Texas Baptist Forum

Posted: 11/02/07

Texas Baptist Forum

Synergy of the Spirit

As Baptists, we have long believed and relied on the fact that the Lord speaks through the votes of his people.

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Letters are welcomed. Send them to [email protected]; 250 words maximum.

“My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside.” Albert Snyder Father of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who sued Wesboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., after the church protested his son’s 2006 funeral. The church pickets soldiers’ funerals, claiming God is killing troops as punishment for homosexuality in America. (AP/RNS) “Faced with a world lacerated by conflicts, where violence is still justified in the name of God, it is important to reassert that religions must never become vehicles of hate. On the contrary, religions can and should offer precious resources for constructing a pacific humanity.” Pope Benedict XVI Speaking at a peace conference (RNS) “He never made me feel that my faith and my intellect were at war with one another. He always made me believe that God gave you a brain, and he expects you to use it.” Condoleezza Rice U.S. secretary of state, discussing her faith and her father, a late Presbyterian minister (Larry King Live/RNS)

In Amarillo during the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting, I believe God spoke to us in two profound ways. The Lord affirmed Joy Fenner and the significant role of women in ministry. He knows if we are going to claim our future, women must continue to play a vital role in helping us to wrap our arms around Texas and the world.

I also believe the Lord called on us to lay aside political maneuverings and to pull together as one people on one mission to reach Texas and the world for the sake of his kingdom.

We must embrace the reality of who we really are. Our presidential election did not reveal that we are a divided convention. It revealed we are a people who want to come together. We cannot make the mistake of interpreting this election through the eyes of a “win/lose” attitude. We must continue to seek the synergy of the Spirit that can only come as we approach our struggles with a “win/win” attitude.

There will be no losers in Texas if we heed his voice and choose to face the future together.

David Lowrie

Canyon

Generous spirits

Thank you, Texas Baptists, for your contributions of food and financial donations to the food drive segment of City Reach West Texas, held immediately prior to the BGCT annual meeting. And thanks to Marla Bearden and Gerald Davis for coordinating this event.

As one of the agency recipients of the food donated, we are grateful to you for sharing your bounty with those who, on the front lines of meeting needs and sharing Christ, are in a position to pass it on to hungry families and individuals across West Texas. 

To say that the need for help in our communities has grown in the last few years—indeed, the last few months—would be an understatement. 

Your gifts will help us all stretch our food supplies a little further. We are grateful.

May our Father honor your generosity and willingness to give by multiplying his blessings both to you and to those we serve.

Susan Edwards, director

Midland Baptist CRISIS Center

Midland

‘Texas Baptists’

Please tell the BGCT staff and the Baptist Standard staff to stop referring to the BGCT as “Texas Baptists.”

There are more Baptists in Texas that are not part of the BGCT than are part of it. You are misrepresenting who you are and who other Baptists are in our state.

The BGCT does not speak for all Baptists in the state of Texas and needs to quit insinuating that it does.

Micah Meurer

Amarillo

Children need adoption

Howard Batson’s sermon at the BGCT annual meeting was a moving reminder of our status as believers. I found myself deeply touched by the pictures of the two children who were adopted.

Texas Baptists need to be reminded there are over 1,000 children in the care of Texas Child Protective Services who need homes and would like to have the experience of their own “mama” and “papa.” If not adopted, these children will age out of a tragically strained foster care system.

Michael Chancellor

Abilene

CP roots

It is my understanding that the BGCT in the early 1970s recommended that the institutions create development programs since the feeling then was that the Cooperative Program would not keep up with growth.

That recommendation was heard by our ministry, and we have been working hard on development since. Our own analysis shows that in 1979 income from CP was 52 percent of our budget. Currently, it is around 9 percent.

We too have expanded services while knowing that there is no possibility of asking for increased CP funding. We are grateful for every CP dollar we receive and more importantly the relationship that is behind the funding.

God has blessed us with other income sources, but our CP roots are so vital to the fruit desired by Texas Baptists.

Jerry Bradley, president

Children At Heart Ministries

Round Rock

What do you think? Send letters to Editor Marv Knox by mail: P.O. Box 660267, Dallas 75266-0267; or by e-mail: [email protected]. Due to space considerations, maximum length is 250 words.