Posted: 1/20/06

Around the State

Mark Hayes will present a concert at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at 11 a.m. Jan. 25. Hayes will lead a class on improvisation, arranging and composing from 8:15 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

The Texas Historical Commission has placed a Texas historical marker on the Luther Memorial at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The arches that make up the Luther Memorial mark the former site of Luther Hall, the university's first building, constructed in 1886 and destroyed by fire in 1929. A dedication ceremony for the historical marker will be held at 10 a.m. Feb. 1.

The Center for Cultural and Language Studies at Baptist University of the Americas will host the spring session of Spanish language and culture immersion classes Feb. 6-10. Classes balance classroom instruction and conversational interaction with BUA students from Latin America. Field trips and worship in a Spanish prayer service with an area congregation also are part of the program. Cost is $250 for the week, which includes all expenses except housing. Texas Baptists are eligible for a $100 scholarship provided through the Mary Hill Davis Offering. For more information, call (800) 721-1396.

Iglesia Cristiana in McKin-ney, Primera Iglesia in Plano, Collin Association and other partners are presenting “Survey of Immigration Laws for Ministry” Feb. 27-28 at the Southfork Hotel in Plano. A fee of $275 covers the conference, materials, lodging for one night and meals. The training will include “Immigration Ministry in our Hispanic Churches,” “The Importance of Interview-ing,” “Family and Religious Visas” and other topics. The seminars will be conducted in English. Registration must be made by Jan. 28. For more information, call (469) 450-5251.

Baylor University senior Jamie Gianoutsos has been selected a 2006 Marshall Scholar, one of 42 university students in America to recieve the award. The scholarships were established in 1953 as Britain's expression of thanks to the United States for Marshall Aid following World War II. The scholarship will allow Gianout-sos to fund her studies for two or three years at a British university. She plans to study at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor awarded 170 baccalaureate degrees and 19 master's degrees to students at its December commencement. Faith Syphrett of Pasadena was recognized for having the highest grade-point average, Kacy Chandler of Lipan received the Loyalty Cup as the student most representative of the ideals, tradition and spirit of the university, and Jonathan Ray of Round Rock received the President's Award for meritorious service.

Dallas Baptist University awarded degrees to 254 undergraduate students and 143 graduate students during its winter commencement ceremony. In addition, Charles Ku was presented an honorary doctor of humanities degree, and C.H. Murphy Jr. was presented an honorary doctor of divinity degree.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas church library convention will be held March 9-11 at Tallowood Church in Houston. Jean and Robert Flynn, both published authors, will be the featured speakers. Topics to be covered include archival restoration, preservation and conservation methods; book repair; and classification and cataloging. Registration prior to Feb 10 is $55. For more information, call (972) 331-2235.

Eric Farmer of Rowlett has been been named by the Missouri Baptist Foundation to its Academy of Junior Achieve-ment for his service on several mission trips. The Missouri Baptist University senior is a member of Trinity Life Church in Garland.

Jeff Smith has been named vice president and general counsel by the Baptist Foun-dation of Texas. He previously served the foundation as trust counsel.

Two Texas couples have been commissioned as missionaries by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jason and Cheryl Dietz will serve in western Eur-ope as church starters. He previously served as a North Ameri-can Mission Board summer missionary in Reno, Nev., youth minister at Olsen Park Church in Amarillo, minister of youth and education at North Irving Church in Irving and as minister of youth and education at First Church in Sweetwater. They have four children–Jonah, 7; Ashlyn, 5; Caedon, 3; and Lo-gan, 11 months. Rod and Kendra Lindsey also will serve in western Europe as church starters. He has been minister of music and education at First Church in LaMarque since 1995. They have four children–Samuel, 9; Ellison, 7; Magness, 2; and Marin, eight months.

Ronald Womack has been named executive director of the National Association of Church Design Builders. He previously was director of facilities at First Church in Dallas and director of property operations at Prestonwood Church in Plano. He also served three churches as pastor during a 14-year period.

Anniversaries

Benito Hinojosa, 30th, as pastor of Iglesia Alfa y Omega in Plainview, Dec. 4.

Travis Hart, 20th, as pastor of First Church in Plainview, Jan. 8.

Sam Underwood, 15th, as pastor of First Church in Farmers Branch, Jan. 8.

Danny Wendt, fifth, as pastor of First Church in Hempstead, Jan. 28.

Trinity Church in Muleshoe, 50th, Jan. 29. A noon meal will be provided. Guest speakers will include Gene Meacham, Caprock Plains Area director of missions; Chris Liebrum, special assistant to the executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; and former pastors Robert Brown and Dale Berry. Former music director Marvin Lewis and former pianist Maudie Mudford will lead worship. Lunch reservations are requested. Call (806) 272-3301. Bennie Wright is pastor.

Bill Laughlin, 25th, as minister of music at First Church in Goldthwaite, Jan. 29.

Joe Srygley, 30th, as pastor of First Church in Atlanta, Feb. 19. A reception will be held at 6 p.m.

Parkview Church in Arlington, 50th, Feb. 26. Benjamin Cole is pastor.

The Heights Church in Richardson, 50th, March 5. Former pastors Charles Vanderslice, Earl Craig and Phil Lineberger will participate in the morning service. The Martins will sing in concert at 6 p.m. For more information, call (972) 238-7243. Gary Singleton is pastor.

Retiring

Robert Helsley, as pastor of First Church in Electra, Jan. 27. He has served the church two and a half years, and has been in ministry 38 years. Other churches he has served include First Church in Blanket, Addison Church in Addison, First Church in Anna, First Church in Wheeler and Waller Street Church in McKinney.

Merle Hilbrich, as music associate and organist at Trinity Church in San Antonio, after 23 years of service to the church. She has been active in church music ministry 60 years. Other churches she served include First Church in Refugio, First Church in Alpine, Bethany Church in Dallas, Calvary Church in McAllen, and First Church and Parkdale Church in Corpus Christi.

Deaths

Brittanie Brown, 19, Dec. 12 in an automobile accident east of College Station. A freshman at Sam Houston State University, she was returning to school after a weekend home. She was active in Baptist Student Ministries and would have gone on a mission trip to Asia with Go Now Missions over Christmas break. She was a member of First Church in Elgin. She is survived by her parents, Rodney and Robyn Brown; sister, Destiny; and brother, Colton.

Bob McConnell, 75, Dec. 27 in McKinney. He served churches in Texas, Tennessee and Louisiana 52 years in music ministry. Following retirement, he was a member of Cotton-wood Creek Church in Allen. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Wanda; son, Robin; sisters, Betty Barrett, Neva Groves and Janis Hodges; and brother, Alton.

Harry Babbitt, 54, Jan. 2 in Amarillo. He was pastoral care leader at Paramount Church in Amarillo at the time of his death. He previously served as minister of education at Ash Creek Church in Azle, and he was pastor at Norman-dale Church in White Settle-ment and South Georgia Church in Amarillo. He also taught theology at Amarillo College two years and served on the executive board of the Amarillo Area Association. He was preceded in death by his brother, Jerry. He is survived by his wife, Sheliah; sons, Aaron, Trevor and Jarrod; parents Clifford and Thelma Babbitt; and brothers, Garry and Kerry.

Trevelyn Ray, 68, Jan. 10 in Houston. She was the wife of Gerald Ray and served with him 25 years as minister of music and assistant. They served Sagamore Hill Church in Fort Worth 16 years. She is survived by her husband; daughters, Kerry Ray and Kristy Parrott; and three grandchildren.

Events

First Church in Ladonia will hold a stew supper and silent auction as fundraiser from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. Feb. 4. The event is to aid a family in the church whose home burned on Jan. 13. For more information, call (903) 918-7358 or (903) 367-7242.

Taylor's Valley Church in Temple will host a grief ministry seminar Feb. 4 from 7:30 a.m. until noon. The seminar, also sponsored by Bell Association and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, will feature Paul Powell, who will discuss how to respond to a death call and how to approach the funeral message. Davis Harper, an experienced funeral director, will help pastors see the funeral director's side of the partnership. Rodney Kruse, a hospice chaplain, will explain the grief cycle and what mourners need from ministers, churches and friends. For more information, call (254) 939-0503. Jeff Loudin is pastor.

The women's ministry of First Church in Center will hold its annual Joy Seekers Conference Feb. 24-25. Speakers will be Pam McCune and Kim Wier. Grateful Heart will lead the praise time. The conference fee is $20 if registered by Feb. 15. For more information, call (936) 598-5605.

Posted: 1/20/06

BGCT names chairs for
key revamped committees

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–Baptist General Convention of Texas leaders have appointed four Texas Baptists to chair the convention's primary committees and serve on the new BGCT Executive Committee as part of the revamped governance structure.

Harold Richardson of The Woods Baptist Church in Tyler will lead the Audit Committee. This group examines the BGCT's dispersion of funds.

Debbie Ferrier of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio will chair the Administration Support Committee. This committee distributes funds throughout the convention's ministries.

Robert Cepeda, pastor of First Baptist Church in Los Fresnos, will lead the Church Missions and Ministries Commit-tee. This group relates to the various BGCT teams that work with congregations.

Ron Lyles, pastor of South Main Baptist Church in Pasadena, is the chairman of the Institutional Relations Committee. This committee deals with a variety of issues, including education, health care and child care.

The four will join BGCT Executive Board Chair Bob Fowler and Vice Chair Jim Nelson, Executive Director Charles Wade, Chief Financial Officer David Nabors and the three elected BGCT officers–President Michael Bell of Fort Worth, First Vice President Steve Vernon of Levelland and Second Vice President Dan Wooldridge of Georgetown–to comprise the BGCT Executive Committee.

Fowler–who made the appointments in partnership with Nelson and in consultation with the convention officers–said this foursome possesses the necessary skills to administer their respective committees in a timely manner.

Administrative skills are more important in the convention's new governance structure because Executive Board members will handle the entity's business through the committees, he added.

The entire board then will vote on the work of the committees.

Each chairperson brings an understanding of what the BGCT does well and what could be improved, Fowler said. The chairs have been involved in various positions of the convention's work and bring some continuity to the Executive Board in a time of change.

“We're very confident these people will bring a background and level of leadership and ability to move our convention forward at this very critical stage of the reformation of the Executive Board,” Fowler said.

Posted: 1/20/06

MORE BLESSED TO GIVE:
Disasters prompt outpouring
of gifts to charitable causes

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

News reports and televised images of suffering by South Asian tsunami victims or hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast residents prompted Americans to reach deep into their pocketbooks to give last year.

But some observers continue to question whether giving to meet urgent, high-profile needs hurts or helps ongoing charitable causes–including churches and faith-based ministries that help poor people.

Americans gave more than $2.7 billion to aid Gulf Coast hurricane victims in 2005–an amount near the total charitable gifts that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported. About two-thirds of those donations went to the American Red Cross.

A 60-year-old woman weeps from pain while waiting to see doctors attending to tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka's Kattankudy camp. Images like this prompted an outpouring of international giving to relief and recovery efforts in 2005. (Photo by Rob Finch/Newhouse News Service)

International giving to Baptist World Aid–the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance–topped $2.49 million for tsunami aid and $364,000 for the Gulf Coast hurricanes, as well as $135,000 for an earthquake in Pakistan.

The Southern Baptist Inter-national Mission Board reported $16.8 million in contributions for tsunami relief, plus more than $182,600 for the Pakistan earthquake, and the North American Mission Board reported more than $21.9 million in disaster relief giving related to the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Texas Baptists gave more than $5.8 million in disaster relief gifts in 2005 through the Baptist General Convention of Texas–$1.48 million to aid victims of the South Asia tsunami and $4.37 million for relief and recovery following the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Donor Fatigue?

Early indicators for charitable giving in 2005 don't show clear signs of the “donor fatigue” some analysts feared would occur. But other signs seem to show contributors may have shifted some discretionary charitable dollars to disaster relief and away from other causes.

For instance, while Texas Baptists gave record amounts to disaster relief and posted an increase in Texas Cooperative Program giving, the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions and the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger gifts both dropped 9 percent from the previous year.

Likewise, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship received $2.6 million for tsunami relief and more than $1.1 million for Gulf Coast hurricane relief in 2005. But gifts to the CBF undesignated fund and to the Global Missions Offering both were down 3 percent in fiscal 2004-2005.

In contrast, Buckner Baptist Bene-volence saw no downturn in giving because of the disasters, officials with the agency reported.

“In looking back over the year, it appears that many people responded generously to tsunami and hurricane relief but also continued to support our ongoing ministries,” said David Slover, executive vice president of Buckner Foundation.

That kind of response, he noted, indicates that “our support base is well-informed about not only emergency needs and responses but also is faithful to respond to the everyday needs of children and families who are experiencing critical issues in their lives,” he added.

A national survey conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University showed most fundraisers for nonprofit organizations didn't believe disaster relief giving hurt their causes, but a majority believed charities in general suffered.

Only one-third of the fundraisers who responded agreed or strongly agreed that giving to hurricane relief came at the expense of their own organizations. But 58 percent agreed disaster-related giving hurt other charities in the short-term, while only one-fourth of the respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with this idea.

“When a big disaster happens, it heightens the philanthropic impulse,” said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a charity watchdog group in Chicago.

Poverty's cause & effect

But generous gifts for disaster relief don't necessarily mean more money to address poverty's long-term effects or root causes. After a random disaster like a hurricane, people open their wallets because they recognize they could easily have been the victims, Borochoff said.

“Unfortunately, Americans have been less generous toward those they feel are poor because they have made bad choices,” such as out-of-wedlock births that trap women in poverty, he said. While overall charitable giving finished 2005 strong, contributions to benefit ongoing human needs slumped.

“It is the only category of giving that has experienced a decline in each of the last three years,” Borochoff said. Americans donate about $250 billion a year to all charities, including churches, but only $19 billion goes to meet human needs, he noted.

“I think it parallels some of the political thinking of the government cutting back,” he said, pointing to efforts to cut welfare, food stamps and other programs for the poor. “Some people are being judgmental, viewing some poor people as less-deserving victims than others.”

And some Americans apparently think their obligation to poor people is met through taxes. Scott Burns, business and finance columnist for the Dallas Morning News, wrote a Christmas column about IRS statistics that indicate charitable giving declines as income rises. In a follow-up column, he quoted from readers who took issue with him for “stoking the fires of class warfare” and failing to consider the tax burden borne by wealthy people.

“Many people see taxes as charitable giving, since much of it goes to support the poor,” one respondent wrote.

People who rationalize their failure to contribute to human-needs charities by pointing to the taxes they pay miss a fundamental difference between tax dollars and charitable gifts, said Suzii Paynter, director of citizenship and public policy with the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission.

“Charitable giving is voluntary. Taxes are not,” she said. “Charitable giving is a reflection of character. Taxes are a reflection of legal obligation.

“The kind of charity found in the Bible is an unselfish, contagious love for others that results in joyous sacrifice on their behalf. The charitable giver wishes she could do more. The taxpayer doesn't.”

Determine priorities

When it comes to public policy decisions that impact poverty, Americans “have to figure out what our priorities are,” said Yonce Shelton, policy director for Call to Renewal, a faith-based anti-poverty group. He pointed to the battle in Washington over the federal budget, noting some lawmakers are using the popular support for hurricane relief as an excuse to cut other social programs.

Religious leaders need to challenge politicians to make long-term poverty solutions a priority–in the hurricane region and nationwide, Shelton insisted. That will require being open to solutions offered from both ends of the political spectrum, he said, and “breaking down barriers that keep those two from talking to each other.”

“If we can find some ways to drop some of the traditional battles, overcoming poverty can really be a nonpartisan issue,” Shelton said. While no such shift in thinking is evident in the political arena, Katrina and other recent disasters are “hammer blows to the conscience,” forcing Americans to see poverty differently, said Tom Prevost, who directs a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship anti-poverty initiative.

“It does appear that Katrina response is riveting more attention on endemic poverty in America,” said Prevost, national coordinator of Together for Hope, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's rural poverty initiative–a 20-year commitment to fight poverty in the nation's poorest counties.

“Katrina did bring some sort of raised awareness,” agreed Alice Archibald, development director for America's Second Harvest, one of those charities that has benefited from the post-Katrina generosity.

The organization, which collects both funds and food to supply a network of 200 food banks nationwide, sent 1,700 truckloads of food–worth $82 million–to the Gulf region after Katrina. It also provided warehouse space for other relief organizations and helped in other ways.

Bouyed by cash gifts of $26 million for Katrina relief, Second Harvest easily made its $32 million fund-raising goal, Archibald said.

But it's too early to tell if that generosity will last, she said, and turn into long-term support–both for aid groups like hers that address immediate poverty needs or those that try to bring people out of poverty. Nonetheless, she is encouraged.

People gave to Katrina victims because the needs were so obvious, she said. But they also saw how poverty put hurricane victims at higher risk. And they recognized that poverty puts people at risk all over the country.

“People understand the issue more now,” she continued. “It does allow us to tell our story as we move forward.”

Signs of hope

Prevost looks overseas for hopeful signs. He said the unprecedented international response to the South Asia tsunami, as well as the debt-relief campaign for Africa, have awakened previously uninvolved Chris-tians.

Some of those mobilized Christians have volunteered in overseas projects, and that creates a positive “spillover effect,” he continued. “Those who have seen some of this face to face in these poverty-ridden counties are more sensitive.”

“There seems to be a growing awareness that it's going to take more than a quick fix” to reduce poverty at home and abroad, Prevost said.

The CBF initiative is “a long-term commitment to self-sustainability” in historically poor communities, Prevost said. The program helps the poor recognize they have the resources to change their economic destiny.

“They just feel alone,” he said of the entrenched poor. “And to know someone is going to be with them for 20 or more years, that's the thing that really seems to change the conversation. … They are tired of hit-and-run missions.”

A long-term solution to poverty will require all these elements–volunteerism, money and a long-term commitment–as well as political action to change public policy.

“There needs to be more concern for what is happening in our communities, more concern for the public witness that we have,” Prevost concluded.

With additional reporting by Greg Warner of Associated Baptist Press

Posted: 1/20/06

Book Reviews

The Gospel According to Disney–Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust by Mark I. Pinsky (John Knox Press)

Preachers and Bible teachers, keep this one handy! This highly accessible volume provides insight into the three ingredients consistent in the Disney blockbuster cartoons–faith, trust and pixie dust.

Mark Pinsky carefully reviews 31 of the major feature-length cartoons produced by Disney studios, beginning with Snow White (1937) and concluding with Brother Bear (2003). He offers a too-brief introduction to Walt and Roy Disney's Christian faith, leaving that for other biographers and the countless writers who have chronicled the Disney epic.

The book is useful to those who wish to draw from Disney for teaching and preaching illustrations. The work is a handy tool for connecting to the dominant culture that readily recognizes and understands the myths and metaphors that make Disney magical for multiple generations. The index is an effective guide to specific topics of interest, and the table of contents clearly points readers to jump in and read on a particular film without having to read the whole book.

What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to books@baptiststandard.com.

Pinsky walks readers through each film with journalistic precision, identifying religious themes. Distilling the Disney corpus of film to a singular message proved impossible, but three-point preachers will be pleased to know that Pinsky was able to ferret out the Disney cinematic trinity of faith, trust and pixie dust.

For Walt Disney, the presence of faith in the films was a necessity that needed overt separation from any and every particular religion. His marketing genius lay in the fact Americans predominantly are spiritual people but pluralistic in practice and doctrine. For that reason, the artists were forbidden to refer to any particular religion but instead were encouraged to rely on the idea of “faith” as a generic concept.

Pinsky is the religion editor for The Orlando Sentinel and writes from a Jewish perspective. He examines the effects of the Baptist boycott of Disney, ponders the nature of many American families' “pilgrimage” to Disney, and ends by concluding that, basically, Disney material is good for today's children, although some movies clearly are better than others and, “at least on initial viewing, they should be watched with a morally informed adult, preferably a close relative.”

Gary Long, pastor

Willow Meadows Baptist Church

Houston

Calvary Baptist Church Beaumont, Texas: A Centennial History, 1904-2004 by Ron Ellison (Nortex Press)

Frequently put together by committees composed of church members who are dedicated but untrained in history, congregational studies often consist of little more than numbing lists of committees, music leaders and pastors. For its centennial history, Calvary Baptist Church in Beaumont wisely commissioned one of its own, Ron Ellison, an authority on Baptists of Southeast Texas. The result is a readable account of a congregation that evolved from working-class roots on Beaumont's south side to a major religious institution comfortably situated on the city's flourishing northwestern edge.

Calvary Baptist has known both harmony and discord. The cross-town rivalry between A.E. Booth, a First Baptist Church preacher of questionable character, and Calvary's Fred Clark comes to mind, as well as the internally divisive pastorate of A.C. Maxwell, a clone of sorts of early 20th century Fundamentalist firebrand J. Frank Norris.

Although the congregation's decision in 1976 to flee a declining and ethnically diverse neighborhood raises questions about its commitment to the poor, the move definitely was beneficial in terms of material growth and institutional prestige. Ironically, it was Pastor James B. Thomp-son, frustrated in efforts to focus more attention on the growing numbers of African-Americans, Hispanics and Vietnamese in the church's midst, who led the congregation to its present location.

Significantly, this study–which received the Texas Baptist Historical Society's 2005 Church History Award–weaves the Calvary story into the broader context of both secular and religious developments elsewhere across the state.

John W. Storey,

History department chairman

Lamar University

Beaumont

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry (Counterpoint Press)

Wendell Berry–poet, farmer, theologian, novelist–invites the reader to experience the life of his fictional community, Port William, Ky., through the eyes of the title character. Young Jayber Crow leaves his studies as a minister-in-training, becomes a drifter, and eventually lands on his feet as the town barber.

Jayber Crow is not a religious novel. And yet the entire landscape Berry paints is one infiltrated and permanently stained by divine love and beauty. The author is at his best when he lets this particular landscape–the scrap of earth known as Port William–serve as the primary character in the story. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the opposing attitudes of an old farmer, Athey Keith, and his ambitious son-in-law, Troy Chatham.

Troy uses the land to serve his purposes. He borrows against it heavily. He turns farming into a business in which the ultimate goal is progress. In contrast, Athey is “the farm's farmer, but also its creature and belonging. He lived its life, and it lived his; he knew that, of the two lives, his was meant to be the smaller and the shorter.”

The Christian reader will celebrate Berry's creative weavings while pondering the questions left unanswered: How do we use the earth? How do we use others? How do we use God?

These are essential questions for our day.

Chris Thacker, pastor

First Baptist Church

Eagle Lake

Posted: 1/20/06

Baptist Briefs

Baptists Today board honors Sherman. Cecil Sherman, the first national coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, will receive the sixth annual Judson-Rice Award at an April 21 dinner at First Baptist Church of Asheville, N.C., sponsored by the Baptists Today board of directors. Sherman is a Fort Worth native and a graduate of Baylor University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary. He was pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, as well as First Baptist Church of Chamblee, Ga., and First Baptist Church of Asheville.

Birthplace of black gospel music burns. Fire destroyed Chi-cago's historic Pilgrim Baptist Church. Composer Thomas Dorsey is credited with developing black gospel music as a distinct style at the church in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The fire was caused by a torch or torches used by crews repairing the church roof, Chicago Fire Department Spokesman Larry Langford said. Arson investigators found no criminal intent in the starting of the blaze.

Georgetown College gets 'clean bill of health.' One year after being placed on probation by its accrediting association, Georgetown College has been given a "clean bill of health," President Bill Crouch reported. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed Georgetown on probation in December 2004, saying the college failed to demonstrate compliance with the requirement of financial stability. In the wake of an economic downturn after 9/11, Georgetown's net assets declined by more than $16.5 million, from $61 million to $44.5 million. Since that time, the school's net assets have increased to $52.4 million, said James Moak, Georgetown's chief financial officer. The school's long-term endowment also has rebounded.

Piper to undergo cancer surgery. Author John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, will undergo surgery for prostate cancer in February. After receiving the diagnosis in December and discussing the matter with elders and staff at his church, he announced it to his congregation in a letter posted on his website, www.desiringgod.org.

Westmoreland elected Samford president. Samford University's board of trustees unanimously elected Andrew Westmoreland as the Alabama Baptist school's 18th president. Westmoreland has been president of Ouachita Baptist Univer-sity in Arkadelphia, Ark., since 1998. Prior to being named Ouachita president, he served 19 years in various administrative capacities at the Arkansas Baptist school, including executive vice president and vice president for development. He will replace Thomas Corts, who retires May 31 after leading Samford since 1983. Westmoreland, 48, was recommended to the board by an 18-member presidential search committee after an eight-month national search involving more than 140 applicants. Westmoreland is a 1979 graduate of Ouachita. He earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Sisters Who Care conference scheduled. A Sisters Who Care conference will be held Feb. 10-12 at the Sheraton Birming-ham Hotel and the adjacent Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. The three-day event for African-American Christian women was postponed from last September due to Hurricane Katrina. "Understanding our Past … Transforming the Future" is the theme of the conference, which includes tours of the national Woman's Missionary Union offices, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the historic 16th Street Baptist Church. Total cost, including meals and lodging at the headquarters hotel, is $249. Registration cost excluding lodging and meals is $50. For registration information, visit www.sisterswhocare.com or call WMU toll-free at (888) 968-0322.

Robertson remarks derail Christian theme park. Israel's tourism minister has announced discussions with Pat Robertson will cease regarding establishment of a Christian heritage center in Galilee. Israel broke off talks after the televangelist suggested on his television show, The 700 Club, that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was punishment from God for Sharon's policy regarding Gaza. Robertson had been heading up a group of American evangelicals in plans to raise as much as $50 million for the center and theme park, which would depend on Israel donating at least 35 acres of land and infrastructure.

Posted: 1/20/06

Carroll Institute installs president, administrators

By Marv Knox

Editor

DALLAS–A seminary should create a “theological chain reaction,” Baptist educator Michael Quicke stressed during the inaugural convocation of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute.

The Carroll Institute, in its second academic year with 400 students, installed its president and three academic administrators in ceremonies held at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas Jan. 9.

Based in Arlington, the Carroll Institute trains students in 15 “teaching churches” scattered across Texas, as well as through interactive lessons taught over the Internet. Plans call for teaching churches elsewhere in the United States and overseas.

This new model for educating ministers flows out of “an extraordinary vision” that blends “loyalty to the best of Baptist distinctives and discernment toward contemporary culture,” said Quicke, professor of preaching and communication at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Ill., and former leader of Spurgeon's College in London, the largest Baptist seminary in Europe.

The Carroll Institute should keep in mind the Apostle Paul's admonition that Christians should “proclaim (Christ), admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ,” he said.

“Teach so that students are transformed, so that they may preach Christ, so that churches are transformed,” Quicke commanded, calling the proper education of ministers a “theological chain reaction.”

The goal is not “head wisdom,” but transformation of the church, he added.

That's what the institute's namesake, legendary Texas Baptist leader B.H. Carroll, strived for, said Russell Dilday, the institute's founding chancellor and former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, which Carroll founded.

Dilday cited words Carroll penned at the founding of Southwestern Seminary a century ago: “If we ever intend to make Texas Baptists the greatest spiritual force in the world and to be the potential in shaping the destiny of our state and nation, we must provide a home for the right and adequate training of a great host of spiritual leaders. Not to do it is a sin. We may not devolve this responsibility upon others, nor can we safely postpone the work.”

“B.H. Carroll pleaded forever for the better education of God's preachers,” Dilday said, noting the time is right for such a school as the Carroll Institute.

Dilday cited two primary factors for launching and supporting the institute.

First is “disruption of theological education in the Southern Baptist Convention”, he said.

Dilday is a living illustration of that disruption. After fundamentalists gained control of the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1980s, they set out to take over the convention's agencies and institutions. When they gained control of Southwestern Seminary's board of trustees, they fired him in March 1994.

Now, many of the faculty who worked alongside Dilday at Southwestern Seminary–including the four principle leaders of the Carroll Institute and many of its “distinguished fellows”–have left the seminary due to retirement or employment elsewhere. Current Southwestern President Paige Patterson was one of the two principle architects of the fundamentalists' takeover of the convention.

The other reason for launching a nontraditional school like the Carroll Institute is the “call for reform” of American theological education, Dilday added. The primary proclaimer of that call was the Association of Theological Schools, which accredits ministry-training schools in the United States and Canada, he said.

The association has said seminaries need to base their education upon training for practical skills in ministry and to conduct that training through churches, he reported.

Bruce Corley, the institute's founding president, echoed that theme.

“In the 1990s, there was a chorus of voices (in U.S. seminaries) that asked for an essential change in how to do theological education,” Corley said, lamenting, “Relatively little has been implemented.”

Along the way, the average age of a seminary student has risen to 35, while only 15 percent of Baptist ministers are younger than 35, he said. Nearly half of ministers younger than 35 have no formal seminary training, and only 15 percent of Baptist seminary-trained graduates plan to go into local-church ministry, he noted.

“We're on the verge of the dark ages in the pulpit,” Corley warned. “I want the young generation to have the same access to great theological training that I had. …

“We intend to be a seminary without walls. … I hope Baptists of like mind will stir ourselves to do something great for Jesus. It is our time.”

During the convocation, the Carroll Institute installed Corley as president and professor of New Testament and Greek. The institute also installed the three other “senior fellows,” who are its academic officers–Stan Moore, professor of worship and mission; Budd Smith, professor of Christian education; and Jim Spivey, professor of Christian heritage.

The institute also installed Dilday as chancellor and presented the first President's Award to Scotty Gray, a former longtime administrator at Southwestern Seminary, who has volunteered his time to developing the institute's academic programs and working to secure accreditation, which is expected from four accrediting agencies, Corely said.

Posted: 1/20/06

Posted: 1/20/06

Gospel lighthouses or cell phone towers?

By Jenny Rice

LifeWay Christian Resources

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Churches around the country have discovered a new way to raise funds for ministry and missions by using an often-overlooked building asset–the church steeple.

Houses of worship can earn income by contracting with telecom companies to provide use of church steeples to serve as cell phone towers. With the right agreement, steeple towers can be a win-win situation for churches and telecom companies, proponents of the approach insist.

Recognizing the need for churches to have an advocate when working with telecom companies, LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention has partnered with Steeplecom, a company created to assist churches in negotiating profitable contracts for steeple towers.

“Steeplecom is our endorsed provider for the placement of wireless communication antennas in our churches,” said Ron Chandler of LifeWay's direct marketing department. “When churches sign on with Steeplecom, they have the assurance and comfort of knowing that LifeWay has screened the company.”

LifeWay has worked with Steeplecom to provide pre-approved contracts designed to protect churches while helping them earn the most they can from church steeples.

Christ Church United in Dracut, Mass., with just 300 members, partnered with three telecom companies to use the steeple of its 200-year-old building as a cell tower.

“We are an active church,” said Pastor Larry Zimmerman. “If we rented out space, that might conflict with our church activities. But with the steeple tower, there is no wear and tear on the building. You can't see it or hear it. It doesn't conflict with our ministry at all.”

Christ Church United has used the steeple tower income for missions outreach, special projects and emergency needs not covered in the annual budget.

Zimmerman said the process of working with the telecom companies has been easy because of a third-party company's help in negotiations and maintenance.

“There is a cost involved,” he acknowledged. “But it is worth it because they oversee the installation and any problems that may occur, although we really haven't had any.”

Chandler said LifeWay's marketing department, which helps churches make informed decisions about products and services beyond those developed and distributed by LifeWay, has “studied the industry and the particular service providers, and we endorsed Steeplecom because we have found them to be the best in the field and they meet our performance standards.”

Tom Moylan, president of Steeplecom, said churches should be wary if negotiating with telecom companies on their own.

“Churches sometimes can get hoodwinked,” Moylan said. “For example, one church agreed to let a carrier use their steeple for $1,000 per month and they signed away their rights to the steeple. Now, if the church wants to let another carrier use their steeple, they have to ask permission of the first carrier.

“Another church signed an agreement that gave the rights to the telecom for the steeple all the way down to the ground, which meant if the church wanted to sell the church building, they would have to receive permission from the telecom company.”

Moylan described Steeplecom as focused not only on protecting churches' interests but also on adding resources to local churches with steeple towers.

“The goal is to funnel millions–no, billions–of dollars into the kingdom of God,” Moylan says. “This supports thousands of other missions through providing money for the church. It's awesome.”

Posted: 1/20/06

Chaplains offer comfort to pet owners

By Nicole Larosa

Religion News Service

RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS)–When her cocker spaniel died last June, Pam Carpenter was devastated. Niki was the family clown. Abused as a puppy, he thrived after Carpenter adopted him, and he wielded control over her husband, Don, and their seven other dogs on their North Carolina farm.

So, when chronic bronchitis meant Niki had to be euthanized, Mrs. Carpenter needed support. Enter the pet chaplain.

Like a handful of others across the country, Rob Gierka of Raleigh, N.C., is a chaplain for pet owners. Based at a veterinary hospital, he conducts pet blessings and funerals, honors prayer requests for pets, and lends an ear to those grieving the loss of their faithful furry friends.

Gierka drove over an hour to be with the Carpenter family that evening. A friend of Mrs. Carpenter from graduate school, he led the family in a celebration of Niki's life.

“He played music. He read some prayers. We talked about Niki and about a lot of things related to life and death and spirituality,” said Mrs. Carpenter. Gierka also encouraged the couple to share funny memories, like how Niki hated to be outdoors. “It lightened the load,” she said.

Gierka was a lay chaplain at his Baptist church and trained as a professional chaplain in a human hospital. But as an animal lover who had “lots of dogs and gerbils” as a child, he noticed an unmet need in people grieving for their pets.

“The loss of a pet is not trivial. Serious issues come up,” he said. “The kind of grief that a person is feeling isn't quite acceptable in the culture we live in.”

Wearing a badge that says “chaplain,” Gierka offers support to anxious pet owners in the waiting room, or after their pet is put to sleep. He also ministers to hospital staff, whom pet owners often lash out at when they learn their animals must be put down.

Although he is a Baptist, Gierka stressed that his work is nondenominational. Some-times, he said, it's not even directly spiritual. Much of what he does is “just listening.”

Children and the elderly particularly are affected by a pet's death, Gierka said.

He remembers a 10-year-old boy who prayed for a miracle to save his dog. But the vet told the boy's mother the animal was dying. Telling her son that God wouldn't answer his prayer was difficult.

“That's a theological problem,” said Gierka, and the kind he's trained to help with.

Posted: 1/20/06

Thowback jerseys blend sports, style & evangelism

By Greg Garrison

Religion News Service

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS)–Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Cornell Jackson switches out of his military uniform and pulls on what looks like a Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls basketball jersey bearing the number 23.

But where the word “Bulls” would be, it says “Psalm.” So the sports jersey becomes a biblical reference to Psalm 23.

Another version looks like Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers basketball jersey, except it says “Luke 8.” And Acts 27 adorns what looks like the uniform of Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero.

Jackson calls them Christian throwback jerseys. But instead of hearkening back to classic NBA or NFL uniforms, they're invoking books of the Bible.

He started the business last July and has sold several hundred jerseys, mostly in New York, California and Washington, D.C.

“People really jumped on it,” said Ronea Rouse, owner of a Christian bookstore in Los Angeles, who has sold more than 100 of them. “We do a lot of street evangelism. It's really a good tool. We've really been pushing them. It's a good thing he's got going on.”

Some popular Christian rappers have made public appearances wearing the shirts, Jackson said.

“The artists are loving my jersey,” he said.

Jackson was hired by a friend, Paul Fleming, to be manager at a Birmingham, Ala., Christian gift store in 2004. Fleming closed the store in 2005. But while helping out there, Jackson began thinking about Christian products for young people.

“I was trying to come up with something different for youth, offering the kids a message in a product they can wear and be cool,” he said.

Jackson studied popular sports jerseys and noticed that the kind he wanted to emulate, with thick, hand-stitched letters, were all made in Korea. So he flew to Korea last February to look for a manufacturer who could produce what he wanted. He stayed three weeks. He visited companies and met the owners, who typically spoke some English. He showed them his designs.

“I got a company to agree to it,” he said. “We came up with a great product.”

He also showed the jerseys to the NBA Properties office, which said he was clear of any copyright or trademark infringements, since he was only imitating colors and type fonts but not using any team names or logos.

Nonetheless, they look enough like authentic jerseys to create a buzz.

“A lot of youth pastors have been looking for something to use to get in touch with youth,” he said. “Adults are loving it just as much as kids.”

Jackson, 35, hopes the jerseys prompt people to think about the Bible, maybe even look up, read and study the biblical references.

“It's a conversation piece,” he said. “It's a way we can witness.”

Jackson has been in the Army more than 16 years, and the past nine years has been a recruiter and retention officer, in charge of keeping soldiers enlisted.

His sideline of selling jerseys has gotten a lot of notice and appears ready to take off.

In its pre-Christmas issue, Gospel Today Magazine touted the Christian throwback jersey as one of its Christmas gift recommendations. Sports Illustrated columnist Pete McEntegart mentioned the jerseys in his Dec. 20 online column at SI.com.

“It is indeed strange to see a No. 8 jersey in Lakers colors but with 'Luke' written across the front; it's like some bizarre, mismatched trinity of Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton and Jesus Christ,” McEntegart wrote. “Yet who wouldn't love to be the first kid on the block with a fly Deuteronomy jersey?”

Jackson sees the jerseys as a perfect blend of sport, style and evangelism.

“Now you have a powerful message and you witness at the same time,” Jackson said. “The response has been excellent. I came up with something people have been wanting and just never had.”

Greg Garrison writes for The Birmingham News in Birmingham, Ala.

Posted: 1/20/06

2nd Opinion:
Religion/evolution: False dichotomy

By Brent Walker

The debate over whether and how to teach evolution in the public schools continues 80 years after the Scopes “monkey trial” in Tennessee. Now the dispute itself has evolved into a pitched battle in the larger culture wars.

President Bush has declared his support for the inclusion of intelligent design in the curriculum of public schools. Recently, eight members of the Dover County School Board in Pennsylvania were voted out of office after adopting a policy that mandated the introduction of intelligent design in biology class. The policy provoked a federal lawsuit and led a Bush-appointed judge to find it “abundantly clear” that the teaching of intelligent design in science class is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court has been clear about teaching religious theories of origin in public school science classes. Banning the teaching of creationism, the high court said, “There is and can be no doubt that the First Amendment does not permit the state to require that teaching and learning must be tailored to the principles or prohibitions of any religious sect or dogma” (Epperson v. Arkansas). The court also ruled unconstitutional the so-called Balanced Treatment Act, which sought to require teaching creationism where evolution is taught (Edwards v. Aguillard).

In the aftermath of these rulings, opponents of evolution adopted other strategies. Some tried to spruce up creationism by positing the concept of intelligent design, arguing nature is so complicated that one must infer a designer of some sort. Although its advocates do not name the designer, the concept is no more than creationism with a little lipstick. Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer calls the anti-evolution movement a “national embarrassment” and palming off intelligent design as science a “fraud.” As a Baptist minister, I believe in an intelligent designer whom I unabashedly call God. But this is a religious affirmation, not a scientific proposition suitable for inclusion in a science classroom.

Others have sought to attack evolution itself by claiming evolution is not a fact but only a theory. This ignores the overwhelming support for evolution in the scientific community. It also fails to appreciate that a scientific theory is not a mere hunch, but a model that has endured scrutiny under the scientific method, even if it fails to supply all the answers.

Finally, some have tried to use intelligent design to drive a wedge between religion and science. This is a false dichotomy. Evolution and religion are not mutually exclusive. As former President Jimmy Carter, both a scientist and devout Baptist, wrote in Our Endangered Values, people of faith who take the Bible seriously and appreciate good science can comfortably embrace both. Both seek truth, but in different ways. One tries to answer the “who” and “why” questions through faith; the other addresses the “how” through scientific inquiry.

But the idea of intelligent design need not be ignored in the public schools. It can be discussed and debated in the appropriate context–such as in a comparative religion course examining theories of origin or in a social studies class that teaches the controversy itself. Nor does it mean evolution cannot be critiqued in science classes. But such challenges must be based on science and launched by scientists, not theologians.

Intelligent design proponents should abandon their efforts to stoke the flames of the culture war by forcing these divisive and religious tenets into science classes. Instead, they should seek to promote their religious beliefs in their homes, churches, private schools and the public square, and, if they desire, seek appropriate inclusion in public schools' religion and social studies curricula.

A failure to appreciate this common-sense understanding of the relationship between religion and science threatens to make monkeys of us all.

Brent Walker, an attorney and ordained Baptist minister, is executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C.

Posted: 1/20/06

After-school program scores
computers from Mavericks

By Felicia Fuller

Buckner Benevolences

DALLAS–At the Vickery Family Wellness Center in northeast Dallas, Buckner after-school participants began the new year with the staccato clicking of new computers–11 of them.

The hardware, software and computer lab furnishings are courtesy of a $25,000 grant from the Dallas Mavericks Foundation to Buckner Children and Family Services to promote literacy and learning.

“Because it impacts the educational and vocational future of our residents, this computer lab is truly a gift that keeps on giving,” said Maria Pacheco, Buckner site coordinator. “We are so very grateful for the Mavericks' generosity and for their support of our efforts to serve underserved communities like Vickery.”

Delinquency, unemployment and substance abuse abound at the Melody Place and Melody Village apartments, where Buckner administers social programs from the Vickery Family Wellness Center.

Outreach efforts include job and life skills training, adult literacy classes and an after-school program that provides homework assistance and English-as-a-Second Language courses to more than 60 youth ages 5 to 17 from the surrounding community.

With the addition of the computer lab, “now our children have new high-tech study tools and our adults can do online job searches and learn new software programs to better themselves and their families,” Pacheco said.

Buckner was among six area organizations awarded grants through the Dallas Mavericks Foundation annual giving campaign, said Mavericks community relations representative Matt Miller.

“The Dallas Mavericks Foundation supports programs and organizations in the Metroplex that address the community's most pressing problems involving youth, specifically education, health and fitness, and community service,” Miller said. “Every year, the Mavericks Foundation gives five grants at $25,000 each. This year, we were able to include the reading and learning center project, which ordinarily is not through the Mavericks Foundation. That allowed us to award a sixth grant” to Buckner.

The Mavericks Foundation called on corporate sponsors and volunteers to furnish, paint and supply the lab, recruiting systems administrator Wesley Slaughter to help install the network. Slaughter and his business partner devoted more than 100 hours to laying the cables, setting up the hardware, configuring the server, testing the system and training Buckner staff in use and maintenance.

“We looked at it from two specific points–what is going to support the children and adults' ability to better themselves,” Slaughter said.

“The network is going to support a multimedia environment and provide the ability to run applications that will make learning fun and give users the technical knowledge to be able to thrive.”