Rev. Gil

A Short Poem

2008-09-30T13:06:00.000-04:00

This is a short poem I wrote for worship today:

We worship a God who in heaven resides,
He is not in one single place.
Where ever we go, he is by our sides,
And he knows our name and our face.
So think about that, where ever you go,
Let the world see Jesus in all you uphold.
Otherwise, how are they going to know,
His love is more precious than gold.

Where their loyalties lie????

2008-09-17T17:13:00.000-04:00

The office of Alaska Governor, and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, has decided it will not cooperate in the investigation into whether or not Palin fired the state's public safety commissioner after he refused to fire a state policeman who was divorcing her sister. This is according to this cnn report.

There are several quotes in the report I have serious problems with. Consider the following:

"As state employees, our clients have taken an oath to uphold the Alaska Constitution, and for that reason, they respect the legislature's desire to carry out an investigation in support of its law-making powers," Attorney General Talis Colberg, a Palin appointee, told the investigation's manager in a letter released Wednesday. "However, our clients are also loyal employees subject to the supervision of the governor."

And this quote:

"Moreover, two lawsuits have been filed challenging the legitimacy of the investigation," Colberg wrote. "On behalf of our clients, we respectfully ask that you withdraw the subpoenas directed to our clients and thereby relieve them from the circumstance of having to choose where their loyalties lie."

I would argue that as state employees, these workers' loyalty should be to the citizens of Alaska who pay their salary, not to the governor. The rule of law, not loyalty should be the guiding principal here, and Governor Palin needs to remember that she, as well as her employees, do not work for themselves or for her, but for the people of Alaska. If Palin broke the law, and her employees know it, they should be compelled to testify.

Time to start blogging again...Christian Education in the 21st Century

2008-05-24T13:47:00.003-04:00

Having graduated from Wake Forest, the time has come to start blogging again. In my second and third year of school, the amount of work I had to do and some personal situations kept me from blogging as much I would have liked. The last thing I wanted to do in my free time was do more writing. I needed to spend time with my wife, spend time relaxing, and spend time studying the Sunday School lesson for the next week. But, at least for now, I have the time to do a little blogging. There have been those who have said that I should wait until I have a job to start blogging again, after all, search committees could be reading what I write. But, to me, that is a good thing. I want to be completely open and honest as I look for a job, so I welcome any search committee to read through my blog.

Over the past year, I have spent much of my time studying Christian education, educational theory, and the challenges facing Christian education in the 21st century. This study started when I was preparing to preach a sermon last year. I had been asked by the pastor in a church where I was serving to add a connection to the great commission in a sermon I was about to preach. As I studied the passage in Matthew 28, I noticed something very interesting as I compared modern translations and the King James Version of verses 19-20.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (King James Version)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (New Revised Standard Version)

Notice the difference in the translations? The NRSV translates the first part of Jesus' commandment as "make disciples" and the KJV translates it as "teaching." So, I got online and investigated other translations, and found that all modern translations, including the NKJV, use the disciples translation. So, I went and checked the Greek for myself. The verb "to teach" was one of the first I learned, so I knew what that was. Sure enough, the verb "to teach" (didasko) appeared in verse 20, but the verb that was translated as "make disciples" (matheteuo) was one I was not familiar with, at least not as a verb. The root of the verb is the noun for disciple and I recognized that. I began to ask myself why the author of Matthew used two different words; there had to be a reason. What is the difference between "teaching" and making disciples? The result of my study has become the foundation for the first stage of my ministry.

What is the difference? I think the difference is twofold. The first difference is Relationships! It is entirely possible to teach someone something in a one hour training class. Making disciples, however, requires much more time and commitment. Jesus is telling the disciples to be “to all nations” exactly what he has been with them. Jesus was a teacher, but he was also a friend and a mentor. He didn’t quit when they “got it wrong”, which they did alot. Instead he was patient and loved them through the learning process.

The second difference is depth of teaching. Most churches do a fairly good job of teaching the foundation of the faith. But, what is a foundation for? It is for holding up the rest of the structure, it is not the entire structure. Churches who never get beyond the foundation are missing one of the major points of the great commission.

Let me try to give you a couple of examples. Foundational teaching: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Discipleship teaching: Genesis also tells us that man was put in the garden to care for it. As Christians, therefore, we should be caring for the earth and doing everything we can to slow down or stop damage to the environment.

Foundational teaching: Luke 6.27: ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Discipleship teaching: As Christians we MUST NOT remain silent when our government says there are times when torture is acceptable. For Christians, torture is NEVER acceptable.

But, for the most part, Sunday school teachers don't teach these kinds of lessons, and we rarely hear this kind of message from the pulpit. I will go into the reasons for that in my next post.

Graduation

2008-05-20T23:06:00.003-04:00

Me and Dean Bill Leonard

I have graduated! 15 family members were here to celebrate with me. We had our hooding ceremony on Saturday night and graduation was on Monday. There was one surprise. I was awarded The Katherine Amos Christian Education Award during graduation. The award recognizes excellent work in Christian education while at Wake Forest Divinity. You can view some more picture by clicking here.

From school, I move on to the job search. I am talking to several churches, and the search is going well so far. Please pray that Gay and I will find the place where the Lord wants us to serve. As you can imagine it is a time of pretty high stress.

In Sickness and in Health

2008-03-05T13:43:00.004-05:00

On December 4th of last year, I took my wife Gay to the hospital with 4 sores on her legs. Little did I know then what the next four months would be like.

Gay was admitted to the hospital, and the doctors thought she had MRSA, an antibiotic resistant form of staph. The infection had entered her bloodstream, and she was extremely ill. On December 5th at about 10:30 PM, she was taken in for emergency surgery to remove the infected areas. Luckily, after this surgery she began to get better. The cultures came back and the infection was not MRSA, and the doctors were able to change her antibiotics to target the specific infection she had. She still required one more surgery, although the surgeon told us that he did not have to do much. Gay stayed in the hospital for nearly two weeks.

All of this obviously happened during final paper and exam time at Wake, but the faculty, staff, and student body were extremely supportive. I received calls, emails and visits from those associated with the divinity school and all of my professors gave me more time to finish my work. My church, First Baptist High Point, was also wonderful. I always knew that help was only a phone call away. Whether I needed someone to sit with me during surgery, or just someone to talk to, the staff and membership were there to support me.

Gay came home the week before Christmas, but all of her wounds still required cleaning, packing, and dressing twice daily. When we left the hospital we were told that a home health care nurse would take care of this for us. On the first visit, however, the nurse told us that our insurance would not cover daily visits and I would be the one caring for the wounds.

There were four wounds that needed care. The least severe was about a 5 inch long wound on her right thigh. The second was about a 1 by 2 inch wound in her groin. The third was about a four inch wound shaped like a spoon on her right thigh. The final wound, on her butt, was about 1 inch by 2 inches but about 4 inches deep. Twice a day, I had to remove the old packing, clean each wound, soak gauze in saline, pack each wound full of this gauze and then bandage over them. Had you asked me whether or not I would have been able to do this, I would have said no. But, it is amazing what you can do for the one you love when you have no other choice.

Luckily when I came home my parents were here to help out. I was too tired to be much good to anyone and they took care of food, shopping, and prescriptions. Church folks were also bringing us meals every other day. The plans were for my mother to stay through my upcoming trip to Egypt to help out while my dad would go home. Unfortunately, on December 23, my father had a kidney stone attack that would require surgery, so my mother went home to be with him. This left Gay and I home alone for Christmas, but we tried to make the best of it.

Two weeks and one day after Gay came home for the hospital, I had to do what was, for me, unthinkable: I had to leave Gay and go half-way around the world to Egypt for two weeks. I had already paid for the trip, through a grant and some contributions, the trip was non-refundable, and I needed the credit to graduate, so there was not much choice. My mother agreed to stay with Gay for the duration of the trip, which was great, and I am glad I did it, but that did not make it any easier. Luckily the hotel where we stayed in Cairo was across the street from a shopping center with not 1, not 2, but 3 internet cafes. All of the computers were equipped with cameras and microphones, so I was able to talk to Gay every night via Skype. Being able to see and hear her let me know she was doing ok.

School was supposed to start a few days after we got back, but my first day of class was snowed out which gave me more of a chance to recover. I started back to school, but I still had a lot of work from the previous semester to get caught up on.

At the end of January, I went to Atlanta to attend the New Baptist Covenant meeting. It was a great experience (this will be yet another blog post coming up) and Gay stayed with family in Columbus while I was in Atlanta. I came back on Saturday afternoon, we attended the Christening of our second God-daughter on Sunday, and prepared to go home on Monday. By Sunday night a pain Gay had in her abdomen had become intense, and by Monday morning the area was bright red. So, we took her to a walk-in clinic on Monday afternoon. She had another infection, although this one was early on. The doctor drained it and told us to come back the next morning, which we did. When the doctor saw her again, he said the antibiotics appeared to be working and said we could go back to Winston and follow up with her doctor there. Back in Winston, the doctor put her on IV antibiotics that were supposed to be done by home health care. Well, yet again the insurance would not pay for that (and yet there are those who say there is no health care crisis in this country.) Instead she had to go to the hospital every day for the IV. Keep in mind this is in the middle of one of the worst flu outbreaks North Carolina has had in recent years. So many of days started off with me taking Gay to the hospital and dropping her off, going to class, going back to the hospital, picking her up, taking her to the doctor's office, taking her somewhere to get lunch, taking her home, and then returning to class. It was very hard to get caught up with that kind of schedule.

We thought that everything was almost over and Gay woke up one morning and the area on her abdomen was swollen and draining again. We took her to the doctor, and he told her she would miss another week of work and changed her antibiotics again.

Well, I am pleased that I can now report that Gay is doing much better. She is back at work, although she is not back at full speed. As of last week, I am caught up in Divinity School, so graduation in May should happen without a hitch. I have started the job search process, so if any of my readers know of any positions that fit me, let me know by using the e-mail address on the right. I will post some pictures from Egypt and my thoughts on the New Baptist Covenant very soon.

For family and friends, please let me know if you are interested in coming to graduation or a graduation party that will be held at FBC High Point. You can leave me a comment on this post, and I will get in touch with you. Don't worry, all comments are private unless I choose to make them public, so you can leave your e-mail address without worry.

Thanks again for those who have prayed and helped Gay and me through this very difficult time.

I am in Egypt

2008-01-02T10:41:00.000-05:00

I am in Egypt with Wake Forest Divinity, and I am one of two official bloggers for the trip. Check out the blog at http://wfudsegypt08.blogspot.com

I'm Back

2007-11-15T20:47:00.000-05:00

I have not posted an update for quite a while. I am nearly halfway through my final year of Divinity School at Wake Forest University, and I have just been extremely busy and doing more writing is one of the last things I want to do. So, here's what has been going on.

Gay is enjoying her new job as Minister to Children at First Baptist Church of High Point. I am interning there as well. I am teaching the young adult class on Sunday mornings, and we had 35 in class two weeks ago! There is a lot of energy in the class even though we have been discussing stewardship! I have also taught on Wednesday nights and preached at a service held by the Vietnamese mission at the church. We are both learning a lot and have enjoyed getting to know a new congregation and a new staff.

Perhaps the most exciting news is my upcoming trip to Egypt. I will be spending nearly two weeks in Egypt after Christmas with a class from the Divinity School. The trip is a part of the Cultural Immersion program at the divinity school at Wake. Egypt is a very unique place because of the large role it played in the development of early Christianity, and the existence of the Coptic Orthodox church alongside a population that is predominantly Muslim. Of course, we will also have the opportunity to see the pyramids and other historic sites as well. There is little doubt that one of the biggest issues the world will face in the 21st century is the relationship between Christians and Muslims, and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to study this relationship first hand, even if it is only for a couple weeks.

I have registered for my classes for next semester, and my schedule looks like this:

Gender and Family in Early Christianity
Introduction to Pastoral Counseling
Formational and Transformational Practices in Christian Education
Multicultural Contexts for Ministry: Egypt
Topics: New Baptist Covenant (attending the event in Atlanta)
Pastoral Preaching
Art of Ministry III (Internship)

I am also beginning my job search, so if any readers know of a church looking for someone like me, let me know and I will send a resume.

WMU of North Carolina - Not Submitting!

2007-08-24T15:32:00.000-04:00

For the past several years, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina has been trying to gain control of the Women's Missionary Union or WMU. So far, they have been unable to do so. Fortunately, it appears that the WMU of North Carolina has taken a definitive step to halt the Baptist State Convention's attempts for control. This is move that took real courage on the part of the WMU leadership, and it is going to require some real courage from the women in Baptist Churches throughout North Carolina as I am sure many male pastors attempt to cut off the WMU. In response, CBF of North Carolina has approved an emergency offering for the WMU. You can read about it here. Hopefully, the moderate Baptists of North Carolina can step up and support the WMU through what will, undoubtedly, be a difficult time for them. My prayers are with the leadership and staff of the WMU through this difficult time.

The following article was posted on Associated Baptist Press:

North Carolina WMU decides to leave convention’s control

By ABP staff

Published: August 22, 2007

CARY, N.C. (ABP) -- The Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina has voted to remove itself from the North Carolina Baptist Building -- and the state convention executive director’s attempt to assert authority over its staff.

The dramatic move culminates 16 months of tension between WMU and the rightward-shifting Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Conflict between the missions-promotion group and BSCNC has simmered since April 2006, when the WMU leadership voted to change the term that described its relationship with the convention from “auxiliary” to “cooperative partner.”

At that time it also assumed final authority in its own personnel matters, although it committed to stay aligned with Baptist State Convention personnel policies. At issue was who could make the final call on potential new hires, a responsibility claimed by the BSCNC executive director-treasurer because each state WMU staff member is a BSCNC employee.

However, the WMU staff positions are mainly funded through a state missions offering that WMU members promote.

Several meetings took place between WMU-NC and BSCNC leadership to resolve the issues, but they reached an impasse when neither side would budge from their position on ultimate authority in hiring WMU-NC staff.

WMU-NC board members approved the move via conference call Aug. 16 and communicated results to BSCNC executive leadership Aug. 21. WMU-NC reported that 25 of the WMU-NC executive board’s 30 members were on the call and 23 voted in favor of the move, with one voting to oppose it and one abstention. The board’s executive committee had earlier recommended the change.

The decision to relocate offices “should not be interpreted as a departure from the organization’s commitment to supporting and promoting missions through the BSCNC, nor as a lack of appreciation for the mutual partnership the organizations have enjoyed in the past,” Ruby Fulbright, WMU-NC executive director, said in a written statement.

After meeting with BSCNC Executive Director Milton Hollifield to inform him of WMU-NC’s decision, she said, “For the integrity of the organization and our history and for what God wants us to do, this is what we had to do.”

Hollifield, who was elected in April 2006, said in a prepared statement that he was “grieved that the longstanding relationship between the BSCNC [and] WMU of NC has moved to this level of consequential uncertainty.”

“We have participated in more than 16 months of dialogue, and it was my hope that this process had helped move us forward together,” Hollifield said. “However, BSCNC leadership was not given the opportunity to discuss this surprise vote by WMU-NC. Anytime we are faced with the desire of an entity to separate from BSCNC it is a terribly unsettling circumstance. I am saddened to see that our long standing relationship of trust and accountability has eroded.”

Fulbright noted that Hollifield has taken a more active role in hiring matters. She said that in previous BSCNC administrations, WMU-NC was wholly responsible for hiring and managing its staff and that the BSCNC executive director merely signed paperwork to enter new WMU-NC employees into the payroll system.

Hollifield was elected to his position in 2006. Conservatives supportive of recent decades’ rightward shift in the national Southern Baptist Convention solidified their control of the North Carolina convention -- long a moderate bastion -- in the years just prior to Hollifield’s appointment.

SBC conservatives at the national level as well as in other state conventions have similarly tried to rein in WMU leadership, with little success. The organization was founded in the late 1800s as an auxiliary to the SBC, and has governed itself since. National WMU receives no funds from the SBC, but promotes the denomination’s missionary work and offerings.

Fulbright said churches that rely on WMU-NC for assistance should see no change. “We intend to continue working with the churches. We intend to keep praying for, promoting, and supporting the offerings, as well as providing missions education resources and training.”

WMU-NC wants to resource other Baptist entities in mission education and involvement, Fulbright said. That includes assistance to churches that affiliate with other denominations and with bodies such as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist World Alliance. The SBC’s conservative leaders have been highly critical of both groups.

Hollifield said such an intention was “a clear departure from the historic focus of the mission and ministry of WMU-NC of NC.”

WMU-NC has asked the BSCNC for a nine-month financial transition to deal with insurance and payroll issues, although it might move out of the Baptist Building sooner. Fulbright said the WMU-NC staff will all resign employment from BSCNC and remain with WMU-NC.

WMU-NC has nine employees at the BSCNC central office in Cary, N.C., near Raleigh and Durham. WMU-NC also employs two part-time workers and the facilities manager at Camp Mundo Vista, near Asheboro, N.C.

WMU-NC also wants to continue receiving funds through the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO), an annual state-wide offering that provides funds for WMU-NC, North Carolina Baptist Men, church planting, and a variety of other projects.

Hollifield said the 2007 NCMO distribution must follow the allocation percentages already approved by messengers to the last convention annual meeting. But he also said he would not speculate about either the BSCNC Executive Committee’s willingness to continue transition funding or about future NCMO allocations.

“I am hopeful that some level of continued cooperation might be salvaged, but rest assured there will be missions education ministries and women’s ministries provided through BSCNC with or without WMU of NC’s cooperation,” Hollifield said.

The 2007 NCMO goal is $2.53 million. If fully funded, WMU-NC would receive $867,437, or 33.6 percent, of the total. That represents their program budget, including salaries. Benefits, insurance, automobiles, office space and technology are provided through the state convention’s general budget. According to BSCNC officials, the annual value of the benefits provided directly by the convention exceeds $400,000.

Fulbright said WMU-NC has received a preliminary offer of alternative office space in the Raleigh area at a reasonable cost.

-- Robert Marus contributed to this story.

Graduation Schedule!

2007-08-01T20:28:00.000-04:00

This post is really only useful for family and close friends. As many of you know, I will be graduating from Wake Forest University Divinity School next May. I have been asked to post the schedule here. If there is a possibility you will be coming to graduation, and have not talked to me about it yet, please leave me a comment or send me an e-mail so that I can try to get you a ticket.

May 8 - Last Day of Exams
May 17 - Hooding Ceremony (Saturday)
May 18 - I am hoping to preach. (Sunday)
May 19 - Graduation with a party to follow. (Monday)

If you have any questions about the above schedule, please let me know.

I added a countdown to the column on the right!

Baptists and Democracy: Messy and Difficult

2007-07-31T17:46:00.000-04:00

There are two things that have been worrying me recently: the state of the Baptist church and the state of our national government. Believe it or not, I am beginning to think the problems in these organizations are more similar than you may think.

Let's first consider the question of leadership. Where does the power in both of these systems really lie?

Historically, Baptists have always practiced congregational polity. This means that the congregation, not the pastor or deacons (the misunderstood role of deacons will be the topic of another post), should be the final authority on ALL matters. In my experience, the constitutions of most Baptist churches have a clause that says exactly that. However, it has also been my experience that many Baptist churches fail miserably at putting this into practice. There seems to be a feeling that if the pastor and/or deacons decide something, the church must follow it. Interestingly, even if the decision violates the church constitution, it is often allowed to stand. Sadly and more importantly, even if the decision violates the teachings of the Bible, it is often allowed to stand. The pastor acts more like a CEO than the shepherd of his congregation and the congregation put their faith in him (or her), rather than in the Lord. Congregations like these often place "congregational health" above the truth. I prefer to side with Martin Luther who said, "Peace if possible, truth at all costs." Secrecy and lies only poison a congregation; they do not, and cannot, heal.

Congregational polity does have a weakness, however. It requires a very educated congregation. It requires a congregation that knows the Bible -- a congregation that is willing and able to listen to its leaders with a critical ear. Christianity is not as simple as some would like for us to believe. For most questions, there is not "an answer," rather there are multiple answers. This makes a lot of people very uncomfortable. They want to come to church and be told what the answers are -- they don't have the time or desire to study themselves - that's what pastors and Sunday School teachers are for. This is why congregations follow leaders who are not following the Bible: they simply do not know better.

In the next post, we'll move from local churches to the national government.

Christian Fighting...

2007-07-09T18:02:00.000-04:00

I don't mind admitting that I have been discouraged lately. The church can be a very discouraging place to be sometimes. I have been involved in two congregations that seem to spend more time fighting than doing anything else and where truth was far down on the list of priorities.

There are two ways that the problem can be fixed. First, Christian ministers and laity can learn how to talk and, more importantly, disagree with each other without resorting to name calling. I was talking to a deacon in another church recently who told me that one of the board of deacons stood up, pointed his finger at people and started calling them liberals, post-moderns, etc. While these labels may have some useful academic purposes of identifying different theologies, I do not believe they have a place in church meetings when they are being used to degrade others. (Also, I think most people only have "stereotype" understandings of these terms, and have no idea what they really mean.) None of us has all the answers, and we have to be able to admit that.

For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

The above quote is from 1 Corinthians 13 commonly known as the love chapter and it is familiar to most Christians. However, many Christians do not realize is its context. It immediately follows Paul's discussion of spiritual gifts. When considered in that context, the message becomes apparent. Even if I am the most spiritually gifted person in a deacon's meeting, if I do not have love for my fellow Christians, I have nothing. I think it is also a pretty strong condemnation of Christians acting like Children. How do Children act? Well, when children disagree, sometimes you hear them say they are going to take their toys and go home because they don't agree with something that is going on. Ever hear a Christian say he or she is going to take his tithe to another church that will appreciate it? Or a pastor say if you don't do it his way, he won't do it at all? We have to remember who we serve. We are not serving ourselves or even our pastor; we are serving our Lord.

Don't get me wrong. There are times when Christians can and should disagree, but there is a right way to do it. For instance, one should always stand up for the truth (something that seems to happen all too seldom), but he can do it in a way that does not demean others.

The second way this will be fixed is very simple. People will simply stop coming to church. Whether it is fair or not, people hold their church leaders, whether they are ministers, deacons or other leaders, to a higher standard. This is especially true of non-Christians. Many are just looking for a reason to ignore Christianity or support their conception that we are all just a bunch of hypocrites.

Churches have to realize that this childlike behavior is not only driving away church members, it is also discouraging people from going into full time Christian service in the local church.

A Letter to the President from Pastor Amy Butler

2007-07-06T17:18:00.000-04:00

The following was posted on Amy Butler's, the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., blog on July 4th. I thought it was very well written, and expresses the sentiments many of us feel.

Democracy in the Dust: A Letter to George Bush

It's a little dangerous for the preacher to get political, I know.

It's risky to speak truth to power, but the fact of the matter is, while government needs to keep itself out of institutional religion, our faith informs who we are as citizens of this country and of the world. If our faith doesn't compel us to speak out, what will?

The commuting of Scooter Libby's sentence this week was the last straw for me. Today, on the birthday of our country, I thought I'd write a letter to our leader to let him know what I think.

Opinions expressed here are solely my own, as you know.

Dear Mr. Bush:

Happy birthday to us, and all that.

Truthfully, I’m rather wary of this holiday, as it seems more and more to me that we’re celebrating a distant dream rather than a hopeful reality. You know what I mean?

I didn’t think so.

I have to tell you, I know being a leader is not the easiest task, especially when effective leadership means bucking the status quo, challenging current systems and ushering in new hope for the future.

I feel for you, really I do.

I know it’s not easy, but I must ask: is there really a need to up-end democracy in such a flagrant manner as you have repeatedly, consistently done during your time in office?

We must take responsibility, I know, for putting you there (twice). Although I myself did not contribute to that effort either time, I’m wondering if I didn’t sit by too idle and uninvolved while others did?

This most recent decision of yours, to make sure Scooter Libby escapes a prison term, while not surprising, seems to be the last straw for me. I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines while you destroy our country’s international reputation, alienate our neighbors, and slowly chip away at the freedoms that have made our country great.

Maybe you feel you’re protected enough to behave in whatever manner you want, to leave democracy and the American people in the dust while you keep your friends happy, but I want you to know I’m tired of it all. For the first time in my adult life I am genuinely alarmed about the kind of country I will be handing off to my kids.

I’m not hoping, of course, that you will see the light, change your ways, fix the damage you’ve done . . . it’s, frankly, far too extensive by now. I just wanted to say: I am disappointed in you . . . disappointed that you don’t have the courage to be a visionary leader to a country with such promise. You missed the boat, but I, for one, will not stand by anymore while you leave democracy in the dust.

Happy birthday, America. May the world remember the promise of this country and stand by us as we try to pick up the dream, dust it off, and reinvent it for the future.

Who or what do we worship on July 4?

2007-07-05T09:41:00.000-04:00

The following article appeared in the Lakeland Ledger last weekend. This is an issue we have discussed several times in class, and I agree with the sentiments of the author. Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know why.

Does 'Old Glory' Belong in Church?

By Cary McMullen
cary.mcmullen@theledger.com

Some time back, after church one day, I was talking with some visitors. One gentleman, who was clearly a military veteran, asked - or rather demanded to know - why the American flag was standing off to the side at floor level rather than up front on the elevated chancel.

I knew the answer because at the time I was serving on the church's governing board, and we had to make a decision where to put the flag in our newly built sanctuary. I explained that the board had decided the chancel was reserved for the holy sacraments and the preaching of God's word. But rather than leave the flag out of the sanctuary altogether, it was placed, along with the Christian flag, beside an entrance visible to most of the congregation.

The gentleman went on to complain that the American flag was on the left when it should be on the right, but I declined to argue further. I didn't tell him that in my opinion the flag shouldn't be in the sanctuary at all.

I know that many, like the gentleman visitor, don't agree with me. On Sunday, in anticipation of Independence Day, I'm sure that in many churches the American flag will be paraded down the aisles and placed front and center in celebration of God and country. I certainly am not ashamed of the American flag, but I'm uneasy about putting the symbol of the nation so prominently in a church, or any place of worship. I think it encourages a dangerous idea: that the causes of America are also the causes of God, or worse, that America can be worshiped just like God. Putting the flag in the sanctuary flirts with idolatry.

We hear a lot about American exceptionalism, which holds that we have a special place - even a sacred place - in history, that we are God's chosen people. What we don't realize is how many other nations, in other times and places, have said the same thing before us. I'm afraid Christians have been particularly susceptible to this temptation. For some reason, patriotism and Christian belief are easily fused.

Early 20th-century Europe was chockablock with nationalistic fervor, and every nation competed with the other to claim God was on its side. In Anglican churches, there were cries of "God save the king." In Lutheran churches, it was "God save the Kaiser." In Orthodox churches, it was "God save the Tsar and holy mother Russia."

Even after World War I put an end to most of those monarchies - and millions of lives to boot - this patriotic Christianity didn't go away. I have read that the Nazi propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels, was married in a church with a Nazi flag draped over the altar.

We rightly recoil at that, but there were plenty of Germans who saw no difficulty with putting the national symbol prominently in the church. "Why can't we worship God and honor our country?" they might have asked.

Ah, but America is different, we say. What about the Pilgrims? Didn't they found Massachusetts as a Christian colony? Somehow I think that those men and women who suffered under the state-sponsored Church of England wouldn't take much comfort from seeing an American flag in a church. They might say we have simply traded one flag for another.

Well, it's not my intention to offend. In general, I can live with those who disagree with me on this. I've never walked out of a church because it had the American flag standing next to the pulpit, although I could imagine doing so if it were draped around the cross.

Like most of you, I am thankful for the blessings of our country, and I pray they might continue. But I also try to remember that God is not nearly as impressed with us as we are with ourselves.

Have a safe Independence Day.

Cary McMullen is religion editor for The Ledger. Read his blog, The Scriptorium, at religion.theledger.com. He can be reached at cary.mcmullen@theledger.com or 863-802-7509.

How Blogs Can Change the World

2007-06-22T22:50:00.000-04:00

Every now and then I look at the log of people who have visited my blog. While I cannot tell for sure who is visiting, I can usually tell where they are coming from and how they got here. I was intrigued tonight when I saw the a referral from AOL News. So, I visited the referring link. The news story was about a resignation at Southwestern Seminary and there was a button at the bottom to click on to list related blogs and articles. Well, guess who was on that list? Me! The post before this one talks about Southeastern and I guess the search at AOL picked up on that. I just thought it was really cool! And, it goes to show the power of blogging and how it is possible for a single blogger to have a pretty large voice on the internet. You can click on the link above to see a picture of the page.

Putting Some Legs on Our Theology

2007-06-21T16:25:00.001-04:00

Moderate Baptists are finally putting some legs under their theology. Although many of us talk about supporting women in ministry, there are very few medium or large churches with women as pastors.

That started to change this week when First Baptist Church of Decatur. Georgia voted to call Julie Pennington-Russell as their senior pastor. Here is the story from Associated Baptist Press:

DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) -- First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ga., has become the largest church associated with the Southern Baptist Convention or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to hire a woman as senior pastor.

In a closed business session after Sunday morning worship June 17, nearly 400 members voted to call Julie Pennington-Russell as minister. The proposal, approved by a show of hands, went unchallenged in a discussion session.

Pennington-Russell, 46, is currently senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, a post she has held since 1998. She had previously worked as a pastor at Nineteenth Avenue Baptist Church in San Francisco. She will begin her new job Aug. 19, succeeding Gary Parker, who resigned.

The church, with 2,700 members, is one of several historic congregations in Decatur, which is now surrounded by metropolitan Atlanta.

“The thought of coming alongside this remarkable congregation in this world-class city at this moment in history fills me with a huge joy,” Pennington-Russell said in a press statement. “Our family is eager to hoist our sail with this great community of Christ-followers.”

In a statement to the church about Pennington-Russell, search committee members said they spent 800 hours considering 64 candidates for the position. The committee also consulted an outside panel of six people “knowledgeable in Baptist life today.”

“At the end of the process, however, our selection was unanimous. Every member of the committee expressed the conviction that the Holy Spirit has indeed led us to our final selection,” the statement said. “We truly believe that [Pennington-Russell] embodies all of the qualities you asked us to find in a pastor, and we are convinced that, like us, you will learn to love her and admire her for her depth, her joyous Christian spirit, and her dedication to the gospel message.”

Pennington-Russell will undoubtedly become a prominent figure in moderate Baptist life. While the SBC's doctrinal statement, the "Baptist Faith and Message," states that “the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture,” a recent study by Baptist Women in Ministry identified female senior pastors in 117 congregations currently or previously affiliated with the SBC. More than 1,800 women have been ordained to serve in various ministry roles, the study reported.

Pennington-Russell graduated from the University of Central Florida in Orlando and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif. She is completing a doctor of ministry degree at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Pennington-Russell and her husband, Tim, have two children.

First Baptist Church of Decatur, with a history reaching back to the Civil War, was founded as a Southern Baptist church. According to the church’s website, however, 80 percent of its members now designate their denominational support to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and roughly 20 percent support the SBC. In 2006, the church reported an average Sunday school attendance of roughly 450 people.

Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an opponent of women as pastors, agreed Pennington-Russell's selection precedent-setting. For a church with the history and prominence of First Baptist Decatur to call a woman as senior minister is “undeniably historic,” he said in a June 5 post on www.conventionalthinking.net.

“Julie Pennington-Russell will quickly become one of the most prominent leaders among moderate and liberal Baptists,” he wrote. “One additional development is just as certain. This move increases the visible distance between the Southern Baptist Convention and the constellation of moderate Baptist organizations disaffected from the denomination. The distance is theological, cultural, ideological -- and growing.”

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So what is the right role for women? Consider this article from EthicsDaily.com:

Baptist Seminary Offers Degree in Homemaking for Pastors' Wives

Bob Allen
06-15-07

Starting this fall Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will offer a program in Christian homemaking, the seminary's president said Tuesday. "We are moving against the tide in order to establish family and gender roles as described in God's word for the home and the family," seminary President Paige Patterson said in his prepared report to the Southern Baptist Convention this week in San Antonio, Texas.

According to the seminary Web site, the bachelor-of-arts in humanities degree, with a concentration in homemaking, will be offered through the seminary's undergraduate college program.

" The College at Southwestern endeavors to prepare women to model the characteristics of the godly woman as outlined in Scripture," a description of the program reads. "This is accomplished through instruction in homemaking skills, developing insights into home and family while continuing to equip women to understand and engage the culture of today."

Course work includes three hours of "general homemaking," three hours on "the value of a child," seven hours of "d esign and apparel"--including a four-hour "clothing construction with lab"--seven hours of nutrition and meal preparation and a three-hour course on the "Biblical Model for the Home and Family."

Responding to a question at the SBC annual meeting about the program, Patterson said many wives of future preachers have said, "We need to know in a day when homemaking is no longer honored whether or not it would be possible for us to have a course of study that would lead to a degree in homemaking."

"It is homemaking for the sake of the church and the ministry and homemaking for the sake of our society," Patterson said. "If we do not do something to salvage the future of the home, both our denomination and our nation will be destroyed."

The seminary's trustees were told about the new program last fall. It wasn't mentioned in news stories or the seminary's press release, but a Baptist blogger critical of Patterson's administration reported he "nearly shot Diet Coke out of my nose" when he heard the recommendation. Trying to imagine how such a degree falls under the umbrella of the institutional mission of a theological seminary, blogger Benjamin Cole dismissed the idea as "quite silly."

"A seminary degree in cookie-baking is about as useful as an M.Div. in automotive repair, if you ask me," Cole said. After the fall trustee meeting, Cole proceeded to parody what he nicknamed the "Mrs. Degree" in 10 blogs between Oct. 30 and Nov. 21.

The new undergraduate degree is in addition to an existing 13-hour program of seminary studies for student wives and women's ministries concentrations in both the master-of-divinity and master-of-arts-in-Christian-education seminary degrees.

Dorothy Patterson, wife of the seminary president and professor of theology in women's studies, is the only woman faculty member currently teaching in Southwestern's School of Theology.

Another, former Old Testament languages professor Sheri Klouda, sued the seminary in March, claiming she was dismissed from her job simply because she is a woman. The chairman of the seminary's board of trustees was quoted as saying Klouda's unanimous election by trustees five years earlier, under leadership of Patterson's predecessor, was a " momentary lax of parameters."

Located in Fort Worth, Texas, Southwestern isn't the only Southern Baptist seminary encouraging ministers' wives to serve in traditional roles. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., offers a 13-hour certificate of ministry studies through its Seminary Wives Institute that includes "essentials" like "God's plan for marriage," child-rearing and shopping on a budget.

"At Southern Seminary, we recognize the need for God-called ministers' wives to be prepared for ministry," says a program description. "We believe that a minister's wife needs to be educated and equipped as she and her husband prepare for service in the churches and beyond."

An accompanying Women's Ministry Institute at Southern Seminary prepares women to minister to other women in the local church. Both programs are offered through Southern Seminary's Boyce College and headed up by Mary Mohler, wife of Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler.

Mary Mohler and Dorothy Patterson were the only two women serving on a seven-member committee that drafted a family amendment added to the Baptist Faith & Message in 1998. That article proscribed the proper role for a wife as "to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband, even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ."

The family article made headlines nationwide. The New York Times quoted Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for Ethics as commenting: ''They hope to make June Cleaver the biblical model for motherhood, despite numerous biblical references to women who worked outside the home.''

Two years later Southern Baptists updated the Baptist Faith & Message again to specify, " While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture."

Southwestern Seminary's online catalogue says the seminary introduces women "to the marketplace of ideas, including both complementarian and egalitarian positions" so they are "thoroughly equipped to give an articulate and well-reasoned evangelical response to the feministic ideology of the age."

In addition to its programs for women, Southern Seminary in Louisville also houses The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The Council exists to counter "feminist egalitarianism"--the view that men and women are equal in the church and home--with "the noble Biblical vision of sexual complementarity," which holds that men and women are of equal worth, but God ordained for males to be the head of both the home and the church.

Last year Southern Seminary named the Council's executive director, Randy Stinson, as dean of its School of Leadership and Church Ministry.

Bob Allen is managing editor of EthicsDaily.com .

Two Down, One to Go!

2007-06-11T21:31:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that 2 years have already gone by. If I have learned one thing in my second year, it is this: three years is not enough time to learn everything you want to know about God and how to be an effective minister for Him; a lifetime is not enough time. Although I am told I am in one of the most academically rigorous M.Div programs and have spent the last two years doing little more than studying, I still feel like there is so much that I do not know. I have learned things that I did not know I did not know, and there is still so much to learn!

One of my prayers for this year was for God to give me some clarity about my future. Where should I focus my attention? Should I pursue a Ph.D. and teach, or work in the local church? I feel like God has sent me the message loud and clear: “I need you in the local church. That's where you belong.” As I think back over the events of the past year, I cannot help but think about a trip my wife and I made to Mepkin Abbey outside of Charleston, SC. During the visit, I began to envy the time the monks had to study. Wouldn't it be great to live a life that is fully devoted to the study of God and obtaining a deeper relationship with him. The monks did not have to worry about pleasing a board of deacons, interviewing with search committees, or keeping a congregation happy. What a life! As I sit here writing this letter, I can hear that still, small voice telling me, “That's not the life I have chosen for you. I need you to be out with my people, caring for them, loving them, and sharing what you have learned.” Like the old hymn says, “Wherever he leads, I'll go,” so the focus of my third year will be preparing for work in the local church and then looking for the place where God wants me to serve.

Those of you who know me well know what a hard decision this has been. My own experiences and the experiences of other Wake students help explain why there are so few students who plan to work full time in the local church. The church is broken. We have to do better. We have to do MUCH better. How do we do that? I think the best place to start is with a statement made by Dr. Frank Campbell, former pastor at FBC Statesville and former president of Gardner-Webb University, at the funeral of one of FBC Statesville's christian educators Leath Johnson. Campbell said that he gave all seminary students that there are 3 things they have to do if they want to be successful in church work. First, they have to work hard. While this is great advice for church work, it equally applies to secular jobs as well. Perhaps the biggest difference, however, between secular and church work is the amount of work and number of skills required of minister. The senior pastor is expected to be the CEO, the preacher, a counselor, and a chaplain just to name a few. It is nearly impossible for one person to do all of these things well, but we are expected to try.

Secondly, a minister has to love his congregation. This advice obviously mirror's Jesus' commandment that we love one another. Let's face it, there are some people who are pretty unlovable, but, as a minister or even just as a Christian, we are called to love them. This is why I believe this year's resolution by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina is wrong. I believe that removing congregations that allow homosexuals to become members is ignoring Jesus' commandment that we love one another. There are plenty of people who will probably disagree with me on that statement, but I believe they fail to take into account the second part of John 13:34. Jesus continues by saying, "as I have loved you." Jesus loved his disciples unconditionally. Jesus loved the adulterous woman in John 8 unconditionally. Notice there is nothing in that text that says the woman confessed her sin or stopped sinning, but Jesus showed compassion for her anyway. By not allowing homosexuals to become members of our churches are we not making them second class people? Are we not loving them a little bit (or maybe even a lot) less than we are loving everyone else? Is this what Jesus had in mind when he told us to love one another? He loved us so much he died for us? How many of us can say we love the unlovable that way?

Finally, Dr. Campbell said that a minister should always tell the truth. This is where the church can and should be very different from the secular world. The church is not all about the bottom line. The church is not about manipulating the data in such a way that it hides or distorts the truth. The truth is often not pretty, but that does not remove our obligation to tell the truth. Martin Luther is quoted as saying, "Peace if possible, but truth at all costs." When we make a decision, as a minister of the church, we should be able to stand up at the pulpit or in a business meeting and explain how and why we made the decision we did. If we have to hide behind lies, distortion, or secrecy, the wrong decision was probably made. Church health or church healing or protecting our jobs are not reasons to stray from the truth. "Peace if possible, but truth at all costs."

I believe the church is broken, but I also believe in a God that is more than able to transform brokenness into wholeness. But, He is only able to do that if his leaders are willing to follow him. That is what I hope to do in my ministry. It is my hope that a new generation of church leaders will be able to fix what is broken and help bring the church closer to what God wants it to be.

Sermon from April 29

2007-05-29T19:54:00.001-04:00

I know it has taken me a while to get this post up here, but I actually did not get a copy of the video until last week. Below is my first sermon, "Connecting the Dots," which I preached on April 29 at First Baptist Church of Statesville, NC. There is about 20 seconds of black at the beginning, so just be patient. I look forward to reading some of your comments and criticisms of the sermon.

From the Beginning to the End

2007-04-25T09:51:00.000-04:00

The following is a poem I wrote for an assignment in New Testament class. We were asked to re-read revelation and write a poem, hymn, responsive reading, etc.

In the beginning God created, that's where our story will begin.
From darkness and chaos came light and form and a short time later us.
In the creator's image we were made, all women and even men.
We lived in paradise, had all we needed, there was no need to fuss.
But we wanted more, to be like God. And so we learned to sin.

Before we fell walking and talking with God was possible every day.
It must have been like heaven on earth – the existence God intended.
We had it all but did not know we were blessed in every way.
God let us choose, and choose we did. And paradise was ended.
All that was new began to age, and away from God we began to stray.

Years, centuries and millenea have passed, creation is no longer new.
Many do not have the basic needs: food and a roof over their head.
We destroy the world the Lord created and pollute the skies of blue.
We don't protect the helpless the innocent or mourn them when they're dead.
Even though we don't deserve it, God still says I have not forgotten you.

We have talked about the beginning of the story and so we move to its end.
Everything that we have made old, God will make new once again.
A new Jerusalem free of destruction and sorrow from heaven will descend.
And, as in the beginning, God will once again dwell among women and men.
Suffering, pain and death will all pass away. On this we can depend.

Christians Respond to Virginia Tech Tragedy

2007-04-20T20:16:00.000-04:00

The Associated Baptist Press has an article on the responses of well known Baptist figures to the tragedy at Virginia Tech this week.

I think Jim Wallis hit the nail on the head:

"This is not a time to seek easy answers or to assign blame," he said. "It is, rather, a time to pray, mourn, and reflect. It's time to let sorrow do its reflective and redemptive work, to hold the hands that need to be held, to let our tears open our hearts to change those things that lead to such tragedy, and to trust our pain to the loving arms of God."

There were a lot of good responses in the article, but there are several that are so bad they deserve attention.

American Family Radio has raised a similar battle cry, claiming in a video that events leading to recent years' school shootings in places like Jonesboro, Ark., Springfield, Ore., Littleton Colo., and Blacksburg, Va., "started when Madalyn Murray O'Hair complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools, and we said 'O.K.'" That is an apparent reference to Supreme Court decisions that have outlawed government-sanctioned prayer and devotional Bible reading in public schools.

I have quoted this scripture before but I think it deserves repeating here:

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’ (Luke 13.1-5, NRSV)

Another response came from Dr. Paige Patterson, the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary:

Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told students in an April 19 chapel sermon that if a shooter attacked the Fort Worth, Texas, school, students should "rush him."

Patterson told the male students in the crowd to raise their hands and told the men, "I'm counting on you."

"See, all you had to do was have six or eight rush him right at that time, and 32 people wouldn't have died," Patterson said. "Now folks, let's make up our minds. I know we live in America where nobody gets involved in anybody else's situation. That shall not be the rule here. Does everybody understand? You say, 'Well, I may be shot.' Well, yeah, you may. Are you saved? You're going to heaven. You know, it's better than earth."

So, Patterson's response is to call the male students at Virgina Tech cowards and blame them for the deaths? What message does that send to the families?

The final response comes from a Pastor that repeatedly ignores Jesus' commandment that we love one another:

And an anti-gay group infamous for protesting at the funerals of U.S. soldiers has announced plans to picket the funerals of the Virginia victims.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., said the shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, was doing God's will by punishing non-Christians, CBS News reported. A church news release added: "God is punishing America for her sodomite sins. The 33 massacred at Virginia Tech died for America’s sins against [Westboro Baptist Church]."

The tiny church, whose paster if Fred Phelps, is not affiliated with any national Baptist convention. The CBS News report said police are expected to break up any such protest. Funerals and memorial services are included in Virginia's disorderly conduct statute.

A Few New Baptist Links

2007-04-20T16:20:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of great Baptist links I have come across recently. If you haven't visited them, they are definitely worth a visit!

The Center for Baptist Studies - The Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University sponsors and encourages the scholarly study of Baptists through instruction, emphasizes Baptists’ ecumenical relationships to the entire Body of Christ, and interprets issues and trends in contemporary Baptist life and American culture. This site has something for everyone: sermon ideas for pastors, ideas for Sunday school and Wednesday nights, news on issues facing Baptists, and even a certificate program in Baptist studies!
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Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant - I am really excited about this effort to provide a new Baptist voice in America that is authentically Baptist. I am hoping that Gay and I can put the funding together to attend the meeting in January 2008. The speakers will include Jimmy Carter and Bill Moyers!

The New Baptist Covenant traces its roots to April 10, 2006, when former U.S. President and prominent Baptist layman Jimmy Carter and Mercer University President Bill Underwood convened at The Carter Center in Atlanta a group of 18 Baptist leaders representing more than 20 million Baptists across North America.

The leaders were unanimous in their desire to transcend their differences -- including such factors as race, culture, geography and convention affiliation -- and seek common purpose.

Baptist Leaders at Jan. 9, 2007, news conference at Carter Center in Atlanta.The outcome of the meeting was a document called A North American Baptist Covenant and preliminary plans to hold a major gathering of Baptists from throughout North America in 2008. The leaders of these organizations affirmed their desire to speak and work together to create an authentic and genuine prophetic Baptist voice in these complex times. They reaffirmed their commitment to traditional Baptist values, including sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality. They specifically committed themselves to their obligation as Christians to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and the marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity.

A followup meeting attended by 80 representatives of more than 30 Baptist organizations was held on January 9, 2007, at The Carter Center. The core group of those who gathered were representatives of organizations that are members of the North American Baptist Fellowship (NABF), a regional affiliate of the Baptist World Alliance. . At the conclusion of the meeting, the representatives announced plans to hold a convocation in Atlanta on January 30-February 1, 2008.

The theme of this historic gathering will be Unity in Christ. The Biblical basis for the meeting is Jesus’ reading of scripture in the Synagogue as recorded in Luke 4: 18-19. In these verses, Jesus reads from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim the release of the captives, and the recovering of sight of the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” This call by Jesus to pursue both evangelism and ministry to “the least of these” is the Biblical foundation for the New Baptist Covenant.

The Minature Earth

2007-04-14T19:43:00.000-04:00

The following video was posted to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship North Carolina website. Watch this video, and then read the rest of this post.

John 13:34 reads:

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

After watching this video, do you think we are doing a good job of following Jesus' commandment? Are we focused on loving one another? The focus of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina last rear was the adoption of a resolution that allows the state convention to remove churches that:

“... knowingly act to affirm, approve, endorse, promote, support or bless homosexual behavior. The Board of Directors shall apply this provision. A church has a right to appeal any adverse action taken by the Board of Directors.”

Keep in mind that this had been interpreted to mean that any Baptist church that allows homosexuals to join or remain a member of the church meets this criteria. Is this how Baptists should be "loving one another?" Is this were our focus should be? Even worse, over the past year, the SBC has fired missionaries who admit to using a "private prayer language" (speaking in tongues.)

We live in a world where the majority of the people are hurting and hungry. Telling people they are not welcome is not the answer to the hurt and the hunger. Firing the people who are trying to help the hurting and the hungry is not the answer. Love is the answer, and this video reminds us that our world needs love more than ever.

Complete Children's Service and DVD

2007-04-07T14:57:00.000-04:00

Below is a copy of the complete service on Children's Sunday. The children from First Baptist Church of Statesville did a great job leading in worship. I am also working on a DVD, if you want a DVD, leave me a comment with your e-mail address. (I won't publish the comment.) Please note, there is a lot of black at the beginning of the video, so give it a few seconds to start playing.

If you would like to view the video with the option of watching full screen, click here. To download a Quicktime version, click right click here and choose save target as.

Click To Play

Gay's Sermon From Children's Sunday!

2007-04-06T01:34:00.000-04:00

We just got the DVD from Children's Sunday at FBC Statesville. So, I did some quick editing on my Mac, and uploaded her sermon, "Childlike...Not Childish," to Google Video. You can watch it below.

A Morning in Plains....

2007-03-12T15:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning, my wife Gay and I spent a lovely morning at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. For those of you who do not know, Maranatha Baptist Church is President Carter's home congregation. Whenever he is in Plains, he teaches Sunday School at this small country church.

President Carter's lesson, which came from Smith and Helwys' Uniforms Series, was on 1 John Chapter 3. What follows the scripture is my response to his lesson:

11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you.

14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. 16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? 18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him

20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

This lesson was particularly relevant to the issues facing the church and our country today. Many of us seem to be perfectly content to focus entirely on the welfare of an ever shrinking "us," while ignoring, in the best case, or exploiting the welfare of others. The reason we do this are obvious. We may be jealous of what others have that we do not. We may be afraid of others; even if we do not know exactly what it is we are afraid of. Or, we have adopted the foolish notion that we must agree on everything in order to live in friendship or work together. We have forgotten that we are all human beings and, therefore, all equal and all equally flawed. Instead, we do what we have always done throughout history: we try to minimize the humanity of "them." We don't go to war with the Germans and the Japanese; we go to war with the Krauts and the Japs.

All of us are guilty of labeling those who are not like us. Christians are equally guilty: we do it to others and we even do it to ourselves. We define ourselves with terms like Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians. We define others as liberals, fundies, or heritics. The problem with any of these "labels" whether they are positive or negative is meaning. How many of you who are Baptist actually know what it means to be Baptist? How many of you who have called someone a liberal or a fundamentalist actually know either of those terms mean? While they may have a useful, academic, and definable meaning, for many people, for many Christians, they are slurs; they are words of hate. "All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them." We should all think about this the next time we label someone.

Instead of focusing on what divides us, it is time to focus on what unites us as Christians. What is that? President Carter answered that question and had the class repeat it after him at the end of the lesson:

"We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ."

That is what makes us a Christian, and everything else pales in comparison: "And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us."

Evangelism in the 21st Century

2007-02-15T13:21:00.000-05:00

The following is a paraphrase of a conversation I had recently with a fundamentalist church member after a church service. His statements are the ones in quotes.

"If you died today, do you know you would go to heaven?"

Yes.

"Ok, when you get to heaven, if God asks you why he should let you in, what would you say?"

I would tell him that I surrendered my life to him, accepted him as the lord of my life and as a reflection of that commitment I tried to live my example according to the example set by Jesus."

"Well, I've got good news for you. Nothing you can do can get you into heaven. Salvation is a free gift that you must accept. As a divinity student I would expect you to know that."

Yes, I know that.

"Well you said that you would tell God that you tried to live a good life and that is why you should get into heaven. That's works righteousness and..."

You weren't listening, what about the first part of what I said?

"What first part?"

The Lord of my life part.

"Well, what does that mean?"

Well, it means that I accepted Jesus as my savior and surrendered my life to him.

"Well salvation is a gift that you must explicitly accept, have you ever done that?"

______________________________________________________________

All of this was prompted by the fact that I am leading a small group discussion of Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian on Wednesday nights. This person, who had not read the book, did not think it was an appropriate book for our congregation to study. But that is not the point of this post.

The point is that this kind of ambush evangelism that reduces sharing the gospel to a script and a formula that one must follow; this kind of evangelism that seeks to convert and move on to the next person, this kind of evangelism that seems to emphasize speed and efficiency over relationships is not going to work in the post-modern world. (If it has ever really worked at all.)

In seeking to share the Gospel, we need to remember Jesus' commandment that we love one another. That's what evangelism should be all about, love. Evangelism is not about keeping a record of how many people we have converted in the inside cover of a Bible. Loving means caring about them enough to want to establish a relationship with non-Christians. Without love, there is no relationship. Without a relationship, the new Christian may not have someone to turn to when he experiences doubt.

Disagree with me? Consider what Paul has to say:

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

There was no love in my encounter. It is difficult for me to express what I am trying to say because I am so frustrated. I am frustrated that there are so many church leaders (both pastors and lay leadership) who seem to forget that our call as Christians is to love God and love others.

Wake Forest University and Baptist History: A Matter of Conscience?

2007-02-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

The following address was given by Bill Leonard, the dean of the Divinity School, at the spring convocation. I think it is something that all Baptists should read.

On the eve of the American Revolution, Anglican Parson Charles Woodmason described the carryings on among the people called Baptists in the "Carolina backcountry". He wrote:

They don't all agree in one Tune. For one sings this Doctrine, and the next something different---So that people’s brains are turn'd and bewildered. And then again to see them Divide and Sub divide, split into parties---Rail at and excommunicate one another---Turn (members) out of one meeting and receive (them back) into another. And a Gang of them getting together and gabbling one after the other (and sometimes disputing against each other) on abstruse Theological Questions. . .such as the greatest Metaph[ys]icians and Learned Scholars never yet could define, or agree on--To hear Ignorant Wretches, who cannot write . . .discussing such Knotty Points for the Edification of their Auditors. . .must give High offence to all Intelligent and rational Minds.¹

Woodmason was as correct as he was condescending. Indeed, many 21st century observers would concur that contemporary Baptists still give “high offense” in the church and the public square. When a Virginia congressman calls Americans to tighten immigration laws in order to keep out Muslims who MIGHT be elected to high office and take the oath of office on the Koran, didn’t he just have to be a Baptist? When members of a stem family church in Kansas show up at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, and shout that such deaths are the result of God’s judgment on the nation, don’t they just have to be Baptists? And then there are all those internecine “Baptist battles” fought incessantly in the pew and the press. Take Southern Baptists, at 14 million the largest sub denomination of the 30 million Baptists in the U. S. For almost three decades Southern Baptists have attacked each other over the bible, ordaining women, control of Baptist related schools, public schools, private school vouchers, trips to Disneyworld, glossolalia, praise choruses, baptizing homosexuals, rebaptizing Presbyterians, salvation for Jews and Muslims, the “rapture,” drinking wine at communion or at dinner, and the gospel benefits of “Christian heavy metal” music. When 21st century Baptists “divide and sub divide, split into parties, rail at and excommunicate each other,” not just in the “Carolina back-country,” but on CNN, wouldn’t any self respecting national university want to distance itself from its Baptist origins as quickly as possible?

Indeed, Baptists then and now seem a community of unending dissent, declaring themselves as divisively and at times disgustingly as did their frontier forebears. Publicly and privately, Baptists remain an unruly lot, given to unceasing pontification on assorted theological, ethical and political issues. Truth is, being Baptist was never all that respectable. As their earliest critics saw it, Baptists demonstrated bad theology, bad citizenship, and bad manners every time they opened their mouths. They were heretical, underclass peasants who held erroneous religious opinions and lacked the educational sophistication to articulate them appropriately.

Even the purportedly “progressive” Baptists, who founded Wake Forest College in 1834, reflected various ideas and practices no longer acceptable in the university. Almost en mass, they accepted slavery as a social given, insisting that it was sanctioned in the infallible text of Holy Scripture. In 1822, little more than a decade before Wake Forest began, Richard Furman, pastor of First Baptist Church, Charleston, declared before the South Carolina legislature: “Had the holding of slaves been a moral evil, it cannot be supposed, that the inspired Apostles, who feared not the faces of men, and were ready to lay down their lives in the case of their God, would have tolerated it, for a moment, in the Christian Church.” Furman concluded: “In proving this subject justifiable by Scriptural authority, its morality is also proved; for the Divine Law never sanctions immoral actions.”² Likewise, women were refused admission to Wake Forest for over a century; and African Americans were kept out until 1962. The 19th century founders would never have imagined a Wake Forest without required chapel, and preferred a campus at least 50 miles from the nearest sin.

So here we sit “in the year of our Lord,” no, the Common Era 2007, asking why in the world would Wake Forest University want to reference, even privilege, a questionable, often embarrassing, past on the way to an enlightened future. Given Baptist behavior past and present, should the university bother to own its Baptist origins henceforth and forever? After all, Wake Forest University is not Baptist any more. In 1986, the university trustees cancelled the school’s Baptist affiliation, insightfully reading the signs of the times, saving Wake Forest from a far-right takeover that continues to haunt Baptist-owned undergraduate institutions in North Carolina. It was a profound and essential action, the final break in a love/hate relationship that existed almost from the beginning.

While 19th century Baptists desperately wanted their children to receive the intellectual and economic benefits of higher education, many feared that it would somehow “steal their faith” and after 4 years at Wake Forest they’d never go to prayer meetin’ again. Preachers were particularly in danger. As one old Baptist preacher allegedly fretted: “We don’t really favor an educated ministry, we saw what it did to the Presbyterians.” The teaching of evolution, hard fought in the early twentieth century by the likes of President and scientist William Louis Poteat, illustrated the distance that readily developed between Wake Forest and its Baptist constituents. Given those disconnects, as we now engage in strategic planning with a new administration—the first to begin without a formal connection to any Baptist organization—perhaps it is important to ask one more time what we want to do with our Baptist parents—own them, warts and all, on the way to a new academic and religious future, or lock them away like mad men and women in the attic, arcane anachronisms as embarrassing in the present as in the past.

As a historian who happens to be a Baptist, I would suggest that aspects of the Baptist past are worth considering whether we use the infamous “B” word in our public statements or not. The thesis goes like this: Wake Forest University was founded by North Carolina Baptists in a relationship that lasted from 1834 to 1986. It is not now nor will it ever again be Baptist-related. Rather than excise or exorcise all remnants of Baptistness from its past, however, are there segments of that heritage worth acknowledging that continue inform the future at Wake Forest? To own the best contributions does not require claiming the entirety of Baptist history, nor does it mean scrambling to find something worth retaining in order to be historically correct. Rather, we could be intentional about revisiting the university’s past with appropriate research before we jettison uncritically the movement that birthed the college that became a nationally ranked university. What in the Baptist vision offers insight toward the future whether we reference these embarrassing forebears or not?

My own reading of Baptist history compels me to encourage a reexamination of what seems to me the heart of Baptist identity in the modern/postmodern world: the importance of uncoerced faith grounded in the power of conscience and the inevitability of dissent. My arguments today are all too brief, but are documented in two recent books: Baptist Ways: A History (Judson Press, 2003) and Baptists in America (Columbia University Press, 2005). The latter volume is the reason for my participation in the New Horizons in Religion series sponsored by the Religion and Divinity faculties. The people listed in your programs will, throughout the semester, provide lectures from recently published monographs. We hope you will join us for the series.

Early Baptist identity was characterized by emphasis on biblical authority, regenerate church membership, believers’ baptism by immersion, congregational church polity, religious liberty, and the priesthood of all believers. Amid those essentially sectarian characteristics, an enduring legacy, worth claiming I believe, involves (to repeat) the importance of uncoerced faith grounded in the power of conscience and the inevitability of dissent. Make no mistake about it; those who founded the first Baptist church in Amsterdam in 1609 began as an unashamed Christian sect, born of the idea that the church should be composed only of believers, those who could testify to a work of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Baptists understood conscience and dissent in light of the need for sinners to be “regenerated” made new through conversion to Christ. Yet in their assertion that conscience could not be compelled by either state-based or faith-based establishments, they flung the door wide for religious liberty and pluralism in ways that even they may not have fully understood. By regeneration, they meant, in the words of a 1679 confession (the Orthodox Creed): “those who are united unto Christ by effectual faith, are regenerated, and have a new heart and spirit created in them through the virtue of Christ his death, resurrection, and intercession, and by the efficacy of the holy spirit, received by faith.”³ Conscience and religious liberty were not based on secular theories (although they would impact them) but on the necessity of uncoerced faith mediated through a congregation of Christian believers. A commitment to freedom of conscience led Baptists to oppose religious establishments and develop principles of religious liberty that anticipated modern pluralism.

Baptists began as a community of dissent. They challenged political and religious establishments in a variety of ways. First, they were non-conformists who often refused to abide by the rules of religious uniformity demanded by the state-based churches of their day. Second, they rejected any laws of church or state that compelled financial or devotional support for a religious communion in which they had no VOICE. Third, they defied any church that legislated belief by virtue of birth, economic status, or culture privilege; and sought to separate from it.

Anglican priest Daniel Featley’s description of seventeenth century Baptists illustrates the basis of their radical non-conformity. His list of Baptist teachings is clearly an establishmentarian nightmare. It also provides insight into how seventeenth century dissenters were perceived by their religio-political enemies. Featley described Baptists’ beliefs as follows:

First, that none are rightly baptized but those who are dipt. [They rejected the socially mandated mode of baptism.]

Secondly, that no children ought to be baptized. [They cast aside the link between baptism and citizenship—i.e. to be born into a “Christian” state required immediate baptism into the Christian Church.]

Thirdly, that there ought to be no set form of Liturgy or prayer by the Book, but onely by the Spirit. [They demanded the freedom to determine their own spirituality apart from government enforced prayer.]

Fourthly, that there ought to be no distinction by the Word of God between the Clergy and the Laity but that all who are gifted may preach the Word, and administer the Sacraments. [They challenged the status of a privileged religious class that controlled theology and admission to the sacraments.]

Fifthly, that it is not lawful to take an oath at all, no, not though it be demanded by the magistrate. [The oath reflected the loyalty of citizenship. Baptists would swear only to God, not governments.]

Sixthly, that no Christian may with good conscience execute the office of civil magistrate.⁴ [They knew, didn’t they?]

Every article in this fascinating list reflects degrees of both political and religious non-conformity among Baptists theologically, liturgically and politically. Their dissent had clear political and religious implications.

Such dissent was soon evident in New England in conflicts between Baptists and the Puritan establishment. Roger Williams, the brilliant proto-Baptist, was exiled into the “howling wilderness” of the New England in 1636 for preaching “the same course of rigid separation and anabaptistry” as the Baptists in “Amsterdam had done.”⁵ He made it worse by insisting that the Native Americans were the owners of the American land and should be justly compensated for it. In exile, Williams purchased land from the Narragansetts, writing: “I having made covenant of peaceable neighborhood with all the sachems and natives round about us, and having, in a sense of God’s merciful providence unto me in my distress, called the place Providence, I desired it might be for a shelter for persons distressed of conscience…. I communicated my said purchase unto my loving friends … who then desired to take shelter here with me. . . . .”⁶

Williams anticipated pluralism, suggesting that non-Christians were effective citizens of the new world. He asked “whether or no such as may hold forth other worships or religions, Jews, Turks, or anti-christians, may not be peaceable and quiet subjects, loving and helpful neighbours, fair and just dealers, true and loyal to the civil government.” He concluded that, “It is clear they may, from reason and experience in many flourishing cities and kingdoms of the world.”⁷

Dr. John Clarke, Williams’ contemporary and the founder of the Newport colony, was also an outspoken proponent of freedom of conscience and its implications for religious liberty. In a treatise known as Ill Newes from New England; or, a Narrative of New-Englands Persecution, Clarke declared: “No such believer, or Servant of Christ Jesus hath any liberty, much less Authority, from his Lord, to smite his fellow servant, nor yet with outward force, or arme of flesh, to constrain, or restrain his Conscience, no nor yet his outward man for Conscience sake.”⁸

Baptists in England and America insisted that God alone was judge of conscience, and therefore no religious or political establishment could judge the non-conformist, the heretic or even the atheist. The Baptist-authored charter of Rhode Island declared:

No person within said Colony, at any time hereafter, shall be in any wise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question for any differences of opinion in matters of religion, . . . but that all and any persons may, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own judgments and consciences in matters of religious concernments throughout the tract of land hereafter mentioned.⁹

Conscience and religious liberty did not mean silence or a nebulous syncretism, however. Baptists argued unashamedly with their opponents (and each other). They spoke their views freely and passionately, but asserted the right of others to do the same. They insisted that it was only through religious liberty was such debate possible, since there was a thin line between disagreeing with persons and silencing them in the name of God or government. For these early Baptists, dissent was grounded in the freedom of conscience, individual and communal. Indeed, references to conscience as a foundation of dissent abound in 17th century Baptist documents. Baptist leader Leonard Busher wrote 1614 (Religions Peace: or, A Plea for Liberty of Conscience): “And as kings and bishops cannot command the wind, so they cannot command faith; You may force men to church against their consciences, but they will believe as they did afore, when they come there; for God giveth a blessing only to his own ordinance, and abhorreth antichrist’s.”¹⁰ “Bishops,” he said, “should know that error and heresy cannot be killed by the fire and sword, but by the word and Spirit of God.”¹¹ Baptist literature provides a fascinating commentary on the role of conscience as enlivened by an individual’s faith commitments.¹²

Thomas Helwys’ classic work, A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity (ca. 1612) was perhaps the earliest Baptist document to articulate issues of conscience directly. One of its most widely quoted passage begins: “Let the King judge, is it not most equal that men should choose their religion themselves, seeing they only must stand themselves before the judgment seat of god to answer for themselves, when it shall be no excuse for them to say, we were commanded or compelled to be of this religion by the king or by them that had authority from him.”¹³ True faith was grounded in freedom to choose or reject God’s gift of grace.

Thomas Helwys extended liberty of conscience to non-Christians and atheists alike. He wrote: “Let them be heretics, Turks, Jews, or whatsoever, it appertains not to the earthly power to punish them in the least measure.”¹⁴ Baptist founders insisted that religious liberty was essential as a means of freeing individuals to follow their own consciences even when they chose not to be Christians.

Similar phrases are utilized in the so-called Orthodox Creed of General Baptists in 1679.¹⁵ It states:

And the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute blind obedience, destroys liberty of conscience, and reason also, it being repugnant to both …¹⁶

The call to uncoerced faith produced the necessity of dissent.

As Baptists moved South in the Revolutionary era, they continued to press their radical understanding of conscience. Baptists in Virginia challenged the Anglican religious establishment and were fined or imprisoned for refusing to secure preaching licenses from the state. John Leland, friend of Madison and Jefferson, rejected any suggestion that America was a “Christian nation,” writing: “The liberty I contend for, is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration, is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest, to grant indulgence; whereas, all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians. Test oaths, and established creeds should be avoided as the worst of evils.”¹⁷ Leland wrote: “Whether, therefore, the Christian religion be true or false, it is not an article of legislation. In this case, Bible Christians, and Deists, have an equal plea against self-named Christians, who . . . tyrannize over the consciences of others, under the specious garb of religion and good order.”¹⁸

Later Baptists were not always so decisive. As Baptists gained numerical strength, many joined the de facto Protestant majority and its religio-cultural hegemony, especially in the South. Like other Protestants, many 19th Baptist leaders viewed the immigration of Jews and Catholics American political and moral stability. Baptist reassertion of religious liberty and the “separation of church and state” paralleled their concerns that Catholic parochial schools were after government funding in some form or another. As religious pluralism has expanded with the immigration of non-Judeo- Christian communions and the rise of a variety of so-called “New Age” religions—Wiccans, Scientology, Transcendental Meditation and the like—and as secularism has gained prominence in the culture, many Baptists and other Protestants are deeply divided over the meaning of religious liberty and the influence of the church in political and public society.

Given these historical and contemporary realities, how might Baptist progressivism on matters of conscience and dissent inform the future of this or any “no-longer-Baptist-university?

First, in what ways might a university become, in the words of Roger Williams and John Clarke, “a shelter for persons distressed of conscience” AND an academic community that would itself distress the consciences of faculty and student alike in response to the great issues, ideas and injustices of our times? How might we determine to nurture a safe environment where consciences are enlivened even as they collide? Second, in a university environment where pluralism and uncoerced faith are taken for granted, how do we speak about faith, sectarian or secular? In a religiously volatile world, is it still important to discern, if not challenge, those implicit or explicit religio-political establishments that seek privilege and entitlement through sectarian or secular hegemony over politics, religion, educational institutions and economics, economics, economics? Third, might their radical understanding of conscience encourage us to an equally radical concern for VOICE—an environment in which everyone can speak even when the differences are vast and irreconcilable? (Roger Williams, for example, not only called for fair payment to Natives for their land, but wrote the first native language lexicon, giving them voice to their new invaders.) Finally, with the Baptists might we explore more explicitly the nature and boundaries of dissent in the face of such issues as mass culture, media religion, and the struggle for global resources. Such dissent might compel US to take a chance—stake our lives—on ideas that inform and overpower, even when we know they will never secure majoritarian approval.

As a historian, I am impressed by the early Baptist courage and dissent in behalf of uncoerced faith, freedom of conscience, and religio-political dissent, and I hope that Wake Forest University will find ways to own its Baptist roots, even if they bear witness to only a tiny spark of progressivism. We owe it to ourselves to reference the identity of those 16th and 17th century dissenters obsessed with conscience and voice for heretic and atheist alike and their successors in 1834 who hoped against hope that the little “normal school” in that little North Carolina town would impact a region and ultimately a nation. Amid historic and contemporary embarrassments, their monumental commitments and sacrifices should not be forgotten. Indeed, a university hesitant to own its past may have difficulty articulating its future.

As a Baptist, however, I think it might be just as well to strike the Baptist references from the university’s mission statement all together. As a religious community, Baptists have never done well with privilege, whatever form it takes. Parson Woodmason was right then and now, we don’t all “agree in one tune,” you see, it's a matter of conscience.

Notes

¹Richard J. Hooker, ed. The Carolina Backcountry on the Eve of the Revolution: The Journal and Other Writings of Charles Woodmason, Anglican Itinerant. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1953), 109. See also John G. Crowley, Primitive Baptists of the Wiregrass South 1815 to the Present (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1998), 8.
²Richard Furman, "An Exposition," (1822) in Bill J. Leonard, Early American Christianity (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1983), 382-383.
³William L. Lumpkin, Baptist Confessions of Faith, 316.
⁴Daniel Featley, The Dippers Dip, or, the Anabaptists Duck'd and Plung'd over Head and Eares, at a Disputation at Southward, 36.
⁵Isaac Backus, Church History of New England, from 1620 to 1804 (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1844), 43.
⁶Isaac Backus, A History of New England, with Particular Reference to the Baptists, 2nd ed. (1871; reprint, 2 vols. In 1, New York: Arno Press, 1969), 1:75.
⁷Roger Williams, The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for the Cause of Conscience Discussed e. A. C. Underhill (1644; reprint, London: Hanserd Knollys Society, 1848), 112-113.
⁸Ibid, 1:168.
⁹O. K. Armstrong and Marjorie Armstrong, The Baptists in America (Garden City, NJ: Doubleday, 1979), 71.
¹⁰Ibid, 17-18.
¹¹Ibid, 22.
¹²Ibid, 30; see also Bill J. Leonard, Baptist Ways: A History 26-27; and B. R. White, "Early Baptist Arguments for Religious Freedom: Their Overlooked Agenda," Baptist History and Heritage 24 (October 1989): 6-7.
¹³Thomas Helwys, The Mystery of Iniquity, cited in W. T. Whitley, A History of British Baptists, rev. ed. (London: Kings gate Press, 1932), 33.
¹⁴Thomas Helwys, A Short Declaration of The Mystery of Iniquity, edited by Richard Groves (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1998), xxxii.
¹⁵Ibid, 296.
¹⁶Ibid, 331-332.
¹⁷John Leland, The Writings of John Leland, L. F. Greene, editor 1845; reprint, New York: Arno Press, 1969) 118; and Bill Leonard, Baptist Ways, 130-131.
¹⁸Ibid, 294.

Advice for the Ministry....

2007-01-29T18:39:00.000-05:00

One of the former pastors at FBC Statesville, Dr. Frank Campbell, spoke last week at the funeral of the church's former Christian educator Leath Johnson. Campbell discussed the things he learned from Johnson and advice he gives to students going into ministry. He said that students going into ministry need to do 3 things: work hard, love people, and ALWAYS tell the truth.

As I consider this very wise advise, I cannot help but think about how well this advise fits with Jesus' commandments in Matthew 22:

³⁴When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

When you think of it in light of the commandments in Matthew, this advice easily applies to all church leaders clergy and laity. If you love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, you are going to work as hard as you can when doing His work. The command to love your neighbor is explicit; no interpretation is required. As for ALWAYS telling the truth, I think both of Jesus' commands in these verses apply. If you love your neighbor, whether they are fellow church leaders, church members, or strangers, you are not going to lie about them, and I think the same goes for loving God. It is important to remember that the business of the church is God's business, and those who have accepted a call to do God's business have a huge responsibility. Part of that responsibility is always telling the truth. As church leaders, we cannot run from the truth because the lie is prettier, safer, or easier for the congregation to handle. If a church leader makes a decision, and is unable to truthfully support that decision to anyone who asks, he or she probably made the wrong decision. In ministry, integrity is the bottom line.

A New Year

2007-01-14T23:23:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted much on my blog recently, and there are a few reasons for that.

First, I had some computer issues at the end of the year last year. I now have a new computer, and I have switched from Windows to Mac. The new computer is yet another example of God fulfilling a need during my seminary experience. I am now up and running on the new laptop.

Secondly, Gay and I went back to Tampa for Christmas. (Winston-Salem is now home.) We enjoyed getting to visit with friends and family back in Tampa. We especially enjoyed visiting our friends and colleagues at the new church start Logos Dei, but it was difficult not to be able to visit our old home church and the people we love there. We also spent some time with Gay's family in Columbus, GA. One of the highlights of that trip was a visit to Andersonville, the Confederate Civil War prisoner of war camp in nearby Americus, GA.

I start back to school on Wednesday. I will be taking Theology II, New Testament II, Art of Ministry (internship) IIb, Homiletics and Worship, and Preaching the Death of Jesus with Dr. Fred Craddock. It should be a great semester.

Gay and I are still doing great. We knew when we started this journey that it would not always be easy. We appreciate the prayers and support of our friends and family, and ask that they continue as we start the second half of this journey. God has been faithful, and we know that will continue. There have been some good things happening in the Baptist world, and I hope to post a little more about this in the coming week.

A New Thing

2006-12-31T20:33:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month, I finished what has been my toughest semester in divinity school so far. Someone should have warned me not to take Greek and Systematic Theology at the same time. but, everything turned out ok, and I have had some time to reflect on what has happened not only in the past semester but in the past year.

As I began my internship at FBC Statesville, there were those around me who encouraged me to investigate a career in the academic world. When you are on the kind of spiritual journey I am on, you tend to look for signposts: messages from God that give you an idea of which roads to take and which roads to pass by. So, a part of me began to wonder if these people were signposts from God pointing me in the direction of the academic world. In order to get a Ph.D., I would need to study German and French in addition to the Hebrew I had already studied and the Greek I was enrolled in. So, I decided I would think and pray about what my future would be this semester and try to make a decision by the end of the semester. To make a long story short, I feel like God has reaffirmed my call to work in the church during this past semester. I found myself enjoying ministry classes, like Pastoral Care and Art of Ministry, much more than the more academic classes like Theology and Greek.

Those of you who know me a little better, know that it has been a tough year. My home church in Tampa split, and the church I have been interning in has been struggling. But during my visit to Logos Dei, a new church start here in Tampa, the words from Isaiah 43 kept going through my head:

¹⁸Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. ¹⁹I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

While this scripture definitely applies to the life of this new church, I also felt that God was applying this to me. Its time for me to put the events of the last year behind me and its time for me to look for the new things that God is doing. I think this not only applies to my specific situation, but to the situation of the church in general. I think in many churches, the current model is not working; and the time has arrived for something new. What is that something new? I don't know yet, but I have some ideas. This transition to a "new church" is not going to be something we can accomplish on our own. Rather, it will be something my wife calls a "God sized thing"; something so big that we cannot possibly accomplish it on our own.

We need pastors who are willing to set aside their own ideas and, as Henry Blackaby puts it it in Experiencing God, find where God is working and join him in this work. The church is not a business where the pastor is the CEO. We need pastors who recognize that being a senior pastor is not a higher calling than being a youth minister, a music minister, or a children's minister, and as a result, use team models of church organization rather than a hierarchical one. We need congregational leaders who understand that it is not "their church"; it is God's church. Finally, we need clergy and lay leadership who are willing to step out on faith; without faith, God sized things can't happen. This transition to a "new church" is not going to be something we can accomplish on our own. Rather, it will be something my wife calls a "God sized thing"; something so big that we cannot possibly accomplish it on our own.

I believe we have arrived at a pivotal moment in the life of the church. It is a time that is both scary and exciting. It is a time in which the church will need the gifts of all of its leaders, not just pastors. It is a time for everyone to understand that the church of the 21st century may look much different from the church we have come to know.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-23T12:29:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I have not posted since I finished school this semester, but my computer died shortly after exams were over, and I am still working on getting a new one ready. Gay and I will be headed back to Florida on Christmas day, and I will definitely post some while I am home for the holidays.

I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best in the new year!

Go Deacs!

2006-11-29T22:02:00.001-05:00

Personal Update

2006-11-28T15:33:00.001-05:00

This semester I feel like a little kid sitting in the back of the car on vacation. But instead of constantly asking, "Are we there yet?", I am constantly asking, "Is it over yet?"

Beginning about a third of the way through the semester, I began to feel overwhelmed, and that feeling has evolved into an overwhelming feeling of being overwhelmed. Friday is the last day of classes, and I will be done with exams by next Wednesday afternoon, so please pray for me between now and then. This is obviously why I have not spent much time blogging. Things should be better next semester.

I took the above picture today after class. It is a Wake tradition to TP the quad after a big victory, and our football team has provided plenty of those this year. Wake will be playing Georgia Tech for the ACC championship on Saturday. If they win, they go to the Orange Bowl Not bad for a team that was the preseason pick to finish last.

Dobson + Coulter: Focus on the Fundamentalists

2006-10-28T21:31:00.000-04:00

In September of 2003, the then president of Mercer University, Kirby Godsey, delivered a paper at a preaching consultation in St. Simon’s Island, Ga. At the beginning of this paper he had this to say about fundamentalism:

I believe that over the next few decades, fundamentalism will be unmasked and exposed as a fraudulent form of faith. Fundamentalism in all of its expressions worldwide is barbaric and uncivilized, replacing creativity with control and manipulation. It churns out passions that breed religious hatred and bigotry and the twisted wreckage of misplaced devotion. The ascendance of fundamentalist passion and the rhetoric of holy destruction (an oxymoron if I ever heard one) is contributing to the demise of humankind, diminishing our higher calling to love mercy and to do justice and places the progress of human creation in peril. There is not a dime’s worth of difference in Christian, Baptist, Jewish, or Islamic fundamentalism. They are all dangerous, evil forms of religious commitment. People who maim and kill and destroy and put other people down in the name of God are children of evil and the appeal to God’s name does not bring sanctity to their work. Holy meanness is still meanness!

If anyone has any doubts of the wisdom of Godsey's observations, they need only look at this article from EthicsDaily.com. I will be quoting liberally from this article for the rest of this post. Please look at the original article for links that back up much of what the author is writing.

At issue is the recent guest appearance of the ultra-conservative political pundit Ann Coulter on Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program last week. For those of you unfamiliar with Coulter, here are a few quotes I found while surfing the net:

(Concerning Muslim Countries)We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.

(Concerning the environment) "The ethic of conservation is the explicit abnegation of man's dominion over the Earth. The lower species are here for our use. God said so: Go forth, be fruitful, multiply, and rape the planet--it's yours. That's our job: drilling, mining and stripping. Sweaters are the anti-Biblical view. Big gas-guzzling cars with phones and CD players and wet bars -- that's the Biblical view."

(This quote is from her latest book Godless: The Church of Liberalism and concerns the widows of 9/11)These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. These self-obsessed women seemed genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them. ... I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much ... the Democrat ratpack gals endorsed John Kerry for president ... cutting campaign commercials... how do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they'd better hurry up and appear in Playboy."

Does that sound like a Christian to you? Is this the kind of message you would like to teach your children? Obviously, James Dobson thinks so. What follows is the summary of the interviews as it appeared in the EthicsDaily.com article. I will highlight in red the statements I find to be particularly offensive:

When Dobson asked her about the title of the book and its attack on liberals, Coulter responded, "They are the opposition party to God." However, Coulter does not appear to be a member or regular attender of any church.

Coulter also reportedly swears, drinks and smokes. Additionally, Coulter's over-the-top rhetoric and ad hominem attacks—such as those on women who lost their husbands in the tragic attacks of Sept. 11, 2001—bear little resemblance to the biblical model of being loving or careful in what one says.

Despite these problems, Dobson not only gave Coulter two days of his show but also lavished her with praise throughout the interview. He encouraged her to come on the show again and expressed his "hope" that she would be a guest on the show many times "through the years."

"It is obvious why you drive the liberals absolutely crazy, and it's fun watching you do it," he told her. "You are a good lady. … And I appreciate what you're trying to do."

During the interview, Coulter and Dobson mocked Senator John Kerry's faith and military service. Dobson complained that during the 2004 election, Kerry's five votes against a partial-birth abortion ban were not very widely reported.

Coulter responded with the sarcastic response, "No, what we heard was that he was an altar boy." As she laughed, Dobson added with a chuckle, "Yeah, repeatedly." Coulter would later again state sarcastically, "He was an altar boy" as Dobson chuckled at her response.

Yet, how can they know his sincerity since they cannot know his heart? After all, "James Dobson is no Jesus."

In the midst of this segment making light of Kerry's religious dedication, Dobson also mocked Kerry's military service in Vietnam. He injected with a light-hearted tone, "And by the way, did you know he fought in Vietnam?"

Both Dobson and Coulter laughed at the remark. Yet, even if one accepts the Swift Boat version that Kerry's record was not as heroic as he claimed, he should be praised for actually going and serving his nation in harm's way.

During the interview, the two attacked Hollywood, the media, the courts, affirmative action, stem-cell research, public schools, concerns about torture, environmentalism, feminists and evolution.

Most of the attacks centered on "liberals," their influence on society and their supposed attempts to suppress Christianity and the family.

Dobson repeated and affirmed Coulter's claim in her book that "Liberals are anti-science." Coulter also attacked claims that liberals care about the poor and argued that they instead try to keep people poor and kill the poor.

"Liberals don't care about the poor," she retorted. "That is part of the point of the book to wake people up who are decent people who call themselves 'liberals.' I don't think there are that many of them left, though."

At one point, Dobson asked which institution Coulter would most want to take control of because of its importance.

"The public schools," Coulter responded. "What is being taught in the public schools, I think would make most parents to go out and boil the teachers unions' officials in oil."

Dobson, who has attacked public schools before, chimed in by claiming, "There is no redeeming social value, I think, in the National Education Association." Coulter expressed her agreement with this statement.

Near the end of the interview, Coulter dismissed concerns about how prisoners are treated at Guantanamo Bay. She argued that the idea that one should "shower [your enemies] with kindness" is merely "a liberal idea that will not die." So much for turning the other cheek or praying for your enemies.

Following the interview, Dobson exclaimed on the air, "I really enjoyed this interview." Yet, after the two episodes, one question arises: is this picture of conservative Christianity and family values?

Are these statements consistent with the New Testament you have read? Is Coulter a good example of a Christian following Jesus' instruction to "love your neighbor?"

It is my observation that, historically, moderate Christians have not been willing to speak out against fundamentalists, because we don't want to set the wrong example for what Christians should be. However, I would propose that Coulter and, because he did not correct her, Dr. Dobson are false prophets. Their teachings are not based on scripture, rather they are contrary to them. Paul writes in II Timothy: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." So, as Christians, it is time for us to speak up and gently use scripture to teach, rebuke, and correct Dobson and other fundamentalists like him.

As a country, we are facing serious issues that will require serious contemplation and discussion from both sides of the aisle. By the way, it has always been my belief that there are and need to be Christians in both parties. If you believe that one party has all the right answers, then you are fooling yourself. These kinds of remarks serve no useful purpose, and are, in fact, counterproductive. Since I identify myself as a Democrat, I will look to a democrat for a better option:

"We believe in a politics...dominated by evidence and argument. There is a big difference between a philosophy and an ideology on the right or the left. If you have a philosophy, it generally pushes you in a certain direction or another. But like all philosophers, you want to engage in discussion and argument. You are open to evidence, to new learning. And you are certainly open to debate the practical applications of your philosophy."

"The problem with ideology is if you got an ideology, you already got your mind made up, you know all the answers, and that makes evidence irrelevant and argument a waste of time, so you tend to govern by assertion and attack. The problem with that is that discourages thinking and gives you bad results."

"I long for the day when Republicans and Democrats will sit around and have these raucous, exciting arguments and actually love learning from one another, and when we create the common good out of a dynamic center."

— Bill Clinton, October 18, 2006 (excerpts speech given at Georgetown University)

We should also encourage Dr. Dobson to change the name of his radio program to "Focus on Fundamentalism" because he has lost his emphasis on the health of the Christian family and seems to be much more obsessed with protecting and increasing his political power.

Olbermann Commentary on Republican Terrorism Ad

2006-10-27T16:26:00.000-04:00

With an election coming up soon, you may see a few more political posts from me.

I continue to be impressed with Keith Olbermann's writing skill and eloquence in delivering commentary. Whether you are on the right or on the left, please take a minute to watch this commentary and let me know what you think.

Fred Craddock Sermon

2006-10-24T15:31:00.000-04:00

Fred Craddock preached in one of our chapel services earlier this year. It is one of the most amazing sermons I have heard. It is now available on the Wake Forest Divinity School Website, or you can listen to it by clicking here. Do yourself a favor and listen to this sermon.

In addition, you can listen to some of the other special speakers we have by clicking here.

It looks as if I will be able to take a course with Dr. Craddock next semester, and I am very much looking forward to that.

Earthquakes!

2006-10-17T22:02:00.000-04:00

The above image is from the United States Geological Survey, and it shows the THREE earthquakes that have occurred in Winston-Salem today. The first, and largest, was this morning about 5am, and it woke Gay up. The latest was at about 9:11, and Gay and I knew what it was as soon as it happened. The largest only measured a 2.6, so they are not major quakes, but it is still a little bit weird to feel the condo rattle.

A Slightly New Look

2006-10-06T15:48:00.000-04:00

I upgraded the blog to the new version of Blogger, so you may notice a few changes to the look of the site. Much of the functionality is the same, but I think it looks nicer, and it is much easier to change.

Let me know if you notice anything that is not working correctly or looks weird.

I am in the midst of mid-terms, but I will try to post something in the next few days.

Something to Think About...

2006-09-30T20:07:00.000-04:00

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
--James Madison

What is done in the dark, can be brought to the light.

2006-09-27T16:46:00.000-04:00

First, for those of you who may have thought I disappeared, I had a problem with Blogger in the last couple of days that caused my blog to disappear. I appreciate the quick response from them, especially considering I pay nothing for this service. If it happens again, just be patient and try again in a few hours.

Associated Baptist Press has a very interesting article about the role of blogs in a church conflict. One of the churches mentioned is Bellevue Baptist Church, which is the well known church where Adrian Rogers served as pastor.

I would love to hear some reaction to this story, so if you read it, take a minute and leave a comment.

You can read the story by clicking here.

A New Perspective on Pastoral Care

2006-09-16T22:49:00.000-04:00

***Update*** Something went a little screwy when I copied text from Word to Blogger, I think I have it fixed now, but some of the punctuation may be missing.

Occasionally, I like to write about some of the things I have learned in class, and that is the case with this post. I am enjoying my class on pastoral care, so I decided I would write on that for this post.

For those of my readers who are or have been pastors, this may not be a "new perspective," but it was for me. One of the classes I am taking this year is "The Ministry of Pastoral Care." Before starting the class, I admit that I thought of pastoral care as something that mostly happens one-on-one. I thought I would be learning about dealing with birth, marriage, divorce, death and dying. And all of those things will be a part of the class. But, in a congregational setting, ministers must not only do what they can to promote the health of each individual member; they must also protect and promote the health of the congregation as a whole. We are currently reading two books that begin by discussing the health of the congregation.

The first book is Cultivating Wholeness by Margaret Kornfeld. One of the concepts introduced in our reading so far is the role of the pastor in helping to create what she calls "real community" in a church. Churches are frequently referred to as communities of faith. A community may be thought of as a group of individuals, and, just like an individual, a community can be either spiritually and emotionally healthy or unhealthy. Kornfeld uses the term real community to describe a community that is healthy. In a real community, a person feels free to be who he or she is; a person does not have to change or pretend to be someone they are not to be accepted by a real community. Real communities are safe places to be. Real communities allow individual members to disagree with each other and question the leadership of the community without risking their membership in the community. When these characteristics are considered, it becomes easy to see why real communities are actually more prone to conflict. This should actually be considered healthy, however, because in any community situation, conflict is inevitable. The characteristics of a real community allow it to deal with conflict in a healthy way; they are able to, as Kornfeld puts it, claim their conflict and potentially resolve them before anger reaches a level that harms the community as whole.

Kornfeld uses the term pseudo community to describe a community that is unhealthy. Pseudo communities may appear to be real communities, but appearances can be deceiving. There is little room for individual identity in a pseudo community because they tend to emphasize a group identity. The differences of the individual members are not valued, so individual members feel they must conform to the identity of the group and follow the leadership no matter what. Disagreement is discouraged which causes a build up of anger allowing the smallest disagreement to rapidly escalate into a war within the group. Pseudo communities are not safe places to be.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul described Christian community as the body of Christ, and the concept of real community fits nicely with PaulÂs description. A real community values the differences of its members and understands that each of us has different gifts. In addition, only a real community follows Jesus' command that we love our neighbor. The type of love Jesus was describing is not conditional; it is not a love that is available only if one is willing to conform.

The second book is Mighty Stories, Dangerous Rituals by Herbert Anderson and Edward Foley. Anderson and Foley discuss the impact that narratives and rituals have on our lives, our worship and the practice of pastoral care. All three of these categories are at their best when they are able to achieve the proper balance between the divine story and the human story. As human beings, we yearn not only to find our place in the divine narrative, but we also want to discover where God is present in our story. Anderson and Foley believe that worship and the practice of pastoral care do not have that balance. Ironically, they believe they are out of balance on different sides of the narrative spectrum. As Christians, we need to do a better job of integrating the human story into our worship and integrating the divine story into pastoral care.

There are many Christians who find worship to be boring and irrelevant. I believe Anderson and Foley are correct when they assert that one of the reasons for this is the fact that many churches have taken the human story out of worship. When a member of a congregation complains that a worship service is boring, he may be told that he is just being selfish and that the worship service is not about him; it is about God. In other words, worship is only about the divine story. But, what if the real problem is that the worship service is not allowing God's story to connect with the worshiper's story ? Would that not result in an image of God in which he can only be found in the church building and not in the daily life of a believer? When we attend a movie, we most often become the most interested in the character we can identify with because their story somehow intersects with ours; we see some part of our story in their story. Consequently, the solution to boring worship may not necessarily be a flashy service with upbeat music and high tech displays. Rather, the key to genuine worship is designing a service that illustrates how God is a part of our lives outside of the church and show where God's story is present in our story. If we are able to do that, our worship, whatever style it may be, will be more genuine.

On the other side of the coin, those entrusted with the ministry of pastoral care may have erred the other way: they have emphasized the human story at the expense of the divine story. One of the reasons for this is the tendency for counselors to draw from psychological theories and practices rather than the Christian story. When we begin to draw from the Christian story, we have to acknowledge the role of God as a co-author, and in doing so, identify where the divine story intersects with the human story. These acknowledgments allow us to open the door to the practice of communal religious rituals in the ministry of pastoral care. The result is that we are able to not only re-connect an individual's story to the divine story, but we are also able to reconnect the individual's story with the story of the community of faith.

Olbermann Commentary

2006-09-12T12:34:00.000-04:00

School is keeping me really busy, but I hope to post something this weekend. In the mean time, I read this commentary that Keith Olbermann delivered on MSNBC last night, and I thought it was incredible. Video is available by clicking here.

This hole in the ground

Half a lifetime ago, I worked in this now-empty space. And for 40 days after the attacks, I worked here again, trying to make sense of what happened, and was yet to happen, as a reporter.

All the time, I knew that the very air I breathed contained the remains of thousands of people, including four of my friends, two in the planes and -- as I discovered from those "missing posters" seared still into my soul -- two more in the Towers.

And I knew too, that this was the pyre for hundreds of New York policemen and firemen, of whom my family can claim half a dozen or more, as our ancestors.

I belabor this to emphasize that, for me this was, and is, and always shall be, personal.

And anyone who claims that I and others like me are "soft,"or have "forgotten" the lessons of what happened here is at best a grasping, opportunistic, dilettante and at worst, an idiot whether he is a commentator, or a Vice President, or a President.

However, of all the things those of us who were here five years ago could have forecast -- of all the nightmares that unfolded before our eyes, and the others that unfolded only in our minds -- none of us could have predicted this.

Five years later this space is still empty.

Five years later there is no memorial to the dead.

Five years later there is no building rising to show with proud defiance that we would not have our America wrung from us, by cowards and criminals.

Five years later this country's wound is still open.

Five years later this country's mass grave is still unmarked.

Five years later this is still just a background for a photo-op.

It is beyond shameful.

At the dedication of the Gettysburg Memorial -- barely four months after the last soldier staggered from another Pennsylvania field -- Mr. Lincoln said, "we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract."

Lincoln used those words to immortalize their sacrifice.

Today our leaders could use those same words to rationalize their reprehensible inaction. "We cannot dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground." So we won't.

Instead they bicker and buck pass. They thwart private efforts, and jostle to claim credit for initiatives that go nowhere. They spend the money on irrelevant wars, and elaborate self-congratulations, and buying off columnists to write how good a job they're doing instead of doing any job at all.

Five years later, Mr. Bush, we are still fighting the terrorists on these streets. And look carefully, sir, on these 16 empty acres. The terrorists are clearly, still winning.

And, in a crime against every victim here and every patriotic sentiment you mouthed but did not enact, you have done nothing about it.

And there is something worse still than this vast gaping hole in this city, and in the fabric of our nation. There is its symbolism of the promise unfulfilled, the urgent oath, reduced to lazy execution.

The only positive on 9/11 and the days and weeks that so slowly and painfully followed it was the unanimous humanity, here, and throughout the country. The government, the President in particular, was given every possible measure of support.

Those who did not belong to his party -- tabled that.

Those who doubted the mechanics of his election -- ignored that.

Those who wondered of his qualifications -- forgot that.

History teaches us that nearly unanimous support of a government cannot be taken away from that government by its critics. It can only be squandered by those who use it not to heal a nation's wounds, but to take political advantage.

Terrorists did not come and steal our newly-regained sense of being American first, and political, fiftieth. Nor did the Democrats. Nor did the media. Nor did the people.

The President -- and those around him -- did that.

They promised bi-partisanship, and then showed that to them, "bi-partisanship" meant that their party would rule and the rest would have to follow, or be branded, with ever-escalating hysteria, as morally or intellectually confused, as appeasers, as those who, in the Vice President's words yesterday, "validate the strategy of the terrorists."

They promised protection, and then showed that to them "protection" meant going to war against a despot whose hand they had once shaken, a despot who we now learn from our own Senate Intelligence Committee, hated al-Qaida as much as we did.

The polite phrase for how so many of us were duped into supporting a war, on the false premise that it had 'something to do' with 9/11 is "lying by implication."

The impolite phrase is "impeachable offense."

Not once in now five years has this President ever offered to assume responsibility for the failures that led to this empty space, and to this, the current, curdled, version of our beloved country.

Still, there is a last snapping flame from a final candle of respect and fairness: even his most virulent critics have never suggested he alone bears the full brunt of the blame for 9/11.

Half the time, in fact, this President has been so gently treated, that he has seemed not even to be the man most responsible for anything in his own administration.

Yet what is happening this very night?

A mini-series, created, influenced -- possibly financed by -- the most radical and cold of domestic political Machiavellis, continues to be televised into our homes.

The documented truths of the last fifteen years are replaced by bald-faced lies; the talking points of the current regime parroted; the whole sorry story blurred, by spin, to make the party out of office seem vacillating and impotent, and the party in office, seem like the only option.

How dare you, Mr. President, after taking cynical advantage of the unanimity and love, and transmuting it into fraudulent war and needless death, after monstrously transforming it into fear and suspicion and turning that fear into the campaign slogan of three elections? How dare you -- or those around you -- ever "spin" 9/11?

Just as the terrorists have succeeded -- are still succeeding -- as long as there is no memorial and no construction here at Ground Zero.

So, too, have they succeeded, and are still succeeding as long as this government uses 9/11 as a wedge to pit Americans against Americans.

This is an odd point to cite a television program, especially one from March of 1960. But as Disney's continuing sell-out of the truth (and this country) suggests, even television programs can be powerful things.

And long ago, a series called "The Twilight Zone" broadcast a riveting episode entitled "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street."

In brief: a meteor sparks rumors of an invasion by extra-terrestrials disguised as humans. The electricity goes out. A neighbor pleads for calm. Suddenly his car -- and only his car -- starts. Someone suggests he must be the alien. Then another man's lights go on. As charges and suspicion and panic overtake the street, guns are inevitably produced. An "alien" is shot -- but he turns out to be just another neighbor, returning from going for help. The camera pulls back to a near-by hill, where two extra-terrestrials are seen manipulating a small device that can jam electricity. The veteran tells his novice that there's no need to actually attack, that you just turn off a few of the human machines and then, "they pick the most dangerous enemy they can find, and it's themselves."

And then, in perhaps his finest piece of writing, Rod Serling sums it up with words of remarkable prescience, given where we find ourselves tonight: "The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men.

"For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own -- for the children, and the children yet unborn."

When those who dissent are told time and time again -- as we will be, if not tonight by the President, then tomorrow by his portable public chorus -- that he is preserving our freedom, but that if we use any of it, we are somehow un-American...When we are scolded, that if we merely question, we have "forgotten the lessons of 9/11"... look into this empty space behind me and the bi-partisanship upon which this administration also did not build, and tell me:

Who has left this hole in the ground?

We have not forgotten, Mr. President.

You have.

May this country forgive you.

Reflections...(Part 4)

2006-08-21T19:53:00.000-04:00

This post is a continuation in my series of posts on my reflections on my first year in divinity school.

As many of you know, Wake Forest is an ecumenical seminary. About half of the students are Baptist, but the other half come from a wide variety of Christian denominations. I have long stated that I believe this is a positive, not a negative and I plan to expand a little bit on my reasons for this in this post. Much of this post will discuss the "Baptist Wars" but I believe my conclusion equally applies to the relationship between Baptists and other denominations.

First, I think it is important for churches to forget the idea that we are in competition with one another. I believe that God has a unique mission for every church. He does not call every church to be a Saddleback, Willow Creek, or Lakewood church. So, it worries me when I see so many churches trying to emulate what these churches are doing so that they can be more "successful." Before any church embarks on a campaign to become "Purpose Driven" or "Seeker Sensitive" or even "Emergent" for that matter, they need to seek God's will for their church. Every church needs to measure their success the way God measures success, not the way men do. Is it possible for a small church in the same neighborhood as a mega-church to actually be more successful than the mega-church? Absolutely! If that small church is carrying out the great commission in its own unique way and acting in accordance with God's will for that church, it is successful and I believe God will bless it. Does that mean it will ever be even a tenth the size of mega-church? Maybe not. But isn't that using our measure of success rather than God's? Isn't it more of a blessing to have a church where God's word is taught, Christians fellowship with each other and support each other on the Christian journey? Is a big fancy building, a large budget, and thousands of members worth more than that? Of course not! It is also important to understand that I am not implying that the mega-church is not doing God's will, God could be blessing the mega-church in much the same way. My point is that we need to be very careful how we measure success.

If you believe the above is true, then it becomes obvious what every church needs to do. Every church needs to prayerfully consider what God is calling that church to be. Once you decide what that is, Go for it! Don't worry about what another church is doing. Don't worry about what style of worship they have, what literature they are using, etc. In other words, if you are different, don't worry about it. I am well aware that this is not as easy as it sounds. Church members are always more than willing to point out what they think other churches are doing better than you are. But always remember, the church is the body of Christ, and a body is made up of very different parts that function the best when they are doing what they are intended to do. If you go to First Baptist Church, be the best First Baptist Church you can be. I guarantee you will be a better church than you will be if you try to be the next Willow Creek.

So, how does this apply to the so-called "Baptist Wars?" I think that both sides need to acknowledge that it is not only possible, but it also the most desirable outcome, for God to bless both the SBC and the CBF. So, how do we get there? I believe that Paul identifies the root of the problem for us:

1 Timothy 1 (Paul's warning against false teachers)
4 ...These promote controversies rather than God's work which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

Titus 3:9-11
9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11 You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

I firmly believe that the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC promoted controversies rather than God's work. Consequently, I believe that those who formed the CBF did the right thing when they left. I believe it would have been unbiblical for them to stay and continue to "promote the controversy." I believe that by leaving, they made it possible, although I do not yet believe this is the reality, for the SBC to re-focus themselves entirely on the work of God.

The two recent articles published by Baptist Press show that the SBC has still not reached the point where they are able to get above "promoting the controversy." The passage I quoted from Titus, however, has given me a new respect for the way CBF responded, or rather did not respond. They could have continued to "promote the controversy" but instead they followed the advice that Paul gave to Titus and had "nothing to do with them."

I also have a greater appreciation for the way the CBF is organized. There is no method in the CBF of bringing a motion to the floor to do something like organize a boycott of Disney. It is my believe that this was done with the intention of following Pauls advice not to promote controversy and instead focus on God's work. CBF is simply a group of Baptists who have decided to network and help each other do God's work. That's what I love about it. Is it a perfect organization? Of course not. But it feels like home to me. Gay and I are hopefully going to be a part of a new generation of CBF leadership that is able to put the controversy behind us. CBF needs to concentrate on its own calling, and let the SBC concentrate on theirs. And yet, the SBC doesn't seem to want to let us do that. They continue to promote controversy by publishing articles that criticize CBF in one way or another. CBF appears to be trying to move beyond the controversy, and I hope the SBC will let us do that. While it may be hard for those hurt by the leadership of the SBC to pray that God will bless the SBC, that is certainly the Biblical thing to do.

I wrote in an earlier post that I am Christian first and a Baptist only a distant second. I believe that many of the above arguments apply equally to other denominations. As Christians, we should pray for the success of the church as a whole. As Baptists, we should pray for the Methodists and Presbyterians, the Moravians and the Quakers. I think that is what Jesus would want.

Reflections...(Part 3)

2006-08-20T15:20:00.000-04:00

This is the third in the series of my reflections on my first year in divinity school. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the recent events at my home church may want to skip reading this post.

Shortly after I announced my call into ministry to my home church, Bayshore Baptist in Tampa, Gay and I started hearing from some church members and former ministers (Bayshore has more than 20 former ministers) about how well the church would treat us during our time in school.

I attended Bayshore from the time I was three until I was twelve and my family moved too far north for us to continue attending a church in South Tampa. However, I returned to Bayshore in 1998 after I moved back to south Tampa. My wife and I were married at Bayshore in 2000. I was ordained as a deacon there in 2002, and Gay and I were ordained into ministry in 2005. So, this church has played an important role in my life, and Gay and I love many of the current and former members of Bayshore. The former minister of congregational life, Nancy Burke, helped both Gay and me answer God's call into ministry. The former minister of youth, Dr. Sam Hestorff, has shown me that the church of the future can adapt to meet the the needs of a changing world, and Dr. Tom Pinner has been a mentor to me since I was in high school. So, it is with great sadness that I write this entry, but I felt that any reflection on my first year in Seminary had to include my disappointment with the support, or more specifically the lack of support, I have received from the leadership of my home church.

I decided to write this post in response to some questions that I and my parents have received asking about the status of scholarship funding from Bayshore. I wanted to give the members of Bayshore who read this blog the chance to hear the truth straight from me. So, here it is.

Before we left Bayshore last year, I was awarded some funding from a Bayshore endowment. The sole purpose of this endowment is to provide funding to seminary students. Before I received the award, I was told that this was my funding for this year, and I could receive it however I wanted, one payment, two payments, etc. I was also told that the minimum balance specified in the endowment would have to be changed for me to receive further awards, but that the change was possible, and a church business meeting would be held sometime during the next year to address that issue.

So, when I decided to take Hebrew over the summer, I wrote a request to the Bayshore Scholarship committee requesting financial assistance to pay for the classes. I received a call a month or so later saying that there was no money available, so Bayshore was going to be unable to help me. However, I found out a few days later that the committee never met to discuss my request. Rather, the pastor simply told a committee member to call me and tell me that no money was available. It is important to understand that this money would have come from a designated account and would not have affected Bayshore's finances. I would also have no issue if the Pastor had actually called a meeting of the committee to discuss the matter, rather than making the decision on his own. Contrary to some reports I have received, I was never told that the initial reward was the only reward I would be able to receive. If that was the case, I would never have taken the time to write the request, and would not have been encouraged to write the request by a member of the committee at Bayshore. Before writing this post, I also took the time to verify my own memories with others at Bayshore, and my memories proved to be accurate. So, the long and the short of it is, I do not expect to receive additional support from Bayshore.

But, I feel it is also important for me to point out that there are additional ways to support seminary students. Since we left Bayshore, we have not received a single call, letter or e-mail from the pastor. I firmly believe that it is part of the staff's job to keep our names in front of the church and remind them to be in prayer for us. Bayshore currently has four students in seminary. In addition to me, there is one at Duke, one at BTSR, and one at Emory. Bayshore should be proud of these students and celebrate our successes. If that has happened, I have not heard about it.

When we moved here, I joined Statesville under watchcare, because I wanted to keep my membership at Bayshore. Even though I am not a member, they have supported Gay and me one-hundred percent. I can remember being at a Wednesday night dinner after I finished the Spring semester, and the Minister of Education congratulated me on finishing the semester with all A's during the announcements. I have started teaching a wonderful Sunday School class that gives me the freedom to explore different ways to apply what I am learning at school to real-world ministry. Their willingness to discuss the difficult issues and share their opinions with me has been a real blessing, and I know they are praying for Gay and me on a regular basis. When Gay mentioned the fact that I was seeking money to pay for Hebrew over the summer as a prayer request in staff meeting, a staff member encouraged me to make a request to Statesville's education endowment for the necessary funding. They readily agreed to pay the tuition and books for my summer classes. A few weeks ago, the chair of the committee came to Gay and asked her how they could help me this semester, and they have agreed to buy my books. They have no idea how much I appreciate the fact that offered to help me before I even asked for it. They are supporting me, both spiritually and financially, even though I am not a full member of the church. I believe that is the way the church should work.

I would also like to thank Florida CBF for their support. They have supported me through a scholarship which has been renewed for this year, and they also keep up with Gay and I on a regular basis. Tommy Deal and Carolyn Anderson have been wonderful, and I was honored to be able to speak to Florida CBF during the general assembly in Atlanta.

Finally, I would also like to thank the individuals that have supported us at Bayshore over the past year. Your prayers, letters and e-mails have been appreciated. My disappointment is with the pastor at Bayshore, not with the members.

Feel free to e-mail me, or leave a comment if you have any questions. In order to filter out comment spam, I review all comments before they are posted, so if you want your comment kept private, just mention it, and I will honor that request. There is an e-mail address listed in the column on the right if you don't have one for me.

CBF Response to SBC Articles

2006-08-17T13:46:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week Baptist Press, the official news agency of the Southern Baptist Convention, posted two articles attacking the CBF in one way or another. You can read them by clicking on the links below:

CBF church count violates church autonomy, scholars say
SBC, CBF seminaries differ in educational approach, profs say

I commented on the second article briefly in one of my earlier posts. It is interesting that both articles are written by the same person and both articles use the same scholarly sources. The SBC doesn't want moderates (although we are soon going to have to replace the word moderate with the phrase "anyone that doesn't agree 100% with a small group of SBC leaders) to come back, and yet they don't see to want to let us leave and do our own thing either.

CBF has responded to these two articles, and you can read that response here:

Response to Baptist Press stories on August 11

You can also read a few blog responses by clicking on the link below:

Leave us alone and get your facts straight
The Red Herring starring the CBF

Remember that crisis in leadership thing I was talking about? I think that certainly applies to the SBC as well.

Reflections...(Part 2)

2006-08-15T23:02:00.000-04:00

This is a continuation of my previous post. I am reflecting on the completion of my first year in divinity school.

Training for the ministry involves both academic and practical education. Although the formal portion of my practical education starts this year, I have spent enough time in churches to identify some issues worth mentioning.

One of the biggest crises facing the church in the area of leadership. In my opinion this crisis applies equally to both lay leaders and ministerial leadership. There are many in leadership who seem to forget who the church belongs to. The church certainly does not belong to the pastor, to the deacons, or even to the membership, but there appear to be many in leadership who forget that. So, whose church is it? Let's look at Matthew 16:18:

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Notice that the verse does not say "I will build the church" or "I will build a church." Jesus states pretty clearly that he is going to build his church. My point is that those in leadership should not do with the church as the wish simply because they have the "power" to do so. Every decision should be made only after prayerful consideration and study. Being a church leader is a huge responsibility, a bigger responsibility than we can possibly handle on our own. We need to remember that all of us are "servant leaders" and that we should only help the church go where God wants it to go and should not blaze our own trails.

So, how do we know if we have made the wrong decision? If the decision has to be kept quiet, it is probably the wrong decision. If the decision has to spun in order to be presented to the church, it is probably the wrong decision. If a board, committee, or staff decide to do something that they believe is contrary to will of the church as a whole, it is probably the wrong decision. If you decide to take an action simply because it is the recommendation of the senior pastor, another minister, chairman of the deacons, or someone else in authority without seeking the will of God, you probably made the wrong decision. Finally, if you make a major decision without taking the time to pray about it first, chances are very good you will make the wrong decision. If more than one of the above is true, you definitely made the wrong decision.

To be continued...

Reflections...(Part 1)

2006-08-14T22:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I have finished the first year of divinity school at Wake Forest, and most of the time it has actually flown by. I am all finished with Hebrew, which I have to admit got just a little bit tedious toward the end. Working on it every day obviously helped me learn it faster, but it was also tough not getting much of a break. The amazing thing is that 10 weeks ago, I didn't know the Hebrew alphabet, but by the time I finished the class, we were reading Ruth from the Hebrew Bible, although the reading went very slowly. I am happy to report that I got an "A" in both classes. If it weren't for the minuses (ex. "A-" rather than "A") that Wake uses, my GPA would be 3.90, as it is, it will be a 3.7 something I think, I am still waiting for it to be computed.

I am not posting the above to brag about my success. Rather, I am posting it because I believe it is a reflection of my commitment to my call into ministry. I have never looked at these three years in school as a break. I look at them as more of a gift. God has blessed me with the opportunity to spend three years learning everything that I can to prepare for the ministry. The only way I feel I can be true to my calling is to devote all the energy and effort I possibly can to my studies, and that is exactly what I have done. I also posted these results as a way of thanking those who have supported me over the past year, both financially and with prayer. I wanted to make you proud of me, and I hope I have done that. I appreciate everything you all have done for me and everything you will continue doing for me both through the next two years at Wake and throughout my ministry.

The SBC posted an article today that was critical of "CBF Seminaries." (You can read this article by clicking here.) When I read the article to my wife Gay, she pointed out that the article never even talked about "the call." It never pointed out that maybe, just maybe, students should attend the theological institution God is calling them to attend. Those of you who have known me for a while, know that WFU was not my first choice when I began visiting schools in 2004. It was the last stop on our tour, and we really just stopped here because it was so close to Campbell and they happened to be having their "Discovery Day" on the last Saturday of our trip. But, the most amazing thing is that as soon as the day was over, Gay and I both said, "This is it!" We both knew that this is the place that God was calling us to. And, a year later, I still feel the same way. I know for sure that I am getting a top quality education. Wake is a small university and a very small divinity school, but that size means that I am able to get to know many of my professors on a one to one basis. At how many schools can one sit around a table with only half a dozen other students and discuss contemporary Christian issues with the dean of the divinity school who is one of the foremost Christian historians in the country and the former director of the Baptist Joint Committee? That was was we did in my "God and the NY Times" class. I have no doubt this class will be one of highlights of my education, and it would never have happened in a larger school.

Why do I go to The Divinity School at Wake Forest University? Because that is where God called me! And I take offense to anyone who criticizes me for that decision, or criticizes Wake simply because it is small, or because we have non-Baptists. I look at Wake's diversity as a strength, not a weakness! I am Christian first, and a Baptist a distant second. I am studying at a school with other Christians, and I don't really care whether they are Presbyterian, Moravian, or Quaker. We are all Christians, and we can all learn from each other. Baptists do not have all the answers, and they never will. So, as you can see, I am proud of my school and the education it is providing me, and I thank the Lord for allowing me to attend here.

I know so much more than I did a year ago, and I think about my faith in a different way. I approach the Bible in a different way, for example. Whenever I study now, I read the text several times. The first time I read it through just to get my own thoughts on the text, and I ask myself, "What is the text saying to me?" Then I often read the footnotes and commentaries to answer the question, "What has the text said to others." Then I read it again and I ask myself, "What would this text say to me if I was not a Christian?" I try to look at it from the perspective of ancient Jew (if I am reading the Old Testament) or as a non-Christian. How does that make me see the text differently? How does that help me teach the text to others? I then stop for a while, pray, and ask "What is God saying to me through this text?" Because, in the end, that's really what it is all about. It isn't really all about who wrote the text, when the text was written, or whether the event being described actually happened the exact way it is being described. Those things can be important, and they are certainly interesting, but they are secondary. They are secondary to the message that God is trying to give me, through the text.

To be continued...

What Would Jesus Recognize?

2006-08-11T20:14:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I haven't blogged for a while, but, as many of you know, some things have been going on at my home church that required Gay and I to make a trip back. For those of you in the middle of this situation, seek the truth. Don't trust what you are hearing. I will write more on this later.

I saw this article in the latest edition of Baptists Today, and I thought it was very profound. It is in a section called "The Lighter Side" but I thought the message behind this article is very relevant to the church today. It is called "What would Jesus recognize?" and it was written by Brett Younger.

Jesus wouldn't recognize...

heated, fiberglass baptisteries (Rivers are better symbols that bathtubs.)
grape juice at communion (What exactly does Welch's represent?)
pictures of Jesus (Do artists know what Jewish people look like?)
DaVinci's The Last Supper (Why are they all on one side of the table?)
walking the aisle (There's not a single instance of walking the aisle in the New Testament.)
the "plan of salvation." (There's not a single "plan of salvation" in the Bible; there is a "person of salvation" who reveals and offers God's grace.)
timid Sunday school lessons that don't upset anyone (After teaching Sunday school in Nazareth, the class tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.)
age-graded classes (Wouldn't it be helpful to learn from people who aren't our age?)
requiring someone from another Christian tradition to be re-baptized (Baptists didn't show up until 1,600 years after Jesus.)
Robert's Rules of Order (What were they thinking when they let this into the church?)
Steeples (Towels are more symbolic of servanthood, but it's hard to picture a 40-foot towel on top of the building.)

But Jesus would love...

worshipping in spirit and truth (We lift our hearts to God.)
congregation singing (We join our souls in celebration.)
listening for God's voice (We discover what it means to follow Christ.)
prayer groups (We share concerns and dreams.)
Vacation Bible School (We give thanks for gloriously noisy children and gloriously patient teachers.)
adults asking hard questions (We open our minds to mystery.)
children hearing the stories of faith (They learn that they are their stories too.)
church supper clubs (Jesus said the kingdom is a banquet.)
disciples who share their lives (We become lifelong sisters and brothers.)
people who hug (Hugs are 21st-century "holy kisses.")
prayer groups (The prayers of the saints hold the world together.)
those who visit the homebound (Remembering the elderly is radically Christ-like behavior.)
mission trips (They are more fun than Disneyland -- and cheaper, too.)
class parties (Jesus came "eating and drinking.")
Sunday lunches and Wednesday suppers (Would you want to go to a church that didn't eat together?)
world hunger offering (This is the kind of offering St. Paul would take up.)
Habitat for Humanity (Carpenters, in particular, appreciate this one.)
people who know their way around Hospitals ("I was sick and you took care of me.")
food pantries ("I was hungry and you gave me food.")
clothing rooms ("I was naked, and you gave me clothing.")
smiling greeters ("I was a stranger and you welcomed me.")

...Jesus wouldn't recognize everything at our churches, but there is so much that much make Jesus smile.

Should This Happen Here?

2006-07-25T21:04:00.000-04:00

Number of people in the United States convicted as minors serving life sentences without the possibility of parole: 2,225

Number in the rest of the world: 12

The practice of sentencing minors to life in prison without the possibility of parole is prohibited by the Constitution on the Rights of the Child which has been ratified by every country in the world except The United States of America and Somalia.

For more information, you can visit the Human Rights Watch website by clicking here.

In the Beginning...

2006-07-24T21:33:00.000-04:00

The word above, pronounced in English as "bresheet" is the first word in Genesis. It is also the name of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. We spent one day in Hebew last week talking about the first few verses in Genesis. It was extremely interesting, and one of those days when you feel blessed to be in divinity school.

Let's start with the King James translation of Genesis, just to remind us what that translation of the text says. (I am using the King James for a reason which will become clear at the end of the text.)

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Contrary to our tradition, the word above is accurately translated as either "In beginning" or "In a beginning." The definite article "the" is not hidden the above word. If it was, it would be prounounced in English as "brasheet." So, what does it mean then? The verb that follows it is "bara" which means "he created". Intrestingly, in the Biblical text, only God can "bara", but we will get back to that in just a minute. If one analyzes the grammar and syntax, it would appear that the first word is in what is known as a construct relationship (kind of like possessive) to "he created." However, it is very unusual for a word to be in a construct relationship with a verb. But, let's assume for the moment that the two words are in constuct, what would that mean? In English we would translate the construct as "he created's beginning." As a result, the Jewish Publication Society translates this text as "When God began creating the heavens and the earth...". I get back to some of what that might mean in just a minute, but lets go to the next word in Genesis 1:1.

The next word in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim, one of the names for God used in the Old Testament. So, what can we learn from the way God is referred to for the first time in the Bible? The interesting thing about the word Elohim is that the "im" ending makes it a plural? But notice the verb that Elohim refers to is singular. If you notice above, I translated bara as "he created" (Hebrew words have gender and number characteristics to them.) not "they created." If you are a Christian, the explanation is simple. "Elohim" refers to the trinity, one God in three. That would allow plural subject to take a plural verb. I need to ask the professor how the Jewish tradition explains this, and I will post that here when I find out.

So, lets get back to the "in beginning" question. Notice how the whole form of of Genesis 1:1-2 if we change it. Again, here's the KJV original:

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

But what happens if we change that to this:

When God began creating the heavens and the earth, (and) the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

See how that changes the verse? If you translate it that way, earth already existed at the beginning of creation, as did darkness and "the deep." But questions also arise with the original translation as well. The words "without form and void" in Hebrew are "tohu vavohu" and "vavohu" never appears without "tohu." Think of the English phrase "the whole kit and kaboodle." We never just talk about a "kaboodle." From other texts, we can determine that the best meaning for the phrase "tohu vavohu" is "total chaos." So, if you use the original translation, did God created the chaos? Did God create the darkness? Is darkness something in itself, or simply the absence of light? I don't have the answers, just the questions.

Some of you may have heard of the Gap theory. This theory proposes that there is a significant time gap between verses 1 and two, and translates verse two as "the earth became void." That is also an entirely accurate translation. That's how some very conservative theologists explain the existance of fossils, earlier forms of man, etc. To them, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, including dinosaurs, etc. Then the Earth was destroyed, and became tohu vavohu. So all those fossils come from an earlier creation.

Continuing with that same verse, the word for "deep" is also interesting. The word in Hebrew is "tehom." This could be translated as something like the primordial ocean. But that is not the significant part. The original auction would probably have known about other creation stories in which an ancient sea dragon named "Tiamat" (appears to be related to the word "tehom") was defeated during the creation of the world. So, in contrast to those stories, the Genesis story can be seen as creation without opposition in contrast to the other stories of the time.

We're still not done with verse 2 yet! We have to deal with the phrase "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" or in Hebrew "veruach Elohim merachefet al-peney hamayim" (the "ch's" are h's at the back of the throat, not an English ch sound.) The Hebrew word "ruach" (the "ve" is just "and") can mean wind, breath, spirit, etc. It just doesn't mean spirit. The best way to think about it is that to ancient Jews, one's breath was one's life force, one's spirit, one's soul. Interestingly, the word Elohim can also be used as an adjective. Think of it as "awesome" or as I like to think about it, the adjective of all adjectives. So, it would be entirely accurate to translate "veruach Elohim" as either "a spirit of God" (the "the" is not there again) or as "a mighty wind." Thanks to our knowledge of the Ugaritic language (a semetic language related to Hebrew) we know that the word "moved" would be more accurately tranlated as sweeping or swooping like a bird.

Verse 3 is actually shorter in Hebrew than it is in English. In Hebrew it reads:

Vayomer Elohim yehi-or vayehi-or.

Literally translated that would be: "And he said God let be light and it was light" or "And God said, let light be and light was." Not much to say about that.

Verse 4: And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Notice the darkness is never said to be good. And what did a mixture of light and darkness look like? But seriously, the separation and the creation of order out of chaos (tohu vavohu) is a major theme of Genesis 1, and much of Genesis in general. Consider the following phrases from other verses in Genesis 1:

7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

All of these verses are examples of the creation of order out of chaos. This brings up some very interesting points. In this order, God created categories, which you can see in verse 25 above, and above these help create order. Think of the categories this way.

Animals
Humans
Elohim

As long as these categories are maintained, everything is good. God said that himself. However, when these categories start to get mixed up there is a problem. The first example is with Adam and Eve and the trees in the garden. One could certainly make an argument that at the beginning of the story, two things separated humans from Elohim: the knowledge of good and evil and eternal life. Consider Genesis 3:22 in this light:

Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’

So, it would appear that the only thing left separating man from Elohim is eternal life, so man had to be removed from the garden. But this did not stop the mixing of man and Elohim. Consider Genesis 6:

1 When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterwards—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

This passage is shortly before the story of the flood (many scholars belive that is what the 120 years in this passage means, the flood occured 120 years after this happened.) Again, we have the disruption of the order God put in place in Genesis 1. We have man mixing with Elohim (sons of God = Elohim) and the result is flood. So, now put yourself in the Jewish mindset. You are taught about this order God established, and that problems happen whenever this order is disturbed. If you believed this, how would that affect your view of the story of Jesus? Jews would see the birth of Jesus as an inappropriate mixture of Elohim and human again, and they would completely disagree with the idea that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. That idea is against the order they see in Genesis chapter 1. Interesting, huh?

Finally, verse 5:

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The only thing I really have to say about this verse is this. The last sentence is literally translated, "Evening was, morning was, day one." I would argue that there could be a significant difference between "the first day" and "day one." Day one of what? Day one of all of creation? Day one of this creation? Then again, they could be exactly the same thing.

So, what do I want you to get out of this? A few things:

1. Hebrew can be a somewhat imprecise language. There are very often several translations for a passage that are all equally correct

2. For any of you who think that the King James translation is the most accurate translation, it isn't. It is not a bad translation, the translators did an excellent job with the resources they had. But modern scholars have many more texts and a much better knowledge of other Semetic languages that allow them to translate the texts more accurately than those in the early 17th century could.

3. It is important to understand that the Hebrew text is an oral tradition not a written one. The text as we have it was meant to be chanted. The oldests texts we have, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, do not have vowels. That is because the text was only to be used as a reminder, Rabbis would have the text memorized. The vowels were eventually added in an effort to preserve the correct pronounciation of the text, which no doubt had changed significantly since it was originally recorded.

There is a whole lot more I could write about the first creation story in Genesis 1, and the second story that starts in 2:4b. But, this post is large enough. I will however, leave you with the NRSV translation of the Genesis passage. The phrases in parenthesis are translation notes provided by the NRSV:

1 In the beginning when God created (Or when God began to create or In the beginning God created) the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God (Or while the spirit of God or while a mighty wind) swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

You can see why so many scholars like the NRSV. In many cases it gives other possible translations. You can read the NRSV online by clicking here.

Good Discussion on the Prophetic Voice of the Church

2006-06-30T01:16:00.000-04:00

I have been having a good discussion with Michael the Leveller in the comments section of the post on Buddy Shurden's address at the BJC Luncheon. So, take a look at the comments section for that post, or click here. Feel free to chime in on the discussion. Anyone who has read the Old Testament knows how difficult it is to be a prophet (Don't believe me? Go read Ezekiel!) , but let's pray that the next generation of leaders has the courage and conviction to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done.

Shurden's Address at the Baptist Joint Committee Luncheon

2006-06-26T17:05:00.000-04:00

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has published a transcript of the address that Buddy Shurden gave at their luncheon during the CBF General Assembly in Atlanta. Shurden is the Callaway Professor of Christianity in the College of Liberal Arts at Mercer University. He is also the executive director of The Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University and the author or editor of 15 books.

The theme of Shurden's response is this: if Christians are not careful, something like the rise of the Nazi party in Germany could happen here. You can read Shurden's adress by visiting the BJC's website or clicking here.

All Gore Interviewed by Ethics Daily.com

2006-06-26T11:27:00.000-04:00

Ethics Daily has a great interview with Al Gore. For those of you who do not believe it is possible to be a Christian and a Democrat, you need to read this interview. You can read it by clicking here.

Baptist Center for Ethics Luncheon

2006-06-25T20:44:00.000-04:00

The following is a report on the Baptist Center for Ethics luncheon we attended at CBF. Thanks to CBF Florida for the tickets to the luncheon. The article is from the Worldwide Faith News Archive.

From "Daniel Webster" <dwebster@ncccusa.org>
Date Fri, 23 Jun 2006 15:51:44 -0400

'We are the leaders we have been waiting for,' NCC?s Bob Edgar tells Baptists in Atlanta

Atlanta, June 23, 2006 ? "We are the leaders we have been waiting for," Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, told more than 400 moderate Baptists from across the South Thursday at a luncheon during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's general assembly at the Georgia World Congress Center here.

The luncheon honored the 15th anniversary of the Baptist Center for Ethics, a pioneering agency which sponsors the popular EthicsDaily.com website and publishes church-centered curriculum materials on ethical and moral issues.

Edgar told the pastor leaders, God is calling all Christians to learn how to walk together "in the footsteps of Jesus," actively leading today's world to affirm values that Jesus taught and practiced, while addressing the challenges of "fear, fundamentalism, and Fox News". Edgar, an ordained Methodist minister, is a former seminary president and served six terms in Congress from Pennsylvania prior to becoming the NCC general secretary.

Acknowledging that Baptists sometimes have had trouble with the National Council of Churches, Edgar said, "You might be interested to know we've got lots of Baptists" in the NCC. He pointed to the Council's membership that includes more than 15 million Baptists in six different Baptist conventions.

"What we all have in common, whether inside the Council or not, is the spiritual leadership of Jesus Christ," Edgar said.

"Studying the Scripture," he said, "I find there are five directions God is calling us to walk together with Jesus":

--Peace. "We must engage in a relentless pursuit of peace, seeking reconciliation within families, communities, nations and the world of nations, reaching across boundaries that divide, building bridges instead of walls," he said. "Whether in Sudan or in Iraq or in a neighborhood gripped by crime or violence, Jesus would have us be peace-makers, not just peace-lovers."

--Poverty. "We are challenged by the life of Jesus, who gave himself for the poor and outcast, the despised and rejected," Edgar said. "We must take concrete actions that reduce poverty in our own time and place, anchored in Jesus' passionate concern for 'the least of these.' This challenge must not be confined to personal generosity, but community action, and national policy--going to the root of the problem, finding solutions that work and that last."

--Planet Earth. "The biblical Christian is also called by the Scriptures to exercise reverential stewardship of this God-given planet, rooted in mankind's earliest encounters with the Creator, beginning in Eden," he said. "We must fight the efforts of many to pillage and pollute, to waste and destroy the natural environment on which life itself depends. The wise management of the finite resources of the earth is a God-given mandate that the church is accountable to fulfill."

--People's rights. "The person who would be Jesus' disciple will be found standing in strong defense of people's rights, believing that such dehumanizing acts as racial or gender discrimination, torture, and invasion of privacy are an affront to the will of God for his creation," Edgar said. "The church should be the first line of protection for the disadvantaged, the powerless, the overlooked. They have no other advocate but Christ and his followers."

--Pluralism. "We who would claim the name of Christ must express his hospitality in the face of the whirlwind of cultures, languages and races that our world presents us in the form of accelerating pluralism in every community where we serve," Edgar said. "Jesus remarkably found kinship with those his own religious hierarchy condemned, those his culture rejected, and those his own heritage devalued. Jesus saw only God's priceless creative will and boundless love when he looked into the faces of the Samaritan, the stranger, the Other. A God who finds joy in populating the world with such extravagant diversity certainly must find grief in our rejection of this banquet feast."

Edgar shared with the Baptist leaders his experiences in pre-war Baghdad, where he worshipped with Iraqi Christians as part of a religious delegation seeking a peaceful settlement without war. He also told of a youthful life-changing exposure to Martin Luther King, Jr., and of later serving on the Select Committee on Assassinations as a Congressman, probing the deaths of Dr. King and President John F. Kennedy.

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of Churches has been the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 35 member faith groups come from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, African American and Living Peace traditions and include more than 100,000 local congregations with 45 million members.

The Council sponsors the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the FaithfulAmerica.org advocacy website, and the "Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches." Its member communions underwrite humanitarian work through Church World Service, a sister agency.

Bill Leonard on PBS

2006-06-20T23:33:00.000-04:00

Bill Leonard, the Dean and Professor of Christian History here at Wake Forest University Divinity School, appeared on NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS yesterday. He was one of two religious experts asked to talk about the changing landscape of American religion in light of the recent meetings of the Southern Baptists and American Episcopalians. You can view a streaming video version of this report by clicking here.

Off to CBF

2006-06-19T20:43:00.000-04:00

Gay and I are leaving tomorrow to head to the annual CBF Assembly in Atlanta. For us, this is a time of spiritual renewal and formation that we look forward to all year. When you work in a church, there are very few times when you get to worship and study without having to work. We have that opportunity at CBF. It is also an opportunity to meet with friends and do a little bit of networking. In addition, there is a resource fair with the latest books and resources that are of interest to moderate Baptists.

CBF is not just for professional clergy. There are workshops and worship services that would be interesting to any Christian. I heartily recommend the General Assembly to anyone who identifies themselves as a moderate Baptist.

I will be posting from Atlanta starting on Wednesday, so if CBF is of interest to you, watch for it. If you have any questions about CBF, you can send an e-mail to the address on the right, or just post a comment to this entry.

Gay's New Blog

2006-06-10T21:51:00.000-04:00

My wife, Gay, has just started a blog where she will display her photography and artwork. I added a link to the links section, or you can visit it by clicking here.

Daniel Vestal Article

2006-06-09T18:14:00.000-04:00

The following is an article written by CBF's Coordinator, Daniel Vestal. I thought it was a great article, so I decided to post it here. For those of you unfamiliar with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, it is a group of moderate Baptists that split off of the Southern Baptist Convention in the early 1990's. It is not, however, a denomination in the same way the SBC is. There is no mechanism in CBF to do things like issue a position statement on a particular issue or suggest an action on such an issue (such as a Disney Boycott or withdrawl from public schools.) CBF does not own its own publishing house, news service or run its own seminaries. Rather, it partners with other organizations to preform these functions. For more information, visit their website by clicking here. You will see the phrase "It's Time" throughout this article. Vestal uses this phrase often, and it is also the title of a book he wrote.

Iraq, Immigration, Incompetence...It’s Time
By Daniel Vestal, CBF Coordinator 6/9/06

Iraq

In April 2003, I wrote an article which said, "The war in Iraq has been a sobering and disturbing experience for me. I have found it difficult to concentrate on the work at hand and stay focused on regular routine and daily responsibilities. Although Atlanta is far removed from the places where bombs have been dropped and soldiers have been engaged in conflict, I have felt close to this war. It has caused me to renew my own commitments to Christ and pray for peace with greater fervency."

That lament is more poignant today than three years ago, knowing now what we didn’t know then. There were no weapons of mass destruction; there were no connections between the attacks of 9/11 and Saddam Hussein’s regime. There was little planning for the potential of insurgency and possible civil war. There has been deception with the American people.

My wife and I talk almost daily about this war with a heaviness of heart. We grieve with the American families who have lost loved ones. We also grieve for Iraqi families who have lost loved ones. We pray for leaders who make decisions that there might be divine intervention, for peace. But most of all we lament.

Immigration

One of the reasons I am proud to be an American is because we are a nation of immigrants. We are a rich mixture of racial, ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. The freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution assure equality before the law and protect the rights of all. To be sure, we have very dark segments in our national history (genocide of Native Americans and the institution of slavery), but we also have remarkable segments. One of the most remarkable is the way we as a nation have incorporated people groups from all over the world.

The U.S. is a mosaic of humanity, and for that we should be proud. I personally believe we need a new commitment to secure our borders against illegal immigration, the creation of a guest worker program for those who want to work in the U.S., and a way for undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship. But most important, I believe we need a new respect for the dignity of every human being within our borders. This respect will result in less divisive rhetoric and kindness for "the other," regardless of the language they speak or their legal, social, or economic status.

Incompetence

As I see it, there is a major leadership crisis in this country. The Bush Administration has shown ineptness in response to disasters and indifference to the growing disparity between rich and poor. Congress seems incapable of accomplishing anything. Neither Democrats nor Republicans cast a compelling vision for the broad middle of the American population. They cater to their core constituents and create greater division among us. Business and corporate leaders seem to care only for their profits and offer little hope for the social fabric that holds us together. There are, of course, exceptions to this analysis. But the exceptions only make the leadership vacuum more obvious.

I yearn for competent political leaders who seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. I yearn for competent business leaders who lead by serving and sacrificing. I yearn for competent leaders in all areas of our society that believe in the common good more than they believe in their own agendas.

It's Time...

Early in my life I heard someone say that "man’s extremity becomes God’s opportunity." When circumstances are the most dire and when life is most difficult, we can and should have hope for God to work. And it has been my experience that God works through people.

"It’s Time" for urgency.

Christian discipleship means that we live out of faith not fear, out of love not anger, out of generosity not greed. Christian discipleship means we become activists and advocates on behalf of those in need.

"It’s Time" for us to find our voice and use it.

Words may seem inadequate but silence in the face of injustice is sin. When you hear a statement of bigotry, greed or anger, speak up. Perhaps you can say, "With all due respect, I beg to differ." If each of us would use our own voice and speak truth in love, changes would take place.

"It’s Time" for us to be unafraid.

I confess that even in writing this article, I feared what people might think or how they might respond. I had to face my fear and name it, and I had to let it not paralyze me or keep me from doing what I felt was important. Some of us are afraid of involvement. Others of us are afraid of rejection or conflict or the unknown or pain. Jesus said, "Be not afraid."

"It’s Time" for us to pray.

Christian spirituality and formation do not isolate us from the real world. If they do, they are a false spirituality and formation. The more we listen to the Spirit, the more we will hear groanings which cannot be uttered. The more we offer ourselves to God, the more we will see the needs around us.

"It’s Time..."

Blogs have an effect on the Church

2006-06-06T15:26:00.000-04:00

Think blogs don't have any effect on the church? Check out this article from Associated Baptist Press about the upcoming SBC's annual meeting in Greensboro, NC. (This is just down the road from us.) Blogging has caused a huge uproar in the SBC over the past year, and for the first time in a long time, the outcome of the presidential election in the SBC is uncertain. Here are two links that may be of interest, the first is the ABP article, the second is a link to the blog that has caused so much controversy:

Controversies born from blogs promise stormiest SBC since 1991
Wade Burleson's Blog

I am not posting this message to SBC bash. Rather, I am posting it because it concerns the impact that technology is having on the church. I wrote a paper on this topic for Christian History II which I will post on the blog shortly.

Jon Stewart on New York Cuts

2006-06-06T11:56:00.000-04:00

The Daily Show did a great piece on the New York anti-terrorism cuts that I wrote about in my last entry. You can view the segment on the web by clicking here.

New York Terrorism Funding

2006-06-03T22:10:00.000-04:00

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is cutting the anti-terrorism funding for New York City by 40%. According to an AP story, Chertoff defended the decision by saying, "the city has zero national monuments or icons and only four major financial institutions." I am beginning to wonder if there is anyone in the Bush administration who is actually connected in any way to reality. Here's a reminder of an "icon" in New York City:

That is a picture of the Statue of Liberty on 9/11. Which is also a National Monument, by the way. According to the National Park Service, there are 8 other National Monuments in New York City. He also said the city only has 4 major financial institutions. That may be correct, but many would argue that the single most important financial institution in the country, if not the world, The New York Stock Exchange is in New York City. NASDAQ, the high tech stock market, is also located in the Big Apple.

New York is also the home of other landmarks such as Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, The Empire State Building, etc.

I haven't posted anything political on here for a while, but this absolutely floored me. I simply cannot believe that the man who is responsible for protecting our homeland security said:

"the city has zero national monuments or icons and only four major financial institutions."

You can read the article by clicking here. This is yet another example of the need for change in the 2008 election.

A little Hebrew Lesson

2006-06-02T16:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a little lesson from what I have learned so far in Hebrew. The above 3 characters are my first name in Hebrew. Remember, Hebrew is read from right to left, the first character is Gimmel (G), and the dot under it represents the vowel "I". The second character is a Yod, and is actually the Y character, but it is not pronounced. It is only there as a vowel marker for the "I". The last character is a Lamed (L).

Here's a little lesson we learned today. The Hebrew words will be written as you would prounounce them in English:

Hebrew Word - English Word
Who - He
He - She
Me - Who
Dog - Fish

The above is actually just a device to help remember Hebrew pronouns, but its also really funny (at least really funny as divinity school humor goes).

Running Sound Again

2006-05-28T14:00:00.000-04:00

My View from the sound board at FBC Statesville.

As many of you know, I was the sound technician at Bayshore for nearly 5 years before moving to Winston-Salem to attend Wake Forest. Many of you also know what a frustrating experience it was working with a system that was never right and having all attempts to correct the problem frustrated in one way or another. When I was approached about working on improving the sound system at FBC Statesville, I was obviously reluctant. As I researched their system, I was relieved to discover that it is not in nearly as bad of shape as Bayshore's was. The system is not bad, and the speakers and amps did not need to be replaced. We needed a new sound board (the current one is much better suited for studio work rather than live work) and a new DSP, but that was about it. Luckily we have a person in our church who installs sound systems for a living, and the pastor requested a meeting with the two of us. I was pleased to learn that there was some money available to fix the problem, and everyone in the meeting agreed on the direction and the equipment that needed to be purchased. I found out today that the equipment has been ordered and should be installed within a few weeks! Today was also the first Sunday I have run the sound on my own, and everything went fine, and it looks like this will become a weekly task for me as well. So, within two months of first addressing the problem, it will be fixed!

I also talked to my internship supervisor, Dr. James Reed, about my internship. I will be a roaming substitute teacher for Sunday School. Most of the classes are using the BaptistWay Press literature published by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which is great literature. I have also been told that whenever I am ready to preach, he will be happy to arrange that for me. So, everything looks good on the internship front for next year.

I started Hebrew this week. The class is taught by Dr. Neal Walls, who also taught my Old Testament class. For those of you who know nothing about Biblical Hebrew, here are a few things I have learned so far:

Ncnt Hbrw s wrttn wtht vwls. - Ancient Hebrew is written without vowels. Vowels were added later.
There are some letters that change their appearance when they appear as the last letter of a word.
There is no way to say "yes" in Hebrew, but there is a "no."
Hebrew is written from right to left and in what we would consider back to front.

For those of you who have never seen what ancient Hebrew looks like, click here for a picture.

Finally, my parents, Gay and I went to see a Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in Charlotte. We enjoyed it a lot, and it was kind of fun getting to show off some of the stuff I have learned this year. The exhibit was very well done, and getting to see pieces of the scrolls was amazing.

That's enough for now. Keep us in your prayers.

The First Year Is Over!

2006-05-23T09:23:00.000-04:00

My first year of Divinity School is all over! (Except for summer classes.) If you don't believe I have worked hard, just look at the above picture of my keyboard. I am wearing the letters off the keyboard! The letters S, I, O, N, and L are all showing similar wear, and I bought this computer when I started school!

I have received my final grades for this semester, and they were all A's! Whoo Hoo! I was very excited about that. I will start taking Hebrew later this week, and will be working on that all summer. When I finish, I will be one credit hour ahead of where I need to be. I would like to thank First Baptist Church of Statesville for their scholarship which will pay all tuition and books for my summer classes. This is just another sign that I am where God wants me to be.

I also did some updating on the site today. I added CBF Headlines, fixed the weather display, and changed the Today in History display to one without any ads. I also added a link to my brother's website in the links section.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us this first year. It has been challenging at times, but we know we are where God wants us to be, but that does not always mean life is easy. It helps to know that we have people all over the country who care about us and are praying for us.

I hope to have some more time to write about my first year in the coming days and weeks. So keep your eyes open.

UCC Church Ads

2006-04-20T20:35:00.000-04:00

Those of you who have not seen the new ad from The United Church of Christ need to take a look at it. I saw this ad playedin just about every commercial break during an Easter special on CNN. More churches need to have this kind of attitude. Let me know what you think.

http://www.accessibleairwaves.org/viewnew/

An International Mission Board Outrage...

2006-04-18T19:08:00.000-04:00

In the past months, I have refrained from posting messages that were critical of the Southern Baptist Convention. However, the following story shows just how out of control things have gotten in the SBC. Those of you who are still active in SBC churches need to voice your outrage over this decision, and should seriously consider if you want to continue supporting the IMB with your missions dollars. The last time I checked, the great comission did not say go into all the world and make them Baptists!

From the Associated Baptist Press:

IMB missionaries refuse to resign,

face forced termination in May

By Hannah Elliott

Published April 17, 2006

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) -- After receiving an April 15 ultimatum to resign or face termination, Wyman and Michelle Dobbs have refused to resign as International Mission Board missionaries in Guinea, West Africa.

The couple was targeted for starting a church in Guinea that isn't "Baptist" enough. When the deadline passed, the Dobbses received a letter April 17 from an IMB regional director that said the missionaries will be terminated May 31.

The Dobbses, who have served an unreached people group in the mostly Muslim country for eight years, started the church with the help of a missionary couple from the Christian and Missionary Alliance, an evangelical denomination with doctrinal standards and church governance very similar to those of Southern Baptists. The Dobbses have filed an appeal, which will be reviewed by a regional committee in May.

“I personally think this is an outrage,” said Jason Helmbacher, the Dobbses’ stateside pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Sallisaw, Okla. “I don’t believe it’s fair that they’ve been given an ultimatum based on misapplied policy. I just think it’s wrong.”

IBM chairman Tom Hatley disagrees. Hatley said he must stand by IMB policy, which he said the Dobbses have violated. IMB policy states that missionaries may plant churches in cooperation with non-Baptist missionaries who endorse the “Baptist Faith and Message” doctrinal statement -- the CMA couple has -- but those churches must have Baptist doctrine at their core.

It is unclear what doctrinal deviation is alleged in the Dobbses' case. ABP reported April 13 that the Dobbses and the Christian and Missionary Alliance couple started a “baptistic” church -- one Baptist in doctrine and polity but not in name.

The new church established in Guinea is one of only a handful of Christian outposts in the predominantly Muslim country -- and the first congregation affiliated with IMB missionaries.

Helmbacher, who said his church has sent three different groups of people to work with the Dobbses in less than two years, said the action against the couple has created confusion for church members who have just begun to get excited about missions.

“Our church is struggling to understand this,” Helmbacher told Associated Baptist Press. “They don’t understand the politics. They’ve been confused and upset.”

Helmbacher said church members have written letters and made phone calls to IMB trustees, trying to gain support for the Dobbses. Helmbacher said he fears the appeal might not make it through the May committee meeting -- or a subsequent trustee vote.

Trustee chairman Hatley did not speculate on the appeal’s outcome. He said it is a “staff decision” about violated policies. “It’s a work in progress,” Hatley said. “It could or it couldn’t go through.”

If the Dobbses' firing is not reversed on appeal, the full trustee board will vote on the termination in a later plenary session.

The IMB staff does not discuss pending personnel issues.

The conservative trustees who run the International Mission Board have insisted on increasingly strict policies about acceptable theology and practice among missionaries -- such as requiring that only Baptist churches be established overseas. Supporters say IMB missionaries must reflect the beliefs of the denomination that sends them. Critics say the stricter IMB policies go too far.

The news of the potential firing comes on the heels of another controversy over new IMB policies designed to prevent missionaries from using private charismatic practices and to narrow the parameters of acceptable modes of baptism for missionary appointees.

-30-

Personal Update....

2006-04-07T00:43:00.000-04:00

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on a few things.

I registered for my classes for next fall, and its not going to be easy! Here are the classes:
New Testament Greek I
New Testament Interpretation I
Christian Theology I
The Ministry of Pastoral Care (<- Hey, no 1!)
Art of Ministry IIA (Internship)

I am trying to take Hebrew over the summer, but I am not having much luck in securing funding for that. Financial aid is only available for the fall and spring semesters, and tuition is not cheap like it was in the good ole days of SBC Semenaries. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I have 2 big papers, 1 small paper, and two exams before I finish this semester in the first week of May, so I will be a little busy between now and then.

A page from the Gospel of Judas

BTW, there is a special coming on the National Geographic Channel this Sunday night on the newly translated Gospel of Judas. From what I have been able to read online, it has Gnostic characteristics like many of the other "lost gospels" but it was not found at Nag Hammadi like many of the other Gnostic texts. Like those texts, however, it is written in Coptic which is a form of ancient Egyptian language. Dating of the text show it was copied around 300ad. It should be an interesting show to watch. Particularly, it will be interesting to see what kind of slant National Geographic takes. With the upcoming release of the movie version of the DaVinci Code, there is a lot of interest in these early Christian texts. As a Christian, don't be too quick to dismiss the value of these texts. While they may not be theologically valuable, they are most certainly historically valuable as they help us learn about the origins of our faith. Early Christians had to not only define what Christianity was, but also what it was not, which is one of the values of these texts.

As for the DaVinci code, if you have not read it, please do so. There is going to be a huge interest in this movie, and it gives us an opportunity as Christians to talk about our faith. We cannot, however, argue effectively out of ignorance. So, READ THE BOOK, or listen to the book on tape. If you approach the book knowing that it is fiction, its a great story, in my opinion. I'll try to post some resources that you might find useful once the semester is over.

OT Exam Today

2006-03-22T23:24:00.000-05:00

I had my 2/3 of the way through the semester Old Testament Interpretation exam today. The exam consisted of 5 exegesises (if that is the plural of exegesis), 4 paragraph answers, and an essay question. The essay question I chose to answer was on the study guide, so I don't feel bad posting it here. I thought some of you might enjoy seeing one of the questions, so here it is:

"That they might know that I am the LORD. " Discuss the portrayal of Yhwh in the book of Ezekiel. Give specific examples of God's character, behavior, and treatment of both Ezekiel and Israel. Include the metaphors of the unfaithful wife and other troubling passages. As a minister, how would you relate these texts to your congregation?

Summary and Reaction to the Moyers Address

2006-03-19T18:49:00.000-05:00

The Winston-Salem Journal has an article on Bill Moyers address this week at the Divinity School. You can read it by clicking here.

Bill Moyers Address

2006-03-16T20:33:00.000-05:00

Every now and then a day comes along that reminds me why I am in Divinity School. Last Tuesday was one of those days. Our guest speaker in Divinity School Chapel was Bill Moyers. Most of you are probably familiar with Bill Moyers. Bill Moyers, is a broadcast journalist, former public official and Baptist minister. During his career in broadcast journalism, Moyers has won more than 30 Emmys, two Golden Baton awards and nine Peabody awards.

As chapel began, I was sitting there thinking how lucky I was to be sitting in a room with Bill Leonard, James Dunn, Bill Moyers, and Brent Walker from the Baptist Joint Committee. We are a small Divinity School, there are only 101 of us, but I can't imagine a much better educational experience.

The address Moyers gave was amazing. Below you will find a link where you can listen to his address. The republicans among you may not like some of the things he has to say, but you should still listen. Remeber, Jesus transcends political parties, so give him a chance. Click on the link below to listen to Moyers' address:

http://www.wfdd.org/audio/060314moyers.wma

2006-03-04T17:34:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Children's Sunday at First Baptist Church of Statesville, NC. So, Gay has been very busy getting ready for that. One of the things she has been working on is a new webpage, and while it is still a work in progress, it is now online. You can visit it by going to www.fbcloveskids.com. I will also add a link to my links section so you can visit it at any time.

2006-02-26T21:38:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of the Blog from the Capital of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty:

Dr. James Dunn, president of the Baptist Joint Committee endowment, former executive director of the BJC, and professor of Religion and Public Policy at the Divnity school at Wake Forest University was a guest on Air America Radio's "State of Belief" this weekend, hosted by Interfaith Alliance President, Rev. Welton Gaddy! You can download a podcast of the show by clicking on the website below:

http://airamericaplace.com/archive.php?mode=display&id=3406

New Website

2006-02-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

In my first semester at Wake, I have helped a number of students with their computer problems, and suggested a lot of free software. Obviously, we are living on limited budgets, so this software can help a lot. But, the software I listed will be useful to other users as well. So, take a minute and visit the site. It isn't anything fancy, but it provides some good resources. If you know of some software or websites that should be added, leave a comment or send an email. You can visit the site by clicking here.

Update

2006-02-24T18:55:00.000-05:00

I am now half way through my second semester in Divinity School, which I find amazing. I finished midterms this week, and I will start working on research papers soon. I am the most excited about the fact that I only have to take one more Christian History exam!

You may be wondering about the picture above. Well, that is a picture of First Baptist Church of Statesville, NC, which is the church where my wife Gay works. I talked with the vocational formation at Wake today about my internship for next year, and they approved an internship at Statesville. So, Gay and I will be working together again which will be great. I am looking forward to it.

I also started reading a book today I want to mention. Exiled: Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War. As I said, I just started the book so I can't offer a review of it yet. It is a book of essays written by those affected by the fundamentalists' takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention. The book actually has 2 forwards, both of which are written by people I know. The first is written by Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler, who was a close friend of my grandmother, Mary O'Quinn. In the book, she even writes about the time she spent at one of my former churches, Seminole Heights Baptist Church. She writes that she served two years there as Youth director, and about an experience at a revival.

The second forward is written by one of my current professors, Dr. James Dunn. Those of you who have met Dr. Dunn know what a character he is. It was interesting to see that he writes exactly the way he talks.

If you are interested in this book, it is available on Amazon. According to the site, it is not going to be available until April, but I ordered it and received my copy yesterday. I will post more about the book as I read more.

A Response to Suffering

2006-02-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

The following essay is a response to the book Disciplines of the Spirit by Howard Thurman.  I wrote it for my Introduction to the Spiritual Life class.

It would not surprise anyone if 2005 became known as the year of suffering.  The year began with the world responding to the worst natural disaster in modern times:  the Asian tsunami.  More than a quarter of a million people were killed and tens of thousands were left homeless.  In August, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf coast of the United States.  Although it initially appeared that New Orleans was spared, the city’s levies proved unable to contain the flood waters leaving three quarters of the city underwater.  More than a thousand were killed and tens of thousands were left homeless in one of the worst disasters in United States history.  In addition, earthquakes in Pakistan and Iran, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and genocide in Darfur undoubtedly affected hundreds of thousands more.
     Modern technology has given us instant access to pictures and video from these news stories.  Who can forget the pictures of the bodies on the beaches in Indonesia or the thousands suffering at the Superdome in New Orleans?  One would think that such images would make people more sensitive to the suffering of others, especially Christians.  Actual reactions, however, show that we still have a lot to learn about helping those who are suffering.  After each disaster, there were those in the Christian community, especially more conservative evangelicals, who said that the disasters were examples of God’s punishment of sin.  Unfortunately, this response ignores the suffering the victims are enduring, including young children who are presumably innocent of whatever sin God is allegedly punishing.
     Howard Thurman points out the danger inherent in this type of response.  He writes, “…when a man is driven by suffering to make the most fundamental inquiries concerning the meaning of life, he has to re-assess his total experience.”  This re-assessment will undoubtedly include questions about the meaning of life and the existence and/or nature of God.  Combined with Thurman’s assertion that sufferers often seek community to help them cope, the failures of the blame response become obvious.  If one blames the victim for his own suffering or for the suffering of others, he distances himself from the pain of the victim and removes himself from the support community.  A Christian cannot help a sufferer manage or overcome his suffering if he is excluded from the conversation.  Instead, he should nurture the spirit of the victim and discover, as Thurman writes, “that his life is rooted in a God who cares for him and cultivates his spirit, whose purpose is to bring to heel all the untutored, recalcitrant, expressions of life.”  Contrast that response with the image of a God who punishes the innocent for the sins of others.
     Those who used the “blame response” often used passages in the Old Testament to support their positions.  Such responses are often filled with images of Sodom and Gomorrah and Levitical laws.  Thurman however provides a quote from Jesus which addresses the whether or not sin is the cause of suffering.  Consider the following verses from Luke 13:
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’ (Luke 13.1-5, NRSV)
So, did the people of New Orleans die because they worse sinners than the others living in the United States?  Jesus says no.

Typing my fingers off!

2006-02-08T14:17:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted more recently, I am having to write at least 18 and as many as 24 pages a week, every week right now. So, the last thing I want to do is come type on the blog. Here's how I came to that figure.

God and the New York Times - 2 pages on an article from the Times every day except Saturday (12 pages a week), plus 3, 4 page book responses AND a 12 page paper.

History of Christianity 2 - 2 Page reader response twice a week, Plus 3, 4 page book responses and a 15 page paper. (At least 4 pages a week)

Intro to the Spiritual Life - 2 page paper every week in response to various subjects. (2 Pages every week) plus other misc. assignments.

Old Testament - No weekly papers!

So, you can see why I have more than enough writing to do every week.

However, there are some interesting articles I thought you would enjoy reading.

Thank God we have the Patriot Act to protect us from 80 year old nuns! Read the story here.

Evangelical leaders back initiative to fight global warming. Click here.

A commentary from Ethics Daily that criticizes the Bush administration's 2007 budget. Click Here.

Discussion on Melissa Rogers' Article

2006-01-23T12:32:00.000-05:00

While I haven't posted anything new recently, there is a good discussion going on in the comments section of the post on the Melissa Rogers article. You can jump to that post by clicking here. Feel free to jump in if you have an opinion.

Papers from Last Semester

2006-01-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

I finally created a place where I can store documents for you all to read if you want to, so I am posting two of my papers from last semester. Most of the other papers I wrote last semester were responses to books or articles that I obviously can't post. Click on one of the links below to download files in pdf format:

Washington Response (Certain portions of this paper had to be removed because one speaker was off the record.)

Gospel of Thomas

Melissa Rogers on Justice Sunday III

2006-01-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

Melissa Rogers, visiting professor of religion and public policy at Wake Forest University Divinity School (and one of my professors from last semester), has written an excellent article particularly on Justice Sunday III, but more generally on the state of religious freedom and many of the false statements coming from the religious right about the current state of religious freedom in the U.S. It is definitely worth a read, so click here.

If you want to read more about her, you can visit her bio on the Wake Forest Divinity School website by clicking here.

Trivia Question

2006-01-08T10:12:00.000-05:00

I have been spending some time over at Yahoo Answers which is a new service from Yahoo that allows users to ask and answer each other questions. It has been very interesting to read and answer some of the questions in the religion area. The answers to one of the questions caused me to post my own:

How many cows did Noah take aboard the ark?

Feel free to leave your answer in a comment. And don't cheat by looking at the comments first.

Baptist Joint Committee on Alito

2006-01-06T23:43:00.000-05:00

The Baptist Joint Committe has published an evaluation of supreme court nominee Samuel Alito's history on church/state issues. You can read the article by clicking here.

Its A New Year!

2006-01-06T16:47:00.000-05:00

Its a new year, and I have been spending time with friends and family rather than posting on the blog. Gay and I went back to Tampa on Christmas day, and stayed through the second.

The crowd at FBC Statesville on Christmas day was much larger than we expected it to be. We had probably 80-90% of the normal crowd there, which I was very happy to see. We went to church back at Bayshore in Tampa the next week, and enjoyed getting to see the friends we miss so much.

School starts again next Tuesday, and I plan to post many of my writings from the God and the NY Times class I will be taking.

Finally, as many of you have probably read, Pat Robertson is blaming Sharon's stroke on his decisions to give land to the Palestinians. The more I thought about it, the more I kept hearing "Blessed are the peacemakers..." I think that is probably a more appropriate response to the situation in Israel.

Intelligent Design Looses in Court

2005-12-21T01:35:00.000-05:00

In a November post, I posted some of my feelings about Intelligent Design being taught in science classrooms. I am opposed to the teaching of I.D. in science classrooms not only as a first amendment violation, but because I don't think faith should ever be held up to the standards of science. (I'll be happy to explain my position in greater detail, just leave a comment and we can start a discussion. I am on my winter break from Divinity School right now, and just don't feel like writing that much!)

A federal appeals court ruled against the teaching of I.D. in science classrooms in Dover, PA. The Baptist Joint committee's new blog has just about all the information you need. You can go to the main blog site by clicking here. Or, here are a few links directly to articles on the blog:

Ouch

ID Judge: Adult or Child Could See...

You can read the whole decision by clicking here, and read a great commentary by Brent Walker by clicking here.

Keep Christ in Christmas! Just don't do it in church...

2005-12-10T11:56:00.000-05:00

I am sure all of you have seen all of the controversy going around about Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas. Many Christians, specifically those on the religious right, are upset about, what they call, the secularization of Christmas. So, you would think that there would be no doubt that churches would be open on Christmas, right? Well, in many cases you would be wrong! Numerous mega-churches have announced they will not be open on Christmas! While I have no problem with reducing the number of services on Christmas day because of reduced attendance, churches should be opened. Christmas day is the reason that we have churches! Low attendance is not a reason to cancel church!

Here are just a few links to stories about churches that will be closed:

Churches in Miami
Willow Creek in Chicago
Churches in Atlanta
Church in Palm Beach
Church in Lexington, Kentucky

I could post even more links, but that gives you an idea.

Gay and I will be at FBC Statesville on Christmas morning, and then we will head back to Tampa after the service. Would we like to be back in Tampa on Christmas morning? Of course! But, we both understand the importance of having services on Christmas morning.

Care to chime in on this? Leave a comment!

I Made It Through!

2005-12-10T10:58:00.000-05:00

1 semester down, 7 more to go! I turned in my last paper of the semester yesterday at 1. It was our take home final for Old Testament 1. We were given several articles on different theories of biblical authority, and asked to write a paper on the one we agreed with the most and why.

Our final in Christian History 1 was on Thursday from 2-5. It was 25 multiple choice questions and 3 essay questions, and it took me almost the entire 3 hours to finish it.

My last paper in Art of Ministry 1 was due on Tuesday, and it was an integration of 3 of the books we read this semester.

It is a relief to make it through the first semester, and I am looking forward to the next semester. Its a great feeling to know that I can do it. I can keep up with the reading. I can write the papers. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment, and just further validation that I am doing the right thing.

Quick Personal Update

2005-11-30T17:37:00.000-05:00

Whew!

What a week. I had a paper due for History of Christianity Yesterday, a project due in Art of Ministry Yesterday, and my final exam in Old Testament was today. Needless to say, I am a little tired, actually, I am a lot tired.

But, I got a couple of grades back on papers recently, and they were both A's! Which is awesome! 1 paper was in Art of Ministry and the other was in Congregational Health. The paper was our final assignment in Congregational Health, so I was able to find out that I got an A in that class. Its only a 1 hour class, but its still great to get an "A."

My research paper for the History of Christianity was on the Gospel of Thomas, which was found in Egypt in the late 40's. Its composed entirely of sayings of Jesus, there is no narrative in it at all. If you want a copy, send me an e-mail and I will be happy to send it to you. You can see an e-mail address at Gmail in the column on the right. I don't want to post it here, because it will just get spammed. I do plan to do a page with my writing on it, but that won't be up until sometime during our break.

I signed up for my classes next semester. I will be taking History of Christianity 2, Old Testament 2, Intro. to the Spiritual Life, and God and the New York Times. The last class is taught by Bill Leonard and James Dunn, and could be thought of a current events and Christianity course. Can you guess what the text is for the course??? The New York Times! Anyway, I think we have to write something everyday, so it is going to provide a lot of material for the blog.

I think I am going to survive my first semester at Divinity School! I appreciate everyone who has been praying for me, and would ask that you keep doing it!

Article on the "Godless Public Schools"

2005-11-21T21:45:00.000-05:00

I found a great article on the "Godless Public Schools" by Charles Haynes, one of the speakers at our Washington seminar earlier this year. I would like to hear some of your comments on it. You can read it by clicking here.

Comment on torture Post

2005-11-20T15:01:00.000-05:00

The following comment was posted on "Who Would Jesus Torture?"

I like your post and the article you referenced from Ethics Daily.

I have only one comment and that is this: We do not live in a Christian nation. We live in a pagan nation that is attempting at every turn to remove anything perceived as Christian from its midst. As a nation, is it wise to pretend that we still cling to the concepts the Bible offers (as sighted in your reference to IPeter 3:9)? If you are not a practicing Christian--and I suppose that no practicing Christian would allow themselves to be trained in any sort of torture techniques--then what good does it do to follow the precepts of the Bible? Why wouldn't this person engage in whatever means necessary to "fight the War on Terror", as the Commander in Cheif has directed?

The bottom line is that we need to decide if we are indeed a Christian nation before we make policy on such issues.

Here is my response:

I don't think we are a Christian nation, and many of the founding fathers would agree with me. In either case, it is irrelevant to my point. I believe the church is called to be prophetic on these issues, but many (if not a majority) of Christians will simply not criticize the republicans. Many do exactly what you appear to be doing, which is try to blame the "liberals" for taking "God" out of a country he was never in. (Which is a whole other discussion on its own.)

This response may be a little harsh, and if so, I apologize for that. This poster was probably not intentionally changing the subject or shifting the blame, but there are those who are very skilled at this and do it on a regular basis. I am completely willing to discuss whether or not the US is a Christian nation, but that argument is not the one I was making.

Pat Robertson is at it again!

2005-11-14T17:47:00.000-05:00

I know this happened last week, but I thought I had to at least mention it here. Pat Robertson had this to say to the citizens of Dover, PA who last week replaced school board members who had voted to require biology teachers to mention intelligent design in their discussion of evolution:

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city, and don't wonder why he hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for his help because he might not be there."

He later clarified his response by adding the following:

"God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever," Robertson said. "If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."

Those of who know me that I put my science and my faith in two different categories. In my opinion, science studies the laws God established for the way the world works. Evolution could be the method God chose to create the universe. I don't have the answer to that, and neither does anyone else. What I do have is the faith that God did create the universe in whatever way he saw fit. This faith cannot be proven by science, but it is also not weakened by the lack of proof.

We discussed this very issue and this very case with Dr. Charles Haynes, directory of the First Amendment Center, at the Freedom Forum on my recent trip to Washington. In my response paper, which I still plan to post here soon, I had this to say on the issue:

Dr. Haynes saved one of his most profound statements for the end of the discussion. He said, "If religion has to be proven in a scientific way, then there is no place for faith in religion." As a Christian, I believe that faith has to take precedence over science. Only faith can explain the existence of miracles; science cannot. Only faith can explain the power of prayer; science cannot. And, only faith can prove the existence of God; science cannot. As most Christians know, faith can be more powerful than any scientific theory, and that should be enough.

You can read an Associated Baptist Press article about Pat Robertson's comments by clicking here.

BJC Article on Hillsborough County Schools Controversy

2005-11-14T17:33:00.000-05:00

The BJC (Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty) recently posted an article about the debate currently going on in the Hillsborough County (where I'm from, the county that Tampa is in) School Board concerning religious holidays. I know a lot of my blog readers are from Tampa, so I thought you would find this interesting. You can read it by clicking here.

My personal response would be to eliminate the religious holidays for all religions, and allow the students a reasonable number of "floating holidays" they could use to observe the days of their choice. A solution like that would eliminate the sense that the government was favoring one or two religions over others (and therefore satisfy the establishment clause of the first amendment) and also protect the religious liberty of students to observe whatever religious holidays they choose (and therefore satisfy the free exercise clause of the constitution.)

Who would Jesus Torture?

2005-11-09T21:04:00.000-05:00

There was a great article on Ethics Daily last week about the anti-torture bill that is making its way through congress. The president has threatened a veto if the anti-torture language remains in the bill.

This is one of the issues the church should be prophetic about. So, I went from Ethics Daily (website of the Baptist Center for Ethics which is independent but a partner of the CBF) to the Southern Baptist Convention website, the Baptist Press website, and the Ethics and Religious Liberty commission's website (the latter two are SBC organizations) and found nothing about this issue. There was plenty to read about homosexual marriage, human cloning, and other issues the religious right is fond of, but nothing about this issue. This is an obvious example of what happens when Christians align themselves no closely with one party that they become unwilling or unable to find any fault in it.

You can read the Ethics Daily article by clicking here.

1 Peter 3:9

⁹Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing.

Fall is in the air!

2005-11-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

Fall has certainly arrived here in Winston-Salem, and the leaves are incredible. Gay and I are hoping to a take a day this weekend and drive to the mountains.

Everything is going well at school. I am finally starting to get the feel of being a student again. I haven't written much on the blog, because I have had a bunch of papers due lately. I am hoping to be able to finish some of them early, so that I don't have to worry about writing over the Thanksgiving break.

Two of my classes, Church and State in America and Congregational Health have now ended. That leaves me with Art of Ministry, Old Testament I, and, of course, History of Christianity.

So far, the experience is about what I expected. My favorite class (this is question I have been asked most often) is definitely Old Testament. When you take the time to really dive into the text, the stories are amazing. You couldn't make up better characters if you tried. This is not a theology class, that comes later. The purpose of this class is to read the text, study what contemporary scholarship has to say about the text, and interact with the text ourselves. The professor is excellent, and does a great job of bringing the text to life.

A lot of the ministers I talked to before I left expected divinity school to challenge some of my beliefs. I haven't really experienced that yet. As an example, my Old Testament professor said that some people might be shocked to find out there is little or no archaeological evidence for the conquest narratives in Joshua. The first two cities conquered, Jericho and Ai, were not even occupied at the time the conquest is believed to have occurred. The professor said that if we wanted to believe that the conquest of Jericho was a literal truth, that was fine, we just had to say that all the archaeologists were wrong. In my opinion, whether the stories are literally true is not the important things. The important thing is the lessons to be learned from the stories. Lessons like: if you want to get married, go to the village well, and sleeping with the king's concubines is the same thing as making a claim to the throne! These are the valuable lessons to be learned in divinity school.

Things are getting better on the home front. As some of you know, the furniture from the house really didn't fit right into the new condo. We had a sectional couch that would have worked great if either the sectional connected on the other side, or if we had an condo on the other side of the building. We ended up having to order some furniture, and we are very happy with it. We should now be able to finish up packing, and set-up the guest room so that we can have some visitors.

I will be posting an edited version of my church and state paper shortly. One of the speakers spoke on the condition that our conversations would be off the record, so I have to remove that portion.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

So Much for Church Autonomy!

2005-10-31T13:01:00.000-05:00

The Missouri Baptist Convention has voted to exclude membership of any church that supports the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or any other Baptist group that is considered to compete with the Southern Baptist Convention.

So, now the MBC can decide FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH who they are allowed to give money to, and what organizations they are allowed to be members of. It would be interesting to see if supporting the Baptist World Alliance would be enough to get a church kicked out of the MBC.

Click here to read more of the story.

Although it is not that bad here in North Carolina yet, the fundamentalists are on the attack and it appears the moderates have tired of the fight. To read more about North Carolina, click here.

New E-Mail Option

2005-10-21T00:38:00.000-04:00

If you prefer to receive updates from this blog via e-mail, just fill in your e-mail address in the field in the right column or at the end of this entry. I am using a new service for this, so if someone signs up, let me know how it works.

Pictures from the Washington Trip

2005-10-20T20:16:00.000-04:00

I have put the pictures from the Washington trip online. You can look at them by clicking here.

Brain Drain!

2005-10-18T15:10:00.000-04:00

Well, I am back from Washington, but I have certainly not recovered. I have found that the approximately 15 hours of lectures we had have drained my brain! I foudn myself sitting in my Art of Ministry class today asking, "Is this guy speaking English, because I am not understanding a word he says." I don't feel so much of a physical exhaustion as a mental one. We have our final exam in Church and State Tonight, which is a bit soon after the trip for my tastes.

Once class is over tonight, I only have one more class this week, and that is the Art of Ministry small group on Thursday morning. I am going to use some of the off time to catch up on reading that I have fallen behind on in my OT class, which is the only class I am behind in. Hopefully, I will be able to start next week feeling a little more refreshed.

Gay and I will be joining FBC Statesville on Sunday. I will be joining under watchcare, which will allow me to keep my Florida CBF and Bayshore scholarship money. I am also interviewing the pastor tomorrow, which may eventually lead to an internship opportunity there. We'll just have to wait and see. It certainly would be nice to work with Gay again, and even better to be able to work at the same place on Sunday. We'll just have to see what happens. My internships won't start until next year, so I certainly have some time to find something.

I will be posting some pictures from the Washington trip soon, and will provide a link to them here.

Bill Leonard on NPR

2005-10-16T18:59:00.000-04:00

The dean of The Divinity School at Wake Forest University appeared last Friday on "On Point" on NPR. As many of you already know the dean, Bill Leonard, is also my Christian History professor. The show was about the national disasters that have happened of late, and how religion and science are responding to it. I am listening to it as I type this blog, so I don't know what conclusions were reached yet, but you can listen to it yourself on the NPR website by clicking here.

Washington Day 1

2005-10-14T22:52:00.000-04:00

Washington Day 1

Well I slept about as well as I expected to the first night. The bed is small, the mattress is terrible, and I had to go through the closet to go to the bathroom! But the pictures above tell a happier story. The speakers today were actually really good. We had someone on the conservative side of things that was pro-faith based initiatives. Then we had someone from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State which opposes faith based initiatives. Then it was off for the highlight of the day which was a meeting with the director of the First Amendment Center which is a part of the Freedom Forum group funded by the Gannett Media Endowment (excuse me if I get some of these names wrong. I am typing this on my top bunk in the dark. The meeting room is one of the pictures above (click for a larger picture) and the other is a view from the balcony. This talk was probably the highlight of the day for me. The topic was the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in the public school. I will write more of this later as I am able to look at my notes. Then it was back to the Penn house for two more lectures, and then I went out to dinner with a few fellow students.

Now I am back in the bunk and getting ready to go to sleep. Just in case you forgot what it looked like, here it is as big as blogger will let me show it. This is CLOSE TO LIFE SIZE! Notice the light we have to unscrew to turn it off and keep the fan on! (You can click for a larger version if you really want to.)

We're in Washington

2005-10-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

We have arrived in Washington, DC. After a 7.5 hour bus ride in a hot bus, we have arrived at our accomodations. The William Penn house is a Quaker retreat center in Washington. Its only a couple of blocks from the capitol, but as our professor said, "Its not the Holiday Inn...its not even the Red Roof Inn." He said it wasn't as bad as some camps he has been too, but its worse than any I have been to. This picture is of my friend Dean in the bottom bunk. I have the top. There is 1 bathroom for the guys. Its two rooms over. We have to go through a closet, and duck below the clothes bar to get there! If you turn the light off, the ceiling fan goes off as well, so we unscrewed the florescent bulb! Why am I in divinity school again?

Anyway, I will post more pictures as I get the chance. I am connecting to the internet via my cell phone, so it is really slow. But I had to get online to post this picture!

Off to Washington!

2005-10-12T17:50:00.000-04:00

Well, I am officially through all of my mid-terms. (Although I really only have 2.) I got a B+ on my Old Testament Interpretation midterm, and took my History of Christianity midterm yesterday. I am doing well, although History of Christianity is a struggle for me. The first exam covered from the beginning of Christianity through just about 1200. So, the good thing is we have the rest of this sememester and next to cover the next 805 years! I am still getting all A's and B's, although the History of Christianity exam might change that.

This week I am off to Washington DC with James Dunn for my Chruch and State in America class. We will be leaving tomorrow afternoon (Thursday) and will return on Sunday. We will be listening to various people from various religions talk about church/state people. We will be hearing from both sides. For example, we will have a speaker from George Bush's justice department, as well as a speaker from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. I will try to post some pictures from Washington here over the weekend, so keep your eyes open. When we get back, we have our final for that class on Tuesday, and we have to write a response paper on the trip, which I will post here if it is any good. That will end this class which will give me more time to work on other classes, which is great!

On a technical note, I went back to the Blogger commenting system because they have made some improvements, and it is easier for me to update when Blogger has new features available. Unfortunately, that means we loose the older comments, but this makes things easier for me, and we all know that's what is important!

Why Can't I Own a Canadian?

2005-10-05T22:51:00.000-04:00

The following is a letter senr to Dr. Laura Schlessinger's radio show a few years ago. I am posting it here because our Old Testament professor gave us a copy in class last week. I thought you all would enjoy it.

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.