Posted: 9/17/04

Chapel of Hope founder praying,
anticipating a lot of little miracles

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

Frank Graham testifies he has seen God work a few giant miracles in the last decade. Now he is praying for a lot of little ones over the next few years.

In 1994, Graham founded Chapel of Hope ministries and set a goal–build a chapel inside the fence of every Texas prison.

The ministry completed construction of its first chapel in 1997 at the Hutchins State Jail, thanks primarily to a grant from the Hillcrest Foundation in Dallas and a major gift from Pres-tonwood Baptist Church in Plano, where Graham is a deacon.

Chapel of Hope built a half-dozen worship centers between 1998 and 2003. The first three were built at men's correctional facilities–the Hughes Unit in Gatesville, the Stiles Unit in Beaumont and the Connally Unit in Kenedy. The rest are at women's facilities–the Plane State Jail and Henley Unit in Dayton and the Murray Unit in Gatesville.

Each month, 35,000 inmates worship and 1,400 volunteers minister in those chapels, Graham reported. But of more than 100 correctional facilities in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system, about 90 lack sufficient space designated for worship.

Chapel of Hope builds its facilities with private funds on state property. The chapels are maintained and owned by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, allowing prisoners a place to practice their constitutionally guaranteed free exercise of religion, he explained.

Every chapel represents the fulfillment of a dream so large, only God could have made it reality, Graham said.

“Seven times, God provided a few people who gave a whole lot to build these chapels,” he said. “Now I believe God wants a whole lot of people to give a little to build the next one.”

Instead of relying on a handful of major donors, Graham hopes to see widespread support to help build a chapel at Woodman State Jail in Gatesville.

“Woodman is where the majority of female inmates are received into the system,” he explained. “About 8,000 women a year go through that facility. … And those 8,000 women have about 20,000 children whose lives are impacted.”

Ninety percent of the incarcerated women will be out of prison in three to five years, Graham reported.

“Crime is so generational,” he said. “If we're going to break the cycle, we have to get to the women when they first come in. If they make a commitment to Christ, and if involvement in the chapel becomes a big part of their lives while they are in prison, then that becomes the testimony that makes an impact on their families.”

Since the women who pass through the facility will return to communities around the state, Graham hopes to launch a broad-based grassroots effort to touch their lives. He wants to fund the $650,000 building effort one brick at a time by asking individuals to buy a $75 commemorative brick, Sunday school classes or missions organizations to purchase a $150 or $300 brick, and churches to buy a $1,200 brick.

“It's a chance to be part of a ministry that will be here 100 years from now,” Graham said. “The prisons are not going out of business.”

For more information, visit the Chapel of Hope website at www.chapelofhope.org.

Posted: 9/17/04

Church serves community on 9/11

By Terri Jo Ryan

Special to the Standard

WACO–About 200 members and friends of Lake Shore Baptist Church in Waco greeted Sept. 11 with lamentations for the dead, but also hymns of praise and love in the center of the church's labyrinth before fanning out across the city to perform good deeds in a program called “11 on 11.”

Organizers insisted they wanted to transform a day many associate with horror and destruction–the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001–into a day of community renewal.

Rachel Sciretti, Lake Shore minister to children and co-minister to youth with her husband Michael, is a member of the national steering committee of current, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship young leaders network.

She and her colleagues started a grassroots campaign more than two years ago to transform the bitterness and anger related to the deaths of 3,000 Americans into an occasion “to do something to show God's love in the world.”

What was initially dubbed the “simultaneous missions project” was given the much catchier moniker “11 on 11” when the national network organized 11 different projects in 11 states to acknowledge the date of the tragedy.

Each of the 11 mission sites focused on rebuilding communities and relationships, and included time for spiritual reflection on the theme of peacemaking, according to mission project coordinator Carol McEntyre of Augusta, Ga.

From packing emergency food kits for Meals on Wheels to cleaning homes for Mission Waco, scores of Lake Shore volunteers scoured the neighborhoods of the greater community. Other projects included painting and maintenance at Talitha Koum, a therapeutic nursery in a gritty part of town; construction with Habitat for Humanity, which started its “Apostles Build” 12-congregation project the same day; conducting a children's party at the Advocacy Center and planting flowers at Planned Parenthood of Central Texas.

Sciretti, who earned her masters of divinity degree at Truett Seminary in December 2003, brought the “11 on 11” idea back to her congregation, which embraced it with the pledge to do 11 acts of kindness in the community as Lake Shore's own Sept. 11 memorial.

Posted: 9/17/04

African-American church leaders
angered by gay-rights, civil-rights comparisons

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

FORT WORTH–Energized and angered by comparisons between the civil right movement and gay activists' efforts to legalize same-sex unions, many African-American churches are taking a vocal stand for traditional marriages.

African-American churches across the nation have come together to form the Fort Worth-based “Not on my Watch” coalition supporting a constitutional amendment outlawing homosexual marriages.

About 1,000 people attended a summer Arlington rally promoted by the coalition. The group now is considering an event that could bring together churches across the nation. Several other groups have discussed rallies, including one that would bring together 2 million people in Washington, D.C., this fall.

Church leaders focused on the topic repeatedly during the African American Fellowship of Texas Baptists meeting in July, imploring participants to fight homosexual marriages.

Much of the response has been fueled by gay activists frequently comparing their fight to the civil rights movement, which many African-American pastors see as inaccurate, said Howard Caver, pastor of World Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

African-Americans were struggling for inalienable rights, but homosexuals are seeking to protect their choice of a sinful lifestyle, he said.

“We were fighting for the rights God gave us,” he said. “They are fighting for rights they want to give themselves.”

African-American church leaders have been given a distinctive position in the battle over homosexual unions, Caver noted. Because African-Americans have been more willing to support civil rights efforts, they can stand against this movement without being labeled homophobic.

African-American churches also have the historic role of being the prophetic voice in their communities, he continued. Clearly, not all African-American church leaders share Caver's opinion on the issue. A minority of church leaders have been outspoken leaders in favor of homosexual marriage.

This split in the African-American community puts the effect the gay marriage issue will have in upcoming elections in question, particularly since President Bush has called for a constitutional amendment defining marriage in traditional terms.

But this one question is not enough to turn the African- American vote completely, Caver added. “There is no issue that has a potential to do everything,” he said.

Posted: 9/17/04

African-Americans most religiously observant, survey says

WASHINGTON (RNS)–African-Americans are the most likely to participate in religious activities like prayer, Bible reading and worship attendance, compared to other racial and ethnic groups, a survey shows.

The Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif.-based consulting firm, found that 91 percent of blacks said they prayed to God in the previous week, compared to 86 percent of Hispanics, 81 percent of whites and 46 percent of Asians.

The research, based on surveys of 2,632 adults, revealed 59 percent of blacks said they had read the Bible in the previous week, compared to 39 percent of Hispanics, 36 percent of whites and 20 percent of Asians.

As for religious service attendance, 48 percent of blacks said they had attended a worship service in the previous week, compared to 41 percent of whites, 38 percent of Hispanics, and 23 percent of Asians.

African-Americans also were the most likely to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate (57 percent) and to strongly disagree that Jesus sinned while on Earth (49 percent), the survey revealed.

Asians were most likely to be in the atheist/agnostic category (20 percent) and aligned with a non-Christian faith group (45 percent).

White adults did not stand out as either the highest or lowest group in any of the religious behaviors that were tested. In general, Hispanics' religious views were similar to those of whites. But Hispanics were more likely than either blacks or whites to reject the idea that the Holy Spirit is a living presence.

Researcher George Barna, founder of the Barna Group, said the findings are consistent with a research project he recently completed on the relations between black churches and the lives of African-Americans.

“Upon dissecting the role of faith in the lives of black Americans, we discovered that their faith in Christ has empowered millions of blacks to overcome challenges that might otherwise have been debilitating,” he said ina statement. “The local church has been a major source of strength and directive leadership for the black community.”

The research has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points for the overall sample. The margin of error related to the subgroups is plus or minus 2.4 percentage for whites; 5.6 percentage points for blacks; 5.4 percentage points for Hispanics; and 11.2 percentage points for Asians.

Posted: 9/17/04

Americans United critiques
churches' pro-Democratic activities

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A religious-liberty group often accused of attacking conservative churches for political activity has criticized two progressive Baptist congregations for Democratic advocacy.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate New Birth Baptist Church in Miami for hosting what the group called a “Democratic rally” during an Aug. 29 worship service.

At the service, which featured Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and Democratic political activist Al Sharpton, speakers urged the congregation to defeat President Bush in his bid for re-election.

“Bush has misled us for four years and will not mislead us the next four years. Get out and vote, and we'll send Bush back to Texas,” McAulliffe said, according to Americans United.

Churches and other non-profit groups organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax codes are not allowed to endorse political parties or candidates without risking loss of their tax-exempt status. However, churches may host voter registration drives and educational activities as long as they are done in a non-partisan fashion.

In his complaint to the IRS, Americans United Executive Director Barry Lynn said New Birth's actions went beyond that.

“This event seems to have gone beyond legitimate voter education about issues,” he wrote. “Rather, the event was partisan in its approach and included only Democrats. It promoted Democratic candidates while disparaging Republicans. … I urge you to take appropriate action to correct this abuse of the law.”

Americans United also criticized–although it stopped short of asking for officials to investigate–an Aug. 29 speech by former President Bill Clinton at the famously liberal Riverside Church in New York City. Clinton's speech, which was timed for the beginning of the Republican National Convention in New York, was highly critical of Bush's policies. However, Clinton did not directly endorse Bush's Democratic challenger, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

Riverside Church is dually affiliated with the American Baptist Churches and the United Church of Christ.

“The difference between the Florida and the Riverside cases is that in Florida, you had the chairman of the Democratic National Committee basically telling people how to vote–not just criticizing the shortcomings of a candidate,” Lynn said. “Bill Clinton's speech … came right to the edge of the cliff, but stopped short of a direct candidate endorsement.”

Americans United has regularly criticized–and sometimes reported–conservative churches and ministries for appearing to endorse Republican candidates. In recent months, the group has asked IRS officials to investigate Virginia Baptist pastor and television preacher Jerry Falwell as well as Arkansas Baptist Pastor Ronnie Floyd for endorsing Bush. It also criticized an Aug. 24 chapel speech that Falwell gave at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth where he said, “The press is here today, expecting me to get into politics, which I'm not going to do, except to tell you to vote for the Bush of your choice.”

“I'm appalled by both of them,” Lynn said of Falwell and Clinton's respective speeches. “I think that it's deplorable when political leaders or religious leaders–a Jerry Falwell or a Bill Clinton–kind of skirt the law and turn a religious institution almost into a political entity.”

Several conservative groups have pushed in the last two years to pass legislation, sponsored by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) that would end the ban on politicking by churches and other houses of worship. Americans United and other church-state separationist groups have strongly opposed the bill.

Bill Murray, a Virginia-based conservative religious activist whose biggest claim to fame is being the born-again son of the late atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, is one of Americans United's fiercest critics.

He backs the Jones bill, and recently started a satirical organization to “rat out liberal churches” for political involvement. He said that Lynn, through Americans United, “does nothing but attack conservatives in order to help liberals get into political office.”

Murray also accused Lynn of reporting the Miami church only to avoid criticism that the group only attacked conservative churches.

“This is just grandstanding to pretend that he is being non-partisan,” he said, noting the conservative Catholic League reported the political activity at New Birth Baptist a day before Americans United did. “As of two weeks ago, (Americans United) had only reported two liberal churches” to the IRS, he said.

Americans United spokesman Joe Conn said his group hadn't waited on the Catholic League to report the Miami church to the IRS, but simply took longer to investigate the situation carefully before deciding to report New Birth for violations of the law.

Conn also called Murray's accusations of partisanship on Americans United's part unjustified.

“Our first interest in this was (church endorsements of Democratic presidential candidate) Jesse Jackson back in '88, so it's hardly a partisan effort on our part,” he said.

According to a document the group provided, of the 52 churches Americans United has reported to the IRS since 1992 for inappropriate political activity, 31 were accused of activity in support of conservative candidates, while 21 were accused of activity in support of liberal candidates.

Posted: 9/17/04

Unrest in Middle East sets back archaeological research

By Michelle Chabin

Religion News Service

JERUSALEM–Since the start of the Palestinian uprising four years ago, local archaeologists, many of them working on sites alluded to in the Bible, have had to scale back or even cancel their digs.

That's because the threat of continued violence has kept foreign professors and students from providing assistance at large digs.

Twin bus bombings that killed 16 people in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba last month did nothing to calm skittish scholars and nervous insurance companies. But archaeologists still are hopeful the attraction of biblical history–especially the discovery of a cave said to be John the Baptist's–will lure academics and tourists alike.

“The intifada has definitely had an effect on Israeli archaeology, including our dig,” said Shimon Gibson, the archaeologist who excavated the “John the Baptist cave.”

Gibson announced in mid-August that he had found a cave he believes John the Baptist used to immerse some of his followers. The news received international media attention.

Then came more bus bombings.

“Prior to the intifada we had many students from the (United) States,” Gibson said. “When the intifada began, the U.S. State Department advised Americans not to travel here, and ever since then we've had to rely on smaller and smaller groups. It's been a bit of a nightmare, actually.”

A major problem is that American institutions, especially federally funded ones, find it difficult to obtain insurance for anyone they send to the region, said Gideon Avni, director of the excavations service department at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

From the mid-1990s through the year 2000, Avni said, about 45 foreign academic institutions, two-thirds of them American, ran or co-ran digs in Israel. That number dwindled to five in 2003.

With a lull in the violence before the bus bombings, the situation improved.

“We have 12 American excavations,” said Avni. “We hope the trend will continue despite the recent attacks.”

Avni stressed that even when the foreigners stopped coming, Israeli teams tried to persevere. Even during the intifada years, he said, Israelis carried out 15 to 20 large-scale excavations and about 200 mostly short-term “rescue” digs on sites uncovered in the course of modern-day sewer repairs and road construction.

Gibson, a senior fellow at the American Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, said he managed to continue his dig because the cave he excavated is so small, fitting only 20 workers at a time.

For larger digs, needing 100 or more people, “the lack of volunteers was disastrous,” Gibson said.

To compensate for the loss of his younger university students, Gibson began to use the services of older volunteers from the United States and Europe as well as Israeli volunteers of all ages.

While the excavations have suffered, so have archaeology students.

“For the first time,” said Gibson, “students studying the archaeology of Israel aren't always able to gain field experience. How can a student learn how to excavate unless he's actually doing it?”

Some of the last foreign students to help Gibson hailed from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

“The intifada forced us to make some adjustments,” said James Tabor, a University of North Carolina archaeologist who helped excavate the John the Baptist cave. “In 2001, even after the intifada began, we sent students to Israel, but only those over the age of 21. They made their own decision as adults and we required them to procure their own insurance and to sign a waiver of liability.”

Tabor reluctantly decided not to send students in 2002–young or old–“because my classes have students of all ages and limiting Israeli excavations to those over 21 was problematic. … Personally, I travel to Israel often and feel quite safe.”

Each year between 1974 and 2000, Baylor University sent anywhere from 25 to 50 students –graduate and undergraduate–to Israel, and the school sponsored its own excavations, said Lynn Tatum, associate director of Middle East studies at Baylor. Those trips stopped when the intifada started, and Tatum can't imagine the school resuming them anytime in the near future.

“Parents aren't about to send students off to the Middle East,” he said, noting the unrest extends beyond Israel to include much of the ancient world.

The ends result will be a “generation gap” in scholarship, Tatum asserted. Not only will universities cease to produce future archaeologists, but religion students also will be denied the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the Holy Land.

Tommy Brisco, dean of Hardin-Simmons University's Logsdon School of Theology, agreed students are the losers when they are unable to participate in excavations and see Holy Land sites first-hand.

“If they are training to be archaeologists, there is no substitute for field work,” he said. “There's only so much we can do in the classroom.”

Unrest in the Middle East not only means fewer students participating in archaeological digs, but also fewer students participating in Holy Land tours, he noted.

“Fewer students are traveling in the lands of the Bible,” he said. “What they miss is having the opportunity to experience the lay of the land and the environment and to visit the great sites. There's no substitute for that.”

Of course, not all archaeological research has halted in the Holy Land. Excavations at the northern fortress of Megiddo, the great biblical battlefield, managed to continue “because we had Israeli students and some paid volunteers from the Parks Authority,” said Yisrael Finkelstein, a Tel Aviv University archaeologist who has been excavating the site for years.

When the number of excavators dropped from 200 in 2000 to just 50 in 2002, “we considered stopping the dig,” Finkelstein said. “It was that bad. But then we decided that if the Israeli people could go on with their lives during this time, we would, too.”

Some excavations that managed to survive the intifada years have unearthed some remarkable finds. In June, an Israeli team discovered what is believed to be the biblical pool of Siloam, the main water reservoir for Jerusalem dwellers two millennia ago. It is fed by the nearby Gihon Spring, which has been under excavation for decades.

Even so, biblical archaeology is poorer due to unrest in the Middle East and the surrounding region, Brisco noted, adding that war in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan also have taken a toll.

“There has been looting of some archaeological sites, and some museums have been plundered,” he noted.

“And it's been harmed by the American war effort, careful as the military may try to be. Bombs don't know the difference between an archaeological site and a mountain.”

With additional reporting by Managing Editor Ken Camp

Posted: 9/17/04

Around the State

A concert benefiting Christian Women's Job Corps will be held at the Meyerson Symphony Hall in Dallas Sept. 21. The evening will feature the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, area church choirs and special guests. Longtime board member Robert Langford will be honored posthumously during the event. He spearheaded creating the event last year and died this spring. For more information, call (214) 391-5511.

Hardin-Simmons University alumni and spouses who are currently serving in the armed forces of the United States or who have done so in the past are invited to a veterans' reunion breakfast at the school Oct. 30. It will be held in conjuction with homecoming activities. A steering committee has met and is making plans for the reunion of Reserve Officer Training Corps graduates and veterans with HSU ties. People meeting the criteria for the breakfast are asked to send their mailing address and e-mail address toegarrett@hsutx.edu or Earl Garrett, Box 16030, HSU, Abilene 79698.

As a part of an outreach effort to two local apartment complexes, youth, college students and young adults of First Church in Georgetown helped children from the complexes learn and practice swimming skills. Members of the church also transported children living in the apartments to and from Vacation Bible School at the church and held block parties at each site. One of those parties coincided with the dedication of playground equipment at apartments that previously offered none. The church donated $500 toward the purchase of the equipment.

Ann Gebuhr, professor of music at Houston Baptist University, has been granted a commission from the Foundation for Universal Sacred Music to compose a choral work for performance in New York City in the fall of 2005.

Cleatus Rattan, visiting professor of English at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, will hold the Frank W. Mayborn Chair of Arts and Sciences during the current academic year. He also currently holds the post of Poet Laureate of Texas. The Mayborn Chair was previously held by George Musacchio who retired in May.

Beck Taylor has been appointed to the newly created position of associate dean for research and faculty development of the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University. In his new position, he will give leadership to faculty development initiatives, identifying and deploying best practices in research and faculty development, overseeing the school's sabbatical and research programs, developing strategies and resources for grant writing and developing faculty excellence initiatives. In addition, he will develop a faculty mentoring program, student research initiatives and community extension programs. Taylor also will continue to teach in the economics department.

Baptist University of the Americas has added 10 adjunct professors to its faculty. They include Jimmy Adair, Craig Bird, Timothy Brown, Roberto Diaz, Diana Garcia, William Holmes, Rolando Lopez, Rick McClatchy, Merlin Merritt and Gus Reyes.

East Texas Baptist University has announced three new staff members and a promotion. Kim Williams is now business office manager, Blake Coleman is an admissions counselor and Brenda Fuller has joined the public relations staff as publications and photography coordinator. Peggy Oglesby has been promoted to the position of nursing laboratory resources coordinator in the nursing department.

Anniversaries

Vaughny Taylor, 20th, as minister of music at Central Church in Odessa, Sept. 1. While he is bivocational with a full-time job as an educator with the Midland school district, he also serves now as associate pastor, teaches a Sunday school class, leads a handbell choir, praise team, adult choir and cowboy band, and he sings with a gospel group. He also is associational director for the Odessa Singing Churchmen and is president of the Singing Men of West Texas.

Lynne Garcia, fifth, as minister of youth at Midway Church in Ferris, Sept. 12.

First Church in Wheelock, 40th, Oct. 3. Former pastors and members will take part in the celebration along with Harold Cook, director of missions for FIRM Area. A catered lunch will be served. Ira Irvin is pastor.

First Church in Breckenridge, 125th, Oct. 9-10. A golf tournament and breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday. A reception and open house will be held from 2 p.m to 5 p.m. that day. At 7 p.m., former Pastor Harry Grantz will speak and former ministers of music George Morris and Randy Parsons also will participate. Former Pastor Otis Testerman will lead Bible study for adults Sunday at 9:45 a.m. An anniversary banquet will be held following the morning service. Letters from people unable to attend are being collected and can be sent to 301 S. Rose Avenue, Breckenridge 76424. Call (254) 559-2295 to make reservations for the meal. Cecil Harper is pastor.

First Church in Knox City, 100th, Oct. 9-10. A fellowship and light supper will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday. Coffee and doughnuts will be served at 9 a.m. Sunday. Former Pastor John Gillispie will preach at 9:45 a.m. and former Pastor Emil Becker will preach at 11 a.m. A catered lunch will follow the morning service.

Lynn Lemons, 65th in the ministry, Oct. 17. Larry Jones, director of missions for Lubbock Area Association, will preach in the morning service of Skyline Church in Lubbock where Lemons is pastor. A reception will be held at the church from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

First Church in Tow, 150th, Oct. 24. Former Pastor Gerald Moore and missionary Ted Gross will speak in the morning service. Special music and a recounting of the church's history also will be a part of the program. A catered barbecue lunch and an afternoon service will follow the morning service. To make reservations for the meal, call (325) 379-3918. Jay Humphreys is interim pastor.

First Church in Orange, 125th, Oct. 30-31. Events will include a golf scramble, land tours, a picnic, humorist Dennis Swanberg at the Lutcher Theater, and a special anniversary service and luncheon. For more information, call (409) 886-7461. Barry Bradley is pastor.

Retiring

A.M. Stone, as pastor of Timbergrove Church in Houston, where he served the last 18 years, Aug. 22. Stone was in the ministry 58 years, his first pastorate being a mission started in an abandoned schoolhouse in Mills County in 1946 while attending Howard Payne College. He also was pastor of North Waco Church in Waco, Memorial Church in Corsicana and Fairbanks Church in Houston. He served Corsicana, Waco and Union associations as moderator. He is available for supply preaching at (713) 462-3336.

Deaths

Hardy Childress Jr., 82, July 30 in Kerrville. He was pastor of churches in Canadian, Seguin and San Antonio, as well as California. He also was a Navy chaplain from 1945 to 1962 and was a Reserve chaplain from 1962 until 1974. He attained his private pilot's license at age 66. In Kerrville, he continued his ministry at five nursing homes and the Veterans Administration hospital. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Donna Lee Childress; wife, Beulah; and brothers, Robert and William. He is survived by his wife, Sarah; daughters, Beth Childress and Carol Chelkowski; stepson, Shawn Johnson; and one granddaughter.

Charles Culpepper, 84, Aug. 22 in Blanco. He was born in Fort Worth as his parents studied at Southwestern Seminary in preparation for service as missionaries in China. He went to China at age 3 and stayed there until he returned to Texas to study at Baylor University and later Southwestern Seminary. In 1944, he and his wife, Donal, were appointed by the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention as missionaries to China, but their departure was delayed by World War II. During this time, he was pastor of First Church in Eagle Lake. After going to Beijing, the approaching Chinese Communist army forced them to flee to the Philippines for refuge. Eventually, they moved to Taiwan, where Culpepper taught at the seminary. The couple remained in Taiwan 40 years planting churches, pastoring congregations, organizing youth work, assisting in administrative duties of the mission and overseeing construction projects. They retired in 1985 and moved to Blanco, where they joined First Church. He is survived by his wife of 60 years; sons, Tom and Richard; daughters, Carolyn Neunuebel and Cathy Lee McGinnis; sister, Mary Walker; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

James Franklin, 76, Sept. 12 in Beeville. A retired pastor, he served First churches in Kingsland, Edna and Mathis. He also had been vice president for development at Howard Payne University. He was a member of First Church in Beeville. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Alice; daughters, Gayle Dulin, Debbie Bebee, and Lisa Franklin; four granchildren and one great-grandson.

Events

The Central Texas Cowboy Revival will be held Oct. 1-3 at the Kosse Rodeo Arena in Kosse. The service at 7 p.m. Friday will feature the music of Mike Hammock and Rope Myers, 2001 world champion steer wrestler, as the speaker. Saturday's 4 p.m youth service will feature singing by Randy Coward and speaking by professional bullfighter Bill Shaw. At 7 p.m. Saturday, team roper Jeff Hogner will speak and Coward will sing. Johnny Saculla will sing in the 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. services Sunday. Cowboy Hershal Williams will speak in the early service and team roper Corey Ross will speak later. There will also be a stew supper at 5 p.m. Friday. Saturday events include an 8 a.m. trail ride, cook-off judging beginning at noon, exhibitions at 2 p.m. and a barbecue at 5 p.m. A pot luck meal will be held at noon Sunday. First Church in Kosse is one the sponsoring churches.

The Down East Boys and Crimson River, two Southern gospel groups, will perform at North Side Church in Weatherford at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3. A love offering will be taken.

Brentwood Church in Houston will host a prayer and praise breakfast at the Westin Oaks Hotel in Houston's Galleria. Special music will be featured. Tickets are $25 each. For tickets or information, call (713) 852-1400.

Ordained

Jorge Ramirez to the ministry at Primera Iglesia in Gregory.

Jay Beerley to the ministry at First Church in Eastland.

Kenneth Elliott and David Bullion as deacons at Lakeview Church in Brownwood.

Seraphin Martinez as a deacon at Primera Iglesia in Gregory.

Terry Jackson and Henry Waskow as deacons at Heights Church in Temple.

Denny Dean, Bob Hendrix and Floyd Holliman as deacons at Fairlanes Church in Borger.

Revivals

Cowboy Heritage Church, Clyde; Sept. 29-Oct. 3; evangelist and pastor, Greg Clemmer.

Mount Carmel Church, Whitehouse; Oct. 3-6; evangelist, Bob Dixon; music, Bill and Ivy Jean Sky-Eagle; pastor, Benny Portwood.

Posted: 9/17/04

BaptistWay Bible study materials
for adults become self-supporting

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

BaptistWay Press adult Bible study materials have become financially self-supporting for the first time in their four-year history.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas publisher sold $260,000 in adult Bible resources in the first eight months of this year while spending $250,000. This marks the first time BaptistWay adult materials have turned a net profit. With this revenue stream, BaptistWay will not need BGCT funding in 2005.

This is a significant step convention leaders have desired since the inception of BaptistWay Press, said Lynn Eckeberger, coordinator of the BGCT church health and growth section. Texas Baptists churches of varying sizes and locations are purchasing the resources.

The sales increase is “certainly indicative of the interest of Texas Baptists to support curriculum that is true to Baptist distinctives,” Eckeberger said.

Money created by sales of adult materials helps offset the cost of producing adult support, preschool, and children's Bible study resources, which are offered for free online. Language curriculum, supported by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions, also is provided free online.

At this point, funds generated by the adult literature do not cover fully all expenditures for the online resources.

But sales are increasing. Projected figures for the year indicate a 35 percent climb in sales. Dennis Parrott, director of the BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship Center, estimates $390,000 will be generated by the adult materials, compared to $375,000 that will be expended to produce them.

Eckeberger praised the work of the BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship Center for going “above and beyond” to make churches aware of BaptistWay resources. Staff members have outlined the strengths of the materials in many congregations.

The primary source for revenue continues to be Texas Baptist churches, but other areas are expanding as well. Baptist conventions in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Missouri have held BaptistWay events. The Baptist General Association of Virginia has added a BaptistWay link to its web site. Believers from around the world use the language materials.

The widespread interest in BaptistWay resources indicates they are high quality materials that are meeting the needs of Christians, Parrott said.

“Though it is written primarily by Texas Baptists, it's not just for Texas Baptists,” Parrott said. “It's for all Baptists.”

Posted: 9/17/04

BaptistWay Bible Series for Sept. 26

God gives strength, mercy enough to perservere

2 Corinthians 4:1-15

By Todd Still

Truett Seminary, Waco

Ministry is anything but an easy, cushy vocation. On the contrary, it is a calling that requires, among other things, thoughtful convictions, perpetual preparation, skillful communication and intentional interaction. Because of unrealistic expectations, considerable challenges and consistent demands, not a few ministers decide to throw in the towel along the stony way.

Even those ministers who do survive the arduous journey that is ministry throw up their hands in frustration and bewilderment on occasion. When it seems ground is not gained and may be being lost, it is difficult to keep going in ministry. It is tempting to succumb to doubt and disillusionment.

While the Apostle Paul was in some respects no ordinary individual, he was clearly human. He too experienced astonishment, anxiety and anger (2 Corinthians 11:28-29; Galatians 1:6; 5:12). Nonetheless, he persevered in the race he had been called to run (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Philippians 3:12-15; 2 Timothy 4:7). How did he and how might we stay the ministerial course? This week's text from 2 Corinthians 4 offers uncommon insight into this question. In this passage, the apostle indicates how he maintained a heart for ministry amid adversity. Paul's autobiographical reflections in these verses regarding his service can direct and illumine our own ministerial paths.

At the outset of chapter 4, Paul declares he and his colleagues do not lose heart as ministers of the new covenant (2 Corinthians 4:6). What enabled the apostle to be steadfast in suffering and not become disheartened? Among other things, we may point to Paul's theological understanding of his calling. Far from seeing his apostolic labors as an endurance test he had to pass by depending upon his own resources, Paul regarded his ministry as a divine, if sometimes severe, mercy.

From the apostle's perspective, the “Father of mercies” (2 Corinthians 1:3) not only rescued him from spiritual destruction through the “light of the gospel” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4); God also graced him with the perception to see and the power to share “the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

Whatever Paul's detractors said to the contrary, Paul insisted he executed his ministry with utter integrity and total transparency. Before God and everybody else, Paul stated unequivocally that he had in no way attempted to manipulate others or negotiate the truth of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:2). Because the apostle was fully aware that everything is laid bare before “the Father of lights with whom there is no shifting or shadow of turning” (James 1:17), he conducted his ministry accordingly.

Additionally, Paul iterates in 4:5 that the message he proclaimed did not focus upon him; on the contrary, it centered upon the lordship of Jesus Christ. In Paul's day, it was not uncommon for unbelievers to regard and confess Caesar as lord. Along with other early Christians, Paul was convinced the Lord reigned in eternity not in Italy (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11). It now appears “Jesus is Lord” was (among) the earliest Christian confessions.

We would do well to remember the baptismal waters where we verbally and/or graphically declared the same. When other commitments, no matter how noble or spiritual, distract our attention, redirect our affection or curb our devotion to Christ, we need to make immediate course corrections and return to the “Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). When inclined to self-absorption and self-promotion, we would do well to remember it was none other than the God who said “Let there be light and there was,” who sent Christ as the Light and exalted Christ as the Lord (4:6).

Because Christ is Light and Lord, he should be the subject of our preaching and the model for our living. Far from preaching ourselves or living unto ourselves, we are to be servants of Christ and of other believers (4:5). We, like Paul, are to be jars of clay. While we might fancy ourselves to be expensive porcelain eggs or costly crystal vases, in the gospel economy, we are ordinary vessels who possess and proclaim the message of an extraordinary God (4:7).

Although Paul was empowered by God, he was not exempt from suffering. In fact, affliction and opposition marked his ministry. Paul offers a sampling of his apostolic hardships in 4:8-9. Instead of regarding trying experiences as a negation of his calling, Paul came to understand such conflicts and clashes as constituent to his calling. The apostle's hard-knock life became a model of the gospel–his “dying” for Jesus resulted in Christ's living in him. Paul's “death” made it possible for others to find Jesus' life (4:10-12).

For Paul, the gospel was not a limited commodity to be bought, bartered, or bottled; it was an indescribable gift to be shared and an indestructible hope to be embraced. To the apostle's mind, the greatest gift of all is God's acceptance of sinful, yet faithful people, into his presence through Jesus Christ the Lord and the greatest hope of all is God's resurrection of the dead in Christ unto eternal life (4:13-15). It is the Christian vocation to be faithful, charitable and hopeful. In so being, we model the gospel. This is the ministry to which all of Christ's followers have been called.

Discussion question

What causes you to grow weary in ministry?

Posted: 9/17/04

BaptistWay Bible Series for Oct. 3

Live knowing you will have to give an account

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10

By Todd Still

Truett Seminary, Waco

Some Christians have been (rightly) accused of being so heavenly minded they are no earthly good. Alternatively, other believers, perhaps unwittingly, have grown so accustomed to and comfortable with this life that they seldom, if ever, contemplate life after death. There is, to be sure, a rather delicate balance to be struck here.

Indeed, the desirable Christian course is neither wholesale rejection of “the world” nor indiscriminate adoption of “the world” (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10). Arguably, the Apostle Paul points the Corinthians (and those of us who are privileged to read their “mail”) in the right direction when he indicates it is his ambition whether he lives or dies to please the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:9). It should be the Christian preoccupation to love the Lord both in life and in death and to praise him as long as he lends us the breath (“My Jesus, I Love Thee,” second stanza).

In the text for this week's lesson, Paul's focus falls decidedly on eternity. Having reiterated in 2 Corinthians 4:16 that he does not lose heart despite affliction (4:1) due to his confidence in God's resurrection of the Christians (v. 14), Paul proceeds in 4:16-5:10 to offer personal reflections on his apostolic experience and expectations. These remarks, like the catalog of sufferings set forth in 4:8-10, are replete with contrasts.

At the outset of this penetrating passage, Paul states that even though his physical body (literally “outer person”) is wasting away, his spiritual life (literally “inward person”) is being renewed day by day (4:16). Instead of viewing his various and sundry external trials as permanent and debilitating (for a specific, illustrative list of Paul's hardships, see 2 Corinthians 11:24-27), he regards them as preparatory for eternal glory (v. 17).

In Pauline thought, suffering with and for Christ was part and parcel of the Christian vocation (Romans 8:17). Furthermore, however severe his suffering might have been at any given time, Paul figures it pales in comparison to the surpassing value of being with Christ for all time.

What enabled Paul to embrace this seemingly “unrealistic” attitude? The apostle was able to view his afflictions as fleeting, and even profitable, because he believed reality should not be confused with physicality. On the surface level, Paul would have had every reason to yield to discouragement.

Through the eyes of faith, however, Paul could look beyond the seen to the unseen. There will indeed be a day, the apostle insists, where “faith will be sight” and “the clouds be rolled back as a scroll” (“It Is Well with My Soul,” stanza four). Nonetheless, until that day, while it is still called today, in the time between Christ's first and second Advent, believers are to “walk by faith, not by sight” (5:7). “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?” (Romans 8:24).

External circumstances should not serve as the barometer by which believers measure all matters. Christians are not to orient their lives around the temporal; they are to live their lives in light of the eternal. “For the form of this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31).

Paul was not only able to keep heart because he viewed adversity as temporary and preparatory; he also was able to forge ahead in faith because he viewed death as a door that ultimately would open to eternal life. For the apostle, the sting of death would give way to victorious life through the Lord Jesus Christ at the time of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

For the Christian person, destruction (death) of the earthly body, which Paul likens unto a tent, does not mark the end. On the contrary, it serves as a passageway into life eternal. In conjunction with the resurrection, God will give to believers a body fit for eternity. Paul depicts this resurrection body as a “building from God, a house not made with hands” (5:1).

Although the apostle did not model detachment from the present world or advocate a disembodied state (5:4), he indicates he would rather be “at home with the Lord” (5:8). Or, as Paul puts it in Philippians 1:24, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” Prior to the redemption of our bodies, Christians are to groan (5:2, 4) along with creation (Romans 8:19, 23).

For Paul, there was a persistent yearning and longing to be fully clothed in Christ, for the mortal, temporal tent to give way to the immortal, eternal home. The apostle attributes a Christian's anticipation for an “eternal wardrobe” to God, and more specifically, to the Spirit who serves as a guarantee of divine, eternal promises (5:5; Romans 8:11; Galatians 5:5). Elsewhere in 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the Spirit as a seal and “down payment” for the Christian (1:21).

According to Paul, the Holy Spirit indwells and directs believers from the point of conversion (Galatians 3:2-3; 5:16, 25; Romans 18:1-17). It was the Spirit's presence that gave the apostle the confidence to remain faithful and hopeful. Although Paul desired to depart and be with Christ, to remain in the flesh afforded him the privilege to live for Christ (Philippians 1:21; 3:8 Galatians 2:20). What is more, the apostle lived his life with an awareness that he ultimately would have to give an account to Christ for that which he did (and failed to do) in the body (5:10). We would be wise to live likewise.

Discussion questions

How would your actions be different is you were continually cognizant that you will give an account for your life before God?

Posted: 9/17/04

BGCT first vice president
nominee encouraged by signs of progress

By Marv Knox

Editor

DALLAS–Michael Bell, longtime pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, will be nominated for first vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas when it meets Nov. 8-9.

George Mason, a pastor colleague of Bell's from Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, announced he will make the nomination at the BGCT annual session in San Antonio.

“Michael Bell is a gifted proclaimer of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Mason said. “He leads with courage and is not afraid to confront injustice wherever he finds it. He speaks the truth with the passion of a prophet and the compassion of a pastor.”

Mason cited Bell's consistent involvement in denominational activities as a qualification for leadership. For example, Bell has been active in not only the BGCT, but also Tarrant Baptist Association and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

“His presence and leadership add hope to the ever-increasing vision of our state convention being a truly diverse and representative body,” Mason noted. “The convention will be blessed and will be better because of his service.”

Bell is a current member of the BGCT Executive Board and BGCT Christian Life Commission and is chairman of the BGCT Executive Board nominating committee.

He has been president of the Tarrant Association African-American Pastors' Fellowship since 1994 and secretary of the African-American Fellowship of Texas since last year.

Bell said he is grateful to be nominated for convention office at a “kairos moment in the life of Texas Baptists.”

“This is an opportune time,” he explained. “With the changes taking place in our state, with Texas becoming more diverse, we have an opportunity to do missions and do ministry in a greater way–and be more effective at it–than ever before.

“When there's a kairos moment, we either take advantage of the opportunity, or we fall back. We progress or regress. This convention has expressed a commitment to move forward. … We're thinking outside the box and coloring outside the lines to make the redemptive difference God is calling us to make with an increasingly diverse population.”

Bell believes God has prepared him–as an African-American pastor with longstanding and deep relationships with Anglo, Asian-American and Hispanic Christians–for convention office now.

“I believe my experience in leading and relating cross-culturally has given me the tools needed to serve our convention,” he said. “With the increasing Latino population … and our country becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, my experiences and what I've been blessed to take part in capacitate me to serve our convention.”

Bell recalled a pivotal experience in the mid-1990s, when he and other pastors founded Tarrant Clergy for Inter-Ethnic Peace and Justice.

“This was Anglo-American, African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic. It was truly interfaith,” he said. “It helped bring familiarity–listening and speaking to issues that different cultures may have.”

Similarly, he led a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship committee that helped the organization develop relationships with people groups, denominations and other faiths.

“I'm a person who's at ease with progress,” Bell described. “I've seen our convention daring to dream and becoming more flexible and organic. I think that's necessary, because our culture has shifted; the faith community no longer is the hub of our culture. We must understand how to respond.”

Bell praised the leadership of BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade, President Ken Hall and recent presidents Bob Campbell and Clyde Glazener. “They've been willing to engage the changing environment of our culture,” he said. “I've been thinking about that, praying about it and talking with our church members. And I'm excited about where we're headed as a convention, and I believe that's forward.”

Bell is the second announced candidate for BGCT office. Albert Reyes, president of Baptist University of the Americas and the convention's current first vice president, will be nominated for president.

Reyes would be the convention's first non-Anglo president. His probable election, along with changing demographics in Texas and the convention's imminent reorganization, as well as intergenerational “bridge building,” are exciting developments, Bell said.

“There's room enough for all of us” in the BGCT, he noted. “We're all in this together. God can use all of us together to do what he would have us to do, to extend the kingdom, to meet the needs of the persons who come to our churches and institutions. This is a great opportunity for us.”

Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church has 897 resident members and baptized 32 new Christians last year. The church has an average combined attendance of 305 at two Sunday morning worship services and 78 at its Sunday evening worship service.

Last year, the church contributed $1,800 to the BGCT Cooperative Program unified budget.

Bell is the executive director and founder of the Southeast Neighborhood Interest Coalition in Forth Worth. He also serves on several community boards and is or has been chairman of Tarrant Clergy for Inter-Ethnic Peace and Justice and the county American Cancer Society board.

He is a member of the Texas Baptists Committed board of directors and was chairman of the CBF Committee on Representation and Relationships. He has been a member of the CBF Coordinating Council and the Baptist Advisory Committee at Texas Christian University's Brite Divinity School.

Bell also has been an instructor for the National Baptist Convention, USA's Congress of Christian Education, both nationally and in Texas.

Among his recognitions, Bell has received the Invisible Giant Award from the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute, the Human Relations Award from the Dallas Interdenominational Ministers' Association, the TBC African-American Leadership Award from Texas Baptists Committed and the BGCT, the Community Service Award from the East Fort Worth Interdenominational Ministers' Alliance, and the Racial Justice & Reconciliation Award from the Tarrant Area Community of Churches. He also is a charter member of the Mainstream Baptist Network Hall of Fame.

Bell is a native of Marshall and grew up in Fort Worth.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Wiley College in Marshall, master's degrees from Howard University Divinity School in Washington and the University of Texas at Tyler, and a doctorate from the Interdenominational Theological Center and Morehouse School of Religion in Atlanta.

He has been pastor of four churches and also taught public school and at Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins.

He and his wife, Mary Louise, have three children and three grandchildren.

Posted: 9/17/04

Six children of Baptist leaders among
casualties from Russian hostage crisis

BESLAN, Russia (ABP)–At least six children of Baptist leaders were killed when a hostage standoff in a Russian school ended violently Sept. 3, according to Baptist groups from the region.

The two-day crisis in the southern town of Beslan came to a climax when Russian commandos stormed the school following an explosion, according to news sources on the scene. Russian authorities have said that at least 338 people–many of them schoolchildren–were killed in the massacre, and hundreds remain missing.

Baptist World Alliance leaders familiar with the situation said the tragedy hit the local Baptist church in Beslan hard. Pastor Sergey Totjiev and his wife, Bela, lost two children, and one son remains hospitalized with a severe eye injury.

Church elder Taymuras Totjiev–the pastor's brother–and his wife, Ria, had five children taken hostage. Four died and one was injured.

When a crowd of more than 1,500 people gathered outside the homes of the Totiev brothers–who are next-door neighborhoods–vowing to take revenge against the terrorists, Pastor Totiev said: “Yes we have an irreplaceable loss, but we cannot take revenge. As Christians, the Bible teaches us that we must forgive. Vengeance is in God's hands.”

In a letter of condolence, BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz wrote: “Our hearts go out to the parents of the children whose lives were so quickly and sadly taken from them. … Men and women of faith from all over the world mourn the unbelievable loss of life that has come to innocent children.”

The BWA's relief arm, Baptist World Aid, is working with local partner Mission Vera to provide for the physical and psychological needs of the children and their families. The group's directors, Yevgeniy and Nadia Zhigulin, attended funerals for many of the victims.

“During the days of deep grief our employees leave for Beslan for funerals of victims, providing material assistance where needed,” the Zhigulins reported.

Baptist World Aid will provide $2,500 to Mission Vera for relief work in Beslan.

The hostage incident began Sept. 1 when an armed gang took hundreds of children, parents and teachers hostage on the first day of school in Beslan, located in North Ossetia, The region is adjacent to the troubled Russian province of Chechnya, where rebels have been fighting the Moscow government and demanding an independent Islamic republic.