February 9, 2000
Texas Baptist Forum
Another chance
___While I deeply regret the firing of Dallas Cowboys' football coach Chan Gailey, my heart breaks over the thousands of pastors and staff ministers who have been fired by our Southern Baptist Convention churches during the last few years.
___According to his contract, Gailey left his position with almost $2 million. He also has a new lucrative job in the National Football League.
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___Many dismissed pastors and staff members are good and honorable men who have been forced to leave their churches, in most instances with nothing but a few weeks' pay and very little else. They now have a mark on their name that will follow them for years, making finding a new church extremely difficult.
___On Judgment Day, I would hate to stand before holy God and explain why I fired and treated one of his ministers in such an un-Christian way.
___I plead with the pastor-search and personnel committees: Please give these dismissed individuals prayerful consideration when they are recommended to you.
___ John McKay
___ Weatherford
Stay with truth
___There are several differences between the two factions in our denomination. Some differences are theological.
___For instance, one group tends to believe in dispensationalism, while the other leans toward amillennialism or a different viewpoint.Yet both believe Jesus Christ is returning.
___The groups argue over the correct theological words to describe the Bible. Yet both believe the Bible is the authority for their lives and is the inspired word of God.
___I understand why we have disagreements, but I don't understand why we allow people to slander good people. I'm appalled when I hear comments made about the Baptist General Convention of Texas leadership.
___These people are only repeating false statements. For example, homosexuality is a sin, but all sin is wrong. Therefore, it is just as great a sin to say the BGCT leadership supports homosexuality.
___I know (new BGCT Executive Director) Charles Wade. He does not believe homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle, but he does believe the homosexual needs Jesus Christ.
___We have a responsibility to stop false accusations.
___Let's stay with the truth about our disagreements and agree that to change our world we have to be evangelistic so that God can change lives. Both sides can agree on that!
___ Lane Northcut
___ Paris
Other factors
___The Barna research on the amount of divorce in Baptist churches is no doubt accurate by his sample (Jan. 12).
___I wonder, however, if other factors should have been included in the research. For instance, some denominations are intolerant of divorce, and people are obliged to leave those fellowships. Baptists have been committed to helping people put their lives back together following broken marriages.
___How many of the divorcees in Baptist churches were formerly some other persuasion or not Christian at the time? Some denominations have very few fellowships for singles. Many Baptist churches have very large singles' groups. Many of these singles are from broken marriages.
___These and other factors impact the results of this study so that caution should be exercised when drawing the conclusions which Barna shared.
___ Jim Fitch
___ Gallatin, Tenn.
Ray of hope
___The Texas Baptist Evangelism Conference was a shining ray of hope for Texas Baptists and a wake-up call to carry on with the business of seeking souls for the kingdom. The conference successfully set our vision back on the main thing--winning the lost to Christ.
___God did some business with us during the conference, and if you missed it, you missed great things. You missed wonderful music, which showed us a vision of heaven and led us in true worship. You missed inspiring testimonies, which moved our hearts in hearing of the glorious works of God. You missed great biblical preaching, which moved the hand of God to change lives and move his people into the world empowered by him to reach the world for Christ.
___But let us not miss the ultimate intent of the conference to remind us and move us to lead our churches in taking the gospel message to every person in Texas.
___ Joe McCammon
___ Mesquite
Beach Reach
___I feel the Lord has called me back to South Padre Island during spring break. God has burdened my heart for those seeking the pleasures of this world.
___There is no comparison to a life in Christ, but humanity makes that choice seem tough. God created us with a void only he can fill, but because we as Christians are sometimes too "chicken" to share about the greatest hope, close to 100,000 teenagers and adults flock to Padre in a two-week span to find fulfillment in a party.
___So, what can we do? God is calling college students from around Texas and the states nearby to share the gospel at Padre by giving free rides, providing free breakfasts and so much more. He does not need us, but he calls us.
___Please be on your knees for us in preparation for spring break. There is power in prayer, and God will answer in big ways.
___Pray that God would provide all the resources necessary to make this week go. Also, pray for all those involved in Beach Reach, that we may have boldness and God would blind us to the things of this world. Most of all, pray for the reason to go to South Padre--that those who go to party would be open to hearing what we have to offer: Life!
___ Kelli Burnett
___ San Angelo
School prayer
___I cannot join (Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission Executive Director) Phil Strickland in opposing the Republican referendum on school prayer (Jan. 26). This is a First Amendment issue that offers an opportunity for Texans to express their opinion on whether federal judges should be able to censor student-initiated prayers.
___It is not often that citizens have the chance to collectively state their feelings on an issue of freedom of religious expression. I am glad Gov. Bush and Attorney Gen. Cornyn have filed a legal brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of student-initiated prayer. As a Texas Baptist and a member of the state Republican executive committee, I don't believe Strickland is in touch with his constituents on this issue.
___ Larry Bowles
___ Houston
Long-term debt
___Early in its history, the "church" began a series of changes, including infant baptism and sprinkling rather than immersion. Leaders also wedded the church to the government. Many Christians opposed this, because there was no New Testament basis for it.
___These Christian dissenters were labeled criminals and were tortured, even to death. The dissenters were scattered all the way from the Middle East to England, where they endured torture, yet they grew.
___They were called Anabaptists by the established church, because they re-baptized those whose prior baptism was questioned. They moved to the New England colonies in America, where the Episcopal Church, the established church in America, persecuted Baptists as they had been persecuted in England. If they refused to pay a church tax, their property was taken and sold.
___ The Baptists persisted and helped in the American Revolution, and they worked diligently for the inclusion of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
___We owe a great debt to them. We should be very careful that we are not setting our feet onto the path of church-state involvement that our ancestors fought against under so much suffering.
___ Geraldine Butler
___ Post
True message
___This is concerning the feature on a book by an attorney examining the authenticity of the Bible from a legal perspective (Jan. 26). In the story, the writer twice indicates the author of the book treated Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus. In fact, Luke 1:1-3 says this gospel is a compilation of various accounts of the life of Jesus. Luke was not an eyewitness. His testimony would be termed hearsay.
___This does not detract from the truth of the accounts, but from the premise of the book. Several years ago, an attorney on a popular Christian television program took the same perspective.
___ It is an interesting form of apologetics and could give the true message to a listener or reader.
___ Clinton Tittsworth
___ Wichita Falls
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