February 4, 2002

Glass prescribes Baptist bar mitzvah
as antidote to nation's crime rate
___By Ken Camp & Dan Martin
___Texas Baptist Communications
___SAN ANTONIO--A Baptist bar mitzvah could help cure the crime problem in the United States, according to a veteran prison evangelist.
___Jews represent a disproportionately low percentage of the American prison population, particularly compared to Baptists, Bill Glass told the Conference of Texas Baptist Evangelists. He spoke Jan. 28 at First Baptist Church in San Antonio.
___"I see a lot of people who are reared in church who end up in prison. There's not a lot of Jews there, but there are a lot of Baptists," said Glass, who has led a prison ministry for 30 years. "What we need is to go back to the ancient ways. We Christians need to go back to bar mitzvah."
___Societal transformation and spiritual renewal could result if Christians reclaimed the Jewish rite of passage and gave their sons a "blessing," he observed. A ceremonial rite of passage would be "a great way to release children into adulthood. It would bring closure to childhood and openness to becoming an adult."
___The role of fathers cannot be overemphasized, Glass observed. "Fathers give identity and destiny in blessing. They empower their children to prosper. ... Even our Lord never performed one miracle or preached one message until his Father blessed him."
___Based on his experience in prisons, Glass said, nearly all of the men on death row "love their mommas, but they hate their daddies. ... I've never met a violent criminal who had a good relationship with his father. The crime problem is a father problem."
___And the way a child relates to his father shapes his attitude toward God as heavenly Father, Glass added. Evangelists and other preachers can create a climate for spiritual openness and revival by "giving a blessing," he asserted.
___Another speaker compared evangelism and revival to what happens in a garden.
___Fort Worth evangelist Carlos Montano recalled that when he was a young boy, his father--a pastor in Bolivia for 28 years --would call him out to see the dew on the roses. He admitted he was not interested in the sight as a child. But as an adult he realized when certain atmospheric conditions are met, dew appears in the early morning on the beautiful flowers.
___Evangelism is like that, he said. "When certain conditions are met, God is willing to act to bring about revival."
___Montano cited a passage from Acts 2:42, which he said set out the conditions that led to revival in the early church--sound doctrine, fellowship, worship and prayer.
___"We must stand firm on the word of God. We must know our doctrine. We must follow the teaching of the apostles. We must not preach a watered-down gospel but must go back to the basics if we are going to have revival," he said.
___Montano also encouraged Christians to be accepting of other people. "We are different, but thank God we do not all have the same language, ... the same background, ... the same economic status. We are not alike, but the basis of our unity is the love of God."
___Montano sounded a call to prayer for evangelism.
___"It seems like the people have lost interest in coming to have a prayer time, but I will tell you that churches that devote themselves to prayer will see revival," he said.
___Evangelist Larry Ramsour of Winnsboro compared the three abiding virtues listed in the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians to the silver, bronze and gold medalists who will be honored at the upcoming Olympics.
___"Programs pass away. Modes of worship pass away. Preachers come and go. But the Apostle Paul says these three things abide--faith, hope and love," Ramsour said.
___Rob Randall of McKinney, president of the Conference of Texas Baptist Evangelists, told the group that broken fellowship with God results from "truth decay" and unacknowledged sin.
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