Baptist Press Stories for Feb. 29 2012 --------------------------------------- Chicago pastor, 74, earns seminary doctoral degree http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37280 2nd-century Psalms text gets seminary analysis http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37281 In the Yucatan, students gain missions insight http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37282 Land urges Senate support for anti-mandate bill http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37283 Despite losses, Santorum still wins evangelicals http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37284 Ho Chi Minh City 'moving forward' http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37285 Widow's gift to aid deaf students at NOBTS http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37286 FROM THE SEMINARIES: Stories from GGBTS, SWBTS, NOBTS, MBTS http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37287 CHRISTIAN APPS OF THE MONTH:
New Orleans Seminary, Crosswalk.com http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37288 FIRST PERSON: Looking for a church home? Here are 5 tips http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37289 TECHNOLOGY: Helping the church understand the digital revolution http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37290 --------------------------------------- Chicago pastor, 74, earns seminary doctoral degree By Meredith Flynn Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37280 CHICAGO (BP) -- When Don Sharp received his doctoral degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 20 members of the congregation he leads attended the December commencement, applauding their 74-year-old pastor for his of academic achievement. [IMG=32033@right@310]Sharp, pastor of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago, graduated with a doctor of educational ministry degree, calling it "the fulfillment of a lifelong dream." "Education has always been something that has been appealing to me," said Sharp, who, as the youngest of five children, was the first to finish elementary school. He later received degrees from DePaul University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and started taking master's-level seminary courses at Southern's extension campus in Chicago 14 years ago. Sharp, who has twice served as president of the IBSA board of directors, was Faith Tabernacle's organizing pastor 47 years ago and has led the church ever since. Pursuing further education was "something I felt like, if nothing else, for the sake of the family, I needed to do," Sharp said. It also has had an impact on his congregation. "That has been the response I get from some of the folks: 'You really inspire me, I need to get back in school,' particularly from the young people in our congregation," Sharp said. "It becomes significant for us ... when [there is] such a high dropout rate among African American young people, especially boys." Sharp began pursuing his doctoral degree wholeheartedly five years ago, completing his coursework and beginning work on his doctoral project. His studies were sidelined by triple bypass surgery last year, but he credits his professors with graciously working with him so he could receive his degree during Southern's winter commencement in December in Louisville, Ky. Sharp's final project was titled "A Strategy to Strengthen African American Families at the Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois." For the research component of his project, he led a 12-week seminar exploring the concept of the African American family through history, including how the church has traditionally related to those families. His findings, based on pre- and post-seminar surveys, already are impacting how he leads his church. "As I began to work on my project and material for it, it really reinforced the notion that the church has to address the issue of family," Sharp said. "Now, of course, when we talk about family today, it's not the Cleaver family. You've got single-parent families, either divorced or never-married heads of household, multi-generational families where you have two or three generations living in the same household." His studies helped him identify issues facing his church as it relates to families, such as "How do we say to the single mom, 'There's a place here for you, and you also have worth, you also have value,'" Sharp said. "How can we as a church love you where you are, and help you in your struggle?" Sharp said his educational experience also added freshness to the details of pastoring, from the technology he uses (he preaches from an electronic tablet) to his communication style. As the pastor of a multi-generational church, Sharp preaches every Sunday to the children and grandchildren of some of Faith Tabernacle's first members. "Some of those who were teenagers years ago, they're now grandparents. I'm now like a great-grandparent to some of them. How do I communicate with them?" the pastor said. Maintaining freshness in communication is just one of the challenges pastors face in staying up to date, Sharp said, especially if they've led the same church for many years. "One of the issues confronting long-term pastors is the routine of pastoring. One has to be very, very careful. It's very easy to fall into routine," he said. The benefits of education, Sharp said, far outweigh the small drawbacks, like having to learn a new writing style or measuring tiny discrepancies in the margins of his final paper. The process was "really just simply fantastic," Sharp said. "It was a learning experience in and of itself. It was a challenge; it was a good challenge." --30-- Meredith Flynn is associate editor of the Illinois Baptist, newsjournal of the Illinois Baptist State Association. -- End of story -- 2nd-century Psalms text gets seminary analysis By T. Patrick Hudson Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37281 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary officials have announced a partnership with the Green Scholars Initiative offering MBTS' ancient language students opportunities to research and publish their findings about one of the world's oldest biblical texts that dates to the second century. [IMG=32025@left@250]Over the next 10-12 years, Midwestern biblical language professors and students will research, analyze and publish information from the earliest Greek texts of the book of Psalms, part of a collection known as the Bodmer Papyri. MBTS' research will begin with the Papyrus Bodmer 24 (P24), which was officially presented to Midwestern by Green Collection director Scott Carroll during the seminary's Feb. 2 faculty meeting. Midwestern subsequently will receive one papyrus leaf of the text from Psalms 17-119 approximately every two months until all 50 leaves are completed. This papyrus is approximately dated to the late second century. "Midwestern is honored and humbled to team up with the Green family, Dr. Scott Carroll [Green Collection director], Dr. Jerry Pattengale [Green Scholars Initiative director] and the GSI staff on this project," said Phil Roberts, who subsequently left the Midwestern presidency in February. "Much of what is purchased and acquired for the Green Collection will not see the light of day for years because a lot of it relates to biblical scholarship and research. That's where Midwestern Seminary comes in. We'll be helping to carry forth the process of examining, evaluating, writing and publishing about many of the findings involved with these documents." Roberts, in announcing the partnership, said the project is at the "cutting edge" in biblical scholarship "in terms of the amount of resources and energy behind it and the focus of involving the whole community of faith, including Midwestern Seminary." Heading up the project at Midwestern will be Stephen Andrews, professor of Old Testament, Hebrew and archaeology. Other members of the seminary's biblical languages faculty also will be involved. Three to five students from the school's biblical languages degree program tracks per scholar will work on the project. According to its website, the Green Scholars Initiative is an international research project involving dozens of institutions under the auspices of The Green Collection, the world's newest and largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts. Through thousands of cuneiform texts and papyri, Dead Sea Scrolls and Coptic texts to Wycliff, Tyndale, Erasmus, King James and a litany of Reformation and post-Reformation original texts, the Green Scholars Initiative brings established and young scholars together to pioneer groundbreaking biblical discoveries. "The Green Scholars Initiative is revolutionizing the undergraduate research experience for generations of students, making advanced biblical research more accessible than ever before in partnership with 10 senior scholars and their research clusters," said Scott Carroll, also a research professor at Baylor University, during the MBTS faculty meeting. "Preliminary studies of ancient, undocumented papyri and other manuscripts have already uncovered early Christian Scriptures and lost copies of Greek classics." Carroll also noted that the way the GSI operates is novel in the current scholarly environment. "The Green Scholars Initiative flips the traditional paradigm, which is: leading institutions controlling ancient documents and doling them out to whomever they want, or you come to them and work by their terms," Carroll said. "We thought, 'What if these things were entrusted in the hands of excellent scholars and mentors and democratized, distributed around the country?' When the entire thing is up and running, then hundreds of students will be involved and impacted by this process. This will raise up a generation of capable young scholars who are invigorated and excited about studying these things." The Bodmer Papyri were discovered in Egypt in 1952, encompassing various forms of Coptic, Greek and Latin papyri dating from the second to the seventh centuries CE, including biblical texts, Christian writings and pagan literary texts. Since most of the manuscripts in the find were acquired by Martin Bodmer, they are referred to collectively as the Bodmer Papyri, although they are housed in other collections, both public and private. --30-- T. Patrick Hudson is director of communications at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. -- End of story -- In the Yucatan, students gain missions insight By Sharayah Colter Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37282 TEKAX, Yucatan, Mexico (BP) -- No runway lights guide the plane from the night sky to the tarmac. Armed policía greet passengers as they snake their way through a line in customs and immigration. Baywatch plays over the airwaves like it is 1990. Along the roadside, discarded Coke bottles get picked up, dusted off and reused by passersby. [IMG=32031@right@250]It was not comfortable, and for some it was even trying, but this was exactly the environment Donald Kim, assistant professor of Bible at the College at Southwestern, hoped for. For one week in January, Kim led a group of 24 Southwestern students to Tekax (te-kash), Mexico, where they worked with missionary Shelby Boyd. "I'm really not a big fan of the typical mission trip," Kim said. "There has been a lot of flak for these 'mission vacations,' so this was far from a 'mission vacation.'" When planning the trip with Boyd, who has now served in the Yucatan for 18 years, Kim told the missionary that the students wanted to spend the week living like the local people live and wanted no special treatment. "He asked if we wanted to be in hotels, and I said, 'No. Where do you stay? Wherever you stay, we're going to be. We're going to rough it. Whatever it is, we want to see for ourselves,'" Kim said. And so they did, sleeping in hammocks the Mexican and Mayan people made for them, showering when rooftop barrels held enough water and riding in a tarp-covered truck, called a tap-tap, to travel to other villages. The truck, the missionary told them, had more than 1 million miles on its engine. "Basically, it was a trip for people to see what missionaries do, themselves, and what missions is all about," Kim said. "I started off by telling the students that we're not going there to do missions. Missions is already happening." Missions has been "happening" in Tekax for about two decades, after Boyd left the U.S. to serve in the Yucatan. Prior to planting himself in Mexico, Boyd served with the Home Mission Board (now the North American Mission Board) until he fell ill with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Boyd did not feel the cancer diagnosis had ended his call to missions, so he went to the Yucatan as a volunteer and then stayed when he felt the Lord's call to serve there with the people. "He just stuck around and never thought he was going to stay there very long and ended up staying there for 18 years," Kim said. "He was giving an account of 3,100 people coming to Christ the first year he was there. It was unbelievable. But for him now, he just realizes it is not about the numbers. It is about that one person that God has gone after, leaving the 99 behind. That's his principle, and he lives by it." Mia Coelho and her husband Matt, both students in the College at Southwestern, were among the group who traveled to the Yucatan. Mia said one thing she noticed during the trip was the emphasis placed on reaching the elders and leaders in the community with the Gospel. "We tend to reach kids with VBS (Vacation Bible School), hoping the kids will come to Christ and then their parents will accept Christ," Mia said. "When I went down there, I assumed our skits would be with the kids." Instead, following Boyd's lead, the group shared Christ with the elder villagers, knowing that winning a father or grandfather to the Lord in the strongly patriarchal society would mean the sons and daughters likely would be receptive to the Gospel and listen with open hearts, even if only out of sheer respect for their elders. "To reach the elderly is key in that culture," Kim said. "You don't read that in textbooks. Mission trips don't think about that. We think of doing VBS, having lots of things, big presentations, maybe the 'JESUS' film. But this guy is thinking long-term, and long-term for him means beyond his life." So, Boyd made it his goal to raise up leaders within the society, starting and planting churches and then discipling native and indigenous leaders to lead them. During the seminary's trip, 10 people placed their faith in Christ. Three of those, Kim said, were elderly men. Mia said her time in Tekax and the surrounding villages stoked the fire in her heart to share the Gospel with a dying world. She and her husband feel the Lord is preparing them to serve stateside to people who, even though they live in America, are in many ways like the people in Tekax. "We definitely have a heart to be somewhere where we would be aliens in a foreign land," Mia said. "There are those places in America; we just don't see them much here in the South." Kim says the trip to Mexico and others like it help students prepare for all facets of ministry with the knowledge of the need for missions and evangelism and the importance of supporting that work from their respective areas of ministry. "God was really good to us," Kim said. "My goal is not to be triumphant as a short-term missionary but to understand the scope of missions. Every church needs to have that kind of heart mentality. --30-- Sharayah Colter is a news writer for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (www.swbts.edu/campusnews). -- End of story -- Land urges Senate support for anti-mandate bill By Staff Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37283 WASHINGTON (BP) -- The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's ethics entity has urged United States senators to support a bill that would protect conscience rights in the Obama administration's controversial contraceptive/abortion mandate. Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), encouraged 20 senators in a Feb. 28 letter to back the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, S. 1467. The Senate is expected to take action on the measure Thursday (March 2). [IMG=32034@right@120] It appears there will be a vote on a motion to table the legislation, which has been offered as Senate Amendment 1520 to a transportation bill, S. 1813, according to the ERLC. Senators who support the measure, which is sponsored by Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, will vote "no" on the motion to table. The mandate requires all health insurance plans to cover contraceptives and sterilizations as preventive services without cost to employees but does not provide adequate protection for the religious freedom and conscience rights of employers, according to the ERLC and other pro-life and religious freedom organizations. The contraceptives, as designated by the federal government, include drugs -- such as "ella" and the "morning-after" pill Plan B -- that can cause abortions by acting after fertilization. President Obama announced Feb. 10 an accommodation that he said protects religious organizations by making insurance companies responsible for paying for contraceptives and sterilization. Critics contended his solution was insufficient. Some described it as an "accounting gimmick" that would still require religious organizations to be complicit in paying for employees' abortion-causing contraceptives through their insurance companies. In urging the senators to support Blunt's proposal, Land said the president's "so-called compromise" is "not a solution." "Religious employers and faith-based insurance plans will still be forced to provide abortion-causing products in their health care plans, and pro-life people of faith will still be paying for these products indirectly through their insurance premiums," Land wrote. "For many people of faith, this requirement is abhorrent. It forces them to choose between their religious convictions about when human life begins and providing health care for themselves, their families, or their employees. "While the offense to us is about abortion, the dominant issue is the government's determination to violate citizens' constitutionally-protected right to freedom of conscience," Land said. Blunt's amendment would protect religious organizations from being forced to cover a service that is "contrary to the religious beliefs or moral convictions of the sponsor." Land's letter was sent to Republicans and Democrats who had not yet officially joined the list of cosponsors or who were considered open to an appeal, according to the ERLC. The Republicans who received the letter were Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Susan Collins of Maine, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Dean Heller of Nevada, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Mike Lee of Utah and Olympia Snowe of Maine. The Democrats who received the letter were Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Bill Nelson of Florida, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana, and Mark Warner and Jim Webb, both of Virginia. --30-- Compiled by Tom Strode, Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press. -- End of story -- Despite losses, Santorum still wins evangelicals By Staff Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37284 LANSING, Mich. (BP) -- Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum continued to do well among self-described evangelicals in the Michigan and Arizona primaries Tuesday, even though GOP rival Mitt Romney won the popular vote in each state. [IMG=31918@right@110]Santorum won evangelical/born again voters by a margin of 51-33 percent over Romney in Michigan, with Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich each claiming 7 percent, according to exit polls used by The New York Times and The Washington Post. Romney, though, won the popular vote there, 41-38 percent, marking the first time this year that a clear favorite among evangelicals in exit or entrance polling lost at the ballot. In Arizona, Santorum and Romney finished in a virtual tie among evangelical/born again voters, with Santorum winning 37 percent and Romney 35 percent, according to the NYT/Washington Post exit polls. Gingrich won 20 percent and Paul 6 percent among evangelicals in Arizona. Romney won the popular vote there, 47 percent to Santorum's 27 percent. Evangelical/born again voters made up 42 percent of GOP voters in each state. The New York Times/Washington Post exit polling on evangelicals differs from some other media outlets because it includes evangelicals of all races, and not simply white evangelicals. Despite the loss in Michigan, Santorum picked up at least 13 delegates in that state, according to a CNN.com estimate, although he still trails Romney in the delegate count, 169-50, with Gingrich tallying 38 and Paul 27. The GOP race now moves to Washington for caucuses Saturday, and then to 10 states March 6 for Super Tuesday. The states that will hold caucuses or primaries that day are Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. --30-- Compiled by Michael Foust, associate editor of Baptist Press. -- End of story -- Ho Chi Minh City 'moving forward' By Ivy O'Neill Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37285 EDITOR'S NOTE: With more than half of the world's population now living in cities, Baptist Press is taking a multi-part look at a number of the world's major metropolises, such as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The series by International Mission Board writers, which is appearing each Wednesday in BP, will highlight the multiple people groups living side by side in the cities. Many come from hard-to-reach places but now, as city dwellers, they are more accessible than ever before to share the Gospel. HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (BP) -- Even at midnight, the city isn't silent. The night air is punctuated with the honking of horns and the music of karaoke bars. Even the scream of power tools from high-rise construction sites continues well into the night. Ho Chi Minh City is preparing to become an Asian superpower. [IMGONLY=32027@right@250]"That's going to be the new financial district," said Linh*, a tour guide at the Bitexco Financial Tower, pointing to an empty grassy field on the other side of the Saigon River. "In 15 years, that will all be high-rise buildings." Vietnam bears scars from its rocky history, but progress shows throughout Ho Chi Minh City. Designer-brand companies like Chanel and Gucci have storefronts along some of its busiest streets. Skyscrapers under construction stretch into the clouds. Previously held back by the tenacious grip of tradition, the city is reaching toward the future.
"People are moving forward and leaving the past behind," says Trang*, a leader of a Vietnamese church. It's not just the economy that's changing. The Gospel is more accessible than ever before through media; a wide range of churches gather to worship; and believers are sharing their faith. Progress is slow, but still, it's progress. Among the older generation, many hold to their Buddhist beliefs, visiting Buddhist temples and avidly practicing ancestor worship. "You cannot stop the flow of a river," says Huy*, a second-generation believer living in Ho Chi Minh City who works to prepare materials for Vietnamese Christians to grow in their faith. Huy and other believers are helping the "river" -- or the Gospel message -- find creative ways to spread through the country. One such way is by reaching young people. As Ho Chi Minh City grows, more young people come to study and work. Roughly 70 percent of the population of Vietnam is in the 18-to-65 demographic, with the majority in the 18-to-30 range. The student and young worker population is exploding, especially in cities where opportunities to study and work abound. "When they come here, their focus would be ... to study hard and work hard," Trang says. "Religion is their unfelt need. They are trying to maximize their opportunities in the city to gain more of what they think is the first priority." People like Linh and Nhu* came to Ho Chi Minh City and found work there. Linh, the tour guide, spends her limited free time with friends. "I don't like to go to bars," she says. "Most people go there to show off their expensive clothes and how much money they have. I have more fun just sitting in the park with my friends. We just drink coffee, sit on our motorbikes and talk." Nhu became a believer while working abroad and now works at a small coffee shop in the city. When she's not on the job, she looks for opportunities to share the Gospel. Every day, Nhu goes to a public park where many Vietnamese young people like Linh hang out. She boldly goes from person to person, sharing the Gospel. Many reject the message, but sometimes, people listen, and Nhu's heart is encouraged. "I have a deep love for her," Nhu says, speaking of a new friend, Khanh*, she met in the park one morning. "She hasn't believed yet, but her heart is soft. She is open and wants to talk about it." Nhu continues to pray for the new friends she meets like Khanh. She also prays for opportunities to share with other people in Ho Chi Minh City like Linh. "I have to share Christ," Nhu says. "He changed my life." --30-- *Names changed. Ivy O'Neill is a writer with the International Mission Board based in Southeast Asia. For more stories like this, visit www.asiastories.com. -- End of story -- Widow's gift to aid deaf students at NOBTS By Gary D. Myers Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37286 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Stephanie Johnson knows the challenges facing a potential seminary student who is deaf: She saw her husband's perseverance in following God's call. [IMG=32032@right@200]Ultimately Daniel Johnson overcame the challenges, attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a master of divinity degree. Daniel went on to serve as a minister to the deaf and a North American Mission Board church planting strategist until his death in January 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Now Stephanie Johnson has given an initial $40,000 gift to establish a new fund at NOBTS -- the Accessible Theological Education for the Deaf Fund -- to help deaf students receive training for missions and ministry. "My dream is that the deaf of the world will be evangelized," Johnson said. "That will come through the education and theological training that men and women who happen to be deaf are going to be able to receive here at the seminary." Johnson is quick to point out that the fund will not be named after Daniel because he wouldn't want that kind of attention. Her hope is the deaf Southern Baptists will embrace the fund and join in supporting it to help break down one of the major barriers for deaf students -- the added cost of hiring an interpreter. That was the obstacle that nearly ended Daniel's quest for ministry training. Daniel was born on the mission field to SBC missionaries serving in Chile. He became deaf at age 8, and his parents left the mission field due to his deafness. Daniel never lost his mission zeal and always had a passion to see the deaf at home and around the world come to Christ. He knew God was calling him to ministry and calling him to seek theological training. When Daniel first applied to one of the Southern Baptist seminaries, the school affirmed his call and agreed to accept him but did not have funding to help with an interpreter. The school suggested that Stephanie accompany her husband to class to take notes and interpret. But she also needed to work to pay for tuition and living costs. Daniel decided to try another school before giving up on seminary. This time he applied to NOBTS and response was identical: The school affirmed Daniel's call and welcomed him as a student but he would have to provide his own interpreter. This time, thanks to funding from the Louisiana Baptist Convention and several NOBTS students who knew sign language, Daniel enrolled at NOBTS in 1982 and completed the master of divinity degree in 1985. Johnson presented the fund's initial gift to NOBTS President Chuck Kelley during the seminary's Jan. 17 chapel service. Kelley, who taught Daniel in an evangelism course at NOBTS, remembered him as a passionate minister of the Gospel and a dedicated student. "I remember him as a very passionate minister determined to reach a group of people who are largely overlooked in our culture. He was a great man of God," Kelley said. "I pledge to you, Stephanie, that we will do our best to take what you have sown as a seed for the glory of God and make it grow and bear fruit in the [deaf community]." To honor and support Johnson's efforts, a small contingency from the Southern Baptist deaf community attended the ceremony. Members of Canal Blvd Baptist Deaf Church in New Orleans, First Baptist Deaf Church in Baton Rouge, La., and Woodhaven Baptist Deaf Church in Houston, Texas, were there as well as Jeremy Parks, International Mission Board Deaf Affinity Group missionary to Ecuador, and Jim Booth, NOBTS alumni and retired minister/missionary to the deaf. Janie Powell and NOBTS student Angela Scruggs served as interpreters during the chapel. Johnson said the lack of funding for interpretive services for deaf students, especially those following God's call to international missions, burdened Daniel until his death. The IMB requires 20 hours of seminary training for its career missionaries, so the increased financial burden of interpreters can be a hindrance for some deaf students. Johnson is hopeful that her gift and similar gifts from others will help alleviate the extra costs to deaf students and mobilize more missionaries to the deaf people of the world. The International Mission Board affinity groups dedicated to reaching deaf peoples estimates that there are as many as 28.9 million deaf people living outside the United States. The IMB currently has about 50 missionaries serving among the deaf. --30-- Gary D. Myers is director of public relations at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. For more information about the Accessible Theological Education for the Deaf Fund, contact NOBTS at 1-504- 282-4455, ext. 3252. -- End of story -- FROM THE SEMINARIES: Stories from GGBTS, SWBTS, NOBTS, MBTS By Staff Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37287 EDITOR'S NOTE: "From the Seminaries" includes news releases of interest as written and edited from Southern Baptist seminaries. Today's From the Seminaries includes: GGBTS (3 items) SWBTS (3 items) NOBTS (1 item) MBTS (1 item) "Chaos: Being Christ Amidst Crisis" is seminary's mission conference theme By Phyllis Evans MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- The world today can be a pretty scary place to live. War. Disease. Natural Disasters. Terrorism. Christians may wonder, What is our role and our responsibility in responding to crisis? How can we most effectively communicate the message of Christ amidst all the chaos? These questions and more were addressed during Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary's 51st Annual Missions Conference, Feb. 17-18 at GGBTS' Northern California campus in Mill Valley. John B.*, North Africa/Middle East regional leader for the International Mission Board, was this year's keynote speaker, sharing his experiences living and working in one of the world's most volatile regions. "The Apostle Paul lived in a chaotic world," said John B. to 100-plus conference attendees. "The Middle East is still one of the most chaotic places in the world. As Paul journeyed in that place, God spoke to him and gave him the opportunities to serve and do some amazing things. … "Like Paul, God has called me to share the Gospel. He has called you, too. We get to carry the Gospel to those who have never heard -- it's the greatest privilege." In addition to John B.'s presentations, the conference included eight seminars on topics such as tent-making missionaries, counseling in crisis, opportunities for serving with the IMB, disaster relief ministry and Burmese refugee camps and orphanages. The missions conference was the culmination of the seminary's Global Missions Week, which included several IMB missionaries on campus all week, speaking in classes and in small groups and student lunches. "Having these missionaries sharing what God is doing in places in the world where they serve was inspiring," said Eddie Pate, Golden Gate's director of The David and Faith Kim School of Global Missions and chair of the Intercultural Studies Department. "Dr. Tom Elliff, president of the IMB, gave a compelling message in chapel on Friday," Pate recounted. "He also spoke later at a pastor's luncheon the seminary hosted, focusing on the role of the church in ministering to unreached people groups." "There's a place in this great wide world for you to plug into," Elliff said in chapel. "Everyone in this room," he said, "should ask God, 'Give me a heart for missions.'" To know what it means to have a heart for missions, Elliff spoke of the heart of the apostle Paul." In Romans 1:14, he noted, Paul's repeated phrase "I am" was like a heartbeat, the heart of a missionary. In verse 14 Paul says, "I am obligated." In verse 15 he says "I am eager." In verse 16 he says "I am not ashamed." "Having a heart for missions is having a heart that is compelled by the presence of a serious debt," Elliff said, quoting Paul, "When I see anyone, I have a sense of obligation." It is a profound obligation to the Greeks, the barbarians and everyone in between -- the entire population, Elliff said. Noting that the world's population encompasses some 7 billion people, Elliff asked, "How many will die without hearing the name of Jesus? If you have a heart for missions, you will have this sense of obligation. "You will want to go," he explained, "not because it's an adventure, not to see the scenery, not to see new places, new things or new people, but because of the debt we owe to Jesus." The IMB president concluded by saying, "Sometimes we make it so complicated to share the Gospel. The spirit of God is in it -- just tell the people and let God do the work. … If you won't confess Christ here, I doubt you'll do it at the end of a gun. If you won't share the Gospel here with your neighbors, are you going to do it in Afghanistan? There is no message more important. The Good News is not good news unless it gets there on time." Saturday afternoon's missions conference activities included an "Urban Excursion." Accompanied by Golden Gate students, grads and Eddie Pate, nearly 30 people went to several areas in the city to pray, observe and engage people. A women's henna party was also held Saturday afternoon. Henna, a temporary artwork drawn on hands and other parts of the body, is a popular beauty technique in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Christian women use henna to illustrate Bible stories and share the Gospel in a non-threatening manner. Conference attendees learned how to use this tool to reach women in these cultures. Lisa Hoff, Golden Gate's assistant professor of intercultural studies, challenged attendees "to go beyond where we are comfortable, to the places where God want us to be, to do the things that God want us to do." She concluded by praying, "Lord, sensitize our hearts to recognize what is happening around the world, that we would long to take action through our prayers and through our lives." Golden Gate alumni Carson and Joni Choy attended the conference with three teens from their church's youth group. "We both have a love for missions," Joni said, "and since we served together overseas in East Asia (2007-10), we wanted to share with these students the scope of what God is doing with the nations." "The conference as a whole gives me a global perspective of God's movement of reaching the nations," added Carson, associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Cupertino, Calif. "Often we focus just on our own church and ministries. A conference such as this helps us to look outward to the nations. I want to be involved in that, moving us towards something greater, with a worldwide focus." "Missions is at the heart of what happens at Golden Gate," Pate said, "and for 51 years the missions conference has been where that heartbeat is most loudly heard on campus." It's "a wonderful chance for our students to focus on the nations as a community, and to corporately experience God's heart for the nations." Golden Gate is a Cooperative Program ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention, with five fully accredited campuses: Northern California, Southern California, Pacific Northwest, Arizona and Colorado. For more information, visit www.ggbts.edu. ----- *Name withheld for security reasons ********** Golden Gate receives funds for master of Christian counseling degree By Phyllis Evans MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary has received a $200,000 gift for launching a new degree program, the Master of Christian Counseling. The degree, to be offered at both GGBTS campuses in California, will be designed to equip men and women for a Christian counseling ministry to individuals, couples and families in a congregational, denominational entity, counseling center or missions setting. The gift was given by Naomi and John Paget of Bellville, Texas. Naomi Paget graduated from Golden Gate with a Master of Divinity in 1995 and a Doctor of Ministry in 2003. She was also selected as one of the seminary's Distinguished Alumni last year. She is a Mission Service Corps missionary with the Southern Baptist Convention and also trains chaplains and other volunteers to minister in crisis situations. Her husband John is the CEO of Pivot Acquisition Corp. "We believe there is a great potential for Kingdom growth when ministers serve effectively in times of crisis. … [T]he eternal impact on lives during these times is tremendous," the Pagets said in a statement released through the seminary. "The need for trained counselors is so great and we are confident that this program will help provide the trained workers needed." The development of the degree program will begin with a search for a new professor of Christian Counseling, who is projected to be in position by fall 2012. Other current Golden Gate faculty will also be assigned to the new counseling department. "Once we have appointed the new professor, we will begin the process of designing, accrediting and delivering the program," said Michael Martin, Golden Gate's vice president of academic affairs. Students who want to begin the program immediately may take coursework in the seminary's existing counseling concentration as part of the Master of Divinity curriculum. They may take up to 20 hours of biblical, historical and theological studies, and then include the counseling component hours when the Master of Christian Counseling launches. "We are grateful for the Pagets and their generosity in helping to launch this valuable degree," said Jeff Iorg, GGBTS president. "Providing this program will enable the seminary to provide desperately needed ministers in this critical area of Kingdom work." ********** Golden Gate D.Min. track helps pastors expand their ministries By Phyllis Evans MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary is offering a Doctor of Ministry track for pastors who want to expand their ministries into the classroom or onto the printed page. The Expanded Ministry course will begin on the Seminary's Northern California campus in Mill Valley on July 24. "We've designed this track to help those pastors who want to gain the necessary skills to write for publication or teach as an adjunct," said Jim Wilson, associate director of Golden Gate's Doctor of Ministry program. "This track will help expand the reach of their ministry beyond the local setting." Like all of Golden Gate's Doctor of Ministry tracks, this one features seminars which will improve the pastor's leadership capacities, his walk with God and his ability to relate to those he serves. It will also include seminars on the ministries of teaching and writing. Professors for this track include well-published authors and seasoned teachers such as Marshall Shelley, editor in chief of the Leadership Media Group for Christianity Today International; Ralph Neighbor Jr., author of the best-selling book "Survival Kit for New Christians"; and Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate and author of five books. For more information, call 1-888-442-8703 or email dmin@ggbts.edu. For more information about Golden Gate seminary's Doctor of Ministry program, visit www.ggbts.edu/dmin. ********** Patterson opens election year with sermon series By Benjamin Hawkins FORT WORTH, Texas --Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson opened an election year and the spring semester with a new sermon series during the seminary's Jan. 19 convocation. Based on the life of David and called "The Shepherd King," the sermon series will feature the exposition of passages from 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel and the Psalms. "This is an election year," Patterson said during the first sermon in the series, an exposition of 1 Samuel 16 titled "Faithfulness in the Badlands." According to 1 Samuel, the godless leadership of King Saul provoked chaos, grief and fear in the land of Israel. "When there is a country with godless leadership, it will eventually always descend into chaos. What we have in America today is nothing less than chaos," Patterson said, insisting that he was not criticizing just the U.S. president but "the whole Washington establishment." Unless the nation's leaders seek God's face and ignore the politically correct demands of "certain kinds of loud people," he said the nation will sink into chaos, grief and fear. Nevertheless, Patterson told students and faculty not to become discouraged, for "God is still on his throne." Amid the darkness and chaos in 1 Samuel, God commanded the prophet Samuel to anoint a new king, one of the sons of Jesse. Though Samuel thought God might choose one of Jesse's older sons, God instead chose Jesse's youngest son, David, who was caring for his father's sheep in the badlands of Israel. David's "faithfulness in the badlands" carries an important lesson for students, Patterson said. "He was faithful in the wilderness," Patterson said. "Did you know that the Bible says, 'He who is faithful in a few things will be made ruler over many'? "We live in a day, today, when most people who feel called of God into His service think they are the answer to the world's problems. And they also seem to want to come of age now: 'Choose me now. I am a 'young leader.' I'm here to resolve your problems. I'm here to tell you what to do.' "Listen, may I offer you a sage piece of advice this morning: Would you stay with the sheep in the wilderness until God calls you out? You just stay with the sheep, what God has given you to do, and faithfully discharge that duty," Patterson said, "… and He will raise you up, and He will make you ruler over many." During the convocation, Executive Vice President and Provost Craig Blaising introduced three newly appointed faculty members: Alicia Wong, assistant professor of women's ministries in the Jack D. Terry School of Church and Family Ministries; Candi Finch, assistant professor of theology and women's studies in the School of Theology; and John Massey, associate professor of missions in the Roy Fish School of Evangelism and Missions. To listen to Patterson's convocation sermons, visit swbts.edu/chapelarchives. ********** Bingham calls for baptismal instruction in SBC churches By Benjamin Hawkins FORT WORTH, Texas -- Church historian Jeffrey Bingham called Southern Baptist churches to reinstitute the practice of theological instruction immediately before or after baptism during Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's 2012 Day-Higginbotham Lectures, Feb. 2-3. "If God would grant me one answered prayer for the Southern Baptist Convention, it would be that we would return in all our churches to doctrinal instruction associated with baptism," said Bingham, department chair and professor of theological studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. "As the United States becomes ever more quickly post-Christian, as the fundamental Judeo-Christian narrative of redemption fades away as part of the American metanarrative and as more and more of our missions focus on Muslims and various types of paganism, I believe that extended, pre-baptismal instruction in Baptist churches becomes more warranted and needed." Bingham referred Baptists to their Anabaptist forebears who often trained new believers in Christian doctrine for six to eight weeks before baptizing them. Baptist churches should follow this example, he said, adding that churches should at least train new believers in the faith immediately following baptism if they do not do so beforehand. For clarity, Bingham noted that this time of teaching "must provide instruction on the following aspects of our faith: the doctrine of the one true God who exists only as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who created all things in heaven and on earth, immaterial and material; and who saves us in body and spirit -- material and immaterial -- through the incarnation, real death, burial, resurrection, ascension and return of His Son, Jesus Christ, who will return and raise our mortal, corruptible, shameful bodies to be like His glorious, incorruptible, immortal body, in unity with our purified spirit; and who by His grace through the Son gives us the Holy Spirit, by whom we are made truly spiritual in both body and spirit and, thereby -- and only thereby -- made fit for the Kingdom of God.” "What must be passed on is that redemption and regeneration unto God is the act of the triune God, where and when all three are present and active in their ministry upon us," Bingham said. "To baptize someone in the name of the triune God -- Father, Son and Spirit -- when he or she has not been instructed or will not be immediately instructed in the great Trinitarian narrative of salvation makes little sense. “And to perform baptisms in front of those who have not been repeatedly schooled in the redemptive ministry of the Trinity is a lost opportunity,” Bingham said. “This all takes time. We must not be afraid of its lengthy duration. To not do this is the more frightful thing. Those who have started well in the faith are more prone to finish well in the faith. As Baptists, we should connect this essential instruction to Baptism." An expert in the history and theology of early Christianity, Bingham drew this lesson from his study of the second-century church father, Irenaeus of Lyons. In three lectures, Bingham showed that, for Irenaeus, both baptism and biblical interpretation were essentially doctrinal in nature. "From the great inaugural right of baptism, then, to the enduring daily practice of Bible reading and interpretation, I hope to show how early Christian life had a central doctrinal core, how doctrine characterized the Christian journey," Bingham said. "In this way, I hope to demonstrate that faith, theology and doctrine is the nectar that quenches the thirst of the Christian soul. It is what we believe that justifies us. I hope that in an age of evangelical Christianity that seems to value the sentimental, the experiential and the romantic over the theological, that these lectures might help us return to our Christian heritage." To listen to Bingham's lectures, visit Southwestern Seminary's website at swbts.edu/mediaresources. ********** Miller rocks out for the 'Stone the builders rejected' By Sharayah Colter FORT WORTH, Texas -- Turn a typical rock star upside down, shake them up and spin them around and the outcome may be a little closer to the kind of rock guitar artist found in Southwestern student Lindsey Miller. No amount of spotlight or stage could take her focus away from pointing people to Christ. "I get the opportunity because I work in both the secular world and the church world," Miller says. "I always have a doorway to people outside the church. I feel humbled that I get the opportunity to share, to be outside in the world with the people, sharing through music." Miller, who came to Southwestern to pursue a Master of Church Music degree, has a history laced in music spanning from the time she began playing guitar at age 10 to her stint as a member of the now-defunct rock band Oso Closo. She has played with multiple symphony orchestras and in well-known venues such as the Granada Theater and Lincoln Center and has been a studio guitarist and writer for industry icons such as Universal Music Group. Yet, her personality would belie her distinguished list of accomplishments only barely mentioned here. Miller seems easygoing, easy to talk to and easy to relax with -- all things that likely help her to be so approachable as she shares the Gospel through her work. Regardless of their response, Miller knows what she believes and does not shy away from sharing it with people. "You have to maintain a balance of not being legalistic about where someone is in their life the first time that you share with them and also not condoning what they do either. So it's a very fine line to walk," Miller says. "Some people are open to it and some people [say], 'I hate that stuff, I want nothing to do with you.'" A staff musician at Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Miller says many of the people she meets find the church hypocritical or adhere to an individualistic concept of being spiritual but not needing church. "It's basically the mentality of 'I'm not religious, I'm spiritual,'" Miller says. "I can't stand that at all right now. Even Christians I've met now are like, 'I don't belong to a denomination; I don't need to belong to an organized church; I'm just a disciple of Christ,' and I don't agree with that at all. Basically, church is a gift of God to humanity at the time that Christ provided salvation for us, so we're never to operate outside of the body of Christ. I think that's an extremely dangerous thing." In addition to the accountability and fellowship that come from uniting with a local body of Christ, Miller says everyone has a part to play. "Everyone, no matter what they think [or] how minute [they think] their role is, they have an essential role in the church, so they need to be in the body worshipping," Miller says. "And you can't distance yourself from the overall cannon of theology either. If you're not in line with that, you're probably doing something wrong." Miller, who earned her Bachelor of Music in Jazz at the University of North Texas prior to enrolling at Southwestern, says the seminary has offered a side of music education secular schools lack and one that is vital to music ministry. "Dr. Gordon Borror was my teacher here my first year, and he's retired now, but I generally believe I learned more from him in my first year than I did in all four and a half years of undergrad just practicing music, because the way he taught for worship and ministry just gave you the right foundation of what your life as a musician is to be based around," Miller says. "It's not based around making music the apex of what you believe in, but God. And from there, music flows out easily." During her time at Southwestern, Miller has fine-tuned her perception of worship and her ideas about how it can become more biblical. She has learned that worship leaders should not only make sure the words of the songs conform to correct theology but also that the worship is Christ-centered, not people- or instrument-centered. "... [M]y whole thing is every day I say, 'God, whatever Your will is for my life, I will totally do it, '" Miller says. Maybe her Facebook page says it best: "I live everyday like it's my rockin' last." ********** NOBTS' prospective church planters visit the Pacific Northwest By Suzanne Davis NEW ORLEANS -- The balance between classroom education and practical experience is a serious consideration for most seminary students. Damian Emetuche, director of Nehemiah Center for Church Planting and the Day Center at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, is committed to helping his students achieve both. "My philosophy for training church planters is the same as that of training a medical doctor. I have a clinical bias," Emetuche said. "You have to take a doctor to the hospital, not just give him books to read. He must be able to smell a disease and see what it looks like. It is not all glamour, it is bloody and smelly and messy. Some may not want to deal with the mess." Emetuche led a team of students to Seattle, Wash., and Vancouver, British Columbia, last fall where they learned firsthand from church planters in the field what planting a church is like. NOBTS missions student Jenna Shaw recounted, "It hard to read about church planting and fully understand what this type of ministry actually looks like. On this trip we meet over a dozen different church planters, all with different types of churches in different contexts." Marie Barreto, who is pursuing a master of divinity with specialization in church planting, said the Nov. 2-7 trip enabled her to see how Christianity is growing in the non-Christian culture of the Pacific Northwest. Barreto and classmate Jason Thomas identified some of the obstacles church planters must overcome, such as lack of immediate church or team support, different perceptions of church culture, and learning how to build relationships within the community. "They [the church planters] focus on building relationships with the people there," Barreto said. "It's all relational." Thomas gave an example of how Epic Life Church, a Seattle congregation, was reaching the community. They received a church building from a congregation that had disbanded, turning it into a community center. "Now, it's no longer 'that church on the corner,' but it's being used to meet the needs of the community," Thomas said. Emetuche said another benefit of the Seattle/Vancouver tour is the exposure to diversity. "Most of our students are from the South, and in the South we don't have much diversity -- mostly black and white. In the Pacific Northwest, you see a mosaic of cultures that is the future of America." The diversity extends beyond cultures, but also drives different church plant models. Shaw explained, "It [the trip] opened my eyes to a different ministry and cultural context and showed me that church doesn't have to look the same everywhere." Thomas worked with two Asian American church planters. One pastor had moved to Seattle because his wife had taken a job there. The church he planted was in response to the need he saw for his Vietnamese neighbors. The other church planter came to the area with the intention of starting a church, but his congregation is more ethnically diverse. Thomas said he learned from them that "no matter how innovative we think we can be, we're not going to build a church; God is going to build a church." Barreto echoed Thomas' understanding that all the work, including the call, must come from God. "The biggest thing I learned is if God has not called you, do not go," she said. The lesson, however, was one of encouragement for Barreto who has answered God's call to serve this summer in Montreal. "It's about being willing to take risks and stepping out of your comfort zone but prayerfully seeking God's will," she said. "I'll be losing some of my jobs on campus, but I know that's where He wants me to be." Another lesson learned involved the definition of success. Thomas said success must be defined not by numbers but by faithfulness. "I need to be a little more faithful to where I am," he said. "Sometimes we can get caught up in where we think we will be. God has me here right now for a reason." For Jenna Shaw and her husband Benjie, the trip may have been a gateway to the future, with Benjie noting, "I am praying through the possibility of planting a church and Jenna and I have discussed a move to the Northwest to do some type of ministry [church planting, college ministry, etc.] when we graduate," Benjie said. "We'll see how the Lord leads." Emetuche is convinced that diversity will continue to increase in America due to immigration trends and globalization. For that reason, he intends to continue approach to church planting, taking students out of the classroom and into the field. "I teach them the concepts, principles of church planting, and take them to the field where they can see," he said. Emetuche has also led teams to New England. Possible destinations for upcoming classes include Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto. Earlier in the semester, the seminary hosted a two-day training event called The Greenhouse Initiative for anyone interested or involved in church planting. The sessions were led by Church Multiplication Associates (CMA), a voluntary association of active church plants from across the nation who focus on organic church growth and leadership in small group settings such as homes and coffee shops. The event attracted nearly 50 participants from Louisiana, Texas, and other surrounding states. CMA trainers Neil Cole and Ed Waken led interactive sessions focused on growing the church by using lay leaders to reach the lost of North America. Cole is the founder and executive director of Church Multiplication Associates & CMA Resources, which has helped start hundreds of churches in 35 states and 30 nations. Waken is an experienced church planter, trainer and CMA board member. For more information on the Greenhouse Initiative and CMA, visit the association's website http://www.cmaresources.org. ----- Laekan Carter also contributed to this story. ********** Midwestern launches online undergraduate program, registration underway By T. Patrick Hudson KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Midwestern Baptist College, SBC, leaders unveiled a new 100-percent online undergraduate degree program on Feb. 21, with enrollment currently underway for the term beginning April 30. Fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, Midwestern's Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry degree will be added to the online program's Master of Arts, Theological Studies (MATS) degree that was launched in 2010. Midwestern Baptist College, SBC, is affiliated with Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. The undergraduate program at the college was launched in the fall of 2006, and recognizing the need to stay current with improvements in educational technology and online delivery, online courses were added to the program in early 2011. With the announcement that the Higher Learning Commission has granted full accreditation to the online undergraduate program, non-resident students can now complete their bachelor's degree fully online. MBC-Online will begin with a core of nine courses for its initial terms and then introduce new classes each term going forward until the degree track is completed. To earn the degree completely online, a student would need to take 42 classes for a total of 126 credit hours. With this addition, students now have multiple choices in completing their undergraduate degree: the traditional on-campus program, the fully online program or a blended program including both on-campus and online courses. Online program leaders say this is a way for students who cannot make it regularly to campus to complete needed courses toward their degree. "What's really exciting about this new program is that people can obtain an undergraduate degree from nearly anywhere in the world, and do so at a pace that's convenient for them," said Ted Davis, director of the MBC-Online program. "The Midwestern-Online team is committed to providing high-quality Christian education for life and ministry and also to making that education affordable and accessible. We're thrilled that students will now be able to manage their busy schedules while achieving the important goal of a college education through these online courses." Classes will be offered in eight-week terms, with two terms being offered each semester. MBC-Online currently is accepting applications to the program, and enrollment is available for the upcoming summer terms: Term A -- April 30-June 22 and Term B -- June 25- Aug. 17. In Term A, available classes will be: Introduction to Nutrition, Survey of Old Testament Literature, Christian Doctrine I, and World Literature. In Term B, the classes will be: Christian Doctrine II, Introduction to Computers, Teaching Ministry of the Church, Marriage and Family, and The Pentateuch. "Because the courses' lengths are considerably shorter than those in traditional semesters, the workload is challenging," Davis said. "However, we think students will find the online format friendly to their schedules. Whereas, people once had to travel to the main campus or extension locations to attend a class, they can now complete courses from anywhere they have Internet access." "Another extremely beneficial aspect of these courses is the cost," said Rodney Harrison, dean of the School of Online Studies at Midwestern. "When compared to other online courses offered by state or private institutions, our costs are quite reasonable. One other point to note is this: the cost you see is what you get. There are no hidden fees whatsoever." Tuition for the online courses is currently $250 per credit hour, with each course being three credit hours. The only additional costs a student will incur include textbooks and any other required materials for the course. Davis added that "even if someone doesn't desire a degree but wishes to add to their biblical knowledge, there are great opportunities for them to grow spiritually and educationally." To view the complete list of undergraduate degree plans available, visit the MBC website at www.mbts.edu/academics/distance_learning/online_courses/BA_Online. To enroll for one of the classes, students can do so on the MBC-Online webpage. For more information, contact the MBC-Online office at 816-414-3814 or e-mail online@mbts.edu. --30-- -- End of story -- CHRISTIAN APPS OF THE MONTH:
New Orleans Seminary, Crosswalk.com By Staff Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37288 [IMGONLY=29802@right@300]New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) Platform: iPhone Price: Free About it: The New Orleans Seminary app includes the latest news articles from the seminary, as well as a chapel schedule and chapel audio and video. Additionally, it includes Greek and Hebrew flash cards, a campus events calendar, campus calendar, and information for alumni and prospective students. Crosswalk.com Platform: iPhone Price: Free About it: Sponsored by Salem Communications, the Crosswalk.com app is based on the popular website and includes a wide range of lifestyle articles, features and devotionals. The app categorizes articles by topics and also includes a "most popular" tab to view the most-read articles. --30-- Compiled by Michael Foust, associate editor of Baptist Press. Have a comment or an app suggestion? Email AppsoftheMonth@gmail.com. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/Baptist Press) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- FIRST PERSON: Looking for a church home? Here are 5 tips By Brad Whitt Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37289 SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. (BP) -- I found out recently that one of my most faithful, trusted leaders and his family is being relocated due to a job transfer. It was really hard news to hear. This is a man who has taught for me, led classes, counseled hurting individuals and families as well as done everything from cooking to cleaning to repair work around the church for the past 10 years. I not only appreciate him, I love him. My friend and I were talking, knowing that his final Sunday was coming, and he asked if I knew of any "good" churches in the city where he is being relocated. I thought about the churches and pastors that I was familiar with in the area and began to list them one by one describing what I thought to be their strengths and weaknesses. He was familiar with some of the churches from co-workers, had visited a few already, and I could tell that he was rather nervous about starting the process of looking for a new church home. We walked away from each other with a promise to pray, "put out feelers," and keep in touch. I have thought a lot about what my friend will go through as he and his family search for a new home after being such an important part of such a close-knit church family for over a decade. I couldn't help but relive some of the anxiety, frustration and discouragement that I experienced when I had to look for a church as a college student. After nearly 13 years at my home church, my father accepted a call to a church in another state and I had to start the search for a new church all by myself. I'll never forget it. I tried large churches and small churches. I visited churches with my friends and a few by myself. I visited contemporary churches and traditional churches and one that I'm not even sure they knew what they were. I even snuck into one that wasn't a Baptist church. I finally felt the Lord leading me to one particular church, so I joined and became involved with the college ministry. It was a great church that has an important place in my life. It was in this church that I accepted God's call to ministry during a Wednesday evening Bible study and my fiancée, now my wife, was baptized. Looking back I'm not sure that I realized at the time just how important of a decision I was making as a college student, but my choice in what church to join has had a great impact on my life. No doubt there are those reading this who are facing a similar situation, searching for a new church home. As a pastor I know that it can be a difficult and rather scary process. So, with that in mind, I want to share some practical, pastoral and biblical suggestions that I believe will help those who find themselves having to find a new church home. When your family looks for a church: -- It should be a biblical church. I know, that should be a redundant statement, but sadly it's not. The church you plant your life and family into should be a church that believes and teaches the Bible. It shouldn't view the Bible as just another form of literature, or as a good place to start a self-help speech, but as God's Word to us. It should preach and teach the "whole counsel of God" -- both the Old and the New Testament and should seek to apply the truth of Scripture to your life. As a preacher, I might add that I believe it will be highly beneficial for the spiritual health of your family for the Bible to be preached with power and authority. -- It should be an accountable church. A "good" church is a family, one in which members are held accountable and responsible for their walk with Jesus and their witness in the world. There should be a system that encourages godly living and disciplines those who sin and refuse to repent. Recently I ran into one of our former members involved in a practice that would not be accepted if he were still a leader. In talking with a man who discipled him as a younger man, I was told, "If he were still here he wouldn't be living that way." There is such a thing as a healthy and holy peer pressure that comes from being involved in a Christ-centered church that helps us hold one another accountable. -- It should be an evangelistic church. There should be an evident passion to reach people for Jesus. It should be easily seen in everything the church does. Every event, every ministry should be led by people who love the lost and are personal soul winners. The women's events should be done to bring friends to Jesus. The men's fellowships should be done for the purpose of seeing men come to Christ. The youth and children's ministries should be sowing seeds and seeing a harvest of young hearts. The hallways and highways around the church should resound with the cries of new babes who are being born into the Kingdom of God. When a church is an evangelistic church there will be a life and excitement that will be evident in anything and everything that it does. -- It should be discipling church. Evangelism is important, but the church's mission doesn't stop there. Look for a church that seeks to develop every member of your family, from the youngest to the oldest, in your walk with Jesus. There should be a plan and passion to move every member along in their knowledge of the Bible and what it really means to be a Christian man or woman. You see, where there is life there will be growth. The church should reach people and then build people into fully mature, reproducing followers of Christ. -- It should be a caring church. The church that will care for you and your family is a church that really cares about people -- all people. It supports those who are weak, helps those who are hurting and lifts those who are discouraged. It doesn't seek only to minister to the affluent and attractive, but also the poor and needy. Now, obviously there is no perfect church. In fact -- as is often said -- if you find a perfect church, don't join it; you'll mess it up. However, these are what I believe to be very important characteristics of a "good" church that would be "good" for you and your family. Keep these in mind as you visit and search for a church to call "home," and when you find a church you feel the Lord leading you to join, jump in with both feet. Get involved. Serve where you are gifted and in ministries for which you have a passion. Be faithful and positive, forgiving and helpful. You never know just how great of an impact your church choice will have on your life and the life of your family. --30-- Brad Whitt is senior pastor of the Temple Baptist Church in Simpsonville, SC. This column first appeared at his website, BradWhitt.com. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter(@BaptistPress), Facebook(Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email(baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- TECHNOLOGY: Helping the church understand the digital revolution By Aaron Linne Feb. 29 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37290 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Being born in 1980, I've had the pleasant experience of being one of the oldest members of the rising generation. I am a true digital native, but had just enough years of life without the Internet to remember what life was like before it. Of course, I also was teaching my elementary school teachers how to put the discs in CD-ROM trays, back when they first came out. I've hoped that my life and skills would be able to be used to help spread the Gospel through technology and help disciple the church in the new digital generation. A while back I received a package in the mail -- a signed copy of "Viral" by author Leonard Sweet. In "Viral," Leonard Sweet manages to accurately describe, analyze and embrace the shift in our culture. Where as I simply know it as reality, Sweet manages to articulate the cultural and spiritual changes happening in America due to the digital revolution. Using the acronym of TGIF (standing for Twitter, Google, iPhone and Facebook), Sweet manages to summarize so many things I've wanted to say to the church, but never quite knew how. All this in right around 200 pages. In 2010, B&H Publishing Group released "NetCasters," by Craig von Buseck. Von Buseck is ministries director of CBN.com, home of the Christian Broadcasting Network. In his book, von Buseck shares stories of people who are effectively and passionately using the Internet to spread the Gospel. From podcasting to creating movements like the Internet Evangelism Day, there are stories ripe for sharing about how people are using digital tools every day to share the Good News. At a tech conference a few years back, I met Gabe Taviano. Gabe was experimenting with a group centered at DigitalDisciples.net -- a way for people to organize for study and discipleship both online and in real life through digital means. And for this group it wasn't only about education and bible study -- it was about true relationship and accountability. It was about embracing the connections that suddenly were possible due to the advent of digital tools. In Sweet's "Viral," it becomes increasingly evident that the tools we use -- the medium we use -- shapes us just as much as the media does. Sweet talks about how culturally we have moved from thinking as a larger family unit in society to thinking as a smaller, individual unit. But that now, with our ever-connected lives, a new societal unit is forming: our network. How intense is it that by being disconnected from those around us we are even more connected to those further from us? Books like "Viral" and "NetCasters" are vital resources for the church. It's not that we "need" to embrace technology for the spreading of the Gospel -- it's that my generation simply doesn't understand a message that doesn't involve interaction through technology. For us, it's no longer a sit and listen, tune in and watch. We are in relationship with everything; we create, interact, and destroy things on a daily basis. And we are desperate to find Good News in all that we do. The books are available to explain. The tools are there to be used. The message is ready to be shared. --30-- Aaron Linne is executive producer of digital marketing for the B&H Publishing Group of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. He writes a monthly technology column for Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- Copyright (c) 2013 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press 901 Commerce Street Nashville, TN 37203 Tel: 615.244.2355 Fax: 615.782.8736 email: bpress@sbc.net