BAPTIST PASTOR: ALLOW MOSQUE CONSTRUCTION
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DISASTER RELIEF TRAINING FOR HANDS-ON GOSPEL MINISTRY 9
BOYS CAMP STRIKES WHILE IRON IS HOT 10
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G LO B A L T H E O LO G I C A L I N N O VAT I O N ( G T I ) P R O G R A M
SWBTS REINVIGORATES DYING INTERNATIONAL SEMINARIES
Missions partnerships bear fruit in Montreal, Boston, Utah, Turkey By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent GRAPEVINE The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s multi-year partnerships in four regions—Montreal, Boston, Utah and Turkey—will formally end in 2015, and “There is cause to celebrate all that has been accomplished,” says Barry Calhoun, SBTC director of mobilization and fellowships.
By TEXAN Staff FORT WORTH At a June summit on its campus, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary hosted its thirdannual consortium of Baptist seminaries from Latin America and Spain, represented this year by more than 50 seminary presidents and academic deans from 20 countries in the Spanishspeaking world. The event was part of the seminary’s
Global Theological Innovation (GTI) program. “One of the major activities has been to actually establish the parameters of the consortium—the guidelines for relationships, guidelines for the recognition of academic credit between the different seminaries, etc.,” Professor of Missions Daniel Sanchez said. Since the first meeting of the consortium two years ago, these seminaries have seen increases in enrollment,
access to greater resources and an expansion of their educational reach through such means as online classes and extension centers. Beyond that, however, the annual summit provides a time for sharing information. This year included lectures— including three presentations on the Spanish Reformation— by various seminary presidents as well as Southwestern President Paige Patterson and Dean of Theology David Allen.
In addition, Peter Vavrosky, enterprise application administrator in Southwestern’s IT department who works closely with GTI, spoke about the utilization of technology, including methods for offering courses online. Finally, both Lifeway and the Digital Bible Society donated electronic resources (including Bible software and digital libraries) to each of the seminaries. See SWBTS, 7
Montreal In April 2015, the executive board of the SBTC approved a $150,000 grant to the North American Mission Board to assist missionary volunteer Woody Wilson in coaching church planters and student missionaries in Montreal, Calhoun said. The board also redesignated a $250,000 grant for use in the development of a church planting center located at La Chapelle Church, a 2013 church plant that grew to more than 900 attendees, with more than 80 baptisms and 200 decisions for Christ, by 2014. See SBTC PARTNERSHIPS, 6
SUPREME COURT
TEXAS SOUTHERN BAPTIST LEADERS RESPOND TO SUPREME COURT DECISION ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE By Bonnie Pritchett TEXAN Correspondent
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 June 26 that states cannot ban same-sex marriage and must recognize such marriages licensed in other states. As Southern Baptist pastors and ministry leaders across Texas and the nation processed the ruling’s implications, they reaffirmed the role of the church in America that is increasingly antagonistic to biblical Christianity. See SUPREME COURT, 2
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Calling the decision disheartening but unsurprising, Southern Baptist leaders said the ruling could bring to the fore additional attempts to redefine marriage, legal challenges to churches and religious ministries that do not comply with the new standard, and opportunities for the church to be a witness in the face of opposition. Jimmy Pritchard, pastor of FBC Forney and SBTC president, said the decision magnifies the need for a “fresh movement of God’s Spirit” to address the challenges ahead. Criswell College President Barry Creamer told the TEXAN, “Because we have understood sexuality and marriage as personal fulfillment rather than a social identity and responsibility, these decisions (along with myriad others, including no-fault divorce) were practically inevitable.” Evan Lenow, assistant professor of ethics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, agreed. In responding to the Supreme Court ruling, he said, “The logic of the decision grounds the definition and significance of marriage in the preferences of the individuals who want to enter into marriage. Although the decision acknowledges the longstanding history of marriage as a union of a man and a woman, the majority brushed aside that history in favor of the social whims of individuals.” In a first-person piece titled “Chutzpah and the Supreme Court,” Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson was more succinct.
“Today’s anticipated decision is a decision of five people in a country of millions to call something right that God has already called wrong,” Patterson said. Opposition to the ruling also came from the Texas capital. Moments after the ruling was announced, Gov. Greg Abbott Tweeted a statement, “Marriage was defined by God. No man can redefine it. We will defend our religious liberties.” Social media exploded as soon as the ruling was read by Justice Kennedy. Cries of victory from homosexuals and LGBT advocates were matched by calls for prayer and faith in God’s sovereignty by those opposed to the ruling. In his dissent of the ruling Roberts wrote, “The majority’s decision is an act of will, not legal judgment. The right it announces has no basis in the Constitution or this Court’s precedent.” He said those who gained a desired status by the courts ruling should celebrate that fact but “do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it.” In his majority opinion, Kennedy wrote of the evolving nature of marriage, such as women no longer given in arranged marriages or receiving social status only after marrying, and that “these new insights have strengthened, not weakened, the institution.” Creamer begged to differ. “The idea that marriage is stronger now than in the previous century or centuries can only make sense to someone with a worldview so skewed
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by individualism against social and community obligation that marriage itself has changed in meaning to him,” Creamer said. But as the culture luxuriates in the new paradigm, Creamer said faithful Christians will only become more identifiable as social outliers making “moral education in biblical ministry environments both more challenging and more significant.” As fidelity to biblical sexuality and marriage will make Christians more recognizable in the community and thereby open opportunities for sharing the gospel, it can also make them targets for social ridicule or legal action. In his dissent, Roberts stated, “It is one thing for the majority to conclude that the Constitution protects a right to same-sex marriage; it is something else to portray everyone who does not share the majority’s ‘better informed understanding’ as bigoted.” “[Roberts] warns that future conflicts regarding the free exercise of religion will arise,” Lenow said. “This is echoed in a recent opinion piece in the Washington Post in which the ACLU declares that it can no longer support the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” Arguing that the 1993 federal RFRA was intended to assist religious expression that “does no harm to anyone else,” Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, in a twisted view of religious liberty, wrote, “It’s time for Congress to amend the RFRA so that it cannot be used as a defense for discrimination. Religious freedom will be undermined only if we continue to tolerate and enable abuses in its name.”
Melling said RFRA has been used as “a sword to discriminate against women, gay and transgender people and others.” Paxton said it is the advocates for marriage equality who have sought to discriminate against those who hold to the traditional view of marriage. “This ruling will likely only embolden those who seek to punish people who take personal, moral stands based upon their conscience and the teachings of their religion,” Paxton said in a press release following the ruling. For Patterson, religious liberty could be the next domino to fall, saying, “The critical issue that many recognize is the future of religious liberty. In fact, without religious liberty, people are not really free at all.” Although he painted a similarly bleak picture of cultural repercussions stemming from the ruling, Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, wrote now is not the time for Christians to panic or express outrage. “Despite this ruling, the church of Jesus Christ will stand fast,” Moore said in a statement released by the ERLC. “We will not capitulate on this issue because we cannot. To minimize or ignore a Christian sexual ethic is to abandon the message Jesus handed down to us, and we have no authority to do this.” The commission issued an Evangelical Declaration of Marriage signed by mor than 100 evangelical leaders. It is an en masse dissention of the Supreme Court ruling and reiterates the biblical doctrine of marriage and human sexuality. Although Southern Baptist leaders admit the SCOTUS de-
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cision has disconcerting implications for the church and individual Christians they said “good riddance” to a cultural Christianity that brought people into the church and in line with a Judeo-Christian ethic but not into the kingdom of Christ. Many have emphasized the fact that the church has often flourished when it is in opposition to the culture. “I see this as an opportunity for the church to be a city set on a hill,” Lenow said. “Therefore, the church will have to stand with conviction on the truth of God’s Word against the changing tide of culture. No longer will people want to identify with our churches for social reasons—they will join us because of what we believe.” Creamer said, “Churches must begin to demonstrate extraordinary religion, one out of step with the broader culture, both in the level of kindness and grace with which every person is received and served by the community of the gospel, and in the conviction and purity with which the actual members of the body of Christ are identified.” Pritchard said the most important thing Christians can do now is pray. “It is time to extend the gospel to all. It is time to stand on Truth,” Pritchard said. “This can be our opportunity to let our light shine brightly.” Voting for the plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges were Supreme Court Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer, and Elena Kagan. Dissenting were Justices Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts.
Closure of Texas abortion clinics halted by Supreme Court By Bonnie Pritchett TEXAN Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. Texas abortion clinics due to close July 1 for failing to comply with regulations established in 2013 received a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court, which voted 5-4 June 29 to halt full implementation of the twice-contested House Bill 2 (HB 2) that established a sweeping overhaul of the abortion industry in the state. Though disappointed, Texans for Life President Kyleen Wright said the ruling is an indication the high court will take up the
case in the fall when it begins a new session. Implementation of the measures requiring abortion clinics to meet ambulatory surgical center standards and their doctors to receive admitting privileges at a nearby hospital were stayed pending an appeal before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. An application to the Supreme Court for a continued stay was granted and will remain in force until the high court decides to take up the case of Whole Women’s Health v. Lakey. If the court hears the case, the stay will stay in effect until a decision is rendered.
Pro-choice advocates cheered the order. Since the enactment of HB 2 during the 2013 legislative session, the number of abortion clinics has dwindled from about 41 to 16. A fully implemented law would have dropped the number to eight or nine. On June 9, the Fifth Circuit Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that declared the provisions pose an “undue burden” for Texas women seeking an abortion. The appellate court ruled the law could be fully implemented beginning July 1. Laws similar to the provisions of HB 2 have been passed and challenged in other states, but
pro-life advocates believe it will be HB 2 that will be presented to the Supreme Court. And although some pro-life advocates believe Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has “grown more pro-life” during his tenure on the bench, Wright is not confident in the court’s ability to judge the case on the merits of the law instead of emotion and public opinion. Media reports and publicity from pro-choice activists misrepresented the June 9 ruling. And despite evidence to the contrary, Wright said, “There has been a large and loud campaign that all clinics will be closed.”
If the Supreme Court takes up HB 2, it will have to define a term it created yet left up to interpretation by lower courts—“undue burden.” The subjective term has been the critical point upon which other abortion regulating laws have been challenged. Voting for the stay were Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Stephen G. Breyer, and Justice Elena Kagan. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. would deny the application.
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BAPTIST UNIVERSITIES APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT OVER OBAMACARE MANDATE By Art Toalston and Bonnie Pritchett WASHINGTON Houston Baptist University and East Texas Baptist University are appealing to the Supreme Court in challenging the Obamacare mandate to provide insurance coverage encompassing abortion-inducing drugs. HBU and ETBU in conjunction with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty along with Westminster Theological Seminary filed a petition July 8 with the high court in response to a June 22 ruling by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the mandate did not and, likely, would not “substantially burden their religious exercise.” In all, 56 cases involving 140 nonprofit plaintiffs have been filed against the mandate, according to the Becket Fund. HBU, ETBU, Westminster and four other plaintiffs contended in an October 2012 lawsuit against the mandate (also called the HHS mandate and Affordable Care Act mandate) that they should receive the same consideration as churches under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the federal Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA). A federal district judge ruled in the seven plaintiffs’ favor in December 2013. The threejudge appeals panel of the Fifth
Circuit in New Orleans, however, referenced challenges to the mandate in federal district courts and acknowledged that the lower courts had cited RFRA in ruling against abortifacient coverage mandated for faith-based institutions. But the panel disagreed, writing, “Because the plaintiffs have not shown and are not likely to show that the requirement substantially burdens their religious exercise under established law, we reverse.” Robert Sloan, HBU president, said in a Becket Fund news release July 8, “We didn’t go looking for this fight. But here we stand and can do no other. We cannot help the government or anyone else provide potentially lifethreatening drugs and devices. The government has many other ways to achieve its goals without involving us. It ought to pick one of those and let us go back to educating our students.” Sloan has noted that faithbased schools and organizations have been recognized by the government historically as parachurch institutions and afforded the same consideration as churches in matters of conscience and law. But only houses of worship can opt out of compliance with the ACA mandate requiring all employer insurance policies provide contraceptive and abortifacient
coverage—an untenable proposition, the plaintiffs argued. The plaintiffs are arguing that though their institutions serve a different purpose than churches, their underlying convictions and subordination to scriptural authority—as is often declared in their governing documents—is no less binding on how they conduct business. Therefore, the government’s distinction between entities, they argued, is arbitrary and an affront to people of conscience. One hopeful development in the challenges to the mandate, Sloan has said, is the Hobby Lobby case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the family-owned arts and craft retail chain could opt out of the contraceptive mandate because of the owners’ religiously held convictions. At the same time, however, Sloan has acknowledged that precedent is not in favor of the HBU, ETBU, Westminster appeal as the Fifth Circuit decision concurs with rulings in similar cases from appellate courts across the nation. The Supreme Court is likely to consider all of the petitions in late September or early October, the Becket Fund said in its July 8 release. If any of the petitions are granted, the case would be argued and decided before the end of the court’s term in June 2016.
For HBU, ETBU and the other religious institutions, failure to win their cases would force them to violate their consciences and provide the offending coverage; defy the mandate and pay “onerous” penalties; or partner with a third-party insurance provider to offer the contraceptive coverage. All three, Sloan has said, are unacceptable. Disregarding their Christian convictions is not an option. Paying the fine also is out of the question as the non-compliance penalty of $100 per employee per day would total $12 million and $8 million a year, respectively, for HBU and ETBU. “If we exercise our religious freedom, the penalties could put us out of business,” Sloan said. And asking a third party to provide the coverage still makes the school culpable for the objectionable coverage, Sloan said, noting that the university’s insurance provider is Guidestone Financial Resources, the Southern Baptist insurance provider also fighting the legal battle with the Obama administration over the mandate. Currently, as in other cases, a temporary injunction is shielding HBU, EBTU and the other five plaintiffs from enforcement of the mandate.
Texas, U.S. Congress launch investigations into Planned Parenthood By Bonnie Pritchett TEXAN Correspondent AUSTIN Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced July 15 that his office would investigate Planned Parenthood for allegedly selling body parts of aborted babies. The announcement came the same day that U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) announced a similar investigation into the organization and one day after an undercover video was released of a Planned Parenthood executive negotiating the sale of baby parts gained through partial birth abortions performed at its facilities. The nonprofit medical watchdog group Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released the video showing a woman identified as Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood Federation of America senior director of medical services, discussing the PPFA fetal parts business with
an undercover investigator posing as a potential buyer at a July 25, 2014, lunch meeting. “The Office of the Attorney General has launched an official investigation into Planned Parenthood following the release of a video that details the organization’s calculated slaughter of human babies to maximize the available body parts they plan to sell,” Paxton said in a statement. “The video offers a glimpse into an organization that knowingly and deliberately destroys human life to further its bottom line.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Paxton’s office as well as the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to conduct immediate investigations the same day the video was released. Goodlatte said the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation would focus on the “inhumane acts” detailed in the video. “Every human life is sacred and should be protected from
the atrocities allegedly undertaken by Planned Parenthood,” Goodlatte said. “The House Judiciary Committee is investigating these horrific acts including ascertaining how Congress might act. “The prospects of altering an abortion procedure in order to preserve intact the organs of aborted children, including their brains, reminds us yet again of the horrors of late-term abortions, and the need for the Senate to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.” In the video, Nucatola explains Planned Parenthood’s supposed baby parts business and discusses in detail the care Planned Parenthood locations take to ensure the delivery of intact body parts of aborted babies. “We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver,” she said in the transcript posted on the CMP website, “... so I’m not gonna crush that part. I gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush
above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.” Nucatola noted, “I’d say a lot of people want liver. And for that reason, most providers will do this case under ultrasound guidance, so they know where they’re putting their forceps.” Selling or buying human fetal tissue is a federal felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, according to Title 42 of the U.S. Code. Planned Parenthood decried the undercover video, calling the claims outrageous and untrue. In its defense, the organization said it “donates” fetal tissue for scientific research “with full, appropriate consent from patients and under the highest ethical and legal standards,” and that “there is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood.” House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) also responded to the “grisly practices embraced by
GUIDESTONE LOSES HHS APPEAL DALLAS — The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled July 15 that GuideStone Financial Resources and the ministries it serves in its health plans must comply with the government’s HHS mandate, which forces religious ministries to violate their faith or pay crippling IRS penalties. Churches and their integrated auxiliaries are exempt from the mandate as religious employers. GuideStone and its coplaintiffs—Reaching Souls International and TruettMcConnell College—are studying the opinion to determine next steps, including possible appeals to the full Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals or to the U.S. Supreme Court. “This is a disappointing decision, for both religious liberty and for the sanctity of life,” GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said. “Today was a setback. It is not the final outcome.” Both Reaching Souls and Truett-McConnell provide their health insurance through GuideStone, the benefits arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
O R G A N I Z AT I O N ACCUSED OF SELLING O R G A N S , B O DY PA R T S HARVESTED FROM ABORTED BABIES
Planned Parenthood” in a July 15 statement. Boehner said he asked various “relevant” committees to look into the issue, and he called on President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to “denounce, and stop, these gruesome practices.” Four other states have launched investigations into Planned Parenthood at the time of printing—Louisiana, Ohio, Georgia, and Indiana. Nucatola, who has served in her Planned Parenthood position since 2009, maintains an office in Los Angeles. The CMP video was obtained through its Human Capital project, a 30-month journalistic investigation documenting Planned Parenthood’s fetal parts business. —This story was compiled with reporting from Diana Chandler of Baptist Press and statements released by the offices of Ken Paxton, the House Judiciary Committee, House Speaker John Boehner.
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IT COULDN’T HAPPEN HERE ... Gary Ledbetter Editor
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ow and again, someone talks in public as though only his friends can hear him. That happened in Atlantic Monthly as a staff writer applied the Obergefell case on same-sex marriage to the possibility of legalized polygamy. Staff Writer Conor Friedersdorf was attempting to refute that claims of Fredrik de Boer that the legalization of same-sex marriage opened (and should open) the door for multiple-partner, legally recognized, civil unions. More on de Boer’s assertions later, but here’s where Mr. Friedersdorf seemed to forget that we were watching. His first argument against de Boer was that the battle for same-sex equality is not yet over. Fredrik de Boer had acknowledged that advocates for polygamous or polyamorous unions had stayed quiet to avoid giving ammo to conservatives who would assert a slippery slope toward any kind of union under the sun. De Boer’s point being that this is completely true and now it is safe for advocates to say so without endangering same-sex marriage. Here’s the good part, Friedersdorf says that one argument
against polygamy is that samesex marriage is still not the law in all places—advocates for multiple unions should remain quiet to avoid agreeing with conservatives. To be fair, Friedersdorf disagrees with polygamy for additional reasons. In doing so, he takes the role of “conservative” in this discussion. He argues that state-recognized polygamy is not a human right, for example. Well okay, many of us remember when abortion was not a human right and neither was samesex marriage. One might make the case that we only need to wait until the president’s views evolve a little more and Justice Kennedy becomes sympathetic to the suffering of polygamous people—presto-change-o, human rights! He also argues that polygamy is patriarchal and thus victimizes women and children. If we’re going to consider polygamy, let’s wait until our society is thoroughly egalitarian. This is not an argument against polygamy but rather one against polygamy right now. He is also saying that we need to make sure that the more powerless members of our society must be protected from likely and possible negative consequences of taking such a big step. Is the impact of institutionalized same-sex marriage more certain? How about the impact of same-sex
WHAT WAS ILLEGAL THEN, UNIMAGINABLE A DECADE BEFORE, IS NOW THE LAW OF THE LAND IN OUR COUNTRY. IF THERE IS NO MORAL REASONING BEHIND OUR LAWS, THEN ALL WILL BE DECIDED BY WHAT CAN BE MADE PRACTICAL OR POPULAR.
parents? If 40 or even 30 percent of Americans believe our nation’s embrace of new models of marriage and family will have victims, what evidence answers their assertion? Look at the religious and regional make-up of the court (Justice Scalia made this point in his dissent) and tell me that evangelicals in Texas or Oklahoma or Arkansas or anywhere between the Alleghenies and the Rockies had a voice. We believe, a majority in fly-over states, that same-sex marriage will not serve the common good—that it will have victims. We must grimace when samesex advocates argue against polygamy because it will harm the helpless. The arguments continue but this is enough to see what I’m saying. Both sides of this argument are monumentally wrong, but one side has a more valid point. The Supreme Court, in a series of decisions culminating in Obergefell, has removed moral arguments (what Justice Kennedy calls “bigotry”) for defining
marriage and family. Conservatives are not being hysterical when we say that laws even liberals this week consider negative are now imaginable, even a logical extension of what’s already the law. In the name of compassion and fairness another organization argues against the status quo because adults have a fundamental right “to sexual self-determination,” adding that “criminal law is not the appropriate means to preserve a social taboo.” Society is deemed cruel in this report, echoing Justice Kennedy’s rhetoric, by pointing out that this minority was being blackmailed, kept from their children and forced to live in secret to avoid society’s scorn. These points are made in the report of the German Ethics Council on incest. Their recommendation is that the possible negatives of those relationships are outweighed by the happiness of those who wish to openly and legally marry siblings. While Germany has not legalized in-
cest, the report was written by employed social scientists who were not hooted out of the room. The “reasoning” in this report is not dissimilar to the discussion of same-sex marriage in our country over the past 10 years. What was illegal then, unimaginable a decade before, is now the law of the land in our country. If there is no moral reasoning behind our laws, then all will be decided by what can be made practical or popular. That kind of change apparently takes a decade or so. The barriers are down. I’m not trying to be unfair. Multiple-partner relationships or the marriage of siblings will not be legally recognized anytime soon, unless public sympathies, unencumbered by reason or analysis, move that direction. When the more populous regions of our country do find polygamist or incestuous relationships romantic, the courts of that day will find an appropriate right to support that in the U.S. Constitution. There is no reason for them to say “no.” And people will march in the streets and praise them as wise and compassionate, even if they cannot now imagine such a thing. When you willfully flatten all the fences, you really have no say over what passes in or out of your former boundaries. Safety in that place is an illusion.
Should you apply to a seminary? Sookwan Lee
Pastor, Seoul Baptist Church in Houston
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hen someone is fired up by God and actively involved in church ministry, people often say, “Since you are blessed so much, you should go to a seminary.” I’ve heard this before. It is true that sometimes, because of such encouragement, some ended up attending a seminary. But there are several misunderstandings involved here. One is an incorrect perception of dedication. The second stems from the misjudgment of the role of a seminary. These misunder-
standings also contribute toward distorting Christianity. We commonly think that ministry work is only for seminary graduates, unless we understand the spirit of New Testament church. Because of this reason, in most churches, laymen are not allowed to do meaningful ministries such as counseling, visiting church members or leading Bible studies. In this situation, these individuals want to do such work so much because of their love and dedication toward God, so they decide to go to a seminary. However, a seminary is not a place to take these dedicated people of God and increase their faith, build their character and belief, and develop their gift of teaching and make them pastors.
Jim Richards, Executive Director
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Gary K. Ledbetter, Editor Keith Collier, Managing Editor Tammi Ledbetter, Special Assignments Editor Sharayah Colter, Staff Writer Gayla Sullivan, Circulation Manager Russell Lightner, Layout/Graphic Artist
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A seminary is rather a place to train a mature person of faith and character who is confirmed by the church and requested by the church to be a pastor and to do ministry work. That is why sometimes a seminary shakes up a person’s faith rather than advancing it. Therefore, there are cases where a person with faith goes to a seminary and ends up losing it. Sometimes a person who is not meant to be a pastor becomes one and experiences hardships for himself and also for his congregation. These days, we need devoted laymen who display faithful Christian lives in the world. In my mother country Korea and many other countries, because of the custom of
Contributors: Mike Ebert, Ronnie Floyd, Sookwan Lee, Bonnie Pritchett, David Roach, Jane Rodgers, Keith Sanders, Brandon Smith
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making devoted laymen into pastors, many pastors cannot find churches in which to serve. At this very hour, there are churches on every street, and there are too many seminary graduates, but it is difficult to find devoted laymen. According to the Bible, laymen are allowed to do ministry work (Ephesians 4:11-12). Based on this guideline, laymen should be trained to work on every facet of ministry work. Serving then becomes second nature as they learn to love and have compassion toward others and their characters are better built. Through these activities, they discover their God-given gifts or find the right place for them to lead Bible studies. Sometimes, it
is possible for them to be trained to be a professional counselor or a full-time ministry worker. At that point, the church should send the person to a seminary for training. Actually, for this reason, seminaries typically require recommendations of congregations (not of the pastors) for the applicants. In my church, small group leaders appear to be totally dedicated, especially to people who are outside of our church. Therefore, sometimes, they hear a suggestion to go to a seminary. I tell them to remember that a seminary is not a place to increase your faith, and I tell them unless the call of God is very clearly displayed in the church, please do not listen to these suggestions.
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UNITY IN TROUBLED TIMES Jim Richards Executive Director
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he news across our nation is ominous. Changes in attitudes and changes in laws have brought our communities to a point of moral crisis. Even in the Southern Baptist Convention, many of our measures of health are lagging or moving the wrong direction. Our cooperative ministry is being challenged from within and without. Instead of withdrawing to a myopic existence or drawing our circles of fellowship tighter, we must reach out with others. Everyone needs encouragement. We can do much more standing together. The Southern Baptists of Texas
“AMOS 3:3 ASKS THE QUESTION HOW TWO CAN WALK TOGETHER UNLESS THEY AGREE. WE CAN BE TOGETHER IN THESE CHALLENGING TIMES BECAUSE WE SHARE A COMMON CONVICTION ABOUT BIBLICAL TRUTH.” Convention has a broad tent of styles, preferences and methodologies. The SBTC has a defined parameter doctrinally in the Baptist Faith and Message (2000). Amos 3:3 asks the question how can two walk together unless they agree. We can be together in these challenging times because we share a common conviction about biblical truth. Churches will find inspiration and information Nov. 9-10 at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston. SBTC
President Jimmy Pritchard has led a “praying across Texas” emphasis this year. He, Ted Elmore and I have joined with pastors, staff and laypersons crying out for spiritual awakening in all 18 ministry zones of the SBTC. At the convention we will join our hearts in asking God for a fresh breath from heaven. A new format for the annual meeting will allow focused worship times, while most business will be concentrated in one session. During our time
together, we will celebrate what God is doing in Texas and beyond as we hear testimonies of people being saved, lives being touched and churcheshonoring Jesus. A special highlight during one session will be a panel discussion on one of the most pressing topics facing local church ministry. Stay tuned for the topic and participants in a future announcement. I’m also excited about a significant historical event that will take place Tuesday night of the annual meeting—the Baptist Missionary Association of Texas will join the SBTC for an evening of worship. The BMAT and Convention Baptists parted ways about 100 years ago. The BMAT and the SBTC remain separate ministries, yet for the first time in almost a century messengers
of the churches will jointly worship. Two reasons make this event possible. One is basic doctrinal agreement. We are both Baptist in every true sense of the word. Second, we recognize we are partners in the gospel not competitors. We are working together without compromising truth. The joint worship service fits well with our theme for the annual meeting: “Walking in Unity” (Ephesians 4:1-3). It is more than a catch phrase. Being united during these difficult days is vital, and our unity is found in a confessional fellowship. What we believe cannot be negotiated away. Let’s pray for God to use us in our state, nation and world. Join me at Champion Forest this November. I need you. We need one another. The world needs the gospel!
Do the mentally disabled go to heaven when they die? Keith Sanders
Pastor, First Baptist Church in Keller
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or those of us who are parents of children with profound mental disabilities, one nagging question often lingers in our consciousness: What will happen to our child when we die? We know that so long as we are living, our child will be loved and nurtured with the greatest of care. Once we are gone, however, our child will be dependent on those whose care, while wellintentioned, could never match that of a parent’s love. So, we
do our best not to worry about the future. We make financial plans as best we can, and make very sure that our life insurance is current. We remind the siblings of our special needs child that one day they may be called upon to be a caregiver, and we pray. As a Christian and a pastor, another question lingers: What will happen to my profoundly mentally disabled child when she dies? The question of accountability is one that Christians in general and Baptists in particular have debated for centuries. In recent years the phrase “age of accountability” has given way to the more appropriately termed “state of accountabil-
TO THE EDITOR, Dear Editor, Doctrinal precision is of critical importance to prevent ambiguity and errant conclusions, especially in the current cultural milieu. On June 15, while participating at CBMW’s SBC Pastors Panel and Breakfast, Dr. Danny Akin made two statements that were imprecise. First, Dr. Akin said the complementarian view holds that men and women are “equal in essence but different in assignment and function.” He leaves out a critical component, namely that men and women are different but complementary in assignment and function. The assignments and functions are not different merely for difference sake or due to some evolutionary process. The differences are complementary because the Creator had a specific design in mind.
ity.” This change makes room for those of all ages with childlike cognitive ability. The truth is that the Bible has very little to say about what becomes of the souls of infants and children who die and even less to say about what becomes of the souls of the mentally disabled. Some Baptists have appealed to the natural innocence of children and the mentally disabled as grounds for their entrance into heaven. In my opinion, there are two fundamental problems with that view. First, our experience with even very young children is that they sin. They lie. They steal. They have unjustified anger. In short, they behave like their parents.
Second, in answering the question “Are people born with a desire for homosexuality” Dr. Akin stated that we “can be born with same sex attractions,” “born with homosexual tendencies,” and that “our sinfulness is hard wired down to the DNA.” Is Dr. Akin implying that we are not morally accountable for homosexual predispositions, behavior, or orientation? In both these cases, my hope is that brevity has resulted in imprecise statements rather than a change in doctrinal stance. Charles Patrick Jr. Fort Worth, TX
Editor’s note: The July edition of the TEXAN contained a story on this panel, titled “Panel discusses transgender ministry, gender roles in the church.”
“IN SHORT, I AM MUCH MORE CONFIDENT OF GOD’S MERCY THAN I AM OF MY CHILDREN’S INNOCENCE. I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I KNOW THEIR DAD, AND HE IS A SINNER IN NEED OF GRACE.” The second, and more significant problem with the innocence view, is that it would seem to come in conflict with Scripture. In Romans 5:12 the Apostle Paul writes, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Many Baptists have historically affirmed the concept of imputed sin. The idea is that all humanity is guilty because of our relationship with our federal head, Adam. In fact, some of the oldest Baptist confessions included overt affirmations of this doctrine. The first president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary J.P. Boyce affirmed the doctrine of imputed sin. He wrote,
So, if children and the mentally disabled are not naturally innocent but go to heaven when they die—and every Baptist I know believes that they do— what is the basis for such salvation? Many Baptists throughout our history have based the belief in the salvation of children and the mentally disabled on the mercy of God. As Charles Spurgeon wrote, any other belief would be “utterly inconsistent with the known character of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We know that it was the Lord who said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.” The answer that has been most satisfactory to me, the father of a profoundly mentally disabled child, is that those … at the very moment of birth, who die outside of the state of the presence and possession accountability go to heaven of such a nature shows that based on the election, redempeven the infant sons of Adam tion, regeneration and mercy are born under all the penal- provided by God in the saving ties which befell their ances- work of Jesus Christ. In short, tor in the day of his sin. Actual I am much more confident of transgression subsequently God’s mercy than I am of my adds new guilt to guilt already children’s innocence. I know existing, but does not substi- this because I know their Dad, tute a state of guilt for one of and he is a sinner in need of innocence. grace.
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“Thanks to the generous partnership of the SBTC and the faithful leadership of pastor David Pothier, La Chapelle is now on track to plant one church per year until 2045,” NAMB Regional Mobilization Specialist for Canada Chad Vandiver said. “They are redefining church for their culture” and are eager to be trained to transform their generation through the gospel, Vandiver added. “Montreal has been incredible,” Calhoun affirmed, noting the ongoing support of church planter Michael Akinpelu by North Garland Baptist Fellowship as another result of the SBTC’s partnership in Montreal. “We have only just begun to send out church planters. We need more SBTC churches to partner with us,” said Vandiver, noting that Send Montreal will host vision tours Sept. 7-9 and Nov. 9-11 at the La Chapelle Church Multiplication Centre. More information is available at namb.net/montreal. “I am very grateful to Dr. Richards for traveling to Montreal and sharing his wisdom and experience with our team of church planters. His friendship on the field and his investment in the
lives of the Québécois believers has been a tremendous encouragement to us,” Vandiver said. Utah-Idaho In the United States, much has been accomplished through the SBTC’s partnership with the Utah-Idaho convention along the Wasatch Front, a 100-mile strip of land containing Utah’s major metropolitan areas: Salt Lake City, Provo and Ogden. The Wasatch Front is home to 2.8 million people, more than 80 percent of the state’s population. “The SBTC partnership … has been an incredible blessing in our church planting work,” said Rob Lee, UISBC director. “SBTC churches have assisted our church plants in providing funding, personnel, mission teams to help start new plants and assist in outreach events, even church plant team members who have moved here.” Several new church plants this year were made possible by the support and prayers of SBTC churches and members, Lee added. “Partnering with the SBTC has been like doubling the size of our state convention missionary staff,” Lee said, emphasizing the SBTC’s crucial role in assisting the UISBC’s priorities of sharing
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Christ, starting churches and strengthening churches. Among the most successful church plants is Lifestone in Herriman, Utah, started by Texas church planter Ben Helton and a team from Weatherford’s StoneWater Church. “The SBTC has always been ready, willing and able to discuss any needs we may have when I’ve contacted them. Jim Richards has been a good friend to me personally and has gone out of his way to speak to and pray for me when we see each other at various meetings,” added Send Salt Lake missionary Travis Kerns. Boston and Turkey Other SBTC partnerships concluding in 2015 include those with Send Boston and Turkey. In Boston, SBTC involvement has served mostly to “maintain and strengthen churches,” Calhoun said. “We’ve seen an increasing quality and health of the church plants, what we believe are going to be sustainable, ongoing, reproducing plants,” said Curtis Cook, pastor of Hope Fellowship in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and city coordinator for Send Boston. Plano’s Prestonwood Baptist Church has supported Hope Fellowship since the church plant began in 2003 and continues to
be involved in supporting area church plants financially and through mission teams. Regarding Turkey, SBTC missions consultant Terry Coy said a SBTC church planter attending an initial vision trip there felt called to relocate to the region and has done so with his family. El Paso’s Cielo Vista Church has come alongside the ministry to Turkey to provide support, Coy added. Ongoing and Future Partnerships As for the future, an SBTC partnership in Bangalore, India, will continue through 2016. Calhoun called this a “five-year plan to mobilize churches, help with IT infrastructure and encourage home churches.” Bangalore missionary Donald McKinney (name changed), reported that the SBTC has helped by providing mission teams and training for nationals. “SBTC volunteers went where almost no one else is willing to go!” McKinney said, noting that Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth provided assistance in the construction of a second floor training hall for the Indian Baptist Society. When construction costs unexpectedly escalated, the SBTC provided funds for its completion and furnishing, McKinney said, noting, “The facility is used three to five days
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per week to teach evangelism, doctrine and church ministry to laymen and pastors.” A one-time SBTC grant of $100,000 to fund expansion of training into remote areas will bear longterm results as the Indian Baptist Society leadership has put that money into a “guaranteed perpetual endowment that is drawing 9.5 percent annual interest,” McKinney said. “When Barry Calhoun and a team of pastors came to our city to visit and serve … they ‘jumped right in’ and joined in our labors,” McKinney said. “Most of all, they left us with the assurance that lots of prayer would be coming for us. We are indebted, grateful and joyful for all that the SBTC has invested in our work.” As for this hemisphere, Calhoun identified two mission trips to Ecuador planned for August and November 2015 to be led by Tony Mathews, pastor of North Garland Baptist Fellowship. In anticipation of these, in February 2015, the SBTC sponsored an Ecuadorian summit in Arlington, Texas. The mission target will be AfroEcuadorians, Spanish-speaking descendants of former slaves. As SBTC partnerships end in Montreal, Boston, Utah and Turkey, new partnerships have been established with Australia and Send Seattle.
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A byproduct of the meeting was the formation of what Sanchez calls “regional consortiums.” For example, the seminary in Cali, Colombia, reestablished ties with the seminaries in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela so that these institutions may work cooperatively. Leaders of the three Baptist seminaries in Cuba established stronger ties between their institutions, as well. Such regional collaborations allow for mutual recognition of course credit, exchange of professors and sharing resources like syllabi and bibliographies. “The summit exceeded our expectations because of the enthusiastic participation, the receptivity on the part of the seminary presidents and deans, the spirit of collaboration between the seminaries, and the expanded vision that is evident now in these seminaries,” Sanchez says. “We are rejoicing over the fact that the Lord is allowing us to have a part in this and are just thrilled at the results that we’re seeing already.” Southwestern’s GTI program is a comprehensive effort to “undergird and strengthen global Baptist theological education—reaching, teaching and equipping the next generation of international theological educators, pastors, missionaries and church leaders,” according to Brent Ray, director of GTI and associate director of the World Missions Center at Southwestern, in an article in the spring 2015 issue of Southwestern News magazine. As such, the program extends beyond Latin America to support more than 70 seminaries around the world through partnerships with international Baptist conventions and “Champion
Churches” in the states. “Through the Champion Church program, GTI seeks to identify Southern Baptist Churches that are (1) committed to both the Cooperative Program and our denominational mission efforts, but that (2) also have a passion for direct, personal involvement in ministry projects in evangelism, discipleship, leadership development, theological education and human needs efforts on the foreign field,” Ray says. “GTI then works with the leadership of that Champion Church to develop a ministry covenant and partnership agreement based upon the needs of the seminary partner abroad.” Southwestern continues to look for churches interested in partnering through GTI. Ray says the need for GTI stems from denominational mission agencies moving away from formal theological education over the past 40 years, including the International
Mission Board’s strategy shift in the 1990s under then-president Jerry Rankin’s “New Directions” initiative. “The net result of these withdrawal strategies has been a marked reduction in all forms of sound, biblical theological education on a global scale,” Ray says. “In fact, many of our Baptist convention partners have watched helplessly as their seminaries, once staffed and/ or assisted by IMB missionary personnel, have withered and died—several closing their doors forever. The sudden, unexpected withdrawal of missionary personnel from these schools left many Baptist seminaries, Bible institutes and even national Baptist conventions without the means to support faculty, maintain programs or even preserve the physical campus that once served as a training center for local church leaders, missionaries, theological educators and denominational leadership.” Through GTI, Southwestern regularly sends its own profes-
(left) Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson speaks to students and faculty at a Brazilian seminary. (top right) GTI Director Brent Ray teaches a class in Central Asia Baptist Theological Seminary. (bottom right) A student at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary looks for a book in the seminary’s theological library. Southwestern’s Global Theological Innovation program supports more than 70 seminaries around the world through partnerships with international Baptist conventions and “Champion Churches” in the states.
sors to these international seminaries to teach and encourage leaders and students. The spring issue of Southwestern News magazine features stories on Champion Churches and the ongoing work of GTI in Brazil, Portugal, Ecuador, Central Asia, Lebanon and the Philippines. In his introductory letter in the magazine, Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson calls GTI “one of the most remarkable developments” in the history of the institution, describing his vision for the program and the supernatural way God brought it together. “Remember that this movement is about training the leaders of innumerable countries around the world to do the impossible and reach their nations for Christ,” Patterson says. GTI also influences the missionary efforts of these seminaries, which often can access
areas of the world easier than missionaries from the United States. For example, in a story on the work in three Brazilian seminaries, Ray shares about the missions impact of these seminaries in Portuguesespeaking Muslim contexts such as Mozambique and Angola. Similarly, the partnership with Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut, Lebanon, equips students who minister in countries such as Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Iraq and Syria. For more information on the GTI program, go to swbts.edu/ gti. To read the spring edition of Southwestern News magazine, which features the GTI program, go to swnews.org. —This story compiled by TEXAN staff from reporting by Alex Sibley, senior staff writer at Southwestern Seminary, and stories in the spring 2015 edition of Southwestern News magazine.
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TRUSTEES: ‘THIS IS NAMB PHASE II’ By Mike Ebert NAMB Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell shared updates and a new “NAMB Phase II” vision with the entity’s trustees during their June meeting. “We are going to have the very best,” Ezell said. “Premiere assessments, training and coaching. Southern Baptists deserve that.” Ezell said NAMB wants to see as many new churches as possible. But he noted the entity will give greater focus to quality, not quantity as church planters receive foundational assistance. As the meeting started, Tommy Greene, the newly elected executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention, shared words of encouragement and challenge from Ephesians 5:15-16, which admonishes believers to make the “most of every opportunity because the days are evil.” Once the Florida convention passes its budget this fall, Green said, 51 percent of Cooperative Program giving will leave the state for national and international SBC causes. “And that’s not the end,” Green told trustees during
their June 15 meeting in Columbus, Ohio. “Pray that Florida one day—and I pray that it will be very quickly—will be a state that’s sending 60 percent and keeping 40 percent.” What NAMB is able to accomplish now is “because of men and women who have come before us who laid the foundation and made some very stern decisions,” Ezell said. He introduced Ronnie Yarber, a retired Texas pastor who helped form the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and served on its staff. Yarber served as a Home Mission Board trustee from 1981-89 during the time when the SBC was engaged in pivotal battles over issues that included inerrancy of Scripture. “It was a difficult, difficult period of time for those eight years that I served,” Yarber said, “out of which God did wonderful things. “You are under the direction and leadership of one of God’s great men,” Yarber said. “Work with him, pray for him, follow him and God has greater days yet for Southern Baptists. I believe with all of my heart.” In his remarks to trustees, Ezell outlined a potential new way for NAMB’s work to be
North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell, left, introduced NAMB trustees to retired Texas pastor Ronnie Yarber who served as a Home Mission Board trustee in the 1980s. PHOTO BY SUSAN WHITLEY.
organized: Send Network and Send Relief. While not yet ready to present a final plan, Ezell said Send Network will be “all about church planting.” Ezell highlighted the process through which NAMB will take church planters. “We want you to know that we do our due diligence,” he said. “We run them through the car wash and they come out much better than when they started and we have a real good analysis of where they are.” Coaching will be added to NAMB’s church planter process, Ezell noted. “We are going to make sure that every church planter is
not walking the road alone,” he said. “That they have a sending church but they also have a coach who has been there, done that, walking [with] them and helping them navigate that.” Send Relief will bring resources and volunteers to needs such as hunger, military family support, sex trafficking and exploitation, disaster relief, monthly mission construction projects and others. Ezell said he would bring additional details about Send Relief to trustees during their October meeting. Evangelism, mobilization, chaplaincy, partnerships and mission support services will run across and serve both Send
Network and Send Relief. “These are good days,” Ezell told trustees, “but let’s not take them for granted. Let’s not take our eye off the goal. We have to keep our eyes focused and keep moving ahead.” In other business: 4Ezell reported that 53.92 percent of NAMB’s budget will go toward church planting in its 2015-16 budget year. It was only 18.1 percent of the entity’s budget in 2011. 4Ezell announced that Fred Luter will serve as NAMB’s National African-American Ambassador. See related story. Luter is immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention and he will continue serving as pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. Luter will help NAMB mobilize efforts to increase the number of African-American churches in the SBC from the current 4,000 to 5,000 during the next five years. 4NAMB chief financial officer Carlos Ferrer reported revenues from all income sources including the Cooperative Program and Annie Armstrong Easter Offering are running 2 percent over budget and expenditures are running below income.
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PREPARED FOR THE WORST:
DISASTER RELIEF TRAINING EQUIPS CHURCH MEMBERS FOR HANDS-ON GOSPEL MINISTRY “Some of the best fellowship you will ever experience” may well happen on a DR deployment, Stice told volunteers, describing how DR teams gather in the evenings to debrief, pray and share what has happened in the field each day. Spiritual preparation is as important as physical and emotional preparation for DR volunteers, Stice said. “Poverty and disaster go hand in hand sometimes. It hurts,” he stated, calling volunteers to be people of prayer and Bible study. Stice also urged trainees to familiarize themselves with the gospel tract, “Hope in Crisis,” based on the book of Job.
By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent FLOWER MOUND Seventy-five volunteers representing 20 churches across Texas gathered at RockPointe Church in Flower Mound, April 11, to learn from disaster relief veterans at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s (SBTC) Phase I Disaster Relief day-long training. They left as fully certified DR volunteers or “yellow hats.” The April event was only one of several SBTC DR trainings held this year. Chainsaw and advanced training sessions have also occurred. “We trained almost 500 new volunteers this spring. Many of those deployed during the recent DR responses,” said Director of Disaster Relief Scottie Stice. “Expect to share your faith when you deploy,” Stice told newly minted volunteers at the April training as he reviewed biblical foundations, philosophies, policies and procedures undergirding SBTC disaster relief. “We need you to deploy,” Stice continued, noting that the SBTC has DR funds, trailers and trained volunteers but needs workers to be available when disaster hits. “Tornado, hurricane, terrorist attack— when things are disrupted, we get ready.” Volunteers have listened. Since the April training, SBTC DR teams have deployed to Houston, Van, Jacksonville, San Marcos, Wimberley and Martindale in response to tornadoes and flooding, providing physical assistance and spiritual help. “We praise God for the 45 recorded professions of faith in Wimberley and Martindale,” Stice noted. When disaster strikes and assistance is requested by local or government agencies or Baptist entities like the North American Mission Board or the International Mission Board, the SBTC’s DR organization responds. Task force directors mobilize volunteer networks and deployments take shape. At the RockPointe training, Stice urged churches and individuals to contact SBTC DR when they hear of disasters in their areas. One-day deployments are not uncommon, Stice also noted. In longer disasters, volunteer teams generally serve for a week, relieved by other teams that rotate in. DR volunteers usually use vacation or personal time to
deploy. “Do not put your job in jeopardy,” Stice urged. In the field, teams follow strict protocols. The leadership structure is indicated by the colored caps worn by volunteers. The “white hat” is the overall incident leader while “blue hats” are team leaders. Both of these groups have undergone advanced leadership training. Team members— “yellow hats”—adhere to this chain of command to ensure order and safety. During the April training, Stice allayed the group’s concerns regarding preparedness. “Veterans always go with new volunteers on deployments,” he explained, noting that among the most important assets of a DR volunteer is “a willing and cooperative spirit.” Besides willing spirits, DR volunteers need steel-toed rubber boots, work gloves, sleeping bags, cots, blankets, pillows, tetanus shots, other immunizations and DR certification. Volunteers asked to use personal vehicles are reimbursed for mileage or gasoline, and volunteers traveling to DR sites are reimbursed for reasonable meal and lodging expenses. Quoting retired SBTC DR director Jim Richardson, Stice added, “We want you to eat like royalty: Burger King, Dairy Queen.” SBTC DR task forces include volunteers trained in clean up and recovery, feeding, chaplaincy, operations, communications, child care, water purification, and showers and laundry service. The Phase I morning training at RockPointe featured task force representatives providing instruction in the basics of these areas, and the afternoon’s general session introduced them to overviews of all DR areas.
Clean Up & Recovery One-third of Saturday’s Phase I trainees participated in the clean up and recovery training session led by Monte Furrh, who shared DR “war stories” while outlining procedures and safety issues. Recalling an episode in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Furrh told trainees that when his SBTC clean up and recovery team pulled into a New York neighborhood to help, they were greeted with questions of “How much is this going to cost?” “Nothing. Jesus Christ paid for it,” Furrh replied to the astonished homeowners. Clean up and recovery in areas damaged by storms may involve removing mud from flooded homes; removing damaged sheetrock up to the water line; treating affected areas with an anti-mold solution; and removing cabinets, fixtures, flooring and even bathtubs. DR volunteers also remove damaged furniture and appliances. “The homeowner is always the boss,” Furrh emphasized.
“If the homeowners say not to remove that sheetrock or those cabinets, we don’t. We explain the hazards, but they make the final decision.” Clean up and recovery units may also include chainsaw work, but Furrh said, “You will not cut down a tree with the SBTC unless you go through training,” adding that safety is paramount and SBTC chainsaw training, led by Jim Howard, is second to none. Not Just Physical Work While much of the visible ministry of DR teams involves physical labor, volunteers never forget the spiritual aspect of their work. For this reason, SBTC deploys trained chaplains with all SBTC teams during disasters. “Ours is a ministry of presence,” Gordon Knight, SBTC director of chaplains, told trainees. “The main purpose of our training is to give people hope.” Giving people hope in the Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate aim. Rich fellowship also occurs among DR team members during deployments, Stice said.
Prepared to Go When the SBTC is asked to deploy and the alert level changes to “standby,” teams are prepared to go within 24 hours. Many times, DR teams arrive in a disaster area before other relief agencies or emergency service personnel. Although Texas crises have abated for the moment, SBTC DR teams stand ready. “We are resting up now as we enter the late summer and fall hurricane season,” Stice noted. Internationally, SBTC DR teams also deployed in June to the Sindhupalchowk province of Nepal, northeast of Kathmandu, to minister in earthquake relief efforts there. Garry and Sherry McDugle are serving as SBTC DR team leaders in Nepal. “We have had two teams in Nepal and more lining up to deploy in the coming months,” Stice told the TEXAN. Despite a solid core of volunteers ready to go at a moment’s notice, there is always room for more. Churches wishing to know more about DR training or outfitting DR trailers should contact the SBTC for further information. See sbtexas.com/dr.
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AS IRON SHARPENS IRON: HANDS-ON METAL WORK TEACHES BOYS SPIRITUAL LESSONS By Keith Collier Managing Editor NEWTON Deep in the East Texas Pineywoods, more than 200 elementary-age boys worked with their hands and were “forged” into followers of Christ during the third annual East Texas Baptist Encampment (ETBE) Boys Camp, June 7-10. Keeping with this year’s theme, “Iron Sharpens Iron,” 1st-6th grade boys learned skills of the trade from master blacksmiths, certified welders, and professional knife makers as they hammered out a sword on an anvil, welded pieces of metal, and fashioned their own knives. “We have a master blacksmith that is teaching them how when iron is heated, it can be shaped and sharpened, which goes along with our theme,” Jason Glenn, pastor of Call Junction Baptist Church in Kirbyville and director of the four-day camp, told the TEXAN. “And God molds us that way. He molds us by all kinds of fires that we go through, and we’re tried by fire. It gives (boys) an opportunity to use a hammer and an opportunity to do something cool. They’re going to fool with fire, and they can see how things are shaped. And, hopefully, we can teach them that they’re going to be shaped in the same way.” Glenn, a former farrier and electrician, said God laid on his heart several years ago a desire to teach boys spiritual principles through hands-on activities. The first ETBE boys camp focused on Jesus as fully God and fully man, while boys learned about Jesus’ life as a carpenter. Last year’s theme was “Fishers of Men,” where boys learned to make lures and competed in a fishing tournament in addition to being challenged to be disciples and make disciples as they share their faith. “I wanted a time where we could spend with just boys and men and not be in a co-ed situation—not that it’s wrong, but I just wanted to be able to talk to the boys without the things of the world on their minds,” Glenn said. “Boys have an attitude … and men do too … where we don’t want to learn from each other. We try to do it independently; we don’t learn from the expe-
(top) A boy hammers on a heated piece of metal to fashion a knife. (middle left) Camp pastor Scott Hawk explains how Jesus can shape a boy’s life. (middle right) A certified welder adjusts a welding mask on a boy during a demonstration. (bottom) Robert Wilson of Henry Brothers Knives in Kirbyville demonstrates sharpening techniques on a grinding wheel.
riences of others. And this being a mentor-type camp, they’re going to have to work shoulderto-shoulder with these men and learn their experiences.” Glenn said the camp gives boys a chance to unplug from technology and other distractions, opening the door for meaningful conversations about Christ. “We want to do our part so we don’t lose this generation,” Glenn said. “We’re wanting them to be men, and God wants us to raise men. In our world today, the line is all mixed up
on what makes a man a man. … We’ve seen kids get exited about experiencing things that some of us grew up doing, but they never get a chance to do it.” When ETBE Executive Director Andy Narramore came on to manage the encampment in 2011, he recognized that their girls camp was thriving but their boys camp had died four years earlier. As he began to pray and share his vision to revive the boys camp with
area churches, Glenn came along and said he would direct the camp. The numbers have grown each year, and boys are accepting Christ and growing in their relationship with God. “The neat thing about it is that the men are here—all ages, from young daddies to high school and college kids that want to be good role models to grandfathers—doing men’s stuff, and the boys love it,” Narramore said.
This influence of men in the lives of boys is a primary emphasis at the camp, so much so that they intentionally schedule it for four days beginning on the weekend so men only have to take a couple of days off work. “We want (the men) to be involved, to get in there with those kids,” Glenn said. “It’s not a vacation time; we want you with them, teaching them all the time.” The added benefit comes as these relationships between men and boys continue in churches throughout the year. Glenn and others are currently writing a discipleship curriculum called Apprenticeship of the Master to aid churches in this process. “Years ago, let’s say a master wagon-maker, would take a young boy on and teach him how to build wagons. And then when that master would get old and could no longer handle it, the young boy would take over and take care of that older man. In the same way, we as children of God need to do that. That will bridge the gap between (generations) in the church. With these older folks investing in these kids and the kids seeing ‘that old man is cool, we can hang out with him,’ then we can bridge those gaps, and that’s what we’re working toward.” Throughout the week, boys hammered on a sword that the blacksmith fashioned into a show sword to mount on a wall at the camp. They also learned about welding techniques and safety, which led to discussions about the unbreakable bond Christians have with one another in Christ. A knife maker from Henry Brothers Knife Company in Kirbyville continued the week’s theme, explaining how to make a knife and the proper way to sharpen it. “We’re about trying to transfer the faith any way we can,” Glenn said. Next year’s theme will involve leatherworking, and boys will be taught that as Christians, they are marked by God and must represent him well in the world.
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VBS 2015 FOLLOWS ‘TEAM-EFFORT’ THEME WITHIN CHURCHES AND WITHIN TEXAS Sharing of resources between churches and multi-generational participation boost summer’s ministry to children and their parents. By Sharayah Colter Staff Writer
Vacation Bible School, a staple in most Texas churches, serves as a tried-andtrue, longstanding ministry to which many adults trace their salvation. This year, throngs of Texas children have participated in these generally weeklong efforts. So far, many have already placed their faith in Christ and for the first time recognized him as Lord and Savior. At Southcrest Baptist Church in Lubbock, 39 children made professions of faith during what turned out to be the church’s best-attended VBS week ever with nearly 300 children from the church and community joining in the festivities.
Pam Copeland, director of children’s ministries for Southcrest, said VBS plays a vital role in evangelism and discipleship, thus making it a priority for the West Texas congregation. “We recognize that VBS can be the number one outreach tool for reaching children, and by reaching the children, you’re reaching the families,” Copeland said. This understanding has led Southcrest to share its resources with other churches when their VBS week ends. Southcrest passed its VBS decorations, curriculum, and supplies to four other churches—one in Decatur, Texas; one in Colorado; one in Post, Texas; and one that is a Hispanic congregation meeting in Southcrest’s building. But it doesn’t stop there. Copeland said two churches from Wichita Falls used the resources Southcrest sent to Decatur once that church was done using them. The team-effort mentality among the churches allows congregations of all sizes to join together with the common goal of reaching children. On a LifeWay webpage gathering comments about VBS experiences from across the nation, Debbie Robertson of
Brice Hester teaches older children at Inglewod’s VBS, where evangelistic outreach in advance encouraged increased attendance from beyond the church membership. PHOTO BY RACHEL NORTON
First Baptist Church of Brownsville left several weeks prior to VBS. The whole a glowing report about how VBS went church also joined in handing out VBS at her church this year. invitations in the community. “First our crew made a life-sized tree“A personal touch means the world,” house for our main stage,” Robertson Norton said. “We encouraged our wrote on July 4. “Tonight was over- church members to really go out and to whelming! It was our last night of VBS. hand that to someone in the community Twenty-one baptisms at VBS tonight and personally invite them to VBS.” with more to come on Sunday! After the And they did. And because they did, baptisms the kids had a musical perfor- a little boy who received an invitation mance, then we headed out for an eve- while grocery shopping with his mom ning of FUN!” attended VBS at Inglewood and acceptCopeland shared Robertson’s enthu- ed Christ as his savior. siasm about VBS and said she was really pleased “DON’T GET SO CAUGHT UP IN THE STUFF with LifeWay’s curriculum THAT DOESN’T MATTER AS MUCH. MAKE SURE this year. THAT THE GOSPEL IS PRESENTED. MAKE SURE “What we want kids to know—first and foremost— EVERYTHING YOU DO IS CENTERED ON A is to hear about Jesus Christ BIBLICAL FOUNDATION.” and his amazing love,” Copeland said. “But also that —RACHEL NORTON, MINISTER OF PRESCHOOL & CHILDREN, INGLEWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH, GRAND PRAIRIE they have to go and tell— that part of their job is to go and tell and give to others.” Copeland said that this year South“That just sends chills up my spine,” crest wanted to give working parents Norton said as she relayed the story. a better opportunity to serve at VBS, Two other children also accepted Christ so they opted to for an evening sched- during the week. ule as opposed to the morning schedule Stories like that, she explained, are they’ve had in past years. To further help the reasons VBS is still such an imporfacilitate church-wide involvement, the tant ministry that requires and deserves church hosted a dinner for those inter- the involvement of a whole church. The ested in signing up and held a training gospel must be made the focal point of event before VBS week in addition to everything that happens at VBS. having their pastor’s endorsement and “Don’t get so caught up in the stuff encouragement from the pulpit. that doesn’t matter as much,” Norton Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand said. “Make sure that the gospel is prePrairie also made an intentional ef- sented. Make sure everything you do is fort to get the entire church involved centered on a biblical foundation. Make in VBS week—something minister of sure your leaders and teachers are preschool and children Rachel Norton trained to that they can share the gospel found very encouraging. at a moment’s notice. Make that the foNorton said their 65 volunteer ranged cal point. Then, allow everything else to in age from teens to those well into their be an enhancement of the week. 80s and that whether the job was greet“My advice would be to identify what ing families at the door, cutting apple your priorities are as a church and kid’s slices, or playing on the floor with chil- ministry. For Inglewood, our top pridren, the congregation’s team effort orities included Bible study, the gospel, made a big difference. safety, relationship building and inten“I was very impressed with the way tional community focus in our planning everybody stepped up and took part,” and preparation for VBS. Other elements Norton said. of VBS are important tools that enhance The group effort began long before the VBS experience, and the kids enjoy the first day of VBS, though. Through an them. Nothing is sweeter, however, than outreach ministry of the church called seeing church members pour into the Mission Grand Prairie, church members lives of children and their families and shared the gospel throughout the com- then witnessing someone come to know munity and held backyard Bible clubs Christ as a result of VBS.”
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NORTH TEXAS PASTOR URGES CONGREGATION NOT TO PROTEST MUSLIM CONSTRUCTION By Sharayah Colter Staff Writer
In response to brewing controversy over proposed construction of a Muslim cemetery, mosque and training center in his town, First Baptist Church of Farmersville pastor Bart Barber wrote in a July 9 blog, mostly directed Bart Barber toward his church body, that fighting to block the construction would be a bad idea on at least four fronts. Barber explained that in saying the city should block the Islamic facilities, Christians would be communicating more than they realize, including that they have little confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ as the “power of God unto salvation.” A move to block the construction, Barber wrote, communicates fear that while the “schemes and labors” of other religions and cults have yet to defeat the gospel, perhaps they may succeed this time. The Bible, he wrote, citing Spurgeon, does not need defending so much as it needs preaching. Second, Barber said an effort to block the Muslim buildings would communicate a lack of care about spiritually lost people, “so long as they aren’t too visibly active in our neighborhood.” Instead, he said, Farmersville Christians should look on the bright side—they no longer will have to “pay thousands of dollars for airplane tickets to share the gospel with these Moslems.” “We just saved a lot of money,” Barber wrote. “We just broadened the opportunity for how many of our local Christians can participate in crosscultural evangelism!” Third, Barber said opposition to the project would effectively tell the government they ought to favor religions they like and “make life impossible” for those they do not. “And this is a particularly foolish time for us to be articulating that point of view so persuasively,” Barber wrote. “We’re less than a month past a Supreme Court decision in which four justices warned us about serious threats to religious liberty that are coming our way. Tell me, please, how do you expect us to argue at the national level with a straight face that we believe in religious liberty for all people while
“WE JUST SAVED A LOT OF MONEY. WE JUST BROADENED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR HOW MANY OF OUR LOCAL CHRISTIANS CAN PARTICIPATE IN CROSS-CULTURAL EVANGELISM!” —FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF FARMERSVILLE PASTOR BART BARBER
at the local level we’re running the Moslems out of town on a rail? “I tell you, my friends, whatever the city government does against an Islamic training center today, they’ll be doing it against Bible-believing, Bible-preaching churches in twenty years. Mark my words. And if you tell the City of Farmersville today that you want them to have and to exercise this sort of power, your objections on that day are going to ring pretty hollow.” Last, Barber said that fighting the construction would tell the world that Christians do not trust God to take care of them. Recognizing that fear of local terrorist attacks is likely part of what fuels the desire to block the proposed construction, Barber said some aspects of that point of view do not make sense to him. “Last year, in just a single year,” Barber wrote, “drunk drivers killed more Americans than have died in all the phases of the Global War on Terror combined. But when Farmersville legalized alcohol sales a few years ago there was no organized protest that I recall. This opposition lacks numbersense and lacks logical sense.” Further, he explained, Christians have nothing to fear when they serve the God of David, Elijah and Peter who gave defeat over Goliath, called down fire from heaven and broke open prison walls. Rather than responding in fear and hostility, Barber said, Christians ought to begin praying about how they can be a part of the effort to share the gospel of Christ with those who will come to Farmersville. Read Barber’s blog post here: http:// goo.gl/fxPK4c.
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PASTOR’S PLAN TO RAISE THE CHRISTIAN FLAG
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BAPTIST BRIEFS Full versions of these stories and more can be found on Baptist Press: bpnews.net
CP 1.45% ABOVE PROJECTION AT FY THREE-QUARTER MARK Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee are 1.45 percent above the year-
to-date SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget projection, and 1.24 percent above contributions received during the same time frame last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President Frank S. Page. The year-to-date total represents money received
by the Executive Committee by the close of the last business day of June and includes receipts from state conventions, churches and individuals for distribution according to the 2014-15 SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget.
North Carolina pastor Rit Varriale wants to see churches fly the Christian flag above the American flag as a biblical statement, reversing flag etiquette that calls for the American flag to be flown in the prominent position. Varriale, as senior pastor of Elizabeth Baptist Church in Shelby, N.C., said the church installed its first-ever flagpole in order to raise the two flags in a special ceremony after morning worship on July 5 in which the Christian flag was raised in the higher position— which prompted interviews by Charlotte-area NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates. “If you stop and think about it, [flag etiquette] is inconsistent with what the Bible teaches us,” Varriale said. “We are first and foremost Christians who are called to serve the living God.”
MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY U.S. SPECIAL TO GOD
L EAD ERS HI P T R AI N I N G FO R AL L A S P E CTS O F M I NI S TR Y + Preschool/Children
+ Men
+ Evangelism
+ Children’s Music
+ Women
+ Leadership
+ Preteen
+ Discipleship
+ Library
+ Student/Collegiate
+ Family
+ Pastoral
+ Adult Home Groups
+ Communication & Technology
+ Spanish
+ Adult Sunday School
+ Worship
+ Black Equipping Churches
+ Young Adults/Single Adults
+ Facilities
Allan is Minister of Education at First Baptist Church Woodstock, Georgia. Allan is the founder of Ember to Blaze Ministries and writes Sunday School Leadership and training material. He has authored three books: “Sunday School in HD”, “The Six Core Values of Sunday School” and “Disciplining and Restoring the Fallen” as well as a DVD series, Sunday School Done Right and his new series, Forward from Here!
Cost:
$15
STEVEN HARRIS JOINS ERLC AS ADVOCACY DIRECTOR The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has named Steven Harris as the director of advocacy in its Washington, D.C., office. Harris, 29, who served during the last year as a ministry fellow for the Christian Union at Yale University, will advocate for the ERLC’s policy positions with Congress as well as the White House and the remainder of the executive branch. He also will provide analysis of legislative proposals and content for the ERLC’s website and its other media outlets. Harris becomes the second African American to join the ERLC staff since Russell Moore became president in June 2013.
NAMB FUND TO ASSIST BURNED BLACK CHURCHES
The North American Mission Board has established a fund to help African American churches that have been damaged or destroyed by fire in the past two weeks. Fires at seven black churches have fueled discussions of racial hatred, as the first occurred within a week of the June 17 massacre of nine black Christians by a 21-yearold white supremacist at a Charleston church. Two of the blazes have been confirmed as arson and a third has been ruled suspicious. While none of them have been deemed hate crimes, NAMB is already offering assistance. NAMB is starting the fund with $50,000 to be immediately available to the churches in need of assistance.
BIBLE DRILL At the 2015 National Invitational Bible Drill and Student Speakers Competition, June 18-19, three Texans placed 2nd in their respective divisions.
KEYNOTE: ALLAN TAYLOR
$10
In a nation founded on religious liberty, most Americans believe God has a special relationship with the United States, and they’re optimistic the best is yet to come. Despite headlines lamenting the global decline of the United States since the Cold War, 54 percent of Americans believe the nation is on the upswing, according to a survey by LifeWay Research released July 1.
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with pre-registration on or before August 10th (includes lunch)
at the door (lunch is not guaranteed but is based on availability according to the number of walk-ups)
for more information visit
sbtexas.com/equip
MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH YOUR COOPERATIVE PROGRAM GIVING
Left-to-right: Joshua Mason (Cornerstone Baptist Church, Arlington), Speakers Tournament; Janice Beto (Esperanza Del Rio Community Church, Del Rio), Youth Bible Drill; Riley Tatum (Bethany Baptist Church, Breckenridge), High School Bible Drill. PHOTO BY BRYAN NOWAK
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CHURCH POSITIONS
GET TO KNOW OUR SBTC TEAM NAME: JOB:
GARRETT WAGONER
STUDENT MINISTRY ASSOCIATE
CHURCH: C3
ROWLETT
TELL US ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AT SBTC. I oversee all of student ministry for the SBTC, which includes planning and overseeing M3 Summer Camps, Student Evangelism Conferences and Student Ministry Networking, and I coordinate the Engage Teams. HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED FOR THE SBTC? Three years full-time with a previous two-year part-time stint directing the Engage Teams. IF RESOURCES WERE NO OBJECT, WHAT ONE THING WOULD YOU LOVE TO DO? Travel and preach the gospel.
PAID CLASSIFIEDS u WORRIED ABOUT THE DECLINING VALUE OF THE DOLLAR? For 5,000 years gold has endured as “REAL” money! Would you like to know how to get the best gold at the best price and get paid to do it? 888-644-4408 u SCREEN PRINTED T-SHIRTS FOR CHURCH EVENTS - 5 FREE SHIRTS FOR
THE BEST DAY AT THE OFFICE IS WHEN … … we are about to leave for M3 camp. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE BEGINNING YOUR JOB AT THE SBTC? The big things that can happen when people network together. ON A WEEKEND AWAY FROM WORK, WHAT DO YOU MOST LIKE TO DO? Hang out with my wife, Rachel, of four years and my dog Si who is a Toy Poodle and a dog that a man can appreciate. Watch Sports: LSU Tigers, Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks; watch movies; fish; hunt; and spend time with friends.
EVERY 50 YOU BUY, plus free shipping! Smaller orders welcome. Call Southeast Texas Printing Company (409) 622-2197. u BUILDING A CULTURE OF BIBLICAL FEMININITY IN THE HOME, CHURCH AND COMMUNITY CONFERENCE October 1-3 at SWBTS, Riley Center. For information and registration: rockcreekbc. org/conference. Cost: $65 early bird registration until 9/1; $25 student registration.
PASTOR u FBC Madisonville, a unique SBTC affiliate, seeks a FT senior pastor. Seminary and pastoral experience preferred. Please submit resume to Pastor Search Committee at
[email protected]. u FBC Rocksprings seeks FT pastor. Parsonage and utility bills furnished. Please contact First Baptist Church, PO Box 438, Rocksprings, TX 78880, 830683-5186 or
[email protected]. u Calvary BC, Lufkin, SBTC affiliated, is seeking a FT senior pastor. Please send resume with a video recording of message to ATTN: Pastor Search Committee, Calvary Baptist Church, 516 Montrose St., Lufkin, TX 75901, or email to
[email protected]. Church website: www.calvarylufkin.org. u Brazosport Baptist Temple, Angleton, SBTC affiliated, seeks a FT pastor for a small church with a strong desire to grow. The pastor should have a heart to preach, teach, minister and lead the congregation. Ten years of ministry experience, with some seminary or other theological training is preferred. Send resumes to
[email protected]. u FBC Blum seeking PT pastor, Send resume’s to First Baptist Church, attn: Sam Howard, 207 E 3rd St, Blum, TX 76627. MUSIC u Lakeside BC in Canton, which averages 500 in worship, is seeking a worship leader. We have a blended type of worship style leaning to contemporary with adult choir, student choir, praise team and praise band. Please send resumes to:
[email protected]. u FBC Marlow, OK is searching for a FT worship minister for leading contemporary worship services. Send resumes to Dr. Joe Ligon, FBC Marlow, PO Box 111, Marlow, OK 73055 or email to
[email protected]. u Aspen Bark BC, Broken Arrow, OK is seeking God’s man to lead worship arts ministry/education ministry FT. Located in suburban SE Tulsa area and poised for growth. Resumes may be sent to dcrump@ aspenpark.net. u Believers Baptist Church, Wichita, KS, is seeking God’s man to lead in music/worship ministry. Located in suburban NW Wichita and poised for growth. Seminary required/some experience desirable. Resumes may be e-mailed to
[email protected]. u Trinity BC, Bonham, is accepting resumes for a PT minister of music. The salary range will be around $8,000 to 10,000 per year. Duties will include but aren’t limited to working with the pastor in the planning of worship services, leading music during Sunday morning and evening service, directing choir and planning musicals. College/seminary students encouraged to apply. Send resumes to
[email protected] or mail to Trinity Baptist Church, Attn: Search Committee, 219 W. Denison, Bonham, TX 75418. u St. Joe BC is seeking a PT minister of music (paid position). Our aim is to glorify God and worship Him in song and proclamation of the Word. We love to sing hymns and have traditional style worship, and we are looking to incorporate new songs. Please contact Pastor Ben Hokanson for more details. Email: brobenhok@ rocketmail.com Phone: 325-513-0255 COMBINATION u Apple Springs BC is seeking music/youth director. Paid bi-vo/PT. Music Director—Lead music in Sunday morning/evening services. Youth Director—Plan/administer youth program weekly. Submit resume with references
sbtexan
to
[email protected]. Call 936-676-9699 for job description/housing info. Salary: $1000+300 for utilities + housing. Or: $1,250 (no housing) YOUTH u Calvary BC of Tishomingo, OK is seeking a FT youth minister. Experience in music is a plus but not required. Apply by mail to Calvary Baptist Church, 9700 S Hwy 377, Tishomingo, OK, 73460, or email to:
[email protected]. u FBC Danville, AR is seeking a FT youth pastor. Please submit resume to PO Box 877 Danville, AR or
[email protected]. u Believers BC, Wichita, KS, seeks God’s man to lead our student ministries. The church is located in suburban NW Wichita and growing. Seminary required/some experience preferable. Resumes may be e-mailed to
[email protected]. u Nolan River Road BC, Cleburne, seeks a minister of youth to lead, develop, promote and coordinate a balanced program of activities and discipleship ministry to students,grades 7-12. Prefer degreed or pursuing degree; 30 hrs/wk. Email resumes to
[email protected]. u FBC Whitewright seeks a youth minister with good tech skills to lead a full service youth program in a growing non-traditional church 45 minutes from Dallas. Parsonage provided. Reply to lcbc.pastordave@ gmail.com. u Grace BC in Salado is searching for somebody who loves teenagers and their families and wants to help them both become more and more like Jesus. This is a PT position. If you’re interested in pouring your life into the lives of others in youth ministry, contact Pastor Steve at
[email protected]. CHILDREN u Memorial BC, Killeen, is seeking an interim children’s ministry director with three years’ experience to plan, coordinate and oversee all areas of children’s ministry (kindergarten through fifth grades) including Sunday school, children’s church, special children’s activities, Sunday evening children’s programs and VBS. Send resume with salary requirement to
[email protected]. u FBC of Paris, TX has an opening for a FT children’s minister. Please send resume to
[email protected]. OTHER u Highland Terrace BC of Greenville seeks FT minister to senior adults. Please send resumes to Senior Adult Minister Search Committee, HTBC, 3939 Joe Ramsey Blvd, Greenville, TX 75401 or email to
[email protected]. u Primera Iglesia Bautista in San Diego, TX is searching for an Interim Pastor. Must be bilingual. Must be available to preach on Wednesday, Sunday morning and evening. Pastoral house available. Please send resume to
[email protected]. ANNOUNCEMENTS u Memorial BC in Spring has a living Christmas tree they would like to donate to any church. It is a 25-ft steel structure, holds 52 people, includes 3,000 lights, greenery and bows. Call Memorial Baptist Church, 281-378-4400. u Nineteen used church pews to donate to any church—padded seat and back pews in good condition, 12.75’ long. Please contact JP Jobe at 903-3489764 or
[email protected]. u Free 1993 commercial school bus to an SBC church or ministry. Diesel, no air, runs. Call 432-586-3542, Kermit, TX.
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CRISWELL COLLEGE ADDS NEW DEGREE IN EDUCATION, HIRES PROGRAM DIRECTOR by Brandon Smith Criswell College DALLAS Seeking to continue its mission of training students to serve as Christian leaders throughout society, Criswell College has announced the hiring of Vickie S. Brown, formerly of Arlington Baptist College, as assistant professor of education and program director of education. Brown’s
appointment is in conjunction with the announcement of a new Bachelor of Science in Education program, launching fall 2016 (pending approval by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Texas Education Agency). This program will begin with a focus on early childhood through sixth grade and will include state certification
and a student teaching internship. Students who graduate with a B.S. in Education will
be prepared to teach in public, private or Christian schools almost anywhere in the world. This degree will also prepare graduates to serve as educators on military bases, guides at museum schools or zoos, or leaders in a number of other unique environments. Brown expressed her excitement about the program, saying, “God has opened an amazing opportunity here at
Criswell College. Preparing future teachers who are highly qualified academically and soundly grounded in a biblical worldview is so fulfilling. I have witnessed what God can do in a local public school when there is just one teacher on campus who is dedicated to the cause of Christ. The lives of children, parents, teachers and administrators are changed forever.”
Baylor: homosexuality no longer in conduct policy By David Roach
NEW BAYLOR SEXUAL CONDUCT POLICY
Baptist Press
Baylor University has deleted an affirmation of heterosexual marriage from its policy on sexual conduct as well as a specific prohibition of “homosexual acts.” A university spokeswoman told Baptist Press the revised policy will be interpreted in a manner consistent with the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message, including the 1998 amendment defining marriage as “the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.” Baylor is the world’s largest Baptist university and cooperates with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The BGCT elects 25 percent of the university’s board of regents and planned to send Baylor $353,125 this year, according to the convention’s 2015 Missions and Ministries Budget. “A review of the sexual conduct policy had been contemplated over the last couple of
Baylor will be guided by the biblical understanding that human sexuality is a gift from God and that physical sexual intimacy is to be expressed in the context of marital fidelity. Thus, it is expected that Baylor students, faculty and staff will engage in behaviors consistent with this understanding of human sexuality.
WACO
years,” Lori Fogleman, Baylor assistant vice president for media communications, told BP in an email. “These changes were made because we didn’t believe the language [of the previous policy] reflected Baylor’s caring community. We are pleased with the recent changes to the policy language and that it states more plainly the expectations of the university.” The new policy, Fogleman said, aims to “ensure that the university has the necessary policies and processes in place to comply with the many legal and ethical mandates to which universities are subject as institutions.” The new “sexual conduct policy” states, “Baylor will be guided by the biblical understanding
that human sexuality is a gift from God and that physical sexual intimacy is to be expressed in the context of marital fidelity. Thus, it is expected that Baylor students, faculty and staff will engage in behaviors consistent with this understanding of human sexuality.” Previously, the “sexual misconduct policy” included a statement that “Baylor will be guided by the understanding that human sexuality is a gift from the creator God and that the purposes of this gift included (1) the procreation of human life and (2) the uniting and strengthening of the marital bond in self-giving love. These purposes are to be achieved through heterosexual
relationships within marriage. Misuses of God’s gift will be understood to include, but not be limited to, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault, incest, adultery, fornication and homosexual acts.” Fogleman did not respond to the question in BP’s email, “Would a legally married same-sex couple be in violation of the newly adopted sexual conduct policy?” Baylor’s board of regents adopted the revised policy May 15. BGCT associate executive director Steve Vernon told BP in email comments he has not been in contact with Baylor regarding the change and does not regard it as a cause for concern.
“The change is not a concern for me,” Vernon said, “because of the phrase, ‘Guided by the biblical understanding that human sexuality is a gift from God and that physical sexual intimacy is to be expressed in the context of marital fidelity.’ Do we have to list all the aberrant sexual behaviors in every code of conduct for it to be clear? I think this broadened the application to the code of conduct so that it [is] not so narrowly defined as to allow behaviors not consistent with biblical teaching.” In 2013, Baylor’s student senate adopted a resolution urging the university to replace the reference to “homosexual acts” in the sexual misconduct policy with “nonmarital consensual deviate sexual intercourse,” according to the Waco Tribune. The resolution’s sponsor said the change would eliminate the targeting of samesex couples. The then-student body president vetoed the resolution.
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SEE YOU IN ST. LOUIS — SBC 2016 Ronnie Floyd SBC President
C
oming off our largest convention meeting since 2012 in New Orleans, our Southern Baptist family begins to dream and cast the vision for our next gathering in 2016 in St. Louis. More importantly than the size of our gathering in Columbus this year, our great and mighty God met with us powerfully. Save the Date Will I see you in St. Louis on June 14-15, 2016, for our Southern Baptist Convention? Please mark your calendar now for this upcoming and dynamic experience with our Southern Baptist family. Make these dates non-negotiable and decide now to be in St. Louis for our 2016 Southern Baptist Convention and bring people with you. See the Vision Metropolitan St. Louis needs the saving message of Jesus Christ. Our nearly 2,000 Southern Baptist churches in Missouri
need the encouragement of our greater Southern Baptist family. Why should we see the vision of metro St. Louis? 42.73 million people live in metro St. Louis. 41 out of 7 Missourians live in metro St. Louis. 450.9 percent of the population is unaffiliated with any religious body. 4Only 17.9 percent of the population of metro St. Louis is affiliated with an evangelical church. 4St. Louis is one of our SEND Cities. Watch the video at namb. net/stlouis to learn more. Southern Baptists, how do we not go and make a difference in metro St. Louis? You see, when we speak of metro St. Louis, we are also talking about East St. Louis, Ill. Two states will be impacted by our gathering next year.
How can your church participate in Crossover St. Louis a few days ahead of our convention? They will be able to assist new church plants or help established churches. This leads up to the major Crossover event on Saturday, June 11. Then, your church members can stay and attend our convention on June 14-15. Please strongly consider this. Stand Together With Us to Reach the World When you fly or drive into St. Louis, you will notice the Gateway Arch as you enter the city. It stands 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide. This remarkable structure has been known as America’s gateway to the West, with St. Louis the Gateway City. In 2016, Southern Baptists need to converge on this city from all over the world and see
it as our gateway to reach the world for Jesus Christ. Stand with us! 7 reasons to come to St. Louis on June 14-15, 2016 1 We need to be with our family, our Southern Baptist family. 2 We need to be inspired to believe again that God can awaken America spiritually and the world can be reached for Christ. 3 We need to hear the Word of God proclaimed, pray and worship together by the thousands, and have our spiritual lives set on fire again. 4 We need to hear the wonderful testimonies and reports about what God is doing across America and the world through our work together. 5 We need to hear how our churches’ financial investment
in the Cooperative Program and mission offerings is being used to share the gospel. 6 We need to be encouraged to know that when we are together and working together there is hope in America and this world. 7 We need to join together by the thousands as we pray for our nation at this critical time, calling out to God to revive his church and awaken America so we can reach the world for Christ. Now is the time for Southern Baptists to lead. Let these words encourage your life today as you lead others into the future: 4“An awakening can bring about the evangelization of the world in our generation”—Billy Graham. 4“The one who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history”—Andrew Murray. God is not finished with Southern Baptists, America or the world. —Ronnie Floyd is president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas.
