Posted: 5/14/04

Short-term missions the
'in thing' for Christian students

By Amanda Mantone

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Steve Holt spent his first semester away from home doing typical college freshman things–making friends, going to class, working out. He had new streets to learn and lessons to study, just like his peers.

But when Holt left the classroom, he went to orphanages and churches, not the dining hall or quad. His days were spent evangelizing or talking about AIDS. Holt was getting an education, just not in the liberal arts. He was training as a missionary in Chilibre, Panama.

A Texas medical student tends to a Honduran woman at a clinic during a mission trip to Honduras. Despite increasing danger, growing numbers of young Christians are heading beyond America's borders for short-term mission trips.

“It was a nice break between high school and college,” Holt said. “To get out and really get involved in another culture.”

The 18-year-old spent five months working for Youth With a Mission, an organization that funnels young people from throughout the world into short-term Christian mission assignments before and after college.

After his semester of mission service, he enrolled at Pennsylvania's Grove City College and is studying economics and Christian thought–with the goal of attending seminary and then putting his economic knowledge to use as a missionary in a developing nation.

Despite increasing reports of missionaries and humanitarian aid workers killed overseas–including Baptist aid workers who were shot in Iraq recently–Holt and other students are undeterred. In fact, the numbers of college-age volunteers entering mission work appear to be on the rise.

The Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, among the largest missionary agencies, reported a 14 percent jump in the number of collegiate volunteers in 2002–and the number has held steady, with 3,500 college students joining each year since.

“On a practical level, students live in a more multicultural world than ever. Traveling to Europe on spring break is as normal as going to Padre Island,” said Felicity Burrow, student missions consultant for the IMB.

“Volunteerism is the new fad on college campuses, so mission work benefits from all of these cultural influences in Christian students' lives. Terrorist attacks and other things have made some Christians afraid of serving overseas. Students rise to that challenge.”

Experts offer several reasons why large numbers of students are flocking toward mission work.

“College students don't know what to do with their lives, and going overseas gives them some context and maturing to do,” said Todd Johnson, director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass.

“There's some young people who think that time is running out, and they need to get out and do some evangelistic work. The agencies are changing to allow people to come (more) for short-term work. Most everyone goes now to try it out.”

Ryan Shaw, international director of the Student Volunteer Movement 2–a fledgling group recruiting college students for long-term missions–said college students are part of a blossoming revival of mission work.

“In our generation, young people want to live for something serious. There's a hunger for a deeper spirituality than other generations,” he said.

Most college students are serving on missions of no more than two years, and many for as little as two weeks between semesters. The shortest trips are meant as teaching tools, to help students decipher if mission work is their lifelong calling. Many stop at one trip, serving for a few months or years before permanently entering the mainstream work force.

Such short-term fervor, though positive, may prove troublesome for the future of missions as a lifelong career, said Ralph Winter, editor of Mission Frontiers magazine.

“In general, the number of missionaries going into long-term is decreasing, while the number going into short-term is exploding,” he said.

“Whether there's any connection or not, no one knows, but I don't think most short-termers think about staying on.”

Winter, who was an international missionary 10 years, said going on short-term mission trips has become the “in” thing to do.

However, college students eager to sign up for long-term service face several obstacles. Many missionary sending agencies are loath to recruit volunteers with the deep educational debt students carry, crippling many before they even leave home.

“You can count out all the students who have a lot of debt–they'll never make it,” Winter said. “It takes 10 years to pay off their loans, and by then they've settled into another job. That's already happening; otherwise, we would have twice as many missionaries. Some organizations will let you become a missionary with $10,000 or even $15,000 in debt, but many students have much more than that.”

Most missionary agencies require at least a bachelor's degree for incoming missionaries, leaving students in a financial catch-22. Holt said that makes finances a top concern among missionary-minded students.

“I would love to just go from college to seminary and then from seminary onto the missions field,” he said. “But realistically, with the costs of a private school and then graduate school on top of that, it's not easy to accomplish.”

Despite the risks and setbacks, droves of students looking for summer or post-graduation plans are still enrolling in short-term mission programs.

Some say the trend is only beginning.

“Interest in the world is increasing,” said Jim Tebbe, director of Urbana, a large-scale conference that draws college students into mission work. “Short-term isn't enough time to be a missionary, but it's enough to have an impact on a student's life. The goal has to be for them to commit longer. And if students are making that kind of decision, they can have a huge impact on the world.”

Posted: 5/14/04

Grocery executive, Laity Lodge
president named Newport award recipient

Howard E. Butt Jr. of San Antonio was named the inaugural recipient of the John Newport Foundation National Leadership Award.

Butt is best known as vice chairman of H.E.B. grocery stores and president of H.E. Butt Foundation, a private organization that funds Christian camps through its lodges in the Texas Hill Country.

He is president of the Laity Lodge Foundation and Laity Renewal Foundation.

As a student, Butt was general chairman of the Baylor Youth Revival.

Years later, he organized the National American Congress of the Laity.

He was a speaker at an early National Prayer Breakfast during the Eisenhower administration, and President Kennedy named him to the first Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.

He also was a founding board member of Christianity Today and an early board member of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Butt is the author of numerous books, including “The Velvet Covered Brick: Christian Leadership in an Age of Rebellion,” “At the Edge of Hope: Christian Laity in Paradox” and “Renewing the Spirit, Healing the Soul.”

“Howard Butt's life and work exemplify the ideals taught and lived by John Newport,” said Larry Williams, Newport Foundation board chairman.

"Both Dr. Newport and Mr. Butt, committed to the faith and committed to excellence in scholarship, have sought to make the biblical worldview relevant in the lives of individuals. "Howard Butt is an innovative leader, a businessman and a spiritual reformer, and we are proud to honor him as the recipient of the historic first Newport Foundation Leadership Award."

Butt and his wife, Barbara Dan, have three children and eight grandchildren.

Posted: 5/14/04

Creeds should clarify Christian
living, not build barriers, speakers stress

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ARLINGTON–Creeds have a clarifying role in Christian life, but they build barriers between believers when used incorrectly, Baptist leaders told a national leadership conference.

Russell Dilday, chancellor of the new B.H. Carroll Theological Institute in Arlington, and Keith Putt, professor of philosophy at Samford University in Birmingham, addressed the role of creeds as part of a discussion of biblical authority at the conference, sponsored by the John Newport Foundation.

Using human words as a tool for enforcing orthodoxy is a misuse of creeds, Dilday and Putt agreed.

Creeds are correctly utilized as confessions of a relationship between an individual and God, Putt said.

The statements of beliefs are more like testimonies than statements of exclusion, he emphasized.

Incorrect use of creeds occurs when those statements are elevated above traditional means of authority, primarily the Bible and Jesus in Baptist life, Dilday said.

Other denominations would more strongly emphasize tradition, experience and reason, he noted.

Creeds are man-created rather than God-inspired like the Bible, Dilday said. Answers to life questions can be found in the Bible, not in creeds.

Creeds restrict how people can respond to Scripture, Putt said.

Often, leaders use them as weapons to further an agenda, he added.

“We take these creeds, like stones, and build walls with them,” Putt said.

Rather than using creeds to restrict biblical interpretation, Putt and Dilday suggested Christians use the “theological principle” in interpreting the Bible.

This states that believers should look for messages expressed clearly through the entire text, especially in contexts that apply to humanity in all cultures.

The notion may seem simple, but Bible interpreters must know a great deal about the text to do it, the pair agreed.

Interpreters must understand the cultural differences between the biblical Middle East and the contemporary United States. Readers also must recognize the different literary genres that comprise the Bible.

Fortunately for Christians, God provides help, Putt said. The Holy Spirit assists Christians in discerning God's message.

God gave the Bible “for us” to comprehend his nature, Putt said.

But Christians obviously do not interpret the Bible the same way, he added.

Though they agree on the authority of the Bible, they make different “cuts” of interpretation that delineate the lines between denominations and believers, Putt said.

Stringent support of biblical authority rather than creeds allows for strong faith with diversity, Putt stressed.

Posted: 5/14/04

On the Move

Steve Allen to North Shore Church in Lewisville as associate pastor.

Tracy Bartley to Acton Church in Granbury as minister of education.

Kevin Boyd to Longbranch Church in Midlothian as minister to students.

Phil Briggs to First Church in Grapevine as interim pastor.

Jack Burton has completed an intentional interim pastorate at First Church in Lampasas.

McKenzie Carter to Briarchase Missionary Church in Missouri City as pastor, where he had been interim.

Gary Chadwick to First Church in Universal City as minister of students and recreation from First Church in Waxahachie.

Jerry Davis has resigned as minister of music at Immanuel Church in Paris.

Tracy Dean to Hamby Church in Abilene as pastor.

Kenneth Felton to First Church in Hamilton as pastor from First Church in Frankfort, Ky., where he was minister of missions.

Gilbert Gonzalez to Iglesia Mexicana in Post as pastor from Iglesia Nueva Vida in Wolfforth.

Zane Johnson has resigned as interim pastor of Oplin Church in Clyde.

Jack Kennington to Southcrest Church in Lubbock as associate pastor of adult education from First Church in Lavaca, Ark.

Reby Lawler has resigned as minister of adult education at Trinity Church in San Antonio.

Teresa Martin has resigned as minister of children's music at First Church in Richardson.

Philip McCraw to Baptist Temple in San Antonio as pastor from First Church in Alpine.

Alex Morrison to First Church in Brenham as children's minister.

Don Nichols to Westwood Church in Waskom as pastor.

Jake Porter to First Church in Mont Belvieu as pastor.

Vicki Schmidt to First Church in Richardson as minister of children's music.

Dick Senter has completed an interim pastorate at Baptist Temple in San Antonio.

James Shields to First Church in Baird as interim pastor.

B.J. Stewart to LifeSpring Fellowship in Corinth as worship leader.

Micah Stotler to Crossroads Church in Lake Brownwood as youth minister.

Jim Walsh to Mulberry Springs Church in Hallsville as pastor.

Tom Wells has resigned as associate pastor at Highland Heights Church in Lewisville.

Eric Williams to First Church in Dallas as minister to Adult 3 & 4. He previously worked in the Bible study/disciplsehip division of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Posted: 5/14/04

Hardin-Simmons students, faculty
work in Piedras Negras children's home

Several Hardin-Simmons University physical therapy students and four faculty members traveled to the recently flooded area of Piedras Negras, Mexico to minister to people there.

They worked in Casa Bethesda, a home for indigent and abandoned children, many of whom have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, autism or Down's syndrome. They also worked the Clinica Bethesda, a medical facility.

Marsha Rutland, instructor of physical therapy at Hardin-Simmons University, and students Alex Griffin and Kathy Tilson work with children at the Clinica Bethesda in Piedras Negras, Mexico.

Physical therapy faculty who attended were Dennis O'Connell, Janelle O'Connell and Marsha Rutland. Teresia Taylor, a Spanish professor, went with the group to help with translation.

The volunteers accomplished a great deal in a short time, Mrs. O'Connell noted. In less than four days, they installed a new plumbing line for the clinic and covered an old outdoor toilet system with concrete.

They built a concrete wall for the facility, cleared away debris, set up a swing set for children and mowed grass.

The missions volunteers provided care for patients at the clinic and spent extended time with the orphaned children, Mrs. O'Connell said. The children were excited to receive the special one-on-one attention they were able to give them, she added. The group also delivered a trailer full of donated medical supplies to the clinic.

Posted: 5/14/04

Promise Keepers plan Dallas 'fusion' event

DALLAS (RNS)–Former University of Colorado football coach and founder of Promise Keepers Bill McCartney huddled recently with about 400 North Texas church leaders about how to move 20- and 30-year-olds off the ministry sidelines and into active church and mission participation.

At the kickoff luncheon, McCartney reviewed the playbook for fusion+dallas, an event planned for November.

He told the group that fusion will include biblical teaching, workshops, praise and worship, and opportunities to connect with local churches, local church missions and international mission agencies.

Brian Mosley, founder of Rightnow, the organization spearheading the event, said the Texas gathering could be the first in a series planned across the country to win the nation's best and brightest back to Jesus.

A fusion spokesman said representatives from about 100 churches and para-church agencies attended the session.

“Churches focus on ministering to children and youth,” said Singles Pastor Kenny Marchetti of LakePointe Church in Rockwall. “I think it's neat to have a vision to reach this next generation struggling with such life-defining decisions as education, career, calling and family.”

The fusion+dallas November program will feature McCartney, Los Angeles pastor Erwin McManus, Breakaway Ministries founder Gregg Matte (pastor-elect of First Baptist Church in Houston), missionary Heather Mercer, poet Amena J. Brown and Christian singers Shane and Shane.

Posted: 5/14/04

Family wants ministry to disabled children started in Romania

By Craig Bird

Special to the Baptist Standard

The verbal and visual messages resonate in any setting–a smiling, wheelchair-bound teenager confidently quoting Psalm 139: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

But in Romania, where “imperfect” children are hidden and not helped, the impact is multiplied when that teenager is Becky Oprean, granddaughter of a longtime president of that country's Baptist union.

Becky Oprean speaks at her father's home church, Emmanuel Baptist in Bucharest, Romania, during a 1999 visit to her parents' native country.

And it's multiplied further when her mother, Lidia Oprean, candidly talks about her own bitter battles with shame, anger and fear after Becky was born with spina bifida.

“God has given me a growing conviction to reach out to other mothers because, in Romania, they have almost no support to help them deal with all these feelings,” Oprean explained.

“Under the Communist government, children like Becky were literally shunned, and the church often didn't help mothers who felt God was punishing them unfairly. I know what it's like because, at first, I wished Becky would die rather than grow up crippled. I screamed at God and doubted that he really loved me or her.”

So in late July, the mother and daughter will be at the center of a first-ever conference for mothers of handicapped children.

At a mountain resort a six-hour drive from Bucharest, 100 women will spend four days exploring what God has to say about the subject–both in the Bible and through the lives of children like Becky and mothers like Oprean, both of whom now attend Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.

“There is space for 120 women if we had enough money, but we still need about $1,000 to pay for 100,” Oprean explained. “Most of these women can barely afford to feed and clothe their families, so we are paying all of the expenses.”

It is the first step toward a dream of providing a permanent, on-going ministry for Eastern Europe that could include summer family camps, sports camps and rehabilitation centers–all laid atop a foundation of evangelism.

If that master plan sounds a lot like what Joni Eareckson Tada does, there's a good reason. The Opreans met Tada at one of her family camps and soon were working as “Joni and Friends” volunteers.

That relationship led to the family making numerous trips to Romania to distribute wheelchairs for Tada's ministry.

Tada also encouraged them to write about their own faith journey–and authored the introduction to the resulting Romanian-language book. She also has encouraged this new venture.

“God has literally used Becky to spark a revival in Romania,” Oprean said.

“She has spoken on national television (to an estimated viewing audience of 23 million) and at churches and orphanages across the country. Those events, plus the book, and word-of-mouth have attracted a cross-section of Romanians to the conference. There will be evangelical Christians but also Orthodox Christians and even quite a few nonbelievers, but all will be mothers struggling to raise a handicapped child.”

Another result has been that about 20 leaders of this ministry-to-mothers have emerged, themselves mothers of handicapped children. These devout Christians not only will lead sessions at the seminar but will head up the on-going support groups that will continue to meet monthly.

“These leaders minister to me too,” Oprean pointed out. “Many of them have children with much more severe handicaps than Becky, children who can't talk at all. I look at Becky with that great personality and listen to her talk about her faith, and I realize I am so very, very blessed.”

That was not the way she felt 17 years ago. She and her husband and young son had immigrated to the United States just months before, after a seven-year battle through the government bureaucracy.

Because of their faith, the Communist government denied the young couple the college majors they preferred and restricted them to low-level employment.

But their newfound happiness at being in the United States evaporated when the doctor said, “There's a problem with the baby.” The mother was especially devastated.

“I even asked the doctors if they could just let her die,” she admitted. “For three years, I battled God.”

Then one day, she called home and heard the tears and sorrow in her father's voice when he answered the phone. After assuring her that everything was fine, her father said he was really glad she called when she did.

“Your mother and I have been praying and fasting for 72 hours about your attitude toward Becky. We've been asking God to help you understand that she is a gift to you from him.”

Oprean was swept by a peace that has remained to this day. “God understood me and forgave me and healed me,” she explained. “And Becky has been an unending source of joy and encouragement to me and to others.”

Three years ago, Becky's medical condition worsened, a normal progression for people with spina bifida as their bodies mature and grow.

“She asked God for one more trip to Romania and to get to finish her Bible Study Fellowship program,” Oprean said. “She's made three trips since then and this summer will be No. 4. She finished that Bible study and has gone on to do more.”

More inspiring is that she shares her mother and father's core commitment to reaching out the families with handicapped children, both in the United States and around the world.

“She is saddened by the thought of dying, but she also reminds us that she's always looked forward to getting to go be with Jesus where she can run and walk like other children,” Oprean added.

“But she asked me point blank, 'Will you and Daddy continue this ministry after I'm gone, or will you quit?'

“I told her: 'Becky, God gave you to us as a special gift, and we will spend the rest of our lives in this ministry. We couldn't do anything else.'”

Posted: 5/14/04

Dallas church plans to rise from ashes and rebuild ministry

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–Ross Avenue Baptist Church's building stands a shell of its former glory. Its walls are propped up with large beams. A stained-glass dome that once called a community to Christ is now but a memory.

But a powerful ministry and testimony in Christ's name will rise from what remains of the facilities following a 2002 electrical fire, church leaders pledge.

After two years of planning and working with the local government, the historic landmark soon will be destroyed, and construction of new facilities will begin. The church currently meets in a portable building that sits in the shadow of its former building.

Pastor Eddie Sanchez shows BGCT staff the burned-out remains of Ross Avenue Baptist Church.

Though the congregation is sad to see the old facilities go, members are ready to move forward, said Pastor Eddie Sanchez. The loss of their building has meant decreasing many of the ministries that made the church a staple in the community.

The smaller-than-100-member church served more than 500 people when its facilities were sound. Members are eager to do so again through English-as-a-second-language classes, medical clinics, parenting classes and homeless aid.

The demolition of the building and subsequent construction will testify to the congregation's determination and power of Christ's work in a neighborhood that has wondered if the church would rebuild, the pastor said.

“We're saying to ourselves and the community, 'Enough is enough,'” Sanchez said. “We're not leaving. We need to have a continued visibility in the community. They are waiting for us.”

With the help of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Church Facilities Center, church leaders have designed new, more manageable facilities. The old building, constructed in 1917, consumed 40 percent of the church's operating budget.

The new design will incorporate elements of the old buildings while implementing an updated floor plan that will be more useful for ministry. The cornerstone of the original building also will serve as the base of the new construction.

Before the congregation moved forward with the demolition plans, it took Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter typically celebrated by Christians as the day of the first Lord's Supper, as one last official opportunity to remember the ministry that occurred in the old building and give thanks to God.

Church members, as well as community, city and religious leaders came together to reflect on what the church meant to the neighborhood.

Joyce Clower, a 50-year member of the church, later remembered polishing the pews of the sanctuary, vacuuming the floors of the facilities and pruning the plants on the grounds. The majestic building was to be an immaculate representation of God's greatness and beauty.

“I spent 48 wonderful years worshipping in that building,” Clower said in an interview. “The spiritual rewards you get from a setting like that–it was glorious. It was enlightening.”

The building will continue through the memories of many of the church members, Sanchez said. They will remember the glory of the building while reconstructing a ministry that outshines that image.

“It was kind of like saying, 'Thank you, Lord, for the 85 years of ministry, but it's time to move on,'” Sanchez said.

Posted: 5/14/04

Society saturated with distorted images
of sexuality, singles minister says

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–Sex can loom large in the life of single adults. They are bombarded by sexual enticements and perversions, whether or not they are sexually active, a single-adult minister told a statewide conference.

But churches, for a long time, have ignored the subject, said Ricky Chelette, minister of single adults/outreach at First Baptist Church of Arlington.

He led a workshop titled “Sexual Sensibility in an Out-of-Control World” during the Texas Single Adult Conference at First Baptist Church of San Antonio.

“We are barraged and overwhelmed with images of sexuality,” Chelette said, noting specifically the soft-core pornography of Abercrombie & Fitch sales pitches and the seduction of beer advertisements.

It's there because sex is appealing, the minister said. It's pleasurable, immediate, gives a person a sense of connection and is more dependable than relationships. Or at least it seems so.

“The majority of people looking for and having sex are looking for intimacy,” Chelette said.

To bring clarity to the issue, he offered three definitions.

Sex includes activities associated with sexual intercourse and feelings associated with the urge to gratify sexual impulses.

Love means doing what is best for the other person without hope of reciprocity.

Intimacy involves sharing one's life in totality–mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally.

“You can have intimacy without having sex,” Chelette said.

The Bible offers some corrections to the sinful picture of sex painted by the world, he said.

God created two sexes.

“God didn't make anybody homosexual,” Chelette said. Homosexuality will be “one of the defining social issues” of today, having become “quite prevalent in junior and senior high schools; but it is one of the results of sin.”

Sex is ordained by God.

Illustrating his point with two examples from the first book in the Old Testatment, he noted Genesis 2:24 says God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, and Genesis 1:26 indicates when a man and woman come together it “expresses the completeness of God.”

God established boundaries.

“God's restrictions are for our protection,” he said. “Every time you see a 'don't' in Scripture, it is always, always, always to protect you, … to make your joy complete.”

Some, of course, have crossed sexual boundaries. But Chelette reminded the single adults: “God is a God of redemption, … grace and forgiveness.”

God created sex for procreation and pleasure.

“Celebrate its beauty,” Chelette said.

He encouraged participants to determine God's calling in their lives–whether he intends them to be married or celibate.

“You're just as whole when you're single as when you're married,” Chelette said. “Embrace it; don't whine about it.”

A single person who believes he is “called to be married” still should “live today,” the minister said. “If you don't learn now to be satisfied in your singleness, you will not be satisfied in marriage.”

Posted: 5/14/04

Texas Tidbits

Hendrick chaplain named Logsdon distinguished alum. Mike Patrick, staff chaplain at Hendrick Medical Center, has been named the recipient of a distinguished alumnus award from the Logsdon School of Theology. Cecil Richards, pastor of Kingstown Baptist Church in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, also has been named a Logsdon distinguished alumnus. Richards is the former president of the St. Vincent and Grenadines Baptist Convention.

Guild sets fund-raising record for HBU. The Guild of Houston Baptist University marked the school's 40th anniversary with a "silver tea" that raised a record amount to support graduate scholarships for career classroom teachers. Proceeds from the event–topping $113,500–will provide annual and endowed scholarships. The silver tea is the primary charitable project of The Guild, an interdenominational Christian women's group in Houston. The event has its roots in England, where the hostess of a high tea placed a silver bowl at the entrance of her home to collect silver coins for charity.

Commentary by Truett prof named finalist. A commentary on 1 Corinthians by David Garland, professor and associate dean of academic affairs at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary, has been named a Gold Medallion Book Awards finalist by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Winners will be announced June 26 at an awards banquet in Atlanta, Ga.

Institute's affiliation clarified. In "Latin American Baptist union elects Texas church starter as president," which appeared in the May 3 Baptist Standard, Otto Arango's organization is misidentified. Arango is the director of the Institute for Church Planting, which is not directly affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Funding is sent through the convention to his organization, but the institute is not in the BGCT budget.

UMHB graduates 311. More than 300 students graduated at the recent University of Mary Hardin-Baylor spring commencement, including 274 receiving baccalaureate degrees and 37 earning master's degrees. LaVerne Gallman of Temple was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree. Gallman, who taught 20 years in the registered nurse diploma program at Scott & White Hospital, became the first director of the UMHB nursing program when it was transferred to the university and expanded into a baccalaureate degree program in 1970.

DBU graduates 518. Dallas Baptist University awarded degrees to 518 students at spring commencement May 14. President Gary Cook presented degrees to 383 undergraduates and 135 graduate students. Gus Reyes, ethnic consultant in the Baptist General Convention of Texas Center for Strategic Evangelism, and Sheila Bailey, president of E.K. Bailey Ministries, were commencement speakers. Bailey, whose late husband was founding pastor of Concord Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, and United States District Judge Ed Kinkeade of Irving received honorary doctor of humanities degrees.

WorldconneX needs volunteers. Volunteers are needed to work in the Dallas office of the WorldconneX missions network. An orientation session for volunteers will be May 27. For more information, call Michelle Colon at (214) 421-7999 or email info@worldconnex.org.

HSU names new music school associate dean. Jaynne Middleton, professor of voice and director of opera at Hardin-Simmons University, has been named associate dean of the School of Music. Middleton joined the HSU faculty 30 years ago. She holds an undergraduate degree in music from Florida State University at Tallahassee and a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of North Texas.

Posted: 5/14/04

TOGETHER:
Needed: Miraculous, compelling vision

Last fall, a consultant told me we could not achieve the results I was seeking in the Baptist General Convention of Texas unless our Baptist Building culture and structure changed. That was the day I knew we had to begin working to make significant changes.

I wanted to know how we could offer churches personalized consulting and know whether we actually helped them. I wanted to link churches with similar problems to a network that would enable them to find good solutions. I wanted a way to measure effectiveness. We have said we want to help churches and related ministries be the presence of Christ in the world. I wanted to know whether we were succeeding.

The BGCT is the largest Baptist state convention in America. But largest does not necessarily mean most effective.

A pastor friend loaned me a book about the business transformation at IBM: “Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?” Louis Gerstner became chief executive officer at IBM when things were looking bleak. The company was losing market share, and its employees were rocked back on their heels. Gerstner writes: “We had to stop looking for people to blame, stop tweaking the internal structure and systems. I wanted no excuses. I wanted no long-term projects that people could wait for that would somehow produce a magic turnaround. I wanted–IBM needed–an enormous sense of urgency.”

Last November, BGCT President Ken Hall urged us to address the need for change in our Baptist culture and way of doing our work. He knows there are many good, even extraordinary, things about this convention. And it is that very truth that can lull a great organization into believing change isn't necessary. Gerstner describes it as “the arrogance of success” to which great companies often succumb.

Our staff has spent time talking about the process of change and the opportunities before us. Many have been quiet cheerleaders for change ever since I came to this office. Consultant Sherrill Spies has helped explain the development of a strategic planning effort. We are excited because we believe God is calling us to the future. And no one wants us to succeed in being the presence of Christ in the world and fulfilling his vision more than God does.

Lay people, ministers, institutional presidents, directors of missions, seminarians and college students have identified critical issues facing our churches and this convention. With their passionate and thoughtful participation, the work has begun well. Now a strategic planning committee will help shape the vision and structure we are asking God to put before us. Then let us “press on toward the goal” to which God is calling us (Philippians 3:14).

At the beginning of the process, I laid before our task force members this hope: “You and I seek from God a new and passionate vision for Texas Baptists, a vision born in prayer and compelling enough that we will give our lives to see it accomplished unto the glory of God.”

I told our staff: “We will not hide from the future … nor will we run from it. When God's people have moved forward to do God's will, they have almost always explained their experience as a miracle.”

I am looking for a miracle of God. To expect anything less will mean we have dreamed too small and hoped for too little. Pray for us, Texas Baptists. We serve a great God and a great people.

We are loved.

Posted: 5/14/04

Christians develop plans for center,
memorial to victims of violent crime

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–A nonprofit group that grew out of the Baptist General Convention of Texas' commitment to victim ministries has unveiled a tentative architectural concept for the only memorial for victims of violent crime in Texas.

The design features several buildings to serve victims' needs, including cottages for overnight use and a larger structure that can be used for training, counseling and mediations.

A victims' memorial will be located on the grounds and will feature a commemorative sculpture. The grounds also offer walking trails and prayer alcoves.

Leaders of the effort hope to build the structure in Huntsville, site of the state's largest prison.

The concept was presented at a BGCT-sponsored prayer breakfast during the Texas Crime Victim Clearinghouse Conference. The annual event is designed to reflect the impact hope in Christ can have on the lives of victims.

The memorial will play a key role in expanding restorative justice ministries, predicted Susan Edwards, director of Hope for Healing Ministries and research assistant for the BGCT Missions Equipping Center. Christians are finding ways to serve victims of crime, a population largely overlooked in the past.

Beyond serving as a memorial to those hurt by crime, Edwards said, she hopes the structure serves as a gathering place where victims can connect, feel safe and continue their emotional recovery.

Individuals will be able to stay in the housing free of charge when they come to confront offenders through mediation. The rooms also are available to execution witnesses or victims seeking counseling.

Organizers look for the memorial center to become a place where people can come to be trained in ministering to crime victims. Many ministries historically have focused on offenders. Victims' services represent a relatively new ministry being emphasized by the BGCT Missions Equipping Center.

Trained Christians are needed to walk with victims of crime through the process of recovery, Edwards said. Individuals initially may experience outrage and anger that is natural in the aftermath of a violent crime.

Trauma experienced by victims of crime can last for an extended period, said Jim Young, director of the BGCT Missions Equipping Center. Christians can help minister to those who have been hurt long after the incident.

“Healing is a road,” Young said. “It is a process. It must be done day after day after day.”

Eventually, a victim may be able to see God's healing hand after the incident, Edwards said. They may begin to see God's mercy and love. Faith provides strength and perspective for those struggling through a situation.

In many ways, the victim memorial will provide many of the same kinds of ministry for victims provided through the Huntsville Hospitality House for offenders' families, Edwards said. It will be a place of compassion.

“It is time to do for the victims what we have done for the offenders through restorative justice,” she said.

Edwards envisions multiple groups becoming interested in this project and investing in it. Victims also will be able to contribute to it in some fashion.

“The memorial will be a focal point,” Edwards said. “But the ministry for Hope for Healing will go beyond the center.”