerned about losing churches to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

More importantly, I cannot find any mention on the website of women serving as ministers of any kind or of Baptist Women in Ministry headed by Meredith Stone. There is a section called “Women’s Ministry” under the Center for Church Health, but it only talks about churches having ministries dealing with women in the church.

I am reasonably certain earlier websites had specific discussion of women serving as ministers, broadly defined, but did not say directly women could be pastors. It left the issue open, but it did not limit the discussion to ministering to women church members.

One of my favorite stories was when Truett Seminary began including women seminary students in the list of supply preachers.

A small church asked for a preacher to fill in after it lost its pastor. When a young woman showed up, the church leaders huddled to decide what to do and agreed, since she had come all the way to the church to preach, they would let her do so. After her first sermon, they asked if she could come back the next Sunday. She did for several weeks until they finally called her to become their senior pastor.

When a woman is called by God to be a pastor, I think men need not tell her she is mistaken about what God has called her to do. That should be between her and God, and any church who wants to call her to be its pastor.

Bob Coleman
Dallas, Texas

RE: BJC chief links Christian nationalism to white supremacy

Amanda Tyler, who professes to defend religious liberty, seems to me does not defend the liberties of those she opposes. To sit before a government committee and testify against Christian nationalists is not defending their liberty but attacking it.

Few, I’m afraid, may pass her religious test.

It has taken me a while to cool down enough to respond to her insult to my Baptist beliefs and American roots, which she, in my opinion, doesn’t represent.

Dennis Whitfield
Victoria, Texas

RE: Seminary finances deteriorated over two decades

As the vice chair of the Seminary Study Committee for the Baptist General Convention of Texas whose report led to the defunding of the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries, this report regarding the issues at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is no surprise to me. At the core of our findings was a lack of transparency and integrity in the seminaries.

As the fundamentalist takeover swept over the convention, three things consistently happened. First, enrollment in seminary graduate programs declined.

Second, the SBC breached a long-standing agreement that universities affiliated with state Baptist conventions would provide undergraduate ministry education, leaving the SBC seminaries to provide graduate degree programs. When that breach happened, the seminaries began to set up Bible colleges offering undergraduate degrees.

Finally, the undergraduate numbers were mixed with the traditional graduate enrollment to give the appearance and impression of continued stable enrollment. However, the enrollment figures were consistently unreliable, and gave a rosy picture the seminaries were doing fine amid the turmoil. That simply was not true.

In most educational institutions, enrollment numbers are a vital component of health and fiscal stability.

Frankly, Southwestern Seminary trustees are being generous when they stop at a 20-year mark noting the deterioration of Southwestern finances. The financial issues began earlier as the seminaries absorbed the fallout of the takeover.

I would not be surprised if the current SBC seminaries’ enrollment could be accommodated comfortably within the buildings and campus of Southwestern.

Michael R Chancellor
Taylor, Texas

The revelations in the Baptist Standard’s story regarding Southwestern Seminary are shocking and require both action and answers.

How all those elected trustees could let this continue for 20 years indicates a lack of fiscal oversight and ethical discharge of their responsibilities to the seminary and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Obviously, the trust and faith placed in personalities had something to do with their failure to ask questions. Hopefully, better training of present and future trustees will mitigate a repeat of this debacle.

To see the seminary lose enrollment by such a large amount also should have been a warning signal something was wrong. Apparently, potential students heard rumors and decided the Lord wanted them at a different seminary for their ministerial training, especially considering other seminaries haven’t been experiencing enrollment drops the magnitude of Southwestern’s.

Moving forward, let’s continue to pray for Southwestern President Dr. David Dockery and his team as they right this legacy seminary and sail it into a brighter future.

Rev. Bob Gillchrest
San Diego, Calif.

RE: Editorial: What will the SBC do about churches with women pastors?

Editor Eric Black has put forth a question that deserves answering for Southern Baptist leadership, as well as the general population. The answer goes back to an age-old physics theorem that states, “Objects in motion will tend to stay in motion.”

The same is true for organizational leaders. Poor leadership or management of a company too often will continue its same old practices.

Transformational leadership looks for a dynamic change in direction. Luke 9:50 tells us the disciples brought this same question to the Master Leader when they said, “Others are preaching ‘Jesus’ other than our group, Lord.”

His answer still stands for the ages: “Do not stop them, for whoever is not against you is for you.” Wisdom sounds simple.

Southern Baptist Convention leadership somewhere, somehow lost sight of God’s big picture. Galatians 3:28 is still valid: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male nor female, for you are all one in Christ.”

I never could understand why men would treat their daughters differently than their male children. We all still are God’s children. If the pulpit is preaching salvation and Christ is the only way, leave them alone.

J. Owens
Kensington, Ohio

RE: Commentary: What is centrist?

Leading as a centrist? Why saddle a brother or sister with a disabling label? Are labels a cop-out from theological integrity and courage? I think they could be utilized in such a manner.

Ask me what I believe about, and I will tell you. My “yes” will be “yes,” and my “no,” “no.”

Bob Stanford
Seguin, Texas

RE: Editorial: Dump the toxic brew creating gun violence

Thank you so much for taking on the difficult task of addressing gun violence. To add specifics to the “toxic brew,” law enforcement has a specific list of ingredients:

Poverty; moving around a lot (no time to make friends); no parent or guardian at home; no significant adult mentor in their lives; presence of alcohol or drugs in the home (though they may or may not use them); encounters with law enforcement (though not necessarily jailed); being (cyber)bullied, and more.

Basically, no one cared about them. The church really can step in here and make a huge difference in these broken lives.

Other information:

• 80 percent of those who struggle with mental illness are the victims of bullying. We are not the source of gun violence.
• Texas ranks dead last in funding to address mental health of children, adolescents and their families. Gov. Abbot is basically lying about what he and the state of Texas are doing to address the social sources of gun violence.
• Fighting over Second Amendment gun rights versus gun restrictions is not the problem. Our communities and relationships to each other are. But addressing the social aspects of mass shooters—such as poverty and social isolation—do not enhance politicians’ careers nearly as much as endless public fights over guns.

So why wait on government to do something? We are to minister to “the least of these,” and this is exactly the situation where our faith and love can be the hands and feet of Jesus. That’s how you change the world.

Lynette Bowen
Plainview, Texas

You found one solution to the problem of gun violence in your column: harden up schools just like it’s done in the Capitol—armed guards.

We have many trained veterans who happily would work to protect our children. It is a deterrent for the Capitol and places of business, and even churches with armed security. Why not schools?

There are not enough mental health providers to start with. Maybe funding and educating more people in this field—paying for their education—to serve in our schools and to have at least one in every school would help. It is a start.

But we have allowed ourselves, as a society, to be sloppy in our expectations of our children and our own responsibilities as parents. America has gone “woke,” to the detriment of our children and our country.

Target—the store we all love to shop—revealed it gave more than $2 million over 11 years to an organization who puts books in K-12 grades about explaining gay and/or transgenderism. These things cause confusion in our children, who grow up to fight back against those who didn’t stand up for them. We have to do better.

Pat Bowlin
San Antonio, Texas

Thank you for your provocative piece on the toxic brew of inane conversations about gun violence.

We are retired public school teachers. Both of us are graduates of Texas Baptist universities, and both of our daughters have earned degrees at Texas Baptist universities. We have been active in First Baptist Church of San Angelo for many years and have served on the board of trustees of our universities.

We support strong gun safety measures and have shared our views in person and in writing with our congressmen and legislators. We gladly would support Baptist initiatives to stop gun violence.

As I recently told our congressman, clearly what our country is doing is not working. It is past time to enact measures to save innocent lives. We feel if we as individuals fail to make our views known, we appear to be permissive and therefore complicit. We do not want that same criticism leveled at churches. But sadly, too many churches have been silent too long.

If you create a database of volunteers or develop a plan of action, we would appreciate being included in such an initiative.

Again, thank you for expressing your views. Hopefully, your essay will inspire many to join forces and save lives.

Jim and Louise Jones
San Angelo, Texas

Texas Scorecard reports H-E-B Grocery’s CEO Charles Butt is sponsoring Temple Pride’s LGBTQ+ block party and drag queen show on May 27. To attract children, the event is offering free Kid Zone activities; story time; a Tap, Tap Art Bus; ring toss; bubbles and chalk.

Texas Scorecard also reported last year, H-E-B sponsored Austin’s Rainbow on the Creek Pride event. It included a Pride parade, drag queen story hour and a vile “family-friendly all ages” drag show.

Election Forum reports the “+” in the LGBTQ+ alphabet includes MAP—“minor-attracted persons,” or pedophiles.

Brazen lyrics to a 2021 San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus song include: “You think we’re sinful … You think that we’ll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked. Funny, just this once, you’re correct. … We’ll convert your children. … We’re coming for your children.”

The Bible describes such people as:

• “evildoers that are corrupters” (Isaiah 1:4),
• “enticers” (Proverbs 1:10),
• “abusers of themselves with mankind,” “effeminate” (1 Corinthians 6:9),
• “them that defile themselves with mankind” (1 Timothy 1:10),
• having “vile affections” “against nature” (Romans 1:18-27),
• “wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13),
• “abominations unto God” (Leviticus 18:22; Deuteronomy 22:5), and
• “sons of Belial”—the devil (Judges 19:22).

“Saith the LORD” it is a “horrible thing” to “strengthen the hands of evildoers.” “They are all of them unto me as Sodom and Gomorrah” (Jeremiah 23:11,14).

Are there 10 righteous people in Temple who will cry like Lot, “Do not so wickedly” (Genesis 18:20-32)?

Michael Ellis
Belton, Texas

RE: Texas Senate wants Ten Commandments in classrooms

I totally agree the Texas Senate bill is a bad bill.

1. It does not respect separation of church and state
2. The specific language is unbelievable. Do they think God spoke to Moses in King James English?
3. It’s disrespectful to our Jewish and Catholic friends.
4. Modern language Bibles have helped to reach unbelievers for decades.
5. This will be a negative witness to all who are not far-right Christians who seem to think being Republican and being a Christian are synonymous.
6. This would cost school districts millions of dollars when money is already tight.
7. It will cost opponents and proponents legal fees.
8. What’s the penalty for not doing posting the Ten Commandments in one’s classroom? Will teachers be fired for not displaying the commandments as directed?
9. Will we allow other religions to display their beliefs about proper human behavior?

Larry J. Thomas
Retired, Baylor University and Texas Baptist Missions Foundation
Fairview, Texas

The Christian ethics of imposing our rules on everyone is a vexed one. We clearly believe our God’s way is by far the most excellent way for humans to live. So it’s tempting, when we have the political majority needed, to impose our way on others.

But we forget, God did not seek to impose his will on everyone. He prefaced his commands with the statement, “I am your God; I’ve rescued you from Egypt,” and the commands were directed only to his people.

Sometimes, we really do think we are more important than our God. Please, Lord, forgive me.

Reg Munro
Capetown, South Africa

RE: Voices: My position on Law’s list of SBC churches

Thank you for publishing the thoughtful and well-referenced article on Rev. Law’s list of churches with women in roles as pastors.

Many years ago, I wrote another letter to the Baptist Standard in regard to this same issue of women in ministry. It matters not what title or job you assign them; women are vital, yea essential, to ministry in our churches.

As I said many years ago, I knew the names and impact of Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong and Mary Hill Davis long before I ever heard the names B.H. Carroll, George Truett or Billy Graham. And the most formative years of Sunday school in my life were overseen by godly women who literally loved me into the kingdom.

It is beyond presumptuous to believe anyone can understand better a calling from God than the person who heard the call. Who am I, or any man, to say to a woman: “You are mistaken; God does not call women to be pastors!”

I thank God for the teachers, choir directors, youth leaders, deacons and pastors—both women and men—who have blessed my life in the name and cause of Jesus.

Barry L. Moak
Abilene, Texas

The original article published April 3, 2023, was revised by the author to provide additional references and clarifications. Additionally, Editor Eric Black transposed the Greek terms diakonon (referring to Phoebe) and apostolois (referring to Junia) in the original published article. That error has been corrected (April 13, 2023).

RE: Voices: My position on Law’s list of SBC churches

Nathan Patzke’s article contains terribly basic Bible errors, most notably him saying the word diakonos —deacon/servant—is the noun form of didasko —to teach. These are totally distinct words. He also writes that the word “apostles” in Romans 16:7 is the word diakonos, which is incorrect and does not even appear in that verse.

Perhaps an editorial correction would have served the author and his seminary—Truett—well.

David Rhoades
Senior Pastor, Broadview Baptist Church
Lubbock, Texas

The original article published April 3, 2023, was revised by the author to provide additional references and clarifications. Additionally, Editor Eric Black transposed the Greek terms diakonon (referring to Phoebe) and apostolois (referring to Junia) in the original published article. That error has been corrected (April 13, 2023).

Another day, another mass slaughter of little kids—and some adults—in their school, this time in Nashville. Next time, it might be in Ozark and my grandkids.

Hear the deafening silence? That’s the sound of right-wing religious figures not speaking out on this evil, which accounts for most of the deaths of children and young teens in America.

Remember last year when a killer armed with an assault rifle killed 19 little kids and some adults in Uvalde, Texas? Remember the shameful performance of the Uvalde police department? Remember the NRA meeting in Texas less than a week later, with Trump and Southern Baptist Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.)? Cruz likes to brag he was baptized by my former pastor, Rev. Gaylon Wiley.

NRA supporters like Larry Gatlin believe “the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

The best way to stop these killers is to have effective laws in place to deny them the ability to be a “bad guy with a gun.” Of course, a stand such as this would require someone to be “pro-life.” Also, it would require giving up the blood money from the NRA.

A few weeks ago, Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala., District 2, where I live) introduced a bill in Congress to declare the AR-15 the “National Gun of America.” This a slap in the face of every parent who has lost a child to a gun—of any kind.

I don’t hate guns in general or the AR-15 in particular. I carried an AR-15 my first tour in Vietnam and an M-16—a slightly modified AR-15—my second tour. But weapons of mass destruction should be available only to police and the military.

Carl Hess
Ozark, Ala.

RE: Editorial: How are we going to save our churches?

Thank you for saying “out loud” what I too rarely have heard in Christian community as we monitor, report and assess ministry “success.”

You wrote: “Despite misuse of the idea, actual faithfulness to God still ought to be of more concern to us than more people, more baptisms and more money.”

When we as ministry leaders, board directors, pastors, elders, donors and congregants rely on numbers and growth metrics for primary affirmation of our ministry, we surely have forgotten the Old Testament prophets and the common response to Christ himself in New Testament times.

We look back and affirm Jesus’ ministry of doing what his heavenly Father directed, but do we accept his standard as our own prescription for ministry, or do we look to the latest business model?

There is so much pressure on pastors and ministry leaders to accomplish what is measurable and chartable. Perhaps we as leaders are at fault, having erred in our teaching and instruction, if faithfulness is not the most important, regular assessment of ministry effectiveness by supporters or congregations. Perhaps this is a correction we get to make.

Donna Lee Lamothe
Waco, Texas

RE: Editorial: ‘Education freedom’ contradicts religious freedom

I always have known why the state wants to delegate its responsibility to educate its citizens. Private schools do good work efficiently and with good results.

I never have understood why the private schools would take the money. We all know the “Golden Rule”—he who has the gold rules. With state money will eventually come state requirements in hiring, curriculum, facilities, testing accountability and ways we cannot even imagine now.

Wayne Moore
Lubbock, Texas

RE: Voices: My experience with revival at Glorieta

I am 69 years old and “retired” from active ministry in the pastorate, U.S. Navy chaplaincy, professional hospital chaplaincy and chaplaincy for people with intellectual disabilities at Texas Health and Human Services state schools.

It all began when a high school buddy invited me to go with his church, Trinity Baptist Church of Amarillo, to a ski retreat at Glorieta. My cost of $20 included a day of skiing, but the real bargain occurred when, through the preaching of Pastor Norris Onstead, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Needless to say, my life changed forever.

I loved Glorieta Conference Center and took youth from the first church of which I was pastor. I dreamed of one day leasing or buying a cabin at the most beautiful acreage in the world. It broke my heart to hear many years ago the conference center was sold for $1. The only condolence for me was a Christian group purchased it.

Ruth Cook astutely compared the revival at Asbury with Glorieta. In my life experiences, I compare Glorieta with the Beginning.

Bobby Hendricks
San Antonio, Texas

RE: Beth Moore: Does God value justice? Read the Bible

I am getting tired of “holier-than-thou” Christians trying to put me on a guilt trip for being a white Christian. I am a member of a small church that is predominantly white, but also has active members who are Native Americans, Koreans, Hispanics, Blacks and first-generation Europeans—plus the white members from various regions and backgrounds of the United States. I would love for Beth Moore to speak to our church about white racism.

If Ms. Moore and others are speaking on white racism in the churches, I would like for them to start naming these churches. Bring them out in the open. Our church is a member of an association of more than 100 churches that are predominately white, and as far as I know, none are racist.

When I was in high school, I did farm chores for an elderly couple. I remember him telling me that years before, he had a Black man who worked for him and lived on the ranch. He told me on Sundays, the man would ride to a Baptist church with him and his wife. He would open a window in the church and park close enough for the man to hear the sermon. He did this because the man wasn’t allowed to enter the church. Today, that church is multiracial.

I remember my grandfather telling of giving Black men a ride, but when he drove through Killeen, Texas, he would have the man lay down in the back seat for fear of both of them getting beat up or even killed. Killeen is now one of the most racially diverse cities in Texas.

I share these two instances to point out that was racism.

Are we to be more concerned about evangelism or “wokeism?”

F.A. Taylor
Copperas Cove, Texas