March 28, 2013 • ISSUE 6
DON’T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE?
There’s an app for that +Russell Moore elected to replace ERLC’s Richard Land +CP Sunday - April 14
The 1Cross mobile app is an ambitious project to overcome language barriers in sharing the gospel in Texas and beyond.
Contents 2
Good feelings, bad leadership When leaders change their views on essential issues, it should be because their essential view of truth has also changed.
3-5 Briefly
Southern’s Moore to replace Land at ERLC
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Russell Moore will take office on June 1 at age 41 as the eighth president of the entity charged by Southern Baptists with addressing moral and religious freedom issues.
Resources available for CP Sunday, April 14 April 14 is Cooperative Program Sunday in the churches. To help churches inform their members on the global reach of CP, the SBTC website features a resource page.
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Sex trafficking meeting sheds light on Texas problem As the scourge of human trafficking—particularly sex trafficking—comes to light, a new group of abolitionists led by Christians are responding, even here in Texas.
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Black churches can spur urban economy Black churches should be catalysts for economic flourishing in the inner city, business professor Tony Beckham said at a Land Center conference on urban economics.
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1Cross app bridges language barriers
With 300-plus languages spoken in Texas, mobile app applies technology and real stories to language barriers in effort to share Jesus.
TEXAN Digital is e-published twice monthly by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, 4500 State Highway 360, Grapevine, TX 76099-1988. Jim Richards, Executive Director Gary Ledbetter, Editor Jerry Pierce, Managing Editor Tammi Ledbetter, News Editor Russell Lightner, Design & Layout Stephanie Barksdale, Subscriptions Contributing Writers David Roach, Bonnie Pritchett To contact the TEXAN office, visit texanonline.net/contact or call toll free 877.953.7282 (SBTC)
Gary Ledbetter
Good feelings, bad leadership
H
ere’s the story of two Robs—both men entrusted by constituents to speak for them, to lead a group according to established principles. Our two leaders are assumed to have solid historical and documentary foundations for the values they call primary. And both Robs were turned aside by things unrelated to the stewardship they were given. Our first Rob is a Republican senator from Ohio. Rob Portman recently announced that he favors same-sex marriage. A socially liberal senator is not remarkable except that Mr. Portman is the first Republican senator to support same-sex marriage. Even that is not the most notable aspect of Sen. Portman’s announcement. He had a “change of heart” on the issue because of his homosexual son. Rob Portman couldn’t have given you a good reason for whatever conviction he held on same-sex marriage a year ago because his conversion was not based on reason. While I sympathize with the love of a father for his son, Mr. Portman will make policy decisions that affect Americans far beyond his own child. If he had promised to follow his heart or to do what seems best for his own nuclear family during his most recent campaign I might suppose he’d have lost. Most voters would rather our leaders have substantial reasons for the things they do on our behalf. If a senator decided to introduce a public works bill based primarily on his cousin’s need of employment, what would we say about that? Our second Rob was a pastor, is still a preacher of sorts, writes successful books, and defined “relevant” for quite a large number of evangelical pastors. Pastor Bell left his Michigan church last year in the wake of a popular book that cast doubt on the reality of hell. In a recent sermon at an Episcopal church, Bell took a next 2 TEXANONLINE.NET MARCH 28, 2013
logical step by explaining that evangelical churches were wrong, “ghettoized” he said, and would die unless we changed our message on same-sex marriage. Rob Bell’s reasoning seems different but is similar to Rob Portman’s. Instead of a view based on affection for a loved one, Bell seems somewhat moved by antipathy toward biblical Christians. I’m sure it seems right to him and is doubtless based on affection for our younger, socially liberal generation. That is not the motivation that Bell’s congregants or readers formerly expected of him. They might reasonably assume that he, as a pastor and writer on pastoral subjects, would be compelled by the written Word of God rather than the pull of relevance or contempt for irrelevance. Our earnest desire to gain a hearing must never be accomplished by changing our essential message. While I acknowledge that even a biblical view of marriage is not our primary message, we cannot give that up and still keep a biblically based gospel. Making decisions based primarily on what we find emotionally repellant or attractive is a sign our times. We commonly base budgets and elect leaders based on these emotions. Polling numbers on Americans and same-sex marriage do not indicate that we are a nation of thinkers. We Americans find such “reasoning” more popular in public policy or religion than we do in business or engineering, though. I am glad that the people who design bridges or fly airplanes don’t trust their feelings about what’s level or straight. Convictions about what’s essentially true must precede and trump our feelings about applying truth. Do you think Moses had any pertinent feelings, fear maybe, when he ordered the Egyptian pharaoh to let the Hebrew children go? Yet Moses had spent some years in the desert, hearing God and deciding what he believed. Can you imagine Elijah having any trepidation at all about confronting his entire nation on Mount Carmel? Again, Elijah had spent an extended time alone with God, deciding what was always true. Was Jesus really tempted during his earthly ministry? Yes, and he also spent time with God, listening to him and deciding that God’s revealed will would direct him rather than any lesser thing. I’m not suggesting that U.S. senators should be required to spend 40 days or three years in the desert or even that all pastors have to spend three years in a seminary desert, but I am suggesting that men who haven’t decided what they believe to always be true are unfit to lead others. Once they’ve formed such opinions—convictions really—they shouldn’t change them often. And when they change them, it should be because their essential view of truth has also changed. In nearly every imaginable case, it’s then appropriate to resign whatever positions their former convictions won them.
Briefly INTERNATIONAL
Secretary of state calls for Pastor Saeed’s release U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on March 22 called for the release of pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent who is suffering in a notoriously brutal Tehran prison because of his Christian faith. The American Center for Law and Justice, which represents Abedini’s wife and two young children living in the United States, called Kerry’s statement “a tremendous step forward in our government’s involvement in securing Pastor Saeed’s freedom.” Kerry, in a press statement issued
while in the Middle East, said, “I am deeply concerned about the fate of U.S citizen Saeed Abedini, who has been detained for nearly six months and was sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran on charges related to his religious beliefs.” The secretary of state added, “I am disturbed by reports that Mr. Abedini has suffered physical and psychological abuse in prison, and that his condition has become increasingly dire. Such mistreatment violates international norms as well as Iran’s own laws.”
NORTH AMERICA
Court briefs: Gay marriage detrimental to kids If the U.S. Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage it would be sending a detrimental message to society that children don’t need both mothers and fathers. That’s according to friend-of-thecourt briefs filed by traditional groups and others urging the court to leave the issue of marriage to the states and to uphold both the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8. The high court heard oral arguments on both cases this week, with rulings expected as early as July in the Prop 8 case. Prop 8 is a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman in California, while the DOMA section in question defines marriage in federal law in the traditional sense. If both are overturned, then gay marriage likely would be legalized in all 50 states. Of the more than 30 friend-of-thecourt briefs filed supporting traditional marriage, the dominant theme ties the historical definition of marriage to procreation and childrearing. A brief by the Christian legal group
Liberty Counsel asserts that the definition of marriage on the state level has always been grounded in at least four facts: 1) only heterosexual unions can produce children, 2) children need a mother and a father, 3) mothers and fathers bring unique and complementary contributions to childrearing and 4) children raised outside of a motherfather home fare worse, on average, on multiple levels later in life. “We live in a world demarcated by two genders, male and female. There is no third or intermediate category. Sex is binary,” the Liberty Counsel brief reads. “By striking down Proposition 8, this Court will be making a powerful statement: Our government no longer believes children deserve mothers and fathers. In effect, it would be saying: ‘Two fathers or two mothers are not only just as good as a mother and a father, they are just the same.’” Mothers and fathers are “each uniquely important to a child’s development,” the brief says, adding that legalizing gay marriage would toss that logic aside.
Kerry also said he is “troubled by the lack of due process in Mr. Abedini’s case Saeed Abedini and Iran’s continued refusal to allow consular access by Swiss authorities, the U.S. protecting power in Iran.” “I welcome reports that Mr. Abedini was examined by a physician and expect Iranian authorities to honor their commitment to allow Mr. Abedini to receive treatment for these injuries from a specialist outside the prison. The best outcome for Mr. Abedini is that he be immediately released,” Kerry said. The statement came hours after ACLJ released a letter from Abedini recounting the torture he is enduring and one day after a State Department official finally mentioned Abedini’s case before the U.N. Human Rights Council. (See Baptist Press story here). Prior to that mention, State Department and White House officials had previously addressed Abedini’s case in public only when questioned by reporters and others, Fox News said, adding that Kerry’s statement marked a new level of escalation in the administration’s statements. ACLJ had called on Kerry to act on Abedini’s behalf by March 22, which marked one week since the State Department was entirely absent from a hearing on Capitol Hill regarding Abedini’s case that included testimony from his wife Naghmeh, who lives in Idaho. That evening, Naghmeh Abedini said she was “very encouraged by Secretary Kerry’s statement demanding Saeed’s immediate release.”
MARCH 28, 2013 TEXANONLINE.NET 3
NORTH AMERICA
Michael Vick, now professing Christian, threatened during book tour Controversial quarterback Michael Vick, who says he now is a Christian, announced plans to continue his national book tour despite an onslaught of threats. He challenged protesters in an interview with USA Today: “Why would you continue to bash somebody who is trying to help make the world a better place?” When Barnes & Noble announced plans to host Vick’s book-signing, animal rights activists took to social media to protest the bookseller, Vick and his publisher, Worthy Publishing. “I would go there to slit your throat knowing how you treat animals,” wrote one person on Barnes & Noble’s Facebook page. Threats like these eventually convinced Worthy to cancel the tour. The company reported the threats to
the police. “While we stand by Michael Vick’s right to free speech and the retailers’ right to free commerce, we cannot knowingly put anyone in harm’s way,” said Worthy’s president Byron Williamson. The company cancelled the tour March 11, but later Vick said he would press on. A Worthy spokesperson said the company would schedule additional dates around Vick’s NFL schedule. In “Finally Free,” Vick’s self-described “rags-toriches story of redemption,” he recounts his rise to fame as an Atlanta Falcons quarterback and then his fall of shame as the leader of a dogfighting ring. Dogfighting rings are illegal, and the dogs forced to fight usually face horrific abuse inside and outside the ring.
Vick’s operation lasted for five years. He pleaded guilty in 2007 and served 21 months in prison and two months under house arrest. In Finally Free, he said he converted to Christianity during that time and started a mentoring relationship with former NFL coach Tony Dungy. Vick now spends time publicizing his book, advocating for at-risk youth and supporting the Humane Society’s “Pets for Life” campaign. Later this year, he will resume his quarterback position in a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. But six years later, his name draws ire from animal rights activists and others who doubt his sincerity. The
Humane Society’s Wayne Pacelle, the man who agreed to let Vick work with the organization on a campaign to combat dogfighting, admitted reservations in a 2009 blog post. “I sat with the man, but I still don’t know what’s in his heart,” Pacelle wrote. “He asked for an opportunity to help.... If he makes the most of it ... it may prove to be a tipping point in our campaign to eradicate dogfighting. If he demonstrates a fleeting or superficial interest, then it will be his own failing, not ours.” In a recent interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Vick seemed to acknowledge only time and perseverance will silence his critics.
Piper at Southeastern: Preaching is central to worship John Piper, in chapel at Southeastern Seminary, empha-
Piper said 2 Timothy 3:16-4:5 affirms that the Word of
sized the essential role of preaching in worship, asking at
God is breathed out by God, and he said worship is the re-
the outset, “Why does preaching have a prominent place in
sponse of the mind and heart to God’s work in the world.
the church today? And is there biblical warrant for this?” Piper, now a vocational elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church
“His works are done by his Word,” Piper said. “If we are to see a work of God, we should know that the work
in Minneapolis, Minn., said March 21 the Word of God is pre-
is brought about by the Word. For instance, in Jesus’ life
eminent because Scripture affirms its preeminence.
and ministry, sins are forgiven by his Word. The dead are
“God has chosen to reveal himself as the Word and by the
raised by his Word. The sick are healed by his Word.
Word. First, God was the Word before anything existed. As
“The Word created life and therefore wherever there is
the Gospel of John states, ‘In the beginning was the Word.’
worship and response to God’s Word, it is first because of
“Second,” Piper said, “God reveals himself by the Word (1 Samuel 3:21). If worship is a seeing and a savoring of
God’s mighty Word.” An essential component of the Word, Piper said, is that
the appearing of the glory of God, then the Word is to be
it penetrates the heart and the soul. Something powerful
central.”
happens when the Word of God is accepted and trusted.
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AG Eric Holder to announce marijuana policy soon
SBC
Cities’ church planting maps posted by NAMB Southern Baptists may access new online church planting maps for North America’s largest, most influential and least-churched cities. The North American Mission Board has posted digital maps highlighting current and planned church plants for 17 of the 30 cities targeted in its Send North America outreach. The maps are available at namb.net/cities. Maps for
Marijuana advocates and opponents are awaiting a decision from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who said he would announce soon whether the Justice Department will enforce the federal ban on marijuana. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier in March, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D.-Vt., asked Holder if he was prepared to announce the federal government’s response to new laws in Colorado and Washington legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Both states, The Seattle Times reported, are proceeding with developing and implementing regulations but could face lawsuits from the federal government, which still classifies marijuana as a narcotic in the same category as heroin. Holder said he had “good conversations” with elected officials in the two states, and he added, “We expect our ability to announce a policy relatively soon.” Alison Holcomb, who wrote Washington’s new marijuana law, told The Times she was encouraged by the attorney general’s brief answer because he made a point of commenting on his pro-
ductive conversations with state leadership. “That’s important. If [the Department of Justice] intended to reject outright the citizens’ efforts to reform our failed marijuana laws, there would be nothing to discuss,” Holcomb said. Observers, The Times said, believe Holder wants to learn more details of what the state-regulated marijuana market would look like before he announces a policy. President Obama in December told ABC News his administration would not prosecute marijuana users in Colorado and Washington. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry,” Obama said. “It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it’s legal.” Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy and research at the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said the administration must be careful with this decision. “Marijuana is a dangerous drug that creates multiple problems for those who use it. Future lives and livelihoods are at stake in this debate,” Duke told Baptist Press.
Compiled from Baptist Press and World News Service
the remaining cities will be posted as they are completed. The online maps stem from NAMB President Kevin Ezell’s longstanding desire to show Southern Baptists specific “dots on a map” where new churches are needed in Send North America cities. “If a church wants to get involved in a specific city, you don’t have to wonder where the needs are,” Ezell said. “This is a very tangible way to see the needs and also the huge impact adding these churches will have on these cities.” The online maps show the locations of current church plants with red dots and the locations of future plants with blue dots. The future church locations have been identified by local strategy teams as needing church plants but lacking church planters. When a user clicks on a current or future church plant, they’ll find its address and primary ethnicity. Users can zoom out to get a big-picture view of the city’s church planting needs or zoom in to take a look at the actual neighborhoods near current and future church plants. Also, by using Google Street View technology available on the maps, users can access street-level views of the area and conduct virtual prayerwalks through the neighborhood. MARCH 28, 2013 TEXANONLINE.NET 5
Russell Moore elected to lead Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Richard Land to become emeritus president after quarter-century as Southern Baptist voice for moral issues. By Tammi Reed Ledbetter NASHVILLE
When sixth-generation Texan Richard D. Land passes the leadership baton to the next president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in June, his successor will bring with him many similarities including a background as a theologian with some experience in politics. Land, the popular Southern Baptist voice for moral issues, began his career as a denominational statesman in 1988, having served as a pastor in Louisiana, a professor and academic dean at Criswell College in Dallas and a policy advisor in the Texas governor’s office. Similarly, the newly elected leader brings the credentials of having pastored in his native Mississippi, served as a professor and academic dean at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an aide to a pro-life Democrat congressman. Russell Moore will assume office on June 1 at the age of 41 as the eighth president of the entity charged by Southern Baptists with addressing moral and religious freedom issues. “I am honored and humbled to be asked to serve Southern Baptists as ERLC president,” said Moore, theology dean at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. “I pray for God’s grace to lead the ERLC to be a catalyst to connect the agenda of the kingdom of 6 TEXANONLINE.NET MARCH 28, 2013
Russell and Maria Moore with their five sons.
Christ to the cultures of local congregations for the sake of the mission of the gospel in the world.” As ERLC trustees elected Moore by a 26-1 secret ballot in a special called meeting March 26, Land offered his blessing. “Dr. Moore is a godly Christian minister, a devoted husband and father, and a convictional, committed Baptist. His excellent academic preparation, combined with his keen mind and his tender heart for God and his people, make him a person uniquely suited to serve our Savior and Southern Baptists in this crucial role at such a critical moment in our nation’s history.” Last September trustees honored Land’s 25-year legacy by bestowing the title of president emeritus upon his retirement.
The seven-member presidential search committee was chaired by Barry Creamer of Criswell College, who serves in the academic dean’s role that Land once held. As an ethics and humanities professor, Creamer said he recognized the importance of hiring a person similarly qualified to “impact churches and the public marketplace of ideas for what is right, true and desperately needed today.” Moore fits the presidential profile announced last year, which sought a leader characterized by the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3, having demonstrated an understanding of theology, biblical studies, ethics, philosophy and history with a Ph.D. in one of those areas. The board required executive and administrative leadership, strong communication skills, comprehension of complex and significant ethical issues, and a commitment to apply biblical principles and gospel understanding to critical ethical concerns. Once again, trustees turned to a candidate schooled in theology to provide the biblical basis for leadership in the realm of ethics. Moore has served since 2004 as dean of the theology school and senior vice president for academic administration at Southern, having joined the faculty in 2001 as professor of Christian theology and ethics. From 2008 to 2012 Moore was the preaching pastor at a campus of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville. Both Land and Moore earned master’s degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and each man pastored a Gulf Coast church—Land serving
“Dr. Moore is a godly Christian minister, a devoted husband and father, and a convictional, committed Baptist. His excellent academic preparation, combined with his keen mind and his tender heart for God and his people, make him a person uniquely suited to serve our Savior and Southern Baptists in this crucial role at such a critical moment in our nation’s history.” —Richard Land
Vieux Carre’ Baptist in New Orleans and Moore pastoring Bay Vista Baptist in Biloxi, Miss. When the Oxford-educated Land became head of the Christian Life Commission, he continued the strong pattern of support for racial reconciliation, joining with Gary Frost to convene a task force that crafted a resolution on racial reconciliation that convention messengers adopted in 1995. On pro-life and family issues, however, Land steered a new course for the entity, diverting from an earlier era of leading Southern Baptists in step with leftist groups such as the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights and People for the American Way. He stood as a champion for the sanctity of life, giving a voice to the growing concern over the rapidly escalating number of abortions in the U.S. and abroad. The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention honored Land and his wife, Becky, with a resolution passed last November, noting his “concerted effort in behalf of the most helpless members of our society to remove the curse
of death from these infants still in the safety of the wombs of their mothers and give them the chance for life.” The statement also noted Land’s efforts in regard to eliminating “vestiges of racism,” championing faithfulness to the First Amendment guarantee of liberty of conscience, preservation of biblical morality on matters such as the definition of marriage, and working “tenaciously to be a perennial voice for justice and morality in our nation’s capital.” The next ERLC president is expected to continue to prioritize pro-life concerns, having already served as a leading voice in the pro-adoption movement among evangelicals. His doctoral work at Southern Seminary earned him a Ph.D. in systematic theology. In his 2009 book “Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches,” Moore relates the journey of adopting two boys from Russia with his wife, Maria. He edited “A Guide to Adoption and Orphan Care” to help adoptive parents and churches better think about and practice adoption. MARCH 28, 2013 TEXANONLINE.NET 7
“[I] can think of no one more qualified in experience, in temperament, in passion, and in doctrine to represent us as Southern Baptists on the most critical ethical issues of our day, and on the all-important issue [of religious freedom].” —Rick Warren
Moore also wrote “Tempted and Tried: Temptation” and “The Triumph of Christ and The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective.” He has three other books scheduled to be published, including one on marriage and one on abortion, and has edited and contributed to other books such as “Why I Am a Baptist,” “A Theology for the Church,” “Understanding Four Views on the Lord’s Supper,” “First Freedom: The Baptist Perspective on Religious Liberty,” and “The Challenge of the Great Commission: Essays on God’s Mandate for the Local Church.” Moore also serves as executive editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology and as senior editor of Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity. Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said Moore “has uniquely prepared himself spiritually, theologically, academically, and politically for just such a moment as this. Placing a leader with the right convictions, a razor-sharp mind, and a moral compass that will not fail paints a bright picture for Southern Baptists’ future.” Popular author and Southern California megachurch pastor Rick Warren said he “can think of no one more qualified in experience, in temperament, in passion, and in doctrine to represent us as Southern Baptists on the most critical ethical issues of our day, and on the all-important issue” of religious freedom. Land effectively utilized the influence of the SBC resolutions process to broadcast the views expressed by messengers in annual meetings, often speaking before congressional hearings or analyzing the impact of various cases before the Supreme Court. Moore has served four times on the SBC Resolutions Committee, chairing the group in 2010, and has testified before Congress. While both men have sought to address popular culture in written and spoken commentaries, speeches and news media interviews, Land used his radio programs, the pulpits of churches and the stages of convention halls. Moore also speaks extensively across 8 TEXANONLINE.NET MARCH 28, 2013
the convention but, reflecting his generation, is also popular in new media outlets such as Twitter and his “Moore to the Point” blog at russellmoore.com. While Land was comfortable playing the music of Elvis Presley, Russell Moore embraces the country and western tunes of the same era from singers such as George Jones and Johnny Cash. On his weekly podcast of “The Cross and the Jukebox,” Moore discusses religious themes in popular music, using songs like Hank Williams’ “I Saw the Light” to build a bridge to discussing the gospel with neighbors. “Some of the earliest memories I have are of sitting with several generations of my family listening to the Grand Old Opry,” Moore wrote. “The music of Carters and Cash and Jones and Haggard has stayed with me throughout my life. If I’d been born in different circumstances, I’d probably be drawn to different music.” While acknowledging the importance of great theologians, Moore said, “Sometimes we also ought to pay a little bit of attention to the theologies of Johnny Cash.” A native Mississippian, Moore and his wife live in Louisville with their five sons. In addition to Creamer, other ERLC trustees on the presidential search committee were Kenda Bartlett, executive director of Concerned Women for America in Washington, D.C.; Kenneth Barbic, a lobbyist with the Western Growers Association in Washington, D.C.; Lynne Fruechting, a pediatrician in Newton, Kan.; Ray Newman, executive director of Georgia Citizens Action Project in Atlanta; and Bernard Snowden, family life pastor at Antioch Baptist Church in Bowie, Md. ERLC trustee chairman Richard Piles, who appointed the search committee, was an ex officio member. Piles is pastor of First Baptist Church in Camden, Ark. Additional information on Moore, including a full list of endorsements from men like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Southern Seminary President Al Mohler and California pastor Rick Warren is available at erlc.com/ moorepresskit. —With extensive reporting by Tom Strode
1Cross mobile app offers gospel stories by native speakers in dozens of languages With 300-plus languages spoken in Texas, mobile app applies technology and real stories to language barriers in effort to share Jesus. By Jerry Pierce
od brought it all together that day in the pickup. Nathan Lorick was driving back to Malakoff and wondering how in the world he could do the job if the Lord called him to it yet flat out stoked by the bigger-than-Texassized challenge of it all.
Twenty-six million people, three hundred-plus languages, urban, suburban, rural, white, black, brown, yellow, and all shades and ethnicities in between. And mostly lost. Two years earlier on a mission trip to Thailand, Lorick witnessed to a Hindu sikh in that man’s language using a video testimony. Lorick used the same video several times on that trip to share the gospel when communication broke down. That experience and the potential challenge of leading evangelism strategies in what is increasingly a MARCH 28, 2013 TEXANONLINE.NET 9
melting-pot culture melded on that drive home to East Texas. Turns out, the Lord did call. Last year, the 31-year-old Lorick left the pastorate of First Baptist Church of Malakoff to lead the evangelism efforts of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention—a task that calls for a statewide evangelism strategy that seeks to marshal the efforts of 2,400 congregations to share the gospel message from Pecos to Paris. What God laid on his heart that day debuted on March 5 as the 1Cross app—a free download for mobile devices that allows users to access three-minute gospel testimonies in video form using native speakers of 40 languages so far, with a goal of every known language spoken in the U.S. being available. By year’s end, Lorick said he hopes to have 100 language testimonies uploaded. “God has given us a gift in that he is bringing the world to us. It’s a huge missionary opportunity,” Lorick said. According to the Washington, D.C.-based Migration Institute, 2011 Census data show 34.7 percent of Texas residents age 5 and up speak a language other than English, with about 90 percent of immigrants 10 TEXANONLINE.NET MARCH 28, 2013
speaking what missiologists call a “heart language” other than English. Some estimates say more than 300 distinct languages and dialects are spoken among the 26.5 million Texans, with large metro areas such as Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth having nearly all of those represented. And the people keep coming. So far, there have been about 2,000 downloads with very little promotion. Lorick said he is praying the tool will be used to share the gospel not only in Texas but worldwide as word of it spreads. Inside the app, if a user chooses a language from a video menu, he will see a professionally videotaped testimony in black and white, three to four minutes long, from native speakers of Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, several dialects of Chinese, Farsi, French, Vietnamese, Burmese, Russian, Hindi and many others. After sharing his personal testimony, each speaker offers a simple prayer of faith and repentance if a user is led to pray along. The converted are encouraged to register their faith stories so that the SBTC may help them connect with the nearest church of their language. The day after Lorick announced the app at the Empower Evangelism
Conference in Irving, a pastor called the SBTC office to tell how a church member who downloaded 1Cross had already led a woman at his workplace to Christ after he shared with her in Spanish. As the woman watched the video testimony in her heart language, tears began to form in her eyes. She had been pondering a relationship with God, the pastor told Lorick. The video was an answer to her yearning. “Many Christians out there are uncomfortable sharing their faith, but I really believe people generally desire to share their faith. This is a tool whereby anyone can share the gospel with anyone else regardless of background, language or nationality,” Lorick said. “This app gives them the opportunity to have the power of the gospel at their fingertips so that we can see people of many nations come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.” Several users have left positive reviews at the iTunes store. One person wrote: “Love this app. I use my iPhone to connect and communicate with people all day long in many different ways. This app enables me to use it to communicate the gospel to people in many different languages and connect
them with Christ.” Another said: “I love this app in so many ways. I have a close friend from the Philippines and I now can tell her more about our God. She doesn’t speak English very well. Thank You!!!” “When you survey the different languages, there is only one cross that can transcend all language barriers with the saving message of Jesus,” said Lorick, alluding to the app’s name. “Our prayer is that pastors would engage with this technology and mobilize their members with the ability to share the gospel regardless of language and cultural barriers,” Lorick added. “There are people out there all around us who need the hope we have. What’s stopping us from sharing it?” By March 27, the app had been downloaded in 10 foreign countries, including three in the Middle East and also the Philippines, Argentina, Australia, South Korea, Spain and France. The app is available for iPhone devices and for Android. To download, visit 1Cross.com.
MARCH 28, 2013 TEXANONLINE.NET 11
Resources available for CP Sunday, April 14 April 14 is Cooperative Program Sunday in the churches. To help
churches inform their members on the global reach of Southern Baptists’ combined missions funding approach, the SBTC website features a resource page and a colorful three-minute video that explains the CP. Several other videos feature testimonies from pastors such as SBTC President Terry Turner and David Galvan of New Life Baptist Church in Dallas. Among the downloadable resources are age-graded stewardship Bible studies from preschool to adult levels, a bulletin insert, a sample sermon, and a CP-related children’s drawing contest. The narrator in the lead video states: “There are more than 7 billion people in the world today. Although it is nearly impossible to calculate, we can estimate that fewer than 20 percent know Jesus as their savior. As someone who knows Jesus, the staggering reality of the world’s lostness reminds us of the importance of the Great Commission. But what can you, one person, do? Or what can your church, a single congregation, accomplish? The truth is you can make a big difference through the Cooperative Program.” The video employs a sketch artist whose colorful arrows, numbers and icons rolling in fast-forward illustrate how CP works from the tither in the pew to the missionary 12 TEXANONLINE.NET MARCH 28, 2013
on foreign soil and the seminarian studying in a Southern Baptist seminary. The video explains CP as “pooling the tithes and offerings from even the most humble incomes and even the smallest churches to reach around the world for Christ.” Through the Cooperative Program, more than 2,400 congregations in Texas (and more than 45,000 in North America) can collaborate to fund the more than 5,000 international missionaries serving through the International Mission Board, offer seminary education at the six SBC seminaries for about half of what it would otherwise cost, fund church planting in Texas and North America, support national and international disaster relief work, and much more. The Cooperative Program began in 1925 in part as a way to keep sister mission agencies from competing directly against each
other for funding. The former approach, called societal missions, often led to funding inequities for worthy Southern Baptist ministries, with giving options often biased toward the best fundraisers or the last person to visit a given church. Through the CP, Southern Baptist state conventions and the national convention annually approve allocation budgets for their ministries. The Richmond, Va.-based International Mission Board gets the largest slice of CP funds to support more than 5,000 full-time foreign missionaries and their families worldwide. In Texas, church planting is the largest single line item in the in-state SBTC Cooperative Program budget. For additional information on CP resources, visit whatisCP.com or call the SBTC minister-church relations office toll free at 877-953-7282 (SBTC).
Spring break volunteers blanket El Paso with gospel By David Roach EL PASO
During their spring breaks, volunteers from 29 SBTC churches converged on El Paso to distribute evangelistic packets to 100,000 homes and a potential 400,000 people. In addition to Bibles, tracts and information about local churches, the packets contained invitations to a city-wide strength demonstration and evangelistic rally April 20 at the El Paso Coliseum featuring Team Impact. The spring break campaign, March 11-22, was designed to complement ongoing church planting efforts in the El Paso area and included nine churches from outside El Paso. In years past, the SBTC has sponsored similar spring break efforts in Laredo, Corpus Christi and McAllen. “New churches will be started as a result of this and established churches will be strengthened,” Barry Calhoun, SBTC missional ministries team leader, said of the spring break outreach. “I see those as the larger impacts this could have. The kingdom of God is advanced because we’re carrying the message of the gospel to those who don’t know him. And many different ethnic groups will hear it because we’re there.” EL PASO SPRING BREAK. During spring break weeks March 11-22, volunteers from 29 churches converged on El Paso to distribute evangelistic packets to 100,000 homes and a potential 400,000 people. The SBTC’s annual spring break outreach effort to spread the gospel and plant churches has been held in Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville. This year was the first year for El Paso. Fourteen salvation decisions were recorded, with plans for Bible studies at multiple locations. This block party at a mobile home park drew several dozen people for hot dogs, bounce houses, neighborhood fellowship, and a gospel presentation.
Though the outreach was intended mainly as a seedsowing ministry, at least 14 people made first-time professions of faith in Christ as a result. Block parties and other evangelistic activities supplemented the packet distribution. One salvation occurred as SBTC missions director Terry Coy distributed packets along a residential street. At most houses volunteers would simply hang a packet on the door handle without knocking. But at one house a man in his 70s was standing in front of the door, so Coy started a conversation. When Coy asked how the man would respond if God asked why he should be let into heaven, the man listed some of his good works. So Coy presented the gospel and the man prayed to receive Christ. He even gave his full name and granted permission for a local pastor to contact him. “I was sensing some sincerity in the conversation,” Coy said. “He wasn’t just being polite, trying to get rid of me, which sometimes happens.” Another team encountered a woman who had prayed the night before for God to give her some evidence of his existence. Though she was not saved during the conversation, she asked the team to pray for her sick son and said they were a sign from God that he exists. She attended one of the participating Baptist churches the next Sunday. Chuy Avila, an SBTC church planting missionary in El Paso, said the spring break outreach was desperately needed due to the large number of lost people in the city and too few gospel-preaching churches. “We’ve been studying El Paso, and we’ve discovered that most of the Baptist churches are located to the northeast of the city,” Avila said. “And there are some places here in El Paso where there is no evangelical church. So we decided we will emphasize this area.” Avila said the work of spring break volunteers helped him identify several groups that are underserved by Christian ministries, including non-Spanish speaking ethnic groups, which he hopes to reach. He said he hoped to begin 20 or more Bible studies resulting from the outreach. MARCH 28, 2013 TEXANONLINE.NET 13
Sex trafficking meeting sheds light on Texas problem Christian groups share resources in fighting scourge in Lone Star state. By Bonnie Pritchett HOUSTON
The United States has a voracious appetite for illicit sex, judging by sex trafficking estimates. One study says America is second only to Italy in the number of people brought here for sex trafficking—somewhere between 100,000-300,000 people, mainly women. The numbers are hard to quantify because of the veiled nature of the sex trade. As the scourge of human trafficking—particularly sex trafficking— comes to light, a new group of abolitionists led by Christians are responding, even here in Texas. And more are needed, activists say. Julie Waters, director of Free the Captives in Houston, said she is encouraged by the increasing number of churches working to end
FREE THE CAPTIVES: Julie Waters (red jacket) speaks to Free the Captive volunteers as they set up booths at the third annual Free the Captives Conference held March 1-2 at Second Baptist Church in Houston. The ministry sold products made by recovering victims of the sex trade industry in Houston. Photo by Bonnie Pritchett
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human trafficking in her city. The non-profit, Christ-centered organization she founded equips those efforts and ministers to women seeking sanctuary. “There is currently a great deal of momentum. It is exciting to see the body of Christ coming together to eradicate the evil tragedy of human trafficking,” said Waters, an attorney and master’s degree student at Dallas Theological Seminary. Almost 500 people, representing churches, ministries, government agencies, and law enforcement, attended the third annual Free the Captives conference at Houston’s Second Baptist Church on March 1-2. The conference equips attenders with vital information about the nature of the local sex trade and the most effective means of combating it. The U.S. government defines sex trafficking as “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act.” Activists add one caveat—most of the women involved in sex trafficking are not willing participants. They are forced or manipulated into selling themselves. In his address to the conference, Dennis Mark, executive director of Redeemed Ministries, warned involvement in the fight against sex trafficking puts Christians in the midst of a dark spiritual battle. Noting the juxtaposition of his faith and the sex trade, Mark told the audience, “I’m the one in the church community who seems to know where all the brothels are. They are pretty much everywhere.” He knows the Houston locations
because ministry volunteers seek out sex workers to inform them of available resources for those desiring freedom from their circumstances. Rescuing such women is arduous. Mark said he genuinely tries to dissuade people from volunteering. If they persist, he said he assumes they have the faith and resilience to withstand the spiritual and emotional assaults they will endure. It is not without reason that the work is called “combating” human trafficking, he said. “This fight takes a lot of energy. These women are waiting for us to quit on them like everyone else has,” Mark said. “They will push you and hurt you.” From a very young age most of the women have endured a cycle of abuse, giving them a perverted sense of love and security within their dire circumstances. They can’t comprehend what freedom from their situation looks like, experts said. The physical, sexual, and substance abuse began early for most victims trapped in the sex trade. Fostered in abusive relationships, they were forced into the sex industry as early as 12 to 14 years old, usually by someone they trusted. Waters told of a woman she recently counseled who was 5 when her mother’s boyfriend began 10 years of sexual abuse. The girl’s mother knew. Those pivotal developmental years spent selling sexual favors mar the soul in ways professionals are just beginning to understand. Treating the psychological damage associated with years of abuse and enslavement has
challenged mental health experts in recent years, said Mindy May, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Ph.D. student. When May addressed the American Association of Christian Counselors conference in September 2011, she said few of her peers were familiar with the unique trauma associated with victimization related to sex slavery. Mental health therapies are in their infancy. May hopes to create a standard curriculum that safe house operators can use in helping the women transition to lives free from danger, abuse, and shame. The incorporation of the gospel into any treatment is paramount, said May, who volunteers as a counselor with the Fort Worthbased rescue ministry Traffick911. The girls she sees need to understand who God is and that he has not abandoned them but loves them. Even those who believe in God have a skewed perspective of his character. May said they view God as a cosmic “Santa Claus,” bestowing kindness to good girls and unleashing his wrath against the bad. So they seek his favor just as they learn to manipulate the favor of others in order to avoid painful consequences. May and Mark said well-meaning Christians must understand extensive psychological healing is required for women who find refuge in a Christian ministry. Though ultimate healing is found in a relationship with Christ, believers must not discount the need for healing from the invisible scars, they said. “They don’t get it when you say ‘Jesus loves you’ because their
abusive father ‘loved’ them too,” Mark explained. May admits being a little frustrated with the shortsightedness of some Christian efforts. “We can’t just save them, give them a safe place and a trip to McDonald’s and think we’ve done our part—that they’ll be OK,” she said. The women who come out of the sex trade and into faith-based safe houses are angry, combative, manipulative, and addicted to sex and drugs, May said. Many have been forced to abort the babies conceived in their work. Overwhelming grief looms large. “That’s all they know,” she added. May and Waters said helping the young girls and women understand they are worthy of a better life is tough. But there are success stories. Through Christians investing in the lives of modern slaves, God has brought hope and healing. “Even though we accept no government funding, because of God’s provision through the body of Christ we are able to provide a large number of services to the victims, including jobs, housing assistance, educational services, groceries, furniture, financial coaching, and legal representation,” Waters said. In 2012, Free the Captives Houston assisted 55 teenage victims of sex trafficking and girls at risk. Three months into 2013, the ministry had assisted 36 girls. Waters said the ministry, as with others across the state, is always needing volunteers and funding in their efforts to rescue trafficking victims.
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Black churches can spur urban economy, conference participants say By David Roach FORT WORTH
Black churches should be catalysts for economic flourishing in the inner city by teaching believers how to manage their resources and channeling money to community-improvement projects, business professor Tony Beckham said March 7 at the Urban Economics and Ministry Conference at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The two-day conference drew about 50 people and addressed the unique economic and social challenges facing predominantly African American churches. Among the topics covered were sexuality and the family, economic growth, black liberation theology and abortion. The conference was sponsored by the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern. The event “was primarily oriented toward the African American Fellowship of the SBC,” Craig Mitchell, director of the Land Center and associate professor of ethics at Anthony Bradley Southwestern, told the TEXAN. “We were trying to reach black pastors, so we had a number of speakers, most of whom were black Ph.D.’s and professors and doctors, who had different things to say about reaching the urban community. We also discussed a number of problems that are unique to church work in the urban community.” Fourteen attendees received scholarships from the Land Center to help them travel from such cities as Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Kansas City. 16 TEXANONLINE.NET MARCH 28, 2013
“The urban church is a catalyst for economic flourishing. Are we giving [church members] data? Are we giving them biblical understanding of what an economic system looks like? Do we have a theology of money?” —Professor Tony Beckham of Trinity International University
Conference speakers included Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter; Mitchell; Beckham, assistant professor of business at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill.; Freda Bush, a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist; Walter Hoye, president and founder of the Issues4Life Tony Beckham Foundation and the California Civil Rights Foundation; and Anthony Bradley, associate professor of theology and ethics at The King’s College in New York City. “The urban church is a catalyst for economic flourishing,” Beckham said. “Are we giving [church members] data? Are we giving them biblical understanding of what an economic system looks like? Do we have a theology of money?” Too often urban churches fail to teach biblical stewardship, he said. As a result, church attendees
make poor economic choices and don’t understand how their Jerry Pierce relationship with Christ should affect their lives, Beckham said. For example, he said he once encountered a family on government assistance who lived in a one-bedroom apartment but had three 40-inch televisions. Such situations present prime opportunities for inner city congregations to teach principles that would lead to economic improvement, Beckham said. Without embracing the errors of the prosperity gospel movement, churches must understand that Jesus came to give abundant life characterized by productive work and an entrepreneurial spirit, he said. There is even a place for inner-city churches to help channel funds toward business and service projects that will improve their communities, according to Beckham. “How do we change the landscape of our neighborhood?” he said. “I think the church has a voice in that. I think the church should be a part of that changing the landscape. But a lot of us are in that hunker down mode of isolation.” Bradley said African American churches must combat a popular heresy that portrays all difficulties among blacks as
the result of white oppression. This teaching, known as black liberation theology, arose in the 20th century because many white Christians held orthodox theology but discriminated against blacks, he said. That led some African American theologians to conclude that traditional orthodoxy was incompatible with the black experience. The new theological system they developed has led to the rejection of Scripture’s authority among some African Americans and has contributed to blacks embracing “the politics of envy,” said Bradley, who has published multiple books on liberation theology. The way to counter black liberation theology, he said, is to show that orthodox Christianity—rightly applied—provides the best answers to the suffering of racial minorities. Black churches must “be more creative with how we apply the tradition, with how we apply the gospel, how we apply orthodoxy so we are not left with another generation saying, ‘Why didn’t they apply it to this?’” he said. “Then they feel the need to create something else that takes them off into what some might view as heresy.” African Americans have experienced white oppression and structural injustice, as black liberation theology contends, Bradley said. But it is a mistake to view those as the only two factors leading to the black experience. Because black liberation theology has influenced African American churches in harmful ways, orthodox black ministers have a responsibility to expose its errors and reemphasize how the truth of Scripture applies to the inner city, he said. Many black liberation theologians “began with deep affection for the church and deep affection for the gospel,” Bradley said. “And 15, 25, 30 years later they’re not even Christians anymore. Now they’re just religionists.” The Land Center plans to host a similar conference next year, Mitchell said.
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Your partnership in the cooperative program and your impact on the kingdom here in rowlett and the surrounding communities has been a blessing to us. —SHANE PRUITT, CHURCH PLANTER, CONNECTION COMMUNITY CHURCH, ROWLETT
JESUS TOGETHER, BUT
GETTING THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST TO THE LOST PEOPLES OF THE WORLD IS DAUNTING
WORKING THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS
Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Toll free 1.877.953.SBTC (7282) www.sbtexas.com 18 TEXANONLINE.NET MARCH 28, 2013
