Posted: 9/24/04

Book looks at variety of structure for church government

By David Roach

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—What is the most biblical way to structure church government?

That is the central question addressed in "Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity," a new book edited by Chad Brand and Stanton Norman from the Broadman & Holman publishing arm of LifeWay Christian Resources.

Brand is associate professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and Norman is associate professor of theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

“Perspectives on Church Government” features five chapters written by five scholars. Each chapter defends a different view of church government and ends with responses from the other four writers.

No single view of church government should be considered an essential tenet of Christian orthodoxy, Brand and Norman write in the introduction. But they believe anyone who seeks to minister effectively in a congregation needs to develop a biblical perspective on church governance.

James Leo Garrett, emeritus professor of systematic theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, presents the democratic congregational model of church government. Final human authority in a church rests with the entire congregation when it gathers for decision-making, Garrett maintains.

“This means that decisions about membership, leadership, doctrine, worship, conduct, missions, finances, property, relationships and the like are to be made by the gathered congregation except when such decisions have been delegated by the congregation to individual members or groups of members,” Garrett writes.

While congregationalism allows for pastoral leadership in local churches, Garrett argues that congregations that adopt elder rule in some form move toward the “erosion or rejection” of congregational polity.

Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forrest, N.C., defends a model of church government in which a single elder leads the congregation.

“Each and every member has equal rights and responsibilities,” Akin writes. “However, aspects of representative democracy are not ruled out. Certain persons may indeed be chosen by the body of believers to lead and serve in particular and specific ways. Those who are called to pastor the church immediately come to mind.”

Because the New Testament does not specify the number of elders required in a congregation, a church may have just one elder if only one man in the church meets the scriptural qualifications for the office, Akin writes. Even in cases where there is a plurality of elders, Akin interprets Scripture to suggest one elder should emerge as the “first among equals.”

Robert Reymond, professor of systematic theology at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., argues for a presbyterian model of church government, where individual congregations elect elders. Those elders “are to rule and to oversee the congregation, not primarily in agreement with the will of the congregation but primarily in agreement with the revealed word of God, in accordance with the authority delegated to them by Christ, the head of the church.”

Unlike the congregational model, Reymond argues each local church is not an autonomous unit. Instead, the New Testament teaches that congregations should form a “connectional government of graded courts,” which exercises spiritual and moral oversight over individual congregations.

Paul Zahl, dean of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Ala., supports the episcopal model of church government. The New Testament does not mandate any one model of church government as essential for a biblically functioning congregation, he contends. Therefore, Christians must opt for a form of church government that most effectively contributes to the well-being of the church.

Under the episcopal model, churches are governed by a three-tiered leadership structure, Zahl writes. Deacons are the first order of leaders and act as servants in local congregations. Presbyters or elders are the second order of leaders and act as overseers in local congregations. Bishops are the third order of leaders and oversee the activities of elders and congregations.

James White, adjunct professor of theology at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., and president of Alpha and Omega Ministries, advocates a plural elder-led congregational model of church government. Like Akin, White argues the ultimate human authority in a church rests in the gathered congregation and the congregation should elect elders to lead the church.

But unlike Akin, White argues the Bible calls for more than one elder in each congregation and does not elevate one elder as the “first among equals.” Elders may perform slightly different functions within the congregation according to their giftedness, he writes.

White concludes all Christians must seek to discover the Bible's standards for church polity if they hope to build up the body of Christ effectively.

“The issue (of church government) is an important one, despite the fact that it hardly appears on the ‘radar screen’ of the modern church. It truly reflects how much we really believe Jesus is Lord of his church and is concerned that it functions as he has commanded.”

Posted: 9/24/04

First Church, Denton, meeting
challenges of fast-growing county

By Karen Willoughby

Baptist Press

DENTON (BP)—First Baptist Church in Denton has a brand-new purpose statement: “To love and serve the Lord so we can reach and influence our community and the world for Christ.”

But the church has been doing that since its founding in 1858 by residents of what then was a 1-year-old town a day's wagon ride north of Dallas.

The Denton church, in addition to its new purpose statement, has just purchased 90 acres five miles north of its current location.

“One of the things I challenged our church with this year is to be an influence in our city,” said Jeff Williams, pastor for the last seven years. “We want to show Denton we love Christ and invest our assets right here at home.”

First Baptist members helped build five Habitat for Humanity homes over the last five years. Demand has quadrupled this year at the church’s food pantry. Members also assist in and financially support Denton’s Our Daily Bread soup kitchen.

Until First Baptist started the FAITH strategy of evangelism through the Sunday school four years ago, it had no evangelism strategy, the pastor said.

“It's going strong,” Williams said of FAITH. “Three people were saved the first night of this semester.”

Over the last four years, baptisms have averaged more than 100 a year.

“We're pretty much like the norm,” he said. “We baptize a lot of high school and junior high school students.”

First Baptist also baptizes about 30 percent of children who make decisions for Christ during Vacation Bible School, Williams said.

“Denton County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation,” he said. “We have about 15,000 students in the Denton school system. Nine years from now, they're predicting 30,000. We've got a lot of young families moving in.”

Denton also is home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University, which together add about 40,000 people to the city's 95,000 population.

The church ministers to its members through an upbeat blended worship, Sunday school, discipleship training, small groups and missions involvement, Williams said.

First Baptist helps support three mission churches in its association, along with one in Wisconsin and one in Indiana. Its high school students have gone to Haiti during spring break five times to work with youngsters at an orphanage and on construction projects. This year, because of political upheaval in Haiti, the teens went to Washington, D.C., where they worked in one of the nation's largest homeless shelters.

Students in First Baptist’s college department in recent years have worked on mission projects in Las Vegas, Boston and New York City in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Strategic Focus Cities thrust in those metropolitan areas.

First Baptist Church of Denton’s senior adults went to First Baptist Church of Huntertown, Ind., this summer to lead Vacation Bible School. Adults and teens went to Germany for nine days, where they ministered through sports camps and public schools.

First Baptist gives 10 percent of its undesignated offerings through the Cooperative Program for funding Baptist missions and ministry initiatives.

“In all, our missions budget is about 17 percent of our total budget,” Williams said. “We give to about 20 different mission ministries.”

The need for additional space has become more acute than ever this year, he said.

“Preschool space is at a premium,” Williams said. “We recently gave them the last two rooms we possibly can give them.”

The number of sixth- to 12th-grade students has increased more than 100 percent on Sunday mornings since Williams was called as pastor. Wednesday evening student attendance also has grown.

“It's going to be a challenge to grow here the next five years before we move to our new location,” Williams said. “We bought land at the edge of town because we knew we weren't going to be able to continue to grow here.”

The church's two buildings, about 130,000 square feet, are supplemented by seven houses adjacent to church property, purchased as they became available to use for Sunday school, staffing needs and missionary housing.

The church is forming a task force this fall to work out details of the construction project and move, the pastor said.

“With 90 acres of land, our opportunities for ministry are almost endless,” Williams said. “I’ve challenged our people to be an influence in city government and schools. I’ve challenged them to run for the school board, city council and for mayor.

“We believe that when Jesus said we are to be salt and light in the world, that it includes having an influence in all areas of our city,” he continued.

“It is my hope that First Baptist Church of Denton will be seen as a place of hope, healing and influence in the years to come.”

Posted: 9/24/04

Family Care helps teens, adults
wrestle with their problems

By Miranda Bradley

Texas Baptist Children’s Home & Family Services

ROUND ROCK—Every Monday night, First Baptist Church of Round Rock becomes a battleground where adults and teenagers meet to wrestle with problems that torment them. And workers with Texas Baptist Children’s Home Family Care program stand willing to help them fight the good fight.

A group of four teens congregate upstairs, where they make sand tray dioramas. But hidden meanings lie behind the toys and dolls used to create them.

“What’s going on in your scene?” Susan Lee, Family Care program supervisor, asks one girl.

“Well, this family is on a picnic, and this snake is about to come out of the sand and bite them,” she replies.

As the young teens describe their creations, Lee notices three of the four sand trays depict some type of battle.

“What battles are you all fighting on a daily basis?” she asks.

Then it begins. Soon, the youngsters are talking about everyday struggles that plague them—particularly the temptation of giving in to peer pressure.

Downstairs, single mothers who are involved in the Family Care program or recently graduated from it share their pain.

In “Making Peace with Your Past,” a group of women describe the struggles of raising children with no support, finding and paying for childcare and, mostly, trying to understand the choices they have made.

“When I met (my ex-husband), I knew he was bad,” one participant says. “I wanted to fix him. That was my upbringing. People always cared for us, so I wanted to care for somebody.”

Another woman talks about her painful relationship with her abusive ex-husband.

“I didn’t see it until it was too late,” she tells the group. “I wanted to speak my mind, and I got slapped around for it.”

Now, she, like most of the women in Family Care, is learning how to raise her child in a new reality.

The groups act as a healing balm on the wounds of both adult and child. Krista Payne, who has guided at least four Family Care groups, said it is very therapeutic.

“I think the most important thing is group feedback,” she said. “They are in the same situation, so they can give an honest opinion.”

Lee is just thankful they have a place to fight these battles. A year ago, they were trying to make do in a building not suited for their childcare needs.

“We were bursting at the seams,” she said. “We had babies who needed cribs, and we didn’t have any in the facility we had been using.”

Because the mothers work, and classes are Monday nights, childcare is necessary. Family Care needed help, and they got it.

First Baptist Church Administrator Ralph Lee learned about the needs of the program and gave the green light for the use of the church’s buildings. Soon, Family Care was using many of the childcare rooms and various meeting areas in the church.

“We’re here to serve whatever needs are out there in the community,” he said. “And this program matched our vision and purpose as a church—to help the single mothers.”

First Baptist Church has been partnering with Texas Baptist Children’s Home since the Round Rock home was built in 1950. Louis Henna, who donated the property where the children’s home sits, was a member of the church, and the relationship has continued to blossom.

As tissues are passed around the table in the Bridal Room, the women of Family Care begin to dress their battle wounds. To them, there’s no better place for a war to be fought than on such sacred ground.

Posted: 9/24/04

Church sees its wellness ministry as modeling life of Christ

By Greg Garrison

Religion News Service

HOMEWOOD, Ala.—When people visit Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, they often go to run, lift weights and work out their bodies, as well as their worship and prayer lives. They also come to find out if they have cancer, diabetes or high blood pressure.

Dawson has placed an emphasis on health issues, with a gleaming recreation center and programs devoted not just to fitness, but also to the overall medical health of the congregation.

Just as Jesus healed people as part of his teaching ministry, so churches should strive to heal and keep healthy as well, said Debbie Moss, a registered nurse who serves as minister of health and wellness on the Dawson staff.

“It's an incredible ministry that models the life of Christ,” Moss said.

With a spate of health screenings every Wednesday and Sunday, along with frequent workshops on health and fitness and a nurse on staff who can run a blood test in her office, Dawson Baptist is part of an increasing trend toward churches taking on the role of a thriving health clinic and fitness center.

Not every church can do it on the same scale.

“A lot of the churches don't have that kind of budget,” said Debbie Duke, a registered nurse who serves as congregational health program coordinator for Baptist Health System and also is the parish nurse and health ministry team leader for ClearBranch United Methodist Church in Argo, Ala.

But every church can take steps to care for the overall spiritual and physical health of the congregation, Duke said.

“Instead of churches of having a one-time or twice-a-year health fair, we are working toward having a health team that addresses health needs all year long,” Duke said.

Duke, as the health ministry leader at ClearBranch, helps coordinate blood pressure screenings twice a month, an educational bulletin board, guest chaplains, a grief recovery support group, a cancer support group, a diabetes support group, blood drives twice a year, weight-loss programs and flu shots.

The trend harkens back to the early days of the church, before modern medicine, when people brought their sick to see a priest for healing, Duke said.

“In the beginning, the church ministered holistically—body, mind and spirit,” Duke said.

Samford University offers a preparatory program for parish nurses. Nearly 300 registered nurses have gone through additional training at Samford to be certified since 2000, Duke said.

A church needn’t have any members who are doctors or nurses, she said. A health team can arrange for guest speakers or health-care volunteers to visit, or a cancer survivor could lead a support group, for example, she said.

At Dawson Baptist, the church's “Healthy Lifestyle” program signed up 120 people this year to go through health screenings. Physiologists, nurses, dietitians and personal trainers offered plans for cardiological workouts at the gym and at home, along with healthy diets tailored to individual health.

Screenings have caught some early cases of skin and prostate cancer, Moss said. One man who signed up for the program did the beginning exercise of a 12-minute walk at the Family Recreation Center and experienced chest pains. He was referred to a doctor and soon underwent heart bypass surgery.

Many people have health conditions that could be helped if detected, Moss said. Others just want to get or stay in shape.

Neal Schooley, associate pastor for pastoral care at Dawson, said he’s among those who have been helped.

“My blood pressure had been creeping up,” he said. “They're the ones who detected that.”

He’s been taking medication for it, thanks to the church's thorough approach to well-being.

“It has brought health issues to the front,” Schooley said.

Posted: 9/24/04

Health care needs in Texas demand
innovative response, ministry leaders say

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO—Medical needs in Texas are vast, as 8 million uninsured residents struggle to receive adequate and timely healthcare, health ministry leaders maintain.

Jim Walton, senior vice president for the office of community health in the Baylor Health Care System, noted uninsured children are 1.6 times more likely to die during birth and 1.5 times more likely to die within their first year of life.

Uninsured individuals also are twice as likely to die because of an accident, Walton said during a conference for medical ministers sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas Missions Equipping Center.

These statistics largely are due to the fact uninsured and impoverished people often do not receive medical attention regularly or quickly, Walton said.

In response to these needs, Texas Baptists must respond to God’s creative and diverse calling in their lives, said Kevin Dinnin, president and chief executive officer of Baptist Child & Family Services.

Christians need to find ways to provide medical care for people who cannot afford it, he said. That may be a medical clinic supported by a church. It may mean medical mission trips or supporting a medical missionary.

Baptist Child & Family Services has a mobile clinic that visits pockets of people in need of healthcare. Leaders found poor people in colonias did not have transportation to come to church clinics, so Baptist Child & Family Services took the clinic to them.

“The prescription this morning is diverse, and you are the author of how it is worked out in your congregation,” Dinnin said.

No matter the approach Texas Baptists take, Dinnin encourages them to utilize all their passion in doing it.

“Do all you can with all you have,” he said. “And never give up. Never give up.”

Posted: 9/24/04

Medical ministry focuses on patients
as people, not problems to diagnose

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO—It may sound like a cliché, but people are not patients; patients are people. And that is the heart of medical ministry, a leader in the Baylor Health Care System insists.

It is easy for doctors—even those who view their occupation as a ministry—to fall into the rut of viewing each patient as a diagnosis, said Jim Walton, senior vice president of community health in the Baylor Health Care System. Physicians want to correct physical ailments or prevent future breakdowns.

But when doctors move beyond that to uncover the life stories of their clients, ministry begins taking place, Walton said during a healthcare conference sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas Missions Equipping Center.

When the patient and the doctor begin to connect as people, each has something to contribute to the relationship, Walton continued. Physicians are giving medical treatment, but patients also are giving of themselves.

“When you are sitting in their house, you’re close,” he said. “When you’re sitting in the kitchen, you’re closer.”

Walton described his ministry with a paraplegic man who came to Dallas from El Salvador. He was working in this country and sending money back to his wife and three children who remained in El Salvador. When he was injured, his wife traveled to be with him.

During the two years Walton has treated the man, he has become acquainted with how the man felt so far from his children. Walton saw a family, not a patient.

The doctor uncovered his own tendency to see himself as the minister and the patient as someone in need. While that is true, Walton said, he now recognizes each patient is ministering to him as well.

Citing the biblical story of the Good Samaritan, Walton noted each person is made in the image of God and has something to give.

“Your neighbor has gifts and assets,” he said. “It isn’t all about you and your sacrifice.”

Walton now is looking for a missionary in El Salvador who can care for this man. That will allow him to return to be with his children while continuing to get the help he needs.

Posted: 9/24/04

Lifeway trustees approve funds
to revitalize Glorieta, Ridgecrest

By Chris Turner

LifeWay Christian Resources

RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)—LifeWay Christian Resources trustees adopted a $446 million operating budget for 2005 and approved a significant investment in the company’s conference centers to fast-track their revitalization efforts.

LifeWay expects revenues this year of $427.5 million, $13.2 million more than last year but $21 million short of budget, Chief Operating Officer Ted Warren told trustees during their semiannual meeting at LifeWay’s Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, N.C. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

“The fact that we plan to achieve record revenues is good news,” said Warren. “Yet every one of our divisions’ revenues will come in below budget. That means we’ve had less than a successful year.”

Still, he cited major accomplishments in 2004, including the introduction of the Holman Christian Standard Bible, which in a few months has become one of the best-selling Bibles in the United States, and LifeWay's commitment of $1.6 million to help 13 Baptist state conventions and one association double baptisms in 2005.

For the coming fiscal year, Warren said, all LifeWay divisions have plans for revenue growth. But along with that are increased expenses as the LifeWay Christian Stores division plans to add new stores, and the church resources and Broadman & Holman divisions will add staff. These factors will require LifeWay to execute its business plan with precision.

“The 2005 budget is based on what we believe to be an achievable revenue target of $446 million, which assumes a continued recovery in the economy,” Warren said. “The revenue budget reflects an $18.2 million or 4.3 percent increase over 2004 projected revenue.”

In 2004, funds provided from operations—money for reinvestment in ministry expansion after all expenses are paid—are expected to be $13.4 million, or 3.1 percent of revenue, consistent with LifeWay's goal of financial performance. The same amount is budgeted for 2005.

In a move to hasten revitalization efforts at LifeWay's conference centers, the trustees approved a business plan that includes an investment of $27 million over the next four years.

At Ridgecrest, the business plan calls for construction of a new 120-room hotel, new convention and indoor recreation centers, renovation of Pritchell Hall and demolition of seven aging and expensive-to-maintain buildings.

At Glorieta, plans call for a new 140-room hotel, a new indoor recreation center, a renovated chapel and demolition of 24 outdated buildings, reducing the center's adult capacity but nearly tripling its youth capacity to better fit seasonal demand.

Posted: 9/24/04

Paris church knows broadcasting
high school football is ministry in Texas

By George Henson

Staff Writer

PARIS—Cable television viewers in Paris know the call-letters “FBC-TV” stand for First Baptist Church. But each fall, they represent the Foot Ball Channel.

The church has had a local cable channel since 1985, and it started broadcasting local high school football games about 10 years ago.

“We do it as a public service to the community,” said Travis Jackson, director of media and public relations for the church. But he admits it also raises the church’s level of visibility in the community.

“It serves to get a lot of people to the channel that might not ever know it was there otherwise,” he pointed out. The church also has aired a health talk show and a local business talk show as a part of its programming in the past.

An all-volunteer crew tapes the football games. Paris has two high schools, Paris High School and North Lamar High School, and the church films the home game with the greatest appeal, making sure to keep the number of games for each team even.

“We’re fortunate enough to have a real nice mobile production unit that is all logoed up with the church’s logo, and our crew has their t-shirts” so there is no escaping the fact that First Baptist Church is broadcasting the local high school gridders on television, Jackson said.

“It lets the people here know that we’re not just a bunch of stuffed-shirts at that church downtown,” he said.

The church doesn’t even accept sponsorships for the football games “except for maybe a free meal for the crew at a local restaurant,” Jackson said.

Jackson started out as a volunteer member of the crew eight years ago, but in January 2001, he felt God leading him to make media ministry his full-time vocation. In May of that year, the position opened up at his church.

“God gave me an opportunity to serve here, and I’m very grateful for that,” he said.

Jackson has attended several conferences dealing with church-run television ministries, and First Baptist Church in Paris generally is the smallest congregation represented.

“This kind of ministry is a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun, too,” he said. “There’s just so much potential with this type of ministry for churches.”

Posted: 9/24/04

CYBERCOLUMN: Growing edges

By Jeanie Miley

Leaving the hospital after a two-day wait, I drove home through the dark, quiet streets of the city, streets that would be bustling in just a few hours with tens of thousands of patients and the people who care about them—health care professionals and support staff who keep the Texas Medical Center running.

I had just left my own daughter in the care of people I have never seen before and her newborn daughter under the watchful eye of her ecstatic father, whose first words about her were, “She’s so beautiful!”

Madeleine Grace was born four minutes before midnight, and all of us who were exhausted from the long ordeal forgot our fatigue and our anxiety when we saw her, acting like star-struck fools, stepping all over each other to get the best view of our baby.

When I finally fell into bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about how scary labor and delivery are, and how risky life really is. I kept thinking about how anything worth having exacts a terrific price, and that the sometimes-terrifying part of living is that you don’t ever really know what the price of your choices is going to be until you are deep into it, with no turning back.

“She’s so beautiful,” I kept thinking, as I tried to relax enough to go to sleep, followed by, “But nothing beautiful comes easy!” And then, I wept.

Indeed, no beauty of any kind is created without some kind of radical commitment and sacrifice. Nothing that enriches our lives is wrought without someone giving unselfishly and, often, sacrificially. Nothing in this world that benefits us or brings true joy and delight to others comes free. There is always a price to be paid.

Easy and fast food and effortless and instant communication seduce us into thinking that life should be quick and easy, simple and pain-free. When we are slapped in the face by the cost of the things that really matter, we are surprised. We take life so for granted that we are shocked and almost offended when life twists us around in a knot to force us to realize that life is fragile and never to be taken for granted for an instant.

Somehow, we are surprised when life is hard and there’s a problem. The truth is that problems are the norm. The real problem for any of us is thinking that there won’t be problems!

No relationship or community is built without incredibly hard work, sustained over the entire duration of the relationship. No excellence or success in any field is gained without unusual and, sometimes seemingly superhuman, effort. And precious things must be protected.

No life comes into this world without the risk of loss or of difficulty. No human being can guarantee an easy and quick delivery, a perfect newborn or a risk-free hospital stay, not even at the very best facilities in the world!

There is no grace that is cheap and no freedom that is free. Indeed, if you want either, you have to pay in some way, and you have to pay until it hurts, and you have to keep on paying to ensure the safety of the things that matter most.

Maybe we forget because it is almost too much for us to hold in consciousness for more than a few minutes at a time that every single thing that has value is bought with a price, and the more valuable it is, the greater the price.

Madeleine came, carrying a message. Life is gift, and it is costly.

Grace really has come to us, and we are the guardians!

Jeanie Miley is an author and columnist and a retreat and workshop leader. She is married to Martus Miley, pastor of River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, and they have three adult daughters. Got feedback? Write her at Writer2530@aol.com.

Posted: 9/20/04

CYBERCOLUMN: Lighthouses and the Light

By John Duncan

I am sitting under the old oak tree, thinking of lighthouses and the Light and my friend Mike.

Lighthouses dot the landscape on the eastern coast of the United Sates. Imagine a lighthouse creating a fixed point for the captain of a ship to navigate toward safe harbor. Imagine a storm tossing the ship like a bottle floating on the ocean’s surface. Imagine the light penetrating the darkness, shining like a star against the black night sky.

The other day I visited Mike Laird. When I walked into his mobile home with oversized doors, he smiled, and we hugged. When I sat down, I noticed a “Welcome Aboard” sign on the wall. Mike decorated his walls with pictures of lighthouses. One looked like a print from Thomas Kincaid, a cascade of colors aglow with a lighthouse, a garden and the surf of the waters. Another picture was plain and simple, a standard lighthouse with rocks and an ocean view. Still another picture silhouetted a cloudy sky with a white lighthouse with stairs much like your might see if you drove a road by the Atlantic Ocean in Maine, Massachusetts or North Carolina.

The lighthouse, for all that it is, reflects hope for Mike.

“It’s good to see you,” Mike said as he sat in his wheelchair. Mike has swollen feet, arthritic knees and a determined spirit. Doctors recently performed weight-loss surgery on Mike. He has lost about 150 pounds from what once was a 600-pound body.

I asked Mike if I could tell his story. He said, “Yes, sure.”

Mike graduated from Haltom High School in 1973. Mike had a normal high school experience—worked some jobs, and fought his weight issues with diets and the like. Because of medical problems, arthritic knees, an injury to his kneecap, and by his own confession, a poor diet with a love for soft drinks, his weight ballooned.

I have heard Mike speak of the shame he feels when ridiculed in public. I have heard Mike explain the physical problems that contribute to his health. I have known Mike to feel bad that he must depend on friends and family for help. I have received spoken and written words of appreciation when our church has ministered to Mike. I have listened intently as Mike shared with me the importance of his faith in Christ and his hope for better days because of Christ. I have watched Mike shed tears, tears trickling down his cheeks like a waterfall rolling over rocks on a mountainside. The tears roll when Mike feels alone, pained or frustrated with, in the words of one poet, “the plastic dance of circumstance.”

When I visited Mike recently, with a grimace, shortness of breath and determination, he rose from his chair and walked across the room and back to his chair. Mike looked at me and smiled. Mike walked gingerly. Christina Rosetti writes in “Later Life: A Double Sonnet of Sonnets”: “Tread softly! All the earth is holy ground.” Mike and I were on holy ground.

“Wow, that’s great,” I said as I smiled back at Mike. As I glanced at Mike, I noticed the lighthouses on the walls and thought of the light.

While Mike battles every day with his circumstances, I know for both of us life lingers in the light. Clouds gather. A storm rages. The storm tosses the heart like a ship or like a corked bottle floating on the storm, white-capped sea. In the harbor a lighthouse shines light—a light of hope, grace, peace, joy and abundant life. That’s what Mike was saying when he smiled. A smile goes a mile.

The Light of Christ shines. Hope beckons the broken, battered and bruised to come in from the storm into the safe harbor where God’s peace and Light comfort the weary soul. Hope carries us where we tread on holy ground.

John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines.

Posted: 9/20/04

TBM continues serving in wake
of Ivan; Grenada requests assistance

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Texas Baptist Men disaster relief work in the wake of repeated hurricanes that blew through the Caribbean Sea and across Florida has expanded to include an additional unit, more personnel and another country.

Victim Relief Ministries chaplains and Texas Baptist Men volunteers are on their way to Grenada at the request of the nation’s government to do preliminary counseling, medical and damage assessments.

Texas Baptist Men are setting up locations where people can drop off items for residents of Grenada. Those locations will be in Denton, Dallas, Tarrant and Wise counties, but churches can send supplies to Texas Baptist Men.

Residents need hygiene items, sleeping bags, pots, pans and non-perishable food, and items such as chainsaws, generators and communication equipment can help residents begin the recovery process, said Bob Dixon, who is coordinating the TBM effort.

These items will empower residents to take the future in their own hands, Dixon said. They can start repairing and rebuilding their homes.

“They become part of their own recovery,” he said.

The TBM South Texas feeding unit has joined the Tarrant Baptist Association feeding unit in Mobile, Ala. The Top O’ Texas Baptist Area feeding unit remains in Pensacola, Fla. All other TBM units were released from stand by status.

The Top O’ Texas team fed more than 1,700 meals and prepared additional food for the Salvation Army to deliver Sept. 19. Tim Willis, team coordinator, expected to double the number of meals served Sept. 20 and said the Texas Baptist Men would stay “as long as they are needed.”

The unit is working in are poorer area of Pensacola where roofs, trees, signs and billboards were blown over, Willis said. Residents are looking for help.

“There’s definitely a big need here,” said Willis, a member of First Baptist Church in Plains.

Hurricane Ivan pushed 4,000 children to shelters in Grenada, according to the Carribean Disaster Emergency Response agency web site. The storm is being blamed for 28 deaths and 353 injuries in the country. An estimated 90 percent of the island’s buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Workers are trying to reconnect the nation’s water supply, but are having issues with residents busting newly laid pipes to get water for themselves, according to the Caribbean response site. Supplies are dwindling and distribution of the remaining food is slow.

The Southern Baptist disaster relief effort throughout Florida and Alabama has grown to 25,000 volunteers in the area who have served more than 1 million meals. The Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board, which coordinates Southern Baptist disaster relief work, also has received requests for help in West Virginia where flooding remains an issue.

To contribute financially or with supplies to the Grenada effort, send checks or goods marked “Grenada” to Victim Relief Ministries, 5351 Catron, Dallas 75227. To contribute to TBM’s work in Florida and Alabama, send checks marked “Disaster Relief” to Texas Baptist Men, 333 N. Washington Ave., Dallas 75246.

Posted: 9/17/04

Outreach has nothing to do with
canned meat or unwanted e-mail

By George Henson

Staff Writer

HOUSTON–Twenty-seven people committed their lives to Christ. Sounds like a good reason for another SPAMARAMA next year, organizers say.

SPAMARAMA, an acronym for Students Proclaiming Awesome Messages about Repentance and Mercy Available, is a multi-ethnic, multi-denominational, multi-church effort designed to reach students in inner-city Houston.

This was the eighth year of the five-night effort by small churches who team up to put on an event large enough to draw teens who don't regularly attend church.

“Our main purpose is evangelism–that kids come to know Christ,” said Jaime Garcia, minister of youth at Bethel Baptist Church in Houston.

Average attendance for each of the five nights was more than 180 students. All students, not just those needing salvation, are taking something away from the event, Garcia said.

“These students are all coming away with a much clearer picture of where they stand in reference to their walk with God. That can only benefit the churches involved,” he said.

This year's theme was “Living in the Zone.” After registering, students visited either the recreation zone or food zone, depending on their age. Later, they switched places so everyone had a shot at the food and games. Then everyone came together for worship music and preaching.

The 27 people who made professions of faith in Christ even included one adult.

“He was a father who had been dropping off his youth at church and going home for the last two years,” Garcia reported. “After the last service, he found me and said: 'Brother Jaime, I did it. I prayed to receive Christ.' It was great.”

More than a dozen churches participated this year.

“Some churches brought as many as 35 and others only two or three, but everyone had a good time,” Garcia said.

One church who Garcia's youth had met at youth camp came from Brownsville for the event, combining the event with a mission trip during the day.

Most of the youth were from Houston and will see each other at school.

“That's good because when they see each other they will know there are other Christians there,” Garcia noted. “But also as they get to know each other, there will be a level of accountability there, too.”