Posted: 3/14/08

Christian rocker Larry Norman launched genre

By Kristi Turnquist & Grant Butler

Religion News Service

SALEM, Ore. (RNS)—Christian rock lost one of its pioneers when Larry Norman, 60, died of heart failure Feb. 24 at his home in Salem, Ore.

“We’re receiving thousands and thousands of e-mails,” his brother, Charles Norman, said.

“Every time I read one, it’s from someone who says he changed their life. He met them somewhere, and he bought them lunch, or they were on drugs and meeting him turned them around.”

Norman’s death brought renewed attention to his role as a pioneer in what’s now a thriving category in the music industry.

Norman’s 1969 solo album, Upon This Rock, is “considered pivotal in the development of Contemporary Christian music,” according to the Billboard Guide to Contemporary Christian Music.

Norman was born April 8, 1947, in Corpus Christi. His family moved to San Francisco when Norman was young, and he developed an interest in the music of Elvis Presley.

He accompanied his father on Christian missions to prisons and hospitals, and was inspired to write rock songs that included spiritual messages, Charles Norman said.

Norman had his biggest commercial hit as the lead singer of the folk-rock band People! The band’s cover version of the Zombies song I Love You peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard chart in June 1968.

In later years, Norman started his own independent label, recording additional solo albums while discovering other Christian artists.

Larry Norman was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001, and for all his influence, Norman was ahead of his time with his mixture of blunt lyrics, rock rhythms and Christian message.

“I’m sure he was surprised at the resistance that he got from the church,” Charles Norman said. “But he wasn’t trying to address them. Like a pioneer having to hack his way through the woods to blaze a trail, he met a lot of resistance.”

In a message posted on his website, written the day before his death, Norman said he knew death was imminent.

“I feel like a prize in a box of Cracker Jacks with God’s hand reaching down to pick me up,” Norman wrote, adding that he planned to be buried in a “simple pine box with some flowers inside.”

Posted: 3/14/08

Texas Baptist Forum

Positive 1st impression

Randel Everett made a positive impression the day he was elected executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

• Jump to online-only letters below

Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.

“What we evangelicals should have known before and have now demonstrated again … is that we aren’t quite as popular in the public square as we like to think. We may carry a pretty strong Word, but we also carry a fairly limp stick.” Joel Belz World magazine founder, writing about the need to “end the illusion” about the political force of evangelicals (World/RNS) “There is a tendency on the part of some religious folk to see God with human characteristics, and then they assign to God some of the most damaging and destructive of human characteristics. I think there is a danger of having God conform to our image, rather than trying to conform to his.” Ted Strickland Governor of Ohio (RNS) “The separation of church and state is like oxygen to the fire of religious liberty.” Jon Meacham Newsweek editor (CBS News Sunday Morning)

I was impressed by his strategy, which will allow us to direct our focus on our genuine passion for the lost people of Texas. I sensed we have elected an authentic leader who can guide us without hesitation.

His convictions help me define what type of leader he will be for this moment—a leader whose focus is God’s priority to save the lost ones.

The Holy Spirit caused me to ask, “In what way can I help my brother implement this noble project?” Then I realized this is a great opportunity to unite all Texas Baptists for a common cause to spread the gospel of Christ.

This can be the time to set aside our differences and small distractions and regain our attention on the people who live around us who are spiritually desperate and in great need.

I congratulate the search committee, and also I would like to express to new Executive Director Everett a warm welcome and tell him, “Here we are, the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, to help you in any way to accomplish the vision God put in your heart.”

Baldemar Borrego, president

Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas

Wichita Falls

Personal problem

Joe Worley had an interesting slant in his letter (February 18). His statement, “It is apparent that their CBF affiliation was important in order for them to be on the (BGCT executive director search) committee” has no foundation.

Did he attend even one of the hearings this committee hosted across Texas? I did, and members of this committee were open, listening and gracious to all who cared to have input.

Worley’s bias is clearly chronicled by his openly excusing the “fallible Southern Baptist Convention,” while implying those affiliated even nominally with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are somehow tainted with no substance to support his claim.

We are all fallible, but having an obvious bias against all but the SBC is a problem for Worley, according to his own words.

Nancy Rooney

China

High-order hypocrisy

The New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta (Feb. 18) was hypocrisy of the highest order.

Clinton, Gore and Carter talked about how we should love each other and be able to disagree agreeably, then they go out on the campaign trail and slam and take verbal shots at President Bush, John McCain or anyone else who doesn’t agree with them.

I wish the Baptist Standard would stand up and call this meeting what it was, an effort to make the Democratic Party more palatable to evangelicals. When it comes to politics, these guys pay lip service to what they say they stand for at these so-called Christian gatherings.

Steve Kent

Dallas

Where was SBC?

The New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta sounded like a breath of fresh air.

SBC, where were you?

Roy Roberts

Irving

Posted: 3/14/08

Judge rules for Windermere;
Missouri convention to appeal

By Vicki Brown

Associated Baptist Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP)—Windermere Baptist Conference Center acted legally when it changed its articles of incorporation, a circuit judge ruled. But Missouri Baptist Convention officials immediately announced they plan to appeal the decision.

The ruling by Cole County (Mo.) Circuit Judge Richard Callahan was the latest action in a lawsuit the Missouri Baptist Convention filed against five formerly related entities—Windermere, the Baptist Home retirement-home system, the Missouri Baptist Foundation, Missouri Baptist University and Word & Way newspaper—more than five years ago.

“We are very thankful for Judge Callahan’s decision,” Windermere President Dan Bench said. “After carefully considering the merits of the case, the judge made the decision we have always believed was right. We look forward to putting this unhappy event behind us and to have all the Baptists of Missouri rejoicing and serving together.”

The convention plans to appeal, according to MBC lead attorney Michael Whitehead in an article on the website of the convention’s newspaper, The Pathway.

The convention is disappointed the Windermere case did not go before a jury, Whitehead said. Representatives from the Missouri convention said they plan to ask the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District to offer a ruling rather than to return the case to the circuit court.

The convention first filed suit Aug. 13, 2002, in an effort to force the five institutions to rescind changes they had made in their corporate charters. The Baptist Home changed its articles of incorporation in 2000 to elect its own trustees. The other four agencies took similar actions in 2001.

The March 4 ruling centered on two aspects of the convention’s argument—corporate membership and a contractual relationship with Windermere. The judge ruled the Missouri convention is not a member of Windermere’s corporation and no contract exists between the two entities.

Until August 2000, the convention had governed Windermere through its executive board. Messengers to the 1999 state convention annual meeting approved a reorganization plan that included incorporation of Windermere and Word & Way as separate entities. Windermere’s charter, drawn up in 2000, noted the new corporation would have no members.

The Missouri convention has acknowledged the original incorporation articles declare Windermere has no members. But attorneys argued that because Windermere had granted the convention permission to elect the center’s trustees, the action made the convention, de facto, the only member of Windermere’s corporation.

Callahan said Missouri law dictates that individuals can participate in election of an agency’s board without becoming a corporate member of that organization. A corporation without members does not become a corporation with members just because it grants limited rights to a third party, he ruled.

Windermere also has the right to change its charter without convention approval, Callahan said. “The ‘rights and privileges’ given to the MBC and/or its messengers under Windermere’s original articles were not ‘fixed, unalterable, irrevocable’ rights, but were rights or privileges subject to amendment by Winder-mere,” the judge wrote.

He added that while the law protects the convention’s rights, trustee election is merely a privilege Windermere’s original incorporating articles granted to the convention. He also noted that as a drafter of the original charter, the Missouri convention could have clearly spelled out rights to be granted.

The judge dismissed the idea that Windermere’s articles of incorporation and the MBC’s governing documents created a contract between the two entities. The charter, he said, constitutes a contract only between the center and the State of Missouri.

The court also noted that a binding covenant agreement did not exist between the convention and Windermere because the agreement did not list obligations for both parties. The convention could change the agreement unilaterally by changing its governing documents, and the convention had the right to terminate a covenant agreement at any time, Callahan said.

Furthermore, Callahan said, no mutual obligation between the two existed because under the governing documents’ provisions, the convention was not obligated to support the center and could withdraw any support it provided at any time.

Posted: 3/14/08

On the Move

• Brian Barkley to First Church in Edmonson as pastor.

• Warren Camp to First Church in Silverton as youth minister.

• L.D. Green to First Church in Spade as pastor.

• Mike Johnson to Bethel Church in Plainview as interim pastor.

• Scott Jordan to Cannon Church in Van Alstyne as interim pastor.

• Kristopher Kelso to Mesquite Hill Church in Madisonville as interim pastor.

• Lynn Matthews to Arnold Creek Church in Blue Ridge as pastor.

• Brad McClenny to Country Chapel in Sherman as interim pastor.

• Jeff Moore to North Coleman Church in Coleman as pastor.

• Willis Moore Jr. to First Church in Odem as pastor from Hillside Church in Camden, Ark.

• David Phillips to First Church in Schulenburg as minister of worship and youth.

• Dale Pogue to Bethel Church in Ingleside as interim pastor.

• Emmanuel Ramirez to Templo Salem in Lockney as youth minister.

• Billy Roberts has resigned as pastor of North Coleman Church in Coleman.

• Kevin Schaub to Claytonville Church in Claytonville as interim pastor.

• Bill and Ivy Jean Sky-Eagle have completed an extended tenure as interim minister of music and interim music associate and are available for revivals, interims or supply at (817) 572-4333.

• Paul Stripling to Waco Baptist Regional Network as interim executive director.

• Ben Talcott has resigned as minister of music at Central Church in Italy.

• Chris Talleri to Central Church in Italy as minister of youth.

• Davis Thornton to Open Door Church in Crockett as pastor.

• Leon Veazey to First Church in Whitewright as pastor.

• J.K. Weger has resigned as minister of music and worship at First Church in Paris.

• Will Yates to Cowboy Church of Houston County as pastor.

Posted: 3/14/08

Oxford researchers get $4 million
to study origins of belief in God

By Brittani Hamm

Religion News Service

LONDON (RNS)—Oxford University researchers have been given nearly $4 million to investigate the origins of belief in God.

The three-year project titled “Empirical Expansion in Cognitive Science of Religion and Theology” is designed to determine if belief in a deity is instinctive or learned. It will be funded by the Pennsylvania-based John Templeton Foundation.

Justin Barrett of Oxford University’s Center for Anthropology and Mind and Roger Trigg of Oxford’s Ian Ramsey Center for Science and Religion will lead the investigation.

“We don’t presume (that) this scientific research of what the causes of belief are necessarily undermines the beliefs,” Barrett said. “On the flip side, just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Barrett said developmental psychology has determined that faith in God is a universal human impulse, found in all cultures and grasped from a young age. Researchers will use a variety of methods to try to determine if faith in a deity is inherent to cultures worldwide and throughout human history.

Both religious believers and non-believers will make up the research team, said Barrett.

“I’m certainly not smug enough to think that in three years’ time we’ll have all the answers, but we’re building on things we know, and fully optimistic we’ll make progress,” Barrett said.

Posted: 3/14/08

Houston pulpiteer urges: Be a blessing

By Stephanie Orr

Texas Baptist Communications

HOUSTON—Be an avenue for God to work, not simply a pool of his blessings, pastors urged participants at the recent Baptist General Convention of Texas-sponsored African-American Leadership Workshop.

Louis Patterson, pastor of Mount Corinth Baptist Church in Houston, challenged the crowd to be a channel of blessing rather than simply a reservoir of praise.

Patterson, who has been recognized by Ebony Magazine as one of America’s greatest black preachers and inducted into the Morehouse School of Religion’s Hall of Preachers, described how the first generation of Israelites who were delivered from Egyptian bondage missed the blessings of the Promised Land. God allowed them to experience 40 years of pain, suffering and wandering in the wilderness in order to eliminate their pride, he said, comparing the Israelites’ attitude to modern Christians.

“We are proud, pious people—persistent to have our own way,” he said. God allows times of pain in order to break down pride and self-reliance, teaching Christians to rely fully on his provision and grace, Patterson stressed.

Patterson urged the audience to have a spirit like Caleb’s, in Numbers 13 and 14. While the Israelites were groaning and complaining, Caleb remained humble. He was a progressive thinker, positive in spirit and prompt in obedience, and God rewarded him by allowing him to see the land of inheritance, Patterson said.

Pastor James White of Abiding Faith Baptist Church in Baytown challenged conference participants to “know your purpose, your mission and your objective.” He pleaded for leaders to quit checking public opinion polls to see what others are saying about Christians. He reminded the crowd not to stage a production, preach a feel-good sermon or put on their “Sunday best,” in order to please others.

“It only matters what we think about ourselves and our purpose in Christ,” White said. People may try to bring Christians down because they do not understand their devotion to Christ, he warned.

“But don’t be afraid of people criticizing your God-given purpose,” he said.

Posted: 3/14/08

After a long dry spell, church
gives revival meetings another try

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

KILGORE—Pastor Eddie Hilburn hadn’t held a revival meeting at least five years in a church he had served. First Baptist Church in Kilgore had gone even longer without scheduling a revival—at least the last decade.

That all changed recently, when the congregation held a four-day series of events it called Life Fest featuring Jon Randles, who leads the Baptist General Convention of Texas Evangelism Team.

Food figured prominently. Life Fest began with a free steak dinner that attracted about 150 people—one-third of them not members of First Baptist Church.

The church also held lunch meetings designed for business people in its facilities, centered on a discussion of topics that would interest them. About 120 people turned out each day for lunch, including members who brought their entire offices for the meal.

And the meals achieved their desired effect. Nearly 250 people attended the nightly worship services.

Hilburn praised God for working through the church members. They enthusiastically prayed for their non-Christian friends and invited them to the church’s services. The invitation was natural, and their friends wanted to come to the church, he said.

“I think our church responded well,” Hilburn said. “They showed up. They kept bringing their friends. I felt so proud of them.”

During the services, Hilburn—who described the BGCT’s recent Engage evangelism conference as a time of “personal renewal”—at least a dozen people professed Christ as Lord for the first time. Other people made other spiritual decisions.

The events also created new relationships, including some on the campus of Kilgore Junior College, which the congregation hopes to build upon. Hilburn hopes to schedule a similar effort next year.

Posted: 3/14/08

Science has contributions,
limitations in end-of-life issues

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO—Science has made great contributions in helping people with end-of-life issues, but it also has limitations, Allen Verhey, professor of Christian ethics at Duke Divinity School, told the Texas Baptist Christian Life Conference.

“Today I invite your attention tonight to the end of life—and to the contributions and limitations of science at the end of life,” he said.

“I want to ask about the place of science at the end of life, its contributions to care at the end of life and its limitations, and I want to suggest that when those limitations are not recognized, care at the end of life can be distorted.”

Science has helped extend life and lessen people’s pain in some instances, Verhey noted. The advances in medicine have helped all of humanity.

But at the places of limitations—such as when someone is “brain dead,” but still “alive” because of respirators—faith plays an integral role in making ethical decisions, Verhey said. One’s belief system helps a person determine what death actually means, whether that is measured by loss of brain activity, the loss of functioning organs or the loss of both.

“Death is a human event,” he said. “It may not simply be reduced to the objective criteria used to determine it or a flat line on paper. When the criteria are not acknowledged as insufficient, we risk the sort of reductionism to which the neurologist gave voice. The tidy and eminently reasonable criteria for the determination of death do not quite fit with the messy and not altogether manageable experience of death.”

Posted: 3/14/08

Robbie Seay Band musically tells story
of ‘God who created and pursues us’

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

HOUSTON—On weekdays, Ecclesia Church in Houston serves as a community outreach center, farmer’s market, art gallery, coffeehouse and recording studio. On Sundays, its space becomes sanctuary to the homeless and drug-addicted, as well as to the high-profile attorneys and suburb-dwellers who fill its seats.

And it serves as home base for the Robbie Seay Band—worship leaders who shape the church’s identity and are shaped by it. Ecclesia’s services are a mix of liturgical elements such as weekly communion and communal prayer along with experiential worship, with artists painting during the service.

“The church should be a center for songwriting and creativity, where music and expression are vital to our faith,” said Seay, whose brother, Chris, is Ecclesia’s pastor.

“Worship is something that is bigger than any of us. It’s about who God is, what he is doing in our lives, his forgiveness and sovereignty. We share the story of Christ with our songs and hope that people not only connect with the music, but also find common ground with us—that we are all sinners in need of the God who created us and pursues us daily.”

Known for an alternative style that features insightful lyrics coupled with an equally edgy and engaging sound, Robbie Seay Band’s sophomore album, Give Yourself Away, finds the group pushing their musical craft to new levels. One of the songs from the album, “Rise” is being featured in commercials for the reality show American Idol.

“This project contains a lot of the stories of our lives from the past two years,” Seay said. “It is a missional record, almost a rebirth of how we’re seeing our faith and how we’re seeing a lot of young Christians respond to the great need around the world and at home.”

While the songwriting process is different for each song, Seay says, the goal remains the same—to create songs that will connect people to Christ.

“I knew even as a teenager that music was my passion, and somewhere along the way, music became a big part of my faith.  My responses to the love and grace of God began to show up in the lyrics of songs.”

Through the years, the Robbie Seay Band has developed a reputation for its honest approach to worship music, which is grounded in community and in the life journeys of each of its band members.

“As believers, we are being awakened to the call of Christ to give of ourselves, to live out life together honestly, in community,” Seay said. “As we find hope together, it pushes us to be proactive in our faith. If you choose God, then you are choosing a life of serving and giving to the poor and the oppressed.  That’s hard for us as believers to confront alone, and that’s where community steps in.”

Seay has seen the larger church community in Houston tested by the influx of Hurricane Katrina refugees, and he has been encouraged by the response.

“For the first time in a long time, I’ve been proud to say I was part of this bigger picture—a bigger church,” Seay said. “We’re always focused on what’s wrong with the church today, but seeing how communities responded to such immediate and desperate need—it was amazing. It wasn’t about race or denomination; it was about serving others the same way Jesus did on this earth.”

This experience and Ecclesia’s efforts in Africa inspired the song “Go Outside.”

“We really just became more aware of the need in the world and of how materialistic and selfish we are. That’s kind of where the record began to go outward. We’ve received hope and grace, and ‘Go Outside’ is about sharing that.”

At concerts, the Robbie Seay Band raises awareness of missions organizations and encourages audiences to put faith into action.

“Faith is fairly stale if we’re not active and aware of the need around us,” Seay said. “When we go back to Scripture, it’s full of loving the orphans, the widows and the poor, and you look at Jesus and who he was and come away with that.

“I hope my music and life somehow may serve to encourage other believers to be proactive in their faith. For it is only as we bless others and offer grace that faith goes beyond words and truly comes alive.”

Posted: 3/14/08

Study links subprime mortgage
crisis to U.S. poverty & hunger

By Matthew Streib

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—The poorest counties in the United States are among the hardest hit by the subprime mortgage crisis, according to a study released by the Christian anti-hunger advocacy group Bread for the World.

The report, titled “Home Ownership, Subprime Loans and Poverty,” found a strong correlation between poverty rates and percentages of mortgages that are subprime.

In eight of the country’s 15 poorest counties, which have poverty rates exceeding 40 percent, the percentage of homeowners holding subprime mortgages is even higher—up to 60 percent, according to the study.

Data in the study were compiled from a variety of sources, including the Corporation for Enterprise Development and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, said the inequity reflects an ignorance of the biblical condemnation against usury.

“The principle underlying the biblical warning against usury was that financial contracts, as important as they are, are still less important than basic human needs,” he said.

“If you were lending money to a really poor person, you couldn’t take his coat as security for the loan.”

Denunciations of usury—disproportionately high interest rates—are found throughout the Bible, including Exodus 22:25, which states, “If you lend money to any of my people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.”

Bread for the World contends the continuing effects of the subprime mortgage crisis and hunger are interrelated, since victims of high-risk mortgage lending often limit their food purchases because they are saddled with increasing payments.

“Since you can’t cut back on mortgage payments or renegotiate the price of gas, the only place where you can save money is food,” said study author Todd Post.

To counteract the prospect of increased hunger, Bread for the World is calling on lawmakers to increase emergency food assistance, to compel lenders to renegotiate loans if they do not do so willingly, and to strengthen nonprofit lending institutions, among other actions.

“Some of the poorest people are going to be forced into deeper poverty because of widespread subprime lending,” said Beckmann. “In a country such as ours, there is no excuse for people to go hungry because of this.”

Posted: 3/14/08

UMHB Easter pageant draws thousands
Standing as the risen Lord on the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor campus, Josh Hobratsch gives the Great Commission to all who will listen at the conclusion of the annual Easter pageant. Nearly 5,000 spectators gathered to watch three live Easter pageant performances March 12. The pageant involved about 200 students in the production. Hobratsch said he was grateful to play Christ but did not feel worthy. “I believe that as Christians we all have the task of living lives just like Jesus, no matter how demanding or impossible it may be,” he said.
	Senior management major Josh Hobratsch of Walberg portrays Christ carrying his cross as one of the Roman soldiers, Ryan Ohendalski of Huntsville, takes him through the crowd of onlookers on the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor campus. (UMHB Photos/Carol Woodward)
	Hobratsch portrays Christ hanging on the cross during the 69th annual UMHB Easter pageant.

Posted: 3/14/08

Texas Tidbits

HBU sues NCAA; seeks Division I status earlier. Houston Baptist University is suing the NCAA in an effort to reduce by four years its probation period to become a Division I athletic program. If successful, the school would have to wait two more years before becoming a top-level athletic program. The school joined the NCAA last year after being part of NAIA 17 years. Shortly before HBU petitioned to become a provisional member, the NCAA told HBU the governing body changed its constitution in April to increase the probation period from three years to seven. In the lawsuit, HBU contends an amendment like this requires a two-thirds affirmation by member bodies, which didn’t take place. HBU officials declined to comment on the case.

Hardin-Simmons takes steps to name search committee. Hardin-Simmons University trustees Chairman Hilton Hemphill will appoint a search committee and advisory committee to recommend a university president to succeed Craig Turner, who has announced plans to step down from the post May 31. Trustees authorized Hemphill to name the committees with input from both the board of trustees and the administrative council. Trustees will comprise a majority of the search committee, which also will include staff and faculty representatives. The advisory committee will include representatives from various Hardin-Simmons constituencies, including the board of development, alumni board, faculty, staff and student groups. Hemphill hopes to have the committees in place for an initial meeting in late March, and the search committee will consider employing a national search firm to seek and screen applicants. Hemphill said he hopes the process will be completed in six to nine months.

HSU trustees name interim leadership team. Hardin-Simmons University trustees have named Harold Preston, senior vice president for finance and chief operations officer, and Bill Ellis, provost and chief academic officer, as interim co-chief operating officers for the university when Craig Turner steps down as president. Preston and Ellis, together with the administrative council, will share the responsibility of managing operations under the oversight of representatives from the board of trustees. President Emeritus Jesse Fletcher also was tapped to represent the university in an expanded role where needed.

Truett hosts Women in Ministry Conference. Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary will host the Baptist General Convention of Texas semi-annual Women in Ministry Conference March 31. The conference—open to men and women—is geared toward students, ministers and anyone interested in learning more about women in ministry. Through general sessions and breakout meetings, participants will have the opportunity to interact with women who have answered a vocational call to ministry. A pre-conference worship service is scheduled at 7 p.m., March 30, in Truett’s chapel. To register online, visit www.bgct.org. The deadline for mail-in registration is March 20, and the online registration cut-off is March 24. For more information, contact Julie O’Teter at julie.oteter@bgct.org or (888) 244-9400.