Associated Baptist Press - 7/31/2008

Associated Baptist Press
July 31, 2008 · (08-75)

Greg Warner, Executive Editor
Robert Marus, News Editor/Washington Bureau Chief

In this issue
BWA Prague meeting ushers in new structure, Muslim response
Mo. church's $2.2 million bequest largest in Central Seminary history
Cecil Sherman diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia
CBF, Global Women agree to three-year partnership
Cowboy churches lassoing America

BWA Prague meeting ushers in new structure, Muslim response
By ABP staff

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP) -- About 400 delegates to the Baptist World Alliance's annual gathering in Prague, Czech Republic, ended their meeting July 25 with approval of a major re-structuring of the organization's governing structure.

Baptists from more than 60 countries attended the meeting. BWA, the worldwide umbrella group for Baptists, links more than 214 national and regional Baptist denominational groups around the globe.

BWA leaders approved the plan, which was one result of a BWA Implementation Task Force that was appointed in 2005, during the BWA Centennial World Congress in Birmingham, England.

The re-structuring plan leaves the group's largest governing body, the BWA General Council, unchanged. But it reduces its smaller governing panel -- the BWA Executive Committee -- from 69 to 25 members while increasing the committee's power to carry on BWA business between annual gatherings. The plan also creates a 17-member nominating committee, charged with ensuring broad representation of BWA's global membership on its boards and commissions.

The plan generated considerable debate during two open forums prior to its adoption, and BWA supporters amended it several times from the task force's original proposal.

A vocal Caribbean contingency raised questions about what impact the changes, if implemented, would have on the office of BWA General Secretary Neville Callam. Callam -- the century-old organization's first non-white chief executive -- took over his post year after many years of ministry in Jamaica.

Following debate, members of the Implementation Task Force withdrew a recommendation that BWA develop formal covenants with its six autonomous regional bodies. The covenants would have spelled out mutual responsibilities between each region and the organization as a whole.

Since the full Baptist World Congress meets only every fifth year, officials hoped that the process could be agreed upon in time for changes to be implemented by the next World Congress meeting, scheduled for Hawaii in 2010.

In other business, several BWA commissions and panels held meetings during the gathering. A joint meeting of the BWA Doctrine and Interchurch Cooperation Commission and Freedom and Justice Commission resulted in the appointment of a smaller group to formulate a response to a letter from 138 moderate Muslim scholars titled, "A Common Word Between Us and You." The letter was sent to world Christian leaders, including BWA president David Coffey, last October.

The group will formulate a response and circulate it to the BWA regional bodies for approval.

Bangladesh Baptist leader Dennis Datta received BWA's Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award during the meeting. Government officials forced Datta out of Bangladesh in 1969 because of his advocacy for religious freedom and other human rights. He has since returned to the majority-Muslim nation and continued to work as a spokesman for Bangladeshi Christians as well as an outspoken advocate for the poor, women and environmental protection.

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Mo. church's $2.2 million bequest largest in Central Seminary history
By Vicki Brown

SHAWNEE, Kan. (ABP) -- Central Baptist Theological Seminary has received a more than $2.2 million gift -- the largest in the institution's history -- from the former members of a St. Louis-area church.

Trustees of the recently disbanded Des Peres Baptist Church have distributed funds from the sale of the congregation's property in St. Louis's posh western suburbs, seminary officials announced July 31.

The former Des Peres Baptist Church property near St. Louis. The proceeds of its sale have been donated to Central Baptist Theological Seminary.

Founded in 1955 as a mission of Third Baptist Church in St. Louis, the Des Peres congregation reached its peak of almost 250 members in 1981. Declining membership led to the church closing its doors the last Sunday of December, 2006. Des Peres was affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA.

"The congregation determined that the proceeds from their building and property should help sustain our work in theological education and provide for creative, accessible delivery," Central Seminary president Molly Marshall said in an e-mail to students, faculty and supporters. "Although they could not continue as a church, they wisely chose to sow seeds for the future. It is a significant legacy."

"Closing a church leaves the feeling, for some of us anyway, that we have failed in the legacy entrusted to us," said church trustee Mauriece Smith in a seminary press release. "But creating a means to train candidates for the pastorate somehow lessens the feelings of failure and provides a hope and promise for the future."

The funds will endow the Des Peres Chair in Congregational Health, a new faculty position on the seminary's main campus outside of Kansas City, Kan. It will also create the Des Peres Church Resource Center in Central's new library.

In addition, the terms of the gift stipulate that part of it fund a St. Louis-area initiative in ministerial preparation. Seminary officials have not yet determined exactly what form that initiative would take. Administrators are considering several possibilities, including expanding Central into the St. Louis area with a satellite campus or streaming video, or funding scholarships for St. Louis students to attend classes on the Kansas campus.

Des Peres members chose to focus on congregational health as a means to help other churches deal with problems before they face the possibility of closing their doors, Robin Sandbothe, Central's director of seminary relations, noted by phone.

"Central is committed to finding ways to help churches nurture congregational health in honor of the ministry of Des Peres Baptist Church," Marshall said.

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Cecil Sherman diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia
By ABP staff

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) -- Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pioneer Cecil Sherman has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

Sherman, 80, sought treatment options at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston after receiving the diagnosis July 25 and exploring possibilities in Richmond, Va., said Tim Norman, a family friend and fellow Virginia pastor.

Acute myeloid leukemia progresses rapidly and is typically fatal within weeks or months if left untreated. It is a potentially curable disease, but only a minority of patients are cured with current therapies.

Sherman's daughter, Eugenia Brown of Madison, Wisc., accompanied him to the well-known cancer center in Houston, where he has been accepted into a clinical-trial program, according to sources close to the family. The 21-to-30-day trial, customized for older adults, requires Sherman to remain in a protected environment. He is expected to return to Richmond in mid- to late August.

Sherman, one of the most prominent figures in moderate Baptist life over the last half-century, served as the first national coordinator - or CEO - of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, giving shape to the moderate organization, founded in 1991.

He is renowned for going toe-to-toe with fundamentalist hero Adrian Rogers during theological debates when both served on the Southern Baptist Convention Peace Committee in the mid-1980s.

Sherman's wife, Dot, remains at a nursing facility in Richmond, suffering with Alzheimer's disease. Her condition worsened last week and she is now essentially unresponsive, friends said.

Sherman currently is pastor of Westover Baptist Church in Richmond.

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CBF, Global Women agree to three-year partnership
By Vicki Brown

ATLANTA (ABP) -- Leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Global Women recently agreed to enter a three-year partnership to meet the needs of women around the world, CBF officials announced July 29.

The partnership will start with two specific projects already in place, Global Women Executive Director Cindy Dawson explained by phone July 31.

Some CBF field personnel will participate in the Global Women's Global Voices 2008 Summit set for Sept. 12-13 at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio. In addition, CBF will help promote, in its partner churches, a special prayer focus for International Women's Day, scheduled next year for March 8.

Dawson noted the agreement marks the first long-term partnership for the Birmingham, Ala.-based organization since its inception in 2001. Most Global Women partnerships have been short-term and based around specific projects, she said.

Global Women is a non-denominational group designed to provide opportunities for women to minister with and to women. It currently operates primarily through Global Women chapters based in local churchaes.

The two projects are only the beginning, Dawson added. "This is where we can start," she said, noting that the two organizations will develop new ministries specific to the partnership.

"God seems to be drawing both of us [CBF and Global Women] to Central Asia. The needs of the women there are great," she said. "We are investigating ways to empower women -- to find ways to empower and encourage women to live out their call to ministry."

Dawson, a former CBF field worker in Russia, is excited by the possibilities the partnership could provide. "It is a very complementary relationship. We want to enlarge the understanding of what Christ means for women around the world," she said.

"I'm delighted that CBF is entering into this intentional and strategic agreement with Global Women at a moment when both groups have an opportunity to transform the lives of women around the world," noted CBF Global Missions Coordinator Rob Nash, in a press statement.

Nash, who signed the agreement on CBF's behalf, added, "My hope and prayer is that this connection will help to keep before our congregations the unique challenges that women face around the world and to provide many opportunities for ministry together."

"We have found that Global Women really strikes a chord," Dawson said. "Some churches maybe don't do the women's missions groups like they used to. Some churches are finding a void and have started Global Women groups, some of which include men."

The organization faced internal struggles over generational and leadership-style differences in 2005 and 2006. Dawson was chosen to fill the executive post in 2006.

Global Women and CBF struck a formal partnership shortly after the women's organization formed. That accord was renewed in 2002, but changes in Global Women's leadership shifted the agreement to a more informal relationship, noted Chris Boltin with CBF Global Missions.

Boltin is happy the relationship once again has been formalized. "They keep us focused on women's issues," he said.

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Cowboy churches lassoing America
By Rachel Mehlhaff

DALLAS (ABP) -- The "cowboy churches" that are springing up throughout the United States are about more than worshiping God while wearing boots and cowboy hats. They are about finding ways to be relevant in the rodeo-circuit, country/Western culture.

In many ways, congregations that identify with the so-called "Western Heritage" movement are like traditional ones, with minor differences.

For example, boots placed at the back of the worship space as receptacles sometimes replace collection plates and offertories. Baptisms often take place in horse troughs. And, of course, country/Western, Southern gospel and bluegrass music often feature prominently in worship services.

Ron Nolen, founder of the Texas Fellowship of Cowboy Churches, said that some traditionalists have criticized cowboy churches for building rodeo arenas. But Nolen believes that's no different than a traditional church building a "family life center" or gymnasium. He said that, while the appearance may be different, the message is the same: Christ, and Christ alone.

"We have got to get the gospel to the people in America," Nolen said. "Western Heritage is one way of getting the gospel to the people of this nation."

The cowboy-church movement has its roots in Pentecostal ministries from the middle of the 20th century, but has spread significantly among evangelicals -- and especially Southern Baptists in rural areas -- in the last 10 years.

In 2000, Nolen, whose son competed in rodeos as a roper, began wondering where all the people he always saw at rodeos went to church. He found out that most of them didn't.

To reach the rodeo community, he helped found the Cowboy Church of Ellis County, in Waxahachie, Texas. With an average weekly attendance of more than 1,200, the congregation bills itself as "the largest cowboy church in the world." And it was one of a growing movement.

"Baptist people began to see there was an open door here," Nolen said.

He also started two more churches before becoming the Texas fellowship's coordinator. The group has 129 affiliated congregations, and it cooperates with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Fellowship leaders hope to increase the number of affiliated churches to 250 by 2010.

Although the BGCT has 5,700 member churches, about 10 percent of the baptisms have been coming from its 80-plus affiliated cowboy churches, according to Charles Higgs, BGCT's director of Western Heritage ministry. These churches average about 40 baptisms a year. Seventy percent of those baptisms are adults.

"This is a movement that is reaching the men and the adults," Higgs said, citing the demographic groups that tend to make up a disproportionately small share of baptisms in most Baptist churches.

Cowboy-church leaders from other states have, with Texas leaders' help, recently organized an American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches. So far, about a dozen churches have affiliated with it -- from states such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Alabama.

"The AFCC is in the embryonic stages of coming together," Nolen said. "What is happening in Texas is also attempting to happen across America."

Todd Hervey, AFCC's nationwide strategist, believes that the spread of cowboy churches is just getting started. He said many people who identify with country and Western culture feel intimidated in traditional churches.

"We are trying to remove the barriers that have kept lost men from coming to church," he said.

There are also cowboy churches popping up under the Cowboy Church Network of North America, which was started in 2004. It became affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board in 2005. About 40 congregations identify with the network. They are located in places as diverse as the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Idaho, South Dakota, Wyoming and Ohio -- and even Canada.

"God is moving in this and the people are responding," said Jeff Smith, executive director of the network.

Smith said cowboy churches and traditional churches are "different only in flavor." Cowboy churches, he added, have been popular among unpretentious rodeo lovers because of their down-to-earth atmosphere.

But not all people understand the need for cowboy churches. Smith said he has been asked, "Can you worship in a barn?"

His response? "Jesus was born in a barn."

Smith likes the idea of starting churches that focus on the interests of particular groups. And the cowboy-church model could be replicated among other communities of aficionados.

For example, Smith said, he has had a biker take one of his courses on pastoring cowboy churches to get ideas about starting a church for his own lifestyle community.

"I like the idea of the biker church," Smith said.

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