Posted: 1/06/06

Sloan	Underwood	Lilley

Baylor leadership transition
the top Texas story in 2005

By Marv Knox

Editor

Transition of leadership at Baylor University–the Baptist General Convention of Texas' oldest and most well-known institution–headed the Baptist Standard's list of top 10 Texas stories for 2005.

The Baylor presidency captured Texas Baptists' attention for most of the year.

In January, embattled President Robert Sloan told Baylor regents he had agreed to retire from the presidency and become the university's chancellor, effective June 1.

See Related Story: 'Acts of God' considered top national/global story

Sloan's future had been a topic of debate–plus at least three votes of the regents and “no confidence” votes of the faculty–in the previous two years. Sloan's leadership and vision for Baylor had become a point of contention, not only among regents and faculty, but also among alumni.

In the spring, regents chose Bill Underwood, a Baylor law professor and former university general counsel, as interim president. On June 1, his first day on the job, Underwood removed Provost David Lyle Jeffrey–with whom Underwood publicly debated academic freedom and who had joined Sloan at the center of Baylor's leadership conflict.

Through the summer, Underwood became one of two primary candidates for the presidency, along with Linda Livingstone, a former Baylor faculty member and current business dean at Pepperdine University. But by September, when the regents seemed stalemated between the two, Underwood removed himself from contention, and the regents backed away from Livingstone.

That cleared a path for a darkhorse candidate. John Lilley, a three-time Baylor graduate and distinguished alumnus who had spent the past quarter-century serving as president of two state universities far from the “Baylor bubble,” emerged as a choice on which both sides of the Baylor divide could agree.

On Nov. 4, regents unanimously elected Lilley, president of the University of Nevada at Reno, as Baylor's 13th president. Known as a consensus builder, Lilley impressed the regents with his collaborative approach to leadership and his love for Baylor, regents Chairman Will Davis said. Lilley began his tenure Jan. 2.

In a parallel move, trustees of Mercer University voted Dec. 2 to elect Underwood as president. He begins his tenure with the Baptist school in Macon, Ga., next summer.

Rounding out Texas Baptists' top 10 stories were:

2. BGCT ethnic diversity.

The Texas convention displayed its racial and ethnic diversity in 2005. Albert Reyes, president of the Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio, presided as the first Hispanic president in BGCT history. Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, succeeded him and became the convention's first African-American president. On top of that, messengers to the BGCT annual meeting approved new bylaws that mandate at least 30 percent of the Executive Board–the convention's primary governing body–be non-Anglo.

3. Reorganization.

In 2005, the BGCT embraced its most vigorous reorganization in almost a half-century. Governance changes streamlined the convention's decision-making processes, eliminating a slate of committees and commissions and vesting authority in the Executive Board. That board was restructured–pared down from about 230 members to 90, mathematically distributed across the state–and mandated to ensure a voice for minorities. Along the way, convention administrators engaged an equally vigorous reorganization of the Executive Board staff, designed to make the convention more responsive to churches. The staff realignment is to be completed in 2006.

4. Baptist World Alliance membership.

A large contingent of Texans traveled to Birmingham, England, last summer to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Baptist World Alliance, a network of more than 200 Baptist conventions from around the globe.

The celebration was especially sweet to Texas Baptists, because the BWA granted full membership to their convention in Birmingham. History had come full circle: George W. Truett, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and Texas Baptists' pre-eminent statesman in the first half of the 20th century, played a key role in organizing the BWA in 1905. Ninety-nine years later, the Southern Baptist Convention, Texas Baptists' national home since 1845, pulled out of the BWA. But a year after that, Texas Baptists restored their relationship with Baptist sisters and brothers worldwide.

5. Gulf Coast calamity.

Hurricanes Katrina and then Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast from Mobile almost to Houston. Texas Baptists responded with love and compassion. Thousands contributed funds and volunteered time and labor to help relocate storm evacuees. Texas Baptist Men volunteers traveled throughout the decimated region, preparing meals and providing myriad relief services. Scores of churches opened their doors to offer temporary shelter. BGCT agencies supplied staffing and expertise. And the BGCT itself provided $1 million to Baptists in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to help their churches respond to acute need.

6. Legislative success and failure.

On the up side, the Texas Legislature worked to reform the state's Child Protective Services last spring. A significant result was new budget funding that increased the number of state workers who look after the welfare of children. On the down side, the Legislature failed once again to reform Texas' school-financing system. The result of that failure is the education of Texas children–and the welfare of the state itself–remains precarious.

7. Tsunami relief.

A historic tsunami rocked South Asia islands and coastal regions on Dec. 26, 2004, but the reverberations rolled across Texas throughout 2005. Texas Baptist Men responded immediately, and the organization has sent numerous teams to affected areas, particularly Sri Lanka, to secure clean drinking water, provide other relief and share the gospel. Texas Baptist Child & Family Services and Buckner Baptist Benevolences have provided professional insight and loving care to families and child advocates whose worlds were turned upside down by the waves. WorldconneX, the BGCT's missions network, has applied its expertise to alleviate suffering. And churches and individuals have provided hands-on ministry and more than $1 million to devastated flood victims.

8. Immigration issues.

In 2005, Texas learned it does not have a majority population. Anglos no longer comprise more than 50 percent of the state's residents, and their share of the population will continue to decline. Before long, Hispanics will be Texas' largest ethnic group. And not long after that, they will constitute a majority of all residents. While the Anglo percentage declines, African-Americans are expected to increase at about the same rate as population growth, with Asian-Americans growing just a little faster. The changing demographics–particularly fueled by immigration from Mexico and Central America–will continue to change innumerable state variables and characteristics, from language to education to economics to, you guessed it, church life.

9. Bear champions.

Championship Lady Bears team meets with President George Bush.

One night in April, just about every Texas Baptist felt part of the “Baylor Family.” The Lady Bears defeated Michigan State 84-62 to claim the NCAA Division I national championship in women's basketball. The win by Kim Mulkey-Robertson's talented and big-hearted cagers helped ease the wound of the tragic 2003 death of men's basketball player Patrick Dennehy and the ensuing coaching scandal that very nearly cost the men's basketball team the “death penalty.” The Lady Bears gave Baylor's alumni and friends something they could agree on–finally.

10. Lake electrocution.

University Baptist Church in Waco was packed out Oct. 30, filled with members as well as former members who had come to town for Baylor's homecoming. Kyle Lake, the church's 33-year-old pastor, stepped into the baptistry and reached for a microphone when an electrical charge surged through his body, fatally wounding him. Lake was a leader in the “emerging church” movement and was well-known for making the gospel relevant to young adults.

The conclusion of the sermon Lake planned to deliver that morning stated: “If you've recently experienced loss, then grieve. And grieve well. At the table with friends and family, laugh. If you're eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then smell. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And taste. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of life. Because it is most definitely a gift.”

Posted: 1/06/06

Half in U.S. report spiritual transformation

By Nicole LaRosa

Religion News Service

CHICAGO (RNS)–Half of Americans have had a spiritual transformation experience, and 35 percent of those are not born-again Christians, newly released research from the University of Chicago reveals.

Most “changers” were part of a religious community when they had the experience and reported an increased commitment to God that has lasted many years, the study found. Many transformations occurred early in life and at a turbulent time–during an illness or after an accident or a relationship breakup.

Tom Smith, the study's author, was surprised by the reported endurance of the behavioral changes, which also included becoming more compassionate and quitting bad habits.

“I expected a deterioration,” Smith said, noting that 13 years, on average, have passed since most respondents' experiences. “They're not still tingling from the change.”

The question was posed to 1,328 adults in 2004 as the religion component of the General Social Survey by the university's National Opinion Research Center.

Fundamentalist and evangelical Christians reported the highest percentage of changers–72 percent.

These groups are more poised for a change experience because their language encourages it, Smith said.

But nearly half of Protestants in moderate and liberal denominations and 30 percent of Catholics also reported transformations. Jews, Muslims and other religious groups were omitted from the report because of small sample sizes.

Transformations were least likely in New England–24 percent–and most common in the South–about 60 percent. About 15 percent more African-Americans reported spiritual transformations than those of other racial backgrounds.

The survey marked the first time a quantitative study asked open-ended questions about transformations, Smith said.

“We asked: 'What was it like? How has it changed your life?'” he said.

Language from the answers–for example, how many times Jesus was mentioned–was evaluated mathematically.

Smith expects other researchers will build on the anecdotal answers, examining them in new ways.

He also expects further research based on the finding that changers were more likely than others to describe their lives as “exciting” as opposed to “routine” or “dull” in the General Social Survey.

The Pennsylvania-based John Templeton Foundation, which supports scientific research in religion, funded the study.

Posted: 1/06/06

Not easy being a Christian vegetarian

By David Briggs

Religion News Service

CLEVELAND (RNS)–The Old Testament book of Leviticus records that God said to Moses, "You may eat any land animal that has divided hoofs and that also chews the cud." In the Gospel of Luke, the father celebrates the return of the prodigal son by ordering the slaughter of the fatted calf for a feast.

And in the miracle of the loaves and fishes, when Jesus fed thousands gathered to hear him, fish was definitely a big part of the menu.

So it's not easy being a Christian vegetarian, or to seek to convert meat-eaters to a dietary lifestyle that makes fewer demands on the environment and is sensitive to the feelings of other creatures in creation.

For the Cleveland-based international Christian Vegetarian Association, one place to start is in the beginning, in the first chapter of Genesis.

There, God is said to speak of an ideal world where grains and fruits are plentiful, and humans are to care for–rather than eat–animals.

Fast-forward to today, in an era of factory farming that can cause great suffering for animals slaughtered and housed en masse. Some can make a strong case that Jesus would leave meat out of his diet, Christian vegetarians say.

“Christian love should apply to animals as well as humans,” said Stephen Kaufman, a Northeast Ohio ophthalmologist who is co-chairman of the Christian Vegetarian Association. “Whatever 'dominion' means, it's not tyranny. It's not cruelty.”

The association was founded in 1999 to offer a Christian alternative to a movement that has tended to be dominated by secular people and people without much sympathy toward religion.

Unlike more radical groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Christian association tends to be more low-key and less confrontational, preferring education and persuasion, the group's leaders said.

The association, which features a prominent international board of animal-rights theologians and activists, distributes literature and a video in which people say why vegetarianism is important to their faith and encourages churches to hold discussions on the moral issues involved in deciding which foods to eat.

Christian vegetarianism is not an easy sell.

On the left, secular vegetarians often are distrustful of religion, associating Christianity with the idea that humans have been given dominion over creation to exploit it for their own needs, rather than to care for the environment.

“In fact, Christianity demands such compassion,” said Stephen Webb, co-chairman of the Christian Vegetarian Association and the author of On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals.

Yet among religious folks, the many biblical references to animal sacrifice, the eating of meat and fish, and religious laws regarding the slaughter of animals make vegetarianism seem somewhat foreign to the faith.

Where Christian vegetarians are making headway on the biblical front, however, is in their interpretation of Genesis that God intended a vegetarian diet described in the Garden of Eden.

In the creation account at the end of the first chapter of Genesis, God gives human beings power over the fish, the birds and all animals. But no creatures–neither animals nor humans–need to eat one another's flesh.

“I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food,” God is said to have proclaimed in Genesis 1:29.

Webb, a professor of religion and philosophy at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., said it is a key passage “bringing conservative Christians on board to the vegetarian movement.”

The Christian Vegetarian Association also holds up several biblical passages showing God's concern for all of creation, from feeding the birds of the air to forgetting not one sparrow.

If you take away extremes, Webb said, “There's a broad consensus that the Bible does teach compassion for animals.”

The question is not as much what Jesus did in the culture of his day as what Jesus would do today, proponents say.

In its booklet Honoring God's Creation, the vegetarian association says justice concerns should prompt Christians to consider a change in what they eat.

For example, it says the greater costs and resources associated with raising animals for food decreases the amount of grain available for feeding the hungry and raises the cost of all food.

In terms of the environment, the association says, “The typical meat-eater's diet can easily consume up to 14 times more water and 20 times more energy than that of a vegetarian.”

The association also asks Christians to consider how sausage is made.

Animals raised under factory farming conditions can “suffer greatly” from stressful crowding, barren environments, amputations without anesthesia and painful slaughtering methods, the group says.

“All things being equal, if we can avoid contributing to factory farming, if we can avoid contributing to the cruelties, the Bible would support such a position,” Kaufman said.

Posted: 1/06/06

Pastoral residency program receives grant

By Mark Wingfield

Special to the Baptist Standard

DALLAS–The Lilly Endowment has awarded Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas a second round of funding for its pastoral residency program.

The $850,000 grant will fund another five years of the program that brings recent seminary or divinity school graduates to Wilshire for two years of practical training before going to pastorates of their own.

Wilshire began its pastoral residency program in 2002 with an $800,000 Lilly grant and already has produced three graduates–Jay Hogewood, Ann Bell Worley and Jake Hall. Current pastoral residents are Sean Allen, Andrew Daugherty, Amy Grizzle and David King.

Wilshire is among only 10 congregations nationwide to receive renewal grants in late 2005.

Lilly's Transition-into-Ministry programs, from which the Wilshire grant derives, “foster on-the-job training for recent seminary graduates, in order to increase their competence and confidence for pastoral ministry,” explained Pastor George Mason.

Wilshire has adopted the vision of being a teaching church, drawing upon the model of medical training done in hospitals by residency programs.

“Churches want and need pastors with clear ministerial identity who love the church and serve it capably,” Mason said.

“Seminary education provides a necessary foundation of biblical, historical and theological knowledge. But many skills for ministry can only be honed in the practice of ministry. The two-year residency program allows fledgling pastors to practice the craft without fear of failure.”

Wilshire's pastoral residents perform all the functions of the pastorate, and along the way, they reflect upon the work with experienced ministers and encouraging lay members by their side.

The teaching model has been so widely embraced at Wilshire that the congregation has added its own funding for a music ministry residency position, currently held by Brad Jernberg.

This year, the congregation will launch an initiative to secure permanent endowment funding for the Pathways to Ministry program–the umbrella under which the pastoral residency falls at Wilshire.

Other components of Pathways to Ministry at Wilshire include summer internships for college students exploring ministry, scholarships for Wilshire members seeking theological training, and YourCall, a Wilshire-created program to help high school students with vocational discernment. More information about Wilshire's Pathways to Ministry program is available online at www.wilshirebc.org

Posted: 1/06/06

CYBER COLUMN:
Goals 2006

By Berry D. Simpson

Well it’s no secret: I’m a goal-setter, a box-checker and a list-maker. I love making to-do lists and checking them twice, and I make a list of goals every year.

It’s not that I’m the Goal Nazi or anything like that. I’m not really that disciplined a guy. In fact, I am a gentle goal-setter. I tend to set goals I think I have a solid chance to achieve. If I stretch, it is in small moves only. I believe in lifelong incremental improvements. I want to do things that are sustainable and repeatable. Small changes over time add up to new habits and eventually to new ways of living.

Most of my goals are not new; they’re the same ones I’ve had year after year for years. Generally, I like to do whatever it is I’m already doing. Being a creature of momentum, I’ll continue moving in the same direction, doing the same things as long as I can.

So, in the interest of full disclosure, here are a few of my goals for 2006:

• Pre-emptive medical care and intervention. I’ve discovered that the typical male treatment method of “walking it off” no longer works for me. In fact, that’s why I’m limping nowadays. I need to be more grown up about my own medical care.

• Drink more coffee. A recent article in US News & World Report said coffee is much healthier than we’ve been led to believe. I drink a cup or two in the mornings at my office, but I seldom make coffee at home. I just don’t want to go to the trouble to make coffee for only myself (Cyndi isn’t old enough to drink coffee), but I am happier whenever I do. I drink decaf coffee (to protect my blood pressure) with no additives—no sugar, no milk, no cream, no candy, no ice cream.

• Focus my reading. I will read a lot of books as usual, but I’d like to have more focus in what I read. Unfortunately, I don’t have a plan yet.

• Run farther. One of my goals last year was to enter an ultramarathon—a 50-mile race—before I turned 50 years old this June. But my left knee fell apart, putting that particular goal on hold. I hope to resurrect it.

• Backpack. I want to make at least two overnight backpacking trips into the Guadalupes, the first one in February. This is heart medicine for me. I’d like to do more, in new adventurous places, but this is all my imagination can handle so far.

• Weight training. I intend to work out with weights at least twice a week to prevent more goal-crippling injuries.

• Push my body weight down to at least 180 before June. If I can’t do this now, I may never get it done.

• Submit more essays for publication. I’ve given up on this for too long, and it is time to resurrect the dream.

• Buy a bigger TV, maybe even an HDTV, so we won’t have to squint while watching movies. (Cyndi reminded me that we bought our current TV back when our adult children were babies.)

• Government. I hope to have at least one more campaign in my future for local political office.

So you may be asking, “Why is goal-setting important? Why should we care about it?”

I’m not sure goal-setting is so important, but the way in which we live our lives is very important. Ephesians 5:15-16 says: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” In this postmodern 21st century, it matters more than ever that our lives honor God in every way.

So what are your goals for 2006? Here are a few suggestions you might consider:

• Read the Bible through, cover to cover.

• Read at least one book by Phillip Yancey (What’s So Amazing About Grace, The Jesus I Never Knew), C. S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, Surprised By Joy) and John Eldredge (Sacred Romance, Journey of Desire, Wild At Heart, Waking The Dead, Captivating).

• Memorize one Bible verse per month.

• Get a journal and spend ten minutes every day writing your thoughts

• Buy a CD of music that shaped your life when you were a teenager, and listen to it at full volume while driving around town.

Berry Simpson, a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland. You can contact him through e-mail at berry@stonefoot.org.

Posted: 1/03/06

Family Bible Series for Jan. 8

Money has its place, but it’s not first place

• Luke 12:16-28, 31-34

By Donald Raney

Westlake Chapel, Graham

While it is true that the most important things in life are things money cannot buy, it also is true that life in the modern world requires we have the things money can buy. Food, clothing and shelter are necessary to life and only are available at some level of financial cost.

Yet many people today go beyond securing the money to meet their needs and allow the quest for the accumulation of wealth to consume their life. Since some measure of social power, influence and celebrity often accompanies wealth, many see the accumulation of wealth as a means of obtaining security.

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Yet the irony is that rather than providing more security, excess financial gain creates the need for still further security in order to protect that wealth. We spend untold millions on locks and devices designed to secure that which was supposed to provide us with security. This in turn does not provide the sense of peace which the initial temptation had promised, but an increased level of stress as the “need” for still more wealth grows.

As one might expect, the Bible has a great deal to say about money. Yet it does not, as many assume, speak of money or wealth as inherently evil. Many biblical writers and Jesus himself recognized money as necessary for meeting physical needs. The Bible does, however, teach the urgency for maintaining a proper perspective on money so the desire for more does not overtake us. In Luke 12, the writer records some of Jesus’ most significant and direct teachings concerning this proper perspective.

Luke 12:16-21

Apparently following his baptism, Jesus quickly acquired a reputation as a wise and fair teacher. He often was sought out for advice or as a mediator in personal disputes.

One day, two brothers came to him arguing about the rightful division of their father’s estate. One of the brothers was feeling slighted and demanded that Jesus force his brother to give him his fair share. Jesus used the opportunity to warn the crowd around him against the dangers of greed.

After refusing to directly mediate the dispute, he told a parable about a farmer who had an especially good harvest. Seeing that his current barns were not large enough to store the abundance, he decided to tear down the barns and build larger ones which would be sufficient to store the excess. The farmer could then cease the hard work and rest in the knowledge that he had a surplus.

Jesus points out the folly in the story is that no one knows when they will die. If one spends his or her time and resources in accumulating wealth, what good will it do on the day of their death? They will simply leave their accumulation to someone else. God blesses us with financial prosperity to meet our needs and those of others around us. The goal is not to stockpile the money God gives and then sit back, but to use it as it is given in helping others. This is how we can become “rich toward God” and store up our treasures in heaven where we will be able to enjoy them into eternity.

Luke 12:22-28

The avoidance of the folly of accumulating wealth was only part of Jesus’ proper perspective on money. Jesus also knew the danger of accumulating wealth was that we would eventually put our trust in the money. We would see it as the means of security.

Thus the other part of Jesus’ perspective on money was to trust God to provide for the meeting of our needs. In these verses, Jesus points to several examples in nature of ways that God meets needs. He points to the birds and the fact that they do not spend their lives concerned about insuring good crops in order to store up possessions. Yet God feeds them all they need.

He then points to the example of the wildflowers which do not work to produce elaborate wardrobes of clothing, yet God dresses the fields more brilliantly than Solomon in all of his wealth.

The point here is hard to miss. God knows what we need and is in possession of infinite resources with which to meet those needs. We thus do not need to be concerned with accumulating earthly resources to meet possible future needs. We simply need to devote our energies to developing a growing relationship with God by seeking his kingdom above all else.

Luke 12:31-34

Jesus certainly must have anticipated their questions. “How can I do this in the midst of a world which constantly entices me to pursue wealth?” Jesus addresses this question by saying that in order to do this one must make a deliberate decision. One must decide to seek God’s kingdom above the kingdom of the world which is based on placing trust in things. We need not question whether we will be able to find God’s kingdom because God has given it to us.

Through the life and ministry of Jesus, he has placed it in our world here and now. As we actively seek his kingdom, all other things we need also will be given to us without the usual accompanying stress. To seek this kingdom, we simply choose to relinquish all claims to worldly possessions and to use our resources to meet the needs of others around us. Since, as Jesus has already taught us, God created and owns it all anyway, this choice is simply an acknowledgement of the unseen reality concerning all wealth.

Discussion questions

• What are some other biblical teachings concerning wealth?

• Why is the temptation to pursue the accumulation of wealth so strong?

• What are some ways that you are exercising a biblical perspective on money?

Posted: 1/03/06

Explore the Bible Series for Jan. 8

Demonstrate Christ’s love to others with action

• Romans 12:9-21

By Trey Turner

Canyon Creek Baptist Church, Temple

In this unit, we have been talking about being pleasing to God. The Apostle Paul reminds us a pleasing Christian is one who lives practically. She or he lives in real circumstances, has real challenges and still meets real needs. The Christian cannot completely be pleasing to God without getting outside the Sunday School classroom.

There may be a degree in which a person could learn airplane mechanics from the comfort of his or her own home, but would you want to fly in an airplane that was assembled by someone with only that level of education? Much is learned about the Christian faith by walking with Christ in those circumstances where faith happens.

Let love be genuine (Romans 12:9)

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Interestingly, Paul pairs genuine love with truth. When Jesus drove the moneychangers from the temple, he did not compromise his love for God or for people. From love, turning over the moneychangers tables surprised the status quo. If his love had been weaker, emotion-based action, he might have compromised for an easier solution. Jesus acted out of love with conviction. His love is genuine and sincere. How much easier it is to love people with conviction knowing how much God loves people and wants the best for them also. God asks us to do something he is doing already, namely, hate evil and cling to what is good.

Let love be generous (Romans 12:10-13)

The Christian life is one which is offered back to God. The expression of that devoted life is one offered also to community. The person who lives this way is not primarily concerned with his or her rights, but even takes setbacks in stride. Paul reminds the Roman Christians not to let the daily grind of life take away their zeal for Christian living.

The list of traits in verses 12-13 can only be achieved in the believer who is in joyful fellowship with God. A person who is joyful because of hope in God also is encouraged to be patient with the difficult situations he or she finds in life. The Christian gives God time to work and has faith that he is working.

He or she also gives generously to others in need. The life, joy and strength that has been received from the Lord, share with other brothers and sisters. Your service is not to them alone; your service is to the Lord.

Let love express humility (Romans 12:14-16)

Real life tests these Christian ideals about being genuine and generous. Someone said the ones who deserve grace the least are those who need it the most. How does someone deal with persecution, mourning and other hindrances to real living? It is done by forming a soft heart and not a hard one. The disciple lives proactively, deciding how he or she will live in light of Scripture. It must be of some help to say, when my faith is tested I am deciding now that I will respond with Christian grace. The person who lives reactively complains about how some people or circumstances do not allow them to live the Christian life. Paul says, deliberately live with a humble heart toward God and toward others.

Let love promote peace (Romans 12:17-21)

Building on Paul’s encouragement toward humility, he adds, be a peacemaker. This says the disciple does on the outside what he or she believes on the inside. The complete picture of the disciple shows a person who does not react to people or circumstances, but with patience and with an eye to God’s plan lives to make peace. Again, this is not peace at all costs. Jesus hated evil and had conviction which guided his actions. He did so with humility working his redemptive purposes. We do no less.

I went to the memorial service for Don Shannon, a precious man of God who was a member of our church. I have never been to such an uplifting and personal memorial service. Don moved to Highland Lakes Baptist Encampment around the time I came to Canyon Creek. He did so because he knew he could give his carpentry expertise to the Lord, live in a camper on site, and enjoy serving the Lord as a Mission Service Volunteer.

Now, Don never had any formal training in theology or ecclesiology. He would not know what to do with a Hebrew root word unless he could put it on a fishing pole and help boys’ and girls’ camp experiences.

In the last years of Don’s life, his health was bad. When he would come to Temple to see his doctor, I would ask him about some of his projects. I remember how Don would tell me about recent camps and about those who had given their lives to Christ, rededicated their lives or answered God’s call to serve him. Cancer treatments might slow Don down to what only an average person could do.

Don Shannon is for me an enduring image of humbly living before God and men with faith. He will forever be an example of the encourager—even when he himself needed encouraging. I will look at Don on the one hand, and this passage on the other saying the level of service in this passage is difficult. But when you are blessed by your relationship with your Lord, God seems, at least from Don’s life, to make this obedience a pleasure.

Discussion question

• How can you demonstrate the love of Christ to someone in your community?

Posted: 1/04/06

BaptistWay Bible Series for Jan. 15

Stay prepared for Christ’s return; serve daily

• Luke 12:35-48

By Fallon Curry

Logsdon Seminary, Abilene

A world in crisis seems to result in dire predictions of the end times. Some people apparently think Jesus will not come until they are able to accomplish the things on their own “Life’s To-Do List.” Others push thoughts of his coming to the back of their minds and live life as though he is not coming at all—or at least not in their lifetime. They act as though they will have plenty of time to “get things right” before he comes or they die.

On the flip side, there are those who have bookmarked Revelation and are so consumed with what and when might be that the present gets lost.

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How does Jesus want us to be ready for his return while still living in the present? In our lesson today, we will examine what Jesus had to say about our role in being prepared for his return—whenever it may be.

Jesus used a common Jewish custom to instruct his followers to be ready for the day he returns. Jewish weddings took place at night. The custom was that at some point, late in the night or early morning, the groom would return home with his new bride. The servants of that home were to be ready and waiting no matter how early or late the couple arrived. The servants were dressed, the lamps were lit, the table was set. Each servant did his or her assigned duties with joy and anticipation.

In verses 35-36, Jesus told his disciples to be like the servants waiting for the groom to return. This was how they were expected to be living when he makes his return. When the groom comes to the door, he is not to be left standing outside with his new bride on account of the servants growing weary and falling asleep. Nor were the groom and his bride to return home to find the house in shambles and the servants dumbfounded, saying, “You are home early!” No, the servants are to have everything in place. They are to be working hard to please their master.

The twist Jesus adds to this common scene in Jewish life was that, in his version, when the master returns home, he chooses to serve and not be served. This is a repeated theme in Jesus’s teaching on real love. The servant selflessly works hard to prepare for the master’s coming, thinking not of himself. Rather, he seeks only the joy on the master’s face, with everything in the house in its place as it should be. In return, the master rewards the selfless and hard-working servant by waiting on him!

Jesus paints a beautiful picture of how things should be for his return. However, no one can pencil in Jesus’ coming in their day planner. Verses 39–40 explain that he will come when we least expect it— on his time, not ours. We live faithfully and fully day to day by seeking to accomplish his purposes rather than our own.

The Bible teaches that each of us has his or her own purpose and the gifts appropriate to accomplish that purpose. In verses 41-48, Jesus stated that believers should live out those purposes, both big and small, each day as though it would be their last chance to do so. Christian responsibilities can reach to highest offices or to menial tasks. Jesus expects each of us to fulfill the roles he has entrusted to us with honesty and integrity. Each person’s life will be rewarded in accordance with God’s judgment on how well each has worked to fulfill his or her daily purposes in life.

Jesus said both the disadvantages and the advantages each person faces in accomplishing God’s work will be taken into account when they are judged. Advantages such as leadership, wisdom, knowledge and other similar privileges such as wealth and ability are justly held to a higher standard of responsibility. It is for Jesus’ purposes that those gifts and advantages were given to his servants to begin with.

A servant who wasted them for selfish gain would not be rewarded. This is not to say that ignorance is a valid excuse for wrongly using God’s gifts. However, it is worse for someone knowingly to be disobedient than to be disobedient because he did not know any better. Therefore, if anyone should be blessed immensely, it is their responsibility to bless others immensely by using what they have been given to prepare for Jesus’ coming.

Chapter 12 shows Jesus teaching his disciples to beware of and face several challenges, such as hypocrisy, fear, greed and worry. It is fitting that at the close of this particular series of directions, Jesus ended with instructions on how to live life to the fullest—preparing each day for his return.

What better way to overcome hypocrisy, fear, greed and worry than to keep our hearts clean, not fearing anyone, and giving away possessions that we cannot take with us, anyway. And worry only distracts us from preparing for Jesus in the way that would please him most.

This is how we prepare for Jesus’ sure return. Not by trying to decipher its schedule, but by staying alert and serving him and a hurting world with joy and anticipation.

Discussion questions

• How can you and your church best stay alert and prepare for Jesus coming whenever it may be?

Posted: 1/04/06

Family Bible Series for Jan. 15

Money has its place, but it’s not first place

• Matthew 9:18-36

By Donald Raney

Westlake Chapel, Graham

According to the Bible, humans were created in the image of God. While it is not clear exactly what this phrase encompasses, it is clear that this characteristic makes humans unique in all of creation. Indeed, the biblical prohibition against taking a person’s life is closely connected to God’s desire to protect this divine image (Genesis 9:6). Put simply, human life always has been important to God.

Today, we deal with issues related to the sanctity of human life that the biblical writers never could have imagined. Debates over abortion, euthanasia and quality-of-life issues fill the newspapers.

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While the Bible does not directly address these specific issues, it does provide us with teachings that can help us as we seek God’s guidance in these debates.

The Bible offers consistent support for the sanctity of human life. Its central message on this topic is that God always acts in ways that are intended to protect and improve human life and calls his people to similar acts.

This strong interest in preserving human life and health clearly is evident in the life and ministry of Jesus. The second half of Matthew 9 presents an excellent demonstration of this. While many may have viewed the three brief episodes presented as interruptions, Jesus used each to reveal to us the heart of God.

Matthew 9:18-19, 23-36

While reading the gospel accounts, one gets the clear impression that, following the beginning of his ministry, Jesus quickly gained a reputation as a miracle worker. The blind were receiving sight. The deaf were hearing. The lame were walking. All of this was happening as these individuals were encountering Jesus.

One particular day, a synagogue official came to Jesus and asked for the ultimate miracle. His daughter had died, and he asked Jesus to restore her life. Notice that this is not specifically a request. This official was making a statement that if Jesus simply placed his hands on her, she would live again. This was an amazing expression of deep belief stated as a straightforward fact by a religious leader within the Jewish community.

Also, notice there is no stated basis for such a request. Apparently the official was basing this solely on the idea that the life of a young girl would be valuable to Jesus. Jesus agreed to go with him, and they set out to go to his home. When they arrived, they found the expected band of mourners already gathered. Jesus sternly called them off and informed them the girl was not in fact dead, but was merely asleep. The people ridiculed Jesus. Surely they could tell the difference between someone who was asleep and a dead body. The official apparently still was with Jesus and sent the people from the room. Jesus then placed his hands on the girl, and she immediately arose.

As one might expect, the story spread throughout the country, increasing Jesus’ reputation even more.

In this short story, we have clear indication all human life is important to Jesus. Despite the urgency of his teaching ministry, Jesus took time to go out of the way to restore the life of a young girl.

Matthew 9:20-22

As Jesus and the official were traveling to his home, a woman who had suffered with a bleeding disorder 12 years interrupted Jesus’ mission. Having such a strong faith in this miracle worker, she believed that even touching his cloak would heal her. She apparently did not want to cause a scene by stopping him and asking for help. Such a disorder also would have rendered her ceremonially unclean, and she possibly felt unworthy and likely did not want to call attention to herself and her condition.

As she reached out and touched Jesus, however, Jesus turned to face her. He assured her that her deep faith indeed had healed her. Once again, an apparent unplanned interruption had become an opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate God’s concern for human life. Not only did the woman receive physical healing, but Jesus’ response to her also raised her spirits and took away any shame or perceived uncleanness.

Thus God is shown to be interested not only in our physical health, but also in restoring and preserving the dignity of all people.

Matthew 9:27-31

Not only is God interested in protecting our life and health, he also wants us to experience the fullness of life he gives. After raising the official’s daughter, Jesus met two blind men.

These two men followed Jesus, crying out to him for mercy. After Jesus had gone inside the home where he was staying, the two men came to him, asking that he restore their sight. Jesus asked the two if they truly believed he was able to do what they were asking. After the two affirmed they did believe, Jesus touched them, and they received their sight.

Despite Jesus’ request that they not tell anyone, the story quickly spread. These men were not sick or dying. While they likely were poor, the Bible does not refer to them as beggars as it does in other places. Yet these men were not able to experience life and creation fully.

Thus, in these verses, the writer strongly demonstrates that the fullness of human life is indeed important to God. Life, health and wholeness all are aspects of our existence that God desires to protect. Regardless of what he was doing, Jesus never dismissed an opportunity to preserve or improve the life of another and thus revealed to us where we stand in the heart of God.

Discussion questions

• What are some other biblical teachings concerning the sanctity of human life?

• What are some appropriate actions we can take to affirm the sanctity of human life?

• What are some other contemporary issues related to this topic? How can we respond to those issues appropriately?

Posted: 1/04/06

Explore the Bible Series for Jan. 15

The elderly are to be loved and respected

• Leviticus 19:32; 2 Samuel 19:31-39; 1 Timothy 5:1-2

By Trey Turner

Canyon Creek Baptist Church, Temple

It is reported that in the last 22 years, the expected average life span has gone up 3.7 years for men but only 1.7 years for women. Medical advancement is allowing men and women to live longer, yet how will we find people to be treating us when we live the fullness of those years? Are people more hurried? Are they more frustrated with jobs, families, friends and so many responsibilities?

Some of my friends talk about not wanting to be a burden, dependent on anyone. I can appreciate people who do not want to be a burden on anyone; I do not want to be a burden, either. But have we crossed a threshold into believing that if we cannot be fully self-supporting, we have lost our value?

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It will be good to carry this discussion of human value into the church and look at biblical examples and mandates for respecting our elders. This will be a good reminder for us to wash off the dirt of this culture’s disrespect and put on our Lord’s commitment to respect all people.

Honor the elderly (Leviticus 19:32)

God thought it important enough to include as one of his commands to stand physically in the presence of those who are our elders. Respecting elders speaks highly for a society. God says his people will have respect for this segment of society. The reason he gives—because God is the Lord!

Care for the elderly (2 Samuel 19:31-36)

It is by example that David demonstrates respect for his 80-year-old friend. Barzillai had served David, and now David honors him and makes personal decisions that show David’s care in not casting him aside. David honors Barzillai.

Does our society show care for the elderly? Do I? Does the church demonstrate care? Here David was not uncomfortable with Barzillai, nor was he burdened by him. His actions reveal what is in his soul.

Accept decisions of the elderly (2 Samuel 19:37-39)

Continuing the story about Barzillai, David hears the wishes of his dear friend and helps make them happen. David does not take over the decisions for his friend, but blesses his wishes.

Today’s families are faced with questions of dignity and respect in the face of some of the most heartbreaking decisions. I have seen some of my friends struggle with the decision to take a parent’s automobile keys away. Others have struggled in regard to housing and living independently. Still others have labored through decisions of resuscitation in the last stages of life.

There are no simple answers for some of these situations. A spirit of honor and respect must be foundational before these issues are faced. Still, for believers, those decisions are made with humility before God and with solid respect for life.

Without cataloging situations and applying solutions, it will suffice for us simply to affirm the principle behind David’s respect toward Barzillai’s personal decisions.

Treat the elderly as family (1 Timothy 5:1-2)

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul gives counsel to Timothy in regard to his own humility. Timothy is in a position as a leader, but his position does not supersede his need to give personal and willful deference to those older than he. This is basic humility, which demonstrates the servant leadership central to New Testament leadership. He still is called to lead his flock; what should be his style if he cannot drive his sheep?

Paul says Timothy should reason and encourage older people with the word of God. By exhorting these brothers and sisters, one shows respect and allows the Holy Spirit to apply the words of exhortation. The relationship advocated is that of a family member. Speak to an older man as if he were your father, older women as mothers. Younger people are to be treated as little brothers and sisters.

Discussion questions

• How would you describe the way our society values or devalues senior citizens?

• What are some specific incidents you have seen positive treatment?

• Describe your participation or occasions where you have interacted with seniors.

• Do you feel you are being affected by society’s view of the elderly, or are you affecting others and their treatment?

• Is the church doing an adequate job of including and ministering to the needs of seniors? Describe how or how they are not. Who should do a better job?

• Can you make a positive difference with regard to any of these questions?

Posted: 12/23/05

Wishing you the blessings of Christmas

Posted: 12/23/05

Message to Graduates,
Baylor University, Dec. 17, 2005

I.
Your years here at Baylor have been years of personal growth. They have been transformational for each of you. They've been transformational for our University as well. Certainly there has been a transformation in the face of the University, with the addition of splendid new facilities like the Sciences building, the Mayborn museum, the North Village and the Umphrey law center. You have witnessed Baylor athletics rise out of the ashes of the Patrick Dennehy tragedy to experience the greatest period of success in the history of the University, including the first two NCAA national championships in Baylor's history – in men's tennis the year before last, and then that thrilling national championship by the Lady Bears in basketball earlier this year. You have even witnessed Baylor beat the Texas A&M aggies in football.

II.

Even more significant than new buildings and success in intercollegiate athletics, you have witnessed and perhaps participated in a fascinating conversation about the nature of Christian higher education. A conversation among good people that should occur at a place like Baylor.
• A conversation about how truth is sought.
• A conversation about individual freedom of thought, and about responsibility to the community.

You have witnessed a conversation that has captured the attention of much of the Baylor community and even the world of Christian higher education. A conversation about two ideas that throughout history have been in endless antagonism.

III.
Representing one of these ideas, a prominent, provocative and influential theologian at another university recently said: No task is more important than for the Church to take the Bible out of the hands of individual Christians in North America. Let me repeat that: No task is more important than for the Church to take the Bible out of the hands of individual Christians in North America.

This theologian continues:
I certainly believe that God uses the Scripture to help keep the Church faithful, but I do not believe, in the Church's current circumstance, that each person in the Church is thereby given the right to interpret the Scripture. Such a presumption derives from the corrupt egalitarian politics of democratic regimes, not from the politics of the Church. The latter . . . knows that the right reading of the Scripture depends on having spiritual masters who can help the whole Church stand under the authority of God's word.

Consistent with this view, a colleague here at Baylor has described the idea that individual believers have the freedom to reach their own conclusions regarding the Scriptures as "incoherent or simply a bad idea." Taking this idea from churches to universities, others have suggested that there is no place in a Christian university to advocate contrary to what university authorities choose to declare as orthodox. Taking this idea to an extreme, a prominent Baptist denominational leader has declared that if we say pickles have souls, then our schools "must teach that pickles have souls." Under this idea, we would have spiritual masters to tell us what to teach, what to learn, and what to believe.

IV.
Of course, there is nothing new about this idea. There have always been those who have claimed the status of spiritual master over others – those who have taken it upon themselves to decide what others must believe. The scribes and the Pharisees fancied themselves experts on what the Scriptures meant. They set themselves up as the spiritual masters for others. Yet Jesus specifically warned his disciples to "beware" of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Indeed, in what would prove to be the last public sermon of his ministry, Jesus rebuked the spiritual masters of his day in Matthew 23 saying:
Do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders, for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.

V.
What Jesus taught us in Matthew is fundamental to understanding individual freedom of conscience and self-determination. You see, God has given us intellects. God has given us the gift of reason. And Jesus has commanded us to use our minds – to love God with our hearts and our souls – but also to love God with our minds. Surely, keeping this greatest of all commandments requires us to think for ourselves and come to our own conclusions. Indeed, when we stand before God on judgment day, it would hardly be a defense to say that we just believed as we were told. You see, we are responsible for our souls. It is this responsibility that requires us to think for ourselves and come to our own conclusions.

This does not mean that there is no objective truth – that just anything goes – that one person's conclusion is just as valid as that of another, no matter what it might be – that we embrace some sort of "radical subjectivity" – that we are "cultural relativists," as some have asserted.

There is truth. There is right. There is wrong. And sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes our ideas are lousy and ought to be rejected by others. Our great theologians are sometimes wrong. Our philosophers can be wrong. Even our university presidents are sometimes wrong. We know and acknowledge that no one of us is perfect – that no one of us has perfect knowledge. How, then, can any of us be so certain that we have discovered truth that we would discourage others from continuing to inquire, from continuing to question, from perhaps even daring to disagree? How can any of us be so arrogant? At the same time, the fact that we are free to think for ourselves does not mean that we should ignore the thoughts of others. There are many great thinkers among us. And there have been many great thinkers who have gone before. It would be equally arrogant for us to ignore their ideas. Indeed, given what is at stake, it would be foolish.

VI.
Our responsibility to use our intellects, to think for ourselves, to come to our own conclusions has important consequences for Christian higher education. As centers of learning, Christian universities must be committed to the pursuit of truth. This pursuit of truth requires exposing our students to the great thinkers of today and yesterday. Not so that they will blindly accept the conclusions of others. But instead to aid them in their search for truth. Christian universities must also equip our students with the critical thinking skills needed for a lifelong pursuit of truth. This requires encouraging our students to think for themselves and then to test their ideas in free and open discourse with others, even ideas that are controversial – even ideas that challenge prevailing viewpoints.

This free exchange of ideas is most likely to lead to the discovery of truth. That's the idea behind the First Amendment. A great thinker named Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. put it best when he wrote that "the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market." Consistent with this metaphor of a free marketplace of ideas, the United States Supreme Court has recognized that our future as a people "depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure to that robust exchange of ideas which discovers truth out of a multitude of tongues, rather than through any kind of authoritarian selection." If we are to be a great Christian university, we cannot be afraid to pursue the course of truth, wherever that course might lead. Indeed, if our pursuit of truth leads us to question our existing view of God, it may just be that God is trying to tell us something.

VII.
You are entering a world where you will be discouraged – sometimes even repressed – from thinking for yourself. You will be discouraged from challenging what you see, hear and read in the media. You will be discouraged from challenging political authority. You may well be accused of being unpatriotic if you do. You will be discouraged from challenging ecclesiastical authority. You may well be accused of being a heretic if you do.

Let me suggest that you owe it to yourself not to give in. Your responsibility to yourself demands that you not be discouraged from thinking for yourself. Your responsibility to yourself demands that you exercise your individual freedom of conscience. Let me go further. Let me suggest that your responsibility to others – to your community – demands that you exercise your freedom of conscience. Just during my lifetime, too few Christians in the South resisted community orthodoxy when it came to segregation of the races. When Baylor refused to admit African-American students on religious grounds as late as the 1960s, what this community desperately needed were more free thinkers who would exercise their individual freedom of conscience – free thinkers who would challenge the prevailing orthodoxy – free thinkers with the courage to say "this is wrong."

How many other beliefs at one time firmly held as true have been proven false with the passage of time? What so-called "truths" that we hold dear today will the passage of time prove false? And how will we know if we accept what others declared as orthodox without question?

Let me close – not just this speech but my term as your president and my tenure on the faculty of this great university – by charging you to think for yourselves. Use the intellect that God has given you. Think critically. Have courage. And acknowledge – no embrace – the right of others to disagree.