- texanonline.net

August 20, 2014 • ISSUE 35
In Grand Saline, a town once characterized by
violent and racially motivated crimes and a town still
plagued by ethnic tensions, one church decided to
make a bold move toward healing in its community
by hiring an African-American interim pastor to
lead their mostly white congregation. Knowing it
would be the “talk of the town,” the church pressed
on, certain of the Lord’s leading and hopeful for
community-wide restoration.
WILL HOUSTON
PETITIONS TO PUT
NON-DISCRIMINATION
MEASURE TO A VOTE,
BE VALIDATED?
NO COST, ONLINE
OPTIONS AVAILABLE
FOR FALL EDUCATION
Gary Ledbetter
Why should churches
look like heaven?
T
his issue of our digital magazine
highlights a couple of churches
making intentional moves toward
greater multicultural fellowship,
both within a congregation and between
congregations. It sounds elementary, but such
efforts have a lot of moving parts, just as the
people involved have a lot of moving parts.
Perhaps this is well-illustrated as the nation
watches the St. Louis-area community of
Ferguson torture itself nearly to death over
racial disharmony. I know there have been a
series of provocations in this story, but the
misunderstanding between communities is
at the root of this sprawling event. I mention
Ferguson because here we see in an extreme
form the pattern of race relations in our nation.
For a while it seems like we understand each
other better than we do, and then something
happens that highlights our differences in
assumptions, expectations and experience.
Any simple explanations of the unrest in
Ferguson—and there have been many—are
reductionist and useless. In the same way,
any simple explanation of misunderstandings
between neighboring people groups elude us.
Among people of good will and great
similarities—Christian folk—there is still a
great diversity of style, language, culture and
experiences. And these things sometimes divide
us. In America we have the luxury of indulging
that diversity; here in Texas I get to choose
from among a variety of churches within 10
minutes of my home. If I prefer contemporary
or traditional or gospel or Tejano music on
Sunday morning, those options are right at
hand. I can also pick from different preaching
styles and doctrinal emphases just among the
SBTC churches close to my home. These options
give me the ability to worship with just the
folks I prefer and in just the style I prefer. That
privilege is rare in history and rare in the world.
Perhaps it’s something that even we Texans
should not take for granted.
Twenty-five years ago, I lived in one Midwestern town in a
metro area of over a million but with exactly one Southern
Baptist church within a 10-minute radius of my home.
Expanding the circle to 20 minutes garnered two more small
and struggling churches. I worshipped with the folks who
were there and in the style of their tradition.
Other places in our country have fewer even evangelical
churches sprinkled across the map. In Russia, a country
with a long Christian heritage, we walked and rode busses
for nearly two hours to get to the only Baptist church in
a city of 2 million. Many of the Orthodox churches we
walked past were closed, by the way. Some of you could tell
similar stories in places where you’ve lived. Will hardships
narrow our choices and eventually drive us to worship with
people we don’t understand as well? It’s happened to other
believers, and we can’t assume it won’t happen here.
There’s another thing that has helped believers in
other nations look past ethnic and cultural preferences—
persecution. In the past five years, I’ve heard more talk
about persecution in the U.S. from serious people than
in the previous 20 years. Perhaps more disturbing is that
serious people less sympathetic with Christianity are
suggesting limitations to religious liberty. We can now
imagine a day when some churches will be taxed out of
existence, when pastors will be penalized for preaching an
unpopular gospel, and when believers will be more focused
on what we have in common than on what we don’t. Is
persecution what it will take for us to sincerely embrace
those we know to be our brothers and sisters?
Our convention’s Look Like Heaven emphasis is not
radical. We’re not suggesting that churches merge but
rather that they fellowship together and find ways
to minister side by side. My mostly Anglo church has
congregations of Black, Hispanic and Asian Southern
Baptists nearly in sight of its parking lot. We share a
community already, a common ministry field. When our
church visits in our own neighborhood, we often find
folks who prefer to speak Spanish or Vietnamese who will
not likely worship with us, even if they are believers. A
dynamic partnership with our sister churches will assist our
ministries and be a provocative example to the community
we’re trying to reach together with the same gospel.
Of course we know that heaven is going to be filled with
the redeemed of all people. Nothing that formerly divided
us will be worthy of notice in the presence of our Lord. But
Christians begin to experience a taste of heaven in this life
through our fellowship with the Lord and with his people.
Consider what we’re missing if that fellowship is limited
by our own imaginations and background. I just wonder
if there are good things God intends us to experience and
share with the world but that we are missing because we
keep to ourselves. Wouldn’t it be pretty easy to find out?
CONTENTS
ISSUE #35
/////////////////////////////////////////////
3
LifeWay examines
possible sale of
14.5-acre property in
downtown Nashville
LifeWay Christian
Resources has hired
the help of a consulting
agency to explore whether
sale of some or all of its
downtown corporate
offices could be a move of
good stewardship.
3
LifeWay suspends
sale of Driscoll
books
With Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll and
the church he leads, Mars Hill, having
been removed from the Acts 29 church
planting network’s membership,
LifeWay has opted to suspend the sale
of his books for the time being.
7
Panel discussion
new at September
apologetics
conference
Registration is open for the Southern
Baptists of Texas Convention’s Confident
Christianity Conference which will be held
at Fort Worth’s Southcliff Baptist Church,
Sept. 19-20. The annual apologetics
conference, now in its third year, has
evangelism at its core and seeks to equip
Christians to share and defend their faith.
12
COVER
STORY
AfricanAmerican
serves as
interim
pastor in
town scarred
by racial
violence and
KKK activity
The East Texas town
of Grand Saline
was once a hotbed
of racist activity—a
place where AfricanAmericans feared
nightfall for the
violence it might and
did often bring. It
was known as one
of many “Sundown
Towns.” Today,
however, Southern
Baptists of Texas
Convention Church
Planting Associate
Richard Taylor, an
African-American,
serves the town’s
Main Street Baptist
Church as interim
pastor. He calls it
simply “a God thing.”
5
Pastors call foul on
Houston’s handling
of non-discrimination
ordinance petition
A judge has set a Jan. 19 trial date for
Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance (ERO),
continuing suspension of the ordinance that
began with submission of a petition to put
the measure to a city-wide vote. Opponents
of the ordinance, including a large number
of Houston pastors, gathered thousands of
signatures on the petition and submitted
them to the city for validation in July.
10
Registration
open for SWBTS’s
free, online classes
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s
president and first lady will both teach
free, online classes this fall in a continued
effort to make serving local churches a
priority. Paige Patterson will teach a class
on Romans, and his wife Dorothy will teach
Biblical Theology of Womanhood along
with professor Candi Finch. Both classes are
open to students and non-students.
TEXAN Digital is e-published
twice monthly by the Southern
Baptists of Texas Convention,
4500 State Highway 360,
Grapevine, TX 76099-1988.
Jim Richards, Executive Director
Gary Ledbetter, Editor
Keith Collier, Managing Editor
Sharayah Colter, Staff Writer
Russell Lightner, Design & Layout
Stephanie Barksdale, Subscriptions
Contributing Writers
Paul F. South, Mark Coppenger, Matt Queen, Tammi
Reed Ledbetter, Bonnie Pritchett
To contact the TEXAN office, visit texanonline.net/
contact or call toll free 877.953.7282 (SBTC)
Briefly ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
GOLDEN GATE SEMINARY
BUYS NEW CAMPUS,
REQUESTS NAME CHANGE
ABEDINI RECEIVES DEATH THREATS
FROM ISIS MILITANTS BEING HELD
IN SAME PRISON
Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary
has purchased a six-story building with a
ready-to-build lot to house its Southern
California campus. The property includes
more than 700 parking spots and is located
east of Los Angeles near the Ontario International Airport. The seminary hopes to
change its name to Gateway Seminary of
the Southern Baptist Convention.
The situation for Saeed Abedini, being held
in an Iranian prison because of his Christian
faith, has worsened as Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria (ISIS) terrorists being held in the
same prison have now issued death threats
for the pastor.
Click here to read the story from Baptist Press
Click here to read the story from Baptist Press
CLOSING ARGUMENTS CONCLUDE IN TEXAS
ABORTION CASE
Judge Lee Yeakel is expected to rule in about two weeks on a case
challenging abortion restrictions in a law passed last year. If the restrictions are upheld, clinics that do not meet the standard of surgical centers or that have doctors without hospital admitting privileges would
be shut down.
Click there to read the story from The Guardian
VIRGINIA SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGALITY
AWAITS DECISION
The fate of a Virginia same-sex marriage ban deemed unconstitutional July 28 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit depends
upon whether the Supreme Court decides to hear an appeal. Without
Supreme Court intervention, the commonwealth could begin issuing
same-sex marriage licenses Aug. 20.
Click here to read the story from the Washington Post
MOORE, METAXAS AMONG GROUP CALLING
FOR TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF ISIS
More than 50 religious leaders comprise the coalition calling on President Obama to intervene in the “campaign of genocide” the Islamic
State is waging against Christians and religious minorities. Signers of
the petition say they do not glorify war or underestimate its risks but
see the total destruction of the Islamic State as necessary to halt the
deadly attacks.
Click here to read the story from Religion News Service or here to read the story
2 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
LIFEWAY EXAMINES
POSSIBLE SALE OF
14.5-ACRE PROPERTY IN
DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE
LifeWay Christian Resources has hired
the help of a consulting agency to
explore whether sale of some or all of its
downtown corporate offices could be a
move of good stewardship. A Tennessee
newspaper estimates the value of the
property at $80 million. About 1,100
LifeWay employees work at the location.
Click here to read the story from Baptist Press
LIFEWAY SUSPENDS SALE OF DRISCOLL BOOKS
With Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll and the church he leads, Mars Hill, having
been removed from the Acts 29 church planting network’s membership, LifeWay has opted to suspend the sale of his books for the time being. The Acts 29
board said in an Aug. 8 statement that the nature of the accusations against the
pastor are such that it would be “untenable and unhelpful” to keep Driscoll and
Mars Hill in the network.
NEW ENGLAND
COLLEGE PRESIDENT’S
COMMITMENT TO
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
CASTS SCHOOL
INTO CULTURE WAR
PREVIOUSLY AVOIDED
The president of Gordon College
joined a group of religious leaders
in July, calling for an exemption to
federal workplace protections for
homosexual and transgender workers. The president says his decision
was based on the desire to allow
institutions to maintain their right to
“hire for mission.” The college is an
evangelical institution known for being tolerant of opposing ideas and
less conservative than other Christian schools.
Click here to read the story from the
Boston Globe
Click here to read the story from Baptist Press
U.S. NAVY REVERSES BAN OF BIBLES IN BASE
GUEST ROOMS
Two months after removing 3,000 Bibles from its 39 guest lodges, the Navy
has reversed the decision. A letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation
questioning the constitutionality of the placement of religious material in Navy
Guest rooms originally prompted the Navy to remove the Bibles in June. While
the decision has been reversed, the Navy says its religious accommodation policies are “under review.”
Click here to read the story from Religion News Service
MARRY YOUNGER, BAPTISTS ADVISE SINGLES
While the average American male marries
at 29 and the average American woman
at 26.6, according to 2013 Census data,
some Southern Baptists say the wait is not
a good idea. After an original USA Today article, Jon Akin and Andrew Walker
clarified their comments in Baptist Press,
saying the “covenant” view of marriage
makes waiting for financial stability less of
a consideration and that avoiding sexual
temptation is more important and easily
addressed by reducing the wait to marry.
Click here to read the story from Baptist Press
—Briefly section compiled from Baptist Press, other news sources and staff reports
ERLC ANNOUNCES
NEW THINK TANK TO
HELP CHRISTIANS
ADDRESS CULTURAL
ISSUES
Seventy research fellows in four
categories make up a new Research
Institute headed by the Southern
Baptist Convention’s Ethics and
Religious Liberty Commission. The
fellows will help the ERLC generate materials churches can use to
engage cultural and religious liberty
issues.
Click here to read the story from
Baptist Press
AUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 3
4 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
January court date
set for Houston
non-discrimination
ordinance
BOTH SIDES ALLEGE MISCONDUCT WAS
INVOLVED SURROUNDING A PETITION
TO PLACE THE ERO ON NOV. BALLOT.
By Bonnie Pritchett
HOUSTON
A judge has set a Jan. 19 trial date for Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance (ERO), continuing suspension of the ordinance which began
with submission of a petition to put the measure to a city-wide vote.
Opponents of the ordinance, including a large number of Houston
pastors, gathered thousands of signatures on the petition and submitted them to the city for validation in July. They say city officials acted
outside of their charter-defined authority in disqualifying a portion
of the petition’s signatures. City officials have denied the charge and
said petition organizers “came to court with unclean hands.”
At least a dozen attorneys for the city and the lone attorney representing local pastors agreed to January trial date in the 152nd District
Court, Friday (Aug. 15) but not before accusations of wrongdoing were
leveled by both sides during questioning by Judge Robert Schaffer.
“CITY ATTORNEY DAVID FELDMAN DID NOT HAVE THE LEGAL
AUTHORITY TO INTERVENE WITH THE VALIDATION AND ACTED
AS JUDGE, JURY AND EXECUTIONER BY DECLARING 2,750
ENTIRE PETITIONS INVALID DUE TO HIS CLAIM OF TECHNICAL
PROBLEMS,”
—DAVE WELCH
Schaffer, who heard arguments
in the lawsuit against the city by
opponents of the ordinance, will
preside over the jury trial in January.
The lawsuit filed Aug. 5 by representatives of the No UNequal Rights
Coalition alleges the city’s petition
certification process, which resulted
in the disqualification of more than
half the petition pages, was unlawful and indiscriminate. They sought
an injunction to overturn the city’s
invalidation of the petition and to
force a city-wide vote on the ordinance. Attorneys for the city argued
no misconduct occurred on the part
of city officials but charged that
petition circulators were guilty of
wrongdoing.
City officials claim the petition
gathering process was fraught with
irregularities resulting in the disqualifications.
“There are multiple incidences of
fraud and non-compliance,” Geoffrey Harrison, an attorney with Susman Godfrey representing the city,
told the judge.
Religious overtones interjected
into the proceedings and comments
to the media punctuated the battle
over the ordinance which gives
civil rights protection to individuals based on their sexual orientation
and gender identity.
City Attorney David Feldman said
following the hearing that local law
firms were hired to help with the
case and that some offered their
services pro bono. He justified hiring
the additional legal assistance because “we have some pretty powerful opponents.”
“You’re right!” shouted someone
from the crowd of plaintiff’s supporters, most of whom represented
churches working to repeal the
ordinance.
Feldman quipped, “They’re powerful in terms of their relationship
with God.”
AUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 5
Andy Taylor, the attorney representing local pastors and petition organizers, told reporters he was satisfied
with the suspension of the controversial ordinance pending the outcome of a jury trial in January. Taylor
said evidence will reveal the city acted unlawfully in disqualifying thousands of petition pages and the
valid signatures on them.
Andy Taylor, of Andy Taylor and
Associates, was the lone representative arguing for the plaintiffs.
At least 12 attorneys representing
the defendants—the City of Houston, Mayor Annise Parker and City
Secretary Anna Russell—sat across
the table from him and two of his
clients. Looking toward the opposing counsel, Taylor referenced
David meeting Goliath at the start
of the hearing.
Before formal proceedings began,
Schaffer pressed Taylor to justify
an injunction when a trial on the
merits of the case was inevitable.
Taylor argued his clients—Jared
Woodfill, Steven Hotze, F.N. Williams, Sr., and Max Miller—needed
assurances the ordinance would be
suspended while the referendum
dispute remained unsettled. An
injunction would ensure that.
He also argued the plaintiffs
represent all Houston residents
harmed by the city’s actions. The
summary disqualification of petition signatures by the city attorney’s office was not “legally appropriate,” and, therefore, stymied
6 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
the opportunity for Houstonians to
vote on the matter, Taylor said.
He accused Parker of thwarting
efforts to put the issue to a vote
claiming “her agenda is more important than their right to vote.”
Parker, a lesbian who in January travelled to California with her
long-time partner Kathy Hubbard
to get married, has said passage
of the ordinance was personal
because it was about her. LGBT
advocates have rallied in support
of the mayor and the fight for the
ordinance.
Trying the merits of the case
is exactly what Taylor wanted,
as it will determine whether city
administrators, Parker and Feldman in particular, acted outside
the purview of the city charter in
disqualifying more than half of the
petitions.
“The charter is very specific,”
Taylor told Schaffer. “Our legal
case is we did all those things, and
Anna Russell so found we did.”
Opponents of the ordinance circulated petitions calling for a referendum in June. Within 30 days
55,000 signatures were collected,
and 31,000 were pre-verified by
petition organizers and submitted
to the city secretary July 3.
Before petition pages were expunged from consideration, Russell’s office had validated 17,846
out of 19,177 signatures, a 93 percent validation rate and more than
enough to call for a vote on the
ordinance. Feldman’s office, however, reviewed all 5,199 petition
pages for proper submission criteria and found “irregularities” with
2,750 pages. In so doing, Russell
was left roughly 15,000 signatures
to inspect for validation, more than
2,000 shy of the required number
to call a referendum. In a letter
dated Aug. 1 to city council, Russell
stated there were not enough valid
signatures to certify a referendum.
“They have fabricated their entire
case on a house of cards that has
already fallen,” Harrison said of
the petition gathering process.
Plaintiffs argued Feldman did
not have the authority to dismiss
the pages and that Russell’s initial
validation of signatures should
stand. Taylor told the judge he
had evidence showing the criteria Feldman used to dismiss some
pages were not drawn from the city
charter and were inconsistently
applied. He cited one petition page
signed and circulated by Houston
City Councilman Oliver Pennington
that had been dismissed because
the councilman had used his common name, Oliver, and his legal
name, Olin, on the same page.
Taylor also argued the charter
article requiring all petition circulators be city of Houston registered
voters is unconstitutional, citing
U.S. Supreme Court and circuit
court rulings.
Repeal of that mandate alone
would clear thousands of signatures for validation and “catapult
us beyond the required number,” Taylor said.
Among the plaintiffs are pastors, parachurch
leaders and citizens who have opposed the
Equal Rights Ordinance since its introduction
by Parker in April. The ERO, passed by city
council in May, provides civil rights protections to individuals already covered by city,
state and federal law and adds sexual orientation and sexual identity to the list of protected
qualities.
As Taylor began presenting evidence for
his case, Schaffer asked opposing counsel to
meet him in his chambers. Following the brief
recess, Schaffer declared both sides agreed to
a trial on the merits of the case. The ordinance,
which was suspended with the submission of
the petitions, will remain suspended pending
the outcome of the trial.
“We got everything we wanted,” Taylor told
reporters following the hearing.
A win for the plaintiffs in January would put
the matter before the city council which could
then repeal the ordinance or call for a vote
during the next general election in November
2015.
Parker, who was out of town, did not release
a statement on the hearing, but Janice Evans,
chief policy officer and director of communications for the mayor said in an email to the
TEXAN, “The petition validation process was
fair and legal. The plaintiffs simply didn’t
meet the City Charter and Texas Election Code
requirements for a voter referendum. From
the beginning, we have been confident that the
city’s process would be upheld by the courts.
Today’s decisions in two courtrooms are further affirmation of that belief.”
In case of an unfavorable ruling by Schaffer, Taylor had also filed suit in the 14th State
Court of Appeals asking the court require the
city secretary present her initial validation
certification to city council. Justices William
Boyce, Tracy Christopher and Martha Jamison
remanded the case back to the 152nd District
Court.
A press release from the Houston Area Pastors Council, an organization representing
more than 300 area churches and an opponent
of the ordinance, hinted there may be additional legal action to come that could place the
ordinance on the November 2014 ballot.
Panel discussion
new at September
apologetics
conference
By Sharayah Colter
FORT WORTH
Registration is open for the Southern Baptists of Texas
Convention’s Confident Christianity Conference, which
will be held at Fort Worth’s Southcliff Baptist Church,
Sept. 19-20. The annual apologetics conference, now in
its third year, has evangelism at its core and seeks to
equip Christians to share and defend their faith.
Bruno Molina, SBTC ministry associate, says a panel
discussion has been added to this year’s conference to
allow attendees to hear speakers respond to and interact
with questions they submit at registration. The panel
discussion will be held after lunch on Saturday.
Molina says the conference will equip Christians to
understand better what they believe and why they believe it.
“It’s important to love God with all our minds, and it’s
a way of preparing ourselves to share the gospel in what
is fast becoming a post-Christian context,” Molina said.
“This conference is different from just about any other
conference we do because it’s all about getting answers
to questions people don’t typically ask in a Bible study or
life group environment.”
In addition to the panel discussion, workshops and
keynote addresses, Christian apologist and author Norman Giesler will participate in a question-and-answer
session. Joining Giesler in the speaker lineup are Sam
Dallas, Barry Creamer, Marry Jo Sharp, Terri Stovall and
Rudy Gonzalez.
Molina said this conference will be well-suited for
AUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 7
“THIS CONFERENCE IS
DIFFERENT FROM JUST ABOUT
ANY OTHER CONFERENCE
WE DO BECAUSE IT’S ALL
ABOUT GETTING ANSWERS
TO QUESTIONS PEOPLE
DON’T TYPICALLY ASK IN A
BIBLE STUDY OR LIFE GROUP
ENVIRONMENT.”
BARRY CREAMER is president and professor
of humanities at Criswell College in Dallas.
He also hosts the radio show “For Christ and
Culture” on 90.9 KCBI.
MIKE KEAS is professor of the history and
philosophy of science at the College at
Southwestern and an adjunct professor in
Biola University’s M.A. Science and Religion
program.
—BRUNO MOLINA
both students and adults, with sessions tailored toward each. He highly
recommends bringing entire youth
groups to the conference.
“If I was a youth leader, I would
definitely be bringing my youth to
this,” Molina said. “We need to equip
them before they go to college and get
discouraged about their faith in God.
This conference especially applies to
them.”
To register and to watch a video
about the conference, visit here. Registration is $25 for adults and $10 for
students.
Among the topics to be
addressed at the Friday-Saturday
event:
4Biblical Responses to
Contemporary Sexual Issues
4How to Lose Your Faith in
College
4How to Use Apologetics in
My Generation
4Intelligent Design or
Unintelligent Evolution
4The Top Five Questions Women
Ask and How to Answer Them
4Asking the Right Questions in
Evangelism to Catholics
4Reaching out to Muslims
4Reaching out to Buddhists
4Reaching out to Hindus
4Conversational Evangelism
8 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
TERRI STOVALL is dean of women’s programs
and associate professor of Women’s Ministries
in the Jack D. Terry School of Church and
Family Ministry at Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary.
RUDY GONZÁLEZ is a former Jehovah’s
Witness and current professor of New
Testament and director of the William R.
Marshall Center for Theological Studies at
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
MARY JO SHARP is a former atheist and
current assistant professor at Houston Baptist
University. Sharp is also on faculty with Summit
Ministries and administrates the website
Confident Christianity.
SAM DALLAS is minister to students and
minister of apologetics at Reece Prairie
Baptist Church in Burleson. He is pursuing a
doctor of ministry in evangelism and North
American missions from Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary.
NORMAN GEISLER is an internationally
known speaker who has lectured in all 50
states and 26 countries. He is the founder
and president of the International Society
of Christian Apologetics and the co-founder
and distinguished professor of apologetics at
Veritas Evangelical Seminary. EDGARDO FERRER is associate pastor of
Hispanic ministries at Hillcrest Baptist Church
in Cedar Hill. He is an active member of the
International Society of Christian Apologetics. Bible Conference follows
‘Rend the Heavens’ theme
By Tammi Reed Ledbetter
FORT WORTH
“Rend the Heavens,” based on
Isaiah 64:1-4, is the theme for the
Nov. 9-10 pre-convention Bible
Conference to be held in MacGorman Chapel of Southwestern
Baptist Theological Seminary in
Fort Worth. Conference president
Michael Dean, pastor of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth,
is anxious to see participants “join
together in seeking God in his
Word and in fervent prayer for the
great revival that God desires and
that we all need.”
Speakers for the Bible Conference
include Richard Ross, professor of
youth ministry at Southwestern
Seminary; Steve Gaines, pastor of
Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn.; Michael Pender, pastor
of Fallbrook Church in Houston;
Eric Thomas, pastor of First Baptist Church in Norfolk, Va.; Steven
Smith, vice president for student
services and communications at
Southwestern Seminary, and Jack
Graham, pastor of Prestonwood
Baptist Church in Plano.
Chris and Diane Machen of Frisco
will lead in worship. John Lee, associate pastor for worship and music
at Travis Avenue Baptist Church
will lead combined choirs from Fort
Worth area churches, including
Travis Avenue and North Richland
Hills Baptist Church.
Dean observed, “There appears
to be a stirring of the Spirit of God
among his people these days. There
is a growing hunger to see God
move in an extraordinary way in
our lives, in our churches and in
our land. As the SBTC Bible Conference approaches, we want to set
our sails to catch the wind of God’s
reviving activity.”
Following the Bible Conference
Monday morning session, the
Ministry Café will offer a panel
discussion answering, “How do you
lead your people through seasons
of refreshing?” Panelists include
Thomas, Graham and Gregg Matte,
pastor of Houston’s First Baptist
Church. Lunch will begin at 11:30
a.m. and the dialogue starts at noon
in Truett Auditorium, concluding
at 1 p.m.
In addition to Dean, Bible Conference officers include First
Vice President Scott Maze, pastor
of North Richland Hills Baptist
Church in North Richland Hills,
and Second Vice President Dongsun Cho, assistant professor of
systematic and historical theology
at Southwestern Seminary and as-
sociate pastor of Hanuri Church in
Dallas.
2014 Bible
Conference Schedule
SUNDAY, NOV. 9
Evening Session | 6 p.m.
Congregational Worship with
Chris and Diane Machen
Message: Steve Gaines
MONDAY, NOV. 10
Morning Session | 9:15 a.m.
Congregational Worship with
Chris and Diane Machen
Message: Eric Thomas
Ministry Café | 11:30 a.m.
Venue: Truett Auditorium
Speakers: Eric Thomas,
Jack Graham, Gregg Matte
Afternoon Session | 1:15 p.m.
Congregational Worship with
Chris and Diane Machen
Message: Steven Smith
sbtexas.com/am14
AUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 9
Registration
open for
SWBTS’s
free, online
classes
No fees, no homework, no
long application will allow
greater ease of access to
theological education.
By Sharayah Colter
FORT WORTH
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s president and first lady will both teach free, online classes
this fall in a continued effort to make serving local
churches a priority. Paige Patterson will teach a class
on Romans, and his wife Dorothy will teach Biblical
Theology of Womanhood along with professor Candi
Finch. Both classes are open to students and non-students for audit at no cost or for three credit hours at
the standard tuition rate. Those not currently enrolled
at the seminary need only fill out a two-page form to
take either class.
Both classes are offered as massive open online
courses, otherwise known as MOOCs—an increasingly
common method of education among leading universities and one that allows Southwestern to expand its
ministry of education beyond its physical campuses.
Terri Stovall, dean of women’s programs, said that is
exactly why offering the popular Biblical Theology of
Womanhood class as a MOOC was a sensible decision.
“Southwestern exists to serve the churches, and
women are a significant part of the church” Stovall
said. “Recognizing that women may not always be able
to travel to campus for classes but desire to be trained
and equipped to best be used by God, we want to make
access to significant theological education not only
possible but easy. Online and distance learning is sec10 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
ond nature to the young generation of women who are
already doing good things for the kingdom.”
For Stephanie Manter, a busy wife and mother of
three children, the flexible-access class paired with
biblically rich content led her to enroll in the class.
“I work full time outside the home. I’m the church pianist, the church treasurer and a Sunday school teacher. I haven’t attended a ladies’ Bible study in several
years because the evening time I have with my children
before they go to bed is precious,” said Manter, a member of Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie.
“Sometimes I miss attending an adult Sunday school
class, and even the sermon time can be distracting
with the two oldest kids sitting with us. All that to
say, I don’t want to become stagnant in my Christian
growth, and this seems like a great opportunity to
keep learning. An online class is the best fit for me
right now, and the fact that it is free is perfect.”
Dorothy says the content of her class is the result
of a lifelong study of what the Bible has to say about
being a woman. She said what she learned in her own
personal search of the Scriptures has shaped who she
is as a wife and mother—roles she continually cites as
her highest priorities and joys.
“There is no study that has been more influential
in defining my role as wife and mother, as well as a
teacher of women,” Dorothy said. “The formation of
this course started at the beginning of my marriage
and ministry as I read through Scripture, asking the
Lord, ‘What does the Bible have to say to me as a woman?’ I identified key passages and over the years have
taught these passages to women. I personally believe
this is the pathway to finding the key that unlocks the
door to genuine biblical womanhood and ultimate obedience to the Lord.”
Finch calls the class’s approach
systematic—something she believes makes the class one of the
seminary’s most popular classes
among women.
“We don’t avoid the difficult passages or hard-to-understand issues,” Finch said. “We just dive right
on into the Bible. This semester we
are doing what we can to make this
class available to the wider community because biblical womanhood is
under attack in our contemporary
culture. We live in a Fifty Shades
of Grey, Girls Gone Wild kind of
world. We want to equip women to
be able have confidence in studying
God’s Word and his plan for them
and be able to communicate that
truth in this age with gentleness
and respect (1 Pet 3:15).”
Stovall said the systematic approach allows women to discover
that even “what some would call
the ‘boring passages of Leviticus’
take on new importance as we understand God’s purpose of protection and provision for women in
that time and culture.”
Katie McCoy, a Ph.D. student and
editor of Southwestern’s BiblicalWoman website and blog, took the
class before but still plans to audit
it for a “refresh of the content.” In
juxtaposition with cultural trends
among authors and bloggers to set
the Old Testament and the New
Testament up against each other,
purporting to find inconsistencies
and unresolved tensions, this class
illuminates the seamless bond between the two sections of the Bible,
McCoy explained.
“What is perhaps most valuable
about this class is that you’ll learn
to develop a non-contradictory
view of womanhood,” McCoy said.
“So many times our misunderstanding of the Old Testament
leads us to pit it against the New
Testament or even believe that
God somehow changed his posture
toward women before and after
the time of Christ. This class equips
women to think deeply about how
God has revealed himself to women
as well as his heart for women.”
The fall course, Biblical Theology of Womanhood 1, will survey
the Old Testament. Biblical Theology of Womanhood 2 will focus
on the New Testament and will
be offered in spring 2015. Those
auditing the course will not have
homework assignments and will be
able to access the lectures through
Blackboard in real time or at their
convenience by watching archived
lectures. McCoy said this feature
makes it a good fit for mothers who
want to watch during children’s
naptime or entire women’s ministries and small groups who wish to
watch it together when they meet.
President Patterson says his class,
which will also be available on campus or through Blackboard in real
time or in archives, will be a relevant study appropriate for church
members dealing with current-day
issues.
“We are very hopeful that a
large number of laypeople from
the churches will take the online
course on Romans either for credit
or at least for audit,” Paige said.
“The contemporary church has a
profound need to grasp the doctri-
nal teachings of the book of Romans. I believe that it will radically
alter the lifestyles of our people
to know what God says about the
great issues of the day.”
Paige marveled that the Lord
enabled writers to pen the Bible in
such a way that its content is not
bound by time or culture but appropriate and applicable to every
person in every nation at every
point in history and modernity.
“Reading a book that is nearly
2,000 years old might seem to be
the historian’s playpen, but somehow under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote
a book that is more up to date than
tomorrow’s newspaper,” Paige said.
“Unveiling what to think about
almost every issue facing society
and the church today is amazingly
within your grasp in understanding the book of Romans. Far from
being a laborious exercise in theoretical investigation of an ancient
book, every second of class time
will be dealing with the current
issues of life and eternity. I pray
that hundreds of our Texas Baptist
people will join us for this study.”
To sign up for Romans, which
begins Aug. 26, visit here. To sign
up for Biblical Theology of Womanhood, which begins Aug. 21, visit
here. Read more about the biblical
womanhood class here.
AUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 11
AFRICANAMERICAN
SERVES AS
INTERIM
PASTOR
IN TOWN
SCARRED
BY RACIAL
VIOLENCE
AND KKK
ACTIVITY
By Paul F. South
GRAND SALINE
The East Texas town of
Grand Saline was once a
hotbed of racist activity—
a place where African-Americans feared nightfall
for the violence it might and did often bring. It
was known as one of many “Sundown Towns.”
Today, however, Southern Baptists of Texas
Convention Church Planting Associate Richard
Taylor, an African-American, serves the town’s
Main Street Baptist Church as interim pastor. He
calls it simply “a God thing.”
12 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
PHOTOS BY RICK LINTHICUM
“As I served the church over
the past year prior to being called
there as interim pastor, God just
began to join our hearts and unite
our hearts together, so I knew that
God was up to something,” Taylor
said. “It wasn’t just because of the
immediate love I had for them but
the apparent love they had for me
as well.”
Taylor spent a decade as director
of evangelism for the Baptist Convention of New York and believes
this latest calling on his life in
Grand Saline has a twofold purpose: healing a broken church and
healing a community shattered by
a turbulent racial past.
“Even though I knew bits and
pieces of their history,” Taylor
said, “I felt that if God had placed
me on their hearts that this was
going to be a phenomenal God
thing that would not only heal the
church but also be the catalyst in
the community for racial reconciliation.”
While the racial divide in Grand
Saline is not as wide as it once was,
it’s still a town, as recently as last
month, haunted by its history.
The local newspaper, the Grand
Saline Sun, reported on the suicide
of a retired United Methodist pastor this past July who set himself
afire and left behind a note expressing grief and guilt for not
doing more to bring reconciliation
in his hometown.
When Taylor met with church
leaders at Main Street, he faced the
racial issue head on.
“I refused to allow it to be the
elephant in the room that everyone knew but no one was willing to address. So, we dealt with
it—the implications of it— that it
would be the talk of the town and
the community for making such
“I REFUSED TO ALLOW IT TO BE THE ELEPHANT IN
THE ROOM THAT EVERYONE KNEW BUT NO ONE WAS
WILLING TO ADDRESS. SO, WE DEALT WITH IT—THE
IMPLICATIONS OF IT—THAT IT WOULD BE THE TALK
OF THE TOWN AND THE COMMUNITY FOR MAKING
SUCH A BOLD STEP. BUT THEY WERE CLEAR THAT
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT GOD HAD TOLD THEM AS
A COMMITTEE AND AS A CHURCH AND THAT THEY
WERE WILLING TO STEP OUT ON FAITH THAT I WAS
THE MAN GOD HAD PLACED ON THEIR HEARTS TO
LEAD THEM THROUGH THIS TRANSITIONAL PERIOD.”
—RICHARD TAYLOR
a bold step. But they were clear
that this is exactly what God had
told them as a committee and as a
church and that they were willing to step out on faith that I was
the man God had placed on their
hearts to lead them through this
transitional period,” Taylor said.
Main Street endured a difficult
period leading up to the decision
to call Taylor in the interim role, in
part because they lost their former
pastor, who resigned in January
for health reasons. The Grand
Saline family was divided, hurting
and broken, Taylor said.
“I knew coming in that the first
thing we needed to do was to start
liking each other and loving each
other,” Taylor said. And out of the
overflow of what God was doing in
our individual lives, then we could
start making a change in the community. So the greatest struggle,
initially, was mending relationships. We’ve crossed that hurdle.
There’s an excitement and a zeal
and an energy that did not exist
when I got there.”
While Southern Baptists of Texas
and Southern Baptist Convention
churches are engaged in inten-
tional efforts—like the “Look Like
Heaven” emphasis—to be more
diverse in their congregations
and in leadership, Taylor believes
something else was at play in
Grand Saline.
“I’m excited to be part of a convention that’s doing that,” Taylor
said of convention cross-cultural
efforts. “But I don’t think [this]
had anything to do with any of
that, in honesty. This was a pastor
and people whom God, through his
sovereign will, brought our paths
together.”
Inside the walls at Main Street
Baptist, the congregation has rediscovered its joy. Now, the church
is focused on what Taylor terms
“The Assignment,”—Christ’s Great
Commission.
“I think my service there is bigger than just preaching and filling
the pulpit. But God in his sovereign will is trying to unite mankind.”
In his short time as interim,
Grand Saline has conducted a revival, called Revive Our City, aimed,
Taylor said, at “Making Grand Saline Grand Again,”—all part of The
Assignment.
AUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 13
And in his time at Main Street,
Taylor has also seen the church’s
attendance rise. Census figures indicate there are 20 African-American families in Grand Saline.
He wants to reach out not only
to them but to all people, letting
them know they are welcome not
just to sit in the pews but to become part of the life of the church.
Many Baptist churches have
plateaued, are declining or are dying because they refuse to do what
Grand Saline’s Main Street church
did—step out of their comfort
zone and take a bold step, Taylor
said. He bluntly told Main Street
leaders that he was going to make
them uncomfortable because he
was different.
“I believe that’s what God wants
to do: Shake us from our tradition,
14 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
“I’VE NEVER BEEN LOVED
MORE BY GOD’S PEOPLE
THAN I HAVE BEEN AT MAIN STREET.”
—RICHARD TAYLOR
to shake us from our comfort and
shake us from our sleeping, to help
us to understand the urgency of
doing The Assignment, which is to
reach people and make disciples,”
Taylor said. “I am excited. God is
up to something in Grand Saline
and in the Main Street Baptist
Church. It’s just exciting to be a
part of it.”
There is a lesson that comes
from the Grand Saline story, Taylor said.
“Our history, as painful as it
might be, is not a determination
for what God will do if we would
make ourselves available.”
And, though Main Street Baptist
may have stepped from its comfort zone, and as a result, God has
used Richard Taylor to have an
impact, Main Street Baptist has
touched Taylor’s heart as well.
It’s an imprint a long way from
Grand Saline’s days as a “Sundown
Town.”
“I’ve never been loved more by
God’s people than I have been at
Main Street.”
Like Taylor said, it’s a God thing.
LOOK LIKE
HEAVEN
EMPHASIS
MAKES
STRIDES IN
REMOVING
RACIAL
BARRIERS,
RESTORING
RELATIONS
By Paul F. South
HEMPSTEAD
A town of 6,000, Hempstead, Texas, has made national
news headlines for all the wrong reasons. Hempstead was
known as a place where racial conflict routinely afflicted the
community.
“There’s a lot of poverty, a lot of brokenness,” said Kevin
Jordan, pastor of First Baptist Hempstead. “There are absentee parents and kids who are virtually homeless. We deal
with those issues. All of that swarms together for a volatile
situation that the church exists within.”
While First Baptist Hempstead is mostly white, the community is predominately African-American, Latino and
Asian, changing over the years the way Texas has been transformed during the past three decades.
Jordan and his flock are trying to reach
out to Hempstead, as Southern Baptists of
Texas Convention churches across Texas seek
to open arms and open doors to changing
communities and changing cultures through
the Look like Heaven emphasis, a five-year
initiative that began in July. The goal of Look
Like Heaven is to build cross-cultural relationships among SBTC pastors and churches,
with the idea that greater diversity means
greater opportunities for evangelism.
“We’re hoping to show some of the diversity that is and has grown in the last number
of years and hopefully to foster those who
may not have stepped outside that comfort
zone to go ahead and do that,” said Barry
Calhoun, director of mobilization and fellowships for the SBTC and leader of the Look Like
Heaven emphasis.
As the face of Texas changes, the make-up
of churches in the state needs to change as
well, Calhoun said. Between 70 and 74 percent of SBTC churches are plateaued, declining or closing their doors, in part because
those congregations have not reached out
to their changing communities. Look Like
Heaven hopes to change that.
Look Like Heaven began under the leadership of former SBTC President Terry Turner
in an effort to make Texas churches look
like the communities they serve and like
the kingdom described in Revelation 7—a
portrait of heaven that includes every race,
ethnicity, tribe, tongue and people group.
“Hopefully this is a way to create and help
foster some more inclusion in worship styles
and in membership within some of our
churches. If we can be intentional, hopefully
we can break down any walls that may perhaps still exist out there in some areas and
in some of the leadership we have,” Calhoun
said. “I think that’s where Dr. Turner wants
to go. Dr. Turner is really going all out.”
In Hempstead, the fields are ready for a
Look Like Heaven-type harvest. The town
is 50 percent Hispanic, 30 percent AfricanAmerican and 22 percent Anglo, with a smattering of Asian and other minorities.
According to LifeWay Research data published by the TEXAN last year, Southern Baptist churches do not mirror the larger comAUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 15
munity. According to the survey, 85
percent of pastors say the church
should strive for racial diversity.
Yet, only 13 percent of pastors say
they have more than one racial or
ethnic minority in their congregations.
The numbers may make the
dream seem light years away. But
Turner, pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church, believes progress is being made. On a national
level, SBC Executive Committee
President Frank Page has taken
steps to reach across ethnic and
racial lines by initiating advisory
councils for several ethnic groups.
“The main initiative is for us to
get to know each other in a better
way,” Turner said. “I think so often
when you are part of a majorityorganized and-run convention,
ethnicities that are minorities
don’t always feel like their styles of
worship, their methods of serving
the Lord are always a part of the
conventional movement. ... Too
often, we don’t know one another
or make allowances for worship
differences.”
Jordan learned a valuable lesson
in his first year in Hempstead. Last
March, a traditional four-night
revival drew Anglo worshippers
but did not accomplish a goal of
drawing in African-American and
Latino residents of Hempstead to
hear the gospel.
“We drew in Anglos, and we were
glad to have them, but we didn’t accomplish our goal,” Jordan said.
Later, at a basketball tournament
where his daughter was playing,
Jordan noted that many in the
African-American community
flocked to the event, staying for every game. That sparked the idea for
a church-sponsored three-on-three
basketball tournament.
On a recent Sunday, a young man
who played in that tournament,
16 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
“WE HAVE TO HAVE A TRUE, DOWN TO EARTH
CONVERSATION ABOUT WHO WE ARE AS PEOPLE AND
WHO WE ARE AS CHRISTIANS, BECAUSE I WOULD
IMAGINE THAT EVEN TODAY, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO
QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS
HAVING HUMANITY. THOSE IDEAS ARE BAD THEOLOGY.
IT’S BAD DOCTRINE. IT’S BAD STUFF THAT WAS
EMBRACED DURING THAT TIME (IN THE PAST) THAT HAS
TO BE OVERCOME.”
—TERRY TURNER
where the gospel was presented,
received Christ. It’s a victory in a
town where wins come hard. Jordan’s efforts to reach Hempstead
in a variety of ways—from attending school board meetings, visiting
with African-American pastors and
even writing a newspaper column—have come with unexpected
challenges. A young man who attended a service at Jordan’s church
was asked to leave because of a
behavior issue. The result? Jordan
received a death threat.
“That would be a surprise—the
volatility of that situation and the
enemy’s use of that volatility,”
Jordan said.
But there are more victories than
ominous surprises these days in
Hempstead.
“I have African-American friends
in town who call me their pastor
even though they’ve never been to
our church,” Jordan said.
Turner and Jordan have partnered together as part of Look Like
Heaven, preaching to each other’s
congregation, igniting a serious
conversation on race and ethnicity
within their sermons.
“For me, it’s depended on being a
little more sensitive to the kinds of
questions that our people need to
be asking and answering,” Jordan
said. “The divide in our churches
is evidence to our culture that we
don’t have a better handle on this
than they do. That’s an affront to
the gospel. That’s really a problem
when even in our churches we
can’t answer and effectively deal
with the race issue.”
Turner, whose parents were born
near the turn of the last century
at the peak of the Jim Crow South,
believes there are remnants of the
segregationist past that the church
must overcome.
“We have to have a true, downto-earth conversation about who
we are as people and who we are as
Christians. Because the history of
the American culture has messed
us up racially, I would imagine that
even today there are unconverted
people who question the validity of
African-Americans having full humanity. These kinds of stereotypes
and misnomers have been associated with America’s past bad theological beliefs. It’s bad doctrine. The
residuals of America’s past negative thought patterns have to be
overcome as we move forward.”
Turner believes that if his parents
were alive today, they would be
encouraged by the SBTC’s Look Like
Heaven emphasis.
“Twenty or thirty years ago, we
would never talk about something
like this—Look Like Heaven. But
today it’s possible because our
communities are changing. “(My
parents) would have loved it. They
would have thought it was a great
advancement for the society. They
would have said ‘things are looking
up.’”
Even in Hempstead, a place with
a troubled racial history and the
recent death threat toward Jordan,
things are looking brighter. Jordan’s congregation has embraced
efforts to reach the wider community that has the complexion of
the old Sunday School song: “Red,
brown, yellow, black and white…”
“We are an Anglo church attempting to reach an ethnic community,” Jordan said. “We don’t
have the answer for that. We have
simply applied ourselves to taking the gospel to whoever will hear
it from us. That’s as much of this
story as we have. We have a lot of
African-American kids and a lot of
Latino kids. But we don’t have this
thing figured out. We know only
that we have made progress in being able to have a voice.
“When we look at reaching our
community, the Look Like Heaven
campaign is simply reaching our
community as it is. It’s a gospel application. We are an Anglo church
in a diverse area, and we need to
reach those folks (of other ethnicities).
“The Look Like Heaven initiative
“WHEN WE LOOK
AT REACHING OUR
COMMUNITY, THE LOOK
LIKE HEAVEN CAMPAIGN
IS SIMPLY REACHING
OUR COMMUNITY AS
IT IS. IT’S A GOSPEL
APPLICATION.”
—KEVIN JORDAN
is our obligation to take the gospel
to everyone. That’s the message I
would want people to take from
this.”
AUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 17
Matt Queen
Ann Coulter is almost
right. Missionaries
are “idiotic” fools …
for Christ’s sake.
C
hristian narcissism annoys
Ann Coulter. In a recent
column, “Ebola Doc’s Condition
Downgraded to ‘Idiotic,’” Ms.
Coulter opines about the missionary work of
a Samaritan’s Purse affiliated doctor and a
SIM USA affiliated nurse in Africa by asking:
“Why did Dr. Brantly [and his nurse] have to
go to Africa? … Can’t anyone serve Christ in
America anymore?”
She contends: “If Dr. Brantly had practiced
at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles and
turned one single Hollywood power-broker
to Christ, he would have done more good
for the entire world than anything he could
accomplish in a century spent in Liberia. … If
he had provided health care for the uninsured
editors, writers, videographers and pundits
in Gotham and managed to open one set of
eyes, he would have done more good than
marinating himself in medieval diseases of
the Third World.”
According to Ms. Coulter, a new kind of
narcissism has emerged among Christians.
Any honest Christian would admit that the
rise of celebrity pastors and the tendency
to promote theologies based more on one’s
self than one’s Bible have contributed to a
frustrating form of Christian narcissism.
However, it’s another kind of so-called
“Christian narcissism” that annoys Ms.
Coulter these days. Ann Coulter is annoyed by
a “Christian narcissism” that she perceives
encourages Christians to retreat from the
casualties they have incurred in the American
culture wars. Having abandoned the fight
because of battle fatigue and name calling,
she says, these AWOL Christian “soldiers”
18 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
travel overseas on mission trips so they can do good things
that will help them feel better about themselves and their
Christianity.
She writes: “[That’s] why American Christians go on
“mission trips” to disease-ridden cesspools. They’re tired
of fighting the culture war in the U.S., tired of being called
homophobes, racists, sexists and bigots. So they slink off to
Third World countries, away from American culture to do
good works.”
Ms. Coulter’s disturbing comments have managed
to raise the ire of many Christians across the nation,
including this Southern Baptist.
Do growing numbers of Christians appear to be
abandoning the culture wars here in America? Yes, they
do. Should this fact disturb the Christian community and
encourage us to get back into the culture war fight? Yes, it
should. Does the fact that fewer Christians are fighting the
culture wars mean that overwhelming scores of them now
flood the international fields? Certainly, no, it does not.
Although I do not know the extent to which Dr.
Kent Brantly and Nurse Nancy Writebol intentionally
proclaimed the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ while
serving in Monrovia, Liberia, I do train and personally
know intentionally gospel-proclaiming missionaries on
international fields across the globe. As recently as last
week, I spoke with a missionary family who just moved
overseas to do good work by sharing the good news. Ms.
Coulter may be surprised that these missionaries were
met with name-calling from some of the nationals among
whom they now live. Wherever they go, they cannot escape
being called names, either by some prejudiced overseas
nationals, by enemies in the American culture wars, or by
a provocative, conservative talking-head.
These missionaries, and others like them, have not
retreated from “the culture war in the U.S.” to do good
works in order to feel better about themselves. They have
heard Jesus’ command to his disciples: “Go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, and teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19); and
yes, Ms. Coulter, “all nations” includes Monrovia, Liberia.
These missionaries endeavor to do more than merely
leave the comforts of “American culture” to perform good
works for others elsewhere; they endeavor to do the best
work of all everywhere in making disciples of Jesus.
Anticipating this response, Ms. Coulter appeals to the
Bible: “The same Bible that commands us to ‘go ye into all
the world and preach the gospel’ also says: ‘For there will
never cease to be poor in the land.’ Therefore I command
you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your
brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your
land.’”
While utilizing the spirit of Deuteronomy
15:11 throughout her article, Ms. Coulter fails to
address how she also incorporates Mark 16:15
in it. Christians must incorporate and apply
Deuteronomy 15:11 here in America, but they
must not dismiss Mark 16:15 abroad as Ann
Coulter argues because a greater threat than
an Ebola epidemic exists. Ms. Coulter correctly
explains: “Ebola [an incurable disease with a
90 percent fatality rate] kills only the body.”
However, sin has a much greater fatality rate and
kills more than the body … it ravages the soul.
A greater threat than an Ebola epidemic exists.
Humans contract Ebola from bodily fluids,
but sin infects us all (Romans 3:10, 23). Sin’s
remedy cannot be found in experimental drugs
or isolation from others. God’s Son, Jesus Christ,
offers the only cure when anyone repents and
believes that his substitutionary death on the
cross for our sins, his burial in the tomb, and His
resurrection from the dead alone can and will
save him. However, in order for people to repent
and to believe, they must hear the gospel of Jesus
Christ (Romans 10:13). They must hear the good
news, Ms. Coulter, and if we do not go, they will
not hear.
Ms. Coulter’s contention of “idiocy” among
American Christians does not appear to be
specifically with an Ebola-infected doctor and
his nurse; rather, this “idiocy” extends generally
to so-called “narcissistic” Christians who dare
to make Jesus’ command to his disciples their
mission. Are vocational and/or short-term
missionaries “idiotic” fools, as Ms. Coulter
contends? If you ask me, I defer to the response
of the apostle Paul to similar critics in his day.
He wrote, “We are fools for Christ’s sake … we
are without honor” (1 Corinthians 4:10). So, yes,
vocational missionaries and those of us who serve
overseas as short-term missionaries are fools—
fools receiving no respect from the world, all for
the sake of Christ.
—This article first appeared at theologicalmatters.com. Matt Queen is
assistant professor of evangelism and associate dean for doctoral programs
in the Roy Fish School of Evangelism and Missions at Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He also occupies the seminary’s L.R.
Scarborough Chair of Evangelism.
Mark Coppenger
A word for Ann Coulter
and her critics
S
ome declare or imply that Ann Coulter
is not a Christian because of her
recent harsh words for the short-term
missionary doctor who contracted Ebola
and for the often acerbic tone of her columns. Who
knows? But I have heard her express the gospel in
uncompromising terms, and I admire her pointed
and frequently insightful speech in a universe of
political correctness and charm offensives.
What I do know is that the church folks who
condemn her would have to jettison much of the
church if they consistently applied the standards
they impose on her for kingdom membership. And
I offer some observations that might help to put her
words in perspective. In this, I speak as frequent
short-term missionary, with tours in Eastern and
Western Europe, North Africa, the Middle East,
Southeast Asia and South America, as well as around
the U.S. Along the way, I’ve managed to contract
Hepatitis A from filthy food, to be bitten by a rat in
my hotel bed and to be confined to quarters by local
police anxious over Muslim backlash. I suppose I
should be offended by Coulter’s dismissive remarks,
but I think they’re helpfully provocative. So let me
pitch in with a word to both Ann and her critics.
To Ann’s Critics
1 Christians talk this way all the time. In calling
Dr. Brantley “narcissistic” and “idiotic,” she joins
countless Christians who size up their fellow
believers’ behaviors and ministries with such
expressions as “What were they thinking?!”; “How
gutless was that?” The prompt can be any number
of things—a mother who insists on keeping a
screaming baby in the church service; a pastor who
offers himself up for humiliation (e.g., a pie in the
face) if the church reaches its high-attendance goal;
a mom who brings her dysenteric child to Vacation
Bible School; a church that mortgages itself to the
hilt to fund a lavish auditorium; a youth director
who serves saltines and Coke on a retreat to make the
Lord’s Supper more “relevant.” We’re always hacking
AUGUST 20, 2014 TEXANONLINE.NET 19
on each other, though, albeit, not as
publically as did Ms. Coulter.
2 Some short-term missionary
work is expensive fluff. Having
been on the giving and receiving
end, I can say that there are
participants as much concerned
with a cool trip, a time of rugged
testing, bucket-list check-off,
herd solidarity, spousal pressure,
credential building or even
romance prospecting. These
trips can tap funds better used
elsewhere and inconvenience the
full-timers on the field, with little
kingdom impact.
3 Samaria and the Uttermosts
are, indeed, cooler than Jerusalem.
Some people who get excited
about street witnessing in Central
America wouldn’t cross the street
to witness to their American
neighbors. The former gives you
status back home; the latter could
make you a social pariah. And
while it doesn’t cost you anything
to sing Amazing Grace under
a village tree in central Africa,
putting a Bible verse up in your
office cubicle or writing a letter
to the editor on gay marriage
could cost you a promotion or
friendships. On their return,
we give missionaries a chance
report before the church, pictures
included. Meanwhile, the wife who
graciously suffers the crushing
sullenness of a hateful husband
in hopes that he and the children
will be saved and blessed gets no
acclaim. The conscientious and
cheerful Christian bus driver
doesn’t get his night at church to
show selfies of his on-time arrival
at work on a day when he didn’t
feel good.
4 Evangelicals have undermined
the notion of calling. It used to be
easier to say that Dr. Brantley felt
called to do his dangerous medical
mission work in Africa. Now,
20 TEXANONLINE.NET AUGUST 20, 2014
many find such talk to be piously
gaseous, dangerously mystical and
irritatingly presumptuous. Paul
may have had his supernatural
Macedonian call, but, in our day,
we’re supposed to limit ourselves to
thoughtful assessment of our how
we might “maximize our ministry”
according to some sort of career
calculus. We shouldn’t be so hard
on Coulter when she tries to do
the math by the algorithms we’ve
adopted.
To Ann:
1 Jesus is the Light of the
World. Of course, Brantley’s
Texas is part of that world, but
there’s a lot of light there already
compared some very dark places
on earth. That’s why Jesus gave us
in the public square. And look
at Franklin Graham, who heads
Samaritan’s Purse. He’s known
both for his fearless utterances
regarding America and his mercy
projects overseas.
3 Short-term missions
generates long-term discipleship.
As a young pastor, I led several
groups to the Amazon region of
Brazil, where we preached the
gospel, showed the Jesus Film,
did door-to-door witness, built
churches, pulled teeth and did
surgery. I think we did some good
for the Brazilians. I know we did a
lot of good for our folks, who grew
substantially, whatever their initial
motivation for going. As one of
our trainers observed, “Get your
people overseas on a mission trip,
“JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. OF COURSE,
BRANTLEY’S TEXAS IS PART OF THAT WORLD.”
the Great Commission to spread
the Word around. Besides, as our
nation sinks into a post-Christian
morass, we may well need fresh
Christian light from the mission
field, reminding us of the truth and
power of Scripture. For instance,
“backward” Episcopalians in Africa
are reminding their “progressive”
American counterparts that
Romans 1 is still in the Holy Bible.
(By the way, as my daughter
observed, Ms. Coulter should
be thankful that some “idiotic”
Christians from the Middle East
brought the gospel to her European
forebears.)
2 It’s both/and. Watch the
Southern Baptists: They field a
large foreign mission force, with
thousands of short term volunteers
while bearing the good witness
back home, whether as evangelists,
disaster relievers, marriage
counselors or prophetic voices
and they’ll discover they’re eagles
rather than turkeys. Once they get
back, it’ll be hard to keep them out
of the air.” Amen.
4 Missions can make you more
conservative. A little exposure
to physical and social conditions
in the “developing world” can
give you a better perspective
on the nature of poverty, the
status of women, and the cause
of multiculturalism, making you
less susceptible to over-the-top
pronouncements on the “horrors”
of America.
PS: God “owns the cattle on a
thousand hills,” and he can fund
his good work, including rescue jets
for his saints felled in the line of
duty.
—Mark Coppenger is professor of Christian
apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
and managing editor of the online Kairos Journal.