August 21, 2000
Texas Baptist Forum
Orthodox SBC
___After reading the disturbing Baptist Standard Aug. 7, I was reminded of a story by Eddie Lieberman.
___An Orthodox Jew's son wanted a Honda for his bar mitzvah present.
___The father goes to his Orthodox rabbi and asks him what a Honda is. The rabbi says, "I don't know, but the Reform rabbi may know what a Honda is."
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
___The father calls on the Reform rabbi and asks him what a Honda is because his son wants it as a present for his bar mitzvah. The rabbi says, "A Honda is a small Japanese motor bike." The father thanks him and starts to leave. Then the Reform rabbi says, "By the way, what is a bar mitzvah?"
___I will stay with the orthodox Southern Baptist Convention.
___ Jim Bozeman
___ Hereford
One-sided report
___Your Aug. 7 editorial speaks to an article on the budget relationship between the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the SBC.
___Several comparative items should be added to your details.
___First, Texas Baptists should evaluate their support of the Baptist Joint Committee. The $63,000 annual amount helps pay for a committee that opposes student-led prayers at school. Polls suggest at least 80 percent of Texas Baptists favor student-led prayers at school.
___Second, you omitted the BGCT's greatest resource for ministerial training, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This omission is unfair.
___Finally, the "resurgent Calvinism at some seminaries" is inflammatory and confuses Calvinism with hyper-Calvinism. I am amazed how many times this is referred to, yet never refuted with factual evidence of the SBC's increase in missionary appointments, baptisms and church planting.
___The comparative evaluation behind the article is a good idea, but it will not solve any of our budgetary conflicts as long as the comparison remains one-sided and incomplete.
___ Johnnie R. Jones
___ Blue Ridge
What's wrong
___One has to go no further than page 2 of the Aug. 7 issue to find a perfect example of what is wrong in the Texas Baptist debates.
___When I give my offering, my concern is that money is used for God's work, wherever that may be. My church and I have faith that when we send our offerings to the state or national conventions, the money is used in God's will. It matters little if God leads us to finance in-state or out-of-state (or even out-of-country) missions or organizations as long as the recipient is God-lead and performs the Lord's work.
___When we look at where the money is spent in such a selfish way (money collected in Texas should be spent in Texas) we put our will ahead of God's will. We can bicker about many other minor things, but when one person (or faction) is suggesting we take a course based on selfish motives rather than following God's will, then all Christians must agree, we follow God's will over our own.
___If the leadership of the BGCT has such selfish goals in mind, then it is incumbent upon all Christian leaders to pull support from the BGCT.
___ Russell Wright
___ Pasadena
Love in spite ...
___Two observations relating to statements in the Aug. 7 Standard:
___First, Prestonwood Baptist Church charges that "conservative voices are not proportionately represented on BGCT boards and committees." What about moderate voice representation on SBC boards and committees?
___Second, the SBC Executive Committee's Morris Chapman believes that increased giving indicates approval for the authoritarian changes made by conservative SBC leaders. Increased giving is an expression of love for Christ in spite of the actions of the SBC leadership!
___ John Metcalf
___ Cedar Hill
Spirit & truth
___The controversy over worship has nothing to do with style and form. It has everything to do with spirit and truth.
___The one who leads worship is not only responsible that everyone present is ministered to musically, he or she also is responsible to the Spirit of the Lord and the truth of the word to plan worship that will honor and glorify God and invite his presence.
___When you don't like a particular song in worship, please realize that song hopefully has been placed there by your minister of music under the direct leadership of the Holy Spirit. Ask yourself, "What is the Lord trying to teach me through this song?" Also, realize the song that may serve no spiritual purpose for you may be blessing the socks off someone else. As long as churches are filled with people, musical preferences will be an issue.
___The goal of worship should be to seek the Holy Spirit's leadership. Be uncompromisingly faithful to the word of God, and understand that we worship not to get a "fix" on "our" music but to praise and worship God and seek his presence and his revelation in each of our lives.
___ James Jordan
___ Pittsburg
Praise for Awana
___I am an old man. I grew up in BYPU and Training Union. I really learned what missions is about when my work sent me to Venezuela in 1959. I met the local missionary families and worked with them while there. Since that time, I have visited 30 countries and seen some mission work in many places.
___I work in Awana in my church. Our Awana missionary is on the field in Venezuela, not trying to sell literature and prizes (Aug. 14). As I am the one with the most "missionary experience," I am called to tell the Awana members what is in the life of a missionary. I have never sold anything as a missionary; I have helped plant churches and done some construction. Door-to-door evangelism is the most rewarding.
___We adopted Awana to replace the RA/GA organizations because we were reaching only our kids. With Awana, we have over 100 young people in intensive Bible study each week.
___ Julian H. Unger
___ Houston
True understanding
___If the doctrine of priesthood of the believer refers only to prayer, as Joy Davis suggests (Aug. 14), who are we to go to for the correct interpretation of Scripture?
___Unless you are Mormon, you accept that all the apostles have died; and that would leave no one who has the authority from Christ to interpret Scriptures. Just because a man attends school, does that qualify him to interpret? Or do we have a pope who has a direct line to God that gives him authority?
___All believers, led by the Holy Spirit, are to study the Scriptures and find what the Lord is saying. I do not rule out that he might reveal a meaning to you a little different from what I receive. Does that invalidate what the Spirit reveals to me?
___I am a poor country boy who has been searching for the truth for well over 50 years. And yes, my understanding is a little different in some cases than it was 50 years ago. I pray each day that the Lord will give me a better and truer understanding.
___ Joe Sitton
___ Cisco
Stay informed
___In response to Holly McClung's letter (July 24), it makes me sad, too, to read the Baptist Standard, but a motto of the paper has been through the years, "Tell the truth and trust the people."
___We need to read and pray and seek God's leadership day by day.
___I urge Holly: Please stay sweet. Don't join those who "speak in scathing overtures about those who disagree with them." But please don't join the ranks of the uninformed. Keep reading your Bible and the Baptist Standard.
___ Jo Anne Johnson
___ Brownfield
History repeats
___Those 12,000 competent souls who approved the new Baptist Faith & Message at the SBC annual meeting this summer seem to be illiterate when it comes to Baptist history.
___Christians in the second century began their struggles when the "church" began to depart from the apostolic teachings and introduced infant baptism, imperial authority of the church leaders and marriage of church and state. One could not hold office, or do much of anything else except be put to death, unless they belonged to the "state church." This struggle continued until late in the 18th century.
___Out of these "disagreeable" groups came the people known today as Baptist.
___History does tend to repeat itself, doesn't it!
___ Geraldine Butler
___ Post
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