The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-06/27/2012 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Dead Sea Scrolls, Bible history brought to life in seminary exhibit by Sharayah Colter Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of a package previewing Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's "Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible" exhibit, which runs from July 2 to Jan. 13. For more information visit SeetheScrolls.com. FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Type "Dead Sea Scrolls" into the search bar and Google presents 29 pages of images related to the ancient documents. Stick the 1998 animated film "The Prince of Egypt" into the DVD player and DreamWorks presents its rendition of Bible times in the Near East. For many Christians, the eastern lands where God spoke to Abraham, where God led the Israelites to freedom, and where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again may just as well exist only in the events' respective time periods. Hindered by vacation time, finances, or other responsibilities, millions of people cannot visit the desert surrounding the Dead Sea. For some, Google and DreamWorks may offer the closest access they may ever have to the lands the patriarchs crisscrossed by sandaled foot. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary hopes to change that reality and give more people than ever a chance to see manuscripts that reveal the faithful transmission of the biblical texts over thousands of years through its Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition, which will run from July 2012 to January 2013. Organizers expect to see more than 400,000 people visit the exhibit during its six-month run at the seminary's MacGorman Chapel and Performing Arts Center. Weston Fields, guest curator for the Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition and executive director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, said that while the ancient scroll fragments do not "prove" the Bible is true, they prove, more or less, that the Bible Christians use today, including 66 books from Genesis to Revelation, is the Bible God intended Christians to have, even thousands of years after He first inspired its writing. "What I try to get people to understand is, there is a prior question to the 'Is the Bible true?' question, and that is, 'Is what we have the Bible?'" Fields said. "The scrolls give us a 2,000-year-old snapshot of how the text of the Bible was in Jesus' day. If there had been cameras, somebody could have stood next to Jesus, taken a picture of the Torah Scroll that He was holding up in the synagogue, put that picture in a vault somewhere for 2,000 years -- nobody got a chance to see it, nobody could change it -- and all of a sudden, you open up the vault 2,000 years later and say, 'Look, here's a picture of Jesus holding the scroll and look at the text.' "Well, that's what we have, except we don't have a picture of Jesus; but we got the text that the Jews were using at the time. So what it does is it gives us confidence in the words of God that were transmitted down to us. Now it doesn't answer the question, 'Is the Bible true?' because that is a matter of faith, but it does help you understand that what we have in the Old Testament was copied very faithfully, especially when you consider how bad human beings are at copying things faithfully." During the exhibit, people of all walks of life will have the chance to see, up close, manuscripts written more than 2,000 years ago, making them hundreds of years older than any manuscripts scholars previously had discovered. Bruce McCoy, director of the Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition, said the general public has every reason to make every effort to see the exhibit while Southwestern Seminary presents it in north Texas. "It is an opportunity to see historic documents -- fragments of Holy Scripture -- that they would have to go to Israel to see," McCoy said, adding that such fragments may not even be on display there if visitors did travel to Israel to see them. "I think people should come because of the high value, the fact that these are historic, they are rare, they are fragments of the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Old Testament known in the world today." Owning more Dead Sea Scroll fragments than any institution of higher education in North America, Southwestern plans to showcase seven of its fragments together with others on loan from the Kando family of Bethlehem, Hebrew University, and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, for a total of 22 manuscript fragments in the exhibit. The exhibit also will contain archaeological artifacts, early copies of Scripture, and equipment used in excavations, including the Jeselsohn Dead Sea Stone, or "Gabriel's Vision"; the first published Greek New Testament; a page of the Gutenberg Bible; the Luther Bible; New Testament papyri; and tools from the excavation of Qumran, as well as a nearly 16-foot-long display of a portion of the St. John's Bible. In 1998, St. John's University commissioned Donald Jackson, the unofficial calligrapher of the Queen of England, to create a handwritten, illuminated-text copy of the Bible. In 2011, Jackson completed the two-foot-tall, three-foot-wide, 1,100-page St. John's Bible, in which he used 130-year-old Chinese ink; turkey, goose, and swan quills; and calfskin vellum. "It is the equivalent for a calligrapher, of being asked to do the Sistine Chapel," Jackson said in a video story online. Southwestern's exhibit will have St. John's Bible excerpts from Genesis, Exodus, and Psalms. "I think it's going to be a show stopper," McCoy said. "I think [visitors] will be seeing so many earth tones, and then all of a sudden, they'll see these splashes of such beautiful artwork." During the exhibition, the seminary's Leta Phillips Library will feature a 10-volume collection of antiquarian texts on loan from The Rawlings Foundation in Florence, Ky. The collection contains 16th- and 17th-century books such as first editions of the 1611 King James Bible, 1563 Foxe's Book of Martyrs, and 1516 Erasmus Greek New Testament, as well as a 1616 royal copy of the King James Bible formerly belonging to King James I. In addition to walking through a replica of Cave 4, where Bedouin herders found two of the scroll fragments on loan for the exhibit from Hebrew University, visitors will have the chance to watch a short film about the scrolls, see a replica of the Wailing Wall, and examine digitized scrolls at their own pace on iScroll kiosks. Visitors can also browse through a gift shop and purchase souvenirs before leaving the exhibit. McCoy said the exhibition will offer a child-friendly component as well, where young visitors can experience the archaeological aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls and learn about them alongside their parents, both through kiosks placed throughout the exhibit and through a simulated dig site located outside the exhibit hall. At the dig site, visitors will have the chance to excavate and dig for ancient artifacts. A child may then take home a shard discovered in his digging. Southwestern alumnus and current Ph.D. student Trey Thames will set up the dig site for the exhibit. Thames first created a simulated dig site after traveling to Tel Gezer Israel with Southwestern and deciding he wanted to create an opportunity for his students at Woodlands Christian Academy in Woodlands, Texas, to learn about archaeology in a hands-on way. "He has drawings and plans to make this a destination point for the adventurous mind," McCoy said. "Trey is going to construct a smaller version of what archaeologists found near the Dead Sea. Then, he is going to bury it with dirt." A lecture series will punctuate the exhibit during its duration, as well, offering evening presentations from international historians, linguists and scholars, who will further illuminate the study of the scrolls and their impact on modern civilization. The lectures will take place on Tuesday evenings throughout the six-month exhibit. McCoy said the exhibit is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "This is the most comprehensive exhibition on the Dead Sea Scrolls ever in Texas," McCoy said. "We're bringing the ancient Near East to them. They can come and do this without a passport." Visitors, however, should remember to bring a few items such as a photo ID to pick up tickets and a light jacket to wear in the exhibit hall. For the preservation of the ancient documents and artifacts, the temperature will be kept between 68 and 70 degrees inside the building. Visitors can find a list of items not to bring at seethescrolls.com, along with information about tickets, hours of operation, and location. The website also includes educational resources such as games, maps, articles and websites. The proceeds of the exhibit -- for which active duty military receive free admission -- will benefit Southwestern Seminary's Biblical Archaeology Program. McCoy hopes that when visitors experience how people 2,000 years ago diligently and faithfully copied the Scriptures, they will feel inspired to appreciate the modern copy of God's Word and the value ancient cultures recognized in it. "I hope they will leave with a renewed hunger to read the Bible," McCoy said. "These folks were in caves transcribing the Scriptures, and we can lean back in our easy chair and read the Word anytime we wish. I hope that we would develop a renewed discipline and hunger for the truth of God's Word, to read it and apply it to our lives." --30-- Sharayah Colter writes for Southwestern Seminary. This story first appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of Southwestern News magazine on the Dead Sea Scrolls, online at http://www.swbts.edu/southwesternnews/SNSP12.cfm. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why the Dead Sea Scrolls matter by Benjamin Hawkins Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of a package previewing Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's "Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible" exhibit, which runs from July 2 to Jan. 13. For more information visit SeetheScrolls.com. Read Baptist Press' overview story at http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38149 FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- When a Bedouin shepherd discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel in the 1940s, few people immediately understood their importance. After taking the scrolls back to his camp, this shepherd left one of them on the ground to be torn apart by children, while one person reportedly used another scroll fragment to wipe a baby's bottom. As the scrolls made their way to antiquities dealers and scholars, some refused to accept their antiquity. In 1948, however, biblical archaeologist W.F. Albright of Johns Hopkins University examined some photographs of the scrolls. Dating them quickly to the second century B.C., Albright dubbed these scrolls "the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times." Now, more than half a century after the discovery of these scrolls, few would debate Albright's claim. But what makes these scrolls the most important find of the 20th century? THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND THE RELIABILITY OF SCRIPTURE According to Ryan Stokes, assistant professor of Old Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, the Dead Sea Scrolls affirm the reliability of the Old Testament text, taking scholars much closer to the original autographs of Scripture -- that is, to the inerrant texts of the Old Testament as they were first written by their authors. "These are some of the very oldest copies of the Old Testament that we have, certainly some of the oldest in the original Hebrew and Aramaic," Stokes said. "The older the copies, the closer we get chronologically to the autographs, the fewer copies there are between the original Old Testament writings and these copies that we have." In fact, the Dead Sea Scrolls are 1,000 years older than the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible, called the Codex Leningradensis and dated to around A.D. 1008. As a result, Stokes explained, the scrolls "put us in a better position than we were before their discovery to ascertain how the Old Testament developed and how faithfully the Old Testament text had been preserved over the millennia." In large part, the scrolls have shown that, through the millennia, scribes faithfully copied the Old Testament and that the Hebrew text translated for modern Christians accurately represents the Bible that Jesus read and the Bible as it was originally written. "The Bible is reliable, and the texts we have accurately relay to us what was in the original autograph," said Eric Mitchell, associate professor of Old Testament and archaeology at Southwestern Seminary. The Dead Sea Scrolls, however, differ in some ways from later manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible -- most often due to spelling changes or to the difficulties of copying the scrolls by hand. But scholars are not surprised by these variants and are confident in discovering the correct wording of Scripture by comparing copies of the text. In any case, Mitchell said, most of the variants of the Hebrew Old Testament are minor, having little theological significance, and leave the meaning of the original text practically intact. On a rare occasion, however, the Dead Sea Scrolls have preserved a textual variant rich with theological significance. Take Psalm 22:16, for instance, a passage that Christians understand as referring to Jesus' crucifixion. The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Old Testament translated before the time of Christ and often used by the early church, supports the translation of Psalm 22:16 in the King James Version and many other English Bibles, "They pierced my hands and my feet." But, for centuries, the Hebrew text of Psalm 22:16 did not support this translation. According to the Masoretic text, the Hebrew Bible preserved by Jewish Scribes throughout the Middle Ages, the verse reads, "Like a lion are my hands and my feet." Since the Masoretic text was for many years the oldest and most reliable version of the Hebrew Old Testament, this created a problem for Christians who see a reference to Christ in this verse. But this problem was resolved when scholars discovered that the much older Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed the reading found in English translations. THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND THE NEW TESTAMENT WORLD The Dead Sea Scrolls, therefore, show the reliability of the Bible and help scholars to confirm the original wording of Scripture, but they can also teach modern Christians much about the world in which Christ lived and in which the New Testament was written. "They tell us more about what Jews were thinking and believing and how they were living around the time that Jesus lived and the time of the New Testament authors," Stokes said. "And that gives us some very important information and context for interpreting the New Testament. In particular, the Dead Sea Scrolls shed light on the religious community that preserved the scrolls. The members of this community called themselves the Yahad, "the group," who, according to some modern scholars, are related in some way to the Essenes. While this group preserved biblical scrolls, they also produced scrolls describing their own beliefs and practices. Examining these documents, some modern scholars have observed similarities between the teachings and practices of the Yahad and those of Jesus Christ and His early Jewish disciples. "The Dead Sea Scroll group resembled the New Testament authors in that they were a Messianic community," Stokes noted as an example of one similarity. "Now, the Dead Sea Scroll group did not think the Messiah had already come, but they believed that He was coming in the very near future. So they were expecting the Messiah, and some of the things they said about the Messiah ... were the same things that the New Testament authors said about Jesus. And some of the same Old Testament passages that they used to talk about their coming Messiah were some of the same passages that the New Testament authors used to talk about Jesus." "They differed, though, in some other regards," Stokes added. For example, the Yahad looked forward to the coming of two Messiahs, one from the royal line of David and another one who would fulfill a priestly role. Also, they anticipated the coming of another eschatological prophet. Moreover, the Yahad did not expect the death and resurrection of their messianic figures. In contrast, early Christians taught that Jesus was the prophet, priest and king, whose death, burial, resurrection and return were central to His mission. "So, in a sense, Jesus fulfilled many of these expectations," Stokes said, "though differently from the way some people were expecting." So, the Dead Sea Scrolls provide new information about the common questions and expectations of first-century Jews, including the crowds who flocked to hear Christ's teachings and see His miracles. They also show how first-century Jews interpreted Scripture and which portions of the Old Testament they most often read. The biblical scrolls discovered at Qumran, for example, show that this sect most often copied and used the books of Deuteronomy, Isaiah and the Psalms -- the Old Testament books also quoted most often within the New Testament. Moreover, the New Testament authors used some of the same ways of reading and applying the Old Testament -- though filtered through the lens of Christ's death and resurrection -- that the Dead Sea Scroll community and other first-century Jews used. For these reasons, Stokes said, "the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has forever changed New Testament scholarship." And for these reasons, among many others, the Dead Sea Scrolls continue to be regarded as "the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times." --30-- Benjamin Hawkins writes for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This story first appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of Southwestern News magazine on the Dead Sea Scrolls, online at http://www.swbts.edu/southwesternnews/SNSP12.cfm. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Scrolls' accidental discovery adds to intrigue by Keith Collier Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of a package previewing Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's "Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible" exhibit, which runs from July 2 to Jan. 13. For more information visit SeetheScrolls.com. Read Baptist Press' overview story at http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38149 FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- While searching for a stray goat in January 1947, a Bedouin goat herder stumbled upon the discovery of a lifetime. The story goes that as he was throwing rocks into a cave, he heard the sound of breaking pottery. He brought his father and brother, and the three entered the cave. Tucked away in this rocky fissure overlooking the Dead Sea near Qumran in Israel, they unearthed jars containing several scrolls. Unaware of the magnitude of their discovery, the Bedouin showed the scrolls to a man named Khalil Iskander Shahin (Kando), an antiquities dealer in Bethlehem. Kando had developed a relationship with the Bedouin over the years, buying butter and cheese each spring as well as purchasing oil lamps, coins and other antiquities they might find in their travels throughout the desert. Kando, a Syrian Orthodox Christian, expressed interest in the discovery and partnered with the Bedouin to find a buyer for the scrolls. They eventually sold four of the scrolls -- the larger Isaiah scroll, the Manual of Discipline, the commentary on Habakkuk, and the Genesis Apocryphon -- to Metropolitan Mar Athanasius Samuel at St. Mark's Monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem for the equivalent of $97.20. Additionally, professor Eleazar Sukenik, an archaeologist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, purchased three other scrolls -- the Hymn Scroll, the War Scroll, and the second Isaiah scroll. Originally thought to be documents from the medieval period, experts soon established a more accurate date of around 100 B.C. (Later, Carbon-14 dating would confirm that some manuscripts were as old as 250 B.C.) At that time, the manuscripts were 1,000 years older than any complete Old Testament manuscripts in Hebrew. Johns Hopkins University professor W.F. Albright, an expert in ancient Jewish scripts who confirmed the dating of the documents, remarked that these treasures represented "the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times!" THE SEARCH CONTINUES The discovery sparked a nearly 10-year search in caves in the area surrounding Qumran. Kando partnered with the Jordanian government and Palestine Archaeological Museum (today known as the Rockefeller Museum) to conduct excavations. As per his agreement with the Jordanian government, Kando gave the museum the first opportunity to purchase scrolls he and the Bedouin found. Kando continued to buy and sell portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls for many years. An estimated 80 percent of all discovered scrolls went through the hands of the Kando family, ending up in museums, institutions and private collections around the world. Although he died in 1993, his son William continues to deal in antiquities today. "My father was an agent of the Rockefeller Museum," William recalls. "But sometimes they said, 'We don't have money to buy (scrolls).' Whatever the Rockefeller Museum didn't want to buy, my father would keep. My father had a license from the Jordanian Antiquities Authority at that time to buy [scrolls] from the Bedouin and sell them." In all, teams excavated 11 caves and unearthed approximately 825 to 870 separate scrolls containing biblical manuscripts, biblical manuscripts with commentary, apocryphal manuscripts, and extra-biblical literature. The most important piece was the complete manuscript of Isaiah, which is dated to the second century B.C. The scrolls most likely represent the library of a Jewish sect commonly referred to as the Essenes. The Essenes were Jewish scribes, and most of the texts are written in Hebrew and Aramaic, although there are a few in Greek. The scrolls likely were hidden in the Qumran caves around the time of the First Jewish Revolt (66-70 A.D.). SOUTHWESTERN SEMINARY'S ACQUISITION OF DEAD SEA SCROLL FRAGMENTS Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson and his wife Dorothy first met Kando and his family in the summer of 1975 at Kando's St. George Gift Shop in Jerusalem. The Pattersons developed a close friendship with the Kando family over the years as they brought groups to tour the Holy Land. When they visited the family, William Kando often would drive them on errands in Jerusalem. In the summer of 2009, the Pattersons led a study tour group to Israel and visited the Kando Store in Bethlehem. During their visit, William Kando approached them about purchasing some Dead Sea Scrolls fragments. Also on that trip were Gary and Stephanie Loveless, who joined in the conversations and eventually provided the funds necessary for acquiring the first fragments. After confirming the fragments' authenticity, the Pattersons continued negotiations, and in January 2010, Southwestern Seminary acquired three fragments -- Daniel 6:22-24 and 7:18-19; Leviticus 18:27-29; and Exodus 23:8-10 -- and received as a gift a stylus made from a palm frond, which was found in the Dead Sea region. Later in 2010, Southwestern purchased more fragments, including Deuteronomy 12:11-14; Deuteronomy 9:25–10:1; and two Leviticus fragments (Leviticus 21:7-12; 22:21-27), which represent the most valuable piece in Southwestern's possession and is written in the oldest form of Hebrew script. The Kando family also gifted a fragment of Psalm 22 to Dorothy Patterson, which she in turn gifted to the seminary, and several tiny fragments. Southwestern Seminary currently houses the largest collection of Dead Sea Scroll fragments owned by an institution of higher education within the United States and will host a Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition in its MacGorman Chapel from July 2 to Jan. 13 (SeetheScrolls.com). "Millions of people around the world now understand that the Dead Sea Scrolls are in a league of their own," said Peter Flint, professor of religious studies and co-director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University in British Columbia, Canada, who has assisted the seminary in the study of the scrolls. "They are the greatest find of our time. If you love God, if you love history, if you're a Jew, if you're a Christian, if you care about the Gospel, if you care about the Bible, there is no greater discovery." --30-- Keith Collier is director of news and information for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. This story first appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of Southwestern News magazine on the Dead Sea Scrolls, online at http://www.swbts.edu/southwesternnews/SNSP12.cfm. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SBC entities issue 1st report on ethnic diversity by Diana Chandler Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention entities have issued their first reports in response to historic measures adopted a year ago to improve accountability in the inclusion of ethnic minorities in SBC life. All SBC entities submitted reports for the Executive Committee's February meeting about their ministries, including the involvement of ethnic churches and church leaders in entity activities in response to the 12-part recommendation adopted by messengers to the 2011 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. Also, SBC President Fred Luter has been provided input, as the recommendations require, for giving attention "to appointing individuals who represent the diversity" within the SBC. Luter, as SBC president, also is asked to report the total number of appointees he selects for the committees under his purview that represent the ethnic diversity within Southern Baptist life and to encourage the selection of annual meeting program personalities by the Committee on Order of Business to reflect that diversity. The SBC Executive Committee's communications workgroup monitors the SBC's progress in ethnic diversity, although neither specific goals nor quotas are set. Luter has the responsibility to appoint members of four committees (Committee on Committees, Resolutions, Credentials and Tellers) comprising about 115 people, with appointments due on varying dates ranging from 30 to 75 days prior to the 2013 annual meeting, June 11-12 in Houston. Of the 114 various committee members outgoing President Bryant Wright appointed in the months before his term ended, eight are African American, five are Asian, three are Hispanic and one is Native American, giving ethnic minorities a near 15 percent representation. Synopses of ethnic diversity information from the SBC's entities follow. Executive Committee: The EC completed a two-year study in February 2011 of how ethnic churches and leaders can participate more fully in SBC life, the results of which led to passage of the historic measures for tracking accountability. The EC has worked with the North American Mission Board to establish ethnic-focused positions and groups, including a presidential ambassador for ethnic church relations and Hispanic and African American advisory councils. The Executive Committee also has extended the ethnic reach of Baptist Press through a broader freelance writer base and an expanded Spanish-language version of the online news service. International Mission Board: The IMB's Church and Partner Services Office has three departments that relate to African American, Hispanic and Korean American churches. The IMB has several ethnic trustees and staff members and several hundred ethnic missionaries, and it hosts events in majority-ethnic churches and communities. North American Mission Board: Through its Send North America strategy, NAMB has introduced church-planting pastors to several ethnic groups, including Polish, Brazilian, Haitian, Romanian, African, Jewish, Mainland Chinese and African American. NAMB in concert with the Executive Committee appointed Ken Weathersby, an African American, as the presidential ambassador for ethnic church relations. LifeWay Christian Resources: LifeWay reported it is "constantly alert to opportunities that present ways to help spiritually transform all peoples from all cultures and backgrounds by offering biblical solutions for life." These include the Church Resources Division's evangelism and discipleship resources in 20 languages and extensive products for ethnic churches and leaders sold at 165 LifeWay Christian Stores in the U.S. and online. LifeWay's B&H Publishing Group publishes or licenses products in more than 25 languages and is the world's largest commercial publisher of Spanish Bibles. LifeWay Research helps churches understand and engage individuals of many ethnicities, utilizing multiple languages in analyzing primary research. At LifeWay's Technology Division, Bible translations in all languages are available online. LifeWay employs "hundreds of members of minorities and regularly attends minority job/career fairs for minority groups, and advertises for particular ethnic minorities on the Internet and through mailings to individuals and churches," the entity reported. GuideStone Financial Resources: GuideStone said it is actively working to attract ethnic churches and their leaders to participate in and partner with its programs, maintaining websites in Spanish and Korean and a call center that can assist callers in more than 100 languages. GuideStone's resources are printed in a variety of languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese and French Haitian. Guidestone also highlighted two of "several" minorities employed in management. Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission: The ERLC focuses on human rights and immigration issues, "where racial and ethnic peoples are most often the center of debate," the ERLC said. The commission has honored ethnic minorities with its distinguished service and religious liberty awards and has published the Internet site www.erlc.com/race. Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary: GGBTS reported an ethnically diverse campus with ethnic students, faculty, staff, trustees and ministry leaders. Its 2010-11 student body was 36.3 percent white, 21.4 percent Hispanic, 19.4 percent African American and 12.6 percent Asian American, among others. Korean, Indian, Canadian and African Americans are among faculty and the seminary reported it enjoys relationships with a diversity of church leaders. Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary: MBTS offers leadership development programs targeting Lao, Hispanic and Korean students. The seminary reaches its African American neighbors through African American church emphasis programs and evangelism teams. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary: NOBTS serves a diverse student population and includes ethnic minorities in its fulltime and adjunct faculty. The seminary partners with various churches and the majority-African American National Baptist Convention to offer certificates in African American church planting and offers certificate and undergraduate programs at prisons in Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia where ethnic minorities are prevalent. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary: SEBTS "has been making active efforts to increase the participation of ethnic church and church leaders in the life [of] the seminary. While major percentage gains have not been seen, SEBTS is seeing growth in the ethnic student population," the seminary reported. Inviting ethnic minorities to speak at chapel services and actively seeking qualified professors for faculty positions were reported. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: SBTS "proactively seeks to hire faculty and administrative staff from diverse ethnic backgrounds," the seminary reported, and has recommended names of ethnic leaders to the SBC Committee on Nominations when invited to do so. The seminary works to attract students from various ethnicities and offers instruction and graduate supervision in Spanish, Vietnamese and Korean. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary: SWBTS reported that it employs an ethnically diverse faculty. The seminary reaches a diverse audience through its annual picnic attended by multiple ethnic churches and groups, and by inviting ethnic church leaders to speak at seminary events. --30-- Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Israeli tourism ministry honors 3 SBC leaders by Joni B. Hannigan Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Three Southern Baptist leaders were recognized by the Israel Ministry of Tourism with a Faithful Ambassador Award June 18 for their support of Christian tourism. Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, was honored at a "Celebrate Israel" breakfast, along with Jack Graham, senior pastor of the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church; and O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources. Page, in prayer, thanked God that Southern Baptists can come alongside Israel as a partner. "Lord, we believe strongly that You have called us to be a people who support the nation of Israel," Page said, "who support Your call for that land to be strong, to be a blessing to the nations." Haim Gutin, Israel commissioner for North and South America, presented the awards on behalf of Israel's Ministry of Tourism, citing significant growth in Christian tourism in Israel in the past few years "beyond our wildest dreams." He announced a ribbon-cutting ceremony later in the morning for an Israel booth in the exhibit hall at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center prior to the June 19-20 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. Hawkins, in the keynote address, recalled his first trip to Israel in the 1970s when, after the Six-Day War, he walked out onto the tarmac of the old airport and looked out at the Israeli soldiers circling the plane. "I felt like I had just come home," Hawkins said. "There was something about that particular experience." As to why he has made return trips to Israel, Hawkins said he and his wife Susie travel there for four reasons -- personal, practical, political and prophetic. "I like Israel breakfasts," Hawkins quipped in talking about his personal reasons for visiting Israel. More so, Hawkins said his own spiritual development and devotional life have been expanded by walking the streets of the old city in Jerusalem, sailing on the Sea of Galilee and standing on the Mount of Olives. Taking to heart Psalm 48:12, which says in part, "to walk around Zion ... that you might tell it to the next generation,'" Hawkins said he believes he is stronger in the telling of it because of his firsthand experience. "Some of my profound memories are there," he said. Hawkins said he has witnessed practical reasons to continue taking people to Israel. "It bound me to my people like nothing else; it built leadership in my church like nothing else; it transformed the lives of our people like nothing else," Hawkins said, referencing core relationships he has built with leaders and others in the churches he has pastored. Politically, Hawkins said, he has a strong affinity for the Middle East. "I believe in democracy and we all know that Israel is really the only real democracy in the Middle East and deserves our support," Hawkins said. Prophecy was the final reason Hawkins said he believes in traveling to Israel. "God not only has a purpose for that particular place, but He also has a purpose for that peculiar people we call the Jews ...," Hawkins said. "Long ago Moses predicted the Lord will scatter you among the nations and you will find no resting place. In the ghettos of Warsaw to the pogroms all through Eastern Europe, to Hitler's ovens, they have known no resting place." During a recent trip to the Garden of Gethsemane, Hawkins said, he looked at the ground and saw "diamonds" of dew all over a blade of grass. In that moment, he said an obscure verse he had memorized as a teenager came to mind: an Old Testament promise in Hosea 14:5, "I will be like the dew to my people." Dew, Hawkins said, does not come from the sky or the grounds, but instead is formed under the right conditions by condensation. "Conditions have never been more right to stand by our Israeli friends in support of saving Israel," Hawkins said. "And conditions have never been more right for us to know how to do it. And one of the very best [ways] that we as Christians and pastors can do that is to get people together and take them ... to the land of Israel and walk about Zion, count her towers [and] consider her ramparts that we too can tell it to the next generation." Graham, in delivering the benediction, prayed for the peace of Jerusalem, drawing from Psalm 122. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May those who love you be secure,'" he said. --30-- Joni B. Hannigan is managing editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, the newspaper of the Florida Baptist State Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- God-given femininity: Value it, Kassian says by Shannon Baker Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- A sold-out crowd of 1,800 ministers' wives heard Mary Kassian speak on "The Hidden Person of the Heart," drawing from 1 Peter 3, at their luncheon during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in New Orleans. Kassian, a women's studies professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a national speaker for "True Women" conferences, admitted that 1 Peter 3, where wives are instructed to quietly submit to their husbands, was not her favorite part of Scripture when she was in her 20s. Reading it, she said, was like "sticking my face in a bucket of worms." As she has grown in the Lord, Kassian said her views have changed to where she sees "great gems" in the passage for those who are co-laboring with their husbands in the ministry. Kassian, whose husband is a chaplain for the Canadian Football League, shared three ways wives can use their femininity to help, rather than hinder, their husbands in ministry. First, be winsome, Kassian said. "The most effective way to help your husband be on the right track is for you to work hard for you to be on the right track." The enemy of winsomeness is the tongue, Kassian said, cautioning, "A woman's word can be the undoing of the man." Second, be womanly. "Embracing your femininity is not about fitting a cookie-cutter mold," Kassian said. "It's about being the woman God created you to be -- a beautiful, God-glorifying woman." Noting that issues of gender, sexuality and marriage are threatening what it means to be male and female, Kassian urged the women to be counter-intuitive and embrace the power of being a woman. "Your husband needs you to be a woman -- his wife -- not his mother or one of the guys. When you are the woman God has called you to be, he can be the man God called him to be." Finally, be unwavering. "These womanly traits are very precious in God's eyes," Kassian said. Through them, "we shine a light on the Gospel and on Jesus Christ." The Lord's way may seem counter-intuitive, but "it is the way that will bring most fulfillment," she said. Kassian is the author of "The Feminist Mistake," "Girls Gone Wise" and most recently an eight-week study on biblical womanhood, "True Woman 101: Divine Design," coauthored with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. A copy of True Woman 101 was given to each attendee, along with a devotional, "The Hidden Person of the Heart," edited by Janet Wicker, this year's luncheon president, and written by more than 300 Southern Baptist ministers' wives in all areas of ministry. A book about prayer, "Draw Near," by Sherry Blankenship, this year's recording secretary/treasurer for the luncheon, also was given to attendees. Through tears, Wicker introduced two pastors' wives who influenced her life and ministry: Nancy Buttemere, wife of Clive Buttemere, and Jane Hightower, wife of Bill Hightower, both of whom have been married for 51 years. The Buttemeres served in the pastorate for 12 years and then as Southern Baptist missionaries to Costa Rica for 28 years. Nancy Buttemere "noticed" her at an awkward time of her life, Wicker said, and was her Girls in Action leader. Hightower, who performed the Wickers' wedding in 1975, and his wife, served in several churches for 30 years, including the church where Hayes Wicker served as a youth minister. "You have been the fragrance of Christ to me all these years," Wicker said as her two daughters, Kristin Yeldell and Allyson Wicker, presented bouquets of flowers to Buttemere and Hightower. "The Lord values the vibrant, unfading inner beauty that comes from being adorned with soothing gentleness, regal tranquility, and strength submitted to God's control and the leadership of our husbands," Wicker told the June 19 luncheon at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. "In a culture that emphasizes beauty that is only skin-deep," Wicker added, "we must stand out as 'daughters of Sarah' who truly put their hope in God, doing what is good and right and not giving into fear." Also at the luncheon, a New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary jazz band and Yeldell, her husband Eric and a worship band provided special music. Next year's featured speaker for the June 11 luncheon in Houston is author and speaker Donna Gaines, www.donnagaines.org, wife of Steve Gaines, pastor of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn. Officers for next year's luncheon, with the theme "For the Sake of the Gospel," based on 1 Corinthians 9:23, are Kathy Ferguson Litton of North Mobile, Ala., president; Beverly Fleming of Houston, vice president; Becky Badry of Wewoka, Okla., recording secretary-treasurer; and Beverly Bender of Black Forest, Colo., correspondence secretary. Always held on Tuesday during the SBC annual meeting, the luncheon is open to wives of all ministers, including pastors, staff members, chaplains, missionaries and denominational workers. --30-- Shannon Baker is the national correspondent for BaptistLIFE, newsjournal of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. Contributions to the SBC Ministers' Wives Endowment may be sent to the Office of the Executive Director, Florida Baptist Convention, 1230 Hendricks Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32207. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mary Cox honored by ministers' wives by Shannon Baker Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Mary Cox, who has served alongside her husband, Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro First Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Ga., for the past 30 years, was honored with the 2012 Willie Turner Dawson Award during the Ministers' Wives Luncheon at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans. Cox also has served since 2004 as ministers' wives consultant for the Georgia Baptist Convention, supporting ministers' wives through regular contact and an annual retreat for renewal and refreshment. She also speaks to women's ministries and teaches Bible studies, encouraging women to experience a growing relationship with Christ. In presenting the award, Ginny Whitten, wife of Ken Whitten of Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa, Fla., praised Cox for her commitment to 25 years of marriage and 30-plus years of church ministry. The mother to three children, Stephen, Jonathan and Kristen, and grandmother of two, Cox previously served as the director of women's ministry at North Metro First Baptist, as a vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention and trustee with LifeWay Christian Resources. Cox said she loved being a pastor's wife and was "humbled" and "very undeserving" of the award. "I think we have such an influence. We can influence people all around us every single day, even in our communities -- not just in our churches," Cox said. Cox shared the greatest piece of advice she had ever been given, recounting that her husband told her soon after they were married, "You be who God made you, and you just be who you are. Pray about everything, and you allow God to lead you. And if you do that, God will never lead you astray." "And did you know, today, 25 years we have been married, I can honestly tell you God has never led me astray," Cox said. "When I turn to Him, He always leads me in the right direction." Each year, the Dawson Award recognizes a minister's wife for making a distinct denominational contribution beyond the local church and for her Christian character and service to others. It was established in 1963 when the ministers' wives group posthumously honored Willie Turner Dawson, wife of J.M. Dawson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. Willie Turner Dawson was a teacher and lecturer who in 1930 successfully challenged the Southern Baptist Convention to give more to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. --30-- Shannon Baker is national correspondent for BaptistLIFE, newsjournal of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. -------------------------------------------------------------------- IMB, NAMB presidents address DOMs' queries by Frank Michael McCormack Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS -- The Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors of Missions held its annual meeting at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary June 17-18. Nearly 225 associational leaders attended the SBCADOM sessions in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 19-20 in New Orleans. Day one of the conference was highlighted by interviews with International Mission Board President Tom Elliff and North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell. Dale Fisher with the Caldwell Baptist Association in North Carolina first asked Elliff to put into words how Jesus' words in Matthew 9 about "the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few" impact him as IMB president. Elliff first pointed to Matthew 9:36, which says Jesus "had compassion" on the crowds. "It literally means that, when Jesus saw the crowds, it was a gut-wrenching experience for Him," Elliff said. "I have to tell you, Dale, traveling around and seeing what's happening in this world and realizing how seemingly small our efforts are breaks my heart." Elliff pointed out that, while Southern Baptists support about 5,000 international missionaries, that amounts to "less than 3/100ths of 1 percent of our U.S. Southern Baptist constituency." Southern Baptists have a great opportunity to get more involved in reaching unengaged, unreached people groups around the world, though, through such initiatives as the IMB's "Embrace" call for individual churches, associations and entities to adopt one of the more than 3,300 unreached people groups around the world and develop a strategy for reaching them with the Gospel. NAMB President Kevin Ezell followed Elliff, offering an overview of the mission board's church planting push and a glimpse of a new church revitalization emphasis being developed. "I feel like we have brought a sense of focus [to the North American Mission Board]," Ezell said of the church planting emphasis that was the focus of his first two years as president. Ezell said his goal is for 50 percent of NAMB's resources to go toward church plants. Currently it is around 42 percent, Ezell said. Ezell told the directors of missions that NAMB is preparing to launch a church revitalization program in which sponsor churches will directly support restarts or revitalizations. "Then we can put a young pastor in there who will be mentored and use resources like it was a church plant," Ezell said. Ezell also said NAMB is preparing to begin a program by which properties that are no longer in use will be acquired and refurbished to help start churches in the rehabilitated facilities. The association also heard from Tom Billings, executive director of Houston's Union Baptist Association, who called the directors of mission to lead their churches to work toward true transformation in their communities. Billings said the overarching story of Scripture includes four main elements: creation, fall, redemption and restoration. Christians too often focus mainly on the fall and redemption, Billings said. "If that's all of the story we tell, we're telling too narrow of a story," he said. "The full story involves creation and moves all the way to restoration." Part of the reason the early church had such a huge impact on society, Billings said, was "the difference that Christians made in the lives of ordinary people." "Christ's followers didn't just believe in Jesus, they behaved like Jesus," he said of a major point of emphasis for churches in the Houston-area association. Billings said he is looking forward to Southern Baptists coming to Houston in June 2013 for the Crossover evangelistic thrust and the annual meeting. "I really hope that folks will say about Southern Baptists once they come to Houston the kinds of things they say about Southern Baptists here in New Orleans," Billings said in reference to Southern Baptists' work in the city following Hurricane Katrina. Reflecting on the weekend meeting in New Orleans, SBCADOM's president, Johnny Rumbough, director of missions for the Lexington Baptist Association in South Carolina, said it had been meaningful for participants. "There were times when we were moved to stand and cheer," Rumbough said. "There were other times when we were moved to sit and meditate and others where we wanted to get on our knees before the Lord." The 2013 Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors of Missions is set for the second weekend in June leading up to the SBC annual meeting June 11-12 in Houston. Second Baptist Church in Houston will host the SBCADOM conference. --30-- Frank Michael McCormack is a writer for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Evangelists underscore 'power of God' by Emily Grooms & Vicky Kaniaru Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Two former presidents and the new president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists focused on "The Gospel: The Power of God Unto Salvation" during the group's Sunday morning worship June 17 in New Orleans prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. Braxton Hunter expressed impatience with division over the sinner's prayer; Keith Fordham said "Christ's blood" is what's needed for "what's wrong with the Southern Baptist Convention;" and the group's new president, Eric Ramsey, said if Southern Baptists' entities and programs don't have the power of the Holy Spirit, "they are worth nothing." COSBE inducted two new members into its "Hall of Faith," at the three-hour service at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside -- John Bos of Orlando, Fla., and Tom Cox of Mountainburg, Ark. Braxton Hunter, an evangelist based in Evansville, Ind., drew from Acts 6 for his sermon, "Just Preach It." "If there ever was a time when Southern Baptists have to decide to just preach it, now is the time," Hunter said. "We need to come away with a refreshed understanding of the power of the Gospel and a desire to just preach it." Hunter noted when the biblical Stephen was persecuted and killed, the written Bible, conferences and resources did not exist. Though he had likely not intended to die that day, Stephen had received the challenge that all believers have received -- "Are you willing to just preach it or are you going to augment your message so it's more palpable and appealing to the human senses?" Hunter said. "If you don't think that we're going to face this level of persecution where we may have to lay down our lives, then that is all the more reason to preach it," Hunter said. Recalling a 1995 court case where a judge threatened incarceration for students who mentioned the name of Jesus during high school commencement programs, Hunter said believers may soon face persecution similar to that of Stephen. "Are we really living like people who respect what these men and women went through for us to have [the Bible]?" Hunter asked. Citing Acts 5 when the apostles were arrested, Hunter noted this represented the first time in history when Christians were prevented from sharing their faith. "Does that sound familiar to where we are today in the 21st century?" Hunter asked. "Today, we're getting the same societal view." However, no matter what the law stated, the apostles decided "to proclaim the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the power of the Gospel, both privately and publicly," Hunter said. "In a day like this, when we have a choice to make, it is time to make the right choice and just preach it," Hunter said. "If the world is getting more evangelistic, and we're getting less evangelistic, what is standing in the future for us?" Sometimes it is not the fear of persecution but laziness that subdues preaching the Gospel, Hunter said. Too many believers, he said, are not passionate about the things of God "because there is something wrong between us and Jesus." Citing Stephen's last moments, Hunter said he is reminded that Christians don't just die. "We just fall asleep and wake up in the presence of Jesus," he said. "The power of the Gospel is so powerful that I believe everyone can be saved." Restating his conviction about the power of the Gospel, Hunter talked about Southern Baptists' discussion of the sinner's prayer. "I think the fact that we are at the SBC right now and the SBC is experiencing difficult times in many ways -- the fact that we would begin talking about whether or not it is superstitious to lead someone to pray to receive the Lord Jesus Christ -- I find to be absurd ...," Hunter said. "No matter what we decide at the SBC this week, just preach it. Whatever we talk about, this is my message to my convention: Just preach it." Keith Fordham, an evangelist in the Southern Baptist Convention for 35 years, in his message spoke of the importance of the blood of Jesus. Christ's blood is the only source of spiritual life, he said. "Jesus did not spill His blood, He poured His blood. Jesus' death was not a tragedy, but a triumph. Jesus shed His blood on the cross on purpose." Referencing Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22 and 1 John 1:7, Fordham spoke about the composition, the cycle, the conception and the contemplation of the blood. "That's the only way we will get into heaven," Fordham said. "His blood cries out either for our damnation or, thank God, for our salvation." Without the proper understanding and dependency on the blood of Jesus, Fordham said "we cannot work for God and we cannot have proper fellowship in this world." "It's the blood of Jesus that's the cure for what's wrong with the Southern Baptist Convention," Fordham said. "It's the blood that's the cure for what's wrong with America." Eric Ramsey, an evangelist based in Mountainburg, Ark., said he is "deeply burdened because North America for the last decade has remained the only continent in the world where Christianity is in decline." Churches are relying on resources more than relying on the missing ingredient: the power of the Holy Spirit, Ramsey said. When the disciples asked Jesus whether He would restore the kingdom to Israel in Acts 1, they were seeking "positional power." "I believe the church in North America is spending too much time looking for positional power," said Ramsey, who noted that Jesus' promise of power referred to The Holy Spirit. Though grateful for Southern Baptists' entities and programs, Ramsey said, God is allowing the evangelical church to be buffeted because of the absence of the power of the Holy Spirit. "If those programs don't have the power of the Holy Spirit driving them, they are worth nothing," Ramsey said. "We don't have the Holy Spirit, therefore there is no power behind the Gospel that we're preaching. "Without walking in complete honor and glory to God, we do not walk in the Holy Spirit," Ramsey said. "We don't need a new marketing strategy. We don't need a communications plan. We don't need a new program. We need to get on our knees." The gift of the Holy Spirit employs believers to be witnesses, Ramsey said. "Way too many people today, in an effort not to offend somebody, are sitting silently on the witness stand. "We're way too concerned about people coming and being like us," Ramsey said. "We need to be a lot more concerned about us joining others and others joining us on a journey to become more like Jesus Christ. That's what the Gospel is all about." Ramsey talked about a bent woman in India who, after praying to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, laid her cane down and said, "Thank you for Jesus," and walked out. The news of the woman's healing spread throughout the village. God needs believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit and who believe that when they receive Jesus, things change, Ramsey said. "Does your church need Jesus? Do you need Jesus? Let's walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, and let's stop relying on our money, on our programs, on our agencies, and let's rely on Him," Ramsey said. "He wants to do it much more than we want to receive it. He wants to give it much more than we want to get it." HALL OF FAITH INDUCTEES This year's inductees into COSBE's "Hall of Faith" will join 33 who have been honored for devoting their lives to vocational evangelism. In 2008 COSBE created the Hall of Faith and in 2010 the North American Mission Board dedicated a room at their headquarters in Alpharetta, Ga., where plaques are displayed honoring those evangelists chosen. Evangelists -- both living and dead -- who have been inducted include Billy Graham, Junior Hill, Jay Strack, Vance Havner and Manley Beasley. The 2012 inductees both are involved in international missions. A Netherlands native, Bos, a member of First Baptist Church in Orlando, was on a mission trip to the Philippines at the time of the ceremony. Bos' friend and partner in ministry, Harold Hunter, accepted the award for Bos, summarizing his ministry by reading from a written statement. "John's not able to be with us this year because he is out preaching the Gospel," Hunter said. Entering the evangelism ministry in 1973 alongside friend and mentor E.J. Daniels, Bos has used his musical talents in crusades across the nation. Bos played the organ and piano for large crowds. "I was amazed over the huge crowds packing the gigantic tent," Bos wrote. In 1972 Bos joined Daniels' ministry, Christ for the World Inc. and served as associate director until Daniels' death in 1987. Bos became the acting director and in September 2000, Bos took on the role of executive director. The ministry focuses on evangelizing the world through overseas festivals, orphanages and other ministries. Hunter said Bos is helping "bring America back to God" while conducting accessible crusades. "On behalf of John Bos and his wife Shirley, thank you. They are serving God faithfully," Hunter said. Cox, an evangelist from Mountainburg, Ark., who has been in ministry since 1956, said he was "greatly honored" by his induction into the Hall of Faith. He invited his wife and three daughters on stage with him. Having celebrated 35 years as a full-time evangelist, Cox has preached over 1,500 revival crusades and served in ministry in more than 120 different countries. Each year he includes hundreds of individuals in short-term mission trips throughout the world. "I love evangelists; they're my heroes," Cox said. Elected as COSBE officers were Eric Ramsey, Mountainburg, Ark., president; Richard Hamlet, Memphis, Tenn., vice president; Russell Johnson, Myrtle Beach, S.C., worship leader; Eric Fuller, Fort Worth, Texas, recording secretary; and Dennis Nunn, Woodstock, Ga., parliamentarian. --30-- Emily Grooms & Vicky Kaniaru are from Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Ga. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: The need of Southern Baptist prayers for the nation by Bryant Wright Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday EDITOR'S NOTE: This first person is part of a series of first persons Baptist Press will be publishing in anticipation for the 40/40 Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal. The 40/40 Prayer Vigil is a North American Mission Board/Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission initiative to encourage Southern Baptists and other evangelicals to pray for 40 days, from September 26 to November 4. To learn more, visit www.4040prayer.com. MARIETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal is a great opportunity for Southern Baptist Christians to come together as a unified body and lift up our nation to our Almighty God. I believe this vigil can have a profound influence on the course and the future of our nation. History has demonstrated the power of believers coming together and becoming the catalyst for great awakenings. In Daniel 9 we find the godly prophet Daniel crying out to God for such an awakening in his own people. He sincerely came before God "by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes." This was not a prayer before bedtime, but a crying out to God for His mercy and grace on a rebellious people. Daniel recognized specifically how Israel had turned against God by forsaking His law and shaming His name. In this contrite position of prayer Daniel also begged God for forgiveness for this disobedience. He faced the truth that they were getting exactly what they deserved and receiving the consequences for which they had been warned. In Daniel 9:18, 19 we find Daniel's basis for petitioning God: "O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before you on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people are called by your name." The urgency in our day and for our nation is just as great! I could cite statistics, but I think that would be unnecessary. A simple look around at the decadence that surrounds us should suffice -- materialism, obsession with pleasure and entertainment, family breakdown, and on and on -- and sadly the church often reflects culture more than being a light to culture. It is not that we should pray, we must pray. When sin is the problem there is no human cure! Repentant faith in Christ is our only answer. It is my hope that Southern Baptist Christians pray during the vigil. The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and the North American Mission Board have not only sponsored this vigil each election cycle since 2008, but they have prepared for us the Prayer Guide as an invaluable tool to aid in the effectiveness of our prayers. This guide can help both churches and individuals pray specifically for those issues in our nation, churches and our personal lives. I urge you to encourage each of your church members to earnestly pray to our great and awesome Lord during these 40 days of prayer. --30-- Bryant Wright is pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., and immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention. -------------------------------------------------------------------- APOLOGETICS: Why baptized lions & talking crosses didn't make it into your Bible by Timothy Paul Jones Date: June 27, 2012 - Wednesday EDITOR'S NOTE: To read Jones' previous column, "How were the books of the New Testament chosen?," visit http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=37993. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- From the first century forward, Christians viewed testimony that could be connected to eyewitnesses of Jesus as uniquely authoritative. The logic of this standard was simple: The people most likely to know the truth about Jesus were either eyewitnesses who had encountered Jesus personally or close associates of these witnesses. So, although Christians wrangled for some time about the authority of certain writings, it was something far greater than political machinations that drove these decisions. Their goal was to determine which books could be clearly connected to eyewitnesses of Jesus. With this in mind, let's look at a couple of real-life examples of how some writings ended up excluded from the churches' collections of authoritative books. THE 'GOSPEL OF PETER' In A.D. 199, a pastor named Serapion became the lead pastor of the leading church in Syria, the church in Antioch. As the leading pastor in Antioch, Serapion was responsible not only for his own church but also for several smaller congregations in the area. One of these congregations gathered in the village of Rhossus. Within a few months, Serapion heard rumors that the church in Rhossus was on the verge of a rift. So Serapion found himself trudging the stony coastal road that took him north of Antioch, toward Rhossus. When he arrived in Rhossus, he discovered that some church members had problems with a gospel that was "inscribed with Peter's name." When he heard this, Serapion replied, "If that's all that threatens to produce hard feelings among you, let it be read." After all, if this retelling of Jesus' ministry came from Simon Peter, surely it represented eyewitness testimony! But the authority of this text wasn't nearly as clear-cut as Serapion thought. Some time later, someone brought the pastor a copy of this so-called Gospel of Peter. When Serapion read the codex for himself, he recognized he'd made a mistake. Sure, most of the Gospel of Peter reflected the same stories as the other writings in the church's book-chest. In fact, very little in the surviving manuscripts of the Gospel of Peter directly contradicts anything in the New Testament Gospels. And yet, Serapion saw that this book was clearly not the product of Simon Peter's preaching. There were hints in the Gospel of Peter of the beginnings of a belief known as "Docetism" that hadn't even emerged until a couple of decades after Peter's death. This belief -- named from the Greek word dokein ("to seem") -- claimed that Jesus wasn't truly human; instead, Jesus only seemed human. The oddest twist in the Gospel of Peter is when Jesus erupts from the tomb. In the soldiers' eyes, Jesus seems as tall as the sky, and, behind Jesus, they glimpse what looks like a massive cross. A voice thunders from heaven, "Have you proclaimed to those that are asleep?" To this, the cross replies, "Yes." After reading the Gospel of Peter, Serapion dashed off a letter to the church in Rhossus, reversing his previous decision and declaring, "I am hurrying to see you; expect to see me shortly. ... Most things [in this gospel] are from the Savior's right word, but some things are false -- and these we will point out for you." So, why did Serapion of Antioch reject the Gospel of Peter? Serapion had in his possession the testimony of eyewitnesses "in the writings handed down to us." These writings most likely included the letters of Paul and one or more of the four New Testament Gospels -- documents that strong and unbroken oral histories had long linked to eyewitnesses or close associates of eyewitnesses. Faced with a writing that claimed to come from Simon Peter, Serapion compared its teachings with these "writings handed down to us" and found inconsistencies between the Gospel of Peter and "the Savior's right word." As a result, Serapion reached the logical conclusion that Simon Peter -- an eyewitness of Jesus -- couldn't have been the source of the so-called Gospel of Peter. Serapion's goal was the same as other believers scattered throughout the world: He wanted to preserve eyewitness testimony about Jesus. When he examined the Gospel of Peter, his conclusion was that, because this disputed document was inconsistent with undisputed eyewitness testimonies, it didn't reliably represent eyewitness testimony. As it turns out, Serapion was correct: The language and thought-patterns in the Gospel of Peter have convinced most contemporary scholars that the book was written in the first half of the second century -- a generation after Peter's death, at a time when the Docetist heresy was spreading. Despite Serapion's rejection of the book, the Gospel of Peter remained popular reading among Christians for several centuries. In fact, more ancient fragments remain from the Gospel of Peter than from the Gospel According to Mark. Still, only the scantest evidence exists to suggest that, except for those few months in the church at Rhossus, the Gospel of Peter was ever considered an authoritative account of Jesus' life. THE 'ACTS OF PAUL' About the same time that Serapion was examining the Gospel of Peter, an argument about baptism erupted in a congregation in North Africa. A few church members appealed to a writing known as the Acts of Paul -- a document that some Christians seem to have accepted as authoritative. The Acts of Paul is a fascinating text. According to this document, being a Christian includes not only faith in Jesus but also abstinence from sexual relations. Plus, partway through the Acts of Paul, the Apostle Paul baptizes a lion. It was an elder named Tertullian of Carthage who related some of the reasons why the Acts of Paul never became an authoritative text. When Tertullian heard that some church members were appealing to the Acts of Paul, he seems to have conducted some research into the book's origins. In the process, he dug up several facts that cast doubt on the book's dependability. What Tertullian discovered was that the author of the Acts of Paul was neither an apostle nor acquainted with any apostles. The author had served as an elder in a church in Asia a half-century after Paul's martyrdom. When questioned, the elder admitted that he had concocted the stories "out of love for Paul." Once churches in the area learned that these stories were fictional, they forced the elder to step down from his position. This rightly led Tertullian to reject the Acts of Paul as "a writing that circulates falsely under Paul's name." What interests me most about these events is how much early Christians wanted to make certain that their authoritative writings represented historical truth. It truly mattered to these men and women that historical facts formed the foundations of their sacred books. If second-century Christians weren't concerned with preserving eyewitness truth, why did this elder -- who most likely wanted nothing more than to honor Paul's memory with a few super-fantastic tales -- end up shamed and stripped of his ordination? WHO CHOSE THE BOOKS? So what do these texts tell us about why certain ancient texts became authoritative among Christians? Even among the earliest Christians, testimony that could be connected to eyewitnesses of the risen Lord was uniquely authoritative. That's why the supposed "lost Scriptures" were lost -- or, more precisely, why they were not preserved with the writings that appear in your New Testament today. Not only the Gospel of Peter but also other post-apostolic accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus -- the Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of the Egyptians, Gospel of the Savior, Gospel of Truth, and several others -- emerged in the second and third centuries, long after the last apostles died. It's true that some portions of the Gospel of Peter as well as the Gospel of Thomas -- another second-century Gospel that's falsely ascribed to an apostle -- probably stem from very early testimony about Jesus. But these few first-century traditions have been heavily mingled with second-century additions that had no foundation in any eyewitness testimony. In most cases, early Christians knew that these documents came too late to represent eyewitness testimony about Jesus. So, the primary preservers of these later texts were sects -- such as the Gnostics -- that focused more on mystical interpretations of Jesus' teachings than on the historical events of Jesus' life. I don't want to leave you with the false impression that Christians quickly and easily settled every debate about their sacred writings. Prior to the fifth century, when different congregations listed the writings that they treated as authoritative testimony about Jesus, the results were rarely identical. Yet, before you become too concerned with what might be different if early Christians had concluded that your favorite book of the New Testament didn't qualify, consider carefully the overwhelming degree of agreement between every early listing of authoritative texts. At least as early as the second century, there were at least 19 texts that were never questioned -- and these are writings that reflect the most essential truths about Jesus. From the very beginning, Christians embraced the four Gospels, Acts, the letters of Paul, and at least one letter from John. Even if this score or so of books had been the only documents that represented eyewitness testimony about Jesus, every vital truth of Christian faith would remain completely intact. Arguments about a few writings -- including the letters of Peter, John's second and third letters, the letters of James and Jude, and Revelation -- did persist beyond the second century. By the closing years of the fourth century, Christians were arriving at widespread agreement concerning 27 books -- writings that were based on eyewitness testimony about Jesus. The letter of Athanasius in 367 reflected this consensus. Many years did pass between the days of the apostles and the time when Christians agreed concerning every New Testament text. And, yet, a definite standard directed this process -- a conviction that these writings must be rooted in reliable, eyewitness testimony. What's more, despite continuing disagreements about a few writings, strong agreement on 20 or so texts existed at least as early as the second century. As a result, there's every reason to believe that the testimony you find in your New Testament came from men and women who personally followed Jesus and who passed on their experiences to generations yet to come. --30-- This column first appeared at www.timothypauljones.com, the website of Timothy Paul Jones. Jones is associate professor of leadership and church ministry at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Jones is the author or co-author of several books, including "Christian History Made Easy" and "Misquoting Truth: A Guide to the Fallacies of Bart Ehrman's 'Misquoting Jesus.'" Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). For further reading on this topic: "Misquoting Truth: A Guide to the Fallacies of Bart Ehrman's 'Misquoting Jesus" (Timothy Paul Jones) "Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books" (Michael J. Kruger) "Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament: Manuscript, Patristic, and Apocryphal Evidence" (Daniel B. Wallace)