The Intelligent Design movement is a recent scientific approach to the discussion of the origins of the universe and life. While many Christian thinkers lead within this movement, Intelligent Design boasts scholars from many faiths and even agnostic lines of thought. These scholars have unified to challenge the notion that the possibility of “design” is outside the realm of true scientific inquiry. Instead, they say, science can and must be free to seek truth wherever it might be found?including the possibility of an intelligent Designer in the universe.
Some Christians object to Intelligent Design thought because of its inclusion of diverse theories about origins?including “old-earth” creationism and theistic evolution, as well as the more traditional “young-earth” creationism. Others, however, appreciate that the movement, by its non-religious and open approach, has developed true inroads into challenging purely naturalistic scientific dogma.
“We [proponents of Intelligent Design] have the better argument, so I think increasingly people are going to realize that. But I think another thing which is going to work for us?and I think this is why I have a sense of inevitability even that we will succeed with this?is you found a younger generation who is looking and seeing, what do the Darwinists, materialists have to offer? What do the intelligent design people have to offer? And people’s intuitions start with intelligent design, they don’t start out as Darwinists. You have to be educated out of design.”
?William Dembski, senior fellow, Discovery Institute Center for Science and Culture and an associate professor at Baylor, in an interview in the March 30 edition of Christianity Today.
“The threat of ideological indoctrination [when teaching theories of origins] does not come from allowing students to ponder the philosophical questions raised by the origins issue. Instead, it comes from force-feeding students a single perspective.”
?Michael Newton Keas, Oklahoma Baptist University science professor and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, in an article from the institute’s website titled “The Meaning of Evolution.”
“[F]or believers to access God’s mind rationally ? should also be construed as a lifelong faith venture, something far more significant than a hastily drawn, connect-the-dots theology of expedience, however artfully penned some novice theologians may consider their scribblings to date to be. In other words, thinking God’s thoughts after him, level by graduated level, is just plain hard to do.”
?Hal Ostrander, religion and philosophy chair at Brewton Parker College in Georgia, quoted in 2001 while serving at Southern Seminary’s Boyce College of the Bible.
As many as 175volunteers are needed soon for a partnership evangelism project in Taiwan scheduled for July 14-26.
Taiwan Baptists have 23 of their churchessigned up to work with Southern Baptist volunteers and another 14 congregations considering participation?but only 50volunteers have committed to travel to Taiwan for the campaign, said Dub Jackson, SBTC partnership evangelism consultant.
Last October, the Taiwan Baptist Convention invited the SBTC to mobilize up to 50 teams of 4-10 people for a preaching, music and outreach mission leaving July 14 and returning July 26.
Of 23 million people in Taiwan, only 3 percent are Christians, the Taiwan Baptist Convention reported.
Jackson said because of Taiwan’s geographical proximity to mainland China, religious freedom there might have limited time.
“We have called everyone we know and the need is still great, but God is able. I have been praying that Taiwan Baptists would have boldness and vision,” Jackson wrote in an e-mail. “God has answered and now we must have boldness and vision. We must respond.”
Those interested may call Jackson at 325-698-8480 or e-mail him at whdubjackson@compuserve.com.
Last month, several Baptist editors attended a biennial briefing with the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Being 10 years closer to retirement, I must admit that those briefings are more interesting to me than when I attended my first one.
One important point of the day was an explanation of ABSBC’s proposed new name. Messengers to this year’s annual convention will vote on a recommendation from the Executive Committee to change the Annuity Board’s name to GuideStone Financial Services of the Southern Baptist Convention. I’m not sure what an annuity board is but we were told that ABSBC has not been one for years, partly because of the wide range of services they offer. The proposal involves a change in the SBC Constitution (sections where convention entities are named) and must be approved by the messengers twice before being final.
The change will also involve a proposal to broaden the reach of the Board to include other like-minded or compatible Christian ministries. The who and the what of this have not yet been clarified but I gathered from the discussion that parachurch ministries would be more likely to qualify than would denominations (or denomination-like fellowships).
Of course we also discussed health coverage. Regardless of how you or your church are covered, you know the nightmare that health insurance has become. My best understanding of the problem is that opportunistic lawyers, aggressive drug companies, and fat, stressed out preachers add up to horrific health insurance costs. I don’t know what might solve the first two problems but the Annuity Board is trying to address the matter of participant lifestyle. One of the neatest tools is www.baptistwellness.org, a website resource that helps evaluate, track, and plan progress toward a healthier lifestyle. It is currently available to Annuity Board participants only. You go to the site, enter your Social Security number (don’t be squeamish, they already have your number), set a password, and then start surfing. Your login will allow you to access whatever evaluative or strategy work you’ve done on diet, exercise, or other health-related needs.PAN>
And then we talked about retirement, a lot. A bunch of middle to late middle-aged editors sit up straight when the subject is our retirement accounts. The good news is that the trend in fund growth is going the right direction and has made up for the past two year’s losses. ABSBC plans have outperformed industry benchmarks and seem to be safe and well-managed.
Adopt an Annuitant continues to be a great ministry that uplifts nearly 2,000 retired ministers or their widows. The stories of these who went into retirement without any resources are poignant. The testimonies of those who have been helped are heartening. Our own Sagemont Church in Houston is the pacesetter in this great ministry. Sunday School classes, individuals, and the entire church have made Adopt an Annuitant a personal ministry.
Sagemont demonstrates one way to address the needs of underfunded retirees. There is another part to this problem. Currently, about a third of churches in the SBTC participate in a retirement plan through the ABSBC. Some may have other plans but many are making no allowance at all for their pastor’s retirement years. There are several reasons for this.
The most common reason has to do with limited funding. If you give your pastor his entire pay package and leave it to him to find health insurance and invest for retirement it is often because the package is pretty small to begin with. The church is doing all it can and the pastor puts retirement below food and clothing in his own priorities. Retirement planning can wait. The decisions the church and pastor have made are understandable but short-sighted.
For one thing, it doesn’t take much money to make a big difference over time. In the SBTC, all the church or pastor has to do is contribute any amount toward an ABSBC account to qualify for a no cost life insurance policy as high as $100,000. The state convention and Annuity Board work together to provide this. If the church contributes $52.50 per month (a little over $600/year) the SBTC will contribute an additional amount each per month toward a minister’s retirement. This minimal amount can become about $200,000 over the course of a forty year ministry, assuming a moderate growth rate and no increase in the contributions. That is why there is no substitute for starting now.
As you see above, a pastor’s age may be a reason for putting retirement savings on the back burner. Most of us can’t imagine retirement when we are twenty-five or thirty. In fact, most preachers I know aren’t planning to just quit and go fishing. They love ministry and want to continue in some way for as long as they are able. I agree with that view. At this age, though, the idea of doing a different kind of ministry (involving very few staff meetings and very little paperwork) sounds great for my grandfather years. A healthy retirement fund makes that possible. Consider also the possibility that your health will not allow you to continue as long as wish. Again, starting young gives you options as you become less young.
I was blessed as a newly-minted seminary graduate to be surrounded by lay leaders who provided for their ministers in a way similar to what they received in their own vocations. They didn’t offer me the option of just taking the cash, although I really needed it. I look at that church’s name on my list of contributors over the past 23 years with gratitude for the good start they gave my family. It took me several years of ministry to reach a salary comparable to what a minimally-funded church planter makes today. All those years, ten percent of my salary went into a retirement account without much thought on my part. It looks pretty good to me as I think of the next 20 years of ministry.
Many of us remember a day when preachers were not considered people who “work for a living” and should thus not be paid for their service. Mostly, churches have a more biblical attitude towar
The SBTC’s Summer Worship University and The Criswell College have agreed to offer three credit hours for participation in SWU, the SBTC announced March 25.
“Students attending this year’s Summer Worship University now have an unbelievable opportunity,” said Ken Lasater, SBTC church ministry support associate. “To be able to gain three hours of college credit during an already wonderful week of summer camp is a tremendous perk. For the administration of The Criswell College to make the credit available for only $100 in addition to the regular SWU camp cost is completely unheard of. It is our hope and expectation that this partnership will continue in the future; but I would also expect this year’s rate of only $100 to be a one-time offer from Criswell.”
“The three-hour credit will be fully transferable to any accredited college or university in the nation”, said Doug Wood, associate professor of Christian education and worship leadership at The Criswell College. Wood will be involved during the week of camp, coordinating all aspects relating to the academic process. His efforts made the arrangement possible. The course title is “Applied Studies in Music and Drama Leadership.”
Summer Worship University 2004 will be held on the campus of the University of North Texas in Denton, July 12-18. Camp cost is $220. The total will only be $320 for the entire camp and college tuition for those electing to participate in Criswell’s offer.
Most comparable private colleges are charging $900 – $2400 for a three-hour class credit, Lasater noted. Criswell’s tuition is higher than what they are charging through the SWU, he said.
Unlike other student music camps, SWU seeks to train, equip, encourage and involve students in all aspects related to leading a church in worship. Emphases includes musical studies like choir, orchestra, praise bands and worship teams; dramatic studies like skits, pageants and street ministry; and technical media training in sound, lighting, recording and projection ministries.
In addition, students will be placed to lead worship services in local churches across the state at the conclusion of the camp. Students will also write original songs and skits during the week, and will participate in the SBTC’s annual Youth Evangelism Conference, July 16-17. The students will be trained and equipped with skills and tools to be put to use in their church, at the conclusion of camp, Lasater said.
Enrollment is open for students ninth grade through age 20. For more information, contact Lasater at kenl@sbtexas.com or call 972-953-0878.
Outbreak 2K4 aims to equip SBTC students for ministry leadership.
Do you feel the burn? Tom Cottar, student ministry associate of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, is praying several hundred students this July will feel it the way the prophet Jeremiah did and spread its heat when they return to their campuses next fall.
“Outbreak 2K4: Feel the Burn,” the SBTC’s student leadership event, is scheduled July 12-16 at the University of North Texas in Denton.
Its theme is from Jeremiah 20:9: “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.”
This is the second year for Outbreak, a leadership camp not grade-level oriented and focused on equipping students for answering tough questions in a post-Christian culture and being salt and light to their peers, Cottar said.
The event will deal with basic Bible doctrines and also include some “culturally relevant issues” such as homosexuality, creation vs. evolution, Islam, and “Jesus-style” servant leadership. It will also include character studies of Moses, David and Nehemiah, ministry to fellow students, and basic life skills.
Separate curricula are specified for first-year and second-year Outbreak participants regardless of grade level, Cottar noted.
Second-year students will be able to participate in a one-day missions project on Thursday of the camp.
“Our philosophy has always been that leadership, the fruit of leadership, always shows itself in ministry and in missions and that our students need some dirt under their fingernails,” Cottar said. “They need to get out and get their hands dirty and get involved in those kinds of things.
“Unfortunately, we’ve taken the stance that teenagers are the church of the future when they ought to be the church of right now. They ought to be involved in ministry right now?not just being told that’s something they can do down the road.”
Aubrey Spears, who was camp pastor last year, has accepted an invitation to return this year. Ross King and Band will lead the students in musical worship.
Last year’s event drew 263 students. Cottar said he would love to see 500 and expects about 400.
On-campus housing and meals are included in the enrollment fee, which is $189 per student through April 15 and $199 from April 15 – June 12.
“Of course, we’ll have the standard wild and crazy recreation during the day,” Cottar noted.
Also scheduled is a youth camp in Commerce, July 26-30; the inaugural SBTC preteen camp June 1-4 at Latham Springs; and the annual Youth Evangelism Conference July 16-17 at The Criswell College in Dallas.
Registration packets and more information can be had at www.planetstudents.org or by e-mailing Cottar at tomc@sbtexas.com.
• For the third time in two years, Southern Baptist workers have died in the midst of their work. Again, the murders were in the name of a religion desperately wanting to be known for peaceful intentions. To be fair, Muslims have also been victims of terrorism in Iraq and other places. Man-made religions can never understand that death does not intimidate Christian workers. Our future is certain and in the hands of a God who lives and reigns.
• The Missouri Baptist Convention has experienced a set-back in its efforts to reclaim five rogue agencies. The five essentially cut the convention out of their governance a couple of years ago (but still expected convention funding) and have been involved in legal disputes since then. The MBC’s cause is just but by no means certain to prevail. You can read the details of the matter elsewhere. The point we must remember here is that no remedial effort can compete with knowledgeable, ongoing supervision of institutions over which we have some governing role. That applies to our churches, our civil institutions, as well as to our denominational entities. We should not build or fund institutions that we are unwilling to hold accountable. We definitely should not fund those who are unwilling to be accountable.
• Remember that we are at war. A year after open hostilities began in Iraq, we still have troops on the ground there and in several other countries. Our interest in them and prayers for them should be constant and not just prompted by the news reports of bombings and ambushes.
Collegians can bless church with time, talent and freedom, SBTC consultant says.
“If a church is located in an area where college students live and exist, that’s reason enough” to begin ministering to those students, said Kevin Ueckert, collegiate ministry consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Ueckert compares college students’ value for a church to that of senior adults, because their lack of time constraints and ability to serve provide great potential service in a congregation.
“College students have a great deal of freedom and not nearly as much responsibility as many segments of the church,” Ueckert said. “They create incredible servants in the body. And they can bless the life of a church almost like no other group.”
This has been the experience at Gardendale Baptist Church of Corpus Christi, where the SBTC aided in beginning a collegiate ministry over the last two years. Shortly after being called to the church, the church’s pastor, Micah Davidson, began to be burdened to reach out to the 10,000 college students in the Bay Area. Through what Davidson said was “a series of events that only God could orchestrate,” he connected with Ueckert and shared his vision to reach college students in the Corpus Christi area.
“We agreed it needed to be done,” Davidson said, “and we also agreed it would take a special person to pull it off. Over the next several months we began to pray for a leader to emerge who would spearhead the strategy.”
One of the SBTC’s available resources, an intern program, provides leaders for such endeavors. Through equipping, encouragement, and financial support, the SBTC partners with churches to facilitate the start of collegiate ministries. While the convention often locates these interns, it can also help train someone commissioned by the church itself.
The solution to Gardendale’s own search for a collegiate leader was Greg Darley, a recent graduate of Clemson University in South Carolina. Despite participating in a Fellowship of Christian Athletes ministry that served as many as 1,200 students weekly, Darley found himself yearning to minister to students through a church.
“The SBTC has been a huge part in my coming to Gardendale and Corpus Christi,” Darley said. “They are helping financially to have me here, but more important than that are the people ? to help me. There are some other pastors and college ministers that are available when I need advice or have questions.”
This networking, which Darley described as “an indispensable asset,” is another important benefit the SBTC provides for both new and established church collegiate ministries. “One of the things that we are trying to do,” Ueckert said, “is develop a good network, connecting churches with churches that are reaching students.” In particular, he said, he wants to connect various church leaders who have a passion for university ministry. “We really want to create a network of pastors, so that pastors who want to reach students can talk to pastors whose churches are reaching students.”
This emphasis on connecting senior pastors comes from Ueckert’s belief that they are vital in creating a successful church ministry to collegians. “I think the first key ingredient is a pastor who believes in reaching students. I don’t know of any church that’s effective in reaching college students that doesn’t have a pastor who believes in reaching college students.” By connecting pastors of churches ministering in this way with pastors who would like grow their own student impact, the SBTC establishes a powerful network for encouragement, training, and cooperation.
Likewise, even well established ministries can benefit from the support of the SBTC’s help in networking, Ueckert said. “I don’t know of a single ministry that exists in our state that doesn’t in some way need to be sharpened, and there’s probably somebody else in the state that’s doing something that could sharpen them. And we want to help facilitate some of that.”
Beyond the internship program and networking, the SBTC also provides many training opportunities.
“We do have seminars and workshops that we can provide on-site that can be led and taught by those who know college ministry,” Ueckert said. Or, if a church has simple questions, consulting can be provided. The SBTC can “help people know what to do and how to do it, one way or the other,” he noted.
In May, the SBTC will host its first collegiate workers workshop, called “Collegiate Ministry Link,” to aid networking among those congregations that are interested in reaching students or already ministering to collegians.
The workshop will be at T Bar M Ranch in New Braunfels, and free accommodations and meals will be provided to participants (with some restrictions). Through sessions by experienced colle
DALLAS?The spring 2004 edition of the Criswell Theological Review (CTR) tackles “open theism,” the belief that God’s knowledge is limited and that he changes his mind about things based on human circumstances. This aberrant theology has made inroads into evangelicalism, especially into the seminaries, said CTR Editor Alan Streett, professor of evangelism and pastoral ministry at The Criswell College.
CTR is the first academic journal to examine and address the openness issue as it relates to the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) controversy over whether to expel some of its members who embrace openness.
Two exclusive interviews with Darrell Bock and Norm Geisler, past presidents of the ETS, reveal how scholars can hold diametrically opposed opinions on the issue. Bock, a New Testament professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, believes ETS, as a society, is inclusive enough to embrace members with different orthodox theologies as long as they hold to inerrancy broadly defined. A different perspective is offered by Geisler, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary and past president of ETS. Geisler resigned after the ETS members voted to sustain the membership of Open Theism proponents Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity School in Canada and John Sanders of Huntington College in Indiana.
An article by Boyd Luterand Emily Hunter McGowin, “From Bad to Worse,” examines the theological implications of Pinnock’s open theism. Pinnock responds, followed by further response from Luter and McGowin.
Douglas Huffman’s article “Some Logical Difficulties in Open Theism” shows that despite how well-intentioned open theists are in attempting to explain why God “changes his mind” or why some of his prophecies “seemingly fail,” they are logically inconsistent in their analysis, he writes.
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary theology professor Bruce Ware takes aim at the faulty theological base of openness in his article “Robots, Royalty and Relationships.”
For TEXAN readers a one-year subscription to Criswell Theological Journal is available for $15 and a two-year subscription is $25. Write to: CTR, 4010 Gaston Ave., Dallas, TX 75246 and indicate you read about the offer in an SBTC publication.
BORGER?t1:place>First Baptist Church in the 14,000-population town of Borger helped more than 1,600 people who entered the church’s benevolence ministry facility, called Living Water Ministries, in 2003. And since the ministry began in late 2002, 143 people have prayed to receive Christ, the ministry reported.
Deacons at the church wished to provide practical ministry to their area’s needy, and after a church member donated a building, which the deacons renovated, Living Water Ministries was born.
The ministry’s guiding Scripture, board chairman Conny Moore said, is Isaiah 61:1-3: “Bring good news to the afflicted, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, freedom to prisoners, comfort to all who mourn.”
A special projects offering administered through the ministry drew $6,000 and six other area churches signaling their intent to give monthly or yearly offerings to help with the ministry, Moore noted in a letter about Living Water.
Everyone who comes to the ministry is presented the gospel using the Four Spiritual Laws and volunteers must be born again and are trained to share the gospel.
“Whenever a person requests funds or clothing, or if they just come in and we can’t help them, that person is always asked if they know Jesus as Lord and Savior,” Moore wrote.
In 2003, the ministry gave 3,639 food baskets and $18,529 in financial assistance to needy families.
IRVING?Recording artist Todd Agnew is one of the most popular names in contemporary Christian music.But the acclaim he has gained from headlining his own tour and receiving four Dove award nominations from the Gospel Music Association hasn’t changed him one bit.
That’s because success isn’t what motivates Agnew, former youth worship leader at MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church in Irving.
“Seeing people come into a relationship with the Lord is so special, it’s beyond words,” he said. “Our goal each night is to get out of the way and let God deal with people as much as possible. God is larger than any words we can use, and music is something beyond words. Music is a gift that God has given us, and it allows us to express beyond what we can actually say.”
While growing up in Irving, Agnew was involved in a variety of ministries.
“I was one of those fortunate kids that grew up in church,” he said. “I was a part of Bible drill, Sunday School and everything else that went on there. I had great experiences, and it really provided a foundation for the rest of my life.”
Agnew went on to study music composition at the University of North Texas, and during his summer break, he began leading worship for the youth ministry at MacArthur Boulevard when he was 19. The following year, he began leading worship at youth camps and other events.
He was an independent artist for 13 years before signing to a record label this year. With the release of his CD, “Grace Like Rain,” he has taken the Christian music industry by storm.
Despite a busy touring schedule, Agnew leads worship each Tuesday night at “The Loop,” a college Bible study in Memphis, Tenn.
“During the holidays, we encouraged students from this Bible study to get together and sponsor a family from a poor section of town so they would have something for Christmas,” he explained. “We have 300 college students attend this Bible study, and they sponsored 20 families. That was their worship of God during that time. They were showing the community that they loved Christ by loving other people.”
Agnew describes his role as a worship leader as a teacher.
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