The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-03/03/1999 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Child care registration opens for Atlanta SBC by Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday ATLANTA (BP)--Registration is now being accepted for on-site child care for preschool children of out-of-town messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 15-16 in Atlanta.
A registration form is available by writing to: SBC Preschool Child Care, c/o Rockdale Baptist Church, 1295 Smyrna Road, Conyers, GA 30094.
Child care is available for preschoolers (birth through 5 years of age -- those in kindergarten), according to Anna Lee Blancato, SBC child-care coordinator from First Baptist Church, Smyrna.
Blancato urged messengers to return the application form (completely filled out) as soon as possible to “assure a place for your child.”
Cost of child care is $5 per session per child, one-half the cost of previous SBC meetings. Preschool child care will be in the World Congress Center, next to the Georgia Dome, site of the SBC meeting.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Y2K ‘very real,’ more effort needed to avert disruptions, Senat by Art Toalston Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday WASHINGTON (BP)--In perhaps the most complete assessment to date of the “Year 2000 problem,” a special committee of the U.S. Senate issued a 164-page report March 2 noting ongoing concerns about the readiness of many computer networks nationally and internationally for Jan. 1, 2000.
Among the assessments of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem: “The good news is that talk of the death of civilization, to borrow from Mark Twain, has been greatly exaggerated. The bad news is that Committee research has concluded that the Y2K problem is very real and that Y2K risk management efforts must be increased to avert serious disruptions.”
The committee, created in April 1998 and recently the focus of widespread media attention, also noted: “Many organizations critical to Americans’ safety and well-being are still not fully engaged in finding a solution. For example, over 90% of doctors’ offices and 50% of small- and medium-sized businesses have yet to address the problem.”
In a summary of “the positive side” of the Y2K outlook, the committee stated that “Y2K awareness is growing. In the past year, both public and private institutions have doubled their efforts to find, evaluate, and address Y2K risk exposure. The Committee has seen a significant amount of progress since its inception. However, Senate hearings, interviews, and research have not produced convincing evidence that the Y2K problem is well in hand.”
The Y2K problem stems from computer codes from the 1950s and 1960s based on dates in the 1900s -- codes that may cause computer systems to malfunction or crash when the year 2000 arrives.
Bill Merrell, vice president for convention relations with the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, said the Senate committee report “confirms what responsible commentators have been saying for a long time now. It seems imprudent for Christians not to follow the counsel of competent advisers and make preparations for dislocations of some magnitude.
“Preparation, not panic, is appropriate,” Merrell said. “As in every situation, the Christian ought to demonstrate confidence and trust in the Lord, and a willingness to minister to those who are not, or cannot, be prepared. Whether or not the Y2K problem becomes a Y2K crisis, there will be remarkable opportunities for prepared churches and Christians to minister and evangelize. Southern Baptists ought to lead the way in community efforts as well as in their churches.”
The Senate report acknowledged that “the most frustrating aspect of addressing the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem is sorting fact from fiction.” Problems include overblown rumors on the Internet of Y2K test failures; “image-sensitive corporations [that] downplay real Y2K problems;” and naysayers “downplaying the event as a hoax designed to sell information technology equipment.”
“Adding to the confusion, there are still very few overall Y2K compliance assessments of infrastructure or industry sectors,” the committee stated. “Consequently, the fundamental questions of risk and personal preparedness cannot be answered at this time.”
The committee, composed of four Republican senators and three Democrats, stated it will continue to research and hold hearings on various aspects of the Y2K problem during the remainder of the year.
Compared to its overarching assessments of the Y2K problem, the committee was restrained in its counsel to the nation’s citizens.
“There are reasonable steps individuals may take to prepare for the Year 2000,” the committee said. “Consumers are urged to keep copies of financial statements and ask local banks what efforts are being made toward Y2K compliance. Individuals should research companies’ compliance levels before making investment decisions.
“The Y2K problem has been likened to a winter storm, with the implication that similar preparation is appropriate,” the report continued. “Americans should prepare for Y2K based on facts and reasonable predictions about the problem’s efforts on vital services.”
The American Red Cross, however, has issued a pamphlet listing 11 areas of preparedness for possible Y2K disruptions, including stocking food, water and other supplies “to last several days to a week;” having an unspecified amount of “extra cash on hand;” and filling auto gas tanks a day or so before Dec. 31. The brochure is available from Red Cross chapters across the country.
Concerning the nation’s food supply, the Senate committee said it is “disturbing” that major corporations “within the retail and manufacturing sides of the food industry,” as well as industry trade organizations/associations, have shown “reluctance to provide public witness.”
“Committee efforts to coordinate interviews as well as to secure witnesses for hearings met significant resistance,” with various sectors citing “numerous reasons for their resistance.” The committee quoted one analyst’s assessment: “Several agriculture sub-industries are lagging far behind.”
“Any interruption within the farm-to-fork chain,” the Senate committee warned, “can result in a direct loss to those who supply food, likely translating into food shortages and price increases.”
Concerning the international Y2K outlook, the committee said it is “greatly concerned,” noting that the country is “dependent on a healthy global economy.” Several U.S. trading partners are “severely behind in their Y2K remediation efforts,” the committee noted. Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, for example, two key suppliers of imported oil, are an estimated “12 to 18 months behind” the U.S. level of readiness.
Among assessments of other areas of society by the Senate committee:
Electricity: “While some compliance efforts are behind, the utility industry as a whole is configured to handle interruptions, blackouts, and natural disasters. A prolonged, nationwide blackout is not likely to occur. However, local and regional outages remain a distinct possibility depending upon the overall preparedness of the individual electric utility serving a given area. … Of greatest concern are approximately 1,000 small, rural electric utilities that may not have the resources to devote to Y2K compliance.”
Oil and natural gas utilities: The committee acknowledged its survey of these utilities was “limited in scope,” but described them as “progressing slowly.” The committee cited “a lack of contingency planning, overly optimistic assertions that compliance will be complete, and a lack of knowledge about suppliers’ Y2K status.”
Telecommunications: “The telecommunications industry has spent billions on Y2K fixes and should have 99% of access lines in compliance by the fall 1999.”
Government: “Several state and many local governments lag in Y2K remediation, raising the risk of service disruption,” the committee said. “Of greatest concern to the Committee is the ability of local communities to provide 911 and emergency services.”
Transportation: Planes “will not fall out of the sky,” the committee said, but: “On average, the nation’s 670 domestic airports started Y2K compliance too late. The Federal Aviation Agency has made great strides in the past year, but remains at risk.” The situation with “international air traffic control and airports is much more severe,” the committee added. In other areas, public transit “could be seriously disrupted,” and the maritime shipping industry “has not moved aggressively toward compliance,” the committee said.
Health care: “Because of limited resources and lack of awareness, rural and inner-city hospitals have particularly high Y2K risk exposure.” The committee cited one study’s finding that 64 percent of hospitals -- primarily smaller ones -- have no plans to test their Y2K remediation efforts.
National security: The Senate committee quoted testimony provided by the U.S. defense-related Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico that “terrorists, hackers and other criminals might see Y2K as a prime opportunity to attack pieces of our infrastructure. Or they might use Y2K-induced infrastructure failures as cover for theft, arson, bombings, etc. We must be watchful of such groups in the months leading up to Y2K … .” Concerning the Department of Defense, the Senate committee noted it has “monumental Y2K problems and is severely behind in addressing them.” Utilizing 1.5 million computers, 28,000 automated information systems and 10,000 computer networks, the committee noted that DOD “relies on computer systems to conduct nearly all of its functions, including strategic and tactical military operations; sophisticated weaponry; intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination; security efforts; and more routine business operations such as payroll and logistics.”
Litigation: Legislation is needed to buffer the nation’s businesses -- and the legal system -- from a possible wave of “abusive lawsuits” stemming from Y2K, the committee said. “Since our economic sectors are inextricably intertwined, one company’s inability to fulfill its business contracts opens it and all the companies that depend upon it to liability,” the committee explained. “The result is a litigation domino effect, which allows the Y2K failure of one company to topple all of its business partners. A broad range of businesses and individuals will suffer some kind of economic injury, and many will undoubtedly seek recourse by filing lawsuits.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------- SBC leader urges conservatives to reflect Christlike behavior by Dwayne Hastings Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday AUSTIN, Texas (BP)--Issuing a call for a kinder, gentler and more loving witness, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention said March 1 the world needs to see conservative evangelicals presenting an authentic Christianity.
"What would happen in 2001 if God's people began to act like God's people?" Paige Patterson asked at the 33rd annual conference of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in Austin, Texas.
"One of the tragedies in our world today is that there are conservative, Bible-believing Christians whose lives do not match their professions [of faith]," said Patterson, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. He expressed concern with those "who are often unkind, uncharitable and un-Christlike in how they express the gospel and how they establish the mandate of God."
A Christian's life is the frame that holds the gospel, Patterson said, recalling a visit to an art museum where he noted how the poor condition of a painting's frame detracted from the beauty of the painting.
"While the frame is not really important, it's the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that is important," Patterson said. "But if the frame is ugly and marred, sometimes people won't hear the message because of the ugliness of the messenger.
"I believe we have come to a stage in America when no longer are we going to be heard if our lives do not stand behind our witness," Patterson said, not citing specific instances but saying he was "preaching to preachers." He said Christians must find a way to say to even those with whom they are in diametric opposition: "We love you in Jesus Christ."
"Let your life be without hypocrisy," Patterson said, echoing Romans 12:9 and explaining a hypocrite was originally an actor in a Greek play or drama who would play a multitude of characters by donning different masks.
"When our lives are inconsistent with our professions, we become hypocrites," he said, adding that "a watching world is looking at every move we make.”
"The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God," Patterson insisted during the ERLC’s "Faith, Family, and Freedom: The Moral Challenges of the Next Millennium" conference at Austin’s Great Hills Baptist Church.
Christians who are crestfallen with the state of society and the crisis in the culture on the eve of the new millennium should take heart, he said, noting the world is looking for those who have a solution to the hurt and hopelessness they are feeling.
"What an opportunity," Patterson exclaimed. "The more bad things that happen, the more people begin to realize there are no worldly solutions." He said answers will not be found within the realm of government or public policy, though still urging Christians to be active in the public square.
"There is no place where the superiority of Christian faith becomes so apparent as when you are in middle of trouble and tribulation," Patterson said, looking again to the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans wherein Paul urged Christians there to persevere in their trials.
"I don't know anybody happier than a Spirit-filled child of God," Patterson said. "There's no room for complaining. We are to be rejoicing in hope.
"When you are worn out, you stay with it," Patterson insisted, saying the text paints the picture of someone laboring under a heavy load. "The world is going to listen when you are framing the beautiful picture of the gospel."
A Christian's response to those who persecute and attack colors the gospel to which a believer is to be witnessing, Patterson said. The Apostle Paul's call to heap burning coals upon the head of an enemy, as recorded in verse 20 of Romans 12, is not a statement of retribution but a statement of the conviction the Spirit of God brings upon an individual as a result of a Christian's faithful and true portrayal of the gospel, he said.
One of the toughest passages in all the Bible is the verse that makes clear vengeance is the Lord's, Patterson suggested. “’I will repay,’ says the Lord; our responsibility is to bless those who persecute us," he said. "Bless and not curse."
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Father of deceased firefighter knows son ‘answered God’s call o by Cindy Kerr Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Brisk Texas winds whisk cold ashes and flutter yellow police tape stretched across the lot where the Precious Faith Temple once stood in a Fort Worth, Texas, suburb. Little seems secure after a Feb. 15 church fire when two would-be daddies, both outstanding Christian men, and a young volunteer lost their lives fighting the blaze possibly started by an arsonist.
Family, friends and firefighters from around the nation and world gathered to remember Phillip Dean, Brian Collins and Garry Sanders at Birchman Baptist in Fort Worth during three separate memorial services held on consecutive days beginning with Dean's, Thursday, Feb. 18.
Facing the inevitable question of why this tragedy had to happen, John Collins, Brian's father, shared that despite the pain of losing his son, God is still in control.
Brian, 35, who had taught Sunday school, was off-duty and fought his last fire as a volunteer. His father, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate and minister of senior adults at Birchman, knew Brian understood the risks of firefighting and was simply answering God's call.
"If he came to me right now and said, ‘Dad, is it OK for me to continue being a fireman next week, even if it costs me my life?' I would say, ‘Son, go do it. This is what God has called you to do.' The Lord called us both to a ministry. Mine is with people through the Word; his was with people through the fire department," the elder Collins said.
While his father attended Southwestern, Brian, then in middle school, heard of another seminary student, an associate pastor, whose house had burned. The man rescued his children but thought his wife, who had escaped another way, was still inside. He died trying to find her in the burning house. "That made a very dramatic impression on him," Collins remembered.
"For Brian's death to come while volunteering in a church fire shows that our God is a God of circumstances," said Collins. "I think he's trying to say something through Brian's life that will live on beyond him."
Brian majored on fire protection, evidenced in his fire station where he constantly challenged his peers to attain a level of excellence through training plans and classes he designed to make his colleagues the safest firefighters possible. He was introduced by fellow firefighters as "Brian Collins: Fire runs from him."
"Brian didn't take chances," said Collins. "He always told me, ‘Dad, if I ever think there is a problem, risk factors considered, I'll play it safe."
Brian's concern reached past the fire department. The first thing he did upon entering a building was to check for sprinkler heads in the ceiling and look for exits.
"It wasn't paranoia, but if something happened, he wanted to be able to respond and do it knowingly," said Collins.
His father is picking up where his son left off.
"The Lord gave us all the information we needed to prevent this tragedy; he told us what we needed to do," said Collins, who warns churches against cutting corners in fire safety.
He urged churches to clean up trash-filled rooms, to add exits to building extensions, to put in a sprinkler system "no matter how ugly you think it looks" and to make fire safety foundational to avoid facing what the pastor of Precious Faith Temple is facing.
"I know his heart has to be broken. Brian's and Phillip's and Gary's death certificates were filled in about 35 years ago when that church building was originally built," said Collins.
Collins said that if the fire had taken place 24 hours earlier during Sunday morning services, "We'd be burying children, youth, parents, grandpas and grandmas rather than three firemen."
Area businesses and residents collected thousands of dollars for the three firefighters' families. Since his grandchildren's education is covered, Collins is encouraging Brian's station to use the money to get infrared equipment.
"Without it, the fire chief must act like he is blindfolded sending blind men into a deadly situation," said Collins.
One of Brian's fellow firefighters in the burning church said that, though he had been in smoke-filled fire training rooms in fire academy and in other fires, he had never been in a place as dark as the room where Brian died.
Even in the loss of his son, Collins is anxiously awaiting God's next move.
"You wonder how God brings good out of all things. Right now there is almost an excitement to see what God will do," said Collins, who has seen God move mightily among firefighters because of Brian's example and sacrifice.
"One of the firemen told me, ‘I go to church, but if my epitaph had to be written right now, no one could say I was a godly man. That's what I want my children to know me as -- a godly man,'" said Collins. "Three other firemen told me they'd been looking for a church and thought, after this week, they'd found one. One guy said, ‘I can't remember ever being in church, but I want what Brian had.'"
Collins was able to share with one of the fallen firefighter's brothers, also a fireman.
"I want you to know there's another relationship that you need, and that's the one with your Father above," he told the man. "It's even better than the ones you've got now, and just as great, it's going to take those you already have now and just expand, deepen and widen them."
The honor that firefighters from all over the world and the city of Fort Worth paid his son overwhelmed Collins. Seeing thousands of firefighter badges covered by black swatches and shoulder patches of Oklahoma City departments, whose firefighters are the "epitome of what firemen are called to go through," caused his tears to flow. Yet Collins found God's grace to offer the final prayer over his son's casket at graveside.
"My prayer was to thank the Lord for what he'd given us in Brian, and just seek him to be a husband to the widows and a father to the fatherless," Collins said.
Through this tragedy, Collins challenges Christians to ask the Lord to do something great. On Feb. 14, the day before the fire, John and other men met with their pastor at 8 a.m. to pray.
"Without exception all four of us asked the Lord to take Birchman and do something through her during that week to impact the community, that they might know the love of Christ. Everybody would pray that, right?" said Collins. "In closing though, we added, ‘and we're willing to pay the cost.'"
After the final memorial service at Birchman Saturday, which once again drew crowds in the thousands, it dawned on Collins that God had indeed answered the prayer. He thanked God.
"It was a continuation of being able to stand before my son's coffin and say, ‘Lord, thank you for 35 years with a son who has honored you, and now is being honored by men,'" he said.
"If you told me 25 years ago I'd be talking about this, I would have said, ‘No way would I pay the price,'" said Collins. "But God didn't ask me back then; he asked me now."
"I miss my son," said Collins with tears in his eyes. "He was a boy who answered God's call on his life, followed him faithfully, walked into a situation knowing his life was in danger, trusted the men around him enough to stay dedicated to serve, and God called him home."
Terry Caywood, director of business services at Southwestern, was asked to deliver the message during the memorial service for Dean. The two met when Caywood taught Dean and his wife, Renea, in a Sunday school class for young married couples. Dean, 29, was active in his church where he led a mission trip, became a Sunday school teacher and played guitar.
"Phillip has given love, friendship, dedication and now his life in service to the community," Caywood told the nearly 2,000 mourners. "Yet Phillip knew someone who gave his life also. That someone was not merely a man but Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection makes possible the gift of new life.
"Phillip could not be saved from that fire," Caywood continued. "But before he ever stepped foot in that building on Monday, his belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior had already saved him from the eternal fire of hell."
Caywood shared how to have new life through faith in Christ. Knowing that an altar call was out of the question with the massive crowd, names and numbers of area Baptist churches were printed on the back of funeral bulletins for further guidance.
"The memorial service was a phenomenal event," said Caywood. "Firefighters have an incredible brotherhood that I've never experienced before. My hope is that God was glorified."
He was, according to John Babler, assistant professor of social work and ministry-based evangelism at Southwestern and member of Birchman.
Babler reminds those who minister to people in grief to prayerfully consider family needs and make specific offers to help. "Offering to do laundry or take the kids to the zoo will help much more than, ‘Call me if you need anything,'" he said. When he lost his brother at a young age, Babler remembered trying to make sense of school or how the next meal would be important. "You don't remember what people say at a time like that," he said. "You just remember that they're there."
Opportunities to minister in the aftermath of this tragedy abound. Phillip's wife, Renea, delivered their first child, Elijah Phillip, Saturday, Feb. 20, two days after his father was buried. Brian's wife, Mary, is due with their third child, a son, in June.
Donations in honor of the three fireman are being received.
For Phillip Dean, contact: Christian Sports Outreach International, 6052 Hillcrest Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76148, or Prison Fellowship Ministries, 1856 Old Reston Ave., Reston, VA 20190-3321.
For Brian Collins, contact: Mary Collins Trust Fund, c/o Fort Worth City Credit Union, Box 100099, Fort Worth, TX 76185-0099.
For donations to the fallen firefighter fund, contact: Nations Bank,5251 River Oaks Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76114.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Many ‘prophets,’ he reminds, cannot deliver people from sin by Norman Miller Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--“Practice what you preach” and “preach what you practice” are habits Christians should develop, said Forrest E. Lowry, pastor of the near-5,000-member Spring (Texas) Baptist Church, said Feb. 25 at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
In introductory remarks to a sermon on “The True Prophets of Doom,” Lowry reflected on the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee earlier in the week, noting committee members were encouraged by “how different the SBC is now as compared to 1979. We were rejoicing in the spirit of the seminaries, in the leadership of the seminaries and in what God is doing.”
Lowery, who serves as Executive Committee secretary, continued by saying, “I want to say as a Texan not to believe everything you hear coming out of the Lone Star State. We get surprised ourselves, as a matter of fact, by statements that are made and predictions that are coming.”
Lowry was responding to comments by Russell H. Dilday Jr., president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, who was quoted by an Abilene newspaper Jan. 19 as saying that three SBC seminaries could lose $3 million in funding through changes he believes will come in how the BGCT’s Cooperative Program allocations.
Dilday added the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission to his list in an interview with the Baptist Standard published Jan. 25. Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., were the seminaries Dilday listed.
“It is our desire and our prayer that if certain leaders in the [BGCT] should attempt to defund Southern Seminary or Southeastern or Midwestern that the rest of us in Texas would do everything we could to make that up,” said Lowry, whose church is affiliated only with the BGCT and the SBC.
Preaching from Jeremiah 23, Lowry said, “Some years ago God took this passage and really emblazoned into my heart a fear that there would ever be a time in my life and ministry that … I might somehow deviate from the path and somehow come to the point where my ministry would be of no value -- that I would really strengthen evildoers in their wickedness and sin rather than turning evildoers away from sin.”
Jeremiah, “the weeping prophet, was brokenhearted and troubled” by the condition of prophets of his day, Lowry said.
They were “wicked shepherds [and] political leaders who did not have the integrity necessary to lead the nation,” he recounted. “‘They do not benefit these people in then least, declares the Lord,’” said Lowry, quoting verse 32.
Lowry said Jeremiah’s counterparts gave a “false message of hope,” so that the people were comforted in their wickedness and did not change their lifestyles. “They were truly prophets of doom.”
Modern preachers, Lowry warned, should not become such prophets.
He noted the danger, for example, of a sermon on homosexuality that attempts “to contextualize it in today’s framework and say, ‘Well, it’s a physical predisposition. After all, it’s the way God made them. It’s a natural, normal, alternate lifestyle.’
“The result of that is [homosexuals] can never ever experience the deliverance of God and the freedom from that oppressive sin -- just like any other sin,” Lowry said.
Declaring that homosexuality “is not normal” and is “biblically against the will of God and the way of God” offers hope and deliverance, he said. Then, through “repentance and faith, just like anyone else,” homosexuals can experience freedom and can be changed.
“When we speak about abortion, we can try to soften the message and say, ‘A woman [has] a right to choose; after all, it’s a fetus, an unwanted blob of tissue attached to a woman temporarily. You’ve got to, after all, consider the issue of incest and rape and all the other things’ [in an effort] to contextualize it,” Lowry said.
“But the bottom line is, if we lovingly and graciously point out that this is a sin against God, we give young women the right to make a right choice. [If we] give them the truth of God’s Word in compassion and kindness and mercy and forgiveness and love, then they can be transformed, and then they can experience hope.”
The preaching of the prophets in Jeremiah’s day, however, was “profane” and “polluted,” Lowry said. Their lifestyles “demonstrated and verified the lie of their theological persuasion [indicating] they were following vain ideas.”
“Not only did they live a lie, they preached a lie. They were speaking a powerless message -- no power to deliver anyone from their sin.” Because of those things, the Lord promised the prophets serious disaster, Lowry said.
“They enabled idolaters and disabled no wickedness. What an epitaph of failure,” he said.
“That’s not what I want to be remembered for. That’s not what you want to be remembered for. We want to be able to know that we lovingly and graciously can proclaim the truth of God so that people’s lives can be impacted with the truth and they then can make a choice for righteousness -- a choice that God will then empower and enable them to make to do what is right, not what is wrong.”
To reach such a goal and to avoid the pitfalls of the prophets of doom, Lowry contended that the Lord’s people need to do the opposite of what the false prophets did. He listed “action steps we need to take, since this passage is true:”
-- Always stand in the council of the Lord. Commit to spend quantity and quality time with the Lord. There is no shortcut.
-- Decide today to speak only the Word of the Lord. Preach his Word and proclaim his ways.
-- Be dedicated to supporting the will and work of the Lord. Seek to help sinners turn and be delivered and be transformed from their wicked ways.
“With God’s help, and our prayers together, just maybe none of us will ever be prophets of doom,” Lowry said. “I trust that it will never be said of any of us in this room that we were of no benefit at all to [God’s] people.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Draper cites 3 reasons why it’s ‘worth it’ to serve God by Joan Wetzel Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--“Does it pay to serve God? Is it worth it?”
The president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention asked these questions rhetorically Feb. 25 at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on the final day of a special emphasis week on the ministry of LifeWay.
James T. Draper Jr., preaching in chapel from Malachi 3, said those in Christian ministry today can well understand the circumstances and questions raised in the classic passage about a faithful remnant. While they walked with God, they experienced disappointment and despair and felt forgotten by God. At the same time, wicked, arrogant, callous people who tested God succeeded and prospered.
Draper presented three answers to the basic question, “Is it really worth it serving God?”
First, “it pays to serve God if you’d rather God hear you than anyone else. It pays to serve God if you’d rather get God’s attention than anyone else.”
God is even gracious to hear and listen to various types of complaints, Draper said, such as:
-- an exclamation: “It’s vain to serve God!” Other Bible heroes such as the prophet Jeremiah expressed this feeling of “anguished faith,” which Draper also described in terms of “What will you do when your neatly wrapped theology doesn’t work?”
-- a question: “What value, what profit, what’s the use? Is it futile serving God?” The remnant had faithfully kept God’s ordinances, but at the moment the result did not seem profitable.
-- an observation: Those who walked uprightly observed the wicked succeeding when they did not.
“When faith falters, we need someone to talk to. God listens. His attention never diminishes,” Draper said, encouraging ministers to feel free to express their feelings and even complaints to God.
Second, serving God is worth it “if you’d rather be remembered by God than by anybody else.”
The names of his faithful servants are always before God, Draper said. “The world forgets us, but God never does.” The things God remembers through all eternity are his servants, Draper said.
Third, it pays to serve God “if you’d rather be a treasure than have a treasure.”
“God, who could have anything in the world to be his treasure, will treasure most his servants,” Draper said.
Draper was one of a team of 16 administrators and staff members from LifeWay to lead a special emphasis week at NOBTS focused on the variety of ministry resources and services available through LifeWay.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 commission, 5 functions, 4 results fuel churches for ‘kingdom’ by Joan Wetzel Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--“Gene Mims was serving as a pastor. He woke up one day and realized he was on a merry-go-round.” Barry Campbell, manager of the professional development section of the pastor-staff leadership department at LifeWay Christian Resources, relayed this background on Mims, LifeWay’s current vice president of the church resources division, in opening a seminar on “Building Healthy Churches” Feb. 24 at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. After serving 20 years in the same church, Mims found he was doing the same type of activities at the same time each year. “Mims began to pray about how to get off the merry-go-round, a never-ending cycle,” Campbell said during a special seminary emphasis week on the ministry of LifeWay. During his prayerful search, “God gave Mims something,” Campbell said: an equation that could revolutionize the way churches approach evangelism. As a result, Mims wrote a book, “Kingdom Principles for Church Growth,” about “the 1-5-4 principle,” as it is known, which any church, large or small, can use effectively, Campbell said. Starting with the Great Commission, the “one” of 1-5-4, the church receives its “marching orders” to make disciples, baptize them and teach them according to the commands of Christ in Matthew 28:18-20. The “five” signifies the five functions every healthy church must be about: -- evangelism. “Reaching people for Jesus” needs to be every church’s “command, joy, priority,” Campbell said. -- discipleship. As defined in the five functions, this simply means teaching. “One believer encounters another and the result is they are both more like Jesus in what they think and what they do,” Campbell said. -- fellowship. This term is “harder to define,” Campbell said. “When one believer gets under the load [burdens, cares or concerns] of another believer,” that is fellowship. -- ministry. “Meeting needs in Jesus’ name” is Mims’ definition of ministry. “The Bible says Jesus looked at them, had compassion on them,” and then healed or fed or taught them, Campbell said. “If we take time to look at people, we can help them,” he said, adding, “The most effective and important way to minister to the church is through the Sunday school.” -- worship. Worship “is not the last priority. It is an absolutely essential function of the church,” Campbell said. The “four”signifies the four results flowing from the functions. “If I do these five functions and do them in a healthy manner,” Campbell said, “then I’ll experience:” -- numerical growth. -- spiritual growth. -- expanding ministries. -- expanding missions. The “process to build a healthy church” helps apply the 1-5-4 principle to the everyday life of the church, Campbell said. First, teach people about the kingdom of God. “The smaller the church, the more important to share this truth” since people need a “kingdom perspective,” Campbell said. Second, teach people about the Great Commission. Third, lead people to determine a purpose, vision or mission statement to help them understand why the church is there. Campbell said his book, “Tool Box for Busy Pastors,” goes into detail about how to do this. Fourth, people need a spiritual giftedness inventory to direct them in areas of service. Fifth, people need to brainstorm about the “SWOTS: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the threats of things to shut you down.” By taking these five steps in the process and applying them to the five functions, Campbell said a church can develop a plan of action that is suitable for that church. That application or planning has three steps according to the 1-5-4 model: -- review: Take each of the five functions one at a time and review and evaluate it in light of what the church is doing in that area. -- possibilities: Consider the possibilities of how the church can succeed in each function, make a dream list and discuss it. -- actions: Choose actions that the church can take for each function. Each function “needs to be considered in light of the five process items: kingdom, Great Commission, purpose, spiritual giftedness and SWOTS. As a result, Campbell said, “you will have balance and focus” as the church moves ahead in kingdom work. --30-- -------------------------------------------------------------------- It takes a Bible to raise a child, Christian school advocate says by Doy Cave Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--The church is slowly losing its most valuable asset -- its children -- and at least one education specialist says the solution rests in one thing: renewing their minds.
Citing Christian sociologist George Barna, Glen Schultz said only 7 to 8 percent of people identifying themselves as Christians today are biblical in their understanding of life. Therefore, today’s society is headed for either spiritual revival or moral anarchy, he said, and the generation determining which direction society will take is now sitting in today’s classrooms.
Schultz, director of Christian school resources for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, said the education children presently are receiving in many classrooms may contribute to their failure in achieving the Great Commission of the church.
“We’re betraying our children,” Schultz said. “We’ve prepared our kids to go to college and get a good job. We’re not preparing them for any kind of spiritual service. We’re not preparing them to think and act from a biblical perspective.”
Schultz visited the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Feb. 22-23 during a special emphasis week on the ministry of LifeWay. He challenged both parents and educators to see the crisis in which he said they find themselves.
Some research suggests 70 percent of teens attending a church youth group will stop attending church within two years of high school graduation, he said. Of those 70 percent, 50 percent will never come back. The problem, he said, is in the way Christians have let their children be educated.
“The end result of all education is a worldview,” Schultz said. “That worldview is either man-centered or God-centered. We tell our kids to love the Lord, get good grades and do well in school. Many schools teach things like evolution, directly refuting our biblical view, yet we tell them to get good grades, and therefore they end up believing these philosophies.”
Today, SBC churches are doing only a portion of their part in successfully educating children with a biblical perspective. Though state conventions send millions of dollars to Baptist colleges, they are reaching their target several years too late, he said. By the time a child reaches age 18, Schultz said, that child already has formed a general worldview upon which he will build the rest of his character and life. Therefore, Schultz said, it is time for the church to get serious about the total education of children and youth.
“When considering the church’s desire to evangelize the world, we must realize there is no better way to do this than to raise a generation that knows Christ and is equipped to serve him,” he said.
“Children are God’s homework assignment to parents. When I’m through training my child, I’m handing Christ an arrow to use on the spiritual battleground.”
Being aware of Christian education and subsequently starting Christian schools or home schools is not a new topic, but Schultz said it is a topic that has not gained the needed importance over the years. Would-be participants in Christian or home schools say the idea is a valid goal, but money or space or circumstances won’t allow the goal to become a reality.
Schultz, however, said if Christians believe in God and what he can do, the solution is quite simple: They must practice complete stewardship of their lives. He said he has talked with many pastors who voice the same fears about starting a school and said his answer is always the same: “If this is truly how God is leading, if this is truly how he wants us to educate our children -- and I believe it is -- would God allow it to fail? Would he give a church a vision for education and then fail to provide the funds and space to see the vision fulfilled? Not the God I know.”
Schultz said not only has God stated the importance of rearing children biblically, but the SBC also addressed the task of Christian schooling in 1963 with the writing of the Baptist Faith and Message.
“I recently researched the Baptist Faith and Message ... ,” Schultz wrote in his latest book, “Kingdom Education.” “In its article on education, I found these words: ‘The cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches. An adequate system of Christian schools is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ's people.’
“Three sentences later, it gives clear indication that the term ‘Christian schools’ did not apply merely to those involved in higher education,” he continued. “It describes ‘... a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary ... .’”
“Throughout his Word, God makes it clear to us that the education of the next generation is close to his heart. Therefore, it should receive the liberal support of the churches,” Schultz emphasized.
In spite of his passion to see children educated in the ways of the Scriptures, Schultz said his mission is not to convince every church to start a school, and he does not advocate churches simply giving children a replica of secular schooling within the confines of the church. He said the church has many times made a mistake in educating its children, focusing its attention on modifying their actions rather than focusing on forming their beliefs based on God’s Word.
“If we keep pressuring our children about their actions, they’ll conform as long as they are under our control,” he said.
“Secular education has shifted its focus off of appearances and actions. They have softened their limits on dress codes and such, but have focused on impacting students’ beliefs. Evolution teaches children that there is no supernatural being and that man has evolved from lower life forms. This has led to a secular mind-set, even in the church,” he said.
“Education is really just passing on our heritage to the next generation,” he continued. “I just don’t find in Scripture where we should allow the unsaved to explain life to our children. You can’t have Christian education without the Bible, and that means unsaved teachers and a secular education cannot properly prepare our children for eternity.”
Schultz said his main mission is to get the church to think about education from a totally biblical perspective, living out the mission in 2 Corinthians 10, in which the Apostle Paul admonishes every Christian to take every thought captive to Christ.
There is much work that must be done quickly, Schultz said. With society becoming more and more ambiguous about morality and the place of spirituality within the confines of the classroom, Schultz said Christians should step up to the plate and start talking about how the church will instill those values in the children. One thing is for sure: The Bible must be a basis for it all.
“If you remove God’s Word from education,” he said, “all you’re left with is human indoctrination.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Women exhorted to seek ‘balance’ when facing ‘100 differe by Debbie Moore Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS (BP)--“The hands of time will strangle you if you’re not careful,” said a 26-year employee of LifeWay Christian Resources, adding she desperately needs to take a time management course available at her place of employment, “but who has time?”
Linda Thompson, of LifeWay’s church resources division, addressed women in or preparing for various types of ministry service during a luncheon at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Feb. 24. Thompson was one of a team of 16 staff members and administrators from LifeWay to lead daily seminars during a special emphasis week at NOBTS focused on the variety of ministry resources and services available through LifeWay.
“Living a life in ministry is often like living a life walking across a balance beam,” Thompson said. “The key to keeping your balance is focus, but focus is still a matter of balance because you can’t focus too much!”
The Apostle Paul wrote a thesis on balance maintenance and simplification in 1 Corinthians 10, Thompson said. Paul’s advice concludes with (in Thompson’s paraphrase), “You have to do this and that, but whatever you do, maintain balance and do all to the glory of God.”
“Life gets in a whirl,” Thompson said. “We attempt to do 100 different things and usually end up not doing anything well,” losing balance totally.
Four important principles must be remembered, Thompson said, to keep balance:
-- “Re-establish the goal in your life, remembering God created us for his glory, [which is] the purpose of our existence.”
-- “Redirect that focus on where you’re going,” which should be to seek God first.
-- “Rethink your motivation,” remembering “what brought you here in the first place.” This principle alone should enable a woman to be able to say “no” more often, Thompson said.
-- “Re-enter God’s rest,” taking time to relax. This point is “a must,” she said, in order to get balance back.
More than 100 women attended the luncheon, which also featured Linda Miniard, a specialist with LeaderCare, a hotline service for Southern Baptist ministers and their family members; and Jerri Herring, a consultant with LifeWay’s Sunday school ministries department.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. senators, religious leaders call for reconciliation after impeachment by Tom Strode Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday WASHINGTON (BP)--U.S. senators and religious leaders joined together recently to call for reconciliation in the wake of the divisive impeachment process.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and leaders from other religious groups spoke at a reconciliation breakfast sponsored by Sens. Sam Brownback, R.-Kan., and Joseph Lieberman, D.-Ct. Brownback and Lieberman are co-chairmen of the Center for Jewish and Christian Values.
Among those gathered for the Feb. 25 service in a Senate office building were seven other senators: Democrats Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Charles Robb of Virginia and Republicans John Ashcroft of Missouri, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Ted Stevens of Alaska.
No one "can claim victory" from what the country went through during the investigation, impeachment and trial of President Clinton, Lieberman said. Nobody "can reach the conclusion that the events of the last year have not left their mark, have not left their wounds, have not left a certain division among our people and a certain confusion about standards and values … ," he said.
Yet the process seemed to unite senators "more than we've ever been united before," Lieberman said. Reconciliation needs to be extended from members of Congress to the president and be returned by him "as we go forward," he said.
"We in the Senate have served recently as jurors ... and judges," Brownback said. "Now, I hope we can serve as reconcilers.
"And I would hope that we can start a movement across this country of reconciliation, and we can encourage people who have been unreconciled" for a long time.
For people to be reconciled, they "do not give up on principle, but reach out constantly in reconciliation," Brownback said.
President Lincoln was cited by at least three of the speakers as a model of reconciliation. He granted more pardons than any other U.S. president, Brownback said. The senator told of one occasion when a man awakened Lincoln in his bed to plead the case of a young solider who was to be executed for falling asleep on guard duty. Lincoln got up, dressed and went to the War Department to intervene for the soldier.
"No one could accuse President Lincoln of being hesitant to stand for something,” Land said, “and yet, having stood, having stood on principle, having stood on what he believed was a profound issue of right and wrong, he could say that the nation must bind up its wounds and must move forward with malice toward none and charity for all.”
Land noted, "We are called upon to speak the truth in love," which he suggested as meaning "we must ask God to cultivate in each of us the heart" of Jeremiah, who confronted God's people in their sins and unfaithfulness, yet "did so with a quiver in his voice and a tear in his eye."
The New Testament teaches a Christian is responsible for seeking reconciliation whether he is the offending or offended party, Brownback and Land said.
"For a Christian, if we think about what God has forgiven us in Christ, how dare we, how dare we, harbor an unforgiving spirit in our heart," said Land, who used the model prayer of Matthew 6 as the basis for his comments.
"It is not an option for a Christian. We must be ambassadors of reconciliation."
Others who spoke at the service were Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Justin Rigali, archbishop of St. Louis; and Yechiel Eckstein, a Jewish rabbi and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Senate Chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie led in prayer.
The Center for Jewish and Christian Values is the Washington-based, public-policy office of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Hammond honored for church recreation achievements by Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday GLORIETA, N.M. (BP)--Robert D. Hammond, retired minister of recreation at Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, was presented the 1999 Frank Hart Smith Lifetime Achievement Award during Rec Lab at Glorieta (N.M.) Conference Center, Feb. 14.
The award is named for the late Frank Hart "Pogo" Smith, a longtime Southern Baptist church recreation leader who taught the use of recreation as a tool for ministry and building relationships. The award, presented by the church recreation program of LifeWay Christian Resources, is given to individuals who have exhibited a lifetime of ministry excellence using recreation to impact their church and community.
At age 47, Hammond was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which led to his beginning a class for senior citizens and Parkinson's rehabilitation as a part of the church recreation program.
Hammond took early retirement last year after 29 years on Broadway’s staff. Earlier, he spent six years on the staff of First Baptist Church, San Antonio.
Bill Chamblee, recreation minister at First Baptist Church, Denton, Texas, introduced Hammond at the award presentation, observing "he doesn't give up. He has continued a diet and exercise program that has slowed the progression of Parkinson's."
Chamblee said Hammond has been an innovator, including development of a day camp curriculum later used at Ridgecrest (N.C.) and Glorieta (N.M.) conference centers.
A native of Oklahoma City, Hammond is a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, and earned the master's degree in kinesiological studies from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth.
He was among the founders of the Texas Baptist Recreation Association, begun in 1968, and has worked with all age groups in recreation ministry, encompassing camping and outdoor education, sports, social activities and physical fitness.
The church recreation program of LifeWay Christian Resources sponsored Rec Lab.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Disaster relief workers respond as killer tornadoes hit Arkansas by Trennis Henderson & Russ Dilday Date: March 03, 1999 - Wednesday ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (BP)--Hours after killer tornadoes ripped through several counties in Arkansas, Baptist disaster relief efforts were in full operation in Arkadelphia and Little Rock. The March 1 storms killed at least 24 people, injured more than 300 and damaged or destroyed more than 800 houses and businesses. "This was 31 years of our life just blown up before us," Karen Kirkpatrick said early Sunday morning as she sifted through debris from the previous afternoon's tornado that devastated much of downtown Arkadelphia. Standing amid the rubble of what had been her family's business, she added, "We're not the only ones suffering. At least we've got our lives and our health. We have so much to be thankful for ... . Everyone has banded together and we're united -- just pray for us." Two blocks away at First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia, the Arkansas Baptist Men's feeding unit was busy preparing meals for storm victims and relief workers. More than 20 disaster relief volunteers manned the unit, preparing more than 1,000 meals for distribution Sunday afternoon. Disaster relief coordinator Ronnie O'Neal said he expected the number of meals being served to double during the next several days. While First Baptist and nearby Ouachita Baptist University escaped any serious damage during the storm, the offices of Red River Baptist Association suffered extensive damage. "We don't know what we're going to do with our offices but the ministry goes on," noted Maurice Hitt, Red River Association director of missions. "The indications are the building has shifted on its foundation. It may be structurally beyond repair." Refusing to let the property damage sidetrack ministry efforts, Hitt emphasized, "That building is nothing but a tool. It is not our ministry. I can see interruptions but I do not see the ministry being damaged." He added he already has received an offer of a office building for the association to use. As church members, Boy Scouts and other volunteers joined disaster relief workers at First Baptist, pastor Kevin Lee noted the church had hosted a disaster relief training conference only three weeks before -- never imagining the same facility would be transformed into a disaster relief site. Affirming disaster relief efforts "make all the difference in the world," Lee added, "The visible reminder that there are people who care helps reach these folks who are in absolute despair." In addition to feeding efforts, First Baptist has offered its facilities for use by the state convention's disaster relief child care unit. Across town at Park Hill Baptist Church, Red Cross volunteers set up a shelter that housed 14 people the night of the storm. "It's great that the churches open their facilities to the Red Cross for shelters," pointed out Red Cross worker Fred Fox of Hot Springs. "People are devastated when their homes are destroyed. They are physically drained and need someplace to rest and sleep." "We always thought we were immune," noted First Baptist member Otis Turner, an Arkadelphia attorney whose title office was destroyed. Despite the widespread devastation, "it could have been so much more terrible," he said. "Just clean up and start over -- that's all you can do." While feeding efforts were under way in Arkadelphia, three cleanup teams of Arkansas Baptist Men were mobilized early Sunday morning in areas of south Pulaski County and north Saline County. The work crews helped families remove debris from their yards and roofs -- or what was left of their homes. Sixteen men from Sherwood, Jacksonville and Little Rock helped with the efforts with chain saws, a front-end loader and bare hands. An additional 10 men were expected to join the teams Monday. They concentrated their work in an area where a tornado injured 20, destroyed approximately 60 homes and damaged scores of other residences. When they arrived at the affected area, many team members were left speechless by the sight of homes that were leveled and forested areas flattened by the storm. The storm hit close to home for many of the crew members. Hunter Douglas, a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, saw the twister as it cut a path less than a mile from his home. Later that evening, he helped a local woman break through debris to reach her mother in a destroyed home -- to find her safe in her bedroom. The team was aided in their cleanup efforts by a new weapon -- a computer map system used by Douglas at his home-turned-command center that allowed coordinators to make assignments street by street. Crew member Ken Scott, a member of First Baptist Church in Gravel Ridge and a veteran of cleanup efforts last year in Van Buren, Ark., said the Baptist Men's crews "are going to stay as long as it takes" to clean up. Surveying the damage surrounding him, he added, "We may be back for several days." Looking at the small team of volunteers, Scott said, "If more men knew the feeling you get from helping others, we'd have the field full of people out here. I feel like I was led to do it, and it's a good feeling to help people when they are absolutely helpless." "Disaster relief is the best-kept secret in the whole convention," agreed team coordinator Warren Burleson, a member of Highland Heights Baptist Church in Benton. "In fact, we cleaned up a yard for a couple (members of a Southern Baptist church) and they had no idea we had anything like this. The next thing they asked is, 'How do we sign up?'" "Our greatest resources is our volunteers," O'Neal emphasized. "We're reaching out with the love of God to hurting people and showing them that, through our Baptist Men, that God loves them." --30--