Month: April 2013

Hate after Rick Warren son”s death is dumbfounding

The hate spewed by some anti-Christian zealots in the wake of the suicide of Rick Warren’s youngest son has been dumbfounding.

Twenty-seven-year-old Matthew Warren took his life last Friday after years of emotional struggles. His father, the Southern Baptist pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, expressed dismay in a Los Angeles Times story at the venom.

My heart sank as I read some of the comment stream on CNN.com Sunday night and turned off my computer more convinced than ever of the total depravity of man and the potential for human sin and hatred. Wow.

Don’t read these streams if you are easily discouraged. On the other hand, millions have expressed kindness and sympathy. The anonymity the Internet affords a cruelty and inhumanity I’d love to pretend didn’t exist. John said it right: Man loved the darkness rather than the light. That darkness comes out all too easily when it’s shrouded by anonymous Internet handles.

Continue praying for the Warrens, who have Texas ties to Southwestern Seminary, for those hardened souls who need to hear the hope found only in Jesus. And for the millions who, like Matthew, struggle to make it not simply through the day but through the next five minutes. People are hurting all around us. Let’s open our eyes to see the needs.

San Diego pastor, Texas governor help dedicate FBC Dallas” $130 million campus

DALLAS—Members of the storied First Baptist Church of Dallas were reminded to turn outward in their mission by two very different messengers during dedication services on April 7 for the church’s new $130 million expanded campus that aims to be a “spiritual oasis” downtown.

Billed as “the largest church building campaign in modern history,” the project aesthetically complements its surroundings in an area of downtown where new multi-million dollar theaters, museums and parks dot the landscape.

David Jeremiah, pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., whose relationship with the church dates back to his days as a Dallas Theological Seminary student, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, known for his bold evangelicalism, headlined the list of dignitaries attending the first in a series of April services marking the church’s new facilities.

“The temptation will be to take a deep breath and to say ‘We finally did it,’” Jeremiah told a packed audience in the new 3,000-seat, state-of-the-art worship center with a 150-foot-wide IMAX-quality screen spanning the stage.

Jeremiah’s selection to preach the dedication was a historic fit. W.A. Criswell, legendary pastor of First Baptist Dallas, went to San Diego years ago to preach dedication services for Jeremiah at Shadow Mountain Community Church.

Jeremiah, a Southern Baptist with an international broadcast ministry called “Turning Point,” told of being captivated by Criswell and First Baptist Dallas while he was a student at Dallas Theological Seminary. In recent years, Jeremiah and First Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress have become friends, with Jeremiah encouraging Jeffress to expand his “Pathway to Victory” media ministry, Jeremiah said.

It was announced during the service to applause that “Pathway to Victory” began in late March with broadcasts into mainland China with a potential audience of 1 billion people.

To illustrate his sermon, Jeremiah turned to a Vincent van Gogh painting called “The Church at Auvers” that depicts a church building without doors to go in and out of and which sits in its own shadow, neither reflecting nor emanating any light.

Like the church in the painting, the danger for the modern church is that it would become a “lifeless relic that the people bypass to avoid its dark shadow,” Jeremiah said.

But with diligence toward the purpose of the church (“the glory of God”), the program of the church (reaching out to those on the outside), and the priority of the church (“the Great Commission”), First Baptist Dallas can become “thousands of points of light illuminating the darkness,” Jeremiah said.

Through 40 years of ministry and eight building projects, “I’ve come to believe that all of the benefits the nuclear family accrues from having a place to call home” also applies to churches. But much work awaits on the outside, Jeremiah reminded.

“God has not just put this church in this community so if can be a beautiful, a monumental, place for people to visit. This is not just a place where people should come into the church, but remember, the doors are open both ways. The church must go out of these doors, into the community and touch the lives of the people who are needy and are needing what Jesus Christ alone can bring,” Jeremiah said.

Perry began his six-minute address to the church by saying he was wowed by the facilities as a “beacon” where “our Savior and our light can truly be seen.”

Noting his own depravity and his need for a savior, Perry said his Austin pastor often says church is a “hospital for sinners.” In the same manner, the mission of the church is not to condemn people “but to point people to the one who is the way, the truth and the life. We as fellow sinners will never condemn someone to salvation, but God can use us to show them grace and love them to it.”

After reading Matthew 7:3-5—the passage about judging without first removing the “plank in your own eye”—Perry added, “We cannot condemn certain lifestyles while turning a blind eye to sins that in God’s eye are just as grievous. We must love all, welcome all.”

Perry also noted, “God is the same yesterday, today and forever … and so are his truths.”

Though Perry didn’t refer to it, Jeffress and First Baptist Church received national media attention in February after NFL quarterback Tim Tebow withdrew from speaking during the church’s dedication celebration following public pressure from homosexual activists and liberal pundits.

A statement from the church at the time disputed characterizations that Jeffress’ message was hateful, noting that “contrary to editorializing in the media, Dr. Jeffress shares a message of hope, not hate; salvation, not judgment; and a Gospel of God’s love, grace and new beginnings available to all.”

The First Baptist expansion includes a glass sky bridge connecting the worship center to the five-story Horner Family Center and parking garage.

An outdoor cross-tower and fountain—officially announced during the dedication service as the Jeffress Fountain Plaza—includes a baptismal pool and is surrounded by three-fourths of an acre of community space for pedestrians. The cross towers 68 feet with multiple fountainheads that can be synced to orchestral music.

Also dedicated were the Jennifer, James and Geneva Donald Preschool and Children’s Suite and the Donna and Hollis Sullivan Media Center—which will broadcast services and serve as home to the “Pathway to Victory” ministry.

Among the dedication service dignitaries were Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and two former First Baptist Dallas pastors, O.S. Hawkins, who offered a dedication prayer, and Joel Gregory, who read Scripture.

Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, was scheduled to fill the pulpit on April 14, followed by an April 21 luncheon featuring Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.

More information on the expanded First Baptist Dallas campus may be accessed at firstdallas.org/.

Spring breakers share gospel on South Padre Island

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND—For many college students, spring break is a week to catch up on homework, on sleep or just have a week of fun.

But the more than 750 young adults from 37 churches and ministries across Texas who spent their spring break on South Padre Island had a deeper aim: Sharing the gospel among 60,000 students who came to the Texas Gulf Coast to party.

Trevor Williams, the college minister at First Baptist Church of Cooper, said this is the third year his church participated. He brought 12 students—two for the first time.

“When you throw them out in the thick of darkness it’s a culture shock,” Williams said.  “There are kids everywhere partying it up.”

Buddy Young, now the Baptist Student Ministry director of West Texas A&M University, started the ministry 33 years ago when he and some friends went to South Padre, staying on the beach in tents, and sharing the gospel and giving first aid to students.

That ministry grew to include free pancake breakfasts and free van rides to places around the island and a sand sculpture created on the beach each day.

But Young said that serving the students on spring break is not their only purpose.

“We’re not here just to give pancakes and to give rides,” Young said in the Sunday morning service of Beach Reach. “That’s a means to an end.”

The “Beach Reachers” used each assignment as an opportunity to share the gospel with the “beach goers.”

Many of the students who participated in Beach Reach came with their college’s Christian organizations, but a few churches brought groups, including First Baptist Cooper and Birchman Baptist Church of Fort Worth.

Birchman participated in Beach Reach for the first time and sent 36 people—the largest church group. Joey Tombrella, the minister to young adults at Birchman, said others he spoke with were surprised that a church sent so many.

“I loved the fact that we got to go as a local church,” Tombrella said.

Jonathan McGraw of FBC Cooper has participated in Beach Reach each of the three years with his church and said sharing the gospel with those who rode on the vans was his favorite way to minister.

“They had to be on the van,” Dillon Stegall, also of FBC Cooper and a junior at Texas A&M Commerce, said of those students. “So they had to give you the time of day.”

But Stegall and McGraw said their favorite part of this year’s trip came the very first night before the breakfasts and van rides even started.

After all the Beach Reachers arrived on a Saturday, March 9, they prayed together in the parking lot of the host church, Island Baptist Church. 

A student approached Stegall and McGraw, but instead of asking to pray with them he asked what was going on. 

“We thought he was just another Beach Reacher,” Stegall said.

Stegall and McGraw used that as an opportunity to share the gospel and the young man on spring break prayed to receive Christ.

“It was amazing,” Stegall said. “Especially since it hadn’t technically started. But God was already working.”

Stegall said originally he had not planned on going on the mission trip, but he said this first time was worth it even though at first he didn’t know what to expect.

McGraw said Beach Reach helped in his decision to leave the college he had been studying kinesiology at to go to Criswell College with the goal of entering the ministry.

Young said the success of Beach Reach is not just counted by the number of people participating or saved, although that entered the thousands over 30 years. 

“When students can be trained to share their faith and actively share their faith,” Young said, “then it has been a successful week.

“When I see hundreds of students actively sharing their faith, I see hope for the next generation,” Young said. “There is a legacy going to be left.”

Book by Houston author aims to drive women to prayer

Gari Meacham’s conversations with God during the emotionally wracked junctures of life gave her the faith necessary to hold together her marriage, guide a daughter scarred by sexual assault, and stay grounded during the countless moves required of a family headed by a professional baseball player. But in times of relative calm she realized a believer’s desperate need for God should flow from the reality we are “designed to thirst for God,” not merely because of life’s crises.

In her latest book “Spirit Hunger” (Zondervan 2012), Meacham lays bare her life in intimate detail. Her conversations with God reveal desperation for him. Like the Psalmist, Meacham sought God as one in a dry and thirsty land. But few Christians recognize they are spiritually parched and desperate.

But what if Christians regularly prayed as the desperate people they are, Meacham asked?

The question motivated her to write about her own experiences “to draw people to engage God in a real way.” Her research indicates most believers do not pray with any regularity, only calling upon God when life spirals out of control. But Meacham said the depths of God’s grace can only be experienced in consistent, intentional prayer.

Meacham’s husband served last year as first base coach with the Houston Astros. The baseball life has been a trial; Meacham writes of moving 47 times in 10 years and the toll it took on her marriage and family.

Though applicable to all Christians, Meacham said women can benefit most from her testimony, and it is written with Christian and secular audiences in mind.

The fundamental elements of Meacham’s prayer life rely on the simplicity of Matthew 7:7-8. Asking, seeking, and knocking mark the threshold crossed into God’s presence. Once there, the craving to return is the beginning of what she calls Spirit hunger.

“Knocking is where we grow up in prayer. … In prayer we need to keep knocking until we get an answer, or until we’re released from praying that prayer,” she writes.

With generous Scripture references (often the source of the answers we seek, Meacham said), “Spirit Hunger” encourages the reader to earnestly seek God in the throes of tumult and on the grassy banks of still waters.

Southwestern Seminary launches shortest fully online master”s degree

FORT WORTH—Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will launch the shortest fully online master’s degree among Southern Baptist seminaries this summer with its brand new master of theological studies degree (MTS). Trustees approved the 36-hour degree at their spring meeting, April 3.
“This finally makes it possible for people who are in their churches and preparing for ministry to go ahead and get their degree completely without having to leave the church to which they feel called and to which they’re committed,” said Mark Leeds, registrar at the seminary. “It makes access more possible for our local churches.”
Seminary administrators and trustees said the fully accredited degree combines the rigorous academic content that Southwestern is known for with the accessibility and affordability those in ministry often need. Leeds noted one unique aspect of the degree is that the courses are predominately taught by full-time faculty members.
“Most of our online courses are taught by our own faculty,” Leeds said. “There are other institutions where you have a whole cadre of adjuncts that are a part of teaching the courses. One of the strong points of our courses is that we haven’t farmed them out to 100 different adjuncts. They’re primarily taught by our own elected faculty members.”
Of the courses in the master of theological studies, 92 percent of the online courses are taught by elected faculty and former full-time faculty members.
Leeds said the degree could also be beneficial for church members looking to strengthen their understanding of the Bible and to maximize their ministry in the local church.
“In Southern Baptist life, we have a strong laity—people who are not on staff but are committed to serving in different ways such as deacons and Sunday school teachers,” Leeds said. He added that the MTS makes it possible to get “solid, foundational knowledge in the basic disciplines you would want to have to be a better servant in the church.”
Twelve three-hour courses make up the MTS, including classes in hermeneutics, Old Testament, New Testament, church history, Baptist heritage, systematic theology, apologetics, and ethics. As an academic degree, the program is not meant to replace the comprehensive master of divinity and master of arts in Christian education degrees, which provide further ministry training and still require a portion of credit hours to be completed on campus. These programs provide additional coursework in biblical languages, preaching, pastoral ministry, evangelism, missions, and electives.
Those interested in applying for the fully online master of theological studies can complete the online application at swbts.edu/applynow or contact Southwestern’s office of admissions at 800-SWBTS-01. For a list of Frequently Asked Questions, visit swbts.edu/MTS.

—Keith Collier is director of news and information for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

Approving of God”s conduct

This is a reason I follow liberals on Twitter. Recently, the practice paid off with this nugget:

The editor of the Christian Century is repulsed by the History Channel’s telling of the Bible, particularly by the account of the conquest of the promised land. Media representations of the Bible, John M. Buchannan claims, miss the point in their effort to get the details of the story right. The enlightened have long ago “come to an accommodation with biblical texts that stretch the imagination.” Oh my, please protect us from divine revelation that stretches our imaginations, or personal biases.

The real clarifying moment is when he quotes a Franciscan monk who says that revelation (a Scripture text) is not authentic if we “see God operating at a lesser level than the best person you know.” Substitute “judge” for “see” and you have it. How many people would judge John 14:6 as unworthy of God? Many that you know would do just that.

If we could judge God, or “bestness” or even good rightly, we would not need God. This article tells you why the body of Christ is not one—much less the world.

Southwestern board to seek bylaw revision on tenure, adds 36-hour online master”s

FORT WORTH—Presiding over his last meeting of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees, Chairman Hance Dilbeck joined the board in signaling broad agreement with President Paige Patterson’s appeal to stop granting tenure to faculty. The board voted without dissent to bring bylaw revisions before the board next fall that would end new tenure.

Trustee Eddie Miller, in presenting the motion, said “the majority of trustees” of Southwestern “agree in principle with the cessation of tenure for this institution.”

A discussion over specifics was brief, leaving the details to be hashed out next fall. Trustee Dan Brandel asked Dilbeck whether or not previous tenure would be recognized. Bylaws and policies committee chairman Miles F. Boyd quickly added, “We’re not going to violate any contracts we have signed.”

Boyd also stated, “We have worked with Eddie (Miller) on this motion. Our committee met yesterday and they asked me to stand and rise in support of this motion.” Having already begun the assignment, Boyd noted that one other Southern Baptist seminary has no tenure and another has limitations on tenure. He assured the board that all of the input he received from trustees had been discussed in what was the longest meeting of that committee in memory, he said.

“We discussed every one of them I could remember and the committee is unanimous in its support,” Boyd stated.

“It’s premature to talk about anything more than asking to bring this to the board in the fall meeting,” Dilbeck said.

Bart Barber, a trustee from Farmersville, seconded the motion and later spoke in his chapel sermon drawn from Obadiah to the obligation of seminary trustees and faculty. Making application to students, pastors, and church planters who minister in various situations, Barber spoke of lessons to be learned from a study of the betrayal of Edom.

“You have taken on a sacred trust and obligation to the people of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Barber reminded trustees. “Be careful not to betray that,” he said. “I’m glad I don’t have to answer to God like the people who chose to steal institutions away from Baptist people. May God protect us from ever doing anything like that.”

To the faculty and administration, Barber reminded, “Yes, it’s true you’re given a salary, buildings like this to teach in, and Cooperative Program funding that comes here week after week, month after month to help you do what you do. But none of that is the true sacred trust given to you.”

That trust, he said, is primarily from the “moms and dads, pastors and deacons and sweet servants of God—the Sunday School teachers who pour their lives out to young people, led them to the Lord, seeing them baptized, and helped to teach them rudimentary steps to follow.”

“God has called them to ministry and these churches entrust those gems as the future of the church. Their hopes and dreams and prayers they entrust to you that you might equip them and prepare them for the service they have to do,” he emphasized. “Do not betray that trust.”

A new master of theological studies degree (MTS) was approved unanimously, providing the shortest online degree of its type among Southern Baptist seminaries. Featuring courses in Old and New Testament, hermeneutics, church history, Baptist heritage, systematic theology, apologetics and ethics, applications may be made by contacting the admissions office.

“This finally makes it possible for people who are in their churches and preparing for ministry to go ahead and get their degree completely without having to leave the church to which they feel called and to which they’re committed,” explained Mark Leeds, registrar at the seminary. “It makes access more possible for our local churches.”

Care has been taken to ensure that the program remains as rigorous as the coursework required for students in residence on the campus, said Provost Craig Blaising in addressing the academic affairs committee. Courses are predominantly taught by full-time faculty in contrast to some institutions that utilize adjunct professors who often have other full-time jobs.

“One of the strong points of our courses is that we haven’t farmed them out to 100 different adjuncts,” Leeds told the TEXAN. The same can be said of most other coursework delivered online by Southwestern with 92 percent of the online offerings taught by elected and full-time faculty.

The board adopted a $32.9 million budget for 2013-14 with no increase in tuition and fees for educational programs. Seven professors received promotions in keeping with advancement tracks.

A revised statement on ethical conduct was approved without objection—a proactive step in what is considered increased legal vulnerability for religious organizations over sexual misconduct. The board approved the administration’s recommendation, which reads: “Generally, violations of the institution’s ethical conduct policy include, but are not limited to: […] Engaging in a lifestyle contrary to biblical standards including, but not limited to, heterosexual misconduct, homosexual or bisexual behavior, transgenderism or any other form of sexual misconduct.”

Trustees also elected new officers, including Steven M. James, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, La., as chairman; Miles F. (Mike) Boyd, pastor of Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., as vice-chairman; and John S. Brunson, at-large trustee from Houston.

Dilbeck’s tenure on the board began with Patterson’s presidency in 2003. “I’ve seen Dr. and Mrs. Patterson work tirelessly, pouring their lives into this institution for the past decade,” he told the TEXAN as he packed up to make the drive back to Oklahoma City, where he pastors Quail Springs Baptist Church.

He praised the talent of the Pattersons in raising more than $80 million dollars for the seminary over the course of a decade, making it possible to build both “faculty and facilities.”

“Dr. Patterson has created a climate of personal soul winning on campus,” he added. “Last week over 40 people in the community were saved through the witness of students and faculty,” he said, referring to the expansion of local outreach through missions and evangelism practicums as well as the long-running placement of students in churches across North America during spring break.

More than 1,355 professions of faith have been reported since 2010, averaging more than one profession a day, reported David Mills, professor of evangelism. During one five-day January class, 44 professions of faith were reported with another 76 added in the four weeks afterward.

Good feelings, bad leadership

Here’s the story of two Robs. Both men were entrusted by constituents to speak for them, to lead a group according to established principles. Our two leaders are assumed to have solid historical and documentary foundations for the values they call primary. And both Robs were turned aside by things unrelated to the stewardship they were given.

Our first Rob is a Republican Senator from Ohio. Rob Portman recently announced that he favors same-sex marriage. A socially liberal Senator is not remarkable except that Mr. Portman is the first Republican Senator to support same-sex marriage. Even that is not the most notable aspect of Senator Portman’s announcement. He had a “change of heart” on the issue because of his homosexual son. Rob Portman couldn’t have given you a good reason for whatever conviction he held on same-sex marriage a year ago because his conversion was not based on reason. While I sympathize with the love of a father for his son, Mr. Portman will make policy decisions that affect Americans far beyond his own child. If he had promised to follow his heart or to do what seems best for his own nuclear family during his most recent campaign I might suppose he’d have lost. Most voters would rather our leaders have substantial reasons for the things they do on our behalf. If a Senator decided to introduce a public works bill based primarily on his cousin’s need of employment, what would we say about that?

Our second Rob was a pastor, is still a preacher of sorts, writes successful books, and defined “relevant” for quite a large number of evangelical pastors. Pastor Rob Bell left his Michigan church last year in the wake of a popular book that cast doubt on the reality of hell. In a recent sermon at an Episcopal church, Bell took a next logical step by explaining that evangelical churches were wrong, “ghettoized” he said, and would die unless we changed our message on same-sex marriage. Rob Bell’s reasoning seems different but is similar to Rob Portman’s. Bell is motivated somewhat by affection of younger, more liberal Americans but also by antipathy for the views of more conservative Christians. That is not the motivation that Bell’s congregants or readers formerly expected of him. Because he was a pastor and writer on pastoral subjects they might reasonably assume that he would be compelled by the written Word of God rather than the pull of relevance or contempt for irrelevance. Our earnest desire to gain a hearing must never be accomplished by changing our essential message. While I acknowledge that even a biblical view of marriage is not our primary message, we cannot abandon doctrine that flows out of the gospel without undermining the essentials of the gospel. The truth of the Bible is interconnected.

Making decisions based primarily on what we find emotionally repellant or attractive is a sign our times but it is not a characteristic of leadership. We commonly base budgets and elect leaders based on these emotions. Elected leaders are in turn emboldened or restrained by opinion polls that change daily. Polling numbers on Americans and same-sex marriage do not indicate that we are a nation of thinkers. Americans find such “reasoning” more popular in public policy or religion than we do in business or engineering, though. I am glad that the people who design bridges or fly airplanes don’t trust their feelings about what’s level or straight. But we shouldn’t get the idea that sloppy reasoning about morals and policy will cause no catastrophe.   

Convictions about what’s essentially true must precede and trump our feelings about applying truth. Do you think Moses had any pertinent feelings, fear maybe, when he ordered the Egyptian pharaoh to let the Hebrew children go? Yet Moses had spent some years in the desert, hearing God and deciding what he believed. Can you imagine Elijah having any trepidation at all about confronting his entire nation on Mt. Carmel? Again, Elijah had spent an extended time alone with God, deciding what was always true. Was Jesus really tempted during his earthly ministry? Yes, and he also spent time with God, listening to him and deciding that God’s revealed will would direct him rather than any lesser thing. These leaders all faced negative polling numbers and emotional pressure during their ministries but they didn’t turn aside.

I’m not suggesting that U.S. Senators should be required to spend 40 days or three years in the desert or even that all pastors have to spend three years in a seminary desert, but I am suggesting that those who haven’t decided what they believe are unfit to lead others. Once they’ve formed such opinions—convictions really—they shouldn’t change them often. And when they change convictions, it should be because their essential view of truth has also changed. In nearly every imaginable case, it’s then appropriate to resign whatever positions those former convictions won them.