April 23, 2001
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Sense of humor
___My husband and I were amazed at the letter condemning Aggie jokes (April 16).
___When I showed the letter to my husband, who is an Aggie, he roared with laughter and said, "Is this an Aggie joke?"
___Both my husband and my brother-in-law, also an Aggie, not only listen to--and laugh at--Aggie jokes, they also tell them. And yes, this happens frequently at church.
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
___Where is this Aggie's sense of humor?
___As for Aggie jokes being sinful, I am sure the Lord has much more serious sins to deal with. God has a great sense of humor and probably enjoys many Aggie jokes as heartily as most of the rest of us do.
___ Barbara Barrier
___ Georgetown
Scouting adoption
___I suggest Southern Baptists "adopt" the Boy Scouts of America.
___ A.L. Franks
___ Haltom City
God & politics
___Donald Baker is right: People vote mindless of whom they are voting for (March 19). I wonder who he voted for and if it was a wise vote.
___It sounds to me he is saying if you vote for anyone in the Democratic Party you cannot be a Christian. I thank God Baker is not the one who will judge souls at the judgment seat.
___He needs to take a closer look at the judges he says are responsible for the condition of our society. He apparently has not checked recently who appointed most of them.
___I agree we need to research each candidate before we vote. However, we still have the freedom to attend the church of our choice, pray to our God, live in the area of our choice plus many more freedoms, including whom to vote for.
___Why should we expect more of our federal officials and state officials than we do of our local officials? When we clean up our county, city and state governments, it may have some effect on who we send to Washington. Let's start with our state. Right now, we are at the bottom of the totem pole.
___When people fill our church pews and follow the Lord's will, then we will have peace of mind and unity of our people.
___ Melba Little
___ Weatherford
Member burnout
___The story "Ill-behaving members lead to clergy burnout" (April 23) is correct, but only one side of the coin. Too many times "ill-behaving clergy lead to member burnout"
___This is a two-sided problem, and to cure it, both sides must be addressed.
___No pastor should have to tolerate the behavior mentioned in the story, but no congregation should tolerate a "know-it all" pastor who wants to be the ruler of the congregation.
___Among Baptists, the congregation should be the maker of the decisions. Negative behavior does happen and is one of several reasons for decline and disorganization. It takes love and labor of both the pastor and the congregation to make a church.
___ Felton Martin
___ Santa Anna
Good hands
___Many thanks to Texas Baptist Student Ministries for the effort and expense that went into the beautiful two-page summer missions spread (April 16).
___Not only are those great kids sacrificing their summer for service all over the world, but their fellow students contributed all the funds for them to go. Add to those the large numbers serving with other agencies and churches, many at their own expense. And add to those the even larger number serving, usually unheralded, in weekly and holiday mission projects.
___Our students are in good hands, thanks to mission-minded Texas Baptists. And our Texas Baptist missions efforts are in good hands thanks to our Texas university students.
___ Jim Brokenbek
___ Lubbock
House churches
___In the New Testament, we see a church in transition, discovering its identity. In Acts, the church meets in two arenas--a room that housed at least 120 people and the portico of Solomon that provided a ministry to a minimum of 3,000 people. These differ from the house churches described by Wolfgang Simson (March 26).
___Away from Jerusalem, the apostles ministered in the synagogues. The synagogue at Capernaum easily could have housed a few hundred people. The impression one gets from Acts is that if the synagogue had accepted Christianity, that building would have served as their place of worship.
___The house church seemed to be a temporary accommodation for the early church until it could get its bearings and move toward a larger institutional infrastructure.
___We see this in John's epistles and in 1 Corinthians, which speak of the agape love feasts. They involved a large number of people, not just the few of a house church.
___Finally, the house churches themselves were located in large facilities, such as the homes of Philemon and Aquila and Priscilla, successful business people. Their homes were probably built around courtyards that could have accommodated 100 people. Such arenas of worship were one step removed from the larger structures which emerged in the following decades and serve as the basis for our modern local churches.
___ Carey Ford
___ Corsicana
News blackout
___Having served as a Texas Baptist pastor for 12 years and graduating from Baylor University and Southwestern Seminary, I am saddened by the actions among Baptist Texans.
___For years, the last church I served in Texas was gracious enough to continue sending me the Standard while I served churches in other states as well as with the Home Mission Board. Just a few months ago, I realized I was no longer receiving the Standard and called to find out if there were a problem, only to be informed that they were no longer members of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and no longer receiving the Standard.
___I was concerned, and my concerns were justified as I discovered that for the most part the church had been very misinformed about what was going on--just as you pointed out in your editorial of April 16.
___While I am certain there are two sides to this story--and I think I know them well--I fail to understand why pastors do not tell their people the truth. I almost hope they are misinformed themselves, although I really wonder which is worse.
___ Michael H. Reynolds
___ Lawrenceville, Ga.
Wine & Jesus
___It will be interesting to witness the response from leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention concerning the benefits attributed to drinking a small amount of alcohol each day.
___Recently, when I disagreed with a Baptist seminary professor who wrote an article that the Bible advocated total abstinence, he stated that my "approach" to understand the Bible was that of a "libertine."
___This New Testament professor and pastor stated "good wine" referenced in the Bible (the wine Paul recommended to Timothy) was "non-fermented." Surprisingly, he also said the wine Jesus made from water at the wedding feast was fermented; this was "good wine."
___Is this an example of the Baptist approach on teaching about the hazard of drunkenness, which the Bible condemns?
___ Andrew A. Litzler
___ Fort Worth
Truth vs. liberty
___ Al Mohler describes the SBC controversy as being "truth vs. liberty" (April 2). He places himself and those who believe as he does on the side of truth--his concept of truth.
___He implies that those of us who disagree with him are on the liberty side, and thus we reject the truth. In my case, he is right. I do reject his imposing his concepts of truth on me.
___According to Jesus, truth liberates us. Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32). He further said, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be freed indeed" (John 8:36).
___The Apostle Paul added: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ made us free, and be not entangled with the yoke of bondage."
___Mohler adopts his version of truth and then tries to do away with others' liberty by requiring that we sign his (their) creeds and their beliefs and dictates. In so doing, we lose our liberty. God's truth is Jesus Christ has set us free from man-made assumptions that their truth must be imposed on all others.
___I reject Mohler's effort to distort the truth and eliminate freedom-liberty before God and cast me into a yoke of bondage.
___ G. Avery Lee
___ New Orleans
Mutual authoritarianism
___ ___The vision-turned-nightmare only gets worse as relationship between Baptist spokesmen and American Roman Catholics encounters mutual authoritarianism.
___A Catholic colleague and I created a warm friendship in a 40-year relationship based on mutual enjoyment of simple outdoor pursuits. I knew he was faithful in attending his church and serving as a lay leader, just as I was in attending and serving my own.
___We finally got around to a serious talk concerning our views of Jesus Christ. My ownwere those of a "genetic" Baptist with a second major in religion from a straight-arrow Baptist college and from a household of a Baptist preacher who was the son of a Baptist preacher; imbued, immersed and imperfect.
___Wonder of wonders, his views concerning Jesus were exactly the same as those I learned at home, honed in college and followed in a lifetime progression from Cradle Roll to beginner to junior to intermediate to young people to adult and from BYPU to BTU to CT.
___It should come as no surprise that the new Southern Baptist self-absolved would exhibit distaste for dialogue with those differing liturgically though essentially the same in soteriology.
___WIlliam F. Buckley Jr. illuminates Catholic beliefs in his book, "Nearer, My God." He describes himself as writing from a Protestant viewpoint. Baptists would do well to read it.
___May we who follow Jesus, as Baptists, be forgiven for our reluctance to do house cleaning.
___Lance W. Anderson
___Ponce de Leon, Fla.
Christ and wine
___ ___If I am to believe the diatribe from J.S. "Slim" Sullivan concerning alcohol (April 2), I must also believe some things I am unprepared to accept as a Christian.
___He says, "If you drink alcohol, your thoughts become jumbled, your judgment becomes impaired and the brain centers governing speech, vision and balance go haywire." So, since
___Christ turned water into wine. Since he is omnipotent, it was because he preferred wine to Diet Dr Pepper and he found nothing sinful in the moderate consumption of alcohol. The key phrase here is "moderate."
___We are admonished not to be a stumbling block to our brothers, and while this applies to not consuming alcohol when fellowshipping with, or offering it to, those who are offended by it, I also believe wild-eyed intemperance can be a stumbling block to those who might otherwise be led to Christ.
___Christ led a sinless life. That must then mean it is not a sin to drink wine and other alcoholic beverages in a sane and sensible fashion.
___If you can find a Scripture in God's holy word that specifically states that consumption of alcohol is sinful, please let me know. Perhaps it is this absolute viewpoint that is driving the division among our Baptist brothers and sisters in the conservative versus moderate debate.
___Ed Covington
___Clyde
Don't forward bogus e-mail
___ ___Please print more articles on bogus e-mail, like the article about John Williams' new book (April 9).
___A recent, often-forwarded e-mail claims George W. Bush witnessed to a youth for half an hour while 2,000 reception guests watched or listened, waiting for his speech. I received
___John Williams says, "Believe the best about everybody, but verify." I'm a bit more skeptical. I'd say, don't forward (or quote) any e-mail messages, especially those that "demand" that you forward them. And any story on e-mail that is not on national airwaves such as CNN, NBC or the newspapers you can safely assume is false.
___Denzel Holmes
___Belton
Chinese church
___ It is such a blessing to know "the early church model is gaining favor" (March 26). In 1979, I resigned after a 10-year pastoral ministry with the beloved First Baptist Church of
___Today, knowing Texas Baptists and Southern Baptists are pursuing this biblical pattern of church planting brings great joy to my heart.
___I will share this "good news" with our fellow believers in China, who were the forerunners of this present movement, when I travel there this year to help train Chinese home church leaders in the biblical patterns and practices of the early church. According to these Chinese home-church leaders, there are now 100 million believers meeting in their homes and 30,000 new Christian converts every day in that great nation.
___God bless you as we labor together in the kingdom of God!
___Dan Hubbell
___Winnsboro
More praise for Grant Teaff
___ ___I would like to second Bart Barber (April 23) in his praise for Coach Grant Teaff (April 16).
___Last semester, as a member of First Baptist Church in Waco, I had the privelage to have
___He and his wife didn't have to open up their home to college students, but they choose to extend a warm welcome and offer us a free meal. They truly are role models to whom we can all look up.
___Diane Wedel
___Waco
Let them cast the first stone
___ ___I would like to send my sympathy to Carol Ann Eads' husband for all of the suffering he has endured at the hands of the sinful jokers in her church (April 16). But if
___But I believe that there is one thing that Mrs. Eads has forgotten before she began issuing her judgement towards the sinful Aggie joke-tellers: "But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones" (John 8:7).
___If Mrs. Eads has ever told, laughed at or engaged in any way any blond joke, lawyer joke, Longhorn joke, Baylor football joke or Baptist joke, then she is a guilty as those whom she scorns.
___Elizabeth Wilson
___Corsicana
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