July 28, 1999
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM
Church challenge
___Church-growth strategist Lee Strobel quoted a statement that said, "If our efforts to share the gospel in today's world are limited only to the traditional model, then we have decided in advance on limited outreach and limited growth." He said these words comprise "possibly the single most powerful sentence I've ever read in my life."
___The challenge for change in Christ's church is this: "Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). It isn't the cleverness of our methods, the techniques of our ministry or the wit of our sermons that puts power in our testimony. It is obedience to a holy God and faithfulness to his righteous standard in our lives.
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___The reality is that one cannot follow a market-driven strategy and remain faithful to Scripture. Preachers who concern themselves with user-friendliness cannot fearlessly proclaim the whole counsel of God.
___The signs of compromise are all around us: Churches are offering up "show time" religion. Pastors have turned to the marketing industry to help them draw people in rather than relying on the sovereign power of God. It is not our anecdotes, applications, how-to's, jokes, catchy titles, clever outlines or other contrivances, but the gospel that is "the power of God for salvation" (Romans 1:16). The words of the Apostle Paul, found in Romans 1:16-17, comprise possibly the single most powerful statement I've ever read in my life.
___ James R. Segura
___ Pasadena
Healing divisions
___The Apostle Paul writes that he had heard about divisions among the church in Corinth. He asks a pointed question, "Is Christ divided?"
___We Baptists are divided. Some follow Southern Baptist Convention leaders, some Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders and some Baptist General Convention of Texas leaders. Has our division become a stumbling block to lost people and Christian growth?
___We reached our apex in growth under the practice of unity within diversity. Then, through majority rule, we appointed leaders of like mind to keep this majority in power. Others began to say, "The other side is trying to cram their beliefs down our throats."
___Only God's power can heal our divisions. In the absence of Jesus, a man brought his sick son to the disciples to be healed, and they could not heal him (Mark 9). When Jesus returned, the disciples asked Jesus why they could not heal him. Jesus said, "This kind can come forth by nothing but prayer and fasting."
___Jesus also said the second-greatest commandment is to love our brothers as we love ourselves. Christ's love is the glue that binds us together.
___Have we lost our first love?
___ Ed Whitt
___ Chilton
Phoebe, deacon
___A letter to the Standard recently asked how two texts, 1 Timothy 3:12 and Romans 16:1, could be reconciled.
___The Timothy passage comes within the context of the Apostle Paul's naming of the qualifications of elders (bishops) and deacons. A deacon is, among other qualities, to be a husband of one wife. Since in Romans 16, written earlier, Phoebe is named as a church deaconess and is held in high regard, there is apparent conflict.
___It is accepted practice to interpret a text which apparently seems to contradict others within the backdrop of the larger body of inspired Scripture.
___A reading of Acts and the New Testament letters reveals women in key roles, performing ministries of various types. Paul in one place says, "In Christ, there is neither bond nor free, neither male nor female." In some places a restriction is placed upon women's activities. These can be understood as necessary since in the first century and for a long time women had little or no training and were not regarded as equal to men by society at large. The Timothy text is to be understood as requiring male deacons to be "one-woman kind of men." It does not even have to do with women.
___It is disgraceful that we, in our churches at the end of the 20th century, are still unable to extend to the woman the wide range of ministry those deserving women, such as Pheobe, were granted in Paul's day.
___ Carey Moore
___ Waxahachie
Phoebe, servant
___Regarding the debate over women as deacons, the Apostle Paul used the Greek word "diakonos," which can be translated as "deacon," "minister" or "servant."
___Romans 16:1-2 is the only Scripture I know of where someone might get the idea that women were deacons.
___The context of Scripture should dictate how one understands the meaning.
___Paul simply said Phoebe was a minister or servant of the church. How then are we to determine what this means? We should let Scripture interpret Scripture. Was Phoebe an ordained deaconness? Then what other Scriptures confirm this?
___We need look no further than 1 Timothy 3:3-12, where Paul gives the qualifications of the office of deacon in great detail.
___Here Paul affirms the fact a deacon be married, the husband (man) of one wife (woman). In plain Greek, a deacon must be a man who is the husband of one woman. Any church that officially ordains a woman as a deacon is not following the holy Scriptures as set forth by the Lord through Paul.
___Incidentally, it is perfectly scriptural (Matthew 18:15-18) to call on our Baptist churches, associations and conventions to follow the holy Scriptures in their daily conduct.
___If a church is ordaining women as deacons, then it should repent and return again to the true faith, which the holy Scriptures clearly teach.
___ Paul B. Taylor
___ Orange
Partisan politics
___Comparing the Baptist Standard with SBCLife reveals partisan politics. The front page of the Southern Baptist Convention's June/July SBCLife showed a cartoon man with a scythe, headlining, "Keep it Going," the message about money. Morris Chapman's historical commentary ignored the enormous influence of Texas Baptists (and others) from which the SBC originated.
___The front page of the Baptist Standard that week highlighted ministry in prison, ministry to tornado victims and helping churches to get online.
___Moreover, as usual, SBCLife noted the luncheons for the six seminaries and faithfully mentioned the Baptist World Alliance's. But why did SBCLife advertise Bob Reccord's engagement to speak at the North American Messianic Association pastor's conference?
___The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Texas Baptists Committed are never mentioned in SBCLife; they are purposefully excluded. They are not excluded because they preach a different gospel. Not at all, for CBF and TBC share so much more with the SBC than do the BWA and certainly the NAMA. The exclusion is solely partisan politics, because a "few" did not "want" them. About money too. How childish, to not be truly cooperative.
___CBF and TBC are made up of godly men with rich heritages in Baptist work in Texas and around the world. The Baptist General Convention of Texas has done more for Baptists and the Southern Baptist Convention than any other single convention on the planet.
___Kind of makes one want to call out: "Remember the Alamo!" Let's stick together and remember our roots, our "Baptist" roots.
___ M.G. Maness
___ Woodville
Opportunity to tell
___One of the most effective ways to tell the world about Christ is to teach in public schools and exemplify him. An opportunity to do that is opening in Belize, Central America.
___Within two years, a school will be built in the Maya/ K'ekchi' Indian area. This school will need qualified, loving Christian people to teach the students who are essentially denied secondary schooling because of money, distance and lack of leaders. They are bright, friendly, disciplined, quiet and eager to learn, and everyone speaks English.
___Needed are men and women to commit six months in the jungle without pay.
___Living would be primitive, but housing with air conditioning, great food and the beautiful sea is only about 25 miles away, or about one hour by bus.
___The major medical danger is malaria that can be prevented by medication.
___There are no barriers to teaching Bible or Christianity in the schools.
___If interested, please contact Kerfoot Walker at (903) 566-2242 or kerfootW@juno.com.
___ Kerfoot Walker
___ Tyler
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