Posted: 2/06/04

Halftime peep show sparks call for restraint

By Rob Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–Standards of decency on broadcast television are again in the news as the Federal Communications Commission investigates what led to an incident during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII.

The show, watched by an estimated 99 million viewers, was broadcast on CBS Feb. 1. During the show, recording artists Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake created a sensation when, at the end of a performance featuring a sexually suggestive dance routine, Timberlake ripped off a part of Jackson's costume, exposing her right breast.

“I am outraged at what I saw during the halftime show of the Super Bowl,” said FCC Chairman Michael Powell in a Feb. 2 statement announcing the investigation. “Like millions of Americans, my family and I gathered around the television for a celebration. Instead, that celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt. Our nation's children, parents and citizens deserve better.”

All of the commission's other members also released statements denouncing the performance and criticizing CBS executives for letting it slip through.

The investigation reportedly will include the entire halftime show, which contained other elements that apparently offended media critics and pro-family organizations.

Phil Strickland, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission, called the Super Bowl halftime spectacle “regrettable” on several fronts.

“It is regrettable that a performance which was intended for general viewing by persons of all ages ended up being R-rated. It is regrettable that professional singers and dancers have come to feel that singing and dancing is no longer sufficient to entertain their publics,” he said.

“It is regrettable that the NFL's premier venue has passed control of pre-game, post-game, and half-time entertainment into the hands of parties who have nothing to do with football,” he said.

“And it is regrettable that a world that is already suspicious about American values got a bad demonstration of those values. … The inappropriate exposure of Janet Jackson's body parts was only the most sensational moment of a sexually-oriented performance that had no rightful place on the national stage.”

Viacom, Inc., owns both CBS and MTV, which produced the halftime show. According to reports, NFL officials have said they likely will not allow MTV to produce halftime shows for future Super Bowls.

Jackson released a statement apologizing for the incident, and Timberlake released a statement saying he regretted the “wardrobe malfunction.”

The controversy is just the latest to surround the FCC and broadcast decency standards. In January, the commission fined Clear Channel Communications for several raunchy radio broadcasts.

It also has announced it is considering harsher penalties for media outlets violating decency standards.

Powell and the FCC have garnered repeated criticism since last year, when the agency's enforcement arm ruled that U2 lead singer Bono's casual use of a curse word during an NBC awards-show broadcast in January 2003 did not rise to the level of a decency violation.

With additional reporting by Managing Editor Ken Camp.

Posted: 2/06/04

Hands of Luke ministry a
daily walk of faith for its director

By George Henson

Staff Writer

EL PASO–Hurting people need healing for both body and spirit, Marco Samaniego insists.

And that philosophy has guided the Hands of Luke medical ministry since he founded it 10 years ago.

The ministry provides primary medical care for many people in northern Mexico and seeks to make sure the children in the area are well-fed.

Every day, the ministry feeds 500 to 700 children in three nutritional centers and two orphanages in Juarez, Mexico.

It is a ministry based totally on faith in God, said Samaneigo, bivocational pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in El Paso.

“We don't ever know where it's going to come from, but God always provides,” he said.

“Sometimes churches and businesses and individuals give us money to buy food, and sometimes the food itself is donated, but God always finds a way.”

In addition to providing health care and food, Hands of Luke also offers Bible studies and Sunday worship services.

“Through all these outreach ministries, we really get to know the people and make a difference in their lives,” he said.

As an example, he pointed to 17-year-old Luis Armando.

The young man formerly led a gang, but about a year ago he accepted Christ as his Savior after getting to know ministry volunteers.

“Now he works with one of the mission pastors and has led six other gang members to Christ,” Samaniego said.

That desire to make a difference was evident to Samaniego during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, especially when he considered his family's blessings compared to needs in nearby Mexico.

“It's hard to be thankful when there is a big bird on the table and family all around and know that nearby there are families with little if anything to eat,” he said.

Just before Thanksgiving in 1993, he felt God leading him to find the means to feed 1,000 people that holiday.

“I didn't know how to do it, but I told my wife, 'This is what the Lord told me to do, and we need to get busy because it's only two weeks until Thanksgiving.'”

That year, through the help of area churches and individuals, 1,000 people had a Thanksgiving meal they would not have had otherwise.

Each year since, the ministry has grown. In 2003, more than 13,000 people ate a Thanksgiving meal, including 5,000 inmates in a Mexican prison.

More than 300 volunteers from 25 churches prepare and distribute the food.

Volunteers cook the food, freeze it and reheat it at an orphanage in Juarez, one of the 25 places food is distributed.

Wherever the food is served, God's word is preached, he said.

“We don't do feeding without preaching,” he said.

“Our main goal is to have people come to know the Lord, and then for the churches in the colonias to disciple them afterward.”

At the prison, 300 men made professions of faith in Christ, he noted.

At Christmas, the ministry distributed gift bags to 6,000 children. Each bag contained a toy, fruit, peanuts, socks, underwear and a Bible.

While the ministry has grown each year, Samaniego said he doesn't know what this year will bring.

“This is a ministry of faith. Whatever the Lord gives us to do, that's what we're going to do,” he said.

“It's all under his leadership.”

Posted: 2/06/04

Worship, service, witness all flow from love
for God, evangelist tells Hispanic conference

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON–God gives Christians the desire to worship, serve him and share the gospel, evangelist Samuel Otero told participants at the Texas Baptist Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

Like people falling in love long to be together, Christians should hunger to be with God, Otero said.

In many parts of South America, Christians pack churches and sing praises to God for up to three hours. Some Mexican believers wake early to pray before 4:30 a.m. Sunday school classes. Yet many people in the United States struggle to sit through an hour-long worship service, he observed.

A strong relationship with God transforms Christians, making them more Christ-like and setting them apart from the world, the evangelist said.

As individuals move closer to God, their faith becomes more apparent to non-Christians. Others can see God working.

A bond with God also inspires people to share how God is working in their lives, Otero said. Christians become excited about the blessings God gives them and want to tell others about their experiences.

As God speaks to people, they want to worship him in different ways, including raising hands in a worship service and testifying about their faith, Otero said. Acts of service, such as feeding and clothing needy people, also are ways to worship, he maintained.

Praying for the needs of others reflects one's adoration for the Lord.

“There doesn't have to be any directions,” he said. “My heart tells me when I can worship.”

God is guiding Christians to accomplish “great things,” but they must follow his lead, Otero added. God's power supports Christians through their struggles and helps them impact other lives spiritually.

Verbally sharing the gospel with a non-believer can transform lives, he said.

As proof of that power, Otero recounted his struggle with alcohol abuse to the point of being hospitalized when he started bleeding from his mouth and nose.

He realized his need for God and became a Christian in the hospital. His life turned around, and he became an evangelist.

“To be a good disciple, we need to know how to obey, how to be in love with the Lord,” Otero said.

In addition to bringing people into the faith, “living for God” knocks down barriers between believers, Otero said.

Cultural, social and economic differences begin to fade as Christians come to understand they should live to accomplish God's will.

Worldly matters such as titles and money lose their luster as believers try to spread their faith.

“We are all different nationalities,” he said. “We're just passing through. Our citizenship belongs to the kingdom of God.”

Posted: 2/06/04

Relationships key in evangelism
and worship, Smith says

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON–Both evangelism and worship are about relationships, Rich Smith told the Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

Evangelism is about “living in right relationship” with non-Christians, and public worship allows them to “see into our love relationship with the Lord,” said Smith, during an English language session of the conference. Smith is executive director of Levi Ministries, a Lubbock group specializing in worship-based discipleship.

Christians often have “turned evangelism into a head game,” appealing only to the minds of non-believers but not to their hearts and souls, Smith said.

“So many times when we're trying to lead someone to the Lord … we're trying to get the truth in their head.”

Christians need to begin to relate with non-believers as Jesus would. Citing the biblical story of the woman at the well, Smith said Jesus “related to her as a real person.”

Shifting to a discussion of worship, Smith observed: “When I think of worship, I think of one thing–relationships.” And relationships involve communication. “Worship is like prayer. They're close cousins.”

Worship, like evangelism, should involve both heart and head. Educators have discovered that people learn in different ways, Smith said.

Some are more “left brain” or analytical, while others favor the “right brain” and rely more on their feelings and creativity.

Jesus “approaches us in a way we understand,” Smith said. But the Lord is “after all of us.” In other words, he seeks to communicate with both sides of the brain.

“Nobody gets off the hook,” Smith said. Jesus communicates in spirit and in truth.

Music provides a connection between both spirit and truth.

“A worship song is a truth barb. … It's going to stay with you,” Smith said.

When word and song are mixed, the truth “sticks with someone longer.”

How does this work with evangelism?

“Your worship is a public display of affection” for God, Smith said.

“It's like the world having a chance to look in from the outside at your love affair with the Lord.”

Seeing such a relationship often leads a non-believer to say: “I want some of that.” Smith called it a “holy jealousy.”

The believer is then able to say: “You can have it. … God is available to all who will take him.”

Posted: 2/06/04

BGCT online ministerial job search
engine now available in Spanish

DALLAS ­ The Baptist General Convention of Texas has launched what is believed to be the first online Spanish ministry job search engine.

Ministers can post their resumes and search for positions online in Spanish via the Church Personnel Information Services site, www.cpis.org/sp/. Churches also can display vacancies and sort through resumes in Spanish.

The site is the first BGCT web page translated completely into Spanish at the request of ministers.

As Olivia Lerma, manager of CPIS, spoke to church leaders statewide about the English site, www.cpis.org, pastors asked her to translate the material for Spanish-speaking congregations to use it more easily. Some were having their children translate the page so they could use it.

“We had a lot of people ask us about it,” Lerma commented. “A lot of pastors said we go online, but we can't understand it.”

The system will help Spanish-speaking Baptists find ministry positions and churches find bilingual or Spanish-speaking candidates for vacant positions, Lerma said. After three weeks, the Spanish site had eight resumes posted, but interest is building as word of the resource spreads.

Lerma expects the Spanish site to grow steadily as the English service did when it started.

Two other resources have been translated into Spanish. The first assists ministers who are putting together a resume. The other provides tools to help a search committee find a minister.

More than 1,700 resumes are posted on the English site. There currently are 218 church vacancies through the service, and Lerma is working to increase that number. She is contacting churches daily to encourage them to use the service. The free resource for BGCT-affiliated churches receives about 500,000 hits a month.

“I am very grateful for CPIS,” commented Benito Villarreal, who served as interim pastor of Genesis Church in Hereford. “This is an invaluable resources and tool that was made available to us.”

Posted: 2/06/04

Different generations, different
needs among Hispanic Texans, Zapata says

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON­Spanish-speaking churches still are needed in the United States, but bilingual and English-speaking Hispanic congregations are in increasing demand, a South Texas pastor told the Hispanic Evangelism Conference.

Jorge Zapata, pastor of Community Baptist Church in Harlingen, discussed ministry to Latinos whose families have been in the United States for more than a generation. He is a second-generation U.S. citizen, having moved here with his family as a child.

“The Spanish language is always going to be in America because they're always coming in,” Zapata said. “It's never going to end.”

But Hispanics who are born or reared in the United States are different from immigrants, and English typically becomes their primary language.

The Hispanic culture is changing, Zapata said. “Are the churches changing?” he asked.

Although some highly educated immigrants come to the States and are under-employed, most first-generation Hispanics–whether they enter the U.S. either as undocumented aliens or on visas–have little or no formal education, he said. They usually speak no English, only Spanish.

“They struggle to survive,” Zapata said, indicating some go two or three days without eating.

Second-generation Hispanics include those who came to the United States with their parents or were born in the States.

Spanish may be the primary language in their homes, but they are bilingual.

They often live in “barrios” in the Rio Grande Valley or in multi-cultural neighborhoods elsewhere, he said.

They enter school with no knowledge of English but soon learn to speak it. Their educational goal is to graduate from high school and possibly college.

This generation grows up adjusting to a new culture, language and people, Zapata said. “For the second generation, it's very difficult.”

Successive generations are more likely to use English and be adapted into the new culture.

Zapata said churches must do three things to reach second- and later-generation Hispanics.

They must commit to evangelizing, changing and designing their ministries around the needs of the people the church wants to reach.

He spoke at length about the need to use English in reaching second- and later-generation Hispanics, but churches must adapt to the changing culture in other ways, as well. For instance, his church has moved its Bible study program from Sunday to Wednesday.

It's called Family Strengthening Night, and it begins with youth activities.

Zapata also learned to use PowerPoint, a computer program to present information visually, in order to communicate more clearly.

In designing its ministry, a church must look at varied factors such as where the people they are trying to reach live, their age and marital status, education, occupations, lifestyle, values, interests, needs, faith background and language skills.

Those things are important because “our children are not being ministered to,” Zapata said. And “our youth are not having their spiritual needs met. Remember, to be a believer is a sacrifice.”

Posted: 2/06/04

Hispanic and Anglo churches trading places

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Hispanic and Anglo congregations are trading places as Anglo churches become worship-driven and their Hispanic counterparts move toward a Bible study-driven model, according to some Texas Baptist leaders.

Anglo churches increasingly emphasize worship services as the entry point for newcomers and the catalyst for ministry while de-emphasizing the Bible study model that powered the church growth boom of the 20th century, said Dennis Parrott, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Bible Study/Discipleship Center.

Tim Studstill, director of the BGCT music and worship office, views large sales numbers of praise music directed toward Anglo churches and increase in worship model packages for sale as signs of a surging emphasis on worship in Anglo churches.

Church leaders are coming to realize worship represents a congregation's identity and its values, Studstill added.

“What I'm seeing is more and more churches realize worship is integral in who they are,” he said.

On the other hand, Hispanic churches are moving away from the worship-driven model they historically have used and toward Bible study groups as vehicles for church growth, Parrott said.

This is visible along the Texas-Mexico border, where churches expand along large stretches of land through small Bible studies, but it also can be seen across the state.

According to statistics from the BGCT research information service, 65 percent of Hispanics enrolled in Bible studies attend the classes, well above the 46 percent average of the entire convention.

In contrast, 44 percent of people enrolled in Anglo Bible studies actually attend them.

Jim Garcia, director of the BGCT office of Hispanic work, and Jorge Diaz, general director of the Baptist Spanish Publishing House in El Paso, noted a continuing strong emphasis on worship in Hispanic churches. But their growth is occurring through small groups.

Groups typically meet in houses on any day of the week. Members often dress casually, and activities may include a meal and singing, along with the Bible study.

“There is a hunger for Bible study,” Garcia said. “There is not a hunger for the structure we call Sunday school.”

Small groups urge fellowship and community, important aspects in Hispanic culture, Garcia and Diaz said.

For this reason, the small-group approach will gain strength, Diaz added.

The shift to a small-group-driven church has pushed Hispanics to look for resources to make their effort on par with those in Anglo churches, Parrot noted.

Hispanics are coming to BGCT-sponsored Bible study and leadership training events in stronger numbers than Anglos. Hispanics are open to ideas from Hispanics and non-Hispanics, Spanish speakers and non-Spanish speakers, he added.

About one-fourth of BGCT-affiliated Hispanic churches are using the BaptistWay Press curriculum, including the publisher's Spanish materials that parallel the English studies. Many use the free online materials.

They also have taken particular advantage in seeking the BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship Center's help with the Add LIFE program, certification efforts and ministry development, Parrott noted.

Many Hispanic church workers are laypeople who were placed in leadership positions without having any formal training, Parrot said. The BGCT events provide an opportunity to gain more knowledge.

“I think that a lot of the Hispanic churches are just coming of age in the sense they are realizing their need for training,” he said.

Posted: 2/06/04

IMB creates sexual abuse hotline for victims

RICHMOND, Va.–(BP) The Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board has created a hotline where victims of sexual abuse on the mission field can report their abusers and find help for their trauma.

The toll-free number will help people report incidents of abuse or inappropriate relationships–either past or present–to IMB staff members who can respond to the concern, said Mark Whitworth, a member care consultant for the board and former missionary to Japan.

“We very rarely receive reports of such problems, but we don't want that to be because a victim feels he or she has nowhere to turn for help,” Whitworth said.

“This phone line will make it easier for people to call for help, which in turn will allow us to gather the information we need to respond in an appropriate and timely manner.”

The addition of the phone number grew out of recent communications with people who experienced sexual abuse as children on the mission field in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

“It's sad that things like this happen, especially to children and especially on the mission field,” said Sharron Hawk, another member care consultant at the board who served as a missionary in Nigeria.

“We know we are not immune to problems like this, and we want people to know that we care and that we are committed to reaching out to victims and dealing decisively with abusers.”

The International Mission Board has strict written policies that address sexual misconduct and outline procedures for handling known violations. Grounds for termination include sexual assault or harassment, pedophilia and sexual misconduct involving a minor.

The board maintains an ongoing review of sexual misconduct policies and provides continuous training of personnel to promote awareness and prevent sexual misconduct.

Like the IMB, other Christian missions agencies also have responded to the concern by reviewing their policies and procedures regarding sexual misconduct.

Information about the toll-free number is being provided directly to current and former missionaries and their children.

Posted: 2/06/04

No longer 'playmaker,' now
Michael Irvin finds glory in God

By Art Stricklin

Baptist Press

HOUSTON (BP)–Michael Irvin, the self-styled playmaker during his Dallas Cowboys days, is still very much at home at the Super Bowl.

Strolling the sidelines at Super Bowl XXXVIII's Media Day at Houston's Reliant Stadium, Irvin was chatting with players and kidding around with his former teammate Deion Sanders. And he was wearing his latest stylish suit, akin to the times he once wore a full-length mink coat during his playing days.

But Irvin, now a commentator for ESPN-TV, is making bigger and more eternally important plays than the many touchdowns and taunts he dished out during his decade-plus career as a Cowboys wide receiver.

He is now more than happy to talk about his new, full-time career and his maturing faith in Jesus Christ which lifted him from a much-publicized career marked by drugs, adultery and other troubles.

The new Michael Irvin story is every bit as compelling as the tale of his rise from south Florida poverty to a national championship at the University of Miami, where he met his wife Sandy, to an All-Pro career in the NFL.

“Sometimes, we all have problems and they can get overwhelming, but when God saves us, we think about all he has brought us through and it's just amazing,” Irvin said.

“You might say I should hide my problems, but I just want to spread the word about how good Jesus is to me. It's his hand who brought me through all this.”

This is the first Super Bowl Irvin has attended as a member of the media after earning three championship rings with the Cowboys.

His return to the super stage in Houston still brings back great memories, he said.

“When I think back to my football career, all my best memories are of the Super Bowl,” Irvin said.

“I still remember the first Super Bowl I played in 1992. Emmitt Smith and I went on the field together for the warm-ups and when we saw those 93,000 people out there and felt the energy, I just said, 'Wow.' My knees were shaking and I was scared.”

After having his career cut short by a neck injury in 2000, Irvin said he finally turned his life over to Christ in early 2001, got into a Dallas church where he was discipled by his pastor and now has an accountability group with fellow believer Sanders.

“We talk to each other all the time, we're always leaving Bible verses on each other's cell phone and encouraging one another to do good,” Irvin said.

Sanders, in town to do the Sunday pre-game show for CBS, said his new spiritual accountability with Irvin also has helped greatly in his own growing faith.

“He's my best friend. We'll talk three-four times a day and then go out for dinner at night. We lift each other up, encourage and hold each other accountable,” Sanders said.

Irvin regrets that most fans outside of Dallas only remember the dark days when he landed on the wrong side of the law, but today's NFL players are eager to hear how he conquered the many demons in his life through faith in Christ.

“A lot of times I'll talk with players after the (ESPN) cameras are shut off and I'll be able to minister to them. They all know I went through the ups and downs,” Irvin said. “I did almost every bad thing you could do, but it's through the power of God I can live this life.”

He recently has begun to give his testimony to church groups or those Christian athletes interested in learning his new life story.

“I know one player, as soon as I saw him, he wanted to know what was happening,”

Irvin said. “As Christians, I think we have a heavy responsibility to witness to (God's) power.”

Irvin still lives in the Dallas area where he enjoys watching his young son play football.

During the regular season, he flew constantly to wherever the ESPN crew was stationed that week and often would run into people in airports struggling to overcome the same problems he had faced.

“I talked with this lady for three hours about her son and the drinking problem he was facing. I know what God can do,” Irvin said, “because of what he did for me.”

Longtime Dallas Cowboys team chaplain John Weber was there for much of Irvin's stellar football career and said the former wide receiver's much-publicized struggles make him the perfect person to share with people he meets today in his media career.

“Michael lives in a world and meets people that I could not even comprehend,” Weber said. “I believe he is as secure in his faith as you or I would ever be and he has a great opportunity to share.

“Some people cannot look past the flashy Michael or the old Michael to see what he is today.”

Irvin said he doesn't glory in his past misdeeds, but doesn't shy away from them either if they can be used for the right purpose.

“I don't want people to forget my story and rob God of all his glory.”

Posted: 2/06/04

Texas Baptists pass halfway mark
toward goal of 777 new churches

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Despite a tough fiscal year, the Baptist General Convention of Texas Church Multiplication Center crossed the halfway point toward its goal of helping start 777 churches by the end of 2004.

The center has helped start 423 churches through two years of the three-year Genesis Project. Staff facilitated 159 church starts last year, down from 264 in 2002.

Last year's church-starting efforts were hurt when the center had committed its budget by mid-June.

A large financial commitment to previously started churches coupled with decreased giving to the convention contributed to a smaller-than-expected supply of funds, according to Abe Zabaneh, director of the Church Multiplication Center.

Despite the drop in funding and church starts, Zabaneh remains upbeat about this year and attempting to reach the goal set in 2002. Center staff members are looking for ways Texas Baptists can partner to support new churches.

“We still are shooting for 777, but we're going to have to be creative,” Zabaneh said.

The surge in church starts during the past two years is important to reaching non-Christian Texans, Zabaneh noted.

Studies reveal new churches are highly effective at reaching unchurched and previously churched individuals. They also help Baptists keep pace with an increasing Texas population.

Church starting efforts help meet the needs of the state's variety of cultures and ethnicities, Zabaneh added.

Last year, staff helped launch 75 Hispanic, 32 Anglo, 22 African-American, 20 multi-ethnic and two Indian churches.

Staff efforts helped lead to two new Vietnamese churches. They also facilitated Argentinian, Arab, Brazilian, Guatemalan, Korean and Laotian church starts.

The diverse work is essential to provide a place of worship for each culture in Texas, Zabaneh said.

“People are different. People need the opportunity to worship and fellowship with people similar to them,” he said.

This year, the center has taken church starting in multi-housing complexes under its wing. Many urban residents live in apartments, but few are connected with a church, Zabaneh said.

Center staff aims to change that by starting churches in their complexes.

“It's an unchurched people group that needs to be reached,” he said. “We need to work on taking the church to the apartments.”

With an expanded ministry and a difficult challenge before them in 2004, Zabaneh asks that Texas Baptists lead out in starting churches as they see opportunities around them.

He also asks Christians to pray for the effort in the coming year.

Every area in Texas needs more churches to serve the population, he added.

Posted: 2/06/04

On the Move

Joe Bacuam to First Church in Early as minister of youth.

Jesse Caballero to Primera Iglesia in Lockney as interim pastor.

Allen Cearley to Shepherd's Fellowship Church in Boerne as pastor.

Mike Collier to Potosi Church in Abilene as music pastor.

Sherry Darley to Gardendale Church in Corpus Christi as preschool director.

Joshua Davis to Three Way Church in Sudan as pastor.

Dwight Foster to Primera Iglesia in Goliad as pastor, where he had been interim.

Robert Fowler to White Mound Church in Mound as minister of music.

George Gomez to Gardendale Church in Corpus Christi as family pastor.

Mel Gomez to Primera Iglesia in Anton as pastor.

Kevin Gray to First Church in Bellville as music and education minister.

Debe Kibler to Fairy Church in Hico as youth minister.

Brian Majors to Bethsaida “Y” Church in Bivins as youth director.

Mauricio Martinez to Iglesia Templo in Friona as pastor.

Rory Mosely to First Church in Spur as pastor.

Don Parrish to First Church in Iredell as music minister.

Mike Riley has resigned as pastor of Hillcrest Church in Brownwood.

Dick Rohr to Dickens Church in Dickens as pastor.

James Rose Jr. to First Church in Sargent as youth minister.

Terry Simmons to First Church in Blanket as pastor.

Jeff Stahle to Calvary Church in Brenham as minister of youth.

Jim Standard has resigned as pastor of Second Church in Lampasas.

Posted: 2/06/04

AMC theater chain gives
tentative approval to edgy BGCT ad

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

After initially refusing to show a 30-second advertisement produced by the Baptist General Convention of Texas because it was “too dark,” AMC Theatres tentatively have agreed to accept a modified version.

The BGCT accepted the AMC's offer to change some of the language in the pre-movie commercial in exchange for the theaters playing the advertisement. AMC still must approve the final product.

Rick King, spokesman for AMC Entertainment Inc., said the company realized there was a misunderstanding between the parties about each side's willingness to compromise.

Once that issue was cleared up, the two sides agreed to put a slightly altered clip on 133 AMC screens in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex starting Feb. 20.

Regal Entertainment Group is airing the original advertisement on 190 screens in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.

The original commercial showed a young man who says: “Want to see the most scandalous story ever? It's full of betrayal, sin, adultery, greed, envy, weakness, poverty, torture, murder, redemption.”

A narrator adds: “Now playing at a Baptist church near you.”

As the actor says his line, the first eight attributes appear in large white letters against a black background.

The scene shifts back to a close up of the man when he says “redemption.” As the narrator speaks, the BGCT web address is shown.

The modified version will replace adultery, torture and murder with deceit, anger and fear. The commercial will comply with other AMC guidelines that do not allow religious symbols, the word “God” or Bible quotes.

In some theaters that are not equipped to play the commercial, AMC and Regal will show a slide advertisement that reads, “What's the most scandalous story ever? Find out at a Baptist church near you,” and provides the BGCT web address and convention name.

The convention web site will provide a church locator to help moviegoers find a Baptist church near them.

The initially controversial words as well as the word “redemption” can be seen faintly in the slide's background.

The compromise allows the BGCT to deliver the message of hope that is preached in Texas Baptist churches while complying with AMC's guidelines, said Becky Bridges, BGCT communications director.

“I'm grateful,” she said. “The most important word is redemption. That's the message.”

The commercial is designed to capitalize on a heightened interest in spiritual matters with Mel Gibson's upcoming “The Passion of the Christ,” which opens Feb. 25, and best-selling books like “The DaVinci Code,” Bridges said.

“People are talking about culture,” Bridges said. “They're talking about faith. They're talking about the movie. Specifically, they're talking about Jesus.

“The purpose of this piece is to help people find answers to the questions they are asking.”

Bridges admitted the commercial is not the typical religious advertisement, but it needed to be different to reach moviegoers.

The convention is believed to be the only religious organization to use this type of advertising at this time, Bridges said.

“It has to be a little edgy,” she said. “It is a movie theater. If it were real fluffy, I'm not sure it would have any impact. It would come across as insincere.”

Originally, AMC decided not to show the advertisement, not because of the religious content, but because it carried too many negative connotations that are not appropriate for younger viewers, King said.

Cinema advertisements must be shown on all or none of an AMC theater's screens.

Bridges disagreed, saying the advertisement is meant to deliver the positive message of redemption.

The issue became increasingly public during the last week as more and more media outlets nationwide learned about the situation.

Many aired the advertisement. The BGCT web site has received comments on both sides of the discussion.

That was not the intended purpose, but media have relayed the message of redemption, Bridges noted.

“We were trying to engage people in a conversation about Jesus,” Bridges said.

To view the clip and slide, visit www.bgct.org/passion. For more information on how to get the advertisement played at a nearby theater, contact the BGCT at (214) 828-5220.