Posted: 1/18/05

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Jan. 23

It is important to reach beyond racial barriers

Luke 10:25-37

By Leroy Fenton

Baptist Standard, Dallas

Racial, ethnic prejudice is alive and well in our society. Poised to begin this lesson, the daily news, dateline Jan. 8, 2005, reported that a Baptist preacher in Mississippi, apparently a former Ku Klux Klan leader, is being charged in the 1964 deaths of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Miss., a case never resolved. A movie, “Mississippi Burning,” was made about this brutal crime.

In the same paper, there was a report of an FBI investigation of “hate-filled threatening” letters that had been mailed to 80 high-profile couples who have interracial marriages. Also, there was an article about a former black city councilman who was accused of racism for comparing a high profile female city mayor with Hitler.

A recent movie of African-American, Jewish-American and Anglo-American families trying to deal with their respective prejudices in their community, highlighted by the teenage friendship of a Jewish boy and a black girl, revealed a sign at a white swimming pool that read, “No Jews, dogs or colored allowed.”

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Regularly, there are stories of charges of racial profiling. During my formative years in Mississippi, I saw first hand the racial rage of whites against blacks and the inequities of a racially prejudiced society. I grew up hearing the platitude, “I love colored people just as long as they stay in their place.” As the social structure of the United States changes due to the increasing numbers of ethnic peoples, our culture will continue to face the spiritual challenge of emotionally charged prejudicial racial attitudes. The real issue for today is the continuing patterns of discrimination various groups and races impose on the others.

Prejudice is an irrational, unwarranted and sometimes hostile opinion or attitude of arrogance toward an individual, group or race. Christians, at times, openly and honestly, will express and admit attitudes of prejudice. Others struggle with guilt over unrevealed feelings toward people of different ethnic and racial heritage. Sometimes a believer's expectation of himself will exceed honest prejudicial reality.

Scripture instructs and demands that believers move beyond racial and ethnic barriers in relationships and ministry. Let us return again to the familiar and powerful parable of the Good Samaritan to understand again the teachings of Jesus who leads us beyond racial barriers.

Love people unconditionally (Luke 10:25-28)

Having a moral society is difficult without individuals who are willing to act on behalf of its victims. Secular psychologists, philosophers and sociologists have been intrigued with the question of why anyone would want to be a Good Samaritan, to take the dangerous risk, be inconvenienced in time and schedule, and then be responsible for expensive care. Good Samaritans tend to be risk takers, have some familiarity or experience with violence, express anger at the criminal and have a strong sense of law and order. They also tend to have feelings of sympathy and compassion for the victim.

There is much to learn from this passage, for it is the key to living the Christian life. Love is the crowning virtue of the Christian life (1 Corinthians 13:13) and our acts of kindness count only when faith expresses itself through love (Galatians 5:6). In this exemplary account, love is clearly the ultimate and indispensable motivation that encourages a Christian to act unconditionally on behalf of a victim in need, regardless of race, color or creed.

A religious scholar, a legal expert on Old Testament law, asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). Defending his faith from corruption, he intended to show Jesus was mistaken in his understanding of God and religion. Jesus turned the question back to him, “What is written in the Law?” and “How do you read it?” (v. 26). Knowing the laws of God well, this lawyer answered on an abstract intellectual level, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'” (v. 27).

Jesus challenged him on the practical and concrete level with his answer, “Do this and you will live” (v. 28). Jesus knew no one is capable of obeying the law of love so perfectly and obediently enought to personally achieve life everlasting. Salvation does not result from anything you “do.” The man's response indicated he was intellectually aware of this dilemma.

There was a black man named Jess who was a member of my last church. He was a delightful and faithful member and friend. Before he died, near the age of 100, he told me his black friends had chided and mocked him saying, “Why do you go down to that white man's church?” He chuckled when he told me he answered, “I go down there because they love me.”

Overcome self-centeredness (Luke 10:29-32)

Jesus tells a parable, a special story with common imagery easily understood by the most simple, to drive home his lesson on love and answer the question of the lawyer, “Who is my neighbor” (v. 29). This parable started out being about a man who had been robbed, beaten and left for dead, but it dramatically turned to indict the self-centered legal expert who asked the question, including all people who have prejudicial, selfish and unloving attitudes.

Three different people from three different walks of life–a brilliant lawyer, a saintly priest and an administrative Levite–all of them very religious, acted out their selfishness. The legal expert, continuing to intellectualize the debate, wanted to “justify himself,” by asking another question, “Who is my neighbor?” The priest and the Levite would not be bothered or inconvenienced from their godly work and more important tasks. Let someone else do this dangerous, bloody, thankless job. Their self-centeredness would leave the man, one of their own race and nationality, to bleed to death along the roadside, his fate unaltered by their power and presence.

All three of them are to be contrasted with the Samaritan who “took pity on him” (v. 33). Jesus suddenly had turned the rhetoric from question to questioner, from excuses to action, from neglect to responsibility and from prejudice to love. Each person had a certain amount of power to make a difference in this situation but failed by passing “by on the other side” (vv. 31-32). Jesus insists that being a good neighbor means to have a love that acts on behalf of anyone, even the most hated, undeserving and despised in our culture.

There are many would-be Good Samaritans today. Most people would not leave a wounded man on the roadside to die from his ill-gotten abuse, but our innocence cannot be dissolved so easily. The parable has a much wider application. Our selfishness, more often than not, avoids involvement with the lower socio-economic groups, is stingy in offering financial help to the beaten down, relegates most indigent to the government agencies or benevolent care institutions, avoids contact with ethnic minorities and acts out of fear rather than love.

Most church members, out of fear, avoid the needs of others, drive around the slums and rarely come into contact with the ethnic down and out. Passing by on the other side is as common as seeing the sun come up and a common response of the comfortable Christian. The easiest thing to do is to give, and the hardest thing to do is to get involved. The tsunami disaster brought billions of dollars of aid because of the horror, but millions of children die every year from starvation and genocide with hardly an act of Christian compassion.

Reach beyond barriers (Luke 10:33-37)

Jesus startled the legal expert by dramatically making the hero of the parable a hated Samaritan. Samaritans were the half-breeds in the social strata of Israel, the mulattoes, a racial mixture of Jew and Gentile. There was hostility between the Jews and Samaritans (John 4:9, “Jews do not associate with Samaritans”).

The Pharisee in his prayer would say, “I thank God that I am not a woman, Gentile or Samaritan” and would pray that the Samaritans not be included in the resurrection. A Samaritan could not become a Jewish proselyte.

Being unacceptable, the Samaritans established their own temple, their own priesthood and their own religious festivals. The listening lawyer could not bring himself to love a Samaritan and certainly not live in his neighborhood.

The Samaritan, whom the lawyer would never accept as his neighbor, becomes the perfect moral example of love, compassion and neighborliness. No barrier of attitude, history or feud, racial, ethnic nor religious, would keep this Samaritan from giving aid to a human brother in need.

The Samaritan dared. He gave aid regardless of the danger to himself. He cared. He had pity, sympathy and compassion, his primary motivation for cleansing the wounds, binding them to stop the bleeding, and placing him on his donkey to transport him to a place of safety and healing (v. 34). Then, he shared. He took out “two silver coins” to pay for his care and promised to pay more if needed. The Samaritan made a difference using his resources to take care of the unknown Jewish man, near death.

The parable ends with a powerful message of love in action. Jesus asked, “which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The lawyer replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

To the lawyer and to all who read and hear the parable, Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” First, break down your own ethnic barriers. Then, Christ can use you to break down church and community prejudicial barriers. More than likely, it will cost you in time, resources and suffering. It is worth your love.

Discussion questions

Does racial or ethnic prejudice play a part in your life?

What are you doing to try to stem the tide of prejudice in others?

Is this a topic that is appropriate for discussion in Sunday school?

Posted: 1/18/05
LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Jan. 23

All believers should also be disciples

Luke 19:11-27

By Pakon Chan

Chinese Baptist Church, Arlington

Jesus came to the last stage of his earthly ministry and was ready to enter into Jerusalem to face his destiny. He now used a parable to teach his disciples to be a faithful servants in preparation for entrusting them with his ministry.

This was a unique parable, and the hearers might easily associate it with a historical event. After Herod the Great died, Archelaus had received Judea as his inheritance. He went to Rome to persuade Augustus to ratify his share of the kingdom, but the people of Judea did not want him to be their king.

In this parable, Jesus was the nobleman, and the servants were his disciples. The subjects of the nobleman were the Jewish people. This story of the king and his servants tells us several important things about Christian life.

Disciple as a faithful servant (Luke 19:12-14)

When this nobleman was about to take a distant trip to claim his kingdom, he entrusted his servants with some money to do business while they waited for his return.

These few verses tell us at least four things. Jesus would leave his disciples soon. Jesus realized these days were his last days to be with them, and very soon he would face his death, resurrection and ascension. Thereafter, he would not be physically in their midst, but he told them some day he would return. He would claim his kingdom and come back as their king in the future.

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Until that time, Jesus has entrusted all his disciples with gifts to be used for his glory. He expects them to work faithfully and make good use of the gifts they have been given. When he comes back, he will bring with him his kingdom and judgment to his disciples and his subjects as well.

I have heard Christians say they were just ordinary Christians and not disciples. They thought disciples were some sort of very spiritual people who devoted themselves in ministry and service. Jesus asks his disciples only to serve and to be involved in ministry. Some people also think they do not have any gift, so they have no part in ministry–God should not have any expectation of them. They are satisfied to be just a Sunday Christian.

Jesus tells us we all are his disciples, and disciples are expected to be faithful in their service (Luke 14:25-35). God has given every Christian a gift to serve and participate in the work of his kingdom (1 Peter 4:10). We are expected to be faithful and will be held accountable for our responsibility in ministry and service.

Faithfulness is rewarded (Luke 19:15-19)

Jesus rarely talked about material rewards for his faithful servants. This time, Jesus told his disciples if they were faithful and met the expectation of God, they would be rewarded according to the result of their work. Even though we should not have any greedy motivation in serving God and people, God wants to bless his faithful servants with spiritual and sometimes material goodness. God created us and knows we sometimes need tangible encouragement, and he is willing to do that for us. No matter what kind of blessing God gives us as reward, it will in turn provide more opportunities for us to serve God and people.

Unfaithfulness is displeasing (Luke 19:20-26)

Jesus continued the parable by telling of one servant's unfaithfulness and how it displeased the nobleman. This unfaithful servant had an excuse for not investing the money given by his master.

He may have made the excuse for two reasons. He knew his master had high expectations for his servants (v. 21), and these expectations scared and paralyzed him. He was afraid to take any risk that might lose the money, so he “kept it laid away in a piece of cloth” (v. 20).

He also might just be lazy and did not want to do anything with the money. In this case, he would not only be lazy, but also irresponsible. He blamed his master for his unfaithfulness. Jesus said he was held responsible for his unfaithfulness no matter what, for if he understood the character of his master, he should try his best to do something with the money so he might satisfy his master's expectations. The money already was entrusted to him, and the master's expectation was made clear to him, so those reasons would not allow him to escape blame.

Christians sometimes have the same excuses for not using their gifts to serve the Lord. They are afraid of failure and rejection, so they hide their Christian identity and do not want to share the gospel message with their friends. Or they are just lazy and do not want to serve the Lord. Many Christians are just Sunday Christians. They want only to be served and not to serve. Jesus has warned us that we, all Christians, are held responsible to serve God, and he will look for the fruits in our service.

When Jesus comes back, he will bring reward and punishment to his servants. Those who are faithful will be rewarded, and those who are unfaithful will be punished. Since the unfaithful servant did not want to use his gift, the Lord took away his gift and gave it to the faithful servant (vv. 24-26).

Discussion questions

What is the gift Jesus has given you?

Are you using your gift to serve the Lord?

If you do not know how to identify your gift or how to serve God, what will you do to find your gift and a place to serve the Lord?

Posted: 1/18/05

CYBER COLUMN:
Resting in God

By Jeanie Miley

When I was a child, I thought that when I got to be one of the Big People, I would have the answers to my questions and I would know how to act in any given situation. I think I must have believed, as well, that when I got to be an adult, I wouldn’t be afraid any longer.

I’ve been one of the Big People for quite some time now, and I’ve noticed that the only people who appear to have all the answers are those who really don’t. And the only people who don’t ever experience anxiety and fear are either so shut down that they don’t notice the shifts and changes in their emotions or are not able or willing to tell the truth! Or maybe they just don’t get it about how dangerous life really is!

When I was a child, I also bought the lie that if I followed the rules and did what was “right,” God would protect me from bad things happening to me. Looking back, I can’t recall who it was that “taught” that lie, but I’ve noticed that I’m not the only one who bought it. Now I know that bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people, however one defines “good” and “bad,” and the only significant issue is how we respond to whatever happens to us.

To live and to engage with life is to experience the anxiety that goes along with the realities of life. Life is dangerous. Life is uncertain, and stuff happens to the people who are faithful and true, just like it happens to “the others.”

I’ve noticed that those who cope with life the best have a rigorous self-honesty and an unflinching realism in the face of whatever life hands them, and I’ve noticed that people who are victorious, even against unbearable odds have lots of emotional support and the spiritual practices that sustain and nurture them through the dark nights of their souls.

We who call ourselves Christian do best when we take seriously Jesus’ invitation to “come to him” for rest. We who dare to say that we are followers of Christ must, in fact, follow him, daily taking on his perfectly-fitting yoke so that we will not stick our necks in the yokes of servitude and addiction, misplaced loyalties and the yokes of other people that chafe our necks and sometimes break them.

This rest that is offered and provided by the living Christ is not escape or sleep, but a radical empowerment by the Creator himself. It is the rest of the branch, connected intimately with the nutrient-supplying vine. It is the waiting on God that prepares us for service and for producing the fruit that is in us. Resting in God is attentive alertness and radical awareness of the movement of the Spirit in our lives. Resting in God is the spiritual practice that undergirds everything else.

As I move into this new year, I am deepening my commitment to “come to him” even more faithfully now than ever before. I am consciously and intentionally making sure that I seek the “rest” of his being in his presence with conscious intention to consent to his presence and action in my life. I am making sure that I do not neglect coming to him, day after day, so that he can give me the spiritual sustenance and support that I need to face the ambiguity, ambivalence and anxiety of life.

Resting in God is the secret of the abundant life—for children of all ages.

Jeanie Miley is an author and columnist and a retreat and workshop leader. She is married to Martus Miley, pastor of River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, and they have three adult daughters. Got feedback? Write her at Writer2530@aol.com.

Posted: 1/14/05

Dr. Andrew Bentley of Grace Community Church, Tyler, along with pastor and translator Anthoney Anoprathepan, Believers Church in Batticaloa pray for a man he just examined and treated for minor injuries received by the Tsunami. This man and his family have been involved in violence against the pastor S. Vijyaraj (far right with hand to mouth) Several members of the man's family involved in violence which has included beating and burning of the home church were killed in the waves. At right, one of many hand made signs seen throughout the Batticaloa and Ampara regions on the east coast of Sri Lanka.

Baptist Child & Family Services team stunned by destruction

By Craig Bird

Baptist Child & Family Services

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (ABP) — Even the most graphic television images and emotional verbal descriptions couldn't prepare the American volunteer team for the devastation that is coastal Sri Lanka, one of the countries hardest hit by the Dec. 26 tsunamis.

The six men from the Baptist Child & Family Services of San Antonio were reduced to admitting, "It is impossible to even start telling you how bad it is."

Their initial impression, after arriving in the capital of Colombo Jan. 8, was multiplied by the knowledge they were headed to where the human and physical damage is much worse.

CERI/TBM team members pray together and with others and Gospel For Asia reps at a home of a believer where they have been hosted in Batticaloa.

What they didn't know was they also were headed into a politically volatile zone. News reports said a "rare" outbreak of violence between Christians and Hindus on the east coast left at least three people dead and 37 injured. The religious preferences of the Sri Lankan population are estimated to be 60-to-70 percent Buddhist and 15 percent Hindu. Both Christianity and Islam are believed to be followed by 7-to-8 percent of the population.

The country has suffered through decades of civil war, but the battles are almost always between Hindu insurgents and troops from the Buddhist-dominated government. This explosion could be the result of highly visible Christian aid groups arriving in the area.

The tsunami heavily battered Colombo, but its full brunt fell on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka. That is where the Baptist Child and Family Services and its international relief arm have been asked to set up six emergency shelters for orphans. The Texas Baptist agency also will begin the process of training Sri Lankans to run not only the shelters, but also a permanent foster-care system.

The six-member team worshiped in a Sri Lankan church Jan. 9 before beginning a spine-battering, 12-hour drive across the country on roads that would be impassable if not for the urgent need to reach the hardest-hit areas. There have been reports of infants dying of starvation on the east coast, even after arriving safely at shelters, because of the lack of food.

Dr. Andrew Bentley conducts a medical clinic at Heavenly Mission Harvest Church in a small fishing village near Eravur in the Batticaloa District on the east coast of Sri Lanka. He saw at least 150 persons including dozens of children. At least two and possibly as many as ten villagers died in the Tsunami. Christians in the village totaling 27 families were spared as they were worshipping in the church in the home of the pastor S. Vijyaraj when the wave struck. The pastor, the first believer in the village, won the 27 families in five years.

The death toll for the country is estimated at 80,000. The devastation has delayed and complicated relief efforts. The 60-mile stretch of coast where the shelters will be located has left an estimated 30,000 survivors victimized by the tsunami, many of them children. The six emergency-care centers will house an estimated 800 to 1,000 orphans each. Baptist Child and Family Services was invited to Sri Lanka by the government on the recommendation of Gospel for Asia, a Christian ministry that has numerous permanent staffers in the country. The two organizations have partnered together before.

The San Antonio-based BCFS provides residential services for emotionally disturbed children, assisted-living services and vocational training and employment for special-needs adults, mental-health services for children and families, foster care, and pre-natal and post-partum health services. Through its Children's Emergency Relief International, it provides humanitarian aid for children living in poverty in Moldova, Mexico and Russia.

At Carmel Fatima College Refugee Camp, Ampara District, Sri Lanka, (left) the blackboard displaya the statistics on the residents of the camp. Several camps are located in similar facilities that provide shelter and basic services. Many are more primitive with refugees sleeping in tents with limited services. The second TBM team arrived in Batticaloa late Wednesday night following an eight-plus hour bus ride from Colombo, where they plan to conduct well cleaning, water purification and possible feeding operations. At right, Dick Talley of Lakeside Baptist Church in Dallas with Texas Baptist Men and Kevin Dinnin with Baptist Child and Family Services meet with Ebenezer Samuel, India director for Gospel For Asia, and David Beckett of Curry Creek Baptist Church, Boerne, a missionary in Sri Lanka working with Gospel For Asia, to discuss ways to partner in relief efforts in Sri Lanka.

Posted: 1/14/05

Gonzales nomination raises
concerns with some religious groups

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Although pledging not to tolerate torture of prisoners by American soldiers or law-enforcement agents, Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales also repeatedly has refused to renounce a controversial memo his office authored in 2002 supporting the legality of torture in some cases.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Gonzales renounced the actions of soldiers such as those who perpetrated the scandal at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.

“Torture and abuse will not be tolerated by this administration,” he told the committee, which is hearing his nomination by President Bush to be the country’s top justice official. “I will ensure the Department of Justice aggressively pursues those responsible for such abhorrent actions.”

Gonzales currently is Bush’s chief lawyer and previously served in a similar position when Bush was governor of Texas.

However, Gonzales repeatedly sidestepped questions about his involvement in production of the Justice Department memo, which set forth a case for the legality of interrogation techniques that many international human-rights groups consider torture. He also refused to repudiate a portion of the memo that concluded the president has the right to authorize torture of terrorism suspects in unusual circumstances.

He endured tough questioning from the committee’s Democrats and some Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

“When you start looking at torture statutes and you look at ways around the spirit of the law . . . you’re losing the moral high ground,” Graham told Gonzales. “Once you start down this road, it is very hard to come back. So I do believe we have lost our way. And my challenge to you as a leader of this nation is to help us find our way, without giving up our obligation and right to fight our enemy.”

Graham, a lawyer and member of the Judge Advocate General corps of the Air Force Reserve, noted that many of the White House’s positions on torture of terrorism suspects went against the advice of prominent career military officers.

At least two groups of religious leaders challenged senators and Gonzales to repudiate the torture memos and Gonzales’ position on whether the standards of the Geneva Convention apply to war combatants seized in battles against terrorists.

In a Jan. 5 letter to Judiciary Committee members, a group of religious leaders said Gonzales’ nomination to the nation’s highest law-enforcement office presents weighty moral questions.

“We as people of faith have a profound commitment to affirming the worth and dignity of all people, all of whom are children of God. We therefore have grave concerns about Mr. Gonzales’ reported role in sanctioning torture,” the letter read. “We believe that no person, including the President of the United States, has the authority to authorize torture. We can think of nothing more antithetical to our basic moral values, or detrimental to our national role as a voice for human rights throughout the world.”

Among the Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Sikh leaders signing the letter were Baptists Welton Gaddy, pastor of Northminster Church in Monroe, La., and president of the Interfaith Alliance; and Stan Hastey, executive director of the Alliance of Baptists.

In addition, another group of religious leaders appealed to Gonzales’ professed evangelical Christianity in asking him to repudiate the views on torture and due process reflected in the memos.

In a Jan. 4 letter to Gonzales, a group including several Baptists and evangelical leaders, as well as mainline Protestants and Jews, said, “As a self-professed evangelical Christian, you surely know that all people are created in the image of God. You see it as a moral imperative to treat each human being with reverence and dignity. We invite you to affirm with us that we are all made in the image of God—every human being.

“We invite you to acknowledge that no legal category created by mere mortals can revoke that status,” it continued. “You understand that torture — the deliberate effort to undermine human dignity — is a grave sin and affront to God…. We urge you to declare that any attempt to undermine international standards on torture, renditions, or habeas corpus is not only wrong but sinful.”

Among the Baptist signers of the letter were author and sociologist Tony Campolo, former Southern Baptist Convention President Jimmy Allen and ethicist Glen Stassen.

Posted: 1/14/05

Student pastor started Armored
Outreach to give teens spiritual tools

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

MIDLAND—As youth evangelist Brad Fogarty speaks to students around the country, he draws his messages from lessons he learned while teaching and coaching in public schools. That’s where he witnessed firsthand the need to share Christian truth with students.

“Personally, I am very concerned … because teenagers have been lied to for so long,” he said.

“Many teenagers think that sexual things are going to fulfill and that alcohol is going to solve their problems. In reality, all their addictions and sins have done nothing but make their lives worse. Teenagers are desperate to know the truth.”

Fogarty serves as student pastor at Stonegate Fellowship Church, a Texas Baptist congregation in Midland, and he is the executive director of Armored Outreach.

Since co-founding Armored Outreach in 1999, Fogarty has traveled extensively across the country, speaking at youth camps, retreats, Disciple Now weekends, True Love Waits and See You at the Pole rallies, and other events such as Super Summer and the “Rock the Desert” Christian music festival in West Texas.

“When I became an itinerant minister, I was really impacted by what I saw,” he said.

“I realized that most of the traveling speakers and worship leaders were pretty lonely. They were constantly on the road, which meant rarely attending their home church. I didn’t want that to happen to me. I wanted to be surrounded by a group of people to provide accountability, and whether we’re at home or traveling, I wanted a close-knit family of ministers who would support each other.

“That’s when God really began working in my life, and the vision for Armored Outreach was birthed. It was designed to be a haven for traveling ministers and a place for young ministers to be mentored, trained and assisted in their ministry.”

Recently, Armored Outreach created the “Truth Is” conference. The purpose of this two-day gathering is to provide teenagers with spiritual tools to keep their faith close while living in a secular world.

“We’ve been very intentional in having this conference outside of the Bible-belt and in the northeastern part of the U.S.,” he explained. “We basically say, ‘Let us tell you what the truth is.’ It’s been really neat, because people are responding with, ‘How come no one’s ever told us this before?’ Numerous people have accepted Christ as their Savior at this event.”

Through the conference, students also have realized their walk with Christ can be strengthened through meditation and memorization of Scripture, and they have made commitments to applying it to their daily life, he said.

“What a lot of Christians take for granted is that they’ve become really good at devotion, but they have forgotten about dwelling,” Fogarty said. “A lot of people have their quiet time so they can check it off, but they aren’t really spending time with Christ. That’s a real passion of ours to make sure that we’re really spending time with Christ and not just writing something in a journal and calling it a devotion. We’re taking that same charge to the people we speak to.”

Fogarty’s favorite aspect of ministry happens when students give their lives to Christ and realize what the truth is.

“If I was working for a sales company or building houses, I would be able to see the fruit of my labor almost immediately,” he said. “You cut a deal, shake a hand, and get a check. You hammer a nail, lay a brick, and you’ve got a house. One of the beautiful things about what we do is we may never see it come to flourish. We’re planting seeds that may flourish after our lifetime.

“I really can’t describe the magnitude of it, and I may never know the impact that Christ has had through my life. We get e-mails and letters so often that say, ‘My life was changed at that event’ … or, ‘Let me tell you what God did at this event.’ Just the thought of the eternal impact is so rewarding. I consider myself a door-to-door Jesus salesman.”

Posted: 1/07/05

Book Reviews

Safe Haven Marriage: Building a Relationship You Want to Come Home To
by Archibald D. Hart and Sharon Hart Morris (W Publishing Group)

This father-daughter team presents a readable guide to deepening intimacy in marriage and repairing emotional wounds that struggling marriages often create.

“Safe Haven marriages” describes relationships built on trust, emotional availability and sensitive responsiveness. Hart and Morris provide a helpful exposition of these qualities, enabling couples to understand how we emotionally connect with others (attachment theory) and how these emotional connections can be nurtured, strained or broken in marriage. The ideas and suggestions are clearly and simply, helping professionals and nonprofessionals understand the concepts and how they relate to building emotional connections. Enriched with case studies, readers can identify with the struggles of the couples featured in each section of the book.

This book offers practical steps for fostering emotional closeness and healing hurts of the heart. It is a good resource for couples who want to deepen their emotional closeness. It also can be a great supplement for couples repairing a strained or broken marriage relationship.

Michael R. Chancellor, pastor

Crescent Heights Baptist Church

Abilene

Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror
by Anonymous (Brassey's)

This book is a “must read” for every American citizen eligible to vote! Nationally elected officials as well as all those who wish to join the informed conversation regarding U.S. policies in response to terrorism will find a shocking expose´ of mishandled intelligence, misunderstood issues and misguided policies by our American government.

The author, a senior U.S. intelligence official who for nearly 20 years focused on terrorism, militant Islam and Afghanistan, insists Osama bin Laden is leading a defensive Jihad, or Islamic war, against America. Contrary to the robotic rhetoric which claims Muslims hate us because we are free, the author argues we are hated as a consequence of our policies and actions in the Muslim world.

The author identifies six U.S. policies bin Laden consistently refers to as anti-Muslim, which constitute an attack on Muslim faith, land and brethren. The author concludes by offering a way forward with some serious suggestions for debate.

J. Randall O'Brien, professor and chair

Department of Religion

Baylor University

Never Mind the Joneses: Building Core Christian Values in a Way That Fits Your Family
by Tim Stafford (InterVarsity Press)

You can always depend on Tim Stafford for well-written and practical Christian books. This one on parenting and family issues now tops the list.

Stafford gives us a treasure chest of application for passing on core Christian values through the particular habits and attitudes, routines and rituals of our families. His familiarity with real family life gives the book a tone of flexibility and grace. Urgency is here, but it's not too preachy. Conviction, but it's not too legalistic.

The author's life with the Bible generates a wise and solid set of 14 biblical core values. He devotes a chapter to each one, reflecting on its importance and suggesting many options for building it into your family's culture. The chapter on truthfulness alone is worth the price of the book.

While American culture stumbles over the popularity of shaky morals, this book offers parents a solid grip.

Rick Willis, pastor

First Baptist Church

Lampasas

Heart Shift: The 2 Degree Difference That Will Change Your Heart, Your Home, and Your Health
by John Trent

“I am reading this book for two reasons. First, during this time of the year, I enjoy reading that will help me reflect and consider changes for the new year. Second, as part of a research project, I am learning about the theology of change and how it might be applied to organizational transformation.”

Albert Reyes

BGCT president

San Antonio

Christ And Culture
by H. Richard Niebuhr

“I'm currently rereading this classic because I'm interested in the seductive dance that's occurring between the Christian faith community and culture–and the long-term effect it will have on the church's prophetic speech. I think Niebuhr's typology merits examination through a different set of lenses.”

Michael Bell

BGCT first vice president

Fort Worth

Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship
by Jon Meacham

“I enjoyed Meacham's discussion of personal relationships as they pertain to international diplomacy. We understand that in our personal lives we work better with people we enjoy. We forget that the same goes for those who lead us.”

Stacy Conner

BGCT second vice president

Muleshoe

Posted: 1/10/05
LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Jan. 16

There is a place for everyone in God’s family

By Pakon Chan

Chinese Baptist Church, Arlington

In our society, many people are helpless and lonely. Many of them are under the bondage of poverty, addictions, bad communal or peer influences, and discrimination. This group of people sometimes gets less attention from churches and Christians, even though we provide various social services for them. A big, beautiful middle-class church will donate a lot of food and clothing to the poor but may not welcome poor people into their fellowship and church.

Show concern (Luke 4:17-21)

Jesus had established his status as a popular itinerant rabbi very soon after he entered into his ministry and was preaching in many places and synagogues (vv. 14-15). It was not unusual for a person in a synagogue gathering to stand and read Scripture. When Jesus stood, he knew what he was going to read. After he had received the book of Isaiah, he turned to a passage and proclaimed the prophecy was fulfilled in him (v. 21).

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This proclamation was his mission on earth. From this passage that Jesus used to proclaim his mission, we know God loves the poor and the helpless. We should read this paragraph literally even though it does have rich spiritual implications. From what Jesus did in his three years of earthly ministry, we can see him reaching out to the poor and helpless people of society. He deliberately went to the people of lower class or even social outcasts to minister to them and bring them the good news of God’s salvation. Jesus showed his concern for them by meeting their needs, talking to them, touching them, and even eating and staying with them.

There are many people in our society who are captured by spiritual and sinful bondages, or who are poor and oppressed by many injustice social situations. Some are mistreated mentally and physically. Others suffer many diseases and sicknesses. They are the most ignored group, but God loves them and tells them this is the reason he sent his only begotten Son to save them from their helpless situations.

Provide assistance (Luke 6:17-21)

Again, in this event, Jesus showed his mercy to the poor and helpless. People came to Jesus to hear him and to be healed of their diseases (v. 18). This crowd came from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and other places, because they knew their needs would be met by Jesus. With this expectation, they were attracted to listen to his message. When we help meet people’s needs, we should not forget to share with them the good news of our Lord Jesus, for that is the biggest blessing we can give them.

After meeting the needs of the crowd, Jesus turned to his disciples and told them God loved and cared about these people. The poor may not have a place in society, but in the kingdom of God there is a place for them. All they need to do is to come to Jesus and to seek for his forgiveness and saving grace.

We, as disciples of Jesus, need to share the gospel with them so they may enjoy happiness in God’s kingdom. We also are responsible to feed them and comfort them. We should not only meet their physical needs, but also should meet their emotional and spiritual needs.

We may see churches provide food and services for the poor and homeless, but we are not sure if they have a place for them within the fellowship. We will feed them, but we may not share their feelings and frustrations. This is not just a special calling for some special Christians, it is the calling and responsibility of every disciple of our Lord Jesus. Jesus wants us to extend our perimeter of love and care to include the poor and helpless in our fellowship and church life.

Minister to children (Luke 9:46-48; 18:15-17)

Children in ancient Jewish society did not have any rights. They were seen as the property of adults. Children also are weak and cannot protect themselves. They are another group of helpless people. People feel great if they can serve the greatest person and have a closer relationship with him (v. 46). Jesus, however, has a very different definition for greatness. Those who are willing to serve the helpless and the least are the greatest (v. 48).

Jesus told his disciples if they wanted to serve him and have a closer relationship with him, they should serve the weak and the helpless. Going to the poor and the helpless to have fellowship with them and serve them is one of the spiritual disciplines. By doing that, we welcome our Lord Jesus and the Father (v. 48).

One thing that will bother us when we serve the poor and the helpless is our pride and the sense of superiority. We should not go to the poor and the helpless as if we are the savior and giver. We go to share and to serve, and through serving them, we have fellowship with them. From their poverty, we learn to live a simple life. From their helplessness, we learn to rely on God. Unless we can appreciate the simplicity of a child and live a simple life, and be humble enough to realize we also are helpless like a child, we cannot enter the kingdom of God (v. 17). Jesus does not come for those who think they are powerful and rich, but he comes for those who are humble and seek help from him.

Discussion questions

Why does Jesus want us to minister to the poor and the helpless?

How can you help your fellowship to minister to the poor and the helpless?

What is your definition of greatness?

What should you do if you think that you are stronger in faith?

Posted: 1/12/05

Rubble left by the tsunamis is all that remains in many areas near Batticaloa in east Sri Lanka. Texas Baptist Men volunteers are feeding and purifying water in the area. (Photos by Rex Campbell)
Kevin Dinnin and other Texas Baptist Men examine ways to help in a refugee camp housing 1,000 refugees of the tsunami near Batticaloa in east Sri Lanka. This camp is expected to swell to many times that number by the end of January.
Workers with Baptist Child & Family Services sort donated medication that will be distributed in the Batticaloa region of east Sri Lanka. The team is in the nation to provide emergency shelters for orphans and train residents to care for children who lost their families when a series of tsunamis hit.
Bill Gresso of Northlake Baptist Church in Garland and Dick Talley test a well on the east coast of Sri Lanka near Batticaloa. Texas Baptist Men workers are assessing where they can use water puririfiers.
Texas Baptist Men volunteers and team from Baptist Child & Family Services worship with a group of believers near Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.
	See Related Stories: Texas Baptists join worldwide Tsunami relief response How to give to tsunami relief Tsunami Summit planned for Epicenter conference

Posted: 1/12/05

Louisiana College trustees pick
new president amid controversy

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

PINEVILLE, La. (ABP)—Trustees of embattled Louisiana College will meet Jan. 17 to try again to elect a president, but they likely will be sued to prevent him from taking office.

Joe Aguillard, 47, a conservative professor and chair of the education division at the Louisiana Baptist school, will be nominated as president Jan. 17, trustee chair Timothy Johnson announced Jan. 6.

Critics say Aguillard's nomination—and likely election—are in violation of the school's bylaws because the search committee was illegally appointed. A group of school alumni and supporters plan to file a lawsuit Jan. 11 to stop the election.

The school has been in turmoil for more than a year after fundamentalists gained control of the trustee board. After a dispute over textbook and faculty-election policies, the college's president, chief academic administrator and trustee chairman resigned.

In December the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed the college on probation—one step short of withdrawing accreditation—for violating the association's standards for academic freedom and proper governance, saying trustees were unduly influenced by the Louisiana Inerrancy Fellowship.

The crisis deepened after Texas educator Malcolm Yarnell suddenly withdrew as president Nov. 23—two months after his election but before taking office—citing “governance issues.”

The search committee then wanted to nominate as president Stan Norman, a professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, who had been the committee’s second choice. But trustee officers, who reportedly preferred Aguillard, responded by trying to expand the search committee to add more conservatives or dismiss the original committee.

Aguillard supporters say the original committee's power expired when Yarnell was elected president. But members of the original committee insist no contract was ever signed with Yarnell and the bylaws require them to remain in place until a president is hired.

Trustee leaders held a press conference Jan. 6 to announce the trustee board will vote on Aguillard, an LC education professor for the past four years and former school board superintendent.

“The board has placed his name for nomination and it was referred to a special committee charged with bringing his name back before the board for a full up or down vote,” trustee chair Johnson said in a prepared statement. “This is not a circumvention of the process but rather a part of the process afforded the board in our bylaws.”

Johnson said he sought an opinion from the parliamentarian of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, which appoints trustees. “In his opinion, and according to Robert's Rules (of Order), this (special) committee is valid, was duly formed, and is appropriately charged with bringing Dr. Aguillard's name before the board—with or without recommendation,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit has been prepared and a temporary restraining will be requested to block the Jan. 17 election, said Stan Lott of Pineville, a retiring professor at Louisiana College.

According to Lott, the trustees’ own attorney said the board violated its bylaws by dismissing the original committee. “Once (the board) specifies who is on the search committee, it is to stay in place until a president is found,” he said.

Lott said he met with a group of attorneys and other faculty members to discuss legal action. “We decided the only recourse left for people concerned about the college is through the courts.”

Lott said the group, which is enlisting other plaintiffs, hopes to file the suit by Jan. 11, alleging the trustees have caused “irreparable damage to the school.”

“Even conservatives [among Louisiana Baptists] are really disturbed by what these Taliban trustees are doing,” Lott said. “They are continuing to recklessly ignore accreditation, and if it continues, they will have accreditation withdrawn.”

Trustee chair Johnson defended the board's action and called Aguillard “a top-notch educator who is theologically sound.” He added the professor is “a man of integrity, internationally recognized scholarship, sterling character and unequaled leadership.”

Lott disagreed. “He has neither the education nor the experience to serve as president of Louisiana College. He is a fundamentalist to the core.”

Aguillard, a Louisiana native, received a bachelor's degree from Louisiana College, two master's degrees from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La., and a doctorate of education from Nova University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

He held a number of administrative positions with the Beauregard Parish School Board between 1984 and 2000, rising eventually to superintendent, before taking his current position with Louisiana College.

Posted: 1/12/05

At 100, BWA rejoices in its unity, Lotz says

By Lindsay Bergstrom

Associated Baptist Press

MCLEAN, Va. (ABP) – Through 100 years that have seen some of the most dramatic changes in history, worldwide Baptists have emerged with a spirit of unity, according Denton Lotz, general secretary for Baptist World Alliance.

In an open letter ushering in BWA’s centennial celebration, Lotz said that in 1905, when BWA was founded in London, “there was excitement that this was going to be ‘the Christian Century.’“ But two world wars “doomed the so-called Christian West to extinction” in Europe, according to Lotz.

Disunity in the world has also expressed itself in disunity within the church, said Lotz, but the Baptist World Alliance, an international fellowship of Baptist organizations, is a notable exception.

“We rejoice at the great unity among Baptists worldwide as expressed in the Baptist World Alliance,” he said. “In spite of the recent Southern Baptist exodus, we rejoice at the tremendous support for the BWA from its 211 member bodies in every part of the globe.”

Baptist World Alliance will hold its centenary world congress July 27-31 in Birmingham, England. It will be the group’s first worldwide meeting without the Southern Baptist Convention, which withdrew its membership and funding in October in a dispute over BWA’s control and direction.

The past century saw a dramatic shift of Christianity southward, Lotz wrote. In 1905, more than 85 percent of Christians in the world were in Europe and North America. In 2005, 60 percent of Christians are in Asia, Africa and Latin America, Lotz said.

“While in 1905 Spurgeon’s Tabernacle was the largest Baptist church, with thousands of white, English worshippers, today the largest Baptist church in Britain is a Ghanaian/Nigerian Baptist church composed of African immigrants,” he said. “The former missionary-receiving countries have now become missionary-sending countries.”

Leadership of BWA also reflects that trend, he said.

The last century witnessed significant cultural changes, Lotz said, such as the end of colonialism in the 1960s, the end of segregation in the United States in 1965, the fall of communism in 1989, the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1991, the global war on terror beginning in 2001, and dramatic breakthroughs in technology.

“All these changes meant the church had to develop new strategies for mission, with new opportunities in Eastern Europe and Africa and hindrances in the Middle East,” he continued.

“The past 100 years saw great Baptist spiritual and political leaders: Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Graham and Jimmy Carter,” said Lotz finally. “These men represent three significant aspects of the gospel message for which most Baptists have stood for many years—social justice, evangelism and human rights.

“Who will be the new leaders in the next century of Baptist life? Let us pray that God will send men and women to the Baptist World Alliance with a prophetic and biblical word for bringing renewal, kingdom growth and advance for Christ and his kingdom.”

Posted: 1/07/05

How to give to tsunami relief

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

When it comes to disaster relief, Baptists are bargain shoppers. That's the driving thought behind Baptists seeking financial donations rather than supplies.

Money can be stretched if relief leaders buy supplies in South Asia rather than shipping materials around the globe, said Leo Smith, executive director of Texas Baptist Men.

All money donated through the Baptist General Convention of Texas will go toward the relief effort to buy items such as water purifiers, generators, cooking burners, pumps and transformers, he said.

Texas Baptist Men will buy food in Sri Lanka, as well as some cooking supplies. Buying within the region helps connect organizations to people inside the nation and helps boost the country's economy, Smith explained.

Update: H.R. 241, a bill awaiting President Bush's signature, would extend through Jan. 31 the time donors could claim a 2004 tax deduction for funds given for relief of tsunami victims.

The donation would have to be made in cash (donation of stocks would not qualify) and earmarked exclusively for tsunami disaster relief. Funds that provide relief for tsunami victims and for other disasters may not qualify.

Usually taxpayers must pay a tax-deductible expense by Dec. 31 to claim a deduction in that tax year.

These are avenues to support the Baptist disaster relief effort in South Asia:

The Baptist General Convention of Texas efforts, including Texas Baptist Men: Send checks designated "Tsunami relief" to the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation, 333 N. Washington Ave., Dallas 75246 or by credit card at (214) 828-5343.

Baptist World Aid: Send donations designated "Asian Tidal Wave Appeal" to Baptist World Aid, Baptist World Alliance, 405 N. Washington St., Falls Church, Va. 22046.

Texas Baptist Men only: Send checks designated "Sri Lanka relief" to Texas Baptist Men, 333 N. Washington Ave., Dallas 75246.

Baptist Child & Family Services: Send contributions designated "Children's International Relief Services" to Baptist Child & Family Services, 909 NE Loop 410 Ste. 800, San Antonio 78209.

Buckner Orphan Care International: Call (214) 914-1676. To forward financial gifts to Buckner ministry partners in Southeast Asia, visit www.buckner.org.

Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board: Send checks designated "Asia Earthquake Disaster Relief" to the International Mission Board, P.O. Box 6767, Richmond, Va. 23230 or online at www.imb.org.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions: Send checks designated "Asian Response fund #17016" to P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, Ga. 30392; or give online at http://www.thefellowship.info/Landing/Giving.icm.

Thai Dallas Baptist Church, a mission of Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving, also is collecting funds specifically to aid the relief effort in Thailand. For more information, contact Sani Panya at (972) 986-1781 or (972) 333-6657 or write to Thai Dallas Baptist Church, 1714 N. Story Rd., Irving 75061.

Gospel for Asia, a Carrollton-based mission funding thousands of native missionaries and churches throughout Asia. Baptist relief volunteers are closely cooperating with GFA in Sri Lanka and elsewhere: Send checks for Tsunami relief to Gospel For Asia, 1800 Golden Trail Ct., Carrollton 75010; e-mail info@gfa.org; call 1 (800) 946-2742; or visit the website at www.gfa.org.