Southern Baptist Convention

Southern Baptists rely on deception in effort to convert Jews.

Messianic Congregations Offer Reassuring Jewish Symbols

by JewsOnFirst.org, June 25, 2007

Six million Jews and only 15 Southern Baptist Messianic Churches! That juxtaposition by a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) official involved in the denomination's aggressive evangelizing of Jews prompted JewsOnFirst to ask the SBC: is its objective to empty Judaism of American Jews and make them all Messianic Southern Baptists? We also talk with rabbis and Christian clergy about the Southern Baptists' use of "Jewish-style" Christianity and Christian Zionism in their efforts to convert Jews.

Accompanying our report are two recorded conversations -- one with Rabbi Neal Katz and Rabbi Barry Block, both of Texas, and the other with members of the Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism. Please click here.

Church needs Jewish believers, prof says

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)--The Christian church needs Messianic believers -- Jews who follow Jesus as the Messiah -- for the same reason a man and woman need each other to be one flesh, a California Baptist University professor told the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship June 7.

Stokes addressed the afternoon session of the fellowship's annual meeting, held prior to the Southern Baptist Convention's June 10-11 annual meeting in Indianapolis.

"God is one, and He created man and woman and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh,'" said Bruce Stokes, who also leads The DiscipleCenter congregation in Anaheim Hills, Calif. "She doesn't become male and he doesn't become female. The oneness requires both of them." Continue.

Messianics aid in cultural understanding

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)--The Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship, now recognized as an official ethnic and language ministry of the North American Mission Board, is eager to help SBC churches understand the Jewish culture for purposes of evangelism.

The fellowship's annual meeting will begin with a Shabbat service on Friday, June 6, at 7 p.m. in Room 208 on level two of the Indiana Convention Center. The group also will have a booth in the exhibit hall during the June 10-11 SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis.

Ric Worshill, president of the fellowship, said the SBMF's main objective is to lead people to eternal life in Jesus the Messiah. They work to strengthen Messianic believers and to assist with training and resources for non-Jewish believers who wish to reach Jews with the Gospel. Continue.

Americans United Cautions Southern Baptist Convention About Partisan Politicking

SBC President's Call For United Evangelical Front Against Giuliani Raises Tax Law Issues, Says Church-State Watchdog Group

News release, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, January 24, 2008

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has cautioned the top official of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) that using his denominational news agency to oppose Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani raises federal tax law issues. Continue.

Southern Baptist Leader Apologizes for Slur Against Jewish Senator

Dr. Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, apologized for using a Yiddish slur in referring to a prominent Jewish member of Congress.

In an apology printed on the Baptist Press web site on March 5, Dr. Land said he realized his reference to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY, as a "schmuck" during the Criswell Lecture Series at Criswell College, Jan. 29-31, was careless and inappropriate. He said he had learned after the fact that some people consider the word crude, if not obscene. Continue.

FIRST-PERSON: Careless language

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--It has come to my attention in the last 48 hours that some people were offended by my reference to Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as a "schmuck" during the Criswell Lecture Series at Criswell College, Jan. 29-31. In reviewing these criticisms I have learned some consider the word crude, if not obscene. I apologize for my ignorance of that fact. If I had known that, I would never have used the word. I always attempt to avoid crude and offensive language as a matter of conviction. Continue.

SBC Leader Uses Obscene Slur to Describe Jewish Senator

A Southern Baptist leader lecturing at Criswell College used a gutter word to describe a Jewish U.S. senator.

During the Jan. 29-31 Criswell Theological Lectures at the Dallas school, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, described Sen. Charles Schumer as "the schmuck from New York." Continue.

Richard Land's lecture at Criswell College

This is the audio file of the lecture in which Land called Senator Charles Schumer a "schmuck." Click here.

Richard Land must go

Now we have a chance to see what the Religious Right is made of–if it truly stands for ethics and values, as its leaders profess, or whether its leaders can continue to engage in gutter politics and get away with it.

According to a report in EthicsDaily.com, Richard Land, during a visit to Criswell College at the end of January, referred to Democratic Senator Charles Schumer as “the schmuck from New York.” Land, one of the most prominent leaders of the Religious Right, is president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Continue.

'I Suffer Not a Woman to Teach'

Sheri Klouda says she was fired from a Southern Baptist seminary because she's not a man

Over the last three decades, the percentage of female faculty members at seminaries has more than tripled. In 1977 only 6 percent of professors were women, according to the Association of Theological Schools. Last year it was 22 percent. What was once unusual has become increasingly commonplace.

But that's not true everywhere. At Southern Baptist seminaries, according to a number of sources, women have been pushed out of tenured and tenure-track positions. This is part of what some Southern Baptists term a "redirection" of the denomination. Critics call it a purge. Continue.

Dismissed professor files lawsuit against Southwestern seminary

FORT WORTH (ABP)—Former professor Sheri Klouda has sued Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, charging fraud, breach of contract and defamation for forcing her out.

Klouda, who was hired in 2002 to teach Hebrew in a tenure-track position at the Fort Worth school, lost her job last year—allegedly because of her gender. She filed the lawsuit in federal court.

Her termination set off a firestorm in the Southern Baptist blogopshere. Klouda’s supporters have filed complaints with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools asking them to investigate Southwestern for “a serious breach” of accreditation guidelines in connection with the firing. Continue.

Baptist Seminary Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit Over Gender Discrimination

A month after a former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor filed suit against the school for her dismissal because of her gender, the seminary filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

SWBTS cited the relationship between the school and its professors the same as that between a church and its ministers.

"Any decision the Seminary may make regarding the employment of one of its professors is an ecclesiastical decision, which this Court is bound to accept out of deference for the free exercise of religion, protected by the First Amendment," stated the seminary, according to Baptist Press.

The motion was filed on Apr. 9 with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to dismiss allegations by Sheri L. Klouda who sued for breach of contract, fraud and defamation. Continue.

Seminary responds to former prof's lawsuit

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit by a professor who has alleged that her dismissal from a tenure-track position last year was because she is a woman.

The seminary argued that the dismissal of Sheri L. Klouda is protected by the same religious freedom accorded to churches under the First Amendment, according to an April 9 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

As stated by the seminary: "The Seminary's relationship with its professors has been held by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to be the same relationship as a church has with its ministers. Any decision the Seminary may make regarding the employment of one of its professors is an ecclesiastical decision, which this Court is bound to accept out of deference for the free exercise of religion, protected by the First Amendment."

The seminary filing also disputed various claims in Klouda's suit, filed March 8 in the federal court, which is located in Fort Worth, as is the seminary. Continue.

Professor: Seminary ousted her over gender

Baptist school cited biblical ban against women teaching men, she says

FORT WORTH, Texas - A theology professor at a prominent Southern Baptist seminary said officials told her to leave because women are biblically forbidden from teaching men.

Professor Sheri Klouda's departure from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is the newest source of division between opposing factions within the Southern Baptist Convention. Continue.

In March 2007 Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, advocates of LGBT rights with a blog post that considered the possibility that homosexuality might be genetic -- and that mothers-to-be might take medical treatment to "correct" the fetus's sexual orientation. The big religious right organizations have made no statements about Mohler's postings. Click here.

A Baptist Coalition Aims for Moderate Image

For more than 150 years, Baptists in the United States have splintered along political, theological and racial lines. But this week, some of the country’s largest Baptist groups — representing about 20 million believers — will meet to try to mend the old fractures and, some leaders say, present a more diverse and moderate image of their faith than the one offered by the conservative Southern Baptist Convention.

The three-day meeting of more than 30 groups — known as the New Baptist Covenant Celebration, which begins on Wednesday in Atlanta — is a result of efforts by former President Jimmy Carter to draw together long-divided Baptists.

The meeting’s statement of shared purpose, known as its covenant, calls for Baptists to focus on their traditional values, like “sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ,” and to work together on social issues like fighting poverty. It does not create a new denomination. Continue.

Carter, Clinton Seek To Bring Together Moderate Baptists

Exiles From Conservative Group Targeted

Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are leading an effort to forge dozens of small and medium-size, black and white Baptist organizations into a robust coalition that would serve as a counterweight to the conservative Southern Baptist Convention.

The giant SBC, with more than 16 million members, has long dominated the political, theological and social landscape among Baptists, often spawning resentment among smaller Baptist groups. It has also been closely aligned with the Republican Party.

The new coalition, which is Carter's brainchild, would give moderate Baptists a stronger collective voice and could provide Democrats with greater entree into the Baptist community. But Carter and other organizers are trying to walk a fine line, insisting that the alliance is not directly political while touting its potential to recast the role of religion in the public square. Continue.

SBC President Responds to Carter's New Baptist Covenant

(CR) – Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president Frank Page has spoken out on the planned gathering of moderates and liberals in January 2008. He is calling for the organizers of the New Baptist Covenant to focus more on spreading the message of the Gospel instead of their plan to “take the microphone away” from conservatives.

Page’s response is to former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s pitch to Southern Baptist to attend the gathering he is organizing with Bill Underwood, president of Mercer University. The gathering also has the approval of former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

“I will not be a part of any smokescreen leftwing liberal agenda that seeks to deny the greatest need in our world, that being that the lost be shown the way to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord,” Page said in a statement. Continue.

Carter, Clinton call for 'A New Baptist Covenant'

Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have proposed the establishment of a broadly inclusive alternative Baptist movement to counter what they called a negative image of Baptists and to address poverty, the environment and global conflicts.

Carter and Clinton kicked off their plans with a news conference Jan. 9 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, flanked by leaders of moderate Baptist groups including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a breakaway group of an unverified number of churches that objected to the election of conservative leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention. Carter and Clinton announced a "Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant," tentatively set for Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2008, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, which they hope will attract 20,000 Baptists. Continue

Leading Southern Baptist Pastor Prays for Death of Critics of His Huckabee Endorsement

Pastor Wiley Drake, who has served as a vice president of the national Southern Baptist Convention, used his tax-exempt church to endorse Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee. When Americans United for Separation of Church and State protested, Drake issued a call for "imprecatory" prayer -- specifically for the death of several AU leaders. We have posted the text of Drake's call, followed by news coverage. Continue.

Church pastor Wiley Drake on IRS probe: 'We win.'

Southern Baptist Pastor Wiley Drake Sr. announced today that the Internal Revenue Service cleared him of any wrongdoing in his endorsement of presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee.

"The bottom line is we are absolutely not guilty. We win,'' Drake told about 50 parishioners at the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, who broke out in applause.

The news was not confirmed by the IRS, though Drake provided the Orange County Register with a letter he said he received from the agency. Continue.

Speaker Chastised Over Criticism of 'Biblical Patriarchy' at SBC Seminary

A speaker at an apologetics conference at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has been rebuked for comments critical of prominent Southern Baptists who believe God ordains for wives to be subordinate to their husbands.

Cynthia Kunsman, a registered nurse who runs a Web site and blog focusing on spiritual abuse, was invited to lead a workshop critiquing "biblical patriarchy" at a March 6-8 conference sponsored by Evangelical Ministries to New Religions.

In her lecture, Kunsman defined patriarchy as an "intolerant ideology" that has arisen within circles of the Christian homeschool movement during the last decade and a half. The movement is not monolithic, she said, but "encompasses many different denominations within Christianity."

"I believe that patriarchy is a disproportionate Christian response to cultural decline, and it sees family as central to the restoration of our culture," she said. "In that sense it could be called a homeschooling special-purpose religion or an affinity group."

Among troubling aspects of so-called biblical patriarchy, Kunsman identified a doctrine of "subordinationism" that argues Jesus Christ is of lesser essence and authority in the Trinity than God the Father. Continue.

Moderate and liberal Baptists plan joint ministries

They're America's other Baptists—the ones who appoint women pastors, work with theological liberals, and align more closely with former president Jimmy Carter than with President George W. Bush.

Over the last 25 years, they have watched with growing concern as their conservative Southern Baptist brethren came to define the religious tradition for the general public.

Now, these other Baptists, who are spread among many different denominations, are slowly pooling resources on humanitarian work and evangelism, hoping they can have a bigger impact.

This Friday in Washington, two of the larger groups—the American Baptist Churches and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship—will worship together for the first time. They plan to commission two missionary couples who will represent both groups, and will organize a national Islamic-Baptist dialogue to improve relations with Muslims. Continue.

Bush thanks Southern Baptists

Lauds 'good works,' 'leadership'

San Antonio (BP)--President Bush praised Southern Baptists for their humanitarian efforts and thanked them for their Christian witness and support of religious liberty during a satellite address to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 13.

"I appreciate your many good works that make our nation a stronger and more hopeful place," Bush said. "You've contributed millions of dollars to fight world hunger and logged countless hours in disaster relief and rebuilding.

"Every day Southern Baptists are giving back to their communities and ministering to those in need," he said.

In his nine-minute address, Bush expressed gratitude for Southern Baptists' support of military personnel and their families.

"I know you pray for their safety as they defend our people and extend the hope of freedom to the oppressed across the globe," Bush said. "Just like our troops, you have the gratitude of the commander-in-chief as we do the hard work necessary to defend our country and at the same time lay the foundation of peace." Continue.

Southern Baptist Convention Commissions Leader for Ex-Gay Ministry

(CR) - The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has commissioned a Texas pastor to be its "national strategist for gender issues." Bob Stith, pastor of Carroll Baptist Church in Southlake, Texas, was introduced during the convention's annual meeting in San Antonio. Stith's new position is aimed at promoting "ex-gay" ministries in Baptist churches.

Bob StithStith sees his new job as helping to form a ministry for gays that goes beyond condemnation. "When pastors and churches aren't sure how to deal with it, they usually deal with it wrongly," he said. "I understand because I was there; I did those things."

Stith noted that many churches separate homosexuality "as a sin that is different from other sins, and consequently we isolate" individuals who struggle with same-sex attractions. By contrast, he added, "I don't think God makes a distinction between sins." Continue.

Baptist global warming resolution sparks debate

Southern Baptists approved a resolution on global warming Wednesday, which questions the prevailing scientific belief that humans are largely to blame for the phenomenon and also warns that increased regulation of greenhouse gases will hurt the poor.

The global warming debate has split evangelicals, with some not only pressing the issue but arguing that humans bear most of the responsibility for the problem because of greenhouse gas emissions. Other evangelicals say talking about the issue at all diminishes their influence over more traditional culture war issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and judicial appointments.

The Southern Baptist Convention resolution, approved near the end of the denomination's annual meeting, acknowledges a rise in global temperatures. But it rejects government-mandated limits on carbon dioxide and other emissions as ''very dangerous'' because they might not make much difference and could lead to ''major economic hardships'' worldwide. Continue.

Chaplains hear 'Black Hawk Down' hero

San Antonio (BP)--Capt. Jeff Struecker has walked "The Road to Unafraid," an experience he described vividly in his book by the same name. As an Army chaplain with the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga., he continues to walk with Jesus Christ, leading many of his fellow soldiers along the way.

Introduced as a true American hero in the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" firefight in Somalia, Struecker told an audience of 150 at the annual Southern Baptist chaplains' luncheon June 11 that chaplaincy is a ministry that most resembles the ministry of Jesus when He walked the earth.

"I love pastors, but a pastor may only serve his people a couple of hours a week," Struecker said jokingly as the chaplains, many of whom also are pastors, reacted with good-natured laughter. Continue.

Welch: 'Hunting dogs' ready to evangelize

San Antonio (BP)--Comparing people who do evangelism to hunting dogs, and those who don't to lap dogs, Bobby Welch encouraged FAITH evangelism luncheon attendees to "get out of the house and do some huntin'!"

Welch, creator of the FAITH evangelism strategy and strategist for global evangelical relations for the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, joined about 300 others June 12 in San Antonio at the luncheon sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources.

"We've got the hunting dogs in this room," Welch said. "Lap dogs are those little dogs that stay in the house, sleep on the bed and shiver when it gets cold. You have to feed them certain things, pet them a certain way, and when they go out of the house, they're scared to death. Continue.

SBC Leader Labels Theocrats 'Kooks'

Two Southern Baptist leaders dismissed as ludicrous charges by liberals that the nation's largest Protestant denomination has been taken over by theocrats.

"I am an elected official in the Southern Baptist Convention," Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said on last Thursday's "Albert Mohler Radio Program."

"I know thousands of Southern Baptists," Land continued. "I know a half dozen who may be Dominionists and theocrats, and everybody I know in the Southern Baptist Convention thinks they are kooks."

Contrary to several recent books by left-wing authors, Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, concurred. "No one, and I say as someone else who is an elected leader in the SBC, no one anywhere close to leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention holds such a position," Mohler said. Continue

SBC Officer Faulted for Support of Killer

Ethics Daily assembles numerous links regarding the background of the Southern Baptist Convention's Second Vice President Wylie Drake, who has signed a "Declaration of Support for James Kopp," convicted of murdering physician Barnett Slepian, who provided abortions. Drake also reportedly serves as chaplain to the militant anti-immigrant Minuteman Project. Click here.

See also: The declaration cited by Ethics Daily is prefaced by this text: "I would advise, if you contemplate ever taking action against babykilling abortionists or their houses of murder, e.g. abortion mills; you DO NOT SIGN THIS, NOR MAKE YOURSELF OR YOUR PLANS KNOW IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER TO ANYONE AT ANY TIME.." Click here.

Land Roving

Richard Land, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, stands solidly behind President Bush's War in Iraq, opposes gays in the military, and compares the fight against abortion to the civil rights struggle. He also wants comprehensive immigration reform and more civil discourse.

More often than not, he is a proud defender of all things Bush. And, when his name comes up you don't usually associate it with the word "maverick," but recently Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission has, in one way or another, strayed, not so much from the Bush Administration line, but from some of his conservative Christian brethren.

Land refused to sign on to the early-March letter Focus on the Family chairman James Dobson, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, and 23 other conservative evangelicals sent to the National Association of Evangelicals calling for the resignation of Richard Cizik, the organization's vice president for governmental affairs. In late-March, Land appeared at a Capital Hill press conference calling for comprehensive immigration reform alongside several Hispanic evangelical leaders and congressional representatives, including Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). And in a new book, he argues that both liberals and conservatives are off the mark. Continue

Five N.C. schools plan to sever Baptist links

RALEIGH, N.C. - The last five colleges and universities with ties to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina are preparing to split with the group.

Some schools fear conservative Southern Baptist views could limit academic freedom. The North Carolina convention voted last year to ban gay-friendly churches from their organization.

"The denominations continue to set boundaries that are ever-changing, and it makes it difficult for universities to negotiate," said Bill Leonard, Divinity School dean at Wake Forest University, which broke from the state Baptist convention years ago.

Advocates of separation also said the schools are increasingly attracting students with no Baptist ties. College administrators also want the freedom to pick trustees from other denominations and states. Continue.

U.S. evangelicals eye renewed domestic drive

DALLAS (Reuters) - The number of southern U.S. evangelical Christians is not growing as fast as the wider population, leading to a renewed effort to win converts on the domestic front from key groups like the Hispanic community.

That was one message that came through at a three-day "Empower Evangelism" conference hosted by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, or SBTC, which wrapped up on Wednesday. Continue.

Seminary Magazine Describes ‘Biblical’ Womanhood

“Biblical” women submit to their husbands, value homemaking oover a career and dress modestly, according to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s current issue of its alumni magazine.

The seminary in Louisville, Ky., dedicated its winter 2003 issue of Southern Seminary Magazine, also known as The Tie, to “The Beauty of Biblical Womanhood.”

“For too long, those who hold to the biblical pattern of gender distinctions have allowed themselves to be silenced, marginalized and embarrassed when confronted by new gender theories,” seminary President Albert Mohler wrote in the magazine’s opening editorial. “Now is the time to recapture the momentum, force the questions and show this generation God’s design in the biblical concept of manhood and womanhood.” Continue.

At their June 2006 annual meeting, Southern Baptists did not pass a resolution to abandon the public schools for homeschooling and Christian schools, but did decided to become more "engaged" in public school systems. Pullout proponents cite the schools' increasingly respectful treatment of gays and lesbians as a major reason for their "exit strategy." The Southern Baptist Convention claims 16 million members. Please click here.

Baptist conversion effort is `open hunting' of Jews

Debra Nussbaum Cohen, Jewish Telegraphic Agency via Jewish News of Northern California, June 21, 1996

NEW YORK -- From the perspective of many Jews, it was bad enough when the 15.7 million-member Southern Baptist Convention last week appointed a minister to head up its effort to evangelize the Jews.

But it signaled a new and dangerous era to many in the Jewish community when the largest Protestant denomination in America then adopted a resolution singling out the Jewish people as a target for Christian evangelism.

It is now "theological open-hunting season on Jews," said Rabbi James Rudin, the American Jewish Committee's director of interreligious affairs.

He described the development as a "form of spiritual arrogance of the highest order."

The resolution adopted by the 14,000 Southern Baptists attending the group's annual convention, held last week in New Orleans, said, in part: "Our evangelism efforts have largely neglected the Jewish people, both at home and abroad." Continue.

Introduction of Guest Speaker, Dr. Buckner Fanning

by Rabbi Barry H. Block with a message from Rabbi Samuel M. Stahl, San Antonio,1996

Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution urging its members to target Jews for conversion to Christianity. When we heard this, we in the Jewish community were both angry and sad. We were not, however, afraid. Our faith in God is secure. Our commitment to Judaism is resolute. Even the most ardent conversionary campaign will attract only the very few most vulnerable among us. No, we have nothing to fear. Instead, we were angry that a major religious movement in 1996 would say, in effect, “It’s not O.K. to be Jewish.” Some in our society will infer that Jews are now legitimate targets for discrimination and persecution, since we really ought not be Jews at all. Most of all, we were sad. Many Southern Baptists have been our friends. We are hurt that they so disrespect us that they want to convert us.

One voice, though, rang out in San Antonio, soothing our anger and healing our wounds. How fortunate we are that the voice belongs to Dr. Buckner Fanning, Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, surely the most influential Protestant minister in our city. In last Saturday’s San Antonio Express-News, Dr. Fanning distanced himself from the Southern Baptist Convention resolution. He thereby assured us that a leading Baptist voice would speak out in support of our Jewish community. He helped us to know that we are not alone. Continue.

Some of Their Best Friends Are Jews

The Rev. O.S. Hawkins is promising me eternal damnation, and we haven’t even ordered lunch yet.

It’s not his choice: all he can do is lay out my options, and until I accept Jesus, there are no options.

He wishes it were otherwise. “I know how this sounds to your people,” he says, “but literally some of my best friends are Jewish.”

Hawkins, a lean, sunburned man with the jocular air of a winning football coach, is pastor to the 28,000 members of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, the largest Southern Baptist congregation in the country. We are having lunch in an upscale Tex-Mex restaurant connected by tunnel to the church’s 20-building complex.

I am in Dallas to meet James Sibley, a congregant and colleague of Hawkins. Sibley is also the man appointed by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention as its missionary to the Jews, and, as such, is a premier bogyman of American Jewry. Sibley’s mission received resounding approval in June at a Southern Baptist conclave in New Orleans; 14,000 “messengers” endorsed a resolution that Sibley wrote calling for Baptists to direct their “energies and resources toward the proclamation of the Gospel to the Jewish people.” Continue.

Baptists Move on Two Fronts In New Effort to Convert Jews

The Southern Baptist Convention today adopted a resolution calling for efforts to convert Jews to Christianity. And, for the first time in many decades, the denomination's domestic missionary agency has appointed a missionary to undertake such work.

Early reaction to the Southern Baptists' resolution, adopted by nearly 14,000 delegates at the close of their three-day annual meeting here, suggested that it was certain to strain relations with Jewish groups.

The resolution said the 15.6-million-member denomination, the largest in American Protestantism, would "direct our energies and resources toward the proclamation of the Gospel to the Jews." Continue.

ADL: Southern Baptists Effort To Convert Jews Is An Insult To The Jewish People

New York, NY, June 14, 1996. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called the action taken by the Southern Baptist Convention to convert Jews to Christianity "an insult to the Jewish people and a setback for the cause of interfaith dialogue and understanding." A resolution adopted by the Southern Baptists stated that they would direct their "energies and resources toward the proclamation of the Gospel to the Jews." A missionary has been appointed to lead the conversion initiative. Continue.

Evangelicals Strengthening Bonds With Jews

After years of mutual alienation and distrust, evangelical Christians have been meeting with Jewish leaders in New York and elsewhere to offer support for Israel and to forge a new relationship with Jewish groups.

Jewish leaders are talking of a surge of support from a wide range of conservative Christians, including fundamentalists. Jewish leaders who want to build ties with evangelicals also point to pro-Israel editorials in evangelical magazines and to theological pronouncements by Christian preachers eschewing proselytizing among Jews. There have been rallies and newspaper advertisements supporting Israel, participation of evangelicals in synagogue services and the creation of pro-Israeli organizations among Christians.

But while many Jewish leaders have openly welcomed the evangelicals' eagerness to build ties, others say they are uneasy. They say they harbor deep doubts about the wisdom of alliances with conservative Christian groups that, they feel, want ultimately to convert the Jews and, on many political issues, often hold profoundly different, more conservative points of view. Continue.

Baptists' Evangelism Concerns Jews

In a polite but pointed exchange of letters over the last two days, a Jewish organization in New York has protested the decision by the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, to help convene a conference in Manhattan on evangelizing Jews.

The letters, between the convention president, the Rev. Paige Patterson, and Philip D. Abramowitz, director of the Task Force on Missionaries and Cults, of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York Inc., were exchanged as Mr. Patterson arrived to take part in the conference, titled, ''To the Jew First in the New Millennium.''

The gathering has disturbed Jewish groups like the task force because the event brings together prominent evangelical Protestant academic figures and leaders of ''messianic Jewish'' organizations, who say one can be Jewish and accept Jesus as the Messiah. Continue.