Posted: 5/09/08

Faith Digest

Panel cites 11 religious freedom offenders. A federal watchdog panel announced 11 countries should be named “countries of particular concern” for their records on religious freedom, including three not currently on the State Department’s list. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the inclusion of Vietnam—removed from the State Department’s list in 2006—along with Pakistan and Turkmenistan. The other countries recommended for the designation of “countries of particular concern” are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan, which have been on the State Department’s list since 2006. The commission also cited countries on its “Watch List” that require monitoring because of religious freedom violations permitted or implemented by the governments—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Have a Bible question? Ask a Pole. Americans are more likely than Europeans to own and read a Bible, but Poles are most likely to have a basic knowledge of Scripture, according to a Vatican report. The statistics are among preliminary findings of a study of Bible reading in the United States and eight European countries conducted by an Italian market research firm in preparation for an international synod of Catholic bishops. More than 90 percent of American households contain at least one copy of the Bible, the highest level among the countries studied, according to the study. Three out of four Americans had read at least one passage of Scripture over the previous year, compared to only one out of four Spaniards, who ranked last in that respect. Not surprisingly, exposure paid off in familiarity with the book. When asked seven basic questions about the Bible’s contents and authorship, 17 percent of Americans were able to answer all correctly, compared to an average of 15 percent in all the countries studied. But Poles took the prize for biblical knowledge, with 20 percent earning perfect scores on the test. The lowest rank went to the Russians, only 7 percent of whom were able to answer all the questions right.

Televangelist Copeland seeks IRS review. Kenneth Copeland Ministries, one of the ministries that has refused to cooperate fully with a financial investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has invited the Internal Revenue Service to conduct an inquiry of its own instead. Grassley’s office reported four of the six ministries he has been investigating are cooperating with requests to provide him with financial information. Creflo Dollar Ministries in College Park, Ga., has refused to submit financial records. Grassley, the panel’s top-ranking Republican, and committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., had asked ministries that weren’t cooperating fully to submit materials by March 31. Jill Gerber, a spokeswoman for the Senate Finance Committee, said both Copeland’s and Dollar’s ministries continue to decline to send the requested information. “As for the Copeland request for an audit from the IRS, Sen. Grassley has always said that the IRS enforces existing law, while Congress evaluates the adequacy of existing law,” she said. “The two functions are completely different.”

Hotel offers variety of spiritual texts. Overnight guests at one Nashville, Tenn., hotel who crave religious reading material may turn to something other than a Gideon Bible. The Hotel Preston recently started offering a “spiritual menu” to its guests, including the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita and additional versions of the Bible other than the Gideon-provided King James Version. Five boutique hotels in the Portland, Ore.-based Provenance chain have introduced the new offerings in the last few months, with the Nashville property starting them most recently. Researchers for the American Hotel & Lodging Association have found an increasing percentage of hotels provide religious materials in their rooms. In 1998, 79 percent of hotels surveyed said they carried such materials; that figured jumped to 95 percent in 2006.

Casting Crowns singer reaps Dove Awards. Casting Crowns lead singer Mark Hall and his group reaped a total of seven Dove Awards at the annual Gospel Music Association ceremony. Among his four individual awards, Hall was honored for co-writing the Song of the Year, “East to West.” Casting Crowns was honored three times, including as Group of the Year. TobyMac was named Artist of the Year, a title he claimed in 1996 as a member of dcTalk. His latest solo album, Portable Sounds, debuted at No. 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart. He was honored in two other categories for his work on that album.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

Willis, Hunt jump in crowded
field vying for SBC presidency

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (ABP)—A crowded field of hopefuls for the Southern Baptist Convention presidency appears to be developing, with two high-profile candidates set to join three already-announced nominees.

Retired SBC International Mission Board executive Avery Willis and Atlanta-area pastor Johnny Hunt reportedly will be nominated for the denomination’s top position. SBC messengers will elect a new president and conduct other business during the body’s annual meeting, scheduled for June 10-11 in Indianapolis.

Avery Willis	Johnny Hunt

Willis reportedly will be nominated by John Marshall, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo. A notice on the website for The Pathway, the in-house news organ of the conservative-dominated Missouri Baptist Convention, said Marshall had announced May 6 his intention to nominate Willis.

Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., confirmed via e-mail May 6 that he would nominate Hunt.

“For 12 years, many in the SBC have wanted to have Johnny lead and serve our convention as president,” Traylor said. “His passion is to reach the nations. I know of no other pastor who has had a positive influence on more young pastors than Dr. Hunt. Our future as a convention requires that we connect with those young church leaders.”

Willis retired in 2004 as IMB’s senior vice president for overseas operations. A former missionary to Indonesia, he is well known across the SBC as an expert on missiology and discipleship. He created the Master-Life discipleship series used by the SBC’s publishing agency, now known as LifeWay Christian Resources. He now lives in Bella Vista, Ark., but continues to work with several initiatives that bring evangelical missions organizations together for joint evangelism strategies.

Georgia pastor

Hunt, pastor of First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga., initially was expected to be a candidate during the last contested SBC presidential election, in 2006. But he dropped out a month before the convention.

Although he was the first choice of the SBC’s fundamentalist leadership in 2006, Hunt was likely to face opposition from one or more other factions in the convention—most notably a loose-knit group of younger conservatives protesting what they called the leadership’s narrow and exclusivist track record.

Instead, Hunt nominated Ronnie Floyd, pastor of First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., that year. But Floyd and another candidate with the support of some SBC power-brokers—Nashville, Tenn., pastor Jerry Sutton—both lost to an outsider candidate, South Carolina pastor Frank Page, who is completing his second one-year term next month. Presidents customarily are re-elected to a second term but cannot serve more than two consecutively.

Presidency key to control

The presidency has been the key to gaining and retaining control of the 16 million-member denomination and its agencies. The SBC’s inerrantist leaders have controlled the position for almost three decades, usually running unopposed.

Since 1979, all SBC presidents have been inerrantists. But only two were elected without the approval of the small cadre of insiders who directed the denomination’s rightward shift, which took place during the same period.

The 2008 SBC presidential election was thrown into disarray in February, after Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler dropped out of the race for health reasons. He was expected to be the establishment candidate for the position.

Three other candidates for the spot already have been announced—Frank Cox, pastor of the Atlanta-area North Metro First Baptist Church; former Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary professor Bill Wagner; and Orange County, Calif., pastor and activist Wiley Drake.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

Texas Tidbits

BGCT serves breakfast during SBC, CBF annual meetings. The Baptist General Convention of Texas will sponsor come-and-go continental breakfasts for pastors during the annual meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The BGCT meal during the SBC meeting will be 7 to 9 a.m., June 10, in Room 208 of the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The BGCT breakfast during the CBF General Assembly is scheduled 7 to 9 a.m., June 20, in Ballroom B of the Memphis (Tenn.) Cook County Convention Center.

Galveston outreach changes lives. About 80 Texas Baptists met with more than 700 people during a Galveston Beach Reach weekend event. Volunteers prayed with 180 people, 35 made professions of faith in Christ and eight rededicated their lives to Christ, according to Gerald Davis, Baptist General Convention of Texas community development specialist who helped lead the beach outreach.

McBeth named Elder Statesman. Baptist historian Leon McBeth will receive the Texas Baptist Elder Statesman Award at a presentation June 1 at Independence Baptist Church in Independence. McBeth taught 43 years at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has written extensively, including The Baptist Heritage and Texas Baptists: A Sesquicentennial History. Events begin at 10 a.m. with Sunday school, taught by Jesse Fletcher, president emeritus of Hardin-Simmons University. During the 11 a.m. worship service, Independence Association President Bill Pitts of Waco will present the Elder Statesman Award. Russell Dilday, former president of Southwestern Seminary and chancellor of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, will preach. A church picnic will follow, and guests are asked to bring a covered dish.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor junior Hallie Jacobson and freshman Lindsey Weaver help with a cleaning project at the Families in Crisis Center during a day of Reaching Out. (Photos by Lindsey Sisk/UMHB)

UMHB students reach out,
dig in to help families in crisis

By Laura Frase

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

BELTON—Between looming storm clouds, plenty of mud and even several flat tires on wheelbarrows, nothing stopped University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students from reaching out to their community. More than 200 students participated in UMHB’s recent Reaching Out community service program.

“As Christians, we’re called to serve,” UMHB junior Hallie Jacobson said. “It’s really important to focus off yourself and on others—and it’s fun.”

“Even if you have 5,000 things going in a day, you can carve out time to help one person. It really helps others.”

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students Zack Polk and Mia Casey move dirt for Families in Crisis as part of a Reaching Out project in the community.

Students scattered through-out the area—from Belton to Temple—constructing Habitat for Humanity homes, organizing food at a Ronald McDonald House and assisting at nursing homes.

One group of volunteers built a playground area for Families in Crisis—a ministry that primarily serves victims of domestic abuse.

“These families have left their abusers, and they are trying to rebuild their lives,” said Tara Stafford, a volunteer with United Way. “The kid’s area right now is tiny—a little closet area.”

But to clear the yard for the playground equipment, it meant a lot of digging, a lot of mud and a lot of team work.

“It’s a lot of hard labor—manual labor,” Stafford said.

Despite a flat tire on his wheelbarrow, UMHB sophomore Zack Polk trudged along with a grin on his face.

For a good cause

“It’s a good feeling,” he said about volunteering. “It really is. I’m not only doing stuff with friends, but it’s also for a good cause.”

While this was Polk’s first involvement in Reaching Out, UMHB freshman Lindsey Weaver is no novice. Even before she attended UMHB, she drove from Waco to volunteer with friends during Reaching Out.

“I really like giving back to the community,” Weaver said. “While at UMHB, you sometimes feel like you’re in a bubble, and this reminds you that there are people outside of it in need.”

Safe place to play

Weaver is thrilled she could do her part to give children a safe place to play.

“They can relax and just be kids,” she said. “And they probably haven’t been able to do that for awhile.”

Stafford was impressed with the students’ hard work.

“It’s hard to find volunteers to do something good just because it’s a good thing, but I think it shows students that there are people right around the corner that may be struggling,” Stafford said.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

Wayland grad records life’s
journey on walls of church

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW—When Wendi Vanlandingham received her degree from Wayland Baptist University at spring commencement, it marked the end of a 12-year journey filled with twists, turns and detours.

In a sort of lasting testament to that road, Vanlandingham recently completed a large mural in the children’s department at College Heights Baptist Church.

Wendi Vanlandingham stands in the hallway of the children’s department at College Heights Baptist Church, where she completed a mural. (Wayland Photo)

Estimating at least 500 hours of work involved in the project—she admits she really didn’t keep close count—the mural is not only a gift to the church and its children, but also a statement of her belief in the role of faith along life’s often-bumpy road.

At the beginning of her mural, which depicts a cartoon-like city, a road sign bears a Bible verse, Psalm 119:35 from the Message translation: “Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway!”

Vanlandingham acknowledges her life has included on- and off-ramps, detours and traffic jams. Some of those moments and personal touches show up in the mural, while others are hidden in her heart. Still, she wouldn’t trade a minute of it.

Opportunities to grow, listen

“God touched me and changed our lives every time,” she said. “Each step in life is such an opportunity to grow and learn.”

A native of Childress, Vanlandingham attended McMurry University on scholarship, even though her high school sweetheart, Jeff, was heading to Wayland.

After only a semester and many visits to Plainview, she transferred to Wayland and continued her education, majoring in art. In November 1998, the pair married, and they continued their education until January 2000, when they were expecting their first child, Lani Belle.

“We didn’t think we could live on part-time salaries, make it through school and support a child,” she said. “We know now that God can do amazing things.”

Her husband took a job as a youth minister in Crowell, later serving churches in Vernon and Childress.

She served as the first director of Pregnancy Outreach Center of the Rolling Plains, a newly formed crisis pregnancy ministry. She also had two more daughters along the way—Joey and Lily.

In 2005, the Vanlandinghams decided to come back to Plainview. Jeff Vanlandingham wanted to continue his education at Wayland and cut out the regular commute he was making from Childress. He pursued a degree in education and graduated in August 2007.

While he went back to school, his wife worked full-time in Wayland’s financial aid office, where she still is employed, and took a few classes each term toward her own degree in art, only 30-plus hours from completion. She sees her art as ministry.

Use art to make a place "welcoming"

“Anybody else can teach or preach and I can’t do those things. But if I can use my art to make a place more welcoming for others, that’s what I can do,” she said.

The mural at College Heights bears testimony to both her talent and her calling, but it’s not the only place she’s left her mark. She painted a mural at Second Baptist Church in Vernon, as well as at the pregnancy center in Childress.

But she has vowed not to paint a mural in the family’s home in Plainview.

“Every time I painted a mural in our house for our girls, we’d end up moving two weeks later,” she said. And the Vanlandinghams are not ready to move yet.

“Wayland is home to us,” she said. “It’s our family.”

In a way, the mural project parallels Vanlandingham’s journey to the degree. She wasn’t always happy with her progress on the walls, adding the stairwell artwork and a puppet stage in the main gathering room. It was a long time coming, but wrapping it all up has been another rewarding stop on the road. And she admits, she’s pretty proud of the finished project and what it means to the children.

“We want the kids to know they are the future of this church, and God has something great for them they would never imagine,” she said. “If they just follow his guidance, it’ll be a great ride.”

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

Waylanders plan to answer their Macedonian call

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW—In preparation for a two-week mission trip to Macedonia, a group of Wayland Baptist University students is collecting clothing and other items to be distributed in a village on their trip.

The group, headed by Rick Shaw, director of the Wayland Missions Center and assistant professor of religion, will leave May 29 for the area, traveling first to Macedonia, then to Kosovo, then taking in some sights in Greece.

Rick Shaw (on piano) leads the mission team heading to Macedonia in a worship song in the language in special classes preparing Wayland Baptist University students to worship and share testimonies in Macedonia. Melanie Vasquez, Taylor Phillips, Khyrstyne Eckerd, Micah Evans, Amber Hamilton and Kevin Burrow (front) rehearse a song.

Supplies will be delivered to Konjare e Mesme, an Albanian/Bosnian village in Macedonia. The group is collecting gently used children’s clothing and small toys as well as over-the-counter pain relief medications, such as Ibuprofen, in sealed packages.

Many of the locations to be visited on the trip are places Shaw and his wife, Martha, served as missionaries, and the group will be working with many of the pastors and churches he planted while on the field. He is excited to take the next step in the missions journey—taking his own charges to meet those converts.

“My dream is to offer students cross-cultural missions experiences, for our religion majors as well as any students who would like to do that,” he said.

The trip to Macedonia will do just that as students are exposed first-hand to Muslims in their own culture, Shaw said.

“They have very little experience with Muslims, and even a little fear and anxiety about them,” he said. “They’ll come back changed people, for sure.”

Melanie Vasquez, a religion major from Hobbs, N.M., with an interest in missions, has participated in other international missions experiences, but she said this trip will be different.

Reaching out to Muslims

“What interested me is the Muslim people,” she said. “I see the need for people to reach out to the Muslim people. A lot of Christians are afraid of them and don’t want to approach them, but God loves all people, and we need to reach them too.”

While overseas, junior Kevin Burrow will preach and lead a sports camp in a Macedonian village. Vasquez, sophomore Khrystyne Eckerd and junior Amber Hamilton will help teach English-as-a-Second-Language in Macedonia and Kosovo and give their testimonies at an all-Balkan women’s conference. Senior Micah Evans and sophomore Taylor Phillips will preach and help lead in several areas. The group also will speak, sing and perform drama in Macedonian churches.

“We’ve been meeting for two weeks for language lessons and Bible study in preparation for the trip, and they are doing very well,” Shaw said. “Some of them have had other languages and are picking it up very quickly.”

The training sessions will continue until the group leaves May 29. They are set to return June 14.

Making the Bible real

Besides hard work in Macedonia and Kosovo, Shaw noted he has planned some tourist attractions for the students, including visits to Thessalonica and Philippi in Greece, touring many of the sites covered in Paul’s missionary journeys in the Bible.

“These places really make the Bible real to people,” he said.

Shaw also will lead a group of students, along with two groups from area churches, to Kenya in July. Groups from First Baptist Church in Matador and First Baptist Church in Plainview will join the trip at different intervals, with the charge of building an eight-foot stone security fence around one of the churches in a ghetto neighborhood. The church has been vandalized repeatedly. The group from Matador, composed of several contractors, will begin the project, and the group from Plainview hopes to complete the fence. The groups and students also will work with another church that houses an orphanage for children whose parents have died from AIDS.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

Explore the Bible Series for May 18

Make major life adjustments

• Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30; 47:7-12

By Donald Raney

First Baptist Church, Petersburg

A wise person once said the only thing constant in life is change. Life often requires we alter our plans or routines. Issues related to our job, finances, health or family may force us to adjust our lives in order to accommodate new circumstances or resolve problems.

Yet while we all accept that change is a fact of life, few people welcome or enjoy change. Change means we have to move from what we know into what we do not know. Even when we can see how the change will be beneficial, we still may be apprehensive about the process.

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The biblical accounts of the lives of the patriarchs have much to teach about adjusting to whatever life may bring. They teach the need to maintain our faith in a loving God as we face times of change. They remind us that even as our situations change, our faith is in a God who maintains his plans and promises to us.

Facing an extended famine was certainly difficult for Jacob’s family. Yet learning that Joseph was still alive and in a position to help them must have come as unimaginably good news. However, that help could only come by leaving the land of promise and taking up residence near Joseph in Egypt.

As we read the story, we can identify the path we may all walk as we exercise our faith and make major life adjustments in following God.

Apprehension (Genesis 46:1-7)

After years of running from his brother Esau, Jacob finally had settled down in the land God promised to give to the descendents of Abraham. Now, he faced the prospect of leaving that land in order to escape a severe famine and be reunited with his son, Joseph. Because of the conditions which led to the move, Jacob did not know if he or his family would ever return.

During Jacob’s years on the run, God had proven to be faithful, but Jacob still was apprehensive. God knew Jacob’s fear and uncertainty. Thus when Jacob had come to the southern border of the Promised Land at Beersheba, God spoke to reassure Jacob that God’s promises still held.

Today, many believers have set off determined to follow God. They believe God has called them to a specific occupation in a certain place and have gotten comfortable and in that place when something unexpected happens, and they sense God is leading them out of their comfort zone and into a new area of service or location. For many, the initial response is to repeatedly seek confirmation since the change was not expected and does not fit with our understanding of God’s plans for our life.

God understands uncertainty and apprehension always will accompany change. Yet God calls on us to lay aside those fears and make the needed adjustments through faith in God’s character and promises.

Joy (Genesis 46:28-30)

There is perhaps no more emotion-filled reunion in the Bible than between Jacob and Joseph. For years, Jacob had thought his favored son had been killed by a wild animal. Now, he has learned Joseph is not only alive, but is serving in the palace of pharaoh in a position from which he can rescue his family from famine.

Yet because of Joseph’s position, this reunion was only possible as Jacob moved beyond his apprehension and left his familial lands to travel to Egypt. Famine had created a great threat and forced Jacob to lead his family through change. Yet as he did so, he not only found relief from the threat, but unexpected joy from a reunion.

As we exercise our faith in the face of life changes or adjustments into the unknown, we too will find that we will be blessed beyond our expectations. How often have we bypassed abundant joy in life by refusing to make some change to our course through life?

Fulfillment (Genesis 47:7-12)

Although not explicitly stated in the Bible, one of the reasons for Jacob’s initial apprehension about moving to Egypt was that he connected the fulfillment of all of God’s promises to Abraham to the land. This certainly was the case with later generations who saw the land as the symbol and guarantee of their place as God’s chosen people.

Jacob assumed Abraham’s descendents would grow into a great nation as they occupied the Promised Land. Thus, in Jacob’s mind, leaving the land in some way prevented or at least delayed the fulfillment of those promises.

Yet God wanted to teach this people at the earliest stage of their development that God’s promises were not bound by their perception or the way they thought they should be fulfilled. God’s covenant was with people and did not require a specific geographical location in order to be fulfilled. Indeed God could fulfill his promise to multiply Abraham’s descendents into a great multitude even in the land of Egypt (Exodus 1:7).

God has promised to bless and protect all those who seek his face. God has demonstrated throughout the pages of the Bible and through our own life experiences that no set of circumstances can prevent God from seeing his promises through to fulfillment. Our task is simply to lay aside all fear or uncertainty and through faith make adjustments to our lives knowing that what awaits is the certain joy-filled fulfillment of all God has promised.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Storylist for week of 5/12/08

TAKE ME TO: Top Story |  Texas |  Opinion |  Baptists |  Faith & Culture |  Book Reviews |  Classifieds  |  Departments  |  Bible Study




• BGCT launches Texas Hope 2010 evangelism initiative



• Blogging Baptists


• New HPU lectureship weds evangelism to ethics

• Abilene church leads drive to sweeten ministry to troops in Iraq

• Concern for needy people is gospel truth, not partisan politics, CBF's Vestal insists

• BCFS garners highest praise from children

• Russell joins Standard staff as marketing director

• Student worship leader keeps collegiate ties

• Baptism rates follow cycles, Texas Baptist statistician says

• UMHB students reach out, dig in to help families in crisis

• Wayland grad records life's journey on walls of church

• Waylanders plan to answer their Macedonian call

• On the Move

• Around the State

• Texas Tidbits


Blogging Baptists: A whole lotta talkin' goin' on
• Blogging Baptists

• Looking for guidelines for Christian blogs? Start with the New Testament

• Blogs become Baptist battleground


• Willis, Hunt jump in crowded field vying for SBC presidency

• Baptist Briefs


• Methodists vote to retain policies on homosexuality

• Faith Digest


• Reviewed in this issue: Questions To All Your Answers: The Journey From Folk Religion to Examined Faith by Roger Olson,
• Why Jesus Makes Me Nervous: Ten Alarming Words of Faith by Joy Jordan-Lake and
• Connecting Women: A Relational Guide for Leaders in Womens Ministry by Linda Lesniewski.


• Classified Ads

• Cartoon

• Texas Baptist Forum

• Around the State

• On the Move


• EDITORIAL: Why can't we all disagree agreeably?

• DOWN HOME: Her world grows & also shrinks

• IN FOCUS: Hopeful conversations across Texas

• 2nd Opinion: The morning of many miracles

• RIGHT or WRONG: Prudence vs passion?

• Texas Baptist Forum



• BaptistWay Bible Series for May 11: When the going gets tough

• Bible Studies for Life Series for May 11: Communication is key in relationships

• Explore the Bible Series for May 11: Work toward reconciliation

• BaptistWay Bible Series for May 18: The only hope

• Bible Studies for Life Series for May 18: Be trustworthy

• Explore the Bible Series for May 18: Make major life adjustments


Previously posted:
• Expert offers tips to manage mix of religion and politics

• Ground-rules recommended for religion in public schools

• Future Focus Committee examines Cooperative Program giving trends

• Research findings to be presented at social work colloquium

• Kelsi Kelso in Nigeria with HandsOn Missions

• Baptist Immigration Services offers help to people ‘left hanging'

• Howard Payne students learn about Islam firsthand in North Africa

• Prayer must undergird compassion, missionary doctor insists

• Baylor nursing students meet life-and-death needs in Africa

• Cameron Byler, SBC pioneer in recreation, disaster relief, dies at 79

• Ethics and evangelism focus of inaugural lecture at Howard Payne

• Cancer survivor, age 4, throws out first pitch

• Baptist Children's Youth Ranch accepts 75 children removed from FLDS compound


• See articles from the previous 4/28/08 issue here.

Posted: 5/09/08

BGCT launches Texas Hope 2010 evangelism initiative

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—Randel Everett believes everyone needs hope: Hope they can find their next meal. Hope they can overcome the deep pain they are confronting. Hope they can fill the void that resides within them.

Christ is the only true hope that can meet those needs, he said. The sooner people have that hope, the better.

For more information, visit www.texashope2010.com/.

So, the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ new executive director has launched Texas Hope 2010, an initiative designed to help Texas Baptists work together to share the gospel with every non-Christian within Texas “in their own language and their own culture” by Easter 2010.

“We want to make sure every person in Texas has an opportunity to respond to the gospel of Christ, regardless of their ethnicity, language or socioeconomic status,” Everett said.

The campaign will focus on three areas—prayer, caring and sharing.

Prayer undergirds all evangelistic efforts, Everett said. It makes Christians more aware of opportunities to share their faith.

Caring about people through relationships and service provides opportunities for people to express what Christ has done for them, Everett said. This component of Texas Hope 2010 particularly will focus on meeting the needs of hungry people across the state.

Feeding the hungry

Texas has the second-highest rate of food insecurity in the nation. More than 3.1 million people in the state don’t know where they will get their next meal, and nearly a quarter of the state’s children live in households classified as “food insecure.”

“One in 10 people in Texas is a Texas Baptist,” Everett said. “With those kinds of resources, if one person in this state goes to bed hungry, it’s our fault.”

The sharing component will focus on an evangelistic push, including Bible distribution, Everett said, noting he hopes Texas Baptists can present the gospel in a culturally correct way to each of the roughly 11 million Texans who are unchurched.

While sharing the gospel with 11 million people may seem daunting, Everett notes BGCT-affiliated churches claim 2.3 million members. That means each Texas Baptist needs to share his or her faith with six people by April 4, 2010, which Everett believes is possible.

An assignment for everyone

Each Texas Baptist, church, association and institution will have a unique role to play in Texas Hope 2010, he added. God calls each believer and each group to a “unique kingdom assignment,” creating a special place for each in a large evangelistic push.

Texas Baptists need to begin praying about their kingdom assignment and possible ways they can be part of Texas Hope 2010, Everett urged. The BGCT will begin identifying leaders in the areas of prayer, caring and sharing so they can help flesh out a strategy to reach non-Christians in Texas.

The key to the effort will be all Texas Baptists following God’s calling upon their lives as well as cooperating with the other Texas Baptists for maximum impact, Everett said. If that happens, the state could be radically changed.

“I pray that church attendance, baptisms and giving will go up,” he said. “I hope crime will go down. I hope legislation is passed to help the children in need in our state. I hope it makes a transformational impact on the state. I think it will if we can do this.”

For more information, visit www.texashope2010.com/.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

Texas WMU committee terminates
interim executive director

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

The executive committee of the Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas board dismissed Nina Pinkston of Fort Worth as interim executive director May 8 and named newly elected President Paula Jeser of El Paso to fill the interim post on a volunteer basis.

“It was not an easy decision. It was not a decision made in a matter of minutes,” Jeser said. “There was lengthy discussion. The executive committee recognized the repercussions.”

Pinkston was named interim executive after Carolyn Porterfield resigned as Texas WMU executive director-treasurer in October.

Pinkston’s contract was scheduled to expire July 2, but the committee decided to take immediate action, Jeser added.

“Texas WMU needs to move forward,” she said.

Jeser declined any further comment, citing a need for confidentiality and nondisclosure.

Regarding a candidate to fill the executive director-treasurer’s post permanently, Jeser said: “We may be closer than we think. I hope we may have someone by mid-June.”

The termination came without warning, according to Pinkston. She had been scheduled to attend a retreat with the consultant-level staff May 8. When she arrived at the retreat site near Kaufman, she said, she learned the retreat had been cancelled, and she was told to call the WMU office.

When Pinkston called, she was directed to Jeser, who read to her a statement regarding the termination of her contract, she recalled.

“I’m still puzzled,” she said. “All I was told was that the staff didn’t want to go on the retreat, and morale was not good in the office. I was told not to come to the office, and my things would be boxed up and sent to me.”

Pinkston acknowledged division among the Texas WMU staff. She also noted a perception held by some Baptist Building staff that Texas WMU was distancing itself from the BGCT and its Executive Board staff.

She particularly cited concerns by some that the BGCT Executive Board staff had been “shut out of the process this year” in determining Mary Hill Davis Offering allocations, as well as a persistent rumor that Texas WMU planned to move its offices away from the Baptist Building.

Pinkston said she met with BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett recently to offer assurances that Texas WMU wanted to continue its partnership with the BGCT.

“I had so much wanted to build bridges,” she said. “WMU would cut its own throat if it separated from the BGCT.”

This story will be updated as new information becomes available.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

ETBU President Riley
announces retirement plans

MARSHALL—Bob Riley has announced plans to retire in July 2009 as president of East Texas Baptist University.

Riley announced his retirement plans during the May 9 meeting of the ETBU trustee board. At his retirement, he will have served 16 years.

Bob Riley

“Although this presidency has been a wonderful experience, Gayle and I believe that it is time for a new vision and leadership for ETBU,” said Riley, whose term as president is the second longest in the 96-year history of the school.

“God has blessed our university immeasurably over the years with outstanding men and women to serve as faculty, staff, and trustees at this very special place.”

During Riley’s tenure at ETBU, the school has posted record enrollments, significantly increased its endowment and completed more than $25 million in capital projects.

“Dr. Riley has led ETBU as its president for over 15 years,” said Hal Cornish, chair of the ETBU trustees. “During that time there have been many significant accomplishments at ETBU. The campus has been expanded greatly and beautifully through the addition of many new buildings and the renovation of several others. The quality of student education has also been greatly improved.

“Dr. Riley and his wife, Gayle, certainly deserve a long and enjoyable retirement. They have been good for ETBU and have represented the university well over the years both externally and inside the ETBU community. He has been a man of integrity and has engendered that quality within the faculty and staff.”

Trustees will follow established policy that defines how to proceed in the search and selection of a new president, Cornish said.

“Our goal is to conduct a national search and have a new president in place prior to Dr. Riley’s retirement next year to assure continuity in that important position,” he said.

From Howard College

Riley arrived at East Texas Baptist University in 1992, following eight years as president of Howard College in Big Spring.

“Universities are deeply blessed by continuity of leadership as the mission and purpose of the university is consistently advanced.  A short drive or walk through the campus bears evidence of the significant improvements under Dr. Riley’s leadership, including academic buildings, athletic fields, and residence halls,” said Paul Sorrels, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Nearly every building has been improved, extensively renovated, or built during his tenure.

“The more notable advancements, however, have been in the academic arena, the prime purpose of an educational institution.  The credentials and reputation of the faculty have significantly improved, with the number of faculty holding doctorates or terminal degrees increasing from 63 percent to consistently over 70 percent and at one point, even over 80 percent.

New fields of study

“Several new major fields of study have been initiated in athletic training, mass communication, liberal studies, university studies, and management information systems. Partnerships have been established or maintained with three international universities in China and Poland.  Nearly one-half of our graduates pursue additional formal study after graduation.”

“On a personal note, Dr. Riley has been a very supportive president, mentor, and valued friend and colleague.  His contribution and loyalty to the university, the faculty and staff, and many students cast a very long shadow, one which has and will benefit all of us for many years to come.”

Riley noted he will leave some unfinished goals for the new president, including the completion of the university student center and the design and construction of a new performing arts center.

 “There will always be a new building to build or a project to complete,” said Riley, 65. “Gayle and I believe what Ecclesiastes teaches, that there is ‘a time for everything,’ and now is the time for us to move on to the next chapter of our life. We leave with an almost overwhelming love for ETBU and the belief that the ‘light on the hill’ will never die.”

 

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

Posted: 5/09/08

RIGHT or WRONG? Prudence vs Passion

I’ve been told I just need the courage to act on my principles. My response is that sometimes prudence should be the driving force for doing the ethical thing. How can we balance these virtues?

In the middle of April, my Baptist principles and commitment to the gospel collided with American politics. On a Tuesday, the president of the United States drove to Andrews Air Force Base to welcome the pope to America. The pope was the first dignitary the president had greeted at the Air Force base in his seven years in office. Everyone else has been greeted at the White House, which symbolizes people come to the president. But the president went to the pope. This was a symbolic gesture that smacked of undue favoritism in my Baptist opinion. On Thursday of that week, the business of Congress was suspended so the 100 Catholic members could attend the Mass held in the Nationals ballpark. While no laws were made favoring or establishing a religion, this did feel like special treatment.

Wednesday of that same week, the Democrats were holding a debate for the Pennsylvania primary. Barack Obama said, “The point I was making was that when people feel like Washington’s not listening to them, when they’re promised year after year, decade after decade, that their economic situation is going to change, and it doesn’t, then politically they end up focusing on those things that are constant, like religion.”

My blood really began to boil. “Jesus is not fallback position for economic hard times,” I muttered to myself. By Thursday noon, I had put aside my planned sermon for Sunday morning and was ready to tackle the fickle beast of American politics.

On a drive Thursday afternoon, I told my wife of my outrage and my plans to put everything right on Sunday morning. She began talking me down from the ledge with the comment, “Will this sermon be helpful to our people, or are you just blowing off steam?”

I was like you, caught between the courage of my convictions and the prudence of doing the right thing in the right way. I did not have a solution to my anger. I would have been railing against an injustice I could not remedy, nor could the members of my church. I preached a sermon from John 7 asking the question, “Who is Jesus to you?”—a better and more important question.

You are right. We do need to balance prudence with courage, and courage with prudence. There are times when we are called upon to do the hard thing that changes the circumstances in our world. But in every case, we need to make sure our courage is tempered with helpful words and redeeming actions. Yet do not quiet your courage in the name of prudence. Let us do what is right with wisdom.

Stacy Conner, pastor

First Baptist Church

Muleshoe

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University's Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.

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