October 9, 2000
Texas Baptist Forum
Satan rejoices
___Many exciting happenings in Texas are reported in the Standard, but these are overshadowed by the many accusations against the Southern Baptist Convention, and littleeffort is made from either to restore unity in and through Christ. (I am a born again believer by the grace of God and a loyal Southern Baptist by choice.)
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
___The conventions have removed Christ as the head of his church and have replaced him with men and their dogmas. There was a time when we could disagree without becoming disagreeable and still preserve our unity in Christ.
___Now, conventions are following men and splitting. This has filtered down to the local church, destroying its unity and its positive witness for Christ.
___Satan rejoices, for we do his work well. I am greatly disturbed about the uncertain future we have created.
___ Mary Moring
___ Gladewater
Seminary trustee
___I have a degree from two SBC seminaries and serve as trustee for Southern Seminary to which I am proud to send ministerial students. I have not seen anything like what is described by the Seminary Study Committee. When a professor, mentioned in the report, chose to resign, the only un-Christian actions I witnessed were from students and faculty.
___I attended the study committee meeting at Southern Aug. 25. The questions were answered reasonably, with integrity, and I felt the committee left knowing all preconceived ideas about Southern were not true, especially the promotion of Calvinism. The committee said this report would not be presented until 2001 because of the wealth of information. Yet it has been recommended that funding be cut to all seminaries. Perhaps the decision was made prior to the visits.
___Our church is in the top 100 givers to the Cooperative Program through the Baptist General Convention of Texas. In 12 years as pastor, no one from our church has been asked to serve in the BGCT. The committee stated that moderates are not represented on the seminary boards and thus should cut funding. Using their logic, maybe we should defund the BGCT because we are not represented.
___I am embarrassed as a Texas Baptist. Our leaders, who received help through the Cooperative Program while seminary students, now want to stop helping students in other states. Are we in West Texas only to be concerned for West Texans?
___And no, I am not a Southern Baptist of Texas member.
___ David Wilson
___ Lubbock
Damage control
___This week I received a letter from the SBC Executive Committee titled "The Truth About the SBC & Texas." It is a spin doctor's damage-control piece.
___They try to defend their bibliolatry by quoting a man who they castigated a few months ago, E.Y. Mullins. They go on to call the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message an unseen pitfall, saying the strong Christological statement, "The criterion by which the Bible is to interpreted is Jesus Christ" was a cloak for liberals to hide behind. The rest of the letter is more of the same spin doctoring.
___As a former follower of the conservative movement, I find it hard to believe that for 18-plus years of the movement no one questioned the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message. Or that Southwestern Seminary allowed Herschel Hobbs to speak at chapel if they really believed he was so easily "duped" in 1963. Finally, I find it strange that no one in the movement ever questioned Hobbs or his character until after his death.
___I guess it's easy to beat up on dead giants of the faith when it fits one's political agenda.
___ Michael L. Simons
___ Burleson
Greater truths
___I am a pacifist in this war of "spiritual cleansing." I am a pacifist in this uncivil "civil war." I will not fight. I have brothers on both sides. We have the true enemies all around us. There is not time for this "spiritual cleansing," for this uncivil "civil war."
___I will be accused of cowardice in this battle, but there are greater battles to fight. My conscience objects to what we are doing to Christianity in the name of "the Baptist faith." The enemy must not win because we do not want to "lose."
___Yes, there are great truths at stake, but there are greater truths at stake. The greater truths that we hold in common must not be destroyed because of the great truths we do not share.
___ Scotty Gray
___ Fort Worth
Finger-pointing
___Are we at an elementary playground or the Lord's workplace? From what I can see, all I can ask is, "When's recess over?"
___It is curious that although the Standard's managing editor showed up at the recent directors of missions' meeting at Southwestern Seminary, BGCT leaders "weren't invited" and didn't attend (Sept. 25). Baptist Press says they didn't show on their own accord. So who's right? Here's an idea--instead of sitting idly by and accusing the SBC of being the oppressor, just go whether you are invited or not. We would gladly lock you all in a room until you could achieve reconciliation!
___The BGCT doesn't want to reconcile. If you wanted to reconcile, you would have already done it. Let me (on the behalf of so many others) give you two options--either reconcile or leave the SBC. The BGCT's arguments are ever-changing and weak. This is all about pride, and you will not consider your own pride before pointing fingers at others.
___ Greg Bennett
___ Fort Worth
'Coercive Program'
___When SBC leaders begin to talk in terms of denying the "right" of a state convention to direct its funding, it appears that they have moved from defending a "Cooperative Program" to advocating a "Coercive Program."
___Cooperation must be voluntary; force and threat are the tools of coercion.
___ Olin F. Davis
___ Fort Worth
'New' leadership
___Serving Texas Baptists through the ministries of the BGCT is a privilege.
___I have had the honor of serving on the Committee on the Order of Business, Nominating Committee, Hope for Home, Baptist Youth Days, Focus, curriculum teams, Cooperative Program Task Force, Theological Education Committee and the Executive Board. I list these only to highlight the fact they represent hundreds of hours of service. I list these only to highlight the fact my service only mirrors the service of a multitude of laity and clergy, men and women who serve the Lord and Texas Baptists.
___I am saddened that when the "new" leadership team was introduced during the Executive Board meeting, that we were again presented a slate of men.
___Texas is blessed with women who have been educated in our seminaries and our universities. Women who have spent decades serving our churches and ministering through our associations and the BGCT. Women who have led Texas Baptists on committees and on mission fields. Why then is there not one woman leading a department of the BGCT?
___Texas Baptists, it's time for us to live out our beliefs, not just in our support of or our withdrawal of support from SBC institutions, but in the hiring, nominating and electing of those who lead us in the BGCT. Then, perhaps, the next time we join to pray for our leaders, the prayer will not begin with, "Let us pray for the brethren ... !"
___ Debbie Chisolm
___ Dallas
Uncanny accuracy
___Regarding Ralph Zecco's letter (Sept. 4) concerning the wide use of the New International Version of the Bible, the NIV did not become the most popular translation of the Bible by coincidence.
___Along with many others, I have found its accuracy uncanny, its clarity winsome and its readability sublime.
___The only texts that will never change are the original Hebrew and Greek. All translations will always change. The theology will remain constant, but language changes and our understanding of the original languages becomes better and better with each passing generation. And yes, there will come a time when even the NIV will be replaced by something better!
___The "100 changes"are not changes in theology but changes that help us understand God's message better.
___ I can sympathize with the brother's difficulty in letting go of the King James Version. However, may I lovingly implore him to desire a better understanding of the Bible by means of a translation that has been such a blessing to many and that does honor God.
___ Siegfried Enge
___ El Paso
Read Bible to children
___Have any Christian parents ever read the Bible to their children? Have any Christian parents ever prayed for their children to be saved? Have any Christian parents told their own children how to be saved and what Jesus Christ can do for them?
___It really would have helped me to trust Jesus Christ more if my parents had told me how they were saved, what God wanted them to do and if they had prayed for me to obey God.
___I have heard a lot of advertising by those who oppose God, but I believe Christian parents have a mission field in their own homes and need to give their children more time. Satan never has been tolerant of Christians.
___Arthur Clark
___Kenedy
Plan was gravestone for Cooperative Program
___A scheme hatched in an all-night session at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans in the early l970s by Paul Pressler and Paige Patterson laid the axe to the root of the tree we have known as the Cooperative Program. That the tree is now dying and the leaves are falling should be no surprise to those who now control the convention.
___The plan worked, but with a couple of exceptions the men elected had treated the Cooperative Program with indifference or disdain––until they got control. Three-time president Adrian Rogers at one point called the Cooperative Program a "golden calf."
___Pressler's and Patterson's scheme taught Baptists that loyalty to the Cooperative Program isn't important.
___Now, SBC leaders are whining because Texas Baptists are acting like the real Baptists they are and are not following SBC dictates.
___I applaud the recommendation of the seminary funding study committee to limit the amount of money going to the Southern Baptist Convention. It is a pity it has come to this, but if any blame is to be laid, place it at the feet of Paul Pressler and Paige Patterson. Someone once suggested giving them a plaque. Make it a gravestone for the Cooperative Program.
___Toby Druin
___Duncanville
Children of denominational divorce
___After reading the article explaining the BGCT plan for defunding the six SBC seminaries and then reading the response to the article by the seminary presidents, it is easy
___This makes me feel like a child of divorce--both parents care more about proving the other wrong than they do about me.
___A. G. Faulkner
___Carollton
Newport took time to encourage
___In April 1989, I sat in the cafeteria at Southwestern Seminary. I was visiting the school, seeking the Lord's guidance about attending in the fall. For me, I was in a new land (Texas), at a new school, pondering a total career change. I was nervous.
___ A gentleman came over to my table and asked if he could join me. His name was John
___After graduation, I became a chaplain at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen. I was visiting a couple who asked if I knew John Newport. After I replied, they told me that he was in the area and was on the way to visit them in the hospital! I met him in the lobby and he told me he had met these people on a cruise, and he hoped his visit might be a witness to them, since they were of another faith. We went to the couple's room, had a great time of fellowship and prayer, and we were all encouraged.
___John Newport was a man with many outstanding accomplishments. Maybe his greatest accomplishment was that he took the time to encourage and minister to common folk, like me, and this couple in the hospital. John Newport made a different in my life.
___Tom Fleming
___McAllen
Thanks for Breckenridge Village
___We appreciated the article about Breckenridge Village of Tyler (Aug. 14).
___As we recently drove past the beautiful chapel at Breckenridge Village, my husband and I once again thanked God for such a wonderful facility. Our daughter has been a resident at Breckenridge Village since January 1999.
___Breckenridge Village opened in April 1998. There are still many dreams to be fulfilled. With the financial help and prayers of Baptists all over the state, these dreams will be realized.
___Our appreciation and heart felt thanks go to Dwight Evans, Cheryl Mangum, Carolyn Jones and all the other staff that love and care for each resident.
___ Frances Hiner
___ Hurst
Glad I'm no longer a Texas Baptist
___ I am a pastor in Alabama. I have been hesitant in writing this letter but I feel that I must. I grew up a Texas Baptist. I am the son of a Texas Baptist pastor. I was baptized in a Texas Baptist church. I graduated from East Texas Baptist University. But thank the Lord,
___ Terms are being used such as "liberal," "moderate," "conservative," and "fundamentalist," which is appropriate because few are acting "Christian."
___ There are things for which I will die for the kingdom of God, but most things are worth disagreeing with others while working together in Christian love.
___ Just a few people on either side have stirred this pot of disharmonious drivel. Texas Baptists, you must disarm your own volatile words and actions. This is not worth the vindictiveness and hate it is brewing.
___ Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called "sons of God."
___ Tom Howe
___ Anderson, Ala.
NAMB innacurate on Texas prayer needs
___ Please pray for the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board.
___ Yesterday, I received an "On Mission Prayer Map" from NAMB, which included an October 2000 prayer calendar showing the state leaders and the international mission focus
___That NAMB will fulfill the Scripture-defined role of servant leadership as they watch God at work in the state conventions and disseminate that information accurately across the SBC.
___ That NAMB will not spend God's money in ways that distribute inaccurate information.
___ That NAMB will shun the very appearance of evil by not distributing false information that could be misconstrued more as a political statement than a genuine call for prayer.
___ William H. (Bill) Osborne
___ Houston
BGCT on deathbed, not CP
___I must respond to the letter by George Edwards (Sept. 25). He calls the Cooperative Program a "corpse." He and others who agree with him need to examine the facts. The Cooperative Program is very much alive and well.
___ No, the Cooperative Program is not dead and is not dying. The only thing I see in danger is of dying the Baptist General Convention of Texas support for the Cooperative Program. My prayer is that Baptists will stop fighting Baptists and that we will remember who the real enemy is. I am sure that Satan has great pleasure from all the fighting and fussing that is going on within Baptist conventions.
___Frank Pickens
___Fort Worth
Al Mohler's Calvinistic doctrine
___ I read in almost total disbelief that Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler believes in the Calvinistic doctrine that only certain people are predestined to be saved (Sept. 25).
___ How can we have a president of one of our seminaries who does not believe that all can be saved?
___God knows who will be saved, but God doesn't decide who will be left out! It is our duty and privilege as Christians to share the gospel with everyone and believe that God can save them through belief in his son, Jesus Christ.
___ Charles Rich
___Hewitt
RAs and GAs essential
___ I have been Southern Baptist all of my 33 years. As I reached adulthood, I realized what made Southern Baptists different from other denominations. Southern Baptists
___ These days you find Southern Baptist churches totally disregarding the reason they claim to be Southern Baptist in the first place.
___ As I read the commentaries in the Standard and read about the two conventions, I can't help but think about a special group very near to my heart. This group is not widely known in all the Southern Baptist churches in the state convention nor the national convention. This group is called Royal Ambassadors--RAs. I have been an RA leader for about 10 years and train other men about the RA material and what the RA program is.
___It's a thorn in my foot when I see Southern Baptist churches turn away from Southern Baptist mission education programs such as RAs and GAs and turn to programs that do not teach about being on mission with God. RAs and GAs are in existence to teach boys and girls about being on mission with God. To take RAs and GA's away is to say that being on mission with God is not important enough to carry on to the next generation of Southern Baptists.
___Are groups such as RAs and GAs a dying breed? I hope not!
___ David Romano
___ Rosharon
Tired of "we said/ they said"
___ How long before folks get tired of hearing the "we said/they said" junk that is coming form both sides of the Baptist controversy. Somewhere in the middle of this mess is the truth.
___ It would do the leadership of these organizations well to remember who gives the money to supply the ministries and pay checks for the staffs.
___ So grow up and get over it. Quit the private-kingdom-building and get on with building God's kingdom.
___ Guille Seigler
___ Saginaw
SBC helped Southwestern, too
___ I would like to respond to "Return seminary" by Barbara Kent (Oct. 2). Mrs. Kent, who served faithfully at Southwestern Seminary as housing director, is a wonderful person, whom I respect very much. She is right in pointing out that Texas Baptists have
___ When Southwestern was "given" to the SBC, Southwestern was a under the strain of a great debt and the SBC did much to pull the seminary through that difficult time. Please at least be a little objective. Both the SBC and the BGCT have contributed greatly to Southwestern.
___ Jason M. Shuttlesworth
___ Johnstown, Colo.
NIV closest to original text
___ Ralph Zecco believes we are to take the Bible as it was before "these new ones (translations)" came along (Sept. 4). Yet, in his pursuit of promoting the veracity of the "holy (pure) word" of bygone translations, he violates his own logic.
___His response is exactly why we need the newer, more accurate translations. If he had examined the "purer" text of the Greek document, he would have learned that the word used in that verse for damnation is in fact the word "sin." For some reason, the translators of old were the ones who made the decision to change doctrine. Thankfully, the scholars of the NIV Bible returned to us the word true from the true Word.
___What Zecco wants is a Bible translation that states "the same thing." I believe he means a translation which records as near as possible the actual words of God as breathed out through the original writers. That being the case, the committee which gave us the New International Version of the bible would in fact be Zecco's biggest fans.
___Paul Smith
___Calhoun City, Miss.
Accountability shouldn't displace freedom
___John Allen, director of missions for Enon Baptist Association in Ardmore, Okla., takes Paul Kenley to task for suggesting that anyone in Oklahoma might be under some directive from higher authority to follow orders. There are many of us in Oklahoma who
___In response to ads placed by Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists in Enon Association promoting a meeting to be held discussing the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, he took out ads suggesting people not attend the meeting but to call him if they wished to discuss the 2000 BF&M.
___It appears he is already putting into force the new preamble of the 2000 BF&M wherein "we are accountable to each other" rather than to the Holy Spirit. He has decided in the Enon Association they are accountable to him.
___ Bob Stephenson
___Norman, Okla.
Classroom is place for scholarly questioning
___ Chuck Kelly, President of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, was quoted as saying, "Scholarly forums are great places to look at complex theological issues," but "teaching in a classroom and scholarly development are two different things" (Sept. 28).
___Scholarship and the search for truth, knowledge and wisdom cannot be and will not be cloistered away in the backrooms and private enclaves of those who declare themselves and their creeds inerrant in thought and word.
___God made this quite clear in Scripture, in his revelation as Jesus Christ on this earth and through the teaching lifestyles of his faithful servants (Paul, Luke, John, Timothy, Phoebe, Anna, et al). Kelly's statements deny the Scriptures' testament and Christ's model of the abundance of forums and venues in which the pursuit of truth, knowledge and wisdom will take place. And, yes, even those forums that question the Scriptural and doctrinal validity of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message.
___Tony L. Talbert
___Friendswood
"Incompatibility" too often a slick excuse
___Though your front-page article did not technically endorse e-harmony.com, the matchmaking website (Sept. 25), it bothers us that many Christians are buying into the idea
___The foundational issue is a mutual commitment to Jesus Christ, then irrevocably to each other. Compatibility is fine, but we are generally not very aware of what qualities we really need in a mate, so this is an over-rated issue.
___"Incompatibility" problems are too often a slick excuse for a divorce, rather than working things out in a biblical manner.
___Pete & Carole Unseth
___Duncanville
Elect a "pro-life" candidate
___I urge each Christian to make the choice to save the lives of millions of children by
___ This one issue transcends political parties. These unborn children need an advocate to save their lives. I hope that each Christian will do all they can do to truly "save the children."
___ Gene Wright
___ Arlington
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