April 3, 2000
TEXAS BAPTIST FORU M
Serve homebound
___We are native Texans and have remained faithful to our Baptist heritage even though 20 years of our careers were in places where there were no Southern Baptist churches.
___Since retiring to Austin, we have presented slide programs in many churches, retirement communities and nursing homes. This has provided us an opportunity toobserve the ministries of churches.
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
___Most of these churches have excellent programs for preschool and school-age children, college students, young married couples and singles. There also are excellent programs for the active senior citizens.
___The lack of ministries to homebound members in many of these churches concerns us. Most homebound are in their 80s and 90s and in a number of cases confined to their rooms. A 94-year-old lady who was a faithful member of her Sunday School recently told us, "I have come to the conclusion that the only interest my church has in me is the check that I send them every month."
___James the half-brother of Jesus writes in James, chapter 1: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."
___ Opal and Bill Howard
___ Austin
Reading meaning
___"Death penalty" (March 27) provides the most interesting eisegesis I have seen is some time. Dale Presley suggests Jesus approves of the death penalty. Since Jesus did not "save" the two others dying with him, he obviously approved of what was happening.
___If we use this logic, we also can say Jesus approves of wrongful convictions, since he did not save his own life. We also can say betrayal is on Jesus' approval list, since he knew Judas was going to betray him, yet he allowed it to happen.
___So, let's see: Presley discovered Jesus approves of the death penalty, and I have pointed out Jesus is an advocate of betrayal and lynch mobs. I guess we are really getting closer to the true Jesus of history.
___Believing God's word does not mean reading your own meaning into it.
___ H. Lee Cole
___ Forney
Get real
___Is God barbaric? According to Paul Whiteley, he is (March 5). If I read my Bible correctly, God himself instituted capital punishment (Genesis 9:6). Nowhere do I read in the Bible it is supposed to be a deterrent to crime, only that the one executed will commit his crimes no more.
___I wish these "namby-pamby" Baptists would get off this "kick" of "what would Jesus do?" If Jesus is God, and he is, then he would do exactly what his word says. The Holy Spirit (God) inspired it all. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that we are to live "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Genesis to Revelation, all of it!
___Get real! God is a God of judgment, as well as a God of love. Anyone who has read the Bible through from Genesis to Revelation will see this. Crime must be punished. Keep the death penalty!
___ Johnny C. Sloan
___ Bryan
What Jesus said
___I considered writing when a letter suggested since Jesus supported the law and the law said criminals should be put to death, then Jesus favored the death penalty (March 22). "There surely will be a flood of letters pointing out the error of this," was my reaction.
___To my amazement, instead another letter even more absurd appeared (March 27).
___Do they not read the whole New Testament? In John 8, Jesus is asked, "What do you say?" because the law says "she should be stoned" to death! No need to point out he did not say, "Right, let's do it!" He forgave her, and she went free.
___Since Texas has the highest rate of executions of any state in the union, I guess this is a minority view, but I do believe the Bible reports what Jesus really said on the subject.
___ Richard Plampin
___ Sunnyvale, Calif.
Congrats, Texas
___Congratulations are in order for the vast majority of Texas Baptists and the leadership of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Your optimistic, visionary and courageous adherence to historic Baptist principles in the face of relentless opposition is inspiring.
___All Texas Baptists might not be happy at the moment, but all Texas Baptists should be counting their blessings. Thousands of your Baptist brothers and sisters in neighboring states would gladly exchange our convention problems for those of the BGCT.
___Texas Baptists should take a deep breath before being duped by any suggestion of finding fault with the BGCT. Let them first examine the remains of neighboring state conventions, where the destructive spirit of fundamentalism, cloaked in the trappings of Southern Baptist Convention loyalty, has been allowed to run unchecked.
___ Scott Shaver
___ Natchitoches, La.
Singing and sin
___"When talking about music, think outreach" (March 22) concerned me. Churches were advised to find out what kind of music the people listen to that the church desires to reach. Worship planners then could find Christian music with similar styles.
___God does not want us to lower our standards for outreach. You will say, "Paul became all things to all people, so we should too." Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:21, "To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ)." The greatest evangelist of the early church did not lower his standards to reach anyone. Why should we?
___Why then do we use the world's style of music to get people into church? "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Corinthians 6:17).
___There is music today that is unclean. How can we, by adding Christian lyrics to it, make it clean? If something filthy touches something clean, the clean thing becomes dirty. We must have nothing unclean in our lives or in the church.
___We must not lower our standards. "Because it is written, be ye holy for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16) . God is holy. How then can we lower the standards in the church, the bride of Christ? We cannot do such a thing and sin against God.
___ Craig McCloy
___ Stinnett
Worship dilemma
___Another cartoon highlighted "contemporary/traditional" music (March 15). Baptists are not the only faith tradition faced with a worship dilemma.
___The United Methodist Perkins School of Theology's "Perspective" features an examination of subjects that relate to worship/liturgy in modern churches. Concerning worship music, I believe this statement speaks to us as Christians, regardless of our faith tradition: "The most important point is not whether the music is played on the organ or the guitar, but rather whether the music has been chosen according to the well-communicated conviction that we must sing the music that helps us to be the kind of church God calls us to be."
___ Jason D. Heap
___ Fort Worth
What's bad?
___I am puzzled by Dick Tillman (Feb. 23) and Mac Galloway (March 8) and their question, "Why Truett?" Texas Baptists support eight universities, some within 60 miles of each other.
___My wife and I sought the Lord's will concerning seminary for a number of years. I considered Southwestern and Logsdon, but the Lord simply did not open those doors. Finally, the Lord opened the door for me to come to Truett, and I am reminded every time I sit in class that he brought me here.
___I assure you I did not leave another career, move my family across Texas and enter Truett Seminary for political reasons. I am at Truett because I feel led of the Lord to be here. I believe Truett's existence is God-ordained. Come sit in class with me. Visit with me and with my classmates. They have come here from all over the United States and other parts of the world for the same reasons I have--because God has brought us to George W. Truett Theological Seminary to receive training for his ministry.
___My question is: How can having three outstanding seminaries in Texas be bad for Texas Baptists?
___ Gary Tapley
___ Mexia
Jesus requires forgiveness
___Regarding the death penalty, I would refer Herbert Warren (March 22) to Matthew 6:14-15. Christ requires forgiveness, not condemnation.
___ Joe Sitton
___ Cisco
Tasteless show
___ A Muslim organization has been the first, and so far the only, religious group to publicly protest "God, the Devil and Bob," a new animated comedy series Tuesday nights on NBC-TV.
___ "This kind of tasteless and trivial portrayal of God does a disservice to the millions of
___ Where are the Southern Baptists? Should we not as well express our outrage over this slanderous "comedy" that deals with a Detroit auto worker named Bob who meets God in a bar and discusses moral questions and whether mankind is worth saving?
___ David L. Streck
___ Troup
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