Posted: 5/28/04

ANOTHER VIEW:
Watch your step in political march

By Michael Clingenpeel

There's a presidential election this November. Maybe you haven't noticed it yet, seeing as how you're probably in the midst of “Forty Days of Purpose” or Dr. Adkins, in which case your mind has been on God or food. But if you read the newspaper or watch the news, you may notice that the Republicans and Democrats have a little contest going.

Even if you haven't sniffed a whiff of the campaign, the Internal Revenue Service has. The IRS has issued an advisory to inform churches and clergy that they cannot engage in any partisan politics without jeopardizing the tax-exempt status of their church.

Every four years, the routine advisory is issued. Every four years, some overzealous or uninformed minister or church violates the rule.

If you want to know the IRS guidelines, they are available in IRS Publication 1828, “Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations” (www.irs.gov).

Here's the operative paragraph:

“Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise tax.”

The IRS guidelines are very specific. Pastors may endorse a candidate as long as they speak for themselves and make it clear that their views do not represent those of the church. They cannot make partisan political comments in official church publications or at official church functions.

Churches do not violate IRS guidelines when they distribute voters' guides, as long as the guides are designed to educate voters about candidates' stands on issues and are not for the purpose of favoring or opposing a specific candidate. Churches also are permitted to hold voter-registration or get-out-the-vote drives, as long as they are nonpartisan.

Your church also may invite a candidate to speak if you grant an equal opportunity for other candidates seeking the same office, if you communicate clearly that the candidate's appearance is not an endorsement and if no fund raising occurs.

Some Americans consider the IRS code, adopted originally in 1954, to be a violation of religious free exercise and free speech, two guarantees of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A North Carolina congressman, in fact, offered a legislative remedy to the IRS code called the Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act.

Wisely, in 2002, the House of Representatives defeated this ill-conceived bill 239-178. Two years before, the federal courts upheld the constitutionality of the prohibition of political campaign activity by tax-exempt organizations.

The IRS guidelines against partisan political activity by churches do not rob any individual or congregation of free speech or free exercise. They allow clergy to address moral and public issues from their pulpits and to participate in political campaigns as private citizens. They allow churches freedom to learn about public issues or, if they feel deeply enough about a specific candidate, to forgo their tax exemption in order to champion an individual candidate for public office.

Pastors and churches demonstrate the restraint of Esau when they barter their prophetic role for bumper stickers and campaign buttons. God is not the mascot of the Republicans or Democrats. Nor is God the campaign manager for George W. Bush or John Kerry. The United States is not the kingdom of God on Earth.

Read Luke's account of the early church in Acts for an example of apostles who understood that they did not follow Jesus in order to sign on as Pharisees, Sadducees, emperor-worshippers or empire-builders. Their allegiance was to a Lord before whom every knee eventually would bow. Their living was shaped by rules that defied the lifestyle of their contemporaries. Their community was as much eternal as temporal.

We misunderstand the nature of the church and misuse the pastoral role when we make political affiliation a test of fellowship.

Your vote is important. It is a precious responsibility for people fortunate enough to live in a healthy democracy. Issues of faith are involved in public debates on war, abortion, sexual orientation and behavior, the environment, gender, jobs, health care, taxes and corporate practices. Christians should be involved in the political process.

Be wise, however, in the way you march into the public square. Your efforts to claim the right to speak could cost you your voice.

Michael Clingenpeel is editor of the Religious Herald, newspaper of the Baptist General Association of Virginia

Posted: 5/28/04

Bivocational pastor enjoys coaching
Hispanic pastors as BGCT consultant

By George Henson

Staff Writer

SAN ANGELO–Robert Cuellar enjoys coaching almost as much as he enjoys his role as pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in San Angelo.

Cuellar isn't teaching Little Leaguers how to hit an inside pitch. He's coaching pastors, teaching them the inside scoop about resources available through the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Cuellar is a part-time consultant with the convention, working with more than 30 Hispanic congregations in Concho Valley, Brady, Coleman, Runnels, Brown, Comanche and San Saba associations.

For the last 10 years, he has been pastor of the San Angelo church where he grew up.

The BGCT has two other part-time consultants with regional responsibilities, as well as a full-time regional Hispanic consultant and a full-time Hispanic youth consultant with statewide responsibilities.

“Our concept is centered around the word 'paraclete,'” Cuellar explained. “It means 'to walk alongside.' That's what we do–walk alongside these pastors or church leaders in churches where there is no pastor.”

As a part of his efforts, he has preached funerals, counseled with pastors about their struggles and encouraged them to become more active in receiving associational and state-level training.

One of his primary duties has been helping churches secure computers to help them in ministry.

With a large church of his own to shepherd, Cuellar tends to this far-flung flock of pastors primarily on Fridays and Saturdays, when he and his wife make visits to check on them.

Cuellar also has organized Saturday lunches for training, fellowship and marriage enrichment events for the primarily bivocational pastors.

“We have this opportunity to bring the office out of the Baptist Building in Dallas and out into the field. I have really enjoyed building these relationships with the pastors and directors of missions,” he said.

He acknowledged that not every pastor felt included before his ministry began.

“The pastor who felt alone and abandoned–that's the one I really want to reach,” Cuellar said.

He said his relationship with the pastors has deepened over time.

“At first, it was: 'I need this. Can you get it for me?' Now, it's more, 'Let's pray about this,'” he said.

Cuellar recalled that the first pastor he called on didn't believe his church was large enough for the state convention to care about it. Cuellar convinced him to give him a chance. The pastor made a small request, Cuellar made it happen, “and I've had a friend ever since,” he said.

Since many of the pastors are bivocational and in widely scattered small communities, their ability to meet and discuss issues with other pastors is severely limited. Cuellar often is that listening ear they need.

“I give them not only camaraderie, but they also know that someone who doesn't have to be there is there for them. That is a very encouraging thing,” he said.

Cuellar not only makes the pastors aware of resources the BGCT has for them, he also keeps the convention office aware of what is happening in the churches.

“I've let them know about funerals and other things. Just the gesture of sending flowers is so encouraging to these pastors who often don't get a lot of encouragement,” he said.

“I am so glad to be a part of this ministry that I find to be so rich.”

Posted: 5/28/04

DOWN HOME:
Countdown clock ticks louder still

That persistent noise pulsing in the background is the clock ticking. For you, it may sound so faint you don't even notice. But it's excruciatingly loud at our house. And it's going to clang even louder.

This clock really started ticking 17 years, six months and 19 days ago. That's when our youngest daughter, Molly, entered this world.

But the 2003-04 school year ended last week, and somebody turned up the volume on the clock. Sometimes–like when I wake up in the middle of the night–it's all I can hear.

Yes, the clock is ticking, counting down the days MollyBird will eat and sleep and laugh and watch TV and study and tell stories and make her mama and me laugh under our roof.

She's officially a senior. She's part of the veteran group at Lewisville High School. Now we begin 15 months of doing things for the last time. She'll be taking her senior pictures soon. If we're blessed, the summer will pass rather quietly. But then, when school starts, we'll do all kinds of stuff–stuff we've been doing all the time for 15 years, since her sister, Lindsay, started kindergarten–for the last time.

If you've known me for at least three years, you know I didn't take this particularly well when Lindsay started doing all her Last Things at Home. She was our firstborn, going through her last year of high school and getting ready to go off to college. Some days, anticipating her departure, grief seemed to whop me up side of the head, stomp on my sternum and push walnuts in my throat.

Well, Lindsay went off to Hardin-Simmons University a couple of years ago and has had a grand time. Joanna and I have missed her like crazy. But we've reveled in her gladness and enjoyed her times back home.

So, I thought I'd be braver when the time came to face Molly's senior year. Problem is, we only have two kids.

If we had three, four or five, we could have had some in-between kids. (I know; all you parents of litters can tell me each one is hard to give up. But for the sake of argument, let's say their departures are at least different.) With just two daughters, we've gone from letting go of our firstborn to giving up our baby.

What were we thinking when we started having children almost 21 years ago? Did we have a clue how fast they'd grow up and become seniors in high school?

Of course not. We couldn't have imagined. But if we could, we would've done it anyway. No reservations, no hesitation, no regrets.

Because preparing for the two sets of Last Things at Home is the best and most lasting thing we've done or ever will do.

OK, I promise not to bore you by telling you about every last thing of Molly's senior year. But when you wake up in the middle of the night and think about how much you love your children, know you're not alone.

Posted: 5/28/04

EDITORIAL:
University should live up to its commitment to BGCT

Houston Baptist University should live up to its word to the Baptist General Convention of Texas and rescind its “fraternal relationship” with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

Historically, HBU has been affiliated with the BGCT, received substantial BGCT funding and allowed the BGCT to elect its trustees. In 2000, HBU trustees amended the university's charter, giving themselves authority to elect 75 percent of the trustees, with the BGCT electing only 25 percent. Their action violated the convention's constitution and created a relationship crisis. The crisis seemed to abate in 2001, when the university and convention affirmed a relationship agreement. In it, HBU pledged to “maintain a unique affiliation with the BGCT by not affiliating or establishing a formal relationship with other denominations, conventions or religious entities.” But last fall, HBU created a “fraternal relationship” with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, which was created to compete with the BGCT. Now, the BGCT Executive Board has affirmed a recommendation from a special study committee that asks the university to rescind its “fraternal relationship” with the SBTC.

The Executive Board's May 25 debate over the request to rescind was warm-hearted and cordial. And excruciating. Some members, including a couple of HBU alumni, expressed anguish over the friction between the school and the convention. Others, including one who helped negotiate the 2001 settlement between the convention and university, expressed dismay that HBU would renege on its expressed faithfulness to the BGCT. Still others plaintively pleaded for the convention to give in to the university in the interest of “peace.”

One of the most poignant and ironic speeches came from an HBU alumnus who said he fears the BGCT's request would “drive a wedge” between the convention and the university. Poignant, because anyone who loves an alma mater can feel his pain. Ironic, because he inadvertently acknowledged a danger of fundamentalism, the force that is working to pull HBU away from its longtime companion and benefactor, the BGCT.

Here's the irony: HBU trustees initiated the crisis in 2000 by breaking the BGCT constitution. The BGCT responded in good faith and worked hard to heal the broken relationship. Both parties freely signed off on the agreement that commits HBU to a “unique affiliation” with the BGCT. But the university's trustees succumbed to the seduction of the competing convention and created another relationship, again in violation of their agreement with the BGCT. And now a pastor who loves his school and his convention is left to worry that the convention–not the university–will be accused of “driving a wedge” between them.

Unfortunately, his worry points toward an insidious danger of fundamentalism, a rhetorical deceit that calls up down and black white. Texas Baptists who have observed a quarter-century of convention controversy aren't surprised by this. First, we saw it in lies told about professors and other God-fearing, Jesus-loving, Bible-believing Baptists. We heard the fundamentalists wanted “parity, not purity” in the SBC, then watched everyone who refused to toe the hard party line purged from the convention. More recently, we heard the BGCT was “pulling away” from the SBC, never mind that the BGCT is the one who has worked hard to preserve historic, traditional Baptist beliefs and practices.

Another sad and touching moment occurred when an Executive Board member, acknowledging she had not heard much about these larger Baptist issues in her church, appealed for the BGCT to give in to HBU for the sake of peace. This is a common and noble plea, usually made by people with little knowledge of church history, much less Baptist history. Like others who attempted to appease obsessive adversaries, the SBC seminary presidents and the so-called SBC Peace Committee made ill-fated concessions to fundamentalists, who used them as paving material as they steamrolled their way to domination of the national convention and banishment of all dissenters. So much for peace.

Peace is a worthy goal, and Jesus prayed that his followers would achieve unity. But Jesus didn't negotiate for peace with the money-changers in the Temple or the Pharisees who ran Jerusalem. That's because peace-at-any-cost is too costly.

Critics claim the BGCT is too combative, too ready to engage in conflict. To be sure, conflict for the sake of power and control is unworthy of any Christian. But resistance for the sake of principle, for the preservation of truth, is a sacred honor.

Unfortunately, adversaries–who would like to take over the BGCT and, failing that, BGCT institutions such as HBU–have rejected historic Baptist principles. Left up to them, concepts like soul competency, the priesthood of all believers, local-church autonomy and separation of church and state would cease to exist. So, the BGCT must persevere. That's why it must resist the temptation to give up on a fine school like HBU for the sake of faux peace.

And HBU should restore its promise.

–Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

Posted: 5/28/04

Texan Engle's spin on worship:
That's why we're all created

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

GRAPEVINE–When recording artist Joel Engle isn't performing at various events around the country, he can be found at home in North Texas–leading worship at 121 Community Church, a Texas Baptist congregation in Grapevine.

Whatever the venue, Engle's passion is to communicate the gospel through music.

“I really believe that music is a gift that the Lord has given me to be used as a songwriter, a singer and a leader,” he said.

“God has also given me a heart for his word, and a passion to communicate the truth is my calling. I have combined those two things in my music and my ministry. I have a deep, passionate message that goes beyond music.

“Music is one of many great vehicles to get that through.”

Engle has published more than 40 songs and worked with popular Christian recording artists such as Third Day, Mercy Me, Rebecca St. James, Salvador, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Jami Smith, Shane Barnard and Shane Everett.

Despite tragic circumstances from his childhood and youth, Engle has overcome his heart-wrenching past to become one of today's leading worship communicators.

Growing up, he endured more hardships and tragedies as a child than most people experience in a lifetime. His father walked out on his mother shortly after he was born, and when he was 11, his mother died of a stroke.

After his mother's death, Engle moved from California to live with his grandparents in Oklahoma. However, his grandparents were already in their late 70s.

At age 14, his grandfather died. Eight months later, realizing that his grandmother couldn't take care of him anymore, he placed himself in the Baptist Children's Home in Oklahoma City, where he lived for almost a year and a half before being adopted by the Engle family.

His life changed as he entered a Christian home that offered him the blessings of hope, redemption and love.

“This was really a very important place in my life,” he explained. “It was where I solidified my relationship with Christ and where I really found the love that I never really got as a kid. The Engles poured so much love into me, and they still do!”

Engle began putting his musical talent to work in high school, and that resulted in a music scholarship to Oklahoma Baptist University. While at OBU, Engle started traveling, singing at churches in the area.

“Things just started growing in that capacity during my college years, and that's really where the foundation of my ministry was really laid,” he recalled. “I wound up getting involved with Christian music as a songwriter, and I did a lot of background vocal sessions and all that, but I knew that my ministry wasn't in the studio as much as it was in the local church.”

As Engle's ministry started flourishing, he partnered with Dawson McAllister and Shepherd Ministries. During three years touring with Shepherd Ministries, Engle began receiving recognition nationally.

In 1997, Engle and with his wife, Valerie, developed the Student Praise Interactive Network, or SPIN.

Today, Spin360 is a quarterly modern worship resource that provides worship leaders with the latest modern worship songs along with lyric masters, chord charts, sheet music, multi-media lyric slides for PowerPoint and MediaShout, and a newsletter with articles, interviews and tips. Currently, more than 4,000 churches worldwide use Spin360.

In February 2003, the Engles were blessed by the birth of their first child, Elizabeth.

“Having the opportunity to be a dad is the most exciting thing to me,” he said. “I just love it!”

While balancing family life and a full-time ministry, Engle also has developed worship seminars, such as the Surrender Conference, which is a two-day event featuring high-impact teaching, music, video and breakout sessions centered around the glorification of Christ and worship as a lifestyle for youth and young adults.

In addition, he launched the Spin360 Conference, a yearly three-day conference for professional and lay worship leaders and bands. It features worship and breakout sessions on a variety of worship topics led by well-known speakers and recording artists.

Engle believes one of the most exciting things to experience in life is watching people respond to God in worship.

“When we truly worship God, the world sees that, and they see that they're missing something,” he said.

“The Bible says that we were all created to worship God, and we were created for God's glory. One of the neatest things that I've been able to see is people realizing they're sinners and they need Christ.”

Posted: 5/28/04

ETBU choir bound for Russia

Posted: 5/28/04

BGCT board asks Houston Baptist
University to sever ties with SBTC

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS–The Baptist General Convention of Texas wants Houston Baptist University to rescind its “fraternal relationship” with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. And the convention will escrow most funds budgeted for the university until the matter is settled.

With only about a dozen dissenting votes, the BGCT Executive Board voted May 25 to approve a recommendation from the BGCT Christian Education Coordinating Board asking HBU to cut ties with the competing state convention.

Fewer than 20 members of the 234-member board voted in favor of an amendment that would have softened the language of the motion.

The board also affirmed the coordinating board's decision to escrow funds budgeted for HBU, except for financial aid to ministerial students.

HBU President Doug Hodo declined to comment on the board's action.

Last September, university trustees voted to establish a fraternal relationship with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, a group that broke away from the BGCT in 1998.

The university's governing body made that decision two years after signing an agreement to “maintain a unique affiliation with the BGCT by not affiliating or establishing a formal relationship with other denominations, conventions or religious entities.”

In response, messengers to the 2003 BGCT annual meeting approved a motion instructing the Christian Education Coordinating Board to “evaluate the implications” of the university's relationship with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and clarify its status with the BGCT.

The motion by Robert Creech of University Baptist Church in Houston instructed the coordinating board to report to the BGCT Executive Board at its May meeting.

A six-person review committee of the coordinating board concluded HBU's fraternal relationship with the SBTC “violates the spirit and intent” of the BGCT's agreement with the university.

“HBU has chosen to relate to a convention that has been publicly critical of the BGCT, that holds certain differing values and convictions from those expressed by the BGCT, and that has openly encouraged churches to divert Cooperative Program funds in ways that have negatively impacted all of the ministries of the BGCT, including the affiliated and related institutions,” the committee report stated.

“Failure on the part of the BGCT to address this violation of the relationship agreement … would set a precedent for our other educational and ministry institutions that would not be in the best interests of the BGCT and those institutions.”

The BGCT Executive Board voted to affirm the review committee's report, as submitted by the Christian Education Coordinating Board and to reaffirm the 2001 relationship agreement between HBU and the BGCT.

Based on what the committee termed the “clear language” of that agreement, the board asked HBU trustees to rescind the fraternal relationship between the university and the SBTC.

The board also affirmed the coordinating board's decision to escrow most budgeted funds for HBU–effective June 1–until the school's trustees “respond positively” to the board's request or until the coordinating board determines “appropriate levels of future spending” for the university.

Money earmarked as financial aid for ministerial students will not be affected by the escrow. The BGCT budgeted about $750,000 for HBU this year, including $169,000 for ministry students.

The Executive Board rejected an amendment by Ed Seay, pastor of First Baptist Church in Magnolia and an HBU trustee, that would have asked HBU's board to “redefine and defend” rather than “rescind” its relationship with the SBTC.

The Executive Board rejected an amendment by Ed Seay, pastor of First Baptist Church in Magnolia and an HBU trustee, that would have asked HBU's board to "redefine and defend" rather than "rescind" its relationship with the SBTC.

“The idea most of the trustees have concerning the fraternal relationship is not to step away from the BGCT but to reach out to the thousands of young people in churches whose pastors have led them away from the BGCT,” Seay said.

He appealed to the board “not to communicate something that can be interpreted as a veiled threat.”

But Craig Vire, pastor of Bethesda Baptist Church in Burleson and chairman of the coordinating board review committee, said the BGCT entered into a relationship agreement with HBU in good faith.

“The 'unique relationship' language of that agreement is clear and unambiguous in the opinion of the committee,” he said.

“The fraternal relationship violates the spirit and intent of the relationship agreement.”

Vire indicated that while the HBU trustees interpreted a “unique relationship” to mean “one of a kind,” the BGCT intended from the beginning that it mean “one and only.”

Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, helped negotiate the original relationship agreement between HBU and the BGCT.

He insisted the BGCT made substantial concessions to HBU in those negotiations, prompted by HBU's unilateral decision to change the way its trustees were elected and reduce BGCT representation on the board.

Both sides “left the table” clear about what the terms of the agreement meant, he said. “We have not been ogres. We negotiated in good faith … then went beyond the extra mile.”

Randall Scott, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Paris, agreed the BGCT had done everything possible to accommodate the HBU board.

The convention acted “in good faith” when it reached a relationship agreement with HBU in 2001, and then HBU trustees two years later changed their interpretation of it, he said.

“What does that say about their integrity? What message does that send to students?” he asked.

Larry Womack, an HBU alumnus and pastor of Copperfield Baptist Church in west Houston, urged the board to support the amendment, saying the review committee's language would “drive a wedge” between the university and the BGCT.

Womack called on the BGCT to “turn the other cheek” and “adjust the language so we don't alienate them.”

Roxi Vanstory from Oakwood Baptist Church in New Braunfels asked if any other BGCT entities had relationships with the SBTC.

Keith Bruce, coordinator of BGCT institutional ministries, replied HBU is the only BGCT-affiliated institution that relates to the SBTC.

Texas Baptist Men–a self-governing affiliate of the convention that receives BGCT budget funding–has a fraternal relationship with the break-away convention.

The Korean Baptist Fellowship of Texas also has a similar relationship but lost BGCT funding when it established formal ties to the SBTC.

BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade explained the BGCT “made an accommodation” for Texas Baptist Men because of the awkward situation some lay leaders of the group faced when their churches pulled away from the BGCT. “But our institutions are different,” he said.

Wade, Bruce and BGCT President Ken Hall all noted escrowing funds is a temporary measure, and the BGCT wants to continue its relationship with HBU.

“We intend to continue the dialogue,” Hall said, expressing his desire to “redeem the relationship” with HBU.

In other business, Wade and consultant Sherrill Spies presented a progress report on the revisioning and restructuring process in the BGCT.

A 17-member strategy committee will conduct listening sessions around the state this summer and survey as many Texas Baptists as possible.

Wade will work with the group to develop a report with specific recommendations for the BGCT Administrative Committee to consider Sept. 2-3 and for Executive Board action Sept. 28.

The BGCT Executive Board also:

Approved charter changes for East Texas Baptist University, Hardin-Simmons University and Howard Payne University. The technical changes concerned matters such as board sizes, eliminating archaic language and bringing charters into compliance with state and federal laws.

Affirmed an amended relationship agreement between the BGCT and Baptist Health Services, a foundation created from the proceeds of the sale of Baptist Health Systems in San Antonio.

The revised agreement extends the geographic scope of the new foundation to include not only Bexar County, but also all contiguous counties.

It also stipulates that the chief executive officer of the foundation be a Baptist, requires the foundation to use outside investment advisers, and clarifies issues regarding the board's structure and transition to a 16-member governing board with 12 elected by the BGCT and four elected by the board itself.

Approved the 2003 financial audit, provided by the Grant Thornton agency and reviewed by the audit committee. Auditors issued an unqualified or “clean” opinion.

The auditors found no material weaknesses or evidence of fraud. The only concern they cited was the need to fill the vacant controller/assistant treasurer position as soon as possible.

New board members elected

Baptist Foundation of Texas

Kim Askew, Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas

Wayland Baptist University

Gene Meacham, First Baptist Church, Hale Center

Baptist Health System Foundation

Mary Brogan, Shearer Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio

Ray Dinstel, Crossroads Baptist Church, San Antonio

Alice Gong, First Chinese Baptist Church, San Antonio

Connie Jones, First Baptist Church, Boerne

Roland Lopez, Northwest Hispanic Church, San Antonio

Bill McCandless, Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio

Philip McCraw, Baptist Temple, San Antonio

Kim Moore, First Baptist Church, Boerne

Sam Pearis, First Baptist Church, Universal City

Dale Wood, Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio

BGCT Executive Board

Nestor Menjivar, Iglesia Bautista Principe de Paz, Austin

Glen Mitchell, Faith Baptist Church, Iowa Park

Joel Odom, Oak Hills Baptist Church, Floresville

Gene Shelburne, Crestview Baptist Church, Midland

Ferrell Foster of Texas Baptist Communications contributed to this report.

Posted: 5/28/04

Southwestern uninvited to BGCT exhibit hall

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–At least one long-time exhibitor will not be in the exhibit hall at the November meeting of Baptist General Convention of Texas as the result of a committee-approved policy change.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary received notice in a May 20 letter it would not be offered exhibit space this year in San Antonio. Seminary President Paige Patterson responded that he was “dumbfounded” by the decision.

Southwestern is one of six seminaries funded by the Southern Baptist Convention. The BGCT supports two other seminaries–Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary in Waco and Hardin-Simmons University's Logsdon School of Theology in Abilene.

The BGCT letter noted “disheartening changes” that have occurred in recent years and the “unsupportive direction of the Southern Baptist Convention toward the BGCT.”

The convention's Committee on Order of Business is responsible for decisions related to exhibits, workshops and the program of the annual meeting.

“We're trying to make this a positive convention,” said committee Chairman Felipe Garza, a member of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church in Farmers Branch. As a result, “we wanted to invite those entities that we feel are supportive of the BGCT” and that can provide needed resources to churches.

Convention President Ken Hall said, “We want to affirm the ministries of the BGCT through all of the meetings, exhibits and workshops at the convention by amplifying the wonderful things God is doing through the convention.”

Patterson said in a statement: “Due to the efforts we have made to achieve cordial relationships with the BGCT, we were dumbfounded by the revelation that we would not be allowed to display at the convention.

“This is a clear signal to Southern Baptists in BGCT churches that the present leadership of the BGCT fully intends to sever all relationships with the Southern Baptist Convention and its agencies. They apparently have decided to cut the dog's tail off one joint at a time.”

BGCT's Hall, in response, said: “The connection between the BGCT and the SBC is not based on convention space in an exhibit hall. The relationship is built on something much more important and deeper.”

Scott Collins, vice president for external affairs at Buckner Baptist Benevolences, noted the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention also has an “exclusionary policy.”

So does the SBC, which refused to allow Buckner to exhibit at the SBC's 1997 annual meeting in Dallas, Collins said. Buckner had exhibited at SBC events in Texas cities prior to that date, but in 1997, “I was told that we are not part of the Baptist family.”

John Petty, vice chairman of the Committee on Order of Business, said the SBC's theological statement, the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, is the primary reason behind the committee's decision to exclude Southwestern Seminary.

The BGCT has rejected that statement as creedal and leans upon the 1963 version as its accepted confession of faith.

The 2000 statement has become a “rallying point” for the SBC and has resulted in “so many professors” leaving Southwestern, Petty said.

In the last 25 years, the SBC has gone “places no Baptists have gone before,” he added.

Southwestern Seminary “has held an important place in both Southern Baptist and Texas Baptist history,” Petty said. “I spent three great years there studying under world-class professors who were committed to the authority of Scripture, the autonomy of the local church, the priesthood of all believers and the separation of church state. Regrettably, this is no longer the case.”

Hall said the letter was sent to Southwestern Seminary as a “Christian courtesy” because the school has been a long-time exhibitor.

“I wish Southwestern the very, very best and success in their new way of doing theological education,” Hall said. “We're just saying people should be helping us fulfill our mission if they are going to be part of the annual meeting.”

The BGCT is in the midst of developing a “very clear statement as to who we are as Texas Baptists and how we are going to help churches and our institutions,” Hall said. “We don't want to be defined by the controversy anymore.”

The letter sent to Greg Tomlin, director of public relations at Southwestern, said the Committee on Order of Business is “responding to the churches of the BGCT in order to make this meeting an encouraging resource for those churches committed to historic Baptist identity. Accordingly, we are making changes to accommodate exhibitors who consistently affirm their support of the BGCT, its mission and leadership.”

Exhibit space will be limited to “organizations and Baptists who are wholeheartedly supportive of the leadership and churches of the Baptist General Convention of Texas,” the letter said.

“The BGCT would like to move confidently and positively into a future committed to the needs and desires of our member churches. We thank you for your past participation. May God bless you as you endeavor to build the kingdom in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Ministries of the BGCT and groups directly relating to the convention will occupy most of the exhibit space at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio.

After those ministries are taken care of, the BGCT's convention planning office and the Committee on Order of Business will consider additional requests for space.

Posted: 5/28/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for June 13

God continues to use people to meet needs

2 Kings 4:1-44

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

Five miracles in 2 Kings 5 illustrate God's concern for people. Three of these wonders receive brief treatment. The other two detail Elisha's encounters with a Shunammite woman.

These stories clearly picture Elisha as a wonder-worker and highlight his role as God's prophetic leader in Israel. He glorifies God by acting with God's power to assist people in tough times. God's prophet, who challenged kings, could provide for the people what the monarch could not.

A poor widow helped

The first miracle helped an unnamed prophet's widow. He had died and left her and two sons financially overwhelmed. Creditors threatened to enslave the sons until they could work off the debt. It is unlikely the debt would ever have been fully paid off. Hebrew law allowed a creditor such rights until the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:39-41).

The woman poured out her plight to Elisha. He inventoried her assets which amounted to a single bottle of oil. He instructed her to borrow from her neighbors as many empty jars as possible. Then he directed her to go into her house with her sons and begin to fill these containers with oil. Her single jar poured oil into the containers until all were full. The prophet told her to sell all the oil, pay off her debts and live off the remaining money. This miracle reminds us that God had miraculously multiplied oil for a Sidonian widow through Elijah (1 Kings 17:16).

A wealthy woman blessed

The next two miracles concern a woman who ministered to Elisha. They show that Elisha aided both poor and rich.

The woman lived in Shunem, a city about 16 miles southeast of Mount Carmel. Elisha, who apparently lived at Carmel, would have traveled through Shunem frequently as he ministered to the people. This wealthy woman, reflecting the Semitic custom of hospitality, often invited him to eat with them. She later urged her husband to build and furnish a room on the roof for the holy man.

Elisha wanted toq thank the woman for her kindness and asked her what he could do for her. She voiced her satisfaction with her life and said she wanted nothing more. Elisha's servant, Gehazi, pointed out to the prophet that she had no son. Elisha then promised her she would bear a son. This incident is one of many where God blessed a barren woman with a child–Sarah (Genesis 18:10), Rebekah (Genesis 25:21) and Rachel (Genesis 30:22).

Elisha's promise came true. Some years later, the boy died in his mother's arms, apparently the victim of a heat stroke. She quickly made arrangements to travel to Carmel to see Elisha. Elisha saw her coming in the distance and sensed something was wrong.

The woman's first words revealed an anger against Elisha. She had been content with her life. She had requested nothing from him. She had insisted he not offer her false hopes. But now the death of her son had stripped her of the joy the boy had brought her.

A boy restored

Elisha sent Gehazi to the woman's home, but she refused to leave until Elisha returned with her. The servant had laid Elisha's staff on the child but could not revive him.

When the prophet arrived, he ordered everyone out of the room, the very room that the woman had built for him. He prayed to God and then stretched himself on the child, mirroring the child's position. The body warmed. That Elisha stopped to walk about the room shows the energy he was expending. He repeated his actions. The child sneezed, opened his eyes and was reunited with his mother. She received him back as she recognized the power of God's prophet.

We again see a parallel between Elisha and Elijah's ministry, for Elijah had restored to life a widow's son (1 Kings 17:17-22).

Hungry prophets fed

Elisha later traveled to Gilgal, where there was a famine. He was teaching a group when he instructed his servant to fix a stew for them to eat. One of the prophets gathered wild plants for it and added them to the pot. When the men tasted the soup, they blurted out that it was poisoned. The prophet took a handful of flour, added it to the pot, and neutralized the poison. The meal symbolized God's act in healing the pot at Elisha's bidding.

A man later showed up with 20 loaves of bread and a few ears of corn. Normally these first fruits were reserved for the priests. They may have been brought to Elisha because he represented the true worship of God. Elisha told his attendant to share with the hundred or so men gathered. Bread would certainly have been welcomed by all in a time of famine.

The servant balked because he knew the 20 loaves would be exhausted before everyone had received a piece. Elisha understood what God was doing and commanded the servant to go ahead because there would be food left over. The servant obeyed, all were fed and they had food left over. As God showed divine care for these, God continues to work to meet people's needs.

Questions for discussion

What evidence do you see that God is still working through people to perform miracles in the lives of others?

How do we keep the focus on God and not the person in the spotlight?

Posted: 5/28/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for June 6

Most jobs are too big for any individual person

2 Kings 2:1-14

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

The 2004 Olympic torch left Greece and is to arrive in Sydney, Australia, June 4. It will travel to every continent represented by the Olympic rings before it returns to ignite the Olympic flame in Athens Aug. 13. Its light will have shone in every city that has hosted the Olympic games. Thirty-six hundred torchbearers will pass it one to another on its historic journey.

Long, demanding tasks often require more than one person and generation to complete. God's work spans the globe both geographically and generationally. He always provides the next torchbearer when divine work passes from one generation to the next.

Elijah's final work

Many people who interpret these verses center on Elijah's departure. While this event is awesome and mysterious, several factors make Elisha the central focus.

The context of the passage provides the first clue. Chapter 1 ends with Ahaziah's death and the summary of his reign. Chapter 3 begins with the introductory formula of Jehoram's reign. By setting this scene where Elisha has received the prophetic mantle between the two kings, the writer emphasizes the prophet's role. God will continue to work for Israel's good even when her wicked kings are leading the nation astray.

A second clue is Elisha's insistence on accompanying Elijah despite the elder's request to travel alone. He would not abandon his mentor. They began to work together when Elijah saw his successor plowing. He laid his mantle on him to symbolize the call to prophetic office (1 Kings 19:18-21). Elisha then disappeared from sight until the day Elijah is taken.

Everyone seemed to know in advance that Elijah would depart the world. Verse 1 informs the reader that God will take him in a whirlwind. Elisha accompanied Elijah as they traveled from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the east side of the Jordan River. When they reached each city, Elijah told Elisha to stay while he traveled on. Elisha refused each time.

His loyalty to Elijah is one trait that qualified him to be Elijah's successor. Elisha suspected his presence with Elijah was necessary for him to receive the power he would need as Elijah's successor.

Elijah struck the Jordan with his mantle. The waters divided, and the two men crossed on dry ground. Note the parallels between Elijah/Elisha and Moses/Joshua: The younger will soon assume the responsibility of the older; the crossing of the river occurs at the same site; God's chosen servant will cross from east to the west to lead the nation. The similarity reminds the reader that the Lord always provides leaders for God's people.

Elisha's request

The pair kept walking after crossing the Jordan. Elijah asked what he could do for his protege before being taken. Elisha sought a double portion of Elijah's spirit.

He was not asking for twice as much of the spirit as Elijah possessed. “Double portion” reflected inheritance rights where the eldest son received twice as much as his siblings when their father died. Elisha was asking for proof that God had chosen him to succeed Elijah. He also recognized his need for God's spirit and strength to serve.

Elijah acknowledged the magnitude of the request and could not make this promise. He was able to promise that if Elisha witnessed his departure the request would be granted. Perhaps Elisha was being tested to see if he had both spiritual sensitivity and perseverance.

Elisha's new role

As the two men walked, a chariot and horses of fire separated them. Note that God took Elijah not in the chariot but in a whirlwind. God often appeared in storms to demonstrate divine power (the Hebrews at Mount Sinai, even Elijah at Mount Horeb). God's invasion of human existence is usually turbulent and powerful.

Elisha responded by tearing his garments in grief. He cried: “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel.” “Father” demonstrates the respect Elisha held for Elijah, who had been Israel's spiritual father as well as Elisha's mentor. The reference to chariots and horses suggests Israel's true defense was God working through Elijah. The prophet was God's chosen instrument. The term was later applied to Elisha at his death (2 Kings 13:14).

Elisha tore his garments in grief at Elijah's departure. He picked up the mantle which symbolized both his new responsibility and God's power. He returned to the Jordan and prayed God would clothe him with power as the Lord had done for Elijah.

The answer was quick and sure. When he struck the waters, they divided as they had done for Elijah. God had indeed endowed him with the “double portion.” Israel had a new prophet.

Elisha's next act that further demonstrated God had anointed him to succeed Elijah was to purify the city's water supply by sprinkling salt in it. God continued to provide for his people. Elisha had received God's prophetic torch from Elijah. God has handed it now to leaders in your church.

Questions for discussion

What part of the work has God given you to do in his kingdom?

Who are you investing yourself in so that they might be ready to take on responsibility later?

Posted: 5/28/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 6

Baptism proclaims an encounter with Christ

Acts 2:36-41; Romans 6:1-10

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

I entered Southwestern Seminary only having preached three sermons. Three years later, I was responsible for three a week. Multiply that times 50 weeks a year, and you get 150 annual sermons. It would be more, but even preachers get a few weeks off each year for good behavior or vacation, whichever comes first!

I now am in my 26th year of full-time pastoring. (Spell Checker just changed the last word to “pestering.” It is bad enough to have a computer that checks my grammar and spelling; I will not tolerate it evaluating my ministry!) That is 3,900 sermons. I am the “Sermonator.” (You should see what Spell Checker did with that one!)

I remember the first sermon I ever preached. I was in the second grade at the time. Every believer has preached at least one sermon. Do you remember yours? You did not use words. It was a sermon in symbols or signs. It was your baptism. I want to help you remember the sermon you preached in your baptism.

“Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:3-6).

There are two points to the sermon you preached in baptism. The first point was about Jesus. The second point was about you and your decision to follow Jesus.

Baptism is a picture of the gospel story. It symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It tells all who are watching how Jesus became the Savior of the world. Jesus did many things. He preached, taught and healed. These things alone were not the means by which our salvation was achieved. Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Your baptism symbolized his death and burial through your immersion under the water. On the third day, Jesus was raised. Rising from the water symbolized the resurrection of Jesus. Fortunately, you did not need to stay under water for three days to symbolize the three days in the tomb.

When you were baptized, it was as if you said to the church: “Gather around, friends. I want to tell you the story of Jesus. I want you to know how he became my Savior. He died on the cross. He was buried. He was raised.” That is the preaching of the church from Pentecost to the present. You preached it through your baptism.

The second point of your sermon was about your decision to follow Jesus. Paul said, “Our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”

You told the church something about your desire to be a new person, to turn from sin and to be free of its power over you. Again, it was as if you said to the church: “I have decided to follow Jesus. I want to obey him and live for him. I have a new life in him.”

Baptism in the early days of the church was done in public. It was an act of proclamation done in the presence of the unbelieving world. Today, we baptize most often in a church, viewed almost exclusively by believers.

Perhaps we should have portable baptisteries on wheels. We could take it to the work place, the neighborhood or school. We could pass out flyers that would say: “I have decided to follow Jesus. Come see my baptism at noon today on the parking lot.” I think this kind of public proclamation of faith would be a powerful witness to our world. It certainly was in the first century.

We are Baptists. We did not get this name because of our emphasis on pot-luck dinners. It has to do with our insistence on believer's baptism by immersion. It is more than an act of initiation into a local Baptist church. It is an act of gospel proclamation. It is a sermon without words. It is the gospel in symbols.

Your baptism was not something some preacher did to you. It was something you said through symbols to God, the church and the world. It was your sermon. It was your story about your life-changing encounter with Jesus. It was the best sermon ever preached in any church. On that day, you were more eloquent than Billy Graham.

Questions for discussion

What sermon did your baptism preach?

What are other actions that speak volumes–whether we want them to or not?

Posted: 5/28/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 13

Lord's Supper symbolizes God's new covenant

Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

Children are fascinated by the ordinances of the church. They often want to participate before they are ready to receive the spiritual realities for which they stand.

A little boy once told me he wanted to get “babatized” so he would be able to “eat dinner with God.” He had figured out that he could not have the Lord's Supper until after he had been baptized. His motivation for baptism may have been suspect, but his theology of Lord's Supper exceeded that of many believers I have known.

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

We should remember that the Lord's Supper was a shared meal between Jesus and his disciples. In that sense, my little friend got it right. They had a meal with God.

Jesus took the elements of Passover, the symbols of the old covenant between Israel and God, and transformed them into the symbols of the new covenant. His body and blood would be the means of bringing about this new relationship between God and man. In the Supper, all the participants in grace are present.

Lord's Supper is an act of remembrance

The Jews had a wonderful tradition of remembering their greatest stories through feasts and festivals. These were teaching times. For the most part, these festivities took place in homes rather than public meeting places. They rehearsed the stories of Israel's past and shared them again with another generation.

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The Lord's Supper is a way of remembering what Jesus did to provide our salvation. The church always must nurture its collective memory of redemption. It is a story we should remember together. “I love to tell the story; 'twill be my theme in glory; to tell the old, old story; of Jesus and his love.”

Lord's Supper is an act of proclamation

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death.”

Two questions frequently arise concerning our practice of this proclamation. To whom is this proclamation made? How often should we observe the ordinance?

The proclamation is made to all who are present. That is not the same thing as saying the Supper is served to all, regardless of their relationship with the Lord.

I love it when lost people are present for baptism. They never get in the water with me and the candidate, and do not feel excluded by this. The church is not a secret society where its most important acts of initiation and inclusion are secret. They are done in public to proclaim the truths of the gospel to believers and unbelievers alike.

We should make sure to remember the gospel story when observing the Supper. We can do this through reading Scripture, sharing testimonies, singing appropriate music and explaining the meaning of the Supper itself. We should never waste an opportunity to proclaim the gospel.

How often should this proclamation be made? I fear we have been reactionary at this point. Since those who view the Supper as the means to receiving grace often take it weekly, we have gone to the extreme of practicing it sporadically or seasonally. I am more convinced than ever that it is not observing the Supper too often that has led to sacramentalism but celebrating it too thoughtlessly. The Lord's Supper is gospel proclamation at its best.

Lord's Supper is an act of anticipation

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death, until he comes.”

The Lord's Supper does not just look back to the events around the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It looks forward in anticipation to the time when Jesus will come again. When he first instituted the Supper, Jesus told his disciples, “I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). There is coming a day when we will be gathered to our eternal home in heaven. Jesus is coming again. The Lord's Supper anticipates his return and our eternal place in his kingdom.

The Lord's Supper is an expression of our blessed hope. One of my favorite holidays as a child was Thanksgiving. It was not a gifting holiday like Christmas or birthdays. It was not a noisy holiday like July 4th or Halloween. It was a family day. It included cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

I remember every story told by my uncles and my father, who served in World War II. I remember stories my grandparents told about my parents. It was good to know they were kids too. I heard about family plans, dreams and hopes. Most of all, I was included. It was the story I found myself in.

The Lord's Supper has become for me the story of grace. Grace is the story I have found myself in. I want to remember it, proclaim it and anticipate its fulfillment.

Questions for discussion

How can you make the Lord's Supper more meaningful?