Why We Resigned from the IMB

There has been an interesting discussion going on at Wade Burleson's blog in his post entitled "Fundamentalism's Fury Needs One Who Needles." In the comment string, one writer suggests as many have before that those missionaries who refused to sign the BF&M 2000 were somehow guilty of holding false doctrine and thus didn't deserve to serve as IMB missionaries. I'd like to take exception to that viewpoint. That writer states that all of the BF&M 2000 is based upon clear biblical teaching. I'd suggest that there are many conservative Southern Baptists who would reject that assertion, offering as evidence the fact that several Baptist state conventions have refused to adopt the latest version of the BF&M because of objections with some of the changes that were introduced in it. I would like to share with you the letter I wrote to Phil Templin, regional leader of the IMB over Central America, explaining the reasons why I in good faith and conscience could not sign the document. I hope that it will offer some insight into the struggles that many of us wrestled with as we made the decision to leave an organization that we had felt called to serve with when the encroaching spread of fundamentalism drowned out any possibility of peaceful dissent and cooperation around the essentials of the faith.

April 3, 2002
Mexico City

Dear Phil:

Please allow me to begin this note by expressing my gratitude to you for the approval of our transfer to Mexico City from Buenos Aires. I have thoroughly enjoyed the teaching at the seminary here and have established excellent relationships with the other faculty, the students, and the members of the staff and administration. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be in the classroom four days a week and to have a part in the formation of future pastors and leaders here in Mexico. We have also been extremely impressed with the fellowship of the missionary family here in Mexico City. They have welcomed us warmly and shared the love of Christ with us in their words and actions. We are members of the Mexico City Middle Class Strategy Group and on a church planting team that is working in the area of Benito Juarez. We are excited about the prospects for beginning a new work in that colonia. We have established several excellent contacts there already and will be showing the Jesus film this coming Saturday evening on a basketball court in the neighborhood.

Although we received your letter almost 2 months ago regarding the signing of the BF&M 2000, to this point I have put off responding to the note. In all honesty, I guess that I was hoping that Dr. Rankin would backtrack from his decision to require missionaries to sign the document, especially given the fact that just a year ago he had said that this would not be required of missionaries already under appointment. As one who has been teaching Baptist history in various capacities since the time of my doctoral studies at Southwestern Seminary in the early 1980s, I have also been keenly interested in the latest revisions to the Baptist Faith & Message. I find certain aspects of these revisions troublesome and after much prayerful consideration, I do not feel that I in good conscience can sign the document as it stands.

One of my greatest objections, which I’m certain at this point you’ve heard expressed by other missionaries, is the departure of both the 1998 and 2000 documents from being a consensus of generally held Baptist beliefs to an instrument of doctrinal accountability. Both the language of the 1925 and 1963 BF&M statements are clear regarding the roles of Baptist confessions of faith.

(1) That they constitute a consensus of opinion of some Baptist body, large or small, for the general instruction and guidance of our own people and others concerning those articles of the Christian faith which are most surely held among us. They are not intended to add anything to the simple conditions of salvation revealed in the New Testament, viz., repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
(2)That we do not regard them as complete statements of our faith, having any quality of finality or infallibility. As in the past so in the future Baptists should hold themselves free to revise their statements of faith as may seem to them wise and expedient at any time.
(3)That any group of Baptists, large or small have the inherent right to draw up for themselves and publish to the world a confession of their faith whenever they may think it advisable to do so.
(4)That the sole authority for faith and practice among Baptists is the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Confessions are only guides in interpretation, having no authority over the conscience.
(5)That they are statements of religious convictions, drawn from the Scriptures, and are not to be used to hamper freedom of thought or investigation in other realms of life.

The very tentative nature with which these confessions are written—-claiming no authority over the conscience of individual believers and as “guidelines in interpretation”—-is a far cry from an “instrument of doctrinal accountability” in the language of the 2000 document. Baptists have historically resisted any creed apart from the Bible itself. Now, despite all the disclaimers to the contrary, that is exactly what the framers of the 2000 document have put in place. One can deny with all vehemence that the current BF&M is a creed, but its use as an instrument of doctrinal accountability clearly testifies to the fact that it has become such. While the preceding five numbered paragraphs do appear in the 2000 document, the following 2 paragraphs effectively strip away those tentative affirmations of the role of confessions of faith.

Baptists cherish and defend religious liberty, and deny the right of any secular or religious authority to impose a confession of faith upon a church or body of churches. We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God.

Baptist churches, associations, and general bodies have adopted confessions of faith as a witness to the world, and as instruments of doctrinal accountability. We are not embarrassed to state before the world that these are doctrines we hold precious and as essential to the Baptist tradition of faith and practice.

By omitting individuals and including only churches and bodies of churches as those who require protection from secular or religious bodies who might seek to impose a confession of faith on them, the 2000 document leaves the door open to exactly what has occurred in Southern Baptist life since the adoption of this latest BF&M. Individuals have no freedom or protection to exercise their freedom of conscience and express their differences in interpretation of scriptural passages from that set forth as authoritative and binding for all SBC employees in any agency whatsoever without risking loss of employment, or in the words of Rankin’s letter, being accused of heresy. As one who has studied and taught church history for many years, the reference to being accused of heresy in Rankin’s letter struck me as a very unfortunate and ill-chosen word. Charges of heresy historically have been applied to those who denied the deity of Christ or the inspiration of the Scriptures or some equally fundamental Christian doctrine. The changes that are reflected in the 1998 and 2000 BF&M that I have problems with do not even remotely approach those kind of basic beliefs.

A second serious objection I have to the document are the changes it has introduced with regard to that historic Baptist principle of the priesthood of the believer. It is common knowledge that the phrase that was added to supposedly ensure respect for this historic principle was begrudgingly included just an hour before the committee responsible for drafting the newest BF&M presented its report to the convention floor. That in itself should suggest something about the lack of importance of this historic Baptist principle in the minds of the framers of the document. Coupled with this near omission of reference to the principle is the rewording of the principle to now affirm belief in the “priesthood of believers” (plural) instead of priesthood of the believer (singular). I suggest that this change is in keeping with the Reformed (Calvinist) theology of the framers of the document, but is not consistent with our Baptist, free church heritage which we inherited from the English separatists with influence from such Anabaptist thinkers and writers as Menno Simons and Balthasar Hubmaier. Later Baptist writers who championed religious liberty and the separation of church and state based their arguments principally upon the uncoerced nature of religious faith. They argued persuasively and biblically that a faith that is imposed from without by a religious society or church is not a genuine faith at all. For faith to be genuine, it must express itself voluntarily. The use of the BF&M 2000 to enforce doctrinal uniformity and conformity with a particular line of interpretation of selected passages which equally committed and conservative Biblical scholars from other faith traditions have chosen to interpret in other ways is a sad testimony to a departure from this valued historic Baptist principle of the priesthood of the believer.

The mention of these controversial passages brings me to my third and fourth objections to the BF&M 2000. The third deals with the family article and its interpretation of wifely submission as the only appropriate and possible interpretation of Ephesians 5. Such an interpretation is not the only possible one that can be given to this passage. Ephesians 5:21, which serves as an introduction to the entire section which follows on the relationship of husband and wife, clearly enjoins the principle of mutual submission. “Submit one to another out of reverence for Christ,” Eph. 5:21.

Many conservative Biblical scholars would question that the Ephesians passage teaches one-sided submission on the part of the wife to the husband’s authority. Paul’s admonition to the husband to love his wife even as Christ loved the church certainly suggests a selfless, giving love that puts the interests of his wife ahead of his own. This teaching in no way contradicts the idea of mutual submission, but rather is an illustration of the practical application of this principle in action.

The fourth area of disagreement I have with the BF&M 2000 is with regard to its article on the church in which it affirms that the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. While my own conservative upbringing certainly predisposes me to feel more comfortable with a man as pastor, my feelings at this point are secondary to the biblical testimony. Once again, there is no clear-cut consensus among conservative, evangelical scholars that the New Testament unequivocally teaches that the office of pastor is limited to men. The requirements that elders and bishops (which I do take as synonymous with the office of pastor) be the husbands of one wife could well be interpreted as a requirement that they be living in a monogamous relationship rather than in bigamy or polygamy. The essential teaching then would be that of marital fidelity and not a strict gender requirement for fulfilling the conditions of the office. The fact that there are many references in the New Testament to women in positions of influence and leadership in the churches (e.g. Lydia, Priscilla, the four daughters of Phillip who were prophetesses, Euodia and Syntyche who contended at Paul’s side in the cause of the gospel, and the extensive list of women that Paul recognizes in Romans 16 as hard workers and co-laborers in the gospel) suggests strongly that these women were exercising leadership roles, possibly even serving as pastors, in the New Testament churches.

My final objection to the wording of the new BF&M 2000 has to do with the deletion of the reference to Jesus Christ as the criterion by which the scripture is to be interpreted. That change, coupled with the deletion of the reference to the Bible itself as the “record of” God’s revelation of Himself to man in order to now read simply that the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to man, is troublesome. These subtle changes in wording have the combined effect of minimizing the importance of the Christ-event and His incarnation while at the same time exalting the written record of God’s revelation above the person of Christ Himself. John writes in his gospel in 1:14 that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that we beheld His glory, the glory of the One and Only, full of grace and truth. He later adds in verse 18 that while no one has seen God, He (Christ) has made him known. The writer of Hebrews in his introduction to the letter also clearly states that God, after having spoken at many times and in many ways through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us a definitive word in the person of His Son—the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His likeness. The supreme revelation of God has been given to us and that revelation is in the person of His Son. The Scriptures certainly are a testimony to Christ as the BF&M 2000 affirms, but they are not to be a substitute for a personal relationship with Christ and a living experience with Him. The pietists of the 17th and 18th centuries were correct in their insistence that the formalism of the dogmatic theologians among both the Lutherans and the Calvinists had produced a generation of Christians who knew the intellectual contents of the creeds and doctrines of the church and could recite them, but who were bereft of spiritual vitality and of a living faith in Christ.

In conclusion, let me say that I was born and raised a Southern Baptist and have a deep appreciation for our denominational heritage. I consider myself to be thoroughly Southern Baptist in every sense of the term. It is out of this sense of commitment to our historic Baptist principles that I have come to the decision to not sign the BF&M 2000. I feel that in the areas I have mentioned above, this document represents a significant departure from those principles which our Baptist forefathers so capably defended, many at the cost of their very lives.

I am very grateful to be here in Mexico City. I believe that God has directed our paths to be here at this time. I gives me great joy to use what I believe are the areas in which the Lord has most gifted me (theological education) to train a new generation of pastors and church leaders here in Mexico. My calling to missions was and continues to be a clear one from the Lord. I only trust that the Southern Baptist Convention, conceived to foster and elicit the combined efforts of Baptists towards fulfilling the Great Commission, will return to that basic focus. I further hope and trust that they will affirm our historic Baptist beliefs in the priesthood of the believer and liberty of conscience in the interpretation of Biblical passages over which there is no clear consensus of belief among Baptists and other conservative evangelical scholars.

I’m grateful for the privilege to be able to serve the Lord as a missionary of the Southern Baptist Convention here in Mexico City. I appreciate very much the opportunity of expressing my convictions in these areas of concern. I pray that they will be read and heard in the spirit with which I have shared them. I pray God’s richest blessings on you and Peggy as you lead our region.

In His service,

Gary Snowden

Vanishing Responsibility - Part 2

On September 25th, I wrote a post about a situation in Nebraska reported by CNN in which parents are taking advantage of the wording of a "safe haven" law intended to protect the lives of unwanted newborns and infants and are abusing the system by dropping off their unwanted teenaged children. The law as drafted lacks any age limitation, though when the bill was originally introduced, it has a supposed age limit of 72 hours. CNN reported in the article of September 25th that a state commission was to meet that same day to discuss options to deal with the problem.

Fast forward to today when CNN reports another incident of a teenager being dumped at a Nebraska hospital, this time a 14-year old girl from across the Missouri River (the stateline in this case) in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The part-time Nebraska Legislature is adjourned until January, but CNN reports that now two state legislative committees have scheduled a meeting for November 13th to discuss a remedy.

They had better hurry before more disgruntled parents decide to take advantage of a loophole in the safe haven law to shirk their parental responsibility and pawn off their teenagers on the state of Nebraska.

An Inside-Out Weekend

I had been entertaining the idea for some time of attending an Inside-Out Weekend that WorldconneX is hosting at my mother’s church, Acton Baptist Church near Granbury, TX and have decided to participate in it. For those who aren’t aware of what an Inside-Out Weekend is, here’s a link to WorldconneX’s website that describes a typical I-O Weekend. One of the great things about an I-O Weekend is recognizing how God has put a local church together with unique gifts and connections to achieve a strategic missions impact both in their local community and around the world. I’ve visited and worshipped at Acton Baptist Church on several occasions and look forward to seeing friends and experiencing God at work in their congregation this weekend.

The Suffering Clause

A few years back I met Steve Reed, pastor of the Daybreak Community Church in Kansas City, KS. Even though he’s just across the state line a short distance from where I live on the Missouri side, our encounter took place in Guatemala. Steve grew up on the mission field in Peru and his dad later served for many years as the Director of Missions for the Kansas City, KS Baptist Association. Steve has been involved in cowboy evangelism in Guatemala and we met at a meeting of the Guatemala Affinity Group, a networking group that WorldconneX helped bring together. At the end of our visit, Steve gave me a copy of his book, entitled The Suffering Clause.

Steve takes the title from Acts 9:15-16 where the Lord instructs Ananias to go to Saul with the message that Saul is a chosen instrument who will bear His name before the Gentiles, kings, and the sons of Israel. He then adds these words: “for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Steve refers to this suffering clause as the fine print in the Apostle Paul’s call to ministry.

Tonight in our Wednesday evening prayer meeting / Bible study time, we looked at Philippians 1:27-30 and focused in on verse 29 where Paul writes, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” We don’t frequently consider suffering to be a gift, but Paul certainly employs the language of gifting or permission here when he says that God has granted us the opportunity (dare I say privilege?) of suffering for Christ. The consistent message of the NT is that suffering isn’t punishment from God for sins committed but rather the school in which God forms the character of Christ in us and molds us into the image of Christ. That doesn’t make the actual experience of suffering less painful, but recognizing God’s redemptive purpose for it certainly affords us a more positive outlook on it. We might even be able to go so far as to “consider it all joy” as James counsels us to do.

A Notoriously Bad Decision

On the final day of the regular baseball season in 1927, Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run, establishing a record that would stand until Roger Maris broke it with 61 in 1961. Ruth was playing at that time with the New York Yankees, but he had previously played with the Boston Red Sox from 1914 through 1919. Although the Yankees shifted Ruth to the outfield, he was an outstanding pitcher with the Red Sox, throwing 29 2/3 scoreless innings in World Series play from 1916 through 1918. The Red Sox fans were dismayed when the team’s owner traded Ruth to the Yankees before the 1920 season to finance a musical production. Ruth went on to hit more home runs in 10 of the next 12 seasons than the entire Red Sox team. With Ruth’s trade to the Yankees, the Red Sox endured an 85-year drought without winning another World Series. It wasn’t until 2004 that the so-called “Curse of the Bambino” (Ruth’s nickname) was broken.

Have you ever made a decision that you were roundly criticized for making—whether justifiably or not? I doubt that most of our decisions are as monumental and as notorious as the one by the Red Sox owner to trade Ruth to the Yankees, but I suspect that in our own private worlds, they are equally painful at times. The question is, “What do we do when we’ve blown it?” If others have been negatively impacted by our decision, we can seek to right the wrong done to them—asking forgiveness and making restitution where possible. We also must learn to pick up the pieces and move on with our lives. Paul’s testimony to the Philippians is instructive at this point when he says that he forgets what lies behind and reaches forward to what lies ahead (Phil. 3:13). We cannot undo past mistakes, but we certainly can resolve not to live enslaved to the memory of them. Let’s press on together.

What Ever Happened to Responsibility?

I read this morning on the CNN website a report about a father who brought in his nine children and left them at the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The children ranged in ages from 1 to 17. The report stated that it is the fourth time that children who were 11, 13, and 15 years old had been left at the hospital since a “safe haven” law was passed in July, allowing children to be left at a hospital if they were in immediate danger. In the wake of the unexpected response of parents dumping teenaged children, Nebraska officials have scheduled a meeting for today to seek to clarify the provisions of the law.

I understand the original intent of the framers of the law as being that of providing emergency protection for newborn infants whose parents (or frequently one would suspect whose single, unwed mother) face the daunting task of being a parent with little or no preparation for raising a child and perhaps with extremely limited resources to do so. I’m not excusing such conduct even in these cases that the law is obviously designed to address, but when parents decide to opt out of their responsibilities after many years of raising a child, I can’t help but wonder where we are heading as a nation and a culture.

I am in no way advocating that there shouldn’t be protection afforded to children who might be at risk of physical, sexual, and other forms of abuse from unloving parents. Innocent children shouldn’t have to be subjected to such treatments under any circumstances and there ought to be safe havens where they can be cared for and protected. I suppose that I’m just utterly baffled and bewildered that in at least four cases, parents of teenagers would take advantage of the good intentions of lawmakers to protect newborns and would abuse that law by seeking to shirk their responsibilities of raising their children.

I’ll confess that I don’t know what the solution to this parenting crisis is and wouldn’t want to be sitting in the seats of those Nebraska officials who must wrestle today with the unexpected outcomes of the safe haven law passed in July. I fear that the growing economic crisis in our nation will only exacerbate these kinds of problems. Of course I’m firmly convinced that a right relationship with Christ is the fundamental need of these parents, together with meaningful membership in a nurturing and supportive local church. This disturbing trend should serve as a wake-up call for our churches to redouble our efforts to help families as they struggle with the pressures of everyday living.

Weathering Life's Storms

Those living along the Gulf Coast have certainly been pummeled in recent years by some severe hurricanes. Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, and others have wreaked havoc with people’s lives and property, forcing many to make difficult decisions about rebuilding or moving on to what is hopefully a safer location. For those who are lifelong residents of an area, the decision to pull up stakes and relocate elsewhere can be an emotionally devastating one. Those who have lived for many years in a place that has become home to them put down some rather deep roots, and the uprooting process is painful.

Several thoughts occurred to me as I pondered the plight of those most recently affected by Ike, including a cousin who was still without power more than a week after the storm. One is that these storms bring out the best in those whose hearts are bent toward serving their fellow man. Baptists from many states are volunteering their time—spending long hours in feeding the hungry, helping clean up the mess left behind, and counseling and consoling those who are hurting and grieving. It also occurred to me that those who do choose to settle elsewhere are going to face the unsettling task of finding a new house, perhaps looking for a new job and school for the children, making new friends, and hopefully finding a new church home.

I also considered the sobering truth that there really are no places that are absolutely safe to live. Sure, folks can leave the Gulf Coast and eliminate the risk of facing the full force of a hurricane, but where can you move where storm winds don’t blow, where lightning doesn’t strike, where car accidents don’t occur, and where the possibility of being the victim of a violent crime is non-existent? That utopia isn’t to be found on Earth. What we can do is to resolve to live each day without fear, remembering the words of Jesus that He will never leave us nor forsake us—even in the midst of life’s most severe storms. We can live with the knowledge that nothing in this universe can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Those truths will equip us to deal with the unexpected adversities of life, and hopefully will enable us to help others as they weather their own storms.

Senior Adult Ministry

I enjoyed the opportunity of preaching this morning at both of our services—probably a total crowd of 650-700 people I suspect. Our senior pastor has been doing a series on “Listening to James” and asked me to continue that by preaching from the text of James 2:1-13. I entitled the message “The Perils of Partiality.” I shared as an introduction the account of Rev. Derek Rigby, a Methodist minister in Northern Wales, who decided to conduct an experiment with his congregation to teach them about acceptance of others. The story about his disguising himself as an indigent person and the results of that experiment are told here. The photos of Rev. Rigby as an indigent person and in his normal clerical garb also appear.

We looked at James’ teaching about the need to not show partiality or favoritism in judging others, especially based on their appearance, wealth, etc. I mentioned that God isn’t one who plays favorites, citing the lesson that Peter learned in his encounter with Cornelius in Acts 10, especially his statements in vv. 34-35.

The other thing that I shared that really impacted me as I was preparing the message was a story that appeared in World magazine by Tony Woodlief, entitled “Missing Christ.” It’s a powerful piece and very convicting. It’s definitely worth reading. Here’s the link to the article.

As much as I enjoyed preaching in both morning services today, I was equally thrilled or perhaps even more so this afternoon when I went to one of the local nursing homes that I visit regularly and where I lead services on the third Sunday of each month. The crowd was obviously much smaller—about 20 or 25 I suspect, including one lady who will turn 102 next month if the Lord allows her to live until then. We always sing their favorite hymns from a large-print edition collection of hymns and then I share a brief message—usually not more than 15 minutes as at 3:00 in the afternoon, they tend to drift off to sleep if I speak longer than that. Some do so anyway, but that’s okay. I really love these folks and have become something of a pastor to many of them, including dropping by to visit them in the rooms and have prayer together at other times as well. Senior adult ministry is certainly a rewarding ministry for me—not just the 200 or so who regularly attend our services, but the homebound and those in nursing homes like the one I shared at today. Their kind words, encouragement, and appreciation for the visits and Bible studies means a lot.

A Whirlwind Week and a Half

Last week was pretty much a blur for me and this one has been almost equally busy. I flew to Dallas Love Field a week ago Sunday evening to attend a 2-day board meeting of WorldconneX. It was a difficult meeting in some respects, as the BGCT's financial situation has prompted the finance committee to propose a deeper cut in WorldconneX's budget. I think the organization is doing some wonderful, innovative things and is filling a niche in Baptist life as a missions networking organization that practically no one else is addressing. Their plight though in some respects is like the individual in the Civil War who wished to show his sympathies for both sides so he donned the gray jacket of the Confederacy and the blue trousers of the Union. The result was that he was shot at by both sides.

WorldconneX was born out of controversy at a time when some Texas Baptists were upset with the general direction of the SBC and specifically the decision of the IMB to require missionaries to sign the BF&M 2000 when they had been told they would not have to do so. Many also resisted the changes introduced in the document, preferring the language and spirit of the 1963 BF&M. Some in this camp evidently anticipated that WorldconneX would become a missionary sending agency and were disappointed when it did not. On the other hand, those who continued to strongly support the SBC and the IMB feared that WorldconneX would indeed become a sending agency and interpreted steps taken to enable local churches to send and support their own missionaries through the Front-Line Sending focus of WorldconneX as confirmation that the organization was trying to supplant the IMB.

The truth is that WorldconneX isn't a sending agency but does facilitate helping local churches to engage the world with a strategic missions focus. That in some cases has included these churches choosing to send out missionaries from their own congregations with WorldconneX's assistance, but not in the traditional sense of a sending agency that directly interviews, appoints, supports, and directs the activities of these missionaries. WorldconneX's task is to help churches with things like logistics, training, and assisting with money transfers, etc.

WorldconneX will continue to operate with a reduced budget, drawing upon reserves that it has and carrying on its ministry for the time being. My hope and prayer is that Texas Baptists will recognize the unique contribution WorldconneX is making to global missions and will take concrete steps to ensure its future vitality, or at the very least, to preserve the focus and emphasis of the organization.

Following the board meeting, I rented a car and drove to Granbury where I spent the rest of Tuesday through Thursday afternoon visiting with my mother in a rehab center where she is recovering from a fall that produced 3 fractures of her pelvis. She's making some slow progress but has had a few setbacks along the way also. I flew home on Thursday evening, arriving home about 11:00 p.m.

Friday morning early it was off to Columbia, MO for a quarterly meeting of the BGCM board of directors. We had a very positive meeting and I was able to give an update on our partnership work in Guatemala that was well-received. It appears that we will have a larger group of pastors participating in the next leadership training trip in January and I'm extremely grateful for that. I've been hoping that more would participate so that they in turn will lead their churches to engage in some church-to-church partnerships and trips.

I arrived home about 5:30 and since I hadn't seen the family in a week, we went out to eat Mexican food and catch up a bit. Afterwards, it was off to meet with a family in preparation for a funeral message on Saturday morning. The man was an outstanding Christian who had been a member of our church for almost 40 years and had served as a deacon, Sunday School superintendent, teacher, etc. I visited with them as they reminisced about his life, jotting down notes to help prepare a fitting eulogy. His favorite Bible verse was Romans 6:23 so I used this as the basis for the message. The funeral was a wonderful celebration of a life lived well.

On Monday and Tuesday our senior pastor and I traveled together to Windermere Baptist Encampment for the annual CBF pastors' retreat. It was a wonderful gathering with excellent fellowship, and some quality teaching from Dr. Mike Graves, a homiletics professor, and Bo Prosser, coordinator for Congregational Life with CBF National. Danny Chisolm has shared some reflections about the gathering over on his blog.

With Scott, our senior pastor, heading for Denver to visit his daughter in her new apartment this weekend, I also get the chance to preach this Sunday. That has kept me busy with sermon preparation the last couple of days. A phone call this morning means that I'll be presiding over my second Saturday funeral in a row also.

I'm looking forward to next week when, the good Lord willing, life returns to more of a normal pace. I apologize for the lack of posting in these days, but things have been a bit hectic.

Texas Trip

I'm in the big state of Texas for a few days this week. I flew down Sunday evening to Dallas for a 2-day meeting of the WorldconneX board that begins this morning (Monday) and wraps up early tomorrow afternoon. Afterwards, I'm going to spend a couple of days with my mom in Granbury, TX. She had headed to South Texas a few weeks back to attend the funeral of a 106-year old aunt and had been at the home of her younger sister in George West (my hometown) for about an hour when she slipped and fell off of a three-legged stool.

My brother, who was acting as chauffeur, took her back to Granbury without staying to attend the funeral as she was experiencing some numbness and pain in her leg. The attending physician at the ER said she had evidence of an old fracture of the pelvis and sent her home with some pain meds. This was on a Friday. On Monday, her primary physician informed her that it was a new break and advised her to stay off of it for about 3-4 weeks and then be rechecked. She saw an orthopedic specialist a week ago Friday who discovered 3 fractures actually of the pelvis and sent her to a rehab center without even allowing her to go home. I'm going to take advantage of the trip to Texas to spend some time with her as she is recovering.

I hope to be able to post a bit later about the WorldconneX board meeting. It's the one of the three each year that is a 2-day meeting and there are some major things to look at in light of the BGCT's restructuring of their financial support.

It seems that I also left town just ahead of McCain and Palin's visit to our own Lee's Summit this morning. They'll be speaking at John Knox Village pavilion. John Knox is a senior adult community with several thousand residents, a number of whom are members of our church.

Accidental or Intentional Growth?

The following is another article that I shared in our monthly Senior Adult newsletter, "Joyful Tidings."

The dictionary defines the word accident as follows: "an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss." Clearly none of us wakes up in the morning planning on experiencing an accident, or looking forward to having one. That’s why the dictionary defines them as undesirable and unintentional. We don’t want to have an accident—-whether it’s a collision with another vehicle or a fall we take while walking-—because we know there can be painful and costly consequences. While there is no guaranteed way to prevent all accidents, paying careful attention to our surroundings and using good judgment will help us avoid them. Engaging in risky behaviors, whether behind the wheel of an automobile or elsewhere, will certainly increase the odds of suffering an accident.

In thinking about accidents, I was reflecting on the tendency of children to offer the excuse that “it was an accident” when they have been caught doing something they shouldn’t have and something winds up being broken or damaged. They didn’t intend for the item to be damaged, but perhaps they didn’t exercise good judgment and the “accident” occurred.

In seeking to relate the idea of accidents to our spiritual lives, it struck me that many Christians somehow seem to expect or hope that they will mature in their walk with Christ “accidentally.” That is, they do little purposefully or consciously to grow in their faith and seem mystified when they fail to mature spiritually. Our growth as Christians is rarely the result of an accident. It comes as we discipline ourselves to engage in activities that will create a climate for growth—-prayer, Bible study, fellowship with others, service, and worship. Let’s purpose to be intentional rather than accidental Christians.

Extreme Uses of the Superlative "Greatest"

I’ve observed a growing tendency among some Christians to utilize the superlative “greatest” to drive home their point when making an argument. More often than not, it seems to be used in a negative sense. Let me share a couple of illustrations that come to mind. The former Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention wrote a series of four articles in The Pathway in which he made the bold claim that the greatest obstacle to evangelism in America comes from the political activism of the homosexual movement. Just on a quick reflection, I think I could easily come up with a list of many other factors that would rank far higher on the scale of obstacles to evangelism in America—-spiritual apathy of believers, fear of witnessing, lack of filling of the Holy Spirit, etc.-—than the clamor of those promoting a homosexual agenda.

As a second example, this weekend I happened to be driving my mother-in-law’s van and turned on the radio. It was tuned to a Christian talk station and I listened for about 2-3 minutes. The preacher (whose name I didn’t linger long enough to hear) was lambasting those who deny a pre-tribulation, premillenial rapture and he accused those who would undermine this belief of having committed the greatest heresy in the history of Christianity. Once again, it occurs to me that there are many beliefs far more heretical in nature than the issue of questioning a given interpretation of the Second Coming. The denial of the deity of Jesus Christ, the rejection of the Scriptures as the Word of God, and the denial of the Trinity come to mind as heretical views far more egregious than the questioning of the rapture.

My take on this is that certain Christians become fixated on issues that they elevate to a place of importance far beyond all merit and reason. The issue, whatever it may be, assumes the role of a hobby horse that the individual rides into the ground. Anyone who seeks to introduce a bit of balance into the picture and fails to appreciate the overarching role that this issue plays in the life of its proponent is swiftly accused of heresy, or at the least, of being a theological liberal. It’s a shame that well-meaning Christians should be guilty of questioning the legitimacy of another’s faith just because that person opts not to mount the hobby horse of the former. Jesus’ new commandment to love one another as He loved us too quickly gets lost in the use of such extreme superlatives and the corresponding rejection of those who take issue with the proponent’s favorite topic.

Five Year Anniversary

On the occasion of my fifth anniversary here on staff, I will be sharing the following expression of thanks to the congregation in our church newsletter next week.

This past Sunday marked my fifth anniversary on the staff here at First Baptist Church Lee's Summit and I cannot let the occasion pass without expressing my heartfelt thanks to the members and staff of this wonderful congregation for the tremendous blessing it is to serve as your associate pastor. When my family and I resigned and came home from the mission field six years ago, we could perhaps best be described as wounded warriors. We were hurting over the decision to leave an organization where we felt God had led us, and we returned stateside with no place to live and no immediate prospects for a place to serve in ministry. You graciously made the mission residence across the street available to us and welcomed us into the life of the church. You provided a supportive and loving environment in which we could experience healing. I was given opportunities to teach and to preach even before the church decided to create a new staff position for an associate pastor and to extend me an invitation to fill that role. I am so grateful to God for the friendships I have made here, for the wonderful opportunities of service that exist, for the overall health of our church, and for the many special expressions of love and kindness from each of you on the occasion of my fifth anniversary on staff. My prayer is that God will continue to bless our journey together in the years ahead as we seek to grow in Christ-likeness and to share the good news with those around us.

Rodney Hammer new DOM for BR-KC

Rodney Hammer, former regional leader with the International Mission Board of the SBC, has accepted a position as the new Executive Director (DOM) for the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association. The former DOM, Nodell Dennis, retired at the end of 2007 to return to his native state of Texas.

Hammer's resignation from the IMB was precipitated by two controversial policies of the IMB's Board of Trustees in recent years. It was opposition to those same policies which eventually led to Wade Burleson's resignation from that body. Hammer detailed his reasons for resigning in an open letter to Southern Baptists that was published in the North Carolina Biblical Recorder. I'm very sympathetic with his position and fully understand the struggles of leaving the IMB over doctrinal and philosophical differences.

Information about Hammer's selection to serve as the DOM of the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association (which our church is a part of) appears in the most recent associational newsletter. I trust and pray that Rodney will have a fruitful ministry in directing the efforts of the BR-KC Association.

A Great Sunday Night Experience

For the past several years, our church has hosted a summer concert series during the month of August. We've had a wide diversity of musical styles--including among others bluegrass, Southern Gospel, jazz, a harpist, contemporary Christian music, handbells, and much more. Last night we had the privilege of hosting an awesome drama group called "One Time Blind." Their skits and dramatic interpretations were powerful and challenging. They really articulated some of the issues Christians struggle with in terms of yielding our all to God, being jealous of others' gifts, etc., and they did so with excellence through the medium of drama. They only sang a couple of numbers, but their voices were beautiful and their close harmonies were extremely well done. They are based out of Detroit and I was impressed with how God is using their gifts and lives to speak words of truth to the church. If you're interested in more information about them, you can visit their website.

Albert Reyes on Immigration

I received an email this morning from Albert Reyes, President of Buckner Children and Family Services in Dallas. Albert was president for many years of the Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio, where he led the institution to take some significant strides in equipping primarily Hispanic students for cross-cultural ministry. I've been able to keep in touch with Albert somewhat through our serving together on the board of WorldconneX.

Albert's email alerted me to a new journal issue on the topic of immigration that was recently published by the Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University. Albert has an article included in the journal that describes a bit of his own spiritual and ethnic heritage as well as addressing the issue of the Christian's responsibility toward the stranger in our midst.

I wanted to share a couple of quotes to perhaps whet your appetite to read the entire article.

"Jesus spoke to the experience of the stranger in his parable of the Judgment
of the Nations in Matthew 25:31-46. When the Son of Man judges the nations,
separating “people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from
the goats,” the criteria for whether a person’s identity in Christ can be authenticated is whether or not that person has demonstrated the agenda of Jesus with regard to the poor, the stranger, the sick, and the prisoner. These criteria are strikingly similar to the five-point agenda in Jesus’ inaugural speech in Luke 4:16-30. Jesus said he came to proclaim good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed, and to announce the year of the Lord’s favor. I like to call this the Jesus Agenda, Jesus’ plan for his thousand-day ministry."

"What does it mean for redemptive history that the Lord of history has allowed us to have over fourteen million undocumented immigrants, primarily from Latin American countries, inside our borders? Think with me from a Kingdom perspective for a moment. Let me remind you of a picture and a vision that we will all see. When John the Revelator glimpsed eternity he saw “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne…. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb’” (Revelation 7:9-10). Will it matter on that day if people had legal documents authorizing them to be in our country? I guess it depends on who you ask. If you ask the Master who separates goats from sheep, I think he will say what mattered, in light of eternity, is whether or not we gave food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, ministry to the prisoner, and caring to the sick. He will say, if you did it to the least of these, you did it unto me."

Children's Music Camp

We had about 25 children from first to sixth graders who participated in a music camp at church this past week. They were allowed to choose among some electives that included guitar, drama, movement, rhythm, set design, as well as spending time learning about worship. Tonight they led us in worship in the evening service, sharing some of the things that they had learned in the individual classes and then presenting a brief musical entitled ‘We Can Praise” that they learned in just 5 days this week. They did an outstanding job and we had a good Sunday night crowd to hear them. We finished up with an ice cream extravaganza downstairs in the fellowship hall for a very blessed and enjoyable evening.

I’m impressed by how quickly children can pick up and learn new music. They had about 2.5 hrs. each morning to do everything—take the elective classes, have a devotional time, and learn the music for the musical. Music is such a great tool for helping memorize different texts and I wonder if we wouldn’t do better at things like scripture memorization if we set more passages to melodies and musical arrangements. A lot of the early praise choruses I learned back in the dark ages (college years) were virtually taken word for word from the Scriptures. The fact that I can still remember many of those today probably reinforces the idea that music is a great aid in memorization.

Bible Preaching Week

One of the activities that the Missouri Baptist Convention formerly sponsored was known as Bible Preaching Week. It has been several years since they ceased to do so and this past year the Baptist General Convention of Missouri decided to offer this ministry to pastors and their families. Once again this year, the BGCM is sponsoring Bible Preaching Week at the beautiful Windermere Baptist Conference Center on Lake of the Ozarks. We’re grateful that the Baptist General Convention of Texas is helping again this year by providing scholarship assistance to pastors whose congregations average less than 150 in worship. Charles Wade, retired executive director of the BGCT will be the featured preacher for the week and David May, NT professor at Central Baptist Theological Seminary will be the Bible teacher and will lead in a study of the parables of Jesus. The theme for the week is “Worship: An Encounter with God” and is based on Isaiah 6:1-8.

There will be a number of breakout sessions offered each day as well, and I have the privilege of leading one on preparing for cross-cultural missions. I hope that more BGCM churches will accept the challenge of becoming involved in our partnership with Guatemala. The week’s activities are scheduled for August 11-15. Additional information is available at the BGCM’s website.

Lessons from the Volkswagen Beetle

My folks purchased a VW Beetle while I was still high school back in the late 60s and early 70s. They were making daily round trip commute of 80 miles to and from work at the time and needed something that gave good gas mileage. Sounds a bit like what folks are talking about today. It was painted orange (a good color for a UT grad like myself) and the factory name for the color was Clementine Orange, hence the name Clementine stuck for the little car. Along about my sophomore year at UT, I inherited Clementine and drove it for a couple of more years. It was a delight to park as it was small and fit in to some pretty tight spots. I don't remember exactly why Clementine left the family, but she eventually did.

Five years ago today on July 30, 2003, the last “classic” Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line at the production plant in Puebla, Mexico. It was shipped to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany where the Volkswagen headquarters is located. The car that inspired Disney’s Herbie the Love Bug series was actually originally the result of an initiative by Adolf Hitler to make an affordable, efficient “people’s car.” The Beetle was popular in the 60s and early 70s in the U.S. until it was banned in 1977 for failing to meet safety and emissions standards. Until 2003, it continued to be produced in Mexico where one can still see to this day thousands of green Beetles being used as city taxis.

The Beetle finally found itself unable to compete with other inexpensive compact cars. Its failure to adapt to change marked its demise. One of the challenges we all face is adapting to change. You may have heard the refrain, “The only constant is change.” Change is unsettling and uncomfortable, but it’s a given in this world. I think that as we age, we tend to long more and with greater nostalgia for the good old days. We probably remember those days as better than they actually were, but in our memory they represent better times, less marked by rapid upheaval.

Reacting positively to change is difficult, but if we’ll make the effort to do so, it will help us to stay young at heart—-no matter what our biological age might be. The new redesigned Beetle that Volkswagen introduced in 1998 has done fairly well in sales, a testament to the virtue of adapting to change. One thing that will help us to cope with change is to remember that the Lord who promises to never leave us nor forsake us is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

(I shared the gist of this post in our monthly senior adult newsletter).

The Tabitha Ministry

I’d like to introduce you to a special person and a wonderful ministry she has in Guatemala City. Carol Bercian is the partnership liaison for the Guatemala Baptist Convention and handles the logistics for volunteer teams coming into the country to work on various projects. As you are aware if you’ve read my previous posts, the Baptist General Convention of Missouri has an ongoing partnership with the Guatemala Baptist Convention and thus we have worked closely with Carol on each of our trips. Alabama Baptists also have a partnership with Guatemala, and being much larger than our convention, they keep Carol busy with trip arrangements for many mission groups that they send.

Carol has also directed the children’s work of the Guatemala Convention and has a wonderful heart for ministry. One of the projects she has assisted with is a daycare center that is located near the city dump in Guatemala City. Around 70 children are receiving an education and two meals a day through this important ministry.

In the process of working with the children there, Carol became aware of the desperate plight of many of these children’s mothers. Most earn a living by scrounging through the refuse at the dump, looking for items they can resell or even scavenging for food among what is discarded there. Many come from a background of drugs, glue sniffing, and prostitution. Carol began a ministry among these women and many have come to Christ as Savior and have received discipleship training from Carol. Though their life situation is still very difficult and tenuous, a real transformation is occurring among many of them. Carol has acquired sewing machines and the ladies are making colorful bags with some of the bright fabrics that Guatemala is noted for producing. This has provided them with a source of income and given them an escape from their former life of prostitution.

I’ve been able to visit the daycare center on a couple of trips to Guatemala City, including going there with a team from our church back in February. As a result of seeing Carol’s ministry there, our children’s minister proposed that this year’s VBS offering go to assist the Tabitha Ministry that Carol has among these women. I’m delighted to share that the boys and girls raised a little more than $700 with their penny offerings to help with this ministry on the edges of the city dump in Guatemala City. As the Lord prompts you to do so, please say a prayer for Carol and her vital work with these ladies and their children.

Reading Yancey

One of the things I enjoyed this past week on my trip to Guatemala in addition to the fellowship and teaching time with the pastors and lay leaders there was the opportunity to catch up on some reading. Airport layovers are good for that. One of my favorite authors is Phillip Yancey and I took the time to re-read Where is God When it Hurts?, as well as reading one of his bestsellers—-The Jesus I Never Knew. If you’re not familiar with Yancey’s writings, I highly encourage you to grab one of his books. I think you’ll have a hard time putting it down. His writing is at times brutally honest about our struggles as Christians, and that’s something I respect about him. I wanted to share a couple of quotes from the latter book, hopefully to spark your interest in reading it.

“Killing Jesus, says Walter Wink, was like trying to destroy a dandelion seed-head by blowing on it.”

Commenting on Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 and God’s apparent absence from the world at times, Yancey writes, “God has not absconded at all. Rather, he has taken on a disguise, a most unlikely disguise of the stranger, the poor, the hungry, the prisoner, the sick, the ragged ones of the earth. 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.' If we cannot detect God’s presence in the world, it may be that we have been looking in the wrong places.”

Home from Guatemala

I arrived home from Guatemala at about 11:00 p.m. on Friday night. I probably could have caught an earlier flight out of Houston on Continental Airlines as we arrived there in time to do so, but I didn't want to take my chances when I was scheduling the flights with a tight connecting flight time. I've had several late flights in the past from Guatemala City and didn't want to push my luck too far.

The pastors' and lay leaders' training conferences went very well. Rather than the Guatemala Convention handling the invitations and enrollment this time, they left those tasks up to the leaders of the newly established pastors' association in that region. One of the results of that was the presence of some new folks this time who hadn't participated in the three previous training sessions. At the same time, the majority were still those who have attended all 4 sessions. The Guatemala Baptist Convention tends to be pretty conservative theologically so I wasn't 100% certain how they would react to a woman pastor as the main conference speaker, but any doubts or concerns I might have had were quickly erased. Jeanie did an outstanding job of leading the conferences and planned in a good deal of small group interaction and dialogue time that allowed the group to arrive at their own conclusions and embrace the contents that she shared as their own. The comments afterwards were unanimously positive in terms of evaluating her participation.

I had been asked to preach at the First Baptist Church of Quetzaltenango for the worship service on Tuesday night that marked the formal inauguration of the new pastors' association for that region. It was a packed house, with folks even sitting in chairs outside on the patio area outside the main auditorium and listening through open windows. I would guess there were close to 300 present. I preached a message from Phil. 2:1-11, focusing on Paul's call to unity and humility with the supreme example of humility being that of Jesus Himself.

Another highlight of the trip for me was the chance to do some reading while traveling as well as in the evening times. I had purposed to re-read Yancey's "Where is God When it Hurts" before passing it along to a church member who has been struggling with some very frustrating medical issues lately. After finishing that, I also had time to read another Yancey book, "The Jesus I Never Knew." It was an outstanding book, one of my favorites by him, and gave me a lot of food for thought as he challenged some commonly-held assumptions about Jesus and forced me to re-think some of those issues. I would highly recommend the book if you have not yet read it.

Thanks to those who prayed for our trip. The Lord richly blessed our time there.

Upcoming trip to Guatemala

Well, it's been 5 months since my last trip to Guatemala with our church and 6 months since the last leadership training conferences with the BGCM. That must mean it's time to head south again. I'll be doing just that this coming Monday. In this latest round of workshops for pastors and leaders, I'll be joined by Jeanie McGowan, associate pastor of the FBC of Jefferson City. Jeanie joined the staff of the BGCM at the start of this year and is heading up our leadership development team. Her duties at FBC Jefferson City include singles ministry and equipping ministry. As our previous conferences focused on evangelism and church planting, in a logical progression, this time we're going to address the issue of assimilating new members into the life of the congregation. Jeanie will be leading in the conferences and I'll be her translator.

Another blessing of this trip will be the opportunity to preach at the inauguration of a new pastors' association for those living and serving in the western region of Guatemala. Our partnership liaison informed me that the formation of this association is the direct result of the BGCM's ongoing relationship with the pastors in this area and our leadership training conferences. They've experienced much greater unity and are networking with one another in ways they have not previously done. That is really an exciting development and I rejoice in what the Lord is doing in their midst.

This will be a quick trip this time, departing on Monday and returning on Friday. We'll conduct the workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday, do some sightseeing on Thursday, and fly home on Friday. I'd certainly appreciate the prayers of any who happen to stumble across my blog and read this post. Thanks.

Temple's Definition of Worship

This week I happened upon a definition of worship by Archbishop William Temple. Temple served as the Archbishop of Canterbury during World War II. He defines worship as follows: “Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose—all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable.”

I hope you’ll take a moment to re-read that definition and ponder the significance of the individual phrases. Worship involves the complete submission of our nature to God. It’s recognizing His supremacy and our unworthiness. In worship we allow His holiness to direct our moral compasses and instruct our conscience about matters of right and wrong. The spiritual food we need for nourishment we find as we reverently allow God to speak His truth into our hearts and minds in worship. The contemplation of the beauty of God’s creation certainly stirs up our imaginations as we seek words capable of expressing His grandeur and majesty. As we open our hearts to His love in worship, we find John’s words to be true—“We love Him because He first loved us.” In worship we come to recognize that God’s will for our lives is always better than any alternative that we could devise and we surrender our wills to His.

Finally, the quote identifies adoration as the most selfless emotion our nature is capable of producing. When we adore God in spirit and in truth as Jesus urged (Jn. 4:23-24), we empty ourselves of self and are filled with His Holy Spirit, enabling us to render to God the worship of which He alone is worthy.

Book Review

I've been absent from the blogging world for a while. My wife had a student who qualified for the National Forensics Tournament in Las Vegas this past week so my youngest son and I accompanied them for a week of vacation. I didn't even access a computer for the entire week, other than to purchase passes to some of the sights in the area. We enjoyed the time away very much.

While on vacation, I read a book by Kyle Lake, the 33-year old pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, TX, who died tragically in 2005 when he was electrocuted in the church’s baptistry. The book is entitled, Understanding God's Will: How To Hack The Equation Without Formulas. Lake makes the case that we’ve reduced the quest for knowing God’s will to a series of formulas rather than focusing on living life in a fresh, daily encounter with Jesus. He also states that far too often we have equated the will of God with favorable circumstances, safety, and our own well-being. Jesus’ call to His disciples was an invitation to a lifestyle of radical obedience to Him—not a promise that everything in life would always go well for us. The trials and troubles we experience in life shouldn’t be interpreted as signs that we’ve somehow missed out on God’s “perfect will,” a phrase that Lake suggests can be misleading. Our calling is not to know all the answers to what lies ahead in our future, but to walk daily with the One who call us His friends and invites us to know Him more fully. Kyle Lake concluded each of his sermons with this charge to his congregation, “Love God, embrace beauty, and live life to the fullest.” Those are wise words to live by as we seek to walk daily with the One who said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

A Great Example of Sportsmanship

I had read this article a few months back and copied it into a Word document, adding it to a file of illustrations and inspirational stories that I might use someday in a sermon or Bible study. As I stumbled across it again today, I thought that it was just too good not to share. I hope you'll follow the link and read the story of a great example of sportsmanship from the world of women's athletics.

Needed: An Enlarged Heart

While I trust that no one reading this actually bet and lost money on Big Brown’s failed quest to win horse racing’s famous Triple Crown this past Saturday at Belmont, it’s interesting to note that 30 years have passed since a horse has won all three major races—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. The longest previous stretch without a Triple Crown winner was 25 years, which ended with Secretariat’s record run in 1973. Secretariat won all three races in record time that year, winning the Belmont by an astonishing 31 lengths. The “horse of the century” was retired later that year and was euthanized in 1989 after falling ill. An autopsy revealed that Secretariat’s heart was two and a half times the size of an average horse’s heart—-perhaps accounting for his amazing endurance.

In thinking about Secretariat’s unusual heart, I was impressed with the fact that we really need some big-hearted Christians in our world today. When on a national level Baptists are best known for what they are opposed to rather than what they stand for, it’s time to remember that Jesus summarized the entire law in two statements—-loving God with all our being and our neighbor as ourselves. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if when someone delivers our funeral eulogy at some future date that the comment could be made that we were characterized by an enlarged heart with a great capacity for loving God and others?

Sunday's Sermon Outline

Our senior pastor was gone to Washington, D.C. this past weekend to celebrate an anniversary with his wife so I had the privilege of preaching in both morning services and again on Sunday evening. For Sunday morning I selected as a text the prayer of Jesus in John 17 and focused on the topic of our highest calling being that of glorifying God. Using Jesus’ prayer as a guideline, I sought to answer the question of how we go about bringing glory to God, even as He did in His earthly ministry. This is the outline I came up with and the main points I shared.

Knowing God through Jesus Christ – v. 3
Accomplishing the Work He Gives Us – v. 4
Keeping His Word – v. 6
Going into the World – v. 18
Being One in Christ – vv. 20-23

An Inspirational Life

I read this morning on the CNN website about the death of 61-year old Dianne Odell, a woman who had lived practically her entire life in an iron lung after contracting polio as a 3-year old child. An emergency power generator, set to start automatically in the event of a power outage, failed to start and could not be manually activated when the home lost electrical power. Efforts to use a hand pump attached to the iron lung also failed to save Dianne’s life.

Though confined to the seven-foot metal tube for almost 60 years, Dianne didn’t allow her conditions to destroy her spirit. She obtained a high school diploma, took college courses, and wrote a children’s book. On her 60th birthday in February 2007, family and friends held a party for her at a downtown Jackson, TN hotel with more than 200 guests attending. She had a 9-foot birthday cake and received cards and letters from people across the U.S.

In 1994, she was quoted as saying, “I’ve had a very good life, filled with love and family and faith. You can make life good, or you can make it bad.” It’s hard to imagine more difficult and challenging circumstances in which to live, yet Dianne Odell maintained a positive spirit and attitude to the end. I think the key to how she was able to do so is found in the three things she identifies as filling her life—love, family, and faith. Refusing to let life’s adversities conquer her spirit, Dianne Odell made the most of the life she had been given. I’m challenged by her example and pray that her story will inspire all of us to live focused on what matters most—-love, family, and faith.

Life Lessons from Baseball

On May 26, 1959, pitcher Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates made baseball history by becoming the first pitcher to throw more than 9 perfect innings in a game. The Pirates were playing the Milwaukee Braves, who featured the powerful Hank Aaron in their line-up. Haddix’s control was phenomenal, as he retired the first 27 batters he faced in the regulation 9 innings and then went on to retire 6 more in innings 10 and 11. In the 12th inning, the leadoff hitter reached on an error and the perfect game was over, but the no-hitter was still possible. The second batter sacrificed the runner to second and then Haddix issued an intentional walk to Aaron. The next hitter, Joe Adcock, hit a pitch out of the park and Haddix lost not only the no-hitter but the game as well. In their excitement over Adcock’s hit, the Braves’ baserunners became confused and Adcock actually passed Aaron on the base path between 2nd and 3rd base. After several minutes of consultation, the home plate umpire changed Adcock’s three-run homer to a two-run double, still sufficient to give the Braves the victory and ruin Haddix’s masterful pitching performance.

The opposing pitcher, Lew Burdette, had also pitched 12 scoreless innings, giving up 12 hits and 2 walks, but the Pirates had failed to take advantage of 14 men on base and lost the game. There are a couple of pretty obvious lessons to be learned from Haddix’s experience. He had pitched an incredible game, but failed to finish it well and he lost. The Bible speaks about running the race that is set before us with endurance so that we might finish the course well. The more apparent problem Haddix suffered was a lack of run support by his own teammates. They squandered many scoring opportunities that should have resulted in a win for their teammate who pitched a perfect game for 11 innings. There is a clear lesson for us here as well about the importance of mutual encouragement and the help that we can offer our brothers and sisters in Christ. All Christians, be they mature disciples or recent converts, need the strength that comes from fellow believers as we prayerfully support and encourage one another in our walk with Christ. Be on the lookout this week for the chance to help a fellow Christian with words that edify and encourage.

Post-denominationalism - Part 3

I had fully intended to do a follow-up post on post-denominationalism a bit sooner than this, but life and ministry caught up with me these past few days. Our youngest son has had several end-of-the-year school activities he's been involved in that have required my attendance and energies. In addition, I made a hasty trip down to Dallas and back on Tuesday for a meeting of the WorldconneX board of trustees. Yesterday was a funeral for the father of one of our church members and tomorrow I'm headed to Columbia for a meeting of the BGCM First Priority Team.

I wanted to address the issue of post-denominationalism a bit further in this post by mentioning a new paradigm or approach to state convention life that has characterized the Baptist General Convention of Missouri. If you've read my profile on this blog, you've discovered that I work on a part-time basis for the BGCM as their Missions Mobilization Team Leader. The truth of the matter is that the BGCM has only one full-time employee who serves as our office administrator and handles our finances. The rest of us are all bi-vocational and this is by design.

Even if we were a larger state convention with greater financial resources like some of the older established bodies, our commitment would be to continue to grow by adding staff who are practitioners rather than traditional full-time denominational staff. To borrow an old phrase, there's a method to our madness in this regard. Our motto and theme song as a convention is that we exist to serve churches. We express it most simply in the phrase, "Our first priority is serving churches." That mindset influences all that we do in terms of decisions and strategic planning. I firmly believe that the majority of denominational bodies--whether national or state conventions--are in decline today at least to some degree because they have forgotten their "razón de ser" in Spanish--their reason for existing.

It's easy for an organization to become self-serving and self-centered over time. It happens at every level of religious life--from the local church through the association and state convention all the way to the national convention. The tendency to fall into this trap is greater as a group grows in size because more and more resources are needed (or so it is thought) to maintain the structure and machinery of the group. Bureaucracies generate tasks and create positions to accomplish these jobs that frequently have little to do with the original purpose of the group.

The BGCM is attempting to stay on task with the primary responsibility and goal of serving churches. We are doing so through maximizing our resources by utilizing team leaders in the areas of our 4 Great Commission Initiatives--Church Health, Leadership Development, Church Planting, and Missions Mobilization--who have experience and a certain level of expertise in these areas. Brian Kaylor, of "For God's Sake Shut Up" blogger fame, does a very capable job of handling our communications. Our executive secretary, Jim Hill, does an outstanding job of leading us in strategic planning to ensure that this focus isn't lost or blurred.

I'm convinced that for denominational bodies to survive in a post-denominational world, they have to radically re-think and restructure themselves to offer something tangible to the churches which they presumably exist to serve. If the message that these bodies communicate to their constituents, consciously or unconsciously, is that the churches exist to sustain the denominational structures and bureaucracies, their fate will be sealed and their demise will be hastened. A compelling vision is the only thing that will cause churches to "buy in" and continue to support denominational bodies. The challenge is to clearly define and communicate that vision in such a way that folks get on board and adopt it as their own.

Living in a Post-denominational Era - Part 2

I wanted to follow up on the previous post with some further thoughts about the implications of a post-denominational mindset for the future of denominations, state conventions, and even individual churches. The recent Lifeway statistical reports about a decline in total membership of the SBC have been amply discussed and critiqued on other blogs, so I won’t pursue that topic here.

The first serious mention that I had heard of the term post-denominationalism was back in the early 90s from the lips of a seminary colleague at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires. This individual was a well-educated Argentine national who did Ph.D. work at Southwestern Seminary and was a distinguished church historian. I had some philosophical and ideological differences with him—mostly related to certain aspects of a charismatic renewal movement that was sweeping through Baptist churches in Argentina at that time—and those differences prompted me I suppose to dismiss this reading of history and the signs he was detecting of the decline in denominational allegiance and viability. In hindsight, his perceptions of the post-denominational trend were better than mine I believe.

I had studied under some of the great Baptist historians at Southwestern (Baker, McBeth, and Estep) and was teaching Baptist history (among other subjects) at the seminary in Buenos Aires. I simply couldn’t conceive of the denomination that I had been raised in my entire life and which served as a vehicle for me to fulfill a missionary calling as somehow being destined for either complete disappearance or at the least, significant loss of relevance and impact. That just didn’t compute in my internal processing unit. The more I observe current trends and read books like Kimball’s They Like Jesus but not the Church and Kinnaman’s Unchristian, the more convinced I’m becoming of the accuracy of the assessment of my former colleague and these contemporary writers.

There is a serious disconnect taking place today in terms of “brand-name loyalty” that once existed among Baptists (and other denominations as well). While the older generations still maintain and defend (in some cases fiercely so) their ties to the denomination of their childhood and youth, young adults in their 20s and 30s and those who are younger still in their teens do not feel that same sense of indebtedness and commitment to a denomination just because it is labeled Baptist (or Methodist, Presbyerian, Episcopalian, Disciples, Assembly of God, etc.). This is clearly seen if one attends the annual meetings of the national and/or state conventions of these denominational bodies. Unless there is a controversial vote to be taken on a potentially divisive issue (and perhaps even if such is taking place), the large majority of the messengers or delegates to these gatherings will be senior adults—or at least those in their 50s and up. I’ve witnessed this not only at meetings of conservative groups but at gatherings of moderates as well. This phenomenon isn’t restricted to one theological persuasion or another, but is pervasively true of groups across the spectrum of religious beliefs.

What impact will this trend have upon national, state, and local bodies, especially in Baptist life? Stay tuned for further reflections ….

Living in a Post-denominational World

Marty Duren is writing an interesting series on his blog about post-denominationalism. Marty was the original founder of the SBC Outpost blog, one of the first voices to be raised in blogdom that questioned the health of the SBC hierarchy and its direction. He graciously bowed out of denominational discussions for a good while, preferring instead to write about missional themes. His writings are always insightful and I’d recommend that you pay a visit to his blog.

Having said that, I’d like to weigh in a bit as well about the demise of denominationalism—especially as it relates to the Southern Baptist Convention. I think it is an unquestionable fact that denominational loyalty is fading—especially among the younger set. There clearly is a more willing disposition to seek new avenues of cooperation through networking with other like-minded Christians (be they Southern Baptist or not) than there is to sustain a bureaucracy that in many respects has lost touch with current culture. Appeals to time-honored traditions simply don’t persuade “20-somethings” and even those a bit older than that of the propriety of continuing to blindly and uncritically support denominational institutions and entities.

There probably is more of a willingness to make an exception when it comes to the work of the IMB, as that part of our heritage as Southern Baptists can still motivate churches and individuals to give sacrificially so that the missionary task isn’t abandoned. Nevertheless, the “glue” that has united our convention historically is losing its adhesive pull as ongoing revelations are disclosed about the backroom, closed-door, political maneuverings of the IMB’s Board of Trustees. The disclosure by Wade Burleson of Rodney Hammer’s recent resignation as Regional Leader for Central and Eastern Europe, prompted by the new restrictive policies (guidelines) of the IMB’s BoT, is just the latest in a series of black eyes that this group has suffered. Perhaps a better image than a black eye would be a self-inflicted wound.

In the interest of full disclosure, I cannot claim absolute objectivity in this matter. As readers of my blog or my comments on other blogs may well recall, my family and I chose to resign from the IMB in 2002 rather than sign the BF&M 2000. It’s safe to say that I feel a certain degree of resentment and distrust toward the same fundamentalist/legalist types who now control the IMB’s BoT who at that time coerced Dr. Rankin into rescinding his earlier promise that missionaries already under appointment would not be required to sign the document but would be “grandfathered in” as it were, recognizing that we had written our own responses to the 1963 version of the BF&M that the BoT at the time of our appointment had considered doctrinally sound.

My heart goes out to former colleagues who still labor with the IMB and I respect, pray for, and support their ministries. I wonder how long they can continue to serve in good faith and conscience with an organization that is growing increasingly restrictive and whose Board of Trustees seems far more concerned about sustaining and extending Southern Baptist identity than the Kingdom of God. It seems that many of them can no longer distinguish between the two.

This post has already far exceeded the length of my usual posts, so I will wrap it up at this point. I do intend to follow up in subsequent posts with some specific thoughts about the post-denominational mindset and how I see that impacting future efforts in missions and the challenges it poses for existing denominations, state conventions, associations, and local churches.

Thoughts on Aging

I shared the following thoughts in our monthly newsletter for our Senior Adults.

Little Johnny asked his grandmother how old she was. “Thirty-nine and holding,” was her response. Johnny thought about her answer for a bit and then asked anew, “And how old would you be if you let go?” Jack Benny, the stand-up comedian, was famous for always giving his age as 39. Benny had this to say about growing old, “Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” There is some profound wisdom in Benny’s words. We’ve all heard the expression, “You’re only as old as you feel.” Some would jokingly respond to that statement by saying, “I feel a lot older than I am.” There are folks whose physical appearance suggests that they are much younger than their biological age, while others show the wear and tear of the years they’ve lived a bit more. The latter group’s refrain might be, “It’s not the age; it’s the mileage.”

I’m inspired and challenged by biblical characters that accomplished great things and were up to major challenges, even when they were long past the age of qualifying for a Social Security check. I admire Caleb’s grit when, at the age of 85, he tells Joshua, “I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me (to spy out the land 40 years earlier). Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day” (Josh. 14:11-12). Caleb wanted to claim his inheritance in the Promised Land, even though the inhabitants lived in heavily fortified cities in the hills. What mountaintops are you attempting to scale today with the Lord’s strength? Whatever your age might be, the promise of God’s Word is true: “Those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired; they will walk and not become weary” (Isa. 40:31).

Finally Finished Mark

Well, I've finally managed to conclude our Wednesday evening prayer meeting/Bible study time's focus on the gospel of Mark. I was checking back in my records and I started this series on Oct. 25, 2006. By my calculations, we've been studying Mark for a year and a half. It's been a very rewarding study personally for me, and I trust it has been so for those who attend faithfully on Wednesday nights as well. I've done a number of different series since I started leading the Wednesday night prayer meeting/Bible study time when I joined the staff here almost 5 years ago. My preference has always been to engage in the study of an individual book of the Bible, doing a verse-by-verse exposition of the text, but on rare occasions I've done a brief topical series, such as one I did on the benedictions that are found in the Scriptures.

I'm not sure where I'm going to head next on Wednesday evenings, but have been praying about it. I'm considering doing some shorter series or topical studies this summer before launching into another book study in the fall. I noticed on Micah Fries blog that he's starting a sermon series on the letters to the 7 churches in Revelation and I had also been thinking along those same lines for a series on Wednesday evenings. That might be a good possibility for a series this summer.

Thinking About One's Legacy

For what will we be remembered when we’re gone? What will be our legacy? From time to time I enjoy reading through the obituaries in the Kansas City Star. The things that family members choose to include about their departed loved one can be quite interesting. Reading these death notices reveals that many folks were consumed in their work, as the writing focuses on their accomplishments in the business world. For others, pastimes and hobbies seemed to dominate their time and interests. On the same day this past week, two different obituaries highlighted the deceased’s passion for golf. One spoke of the places where the individual had traveled to play golf, while the other gave the date and location of a hole-in-one that the man had achieved. Frequently there is mention of a special relationship with a family pet. While those things may all be interesting and worthwhile in their time and place, wouldn’t we all prefer to be remembered more for how we lived our lives in relationship to God and others? As we enter eternity and face our Maker, I don’t think God is going to ask us what our golf handicap was, or how successful we were in our business endeavors. I think He will be more concerned about how we measure up on the scale of having lived in accordance with Jesus’ identification of the two greatest commandments—to love God with our entire being, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Applying a crisis event to church life

Jim White, editor of the Religious Herald of Virginia Baptists, recounts an interesting story of an in-flight crisis aboard a plane on which he was recently traveling and makes some great applications of the experience to church life. I encourage you to read it.

SMART Baptists

I received the latest edition of Baptist World today, a news magazine that is published by the Baptist World Alliance. I liked the article written by BWA president David Coffey who says the BWA needs Smart Baptists. He credits Teddy Oprenov, General Secretary of Bulgarian Baptists with the idea.

S - Standing together in worship, fellowship and unity
M - Moving strategically in mission and evangelism
A - Acting justly for human rights and religious freedom
R - Responding to human need and engaging in sustainable community development
T - Thinking theologically.

Coffey elaborates on each one of these principles with illustrations from around the globe where Baptists face unique challenges in each of these areas. I like the acrostic and concur that we could surely use some SMART Baptists.

A Challenging Quote

I heard Bill O'Brien share this quote last weekend at the BGCM's annual meeting and Google'd it to see if it was attributed to anyone. Evidently it is anonymous. I share it because it spoke to me. Here's the quote:

"Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future; but faith is having the courage to dance to it today!"

Bonhoeffer's Death Marked

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor who participated in the German resistance during WWII. Bonhoeffer was a leader in the Confessing Church movement which sought to combat the anti-Semitism of the Nazis. His ties to some high-ranking military officials who were plotting Hitler’s assassination were discovered and Bonhoeffer was imprisoned in April 1943. He was executed on April 9, 1945, just three weeks before Berlin fell and a month before the Nazis surrendered to the Allies. Among Bonhoeffer’s most famous writings is The Cost of Discipleship, which begins with these words, “Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace.” Bonhoeffer goes on to say, “When Christ calls us to follow Him, He bids us to come and die.” His words and his life’s example remind us that the cost of following Jesus can at times be extremely high—even to the point of martyrdom. In our culture we know little of the suffering and persecution that others experience daily for being a Christ-follower. My prayer is that we would prioritize our walk with Christ far above all other things in this life, no matter what that might cost us.

Two Conventions Contrasted

Today marks the beginning of the 6th annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Missouri, meeting at the historic Fee Fee Baptist Church in St. Louis. I drove across the state last night to be here, delaying my departure from Lee's Summit a bit after learning that the Guatemala Baptist Convention president had run into a snag with his passport and wouldn't be arriving yesterday as originally planned. Dios mediante (the Lord willing), he will be getting here at 4:05 p.m. this afternoon, just in time for our missions banquet celebration that starts at 5:00. He will miss a bit of the afternoon's proceedings, but if all goes well he will be here for the banquet and in time to bring greetings to the convention on behalf of the Guatemala Convention this evening.

As usual for the BGCM, no unusual or disturbing business is slated to occur. There will be no hotly contested elections for president or the other convention offices, as these positions in the BGCM aren't invested with any significant power and no one in the convention is seeking to wield that kind of influence anyway. Our meetings are joyful celebrations about what God is doing in and through the life of our convention as we seek to be about our First Priority--Serving Churches. We'll celebrate our partnership with Guatemala and reflect on how God has blessed many through those efforts. We'll hear some great preaching as we focus on this year's theme, "Faith in Action: Making the Most of Every Opportunity."

What we won't observe I'm quite positive is self-destructive denominational infighting and struggles for control as continues to take place in the MBC. The latest edition of the MBC's own official newspaper, The Pathway, recounts a rather tense debate that took place recently on March 27th as the nominating committee fought over a proposed restructuring of that committee in an attempt to influence the direction of the convention through nominations for the new slate of officers to be proposed during their annual meeting this fall.

On top of that, Associated Baptist Press news is reporting today that a Missouri layman is proposing in effect the re-creation of Missouri's own version of the SBC Peace Committee that met years ago to seek reconciliation between moderates and conservatives. The catch this time is that it's conservatives who are fighting against other conservatives. It has long been affirmed that fundamentalism must have an enemy to fight or the movement loses strength, and it would appear that this scenario is being played out in the life of the MBC.

I'm grateful to the Lord to be a part of a convention where our focus isn't on denominational politics and who's in control, but on the work of the Kingdom. If you're a Missouri Baptist who is tired of lawsuits against Baptist agencies or fed up with the internal squabblings of those whose methodology involves power politics, I would invite you to visit us in St. Louis today and tomorrow at the Fee Fee Baptist Church. If you can't attend personally, you can tune in via the Internet as the event will be live-streamed. Go to the BGCM website and click on the tab for the annual meeting. There you'll find a link for the live-streaming video option.

Thanks for your prayers for our gathering as we seek to serve churches.

The Latest Round of Legal Wranglings in Missouri

Alice in Wonderland's signature phrase, "curiouser and curiouser," would be an apt description of the latest development in the ongoing Baptist legal battles here in Missouri. Springfield developer William R. Jester has sued the Missouri Baptist Convention for $10 million for lost business and additional punitive damages. An article by Vicki Brown in the Word & Way reports Jester's position as follows:

Jester’s counterclaim charges the convention with making unsubstantiated and negative claims publicly, primarily through the MBC’s news journal The Pathway. Comments “relative to Defendants’ business capabilities, financial capabilities and the status of ownership…are derogatory and were made without any effort to confirm the accuracy…,” the petition notes.

Jester claims the MBC or its representatives warned prospective lenders against financing development of the property. He alleges the convention acted “with evil and malicious intent” and “outrageously when they intentionally interfered with the Defendants’ valid contracts and business expectations.” The MBC also acted “with reckless indifference” to Jester’s rights.

The developer claims the interference has cost him more than $10 million in possible sales or development of the disputed property.

In his counterclaim, Jester is seeking at least $10 million to compensate for those lost profits. He also asks the court to grant punitive damages “in an amount that punishes them.”

“The financial damage they have done to my clients is beyond substantial, and we are looking to the plaintiff individuals and organizations to right that wrong,” Shostak said.

This legal action was taken by Jester this past week and I've been monitoring the MBC's Pathway site to see what if any response the MBC will have to this suit. They are still carrying the earlier story about Judge Callahan's decision to grant summary judgment in favor of Windermere and to dismiss the MBC's suit against Windermere. There is also an interview with MBC attorney Michael Whitehead who expresses confidence that the MBC will win the case in appeals. It remains to be seen if the MBC will go forward with the previously announced decision to appeal Judge Callahan's decision in light of Mr. Jester's actions and the potential of having to pay $10 million if his suit prevails against the Convention. Perhaps some cooler heads among Missouri Baptist pastors can prevail upon the Convention to finally abandon the lawsuits against the 5 agencies which have already cost millions in attorneys fees and allow these Baptist institutions to carry on their vital ministries without further interference. A possible obstacle to that happening could be Whitehead's interest in seeing the suits continue since his firm represents the MBC as legal counsel. Given the fact that Whitehead also serves as parliamentarian for the convention, he could potentially rule as out of order any motion from the floor of the convention to drop the suits. One cannot help but speculate about the potential conflict of interest this represents.

BGCM's annual meeting

This weekend the Baptist General Convention of Missouri will be celebrating its 6th annual meeting at the Fee Fee Baptist Church in St. Louis. This historic church celebrated its 200th anniversary this past year, making it the oldest Baptist church west of the Mississippi River. Among our featured speakers this year will be Bill O'Brien, former executive vice president of the FMB and husband of Dellana O'Brien, former WMU executive director.

It will be my privilege to be the speaker at our annual missions banquet which will take place on Friday evening. We'll also be hearing from Jose Samol, the president of the Guatemala Baptist Convention, at the banquet. Each of us will be seeking to motivate the BGCM churches to an even greater level of involvement in our ongoing partnership with Guatemala. I'll have the opportunity of sharing about some of my recent trips to western Guatemala for leadership training as well as our church's trip in February where we partnered with 3 different churches in the town of Cantel. Jose will be returning to Lee's Summit with me on Saturday evening after the convention wraps up and he will attend our services on Sunday morning and preach in the evening service. It will be my privilege to translate for him as he does so.

The pastor of our church, Dr. Scott Harrison, will also be bringing the convention sermon. If you live in Missouri, especially if you're from the St. Louis area, I encourage you to attend the BGCM's annual meeting this Friday and Saturday. Additional information is available on the BGCM's website. If you cannot be present personally, the event will be available via live-streaming video and will be archived for later viewing as well. Information about the live-streaming option is also available on the BGCM website.