Going to what the CIA states as the “poorest country in the world” was both a challenging and a rewarding experience. But more than anything else, this mission trip was a learning experience.
On Oct. 1, nine members of Friendly Baptist Church in Tyler left for Malawi, Africa, on a 12-day trip in which the round-trip travel time alone would take 74 hours. The team was led by Tyler businessman and church member Bill Langley, who had been to the country on two previous mission trips.
The goal was to have teams go to more than 100 locations in and around Lilongwe, capital of Malawi, distributing Bibles and soccer balls to schools by day and showing the Jesus film in villages by night.
The country, most famous recently due to rock star Madonna’s frequent visits and documentary film, is located just east of Zambia and was one of the countries visited by famed Scottish missionary Dr. David Livingstone in the mid 1800s. Slightly smaller than Pennsylvania, this land-locked country has over 14 million people, more than half of whom are younger than 16 years of age. The life expectancy at birth is only 43 years.
Public schools were just as inviting and open as the private Christian schools to hear Americans share the gospel and give AIDS awareness presentations. In all, the teams distributed approximately 3,500 Bibles and 180 soccer balls at 60 schools.
At night, the Jesus film was shown at 33 locations with a peak attendance of more
than 4,000 people at one location. That site was where a new church was formed the following Sunday. A conservative estimate was that more than 25,000 indicated they had prayed to receive Christ during the week’s worth of evangelistic efforts.
Local pastor Emmanuel Chinkwita-Phiri and his wife Lydia helped coordinate the mission trip including getting translators who were mostly seminary students from the Baptist Seminary of Malawi. The seminary is staffed in part with missionaries from the International Mission Board, which also assists with a portion of the administration of the school. Local pastors went with the Americans, allowing the people who came to make immediate connections with local churches.
“Abusa Emmanuel” also made arrangements for schools, contracting the Jesus film and equipment, and purchased the Bibles with funds provided prior to the team’s arrival. The men of the team also preached Sunday morning worship services and the women gave presentations during the week at schools.
Many of the seminary students who are seeking to become pastors do so at great financial peril. The average income per person in Malawi is just over $600 a year.
AIDS prevalence among the adults is moderate compared with other African countries, but still is a staggering 14 percent of the population. Newspaper obituaries are predominated by those in their 20s and early 30s and also children, while rarely do the obituaries describe someone over 50.
Until recently, Malawi had severe food shortages due to prolonged droughts, interspersed with mammoth amounts of rains, which would be almost as devastating to the crops as the lack of rain. A recent program by the government to distribute fertilizer to the people, along with more cooperative weather, has reversed the food shortage and actually allowed Malawi to be an exporter of grain last year.
With such dismal news, the people are amazingly joyful, especially the children. The people generally have a high regard for Americans. One interpreter credited Christian missionaries, who have helped the struggling country over the past decades, for forming a positive attitude towards Americans. And as the results indicate, they are extremely receptive to the gospel.
The trip did not come without a major setback. Team leader Bill Langley tripped and fell early on a Sunday morning, breaking his hip. He and his wife and another team member had to be air-flighted to South Africa, where he had a full hip replacement before he could return to the United States, nearly two weeks later.
Because the trip was not officially coordinated with the International Mission Board, the team did not get travel insurance, which is required in all IMB-related mission trips. That lesson learned the hard way is a very important one for all short-term mission groups to know, Langley said.
The insurance offered by the official carrier for the IMB provides medical, accidental death, medical evacuation, disability and many other benefits. The cost is only dollars per day, but is absolutely vital should the need arise.
Texas Life Connections (TLC) is a partnering ministry of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the North American Mission Board that works to connect the local church to a statewide network of Christian life-affirming ministries. These include pregnancy resource centers, post-abortion recovery groups, adoption agencies, maternity homes, abstinence groups and foster-care providers.
TLC members are ministry partners linked by each affirming a statement of faith and shared ministry goals. Members are committed to evangelism while carrying out the life-affirming mission of their own ministry.
TLC is a ministry resource for Southern Baptists, other evangelical churches, and other parachurch ministries across Texas. It is also a resource for its members to connect the spiritually needy to the ministry of the local church.
Members of the TLC Board of Directors include Keet Lewis of Dallas, Jim Bolton of Dallas, Angie Hammond of Duncanville, Paula Odom of North Richland Hills, Allan Parker of San Antonio and Julie A. Parton of Garland.
For more information on TLC go to texaslifeconnections.org.
Americans United for Life is sponsoring an online petition in opposition to the Freedom of Choice Act, which right-to-life activists fear will become law under the Obama administration.
As of Dec. 17, the petition at fightfoca.com had gathered more than 337,850 signatures.
The fightfoca.com website has downloadable copies of the United States Senate and House versions of FOCA, and a video of President-elect Barack Obama telling a Planned Parenthood gathering, “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing I’d do.”
Denise Burke, vice president of legal affairs for Americans United for Life (AUL), wrote in an analysis of FOCA: “Notably, pro-abortion groups do not deny FOCA’s draconian impact. For example, Planned Parenthood has explained, ‘FOCA will supercede anti-choice laws that restrict the right to choose, including laws that prohibit the public funding of abortions for poor women or counseling and referrals for abortions. Additionally, FOCA will prohibit onerous restrictions on a woman’s right to choose, such as mandated delays and targeted and medically unnecessary regulations.'”
Among the laws FOCA would nullify would be the Hyde Amendment preventing taxpayer-funded abortions, the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, notification laws, and legal protections for healthcare providers who don’t provide abortion services, according to AUL’s analysis of the proposed versions of the bill.
Three U.S. House members from Texas, all Democrats?Rep Al Green of the ninth congressional district; Rep. Gene Green, 29th congressional district; and
Rep Sheila Jackson-Lee, 18th congressional district?are co-sponsors of FOCA.
Neither of the Texas senators support the bill, but two prominent Democrats, former presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Kerry, along with independent Joe Lieberman, co-sponsored the bill while in the Senate.
AUL is urging state legislatures to adopt a model resolution it has written opposing FOCA when they convene their 2009 sessions. The model resolution is accessible at fightfoca.com.
DALLAS?The annual Dallas Walk for Life will begin at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 17 with music and a rally at a downtown Catholic church and conclude with a right-to-life lunch and information fair at First Baptist Church of Dallas.
The march will include a stop at the federal courthouse, where a memorial wreath will be placed on behalf of the 52 million unborn children aborted since the Jan. 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion on demand in all 50 states.
The rally will begin on the Plaza at the Cathedral de Guadalupe, 2215 Ross (Ross at Pearl), and will include remarks from FBC Pastor Robert Jeffress; State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston); Roman Catholic Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas; and Jack Hatcher of Christ for the Nations.
The one-mile march to the Dallas federal courthouse where the Roe v. Wade case originated will begin at 12:45 p.m., with the wreath-laying ceremony around 1 p.m. The march will conclude at First Baptist Church, 1707 San Jacinto (San Jacinto at Ervay), around 1:45 p.m.
Lunch and an information fair will follow at the church.
Sponsors include: Texans for Life Coalition; Concerned Women for America of Texas; Downtown Pregnancy Center, First Baptist Church, Dallas; Prestonwood Crisis Pregnancy Center; Texas Life Chain; Catholics Respect Life; and the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas.
For the third straight year, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is encouraging churches to participate in “Discovery Day,” an SBTC initiative to increase participation in Sunday School and small-group Bible studies.
The Jan. 25 emphasis combines a high attendance effort with intentional plans to engage seekers and nominal church-goers in new Sunday School or Bible study groups.
“It’s worked for churches that have participated in it,” said SBTC Church Ministries Associate Kenneth Priest. “Since we started it three years ago, of the churches that report back to us, we’ve seen on average an annual increase in small group attendance of 21 percent. If for no other reason, participating in Discovery Day places a focus on discipleship ministry, and any time churches get more people involved in the teaching and preaching of God’s Word, it’s beneficial.”
January is Sanctity of Human Life Month, and churches are also encouraged to begin the new year by collecting needed items for a local crisis pregnancy center to be delivered the week of Jan. 25.
Interested churches may obtain free Discovery Day promotional materials at sbtexas.com/discoveryday, or call the SBTC church ministries office toll free at 877-953-7282 (SBTC).
Amid the scenic beauty of El Salvador, Robert and Ann Horton, members of Central Baptist Church in College Station, are working to alleviate human suffering among children victimized by the ugly, crime-ridden side of the Central American country.
Robert Horton, a homebuilder, took his first trip to El Salvador in 2004 at the behest of a missionary friend who had encountered a Salvadoran believer caring for orphans in an abandoned school.
Since then, the Hortons have made 20 trips, founded a non-profit ministry to the needy in the United States and abroad, and are raising money for dorms on property they bought in El Salvador to house abandoned Salvadoran children.
It all started with a Salvadoran believer named Johnny. Walking near his home, Johnny would see hungry, abused and abandoned children. Moved with compassion, he’d bring some home with him for a meal and a warm place to sleep. This continued until it became known to others, including the government, which decided to give him a small compensation of $200 a month and a small abandoned school in which to house them.
It hardly took care of the children’s needs, which is when a medical missionary in El Salvador who had met Johnny got in touch with Robert Horton.
The Hortons decided to go meet Johnny after he had found some property and wondered if anything could be built on it. They went there initially to just take a look at the property and see if it was “buildable,” Robert Horton said.
“It didn’t work out like we expected,” Ann added. “We just fell in love with the kids.”
Children under age 14 comprise 35.8 percent of the Salvadoran population?approximately 2.6 million children. Recent studies by both inter-governmental and non-governmental agencies show thousands of Central American children are being exploited for sexual purposes, common factors in a region with such a high rate of violence. This violence is often compounded by sheer poverty and is often reproduced at home and in the community.
After their initial trip, the Hortons helped begin Shelter the Homeless International Projects (SHIP) in December 2004. SHIP’s mission is to help the homeless and needy in the U.S. and other countries with housing, food, and humanitarian aid. They also provide decent and affordable housing and care for low income and handicapped individuals and families in Texas.
With $100,000 raised through individual contributions, they bought the 12 acres of lush land, and since their first trip back in 2004 they have taken about 20 trips, all at their own expense. After meeting with an architect they met at a prayer breakfast, they estimated the total cost for everything from the land to the excavating to the building of a new orphanage at $250,000.
With 38 orphans already housed in the abandoned old school, they are building for 64 and expecting perhaps 80, which creates the need for even more space, Robert Horton said. The Hortons have plans to eventually build two houses, one for girls and the other for boys. With each dorm able to house about 100 children each, there is still enough room on the property to build another dorm.
Most orphans in El Salvador have either been abandoned or are in government custody because they have been abused. Such is the case with many girls in the orphanage. One 14-year-old had been raped repeatedly by her 70-year-old stepfather who left her pregnant.
“It’s sad to see her trying to play with the other children with a baby on her hip,” Ann Horton said.
“Johnny and his wife Elena, who are the directors, have three children of their own, yet every child in the orphanage is treated like one of their own,” Ann Horton said.
“God has provided this much, and we trust him to provide the rest,” Robert Horton said. With some of the children being disabled, including two who have muscular dystrophy, medical supplies are needed as well. Some of the young boys have made wheelchairs out of plastic chairs and bicycle wheels.
To learn more about SHIP, visit shipinternational.org.
Jonathan Falwell, senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., and successor to his father, the late Jerry Falwell, will be among the preachers and speakers at the 2009 Empower Evangelism Conference Feb. 16-18 at First Baptist Church of Euless.
The theme for the 2009 conference is “Empowered: The Holy Spirit in You,” based on Ephesians 1:13-14.
Falwell served at Thomas Road under his father from 1995 until the elder Falwell’s death in May 2007. He was called to be the pastor on June 3, 2007 by a unanimous vote of the church congregation. Falwell preaches at the main worship services each Sunday morning. TRBC averages more than 12,000 in attendance each Sunday and an additional 8,000 for its midweek services.
Falwell also serves as the executive vice president of spiritual affairs at Liberty University, which Jerry Falwell founded.
Before he joined the staff at Thomas Road, he was involved in numerous business ventures including, in 1990, starting one of Virginia’s largest video and film production companies that still thrives today. He is an accomplished photographer whose photographs have appeared in Time magazine, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Post and other national and international magazines.
His preaching is carried on numerous national television outlets as well as through satellite and Internet delivery formats. Falwell has also appeared as a guest on numerous television and radio programs nationwide including Oprah (syndicated), CNN and the Fox News Network.
Falwell graduated from Liberty University in 1987. He earned his master of arts in religion from the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996 and a juris doctorate in 2005 from William Howard Taft University in Santa Ana, Calif.
Other speakers at the annual conference will include noted Christian apologist and author Lee Strobel; LifeWay Research President Ed Stetzer; longtime Florida pastor Jerry Vines; Will Graham, pastor and grandson of Billy Graham; longtime Texas pastor John Bisagno, and others.
AUSTIN?A policy requiring Texas public schools to teach the strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories, including Darwinian evolution, will come up for review as the State Board of Education (SBOE) selects science textbooks during scheduled meetings Jan. 21-23 in Austin.
The board held a public hearing on the 10-year-old policy in November; another public hearing is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. ? 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 21 at the Texas Education Agency, located in the William Travis Building, 1701 N. Congress Ave., Austin 78701.
Board Chairman Don McLeroy of College Station said the testimony would alternate between the “‘teach the weaknesses side’ and the “do not teach the weaknesses’ side.”
The decision by Texas influences textbook selections for dozens of other states. The current Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills requirements state that students are expected to “analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information.”
Those wishing to testify at the hearing are required to register. Information may be obtained at the following web address: tea.state.tx.us/sboe/forms/registration_testimony.html.
The board requires those testifying to furnish 35 copies of their remarks for distribution to board members and SBOE staff. Testimony is limited to three minutes.
A list of SBOE members and their contact information is available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/sboe.
A recent National Public Radio story says that President-elect Obama will stop allowing Christian organizations that receive federal money for benevolent work to hire only Christians. The Bush administration allowed participants in the faith-based initiatives program an exemption from federal hiring practices so they can maintain the integrity of their own faith. The story went on to center the upcoming controversy on “intensively religious organizations,” an obvious reference to organizations that not only hand out a cup of cool water but also do it in Jesus’ name. I wonder if anyone would really own the term “casually religious” to distinguish himself from the rest of us.
The idea prompts a couple of responses. First, and I confess I’ve said this before on this page, our culture is truly confused about the concepts of faith and religion. Some will base their agreement with the possible Obama administration policy on the principle of separation of church and state. Remember what the First Amendment actually says, though. If the government gives a ministry based in a Baptist church money for food that will be distributed to the poor, and if volunteers also share the gospel as they have opportunity, how does that become the establishment of religion in the eyes of some? The church has done something very much in the public interest and they have also lived out the faith portion of their own values. Under the new proposal, we’d have churches choosing between help with hunger initiatives or their commission?no choice at all.
Why would our constitution even worry about government establishment of religion if the founders saw “religion” as a term divorced from any spiritual truth? Without the gospel, we’re the Red Cross or some other benevolent organization. The constitution nowhere forbids government establishment of benevolent organizations. In our day, the difference between acceptable religion and spooky fundamentalism is often simply the gospel. To us, it’s the difference between our faith and not our faith.
Secondly, I’d respond that the change in government policy would be hypocritical. If a Christian church or organization does exactly what it promises with federal money and also preaches the gospel, they’ve done something offensive to those unafraid to legislate their biases. What if another organization does something legal but even more morally questionable than evangelism, and takes federal money to cover the operational costs that enable this legal and reprehensible activity? What if my tax money is being used to support such a godless and anti-family group? Could there be something even worse than feeding, clothing, and teaching people in Jesus’ name?
Of course I’m talking about Planned Parenthood. This not-for-profit organization, conceived in insidious racism and dedicated to the proposition that all behaviors are created equal, raked in a billion dollars during the last year reported, nearly a third of it ($305 million) came from government funds?that’s an 11% surplus (since we can’t call it profit) for fiscal 2005-2006. If the breathless expectations of abortion profiteers and lobbyists come to reality, even the inadequate rules against abortion businesses using federal money to perform abortions will be removed during the next administration.
Theoretically, the federal money is for the support of non-lethal birth control and sex education provided by Planned Parenthood. Anyone with a lick of sense knows that buildings, utilities, employees, marketing, and other things are not so easily split in reality. Public money in one part of their work enables other parts. The nation’s largest abortion provider is not a big fan of abstinence-based sex education, by the way. The Bush administration funded abstinence-based sex education done by other groups; the Obama administration will likely remove this funding. That would be another win for Planned Parenthood.
Given the choice between hiring those who don’t share their mission (or are even hostile to it) and losing federal money, intensively religious organizations will look elsewhere for money. People who would have otherwise received food, clothing, tutoring, and selfless love will have to seek help elsewhere.
Given the choice between an annual federal abortion bailout and?wait a minute, Planned Parenthood doesn’t have to make a choice at all. They get to have it both ways. 2009 might even be a better year for this business (sorry, I mean “not for profit”) than 2008. I wonder how many other organizations, even truly benevolent ones, will be able to say that.
As Baptists, we should be very suspicious of the phrase “we’re from the government; we’re here to help.” Federal help for those who meet physical needs in Jesus name sounds like a fine idea but no government can long resist the urge to meddle and control. When administrations or margins in the Congress turn over, so do definitions of “help,” “meddle,” and “control.” Many Baptists say this every time someone offers to help us do what God has given us to do. This next year will prove us right in any number of ways. Having said that, it shouldn’t be that way. If a genuinely Christian group is doing something in the public interest because they believe that God loves people, no government body should be interested in their motive or theology. Bureaucracy can only judge actions. Help us, don’t help us, but don’t tell us what or if we can preach unless we are advocating violent or illegal activity.
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