The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-02/05/2002 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- World Trade Center widow hears Redskins player's remorse, witness by Todd Starnes Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday EDITORS' NOTE: Baptist Press dispatched a team of journalists to cover Baptist ministry during Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans. The team included BP Assistant Editor Todd Starnes, LifeWay Christian Resources photographer Morris Abernathy, BP office assistant Michael Winn and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary writer Doy Cave. Additional stories appear on BPSports at www.bpsports.net.
NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Dave Szott was standing in the front yard of his home in New Jersey when the World Trade Center towers collapsed into a heap of twisted steel and rubble. In that moment, Szott said he had to rely upon his strength in God, realizing that his brother, who is legally blind, was working in Building 5 of the WTC complex on that Sept. 11 morning. Szott, an offensive guard for the Washington Redskins, said it took two hours before he learned that his brother had been safely escorted out of the building. And while the events surrounding the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington remain fresh in the minds of many Americans, Szott said the impact of that moment hit home again -- this time on Jan. 22. Szott related the story to Baptist Press moments before he was scheduled to speak before a group of young people at a youth rally sponsored by the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. "It was the strangest thing," Szott recalled. "Last Tuesday I happened to run into my first girlfriend. I was not a Christian in those days and I treated her very badly." Szott said he had not spoken to her in 17 years until Jan. 22. He learned that she had lost her husband in the World Trade Center's collapse. "I expressed my grief and sorrow over her loss and told her that I was praying for her," Szott said. "She had been married for six years and had a newborn baby." But expressing his remorse wasn't the only reason Szott was speaking with his old girlfriend. "As a believer, I had to do something else," he continued. "I asked repentance for our relationship and I asked her to forgive me." Szott said he was surprised by the words coming from his mouth. "It was totally out of left field," he said. "But I explained to her that I had come to know Christ." Through their conversation, Szott presented a tender portrayal of the gospel message to this widow of Sept. 11's terrorist attacks. Szott shared the woman's e-mail address with his wife, Andrea, and the two have started corresponding. "Through all of this I believe she will eventually come to know Christ," Scott said. By all accounts, Szott is a big man -- 6 feet 4 inches tall, 293 pounds of pure evangelical Christian football player. But his intensity on the football field doesn't prevent him from compassionately sharing a message of hope to young people across the country. Szott entered the National Football League in 1990, playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. "My dream growing up was to become a professional football player," Szott noted in a testimony for Athletes in Action. "I worked hard my whole life to reach that goal. "When I was drafted to play for the Chiefs, I bought a new home, a new car, made a lot of money and became very popular," he said. "However, I still had a void in my heart and knew something was missing. "Then someone told me about Jesus Christ and that I could know him personally," Szott said. "I received Jesus into my heart and began to have a personal relationship with him. I found out that God had a greater purpose and plan for my life and I received inner peace and joy that I had never felt before." After 10 seasons at Kansas City, he now plays for the Washington Redskins. Szott has had an impressive football career, highlighted by his selection on the Associated Press All-Pro team. Equipped with his favorite verse, Galatians 2:20, Szott shares his faith at every opportunity. "This has been a good year for our family," he said. "And we praise God because of it." Szott and his wife are parents of a 7 year old son with special needs. "Despite all the obstacles, Shane has come so far and we look forward to what God is going to do in his life," he said. "I just want young people to know that you can live for God even during difficult times," Szott said. "We have a message as believers that appeals to people. You don't have to have a college degree in order to know Christ. You just have to believe." --30-- (BP) photos posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo titles: DAVE SZOTT and SZOTT SHARES. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Collegians' Super Bowl prayers touched every Superdome seat by Todd Starnes Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--When the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams faced off in the Louisiana Superdome Feb. 3, it may very well have been a blessed house -- especially if more than 400 Bayou State Baptist Campus Ministry students had any say in the matter. Baptist college students from Louisiana State University, Tulane, Northwestern and other Louisiana schools turned out in force to prayerwalk the Superdome in preparation for Super Bowl XXXVI. The story of how a group of Baptist college students was able to prayerwalk one of the nation's largest domed stadiums is a miracle, said Tim Knopps, a consultant hired by the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans to coordinate Super Bowl ministry opportunities. "The NFL needed to hire a group of people to put gift bags in every seat inside the Superdome," Knopps told Baptist Press. "Every ticket holder gets a very nice gift package and the NFL tagged the Louisiana Baptist Convention's BCM to do the job." The college students paid their own way to travel to New Orleans for the two-day project. Many stayed on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary while others piled into local hotel rooms. In addition to putting stuffed bears, glow sticks and other gifts on the seats, the college students turned their assignment into a prayer journey, praying over every seat inside the Superdome complex. The young believers placed a blessing on every seat and prayed what Knopps called an SOS prayer. "We prayed for the salvation of the person sitting in the seat," he recounted. "And then we prayed for obedience to God and, in light of the events of Sept. 11, we prayed for the safety of each person in the Superdome. "It took us two days to do the job, but we managed to complete the assignment hours before the NFL expected us to," Knopps said. "They were quite pleased." Knopps said the opportunity was an incredible site to witness. "To see young people prayerwalking the Superdome was simply remarkable," he said. "This was a key evangelism strategy and we hope that many people may come to know Christ as a result of the prayerwalk." The students' volunteerism didn't go unnoticed by the NFL. Knopps said the NFL paid the students $8,000 for their work. And the money will be designated to a summer collegiate mission trip. --30-- For more coverage of Baptist ministries in connection with the Super Bowl, visit BPSports at www.bpsports.net. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Class assignment leads to French Quarter ministry by Doy Cave Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--If not for a class assignment, Randy Brown might not have found his way to the Vieux Carre Baptist Church in the heart of New Orleans' French Quarter. In 1994, Brown was taking an evangelism class at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary taught by Chuck Kelley, president of the seminary. Brown wasn't sure what to expect from the class but was quickly advised by his class aide. "You are required to witness to at least five people this term and give a short summary of your experience," Brown recounted. "The first one is due next week." Brown, sensing a desire to join a church in the area, came upon a sign hanging in his dorm inviting students to "come worship and witness with us at Vieux Carre Baptist Church." That sounded good, he thought. He began attending Vieux Carre's Friday night services, after which a group of people would go into the streets of New Orleans' notorious French Quarter to witness. After much prayer about a home church, Brown decided to stay, even though it wasn't his first choice for a church home. "I grew up in the country, on a dairy farm in Summerfield, La.," he said. "I knew God had called me here, but it was just so different from home." God continued to affirm his place at Vieux Carre, and Brown became even more involved as time went on, sometimes going to the church during the day to go on visits with the pastor; sometimes preaching and leading witnessing groups through the Quarter. After losing their pastor in 1995, and after some three years of interim pastors at the church, Brown began to approach his graduation. As the day grew closer, he said he felt the Lord leading him to send his resume to the church, but only after he had graduated. So, in May 1997 he followed through, and the church called him to be its pastor that October. Brown said the ministry of Vieux Carre is mainly a staging area for missions. While their ministry reaches out to both French Quarter residents as well as vagrants, he said the church spends more time housing and assisting missions groups to do ministry there. Because of the volatile environment of the Quarter and because of the small size of the church, however, Brown says he welcomes all the help he can get. "Basically, people come to the French Quarter to rebel," he said. "You can come to the French Quarter and do anything. Nothing is off-limits here." The church has a couple of rooms with bunk beds, where missionaries and evangelists can sleep; several, for example, were staying at the church to witness to people traveling to the Quarter for the Super Bowl and for the Mardi Gras celebrations already underway. The ministry is tough. The groups are ministering to hundreds of people, all of whom are there to party and many of whom are drunk beyond comprehension. The groups often will leave people with a tract, hoping they'll wake up and read it. Or simply hope that those who need help will make their way to the large cross the church sets out on the sidewalk during such events. Though the methods may seem fruitless to some, Brown said he often receives word of their amazing results. "I once got a letter from a lady in Orlando," he said. "She was walking out of a bar on Bourbon Street and saw the big cross where some of our college students were witnessing. "She told me after she saw that cross, she became under intense conviction, saying, 'I knew I was doing what I shouldn't.' She said she had committed herself to get back into church and get her life back on track and wanted to know if I knew of a church in Oakland." It's not always the lost whose lives are changed, however. Brown said he has received letters from several college and youth directors telling him their kids "just weren't the same" after ministering there. "They'll tell their kids, 'If you can share your faith in the French Quarter of New Orleans, you can share your faith anywhere,'" he said. Being in that environment helped him as a seminary student, Brown said. Although he had been a Christian for many years, he had never practiced sharing his faith as he did at Vieux Carre. As a training ground, he said it's unlike any other. "You have to think quick," he said. "You deal with people who have all kinds of different ideas about God." As Brown discussed the church and its ministries, one of his guest evangelists slipped him a note. The note read, "Tell him that this is the best soul-winning training center in the world." Brown smiled distantly, as though recalling a lifetime of changed lives. --30-- (BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: A PASTOR IN THE FRENCH QUARTER. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Land: Critics of prenatal care intent on 'pro-death' agenda by Dwayne Hastings Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Critics of a proposed extension of government medical benefits to the unborn are showing their true colors, Richard Land suggests. The Southern Baptist ethicist said Feb. 2 that outcry against the proposed rule change that would allow states to extend the coverage of the federally subsidized State Children's Health Insurance Program to the unborn -- which currently covers birth to age 19 -- is unconscionable. "Instead of applauding the rule change, which would give free prenatal medical aid to poor mothers, the pro-death movement is calling the Bush administration decision a ploy to secure legal status for the unborn baby," said Land, president of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and host of For Faith & Family, a weekday radio program that focuses on issues of importance to families. He said the criticism shows the hypocrisy of the "pro-death" movement. "This coverage is for women who have made the choice to have their babies," said Land, emphasizing the word "choice" in an obvious reference to those who are called pro-choice but who decry the broadening of the SCHIP coverage. "These women made the right choice to carry their child to term. The unborn children of the poor deserve and need this medical attention as much as the children of the wealthy," Land said. The rule change would allow but not require states to extend that coverage from birth back through conception, Land explained. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced Jan. 31 the proposed rule change would allow states to classify a fetus as an unborn child under the insurance program. "It means that literally millions of pregnant mothers -- women who want to have their babies and want them to be healthy -- would be able to get prenatal medical care," Land said. He noted the president of Planned Parenthood, Gloria Feldt, said the announcement of the benefits extension "denied everything the president said in his [State of the Union] speech about standing for the dignity of women." "Is it against the dignity of women to say that a pregnant mother ought to be able to get the medical care she needs for her unborn child?" Land asked. "This group deserves to be called Planned Unparenthood." He said he suggested the name change because the group appears intent on "trying to cut down on what they think is a population explosion by having as few people as possible have babies." According to the American Life League, Planned Parenthood clinics did more than 182,000 abortions in 1999 (www.all.org/stopp/rr0104.htm). The "pro-death movement," Land continued, "will go to any length to preserve the right of a mother to kill her unborn baby from conception up through partial birth, even if that supposed right trumps the health needs of an unborn baby that is wanted by its mother. "They are not pro-woman or pro-mother," Land insisted. "They want the death choice. That is apparently their number one priority. We need to be aware of that and help others see beyond the rhetoric and protestations of the so-called 'pro-choice' crowd. They are really pro-death." --30-- -------------------------------------------------------------------- New faith-based director named; Land commends choice of Towey by Tom Strode Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday WASHINGTON (BP)--President Bush has named a new director of one of his signature programs, the faith-based initiative, and a Southern Baptist leader who has closely monitored the effort has commended the selection. The president introduced Jim Towey, who worked with the late Mother Teresa for more than a decade, as the new director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives. The appointment of Towey comes at a time when Bush is seeking to build congressional support for a proposal that proved highly divisive last year. Towey, a lawyer, has worked in government and social service. He served as head of Florida's health and social services agency under Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles. He previously had been legislative director for Republican Sen. Mark Hatfield of Oregon. He was legal counsel for 12 years to Mother Teresa, whose longtime ministry to the needy in Calcutta, India, spread to other parts of the world. Towey lived for a year as a volunteer in her Washington, D.C., home for people with AIDS. As a result of his experience with her ministry, he founded Aging With Dignity in 1996 to promote care for people nearing the end of life. "There's no question it's a tremendous appointment," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "He's obviously got the commitment, the experience and the managerial skills -- and, perhaps most importantly, the confidence of the president." Towey "understands there are things more important than political parties," Bush said in introducing the father of four sons. "And one of those things more important than political parties is to help heal the nation's soul." Towey fills a position vacated in August by John DiIulio, a University of Pennsylvania professor. Bush established the office and named DiIulio to head it in his second week as president in January 2001. The new director will work to "eliminate barriers that discriminate against" faith-based and community groups and to enact legislation that "will put government squarely on the side" of such organizations, Bush said. The initiative, which the president said is "one of the most important commitments" of his administration, faded into the background after DiIulio's resignation and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The aftermath of those attacks has made it "obvious to everyone how essential the community and faith-based groups are to the well-being of our nation," Bush said. "They have saved lives. They provide hope. They have helped heal the nation's wounds." The president announced the formation of a new Advisory Council on Faith-based and Community Initiatives, of which Towey will be a member. John Bridgeland, the director of the new USA Freedom Corps, will chair the council. Steve Goldsmith, chairman of the Corporation of National and Community Service and five cabinet secretaries will also participate in the council. "Mother Teresa introduced me to this joy that comes from befriending those in need and discovering their tremendous dignity," Towey said after the president's introduction. "You speak often of this same dignity, Mr. President, and your vision ... is unleashing new armies of compassion that will change countless lives, both of those who serve and those who are served." Bush also said, "My job is to unify our country around common, big goals, and there is nothing more important than to help the hopeless see hope, to help the addicted see a better life, to help the collective will of our country to have a better tomorrow, [to] realize its potential." Bush's faith-based legislative proposal has largely two components, one to increase private giving to charitable organizations and another to increase government support of charities, including religious ones, that provide social services. The House of Representatives approved a measure addressing both prongs of Bush's proposal last year, but the bill, H.R. 7, went nowhere in the Senate. There is widespread support for the effort to increase charitable donations, but the government-aid aspect has proven divisive. A portion of H.R. 7 that permits tax-exempt organizations that receive support to consider religion in hiring also has been strongly opposed. It appears a measure to increase private giving through such proposals as allowing non-itemizing taxpayers to deduct for charitable contributions has the best hope of congressional approval. "I don't think there's any way that H.R. 7 or anything like H.R. 7 will get out of the Senate," said the ERLC's Land, who attended the Feb. 1 White House event. It might have a chance "if it could get on the floor, but I don't think [Senate Majority Leader Tom] Daschle will let it on the floor," he said. After the announcement of Towey's selection, Land delivered a message to the president as Bush visited personally with those who attended the Roosevelt Room ceremony. Land, who has known Bush for more than a decade, told the president at least 50 people had asked him to tell Bush they were praying for him. "I can feel it," Bush said, Land reported. "Please tell them to keep it up. My wife and I can feel the prayers of millions of people. " A pool reporter from the White House press corps also related a portion of the conversation between Bush and the ERLC president that involved Land's son, Richard. "How's the big boy doing," Bush asked, according to the report. "He's in seminary," was the response. "He's [going to] be one big preacher," Bush said. Bush and the younger Land came to know each other when both were in Austin, Texas. Bush was governor of the state, and Land was a student at the University of Texas, where he was a scholarship member of the football team. They would see each other once or twice a month as both worked out in the UT weight room. The younger Land, who is 6-8 and weighs 330 pounds, is scheduled to graduate in May from Southeastern College at Wake Forest, N.C. He plans to stay on campus and work on a master of divinity degree at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. --30-- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Condom distribution by Olympics sparks family groups' protest by Jeff Johnson Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday WASHINGTON (BP)--Pro-family groups are decrying a decision by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) to provide free condoms to Olympic athletes attending the winter games, as doctors in and out of Congress point out their deficiencies in preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), CNSNews.com reported Feb. 4. The official Olympic medical supplier, Cardinal Health, donated 12,000 condoms to be made available to athletes through first aid stations. Generation Life, a group of pro-life college students, artists and musicians from Boise, Idaho, held a news conference to protest the SLOC's decision to distribute the condoms. "Recreational sex is not an Olympic sport," Generation Life founder Brandi Swindell told CNSNews.com. "The decision that the Salt Lake Organizing Committee made is appalling." Swindell said the decision not only misrepresents the values of the Olympic games, but also the values of the people of Utah. "There's no reason that the SLOC should enable or promote casual sex," she said. "It doesn't represent the virtues of the Olympics or of the people of Utah, most of whom are people of faith, members of the LDS [Latter-day Saints] church." She added that, in challenging the SLOC decision, Generation Life hopes to bring broader attention to misinformation about so-called "protected sex." "We are trying to expose the 'safe sex' myth regarding condoms and casual sex," Swindell said. "We are very concerned that people are being taught this fairy tale that if people have promiscuous sex but use a condom everything will be fine." Wendy Wright, communications director for Concerned Women for America (CWA), also voiced concern about the message SLOC is sending to the athletes. "This is really irresponsible because it's encouraging the athletes to be promiscuous," Wright said. "What they're saying, in essence, is, 'We expect you to be sexually active while you're here.' That encourages behavior that can end up being illegal, like sexual harassment." But Caroline Shaw, a spokeswoman for the SLOC, disagreed. "We consider it a good public health practice," she told reporters during the week of Jan. 28. Wright is shocked that the SLOC is unaware of the medical evidence about the lack of actual "public health" benefits from condoms. "As has been shown by the Centers for Disease Control [CDC] and a number of other studies," she pointed out, "condoms do not effectively protect against sexually transmitted diseases." In fact, a 2000 report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that, while "consistent and correct" condom use does show some measurable reduction in the transmission of gonorrhea and up to 85 percent prevention of HIV, there is no clinical proof of effectiveness in preventing syphilis, genital herpes, human papilloma virus (HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer), trichomoniasis or chlamydia, according to the Physicians Consortium, a nationwide group of 2,000 doctors that examined the report. Former Rep. Tom Coburn, R.-Okla., a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist and member of the consortium, said the report finally exposed the federal government's attempts to promote a flawed "health" policy. "For decades the federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to promote an unsubstantiated claim that promiscuity with condoms can be safe," Coburn said. "We now know for a fact that this is a lie." Rep. Dave Weldon, R.-Fla., another legislator-physician and member of the consortium, has long been critical of the CDC for its alleged misrepresentation of condom effectiveness. "Clearly, the Centers for Disease Control and other proponents of 'safe sex' have overplayed the effectiveness of condoms," Weldon said. "As a result, tens of millions of Americans are living with the consequences of decisions that they made based on faulty information, much of that information having been paid for and disseminated with their tax dollars," he added. Weldon noted that 65 million Americans have been diagnosed with incurable, sexually transmitted diseases and that, unless something changes, there will be 15 million new infections each year in the future. Other medical organizations are on record, as well, saying that condoms do not protect against all STDs, especially against HPV. For example, Richard D. Klausner, director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), concluded that the NIH findings were conclusive and that "additional research efforts by NCI on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HPV transmission are not warranted." Generation Life has planned a protest at the SLOC headquarters in Salt Lake City at 1 p.m. Mountain Time Friday, Feb. 8. Swindell said 40 to 50 members of the group and other supporters are expected to attend. --30-- Johnson is the congressional bureau chief for CNSNews.com. Used by permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SBC child care pilots service for Pastors' Conference, WMU by Staff Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday ST. LOUIS (BP)--In addition to on-site child care during the June 11-12 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in St. Louis, the service is being extended on a one-year trial basis for the Sunday-Monday sessions of the Pastors' Conference and the Woman's Missionary Union annual meeting. SBC child care registration has begun on a first-come, first-served basis. Child care for infants through children who have finished kindergarten will be available during the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions of the SBC annual meeting and, on a trial basis this year, during the Sunday-Monday, June 9-10, sessions of the Pastors' Conference and WMU. A $10 one-time nonrefundable registration fee is charged for each child. For each session, a $5 per child fee is charged, with a maximum charge of $40 per family for the full four days of child care. Registration information may be obtained by e-mailing sndyosbrn@aol.com, including the sender's name and address; by phone, at (636) 227-7850; by downloading a set of forms for each child at the Internet site of Ballwin Baptist Church, www.ballwinbaptist.com; or by writing to SBC Childcare, Sandy Osborne, Ballwin Baptist Church, 15101 Manchester Road, Ballwin, MO 63011. Registration materials will include child care policies and specific hours of operation. --30-- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Kim: from 'lowly houseboy' to Baptist World Alliance president by Tammi Mallory Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--If not for the kindness of an American soldier, Sgt. Carl L. Powers of Virginia, Billy Kim said that he would not be a Christian and the current leader of the Baptist World Alliance. After Kim's school was bombed during the Korean War, he decided that "working for an American soldier would be the next best thing to getting an education." In exchange for Hershey bars, C-rations and cigarettes that his mother would sell on the black market, Kim cleaned soldiers' tents, gathered their firewood, and made certain that the fires in their stoves were not extinguished. Kim spoke at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Jan. 30 and described how Powers took interest in a "lowly houseboy." Kim said that he didn't speak English -- other than curse words he had learned from American GIs -- and he had no money, but Powers saw potential in him and promised to provide the funds necessary for him to study in the United States if he could get permission from his mother. At first she declined the offer because she feared that she would never see her son again. She accepted the offer only after Powers promised her that Kim would return. "I had no choice of the country in which I was born. ... We were so poor. But I had a chance to come here and study," Kim said. "I wanted to study political science, go back to Korea and become a politician -- because in my country, if you become a politician, a lot of people give you money and you are not going to be poor anymore. "But God had something else on his mind," Kim said. Shortly after Kim began his university studies, a Korean graduate student led him to Christ. He rushed home and told Powers that he had trusted Christ. "Sgt. Powers said, 'You know, I have never trusted Christ as my Savior.' That afternoon, there on the back porch, he opened his heart to Christ," Kim said. Powers paid for eight years of Kim's education as promised. "He paid for my tuition, my shoes, my clothing and my books," Kim said. One afternoon while Kim was in college God called him to minister to his own people. "God said to me, 'You have so many politicians over there, they don't need you. I want you to go back to Korea carrying the gospel message to your people and your family," Kim recalled. That day the course and destiny of his life were changed forever, Kim said. Today Kim pastors the 12,000-plus-member Central Baptist Church in Suwon, South Korea. He also is president of the Asian Baptist Federation and director of Christian Service, Inc., in Seoul and the chaplain of the Korean National Police. He also founded Suwon Central Christian Academy and Capital Bible College and Seminary in South Korea. In 1979 Kim's son contemplated his own call into the ministry. Kim said that if he wanted to study for the ministry the United States would be the place to accomplish the task. Kim brought his son and the rest of his family to the United States by way of the Holy Land. When Kim phoned Powers and invited him to join the family on the trip, Powers said that he would go on one condition. "I've never been baptized," Powers told him. "If you will baptize me in the River Jordan, I will come." "I was able to baptize the man who meant so much to me, a man who went beyond the call of duty of his country, who befriended a houseboy, brought him to this country, gave him an education, and sent him back to his own people," Kim said. "I have seen literally hundreds of thousands of people come to Christ because of Sgt. Power's efforts. Don't underestimate the power of Jesus Christ," Kim added. Kim's admonition to his chapel audience was that they, too, should view Christ in the same way: as the God who can use even a houseboy to share the gospel of love and redemption. God has done so, Kim said, because he is supremely concerned with reconciling the souls of men. "How much are you willing to give to save a man's soul?" Kim asked. He noted that Time magazine had estimated that in the 5,560 years of recorded human history 14,531 wars have been fought. "That's about 2.6 wars fought every year," he said. "How much did it cost to fight those wars?" Kim asked. "In 54 BC, in the time of Caesar, they estimated that it cost 75 cents to kill one enemy soldier. During the time of Napoleon they estimated it cost $3,000. During the time of the First World War, it cost $21,000. During the Second World War, it cost $200,000. If there were a World War III today, the cost would be $1 million for each enemy soldier killed," he said. Christians should spend as much on the salvation of each man, Kim said. "We are prepared to spend $1 million to kill one enemy soldier in order to protect our lives, protect our country and protect our wealth when Jesus said, 'What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul,'" he said. "God put a premium on man's soul above everything else in the world," Kim added. "That's why you are studying in this institution, to go out and tell the world. How much are you willing to give in order to give a man eternal life?" --30-- Mallory is a newswriter for Southwestern Seminary. (BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: BILLY KIM. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Christians must be broken to be blessed, speaker says by Kelly Davis Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)--The key to blessing is brokenness through humility and self-denial, Hayes Wicker said during Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary's spring convocation Jan. 29. Wicker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Naples, Fla., turned to the wrestling match between God and Jacob found found in Genesis 32 in his Jan. 29 message on the Wake Forest, N.C., campus. Each Christian, Wicker asserted, will wrestle with God and the result is brokenness which is the key to blessing. "I believe all of us are in a wrestling match today," he said. "It may not be with intellectual issues concerning inerrancy or in the area of apologetics. During your seminary experience, every one of [you] will wrestle with God." Wicker highlighted Genesis 32:26, which states: "And He said, 'Let Me go, for the day breaks.' But he said, 'I will not let you go until you bless me!'" "In this picture of Jacob's wrestling match, we see an encounter with a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ; a theophony," Wicker said. "God brought Jacob to a place of great encounter with truth." Jacob had deceitfully received his father's blessing years before, Wicker recounted. His brother Esau had vowed to kill him, so Jacob fled his homeland. Years later, Jacob sought to reunite with Esau, and the night before the reconciliation Jacob entangled himself in a wrestling match. During the wrestling match, Wicker said, God broke Jacob of his self-centeredness and granted him blessing. "I believe the only time you and I are strong is when we have met God face to face and have been broken that we might be blessed," Wicker said. "Coming to a place of blessing is invariably found in the stocks of suffering." Wicker then cited five ways God uses brokenness to bring about blessing. First, brokenness allows failure so that success may be found, he said. "Jacob the wrestler had been a phony all of his life. He was the star of his own stage. He was strutting and not walking humbly with his God. He had always come out on top, and now he is wrestling in the shadows and could not win. "There will be a time when your world will be literally exploded," Wicker said, "and it is then that God is picking up the pieces.... God allows failure to bring brokenness, but brokenness crucifies self so the spirit might win." Second, coming to a place of brokenness means crucifying self so that Christ may live, Wicker said. "Jacob's name meant heel-catcher, which was the idea of grabbing and self-centeredness," Wicker explained, noting, "The real problem in churches today and the real problem in your life and my life is self. It is self that insists [on] its own way. Self-conceit, self-sufficiency, self-way, self-will.... It is through self that God says, 'I must break you,' but it is only when we are crucified to self that Jesus can live." Third, brokenness brings desperation so that faith might be supreme, Wicker said. "Jacob wrestled with God all night until God dislocated his thigh," the pastor said. "It is that strong muscle, the running bone, that he could no longer run away from God. God will touch you at the source of your strength." Jacob was broken at the source of his strength, Wicker said, so that he could no longer fight but cling. Fourth, brokenness confesses need so that change might be real, Wicker said. In Genesis 32:28, the Lord asked Jacob his name so that Jacob had to confess that his name, which meant "heel-snatcher," was symbolic of his character, Wicker said, noting that at that moment Jacob realized he was deceitful and self-serving. "God began to break him and change him. Brokenness confesses who you really are," Wicker said. When Jacob was transformed through brokenness, God then changed his name to "Israel," meaning "the Lord rules." Finally, brokenness results in service so that God might be glorified, Wicker said. "In Genesis 32:20, we see the culmination of Jacob's conniving to appease Esau by buying him off with gifts. It wasn't real service. "But we look in chapter 33 and we see Jacob changed," Wicker said, pointing out that brokenness always leads to service and service always leads to blessing others. "Not manipulation, but ministry. Not self-glorification, but blessing for others and the glory of God," Wicker said. "If you are going to bear fruit, you must be buried. You must be planted before you bear fruit," he said. "The cross must come before the crown. Burial must come before resurrection ... planting before fruit bearing. "I believe God is calling us today to a fresh brokenness that issues in fresh service," Wicker said. --30-- (BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: HAYES WICKER. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: The unborn & the unwanted need a voice & a refuge by David P. Gushee Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--With each year's passing of the Roe v. Wade decision permitting abortion on demand in America, it remains the case that one of the most dangerous places to be in our land is inside a mother's womb. This is precisely the opposite of how things should be, and shows that our concern for human life in this nation remains selective at best. A bit of history is in order. Surely there has never been a time when unwanted pregnancies did not occasionally end in the destruction of the unwanted child. Every society in every era has sought ways to regulate sexual expression so as to limit the number of such tragic occasions. That is, until the advent of the sexual revolution and the birth control pill in the 1960s. For the first time, a civilization experimented with freeing sexuality from most of its historic constraints and allowing unfettered sexual choice, based on the illusion that "foolproof" methods of birth control would prevent unwanted pregnancies -- and that sexual liberation was a major advance in the human condition. The result was a rapid rise in unplanned pregnancies and a consequent rapid rise in the demand for abortion in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The convergence of sexual liberalization, the secular feminist movement, the growing demand for abortion and the ideology of autonomy and self-fulfillment created a political "perfect storm" ending in the abolition of many states' limits on abortion by Supreme Court fiat in 1973. The court's carefully drawn scheme -- in which the state reluctantly permits abortion but its interest in fetal life grows proportionately more compelling as pregnancies progress -- ended up being overrun both by medical technology and by the demand for abortion. Today abortion ends roughly 20 percent of all pregnancies, destroying some 1.3 million developing babies each year in America. Abortion is now treated as a fundamental human right, especially a fundamental women's right, and there is no sign whatsoever that a change is in the offing from Washington. Far-seeing critics expressed concern at the time that routinely permitting the legal killing of human life in the womb would generally weaken respect for life. Nearly 30 years later, it seems that Americans still do respect the rights and the lives of able-bodied adults. The possibility that assisted suicide for the old and the sick might become a standard practice also has been fought off (except in Oregon, where it is permitted). But for the unborn, who lack the ability to stake a claim to their rights in our rights-oriented society, the situation remains grim. It is not just that so many never see the light of day because they are aborted. New fronts have also opened in the battle for the life of the unborn and the unwanted. The current struggle over embryonic stem cells is one of these fronts. The discovery that human embryonic stem cells show promise in reparative therapies has created a mad rush to gain access to them. Initially the source of such cells was going to be aborted fetuses; then it was frozen embryo leftovers from in vitro fertilization; now some are saying that only cloning will do. This is a fight that will not go away, and those concerned to prevent the commodification of human beings need to remain opposed to creating and destroying human embryos. Perhaps even more insidious is the fact that the historic line between abortion and infanticide shows more than a few signs of being breached. The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act languishes in Congress despite being passed by both houses two years ago. Its main intent is simply to protect children who survive unsuccessful late-term abortions. It might also prevent the horrendous practice of "live-birth abortions," in which babies with Down syndrome and other "defects" are simply left to die in hospital nurseries. The Bible calls the people of God to act as a voice for the voiceless and a refuge for the defenseless. Our nation's unborn and unwanted wait for our response. --30-- Gushee is the Graves Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy and senior fellow with the Carl F.H. Henry Center for Christian Leadership at Union University, Jackson, Tenn. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SWBTS accreditation 'notation' reported by Fort Worth newspaper by Staff Date: February 05, 2002 - Tuesday FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Amid various affirmations accompanying the extension of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's accreditation for the next 10 years, a "notation" has been issued by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The SACS notation, or criticism, was reported Feb. 5 by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The newspaper reported that the notation stated that the seminary "lacks policies or resources necessary [for the faculty] to fulfill their teaching or research responsibilities." The article then made reference to increased teaching loads at the seminary in light of various retirements and several faculty members who have left after declining to affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message beliefs statement of the Southern Baptist Convention. The article also noted that faculty members have invested significant amounts of time in committee work related to the accreditation process involving both SACS and the Association of Theological Schools. The full article can be viewed on the Internet at www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/2606755.htm. Ken Hemphill, Southwestern's president, told Baptist Press Feb. 5, "We are proud to let Southern Baptists know we had a very productive reaccredidation visit. We received one notation related to faculty load and committee assignments, but that was in light of four commendations. This compares positively with four notations the seminary received in our last reaccredidation process 10 years ago. "Notations are not designed to be punitive," Hemphill said. "They are in no way to be seen as a negative but are part of the way of improving an institution." The Star-Telegram article noted that a two-year time frame is provided for correcting a notation, according to one accreditation official. --30--