Seeing with New Eyes

Reading John Fischer’s book “12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me)”, has been very eye opening and challenging. To say the least it has exposed my own “pharisaic” mindset. I too am like them, I categorize people based on certain criteria. For example, I have placed people that come by the office asking for money as people who are lazy and don’t wanna work etc. and so I don’t have to love them or minister to them. I have asked God to change my heart in that matter.

Well an opportunity to show a change of heart came yesterday. I skinny old man came by and was wanting help. He was unshaven and dirty with a pack of cigarettes in his pocket. I sighed and knew without him even saying a word, that he needed money for some reason or another. Usually I say to myself, “Well, here we go, the usual story of how desperate they are and some drawn out diatribe obviously rehearsed for this occasion.” But this time I didn’t do that, I choose to listen and hear the man out without pre-judging him.

I really listened and my heart was broken for him. I took my billfold out and literally had only one dollar to give him for gas. That would not even wet the tank. So I told him to follow me to a nearby gas station and I would put gas in his car. He was worried he might not have enough gas to get to the station. I assured him that it wasn’t far. As I was filling the tank up he asked me, “Can I ask you a personal question?” Didn’t know what to expect but I said sure. “How does it feel to be an answer to a specific prayer request?”he said. I said it felt great. I then asked if he attended church anywhere. He admitted that was his downfall. He hadn’t attended church in years. He confessed that he accepted Christ in 1954. He had backslidden as it were. I encouraged him that God does not abandon His own.

Honestly I don’t know if he will attend church this Sunday, but I strongly encouraged Him to go and thank God for answering his prayer. He said he just might surprise me by attending my church. If I had a dollar for every promise of attending church, I would be a rich man! So I aint holding my breath waiting for him to attend.

The point is, I am learning to see people as God sees them and not from my own prejudiced view. Instead of dismissing people outright, I am learning to see, feel and hear with God’s heart instead of mine. I find it refreshing to be able to do so. May His Name be Glorified.

Earned or not Earned, That is the Question.

Recently read where the new Southern Baptist Convention President has a non-earned doctorate. Some may say, “What is the big deal?”. Well it is a big deal. It goes to the integrity of someone who desires to be called “Dr” when said doctorate is not an earned doctorate. It is very misleading to paint oneself as a “Dr” when it is not earned.

I would not want to be calling my medical doctor “Dr” if it was not earned. By calling him or her Doctor so and so, I am saying so as a show of honor and respect for the fact that said individual has earned the right to be called Doctor. In the same way it would not be right for me to call someone “Dr” if they have not earned it.

There seems to be more and more of a trend for ministers to buy a doctorate from a degree house and then expect to be called Dr. so and so. More and more people don’t fully understand that when a person buys their respective degree they are presenting a false front. And for those who have an earned degree, it makes them wanna throw up.  

My years in college and seminary were tough years. Years spent writing and researching many papers. The hours spent studying for my degrees were not easy years. Many times I wanted to quit and just go into the ministry. I wondered why, if I was called, did I need to mess with this stuff. If God has called me, then why bother with the education? After all He is the one who will equip me for my calling. So education, why bother?

I am so thankful to this day, that I stuck it out. It has been a blessing I can never, ever repay. Through my education years, I learned how to do proper Biblical hermeneutics, how to apply God’s Word to my life and those I serve. How to study the languages and properly understand with God’s help, the best way to apply the Bible to our everyday lives. The many classes on missions and ministry that helped me to be the best minister in God’s hands, is worth all the hours of study.

To thumb our noses at education, is to not be the best minister God can use. I have on occasion sat in on some preaching that makes me wanna spit. I have seen well meaning preachers pull Bible verses completely out of context and butcher God’s word. It is a shame when God called preachers, choose not to avail themselves of the best education available to make them great ministers for His glory.

It is also not moral and ethical to call someone Doctor if it is not earned. To do so is to slap the faces of those who earned their doctorates. The same could be said of honorary doctorates. There are several very prominent ministers with honorary doctorates and they really shouldn’t be addressed as such, because it was not earned.

Remember the ad from the 70’s in which the older guy says- “You gotta eeeearn it!”. I say the same is true of someone who wishes or desires to be addressed as Doctor so and so. Earn or quit spouting it.  Johnny Hunt is just Johnny Hunt, cause his Dr. isn’t earned.

 

 

 

Lay People Baptizing, Oh, My!

Was reading the recent issue of the Baptist Standard and saw an interesting piece about Gateway Community Church in Granbury. In that church, the church members baptize, men and women do the baptizing, laypeople do the baptizing! Try sending a church member from that church to the IMB to be appointed as a missionary and see how fast they get shown the door!

I am sure there are some who really believe that the only “appropriate” person to perform a baptism is an ordained minister.  Seems like I don’t see that in Scripture. Sure the only ones we read about are done by males, but so what.  The first evangelist were women, no really read who first went and spread the news of the resurrection of Jesus, it was women. Anyway I digress.

Was wondering if the church in Granbury, a baptist church, will be asked to leave the association. It wouldn’t surprise me that some in the area are upset that this is happening and if that isn’t enough, they have taken baptist out of their name! Horror of horrors! “Why they aint real baptist anyway and are ashamed to be baptist, so let’s just kick them out of the association.” Never mind that they are leading people to Christ and seeing them be baptized in record numbers. Never mind that the church is growing rapidly and fulfilling the Great Commission.

To the church in Granbury, I say keep up the good work. Don’t let the naysayers get to ya. Hold your head up and keep going. Nehemiah dealt with lots of negative people who only saw fault in what he was doing. But he was called and did what God asked him to do and ignored the rest.

 

Shadow Convention?

I think it was David Montoya who coined the now famous words, “Shadow Convention”. At least he was the one who wrote over and over again of the notion of a shadow convention. He was convinced that there was a group that really had full control of the convention. That they were in essence in the background, kinda like the Wizard of Oz, controlling from behind a curtain all that went on in the BGCT.

Story has it that at one point, Montoya was a big supporter of the Texas Baptist Committed group, headed up by David Currie. Don’t fully know or understand what happened to that relationship, just know that Montoya had a falling out of sorts, I guess. And since then has thrown many hand grenades at that group.

Seems Montoya had a point with some of his complaints about TBC. He felt strongly that they had too much “power” as it were, as to who was appointed to key committee positions within the state. Yeah, it appeared that in order to serve on a committee, your name had better be on the lips of David Currie in order for that to happen. 

TBC has as the stated goal of the organization, to prevent the encroachment of fundamentalism within the leadership of the BGCT. I agree wholeheartedly with that. And the TBC was formed to stem the tide of fundamentalism within the state. They have in reality saved our great convention. To them I applaud. They did so by making sure the committee candidates were good quality people. But the perception was that they controlled the committees. Which in fact is not the case. Sure they made recommendations, but that was all they could do. They could not and did tell the committees whom they should or shouldn’t appoint to committees. To Montoya the appearance of doing so was too much to handle, so he lobbed grenades at the group.

Is the TBC still relevant? Yes. Without it, who will keep us informed? How will we know of the danger of fundamentalism that still sneaks around our state trying to take over churches? There are still churches that are vulnerable to the out and out lies of fundamentalism. There are still some stealth candidates who will run for key positions within the BGCT. Fundamentlist want the BGCT, it is the prize that alludes them. Nevermind that they have the SBTC, they want the whole state. In their minds the BGCT is full of rank liberals who have to be reined in.

Here is the deal. Within the BGCT, there are some I don’t completely agree with. They have views that run contrary to my understanding of the Bible. Some are liberal in nature and some are fundamentalist in nature. I have coffee with some I don’t fully agree with. But here is the kicker, they love and serve the same Lord I do. They truly desire to see souls saved for His glory and that is good enough for me. I don’t want everyone to look like me (God forbid) or think like me, that would be so boring. In God’s great kingdom there are many different opinions on non-essential issues, but are unified on the essentials. For that I am grateful.

Shadow Convention, I don’t think so.

 

 

Who Controls the BGCT?

The “Baptist” response to the question of who is in control of the BGCT, is that all of us Baptist control it. I say, “Really!!.” The evidence I see, is that the gray heads and preachers are the ones in control. All one has to do is show up at a convention and look upon  the sea of gray heads and preachers (the preachers are the ones with large bellies on them and chicken dripping off of the chin) and know that they are the ones running the BGCT.

By this I mean the ones who do the showing up at convention and voting are the gray heads and preachers. Sure they are “supposed” to represent the churches that send them. But come on, they vote as they please and generally don’t report back to the churches that sent and tell how they voted.  Each vote represents an individual vote.

Now as to the committees and such, they are still generally the gray heads and preachers. I have noticed that most that serve on committees generally come from large city churches. I don’t know if that is intentional or not, but it is what it is. Don’t see too many people from small out of the way churches serving at the BGCT level committees, don’t know the real reason why. But shouldn’t that trend change? Shouldn’t it be more “representative” of the entire state?

If the “wealth” as it were, were spread around the entire state, instead of the “eastern corridor” then might more people feel a sense of ownership? Just asking and wondering. Or is it only “reserved” for those who serve on other committees and are deemed worthy?  Or is it who ya know? Is it a Good Old Boy club, that is at work? Just wondering and asking.

I believe the more involvement the BGCT gets from all Baptist in the state, the more ownership it will have. I realize I am stating the obvious or am I saying something no one wants to hear?  I know, I know ya need to be careful who gets on these committees, ya gotta have people who are knowledgable and all that jazz. I don’t argue that point, but why is it, generally the same people, from similar if not the same churches serving in several committee positions? Hmmm. Just wondering and asking.

Some have claimed that the BGCT is run by an elist group. Don’t know if that is the case or not. Do know that the same old is just not working anymore. Most of the people in churches have a ho hum attitude towards the BGCT and send a check or not. Kinda hard to get excited with a ho hum attitude. Maybe that is why I am excited about the possibilities of Jesus 2010. Could it be this could bring the ho hum people back into the excitement that was present in the past? I am praying that it will.

So who is in control the BGCT? WE ARE. So show up at the convention and get involved.

BGCT Leadership, What brand shall it be?

A while back David Currie wrote in his newsletter his thoughts on whether the TBC will continue to “endorse” candidates for the the BGCT. I understand and commend Currie for wanting to protect the BGCT from future takeovers from those who are want to push the BGCT in directions that will do much harm to it.

I have not been supportive of the TBC “endorsing” candidates, even though I understood why they felt the need to do so. They felt that the danger of the “wrong” candidates coming into leadership of the BGCT and causing much harm was worth “endorsing” candidates. I think those days are no longer needed.  People now have ways to vet out candidates and find out who they really are.

Know that I personally have experienced first hand some of the dangers involved with fundamentalist type leaders. There’s is an us vs. them mentality. You either think, breath and do as they do or you just aint Godly like they are. They will brand you so fast, your head will spin.  Toe the line or you will be tossed overboard and left to rot.

I think new leadership is needed at the BGCT and the convention has the capability of doing just that this fall. But it will take more than setting on the sidelines complaining about everything. It will take showing up and speaking out.  By speaking out I mean that we should do so with kindness and in the spirit of humility. There are rules as to how we are to speak out and those are in place so that we are civil and fair.

Having said that, I am concerned that many who want to come and be a part of the process, just aren’t able to. With gas pricing rising higher and higher it will be interesting to see how that affects attendance and participation. Hotels in the DFW area are high, due to paying for the new Cowboys stadium (Jerry Jones memorial stadium!).

Why can’t we have multiple sites around the state to allow live feed and voting via those sites?  They could be set up at all our major Baptist entities and allow for a much greater participation.  As it stands now, the preachers and grey heads control the convention.  Young people are in essence left out of the loop. They are working or going to school and convention attendance is low on the list.

If we open the doors for more opportunities like this, then maybe we will get a whole different brand of leadership or is it set up to only prop up the good old boy system?  Gosh, if we open it up to others besides those of us who have made the “sacrifices” to keep it running, why we may lose control of it. Could that be a real fear than some won’t express?  Control, is a powerful thing, and it at this point is in the hands of a few.

Why not for the future of the BGCT, open it up to allow more people to be involved in the process? Maybe there will not be so much distrust in the “system” if the system were more readily accessable. Could be the giving and support of the BGCT might go up. 

Hello, current leadership, ya listening?

 

 

 

IMB Guidelines Change

When the new IMB guidelines came out, I was not surprised at all. It is the continuation of the trend to “tell Southern Baptist” what is the correct theology  or view on religious matters.  I thought the BFM 2000 was the “holy grail” of theological perimeters. But alas, more is needed to pull us all closer to theological unity, or so they claim.

I realize the goal of the IMB was to “protect” against charismatic teachings and practice. That notwithstanding the protective shield is already in place, it is called the Bible. Oh, I know it is open to individual interpretation and all.  But are we to become more “Catholic” in our attempts to keep people in theological correctness?

Recently a group has been formed to send the message that they are not happy with the IMB guidelines. Here is the link regarding it: http://imbchange.info/ . How much impact this will have remains to be seen. My honest guess is, probably nothing. SBC hierarchy will push it down. They seem to relish in telling us poor hapless Baptist what to think or do.

The notion of local church autonomy in SBC circles is becoming more and more a thing of the past. Control is the game these days. “Why, we just can’t have those lowly Baptist thinking for themselves, they might come up with their own theology!”

Will true Baptist have to leave the USA and go elsewhere to regain the freedoms they came here to find? Will true Baptist leave the SBC? Could some of this top down theological gatekeeping, be some of the reason for the decline in SBC numbers?

Baptist have always been an independent group of thinkers. We don’t like for anyone to tell us what the rest of us think. That is the Baptist way, each one is free to read and study the Scriptures for themselves. Sure that is a dangerous propostion, but it is the historic Baptist way.

The IMB Guidelines are in essence telling the SBC churches, line up with our view of theology or don’t bother sending us missionaries.  Churches are answering that unspoken challenge by sending out missionaries either through other agencies or going themselves.  Missionaries, good ones, are choosing to go in other ways.

We don’t have time to “fiddle while Rome burns”. Too many people need to hear of the Good News, while we debate whose theology is correct.  The SBC does not speak for all Baptist, thank God. The Bible is our only reliable source. When we start propping other theological documents, be it the BFM 2000, 1963, 1925 or any other man made document, along side the Bible, then we are heading down a path of theological hegemony.

To the group opposing the IMB Guidelines, good luck.  Be prepared to duck when the higher ups throw it back at you. But stand back up and speak loudly through the internet, at the convention etc. Someone has to say, enough is enough. 

 

Door to Door, Does it work?

Been thinking about “effective evangelism”. Spent a portion of yesterday researching and studying effective evangelism. It seems what is and isn’t effective evangelism is in the eye of the beholder. Some feel strongly, that we should go door to door, because that is what the Bible teaches. I don’t question that, but times were different then.

Some suggested going from door to door and reaching only one out of some 700 or so doors, is worth the effort. Really? As I mentioned before I was researching effective evangelism. That doesn’t sound very effective to me.  That is a lot of time and energy spent knocking on many doors and some 90% not opening doors or slamming them shut.

When the door bell rings after 5pm, most of the time I breath in deeply and know that it is usually not a good sign. It means someone is selling me something, or wants gas or food money. There are occasions when I help out with gas or food, but my money is in short supply too. Many people choose not to open the door.

I have done door to door many times. In the summer of 1983, while on summer missions in Southern California, my team went door to door inviting kids to VBS. It was successful and many come. I also did survey work and that wasn’t as successful.

Times have changed. People are leary and rightfully so, of those who come to the door. But then how do we reach all the homes near our churches effectively for the Gospel? Here at our little church, we have been debating that notion for a while now. Some still feel that door to door is the best way, cause that is what was done in the past. To that I say go for it. And some have, with little or no results.

But back to my question, how do we do “effective evangelism”. It appears that is dependent upon the given situation and church. Out here in the country where we are, that appears not to be the best way. Homes are spread out and they rarely get a “visitor” and when they do, shotguns may await you.

Lately I have been doing some prayer walking. I am trying to lose some “coca cola belly” and have taken up walking and while doing so, been praying for my neighbors.  Prayer can reach into the homes where we can’t. God can penetrate hearts with our prayers. If not then we ought to hang up prayer meetings etc.

The cool thing is prayer walking is not a program and doesn’t cost money and anyone can do it. It is not an in your face type of evangelism, but evangelism it is. How effective? Might not know the answer to that question this side of heaven. 

 

 

No, Really It’s True!

If one goes to Montoya’s blog, he has in essence shut it down. He has said goodbye. I guess it was just too much. Maybe the burden he was carrying was heavier than he thought.

You will be missed David, I guess.

Montoya is Giving Up!

No really, you read his recent blog and he says he has had enough. To that I say, it is about time! His constant ranting has been beyond civil. He has been striving long and hard to hurt and damage many people.

I think he has caused more harm to his own reputation than he has any other person. He is not viewed as a person that many want to spend much time around. Sorry, David, that is the perception I get from many people.  Your name is not revered or spoken with much respect. As a matter of fact just about anyone who knows the name of David Montoya, and it is mentioned, the eyes roll up and a deep sigh emanates.

As I have said before, I truly believe David can be used in very positive ways. He can have a great impact on what the BGCT does, if only he will be more civil and kind.  Honey impacts more than  vinegar.  I would be honored to work with David, because I believe his heart is right, it is his stinging comments that turn me off.

I know David sneaks over here and reads. Please know I do not intend to hurt or damage anyone. And David, keep asking questions, just find a better way to do it. I know you are frustrated and angry about all the valley mess.  I am not happy with what happened either. I just don’t have the time nor the energy to get worked up about it. Probably cause I know we live in a fallen world and in that world humanity will mess up God’s work. Even supposed Godly people fall and do the wrong thing.

But, then God gets in the way.