September 2, 2002
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Expectations of pastors
___Increasingly, churches call Baylor University's Truett Seminary for help in finding a pastor. There are, as you know, no established guidelines as to what a church has a right to expect from its pastor. As a result, many churches are confused and others are frustrated.
___While no one can tell a Baptist church what to do or what to expect, a group of Truett professors and administrators suggested what they thought a church has a right to expect from its pastor:
___ A daily walk with God through prayer and Bible study (2 Thessalonians 1: 11, 1 Thessalonians 2:12).
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
___ Integrity in all dealings and relationships--not guilty of deceit, impure motives, trickery, immorality or greed (1 Thessalonians 2:3).
___ To love and serve their people--like a nursing mother tenderly cares for her child (1 Thessalonians 2:7-11).
___ Personally seeks to win the lost to Christ (Acts 20:18-22).
___ Preaches the gospel straightforwardly, courageously and faithfully (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2, 4).
___ Leads the church to go forward without lording it over the church (1 Peter 5:1-3).
___ Has a world vision (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8).
___ Maintains office hours and works as hard at his job as his people do at theirs (1 Corinthians 15:10, Colossians 1:29).
___All ministers have their strengths and weaknesses, but these eight things, it seems to us, are essentials. Are these reasonable expectations? Are there things you would add to or take away from the list? We'd like to hear from you on this.
___ Paul W. Powell, dean
___ George W. Truett Theological Seminary
___ Waco
Alternatives to war
___Charles Reed and his peacemaking group are certainly asking the right question: Should America start a war against Iraq? (Aug. 12). There is no evidence of a need for such an action.
___The words of Jesus are clear and illustrative. The Romans were cruel and bent on world conquest and domination. Using the rationale of George W. Bush on this issue, one would have predicted that Jesus would have taught that the only way to respond to the Roman conquest would be war and violence. And as we know, that is what many people expected from him.
___From a pragmatic standpoint, we must remember how easy it is to start wars and how hard it is to end them. (Cases in point--Korea, Vietnam, World War I.) We must know this, for it is one of the main reasons our forefathers founded and nourished these United States of America.
___We fully support efforts to provide alternative-to-war solutions for containing and controlling Saddam Hussein. Surely if we could control the Soviet Union at the height of its powers without war, our leaders can contain Iraq without war.
___ Clarence & Jane Crawford
___ Seabrook
Grateful for expansion
___I am grateful the Baptist General Convention of Texas has expanded the ministries and mission of the office of counseling & psychological services.
___Still included are great resources for helping ministers, but now greater tools have been added to help in the counseling realm.
___Contrary to a letter criticizing Director Dan McGee's so-called "cavalier" approach to this ministry (Aug. 19), I find it refreshing that after so many years of limited-but-fruitful-function, this area of the BGCT is expanding into even more helpful areas for ministers, their families and their congregations.
___Rather than characterize McGee's leadership as "cavalier entrepreneurship," I would affirm his creativity and vision in expanding and improving the services available at the BGCT.
___It is no longer 1972 (a reference in the letter to the original mandate of the office of counseling and psychological services). The world has only gotten more complicated in the past 30 years. Tough times demand tough choices and bold new directions, all under the umbrella of assisting ministers and their people.
___ Dave Huebner
___ Sugar Land
Head in the sand
___The writer from Houston who dropped support of the BGCT after doing so much research makes me think of how much the voters did who elected Bill Clinton twice. He must have had his head in the sand for the last 20 years.
___It sounds like some 50-year Christians I have seen about every 10 years at church--like Easter, Christmas and at funerals. We pray for these every Wednesday at our prayer meeting.
___ Ray Russell
___ San Angelo
Pray for students
___My husband, David, and I moved our daughter to college this fall. She was excited, and we had mixed feelings. Lindsey had one friend attending the same college. They were assigned to different dorms, but Lindsey was sure she would quickly meet up with her friend Emily.
___As time drew near for us to leave, Lindsey had not located her friend. I knew she was getting a little nervous, so I prayed that God would send her a Christian friend--someone to "hang out" with after we were gone. When Lindsey came out of orientation, she immediately told me about meeting Catherine. They made plans to get together that night and go to church together on Sunday. I immediately said, "Thank you, God."
___We went back to the dorm. I made one last trip down five flights of stairs to the car. When I got back to Lindsey's hallway, I heard two excited voices. She had found Emily, who just happened to be placed not only in the same dorm, but on the same floor and in a room just eight doors away. What an extravagant answer to this mother's prayer and what a personal and immediate reminder of how God hears us and knows the desires of our heart!
___Please join me in prayer for all of our children as they return to school.
___God is so good!
___ Wanda Hall
___ Garland
Up with screens
___Michael W. Smith misunderstands the feelings of the people he has observed in the many churches he has visited and in which he has performed (Aug. 19).
___The impediment in the use of contemporary music is most often the fact that many, many of our churches lack the funds to provide screens in front of the sanctuary on which new songs may be projected. Naturally, those among us, and these are many, feel like "dum-dums" inasmuch as we have no music or lyrics to enable us to sing along, which we would very much like to do, rather than "lip -sync."
___I visited a large church in Dallas where my son attends, and they of course have funds to provide large screens on which to project the songs, which was delightful to me, as I am a choir person and love to sing.
___This situation needs addressing, because I do hear countless complaints.
___We do want our young people front and center, and we are behind them wholeheartedly, but something needs to be done rather than finger-pointing. It is not "old fogies afraid of change." Help!
___ Mary Joe Nixon
___ Livingston
Pick & choose
___It has recently come to my attention that Southern Baptist International Mission Board career missionaries are being asked to go to individual churches to try and help gather funds for them.
___Whatever happened to the Cooperative Program? Will we as individual churches now have to pick and choose which missionaries we will support?
___I've been a Southern Baptist all my life, and our Cooperative Program has always been the one thing that has set us apart from other denominations. I feel like the IMB through the fundamentalist influence of the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention has moved churches into a direction of choosing that they don't want to a part of.
___ Linda Stark
___ Quitaque
Inconsistent stance
___Because of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, I can see much clearer the inconsistency of the SBC's present stance.
___If the SBC maintains that women should "graciously" submit to their husbands and are prohibited to become pastors, deacons, preachers or chaplains, why then does the SBC continue to use the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 as a springboard to encourage men and women whether black, white, yellow, red or brown, to submit to this high calling?
___Is not this Great Commission addressed to the 11 disciples who were Jewish men only, as stated in Matthew 28:16?
___But for an intended reason the Great Commission is addressed to all people--the word "ye" is for both genders and for all races. Then anyone who responded to this high calling, whether to be a pastor, deacon, preacher, evangelist, missionary or chaplain and is ordained, licensed, appointed or commissioned, should go, preach and baptize all who are willing to follow Christ.
___So, which way is the SBC going?
___If they believe the Great Commission is designated for men only, then they should clearly and exactly state it so. But if it is for men and women of all races, is not this inconsistent with what the SBC now holds in basing their belief in the 2000 BF&M?
___ An Thio
___ Berkeley, Calif.
Redefining terms
___Russell Ware says "hupotasso," as it appears in Ephesians 5:21-22, would be better translated "make yourselves available" (July 5).
___I found, however, no major Greek lexicon that will support that translation in any time period of the Greek language. The overwhelming evidence of Greek texts, biblical and non-biblical, is that "hupotasso" means "to submit."
___The "Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament" by Louw and Nida places "hupotasso" under the heading of "control, restrain" and defines it as follows: "to bring something under firm control of someone." Walter Bauer's Greek lexicon, one of the heavyweights of Greek lexicons, knows nothing of Ware's definition, though it does recognize "submission in the sense of voluntary yielding in love."
___"Hupotasso" appears over 30 times in the New Testament.
___Applying Ware's definition to the term, we get some interesting translations. In Luke 2:51, Jesus, instead of being subject to his parents, made himself available to them. In Luke 10:17, the demons, instead of being subject to the 70, made themselves available unto them. In Philippians 3:21, Christ, instead of subduing all things to himself, will simply make all things available to himself. In James 4:7, instead of submitting ourselves to God, all we need do is make ourselves available.
___Ware's unsupported redefining of "hupotasso" robs these texts of their original intent.
___If someone doesn't like what the Baptist Faith & Message says about wives "graciously submitting" to husbands, they should just say so.
___They shouldn't redefine Greek terms to score points for their side.
___ Michael Williams
___ La Marque
Jesus & Scripture
___It appears David R. Bradley does not believe Romans 3:23 ("all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God"). I reach this conclusion from his letter (Aug. 19).
___When I read God's word, I cannot understand its meaning without seeking understanding from the author through prayer. The 2000 Baptist Faith & Message places the opinion of the Scripture meaning interpreted by a mere sinful man ahead of the understanding given by our Lord.
___I confess I have made errors in my understanding and confessed my sin to my Lord when he showed me my error. Only Christ can lead us in understanding Scripture.
___This principle of seeking Bible understanding directly from Jesus Christ is fundamental to a correct relationship with our Lord. The 2000 BF&M is contrary to what I understand to be Bible teaching as revealed by Jesus Christ.
___ William H. (Bill) Osborne
___ Houston
___What do you think? Submit letters via e-mail to marvknox@baptiststandard.com or regular mail at Box 660267, Dallas 75266-0267.
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