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.
___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
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