April 29, 2002
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Inflammatory word
___Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." The late Owen Cooper, the last lay president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said, "When you are a peacemaker, you are about as close to God as you can be."
___For 27 years, I worked with 24 Baptist conventions and fellowships. I have dear friends on all sides of our current disagree
ment. Each group has made mistakes and at times been mean-spirited. It has been almost impossible to stay neutral when there are lightning rods and snipers, especially in Texas.
___The SBC Peace Committee did not bring complete peace, but the two groups did get together and got to know each other and for several years called each other "conservatives" or "moderates." Now, respectable Baptist General Convention of Texas Baptists call all they disagree with "fundamentalists" or "Norrisites," and the other side makes little difference between a "moderate" and a "liberal"!
___One retired Baptist leader told me it was all about getting even or settling grudges. Another said, "There are too many axes to grind; one group seems to be speaking almost the same rhetoric they claimed the other group did for years."
___At this point, someone says, "What do you laymen suggest?" This layman says, "Start where the SBC Peace Committee started--by praying, knowing each other and stopping name-calling." Let's stop using the inflammatory word "fundamentalist," because the world now thinks this refers to terrorists or worse.
___
H.M. "Smoky" Eggers
___
Irving
Trustworthy leaders
___Increasingly, churches are confused about how to align themselves in the convention controversy and especially how to give their mission dollars. Almost every week, someone calls me for my counsel.
___For 48 years, I have pastored or served our Texas Baptist churches. All were strong missions supporters. What we did was send our money to the BGCT and trust informed leadership to divide it up among our mission causes. That's my recommendation today.
___The Executive Board of our BGCT recommends a budget to our annual convention. Then messengers from every church in attendance adopt a budget. Those who recommend the budget are informed about the needs of Texas and our world in a way the rest of us are not, and we need to trust them.
___If you bypass Texas in your giving, you will give no support to our Baptist universities, child-care institutions or hospitals. I don't think you want to do that.
___Don't let this issue divide your church. Keep sending your missions money to the BGCT and trust informed leadership to divide it according to the needs. This approach has worked well for 77 years. It still does. You can trust our state leaders. They will lead us right.
___
Paul W. Powell
___
Dean, Truett Seminary
___
Waco
Faculty quality
___Some details in the report on the election of eight new faculty as "true conservatives" at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary probably were accurate (April 15).
___However, the quote from President Ken Hemphill calling it "the greatest faculty in our history" is a real stretch and brings into question his reading of history. Faculty quality cannot be gauged by whether they are all unquestioned conservatives ready to sign the "creed."
___Note the qualifications of these eight new ones making up part of this "greatest faculty"--five have no teaching experience on graduate level; none were reported to have pastoral experience; four were educated outside Baptist colleges; four have no doctoral degree from an SBC seminary; four are still working on doctorates.
___These, along with recent hires, do not compare with faculty 30 or 40 years ago. And there still are "pockets of moderates" in this "greatest faculty" to be cleaned out, which the new "hired gun" will handle.
___By any fair measure, this is not Southwestern's greatest faculty ever. In fact, it is hardly an SBC school. The truth is the school has lost its long-standing high reputation. But maybe it will survive as a good Bible school.
___
Dale Hooper
___
Fort Worth
Endless bloodbath
___There seems to be no end to the Israeli-Palestinian bloodbath. The Creator must weep.
___Martin Luther King Jr. said, "True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." The chief causes of war--idolatry, injustice and greed--affect each other. Jesus and the prophets command us to do justice. Doing justice turns us away from selfish, idolatrous desires, moves us to be more loving and enables us to walk humbly with our Creator. Justice is the mother of peace.
___The world has had God's prescription for peace for centuries, but world peace still eludes us. Building missile defense systems and more elaborate weapons only adds to the idolatry, injustice and greed that so besets humankind. Love is much stronger than hate, but hate is winning in the Middle East crisis. It is impossible for one to love God, Allah or Yahweh and at the same time hate one's neighbor.
___We should never stop trying to bring peace to the Middle East, but perhaps our best hope resides in divine intervention. Our all-knowing Creator is the source of hope, peace, joy and love. If we cannot bring peace to the world, we should welcome the Creator's intervening on our behalf. It would be the Creator's way of showing us once again how much God loves the world and every single human being.
___
Paul L. Whiteley Sr.
___
Louisville, Ky.
Romantic notions
___Thanks for publishing "Another Christian view of Israel ..." and "A theologian outlines a non-dispensational view of Israel" (April 15).
___The modern evangelical church has bought into the idea that political Israel is the same as the chosen people of God in the Old Testament. However, the fact is that the modern political state of Israel is in just as much rebellion to God as the Jews were at the time of Jesus. The modern state is no closer to accepting Jesus as Messiah than they were.
___Furthermore, why do many American Christians get all excited about the possibility of another temple being built in Jerusalem? Is God going to allow another temple to be built and animal sacrifices to be re-instituted?
___What would be the purpose in that? Jesus tore down the middle wall of partition. He was the ultimate sacrifice. The old levitical ways are over.
___Many evangelicals have some kind of romantic notions about modern Israel borne of popular dogma, not founded on a true understanding of Scripture.
___
Charles Mosley
___
Palestine
Crossover call
___Come to St. Louis and share the gospel during Crossover St. Louis, June 7-8.
___Seven associations in the metropolitan St. Louis area are working together to conduct evangelistic events prior to the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. We need volunteers to help us in Kindness Explosion, block parties, door-to-door surveys and street evangelism.
___Training will be done on the evening of June 7, and all events will take place June 8. We can use individuals and groups from churches. Each volunteer will be sent a letter of assignment after we receive registration.
___If you already are coming to the SBC, why not come for the weekend prior and help share the gospel in our area? Please register by calling (314) 569-1190 or e-mailing dechols@stlbaptists.org.
___
Benny King
___
Director of missions
___
St. Louis Metro Association
___
St. Louis
Thanks for overview of history
___I want to express my appreciation for Mark Wingfield's articles on the Land of Canaan and the Arab-Israeli conflict (April 15).
___Many of us do not know enough about the history of the Middle East. These articles give an overview of the history and continuing conflict between these nations and provide differing points of view on what the final outcome may be. I do not pretend to know the answer but pin my hopes on John 3:16. "Whosoever" surely meaneth me!
___Thank you for an excellent report.
___IdaLee Edmiston
___Jacksonville
Baptist Standard
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
|