Lynn Paddock is a name that might be familiar to those of us who live in the Raleigh, NC area. She is an adoptive mother who lived in Johnston County and is on trial for first-degree murder in the death of her four-year old adoptive son, Sean. Her trial is ongoing right now in Smithfield, NC and each of her surviving adoptive children have been called to testify against her. They have now all been placed in other foster care by social services.
From the accounts given in the testimony, Lynn Paddock is a monster. There are stories told by the children of extremely harsh punishments such as beatings with a plastic pipe or hose, being forced to eat their own feces for soiling their clothes, being forced to miss numerous meals for minor infractions at the table, and many other extreme measures. Read the testimony yesterday from some of the children in this Raleigh News and Observer article: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/paddock/story/1088734.html.
Her little boy Sean was found dead by EMS responders. It was determined that he suffocated after being so tightly wrapped in a blanket that he was unable to breathe. According to the charges, this tight wrapping in a blanket was another disciplinary method used by Lynn Paddock to keep the little boy from waking up in the night and roaming around the house. Essentially, it was a restraint. The autopsy revealed a host of bruises and other former wounds to his little body. When the other children were examined they were also determined to have other previous wounds.
The entire episode is much to long for me to recount here. It has played out for several months in the Raleigh newspaper. But, it has all been very troubling to me. First, one of the most troubling aspects of this case is that Lynn Paddock seems to be a follower of Rev. Michael Pearl, a Tennessee pastor who has written books and conducted seminars advocating such extreme disciplinary methods. Just do a Google search for his name and you can find out all you need to know about him. Paddock is not the first of his disciples to face the justice system.
A second thing that bothers me about the Lynn Paddock case is that she is an adoptive parent and so are my wife and I. It troubles me that a child (children in her case) who was in a really bad situation with his birth parents, was placed in a worse situation that ultimately led to his death. What a tragic, tragic story.
Someone dropped the ball in the adoption/social services involvement here. The Children's Home Society of North Carolina (which actually helped us with a part of our international adoption) was responsible for Sean's placement. This is a fine organization that has done really good work for decades in North Carolina on behalf of children. I don't think the entire organization should be blamed, although there is a lawsuit in the works against them. But, someone clearly dropped the ball in this case and subsequently created a nightmare for these children that ultimately ended up with in Lynn Paddock's chamber of horrors.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Honoring the Vets
William Tanner, the president of the old Home Mission Board of the SBC (1977-86) once told a story from his childhood growing up in a small town in Texas. It was during World War II and in his town there was an insurance agent who had four sons who were in the military fighting the war. This particular insurance agent had a display supporting the war effort in his storefront window that he changed regularly. Tanner said that he liked going by the store regularly and gazing at the different displays.
One day, as he rounded the corner to look in the window, the poster that he saw caught his attention. It was a picture blown up to about 3 feet by 3 feet of a soldier lying face down in the dirt. His helmet had been blown off his head. His outstretched hand seemed to be reaching for the weapon that was just out of his grasp. But the thing that caught Tanner the most was the caption that went with the picture: "What have you done for your country today that a soldier should die for you tomorrow?"
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Many Americans simply think of this holiday as another day off from work, a three-day weekend that traditionally marks the beginning of the summer vacation season. I enjoy Memorial Day for the same reasons. However, sometimes I think it does us good to pause and reflect about the meaning of this day. It honors the veterans who have served in the military certainly. But, more importantly, it memorializes those who have been killed in the service of our country.
If you read all my blogs you can probably tell that I am opposed to this war in Iraq. It was truly the "wrong war, fought in the wrong place, at the wrong time." One of the reasons that I am supporting Barack Obama is because he opposed the war from the beginning and is pledging to end it as soon as possible after he takes office. It may go down as the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history. I could not be any more opposed to the war in Iraq.
However, I am not opposed to the soldiers who are fighting it. They are us. Kids, moms and dads, sisters and brothers. They chose to answer their country's call and serve in the military. I believe that supporting them for me is working to bring them home soon. That's why I oppose the war.
My generation made the mistake of opposing a war and the soldiers who fought it. That scenario was a big mistake. In fact, a large part of the Vietnam Veterans were drafted; they had no choice. Nevertheless, this time we can support the soldier but oppose the war.
So, tomorrow I am going to think about and be thankful for our veterans, especially those from the American Revolution to the present who gave their lives in service to their country's call. And, I am going to continue to work to bring an end to the war in Iraq. And, I am going to re-commit myself to serving my country in every way I can.
Remember Captain Miller's words to Private Ryan on the bridge in the movie Saving Private Ryan: "Earn this!"
"What have you done today that a soldier should die for you tomorrow?"
One day, as he rounded the corner to look in the window, the poster that he saw caught his attention. It was a picture blown up to about 3 feet by 3 feet of a soldier lying face down in the dirt. His helmet had been blown off his head. His outstretched hand seemed to be reaching for the weapon that was just out of his grasp. But the thing that caught Tanner the most was the caption that went with the picture: "What have you done for your country today that a soldier should die for you tomorrow?"
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Many Americans simply think of this holiday as another day off from work, a three-day weekend that traditionally marks the beginning of the summer vacation season. I enjoy Memorial Day for the same reasons. However, sometimes I think it does us good to pause and reflect about the meaning of this day. It honors the veterans who have served in the military certainly. But, more importantly, it memorializes those who have been killed in the service of our country.
If you read all my blogs you can probably tell that I am opposed to this war in Iraq. It was truly the "wrong war, fought in the wrong place, at the wrong time." One of the reasons that I am supporting Barack Obama is because he opposed the war from the beginning and is pledging to end it as soon as possible after he takes office. It may go down as the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history. I could not be any more opposed to the war in Iraq.
However, I am not opposed to the soldiers who are fighting it. They are us. Kids, moms and dads, sisters and brothers. They chose to answer their country's call and serve in the military. I believe that supporting them for me is working to bring them home soon. That's why I oppose the war.
My generation made the mistake of opposing a war and the soldiers who fought it. That scenario was a big mistake. In fact, a large part of the Vietnam Veterans were drafted; they had no choice. Nevertheless, this time we can support the soldier but oppose the war.
So, tomorrow I am going to think about and be thankful for our veterans, especially those from the American Revolution to the present who gave their lives in service to their country's call. And, I am going to continue to work to bring an end to the war in Iraq. And, I am going to re-commit myself to serving my country in every way I can.
Remember Captain Miller's words to Private Ryan on the bridge in the movie Saving Private Ryan: "Earn this!"
"What have you done today that a soldier should die for you tomorrow?"
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Best Wishes Big Daddy Weave!
The son of my friend Doug Weaver, who has a blog called "The Big Daddy Weave," (http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/) was in an automobile accident Thursday evening. Things could have been worse. He came out of it, however, with a broken wrist, a strained back, a concussion, and a totaled vehicle.
I enjoy the Big Daddy Weave's blog. It is one of the best blogs out there for news among Baptists. So, here's to Aaron's speedy recovery! Hope you get well and return to blogging soon!
Check out his blog if you haven't seen it.
I enjoy the Big Daddy Weave's blog. It is one of the best blogs out there for news among Baptists. So, here's to Aaron's speedy recovery! Hope you get well and return to blogging soon!
Check out his blog if you haven't seen it.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Obama's Not Ashamed of His Christian Faith
If you haven't seen this story you ought to take a minute to scan through it. Barack Obama seems to be the first Democrat in a long time to be able to talk comfortably about his Christian faith and articulate how his faith impacts his politics. This will be good for him as he turns toward the general election in the fall. I think he is better at this than John McCain and the openness about his faith may help him win over some of the blue collar voters that he needs.
UPDATED Obama launches ads touting Christian beliefs
By Ryan Alessiralessi@herald-leader.com
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign has ramped up its efforts to emphasize his Christian faith in a series of new radio and television ads, as well as in a flier that volunteers have distributed.
Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, who endorsed Obama on Sunday, narrated a new radio spot for Obama that highlights the Illinois Senator’s upbringing and values, including how Obama is “a strong Christian.”
Mongiardo said he felt compelled to make the ad after constituents contacted his office with what he called “misconceptions” about Obama.
“The negative calls have been talking about either the color of his skin or claims that he’s not a Christian,” Mongiardo said. “As I’ve listened to news casts of primaries across the country, it struck me that there is a segment of people who are not voting for Hillary Clinton but are voting against Barack Obama because of issues that don’t pertain to substance.”
U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler of Versailles recorded a similar radio ad for Obama.
Obama’s race, religious background and patriotism have become controversial subplots during the drawn-out primary season. E-mail chains circulated earlier this year questioning whether Obama was a Muslim, while talk radio shows seized on why he doesn’t always wear a flag pin on his lapel.
Obama, during his speech in Louisville Monday, dismissed such arguments as static designed to divert attention from important issues.
Campaign spokesman Clark Stevens, however, said the ads and flier weren’t “in response to any issue.” “The focus is really to let voters know what issues are important to Sen. Obama,” he said. “Part of our effort is to reach out to people of all faiths and to communicate common values.”
The flier links Obama more overtly to church than the radio spots and television commercials, which focus on Obama’s life. The pamphlet shows him speaking from a pulpit with a cross and pipe organ behind him.
“My faith teachers me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won’t be fulfilling God’s will unless I go out and do the Lord’s work,” says the quote attributed to Obama on the front of the piece.
The campaign distributed similarly-designed fliers in other states, including South Carolina, where Democrats voted Jan. 26.
“There was at least one not-too veiled reference to his faith aimed at dispelling the notion that the name Obama is Muslim,” said Todd Shaw, assistant professor of political science at the University of South Carolina. “To this day you probably have some contingent in the voting public who may not be aware of his religious convictions.”
Obama attended Catholic and public schools in Indonesia, a Muslim nation, for four-and-a-half years during his childhood. He said in a speech last month in Pennsylvania that he was baptized at age 26 at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago — a church that attracted him with its social outreach and ministries for HIV/AIDS. Obama’s radio ads and flier highlight that work.
“A Christian, Barack’s first job was with churches helping communities left behind when local plants closed,” Chandler says in his commercial — a reference to his community organizing in Chicago’s South Side where several steel mills shut down.
It was Trinity’s now-retired pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., who created one of the biggest stirs of the Democratic primary when inflammatory snippets of some of his old sermons surfaced.
Last month, Obama denounced Wright after his former pastor made more public comments, such as claims that the U.S. government played a role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The flare-up didn’t help Obama in Kentucky.
A Herald-Leader/WKYT Kentucky Poll conducted last week showed that 43 percent of the 500 likely Kentucky Democratic voters surveyed said Wright’s comments were important factors in how they will vote on Tuesday.
“He stayed in his church that proclaimed hate and biases against white people. He stayed in it for 20 years to advance his own political gain,” said Miriam Picconi of Lexington in an interview last week.
Shaw, of the University of South Carolina, said the fliers and ads are ways to clarify both his faith and how church fits into who he is.
“In the aftermath of the Jeremiah Wright situation, I think he’s trying to give some context to what that means in his life — why he would stay in that church for 20 years,” Shaw said.
But too much of a concentration on religion could have a downside, Shaw warned.
“There is some risk of the problem of pandering,” he said. “If you make too strong of a pitch, are you in fact tweaking your image to fit what people want to hear?”
In Oregon, which shares its Election Day with Kentucky, Obama hasn’t highlighted his religion in ads and literature, said Robert Sahr, associate professor of political science at Oregon State University.
Oregon, Sahr said, “is among the least religious states in the country,” so such ads wouldn’t have the same effect there as they might in Kentucky or West Virginia.
All this comes on the heals of one of Obama’s most lopsided losses, which occurred in West Virginia Tuesday . Clinton defeated him by 41 points.
But Clinton aides said the campaign hasn’t tried to key in on any stereotypes or take advantage of misperceptions.
“We believe the criteria all voters should use is who is the best candidate,” said Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s communications director on a conference call with reporters Wednesday.
In addition to prominently mentioning Obama’s faith, the new TV and radio ads describe the candidate’s upbringing by a single mother and grandparents, who were from Kansas. They also detail his plan to provide tax breaks to the middle class.
Herald-Leader reporter Jim Niemi contributed to this report.
By Ryan Alessiralessi@herald-leader.com
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign has ramped up its efforts to emphasize his Christian faith in a series of new radio and television ads, as well as in a flier that volunteers have distributed.
Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, who endorsed Obama on Sunday, narrated a new radio spot for Obama that highlights the Illinois Senator’s upbringing and values, including how Obama is “a strong Christian.”
Mongiardo said he felt compelled to make the ad after constituents contacted his office with what he called “misconceptions” about Obama.
“The negative calls have been talking about either the color of his skin or claims that he’s not a Christian,” Mongiardo said. “As I’ve listened to news casts of primaries across the country, it struck me that there is a segment of people who are not voting for Hillary Clinton but are voting against Barack Obama because of issues that don’t pertain to substance.”
U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler of Versailles recorded a similar radio ad for Obama.
Obama’s race, religious background and patriotism have become controversial subplots during the drawn-out primary season. E-mail chains circulated earlier this year questioning whether Obama was a Muslim, while talk radio shows seized on why he doesn’t always wear a flag pin on his lapel.
Obama, during his speech in Louisville Monday, dismissed such arguments as static designed to divert attention from important issues.
Campaign spokesman Clark Stevens, however, said the ads and flier weren’t “in response to any issue.” “The focus is really to let voters know what issues are important to Sen. Obama,” he said. “Part of our effort is to reach out to people of all faiths and to communicate common values.”
The flier links Obama more overtly to church than the radio spots and television commercials, which focus on Obama’s life. The pamphlet shows him speaking from a pulpit with a cross and pipe organ behind him.
“My faith teachers me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won’t be fulfilling God’s will unless I go out and do the Lord’s work,” says the quote attributed to Obama on the front of the piece.
The campaign distributed similarly-designed fliers in other states, including South Carolina, where Democrats voted Jan. 26.
“There was at least one not-too veiled reference to his faith aimed at dispelling the notion that the name Obama is Muslim,” said Todd Shaw, assistant professor of political science at the University of South Carolina. “To this day you probably have some contingent in the voting public who may not be aware of his religious convictions.”
Obama attended Catholic and public schools in Indonesia, a Muslim nation, for four-and-a-half years during his childhood. He said in a speech last month in Pennsylvania that he was baptized at age 26 at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago — a church that attracted him with its social outreach and ministries for HIV/AIDS. Obama’s radio ads and flier highlight that work.
“A Christian, Barack’s first job was with churches helping communities left behind when local plants closed,” Chandler says in his commercial — a reference to his community organizing in Chicago’s South Side where several steel mills shut down.
It was Trinity’s now-retired pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., who created one of the biggest stirs of the Democratic primary when inflammatory snippets of some of his old sermons surfaced.
Last month, Obama denounced Wright after his former pastor made more public comments, such as claims that the U.S. government played a role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The flare-up didn’t help Obama in Kentucky.
A Herald-Leader/WKYT Kentucky Poll conducted last week showed that 43 percent of the 500 likely Kentucky Democratic voters surveyed said Wright’s comments were important factors in how they will vote on Tuesday.
“He stayed in his church that proclaimed hate and biases against white people. He stayed in it for 20 years to advance his own political gain,” said Miriam Picconi of Lexington in an interview last week.
Shaw, of the University of South Carolina, said the fliers and ads are ways to clarify both his faith and how church fits into who he is.
“In the aftermath of the Jeremiah Wright situation, I think he’s trying to give some context to what that means in his life — why he would stay in that church for 20 years,” Shaw said.
But too much of a concentration on religion could have a downside, Shaw warned.
“There is some risk of the problem of pandering,” he said. “If you make too strong of a pitch, are you in fact tweaking your image to fit what people want to hear?”
In Oregon, which shares its Election Day with Kentucky, Obama hasn’t highlighted his religion in ads and literature, said Robert Sahr, associate professor of political science at Oregon State University.
Oregon, Sahr said, “is among the least religious states in the country,” so such ads wouldn’t have the same effect there as they might in Kentucky or West Virginia.
All this comes on the heals of one of Obama’s most lopsided losses, which occurred in West Virginia Tuesday . Clinton defeated him by 41 points.
But Clinton aides said the campaign hasn’t tried to key in on any stereotypes or take advantage of misperceptions.
“We believe the criteria all voters should use is who is the best candidate,” said Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s communications director on a conference call with reporters Wednesday.
In addition to prominently mentioning Obama’s faith, the new TV and radio ads describe the candidate’s upbringing by a single mother and grandparents, who were from Kansas. They also detail his plan to provide tax breaks to the middle class.
Herald-Leader reporter Jim Niemi contributed to this report.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
What Causes This Kind of Twisted Thinking?
When I was in school (elementary, junior high, senior high, college, graduate school), never once did I ever worry for a second that a classmate might come to class one day with a bomb or with a gun and the intention to harm other students. We had bullies. They they were usually more talk than action.
Read this story below from CNN about Ryan Schallenberger and tell me what happens to a kid to make him this twisted. And, why have things changed so remarkably in the last several decades since I was a student?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/29/teen.charged.ap/index.html
FLORENCE, South Carolina (AP) -- A teen accused of plotting to blow up his high school told police that he wanted to die, go to heaven and kill Jesus, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Prosecutors argued in a federal courtroom that the statements are an indication that 18-year-old Ryan Schallenberger needs a psychological evaluation.
The straight-A Chesterfield High School senior was arrested April 19 and faces several state and federal charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. That charge carries a possible life sentence if he is convicted.
"His conduct is bizarre," prosecutor Buddy Bethea told Judge Thomas Rogers III, who did not immediately issue a ruling. "I think it screams out in his conduct that he be evaluated."
Defense attorney Bill Nettles said the request was premature, and that Schallenberger was competent to help in his defense.
Prosecutors want Schallenberger, currently at Chesterfield County jail, moved to a federal facility because they think he may try to commit suicide. His journal writings have become increasingly violent over the past year, prosecutor Rose Mary Parham said.
An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives testified that the teen told a sheriff he wanted to die after his arrest.
"He said death was better than life," Craig Townsend said. "He told the sheriff he wanted to die and go to heaven and once he got there, he wanted to kill Jesus."
Prosecutors also played a 911 tape of the teen's mother calling police after he smashed his head into a wall two days before his arrest. On the tape, she says her son threatened to shoot police if they came.
"He's not going to do it," Laurie Sittler told the operator. "He's just got a bad temper."
The teen left but his mother was scared he would return, she said in the call. "He's planning to go to college and everything, but I don't know what to do," she said.
Schallenberger was arrested after his parents picked up at the post office a package addressed to the teen containing 20 pounds of ammonium nitrate. They got nervous and looked through his room where they found a cassette tape he wanted played after he died, which they took to the sheriff's office, the agent testified. Authorities found his journal, which lauded the Columbine killers, after searching his room.
The 50-page journal contained notes on more than 10 types of explosives that Schallenberger experimented with and evaluated a year ago, the agent testified. It had a black cover and "Pisces" written on the front, and authorities have said it contained detailed plans to bomb Chesterfield High School.
Schallenberger's parents were at the hearing but would not comment.
Townsend also testified Schallenberger's mother called police to the home in April last year, when the teen was arrested for breach of peace. He said the teen became enraged and knocked over furniture after his mother asked him to walk with his sister to a grandparent's home.
Authorities also seized a computer that shows he searched Web sites for making bombs, a shotgun, carbon dioxide canisters, "hundreds and hundreds" of matchsticks, and more cassette tapes that they have not yet heard, Townsend said.
Read this story below from CNN about Ryan Schallenberger and tell me what happens to a kid to make him this twisted. And, why have things changed so remarkably in the last several decades since I was a student?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/29/teen.charged.ap/index.html
FLORENCE, South Carolina (AP) -- A teen accused of plotting to blow up his high school told police that he wanted to die, go to heaven and kill Jesus, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Prosecutors argued in a federal courtroom that the statements are an indication that 18-year-old Ryan Schallenberger needs a psychological evaluation.
The straight-A Chesterfield High School senior was arrested April 19 and faces several state and federal charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. That charge carries a possible life sentence if he is convicted.
"His conduct is bizarre," prosecutor Buddy Bethea told Judge Thomas Rogers III, who did not immediately issue a ruling. "I think it screams out in his conduct that he be evaluated."
Defense attorney Bill Nettles said the request was premature, and that Schallenberger was competent to help in his defense.
Prosecutors want Schallenberger, currently at Chesterfield County jail, moved to a federal facility because they think he may try to commit suicide. His journal writings have become increasingly violent over the past year, prosecutor Rose Mary Parham said.
An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives testified that the teen told a sheriff he wanted to die after his arrest.
"He said death was better than life," Craig Townsend said. "He told the sheriff he wanted to die and go to heaven and once he got there, he wanted to kill Jesus."
Prosecutors also played a 911 tape of the teen's mother calling police after he smashed his head into a wall two days before his arrest. On the tape, she says her son threatened to shoot police if they came.
"He's not going to do it," Laurie Sittler told the operator. "He's just got a bad temper."
The teen left but his mother was scared he would return, she said in the call. "He's planning to go to college and everything, but I don't know what to do," she said.
Schallenberger was arrested after his parents picked up at the post office a package addressed to the teen containing 20 pounds of ammonium nitrate. They got nervous and looked through his room where they found a cassette tape he wanted played after he died, which they took to the sheriff's office, the agent testified. Authorities found his journal, which lauded the Columbine killers, after searching his room.
The 50-page journal contained notes on more than 10 types of explosives that Schallenberger experimented with and evaluated a year ago, the agent testified. It had a black cover and "Pisces" written on the front, and authorities have said it contained detailed plans to bomb Chesterfield High School.
Schallenberger's parents were at the hearing but would not comment.
Townsend also testified Schallenberger's mother called police to the home in April last year, when the teen was arrested for breach of peace. He said the teen became enraged and knocked over furniture after his mother asked him to walk with his sister to a grandparent's home.
Authorities also seized a computer that shows he searched Web sites for making bombs, a shotgun, carbon dioxide canisters, "hundreds and hundreds" of matchsticks, and more cassette tapes that they have not yet heard, Townsend said.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Hoping for an Elitist
The following letter to the editor appeared in the Raleigh News and Observer several days ago. It is written by Rich Weems of Cary. I think he's on to something.
"I don't know whether Barack Obama is an elitist, but I hope so.
I'm tired of having some dumb cowboy mussing up the White House carpet with his dirty boots and ridiculous policies. I want someone who's smart and knows what he's doing in the White House.
I want the guy who's leading the strongest nation on earth to be better than the average guy. I don't care whether he bowls, but I want the next president to know the difference between Sunni and Shia; to understand the economy, and not just leave it to the "budget guy;" to speak in complete sentences with proper grammar and to be concerned about the here and now as opposed to waiting for history to judge him.
So, yeah, I want an "elitist" to be in the White House 'cause I already know what having a nonelitist in there has done for us."
Well said Rich!
"I don't know whether Barack Obama is an elitist, but I hope so.
I'm tired of having some dumb cowboy mussing up the White House carpet with his dirty boots and ridiculous policies. I want someone who's smart and knows what he's doing in the White House.
I want the guy who's leading the strongest nation on earth to be better than the average guy. I don't care whether he bowls, but I want the next president to know the difference between Sunni and Shia; to understand the economy, and not just leave it to the "budget guy;" to speak in complete sentences with proper grammar and to be concerned about the here and now as opposed to waiting for history to judge him.
So, yeah, I want an "elitist" to be in the White House 'cause I already know what having a nonelitist in there has done for us."
Well said Rich!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
It Takes a Springsteen Fan to Understand
If you are around me much, especially if you are a student in my classes, you know that I am a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. I love his music. I draw a lot of strength from his lyrics which I find in many respects to be deeply theological in some places. He is currently touring to promote his new album "Magic."
I and my oldest daughter Hannah are making the trek Friday to Atlanta to see Bruce at Phillips Arena. I suppose that I am just about as excited to be taking her to her first Springsteen show as I am attending the show myself. My wife and I will then be seeing him in Greensboro on Monday evening. I hope to see him at least once more over the summer or next fall. Friday night will be my 9th concert with Bruce over the last 20 years, not nearly as much as other die-hard fans who boast of hundreds of shows, but nevertheless a good number. I am at least not a "newbie" to his music and shows and with only a few exceptions, can sing the lyrics to most of the songs that I will hear. So, it portends to be a fun weekend.
I found this article today which really caught my attention. It shows the extent that a "true fan" will go to to spread the message of the quality of Bruce's music and concerts. Enjoy!
http://www.hickoryrecord.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR/MGArticle/HDR_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173355345273
Style, simile and ... Springsteen?
Teacher ties in academics, fun with middle school trip to concert
By Ragan Robinson
Contact me
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Computer teacher Mike Telesca (center) bought 35 tickets (and had 15 donated) for students to see Bruce Springsteen in concert in Greensboro. To tie it in with academics, they're having three seminars to talk about language arts and Springsteen songs. ROBERT C. REED (RECORD PHOTOGRAPHER)
GRANITE FALLS - Mike Telesca might be the computer teacher at Granite Falls Middle School, but in his classroom, Bruce Springsteen is still The Boss.
Telesca plays Springsteen for background music in class. Sometimes he sings along in a gravelly Connecticut accent that’s close enough to a New Jersey brogue, at least in Caldwell County, to make his principal introduce him as a native of Springsteen’s home state.
Once, when he was at Catawba Valley High School, he taught an entire thematic unit on his favorite musician, using the songs for language arts, calculating stage square footage and area for math, figuring out the cardiovascular benefits of running around as much as Springsteen does in concert.
Telesca, who will tell you he’s going to fib about his age before he fibs about it, has seen hundreds of Bruce’s shows. His book of ticket stubs is a good 5 inches thick. He will be in Atlanta for a concert Friday, Charlotte on Sunday and Virginia on Wednesday. He would’ve gone to two shows in Florida if the death of longtime E Street Band member Danny Federici hadn’t postponed them.
To put it plainly - something his rock idol never does - Telesca loves The Boss.
He loves him so much that this year, he decided his kids needed to see a show. And they needed to see one so much that Telesca shelled out about $3,000 to buy 35 tickets before Springsteen’s management company kicked in 15 or so more. Add Greensboro to that concert list.
Mr. T, to use the student vernacular, doesn’t want to talk about the money. He all but jumps out of his chair talking about the experience his students will get.
“People ask, “How can you justify it?’” he says. “Well, the goal of art is to make you think. There is no artist of our generation who makes you think and examine your beliefs more than Springsteen.”
Then there’s the fact that a lot of his kids never get out of Caldwell County, Telesca says. He wants to show them something new, something bigger than Granite Falls.
He’s not so blinded by Springsteen’s light he can’t see that reasoning might not fly. To supplement, he and English teacher Kim “he’d better play Thunder Road” Story are holding after-school and Saturday “Socratic discussions” on the man and his music this week. They’ll talk about Springsteen’s cultural significance and use his songs for lessons on expressive language.
By the time the show starts Monday night, they’ll have a few Springsteen-themed homework assignments under their belts. They went home Tuesday looking for personification, metaphor and simile in the lyrics.
Students had to do some extra work for the privilege of going on the world’s coolest field trip. Telesca had them write letters explaining why they are deserving.
Their answers are classic middle-school genius.
“Kids once in our life need to have fun,” wrote seventh-grader Erica Haas. “We cannot be treated like animals all the time.”
From eighth-grader Jarret Walker: “I share the same love that you share, the love of rock.”
Eighth-grader Austin Sigler’s mom is a fan and the show is on her birthday. He figures his getting to go would be a great present for her.
And sixth-grader Eric Smith put a needle in his forever young teacher’s side with this one: “My nana is one of his fans and she never got to go to one of his concerts.”
I and my oldest daughter Hannah are making the trek Friday to Atlanta to see Bruce at Phillips Arena. I suppose that I am just about as excited to be taking her to her first Springsteen show as I am attending the show myself. My wife and I will then be seeing him in Greensboro on Monday evening. I hope to see him at least once more over the summer or next fall. Friday night will be my 9th concert with Bruce over the last 20 years, not nearly as much as other die-hard fans who boast of hundreds of shows, but nevertheless a good number. I am at least not a "newbie" to his music and shows and with only a few exceptions, can sing the lyrics to most of the songs that I will hear. So, it portends to be a fun weekend.
I found this article today which really caught my attention. It shows the extent that a "true fan" will go to to spread the message of the quality of Bruce's music and concerts. Enjoy!
http://www.hickoryrecord.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR/MGArticle/HDR_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173355345273
Style, simile and ... Springsteen?
Teacher ties in academics, fun with middle school trip to concert
By Ragan Robinson
Contact me
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Computer teacher Mike Telesca (center) bought 35 tickets (and had 15 donated) for students to see Bruce Springsteen in concert in Greensboro. To tie it in with academics, they're having three seminars to talk about language arts and Springsteen songs. ROBERT C. REED (RECORD PHOTOGRAPHER)
GRANITE FALLS - Mike Telesca might be the computer teacher at Granite Falls Middle School, but in his classroom, Bruce Springsteen is still The Boss.
Telesca plays Springsteen for background music in class. Sometimes he sings along in a gravelly Connecticut accent that’s close enough to a New Jersey brogue, at least in Caldwell County, to make his principal introduce him as a native of Springsteen’s home state.
Once, when he was at Catawba Valley High School, he taught an entire thematic unit on his favorite musician, using the songs for language arts, calculating stage square footage and area for math, figuring out the cardiovascular benefits of running around as much as Springsteen does in concert.
Telesca, who will tell you he’s going to fib about his age before he fibs about it, has seen hundreds of Bruce’s shows. His book of ticket stubs is a good 5 inches thick. He will be in Atlanta for a concert Friday, Charlotte on Sunday and Virginia on Wednesday. He would’ve gone to two shows in Florida if the death of longtime E Street Band member Danny Federici hadn’t postponed them.
To put it plainly - something his rock idol never does - Telesca loves The Boss.
He loves him so much that this year, he decided his kids needed to see a show. And they needed to see one so much that Telesca shelled out about $3,000 to buy 35 tickets before Springsteen’s management company kicked in 15 or so more. Add Greensboro to that concert list.
Mr. T, to use the student vernacular, doesn’t want to talk about the money. He all but jumps out of his chair talking about the experience his students will get.
“People ask, “How can you justify it?’” he says. “Well, the goal of art is to make you think. There is no artist of our generation who makes you think and examine your beliefs more than Springsteen.”
Then there’s the fact that a lot of his kids never get out of Caldwell County, Telesca says. He wants to show them something new, something bigger than Granite Falls.
He’s not so blinded by Springsteen’s light he can’t see that reasoning might not fly. To supplement, he and English teacher Kim “he’d better play Thunder Road” Story are holding after-school and Saturday “Socratic discussions” on the man and his music this week. They’ll talk about Springsteen’s cultural significance and use his songs for lessons on expressive language.
By the time the show starts Monday night, they’ll have a few Springsteen-themed homework assignments under their belts. They went home Tuesday looking for personification, metaphor and simile in the lyrics.
Students had to do some extra work for the privilege of going on the world’s coolest field trip. Telesca had them write letters explaining why they are deserving.
Their answers are classic middle-school genius.
“Kids once in our life need to have fun,” wrote seventh-grader Erica Haas. “We cannot be treated like animals all the time.”
From eighth-grader Jarret Walker: “I share the same love that you share, the love of rock.”
Eighth-grader Austin Sigler’s mom is a fan and the show is on her birthday. He figures his getting to go would be a great present for her.
And sixth-grader Eric Smith put a needle in his forever young teacher’s side with this one: “My nana is one of his fans and she never got to go to one of his concerts.”
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Missouri Baptist Editor and the Confederate Flag
This is so outrageous that I'm just going to copy the article from Ethicsdaily.com. You read it for yourself. I am amazed and outraged that in 2008 there are still racist idiots like this who have prominent positions in Baptist life in the South. The article is by Brian Kaylor.
The link is: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=10301
Missouri Baptist Editor Supports Confederate FlagBrian Kaylor04-03-08
The editor of the Missouri Baptist Convention's in-house publication, "The Pathway," has strongly defended the controversial Confederate battle flag and aggressively attacked those who challenge it.
In his book Embattled Banner: A Reasonable Defense of the Confederate Battle Flag, Don Hinkle called himself "an unReconstructed Confederate" and dismissed critics of the flag as "a small group of malcontents and bigots."
MBC interim Executive Director David Tolliver, recently condemned the flag in a column in The Pathway because it "represents hate" and "depicts deep-rooted racial bigotry and hatred." As a result, Tolliver argued that Christians should not fly the flag. Meanwhile, a Web site run by his organization is promoting Hinkle's decade-old book defending that very symbol.
Hinkle argued in his book that the flag is actually a Christian symbol because it features St. Andrew's Cross and because the Confederate Constitution acknowledged God while the U.S. Constitution does not. His book even included a photo of the flag flying next to the Christian flag.
In his book, the Confederate's fight becomes a religious mission, and this fight is not yet over. He even argued that those attacking the flag should remember that Southerners "will 'draw their sabers' in a second if they feel their honor has been questioned" and pointed to Union cemeteries as proof.
After asking if the flag is a "racist relic," Hinkle declared, "Absolutely not!" He added that "the battle flag was not--nor will ever be--symbolic of slavery or racism."
Rather than seeing the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of hate, Hinkle asserted that it is the "anti-flag minority" who are trying to "bully" the South through "character assassination." He also accused critics of using "petty politics based on distortion and bigotry."
He declared the attacks to be "cultural genocide" and even argued that Missouri was among the states hurt by the attacks on the flag. Among his examples of "attacks being launched against Southern culture" is criticism of William Jewell College, which at the time was affiliated with the MBC, for not allowing the flag flown during a ceremony in the school's chapel.
Hinkle claimed that many of critics of the Confederate flag are actually also opposed to the American flag. He suggested that this movement would result in "feeding the Constitution to a shredder" and remove American historical artifacts "like what the Communists did to rewrite Russian history after the fall of the Czar."
Hinkle even compared the NAACP to the KKK and asserted that it was "closer to becoming just another hate group." He claimed the NAACP's opposition to the Confederate flag was an attempt to "whip blacks into an emotional tizzy."
African-Americans peacefully requesting a Confederate flag be taken down are called "[r]adical blacks" and a "mob" by Hinkle.
He argued that since many African-Americans fought for the Confederacy, "there is no reason why blacks shouldn't view the Confederate battle flag with as much pride as anyone if they so choose." He claimed that the slaves who fought for the Confederacy did so because most slave owners "took good care of them." He insisted that critics of slavery "wrongfully apply today's moral to a world that was vastly different."
"Many white Southerners were trying to figure out a way to end the 'peculiar institution' when the intolerant abolitionists went nuts over the issue," Hinkle wrote.
Hinkle also described slavery as "the misfortunate of blacks" and claimed that Reconstruction actually produced greater injustices than slavery or Jim Crow laws.
"The only connection I can see between Jim Crow and the war, much less the flag, is that it may have been the white Southerners' way of retaliating against some blacks who took advantage of them during the most corrupt and disgraceful period in our nation's history, Reconstruction," Hinkle asserted. "Such wrongful retaliation occurs whenever the majority regains control after the minority has abused the majority."
Dr. W. Scott Poole, assistant professor of history at the College of Charleston, offered a devastating critique of Hinkle's book. Writing a chapter in the book National Symbols, Fractured Identities, Poole argued that Hinkle's book "represents a bizarre outcropping of the 'neo-Confederate' movement."
"Hinkle's diatribe makes frequent use of class language, often couched in the vocabulary of Confederate nationalism," Poole wrote. "The tract resists easy analysis. Poorly written and edited, it is a farrago of ahistorical meandering, tendentious claims, and a disturbing number of unctuous threats. The author employs a rhetorical strategy of verbal violence against the elites who are allegedly marginalizing white southerners."
Poole also noted that that "Hinkle insists on condemning Lincoln to hellfire." Hinkle gleefully suggested that Lincoln is in Hell, which he sees as justified punishment for a man that waged war against the South.
Since working for The Pathway, Hinkle has briefly praised Confederate General Robert E. Lee. He also launched an attack on the Baptist World Alliance that included criticism of former Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a black religious leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa and bring racial reconciliation to the nation.
The link is: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=10301
Missouri Baptist Editor Supports Confederate FlagBrian Kaylor04-03-08
The editor of the Missouri Baptist Convention's in-house publication, "The Pathway," has strongly defended the controversial Confederate battle flag and aggressively attacked those who challenge it.
In his book Embattled Banner: A Reasonable Defense of the Confederate Battle Flag, Don Hinkle called himself "an unReconstructed Confederate" and dismissed critics of the flag as "a small group of malcontents and bigots."
MBC interim Executive Director David Tolliver, recently condemned the flag in a column in The Pathway because it "represents hate" and "depicts deep-rooted racial bigotry and hatred." As a result, Tolliver argued that Christians should not fly the flag. Meanwhile, a Web site run by his organization is promoting Hinkle's decade-old book defending that very symbol.
Hinkle argued in his book that the flag is actually a Christian symbol because it features St. Andrew's Cross and because the Confederate Constitution acknowledged God while the U.S. Constitution does not. His book even included a photo of the flag flying next to the Christian flag.
In his book, the Confederate's fight becomes a religious mission, and this fight is not yet over. He even argued that those attacking the flag should remember that Southerners "will 'draw their sabers' in a second if they feel their honor has been questioned" and pointed to Union cemeteries as proof.
After asking if the flag is a "racist relic," Hinkle declared, "Absolutely not!" He added that "the battle flag was not--nor will ever be--symbolic of slavery or racism."
Rather than seeing the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of hate, Hinkle asserted that it is the "anti-flag minority" who are trying to "bully" the South through "character assassination." He also accused critics of using "petty politics based on distortion and bigotry."
He declared the attacks to be "cultural genocide" and even argued that Missouri was among the states hurt by the attacks on the flag. Among his examples of "attacks being launched against Southern culture" is criticism of William Jewell College, which at the time was affiliated with the MBC, for not allowing the flag flown during a ceremony in the school's chapel.
Hinkle claimed that many of critics of the Confederate flag are actually also opposed to the American flag. He suggested that this movement would result in "feeding the Constitution to a shredder" and remove American historical artifacts "like what the Communists did to rewrite Russian history after the fall of the Czar."
Hinkle even compared the NAACP to the KKK and asserted that it was "closer to becoming just another hate group." He claimed the NAACP's opposition to the Confederate flag was an attempt to "whip blacks into an emotional tizzy."
African-Americans peacefully requesting a Confederate flag be taken down are called "[r]adical blacks" and a "mob" by Hinkle.
He argued that since many African-Americans fought for the Confederacy, "there is no reason why blacks shouldn't view the Confederate battle flag with as much pride as anyone if they so choose." He claimed that the slaves who fought for the Confederacy did so because most slave owners "took good care of them." He insisted that critics of slavery "wrongfully apply today's moral to a world that was vastly different."
"Many white Southerners were trying to figure out a way to end the 'peculiar institution' when the intolerant abolitionists went nuts over the issue," Hinkle wrote.
Hinkle also described slavery as "the misfortunate of blacks" and claimed that Reconstruction actually produced greater injustices than slavery or Jim Crow laws.
"The only connection I can see between Jim Crow and the war, much less the flag, is that it may have been the white Southerners' way of retaliating against some blacks who took advantage of them during the most corrupt and disgraceful period in our nation's history, Reconstruction," Hinkle asserted. "Such wrongful retaliation occurs whenever the majority regains control after the minority has abused the majority."
Dr. W. Scott Poole, assistant professor of history at the College of Charleston, offered a devastating critique of Hinkle's book. Writing a chapter in the book National Symbols, Fractured Identities, Poole argued that Hinkle's book "represents a bizarre outcropping of the 'neo-Confederate' movement."
"Hinkle's diatribe makes frequent use of class language, often couched in the vocabulary of Confederate nationalism," Poole wrote. "The tract resists easy analysis. Poorly written and edited, it is a farrago of ahistorical meandering, tendentious claims, and a disturbing number of unctuous threats. The author employs a rhetorical strategy of verbal violence against the elites who are allegedly marginalizing white southerners."
Poole also noted that that "Hinkle insists on condemning Lincoln to hellfire." Hinkle gleefully suggested that Lincoln is in Hell, which he sees as justified punishment for a man that waged war against the South.
Since working for The Pathway, Hinkle has briefly praised Confederate General Robert E. Lee. He also launched an attack on the Baptist World Alliance that included criticism of former Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a black religious leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa and bring racial reconciliation to the nation.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Obama is Looking More Presidential
I am now in the Obama camp. I have given up on my hopes that somehow Al Gore might find a way to come into the presidential race. I do like what I'm hearing from Barak Obama. My wife likes Hillary Clinton. We have both said to each other, however, that whichever one gets the Democratic nomination, we will vote for the Democrat. That's a given.
No way do we want a continuation of the devastating Republican policies in our nation. So many things need changing. But, Tony Cartledge in his blog today (http://www.tonycartledge.com/), hits the proverbial nail on the head with the real issue in this race. It is America's place in the world that is more important than anything else. Read Tony's blog. I agree with him.
Remember after 9/11 how the entire world grieved with America as we mourned the loss of more than 3000 of our citizens. The world would have been solidly behind us in our efforts to destory Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. We would have found global support in the intelligence area. We had the world on our side.
But, President Bush, along with his Neocon advisors chose a devastating path of invading Iraq, a nation that was of no threat to us at all. For the first time in American history, we invaded a nation that was not a threat to us. Furthermore, we have destroyed our moral integrity in the world by torturing prisoners and a host of other things. In short, the world hates America now.
That's why we need a president like Barak Obama. He thinks globally. His father was African. He lived a part of his childhood overseas. He knows the world community. Say what you will about his lack of experience. Those qualifications alone put him head and shoulders above either Senators Clinton or McCain for the world situation America faces now.
No way do we want a continuation of the devastating Republican policies in our nation. So many things need changing. But, Tony Cartledge in his blog today (http://www.tonycartledge.com/), hits the proverbial nail on the head with the real issue in this race. It is America's place in the world that is more important than anything else. Read Tony's blog. I agree with him.
Remember after 9/11 how the entire world grieved with America as we mourned the loss of more than 3000 of our citizens. The world would have been solidly behind us in our efforts to destory Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. We would have found global support in the intelligence area. We had the world on our side.
But, President Bush, along with his Neocon advisors chose a devastating path of invading Iraq, a nation that was of no threat to us at all. For the first time in American history, we invaded a nation that was not a threat to us. Furthermore, we have destroyed our moral integrity in the world by torturing prisoners and a host of other things. In short, the world hates America now.
That's why we need a president like Barak Obama. He thinks globally. His father was African. He lived a part of his childhood overseas. He knows the world community. Say what you will about his lack of experience. Those qualifications alone put him head and shoulders above either Senators Clinton or McCain for the world situation America faces now.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The New Baptist Covenant
It has taken me about a week, but I have put together my thoughts and feelings about the New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta below. I serve as interim pastor at a church in eastern North Carolina and I incorporated my thoughts into my sermon this morning. Admittedly, I am not a journalist. So, if you want the actual events of the meeting, go to some of the other Baptist blogs such as John Pierce, Tony Cartledge, or the Big Daddy Weave. These are just my own thoughts.
One of the most remarkable worship sites that I have ever visited was Coventry Cathedral in England. I visited this cathedral on a Sunday morning in 2006. On the night of November 14, 1940 the German Luftwaffe completely destroyed the city of Coventry with a ferocious bombing campaign that included a number of incendiary bombs. The old cathedral, which had stood for almost a millennium was completely and utterly destroyed. The very next day the people of Coventry vowed to rebuild their cathedral. However, they determined that the rebuilding would not be an act of anger or defiance. They would rebuild in the spirit of reconciliation and peace as a sign of their faith, hope, and trust in the future.
To this I would simply respond by saying (1) There were plenty of Baptists at this meeting who would not necessarily fall into the category of “moderate and liberal Baptists,” and (2) I think Jesus spoke a lot about “poverty, diversity, peace, immigration, and prisoners” long before any political candidates for president talked about them. I wondered if the writer had ever read Matthew 25?
[1] Raleigh News and Observer, 9 February 2008, p. 20a. Letter by Henry Morgan.
[2] http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=7387.
[3] http://baptiststoday.org/. Blog by Tony Cartledge.
From Despair to Hope
Ezra 3: 10-13
Ezra 3: 10-13
One of the most remarkable worship sites that I have ever visited was Coventry Cathedral in England. I visited this cathedral on a Sunday morning in 2006. On the night of November 14, 1940 the German Luftwaffe completely destroyed the city of Coventry with a ferocious bombing campaign that included a number of incendiary bombs. The old cathedral, which had stood for almost a millennium was completely and utterly destroyed. The very next day the people of Coventry vowed to rebuild their cathedral. However, they determined that the rebuilding would not be an act of anger or defiance. They would rebuild in the spirit of reconciliation and peace as a sign of their faith, hope, and trust in the future.
Shortly after the destruction, the cathedral’s stone mason discovered two burned out medieval timbers from the roof of the old cathedral which had fallen to the floor in the shape of a cross. He set them up on a make-shift altar in the ruins and later the words “Father Forgive” were inscribed behind the altar in the sanctuary wall. Also, three nails were found in the rubble and were fused together to form a “cross of nails” which has become the symbol of the cathedral’s Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation to the world.
The new cathedral was started in 1956 and completed six years later. Today it stands as a beautiful testimony that in the midst of despair can come hope. From the ashes of the old Coventry Cathedral has arisen the new Coventry Cathedral with an international ministry promoting peace and reconciliation.
You have heard me mention before about how devastating the 6th century B.C. was for the Jewish people. Indeed, it is impossible to understand ancient Israel without being aware of this monumental event in their history. In 587 B.C. the Babylonians completely destroyed Jerusalem and more importantly, their temple. For 400 years it had stood as the heart of their worship community. It was dreamed of by David, dedicated by Solomon, drawn attention to by Jeremiah, dedicated again by Josiah, and destroyed by the Babylonians. Now it was gone.
But it got worse. The people themselves were taken into captivity into Babylon. Talk about despair! They lost their land. They lost their temple. They lost their way of life. And they lost their faith. They were devastated!
But a wonderful thing happened about 50 years later. In 538 B.C. the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians and the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem. Ezra led one of these waves of returning Jews. But when they arrived back home things had changed drastically over the last half-century. The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins. The walls were destroyed. The temple itself was destroyed. All the important objects of the temple were gone. Everything of value had been looted. The Ark of the Covenant was gone. The temple lay in ruins, a picture of utter devastation.
Led by Ezra, the Jews began the slow task of rebuilding their temple. First they rebuilt the altar (vss. 1-6). Then they laid the foundation for the temple (vss. 7-9). Finally, we come to our text for the day. After the foundation was completed, the people began to celebrate. It was something of a pause, a respite. They celebrated the fact that they were beginning to move from despair to hope. It was dawning on them that their exile was coming to an end.
As most of you know last week I attended the meeting of the New Baptist Covenant in Atlanta. A number of you have asked me my impression about the meeting. I have promised that I would share my thoughts with you. But first, I need to give you some information about my own pilgrimage in the Baptist world.
Unlike many of you, I did not grow up Baptist. I grew up in the Methodist tradition. While many of you were going to Training Union on Sunday evenings, I was going to MYF. Most of you grew up hearing about Ridgecrest. For me it was Lake Junaluska. I am not Baptist by birth. I am Baptist by conviction. I was introduced to the Baptist tradition by two people, my best friend in high school and my girlfriend (whose father was a Baptist preacher). I was 18 years old when I was baptized in October, 1977 by Dr. Billy Cline at Merrimon Ave. Baptist Church.
By the time I was baptized I had decided that I was going to prepare for ministry in the Baptist tradition. I was a freshman at Mars Hill College where I completed my Religion degree then continued on at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where I completed my Master of Divinity degree.
But, in the midst of my preparation for ministry I became acutely aware of “the Controversy” when it broke out in 1979. Some of you were at one of the six SBC seminaries during this time. The Controversy for many of us became sort of like a sport. Conventions came and went and we attended if we could and pulled for “our side.” I went to seminary with no idea what a Fundamentalist was but graduated knowing exactly what a Fundamentalist was. I knew that Fundamentalism was not the lens through which I viewed the Christian life.
And so I eventually became a pastor in Texas and did what many others like me did. I began to devote time to organizing and working for the Moderate network in Texas Baptist life. If I wasn’t directly involved in vote counting or trying to woo an “uncommitted” pastor to our side, I was talking about “the Controversy” with friends over lunch and speculating about what might happen at the next convention meeting.
All of this was a very poisonous environment. Looking back on it, it was almost addictive. Gossip about various leaders would spread like wildfire. Conventions were like football games. We cheered and booed, jeered and wooed. I had become addicted to the Controversy.
The year 1990 marked a turning point. That was the year that most Moderates realized that the SBC was gone and would never again be the same. But still the fight continued in state conventions and associations. I continued to discuss and debate. Now, after 20 years of participating in the Baptist Battle, I am weary. Many of my generation of ministers and theological professors are tired of the Controversy. I don’t disparage the Conservatives in Baptist life. I just want to do the ministry and work that God has called me to do and not be hindered by that mindset.
But although I don’t go to SBC meetings anymore and I am completely affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the “Controversy” has still remained with me. The outcome of 30 years of in-fighting between Baptists in the South has been the demise of the Baptist name. Now, the name “Baptist” is a caricature. So many times I introduce myself as “Baptist” but have to qualify it and say, “But I’m a good kind of Baptist.” Or, “I’m not that kind of Baptist.”
The Baptist name has lost much of its luster and no longer holds a positive witness in many places today. In the early 21st century, to the non-Baptist world that doesn’t understand the different kinds of Baptists, our name is associated with things such as total identification with the extreme right wing of one political party, boycotting Disneyworld, telling women they need to “graciously submit” to their husbands, telling women that God will allow the church to baptize you but not allow the church to ordain you, or telling certain people that they are not welcomed in our churches because of a specific sin or lifestyle they may lead.
Another sobering fact is that the generation behind me is less interested in denominational affiliation with the Baptists than previous generations. That is going to have a tremendous impact on the well-being of Baptist churches in the future. It is also going to have an impact on the ability of Baptist churches in the future to attract ministers. The generation behind mine simply is not as interested in our denomination as their parents and grandparents. At Campbell, the class that I teach that always has the smallest enrollment is my Baptist History class. But, I get a good number of students who sign up for my Religion in America, Early Christianity, or Reformation classes.
Because the Baptist name has suffered greatly in the last 30 years, there is a sense in which I and many like me have felt like we were in exile in Babylon. I have felt feelings of despair. I have been sorrowful that the good things that Baptists have historically championed such as devotion to freedom of conscience, religious freedom, freedom of the local church, freedom to read and interpret scripture for ourselves, all good aspects of the Baptist tradition, have been overshadowed by our fighting, hypocrisy, and pharisaic spirit. God forgive us!
That is why I was very excited about the New Baptist Covenant and why I returned home last Saturday from Atlanta with a hope that I have not had for the Baptist witness in the world in a long time. In the short time I have, let me try and describe to you what this meeting was about and why I am so excited.
I. First, let me tell you what the meeting was not.
A. This Meeting Was Not a Political Rally Designed to Support the Democratic Party in this Election Year.
It is true that the meeting was organized by former President Jimmy Carter and was supported by former President Bill Clinton. But in the plenary sessions there were no campaign speeches. In fact, the only person who mentioned a candidate for president was Bill Clinton who, in his speech, spoke of his admiration and friendship with Governor Mike Huckabee, a fellow Baptist. Admittedly, former Presidents Carter and Clinton and former Vice-President Al Gore are Democrats. However, Senators Charles Grassley and Lindsey Graham, both Republicans, were on the program (although Senator Graham had to cancel). And, Governor Mike Huckabee was originally scheduled to be on the program but withdrew because he is a presidential candidate. This was not a political rally. I think if it had become that, many of us (perhaps thousands) would have left early.
I saw a letter to the editor in the Raleigh News and Observer yesterday that was criticizing the meeting as being political. The writer said:
It is most unusual that liberal and moderate Baptists would join with former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore to discuss issues of national interest. Although the leaders of the group claimed that they had no political agenda, the themes of the meeting—“poverty, diversity, peace, immigration and prisoners”—are the same prominent topics used by all the high profile candidates in today’s national political arena.[1]
To this I would simply respond by saying (1) There were plenty of Baptists at this meeting who would not necessarily fall into the category of “moderate and liberal Baptists,” and (2) I think Jesus spoke a lot about “poverty, diversity, peace, immigration, and prisoners” long before any political candidates for president talked about them. I wondered if the writer had ever read Matthew 25?
B. This Meeting Was Not Designed to Include Only Moderate and Liberal Baptists.
On the contrary, Baptists from all over North America were invited to participate in this meeting. A total of 30 different Baptists groups responded. One of the major Baptist groups in North America, indeed the largest, refused to participate. And representatives from that group as well as their publicity arm have been most critical of the New Baptist Convenant. But, their exclusion was not the doing of the organizers of the New Baptist Covenant. They were invited and asked to be involved. They chose instead to stay away.
To bring us back to the text in Ezra this morning, you recall that when the Jews, led by Ezra, laid the foundation of the temple, they celebrated. They rejoiced. They worshipped and praised God. And, yet, if you read further in the chapter, you will discover that a group eventually began to work against the rebuilding of the temple. Those that speak negatively about the New Baptist Covenant, whatever it was and whatever it will be, remind me of the naysayers in Ezra 3:12.
C. The New Baptist Covenant Was Not the Beginning of a New
Denomination.
Denomination.
Again, some have claimed that organizing a new Baptist denomination is the real motive behind the organizers. I heard nothing about this at all. In fact, there were questions from the podium and in the hallways about where does this movement go from here. No one, and I mean no one has any desire to create a new denomination. This meeting represented no attempt to build a new Baptist body. Buddy Shurden said it this way, “The New Baptist Covenant is not an effort to form something together, it is an effort to say something together about what we ought to be doing together.”[2]
II. Finally, I Will Tell You What I Believe this Meeting Accomplished.
A. This Was, Perhaps the Most Diverse Gathering of Such a Large Number of Baptists, in the Four Centuries of Our History
I can’t stress too much how diverse this gathering was. There was theological diversity. They was racial diversity. There was cultural diversity. There were close to 20,000 people registered for this meeting from 30 racially, geographically and theologically diverse Baptist groups in North America. These 30 Baptist denominations (Southern Baptists, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Baptists, American Baptists, National Baptists, Progressive National Baptists, Canadian Baptists, Hispanic Baptists, Seventh-Day Baptists, Japanese Baptists, Laotian Baptists, just to name a few) represented 20 million Baptists in North America.
Forty-Five years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Monument and declared in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, that “one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.” There is no doubt in my mind that on the red hills of Georgia from January 30-Feburary 1, 2008, King’s dream came to fruition. It was truly one of the most exciting meetings I have ever been to because of the incredible diversity.
B. This Was a Meeting that Called Baptists Back to Our Task of Missions.
For too long, we have gone to Baptist meetings and politicked. This meeting was about being like Jesus in the world. We heard a lot about Luke 4. In that chapter, Jesus declared to his hometown folks in Nazareth what he believed to be his mission:
The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Baptists are a people who believe that we should be like Jesus in the world. I wish I had time to recount for you all the speakers we heard from: Marian Wright Edelman who opened our hearts to the plight of poor children here in our own nation. Naw Blooming Night Zan, a registered nurse and Baptist missionary in Burma who works with the Karen people in refugee camps on the Thai border. Tony Campolo, the closest thing America has to an Old Testament prophet, who challenged our hearts about the need for social justice in our nation and world just to name a few.
All of the speakers spoke to us and encouraged us to have a prophetic Baptist witness to the world to call for promoting peace with justice, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, welcoming the strangers, promoting religious liberty, and respecting diversity. Buddy Shurden said it this way: “the purpose of the New Baptist Covenant is to hand out towels to every Baptist in North America and ask them to become a servant to the least and the last and the lost.”[3]
In conclusion, I’ll just say that I left Atlanta excited about the future for Baptists in the 21st century. Our tradition as Baptists is 400 years old next year. Baptists are perhaps the most diverse denominational group there is. But, I left Atlanta convinced that God has much in store for Baptists during this next century. There is an old Baptist hymn that I thought of this week in relation to the New Baptist Covenant. It goes like this:
We’ve a story to tell to the nations,That shall turn their hearts to the right,A story of truth and mercy,A story of peace and light,A story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning
And the dawning to noonday bright
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth
The Kingdom of love and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning
And the dawning to noonday bright
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth
The Kingdom of love and light.
[1] Raleigh News and Observer, 9 February 2008, p. 20a. Letter by Henry Morgan.
[2] http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=7387.
[3] http://baptiststoday.org/. Blog by Tony Cartledge.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
My Daughter's Writing Skills
I am very proud of my two daughters, Hannah (age 11) and Gracie (age 6). Hannah has a voracious appetite for reading. She read the entire Harry Potter series, thousands of pages, in only about 5 months. She will read 100 or so pages before she goes to sleep. That devotion to reading bodes well for her as she continues to develop.
Hannah also likes to write. She has always done well with stories she writes for school assignments. But, every now and then, she likes to write a story on her own. Below, with her permission, I have included her most recent story.
There was once a time long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the Indian tribes traveled with the wind. There was a small ten year old girl with long beautiful hair that shone in the darkest times. Her tiny black beetle eyes were blind and her muteness separated her from all the other girls in the tribe. Her name was Surya.
Hannah also likes to write. She has always done well with stories she writes for school assignments. But, every now and then, she likes to write a story on her own. Below, with her permission, I have included her most recent story.
Paint the Sunset
There was once a time long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the Indian tribes traveled with the wind. There was a small ten year old girl with long beautiful hair that shone in the darkest times. Her tiny black beetle eyes were blind and her muteness separated her from all the other girls in the tribe. Her name was Surya.
Surya spoke in a way like no other, Surya danced. She was an orphan with no parents or friends.
Every evening Surya climbed up the mountain and watched the birds paint the sunset over the blue misty ocean as she felt the wind push against her and the mist splash her beautiful face. During that time the other Indian girls braided their hair. One girl asked Surya why she wasted her time trying to find the sunset when she couldn’t even see it. Surya replied “Yes, I do not see it, but I can feel it rush in my veins and I can feel the birds rushing towards the sun. The girl laughed and didn’t know that some day she would regret that she laughed.
Every evening Surya climbed up the mountain and watched the birds paint the sunset over the blue misty ocean as she felt the wind push against her and the mist splash her beautiful face. During that time the other Indian girls braided their hair. One girl asked Surya why she wasted her time trying to find the sunset when she couldn’t even see it. Surya replied “Yes, I do not see it, but I can feel it rush in my veins and I can feel the birds rushing towards the sun. The girl laughed and didn’t know that some day she would regret that she laughed.
As Surya grew older she learned many great things from the sunset. She learned how to communicate with the animals. She learned how to whisper to the trees. And she learned how to dance with the rivers. But she didn’t know that on her sixteenth birthday something extraordinary would happen to her and the girl named Hema who always made fun of her.
On a cold and dreary day Surya woke up to the sound of song birds and robins. It was her sixteenth birthday. Hema jumped into Surya’s teepee and sang “Ha Ha it’s your birthday, too bad nobody cares!” And then she was gone with the wind. Surya groaned. The very last thing she needed was Hema to tease her. Suddenly she thought of something to look forward to today. She would be able to go and watch the sunset and have him teach her another thing about nature. Finally when it was time to go and climb the mountain something caught her eye. It was a dead mockingbird! The mockingbird was one of the fifty sunset painters. On the oak tree beside the motionless bird a note written in blood said “Surya beware at 12:00 midnight on your birthday you will have to make a choice between the life of your friend Sunset or the life of your self.” Surya panicked. Sunset was her only friend. He taught her everything she needed to know about life. She looked up into the bright sun. Sunset was coming for the last time in history.
Sunset came that evening and Surya told him about the message on the oak tree and Sunset was very worried. He told Surya to listen to the sound of her heart to make the right choice. At twelve a clock on Surya’s birthday Sunrise came into her teepee and she said “I was the one who killed the mockingbird and it was I who wrote the fretting message on the oak. Now it’s your turn to chose between yourself or Sunset.” That moment Hema came into Surya’s teepee. Sunrise said “Matter of fact I can kill your other little friend instead of you.” Hema said “Surya go ahead and let her kill me I deserve it I have been so mean.” Surya said “Ok kill me” The next moment Sunrise shot a blinding red light out of her finger tips. Surya silently fell into a deep rest. Sunrise laughed in a cold icy tone and disappeared.
So when you look at Sunrise you see her red light shining to remind us of her beauty, but now you know she was jealous enough to kill Surya. Now when the Sunset comes early every autumn he is looking for Sarya and every night when it rains at night you know he is crying because he can not find Sarya. So remember to paint your sunset the colors of your heart.
By: Hannah Jonas
Friday, January 25, 2008
The Election
People who know me well know that I enjoy politics. I like to read op/ed. columns. I like to watch the discussions on shows like Hardball, Meet the Press, etc. I am a politics junkie.
I am also proud to be a Democrat. Yes, there are real Christians in the Democratic party. In fact, all during the 1980s when it seemed like every Christian in America had become a part of the Republican Party and joined the Reagan "revolution," I held out and refused to participate. I always believed that the Republican Party leadership manipulated millions of good Christian people into voting for them and played on the basic ignorance of many people in America about how our nation was founded, what the founders were really like, and how our nation works today. I also think they played on the race issue to pull many southern Democrats into the Republican Party, the so-called "southern strategy first used by Nixon. But, that is another blog!
I am following the election of 2008 very closely. I believe that for the good of the nation the Democrats need to win this election. I have been supporting John Edwards to get the nomination. I still believe he is the "real deal," and as a Christian I am very interested in his populist message and his desire to elevate the working poor in our nation to give them opportunity. That is the American dream. That is also Jesus-like. I like John Edwards.
I also like Barak Obama a lot. I think he is inspiring. I think he has a great message of change, a desire to move the country beyond the cut-throat politics of the last 30 years into a new era. He is the closest thing to Bobby Kennedy (who was shot in 68 when I was only 9) that has come along in my lifetime. He gives speeches that give me goose bumps and inspires me to see America for the good that it can be.
Hillary Clinton is also a good candidate. She is tough, perhaps tougher than her husband Bill. He has taken the best of the right-wing warriors and absorbed it all to emerge stronger. If she is the nominee she will be a force to reckon with and if the Republicans think she is an easy mark for them to defeat, they'd better re-evaluate things.
My real hope for the Democratic Party though is for none of these three to get the nomination. I would like to see a vigorous debate through the primary season with no one getting the clear majority of delegates which would lead to a brokered convention. Then, I would like to see Al Gore come into the picture, unify the party and get the nomination. He may be the only person who can unify the party right now because just about every Democrat I hang around with has a basic suspicion that Al Gore really won the 2000 presidential election. I think he would be a formidible candidate.
Who knows what will happen. It is fun to watch. It is also good to see that even many Evangelical Christians are starting to move beyond their basic social concerns relating to abortion and gay marriage to some social issues that they can join hands with more progressive Christians on such as the environment and global warming, poverty, peace, death penalty, and a host of other things.
It is truly an interesting time in the life of our nation!
I am also proud to be a Democrat. Yes, there are real Christians in the Democratic party. In fact, all during the 1980s when it seemed like every Christian in America had become a part of the Republican Party and joined the Reagan "revolution," I held out and refused to participate. I always believed that the Republican Party leadership manipulated millions of good Christian people into voting for them and played on the basic ignorance of many people in America about how our nation was founded, what the founders were really like, and how our nation works today. I also think they played on the race issue to pull many southern Democrats into the Republican Party, the so-called "southern strategy first used by Nixon. But, that is another blog!
I am following the election of 2008 very closely. I believe that for the good of the nation the Democrats need to win this election. I have been supporting John Edwards to get the nomination. I still believe he is the "real deal," and as a Christian I am very interested in his populist message and his desire to elevate the working poor in our nation to give them opportunity. That is the American dream. That is also Jesus-like. I like John Edwards.
I also like Barak Obama a lot. I think he is inspiring. I think he has a great message of change, a desire to move the country beyond the cut-throat politics of the last 30 years into a new era. He is the closest thing to Bobby Kennedy (who was shot in 68 when I was only 9) that has come along in my lifetime. He gives speeches that give me goose bumps and inspires me to see America for the good that it can be.
Hillary Clinton is also a good candidate. She is tough, perhaps tougher than her husband Bill. He has taken the best of the right-wing warriors and absorbed it all to emerge stronger. If she is the nominee she will be a force to reckon with and if the Republicans think she is an easy mark for them to defeat, they'd better re-evaluate things.
My real hope for the Democratic Party though is for none of these three to get the nomination. I would like to see a vigorous debate through the primary season with no one getting the clear majority of delegates which would lead to a brokered convention. Then, I would like to see Al Gore come into the picture, unify the party and get the nomination. He may be the only person who can unify the party right now because just about every Democrat I hang around with has a basic suspicion that Al Gore really won the 2000 presidential election. I think he would be a formidible candidate.
Who knows what will happen. It is fun to watch. It is also good to see that even many Evangelical Christians are starting to move beyond their basic social concerns relating to abortion and gay marriage to some social issues that they can join hands with more progressive Christians on such as the environment and global warming, poverty, peace, death penalty, and a host of other things.
It is truly an interesting time in the life of our nation!
Sunday, November 04, 2007
All Saints Day
Today is being celebrated by many Christians as All Saints Day. I think a very appropriate passage of Scripture to commemorate this day is from Hebrews 11, the famous "roll call of faith." However, since Hebrews 11 was originally written in the late first century, there have been 2000 years of Christian history. Therefore, at the risk of leaving out someone's favorite, I submit here my addendum to the "roll call of faith" from Hebrews 11.
By faith, two Christian women named Perpetua and Felicitas were able to stand strong and firm in their faith even to the point of martyrdom.
By faith, Athanasius of Alexandria became a theological giant against the heresy of Arianism at the Council of Nicea.
By faith, Augustine of Hippo, the great theologian of the west was able to overcome his base temptations, live a life devoted exclusively to service to his Lord and give Western theology its primary focus for the next millennium.
By faith, John Chrysostom was able to stand in the high altar of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, look the Empress Eudoxia in the eye and publicly censure her for her resistance to his attempts at moral reform in Constantinople and the Eastern Church.
By faith, Thomas Aquinas was able to withstand the rigors of the Dominican monastic order and rise to academic prominence as Roman Catholicism’s greatest theologian and philosopher.
By faith, Martin Luther, a terrified, neurotic, sometimes irascible German monk, was able to experience the grace and forgiveness of God and initiate a movement which forever changed the face of Christianity.
By faith, Balthasar Hubmaier found strength to face a gruesome martyr’s death because of his convictions concerning believer’s baptism and liberty of conscience.
By faith, Thomas Helwys was able to lead a little band of brand new Baptists from Amsterdam back to England and courageously tell King James I that he was a mere mortal and had no authority over the conscience of another human being.
By faith, Roger Williams was able to endure banishment from Massachusetts Bay and establish the colony of Rhode Island, the first colony in the New World exclusively devoted to complete religious freedom and separation of Church and State.
By faith, John Wesley was able to breathe vitality into the Church of England because of his insistence that true religion must be of the heart, not the mind only.
By faith, Jonathan Edwards was able to give theological understanding to the Great Awakening.
By faith, John Leland, an uneducated Baptist preacher, was able to lead the Baptists of Virginia to pressure James Madison into supporting a Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States which includes as its first statement a guarantee of complete freedom of religion and ultimately the doctrine of separation of Church and state.
By faith, William Carey was able to leave the comfort of England for the rigors of the mission field in India because of his unwavering conviction that the people of India needed to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
By faith, Lottie Moon expended her little body in the cause of Southern Baptist missions and gave birth to a passion for missions among Baptists in the South that remains with us today.
By faith, Walter Rauschenbusch was able to minister to the poor and down-trodden in Hell’s Kitchen and then awaken the social conscience of the Church.
By faith, William J. Seymour was able to feel the wind of the Spirit move and found the Azusa Street mission from which the Pentecostal movement sprang.
By faith, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was able to challenge the evil of the Nazi regime.
By faith, Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that our great nation would live up to its creed that “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. . . and that one day the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”
By faith, Archbishop Oscar Romero was able to challenge an oppressive regime in El Salvador and bring empowerment to the poor of Latin America through a theology of Liberation.
Every believer has their personal "roll call of faith," those individuals whose names may not have made the history books, but who nevertheless serve as inspiration to us in our Christian lives. My grandmothers would be on that list. Dr. W. R. Estep, my church history professor in seminary would be on that list. Who is on your list?
By faith, two Christian women named Perpetua and Felicitas were able to stand strong and firm in their faith even to the point of martyrdom.
By faith, Athanasius of Alexandria became a theological giant against the heresy of Arianism at the Council of Nicea.
By faith, Augustine of Hippo, the great theologian of the west was able to overcome his base temptations, live a life devoted exclusively to service to his Lord and give Western theology its primary focus for the next millennium.
By faith, John Chrysostom was able to stand in the high altar of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, look the Empress Eudoxia in the eye and publicly censure her for her resistance to his attempts at moral reform in Constantinople and the Eastern Church.
By faith, Thomas Aquinas was able to withstand the rigors of the Dominican monastic order and rise to academic prominence as Roman Catholicism’s greatest theologian and philosopher.
By faith, Martin Luther, a terrified, neurotic, sometimes irascible German monk, was able to experience the grace and forgiveness of God and initiate a movement which forever changed the face of Christianity.
By faith, Balthasar Hubmaier found strength to face a gruesome martyr’s death because of his convictions concerning believer’s baptism and liberty of conscience.
By faith, Thomas Helwys was able to lead a little band of brand new Baptists from Amsterdam back to England and courageously tell King James I that he was a mere mortal and had no authority over the conscience of another human being.
By faith, Roger Williams was able to endure banishment from Massachusetts Bay and establish the colony of Rhode Island, the first colony in the New World exclusively devoted to complete religious freedom and separation of Church and State.
By faith, John Wesley was able to breathe vitality into the Church of England because of his insistence that true religion must be of the heart, not the mind only.
By faith, Jonathan Edwards was able to give theological understanding to the Great Awakening.
By faith, John Leland, an uneducated Baptist preacher, was able to lead the Baptists of Virginia to pressure James Madison into supporting a Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States which includes as its first statement a guarantee of complete freedom of religion and ultimately the doctrine of separation of Church and state.
By faith, William Carey was able to leave the comfort of England for the rigors of the mission field in India because of his unwavering conviction that the people of India needed to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
By faith, Lottie Moon expended her little body in the cause of Southern Baptist missions and gave birth to a passion for missions among Baptists in the South that remains with us today.
By faith, Walter Rauschenbusch was able to minister to the poor and down-trodden in Hell’s Kitchen and then awaken the social conscience of the Church.
By faith, William J. Seymour was able to feel the wind of the Spirit move and found the Azusa Street mission from which the Pentecostal movement sprang.
By faith, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was able to challenge the evil of the Nazi regime.
By faith, Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that our great nation would live up to its creed that “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. . . and that one day the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”
By faith, Archbishop Oscar Romero was able to challenge an oppressive regime in El Salvador and bring empowerment to the poor of Latin America through a theology of Liberation.
Every believer has their personal "roll call of faith," those individuals whose names may not have made the history books, but who nevertheless serve as inspiration to us in our Christian lives. My grandmothers would be on that list. Dr. W. R. Estep, my church history professor in seminary would be on that list. Who is on your list?
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Gideons Can't Pass Out Bibles in Harnett County Schools
The enclosed story from the Dunn Daily Record describes a decision reached by Harnett County Schools Superintendent Dan Honeycutt. There has been a long-standing practice of allowing the Gideons to distribute bibles in the elementary schools here in Harnett County. Someone complained to the ACLU which contacted Honeycutt to inform him that the practice was illegal. In short, the Harnett County School system has now been notified that the practice of passing out religious literature in its public schools is a violation of federal law. The case, a 1998 Supreme Court case (Peck v. the Upshur County Board of Education) determined that it was a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment for schools to allow Bibles to be passed out to the students. It constitutes an endorsement of religion, a clear violation of decades of case law argued before both conservative and liberal supreme courts. If Harnett County Schools wanted to fight this, it would eventually have to be carried to the U.S. Supreme Court, a very lengthy, expensive process. It would have drained millions away from our school district in a time when we have so many very critical needs, not the least of which is over-crowding and the need for new schools.
This is a no-brainer but there will probably be a loud, vocal outcry from citizens of Harnett County who disagree with this. Most of them will not understand the intent of the First Amendment, that while guaranteeing freedom of religion, it also guarantees freedom from religion. The First Amendment reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof." There are two clauses here: (1) the "free exercise" clause that says that in America, people should be free to practice their faith unhindered by government intrusion; and (2) the "establishment" clause which says that the government (in this case the school system) cannot establish religion or formally endorse one religion over another.
Fifty years ago, the vast majority of children in public schools in the South were reared in Christian homes and attended church regularly. No problem with these kinds of things. No complaints. But, during recent decades, even in rural areas, the religious landscape has changed drastically. Now, even in Harnett County, it is not unusual to find neighborhoods with children from many different religious traditions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and a good number of children growing up in homes that are expressly non-religious. The reasoning behind these legal opinions that have remained fairly consistent over the last 4 decades is that if one religious tradition (in this case Christian) is allowed to distribute their literature, it is a discrimination against those other religious groups.
One may say, "Well, Christians are in the majority and the majority rules." Majority rules is certainly the case in elections. However, when it comes to the Bill of Rights that is certainly not the case. The Bill of Rights exists specifically to protect the rights and voice of the minority opinion. The Founders were concerned with tyranny by the majority and wisely included the Bill of Rights in the Constitution to allow for the minority voice always to have an equal place at the table.
But, there is an even more important issue here. Where is the best place for religious instruction to take place anyway? The logical answer should be in the home. Quite frankly, I don't want public schools teaching my children religion or even influencing them in religious matters, unless it is perhaps a course on world religions which is taught from an objective point of view. In short, there is a fine line between teaching religion and indoctrination. I know this because I teach religion for a living. So, I'd rather the public schools teach my children reading, math, science, social studies, health and p.e. etc. and leave the religious instruction to our home and family.
So, really, while there will be dismay on the part of many citizens in Harnett County. This is a no-brainer and I applaud our superintendent for making this call.
http://www.dunndailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=91678&TM=58017.65
This is a no-brainer but there will probably be a loud, vocal outcry from citizens of Harnett County who disagree with this. Most of them will not understand the intent of the First Amendment, that while guaranteeing freedom of religion, it also guarantees freedom from religion. The First Amendment reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof." There are two clauses here: (1) the "free exercise" clause that says that in America, people should be free to practice their faith unhindered by government intrusion; and (2) the "establishment" clause which says that the government (in this case the school system) cannot establish religion or formally endorse one religion over another.
Fifty years ago, the vast majority of children in public schools in the South were reared in Christian homes and attended church regularly. No problem with these kinds of things. No complaints. But, during recent decades, even in rural areas, the religious landscape has changed drastically. Now, even in Harnett County, it is not unusual to find neighborhoods with children from many different religious traditions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and a good number of children growing up in homes that are expressly non-religious. The reasoning behind these legal opinions that have remained fairly consistent over the last 4 decades is that if one religious tradition (in this case Christian) is allowed to distribute their literature, it is a discrimination against those other religious groups.
One may say, "Well, Christians are in the majority and the majority rules." Majority rules is certainly the case in elections. However, when it comes to the Bill of Rights that is certainly not the case. The Bill of Rights exists specifically to protect the rights and voice of the minority opinion. The Founders were concerned with tyranny by the majority and wisely included the Bill of Rights in the Constitution to allow for the minority voice always to have an equal place at the table.
But, there is an even more important issue here. Where is the best place for religious instruction to take place anyway? The logical answer should be in the home. Quite frankly, I don't want public schools teaching my children religion or even influencing them in religious matters, unless it is perhaps a course on world religions which is taught from an objective point of view. In short, there is a fine line between teaching religion and indoctrination. I know this because I teach religion for a living. So, I'd rather the public schools teach my children reading, math, science, social studies, health and p.e. etc. and leave the religious instruction to our home and family.
So, really, while there will be dismay on the part of many citizens in Harnett County. This is a no-brainer and I applaud our superintendent for making this call.
http://www.dunndailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=91678&TM=58017.65
Monday, August 06, 2007
Rest in Peace Dr. Wiggins
Baptists in the South who read ABP News and particularly those in North Carolina who read the Biblical Recorder, no doubt heard of the death last week of Dr. Norman Adrian Wiggins, the Chancellor of Campbell University. Dr. Wiggins had been the president of the university from 1967-2003. He retired from the presidency and was named chancellor in 2003 because of his battle with cancer, which finally took him after a valiant struggle.
If you want to read more about Dr. Wiggins, you can find the story on the Campbell University website at http://www.campbell.edu/.
If you want to read a good analysis of his funeral service yesterday, see this site:
http://dunndailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=89557
I am grateful to Dr. Wiggins for several things. First, he was president of Campbell University in 1994 when I was hired to teach in the Religion Department. I am grateful that he had enough trust in me to allow me to stand in the classroom and do what I sincerely love to do: teach college students about religion. Then, in 1999 he had enough confidence in me to approve my promotion to chairman of the Religion Department. Finally, even though Dr. Wiggins was very conservative theologically and politically, he had a very strong sense of academic freedom.
Dr. Wiggins was always kind to me and cordial whenever I saw him around campus. But there is one story about Dr. Wiggins that I will forever appreciate. During my first or second year (I can't remember now), when I was just getting my feet wet as a religion professor, I encountered a problem that many religion professors at Baptist colleges and universities have to deal with. Several students got it in their minds that I was too "liberal" in my theology and didn't belong as a professor at Campbell. One of the students made an appointment with Dr. Wiggins to discuss me. Of course, I was not invited to the meeting, but a friend of mine, our campus minister at the time, was present.
The conversation went something like this:
The student lodged his complaint about my theology and teaching with Dr. Wiggins. Dr. Wiggins responded by asking the student if he was currently in my class or had had me for the class in the past. The student responded that he had not. Dr. Wiggins then inquired about whether the student had ever sat down with me to talk with me about these concerns. The student responded that he had not. Dr. Wiggins then asked the student how he knew that I believed and taught such things. The student responded that he had a few friends that were in my class that were talking about me. Dr. Wiggins then said, "you mean that you have not personally heard Dr. Jonas teach those things and have not personally talked with him about your concerns?" The student said, "No." Dr. Wiggins then said, "Son, do you know what slander is?"
This was all told to me by my campus minister friend. And, I will always appreciate Dr. Wiggins' defense of me. He could have responded to the student's concern in another way. But, he chose to trust me and defend me.
Rest in peace Dr. Wiggins. Campbell is going to miss you!
If you want to read more about Dr. Wiggins, you can find the story on the Campbell University website at http://www.campbell.edu/.
If you want to read a good analysis of his funeral service yesterday, see this site:
http://dunndailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=89557
I am grateful to Dr. Wiggins for several things. First, he was president of Campbell University in 1994 when I was hired to teach in the Religion Department. I am grateful that he had enough trust in me to allow me to stand in the classroom and do what I sincerely love to do: teach college students about religion. Then, in 1999 he had enough confidence in me to approve my promotion to chairman of the Religion Department. Finally, even though Dr. Wiggins was very conservative theologically and politically, he had a very strong sense of academic freedom.
Dr. Wiggins was always kind to me and cordial whenever I saw him around campus. But there is one story about Dr. Wiggins that I will forever appreciate. During my first or second year (I can't remember now), when I was just getting my feet wet as a religion professor, I encountered a problem that many religion professors at Baptist colleges and universities have to deal with. Several students got it in their minds that I was too "liberal" in my theology and didn't belong as a professor at Campbell. One of the students made an appointment with Dr. Wiggins to discuss me. Of course, I was not invited to the meeting, but a friend of mine, our campus minister at the time, was present.
The conversation went something like this:
The student lodged his complaint about my theology and teaching with Dr. Wiggins. Dr. Wiggins responded by asking the student if he was currently in my class or had had me for the class in the past. The student responded that he had not. Dr. Wiggins then inquired about whether the student had ever sat down with me to talk with me about these concerns. The student responded that he had not. Dr. Wiggins then asked the student how he knew that I believed and taught such things. The student responded that he had a few friends that were in my class that were talking about me. Dr. Wiggins then said, "you mean that you have not personally heard Dr. Jonas teach those things and have not personally talked with him about your concerns?" The student said, "No." Dr. Wiggins then said, "Son, do you know what slander is?"
This was all told to me by my campus minister friend. And, I will always appreciate Dr. Wiggins' defense of me. He could have responded to the student's concern in another way. But, he chose to trust me and defend me.
Rest in peace Dr. Wiggins. Campbell is going to miss you!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Prayers for the Hokies
I have been in shock over what happened Monday morning at Virginia Tech. Being a professor on a college campus makes this tragedy even more frightening for me and my colleagues. This could have happened anywhere. In fact, we've had some scares over the last few years (one episode with me personally), always dealt with well by our campus and administration here at Campbell University. Nevertheless, we have all been just a little bit "jumpy" this week.
As I have processed this though, there are four thoughts that I have:
(1) How in the world was this troubled young man able to purchase two handguns and the ammunition for them? I know, he didn't violate any laws. That's precisely my point. Why can the N.R.A. at least not support some kind of national registry and at least a 15 day waiting period with requisite background checks before allowing someone to purchase a firearm? We all know that we live in a world with some people who do not need to own guns. And that has to be balanced with the law-abiding citizen who wants to purchase a firearm for hunting or even for protection. Could there not be some type of balance here? It would seem to me that this would be reasonable.
Related to that, unless I am mistaken, the shooter at Virginia Tech was not a U.S. citizen. He was a permanent resident alien. Should there not be again a federal law that would require all people who want to purchase a firearm to prove U.S. citizenship? Would that not be prudent, especially in a post-911 world?
(2) Why was the shooter still a student at Virginia Tech given all that has come out recently about his psychological condition? There was a 2005 court ruling which determined that he was a potential threat. And, there were faculty members and students who several times sounded the alarm and raised red flags about him. Was there not some procedure in place for removing him from the student body before it ever came to this? Did someone "drop the ball" here?
(3) Why did NBC feel that it needed to broadcast the "Cho Manifesto" to the nation yesterday? Oh, I know. They had a "scoop." They had something none of the other news agencies had and they knew they'd have a ratings winner. So, they promoted it all afternoon yesterday and finally broadcast those disturbing photographs and video yesterday evening. But, I fail to see how any of that really added to the story. I fail to see how any of that was journalism. No reporter went out there and "got" the story. It was a package that came to them that no other news agency had. All that was accomplished was to allow a troubled mass murderer to wreak havoc once again on grieving family members and the entire Virginia Tech community. NBC got it right with Imus (although I suspect that the decision to fire Imus was motivated more by financial issues rather than ethics) but made a serious mistake yesterday.
(4) Finally, I have a student here at Campbell University whose sister is a student at Virginia Tech. She was supposed to have been in that infamous building for class on Monday morning, but as it turned out, she overslept and missed class that morning. However, her two suitemates were both killed. Please keep this young woman in your prayers.
Also, I receive an email from a man named Brent Cloyd each week. He is a used theological books salesman. On Monday afternoon I received an email from him (which went to his entire list) requesting prayer for his niece, Austin Cloyd. She was a student at Virginia Tech. He said that his brother had not been able to raise her on the phone or via email and she was not admitted to any of the hospitals. They were fearing the worst. Finally, I got a follow-up email from him on Tuesday that they had confirmation that she was one of the victims that had been killed. Please pray for the family of Austin Cloyd.
At 11:00 this morning the tower bells on our campus tolled 32 times as we all observed a moment of silence for the victims and their families. I was struck by how long it took for the bell to ring 32 times. It was truly an unimaginable loss for the family members.
As I have processed this though, there are four thoughts that I have:
(1) How in the world was this troubled young man able to purchase two handguns and the ammunition for them? I know, he didn't violate any laws. That's precisely my point. Why can the N.R.A. at least not support some kind of national registry and at least a 15 day waiting period with requisite background checks before allowing someone to purchase a firearm? We all know that we live in a world with some people who do not need to own guns. And that has to be balanced with the law-abiding citizen who wants to purchase a firearm for hunting or even for protection. Could there not be some type of balance here? It would seem to me that this would be reasonable.
Related to that, unless I am mistaken, the shooter at Virginia Tech was not a U.S. citizen. He was a permanent resident alien. Should there not be again a federal law that would require all people who want to purchase a firearm to prove U.S. citizenship? Would that not be prudent, especially in a post-911 world?
(2) Why was the shooter still a student at Virginia Tech given all that has come out recently about his psychological condition? There was a 2005 court ruling which determined that he was a potential threat. And, there were faculty members and students who several times sounded the alarm and raised red flags about him. Was there not some procedure in place for removing him from the student body before it ever came to this? Did someone "drop the ball" here?
(3) Why did NBC feel that it needed to broadcast the "Cho Manifesto" to the nation yesterday? Oh, I know. They had a "scoop." They had something none of the other news agencies had and they knew they'd have a ratings winner. So, they promoted it all afternoon yesterday and finally broadcast those disturbing photographs and video yesterday evening. But, I fail to see how any of that really added to the story. I fail to see how any of that was journalism. No reporter went out there and "got" the story. It was a package that came to them that no other news agency had. All that was accomplished was to allow a troubled mass murderer to wreak havoc once again on grieving family members and the entire Virginia Tech community. NBC got it right with Imus (although I suspect that the decision to fire Imus was motivated more by financial issues rather than ethics) but made a serious mistake yesterday.
(4) Finally, I have a student here at Campbell University whose sister is a student at Virginia Tech. She was supposed to have been in that infamous building for class on Monday morning, but as it turned out, she overslept and missed class that morning. However, her two suitemates were both killed. Please keep this young woman in your prayers.
Also, I receive an email from a man named Brent Cloyd each week. He is a used theological books salesman. On Monday afternoon I received an email from him (which went to his entire list) requesting prayer for his niece, Austin Cloyd. She was a student at Virginia Tech. He said that his brother had not been able to raise her on the phone or via email and she was not admitted to any of the hospitals. They were fearing the worst. Finally, I got a follow-up email from him on Tuesday that they had confirmation that she was one of the victims that had been killed. Please pray for the family of Austin Cloyd.
At 11:00 this morning the tower bells on our campus tolled 32 times as we all observed a moment of silence for the victims and their families. I was struck by how long it took for the bell to ring 32 times. It was truly an unimaginable loss for the family members.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Don Imus' Troubles
I have never been a fan of Don Imus. I don't like his show. I particularly have disagreed with some of his political points of view in the past. I don't like the way he makes fun of people. In short, I confess that I simply do not like him. However, the fact that I don't like him gives me no reason to call for his removal from the airwaves. Like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, both radio talk-show hosts with whom I vehemently disagree, Imus has every right in the world under the first amendment to have a show on the public airwaves and to say anything he wants. I am an ardent defender of the first amendment. I believe freedom of speech is the bedrock freedom of our society in America. This includes everything from political disagreeements to calling political leaders various names in mocking humor.
However, I also believe that freedom of speech entails a certain level of responsibility. If you are speaking to an audience of millions, you need to show some wisdom not only in what you say but also in how you say it. If you are going to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre, you'd better be prepared to accept the consequences if people get hurt in the rush to get out.
Which brings me back to Don Imus. On his show last Wednesday morning, he made fun of the Rutgers University Women's basketball team by saying first:
"That's some rough girls from Rutgers," Imus said. "Man, they got tattoos ... ."
He then followed up that comment with: "That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that."
Finally, his producer Bernard McGuirk said, made reference to a Spike Lee movie and characterized the game as being between the "jigaboos and the wannabees."
Here's where the consequences come in. This is nothing short of hate-filled, racist speech. It is not tolerated except in the very sleaziest of places in our society such as Klan meetings, and back room conversations in the South (or North for that matter). And, so I believe that Don Imus and Bernard McGuirk ought to be summarily fired for this outburst. Other radio talk show hosts have been fired for less. I don't care how popular Imus is. I don't care how much money he makes for CBS Radio. I believe these comments are totally unacceptable for the public airwaves.
For a complete video of the episode last wednesday see this link:
http://www.wnbc.com/video/11537836/index.html
However, I also believe that freedom of speech entails a certain level of responsibility. If you are speaking to an audience of millions, you need to show some wisdom not only in what you say but also in how you say it. If you are going to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre, you'd better be prepared to accept the consequences if people get hurt in the rush to get out.
Which brings me back to Don Imus. On his show last Wednesday morning, he made fun of the Rutgers University Women's basketball team by saying first:
"That's some rough girls from Rutgers," Imus said. "Man, they got tattoos ... ."
He then followed up that comment with: "That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that."
Finally, his producer Bernard McGuirk said, made reference to a Spike Lee movie and characterized the game as being between the "jigaboos and the wannabees."
Here's where the consequences come in. This is nothing short of hate-filled, racist speech. It is not tolerated except in the very sleaziest of places in our society such as Klan meetings, and back room conversations in the South (or North for that matter). And, so I believe that Don Imus and Bernard McGuirk ought to be summarily fired for this outburst. Other radio talk show hosts have been fired for less. I don't care how popular Imus is. I don't care how much money he makes for CBS Radio. I believe these comments are totally unacceptable for the public airwaves.
For a complete video of the episode last wednesday see this link:
http://www.wnbc.com/video/11537836/index.html
Monday, April 02, 2007
Mega Churches and Shady Finances
If you are a member of a church which does not fully disclose all financial information, you perhaps ought to be suspicious. This has been an on-going dispute at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN recently with a group in the church demanding financial and other records in light of several scandals which have erupted in the congregation surrounding the successor to Adrian Rogers, Steve Gaines. You can read about Bellevue's woes here: http://savingbellevue.com/
Now, here's another story about still another mega-church whose pastor refuses to disclose how he's spending the church's money. Church member beware. Just because a flashy, smooth-talking person claims to have a "call from God," that does not entitle that person to no accountability. Pastors are accountable. In an episcopal system of church governement, they are accountable to the bishop. In a congregational form of church government, they are accountable to the membership of the local church. Hold them accountable!!!
The story below is from: www. Ethicsdaily.com
Shell Games and Secrecy Keith Herron04-02-07
When The Kansas City Star published an investigative story a few weeks ago about the secretive financial oversight of one of the Baptist mega-churches in the area, it was as if a bomb went off in the community.
The news story reported that several hundred members had left the First Family Church of Overland Park, Kan., in the last few years because of the church's refusal to provide members with financial reports of the church income and expenses and the enforced secrecy surrounding the salaries and benefits of the pastor and those family members who are paid staff members.
Accountability issues also involved the broken promises of how funds raised to fund one capital campaign were apparently used to pay for another campaign, while other funds raised for particular projects were either mysteriously delayed or never spent for their stated purpose. Additionally, false explanations were given to the church about how a land deal was consummated according to court records. The members have left over their inability to get answers to their questions about these matters.
Pastor Jerry Johnston exercises tight control over financial disclosure policies by hiding behind the claim that all church financial records are accountable to a board of trustees. According to the story, a lawyer listed in church corporation papers as a board member acknowledged he hadn't been to a board meeting in years, didn't know he was a board member and hadn't attended the church in years.
Former members of a building committee for a recent project left the church out of frustration in obtaining financial reports in order to apply for loan approval to fund the project. They were repeatedly denied the reports and in the end, Johnston covered the loan himself. It is unknown whether he utilized the financial resources of others or underwrote the loan himself. The details are unknown to the members of the church. Within weeks, the entire building committee resigned. It should be noted that Johnston disagreed with the facts of the new story on this point. "Respectfully, I disagree," he said about these accusations.
Members are not given access for the salaries or benefits given to the pastor and staff. Complaints criticize the exorbitant life styles of the pastor and his family listing expensive cars, homes, clothing and the use of an exclusive and high-priced American Express card. Johnston has recently hired a public relations specialist from Dallas to handle all responses to the news stories.
The pastor responded defensively with the warning a few weeks before the story broke that the congregation should expect adversaries to attack them and their ministry. "Whenever God's work is being built, Satan sends opponents, and he energizes opponents," Johnston said. "Beware of Satan as he speaks through different people."
Johnston was apparently referring to the upcoming news story implying that the reporter, a member of another large church in the area, had an ulterior motive to hurt the credibility of the church and its pastor in order to benefit her own church.
The news story also highlighted the duplicity of claims the pastor has a doctoral degree. Johnston uses "Dr. Jerry Johnston" publicly and in all church publications and media, but in fact he does not have such a degree other than the honorary doctorate received when invited by Jerry Falwell to preach the baccalaureate service at Liberty University in 1998.
Johnston was a high school dropout from the Christian high school he attended in Kansas City in the 1970s. He later passed the general equivalency degree but has not earned college or graduate degrees beyond that. He claims he will graduate this spring with a bachelor's degree in biblical studies from the Midwestern Baptist College (SBC), the undergraduate program of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.
While the letters to the editor in The Kansas City Star have been numerous and polarized, it's clear the issue of trust and integrity are central to the story. Many have defended Johnston and the First Family Church as being the victim of a scathing news story that was unfair in light of all the good the church has done in the community while others have voiced their opposition to the strange need for absolute control of such matters.
The news report on First Family's secretive control of their finances has created a community-wide conversation on the issues of trust, disclosure and integrity. In a follow-up article on this issue, a number of local pastors and congregations were asked about their practices regarding financial accountability.
The majority of responses were openly counter to the practices of Johnston at First Family. Nodell Dennis, director of missions for the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association said, "The first thing I tell pastors is 'Don't touch the money.'" By that he meant the church should hold itself responsible for creating a system of accountability where the funds are appropriately protected and spent according to a budget system that's open to all members for approval and regular review. Such an open system would create a safe barrier between the minister and the money.
The open accountability of a church's financial reports are a form of sacred trust. Some call it a "covenant" between church members and God that is mutually shared between all members, including the pastor and other ministers.
Dan Busby, vice-president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, says the best way to engender trust in a congregation is to be open about its money. "If there isn't that basic appropriate transparency, then people in and out of the congregation will tend to believe that something is being hidden, whether it is or not," he said.
Churches cannot be healthy where secrets abound and refusing to answer the hard questions has the appearance of being its own answer.
Keith D. Herron is senior pastor at Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo.
Now, here's another story about still another mega-church whose pastor refuses to disclose how he's spending the church's money. Church member beware. Just because a flashy, smooth-talking person claims to have a "call from God," that does not entitle that person to no accountability. Pastors are accountable. In an episcopal system of church governement, they are accountable to the bishop. In a congregational form of church government, they are accountable to the membership of the local church. Hold them accountable!!!
The story below is from: www. Ethicsdaily.com
Shell Games and Secrecy Keith Herron04-02-07
When The Kansas City Star published an investigative story a few weeks ago about the secretive financial oversight of one of the Baptist mega-churches in the area, it was as if a bomb went off in the community.
The news story reported that several hundred members had left the First Family Church of Overland Park, Kan., in the last few years because of the church's refusal to provide members with financial reports of the church income and expenses and the enforced secrecy surrounding the salaries and benefits of the pastor and those family members who are paid staff members.
Accountability issues also involved the broken promises of how funds raised to fund one capital campaign were apparently used to pay for another campaign, while other funds raised for particular projects were either mysteriously delayed or never spent for their stated purpose. Additionally, false explanations were given to the church about how a land deal was consummated according to court records. The members have left over their inability to get answers to their questions about these matters.
Pastor Jerry Johnston exercises tight control over financial disclosure policies by hiding behind the claim that all church financial records are accountable to a board of trustees. According to the story, a lawyer listed in church corporation papers as a board member acknowledged he hadn't been to a board meeting in years, didn't know he was a board member and hadn't attended the church in years.
Former members of a building committee for a recent project left the church out of frustration in obtaining financial reports in order to apply for loan approval to fund the project. They were repeatedly denied the reports and in the end, Johnston covered the loan himself. It is unknown whether he utilized the financial resources of others or underwrote the loan himself. The details are unknown to the members of the church. Within weeks, the entire building committee resigned. It should be noted that Johnston disagreed with the facts of the new story on this point. "Respectfully, I disagree," he said about these accusations.
Members are not given access for the salaries or benefits given to the pastor and staff. Complaints criticize the exorbitant life styles of the pastor and his family listing expensive cars, homes, clothing and the use of an exclusive and high-priced American Express card. Johnston has recently hired a public relations specialist from Dallas to handle all responses to the news stories.
The pastor responded defensively with the warning a few weeks before the story broke that the congregation should expect adversaries to attack them and their ministry. "Whenever God's work is being built, Satan sends opponents, and he energizes opponents," Johnston said. "Beware of Satan as he speaks through different people."
Johnston was apparently referring to the upcoming news story implying that the reporter, a member of another large church in the area, had an ulterior motive to hurt the credibility of the church and its pastor in order to benefit her own church.
The news story also highlighted the duplicity of claims the pastor has a doctoral degree. Johnston uses "Dr. Jerry Johnston" publicly and in all church publications and media, but in fact he does not have such a degree other than the honorary doctorate received when invited by Jerry Falwell to preach the baccalaureate service at Liberty University in 1998.
Johnston was a high school dropout from the Christian high school he attended in Kansas City in the 1970s. He later passed the general equivalency degree but has not earned college or graduate degrees beyond that. He claims he will graduate this spring with a bachelor's degree in biblical studies from the Midwestern Baptist College (SBC), the undergraduate program of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.
While the letters to the editor in The Kansas City Star have been numerous and polarized, it's clear the issue of trust and integrity are central to the story. Many have defended Johnston and the First Family Church as being the victim of a scathing news story that was unfair in light of all the good the church has done in the community while others have voiced their opposition to the strange need for absolute control of such matters.
The news report on First Family's secretive control of their finances has created a community-wide conversation on the issues of trust, disclosure and integrity. In a follow-up article on this issue, a number of local pastors and congregations were asked about their practices regarding financial accountability.
The majority of responses were openly counter to the practices of Johnston at First Family. Nodell Dennis, director of missions for the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association said, "The first thing I tell pastors is 'Don't touch the money.'" By that he meant the church should hold itself responsible for creating a system of accountability where the funds are appropriately protected and spent according to a budget system that's open to all members for approval and regular review. Such an open system would create a safe barrier between the minister and the money.
The open accountability of a church's financial reports are a form of sacred trust. Some call it a "covenant" between church members and God that is mutually shared between all members, including the pastor and other ministers.
Dan Busby, vice-president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, says the best way to engender trust in a congregation is to be open about its money. "If there isn't that basic appropriate transparency, then people in and out of the congregation will tend to believe that something is being hidden, whether it is or not," he said.
Churches cannot be healthy where secrets abound and refusing to answer the hard questions has the appearance of being its own answer.
Keith D. Herron is senior pastor at Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
More on "Hollywood" Bob Reccord
This article from Associated Baptist Press speaks for itself. How a church could fall for this line is beyond me. And "Hollywood" Bob just keeps raking in the bucks, bilking from good-hearted Christian people.
Church's offering for Reccord raises questions about six-figure severance
By Greg Warner
Published: March 27, 2007
SALISBURY, N.C. (ABP) -- Former missions leader Bob Reccord preached a revival last week in a North Carolina church where congregants were asked to give a sacrificial "love offering" because preaching is Reccord's "only source of income" -- one year after leaving his top Baptist missions post with a six-figure severance deal.
In a March 1 letter to his congregation, Rick Cockerham, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Salisbury, N.C., appealed for members to give generously to support their revival preacher. "Since he is no longer with NAMB, this ministry is Dr. Reccord's only source of income to support his family," Cockerham wrote three weeks before the March 23-25 revival. "He also is supporting his aging mother, who is in a nursing home near his home."
Reccord left the North American Mission Board in Spring 2006 after allegations of financial mismanagement and conflicts of interest.
While it's customary for a visiting preacher to benefit from a voluntary offering from various congregations, few itinerant ministers receive severance pay from their last job. In Reccord's case, the severance was reported to be two-year's worth of his estimated $250,000 annual salary as president of NAMB.
A second letter 10 days later from Calvary's deacon chairman Kirby Sells admitted the love offering had not been successful and pleaded for more money. "Since Dr. Reccord left NAMB, he has not had a salary from anybody," the letter said. "He is totally dependent on meetings like ours for his livelihood…."
Trustee leaders who negotiated the severance agreement never revealed the details. When asked in April 2006 about the report of two-years' salary, NAMB trustee chairman Bill Curtis said "there is precedent at other SBC agencies" for such a settlement.
A member of the Salisbury church, who asked not to be identified, said "it makes me mad" that, after receiving a $500,000 severance from NAMB, Reccord "is now preying on small Baptist churches in our state."
Asked about the letter and revival, Cockerham said he couldn’t be happier with the three days the Reccords spent with his church. “I’ve never had anybody come who was more gracious and kind than Bob and Cheryl,” he said.
He said he never spoke with Reccord about Reccord’s personal finances, and he said Reccord didn’t know about the letter.
Cockerham said his church always asks for “love offerings” for guest speakers, and he sent the supplication letter only to the most “faithful” members to give them additional opportunities to give, he said.
“We’ve had just a very, very positive response with our people, and nobody to my knowledge at Calvary ever even mentioned anything other than a super positive response,” Cockerham said. “We were very pleased with the meeting and very pleased with the Reccords, and I was very pleased with the love offering.”
Reccord did not respond to two e-mail messages and was not available by phone. But his wife, Cheryl, said the couple was not aware of the fund-raising letter. "We never discussed financial things with the pastor," she said March 26. "We focus on the positive aspects of ministry, and we hope you would do the same."
She said the three-day revival provided "wonderful opportunities to minister to people and wonderful stories of people’s lives that were changed."
Preaching a revival at a 500-member church is a far cry from Reccord's heyday, when he spoke to Promise Keepers crowds of 10,000-plus people and flew around the world in a private plane.
His extravagant spending and self-aggrandizing earned him the nickname "Hollywood Bob" at NAMB and prompted an expose by the Christian Index newspaper and a trustee investigation, both of which led to his resignation under pressure in April 2006. They also were the subject of a tell-all book, Spending God's Money, by former NAMB administrator Mary Branson.
Curtis, the NAMB chairman, declined again to discuss the severance agreement March 26. "You know I can't answer those questions," said Curtis, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Florence, S.C. But he added "it is generally known" that Reccord received a severance.
As for the appropriateness of the Calvary Baptist appeal, he said, "I can't interpose myself into a local-church situation."
The results of the trustee investigation, released in March 2006, faulted Reccord for poor management, autocratic decision-making, extravagant spending on failed ministry projects, apparent conflicts of interest in no-bid contracts for a friend, and creating a "culture of fear" that prevented staffers from questioning the abuses. The trustees also said Reccord spent time and money on events and projects on the periphery of NAMB’s mission and was absent so much he couldn't provide consistent oversight "to properly manage the agency," which directs Southern Baptist mission work in the United States and Canada.
Church's offering for Reccord raises questions about six-figure severance
By Greg Warner
Published: March 27, 2007
SALISBURY, N.C. (ABP) -- Former missions leader Bob Reccord preached a revival last week in a North Carolina church where congregants were asked to give a sacrificial "love offering" because preaching is Reccord's "only source of income" -- one year after leaving his top Baptist missions post with a six-figure severance deal.
In a March 1 letter to his congregation, Rick Cockerham, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Salisbury, N.C., appealed for members to give generously to support their revival preacher. "Since he is no longer with NAMB, this ministry is Dr. Reccord's only source of income to support his family," Cockerham wrote three weeks before the March 23-25 revival. "He also is supporting his aging mother, who is in a nursing home near his home."
Reccord left the North American Mission Board in Spring 2006 after allegations of financial mismanagement and conflicts of interest.
While it's customary for a visiting preacher to benefit from a voluntary offering from various congregations, few itinerant ministers receive severance pay from their last job. In Reccord's case, the severance was reported to be two-year's worth of his estimated $250,000 annual salary as president of NAMB.
A second letter 10 days later from Calvary's deacon chairman Kirby Sells admitted the love offering had not been successful and pleaded for more money. "Since Dr. Reccord left NAMB, he has not had a salary from anybody," the letter said. "He is totally dependent on meetings like ours for his livelihood…."
Trustee leaders who negotiated the severance agreement never revealed the details. When asked in April 2006 about the report of two-years' salary, NAMB trustee chairman Bill Curtis said "there is precedent at other SBC agencies" for such a settlement.
A member of the Salisbury church, who asked not to be identified, said "it makes me mad" that, after receiving a $500,000 severance from NAMB, Reccord "is now preying on small Baptist churches in our state."
Asked about the letter and revival, Cockerham said he couldn’t be happier with the three days the Reccords spent with his church. “I’ve never had anybody come who was more gracious and kind than Bob and Cheryl,” he said.
He said he never spoke with Reccord about Reccord’s personal finances, and he said Reccord didn’t know about the letter.
Cockerham said his church always asks for “love offerings” for guest speakers, and he sent the supplication letter only to the most “faithful” members to give them additional opportunities to give, he said.
“We’ve had just a very, very positive response with our people, and nobody to my knowledge at Calvary ever even mentioned anything other than a super positive response,” Cockerham said. “We were very pleased with the meeting and very pleased with the Reccords, and I was very pleased with the love offering.”
Reccord did not respond to two e-mail messages and was not available by phone. But his wife, Cheryl, said the couple was not aware of the fund-raising letter. "We never discussed financial things with the pastor," she said March 26. "We focus on the positive aspects of ministry, and we hope you would do the same."
She said the three-day revival provided "wonderful opportunities to minister to people and wonderful stories of people’s lives that were changed."
Preaching a revival at a 500-member church is a far cry from Reccord's heyday, when he spoke to Promise Keepers crowds of 10,000-plus people and flew around the world in a private plane.
His extravagant spending and self-aggrandizing earned him the nickname "Hollywood Bob" at NAMB and prompted an expose by the Christian Index newspaper and a trustee investigation, both of which led to his resignation under pressure in April 2006. They also were the subject of a tell-all book, Spending God's Money, by former NAMB administrator Mary Branson.
Curtis, the NAMB chairman, declined again to discuss the severance agreement March 26. "You know I can't answer those questions," said Curtis, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Florence, S.C. But he added "it is generally known" that Reccord received a severance.
As for the appropriateness of the Calvary Baptist appeal, he said, "I can't interpose myself into a local-church situation."
The results of the trustee investigation, released in March 2006, faulted Reccord for poor management, autocratic decision-making, extravagant spending on failed ministry projects, apparent conflicts of interest in no-bid contracts for a friend, and creating a "culture of fear" that prevented staffers from questioning the abuses. The trustees also said Reccord spent time and money on events and projects on the periphery of NAMB’s mission and was absent so much he couldn't provide consistent oversight "to properly manage the agency," which directs Southern Baptist mission work in the United States and Canada.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Confederate Heritage Month?
If I were a citizen of the state of Georgia, I would be ashamed of this effort described below in an Ethics Daily story. The NAACP of Georgia had proposed that the legislature issue a public apology for the state's role in supporting slavery in the 19th century, in hopes of following the action taken recently by the Virginia legislature. Instead, it looks as if the Georgia legislature wants to perpetuate the myth of the Confederacy.
By the way, for all those who believe that the Civil War was not about the issue of slavery, but was instead about states rights or confederate independence, you need go no further than to read the documents of secession written by several of the Confederate States' legislatures which spell out in black and white that the issue causing the separation is indeed slavery. For the document related to the state of Georgia, see this link:
http://patriotpost.us/histdocs/georgia_secession.asp
The Southern states went to war to defend the institution of slavery. End of case. I can't believe Georgia has legislators who want to celebrate that!
Georgia State Senate Considering Confederate Heritage Month Bob Allen03-21-07
After being asked by black leaders to apologize for Georgia's role in slavery, the state Senate instead moved forward with a bill designating April as Confederate Heritage and History Month.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Bill Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said his proposal is not a reaction to a call by the Georgia state conference of the NAACP for the legislature to follow Virginia's example. Virginia's General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in February atoning for "involuntary servitude of Africans" and calling for reconciliation among all Virginians.
Georgia's Republican governor, Sonny Perdue, said he was skeptical about his state following Virginia's lead in apologizing for slavery. "Repentance comes from the heart," he said, according to the Associated Press. "I'm not sure about public apologies ... as far as the motivation for them."
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, also a Republican, broke ranks with Perdue, saying he would support the effort to acknowledge the state's role in slavery, which has biracial and bipartisan support. A top Republican leader, Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) said he would introduce such an apology, increasing its chance of passage.
In the meantime, the Senate Rules committee on Monday voted unanimously to send SB 283, setting aside each April "to honor, observe, and celebrate the Confederate States of America, its history, those who served in its armed forces and government, and all those millions of its citizens of various races and ethnic groups and religions who contributed in sundry and myriad ways to the cause of Southern Independence…."
Mullis' district is home to Chickamauga Battlefield, scene of the last major Confederate victory of the Civil War in September 1863. Mullis said he introduced the bill as a favor to John Culpepper, commissioner of the Georgia Civil War Commission and a personal friend, and because he believes children need to know the state's history.
His proposal encourages the Civil War Commission to develop curriculum for elementary and high schools about Georgia's Confederate heritage.
Mullis told the Walker County Messenger in LaFayette, Ga., he filed his bill before the NAACP made their demand for an apology, and the timing made it more controversial. He said he is open to having "reconciliation language" added to the bill but not an apology.
"If I had done something personally, yes, I would apologize," he told the Associated Press.
Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta), an African-American, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the timing of Mullis' proposal is troublesome.
"I think that in light of the conversation we've been having about Georgia accepting responsibility for its history as it relates to slavery, this is not appropriate," Reed said. "If we're not going to address that issue in a candid way, I find it inappropriate to be passing a measure such as this."
Reed also said he is disappointed that lawmakers have not yet approved a proposal to hang a portrait of civil rights figure Coretta Scott King in the state Capitol.
Several Southern states observe Confederate Heritage and History Month in some form. April is the month the War Between the States both began in 1861 and ended in 1865. Georgia already celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on April 26.
The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is working in all 159 counties in the state requesting proclamations by county commissions.
Mullis said his measure would help promote tourism in the state. State officials are already working on plans to promote tourism for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in 2011.
This year marks the 145th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, an 1883 executive order by President Abraham Lincoln declaring freedom for slaves in confederate states.
Bob Allen is managing editor of EthicsDaily.com.
Copyright © 2002-2005 EthicsDaily.com
By the way, for all those who believe that the Civil War was not about the issue of slavery, but was instead about states rights or confederate independence, you need go no further than to read the documents of secession written by several of the Confederate States' legislatures which spell out in black and white that the issue causing the separation is indeed slavery. For the document related to the state of Georgia, see this link:
http://patriotpost.us/histdocs/georgia_secession.asp
The Southern states went to war to defend the institution of slavery. End of case. I can't believe Georgia has legislators who want to celebrate that!
Georgia State Senate Considering Confederate Heritage Month Bob Allen03-21-07
After being asked by black leaders to apologize for Georgia's role in slavery, the state Senate instead moved forward with a bill designating April as Confederate Heritage and History Month.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Bill Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said his proposal is not a reaction to a call by the Georgia state conference of the NAACP for the legislature to follow Virginia's example. Virginia's General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in February atoning for "involuntary servitude of Africans" and calling for reconciliation among all Virginians.
Georgia's Republican governor, Sonny Perdue, said he was skeptical about his state following Virginia's lead in apologizing for slavery. "Repentance comes from the heart," he said, according to the Associated Press. "I'm not sure about public apologies ... as far as the motivation for them."
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, also a Republican, broke ranks with Perdue, saying he would support the effort to acknowledge the state's role in slavery, which has biracial and bipartisan support. A top Republican leader, Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) said he would introduce such an apology, increasing its chance of passage.
In the meantime, the Senate Rules committee on Monday voted unanimously to send SB 283, setting aside each April "to honor, observe, and celebrate the Confederate States of America, its history, those who served in its armed forces and government, and all those millions of its citizens of various races and ethnic groups and religions who contributed in sundry and myriad ways to the cause of Southern Independence…."
Mullis' district is home to Chickamauga Battlefield, scene of the last major Confederate victory of the Civil War in September 1863. Mullis said he introduced the bill as a favor to John Culpepper, commissioner of the Georgia Civil War Commission and a personal friend, and because he believes children need to know the state's history.
His proposal encourages the Civil War Commission to develop curriculum for elementary and high schools about Georgia's Confederate heritage.
Mullis told the Walker County Messenger in LaFayette, Ga., he filed his bill before the NAACP made their demand for an apology, and the timing made it more controversial. He said he is open to having "reconciliation language" added to the bill but not an apology.
"If I had done something personally, yes, I would apologize," he told the Associated Press.
Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta), an African-American, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the timing of Mullis' proposal is troublesome.
"I think that in light of the conversation we've been having about Georgia accepting responsibility for its history as it relates to slavery, this is not appropriate," Reed said. "If we're not going to address that issue in a candid way, I find it inappropriate to be passing a measure such as this."
Reed also said he is disappointed that lawmakers have not yet approved a proposal to hang a portrait of civil rights figure Coretta Scott King in the state Capitol.
Several Southern states observe Confederate Heritage and History Month in some form. April is the month the War Between the States both began in 1861 and ended in 1865. Georgia already celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on April 26.
The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is working in all 159 counties in the state requesting proclamations by county commissions.
Mullis said his measure would help promote tourism in the state. State officials are already working on plans to promote tourism for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in 2011.
This year marks the 145th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, an 1883 executive order by President Abraham Lincoln declaring freedom for slaves in confederate states.
Bob Allen is managing editor of EthicsDaily.com.
Copyright © 2002-2005 EthicsDaily.com
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