August 19, 2002
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM
Birthday wish
___I was saved at Harmony Baptist Church in Fort Worth in 1952. Today, there is little "harmony" within our convention. Fundamentalists and moderates fight each other rather than Satan.
___My life has been blessed by Baptists of each persuasion. My family was unchurched and lost. The layman who had much to do with us becoming Christians was John Efird, now a member of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, definitely moderate. I was ordained by Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, and my first pastorate was Crusaders Chapel, a mission of Sagamore Hill Baptist Church in Fort Worth, both fundamentalist.
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
___At Baylor, one student called me "the only conservative" in the doctoral program. While that wasn't true, my views were more conservative than most in the religion department. Yet Baylor was gracious to me. Simultaneously, I served at Beverly Hills Baptist Church, then the most conservative Southern Baptist congregation in Waco.
___For 23 years, I've served as an interim pastor. Timber Crest Baptist Church is aligned with fundamentalists; Bosqueville leans to moderates.
___My life has been blessed by many Baptists. They truly love the Lord. August is my 50th spiritual birthday. My birthday wish would be for more "harmony" in our churches and convention.
___ Liebert Armour
___ Waco
Saving babies
___Every Saturday morning, I join a group of committed Christians outside an abortion clinic in the Fort Worth area. We offer prospective customers whatever it takes to save their babies' lives. About 120 precious lives are saved each year at this one spot. We believe that God does this through us because, as Jesus said, "It is not the will of our Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
___The fruit of our obedience could be multiplied many times over across this state if Christians were not afraid. The few of us who do this work respect legal constraints and find little conflict except occasionally from misguided observers. Violence and police harassment are largely things of the past.
___The vast majority of the Christian community still shrinks from this opportunity to save the lives of babies and help women in need for one simple reason--unfounded fear. Please, in Jesus' name, get over it.
___ Brookes Baker
___ Fort Worth
Word of appreciation
___I am for women preachers and have heard some good ones in my days. Reba Cobb, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leader who "unknowingly" plagiarized a sermon at the national meeting, should have mentioned, somewhere in her talk, that someone researched some of her material.
___She admitted she did not know it was someone else's sermon. But how about a word of appreciation for the researcher, since she did not prepare it herself? Only mentioning a researcher after the fact, and not during the talk, makes her case weak.
___ Britt Towery
___ San Angelo
Needs vs. entrepreneurship
___The two-year evolution from the Baptist General Convention of Texas ministers' counseling service to the office of counseling and psychological services may have less to do with the expressed needs of 5,000-plus churches and missions than a cavalier entrepreneurship in that office.
___Since we know how many votes initiated the convention-mandated office in 1972, perhaps Dan McGee, the office's director, could share with us how few votes it took to redirect that mission to the enlarged program statement now governing the office of counseling and psychological services.
___Having worked with ministry families around the world for over 20 years, I am puzzled by the Baptist Building's willingness to take scarce resources and personnel and squander them on services that are already available in the Baptist Building (marriage enrichment, for example) or readily available in the community.
___Perhaps referral would work here as well. Our Baptist universities, community colleges, Christian counseling centers, continuing education and clinical pastoral education programs offer programs to assist pastors in improving their counseling expertise.
___The "evolving" concerns of this office pale in the face of existing concerns that led to the ministers' counseling service's beginnings in 1972. Ministry families struggle today at unprecedented levels.
___It would seem to me to be a better stewardship of Texas Baptist dollars to work exclusively in an under-served field assigned by the convention than to move to a better-served field across the road--because one likes it better.
___ Mike Chancellor
___ Abilene
___
Word vs. person
___The article about Jerry Rankin's letter to missionaries (Aug. 12) made a key statement that exemplifies the misunderstanding that exists over the Baptist Faith & Message.
___In detailing the points of disagreement the Baptist General Convention of Texas has with the 2000 BF&M, you said the statement of faith "places the authority of the Bible over the authority of Jesus." How is the authority of a person's word ever placed over the authority of the person, or vice-versa?
___If my dad ever told me to do something, could I say to him, "I hold your authority higher than the authority of your word. Therefore, I choose to obey what I feel about you rather than to obey what you say"? I don't think so! You cannot hold a person higher than his word, nor can you hold a person's word higher than the person!
___The BGCT needs to stop hiding behind impressive-sounding words like "bibliolatry" and impressive-sounding phrases like "it weakens local-church autonomy." Instead, they need to state in as clear terms as possible whether or not they believe that the Bible has errors in it.
___The word "inerrant" sounds pretty clear to me. If the Bible truly is the inerrant word of God, then it is irrelevant what an autonomous body of the priesthood thinks. If they don't agree with the Bible, they're wrong!
___ David R. Bradley
___ Grapeland
Dropping support
___I was receiving the Baptist Standard through subscriptions ordered through our church. I had the church to cancel my subscription.
___I have been an active Christian for 50 years. I have been an active deacon for 42 years.
___I have read the Standard for many years. I cannot read it anymore.
___I believe the Standard has become a propaganda sheet for the Baptist General Convention of Texas at the expense of the Southern Baptist Convention and conservative Baptists. I believe their intent is to divide Texas Baptists with the intention of pulling us away from the SBC for the benefit of the BGCT and their liberal causes.
___I have researched both sides of the issues in question. I find the Standard writers and their selected articles to be slanted and prejudiced against SBC statements, articles and actions. It appears that they have learned well from the liberal Democrats how to spin and skew subjects to favor their causes and influence their audiences.
___I believe what is being done is self-serving and mean-spirited. I think that the Lord is not in it and those responsible will have to answer to him.
___I have had enough. I also direct my church to designate 100 percent of my designated offerings to the SBC. I refuse to support the BGCT in any way.
___ Lyndel E. Thomas
___ Houston
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