For the week of September 26, 2002
Kingdom people
Southern Baptists were challenged to be kingdom people last
week by their highest administrator. Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee
President Morris Chapman insisted the time has come for persons to decide if
they are kingdom people or not – and if not, how they can be. Speaking
at last weeks Executive Committee meeting, Chapman focused on the new
“Empowering Kingdom Growth” emphasis, outlining various aspects of
a kingdom focus. He noted:
“The Kingdom of God is about kingdom identity,
the state of my relationship with him. Do I talk with him often and listen to
what he says? …
“The Kingdom of God is about kingdom character.
Do I obey his kingly rule in living life daily? …
“The Kingdom of God is about kingdom priority.
Am I willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ? …
“The Kingdom of God is about kingdom family.
Have I led my family to have a spiritual purpose? …
“The Kingdom of God is about kingdom perspective.
Am I willing to set aside lesser goals such as personal aggrandizement and pursuit
of things of the world? …
“The Kingdom of God is about kingdom calendar.
Do I work with a sense of urgency that Christ is coming soon?
Real and radical
Southern Baptists must get “real” about the spiritual
condition of their churches and “radical” about their mission, Jack
Graham insisted last week. “Were not getting the job done as God
would have us to do,” said Graham, current Southern Baptist Convention
president. “Our baptisms are decreasing. … Many of our churches are struggling
to baptize. The first thing we need to do in order to get it done is to get
real about … where we are spiritually in our churches and why were not
reproducing as God would desire. … We have to get real and then get radical
about our mission. … We need to get radical in our love for people. We need
to get radical in forgiveness, … in compassion, … in the message we bring
and … about this issue of missions and evangelism, and the time to do it is
now.” He also urged Southern Baptist churches to establish Christian schools
to develop young disciples and empower kingdom growth through education. “I
think its time we look at … developing disciples and empowering kingdom
growth through education,” he said.
Anniversary mark
Southern Baptist Convention leaders honored Morris Chapman
last week for 10 years as SBC Executive Committee president. “He handles
his job with grace and with integrity,” said Jimmy Draper, president of
the conventions LifeWay Christian Resources. “(He has led) with passion
and with conviction.” Draper noted the new Empowering Kingdom Growth emphasis
represents the passion of Chapmans heart – for Christians to seek
first the king and his kingdom. In remarks during an anniversary luncheon, Chapman
voiced gratitude to God and to Southern Baptists for placing confidence in him.
“The greatest thing that could ever happen to any of us is that, united
together in the Spirit of the Lord, founded upon his holy Word, we pray, God,
help me be a part of shaking this nation and even the world for Jesus Christ,”
he said.
Texas action
The Baptist General Convention of Texas has voted to provide
funding for Korean work in Texas through individual congregations rather than
through the Korean Baptist Fellowship of Texas, which it helped found and has
supported for 21 years. The action comes after the fellowship voted to align
dually with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the fundamental/conservative
Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The change involves about $40,000 in
funds. “The vote … to dually align drastically changes our existing relationship,”
Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade said of
the fellowship. “Now, we at the (Baptist General Convention) must allow
God to turn this otherwise painful situation into an opportunity to do his work
even better than before.” A Korean fellowship leader said he is disappointed
with the Baptist General Convention decision more because of the damage it has
done to the relationship between the two groups than because of the loss of
funds. In response to the Baptist General Convention action, the Southern Baptists
of Texas Convention has offered to increase giving to the Korean fellowship.
Homosexual policies
Many American companies have homosexual-friendly policies in
place, a recent study by a homosexual rights group indicates. The study also
shows that some companies are adding “gender identity” to their policies,
which is elevating transsexual issues to the same level as homosexual ones,
observers note. The addition also could open the companies up to a host of issues,
including providing insurance coverage for sex-change operations on employees,
observers warn. Nevertheless, a review of 319 leading American companies show
13 already have adopted the “gender identity” label – Aetna Inc.,
American Airlines, Apple Computer Inc., Avaya Inc, Eastman Kodak Co., Intel
Corp. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Lucent Technologies Inc., NCR Corp., Nike
Inc., Replacements Ltd., Worldspan L.P. and Xerox Corp. In addition about one-fourth
of the companies (80 overall) have adopted all homosexual policies included
in the survey – except for “gender identity.” Just three companies
had no policies at all on homosexuals – Cracker Barrel, Emerson Electric
Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.
Did you know?
Alcohol is the leading cause of death for Louisiana youth and is involved in
roughly 50 percent of all of the homicides, suicides and fatal traffic crashes
in the state. The direct cost of alcohol for Louisiana is $313 million a year,
with about half related to medical costs. The indirect costs – for premature
deaths and injuries and fetal alcohol syndrome – are estimated at a little
more than $1 billion.