Texas Baptist Forum

Texas Baptist Forum

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Gushing greed

The BP Gulf oil spill was unintentional, but it was not an accident. BP greed is an underlying cause of the oil spill disaster; greed is no accident.

BP cut corners to greatly enhance their profits and increase stockholders’ dividends. That was and is intentional. Greed is killing, or terrorizing, America. We put our country at risk by failing to address the greed problem.

Rand Paul, the Republican Senate candidate from Kentucky, called President Obama’s criticism of BP “un-American.” Is it also un-American and unpatriotic to criticize insidious, pervasive greed? It is a moral, spiritual issue that affects everyone. Should the church universal be silent when it comes to greed, or is it a part of the human condition we just have to tolerate—at our own peril?

Paul L. Whiteley Sr.

Louisville, Ky.

 

As inclusive as Jesus

The dismissal of Royal Lane Baptist Church from fellowship by the Baptist General Convention of Texas (June 7) gives me great concern for the future of churches in this organization.


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Are the sins of the practicing homosexuals so grave that we cannot allow them to serve in our churches? Churches throughout the state eventually will need to deal with the homosexuals among their members.

We are all God’s creation, from homosexuals to heterosexuals. Some individuals fall somewhere between these two extremes and can choose their lifestyles. Others have only the choice of whether they will live their lives alone or find a same-sex partner to share their lives.

I admire Royal Lane Baptist Church for standing by these Christians. Our organizations originally were formed to be of help to our Baptist churches, not to govern them. The BGCT can decide which sin is grave enough to dismiss a church from its fellowship. God’s love is inclusive. Being a member of a particular organization is not as important as doing God’s will and following Christ’s teaching to have this kind of inclusive love for all.

I have been a member of Baptist churches since a child and a professor at Baylor and Howard Payne universities. I pray that our churches, institutions and governing organizations can open their hearts to a love as inclusive as that of our Lord, Jesus Christ. They will need God’s guidance to deal with this more complex world.

Geraldine Fuller Boyd

Brownwood

 

Unanswered questions

The Texas Baptist hierarchy’s decision to excommunicate Royal Lane Baptist Church raised questions for me as a relational theologian.

Did Jesus exclude the prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, convicts, mentally ill, outcasts and other sinners from the kingdom of God? Or did the Jewish religious/political hierarchy exclude themselves from the kingdom of God?

How is proof-texting against homosexuality today different from proof-texting for slavery by Baptists in the 1800s? Has the legalistic exclusiveness of the Old Covenant become the Baptists’ norm, rather than the grace-filled inclusiveness of New Covenant lived out in the life and teachings of Jesus?

Do we Baptists use the Apostle Paul to interpret the life and teachings of Jesus, or do we use the life and teachings of Jesus to reframe and understand the writings of the sinful Pharisee?

Is the Holy Spirit more likely to be alive and well in the political/religious resolutions of the BGCT annual meetings or in the various inclusive ministries of Royal Lane Baptist Church?

Is homosexuality listed as one of the deadly sins? Has any of the BGCT hierarchy ever committed one or more of the deadly sins? Is the covenant relationship to God based on one’s sexual orientation, or is it based upon faithfulness?

Four hundred years ago, the over/above church state and state church misused and abused their power in relation to the down/under Baptists. Has the BGCT hierarchy misused and abused its power?

Does this excommunication reinforce the systemic suspicious relatedness, distrust and divisiveness of our Baptist history?

Herman Green

Rockport

 

Respect for presidency

I took my car to the dealer to be serviced and settled into a chair in front of the TV news program to wait. A woman to my left was reading the Bible, and after a moment, she asked, “Do you think (President) Obama knows what he is doing?” I replied: “I think so. He has done a pretty good job so far.” The lady recoiled, shaking her head as if she had just encountered the devil! Of course, I had a pretty good idea about her opinion when she didn’t use the president’s title.

Initially, I was slightly amused by the encounter. Then, I began to wonder how many churches are condoning or even encouraging this blind hatred of the president.

It’s one thing to disagree with the president. It’s something else to become so obsessed with hatred it affects one’s emotions.

I have observed presidents since Franklin Roosevelt—even worked for the White House during two Republican administrations—and none have been perfect. However, they were elected by the people, and none have deserved our contempt. If we fail to show any respect toward the president, it is a reflection on us and the God we claim to serve.

Carl L. Hess

Ozark, Ala.

 

SBC reflections

Three reflections on the Southern Baptist Convention (June 21):

Haven’t they been here before? I remember Bold Mission Thrust. It will be interesting to see what they can come up with to derail this “new” initiative.

To quote the article, “The committee drafted the recommendations to turn the convention’s focus toward ‘penetrating the lostness’ of the world.” My question: Where has the convention’s focus been?

I find it quite sad that Morris Chapman (and leaders of some Baptist state conventions and others) put up “stiff opposition” out of fear that “the changes will erode financial support for the convention.” What’s the real issue: Penetrating the lostness of the world, or the convention’s balance sheet?

Larry Burner

McKinney

 

Happiness in hell

Thirty years ago, when the civil war within the Southern Baptist Convention started, I stated this was not entirely about liberals vs. fundamentalists, although some of that was a factor. It was about independent Baptists vs. cooperative Baptists.

With the approval of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Forces’ report at the SBC annual meeting this summer, that observation has now been proven true.

The independent Baptists have ruled and won the day. Now, the SBC is little more than a shadow of itself.

Even Morris Chapman, retiring president of the Executive Committee and one of the leaders of the fundamentalists for the past 30 years, sees this. He admitted it when he challenged this divisive proposal.

I have said for decades that if I were the devil, the one thing I would want to destroy is the concept and practice of the Cooperative Program. Well, there must be a lot of smiling, dancing and back-slapping going on in hell today.

Bennie Slack

Gainesville

 

Missions heritage

I want to thank Randel Everett for his recent In Focus article titled “Is God calling you to be a missionary?”

My family and I have been reading a book on Texas Baptist history this summer. It is exciting to see how important missions work has been to Texas Baptists from our beginnings. It was enlightening to learn that our once-fledgling republic and state were at one time one of the greatest mission fields to Baptists.

Our state has gone on to send many missionaries to fields of harvest across our nation and around the world.

I am further encouraged to see our Texas Baptist leaders inspiring the leading families in our churches to consider missionary service as God’s calling for their lives. Recently, a church I attended had a leader from another of our state’s conventions mention that we have all the missionaries that Baptists need to reach the world for Christ sitting in the pews of our churches, unchallenged to go. Thank you for printing this challenge to Baptist Standard readers as well.

I pray now that the Lord will find many willing to answer his call.

Dwayne Anderson

San Marcos

 

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