Simple answers to complex questions

During last night's Republican presidential debate, it was interesting to see how some citizens (via YouTube) were looking for very simple answers to their questions about everything from immigration to abortion to biblical authority.
As if a religious test is now in effect for presidential candidates, one questioner held up a Bible and asked: "Do you believe every word of this book?"
He prefaced the question by saying the candidates' answers would reveal everything one needs to know about them. Really?
Wrestling with complex issues seems to be a passing sport. So many who live in this gray world seek only black and white answers to questions that require more thought and response than a "yes" or a "no."
Mitt Romney gave a strong affirmation of his belief in the Bible as the Word of God. Of course, he added nothing about his belief in how that text relates to the Book of Mormon. Do we now know everything we need to know about this candidate?
Most delightfully entertaining was the way Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee and the man perceived as least religious, Rudy Giuliani, came down at about the same place. They both said the Bible is true, yet confessed that the Bible contains allegory and is not to be taken literally in all ways.
Such questioning reminds me of my days at once-great Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., in the late '70s when the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention was getting started.
Professors would receive nearly identical "surveys" from "concerned Southern Baptists" from Florida to Oklahoma seeking to know what they really believed. Only "yes or no" answers were accepted to questions about Hell, Satan, biblical literalism and the effort to make early Genesis chapters affirm young-earth science.
But the letters always concluded with the statement: "If you do not respond to this survey, we will assume all of your answers are no."
Of course, professors generally ignored such damned-if-you-do,damned-if-you-don't efforts to paint them as unbelieving heretics. But it gave good fuel for the Baptist brethren (many with their unaccredited, mail order degrees) to gather at Monday morning pastors' conferences and assure each other of the rampant liberalism in our seminaries.
More simple-minded people consider answers that are reflective, thoughtful, and less than fully certain, to be evasive or weak. Conversely, I think such honest responses lead to ongoing exploration rather than division or cemented minds.
I want neither a professor, pastor nor a president who will always give a quick, oversimplified answer to the complex questions of the day.
Do you agree with me — yes or no?

Should we pray for rain?

The drought in Georgia and other parts of the Southeast has gotten to the point some are going to God with the issue. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Baptist layman, hosted a pray-for-rain event on the steps of the state Capitol on November 13.
Three ministers — Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian — in the Atlanta suburb of Snellville ("where everybody is somebody") hosted a community-wide call to pray for rain yesterday (Monday) on a rare rainy day in Georgia.
The drought, and these public calls on the Divine, have also led to several casual theological discussions around the question: "Should we pray for rain?"
For the record, I believe we need a lot more prayer and a lot more rain in the Southeast. But there is something about these highly publicized prayer events that bothers me.
It would not be a problem if unacquainted with Jesus' words: "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them" (Matthew 6:1a NIV).
Jesus even specifically addresses prayer in this passage (v.5-6): "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Advocates of such public faith expressions can counter with Jesus' words in the previous chapter: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16 NIV).
The difference, of course, is about who is in the spotlight. But I find it extremely hard to see how God gets the higher visibility when the cameras are pointed at those kneeling or lifting their hands toward heaven.
Such public events (beyond church-state concerns in some cases)warrant our caution for two reasons, both related to self focus.
First: When was the last time we faithful gathered to pray for rain in the drought-stricken parts of Africa? Do we only pray for rain when our yards turn brown or we can't wash our cars at will? Are those suffering from natural disasters in other parts of the nation or world at peril, therefore, because they are not as favored by God?
Second: As noted in Matthew's Gospel above, Jesus warned about public displays of religious superiority. Media events are a long way from the prayer rooms to which Jesus called us.
It is hard to escape Jesus' words about spiritual showmen who love to pray on the street corners. Fervent, private prayers for ourselves and others in need just seem more appropriate to me.

Removing invasives shows benefits

Fall came late and lovely to Central Georgia. As much as possible, I am spending time in the wooded area behind our house.
First I am seeking to deliver on a promised tree house before my daughters go off to college. And, second, I am simply mesmerized by the splendid array of color, especially from the maple trees.
For three and a half years, I have been slowly but surely thinning out the area and removing invasive plants that threaten the natural habitat.
Non-native plants, I learned from reading and talks with a neighbor on the same mission, threaten the species that have have long made their home in this area. So I have been eliminating them — mimosas, English ivy and Chinese privets — along with the ever-undesirable poison oak and ivy.
Other unwelcome, invasive plants include kudzu, Chinese wisteria and the fast-reproducing tallow trees that experts blame on Ben Franklin for sending seeds to Georgia in 1772.
Early on in my quest, I noticed several small dogwoods and red maples were being crowded out of the landscape and competing for sunlight and nutrients. So I began pulling, cutting and spraying for their freedom.
The results of this fall season have more than rewarded me for my labor.
Of course, there is a broader application to life here. For we tend to allow lesser things to invade and grow in our lives at the expense of better things.
In a recent issue of Christian Century, Barbara Brown Taylor said: “Learning to say no is how we clear space for a few carefully planted yeses to grow. Saying no to lesser gods is part of saying yes to God.”
I'll let each of you take the sermon, lesson, application from here.

Thankful for a free press

The lists are long on both the personal and professional sides of my Thanksgiving ledger. Today there is one, professionally, that I raise in appreciation during this blessing-counting season.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that Congress will make no law abridging the freedom of the press. However, that freedom must ultimately be given by those in control of various news outlets.
I am particularly blessed to serve as editor of a truly autonomous news journal owned and operated by a Board of Directors (see below) with an unwavering commitment to editorial freedom and a free press.
Editorial freedom is sometimes misunderstood. It is not a license to be reckless, lazy or irresponsible.
In fact, editorial freedom increases responsibility for the most important aspects of journalism: honesty, integrity, relevance and competence.
Near the end of my work for a denominational-owned publication, an influential pastor and powerbroker in the state Baptist convention called to "instruct" me on how to write and place a news story to the advantage of his political aspirations. He even told me not to run an opposing view.
My journalistic and Christian ethics would not allow me to do so. And seeing that his ilk were gaining influence over the newspaper's board signaled my need to find work elsewhere.
Such experiences make my gratitude even greater for the freedom I enjoy today. Editing is an odd mixture of art and science. Even those of us able and eager to balance freedom and responsibility don't also find the exact mix.
However, I sleep well knowing that my mistakes are not ones of any intent to mislead readers or withhold information they deserve to know.
Editorial freedom granted by the highly-supportive Board of Directors of Baptists Today is rooted in a belief that the free flow of reliable information and the exchange of varied ideas and opinions (even through blogging!) are helpful to a society at large and to communities of faith.
That doesn't mean I am free to slander, sloppiness or missed deadlines. Rather it is a overarching commitment to responsibly tell the story as best as we know it and to provide an open forum for readers to agree or disagree.
It is a commitment to keep news and opinion in their proper, unmixed places. It is a commitment that respects journalists and builds trust in the readership.
For that kind of responsible freedom, I am most grateful.

Baptists Today Board of Directors

Baptists Today, Inc. is 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization owned and operated by an independent Board of Directors.

Winnie V. Williams, Seneca, S.C. (chair)

Gary F. Eubanks, Marietta, Ga. (vice chair)

Z. Allen Abbott, Peachtree City, Ga.

Jimmy R. Allen, Big Canoe, Ga.

Ann T. Beane, Richmond, Va.

Kelly L. Belcher, Spartanburg, S.C.

Thomas E. Boland, Alpharetta, Ga.

Huey A. Bridgman, Columbus, Ga.

Robert M. Cates, Rome, Ga.

Anthony D. Clevenger, Pensacola, Fla.

Kenny Crump, Ruston, La.

James M. Dunn, Winston-Salem, N.C.

James L. Evans, Auburn, Ala.

W.M. Gilbert Jr., Lavonia, Ga.

R. Kirby Godsey, Macon, Ga.

Leslie D. Hill, Lexington, Ky.

Jimmy Little, Hartselle, Ala.

Michael M. Massar, Tyler, Texas

J. Thomas McAfee, Macon, Ga.

William T. Neal, Stone Mountain, Ga.

Ella Wall Prichard, Corpus Christi, Texas

Michael G. Queen, Wilmington, N.C.

Mary Etta Sanders, Dalton, Ga.

Charlotte Cook Smith, Raleigh, N.C.

David M. Smith, Houston, Texas

Sarah Timmerman, Cairo, Ga.

Clement H. White, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Baptist state conventions meet — but who cares?

‘Tis the season for Baptist state conventions to meet to approve budgets, elect leaders and draw lines. I’ve not done extensive research into attendance figures, but there seem to be (in most cases) smaller numbers showing up at such events.
In Missouri, where the more-moderate Baptists encountered the "Unwelcome" mat years ago, the much smaller crowd of ultraconservatives stayed in conflict. This year, the hard-core conservatives defeated the harder-core conservatives who have had the reins since tossing out the moderates.
Of course, state conventions are not on the brink of extinction. However, they may be reflective of a larger decline in denominationalism.
The bottom line is that a lot of people who used to go to state conventions — and care about what happens — don’t anymore. For some, like me, the parameters of participation have narrowed so much that I not only feel excluded but am often embarrassed as a Baptist by the narrow-minded expressions and actions often coming out of such meetings.
Like the larger Southern Baptist Convention, many of these state groups have an ongoing effort to tighten the circle of participation.In response, a growing number of those who don’t feel welcome stay at home.
Then you can add in those of a very conservative nature who simply consider such bureaucratic dinosaurs to be less relevant to the kinds of ministry they are doing.
State conventions can and often do become internally focused. The emphasis seems to shift from cooperative ministry to preserving the institution and keeping the pool of participation doctrinally pure.
For example, when is the last time a gathered state convention spent serious time wrestling with how to minister to the changing pluralism within their state or other great ministry opportunities?
No, the focus is generally on how to keep out perceived heretics or anyone else who resists control. And, of course, to rally support for funding the institutional machine in the name of missions and ministry.
But where is the real focus — inward or outward?
Arkansas Baptists affirmed their Landmark tendencies that claim only Baptists can do authentic baptisms. Florida Baptists want to assure no agency trustee ever has wine with dinner. North Carolina Baptists aren’t going to fund those uppity WMU women who won’t work under the state convention’s control.
The new Baptist concept of “unity” seems to be rooted in a continual reduction in participation until everyone in the room — regardless of the small number — is in full agreement or at least in compliance with the convention's power brokers.
Year in and year out, Baptist-related schools are looking for escape routes from this kind of narrowing mentality that inhibits their mission of Christian education.
Does this suggest that Baptist state conventions support no worthy ministries or have no future? No, but it sure looks like an inward focus and an ever-narrowing circle of participation can create an environment where a lot of those who used to participate and care no longer do so.

Baptists Today to launch NC edition

After more than a year of groundwork, we are very pleased to announce that a North Carolina edition of Baptists Today, the national news journal based in Macon, Ga., will be launched in January. Three significant factors make this venture possible.
First is the part-time employment last August of contributing editor Tony Cartledge, a former editor of the Biblical Recorder, who now teaches at Campbell University Divinity School.
A gifted writer and editor, Tony will edit the pages for North Carolina readers, as well as continue writing for the national edition and being my alternating blog partner.
Second is a new partnership between the autonomous news journal and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina that was announced tonight (Nov. 13) during a dinner meeting at the First Baptist Church of Greensboro. CBFNC will support the news journal’s ministry while respecting its editorial freedom and responsibility to be a trusted, independent source of information.
The third factor, still emerging, is building support from individuals and congregations in North Carolina through start-up gifts and group subscriptions. We encourage churches to provide subscriptions to key leadership within their congregations.
A minimum group subscription is 25 for $375. (Add $15 for each additional subscription.) Just send us the check along with names/addresses. To be listed on the back cover of the inaugural issue in January, we'll need the subscriptions confirmed by early December.
With the current shifts in North Carolina Baptist life, we feel it is a crucial time for church leaders to be well informed of the broader issues and partnership opportunities for churches.
Original news stories, features and opinion pieces directly related to Baptist life in North Carolina will be fully integrated into the publication rather than inserted or wrapped. All individual and group subscribers with North Carolina addresses will receive this new state-focused edition each month beginning with the January 2008 issue.
Subscription information is available by calling Baptists Today at 1-877-752-5658 or visiting BaptistsToday.org.
Anyone with a story suggestion for the North Carolina edition may contact Tony Cartledge at cartledge@baptiststoday.org.
(The photo above is one I took of Tony speaking to a group recently at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C. about the new venture.)

What part of fundamentalism don't they understand?

When I returned from covering the 2006 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention — at which Frank Page was the surprise first-ballot choice for president — several friends wanted my take on the gathering.
The question was usually phrased something like: "What's the big story out of Greensboro?"
Instead of referring to the election of a dark horse candidate, I responded: "The headline for Southern Baptists this year is, 'Bloggers uncover fundamentalism in the SBC.'" Then the wise questioner and I would share a laugh.
Leading up to that meeting, blogs by innovative Southern Baptists — like Marty Duren, Wade Burleson and Ben Cole — were gaining popularity. While conservative in theology, these guys were questioning the blind allegiance given to SBC powerbrokers who had reshaped the convention into a tight, fundamentalist-controlled machine.
However, even these loyal critics continue to call the denominational shift "the conservative resurgence." But it was indeed a "fundamentalist takeover."
Last week, trustees of the SBC International Mission Board suspended Burleson, a fellow trustee, because he dared to challenge the SBC dictatorship. His major crime was insisting that Baptists — imagine this — have a right to dissent.
Overwhelmingly, Baptist history is on Burleson's side. Fundamentalism is not.
Those who rule the Southern Baptist roost demand complete loyalty, to them and their cause, over competence, conversation or cooperation. You can either give them full compliance or get out.
Why? Because that is the time-proven attitude and function of fundamentalism. It is about more than narrowly-defined theology; it is a method of fear-based control.
Recently, a Baptist publication in Texas reprinted an editorial I'd written for the August edition of Baptists Today, titled,"Agree with me, then we can talk."
I used the words of one leading SBC fundamentalist to show, once again, the incredible arrogance and ever-narrowing constriction of fundamentalism.
In response, I heard from defenders of the SBC telling me that my criticism was unwarranted and that the convention is not fundamentalist. Right!
To not see fundamentalism in the SBC is like walking the fairways of Augusta National and not noticing that the grass is green.
The censure, suspension and attempted silencing of loyal dissenter Wade Burleson by fellow Southern Baptists may be newsworthy. But it is not a shock.
He, and others like him, should have seen this coming some, oh, 20 to 25 years ago.
What part of the fundamentalist takeover don't they understand?

Lessons from jury duty

Americans fulfill their civic responsibilities in two ways, voting and jury duty, said the court clerk to the pool of potential jurors gathered in a courthouse waiting room on a cool, windy Monday morning last week. This particular gathering of citizens from Bibb County, Ga., would be able to do both in consecutive weeks, she noted.
One judge said the jury process is a “foundation, a cornerstone of our system of justice.” The clerk added that many cases are resolved by the knowledge that we are hanging out upstairs ready to fill the jury box as needed.
No one seemed thrilled about being in the drab courthouse for an undetermined period of time rather than going about usual tasks. But my resolve was to face the unpredictable experience with as much openness as possible and to look for some life lessons.
So, here is what I observed and learned.
First, rarely do I have the chance to spend significant time in extended conversations with such a wide cross section of the local citizenry. Our tendency is to gather with people most like us. Getting acquainted with people I would have not known otherwise was a worthwhile experience even if some work backed up.
Second, breaking routines is not all bad. So much of our living is habitual. Going to different places at different times can remind us of the value in using the gift of time well.
Third, apparently, the services of a Baptist journalist are not highly sought on juries in criminal trials. Spending three days at the courthouse and not being seated on a jury has not created a long-term feeling of rejection however. My guess is I was scratched just after the criminal lawyer in our group.
Fourth, and finally, jury duty requires a lot of patience. Such patience remains a virtue I have not yet acquired.

Beware of dishonest Baptist 'news' sources

The big news out of the Missouri Baptist Convention meeting last week was a major loosening of the stranglehold fundamentalist layman Roger Moran has had on the convention. Moran, the master of guilt by association, has used his Missouri Baptist Laymen's Association and Project 1000 to solidify control of the convention over the last decade or so.
But last week, all the candidates supported by his group, including Moran himself, lost to loyal, conservative Southern Baptists tired of and often embarrassed by Moran's heavy-handedness.
In fact, Moran lost the second vice presidency to pastor John Marshall by a whopping 80 percent — 649-160. However, The Pathway, the official news journal of the Missouri Baptist Convention, and Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention public relations effort that pretends to be a news service, didn't tell readers about this.
An 1148-word news article, vaguely titled "Mo. conservatives vie for office," by Pathway associate editor Allen Palmeri, did not mention Moran at all.
The editors at Baptist Press ignored the central character in the story too.
Why?
A. They fear retaliation by Moran who still has some influence in Missouri and serves on the SBC Executive Committee that runs Baptist Press?
B. They think Baptists are so stupid they will believe whatever they are told by official convention-controlled "news" sources and not look to more reliable secular or religious news outlets?
C. They are more concerned about protecting their own positions than telling readers the truth?
D. All the above.
It is so interesting that the people who claim to believe the Bible more than the rest of us Baptists are so fearful of truth-telling. Maybe Missouri and Southern Baptist controlled presses believe you can't handle the truth — or perhaps they cannot handle the consequences of telling the truth.
The spin story is here. An honest account by Bill Webb, editor of the no-longer-under-MBC-control Word & Way, is here.

Overshadowed in death

Eighty-year-old country singer Porter Wagoner died last Sunday, Oct.28. Though he performed on the Grand Old Opry for decades and had 29 top-ten records, Wagoner never achieved the star status of others like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and George Jones.
In fact, he was best known for launching the highly successful career of Dolly Parton, his former duet partner.
It seems odd to suggest that a lanky man who wore well-shined boots and ornate jackets with rhinestone-formed wagon wheels could be overshadowed. But, even in death, that seemed to be the case.
Mainstream media hardly mentioned his death while continually showing clips of the more handsome, polished and successful baritone Robert Goulet who died two days later. "Camelot" trumps the Opry, I guess.
Perhaps there is such a thing as an untimely death.
The death of Groucho Marx, a comic genius, on Aug. 19, 1977 received much less attention than it deserved. His 15 feature films with the Marx Brothers and his solo career as host of the radio and television versions of the game show, "You Bet Your Life," established a foundation for future entertainment.
However, the man who once said, "I intend to live forever, or die trying," picked a bad time to expire. His death came three days after Elvis'.
Television, radio and print media focused almost exclusively on the King with little attention to the funny-face comic with the cigar.
I have even humored myself when noticing famous people on flights I take. Most recently I've seen sharp-tongued political commentator Ann Coulter and University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt boarding the same flights I've been on.
Had the 737 gone down in flames, I imagined the headlines reading something like: "BAPTIST EDITOR PIERCE DIES IN PLANE CRASH! Right-wing commentator and football coach also lost."
Of course, the important issue for all persons — whether a comedian, a country singer or lowly Baptist journalist — is not how the press will record our deaths. It is in the hope found elsewhere.
"He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken." Isaiah 25:8 (NAS)