Month: February 2009

Tips for a tough economy

Investment managers commonly say “past performance is no guarantee of future returns.” This statement has never been truer than in today’s economic environment. Though investment managers say “past performance is no guarantee of future returns,” ironically they use past performance from normal market conditions to assist in their current investment strategy and portfolio modeling.

However, today’s economic market is far from normal. Therefore, very few historical records of such huge market swings as we are experiencing are available for comparison. As a result, opinions differ as to what will happen next in the economy. Some advisors say that the market has fallen as far as it is going to fall with an upturn in the near future. Other advisors are suggesting that we could be on the verge of the next Great Depression. The bottom line is nobody really knows!

Even though nobody knows exactly what to expect, many of our churches are beginning to feel the effects of a depressed and unstable economy. As you lead your church to make an impact for God’s kingdom in the days ahead, here are 10 tips to help your church not only survive but thrive through the financials challenges it may face in the near future.

?1. Remind your people that God is in control. One of the names used for God in the Old Testament is Jehovah Jireh (“The Lord Provides”). His Word also promises in the New Testament that he will meet all of our needs according to his riches in glory.

?2. Teach biblical stewardship. Many of our church members need to be reminded of the biblical stewardship principles God gives us in his Word. Our congregations need to be instructed in areas of money management, debt reduction, and especially the tithe.

?3. Recommit to a priority of missions and evangelism. Fewer operating resources always force us to reconsider our priorities. Difficult times should not cause us to back away from the Great Commission, but rather to focus and commit to our Lord’s command all the more.

?4. Evaluate practices. Make sure your church is using sound financial practices in how it collects, records, and distributes its funds.

?5. Build-up reserves. Most financial advisors encourage individuals to have a savings reserve of three to six months of expenses. It would be wise for our churches to also strive to have similar reserves.

?6. Have a backup plan. Be prepared for a decline in your receipts by having a secondary budget that is 10- to 15-percent less than your current budget.

?7. Properly manage debt. It may be wise to avoid or pay off debt during these times. However, if you must take on debt, do so wisely. First, try to not borrow more than twice your annual undesignated receipts. Second, make sure that your monthly payments are not higher than 20-25 percent of your monthly expenses. Third, attempt to keep your total loan amount less than $2,500 per giving unit. These recommendations are less than what a typical bank would require in order to give your church additional protection during this particular economic environment.

?8. Encourage estate giving. As giving from annual income goes down, this is a perfect opportunity to encourage your congregation to support your ministry with all of their assets through an estate gift. As you reaffirm biblical stewardship principles, you might challenge your congregation to leave a tithe of their estate to the church.

?9. Offer help to the community. If your church is suffering, then most likely your community is suffering. As a form of outreach use this current situation to offer help to your community through money management classes and benevolent ministries.

?10. Seek personal renewal. Times of difficulty always create opportunities for spiritual growth and renewal. As these economic challenges force your families to reprioritize their lives, help them do so in a way that strengthens their love, faith, and commitment to Jesus Christ our Lord.

For more information, visit sbtexas.com or call toll-free 877-953-7282.

?This column first appeared in iLead, a monthly e-newsletter of the SBTC Church Ministries team. It is adapted for use in the TEXAN. Johnathan Gray is executive director of the SBTC Foundation.

College Station team ministers in Uganda

A six-person missions team from Central Baptist Church in College Station ventured to the AIDS-ravaged country of Uganda late last year to assess needs for future work, with plans to return this summer.

In Uganda, with 31 million people in an area the size of Oregon, medical supplies and educational opportunities are limited, and the needs are great.

“I feel pulled in the direction of helping improve the availability of medical care in Uganda,” said team member Eric Wilke, a physician who has traveled there before, even taking his family on one of the trips.

The team of six traveled there with Wilke, church missions coordinator Kelly Kleinkort, university pastor George Jacobus, and church members Bethany Crutcher, Faith Payne, and Tara Thompson.

Even before they had decided to go on the trip, Wilke, an emergency room physician, said the Holy Spirit had been moving in him to return.

The Ugandan people are not educated on prevention of certain diseases, including the spread of HIV/AIDS, Wilke said. Folklore says Ugandan men may be healed of their disease if they sleep with a virgin. AIDS has killed approximately one million people, and has significantly reduced life expectancy. It has depleted the country’s labor force, reduced agricultural output and food security, and weakened educational and health services. The large number of AIDS-related deaths among young adults has left behind over a million orphaned children.

While living in Phoenix, Wilke became aware of Love Works International and the start of New Hope Primary School and Orphanage through the work of Ugandan pastor Chris Lubega, which has grown in six years from six children to more than 1,000. Upon returning to Texas, Wilke had told Lubega to contact Kleinkort, Central Baptist’s mission coordinator, to see what role Central could play in supporting the ministry there.

“We had arrived at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda at night,” Kleinkort said. “It was just as one might expect a third-world country might be?loud, dirty, unsanitary and crowded,” she said.

Crutcher added, “I was filled with a sense of excitement and anticipation. I was ready to see what work the Lord had for us that week.” Little did she know what an extraordinary impact the people of Uganda would have on her, she recalled.

Each day the orphans would line up for medical treatment, some with extremely painful remedies, but nothing there was taken for granted.

“Children in Uganda are grateful for whatever treatment they receive regardless of any pain they might have to endure. They’re just so brave,” Crutcher said.

Such was the case with one little boy with a large infection in his knee. It started off as a small cut, but due to lack of cleanliness and sterilization of the sore it became infected. In order to help the young boy he had to bear tremendous pain to heal his leg.

“The roles of men, women and children are very different there than here in the United States,” Wilke said, “In Uganda the role of each individual is just seeking basic survival. With there being a dramatic difference in the prosperity of the United States and Uganda, people are the same in a fundamental sense, yet without the extreme noise of American materialism. But it’s funny?without that ‘noise’ many of the Ugandan people seem to have more joy despite having nothing.”

Noting a congregation worshipping in a building with only three walls, Wilke said, “There is a palpable and tangible presence of the Holy Spirit. It is truly amazing.”

Like many African countries, there are many opportunities for gospel ministry and relief work.


“Because of the mandate Christ has put on every believer, we are to go,” Kleinkort said.

Women leaders consultation at SWBTS draws across generations

FORT WORTH?In 1990, a small group of women were invited to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for the first Women’s Leadership Consultation (WLC). Current Southwestern first lady Dorothy Patterson was part of this initial group of women who had a shared commitment to equip women for kingdom ministries.

This one-time event quickly developed into an established conference, rotating annually between the six Southern Baptist seminaries.

The 2009 WLC reconvened on the campus of Southwestern Seminary Feb. 5-7, where the conference began 19 years earlier. Patterson and Terri Stovall, dean of women’s programs at Southwestern, decided the theme for 2009 would be: “Count It All Joy: Living, Serving, Leading in Difficult Times” from James 1:2-4.

“We began to see women who were faithful followers wanting to know how to deal with the trials that come our way in the manner that God wants,” Stovall said.

However, “we never knew that once the time of the conference arrived that our nation would be at a place where few of us are untouched by difficulties.”

Featured speakers included Iris Blue, Jenny Broughton and Florence Littauer, who Patterson said are “some of the women I most admire” for their dedication to God in tough times. Though these women come from diverse backgrounds, each of their testimonies revolves around finding delight in God in the midst of adversity.

Breakout sessions highlighted tracks including the family, the home, serving and leading and were taught by women ranging from lay leaders to women’s studies scholars from across the country.

Southwestern offered several continuing education workshops and courses as optional supplements to the conference. Women could take Ministry in the Home, Introduction to Women’s Ministry or Biblical Counseling for Women for academic credit or attend a pre-conference workshop by Littauer on public speaking.

Katie McCoy, chosen with Sarah Bubar, Gabrielle Pickle and Misti Poulos in Fall 2008 to be WLC seminary student interns, said having a team with “different gifts and strengths plus the same servant-hearted spirit” gave her invaluable hands-on ministry experience.

“I will never again sit at a conference without saying a prayer of thanks for the hard workers behind the scenes,” Pickle said. “This opportunity has taught me that big things can be accomplished for the kingdom with just a handful of dedicated people who use their talents for kingdom work.”

Watching women from various walks of life come together to learn and apply biblical truth provides testimony of the SBC’s commitment to support women in spiritual growth and ministry involvement. In the midst of building friendships, Patterson said each woman was “stretched, encouraged and equipped for future service to Christ.”

Regional Evangelical Theological Society meeting returning to Criswell in March

DALLAS?Alvin Plantinga will lecture during the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society March 26-28 at Criswell College, 4010 Gaston Ave., Dallas, 75246. The lectures will also serve as the 2009 Criswell Theological Lectures.

The theme will be “Religion and Science.” “The content will be philosophical and theological in nature,” said Criswell’s Joe Wooddell, an associate professor of philosophy.

The sessions are:

?Thurs., March 26, 10 a.m.: “On Christian Scholarship”;

?Fri, March 27, 7 p.m.: “Content and Natural Selection”;

?Sat., March 28, 10 a.m.: “Divine Action in the World.”

The final two talks are the plenary sessions for the Southwest Regional ETS meeting. Anyone who wants to attend the parallel sessions Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning and afternoon must register, Wooddell said.

To register for the conference, send $20 check or money order (made payable to ETS Southwest Region) to Joe Wooddell, Criswell College, 4010 Gaston Ave., Dallas, TX 75246. On-line credit card registration is not available.

Registrants should include: name, address, phone, e-mail, institutional affiliation and position if applicable.

Houston pastors protest massive abortion clinic

HOUSTON–A diverse group of pastors gathered on the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision to condemn renovation of a six-story Houston building into what they described as “the largest abortion clinic in the world.”
Some of those same pro-life advocates days later questioned the Houston City Council about monitoring the proposed Planned Parenthood facility to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws. Houston Mayor Bill White’s director of health and environmental policy, Elena Marks, is national chairwoman of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Sonny Foraker, spokesman for the Greater Houston Area Pastor Council and pastor of First Baptist Church of Pearland, told the group of supporters and journalists, “We are standing here because [abortion] is a moral evil that destroys human life. We stand together as pastors to say this is not something we want in our community.”

The building, formerly the Sterling Bank at 4600 Gulf Freeway, loomed behind the pastors as they took turns on Jan. 22 speaking out against the new Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas clinic. Planned Parenthood officials did not return repeated phone calls from the TEXAN for comment.

“This building is an invitation that gives everyone the message that it is OK to take life away,” said pastor Hernan Castano of Iglesia Rios de Aceite in Houston. “This cannot be the answer to the world. We must respect life.”

Melvin Johnson, pastor of Heart of Christ Community Church in the Houston suburb of Brazoria, called the Planned Parenthood facility an “abomination” and talked about the racist ideas of the organization’s founder, Margaret Sanger.

Johnson, who is black, held up pictures of Sanger participating in a Ku Klux Klan rally in the early 20th century. The summer 2008 issue of the Guttmacher Policy Review stated that black American women have five times as many abortions as their white counterparts.

“As Jesus died on the cross, he proclaimed life,” declared Carlos Martins, a Roman Catholic. “Any Christian should see the evil of this.”

Martins quoted Mother Teresa’s famous chastisement of America when she spoke at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, calling abortion “the greatest destroyer of peace in the world.”

Martins made it clear that the community of faith is not angry toward the women who seek and follow through with abortions but with organizations like Planned Parenthood that promote and conduct them. “There is a caring community that is willing to stand with and next to pregnant women. You do not go through this alone,” he said.

Noting that the Planned Parenthood site is just a few blocks from the University of Houston and historically African-American Texas Southern University, pastor James Clark of Park Place Baptist Church charged Planned Parenthood with targeting college students.

Foraker concurred: “This building is not by chance located here. I assure you, they are targeting our young people, African Americans and Hispanics,” he said.

Christine Melchor, executive director of Houston’s Coalition for Life, said the clinic would encompass 78,000 square feet–with one entire floor dedicated to abortions, including late-term abortions. She said she had reviewed building plans, permits and architectural drawings filed with the city of Houston.

“We’ve been following their expansion since 2006” when Planned Parenthood purchased the property, Melchor said, adding that she thought the most striking feature of the drawings is a planned ambulatory unit over the expanse of the third floor.

A Planned Parenthood clinic in downtown Houston performed late-term abortions until a state law was passed in 2003 to require that abortions conducted on women beyond 16 weeks of pregnancy be done in a center equipped with an ambulatory unit, which the clinic did not have.

Planned Parenthood clinics offer women a wide range of services, including pap tests, disease prevention and treatment, and birth control. Melchor acknowledged that the facility would be used for other these other services but added, “Planned Parenthood is all about abortions.”

Melchor said she suspects the clinic will be used to host international clients seeking abortions, especially late-term procedures. Dave Welch, director of the Houston pastors’ group, said he believes the new clinic could replace the notorious Wichita, Kan., clinic operated by George Tiller, who is on trial for violating state laws regulating the practice of late-term abortions.

Planned Parenthood came under scrutiny late last year following the release of a secretly video-taped encounter at an Indiana Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. The tape reveals a clinic employee manipulating the conversation with a supposedly 13-year-old girl. The girl, actually 20-year-old college student student Lila Rose, told the Planned Parenthood employee she was pregnant by her 31-year-old boyfriend, which, if true would constitute statutory rape.

By law the employee was required to report the case of sexual abuse to child protective services. Instead, the worker suppressed the information and convinced the girl to make up an alternative story.

The tape was produced by members of the pro-life Mona Lisa Project and distributed over the Internet. The Planned Parenthood clinic aide was ultimately fired, but not before national criticism arose concerning Planned Parenthood’s reporting practices and its servicing of minors.

It was that issue, along with questions regarding city regulations, which pro-life proponents brought before Houston City Council Jan. 27. They called into question the integrity of the abortion provider’s adherence to state regulations and asked Mayor Bill White and council members if they wanted Houston to be known as the home of “the largest abortion clinic in the hemisphere.”

Christine Kasper asked, in light of the Indiana violations, how the city of Houston would monitor the activities of the abortion clinic to ensure that Planned Parenthood complied with local and state laws.

Melchor was among those addressing the council. She asked if patients, prior to abortions, were tested for AIDS and other communicable diseases.

“How,” she asked, “will these babies be disposed of?”

Melchor later said her questions relate to the disposal of potentially bio-hazardous substances into the city sewage or waste disposal systems. There were no responses to the questions posed by the women.

Later in a phone interview, Melchor said the purpose of the questions before the council was to give them pause and to educate Houston citizens about the Planned Parenthood facility.

“Do they want to be known as the capital city of abortions?” she asked.

Melchor said she plans to ask more questions of the City Council. But she said she is dubious about getting an objective response because of Mayor White’s connection with Planned Parenthood’s national chairwoman.

Melchor asked White about the potential conflict of interest. He said he would respond at another time to her question.

Ironically, an animal-rights group attended the same meeting, demanding the city’s animal shelters stop the euthanizing of stray and unclaimed animals.

Supporters held signs as advocates spoke. Some wore T-shirts promoting the No Kill Advocacy Center whose policy, in part, states: “The No Kill Advocacy Center is the nation’s first organization dedicated solely to the promotion of a No Kill nation.”

Even if the city of Houston approves all the permits required to complete construction of the new abortion clinic, Foraker said area pastors, along with TexasFamilies.org, a coalition of pro-life organizations, plan to press contractors to disassociate themselves from the project. By asking church members, businesses and the community to stop doing business with Planned Parenthood contractors, they hope to bring enough pressure to force them to withdraw their services to Planned Parenthood.

At the beginning of the Jan. 22 gathering, David Fannin, pastor of suburban Nassau Bay Baptist Church, compared the 3,000 lives lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks—and the country’s resolve afterward—to the 3,700 lives lost each day to abortion. Will the nation, he asked, steel itself with the same resolve as the massive Planned Parenthood clinic rises from the ground?

Debate over Texas science standards continues

AUSTIN, Texas?Those on both sides of a debate over science instruction in Texas public schools are calling the latest in a series of meetings by the Texas State Board of Education a mix of success and failure.

The state board, in meetings Jan. 21-23 to revise state science standards, voted to omit a 20-year-old “strengths and weaknesses” clause in examining scientific theories, including evolution?a disappointment to social conservatives and a victory for advocates of Darwinism.

But the board also tentatively approved new amendments calling for students to “analyze and evaluate scientific explanations” using logic, empirical evidence and observational testing?a recommendation from science educators?and to “analyze and evaluate” the key Darwinian tenets of common ancestry and natural selection in light of the fossil record?additions submitted by social conservatives on the board.

The latter amendments from conservatives drew criticism from evolution advocates, who have vowed to work to remove the new language calling for evaluation of the theories of common ancestry and natural selection.

Darwinists had assailed Texas’ “strengths and weaknesses” clause as a “back-door” to teach biblical creationism. During a public hearing on the new standards Jan. 21 at the State Capitol in Austin, that claim was repeatedly disputed by those on the board who say they want to keep scientific inquiry alive on all theories, including evolution.

The 15-member board, with one member absent, fell short in a 7-7 vote to retain the strengths and weaknesses language. The board’s final vote on the new science curricula and standards is scheduled for March 26-27, with much lobbying expected between now and then.

The Texas science standards are revised every 10 years, which makes the Texas decision important for textbook publishers, who are reluctant to publish multiple editions for different states, and for smaller states that must buy available textbooks.

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) hailed the removal of the strengths and weaknesses language a “tremendous victory for science education.”

But NCSE Executive Director Eugenie Scott, who testified that “There are no weaknesses in the theory of evolution,” said in a news release: “[The board] didn’t, however, have time to talk to scientists about the creationist-inspired amendments made at the last minute. Once they do, I believe these inaccurate amendments will be removed.”

Kathy Miller of the Texas Freedom Network, which describes itself as “a mainstream voice to counter the religious right,” said about a new amendment calling for evaluation of common ancestry: “That measure could provide a small foothold for teaching creationist ideas and dumbing down biology instruction in Texas.” She also vowed to help see the common ancestry and natural selection language reversed when the board meets again in March.

Meanwhile, the website evolutionnews.org, which is friendly to intelligent design proponents, shot back that evolution-only scientists are looking like stereotypical dogmatists. The web page posted the following question on Jan. 23 regarding the amendments: “How does it promote creationism to insist that students ‘analyze and evaluate’ all the major parts of evolutionary theory? ? They claim to support critical inquiry in science, but whenever it gets applied to evolution, they suddenly expose themselves for the dogmatists they are.”

Board Chairman Don McLeroy, a College Station dentist, submitted the amendment calling for students to “analyze and evaluate the sufficiency or insufficiency of common ancestry to explain the sudden appearance, stasis, and sequential nature of groups in the fossil record.”

Other new amendments pertaining to evolution call for students:

-to “analyze and evaluate how the elements of natural selection including inherited variation, the potential of a population to produce more offspring than can survive, and a finite supply of environmental resources, results in differential reproductive success”;

-to “analyze and evaluate how evidence of common ancestry among groups is provided by the fossil record, biogeography, and homologies including anatomical, molecular, and developmental”;

-and to “evaluate a variety of fossil types, proposed transitional fossils, fossil lineages, and significant fossil deposits and assess the arguments for and against universal common descent in light of this fossil evidence.”

Among those testifying at the committee hearings in Austin was Michael N. Keas, professor of history and philosophy of science at the College at Southwestern, the undergraduate school at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in For

Conference encourages women toward team- and church-oriented women’s ministry

NEW BRAUNFELS?More than 420 women filled First Baptist Church of New Braunfels to capacity Jan. 23-24 for an SBTC Women’s Ministry Forum designed to equip them for ministry in their local churches and encourage them spiritually.

The women were divided among 10 two-hour learning labs, where common themes emerged as women’s ministry was discussed. The women’s ministry leaders were encouraged to develop in their churches new, biblically grounded leaders who represent diverse ages and abilities.

MINISTER AS A TEAM

In her session on “Best Form and Functionality,” Leslie Busbee, women’s minister at Houston’s Sagemont Church, offered three models of ministry for small, medium, and larger churches. Selecting a solid team is foundational to beginning a women’s ministry, said Busbee, who serves a church that averages 6,000 attenders.

“Jesus didn’t minister alone,” Busbee said, “and I believe we weren’t called to minister alone. You will burn out very quickly if you try to minister alone.”

Regardless of a team’s size, women’s ministry team members should be “loyal, dependable, godly and fun,” she said. “Your group should be very diverse. I am intentional about this on my team; we have singles in their 20s up to widows in their 80s.”

Once the team is assembled, Busbee said the purpose statement of women’s ministry must conform to the church’s overall mission.

“I need to know the mission statement of my church and everything I do needs to support this,” Busbee said. “You don’t ever want to be outside the umbrella of protection of your church. If I know I’m doing what God has called me to do, and my pastor has endorsed it, then I know I’m OK. Make sure your mission statement falls in line and everything you do complements the mission of your church.”

A HARMONY OF VISION

For medium-size churches, Rhonda Black, women’s minister at Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church in Allen, also stressed the importance of harmonizing women’s ministry goals with the pastor’s vision.

Black said Cottonwood seeks to draw people in the community to worship Christ and then place them in a small group. Once members are discipled, they are then released back into the community to serve as witnesses to draw others in. In an effort to not overload women with ministry requirements, Black said Cottonwood’s women’s ministries seeks to move women from immaturity to maturity instead of simply providing activities or programs.

To accomplish this goal, Black said the Cottonwood women’s ministry is simple. The group organizes one or two large annual events to reach women in the community and plug them into a fellowship and a Bible study.

Other “Encourage & Equip” labs taught leaders to develop ministries that disciple women for service and cast leaders into roles of effectiveness. Several sessions targeted specific needs, offering tools for Bible study preparation, recognizing gender differences in the workplace to effectively serve with men, equipping women to live missional lives, planning memorable and effective retreats, and discovering the value of transformative apologetics as a means of defending one’s faith.

Keynote speaker Pat Layton of Tampa, Fla., led a separate workshop on connecting the church to the mission field created by abortion.

Enrichment training addressed grace, forgiveness, spiritual disciplines, seasons of life, obedience, accountability and life dreams. Keynote speaker Kelly Minter of Nashville offered additional study in a small-group setting on discovering the roots of idolatry while Holly McLean of New Braunfels described how to extend God’s grace to women who have dealt with infertility.

Minter traced the lives of Rachel and Leah as recorded in Genesis 29 to describe the idols each woman worshipped in comparison to the resources women use today “to try and make life work without really engaging the heart of God.”

“I spent a little bit too long with my eyes so focused on all the idols I was trying to make work for me that I could not get to the fields. I wasn’t freed up enough to get to the harvest,” Minter recalled, citing Jesus’ challenge to recognize the fields

Pro-Life Lobby Day Feb. 24 in Austin

AUSTIN?Pro-Life Lobby Day is planned for Feb. 24 at the Capitol Auditorium in Austin with special guests such as Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Attorney General Greg Abbott.

The event, with the theme “2 Heartbeats,” is sponsored by such groups as Texans for Life Coalition, Concerned Women for America of Texas, Free Market Foundation, The Heidi Group, Texas Physicians’ Resource Council and others.

Chartered buses will depart from several Texas cities around 6 a.m. (visit 2heartbeats.org for updated times and locations). Cost will be $25-$35 per person. A rally will begin at 10 a.m. in the Capitol Auditorium followed by lunch at 12:30 p.m., visits with state representatives and senators from 2:30-3:45 p.m., and a group photo on the Capitol building steps at 3:45 p.m.

The buses will depart Austin at 4 p.m. Participants are asked to wear red for the group photo and the “2 Heartbeats” theme.

A mobile sonogram unit will be operating inside the Capitol building.

For more information, visit 2heartbeats.org or call 713-782-5433 in Houston, 972-722-2776 in Dallas, 817-572-1115 in Fort Worth, or 512-477-1244 in Austin.

New SBTC field strategy aims at high-touch service

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is employing a new strategy it hopes will strengthen its service to churches, pastors and associational leaders.

The new field ministry strategists will relate to churches in assigned areas of Texas, which SBTC Facilitating Ministries Director Tom Campbell said would help give the SBTC staff more personal contacts and greater service to churches.

“Not everyone in Texas can come to the SBTC offices in Grapevine when they need something, so we’re trying to go to them with more efficiency,” Campbell explained.

Thus far, seven field ministry strategists are working in the field, with plans to add three more this year, Campbell said.

“One area of the work of the field ministry strategist will be to partner with associations and directors of missions,” Campbell emphasized. “It is our hope that this partnership will provide encouragement, support, and networking to DOMs and their associations as we seek to reach the state of Texas with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Campbell said directors of missions are invited to the annual DOM Luncheon, Monday, Feb. 16, at First Baptist Church of Euless during the SBTC Empower Evangelism Conference. The new field strategists will be introduced and their roles explained during the luncheon, Campbell said.

“We will be there to answer any questions directors of missions might have,” Campbell said.

“The main focus of this will be building relationships with pastors and staff members and connecting them to the ministry of the SBTC. We want them to know there is somebody they can talk to.”

The field ministry strategists are:

?Kyle Cox

830-832-2332

kcox@sbtexas.com

?Scottie Stice

830-275-1894

sstice@sbtexas.com

?Chad Barnes

903-439-7600

cbarnes@sbtexas.com

?Ted Elmore

214-725-1513

telmore@sbtexas.com

?Glenn Reece

806-863-3235

greece@sbtexas.com

?Rodney Williams

903-450-3503

rwilliams@sbtexas.com

?Ronnie Yarber

972-672-0148

ryarber@sbtexas.com

For additional information, contact Campbell toll-free at 877-953-7282 (SBTC) or tcampbell@sbtexas.com.

The SBTC’s ’09 legislative agenda

As the 81st Texas Legislature gets underway, important deliberations affecting Texas families will take place every day. While most news stories and politicians will focus on pragmatic issues such as taxation, a variety of moral issues will also arise. Moral issues have a practical aspect, to be sure. That is sometimes the problem. The profit motive is the only reason that some issues, laws regarding local option liquor elections, gambling, and so forth, even come to a state legislature. Our role is to be more heavenly minded than that. We can direct the debate toward “should” questions rather than just “can” questions.

God’s people in a free country have a responsibility to ensure that governments help rather than hinder the crucial institutions of our society. Your church is on point as these matters arise at the local level. Your state convention works to influence those men and women who govern Texas.

Our convention has a standing committee that oversees our work on public policy issues. The Texas Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee’s work is governed by these principles:

?Where the convention has spoken, the committee is free to express that opinion in the public forum. Convention resolutions, our constitution, and our statement of faith provide a selection of opinions convention messengers have expressed. The committee is basically quoting the convention messengers on these issues. Our committee and legislative consultant do not speak to the convention in an effort to pull the churches in one direction or another. Those people only say what you’ve said.

?The TERLC works on the assumption that we cannot effectively rise to every issue. If SBTC representatives express an opinion on every matter addressed in a bill, our voice becomes background noise. Each year, we choose a few issues that are most crucial and likely to come up in proposed legislation. Even important issues where there is nothing close to a consensus within our convention will not appear on our agenda. That’s why you don’t see us fighting for or against a particular tax or energy plan.

?Our churches and people cannot rally for every issue under discussion. We also don’t have an extensive staff to work full time in Austin. Our convention puts its priority elsewhere. The convention’s work in public policy will be more effective if we use our moral voice in a prioritized manner.

?We also work on the assumption that no party is reliably on God’s side. Politics is a business of pragmatics. Ethical issues are often more absolute than the thinking of politicians. In a conservative state like ours we are often reminded that assumptions about Democrats and Republicans formed by reading the national news do not always apply. While one party might be more often with us on one issue, the other will agree with us on another. The line between right and left in Texas is more blurred and located far to the right of that same line in Washington D.C.

The SBTC has employed a consultant to work with us in Austin during the legislative session. He tracks bills, makes suggestions as to the best way we might express our opinions, and passes on whatever message we give him.

After discussing the current session with our consultant, the TERLC has come up with the following items for our legislative agenda for this year:

1. Marriage and family. The constitutional referendum of 2006 pretty well settled (for Texas) the definition of family. Homosexual marriage has never been the biggest problem faced by the American family. Marriage is a devastated institution because of divorce and unfaithfulness. Initiatives such as covenant marriage can provide some encouragement to highlighting the significance of marriage to our culture. At the very least, government at all levels can be directed to do no harm to families.

2. Life issues. These will always come up because there is money in abortion. Last session saw efforts to work around parental consent, and an attempt to impose draconian penalties on not-for-profit pro-life counseling centers. Embryonic stem cell research is also always of interest to some lobbyist or another. We may see places where our voice can be applied to hold the line or better our position where the law is pro-life, or resist new pro-abortion laws.

3. Gambling. Again there’s money to be made, although there is much confusion regarding who’s going to actually make money. Our last session saw bills intended to legalize casinos, legalize thousands of gambling machines at already existing horse and dog tracks, redefine certain kinds of gambling so that it’s not called gambling, and to privatize the state lottery. If every one of these initiatives pass this year (they won’t), our next session will have to address bills intended to relieve casinos and gambling establishments of some of their tax burden. Pro-gambling bills will come up every session in the same old way and we will fight them every session in the same old way.

4. Freedom of religion. The rights of churches and individuals may be threatened by unconstitutional repression of the free speech of students, whether in prayer or in witnessing.
Churches may face challenges to free expression and tax-exempt status. These issues have arisen more frequently in local laws, but state government may have a role in upholding these rights. Laws that affect religious freedom will always be of inter