Posted: 3/17/06

Graham preaches ‘last
evangelistic sermon’ in New Orleans

By Bruce Nolan

Religion News Service

NEW ORLEANS (ABP)—Billy Graham seems to have closed out his 60-year career as the country’s most famous evangelist after calling thousands to Christian faith in wounded New Orleans with the acknowledgment, “This is probably the last evangelistic sermon I’ll ever preach.”

Frail and tentative, the 87-year-old Graham shuffled behind a walker toward the pulpit set at one end of the New Orleans Arena as a crowd his organization estimated at 16,300 stood in a sustained roar of applause March 12.

His son, evangelist Franklin Graham, gently assisted him into place. Thousands of flash bulbs exploded. An overflow crowd of 1,500 watched outside on jumbo TV screens.

Graham preached on his feet 22 minutes. The arena’s lighting caught his swept-back silvery hair.

His familiar square jaw was taut, but his voice has grown thin with the years.

Graham told a few well-received jokes and spoke ad-miringly of Mayor Ray Nagin and the Herculean task of recovery facing him.

“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It’s the only way,” he advised Nagin.

But the core of his message—much abbreviated from that of 417 earlier crusades—was simple Christian evangelism—a call to repentance, acceptance and the assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Graham preached out of his own infirmity, several times referring to his multiple ailments. He begged his audience’s forgiveness in advance should he lose his way in his notes, which he did briefly, once, to no ill effect.

He referred to a recent period of illness that included four brain operations. He spoke of sensing the nearness of death and the certainty of salvation.

When he finished, Graham sat back in a lift chair that raised him to the appropriate height behind the pulpit. As hundreds filed forward in the traditional altar call, he admonished them to “be careful of those people in wheelchairs. I’m one of them.”

Buses outside the area advertised they came from as far away as Kentucky and Georgia, but the crowd was overwhelmingly local and badly battered by Hurricane Katrina.

Pastor Louis Jones said he came because he needed to be encouraged.

He lost his church in the 7th Ward, as well as his cars and his home in eastern New Orleans.

His wife, children and grandchildren live near Dallas while he remains in the city, trying to assist his scattered congregation and working his job in the U.S. Postal Service.

To top it off, he said, a brown recluse spider bit him while he was gutting his house, hospitalizing him for two days.

“I’m learning patience,” he said. “But I hope to hear some words of encouragement tonight. I always find the word (of God) encouraging. It strengthens me. Sometimes a preacher needs to be preached to.”

Many in the crowd said they came for similar reasons—to hear a bit of encouragement in familiar words from an iconic figure in American religious life.

Some added more. Lesha and Michael Freeland brought their two sons She said she wanted 9-year-old Christopher to see Graham in the flesh.

Although Christopher probably is too young to appreciate Graham’s appearance, she said, she “wanted him to be able to say one day that he had seen him.”

What they saw before Graham’s appearance was 90 precisely choreographed minutes of Christian rock mixed with videotaped testimonies, bluegrass music and exuberent traditional hymn singing.

In a highlight before Graham’s appearance, 97-year-old George Beverly Shea, a longtime, faithful Graham musical sidekick, sang How Great Thou Art to affectionate applause that nearly rivaled Graham’s.

But many said they felt the night was Graham’s—and another moment of history wrought by Hurricane Katrina, one in which timeless Scripture was intersecting with the end of a mortal life span.

Graham seemed draped with the same sense of closure.

“I’m looking forward to that big reunion up there,” he said at his sermon’s end. “God bless you all.”

Bruce Nolan writes for The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

Posted: 3/17/06

Churches broke tax laws, IRS reports

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—An Internal Revenue Service report determined nearly three-fourths of the churches and other charities it investigated violated federal tax laws during the 2004 election.

The report, released by a special IRS task force, shows many of the churches and charities referred to the agency during 2004 engaged in illegal electioneering. Since 1954, churches and other charities organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax codes have been prohibited from clearly endorsing or opposing candidates. However, they may speak out freely on legislative or ballot issues.

In 82 cases where a decision has been reached, the IRS found violations in 60 cases. Another 28 cases still are open.

IRS officials determined violations by three organizations were sufficiently serious to recommend revocation of their tax-exempt status. Another 55 violators were sent written warnings. The other less-serious violations involved cases in which the IRS “believes the organization engaged in prohibited campaign activity, but the activity appeared to be a one-time, isolated violation, and the organization corrected the violation where possible,” the report said.

In five cases, the IRS found non-political violations of tax law. In the remaining 18 cases, the groups were exonerated.

Citing “taxpayer privacy rights,” the IRS did not identify any of the churches or charities or specify the violations.

Some social conservatives have criticized the IRS in recent years for what they perceive as uneven enforcement of the law, singling out churches and other nonprofits for endorsing conservative candidates while ignoring similar violations in favor of liberal candidates.

But the report said the violations it investigated covered “the full spectrum” of political ideology.

The report noted there are more than 1 million 501(c)(3) organizations in the United States, but only a handful of IRS agents who devote significant time to monitoring their compliance with election laws.

It also noted an investigation of IRS enforcement of the electioneering law for the Treasury Depart-ment had “concluded that there was no evidence of political bias or direction (in IRS investigations into church electioneering), but did make several recommendations for improving the process.”

In response to those recommendations, the report said, IRS officials would provide more detailed information to churches—including a set of guidelines—to instruct them on how to avoid violating the law. It also recommended continuing to use the task force to study complaints about electioneering.

Posted: 3/17/06

Kid’s TV more violent than prime-time

By Enette Ngoei

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—With cartoons leading the way, children’s television programs may be more violent than prime-time programming, a study by the Washington-based Parents Television Council indicated.

The report found 3,488 instances of violence—an average of 7.86 violent instances per hour—in the 443 hours of children’s programming analyzed. There were also 858 incidents of verbal aggression, 662 incidents of disruptive or disrespectful behavior and 275 instances of sexual content.

Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, pointed to a 2002 study by the council that found the six broadcast networks combined averaged only 4.71 instances of violence per hour of prime-time programming.

“There is more violence aimed at young children than at adults on television today,” Bozell said.

The study focused on before- and after-school and Saturday- morning programming for children ages 5 to 10, looking at eight networks—ABC Family, Cartoon Net-work, Disney Channel, Nick-elodeon, ABC, Fox, NBC and WB.

The Cartoon Network ranked highest for the total number of violent incidents, although the ABC Family Channel had the largest number of violent incidents per episode, with an average of 10.96 instances. The WB had the highest levels of offensive language, verbal abuse, sexual content and offensive or excretory references.

Jim Babcock, representative for the Cartoon Network, said he had not thoroughly reviewed the report.

“We are confident that our standards and practices policies ensure that the programming on our air is age-appropriate.” Babcock said. “All of our shows undergo several reviews throughout the production process to make sure that they are suitable for their intended viewers.”

Posted: 3/17/06

Lotz announces retirement,
Kazakhs pull out of BWA

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP)—Leaders of the Baptist World Alliance learned at their March Executive Committee meeting that General Secretary Denton Lotz plans to retire and the Baptist Union of Kazakhstan has decided to leave the international federation.

Lotz, 67, said the process for selecting a new general secretary will begin immediately, and he hopes to announce a more specific time frame for his departure when the BWA General Council meets July 3-8 in Mexico City.

The BWA personnel committee will serve as the search committee. Baptists from each of the BWA’s six continental regions are represented on the panel.

Lotz, who has led the organization since 1988 and who earlier served as its evangelism director, said he and his wife, Janice, had turned to Scripture, prayer and the council of wise friends in making the decision.

He also said he made the decision in complete freedom, with no pressure to retire.

BWA President David Coffey said the announcement causes a “heaviness of heart,” but it “takes a really good leader” to know when it’s time to make such a change. He added it is a “great time to be a Baptist Christian” because the world body has attained a new level of maturity. As a result, Coffey said, this is a good time to begin the process of choosing a new general secretary.

Lotz and Tony Peck, secretary of the European Baptist Federation, also announced a Baptist denomination from Central Asia had withdrawn from both BWA and EBF. Leaders of the Baptist Union of Kazakhstan cited many of the same reasons leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention claimed when that body voted to withdraw from BWA in 2004, he said.

“They’re concerned about issues like holiness of life; they’re concerned that sin is taken seriously,” Peck said. “They’re concerned about the excesses of the charismatic movement. They don’t believe in women pastors.”

SBC leaders, in recommending to the denomination that it end its 99-year-old relationship with BWA, accused the worldwide umbrella group of being too tolerant of member bodies that, in turn, tolerated affiliated congregations or institutions with doctrinal stances they oppose.

They also disagreed with BWA’s recommendation that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a moderate group that split from the SBC, be admitted as a full-fledged member.

BWA leaders responded that Baptist polity would not allow them to prescribe the doctrinal standards of member bodies.

EBF and BWA officials made much the same argument to Kazakh Baptist leaders and other Central Asian Baptist leaders during a meeting in Kyrgyzstan in February, Peck said. Leaders from the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Kyrgyzstan had expressed similar concerns, but had not announced any formal action to EBF or BWA, he added.

“I think the main issue is not those (doctrinal) issues themselves. It was what they are asking of the EBF and the BWA,” he said. “And we tried to remind them that we are not a church. … We are a fellowship of member bodies.”

But, Peck added, “this is quite a difficult idea for the Central Asian Baptists to get their mind around” in a region where Baptist denominations tend to be very conservative and authoritarian.

“We’re not set up to be an organization that disciplines and excommunicates member bodies,” Peck said.

EBF is composed of more than 800,000 baptized believers in approximately 50 national or regional Baptist bodies across Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East. The Kazakh Baptist group has 10,774 members in 289 churches, the EBF’s website says.

Peck also reported three other groups have joined the EBF in recent months—small Baptist unions in Sweden and Kosovo, as well as a newly founded Baptist church in Baghdad.

Ferrell Foster of BGCT Communications contributed to this story.

Posted: 3/17/06

Nehemiah’s Vision seeks to rebuild homes

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

VIDOR—Southeast Texas Baptists have formed a nonprofit ministry to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Rita, but they need skilled volunteers to help them in the months ahead, organizers insist.

Last October, representatives from churches in Golden Triangle Baptist Association and Sabine Neches Baptist Area created a home-repair and reconstruction ministry they call Nehemiah’s Vision, drawing inspiration from the Old Testament story about rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.

“We’re focusing on homes that either were not insured or people whose insurance didn’t cover the damage they sustained. A lot of them are single-parent families or elderly people,” said Montie Martin, director of missions in Golden Triangle Baptist Association.

Leaders of Nehemiah’s Vision committed to procure materials and mobilize volunteers who could help displaced people return to homes severely damaged or destroyed by the hurricane, as well as provide spiritual counsel to the families as they put their lives back together.

“By the end of spring break, we will have completed more than 100 homes,” said Terry Wright, pastor of First Baptist Church in Vidor.

And more help is on the way. The Texas Baptist Men Executive Board voted last month to partner with Nehemiah’s Vision. TBM volunteers will begin work in Southeast Texas sometime after they complete work in Cross Plains, where they will build houses for uninsured elderly whose homes were destroyed by wildfires, said Bill Pigott of TBM Builders.

But considering all the low-income families in Southeast Texas displaced by Hurricane Rita, up to one year’s worth of work still lies ahead, Baptists there noted.

Nehemiah’s Vision needs volunteers skilled in every aspect of construction, from foundations to finishing. The organization has purchased a 250-bed former retirement facility to house long-term summer volunteers, and churches with showers and kitchens are opening their doors to short-term workers, Martin said.

“We’ve had people who can only give one day to the project and others who have volunteered for up to two weeks, and we can use them all,” Wright added. “We need skilled labor, but we can put unskilled volunteers to work tearing out sheetrock.”

For more information about Nehemiah’s Vision, call (409) 769-1616, e-mail nehemiahsvision@sbcglobal.net or visit the Golden Triangle Association website at www.gtba.org.

Posted: 3/17/06

Texas Tidbits

CLC director search committee named. Jim Nelson, vice chairman of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board and member of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, has been named chairman of the search committee appointed to seek a new director for the BGCT Christian Life Commission. Other search committee members are Ken Hugghins, chairman of the CLC and pastor of Elkins Lake Baptist Church in Huntsville; George Mason, pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas; Michael Bell, BGCT president and pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth; Patsy Ayres, member of First Baptist Church in Austin and former member of the CLC; Janie Sellers, member of First Baptist Church in Abilene and a member of the CLC; and Ellis Orozco, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen and a former member of the CLC. Suzii Paynter, the CLC’s director of citizenship and public policy, is interim director. She assumed leadership of the commission weeks after the death of Phil Strickland, longtime CLC director.

Brumley returns to Mercer from Baylor. Larry Brumley has resigned as interim vice president for marketing and communications at Baylor University, effective May 31, to join the administration at Mercer University in Macon, Ga. Mercer President-elect Bill Underwood—Baylor’s former interim president—made Brumley his first administrative appointment, naming him to the position of senior vice president and chief of staff, effective June 1. Before joining the Baylor administration in May 1997 as associate vice president for communications, Brumley served six years as associate vice president for university relations at Mercer. A 1982 Baylor graduate, Brumley earned a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife, Emily, are the parents of two daughters: Laura, a Baylor freshman, and Amy, a high school sophomore. They are members of First Baptist Church in Waco.

Piper gifts fund BUA student village. Baptist University of the Americas received a $1 million gift and $2.5 million interest-free loan from the Christ Is Our Salvation Foundation established by the Paul and Katy Piper family. Groundbreak-ing on Piper Village, an apartment-styled student housing community, is slated for late spring this year, with completion of its first phase planned for the fall 2007 semester. Upon completion, Piper Village will provide two- and three-bedroom apartments and support facilities to accommodate up to 48 families and 64 single students. The five apartment buildings will be the first phase of development on a new 75-acre campus located across the interstate from the current campus on San Antonio’s south side. The Piper gift will be paired with funds from a $3 million matching gift fund launched last year by philanthropists John and Eula Mae Baugh of Houston.

DBU business college accreditation reaffirmed. Dallas Baptist University’s College of Business was awarded reaffirmation of accreditation by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs. DBU will receive a certificate of accreditation during the association’s annual conference in Chicago this summer. Accredita-tion certifies that the teaching and learning processes within the university meet rigorous educational standards established by the association.

ETBU campaign tops goal. East Texas Baptist University’s “Securing Tomorrow … Today” fund-raising campaign for student scholarships exceeded its $130,000 goal by more than $12,000 in 2005.

Posted: 3/17/06

Recent Wayland grad brings
ministry training to secular job

By Jonathan Petty

Wayland Baptist University

SAN ANTONIO—Banking may be his business, but Russell Cruzan tells anyone who asks that ministry is his life.

Cruzan, who recently graduated from Wayland Baptist University-San Antonio with a master’s degree in Christian ministry received the First Baptist Church of San Antonio Award as the outstanding graduate student receiving a degree in religion.

The award is based on a student’s willingness to learn and teach the Bible, missions involvement, service to others and impact on the world around them.

Cruzan, a member of Beth Ha Tikvah Messianic Congregation in San Antonio, insists ministry is just a part of his everyday life.

While a master’s degree in Christian ministry may not improve his standing as a training officer with the International Bank of Commerce, Cruzan said he can apply much of what he has learned both to his ministry and his secular career.

“I develop people as well as training classes and materials,” he said. “Because so much of what we do in ministry is in front of people and is preparation and delivery of sermons or classes, obviously this ties right in with what I do careerwise as well.”

Cruzan views his interaction with people on a day-to-day basis in the community as an opportunity to build relationships in which he can share his faith.

“I take witnessing as an extension of my social interaction,” Cruzan said. “I tried the approach where I just walked up and started talking to people and had zero results with that.”

Instead, now Cruzan brings his faith into his job and his volunteer work around the community.

“A lot of wise people over the years say that when people know you and know you care about them, then you begin to do things from a witnessing standpoint that you can’t do any other way,” Cruzan said. “I’ve discovered in my life that is true.”

Cruzan serves as the director of adult education and is the head deacon at the Messianic congregation, but he is not Jewish.

“A Messianic congregation is not just for Jewish people,” he said. “It is a congregation for anyone who is a believer in Jesus. We just worship in a Jewish context.”

Cruzan, who has been involved in lay ministry since the mid 1980s, said completing his master’s degree is a great benefit to his work and ministry.

“I woke up one day and said, ‘Yikes, I’m almost 40.’ I just decided that I wanted to get my education affairs in order,” Cruzan said.

“I literally woke up saying I want to serve the Lord, and I have unfinished business that is tied to my ministry initiatives and aspirations and what I think the Lord would have me do.”

It wasn’t until he ran into a graduate at a pastor friend’s barbecue that Cruzan seriously looked at Wayland.

Growing up Baptist, Cruzan was attracted to Wayland, and he has encouraged other members of his congregation seeking religious, faith-based education to try the university.

Going to school full-time, working full-time and performing “quasi-full-time ministry” can really take its toll on a person, Crusan acknowledged.

Now, he figures it’s his turn to focus on work and ministry while his wife pursues her degree, beginning next semester.

Posted: 3/17/06

ETBU grad shares faith through illusions

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

MARSHALL—When Christian illusionist Drew Worsham makes someone float in the air, performs card tricks or causes objects to disappear, his illusions generate a sense of anticipation. And after capturing the audience’s attention, Worsham shares a powerful message.

“Every performance is an opportunity to use the gifts God has given me, and I am passionate about using these gifts to further his kingdom,” Worsham said. “I am privileged each time I step on a stage—whether that is in a church, on a college campus, a coffee shop or a sidewalk in the middle of a busy downtown.

“I perform and entertain for one reason—to build relationships and earn my right to share what Christ has done in my life. People are the reason for this ministry; illusions are simply the tool that opens the door for me to share.”

While growing up in Nacogdoches, Worsham’s interest in illusions began at an early age. “When I was 6 years old, I found a Magic with Mickey Mouse book and began making quarters disappear and pencils stick to my hand,” he recalled. “I would watch David Copperfield and any other specials on television with my family and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I also quickly learned that while performing illusions, it was easy to captivate an audience.

“I grew up in an amazing Christian family, and … I’ve always had a lot of support throughout my life. My family encouraged me toward my dreams and taught me at an early age that Jesus died to become my Savior.”

Later, Worsham discovered how he could use illusions to glorify God. While performing illusions at children’s birthday parties, he would close the show by telling the audience that God loved them. A youth minister who attended one of those parties asked Worsham to perform for a church event.

As word spread about Worsham’s talents, he received many invitations to perform at other church events. During his freshman year at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Worsham met Christian illusionist Brock Gill, who became his mentor and helped him establish his ministry.

While at ETBU, Worsham joined Bel Air Baptist Church in Marshall.

Since graduating in May 2005, Worsham has juggled a busy schedule performing at church events around the country, including children’s ministry events, youth camps, retreats, Disciple Now weekends, conferences, Upward sports award nights and other evangelistic outreach events.

Last summer, Worsham and musician Josh Martin—also from ETBU—teamed up with North American Mission Board’s Power Plant ministry, a camp designed to engage students in church planting and evangelism.

“There is nothing really magical about me,” Worsham said. “I never thought that I would be in this position. I was that kid at youth camp who watched the worship bands and the speakers and thought that they had the coolest jobs. They had the responsibility of sharing with a room full of waiting youth that Christ loved them.

“It’s proving to be a harder calling than I thought at a younger age. I love what I get to do, and I am thankful that God is using me in this season. I have no idea what is in store for the future. … The one thing I do know is that God is leading, and I’m trying my best to keep up.”

Posted: 3/15/06

BaptistWay Bible Series for March 26

Saul’s search leads to his being found

• 1 Samuel 9:1-4, 15-21; 10:1, 9-24

By Joseph Matos

Dallas Baptist University, Dallas

Have you ever read passages from the Bible that raised as many questions as they gave answers? I have to admit the present passage is one of them.

1 Samuel 8-10 concludes the transition from the period of the judges to the monarchy. But a discerning reader might rightly ask: Was it wrong to ask for a king? If so, why did God grant the request? Why did God select Saul?

Setting the scene

Chapter 8 provides the background for our passage. Samuel had been a faithful servant of the Lord his whole life; but now he was old. Furthermore, while Samuel was a capable leader, his own sons, Joel and Abijah, were corrupt. The elders of Israel sensed the nearness of Samuel’s death, recognized the constant threat from the surrounding nations and feared what might happen if leadership transferred to Samuel’s sons. They saw the pattern of Eli and his sons repeating itself, and they wanted no part of it.

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Supposing there was only one solution to this dilemma, the elders approached Samuel with a bold request: “Give us a king to lead us” (v. 6).

Though initially “displeased,” Samuel “prayed to the Lord.” Despite the prediction in Deuteronomy 17:14-17 that the people would request a king, Samuel opposed this idea. Nevertheless, the Lord reassured Samuel their request revealed their rejection of himself as king, not Samuel. In this sense, the request for a king was wrong.

The Lord then enjoined Samuel to warn the people of the many burdens that would accompany rule by a king. Whether this was meant to dissuade Israel, who can know for sure? Samuel gave the warnings as directed. Yet, the people remained adamant, “We want a king over us” (v. 19). So God instructed Samuel to grant them their wish (v. 22). In a move indicating the people should await a response, Samuel sent them home.

The search for a king

Chapter 9 shifts to describe Saul, a heretofore unknown individual. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. His father was Kish, “a man of standing” (v. 1). He was “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the others” (v. 2). Might Saul be God’s man for king? Described this way, Saul appeared that he had the potential to be king. But learning more about Saul as we read on, we might wonder.

On one occasion, Kish sent Saul out to look for some lost donkeys. When he was unable to locate them, Saul worried his father’s concern would turn from the donkeys to him and his entourage, so he determined it was best just to return home. However, one of the servants suggested they inquire of the “man of God” (v. 6). So they went to find him.

At the same time, the Lord revealed to Samuel that his “search” would soon be over (vv. 15-16). A man from the tribe of Benjamin would come his way. Samuel would anoint him as leader over God’s people. As predicted, the next day, in a “chance” meeting, Saul found “the man of God,” Samuel, and Samuel found the soon to be king of Israel, Saul. When Saul inquired of the whereabouts of the “seer,” Samuel identified himself as the seer (vv. 18-19). But Samuel would reveal to Saul more than the whereabouts of his father’s donkeys.

Samuel declared Saul as the one to whom “all the desire of Israel turned” (v. 20). Samuel did not explicitly mention that Saul was to be king, but Saul rightly inferred the significance of the comment.

His response revealed his perceived inadequacies: Saul was from the smallest tribe, he said, of which his clan was the smallest (v. 21). Saul may have possessed the physical qualities, but he apparently lacked the invisible qualities. Despite Saul’s objections, Samuel anointed him as leader over Israel (10:1).

The announcement of the king

As if Saul needed them, Samuel noted three signs that would verify his selection as king: two men would assure him of the safety of his father’s donkeys; three other men would offer him food; and he would encounter a band of prophets, with whom he himself would prophesy when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. He would become a different person (vv. 2-7).

Even before Saul left Samuel’s presence “God changed Saul’s heart” (v. 9). All three events took place as predicted. Upon witnessing Saul prophesying, those who knew him responded in surprise. Surprise (or perhaps disbelief) may also describe Saul’s reaction, for when asked by his uncle of his encounter with Samuel, Saul only mentioned Samuel’s assurance of the donkeys’ safety; he made no mention of being anointing king.

At the appropriate time, Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah to reveal the identity of their king. After one final rebuke for requesting a king (“you have now rejected your God,” verse 19), Samuel ordered the people to arrange themselves by tribe and clan.

Supposedly by lot, Samuel chose the tribe of Benjamin, then the clan of Matri. However, when the lot fell on Saul he was absent. The people searched until the Lord revealed Saul hiding among the baggage. Saul did not act very kingly.

At last, Samuel announced Saul as God’s chosen one. With shouts of acclamation, the people declared, “Long live the king!”

Many celebrated, but some questioned Saul’s selection (v. 27). Chapter 11 would reveal Saul’s initial, but short-lived success.

Discussion questions

• What did Israel’s request for a king imply about their relationship with God?

• Why did God grant Israel a king?

• Why did God choose Saul?

• What other biblical narratives demonstrate God working in and for his people despite themselves?

• Recall an occasion when you did what was the acceptable thing, but not the best thing.

• What questions did this passage raise for you?

Posted: 3/15/06

Family Bible Series for March 26

Honor Christ through obedience

• Luke 19:28-32, 35-44

By Greg Ammons

First Baptist Church, Garland

What does it mean to honor someone? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, honor means “to confer distinction or hold in the highest regard.” Honor also implies the dignity you accord to a position.

What does it mean for a follower of Jesus to honor Christ? It means believers are to confer distinction upon their Lord and hold him in the highest regard. Christians are to live lives of dignity simply because of Jesus’ position as Lord.

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In Luke 19, Jesus was making his third and final visit to Jerusalem before his crucifixion. He traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem and back on the Sunday before his impending death on Friday. During this vital week, Jesus taught his followers what it meant to honor him.

Obey Christ as Lord (Luke 19:28-32)

Jesus approached Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives when he gave two of his disciples an interesting command. He told them to go to the village ahead of them and take a young colt they would find there (v. 30). The disciples were to untie the colt and take it. If anyone asked them about their actions, they were to tell them their Lord needed the young animal (v. 31). The two disciples obeyed exactly as Jesus had commanded (v. 32).

To honor Jesus, his followers must obey him. Often, his commandments make no sense to our logical reasoning, yet complete obedience still is expected. A church leader said recently, “If we continue to buy what we want, drive what we want, eat what we want and live where we want, then we have not submitted to the lordship of Christ.”

The Greek word for “Lord” is kurios, which means to give someone complete allegiance. It is closely related to the word “boss” in the English language. If the boss gives a command, the faithful employee will carry out the order. Since Jesus Christ is Lord, his faithful followers are to carry out his commandments completely. As a Christian, do you view Jesus as your “boss” and carry out each command diligently?

Praise Christ as king (Luke 19:35-40)

Jesus mounted the young donkey and rode it into Jerusalem. As he did so, his disciples spread their coats along the road and began joyfully to praise God in loud voices (vv. 35-36). “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God in the highest!” they shouted (v. 38).

When Jesus’ enemies, the religious leaders in the crowd, heard the praise, they ordered Jesus to rebuke the disciples (v. 39). He stated, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (v. 40). Even nature knows it is natural to praise the Creator. Mankind, the crowning creation, surely must return his praise.

Jesus accepted the praise of his followers as King. Although many in this crowd would forsake him just a few days later, he still accepted their praise as genuine. One of the greatest ways to honor Jesus today is to truly praise him from the depth of our heart.

Mark Twain once noted, “It is better to deserve honor and never have it than to have it and not deserve it.” Jesus deserves the highest honor as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. May his faithful followers give him the praise he so rightly deserves.

Share Christ’s concern (Luke 19:41-44)

As Jesus approached the city of Jerusalem, his heart went out to the citizens. He was moved with compassion and wept over the city (v. 41). Although his own approaching death brought no selfish tears, Jesus was moved with the plight of a city rejecting him.

In only 40 years, Jerusalem would be laid waste by a Roman army. In A.D 70, the Romans used an embankment to beseige the city and destroy it. Although the city was rejecting him, Jesus still showed concern for its residents.

It is easy to wish harm upon those who reject you. Yet Jesus gave his followers a wonderful example in that we are to display true love and compassion for even those who reject us.

Christ’s followers today still must be moved with the fate of those rejecting Jesus. Whenever a person fails to trust Jesus Christ by faith as Savior and Lord, the Bible declares clearly the person will perish. This fact moved our Lord to tears and should do the same for his followers today. A part of honoring Christ as Lord is sharing his same concerns.

Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish essayist and historian whose work was influential during the Victorian Era. Carlyle once said, “Show me the man you honor and I will know what kind of man you are.” What type of person do others know you to be based upon the honor you give to Christ?

Discussion questions

• Which commands of Jesus are difficult for you to obey? Why?

• What is your favorite way to praise the Lord?

• When was the last time you were moved to tears by a the plight of a lost person?

Posted: 3/15/06

Explore the Bible Series for March 26

God’s warnings are universal

• Isaiah 13:1-23:18

By James Adair

Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio

One of the biggest obstacles to understanding the prophetic books is that the material often is not arranged in chronological order. This situation especially is true of the three major prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Much of the material in these three books is arranged thematically rather than in historical order. In particular, each of these books contains a distinct section of oracles against foreign nations; in Isaiah, this section appears in chapters 13 to 23.

The chief duty of most prophets was to prophesy to their own people, so what is the setting and the significance of the oracles against foreign nations?

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Most scholars agree that although many prophetic oracles were directed toward foreign powers, the prophet almost always uttered those words within the confines of Israel or Judah, perhaps at a religious celebration of some sort. Amos 1:3-2:3 is perhaps the best example of a series of oracles against foreign nations delivered at a single time.

The significance of the oracles against foreign nations varies. All were oracles of judgment, but while some certainly are intended as warnings to foreign nations, others probably are better understood as warnings to Israel or Judah not to follow in the footsteps of the surrounding nations, lest they incur the same fate on the day of God’s judgment. We will examine a selection of Isaiah’s oracles against the nations in this week’s lesson.

Isaiah 14:3-23

Probably the best known oracle against a foreign nation in the book of Isaiah is found in Isaiah 14, but its fame is dependant more on a traditional, but hermeneutically questionable, interpretation than on an understanding of the passage based on history and context.

Isaiah 14 is part of an oracle, or series of oracles, against Babylon, and 14:3-21 is a taunt against the king of Babylon (v. 4). The taunt makes use of figurative, even mythological language to describe both the sin of the Babylonian king and the inglorious downfall that awaits him.

The description of the king does not allow us to choose from among the 14 or so occupants of the throne of Babylon during Isaiah’s long ministry, but the passage does make one thing very clear: the king, despite his delusions of grandeur, is a human being, and not one of the gods (14:4, 10-11, 16, 19-20).

At some point in the history of interpretation of this passage, readers noted the figurative language that described the king as the “Morning Star, son of the Dawn” (v. 12), who said in his heart, “I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, … I will make myself like the Most High” (vv. 13-14). Based on a combination of reading the figurative language literally, seeing the passage as referring to an extrabiblical Jewish tradition concerning the origin of the fallen angels, and overlooking the clear references to the king as a human being in the immediate context, many people concluded that the passage referred to Satan’s fall from heaven.

This interpretation gathered an important proof-text when Jerome translated the book of Isaiah into Latin in the fifth century, for he translated the term “Morning Star” with the Latin word lucifer, a word that literally means “light bearer,” but is used in Latin texts to mean “the morning star.” It also happens to be a word Christians adopted as a name for Satan, and on the authority of the Latin Vulgate, the King James translators rendered the word as “Lucifer” in their 1611 translation. All modern scholarly editions, however, translate the word as a common noun rather than a name, and that is certainly how the verse should be understood.

Taking into account the context of the entire taunt, the prophet is portraying the king of Babylon as a person who has a false sense of his own worth, comparing himself to the gods. The words the prophet directs toward this king who exalts himself in his pride are clear: “You are brought down to the grave (literally, Sheol), to the depths of the Pit” (v. 15).

The passage equally is applicable to people today who think themselves more important than others or who puff themselves up in order to lord it over their fellow human beings. Those who do so are in danger of a fall like that experienced by the king of Babylon, who imagined himself someone great, but found out to his dismay he was a mere mortal.

Isaiah 20:1-6

In response to Sargon of Assyria’s conquest of the nearby Philistine city of Ashdod in 711 B.C., Isaiah removed his clothes and walked about Jerusalem naked for three years (periodically, not continually). This story is shocking to our contemporary sensibilities as Christians, because we tend to view public nudity as pornographic. However, in Isaiah’s day, such public nudity would not have been viewed as sexual but rather as a sign of servitude, for only slaves could be forced to walk the city streets naked. Isaiah’s nakedness was a prophetic object lesson for Egypt and Cush (the region of Nubia and Ethiopia), but also for Judah: unless they repented, they would soon experience the shame of being slaves to the Assyrians.

When we see people in our cities and towns poorly clothed or acting in bizarre ways, do we look down upon them as shameful, or do we feel compassion for them? Perhaps we should view the homeless, many of whom are mentally ill, as a sign from God to awaken us to our pride and self-sufficiency. It is true for all of us that “there but for the grace of God go I.”

Isaiah 22:1-14

Every year during hurricane season, we hear of people who, despite evacuation orders, decide to ride out the storm at home. Some even get together and hold “hurricane parties,” as though they were daring the hurricane to strike them.

Perhaps such parties will be less fashionable this hurricane season, after the devastation that Hurricane Katrina wrought last year, but I would guess there still will be some who try to make a party out of a potential disaster.

After the Assyrian army led by Sennacherib withdrew from Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah, many citizens of the city rejoiced in their deliverance. Their joy was misplaced on two counts, however. First, the Assyrian threat remained real; they could return at any time. Second, although Jerusalem was spared, many of the surrounding towns and villages were devastated.

The proper response to the disaster, Isaiah said, was weeping and mourning, not riotous rejoicing (22:12-13).

Too often, we focus exclusively on ourselves and our immediate families or neighbors, and we forget that though we may have cause to rejoice in our own good fortune, we have neighbors who live a little further away who have reason to weep and mourn. Americans are good at responding to major disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Southeast Asia and the earthquake in Pakistan.

We are not as good at responding to problems that are chronic rather than acute, like the AIDS crisis in Africa, the suffering of war victims and refugees in the Middle East or even the poverty that affects about 50 million Americans.

While it is certainly appropriate to rejoice in God’s blessings, it is important to remember our neighbors who do not share in those blessings. When we do respond to the need we see around us, we need to take to heart Isaiah’s warning in 22:11: “You did not look to him who did it (delivered the people), or have regard for him who planned it long ago.”

God is in the business of loving people and meeting their needs. When we do the same, we should always remember that we are joining God’s ongoing work, not performing great works for which we deserve praise.

Discussion questions

• We are good at recognizing the sins and problems that affect other countries, but are we equally adept at speaking prophetically to the problems in our own country?

• What signs do we see around us that inform us of either the blessings or the possible impending judgment of God?

• How can we balance a proper appreciation for God’s gifts to us with a concern for the less fortunate, both in our communities and across the globe?

Posted: 3/14/06

BWA leaders hear of Lotz retirement,
Kazakh group's withdrawal

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP)—Leaders of the Baptist World Alliance found out at their March Executive Committee meeting that General Secretary Denton Lotz plans to retire and the Baptist Union of Kazakhstan has decided to leave the international federation.

Lotz, 67, said the process for selecting a new general secretary will begin immediately, and he hopes to announce a more specific time frame for his departure when the BWA General Council meets July 3-8 in Mexico City.

The BWA personnel committee will serve as the search committee. Baptists from each of the BWA’s six continental regions are represented on the panel.

Lotz, who has led the organization since 1988 and who earlier served as its evangelism director, said he and his wife, Janice, had turned to Scripture, prayer and the council of wise friends in making the decision. He also said he made the decision in complete freedom, with no pressure for him to retire.

BWA President David Coffey said the announcement causes a “heaviness of heart,” but it “takes a really good leader” to know when it’s time to make such a change. He added that it is a “great time to be a Baptist Christian” because the world body has attained a new level of maturity. As a result, Coffey said, this is a good time to begin the process of choosing a new general secretary.

Lotz and Tony Peck, secretary of the European Baptist Federation, also announced that a Baptist denomination from Central Asia had withdrawn from both BWA and EBF. Leaders of the Baptist Union of Kazakhstan cited many of the same reasons that leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention did when that body voted to withdraw from BWA in 2004, he said.

“They’re concerned about issues like holiness of life; they’re concerned that sin is taken seriously,” Peck said. “They’re concerned about the excesses of the charismatic movement. They don’t believe in women pastors.”

SBC leaders, in recommending to the denomination that it end its 99-year-old relationship with BWA, accused the worldwide umbrella group of being too tolerant of member bodies that, in turn, tolerated affiliated congregations or institutions with doctrinal stances that they oppose.

They also disagreed with BWA’s recommendation that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a moderate group that split from the SBC, be admitted as a full-fledged member.

BWA leaders responded that Baptist polity would not allow them to prescribe the doctrinal standards of member bodies.

EBF and BWA officials made much the same argument to Kazakh Baptist leaders and other Central Asian Baptist leaders during a meeting in Kyrgyzstan in February, Peck said. Leaders from the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Kyrgyzstan had expressed similar concerns, but had not announced any formal action to EBF or BWA, he added.

“I think the main issue is not those (doctrinal) issues themselves. It was what they are asking of the EBF and the BWA,” he said. “And we tried to remind them that we are not a church. … We are a fellowship of member bodies.”

But, Peck added, “this is quite a difficult idea for the Central Asian Baptists to get their mind around” in a region where Baptist denominations tend to be very conservative and authoritarian.

Kazakh Baptist leaders began expressing similar concerns to European Baptist leaders as early as 12 years ago, Peck said. They demanded that EBF and BWA separate themselves from any member denomination that allows churches to ordain women or take stands on other controversial issues with which Kazakh Baptist leaders would disagree.

But Peck pointed to BWA’s confessional statement and said the group was not a doctrinal police force.

“We’re not set up to be an organization that disciplines and excommunicates member bodies,” he said.

EBF is composed of more than 800,000 baptized believers in approximately 50 national or regional Baptist bodies across Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East. The Kazakh Baptist group has10,774 members in 289 churches, the EBF’s website says.

Peck also reported three other groups have joined the EBF in recent months—small Baptist unions in Sweden and Kosovo, as well as a newly founded Baptist church in Baghdad.

Ferrell Foster of BGCT Communications contributed to this story.