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SpanishBRANDON, Fla. (BP)–In spite of the Great Commission Resurgence report that many expected would end jointly funded missionaries with state Baptist conventions, North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell says “strategically placed mobilizers” in southern states are necessary to accomplish NAMB’s church planting goals in the rest of North America.
Ezell, who was elected NAMB’s third president in September, spoke with the Florida Baptist Witness in a 30-minute, wide-ranging interview following a missionary commissioning service at First Baptist Church in Brandon, Fla., March 20.
‘STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS’
Ezell said NAMB and the states would continue to have “jointly funded missionaries in every state. We’re not going to totally reduce all those.”
The GCR report, adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention last year in Orlando, he said, “calls for allowing NAMB to decide” what to do about the historical practice of jointly funding missionaries with the states.
Although the report does not explicitly recommend ending jointly funded missionaries, it does suggest NAMB “budget for a national strategy,” while calling for a seven-year phase-out of cooperative agreements to be replaced with “a new pattern of strategic partnership with the state conventions.”
“After examining it, we feel like it’s in the best interest to accomplish what we want to accomplish in the other four regions we need to have strategically placed mobilizers, jointly funded missionaries in the South with our partners to get it done in the other regions,” Ezell said.
As part of NAMB’s new “Send North America” strategy, the continent has been divided into five regions — South, Northeast, Midwest, West and Canada.
While NAMB is “downsizing and realigning” budgets for jointly funded positions, he said there will continue to be “jointly funded missionaries in every state,” adding it’s “important” that NAMB be “invested in every state.”
State conventions in the South, which he said currently receive about 20 percent of NAMB’s funding through cooperative agreements, will “probably end up being somewhere around 10 [percent]” as part of the reprioritization of church planting funding in regions outside the South.
“We want to mobilize churches in the South and states in the South to partner” with non-southern regions and “we need missionaries and connections in every state to help us mobilize,” Ezell said, while noting it would be “foolish” to “not to continue to plant in our strongest base — in the South.”
Still, “our focus is going to be in those other four regions,” he said.
Ezell emphasized that money — “absolutely every dollar” — withdrawn from the states as a result of the new strategic partnerships “will be invested in church planting. Every cent.”
GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY
Significant changes Ezell anticipates with the new strategic partnerships — of which NAMB has begun sharing drafts with state convention executive directors — are common definitions and greater accountability.
“We’re going to come up with some consistency of expectations of excellence…. There are 42 different levels of excellence out there and we just want to bring everyone up to the same level,” he said, noting he is soliciting and receiving the input of state executives.
While there is accountability currently, Ezell said, “It’s just not consistent across the states.”
Although there would be region-to-region differences, Ezell said the process would be “standardized” within each region.
“Right now you have church planters that compare Indiana, Illinois and Ohio together and then decide where they’re going to plant a church much like a high school prospect deciding on where he plays basketball because they’re all so different,” he said.
The strategic partnership agreement drafts include six-month evaluations for all NAMB missionaries. Ezell said NAMB will be relying upon “our states partners to do that.”
He elaborated: “I feel like I have the responsibility to Southern Baptists to make sure every missionary — be they volunteer or paid — is evaluated to make sure they’re representing Southern Baptists in the way Southern Baptists desire them to represent us.”
The “overwhelming majority” of state executives have been supportive of the heightened evaluation process, including the new six-month reviews, Ezell said.
Ezell confirmed the draft strategic partnership agreements include a requirement that missionaries affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, the SBC’s confessional statement.
“We’re going to hold all of our missionaries to that expectation,” he said, adding that he is unaware of any objection to the BF&M requirement from the states.
Ezell said he anticipates finalizing the wording of the new agreements this summer, although some state executives may require approval by their respective boards or state conventions before they are formally executed in time for implementation in 2012.
NAMB RESTRUCTURING
Calling it a “paradigm shift,” Ezell said 37 percent of NAMB staff positions have been eliminated, while many of the staff who remain are being reoriented to NAMB’s heightened focus on church planting.
“It’s much easier to talk about narrowing a focus than actually doing it,” he said, noting that changes made already have resulted in making $9 million more available for church planting in 2011, which he anticipates to grow to $15 million in 2012.
“We’re very serious about the task of planting churches — and planting churches where we’re not doing so well,” he said, naming the four regions outside the South.
“We want to be much more focused and put a scope on what we do so that people understand when they think about [NAMB] they think of planting churches all over North America,” he said.
Ezell said NAMB has experienced a reduction in revenue from Cooperative Program and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering the last two years totaling about 20 percent, necessitating NAMB staff reductions and apparently state funding.
“What we’ve tried to do with the states is to make it as painless as possible — to look for vacancies … and unused monies — so that we’re not affecting their personnel in 2012,” he said.
PLANS FOR PHOENIX SBC
Ezell said NAMB will ask Southern Baptists meeting in Phoenix this June during the SBC annual meeting to “confront the brutal facts” of where their missions efforts actually stand in North America.
In other settings, Ezell has indicated his team is unable to verify previous NAMB claims concerning the number of church plants, suggesting the total is less than those claims.
NAMB will be “very honest with Southern Baptists on where we are and where we need to be. Defining reality has to happen in order for us to know where we are so that we know where we need to go,” he said.
Ezell said NAMB also would formally launch the new “Send North America” strategy during the annual meeting.
2011 AAEO GIVING
Saying he is “very encouraged” by early, anecdotal reports of greater giving this year to the annual Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, Ezell said he’s “very thankful and appreciative” of Southern Baptists support for the offering.
This year’s AAEO goal is $70 million, which was also the goal last year, although giving in 2010 was only $56 million. The annual goal has not been met for several years, he noted.
“Whether you were for GCR or against GCR. If you like me, don’t like me. It’s not about me; it’s not about GCR. It’s about missionaries…. Whatever you do, we need to support our missionaries. We can work the rest of this stuff out. But we don’t want to do it at the expense of our missionaries,” he said.
PRAISE FOR STATE EXECS
Ezell expressed appreciation for executive directors of the state Baptist conventions who have been “very gracious” to and “very patient” with him, admitting he has had a “large learning curve.”
Citing Florida Baptist Convention Executive Director-Treasurer John Sullivan and his colleagues in Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma, Ezell said the leaders have “helped tutor me” as the new NAMB president.
PERSONAL TRANSITION
Ezell, who misses the personal interaction of the pastorate, said the transition from being a pastor to a denominational executive has been difficult for his family because of his “horrific” travel schedule.
Logging nearly 200,000 miles around North America in the first six months on the job, Ezell said it was important for him to travel the nation to help people understand “the best days” for NAMB “are ahead.”
With four children still at home, three of whom were adopted from other nations, Ezell said he is starting to decrease travel for the sake of his family.
“I realized about a month ago when my youngest two did not come running when I came home, that’s not good,” he said with tears in his eyes. “I’m heeding the warning signs and I’m backing off. I have to.”
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James A. Smith Sr. is executive editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, on the Web at www.goFBW.com.
Month: April 2011
SWBTS’s counseling track stresses church’s role
FORT WORTH—John Babler traveled to Haiti twice in 2010 after an earthquake struck the country, killing hundreds of thousands and leaving 1.5 million people without homes. A counselor and chaplain, Babler has ministered after numerous disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the shooting at Virginia Tech, but the scene in Haiti left a deep impression on him.
“That was a very challenging context because of how prominent the disaster was,” Babler said. “That has been probably the most poignant situation—the most challenging situation—that I’ve addressed.”
Babler, associate professor of counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, traveled to Haiti to train pastors and other Christian leaders how to counsel people amid the pain and loss wrought by the earthquake. One Haitian woman especially challenged him. Her husband, a pastor, died in the earthquake. Despite her grief, she attended Babler’s class with a desire to minister to others.
Widespread disaster compelled Christian leaders like this woman to offer counsel to their suffering neighbors. In contrast, Babler noted, few ministers or churches within the United States feel able or obliged to offer counsel to those in need.
“Many years ago,” Babler said, “the church became very comfortable with outsourcing counseling. In fact, for years, the primary teaching in seminary for pastors and others was the defer-and-refer mentality: defer to the professionals, refer to the professionals.”
Because of that, Babler said the church has been absent from being able to minister the love of Christ freely to people in crises and challenging situations.
Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson formed a committee in 2010 chaired by the dean of the Terry School of Church and Family Ministries, Waylan Owens, to shape a distinctively Southwestern Program of Christian Counseling. Among those serving on the committee with Owens were professors who teach counseling on a regular basis at Southwestern, including Babler, Mike McGuire, Elias Moitinho, David Penley and Dana Wicker, with provost Craig Blaising serving ex officio.
For some years Southwestern has provided two different approaches to counseling. Financial realities now render this approach an impossible luxury, Patterson explained when announcing his plans. Obligations to students in the program seeking state licensure will be honored, but the program leading specifically to licensure will not be available in the future.
Southwestern is a church-related seminary, Patterson said in explaining that the school was created by and for the local churches that support it.
“We want to develop a program of counseling that is distinctively for the churches,” Patterson said in issuing his challenge to the committee. “Like all graduate studies, such a program should introduce the student to all of the findings, history and theories of psychology and counseling. In addition, the program will emphasize biblical principles set in the context of developing a biblical worldview and perspective on life.”
Last fall, Southwestern’s board of trustees approved the new counseling degree that re-emphasizes the church’s ministry of counseling. The 66-hour master of arts in biblical counseling includes courses that provide students with a foundation in Scripture, theology and evangelism, as well as courses in counseling.
The degree equips students with an understanding of the history of counseling, psychology and psychotherapy, while also providing a biblical approach to counseling in matters of sexuality, gender, marriage, family and grief. Opportunities are offered to foster an understanding of Scripture and develop an ability to guide people to biblical truth as they face the transitions and tragedies of life.
As part of the program, students will also conduct counseling sessions through Southwestern’s Walsh Counseling Center, while being observed and assessed by seminary faculty members.
In addition to the 29 credit hours spent studying Scripture, theology, Baptist heritage and evangelism, the remaining 37 hours of the program involve study of the basic principles of biblical counseling and psychology, while also taking specified counseling courses, such as grief and crisis counseling, cross cultural counseling, and counseling military personnel and their families. Students may also pursue training in biblical counseling through concentrations in the master of divinity and master of arts in Christian education degrees.
According to David Penley, assistant professor of counseling, the church and the Word of God lie at the heart of Southwestern’s counseling program. This emphasis upon the church, he said, also complements the vision of the Terry School for Church and Family Ministries, as reflected in its name.
Furthermore, Penley said, the ministry of counseling naturally enhances Christ’s mission for the whole church, namely, evangelism and discipleship, citing Paul’s instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:14 in which he encouraged believes to “admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
“One of the things that I am excited about is that a church that is doing counseling in this way is going to see tremendous opportunities for evangelism,” Penley added. “Churches that have been involved in this kind of counseling are constantly reporting that this is one of the best sources of outreach in their church.”
Elias Moitinho, Hope for the Heart Chair of Biblical Counseling and assistant professor of psychology and counseling, said God calls counselors to interpret and apply God’s Word on a one-on-one or small group basis much as he calls pastors to proclaim Scripture to a congregation.
“Counseling has to be Bible-driven,” Moitinho said. He applied the mission statement for Hope for the Heart, a biblical counseling ministry founded by June Hunt, to Southwestern Seminary’s counseling program: “Providing … God’s Truth for Today’s Problems.”
The Southwestern Seminary program is described as equipping students “to share the comfort and truth of God’s Word with church members and unbelievers who seek guidance amid life’s perplexity and pain.” Created to meet the needs of ministry within the local congregation, the program teaches students “to build a counseling ministry that aligns with Christ’s purposes for the church: evangelism and discipleship.”
At the 2008 inaugural chapel service when Molitinho was installed as chair of the new Hope for the Heart Chair of Biblical Counseling, he pinpointed the heart of biblical counseling.
“Counseling must go beyond merely symptom relief, and it must aim at spiritual transformation, to get people to conform to the likeness of Christ.”
As recently as the April 5-6 trustee meeting, a new professor was asked for his views on counseling those who have been diagnosed as having a chemical imbalance.
As the academic committee considered his election, Frank Catanzaro told Texas trustee Bart Barber, “My views are not so important,” preferring to put the focus on the science behind such a diagnosis. “There’s no concluding evidence in science that it is real,” he said, adding that neurotransmitters “are not measurable in a living human being so nobody knows for certain whether anybody has an imbalance.”
Catanzaro added: “The chemical imbalance diagnosis is problematic because, even if the imbalance could be proven, one still wouldn’t know if the imbalance caused the mood disorder, or if the mood disorder caused the imbalance,” he told the TEXAN.
“So in biblical counseling we listen for unbiblical thinking and counter with biblical truth,” he told trustees. “That’s my methodology.”
He is co-authoring with Babler the forthcoming book “In Times Like these: A Biblical Perspective on Crisis Intervention.”
While trained in the secular technique of family systems theory, Catanzaro said he began to give greater attention to his belief in the sufficiency of Scripture, a focus which “radically changed” his perspective, he said. Having counseled thousands of people in a church and seminary setting, Catanzaro praised God’s ability to change people from “a state of depression and anxiety to peace and security.”
—Additional reporting by Tammi Ledbetter
Criswell takes integrative approach to counseling
DALLAS—Medical doctor and psychiatrist David Livingstone Henderson believes there are three keys to the practice of biblical counseling: a biblical foundation of truth, a grounding in the sciences of human behavior—how mind and body function, and a growing compassion for the hurting and suffering.
For just over a year, Henderson has been the department chair of biblical counseling at Criswell College while also keeping a private practice in Dallas. Prior to joining the Criswell faculty, Henderson practiced psychiatry at the Meier Clinic in Dallas from July 2008 until March 2010. While there, he co-authored a book with best-selling author and clinic founder Paul Meier: “Finding Purpose Beyond our Pain: Uncover the hidden potential in life’s most common struggles” (Thomas Nelson).
Henderson grew up in a strong family of faith. He was named after famed missionary and explorer David Livingstone, a legacy that somewhat influenced Henderson. Early in his life he recalls having preached open-air sermons in New York’s Time Square among other public places, and he was encouraged as a youth to become a pastor.
Though his pastoral traits were strong, he had always dreamed of going into medicine and earned his doctor of medicine credentials before completing his general psychiatry residency in 2008. As a doctor, Henderson says he is able to help people with physical illness, but as a “Christian” psychiatrist, he is also able to serve people in all areas of ‘disease’—mental, emotional, physical and spiritual.
Henderson acknowledges that his faith was challenged during his psychiatric residency, causing him to grapple with what it means to be not just a psychiatrist, but a Christian psychiatrist.
As an example of the difference, he said, “As a psychiatrist, my calling is to relieve suffering. But as a Christian, that is not my highest calling. Our highest calling is to live, serve, obey, and worship Christ and suffering enables us to grow in that.” Helping counseling students understand such issues from a biblical stance is one of Henderson’s priorities at Criswell.
He said Criswell College began offering counseling coursework in the 1980s to train ministers, pastors, and missionaries on handling the emotional struggles people have. June Hunt, who founded the Plano-based national radio ministry known as Hope for the Heart, provided the funding for a full-time faculty member to chair the counseling program.
Criswell offers a master of arts in counseling as well as a bachelor of biblical studies in which students may choose to minor in counseling. According to the school’s catalog, the master’s program is “designed to prepare students for counseling individuals, couples, and families from a Christian worldview.”
A non-licensure track requires 36 hours of coursework as compared to the 48-hour licensure track that prepares students for the exams necessary to become licensed professional counselors (LPC).
“Pursuing licensure gives you credibility to practice in a secular environment where opportunities to counsel and minister abound,” Henderson said. “Just like missionaries in the 10/40 window—you cannot go some places without having the credentials to validate your training. Most hospitals, clinics, treatment centers and other facilities require these credentials to work.”
Licensure is granted in Texas by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, and those seeking the LPC credential agree to a certain set of ethics, Henderson explained. As for establishing a Christian counseling practice, Henderson said if you are in private practice, there are no laws against advertising yourself as a Christian counselor. Where it may become a problem is if you work under the authority of a secular organization like a hospital, he said.
Even so, the major ethical issue is “informed consent,” Henderson said, adding, “The client needs to understand what it is you plan to do with them in therapy—your goals, your focus, your style and techniques—and they must consent to it before you proceed.”
Explaining his approach, Henderson added, “If I am going to share Scripture with clients, I might say, ‘As a Christian, I believe there are some biblical principles that might help you with your problem. Would it be alright if I share them with you?’ If they say, ‘No,’ I could either try to force it on them—not even Jesus did this—I could refuse to treat them further, which would ruin any opportunity I might have to impact their lives, or I could meet them where they are, explore their resistance, and continue to gain their trust so that in the future they might be more open to what I have to say.”
Henderson believes the last solution is the most compassionate and caring option.
Under Henderson’s direction, Criswell’s program seeks to provide counseling students with three foundational layers as the basis for ministry.
The first layer is to develop a foundation of biblical truth for the Criswell students.
“If you don’t have that underlying foundation, there are a lot of [counseling] theories that sound good and may actually work, but that discount the Word of God as ultimate truth,” he said.
By being grounded in biblical principles, Criswell College encourages students to filter other theories and concepts through the authoritative truth of Scripture.
“The first and foremost piece of knowledge to impart [to students] is the fact that we are sinners, we need a Savior, and we need to be forgiven. We want to help students understand that, and understand how to impart that knowledge to others,” Henderson said in a chapel address archived at criswell.edu.
Second, Henderson said that a solid understanding of human behavior in answering “why we do what we do” will enable students to excel in their ability to help others grow deeper relationships with Christ and with other people.
“The brain is a physical organ just like a heart, and things can go wrong with it. Some emotional problems may not necessarily be a direct spiritual issue. When we counsel it is important to take that into account,” Henderson stated.
He credits modern science with providing studies of the mind and body that can help explain why individuals act, think and feel in certain ways.
As a medical doctor and psychiatrist, Henderson said “some suffering comes from an underlying biological condition. We have medications that can help certain people improve their quality of life. We do our community a disservice if we ignore these potential tools in our efforts to restore mental health.”
At Criswell College counseling students are trained to recognize signs of possible biological disorders in order to refer them to the proper experts for further diagnosis.
The third area of focus in preparing Criswell students to counsel biblically is one that Henderson confesses can be challenging, but one he believes is essential to a true helping ministry that shows compassion for those who are hurting and suffering.
“It is easy to prescribe medications, psychological techniques, and yes, even Bible verses to those who are suffering. It is far more difficult to show compassion to those who are in pain, but that is what we are called to do. That is the mark of a true Christian counselor,” he said.
Incorporating all of these facets, Henderson refers to the Criswell program as an “integrative” approach to counseling.
He said, “In an integrative approach, we believe that all Scripture is true, that all men are in need of a Savior, and that the Bible is the ultimate source for spiritual restoration. Science, however, is also God-given and we can learn a great deal about human behavior from studying commonalities in our thoughts, our emotions and our behaviors. We seek to integrate these in order to help hurting individuals find healing—physically, mentally and spiritually.”
He said he believes there are many theories of counseling consistent with biblical truth to serve a Christian counselor well in reaching people.
Using this approach to biblical counseling, Henderson said the Christian therapist’s role is to walk with clients through their struggle, teach them to explore their thoughts, emotions and behaviors in order to gain better insight that will lead to lasting change.
Agreeing that true regeneration and sanctification cannot occur apart from the work of the client in partnership with the Holy Spirit, he also notes that “Many non-believers can use a decision of the will to change their behavior, thoughts, or the way they respond to their emotions. If you, as a Christian counselor, can help them to do this, they may be willing to listen to what you have to say about their spiritual conditions as well,” he added, recalling that Jesus often addressed the physical, day-to-day problems of people before dealing with more important eternal questions in their lives.
“We have the opportunity to do the same if we will be patient and pray.”
Churches, schools provide biblical help via support groups and counseling centers
A typical congregation gathers on a typical Sunday morning at a typical church. Everyone is dressed in his “Sunday Best” and ready to worship.
What isn’t seen on the freshly washed faces or in the nicely pressed clothes are the hurts and struggles hidden from public view: the woman facing yet another day of depression; the couple struggling with marital problems; the young man who can’t stop using drugs or alcohol; the young woman who can’t forgive herself for the abortion that ended her child’s life. And if these are the problems inside the congregation, then what’s going on outside the church?
Helping the hurting, inside and outside the church, is the mission of biblical Christian counseling programs like those developed at several SBTC churches. These programs seek to minister to those suffering from an array of issues and guide them to health through the love of Christ, the wisdom of God’s Word and sound professional counseling.
At North Richland Hills Baptist Church in North Richland Hills, counseling often begins with one of the pastoral staff. Pastor Tommy Teague said pastors meet with a person several times to determine the direction counseling should take.
“There are times that a person simply needs some redirection or clarification from God’s Word about a particular life issue. In those instances we might mentor them with biblical truths and practical application or we may take a coaching approach where we ask insightful questions and practice deep listening to help a person come to a logical point of resolution.”
However, Teague said sometimes pastors are not equipped to help people deal definitively with some issues.
“It is in those moments that we refer individuals to the Cornerstone Counseling Center, which is under the umbrella of our church. It is biblically based, Christ centered and life-application focused. Each counselor has an earned degree, is licensed and shares beliefs consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Teague said.
The partnership of North Richland Hills and Cornerstone Counseling Center has been beneficial for North Richland Hills members and others outside the church, Teague said.
“We have had many people pray to receive Christ, marriages have been restored, life issues have been resolved and the overall impact of the ministry has often served as a gateway of introduction to the fellowship of our church.”
Being a gateway for introducing people to the gospel is also a primary mission of the counseling ministry of The Church on Rush Creek in Arlington, according to Sharon Good, minister of Real-Life and Counseling. “I wouldn’t do it if it weren’t an outreach,” Good said. “We are here to reach out to the community.”
Good said the church has fallen down in its obligation to be a place where people can go when they are hurting. “We’re trying to bring this back.”
The ministry to both the members of Rush Creek and the unchurched is twofold, with counseling services offered through the counseling center and support programs, such as Celebrate Recovery, Divorce Care, and Grief Share, available through the Real Life ministry of the church itself. These programs have been reaching the community inside and outside the church.
“About half the people do not attend Rush Creek,” Good said. “Many are unchurched and about half of them began to come to church.”
Just recently, one of the counselors at Rush Creek was able to lead someone to the Lord during a counseling session. Good said that on the information form each person completes, visitors are asked whether or not they are believers. Many are not. “They say after seeing what is available out there, they thought it would be safer to go to Christian counseling.”
In addition to bringing many nonbelievers into the church, the Real Life program at Rush Creek also sponsors a Teen MOPS program for teenage girls who are mothers of preschoolers. This came about when a local school district suspended funding for a program for teen moms and Rush Creek stepped up to fill the void.
“Every month all these teen moms come in,” Good said. Recently two or three of the young women were baptized.
An emphasis on recovery, hope, health and healing is the focus of the support group ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin. Programs such as Celebrate Recovery, Grief Share, Divorce Care, Safe People, Boundaries and Wounded Heart are offered to help people in the church and outside in the community navigate life’s struggles.
Great Hills provides childcare for support group participants.
“It makes a big difference,” said Good, who sees that advantage offered by The Church at Rush Creek as well.
Another similar ministry is the Sagemont Counseling Center of Sagemont Church in Houston.
“Our goal is to demonstrate that Sagemont is a ‘safe place’ to those who hurt by offering caregiving resources that meet the emotional and spiritual needs of church members and the community,” said Mike Schumacher, director of counseling.
In addition to support groups for issues such as anger management, grief, divorce care and parenting, Sagemont also has professional counselors, specializing in fields such as theology, psychology, marriage and family therapy and pastoral counseling.
“Our counseling approach is Christ centered, and each counselor is committed to integrating his faith into his practice,” Schumacher said. “Therefore, the Sagemont Counseling Center is both clinically professional and distinctively Christian.”
While not every church can sponsor a full counseling center, every church can receive training in counseling to be better equipped for such ministry. One organization providing such training is “Hope for the Heart,” founded by June Hunt. Hope for the Heart sponsors the Hope Biblical Counseling Institute, which trains laypeople, pastors, counselors and others.
Based on Hunt’s book “Biblical Counseling Keys,” the Hope Biblical Counseling Institute was created in 2002 and initiated by Criswell College, where Hunt earned her master of arts degree in counseling. Each year Hunt leads 20 BCI conferences. Current BCI topics include “Decision Making: Discerning the Will of God,” “Adultery: The Snare of the Affair,” “Guilt: Living Guilt Free,” and “Marriage: To Have and To Hold.” BCI conferences are presented in association with Criswell College.
“Our ministry meets the needs of people through its Biblical Counseling Institute,” Hunt said. “The BCI equips people to find and share real solutions for their real problems. These solutions are based on our Biblical Counseling Library of 100 proprietary Biblical Counseling Keys. These keys open the doors of understanding on such everyday issues as marriage and parenting, forgiveness and anger, depression, divorce and death. We’re also known for tackling the high-profile topics such as alcoholism and adultery, abortion and euthanasia, child abuse and wife abuse, homosexuality and sexual addiction.”
In addition to its work with the Hope Biblical Counseling Institute, Hope for the Heart has also endowed the Hope for the Heart Chair of Biblical Counseling at Criswell College, as well as the Hope for the Heart Chair of Biblical Counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
For more information about any of the counseling programs mentioned, visit the following websites: Cornerstone Counseling (North Richland Hills): cstonecounseling.org; The Church on Rush Creek Counseling Center: rushcreek.org/our-staff/; Great Hills Baptist Church: ghbc.org, click on “Get Help”; Sagemont Counseling Center: sagemontchurch.org/connect/counseling/; and Hope for the Heart: hopefortheheart.org.
Book: Understanding biblical hope essential to surviving
With the certainty of life’s storms, the question becomes not if they will hit but how will one survive when they do? The storms of life referred to by June Hunt in her book “Hope for Your Heart: Finding Strength in Life’s Storms” are not the natural disaster kind, but rather the trouble, hurt, loss, brokenness and devastation that life can bring resulting in feelings of hopelessness and despair.
For many, hope is simply wishful thinking and optimism but God’s Word presents a much different understanding of hope. For those experiencing feelings of hopelessness, understanding biblical hope is essential to surviving the difficulties life brings.
As founder of Hope for the Heart, a worldwide biblical counseling ministry, and radio program host, June Hunt shares her passion for communicating the value of biblical hope experienced in the life of an individual.
In her search to better understand hope from a biblical perspective Hunt discovered this Scripture in Hebrews 6:19: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Based on the promises of God, Hunt states, “authentic biblical hope is a powerful, undergirding force—an anchor able to sustain us through the fiercest storms.”
“Hope for Your Heart: Finding Strength in Life’s Storms” shares stories of countless individuals who even in the most desperate situations have experienced the sustaining power of hope. For those experiencing devastation and heartache these stories provide a needed reminder that others have faced similar hardships and have found hope and healing.
In each and every story two key components were necessary for the individual to experience the hope God offers. First, one must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Hunt states, “Christ is the power source for change.” Only through the work of Christ in the life of an individual is God’s power available and true life transformation possible. Second, biblical truth is required for an individual to experience biblical hope in their life. Even more than knowing and claiming God’s promises, one must realize those promises are for them.
Hunt’s book is organized in three sections addressing the reasons for hope, sources of hope and benefits of hope.
Topics such as security, trust and forgiveness are addressed. As a counseling resource, Hunt’s extensive experience in ministering to hurting individuals is evidenced in the stories. One can benefit from the examples of her approach as she demonstrates the pattern of directing individuals to the promises found in God’s Word. An accurate understanding of biblical hope can produce peace and security in the midst of life’s storms.
Hunt’s thorough approach in providing a biblical teaching on hope makes available to readers such an understanding of an often elusive Scriptural truth.
Baptist schools vary approaches to training counselors
For those who feel called to study Christ-centered counseling, there are multiple options to consider.
All six Southern Baptist Convention-owned seminaries offer courses in the field, and five offer counseling degrees. In addition, two Texas schools with ties to the SBTC, Criswell College and Houston Baptist University, offer counseling degrees.
Yet different programs vary in their counseling education. Some emphasize biblical teaching and secular psychology, seeking to prepare students for licensure as state-certified counselors. Others focus almost exclusively on Scripture and deem state licensure unimportant, arguing that secular psychology is based on a flawed worldview and often unhelpful to the counseling ministry. Still others focus on Scripture but see some value in the work of research psychologists.
The following is an overview of the offerings at each school.
CRISWELL COLLEGE
At the graduate level, Criswell College in Dallas offers a master of arts in counseling ministry as well as a master of divinity in which students may opt for a pastoral care and counseling track. For the master of arts, students may select either a 36-hour non-licensure track or a 48-hour licensure track that prepares them to take exams to become licensed professional counselors in Texas. Undergraduate students may minor in counseling.
According to the college’s catalog, the master of arts program is “designed to prepare students for counseling individuals, couples, and families from a Christian worldview.”
David Henderson, Hope for the Heart Chair of Biblical Counseling, professor of psychology and counseling and a medical doctor, described Criswell’s program as an “integrative” approach that combines insights from Scripture and secular science to help people in a holistic way.
“In an integrative approach, we believe that all Scripture is true, that all men are in need of a Savior and that the Bible is the ultimate source for spiritual restoration,” he said. “Science, however, is also God given and we can learn a great deal about human behavior from studying commonalities in our thoughts, our emotions and our behaviors. We seek to integrate these in order to help hurting individuals find healing physically, mentally and spiritually.”
GOLDEN GATE SEMINARY
While Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary offers no degrees in counseling, the Mill Valley, Calif., school offers more than 20 courses in counseling at the graduate level. Those courses may be incorporated into a number of master’s degree programs.
Course offerings include “Pastoral Counseling,” “Ministering in Crisis Situations,” “Pastoral Counseling of the Addicted and Abused” and “Psychopathology and Diagnosis.”
“GGBTS does not offer a counseling degree at this time, but does include counseling courses in its M.Div. curriculum,” Gary McCoy, chairman of the department of leadership skills formation, told the TEXAN in an e-mail. “The courses are currently taught by adjuncts, often professional Christian counselors.”
HOUSTON BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Houston Baptist University offers a master of arts in Christian counseling (MACC). This 49-hour degree seeks to integrate Christian faith with the disciplines of psychology and counseling and prepares students to take the licensed professional counselor exam in Texas.
Electives in the MACC allow students to work toward a sub-specialty in counseling and psychology.
According to the university’s website, “One objective of the program is to provide the coursework and training that will help the student work out a Christian counseling perspective that will help guide their counseling practice.” The site adds, “The MACC prepares the student to work in churches, church-related institutions as well as secular counseling locations using a Christian perspective.”
MIDWESTERN SEMINARY
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., offers a 62-hour master of arts in Christian counseling (MACO) and a 30-hour doctor of ministry degree in counseling. The MACO is designed to help students meet the requirements to become licensed professional counselors in Missouri.
The seminary’s counseling faculty of two full-time and four adjunct professors label their approach the “Biblically Prescriptive-Clinically Descriptive Model.” Under this model, a counselor uses accepted clinical terms to describe a client’s problem but incorporates the truth of Scripture into treatment and solutions.
“Recent Midwestern graduates have become licensed in several states including Missouri and Texas, and are successfully practicing and impacting the world for Christ in various settings such as ministry positions, private out-patient clinics, hospital in-patient settings and both religious and secular community-based agencies,” Larry Cornine, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling, wrote in an article for the seminary magazine.
NEW ORLEANS SEMINARY
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, La., offers three degrees in Christian counseling, including two master of divinity degrees and a master of arts in marriage and family counseling. The counseling faculty includes four professors.
The 114-hour master of divinity with specialization in counseling combines Bible and theology classes with the 60 hours of counseling coursework needed for licensed professional counselor certification in most states. The 106-hour master of divinity with specialization in psychology and counseling includes similar coursework but does not provide the required number of counseling courses for licensure in many states.
The master of arts in marriage and family counseling is an 87-hour degree that fulfills the academic requirements in most states for licensed professional counselor certification and for clinical membership in the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. This degree also meets the course requirements in many states for licensure in marriage and family therapy.
“The NOBTS counseling programs provide training and supervised experience in evidence-based counseling methods to help people deal with life issues in a biblically sound way, and prepares students for licensure as professional counselors,” Kathy Steele, associate professor of psychology and counseling, told the TEXAN in an e-mail. “We stand on the principle that true healing comes from God. We offer a program that prepares students to become equipped to be instruments for the Lord, guiding people to biblical solutions to life’s problems.”
SOUTHEASTERN SEMINARY
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., offers both master’s-level and doctoral degrees in biblical counseling. Courses are taught by three counseling professors.
A master of arts in biblical counseling requires 63 hours of coursework while a master of divinity with a concentration in biblical counseling requires 96. A 69-hour master of arts in Christian education with concentration in biblical counseling is also available. At the doctoral level, students may earn a 32-hour doctor of ministry in counseling and a 60-hour doctor of philosophy in applied theology with concentration in counseling.
In contrast to schools that prepare students for state licensure, Southeastern’s catalog says it regards secular behavioral science as non-essential for counseling ministry and focuses on applying Scripture to life issues. Still, Southeastern does offer extra courses beyond degree requirements for students who wish to prepare for licensure in order to work from a missiological perspective in secular mental health roles that require state licensure. Most Southeastern counseling students aim to serve in vocational Christian ministry.
“While biblical counselors can benefit from the empirical findings of the human and medical sciences, we believe the Bible is the only infallible source for counseling theories and models,” the catalog says. “Our perspective is that the theories, practices, and institutions of the secular mental health establishment are not essential for constructing a Christian counseling model or for providing an effective cure for the soul, psyche, or mind. Particularly in the counseling domain, secular and naturalistic personality theories and psychotherapies are fundamentally flawed because they excise the God of the Bible from the human equation.”
SOUTHERN SEMINARY
Biblical counseling is the focus of master’s and doctoral degrees at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. The master of arts in biblical counseling (51 hours) prepares students for counseling and marriage and family ministry. The master of divinity with a concentration in biblical counseling (88 hours) combines counseling courses with biblical, theological and pastoral ministry studies.
The doctor of ministry in biblical counseling requires 32 hours of coursework while the doctor of philosophy in biblical counseling requires 66.
In 2005 Southern moved away from a “pastoral care” model of counseling that sought to prepare students for state licensure. At the time of the change, the seminary said its new biblical counseling model was both more helpful to hurting people and more faithful to the Scriptures than an integrated approach.
“It will mean moving beyond the clinical professionalism of what historically has been dubbed ‘pastoral care’ in the therapeutic guild, but it will mean recovering true ‘pastoral care’ as defined by the Scriptures,” said Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology and senior vice president for academic administration. “The ramifications of this course correction will be felt in congregations throughout the Southern Baptist Convention and the evangelical world. It ultimately is not about curricular changes or faculty additions, but about the love of Christ for hurting people in the church and in the world.”
SOUTHWESTERN SEMINARY
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth is preparing to launch a new master of arts in biblical counseling (66 hours) in the fall, focusing on applying Scripture to life issues.
The school will also offer biblical counseling minors for its master of divinity and master of arts in Christian education programs. A doctor of philosophy program in biblical counseling is in development. These new programs mark a shift away from degrees designed to prepare students for state licensure as counselors.
“Our focus as a seminary is to provide preparation for those called to minister in the local church,” John Babler, Warren C. Hultgren Chair of Ministerial Counseling and one of five counseling professors, said. “The primary goal of our counseling program is to equip students to effectively minister God’s Word as they counsel. We help students to recognize and take advantage of informal opportunities to counsel and also prepare them to counsel formally in a church or ministry setting (such as a Pregnancy Help Center). In addition to counseling classes our degree provides a strong foundation in theological and biblical studies.”
Lifeboat drill
I love stories of survival—the truer the better. The courage and innovation that follows desperation is the best kind of drama. “The Long Walk,” which was made into a pretty good movie, is the tale of prisoners who escaped the Soviet Gulag during World War II. Those who survived a trek through Siberia in winter and then the Gobi Desert walked over the Himalayas to India, over 4,000 miles. Although some doubt the truth of the story, the story and similar feats of determination capture the imagination.
Perhaps you’ll wonder, as I do, if you’d be up to the challenge. I don’t want to be stranded at sea in a small raft or forced to hack off my own arm to save my life, but could I do what another man has done if the direst need arose? I’m coming to the conviction that maybe I don’t see reality very clearly when I assume that no such challenge faces me, or us.
I’ve nearly completed a year-long teaching series in the book of Hebrews. My class doesn’t believe me when I tell them I’ve only skimmed the surface but nevertheless a theme in the book has captured my attention, the need for superhuman endurance in our Christian walk. If all Scripture is profitable “for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,” then it applies to us—safe, well-fed, and at liberty in our day. I can see how the message of Hebrews would be encouraging to those harried Christians in atheistic or demonic nations without religious liberty, but it must be to me also. My problem is the delusion of security and distance from the worst kind of spiritual warfare.
This struck me when I was studying 13:1-3, a passage on brotherly love. Unity is big in the New Testament; unifying love is the “new commandment” of John 13. Why do we have such a hard time with this? Maybe it’s this delusion of safety, this lack of intensity in our daily walk.
Think, for example, of four guys in a lifeboat. They have various wounds, limited supplies, individual skills and weaknesses. The boat is surrounded by sharks, of course, and they have no idea when they’ll be rescued. Oh yeah, the raft is leaking just a bit so that one guy has to be on the pump all the time just to keep them out of the water. Do they need each other? They do if anyone is going to sleep, fish, fend off sharks, man the pump, and tend the wounds. Four is maybe not enough. But say one of these guys is a bit less mature, a whiner, annoying to the max. Do they need him anyway? Again, yes. He’s one of only four and while someone might need to keep him on task, he’s a pair of hands, eyes to watch the horizon for rescue. During their ordeal and after their rescue, the survivors are bonded for life. They’ve shared something no one else who’s never been there can quite get. These four men are among a small group of humans who have come back from the despair of hopelessness, even death.
Deluded Christianity acts as though there are no sharks, only those I like can be in the raft, and the water in the raft is not rising. I, and maybe one buddy, we think, can do it all without the annoyance of people I didn’t pick.
We are just wrong. Yes, we should love one another because Jesus told us to. But we also need one another—the gifts, the experience, the companionship of those around us that God picked for our mutual building up. The danger of lone-wolf or my-preference Christianity is a real danger because God does not want and never intended for us to be that way. It doesn’t work; we’ll starve, drown or the sharks will get us.
Satan is a shark. In 1 Peter 5:8 he’s described as a lion that seeks to devour us. Yes, it is the power of God that sustains us and protects us from the lion but God’s story all through is about people who live in community under God’s provision and protection, and discipline. We are supposed to intercede on behalf of one another so that the tempter doesn’t cull us out of the herd. We are supposed to encourage one another so that we don’t listen to that voice that whispers “give up.” The temptations themselves can also be sharks. Living in a community of diverse and interdependent believers can help us avoid temptation and sin.
To spiritually drown is similar to the description of the seed that fell among the thorns in Matthew 13. Life, in glory and horror, can be overwhelming. Hebrews 12 begins with an exhortation to not lose heart but instead consider the faith of those who have gone before us. Our ultimate example is Christ, who “endured such hostility against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.” Notice that our endurance is buoyed by the godly example of others—themselves witnesses of the sustaining power of God. Good survival stories have a crucial moment where the hero or heroes continue to grind forward when anyone hearing the story would say to himself, “How can a person do that?” The first readers of Hebrews were at that crucial point. I think many of our fellows might be close and not recognize it because we are deluded by relative comfort. What a tragedy to just give in to the peaceful tug of gravity, to quietly drift into the depths.
A Christian alone is far more likely to spiritually starve or grow cold than he would be in fellowship with others, to carry my metaphor a bit farther. Paul’s description of the body of Christ compares us with individual members of a human body. It takes far more than one bodily organ or member to get nutrition. Right now, you are able to think of the name of a person who is growing cold in his faith so that it is unclear that he is saved at all. You are thinking of someone who has decided to go it alone for one reason or another. His plan is not working. The urgency of living in fellowship with other believers is real whether everyone discerns it or not. We have both bad and good examples to instruct us.
If we recognize the urgency of our situation, I think we’ll live our days together in a different way.
Perhaps we’ll consider ourselves more dependent on what God provides through the Christians around us. This requires a sort of relationship deeper than what’s possible to develop during the welcome song.
On the other hand, we might recognize the gifts and strengths that we carry in ourselves for the building up of others. God gives us things, talents, money, time, etc., that he intends for us to deliver to others lest they become cold or despairing or prey.
I think we could see the “normal” events of our lives in a different way—full of opportunities spiced with grave danger. Our rescue is sure if we endure to the end. With that understanding, every shark, every annoying habit of our ragged crew, every privation becomes a way God prepares us (and others) for eternity. Every new shark is food, every annoying habit is a view into the souls of our companions, everything we lack is either unnecessary or on its way.
And those things that are little in the scope of eternity will become smaller to us. Our differences within the body of Christ are greatly exaggerated when we don’t see the spiritual urgency of this present moment. The differences disappear while we’re in the fray. I think we are meant to be in that struggle every day, a runner continuing through the pain, a soldier standing his watch, pilgrims staring down the lion in our path.
Our churches sometimes seem like a gaggle of folks standing around waiting for something important to happen. In this spiritually torpid culture, I constantly need the reminder that important things are happening now.
Easter: Time to seek renewal, awakening
Easter is a wonderful time of the year. Unlike Christmas, which is set on a questionable date, Easter is an authentic time of the year to commemorate our Lord’s death and resurrection. Perhaps more people are open to attending worship at Christmas, but Easter is still a prime time to reach people who need new life. New life is always exciting. The literal, physical bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus gives us assurance of eternal life. The power of the resurrected Lord is available to us. Praise God for his power and grace.
Over the last two months, I have been involved in Praying and Listening Sessions all across Texas. I am very encouraged by the faithful pastors, staff and laypersons who are serving Christ. Yet, spiritual times are tough. There are a lot of challenges facing churches today. We need spiritual renewal and awakening.
I draw a distinction between spiritual renewal and spiritual awakening. Spiritual renewal is for those who have life but need a refreshing. We used to call this revival. It is for the believer. Many believers feel they have lost their high ground. While America no longer has a “church” culture, followers of Jesus in many places have retreated into a siege mentality. In the contrast of old hymns, the theme is now “Hold the Fort” instead of “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Defeatism has crept into the church. We may suffer setbacks. Our standards of success may not be met. If we are faithful to seek his face and obey his voice, we cannot be defeated.
Experience a new walk with the risen Lord as a believer and congregation. Set aside time for prayer. Observe a fast. Hold a solemn assembly. We must get desperate before the Lord. Confession of sin, seeking God’s will, and surrendering to his leadership are all a part of it. Experience spiritual renewal this Easter!
Spiritual awakening is for those who are dead in their trespasses and sin. Just as it took the voice of Jesus to awaken Lazarus from his death-sleep, so it takes the voice of the Holy Spirit to awaken those who are lost. Spiritual awakening is a supernatural work of a sovereign God. If we want to see a large number of people come to Christ, it will take prayer. Asking God to remove the barriers that keep us from reaching others for Jesus is important. Another step is praying for God to soften the hearts of those who are lost. We need divine direction in the “how to” to reach them with the gospel. We need God to do what only he can do in working on the hearts of those who are lost.
I have read the last chapter of the Bible. Good news, we win. There is no biblical prohibition on a sweeping spiritual awakening in America before Jesus comes. God wants to save a multitude to bring glory to himself. While we are to go to the nations, we must not forget our nation.
Easter is an opportune time for all of us to reassess our spiritual standing. Spiritual renewal for those of us who are believers can begin now. Join with me in seeking a spiritual awakening in Texas, across America and around the world so that multiplied millions can have new life. Let’s look for something that only God can do. We do that when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord!
Struggling rural church gave out of its lack, lived to tell about it
TARPLEY—Tarpley is one of those towns you’ll miss if you blink while driving. Tucked away in the Texas Hill Country northwest of San Antonio, Tarpley Baptist Church had suffered similar insignificance when Elmer Franks arrived there as pastor in 2003. Years earlier, the roof had fallen in on the building, and the property was deeded to another church. The dilapidated facility built in 1940 was closed.
Franks, who was on staff down the road at First Baptist Church of Bandera, took the Tarpley church’s plight to heart. After praying about it, and after meeting with some people from the Tarpley church, he became pastor.
“The church had dwindled to nothing. On my second Sunday in the pulpit, there were four people in the service, and my wife and I were two of them,” said Franks, 83. “But there was no doubt that God wanted us there. We saw the potential because we knew there were plenty of folks living out in the boondocks.”
Franks got busy traveling the “boondocks,” meeting people, sharing the gospel, winning numerous people to the Lord and then baptizing them in the creek behind the church. Soon, the property was deeded back to Tarpley.
In 2008, however, Franks resigned. “I felt it was an injustice to stay considering my health problems and the growing needs of the church,” he said.
Emphasis on giving
During his pastoral tenure at Tarpley, Franks followed the example of his father, who “was strongly focused on giving to missions” during pastorates spanning the Great Depression. Depression aside, his father would always take an offering for the Cooperative Program upon arriving at a new pastorate, he said.
“The Cooperative Program was three years old when I was born, and I’ve grown up with it,” Franks said. “I grew up seeing what it did not only for foreign missions but for the associations and state convention too. I saw what giving to the Cooperative Program did for the churches my father pastored because every one of them grew financially and numerically because of missions giving.”
“I adopted that practice too,” Franks said. “I always led the churches I’ve pastored to give a minimum of 10 percent to the Cooperative Program. Those churches were also blessed by God. In my experience, I’ve never seen any church which gave to missions from the heart that did not grow in size and budget. But I have seen some churches quit giving to missions or cut back on their CP to support some other church program, and those churches have fallen by the wayside. They were really hurt, both in finances and in church growth and health.”
Franks eventually led the rural but growing Tarpley to give 20 percent of its undesignated receipts to missions—an amount evenly split between the Cooperative Program and the Hill Country Baptist Association.
“I’m satisfied that missions giving is the key to do what the Lord wants us to do,” Franks said. “I mean, is there any other way? As far as I’m concerned, giving to the Cooperative Program is the application of the Great Commission. We couldn’t go into all the world, but our church made it possible for others to do that.”
“I wish we had more pastors like Elmer,” said Jim Leak, Hill Country’s director of missions. “That kind of support is a great encouragement when everyone is talking about how the economy is affecting their budgets. A church that gives 20 percent—that’s a real heavy-hitter.”
“Elmer isn’t one to make a big deal of this,” Leak added. “But when he mentions supporting the Cooperative Program, he does it only to encourage other pastors regarding what their churches give to CP.”
Franks said God blessed the church’s generous commitment to missions so much that, upon his retirement the church had about $400,000 in its budget. Three-fourths of that came from a local citizen, not a member of the church, who was impressed with Franks’ efforts and the church’s growth and ministry.
Rebuilding a church
Succeeding Frank’s pastorate in May 2008 was Dick Sisk, a Criswell College and Southwestern Seminary graduate, who once pastored East Grand Baptist Church in Dallas.
“Brother Elmer did a phenomenal job bringing this church back,” said Sisk, adding that about 70 people attended a recent worship service at Tarpley. That’s up from an average of about 30 when Sisk arrived.
When Sisk saw the $400,000 in the budget and need for expansion, he led the church to put $300,000 into a building fund. That led to a building program of $800,000. Noting the outdated, 60-seat auditorium, Sisk said, “I knew we wouldn’t grow to stay beyond 80 percent of our capacity.”
“How did we raise the money?” Sisk said. “Well, we didn’t do a fund-raiser, no ‘Together We Build’ program, no pledge cards, no faith promise commitments, and no consultant.”
“In January of 2010, I challenged the people to take 40 days to pray about the program, and for each one to ask God what they should give,” said Sisk, who shared his commitment to build a new auditorium debt-free.
After the 40 days, Sisk distributed index cards to the congregation and asked the people to write on the card the amount God impressed them to give, but not to write their names.
“One of the cards read, ‘Whatever it takes,’” Sisk recalled. “That one card summed up the heart of the people. And as our building committee did the design, concept and architectural work, the people just started giving.”
Money even came in from numerous locals outside the church. And when a nearby bank loan officer called offering a “favorable low-interest rate on a loan,” Sisk said he thanked the banker and jokingly replied, “The church may have money we can loan to you.”
“When the dust settled, we had $806,000,” Sisk said. The church broke ground in May of 2010, and on March 27 it dedicated the added 7,000 square feet that entails a 120-seat auditorium, a fellowship hall and education space.
Sisk noted the church continued to give 20 percent through CP during the building project while also giving $100,000 for direct missions support, which includes the support of a missionary couple from the church who were called to international missions.
“We’re in this little ol’ valley out here and have seen God do a significant work,” Sisk said. “Our story can be an encouragement because there are thousands of churches out there like Tarpley. We’re 50 miles from nowhere, but the Lord is still using us.”
Southwestern elects new faculty members
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees approved a slate of nine new faculty members, adopted a 2.6 percent increase for the 2011-2012 budget in the amount of nearly $34.9 million which provides a 1 percent salary increase to career employees, and approved plans to build two and three-bedroom campus apartments within nine new buildings, providing 252 units for singles and families.
A trustee resolution affirmed the definition of marriage as “uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime” as contained in the Baptist Faith and Message. The statement acknowledged the moral and legal “pressures upon the traditional view and practice of marriage,” that frequently have the support of media and political figures, but recognized that Christians are called upon to speak with clarity and definitiveness regarding biblical standards.
The board also also passed routine policies relating to conflict of interest and board dismissal to keep the institution in compliance with practices recommended by accreditors. Other actions involving curriculum revisions to the D.Min, School of Music Ph.D., a name change for the counseling center, and a report from the president regarding the Taking the Hill evangelistic effort, Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, B.S. degree in biblical studies will be reported in the next issue of the TEXAN and are available online at texanonline.net.
