Posted: 3/05/04

Bivocational ministry means two places
to minister, Fort Worth pastor says

By George Henson

Staff Writer

FORT WORTH–Bivocational minister Charles Levine believes “vocational bi-ministry” might better describe his life, because he considers both his jobs to be ministry points.

In addition to being pastor of Terrace Acres Baptist Church in Fort Worth for the last 12 years, he is a counselor at Liberty Elementary School in White Settlement.

“Working here in the school, often I feel like a chaplain to the children and their families. We want to be ready to help our families and not just academically. If a child is not well-fed and well-rested, it all makes a difference,” he said.

Levine thinks his work in the school complements his ministry at church.

“I really like bivocational ministry. It gives me contact with people outside the church,” he explained. “Because of that, I think I have a better idea of what they are going through each day because I deal with the same things.

“I think it also gives me a better understanding of what can be expected of volunteer leaders in the church and the time constraints they are under.”

Since he is not completely dependent on the church financially, Levine believes he has “a bit more prophetic freedom” than some preachers.

“I don't know, but that may make me a little freer to say some things than if I was more worried about being fired,” he said.

Even so, he sees at least one drawback to the bivocational life.

“The drawback is the double schedule. I not only have committee meetings at church, but I have meetings and other events at school as well,” he pointed out. “The only way to get a day off is to get out of town. Also, I don't carry a cell phone or a pager and don't want one.”

Levine realized while he was attending East Texas Baptist University that he wanted to be involved in a ministry to Hispanics. Working for awhile with illegal aliens during his college career confirmed that sense of calling.

Levine took all the Spanish courses he could in college. Since then, he has improved his proficiency primarily through conversation with Hispanic people.

“I was going to take a Berlitz course, but they said I knew too much. So I've had to study and learn on my own,” he said. “My Spanish isn't perfect, but it's good.”

His Spanish has been an asset in both his jobs: He started a Spanish-language mission five years ago and serves as an interpreter for the school district.

The Hispanic congregation has now grown to have its own pastor, but Levine's dream is for the two cultures to meld into a single congregation.

“It's called Mision Hispana Terrace Acres, but I'm trying to get away from those divisions and begin thinking of ourselves as one in the Lord,” he said.

“I think it would be a real neat testimony to the community if we could work and worship together.”

Terrace Acres Baptist Church averages about 60 people in attendance each week, and about 40 people attend the mission's services.

The two congregations already meet together periodically, “but not as much as I would like,” he said. His plan is to integrate the two congregations, first in prayer groups and then begin joint Sunday school classes.

Theology is not a sticking point for combining the congregations, but cultural factors do weigh in, he said.

One of those things is that the Hispanic church tends to need a more personal touch. “If I want to have a meeting, in the Hispanic culture I really need to make a personal invitation to each person,” he noted, adding that in contacting Anglos, he could just send an e-mail or mail a card.

Scheduling in the Hispanic culture is more flexible than in Anglo culture, he added. “I'm not saying that either is better. That's just the way it is.”

And, of course, language produces barriers. A bilingual youth minister is helping to bridge that gap.

“God has really blessed us in that,” he said.

Levine also has tried to enhance his ministry among Hispanics by taking guitar lessons.

“I knew the Hispanic culture liked guitar music, and I like it, too. Also, it's just such a portable instrument; you can take it anywhere. It's a lot easier to carry on your back than a piano,” he joked.

While he feels a definite call to serve as a pastor, he feels fortunate he has never been forced to choose between his job at church and his job at school.

“It would be hard–really hard. I look at it as all one thing. It's all ministry. There are a lot of good Christian people in the public schools and especially this one. I know public schools get a bad rap, but the genuine caring for the students is really great,” he said. “I'm glad to be a part of that.”

He feels he has been blessed with not just one calling, but two.

“God has been very good to me. I'm very content.”

Posted: 3/05/04

WorldconneX forming 'network of networks'
to create points of connection

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS–Texas Baptists' WorldconneX missions network has an office without furniture and a computer without an Internet connection now, but it does have a plan for becoming a network of networks, staff leader Bill Tinsley said.

WorldconneX is creating four networks focused on individuals, churches, Baptist entities and international groups, Tinsley reported to the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board at its March 2 meeting.

“God is giving us a design for the dream,” he said. “We are still very much in start-up. … We have only begun to recruit our volunteer force that will make WorldconneX effective. The engines are started. We are not off the launch pad, but we can feel the vibrations. We can sense that God is doing something new and exciting in our generation.”

Together with one other full-time staff member and two part-time employees, Tinsley is putting together four networks: PeopleconneX, ChurchconneX, BaptistconneX and a currently unnamed network focusing on international connections.

The network focused on individuals will seek to “connect strength to strength (and) connect vision to vision,” said Frank Dang, who serves as pastor of the Vietnamese Church of Fort Worth in additon to his part-time position with WorldconneX.

“We will be a catalyst to connect pastors and leaders of churches who are already effective in missions” with prospective missions workers, he explained.

The network will seek out “teachers, trainers and coaches” who can mentor new missionaries.

Likewise, the network focused on churches will identify congregations that already are engaged in missions, linking them to churches that are seeking missions opportunities, said Carol Childress, who has served the last 12 years with the Leadership Network and has joined WorldconneX in a part-time role.

The Baptist network will help connect Baptist entities in collaborative missions efforts, Tinsley explained.

"Most of our 23 Texas Baptist institutions already have an international presence with missions and ministries. WorldconneX will function to relate volunteers to these ministries, to create collaborative efforts among churches, institutions and national Baptists, and to open up new connections in other areas of the world," he said. "This collaborative cooperation will be especially important as we work closely with the Baptist World Alliance and Baptist union leaders around the world."

WorldconneX already is working with Buckner Baptist Benevolences, the Baptist University of the Americas and Baylor Health Care System in a project linking churches in Texas with Baptists in Guatemala to provide child care and medical care for needy people and theological education and leadership development for church leaders, he reported.

The network also is working with Buckner on a humanitarian aid project in Asia.

The international network will link together existing networks worldwide, said Stan Parks, who served as a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship worker in Indonesia before joining WorldconneX.

Lack of collaboration and cooperation among Christians limits the spread of the gospel, he remarked.

“We want to be a global nervous system for the body of Christ,” Parks said.

Posted: 3/05/04

Revisioning process to move BGCT forward,
put controversy behind, leaders tell board

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS–The Baptist General Convention of Texas must seek from God a compelling vision and then organize people, processes and resources around it, Texas Baptist leaders told the convention's Executive Board.

BGCT President Ken Hall and Executive Director Charles Wade outlined for the board at its March 2 meeting their plan for a “revisioning” process to move the convention forward.

Hall told the board he loved being a Texas Baptist because Texas Baptists emphasize the local church, give priority to missions, exhibit a cooperative spirit, are growing in cultural sensitivity, are committed to Christian education and are dedicated to human justice and meeting human needs.

But he also cited concerns, underscoring the need for renewed vision.

“The denominational struggle has affected our confidence and trust. We need to move on beyond the fight. We need to accept new challenges,” said Hall, CEO of Buckner Baptist Benevolences.

“Our current system and organizational structure needs reworking. … We must build on our strengths and improve the areas of weakness.”

Hall affirmed Wade's leadership and the work of the BGCT Executive Board staff, BGCT-affiliated institutions and a “great heritage that affords us the resources to make change.”

Texas Baptists need to “be courageous,” not defensive, “believe the best about each other,” and “separate ourselves from things that keep us from extending Christ's kingdom,” he said.

Wade echoed Hall's desire to “move forward” beyond ensnaring controversies. But he expressed his personal desire for the BGCT to continue passing along church-directed missions gifts to national Baptist groups, such as the Southern Baptist Convention–a practice some elected Texas Baptist leaders have urged the BGCT to consider discontinuing.

Many “good and faithful Texas Baptists” who have been hurt by denominational turmoil in the last two decades have cut ties with the SBC, “and they want everybody to feel the way they do,” he said.

But those are decisions best made by local churches, not the state convention, he asserted.

“We honor and affirm the autonomy of the local church,” Wade said.

Proposals for revisioning and reorganization grew out of the convergence of several events, he said. Some key staff positions needed to be filled, and the responsibilities carried by the people in those posts needed to be reconsidered.

“At the same time, convention officers began to reflect the concerns of many in our state about issues that needed to be addressed,” Wade said, noting events created a climate in which Texas Baptist leaders needed to move “deliberately but quickly.”

They created four teams– one of lay leaders with business experience, one of Executive Board staff members and two groups of pastors, one for ministers age 40 and older, and the other for younger pastors.

One team met the day before the board meeting, and the other three were slated to meet before March 5.

Sherrill Spies, a seminary graduate and member of First Baptist Church in The Woodlands with experience in strategic planning and organizational design, was enlisted to work as a facilitator with the four teams.

Wade told the Executive Board he would bring a progress report on the revisioning process at the May 25 board meeting and present an organizational plan at the Sept. 28 meeting.

“You and I seek from God a new and passionate vision for Texas Baptists, a vision born in prayer and compelling enough that we will give our lives to see it accomplished unto the glory of God,” he said.

“The vision will be bold enough that without God's blessing, it cannot be done. But with God's help, every Texas Baptist can find a place to make a lasting difference in the world.”

Churches are the “key component” in turning the vision into reality, he stressed.

“We celebrate what God is doing in the churches and recognize the deep hunger of many congregations to become all that God dreams for them. We call on the convention, associations, institutions and related ministries to stand with the churches in fulfilling the vision God has given them,” Wade said.

“We want to be a convention fully committed to historic biblical truths and Baptist principles, positioning ourselves to be a convention for the future. We must embrace change both for the short term and long term in order to meet the great challenges and opportunities we have to do evangelism, start missional churches and develop faithful disciples who will change Texas and the world.”

In other business, the BGCT Executive Board:

Elected four trustees to fill vacancies on institutional boards: Hardin-Simmons University, Elaine Gabbert from Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas; Wayland Baptist University, Peggy Wall from First Baptist Church of Plainview; the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Martin Knox, pastor of First Baptist Church in Temple; and the Baptist University of the Americas, Brad Russell, pastor of The Springs Baptist Church in San Antonio.

Approved $750,000 from unrestricted current funds to be placed in contingency funds to help with missions and ministry needs this year, and ratified a similar Administrative Committee action for 2003.

Authorized the creation of the Center for Christian Leadership, comprised of the office of minister/church relations, the Texas Baptist Leadership Center and the office of counseling and psychological services.

Changed the name of the minister/church relations advisory committee to the Center for Christian Leadership advisory committee.

Adopted a resolution of support and congratulations for Buckner Baptist Benevolences on its 125th anniversary.

Approved resolutions expressing appreciation and pledging prayers for Janice Coley, executive assistant to the executive director, and Nadine Henderson, administrative assistant to the BGCT chief financial officer and treasurer. Both are on medical leave from their posts.

Recognized four retiring associational directors of missions: Jack Calk from Del Rio-Uvalde, Paul Stripling from Waco, Forrest Smith from Corpus Christi and Olin Boles from Gulf Coast.

BGCT Revisioning team members

Laity team

Jim Adams, Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio; Ed Alvarado, First Baptist Church, Donna; Mike Caraway, Southland Baptist Church, San Angelo; Bob Fowler, South Main Baptist Church, Houston;

John Hicks, First Baptist Church, Amarillo; Dale Jones, Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas; Clifford Martin, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Mansfield; Camille Miller, First Baptist Church, Austin; and Margarita Treviño, First Baptist Church, Keller.

Pastors team 1

Mario Gonzalez, Iglesia Primera Bautista, El Paso; Stephen Hatfield, First Baptist Church, Lewisville; Travis Hart, First Baptist Church, Plainview; Don Higginbotham, First Baptist Church, Harlingen; Carl Hudson, Little River Baptist Church, Rockdale;

Charles Johnson, Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio; Peter Leong, Southwest Chinese Church, Stafford; Phil Lineberger, Williams Trace Baptist Church, Sugar Land; David Mahfouz, First Baptist Church, Port Neches;

Rodney McGlothlin, First Baptist Church, College Station; Joseph Parker, David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Austin;

Randall Scott, Immanuel Baptist Church, Paris; and Candy Smith, First Baptist Church, Richardson.

Pastors team 2

Carlos Alsina, Iglesia Primera Bautista, Austin; Ann Bell, Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas; Ken Blake, Westside Baptist Church, Lewisville; Tony Celelli, Second Baptist Church, Corpus Christi; Russell Diwa, Biblical Community Church, Garland;

John Durham, First Baptist Church, Irving; Lance Freeman, LifePointe Baptist Church, The Woodlands; Kevin Hall, First Baptist Church, Haskell;

Kyle Henderson, First Baptist Church, Athens; Mark Newton, First Baptist Church, San Marcos; John Petty, Trinity Baptist Church, Kerrville; and Bruce Webb, Central Baptist Church, Jacksonville.

. BGCT staff team

Carol Bowman, Colleen Brooks, Keith Crouch, Jan Daehnert, Michael Evans, David Guel, Ron Gunter, Patty Lane, Milfred Minatrea, Andre Punch, Gus Reyes, Tom Ruane and Rhonda Walden.

Posted: 3/05/04

BGCT Executive Board affirms BWA

By Marv Knox

Editor

DALLAS–Texas Baptists will support the Baptist World Alliance with prayer, money and friendship, the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board has promised.

The Executive Board approved a resolution supporting the Baptist World Alliance without discussion or dissent March 2 in Dallas.

Texas Baptists' affirmation of the BWA followed a move by the Southern Baptist Convention to withdraw from and defund the BWA, which represents 47 million Baptists in 211 Baptist conventions around the globe.

In mid-February, the SBC Executive Committee voted to pull out of the 99-year-old BWA and discontinue its financial support, which this year is budgeted for $300,000. If approved by messengers to the SBC annual meeting in June, the dissolution will be complete this fall.

A high-profile study committee recommended the SBC's departure, charging the worldwide Baptist organization with liberalism, being anti-American and disrespecting the SBC leadership.

Jerry Rankin, a member of that committee and president of the International Mission Board, said the SBC proposal is based in part on the BWA's decision last year to admit the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which was formed by Southern Baptists dissatisfied with the SBC's fundamentalist direction.

The SBC action drew immediate response from around the world, including Texas, where supporters contended the anti-BWA claims are groundless and steeped in SBC leaders' desire for control.

Wesley Shotwell, the BGCT Executive Board's vice chairman and pastor of Ash Creek Baptist Church in Azle, drafted and presented the BWA resolution.

It cites numerous reasons for supporting the BWA:

The BWA “seeks to help Baptists in every nation with evangelism, human rights, religious liberty and fellowship with other Baptists.”

It “seeks to promote Christian unity while celebrating cultural diversity among Baptists around the world.”

The BWA “works to relieve human suffering around the world through Baptist World Aid,” its relief agency.

The BGCT “has a deep and abiding desire to be in fellowship with Baptists around the world.”

The BGCT also wishes to “promote religious liberty, human rights, evangelism and relief of human suffering in every nation.”

A recent visit to Texas by BWA President Billy Kim and General Secretary Denton Lotz “demonstrated and reaffirmed” the friendship between the two groups.

Consequently, the BGCT Executive Board voted to “pledge our support for the work of the Baptist World Alliance through prayer, fellowship and financial contribution.”

The resolution also promises Texas Baptists will “stand with our Baptist brothers and sisters around the world who are wrestling with religious persecution and are fighting for religious liberty for all.”

It urges Texas Baptists to participate in the BWA's centennial celebration in Birmingham, England, in the summer of 2005.

And it encourages Baptists around the world “to remain steadfast in unity, to resist temptations of schism and to demonstrate Baptist unity through the work of the Baptist World Alliance.”

Speaking in his report before the resolution was presented, BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade affirmed the BWA and its leaders, Kim and Lotz.

He also praised the national Woman's Missionary Union, which recently voted unanimously to continue to maintain its relationship with the BWA, particularly its women's department.

“Texas Baptists have been involved (with BWA) for some time,” Wade noted. He cited missions partnerships in Europe and the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, which most recently allocated almost $140,000 into projects coordinated by Baptist World Aid.

Texas Baptists should begin planning to attend the BWA General Assembly in England in 2005, to help celebrate the organization's 100th anniversary, he urged.

“I want us to have … 'Texas Week in England.' I want hundreds from Texas to attend,” Wade said.

“I want there to be so many of us there that nobody notices who's not there,” he added, to broad laughter.

While in England, participants will be able to participate in history tours and missions tours, he reported.

The BWA is scheduled to receive $20,000 from the BGCT in this year's budget. Another allocation will be considered for next year, and churches and individuals also are being urged to support the BWA, Wade said.

Paul Montacute, director of Baptist World Aid, thanked the Executive Board on behalf of Kim and Lotz.

He also thanked Texas Baptists for their gifts to Baptist World Aid, which supported Baptists' relief and development work around the globe.

“They couldn't have done it without you,” he said.

Posted: 3/05/04

BGCT to end LifeWay relationship

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS–The Baptist General Convention of Texas will end its longstanding formal relationship with LifeWay Christian Resources later this year.

The BGCT's current cooperative agreement with LifeWay, through its ministry investment plan, expires Sept. 30, and it will not be renewed, Lynn Eckeberger, coordinator of the BGCT church health and growth section, reported at a Texas Independence Day meeting of the Executive Board.

The ministry investment plan is the current version of an agreement used by LifeWay, and the Baptist Sunday School Board before it, to gain a marketing presence through Baptist state conventions. The agreement is reviewed each October by the executive officer of each cooperating state convention.

“This agreement achieves for LifeWay a prominence of position directly related to product sales and for the state convention a revenue source,” Eckeberger explained.

The most recent agreement requires state conventions to submit Annual Church Profile information to LifeWay; to grant LifeWay a visible presence at state convention-sponsored events; to participate in LifeWay conference centers and various meetings; to showcase only LifeWay products at state training events that LifeWay helps sponsor; and to submit quarterly reports to LifeWay.

In return, LifeWay provides financial assistance to cooperating state conventions. Last year, the BGCT received about $105,000 from LifeWay. Anticipated income this year is $102,000.

While sales of the BGCT's BaptistWay Press materials have increased significantly, Eckeberger said, they will not generate enough funds to offset the loss of LifeWay revenue.

Even so, the BGCT considered it should follow the lead of its churches in ending its exclusive relationship with LifeWay, he noted.

“When the Sunday School Board existed and most Baptist churches and associations made use of Sunday School standard organizational models, assistance to Texas Baptist churches could be adequately addressed by agreements between the Sunday School Board and state conventions. That day no longer describes the most common experience for Baptist churches,” Eckeberger said.

“No longer do most Texas Baptist churches use one line of curriculum. Almost none of our affiliate churches use only one exclusive supplier of Christian literature products.”

When asked, BGCT-related churches identified about a dozen publishers of Bible study and discipleship materials they use frequently, he added.

“The Baptist General Convention of Texas would act contrary to the demonstrated product preferences of churches if we were to renew LifeWay's exclusive position of privilege assured by its ministry investment plan,” Eckeberger said. “It would be contrary to the practice of churches to promote an exclusive relationship with a Christian product provider.

“We will not renew the LifeWay ministry investment plan. We will serve the churches of Texas with an ever-increasing diligence, unhindered by product sales fostered by an agreement to provide exclusive privilege that is no longer representative by the choices of Texas Baptists.”

Jimmy Draper, president of LifeWay, said he was “surprised and saddened by the decision,” but added, “I respect the BGCT's right to make it.”

In a prepared statement, Draper said: “LifeWay has enjoyed a long relationship with the convention, and I fully expect this will continue through the many Southern Baptist churches and associations in Texas that will keep using our resources.

“Our challenge at LifeWay is to keep providing the very best resources and the very best service to our Texas customers.

“We understand that we are now in a competitive situation with the BGCT for curriculum sales to Texas churches, but that does not change our commitment to provide biblically sound, relevant and value-priced resources to help people and churches know Christ and seek his kingdom.

“We continue to share with BGCT leaders a desire that people everywhere would know Christ and make him known.”

Increased sales of BaptistWay Press materials will help enable the BGCT to provide some of the resources and services previously provided by LifeWay, such as Vacation Bible School, Youth Bible Drill and Baptist doctrine clinics, Eckeberger noted.

BaptistWay, the BGCT publishing imprint, doubled its sales between 2002 and 2003 and increased its customer base by one-third, Eckeberger reported. Currently, about 1,000 BGCT-related churches use the materials.

“By all indications of the first two months of 2004, we are on track to be self-supporting by year's end, and this includes being able to provide at no cost to users a fully graded, two-year curriculum for preschool and children, downloaded from the Internet,” he said.

Specifically, he noted:

2004 Vacation Bible School materials produced by the BGCT will be available online at no cost by April 1, providing an alternative to existing products, such as the controversial LifeWay “Rickshaw Rally” curriculum.

Texas Youth Bible Drill and Speakers Tournament winners will be able to compete beyond the state level through a consortium the BGCT has formed with several other state conventions.

In 2005, the BGCT will offer its own Baptist Doctrine Clinics, Vacation Bible School training and curriculum, and Youth Bible Drill competitions.

Several Executive Board members asked whether LifeWay would operate a bookstore and be a part of exhibits at the BGCT annual session in November.

BGCT President Ken Hall responded the arrangements and order of business committees would make that decision.

“I anticipate LifeWay being encouraged to be one of many participants in our bookstore,” Hall said. “We're not being exclusive. … We're being inclusive.”

Posted: 3/05/04

Lariat editorial sparks controversy

By Marv Knox

Editor

WACO–A Baylor University student newspaper editorial supporting gay marriage has been condemned by Baylor President Robert Sloan and ruled a violation of school policy by the university's Student Publications Board.

An editorial in the Feb. 27 Baylor Lariat affirms a lawsuit brought by the city of San Francisco, which seeks to declare unconstitutional the California Family Code's definition of marriage–a union between a man and a woman.

A tagline at the end of the column indicates the Lariat editorial board voted 5-2 in favor of the position.

More than 3,200 gay couples have been married since Feb. 12, when Mayor Gavin Newsom announced the city would provide them with marriage licenses, the editorial notes.

The editorial outlines response to that event, including California Gov. Arnold Schwar-zenegger's attempt to prevent the city from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples and the city's legal challenge to the definition of marriage.

“San Francisco officials believe barring gay marriages violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the state constitution,” the editorial says. “The editorial board supports San Francisco's lawsuit against the state.”

The editorial also offers the board's rationale for gay marriage.

“Taking into account equal protection under the law, gay couples should be granted the same equal rights to legal marriage as heterosexual couples,” the editorial stresses. “Without such recognition, gay couples, even those who have cohabitated long enough to qualify as common-law spouses under many state laws, often aren't granted the same protection when it comes to shared finances, health insurance and other employee benefits, and property and power-of-attorney rights.

“Like many heterosexual couples, many gay couples share deep bonds of love, some so strong they've persevered years of discrimination for their choice to cohabitate with and date one another. Just as it isn't fair to discriminate against someone for their skin color, heritage or religious beliefs, it isn't fair to discriminate against someone for their sexual orientation.

“Shouldn't gay couples be allowed to enjoy the benefits and happiness of marriage, too?”

Sloan refuted the newspaper's assertion.

“This position held by five students does not reflect the views of the administration, faculty, staff, board of regents or Student Publications Board, which oversees the Lariat,” Sloan said in a statement distributed to media March 1. “Nor do I believe this stance on gay marriage is shared by the vast majority of Baylor's 14,000 students and 100,000 alumni.”

The editorial touched off a torrent of response, Sloan acknowledged.

“We have already heard from a number of students, alumni and parents who are, as am I, justifiably outraged over this editorial,” he said.

Sloan sought to draw a line between free expression and inappropriate advocacy.

“While we respect the rights of students to hold and express divergent viewpoints, we do not support the use of publications such as the Lariat, which is published by the university, to advocate positions that undermine the foundational Christian principles upon which this institution was founded and currently operates.”

The Student Publications Board, comprised of Baylor administrators and faculty who oversee three professional staff members who supervise the Lariat's student staff, concurred with Sloan.

The board “has determined that the editorial published in the Lariat on Feb. 27 … violates university policy as defined in the student handbook, as well as student publications policy,” the board reported in a statement released after it met March 1.

“The student publications policy states that 'since Baylor University was established and is still supported by Texas Baptists to conduct a program of higher education in a Christian context, no editorial stance of student publications should attack the basic tenets of Christian theology or Christian morality,'” the statement continued.

“Clearly, the editorial published on Feb. 27 is inconsistent with this policy. The guidelines have been reviewed with the Lariat staff, so that they will be able to avoid this error in the future.”

Ricky George, a Baylor staff member and news director of the Lariat, accepted blame for the editorial.

“I made an error in judgment,” he conceded in a prepared statement. “It is my responsibility to ensure the students have a strong editorial voice within the parameters of Baylor's mission.”

Wallace Daniel, chairman of the Student Publications Board, said George has “done a very competent job” of supervising the Lariat's news staff, “but he missed this.”

“He was contrite. He said he saw this (the editorial's position) as a legal issue,” said Daniel, dean of Baylor's College of Arts and Sciences. “The publications board took a different view. We didn't appreciate it.”

Lacy Elwood, the newspaper's editor-in-chief, issued a statement on behalf of the Lariat editorial board.

“We … stand by our decision to address an issue at the forefront of national public debate,” she said. “The editorial board's opinions reflect the views of the majority of its members, not necessarily those of the Baylor community, as stated in a disclaimer on the editorial page.”

Daniel said the Student Publications Board feels it has resolved the issue without retribution.

“We see this as a learning opportunity in which some people made a serious mistake,” he said. “We didn't retaliate or remove anybody. … We have gone over again very strictly our policy regulations. I doubt we'll see it happen again.”

Speaking to the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board March 2, BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade stressed the editorial does not represent the opinion of the state convention.

“We are disappointed that this small group of students chose to editorialize in support of gay marriage,” Wade said, reading from a prepared statement. “We do respect the students' right to discuss the issue openly and to voice their opinion, but to do so in an official Baylor publication lends more seriousness than their opinions merit.

“They do not express the opinion of the university, its leadership, of the student body, or of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. They represent only themselves.”

Wade also commended Sloan's response to the situation and affirmed a longstanding Texas Baptist position.

“Baylor University and the Baptist General Convention of Texas have been consistent about our stance that homosexual behavior is sinful,” Wade said. “The BGCT's guide is always Scripture on every issue, and the biblical model only allows for marriage between a man and a woman.”

Posted: 3/05/04

Baylor regents urge president to mend fences with faculty

By Marv Knox

Editor

WACO–Baylor University's board of regents has urged President Robert Sloan to take aggressive steps to heal the fragmented academic community.

They also have called for significant changes in the university's financial plan and the sale of a controversial jet airplane.

Baylor alumni, faculty and administrators have divided over Baylor 2012–a 10-year plan to lead the Texas Baptist school into the top tier of America's colleges and universities. They also have disagreed about Sloan's implementation of that plan.

Supporters insist Baylor, among all U.S. universities, is in prime position to integrate orthodox faith and academic excellence. They contend Baylor can excel simultaneously in classroom teaching and cutting-edge research. They predict Baylor 2012 will catapult the university to elite status. And they claim opponents resist the plan because it represents change.

Detractors counter the goals are too costly and imperil Baylor's longstanding reputation for excellent classroom instruction. They express fear 2012's changes will alter the essential character of the university and move it theologically and culturally to the right. They also assert that Sloan's implementation of the vision has been authoritarian and unfair.

While both sides boast broad backing, neither has documented the depth of support for or opposition to either Baylor 2012 or the Sloan administration. However, the presence of ad hoc alumni groups and faculty factions illustrates what close observers describe as deep divisions within the “Baylor family.”

Those divisions seemed to widen when school resumed last fall. In early September, five members of the board of regents, three former board chairmen, the Faculty Senate and the editorial board of the campus newspaper called for Sloan's removal.

But other faculty and student groups rallied in support of the president, and an alumni group ran ads supporting his administration. Regents capped a show of support by reaffirming Sloan's leadership in a 31-4 vote Sept. 12.

At that meeting, regents created three committees to study academic/relational, financial and legal issues raised by critics and called for reports at their Feb. 26-27 meeting in Waco. The university released reports from the academic/relational and financial committees after that meeting.

The regents' review committee, which examined faculty concerns, the alumni and academic issues, called for Sloan to work on healing the Baylor rift.

In a section labeled “faculty collegiality,” the report states: “The committee interviews of faculty confirmed … the existing divisions within the faculty. The committee recommends that the administration immediately initiate major efforts to build reciprocal trust, respect and confidence among faculty colleagues, administrators, regents and the university.”

Citing the negative effects of these divisions, the report adds: “We strongly recommend that the administration, led by the president, immediately initiate an aggressive program to heal the divisions at Baylor and seek to communicate more regularly with all faculty and staff members, and in a manner most conducive to building goodwill, trust and respect.”

The committee's report provides suggestions for re-establishing harmony at Baylor.

For example, faculty hiring and tenure have been contentious issues. Some critics have accused the administration of running roughshod over faculty and ignoring their well-grounded views for selecting and granting tenure to their colleagues.

Administration supporters have contended the president and provost have been well within their range of responsibilities to guide the university in this process.

The committee's report acknowledges both perspectives: “The deans, provost and president should endeavor to follow the hiring recommendations of the faculty, but always with the authority to select a different candidate based on sound and justifiable reasons, with explanation to the department.”

The regents suggest similar processes for granting tenure and appointing departmental chairs, recognizing the value of faculty recommendations while affirming the validity of administrative decisions. But the report also recommends an appeals process for faculty who are denied tenure.

Some administration critics have claimed the administration has been overbearing in applying religious requirements for faculty employment.

In particular, they have said some candidates in fields whose disciplines do not involve overt religious connections have been made to feel uncomfortable–and perhaps have even been eliminated from consideration–by questions that link their studies to doctrinal issues.

Supporters have countered that questions only were intended to assess the integration of faith and learning and were not meant to be invasive or overbearing.

As with other issues, the review committee struck a balance, affirming the process but asking that it be tempered.

“The interview process of candidates is appropriate and necessary in acquiring the highest possible caliber of academically prepared Christian faculty members for Baylor, and the interviews should be continued,” the report states.

“Every effort should be made, however, to make the candidate feel comfortable in the interview process with only appropriate questions being asked.”

The committee took a similar tone regarding the role of the Faculty Senate, which has overwhelmingly opposed Sloan's leadership.

“In accordance with Baylor policies, … the Faculty Senate's primary role is consultative,” the report notes. “But it has every right to expect that its role established by Baylor policy … be acknowledged and respected.”

The review committee addressed alumni issues only briefly but conveyed a tone similar to its focus on faculty.

“Support by all Baylor alumni is essential to the success of Baylor's mission,” the report states. “A cooperative and supportive relationship between the university administration, led by the president, and the Baylor Alumni Association is critical to the strong and unified support of Baylor by its worldwide alumni.”

In another report, the audit review committee, which studied Baylor's financial situation, called for changes in two areas that have driven a wedge within the community.

“The financial plans of Baylor University have been impacted by the severe economic conditions of the last three years,” the audit committee's report states.

The report calls for the administration to present a revised long-term financial plan at the regents' next meeting, May 14.

Critics of Baylor 2012 and the Sloan administration have claimed the escalating costs of numerous construction projects and rapidly enlarging the faculty with high-paid research professors is too expensive.

They also have said it has forced tuition to rise too rapidly, changing the demographics of the student body and changing the essential nature of the university.

Supporters have said indebtedness remains below 5 percent of Baylor's annual budget and well within acceptable limits. They also have pointed to increases in financial aid and insisted the demographics of the student body do not have to change.

The committee's report calls for the regents to consider extending the deadline for achieving Baylor 2012's goals by three years. It also would allow regents to reassess the university's capital expenditure and borrowing plans.

“The board is aware that with this direction the achievement of some parts of (Baylor) 2012 will be delayed beyond 2012,” the report says. “This delay will provide time to overcome present economic circumstances.”

While affirming support for Baylor 2012, the report adds, “The mission of Baylor University can be best served by an extension of time to allow recovery from the economic conditions of the last few years.”

In another cost-saving move, the report directed the administration to sell “the jet aircraft currently owned by the university.”

Purchase of the $2.3 million jet created controversy. Critics said the university did not need such an expensive airplane and contended Sloan acted outside board guidelines in its purchase. Supporters said it is a good investment and contended appropriate procedures were followed.

After the board meeting, Chairman Drayton McLane and Sloan gave the regents high marks for their work.

“Prudent financial management mandates that we adjust our plans as appropriate to take into account economic factors affecting not only the business world but all of higher education as well,” McLane said. “This is a hallmark of well-managed organizations. I am pleased with how this process is being managed.

“The board is looking forward to continued pursuit of the aspirations outlined in Baylor 2012 under the capable leadership of this administration. We are making necessary adjustments to a plan that will keep Baylor moving forward.”

Affirming the regents' actions, McLane noted, “I was gratified to get a unanimous motion reflecting a desire by the board of regents that we encourage the entire Baylor family to put aside our differences of opinion, adopt a spirit of forgiveness and love for each other, join hands and move forward in our pursuit of educating young men and women within a Christian environment.”

Sloan expressed gratitude for the work of the committees and pledged to follow up.

“I've listened carefully to the recommendations they have produced and look forward to implementing these recommendations in the continuing effort to realize all the promise of Baylor 2012,” he said.

Joe Cox, president of Baylor's Faculty Senate, voiced appreciation for the regents' review committee.

“I was most impressed by how hard the regents' committee worked,” said Cox, a professor of management in the Hankamer School of Business.

“They came repeatedly to campus and spent days here listening to the faculty.

“I appreciate the untold hours the regents put into trying to get a better feel for what's going on here at Baylor. … It's good for the regents and faculty to speak to each other, to come together.”

Cox noted he had not received a copy of the regents' report, but he added, “From what I've seen … in the paper, it's indicative of the issue.”

While that's a good sign, it doesn't mean the situation is settled, he said.

“I'm not sure any of the issues have been resolved or changed,” he said. “We're still in the process of getting that going. I'm not sure what the future holds right now. It's still a difficult time. …

“Maybe we're in the process of unfreezing our positions, and there could be a coming together in the future. I don't see anything of that yet.”

Susie Jaynes, president of the Baylor Alumni Association, expressed hope for the future.

“I am in total agreement as to how important it is that we heal the rift that occurred in the past,” she said. “We are moving in the right direction. We are not there yet, but we definitely are making progress.”

Jaynes praised the regents' review committee for meeting with Alumni Association representatives twice and for listening to alumni concerns.

She noted the university has taken some “positive steps” toward the Alumni Association, such as taking the word “alumni” out of the name of the university's alumni department, moving that organization out of the Alumni Association's building and drafting a service agreement that gives the Alumni Association contracts to operate selected university events.

“I'm just hopeful we can focus on what's best for Baylor,” she said.

“There's a difference of opinion there, but that happens any time there's a large group. Otherwise, you've just got robots.”

Posted: 3/05/04

Around the State

Seven people were endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship at a Feb. 18 meeting to work as chaplains at Texas facilities. Timothy Hunter was endorsed as a correctional facility chaplain; Patricia Baldwin, Charles Edmondson, Peggy Johnson, Brent Peery and Dora Saul as hospital chaplains; and Cameron Gunnin as a military chaplain.

Events

Southland Church in San Angelo commissioned 12 people as Stephen ministers Feb. 29. They were Elizabeth Benton, Sindee Davis, Dwain Dodson, Kayde Farquhar, Marvin Hall, Virginia Lester, Kay Leifeste, Frances Newman, Carla Presley, Cathy Rogers, Teri Rogers and Howard Ward.

Carol Kelly, left, and Carole Harrell have been commissioned as Mission Service Corps volunteers in the mental health industry by Park Central Church in Dallas, where Philip Washburn is pastor. Cecil Deadman, associate director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas' MSC program, spoke at the commissioning service. Jana Whitworth, director of church and community ministries with Dallas Baptist Association, has worked with the women to develop the new ministry to promote church awareness, understanding and vision for mission action to mentally ill persons and their families.

Brentwood Church in Houston will hold a Celebration and Praise Explosion and Praise Dance Workshop March 12-13. The praise portion of the program will begin at 6 p.m. Friday and is free. The dance workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and will cost $25 per person. For details or to register, call Baretta Duke at (713) 789-1799.

Pastor Jim Denison and Gary Cogill, movie critic for WFAA-TV, will have a discussion based on the movie “The Passion of the Christ” on March 21 at 6 p.m. at Park Cities Church in Dallas. For more information, call (214) 860-3903.

First Church in Seguin will present a Christian country music concert featuring Clifton Jansky March 27 at 7 p.m. The concert is a fundraiser for the church's school. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under age 12. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets purchased by March 21 will include a chicken-fried steak dinner beginning at 5 p.m. For more information, call (830) 372-3779. Brice Mandaville is pastor.

Westside Church in Seguin will hold a constituting service March 28. It has been a mission of First Church in Seguin. Sam Rodriguez is pastor.

Anniversaries

First Church in Golinda, 100th, Feb. 8. Ralph Powers is pastor.

Greg Tanner, 20th, as minister of music at First Church in Vernon, Feb. 15.

Robert Underhill, fifth, as pastor of Windsor Park Church in Corpus Christi, March 7.

David Moore, 20th, as pastor of Saint James Church in Honey Grove.

Norman Lance, 10th, as pastor of Mision Hispana in Bonham.

Ralph Howell, fifth, as pastor of Pleasant Grove Church in Rosebud.

Bill Louthan, 25th, as associate pastor and minister of music at First Church in Midlothian, March 25.

Primera Iglesia in Austin, 105th, March 28. Carlos Alsina is pastor.

Bill Cleveland, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Alvord.

Riverside Church in Fort Worth, 100th, April 25. Stanley Hughes, a former pastor, will be the guest speaker in the morning worship service. A lunch will follow. Stephen Patton is pastor.

First Church in Ranger recently named four men as emeritus deacons. They accounted for 159 years of service as deacons. Pictured are, front row, Juanita and O.C. Warden, ordained in 1971; and Dovie Hunt; second row, Evangelist Charles Massegee, who preached the morning service; Ileane Beck; Nancy Fambro; J.R. Hunt, ordained in 1953; and top row, Corvis Beck, ordained in 1954; Luther Fambro, ordained in 1974; and Pastor David Cash

Southcrest Church in Lubbock, 50th, June 26-27. Former pastors and staff members will attend. Charter members also will be recognized. For more information, call (806) 797-9000. Brad Jurkovich is pastor.

Deaths

Joseph MacNamee, 97, Jan. 15 in San Antonio. He was pastor of Hot Wells Church in Hot Wells 14 years, and for almost 30 years preached on an AM radio station. On three separate occassions, he was named interim pastor of the Chinese Church in San Antonio. He was a member of Grace Point Church in San Antonio. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Katharine; son, Paul; daughter, Susan Olson; three grandsons; and six great-grand children.

Clayton Day, 83, Feb. 11 in Fort Worth. He was a retired U.S. Army chaplain, attaining the rank of colonel. Ordained at First Church in Palestine, he was pastor of several churches, including Long Lake Church in Palestine, Dixie Church in Tyler and First churches in Friona, Devers and McLean before entering the chaplaincy in 1949. He served in the military 21 years. Following his military retirement, he held several positions, including director of institutional resources at Southwestern Seminary from 1971 to 1979 and vice president of administrative affairs at Dallas Baptist University from 1980 to 1987. He then moved to New York to become pastor of Clinton Road Church in New Hartford. He later became director of evangelism and assistant to the executive director-treasurer for the Baptist Convention of New York from 1990 to 1995. In 1996, he was named special assistant to the president at DBU, a position he held until 1998. DBU bestowed an honorary doctor of divinity degree on him in 1989. At the time of his death, he was a member of Travis Avenue Church in Fort Worth. He was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Junita. He is survived by his wife of 10 years, Maxine; sons, Clayton Jr. and Robert; brother, Buddy; step-daughter, Jeannine Stump; three grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; and six step-great-grandchildren.

Kyle Thompson, 81, Feb. 27 in Austin. A long-time journalist, he also served as press secretary for Gov. John Connally and Sen. John Tower. A World War II POW and a a part of the Lost Battalion ordered to construct the “Lost Railway” in the Burmese jungles, he wrote a book on his experiences following retirement. He received 11 medals for military service. A long-time member of Hyde Park Church in Austin, he was honored last year for 50 years of service as a Royal Ambassador counselor. He is survived by his wife, Vivian; daughters, Linda Montgomery, Kay Thompson and Janis Thompson; brothers, James and George; sisters, Vera Carey and Nita Smith; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Billy Ray Parmer, 78, Feb. 28 in Lubbock after a car accident outside Abernathy. He was president of Gloria al Padre and former two-time Baptist General Convention of Texas second vice president. His wife, Joan, also was seriously injured in the accident. He served as pastor of Dyess Grove Church in Temple, San Gabriel Church in San Gabriel, Golinda Church in Golinda and First Church in Valley Mills. He was honored as rural pastor of the year four times and received the 1995 George W. Truett Churchman of the Year award, presented by the Baylor University Alumni Association. He served the BGCT in many capacities, including committee positions. He also was co-chairman of Texas Baptists Committed. His passion for mission work in Mexico led him to found and direct Gloria al Padre, an organization that seeks to spread and gospel and medical treatment to residents of the Chihuahua Desert. He was a member of First Church in Lorenzo. He was preceded in death by a sister, Joyce Parmer. He is survived by his wife of 55 years; daughters, Kay Alley, Joan Barrett, Donna Stauber and Mary Cooper; son, Billy Jr.; 15 grandchildren; brother, Dean; and sisters, Marie Parmer and Dottie Sayler.

Retiring

Julian Bridges, as professor of sociology at Hardin-Simmons University. His retirement will begin at the end of the spring semester. He will be honored at the HSU Faculty and Staff Appreciation Dinner sponsored by the Alumni Association May 1. He will close out a 31-year career at the school, serving as department chair 29 years. Prior to joining the HSU faculty in 1973, he and his wife, Charlotte, served in Costa Rica and Mexico as Southern Baptist Convention Foreign Mission Board representatives 14 years. During sabbatical leaves, he also taught in Madrid, Hong Kong and Tanzania. He is a deacon at First Church in Abilene.

Licensed

Sergio Salazar to the ministry at Primera Iglesia Mexicana in El Paso.

Ordained

Scott Killingsworth, Pat Lavergne, Lawrence Mayer, Brady Pyle and Roy Saunders as deacons at University Church in Houston.

David Kyle and Gannon Harris as deacons at Eastwood Church in Gatesville.

Revivals

First Church, Rogers; March 7-10; evangelists, The Cherrys; pastor, Will Passmore.

Braeburn Valley Church, Houston; evangelist, Step Martin; music, The Goldens; pastor, Preston Dupré.

Enon Church, Doddridge; March 7-12; evangelist, Tim Ellis; pastor, Vernon Lummus.

First Church, Devers; March 14-17; evangelist, Malcolm Ellis; music, The Willis Family; pastor, Harry McDaniel.

Emmanuel Church, Denison; March 14-17; evangelists, The Cherrys; pastor, Earl Oglesbee.

First Church, Throckmorton; March 17-21; evangelist, Michael Gabbert; interim pastor, Edgar Jones.

Pawnee Church, Pawnee; March 19-21; evangelists, The Pearsons; pastor, Mike Smith.

Oakwood Church, Mauriceville; March 21-24; evangelists, The Cherrys; pastor, Wesley Blanton.

Primera Iglesia, La Joya; March 21-24; evangelists, Roberto Rodriguez and Wilson Campoverde; pastor, Fidencio Vasquez.

Hyde Park Church, Denison; March 21-24; evangelist, Tim Johnson; music, Johnnie Smith; interim pastor, Carl Bilderback.

.

Posted: 3/05/04

Christian Leadership Institute for
high school youth slated at Baylor

“Influencing Your World” is the theme of the High School Christian Leadership Institute June 24-27 at Baylor University. The four-day conference is open to high school sophomores and juniors from across the country.

The conference includes small-group discussions, team challenges, experiential exercises and individual coaching sessions. Throughout the weekend, participants are mentored by Baylor student leaders.

“Evaluations for the inaugural program were very positive,” said Scott Wade, director of student union. “The students not only mentioned the impact that the institute had on their lives, but also the warm, inviting Baylor community that many hoped they would become a part of in the years ahead.”

Applicants are selected by a committee of student life staff. The $350 registration fee includes lodging, meals and conference materials. Applications and a $50 registration deposit for the 2004 Christian Leadership Institute are due May 1. A limited number of scholarships are available to students with financial need.

“Our candidates are young people who have demonstrated leadership skills and abilities and are committed to using their God-given strengths to invest in and influence the arenas of leadership that they find themselves in,” said Wade. “We're not looking exclusively for the team captains or student government presidents. Above all else, we're looking for that initiative to serve and create positive change.”

Students are challenged to strive for and attain personal goals through several team-building exercises, including rock climbing at the McLane Student Life Center and participating in the Eastland Lakes ropes course.

The conference also will feature a keynote address and seminars by Dave Stone, associate pastor for Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky.

More information about the 2004 High School Christian Leadership Institute is available online at www.baylor.edu/christianleadership or by calling (254) 710-7611.

Posted: 3/05/04

Baptist Briefs

Welch to be SBC presidential nominee. Bobby Welch, pastor of First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., will be nominated as president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the June 15-16 annual meeting in Indianapolis. Johnny Hunt, pastor of the Atlanta-area First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., announced his intention to nominate Welch. Welch has been pastor of the Daytona Beach congregation since 1974 and is the co-creator of the FAITH Sunday school evangelism strategy. He is a former president of the Florida Baptist Convention and a former SBC vice president. Welch is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Jacksonville (Ala.) State University.

Past SBC presidents pick Davidson for VP. Gerald Davidson, pastor of the St. Louis-area First Baptist Church in Arnold, Mo., for 27 years and a past president of the Missouri Baptist Convention, will be nominated for first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. "The former presidents (of the SBC) have decided that Gerald Davidson should be first vice president, and Dr. Adrian Rogers has been asked to nominate him," Bailey Smith, president of the SBC from 1980 to 1982, announced Feb. 19 at a Real Evangelism Conference hosted by Davidson and First Baptist Arnold.

Compensation study under way. The 2004 church staff compensation study is being compiled by 41 Baptist state conventions in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention Annuity Board. In January, state conventions began mailing surveys to churches to be completed and returned by April 15. After the April deadline, the statistical information will be compiled, and the survey results, with customized salary and benefit information for different church staff positions, will be available in June. If a church did not receive a survey, it can be accessed at www.absbc.org.

History & Heritage Society meeting set. "Baptist Footprints in the Northwest" is the theme for the 2005 annual meeting of the Baptist History & Heritage Society, May 27-29 in Vancouver, Wash. Featured speakers are Walter B. Shurden, executive director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University, and Wayne Flynt from Auburn University. For more information, see the society's website at www.baptisthistory.org or call (800) 966-2278.

Medical Dental Fellowship meeting slated. "Unto the Least of These" is the theme of the 2004 national meeting of the Baptist Medical Dental Fellowship, April 1-4 at Callaway Gardens, Ga. An emphasis on ministry to medically indigent people in the inner cities focuses on the San Antonio Christian Dental Clinic and the medical/dental clinics of Mission Arlington. Medical ethicist Stewart Sprague is a featured speaker, along with Jerry Rankin, president of the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board, and Daniel Vestal, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Continuing Medical Education hours will be available for several presentations. For more information, call (888) 275-8485 or visit www.bmdf.org.

New Glorieta manager named. Steve Grassfield is the new general manager of Glorieta Conference Center, near Santa Fe, N.M. Grassfield, 54, worked 17 years for ClubCorp, most recently as a vice president. ClubCorp has more than a billion dollars in sales and internationally operates 200 golf courses, country clubs, private business and sports clubs, and resorts.

SBC partners with volunteer pilot network. The North American Mission Board has signed a partnership agreement with Mercy Medical Airlift, part of Angel Flight America, to help with disaster relief. Mercy Medical Airlift works with a network of 6,000 private pilots who volunteer their time and expenses to transport individuals needing medical care.

Posted: 3/05/04

BWA denied exhibit space at SBC meeting

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP)–A Southern Baptist Convention official has denied exhibition space to the Baptist World Alliance at this June's SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis, even though the convention has not yet approved a recommendation to separate from the international Baptist fellowship.

Convention messengers will vote on a recommendation–approved in February by the SBC Executive Committee–to break all ties with the 99-year-old BWA. The SBC is the group's largest member body and largest contributor.

If messengers approve the recommendation, the BWA will stand to lose $300,000 in funding next year.

BWA officials in Falls Church, Va., received a letter informing them of the decision from John Wilkerson, the Executive Committee's vice president for business and finance.

In the Feb. 25 letter, Wilkerson said, “Because of the controversy surrounding this issue currently and the pending recommendation of the Executive Committee to the Southern Baptist Convention, it would be inappropriate to exhibit under these circumstances,” Wilkerson said in his Feb. 25 letter.

Alan Stanford, BWA director of promotion and development, said he and other BWA officials were “surprised and disappointed” at the decision.

“Our assumption was that we would be allowed to exhibit until the SBC voted to discontinue funding the BWA,” he said.

“To us, it seems to be premature for the staff of the Executive Committee to deny messengers to the SBC the opportunity to look at materials and ask questions of the BWA representatives when the messengers are being asked to vote on severing an almost 100-year relationship.”

Wilkerson maintained his office had the right to decide to deny exhibit space to the BWA.

“Funding and exhibiting is not connected,” he said, noting that SBC-funded agencies “don't gain a right (to exhibit) because you're sent money–that's another privilege that's extended to them.”

Wilkerson made the decision to deny the space, in part, he said, because of the BWA's responses to SBC leaders' recommendation that the denominations cut ties.

“Let me just say that the comments that have been voiced by the BWA in the press articles and in person … certainly are not supportive of the Southern Baptist Convention position,” he told Associated Baptist Press.

The BWA's press releases on the situation “are mean-spirited, they're unfactual, they're just harsh,” he said, accusing the BWA leaders of attempting to publicize the story.

“They want this public,” he said. “This is the rhetoric and the dialogue we've tried to avoid the whole way.”

Executive Committee policy allows Wilkerson to make exhibitor decisions, and that “it doesn't require convention approval,” he said.

Stanford said BWA still plans to host a breakfast during the SBC annual meeting. It will be held June 15 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Indianapolis.

Posted: 3/05/04

Carroll Institute offers new approach to theological training

By Marv Knox

Editor

ARLINGTON–Swirling shifts in churches, education and society demand a new approach to training ministers, founders of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute stressed during ceremonies that marked the school's opening.

“We live in a world of great change, and that change is the reason the Carroll Institute has been formed,” President Bruce Corley said in a video presentation Feb. 28 at First Baptist Church in Arlington, near the institute's headquarters.

Needs of churches and church leaders have been changing rapidly, Corley said, adding he and several colleagues have been researching how to meet those needs for about a decade. The majority of U.S. churches have plateaued in their membership and participation, 40 percent of baptisms in Baptist churches are rebaptisms of Christians who were members of other denominations, and only 15 percent of U.S. Christian leaders live in cities, which are home to a huge majority of people, he noted.

“Churches need a vast number of new church starts,” he said. “But many don't survive one generation because of a lack of leadership training. Many leaders have no access to training.”

However, a change in education–the trend toward teaching with the Internet and other electronic resources–can make affordable ministry training available, he added.

“The Carroll Institute intends to be on the cutting edge” of preparing Christians for ministry, using the Internet to supplement education, he said.

That approach will work in today's society, he added. For example, 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in cities; more people are exercising “deferred choices” and entering second and third careers, such as ministry, later in life; and diversity of backgrounds is becoming the norm.

The Carroll Institute will begin classes this fall, Corley said. It will function through “teaching churches,” where church staff and others from the area are qualified to train and mentor ministers. Classroom courses will be supplemented with online training over the Internet. And some courses also may feature Internet broadcast of lectures from a central teacher to students in various locations, who also will be guided by a local teacher at each site.

“Theological education ought to move in this direction,” said Russell Dilday, former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and retired professor at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary, who serves as the institute's chancellor.

Such an institute can provide the “right and adequate training of a great host of spiritual leaders,” Dilday said, quoting Carroll, the institute's namesake and founder of Southwestern Seminary almost a century ago.

Jim Denison, pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas and a member of the Carroll Institute's board of governors, praised its church-based approach to training ministers.

“Theological education is done best in the context of a local church,” Denison said on the video. Such training, guided by mentors who are involved in ministry themselves, enables students to “integrate spiritual formation and theological education,” he said.

Carroll Institute administrators are talking seriously to a dozen churches about opening their doors to classes as early as the fall, Corley said in a live presentation to supporters who gathered from across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and as far away as Houston and San Antonio to launch the school.

Sites currently are being negotiated in Bryan-College Station, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, Corley said. The institute also will offer classes in West Texas, and leaders are talking to churches in Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina and Oklahoma.

“In these sites, we'll have face-to-face classes, plus online delivery resources,” he said.

Carroll Institute leaders will seek certification from three agencies–the Association of Theological Schools, which accredits ministry-training schools in the United States and Canada; the National Association of Schools of Music; and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the primary regional accrediting agency for higher education.

“We will seek certification within a two-year period,” Corley said. Operating costs are about $40,000 per month, he reported, and the institute is seeking to raise $157,000 in order to open classes in the fall.

In an interview, Stan Moore, one of the institute's senior fellows, said the school is likely to train an average of 15 to 20 students at each teaching church.

The founders tout teaching churches as an asset for several reasons:

Because the training sites will be based in local churches, their focus will help students ground themselves in the practical aspects of ministry.

The training sites will be scattered broadly, so most students will not have to relocate and disrupt their families to study for ministry.

Most classes will be taught by teacher-mentors who are not full-time professors but practicing ministers, whose work is grounded in the church.

Students at each site will be able to build community by studying with a core group of fellow learners, who are sharing common classroom and ministry experiences.

The institute will not invest in “bricks and mortar”–an expensive campus–so the training should be affordable, “comparable but less than other institutions,” Moore said.

The curriculum will be designed to meet students' ministry needs and will be relevant for their work in churches.

The Carroll Institute will offer three levels of study, Moore said.

Lay studies will be geared toward helping laity improve their leadership skills in their local churches. A master's-level course of study will offer what will be the equivalent of a master's degree when the institute receives accreditation. And the institute also plans to offer three doctoral degrees–doctor of ministry, doctor of musical arts and doctor of philosophy.

“The only thing we're not going to offer is a bachelor's degree,” Moore said. “We do not want to compete with our Baptist colleges and universities.”

But the institute may offer a diploma program, which would enable students in their 30s or older to earn a diploma and then a master's degree without going back to college, where typical students would be much younger.

The Carroll Institute's educational programs will be similar in structure to other non-residential professional degrees, such as executive MBA programs or the diversity of master's and doctoral degrees offered nationwide by the University of Phoenix, Moore said.

In addition to Corley, Moore and Dilday, the Carroll Institute's staff includes Budd Smith and Jim Spivey, both senior fellows; Scotty Gray, assistant to the president for institutional effectiveness; and Michael Wright, director of church life and technology.

Wright formerly was a technology leader for the Southern Baptist Radio & Television Commission. All the others previously were professors at Southwestern Seminary.

The board of governors is comprised of Tom Coston, a businessman and member of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth; Denison; Tom Hill, a businessman and member of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio; Bill Howard, a retired physician and member of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth; Joan Trew, a real estate agent and member of University Baptist Church in Fort Worth; and Jerry Yowell, a businessman and member of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

For more information, contact the institute at 120 E. Abram, Arlington 76010; (817) 274-4284; e-mail:admin@bhcti.org; website: www.bhcti.org.