
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/16/2002

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Mosaic: a church with God's passion for the whole world
by Mary Jane Welch
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

LOS ANGELES (BP)--Lights dance across the walls of the downtown Los Angeles nightclub as hundreds of young people -- Asian, Anglo and Latino -- sway and clap to the music. The room pulses with youth and energy as the excitement builds. But a hush settles over the room when a man perches casually on a stool and begins to talk about three symbols of death -- the cross, baptism and the Lord's Supper -- key symbols of the Christian faith.

This is Mosaic, a church like few others.

It's a church that's actively exploring a move downtown when other churches are headed to the suburbs.

A church whose growth is fueled by the city's single 20-somethings -- many with jobs in Hollywood -- and people from more than 50 nations.

A church whose lead pastor says Christians shouldn't be looking for a church that meets their needs, but rather, "If you're a Christian, you're trying to find a church that meets the needs of the world." 

It's that core value that has made Mosaic one of the most missionary-sending churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. More than 40 overseas workers are scattered across the world, and many more are preparing to go.

"We realized that Mosaic's vision is to be a spiritual reference point throughout Los Angeles and a sending base to the ends of the earth," lead pastor Erwin McManus explains.

L.A. is one of the world's most culturally diverse cities -- a place where Christianity is just another world religion. But that makes it an excellent proving ground for those who want to minister overseas.

Mosaic's commitment to the city is evident in their Sunday morning worship services in a suburban high school and in the life groups meeting almost any day of the week in homes across the city. And it is clear in the plan that divides the city into quadrants and assigns a pastor to reach -- and to build community -- in each.

But to see their commitment to the ends of the earth requires a deeper look.

Visit worship the Sunday after McManus, himself a resident alien from El Salvador, shares experiences from his latest trip to the other side of the globe. Partake in the Lord's Supper using Indian "nan" as the bread to get a taste of what lies ahead for the overseas worker they're commissioning that night.

Sit down with some of the folks who've moved to L.A. -- some from halfway across the country -- just to be part of a church so in tune with God's heart for the world.

That's what folks like John and Julie from Oklahoma say.

John heard former senior pastor Thom Wolf and Erwin McManus at a student missions conference called Mission '95 and made a two-week visit to Mosaic the following summer. There, he says, he understood for the first time God's passion for all the world's peoples to know him.

After college, he and Julie moved to L.A. for graduate study and to explore God's call.

At other churches Julie attended, members went to church to be fed, she says. "At Mosaic, there is the perception that our lives are about giving; the resources of God are to flow out of us."

Drop in on one of the life groups led by someone preparing to move overseas. They're learning by doing -- honing the outreach, leadership and relationship skills needed to start churches overseas.

"Our small groups are evangelistic support groups," says pastor Gerardo Marti. "Our training, the defining, the equipping are all related to what it will take for us to touch others, to connect people who are disconnected. ... Small groups have the same mission purpose, methods as what we do overseas."

Go with 100 church members on a Labor Day trip to Ensenada, Mexico, and see how they've used those skills in building relationships with government, medical and business people of Ensenada while at the same time meeting needs in Christian love.

Hear how not only Mexicans, but also non-Christians who went to serve, were moved to relationship with Jesus Christ through these efforts. Notice how those new Christians assume that being on mission is normal for a Christian.

Eat breakfast with Karin Primuth and Laura Marti as they tell about the church's mission mentoring program and how it prepares members who have made a commitment to go overseas within the next two years.

Hear their passion for making sure these people have mentors to walk alongside and encourage them so that they're not diverted from what God is calling them to do.

Hear about the tools and experiences they've developed to make sure these future overseas workers are familiar with the practical aspects of serving overseas and have developed the character and spiritual walk the church expects of them while serving.

Listen to Robyn's story. Hear how Mosaic is the first place she understood there is a loving side to God. "At Mosaic," she says, "I realized there is a God who loves you so much he died for you." And loves so much so we can share that love with others.

Hear how Robyn and her sister dropped a trip to Switzerland for a mission project in South Asia -- and how it changed her life.

Since then, God has brought Robyn many South Asian friends. And Robyn has taught herself to read and write in their language, to sing the songs they love.

And finally, hear that Robyn leaves for South Asia tomorrow.
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(BP) photos posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo titles: POWERFUL, SERVICE, WAITING, LEADERSHIP and LIFE GROUPS.


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Young adults & meaningful faith; pastors tell of strategy & passion
by James Dotson
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

ONTARIO, Calif. (BP)--It's not the message of Christ that is keeping young adults out of churches, but the church context in which that message is presented. That was the message of two California pastors who have been successful in reaching thousands of young adults and mobilizing them to reach others.

Ervin McManus, pastor of Mosaic, a Southern Baptist church in Los Angeles, and Matthew Brown, pastor of Sandals Church in nearby Riverside, were among the featured speakers at the April 10-13 Connection 2002 in Ontario, Calif. The conference -- geared primarily toward small-group breakout sessions on a variety of church planting and evangelism topics -- was the first of three regional meetings sponsored by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board this spring for pastors, missionaries and other denominational partners.

On the conference's opening night, McManus said that while the average age of his congregation is 24 and most of the growth is from new believers, there is no shortage of passionate Christians willing to step forward and assume leadership roles.

"If you're looking for a place that brings comfort, safety and stability ... this is probably not the right place for you," he said.

Every member agrees to four expectations: live a holy life, be involved actively in ministry, live an evangelistic lifestyle, and give generously, with the tithe considered a minimum.

But with the high expectations has come high commitment. The church has averaged sending one adult a month into foreign missions service, and mission trips are routine around the world.

"One of the questions we get is how do you guys send out so many missionaries," McManus said. "And I said if our church is full of missionaries then geography is really not a big issue."

And while the conference itself served as an introduction to numerous strategies and resources available for church planting and evangelism, McManus warned of the dangers of thinking that those strategies in themselves are the answer.

"Eventually you realize strategies and structures ... do not create movement &#91;of God&#93;; they simply harness movement," he said. "Movement is shaped more by value systems and not by methodologies. That's why no matter how many methodologies you teach your people, movement will never happen until there is a heart change in the people."

He said it is becoming evident that the way churches have traditionally operated is simply no longer working well. One study found that only 4 percent of those born after 1977 are likely to accept Christ, and another survey found 90 percent of pastors are unhappy and would change careers if they could do so easily.

One reason, McManus said, is that pastors often face opposition when they start doing the things God wants them to do. McManus said in the earlier days of Mosaic's transition from a more traditional Southern Baptist congregation, one of the leaders actually came to him and told him the church was becoming "too evangelistic."

Stunned, he responded, "If you don't like how evangelistic the church is right now, you're going to hate this place a year from now," McManus said.

"There is a battle taking place in the hearts of God's people. And most of us as pastors spend our time going around the heart issues," he said, out of fear for their jobs.

Brown said three years ago when the church had five members including himself God not only convinced him to continue but gave him a vision for planting 500 more churches like Sandals.

Today, the congregation averages 750 in attendance, another Sandals church plant in Mission Viejo has 200 and a third in Corona Valley that is only 10 months old had 850 in worship this past Easter. He admitted he can't start all 500 congregations by himself, but he still believes God will help bring it about.

Brown said that 30 years ago a pastor upset the status quo in California when he began inviting hippies to church. They were responding to the gospel, but members complained that they got sand on the carpet so he ripped the carpet out of the church.

"I believe in my heart that California is ready for another movement of Jesus Christ, and I want so desperately to be a part of that movement," Brown said.

Sandals does not offer something for everyone, Brown noted. But it is reaching those who have not found what they needed in the churches that do.

"Did you know that in the state of California we're losing the next generation?" Brown said. "We may have already lost it. Our generation is so confused about the church, all the failings and the problems." He added that he and his contemporaries grew up influenced by the scandals involving religious leaders in the 1980s, and the recent abuse scandals involving Catholic priests have only added to the problem.

Like Mosaic, Sandals reaches young adults by giving them leadership, not relegating them to a college department within a one-size-fits-all church. Sunday night services are established first, because students do not respond as well on Sunday morning.

But mostly, Brown said, it's a return to the basics -- to a generation that has largely no familiarity with Christianity because they were never raised in church.

"We've got to start selling people on the fact that they're guilty before a holy God and that's why they need Jesus," Brown said. "This next generation is not going to buy the feel-good stuff. It's not going to happen. You want to start a next-generation church with the Ten Commandments -- because they don't know them."

Another key part of the church's mission statement is "to be real with each other," Brown said. That includes church members -- even the pastor and staff members -- being willing to confess their sins to each other without fearing rejection.

"All I want is to see California won for Christ," Brown said. "But we're not going to do it by beating them over the head with the Scriptures and saying, 'You need to change and become perfect like me.' We've got to say, 'Why don't you come on a journey with me as I follow Jesus, and as I engage with him.' ... 	"I'm telling you, folks, this generation is ripe for Jesus, so incredibly ripe," Brown added. "Isn't that what Jesus said? The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."
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(For more on Sandals or Mosaic visit www.mosaic.org or www.sandalschurch.com. Information on the remaining Connection 2002 events, planned for Baltimore and Atlanta in May, is available at <a href="http://www.namb.net/connection">www.namb.net/connection</a>.) (BP) photos posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo titles: REACHING GENERATION NEXT and MINISTRY, NOT COMFORT.



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New Mo. convention requires voters to sign 'agreement' form
by Todd Starnes
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Organizers of a breakaway Baptist convention in Missouri will require all voting participants to sign a form affirming allegiance to the new convention.

The notice was posted on the Internet site of the new Baptist General Convention of Missouri. The convention officially will be organized during an April 19-20 meeting at the St. Louis-area Fee Fee Baptist Church in Bridgeton.

"In order to register as a 'voting participant' each person will be required to sign a registration form affirming that he/she is in agreement with, and is committed to support, the establishment of the Baptist General Convention of Missouri under the purposes set forth in the convention's Articles of Incorporation," the statement noted.

Guests to the meeting also will be required to sign a registration form indicating they are not eligible to participate in the deliberations and voting. They will, however, be allowed to observe the meeting.

Kevin Quinn, team leader for communications and technology for the Missouri Baptist Convention, said that messengers to the MBC are not required to sign any affirmation forms.

"Our constitution sets out the requirements for messengers and that is not one of the requirements," Quinn told Baptist Press.

Tom Nettles, a professor of historical theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., told Baptist Press the BGCM's decision is no different than recent actions requiring International Mission Board missionaries to affirm the Baptist Faith & Message.

Ironically, many of the leaders of the BGCM have been critical of the IMB's decision.

"If the new convention says they want people to be in agreement with them and then say that missionaries don't have to be in agreement with the Southern Baptist Convention, then it's hypocritical," Nettles said. 

However, Nettles said there is nothing wrong with the BGCM requiring people to register their affirmation.

"Those who disagree with their mission should not attend," he said. "It's not any different than what Southern Baptists are trying to do in our missionary work. Southern Baptists have been up front on what our beliefs are."

Nettles said he would be interested in knowing what the new Missouri convention is affirming.

"It's not a bad thing if they will let the world know what they believe and what their mission is going to be," he said. "They need to be clear about what kind of gospel they will be preaching, the doctrine they are supporting and their view on the nature of Scripture."

Bill Webb, editor of the Word & Way, a newsjournal for Missouri Baptists, was critical of the BF&M issue in a recent editorial. However, he said the requirement to affirm the new Missouri convention is different.

"I'm not sure I have a strong opinion one way or another," Webb said. "Perhaps the idea is to let people who would be open to the idea of this new convention be in a position of shaping what it would become."

Roger Moran, research director for the Missouri Baptist Laymen's Association, said he wanted to know what messengers would be affirming.

"In the case of the Baptist Faith and Message, at least we know what we affirmed," Moran said. "Are they affirming their commitment to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Mainstream Baptists, the Baptist Joint Committee?"

Attempts to reach BGCM spokesman Randy Fullerton, pastor of Fee Fee Baptist Church, were unsuccessful.

In a related item, two International Mission Board missionaries listed as speakers at the BGCM meeting will not attend.

David and Robin Johnson were originally scheduled to address the organizational meeting on their ministry in Japan. Johnson was not aware of the political nature of the meeting when he accepted the invitation and has since withdrawn from the event.

The Johnsons, missionaries to Japan, are on stateside assignment and living in a missionary home provided by Second Baptist Church in Liberty, Mo., a church sympathetic to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. David Johnson teaches at William Jewell College.
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Entities dispute partnership with breakaway Mo. convention
by Todd Starnes
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Several entities and institutions owned by the Missouri Baptist Convention are disputing claims that they are partners with the new Baptist General Convention of Missouri, a breakaway convention of moderate Baptists.

The Baptist General Convention of Missouri lists nine entities and institutions as partners on its Internet site. The BGCM also invites readers to "visit our partner's &#91;sic&#93; websites." The list includes Hannibal-LaGrange College, Missouri Baptist College, Missouri Baptist Children's Home, Missouri Baptist Foundation, Southwest Baptist University, The Baptist Home seniors facilities, William Jewell College, Windermere Conference Center and the Word & Way newsjournal.

Trustees of five of the entities -- Missouri Baptist College, Missouri Baptist Foundation, The Baptist Home, Windermere & Word & Way -- voted to become self-perpetuating, an action deemed illegal in legal opinions obtained by the Missouri Baptist Convention.

"I would say based on the legal opinion that the Missouri Baptist Convention maintains sole ownership of the agencies and institutions in question," said Kevin Quinn, team leader for communications and technology at the MBC. "It sounds like the Baptist General Convention of Missouri desires to be partners."

Southwest Baptist University President C. Pat Taylor said it was news to him that the university has partnered with the new convention.

"We are a Missouri Baptist Convention agency," Taylor said. "We are very conservative and we make no bones about it. We want to reach out to all Missouri Baptists.

"As for the formation of a new Baptist convention, we don't have anything to do with that," he said. "We are a Missouri Baptist Convention agency."

Likewise, Woodrow Burt, president of Hannibal-LaGrange College, told Baptist Press there is no partnership with the new convention.

"We have no official affiliation with them," Burt said. "We serve students and churches from both sides of the spectrum. As for formal affiliation, we do not have any."

Paul Huse, director of marketing and public relations at Missouri Baptist College, told Baptist Press the only relationship with the new convention is providing a booth at the April 19-20 organizational meeting. "We are attending the convention but we've made no formal arrangement with them," he said. "From our perspective, there is no partnership."

Baptist Press was unsuccessful in its attempts to contact the other entities and institutions for clarification of their relationships to the BGCM.

Baptist Press also attempted to contact BGCM spokesman Randy Fullerton for comment about the apparent discrepancies in the partnership list.

Roger Moran, research director for the Missouri Baptist Laymen's Association, told Baptist Press the new convention is trying to mislead Missouri Baptists.

"It is another attempt to try to make the new convention appear to be as much as possible like the Missouri Baptist Convention," Moran said. "They want to say here is where you will support the old agencies because they are coming with us. They are trying to confuse people."
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Lawyer demands escrowed funds; Mo. leaders reiterate stance
by Don Hinkle
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP)--"Ludicrous" is how one Missouri Baptist Convention leader described demands by an attorney representing trustees of a Baptist retirement community that the convention release $400,000 in escrowed funds previously earmarked for the entity.

The escrowed money was overwhelmingly approved by messengers to the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting in October after trustees of the three-facility Baptist Home voted to give themselves sole authority in selecting their successors, thus removing Missouri Baptist churches from the selection process. Messengers also approved escrowing funds to four other entities whose trustees voted to become self-perpetuating.

Attorney Jim Shoemake, representing The Baptist Home with the St. Louis-based law firm of Guilfoil Petzall & Shoemake, in a letter to Missouri Baptist Convention attorney Mike Whitehead demanded not only the release of escrowed money but threatened the MBC, its executive board and certain individuals with possible legal action if any of the escrowed funds are lost or diverted for any other purpose.

After asking for answers to several questions concerning the escrowed funds in his letter to Whitehead, Shoemake wrote, "Under the circumstances, and without the requested information, it is our opinion the withholding of funds from the institutions by the Convention is improper. We hereby make formal demand that the Convention pay these funds over to the institutions as originally intended. You can expect that The Baptist Home will take all necessary and appropriate actions to protect its interests and recover any funds that are being improperly withheld.

"In the event the funds suffer any loss or are diverted for any other purpose, the Convention, its Executive Board and any individuals responsible for such actions will be held accountable."

Shoemake's March 8 letter marks the second time in six months Guilfoil, Petzall & Shoemake attorneys -- acting in behalf of Baptist Home trustees -- have threatened legal action against MBC leaders. MBC-elected trustees were told they could face criminal trespassing charges if they attempted to attend the December meeting of Baptist Home trustees.

"I think it is ludicrous that he &#91;Shoemake&#93; would send that letter," said Gary Taylor, chairman of the MBC's Legal Task Force Committee and pastor of First Baptist Church, O'Fallon. "It's laughable. We're always being criticized as a committee and we haven't sued -- or threatened to sue -- anyone and this is the second time they've threatened us."

The Baptist Home, with an estimated $40 million in assets and endowment, consists of three retirement residences for Baptists age 65 and over. They are located in Ironton, Ozark and Chillicothe, each providing intermediate and residential care as well as independent living apartments for about 290 senior adults, according to the entity's Internet site.

"The Baptist Home ministries for the Aging is an extension of the churches of the Missouri Baptist Convention ... ," according to its mission statement at the website.

Despite the tone of Shoemake's letter, MBC President Bob Curtis, pastor of Ballwin Baptist Church, Ballwin, said the funds cannot be released without approval from MBC messengers.

"I think it's unfortunate and shows -- from the attorney's perspective -- that he doesn't understand Baptist polity," Curtis said. "Part of the reason we took the action we did was due to the MBC's Business and Financial Plan that says we give money only to institutions where we elect the trustees.

"We're trying to work through the process of answering Mr. Shoemake's questions &#91;in his letter of demands&#93;, but I'm still putting my focus not on letters by attorneys, but rather on biblical reconciliation and restoration."

Curtis and Taylor confirmed that the presidents of the five entities where trustees have voted to become self-perpetuating -- The Baptist Home, Missouri Baptist College, Missouri Baptist Foundation, Word & Way newsjournal and Windermere Conference Center -- have agreed to meet with them in the near future to discuss the continuing controversy.

"We should sit down as brothers, in the spirit of Christ and deal with this," Taylor said. "That's the way it ought to be. We've been transparent, above table and we've told our attorneys, 'You work for us, we don't work for you.'"

Shoemake, in his letter to Whitehead, questioned whether the Missouri Baptist Convention has the authority to withhold funds from institutions when such funds were donated "with the expectation they would be passed on to the institutions to support their work."

"We are also concerned about how these funds are being held, invested and managed, and how secure they are," Shoemake wrote before asking nine questions:

"Where are the funds deposited?

"What are the terms of the 'escrow' arrangement, specifically, what are the provisions addressing the termination of the escrow arrangement?

"Who is the escrow agent?

"Please provide a copy of any escrow agreement(s).

"How are the funds being invested?

"What is the rate of return of the invested funds?

"In the decision to 'escrow' funds, what consideration did the Convention give to the intentions and expectations of the donors of these funds that the funds would be made available to the respective institutions on a timely basis?

"Were donors consulted to determine whether they had any objections to the 'escrow' arrangement?

"Has the Convention considered returning these funds to the donors so that the donors themselves may determine whether the funds they have contributed should be made available to the institutions?"

In a March 11 reply letter, Whitehead wrote, "Let me assure you that MBC considers the use of funds to be a matter of spiritual stewardship to God and to God's people. In receiving and disbursing every penny of God's money, the Convention follows biblical principles and congregational polity as expressed in its governing documents. The Convention has not diverted any charitable donation from any lawfully designated purpose. The budget allocation decisions made by the MBC in November 2001, including the escrow of certain agency funds beginning in Jan. 1, 2002, were lawful, ethical and consistent with basic Baptist principles of governance.

"As you know, an overwhelming majority of the messengers at the MBC annual meeting in November 2001 voted to escrow the money of the five agencies unless and until the agency boards rescinded their unauthorized charter changes and returned to the lawful former relationship under the authority and accountability of the MBC. This would require, as a minimum, that the boards recognize as lawful agency trustees those persons who were duly elected by the MBC in November 2001."

Whitehead pointed out that the MBC's decision to escrow was not done in secret, "in contrast to the votes by some agency boards to become self-perpetuating."

He told Shoemake that the Missouri convention's purposes and methods in doing cooperative ministry are widely known, have not changed and are set out in the MBC constitution, bylaws, Business and Financial Plan and other governing documents.

Shoemake's letter demanding that the MBC release the escrowed funds was disclosed by Whitehead less than a week after Baptist Press reported the legal opinions of three prominent Missouri law firms hired by the MBC to examine whether the trustee actions were illegal. All three, independently, came to the unanimous decision that the trustees violated Missouri law and that the five entities belong to the MBC, not the trustees.

MBC leaders have put the legal opinions on the MBC website and are preparing to mail them to the approximately 2,000 MBC churches throughout the state.

In his reply to Shoemake, Whitehead wrote that a large number of MBC donors are unhappy their donations have been diverted from their intended purpose as a result of the trustees voting to become self-perpetuating.

"These donors made gifts to the MBC, prior to November 2001, expecting that MBC would fund only what MBC controlled, and that MBC would keep control of what it owned," Whitehead wrote. "These donors expected that agencies receiving MBC funds would remain under the lawful authority and control of the MBC. Such donors have given many millions of dollars over many years of time in reliance upon this basic Baptist principle of cooperative ministry. Their expectations were violated, their donative intent ignored, when the Baptist Home board presumed to become independent and self-perpetuating. Board actions may well constitute an unlawful conversion of property, real and personal, for which responsible individuals should be held fully accountable."

Whitehead asked Shoemake and the trustees to answer several questions:

When Shoemake wrote, "... such funds were donated with the expectation they would be passed on to the institutions ..." Whitehead asked what funds were being described. "Are you referring to individual donors who made undesignated gifts through their churches, who in turn give to the Cooperative Program? Are you suggesting that their donations are, in effect, designated gifts?

"Are you referring to churches that made undesignated contributions to the Cooperative Program through the MBC? Are you suggesting that churches that make unconditional gifts to the CP are somehow still legally entitled to control the use of the gift, just as if it had been made with designations?

"Are you referring to donors who made gifts after the Cape Girardeau convention in November 2001? Is there something about the action by the Convention and the numerous communications to the churches thereafter that you believe was deficient so that donors lacked sufficient notice of the budgetary motions adopted by the MBC?"

A slim majority of trustees with The Baptist Home, Missouri Baptist College, Missouri Baptist Foundation, Word & Way and Windermere voted to become self-perpetuating as it became apparent that more conservatives would be joining their boards -- and ultimately gaining a majority -- after conservatives won the last four MBC presidential elections. Trustees with the Missouri Christian Life Commission, Hannibal-LaGrange College, Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Children's Home have remained loyal to the state convention.

The trustees of the five entities in dispute said they acted only to protect the entities from politics and liability concerns. The three legal opinions obtained by the MBC debunked those motives.

Some of the trustees involved with the five entities are sympathetic to the new Baptist General Convention of Missouri and to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, formed a decade ago by moderates and liberals as a separate organization from the Southern Baptist Convention. The BGCM will hold its first convention April 19-20 at Fee Fee Baptist Church near St. Louis.
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FIRST-PERSON: Creeds, confessions, beliefs & integrity
by Jim Richards
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

DALLAS (BP)--For the past several months I have refrained from entering the distressing dialogue in Baptist circles about "creeds." I am no etymologist, but those who are tell me that "creed" comes from the Latin word "credo" which means, "I believe." To say we have no creed is to say we have no beliefs.

In 1827 Alexander Campbell burst on the scene declaring he had no creed but the Bible. "Where the Bible is silent, I am silent," Campbell said, "and where the Bible speaks, I speak." Interestingly, he was a disgruntled Baptist and started what became known as the Church of Christ. His followers today can say they could sign every page of the Bible. They profess to believe every word. However, they teach baptismal regeneration and apostasy (falling from grace), two doctrines Baptists historically have rejected. I do not know of an Assemblies of God, Church of Christ or United Pentecostal pastor who doubts the miracles, the historicity of the narratives and the attributed authorships. It is not enough to say we believe every word of the Bible to be true to be a Baptist.

Baptists have from the 1600s expressed themselves through written statements of faith. Southern Baptists considered the total truthfulness and complete perfection of the Scriptures as a given when the convention was founded in 1845. It was not until the Modernist controversy after the turn of the 20th century that it became necessary to state what we believed as Christians and Southern Baptists, hence the Baptist Faith and Message Statement 1925.

Classical liberalism and neo-orthodoxy crept into our denomination after World War II. Once again "Mom and Pop" Southern Baptists wanted reassurance that all was well in Baptist Zion. The 1963 Baptist Faith and Message Statement was an attempt to clarify the liberal-conservative debate. Instead, the document produced more ambiguity. The struggle known as the Conservative Resurgence became necessary to reclaim Southern Baptist institutions. Passivity would have eventually produced the decline and death evidenced in other once-mighty denominations. Those mainline denominations have become sideline denominations. The Baptist Faith and Message Statement 2000 is the final expression of the Conservative Resurgence. The statement affirms a high view of Scripture that leaves no wiggle room for neo-orthodoxy.

Now, to the "signing of documents." People who receive monetary benefits from a church or denominational ministry ought to have enough integrity to say what they believe. When institutions, professors and even missionaries have reservations about the statement of faith of their funding source then they ought to say so. 

Charles Spurgeon addressed this subject. He was very clear when he said, "Sirs, when I accepted the office of minister of this congregation, I looked to see what were your articles of faith; if I had not believed them I should not have accepted your call, and when I change my opinions, rest assured that as an honest man I shall resign the office, for how could I profess one thing in your declaration of faith, and quite another thing in my own preaching? Would I accept your pay, and then stand up every Sabbath-day and talk against the doctrines of your standards?" Every Southern Baptist church I know has some type of doctrinal expectation for the pastor. Are we to accept anything less for denominational employees?

I respect people who have the courage to say what they believe (or in some cases what they don't believe). When people hide behind nuances of words or a perverted view of the priesthood of believers, then it becomes necessary to have an instrument of accountability.

Southern Baptist Convention ministries have adopted the BF&M 2000 as a statement of faith. Some of the employees may find it personally unconscionable. Those employees should be treated with compassion and Christian courtesy. They should be allowed time to make the transition to a place of service where they can carry on their ministries according to their conscience.

Southern Baptists expect those who receive the Lord's money through Southern Baptist giving channels to represent what Southern Baptist believe. We should encourage and support our Southern Baptist leadership who are making the difficult decisions to make this happen.
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Jim Richards is executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.



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Pro-Israel rally draws 100,000-plus to Capitol
by Jeff Johnson
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

WASHINGTON (BP)--The violence may be thousands of miles away, but the tensions related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were on display in Washington April 15 as more than 100,000 people jammed the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol to attend what organizers called the "largest rally ever in support of Israel," CNSNews.com reported.

A much smaller counter-protest involved a group of Orthodox Jews and Muslims waving Palestinian flags and one Orthodox Jew saying the "bloodshed, whether it be Palestinians, whether it be Jewish, is totally a direct cause of Zionism."

But the crowd that packed The Mall on an unusually warm spring day was overwhelmingly in support of Israel.

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told the gathering that "there is no moral equivalence between the state of Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

"There is a difference between a nation based on law and democracy and one that harbors terrorism," he said.

Giuliani reminded the gathering that Israel lowered its flags to half-staff after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and held a day of mourning for the Americans and others who lost their lives. He said the United States must now stand with Israel against Palestinian terrorists.

"We're not afraid. We're not going to cower. We are not going to back down. We are going to stand up for who we are and what we are," Giuliani said.

"All of us yearn for peace. But peace must be based on realism, not romance. Peace must be based on security not terrorism. The desire for peace must not overwhelm our common sense. Otherwise we will fail to achieve peace," Giuliani warned.

Sen. Harry Reid, D.-Nev., flanked by Republicans and Democrats from the Senate, emphasized that "America stands with Israel."

"Once we identified those responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we sent our troops to Afghanistan to bring the terrorists to justice and end their ability to strike terror again," Reid said of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and Washington.

"How, then, can we, or anyone reasonably ask Israel to allow terrorists responsible for murdering innocent Israelis to remain free to continue to plan more attacks? We can't!" Reid said to applause and shouts of "U.S.A." from the crowd.

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R.-Texas, said the United States "must stand solidly behind Israel in our common fight against terrorism."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm from Texas, and in Texas, we've got a reputation for straight talk," Armey said. "Let me make this as clear as possible: A deliberate attack on innocent civilians is terrorism.

"If a person deliberately attacks innocent civilians, or if he actively supports deliberate attacks on innocent civilians, then he is, by definition, a terrorist," Armey added in a thinly veiled reference to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received the most vocal response from the audience when he compared Arafat to some of the world's most notorious dictators.

"Totalitarianism has always been wedded to terrorism," Netanyahu said, "from Lenin to Stalin to Hitler to the Ayatollahs, to Saddam Hussein, to Osama bin Laden, to Yasser Arafat."

Netanyahu noted that a number of Arab nations are "genuinely interested in peace," including Jordan and Egypt, with which Israel has lived amicably for years.

"But five Israeli prime ministers have been unable to make peace with Arafat. Do you know why?" Netanyahu asked the crowd. "For a simple reason: because Arafat does not want peace."

He called the Palestinian leader "Osama bin Laden with good P.R."

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the United Jewish Communities/The Federation of North America organized the rally. Additional information, photos and video of the rally can be found online at www.IsraelRally.org.
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Johnson is the congressional bureau chief with www.CNSNews.com. Used by permission.


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Israelis mark their independence amid tensions with Palestinians
by Julie Stahl
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

JERUSALEM (BP)--Traffic and all other activity came to a standstill for two minutes on April 16 as Israelis paused to honor the memory of their dead, CNSNews.com's Jerusalem bureau reported.

Since the beginning of Zionist settlement activities in the Holy Land in 1860, some 21,182 soldiers and security personnel have been killed in wars and terror attacks.

In addition, another 3,300 civilians have been killed in terror attacks since the 1920s. Nearly 10 percent of those, 319 civilians, have been killed since October 2000, according to Israel's National Insurance Institute.

Jews have lived in the Holy Land continuously since biblical times. Israel became a nation in 1948, but the Zionist movement began in the 1800s with the aim of establishing a national Jewish homeland in the ancient land of Israel. Jewish philanthropists and organizations purchased properties from local landowners and established Jewish neighborhoods and farming communities.

Israeli journalist Lily Galili wrote in Tel Aviv's Ha'aretz newspaper that this year's Memorial Day is different from all the others.

"Remembrance days, by definition, link up with the past; this remembrance day links up with the future," Galili wrote.

"The loss of the past, the pain of the present and the fear of the future have bonded into an oppressiveness that separated this ceremony from all its predecessors," she wrote of the opening ceremony at the Western Wall.

Israeli police and security forces have been at peak alert since Memorial Day ceremonies opened the evening of April 15. They will remain on high alert to prevent terror through April 17, when Israel celebrates its Independence Day.

Israel's arrest of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti on April 15 has heightened fears that his organization will try to carry out revenge kidnappings of soldiers.

Many cities canceled their public gatherings or moved them inside out of fear of terrorist attacks. Others felt they had to cancel their celebrations out of respect for those who are grieving. Still others, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, decided to press ahead with their plans as a statement of determination in the face of terrorism.

Israelis usually celebrate Independence Day with picnics and trips to military museums and bases, but this year many more people were expected to stay home.
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Stahl is the Jerusalem bureau chief with www.CNSNews.com. Used by permission.


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Reccord warns of dangers of infidelity among leaders
by James Dotson
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

ONTARIO, Calif. (BP)--Just as a hidden iceberg destroyed the Titanic after the crew had ignored multiple warnings, lives and ministries of pastors and other church staff are being destroyed at a remarkable rate by sexual infidelity, the president of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board warned a group of pastors, missionaries and other denominational leaders.

Robert E. Reccord also is author of the book "Beneath the Surface: Steering Clear of the Dangers That Could Leave You Shipwrecked," published by the Broadman & Holman Publishers division of LifeWay Christian Resources. He shared content from the book during the April 10-13 Connection 2002 conference in Ontario, Calif., the first of three NAMB-sponsored regional conferences this spring.

Reccord cited survey statistics from the book "Men's Secret Wars" by Patrick Means that indicated 64 percent of pastors or church staff struggled with sexual addiction or compulsion. Twenty-five percent admitted to having sexual intercourse with someone besides their wife while married, and after they had accepted Christ. Another 14 percent admitted some form of sexual contact short of intercourse.

Reccord told of a difficult conversation he had several years ago with a friend in the ministry who had fallen because of adultery. He asked him, "What in the world were you doing? Didn't you hear the alarm bells going off?" There was a long silence, Reccord said, then the man answered, "Oh Bob, I did hear the alarms. I heard the alarms plainly. But when I heard the alarms I decided to disconnect the wires."

There is a repeatable pattern that often occurs with many kinds of sin, a pattern that first appeared in the Garden of Eden, Reccord said. First, Eve questioned whether God really said it was wrong. Then she contradicted God, rationalizing that he really didn't have her best interests at heart when he told her not to eat of the fruit.

"I find that the only time I'm really open to saying, 'Did God really say?' is when I believe God isn't giving me his best. I think he's holding back something from me," Reccord said.

He told how Joseph and David from Scripture reacted differently when faced with sexual temptation, Joseph from Potiphar's wife and David from Bathsheba.

While David overestimated his strength and yielded to temptation, Reccord said, Joseph recognized his own weakness and fled immediately at the first signs. Some of the highest-profile leaders fall hard precisely because they think, like David, that they are invulnerable.

"Just as much as &#91;Satan&#93; attacks at your weakest point, he also attacks you at what you think is your strongest point," Reccord said, later adding that life-altering sin can happen remarkably quickly. "There is not a person in this room that is not one step from stupid at any given moment."

Reccord also noted the importance of every Christian leader having someone to whom he is accountable, someone who will ask him the hard questions about his personal life and thoughts. He noted research which found little in common among more than 200 fallen ministers except two things: all no longer had a regular quiet time in fellowship with God, and none had made themselves accountable to a person or group.

"Nobody takes accountability from you," he said. "You've got to give accountability. You've got to go to someone and say, 'I need your help.'"

Reccord also pointed to God's warning through Moses in Deuteronomy of the dangers of turning toward false gods.

"The minute you start looking to something or someone to provide what only God can provide, you are worshiping other gods," he said.
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: ICEBERG ALERT.


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Student 'rassles' with God's call
by Bryan Cribb
Date: April 16, 2002 - Tuesday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Many seminarians wrestle with their call to ministry. You could say Keith McCray "rassled" with his.

For more than a decade, the current Boyce College student's life revolved around bodyslams, headlocks and turnbuckle tussles. Yet after 12 years on the professional wrestling circuit, McCray -- formerly known to his fans as "Steve Storm" -- finally gave in gladly in his match with his calling. And God won his life. 

Now, the only thing he has to remind him of his days in the ring is a necklace with his symbol as a wrestler -- a lightening bolt ... and seven separated shoulders, a missing tooth, two major knee injuries and a finger that will never be straight again.

"I've had more concussions that you can count in my career," said McCray, a bachelor of science student at the Louisville, Ky., college affiliated with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. "But each one was worthwhile because it brought me to where God wanted me."

McCray's life, though, did not start out so violently. Born outside of Philadelphia, he attended church regularly and was baptized at age 10. Soon, however, he began following a different path -- one patterned after a rebellious brother rather than the Word of God. When McCray graduated from high school, he was still straying. He began a search for meaning.

What he found was Uncle Sam.

"I went into the Army because I was trying to find what I was looking for," McCray said. "I got there, and there was still that void."

He advanced quickly and joined an elite counter-terrorism unit.

"It was a complete adrenaline rush, but there was still a gaping hole," McCray said.

It is a career about which he cannot talk much. "When we were called in, we were not called in for negotiations," he said. "As my commanding officer told us, 'We were there to use body bags.' ... It's not something to brag about, but it's something that we were taught."

After six years, McCray got tired of pushing his luck and searching for significance in the Army. So he decided to wrestle for meaning in another ring -- the professional wrestling circuit.

"I thought it was going to give me what I needed as far as the fame, the fortune, the prestige, the whole nine yards," McCray said. "I did it, and I did get the fame, the fortune and the prestige."

But God was not in the picture.

McCray achieved great success in this face-paced, fast-growing entertainment industry. He wrestled with several federations, including the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling.

His most successful tour was with the ECW -- Extreme Championship Wrestling. The ECW was known for its "Bring Your Favorite Weapon" nights, where fans would show up with anything from stop signs to staple guns.

McCray is full of wrestling stories. One is his worst injury night while fighting a fellow wrestling friend.

"By the time it was all said and done, I had seven stitches in my lip, had lost a tooth, had a concussion, torn &#91;cartilage&#93; in my knee, and my finger will never be straight again," McCray said.

Yet, despite his fame and fortune, God had yet to enter McCray's ring. He was empty, but one day God woke him up: A severely blown knee did the trick.

"As soon as I heard the knee pop, the first thing that popped into my head was, 'Oh God,'" McCray said. "For so many years, I hadn't thought about him. And all of a sudden I needed him."

It was a typical little prayer, McCray said. He would give his life to God if God would help him through surgery. God kept his end of the bargain. McCray did only for a little while. Then God woke him up again.

"I blew out the other knee," McCray said.

But McCray still hadn't gotten the message totally. McCray left wrestling -- partly to run some Gold's Gyms, partly because of his injuries and partly because of his dissatisfaction with the wrestling business.

"It had gone from the cartoon, comic book heroes to all of a sudden a more edgier and racier product," McCray said.

McCray spent eight years with Gold's Gym.

"Again, I thought I had everything in the world," McCray said. "I had the notoriety from my career. I had a fantastic position. The perks were incredible."

God gave him everything he always thought would bring meaning and significance, then took it away. New management forced McCray out of Gold's.

"I was left with no job," McCray recalled. "I was just totally, utterly lost. I had no clue what to do."

Life had pinned him down for the count. So one night, in despondency, he started praying to God.

"I actually shot up out of my chair and looked around," McCray recounted. "And I dropped to my knees and I renewed a relationship that was long overdue."

God revealed to him a calling as well -- youth ministry.

"After I renewed the relationship and God showed me where I was, he started bringing me along," McCray said.

He began to look for colleges. He considered a few, but he knew Boyce College was the place to be. He had read about Boyce and its theme verse -- Luke 10:2, "the harvest is abundant but the workers are few" -- on the college's website. McCray couldn't get the verse out of his mind.

"Every time I turned around that verse just popped into my head again," he said.

He came to Boyce last year to obtain a degree in youth ministry, believing that God can use his past to reach youth. In fact, McCray would like to use wrestling as a platform for the gospel.

"Satan has used everything he could to distract the kids, and it's about time we use some of the things we have to attract them," he said.

McCray also uses his gifts to minister to Southern Seminary and Boyce College students. He works as a fitness instructor at Southern's Health and Recreation Center.

It's a ministry McCray takes very seriously. "Baptists have a really bad reputation as being 'buffet Baptists,'" he said. "If you eat properly and exercise, you can add 15 to 20 years to your ministry. That's 15 to 20 years of touching people's lives.

"I may not be able to save a lot myself, but if I get people ... in shape and add 15 years &#91;to their ministry&#93;, I get a lot of assists," he said.

McCray doesn't know where his future matches in the ministry will be, but he knows the "best is yet to come."

"God has given me a lot abilities and skills," McCray said. "And wherever he wants me to use them, I'll use them."
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(BP) photos posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo titles: KEITH McCRAY, 'RASSLIN' WITH GOD and STORM HAS PASSED.



