the big daddy weave

We've Moved

2008-12-19T12:11:00.000-08:00

I started this blog back in December 2004. Exactly 4 years later, I've decided to make the jump from Blogger to a Wordpress Self-Hosted blog. You can now find me exclusively at:

www.thebigdaddyweave.com

Please update your bookmark. If you use a RSS reader, please stop by www.thebigdaddyweave.com and click Subscribe.

NAE Head Richard Cizik Resigns Over Statements

2008-12-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the story from Christianity Today.

Richard Cizik resigned Wednesday night as vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) during a week of growing uproar over his comments that he is shifting his views on same-sex unions.

"Although he has subsequently expressed regret, apologized, and affirmed our values, there is a loss of trust in his credibility as a spokesperson among leaders and constituencies," Leith Anderson, president of the NAE wrote to board members today. Cizik did not return calls for comment.

Cizik was a true evangelical centrist. Truly unfortunate.

Thoughts?

As a side note, I do wish Richard Land & Company would just shut up. During his tenure at the NAE, most of the criticism hurled at Cizik came from those outside of the NAE family. Cizik did not represent the "evangelical community." He represented the National Association of Evangelicals - an organization that has always been less dogmatic than the fundamentalists that masquerade as "evangelical leaders" on TV and Radio.

Jon Meacham Just Doesn't Get Religion

2008-12-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

I can't say that I've ever been impressed by the theological insights of Jon Meacham. After his recent Newsweek editorial which comes in response to Lisa Miller's lousy cover story article on gay marriage, I'm left with the conclusion that Jon just doesn't Get Religion or at least Jon doesn't get traditional Christianity. Here's Meacham:

No matter what one thinks about gay rights—for, against or somewhere in between —this conservative resort to biblical authority is the worst kind of fundamentalism. Given the history of the making of the Scriptures and the millennia of critical attention scholars and others have given to the stories and injunctions that come to us in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament, to argue that something is so because it is in the Bible is more than intellectually bankrupt—it is unserious, and unworthy of the great Judeo-Christian tradition.

First, as my readers now, I'm no fan of the Religious Right. Nor am I a theologically conservative Christian. Politically, I'm quite friendly to gay rights and civil marriage equality.

But Meacham's conclusion in the paragraph above is just downright offensive. Argument from the Bible is the worst kind of fundamentalism? What? Fundamentalists are not the only type of Christian who appeal to biblical authority. More than a few theological progressives and liberals throughout history and even today make arguments based on biblical injunctions on a regular basis especially in the political arena. Has Meacham not read Dr. King on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount or Walter Rauschenbusch on the Hebrew Prophets? Would Meacham argue that these great modern-day prophets are intellectually bankrupt because they too argued that "something is so because it is in the Bible" ?

To suggest that one is a fundamentalist simply because their argument invokes Scripture is just nonsense. Meacham doesn't seem to get religion nor does he seem to take religion very seriously. For Meacham, the Bible is simply a book - a book that offers no insight into how we should live our lives and deal with problems in the 21st century. And, if you disagree with Meacham's extremely low view of Scripture, you're an intellectually bankrupt fundamentalist.

Rick Warren Backs Assassination of Ahmadinejad

2008-12-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

From The Washington Monthly:

WARREN ENDORSES HANNITY'S WARMONGERING.... Pastor Rick Warren has a reputation for being far more stable and grounded than religious right leaders and TV preachers like Pat Robertson, but it's worth remembering that he's not exactly a moderate.

Last night, on Fox News, Sean Hannity insisted that United States needs to "take out" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Warren said he agreed. Hannity asked, "Am I advocating something dark, evil or something righteous?" Warren responded, "Well, actually, the Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped.... In fact, that is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers. Not good-doers. Evildoers."

Watch the clip and read the full transcript here.

Since this clip hit the blogosphere, Warren's people have claimed that Rick was simply citing Romans 13. I agree with Romans 13 that every person is "subject to the governing authorities." I also agree that the government has a duty to keep "law and order." This obviously means that those who break the law will face punishment. But that wasn't Warren's point. Warren was responding to Hannity's assertion that "We need to take [Ahmadinejad] out." Warren agreed to this assertion with his "YES" response. And then Warren defended Hannity's notion that we need to Assassinate the Iranian President by offering a theological thought or two. And who said that Rick Warren was an evangelical centrist???

David Gushee did.

In The Future of Faith in American Politics (2008), Baptist ethicist David Gushee writes:

Rick Warren has become the most influential pastor in the United States. His two Purpose Driven books (on churches and personal life) have sold tens of millions of copies and created Warren disciples al over the American landscape. Tens of thousands stream into his Saddleback Church every weekend. He is constantly in the news. By now it is probably fair to say that if Billy Graham has a successor in American religious life, it is Rick Warren. Thus, it is no small matter that Warren has moved his ministry and his message squarely into the evangelical center.

No offensive to David Gushee, but if Rick Warren is considered a leader of the Evangelical Center - count me out. Guys like Warren give true centrists a bad name.

Council of Baptist Pastors Push Detroit Loan Deal

2008-12-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

This is from the Detroit Free Press:

Automakers’ woes hit black community, Baptist pastors say

By JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Minority auto suppliers are being disproportionately hurt by the auto industry implosion, and that is devastating Detroit’s African-American communities, the city’s influential Council of Baptist Pastors said today.

At a news conference in Hamtramck, Council President Rev. Dr. Oscar King called on Congress to approve a loan package for Detroit automakers, saying minority suppliers and the African-American communities that rely on them need the American auto industry to survive.

“This is not a gift. We are not asking for anything that is not ours,” King said of the federal assistance funds for the automakers. “Taxes go up to the federal government. We’re asking for a reasonable redistribution. Give us our money back so that we may use it to provide for the stability of this faltering economy.”

William Pickard, chairman and chief executive officer of Global Automotive Alliance LLC, a Detroit-based group of minority automotive suppliers, said minority suppliers have been hurt as the automakers and major suppliers have “stretched” their payments to companies lower down the chain.

“I suspect if you had 10 suppliers here, you would have at least 11 different scenarios,” Pickard said. “And indeed the Big 3 have stretched their suppliers, and I’m sure Tier 1 and Tier 2 have done the same thing. We probably were more highly leveraged as an industry than our white counterparts, so it affects us more, but throughout the spectrum, you are having delayed payments.”

Asked about yet more cutbacks to come as the Detroit automakers try to qualify for federal assistance, Pickard issued a dire prediction.
“I think the reduction will take on many different forms, but surely the smaller you are, the more vulnerable you are,” he said. “We all know there’s been a tremendous decrease in the number of suppliers. And I would say this time next year, we’ll probably lose another 20, 30%.”

The Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity was founded nearly fifty years ago with the purpose of "offering sound leadership in every field of community endeavor." Comprised of hundreds of Baptist pastors in the Detroit area, the Council of Baptist Pastors is regarded as a highly influential organization. On Thursday, December 4, the Council of Baptist Pastors along with Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders will convene in Detroit to discuss the economic crisis.

Rev. Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell (1917-2008)

2008-12-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

From American Baptist News Service:

DR. ELLA PEARSON MITCHELL, DEAN OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN PREACHERS, DIES

VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 11/26/08) — Rev. Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell, a distinguished religious educator, renowned preacher, and celebrated author, died November 19 in Atlanta, GA. She was 91.
Ella Pearson Mitchell was one half of an acclaimed ministry duo that included her husband of 64 years, Dr. Henry H. Mitchell. She was a pioneer in African-American preaching and religious education, and her reputation as a promoter and encourager of women in ministry, especially in the area of homiletics, earned her the title, “dean of African-American women preachers.” Outspoken on the subject, she once declared, “I am convinced that women were ordained to be in ministry from the very beginning of time.”
Dr. Mitchell compiled and edited six books featuring women and preaching. Most notable is her five-volume series, “Those Preaching Women,” begun in 1985. In 2008, Judson Press published Those Preaching Women: A Multicultural Collection, co-edited by Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Valerie Bridgeman Davis.
Ella and Henry Mitchell, known for their dialogues in the pulpit, published their sermons in Fire in the Well. They also wrote Together for Good: Lessons from Fifty-Five Years of Marriage (also Judson Press).
A longtime member of American Baptist Churches USA, Dr. Mitchell served as president of the Board of Educational Ministries from 1959 to 1973.
Longtime friend and fellow American Baptist Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III, executive director of National Ministries, said of her passing, “Dr. Ella Mitchell is a true Christian ‘shero’ of our time. She and Henry modeled black church ministerial leadership for a generation of African-American preachers. She certainly helped to shape my identity as a preacher, reminding me of my roots in the black church. Ella Mitchell also represented hope that women, and African American women in particular, could respond affirmatively to the call of God on their lives. Their overwhelming response is her legacy.”
Dr. Mitchell broke down many barriers, achieving a number of “firsts” for women in ministry. She was the first female dean of Sisters Chapel, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, and the first woman to preach at Hampton Ministerial Conference, Hampton, VA. She earned a doctor of ministry degree from Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, CA.
Dr. Mitchell was the second African-American woman to graduate from New York’s Union Theological Seminary, which honored Drs. Ella and Henry Mitchell in February with their 2008 Trailblazer award, given to distinguished black graduates.
As an educator, she taught Religious Education at Berkeley Baptist Divinity School (now American Baptist Seminary of the West), Berkeley, CA, and served as associate professor of Christian Education, Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, Richmond, VA. She also taught Homiletics as visiting professor at Atlanta’s Interdenominational Theological Center from 1988-2001.
Dr. Mitchell’s passing has been received by colleagues, friends and admirers with a mixture of sadness and fond remembrances of her more than 60 years in ministry. Continue reading here.

The funeral will be held Tuesday, December 2nd at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell and her husband Dr. Henry Mitchell have been members for many years.

According to a tribute published in Monday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell became an ordained minister in 1978 shortly after the death of her mother, who had been opposed to the idea. She was ordained at Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, California and preached at churches around the country, including Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist.

For more, see Pam Durso's 2005 Baptist Studies Bulletin article on Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell.

A Southern Baptist War on the Catholic Church "Cult"

2008-11-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Meet Jim Smyrl

Jim Smyrl is the "Executive-Pastor of Education" at the 28,000-member First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. FBC Jacksonville is the third-largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest megachurches in America. As Executive -Pastor of Education, Smyrl is no lowly staff member. He's been dubbed "Second in Command" at FBC as Pastor Mac Brunson's "right-hand man."

Over on the Official Blog of FBC Jacksonville, has announced a series of upcoming posts on the "Catholic Cult."

Here's the announcement:

This series will examine the cultish nature of Catholicism. The primary reasons we are unwilling to consider Catholicism as a cult include: we have good friends that are Catholics, the history of the Catholicism makes it difficult to perceive them as a cult since most people view cults as quick up starts with a charismatic leader, and the lack of understanding of the one true grid by which to measure the validity of a movement.

Today, Monday - November 24, Smyrl posted the first installment in this "Catholic Cult" series.

Here's a snippet:

Why even address the issue of Catholicism? Doesn’t such a critical view of a particular religious group bring greater division among moral people in a society? Won’t I have a difficult time witnessing to Catholics if we refer to them as a cult? All are questions that represent a myriad of interrogatives that will no doubt be leveled against this series. However, isn’t it the historical precedence of evangelicals, coming from a biblical mandate (I John 4:1-3), to examine the culture, even religious groups, under the light of Scripture? And how will you ever lead a Catholic out of his sin and into the only sufficient grace of Christ if you do not clearly point out his sin? Surely we do not believe that we can lead anyone to Christ by generalizing or minimizing his sin.

Smyrl concludes his post by laying the foundation for his definition of a cult, based on a four-criteria test cult test. Read the rest here.

This isn't the first time that Smyrl has referred to the Catholic Church as a Cult. On November 14, Smyrl described a Catholic Priest from South Carolina as a "Cult Leader."

Not really sure how a reasonable, educated person responds to kooks like Smyrl.

But, we'll keep an eye on his Catholic Cult blog series throughout the week.

Wake Forest To Host New Baptist Covenant Gathering

2008-11-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

4 Regional Gatherings of the New Baptist Covenant have now been announced for 2009.

2009 marks the 400th Anniversary of Baptists.

Here they are:

1. Wake Forest University (April 24-25, Press Release, Southeast Region)

Wake Forest University School of Divinity will host the Southeast regional gathering of the New Baptist Covenant, April 24-25, 2009. Maya Angelou, Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest, will deliver the opening address and President Jimmy Carter will present the closing address. The theme of the conference is “This is God’s Year to Act: Responding to a Society in Crisis.” The conference is free and open to the public....A Friday evening dinner sponsored by Baptists Today magazine will honor James Dunn, Resident Professor of Christianity and Public Policy at the School of Divinity, with a lifetime achievement award.

2. Norman, Oklahoma (August 6-7, Press Release, Midwest Region)

The Steering Committee for the New Baptist Covenant Midwest Region is pleased to announce that the New Convention Center in Norman, Oklahoma has been selected for the first ever meeting of the Midwest Region of the New Baptist Covenant. The meeting will be held on August 6-7, 2009. Former President Jimmy Carter has agreed to speak at our meeting. We will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist denomination.

3. Kansas City, KS (April 2-4, Press Release, Midwest Region)

In June representatives from Kansas City area Baptist groups, including the National Baptist Convention USA, the National Baptist Convention of America, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, American Baptist Churches USA, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptist General Convention of Missouri, the General Baptist Convention, met for conversation about how to further the efforts begun by the New Baptist Covenant movement in Atlanta earlier this year. The New Baptist Covenant movement, initiated by former President Jimmy Carter, has encouraged regional groups to pursue similar efforts. As a result of the June conversation, the Baptist Border Crossing Network has been formed. A task force made up of representatives of the various Baptist groups is planning a Midwest regional gathering of the Baptist family. The Baptist Border Crossing event will be April 2-4, 2009, at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri. Participants from all Baptist groups in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, and Nebraska are invited to participate in this historic event.

Plenary speakers for the Baptist Border Crossing event include Tony Campolo, David Coffey, David Goatley, and Carolyn Ann Knight. The task force is pleased to announce that President Jimmy Carter will also participate in the event. Breakout Sessions will be led by facilitators from the various Baptist groups and will deal with issues such as poverty, peacemaking, religious liberty, and diversity.

4. Birmingham, Alabama (January 31, Press Release)

BIRMINGHAM - Birmingham will host a regional gathering of the New Baptist Covenant on Saturday, January 31^st, 2009. The event will be held at 16^th Street Baptist Church and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Former President Jimmy Carter will be present to teach a Bible study and provide a keynote address in the sanctuary of 16^th Street Baptist Church.

See also Brian Kaylor, "Regional New Baptist Covenant Meetings Planned," EthicsDaily.com.

A Third Baptist State Convention In Texas?

2008-11-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

The Baptist General Convention of Texas traces its roots back to the Baptist State Convention of Texas which was formed in 1848.

150 years later, a group of disgruntled fundamentalists separated from the BGCT and formed the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in 1998.

Now, apparently, there is talk of a Third Baptist State Convention here in Texas.

Blogger Rick Davis, pastor of FBC Brownwood and former BGCT employee, writes in a blog post titled BGCT: A Third Convention? A New Way?:

There is some talk around the state about a third state convention.

I am not making this up. A few of us have heard.

Let me say, I can make an argument for pooling and dispensing funds in a different way. It is almost impossible for me to make an argument for a new convention. My mind cannot wrap around another denomininational apparatus.

Ken Coffee, retired Associate Director of the BGCT State Missions Commission, recently was defeated by Carolyn Strickland, 728-668, in an election for First Vice-President of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Responding on Davis's blog to a question regarding the source of these rumors, Coffee writes:

I can tell you it is not Baptist princes that talked to me about it, nor anyone who wanted a cushy job. It was people who are tired of being manipulated by those who have an agenda to take the BGCT to national status, inviting disenfranchised moderates from everywhere to join us. I talk to a lot of good lay people out here in West Texas, where large sums of C.P. money come from. Lots of these folks are tired of the fighting and the unchristian rhetoric that has arisen between some in the BGCT and the SBC. You may think it is hilarious, but these folks had a serious concern prior to this year's BGCT meeting.

Guess we'll have to wait and see how this all plays out. Three state conventions would be, um, historic. It is Texas, though.

D.C. Pastor Extends Invitation to The Obamas

2008-11-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

Amy Butler, the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington D.C., has written Michelle Obama a blog letter inviting The First Family to visit Calvary on a Sunday morning.

You can read her Dear Michelle letter here.

If The Obamas were to make Calvary their new church home, they would not be the first First Family to do so. Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States, regularly attended Calvary Baptist Church from 1921 until his death in 1923. Harding attended every Sunday except when the Lord's Supper was served. Though quite devout, Harding explained that he felt "unworthy to receive communion."

On Sunday mornings, Calvary Baptist was the place to be in D.C.. Folks from all over came to Calvary in order to gawk at the President and the First Lady. The sanctuary was so packed that tickets had to be issued to Calvary members. After ticketed members were seated, the general public was allowed to in.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes was also a faithful member of Calvary for nearly 40 years. Before becoming Chief Justice, Hughes served as Harding's Secretary of State. While the Governor of New York (1907-1910), Hughes served as the first President of the Northern Baptist Convention. I recently wrote a paper on Hughes's contributions to the religious liberty arena - a man whose thought was rooted deep in the Baptist tradition.

The Demonization of Moderates: NC Baptists Oust CBF

2008-11-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

Messengers to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina decided today that Churches will no longer be allowed to support the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship through the BSCNC beginning in 2010. Check the Biblical Recorder for the story later today.

One NC Baptist fundamentalist had this to say about the decision over on his blog, Southern Baptists in NC:

The reason this amendment passed is that NC Baptist are Southern Baptist they are not CBF Baptist. (This statement is something the Baptist General Convention of Texas would do well to heed.) NC Baptist are trying their best to say that we do not want anything to do with CBF. If there are churches that desire to be CBF then have at it. However, do not try to tell the world that you are Southern Baptist and be part of an organization that was organized as a result of being disgruntled with doctrines Southern Baptist believed and held dear. What does this mean for BSCNC? It means that the churches that were bypassing the convention are now going to need to stop. It means that we are in this together and thus we need to support the budget together.

Also, there needs to be a call now to the head offices in Cary that NC Baptist have clearly stated we are not CBF. Thus, an employee at the convention offices should be a member of a NC Baptist church not one that is dually aligning themselves with the CBF and the BSCNC. We had the clarion call today during the budget vote that we will not even give you an opportunity to send funds through us to the CBF. We certainly should be able to say we want you attending a BSCNC church.

And here is a response to the BSCNC's decision from a moderate North Carolina Baptist. The blog post is appropriately titled Demons.

I am sitting in my office after spending the last day and a half at the Baptist State Convention of NC. I witnessed a historical moment, and it breaks my heart.

The Baptist State Convention has, for about 18 years, provided 4 giving plan options for churches to contribute their missions giving through the state convention. One of those plans, plan C, provided for 10% of our total giving to the state to go to CBF national. For years now, the multiple giving plans have been under attack, with the primary focus being on plan C. In the last couple of years, the state had determined that the 10% apportioned to CBF would not count as NC Cooperative Program giving. Last year, the state formed a committee to investigate a single giving plan that would preserve multiple options. That committee brought its recommendation today. There would be a single giving plan, and churches could check a box on their giving form if they desired a portion of their proceeds to go to CBF. An amendment was brought from the floor to remove this check box. After a secret ballot vote, the amendment passed. After years of efforts, plan C was officially dead.

This isn’t what broke my heart. Anybody with a brain has been able to see this handwriting on the wall for years. There are going to be those who argue, as there were today, that churches can just send their money directly to CBF and negatively designate the SBC out of their missions giving. CBF churches are still welcome in the Baptist State Convention of NC, they will say.

They are lying.

Those who spoke in favor of the amendment based their arguments on 2 points: CBF doesn’t affirm the inerrancy of Scripture, and CBF isn’t true Baptist. There were calls for the convention to “take a stand”. And so they did. They thought they were taking a stand against some faceless organization. Instead, they took a stand against Christian men and women I serve and work with every day. They called me, my church members, and my peers in ministry enemies. They demonized us.

That is what breaks my heart. They made people I love and respect into demons in order to get what they wanted. I could have lived with a decision that said, “We are SBC, and we want a plan that says we are SBC only.” I would not have agreed with it, but I could have respected it. I can’t respect this. Especially when I know it is going to be followed by somebody saying, “We aren’t kicking you out. You can still send your money to us.”

When the announcement of the vote was made, there was no comment or response. A couple of folks clapped, though not as many as I honestly expected. The President just moved on to the next item of business. The convention moved on and left behind Christ-loving, Christ-serving people who had just been accused of not being true Baptist or even true Christians, people and churches who have been a part of the state convention for decades. I’m sure some will say it was just an example of the convention saying, “Get behind me, Satan.”

Funny, Jesus said those words to Peter, the rock upon which he would build his church.
To those CBF pastors, laypeople, and churches who winced at being made to feel like demons, my heart hurts with you and for you. My prayer for all of us is that we will be able to put aside the hurt and anger that rises in our belly at being called a demon so that we might fully concentrate on being the rocks upon which Christ will build His kingdom.

Texas Baptists should pay attention to the fundamentalist from North Carolina cited above and the actions taken today by the fundamentalists in the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. What happened today in North Carolina is just one of MANY examples which demonstrate that Cooperation with Fundamentalists is not possible. It just ain't.

Fundamentalism by definition seeks power and control. First, the state convention cuts the CBF option off. Second, the state convention decides to tell its employees which Baptist churches are OK to attend and join. Power and Control.

We can be nice and drop the fundamentalist tag and just call 'em Southern Baptists - as if a good many of those Southern Baptists are not fundamentalists. That what some folks here in Texas are doing. They pretend that somehow moderates and fundamentalists can work together under the same roof. They pretend that somehow a Baptist organization can be supportive of both Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and George W. Truett Theological Seminary. They pretend that a Baptist organization can support programs which affirm Women In Ministry while also accommodating an institution that wants to keep women out the pulpit and in the home; baking cookies, cleaning, and birthing babies, Quiverfull style.

Naive? You Bet'cha. That's putting it charitably. Why any person who eschews fundamentalism would want a better relationship with a Baptist group completely controlled by fundamentalists is beyond my comprehension. Some Texas Baptists need to pay attention to what happened in North Carolina and Georgia this week. They need to read a book or two. A primer on fundamentalism is apparently needed. Or, just keep that head in the sand.

The ONLY Way to Cooperate With a Fundamentalist Is To Obey Him.

Georgia Baptists To Oust Women Pastors, FBC Decatur

2008-11-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here's the story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Georgia Baptists take aim at women-led churches

Georgia Southern Baptists approved a policy Tuesday aimed at diminishing the role of churches led by women pastors.

The policy is a broad one and provides the Georgia Baptist Convention the ability to refuse donations from entities out of sync with Southern Baptist beliefs. There is only one church that currently falls into that category: the 2,700-member Decatur First Baptist headed by the Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell.

Only men can hold the position as head pastor, but individual churches are independent and can call whom they wish as pastor, according to a Southern Baptist statement of faith. Decatur called Pennington-Russell in 2007.

Last year, there was talk of breaking ties with Decatur First Baptist over Pennington-Russell, said J. Robert White, executive director of the convention.

He and other leaders believed the new policy would be a more prudent move. If convention executives take action, that would allow Decatur First to remain associated with Southern Baptists, but would not accept donations from it. Churches whose gifts are not accepted lose their organization voting privileges and the ability to give to Southern Baptist missions and help programs.

Churches with women in lesser roles, such as deacons or youth ministers, would not be affected, White said. Church conference leaders also could turn down gifts from questionable sources, such as alcohol distributors.

Pennington-Russell was out of town and did not attend the convention.

“I kept waiting for someone from the Georgia Baptist Convention to call us or come visit with me and other leaders of our church to inform us that these matters were being discussed,” she said in an e-mail.

Decatur First Baptist has been in the convention since 1862 and provided leadership and millions of dollars in support over the decades.

“I assumed that a 146-year relationship was worth, at very least, a personal conversation,” she said.

“To me, the saddest ripple effect will be that some members of our church who have faithfully supported Southern Baptist ministries and missionaries through the years, often with money given from their monthly Social Security checks, will have to be told that the [convention] doesn’t welcome their support any longer.”

The headquarters for the GBC is in Norcross. Robert White didn't have the decency to drive over to Decatur, from one Atlanta suburb to another. No phone call. No e-mail.

Robert White has no shame. Some of us have known that for years now.

Not surprising that this has happened in Georgia. Once you go fundamentalist, you don't go back. The Georgia Baptist Convention became a thoroughly fundamentalist convention more than a few years ago.

John Pierce of the Georgia-based Baptists Today has a post titled Isolation and Irrelevancy on this same subject. Pierce writes:

In another deliberate and continuous move toward isolation and irrelevancy, the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) approved a policy yesterday that gives leadership the right to reject cooperation with congregations deemed to be out of line with Southern Baptists' ever-narrowing doctrine.

Baylor U. Students Hang A Noose, Light a Fire

2008-11-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

The Baylor Lariat has produced this statement from Baylor University Interim President David Garland. Read below or click here.

Baylor police reported today on three disturbing incidents that occurred on our campus yesterday.

Late Tuesday afternoon we were notified of a single clothesline rope that had been seen in a tree on campus. The individuals who discovered it believed it had the appearance of a noose. Baylor police are now in possession of the rope and continue to speak with students who observed the rope in the tree and are gathering additional information about the origin of the rope.

Last evening, police investigated a small fire in a barbecue pit adjacent to Brooks Flats in which it was alleged several Obama/Biden campaign signs had been burned.

Finally, police were called late last evening to a disturbance outside Penland Hall, where a shouting match had occurred between two small groups of white and African-American students.

These events are deeply disturbing to us and are antithetical to the mission of Baylor University. We categorically denounce and will not tolerate racist acts of any kind on our campus.

Further, we are committed to maintaining the safety and unity of our campus community. We wish to celebrate and strengthen inclusiveness, understanding and acceptance of all members of the Baylor family.

As they have thus far, Baylor police will respond quickly and decisively to any additional situations of this nature. Faculty, staff and students with information pertaining to any of the incidents we've described are urged to contact Baylor police at 710-2222.

Baylor has specific policies regarding expectations of civility and respect on our campus. Those policies, which we endorse and enforce, can be found at http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php?id=39242.

Faculty, staff and students also participate in on-going weekly meetings hosted by our department of multicultural activities called "Frankly Speaking" in which issues of the day are discussed in a respectful and civil manner. The goal of "Frankly Speaking" is for participants to feel comfortable expressing their opinions and beliefs within a safe environment. The meetings are held in the Bill Daniel Student Center each Tuesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., and members of the Baylor community are invited to participate.

We believe that the incidents on our campus yesterday were irresponsible acts committed by a few individuals. As a community we condemn these terribly unfortunate events that do not represent the values we share as members of the Baylor family.

Not sure what to make of this statement from Baylor's Interim President. When racists go public with their racism, I prefer to hear a little tough talk - maybe the author of the statement should have mentioned somewhere along the way that Baylor's mission is a distinctly Christian mission. And Baylor University is a distinctly Christian University, an historically Baptist University. There are plenty of reasons why our Christian faith demands that such racist acts must be denounced. Such religious reasons were unfortunately noticeably absent from the statement above.

No surprise that racism is alive and well on the campus of Baylor University. Racism is alive and well on the campuses of both Christian Universities and state Universities like my alma mater, University of Georgia. One need only stroll down Greek Row in Athens on Game-Day and see all the Confederate Flags to know that deep racial divisions still exist on college campuses. Every school has their hardcore racists and every school has a larger group of racists who express their racism in much more subtle ways.

Although, in light of these three incidents, I'd say that Baylor might need to get-in-the-game and address these problems that clearly exist within the community. Not sure that a one-hour voluntary, multi-cultural roundtable discussion that most students have probably never heard of is getting the job done.

Live Commenting w/ Map

2008-11-04T17:23:00.001-08:00

The Southern Baptist Blogosphere On Obama

2008-11-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

In recent days, more than a few Southern Baptist pastors in the blogosphere have made it clear that true Christians can not cast their ballot for "Barack Hussein Obama." These Southern Baptist pastors are not alone in their pronouncements. Recently, Danny Akin - President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary - penned a blog post entitled Why Faithful Evangelicals Cannot Vote For Barack Obama.

So, here's a collection of quotes from Southern Baptist pastors/bloggers. No further analysis needed.

Is it any wonder that America is in the trouble we find ourselves in? How could any Pastor support Obama? How could any Christian support Obama?....IF YOU DONT WANT SOCIALISM GET OUT AND VOTE!!!! Tim Guthrie of SBC Today blog

Southern Baptist pastor C.B. Scott offers three reasons to Guthrie's question on how a Christian could support Obama:

1. They are lost.
2. They are backslidden.
3. They have a low view of Scripture and are unsound theologically.

On a different blog, C.B. Scott opines:

Obama is the most dangerous man in America. He is a greater threat to this nation than is Bin Laden....Obama will kill this country as we have lived free in it like no other before....Go get all your family no matter how distant, far removed or the nature of the feud and get them to go vote McCain-Palin. We must defeat the Obamas, Carters, Clintons and Big Daddy Weaves or they will destroy this nation.

On the same blog, a Southern Baptist named Jake Barker writes:

Obama=antichrist

Popular SBC blogger Bart Barber, pastor of FBC Farmersville, Texas writes in a recent post entitled If Barack Hussein Obama Wins:

I don't believe that Barack Obama is a whit closer to God than Nebuchadnezzar was...The United States of America may very well deserve precisely Barack Hussein Obama. This may be the election where God lets us have just that....So, God might have lots of good reasons to hand this election to Obama. I would still be sinning to vote for him, but God can simultaneously expect me to vote for McCain and plan for an Obama victory.

And from another SBC pastor on Obama's Christian faith:

His life testimony says he is not a biblical Christian. And since there is not other kind of Christian to be, the great evidence is he is not one.

And this Southern Baptist woman believes the election of Barack Obama will cause her family to lose, well everything. She writes:

The pittance of 500 or 600 dollars a year that ol' Obama the Wealth Spreader plans to rip-off from all of the small-business owners in America will most likely cause my husband to lose his little part-time job and put us into the market of relying solely on my husband's disability Social Security of $ 15,850. Then it would take away our home because the tax increases on my daughter's and husband's small construction business.

And finally, these wise words from a Southern Baptist pastor from Tennessee:

Barack Hussein Obama
Barack Hussein Obama
Barack Hussein Obama.

Baylor University Hires Bush's Faith-Based Czar

2008-10-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Baylor University announced yesterday that Bush's Faith-Based Czar - Jay Hein - had been hired as Distinguished Senior Fellow and director of the Program for Faith and Service at Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR).

Here's a blurb from the press release:

In this capacity, Hein will lead ISR's effort in promoting cutting-edge approaches to social problems through faith-based organizations.

"I cannot think of place better positioned to be a global leader not only in generating new ideas about the development and launch of new faith based approaches to need, but ISR is already recognized as a national leader in promoting, supporting and conducting empirical research on the efficacy of faith-based initiatives, and joining the team was an obvious next step," Hein said. "That is why I am so excited to join Baylor."

Before joining Baylor, Hein was deputy assistant to President George W. Bush and director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives from August 2006 until September 2008. In this role, Hein worked to implement President Bush's compassion agenda by engaging public-private partnerships with faith- and community-based social service organizations across the United States and around the globe.

The Press Release continues to state that "during his tenure in the White House, Jay Hein brought enormous leadership, credibility and stability to the faith-based initiative."

From a Baptist perspective, it's slightly disturbing to see the PR department of a Baptist University promote the Faith-Based Initiative. Just sayin. But then again, when it comes to the faith-based initiative, Baylor University has been very much at the center of things.

SBC Ethics Guru Dick Land Goes Anti-Vasectomy

2008-10-26T00:35:00.000-07:00

I never realized that the Southern Baptist Convention had taken a position on the Vasectomy until I read this quote from Southern Baptist ethics guru Richard Land:

The Southern Baptist Convention is not opposed to the use of birth control within marriage as long as the methods used do not cause the fertilized egg to abort and as long as the methods used do not bar having children all together unless there's a medical reason the couple should not have children," he told Dallas television station WFAA.

Good gracious. Land definitely puts the kook in kooky.

Turmoil at Ebenezer Baptist Church

2008-10-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

It seems a bit of turmoil is brewing at the historic church where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as co-pastor alongside Daddy King from 1960 until his death in 1968.

Here's a snippet from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution story:

A handful of church members protested Sunday morning in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church, decrying the ouster of the historic church’s choir director and demanding the Rev. Raphael Warnock step down as senior pastor.

The six demonstrators held placards reading “Warnock Lies” and “Bring Back Dr. Uzee Brown,” a reference to the recently departed choir director who heads the Department of Music at Morehouse College.

One protester, former choir member Gloria Bell, was handcuffed and taken away by National Park Service rangers in front of the church where she was baptized more than 50 years ago.

The protestors are insisting that the pastor has shaken up the church staff without regard to the feelings of some longtime members. They also are accusing the pastor of refusing to share the church's finances with them.

If we're to believe the Deacon chairman who is quoted, this is much ado about nothing. Although, the pastor did apparently address the controversy during the 8am service before the protestors began their sidewalk protesting. So, it seems that turmoil is indeed brewing.

However, the short quote from the pastor is what I find most troubling. From the AJC article:

Warnock addressed the controversy during the 8 a.m. service, telling worshipers that while they might not understand everything he does, they must trust in his plans for the future. “Any effort to plant the seeds of dissension in the church is by definition a demonic effort,” he said to cheers from the congregation. “I’m glad that the devil has no power here.”

This Pastor as Supreme Ruler mentality is not atypical in Baptist churches these days. A Baptist pastor can create a vision, a plan for the future. But that Baptist pastor needs the congregation to first approve his/her vision before it is implemented. If the congregation is not involved in the decision-making process, why even keep the name "Baptist" on the sign out front?

Further, the implication that those who dare voice dissent are engaged in a "demonic effort" is ridiculous. The pastor of such a historic church should have more respect for the right to dissent.

I'm not sure that taking to the streets to protest your pastor is the best way to dissent. But at these large Baptist churches which are Pastor-Ruled or Staff-Ruled and less than transparent, what option are the members really left with?

Whether in the streets or in the blogosphere, I think its clear that members of these big Baptist churches will continue to make public their disagreements with their pastor.

Colin Powell On Patriotism and Muslim-Americans

2008-10-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

I’m also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, “Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.”

Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim; he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian.

But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America.

Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?

Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, “He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.” This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards -- Purple Heart, Bronze Star -- showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old.

And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross; it didn’t have the Star of David; it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.

-Colin Powell on Meet The Press

Quote taken from Meet the Press transcript.

The Politics of Jesus & Religious Liberty

2008-10-14T09:48:00.001-07:00

My friend (gosh I sound like McCain) Nathan Finn, a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, spoke last week at First Baptist Church of Durham, North Carolina at The Politics of Jesus conference. The conference was sponsored by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Finn's lecture was titled "The Pulpit and the Public Square: Some Observations from the Ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon."

You can read Finn's lecture here. Here's a snippet:

Now by assuming we all agree in principle to the separation of church and state, I am under no illusion that we would all agree as to the application of this concept. Some might even object to the language of church-state separation because of the way that various anti-faith agendas have co-opted the phrase and used it to undermine traditional values that many of us hold dear....The fact is American evangelicals have never marched in lock-step when it comes to applying the First Amendment, perhaps because there has never been one single understanding of what church-state separation actually means. At least two major views have been articulated by evangelicals, both of which have been ably defended by some Baptists. Some evangelicals argue for what might be called an accomodationist understanding of church-state separation. Most accomodationists argue that the government should accomodate religious beliefs and practices, provided that it does not show favoritism to a particular sect or belief. Isaac Backus is the most famous Baptist proponent of this view. Accomodationists tend to argue that the Constitution is positive in its assessment of religion and that the primary concern of the First Amendment is to guard against a state-established church. We might say that contemporary accomodationists tend to read the “non-establishment” clause of the First Amendment through the lens of the “free-exercise” clause. Though I confess that I cannot offer any quantifiable evidence, it appears to me that the majority of present-day politically engaged evangelicals tend toward an accomodationist understanding of church-state separation.[v]

Finn begins by stating his assumption that all of the Southern Baptists in the room "agree in principle to the separation of church and state" noting that not everyone in the room would agree "as to the application of this concept." I'm glad that a modern-day Southern Baptist is still willing to use the phrase. Finn states that "American evangelicals have never marched in lock-step when it comes to applying the First Amendment, perhaps because there has never been one single understanding of what church-state separation actually means." This is very true. Church-State expert Douglas Laycock has written at least a few articles on the "Many Meanings of Separation." Finn continues:

At least two major views have been articulated by evangelicals, both of which have been ably defended by some Baptists. Some evangelicals argue for what might be called an accomodationist understanding of church-state separation. Most accomodationists argue that the government should accomodate religious beliefs and practices, provided that it does not show favoritism to a particular sect or belief. Isaac Backus is the most famous Baptist proponent of this view. Accomodationists tend to argue that the Constitution is positive in its assessment of religion and that the primary concern of the First Amendment is to guard against a state-established church. We might say that contemporary accomodationists tend to read the “non-establishment” clause of the First Amendment through the lens of the “free-exercise” clause. Though I confess that I cannot offer any quantifiable evidence, it appears to me that the majority of present-day politically engaged evangelicals tend toward an accomodationist understanding of church-state separation.

Despite the present popularity of the accomodationist approach, there have always been some evangelicals who have argued for what might be called a strict separationist understanding of church-state relations. Most strict separationists argue that the government should be completely neutral concerning religious beliefs and practices, neither supporting nor harming any particular sect or belief.

The problem here is that so-called "accommodationists" are a mixed-bunch. There is DEFINITELY more than one "type" Accommodationist especially in the evangelical world. Further, Finn's definition of the "Accommodationist" position is EXTREMELY vague. Separationists such as myself also believe that government should accommodate religious beliefs and practices as long as the state remains neutral. Most separationists especially in Baptist life have consistently been advocates of policies such as the Equal Access Act which accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of students in the public school system. In light of Antonin Scalia's screwy decision in Oregon v. Smith, Baptist separationists supported the Religious Freedom Restoraction Act (alongside those from all corners of the political spectrum) as a means of accommodating the religious beliefs and practices of those who belonging to a minority sect.

Secondly, the popular view opposite of "Accommodationism" (which is a category that seems to be rarely used these days in church-state scholarship) is not "Strict Separationism." Again, there are many meanings of "separation." Carl Esbeck's often cited typology of church-state relations claims that there are 5 views: Strict Separationism, Pluralistic Separationism, Institutional Separationism, Nonpreferentialism and Restorationism. Oddly, Finn cites Esbeck's popular typology in a footnote by fails to utilize that typology in his lecture. Instead, he focuses on the so-called "strict separationist understanding of church-state relations." Many Baptists believe that "the government should be completely neutral concerning religious beliefs and practice, neither supporting nor harming any particular sect or belief." Few are "strict separationists." This is a weak and incomplete definition of "strict separationism." Seriously, what prominent Baptists or Baptist organizations could honestly wear this "strict separationist" label?

Esbeck, who Finn cites, describes strict separationists as wanting not only a separation of church and state but also a separation of religion from public life. Thus who are these "many evangelicals" who hold to strict separationism. In Baptist life, I am not aware of any groups or individuals (maybe one or two) who advocate a separation of religion and politics or religion from public life. Baptist religious liberty advocates like James Dunn repeatedly said during the 70s, 80s, and 90s that religion and politics will mix, should mix and must mix. Dunn's view as articulated above has been the prevailing view among Baptist separationists in recent decades.

Later in the lecture, Finn opines:

In my opinion it is a great tragedy that over the past couple of generations a good many evangelicals, including many of my fellow Baptists, have advocated positions that are closer to the People for the American Way or the ACLU than the framers of the Constitution, all in the name of preserving religious liberty. These misguided evangelicals have at times lent support to the anti-religion agenda, seemingly unaware (or at least unconcerned) that they are actually contributing to a climate that is poisoned against religious arguments and conservative moral convictions. One cannot help but think that a combination of party politics and poor education has much to do with evangelicals who attack religious freedom in the name of defending religious freedom.

Working alongside liberal advocacy organizations does not make one a liberal nor does it mean that a person's position is wrong. Richard Land has on more than a few occasions promoted policies through coalition work alongside liberals and secularists. That's how stuff gets done in Washington. After Scalia's atrocious decision in Oregon v. Smith, the Baptist Joint Committee led by Oliver Thomas put together an extremely diverse group of religious organizations to help pass the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. To pass this extremely important piece of religious freedom-protecting legislation, the Southern Baptist Convention joined hands with the ACLU and People for the American Way. A Tragedy Indeed! Actually, it was tragic that the Religious Right's darling Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Sclia, wrote the opinion which made RFRA necessary. Talk about a tragedy...

Speaking of the Framers of the Constitution, I'm pretty sure that the Chief Framer, James Madison, was a strong proponent of the concept of government neutrality toward religion and nonreligion - thus fitting Finn's vague definition of a "strict separationist."

Dressed for Service: A Message from Dorothy Patterson

2008-10-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

September 30, 2008

Dear Graduates:

How excited the President and I are to be a part of this last semester of your work for a hard-earned degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary! We encourage you to remain faithful and commit yourself to the very best semester ever! I am writing to let you know about a program very special to me.

Through our faithful members of Women’s Auxiliary, we have underwritten a program that enables us to provide for selected women students and student wives a new “head-to-toe” outfit for graduation and for going out to new assignments throughout the nation and even to the ends of the earth. These outfits are selected for Sunday worship and other celebratory services. This is not a monetary award but a mentoring experience. After sacrificing personal needs throughout the years of study, student wives and women students come to completely understand the true meaning of “I don’t have a thing to wear!” Shopping days are set, and members of our Women’s Auxiliary, under the direction of Mrs. Karen Collett, will accompany those selected for this honor on a wonderful shopping trip.

If you would like to nominate your wife or if you are a single woman student who would like to request consideration for this very special opportunity, please direct your nominations or applications to the office of Mrs. Karen Collett. Our committee will consider every request, and you will be notified accordingly. The women selected will be asked to be present for taking pictures and also for modeling their outfits at our President’s Club fall event.

Attached is the application which includes detailed instructions. May God bless you as you complete the course!

Maranatha,

Dorothy Kelley Patterson, First Lady

John Lewis: McCain and Palin Playing With Fire

2008-10-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

From my former boss, Congressman John Lewis:

"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama...

As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better.

Gay Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts

2008-10-09T17:53:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more interesting findings from the Faith in Public Life poll on Young Adults and the Election:

Younger white evangelicals strongly oppose abortion rights but are less conservative and more supportive of same-sex marriage than older evangelicals. Young white evangelicals are strongly opposed to abortion rights, with two-thirds saying abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Yet, less than a majority (49%) of younger evangelicals identify as conservative, compared to nearly two-thirds (65%) of older evangelicals. Among young evangelicals, a majority favor either same-sex marriage (24%) or civil unions (28%), compared to a majority (61%) of older evangelicals who favor no legal recognition of gay couples’ relationships.

Generation gap on same-sex marriage is large and increasing. Nearly half (46%) of young adults say gay couples should be allowed to marry, compared to only 29% of Americans overall. Over the last two years, support for same-sex marriage among young adults has jumped 9 points (from 37% to 46%), and the generation gap has nearly doubled.

In my opinion, this is a positive statistic. When this subject comes up, I make no secret that I am in favor of extending legal recognition to those in same-sex relationships. It’s nice to see that among evangelicals, I am not alone and actually with the majority! I’m inclined to agree with Baptist ethicist David Gushee who recently wrote: “If we are right in drawing a link between making good laws and loving our neighbors, what then does neighbor love require in relation to the homosexual neighbors who seek marriage or a similar status?”

For me and a majority of young evangelicals, the answer is to support policies that help end gay bashing, respect gay civil rights and show genuine Christian charity toward homosexuals.

Addressing religious liberty concerns strongly increases support for same-sex marriage. When respondents were provided with an assurance that “no church or congregation would be required to perform marriages for gay couples,” support for same-sex marriage increased by 14 points in the general population and among younger adults.

Let me throw this out there first: I'm currently working on several papers - one of which is explores the very real emerging conflicts between same-sex marriage and religious liberty. The problem with the finding above is the implication that all or even most religious liberty concerns can actually be addressed with the assurance that "no church or congregation would be required to perform marriages for gay couples."

First, it is absolutely ludicrous to assert that the legalization of same-sex marriage will result in pastors being forced to perform such ceremonies. Ain’t gonna happen.

Nonetheless, there are a host of church-state conflicts that are likely to emerge as a result of more states following the lead of Massachusetts and California. Conflicts have already emerged between gay rights and religious liberty which affect housing, employment, places of public accommodation, medical and pharmacy services, commercial licensing, government funding, access to government property, freedom of speech, and religion clubs in public schools and universities. Some scholars fear that tax exemptions will be politicized and efforts will be made to revoke the tax exemptions of churches that aren’t gay-friendly. However, other scholars sense that as long as “historically important churches refuse to recognize gay marriages,” it remains highly unlikely that any executive-level government official will attempt to travel down that path. As legal scholars from the left, right and center recently demonstrated, the conflict between same-sex marriage and religious liberty is truly unavoidable.

Solutions are never easy. But, I believe, such conflicts can largely be avoided or dealt with through religious exemptions. As gay-rights laws are enacted, religious exemptions must be granted. Failure to grant religious exemptions will greatly hurt our First Freedom and ultimately elevate the principle of nondiscrimination over religious freedom.

There is another solution to this same-sex marriage – religious liberty conflict that I prefer and I am currently exploring in my paper. I call it the “Tony Campolo Solution.” Tony has long argued that “government should get out of the marrying business completely.” Centrist legal scholars like Douglas Laycock and Oliver Thomas have recently advocated “separating church and state in marriage” in order to reduce conflict over same-sex marriage. Both men would like to separate legal from religious marriage in law and in public understanding. Marriage is both a religious institution and a religious relationship AND a legal institution and a legal relationship. Laycock points out that “the legal relationship defines property rights, mutual duties of support, inheritance rights, tax liabilities, evidentiary privileges, rights to sue for personal injury or file for bankruptcy, claims to pensions, social security, and insurance benefits” and much more. So here’s Laycock’s solution which I’d call a more developed version of what Tony Campolo has spent years advocating for:

We should leave the word “marriage” to its religious meaning, and use the new phrase “civil union” to describe the relationship formerly known as civil or legal marriage. “Civil unions” should not be a second-class status for same-sex couples; civil union should be the legal relationship created by the state for straight couples – and for gays and lesbians in states that choose to legally recognize committed same-sex relationships. “Marriage” should be reserved for private and religious relationships, and the state should have nothing to do with it….In a religiously pluralistic society, we must have an account of legal marriage that works for believers and nonbelievers alike.

Laycock continues:

What would it mean to fully separate religious marriage from secular civil unions? Clergy could perform marriages within each faith tradition, but they could not perform civil unions. Civil unions would be created in a secular ceremony led by a judge, a notary public, or a clerk at city hall. Civil unions could be ended by civil courts that would sort out property rights, economic obligations and child custody. Marriages could be ended only within the religious tradition that performed the marriage. Each faith could maintain its own rules and marriage tribunals for its adherents. Or if a church chose, it could defer to the state’s decisions about any civil union between the same partners. But then it would have only itself to blame if it didn’t like the state’s decisions.

You can read Douglas Laycock’s full argument in the newly released book, Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts.

Also check out Oliver “Buzz” Thomas’s recent USA Today op-ed titled “Gay Marriage: A Way Out.”

Faith & Politics of Young Adults in 2008 Election

2008-10-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

Faith in Public Life has released the findings from a new poll on the faith and politics of young adults (ages 18-34) in the 2008 election. The poll's results are analyzed in the report "The Young and the Faithful" available online. Here are a few findings of interest from the poll:

Monthly worship attenders swing to Obama in 2008. The greatest shift in candidate preference between 2004 and 2008 has occurred among all voters who attend religious services once or twice a month, moving from 49% support for Kerry in 2004 to 60% support for Obama in 2008.

More Americans think Obama is friendly to religion than McCain. Forty-nine percent of Americans say Obama is friendly to religion, while 45% say McCain is friendly to religion. More than seven-in-ten (71%) say it is important for public officials to be comfortable talking about religious values.

These are two very interesting stats. In a recent article over at Religion Dispatches titled "No God But Country," Kathryn Lofton argues that John McCain "may not believe in God." Unlike many of the conservatives (being charitable here) that I have encountered who regularly question the faith and salvation of Barack Obama, I will not question the faith of John McCain. McCain says he believes in the divine and I take him at his word. However, it seems that Lofton has tapped into a perception about John McCain that obviously many others share. By being unable or unwilling to make his private faith public on the campaign trail, John McCain has created the perception in many voters' minds that he is not overly faith-friendly.

Young first-time voters are heavily supporting Obama. Among young first-time voters, who make up close to one-third of this age group (ages 18-34), more than seven-in-ten (71%) support Obama, compared to slightly more than half (53%) of young voters who have voted in previous elections.

Younger white evangelicals are more pluralistic and more supportive of active government at home and of diplomacy abroad. While less than one-third (30%) of older evangelicals say a person can be moral without believing in God, 44% of younger evangelicals affirm this idea, a 14-point gap. A majority (56%) of younger evangelicals believe diplomacy rather than military strength is the best way to ensure peace, compared to only 44% of older white evangelicals. Younger white evangelicals are also more likely than older white evangelicals to favor a bigger government offering more services, by a margin of 21 points (44% and 23% respectively).

I think all peace-loving people should be encouraged by this stat. Older evangelicals don't have a good track record when it comes to the reality of pluralism. The Culture Wars of the 80s and 90s are a product of older evangelicals refusal and inability to deal with and adapt to our increasingly pluralistic society.

Americans say economy, energy and gas prices, and health care are the most important issues in 2008. Americans rank the economy (83%) and energy/gas prices (76%), and health care (71%) as the most important issues in the 2008 election. Economic issues topped the list of most important issues among all religious groups.

Americans rank abortion and same-sex marriage as the least important issues in 2008. Only 43% and 28% respectively say these issues are very important issues to their vote in 2008. White evangelicals do not rank abortion or same-sex marriage in their top five most important voting issues.

Americans see room for common ground in abortion debate. A majority (53%) of Americans believe political leaders can work to find common ground on abortion while staying true to their core beliefs, including majorities of white mainline Protestants (59%), Catholics (55%), and the unaffiliated (52%).

It's indeed a good thing that a majority of Americans, both Protestant and Catholic, are willing to work together to find common ground on divisive social issues like abortion rights while also pledging to hold firm to their convictions. Can't go wrong with a common ground approach. The political arena needs more politicians and activist organizations that are fully committed to finding common ground on a host of issues.

2009 Regional Gathering of the New Baptist Covenant

2008-10-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a snippet from the Birmingham News:

Former President Jimmy Carter plans to teach a Bible study class and be the keynote speaker on Jan. 31 at a regional gathering in Birmingham of the New Baptist Covenant.

The New Baptist Covenant, an informal alliance of more than 30 Baptist groups from throughout North America with a combined membership of more than 20 million, will meet at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

The Rev. Arthur Price, pastor of Sixteenth Street Baptist, and the Rev. Gary Furr, pastor of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church, will serve as co-chairmen of the event's steering committee.

And the Press Release announcing the 2009 Midwest Regional Meeting:

Announcing the New Baptist Covenant Midwest Regional Meeting
At the Norman Convention Center on August 6-7, 2009

In January 2008 more than 15,000 Baptists from across the United States, Canada and Mexico met for the first ever meeting to celebrate a New Baptist Covenant. The covenant represented the commitment of more than 20 million Baptists in North America to fulfill our “obligations as Christians to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to care for the sick and the marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity.” The covenant also reaffirmed our “commitment to traditional Baptist values, including sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality.”

The leaders of the New Baptist Covenant, representing more than 80 Baptist Conventions, fellowships and organizations in North America, agreed to meet collectively every three years to renew this commitment. Between these triennial meetings, the leaders of the New Baptist Covenant called for regional meetings that would gather to unite Baptists from our various Conventions, fellowships and organizations to celebrate, exhort, network and encourage one another in fulfilling the obligations of our new Baptist Covenant.

The Steering Committee for the New Baptist Covenant Midwest Region is pleased to announce that the New Convention Center in Norman, Oklahoma has been selected for the first ever meeting of the Midwest Region of the New Baptist Covenant. The meeting will be held on August 6-7, 2009. Former President Jimmy Carter has agreed to speak at our meeting. We will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist denomination.

John McCain's Vision for America....or Lack Thereof

2008-10-07T11:32:00.001-07:00

How To Submit Graciously by Paige Patterson

2008-10-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a snippet from a recent post by Wade Burleson that caught my attention:

In March of 2000 The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood hosted a Conference for people interested in the subject of Christian submission. During a Conference forum entitled "How Submission Works in Practice" Dr. Paige Patterson was asked a question about how a Christian wife should respond to spousal physical abuse. The answer Dr. Patterson gave, in my opinion, reflects the danger of a any belief system that promotes the idea that the male in the marriage possesses an inherent authority to which the Christian wife must at all times submit.

And here is the transcript of Patterson's answer to the question about how a battered and bruised Christian wife should respond to her violent husband:

I had a woman who was in a church that I served, and she was being subject to some abuse, and I told her, I said, “All right, what I want you to do is, every evening I want you to get down by your bed just as he goes to sleep, get down by the bed, and when you think he’s just about asleep, you just pray and ask God to intervene, not out loud, quietly,” but I said, “You just pray there.” And I said, “Get ready because he may get a little more violent, you know, when he discovers this.”

And sure enough, he did. She came to church one morning with both eyes black. And she was angry at me and at God and the world, for that matter. And she said, “I hope you’re happy.”

And I said, “Yes ma’am, I am.” And I said, “I’m sorry about that, but I’m very happy.”

And what she didn’t know when we sat down in church that morning was that her husband had come in and was standing at the back, first time he ever came. And when I gave the invitation that morning, he was the first one down to the front. And his heart was broken, he said, “My wife’s praying for me, and I can’t believe what I did to her.” And he said, “Do you think God can forgive somebody like me?” And he’s a great husband today. And it all came about because she sought God on a regular basis.

And remember, when nobody else can help, God can. And in the meantime, you have to do what you can at home to be submissive in every way that you can and to elevate him.

Unbelievable stuff.

The Ultimate Flow Chart - Palin Style

2008-10-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

For all those who love flow charts:

HT: Texas in Africa

Knowing When To Shut Your Mouth

2008-09-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

My Austin friend and fellow Baptist - Texas in Africa - has an interesting post on the economy that you should check out. TIA writes:

A colleague and I were joking a few minutes ago that it seems like there's finally an advantage to being graduate students with no assets, but as Committee Member #3, who's less than five years from retirement, pointed out, it's not funny at all for those whose retirement accounts are up in the air. And that's the problem: something has to give, but letting the foxes write their own legislation isn't a very trustworthy solution.

It is true that most college kids and graduate students don't have a dime to their name and are likely drowning in debt. However, there are at least a few graduate students who do have a decent-sized portfolio and who have attempted to save and invest their money wisely. In the rare instance, a handful of us have "earned" our $$ the painfully hard way. But in most cases, the graduate student with a portfolio has busted his or her rump over the past handful of years working a real world job. One of my best buddies from Georgia is a great example. He's a Techie (GA Tech), a helluva engineer who works dang hard during the day, goes to MBA school at night, and has a wife in medical school. He's smarter than me when it comes to managing money and economics and his portfolio is probably much better off. But everybody is hurting and everybody is waiting for that rebound which at the moment, I'm not sure if it's gonna come....And as TIA points out, this crisis is definitely not funny to those with retirement accounts especially those who had hoped to retire sooner than later.

Which leads me to my main point in this rant:

Nancy Pelosi is a moron...the moron of all morons.

This is coming from a Democrat might I remind you. But Pelosi stinks. After her stunt from the floor today, I'm convinced she's not fit to be Speaker. Step down and please, oh please let someone else with a little more common sense step up. I usually have faith in the Democratic Party. I have no faith in Nancy Pelosi and any respect I had for her just went out the window this afternoon along with enough money to keep my belly full for another 8 months.

The Republicans aren't blameless. Minority Leader John Boehner did an absolutely horrible job of bringing his fellow House Republicans on board. When it came time to deliver, Boehner failed miserably. But in what was supposed to have been a bi-partisan effort, Pelosi took to the floor of the House and started bad-mouthing Bush and the GOP. Wow, good move there Nancy!!! Sometimes you just gotta know when to shut your mouth.

SBC Pastor To Endorse Keyes & Himself

2008-09-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

Most of you have heard about the Pulpit Initiative planned for today. If you haven't, here is a short synopsis from the LA Times:

Setting the stage for a collision of religion and politics, Christian ministers from California and 21 other states will use their pulpits Sunday to deliver political sermons or endorse presidential candidates -- defying a federal ban on campaigning by nonprofit groups.

The pastors' advocacy could violate the Internal Revenue Service's rules against political speech with the purpose of triggering IRS investigations.

That would allow their patron, the conservative legal group Alliance Defense Fund, to challenge the IRS' rules, a risky strategy that one defense fund attorney acknowledges could cost the churches their tax-exempt status. Congress made it illegal in 1954 for tax-exempt groups to publicly support or oppose political candidates.

I'm with Don Byrd of the Baptist Joint Committee's Blog from the Capital who believes that this planned mass violation of IRS tax-exempt regulations will be a complete bust. Thus far, I have only heard of one pastor who plans to endorse from the pulpit.

His name is Wiley Drake.

And he plans to endorse HIMSELF!

And Alan Keyes.

Wiley Drake is the past of First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, California. Back in 1997, Wiley was a driving force behind the Southern Baptist Convention's boycott of Disney. Wiley is also a homeschooling advocate who has called on Southern Baptists to remove their children from public schools. In 2006, Wiley was elected second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He created stationery for himself using his SBC title and used the stationery to endorse a candidate for United States Senate. Last year, Wiley gained attention in the blogosphere when his name showed up on an Internet letter supporting a man convinced of killing an abortion provider. Within the last year, Drake landed himself in hot water after endorsing Mike Huckabee for President. Consequently, Americans United for Separation of Church and State called on the IRS to investigate Wiley for violation of anti-electioneering laws. And Wiley made news AGAIN by calling for "imprecatory prayer" against staffers of Americans United.

That's Wiley Drake in a nutshell. A first-class kook.

Now, Wiley is running for Vice-President of the United States alongside Alan Keyes who is the 2008 presidential nominee for the affiliate of the newly formed America's Independent Party. The Keyes-Drake ticket have reportedly gained access to the ballot in California.

Wiley has announced that he will be endorsing Keyes and himself from the Pulpit on Sunday.

Here's Wiley on his plans:

"I'm going to talk about the un-biblical stands that Barack Obama takes. Nobody who follows the Bible can vote for him," said the Rev. Wiley S. Drake of First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park. "We may not be politically correct, but we are going to be biblically correct. We are going to vote for those who follow the Bible."...."We may not be politically correct, but we are going to be biblically correct. We are going to vote for those who follow the Bible," Drake said.
"The Bible warns pastors not be lukewarm, or you're like a dog that doesn't know how to bark," Drake said.
Drake said this Sunday will be like any other: he will read from the bible, preach a sermon and then endorse Alan Keyes for president.
He also plans to announce whom he might vote for as vice president.
"My second choice is me, Wiley Drake. I'm on the ballot, so I plan to endorse myself," Drake said.

I hope that the IRS lays the hammer down on Wiley Drake. He's definitely asking for it...

Can John McCain Read? Does He Read?

2008-09-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, Presidential candidate John McCain confessed to a reporter that he had not read the Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson's bailout proposal.

The bailout proposal is a mere 3 pages long.

On Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) made a rather keen observation:

"Straight Talk Express Must Not Have A Reading Room In It"

So, McCain wants to be the saviour in this economic crisis yet he hasn't even paused for a hot minute to read the 3-page proposal?

SBC Follows CBF's Lead On Mission Field

2008-09-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

From Vicki Brown of the Associated Baptist Press (September 2008):

ATLANTA (ABP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board will reorganize over the next year to focus more on local churches’ involvement in missions and provide flexibility to reach people groups across geographical lines.

At their Sept. 8-10 meeting in Atlanta, IMB trustees approved a reorganization of the missionary-sending agency and revised its vision, mission and core-values statements. The process will take about a year to fine tune and complete, according to an IMB news release....
But changes in the agency’s mission statement and core values also emphasize the local church’s role in reaching the world with the message of Christ.

“[T]he revised mission statement…reflects that the Great Commission is the responsibility of the local church and refocuses the efforts of the agency on assisting churches to fulfill that responsibility,” according to the IMB release.

The values statement, the release continued, shifts “the role of the agency from a primary focus on sending missionaries to one that serves the churches in their involvement in the Great Commission and the sending of missionaries.”

And from Patricia Heys via the Biblical Recorder (June 2007):

ATLANTA - Following a year of conversation with congregations, mission leaders and field personnel, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) will unveil a new vision and restructuring of CBF Global Missions at this year's General Assembly June 28-29 in Washington, D.C. The changes reflect a conviction on the part of CBF congregations and missions leadership that the 21st century will be the century of local congregations in global mission.

"The engagement of local congregations in global missions is one of the great seismic shifts among evangelicals in the last decade," said CBF Global Missions coordinator Rob Nash. "We want to do all that we can possibly do as a mission entity to facilitate that engagement and to work alongside congregations in being the presence of Christ in the world."

In light of the fact that some SBC leaders have recently questioned whether the CBF is truly Christian, it's quite interesting to see the International Mission Board of the SBC follow the CBF's lead in restructuring how they do Global Missions by putting the emphasis on the local congregation. The CBF must get at least a thing or two right for the SBC to follow the CBF's lead and copy part of CBF's vision.

As the old saying goes....

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Christian Ethics Today Conference @ Truett Seminary

2008-09-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow and Wednesday, I will be attending the conference below (click on the image) sponsored by Christian Ethics Today. This conference is being held on the campus of Baylor University at Truett Seminary.
The lineup is excellent. Baptist heroes such as James Dunn and Jimmy Allen will be speaking. Baylor's interim President David Garland will speak on Henlee Barnette. David Gushee will be in attendance speaking on "Sanctity of Life Issues" and presumably will take part in a paneling discussion titled "Is There An Emerging Evangelical Center?"

Tony Campolo is listed as the keynote speaker on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning with an address titled "Where Have All the Prophets Gone?"

Despite the excellent lineup, I find it a bit odd that there is not one single female participant listed. Zip. Zero.

The conference is titled "Red-Letter Christians, An Emerging Evangelical Center, And PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES."

EDIT: Suzii Paynter, director of the BGCT Christian Life Commission, is on the panel on Emerging Evangelicals, though not originally listed in the program.

National Summit On Torture In The News

2008-09-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Don't forget, you can watch the proceedings of A National Summit on Torture here.

It's streaming live.

Here's a snippet from the summit's Press Release:

ATLANTA – Speakers on the first day of the inaugural National Summit on Torture at Mercer University’s Atlanta campus Thursday told the more than 200 participants that “this summit affirms our values as Americans.”

Organized by Dr. David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer, the summit is titled “Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul.” The event is cosponsored by Evangelicals for Human Rights, Mercer and 13 other organizations represented by three major faith groups.

“This is an interfaith gathering,” said Gushee, who also serves as president of Evangelicals for Human Rights. “It began as a Baptist and evangelical event and I’m really happy to say it evolved. I think that’s profound. I think it’s terribly exciting. We do share this country. We need to learn each other’s name. I’m excited about the interfaith aspect of this gathering and I believe that only religious belief provides the grounding that we need to pull us out of our worst self.”

Here are a few stories about the Torture summit:

Evangelicals To Debate Use of Torture (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

On Torture, Evangelicals Not Looking to Bible, Doctrine (Associated Baptist Press)

ATLANTA (ABP) -- A new survey suggests the very Americans who claim to follow the Bible most assiduously don’t consult it when forming their views about torture and government policy.
The poll of 600 Southern white evangelicals was released Sept. 11 in Atlanta in connection with a national religious summit on torture. It shows not only are white evangelical Southerners more likely than the general populace to believe torture is sometimes or often justified, but also that they are far more likely—to tweak a phrase from Proverbs—to “lean on their own understanding” regarding the subject.

Experts: National Security Not Ensured by Torture (Associated Baptist Press)

ATLANTA (ABP) -- Retired high-ranking military officers and national security experts at a national summit on torture Sept. 11 agreed: A policy that permits torture does not make the United States or its troops safer.

Christians Who Don't Know What Christian Means (Dr. Jim West)

White Evangelical Southerners: Torture is OK!

Does it matter that Jesus taught that we are to turn the other cheek when struck? Does it matter that he taught we are to go that second mile when forced to walk just one? Does it matter that we supposed to love our enemies? Does it matter that we have been told to give our enemies water (not to be confused with waterboarding) when they thirst? Does it matter that if we love Jesus we are to obey what he has commanded us? When we disobey Jesus' commands, what does that say about the genuineness of our faith?

White Evangelicals: Torture is Ok.

New Evangelical Poll on Torture (Faith in Public Life)

Poll Reveals White Evangelical Christians' Attitudes About Torture (Macon Telegraph)

You can read and sign the "Evangelical Declaration Against Torture" here.

You can also read and sign here the statement of conscience titled "Torture is a Moral Issue" authored by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.

Announcing A National Summit On Torture

2008-09-09T07:59:00.000-07:00

Press Release From Mercer University:

ATLANTA — An impressive lineup of speakers including prominent scholars, leaders from the faith community, former military officers and a victim of torture are on the program for a sold-out National Summit on Torture at Mercer University's Atlanta campus later this week. Titled "Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul" and scheduled for Thursday and Friday, the conference is being organized by Dr. David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer.
Gushee, who also serves as president of Evangelicals for Human Rights, a conference co-sponsor, said the program is designed to "go to the source of the problem, to diagnose how we got here, and to chart a way forward to a better American future."

On Thursday at 10:45 a.m., results from a new poll commissioned by Mercer University and Faith in Public Life and conducted by Public Religion Research will be released. Among the findings are evidence that white evangelical Christians in the South are significantly more likely to oppose torture if they rely on Christian teachings or beliefs to form their views and that a majority agree with the Golden Rule argument against torture — that the U.S. government should not use methods against our enemies that we would not want used on American soldiers.

Among the more than 50 speakers, presenters and moderators scheduled to participate in the conference are academics from institutions such as Yale University, the University of Notre Dame, New York University, Seton Hall Law School, Morehouse College, Georgetown University, Vanderbilt University, Princeton Theological Seminary and Mercer. Presenters will also include retired senior military officers, leaders from Christian, Jewish and Islamic organizations, and a Catholic nun who was tortured while serving as a missionary in Guatemala.

Among the other co-sponsors of the conference are the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, the Center for Victims of Torture, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Evangelicals for Social Action, Faith and the City, the Islamic Society of North America, Morehouse College, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, No2Torture, Rabbis for Human Rights, Sojourners and Third Way.

Here's a list of the speakers and the program.

All sessions of the National Summit on Torture will be streamed live on the internet.

So, you can watch the Summit pretty much all day Thursday and Friday via http://www.evangelicalsforhumanrights.org

John Lewis was a Community Organizer. MLK too.

2008-09-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't particularly like the whole "Jesus Was a Community Organizer - Pontius Pilate Was A Governor" that's floating around the blogosphere. So there's my own spin on things.

As most everyone knows by now, Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin completely dissed all those who are involved in community organizing last night with this quip:

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.

Sarah Palin & Rudy G were making fun of a young man who decided after graduating from college to "serve a cause greater than himself" to use McCain's own words. Obama had a great response though. Here he is:

Why would that kind of work be ridiculous? Who are they fighting for? What are they advocating for? They think that the lives of those folks who are struggling each and every day, that working with them to try to improve their lives is somehow not relevant to the presidency? I think maybe that's the problem -- that's part of why they're out of touch and they don't get it 'cause they haven't spent much time working on behalf of those folks.

According to the Faith in Public Life blog, faith-based community organizing leaders have begun to speak out about the "actual responsibilities" of community organizers and "their tremendous impact every day on the lives of millions of Americans.

Here's what Bishop Roy Dixon, a prelate in the Church of God in Christ, had to say:

As a life-long Republican, the comments I heard last night about community organizing crossed the line. It is one thing to question someone's experience, another to demean the work of millions of hard working Americans who take time to get involved in their communities. When people come together in my church hall to improve our community, they're building the Kingdom of God in San Diego. We see the fruits of community organizing in safer streets, new parks, and new affordable housing. It's the spirit of democracy for people to have a say and we need more of it.

And this from Pastor Mark Diemer of Grace of God Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio:

Politicians should thank community organizers, not insult them. As a longtime organizer, I've seen time and time again that we are the ones who make government work for the poor, the powerless and the marginalized. Politicians' policies and promises would amount to nothing without grassroots activists to hold them accountable. We are leaders of faith and stewards of democracy. In a time when the face of faith in politics is often ugly, community organizing is a valuable example of faith's positive role in public life.

Read other quotes from community organizers here.

A group of Community Organizers have even created a website to respond to the attacks from Sarah Palin, Rudy G, and former New York Governor George Pataki who said, "What in God's name is a community organizer? I don't even know if that's a job." Good thing for Rudy and George that they are no longer in public office. I suspect there are more than a few community organizers in New York.

But back to Sarah Palin. Here's a gem from a journalist with The Nation:

But this kind of hits me where I live, since my dad is a community organizer, so lemme spell this out: the difference between a community organizer and a politician is that a community organizer can't tell anyone what to do. They have to listen. So they can't order books banned from a library to indulge their own religious sensibilities. They can't fire someone because they didn't follow orders to fire an estranged family member. They can't ram through a $15 million dollar sports complex that leaves their local town groaning underneath the debt. Unlike politicians, they don't have any power other than the power of people who want to see something changed.

Decades ago, before the ADA and a raft of other legislation, schools had essentially no requirements to provide decent education for special needs children. Then a movement of parents, engaging in - gasp - community organizing changed that. And they continue to fight day in and day out for educational equity for children like Sarah Palin's.

Too bad Sarah Palin just spit in their faces.

Shame on Sarah.

Sarah Palin: Iraq War "A Task From God"

2008-09-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just a few months before McCain tapped Sarah Palin to be his running mate, the Governor of Alaska addressed the "graduating class of commission students" at her former church, Wasilla Assembly of God. Check out what Palin had to say about the Iraq War:

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Dr. Glenn Jonas who is the Chairman of the Department of Religion & Philosophy at Campbell University had this to say about the quote above over at his blog. Here's Jonas:

I have serious reservations about someone who has such a twisted theological understanding about the war in Iraq. To say the war was necessary (President Bush's argument) is one thing. To say it is a "task from God" is something that is really, really scary! Wonder if she has ever heard of Jesus' words: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God."

I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Jonas. This framing of the Iraq War as a sort of messianic mission is indeed troubling. However, it's quite clear that such rhetoric is common at the Wasilla Assembly of God - at least since 1999.

Sermon recordings from Wasilla Assembly of God reveal that their current pastor - Ed Kalnins - has a penchant for provocative statements when behind the pulpit.

During the Fall of 2004, the Wasilla pastor praised President Bush's debate performance and then proceeded to throw down the gauntlet with this declaration:

"I'm not going tell you who to vote for, but if you vote for this particular person, I question your salvation. I'm sorry....If every Christian will vote righteously, it would be a landslide every time."

Read the entire article here.

I don't care particularly about the kooky comments that are made and the bad theology that is preached at Palin's old church. But in light of what appears to be a plethora of kooky comments, I hope Republicans will have the decency to lay off of the Jeremiah Wright angle during the last two months of this Presidential campaign.

SBC Pastor to McCain: Palin Not A Pro-Family Pick

2008-09-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

As previously mentioned, Richard Land has found him a new crush in Sarah Palin.

Meanwhile, countless other Christian Right leaders have been gushing over John McCain's VP selection. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council declared that McCain had made an "outstanding pick." Wendy Wright of Disturbed Women for America announced that Palin's "admirable record of confronting corruption and living her pro-life convictions shows she is a doer, not just a talker." Matthew Staver of the highly influential Liberty Counsel described McCain's decision as "absolutely brilliant." Roberta Combs, the President of the Christian Coalition, praised McCain for making an "outstanding selection." This list would be incomplete without a good word the Dr. James Dobson who proclaimed McCain's selection of Palin to be "an outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring to the conservative base of his party."

However, not every so-called Pro-Family leader has been giddy over the selection of Sarah Palin. Meet Voddie Baucham.

Voodie Baucham (bio) is an extremely popular Southern Baptist minister especially in Reformed circles. He's a 6'3, 300 pound, former All-American football player at Rice University who has done graduate work at Oxford University. He preaches. He publishes. He's a homeschooling advocate. And clearly he's a consistent complimentarian.

In his most recent blog post, Baucham asks: Did McCain Make a Pro-Family Pick?

And Baucham says NO!!!!!!!!!

Baucham writes:

Unfortunately, Christians appear to be headed toward a hairpin turn at breakneck speed without the slightest clue as to the danger ahead. I don’t see this as a pro-family pick at all! Moreover, I believe the conservative fervor over this pick shows how politicized Christians have become at the expense of maintaining a prophetic voice. I believe that Mr. McCain has proven with his VP pick that he is pro-victory, not pro-family. In fact, I believe this was the anti-family pick. I say that for at least two reasons.

First, Baucham reasons that the office of Vice-President is NOT A PRO FAMILY JOB!

First, if Mr. McCain was pro-family, he would want to see Mrs. Palin at home taking care of her five children, not headed to Washington to be consumed by the responsibilities of being second in command to the most powerful man in the world (or serving as the Governor of Alaska for that matter). Let me also say that I would have the same reservations about a man with five children at home seeking the VP office. It’s not exactly a pro-family job.

Baucham goes on to uncover what he calls a "disturbing trend" that "plagues far too many young women with families." What exactly is so disturbing? Baucham is disturbed that Palin commutes to and from work every day by herself. Not sure how Baucham expects the Governor to get to work. But clearly he'd rather have her back at home cookin and cleanin.

Second, Baucham explains that picking Palin as VP does NOT SEND A PRO FAMILY MESSAGE!

Here's Baucham:

Not only do I believe that a pro-family candidate would prefer to see Mrs. Palin at home taking care of her children, I believe a pro-family candidate would also avoid validating and advancing our culture’s desire to completely erase gender roles. Much of the discussion about Mrs. Palin’s candidacy centers around her opportunity to “break through the class ceiling” and be a “role model for young women.” The same was said of Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy in the Democratic primary. But what does this mean?

Are we really saying that we want to completely erase the distinctions between men and women. Do we really believe that it is good for our country to promote the view that women are merely men who happen to be biologically capable of having children (when it does not interfere with career advancement, of course)? I don’t think so. What do we do with the Bible’s admonition in Titus chapter two? Are Christian conservatives saying that Paul’s instructions concerning women’s duty to be “keepers of their homes” has somehow been overturned in light of recent discoveries? Or are we saying that pro-family means one thing when we’re in church, but something else when we’re trying to beat the Democrats?

And Baucham concludes:

My point is simple. The job of a wife and mother is to be a wife and mother. Anything in addition to that must also be subservient to it. There is no higher calling. Moreover, I believe Paul’s admonition should lead us to reject any notion of a wife and mother taking on the level of responsibility that Mrs. Palin is seeking.... My heart breaks for her husband. Mrs. Palin is not even supposed to be the head of her own household (Eph. 5:22ff; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:1-7), let alone the State of Alaska, or the United States Senate (The VP oversees the Senate). He should be shepherding her, but instead she is ruling over him (Rom 13:1-7; 1Pet 2:13-17). How difficult it must be for him to walk the fine line of bowing to the culture that is stealing his bride while still trying to love his wife and lead his family.

My heart breaks for the so-called Christian right. All the usual subjects have been falling all over themselves to praise Mr. McCain and justify their blind allegiance to the Republican Party in an effort to secure more “pro-family” judges. They want to protect marriage from redefinition by the homosexual movement, and they are willing to redefine marriage (and motherhood) to do it....In an effort to win the pro-family political argument, we are sacrificing the pro-family biblical argument. In essence, the message being sent to women by conservative Christians backing McCain/Palin is, “It’s ok to sacrifice your family on the altar of your career; just don’t have an abortion.” How pro-family is that?

To Baucham, I say YUCK. He might be just plain wrong but at least Baucham is trying to be consistent and actually put into practice what he preaches.

So while Sarah Palin is the Christian Right's choice to be Vice President and but one heartbeat away from holding the title "Leader of the Free World" - she's still not fit to hold the office of Pastor (if "called" to do so) according to America's largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. And don't look for Sarah Palin to adjunct at the Richard Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Seminary if this VP gig doesn't work out. Women teaching men is a no-no in today's patriarchal Southern Baptist Convention.

Ironically, Southern Baptists like Land and Mohler seem excited to humbly submit to the authority of a Vice-President Palin in the secular sphere but are dead opposed to Palin exerting authority over any Bible-Believing male in the sacred sphere.

At least Voddie Baucham isn't ashamed to take all this "Biblical Manhood" talk that so many Southern Baptists are engaged in to its logical conclusion....

2 Baptist Deacons Seek Alabama Seat in Congress

2008-08-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting story.

Two deacons from First Baptist Church of Montgomery, Alabama are running against one another in a high-profile race for an open seat in the United States House of Representatives. Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright is the nominee for the Democratic Party. Alabama State Representative Jay Love is the Republican nominee. The two deacons are duking it out to represent Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, a seat held by retiring Republican Congressman Terry Everrett. Here's a snippet:

On Sundays, both men and their families can be found in the pews at the 5,000-member First Baptist Church, just five blocks from the Capitol in downtown Montgomery. Both Bright, 56, and Love, 39, agree that being deacons means they are "brothers in Christ," a concept that doesn't always translate well in the political world.
While tight, closely watched races often turn negative, the ads run by Bright and Love so far have not been of the mud-slinging variety. "Certainly we're both brothers in Christ. We differ politically and about the direction the country needs to go in, but at the end of the day we have that in common. Just because he's a Democrat and I'm a Republican is no reason we can't worship and serve together," Love said.

"Both of us are deacons, brothers in the same church," Bright said.

According to the article, both deacons try their best to avoid politics at First Baptist:

"I don't solicit support or try to get someone to support me when I'm at church," Bright said.

As for Wolf (Pastor of FBC), he said he would offer spiritual support to both candidates, but they should not expect him to choose political sides.

"I'm voting for Jesus," Wolf said.

Unfortunately for Pastor Wolf, Jesus won't be on the ballot come November 4.

The Faith of America's Hottest VP Candidate

2008-08-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

As surely everyone now knows, John McCain has now tapped Sarah Palin, a former beauty queen turned Governor of Alaska, as his running mate. Several publications have referred to Palin as "America's Hottest Governor."

For weeks, the Southern Baptist Convention's "Ethics" guru Dick Land has been pushing hard for McCain to pick Palin. Land described Palin to a CBS reporter as a "person of strong faith."

So what exactly is Governor Sarah Palin's "faith" ?

A thorough search of the internets didn't turn up many specific results. However, several bloggers have reported that Palin is a "regular attendee" of Church on the Rock in Wasilla, Alaska where Palin grew up and served as Mayor. According to this newsletter (HT: Dallas Morning News), we know that has a history with the Assemblies of God denomination. The newsletter mentions Palin's junior high pastor and current Alaska State Superintendent, Ted Boatsman, who once pastored Wasilla Assembly of God (belief statement here). The newsletter also mentions that when in Juneau Palin attends Juneau Christian Center, a Pentecostal congregation.

Here's some info on Church on the Rock in Wasilla where Palin supposedly attends when not in Juneau.

Church on the Rock is a rather new congregation. It began in January, 2000 with seven families. The church quickly outgrew their sanctuary which held 200 people and now holds two services on Sunday mornings. Read the history of Church on the Rock here. Their doctrinal statement can be found here. No mention of the Bible as inerrant. Their doctrine statement describes the Bible as "inspired by God, the Bible is truth without any mixture of error."

The senior pastor of Church on the Rock is a guy named David Pepper. However, Church on the Rock lists a female on staff as a "Pastor." Laurie Miller and her husband Chris Miller serve as "Equipping Pastors" at Church on the Rock.

And here's a bit about Palin on a few social issues:

According to the Boston Globe, Palin believes that abortion should be banned for any reason other than saving the life of the mother. She opposes stem cell research (I assume that means she opposes EMBRYONIC stem cell research). She opposes physician-assisted suicide. She opposes giving state health benefits for same-sex partners. And she supports a constitutional amendment to bar such benefits.

Here's where she gets a little kooky.

Palin believes that creationism should be discussed in public schools. Here's Palin from a couple of years ago:

Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides."

On Church-State issues:

When asked during a debate how she would feel if she walked into a church and heard a minister or pastor endorse a candidate for governor, Palin responded:

“A pastor, a priest, a rabbi, certainly they have the freedom to say whatever they want to say. And you know, thank the lord that we do have that freedom of speech....Faith is very important to so many of us here in America, and I would never support any government effort to stifle our freedom of religion or freedom of expression or freedom of speech...You know, I would just caution maybe a pastor to be very careful if they’re in front of a congregation and they decide to endorse one candidate over another. You know, there may be some frustration with that candidacy endorsement being made manifest by a few, fewer dollars in the offering plate, so I would just offer that bit of caution. (laughing.)...But, no, I’ll tell you, freedom of speech is so precious and it’s worth defending and of course freedom of religion and freedom of expression will be things that I will fight for.”

Religious Right leaders are already gushing over McCain's VP choice.

Here's Dick Land:

"Governor Palin is a vice-presidential selection which shows that John McCain at the age of 72 today is still able to think outside the box. Governor Palin will delight the Republican base. She is pro-life. It appears that Senator Obama played it safe in picking Senator Biden and Senator McCain made the bold and unconventional choice in picking Governor Palin."

I'm not an expert on the Presidency. But would Sarah Palin's selection as VP make her the first Pentecostal on a major party ticket?

Obama Channeling My Favorite Aaron

2008-08-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

That would be Aaron Sorkin.

From Obama's historic speech:

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care, it’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.
- Sen. Barak Obama

Battle of the Baptist Universities: Baylor vs. Wake Forest

2008-08-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

So here's a short, somewhat shaky clip that I took with my digital camera from tonight's season opener at Floyd-Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas between Baylor University and Wake Forest University. The clip shows Baylor scoring their second and final touchdown of the evening. The Bears went on to lose to the Demon Deacons by a final score of 41-13.

Watch below and enjoy experiencing the losing tradition that is Baylor football.

Go Dawgs!

James Dunn as Neglected Theologian

2008-08-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

Michael Westmoreland-White of Levellers is hosting a blog series on Neglected Theologians.

The Neglected Theologians that have been recovered in this series include:

The Venerable Bede (post authored by Tim Furry, Ph.D. student, University of Dayton)

The Blumhardts (post authored by Dr. Christian T. Collins Winn, Associate Prof of Historical and Systematic Theology, Bethel University)

Johann Baptist Metz (post authored by D.W. Horstkoetter, recent M.A. (Theology & Ethics) from Union Theological Seminary and soon-to-be Ph.D. student at Marquette University)

My post on James Milton Dunn is the fourth installment in this Neglected Theologians blog series. Though I'm a tad biased, I'd say it's a pretty decent contribution. James Dunn is not your traditional theologian but he is a theologian nonetheless - an activist theologian for religious liberty.

Check it out here.

Baptist Perspectives On Saddleback Civil Forum

2008-08-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Mark McEntire is an Associate Professor of Religion at Belmont University in Nashville. In his recent column for EthicsDaily.com titled How Fast Can Rick Warren Spin?, McEntire argues that last Saturday's Civil Forum on the Presidency held at Saddleback Church and hosted by the Saddleback Civil Forum (not Saddleback Church) violates the separation of church and state.

McEntire writes:

Let me confess that I believed from the beginning that the so-called "Faith Forum" held on Aug. 16 at the Saddleback Church in California and hosted by its pastor, Rick Warren, was a bad idea.

First, the idea that the two major candidates for president can be summoned to the church of a prominent pastor to kiss his ring and receive his blessing violates both my commitment to the separation of church and state and the kind of communal humility the church ought to demonstrate.

Second, the whole idea of a "faith forum" is a violation of at least the spirit of Article VI of the United States Constitution, which says that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." We have now reached a place in American society where it would be simply impossible for a person who is not a practicing Christian to make a serious run for president, or for lesser offices in most places in our country. Not only must a candidate be a practicing Christian, but he or she must be willing to talk about religious faith endlessly.

Other Baptists were skeptical of the Saddleback forum as well. On his blog, Southern Seminary President Al Mohler wrote:

Suffice it to say that I was not very hopeful about the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency held at the California megachurch last Saturday night. In the first place, I am not really comfortable with the idea of hosting such a politically charged event in a church. No matter how the event is planned and projected, once the event starts it can turn into something far more politically volatile than planned. That is a truth I have learned by hard experience.

Welton Gaddy, another Baptist minister and Executive Director of The Interfaith Alliance, expressed sentiments similar to those of McEntire and Mohler. Gaddy writes:

I approached Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum with much anticipation, but without a clear idea of how he would handle the sensitive issues at the intersection of religion and politics. I believe Pastor Warren set an example of civility that I hope others will follow, but at the same time some of his questions crossed a line that makes this election seem as if we are electing a pastor-in-chief rather than a commander-in-chief.

Meanwhile, Brent Walker - the Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty - offers a different perspective over at Newsweek's ON FAITH religion blog. Walker, an ordained Baptist minister and lawyer writes:

It is good to hear a prominent, evangelical pastor profess his belief in the separation of church and state. I also applaud Rev. Rick Warren's suggestion that separation of church and state does not require a separation of faith and politics. Clearly, there was nothing wrong, as some have suggested, with holding the forum in a church.

Separation of church and state is simply a shorthand expression for the rights guaranteed by Article VI of the Constitution (no religious test for public office) and the First Amendment (no establishment of religion, and no prohibition on the free exercise of religion). What the separation of church and state does not mean is that Americans must - or even should - segregate faith from politics. Nothing in the Constitution or our political culture compels Americans to divorce the moral values born of their religious faith from their decision on which political candidates and policies to support. Answers to questions about a candidate's faith should always be followed up by questions about how that faith will influence governance. Rev. Warren did a pretty good job of doing this throughout the evening.

Southern Baptist layman Charles "Chuck" Colson of the Prison Fellowship ministry seems to concur with Walker. Colson declares that Warren "got Church-State Balance Right." Here is Colson:

Warren stated it exactly right: There's an institutional separation between church and state. But faith and politics deal with the same questions--how we organize our common lives together. And faith's job is to bring moral truth to the exercise of politics.

The forum was a spectacular success. Most believers gained a much better understanding of where the two candidates stand on issues vital to their faith

I absolutely agree with Brent Walker and Rick Warren. Keeping church and state separate does not mean that we need keep faith and politics separate. In our pluralistic democracy, we must understand that religion and politics will mix, must mix and should mix. But we should remember the wise words of Baptist activists for religious liberty like James Dunn who often declared that "mixing politics and religion is inevitable but merging church an state is inexcusable." We should be aware that there exists "A Proper Mix" between religion and politics. Fortunately, that "proper mix" does not require us to "segregate faith from politics" as Walker notes.

I also tend to agree with Welton Gaddy when he notes that some of Rick Warren's questions "crossed a line." The "what does it mean to trust in Christ" question was probably inappropriate for a Presidential forum. However, as Baptist church-state expert Melissa Rogers has noted, "Warren's questions were generally much better than the ones journalists asked at previous candidate forums that were sponsored by religious groups....Generally speaking, those journalists focused on abstract theological questions and rather sensationalistic questions about the candidates' personal religious practices or sins. "

I'll conclude with a great snippet from an op-ed written by Baptist journalist Ruth Ann Dailey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Her op-ed can serve as a response to McEntire's claims. Here is Dailey:

One distraught caller to C-Span after the Saturday night forum objected to its entirety, citing Article VI of the Constitution: "No religious test shall ever be required as qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

Her objection is illogical. Rick Warren is not the government, and he invited, rather than forced, the candidates to appear at his church....There's a considerable distance between a religious test for public office and a voter's inspection of a candidate. As the Rev. Warren said weeks before the event, "I believe in the separation of church and state, but I do not believe in the separation of faith and politics, because faith is simply a worldview, and everybody's got a worldview."

Anguished by the bitter church-state battles of my lifetime, I am grateful for Rick Warren's achievement. From the wall of separation's creation more than 350 years ago to its careful tending Saturday night, the Baptist tradition of the inviolability of the individual conscience has served the nation imperfectly, but well.

Baylor Taps David Garland As Interim President

2008-08-20T09:35:00.001-07:00

From the Baylor University Press Release:

WACO, Texas – Dr. Howard K. Batson, chairman of the Baylor University Board of Regents, announced today the appointment of Dr. David E. Garland as interim president of Baylor University. Garland will succeed Harold R. Cunningham, who has been acting president since July 2008.

Garland is dean of Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, a position he has held since June 1, 2007. He joined the seminary faculty in 1997 as professor of Christian scriptures. He was appointed Truett’s associate dean for academic affairs in 2001, and was named The William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures in 2005. Garland, who will assume the duties of Baylor’s interim president immediately, will serve until a permanent president is named. He also will continue in his role as dean of the seminary.

The appointment comes after consultations with various university groups that focused on the characteristics desired in the individual selected and possible candidates to fill the position of interim president.

“We sought broad participation in this decision and consulted with members of the executive council, deans, executive committee members of the Faculty Senate, alumni, luminaries in Texas Baptist life and members of Baylor’s Board of Regents,” Batson said. “David was a consensus choice who was recognized as an outstanding scholar and able administrator.

“During his tenure as dean, Truett Seminary has recruited remarkably talented faculty and seen its enrollment grow to record levels. With a profound commitment to the integration of both the faith and scholarship elements of Baylor’s mission, Dean Garland embodies the best of vision 2012. He is not seeking this position on a permanent basis but has expressed a willingness to serve Baylor as interim while we move forward with a national search to fill the presidency,” Batson said.

“I am grateful for and humbled by this demonstration of trust by so many within the Baylor family. Our goals are significant and it will take all of us working together to continue our forward momentum. I ask your prayers, encourage your patience, and invite your active participation as we lead Baylor during the months ahead,” Garland said.

Before joining the Truett Seminary faculty in 1997, David Garland served as The Ernest and Mildred Hogan Professor of New Testament and chair of the Biblical Division at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he taught for 21 years.

A magna cum laude graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and U.S. Navy veteran, Garland received his master of divinity and doctoral degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and also completed postgraduate work at Eberhardt-Karls Universität in Tübingen, Germany, and Macquarrie University in Sydney, Australia. He is an elected member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas.

Garland is the author of 13 books (including commentaries on Matthew, Mark, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, and Colossians and Philemon) and more than 50 academic journal articles. His most recent commentary on 1 Corinthians was given an Award of Merit by Christianity Today and was a finalist for the Gold Medallion presented by the Christian Booksellers Association. Two of his other books were awarded a Silver and Gold Medallion respectively. He has also edited four books and currently is the New Testament editor for the revision of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary.

Garland and his wife, Diana, dean of Baylor’s School of Social Work, published Flawed Families of the Bible: How God’s Grace Works through Imperfect Relationships, which was recently translated into Korean. Garland also is working on a commentary on the Gospel of Luke for the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary series for which he is a consulting editor.

In addition to his research, teaching and administrative duties, Garland directed both of Truett Seminary’s self-studies for accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools, from 2000-02 and 2005-07.

“Dr. Garland has many years of experience as a faculty member, both as a dedicated teacher and a respected scholar,” said Dr. Georgia Green, associate dean of the Baylor School of Music and chair of the Faculty Senate. “These faculty credentials combined with his experience as an academic administrator make him an excellent choice for this appointment.”

“I have every confidence David Garland will do an excellent job as interim president,” said Dr. Donald D. Schmeltekopf, Provost Emeritus at Baylor. “At one level, he embodies the very best of Baylor’s tradition of the scholar-teacher. At another level, David understands fully Baylor’s unique challenge to be the top Protestant research university in the country. I know those who care about Baylor will rally to his support.”

“It is encouraging that we have such a fine person in David Garland to serve in this role,’ said Jeff Kilgore, executive vice president and CEO of the Baylor Alumni Association. “As he has done at Truett, I think David should do a fine job continuing to build consensus through a process of inclusion on campus. I look forward to working with him and hope that this appointment is indicative of what’s more to come for the Baylor family.”

In the coming months, Baylor regents will study best practices in presidential searches in anticipation of a national effort to identify Baylor’s next permanent president. The interim president will not be considered a candidate in a broader search for a permanent president.

Here's a link to the Waco Trib story.

Southern Baptist Pastor Caught Plagiarizing

2008-08-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

A Southern Baptist pastor named Dr. Samuel Krouse from California has been caught plagiarizing excerpts from Al Mohler's new book titled Atheism Remix in an op-ed published by the Colusa County Sun Herald. It appears the Southern Baptist pastor must be a reader of Mohler's blog! Large portions of the pastor's op-ed appear to have been lifted directly from Mohler's August 8 entry.

Check that out here at the blog, Friendly Atheist.

A few bloggers have pointed out this rather ironic plagiarized line from Krouse's op-ed:

Then, as now, the task is to articulate, communicate, and defend the Christian faith with intellectual integrity and evangelistic urgency.

HT: Howie Luvzus

Otto Arango v. Baptist General Convention of Texas

2008-08-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Remember the Valley-Gate scandal which has dominated Texas Baptist life for the past two years? If you don't, here's a brief summary from a May, 2007 Baptist Standard article:

Last year, a five-month independent investigation uncovered evidence that 98 percent of the 258 new churches reported by three church planters in the Rio Grande Valley between 1999 and 2005 no longer exist, and some never existed—except on paper. Those churches received more than $1.3 million from the BGCT. The investigative team faulted the BGCT Executive Board staff for poor oversight, uneven management, failure to abide by internal guidelines and misplaced trust.

Otto Arango was one of the three church planters at the center of this independent investigation.

This week, Otto Arango filed a lawsuit against the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Other defendants listed in this lawsuit include David Montoya (aka Spiritual Samurai); Calvary Baptist Church of Mineral Wells, Texas; Palo Pinto Association; David Tamez; Dexton Shores; The River Ministry; Roberto Rodriguez; Primera Iglesia Bautista; Eloy Hernandez; and The Baptist Standard. The suit was filed by Arango's attorney, David Garcia, in Hidalgo County, Texas.

Otto Arango lists libel and slander as his causes of action.

In the 12-page complaint, Arango questions the legitimacy and accuracy of the data and conclusions reached by the attorney conducting the independent investigation on behalf of the BGCT.

Here are a few snippets from the complaint:

Rumors, insinuations and innuendos quickly spread throughout the Baptist community that Plaintiff Arango had allegedly misappropriated funds and had allegedly lied about the number of new churches he had started.

Defendants resorted to actual publication of some of the rumors and insinuations about Plaintiff through its various publications. The Defendant BGCT, through its Baptist Standard publication, printed some of the information about the investigation it had commissioned without confirming the truth of the information, even though the final report indicated that the information provided to the investigative team by the Defendants was unreliable.

The Defendant's knew or in all reasonable probability should have known that because their publication, the Baptist Standard is distributed throughout Texas, the libelous articles about Plaintiff could easily be picked up by secular newspapers. In fact, this is exactly what happened and the Plaintiff's name and the investigation into his alleged misappropriation of church funds soon found its way into the San Antonio Express, the Monitor of McAllen, the Dallas Morning News and other papers...

AND MORE:

Defendants by and through its agents, servants and employees, made certain statements of purported fact that the Plaintiff had stolen and/or improperly used the Defendant BGCT funds, that he had allegedly lied about the number of churches he had formed, and that he had allegedly stolen money from the Defendants. These false and malicious statements have been and continue to be detrimental to Plaintiff's reputation, credibility and integrity as Plaintiff had a history of being an honest individual. Further, these statements were published to the Plaintiff and others in Defendants' publicatiosn such as the Baptist Standard and in its world wie website. These publications were made with malice and a lack of good faith. These defamatory statements have injured the Plaintiff in his business, trade, occupation and/or profession and in his ability to obtain future employment.

The Defendants, by and through its agents servants and employees communicated to others that Plaintiff had stolen funds, had improperly used church funds and had lied about the number of new Hispanic Baptist churches he had started. As a direct and proximate resolut of the publication of the defamatory statements, as stated above, Plaintiff has suffered damages including damages to his reputation as well as to his business, trade, occupation and/or profession which are in excess of the minimum jurisdictional limits of this court. As a result of the wrongful conduct and the acts described herein, Plaintiff has suffered damages as further alleged in this Petition.

And the Damages that Otto Arango is claiming:

Damages that Otto Arango is claiming:

Lost Earnings and Special Damages
"loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity will continue long into future, if not for the balance of Plaintiff's natural life. "
-Past and Future Mental Anguish
-Exemplary (Punitive) Damages
-Attorney's Fees and all other related suit costs

More to come. Just wanted to throw text from the suit online.

For complete coverage of the "Valley Funds Scandal" - see the Baptist Standard archive.

Maintaining Moral Integrity & SBC Bashing

2008-08-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, Baptist ethicist David Gushee penned an op-ed for Associated Baptist Press titled Reflections from BWA: Missing and forgiving, Southern Baptists. In his column, Gushee called on "the Southern Baptist Convention to rejoin the world Baptist family, on humbler terms." Gushee also "called on" us former Southern Baptists to "renounce SBC bashing, and seek the spirit's power to forgive." Here's a snippet from Gushee's lecture to "ex-Southern Baptists":

I hope it is clear that I am sad rather than angry about the SBC split from the BWA, and -- for that matter -- the split between the conservatives who now firmly control the SBC and the moderates and progressives who have largely left it. Most of the time (but not always) I heard sadness rather than anger when the SBC was mentioned in Prague. There were a few presentations still characterized by what felt to me like active hostility toward the SBC.

These all came from Americans, mainly aggrieved former Southern Baptists. I wonder when the anger, hurt, and grief that so many still feel about the SBC will finally run its course. My sad fear is that a generation of wounded “exes” will never get there, and that only their retirement will end their public airing of the hurt and anger that resulted from the SBC controversy. It would be nice if Baptists could (re)learn a radical commitment to Christian forgiveness -- which would mean not that some of us weren’t hurt, but that all of us know that Jesus demands that we forgive.

Bruce Prescott, Executive-Director of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists, responded to Gushee's column with a post titled Unity or Integrity. Here's Prescott:

What David Gushee doesn't realize is that forgiving Southern Baptists for leaving the Baptist World Alliance is relatively easy for many of us. We are constantly praying "father forgive them, they know not what they do." We don't seek the Spirit's power to forgive them, we seek it to forgive the myopia of those, like Gushee, who insist that unity is more important to Baptists than moral integrity.

...Unity on Southern Baptist terms, and those are the only terms by which unity can be achieved, is the last thing that the world needs today. Southern Baptists have completely undermined the integrity of the Baptist witness in the eyes of the world. More than anything else, the world needs to hear that all Baptists are not like Southern Baptists....Today, there is no way to maintain moral integrity as a Baptist without distinguishing yourself from Southern Baptists. That may look like "SBC bashing" to some. To others, it looks like an apology to the world on behalf of Baptists and a call for all Christians to repent.

And today, Robert Parham, Executive-Director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, has weighed in on his discussion.

When the Southern Baptist Convention began the process of defunding the Baptist World Alliance and bore false witness against it, some Southern Baptists, who claimed to support the BWA, were publicly silent. They dared not challenge openly, if at all, the fundamentalist leadership. They engaged in collusion with wrongdoing, and that helped the SBC's abandonment of the Baptist global commons. Some of those same folk now express grief that the SBC isn't part of the BWA. Wanting the SBC to rejoin the BWA, they have the gall to blame the so-called angry, former Southern Baptist moderates, who are near retirement, for being a stumbling block to a reunited Baptist family. They have apparently forgotten what happened only four short years ago.

Moral amnesia is never a virtue. It's always a prerequisite to a weak view of human sinfulness and a wrongful social analysis, which cripples constructive reformation. Moral forgetfulness enables one to erase one's own complicity in the failure to show courage and do the right thing.

And Parham's conclusion:

...Even so, some finger the aging SBC moderates as those who should repent for alleged SBC bashing, which apparently in the minds of some is what keeps the SBC from rejoining the BWA. That is moral rubbish. Free from domineering fundamentalism, the BWA is a stronger, healthier organization today than it has been in years, one that can engage in constructive dialogue and interface with the 21st century realities. This year in Prague global Baptists spoke openly about more inclusive leadership, dialogue with Muslims, the status of Baptists in the West Bank, the situation of the Roma people, global climate change and a host of other timely and touchy topics. That would not have been possible with the SBC in the room

First, it is worth noting that David Gushee has objected to Bruce Prescott's analysis. In the comment thread, Gushee states that he is "not calling for unity at the price of integrity." I usually like Gushee's ABP op-ed's especially his most recent writings on homosexuality. I enjoyed reading his book, The Future of Faith in American Politics. But rarely, if ever, do I find myself in total agreement with Gushee on the subject of the Southern Baptist Convention. Maybe our differences can be most easily explained by the fact that up until making the trek to Mercer University a year or so ago, Gushee was still a self-described "Southern Baptist ethicist." Honestly, I can't really recall the last time that I used the words "Southern Baptist" to describe myself. I suspect I was last a self-described "Southern Baptist" around 1992 when I was baptized, shortly before being shown the door by fundamentalists at First Baptist Soperton, Georgia. Another difference: Gushee describes the events of the 1980s as a "conservative resurgence" while I recognize the Southern Baptist Controversy for what it really was...a fundamentalist takeover - "fundamentalist" being a word that Gushee oddly refuses to use in this context.

I am, however, in complete agreement with Bruce Prescott when he says that "there is no way to maintain moral integrity as a Baptist without distinguishing yourself from Southern Baptists." If doing so qualifies as SBC Bashing, so be it. When having political/theological discussions at the University of Georgia, I ALWAYS had to explain myself to others. Folks I encountered just couldn't understand how I could vote Democrat and be a Baptist. Surely Gushee understands this reality. So, as long as "Baptist" is still synonymous with "Southern Baptist" in the minds of most Christians and non-Christians, I will continue to explain why I don't share Richard Land's politics and Al Mohler's theology. Doing so in positive terms might be a little difficult at times. But my integrity demands explaining to the uninformed what "Being Baptist" means to me and millions like me.

NYC's Riverside Church Selects New Pastor

2008-08-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

According to The New York Times, the search committee of Riverside Church in New York City has unanimously selected the Rev. Dr. Brad R. Braxton to succeed Dr. James Forbes.

Here's a snippet (HT: Melissa Rogers):

Members of the church, which is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches and the United Church of Christ, provided the search committee — which interviewed 65 candidates — with guidance on how to find a new senior minister. But they knew nothing of who would be nominated when they arrived for the 10:45 a.m. service on Sunday. . . .

Cheryle Wills, the chairwoman of the search committee, told the congregation that committee members who saw Dr. Braxton in action described him as “powerful” and “a genius.”

“All of us know that this young man has a vision much larger than ours,” Ms. Wills said after the service. “We want to be on the forefront of change. And not change for the sake of change. But change for the betterment and inclusion of all people.” . . .

Should he be confirmed by the congregation next month, Dr. Braxton, a religious scholar and son of a Baptist pastor from Salem, Va., could be expected to follow the tradition of the five earlier senior ministers of the church in becoming an influential voice in city and national affairs.

Dr. Braxton was not present on Sunday. Reached by telephone, he said he was “honored” by the prospect of becoming part of the church’s “noble legacy.” He said he views his role as both nurturing the spiritual journey of his congregants and speaking to “moral goodness and justice and peace for the diverse peoples of the world and the planet on which we live.”

“Part of what religious communities do in their best moments is to seek after the truth with a sense of humility and a sense of openness for the sake of the common good,” he said. “So I certainly would hope to continue in that marvelous legacy of congregational care internally, and bold, courageous, prophetic action externally, for which the Riverside Church has been known now for so many years.”

Dr. Braxton, who studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, earned a Ph.D. in New Testament studies from Emory University while serving as senior minister for the Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore, according to a biography released by the church. He has most recently been an associate professor at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville.

Michael Westmoreland-White of Levellers offers a few thoughts on this announcement. Here's a snippet from his blog:

Now the search committee has unanimously recommended Rev. Dr. Brad Braxton as the next Senior Pastor. The congregation has yet to confirm the selection. Braxton currently teaches New Testament and Homiletics at Vanderbilt University Divinity School (and Vanderbilt’s Graduate Department of Religion) and previously taught at Wake Forest University Divinity School. The son of a Baptist minister and an ordained National Baptist minister, Braxton had been Senior Pastor at Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore, MD while finishing his Ph.D. in NT at Emory University. He had also studied at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. He is the author of three books and is on the editorial board of The African American Pulpit.

Married to the former Lazetta Rainey, the Braxtons are the proud parents of Karis, a 2 year old daughter.

If elected by the congregation, Braxton, who is 39, is young enough to follow in the tradition of long-serving Senior Ministers at Riverside. (There have only been 5 Senior Ministers to date in Riverside’s history: Harry Emerson Fosdick, Robert McCracken (a Scottish Baptist who had taught theology in Canada), Ernest T. Campbell, William Sloan Coffin, Jr. (a United Church of Christ minister and former chaplain of Yale University), and James Forbes, Jr.) He would be the 2nd African-American Senior Minister in a row and would complement Forbes’ excellence in preaching with a more exegetical style as a biblical scholar. His experience in ecumenical ministry and his Baptist roots would keep Riverside connected to both parts of its history.

Rev. John Killinger Responds

2008-07-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

Back in June, the Rev. John Killinger caused quite a ruckus with his remarks during the THREE workshops which he led at the annual General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

I won't rehash that here. But here is the column by SBC Baptist Press reporter David Roach titled "CBF Presenter Questions Christ's Deity"

A week after Roach's column, James Smith wrote an op-ed for Baptist Press which concluded that "there can be no doubt the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is now un-Christian and un-Baptist."

Three weeks after the original Baptist Press story, Daniel Vestal, Executive-Director of the CBF, responded to Killinger's remarks and James Smith's ridiculous column in this article with the Associated Baptist Press. According to ABP reporter Jim White, Vestal "denounced the theology Killinger expressed" and "regretted allowing Killinger to challenge such christological views at a CBF event." Referring to James Smith's op-ed, Vestal was quoted as saying "for some editors to write and insinuate that we are not Christians is very painful for me."

Shortly after Killinger's remarks were made public Keith Noren, a Baptist layman from Alabama, e-mailed Rev. John Killinger and asked: "Do you in fact 'deny the deity of Christ?'"

A few days ago Killinger responded to Noren's e-mail and gave him permission to post it online.

Here is Killinger's response:

Dear Keith,

Sorry to be slow in responding. We were in Canada for several days and since returning to NY I've been swamped with engagements and assignments.

I'm amazed at the hullaballoo over what I did or didn't say and did or didn't mean at the CBF conference in Memphis. The curious thing is that I have not been asked a single time, except for your e-mail, either at the conference or since returning to NY, what I said or what the context of anything I said actually was. It's almost amusing to see all the church politicians scrambling to score points or defend their goal posts. And it's a bit dismaying to me to see that the people at the top of the CBF ladder are just as touchy about defending their orthodoxy as the old SBC leaders were. I thought CBF stood for Christianity Beyond Fraudulence or something like that.

Without intending any comparison of myself to Jesus, I can imagine that the leaders of the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees scrambled in similar fashion over things Jesus was saying or reported to be saying in Jerusalem.

I'd like to see a full text of what I did actually say at the conference so I could respond more accurately. For some reason, the CBF chose not to post my remarks on the web site. Nor did they post those of my son Eric, who was doing a couple of breakouts on ministers' emotional and spiritual health. I think a lot of the ones who were in my group should have been in his.

As well as I can recall, though, my remarks were in the context of answering a question about biblical literalism and how most Christians have now grown up enough to understand that the Jesus of the synoptic Gospels is different (humbler, less divine, certainly not transcendent) from the Jesus of the Gospel of John, who is clearly pre-existent, omniscient, and transcendent. While I didn't agree with all the decisions of the Jesus Seminar, I applauded the intent of their work, which was to get back as nearly as possible to what were the original teachings of Jesus and what were the additions of the early church for either bureaucratic or propaganda purposes. I myself am committed to knowing and understanding all I can about who the real Jesus was and what he intended for his followers, as opposed to who the church's press-release Jesus became. I happen in my elder years to believe that's very important, and I shall continue to press forward in that direction.

One of the things I've noticed across the years is that many people who crow the loudest about other people's heresies and misdeeds are not themselves very convincing proof that God is love and that his self-proclaimed children are unmistakably chips off the old block.

Thanks for caring and for writing.

God's best, John

BDW: Note that Killinger never actually answered Noren's direct question. I think it's safe to read between the lines.

Pray for Cecil Sherman

2008-07-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mike Ruffin for passing this on.

From Daniel Vestal:

We received word today that Dr. Cecil Sherman, founding coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has been diagnosed with acute leukemia. He is in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, for tests and possible treatment options. His wife, Dot, continues to be in failing health in Richmond. Please join me in prayer for Cecil and Dot as well as their daughter Eugenia Brown during this difficult time.

More Baptist World Alliance Coverage

2008-07-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

Both Robert Parham (EthicsDaily.com) and Tony Cartledge (Campbell University, Baptists Today) have provided excellent coverage of the 2008 gathering of the Baptist World Alliance. Below you'll find snippets from Cartledge's posts on the BWA and the Baptist International Conference on Theological Education (BICTE):

Newsblog: BWA Looks Inward, Outward (7/25)

Read Tony Cartledge's overview coverage of the 2008 BWA Gathering.

What Makes a Baptist? (7/27)

The Prague-blogs continue, now from the seventh Baptist International Conference on Theological Education (BICTE), which got underway Saturday afternoon on the campus of the International Baptist Theological Seminay (IBTS). The stately campus is located in a peaceful setting on a ridge of the Sarka Valley, on the outskirts of Prague.

The opening session sought to look both backward and forward, with Ian Randall of IBTS offering a paper on “Tracing Baptist Theological Footprints over the Past Four Hundred Years.” He was followed by Daniel Carro, an Argentian theologian who currently teaches at the John Leland Center for theological studies, who spoke on “Anticipating Kairos Moments that Await the Baptist Theologian of the 21st Century.”

What makes a good theological education? (7/28)

Dominion or Stewardship? (7/28)

Participants in the seventh Baptist International Conference on Theological Education focused on practical – but often neglected – theological issues during a lengthy morning session July 28. About 135 educators and interested persons are meeting at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, the Czech Republic. Two papers were designed to address ecological issues and a proper understanding of creation. Three others dealt with the rampant exploitation of women and children, serious issues on which churches have largely remained silent.

John Weaver, dean of the theology faculty at Cardiff University in Wales, is trained both as a geologist and a theologian. Addressing the global environmental crisis, he reviewed examples of present and looming ecological catastrophes and advanced a theological position that humans are called to be channels of God’s redemption for the earth as well as humanity.

David Gushee, who writes widely and currently teaches at Mercer University, discussed a paper with the provocative title “Can a Sanctity of Human Life Ethic Ground Christian Ecological Responsibility?” Gushee emphasized that the “sanctity of human life” is a much broader topic than the abortion issue, with which it is most commonly heard. Appreciating the sanctity of human life is something of a two-edged sword, Gushee said, because “the more we elevate the sacredness of humans, the more we downplay the rest of creation.” He called for “a radically reframed approach to God, humanity, and the rest of creation.”

Also check out the following articles and blog posts on the BWA:

Baptist Pastors in West Face Decline and in South poverty (7/27)

(Christianity Today) The biggest problem a pastor faces depends on where the minister is located. That was the message from speakers at the Baptist World Alliance annual conference in Prague last week. For pastors in North America, the greatest challenge is the cultural shift away from Christianity, said David Laubach, the North American presenter at the BWA workgroup about church health and effectiveness.

BWA Meeting in Prague (7/24)

Read the thoughts of Jim Hill, Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Missouri. Hill is also reporting for the Associated Baptist Press while in Prague.

May It Ever Be So (7/24)

Read the thoughts of Campbell University professor Glenn Jonas: "There is a lot of common ground between Muslims and Christians. Let's celebrate what we have in common rather than fight over our differences. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." May God give us the grace and strength to be peacemakers in this violent world!"

Coverage of the Baptist World Alliance

2008-07-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of links to articles on the 2008 annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance held in Prague.

Global Baptists Gather Next Week in Prague with Record of Growth, Organizational Change (7/18)

(EthicsDaily.com) When the Southern Baptist Convention voted in June 2004 to withdraw from and defund the Baptist World Alliance, a tiny body stepped up a month later at the BWA's annual meeting in Seoul, South Korea, with a commitment to help rebuild the world's largest organization of Baptist conventions and fellowships....Despite dire predictions about its future, the BWA has had a record over the past four years of numerical growth and successful change—electing new leadership, responding to a horrific natural disaster, restructuring the organization, and making a commitment to new programming. BWA now has an estimated 157,149 churches and 36,943,113 members, compared to 140,538 churches and 31,459,071 members in October 2004.

Baptist World Alliance Aims for Greater Global Representation (7/21)

(EthicsDaily.com) One of the most important topics at the gathering in Prague, Czech Republic, is the matter of restructuring the BWA...."It has become clear to us that neither the General Council nor the current Executive Committee are able to exercise appropriate quality oversight (governance) for an international mission-oriented ecclesial organism in the 21st century," reads the report from the 18-member committee that included BWA President David Coffey and General Secretary Neville Callam.

Baptist Leader Raises 10 Questions About Ordination (7/22)

(EthicsDaily.com) In a document outlining the three sessions of the Church Leadership Commission, Brian Winslade, commission chair, noted that one Baptist distinctive is egalitarianism expressed in principles such as "priesthood of all believers" and "soul competence." These principles set Baptists apart from other historical Christian communions which held to "systems of ecclesial hierarchy." Yet over the centuries, "most Baptist Unions/Conventions have developed (or adopted) systems of credentialing Ministers that appear similar to other historical denominations," wrote Winslade, national ministries director for the Baptist Union of Australia.

Bangladeshi Baptist Leader Receives Human Rights Award (7/23)

(EthicsDaily.com) Dennis Datta stood at the cutting edge of Baptist moral leadership in 2002, criticizing worldwide Baptists and calling them to support a bold plan to halve global poverty by 2015. The Bangladeshi Baptist leader did so two years before the Baptist World Alliance passed a resolution supporting the Micah Challenge, a campaign to pressure governments to keep their pledges to fund the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. His advocacy came four years before the Baptist Center for Ethics' pastoral letter supporting the Micah Challenge and six years before the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pledged to support that initiative.

BWA Meeting in Prague Begins with Prayer, Praise (7/24)

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP) -- Nearly 400 delegates to the Baptist World Alliance's annual gathering in Prague, Czech Republic, raised their voices in prayer and singing as the July 21-25 meeting began with a rousing worship service. The three-day gathering enables Baptists representing many of the 214 national and regional Baptist groups that make up the BWA to gather for worship, fellowship, study and planning.

Pastors' biggest differ by region, BWA Speakers Say (7/24)

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP) -- Global Baptist pastors' problems are as different as the countries and regions in which they minister, according to speakers at the July 21-24 Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in Prague. Over the past year, the worldwide Baptist umbrella organization's church health and effectiveness workgroup has focused its attention on the health of pastors. Three presenters provided glimpses into the particular difficulties pastors experience in North America, Bulgaria and Chile.

Baptist World Aid Seeks to Become Baptist Hub for Disaster and Develop Initiatives (7/25)

(EthicsDaily.com) BWAid proposed "to coordinate Baptist responses to global poverty by connecting Baptist aid and development agencies around the globe," to act "as a broker to ensure speedy and appropriate responses," to facilitate "coordinated emergency responses to disasters situations" and "to educate and challenge our constituency to live justly and promote change to address global poverty."

BWA Leaders Pledge to Tackle Climate Change, Address Zimbabwe (7/28)

(EthicsDaily.com) Baptist World Alliance leaders repeatedly addressed the issue of climate change last week at their annual gathering in Prague, Czech Republic, even extending deliberations in the final session to strengthen a resolution on the issue....Other adopted resolutions included one on Zimbabwe, in which the BWA general council lamented the events there which "have led to economic crisis, social unrest, political uncertainty, and a deterioration in human rights."

Global Baptists Voice Fear, Call for Positive Dialogue with Muslims (7/28)

(EthicsDaily.com) One U.S. Baptist leader said that it was important for Baptists to respond constructively since some Baptists had made such harmful comments about Islam. Pointing out that Baptists had a rich tradition of living respectfully with others, he offered that Baptists would not compromise their core Christian convictions.

The Lessons of the BWA's Emerging Leaders Network

(texasbaptists.wordpress.com) Blake Killingsworth of Dallas Baptist University shares some his thoughts on the subject. Blake is part of the Baptist World Alliance Emerging Leaders Network, which seeks to encouraged and develop leadership skills among younger Baptists.

David Gushee & Path to Discernment on Homosexuality

2008-07-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

Baptist ethicist and Associated Baptist Press editorial-writer David Gushee recently put out his third article in the past four months on homosexuality.

Gushee's first article was appropriately titled "On homosexuality, can we at least talk about it?"

Gushee stated his purpose for this series up front:

...to begin a dialogue in this column by simply calling for the rudiments of Christian love of neighbor to extend to the homosexual. And the place to begin is in the church -- that community of faith in which we have (reportedly) affirmed that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Gushee called for the following Christian commitments:

-- The complete rejection of still-common forms of speech in which anti-homosexual slurs (“queer,” “fag”) are employed either in jest or in all seriousness
-- The complete rejection of a heart attitude of hatred, loathing, and fear toward homosexuals
-- The complete rejection of any form of bullying directed against homosexuals or those thought to be homosexuals
-- The complete rejection of political demagoguery in which homosexuals are scapegoated for our nation's social ills and used as tools for partisan politics
-- The complete rejection of casual, imprecise and erroneous factual claims about homosexuality in preaching, teaching or private speech, such as, “All homosexuals choose to be that way.”
-- The complete recognition of the full dignity and humanity of the homosexual as a person made in God's image and sacred in God's sight
-- The complete recognition that in any faith community of any size one will find persons wrestling with homosexuality, either in their own lives or the lives of people that they love
-- The complete recognition that when Jesus calls us to love our neighbors, that includes especially our homosexual neighbors, because the more a group is hated, the more they need Christ's love through us

All good commitments. I can't tell you how many times I've "heard" hateful slur terms like "sodomite" used in a certain segment of the Baptist blogosphere...by pastors. But I digress...

Gushee's second article was titled "On homosexuality, whose narrative do we believe?"

Gushee concludes:

The deeper question is posed by the competing narratives presented above. Either homosexual behavior is by definition sinful, or it is not. If it is sinful by definition, then presumably it must be resisted like any other sin. If it is not sinful by definition, then the homosexuality issue is a liberation/justice struggle for a victimized group. Probably the right answer to this question will be very clear to everyone (that is, to 99% of all reasonable Christian human beings) in 100 years, as the proper positions on slavery and Nazism and civil rights and Apartheid are to modern-day Christians. But in real time, right now, it is tearing churches and denominations apart here and around the world.

Now, in his most recent article on homosexuality, The Path to Discernment on Homosexuality, Gushee writes:

I have sought to suggest in a handful of columns in recent months that a rethinking of the church's stance on homosexuality is needed. Reading in the scholarly literature, one sees that some very fine Christian minds are at work on this issue. Moving well beyond old clichés and prejudices, these scholars, many of them quite conservative both methodologically and theologically, are wrestling with the idea that Christians may need to revise centuries-old teaching about homosexuality. Some of these thinkers are concluding that in fact a revision is needed; others are not persuaded. It would be a significant ethical-doctrinal change, though such change is not unprecedented in Christian history (e.g., slavery, segregation, sexism, state killing in the name of Christ, etc.).

And Gushee concludes:

We need a careful, unhurried process of Christian discernment related to scriptural teachings, our theological understanding of homosexuality, and church practices in relation to homosexuals, undertaken by those who are committed unequivocally to every (other) dimension of the classic Christian sexual ethic -- in which sex belongs within marriage (lifetime, exclusive, covenant partnerships), marriage is for life, and the church is a disciplined countercultural community in which these norms are both taught and lived.
The question on the table would be whether Christian homosexuals who live according to these norms should be treated as faithful members of the Christian community.

Gushee promises to continue this much needed conversation in his future columns. If you haven't already, catch up on this important series. The new, nice layout at Associated Baptist Press now allows readers to leave comments. Check that out too.

Also, my theologian friend Michael Westmoreland-White has just completed a 17-part series on homosexuality over at his blog called Levellers. His must-read series is titled GLBT Persons in the Church: A Case for Full Inclusion.

Baylor University Board of Regents Fire President

2008-07-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

According to the Waco Trib, President John Lilley was fired today by the Baylor University Board of Regents. President Lilley was a good friend to Baptist causes like the New Baptist Covenant. This decision from the Regents comes just two weeks after Provost Randall O'Brien announced that he was leaving Baylor to become the President of Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

Follow the WacoTrib for more details.

Here's the Press Release:

And a snippet from Marv Knox of ABP:

GRAPEVINE, Texas (ABP) -- The Baylor University board of regents has fired President John Lilley.

A statement released by the university the morning of July 24 said the board “voted today to begin the search for a new university president.”
The statement cited board chairman Howard Batson as saying the vote “was necessary in order to unite Baylor’s many constituencies and move the university forward in its next period of growth and renewal.”

Lilley’s removal “represents the regents’ acknowledgement of a need for unifying leadership as Baylor strives to achieve its goals under Baylor 2012,” the statement cited Batson as saying, referring to the Texas Baptist school's long-range plan.
The statement did not cite specific reasons for removing Lilley, who has been president since January 2006.
E-mail statement from President John Lilley:

Two and a half years ago I was invited unanimously by the board of regents to come to Baylor. I did not come to Baylor to advance my career. Gerrie (his wife) and I were reluctant but finally were persuaded to come because of the unanimous vote and the promised prayers of the regents...We felt that we could help to heal the wounded hearts left in the wake of the conflict that preceded us. Despite the board’s unanimous vote, it became clear immediately that the Baylor board of regents reflected some of the deepest divisions in the Baylor family...I am proud of the work my colleagues and I have done to bring the Baylor family together and to help the university achieve the ambitious goals set forth in our mission and vision 2012, documented in our annual report just presented to the regents...I deeply regret the action of the board, and I do not believe that it reflects the best interests of Baylor University.

FOR MORE:
Dallas Morning News: Baylor University Fires President John Lilley
Christianity Today: President of Baylor University Fired
Baylor Lariat: Regents Oust President Lilley

Baptist Prof in Ch-St Lawsuit Against KY Baptist Homes

2008-07-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union haved filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of Kentucky taxpayers against Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children. The lawsuit, Pedreira v. Kentucky Baptist Homes For Children Inc., asserts that (from AU press release) "Kentucky Baptist Homes has no right to accept public funding while imposing religious dogma on the children in its programs, and that the Homes' religion-based anti-gay employment policy violates civil rights laws. One of the plaintiffs to this lawsuit is Dr. Paul Simmons - a former professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

From the lawsuit:

Baptist Homes is funded primarily by state and federal tax money. The Commonwealth of Kentucky sends juvenile offenders and other vulnerable youths in state custody to Baptist Homes. Baptist Homes then indoctrinates the children in its religious beliefs by, among other things, pressuring the children to attend Baptist church services, forcing them to say prayers before meals, enrolling them in bible studies, and requiring its employees to act consistently with its religious beliefs...Among the "core" religious values that Baptist Homes inculcates in the youth in its care is a belief that "the homosexual lifestyle is [not] one God intends for the human race."

According to the lawsuit, Baptist Homes in 1998 fired their "exceptional" "valuable" and "very honest and hard working" social worker, Alicia Pedreira, upon learning that Pedreira is a lesbian. The plaintiffs allege that the state's provision of government funding to Baptist Homes violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment for several reasons, including that Baptist Homes was a thoroughly religious institution, that the funding supported religious indoctrination of the youth in Baptist Homes' care, and that the funding was being used to finance staff positions that were filled based on religious criteria. Pedreira, the former employee, alleges that Baptist Homes discriminated against her based on religion in violation of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act by requiring its employees to conform their sexual orientation to Baptist Homes' religious beliefs.

The lawsuit provides numerous examples of public financed religion. On the one hand, Kentucky Based Homes took from Uncle Sam's cookie jar. And on the other hand, they forced the children to attend "mandatory" Baptist church services while consequently denying non-Baptist children the opportunity to attend other religious services. Some children of non-Baptist backgrounds felt that were being "pressured" into "giving up [their] religion." Read more here.

Tomorrow's post will feature a brief survey of where Baptist organizations have historically stood on such issues as government funding of human service activities of pervasively sectarian religious organizations (i.e. Kentucky Baptist Homes). I'll briefly mention the Baptist Joint Committee, the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Buckner International.

Baptist Senator & McCain's BFF Calls For Less Whining

2008-07-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Phil Gramm and I have a couple of things in common.

We both lived in Georgia, 100+ miles south of Atlanta to be precise, for well over a decade.

We both are University of Georgia alums.
-Gramm = Uga I era
-BDW = Uga VI era, RIP

North Campus guys.

I went the Poli Sci route and Gramm became an Econ Ph.D.

We were both Georgia Democrats.

We both left Georgia for Texas.

He's a Baptist. I'm a Baptist.

Gramm is now a top adviser to John McCain - a top economic adviser to John McCain.

During a recent interview with the Washington Times, Gramm - downplaying the idea that our economy is in a recession - declared:

You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession...We have sort of become a nation of whiners, you just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline...We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today."

I'm just wondering whether Gramm has checked the status of his Portfolio lately. My "low risk" Portfolio has been tanking, little by little, each day. It's somewhat unbearable. Up a few Benjamins at close Monday and Down a few months rent by Wednesday. Painful.

So Pardon Me Phil Gramm while I whine and complain just a bit!

And I didn't even lose my home or my job to a crappy economy.

Here's Karen Finney of the DNC:

“What John McCain, George Bush, Phil Gramm just don't understand is that the American people aren't whining about the state of the economy; they are suffering under the weight of it — the weight of eight years of Bush-enomics that John McCain and Phil Gramm have vowed to continue.
“How dare john McCain and his advisers so callously dismiss the challenges the American people face? No wonder voters feel John McCain is out of touch. He and his campaign don't even understand the everyday issues Americans are dealing with.”

Baylor Provost Named President of Carson-Newman

2008-07-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

From Baylor University:

Dr. J. Randall O'Brien, who has served Baylor University for 17 years as a faculty member and administrator, was introduced today as the 22nd President of Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn. For the past three years, O'Brien has served as Baylor's Executive Vice President and Provost. He will leave this position effective Aug. 1.

In his capacity as Baylor's chief academic officer, O'Brien has worked closely with Baylor President John M. Lilley during a period of tremendous progress at Baylor.

"Randall has served Baylor admirably in a variety of positions over a period of nearly two decades," Lilley said. "I have deeply appreciated the important role he has played as Executive Vice President and Provost, overseeing our academic programs and helping to lead the university as we've confronted a variety of opportunities and challenges. Baylor has benefited enormously from Randall's talent and dedication over a number of years, and the university has prospered as a result of his efforts."

"Baylor is flourishing under the leadership of President John Lilley," O'Brien said. "It has been my privilege to serve alongside President Lilley and to work daily to continue our forward progress in every area of university life. By almost every objective measure, Baylor is on a powerful upward trajectory. We are seeing the bold vision of Baylor 2012 come to pass, and the university's prospects for future success couldn't be brighter."

A popular choice of students, O'Brien's academic courses were often oversubscribed, and he has been honored by Baylor students with numerous teaching awards. He also has been active as a scholar, publishing four books and more than 70 scholarly articles. O'Brien also has retained his love for preaching, currently serving as interim pastor of Trinity Baptist Church of San Antonio, while also preaching at conferences, conventions and universities across the United States and abroad.

Currently, Lilley is consulting with officers of the Board of Regents, his Executive Council, the Dean's Council and the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate regarding the choice of an interim appointment to succeed O'Brien. He is expected to make an announcement within the week. In addition, Lilley will be naming a representative search committee to help with the selection of a new Executive Vice President and Provost, and he will launch a national search immediately.

Click here for the Statement from O'Brien.

And the announcement from Carson-Newman.

Moderate Baptist Church Holds Jesse Helms Funeral

2008-07-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

The funeral for North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms - described by NPR as a conservative purist - is being held tomorrow (Tuesday) at Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, a decidedly moderate Baptist congregation. In an article published in Commonweal titled "The Right Hand of God: Jesse Helms's Political Theology," Hayes Barton is described as:

A church where the theology is as moderate and mainstream as its red-brick, tall-steeple architecture.

Hayes Barton is a dually-aligned congregation that list links on its resource page to the national Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, Baptist World Alliance, Smyth & Helwys Publishing, and Acacia Resources (publishing division of EthicsDaily.com). Basically, the only "moderate-related" organization not listed is the Baptist Joint Committee!

The pastor of Hayes Barton Baptist Church is Dr. David Hailey. Before his call to Hayes Barton, Hailey served as pastor of the moderate Highland Hills Baptist Church which is another congregation affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Hayes Barton also has on staff an ordained female. The Rev. Julia Ledford, a Campbell University Divinity School graduate, serves as the Minister of Christian Education at Hayes Barton Baptist Church. Many members of Hayes Barton are also actively involved in the ministries of the organizations listed above.

It's quite interesting that a true political fundamentalist/purist like Helms known best for his utter disdain for "liberals" and his inability to "agree to disagree" chose to remain a faithful member of a moderate Baptist church that understands quite well the importance of "agreeing to disagree" and supports with its time and money organizations that have been characterized by many (if not most) of his fellow conservative cohorts from the Christian Right as liberal at best and not-Christian at worst!

**Read testimonies from long-time Hayes Barton members here. According to this website, Helms served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher prior to his election to the United States Senate.
**Anne Graham Lotz is a former member of Hayes Barton. Lotz stated that she thought it was fitting for a "patriotic man" like Helms to pass away on Independence Day with "an exclamation point on his life."
**Her father, Billy Graham, described his long-time friend Jesse Helms as a "man of consistent conviction to conservative ideals and courage to faithfully serve God and country based on principle, not popularity or politics."

Al Mohler Burns Down Atheist Straw Man

2008-07-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

From Jeffrey Weiss of the Dallas Morning News via the DMN Religion Blog:

"Dr. Albert Mohler, one of the more interesting of Southern Baptist theologians, has a new book upcoming that looks to waste his power on a less-than-robust foe. According to my e-box:

"In his new book, Atheism Remix, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary examines atheism's surge in popularity."

And yes, there's statistical evidence for a "surge" in people saying they're atheists, in the same way that those "ocean in a bottle" desk doo-dads might contain a tsunami. According to last year's Pew Forum survey, the percentage of Americans who say they're atheists has soared all the way to -- wait for it -- 1.6 percent! And a fifth of those say they believe in some kind of god.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

Most Messed Up Quote Of The Week

2008-07-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

From Southern Baptist Scholar Links Spouse Abuse to Wives' Refusal to Submit to Their Husbands:

And husbands on their parts, because they're sinners, now respond to that threat to their authority either by being abusive, which is of course one of the ways men can respond when their authority is challenged--or, more commonly, to become passive, acquiescent, and simply not asserting the leadership they ought to as men in their homes and in churches

-Bruce Ware, Professor of Christian Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

For more check out:

The Strange Sexual Obsessions at Southern Seminary

A Portrait of Inconsistency: Cal Thomas on Obama

2008-06-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Baptist Press - the PR arm of the Southern Baptist Convention - in a not so surprising move decided to run Cal Thomas's much talked about op-ed titled Obama is no Joshua. Baptist Press reprinted this Thomas op-ed with permission from Tribune Media Services.

The gist of Thomas's article is this: Obama ain't a real Christian. He is a false prophet.

Cal concludes that Obama don't know Christ because, during a 2004 interview, Obama stated:

"I'm rooted in the Christian tradition." "I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people."

Here's a snippet from Brother Cal:

Obama can call himself anything he likes, but there is a clear requirement for one to qualify as a Christian and Obama doesn't meet that requirement. One cannot deny central tenets of the Christian faith, including the deity and uniqueness of Christ as the sole mediator between God and Man and be a Christian. Such people do have a label applied to them in Scripture. They are called "false prophets."

Now, let's go back nearly four years ago. President Bush is being interviewed by Charlie Gibson of ABC. Here's the dialogue (video here):

Charlie Gibson: Do we all worship the same God, Christians and Muslims?

President Bush: I think we do. We have different routes of getting to the Almighty.

Charlie Gibson: Do Christians and non-Christians, do Muslims go to heaven in your mind?

President Bush: Yes, they do. We have different routes of getting there.

So what exactly is the difference between Obama and Dubya's view of salvation?

I don't see one.

It's doubtful that President Bush has ditched his pluralism in the past few years. On October 4, 2007, Bush made this comment:

I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God.

Despite Bush's "different routes" view of salvation, Cal Thomas continues to describe George W. as the "most openly evangelical Christian and faithful churchgoer since Jimmy Carter" to hold the office of President of the United States. In responding to Bush's pluralism, Cal Thomas handled Bush with kid gloves. Thomas concludes:

President Bush is wrong - dangerously wrong - in proclaiming that all religions worship the same God.

Thomas doesn't call Bush a "false prophet."

Thomas doesn't declare that Bush is not a Christian.

Instead, Thomas glowingly describes Bush 43 as America's "most openly evangelical Christian" since Jimmy Carter.

Ah, the inconsistencies of fundamentalists.

I guess Cal is still Blinded by Might. Poor fella.

As a PR organization for the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., Baptist Press is always trying to push an agenda. With so many recent articles on Obama's theology, it's quite clear what agenda is being pushed. Where was this type of coverage back in 2004? Why has Baptist Press never highlighted Bush's universalism? Stupid question. We know the answer.

After Bush espoused a little universalism in 2003, Richard Land - the SBC's political guru - gently reminded readers that President Bush is "commander in chief not theologian in chief."

No such reminder from Baptist Press or Richard Land in 2008.

For the sake of consistency (and much more), both BP and Land would do themselves a favor and take a look at the blog of Mainstream Baptist leader Bruce Prescott who wisely observed that "Obama's running for President, not pastor or prophet."

This entire post serves well to buttress the thesis of my Guest Commentary in the July 2008 issue of Baptists Today titled The Consummated Marriage

You get the picture.

"Young" CBFers Issue Open Letter to Cecil Sherman

2008-06-27T12:28:00.001-07:00

Here is the full text version of the Open Letter written about in the ABP article by Vicki Brown titled "Young CBFers, responding to Sherman, call for end to bitter anti-SBC rhetoric." Thus far, I believe I am the only person to post the full text of this document called an Open Letter. It's short and sweet. A few assertions are made but few facts are provided. I don't think a "misguided" analogy qualifies as a "conversation" that is "center stage" much less the focus of who [CBF is ] or what they do."

A group of young leaders within the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship movement has issued the following statement regarding remarks by former CBF Coordinator Cecil Sherman at the 2008 General Assembly:

Open Letter to Dr. Cecil Sherman

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Dear Dr. Sherman,

For your work and ministry, we are sincerely grateful. You helped harness the energy of those who chose to leave the Southern Baptist Convention when certain leaders were ousted through manipulative and unethical means. You helped to create a new family of faith, a new movement now known as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We are grateful for your risk-taking and your leadership.

After receiving recognition for your recently published book last Thursday at the CBF General Assembly in Memphis, Tennessee, you juxtaposed our relatively small amount of pain – where no one was injured or killed – to the six million killed in the Holocaust. In our opinion and the opinions of many others, your analogy was misguided. These words are old rhetoric that we will no longer accept in our midst. The SBC has chosen one path and the CBF another. We no longer have energy to focus on this separation, but rather turn our attention to a suffering world.

Though the wounds of the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC are nothing in comparison to the Holocaust, we recognize those wounds are real. They are also wounds that need healing, and for some the grieving process is not over yet. We respect that and want to allow a place for conversations about our past. Of course remembering what happened will help us avoid repeating mistakes. But we will no longer wish for this conversation to have center stage – nor be the focus of who we are and what we do.

Young Baptist leaders are ready to embrace new opportunities for ministry and discipleship. Remembering the past but not dwelling on it, many Baptist are excited and enthusiastic about ministering with the most neglected people around the world. Some of these most neglected include descendants of those people-groups who were targeted for extermination in the Holocaust.

So with deep respect for your work and sacrifice for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, we invite you to lay down the pain of the past and join us as we focus on a future, bright with possibility.

Respectfully submitted,

David Burroughs, President, Passport, Inc.

Rev. R. Scott Ford, Associate Coordinator for Missions, CBF of Georgia

Rev. Nikki Hardeman, Associate Coordinator for Congregational Life, CBF of Georgia

Jeremy Lewis, Together for Hope Manager, CBF

Rev. Brent McDougal, Coordinator of Alabama CBF

Rev. Christina Whitehouse-Suggs, Associate Coordinator for Congregational Life, CBF South Carolina

Mike Young, Associate Coordinator for Missions, Tennessee CBF

Nancy Pelosi Says: Chet Edwards for VP!

2008-06-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

During a recent and brief interview with Newsweek?, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that United States Representative Chet Edwards (D-TX) of Waco would be an excellent choice as Sen. Barack Obama's running mate. Here's Pelosi:

“Anyone that Barack Obama wants is my choice for vice president,” Pelosi told the interviewer, who appeared to be from Newsweek. “But I do think in the list of considerations there should be somebody from the House of Representatives and Chet Edwards is a person that many of us think would be a good person to be in the mix.”

And the video interview:

I've had the privilege of voting for Chet in the past two elections. Chet is an ardent supporter of church-state separation and one of the strongest supporters of religious liberty in Congress over the past 10+ years. Just a handful of months ago, Chet received the Abner McCall Religious Liberty Award presented by the Baylor University Alumni Association. Also, last year Chet read part of G.W. Truett's "Baptists and Religious Liberty" speech as part of the historic Baptist Unity rally from the steps of the United States Capitol. Chet attends Calvary Baptist Church in Waco.

Texas in Africa offers a few upsides and downsides to Chet as Veep. Check 'em out.

Here's a few of her upsides:

The military LOVES him. Fort Hood re-elected him over and over until Tom DeLay redistricted Edwards away from the base.

He knows defense policy.

He supported the Iraq war, which could help with winning moderates. Extreme anti-war rhetoric won't work in the general election, and Obama knows it, even if the DailyKos crazies don't.

Unlike certain governors of other states whose names keep getting tossed around, there aren't any skeletons in his closet. Edwards is a solid guy.

He's figured out how to beat the Republicans in what should be a solidly Republican district.

Baptist Press and Fred Shuttlesworth

2008-06-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

Last year, I wrote about the atrocious "reporting" of Baptist Press reporter David Roach. His reporting of the New Baptist Covenant in January was almost as horrific. Back in July, Roach made the trek to Washington D.C. to cover the CBF/ABC-USA joint gathering. One of his columns was titled "Why Care about the CBF?" Roach concluded:

With all of the responsibilities I have in life as a husband, pastor, student and employee, it seems like I have enough to occupy my time without worrying about a group of moderate Baptists with which I am not even affiliated. And with all of your responsibilities in life, it may seem at first glance like reading about such a group of moderate Baptists is not the best use of your time.

Apparently his duties as husband/pastor/student weren't too much to keep him from attending and "reporting" on yet another CBF General Assembly.

Instead of providing a thorough overview of the dozens and dozens of workshops held at the General Assembly and trying to present a fair and accurate picture of the CBF, Roach followed around liberal theologian John Killinger on both Thursday and Friday. I have no intention of linking to Roach's drivel. But I must say - after closely reading his coverage of moderate Baptists for the past two years - I've concluded that David Roach is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed version of Roger Moran. Are there any available "research positions" with the Missouri Baptist Laymen's Association these days?

Roger, you've found your successor.

What's most humorous (pathetic?) about Roach's "reporting" are his attempts to get into the heads of those in attendance at the various workshops. During one of the workshops led by Killinger, Roach writes that the audience "seemed fully convinced of his claims." His nickname over at BaptistLife.com is RoachBoy. That may explain things a bit.

I am curious though as to why Baptist Press gave more coverage to some gender-neutral hymn than to keynote speaker Lauran Bethell who is a well known human rights advocate and minister to vitims of sex trafficking?

One of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 20th century was presented an award during the General Assembly. Instead of reporting on Alabama Baptist minister and civil rights icon Fred Shuttlesworth, Roach was busy trying to paint the CBF in a negative light.

I'm not Roachboy and I can't read his mind. Maybe the subjects of racism, civil rights, the need for racial reconciliation and all that jazz just does not interest Roach. Such subjects have definitely not received a plethora of attention from Southern Baptists in recent years.

And some might think what I'm about to say is crossing the line.

Fortunately, this is my blog and not yours.

But, honestly, I'm left wondering - to echo Kanye West post-Katrina - whether Baptist Press Cares About Black People.

Perhaps if they did, they would have recognized Fred Shuttlesworth as an American Hero. They would have recognized Shuttlesworth's achievements in their extensive coverage of the CBF General Assembly. Heck, they covered everything from all uses of inclusive language to a pamphlet on homosexuality at the Baptist Peace Fellowship booth. But no Shuttlesworth.

How does a ceremony honoring one of the most famous and influential Baptist ministers go unnoticed by Baptist Press? I'm sure at least the African-American readers of Baptist Press would have appreciated the coverage. Meanwhile, EthicsDaily.com, Johnny Pierce of Baptists Today, and Marv Knox for the Associated Baptist Press covered Shuttlesworth.

Typical. Shameful.

CBF Keynote Speaker: Jesus is our bridge to Eternal Life

2008-06-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Last year, Lauran Bethell received the Whitsitt Society's Courage Award. This year Bethell was the keynote speaker at the General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

If you're not familiar with Bethell, here is her bio:

Lauran Bethell is an American Baptist Churches USA global ministry consultant based in Prague, Czech Republic, where she helps mentor and facilitate ministry among exploited and abused women and children around the world.

In the late 1980s in Thailand, she helped to launch the New Life Center, which ministered among victims of human trafficking. For 14 years, she directed the center, which gave shelter to as many as 200 women and children at a time. The center became internationally recognized, and in 1995, Bethell was honored by the prime minister of Thailand for her efforts with the center. The center now has two locations and continues to aid at-risk children and women, as well as former prostitutes.

In 2000, Bethell moved to Prague to begin working as a ministry consultant. She has directed two international conferences about ministry with women in prostitution. In 2005, she received the Baptist World Alliance’s Human Rights Award.

And the video of her keynote address:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Meeting in Memphis, Tenn., for the first time in its history, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship focused on the theme of “Embrace the World: Building Bridges” during the 18^th annual General Assembly. Randy Hyde, chair of the Assembly steering committee and pastor of Pulaski Heights Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., welcomed about 2,000 attendees to the first full day of events June 19.

“There is hope springing from the silt of these Delta lands, and people who call themselves ‘Baptists’ are a vital part of that hope,” Hyde said. “Sharing the gospel means breaking barriers, and here on the banks of this great river we have more than our share ... which is why we have built bridges.”

American Baptist human rights advocate Lauran Bethell, who serves in the Netherlands, talked about bridging gaps in relationships as Jesus did with the Samaritan woman at the well. She challenged the Assembly to not become imprisoned by fear of crossing the bridges of culture, morality and gender.

“There are many Christians and … churches who … suffer from the fear,” she said. “It’s a fear of falling and a fear of failing … [or] a fear of the unknown of the other side.”

Bethell spoke specifically about ministry among prostitution and human trafficking victims, asking Fellowship Baptists to pray for victims, learn more about the problem and cross a bridge.

“This is God’s moment. Let’s cross the bridge of fear … risk … devastation … pain,” she said.

CBF General Assembly Pictures and Book Signing

2008-06-19T18:49:00.001-07:00

An unfinished thesis kept me from booking a flight to Memphis. I've actually been finished with the thesis for a couple of weeks now but that didn't allow me enough time to get a flight for cheaper than the cost of three-months rent. So, I've been browsing the pictures online of the General Assembly here. Nothing too exciting. But I did enjoy this t-shirt:

This picture was taken at the Resource fair where BDW Sr. will be signing his new book:

In Search of the New Testament Church: The Baptist Story by C. Douglas Weaver

Dr. Jim West, I believe, is the first to review it. He wrote:

The last substantive history of Baptists was written by Bill Leonard and was titled Baptist Ways: A History. It was a decidedly useful volume, though at points a bit dense and a bit less readable than it otherwise might have been. C. Douglas Weaver's newly published volume definitely does not suffer that shortcoming. It is not only exceptionally well written, it is exceptionally readable. .....

Weaver, in sum, has done simply a brilliant job of reminding us all that Baptists have - in the past - been people of conscience. Whether we remain such, or bow to the pressures of a world which ever more summons us to conformity, is up to us. Get Weaver's book and read it diligently. It will reward you magnificently.

Vestal: CBF Exists to Further Mission of God

2008-06-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

The General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship officially kicked off today at the Memphis/Cook County Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee.

The annual assembly began by commissioning 18 people to global missions service. You can read more about that event here.

Daniel Vestal, Coordinator of the CBF, delivered a message titled "Discerning Together." Here's the text and audio from that address.

And here are a few paragraphs from that keynote:

Discerning the Past: The Providence and Presence of God

1. Perhaps a good place to start would be to remember, rehearse and recite what we have experienced and reflect on the providence and presence of God in our shared story.

This morning Harriet did a remarkable job in reminding us of the past 17 years in CBF
There are times when I can hardly believe what has happened and how God has blessed us.
But let me suggest that discerning needs to reach beyond those 17 years.

2. The reason Cecil Sherman’s book is so important is not that it is just a personal memoir but it is an historical record that chronicles our beginning.

It is, I believe, important for us to acknowledge our roots in order to give thanks to God that, “through many dangers, toils and snares, we have already come.” Some would like to ignore our heritage, others reject it, and still others would like to re-interpret or revise it to fit their own prejudices.
I suggest we embrace it for what it was and is, a mixture of good and bad and then thank God for his providence and presence in it.

3. Why is this important?

Because we cannot discern the present and future without reflecting on the past.
There are some among us who would like to “reproduce the past, i.e. to make CBF into the image of a reorganized SBC.”
There are others among us who would like to forget the past, i.e. to make CBF “exnihilo” as if it had no connection to history or heritage.
There are some who would like CBF to have little or no organizational structure and simply collect and distribute money to institutions with no connectionalism.
There are some who would like for CBF to become an all encompassing denomination giving identity to individuals and congregations.
There are others whose vision for CBF is simply to be a missionary-sending society or to be subsumed into some other Baptist organization.
4. Whatever CBF becomes will be determined by Providence. But my understanding of Providence is that we are asked to make decisions that have real consequences.

*picture courtesy of CBF (www.thefellowship.info)

Fred Shuttlesworth To Be Honored At CBF

2008-06-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Last week, EthicsDaily.com ran an article of mine about Alabama Baptist minister and civil rights icon Rev. Shuttlesworth who is being presented with the Whitsitt Baptist Heritage Society's Courage Award on Thursday, June 19 at 9am in Ballroom E, Memphis/Cook County Convention Center. Here's a snippet from my article:

While not as well known as Martin Luther King Jr., Fred L. Shuttlesworth was the Baptist pastor most responsible for the success of the civil rights movement in the Alabama city known as "Bombingham." Fifty racially motivated bombings between 1947 and 1955 epitomized southern resistance to integration.

Shuttlesworth's biographer, Andrew Manis, recognized the Birmingham minister as the "unsung hero" of the civil rights movement and a "prophet of social justice." Shuttlesworth became an ordained Baptist minister in 1948 and was subsequently the pastor of several Baptist churches in Alabama and Ohio....

As the leader of the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Shuttlesworth was the uncompromising confrontational prophet against the evils of segregation. Even some African-Americans questioned his style, but in the end, they admitted that he was a man of "raw courage" who instigated the "public acts that lit the fire in Birmingham."

This event which is being held during the General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is free and open to any and all - Baptist and non-Baptist alike. I've personally extended an invitation to 25 or so Baptist congregations from the Memphis area, African-American and Anglo. So, here is your invitation:

The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, one of the great heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, is being honored on June 19th at the Memphis/Cook County Convention Center (9 a.m., Ballroom E) by the William H. Whitsitt Baptist Heritage Society. Each year, the society gives a Courage Award to a Baptist who has made a difference for Christ because of his or her courageous faith.

Past recipients include President Jimmy Carter, Rev. John Porter of Birmingham, Molly Marshall of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, and Cecil Sherman, one of the "founders" of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

We are extremely excited to be presenting our Courage Award to Rev. Shuttlesworth this year and we would like to invite you and the members of your congregation to attend.

Our meeting is free of charge; all our welcome. Our meeting is taking place at the site of the annual meeting of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

I personally think the hour with Rev. Shuttlesworth (who will be introduced by Andrew Manis, who has written the definitive biography of him) will be a great experience.

The leaders of our society thought our meeting would be even better if we invited members of Memphis Baptist churches to share this occasion with us.

Please contact me at Doug_Weaver@Baylor.edu if you have any questions. We would love for you and any and everyone from your church to help us honor Rev. Shuttlesworth!!

Blessings,

Doug Weaver, Editor
The Whitsitt Journal

Director of Undergraduate Studies
Associate Professor of Religion
Department of Religion
Baylor University
254-710-7283

Spread the word. Thursday, June 19, 9am, Ballroom E, Memphis/Cook County Convention Center. Remember, it's free. Too often in the past folks see this annual event of the "Whitsitt SOCIETY" advertised and think a membership or ticket is required. Not so.

I'm looking at the list of scheduled CBF workshops that conflict with this one-hour celebration to honor the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. There are some pretty decent workshops scheduled. There are workshops scheduled on all things missional, poverty, mental health, Islam, Film/Discussion on relationships with Jews, Baptist media, and buildinging a distinctively Baptist church.

All great workshops but none compares with a chance to hear one of our nation's most influential civil rights leaders who like my other two heroes, Dr. King and Congressman John Lewis, is a Baptist minister.

Be part of this historic occasion.

"Dr." John Hunt's Diploma Mill Doctorate, Take 2

2008-06-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Since EthicsDaily.com's revealing article on "Dr." Johnny Hunt's academic credentials hit the internets yesterday there has been much response. Now, the Washington Post/Newsweek has picked up the story on their "On Faith" website. Here that is:

New SBC Leader's Dubious Credentials

The story has made it's way over to the Daily Kos as well.

An amateur Christian rapper came to Hunt's rescue and put his thoughts in the form of a rap song in the comment thread of my original post - quite funny. Here's a snippet from Crayzee Joe's rap in honor of his pastor:

You can strip away the titles
Just take 'em if you want
Get back to just callin' him
plain old Johnny Hunt

That's some pretty decent advice from one Southern Baptist.

Another blogger has argued that Hunt and other pastors tempted to describe themselves as "Dr." after receiving a diploma mill doctorate should remember the words of Dr. Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, who after the Flockhart scandal offered these wise words in an article entitled Integrity in Ministry:

Guard your integrity by always being completely honest. Do not pad your resume or reputation with false or inflated accomplishments. The Bible says God hates a proud look and lying tongue (Proverbs 6:17). Be a truth-teller in every area of your life, both in the big things and the little things.

Baptist Women In Ministry (BWIM) Celebrates 25 Years

2008-06-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

In its 25^th year, Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) will be celebrating its historic anniversary during the General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship which is meeting in Memphis. BWIM’s Annual Gathering and 25^th Anniversary Celebration Dinner will be held on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 5pm with music from Kate Campbell. For information about this event and tickets, click here.

Here’s a snippet from BWIM’s “The State of Women in Baptist Life – 2007.” If you’re interested in a brief history of BWIM and the plight of ordained women in Baptist life from the time of Addie Davis’s ordination in 1964 to 2007, be sure to read this new report (here).

Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) in 2008 celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary. Since the 1983 founding of BWIM, the status of women in Baptist life has been through many changes. In some seasons, it has flourished. In other seasons, women’s status in Baptist life has seemed to languish on the vine. In the past twenty-five years, Baptist women have made modest gains in leadership and contributed to the renewal of Baptist life in many sectors. Most notably, Baptist women (and men) committed to the equality of all God’s people have helped reshape and reenvision the church generally, and Baptist churches in particular, as more inclusive, more creative places of worship, spiritual formation, and service.

Baptist women have not made these contributions without struggle. In the last quarter century, they have face opposition, difficulties, and challenges, both from detractors who do not share their vision for ministry and church, and at times, from within their own ranks. Challenges have been numerous and sometimes overwhelming to the organization and to individual women in ministry.

And here are a few notable statistics from that report:

Following the 1964 ordination of Addie Davis, no other woman was ordained until 1971
Between 1971 and 1978 an estimated 59 women were ordained by Southern Baptist churches
By 1986, 232 ordained Southern Baptist women had been identified
By 1993, it was estimated that over 1,000 women had been ordained
According to the BWIM Registry, around 2000 Baptist women in the South have been ordained since 1964.
85 women were ordained in 2005, 49 ordained in 2006 and this past year 73 women were ordained.
The largest number of ordinations took place in Georgia (18), North Carolina (15), Tennessee (13), and Virginia (4). Oh yea, 11 women were ordained in Texas.
In most years over the past two decades, ordinations in North Carolina. North Carolina is home to three moderate Baptist seminaries. Because of Mercer’s McAfee School of Theology, Georgia has been at the top of this list in recent years.

In 1982, women accounted for 10.8% of elected boards of SBC Agencies.
In 2007, that number was 10.5%.
# of Women on Governing Boards: Alliance of Baptists (45%), BGCT Exec. Board (24%), CBF Coordinating Council (38.5%), SBC Executive Committee (8%).
# of women endorsed as Chaplains & Counselors: AB (77 or 52%), BGCT (66 or 15%), CBF (178 or 30%), SBC (215 or 8%)
By 1993 (ten years after founding of BWIM), 51 women were serving as pastors or co-pastors
In 2007 that number had increased to 113 – 75 as pastors and 38 as co-pastors.
As of 2007, Virginia led the way with 18 women pastors or co-pastors. North Carolina was second with 17, Georgia has 13, Texas has 11 and Tennessee with 6 women pastors or co-pastors.
Of the 5,600 churches that affiliate with the BGCT only .196% are have a female pastor or co-pastor and only 5.9% of CBF churches have a female pastor.
In 2005, women accounted for around 21.7% of the student bodies as SBC seminaries (virtually no increase between 1979-2005). 4 of these seminaries have programs designed especially for women. Despite these programs, the numbers of women students enrolled in and graduating from SBC seminaries has dropped in the past 25 years.
With 2,145 students in 14 seminaries, theology schools and Baptist studies programs affiliated with CBF, 825 or 38.5% were women. 40.4% of Spring 2007 graduates at these schools were women.
Among the CBF affiliated schools with the highest percentage of female students: Emory (53%), McAfee (52%), BTSR (52%) and Wake Forest (50 %).
The most female students can be found at Mercer’s McAfee (124) and Baylor’s Truett (118).
Women make up 25.5% of the total faculty teaching in these schools.

In the next couple of days, www.thebigdaddyweave.com will be hosting a few reflections from a young Baptist woman (read: Alexis) who attended both of the BGCT’s inaugural conferences on Baptist Women in Ministry.

SBC President Johnny Hunt's Diploma Mill Doctorate

2008-06-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Robert Parham, Executive-Director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, says newly elected SBC President Johnny Hunt has a "credibility problem."

Parham writes:

Johnny Hunt, pastor of First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga., identifies himself with the title "Dr." and lists two accredited educational institutions on his personal Web site from which he did not receive a doctorate. Yet he is often identified publicly as having degrees—degrees that come from two diploma mills.

On his personal Web site, It's A New Day Ministries, the "internet home of the preaching ministry of Dr. Johnny Hunt," his educational credentials are Gardner-Webb College and the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. No reference is made to the terminal or honorary degree which affords him the prestigious title of "Dr. Johnny Hunt."

You really gotta read the entire article here.

When Hunt speaks at evangelism conferences (including the 2008 Pastor's Conference) across the nation, he is introduced as having received a "Doctorate of Divinity from Immanuel Baptist Theological Seminary" and a "Doctorate of Sacred Laws and Letters from Covington Theological Seminary." But Hunt does not mention these schools on his websites. Why??

Both Covington and Immanuel are both diploma mills.

Parham continues:

One of Hunt's own "sons in the ministry" was forced to resign from the prominent First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach, Fla., in part because of his diploma mill degrees.

Highly recommended to the church by Hunt, Steven Flockhart was forced out "over a controversy involving fabricated education credentials," reported Baptist Press, which noted that the Palm Beach Post had discovered that Flockhart had obtained correspondence degrees from Covington Theological Seminary, "a Georgia school not accredited by any recognized accrediting agency."

I guess FBC Woodstock doesn't care. Even after the Flockhart debacle, Hunt continues to list himself as "Dr. Johnny Hunt" on both FBC Woodstock's website and his own personal website.

Parham concludes:

Two dubious institutions gave the new SBC president a title that he proudly bears. By identifying himself with the "Dr." title, Hunt legitimizes these diploma mills and encourages by example other ministers to take educational shortcuts—shortcuts which deceive churches about the real quality of the academic training of their clergy.

That places the question mark of integrity over the SBC.

Maybe at least a few Southern Baptists out there will take notice of Parham's fine reporting. Instead of attacking the messenger, perhaps those in the SBC and in the Southern Baptist blogosphere (especially the bloggers with real doctorates) will begin to refer to their President as simply Rev. Hunt or Pastor Hunt. With Hunt in the spotlight as President, integrity would demand that Southern Baptists not intentionally deceive the world concerning Hunt's academic credentials. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. And those shortcuts tend to have consequences. See what happened to Flockhart.

VP Candidate Bobby Jindal: Catholic or Baptist??

2008-06-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

If you don't know Bobby Jindal, he's the young, Indian-American, Republican Governor of Louisiana who has been touted as being on John McCain's VP short list. For several months now there has been much speculation that Jindal will be John McCain's choice for the Republican vice presidential nomination. This speculation was given a bit of fuel when Jindal met with McCain at his Arizona home on May 23.

Now here's the story:

According to outgoing SBC President Frank Page, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was "baptized and led to Christ by Tommy French," a well-known Southern Baptist who pastors Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

This is an extremely interesting tidbit considering that based on numerous accounts Jindal remains a rather conservative Catholic.

Jindal is a Catholic convert from Hinduism. When Jindal was elected Governor of Louisiana in 2007 Catholic Online ran an article that described Jindal as a "pro-life Catholic" who became an active Catholic during his time as a student at Oxford University. Jindal has also been very outspoken about his Catholic faith. In a 1996 article on his Catholic faith, Jindal wrote:

"The same Catholic Church which infallibly determined the canon of the Bible must be trusted to interpret her handiwork; the alternative is to trust individual Christians, burdened with, as Calvin termed it, their 'utterly depraved' minds, to overcome their tendency to rationalize, their selfish desires, and other effects of original sin...The choice is between Catholicism's authoritative Magisterium and subjective interpretation which leads to anarchy and heresy."

During Jindal's campaign to be Governor, the Democratic Party attacked Jindal and his theology in a tv ad. Here is a description of that ad from the Washington Post:

According to a recent television ad run by the Louisiana Democratic Party, the leading Republican candidate for governor, Bobby Jindal, has "insulted thousands of Louisiana Protestants" by describing their beliefs as "scandalous, depraved, selfish and heretical." Jindal, the attack goes on, "doubts the morals and questions the beliefs of Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Pentecostals and other Protestant religions."

So, is Bobby Jindal still a practicing Catholic? A Protestant? If Protestant, is he now attending a Baptist church? If we are to believe outgoing SBC President Frank Page, can we now assume that Gov. Jindal is now a member of Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge? If Jindal has left Rome for life as a Southern Baptist, that's a big news story that has yet to be covered.

Jindal's writings indicate that he was a believer. So, praytell, how was Jindal "led to Christ" by Jindal? So many questions...

With Jindal's name being seriously thrown around as John McCain's possible running mate, it seems that some religion reporter somewhere needs to follow up on this story.

Southern Baptists Called On To Reach Homosexuals

2008-06-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

During the report of the Richard Land's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Bob Stith, the national strategist for gender issues for the Southern Baptist Convention called on Southern Baptist pastors to "reach out to homosexuals."

Follow the Jesus pattern and show 'em some love, says Stith

Here's what Bob Stith actually said:

“We must become known as people of redemption and people who hold out hope and people who offer change...I want us to be driven [by] a passion to reach homosexuals for Christ and not merely driven by a passion to defeat the homosexual agenda...We’re not communicating to our people how they can walk alongside homosexuals and lead them to Christ...Our silence will be a death sentence for many people.”

And how did the ERLC of the Southern Baptist Convention "reach out to homosexuals" in the year 2008?

Well, the ERLC was one of the first religious organizations to vehemently oppose a bill that would have protected homosexuals under current hate crimes law.

If the Southern Baptist Convention was really interested in "reaching out to homosexuals," you'd think their own ERLC wouldn't be so quick to loudly oppose a piece of legislation designed persons who are often victimized by criminals on the basis of their sexuality or "lifestyle" as most SBCers say.

The folks at the ERLC consistently hide behind the argument that hate crimes legislation is a violation of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law by creating a special protected status for a group of people. It seems consistency would demand that the ERLC should also argue that the protection of African-Americans under current hate crimes law is also a violation of the 14th amendment. But the ERLC won't make that argument. It's abundantly clear to any reasonable observer that the ERLC's issue is not with the 14th Amendment but instead with the fact that a piece of goverment legislation wants to protect a group of people dubbed as "sinners" - who rank near the top of the Southern Baptist hierarchy of "sinners."

If Southern Baptists like Bob Stith and the ERLC are actually interested in "reaching out to homosexuals," they would be well-served to first listen to the wise words of Baptist ethicist David Gushee (a former collaborator with Richard Land & the ERLC) and follow the Christian Commitments listed below:

-- The complete rejection of still-common forms of speech in which anti-homosexual slurs (�queer,� �fag�) are employed either in jest or in all seriousness

-- The complete rejection of a heart attitude of hatred, loathing, and fear toward homosexuals

-- The complete rejection of any form of bullying directed against homosexuals or those thought to be homosexuals

-- The complete rejection of political demagoguery in which homosexuals are scapegoated for our nation�s social ills and used as tools for partisan politics

-- The complete rejection of casual, imprecise and erroneous factual claims about homosexuality in preaching, teaching or private speech, such as, �All homosexuals choose to be that way.�

-- The complete recognition of the full dignity and humanity of the homosexual as a person made in God�s image and sacred in God�s sight

-- The complete recognition that in any faith community of any size one will find persons wrestling with homosexuality, either in their own lives or the lives of people that they love

-- The complete recognition that when Jesus calls us to love our neighbors, that includes especially our homosexual neighbors, because the more a group is hated, the more they need Christ�s love through us

There is more to be said. But this is at least a place to start.

Richard Land & Frank Page Do Numa Numa Dance

2008-06-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

Remember Numa Numa, the You-Tube phenomenon from 2005, which mostly notably featured the pudgy Gary Brolsma of New Jersey doing an odd yet hilarious dance to an obscure Romanian song?

Here is the original Numa Numa Dance below which has been viewed by millions:

Now, apparently Sir Richard Land has decided to join in on the Numa Numa fun along with his pal Frank Page. Dick's rendition of the Numa Numa Dance is below:

HT: Tony Kummer of SBC Voices

Motion Made To Boot Broadway Baptist from SBC

2008-06-10T12:54:00.001-07:00

The Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention held in Indianapolis is underway this afternoon and a couple more "conservative" motions were made.

Bill Sanderson from North Carolina moved that Broadway Baptist Church of Ft. Worth would not be in friendly cooperation with the SBC.

AND

A motion was made to require educational institutions receiving Cooperative Program funds to teach creation science as the correct understanding of the origin of life.

In other news, Johnny Hunt of FBC Woodstock, Georgia was elected President of the SBC on the first ballot with 52.94.

FBC Woodstock was named the 30th most influential church in America by the Church Report in 2007. According to one blog, Hunt endorsed Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee from the pulpit of FBC Woodstock on the Sunday before the Georgia Presidential Primary. You can read about that here.

UPDATED: The motion to boot Broadway was approved for consideration for report back to the 2009 annual meeting. See Baptist Press.

SBC Motion To Oust Churches w/ Female Pastors

2008-06-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

The Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention held in Indianapolis kicked off this morning.

Thus far, two interesting motions have been presented.

On the one hand, a messenger moved to change the SBC Constitution "to state that churches which have female senior pastors are not in friendly cooperation with the convention."

And on the other hand, a messenger moved that the Executive Committee re-evaluate the SBC's relationship with the Baptist World Alliance

More Later.

John McCain On America as a Christian Nation

2008-06-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

John McCain sez:

The Constitution Established the United States as a Christian Nation.

And this man wants to be our next President?

Apparently McCain is not familiar with the religion clauses of the First Amendment....

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”
If I were John McCain, I'd steer clear of any religion-related questions. In addition to being a first class doufas on what the Constitution says and doesn't say, McCain seems very uncomfortable talking about his own faith. Too bad he's trying desperately to woo the constituencies of the Religious Right. Not sure if he can succeed on that front.

HT: Mainstream Baptist & Levellers

James Dunn & Soul Freedom: A Thesis

2008-06-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

My thesis is finally complete, all 159 pages! I'm scheduled to defend it at the end of this month.

Here's my short abstract:

James M. Dunn and Soul Freedom:

A Paradigm for Baptist Political Engagement in the Public Arena

In the last half of the twentieth century, James Dunn has been the most aggressive Baptist proponent for religious liberty in the United States. As the leader of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Dunn’s understanding of church-state separation was a battleground in the Southern Baptist Controversy of the 1980s. “Conservative Resurgence” leaders opposed Dunn and the Southern Baptist Convention eventually withdrew from the BJC.

This thesis analyzes the public career of James Dunn, especially his views on religious liberty. Dunn embodied and articulated a paradigm for Baptist political engagement in the public arena which was based upon the concept of soul freedom: voluntary uncoerced faith and an unfettered individual conscience before God. Dunn defended soul freedom as the historic Baptist basis of religious liberty against critics whom he believed had forfeited their Baptist identity by aligning with the Religious Right and its rejection of church-state separation.

The Spiritual Samurai Exits The Baptist Blogosphere

2008-06-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

David Montoya, a Texas Baptist blogger, who goes by the name Spiritual Samurai has officially made his exit from the blogosphere. You can read his terse goodbye here.

On behalf of those who also think the blog world is no place for lies and libel - I say Good Riddance.

Study Shows GOP & SBC Marriage Consummated

2008-05-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

A recent study conducted in April by Lifeway Research found that a whopping 80% of Southern Baptist pastors plan to cast their vote for Republican nominee John McCain in November!

1% of Southern Baptist pastors prefer Obama

AND

O%, yes ZERO percent, of Southern Baptist pastors support Hillary.

Back in 1998 during an interview with the New York Times, Richard Land - perhaps the most visible Southern Baptist leader over the past 20 years - said this about the relationship between the Religious Right and the Republican Party:

“No more engagement. We want a wedding ring, we want a ceremony, we want a consummation of the marriage.”

10 years later, it's clear that Dick got what he so desperately desired.

Lifeway Research has clearly revealed that the marriage has been consummated.

The Wedding Bells Done Rung. The Honeymoon is Over.

Apparently not many Southern Baptist pastors remember the wise words of the late Carl F. Henry, a hero to men like Al Mohler, who often declared that there exists "no direct route from the Bible to the Ballot Box."

Speaking To But Not For - Though Not In N. Carolina

2008-05-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

Baptists have always claimed that one Baptist can not speak for other Baptists.

Thus, Baptists engaged in public policy have always operated by the following motto:

Speaking To But Not For

Baptists like James Dunn and Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee and Baptists like the late Phil Strickland and Suzii Paynter of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission have never presumed to be the official spokesmen of locally autonomous Baptist congregations. When testifying before legislative committees in Austin or Washington D.C., these Baptists have always been careful to point out that they speak only for themselves.

Hence, the motto "Speaking To But Not For"

No one Baptist speaks for another. The very distinctive that makes us Baptist is called ‘freedom of conscience,’ ‘soul freedom,’ ‘voluntarism’ or ‘the priesthood of the believer. Each of these expressions suggests that as individuals we stand free and therefore responsible before God for our own beliefs. Back in 1971, James Dunn summed up this baptistic idea:

No one group can be the conscience of Baptists. But because we care, we may stir the consciences of those who share a common calling in Jesus Christ. No one report can bring conviction concerning moral imperatives in a confused and confusing social order. Yet, God’s Holy Spirit can and does work through weak instruments to speak a prophetic word, to challenge injustice, to call for advance and to apply a biblical faith to all areas of life.

Unfortunately, the Council on Christian Life and Public Affairs of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina has decided to completely trash the historic Baptist belief that "No One Baptist Speaks For Another." Check out this story. A snippet below:

The Council on Christian Life and Public Affairs announced its intention to move from a committee that speaks "to" Baptists to a committee that engages policy makers in the public forum and speaks "for" Baptists.

Ron Varner, pastor of Falling Creek Baptist Church in Goldsboro, reported for the Council on Christian Life and Public Affairs and said he regretted that he is near the end of his term on the council, because "it's just starting to get good."
"We're talking about a shift from just talking 'to' North Carolina Baptists, to talking 'for' North Carolina Baptists in the public forum," he said.

Sadly, the Baptist ideal of The Unfettered Conscience is no more in North Carolina.

The state best known for its rich Genealogy of Dissent has indeed changed dramatically in recent decades.

Apparently the Council plans in the upcoming weeks to take various conservative political positions FOR North Carolina Baptists. The Council even plans to hold a public forum on "what Charles Spurgeon could teach 21st century Baptists on politics." I got $50 that says the forum will forget to mention that Charles Haddon Spurgeon was one of the most vocal and influential British Baptist peacemakers of the nineteenth century...

typed by Alexis

BDW Out of Commission

2008-05-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Aaron would like his friends and readers to know that he will be taking a hiatus from blogging (as he can no longer type). Earlier this evening, a suburban driven by two Baylor students ran a stop sign and hit his car at high speed, totalling it.

After 5 hours at the ER, and numerous x-rays and CT scans, Aaron is now home with a broken left wrist, a strained back, bruises, and a concussion.

His greyhound, Rudy, the lone passenger in the car, is spending the night in the hospital, with minor injuries.

More later.

-Alexis

David Currie - One Rancher Who Makes Sense

2008-05-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

David Currie, Executive Director of Texas Baptists Committed, has a punchy column that just came out.

TWO KEY ISSUES: SUPPORTING THE BGCT AND OPPOSING FUNDAMENTALISM

In his Rancher's Rumblings column, Currie addresses a few criticisms of Texas Baptists Committed. Currie explains that TBC has worked closely with the BGCT in recent years to "encourage the election of officers who represent every facet of Baptist life." Looking at the list of recent elected officers of the BGCT, I'd say that Currie's TBC has been quite successful. In addition to white men, TBC has helped elect African-Americans, Hispanics and women.

Currie writes:

I do not believe that Texas Baptists could have had better leadership these past 5 years. TBC endorsed these people because we knew that they loved and supported the BGCT and, especially, because we knew that they opposed Fundamentalist control of the BGCT. Our endorsement never involved any consideration of whether they supported the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or the Southern Baptist Convention with their national mission dollars. That was – and is – irrelevant. Instead, their support of the BGCT and their opposition to Fundamentalism were the keys to receiving TBC’s endorsement.
But I hear loudly the cry that TBC is “picking the officers” and that we need an “open” convention. Well, personally, an open convention is fine with me. However, I’ve never felt that the convention was “closed.” It’s just that candidates for any office of any organization rarely spring from “the floor.” They are usually put forward by some individual or group well before the meeting. In BGCT life, TBC has been uniquely positioned to recommend candidates for office, because TBC is made up of people who have taken the time and effort to become informed about, and involved in, BGCT life.

There are those who desire to see Texas Baptists Committee refrain from endorsing candidates.
If this is to happen, Currie has a few thoughts:

There seem to be two very powerful fears in play here. Persons who have worked closely with TBC over the past 20 years – and given time, energy, prayers, money, and faithful attendance to the BGCT annual meeting each year – FEAR that, if TBC is not actively involved in endorsing officers for the convention, the convention might elect SBC supporters who would lead the BGCT down the path to Fundamentalist control. They FEAR, too, the election of those who – while not overtly supporting the SBC – might attempt to “work with” the SBC’s Fundamentalist leadership, blindly trusting them while ignoring the historic Fundamentalist commitment to control, not cooperation.

On the other hand, persons who have maintained a strong relationship with the BGCT, but – for historic or personal reasons – have continued to support SBC missions and ministries, FEAR that they are not fully accepted in BGCT life because they do not support CBF and are still funding many SBC ministries (and even institutions).

Well, I think I have come up with a simple, fair way to ease the fears of everyone concerned. Here is my solution.

I recommend that anyone who runs for office in the Baptist General Convention of Texas begin by making clear to Texas Baptists first, that he or she loves and supports the mission, ministry, and institutions of the BGCT; and second, that he or she opposes SBC-style Fundamentalist control. They can give their mission money where they want to give it, but they must publicly commit to firmly opposing Fundamentalism in any form. That is only fair and right. People have a right to know where these candidates stand on Fundamentalism.

The BGCT should be a “big tent” convention that offers a place at the table for churches that support CBF missions, SBC missions, or both. Support of CBF or SBC is not – and should not be – an issue in the BGCT. We have worked hard to protect local church autonomy and protect every local church’s right to give cooperatively as it chooses, in whatever percentage it chooses.

The reality is that there should be no Fundamentalists remaining in the BGCT. Frankly, if you are a Fundamentalist, there is a convention that was created just for you – the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. That is where you belong, and you should join it with our blessing. You can leave the BGCT, and there will be no hard feelings on our part.

Today’s BGCT should be made up of churches and people who oppose creedalism in any form or fashion, and support freedom for our institutions and ministries, and a shared vision of ministry and mission together as Texas Baptists.

So, if you feel led to run for office in the BGCT, and someone is willing to nominate and support you, I encourage you to run and let the people decide. However, I want to repeat that this encouragement comes with one qualifier attached. As you run, be sure to first clearly affirm to Texas Baptists that you love, support, and believe in the Baptist General Convention of Texas just as she is – a convention focused on including all who want to partner together to spread the Kingdom of God, free from Fundamentalist control.

We cannot afford to pretend that the past 30 years of division in Baptist life did not happen, and we must not revisit, or stumble blindly into, old battles that take our focus away from the work of the Kingdom. So we must know where our officers stand on support of the BGCT and opposition to Fundamentalism.

Supporting CBF or the SBC is not now and never has been the issue; supporting the BGCT as a free and faithful state convention is very much the issue.

Whosoever will serve, step forward.

Candidates who run for office in the BGCT must make clear that he or she opposes SBC-style Fundamentalist control. Candidates must oppose creedalism in any form or fashion. A litmus test for freedom is one litmus test that I can support.

Currie's Ramblings make more sense than any other BGCT-related blog post that I've read in the past year.

We're free and faithful Baptists for a reason. For us, it's Grace not Law, Christ not Creed. Cooperation not Control. And most importantly freedom not conformity.

David Currie is one Rancher who makes sense...

BDW Quoted In Blogs Become Baptist Battleground

2008-05-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

Blogs Become Baptist Battlegrounds by Rob Marus of ABP is the second of two articles published today that quote The Big Daddy Weave. Marus quotes Ben Cole and I throughout the article. Check out a few snippets below:

WASHINGTON (ABP)—One classic joke about Baptists is that wherever two or three are gathered, there are four opinions among them. The same can be said of bloggers, and Baptists seem to have taken to blogs with particular gusto, on both the institutional and individual levels. But as a democratically governed and notoriously fractious bunch, blogging Baptists also seem to have put a new virtual twist on the time-honored tradition of contentious business meetings.

And here's me:

“Historically, we Baptists have been dissenters,” said Aaron Weaver, a graduate student at Baylor University who operates the the Big Daddy Weave blog. “The blog is merely a new medium … Baptists use to dissent when dissent is necessary. In some ways, blogs are a form of congregationalism.”

And me again:

“The format of the blogosphere disallows coercion tactics that have been employed in the past by dictatorial church leaders,” he said. “The blog medium serves as a safe haven for those who feel that public dissent is their only option.”

Both Cole and Weaver agreed blogs can lend themselves to nastiness. But, they warned, don’t throw the baby out with the proverbial bath water.

The medium is neutral
“Blogs are not inherently bad,” Weaver said. “Negative and destructive blogs are a reflection of the blogger—not the blogosphere. I suppose anonymity can lead to people being dishonest. But if honesty is an issue, it is an issue of character and not the medium of blogging itself.”

Marus concludes his article with a most excellent quote from Ben Cole:

“Quite frankly, those who lament the ‘unhealthy’ and ‘un-Christian’ character of blogging must have been ridiculously blind or purposefully naïve for the last 400 years of Baptist bickering,” he said. “That some of the current SBC leadership weep and wail over blogging, and gather round like huddled martyrs, and yet they were the selfsame provocateurs of the fundamentalist juggernaut would be laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic.” Cole concluded: “Would Christ blog about the malfeasance run amok in Baptist life? Probably not. Neither would he sit quietly and cover the backsides of the worst denominational offenders, as some of our convention trustees seem content to do.”

BDW Quoted In Blogging Baptists by John Hall

2008-05-09T23:55:00.000-07:00

Blogging Baptists by John Hall is the first of two articles published today that quoted yours truly.

Hall writes,

For some people, blogs are like a family reunion where people barely know each other. There’s a lot of talking going on, but there’s little agreement on much of anything. But for many of the increasing number of Baptist bloggers, that’s the beauty of it....

The blogosphere is the world’s online dinner table, where people from all perspectives can share their thoughts and opinions on what is going on in their lives and the world around them.

And here's me:

Aaron Weaver, a Baylor graduate student who blogs at www.thebigdaddyweave.com, uses his blog to stay informed of Baptist issues related to politics, but he also advocates what he calls Baptist distinctives. He believes blogging is a way to connect with younger generations.

“For the most part, the young Baptists that I know don’t read Baptist publications. They don’t read denominational newspapers. But they do read blogs; they like blogs. Many even have blogs of their own. They are exchanging ideas with each other, and they are willing to read blogs from other Baptists of all ages,” Weaver said.

“Their blogging is definitely not limited to Baptist or even religious subjects, but some young Baptists are thinking and writing about topics of interest to other Baptists. It is my hope that more younger Baptists will discover the Baptist blogosphere and become more interested in our distinctives, history and the future of Baptists.

“In our increasingly pluralistic, post-modern, post-denominational world, what is the future of Baptists? That is a question which Baptists—young and old—should be dialoging about. The Baptist blogosphere is the perfect place in which to have that much-needed conversation.”

I enjoyed the article and appreciate being asked for input. However, I do differ a little with Professor Amanda Sturgill of Baylor University who is also quoted in Hall's article.

Amanda Sturgill, a journalism professor at Baylor University, blogs on media and religious issues at aejrmig.blogspot.com. She believes Baptists, in particular, blog for two reasons—they are family-oriented, creating a desire to share their family lives with others, and as evangelicals, they believe they have something important to add to the global conversation.

Baptists may be supplying information and perspectives that Internet surfers are wanting, Sturgill noted. Research indicates 25 percent of web users have looked for religious information on the Internet.

“People from evangelical faiths have classically seen new media technologies as being a great witnessing tool—allowing believers to reach all the world in an expeditious manner. This has been true for everything from print to the World Wide Web. It’s no accident that Gutenberg’s first product was a Bible. But usually it doesn’t live up to hopes. There is Christian broadcasting, but mostly existing Christians watch and listen, for example,” Sturgill said.

I think it's safe to say that Dr. Sturgill is a newbie to the Baptist Blogosphere. The Baptist blogs that I've read for the past 2 years are focused on Baptist-related issues - theology and politics - not family. And while there are Baptist blogs that serve as a sort of "witnessing tool" - most do not. This article points to reasons why Baptists blog.

Danny Aikin: Terrified That Bill Leonard Is A Prophet

2008-05-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a snippet from the article written by Norman James in the Biblical Recorder:

While the BFM 2000 is sufficient to him, "for some of us, it isn't," he said. "We have some inner family squabbles that are distracting us from focusing on the real enemy, which is satan, sin, hell and evil. Instead we're fighting among ourselves. I'm terrified that we're going to make Bill Leonard a prophet."

Leonard, dean and professor at Wake Forest University Divinity School and a former professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., famously predicted two decades ago that while the "fundamentalists" now have control of the Convention, "let's see if they can run it. " He predicted they could not because it is the nature of fundamentalism to fight, if not with outside enemies, then within their own family.

Back in 1993, Bill Leonard wrote:

Bringing Reformed theology back into mainstream SBC life may be a battle which will make the fundamentalist-moderate confrontation seem like a minor skirmish. A great many very conservative Southern Baptists are shocked when they learn that the founders believed that only an elect group of sinners, chosen before the foundation of the world will be saved.

Given Southern Baptist's love of a good Throw Down, I'd say that Leonard's words from '93 may still prove to be prophetic as well. See the upcoming John 3:16 Conference.

As a side note, you'll notice in the Biblical Recorder article that Danny Aikin had this to say about the CBF:

He said the "conservative resurgence" has kept the SBC from "being worse off than we are," and that evidence is found in tracking the record of churches affiliated with the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which, he said, "is horrible."

"Ours is bad," he said. "Theirs is horrible."

While Akin expressed appreciation for current CBF leadership he is wary that the next generation has a different agenda that will lead CBF away from its current commitments.

Why is it that the Head Honchos in the Southern Baptist Convention consistently demonstrate a rather peculiar obsession with the CBF? Insecurity? Must be something in the DNA of a fundamentalist...

the big daddy weave

We've Moved

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Jon Meacham Just Doesn't Get Religion

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Council of Baptist Pastors Push Detroit Loan Deal

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Georgia Baptists To Oust Women Pastors, FBC Decatur

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SBC Ethics Guru Dick Land Goes Anti-Vasectomy

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Faith & Politics of Young Adults in 2008 Election

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John McCain's Vision for America....or Lack Thereof

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Battle of the *Baptist* Universities: Baylor vs. Wake Forest

James Dunn as Neglected Theologian

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Baylor Taps David Garland As Interim President

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Baylor University Board of Regents Fire President

Baptist Prof in Ch-St Lawsuit Against KY Baptist Homes

Baptist Senator & McCain's BFF Calls For Less Whining

Baylor Provost Named President of Carson-Newman

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Al Mohler Burns Down Atheist Straw Man

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A Portrait of Inconsistency: Cal Thomas on Obama

"Young" CBFers Issue Open Letter to Cecil Sherman

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Baptist Press and Fred Shuttlesworth

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Fred Shuttlesworth To Be Honored At CBF

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Baptist Women In Ministry (BWIM) Celebrates 25 Years

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VP Candidate Bobby Jindal: Catholic or Baptist??

Southern Baptists Called On To Reach Homosexuals

Richard Land & Frank Page Do Numa Numa Dance

Motion Made To Boot Broadway Baptist from SBC

SBC Motion To Oust Churches w/ Female Pastors

John McCain On America as a Christian Nation

James Dunn & Soul Freedom: A Thesis

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