Posted: 12/16/05

North Carolina moderates consider
alternative giving approaches

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP)–Moderate Baptists in North Carolina are talking seriously about alternative ways to support the state's Baptist institutions, a move that could divert millions in contributions from the conservative-controlled Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Interested moderates and representatives from virtually all of the convention's institutions met privately Dec. 1 to discuss alternatives for the future, now that ultra-conservatives have solidified control of the convention and indicated they will install sympathetic trustees and leaders for the institutions.

No plan was announced at the meeting, hosted by St. John's Baptist Church in Charlotte, but participants said there is more momentum for action than ever before–with a major shift in funds from moderate churches expected as soon as January 2007.

Participants agreed to form a committee to explore options, but no one was ready to predict if the outcome will be a simple network of churches, an alternative budget, or–least likely–a “shadow” convention.

Some North Carolina moderates have talked about breaking away from the state Baptist convention for at least four years but have feared their beloved colleges would suffer financially. Leaders said this was the first time all the agencies participated in a conversation about alternative methods of financial support.

North Carolina Baptists support five colleges, as well as a newspaper, children's home ministry, retirement center and foundation. The colleges receive $6.1 million from the convention. But lumped with funds for the other agencies–as well as mission offerings and other sources–the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina controls about $16 million that benefits institutions and other mission causes in the state, the leaders were told Dec. 1.

The meeting's objective, according to participants, was to make sure moderate and progressive Baptists have a way to support the institutions they like–particularly colleges–without funding the state convention, which they say has excluded them and their views.

Most of the North Carolina agencies are led by moderates, or conservatives not aligned with the convention's power structure. And moderates say it was their past contributions that built the institutions. But the convention's power structure clearly is in the hands of fundamentalists, who have won a string of elections by a widening margin.

Convener Richard Kremer, pastor of St. John's Baptist, declined to name the participants or discuss the content of the Charlotte meeting. “We agreed at the beginning this would be an off-the-record meeting,” he said. “We just needed a level of honesty.”

He declined to predict the outcome of the talks, except to say, “North Carolina churches and colleges are all examining the nature of their relationships.”

More significant gatherings, with more substantive results, will follow now that churches and the agencies are walking together, he said.

The key to the new resolve, other participants said, is getting the colleges to act in unison. In other states, Baptist colleges have parted ways as fundamentalists have come to power. Some have courted the favor of conservative leaders, forging closer ties, while others–such as Furman, Mercer, Belmont, Wake Forest and Stetson–have fought for greater independence.

The five colleges still related to the North Carolina convention–Campbell University, Chowan College, Gardner-Webb Univer-sity, Mars Hill College and Wingate University–recently asked for a formal study of their relationships with the convention. Meredith College already has broken away. The study by the Council on Christian Higher Education is expected by August 2006.

Moderates are expected to wait for the outcome of the study before taking drastic steps. If the colleges are freed to elect their own trustees and still can get some convention funding for scholarships, then a continued relationship with the convention is possible, leaders say. But most moderates suggest that's not likely.

Until now, most moderates in North Carolina have been content to channel their money for institutions through the state convention, which offers four budget channels.

But attempts to eliminate those options–allowing only support for Southern Baptist-approved causes–have become a regular occurrence at the state's annual convention meeting and now are viewed by both sides as inevitable.

Ultra-conservatives, who have a goal of “cleaning up” their denominational house before the Southern Baptist Convention meets in Greensboro in June, did achieve other objectives during the Nov. 14-16 state convention–electing their candidate as president, toughening the convention's stance against churches “welcoming and affirming” of homosexuals and approving new institutional trustees despite complaints the process excluded moderates.

A search committee currently is looking for a new executive director for the convention, and fundamentalists promise to replace the retiring executive–viewed by many as sympathetic to moderates–with a clear-cut “conservative.”

Larry Hovis, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, said moderates in North Carolina could turn to the state CBF as the alternative structure to support the institutions.

But others said the state CBF won't be enough. There are many moderate churches not ready to align with the Fellowship, otherwise they would have done so by now, one agency leader said. Although support for North Carolina Baptist institutions remains strong, most observers agree there's no energy for starting another convention–as has been done by moderates in Missouri and fundamentalists in Texas and Virginia.

Posted: 12/16/05

Welcome Center shelters,
helps inmates' families

By George Henson

Staff Writer

AMARILLO–After years of raising money and months of watching bricks and mortar going up, Harold Scarbrough finally has the satisfaction of seeing inmates' families occupy the Amarillo Home Welcome Center.

Shortly after Scarbrough's arrival in 1997 on Amarillo Area Baptist Association's staff, he recognized that families journeying to Amarillo to visit loved ones in the two area prison units needed an inexpensive place to stay and someone to meet their spiritual needs.

At first, church leaders in Amarillo tried a multi-denominational approach, but "we met monthly and accomplished nothing," Scarbrough said.

Soon after Amarillo Baptists decided to take on the project, property became available, and Scarbrough started raising the $300,000 necessary to build the motel-type structure. Fund-raising took four years as Scarbrough solicited grants from various charitable foundations, area churches and individuals.

Among other donors, High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation supplied $100,000, the Meadow Foundation gave $102,000, South Georgia Baptist Church in Amarillo provided $23,000 and the Baptist General Convention of Texas contributed $20,000.

At times, Scarbrough admitted, it would have been easy to quit.

"I just felt led of God to pursue it," he said. "Two or three times, I was ready to give up, and then someone would do something or say something that would make me realize that God wants this done."

And seeing the end result has made the effort worth it, he said.

Volunteers from across the state joined workers from the Amarillo area to build the motel-style structure. It includes eight bedrooms, bathrooms, a large commons area and a full-sized kitchen and dining area.

The facility also includes an apartment for the live-in directors–Patrick and Venus Skipper of Bykota Baptist Church in Amarillo–with two bedrooms, a living room/dining room area, kitchen and utility room.

"It's really beautiful," Scarbrough said.??The welcome center's need for a director came just at the time when God was directing him to find a place to serve, Skipper said.

"There was a notice in the association's newsletter about them needing a director, and I noticed that, but I didn't do anything about it," he recalled. "But each time the newsletter came out, it was still there. Each time I saw it, it tugged at my heart a little more.

"The Lord has something planned for everybody, and I was looking for a way to serve him more, and God showed me this."

While traffic at the welcome center started slowly, the number of guests has increased as news has spread word-of-mouth among inmates' families. Some of those who have stayed there have sent letters of thanks and donations to help sustain the ministry.

People wishing to make reservations to stay at the welcome center can call (806) 378-9967 or e-mail hopewelcomecenter@hotmail.com.

Posted: 12/16/05

Appeal denied convicted Mexican evangelicals

By Craig Bird

Special to the Baptist Standard

SAN CRISTOBAL, Mexico–Sixteen men, mostly evangelical Christians, implicated in the 1997 Acteal massacre in southern Mexico now face 36 years in prison after their final appeal was denied by a three-judge panel Nov. 30.

Sergio Nafare, defense attorney for the 16 men, as well as 68 others charged in two separate cases, notified San Antonio-based Norvi Mayfield Ministries of the verdict Dec. 1. Mayfield provides limited funding for legal expenses, as well as for helping care for the families of the men who have been in prison eight years.

“I continue to believe in the innocence of these men,” Nafare said. “I do not know who was responsible for the brutal and senseless murders in Acteal, but I know it was not these defendants. Justice is not served by holding them liable for what so much evidence shows they didn't do.”

Rulings are expected on the second group of 24 men by mid-December and on the third group of 44 in January. Both the victims and the accused are Tzotzil Indians.

The evidence Nafare cites was not introduced in the original trials. Nafare and his co-counsel, Roger de los Santos, joined the cases three years ago–five years after the men first were convicted and long after international interest had died down. The first group was so far along in the appeals process that the new defense lawyers were restricted to arguments based on existing evidence and testimony. Some of the new evidence has been accepted into the cases of the second and third groups.

Nafare is appealing to human-rights groups as well as concerned Christians to focus on the cases once again.

“I remind myself every day that I made a commitment to God to stay with these men,” said Nafare, who became a Christian two weeks before being asked to take over the cases.

“I believe God called me to this place, and I believe they are innocent. As evangelicals, they did not support the government or the Zapatistas (who were waging a civil war at the time). So they were easy targets.”

Nafare and de los Santos have “fully documented” evidence they say supports the men's innocence. Among the major assertions:

No bullet holes in the walls of the small Catholic church against which the assault supposedly was launched Dec. 22, 1997.

Ballistics tests on the alleged murder weapons did not match the shell casings collected at the site.

No gunpowder residue on the suspects' hands.

Fingerprints of the accused were not found on the guns.

Eighty-four men were imprisoned for illegal possession of firearms (types restricted to use by the military), but only 17 weapons were produced as evidence, “leaving an image of the men firing and then passing the rifle to another man so he could fire,” Nafare said.

The accusations were made by a 14-year-old boy who was not, as required by the Mexican constitution, accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or close relative.

No photographs were taken of the location where the boy claimed the weapons had been buried, in violation of legal requirements.

The documentation, in Spanish, is available to legitimate news media, human-rights and religious groups via e-mail at norvintouch63@ yahoo.com.

The first 40 arrests came after the boy pointed out suspects attending the funerals of the victims. The men were asked to come to the police station to provide evidence and then were arrested and charged.

“They were entrapped, were not expecting to be charged because they were offering to help as witnesses,” Nafare said. “From the first, their legal protections were less than they should have been.”

Numerous human-rights groups, including Amnesty International and spokesmen for survivors of the Acteal attack, have pointed out that no high-ranking officials have been convicted.

In January 2004, the Mexican government an-nounced it would conduct a judicial review of the situation. The month before, more than 100 pastors and church leaders met with authorities at Gante Street Methodist Church in Mexico City to press for such a review.

In April 2004, according to Compass News Service, about 500 Tzotzil Christians from Chiapas journeyed to Mexico City and staged a peaceful march urging the government to complete the review.

Samuel Ruiz Garcia, who was Catholic bishop of the area at the time of the killings, criticized those actions, saying evangelicals were trying to shift the case from its legal basis to one of religious persecution. The Acteal survivors group, Las Abejas, issued a statement noting the marchers had permitted “their Christian dignity to be stained with that lie.”

Nafare said the defendants' arguments had been favorably received by the review task force, “but they have asked us why we are not present every time they meet every-other month.”

Mayfield said the two lawyers never received a salary since taking over the case at the request of Chiapas evangelical leaders, and what support they had went for expenses. For the past year, they have been covering some expenses out of their own pockets.

“Other supporters have had their own funding problems or moved on to other issues, but we have provided as much funding as we could,” Mayfield explained. “But there is not enough for the lawyers to travel to Mexico City for the meetings or even to go interview witnesses like they want to.

“I hope Americans will pray for Sergio and Roger, as well as the prisoners and their families and the government officials still making decisions in these cases. And I hope people will donate to help pay for the defense so the prisoners can have the best possible chance to prove their innocence.”

Posted: 12/16/05

Ouachita president may lead Samford

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP)–Andrew Westmoreland, president of Arkansas Baptists' Ouachita Baptist University, is the leading candidate to become president of Samford University in Birming-ham, Ala.

Westmoreland visited the Samford campus Dec. 6 to meet with three constituent panels–faculty/staff, students and alumni/ donors–as well as university leaders.

No date has been announced for the election of a Samford president. Although the Samford search committee recently announced it had narrowed the search to a short list, sources say Westmoreland is the committee's first choice.

Samford's next president will replace Tom Corts, who is retiring. Samford, affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention, reports 2,882 undergraduate students, 1,558 graduate students and 264 faculty members.

Westmoreland, in his late 40s, has served his entire career at Ouachita, in Arkadelphia, Ark. President since 1998, he has been an administrator at the Arkansas Baptist school for more than 19 years. He is best known for his successful fund-raising for the 1,700-student school.

He served as vice president for development until 1995, when he became executive vice president.

A graduate of Ouachita, Westmoreland received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1979. He earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and a doctorate in higher-education administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Posted: 12/16/05

South Africa OK's same-sex marriage

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

JOHANNESBURG, South Afri-ca (ABP)–South Africa's highest court has ruled the nation's constitution requires it to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Constitutional Court delayed implementing its ruling for a year to give Parliament time to rewrite the nation's 1961 marriage law to include homosexual couples. If legislators refuse to act within that time period, the decision automatically will take effect.

When it does so, South Africa will become only the fifth country and the first on the African continent to grant nationwide legal status to gay matrimony.

The court was unanimous in saying the nation's post-apartheid 1996 constitution gives gays an equal right to marriage and its attendant benefits and responsibilities. The charter explicitly bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

South Africa will join Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Canada as the only countries to recognize gay marriage nationwide. The commonwealth of Massachusetts is the only jurisdiction in the United States with legal gay marriage. Other states and European nations offer marriage-like status to gay couples through civil unions or domestic partnerships.

The decision affirmed a lower court's 2004 ruling that required the government to recognize the marriage of two Pretoria women. According to the Washington Post, Cecelia Bonthuys and Marie Fourie wed in a church ceremony performed by Pastor Andre Muller, who was forced out of the nation's Dutch Reformed denomination because of his homosexuality.

“In the past, gay people have always been ridiculed, belittled,” Muller told the newspaper. “Now that this ruling has come, they are on an equal footing. Justice has been done.”

But the nation's Council of Muslim Theologians condemned the ruling, saying, “Same-sex marriages are a violation of the limits prescribed by the Almighty, a reversal of the natural order, a moral disorder and a crime against humanity.”

There is little indication that politicians will attempt to amend the South African Constitution to block legalized gay marriage. Only one small political party–the African Christian Democratic Party–has announced support for such an amendment, the New York Times reported.

Posted: 12/16/05

Man convicted in missionary murders executed

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

SAN'A, Yemen (ABP)–A Muslim convicted of plotting the December 2002 terror attack that killed three Southern Baptist missionaries in Yemen was executed, several news sources reported.

Ali al-Jarallah died at the hands of a firing squad in a prison in San'a, Yemen's capital, the Associated Press reported. The gunman, Abed Abdul Razak Kamel, is still in prison.

Yemeni officials said al-Jarallah masterminded the Dec. 30, 2002, attack on the former Jibla Baptist Hospital in Jibla, Yemen.

Kamel burst into a hospital staff meeting and opened fire, killing hospital director William Koehn, physician Martha Myers and administrator Kathleen Gariety.

The missionaries were in the process of working out logistics for the transfer of the hospital's ownership to the Yemeni government from its founders, the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board. The institution now operates as Peace Hospital.

Al-Jarallah also was convicted of murdering a Yemeni Socialist Party official.

The Yemeni government suspected him of other terror plots, including being an associate of the international Al Qaeda terrorist group.

Posted: 12/16/05

ADVENT ADVENTURE: Churches
capitalize on movie-sparked Narnia-mania

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Alongside the greenery and candles usually associated with Advent, some churches this year are using lions, witches and wardrobes to help worshippers experience the Christmas story.

Drawing on images from Narnia–a mythical world created by author C.S. Lewis–these churches are leading members on an Advent journey from a cold land where it is "always winter and never Christmas" into a vibrant country where "the spell is broken" and believers encounter "deeper magic before the dawn of time."

Rachael Romans portrays Jadis, the White Witch, during a Narnia Night event at Houston's University Baptist Church. (Photo courtesy of University Baptist Church in Houston)

Congregations are capitalizing on renewed interest in The Chronicles of Narnia series of children's books, sparked by a new movie version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

As worshippers enter University Baptist Church in Houston, they pass through a cardboard wardrobe in the vestibule–provided by Disney and Walden, makers of the new Narnia movie–before they enter a sanctuary decorated with a winter theme.

When Lucy–one of the main characters in the story–entered Narnia, one of the first images that caught her eye was a lamppost in the middle of a snowy field. Similarly, a lamppost on the side of the sanctuary chancel captures the attention of churchgoers.

The decorations set the stage for a series of Advent sermons by Pastor Robert Creech that share titles with chapters from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

“I've tried to avoid treating the book like an allegory,” said Creech, a Lewis fan who first read the Narnia series when he was in high school and more recently read the books aloud to his children.

“Narnia serves more as an introduction into the sermon, not as the basis for the sermon. The Narnia references drop off after the first part of the sermon, once I get into the Scripture.”

University Baptist introduced the Advent theme at a Narnia night that drew about 800 participants.

Kabu Katei was costumed as Tumnus the faun from the Narnia film.

Costumed actors portraying Jadis the White Witch, Tumnus the faun and other characters from Narnia offered refreshments such as Turkish delight, hot chocolate and tea–as well as a chance to take part in a drawing for free movie tickets.

Creech's wife, Melinda, wrote a 30-minute readers' theater version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that was performed at the event to help introduce the story to people who hadn't yet read it.

Participants also received an Advent devotional guide the Creeches wrote that incorporated the Narnia theme into spiritual preparation for Christmas.

After learning about Narnia in the winter-themed fellowship hall, participants moved to a spring-themed chapel, where they learned about a variety of opportunities for ministry and missions involvement during the Christmas season.

University Baptist decided against using the Narnia emphasis overtly for outreach.

“It's mostly to help our folks think about their faith in a new way,” Creech said. “We didn't know how well people outside the church would connect with this. We're not treating the book like a tract.”

Leaders at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas likewise resisted the impulse to turn Narnia-mania into an exercise in child evangelism, but the church encouraged the community at large to attend its Narnia event, which attracted about 700 participants.

“We had people who are not affiliated with any church who came, along with ministers from other churches who came to observe the process and get ideas they could take to their churches,” said Minister to Children Tommy Sanders.

The Park Cities event offered children a chance to learn about Narnia through interactive games and activity centers in the church gym, while Pastor Jim Denison and Sanders met with their parents.

Rhena O'Neal and Don Parnell portray the Beaver family, characters from the Narnia books and film.

Sanders prepared a parents' guide and computer slideshow (both available on the Baptist Standard website) that provide background about The Chronicles of Narnia.

The materials are designed to help parents make informed decisions about how to approach the stories with their children–whether as simple adventure stories that teach moral lessons or as serious literature containing Christ-centered images.

“We didn't want to try to interpret the story as an allusion to the gospel for children,” Sanders said. “We wanted to equip parents.”

First Baptist Church in Athens has combined elements of education for Christians with outreach toward the unchurched. Pastor Kyle Henderson is preaching a series of sermons connected to themes in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and church leaders are planning a Narnia party for children and youth.

In November, the church sponsored a training session for Sunday school teachers, parents and leaders from other churches to teach them about Narnia, help parents know whether the movie is age-appropriate for their children and explore ways the cultural conversation about Narnia can be used to discuss spiritual matters.

“We want to help people use the movie as a way to connect and talk about their faith,” Henderson said. “We want them to see how the movie allows them to talk in a neutral, nonthreatening way about the big issues, like why the world is broken.”

Narnia Resources:
• Narnia Parents Guide (pdf file) and
• Narnia PowerPoint presentation (download ppt file)
(Compiled by Tommy Sanders, Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas).

Posted: 12/16/05

Baptist churches learn to embrace Advent rituals

By Terri Jo Ryan

Special to the Baptist Standard

When Bill Hardage first “got” Advent after much Bible study more than a decade ago, he fell in love with the sacred season.

He was so smitten by the holy period leading up to the Feast of the Nativity, he even bought a $1,100 Advent stand for his congregation, Valley View Baptist Church in Longview, as a pre-Christmas gift.

Seven years ago, he moved 55 miles northwest, to Clearwater Baptist Church of Scroggins, and took his tradition with him. When he learned that his successor at Valley View found the gold-plated, six-foot tall stand with a large oval beaded glass ring for the wreath “a little heathen” and hid it in the closet, Hardage went to Longview to retrieve his gift for his new faith family.

And it has been put to good use ever since, he added.

“Baptists are a little short on ritual,” Hardage admitted. “Baptists have been missing out on something very important by skipping Advent. It adds to the season.”

From the Hanging of the Greens service, through the lighting of the candles by lay people each Sunday, to the poinsettia memorials that line the sanctuary to the addition of the Christ Candle to the Advent wreath on Christmas Eve, Advent enriches the souls of those longing for the light of the world, he said.

Advent, the four-week season of anticipation that precedes Christmas, means candles of purple and rose will be lit, wreaths displayed and evergreen boughs will be hung in sanctuaries.

Long a regular part of annual worship in Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran churches, among others, Advent until recent years was as much a stranger to Baptist churches as a certain babe was in Bethlehem two millennia ago.

But no more.

“Advent leads the way in keeping time on a Christian scale, rather than use Hallmark or a secular calendar,” said Burt Burleson, pastor of DaySpring Baptist Church, a Waco congregation that bills itself as “sacred, simple.”

Raymond Bailey, pastor of Seventh & James Baptist Church in Waco, has been marking sacred time with Advent at least 20 years, the last 10 at Seventh & James, “to really identify with the universal church and feel a closeness with other Chris-tians across the centuries and faith expressions.”

Not as old as the feast of Christmas itself, church historians say Advent may have originated in fourth century France and Spain, where a pre-Epiphany time of prayer and fasting likely was observed to prepare for baptisms of new believers conducted on the Catholic feast commemorating the baptism of Jesus. In the 11th century, the 40-day Advent period was shortened to the four Sundays before Christmas.

But after the Protestant Reformation, as some religious movements moved farther and farther from the Roman Catholic Church and its oldest traditions, Advent fell out of favor. An example of that historic lack of attention in Baptist churches to the season is that the Baptist Hymnal contains only eight Advent carols, versus dozens of Christmas carols.

“Pretty much it's Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, and O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. That kind of shows you where Baptists are on Advent,” Burleson observed.

“We delay singing Christmas carols, to get in touch with the waiting, the longing for the light of the world. But it's hard to stay pure in this culture, when Target started playing We Wish You a Merry Christmas shortly after Halloween.”

DaySpring conducts the Hanging of the Greens–symbolic of the everlasting life Christians say is promised through Christ–on the first Sunday of Advent. The children are involved in lighting the candles each week and put Crismons on the tree.

“We want people to walk in and wake up to something different in the sanctuary,” Burleson said. Recovering the institution “is a way to counter the commercialization of Christmas. It's a way to be deliberately spiritual” during the secular frenzy.

Rooted in the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival,” Advent is a season of spiritual preparation both for Christmas, when Christians mark Jesus' birth, and for his second coming on Judgment Day.

Thus, its theological reach spans from the Old Testament's ancient messianic prophecies to the end of days. Advent articulates that sense of hope, of anticipation, that God has worked in history and will continue to work in history, said Bailey.

Scott Walker, pastor of First Baptist Church of Waco, said the congregation has observed Advent since 1993.

“We have an Advent wreath, which is lit by a family or individual every Sunday. We also have a Sunday when our children process in on the first hymn and bring with them the various characters of the manger scene and place them around the creche,” he said.

One of the church's Sunday school classes also produces a booklet of Advent devotional readings, written by various First Baptist members and mailed to all. “It allows us to share in a new and personal devotional thought” for each day of the Advent season, he added.

Lake Shore Baptist Church in Waco has printed its own member-written booklet of Advent devotionals since 1984, although the church marked Advent for several years before that, when Roger Paynter–now of First Baptist Church in Austin–was pastor.

Lake Shore Associate Minister Sharlande Sledge said their church's Advent guide has proven so popular through the years, it has gained a following outside Lake Shore's doors.

“Advent slows us down in the rush toward Christmas, and these devotionals put a pause into each busy day,” she said.

Pastor Dorisanne Cooper of Lake Shore said one of the most significant Advent traditions there is the creation of the annual banner. The 9-foot-long, 45-inch-wide banner of velvet and rich fabrics, designed by Pam Allen and assembled by a cadre of volunteer seamstresses, is more than mere decoration, Cooper said. “It's an integral part of our worship in this season.”

Sledge concurred. “We try to choose a theme that is reflective of the year past. In 2001, it was 'On Earth, Peace' with a ribbon-wrapped globe.”

The 2005 banner, “God's Love Made Visible,” is a reaction to the catastrophes in the human family that started just after last Advent–the Pacific tsunami, the summer hurricanes and the fall earthquake in Central Asia. The fabrics that form the central star on the banner come from parts of the world where Lake Shore has missions and represent the local community's numerous acts of kindness, she said.

Seventh & James also has pulpit hangings for Advent–as well as other church seasons, such as Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost–with costs underwritten by the Leuschner Fund and by an anonymous donor family.

Designed by Bill Doser of North Carolina with help from artist-consultant-finisher Bidwell Drake of Conroe, the paraments, elegant ornamental fabric hangings, are made by the same team of stitchers–Mary Ann Bennett of McGregor; Cynthia LaMaster of Chapel Hill, N.C.; and Mona Burchett, Jane Newsome, Rebecca Hartberg and Lu Treadwell, all of Waco–that were involved in the needlepoint project in the chapel at Truett Seminary on the Baylor University campus.

Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth began observing Advent in 1973 when John Claypool was pastor, said current Pastor Brett Younger. “Advent is a way of making room for Christ's coming in worship so that we will make room for Christ's coming in our own lives,” Younger said.

When everything around seems busy and hurried, Advent has a kind of solemnity and sacred quality, he added. For example, the services are more elaborate, with the lighting of Advent candles, parade of banners and festival music, such as the singing of Handel's Messiah.

“Our Advent theme this year is 'Let Every Heart Prepare,'” said Younger. The four Advent services include baptisms, parent-child dedications, communion, candles, carols, anthems, Scripture readings and sermons on Christ's coming according to each of the Gospel writers.

“We always choose a Christmas book to read together. This year we're reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and renting a theater to see the new film,” Younger said.

“Different people love different aspects, but there's not much we could skip without someone being disappointed. For some, it's the procession of Advent banners on the first Sunday of Advent. For others, it's drinking sweet coffee in the sanctuary during communion at the Moravian Love Feast (Dec. 7). For many, it's crying at Silent Night at the candlelight communion on Christmas Eve.”

Mark Wingfield, associate pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, a congregation that has observed Advent for more than 15 years, said Baptist churches can engage in these practices without being “high church.”

“We don't speak of the Christmas season, which doesn't start until Dec. 24, but the Advent season,” he said.

The Advent theme for 2005 is “Comfort my People,” from Isaiah 40, a reflection of the year the world endured with numerous large-scale natural disasters, the strife of warfare and the need for God's people to respond in community, he noted.

This theme also links the fall hurricane relief work with the winter emphasis on the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions offering and next year's launch of KidsHeart Africa–all attempts to help comfort God's children, Wingfield said. Wilshire also published an annual Advent devotional guide, a booklet of devotional thoughts written by Wilshire members.

What is new this year, said Wingfield, is the church hanging liturgical paraments. Displayed in the sanctuary, hanging off the columns on either side of the pews, they are made of cloth of a variety of textures. Purple for Advent while all await the arrival of the King, the paraments will be changed to white for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, symbolizing the birth of the Christ child.

As a Baptist church that values Christian liturgy, Wilshire occupies a niche in the market as common ground for interfaith Christian couples, Wingfield added.

“A lot of people who come to Wilshire come from other Christian expressions, so to them Advent is old hat.”

Posted: 12/16/05

Advent symbols explained

Advent centers on hope, peace, joy and love as Christians move through the season of waiting and looking forward to the feast of Christmas.

A common symbol for the season is the Advent wreath, a circular garland of evergreen branches signifying eternity. Arranged in the wreath are three purple candles and one pink candle. The first candle, purple, symbolizing hope, is lit on the first Sunday of Advent, the start of the liturgical year of the Christian calendar. Each week an additional candle is lit.

The second candle, also purple, represents peace. The third, a pink candle, is the shepherds' candle, symbolizing joy. The fourth candle is love.

The center candle of white, the Christ candle, is lit on Christmas Eve. The four candles of Advent lend themselves to Sunday themes like Old Testament prophets or the Gospel writers as well.

The purpose of the Christian year is to keep followers tied to the life of Christ. From its early days, Christian worship was connected to the theological significance of time.

Taking from its Jewish roots a pattern of feasts that recalled what God had done in history, Christian worship developed yearly, weekly and daily cycles for remembering and re-enacting what God continued to do through his Son.

The basic pattern, in place by the fourth century, has two main sequences. The pattern in both is preparation, feast and extension. The first sequence includes Advent (the beginning of the Christian year), Christmas and Epiphany. The second sequence includes Lent, Easter and Pentecost. The time between Pentecost and Advent, called Ordinary Time, is not marked by major times of celebration.

Posted: 12/16/05

Book Reviews

The 13 Apostles by Preston Alford Taylor (Tate Publishing)

Preston Taylor has several published books with wide distribution in English, but predominately in Spanish. I predict this newest work will surpass the others in both sales and stature.

This is a book every pastor should have on his shelf, every seminary student should be required to study and every Sunday school teacher should have close at hand. It is one of the few books I would recommend that everyone should buy and read right now!

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

He has compiled an enormous amount of historical material and into it integrated the perspective that comes from experience, a lifetime of study and a mature understanding of the grace of God and the Christian life. In addition, he has an easy-to-read style that draws the reader from page to page, filled with inspiring stories about the original apostles. He ends with a powerful challenge for each of us to take our place as we work to expand the kingdom of Christ.

Jerry Barker, pastor

First Baptist Church

Falfurrias

Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot by Max Lucado (W. Publishing Group; available January 2006)

God designed us. He designed us according to his purpose. In that purpose, we discover the passion he has placed in our heart.

According to San Antonio pastor and best-selling author Max Lucado, we find our “sweet spot” when we live according to God's unique design, carry out his purpose for us, and fulfill that deep passion of our lives. Our sweet spot, a term from sports, is the “tailor-made task that honors God, helps others and thrills you.”

But if all this is true, how do we discover God's design in our lives? Lucado, using the work of Arthur F. Miller and Ralph T. Mattson of People Management Inc., advises us to “read your life backward” to discover your story that tells how and for what God created you.

The second part of the book gives a well-presented “ba-sics of the Chris-tian life.” In the third section, Lucado applies the idea of our sweet spot to daily life.

Over the years, I have found the concepts of Miller and Mattson insightful, practical and freeing. Lucado, a gifted communicator, takes those insights and shows step by step and Scripture by Scripture what it means to discover God's design of each of us.

Bill Blackburn, President

Partners in Ministry

Kerrville

Set Free by Forgiveness by Randall O'Brien (Baker Books)

Randall O'Brien, interim provost at Baylor University, explores the liberating, healing power of forgiveness in a highly readable book that combines scholarly insight, pastoral concern, storytelling skill and practical application.

From the book's first pages, O'Brien refuses to let readers off the hook. He begins by telling the story of Chris Carrier, a 10-year-old boy who was abducted, repeatedly stabbed with an ice pick, shot in the head and left for dead. Miraculously, the boy survived the ordeal and returned to his family, but the attack left him blind in one eye. Even more miraculously, years later, Carrier forgave his attacker, befriended him and led him to faith in Christ.

O'Brien unflinchingly challenges readers to recognize themselves as both sinned against and sinners. He calls on individuals to acknowledge their own capacity for evil and need for forgiveness, as well as recognize the practical and therapeutic benefits of offering forgiveness to others.

Perhaps O'Brien's greatest contribution lies in the way he draws helpful distinctions between unhealthy shame and healthy guilt and between unconditional, unilateral forgiveness and the difficult, reciprocal process of reconciliation.

Ken Camp, managing editor

Baptist Standard

Dallas

The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody by David W. Bebbington (InterVarsity)

This volume is the second to be released in the projected five-volume History of Evangelicalism. David Bebbington sketches and evaluates the broad influences and impact of evangelicalism during the period 1850-1900. While not as readable as the first volume, I found his review of the impact of Dwight Moody-Ira Sanky on local-church worship interesting in light of the “worship wars” of our day.

Significant currents that move us to where we are today never happen in a vacuum. Bebbington helps to track how the Enlightenment and later Romanticism influenced the movement and the message. This volume also looks at the roots of the social gospel and the social impact within evangelicalism.

The author also highlights the variety of differences within the stream of evangelicalism during this period. This is a good primer for pastors and church members who are historically curious about some of the influences that make us what we are today.

Michael Chancellor, pastor

Crescent Heights Baptist Church

Abilene

Posted: 12/16/05

Personal touch meaningful
to Breckenridge residents

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

TYLER–At Breckenridge Village, Bob and Carolyn Holsomback are making names–not for themselves but for the residents of the Baptist Child & Family Services facility for mentally handicapped adults. They also have made Christmas gifts, park benches, napkins, bluebird houses–and lots and lots of friends.

After Mrs. Holsomback made stockings for all the residents and staff last December, Development Director Linda Taylor insisted they come to a chapel service and distribute them personally.

“We were amazed at the response,” Holsomback remembered. “We had no idea how important it was to have their name on the stocking.”

A young man stroked Holsomback's cheek, repeating over and over, “You look just like my granddaddy.” Meanwhile, a young woman–usually non-verbal–kept looking back and forth between her stocking and Mrs. Holsomback. As she rubbed her fingers over the stitching, she kept saying, “That's me, that's me.”

Carolyn Holsomback makes travel pillows for residents.

This Christmas, the couple from Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Tyler will give away travel pillows–again with each resident's name prominently displayed.

“We were looking for something that would specifically belong to them individually but something that they could use. This way when they are riding in the van or watching television, they can use it,” Mrs. Holsomback explained.

“I saw such a need after I first visited. The residents are special–just like the very young and the elderly in that they are so dependent on others to care for them. In our society, we give a lot of attention sometimes to people who don't need it so much, who aren't so dependent. But the more Bob and I are involved here, the more we are convinced that resources invested at Breckenridge get full value for the Lord's money. This is absolutely the best use of donations for God's work.”

Such total devotion belies the fact the Holsombacks' association with Breckenridge is only about one year old. The couple only visited the facility in fall 2004 because it was the site for a free concert by one of their favorite singers, Cynthia Clawson.

“That was the first time we ever visited,” Mrs. Holsomback recalled. “As usual, Cynthia was wonderful. But we were really touched by what we saw and heard about Breckenridge. We stayed after the concert to take a tour, but there were so many others doing the same that Linda asked us if we could come back another time.”

They not only came back three weeks later, but also brought along a cash contribution. They asked if there were projects they could undertake within their physical limitations and were asked to repair some picnic tables that had seen better days. That was just the starting point.

Mrs. Holsomback noticed Brecken-ridge had to rent tablecloths and napkins for dinners, so she made a supply, along with reversible runners for the tables–green for Christmas functions, maroon for general use. Holsomback took on the task of rebuilding the park benches for the prayer garden, searching for a supply of durable cypress wood. Mrs. Holsomback worried about the rough-cut slats. She warned her husband the Breckenridge residents “would have to wear leather britches to keep from getting splinters in delicate places.” He also decided to populate the campus with bluebird houses, both to extend the habitat of the rare bird as well as provide residents with the joy of hearing and seeing them.

Holsomback, the woodworker of the team, has a bad back that limits the sustained physical activity needed to do many maintenance jobs, but his slow and steady pace is efficient. Mrs. Holsomback has severely limited vision but does the sewing.

But they function as a team, literally. When Holsomback was fashioning the park bench slats, she operated the drill press. When Mrs. Holsomback began making the personal travel pillows for the residents and staff for this Christmas, he cut the material.

Posted: 12/16/05

Christmas music playlist
ranges from sacred to secular

By Adelle Banks

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–It's that time of year again, when Silent Night or Jingle Bells greets you as you turn on the radio, walk into a shopping mall or head down a city street.

What you hear–whether traditional and religious or secular and contemporary–depends on where you are and on careful planning by the programmers, retailers and musicians who bring it to your ears.

There's even an organization that studies these musical matters.

Last year, Media Monitors began tracking the songs played by the 50 all-Christmas stations in the top 50 markets between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And though no religious tunes were part of its top 10 list of songs played on the mostly secular stations, a spokesman estimates that as much as 25 percent of the radio stations' Christmas library “may be religious in nature.”

He noted, however, that this could mean 10 different versions of Away in a Manger.

According to Media Monitors, the religious song heard most on the stations was Do You Hear What I Hear? performed by Whitney Houston, said Tom Zarecki, spokesman for the broadcast monitoring service based in White Plains, N.Y. It was followed by Josh Groban's rendition of O Holy Night and Bob Seger's version of Little Drummer Boy.

While largely secular radio stations aren't likely to play back-to-back religious songs, he said, there's likely to be one or two an hour.

“All programmers want to do is reach as many people as possible,” Zarecki said. “I bet there's no programmer that would ever want to be accused of removing all religious songs from a holiday format, because somebody would notice that … and that would be just an example of bad programming.”

Dana McKelvey, an “audio architect” with the Muzak music delivery company, said more mainstream retailers and restaurants are asking for holiday songs with religious references.

“Past years, they were very conscious of the uses of 'Jesus,' 'Jesus Christ,' 'O Holy Night,' anything that was directly related to religion,” said McKelvey, whose company is based in Fort Mill, S.C. “And this year, they're becoming more open to allowing that to play in mainstream stores.”

Religious retailers are even more particular, she notes: “They don't want just instrumental Christmas songs. They want songs performed by Christian artists.”

While a Baptist bookstore or a Catholic university store might play more religious music, it's understandable that large stores frequented by people of many faiths will play fewer sacred tunes for their customers, said Daniel Butler of the Washington-based National Retail Federation.

“You want them all to enjoy being in the store, but you don't want anybody feeling alienated,” said Butler, the federation's vice president of merchandising and retail operations. “So you tend to go with music choices … that will have a broader appeal with the customer base.”

Starbucks coffeehouses are featuring three holiday CDs that are being played and sold in their stores. Most of the tunes–which range from Elton John's Christmas Party to a compilation titled Baby, It's Cold Outside–are of the Rudolph and Santa Claus variety. But the compilation CD ends religiously, with Barbra Streisand's Ave Maria. The coffee company's version of the Vince Guaraldi Trio's A Charlie Brown Christmas includes What Child Is This? and Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.

While collections targeted for a broad audience sometimes include religious songs, even the most devout have long enjoyed some not-so-sacred tunes.

Richard Holz, music director for the Salvation Army's Southern Territory, said about 5,000 brass ensembles play from a standardized collection of Christmas carols, performing at kettles and other locations between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In the last decade, when the The Salvation Army Carolers Favorites was updated, it included more secular songs.

“People enjoy hearing Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” said Holz, who plays tuba outside an Atlanta-area Sam's Club as well as at nursing homes. “You have these standards that you play that you mix in with the sacred carols.”

Christian radio, too, delves beyond the religious regulars.

“We do not ex-clude the more, if you will, fun titles, less-religious titles,” said Chuck Finney, the national program director for Salem Communica-tions' 13 contemporary Christian music stations. “But we play the ones that are consistent morally with the true meaning of Christ-mas.”

So, between The First Noel and Mary, Did You Know? a listener might hear Have a Holly Jolly Christmas or White Christmas.

“We wouldn't play Santa Baby,” he said, referring to the sultry song performed by Eartha Kitt.

Ace Collins, author of Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, said a range of offerings–from O Holy Night to Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer–may be the most appropriate way to usher in the holiday.

“I think that's fair,” he said. “I think each of those songs brings to life the fabric of the season.”