Posted: 11/05/04

Southeastern Seminary audit yields
suggested procedural improvements

By Steve DeVane

North Carolina Biblical Recorder

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP)– After an unusual gift of a car to a former president's personal aide caused a stir on the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, auditors made “a number of constructive suggestions for improvements” to financial procedures at the Wake Forest, N.C., school.

When Paige Patterson was president of Southeastern, Jason Duesing was his personal aide, and he now fills the same role at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where Patterson became president Aug. 1, 2003.

But before Duesing left Southeastern in the summer of 2003, he was given title to a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix that belonged to the seminary. In exchange, Duesing's father-in-law later made a contribution to the seminary of $6,500–about half the value of the car–and was told the gift was tax-deductible, according to receipts and letters from the seminary. The school later reversed course and said it would not be a tax-deductible gift.

Ryan Hutchinson, the seminary official who arranged the gift–and later sale–of the car, is still in his role as vice president of administration at Southeastern. Meanwhile, two of the employees who later inquired about the transaction have been dismissed, though the administration says for other reasons.

The auditors' suggestions for improvements were mentioned in a letter from Colby Daughtry, a partner in the accounting firm of McGladrey & Pullen, to Southeastern Seminary President Danny Akin and Phillip Mercer, the chair of the trustee's audit committee. The letter, which was provided to reporters by school officials, did not list specific recommendations. School officials did not elaborate.

The letter said the suggestions did not include changing the school's financial statements or cause the firm to adjust its “unqualified opinion” of the school's financial fitness.

During a regularly scheduled meeting, Mercer told trustees the opinion was the firm's highest rating.

He said the school had asked auditors to take a closer look at the seminary's financial procedures, in part due to the controversy surrounding the car. The more extensive investigation “found nothing untoward in any areas,” Mercer said.

In a statement released by seminary officials, Akin said the auditors' report resolved the questions raised.

“We asked the auditors to review our actions, and they found no concerns,” he said. “We have instituted some new procedures to guard against making the same mistakes again.”

The release also quoted Mercer, who said the auditors' report chastened the school's administrators, but also vindicated them.

“There were some issues in procedures, but there was no criminality whatsoever,” he said. “There were no signs of anything fraudulent or illegal. Our procedures need to be tightened up, and we need to be more thorough. We have to do a better job of tracking acquisition of fixed assets, like a car.”

He also told trustees some of the changes in Southeastern's financial processes were needed because the school is growing so fast.

In his report to the trustees, Akin said the school had more than 2,400 students last year. The number may reach 2,600 this year, he said.

Greg Warner of Associated Baptist Press contributed to this report.

Posted: 11/05/04

Southwestern Seminary proceeds with plans
to launch college; names new vice president

By Brent Thompson

Southwestern Seminary

FORT WORTH (BP)–Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees continued making plans to move forward on an undergraduate college during their October meeting.

The school, tentatively named the College at Southwestern, will offer a baccalaureate degree in biblical studies and other programs in the history of Western ideas.

Trustees approved a recommendation to become involved in recruiting efforts for the school, pledging to recruit 50 students for the initial class.

A task force at the seminary has begun putting together the school's curriculum and has designed application materials, Gonzalez said. Classes at the college are slated to begin in the fall 2005 semester.

Trustees also elected a new vice president, a new faculty member and approved the inauguration of two new academic chairs.

Gregory Kingry was named vice president of business affairs. He served previously with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.

Kingry is a graduate of North Georgia College in Daholonega, Ga., and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.

Chris Thompson, a doctor of philosophy candidate who has been serving as interim vice president of business affairs, now assumes the newly created role of seminary chief of staff.

Trustees elected Johnny Derouen as associate professor of student ministries. He has been minister to youth at Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth nine years. Since 1971, he has served as youth minister at churches in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, including First Baptist Church in Houston.

Trustees approved establishment of the James Draper Chair of Pastoral Ministry and chose Larry Ashlock to occupy the chair. Ashlock is associate professor of preaching and pastoral studies and associate dean for the doctor of ministry program.

Trustees named Gerald Aultman to occupy the newly established Richard Baker Chair of Music Missions and Evangelism. Aultman is professor of church music. He previously taught church music at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the organist at the First Baptist Church in Dallas.

Posted: 11/05/04

Students involved in religious life report
better emotional health, research shows

By Adelle Banks

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–College students with significant religious involvement report better emotional health than those with no involvement, new research from the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles shows.

The results, drawn from a national study of 3,680 college students, indicate students who are not churchgoers are more than twice as likely to say they have felt depressed or had poorer emotional health than students who frequently attend religious services.

The findings show religious activity has positive links to emotional health. Those who often attend religious services are far less likely to frequently feel overwhelmed during college.

The survey examined religious involvement such as service attendance, participation in campus religious organizations and reading of sacred texts.

It labeled feelings of depression, stress or being overwhelmed as indicators of “psychological distress.”

“College can be an unsettling time as students struggle with change and fundamental issues about themselves and the world,” said Alexander Astin, a UCLA education professor and co-principal investigator for the project.

“This study suggests that religion and spirituality can play a positive role in the mental and emotional health of students.”

Posted: 11/05/04

Texas Baptist Men work with Brazil's leaders
to form faith-based disaster relief network

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Texas Baptist Men recently began laying the foundation for a faith-based disaster relief network across Brazil that could strengthen the work of Christians there while saving the government millions of dollars.

Executive Director Leo Smith and Bob Simpkins, a disaster relief worker from Kentucky, met with leaders of the Brazilian government, fire department and key churches during a recent trip in which they explained how Texas Baptist Men built its volunteer base.

Officials of four Brazilian states indicated they are interested in creating an organization similar to Texas Baptist Men, Smith said. Pastors are excited about helping people in need in the name of Christ.

The proposed network would supplement the work of Brazil's firemen, paid workers who are responsible for disaster relief across the country. Using volunteers to help those paid employees could save the country millions of dollars. Smith is hoping for hundreds of volunteers in each state.

“We envision this as covering the whole country of Brazil,” he said.

A disaster relief organization could strengthen the work of Brazilian Christians as well as it brings congregations together to help those in need, Smith said. Cooperative ministry of this kind can build morale.

The network would further a relationship with Texas Baptist Men, Smith noted. Texas Baptist volunteers may begin training Brazilians in disaster relief as early as 2005. That would include instruction about organizational structure and specialized unit training.

Spiritually, this opportunity allows Texas Baptists to strengthen ministry by sharing their faith experiences, Smith said. He and Simpkins told stories of their experiences to government and church leaders.

“We were able to witness to these guys,” he said. “Some were Christians in name, but we got the chance to talk to them. This opened so many doors.

“We did not go as representing the government. We went boldly as representing God.”

Posted: 11/05/04

Some churches use lengthy pastor search
as chance to rediscover identity, purpose

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Texas Baptist churches in growing numbers seem to believe good things come to those who wait–particularly when it comes to finding a pastor.

At any given time, roughly 12 percent of the churches affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas are without pastors, said Clay Price, manager of research information services at the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Currently, the BGCT can identify 744 affiliated churches that are pastorless.

Some, such as inner-city churches in transitional neighborhoods, go for long periods without a pastor because they have trouble attracting good prospects.

Other times, search committees move slowly by design. Particularly in mid-sized to large churches, search committees increasingly appear to be taking longer to find a pastor, sometimes spending three years or more in the process. But individuals involved in the search acknowledge it can become discouraging.

After spending more than two years looking for a pastor, the search committee at Baptist Temple in Houston had shrunk from seven to three members, and they were “beyond exhaustion,” said Chairperson Diane Payne.

The committee had encountered dead-ends and obstacles as they tried to find a person whom they considered called and equipped by God to lead a 96-year-old, big-city church where fewer than 200 people worshipped in a sanctuary built to seat 1,000.

“Many of the people I would contact would say up front, 'I'm really not that fond of the big city,'” Payne said, recalling how they would list concerns about traffic congestion, crime and urban public schools. “They were not even considered.”

Rather than throw up their hands in despair, the church added four new members to the search committee, as well as a new chairman of deacons as an ex-officio member.

The search committee worked closely with Judy Battles, coordinator for pastoral ministries at Baylor University's Truett Seminary in Waco.

“She was tenacious and persistent,” Payne said. “She didn't want us just to fill the position. She wanted us to find the right fit.”

Persistence paid off when the church called Kelly Burkhart, a 29-year-old Truett student who felt a clear calling to urban ministry. He saw the potential in a church where the surrounding neighborhood already had been through one transition–from affluent Anglo to a low-income, racially diverse mix–and now is experiencing another transition, as young families are moving in and revitalizing the community.

“I didn't feel like it was the best fulfillment of my calling to go to a church that's on its way up, somewhere out in the suburbs,” said Burkhart. “I sensed this is where I needed to be, and it's where I wanted to be–to help turn the church around and reverse the trend of decline.”

Two years on staff at Central Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., helped him clarify that call.

“I was able to see how a church could stop the decline and begin a turn-around,” he said. “I don't want to see another church shut its doors. … I believe we not only will survive, but eventually we will thrive.”

Burkhart insists Baptist Temple's members are ready for change. Both he and Payne attribute that willingness in large part to the efforts of Ron Gunter, who served 20 months as the church's intentional interim pastor.

Unlike a traditional interim, an intentional interim agrees to work with a church for a fixed time period to help guide a congregation through a process in which they identify problems, agree upon solutions and begin to seek a new vision for ministry.

“He gave us stability and focus that put us in a position for the future,” Payne said, citing Gunter's efforts at guiding the church to examine itself realistically.

“He solved a lot of problems, so I didn't have to come in and try to solve them my first month on the job,” Burkhart added. “By helping the church pinpoint problems and solve them, he enabled me to come in with a clean slate.”

The first task was building relationships and establishing a level of trust with the church, said Gunter, a BGCT regional associate in the Houston area. He helped them focus on some of the positive things in the congregation, such as their consistent history of giving generously to missions causes. Once he built a bridge of trust, it enabled him to guide the church in an honest self-evaluation.

“So many of the people still felt it could be the same kind of church it was 20 years ago,” he said. “I said quite often: 'Look around. There are 180 people here, not 1,000.'”

Intentional interim pastors who can help churches deal with identity issues–and teach churches and prospective ministers how to speak the same language–perform a transforming work, said Jan Daehnert, director of BGCT minister/church relations.

“Many churches do not know how to communicate to a minister,” he said. “Preachers may feel deceived. Churches may feel deceived.”

Vaughn Manning agrees. Ten years, ago, the veteran director of missions helped introduce the intentional interim ministry concept to Texas Baptists.

“Expectations on both sides–the pastor and the church–often are unreasonable and maybe unspoken,” he said, based on his experience in the last decade. “The church may want somebody who can restore them to what they once were.”

Often, churches describe themselves to prospective ministers not as they are, but as they imagine themselves to be, Daehnert added.

“They don't know who they are as a church,” he said. “Their identity, function and purpose is caught up in who they were 15, 25 or even 100 years ago.”

Churches need “coaching” to help themselves clarify their identity, including who they are theologically, politically and generationally, Daehnert noted.

Churches either can use a long-term pastor search as an occasion for healthy self-examination and discovery, or they can become vulnerable, he added.

“Anxiety issues are so strong in churches without pastors,” Daehnert said. “Often, they think if they can just fill the pulpit, it will all be OK.”

When search committees move slowly, congregations may grow impatient and start pressuring committee members to make a decision. Committees may respond by becoming “paralyzed in analysis” and unable to act, he noted, or they may grow desperate.

“That's when they become prey for a charlatan to come in with a quick fix–the CEO pastor,” Daehnert said.

Discouragement that leads to desperation seems particularly to describe the plight of inner-city congregations that haven't changed with their communities, Manning said.

“They think if they just had the right kind of leader, he could take them back to where they were,” he said. “They want a hero to lead them out of the wilderness.”

Some churches have been reluctant to commit to the self-study process involved in calling an intentional interim minister because they think it will delay the process of getting a “real pastor.” But bringing in an intentional interim actually can speed up the process, Daehnert observed.

“The fact is, after eight months or so with an intentional interim, pastor search committees don't have to take as long,” he said. “They know what they are doing and who they are.”

Posted: 11/05/04

Three teens out of 10 took part in missions, ministry

By Jonah King

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–About three U.S. teenagers in 10 have gone on at least one religious mission trip or participated in a religious service project, a new study says.

In a random telephone survey of 3,290 teens age 13 to 17 conducted by The National Study of Youth and Religion, 29 percent said they have participated in an organized religious service project or mission trip.

Among teens who participated in such an activity, the survey found 43 percent attend church once a week or more, 25 percent once or twice a month and 21 percent less than once a month. Nine percent of teens who said they participated in religious service projects “never” attend church.

Seventy percent of Church of the Latter-day Saints teens reported religious service involvement, the most among all religious groups. Even though they have not yet embarked on their traditional two-year mission by the age of 17, Mormons are taught the importance of service early on, said Latter-Day Saints spokesman Dale Bills.

“We involve our youth in service opportunities of many kinds to give them firsthand experience in the joy of helping others,” Bills said. “We teach them that God will often meet the needs of others through us–that when we are in the service of others, we are in the service of God.”

Among other religious groups, 43 percent of mainline Protestant teens said they participated in service projects and missions, while Catholic and Jewish teens reported the least involvement, at 23 percent each.

The study also found that mothers with college degrees are more likely to have teenagers involved in religious service projects. One-fifth of teens whose mothers have less than a high school education said they participated in service projects, compared with 37 percent of the children of women with master's degrees.

The percentages drop, however, among children of women with doctorates or professional degrees. Only 13 percent of those teens said they participated in religious projects. The study did not mention a correlation between fathers' education and religious service.

“In terms of the effect of religion on service, education can boost the effect up to a point, and then among your most highly educated you tend to have less investment in religion,” said Melinda Denton, project manager for the study. “There's some relationship between increased religion and decreased religiosity at those higher levels of education.”

Posted: 11/05/04

Texas Tidbits

Wayland trustees OK funds transfer. Wayland Baptist University trustees have approved a recommendation to use surplus funds toward a student activity center planned for the Plainview campus. The board's finance committee recommended that $1 million be moved from a surplus operating fund at the Baptist Foundation of Texas into an account of funds already raised toward the Laney Activities Center. The project will be completed in two phases, with the first involving a double gymnasium, indoor running track, weights and aerobics area, classrooms and student lounge. Total projected cost for that phase is $5.6 million. To date, gifts and pledges for the activity center total around $2.3 million, and the university hopes to be able to approach foundations and other donors to help secure the remainder needed to fund the center.

UMHB hosts forum. David Beasley, former governor of South Carolina, will be the keynote speaker at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor College of Business economic development forum, noon to 2 p.m. Nov. 17. Beasley will speak on the post-election United States economy and about global trade and its impact on Texas.

DBU Patriot Weekend offers preview. Dallas Baptist University will offer prospective students a college preview during Patriot Weekend, Nov. 12-13. The two-day preview is designed to provide high school juniors and seniors and their parents information on financial aid options, the admissions process and campus life. Students will have the opportunity to interview for Christian leadership scholarships while parents meet DBU administrators. The weekend concludes with a concert by DBU's student ministry team, Glowing Heart. The cost for students is $25, which includes lodging and meals, as well as meals for their parents. For more information, call (214) 333-5360, or e-mail admiss@dbu.edu. Students who are unable to attend the weekend in November may register for the next Patriot Weekend, Feb. 11-12.

HSU media relations director to retire. Charles Richardson, media relations director at Hardin-Simmons University, has announced plans to retire at the end of May 2005. He first was employed full-time by Hardin-Simmons in 1965, coming from the Abilene Reporter-News, where he was a staff writer, state and Sunday editor and religion editor. He left HSU in 1973 to become assistant editor of the Baptist Standard, where he remained until 1976. He assumed a similar position with the North Carolina Biblical Recorder for six years until returning to HSU in August 1982. Richardson served in the Army as an information specialist in both Korea and Japan. He also was news bureau director for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., and press representative for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Richardson, who earned master's degrees from HSU and Texas A&M University, Commerce–formerly East Texas State University–earned a bachelor's degree from Howard Payne University, where he recently received the Medal of Service award during homecoming activities. He is a native of Gorman. Richardson and his wife, Karin, are members of First Baptist Church in Abilene, where he is a past chairman of deacons.

Ministry needs food. Cornerstone Children's Ministry Ranch in Quemado, a relief ministry that feeds up to 26,000 people every six weeks, needs food to meet the ever-growing demand of families on both sides of the Rio Grande. "Volumes and volumes, truckloads really" are needed of pinto beans, rice, cooking oil, flour, baby formula and diapers, said Lori Mercer, administrator of the ministry. Spanish Bibles also are needed. "We are having a real problem meeting all the needs of the people here," she said. Anyone wishing to contribute can contact Mercer at (830) 757-1993.

Posted: 11/05/04

TOGETHER:
Urge lawmakers to do what is good

Is it important that Texas Baptists work together? Well, judge for yourself.

Texas is growing rapidly. By 2010, 9 million Hispanics will live here. This is 23 percent more than now. The non-Hispanic population will increase by 5 percent, or 676,000, so that in six years, there will be approximately 24.5 million people in Texas.

That is why starting new churches, with an emphasis on starting Hispanic churches, must remain a high priority for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. In 1994, there were 801 Hispanic congregations; now there are 1,131, a 41 percent increase. That must continue. We have emphasized working with Hispanic congregations to start churches, and more than 100 Hispanic churches have or are sponsoring new congregations.

Churches also are being started in the Cowboy culture; in suburbs and inner cities; and among Anglos, African-Americans, Koreans, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese and many others. In the last five years, we have started more than 1,000 churches–with more than 600 of them Hispanic, and also among 18 language and ethnic groups.

Did you know poverty, lack of education and health care threaten the future of Texas?

Texas ranks 45th in child poverty. Twenty-two percent of our children, compared to 17 percent nationally, live in poverty. Texas ranks 48th in food insecurity. Fifteen percent of Texas households reported worrying about whether they had enough food, compared to 10.8 percent nationally.

In 2001, Texas ranked 50th in high school completion. Seventy-eight percent of our population age 25 and older had completed high school, compared to 84 percent nationally. Fifty-one percent of the Hispanic population in Texas had completed high school, compared to 57 percent nationally.

Texas ranked 50th in children with health insurance in 2001. In 2003, about 27 percent of children in Texas were in Medicaid, compared to Florida, 32 percent; California, 37 percent; and New York, 30 percent. Due to legislative changes, enrollment in the Children's Health Insurance Program in Texas dropped from 416,302 to 388,281.

Texas also has a prison population of 350,000, second-highest in the nation. Most inmates did not finish high school. Many were abused as children. What we “save” in under-serving our “at risk” populations comes back for another payday. In the words of Scripture: We “reap what we sow” (Galatians 6:7). Perhaps it is significant that the Apostle Paul goes on in this passage to admonish: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9-10).

Many of our churches are waking up to the challenge of “doing good to all people,” in their communities. First Baptist Church in Huntsville is leading the way in developing programs that will get churches across Texas involved in ministering to those released from prison. Churches are working at providing food and health care for families and children in need. Starting new churches means we are able to get the gospel to people so the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit begins to change everything about them and their families. You also can get informed enough to talk to our state lawmakers and leaders about doing what is good for the people of Texas. For we really do reap what we sow.

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas

Posted: 11/05/04

Baptists bring brighter smiles to children's faces

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Texas Baptists are looking for more than a few clean teeth.

Through a missions opportunity dubbed “Operation Colgate,” Baptists across the United States have sent more than 13,000 toothbrushes and 2,800 tubes of toothpaste to Bagram, Afghan-istan, for Carron Naber, a Baptist General Convention of Texas-endorsed Army chaplain, to use in teaching area children about hygiene.

The outpouring stems from a call for toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste put out by Reba Gram of the BGCT chaplaincy relations office, as initially reported in the Nov. 1 issue of the Baptist Standard.

Supplies are pouring into Bagram from Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia.

Texas Baptist churches known to participate in this effort include First Baptist Church in Richmond, Second Baptist Church in Baytown, Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas, Pleasant Grove First Baptist Church in Dallas, Living Proof Baptist Church in Grandview, Fairplay Baptist Church in Carthage, Field Street Baptist Church in Cleburne and New Hope Baptist Church in Dickinson.

Members of the Baptist Medical/Dental Fellowship and BGCT Executive Board staff donated many supplies. Laredo Baptist Association also was involved.

Woman's Missionary Union of Texas informed its network of the need for dental items. More boxes continue arriving daily, Nabers said.

These supplies will serve as a tool that helps Afghan children see Christ through Naber's service, she wrote to one contributing church.

"Though I am not allowed to evangelize, I am able to be an ambassador of God's love to the Afghans," Naber wrote to First Baptist Church in Richmond. "Though I cannot share Christ verbally, the people of Afghanistan are seeing me wear the cross and they are told that I am a "mullah"–a religious leader.

“And as they learn English and learn to brush their teeth, they will remember that the lady wearing the cross hugged them, played with them and helped them. I believe that God will use these efforts. He will bless these efforts, and the children of Afghanistan may eventually come to know the true meaning of peace.”

Naber has suggested other ideas for churches that are looking to minister to the troops in Bagram, including Christmas ornaments, cookies and cards, and Second Baptist Church in Baytown already has taken up the challenge.

After the church collected 1,008 toothbrushes and 1,008 tubes of toothpaste for Afghanistan, Second Baptist's children's ministry decided to cut out and put together ornaments for Christmas trees that will be in Bagram.

The church also considered the 3,000 Baytown National Guardsmen who have been called up for duty, and members are working to send 3,000 Christmas cards to the troops. The congregation's senior adult group already has addressed 1,000 cards.

For more information about how to help in Bagram, contact Gram at (214) 828-5277 or reba.gram@bgct.org

Posted: 11/05/04

Personal morality beats social justice at the polls

By Kevin Eckstrom & Michele Melendez

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Forget Iraq. Forget terrorism. Forget the economy. The biggest factor shaping Americans' votes on Nov. 2 was the mother of all sleeper issues–“moral values.”

In nationwide exit polls, one in five voters said moral values were the most important issue in casting their votes, outpacing every other major topic. Those “values” voters overwhelmingly went for President Bush over Sen. John Kerry, 79 percent to 18 percent.

The stronger-than-expected role of moral values signals that the nation's values agenda is likely to be dominated by “social morality” concerns for abortion, gay marriage and stem-cell research–issues vital to Bush's base.

The election also marks a defeat for progressive groups who tried to cast “social justice” concerns of poverty, war and the environment as moral issues.

Either way, Jim Wallis, a self-described progressive evangelical, said neither blue states nor red states should try to claim a corner on the values market.

“The right wants to say these are the only moral values; the left wants to say only our issues are moral values,” said Wallis, convener of the Washington-based Call to Renewal anti-poverty group. “The truth is there are moral values across the spectrum.”

Just how did values become so important, especially in a race dominated by terrorist threats at home and abroad? Wallis faulted the Democrats for a self-inflicted wound on abortion. Kerry's party alienated values-driven voters who could have been wooed by his domestic policies but could not stomach his party's ardent support of abortion rights.

In Ohio, for example, where moral values ranked second–behind the economy–Kerry lost among Catholics 55 percent to 44 percent, which may have been enough to swing the crucial state into Bush's column. Wallis said a “more sensible, reasonable and centrist” policy on abortion could have helped Kerry, especially within his own church.

“There are millions of votes at stake in that Democratic mistake,” he said.

Conservatives, meanwhile, say the winning formula was a simple one.

Bush's embrace of socially conservative values rallied his evangelical base, who turned out in record force for him at the polls.

Part of what got them there, at least in some states, were constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage. Voters who did not favor legal recognition for gay couples broke for Bush by a 2-1 ratio.

“I can tell you this,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council, a conservative group. “It was the values voter that ushered the president down the aisle for a second term.”

One reason why values may have emerged as so important is because pollsters did not survey the topic four years ago.

John Green, an expert on religion and politics at the University of Akron, said “moral values” can mean different things to different voters. But typically, “when ordinary people think of morality, they think of traditional sexual morality. … They don't think of social justice.”

To be sure, other factors such as record-breaking voter registration and anti-war sentiment drew voters to the polls. But if values-oriented voters dominated the pack, Bush had a clear advantage, because many of those values are reinforced when those same voters pack churches on Sunday mornings.

According to the exit polls, Bush won handily among frequent church-goers and pulled even with Kerry among people who attend once a month or less. Bush drew 60 percent of weekly attenders, compared to Kerry's 39 percent, while Kerry led Bush among non-church-goers, 64 percent to 34 percent.

Bush drew 75 percent of white evangelicals, 58 percent of Protestants and 24 percent of Jews, a slight rise from 2000. Kerry had 41 percent of Protestants and 76 percent of Jews. The exit polls, conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for major media organizations, did not include Muslim voters.

Among the coveted Catholic vote, Bush held a slight edge nationally over Kerry, 51 percent to 48 percent.

Wallis, who pushed Kerry to talk more openly about how his faith affects his policies, said it came as “too little, too late.” Democrats need to confront their own inner demons, he added.

“The secular fundamentalism of the left is as much a problem as the religious fundamentalism of the right,” he said.

Posted: 11/05/04

Wayland marks 20 years of making a mark in San Antonio

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

SAN ANTONIO–When Jim Antenen became dean of Wayland Baptist University's San Antonio campus two years ago, he discovered it already was a thriving school, settled into a new 33,000-square-foot facility on Interstate 35 with enrollment figures rising each term. He thought things couldn't get any better.

But this year, as the campus marks 20 years, changes continue–evidence, as Antenen sees it, that Wayland has a place amid the multitude of higher education options available in the San Antonio area.

Many of the changes since the campus' early days of meeting in church buildings and rented office complexes are academic. New degree programs have been added that reflect the needs of San Antonio residents and the area.

“We've been offering the master of education and the bachelor of science in interdisciplinary studies degrees now for two years,” Antenen said. “That's a huge, critical need in this part of Texas. The (master of education) has seen about 70 students go through, and we'll have our first graduating class from that program this February. That's the tip of the iceberg, I think. The market is wide open.”

The campus also added a bachelor of business administration major this past summer, and that program also is gaining support, especially among more traditional-aged students.

Antenen particularly is proud of the campus' new Center for Quality and Improvement, a project born after Toyota announced plans to locate a manufacturing plant in San Antonio.

“The Toyota leaders kept talking about continuous improvement, and I realized that was pretty unique to this area,” Antenen said. “San Antonio is known for its laid-back attitude, and we think if we're going to compete in business and industry, we have to understand and embrace these principles.”

The center offers workshops covering four basic modules–continuous improvement, working in teams, database decision-making and implementing a culture of quality and customer service. The workshops take 17 days, spread over six months, and culminate in a certificate.

Though aimed at business and industry, Antenen noted that anyone interested in improving processes would benefit from the program, including schools and churches.

Enrollment at the San Antonio campus, which is just over 1,500 for the fall term, continues to grow, and Antenen attributes much of that to the campus being able to find its niche in the community and provide needed programs.

Adding the new degrees was part of that effort, and Antenen said the campus is investigating the possibility of adding a bachelor of science in nursing in the near future, a project that will involve a partnership with Baptist Health Systems.

The San Antonio student body is like other WBU satellite campuses in that the average age is 36. The campus, with its evening and weekend classes, appeals heavily to older working adults who are returning for a degree. But Antenen said the traditional age group is slowly growing as families look for educational options that allow their children to live at home, work, save money and attend school in a Christian environment.

Students at WBU-San Antonio also are a diverse group–36 percent are Anglo, with 23 percent Hispanic and 25 percent African-American.

One figure has not changed much for the campus since its early years–the number of military students. Currently, Antenen said, military personnel stationed at one of three installations in San Antonio comprise 40 percent to 45 percent of the student body, a number he said remains fairly constant, although the university has increased marketing and recruiting efforts to the civilian population.

“We offer a full rotation for the bachelor of science in occupational education at Randolph and Lackland Air Force bases and at Fort Sam Houston,” he said. “We also offer classes at the Defense Finance and Accounting Services and at the Boeing plant at Kelly USA.”

Antenen added that the U.S. military's support of the university–evidenced by the invitation to offer courses on those bases–and the Department of Defense's decision a few years ago to increase tuition reimbursement for active military personnel to 100 percent has kept servicemen and women coming to the school for degrees, and it has meant most have increased the credit hours in which they enroll.

In fact, Wayland holds the distinction of being No. 3 on the defense department's list of reimbursement recipients systemwide, and of the U.S. Air Force personnel who earn degrees, 13 percent receive them from Wayland.

The military tie is a positive for Antenen, a retired Air Force officer and former president of the Community College of the Air Force.

“If you think in terms of global reach, it is amazing,” Antenen said. “We have graduates literally all over the world, serving in many places, and from a faith-based perspective, that's pretty awesome.”

Despite the competition within the city, Antenen sees Wayland as poised to continue growing in the coming terms, though that growth poses a challenge in terms of needed space. He predicts that planned expansion–the university purchased a 32-acre tract in anticipation of future buildings–will have to come much sooner than expected, making for some interesting financial needs as well.

And even though Wayland is one of many educational choices in the San Antonio area, Antenen is confident the university is setting itself apart in several areas.

“First is cost. With the increase in tuition at state schools, we are much more affordable, and the value for what you get is substantial,” he said.

“Also, more and more people are looking for faith-based organizations, and the fact that we continue to give credit for work experience is very attractive for working adults. And the quality of our faculty is excellent; I'd line them up against any faculty I know.”

Posted: 11/05/04

Low-income mentally ill people find hope at the Well

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DALLAS–Joel Pulis ministers to a previously unreached people group–lower-income people with mental illness.

As pastor of the Well Community in the north Oak Cliff section of Dallas, he is answering a calling he felt as a teenager to minister in that area.

Pulis grew up in Cliff Temple Baptist Church and returned there as minister to young adults after he graduated from Baylor University. He served in that position for more than two years before leaving a conventional ministry position to become the leader of the Well Community.

He said the Well Community grew out of an uneasiness he felt when meeting the needs of some of the people who live near Cliff Temple.

“They would come in, and I would give them food or bus passes, and I would invite them to come to church on Sunday. I would tell them that they would be welcomed, which they would to a degree, but I knew not really. I would tell them that they would feel at home, but I knew they wouldn't,” Pulis admitted.

Pulis began leading a congregation for the lower-income people surrounding the church whose backgrounds would not allow them to feel at home with the mostly white, middle-class congregation.

The focus of the ministry soon turned to the mentally ill, however. While he has no specialized training in dealing with mental illness, he feels God has given him the skills necessary to lead that congregation of “friends.”

“I have a degree in sociology from Baylor and a great upbringing from my parents that always led me to help others, but this is really something God has done.

“When we started the Well, we didn't intend to focus on the mentally ill–just the community at large. But God took us in this direction fairly quickly, and when God directs you, he gives you the abilities you need to answer his call,” Pulis said.

He said the Well Community is not designed to be any type of clinical help to its congregation, but rather provide relational things–friendship, a listening ear, a caring spirit.

Pulis said his research has shown the Well Community to be the only faith-based organization focused exclusively on low-income people living with mental illness.

That isn't because no need exists. According to the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, “approximately 19 percent of the population aged 18 to 64 will experience some diagnosable disorder, excluding substance abuse disorders, during a lifetime.” That's about 330,000 people in Dallas County.

The United Way of Metropolitan Dallas estimates more than 49,000 people with severe mental illness live in Dallas County, and more than 70,000 live in the region.

The Mental Health Association in Texas estimates 2.6 million adults in the state were mentally ill in 2003.

Couple that with the national survey by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill that “more than half the respondents with mental illness had annual incomes of $10,000 or less,” and there is a great opportunity for ministry.

Most churches are not prepared to minister to this people group.

“The majority of these people have been turned away by other churches. I think this is understandable because their illness can evidence itself in ways that can be disrupting to patterns of the traditional church, but we're offering them an opportunity to worship because of our understanding of their illness,” Pulis said.

“This is a huge people group here in Dallas County, and most churches don't have any programs to reach these people,” he continued.

Attempting to meet that need earned the ministry the Baptist General Convention of Texas' 2004 Genesis Award for innovative community ministry.

The Well Community was started in January 2002 with a church-starting grant from the BGCT. A number of individuals from other congregations have become involved in the ministry as well. Sunday school classes from Park Central Baptist Church, Park Cities Baptist Church and Forest Meadow Baptist Church, all in Dallas, have prepared and served meals to the congregation of about 50. While several of the groups now serve once a quarter, there still is room for more volunteer groups, Pulis said.

Park Central also recently presented a dinner theater to raise money to begin the process of finding the ministry a location to be used for weekday activities.

He said the ministry needs donations of personal care items, bus passes and “just anything that we can pass on to our friends.”

The Well Community meets at Cliff Temple on Saturday nights, after meeting for the first year on Sunday mornings.

“That change has really helped us, because so many of our people take psych medications that make them drowsy in the morning hours,” Pulis explained.

Most of the Well Community members live within a mile and a half from Cliff Temple at one of several boarding homes for the mentally ill.

“It's important to note that being mentally ill is not the same as being mentally retarded, and that our people are not homeless. Those are misconceptions that people have,” Pulis said.

Some people have lived in the same boarding house for more than 20 years, he noted. Typical illnesses found among the congregants are schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder.

While some of the congregation's growth stems from the move from Sunday morning to Saturday evening, a second component is that the group has gotten comfortable enough with the ministry to begin inviting friends, he added.

“These people have a real community. They see each other at the clinics and things, and they are beginning to invite others to join us,” he said.

To some degree, people with mental illness have similar problems to the rest of the population, “they are just a little more raw,” Pulis said.

“While others may have a shell to cover their problems, these people let theirs show a little more.”

For Pulis, that is not always a bad thing.

“We had a first-time visitor raise her hand and ask that we pray she would get off drugs. That doesn't happen in a lot of Sunday school classes where first-time visitors will be that open,” he explained.

Pulis hopes the dream of securing a nearby home for a community center for mentally ill residents soon will become a reality.

“We would like to have a place where they can come and find a sense of belonging and purpose,” he said. Activities would include recreation, as well as educational and spiritual programs.

Pulis would prefer that these people be able to find a more traditional church where they would feel at home and where they would be accepted by everyone, but he said he realizes that is not the current reality.

“I would prefer that there was no segregation and everyone worshipped together, but I also would prefer that they worship rather than not, so if a niche church like this is necessary, that's what I want to provide for them,” he said.

Pulis said he is glad to look out over a rainbow of faces each Saturday evening.

About 40 percent of the congregation is Anglo, 40 percent African-American, 15 percent Hispanic and the remainder a variety of people groups, including Asians and American Indians.

He said their educational levels range from college-degreed to illiterate.

“I'm proud we can attract that kind of diversity,” he said.