The Refugee Baptist

Southern Baptist Convention to Sit Out 2008 Election...

2008-06-12T10:30:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, one report pointed out that that there wasn't an election-related gathering of the GOP for Baptist pastors across the street from the SBC annual meeting. Personally, I see this as one of the more positive things that did not occur in Indianapolis. The Southern Baptist Convention should be an issues focused body and no one's forgone conclusion as far as political party affiliation. Even if I do not completely agree with the fine points/issues of Dr. Richard Land's Four Modern Horsemen of the Apocalypse, at least it wasn't presented on the stage of a political candidate (or political party).

I, for one, do not appreciate the Southern Baptist Convention's association with the election of the current administrative leadership in Washington. As an individual, I helped elect the Bush administration...and frankly, I haven't been as disappointed with White House leadership since the Carter administration. I firmly believe that each and every Southern Baptist should actively participate in the political process, however, as a convention/organization I strongly believe that we should avoid entanglement with party affiliations and focus on candidate positions on the issues...there is a difference. There is a BIG difference.

To take a position that says the GOP = Southern Baptist is offensive. To take a position that says to be a Democrat = Southern Baptist is equally offensive. If one asks why our church attendance, memberships, and convention attendance numbers are dwindling, consider the divisive nature (for an individual) to either of these two offensive positions.

There is confusion in SBC circles about John McCain, although this article indicates that many convention attendees will vote for McCain because he is a Republican and perceived to be less liberal than Obama. I share some of that wary feeling...wondering if I should vote for McCain in spite of the fact that he is on the Republican ticket. My suspicion is that confusion will lead to apathy among SBC voters and they will sit this one out. That is a shame, because there are issues that cross political party lines that will require quality politicians from both political parties to address... and those parties need to hear from individual (and refugee) Baptists.

Congratulations to Johnny Hunt, SBC President

2008-06-11T15:59:00.002-05:00

I wish Johnny Hunt the very best as he seeks to guide the Southern Baptist Convention for a season as president. He was not my choice, but I respect the decision of the majority in Indianapolis.

For the outgoing President, Frank Page, I offer my warmest appreciation for his service and agree with this closing quote from Ben Coles:

"When he was elected, Frank Page told us that he was conservative but he wasn’t angry about it. Through two years of incredible pressure and conflict, he’s as solidly conservative as he was the day he was elected. And he’s still not angry. Not at the people who opposed him — either secretly or publicly. And not at those of us who by our support gave him more headaches than he ever deserved."

Godspeed, Johnny, I am praying for you.

Dr. Avery Willis - An Endorsement

2008-05-28T06:00:00.005-05:00

We have good crop of candidates in the pool who are seeking the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention. This year's mix includes some predictable faces, great pastoral leaders, and wonderfully gifted men.

Without hesitation, I personally endorse Avery Willis as the candidate to represent all Southern Baptists. Avery's passion for missions is amazing. His understanding of discipleship is well documented. He understands the power and challenges of Baptist churches with small congregations more so than anyone I know. Avery is a practical man with approaches to ministry/missions/discipleship that would be a breath of fresh air in the SBC.

I pray for all of these candidates...but I love the senior, statesmanship qualities of Avery whose life at home and abroad defines what I love most about Southern Baptists. There are many areas of the conservative direction of the SBC where Avery and I would disagree, but I am convinced that Avery's understanding of fellowship among Baptists is more 'embracing' of our diversity rather than 'narrowing' due to our differences.

Two Rivers Baptist Vote - Again, Confusing

2008-05-13T04:43:00.003-05:00

Somewhere in Roberts Rules of Order there (evidently) exists a clause whereby members of an organization who are charged with wrongdoing are not allowed a vote should the issue of their membership status arise. From my experience in running meetings over the last 40 years, that is new one. In one article
Two Rivers Baptist Church attorney, Larry Crain, is quoted as saying,

"If you're charged with a crime, you can't sit on the jury"

Attorney Crain is certainly correct when his comment applies to the court system...I find it a stretch to apply that same logic to a group whose dissension (or sin) is compared to a criminal or illegal act. I would suggest that if that logic were to be applied equitably, then all of those at TRBC who has been accused of financial misdeeds should not have been allowed to vote either.

I am really confused over the 'surprise' Mother's Day vote at Two Rivers Baptist Church. From one Sunday's vote where members were required to show identification in order to vote, to the next Sunday when the very same issue is resolved by a simple show of hands, I believe there is room to question motive as well as action. Those who 'lost' on Mother's Day will no longer be able to vote as 'members' of Two Rivers Baptist Church...otherwise, I am not certain that the second vote accomplished anything other than raising additional suspicions within the congregation.

I will stand by my previous post. Those who have problems with the leadership at Two Rivers Baptist should find a new home..a new branch. Those who remain should re-focus on the mission of the church and bearing new fruit. John 15:1-2 reads, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful."

Many of the members at Two Rivers Baptist Church who were ousted on Mother's Day became members when Jimmy Henry was pastor. I cannot imagine that Jimmy is not heartbroken by the distractions at his previous pastorate. Perhaps some of Jimmy's retirement time could be spent in counseling his older TRBC flock. Certainly there is great need for healing on both sides of the issues at Two Rivers Baptist Church.

There Are Other Churches Besides Two Rivers Baptist

2008-04-30T08:06:00.002-05:00

I read (yet) another report claiming mis-deeds from Dr. Jerry Sutton, Senior Pastor at Two Rivers Baptist Church. There are members who are claiming all sorts of financial irregularities and have gone to court to gain access to financial records. According to the report, "(Dr.) Sutton sent a letter to members saying those who've sued the church will be thrown out if they don't shape up."

My advice to those who disagree with how things are being run at Two Rivers: it is time to find another church home. It is obvious that there is a disagreement. It is obvious that the pastor does not intend to budge from his position. It is obvious that the seventy (or so) members who want to oust the pastor are a small minority. There is nothing that a court suit, a facebook.com group, or additional head-butting in the media will do to bring any glory to this situation. If there is wrongdoing, God will deal with the sin involved.

Full disclosure: I left Two Rivers Baptist Church a month or so after Dr. Sutton appeared on the scene and summarily dismissed some of the finest women ministers in the Southern Baptist Convention. It was my choice to leave. I spoke personally with Jerry and expressed my disappointment in his decisions. We agreed to disagree. I chose to find another church home. I am still at peace with that decision and view it as a door that lead me to new areas of service that I might not have discovered had I stayed.

Wonderful things have happened to Two Rivers under Dr. Sutton's leadership and although we may disagree on many things, God has blessed Jerry's ministry and Two Rivers Baptist Church. I wish Dr. Sutton the best. I wish those who disagree with Dr. Sutton the best as well.

April 6th Offering for Union University

2008-03-31T14:12:00.002-05:00

The Tennessee Baptist Convention's new president, Tom McCoy, has called for an offering to be collected April 6th across the convention to support Union University's re-building programs. In Tom's matter-of-fact, personal touch, way isn't asking churches to spend a whole Sunday on the subject, but enough time to inform congregations and to pass the plate. The Jackson Sun and NewsChannel5.com covered this story as well last week.

James Porch, the TBC Executive Director, outlines some of progress that has already happened since the February 5, 2008 tornado.

If you are not a member of a Baptist church and wish to help in the re-building process, I encourage you to do so (securely) online.

Belmont University, though not affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention, set up a special web site, held a benefit concert, sent student volunteers to assist in the clean-up, and delivered a $100,000 check from the university's trustees to help. Thank You, Belmont!

How About Them Belmont Bruins

2008-03-27T12:29:00.002-05:00

I watched in amazement as the Belmont Bruins gained "Significant Respect".

Does Basketball Really Need this Sort of Madness

2008-03-10T13:57:00.000-05:00

A Belmont University friend of mine made sure that I had tickets to this year's Atlantic Sun basketball tournament. I made it to several games and discovered a lot of great basketball, mid-major style. I also discovered something that I think this set of mid-majors can do without.

Fans at Lipscomb University and Belmont University do not like each other, at least during athletic competitions. I suppose that distaste and disdain goes along with the intensity of the rivalry. What should not go along with that distaste are uncreative cheers that constantly include the word "SUCK". I have heard the same trash-talk-potty-mouth shenanigans at professional hockey and find it equally distasteful, but the students at Lipscomb and Belmont are far more creative to stoop to this level of debasement.

I have heard the story several times about the Belmont vs. Georgetown game in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA basketball tournament. The Georgetown fans began chanting, "Where is Bel-mont"...in response, the Belmont students (and ultimately the entire arena) responded with a chant of "What's a Ho-ya". Even the Georgetown fans got a kick out of the response...it was fun to see and to hear. I would challenge both schools to focus that amazing volume of creative energy into high-spirited, creative, competitive cheering/jeering. To turn a Tom Hanks line from A League of Their Own...there is no 'suck' in basketball.

Happy (belated) New Year!

2008-01-02T06:32:00.000-06:00

Back from an extended trip to NC and behind on responding to email and blog questions...so, Happy New Year to you all!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T04:49:00.000-06:00

I am off later this morning to see some old friends get married in North Carolina...and felt that I would be remiss if I did not stop long enough to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all those who stop by the Refugee Baptist. I wish you one and all a joyous and blessed holiday season...now, go. Hug somebody!

What kind of Baptist is Mike Huckabee?

2007-12-02T05:20:00.000-06:00

I have my own opinion of Huckabee, the political candidate, as a Christian and a separate opinion of what kind of president he might make. I cannot help but flashback to the author of "Why Not the Best" and similar feelings for another southern governor's campaign in 1976. My thoughts today are a more denominationally focused. Mike Huckabee's response to the GOP candidates' debate question , Do you believe every word of the Bible?:

"Sure. I believe the Bible is exactly what it is. It's the word of revelation to us from God himself. (Applause) And the fact is that when people ask do we believe all of it, you either believe it or you don't believe it. But in the greater sense, I think what the question tried to make us feel like was that, well, if you believe the part that says "Go and pluck out your eye," well, none of us believe that we ought to go pluck out our eye. That obviously is allegorical.

But the Bible has some messages that nobody really can confuse and really not left up to interpretation. "Love your neighbor as yourself."

And as much as you've done it to the least of these brethren, you've done it unto me. Until we get those simple, real easy things right, I'm not sure we ought to spend a whole lot of time fighting over the other parts that are a little bit complicated.

And as the only person here on the stage with a theology degree, there are parts of it I don't fully comprehend and understand, because the Bible is a revelation of an infinite god, and no finite person is ever going to fully understand it. If they do, their god is too small."

I did not see the words infallible or inerrant anywhere in Huckabee's answer. So, in Baptist political terms, does his answer qualify him as a fundamentalist, refugee, moderate, or liberal? I would suggest that if he ever gave this response as his answer if/while running for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, that he would find himself taking a lot of heat.

So. What kind of Baptist is Mike Huckabee?

$1.2 Million in TBC litigation expenses

2007-11-21T11:45:00.000-06:00

I wish that someone would tell me that this number is incorrect. Someone asked from the floor at this year's Tennessee Baptist Convention meeting just how much the Belmont Study Committee expended in the process of suing Belmont University. The gasp from those in attendance at the revelation that $1.2 Million was spent should have echoed in every church across the convention. To put that in perspective, convention-wide giving for the Golden Mission offering in 2006 was just over $1.6 million. Belmont probably spent a ton of money as well preparing its case, bringing the combined TBC and Belmont total to more than the 2006 mission offering amount. Let's be thankful that this is over and that we can move on. I just need some time to get over the news of the waste and get the 'mad' out of my system.

Happy Thanksgiving! (no food reference required here).

On my way back to Nashville

2007-11-18T06:36:00.000-06:00

My flight leaves a little later this morning, but I am at the Guatemala City airport already. All went well with Jorge's surgery. Miraculously the bullet that ended up in Jorge's neck did little permanent nerve damage and had dislodged itself from its original position close to the spine before surgery began. Jorge, in jest, suggested that surgery be delayed another day, so that his family could finish 'praying the bullet out completely'. There is a sermon in that kind of faith that needs to be preached.

I have much to reflect upon from this trip, much to be thankful for. For those of you who lifted Jorge up in prayer over the last several days, I am immensely grateful. For things to have gone as smoothly as they did in circumstances that would make most health workers squeamish, God had to be in this.

I'll be printing out news stories to read on the plane until I run out of quetzals to pay for them. I've some catching up to do. TBCelder did a respectable job of posting in my absence, I had no idea that he could be so restrained in his comments...dinner tonight over Chick-fil-a will be his chance to blow off some steam, I am sure. Thanks, SGM Gary...as you were.

Will

North Carolina Baptists might be on to something

2007-11-16T12:31:00.000-06:00

An Associated Baptist Press story covering the proceedings at the North Carolina Baptist Convention reports the folowing,

"Messengers later responded to an altar call to "give up negativism, back biting and sniping at each other." The plea came from Mark Harris, pastor of First Baptist Church in Charlotte, in the convention sermon. When he issued an altar call, hundreds of men and women poured from their seats to kneel at the front and pray for a new day in North Carolina Baptist life -- described as a rare response in a convention recently wracked by division."

Of note as well, the North Carolina Baptist Convention, "approved the first of two steps required to relinquish trustee selection of its five colleges."

Giving up negativism, back-biting, and trustee selection of colleges...'good food for thought within the Tennessee Baptist Convention as well.

Note from Guatemala

2007-11-15T09:00:00.000-06:00

This morning is the first real opportunity that I've had to sit long enough where there is internet access so that I can send an update. My connection is pretty slow so this will have to be short. All is going well here. Jorge, his family, and a number of sweet people from his church are attending to his needs at the hospital. "Hospital" is a little different here and families are much more involved in day-to-day patient care...it isn't bad, it is considerably different from what one would find in the states (more on that later). Jorge will have surgery tomorrow. I have a picture of his x-ray showing where the bullet is lodged near his spine, but no good way to upload that picture from here. The surgery if far from routine but may not be as difficult or critical as the earlier diagnosis suggested. I'll keep you updated as best I can.

I did a quick scan of the TBC news. I'll have to do some reading when I return in order to see how people feel about the events of the day. At least the Belmont mess is over...that sounds like news worthy of a great season of thanksgiving.

Ya'll talk amongst yourselves,
Will - from Guatemala City

Tennessee Baptist Convention - Clearly Divided

2007-11-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

The votes at this year's Tennessee Baptist Convention meeting appear to speak for themselves. One vote, to soften the stance on using the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 as a measure of a committee nominee's doctrinal accountability, failed by a 7 vote margin 497 to 490 (50.4% to 49.6%).

One proposal from the Concerned Tennessee Baptist party would have given the elected TBC President additional power to nominate two, hand-picked candidates. East Tennessee's timesnew.net reported,

"However, the amendment failed when the convention voted 338-331, which was a just shy of a 50.53 percent to roughly 49.47 percent vote — far short of the required two-thirds majority... Expressing his support of increasing the powers of the TBC president, Ron Stewart said, “What’s best for the Tennessee Baptist Convention is for a balance of power."

I'm not quite sure what Ron Stewart considers a balance of power noting that his Concerned Tennessee Baptist candidates have clearly dominated the TBC's elections in recent history.

George Miller offers thoughtful reflection on some of the proceedings at this year's convention. You can read the full context here. I believe he is on target with the following,

"It is no wonder we are divided as a Convention. First of all, even at an annual convention, the worship of our Lord should have priority over our business sessions. If we spent more time in worship together, we'd probably need less time for the business sessions. Secondly, if we can't worship together, how can we possibly work together for the glory of God. We're divided in our work because we are divided in our worship. Worship must always come before work. God is always more concerned about who we are than what we do. When we again make worshiping together a priority in our Convention, we'll see our divisions being dissolved and God working through our Convention to reach the lost and unchurched people of our state. And what is true in our convention is true in our individual churches as well. A house divided against itself cannot stand."

There are other ways our convention can take care of business using technology throughout the year...perhaps getting some of the nitty-gritty business out of the way electronically might allow for better time together for fellowship and worship.

And not a peep from Will in Guatemala. I am trying not to be a worrywart.

Tennessee Baptist Convention Update - Belmont Settlement

2007-11-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's news of the settlement between the Tennessee Baptist Convention and Belmont University made the news across the country through the day and into the night. Here is a sampling of those reports:

Associate Baptist Press included comments from Clay Austin, the Study Committee Chair,
"One of the things that we must learn from this is that relationships are extremely valuable and that they are sometimes fragile, and I hope that we have learned that, as we have worked together as brothers and sisters in Christ, we will not always agree."
Baptist Press points to a decisive meeting last week where the final agreement was hammered out,
"From the very onset of the meeting, there was no pride from anyone demonstrated nor felt in that room," said Jerry Massey, pastor of First Baptist Church of Paris, Tenn., and president of the TBC Executive Board. "The four of us came humbly before God, confessing to him that we needed his help, for we do not know what to do."
The Baptist & Reflector will wait another week before releasing the full story, but found space to print one side of the story,
"Porch stressed that the convention did not force Belmont University to leave. “Belmont chose to write themselves out of the Tennessee Baptist Convention story."
Concerned Tennessee Baptists mentioned the decision in a Tuesday session update and mentioned the service of the Belmont Study Committee,
"Let us move forward. Those who did not serve on the Belmont Study Committee should be eternally grateful and those who did will be eternally worn-out. The committee did what they believed was in the best interest of the Convention."
Perhaps the best quote in a blog comes from a post titled, Let's Just Kiss and Say Goodbye,
"This was a case where two sides go their separate ways, but it doesn’t have to mean they can’t still be friends. If the Baptists and Belmont are sincere in their goals of ministering to people and sharing the Gospel, they can’t do that effectively by harboring any grudge towards each other."
Mainstream Baptist sees this as a Sad Day for Baptists and Another Black Eye,
"The greed of our leadership has stained us all with a huge red "G" on our collective foreheads."
The Tennessean offers a few more details as to how the agreement came to fruition,
"I think it hit both sides about how much good energy was being wasted that could have been used to advance the Kingdom," said (Mike) Glenn, a trustee and member of the school's negotiating committee with the convention."
Very little discussion seems to happening across the non-Baptist blogs. There is an announcement and comments on Music City Bloggers. The announcement does appear in a few blogs and news papers with little additional commentary: Religion Claus , TennViews, NewsChannel5.com (Nashville), The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Nashville Business Journal.

The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 issue seems to be the most contentious issue at the the convention this year. Jeff Wright reported on the discussion and the 407-400 vote not to change last year's decision to focus on the BF&M2000. Jeff includes a fair assessment of how that vote might be interpreted. Time permitting, I will re-visit that discussion in another post.

...and no news from Will in Guatemala,
TBC Elder

Breaking News - Belmont University and Tennessee Baptist Convention settle

2007-11-13T11:08:00.000-06:00

Belmont News just released a letter from Belmont University Board of Trustees Chairman, Marty Dickens, announcing the terms of a settlement between the Tennessee Baptist Convention and Belmont University. From that story,

"The settlement concludes a 56-year relationship between Belmont and the TBC and provides gifts by Belmont to Tennessee Baptists of $1,000,000 next year followed by annual payments of $250,000 for the next 40 years. These gifts are an expression of gratitude to Tennessee Baptists for the financial and spiritual support that they have provided to the University over the past five decades. The funds will be added to an endowment at the Tennessee Baptist Foundation to support Tennessee Baptist missions and ministries."

The relationship with the Tennessee Baptist Convention is severed. I had hoped the the words of Philip Jett were true. In September of this year, Dr. Jett was quoted as saying, "money is not the object...the primary goal is to return Belmont to the Baptist fold." That didn't quite work out as some of us had hoped.

At least it is over. I am thankful that this page in history has turned and we have the opportunity to move forward as a convention without this dark cloud hanging over us.

Tennessee Baptist Convention - Pre-Annual Meeting 2007 Blogging

2007-11-13T08:15:00.000-06:00

The Tennessean outlined the basics of this year's agenda for the TBC's annual meeting in Kingsport in an article last Friday. No one should be surprised by the hospital business, the elections, the Belmont report, or events surrounding the sale of the TBC headquarters building in Brentwood.

Jeff Wright is on the scene, blogging. He reports on some of the pre-convention activity and is doing his usual-great-job of reporting the events of the day. Will was a little concerned over the mention of Little Caesar's pizza as the meal at the CTB dinner. I suspect that Will may take issue with the pizza meal as giving a little too much unto Caesar (those are Will's words), but I'll leave the Baptist meal jokes and lecturing to him.

If you are interested in the schedule and agenda for this year's Tennessee Baptist Convention annual meeting in Kingsport, you can access the schedule from the TBC web site.

One bit of news. Will is leaving earlier than planned to go to Guatemala. Jorge's condition has worsened. The infection and swelling in his neck is causing breathing problems. I am praying for Jorge, the doctors, and Jorge's family. Will is pretty upset over this and I am concerned for him as well. He probably shouldn't be traveling at all, but feels deeply that this is a divine appointment.

Peace,
TBC Elder

Baptist Backed Basketball Bounces Big Brother Bunch

2007-11-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

It was an amazing week for the Atlantic Sun conference. The best of the Gardner-Webb, Belmont University, and Mercer University wins over big brother basketball programs is spelled out in Paul Newberry's Associated Press story. The quiet celebration that has been happening in the background is that all three of these institutions have historical Baptist roots. I know that some of the teams have experience in missions and evangelism, maybe it is time for these guys help heal the divisions in the world of Baptists by giving us a court-side place to yell and scream, besides at our annual state convention meetings (and at one another). *smiles*

Making plans for Guatemala travel

2007-11-12T05:48:00.000-06:00

Friday morning, I received a static-filled phone call from Jorge, an interpreter-friend from my Guatemala trip earlier this year. Jorge is awaiting surgery in a Guatemala City hospital following what sounds like a random shooting last Thursday morning. He was hit in the shoulder by a bullet while riding on one of the school-bus-like shuttles that one sees all over the country. Glass from the window is embedded in the right side of his face and he jokes that it makes him look like he has teenage acne. The troubling part of his injury is that the bullet ended up near his spine at the base of his neck and he is experiencing numbness in some of his extremities.

Doctors are delaying surgery until more of the swelling subsides and all signs of infection are under control. Jorge seems to think that they will attempt to remove the bullet later next week. He asked if there is anyway I could be there to help with his wife and son. I somehow knew the question was coming before he asked.

Wednesday morning, I'll be at the airport around 4:00AM for an early morning of security scans and to make the hop via Houston to Guatemala City so that I can arrive in the middle of the day. The ongoing airport construction in Guatemala City has made a mess of things and those messes are exacerbated by the craziness of morning traffic around the airport. The bag of post-op supplies that I am carrying is something that may raise a few eyebrows but my physician friends advise me that they shouldn't be a problem.

Please pray for Jorge. He is a marvelous translator with a heart of gold. He (and others like him) perform valuable services to volunteer teams in and around Guatemala City. It grieves me immensely to know that he is hurt and that he may be facing a long recovery.

Blogging for the next several days may be a challenge. There are a number of last-minute items I have to address before departure. TBC Elder has agreed to step up with some help from our able-bodied blog-tech person. He has also agreed to make an extra effort to constrain his crotchety comments and keep things civil while I am away. I'll find an internet cafe somewhere to check in every once in a while.

I covet your prayers for a successful surgery and a rapid recovery for Jorge.

Refugee Baptist Veteran

2007-11-11T10:40:00.000-06:00

He isn't the kind of man who will not say much about himself. He is much more focused on what is in front of him than what is behind him. TBC Elder, an infrequent contributor to the Refugee Baptist blog, is a Viet Nam vet. People like him went to war in my place. From our conversations over time, I know that many of his experiences involved things that no one should have to witness or endure...but he did. I want to say thank you to him and the thousands like him who stepped up to serve in the armed forces on this Veteran's Day.

As for my crusty old friend...there is nothing purple about your heart. God has blessed you with a new heart that is white as snow. I love you, man!

P.S. You still owe me dinner over our Belmont-Cincinnati wager.

Others express reasons for not going to Tennessee Baptist Convention meeting

2007-11-10T19:37:00.000-06:00

Jim isn't going and tells us why he won't be at this year's Tennessee Baptist Convention annual meeting. He has similar hopes that I share:

"The Annual Meeting used to be about Christ, but now its about power. And I have no interest in power aside from the power of the Spirit to live the Christian life. So I'm not going. I'm not going to participate in fussin', fightin' and feudin' under the guise of powerplay.
When the Annual Meeting returns to being an event whose only purpose is to exalt the Lord and encourage the Denomination, I'll go back. Till then, I'm not wasting my time, our Church's money, or energy on it."

No Litmus Test - Really?

2007-11-10T19:00:00.000-06:00

According to this article, Ron Stewart explains that affirming the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 is not a litmus test for someone who wants to serve on one of the Tennessee Baptist Convention's committees or boards. If that is the case, why then are there emails floating around with the names of replacement nominations for the seven individuals who did not agree to affirm the BF&M2000 on their nomination forms, clearly indicating that the replacement nominations do affirm the BF&M2000?

Belmont University Extend$ Olive Branch to the Tennessee Baptist Convention

2007-11-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

There is an update on the Belmont University website regarding the Tennessee Baptist Convention lawsuit. Tuesday's news includes a letter from Marty Dickens outlining a proposed financial commitment by Belmont University to the TBC and the structure of an ongoing Belmont University relationship with the convention. From Mr. Dicken's letter:

"Despite its firm belief in the strength of its legal position, Belmont has gone to extraordinary lengths to address the demands of the Belmont Study Committee without compromising the integrity of the University. To date, not one of Belmont’s efforts to preserve a relationship with the TBC has been favorably received by the TBC’s representatives. We believe that this situation hurts the witness of Christ and distracts all of us from the business of the Kingdom. Accordingly, we continue to search for a solution that honors our Baptist heritage and Jesus Christ."

I want to thank Belmont University for making this information public. I do not understand why the Tennessee Baptist Convention hasn't demonstrated the same kind of openness in revealing its proposals. It makes it look like they have something to hide. It also opens up a whole lot of unnecessary speculation and raises questions regarding accountability and credibility .

Two things strike me as important. First, the dollar amount is significantly higher than the originally proposed five million dollar amount that the convention turned down at the meeting over at Jerry's place: 12.5 million in funding and scholarships over the next 10-15 years plus other commitment expenses. The second part of the proposal is the most encouraging part. Belmont has proposed an ongoing relationship that involves a new Tennessee Baptist Heritage and Ministry Center, an endowed chair for Baptist Ministry Studies, and a place for ex officio members on the Board of Trustees. It is a different kind of relationship with the TBC but I believe it is better than the shunning and ostracism that we are currently witnessing.

Belmont has extended the olive branch to continue a relationship. If this is not about the money, I would expect to see some reciprocal action/motion from the TBC meeting in Kingsport. It is time for this dark era of legal entanglement to be resolved in a manner that will honor God rather than continued gambling with over a million dollars in cooperative program funds.

It is a rare day when Baptists seated around a table, drinking coffee, get angry with each other...more often, you'll witness laughter and great fellowship. Maybe it is time to introduce this secret weapon (coffee) into the TBC vs Belmont debate. $1.5 Million would buy a LOT of coffee *smile*.

Squelching Blogs and Baptist Dissent - A Dark Day for Southern Baptists

2007-11-09T09:30:00.001-06:00

Just a few days ago, the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board of trustees voted to suspend Wade Burleson from the trustee body over content in his blog Grace and Truth to You. Full disclosure: I have been reading Wade's blog for several months and see eye-to-eye on most of Wade's perspectives. For me, however, this is not about whether or not I agree with Wade. This is about squelching Baptist dissent that is written in what I would consider a model for other Christian bloggers. There are blogs whose tone is anything but Christian and there are those that are full of abusive and personal attacks. Wade Burleson's blog does NOT fit in any way, shape, or form as a forum for Wade to attack, abuse, or place anyone in a bad light. Certainly, there are visitors to Wade's blog who have expressed views that could be construed as personal attacks and that is sad to see. I find it naive to believe that the current IMB trustees hold Wade accountable for what someone else contributes in the comment section of his blog and that is exactly what some have done. I find this censure action shameful and an attempt to move the dealings of the International Mission Board into unnecessary secrecy in an era when openess and accountability should be the order of the day.

John Floyd, IMB trustee chairman, said that he was deeply saddened at the course events had taken. I am more saddened by John Floyd's lack of transparency and his failure to tell his Christian brother that this censure was forthcoming.

For me, the following, closing quote from Wade Burleson's Statement to the Trustees (dated November 7, 2007) tells me where this man's heart is:

"I wish all Southern Baptists to work together in harmony for the expansion of Christ's Kingdom. I cannot apologize for being a Baptist. I will not apologize for attempting to hold our convention and this board faithful to that end. I will be a trustee of the International Mission Board for a season. I will be a Southern Baptist for a lifetime. I will be a follower of Jesus Christ for eternity."

To that statement, I say "Amen."

Pat Robertson's endorsement

2007-11-08T15:35:00.000-06:00

The founder of the once popular Christian Coalition, Pat Robertson, has formally endorsed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Robertson has every right to endorse who he pleases. It does raise the question of whether this sort of endorsement helps or hurts a candidate.

What do you think?

Conservative resurgent supporters in Tennessee Baptist Convention shift to panic mode

2007-11-08T09:09:00.001-06:00

In the print edition of this week's Baptist & Reflector is a paid advertisement that proposes a motion for the Tennessee Baptist Convention to affirm the Baptist Faith and Message statements of 1925, 1963, or 2000. My spin on the background for this is here.

Quoting from yesterday's More Urgent Than Ever - Concerned TN Baptists email from Larry Reagan:

"Those who support the moderate agenda for the TBC realize what is on the line for this year's convention. They have advertised their key motion. They have announced their candidate for Presdient (sic), which is Randall Adkisson. Their goal is to defeat Tom McCoy and the conservative resurgence. They plan to defeat Amendment #6 that is being offered for our current President, Ron Stewart. They plan to defeat the 7 amendments to the Committee on Boards Report. We've placed it on the line, and now they have also. This the definining moment for the TBC."

Wow. Now the moderate agenda is somehow a threat to the conservative resurgence (not to be confused with the conservative agenda)? Dear Concerned Tennessee Baptists, have you ever heard the expression, "That's the pot calling the kettle black?" At least those who want to propose an alternate solution chose to make a public announcement of their intentions rather than sneaking around behind conservatively closed doors like some conspiracy group. Those who paid for that announcement did so because Lonnie Wilkey, B&R Editor, would have been run out of Brentwood on a rail had he published it as a news story!

Is there even the slightest chance that Baptists watching this spitting contest from the pews are sick of the conservative resurgence? The folks in Missouri seem to think that power-hungry groups shouldn't be in control. And get this, someone had the nerve to print, " Fighting – especially when it seems to be as much about power as principle – is lousy advertising." I wish I had said that.

How's this for a "defining moment for the TBC": let's get back to ministry and learn to fellowship with diversely-opinion-ed brothers (and sisters) and put all this non-productive, disgracefully political in-fighting behind us. How's that for a motion?

Tennessee Baptists haven't learned much about 'control'

2007-11-08T08:15:00.000-06:00

The Belmont University vs. Tennessee Baptist Convention mess will be discussed again at this year's TBC annual meeting in Kingsport next week. Lonnie Wilkey tries to be fair in dealing with the extremes in opinion on this subject and wrote about that effort just recently...it is as balanced a report that any employee representing an opposing side in a lawsuit could write and still keep his job. Thanks, Lonnie (I guess).

How the Tennessee Baptist Convention lost 'control?'
The core of the argument in the lawsuit is that the Tennessee Baptist Convention no longer has 'control' over the university. More specifically, the TBC no longer votes (or affirms) the list of trustees provided to the convention during the annual meeting. The delegates/messengers to the TBC have approved the list submitted by Belmont every year since that process began (and I doubt that many delegates have any recollection of the rubber-stamp process). The Belmont University board of trustees runs with the ball after that, making all sorts of management, financial, academic program, and operating decisions. One of those duly elected, 100% Baptist, boards ultimately voted to change the charter of the non-profit organization known as Belmont University to allow 40% of the board to come from other Christian denominations besides Baptists.

Let's review that last paragraph just a moment and ask/answer a few questions:
1. Who is it that 'elected' the trustees who made the decision to alter the board's composition?
Answer: The Tennessee Baptist Convention messengers who had 100% control of the 'vote' during the annual meeting.
2. What percentage of that Belmont Board of Trustees who made the decision (i.e. controlled the decision) to change the composition was Baptist?
Answer: 100%
3. What percentage of a Board of Trustees would it take to 'control' the decision-making process on Belmont University's board?
Answer: Somewhere between 50% and 60%
4. What percentage of Belmont's Board of Trustees is currently Baptist (and mostly Tennessee Baptist) and controls the decision making process?
Answer: 60%

All of that question and answer information leads me to one point: Tennessee Baptists (particularly the politically organized, conservative resurgent parts) have forgotten how to seize real 'control' over an organization. It requires a strategy of patience, something like 20 years in the case of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Control Lessons Not Learned
Here is a similar Tennessee Baptist takeover strategy: form a group (let's call them Belmont University Board-Busting Accountability Saints - BUBBAS for short) and take the following steps:
1. Gradually replace members of the TBC Education Committee with fellow BUBBAS... that is fairly easy: call some of them doctrinally unaccountable, do a little back-room innuendo backstabbing and you're on your way.
2. Make sure the TBC executive board is controlled by a majority of BUBBAS. That is a little tougher...the BUBBAS might have to resort to name calling, labeling people as CBF'ers, calling them uncooperative, etc. in order to replace those members.
3. Over a period of time (remember patience?), replace Belmont Board of Trustee member nominations (via a BUBBAS controlled Education Committee and Excutive Board) with more and more BUBBAS until the BUBBAS have a voting majority on Belmont's board. And what percentage of a Board of Trustees does that take? Hmmm, something like 50-60%? Right?

Strategy Complete...Checkmate
There you go. With a BUBBAS majority on the Belmont Board of Trustees it is a simple matter to revert the non-profit charter back to its original status and return the board's composition to 100% Baptist. The current problem isn't Tennessee Baptist control over Belmont's board of trustees, the problem is the Tennessee BUBBAS do not have control over Belmont's board of trustees.

Forget Strategy, Let's Go to Court
Unfortunately, the current generation of conservative resurgent-ists failed to learn the 'control' lessons of the Patterson-Pressler era of SBC politics and decided instead, to skip steps one through three in the above strategy, and go right straight to court. That same group isn't even honest enough to admit that the litigation-as-last-resort posturing at the TBC meeting at Jerry's place was nothing more than a sanctimonious sham. It was easier for one Tennessee Baptist pastor (high on passion, short on facts and out-of-control), to stand before the TBC and call Belmont's Board of Trustees "Liars and Thieves" than it was to recognize all of the facts from a process that has been in the works for nearly 10 years and resolve this in a Christ-like manner.

And you wonder why there are Refugee Baptists among us...

This one fact you will never see in the Baptist and Reflector: The Belmont Board of Trustees is still, to this very day, controlled by Baptists...but evidently not the right kind of Baptists.

Baptist & Reflector editor reads email...shocking news gathering technique surprises Todd Stinnett

2007-11-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

In a recent post on the Concerned Tennessee Baptists' web site, Todd Stinnett challenges Lonnie Wilkey, the editor of the Baptist and Reflector' s personal reflection editorial:

(Quoting Todd Stinnett) "In your editorial, you also mentioned that seven of the names offered up by the Committee on Boards will be challenged. I’d like to know how the editor to the B&R is able to gather this type of information. Certainly, that type of information is not available to those of us who are rank-and-file messengers to the TBC."

Todd, I'll explain it simply. Mr. Wilkey is much older than you and considerably more experienced in getting his facts straight. How would he know if 7 will be challenged? If you read your email from Brother Larry Reagan, CTB editor, it clearly states the following:

"...There will be 7 proposed amendments
- To the TBC Executive Board:
Terry Kirby, Pos. #35, Alpha BC Morristown, 16.29% CP
Roy Terry, Pos. #34, Laurel Creek BC, 6.8% CP
Bill Carden, Pos. #64, FBC Tullahoma, 12% CP
David Williams, Pos. #49, Hillcrest Morristown, 7% CP
Craig Cummings, Pos. #54, Union BC Knox Co., 9% CP
- To the Committee on Committees
Dave McRight, Pos. #427, FBC Hohenwald, 12.9% CP
Craig Ward, Pos. #428, Lincoln Ave. BC, 5% CP
All 7 of these affirm strongly the BF&M 2000. They are being nominated in place of those who refuse to affirm the BF&M 2000."

I do find it interesting, Todd, that you do not consider the Concerned Tennessee Baptists to be part of the "rank-and-file messengers to the TBC" since the Concerned Tennessee Baptist mailing list was likely the first to hear of these 7 nominations. That is enlightening information. The CTB nominates Todd for 2nd Vice-president and fails to tell him about the 7 proposed amendments...really??

Lastly, Todd, I take issue with your questioning of Lonnie Wilkey, the editor of the Baptist & Reflector, whose newspaper is anything but a source of balanced information for Tennessee Baptists (there is nothing balanced about Tennessee Baptists anyway). I have much more experience than you at giving Lonnie a hard time and I am trying hard not to be resentful of you for questioning Lonnie's very personal and historically accurate, Baptist reflection.

Anyone up for hot apple pie a la mode? Anyone care to affirm 'pecan pie' as a Baptist amendment dessert? (lots of nuts, a sticky mess, crusty around the edges, and stays sweet while being chewed out).

Prestonwood Baptist Church Doesn't Endorse Candidates

2007-11-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

In a Dallas Morning News interview, Pastor Jack Graham claims that his church does not endorse political candidates. Horse Muffins!

Let's review three parts of the definition of 'endorse' (via dictionary.com) and see if there is anything that Prestonwood's leaders might be doing that hints of an endorsement:

to approve - "Here's a man who comes and says: 'I'm not looking for your endorsement. I endorse what you believe. I endorse your values.'" - Jack Graham, Pastor
to support - Mike Buster, executive pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church, recently agreed to help raise $ 100, 000 for Huckabee and says it’s not hard to find donors now. “I’ve raised $ 30, 000 in the last three days,” he said Friday.
to sustain - Asked if he’d (Mike Buster) reach his $ 100, 000 fundraising goal by the end of the year, he replied, “Oh, by the end of the month. There’s an amazing momentum just in the last two or three days that has swept the country. I’m sensing it.”

I tend to agree with Doug Smith who encourages Christians to be politically active but warns:

"... blatant endorsements from the pulpit --- illegal, since churches are nonprofit and tax-exempt. He also pointed out gray areas churches may want to avoid --- inviting a political candidate from only one party to speak or handing out voter guides. The first may be viewed as a de facto endorsement and the latter are typically "crafted in such a way to be clear about who the 'right' and 'wrong' candidates are," Smith said."

Investigations of 6 televangelist' spending habits have already started. Tax-exempt status is a privilege granted to churches that comes with responsibilities. In the litigious nature of this century and with conservative religious leaders acting irresponsibly, do not be surprised if political endorsements become the focus of challenging the tax-exempt status of our churches...even when they proclaim, "we don't endorse candidates."

Todd Stinnett takes issue with Baptist and Reflector editor's reflections

2007-11-06T06:30:00.000-06:00

Todd Stinnett, heir apparent to the TBC's 2nd vice-presidency, doesn't feel that enforcing* the BF&M2000 should be a problem with Tennessee Baptists and takes issue with Lonnie Wilkey, the editor of the Tennessee Baptist Convention's Baptist & Reflector. After all, the convention voted last year to adopt the Baptist Faith & Message as well as the RJSV nomination form. The votes weren't close. But now, the 20% who failed to vote for the BF&M2000 motion are second-class Tennessee Baptists, and, according to Todd are not 'doctrinally accountable' and thus should not be eligible to serve on TBC committees or boards.

Todd, I understand your passion to rid the Tennessee Baptist Convention of liberalism and make us all doctrinally accountable. It is a well intentioned and well-meaning goal...if it is to become the primary goal of the new conservative leadership in our convention, then please, at your earliest convenience remove the word Baptist from the name of the state convention. We, as a convention, have affirmed the BF&M2000, great. Can we get on with the mission of our calling? Please, let's not use the BF&M2000 as some pharisaical-looking effort to divide the convention further by marginalizing individuals who do not view their cooperative relationships with other Baptist churches in the state the same way that you do. It may be fundamental but it is NOT Baptist.

OK, so we're not going to be Creedal, we're going to be Doctrinally Accountable. I love buzz words. I hope I can get a rubber stamp on my hand with "DA" in purple ink so that I can get back into a TBC committee meeting. Or maybe it is time to get little DA tattoos, a secret handshake, some cool candles, gold embroidered vests, and pointy looking hats.

Just so this post will not be construed to be completely antagonistic, Todd and I agree on major problems within our denomination.

*Enforced is the word chosen by one of Todd's fellow ~~co-conspirators~~ Concerned Tennessee Baptists, Larry Reagan.

And, he has a dog named "Moses"

2007-11-05T05:15:00.000-06:00

One ambassador for the Grand Ole Opry dies and a new generation rises and to be inducted to the group. Josh Turner has ties to Belmont University and Baptists... and frequently relates the influence that the university and his Christian walk has on his work.

He was singing in a Union Baptist Church (SC) choir at age five.
Long Black Train was written on Belmont's campus (and it makes for great sermon material)
He married another Belmont student, Jennifer and is dedicated to finding a balance between family and career.
He is making a living doing something that he loves... a major goal at Belmont University to help students find the intersection of their passions/talents and the needs of the world.
He speaks about the good influences of his Belmont University experience.
And, he has a bloodhound named Moses

Belmont University has every reason to be proud of Josh...and I'd bet that there are a ton of Tennessee Baptists who are proud of Josh as well. Congratulations, Josh, on becoming part of the Grand Ole Opry!

Notre Dame Deserves Special Bowl Invite

2007-11-05T04:15:00.000-06:00

I am gloating..big time gloating. The mid-shipmen ended a losing streak of 43 seasons that last saw Roger Staubach as the Navy quarterback in 1963. Notre Dame, one of the nation's most traditionally over-rated football teams has now lost 5 home games and has an abysmal record of 1 win and 8 losses. The Notre-Dame-addicted Regis Philbin may need therapy, or a lifeline of oxygen after this season (bless his heart).

It is probably wrong to be this happy over someone else's agony of defeat...but somehow, I still want Notre Dame to go to a bowl game, just so they can meet the guys at Appalachian State. (Insert evil laugh here) There is something about "Mountaineers vs Irish" that sounds like "Hatfields and McCoys." No offense to the program at Appalachian State, but they'll get little respect from the major bowl committees despite a winning record and two previous, back-to-back NCAA Division 1-AA championships.

On behalf of Appalachian State and my bowl recommendation, I'd buy this T-shirt:
How many batteries does it take to beat Notre Dame?
One - Double "A"

Tailgating - now, there is a food phenomena that has Baptist written all over it (without the beer, of course). Why didn't we think of that?!

Mark Lowry Hits the Hot Buttons...and Makes Us Laugh

2007-11-02T11:05:00.000-05:00

I've always thought that Mark Lowry's sense of humor ought to be something that we should use to inoculate every Baptist minister. Here's why:

HT: Charles at BlogItch

Remember, I warned you all about the old guy learning how to add YouTube vidoes here. I feel so technically enlightened that I'm almost ready to take on the flashing 12:00 on my vcr. Who knows, I might even learn how to cook something besides popcorn in the microwave!

Persecuted Religious Conservatives

2007-11-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Ken Connor's, Worldviews matter, editorial over on the Baptist Press site. I had to stop at the end of the first sentence, "In America, it has long been a popular sport to demean and ridicule the faith of religious conservatives" and take a deep breath. Actually, Ken, some religious conservatives have brought some of that sport on themselves, don't you think? Let's review a few examples:

Westboro Baptist Church - Civil Suit - Baltimore Sun
Ted Haggard - Christianity Today
Larry Craig - Uses campaign money for legal defense - Judicial Watch
Steven Flockhart - Fabricated credentials and money mis-management
Richard Roberts - New York Times

Religious conservative groups and leaders who are in the public eye and do stupid things will get press coverage and their faith will be associated with whatever variety of stupidity is involved. Unfortunately, the rest of us get lumped in with those whose stupidity makes headlines. Connor's point may be that the press goes into a feeding frenzy when a high profile conservative leader is accused of something/anything (rightly or wrongly), and I must agree with him on that. High profile religious conservative leaders who venture into the realm of governmental politics are on shaky ground in my opinion, not because they choose to voice their positions on issues but because they focus on one party/candidate or another as an endorsed solution.

There is a basic lesson for religious conservatives and religious conservative leaders: Don't Mess Up, the World is Watching! There is a second lesson to be learned from this that too many who find themselves under attack and in the headlines seem to miss, transparency and honesty from the day one of being accused is essential. Hiding behind an attorney or holding back information feeds skepticism over an individual's credibility...and the press seems to be quite adept at rooting out scandal, and have gotten even better at it since the WaterGate era. Efforts to cover-up indiscretions are like throwing gas on the flaming fires of media frenzies.

My 'sport' with religious conservatives is that the actions of a few have seriously diminished the reputation of the rest. I consider myself a refugee of sorts from the religious conservative crowd primarily because I see religious conservatives flaunting their positions of authority and influence to guide their flocks blindly into territory we should and can avoid (particularly politics). Which leads to a third lesson we should all learn: If you fall into the category of religious conservative leader, be extremely cautious before throwing the first stone. The credibility microscope will reveal flaws and those flaws can/will make headlines. Is that fair? Probably not. Is it a reality we need to grasp? Definitely!

I would contend that even though is is extremely challenging to do so, religious conservatives suffer from their inability to get headlines for the good things that they/we do. Chances are we'll struggle on offense because we have so much more experience and expertise being defensive. Worldview does matter. Christian Worldview headlines matter more, but those require more work than we seem to be able to muster.

Lonnie Wilkey on the Baptist Faith & Message 2000

2007-10-31T07:20:00.000-05:00

Please read Lonnie Wilkeys' Random Thoughts About the Baptist Faith and Message. Lonnie sums up things with far less emotion than Larry Reagan or me. I particularly like the following,

"I personally think those who hold leadership positions should come from churches that support the work of the convention with monetary support. But to do so would make CP giving a “litmus test.” The same goes for the Baptist Faith and Message. I honestly believe that most people affirm what Baptists believe or they wouldn’t be Baptist. Why they would choose not to publicly affirm the BF&M is an individual decision. If that question keeps someone from being appointed, it too becomes a litmus test."

Well said, Lonnie. I appreciate your gracious reflections.

All this talk about litmus tests is making me hungry. I simply must do some research on litmus tests for fellowship supper... there is a Baptist chemistry presence there that is worthy of study.

Using the Baptist Faith and Message as a Means to Divide Tennessee Baptists

2007-10-31T05:30:00.000-05:00

There is an Associated Baptist Press story online, Tennessee Baptists gear up for struggles over trustees, that I recommend as balanced assessment of what we may see this year at the Tennessee Baptist Convention. It speaks of a certain level of disinterest of some of our church leaders to continue battles that aren't significant to ministries in our local churches. It also refers to the "aggressive tack" of Larry Reagan, pastor of Adam's Chapel in Dresden, Tennessee.

I have taken quite a bit of time to mull over the angry sentiments that I read from Pastor Larry Reagan over at Concerned Tennessee Baptists regarding those who have been nominated for Tennessee Baptist Convention positions who chose to say they did not or would not affirm the BF&M2000. Pastor Reagan's passion is not something I want to question or offend, but I want to walk around a few things that he has to say that I find worrisome. You can read the full context here and here...but allow me to focus on this:

"Our failure to require doctrinal accountability in the past has caused great harm to God’s work in Tennessee. The messengers from the churches understand this clearly. Last year we affirmed the BF&M 2000. This year we must enforce that affirmation. It is time to show up, stand up, and speak up. It is time for changes to be made. If our executive leadership continues to resist the enforcement of doctrinal accountability, then it is time for a change in executive leadership.
We have many great servants in positions of leadership in the TBC. They are working hard to lead the TBC by biblical principles. They deserve executive leadership that agrees with the churches. Doctrinal accountability matters!"

Last year, the Tennessee Baptist convention did affirm the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 by a considerable majority. Now, according to Pastor Reagan, agreeing with that document is apparently a litmus test to be used to determine if an individual is "doctrinally accountable". Larry, I am sorry. Some of these individuals are hardcore Cooperative Program supporting Baptists who believe they are accountable only to God and His Word. If that somehow makes them doctrinally un-accountable, I think a different label (besides doctrinally accountable) is needed. Some of us who affirmed the BF&M 2000 did so because we felt it was important for the world to have something more abbreviated than the entire Bible to understand who Southern Baptists are and what separates us from other denominations. If agreeing to the words on the BF&M2000 is all that it takes to indicate that someone is doctrinally accountable, then I suggest we entertain a motion at the TBC to trim a little fat off the Bible and reduce it down to a few key verses in the New Testament.

Let me put it this way. I attend Baptist churches who are passionate about introducing Jesus Christ to a lost world and leading people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If someone who receives Christ in our church chooses to align him/herself with a Southern Baptist Church, then I would hope they would find a place where that person can set roots and grow in their relationship with Christ through Bible study and fellowship with other Christians. Being there, they will witness and learn of Baptist life, our ordinances, and our tradition of cooperative ministries with other churches. If that Christian finds another place to set roots and grow in a fellowship that doesn't include "Baptist" on the church sign or perhaps in another denomination, I will not condemn them because they choose not to affirm the Baptist Faith and Message, nor will I consider them any less Christian or less doctrinally accountable. Unless Brother Reagan is reading a different Bible, I am pretty sure that there is nothing in the Bible that commands us to go into the world and make BF&M2000 Baptists of every creature.

We as Baptist have a great tradition of arguing over our confessions, creeds, and statements of faith. I believe that we, as Baptist, benefit from having a statement of faith so that others will know the general principles of our beliefs. We produce these statements (and have for over 100 years) with the understanding that as fallible creatures that any creed we produce will not be infallible or inerrant. I want that debate to go on as long as there are Baptists walking the Earth. I do not, however, believe that there is anything worse than using a confession or creed to label another Christian as a fundamentalist, liberal, moderate, godless-CBF-er, progressive, evangelical, democrat, republican, independent, emergent, or doctrinally un-accountable. God will not bless efforts of any group to divide the Tennessee Baptist Convention further by declaring that some denominational document created by the hands of well-meaning men will somehow make us better Baptists or Christians. It might help us to understand how a diverse group of believers manages to cooperate in ministry without beating each other up with our Bibles. I sincerely doubt that the God of my Bible concerns himself with any man made creed...particularly if that creed is intended to somehow "enforce" anything.

To my brother in Christ, Larry Reagan, I pray that you will focus your passion on winning souls for Christ rather than wasting God's time trying to "enforce doctrinal accountability". God is quite capable of dealing with the sins of man and those called to minister to His flock. Let's not lose focus on God by pushing away fellow Christians (and Baptists) by creating new labels for individuals who do not believe the BF&M2000 to be infallible or inerrant or the litmus test for their personal relationship with Christ. I believe deeply that my brother Larry Reagan and I are on God's side. I sincerely wish that Brother Reagan would embrace my questioning of any creed as acceptable behavior in God's sight as I accept his passion for fundamentalism to be blessed by God.

I do want someone to be accountable for the menu at the meetings surrounding the TBC. .. nothing ruins a good fellowship worse than a caterer who doesn't understand the Baptist metaphor of Dunkin Donuts. *smiles*

Who Will Blog This Year's Tennessee Baptist Convention Meeting?

2007-10-30T07:25:00.000-05:00

As much as I would like to, I cannot be a part of the Tennessee Baptist Convention's annual meeting and conservative ~~takeover~~ re-resurgence in Kingsport this year. Last year, Jeff Wright did a great job blogging from Jeff Wright's Blog. Likewise, Steve Weaver provided his perspective on the actions of the annual meeting. If the Kingsport convention center doesn't block his access, I am hopeful that Tim Ellsworth will jump in and blog from this year's convention.

A couple of last year's blogs seem to have vanished in to blog-oblivion, but that happens. Anyone know if either Mark Beach or Danny Chisolm are blogging from new sites?

Are there new (or used) bloggers amongst us who plan to post from the 2007 Tennessee Baptist Convention in Kingsport? Please let me know. I hope to pull together thoughts from a variety of people in attendance. I would hope that the Baptist & Reflector will join the blogging community as well...it is very 21st century.

And someone, please, blog/affirm that we are being fed physically as well as spiritually at the TBC. I'd hate to think that such important coverage is going to waist.

Baptist University Students Win Stock Market Challenge for Second Consecutive Year

2007-10-29T14:50:00.000-05:00

Three Union University business students won the Fifth Third Bank Stock Market Challenge earlier this week here in Nashville. Twenty-five teams from private and public Tennessee universities participated in the competition. By the way...last year, the Belmont University team took top honors. Has anyone alerted Carson-Newman that next year is their turn?

Congratulations to Union University and to Belmont University. Tennessee Baptists have plenty of reasons to be proud of your accomplishments.

Welcome, Visitors from Time.com

2007-10-29T11:03:00.000-05:00

To all of you who happen by the Refugee Baptist via this story, welcome. I dont't generally make a habit of telling people to 'put a sock in it' (although I am often tempted). Stick around. We'll make a place for you at supper. You can bring dessert.

More Tennessee Baptist Convention v. Belmont University Information Released

2007-10-29T06:35:00.000-05:00

Just a week or so ago, before one of the Baptist & Reflector press deadlines, Belmont filed a response to the Tennessee Baptist Convention's lawsuit. I have asked my TBC Elder friend to see if he can divide the 53 page document into smaller pieces. I found a link to the full document on the Tennessean web site yesterday evening. There are communications between the Tennessee Baptist Convention and Belmont University that the messengers at this year's TBC annual meeting need to read before they vote to spend any more money on legal fees. No kidding. All we have heard so far from the Belmont Study Committee focuses on the missing-in-action, 1951 document that the TBC committee wants to use in a high stakes gamble. Folks, there is evidence in Belmont's response that demands your attention. I doubt seriously that we will read anything but one side of the story in the Baptist & Reflector and there is something terribly wrong with that when there are hundreds of thousands of missions' dollars at risk.

By the way, I do not blame Lonnie Wilkins for the lack of balanced coverage on the Belmont vs. TBC issues. I suspect that he has orders not to discuss the lawsuit. And, in fairness to Mr. Wilkins, I understand that the folks at Belmont University were given similar instructions several months ago.

Tennessean Interviews Belmont Students About TBC Law Suit

2007-10-28T15:40:00.000-05:00

Colby Sledge, staff writer for the Tennessean, writes: Most Belmont Students Don't Pay Attention to Lawsuit. One of the students interviewed for the article had this to say,

"Mikey Brackett, a senior majoring in religion and the arts who transferred to Belmont two years ago, has spent much of his time trying to rebuild the Baptist Campus Ministry after many of its leaders graduated. That put the BCM behind to begin with, and the lawsuit didn't help. "People thought, 'The Baptists? Aren't they the ones who are suing us?' " Brackett said."

I would surmise from that conversation that Tennessee Baptists aren't exactly helping the students who belong to the Baptist Campus Ministry. I would love to ask someone in the Tennessee Baptist Convention what they have against the Baptist students on Belmont University's campus? It is one thing to have issues with the university's administration and trustees...it is shameful to think that Baptist students at Belmont do not have convention support for their ministries.

Should the Tennessee Baptist Convention receive a monetary judgment from Belmont University, I find it ironic that there will be families of Baptist students whose monies will be repaying 50+ years of gifts that other Tennessee Baptist families contributed. It makes my head spin.

Tennessee Baptist Convention's Gambling Budget

2007-10-26T07:15:00.000-05:00

I must be reading something wrong in the Baptist and Reflector (print copy only). There is a line item in the Tennessee Baptist Convention's proposed Cooperative Program Budget for something called the Belmont Study Committee. Last year, this line item was three quarters of a million dollars ($750,000). This year's Budget Committee Recommendation is Three Quarters of a Million Dollars ($750,000). I am not the best mathematician in the pew, but that sounds a lot like 1.5 MILLION Dollars in Cooperative Program funds from the people sitting in the pews of our TBC churches.

Before my blood pressure gets the best of me, I want to get the following off my chest just to get some perspective on the Study Committee's allocation:

1. We have yet to see anything that resembles accountability or an accounting of where those mission dollars for the Belmont Study Committee have gone. We do not know if the $750,000 allocated last year was fully expended or if some of those funds have been carried over. Just how much studying does $750,000 buy a Baptist convention, anyway? I think we have a right to know.

2. At the last gathering where the Belmont University situation was ~~railroaded~~ discussed, we were told by Clay Austin that the chances of winning the case against Belmont University were something like 50-75%. The committee has had a year+ to study the situation. From what I am hearing, the odds have changed significantly. Are we as a convention ready to gamble with another $750,000 if the odds have worsened? And do not let anyone sugar-coat this, or lie to you...this is a gamble.

3. Our statewide Golden Mission Offering goal for 2007 is $ 1,640,000. The amount allocated this year to the Belmont Study Committee is 45.7%, nearly 50%, of the total goal amount for the statewide mission offering. I may be the only Tennessee Baptist who is having a problem with that... but I am not willing to stand by and let it happen repeatedly without letting someone understand that I believe there are "liars and thieves" among us, and they aren't on the Belmont side of the aisle.

4. I believe you can get a sense of an institution's purpose, mission, and priorities by looking at where they choose to invest the gifts that they receive. The chart below lists selected budget line items from the proposed 2007-2008 TBC budget:

Belmont Study Committee	$750,000
TN Missions/Ministry Worship	$620,082
TN Missions/Ministry Prayer	$488,224
TN Missions/Ministry Fellowship	$583,207
Harrison Chilhowee Academy	$483,618
TN Baptist Adult Homes	$267,466
TBC Meeting & Committees	$360,511

From that chart, I am not seeing priorities that match up with my concept of putting my money where my heart is. Is the Belmont Study Committee a higher priority than our total budget allocation for TN Missions and Ministries Prayer??

There was a day when Tennessee Baptists fought against those in our state house who wanted to bring gambling to Tennessee in the name of supporting education for our students. I never thought that I would see the day when Baptist infighting would distract us from stopping gambling from becoming legal in Tennessee. Now, we appear to be willing to gamble with $1.5 Million Dollars of Cooperative Program dollars in hopes of winning the Belmont Lottery. I find that utterly disgusting. I am counting on the fired-up bunch of conservatives who will rule the convention after this year to demonstrate how Bible-believing men will correct this error in our ways. Surely the new and improved, conservative resurgent budget will be void of gambling dollars and focused on missions and ministry.

One last thing... In light of my personal annoyance with the name "Belmont Study Committee", can we simplify that to just "BS Committee?"

Tennessee Baptist Headline That Made Me Smile

2007-10-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

Up front. This is nitpicking, but it brought on a smile. The Baptist & Reflector's headline: Swanberg, Vines, Brunson, headline Tennessee Baptist Pastors Conference. It is just that Swansberg is from Louisiana, Brunson is Florida, and Vines is from Florida...all pastors, but not Tennessee Baptist Pastors; headlining the Tennessee Baptist Pastors Conference. For you in the back row, I could draw you a picture. Hey, I warned you this is nitpicking.

I would love to be in the room when Dennis 'the Swan' Swansberg speaks. He is amazing. All of you who are planning to attend will be blessed with his humor and inspiration. Encourage him to do the Obituary for the Pillsbury Doughboy. Take a hanky, you'll need it to wipe away tears of joy. I promise.

Will has not yet taken issue with the B&R's failure to print the menu for the pastor's conference...more proof that the state paper doesn't have its priorities straight (you cmay laugh now).

More Evidence That Baptist Pastors Should Not Control the Purse Strings

2007-10-25T10:47:00.000-05:00

The (now) Rev. Bible Belt Blogger writes, "Crooked preacher gets 50 months in federal pen". If you thought the Peter Principle was bad, I'm thinking this crooked-preacher-guy wrote the Judas Principle.

Baptist Pastor Political Endorsements - Neither Biblical nor Baptist

2007-10-25T06:20:00.000-05:00

After some sort of endorsement of Mitt Romney, Don Wilton has withdrawn that original endorsement. Don, bless his heart, is pastor of the mega-First Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina and former president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

I fully support brother Wilton's right to choose whatever candidate that he chooses to support. I believe that the Bible expects us, as Christians, to be a part of the civil process that forms and maintains our government. I resent very much the fact that brother Wilton (and any other pastor) uses his position of popularity and influence to PUBLICLY announce who he will/might/won't support. I am pretty sure that brother Wilson is well informed of the polity of Baptist life. Baptist churches function without a ruling organization to mandate how they function and that each Baptist church is autonomous. To even imply that one speaks with such authority, particularly when it comes to politics, is akin to heresy within the historical context of Baptist autonomy...and that is exactly what a public endorsement does.

I consider it naive to think that the endorsement by any Southern Baptist or Tennessee Baptist (ad nauseum Baptist) is somehow an endorsement by the individual church members who make up our individual churches, but that is exactly what is happening. The press does not make a distinction between your endorsement as a high profile leader in your city/state/region and what your denominational brothers and sisters may endorse.

And get this shocker: every Baptist isn't a republican or conservative or democrat or liberal. Efforts to pigeon-hole all Baptists as some sort of mindless zombies who vote en masse for whoever some high profile leader endorses are sadly misguided. Granted, as a denomination Baptists tend to lean more toward conservatism...but there are actually classical liberal Baptists and libertarians (gasp) around (just don't tell the fundamentalist among us).

If there is one thing that I believe ISN'T Baptist, it is one Baptist attempting to speak for other Baptists. Baptists are an independent-minded (and often ornery) yet cooperative bunch of folks who do not need any leader to tell us who to vote for. My advice to any Baptist minister who is contemplating an endorsement: Get on with your ministry. Shut Up when it comes to public endorsements of candidates. Don't do it. It is an abuse of power and authority. It is neither Biblical nor Baptist.

Jeff Wright summed it up much more concisely.

Pass the mash potatoes please. All this screaming has made me hungry.

Would Someone Please Tell Richard Land to "Put a Sock in It"

2007-10-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

Acording to a post on ethicsdaily.com, Richard Land call Mormonism "the fourth Abrahamic faith". Richard Land is the president of the SBC ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and apparently is attempting to do one of the most dangerous things one can do in Baptist life: speak for other Baptists.

I need to dig up a copy of Dr. Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults and send 'ole Richard a copy.

It's like this: if it is called Network 21 or International Dreambuilders and the products are from AmWay, it is still AmWay. This "fourth Abrahamic faith" crap smells worse than week-old, spoiled towels leftover in a baptistry dressing room.

Moving the Tennessee Baptist Convention to the 21st Century

2007-10-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

Will and I had a great dinner last night in Nashville and he asked me to put down in words some technology ideas for Tennessee Baptists. I promised no war stories about my experiences in Southeast Asia with an IBM punch card machine called Elvis, but reference that memory only to let readers know that technology isn't all that new to this old f*rt.

Will pointed me to today's article in the Baptist state paper, The Baptist and Regurgitator (I think that is the name, anyway *grin*). There's a story about the upcoming convention in east Tennessee at the Kingsport Convention Center. The article speaks to the shrinking numbers in attendance each year and bemoans the projection, "the attendance to be less than it was in 1998." Ron Stewart, our fearless fundamentalist leader, is quoted: "I believe the Lord is working with us to create a convention that is able to minister to the constantly changing culture of the 21st century." Well, fundamentally, I agree with brother Ron.

Here is my top 5 list of suggestions to get the Tennessee Baptist Convention out of the Gutenberg era into something beyond the current century's Gutenberg Project decade:

1. For less than 1/10th of the money that the TBC is wasting on lawyers to sue Belmont University, the entire Tennessee Baptist Convention annual meeting could be made available via streaming video to anyone in the convention who wanted to watch on a cable-speed Internet connection. I'd guess that some would be willing to pay a subscription for such a service. The technology is affordable and available NOW.

2. If the TBC wants to demonstrate real leadership, allow churches to securely register messengers as online participants in the meeting. A unique ballot code could be distributed to those who are validated through their respective churches and when it comes time to vote during the convention, many could submit their votes electronically. I'll be the first to offer up the argument that this system might be manipulated...but it couldn't be as manipulated as votes in 1980's era SBC meetings where leaders held up color-coded cards telling their constituent blocks just how to vote on issues. The technology is affordable and available NOW.

3. The state paper could easily host moderated discussions using the current space they are wasting on the TBC web site to regurgitate the print edition. Many newspapers have opened up online articles for follow-up questions and comments. These comments could easily be moderated so that just the views of whatever flavor of leadership is running the convention would actually show up on the web site. The technology is affordable and available NOW.

4. Open up the TBC's newspaper to churches in the convention to electronically post praise and prayer requests. There are great things happening in our churches AND in our institutions that members in TBC churches should be allowed to read. There is certainly no room for such requests in the murdered-tree (i.e. print-version) version of the B&R and I am sure that the B&R staff is not large enough to cover all of our churches in this constantly changing culture of the 21st century. Allow some democracy into the world of Baptist state paper journalism, it could be a breath of fresh air instead of the staleness that we witness currently. And, again, the technology is affordable and available NOW.

5. Let's be honest with one another and realize that an annual (i.e. one meeting each year) is hardly realistic with the pace of change in the lives of our churches in the 21st century. Even if we stick with one face-to-face fellowship meeting each year, there is absolutely no reason that a quarterly electronic meeting couldn't be organized so that more of our members can be involved at some level. Let's be creative and innovative in the way we do committee meetings...Cracker Barrel will survive without us. And if this old man can understand enough to make it work, I would not entertain the nonsense that too many churches wouldn't be able to participate...that is fresh-off-the-steeple pigeon poop. And, (you guessed it), the technology is affordable and available NOW!

We could start with the basics and advise all Tennessee Baptists that the little tray that shoots out from their personal computers ISN'T a holder for a coffee cup. I'd even be willing to propose reconstituting the 19th century's WCTU. Listen to the Baptist sound of this: Wholesome Computer Training Union.

One visit in three years for $240,000

2007-10-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

It is the best chancellor's gig in the country if you ask me. Bible Belt Blogger reports that Oral Roberts (the 89 year-old, senior version) has been paid $80,000 per year as the university's chancellor yet just this week made his first trip to campus in three years. The Associated Press story covers the rest. At a chapel service on Monday, the senior Roberts proclaimed, "the devil is not going to steal ORU." From what I read, it isn't the devil who has been accused of stealing from the university.

I contend that this is just one more example of a religious institution discovering the meaning of the The Peter Principle.

Notre Dame Discovers Reason For Losing Record

2007-10-22T05:53:00.001-05:00

I'll stick with SEC football. They don't make excuses but they do tend to beat each other up every Saturday.

Hat Tip: My friend, the Photoshop Guy

Exclamation Point or e-Scream-ation Point?

2007-10-21T08:26:00.000-05:00

Good read and wild comments over at Grace and Truth to You!

Some Baptist Kids WILL Have Sex

2007-10-21T07:35:00.000-05:00

I read Kelly Bogg's article, Please, Portland, Let Them Be Kids, over at Baptist Press with shock, concern, disgust, and frustration. At the heart of Bogg's editorial is this:

"The Portland (Maine) School Committee Oct. 17 voted 7-2 in favor of allowing King Middle School to make birth control pill and patch prescriptions available to its students, even if the parents don't approve it."

First of all, I want to go on record to say this is wrong...but not for the reasons you might think. I believe this is wrong because it is the responsibility of parents to take care of birth control education for their children and it is NOT the school system's job. I believe this is wrong because there are (evidently) parents who refuse to educate and discipline their 10-15 year-olds about sex and then blame the school system for unwanted pregnancies. I believe that issuing birth control methods to 10-15 year-olds without parental permission is wrong because it encourages (some) parents to neglect their sex education responsibilities for effective birth control and NOT because it encourages their children to have sex. I believe this is a wholesale condemnation of our churches, faith-based institutions, and families for passing-the-buck to public/governmental agencies where those public/secular agencies have NO business getting involved. This is wrong, wrong wrong! (Whew! That felt good!...but I am not finished.)

Now, on to Bogg's opening question: "Should a public school encourage students to engage in risky behavior that is also illegal? (my emphasis)" I am pretty sure that Bogg's is telling us that it is illegal for 10-15 year-olds in Maine to have sex. Great. Let's incarcerate every boy and girl who is unfortunate enough to get caught having sex...that'll show em! It continues to amaze me that we attempt to legislate sex between two people who want to have sex, regardless of their age. Although I agree with society's desire to prevent kids from having sex, passing a law to make it illegal does not address the deeper instincts that result in violating the law. Why not place the parents of these sexually active kids in stocks on the public square? We would have about as much success with that as we would if it were illegal to take more than one piece of pie off a desert table* at a Baptist fellowship supper. Some kids, even kids who know better, WILL have sex! Making it illegal for a hormonal kid to discover that tab "A" goes into slot "B" hasn't fixed much of anything.

The sad reality of having sex today is that there is not only the risk of pregnancy but there is risk of contracting a life threatening disease. I am asking myself, "Who gets to decide how we (as a society..and as Christians in society) minimize those risks?

Here is the frustrating part of Bogg's article: He asks (rhetorically) if the next step beyond the school sanctioned safe-sex initiative are future safe-smoking or safe-drinking or safe-cheating initiates? I would hope that doesn't happen either...but even if it does, it still doesn't resolve the sex issues. Throwing up smoking, drinking, and cheating smoke-screens is simply an additional confession that we do not know how to resolve those issues either and that we would rather condemn those who are taking drastic actions to resolve a life-threatening/life-producing problem that a single act of sexual intercourse can cause than offer up an alternative solution.

Oddly enough, Boggs and I are on the same side. Neither of us want kids having babies or having sexual intercourse. Sadly, neither of us can prevent that, sitting here in the cheap seats. As far as I can tell, we differ in that I am not willing to condemn the Portland, Maine school system for trying to fix something that the rest of us haven't been able to (or are unwilling to) fix. Boggs says, in his conclusion: "It truly is a bad idea." Boggs also presents a good case for why the Portland solution isn't likely to work. I am not crazy about the idea myself and I tend to agree with the implementation problems. I will not, however, let someone throw stones at an effort to fix a problem without offering up even a hint of how to resolve it. The theory that "kids will have sex" is NOT a theory...the reality is "some kids WILL have sex".

...even Baptist kids
Back in the old days when we used to sweep pregnant 15-year olds off to a relative in another state so they could spare the hometown family embarrassment, it was my pastor's daughter and my best friend who "did it" and to their surprise, delivered a 6.5 lb creature into the world nine months later. They knew that "dong it" was wrong. They also learned that there are consequences. There isn't a happy ending to this story. My friend ended up a single dad at 19. My pastor's daughter self-destructed into the world of alcohol and drugs. Before he died, my old pastor referred to the pregnancy as "the awful embarrassment" that ruined his ministry. From where I am seated today, we haven't made a lot of progress since that era in addressing children having sex with children...but we can sure tell you what we don't believe will work.

And while I am ranting over what I believe is wrong, I confess that I do not have a magic solution to offer to all the people in Portland (either)...and because I do not have a solution, I support their efforts to resolve the issue the best way they know how. I pray that this is a wake-up call for all Christians to find solutions even if it means talking openly and honestly and frequently about sex in church.

*For the record: I WILL take more than one piece of pie off the desert table.

Tennessee Temple University and the Tennessee Baptist Convention - Questions

2007-10-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

A day or so ago, I received an anonymous comment on the Refugee Baptist post, Tennessee Temple - Not Quite Ready for Tennessee Baptist Convention Adoption, expressing concern over my apparent resistance to embrace the Concerned Tennessee Baptist campaign to add TTU and/or the Tennessee Temple Seminary to the TBC. Let me make myself very clear. I am not opposed to adding higher education institutions to the TBC. And, from discussions this week, I have heard wonderful things about numerous administrators and students at TTU. I have also discovered items that I believe should concern Tennessee Baptists. Here is my first question*:

Can a TTU graduate with a B.S. in Education Teach in Tennessee Public Schools?

The TTU Education department web site reads,

"Believing that God may choose to use individuals as teachers in either Christian or public schools, Tennessee Temple prepares its education graduates to serve in either."

I do not doubt the quality of the TTU teacher education program (beefing up the program with a Ph.D. or two on the education faculty would impress me more), but it is my understanding that the state of Tennessee's Department of Education will not license a graduate to teach in Tennessee public schools unless the degree is from a NCATE accredited school of education (See 54-1 on this PDF). TTU's education department does not have NCATE accreditation. The accreditations listed on this page will allow a TTU graduate to teach in a private, Christian school. Unless I am misreading the state requirements, a TTU graduate cannot get a license to teach in a Tennessee public school. Some may argue that is an advantage. Parents and students need to be aware that there may be long-term career implications if this accreditation issue is a matter of fact.

Just so we are clear, the three higher education institutions listed on the TBC Institutions page all have NCATE accreditations attached to their respective teacher education departments. I respect the efforts of those institutions to achieve this accreditation as a demonstration of their commitment to quality teacher education.

I am expressing concerns over Tennessee Temple University solely because I am see nothing but glowing recommendations and no one asking questions. Before this train leaves the station, I would really like to make sure that someone has inspected the tracks (pun intended).

Speaking of tracks, I must reflect on a dining car experience from the past sometime...it was a moving experience.
*I have more questions...for later.

Dear Pastor, Please Commit this Phrase to Memory

2007-10-19T08:50:00.000-05:00

"preachers have no business endorsing political candidates"

Bruce Prescott writes about conservatives who are starting to endorse Mitt Romney for president..."Candidates for political office should be elected on the basis of their values, their competence and their policies, not on the basis of their religious affiliation."

Personally, I have had enough of ministers, particularly high-profile tv-types, using their venues and influence to parade candidates of one flavor or another across their respective pulpits. I want my pastor to encourage active participation in the political system and I do not mind if my pastor expounds on the qualities that the Bible proclaims that we should look for in anyone in leadership. I do not see it as any pastor's calling to encourage his flock to vote for one particular candidate over another whether that is for president of the USA, president of the SBC, president of the TBC, or president of the PTA. That's all I have to say about that.

Let's eat! I fully endorse eating (and fellowship) as a part of the political process.

People are... like a tree

2007-10-18T11:10:00.000-05:00

The Mable Madea Simmons video below is more than just a little irreverent, but there are some great tree analogy materials here for a sermon or two regarding personal relationships. It is 7 minutes long and PG...keep the volume low if you prefer not to have your co-workers hear "hell" expletives referenced too many times (too many for my taste, anyway). Watch to the end. You may never see Patti LaBelle again, without smiling.

Hat Tip: Baptist Blogger

Warning: I have learned how to place YouTube.com videos on the Refugee Baptist...I have a good coach whose patience with the old guy is amazing. The world may not be ready for old guys and online video. Buckle up!

Sex Addicted (Christian) Women

2007-10-18T09:40:00.000-05:00

Two stories caught my attention today that exposed my Internet porn naivety. The first is an article in the Baptist and Reflector is about Michele Washam, identified in the article as the creator of the first pornographic web site intended for women, www.just4Ladies.com (no longer a porn site, relax...yes, you there in the back row). The general theme of the story is that Washam's conversion lead to the site's transformation to a ministry for women that has now lead to a book offer. Honestly, I had never really considered that pornography obsession/addiction ~~was~~ is a problem for women.

The second story, America's latest epidemic: 'sex addicted women', via Bible Belt Blogger caught me off guard as well. From that post,

"According to Nielsen NetRatings, nearly one-third of the visitors to adult websites are female. Today’s Christian Woman reported that 34 percent of their online newsletter readers admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn."

So, there is not only a problem, but the problem is even larger than I could have imagined.

It is a good thing that there are ministries that address the dysfunction, malfunction, and misinformation about sex and sexual addictions within a Christian context. As an older Baptist, I believe our historical, lack of openness to talk about sex shares part of the blame that makes such ministries necessary. That is a cheap-shot-20-20-hindsight kind of comment, I admit it. But our failure as Baptists to openly discuss the role of sex (even in marriage) has resulted in too many generations ill prepared to respond to situations and circumstances that involve an enormously powerful, God-given, human instinct. The headlines casting shame on the indiscretions of Baptist ministers and laymen are fruits of those failures.

I am reminded of a scene from Kindergarten Cop, where detective/teacher John Kimble acknowledges the raised hand of a kindergarten child whose dad is a gynecologist. The little boy blurts out, "Boys have a penis. Girls have a vagina." In the middle of the last century when I attended kindergarten, such a comment would have resulted in a quick trip to the little boys room and the introduction of a soapy washcloth into the child's mouth. I hope that we, as Baptists, are past the stupidity that silencing honest talk about sex (and other traditionally taboo subjects) is the Christian way. I am not suggesting that we teach sex education in kindergarten...but in the last year in my own Sunday School class of 'mature adults' any discussion about sex has been centered on man's sinful nature rather than how to celebrate God's gift of intimate relations. Maybe we just don get it (ok, you may chuckle at that if you wish).

As many of my posts end with a reference to food and the Baptist way of combining food and fellowship, I leave you with two words that I have just learned: flavored lubricants.

Churches Building Sends 'Gospel' Message?

2007-10-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

I read the Baptist Standard (TX) article by Greg Warner, The Spirit in Stone, that talks about a resurgence in architectural design that is bringing back aesthetics to church buildings. It is a thought provoking read that includes a reference to the lack of designated church buildings among the Pennsylvania Amish. There was one sentence in the article that bothered me:

"Whether they speak with bold clarity or subdued elegance, our church buildings are often the most prominent and persistent gospel message their non-Christian neighbors encounter."

I do not want to take lightly the impact that the image of a church property has on an individual's perception of "church", however, I perceive the "often the most prominent and persistent gospel message" part of that quote to be cause for concern. If that truly is the case, then 'the church' (defined as the body of believers) needs to re-evaluate the persistence of our Gospel message. I have serious doubts that a church building can deliver the Gospel message...that job rests in the hands of the church, not the building. The Amish might be on to something worth emulating...perhaps the absence of a church building might deliver a more persistent, Biblically accurate, Gospel message.

Absent from the article is any reference to Lifeway's Church Architecture Department. I would like to think that Lifeway would be taking a lead in this design resurgence...but then again, the article features Baptist churches and not Lifeway churches *snark*.

Do the Amish do fellowship suppers in the same barns where they have community worship??...can you image the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting across a barn full of worshipers. Think break bread together with that vision in-mind. "Taste and see" (Psalm 34:8 KJV) Yumm!

Can it Be? The Lion Sleeps with the Lamb??

2007-10-16T06:08:00.000-05:00

I feel pretty sure that most conservatives and most liberals in the Baptist world would agree that we will disagree on many issues. Whether or not we can learn to disagree agreeably is something that people seem to be talking about more these days.

A recent Associated Baptist Press article by Robert Marcus, "Evangelicals, liberals seek dialogue on ‘culture war’ issues", asks the feuding parties among us if we can at least work cooperatively on 5 contentious issues. "The five contentious issues the paper focuses on are the role of religion in public life, gay rights, abortion, research using human embryos, and strengthening families."

The article is worth the read. It concludes with the following,

"In order for this paper to bear more fruit, both progressives and evangelicals will need to continue the hard work of reasoning together,” the authors concluded. “We do not conclude that these conversations will be easy or that the paper’s proposals in themselves will resolve all the real disagreements and tensions on cultural issues. But we believe that the gap need not be as wide and the mistrust need not run as deep."

"But we believe that the gap need not be as wide and the mistrust need not run as deep." I certainly hope we truly believe that and act upon it soon. Can I get an 'Amen'?

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.
Proverbs 15:17/NIV

Princeton Review and Tennessee Baptist Higher Education

2007-10-16T06:06:00.000-05:00

Belmont University's Jack C. Massey School of Business made the Princeton Review Business School list. There is a Belmont News story here.

From Union University news, "Tennessee institutions joining Union on the Colleges of Distinction list are Belmont University, Christian Brothers University, Maryville College, Rhodes College, Trevecca Nazarene University and University of the South."

Congratulations Belmont University and Union University, you make the Refugee Baptists (and many 'other' Baptists) proud.

What Teenagers Want From Churches

2007-10-15T12:39:00.000-05:00

The Barna Group released What Teenagers Look for in a Church last week. The following should concern us all,

"...the research raises caution that teenagers' prodigious appetites for spiritual activity may be waning. Since a decade ago, teenagers are less likely to pray (down from 81% in the mid-nineties), to attend worship services (down from 53%), and to read from the Bible on their own time (down from 37%)."

I thought about the report a good bit this last week and nothing particularly surprising stood out. Back in the post-cave days when I was a teenager, my church was THE place I could go and know that if I asked my parents if I could take my girlfriend that the answer would be "yes". Upon further reflection, I'll confess to the hypocritical nature of sitting on the back pew with my girlfriend and singing, "All that thrills my soul is Jesus."*

*Not sure where I heard that, but it is true.

Just My Opinion on Baptists

2007-10-15T06:55:00.000-05:00

I read a lot of Baptist blogs (see list on the right-hand side of this page). The tone of discussion has mellowed a little in recent years and I believe that is a good sign. There are still pockets of denominational politicking that irritate me, particularly when those politics involve lines that people choose to draw, effectively reducing the level of cooperation between Baptist churches. The cartoon below isn't completely original and I would love to give proper attribution to the originator, but sadly, I cannot locate that information (if you happen to know, drop me a comment or email). All that to say, this is how I feel about the overall situation:

Thanks, Steven, for your help with the cartoon! I owe you lunch.

Belmont University Student Receives Journalism Award

2007-10-15T06:07:00.000-05:00

If you have been around the Refugee Baptist very long, you know that the Tennessee Baptist Convention's official news paper, The Baptist & Reflector, is a frequent target of my barbs for their unbalanced coverage of TBC higher education institutions. They take it well and ignore me. I am OK with that. This morning, I received a call from a Belmont friend who tipped me to a bit of news that (I hope) will actually make the B&R. Chansin Bird, a student at Belmont University, was honored with the President's Award at the recent 2007 Excellence in Journalism Conference hosted by Baptist Press. The award comes with a $1,000 scholarship and a great deal of exposure to some of the best religious journalists in the country. I commend Chansin for her work and the well-deserved recognition.

I first read something by Chansin while she was on a Belmont sponsored mission trip to Honduras last year. Her "One bed for too many children" post on the Reporting from Honduras blog touched me deeply. Since that time, Chansin has written numerous articles for the Belmont Vision, including a recently published story on campus worship. God has great things in store for Chansin and I thank God that he is raising up students who are interested in writing!

Late update 10/16: Belmont News adds that Chansin also won first place in news writing.
Later update 10/17: Baptist Press wrap-up of the conference.

Congratulations Chansin and Belmont University!

Tennessee Temple University - Not Quite Ready for Tennessee Baptist Convention Adoption

2007-10-11T13:52:00.001-05:00

No one has quite come out and said it yet, but the writing on the wall looks like there are Tennessee Baptists who would like to see Tennessee Temple University become the newest addition to the list of Tennessee Baptist Convention educational institutions. I am opposed to such a move. I believe very strongly that it would be a mistake. Here are my reasons:

Tennessee Temple is not regionally accredited... Here is Temple's accreditation. Compare to Union, Carson-Newman, and Belmont. The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools is perhaps the newest/weakest route for TTU's accreditation and may not be taken seriously institutions across the country (CNP):
"..TRACS' limited recognition is somewhat tenuous and their reputation is somewhat controversial. Students are better off enrolling in schools that are accredited by a regional association, the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges, or the Association of Theological Schools, all of which are fully recognized by both accreditor-approving agencies (the Department of Education and/or CORPA) and by other academic institutions."
There are simply too many faculty members with degrees from TTU and Temple Seminary that could be construed as faculty inbreeding. Additionally, the faculty boasts a concentration of Liberty, Luther Rice, Bob Jones, and Baptist Bible Seminary degrees...not exactly icons of Southern Baptist heritage.
Entanglement with an independent Baptist church is not a prudent direction to take. For the past 50+ years, Highland Park Baptist Church could hardly call itself a SBC church (in spite of its early history) , it is not currently listed as a Tennessee Baptist Convention church, and mentions nothing of its proud SBC Heritage on the church's history page. Evidently, some TTU alumni consider themselves quite independent.
The lack of honesty on the part of the supporters of this effort to simply say, "We want a conservative Baptist seminary in Tennessee" and an attempt to draw a picture of HPBC as some sort of "SBC heritage" monument is disingenuous. There is nothing wrong with the desire to have a seminary...just come on out and say it. Let's build a place where Jerry Sutton can be president of something.
Danny Lovett is no David Dockery.
There is an endorsement for this action by Jerry Vines. I think Jerry is a wonderful, God-fearing, Bible-believing man...but I wouldn't trust him any farther than I could throw an elephant. That is just my personal opinion, but you might ask some of the SBC leaders who were trampled in the 1980's if they don't share that sentiment.

Whew. After all that, I may need an extra glass of sweet tea!

Half of the Ballot is Complete - Mission Accomplished

2007-10-08T11:36:00.001-05:00

Our friends over at Concerned Tennessee Baptists have released their slate of ~~officers~~ nominees for the upcoming Tennessee Baptist Convention meeting. We could save the convention a lot of time by getting on-board with this slate, prayerfully considering them, closing the nomination process, skipping the nomination speeches, taking up the ballots, and getting straight to the acceptance speeches and the covered dish supper. George Jackson, VP at CTB offers his full support to the following:
President: Tom McCoy
1st Vice-President: ~~Tim McGee~~* Tim McGehee
2nd Vice-President: Todd Stinnett

Mr. Jackson also is, "asking for the (TBC) executive director to announce his retirement...for the good of the convention." We should all be shocked that this is happening.

I commend the CTB group for being organized enough to pull together a slate of officers to do the bidding of conservative causes. But please, do not dodge the thought that some might view this as being a bit political.

What is missing here is an opportunity for a non-Concerned Tennessee Baptists group (Unconcerned Tennessee Baptists?) to offer up a slate of officers so that open and honest debate about TBC issues (and agendas) could see more daylight. You know, something like making the candidates for office accountable for their positions.

I would like to nominate myself for a newly created post of 4th Vice President. My only official duty would be to run blind taste tests of the favorite banana pudding recipes for each of the candidates running for office in the TBC. You can tell a lot about a man from his taste for banana pudding.

*see comments below

Concerned Tennessee Baptists Awaken

2007-10-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

After several months of peace and quiet, my friends over at Concerned Tennessee Baptists have published 12 new stories leading up to the November Tennessee Baptist Convention meeting. You can read them all, here. We'll talk amongst ourselves here in the Refugee Baptist camp before ~~taking issue with~~ discussing the CTB articles. After reading the articles, add a comment here on which of the dozen draws your interest the most...don't be shy now.

Best Baptist Football Commentary

2007-10-05T06:58:00.000-05:00

There are plenty of creative folks in the ranks of Baptist sports' fans and this is one of 'em: Remember the Sabbath

I'll have a hot dog with that. Thank-you very much.

Christian Civility

2007-10-04T14:23:00.000-05:00

Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary writes a great post, Evangelical Manners, that concludes with the following,

"Why are we so afraid actually to “reach” out with an invitation to have lunch with folks with whom we disagree? Or maybe it is not so much that we are afraid, but that we don’t even think about the need to do that kind of thing. Why not?"

I agree with Dr. Mouw and I would ask him out for lunch in spite of that (*smiles*)...it is definitely the Baptist thing to do, but something that we as Baptists seem to have lost in our heritage.

There is something about fresh-outa-the-oven chocolate chip cookies that can turn the sourest of conversations into something extraordinarily pleasant. Of course, good Baptists can argue over whose recipe is better/best while inhaling said cookies at an alarming rate. We are an amazing lot, aren't we? Pass the milk, please?

Belmont and Union Mentioned in the Same Article

2007-10-04T05:53:00.001-05:00

It is such a rare occasion that newspapers (even the Tennessee Baptist newspaper*) mention Union University and Belmont University within the same article, I thought it appropriate to share with my Baptist friends how that is done (via chattanoogan.com):

"To be considered for inclusion in the list of 100, an institution must be an accredited, four-year institution offering bachelor's degrees and full residential facilities. It also must have had an entering freshman class in fall 2006 with a high school grade point average and/or SAT/ACT score equal to or above the national average, and an out-of-state attendance cost in 2007-08 not exceeding the national average by more than 10 percent.

The other schools ranked in Tennessee were: Belmont University, Tennessee Tech University, Union University, UT-Knoxville and UT-Martin."

See, that didn't hurt at all, did it?

Congratulations Belmont and Union (and the others as well)!

* For those keeping score, Belmont is still listed as a TBC institution although rarely mentioned in a positive (i.e. fair and balanced) light in the Baptist & Reflector, Tennessee's official Baptist newspaper.

I Recognize My Fallibility

2007-10-04T05:07:00.000-05:00

Among Baptist bloggers, I consider the voice of Wade Burleson to be one of the very few who can simultaneously rattle our comfort zones and gracefully engage a range of opposing perspectives. I admire that quality as being fundamental to what Baptists should be about. We need to be uncomfortable with the condition of our world, the condition of our denomination, and our personal, 'oft-too-comfy' conditions. We need, also, to talk to one another in a manner that reflects Grace, even when we ~~bitterly~~ strongly disagree. I share this quote from Wade's blog as good food for thought:

"I wonder if dogmatism against women in ministry might one day be viewed the same as we now view Southern Baptists former dogmatism in defending slavery. I don't know. I'm just asking. It's one of the reasons I refuse to be dogmatic on my complementarian beliefs and will listen to my friends who are egalitarian.

This does not mean I doubt the Word of God. I fully trust God's Word. It means I fully comprehend my own fallibility in properly interpreting the Word of God. Let's dialogue about the issue. Let's debate the issue. Let's disagree over the issue. But we should never DIVIDE over the issue. There are far more important doctrines that UNITE us."

I, too, recognize my fallibility...I take that as a reminder that God isn't finished with me (yet), nor is he finished with those who may not agree with me. Some day, I hope that Baptists will be viewed as a strongly united body because of our ability to accept differences...rather than a divided body shredded by our inability to recognize our personal fallibilities.

With all that being said, we simply MUST agree that coffee is the official drink of SBC Sunday School...then, we can argue until we are silly over which creamer (if allowed), is divinely inspired. So there! *big smile*

I Remember Sputnik

2007-10-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

...and it was a little scary.

Today's San Francisco Chronicle described the spacecraft:

"...a small and rather silly-looking thing, 23 inches in diameter and 184 pounds, with four feathery antennas swept back like a windblown comb-over from its high-gloss sphere."

Oddly enough, that same description matches that of my childhood pastor, except he was a little larger than 23 inches in diameter.

I am just sayin'...(to use the vernacular of today)

I Want to Hear Ron Paul

2007-10-02T05:42:00.000-05:00

I received the following hand-written note yesterday from an old friend in Bowling Green, Kentucky. With his permission, I post his thoughts (expletives deleted) here:

Ron Paul is coming to Nashville: 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at the War Memorial Auditorium. Pass the word. I believe this man has a message that needs to be heard, particularly for Democratic Party and Republican Party refugees. I have long believed that we elect people to represent us...it seems that our system of governance has turned that against us and we now elect political 'parties' to represent us. From my seat, I see two parties that are neither willing or able to work together to govern or represent their respective constituencies. I also see elected leaders who spend more time working to insure their re-election that working to represent...that is simply wrong.

If it means that I have to revolt against a two-party system, I am ready. Neither party offers me a presidential choice that I can support in good conscience. I have considered the thought that voting for an independent candidate is a wasted vote and that it might help elect someone that I do not want in office. I have voted for party candidates my entire life and feel now that I have wasted my vote by allowing a failing 'party' system to continue the demise of a representative government. If I am to 'waste' my vote, I intend to do so with a clear conscience.

Don Gray
(Edited and Posted by Will)

Baptists Discover/Confirm Peter Principle

2007-10-01T07:26:00.000-05:00

Does anyone remember reading The Peter Principle? It is a book that deals with our tendancy to promote people to their highest level of incompetence. With all of the controversy pinging around Southern Baptist pastors who are now in institutional leadership positions, I hope someone will take the following quote from an apbnews.com article to heart:

“I’ll put it this way. He’s a great preacher, a great family man. He represents the seminary well. But he’s lacking in administration and people skills. And in order for the seminary to grow, you have to have these things.”

It is probably just me, but it seems that far too many men with seminary degrees have ended up in Southern Baptist leadership/management positions with neither the skills, training, or natural ability to actually manage. We seem to be perfectly capable of ruining great ministers by electing them to leadership positions in our institutions assuming that great ministers = great managers. Recent history is ripe with examples...think about it.

In God We Trust (all others pay cash)

2007-10-01T06:59:00.000-05:00

Today is the 5oth anniversary of the inclusion of In God We Trust on the US one dollar bill. In today's litigious world, it may be more politically/legally correct to read In God, Some of Us, Trust... read the history and controversy here. 'Not looking for a fight or anything, but there is food for thought as to why a materialistic symbol (the dollar), from a government agency (US Treasury), bears a creed that doesn't apply to all who use the document. It does sound better than In Visa We Trust...but that just might be a more honest statement 50 years out.

Hat tip to smartpastor.com

Belmont is Building, Again

2007-10-01T06:10:00.000-05:00

I had not visited Belmont University's campus in a while. Saturday, at the invitation of my niece, I drove to the campus and, after several minutes of touring parking lots looking for a visitor's space landed a spot near the art building.

Belmont alumni who haven't made the pilgrimage to Belmont University for a few years need to drop by. There is more landscaping in what used to be the old West Amphitheater and there is chain link fence around a new dormitory construction site where the old greenhouse used to be. Bob the Builder is at it again...'good for Bob!

It still saddens me that a rift has grown between the people in our Tennessee Baptist Churches and the folks at Belmont. I contend that the people at Belmont (students, faculty & staff) have so much in common with the people sitting in our church pews every week that all are missing out on some great opportunities to fellowship and work together in ministry. Most of those Tennessee Baptists will never hear of the good things going on at Belmont. The campus is blossoming figuratively and literally.

The new Troutt Theater is open now...with a significant link to Tennessee Baptist history. The original chapel at Belmont Heights Baptist Church has been renovated to serve as the theater building for the campus. There had been drama in that building before when Tennessee Baptists met there as part of TBC meetings. Here is a bit of irony to the Baptist church/theater conversion...the opening production: Much Ado About Nothing. Hmmm. I could take issue with that from a Tennessee Baptist point of view if I didn't appreciate the humor.

Music City Blogger Friends

2007-09-27T07:06:00.000-05:00

My favorite blog support person advised me that posts from the Refugee Baptist will somehow be magically aggregated (or aggravated) over on a community blog site called Music City Bloggers. I wish to apologize to the non-Baptists on that site. Most of the posts on Refugee Baptist are about frustrations with my own denomination and the family, Tennessee Baptist Convention, squabbles that surface in the media. Please understand that all of this is just Baptists being Baptists. We are an ornery bunch and we like to disagree (sometimes agreeably, sometimes not). In spite of ourselves, most of us Baptists achieve a level of cooperation that miraculously becomes ministry on a global scale...I really like the miraculous part of that statement.

A few days ago, a new gadget was added in the menu here for some web site ranking program called TTLB. I laugh at the insignificant microbe (or whatever) title assigned to Refugee Baptist and amuse myself that this blog somehow ranks (note, multiple definitions of rank) in the top 36,000 blogs. I am humbled by such popularity (more laughter goes here).

Hopefully, the Music City Blogger's site will show up in the menu here very soon. It'll probably cost me lunch with a more technically adept friend.

Welcome MCB Friends!

Just so you'll know that posts on Refugee Baptist are from a genuine Baptist, most stories end with a food reference. Recipies are always welcome in the comment section.

Baptist and Reflector - On Communications to TBC Churches

2007-09-27T06:30:00.000-05:00

Lonnie Wilkey, the editor of the Tennessee Baptist Convention's newspaper, The Baptist and Reflector is asking for trust and good communication within our convention. He includes a mention of Belmont University as part of his commentary:

"There have been stories in the media, including this paper, in recent weeks about Belmont and TBC going to court. But there are other examples. A Nashville church is being sued by some members to get access to financial records, and a Southern Baptist seminary is in court over a lawsuit by a former faculty member.

These cases need to be settled out of court, but it involves the effort and desire of people on both sides of the dispute. And it won’t be accomplished without cooperation, which won’t occur unless we communicate and build trust."

I agree completely with Mr. Wilkey in this matter. I also challenge him to step up and begin the communication and trust building process regarding the Tennessee Baptist Convention and Belmont University lawsuit. Mediation appears to be over. A trial date has been set. It is time for those with the facts to be open and honest with TBC churches. The Baptist and Reflector has the responsibility to do this instead of a blog written by a crotchety, old, fundamentalist reject (me).

It is time for transparency. I challenge the B&R to print the facts and answer the following questions:

What did the TBC bring to the table in terms of negotiation with Belmont during mediation?
What reasons were given for rejecting the Belmont offers?
How much of the $750,000 allocation from this year's budget has been spent?
Where (specifically) did those funds go?

I ask the same questions (1 & 2) of Belmont University. What (specifically) did you bring to the table? What reasons do you offer for rejecting TBC terms?

I have spoken with friends at Belmont. The campus is not hearing much about the lawsuit other than what has been printed in the paper. We are hearing even less from our Baptist state paper and there is no legal reason why, at this juncture, they cannot tell their constituency the whole truth. If you detect a bit of disdain in the tone of this post, it is partly because searches (Google) for information regarding this lawsuit bring up more posts here on Refugee Baptist than on the Baptist and Reflector web site. Only the Baptist and Reflector can change that.

Please, Lonnie, if there is an ounce of truth to your desire to communicate and build trust, be a journalist. Do your job. Give Tennessee Baptist churches the information that they deserve, not some pablum version of half-truths.

About Seminary Presidents & Casting Stones

2007-09-26T05:57:00.001-05:00

Last week, Baptist Press included a quote from Dr. Al Mohler as part of an Executive Committee wrap-up article:

"Mohler stated that the SBC entity presidents have committed "that we will not ourselves tolerate personal attacks upon one of our colleagues..."

From the rumblings around the blogosphere, Dr. Mohler may need to retrieve some of his own stones from personal attacks before overly concerning himself with the first family of SWBTS.

"we will not ourselves tolerate personal attacks upon one of our colleagues" I want to remember that quote as an example of humble martyrdom masked in arrogance. Someday, I want to ask some of the gentlemen who were trampled in the SBC's conservative resurgence why they did not simply announce that they wouldn't tolerate personal attacks on their colleagues? Brilliant. It almost sounds like, "we won't tolerate personal attacks on the Bible".

I am announcing today that we, as Refugee Baptists, will not tolerate personal attacks on any homemade pies, cakes, cobblers, or cookies brought to fellowship supper regardless of how conservative or fundamental the recipe. I realize that is shocking...some of you may have witnessed my attack on a pan of fresh, toll house cookies. It is time for that to stop.

Baptist Radicals - 562 Baptized Outdoors

2007-09-26T05:25:00.000-05:00

Somewhere in our Baptist history many of us decided that baptizing people in a nice, comfortable, fiberglass tub, inside a meeting house accomplished the same 'public confession' as the accounts that we read in the Bible from the early days of the Church. I confess to being 'too comfortable' with that practice...and in the same breath will tell you that I have a difficult time advocating a return to chilling, January experiences on Tennessee creek banks. But still... To me, there is something about a public (outside the walls of the church building) declaration that connects us to the life and times of Christ's walk on earth. I miss that.

I applaud this church for being radical. 562 Baptized in a Parking Lot! Ring the bells of heaven!! If I had known about this event before it happened, I would have made plans to drive to South Carolina to be a part of the celebration. I haven't heard any outcry of blasphemy this time...luckily, there wasn't a fire engine involved*ahem*. In the old days of Bold Mission Thrust, I think this would have qualified as Bold. Baptist radicals...God bless 'em!

Good discussion on dunkin' vs. dribblin' going on here.

I can imagine that the fellowship that followed this event was something to write home about... I can close my eyes and almost smell the fried chicken. Yummmmmmm!

Younger Generations Frustrated with Christianity

2007-09-25T08:11:00.000-05:00

I have been living under the false impression that Baptists have the corner on 'frustration'. According to a recent Barna study, "A New Generation Expresses its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity". Something disturbingly new showed up in this recent study:

"Interestingly, the study discovered a new image that has steadily grown in prominence over the last decade. Today, the most common perception is that present-day Christianity is "anti-homosexual." Overall, 91% of young non-Christians and 80% of young churchgoers say this phrase describes Christianity. As the research probed this perception, non-Christians and Christians explained that beyond their recognition that Christians oppose homosexuality, they believe that Christians show excessive contempt and unloving attitudes towards gays and lesbians. One of the most frequent criticisms of young Christians was that they believe the church has made homosexuality a "bigger sin" than anything else. Moreover, they claim that the church has not helped them apply the biblical teaching on homosexuality to their friendships with gays and lesbians."

That is painful. "Excessive contempt" and "unloving attitudes"...'looks like we have work to do.

Seminary Humor

2007-09-25T08:03:00.000-05:00

This made me laugh. The story has its moments even if some of the comments that follow the post are a little over-the-top.

Missouri Baptist Lawsuit - Scorekeeping

2007-09-24T04:56:00.000-05:00

This morning, I read the ABP article, Missouri Baptist conference center wins latest round in legal battle. I take issue with two words in that headline, "wins" and "battle".

First of all the attorneys in this case have actually 'won' the right to additional billings in this case...otherwise no one "won" anything. Windermere Baptist Conference Center attorneys were granted more time and, in spite of attorney-like whining, the convention lawyers received the same. The trial date has been delayed, no one won anything.

As for "battle"... we gloss over that term like we just dropped a quarter into a bubble gum machine. There are losses, victims and wounded combatants, in most every battle. Baptists can be at their very best when we are squabbling, but when it comes to warfare, there are far more important battlegrounds than the courtrooms that are such a distraction in Baptist life today.

Listen up Baptists, my friends. If you are keeping score in all of these Baptist legal affairs, keep this in mind: the lost are watching just as much as the saints in the pews. When the final score in this (and other) battles is tallied, there will be wounded on both sides and the arrogant use of the word "winner" is not likely to improve cooperation or bring about much needed healing in our ranks.

I want to 'score' some of that flavored coffee creamer, I hear it is a real 'winner'. Baptist favorites: "Milk and Money", "Funda-menthol", "Life-weigh", and my personal favorite "Refugee Rasberry" (comes with sound effect).

Media Technology Peer Pressure - Who-da-thunk-it?!

2007-09-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

I read the Barna Group updates regularly. If you are interested in Christian research, I recommend them to you as a resource.

A report from Barna just a week ago compared issues facing teenagers and preteens. I looked at the issues and felt strongly that all are areas that churches and church families can impact. Consider this summary statement:

"The percentage of young people plagued by peer pressure issues more than doubles once a child reaches high school," Barna revealed. "That pressure takes many forms: using drugs or alcohol, befriending certain groups of peers, owning specific media technologies, having sexual experiences, wearing particular types of clothing or brands, and possessing a certain attitude."

Most of the peer pressure issues listed aren't new: using drugs/alcohol, being part of a particular group, sexual experimentation and looks/attitude pressures...but I don't recall seeing "owning specific media technologies" show up as a peer pressure problem before. I am guessing that we have moved beyond the "own a car" stage as a peer pressure. Does that mean that we, as parents (and grandparents) have succumbed to the pressure to make car ownership/access an automatic right-of-passage?

I see the ever-shrinking cell phones, the white ear pieces indicative of an iPod, and know something of PlayStation. I am, however, shaking my head that these items are a source of pressure that somehow affects a teenagers self-worth or ranking among peers. That saddens me.

Bob Fisher, Dolly Parton, & Something New for Songwriters

2007-09-22T11:31:00.000-05:00

I was doing a little internet browsing among the blogs and scrolled past a picture or two on Belmont's news site on the way to this article. I did a double-take of sorts with my scroll bar and returned to this picture of Dr. Fisher and Dolly Parton on the Songwriters Hall of Fame story. The two make an interesting couple...and I reluctantly refrain from making jokes about the pair, Dolly makes her own best jokes.

I have been to that old quonset hut before, many years ago and had wondered what would become of it. Housing the songwriter's hall of fame sounds like a perfect match for all involved. Now, someone just needs to write a commemorative song about this historic event...I can't imagine that this picture wouldn't inspire someone!

Others noticed the announcement as well. You can read some of those here, here, here, and here. Congratulations Belmont University!

Refugee Baptist Reader Appreciation Day

2007-09-21T06:10:00.000-05:00

Friday is a slow day around the Refugee Baptist camp. News in the Baptist world isn't making headlines...which might mean that we are actually doing ministry instead of misery. I have ribbed the Baptist & Reflector enough in the last few days to have annoyed even myself. So, today I want to thank all of the readers who have helped The Refugee Baptist move into the top 400 rankings over at the Baptist 1000 web site. I am not sure why the three of you keep coming back to read TRB, but I do appreciate your kindness.

Top 400! (laughter goes here) That deserves an extra half-teaspoon of sugar in my coffee.

It follows 'two' and rhymes with 'refugee'

2007-09-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

I am confused by another Baptist and Reflector story: C-N reverses enrollment decline; Union continues record enrollment that begins with the following:

Both (my emphasis) Tennessee Baptist Convention institutions of higher education had good news when final enrollment for the fall semester was tallied in Jefferson City and Jackson.

It would be naive on my part to think that the Baptist and Reflector would report on Belmont University's record growth... but that doesn't explain to me why Belmont is still listed on the TBC Institutions Page as one of three higher education institutions ( "Christian Education Institutions") affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Evidently math isn't a strong suit around the TBC, ministerially speaking.

Congratulations Belmont, Carson-Newman, and Union. I salute your efforts to grow (all three of you)!

Two pieces of homemade, steamy-hot, apple pie with a big scoop of ice cream on top. A perfectly delightful Baptist dessert... and not a bad metaphor for the TBC's three higher education institutions.

Baptist Have Busy Week Suing Other Baptists

2007-09-19T18:15:00.000-05:00

Ethics Daily provides a professional sounding breakdown of three Baptist lawsuits reported in the news this last week. Here is the not-so-professional version of the same stories: Some of Jerry Sutton's flock seem to think that budget transparency is worth suing over. A former, female professor, at Southwestern Seminary takes her shots at the great white hunter's hiring/firing practices. And, Belmont and the TBC continue to build the pot in their poker game of which institution can prove to be the most stubborn. 'Not a great week of headlines for Baptists.

There was a glimmer of hope in the Ethics Daily post,

"Georgetown College and the Kentucky Baptist Convention agreed to loosen ties amicably in 2005, after both sides conceded it was in their best interest to avoid a legal battle."

Imagine that. Rational Baptist people resolving their differences outside the realm of a civil court. Where, oh where, could they have ever conceived such an idea!?

Richard Dinkins to hear Belmont vs Tennessee Baptist Convention Complaint

2007-09-19T05:20:00.000-05:00

According to a recent Tennessean article, Chancellor Richard Dinkins would hear the TBC vs. Belmont complaint sometime in May of 2008. There are a number of reasons that both sides should come to their respective senses and settle this mess and the Dinkins announcement adds more to consider. Take a look at his bio page. There are a couple of items that make me question if this is the right person to make the final judgement in this case:

At one time he was an Associate in Avon William's law firm. I remember Williams as a strong supporter of paramutual gambling in Tennessee, something that the Tennessee Baptist Convention opposed for many years.
He is listed as a Trustee for First Baptist Church Capitol Hill ~~Capitol Hill Baptist Church~~. Do a little history homework and you will discover an association with First Baptist Church Nashville that includes segregationist overtones. And certainly there are connections between FBC Nashville and the TBC.
There is one notable award that Chancellor Dinkins received from the Tennessee ACLU. I could be mistaken, but the ACLU is not considered a friend in conservative Baptist circles.

At least Chancellor Dinkins is a Baptist (although some Tennessee Baptists might argue that). And as a Baptist, I would bet the farm that the Honorable Richard Dinkins can judge a quality, homemade casserole with the best of us. God bless him!

Others Notice Even When the B&R Buries Story

2007-09-18T07:57:00.000-05:00

If the lack of posting about the TBC vs. Belmont issue is an indication that people are bored with this, here is evidence: Only three recents posts (according to technorati.com) from other blogs even mention the action between Belmont University and the Tennessee Baptist Convention:

Christy Frink - A Belmont Student wondered what had been going on

Mainstream Baptist - normally opposed to Christian suing Christians

Nashville in a Nutshell - the issue is a little confusing. Just why is the TBC suing?

The Tennessean continues coverage of the case...and the many comments that follow this story seem to indicate that people aren't bored but have some very strong opinions. After reading all of the comments, I understand why the Baptist & Reflector ~~cannot~~ will not report all of the facts...the 'head-in-the-sand' approach will keep open debate within our churches to a minimum on this case. In the glowing budget report section of the B&R article identified above, absolutely NO mention of how the litigation process will be paid for was mentioned...unless, we are to assume that the new "emergency reserve" will become the new method to avoid accounting for mission funds being diverted to law firms who are willing to sue other Baptists.

Yawn. It is only $57-58 million. Why should anyone get excited?!

Tennessee Baptist Confusion - Is it Control or Money that We Want?

2007-09-18T06:25:00.000-05:00

Go. Read the revised "complaint" filed by the Tennessee Baptist Convention... it is a whopper of a PDF.

I am not a lawyer, but here is what I read from the complaint:
1. The TBC contends that the 1951 agreement (a document of such monumental proportions that the Tennessee Baptist Convention could not produce a copy on its own) states that if control of Belmont University ever leaves the hands of the TBC that Belmont would pay back monies. So, now, the TBC is asking for $57-58 million. I get that part. Ultimately, a court somewhere will make a decision on the validity of that 1951 document.

2. The Tennessee Baptist Convention also contends that Belmont's revised charter is illegal...meaning that Belmont's trustees took away the TBC's ability to place mutually agreed upon Baptists on Belmont's Board. This is the part that confuses me. If the court rules that the charter is illegal, then, it appears that the TBC's rights to elect Belmont trustees would/could be restored and control of the election process would revert back to the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Right?

Here is where I think it get interesting: The complain clearly asks for money from Belmont from item 1 listed above. The complaint fails to address what happens if, indeed, the charter is illegal and the TBC is granted control of the Belmont's Board of Trustees. From where I am sitting, as soon as the TBC begins participating in Belmont Trustee elections, the money part of the lawsuit starts to look like the TBC would be suing the TBC (well, not really).

If item one fails in court, item two could, conceivably, rule in the TBC's favor and Belmont (less most of its current leadership) would again become part of the TBC... why do I not believe that is what Tennessee Baptists want to happen?

Until someone proves me wrong, I contend that all of this crap about wanting to re-gain control over Belmont is just that, C.R.A.P. The TBC does not want control or oversight or accountability of mission directions at Belmont. The revised complaint makes it very clear, this is about M.O.N.E.Y!

Tennessee Baptist Convention Director Responds

2007-09-18T05:16:00.000-05:00

Today's Tennessean carries a story on the continuing saga of the Tennessee Baptist Convention lawsuit against Belmont University, Talks between Belmont, Baptist leaders break down. According to the article, "the convention added two more allegations to its lawsuit Friday in Davidson County Chancery Court, claiming the university's charter is illegal." This is an anticipated move by anyone who has been keeping score. In order for the TBC to gain any sort of legal foothold, they need to prove that Belmont's Board of Trustees who, at the time was 100% Baptist and 100% approved by convention vote, did not have the right to ammend its own charter even though the convention voted to allow all TBC institutions to do so several years ago.

The part I love the most is a quote from Kevin Shrum regarding Belmont's original offer of five million dollars to settle this thing last May (from the article), "Shrum, who served as convention president from 2001-02, added that if Belmont's offer had been in the $30-$50 million range, he and others might have voted differently."

The other portion of the article that I like comes from Tennessee Baptist Convention Executive Director, James "caught-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-case" Porch, "the convention is still hopeful and prayerful that the possibility exists for amicable resolution" of the debate." I think Jim's statement translates into, "If we can just squeeze another 5+ million out of Belmont, I'll be off the hook".

Attention Tennessee Baptists: This IS about the money. Yes, that is a shocking revelation. Can we finally ~~be honest and~~ admit that this really has nothing to do with bringing Belmont "back into the fold"?

Belmont Student Newspaper Scoops Tennessee Baptist State Paper

2007-09-17T07:30:00.000-05:00

I've never known a news outlet that liked to be "scooped". Unfortunately, The Belmont Vision has done precisely that, "TBC, Belmont head to court".

I don't blame the Baptist and Reflector for not publishing the story...it isn't good news for either party, we are our own worst enemy. The efforts of the Baptist and Reflector to keep bad news from our churches in Tennessee is commendable. The churches in the convention are just paying the bill for this "complaint", why should they be bothered with reports on the committee's progress to resolve it.

Sour grapes. Anyone have a recipe for sour grape jam? That's what I need here.

Belmont Updates Position in Tennessee Baptist Action

2007-09-14T09:47:00.000-05:00

Hoping to find some official word about the Belmont case from the Tennessee Baptist Convention and their respective news arm, the Baptist and Reflector (and finding none either in print or online), I offer you a revised/updated statement from Belmont University's news site. I had heard rumor that during the mediation process that Belmont had not shown any motion toward compromise...from the following, that rumor appears to be less than accurate:

"Indeed, Belmont's last and final proposal to the TBC included: investing significant sums of money over a 10 to 15 year period to support scholarships for Baptist students to attend Belmont; funding to assist with the operations of the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home and Harrison-Chilhowee Baptist Academy; and funding to support the international missions efforts of Tennessee Baptists."

While we are dealing with inaccuarcies, let's not forget the following statement from a WTVF* report from last year,

"The outgoing president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention says money is not the object in a 57 (M) million dollar suit against Nashville's Belmont University. Philip Jett said the primary goal is to return Belmont to the Baptist fold."

Perhaps it's my trifocals, but would someone please read the complaint again and point out the parts where the TBC wants to accept the prodigal son (Belmont) back into the fold? It sounds strangely like this mess is ALL about the money...but I could be wrong.

*I must acknowledge that reports surrounding Philip Jett have been inaccurately reported by the media before due to no fault of Bro. Jett.

Please note that my jabs at the Baptist & Reflector are in no way intended to be personal attacks against the fine folks who work there...it is about bringing the B&R back into the Baptist news fold.

Coffee anyone?

I am ordering my DVD copy

2007-09-12T08:39:00.000-05:00

Hat tip to Ethics Daily and Robert Parham for alerting me (and others) to a new 36 minute DVD, Golden Rule Politics. The following paragraph closed the sale for me:

"Through Christian representatives from a number of Christian faith traditions, "Golden Rule Politics" explores what is the rightful role of faith in politics. Democratic politicians share their Christian witness, without ever making an exclusive claim to the politics of providence. Clergy caution that political parties are neither thoroughly moral nor completely immoral, that God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, that sin is a universal reality and that God transcends human finitude."

Good to hear that neither party is "neither thoroughly moral nor completely immoral"; although there have been days when I thought that perhaps BOTH parties were complete morons and immedicable (i.e.incurable).

I promise that I will not be disappointed if the DVD doesn't include mention of the Golden Rule of Baptist Covered Dish Suppers: Bring not from Krogers what others claiming Special Recipies have brought.

Traditional Baptist Values

2007-09-12T06:22:00.000-05:00

The search for a new college president at Carson-Newman College has been underway for a while now. I finally made a visit over to the presidential search web site to see what sort of qualities and qualifications the university is seeking. I give the group selected high marks for defining the individual and for the diversity within the search committee itself.

There is one sentence in the qualification statement that interested me, particularly in the light of politics among the ranks of Tennessee Baptist Convention folks. The sentence reads:

"He or she will be a committed Christian who holds traditional Baptist values (my emphasis) and supports the institution’s heritage while bolstering the College’s relationships with friends of the College, Tennessee Baptists, and the public at large."

First of all, I'll not even venture into the minefield of the "he or she"...although politically correct and a great legal posture, let's be honest. Carson Newman's next president will be a man lest the university face the wrath of Pattersonians in our ranks who would probably view the selection of a female president as a full scale attack on the Bible.

What does interest me is the phrase "traditional Baptist values". I would ask, "Who gets to decide what traditional Baptist values are in this instance? Noting that the committee includes at least one member of Carson Newman's religion faculty and remembering the accusations of 'liberalism' hurled in that department's direction, I do wonder if it is a matter of Concern for some Tennessee Baptists. Or possibly, does this new president's historical association with Baptists define traditional Baptist values via some sort of proxy affiliation with the Baptist churches where he has been a member since Sunbeams. If so, isn't there some sort of litmus test or Likert Scale (ranging from "ultra-liberal" to "ultra-conservative") whereby this new man's status as a Christian-and-Baptist can be judged?

Lucky for Carson-Newman, there is help on the way in making this value judgment. I predict that the Tennessee Baptist Convention will vote to ~~control~~ have more say in the selection of trustee members for the college, and my question regarding who gets to decide will be answered (conservatively speaking).

My suspicion: inclusion of traditional Baptist values is a bone being thrown to the TBC to delay the inevitable severing of a financial lifeline. My suggestion for all involved, particularly those who indeed wish to control the university: drop the charade. Go ahead and consolidate the TBC's venture(s) into Christian education and re-name Carson-Newman, "Union East". The newly selected ~~pastor~~ president at Union East could not find better coat tails to hang onto than those of the star of traditional Baptist values found at Union.

My dollars to Union East would be designated to the new School of Traditional Baptist Cooking. Why hasn't someone thought of that before?? Sign me up for Desserts 101!

Belmont and Tennessee Baptist Convention News

2007-09-10T06:19:00.000-05:00

Well, it appears that those members of the Tennessee Baptist Convention who wanted their day in court to get money back from Belmont University will get their day. I must bug my Belmont friends for not keeping me up-to-date. Someone must have skipped the convocation where Dr. Fisher read a carefully prepared statement announcing: Tennessee Baptist Convention/Belmont Lawsuit Headed for Court. The announced court date is May 19, 2008.

I hope that I am wrong about this, but shouldn't news like this come from Tennessee's own state newspaper? Did I miss the B&R article? Perhaps the possibility of the TBC receiving 58 million dollars isn't newsworthy.

I can now look forward to November's TBC meeting...'still wondering if we'll ever get an honest accounting of where $750,000 worth of state mission offering dollars went in regard to the "Belmont Situation". That raises another question: Since there is no longer a line item in the TBC budget allocating funds to Belmont, where will additional mission funds be pulled to pursue the court case?

I am ready for this to be over with. Maybe Jerry Sutton will invite us all back over to Two Rivers to a reception following the court date. I could sure use some more fried chicken.

Forest Hills Baptists Calls a New Pastor

2007-06-04T08:28:00.000-05:00

At the invitation of one of my Belmont friends this last weekend, I attended the worship service at Forest Hills Baptist Church...the congregation has a new pastor, Dr. Sam Boyd and this was his first full Sunday on the job.

If first impressions mean anything at all, FHBC has a winner on their hands. There are several qualities that I like to see in a pastor/shepherd and I saw glimpses of all of these in Dr. Boyd's message:

He is a teacher - well prepared and Biblically focused

He is approachable and engaging - he asked the congregation Sunday to share their quiet time thoughts on his ministry. I like that.

He is no nonsense when it comes to evangelism - there is no doubt that he has a passion for leading people to Christ and encouraging his flock to do likewise.

He has a heart for missions and isn't afraid to say that next-door neigbors should be in the mix along with far-away ministries.

He is a prayer warrior...I sense it in everything that he said Sunday morning.

Godspeed Dr. Boyd.
Welcome to Middle Tennessee.

Of course, we (as Baptists) know that the true measure of a Baptist minister is his/her preferences at the dinner table. To be completely successful, one needs to have an intimate knowledge of BBQ, banana pudding, coleslaw, and sweet tea (or where to find them). I'm guessing that Dr. Boyd's knowledge is not lacking in this area although his waistline may say otherwise.

Let's Hope it Doesn't Come to This in Tennessee

2007-05-27T06:18:00.000-05:00

A recent ABP article, Missouri conservatives organize against their former movement, is worth a look.

"We are concerned that these two forces -- a political powerbroker machine and a spirit of legalism -- will lead to the destruction of the Missouri Baptist Convention..."

It is possible to go too far in a movement's effort to swing a convention away from liberalism. In Misouri, it is interesting that some of the very conservatives who led that movement seem to understand what "too far" looks like. Let us hope that it doesn't come to this in Tennessee.

Belmont Students Blogging Mission Experiences

2007-05-18T05:37:00.000-05:00

One of my friends at Belmont University emailed me a story about a student's post in Brazil. Nothing brings more joy to my heart to hear of young people sharing their faith and witnessing the changes that God makes in new believers. If I was still physically able to jump up and down for joy, I would be doing it now.

There are Belmont University groups in Brazil, Cambodia, and Africa who are blogging this summer. I stayed up late last night to read them all once I found them.

Cary, a volleyball player who is part of Belmont's Sports Evangelism team serving (no pun intended) in Brazil wrote the following:

"I am truly witnessing the power of God in every activity we do here. Never before have I seen so many children, and never before have I felt the Holy Spirit working constantly through me. God has sent each and every one of us here for a reason and I feel blessed to be a part of such an amazing team."

Dr. Jeff Overby, a Belmont business professor posted his thoughts on a day when the twenty student in his group learned of apartheid from individuals who suffered through an ugly era in South Africa:

"As we would witness during the day (and throughout the previous days for that matter), the people of this amazing country are managing to overcome a terrible page in history called apartheid and countless other calamities such as the AIDS pandemic to find hope and joy instead of hate, hopelessness and despair."

Shannon, a nursing student at Belmont, shared this in her blog post from Cambodia:

"Saoly...shared with us his experience from the khemer rouge. he talked of how he witnessed starvation and cannibalism. he told us of how his father died at his side from starvation. though saoly surrvived, he experienced much pain throughout pol pot's regime. he showed us his scars from coining. coining is a traditional cambodian pain reliever. many people here in cambodia still do it today. they take burning hot coins and rub them on their bodies to distract them from the pain they are having in another area."

I know there are Tennessee Baptists who believe that Belmont has become too liberal and has somehow drifted away from her original mission. After reading posts like those that I quoted, frankly, I do not care what label someone choses to place on the institution. I will recommend Belmont to any Tennessee Baptist student who wants to get off the ministry sidelines and get into the game.

Thank you, Belmont, for letting these stories get out from under a basket.

One Year Ago Today - Tennessee Baptist Convention and Belmont University

2007-05-09T05:19:00.000-05:00

One year ago today, Tennessee Baptists gathered at Two Rivers Baptist Church to set the wheels in motion for legal action against Belmont University. The legal action has been inching its way through the process since October...and other than the publicised skirmishes, it has been pretty quiet.

I am hopeful that next year, the situation will look more like this:

1. Tennessee Baptists (as a collective convention) will have little or nothing to do with Belmont University (if/when the lawsuit is finally settled). The divorce is already evidenced by the absense of coverage of significant campus events by the Baptist & Reflector.
2. Belmont will have to work harder than any of the historically Baptist colleges to prove that they are true to their word in maintaining a Baptist heritage and a Christian identity. It won't be easy.
3. It would not be surprising to see Belmont reach out to any number of Tennessee Baptist Churches and their college-bound students to encourage an ongoing presence of Baptist students on campus...perhaps some will consider Belmont a mission field.
4. There will be Baptists on the Board of Trustees at Belmont...and regardless of their liberal-to-fundamentalist barometer reading, they will be Christians, will act accordingly, and do what is best for the students and the institution.

I would still like to see some accountability on the $750,000 line item in the TBC budget for ~~legal fees~~ the Belmont committee. No one should be proud of the fact that three quarters of a million dollars has been ~~stolen away~~ re-allocated from the missions and ministries budget of Tennessee Baptists. I, for one, would like to see where every penny of that money is going. I do not want to see another line item in the next budget for more of the same.

I'm ready for all this to be over even if it means another round of Chick-fil-a with all the (other) rowdies at another called convention meeting. We have more important things to do...doesn't the TBC need to help Carson-Newman find a new president?