June 23, 1999

Texas Baptist Forum
Harvest of tears
___Your piece on changes wrought by the revolution in Baptist life which began in Houston 20 years ago (June 9) only touched the surface with regard to displaced persons and freedom fighters destroyed in t>he conflict that will go down in infamy in Baptist history.
___My wife and I both served on the faculty at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and were among the lucky ones. We were fortunate to find places of meaningful service,

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although my wife uses her gifts of ministry in a secular context in spite of God's call to her to serve through the church. The number of displaced, dedicated ministers of God is legion.
___Southern was only one of the great institutions robbed of intellectual and spiritual integrity. Institutions once highly respected by other Christian traditions as powerful influences in transforming the world are now the laughingstock of the religious world.
___Mark Wingfield's article brought tears to my eyes and made my heart ache. I hope it will be a reminder to vigilant, free Baptists to see that what happened to Southern, Southwestern, etc. will not happen to Baylor and other free institutions.
___Do not be fooled by calls to reconciliation. Fundamentalists are cooperative only until they have a majority on any board. Be aware that fundamentalist revolutionaries will destroy what they cannot control.
___ Raymond Bailey
___ Waco

'Toon blasphemes
___It is truly sad that you would allow and condone the blasphemy found in the cartoon on an Old Testament prophet (June 9).
___This cartoon is saying the Holy Spirit is a manic depressive and the prophet is suffering from paranoia. This is bordering on "blasphemy of the Holy Ghost," because he is the writer of all Scripture.
___This is the reason so many of the Bible believers in the Baptist General Convention of Texas are bailing out on the Texas convention.
___ Ernest Sigrest
___ Whitesboro

Closer look
___The predestination debate warrants a closer look.
___I disagree with those who believe this discussion is a waste of time, with souls out there to save. Some souls out there care more to be saved by a God they believe is loving than a God they believe decides "willy-nilly" who will go to heaven and who not. Therefore, I will side with free choice.
___In Romans 8:29, the Apostle Paul says, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son." God guides people to destinations he already knew they were disposed toward; not regardless of their predisposition.
___Little "Boo-boo" will be the greatest running back the Cowboys ever had someday. Knowing that (tongue in cheek, for illustrative purposes), I will introduce him, at various stages of his life, to things which "guide" him in that direction. But when it comes signing day, it will be his choice alone.
___Similarly, God guided Israel into the Holy Land, but then had Joshua say, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).
___God first loved us. He provides the means by which we can appropriate that. He even guides us to the point of opportunity for us to accept it. However, he does not accept it for us. That's our job. It's not too much to ask from us.
___ Thomas F. Harkins Jr.
___ Fort Worth

Prayer & Christ
___I have gotten a kick out of letters about the age-old debate between Calvinism and Arminianism. However, when I read a letter introducing a dangerous way of thinking such as Dan Keeney's letter (June 2) on prayer and the presence of Christ, I must respond.
___One might also get a warm, fuzzy experience by sitting with one's legs folded while gently touching the middle fingers to the thumbs and humming to oneself.
___The reason we call upon the Lord Jesus Christ is because we have believed in the gospel seen in the preaching of Jesus and the apostles and that has been preached for 2,000 years by men and women who have devoted themselves to "rightly dividing" the word of God and then sharing that with others.
___I love candy, but I need meat. I also love to stand with brothers and sisters in Christ and sing "Kumbaya," but nothing will lead people to salvation like heart-piercing, soul-convicting expository preaching.
___ Shade Stringer
___ Mabank

Right note
___Thanks for your editorial, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the chorus" (May 12). You hit the right note.
___After 60 years as a Southern Baptist church musician, I am grieved that music in our churches has become divisive. To please the people, we have set up two services--traditional and contemporary.
___Each group looks at the other and says, "Our music is better than yours!" To say, "If you don't sing the kind of music I like, I am going to leave the church" is the height of egotism in God's house.
___The gospel writers mention more than a dozen times that Jesus and/or his disciples worshiped in the temple. There is no comment that they praised or criticized the service. Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the temple and said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer." If he had been unhappy about the music, he would have said so.
___We seem to have been greatly influenced by the contemporary secular culture and have slipped into a pattern of entertainment.
___ Bill Reynolds
___ Fort Worth

Share love
___In reference to Lloyd Mabry's letter, "Don't help Muslims" (May 26), we Christians do not have an option but to help and to share the love the Father freely gave each one of us with whomever the Father puts us in contact.
___A few years ago, several of us had the honor of ministering to the Kurdish refugees in another part of the world. Through that and the love that was shown through local churches in parts of Texas and the United States, we have new brothers and sisters in Christ. Every day that I grow in the Father, I want to share his love with everyone I meet.
___ Tommy Dulin
___ Robstown

God is male
___Please, tell me I misinterpreted Joe Trull's letter when he stated, "No reputable evangelical theologian believes God is male--a Mormon doctrine" (June 9).
___Does this Southern Baptist seminary professor really believe God is not male? Jesus prayed to the "Father" and taught us to pray to "Our Father who art in heaven."
___A "father" is a male parent or a man who has begotten a child.
___If there are professors in our Baptist schools who believe and teach God is anything other than male, then we are in more trouble than we ever thought!
___ Pat Graves
___ Mesquite

Known by love
___We recently sang a song during our worship service that reminded me of the reconciliation efforts in our state convention.
___Maybe it should be sung regularly at our Baptist state and national conventions and conferences as a reminder of our responsibility and that our unity and ability to overcome divisiveness is a witness to Christ and a glory to God.
___"We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord. ... And we pray that our unity will one day be restored. And they'll know we are Christians by our love."
___ Mike Meadows
___ Boerne

No 'bubble'
___I teach at a large public high school with a very diverse population.
___The trend is for Christians to withdraw from the "world," but we are commanded to "go into all the world," to be "salt and light" and not to "hide our light." How can our world be reached for Christ if Christians do not interact with the world? How many more students, parents and teachers could accept Christ because Christian parents, students and teachers are supporting and attending public schools? It will be a long, long time, if ever, that the majority of students will be enrolled in Christian schools--even if vouchers were available.
___Our public schools are not the enemy. We need more Christian students, parents and teachers to help us. Daily, I see students live their testimonies--making a difference in my public school.
___We cannot live in a "bubble"--isolated from the sin and evil of a lost world. If we rear our children in a "bubble," will they know how to face the world? As a parent, I want my children to live in the real world--while I could help and guide them.
___ Bonnie Davis
___ Longview

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