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Issue 029 <previous< Issue 030 October
2000 Volume 6 Number 5
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031 |
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“If Gold Rusts . . . ”
That, if gold rust, what shall poor iron do? Chaucer, in his Canterbury Tales, raises the question of ministerial
ethics. Moral failures in the ministry are all too common today.
Continued Defeating the Demons The Prevention of Clergy Sexual Abuse
Clergy sexual misconduct has
not reached epidemic proportions, but most experts agree that the number of
incidents is increasing. Reliable research over the past fifteen years concludes
that about 10-12 percent of ministers have engaged in sexual intercourse with
members of their congregation, and about 25-35 percent of clergymen have
admitted to sexually inappropriate behavior with parishioners
A Covenant of Clergy Sexual Ethics [A representative group of Texas pastors signed this Covenant
as part of the Christian Life Commission report on Clergy Sexual Abuse before
the messengers attending the Baptist General Convention of Texas meeting in El
Paso in 1999] A Lesson In
Humility Trinity Baptist Church of San Antonio has always been a creative congregation. Buckner Fanning, the pastor, was constantly trying new ways of getting people to become involved in the church.
One Sunday night in 1964, Buckner
announced from the pulpit that there would be a group of Episcopalian laymen
leading all who were interested in “small group” worship. To be a part of
this you had to commit to be there for eight Tuesday nights. Keeping
Sabbath: Christian
Ethics for the 21st Century
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Commencement
Address I’m very fortunate to be here
tonight for the first millennial class ever to graduate from the University of
Texas. It’s an honor to be part of this historical occasion. And I intend to
repay you by being brief. I know you are eager to get out of here because on
Monday morning each of you has to select a board of directors by 10:00, issue an
IPO by noon, and open a bank account by 3 with your first million. In that
endeavor nothing I say will be of much help to you, but I wish you well. I must seem an alien to you. I
come from the old country, the past. You can’t get there from here. Our
generations hardly speak the same language. When I was here fifty years ago
bunnies were still small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagens. A ‘chip’
was off the old block ... A More
Excellent Way Race and Gender Reconciliation through Christ
The Female of the Species One Sunday morning several months ago I visited a small church located near where I live. The church met in a simple building, and less than a hundred people were present for the service. I felt comfortable and much at home. The
hymns were familiar, and the congregation sang enthusiastically. After the
offering was collected, we stood and sang the Doxology. The minister preached a
clear, concise sermon dealing with a basic facet of the Christian gospel, the
meaning of the Cross. At the conclusion of the sermon we sang a hymn of
invitation. Two people responded to the call for commitment ... New Vistas: Dreams for the
Center for Christian Ethics I have one little window in my office here in Waco, high up on the fourth floor of Pat Neff Hall. But it is a beautiful window - round and set deep, like a porthole, into the massive wall. The early morning light, through its flower-patterned grillwork, throws a striking shadow across my desk. It’s my porthole out to an incredible place. This morning two lawn mowers
grumble around ... The Shade at the
End of the Row “Whatsoever things are . . . lovely . . . think on these things.” Philippians 4:8
I speak of the graveyard by the
meeting house of my home church ...
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