FORT WORTH?Less than a year after acquiring three fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has added three more biblical fragments, making it the largest collection at an institution of higher education in the United States.

The new fragments were obtained from a private collector in Europe through a gift from an anonymous donor and friend of the seminary.

“The acquisition constitutes another significant milestone in the development of our programs in biblical studies and archaeology,” said Paige Patterson, Southwestern’s president. “We are especially grateful for the friends of Southwestern who have made these acquisitions, as well as three other fragments, possible.” Patterson also credited his wife Dorothy, professor of theology in women’s studies, and Ph.D. student Candi Finch for having worked “tirelessly to get them to Fort Worth.”

The set of six fragments is one more than those owned by Azusa Pacific University near Los Angeles, which acquired five pieces in 2009. The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago also owns a fragment.

Steven Ortiz, associate professor of archaeology and biblical backgrounds and director of the Charles D. Tandy Archaeology Museum at Southwestern, noted that having one fragment would be just as important as owning six.

“It is not a race to see who can collect the most fragments,” Ortiz said. “The goal is to get these out of the hands of private collectors and make them available to the public, especially scholars. ?

“Our institution has been entrusted with an important role to play in biblical scholarship and the archaeology and history of ancient Palestine. In addition, since these are some of the oldest biblical texts, Southwestern has a sacred trust to see that these are properly studied and preserved for perpetuity,” Ortiz said.

Southwestern worked with the University of Southern California’s West Semitic Research Project in September to digitally image all of Southwestern’s scroll fragments as well as other rare ancient texts and artifacts in the Tandy Museum for future study and scholarship. Southwestern students were trained in the latest technology and methodology of imaging ancient pieces. Study of the documents is already underway.

“We have hired new faculty members who are trained in Dead Sea Scroll research and archaeology as well as brought the top team to photograph the fragments,” Ortiz said, adding, “We are currently in advisement with the Dead Sea Scroll Foundation to assist in the analysis and publication of these fragments.”

Early analysis shows the new fragments include portions of Deuteronomy 9:25-10:1, Deuteronomy 12:11-14 and Psalm 22:4-13. Psalm 22 is known as a prophetic messianic psalm that describes the brutality of Jesus’ death 1,000 years before he was crucified.

Plans for Southwestern’s new chapel, which is currently under construction, include the secure, climate-controlled Ira Leeta Phillips Library for housing the fragments and a pen made from a palm tree which was found with the Dead Sea Scrolls and presumably was used by the scribes who wrote them. Once the chapel is completed, the pieces will be on display and potentially will travel in national exhibits.

“One cannot overestimate the significance of these valuable artifacts for Southwestern Seminary, for Fort Worth, for Texas and for all the Americas,” Patterson said. “I cannot but express my gratitude to our Lord for enabling us to be a significant part of this ongoing vital research.”

In 1947, Bedouins discovered the scrolls in caves overlooking the Dead Sea near the ancient city of Qumran, east of Jerusalem. Nearly 10 years of excavation in the caves produced fragments from approximately 825 to 870 separate scrolls containing biblical manuscripts, biblical manuscripts with commentary, apocryphal manuscripts and extra-biblical literature.

The Dead Sea Scrolls have made a profound impact on biblical studies, especially in the area of scribal transmission. Dating back to the time of Christ, these documents pre-date the Masoretic Text of Hebrew Scriptures by 1,000 years. When Southwestern acquired the first three fragments in January, Patterson said the discovery of Daniel fragments in the Dead Sea Scrolls showed that “it was clear that these were copies of copies of copies so that it established the certainty that Daniel was written when it claims to have been written.”

FRISCO?”Jesus Christ is Lord!” taken from Philippians 2:9-11, is the theme of the 2011 Empower Evangelism Conference, scheduled Feb. 28-March 2 at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco.

The annual conference will feature a wide array of speakers, including pastors such as Jack Graham, Kie Bowman and Bryant Jones, best-selling author and apologist Lee Strobel, “Total Church Life” author Darrell Robinson, and others. Musical guests will include Babbie Mason and Charles Billingsley.

“The Empower Evangelism Conference is designed to inspire and motivate followers of Jesus to be more zealous about the Great Commission and the Great Commandment of our Lord,” said SBTC Evangelism Director Don Cass. “You will be blessed by great music, dynamic testimonies, and great preaching that will lead us to refocus on the Lordship of our Savior.”

This issue of the TEXAN is being handed out at the Corpus Christi annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. If you are reading this in Corpus, “welcome.” I am glad you made it. We are in for an exciting experience. God is ready to move in our lives. Get ready by “Praying and Listening,” which is our theme this year.

If you are not able to be with us, you can pray. Please pray that God will protect those who travel. Pray for His Spirit to move on hearts. Pray for the messengers and guests to leave Corpus different from how they arrived. Pray for the SBTC staff to carry out the will of the churches under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Your prayers are important.

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is your convention. Your church and 2,260 other churches make up this convention. We need each other. Working together we can Reach Texas and Touch the World.

Thank you for being a part of the SBTC. It is my joy to serve you.

It’s Sunday morning and you struggle to get yourself to church on time. On the other side of the ocean a young American wakes to the sound of gun fire and shouting soldiers.

Over and over again, the sacrifices of our service men and women have, among other things, provided the liberty to awaken oneself to get to church on a Sunday morning free and clear of danger or persecution.

Such sacrifices haven’t escaped the notice of some churches.

The father of one of those fighting to protect our country, Jim Leascher, pastoral counselor at First Baptist Church in Odessa, has begun a ministry called Honor Our Troops (HOT). The program is for those who want to support and show appreciation to those serving overseas by purchasing small care packages.

For $25, one may purchase a flat-rate care package containing objects that to military people in harm’s way are priceless: non-perishable snacks, toiletry items, and perhaps most valuable?a personalized letter and picture sent from the person, family or group supporting the service person.

Leascher established this organization when his son, Army specialist Chad Leascher, was deployed to Afghanistan in 2003. In 2004, after being honorably discharged, Chad safely arrived back on U.S. soil. “We praise God Chad is back with us and out of harm’s way,” Leascher said.
Many war veterans leave the combat behind but are sometimes haunted by what they witness, Leascher said.

“This is why it is so very important to let our military know we appreciate them, we pray for them, and we think of them often,” Leascher said.
The packages come with Oreos, Pringles, sunflower seeds, and beef jerky as well as deodorant, lotion, and baby wipes. Among all the goodies are a picture and a post card from the sponsoring family.

“The response from the folks here and military overseas has been overwhelming and has confirmed over and over that we at HOT are doing what God has intended us to do,” Leascher said.

HOT has one-day events in churches, businesses, and at sporting events across Texas. One recent event at Central Baptist Church in College Station spotlighted the HOT ministry. Central pastor Chris Osborne attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with Leascher.

“We want to encourage our troops while they are in harm’s way,” Osborne said, “and are hoping to provide HOT with at least 1,000 care packages, if not more.”

The church met the challenge, purchasing 1,440 care packages.

“Unbelievable,” Leascher said. “We hope to pattern what we had at Central with other churches and events,” Leascher said.

“We praise God for Jim and his ministry,” Osborne said. “What the Lord did here at Central is small compared to what his plans really are. God will give Jim everything he needs to fulfill God’s plan.”

For more information about the HOT ministry, call 432-889-0177 or e-mail them at honorourtroops@live.com. The website address is hot-honorourtroops.com.

Summit draws leading Christians to pray for awakening, renewal, religious liberty.

EULESS?An eyewitness once told the chilling story of his life as a boy in Nazi Germany during the period of the Holocaust. The church his family attended sat along a train track that served as a main line for the mass transportation of Jews to the death camps.

Each Sunday, as the train passed by, parishioners could hear the screams and cries for mercy coming from the train cars. In an effort to distance themselves from the tragedy, the church-goers learned to sing at the top of their lungs in order to drown out the Jewish voices.

Although he does not believe Americans live under a heinous regime like Hitler’s, evangelist James Robison uses this illustration to communicate his fear that the church today has turned a deaf ear to the nation’s departure from its Christian heritage.

“At this moment, freedom as we have known it is under a subtle assault from an insidious worldview that is attacking faith, family and freedom,” Robison told members of First Baptist of Euless during a special service on Oct. 3. Robison cited the nation’s maladies, including escalating divorce rates, legalization of homosexual marriages, economic turmoil, steadily increasing abortion rates, and narrowing restrictions on religious liberty.

“I fear the American church has been singing louder,” Robison said.

Robison’s message was part of a “Speaking Out for the Nation” series at First Baptist Euless, where he and his family were members 30 years ago. He said he was speaking to the church like family, from his heart, based on earnest prayers over the past 24 months.

Robison, an itinerant evangelist since 1962 and founder of Life Outreach International, has organized conservative Christian efforts in the past to pray about national leadership and to promote Christian involvement in the electoral process. Most significantly, he staged the National Affairs Briefing in Dallas in 1980 which gave widespread credibility to Ronald Reagan’s candidacy.

“In 1980, the enemy was visible,” Robison said, alluding to the former Soviet Union. “Today, the enemy is within. For many, it’s not obvious. For the church, it must become obvious. I do not exaggerate when I say to you that the only hope for the world?for security, stability, peace and opportunity?rests upon the shoulders of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Noting that 50 percent of evangelicals do not vote, and even those who do are largely uninformed, Robison challenged Christians to become involved. He emphasized that Christians must vote based on convictions rather than political party.

“An uninformed voter is an easily manipulated voter,” Robison said. “Quit pointing fingers. When you get to choose, you’re responsible.”
Robison also urged Christians to stop assuming government alone will meet people’s needs.

“You don’t throw money at the problem,” Robison said, “you get involved in the pain, and nobody knows how to be involved in pain like the church. You’ve got to do more than sit here in your seat and hear sermons. ? There’s no substitute for a compassion connection.”

Robison vowed to continue to seek the Lord on how he can lead and encourage believers to make a difference in returning the United States to its religious roots.

“I pledge to you before God that I’m going to find the steps that must be taken to restore freedom’s foundation, the freedom, the opportunity, the peace and the security and stability that our founders established and died to provide and our military has protected through the ages,” Robison said. “This nation was born because of people who believed the Word and believed the God of the Word.”

“I don’t know anybody today who is speaking with more passion and more clarity about our nation than this man,” said John Meador, pastor of the Euless church.

“I believe God has raised him up to do mighty things in our nation today. It’s hard to describe what that is because it’s kind of out of the box of what we’ve traditionally seen pastors and evangelists and Christian leaders do. But it’s a call to repentance and it’s a call to renew the foundations of our nation. And I believe people are listening. I believe God has raised him up so that people will listen. I believe we’re ripe and ready for a message like that.”

Meador told the audience that the idea for Robison to speak precipitated from Robison’s attendance at a recent church service where Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention, spoke. Robison spoke up during a question-and-answer session following Land’s message and attended a prayer breakfast the next morning. Former First Euless pastor and president emeritus of LifeWay Christian Resources, Jimmy Draper, encouraged Meador to consider having Robison speak to the church about his convictions regarding the nation.

“I appreciate James’ passion for this task. He has proven himself as a champion of Christian social and political activism and has not stopped challenging Christians to respond,” Draper, a lifelong friend of Robison, told the TEXAN in an interview.

“I believe that Southern Baptist pastors and church members need to accept the challenge to pray for our elected officials, to actively participate in the electoral process by voting Christian values regardless of party affiliation. We desperately need a biblical worldview to have a strong presence in Washington. Our response should be fervent and earnest prayers and exercising our right to vote. And for many, it may be to inject themselves into the political processes and run for public office in the days ahead.”

In early September, Robison organized a prayer summit at a location near DFW International Airport, which drew a diverse crowd of pastors and religious leaders who influence an estimated 20 million people on a weekly basis. Land, also a longtime friend of Robison, attended the prayer summit and appreciates Robison’s convictions and desire to see revival come to the nation.

“James is a man of absolute conviction who is fearless,” Land said in an interview with the TEXAN. “He’s not intimidated by anybody or anything. I appreciate his commitment to church and to America, his commitment to revival and awakening, and his fearlessness in speaking out against sin.”

Regarding the prayer meeting, Land said, “It was a very diverse group. It’s not often you get Pentecostal holiness, Baptists and Reformed evangelicals in the same room together for a common purpose, which is that America is at a very critical fork in the road. Without a spiritual revival, we don’t see our way out of this. ? We’re praying for revival.”

Meador echoed those sentiments in an interview, saying: “It was an interesting gathering for the purpose of praying and seeking answers to what is perceived by most as a growing atmosphere of intolerance towards Christianity and the practice of religious liberty. We shared how we perceive the landscape is changing in America and discussed how we can pray or inform our people toward the future.

“Interestingly, little was said about the November elections, as this is not seemingly a political movement. We did hear from many who are proactively impacting their community through ministries the government speaks about needing, such as feeding and clothing people, and helping with job training.”

Robison has also been active in encouraging pastors to lead their people in praying for the nation through the Pray and Act website (prayandact.org).

Meador summarized his meetings with Robison, saying, “I believe our conversations with James have resulted in us having a greater fervency in prayer, repentanc

DALLAS–Acting on the unanimous recommendation of the presidential search committee for Criswell College, the school’s trustees, in turn, unanimously elected former president Jerry Johnson to fill the post he resigned two years ago.

“There’s really only one reason I would want to come back that matters, and that is if God calls me,” said Johnson at the Nov. 5 board meeting prior to trustees’ secret ballot vote.

“I am a Baptist and believe in the process of the people, committee and the board. And if God is leading, I receive that, along with what I’ve sensed in prayer: God’s call to come back and finish the assignment I started years ago.”

Johnson resigned in August of 2008, when Criswell was under the ministry umbrella of First Baptist Church of Dallas. But now the school is self-governing and independent.

“This is a week of elections,” Johnson told the board. “I don’t know if I can top what happened on Tuesday for some of you.”

Johnson said many in the recent election cycle emphasized a return to the Unites States’ founding documents, and that reminded him of Criswell College’s founding documents. Displaying a written copy of W.A. Criswell’s vision for the school, and a Bible, Johnson said, “What I have to say about the college, and what I believe about Criswell College, really comes from these two documents.”

Commenting on one of the school’s unique distinctions?a commitment to the “inerrancy, infallibility and authority of Scripture”?Johnson said, “Whatever else happens here, we must hold this is our top value.

Board members applauded when Johnson said, “Every faculty member will always be asked initially and annually to recommit to the inspiration, infallibility and inerrancy of Holy Scripture.”

Johnson noted the school’s requirement that all students study Greek and Hebrew.

“If we believe this is God’s Word, then teaching students to understand the way it was written is important.”

Criswell College “is a school built for the glory of God to magnify the Lord Jesus and his mission and meaning to the world,” Johnson continued. “Yes, this is a preacher college. But Dr. Criswell, even in the school’s infancy, envisioned more: kingdom workers, lay people, not just to the church, but to the world.”

Saying he wanted to continue with the counseling and humanities curricula, Johnson revealed his desire to expand to education, communication and other disciplines.

Citing a third focus of the school–evangelism–Johnson added, “That has been a unique distinctive of Criswell College.”

“Criswell College is positioned to train the next generation of Christian leaders for our Lord and I am excited to serve him in this great mission,” Johnson said. “So, I say, ‘Back to the future.'”

Search committee chairman Steve Washburn said the committee reflected a “healthy diversity of convictions. We decided to take an objective approach to our search, using the presidential qualifications specified in our new bylaws as our standard.Each committee member used this standard to conduct personal evaluations of every candidate.”

“In the course of our work we were privileged to consider some of the most godly and qualified men in the Southern Baptist Convention, and we ultimately agreed that Dr. Jerry Johnson was the only man who met all the specified qualifications for president,” said Washburn, pastor of First Baptist Church of Pflugerville. “We asked the Lord to overwhelm us with clarity in our choice, and we’re grateful to God for doing so.”

No stranger to theological academia, Johnson has been serving as vice president for academic development, dean of the faculty and professor of ethics and theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., since January 2009.

“On October 5 of this year the Criswell College celebrated its fortieth year carrying forth the vision God gave our founder, Dr. W.A. Criswell. How appropriate that exactly one month later God would select a new president by returning Dr. Jerry Johnson to lead the college,” wrote Lamar Cooper, executive vice president and provost, who has served for the last two years as Criswell College’s interim president.

Cooper said Johnson is “eminently qualified by his proven leadership as dean of Boyce College at Southern Seminary, as vice president for faculty development and dean of the faculty at Midwestern Seminary, and four years as the president of Criswell College. I join the student body, staff, and faculty in welcoming the return of Dr. Jerry Johnson.”

His second stint as president begins Nov. 15, though he will continue serving Midwestern Seminary two days a week until Dec. 31. This allows Johnson to begin his presidential role at Criswell, to represent Criswell College at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, and to complete the fall semester at Midwestern as the seminary prepares to fill the position Johnson vacates there.

A native of Malakoff, Johnson was licensed and ordained to the preaching and pastoral ministries at First Baptist Church of Malakoff.

Johnson earned a bachelor of arts in biblical studies at Criswell in 1986; a master of arts from Denver Seminary in 1997, where he majored in historical and theological studies; and a doctor of philosophy from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2003, where he majored in Christian ethics and minored in systematic theology and philosophy.

Associated with Southern Seminary in various roles for 14 years, Johnson was dean of Boyce College, served on the seminary’s executive cabinet, was assistant director of development, and a trustee from 1989-98, serving as board chairman two of those years.

As Criswell president from 2004-08, student enrollment increased by more than 50 percent, from approximately 300 to almost 500. Johnson led the school to financial profitability and garnered a multi-million dollar land gift for a future campus or for liquidation.

His experience includes a pastorate at Ireland Baptist Church, an internship at FBC Dallas and service as a youth pastor at Central Baptist Church in Aurora, Colo., where he later became pastor. He also served as pastor at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Littleton, Colo.

“Jerry Johnson has the head of an academician, the heart of a pastor and the hands of a servant. He is uniquely equipped to lead Criswell College into the future,” said Jim Richards, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. “He has my enthusiastic and unqualified support. The SBTC has a dear and devoted friend in Jerry Johnson.”

—-Tammi Reed Ledbetter, TEXAN news editor, contributed to this story.