
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/22/2003

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True Love (also) Waits for deaf & blind youth
by Chris Turner
Date: April 22, 2003 - Tuesday

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (BP)--The tightly twisted blonde curls topping Lee Kirby's head jiggle in rhythm to his stride as he walks back to his pew. His smile reflects the affirmation he feels after receiving the biggest ovation he's ever seen. He's not real sure what hundreds of people clapping sounds like. Kirby, 16, is deaf. Meningitis took his hearing at age 3. He does, however, understand the smiles and the sea of nodded approvals.

Latrelle Pitts, 17, has her wavy golden locks pulled back into a short ponytail that bounces as she takes her seat. She can't hear the applause either but feels the same pride as Kirby.

The all-American-looking boyfriend and girlfriend have been in the same class at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind (SCSDB) since kindergarten. On this particular night they've pledged to abstain from sexual relations until they marry. It's the second most important decision of their lives.

Twenty-nine of their classmates made the same commitment.

The students from SCSDB were among the more than 100 teenagers who recently received rings to remind them of their public vows of abstinence made during a True Love Waits ceremony at First Baptist Church of Spartanburg. True Love Waits is a biblically based abstinence program developed by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. More than a million youth worldwide have made commitments to abstinence during the 10-year history of True Love Waits. Ninety-plus religious and secular organizations use True Love Waits to teach teens a biblical understanding of sex within marriage.

"A lot of times these kids from the school are overlooked and go unnoticed because of their deafness or blindness," said Seth Buckley, youth minister at First Baptist. "With the way we did this ceremony, we wanted the emphasis to be on them. We want them to know we care about them."

Experiencing the type of concern and unconditional love First Baptist's youth ministry extends toward the SCSDB students may be foreign to many of them. The school, located in the northwest corner of South Carolina, houses more than 300 students of all ages from around the state. Journeys home on weekends are difficult and sometimes abusive. Parents of deaf children often struggle to communicate because their sign language skills are far below their children's skills. Deaf and blind students often feel lonely and isolated. Even if their parents attend a church, it is unlikely the church has an interpreter.

Life in dormitories on campus also can lead to isolation. The state continues to cut funding for extracurricular activities, leaving few after-class programs in which the students can be involved, according to teachers at the school. Watching television and movies becomes the activity of choice by default, and that is where the problem begins.

"They see a lot of the shows geared toward teenagers," said Shannon Fike, a teacher at the school and a member of First Baptist. "The programs show a lot of sexual interaction between characters. Since their TVs don't have closed captioning, they can't read the dialogue. Having sex looks like something that all teenagers do to have fun. They don't understand that's not the norm because they have so little contact with teenagers outside of the school. Reality to them is what they see on TV."

Sexual intercourse on campus has escalated to the point where one teacher said that anywhere the students have an opportunity to test the limits, they will. The example of two teens having sexual contact in a lunch line near an ice machine makes the point.

Fike and Bill Spooner, also a teacher at the school and member of First Baptist, have a passion for improving the lives of the students. Prayer was the first expression of their passion, action the second.

Spooner developed a Christian club and initially had low attendance, but interest began picking up. Any questions regarding biblical teaching were fair game at the club and eventually questions turned to sex. The questions prompted a study on the biblical perspective of sex. Several students pledged abstinence.

"I'd heard about the Wednesday night program for youth here at First Baptist about the time we did the study," Spooner said. "I wanted to find out more. I'm not a big fan of loud music, but what I found here was several hundred teenagers truly worshiping God. Seth was also teaching about abstinence so I asked him if he'd mind if I brought some students the following week."

Buckley agreed but informed Spooner his group was nearing the end of its True Love Waits study. The next week the youth would be signing their pledge cards committing to abstinence. Fike quickly signed on as the interpreter for the event.

More than 300 students gathered in an old basement gymnasium for the event. The deaf and blind students clustered to the front right. Buckley taught the significance of a pledge to abstinence but cautioned the audience, "Without Jesus Christ in your life helping you with this commitment, it will be that much harder to keep. If you don't have Jesus in your life, you need to take care of your commitment to Him first."

As members of the youth group placed their pledge cards on a table near the front of the auditorium, students from SCSDB slowly approached Buckley -- first one, then a couple, then a few more -- to first accept Christ then slide their cards into the stack on the table. Eighteen SCSDB students received Christ, including Kirby and Pitts. They said it was the most important decision of their lives. A total of 20 made pledges to abstain from sex until after marriage.

"It is so evident that God is going before us in this," Spooner said. "Isaiah 35 talks about the eyes of the blind being opened and the ears of the deaf being unstopped. I believe God spiritually did that for these children so that they could understand the Gospel."

The youth received a visual reminder of their commitments the following week during the True Love Waits ring ceremony. "In the plans we make," the students recited, "in the way we choose to dress, in our conversation, and in our time we commit to this goal of purity and abstinence before marriage." Many sponsors from First Baptist slipped the rings on the students' fingers since many of their parents could not attend.

"We prayed for God to expand our territory in reaching out to youth and He has," Buckley said. "Six weeks ago we hadn't seen any of these kids. The deaf are one of the world's largest unreached people groups. When I think about the decisions they've made to follow Christ and to keep themselves sexually pure, I'm humbled because I feel like God is preparing them to go back to their families and communities from around the state to use them in a mighty way."

Pitts experienced the affirmation of a loving church when the ring was slipped on his finger. He's now setting his sites on more lofty affirmation.

"I want to follow Jesus and do what He wants me to do," Pitts stated adamantly. "I won't care what people say about me. &#91;Latrelle and I&#93; will look at these rings and remember the decision we made and not be tempted. I made a promise to God and I'm not going to sleep around."
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(BP) photos posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo titles: COMMITTED AS NEVER BEFORE, RINGING TRUE and VIVID MEMORY.




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2002 SBC membership reaches all-time high of 16.2 million
by Polly House
Date: April 22, 2003 - Tuesday

REVISED Jan. 9, 2006 to correct error in reported membership.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Membership in Southern Baptist churches reached a record 16,137,736 in 2002, a .53 percent increase over the previous year, or 84,816 additional members.

The total number of churches grew to 42,775, a 1.04 percent increase, or 441 churches more than the 2001 total of 42,334. At the same time, church-type missions operated by churches grew 10.26 percent to a total of 5,439, an increase of 506.

LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention compiles the Annual Church Profile from church reports routed through local Baptist associations and state conventions.

While membership grew, the number of baptisms -- 394,893 -- reflected a decline of 0.26 percent or 1,037.

Sunday morning average worship attendance grew by 1.9 percent or 108,965 to 5,839,945.

Music ministry enrollment/participation decreased 2.98 percent or 51,009 to a total of 1,658,310.

Other increases were reported in total tithes, offerings and special gifts to $8,681,491,558 (4.41 percent above 2001), as well as undesignated receipts of $6,786,994,352 (5.3 percent above 2001). Total receipts increased by 5.89 percent to $9,461,603,271.

Sunday School enrollment declined 8,251 or 0.10 percent to a total of 8,174,493. Discipleship training enrollment/participation showed an increase of 1.45 percent, or 30,038 to a total of 2,100,752, following a 6.24 percent decrease in 2001.

Woman's Missionary Union enrollment and men/boys mission education enrollment both showed increases. WMU enrollment increased by 105,434, or 12.29 percent, to a total of 963,114. Men/boys mission education enrollment grew 3.08 percent or 13,009 to 435,646.

Total mission expenditures* were up 4.94 percent, totaling $1,028,650,682, a $48,426,439 increase above 2001 totals.
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*Data not reported by South Carolina. (BP) chart posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Chart title: 2002 SBC STATISTICS.




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Gunman who killed 3 IMB workers tells court of planning his attack
by Staff
Date: April 22, 2003 - Tuesday

JIBLA, Yemen (BP)--The Yemeni man accused of gunning down three International Mission Board workers in a hospital testified in court he killed the Americans to defend Islam because he believed they were sterilizing Muslim women and trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

Abed Abdul Razak Kamel, 30, said he moved from the Yemeni capital of Sana'a to Jibla after he heard about missionaries working there at a Southern Baptist-run hospital, the Associated Press reported April 21.

"I acted out of a religious duty ... and in revenge from those who converted Muslims from their religion and made them unbelievers," Kamel, who is suspected of links to Al Qaeda, said as his trial opened April 20.

"They were also committing another corruption," he said, claiming he had learned that women were visiting the hospital to get sterilized, the Associated Press said.

"This is a violation of Islam," he told the court.

An IMB spokesman told Baptist Press April 22 that any sterilization procedures at the hospital occurred only by written permission of both spouses.

Hospital administrator William Koehn of Kansas, physician Martha Myers of Alabama and purchasing manager Kathleen Gariety of Wisconsin were killed Dec. 30 when Kamel walked into the hospital with a semiautomatic weapon under his clothes and opened fire. Pharmacist Don Caswell of Texas was wounded.

Kamel was arrested the day of the shooting.

He testified in court that he coordinated the attack with Ali al-Jarallah, another Muslim extremist charged with gunning down a Yemeni leftist politician two days before Kamel's Jibla hospital attack, according to the Associated Press.

In court, Kamel said he had been planning the attack 18 months, scouting out the hospital by visiting there and asking questions about its work. Kamel said he consulted with al-Jarallah often regarding the attack.

"We agreed. (Al-Jarallah) would kill seculars, and I would target Christians," Kamel said.

Prosecutor Ibrahim al-Delemi asked for the death penalty, and Kamel's next court appearance was set for April 30.

Al-Jarallah, a member of Yemen's militant Islamic Reform Party, refused to answer questions at his trial when it opened April 20 in Sana'a. He called his trial "a farce, a legal scandal." Yemeni security officials believe both suspects belong to a terrorist cell linked to Al Qaeda, the Associated Press reported.

Audiotapes with the voice of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were seized by authorities at Kamal's house.

The IMB transferred control of the hospital to a local charity founded by Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kerbi, who also is a Canadian-trained doctor. The hospital is now headed by a Yemeni Health Ministry official, and its staff continues to include American and other foreign doctors.
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ERLC to focus additional resources on D.C. front toward public policy
by Staff
Date: April 22, 2003 - Tuesday

WASHINGTON (BP)--The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is reallocating more of its resources to its Washington, D.C., office, and the ERLC's president says the move reflects a continued unfolding of a strategic plan by the SBC entity to impact the culture by seeking to influence public policy decisions.

ERLC President Richard Land announced that Barrett Duke, the commission's vice president for research, is now leading the ERLC's public policy division in Washington.

"Integrating our research and public policy teams into one unit is a move I have contemplated for some time," Land said. "God opened the door for such an organizational change and the shifting of resources to our Washington office.

"I am grateful He has provided Barrett Duke to oversee this new approach. His expertise in research will help strengthen our public policy work in the capital."

Shannon Royce, who served as the ERLC's director of government relations and legislative counsel since 1999, resigned from her position at the end of March but will continue to work with the agency in a consulting capacity as legislative counsel. She left her position in order to better accommodate the changing needs of her family.

"The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has unprecedented opportunities at this time to impact our country's public policies," Land said, expressing appreciation for Royce's service to Southern Baptists and for her willingness to continue to give the ERLC "valuable assistance" in the legislative area.

Duke began serving in the new role early in April after Land named him vice president for public policy. Duke, an ERLC staff member since 1997, will continue to oversee the entity's research function. He has served as vice president for research and director of the ERLC's Research Institute since 1999.

Duke said he is excited about serving God and Southern Baptists on the ERLC staff in Washington. "I am humbled that God has called me to this great task, and I am grateful to Southern Baptists, Dr. Land and our ERLC trustees for the privilege of serving in this strategic ministry. I am convinced that God has a great plan for this ministry," he said.

"There is no question the decisions made in our nation's capital affect the lives of every person in America and beyond," Duke said. "Good public policy honors God and gives expression to the morality that makes families strong and nations great."

Duke will work in both the Nashville, Tenn., and Washington offices of the ERLC until he moves to the capital area this summer.

"I see this additional investment of resources in our Washington office as further evidence that God's hand is on the ERLC as we seek to fulfill our vision statement, which is 'An American society that affirms and practices Judeo-Christian values rooted in biblical authority,'" Land said.

Christians are to be the salt of the earth, he said. "As salt is a preservative against decay as well as a purifying agent, the church is to bring God's truths to bear on the culture," Land continued, noting it has to touch that which it seeks to purify and preserve.

"If we are going to be obedient to the command to be salt, there is no room for withdrawing from the world and saying we aren't going to get involved," he explained.

"We are to be light of the world," Land added. "Light penetrates the darkness and dispels the doom. God's Word makes clear that we are to be out there in society -- in Washington and in our local communities -- as salt and light seeking to bring every institution in society under the sway of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

In addition to directing the ERLC's work in the capital, Duke is anticipating the Washington office expanding its ongoing efforts to build strong working relationships with leaders in the Baptist state conventions, he said.

"The involvement of Southern Baptists in our nation's public life is crucial to the task of restoring our nation's moral compass," he said. "As Southern Baptists become more aware of what is happening in Washington, they will recognize the need to become involved in influencing the laws and policies that affect all Americans.

"God is using Southern Baptists to transform our culture," Duke said, indicating he is anxious to engage more Southern Baptists in the effort to bring biblical principles to bear on the public policy process.

Duke joined the ERLC staff in 1997 as director of denominational relations, conferences and seminars before becoming vice president for research two years later. Prior to joining the ERLC, Duke served 12 years as founding pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Littleton, Colo. He received his bachelor degree from Criswell College, his master's degree from Denver Seminary and his Ph.D. in religious and theological studies through the Ph.D. joint program of the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology in Denver.

Before joining the ERLC staff, Royce served eight years as an aide to two members of the U.S. Senate and worked for other pro-family organizations in the capital.
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: BARRETT DUKE.


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NAMB military video surpasses 218,000 Internet downloads
by James Dotson
Date: April 22, 2003 - Tuesday

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--A video segment calling churches to prayer for U.S. troops has achieved unprecedented popularity -- with more than 218,000 Internet downloads as of April 21.

The video was developed for the North American Mission Board's "Essentials for the On Mission Church" series, first made available for download March 17. Titled, "A Call to Prayer," it is a montage of U.S. military footage designed to help focus prayers for the military. Soldiers are depicted training, helping civilians, participating in prayer and worship, and in other settings -- with a dramatic music-only soundtrack.

Doug Keesey, director of electronic media for NAMB, said the availability of the videos was initially announced to state convention partners and churches, with later exposure through referrals on Baptist Press, www.pastors.com and www.sermoncentral.com websites. It also has been used in a wide variety of churches, local church and satellite broadcasts, community prayer gatherings, and at least one local county commission meeting.

But he believes the surge in interest that developed in early April came mostly from e-mail referrals --particularly from Internet domains of military bases and federal government offices in Washington D.C. During one random check, downloads were in progress from the Pentagon, the White House and numerous military installations.

"I don't know what happened to it, but somehow it just started spreading," Keesey said. "It's just kind of gone viral. ... There were times when we had 180 people &#91;downloading&#93; at one time."

For comparison, Keesey noted that a special video produced immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks drew about 1,900 downloads. At the time, he said, even that amount of volume was enough to shut down NAMB's Internet servers. Fortunately, two weeks before the "Call to Prayer" video was made available, NAMB had outsourced its Internet capacity to allow for such surges in traffic.

Keesey attributes much of the popularity to the simple, unifying message. "So many people know individuals who were deployed, and it just gave them a way both to feel encouraged and to be involved," he said. "It crossed denominational lines, and gave everybody an opportunity to be united in prayer."

A similar video segment is being produced for use on either Memorial Day or July 4, Keesey said.

"It will be a tribute to our troops from the war with Iraq as well as veterans of previous wars throughout our history," he said. "It should be available in early to mid May."

To view or download the video segments, visit <a href="http://www.namb.net/essentials">www.namb.net/essentials</a>.
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FIRST-PERSON: A Marine's prayer journal
by Lt. Col. John M. Young, USMCR
Date: April 22, 2003 - Tuesday

KUWAIT (BP)--I'd like to think I'm not a foxhole Christian, but I'll have to admit that I pray a lot more during war than peace.

My mother started my brothers and me early in life with prayer and reading Bible stories to us. If you're not doing that with your kids, start tonight. The Bible stories often were about the wars of the Israelites. I don't remember the details of their wars, but two things stand out. When God was for the Israelites, they won. And when God wanted to punish them for turning their backs on Him, they lost. It's a simple principle. God chooses sides. He's on the side of righteousness, and He hates evil. But when God's side wins, He wants the credit for the victory.

As our country edged closer to war with Saddam Hussein, I, as well as many other Christian people, began to pray. Prayer is not just a one-sided conversation. He began to direct my prayer. A great evil arose which threatened the peace and freedom of the world. I am not talking about the overwhelming majority of peaceful Muslims. The only force strong enough to confront this force of evil is the United States of America.

God has richly blessed our nation and has chosen to do so because of our Christian heritage. But to whom much is given, much is required. I believe God truly called our nation to confront this evil.

Although we are the only superpower left on Earth, with B-2 bombers, precision-guided munitions and all the other modern technology of warfare, God wants to bring us a victory though the prayers and faithfulness of our people. It's easy to place your faith in the military might that you can see. But God can make the difference between an "easy" victory and a "costly" victory.

In World War II, the Nazis couldn't subdue Yugoslavia with 26 divisions in five years of fighting. The entire Russian army couldn't conquer Afghanistan. And the Iranians fought with the Iraqis to a deadly standoff in which hundreds of thousands of people died over a period of eight years. But it can hardly be said that the aggressors in those conflicts were fighting with righteous motives or had the blessings of God upon them.

When the United States recently intervened in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and in the first Desert Storm, we won spectacular victories with only a handful of servicemen and women killed. Although each and every American casualty is a tragic loss, our nation has been blessed with military victories not seen in history since God was directing the battles of the ancient Israelites (with the exception of some of the recent wars of modern Israelis).

God wants to bring victory in this war to rid Iraq of the evil that has plagued it for decades with the prayer of His people. As a Marine reservist now mobilized and stationed in Kuwait, I am pleased and humbled by the overwhelming outpouring of prayer and support we received from churches back home.

Shortly before it happened, it was announced to us that our forces would soon cross the line of departure. I was deeply saddened that our nation would soon be at war and many people would soon die, although I believe this is a course God has set before us. I am also concerned for the Iraqi people, most of whom are innocent pawns.

That night I got on my knees facing north to intercede both for our troops and the people of Iraq. God allayed my fear for innocent destruction by directing me to pray that His Spirit go forth to slay those who should be slain and to spare those who should be spared. I certainly do not mean to imply that God's Spirit has slain our brave troops who have now lost their lives, for even in God's mighty victories for the children of Israel, they still suffered a price as well. Freedom is never free. It is indeed paid for with the blood of our patriots.

Some may claim that all this sounds like another medieval crusade or a Christian jihad. They would have said the same about Elijah's challenging the prophets of Baal. If some people today witnessed Elijah's contest with evil that day on Mount Carmel, they would be in the crowd demanding to know what gave him the right to claim his God was any better than anybody else's god, etc., etc., etc.

The answer was the same then as it is now. God is only on one side, and He hates evil.

May the one true God, Who created the universe and Who governs the affairs of men, bless our nation and our allies as we face the challenges of the world, and as we seek to bring freedom to those who have never known its blessing.
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Lt. Col. John M. Young is a Marine reservist on duty in Kuwait.



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FIRST-PERSON: Preaching to reach postmoderns
by Todd E. Brady
Date: April 22, 2003 - Tuesday

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Postmodernism is a pervasive philosophy that has significantly skewed the thinking of many -- especially today's generation of students. Across our land, skepticism prevails as relativism runs rampant across university campuses, causing students to wander aimlessly throughout the pluralistic halls of doubt, chaos and uncertainty. The postmodern generation is characterized as one who distrusts authority, questions and tolerates anything, and dismisses absolute truth.

Such a picture causes many in the church to become pessimistic about reaching postmoderns with the Gospel. Why would they ever hear us? Why would they even give us and our Gospel the time of day? Certainly we and our 2,000-year-old Gospel are not modern enough for such postmoderns.

Christians should always think critically and creatively of how we can best communicate God's message. While the issues of the day should always cause us to think about how we do what we do, some suggest that we consider postmodernism to the extent that we change what we are doing. With a desire to speak their language and meet them on their turf, some go so far as to say that when it comes to preaching to postmoderns, we should stop.

However, it is not the elimination of preaching that would help us better reach the postmoderns. It is the use of correct and biblical preaching that would help us in our efforts to reach them with the gospel.

P.T. Forsythe said, "... with preaching Christianity rises or falls." Certainly this was in the mind of God when He sent the disciples preaching (Mark 3:14) and when He had Paul command Timothy to "preach and teach these principles" (1 Timothy 6:2b) and to "preach the Word" (2 Timothy 4:2). Without a doubt we realize the essential nature of preaching when we read that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). And we would be amiss if we did not state that "for since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21). The necessity and gravity of preaching help us empathize with Paul when he cries out, "... for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16).

As we go about the business of preaching correctly, four characteristics should be pervasive in our preaching to postmoderns:

-- The power of the Word. Our communication to postmoderns should be driven and empowered by Holy Scripture. Therein lies the power of God. God's Word has always been central to His activity and it should be central to our preaching. Our knowledge of God and our communication of Him cannot be derived elsewhere. We speak because God has spoken, and it is His Word, not our words, that has power. While we should know our audience, we must be better students of our message and the great God for Whom we speak. Who are we today to tamper with the Word when God Himself has told us that it is "true" (Psalm 119:160) and "right" (Psalm 119:175) and that it is "living, active and powerful" (Hebrews 4:12)? Should we stop our preaching even when we know that the Word is like a "fire and a hammer" (Jeremiah 23:29) and that it is "inspired and profitable that the man of God may be adequate...."? (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Our confidence must flow from the power of the Word and not simply an understanding of the traits and trends of a certain society.

-- An appreciation for our audience. Although changing, we must understand as John Stott states that preachers stand "between two worlds" -- the world in which God delivered and crafted the message of truth and the world in which we live today. Certainly as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul, the Apostles and others understood and connected with the audiences they addressed, so must we. A correct understanding of the makeup of our audience should not cause us to lower our voices and convictions, thereby diluting our proclamation to mere dialogue. Rather, it should cause us to rely more heavily on the power of God's Word in such a way that we preach more prayerfully, more carefully and more biblically. We are not to turn a deaf ear to the voices of postmodernism. We should seek to know the framework of this thought system -- not so we may stop our preaching, but so that we may improve our preaching.

-- The supremacy of God. Regardless of creed or culture, people are longing to experience greatness. John Piper states that, "People are starving for the greatness of God." While they may not admit it, students and postmoderns long for greatness. In my work with college students at Union University and across the country, I continuously am encouraged by students' interest in the supremacy and sovereignty of God. In a world where nothing seems to be in control, a God who is supreme and sovereign over creation is waiting to be savored among postmoderns. I am convinced that while some may say postmoderns do not believe in absolute truth, they do. They want absolute truth all right -- maybe they just haven't heard anyone speak of God as if He were either absolute or truth! Perhaps postmoderns would believe in absolute truth if the preaching they heard came from men who preached like they too believed in absolute truth! A preacher whose life and words are ablaze with the supremacy of God cannot help but be heard!

-- A passion for truth. God's Word is truth, and His Word was ultimately revealed in Jesus who said, "I am the way, and the truth and the life...." (John 14:6). Later Jesus would pray, "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). He did not say that God's Word is true or that it contains truth, but that it is truth. As we preach the truth, we realize that we are not heralding one proposition among many -- a simply good or better way of life. Rather we are preaching The Way and The Truth. In the midst of a generation who is finding little about which to be passionate, we have the opportunity to stand and passionately deliver a message -- the message of truth. While we must always be conversant with our culture, let us understand the essential nature and necessary place of preaching.

As Calvin said in his Institutes, "Let us not take it into our heads either to seek out God anywhere else than in his Sacred Word, or to speak anything that is not taken from that Word."

With that in mind, let us preach, and preach well!
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Todd Brady is minister to the university at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.




