Month: September 2008

100-plus Baptist units responding to Ike

NASHVILLE, Tenn.?More than 100 Southern Baptist disaster relief units are being dispatched to Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike’s widespread destruction in the Galveston and Houston areas.

“We are looking at damage assessment reports coming from the state and counties to find viable areas where we can set up,” said Mickey Caison, director of Southern Baptist disaster relief (SBDR) operations in Alpharetta, Ga.

SBDR is working with American Red Cross officials to establish two “mega” feeding sites near Houston — one in League and the other in Baytown. Both sites will include four SBDR feeding units and will prepare up to 80,000 hot meals a day, according to an SBDR news release Sept. 14.

Caison said Southern Baptist feeding teams are committed initially to preparing 250,000 meals a day for the Red Cross and another 160,000 meals a day for the Salvation Army — for a total commitment of 410,000 meals per day.

Baptists already are preparing hot meals in three Texas locations — Marshall, Bryan and the Air Force’s Kelly Field Annex facility in San Antonio.

Ike’s destructive path, however, was not limited to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Across Louisiana, on either side of Interstate 10 and south to the Gulf, 100,000 homes were flooded in the wake of Ike’s storm surge, reported Gibbie McMillan, disaster relief team leader for the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

“It’s worse than [2005’s Hurricane] Rita,” McMillan said, echoing a common assessment voiced by government officials, law enforcement officers and homeowners in the state.

“People don’t realize how big this thing is,” McMillan said. “At one point, the Weather Channel was reporting Ike covered 85 percent of the Gulf.”

After landfall as a Category 2 storm with 110 mph winds early Saturday morning, Ike moved toward the northeast still on its wind-and-rain rampage, killing more than 30 people in eight states and leaving missions without power from Texas to Ohio.

McMillan added, “It’s at times like these we realize how important it is to be in the Southern Baptist family,” knowing that disaster relief ministry in Louisiana and, now, Texas and elsewhere will be provided to people in need.

Caison had reported Sept. 13, “Our goal is for all disaster relief units to arrive at the local affected sites by Monday afternoon, set up and then be ready to start preparing and serving meals by Tuesday at lunch.”

Disaster relief units from 23 states activated, en route, staging or on-site in Texas are Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and Texas Baptist Men; Oklahoma; Virginia (Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board); California; Florida; North Carolina; South Carolina; Arkansas; Alabama; Georgia; Michigan; Tennessee; Illinois; Arizona; Iowa; Kentucky; Mississippi; New Mexico; Pacific Northwest; Utah/Idaho; as well as one from Louisiana.

Among other reports, Houston Baptist University reported that classes were cancelled until Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the earliest. The HBU website did not note the extent of damage at the campus. “Our prayers are with all those affected by this storm,” the site said. The Austin American-Statesman reported that a handful of campus police officers and student life personnel along with about 60 students were in theater of the university’s new cultural arts center as Ike pummeled Houston. Meanwhile, no reports were available yet from the Houston campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Louisville, Ky., was among the cities with widespread power outages in Hurricane Ike’s northward sweep. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary there was closed Monday, Sept. 15.

If you would like to contribute to the disaster relief ministry through the SBTC, click here

Ike recovery underway; SBTC teams begin cleanup in E. Texas


If you would like to contribute to the disaster relief ministry through the SBTC, click here.

Hurricane Ike recovery is underway with Southern Baptists of Texas Convention volunteers clearing trees and debris in the piney woods of East Texas, but the physical damage to churches along the Gulf Coast was hard to assess early Monday with much of east coastal Texas without electricity and phone service.

More than 100 Southern Baptist disaster relief units from several states were serving along the Gulf Coast and farther inland, with SBTC volunteers feeding hurricane evacuees in Tyler, Livingston, Port Arthur and t1:place w:st=”on”>Huntsville, said SBTC DR Director Jim Richardson.

Ike’s wide and destructive swath was “catastrophic,” Richardson said, spreading its damage east of Galveston into Louisiana and north into deep East Texas along much of the same area that Hurricane Rita devastated in September 2005.

“We have clean-up and recovery teams in the field right now. We’re assessing damage in East Texas. We have all of our DR units out. Texas Baptist Men has all of theirs out,” place “on”Richardson said. “Our teams are feeding, doing clean-up and assessment, or providing for chaplaincy needs. The shelters are still very active. We have immediate need of volunteers for mud-out and chainsaw work.”

The Southern Baptist TEXAN’s attempts to reach churches along the t1:PlaceType w:st=”on”>Gulf Coast were mostly unsuccessful as many were without phone service on Monday.

Marcos Ramos, pastor of First Baptist Church, Galena Park, about 20 miles north of the coast between Houston and t1:place w:st=”on”>Galveston, said his home was without electricity but not the church, where 28 people slept on Friday night and early Saturday as Ike hit.

“We didn’t have services,” Ramos said. “Most of our people evacuated. We were at the parsonage, and we’re OK except no electricity.”

A home he is buying in LaPorte, which his mother lives in, sits only two blocks from the sea wall, yet it received no major damage or flooding. “We thank the Lord for that.”

“We’re barbecuing outside,” Ramos said. “We’re heating up coffee and cooking out there. Of course, we are using candles. We’re thinking about renting a generator. It’s going to get better but it might be a while for some people.”

Ramos said several cool nights in a row have made sleeping easier in the normally warm, humid coastal climate.

Billy Graff, pastor of University Baptist Church in place “on”>Galveston, said: “The best report I have to date is that the church has very minimal damage. The church is surrounded by tall buildings, which apparently provided protection.If we had power we could have services.The most challenging problem is that we are not allowed back on the island. This could be a great opportunity to connect with the community for Christ.”

Southern Baptists of Texas Convention hires first executive director of SBTC Foundation

The board of directors of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Foundation on Sept. 10 elected Johnathan W. Gray of Sharpsburg, Ga., as the foundation’s first executive director.

“It is a rare opportunity to have someone the caliber of Johnathan Gray to expand a fledgling ministry,” said SBTC Executive Director Jim Richards. “Johnathan has the gifting, calling, passion and expertise to do the job. The SBTC and the kingdom’s work are blessed to have him lead our Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Foundation.”

The convention’s executive board unanimously voted to establish the SBTC Foundation in August 2005 as a supporting SBTC ministry to hold and manage assets for the convention’s benefit. The foundation board has been seeking an executive director for nearly two years.

“The SBTCF will be off to a great start under the leadership of Dr. Johnathan Gray,” Chief Financial Officer Joe Davis remarked. “Our search process drew out over a longer period than we expected but it has been well worth the wait.”

Gray will begin his duties on Nov. 3. He has served the Georgia Baptist Foundation since 2004, the last year as director of development for Central Georgia. He is also the interim pastor of First Baptist Church, Fairburn, Ga.

He holds the doctor of ministry degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.; a master of divinity with biblical languages from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth; a bachelor of science in business administration from Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., and an associate’s degree in business from Truett-McConnell College, Cleveland, Ga.

Gray has served four churches as pastor or interim pastor, including two years (1997-99) as pastor of Rock Creek Baptist Church, Mineral Wells. Since 2004 he has served on the Georgia Council on Planned Giving. He is alumni executive committee president of Truett-McConnell College, and a member of the board of directors of the South Fulton Parkway Alliance.

He was ordained to the ministry at First Baptist Church, Douglasville, Ga. Gray is married to the former Andrea Folsom. They have three daughters and a son.

TRUST & OBEY: Breaking horses mirrors God’s work, trainer says

WAXAHACHIE?From inside a portable corral about 40 feet in diameter, Erick Graham, whip in hand for gentle but firm encouragement and clad with the uniform?Wranglers, boots and hat?worked a shy, 2-year-old Bashkir Curly filly named Callie into a submissive, trusting horse.

Horse trainer and horse had never met, and Callie had never even been saddled, much less ridden.
In an hour, that changed.

For the two-dozen adults watching, Graham, a preacher and bonafide cowboy, was preaching a message of godly fear, trust and obedience with Callie as his Exhibit A.

“Ya’ll have heard of horse whisperers,” Graham told the staff from the Texas Baptist Home for Children in Waxahachie who had gathered on the campus grounds. “This is that technique, although what I will do does not involve whispering.”

RESPECT
“God has taught me how he works in my life through horses,” testified Graham, pastor of Sands Springs Baptist Church in Athens. Scripture says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, which means “total respect for the authority of God,” he said.

In the wild, a pack of horses will establish rank by pushing each other with their heads and sometimes even kicking. Once rank is established, the lead horse will even provide for the pack.

“That’s what I’m going to do,” said Graham, explaining that he first must get the horse to fear him in a healthy manner. “And you don’t have to crush their spirit to do that.”

The art of breaking horses has similarities to what God does in bringing men into submission to his will and what parents must do to gain respect and trust from their children, said Graham as he gently cracked his whip toward the horse to establish his command in the corral.

Over 30 minutes or so, Graham was able to establish a master-subject relationship with Callie, who finally was moving around at his beckoning and turning toward him as a sign of respect rather than away from him.

“Things will go well when God’s order is followed,” Graham said. “God has his order in the family and in the church. When we get out of his order, chaos ensues.”

Speaking to the TBH staff, where more than 100 foster children live, “most kids don’t have [respect for authority] because they haven’t been taught it,” Graham reminded, noting that horses, like pliable children, will respond to what is least painful.

“The whole thing about training horses is to make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.”

TRUST
Once Callie learned to respect Graham’s leadership and to follow his commands?which took about 30 minutes?Graham dropped the whip and approached the horse in what he described as “joining up” with her. Establishing trust is the next step for horse trainers, and trust is a prime component of walking by faith for the Christian, he stated.

Some horses are wary of people, especially if they’ve been mistreated, and in such cases the trainer must be overly patient and gentle.

“It’s not an issue with this horse too much,” Graham said. “But we are going to find those areas where she might not be so trusting.”

He continued, “The Lord says, ‘Be still and know that I am God,'” and “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”

With that he took a blanket and let her smell it for familiarity, then in a few minutes he placed it over her back to cushion the saddle he would later place on her. After a few more minutes he acquainted Callie with reins, teaching her to turn her head and body at a tug. Slowly, the horse began to trust Graham’s increasing demands.

Later came the saddle.

“This is when it gets scary for a horse. But she might just follow me because I gained her trust,” he said.

Graham worked each side of the horse by standing in one stirrup while she became accustomed to bearing his weight. Horses are one-side dominant, Graham explained, but he teaches them to be comfortable with a rider’s approach from either side, which requires additional work and trust.

Finally, after a few minutes of introducing Callie to the feel of the saddle and Graham’s weight, he mounted the horse and slowly rode her around the corral.

OBEDIENCE
“This horse has had a change of heart, not because I beat it out of her but because she is beginning to understand ‘there is someone over me.'”

In that realization and consequent submission, Graham said, is where the greatest joy is found.

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him,” he said, quoting pastor and writer John Piper.

Conversely, Graham said the Old Testament refers several times to the children of Israel as “stiff-necked,” which “you can see in a horse more than any other animal,” as Callie was initially, he noted. After some careful work, the horse became responsive to his leading.

Likewise, “I want to be so soft with the Lord that at the slightest hint of his voice, I listen and I trust and I obey,” Graham said.

Of the seven horses at his home near Athens, one is particularly useful “because he’s sensitive to my leading,” Graham said. That relationship, however, requires a connection between the rider and the horse and familiarity with the rider’s cues.

“Some of these kids feel like throwaways,” Graham said of the young people living at TBH.
But if they experience a connection with their parents or guardians and with the Lord just as a trained horse feels with his rider, they will respond, he said.

SBTC seeks to network, expand ESL ministries

Many churches have engaged their neighbors with English as a Second Language (ESL) ministry over the years, often sharing their hope in Christ after establishing relationships with immigrants.

With the rapidly growing international population in Texas, the SBTC missions team hopes to use those existing ESL ministries as a springboard for expanding such ministry to other churches.

“At this point, we are intent on sharpening our ability to facilitate ESL ministry with the changing face of Texas in view,” Missions Director Terry Coy said. “We want to network with these ESL ministries in our churches and connect existing resources?all with the idea of leading people to Christ, starting community Bible studies, even establishing new congregations among Texas people groups.”

Christina Clark, a missions team member who is working on the SBTC’s new ESL ministry, said the convention hopes to offer resources for local churches, associations, and individuals interested in ESL ministry.

“Most immigrants seek opportunities to learn English and about the American culture, along with Christianity,” Clark said. “This opens the door wide for us to share about the love and hope found only in Christ, which naturally flows into missions and church planting.”

Chad Vandiver, a specialist in engaging international people groups, will teach an English as a Second Language training session Nov. 14 at the SBTC office, 4500 State Highway 360, Grapevine 76051.

Coy said the training would be useful not only for churches and individuals interested in ESL but also for those already involved in ESL ministry.

“Through this training, we hope to identify and bring together both new and experienced ESL teachers to join resources and work together,” Coy said.

“From all indications the immigrant population wants to learn English,” he added. “It’s an opportunity that has fallen into our lap. As we present the gospel and people respond, we can integrate them into our churches or start new ones.”

Coy said immigrants are often curious about Christianity as part of the American cultural fabric, which makes them more receptive to spiritual conversation.

To register for the conference, call Christina Clark toll-free at 877-953-SBTC (7282), ext. 229 or e-mail cclark@sbtexas.com. More information is available at sbtexas.com/churchplanting.

Single issue? You betcha!

Some today consider World War II the last good (or noble) war our nation fought. I suspect it is easier to say that if you don’t remember the horror and deprivations of the war. It also implies that the U.S. was unanimous in support for WWII. The intent of such statements today is to suggest that the conflicts since have been the misbegotten and self-serving schemes of the Trilateral Commission or the Council on Foreign Relations or some other wicked cabal of accomplished Republican males. Oh yes, those who believe this are out there.

But what makes the war of the 1940s a “good” war? We were attacked, yes, but that’s happened since. The reason most commonly cited has to do with facts unknown to most combatants until late in the war. The spectacular “Band of Brothers” video collection calls one episode “Why we fight.” It tells the story of 101st Airborne units liberating some of the Nazi death camps. To many of us, that discovery sums up all the reasons why WWII was a necessary fight for freedom, civilization, and life.

Was that a good enough reason? Was it a single issue? In a way, it was a single issue that blanketed many more: genocide, imperialism, racism, military aggression, and the deepest imaginable human evil, to name a few. The right of men to live?in peace, at liberty, or however?but to live, ennobled a war in which millions of now-honored dead gave all they had. Those still living gave up their innocent youth, and years of personal peace, for the same cause.

These thoughts flood my mind when pro-life voters are called “single-issue” voters, as though this is some trivial side issue, like a national energy policy. Some Republicans get frustrated with the “values voters” and their repetitive insistence on justice for unborn humans. They fear that libertarians or moderates might not support the party on the issues they consider more important. Democrats hide their pandering to the profit-driven abortion industry behind a “holistic” ethic of life that includes various social programs, a ban on capital punishment, near pacifism, environmentalism, and, yes, “legal, safe, and rare” abortions for any cause by even the most horrible means. If a child is born alive after a botched abortion, he still has no legal protection. He is an unprotected fetus until a majority of lawmakers and justices say he isn’t. So far they haven’t.

“Safe, legal, and rare,” then, is a kind of cynical smokescreen for “whatever, LEGAL, and whatever.” It sounds similar to “Arbeit macht frei” (work will make you free), a phrase that graced the entryways to some of the Nazi facilities where people were worked to death, starved to death, or simply put to death by the millions. There was nothing true about it. It masked their intent and even fooled a few people for a short time.

Today’s single issue, life, is not dissimilar to the cause that sparked the American War Between the States. Was it worth it? Were the Yankee abolitionists single-issue people? Yes, they were, in the same way. In fact, it was the very same issue, the most basic rights for human beings who lived within the realm of our laws. Slavery was our problem and worth the horror and sorrow of that war to purge it from our borders. I don’t hear people saying that slavery or civil rights for all Americans is too small a thing for us put highest on our political agenda. Certainly no politician would be so foolish.

The Nazis’ attempted genocide of Jews was accompanied by a eugenics (another horrible euphemism) program that worked to eliminate other mongrel races, cultural groups, disabilities, and religions. And by “eliminate” I don’t mean persuasion, assimilation, or cure; I mean murder. Today’s big issue sweeps with it the question of human cloning, genetic manipulation, the value of elderly people, the lives of special-needs children, population control, and even issues of racism and sexism. Is that span of issues big enough yet?

The value and holiness of human life is a theological issue if you believe that God is the source and owner of human life, that his image is reflected in humans. It is a moral issue if you believe there is a right and wrong to our behavior toward the innocent and helpless. The sanctity of life is a political issue if courts and lawmakers and governors and presidents can pass or legitimize laws aimed at protecting the inalienable rights (I don’t think privacy was on that short list) of humans.

From every direction, this is the issue that will describe the righteousness of our nation. This is true as surely as the Holocaust will live in the minds of Germans and Israelis as long as there are Germans and Israelis. The enslavement of people in the United States tortured and judged our nation for the first 80 years of its life, and we have writhed painfully in the aftermath of its hard remedy for 140 years since its application.

America will bear a mark for generations if her legal indifference to some categories of human life ends today. Every election cycle we pass through with no legal remedy for this normalized and for-profit cruelty intensifies the judgment we face. So long as citizens have the right to affect laws, and elect lawmakers, we are in the defendant’s chair. The clamor over other, lesser, issues will not divert the Judge’s gaze. Our earnest ignorance or willful wickedness will not excuse us.

I’ll ask more than one question as I vote for president and other elected officers this year, but I will certainly ask the one question that outshouts all others. So long as one candidate seems (or testifies to be) more pro-life or anti-slavery or anti-genocide than the next, he’s my candidate. We harshly judge those who did not do so at other times in history. We are hypocrites to expect less of ourselves.

Citizens invited to hearing on alcohol sales at Six Flags venues

FORT WORTH?The issue of whether Six Flags should be allowed to serve beer, wine and mixed drinks at two of its parks in Arlington will be discussed Oct. 14-15 during a public hearing in Fort Worth conducted by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Anyone wishing to offer an opinion can sign up by writing to TABC via e-mail at questions@tabc.state.tx.us or by mail at TABC Legal Division, P.O. Box 13127, Austin, TX 78711.

Last December, the company’s Six Flags Over Texas amusement park and Hurricane Harbor water park announced their application for mixed-drink licenses, prompting 600 phone calls to TABC, 150 signatures to a petition against the license and a dozen letters of protest.

Six Flags officials claim the effort is in response to customer requests for beer and pledged that such sales would be handled responsibly and guest safety ensured. Despite their intention to introduce alcohol to what is regarded as a family-friendly venue, they counter that the alcohol will be served in specially marked cups in select, well-monitored locations by TABC-certified servers.

The public hearings will be held at the InnSuites Trinity Hotel and Suites at 2000 Beach Street in Fort Worth beginning at 10 a.m. Interested speakers should provide name, contact information and remarks they intend to make in advance to the TABC.

SBTC offers ‘Fireproof’ books at discount

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is partnering with Broadman & Holman Publishing Group to provide special bulk discounts on the book “The Love Dare,” the 40-day experience on which the movie “Fireproof” is based.

Church Ministries Director Jim Wolfe said he hopes the book will assist churches and associations as they lead Christians to fulfill their calling beginning in their homes.

“The Love Dare” book is meant for small-group studies. The books retail for $14.99, but if ordered in bulk (no less than one carton of 24) through the SBTC’s LifeWay account, churches and associations can purchase them at $6 plus shipping and handling. To order: Fax to LifeWay, attention India Cannon: Fax 615-251-3738; E-mail india.cannon@lifeway.com; Phone 615-251-3656.

Have the following information ready when placing your order: Number of copies (minimum of 24); shipping name and address; and inform LifeWay that the order is being made through the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and ask them to place the code #200050 in the purchase order field.
Send an e-mail to Jim Wolfe, jwolfe@sbtexas.com, stating that you placed the order and giving your billing address.

LifeWay will drop ship your purchase and bill the SBTC for your order plus shipping and handling. The SBTC will in turn bill you for reimbursement.

SBTC messengers may register online

Messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s annual meeting Nov. 9-11 at Houston’s First Baptist Church can avoid waiting in line at the registration booth this year by registering online, said Tom Campbell, Minister-Church Relations associate.

“Through online registration, messengers won’t have to fill out and bring with them their messenger card,” Campbell said. “It should be quicker and easier to check in, and that is really what we’re going for,” he said.

The SBTC is mailing a letter to churches explaining the new registration process with detailed instructions. Registration at the convention will still be available, Campbell noted, though he said the online option would provide a more efficient registration process.

The convention, with the theme “Still Standing on the Word, Sending to the World,” will include a night of celebration Nov. 10 as the SBTC marks its 10UP>th year. The evening of Nov. 11 will include an appointment service for International Mission Board missionaries.

The convention is preceded Nov. 8 by the Crossover evangelistic events in cooperation with Houston churches, and the SBTC Bible Conference Nov. 9-10. For a full schedule of events, visit sbtexas.com/am08.

If messengers have problems registering online, they may call the SBTC Minister-Church Relations office toll-free at 877-953-SBTC (7282).