June 2, 1999
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM
Prayer & presence
___It was great to read of the Lord moving in a powerful way at the recent "youth revival" in White Settlement (May 5).
___It is interesting that it occurred without preaching of the word. How is it that 300 high school students could experience the spiritual presence of Jesus Christ without preaching?
___We tend to assume preaching of the word brings people to Jesus. Not so. The "method" Jesus used was quite different. He presented himself to an individual and said, "Follow me." The invitation was to enter into his presence and to live with him daily.
___Even after the Lord's ascension, he returned to earth with a powerful Spirit presence at Pentecost. Three thousand people experienced that presence and followed him as disciples. The essential requirement for a believer always has been to experience the spiritual presence of Jesus Christ and to follow him daily.
e-mail marvknox@flash.net
___This is what happened at White Settlement. The students prayed, and the presence of Jesus came upon them, and they worshiped him. This is the Lord doing his work in his own way.
___Let us pray that the reality of Jesus' presence in our own lives will be the sustaining force in our following him.
___ Dan Keeney
___ San Angelo
Seek accuracy
___Broadman & Holman's decision to sponsor a new Bible translation likely resulted at least in part from the need to counteract the deficiencies in accuracy of the New International Version.
___"God's Word in Our Language: The Story of the New International Version" by Richard Kevin Barnard relates how Howard Long, an engineer, was frustrated to the point of anger with the King James Version because he could not use its ancient language effectively in witnessing to his associates and his children. When he shared this concern with his pastor, the pastor replied, "Why don't you do something about it?" Accepting that challenge, he persevered in his efforts until they resulted in the NIV.
___Fully committed to being faithful to the inerrant message of the Bible, the translators' major focus, however, was on making the Bible readable. Without intending to do it, their decisions too often sacrificed accuracy for readability. For example, they rendered seven Greek words plus compounds of two of them as if they all meant "obey." Only the one used by the Holy Spirit to instruct children to obey their parents and slaves to obey their masters means that. Did the Holy Spirit inspire the writers to use that many words to mean the same thing, especially in the same gospels and letters?
___If the other translators are as committed to excellence and are as capable as my seminary classmate, Curtis Vaughan, they will come close to balancing accuracy with readability.
___ Russell Ware
___ Denton
Giving options
___In "Chapman criticizes Texas giving plan" (May 19), the statistics given by Glenn Majors do not address the issue of erosion of support for the Southern Baptist Convention.
___Texas Baptist churches have always been able to give to causes such as Criswell College, etc. For most of the last 50 years, this would not be called Cooperative Program giving, and no statistics are available to know how much money went to these causes. To say that opening up more giving options increased support for the Cooperative Program is at best misleading and is not relative to the question Morris Chapman asks.
___Also, Majors says that it is churches that define the Cooperative Program, yet why do we not have a giving option that allows a 50/50 percentage break between the Baptist General Convention of Texas and SBC? Many churches would be interested in that option.
___ Mac Galloway
___ Houston
___Editor's note: According to the second Cooperative Program option currently in place, churches already may indicate the percentage split of Cooperative Program allocations.
Women minister
___I am writing in response to George Sassano's letter (May 12) regarding the ordination of three women as deacons at a Baptist church in Fort Worth. To say that the Southern Baptist Convention should ask this church to change its ways goes against the Baptist distinctive that the local church is autonomous and holds the decision-making power in the matter of ordination.
___At First Baptist Church of Arlington, women are ordained as deacons in the church. The church cites Romans 16:1 in which Phoebe is described as being a deaconess in the church at Cenchrea. We are not rewording the Bible to meet our needs but simply allowing women to serve the Lord alongside men in the congregation.
___Women have always played an important role in spreading the gospel, from Phoebe to Lottie Moon to Tillie Burgin, founder of Mission Arlington. I agree with Sassano in the fact that we should put aside our differences; however, I firmly believe that our world is too broken, too lost and too in need of a Savior for women to be told that they cannot be ministers of God's word. We should work together, men and women, to further the cause of Christ in our world.
___ Latitia Blackwell
___ Arlington
Who's nitpicking?
___George Sassano's last paragraph really got me. He says, "We should put aside our nitpicky differences and strive to serve and win the lost."
___Does he mean we should put aside our differences "as long as they coincide with mine"? It appears he is "nitpicking" who can and cannot be a deacon.
___That is what all our Baptist differences are about: One group, the fundamentalists, wants to tell everyone else what to believe and what you can and cannot do.
___And if you don't play ball with them, they will pick up their ball and go home.
___ Paige Eiland
___ Stanton
Worship is for God
___The effort to get both "sides" of the worship music debate to be conciliatory (May 12) is appreciated. Only God knows the full extent of the damage we Baptists have done to the kingdom by our incessant fighting. However, other things need to be said.
___Both "sides" forget that worship is not for us; it's for God. Losing sight of that is why we are where we are. One group thinks anything written past 1900 is too modern. Others think anything written before 1970 is dry. Both are wrong.
___The hymns-only group must understand that when their grandparents were worshiping, "Amazing Grace" was a new song. Some weren't too crazy about all those new songs back then. But in every great movement of God, new songs for a new outpouring have been written. We need to pray for more.
___The chorus-only group must grasp that genuine worship really did occur before 1970. The great old songs of the faith must be kept; they are rich in theology and have withstood time.
___But the primary understanding we must all have is that worship music is not about what we like but about what God likes! Is God honored? Is Jesus exalted? Is the Holy Spirit welcomed? Is it biblical? Our fundamental problem is that we are radically self-centered. Only when we repent and return to God with whole hearts can our worship be about him and not us. Then "hymns or choruses?" won't matter.
___ Billy Edwards
___ Hewitt
List countries
___The International Mission Board should list on IMB prayer calendars the countries where missionaries serve (May 19). Let God who calls and sends missionaries protect them wherever they serve, regardless of the circumstances surrounding them.
___The world never has been friendly to the church, specifically to missionaries. But since Jesus opened the heavenly gates and the grace of God has been showered upon the earth for salvation to those who believe, neither missionaries nor the IMB have nothing to fear. By grace, they go and live in the power of the Spirit of God.
___Prayer is the No. 1 support any missionary needs. As active participants in the setting apart and sending of missionaries, let us know specifically where God's people are sent so that our ropes of prayer to God for them are tightly connected.
___Humanly speaking, the IMB has legitimate concerns. But missionaries are answerable to God, and God has promised his presence with them.
___The just shall live by faith, not fear.
___ Charles Mwakitwile
___ Fort Worth
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