The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-07/09/2015 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Health care ministries move by 'word and deed' by Mark Kelly Date: July 09, 2015 - Thursday RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Christians in health care ministries are living out their faith by "word and deed" throughout the world, and people are responding. Among those making decisions to follow Jesus are people in places where the message of God's love is only just now arriving. In South Asia, a Vacation Bible School's offering from First Baptist Church in Lafayette, La., purchased health and hygiene items that could be shared with terminally ill patients, along with health lessons and Bible stories. The distribution gave Christians in the region access to communities where they had been unwelcome before, and about 350 people accepted Christ -- one of them on his deathbed. A steady stream of reports illustrates the variety of ways Southern Baptists and their local partners merge proclamation of the Gospel with demonstrations of God's love for suffering people. Among the reports during a meeting of the IMB-related Global Medical Alliance in June near Richmond, Va.: -- In West Africa, as the Ebola epidemic exploded, International Mission Board workers focused on raising awareness and teaching prevention techniques in Liberia, Togo and Mali. An estimated 424,000 people were reached through a combination of fliers, TV spots, speakers, hand-washing stations, music concerts and food distributions. Thousands heard the good news and more than 200 professed faith in Christ. -- In East Asia, health care strategies helped local believers conduct word-and-deed outreach in remote villages where the Gospel was unknown. At the same time, health clinics in more than a dozen urban factories created opportunities for Western health care volunteers to partner with Asian counterparts. More than 1,000 people made decisions to follow Jesus -- several among an unreached people group. -- In Europe, missionaries utilized fitness programs, addiction recovery ministries, health seminars and hands-on medical service in communities plagued by alcoholism, obesity, smoking addiction, suicide and mental illness. An estimated 4,200 people heard the Gospel, and 790 decided to trust Jesus -- including members of an unreached people group. Authentic Christian faith helps suffering people in both body and soul, said Terry Lassiter, IMB's lead strategist for reaching South and Central American peoples. Jesus and His disciples followed a "preach and heal" strategy that combined presenting truth with meeting physical needs, Lassiter told the missionaries who work in health care roles during their June 1-5 meeting. About two-thirds of the encounters with Jesus and the apostles recorded in the New Testament involved both proclamation and demonstration, Lassiter said. Followers of Jesus must resist the temptation to favor preaching over healing -- or vice versa, Lassiter added. He paraphrased the words of the the late missionary and theologian E. Stanley Jones: "The social gospel is like a body without a soul -- it's a corpse. Proclamation without a concern for the social dimension is like a soul without a body -- it's a ghost." Lassiter also cited an unnamed teacher quoted by an Internet blogger, Daniel Davis: "We are neither atheists nor Gnostics. Gnostics reject the body and embrace the soul; atheists reject the soul and embrace the body. We are Christians, and we embrace both." IMB President David Platt, who addressed the gathering about the IMB's overarching goals, often has underscored the tie between word and deed in missions, writing in his book "Counter Culture": "It's far easier to give a cup of water to the thirsty and walk away than it is to give that same cup of water and stay to share about the living water that comes through Christ alone. But … as Christians we don't have the choice of disconnecting these two. We must proclaim the Gospel as we provide for others' good. We are compelled to speak as we serve. We testify with our lips what we attest with our lives." During each year's Global Medical Alliance meeting, IMB missionaries discuss new approaches and strategies to enhance work among people groups where the good news of God's love is not known. To learn more about the group, email medicalmissions@imb.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------- After Katrina: What God brought out of chaos by David E. Crosby Date: July 09, 2015 - Thursday EDITOR'S NOTE: David Crosby is pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans. NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Genesis 1:2 recounts: "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Here in New Orleans nearly 10 years ago, shapes were buried in the water; large colorful forms distorted by shimmering waves lined the neutral ground of West End Boulevard for miles. Ahead was the ribbon of Interstate 610 with the facilities of First Baptist New Orleans just beyond. We would soon set down the helicopter on a section of the parking lot that had emerged from the flood. Eleven days after the storm the church facility was an island in the sea. To the right was the 17th Street Canal that failed in the storm. Lake Pontchartrain lay behind us to the north. To the left, looking east, the city of New Orleans glistened in the floodwaters as far as the eye could see. A parade of military helicopters thumped the air along the perimeter of the south shore of the lake. Enormous bags of sand swung beneath them, part of a futile effort to plug the hole in the levee and stop the sea's invasion of the city. "Cars," I said to myself and then to the pilot over the headphones. "Those are cars beneath the surface." In 10 days West End Boulevard would finally be dry. In six months its entire three-mile median, almost a thousand feet wide, would become a dump site segregated into ruined appliances, trees and vegetation, furniture and household goods, and the debris of gutted houses -- insulation, sheetrock and lumber. The piles would be 30 feet high stretching from side to side and running the entire length of the median. I followed two soldiers with lights on their M-16 rifles. Electricity would not be restored for months. They entered every room in the church facility before they gave me permission to retrieve the things I needed. We found two dogs in the preschool area with their food scattered in the lobby. Someone who slept on my office couch had scrawled a thank you note and left a telephone number on a chalkboard. Half of my staff did not return. I know they did the right thing. Half of the congregation relocated permanently. I thought about it. But I strapped myself in literally and figuratively when we lifted off the parking lot for the return flight back to Texas. The Spirit of God hovered over the floodwaters on that day so filled with shock and awe. Anticipation rattled around in my soul, though I could not identify it on the helicopter flight. I was overwhelmed, but God was up to something. I was tumbling in the hurricane, but God, who rides upon the storm, was about to create something out of the chaos. More than a million volunteers flooded into the Gulf Coast in those first 30 months after Hurricane Katrina's landfall on Aug. 29, 2005. The Red Cross mounted the largest relief effort in its 124-year history, receiving and spending nearly $2.2 billion for Katrina relief (see www.redcross.org, "Unprecedented Disaster"). Hundreds of thousands of church members from thousands of churches came to help the people of New Orleans in the wake of the storm. I suspect it was the greatest effort of voluntary assistance in the history of the American church and surely the greatest in the history of my own denomination. Our church facility, like many others, became a disaster relief center with the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, the "yellow caps," working together to serve thousands of meals and distribute tons of water, food and cleaning supplies. First Baptist New Orleans gave significant time and effort to the building of 91 new homes in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity and Baptist Community Ministries. Our Home Recovery Ministry helped 1,100 homeowners, mostly by gutting flooded homes. We deployed 21,000 volunteers to these two projects. I rode the wave of Katrina into a new perspective on the work of Christ's church. This great disaster means in part that God has given our city and its churches special attention for His own eternal purpose. He only chastens those He loves. "Katrina" means purification. I have come to believe that God was purifying His church in the midst of this storm. The flood did not touch Bourbon Street and the famous flesh markets of our city. Rather, the flood destroyed hundreds of houses of worship and the homes of thousands of the faithful. And the storm washed us out of our pews and into the streets and lanes of our city. This is the revival of true faith that has already happened and continues to this day in the city of New Orleans and across the nation. Thousands of congregations are rediscovering the central role of deeds of compassion in their faith journey. Young believers in our churches are drawn to this "hands-on" ministry that incarnates the Good News in the places where they live and work. Words alone are not enough. The Word must be made flesh. A revival of faithfulness to the central command of Jesus -- "love your neighbor" -- that is what God has brought forth from the great flood. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: The true measure of success by Jimmy Draper Date: July 09, 2015 - Thursday EULESS, Texas (BP) -- Christ is on His last pilgrimage, Luke 10:1-20 recounts. He is on His way to the cross. He chooses 70 of His followers who were zealous, intense and enthusiastic about His purpose for coming into the world. He then sends them into Judea to places where He would come on His way to Jerusalem. These are not the same as the 12 apostles. Their assignment is a temporary one. No names are given. They were anonymous disciples, but they covered a large territory where Jesus would come. This assignment is different from that of the apostles, the 12 who were to be with Christ, hear His message, witness His miracles, His suffering, His death, resurrection and ascension. The 70 were sent out immediately to heal the sick and to tell the people that the Kingdom of God has come near (v. 9). They were to go as His ambassadors to those places where He would soon arrive. The call of God is first a call to the Lord Himself. His plan for us may include different responsibilities, but we are called to Him and to do what He commands. When we are called to Him, we will go wherever He goes. Like these 70 who were sent out, many will serve faithfully without recognition. Most of the faithful servants of the Lord over the centuries have been unknown. There are well-known names scattered across the history of Christianity, but they are few compared to the millions whose names are not known. Yet, the Lord carefully observes every ministry that He calls us to do. The 70 returned with joy and reported with excitement that even the demons were subject to them through the name of Christ. The word for "joy" is much stronger than our English word. It is the idea of "victorious joy." This kind of joy can only come from the Holy Spirit; it cannot be worked up by man. "I watched Satan fall from heaven," Jesus said, "like a lightning flash" (v. 18). The Lord's reference to lightning speaks of the suddenness of Satan's fall and the obvious nature of his fall. When lightning flashes across the sky, it is both sudden and apparent. Jesus rejoiced with them in the victories He gave them over Satan. They had been willingly sent forth, received His power, and glorified His name. He confirmed their report and shared their joy. There is never a ministry that Christ appoints us to do that He does not carefully see how we carry it out. Every victory is important to the Lord, no matter how insignificant it may seem in our eyes. We do not know who these 70 were. When the persecution of the church came in Acts, the apostles remained in Jerusalem and the believers scattered. They captured the Roman Empire and, yet, we do not know who most of them were. You may serve in an obscure place but Jesus observes your ministry and uses you for His glory. Rejoicing that centers in one's gifts, powers and recognition may soon degenerate into pride. Pride may be the greatest sin in ministry, for it ends up endeavoring to take credit for what God does. It is easy for our sinful natures to take credit for the ministry God gives us. It is always a danger. They did not claim responsibility for the victories won but gave credit to the name of Jesus. So far so good, but a warning is given here. The real basis for joy is not power in ministry, but in the fact that the believer's name is written down in heaven (v. 20). The greatest victories in our ministries are worthless apart from grace. Don't just rejoice that God blesses your ministry, but rather rejoice that your name is written down in heaven. Effectiveness in ministry needs to be held lightly because it is not eternal joy. What happens when you are not successful? When you face condemnation and opposition? All can share in this joy. There are no superstars in ministry. The gifted and effective minister, the one who serves in the obscure place out of sight of most, the young in their enthusiasm and the old in their limitations -- all can rejoice that their names are written down in heaven! Here is success in ministry. Live in an awareness of His call. Serve Him knowing that He observes every moment of your ministry. Serve with His anointing and power. Serve with clear focus on your name being written down in heaven. The extent and eternal value of your ministry is not found in how prominent you are in your ministry. You may serve all your life in the shadows, but those who may shape the world may come out of your ministry, and we won't know all of that until we rest in His presence in heaven. Look again at the supernatural work of God to lift you from the depths of sin from which you have been saved. Paul told the Ephesians, "You were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1) and then reminds them "by grace you are saved" (v. 5). Your name was written down in heaven by grace alone -- not through any work, value or merit on your part. What a Savior and what a cause for rejoicing! It reminds us that our true citizenship is in heaven. "Written" is perfect tense declaring, "It stands written." It is what both Paul and John call the "Book of Life" (Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5). Real success is not found in what we do for Him, but in confidence in what He has done and is doing for us. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bible Study: July 12, 2015 by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Date: July 09, 2015 - Thursday NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups. This week's Bible study is adapted from The Gospel Project curriculum. Bible Passages: Luke 6:46-49; James 1:22-25; 1 John 2:3-6 Discussion Questions: Why do you think John connected obedience to God's commands and our assurance of salvation? What do our actions communicate about our beliefs? What would it look like for us to "walk as Christ walked"? What is the significance of Christ connecting love and obedience together? Food for Thought: In 1 John 2:3-6, John began by pointing out that obedience to the commands of God gives a foundation for assurance. In fact, John noted that if a person says he has come to know God yet does not live according to God's commands, that person is a liar. This is similar to the person who is "self-deceived" in James 1:22-25. The truth escapes the person who is not doing the Word. There is a profound disconnect between what is professed and what is expressed in action. John highlights the spiritual disconnect between mere profession and concrete expression. If a person says he loves God yet doesn't live out His commands, something is terribly wrong spiritually. The person is lying by his words and his (lack of) actions. On the other hand, living out God's commands out of a love for God gives us great assurance. We see our relationship with God authentically manifested in our lives. In our culture, we sense a disconnect between love and obedience. We think of love as an emotion and obedience as action. A mother may say of a horribly rebellious child, "But she really does love me," appealing to emotions rather than what is manifested in the child's life. But God has always associated love with obedience to His commands. You can't say that you love God while living contrary to His will. What did Jesus say in John 15:10? "If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commands and remain in His love." This is how our Lord Jesus lived, in perfect obedience and love for the Father. We listen to God's Word so we can walk as Christ walked (1 John 2:6). We remain in Jesus' love by keeping His commandments. The Gospel Project The Gospel Project is a Christ-centered curriculum that examines the grand narrative of Scripture and how the gospel transforms the lives of those it touches. Through a three-year study plan, participants are immersed in the gospel through stories, theological concepts, and calls to missions from Genesis to Revelation. Separate study plans for kids and students/adults ensure the proper focus and depth. The Gospel Project is designed to unify an entire church under a single Christ-centered curriculum. More information, free samples, and The Gospel Project blog can be found at gospelproject.com. Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Evangelicals support Israel, disagree on why by David Roach Date: July 09, 2015 - Thursday NASHVILLE (BP) -- With Israel in the news related to Iran nuclear negotiations and the formation of a coalition government following the reelection of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March, conservative evangelicals largely agree that Christians should support the Jewish state. But they don't agree on the reason for that support. "When you boil it right down, there's not that much of a difference" in the policies most evangelicals believe the U.S. should adopt relative to Israel, said Chad Brand, editor of "Perspectives on Israel and the Church: Four Views," published by B&H Academic earlier this year. The book explains four distinct belief systems among evangelicals regarding Israel, and Brand said there are yet others. The four views identified in Brand's book are the traditional covenantal view, the traditional dispensational view, the progressive dispensational view and the progressive covenantal view. Among the debated issues are whether the church has replaced Israel as God's chosen people; whether the Jewish people have a God-given right to the land on which the modern state of Israel sits; and whether God will maintain an eternal distinction between Jews and Gentiles. Evangelicals who believe the Bible is inerrant ascribe to all four views outlined in the book. The labels Brand associates with these views commonly reference theological systems that address multiple issues, but the following descriptions are limited to how the various systems address the specific topic of Israel. Southern Baptist Convention resolutions have expressed support for the modern state of Israel twice since 2002, but neither resolution addressed whether contemporary Jews are God's chosen people in the same sense as Old Testament Israel. Southern Baptists repeatedly have affirmed the need to share the Gospel with Jewish men and women, including in a 1996 SBC resolution on Jewish evangelism. Covenantal theology Brand, who has served as a pastor and teaches adjunctively at two Baptist colleges, wrote in the book that the view some call "covenant theology" or "replacement theology" began to emerge by at least A.D. 130. Around that time, a Christian writing known as "The Epistle of Barnabas" argued that "the church, in effect, replaces Israel as the locus of [God's] covenant, with no indication that Israel is still precious in God's sight," Brand wrote. This view was held by Augustine of Hippo in the fourth and fifth centuries, John Calvin in the 16th century and the authors of the Westminster Confession in the 17th century. Many modern proponents of covenant theology -- who can be found largely in Presbyterian and Reformed denominations -- argue based on Romans 9-11 among other passages that a large number of Jewish people will come to faith in Christ during the last days of human history and be incorporated into the church. Christians should support Israel, covenant theologians say, only when it behaves in a just and ethical manner, not because it has any continuing right to possess the Old Testament Promised Land. Along with strong support among some evangelicals who back Israel, replacement theology also has proponents among mainline denominations and other groups that tend to criticize Israel. Dispensationalism Ric Worshill, president of the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship, holds the view commonly labelled dispensationalism. He believes Jews are still God's chosen people in the same sense they were in the Old Testament and that Christians are required biblically to "bless" the Jewish people. Dispensationalism, which started to gain popularity in the 19th century, asserts an ongoing distinction between Israel and the church and claims that God's promise of land to Abraham's descendants still has a literal fulfillment. Jews as an ethnic group have been chosen since the time of Abraham "to be a kingdom of priests unto the nations," Worshill told Baptist Press. And "throughout the ages," God has used the Jews to illustrate that "without a Savior, no one is able" to follow Him. Today, Jews and Gentiles alike receive eternal life only by trusting Jesus as their Lord and Messiah, Worshill said. He added that all living Jews will come to faith in Christ during the seven-year period dispensationalists call the Great Tribulation. Jews may continue to play a unique role in God's economy following Christ's second coming, Worshill said. Protecting the modern state of Israel is a matter of obedience to Scripture, Worshill said. "If we don't, we will be judged for it," he said. Brand distinguished between "traditional" and "progressive" dispensationlists, with the latter seeing "some ... of the promises of the OT to Israel being applied to the church" and not specifically to modern Israel. Dispensationalism enjoys broad popularity in America as evidenced by a 2014 Pew Research Center study which found that 55 percent of U.S. Christians believe God gave Israel to the Jews. A full 82 percent of white evangelicals hold that view, according to Pew. The progressive covenantal view Baruch Maoz, an American-born Jew who pastored a Baptist church in Israel for more than 30 years, did not attach a label to his view of Israel and the church during an interview with BP but it seemed to reflect what Brand labels "the progressive covenantal view." Maoz, who currently is in the United States and has led mini-conferences for Southern Baptist pastors, said God has not "replaced" Israel with the church, but "the church has entered into the blessings that were promised to Israel." Under the new covenant, the distinction between Jews and Gentiles has been abolished and members of both groups are "gathered into Christ," Maoz said. It is an error to believe God has turned His back entirely on the Jewish people, Maoz said, adding that, based on Romans 9-11, he expects "a massive work of grace among the Jewish people in the future." It is also an error, he said, to support Israel or the Jewish people politically regardless of their actions. Jews are not entitled to the Promised Land but were granted the privilege of living there by grace so long as they continued to trust and obey God. Jews in Israel "have a society in which abortion and homosexuality are both rife" along with other moral ills, Maoz said. However, Israel's "conduct in the land, while far from perfect, is such that it justifies the continuing existence of the state of Israel." There is "moral" but not "theological" reason to support Israel, he said. Despite their disagreements on theological particulars, Brand, Worshill and Maoz agreed that Christians must reject any view of Israel that claims Jews do not need to believe the Gospel to be saved -- a view known as "dual covenant" theology. "Israel needs the Gospel. And the Gospel has a prior claim upon the Jewish people. As Paul put it, 'to the Jew first,'" Maoz said, referencing Romans 1:16. "Therefore our deepest longing, our greatest longing as evangelicals, and our greatest endeavor vis-à-vis Israel should be that Israel will come to hear the Gospel ... and come to believe." As news headlines focus on Israel, Worshill recommended that believers focus on their Bibles and rally around the core beliefs they hold in common. "If we … love each other enough to hold each other accountable in spite of what difficulties we might run across when we do that, we will all grow in Christ," Worshill said. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Cowboy church ropes hearts with rodeo, worship by Dianna L. Cagle/Biblical Recorder Date: July 09, 2015 - Thursday ARCHDALE, N.C. (BP) -- Triad Cowboy Church attracts people from its community and beyond by hosting a professional rodeo each year. Roping calves and riding bulls aren't generally associated with most congregations, but this church places a high priority on offering a free event to the cowboy community. "It's just a good, clean, multi-hour event that a family can go to," said pastor Doug Davis of Triad Cowboy Church (TCC) in Archdale, N.C. "We provide everything. Rodeo is something people are attracted to." This year's rodeo attracted more than 3,000 people and resulted in 121 professions of faith and 249 rededications. During the worship service, Davis shared an evangelistic message and invited commitments. Some filled out cards, which were then placed in buckets, but others came forward in the arena to pray and make public decisions. Those who made commitments were given a cowboy-themed New Testament Bible and a booklet called "Living in Christ." This was the first time the church offered a public altar call during the worship service and held a public baptism. Five members agreed to be baptized by Davis and Jim King, TCC's associate pastor, in a water trough on a trailer towed by a truck into the arena. David said the stands filled up for the baptisms. "For the first time it was like a holy hush fell over the entire arena," Davis said. "People were not talking; people were totally engrossed in the baptism. It was absolutely unbelievable." Decisions will be sorted and shared with pastors in Randolph Baptist Association or the appropriate Baptist associations elsewhere for follow-up. Rodeo events included team roping, mutton busting, greased pig chases, barrel racing and bull riding. Outside the arena, volunteers set up slides and bounce houses and had a train to ride. The only cost was for food, which the group tries to keep affordable. Davis said the rodeo takes all year to plan and costs more than $10,000. Purse prizes are given to winners of the professional events. The church also held a drawing for an iPad. Former world champion bull rider Jerome Davis and his wife Tiffany (no relation to pastor Doug Davis) host the event on their property where they raise livestock for rodeos. Jerome Davis was paralyzed in a 1998 bull riding accident. The Davises and most of TCC's members volunteer to help with the event. The church's flag team performed and a member sang the national anthem. "Just about the entire church is involved," Doug Davis said. "This is a major deal." It takes a lot of hands on deck to pull this off." The rodeo has grown over the last five years from 1,000 people at an indoor arena to more than 3,000. The event began at a time when the economy was struggling, Davis said. Typical rodeo events cost $25 per person for adults and about $10 for children, but he said TCC wanted to offset those costs as much as possible. They recruit sponsors, who are recognized for their contributions. The larger sponsors are allowed to set up displays, but they can't sell anything. In seeking to optimize the outreach each year, Davis said, "We blanket our community" for support.