In Part Two, I included an item about Southwestern Seminary, but I failed to include an important development at the seminary. Dr. Mark McClellan leads the Spanish language program at Southwestern, and it has grown tremendously. This is good for the seminary and great for the SBC. The number of Spanish-speaking folks in the USA is increasing rapidly, so this is important. Mark told me that he and his colleagues are developing a Portuguese program, also, and that will have a big impact overseas.
My good friend, Dr. Matt Queen, has resigned as Professor of Evangelism at Southwestern to become the senior pastor at Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC. Those of you in North Carolina will want to call Dr. Queen ASAP to schedule him for an evangelism conference at your church or association.
We have a plethora (!) of candidates for president of the SBC. I believe the number is seven now. Of course, the election will take place at the annual meeting of the SBC in June. I haven’t met any of them except David Allen, and I don’t know him, really. So, I don’t have a dog in this fight. However, I do want to weigh in with an opinion (humble but accurate). I believe the percentage a candidate’s church gives to the Cooperative Program should influence the voting. In other words, if a candidate’s church gave a pitiful percentage to the CP, I would not vote for that candidate. For me, the percentage is not the only factor, but it is an important one. When I was a pastor, my church gave 10 percent to the Cooperative Program. I believe Christians should tithe to their church, and I believe churches should tithe to the Cooperative Program of the SBC. Go ahead, call me old-fashioned.
I read that O S Hawkins has written a biography of W A Criswell. I’m looking forward to reading it. Just reading about that book brought two Dr. Criswell stories to mind. When I was a seminary student, I served as the assistant pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Oak Cliff, in Dallas. We were the first SBC church listed in the Yellow Pages, so we got a lot of calls, often weird ones. On Saturday mornings, I was the only staff member in the church office. One day I received this call:
Mark: Calvary Baptist Church.
Woman: They got to him!
Mark: Got to whom?
Woman: Dr. Criswell, they got to him.
Mark: Who got to him?
Woman: The Communists—they got to Dr. Criswell. He’s become a Communist dupe.
Mark: How do you know this?
Woman: I can tell by what Dr. Criswell says.
Mark: Maam, are you a member at First Baptist Church?
Woman: Yes, I have been for many years.
Mark: Well, I suggest you call Dr. Criswell.
Woman: Why should I do that?
Mark: Maybe, he doesn’t realize that he’s been duped.
Woman: That’s a great idea. I’m going to call for an appointment right now.
Mark: Thanks for calling.
In 1975 the Southern Baptist Convention met in Dallas, and the senior pastor assigned me to drive the church van to the convention center each day. Any church member could ride with me if they chose. So, I was at the Pastor’s Conference and Convention Meeting all day, each day. Right before the convention meeting, Dr. Criswell held a news conference, and he announced that he was giving back to First Baptist Church every cent the church had paid him. He declared that God had prospered him through book sales and business deals, and he wanted to reimburse the church for all the salary he had received. Well! His announcement was the main topic of conversation in the hallways and corridors of the convention center. Most of the pastors were upset with Dr. Criswell. They didn’t mind that he gave the money to his church, but they were frustrated that he did it publically. They believed it made all the other pastors, who couldn’t afford to do the same, look bad. It was the custom at the Pastor’s Conference to set aside a time on the program for the past presidents of the SBC to greet the pastors. When it was his turn, Dr. J D Grey, long-time pastor at FBC New Orleans, arose and said this. “I read in the papers that some pastors are giving back the salary their church has paid them. Not me! I believe the church still owes me money from my early years there.” He received a standing ovation.
Max Lucado—“A happy saint is one who is, at the same time, aware of the severity of sin and the immensity of grace. The saint dwells in grace, not guilt. This is the tranquil soul.”
