T. B. MASTON SAID IT: He went about doing good

(Originally published as part of T. B. Maston's "Problems of the Christian Life" series in the Baptist Standard, April 17, 1968; several articles from this series are reprinted on the TBMaston Foundation Web site)

This five-word biography of Jesus, "He went about doing good," was part of the sermon of Peter in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:38). This statement has deep meaning for followers of Christ.

Hoke Smith, an area representative of our Foreign Mission Board, recently said that the essence of missionary theory and practice could be reduced to a very concise formula: "To be like Jesus in attitudes, words, and deeds." This is not only the essence of missionary theory and practice, but it is also the essence of the Christian life.

If we are like Jesus, we will have a wayside ministry. He went about from place to place, and as He went He was helpful in His relation to suffering, sinning, seeking men and women. Jesus did not settle down in one spot and invite the people to come to Him. He went out where they were.

Our contemporary institutionalized concept of Christian work tends to localize and circumscribe our ministry for Him. We must move out of our church buildings and reach people where they are, or we will not reach the vast majority.

This does not mean that there will be no need for our buildings. We will still need them for worship and fellowship. But that worship and fellowship should be primarily preparatory. Also, we should seek to discover new approaches and techniques to transport some of that fellowship out where the people are.

Let us never forget that as Jesus went from place to place He ministered to the needs of the people.

What was the secret to the kind of life Jesus lived? Peter says that He went about doing good "for God was with him." Here was the source of His power. It was also the reason or the motive for the kind of life He lived.

At least His life was a natural expression of an inner desire. He could have used His miraculous power to perform miracles even more spectacular than most of those He performed. They would have been proof to the people that He was the Messiah, that He was the Son of God.

Why did He use His power so exclusively to relieve human needs? Approximately two-thirds of His recorded miracles were healing miracles. All others, with the possible exception of one or two, were miracles to relieve some human need. Why? He had a deep concern for people.

The more vital our relation is to Him, the deeper will be our desire to go about doing good. Also, the only source of the power that will enable us to have an effective wayside ministry is the power that comes from a vital relationship to Him.

FROM THE MASTON READER: Neglect of the Poor

(Both-And: A Maston Reader, Selected Readings from the Writings of T. B. Maston, published by the TBMaston Foundation in 2011, will provide the focus of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Conference on March 8-9 at Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas.)

Southern Baptists are becoming increasingly a middle- and upper-class movement. The movement upward economically, educationally, and politically seems to be inevitable, but the movement away from the poor is not inevitable.

However, too many of our local churches tend to neglect "God's little ones," and for many of those churches those little ones are close by the church building. Also, we may discover that some of the neglected "little ones" are really among God's "big ones."

We should remember one proof that Jesus was the promised Messiah was that He preached the gospel to the poor (Luke 4:18; 7:22; cf Isaiah 61:1-12).

Furthermore, we should not forget that when the "Son of man" comes in judgment He will say to those on His right hand and on His left hand, "Inasmuch as ye have done it (done it not) unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it (done it not) unto me" (Matthew 25:40, 45).

He identified Himself with the little ones, even the least of them. What would be His word to us as individual Christians and churches?

(Excerpted from the article, "Materialistic Spirit Threatens Southern Baptists," written by T. B. Maston and originally published in the Baptist Standard, May 14, 1980; reprinted on p. 172 of Both-And: A Maston Reader.)

FROM THE MASTON READER: Monologue or Dialogue?

(Both-And: A Maston Reader, Selected Readings from the Writings of T. B. Maston, published by the TBMaston Foundation in 2011, will provide the focus of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Conference on March 8-9 at Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas.)

Many problems arise in the area of human relations because of a failure of people to communicate with one another. A major factor contributing to this failure is the inability or the refusal of some people to enter into dialogue.

The latter is one reason for many conflicts that arise between parents and children, teachers and pupils, employers and employees, pastors and people. Also, the clashes between those of different cultures and colors stem to a considerable degree from a failure to carry on real dialogue. Martin Luther King Jr., in his famous "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," said: "Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue."

Failure to Participate
The failure to participate in dialogue is primarily but not exclusively the responsibility of the individual or group with the advantage of age, prestige, or power. There is always the possibility of a two-way monologue. Two people or even two groups may seemingly but not really be speaking to one another.

As the younger or less powerful individual or group matures, there will be more necessity for dialogue. At least there will be insistence on an answer to the questions that are asked. Parents of teenage children become acutely aware of this insistence. But the same thing is true of other individuals and groups. For example, the Negro in recent years has insisted as never before on real dialogue.

The demand by the teenager, the college student, the employee, the Negro for dialogue may sound at times like a monologue. If it does, one possible reason is the refusal of the parent, the teacher, the administrator, the white man to enter into dialogue. The more the latter refuses to hear, the louder the former will speak.

Difficulty of Dialogue
Many people prefer monologue to dialogue because the latter is much more difficult. Dialogue means that one's position may be challenged. It is usually much easier to state a position than to defend it. Some feel threatened when they are asked to defend their position. When this happens, their reaction will be emotional rather than intelligent.

Also, to carry on effective dialogue, one must be able to listen attentively and to analyze objectively the position of the other person or group. This is hard to do. We need to know, however, that effective communication depends as much on ability to listen as on ability to speak.

Many problems in our churches and denomination stem from the fact that we tend to speak in monologue rather than dialogue. This is not only true of the preacher in the pulpit but also of the teacher in the classroom and of the denominational leader.

There is not enough opportunity for people generally to ask questions, to have a chance to talk back, or to state an opposing viewpoint. Unfortunately, too many of us in church-related vocations are not competent in the use of dialogue.

Dialogue is particularly important in a democracy. There is no real democracy without it. Also, the maturing of people in a democracy will be determined, to a considerable degree, by their participation through dialogue in the life and work of the democracy.

(Originally published in T. B. Maston's Problems of the Christian Life series in the Baptist Standard, December 10, 1969; reprinted on pp. 257-259 of Both-And: A Maston Reader.)

Ethical Issues Take Center Stage During March & April

The next 2 months offer numerous opportunities to delve into biblical ethics and specific ethical issues. Several conferences will focus on biblical Christian ethics and ways of applying Christ's life and teachings to the ethical issues of our day.

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Two weeks ago, in this blog space, I wrote a post about the Christian Life Conference that will take place at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas on March 8-9. Co-sponsored by the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, the Texas Baptist Office of Theological Education, and the TBMaston Foundation, the 2012 Christian Life Conference will center on the theme, Both/And Ethics in an Either/Or World.

Allen Verhey, professor of Christian ethics, Duke Divinity School, will speak on "Remembering Jesus: The Bible, the Community, and the Moral Life"; and "Remember Jesus in a World of Sickness and Suffering."

Michael Evans, pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Mansfield, will speak on "Servants Mustering Courage to Commit."

Bill Tillman, director of the Texas Baptist Office of Theological Education, will speak on "Evangelism and Ethics."

Several breakout sessions will be offered as well. Click here for further information on speakers, breakout leaders, schedule, and registration.

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On March 29, Howard Payne University in Brownwood will host the 5th Annual Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics. This year's theme is Faith and Politics: Being Prophetic Without Being Partisan.

Stephen Reeves, legislative counsel for the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, will speak on "A Christian Voice in a Public Arena."

Suzii Paynter, director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and director of Advocacy and Care for Texas Baptists, will speak on "Leading Your Church to Be Politically Responsible."

C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance and pastor of Preaching and Worship at Northminster (Baptist) Church, Monroe, LA, will speak on "Preaching in an Election Year."

In addition to the events on March 29, which are open to the public, events are scheduled on March 30 for Howard Payne students only. Registration information will soon be available on the Howard Payne Web site at www.hputx.edu.

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On April 16-17, Hardin-Simmons University's Logsdon Seminary in Abilene will host the 12th Annual T. B. Maston Lectures in Christian Ethics. This year's theme is Community and Exclusion: The Ethics of Ethnicity and Communion.

Neville Callam, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, will deliver this year's lectures. On Monday evening, he will speak on "Ethnicity: Establishing Borders of Exclusion"; on Tuesday morning, he will speak on "Communion: Celebrating Inclusive Community."

Monday evening's program will also feature the recognition of the 2012 Young Maston Scholars. Click here for additional information.

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On April 19-21, First Baptist Church, Decatur, Georgia, will host A [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant. The conference is co-sponsored by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) and Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University. The CBF Web site explains that, "Through plenary presentation, small-group interaction, and resource breakouts, the conference aims to provide Baptists and other interested Christians an opportunity for honest, compassionate, and prayerful dialogue around matters and questions of sexuality."

Session conveners will be Rick Bennett, director of missional formation for CBF; and David Gushee, distinguished professor of Christian ethics, Mercer University. Click here for further information about schedule and speakers; and click here to register.

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On April 27-28, Heights Church of Christ (nondenominational) in Houston will host the Conference on Biblical Equality. Co-sponsored by Christians for Biblical Equality, Baptist Women for Equality, and Fuller Theological Seminary, the conference will center on the theme, A New Creation. A New Tradition. Reclaiming the Biblical Tradition of Man and Woman, One in Christ.

Speakers will include Katie Hays, senior minister, Northwest Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Arlington, TX; J. R. Daniel Kirk, assistant professor of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary; Philip B. Payne, author of Man and Woman: One in Christ; and Todd D. Still, professor of Christian Scriptures, George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. Click here for further information about speakers; click here for information about the schedule; and click here to register.

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Children have already paid enough for one preacher's sins

For two weeks, children are being barred from a Florida Baptist church while its pulpit is taken over by a registered sex offender.

In an Associated Baptist Press article published today, Bob Allen reported that Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, "has had to make adjustments since opening its pulpit to Darrell Gilyard, who recently served three years in prison for sex crimes with two girls committed while he was senior pastor at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville. As a registered sex offender, Gilyard, 49, is not allowed to be around minors."

Allen went on to note that Gilyard had once "resigned from a church after admitting to several extramarital affairs. That was after allegations of sexual misconduct at three previous churches."

Gilyard later served 15 years as pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan until 2008, when "he resigned . . . after he was charged with lewd and lascivious conduct for sending inappropriate text messages to two underage girls."

As a Christian, I deeply believe in God's power and desire to redeem. I believe in God's grace, and my conviction is that we are to share God's grace and forgiveness.

But what is redemption, in the case of one who has repeatedly used his position to prey upon others sexually? It should not mean returning to the pulpit. For the rest of his life, this man should be the preachee, not the preacher; his was not a single isolated occurrence - it has been a repeated pattern for at least two decades. His concern should be getting himself right with God, and he should not be presuming to get others right with God. He is in no position to do so.

Now this church has chosen to make young people pay the price for this man's sin; they have barred them from church for 2 weeks.

Last week, I wrote a Texas Baptists Committed blog post about the decision of LifeWay Christian Resources to let Bibles intended for sale to benefit breast cancer victims instead sit in a warehouse, gathering dust, because of differences over certain policy decisions of a partner organization. My main concern in writing that post was that God's word was being held hostage to man's (and I do mean man's) theology.

These two situations are related. In one, we keep God's word in a warehouse, away from those who need it. In the other, we keep God's children away from the preaching and teaching of His Word.

Oh, I agree that the children shouldn't be in the same room with Darrell Gilyard. But he is the one who should be forced to get his preaching in isolation, not the children. They should be in church with their parents and their friends.

He may well be a spellbinding preacher, but his "spell" has already proven costly for many. Yes, all of us are sinners, including preachers. But we should be able to trust the man or woman in the pulpit. Darrell Gilyard has broken that trust - time and time again - and forfeited the benefit of any doubt. It is irresponsible of any church to ignore the character of the person entrusted with the preaching of God's Word.

And it is just plain wrong to tell children they can't go to church because the preacher is one who can't be trusted to be in the same room with them.

Both/And: Religion and Spirituality

Jeff Bethke recently posted a popular video to YouTube. The video, entitled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus,” has garnered more than 19 million views. Bethke works for a non-profit called Jubilee Ranch in Tacoma, Washington, and he promotes himself as a Christian speaker (see http://jeffbethke.com/about/). Bethke’s video created a stir among many of my colleagues and friends. A long line of Facebook friends posted the video, with comments such as: “This is great,” and “He speaks the truth!” I’ve also been asked for my opinion regarding Bethke’s video on numerous occasions, because I have expressed some skepticism.

The video is quite interesting, especially since Bethke raps through a catchy poem. Yet, there seem to be some holes in his argument, namely, that one ought to hate religion in favor of loving Jesus. Bethke even puts forward that Jesus hated religion. Some points of biblical evidence, however, point out ways in which Jesus and his followers embraced religion. For instance, Jesus was reared by his parents in the Jewish religion, and it is quite clear that both Mary and Joseph faithfully followed the Law. Jesus even argued the tenets of religion from a young age, and seemed excited to be “doing his Father’s work” in the Temple. Later in his life, Jesus taught in synagogues, frequented the Temple, and called the Temple a “house of prayer for the nations.” This evidence hardly suggests that Jesus disdained religion. Perhaps it is more biblically accurate to say that Jesus disdained corrupted religion.

Disdain for corrupt religious practices pervades the entire Bible. For example, the prophets (especially Isaiah and Amos) call out religiously pious people for bringing the right sacrifices and bringing in enough tithes to fill up the treasury. Yet, these same folks who were full of theological and religious knowledge were also spiritually and morally bankrupt. Bethke seems to trend toward a similar idea, but he cannot put it accurately into words. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the church reflects corrupt religion when all of the orders and rules are followed to the letter, but the spirit of that religious expression goes missing. The apostle James said: “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Further, when the early church fleshed out the religious expression of Christianity, it is quite clear that they struggled from the get-go. For example, they struggled with food distribution practices (Acts 6), tithing for the right reasons (Acts 5), racial equality (Acts 15), and missional practices (Acts 15:36-40). Also, it was Paul’s practice to frequent synagogues first on his missionary journeys. This seems to suggest that Paul brought the gospel first to the established religious order of the day. One also needs to remember that Paul’s writings were aimed at religious expressions in churches. If Paul had discounted or disdained religion, we probably would not have the majority of the New Testament as we know it today. 

Perhaps, then, it is easier for one (like Bethke) to say that he/she loves Jesus, likes the idea of the church, yet hates religion than it is for one to say, “I love Jesus and I am going to stick it out in organized religion in order to help our community live in the way of Jesus.”  Yet, at the other end of the spectrum, you have folks who say, “I see nothing wrong with religion at all. I get my fix, and I’m good.”

Being religious today is very hard work, and it is increasingly hard for ministers to work in this kind of polarized environment. We must realize, however, that corrupted religion is that way since people are corrupted and fallen. Religion, then, needs people who love Christ and care enough to live according to the law of love. Tinkering with religious machinery or leaving religion altogether cannot cure basic spiritual problems. Further, in my experience, some people use the argument, “I love Jesus and hate religion,” in order to get out of the hard work of spiritual discipline or practicing elementary spiritual formation in favor of a more emotional spiritual experience. Many Christians must admit, too, that they came to salvation partly because of organized religion, for it was a conduit which was used by God's Spirit to introduce us to Jesus Christ as Lord.


Rev. James Hassell
Agape Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas

Achieving racial reconciliation requires intentionality and persistence

One key element of the first New Baptist Covenant celebration in Atlanta, in January 2008, was racial unity. The four leading African-American Baptist conventions scheduled their annual meeting in Atlanta earlier the same week, and many of their members also attended the New Baptist Covenant celebration.

As former President Jimmy Carter noted, it was a landmark event in the history of Baptists in North America, with over 15,000 in attendance, split so closely between black and white. African-American preachers and musicians/worship leaders graced the podium.

Yet, as I looked around the room during the meetings that week, I couldn't help but be struck by competing images. One was the inspiring image of such a large number of people of different colors, races, and cultures worshipping in the same room. The other was the discomforting image of a room divided. You see - though, if you looked closely enough, there were surely exceptions to be found - for the most part, people were sitting with their own "kind." There wasn't a lot of personal fellowshipping between races.

This isn't an indictment; after all, if we're assessing guilt, then I was as guilty as anyone. But we were all likely sitting with friends - and, let's admit it, most of us still tend to have more friends that are similar to us than are different than us.

Since that time, I've made it a point to discuss occasionally with friends - including African-American friends - the question of what we can do to encourage worship across colors, across races, across cultures.

My desire for us to worship together is not simply for the sake of worship. My concern runs deeper than that. There are perspectives and concerns experienced by people of different colors, different races, and different cultures that are largely unique to their own community. I have a friend who pastors an African-American church in a low-income community. He often shares with me concerning the problems faced by people in his church and community. But I can't possibly understand those concerns, those problems, because I live in a community whose makeup and circumstances are overwhelmingly different.

The only way I - and others like me - can begin to understand other people's concerns and problems, and thus better minister to them, is to spend time with them. Quality time! Worship should be only a beginning, a doorway into a deeper experience, into partnership for ministry. It should be the beginning of learning and understanding . . . of feeling and caring about the needs of those whose lives and experiences are wholly different than our own.

I'm encouraged to see that some are giving serious thought and effort to bridging the gaps between colors, races, cultures, and circumstances. A few months ago, I attended the first of Texas Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's regional assemblies. One element of the assembly was a multicultural worship service, led by a young man who has been leading such services for 10 years. In some instances, elements and languages from different cultures were combined in the same song.

This week, I've been further encouraged to read two articles about initiatives undertaken to bridge these gaps. In the Virginia Baptist Religious Herald, Matt Walters of Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC, writes, "An interracial group of dozens of Gardner-Webb Divinity students and professors recently took up that challenge [racial tension] by sharing in a conversation titled 'The Future of the Church: A Listening Session on Racial Reconciliation.' The event was sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina's racial reconciliation ministry team and the GWU School of Divinity Student Association."

In his article, Walters quotes Gyasi Patterson, vice-chair of the CBF North Carolina racial reconciliation minsitry team, as stating, "The goal for the CBF's reconciliation team, and I hope the goal for the global church, is not just diversity, or the presence of difference. We want community, real relationships with one another, and conversation is where community begins."

In an Associated Baptist Press op-ed column, David Gushee, distinguished university professor of Christian ethics, Mercer University, writes that last week "Mercer University held two events related to an issue that has dropped off the radar: racial reconciliation."

Gushee makes a particularly intriguing observation that "I was struck by how racial reconciliation circa 2012 is made more complex because each generation has its own distinctive experiences, memories, and challenges. My 25-year-old students can hardly imagine a church culture in which a college kid would be refused entrance to a sanctuary because of his skin color. It is astonishing that it ever was that way among us."

He goes on to write that Mercer's McAfee School of Theology is "now 48 percent black, 47 percent white, and 5 percent 'other' in our student population. I have asked around, and no one I have met has ever encountered this exact racial makeup anywhere. We are participating in what I believe is a providential experiment in biracial engagement."

Something is happening, and it is encouraging. Most of us in the church have been complacent about this issue of racial reconciliation. It has been, as Gushee observes, "off the radar" for far too long. But some among us are beginning to be very intentional about getting to know each other better . . . better yet, getting to understand where each other "comes from."

It won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight. But some are taking the first steps. May more of us find ways to become engaged in such multiracial "providential experiments." The result will likely be increased understanding and enhanced ministry that touches people where they are . . . in other words, the presence of Christ.

Christian Life Conference in Dallas on March 8-9 focuses on the new Maston Reader

"Life is lived in the space between both law and grace, both freedom and responsibility, both individual and social ethics, both perfect and permissive will, both the ideal and the real. The both/and of Maston's thought characterizes his response to a variety of issues - and is consequently a fitting title for a book that is focused on his work."

The foregoing is taken from the Introduction, written by Charles McCullough, to Both/And: A Maston Reader, Selected Readings from the Writings of T. B. Maston, which was published last year by the TBMaston Foundation for Christian Ethics.

On March 8-9, the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission's annual conference will focus on this book and its subject, the writings of Dr. T. B. Maston. Co-sponsored this year by the CLC, the Texas Baptist Office of Theological Education, and the TBMaston Foundation, the conference's theme is Christian Ethics: A Both/And Approach in an Either/Or World. Reflections on the Maston Reader will take center stage.

Featured speakers are:

• Allen Verhey, Professor of Christian Ethics, Duke Divinity School
  "Remembering Jesus: The Bible, the Community, and the Moral Life"
  "Remembering Jesus in a World of Sickness and Suffering"
• Bill Tillman, Director, Texas Baptist Office of Theological Education
  "Evangelism and Ethics"
• Michael Evans, Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Mansfield, Texas
  "Servants Mustering Courage to Commit"

Other speakers include:

• Kyle Childress, Pastor, Austin Heights Baptist Church, Nacogdoches, Texas
• Coleman Fannin, Lecturer, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University
• Ken Hugghins, Pastor, Elkins Lake Baptist Church, Huntsville, Texas
• Jeanie Miley, Author, Speaker, and Retreat Leader, Houston, Texas
• Gus Reyes, Director, Texas Baptist Hispanic Education Initiative/Affinity Ministries

The conference, at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 8, and continue with sessions Thursday evening and Friday morning.

Registration is $50 per person. To register online, go to texasbaptists.org/christianlifeconference, and click the "Registration" link on the left sidebar. You can also register by emailing marilyn.davis@texasbaptists.org or alicia.enriquez@texasbaptists.org, or calling the Christian Life Commission at 214-828-5192.

Steve Jobs and the Agony of God's Children

It's playing right now at The Public Theater in New York City. I'm hoping it eventually makes its way to the D-FW Metroplex. In the meantime, we have Doc Severinsen next month and Carol Burnett in April. Great entertainers both, but neither challenging our sensibilities.

We need our sensibilities challenged . . . our sense of right and wrong . . . our sense of ethics . . . our sense of those who provide our comfort through their own discomfort.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is a one-man show, a monologue written and performed by Mike Daisey. I listened to an excerpt, lasting about 40 minutes, on a podcast from the This American Life show on Public Radio International. You can listen to this at http://podcast.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/454.mp3.

In it, he tells that almost all of the electronics to which we in America have become addicted are manufactured - by hand - in Foxconn Corporation's factory in Shenzhen, China. By some estimates, the factory houses as many as 430,000 workers. Foxconn makes, Daisey says, "electronics for Apple, Dell, Nokia, Panasonic, HP, Samsung, Sony, a third of the electronics products you use every day."

Daisey tells of his trip to the main gate of the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, where he planned to stand and talk "to anyone who will talk to me." He says that guards at the gate carry guns, and "along the edges of each enormous building are the nets, because - right at the time that I am making this visit - there has been an epidemic of suicides at the Foxconn plant. Week after week, worker after worker has been climbing all the way up to the tops of these enormous buildings and then throwing themselves off, killing themselves in a brutal and public manner. . . . Foxconn's response . . . is to put up these nets."

Daisey goes on to tell of talking to the workers, through an interpreter he brought with him, as they come through the gate at shift change.

"Everyone wants to talk. . . . We can't keep up with them." In his first 2 hours, he says, "I know I met workers who were 14 years old, 13 years old, 12. . . . Do you really think it's credible that Apple doesn't know, or are they just doing what we're all doing? Do they just see what they want to see?"

Their hours, he says, are 60-minute hours, meaning that they don't get to take a minute here and there to go to the restroom or chat at the water cooler or go outside to smoke. They stand in an assembly line that shows no mercy. Everything is manufactured by hand, "and the lines only move as slow as its slowest members, and each person learns how to move perfectly as quickly as possible. If they can't do it, there are people behind them, watching them, and there are cameras watching both sets of people, and people watching the cameras."

"The official workday in China is 8 hours long," Daisey says, "and that's a joke. I never met anyone who had even heard of an 8-hour shift. Everyone I talked to worked 12-hour shifts, standard, and often much longer than that. . . . Sometimes, when there's a hot new gadget coming out, . . . it just pegs at 16 hours a day, and it just sits there for weeks and months at a time. . . . While I'm in the country, a worker at Foxconn dies after working a 34-hour shift. I wish I could say that's exceptional, but it's happened before."

There's more to Daisey's report . . . his monologue . . . his show. But that's enough.

I'm concerned about the treatment of these people by their employer and a Chinese government that looks the other way, possibly even encourages it. I'm also concerned about the culpability of corporations from America and elsewhere in this exploitation and abuse of human beings, children and otherwise. But what disturbs me even more is that they have pulled the rest of us - we American consumers - into this. We're responsible, too, because they're giving us what we demand at a price that's halfway acceptable to us . . . by exploiting God's children - of whatever age - on the other side of the world.

And Cain's question comes to me: "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9b, NIV)

And Jesus' question: "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" And, after receiving the answer, "The one who had mercy on him," the challenge posed by Jesus: "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10: 36-37, NIV)

And Jesus' indictment of us all: "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." (Matthew 25:45, NIV)

Inaugural Ethics Lecture at Truett Seminary

On Tuesday, Dr. Jonathan Tran delivered the inaugural Ethics Lecture, sponsored by the TBMaston Foundation, at Truett Seminary on the Baylor campus in Waco.

Dr. Tran's subject was ambitious: The Audacity of Hope and the Violence of Peace: Obama, War, and Christianity. Though he discussed the war policies of both Barack Obama and George W. Bush, neither president was his intended target. Bush, he said, gave us the "reasons for war," whereas Obama gave us the "theology of war." But he went on to say that neither Bush nor Obama had much choice in the matter. They were merely playing out the script that the American people have written for them. We love peace, he said, but we have decided the only way we can have peace is to wage war. Thus, we confuse our love for war with our love for peace.

We will publish Dr. Tran's lecture in the next edition of the Foundation's e-Newsletter in a few weeks and then on tbmaston.org. There will be plenty of Christians who disagree with him, but that's okay. The purpose of the lecturer . . . the prophet, if you will . . . is to challenge his listeners to look within, reexamine their closely-held beliefs and principles, and seek God's discernment. Dr. Tran did that.

My dad often told the story of sitting, as a doctoral student one day in the early 1950s, in T. B. Maston's office.

At that time, churches in the South by-and-large were segregated. Jim Crow laws still held sway. KKK rallies, cross-burnings, and lynchings were common. And most white Christians either took part in the hateful treatment of African-Americans or stood by passively, either accepting it or at least letting it happen without objection. But T. B. Maston was regularly challenging them to love and respect African-Americans as equals.

Dr. Maston pointed to the bulging bottom drawer of a nearby file cabinet. "See that bottom drawer?" Dr. Maston asked Daddy. "It's filled with hate mail."

Prophets aren't perfect, and they aren't always right. But their purpose is to point people to God and to Christ, and that will always make us uncomfortable, because the closer we get to Christ, the more we see how inadequate we are. But it's the first step in becoming faithful.

A. Jase Jones, part 1: Surrendered to God's Call

I've been thinking a lot about my Daddy the past few days. He passed away 4 years ago this week at the age of 93. Father's Day brought to mind our family's last visit with him. We celebrated Father's Day with him a day early that year, on Saturday. He died exactly a week later.

That last visit was a precious gift from God. Although Daddy had struggled in his last years - as so many do at that age - with a fuzzy memory and mental faculties that weren't as sharp as they once were, that Saturday he was truly his old self. He was recalling family memories as if they were yesterday, and he was laughing and joking with us - and we had a wonderful time together as a family that day.

As the rest of the family said goodbye and started toward the door to allow workers to take him back to his room, my son Travis and I lingered behind for one more goodbye. I had a pretty strong feeling that I might never see him again in this life. One more time, I told him how much I loved him, and he told me the same - and how proud he was of the man I had become. What a gift! Thank you, Lord.

Dr. A. Jase (Atwood Jason) Jones was a special man. Most people - even Baptists - don't know his name, because he was never prominent in national leadership. Yet he spent 22 years (January 1957 through December 1978) with the SBC Home Mission Board's Department of Interfaith Witness, leading the department's work in about a dozen midwestern and southwestern states.

Daddy surrendered to the ministry in the late 1930s, only after struggling against God's call for quite a time. When he finally surrendered to God's call, he was a rising young assistant manager in the F. W. Woolworth chain. In fact, he was told he was being transferred to a store that everyone knew was the final stepping stone to being promoted from assistant manager to manager.

Unfortunately for Woolworth, their timing was all wrong. Daddy had recently decided to stop fighting God's call to the Gospel ministry. When he told his manager that he couldn't in good conscience accept the transfer because he had decided to go to seminary to study for the ministry, his manager laughed at him and said, "You're going to be a preacher? There's no money in that!"

But now Daddy was the one who was laughing. "Don't you think I know that?" Money, he explained, had nothing to do with his decision; it was all about being faithful to God's call.

Daddy had graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1936. He was a Texan through and through, having been born in Corrigan in 1913 and grown up in various Texas towns.

Daddy married my Mother, Vivian Louise Otting, in January 1938, and they would soon be starting a family (my sister, Patsy, was born in 1941), so a Woolworth manager's salary would have made life more comfortable, but that wasn't what Mother and Daddy were about. They would trust God to provide what they needed.

Read part 2: Seminary Student; Pastor; Home Missionary; and Chaplain

Read part 3: Maston Foundation; and At Home with His Family

A. Jase Jones, part 2: Seminary Student; Pastor; Home Missionary; and Chaplain

Mother & Daddy with our kids, Alison & Travis (1991)

Daddy began study at Southwestern Seminary, but his study was interrupted when, in early 1943, he enlisted in the U. S. Army as a chaplain. For the next 2 years, he served under General George S. Patton's command in the European Theatre of Operations.

In the summer of 1945, after victory in Europe was achieved, his regiment returned home on the Queen Mary. They were expecting only a brief stay at home, for they were scheduled to ship out for the Pacific in the fall. Only Harry Truman's decisive actions, leading to Japan's surrender, changed those plans, meaning Daddy was home to stay.

He soon resumed his seminary work while pastoring small churches. He received his Master's degree from Southwestern in 1948 and decided to pursue a doctorate in theology, with a major in Christian Ethics under T. B. Maston.

In fact, my connection with Dr. Maston goes back to my birth. Daddy was scheduled to take his spring 1951 oral exam on March 16, but Mother was expecting, and the due date was right around the time of his exam. Although he was studying diligently (while also carrying out his pastoral responsibilities and working a part-time job with Foremost Dairy), his mind was preoccupied with taking care of Mother and preparing for the birth of their second child. So he requested an extension from Dr. Maston, and Dr. Maston granted him an extra month, rescheduling the exam for April 16. I was born on March 14.

Daddy received his Th.D. in Christian Ethics from Southwestern Seminary in 1956, just months before his 43rd birthday.

He continued pastoring small Texas churches until January 1957, when he began work with the SBC Home Mission Board. His work was co-sponsored by the Dallas and Tarrant Baptist Associations, and – for a time – by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He had offices at both the Dallas and Tarrant Baptist Associations.

At that time, the department was known as the Department of Jewish Evangelism. He began studying the Jewish culture, the Jewish faith, and the Jewish people, and he developed a special lifelong love of - and admiration for - the Jewish people. In fact, in 1973 he and Mother spent a 6-month sabbatical in Israel, where he studied at the Institute of Holy Land Studies, and he obtained a working knowledge of the Hebrew language.

In 1962, we moved to Kansas City. He was still with the Home Mission Board, but his work was now co-sponsored by the Kansas City Baptist Association (where he had his office) and the Missouri Baptist Convention. In 1974, he and Mother moved "home" to Texas, and he spent his final 5 years with the Home Mission Board officing from their home in Marble Falls.

Through the years, in addition to his daily work as pastor and then home missionary, Daddy remained in the U. S. Army Reserves as a chaplain attached to hospital units, attending monthly meetings and performing his annual required 2 weeks of active duty (including a stint in 1963 as chaplain in the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth). Shortly before retiring from the Reserves at age 60 in 1973, he attained the rank of Colonel, an achievement of which he was especially proud.


Read part 1: Surrendered to God's Call

Read part 3: Maston Foundation; and At Home with Family

A. Jase Jones, part 3: Maston Foundation; and At Home with His Family

Thanksgiving 1998: We're all wearing caps commemorating the recent reunion of Daddy's WWII regiment, the 398th Engineers. (missing - Michael, Patsy & Palmer's son)

L to R: Daddy; Alison; Travis; Patsy; Stephanie's husband, Jim Markgraf; Joanna; Stephanie; and yours truly

Jim is holding the cap belonging to Palmer McCown, Patsy's husband, who is taking the picture.


Over the years, Dr. and Mrs. Maston and Tom Mc, their elder son, were visitors in our home on several occasions. Daddy always considered Dr. Maston his primary mentor and influence in his own ministry, but they were also close friends and stayed in touch regularly by mail and by phone.

A vision eventually began to form in Daddy's heart and mind - a vision of an entity that would keep Dr. Maston's life and teaching alive, long after Dr. Maston and his students were gone, as a legacy for generations yet unborn. When Daddy retired from the Home Mission Board at the beginning of 1979, he was able to focus more directly on this vision. He had already begun talking about the idea to some of his friends - fellow Maston students like Bill Pinson, Jimmy Allen, James Dunn, and Foy Valentine. In 1979, he flew to San Francisco and met with Bill Pinson - then president of Golden Gate Seminary - to discuss funding.

The T. B. Maston Scholarship Fund was born, ultimately becoming the T. B. Maston Foundation. In 1987, the Foundation held its first biennial Awards Dinner and honored Foy Valentine with the inaugural T. B. Maston Christian Ethics Award. Dr. and Mrs. Maston were in attendance. Dr. Maston died the following spring.

Daddy chaired the Foundation's Board of Trustees from its inception until 1992, after which he continued to support the work of the Foundation throughout his life. At the Foundation's 1993 Awards Dinner, the Board honored A. Jase Jones with the T. B. Maston Christian Ethics Award. I doubt that any recognition or award ever meant more to him than this one, because T. B. Maston had been the major influence in his life and ministry. In the years following, as Mother's failing health and then his own required him to step back from active involvement, Daddy remained pleased to see the vitality and work of the Maston Foundation.

I've tried to share just a little bit about Daddy's ministry - barely a nutshell view. But that doesn't even begin to tell the story of A. Jase Jones.

Father's Day reminds me of the caring Daddy who was patient and understanding when I lost my faith during my college years. He was the major influence in helping me to find my way back to Christ. Father's Day reminds me of the caring Granddaddy who doted over his grandkids - first Stephanie and Michael (Patsy's children) and then Alison and Travis (our kids), and then his great-grandchildren Jon Michael and Christopher (Stephanie's boys).

Father's Day reminds me of the loving husband who insisted on keeping Mother at home where he could personally take care of her day and night after she had become unable to care for herself. For him, the blessed marriage that lasted 59 years and ended only with her death in 1997 seemed much too short.

And last night, as I sat rocking our second grandchild, Anderson James Clements (born yesterday afternoon), in Alison's hospital room, I couldn't help but think how much Mother and Daddy would have loved Anderson and his sister, Avery Lin, if only they had lived to see them.

Above all else, they were loving parents, and Patsy and I - and our families - know how very blessed we've been. Thanks be to God.

Read part 1: Surrendered to God's Call

Read part 2: Seminary Student; Pastor; Home Missionary; and Chaplain

Of Slippery Crowns and Wobbly Thrones

A prominent Baptist leader recently called Barack Obama "the worst president of the United States that Israel has ever had." But that was only one of what I consider to be a series of careless, thoughtless proclamations.

Here are a few of them:

• "The reason I am a social conservative is because I believe the Bible."
• "President Obama and his policies are pro-Palestinian."
• "America and Israel are founded on the same basis, the word of God."
• "If we want God to bless America, then we have to bless the Jews."
• "God blesses us when we obey him, and he doesn't bless us when we disobey him."

Some of you are probably asking, "So what's wrong with that?" And that's fine - if we all agreed on everything, then there wouldn't be any reason for a blog . . . a dialogue . . . a conversation.

On the other hand, before you take me to task, please consider carefully the basis of my concerns with these pronouncements.

• "The reason I am a social conservative is because I believe the Bible."

The speaker allows no room for disagreement. If we disagree with his brand of "social conservatism," then we simply don't believe the Bible.

The members of our Sunday School class constantly challenge each other. We disagree widely over the meaning of practically every passage of Scripture. But we never question that everyone in that class "believes the Bible"; we just have different understandings of it, and we learn from each other.

• "President Obama and his policies are pro-Palestinian."

The speaker allows no room for compromise. The accusation that the president is "pro-Palestinian" is likely based on Mr. Obama's reported call for a return to pre-1967 borders. Yet what he really called for was "mutually agreed swaps" - in other words, compromise, a position that every U.S. president for the past 20 years has taken. So why does the speaker single out Mr. Obama?

Compromise is at the heart of Mr. Obama's position - the point that, as long as rigidity rules on either or both sides, peaceful coexistence will be impossible to achieve. Between nations, if there is no compromise, there is only one ultimate solution: war. To tell you the truth, I'm weary of old men stubbornly resisting compromise, then callously sending young men and women to die on their behalf.

• "America and Israel are founded on the same basis, the word of God."

No, these United States were joined together on the basis of the Constitution, a secular document binding us together under common understandings, one of which is religious liberty for all people, even those who reject belief in any supreme being. Years ago, Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty listed the arguments made by the "Christian America" crowd and explained - clearly and definitively - why each of those arguments is without any basis in fact. To read Brent's essay, click here.

"If we want God to bless America, then we have to bless the Jews."

"God blesses us when we obey him, and he doesn't bless us when we disobey him."

The speaker is promoting a works-based relationship with God, in which blessings from God are merited; we receive them only because of our obedience. My experience - and my understanding of the Bible - tell me that God blesses us because He loves us, not because we deserve it. Furthermore, we should seek to bless all people - without regard to ethnicity or nationality - because God has blessed us, not to earn God's blessing.

That's not to say that our obedience doesn't bring us closer to God. Of course it does, and the blessings are surely greater and deeper when we are close to Him.

But he who says "He doesn't bless us when we disobey Him" has put himself on the throne (and apparently deposed God from it). I guess that's what you get when you combine unerring biblical interpretation with obedience that has earned showers of blessings.

But he'd better watch out - his crown is slipping, and his throne is wobbling!

OPINION: Growing up Baptist in a pluralistic world

NOTE: This article was originally published on June 10, 2011, on the Associated Baptist Press Web site.

Written by J. Zachary Bailes, an M.Div. candidate at Wake Forest University Divinity School and editor of the blog Crazy Liberals . . . and Conservatives

In his Letter to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport, George Washington wrote in 1790: “May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

Growing up Baptist, if someone had told me that Washington had written a letter assuring safety of a “Hebrew congregation,” I’m not sure I would have believed it. This is because I was either explicitly or implicitly taught that Christians and Jews are not to mingle. Yet in Rhode Island, it was Baptists who created the space for Jews to worship as they pleased.

Today, fundamentalist viewpoints have conflated Israeli identity with Zionist belief. As the record will show, Israel does not demonstrate the most tolerant attitude when it comes to other religions. And, yet, it was Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission this past week that advocated for America to “bless the Jews” so that God will “bless America.”

Land’s words are neither constructive for the Middle East peace process, nor do they reflect the highly held value of religious liberty. Land’s thought conflates theology with public policy in a disastrous manner. Indeed, his words stir the boiling pot of militant activity. His theological belief creates political action that demeans the religious identity of Palestinian Christians and Muslims.

It is at this point Land stands against his Baptist heritage . . . . . .

Click here to read the entire article.

Climate Change: How Evangelical and Catholic Leaders Differ

(originally published on EthicsDaily.com, May 17, 2011)

by Robert Parham
Executive Editor, EthicsDaily.com; and Executive Director, Baptist Center for Ethics

Texas has been burning. Memphis has flooded. Tuscaloosa has been cleaning up after a tornado with 190-mile-per-hour winds smashed through Alabama. Kentucky has been drying out from almost one foot more rain in April than normal. And evangelical preachers are in denial.

Well, at least one out of the five things listed above is normal: evangelical preachers being in denial. The other matters are outside what we encounter on a regular basis.

What is beyond denial is that the nation is experiencing extreme weather events.

Just a year ago, Nashville had 19 inches of rain in two days in what the Army Corps of Engineers called a 1,000-year flood. The next month Oklahoma City had "record-busting rainfall." Arkansas experienced an 8-inch downpour that killed 20 campers.

In 2011, an estimated 95 percent of Texas faces a drought that Associated Press categorized as "severe or worse," with one of the state's driest Aprils on record.

During the same month, the nation had 305 tornadoes in a four-day period that killed more than 300 people. For the entire month, 875 tornadoes whipped across the land.

The Mississippi River crested in Memphis less than a foot below the record mark set in 1937. The Mississippi River has now had its second 500-year flood in less than 20 years – 1993 and 2011.View the NASA maps to see the extent of the flooding.

"April was a month of historic climate extremes across much of the United States, including: record-breaking precipitation that resulted in historic flooding; recurrent violent weather systems that broke records for tornado and severe weather outbreaks; and wildfire activity that scorched more than twice the area of any April this century," reported the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

What explains these extreme weather events? . . .

To read the entire article, click here.

Violence for violence plunges us in the dark

(originally published on the Web site of the Whittier Daily News, May 5, 2011)

by Becky Memmelaar
Pastor, First Friends Church, Whittier, California

"When the planes began to fall from the sky on Sept. 11, 2001, time stood still. My husband (a captain at Midway Airlines) and I (an international flight attendant) were enjoying our second cup of coffee.

"We were getting ready to go buy cupcakes to take to school for our son's birthday when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. We knew instantly that our lives would never again be the same.

"My husband's company folded the next day on Sept. 12, and the company that I worked for ended up filing for bankruptcy, cutting my pay and benefits.

"More important than money to us (and make no mistake, with four children, two in college and two still at home, money was important), was the radical change to our lifestyle.

"Prior to 9/11, walking into an airport, and onto an airplane had been no more nerve-wracking than walking into an office; I loved flying, loved traveling. Yet the day I returned to work, the day international travel resumed, my workplace was fraught with fear.

"Soldiers patrolled the airport with machine guns. It was months before I left home without fearing that I would never return. Please understand I had no respect, no admiration for Osama bin Laden.

"His plans to attack the U.S. directly and negatively impacted my life. It cost my family our livelihood, and it cost me my sense of security.

"It temporarily caused me to live a life based on fear. My faith in God kept me going; it kept all of us going.

"Sunday night, when the announcement was made that Osama bin Laden had been killed, it dredged up all of these feelings, all of these memories. Yet when I saw dancing in the streets of Washington, I also remembered dancing in the streets of other countries when our Twin Towers fell, and I was sickened.

"I realized that both were equally wrong. As a follower of Christ, I cannot celebrate retributive justice because it is an 'eye for an eye,' and Jesus called us to be more than that, to do more than that.

"As a former flight attendant, and wife of a pilot, I understand that life is not always black and white. I understand that feelings of distrust and hurt . . ."

To read the entire article, click here.

Christians Must Call for This War to End

(originally published on the God's Politics blog, May 6, 2011)

by Jim Wallis
Chief Executive Officer, Sojourners

"There is no more room or time for excuses. The war in Afghanistan — now the longest war in American history — no longer has any justification, and I am calling upon Christians, along with other people of good, moral sense, to lead the effort to finally end this war and bring our troops home. On moral, financial, and strategic grounds, the continuation of the war in Afghanistan cannot be justified. The completion of the largest and most expensive manhunt in history for Osama bin Laden must be a turning point to completely rethink our response to terrorism. The threats of terrorists are still real, but it is now clear that full-scale military action is not the most effective response.

"It was the campaign against bin Laden and al Qaeda that was always used to justify the war in Afghanistan. General David Petraeus has said there are about 100 al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan. We have more than 100,000 American troops and another 40,000 coalition soldiers in Afghanistan. That means 1,400 soldiers for each al Qaeda fighter. It costs about $1 million a year to deploy and support each American soldier — or more than $100 billion a year total. That breaks down to our country spending $1 billion per year, per al Qaeda fighter. Every deficit hawk in America should now oppose this war. The cost is simply too high, especially when compared with . . ."

To read the entire article, click here.

Baptist Leaders Reflect Morally on Killing of Osama bin Laden

(from the Web site of Ethics Daily, May 2, 2011)

by EthicsDaily.com Staff


Before President Obama announced late Sunday evening that the United States had killed Osama bin Laden, a crowd gathered outside the White House chanting "USA! USA!" and singing "God Bless America."

As patriotic triumphalism swept the country, ordinary Americans shot off fireworks, political leaders issued victory statements and newspaper headlines announced pride in national success.

Bin Laden's death came eight years to the day that President George W. Bush declared the conclusion of major combat operations in Iraq. Bush made his announcement on a U.S. aircraft carrier under a banner that said, "Mission Accomplished."

The Iraq War then worsened, costing the lives of thousands of American and allied forces and injuring tens of thousands of combatants. The Iraqi civilian death toll exceeded 100,000, according to one source.

In a nine-minute statement from the East Room of the White House, Obama gave limited details about the killing of bin Laden in Pakistan.

The president said the nation must "reaffirm that the United States is not – and never will be – at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims."

Aidsand Wright-Riggins, executive director of American Baptist Home Mission Societies, gave a statement to EthicsDaily.com about bin Laden's death.

"I too am tempted toward the triumphalism and patriotism," said Wright-Riggins. "I have to remind myself that payback, retribution and vengeance are not the same thing as biblical justice. Killing Osama bin Laden does not and will not break the inexorable cycle of violence in which the world is so enraged. Praying that God would deliver us from our enemies requires that we engage the enemy within ourselves as well – enemies like nationalism, narcissism, self righteousness and the like."

The American Baptist Churches-USA leader said: "Our eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth methodology will leave the whole world blind and toothless. God knows we must find a better way. If we must wave the flag . . ."

To read the entire article, click here.

Editor calls for resolution targeting Westboro Baptist Church

NOTE: This article was originally published on April 20, 2011, on the Associated Baptist Press Web site (www.abpnews.com/).

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) – A Baptist newspaper editor says it is time for the state’s Southern Baptists to take a public stand against a tiny Kansas congregation known for pickets across the country with signs reading “God Hates Fags.”

Writing in The Pathway, Editor Don Hinkle called on the Missouri Baptist Convention to pass a resolution at its upcoming annual meeting repudiating the behavior and views of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan.

The church, which is not affiliated with any Baptist denomination, routinely makes headlines with protests near the funerals of fallen soldiers proclaiming that military casualties are the result of God’s judgment on America for accepting homosexuality.

A number of states have responded with laws limiting protests near funerals. The U.S. Supreme Court recently sided . . .

Click here to read the entire article.