Prayer Blog - 8/7/2008

Associated Baptist Press
August 7, 2008 · (08-77)

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

Iin this issue
Johnson resigns from Criswell after public spat with Jeffress
Playground brings hope to rural Miss. county

Johnson resigns from Criswell after public spat with Jeffress
By Vicki Brown

DALLAS (ABP) -- Criswell College President Jerry Johnson resigned Aug. 5, after a public clash with a powerful local pastor over the institution's future.

His resignation, accepted during a called session of the college trustees' executive committee, "was due to philosophical differences the president had with the chancellor and trustee leadership about the future of Criswell College," board members said in a statement released Aug. 6. The resignation takes effect Aug. 15.

An interim president is expected to be named quickly, trustee chair Michael Deahl said by telephone Aug. 7. "Our plan and expectation is to have someone named and to be in place as close to that date [Aug. 15] as possible so there will be no gap in leadership," Deahl said.

He also confirmed that controversy over the possibility of selling the college's assets "played a part" in Johnson's decision to step down.

Johnson and at least one Criswell trustee recently accused First Baptist Church of Dallas and its pastor, Robert Jeffress, of planning to sell the institution's assets. The proceeds, they contended, would go to fund a massive new proposed sanctuary for the historic church.

First Baptist, under the guidance of its legendary then-pastor, W.A. Criswell, established Criswell College in 1971. The church must approve appointment of the college's trustees, over half of whom must be First Baptist members, and the church's pastor serves as the school's chancellor. Criswell College is affiliated with the conservative Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

"For six months, the chancellor has been trying to cannibalize Criswell College to fund his building program at the church, which will cost $170 to $240 million," Johnson told the Dallas Morning News a week prior to his resignation.

The president also accused Jeffress of planning to stack the board with trustees who would agree to sell the Dallas-based campus and its radio station, KCBI. The FM station and its two satellite stations broadcast over large portions of Texas and Oklahoma.

Johnson claimed that, earlier this year, Jeffress said nearby Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary would absorb Criswell. Southwestern operates its own undergraduate college at its Fort Worth campus.

Criswell College Steve Washburn, pastor of First Baptist Church of Pflugerville, Texas, also accused First Baptist of plotting to sell the school's assets, in a letter released in late July.

According to news reports, Johnson and some trustees, such as Washburn, have pointed out that the college is meeting financial and enrollment challenges. But Jeffress has advocated for a study to determine whether a need for the institution still exists.

In spite of the disagreement, trustee chairman Michael Deahl praised Johnson's leadership in the college's Aug. 6 statement. He expressed gratitude for the "accomplishments that have been achieved at the college and KCBI under Dr. Johnson's leadership, which are too numerous to mention.

"I firmly believe that, due in no small part to Dr. Johnson's contributions, the greatest days at Criswell College are yet to come."

An Associated Baptist Press reporter's calls to Johnson, and Washburn were not returned by press time Aug. 7.

Johnson was named Criswell's president and a professor of theology and ethics in 2003. Prior to that date, he was dean and assistant professor of ethics at Boyce College, the undergraduate program at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

Johnson is a Criswell alumnus, earning a bachelor of arts degree in biblical studies from the institution in 1986.

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Playground brings hope to rural Miss. county
By Carla Wynn Davis

ATLANTA (ABP) -- It was a beautiful moment for the people of Goodman, Miss., and the teenagers from First Baptist Church in Greenwood, S.C. After days of building, the teens completed a new playground in Goodman -- where children once had to play in the street.

On a Tuesday evening this summer, the teens and children walked hand-in-hand toward the playground, with the children's excitement building as the slides, swings and playhouse came closer into view.

"When we got within 50 feet of it, the children started running," said the church's youth minister Blake Kendrick. "It was a thrill to watch them play on it for the first time."

But the smiling, climbing, running and playing wasn't all that caught Caroline Burch's eye. It was one local man who stood at the end of the slide to make sure the children didn't go too fast or hurt themselves. It was the other adults from Goodman's Walden Memorial United Methodist Church who gathered to watch the children. It was the laughter, the conversation -- the community -- that made Burch grateful to be in Goodman in that moment.

"Our playground helped make that happen, but the best part is, even without the playground, the little church would have been that way -- community in the most sincere sense of the word," said Burch, 18.

Burch was one of 16 teenagers who traveled to Goodman to serve with the Methodist Church. Walden Memorial's pastor, Martha Williams, suggested the youth could make a difference by building a playground.

"There was nothing in the community for these children to do. There was no gathering place," said Steve Street, CBF of Mississippi's coordinator, who connected the South Carolina church with Williams' ministry in Holmes County.

Ranked statistically as one of the nation's poorest counties, Holmes County is a focal area of Together for Hope, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's rural-poverty initiative focused on 20 of the poorest counties in the United States. Together for Hope's goal is to work alongside local people and at the direction of local leadership who know the community best.

Under the theme "Let the children come to me" (Mark 10:14), the middle- and high-school students explored the importance of children in Christ's eyes. They also learned about socio-economic issues, racial reconciliation and hospitality.

"The [Walden] church welcomed us and really taught us a great lesson in Christian hospitality," Kendrick said. "They were really open to being in conversation and dialogue with us."

As a finishing touch on the playground, the youth group nailed together two extra pieces of wood, and to the top of the playhouse they added a cross - a reminder of the reason for all their efforts.

"The children of Goodman, Mississippi ... will continue to grow in that church and become community leaders," said Caleb Hopkins, 17. "Our work made it easier for kids in Goodman to come to Christ."

On the last day, Kendrick knew the youth had made a difference for local children, but he didn't know how much it had meant to the church until Williams issued an invitation. She invited the youth to return and for Kendrick to preach when the church moves into its new building.

"It was a profound thing for her to say," Kendrick said. "Wherever I am, I want to be part of that service."

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