“American” Baptists arrested in Haiti

This has been a story for about a week now, and I had intended to make mention of it then because the headline on the first day the news broke was “American Baptists arrested in Haiti.” Several Americans who were in the country have been accused of trying to take children across the border even those they had parents. Upon hearing this news for the first time, I immediately thought these missionaries were part of the ABCUSA, an established denomination. However, these Baptists are American but are not “American Baptist” affliliation. This is a good story for clarification. 

This is an unfortunate situation to be sure, and another example of how Baptists may be perceived as being of one and the same denominational stripe. We need to make sure that folks know that there are different kinds of Baptists out there. I hope that the authorities can get to the bottom of this situation soon and above all else that the children will be placed where they need to be.

Southern Baptist leaders have spoken out in support of these arrested Americans and have asked President Obama to intervene. I’m sure that there will be many who are interested in the outcome of this situation.

Saints FINALLY going to Super Bowl

After seeing the aints along with everyone else who lived in LA and MS gulf coast, I am still pinching myself after tonight’s game. Especially remember Hartley missing a FG against Tampa BAy not too long ago, but congrats to the Saints for inspiring the entire region through their accomplishments.

Wow. They really did it. Now, after getting through Warner and Favre, they only have to deal with Manning. That’s a name they are familiar with. It’s a good story line.

Martin Marty notes trends for Baptists

Noted historian and scholar Martin Marty offered his views on where Baptists might be 400 years from now. His remarks come on the heels of a 400th anniversary celebration of the Baptist presence and witness in 2009, so I found them pretty interesting.

Of course, no one knows where Baptists will be at the time. Hopefully many of them will be heaven at that time but based upon what I’ve seen you can’t be certain. I’ve sometimes commented that we may be surprised not only by who is heaven but also by who is not in heaven, so claiming a denominational brand doesn’t get us there. I am grateful for someone like Marty who can draw upon his own experience, knowledge of our history, and look ahead to see where the Baptist bus might be heading.

There’s no need to react to all of his bullet points, but I will mention local church autonomy. One of my favorite phrases has become “all politics is local” and these words have particular significance for the Baptist church. What this means is that the days of hierarchical supremacy for a denominational headquarters are coming to an end. Local Baptist congregations are becoming more independent in their thinking if not in their theology. Churches are sponsoring their own missionaries, mission trips, and shopping around for the best literature for their people and not merely taking what the denomination offers them. The exception to this might be rural Baptist churches who haven’t changed anything in the past 100 years and either don’t know or don’t care what has happened denominationally. Their pastors don’t tend to stay too long and don’t have the interest or involvement in what is going on beyond the county.

The rise of the local church is a good thing. I am learning that more persons in the pew are desiring a “hands on” experience of missions rather than merely sending money out so that “real missionaries” can carry out the Great Commission for them. I am not diminishing the importance of vocational missionaries, as I believe God still places a call upon individuals in that way and denominations can serve a function in placing them and supporting them. It is important that we open our pocketbooks for this worthwhile cause. However, church members are discovering they can get involved in missions right where they are with the people and communities that are nearby as well. It is rewarding to see this taking place, and a church who has a passion for doing missions is creating a legacy of service for its people.

One other thought I had related to Baptist identity. Our church in particular truly values the Baptist heritage and its distinctives, but I’m discovering that those who possess a knowledge and commitment to them are from an older generation. I’ll be 45 this year, and find that those my age and older have more appreciation for being “Baptist” than those who are younger. This makes me wonder what the Baptist label will look like in 25 years let alone 400. Those persons I talk to are more ecclectic in their theology and practice rather than buying into a particular denominational belief system. Politics, theology, social concerns, and family issues are dealt with in more of a cafeteria style than “one size fits all.” Spiritual formation remains very important, and the most central concern is ”what works for me” and what the church has to offer in terms of significant worship and service opportunities.

This is a tough pill to swallow for older congregations, leaving many to wonder why all those young people don’t come to church and do the things they did for years. The “if you build it, they will come” days are over and have beenfor some time. Commitment to the church for its institutional sake doesn’t work as much, so we need to find a balance between maintaining our identity and finding out what being a missional church means. We can do both. The church is still the body of Christ, and we only lose our relevance when we stop being relevant in what we are doing. Measuring the impact of the church only by how many show up on Sunday is a temptation, and leaves many pastors and staff discouraged. May we learn to see the importance of what we do by not only our attendance but also our actions.

Helping Haiti

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Eight out of ten people live in poverty, and many live on a few dollars each day. The earthquake that created all this devastation impacted an area that already had its share of problems.

The good news is that the United States has once again risen to the challenge of sending aid in the form of dollars, people, and supplies. It’s encouraging to know that the faith community is getting involved, especially the Baptist family of faith. You can find more information about that here. Of particular interest to our church is that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and American Baptist Churches (USA) have established mechanisms to receive monies to assist in helping those whose lives have been shattered by this calamity. A special edition of CBF magazine came today and you can hear Daniel Vestal’s comments about the situation.

Those who attend our congregation may write their check to UHBC and specify Haiti-CBF or Haiti-ABC, depending on which Baptist organization they prefer. I personally don’t have a preference, and have confidence that the money given will go to the right place. I suspect this country will be needing help for a very long period of time, so thank you in advance for your prayers and involvement.

And now something for completely different yet related to the current crisis. . . check out Pat Robertson’s take on the Haitian earthquake.

Here is more information received today about ABC and CBF involvement in the country.

Fun in the Snow

Here’ s a photo of us getting out and enjoying a little bit of the snow the other day. Wish we had someone to take the photo other than Lori behind the camera so we could have all gotten in there. You can see our little addition to the family to start the new year. It’s been fun having him around the last several days, but he’s had to stay outside. I doubt if he’d remain housebroken indoors, plus he might want to bring that pipe indoors and we’re a non-smoking establishment.

It’s amusing to me to hear Lucy say as we pull out of the driveway for school, “Daddy, he’s still there!” I tell her he’ll probably be around for a while with the temps, but it’s too bad he came after December 31st. I might have had another dependent to claim on my taxes.

2010: Starting a New Year and New Decade

2010. I’m letting that number roll off my tongue a little bit today. It’s the beginning of not only a new year but a new decade. After everything that has happened these last two years, most persons I’ve spoken to are excited to leave the horrors of 2009  in favor of the hopes that this year may offer.

Many news organizations are doing their top 10 lists, and Associated Baptist Press has done us a favor by following that trend. ABP has compiled their sampling of the most newsworthy stories in Baptist life. Read through them and see what you think, but suffice it to say that some Baptists will do anything to keep their name in the news. Still, I had forgotten about some of these people, places, and events and a reminder helps me realize that it has been a busy year once again for Baptists. And not always in the best sense.

I’m looking ahead into 2010 with a sense of hope and optimism, believing that the local church remains the greatest resource there is to advance the Kingdom of God. It is very easy to get overwhelmed by the urgent things, to the point of missing out on the important ones. I am constantly challenged by the amount of institutional oversight there can be with buildings, budgets, programs, and raising money to pay off debt. I can appreciate what Amy Butler is dealing with at Calvary Baptist in Washington, D.C.  and how she is leading her church to acknowledge its past with an eye for the future. 

What keeps me moving forward is seeing children come to faith in Christ, our church engaging our community with the gospel, and an enduring hope that God has a purpose for our family of faith. I am grateful to be Baptist, and more thankful to be in a congregation that appreciates our Baptist heritage and cooperative missions efforts both here in Springfield and around the world. I’m expecting good things, and look forward to moving into the second decade of the 21st century knowing that our Lord “will never leave us or forsake us.”

Christmas 2009

With less than a week to go and three children nearing holiday meltdown, I wanted to extend Christmas best wishes to all my friends. I don’t have any unrealistic views of how many of you actually drop by but do appreciate your taking the time and interest in our church and my ramblings.

A Time magazine article from November indicated that this last decade was the worst we had since World War II times. It was entitled “Goodbye to the Decade from Hell” or something very akin to that. I won’t establish the link this time, but have worked through it and agree that the Millennium bug, 9/11, Katrina, and two economic crashes are enough to depress any of us. It’s no wonder so many of us have been in a sour mood.

Despite these reports, I do want to thank the Lord for my family. Lori, Cally, Lucy, and Matt have been blessings to me and I’m so thankful to have them in my life. They are SO ready for Christmas, and Cally and Lucy’s having birthdays this month have only added to the energy of the season. We are also so grateful for our church family and being in Springfield for these 2 1/2 years now. I’m hopeful for good things in 2010 as the Lord opens doors of service into our community. More about that later, but for now I hope that we’ll all count our blessings and celebrate the real reason for the season.

The photo above was taken at Barnes and Noble Bookstore. Our church supported a book fair for the Rountree Elementary School. I read a story to the kids, several choir members sang carols, and our own Bob and Marilyn did a great job as Santa and Mrs. Clause. Lucy didn’t want her picture with Santa, but when she saw who it was said “Oh, it’s just Mr. Bob” so that made it ok.

I’m pretty excited about having a week off next week but in the meantime will remain busy getting ready for Christmas Eve and the following Sunday. So, from my family to yours. . .  Merry Christmas!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALLY!!

Yes, it’s true. Cally is 12 years old today and celebrated by riding in the front seat of the car on the way to school. I didn’t let her behind the wheel, however, and am in no hurry to do so. She had a good time Friday with her party and then yesterday with Meredith’s party plus the youth party so she’s been busy this weekend.

Lori and I are SO thankful she is in our lives and has a Nintendo DS to keep her company when she isn’t being hugged by her brother Matt or playing Apples to Apples with her sister Lucy and her mom.

We love you Cally, and hope you have a great day. And yes, we’ll watch “The Sing off” tonight.

Oral Roberts, “prosperity gospel” pioneer, dead at 91

Oral Roberts died a few days ago. He made a profound impact upon Christianity in general and upon the field of “televangelism” in particular.  He was a little bit before my time, but growing up I recall hearing his name associated with the phrase “something good is going to happen to you!”

Of course, I think some of this enthusiasm was related to an appeal for dollars from his viewers. Roberts is known as a forerunner of the “health and wealth” gospel, and the USA Today article indicates. Another key phrase that he might have coined had to do with “seed faith” which means viewers giving a portion of their income (to him) in faith, believing that God would multiply their efforts. I’ve seen this kind of approach used countless times on the air, and TV preachers nowadays probably have Roberts to thank for it.

I am certain that Roberts did many good things; he started a university in Tulsa and impacted the face of Christianity for years to come. To be honest though, the one thing I remember about this man is his claim that “God would kill him if he (Roberts) didn’t raise a million dollars.” He locked himself in that tower on the ORU campus, waiting for the hand of judgment to fall. I have wondered how God who “owns the cattle on a thousand hills” would threated the life of one of his servants. I’ll have to doublecheck the history, but believe a dogtrack owner came to Roberts’ rescue and redeemed his life. I suppose the Lord works in mysterious ways, indeed.

A sidebar to the story, of course, is the rise of the “prosperity gospel” which is another way of saying the “health and wealth” gospel. This message is awfully appealing on the one hand and just plain awful on the other. It implies that health and money follow faith and that those who give large amounts of money can purchase happiness. This is not the gospel of Jesus who said, “if any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me” (Luke 9.23 CEV).

We are facing record unemployment and anxieties from all sides, and my prayer is that the people of God can perservere through these difficulties. Not everyone gets wealthy, and it should be said again our “treasure is in heaven.”

That’s the real prosperity.

Advent 2009

We had a good trip to Alabama to visit Lori’s parents for Thanksgiving and take in the Iron Bowl the day afterward. It was a very emotional and exciting time for a lot of reasons, and even though it’s a long drive there and back we’re glad we could work it out.

It looks like there was only a brief hiccup between THanksgiving and Christmas. I find myself almost out of breath, spiritually speaking, in trying to catch up with all the events of the season. The tree is up in the church and the sanctuary is beautifully decorated in recognition and preparation of the Advent season. I am glad our church recognizes the significance of the times so that we can soak up the religious atmosphere of the occasion.

Advent means a lot of different things, but for me it is a time to pause and reflect upon the meaning of the incarnation. The mind boggling idea that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” can’t be appreciated in just one day. This spiritual truth is so integral to the Christmas season, and I for one find it implausible that there are many persons who acknowledge the holiday without the spiritual significance. You might say that there are “many who have Christmas, but not everyone gets Christmas.”

My desire for myself and family and then for the church family is that Advent will be time of preparation and earnest searching about what Christ means to each one of us. This year’s Christmas season comes after a very difficult year and a ten year period that Time magazine called “The Decade from Hell.” There will be many people who will not be sad to see this year or decade pass, but before this happens we ought to stop and take spiritual inventory of what has happened and how these events have shaped us.

Advent offers this opportunity. It will require some slowing down and reflection, but I for one believe this opportunity for renewal couldn’t have come at a better time. Join me in praying for our hearts to be open to the Holy Spirit’s leadership and prompting as we approach the manger once again.