Mainline Mess: ABC Fracture Impending and Certain This Year Says Veteran Religion Writer

Few religion writers have the stature or experience of Ed Plowman. Many of the readers of "His Barking Dog" will remember his years of reporting for "Christianity Today." Now, in a "World Magazine" piece, he offers his observations on the impending implosions in several mainline denominations, including the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church USA, and the ABCUSA.

AMERICAN BAPTIST CHURCHES (U.S.A.)

American Baptist Churches (U.S.A.) will fracture. The 1.5-million-member denomination, based in Valley Forge, Pa., has a strong position on homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture. But its liberal-dominated governing board has blocked all efforts to enforce the policy on member churches on grounds Baptist churches are autonomous, don't have creeds, and have the right to interpret the Bible as they wish. The board also has allowed gay-approving churches to transfer from predominantly conservative regional units to gay-friendly ones in a different geographic area.

The ABC's Southern California--based Pacific Southwest region, with 300 mostly conservative churches in three states, is scheduled to vote in April on whether to proceed with plans to pull out of the denomination. Several other regions are poised to do likewise if the board continues to balk at discipline of congregations. The financially strapped ABC would be hard-pressed to survive. It already has cut staff to bare bones, and it rents out most of its headquarters to private firms. A large chunk of its membership is dually aligned with black denominations or the pro-gay United Church of Christ, and this shows in financial loyalties.

The Northern California--based American Baptist Churches of the West, which has kicked out several pro-gay churches from membership, changed its name as of Jan. 1. The region's new name is Growing Healthy Churches—"a move to reflect more accurately who we are as well as losing any negative baggage that may be detrimental to the accomplishment of a mission," said executive minister Paul Borden.

Leaders of American Baptist Evangelicals, organized as a renewal group in 1982, recently declared the ABC is beyond renewal. They voted to become a support group for whatever new entity emerges from the ruins of Valley Forge this year.

Copyright 2006 WORLD Magazine, January 14, 2006, Vol. 21, No. 2

IRD Announces Plan by Soulforce to "Crash" White House Easter Egg Roll

The Institute on Religion and Democracy issued a news alert today regarding an announced effort by Dr. Mel White's Sourforce group to "crash" the White House Easter Egg Roll. White, a USC educated PhD, producer of more than fifty award winning Christian films, served as ghost-writer for such evangelical luminaries as Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy, Ollie North, and Pat Robertson before coming out of the closet as a homosexual activist and advocate. White was a popular communications professor at my alma mater, Fuller Theological Seminary, when I arrived there in 1975. He founded "Soulforce" in 1998 with his partner Gary Nixon. The "goal of Soulforce is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance."

NEWS ALERT: PRO-HOMOSEXUALITY ‘SOULFORCE’ TO CRASH WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL

Thursday, January 12,2006: Soulforce, in coalition with other groups advocating acceptance of homosexual practice within Christian churches, is planning to crash the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

"On April 17, 2006, when the White House lawn is opened to families for the Annual Easter Egg Roll, imagine if the first 1,000 families onto the lawn were LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] families," enthused an e-mail alert from Soulforce.

"LGBT" participants are being urged to gather at the White House gate the night before so as to be the first to enter the next morning. They will also arrive with special t-shirts to identify themselves as "LGBT."

The White House Easter egg roll dates back to the years after the Civil War and has become a venerated event. Besides thousands of children and parents, the roll often includes prominent entertainers, the Easter Bunny, and sometimes the President and First Lady.

Soulforce, in cooperation with other pro-homosexuality caucus groups, such a the "Reconciling" group for United Methodists, is asking same-sex couples and other non-traditional families to bring their children to the White House so as to expose America to "LGBT" families.

"The media will be there (they are always there for the egg roll) and millions of Americans – many for the first time – will meet our families," the Soulforce e-mail reported. "This is an amazing opportunity to reach homes in blue states and red states with positive images of our families participating in this great American family tradition."

Soulforce went on to promise: "This event will be like nothing anyone has ever seen before. The White House lawn – the Bush White House lawn – will, quite unexpectedly, be filled with gay and lesbian families. This is something people will be talking about for a long time, an event that will make history!"

According to Soulforce, "It is time to claim our place at the table. Come to our nation's capital and let America see who we really are." Soulforce promised: "It is basically going to be the biggest LGBT family party ever, you and your kids will have a great time.

Recipients of the Soulforce e-mail were asked to be "discreet" and not to post the information on websites because the "success of this action depends on keeping it under the radar of the media and the administration!!!"

Over the years Soulforce has become well known for its disruptive demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience at church conventions. Other sponsors of this effort to target the White House Easter egg roll include: the Metropolitan Community Church, PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), Love Makes a Family, BLGT Office of the Unitarian Universalists, and the unofficial Reconciling Ministries Network within the United Methodist Church.

Evangelical scholars address ‘Whatever Happened to Truth?’

Jan 12, 2006
By Kyle Smith
Baptist Press

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)--The assault on truth -– being fought today on the fronts of biblical authority, culture, philosophy and hermeneutics -– has evoked a hearty response from a team of leading evangelicals led by New Testament scholar Andreas Köstenberger.

Their book, titled “Whatever Happened to Truth?” published by Crossway Books, contends for the existence of truth -- a truth that can be known in God’s written Word, the Bible, and God’s incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.

Edited by Köstenberger, the book is a compilation of addresses from the 2004 meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, featuring chapters by such scholars as R. Albert Mohler Jr., J.P. Moreland and Kevin J. Vanhoozer who join Köstenberger in setting forth the battle for truth on a variety of levels.

Köstenberger, professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., and editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, said the book is designed to equip college students, laypeople and ministers alike to contend confidently for the truth of Scripture in a postmodern world.

“Truth is under siege in our society on several levels,” Köstenberger said. “It is under attack at the level of biblical authority. People scoff at the notion of scriptural inerrancy or inspiration. Truth is also under attack in our culture, as Al Mohler amply demonstrates in his superb piece in this volume. The most concerted effort to replace the notion of absolute truth in recent years has come from a movement called ‘postmodernism,’ which contends that subjective experience, not divine revelation, inevitably governs human perception.

“Truth has also suffered greatly in the area of hermeneutics, where individual interpretation and communal experience have replaced the notion of truth as sustaining an existence independent from a given interpreter.”

Both the urgency and importance of the topic at hand led Köstenberger to conclude that Whatever Happened to Truth? “may be one of the most important books I ever had a part in writing.”

“The book is supremely significant for several reasons,” he said. “First, there could be no more important subject than truth. Second, with the notion of truth slipping in recent public discourse, truth needs a robust, competent defense. Third, the book’s essays were written by scholars and evangelical leaders who are the most competent on this topic.”

While relevant and important reading for all Christians today, Köstenberger noted that the book can be especially helpful to college students and young people facing an assault on truth from within their schools and campuses.

“This is a book that articulates an intelligent response to the recent rejection of truth in our culture yet does so in a highly accessible and succinct way,” Köstenberger said. “People can pick up this book and read it or parts of it in a short time. I believe many will be gripped by the truth of Scripture, Christ and Christianity and be re-energized to bear witness in our pluralistic, relativistic and postmodern world.”

Köstenberger said he hopes the book will find an entrance not only into college campuses but also the workplace, where it will serve as a tool to be used by defenders of the truth in their witness to unbelievers.“I hope [the book] will also boost the confidence of those who already believe but who are intimidated by the prevailing confusion and attack upon truth in our culture,” Köstenberger added.

“I hope Whatever Happened to Truth? will embolden Christians to stand up and witness to the Truth, the Way and the Life, fully convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ, and He alone, is the way to God and the one who can save us from our sinful, rebellious condition. I hope the book will serve as a prophetic denunciation of the demise of truth in our increasingly pagan culture and as a wakeup call to God’s people to share the truth with others.”

ABC Through the Eyes of the Christian Media

One reason for clarity in our discussions and decisions relates to how they are perceived in the wider community, both Christian and secular. Christianity Today assesses the current ABC flap as the "American Baptist Non-Breakup." Here is how the venerable CT processes our recent history . . .

The governing board of American Baptist Churches USA (ABC) voted 59-45 on November 24 to add a stand against gay sex to their "We Are American Baptists" statement. Meanwhile, leaders of the Pacific Southwest region, who earlier decided to leave the denomination, announced on December 9 that local congregations will vote in May about whether to leave. But the West Virginia association, the denomination's largest, voted in November to stick with the ABC.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/002/10.25.html

Deadly Stampede at Muslim Pilgrimage

The Associated Press reported today on a deadly stampede in Saudi Arabia during part of the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage and one of the pillars of Islam.


MINA, Saudi Arabia — Thousands of Muslim pilgrims rushing to complete a symbolic stoning ritual during the hajj tripped over luggage Thursday, causing a crush in which at least 345 people were killed, the Interior Ministry said.

The stampede occurred as tens of thousands of pilgrims headed toward al-Jamarat, a series of three pillars representing the devil that the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said 345 people were killed. Dr. Abbasi, a Red Crecent doctor at the scene, put the number of injured at 1,000.

Blogger Revdrron (http://revdrron.blogspot.com/) offers some background on how such a tragedy could happen. Notice his editorial comment at the end of the piece. Today he writes:

Iranian Pilgrims in Mecca Shout "Death to America, the Great Satan" in an Anti-American Rally…

Following are excerpts from a rally of Iranian pilgrims in Mecca, aired on Channel 1, Iranian TV, and on Al-'Alam TV, on January 9, 2006.

Crowd: Israel is the enemy of Allah.

Man: May the hands of the infidels be chopped off.

Crowd: May the hands of the infidels be chopped off.

Man: May the hands of the infidels be chopped off.

Crowd: May the hands of the infidels be chopped off.

Man: (Chopped off) from the land of the believers.

Crowd: From the land of the believers.

Man: The Audience will now split into two groups: One group will settle the score with America, and the other will settle the score with Israel.

This group now: Death to America!

Crowd: Death to America!

Man: Death to Israel!

Crowd: Death to Israel! Death to America!

Man: Death to America!

Crowd: Death to America!

Man: Death to America!

Crowd: Death to Israel! Death to America! Death to Israel!

Man: All together now: Death to America! Death to Israel!

Crowd: Death to America! Death to Israel! Death to America! Death to Israel! Death to America! Death to Israel! Death to America! Death to Israel!Etc, etc, etc....

The mind of sinful (mind set on the flesh) man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace... (Romans 8:6)

Celebrating Chaos: The Proud Identity of a "Diverse" and Disintegrating Denomination

What does it mean to say that we are a pluralistic and diverse denomination? What does that really look like in its day to day operations? A blurb from the Associational e-news of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and a post from the ABE message board show the contrasts at work in our ABC life.

First, from AWAB, the celebration of the disfellowshipping of four churches a decade ago:

"10th Anniversary of Disfellowshipping of Churches - Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland, CA, is hosting a worship service on January 6, 2006, 7 p.m., to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the disfellowshipping of Lakeshore, 1st Berkeley, New Community of Faith and San Leandro Community Church. In song, prayer, scripture and the spoken word we will lift up the themes of standing strong and moving forward."
(http://www.wabaptists.org/associational/2005-12-24.htm)

Then, from the ABE message board comes the way in which local churches in the Central Region are contemplating their participation in the ABCUSA. In large part these congregations are a reaction to what the denomination did in the wake of that disfellowshiping action ten years ago. By overturning the decisions of the region acting in discipline; by accepting the churches as part of regions as far geographically removed from California as New York; as a result of finding ways to promote that AWAB cause throughout the layers of the denominational structure; the ABCUSA institutionalized disorderly chaos as part of our corporate culture. One of the results, as we can see from today's post on the ABE message board, is a splintering fragmentation of our denomination:

"However, I was informed that some churches in [ABC of the Central Region] are considering dual alignment with the Conservative Baptists and one church in fact is meeting with a representative from Longmont, Colo. this week. Others are waiting to see the results of that meeting. I was told that the plan is to give the ABC $10 a month as "rent" on the property and give the rest of support to [Conservative Baptists]."

The post-Lombard strategy group has met (with another meeting slated this month) to hammer out specifics of the new evangelical Baptist movement. Sources say that they have been working with professionals on the media side of "getting the word out" as well and have even coalesced around a few possible names. Meanwhile, Pacific Southwest Baptists prepare for their April 29 meeting to provide an advisory vote for their regional board on future ABC relationships.

Dr. Medley has declared himself to be traditional in matters of human sexuality AND unwilling to be separated from those who in Christian conscience differ from him on the issue of homosexuality. He calls this a privileged paradox of our ABC life. For him "holding on to one another" trumps questions of the moral and hermeneutical implications of our differences. But, as James Berkely has said (quoted in an earlier post of His Barking Dog):

'Holding on to convictions can be terrible, if the convictions are evil, untrue, damaging, or God-defying. In addition, some mutually exclusive convictions will never meld successfully in the same group. Holding on to convictions per se is not necessarily a good thing.

Both sides can’t be right, since one conviction contradicts the other. Both sides could be wrong, and some third conviction could be right--whatever it might be. But far more likely, one side is right and one side is wrong.

If that’s the case, what is so great about celebrating a church in which a great number of members are advocating by conviction something actually morally evil? And perpetuating that condition. And calling it a good to be valued?"

Attempting to hold the ABC together despite our significant divisions over human sexuality and the locus of identity in baptist life (sola scriptura as the norming norm vs. Christian experience) will only result in Dr. Medley aging more rapidly than any mortal should and the continued inevitable chaos such as was referenced earlier in this posting.

[His Barking Dog does not pretend to present, represent, or relay any official voice from within the PSW; it carries the views of the blogger alone.]

Dr. Layne Gives Prescription for ABC Cure

Dr. Glenn Layne has done it again. In the midst of preparations for his upcoming trip to Israel, the venerable writer of Durable Data has found time to offer his own prescription for curing the ABC sickness. Notice how his proposed suggestion closely parallels the motion by the Michigan region board last year.

That initiative was buried in prosaic understatement by the American Baptist News Service report of June 29, 2005 : "The General Board also received messages of concern from the region board . . . of the ABC of Michigan, which, among other concerns, calls for 'the establishment of a task force to (a) examine the nature of our present cultures and the impact of postmodernism and (b) assess implications for potential organizational change for the ABCUSA.'" In actuality, the Michigan motion called for the same radical decentralization Layne advocates, including the abolition of the Office of the General Secretary and the General Board.

CAN THE ABC BE SAVED?
by Dr. Glenn Layne

A lenghty conversation I had with an unnamed ABFMS (American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, the legal name of the Board of International Ministries) missionary this week, along with some chats with members of my church got me thinking: is it still possible to save the ABCUSA?

Readers of Durable Data will realize that I have predicted and at times called for the end of the ABCUSA as we know it. Yet I still believe that it is possible to save the ABC. It would require a level of vision and self-sacrifice on the part of the Valley Forge elite which I doubt they are capable of, but it can be done.

How? In two words, radical decentralization. This is much as the ABC of Michigan proposed: go to a pre-1907 configuration of regions, societies (such as ABFMS) and churches. Recall that in the 19th century, most Baptist churches in the north worked through loosely associated societies for missions, church planting and benevolence until the formation of the Northern Baptist Convention in 1907. Prior to 1907, Baptists in the north related to one another via fellowship and mission, with the association being the key unit of contact.

1907 was the beginning of a gradual process of centralization of program. The societies were gradually "tamed" under the Office of the General Secretary. The ABCUSA was established as a respectible mainline denomination--a terrible thing for the rowdy spirit of the people called Baptists.

What could be done now? I have some specific suggestions:

1. Abolish the Office of General Secretary. A good first step would be the resignation of the current occupant of that office and the appointment of a trusted figure to undersee the dismantlement of the Valley Forge apparatus. I suggest John Sundquist.

2. Liberate the program boards. The ABFMS, MMBB, and what we now call National Ministries (the American Baptist Home Mission Society) would become free-standing parachurch missions organizations.

3. Abolish the General Board. It is entirely unnecessary.

4. Abandon the body of useless and foolish policy statements that have been filling up the filing cabinets at the Valley Forge HQ for the last generation.

5. Sell the Valley Forge HQ and use the money for world missions and church planting. Encourage the program board offices to relocate in less expensive areas of the country. For example, we could put ABFMS in suburban Chicago and ABHMS in Colorado Springs. MMBB is already in New York. Maybe a revived educational board could find a home in the west--say, Phoenix or Las Vegas.

Will these things happen? Well, in my dreams. I don't know of anyone in Valley Forge who has the courage to make this happen. But this, I think, is the only way to save the ABC.

Source: http://www.durabledata.blogspot.com/.

[Comments in this blog do not represent any official PSW positions]

When Holding On to One Another Costs Too Much

Presbyterian James D. Berkley, Interim Director of Presbyterian Action, has written recently on the controversy in the Presbyterian church over their Theological Task Force report on human sexuality. ABC observers will find surprisingly close parallels to the issues, if not the exact lanugage, of our own conflict. The echoes of Dr. Medley's Biennial address are striking, particularly the desire to hold on to "one another" despite "differing convictions."

Here’s what I see: Two paragraphs in a row in the editorial find Haberer speaking approvingly of ways for Presbyterians “to hold on to one another while holding on to their differing convictions” (emphasis added).

Haberer is holding up two things he considers worth holding on to: (1) “one another” and (2) “differing convictions.” People are worth holding on to, but I would contend that differing convictions are actually the problem--make that an evil--rather than a good.

Obviously, if a terrorist believes that blowing up babies in a nursery is good and a humanitarian believes saving babies from danger is good, both firmly held convictions are not equally noble. Nor will such mutually contradictory viewpoints be conducive to good fellowship and singleness of purpose among the holders.

Holding on to convictions can be terrible, if the convictions are evil, untrue, damaging, or God-defying. In addition, some mutually exclusive convictions will never meld successfully in the same group. Holding on to convictions per se is not necessarily a good thing.

So what are the different convictions that Haberer believes people can hold on to while they hold on to each other in the Presbyterian Church? One side thinks it evil that sexually active homosexual persons cannot be ordained under our constitution. It’s prejudiced, unjust. The other side thinks it evil that God’s clear moral law and will could ever be lightly tossed aside to ordain the serially sexually unrepentant. It’s immoral, conforming to Satan’s lie. Both are firmly held convictions.

But there’s a problem. Both sides can’t be right, since one conviction contradicts the other. Both sides could be wrong, and some third conviction could be right--whatever it might be. But far more likely, one side is right and one side is wrong.

If that’s the case, what is so great about celebrating a church in which a great number of members are advocating by conviction something actually morally evil? And perpetuating that condition. And calling it a good to be valued?

Hold on! Shouldn’t a church interested in God’s true truth (as Francis Schaeffer put it) be more concerned with resolving colliding convictions rather than tenaciously holding on to them? Shouldn’t a church interested in God’s will want to determine and live out that will, rather than simply say about tough moral quandaries, “Whatever…”?

I can’t agree with Jack Haberer on this one. There are convictions within the PCUSA that badly need to change, not be held on to. That’s classically what conviction of sin, confession, repentance, and sanctification are all about--turning from wicked ways and thoughts. “Turn back, O man, forswear thy foolish ways!” If there are right convictions and wrong convictions in the church, then we must have the gumption to try to turn the wrong-headed convictions into righteous ones.

No. Holding on to one another cannot come at the cost of cheap denigration of truth and God’s will. As our Book of Order so wisely states, “No opinion can be either more pernicious or more absurd than that which brings truth and falsehood upon a level, and represents it as of no consequence what a [person’s] opinions are” (G-1.0304).

Remember the old ad line about chicken: “Parts is parts!”? Well, “Convictions is convictions” is just as silly.

Source: http://jimberkley.blogspot.com/2006/01/let-convictions-collide-as-they-must.html

[As usual, the choice to cite our Presbyterian brother is unilateral on my part and not to be confused with anyone having official roles in the PSW]

Loose Tongue + Hubris + Reporters Ignorant of the Meaning of Religious Language = Robertson Flap

From the January 5 edition of CBN's The 700 Club:

ROBERTSON: I have said last year that Israel was entering into the most dangerous period of its entire existence as a nation. That is intensifying this year with the loss of Sharon. Sharon was personally a very likeable person. I am sad to see him in this condition.

But I think we need to look at the Bible and the Book of Joel. The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who, quote, "divide my land." God considers this land to be his. You read the Bible, he says, "This is my land." And for any prime minister of Israel who decides he going carve it up and give it away, God says, "No. This is mine."

And the same thing -- I had a wonderful meeting with Yitzhak Rabin in 1974. He was tragically assassinated, and it was terrible thing that happened, but nevertheless, he was dead. And now Ariel Sharon, who was again a very likeable person, a delightful person to be with. I prayed with him personally. But here he is at the point of death. He was dividing God's land, and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations or United States of America. God said, "This land belongs to me, you better leave it alone."

Reporting on Robertson's remarks dumbed them down to a crass attack on an apparently dying man. This prompted a swift White House response, distancing itself from Robertson's remarks. A White House spokesman called the comments about Ariel Sharon’s stroke “wholly inappropriate and offensive.”

Spokesman Trent Duffy responded Friday to the Christian leader’s suggestion that the Israeli prime minister, who suffered a massive stroke Wednesday, was being punished by God for dividing the Land of Israel by evacuating Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip last summer. “I think those comments were wholly inappropriate and offensive, and really don’t have a place in this or any other debate,” Duffy said onboard Air Force One on Friday.

The Robertson statement raises so many interesting points: how does a sovereign God exercise his prerogatives in history? Should Christian leaders presume to speak for the Lord in affixing blame and assinging explanations for disasters? Why do good things happen to bad persons and vice versa? Why does the press find Robertson so interesting anyway?

However, the point I want to raise is the difficulty conservative Christians have communicating in understandable ways via the secular media. If a pastor said "I felt the Lord leading me to speak up," a secular press would be jumping to conclusions of psychosis. If one of us says that you "must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven," we would be lambasted for our hate speech or, at the very least, a shocking absence of largeness of spirit and comity with people of other religions.

People like Robertson are given to extravagant comments and controversial pronouncements. He certainly seems capable of getting himself into enough trouble on his own even without misquotations or misundersanding. But, the media appear singularly tone deaf to the peculiar language of conservative Christianity. When simple statements affirming a belief in the uniqueness of Christianity come across as hate speech and the common parlance of the church gets heard as evidence of psychotic breaks with reality, then we must ofject to the collective ignorance of those reporting the news.

All of you who find yourself in a position to offer up sound bites to the press already know how overly careful we must be to avoid sounding like lunatics when the story gets written. Robertson, who evidently has an endless store of outrageous lines for media consumption, becomes an easy enough person to misquote and take out of context. That does not explain, however, the tendency for the secular press to be so ignorant of the language of faith and the meaning of faith utterances.

One could only hope that educated and professionally experienced reporters would make a greater effort to understand the people they cite. No wonder we get the Middle East story so wrong so often. We do not fairly report what we do not begin to understand.

"It's Not Me, No, No, No, It's Not Me, Lord! It's Not Me You're Looking For Lord"

Tulsa pastor arrested on lewdness accusation

By RICHARD GREEN - Associated Press Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An executive committee member of the Southern Baptist Convention was arrested on a lewdness charge for propositioning a plainclothes policeman outside a hotel, police said.

[The 59 year old] senior pastor at South Tulsa Baptist Church, was booked into Oklahoma County Jail Tuesday night on a misdemeanor charge of offering to engage in an act of lewdness, police Capt. Jeffrey Becker said. [He] was released on $500 bail Wednesday afternoon.

[The pastor], who has spoken out against homosexuality, asked the officer to join him in his hotel room for oral sex. [He] was arrested and his 2005 Mercedes automobile was impounded, Becker said.

“I was set up. I was in the area pastoring to police.”

The lewdness charge carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.


Wow! Doesn't that just bless your hearts? Imagine the Davidic like sound to the line: "I was set up." Just think, if this fellow had written Ps 51, it might have gone something like this . . .

Psalm 51 (2006 User Friendly Version of "Repentance")

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to my excuses: unto the multitude of my explanations blot out my mistakes of judgment.

Wash me moderately from mine issues, and cleanse me with a surplus of self esteem.

For I explain my alleged transgressions: and my supposed sin is never before me.

Against me, me only, have I let myself down, and done this minor indescretion in the sight of whoever finds out: that thou mightest be accommodating when thou speakest, and be gentle when thou understand my circumstances.

Behold, I was shapen in an environment of other people’s bad influences; and in inopportune circumstances did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest an average response in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt give me free will to go whichever way I find attractive.

Purge me with extra understanding, and I shall be enabled: bless me, and I shall be happy for the moment.

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast kept from breaking may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my all fully explainable slights, and overlook all mine inperfections.

Give me an easy time, O God; and renew a self-determining spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence because I was set up; and take not thy holy spirit from me, remembering that none of it was really my fault.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I enjoy my hypocrisy; and sinners can fend for themselves.

Deliver me from guilt trips by others, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy permissiveness.

O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth my enjoyment with myself.

For thou desirest not sacrifice; which is a good thing so that it will not cost me anything valuable: thou delightest not in burnt offering or sacrifices of any kind.

The "sacrifices" of God are a happy spirit: a full and a self-satisfied heart, O God, will make me feel so fulfilled and cozy.

PSW Unweils Rules for the April 29 Duel

PSW has posted the following details on the April 29 meetings on their web page. Readers of "His Barking Dog" may be interested in the "rules" relating to the upcoming advisory vote by congregational representatives (http://www.abcpsw.com/specialmtg.html).

Special Meeting of the Region - April 29, 2006

Information Your Church Needs to Know Beforehand

Information Meetings - Prior to the April 29, 2006 Meeting

The Executive Minister will hold a series of Informational Meetings for pastors, church leaders and interested members in various locations around the Region in February. Information will be shared regarding the recommendation of the ABCPSW Board of Directors including reasons for the action, the process by which the decision will be made, and the future of the ABCPSW as a Region not in Covenant with the ABCUSA.

What Should Churches Consider Doing Before April 29, 2006?

Churches should review the documents that may define their relationship with the ABCUSA and/or the ABCPSW. These include:

Articles of Incorporation.
Church Bylaws or Constitutions.
Other documents that deal with the operation and governance of the church.
There are numerous situations in which a church's relationship with the ABCUSA and/or the ABCPSW is pivotal to a property or financial transaction. Often legal documents state that a loan or actual ownership of a property is conditioned on the church continuing in affiliation with the ABCUSA. For this reason, we recommend that churches review documents for reference to the ABCUSA including:
Loan Agreements and Promissory notes, including loans from ABCPSW, the ABCUSA, another ABC congregation or the American Baptist Extension Corporation.
Trust Deeds
Deeds and related title documents
Property Trust Agreements
Leases
Property use agreements
Church or pastor support agreements
Employment agreements
Property purchase agreements or option to purchase agreements
Personal property trust agreements (for example, gifts of cash or property in a special fund or trust for the support of a church program)
Guarantees

In addition, churches may have entered into gift annuities, charitable remainder or charitable lead trusts, or similar arrangements with church members providing for payments. These should be reviewed to ascertain whether there are terms or conditions requiring affiliation with the ABCUSA.

This is not an exhaustive list, but one intended to encourage you to review potentially important documents before taking actions. All documents that refer to the relationship between a church and the ABCUSA and/or the ABCPSW should be reviewed for their effect on both parties, and to determine steps that should be taken to avoid problems.

If your review brings to light a situation that may be impacted by your church's decision, we urge you to consult with legal counsel for guidance on steps you should take to resolve the situation.

In addition to a church's own records and archives, copies or originals of many church legal documents are on file at the ABCPSW Church Resource Center.

The Special Meeting of the Region - April 29, 2006

The bylaws of the ABCPSW do not provide for meetings of the Region other than at the Annual Conference. However, under the California law that deals with non-profit corporations, such a meeting is permitted. The meeting will be run according to the following rules:

1. Churches will hold meetings in accordance with their own bylaws to determine how their delegates to the Regional meeting will vote on the issue.

2. Nature and Purpose of the Meeting of the Region. Both the Covenant of Relationships of the ABCUSA and the Bylaws of the ABCPSW authorize the Region Board of Directors to make decisions regarding the adoption, amendment or termination of any covenant to which the Region is party (Article 6, Section 2, E). In final analysis, the Region Board of Directors must make the final decision regarding whether to withdraw from the Covenant of Relationships with the ABCUSA. The purpose of the Meeting of Delegates from the Churches is for the Board to receive an expression of the will of the Delegates to provide the Board with the input it needs to make a responsible and informed decision. Following vote, the Board of Directors must meet to take appropriate action based on the vote by church delegates.The recommendation approved by the Region Board must clearly state this purpose of the meeting.

3. The meeting will be held simultaneously at five sites: First Baptist Church of Pomona and sites to be selected in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Hawaii, and on the Hopi Reservation. In order for this to happen: a) Everyone at every site must be able to hear both what is being said at the podium at the main site (Pomona) and questions or comments made by delegates at all sites; b) There must be opportunity for questions for clarification of the issue before the body. Because informational meetings will be held in various locations throughout the Region prior to the Meeting of the Region, the Board may rule that there will be no discussion or debate at this meeting, c) A member of the Board of Directors should preside at each location, d) The President of the Region will lead the meeting from Pomona. The role of Board members presiding at distant locations will be to expedite arrangements so each location follows directions from the President, e) Ballots will be counted at all sites. The President will call for results from all sites, which will be announced and tallied. The President will then announce the total vote.

4. Each church will be assigned a number of delegates in accordance with the bylaws of the ABCPSW, Article 4.

Each Cooperating and Affiliated Church may elect from its membership:
(1) five (5) Delegates;

(2) one (1) additional Delegate for every one-hundred (100) members of such Church in excess of the first fifty-one (51) members;

(3) one (1) additional Delegate if such Church's per capita giving to the American Baptist United Mission Basics (or any successor thereto) in the calendar year preceding the Regional Annual Conference equaled $30, plus one (1) additional Delegate for each whole number multiple of $10 of such per capita giving in excess of $30 in such year;

(4) one (1) additional Delegate for each whole number multiple of $3,000 of such Church's total giving to the American Baptist United Mission Basics ** (or any successor thereto) in the calendar yearpreceding the Conference; and

(5) In addition to the foregoing, the Senior Pastor of any Cooperating or Affiliated Church may serve as a Delegate. (Note: When the ABCPSW is meeting in regard to issues related ABCUSA, Affiliated Churches will not be able to participate in any discussion or decision relative to these issues.)** The equivalent to United Missions Basics in the Flexible Stewardship Plan is the sum of Lines A1 (ABCPSW Ministries); A2 (International Ministries); A3 (National Ministries); and B (United Mission Option).

The ABCPSW Bylaws indicate that persons named by churches as delegates to a meeting of the Region must be registered in advance with the Executive Minister. For the purpose of this meeting, Delegate Registration must take place not later than one week before the scheduled meeting and should indicate the site that will be attended by church delegates. Lists of Delegates will be available at each site on the day of the meeting. As delegates arrive, they will register and receive printed ballots for use in the meeting.

6) Because the purpose of this vote is to provide the Board of Directors with a clear expression of the will of the Delegates from churches, there will be no delegates representing Associations. Furthermore, members of the Regional Board of Directors will not be delegates, unless they are so registered as delegates from churches.

What is a Cooperating Church?

All Cooperating Churches in the ABCPSW are eligible to vote. A cooperating church holds membership in both ABCPSW and the ABCUSA.

Who is not eligible to vote?

Churches that have already withdrawn from the ABCUSA are Affiliated Members with the ABCPSW and therefore cannot vote on issues relating to the Region's participation in the ABCUSA.

New church plants that have not applied and been accepted into full membership in the Region (new church plants are not eligible to apply for full membership in the region until at least three years from date of launch, reach sustainability, are incorporated, and are recommended by their association).

When Our Prayers for a Miracle Seem to Fall Flat

ABNS ran this account of the tragedy in West Virginia (http://www.abc-usa.org/news/20060103a.htm). The only survivor was 26-year-old Randal McCloy Jr. Deacon Toler of the ABC church was one of the 12 men who died in the tragic events of the past few days. Optimistic, but ultimately erroneous, news reports dubbed initial reports of survival by all but one of the miners the "West Wirginia Miracle." Growing up I remember hearing stories of the difficulties faced by my paternal grandfather and uncles who spent years in the coal mines. Our hearts go out to the families of all of the miners.

AMERICAN BAPTIST AMONG MINERS TRAPPED IN WEST VIRGINIA

VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS)—A deacon at Stump Chapel—an American Baptist church in Sutton, W.Va.—is one of the 13 miners trapped early Monday by an explosion in the Sago Mine in Tallmansville, W.Va.

American Baptists across the country are encouraged to pray for Deacon Junior Toler and his family, along with the other 12 miners and their families.

Also, Sago Baptist Church—the church in the media photos where families and friends are gathering for news as the crisis unfolds—is an American Baptist congregation in the West Virginia Baptist Convention. Pray for the church, as well, as it ministers to so many at such a difficult time.

Both the West Virginia Baptist Convention and National Ministries, through the Office of Disaster Relief and One Great Hour of Sharing offering funds, have offered assistance to the church.

No Nostradamus Predictions Here, Just Educated Guesses on the ABC Crisis

"This year, as the PSW departs the ABC, other regions may well be emboldened to act. Messages I have receieved from all across the nation bear witness that several other regions may well follow PSWs lead." - Dr. Glenn Layne

I have also received information from other regions supportive of the PSW actions. One well placed observer made the following prediction:

"I do believe the ABC-USA is well on its way to imploding. Regions may not leave in mass like the PSW, but watch the continuing distancing from VF that will come about by inidividual churches, and even Regions flying under the radar over the next two years. It will be a defacto disentegration, and Roy will be the responsible master architect."

Support for this trajectory is seen in the implications of the name change in the region formerly known as American Baptist Churches of the West, the diversion of money from the Unified Buget by increasing numbers of churches throughout the country, and by denominational statistics released by Valley Forge.

Money remains the tip of the sword in much of the debate. During the past few months efforts were made to play "good cop/bad cop" by VF personnel. John Sundquist, with the blessing of Dr. Medley, toured key mission giving churches, making appointments with their pastors. Several of the pastors have explained the message as one of clever persuasion theory. One summed it up this way: "Sundquist came in, lamented the way the idiots were mucking things up in Valley Forge, but shruggled his shoulders and said 'what can you do, we're family.'"

His appointments supported Medley by the novel tactic of agreeing with pastors in most/all of their criticisms of all things Valley Forge, offering his own "insider tips" on how bad things really are, but making a plea for sticking with the "family," offering faint hopes of change in the future. Smart strategy, but too clever by half. One of the pastors laughed at the thought that John actually thought that pastors of significant giving churches would fall for the transparent ploy.

Look for little official action in other regions until AFTER PSW takes a vote of the churches on April 29. The direction of the decision and the magnitude of the plurality/majority may prove influential in other regions. But, don't be surprised if the prediction of gradual disintegration mentioned earlier in this blog turns out to be the actual mechanism of dissolution.

Dennis E. McFadden

[Claiming no Nostradamus-like predictive ability nor connection to any PSW entity; just blogging what I see through my "99 Cents" store telescope]

Glenn Layne: "Looking back, we see a denomination in slow free-fall. But looking ahead we see a new opportunity . . . Join us!"

Dr. Glenn Layne's "Durable Data" (http://www.durabledata.
blogspot.com/) has often brought important issues to the attention of the wider public. Today he published an open letter to the larger community of American Baptists. His encouragements, admonitions, and concerns deserve as wide a hearing as possible. "His Barking Dog" reprints the piece in full for the edification of the our readers.

My dear brothers and sisters:

As 2006 dawns, it is clear that this will be a year bringing massive changes to the existing American Baptist Churches USA. In late April, the ABC of the Pacific Southwest will almost certainly vote to sever ties from the ABCUSA. At the same time, the renewal group American Baptist Evangelicals is in the process of reformulating itself into an viable umbrella organization for American Baptists who are dissaffected by conviction from the Valley Forge leadership--or, to say it more pointedly, from the lack of Biblically grounded leadership from Valley Forge.

The American Baptist Churches, USA, as a organization is in slow collaspe. They do not recognize it. They believe that they can muddle on without major reformation. That is an illusion.

Regions are becoming more independant of and less subservient to the national organization. The ABC of Michigan, very much a centralist region (in terms of theological temper) actually proposed that the Office of the General Secretary be abolished, which would basically put the ABC back into the organizational shape it had over 100 years ago. This proposal has been rebuffed. In terms of organization, the Valley Forge establishment is very, very conservative.

The ABC of the West is so dissaffected from ABCUSA that as of today it is known by the parachurch-sounding name Growing Healthy Churches. Other signs of distance and regional assertion can be seen across the country.

We are on the edge. Looking back, we see a denomination in slow free-fall. But looking ahead we see a new opportunity.

This year, as the PSW departs the ABC, other regions may well be emboldened to act. Messages I have receieved from all across the nation bear witness that several other regions may well follow PSWs lead.

In other areas, in regions who walk in loyalty to Valley Forge, there are many churches who will no longer be able to remain apart of the region or of ABCUSA with a good conscience. They are leaving now, not with unfurled flags, but in sorrow and with a detemination to continue on in mission.

A new movement is being formed. It will be stoutly evangelical. It will be Christ-centered, not denomination-centered. It will be missional, not a bureaucratic.

2006 is your year. Join us mission, in faith, in fellowship and in making a new day. Join us in reaching millions of lost Americans who need to hear the good news of Jesus. Join us in reaching millions more across the globe. Join us in a clear conscience, the end of compromise, the end of having to apologize for the shameful equivocations that are the common parlance of Valley Forge.

Be much in prayer. A new day dawns. Be done with the night.

This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Glenn Layne

I speak in no official capacity; I speak for no one except myself.

Fighting Fair in 2006: Even if we can't "just get along," can we at least not get along more Christianly?

"Happy New Year. Welcome 2006. A Big Year with Big Changes for Baptists."

So opines Dr. Glenn Layne in his "Durable Data" blog (durabledata.blogspot.com). In the midst of our own navel gazing and self-doubt, much of it appearing in the threads of the Message Board of the American Baptist Evangelicals, it is probably useful to see the focus and determination of those on the left. In the current issue of "Associational," published by the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists (http://www.wabaptists.org/associational.htm), executive director Ken Pennings says:

AWAB’s vision is to create and support genuine community among our members. I’m now working with 12 teams of people throughout the country, each planning a community-building event to bring together welcoming Baptists for food, fun, fellowship, worship, education and witness.

I love working with the program leaders of other welcoming programs. We’re working on a strategy to make the Institute of Welcoming Resources (IWR) more easily accessible and more complete in the resources it offers.

Each member of the AWAB Council has taken on a key position of leadership, in membership, finances, pastoral relations, denominational relations, communications, and programming. I love working together as a team!

We know about all that has transpired in the ABC/USA, and are resolved not to be distracted from our mission by what might happen in the denomination. We will invest our energy doing the great work God has called us to do.

Indeed, The Lord has exalted AWAB by a gift so great, so unheard of, that language is useless to describe it, and the depths of love in our hearts can scarcely grasp it. We offer then all the powers of our souls in praise and thanksgiving. The Almighty has done great things for AWAB, and holy is God’s name!

Rev. Pennings possesses an optimistic spirit, a clear sense of mission, a vision for transformation within the ABCUSA, and a self-consciously biblical/theological grounding for his position. Regardless of where you come out on AWAB, reading their material impresses me with the factual and evenhanded (and usually restrained) nature of their news reporting, the absence of overreaching in their polemics, and the surprisingly gentle way in which they deal with their opponents. With the exception of a tendency to label as "far right" the positions of people actually inhabiting the "center right" niche in our denomination, they model a "Christian" demeanor in the midst of conflict.

If you have read ANY of my posts in this blog or the ABE Message Board, you realize my deep opposition to AWAB and the positions of the Valley Forge leadership. I am the guy, afterall, who took ordination with another evangelical group during 2005 as a protest against VF equivocations. However, I sometimes long for the evidence of more of the Fruit of the Spirit and Christian graces in our discussions. At times our intra-evangelical differences with each other are aired with an acrimonious edge, our reporting includes unsubstantiated (or at least unverified) rumors, and our tone toward those on the left has taken on a vitriolic acidity.

Looking back on some of my 495 postings on the ABE Message Board (mostly since being totally offended at the Denver biennial), these admonitory comments are made looking in the mirror. My prayer for 2006, as we face those "big changes" Glenn Layne predicts, includes a hope that we will exercise discipline in our use of our tongues so as not to sin against those with whom we disagree.

I am happy to polemicize with the best of 'em, just not unfairly or even unintentionally bearing false witness. While we should continue to oppose AWAB and the Medley administration at SO many points and on SO many levels, we can stand to learn some lessons from them.

Even if we can't "just get along," can we at least not get along more Christianly in 2006?

Dennis E. McFadden