April 23, 2001

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM
opeful signs
___Can you imagine what the Holy Spirit might accomplish in the hearts of passing motorists if every church in Texas, yea, the entire country, would post a verse of Scripture on its outdoor sign?

E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

___Just think what he could do with this verse: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
___Consider the number of weary, heavy-hearted motorists who pass by your church every day. Suddenly, they see those words of Jesus, telling them he has the answer to their problems, that he will take away their burdens, leaving only peace and tranquility of soul and spirit.
___ R.K. Harris
___ Chappell Hill

Up-front search
___After years of dealings with church search committees, I submit these bits of information (from a minister's point of view) which could help both searchers and searched. I am speaking about the last stages of "the process," not the preliminary stages.
___ Please keep the final candidates somewhat informed as to where your committee is in the process. You know what you are thinking, but we do not.
___True story: After much communication with a search committee over months, the time came for me to go before the church in view of a call. After taking a week off from my church, scheduling a guest speaker and making arrangements in order to travel 500 miles to the church, I made one final call to confirm our schedule. Surprise--they had called a pastor the week before!
___ Contact us as you say you will. As you leave the church and say, "We'll call you later today," please do so. Or even write or e-mail. It would be one less thing on my mind.
___ Be honest in your evaluation, even (especially) if you choose someone else. It is more helpful to a candidate for a committee to say they wanted someone with, for example, more counseling credentials or administrative skills than the nebulous "we felt led in another direction." You know why you felt that way. Tell us, so perhaps we can better ourselves in the process.
___These simple acts will save much time, confusion and, yes, even worry.
___ Name withheld

No coercion
___Regarding the "coercion" experienced by employees of Southern Baptist Convention agencies to adopt "creedal rules" as a prerequisite to employment, the word "coercion" infers a self-serving, corrupted motivation by those who facilitate Southern Baptists' cooperative work.
___Establishment of parameters of theological adherence for those who seek SBC employment protects the integrity of the institution. Some have forgotten those parameters were not edicts from denominational hierarchy, but developed by godly men and women, seeking to express who we are as Southern Baptists. It was affirmed by the SBC rank-and-file to clarify our communal theology, not to replace individual interpretation or create a creedal theology. And there must be accountability.
___Individuals who choose to align themselves with local churches do so because they agree with the foundational interpretation and exercise of Scripture within that body. They are accountable for their support of the local body. Would any church employ a minister who refused to affirm its covenant or bylaws?
___In denominational institutions, is it unreasonable to ask those who choose to be employed to adhere to the basic convention doctrinal statements? It is not an issue of power and dominion. Rather, it is simply a means of ensuring that the administration and organization of those agencies reflect the biblical guidelines adopted by those who established them.
___ Ronnie Hendricks
___ Florence, Ala.

Some retired
___The statement that two regular faculty members at Southwestern Seminary did not sign the revised confession of faith (March 12) does not reflect the total number who did not sign, because it includes only those who have not attained the requirements for retirement.
___Others decided to retire this year, earlier than we normally would have chosen, rather than sign.
___ Harold Freeman
___ Hazel Morris
___ Fort Worth

Blown away
___Where should I go to seminary? Wherever I pick, I will be labeled fundamentalist or liberal.
___As a student at Baylor University, I am labeled. I have visited churches and said where I go to school, and after listening as jokes were made about how I must be a liberal, I've been told, "It's nice to have you anyway." Have these people ever set foot on campus, sat in on a theology class or heard anything firsthand? I dare say, "No."
___Despite the fact I am trying to be objective, I am already taking on all the negative connotations of a title based on where I go to school. I am fighting an uphill battle, not because of anything I did, but because people insist on spreading unfounded claims and rumors. I am forced to choose sides already at the age of 20.
___Why? Because those role models of Christian leadership have paved the way for my generation to engage in partisanship and disagreement. It's not about one side or the other, but everyone that engages in these politics.
___It blows me away that parents will tell their children not to fight and gossip but will then step into the church to do just that. Will we continually be defined by what documents we sign and what schools we go to, rather than the actions we portray and the love we show?
___End the politics, stop the rumors and get past the lies, please.
___ John Young
___ Waco

Blame rests
___I was shocked to read that Texas Baptists are not marching in lockstep with the funding decisions made at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual session (April 16). After all, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of defunding the SBC seminaries that have served Texas Baptists so well for years.
___The BGCT's mistake was the BGCT's arrogance to have a partisan group put the seminary study together, present it to the most partisan of Texas Baptists and surprise! It was overwhelmingly approved by them.
___My guess is that most of the staff members of most Texas Baptist churches were educated at one of the SBC seminaries, most likely Southwestern. Those pastors, music, education, youth and children's ministers know that they received excellent educations at those seminaries and that those seminaries continue to provide the best in seminary educations. The people in their congregations know this as well.
___Is it really a surprise that these mostly non-political people see the arrogance of the BGCT and then vote with their pocketbook.
___The BGCT has forced churches such as ours that have been non-political over the years to make choices that I fear will hurt Texas causes. If that is the case, I hope the BGCT recognizes that the blame rests squarely on their own shoulders.
___ Eric Hedin
___ Grand Prairie

Role model
___Grant Teaff (April 16) has been an example, but not only to his athletes.
___In 1989, he taught Sunday School for college freshmen at First Baptist Church of Waco. The Baylor Bears played in Colorado that year on a Saturday. The team had planned to return on Sunday afternoon, but Coach Teaff was determined not to miss his Sunday School class. He chartered an airplane and came back early to teach.
___I never played football for Coach Teaff or even knew him personally, but his faithful ministry to his local church made an impression on me.
___ Bart Barber
___ Farmersville

Little from many
___It is puzzling to me why we often look up to our mega-churches for their leadership within the SBC when some contribute such a small percentage to the BGCT and the SBC Cooperative Programs.
___You recently reported that one of our leading churches with a $9 million budget gave 1.8 percent toward the Cooperative Program (April 9). Unfortunately, this appears to be the norm for many of our larger churches.
___We must be careful not to judge a church's giving program. However, should we call upon any church for leadership in our conventions when it contributes such a small percentage of its budget to the BGCT and SBC?
___ H.F. Weatherly
___ Beaumont

Wounds need to heal
___It is discouraging and not surprising the SBC is ending dialogue with the Catholic Church. The Body of Christ has been deeply wounded since at least the Reformation, as various sects splintered from the one church and suffered persecution or alienation at the hands of that church. It appears those wounds will not begin to be healed on the part of Southern Baptists for some time.
___The SBC has implicitly taken a position, not dissimilar to that of Rome for most of its history until Vatican II, that it alone is the true church to the exclusion of all others. This sort of narrow-mindedness within the Roman Catholic Church led to so many wounds in the first place.
___No one Christian denomination holds a monopoly on "true doctrine" or "true worship." However, all denominations share the monopoly on salvific truth, that by grace through active faith in Jesus' death and resurrection and confession of his lordship over all a soul is made sufficiently righteous to enter heaven.
___If the world is to know we are Christians by our love, why do we not begin by loving each other? When the lost see unity among all Christian believers, they will respond with less ambivalence to the gospel. Until unity happens, we must ask in the words of Solomon: "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?" (1:22).
___ Kevin T. Holton
___Waco

Teaff a Texas hero
___Thank you for the refreshing interview with Coach Grant Teaff (April 16). He spoke to over 6,000 staff members of the Aldine Independent School District, where I serve as board president. He shared his faith without reservation.
___This gifted Christian witness is a giant man of influence who is revered by scores of young people for his unwavering commitment to excellence.
___ I recognize your space is limited, therefore thank you for giving such a generous platform to a contemporary Texas hero.
___Rick Ogden
___Houston

Provincialism and bad theology
___Your editorial on the cessation of dialogue with Catholics (April 2) was an insightful treatment of a long-standing Southern Baptist problem, of which animosity toward other believers is only one facet.
___From a Deep South Southern Baptist upbringing in the '50s, I learned Jews were bad and Catholics were worse. Methodists and Presbyterians were acceptable, but the Pentecostals and members of the Church of God were "holy rollers."
___Behind those from "other faiths" came the "sinners." They took a drink, fished on Sunday and did whatever people do at the VFW on Saturday night. A few were divorced and some were impoverished. (Poverty was evidence of sin.) Pulpits and classrooms were silent on race.
___Then, a week out of high school, I woke up in a barracks with a selection of these "undesirables," including a Negro.
___Now it is 45 years later. I realize much of what I learned simply was bad theology taught by good people. Still, it is 45 years later, and still, it is wrong.
___These dogmas are difficult to unlearn. It is not an attempt to transfer blame to acknowledge that this baggage has been, and to some extent always will be, an impediment to demonstration of the Sermon on the Mount.
___Southern Baptist leadership should consider the extent to which their provincialism narrows the vision of youth, in whose charge is the future of the gospel message.
___John V. Rutledge
___Allen

Budget was bad decision
___Could it be that perhaps a majority of Texas Baptist churches are not supporting the new adopted BGCT budget because it was a bad decision that did not reflect the convictions of a large number of churches rather than confusion among churches, manipulative pastors or erroneous information as suggested in your April 16 editorial?
___Believe it or not, many churches and individuals in Texas do not support the direction and recent decisions of the BGCT. As you suggested, only time and contributions will tell. I think many will be surprised.
___Shane Scott
___Temple


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