Fridays are for Newspaper Articles… and a Couple of Timely Comments

 I’ll get my comments out of the way to start:

First, the following is the statement released by the Board of Trustees at Southwestern Seminary in support of Dr. and Dr. Patterson:

Jesus calls Southern Baptists, and indeed, all Christians, to reach a lost world with His Gospel. Additionally, we are to model Christ in the way we live our lives and in the way we treat one another. As Trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, we believe that the incessant public attacks on Dr. and Mrs. Paige Patterson and other Baptist leaders of late are harmful to our mission of reaching the world with the Gospel. What the world, both Christians and non-Christians, sees is not Christ-like. Indeed, some of the actions are contrary to what the Bible teaches. Therefore, the Trustees at SWBTS would like to make the following statement of support for Dr. and Mrs. Patterson.

The Trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) take seriously the responsibility given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ and the Southern Baptist Convention to provide oversight and guidance to SWBTS. Therefore, we want Southern Baptists to know the following:

1. The financial records of the seminary are examined (audited) annually by an independent auditor. To date, no audit has indicated any financial mismanagement or impropriety. Indeed, the administration of the seminary works diligently to assure that financial integrity is always maintained, and that is what the audits reveal. Southern Baptists can have assurance that contributions given to the seminary are spent wisely according to the leadership of the Lord and according to the donors’ requests. A contribution given to SWBTS is a wise investment in God’s kingdom work!
2. The work of the administration, faculty, and staff is evaluated at least annually according to policies that are designed and/or approved by the trustees. The president is included in the evaluation process, and all trustees have the opportunity to contribute to the evaluation process of the president. The president has welcomed these opportunities of evaluation, and he hears and respects the counsel of the trustees.
3. The president has always been open with the trustees and answers their questions fully. We cannot conceive how anyone can be any more open and honest than is Dr. Patterson! Dr. Patterson understands the trustee process and recognizes that he provides leadership to the seminary under the Lordship of Christ by the authority granted to the trustees by the convention. The trustees likewise recognize that they serve the Southern Baptist Convention under the Lordship of Christ. Just as Dr. Patterson is accountable to the Lord and to the trustees, so the trustees are accountable to the Lord and the Southern Baptist Convention.
4. Our Baptist forbearers were wise to set up the trustee system that Southern Baptists have in place. It works extremely well! The relentless attacks on Dr. Patterson are also a subtle attack on the trustee system of oversight that the convention employs.
5. We join with other Southern Baptists in urging that public attacks against Dr. Patterson and other leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention that hurt the spread of the gospel to an unbelieving world cease for the sake of those who are headed to utter destruction. There is a place for constructive criticism of the leadership of our agencies, and Southern Baptists have set up a trustee system to primarily allow for that need. Scripture does tell us to speak the truth, but it also says it is to be done in love and gentleness, with the goal of redeeming a brother in Christ. Above all, there is a watching world that needs to see Christ’s love in all of our words and deeds.
6. The trustees of SWBTS have found no reason to question the integrity of Dr. Patterson. Indeed, we find him to be a man of exemplary integrity. We are thankful for the leadership of Dr. Patterson and heartily commend him for the work that he has done as president of SWBTS. We also look forward to many years of his continued leadership.

In my humble opinion, this is an amazing statement, both in what it says and what it does not say.  In what it says, it affirms unconditionally the leadership of a man who, if it were almost anyone else, would have long since been forced into hiding by even a small fraction of the revelations that Ben Cole has demonstrated and documented in these past months.  Talk about denial!  This is a classic example of group denial, if I ever saw one.

Also, while the SWBTS trustees claim that Paige Patterson is a man of great integrity, it seems to have eluded their grasp that such integrity would require a seminary president to provide the appropriate enrollment figures, even when they make you look bad, and his salary/benefits figures, even if they make you look greedy and overpaid.  Why?  Because SBC regulations say he must do it–and he didn’t, and, on the latter front, enlisted two other seminary presidents to follow suit. 

Where’s this wonderful ”integrity?”  Or, is “integrity” just a quality you roll out when it is easy or pleasant for you to do so?  In my understanding, “integrity” is most important in our lives when is is the hardest to display it.  That’s how and when you really know what someone is made of, so to speak, character-wise.

Finally (on this subject), doesn’t it seem incredibly odd that the single most powerful man in SBC circles for the past decade and a half or more, Paige Patterson, would require this kind of “circle the wagons” vote of affirmation from his trustees?  After all, this is almost entirely as a result of what a few inconsequential bloggers have written (since it couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the anonymous letter, which I was told, with great force, over and over–and over and over–and over and over–was not worth the paper to print it off and that nobody would pay any attention to it).  There would appear to be only two possible explanations for such an otherwise wildly disproportionate response: 1) Dr. P is a lot more thin-skinned than I would have ever thought and he desperately needs the trustees’ adoring affirmation; or 2) There is a whole lot more truth in the numerous allegations than they are willing to publicly admit, which has led to the trustees now following Dr. P’s previous examples of stonewalling. 

When the dust settles on this, though, absolutely nothing has changed, no matter what their crafted words (and exclamation points, as Wade Burleson notes) say: The trustees still answer to Dr. P and he is accountable to no one, when it is supposed to be the other way around.  He is supposed to answer to them for everything he does and does not do and they are supposed to answer to us–the SBC–for everything they do or don’t do.

Second, the story of the day on SBC Outpost is that Dr. Robert Jeffress, the new pastor at First Baptist, Dallas, has supposedly stirred up his first stink by his comments about evangelicals supporting Mormon Mitt Romney for President.  Please realize, of course, that there are SBC leaders currently “playing footsie” with Romney and sounding as if they believe his “values” are more decisive than his faith (i.e., Mormonism).  I see this as nothing other than thinly veiled pragmatism, thinking Romney has a better chance to win than a clearly Christian candidate (e.g., Mike Huckabee), and they would rather stand with a winner than lose on principle.

For the life of me, though, I cannot see why what Jeffress is saying is anything but simple principled common sense!  If there were absolutely no Christians running for President in 2008, then–and only then–would the ”values” issue ever need to come into play.  Relatedly, I think the poo-pooing comparison to the JFK “Catholic scare” in 1960 is short-sighted.  Here’s why: Mormons are much more aggressive religiously than Catholics–other than those who were wielding the sword in the Counter-Reformation, of course!  The legitimacy that having a Mormon President would provide could indeed go a long ways toward turning at least the US into “the kingdom of the cult,” to rip off the title of Walter Martin’s classic work.  So, if we admit that Mormonism is a cult, and how incredibly subtle and dangerous–and already rapidly multiplying–a cult it is, why would Christians ever consider supporting a Mormon for any elective office?

Now, here is my weekly article in the Canyon Lake (TX) Times-Guardian:

                          “I Finished the Race”            

The title refers to the five kilometer race I ran in last Saturday morning.  Frankly, it was not as difficult as I had expected.  However, the swing factor in my favor was that I trained in more rugged terrain of the Hill Country and ran in very gentle hills northwest of Dallas.  Anyway, my original goal had been to break 50 minutes for the approximately 3.1 mile course.  My time turned out to be 42 minutes and 56 seconds.           

So, what do I do now?  Well, I’m not going to “rest on my laurels”—as if I have any, other than finishing (and a tad faster than expected!).  I’m going to start looking over the next few days for other races, hopefully closer by geographically, so that I am not as worn out from traveling as I was during the day on Sunday.  While the race didn’t seem to bother me that much (due to the flatter terrain and my having trained pretty adequately), the lack of sleep due to anticipation the night before and the inability to catch up on rest in one night certainly did.           

Honestly, I’m hoping to find a race I can enter in the next few weeks.  “Why?” you say.  “Isn’t that being a glutton for punishment at your age?”           

That is not an irrelevant question.  At 58, I’m not getting any younger.  But, other than my weight, which I hope the running is going to help me with considerably over the next period of time, I am in very good health.  I’m happy to say that the numerous athletic injuries I sustained in high school and college were merely a host of ankle sprains and concussions.  Fortunately, ankles that flop easily from loose cartilage and questionable gray matter between my ears will not prevent me running.           

But, beyond the hope of weight loss, there are two other factors that are motivations for me to find another race in which to compete.  First, there is the “getting back on the horse and riding” factor.  Yes, that usually comes into play when you were thrown from the horse, so to speak.  In this case, the rough equivalent is not enjoying the memory of the pain of coming down that last stretch to the finish.  Anyway, the longer I wait, the harder it’s going to be to “get back in the saddle.”  So, I’m going to try to minimize the waiting—or, at least not let time stretch out.            

The other factor is simple, but profound—to me, at least.  I really like the sound of those words: “I finished the race!”  After all, that means I stayed the course.  I did not give up.  In the race last Saturday, I ran every step of the way.  So, I did not even let up.  I can honestly say that I hung in there and gave it my best.  That is a wonderful feeling!           

Of course, it is nothing but a bare glimmer in comparison to what the Apostle Paul meant when, at the end of his life, he proclaimed: “I have fought the good fight.  I have finished the race.  I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  My race was only 3.1 miles and lasted less than 43 minutes.  The “race” of Paul’s ministry for Jesus Christ covered most of the eastern part of the Mediterranean Basin, from as far east as Arabia to Rome, the capital city of the Empire, and lasted well over 30 years.           

So, Paul still stands as one of the great “spiritual marathon” runners of all of church history.  He was completely faithful to the gospel message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) until the end of his life—the end of “the race.”  What an example!             

Frankly, the chances are between slim and none that I will ever work my way up to run a marathon race.  I will do well to move up to do a 10K.  But, if I train spiritually with great commitment and focus, I may be able to imitate Paul and become a spiritual marathoner.  What an incredible thought—hearing the Lord say to me: “You have finished the race.  You have kept the faith.  Well done, good and faithful servant!”  Now, that gets me motivated to get in much better shape spiritually!

Coming Monday (a change in planning!): The Holy Spirit and the Southern Baptist Convention (XVII): “Show Us What You’ve Got! (1 Corinthians 4:20)”

Coming Wednesday: “An Applicational Review of J.P. Moreland’s Kingdom Triangle (I)”