Remembering November 22, 1963 . . . and the beginning of “the Sixties”

Shortly after lunch on November 22, 1963, I was sitting in Common Learnings class at Northgate Junior High School in Kansas City, Missouri, when we were told that President Kennedy had been shot and killed. I was in 7th grade. I don't remember whether our teacher, Mrs. Elliott, told us, or the principal told us over the loudspeaker.

My family and I had been gone from Dallas just a little over a year. We had moved from Dallas to Kansas City, Missouri, in July 1962, so I was in my second school year in the North Kansas City School District, and everyone knew that I had come from Dallas. I remember being needled constantly – especially on the school bus going home every afternoon – for the rest of the school year, and probably the next as well, about being from “the city that killed Kennedy.” Some of it was probably good-natured kidding, but some of it got pretty ugly, too.

Even as a 12-year-old kid, I had strong memories of the triple underpass that led to – at that time – R. L. Thornton and Stemmons Freeways, because during our 5 years there (1957-1962), my Dad had often taken me with him to his office at the Dallas Baptist Association in downtown Dallas during the summer, and we would take that route through the triple underpass when leaving downtown.

President Kennedy was inaugurated less than a couple of months before I turned 10. JFK was the first president to make effective use of the still-young medium of television. He held frequent press conferences in the State Department auditorium, and they were televised, usually late in the afternoon after I got home from school. I was mesmerized by his “performances” at these press conferences. Not that I had any understanding at all, as a 10, 11-, 12-year-old boy, of geopolitical or economic affairs; I simply enjoyed the quick and eloquent wit employed by JFK as he played cat-and-mouse with the reporters at his press conferences.

After the president died, Longines produced a three-record set of his speeches and press conferences. Mother and Daddy bought it for me. I listened to that album over and over and over. Today I can quote long passages of his inaugural address, as well as other speeches, simply because I listened to those records so much that his speeches are seared into my brain forever.

That weekend, we saw television grow up. From shortly after news of the assassination was first broadcast Friday afternoon until after his funeral on Monday, the three TV networks devoted 24 hours a day (and keep in mind, back in those days TV stations typically “signed off” around midnight or 1 a.m.) to coverage of the assassination and the events that followed (arrival of the presidential party, and the body of the fallen president, back in Washington; the arrest of the suspected assassin; the vigil around the casket in the East Room of the White House; the greeting of the world’s statesmen and other dignitaries by President Johnson; the murder of the assassin by Jack Ruby; etc.).

I recall that this coverage also included film of President Kennedy speaking to the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce that morning, as well as film of his and Jackie's arrival at Love Field in Dallas.

However, I’ve read where some people have said they remember seeing film of the assassination played and replayed over that weekend. This is not accurate. The only film of the assassination itself was shot and owned by a Dallas dressmaker, Abraham Zapruder, who sold exclusive rights to LIFE Magazine, which published the pertinent frames in its next issue. Neither the TV networks nor any local TV stations had access to this film – the ONLY film of the assassination – at that time. Also, I suspect that, even if they had, they wouldn’t have shown such gruesome footage that weekend, when nerves and emotions were already so very raw.

It was certainly a weekend that was a shared experience for our nation. Probably the only thing that came close in those days would have been the live televising of launches of our space missions, particularly John Glenn’s flight in February 1962, which was the first orbital flight by an American (two sub-orbital missions, by Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom, had taken place in 1961). Those were also communal events shared by people across the country in, as we would say today, “real time.”

Perhaps the most poignant and heart-wrenching moments of that weekend were first, the visit of Jackie and the kids on Sunday to the president’s casket, lying in state in the East Room. Holding her children by the hand, Jackie walked over to the casket, knelt down, lifted the flag that covered it, and kissed the casket. The second such moment came during the funeral procession on Monday, when John, Jr. (or “John-John,” as he was affectionately known) saluted his father as the casket passed by.

It’s significant that what we today think of as “the Sixties” really began with the JFK assassination. Yes, our nation had challenges before that event – the Cold War was in full swing, with the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 bringing it into full focus; the Civil Rights Movement, too, with the March on Washington less than three months earlier. But there was a national confidence and optimism that was shattered once and for all on November 22, 1963. Dissent, chaos, and distrust took over and dominated the rest of that decade.

That doesn’t mean that good things didn’t happen. The Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts were enacted into law. Despite significant setbacks, including the deaths of three astronauts in a fire during a training exercise, America achieved President Kennedy’s goal of reaching the moon before the decade was out.

But the overall mood of the country following the assassination and throughout the rest of the decade was one of contention, dissent, chaos, and distrust (the “Credibility Gap”). I must say, though, that it was a fascinating time in which to grow up. In his Inaugural Address, President Kennedy spoke of that generation’s role in “defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger” and said, “I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.”

I feel the same way about growing up in the Sixties. There was a lot going on – from Vietnam to Civil Rights to the Beatles to Hippies & “Flower Power” to a seeming epidemic of political assassinations and coups. Prime-time TV saw everything from The Twilight Zone to Dick Van Dyke to Green Acres to Laugh-In to The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour to Mission Impossible, and that’s just a tiny sampling of shows that are now considered classics.

And all of that dissent, chaos, and distrust that I mentioned earlier created a unique level of idealism – at once ironic and sincere – in young people that I don’t believe has been experienced by any succeeding generation. The true troubadours of that generation were the folksingers – Pete Seeger . . . Joan Baez . . . Bob Dylan . . . Peter, Paul, & Mary, among others. More than troubadours, they were prophets calling us to care about the plight of those around us, calling us to care about the consequences of our government’s actions, calling us to move beyond our own self-interest to seek the greater good.

This evening, I’ll visit the assassination site, which I’ve done at least every 5^th anniversary since my wife and kids and I moved to the Dallas area in 1987. From 1988 (the 25th anniversary) on, I’ve visited the site at least every 5 years, just to be a part of remembering . . . remembering not so much the assassination itself as a presidency and the era that followed . . . that will always be very special to those of us who experienced it.

TBC thanks Michael Bell, Joy Fenner, and Steve Wells

In recent months, Texas Baptists Committed (TBC) has lost - through resignation - the active service of three long-serving members of our Board of Directors.

TBC's accomplishments through the years owe much to the contributions of Michael Bell, Joy Fenner, and Steve Wells. Personally, I have come to consider all three to be dear friends in the almost 7-1/2 years since I first joined the TBC Board.

Michael, Joy, and Steve have always given themselves to God in multiple areas of service. We have been blessed that TBC has been one of those areas. In recent months, all three have decided that it is time to leave the TBC Board because of the time needed to meet their other commitments.

They leave with our blessing and our thanks, but also with our assurance that the door will always be open for them to return. In turn, all three have left us with the assurance that they continue to strongly support TBC and its mission, and that they remain available to help and advise us as needed.

In leaving at this time, they are expressing their confidence that - because of their efforts and those of their colleagues - TBC is well-positioned for the future. Their leaving also serves as encouragement for the TBC Board to bring on some new faces and fresh perspectives.

Any tribute I can give Michael, Joy, and Steve will be inadequate, but I need to say a few words in appreciation.

Michael Bell

At our annual TBC Board meeting early in 2007, time ran out & we adjourned just before the New Business item on the agenda, when I had planned to express a concern and make a motion to address it. So, when I ran into Michael Bell in the parking lot following the meeting, I shared with him what I had planned to propose. Michael was sympathetic to both my concern and my proposal, and we began to talk about how to pursue it.

That impromptu discussion in a hotel parking lot was truly the beginning of what would become my closest friendship on the Board and one of my closest friendships, period. It also marked the beginning of a productive partnership, as I learned to trust Michael as my "go-to person" on the TBC Board whenever there was something I believed needed to get done. Michael Bell is a no-nonsense person who translates talk into action. Over the almost 6-1/2 years since that parking lot meeting, Michael and I have worked together on countless initiatives.

In the summer of 2010, Michael succeeded Steve Wells as chair of the TBC Board, a role he filled for the next year-and-a-half. That fall, he asked me to consider assuming leadership of TBC on the executive staff; when I agreed, he took that proposal to the TBC Board, which unanimously accepted it. Michael and I found a Starbucks, about halfway between his church in Fort Worth and my home in Allen, where we began meeting for a couple of hours every month to discuss TBC business.

But those talks went beyond simply preparing for the next TBC Board meeting or conference call, as Michael often took the opportunity to educate me on the past 20 years of Texas Baptist leadership and politics. In 2005, Michael had made history as the first (and only, to date) African-American elected president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. I learned much in our discussions about the challenges Michael faced in that role, as well as the hard realities faced by African-American churches today, realities of which I was totally ignorant.

As Board chair, Michael helped to stabilize the progress we had made under Steve Wells' leadership and to build on it. He also helped me to begin making the connections that would increase my effectiveness in leading TBC from the executive staff.

Joy Fenner

Joy Fenner has given much to Baptists worldwide. Her years of missionary service in Japan are testimony to her deep love for people and her commitment to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ - through preaching & teaching, but even moreso through simply loving people as Christ loves them, meeting them where they are and responding to their needs.

For 20 years, Joy led Woman's Missionary Union of Texas as executive director/treasurer, empowering other women to follow her example of service and leadership.

In 2007, Joy became the first (and only, to date) woman elected president of the BGCT. She was a reluctant candidate upon being urged to run by David Currie, then TBC executive director, and other Texas Baptist leaders. Making history wasn't high on her list of priorities. What persuaded her, she told a 2011 gathering honoring David Currie, was the thought that "Number One, Could my love for missions help Texas Baptists focus on missions? and then, Number Two, Women have been such a significant part of Texas Baptist life, wasn't it long overdue for one to become the president of the BGCT?"

In my own experience with Joy at TBC, I've found that she has frequently offered the sharpest, most insightful input of anyone during our Board discussions, especially concerning written material being prepared for public distribution. She has a sharp eye - and ear - for things that might be taken the wrong way or otherwise reflect negatively on TBC; but she has typically gone beyond that by constructively offering a more positive way of conveying the information. I spent 20 years of my professional life as an editor. One thing I've learned is that even editors need an editor! Receiving criticism of one's carefully-crafted words and phrases can be painful, but Joy has always delivered her "editing" with the grace that she shows in everything she does. So, even though she's no longer on the Board, I know I'll still be sending things for her input, because she will always make them better - and she'll do it graciously.

Steve Wells

In the fall of 2009, after David Currie retired as executive director, our TBC Board (on which I served at that time) began meeting face-to-face almost monthly to determine whether TBC is still needed in today's Baptist environment and - if so - what TBC needs to do to meet the challenges posed by that environment. The Board chose Steve Wells, pastor of South Main Baptist Church in Houston, to chair the Board and lead us through those challenging discussions. When I called Steve following his recent resignation from the TBC Board, I told him that anything TBC accomplishes, from here on out, can be traced back directly to the leadership he gave us at a time when we were unsure of our future.

It was Steve who kept our discussions focused, and it was his leadership that helped TBC to refocus, as we concluded that our primary purpose for the foreseeable future would be to work with churches to provide them with reliable information on pastoral candidates and to connect them with pastoral candidates who could be trusted to lead in accordance with Baptist principles of freedom and cooperation. We also agreed that TBC should work to educate people in our Texas Baptist churches on their Baptist heritage.

The TBC Advisory Network and Baptist Briefs videos are initiatives, birthed in 2012 & 2011, respectively, that sprang directly from the two focus areas agreed-upon in those discussions of 2009 & 2010. As I told Steve, his leadership of our Board during that challenging time is a gift that will keep on giving well into the future.

Oh yes, and there's one more "gift" from Steve Wells that keeps on giving to TBC. In the spring of 2010, Steve recommended that the Board hire Jill Faragher to work part-time - in addition to her work as South Main's finance manager - as TBC's finance manager. Jill, a licensed CPA, manages all of our finances, including deposits, donations, payroll, tax issues, and any other financial matters. It's a bonus that Jill handles all of these matters with both professional excellence and personal grace. We are indebted to Steve and South Main for sharing Jill with us.

A (not so) new executive director for TBC

On Tuesday, New Year's Day, after serving 2 years as associate executive director of Texas Baptists Committed (TBC), I transitioned to executive director. Our Board voted last month to name me to this post, and I want to express my appreciation to them for their trust and affirmation. They are my partners in this work (besides being my bosses), a group of gifted and gracious Baptist leaders, and it is my privilege to work alongside them in carrying out TBC's mission.

During the past 2 years, some of you have asked, "so if you're associate executive director, then who's the executive director?" Good question. The short explanation is that 2 years ago, the Board and I agreed that it was premature to name an executive director to succeed David Currie. Now it's 2 years later, and things have changed.

Let's back up for just a moment and look at the events and decisions that have led TBC to this point.

Changes in Baptist life - and TBC - bring reassessment

In the year or so following David Currie’s retirement in the fall of 2009, our Board of Directors (of which I was a member) met face-to-face almost monthly to discuss the question, where do we go from here?

Our Baptist environment - in Texas and elsewhere - had changed since the dramatic conflicts of past years. In the 1980s, we had witnessed the battle over the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); followed by the 1990s tussle over the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT). But by 2010, the battleground in Texas had long since shifted from convention gavels to church pulpits.

Change can be painful, but it can also provide an opportunity for a much-needed reassessment. Following David Currie's retirement, we on the TBC Board began taking a hard look at changes in Texas Baptist life and seriously discussing whether the mission of Texas Baptists Committed was still needed & relevant and, if so, how we needed to adapt our focus to carry out that mission effectively in the years to come.

Answering our questions

After much discussion, we agreed that TBC is needed more than ever - especially in light of reports from members of Texas Baptist churches regarding the aggressiveness of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) in spreading misinformation about the Baptist General Convention of Texas to BGCT churches for the purpose of enticing those churches to align with the SBTC; and in maneuvering SBTC-friendly preachers into interviews with pastor search committees as well as search committees for associational directors of missions (DOMs). As with their SBC allies at the national level, the SBTC's goal is power and control, whereas the BGCT focuses on voluntary partnership and cooperation. 

So our Board agreed that TBC needs to focus on the local church above all else. We still encourage strong, effective, and diverse leadership for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, but the center of Baptist life is the local church. We agreed that our top priority must be to assist pastor search committees. Because TBC respects the autonomy of the local church, we never insert ourselves into local church situations, but we make our resources available upon request from church members, committees, and clergy.

We also agreed that TBC must educate members of Texas Baptist churches on our Baptist heritage and distinctives; and reach out to young people and show them why Baptist principles are important to the living out of their faith.

What to do about the executive staff?

As we began to form a consensus around these priorities in the spring and summer of 2010, we arrived at the question of executive leadership for Texas Baptists Committed. Should we immediately initiate a search process for an executive director to succeed David Currie? We kicked that question around the table but ultimately decided that it just wasn't the right time to do that. As a Board, we were in the early phases of refocusing our mission, and there was a general consensus that we needed more time before we could clearly tell a prospective executive director just what we expected of his/her leadership.

In the fall of 2010, the Board - led by Michael Bell as chair - asked me to become associate executive director, effective January 2011. Our understanding was that I would be responsible for moving TBC forward in accordance with the focus and priorities that the Board had identified. But the question remained of whether we would eventually initiate a search for David Currie's successor, and I was fully in agreement that we needed to take time to assess this question.

David Currie is a preacher; I'm a layperson. But one of the many important initiatives that David undertook in leading Texas Baptists Committed for 20 years was to recognize the value of laypersons and involve them in Baptist life at every level. In early 2002, David Currie recommended me for membership on the (then) 225-member BGCT Executive Board, and I took my first steps into Texas Baptist leadership. In January 2006, I was elected to the TBC Board, soon became David's editor, and was eventually asked by David & the Board to take responsibility for all of TBC's communications.

Our Baptist heritage is a key part of who I am, and I've counted it a blessing to be given the opportunity to have a part in promoting and preserving that heritage.

Two years - many steps

For 2 years, I've served as associate executive director, and we've made progress. Last month, the Board affirmed the work we've done together by naming me executive director.

During these 2 years, among other things, we have:

• Produced 71 Baptist Briefs videos on Baptist history and principles
• Used in Baptist identity classes in churches & some of our Texas Baptist universities
• Cited by the Baptist History & Heritage Society, which has linked to them from its Web site
• Produced a weekly e-newsletter, TBC Weekly Baptist Roundup, since May 2011, which is read by over 550 people every week
• Held a breakfast and provided a booth at the BGCT annual meetings in Amarillo (2011) and Corpus Christi (2012)
• Formed the TBC Advisory Network, a group of clergy and laity across Texas, to help keep us - and each other - informed of pastorless churches needing assistance, good pastoral candidates, and reliable information on pastoral candidates
• Responded to numerous requests from pastor search committees for reliable information about pastoral candidates
• Produced brochure, What Every Texas Baptist Church Should Know: Critical differences between the BGCT & the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention

Importance of partnership

But what is critical to understand is the importance of partnership in this work. David Currie left us the legacy of lay involvement, but his larger legacy is the model of partnership - that carrying out TBC's mission requires a lot of people, both laity and clergy, caring and working together. That's not just David Currie's model. It's the Baptist model.

I meet with our Board, either by conference call or face-to-face, every month. I report on our latest progress and initiatives. We discuss, deliberate, and decide what we need to do next. Between those meetings, I have one-on-one conversations with our Board chair and other members.

But there are other partnerships as well. For example, we work closely with the BGCT leadership to help Texas Baptist churches as needed. Also, during the past 2 years, we've worked to foster partnerships with other independent organizations, including:

• Associated Baptist Press
• Baptist History & Heritage Society
• Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
• Baptist Standard
• Baptist Women in Ministry
• Center for Congregational Health
• Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
• Eula Mae and John Baugh Center for Baptist Leadership
• Religious Herald
• T. B. Maston Foundation for Christian Ethics (which I serve as chair)
• Virginia Baptists Committed
• Word&Way

TBC has also developed partnerships with several Texas Baptist universities and seminaries, and receives donations regularly from several Texas Baptist churches. We hope that, as we continue to work to assist churches, more of them will add TBC to their budget to enable us to help others.

All of these partnerships have come about because of our common commitment to Jesus Christ and the freedom that He gives. Some of our partnerships take the form of general and mutual support, some are more tangible, and some are still in the formative stages, but the point is that I don't do this work alone.

Again, this is the Baptist model: cooperation and partnership, God doing His work through strategic relationships forged among His people.

TBC supporters - without you, there is no Texas Baptists Committed

So I need the cooperation and partnership of other faithful Baptists to carry out TBC's mission. I've named a number of partners here, starting with our TBC Board and continuing with the BGCT leadership and others.

But I've saved our most important partner for last - YOU. In 2012, our number of donors more than doubled over 2011, and so did the amount of our donations. Your faithfulness in partnering with TBC attests to the importance of the work we do. Our mission is one that is needed in Texas Baptist life.

As executive director, I confess that it is you, not I, who will see to it that Texas Baptists Committed fulfills the mission that God has given us. Thank you for your support, and I ask you to continue to partner with us in 2013. If you have information that you believe would be useful to us, please call me at 214-986-7136 or email me at bjones@txbc.org. If your church is searching for a pastor, and you believe we could be of help to your pastor search committee, please call or email me. Or maybe you're like I was when I first contacted David Currie 13 years ago - frustrated and feeling alone in a church that seems to have abandoned Baptist principles - and you simply need someone to listen to you and maybe offer a little encouragement. I'm as close as the phone. We want to be available to you and your church.

Finally, if you agree with me that the mission of Texas Baptists Committed is critical to Texas Baptist life, then please give generously this year to further this mission. Consider yourself a partner with us in this work. That brings me to one more very important part of TBC - Jill Faragher. You can give your donation online by going to our Web site's home page and clicking the Join/Renew/Donate link. But if you mail your donation, you'll be mailing it to Jill.

Jill is the only other member of our staff. I'm located in Allen, just north of Dallas, and Jill is located at South Main Baptist Church in Houston, where she serves as finance manager, a role she also fills for TBC. I could not do this work without Jill; she is a CPA and handles all of our donations and other financial matters. She goes above and beyond in making sure all financial matters are handled thoroughly and effectively, and she is always gracious in doing so. I'm very thankful that Jill's a member of our staff.

So what's ahead for TBC?

My title changed on January 1, but my work is a continuation of what I've been doing for the past 2 years; it's just that there's a little more feeling of permanence (though I still serve at the pleasure of the Board), and I no longer have to answer the question, "so if you're the associate, then who's the executive director?"

Initiatives begun the past 2 years will continue. Many have found TBC Weekly Baptist Roundup a valuable central place to find Baptist news & opinion from a wide variety of sources. Every conference I attend these days, people come up to me and tell me how much they appreciate the Roundup. Our TBC Advisory Network is still in the formative stages, but it will gain traction in the coming months and make us even more effective in getting reliable information to pastorless churches and helping us to connect these churches with good and trustworthy pastoral candidates.

We are also working to strengthen our relationships with the various affinity groups among Texas Baptists. We want to continue to find ways to connect with young people. Finally, we are discussing ways of putting TBC on a secure financial footing well into the future, because we believe that its work will be needed for the foreseeable future in Texas Baptist life.

Of course, I say all of this while fully aware that change is a constant in all life, especially among Texas Baptists. Our Board and I are committed to staying informed and increasing our understanding of the dynamics and challenges of Texas Baptist life, and meeting all needs that are consistent with our mission.

It is my privilege to serve as executive director of Texas Baptists Committed. Thank you for your faithful support of TBC, and know that we welcome your full partnership with us in this work.

Dear Mike Huckabee . . .

Dear Mike Huckabee,

Ever since last week's shootings in Newtown, I've read your quotes all over the media; here's just a sampling of them:

"We’ve systematically removed God from our schools." (UPI)

"We’ve created an atmosphere in this country where the only time you want to invoke God’s name is after the tragedy. . . . we’ve escorted [God] right out of our culture and marched him off the public square." (Huffington Post)

"We don't have a crime problem, a gun problem or even a violence problem. What we have is a sin problem. . . . we've ordered God out of our schools, and communities, the military and public conversations." (Christian Post)

At least we agree on one thing, Mike - that we have a sin problem. A sin problem that has existed ever since the Garden. Even if Adam and Eve had resisted the Tempter and obeyed God to the letter, someone down the line - surely you or I, if not someone long before us - would have come along and brought sin into the world.

But in acknowledging that we have a sin problem, we shouldn't try to deny that the fallenness of our world has brought related specific problems that we should be working to alleviate. Among them are rampant crime; a culture of guns and violence that increases the danger to all of us; and the problems of mental illnesses and social disorders that plague so many and make them a danger to themselves, their loved ones, and others.

Your central thesis, of course, appears to be the removal of God from our public life.

Really, Mike? Do you really think that Almighty God is so easily "removed" from public schools? Isn't his presence apparent in:

• the life of every child and teacher who has given his/her heart to Christ?
• the example of every child and teacher who lives her/his faith before others?
• the behavior of every child and teacher who practices the Golden Rule by not forcing her/his faith on others and by showing respect to those who believe differently?

Children are free to share their faith with classmates, to pray at lunch or even silently in their classrooms, as long as they are not disrupting the normal class routine or creating an atmosphere of coercion or discomfort. But those are restrictions that pertain to any behavior.

So your claim that God has been "removed" from public schools is absolutely false, Mike. There's not an ounce of truth to it. God is still present in the public schools; what has been removed is the use of taxpayer-supported schools for religious practice, teaching, and indoctrination. Again, it's the Golden Rule, Mike. Treat other people's children and grandchildren the way you would want them to treat yours.

Throughout public life, God is wherever there are people who know Him, have Him in their hearts, and live for Him. And people - whether schoolchildren or adults - are going to see God's presence not in some officially imposed religious rites or indoctrination but in God's Spirit giving grace through the lives of His people.

Mike, let's take a serious look at the Christ we both claim to follow and serve.

In this Christmas season, of all seasons, we are reminded of God's gracious gift to us - coming to live among us, in human form, the form of a tiny, helpless babe. A babe born in the most humble of circumstances. Circumstances that were anything but regal. Joseph and Mary were turned away - "no room in the inn" came to them as a harsh rejection as they prepared for the birth of their son. Their only alternative was to lodge with the creatures in the stable. Not the good-mannered, sanitized beasts that appear on our lawns or in our Christmas pageants, but more likely dirty, smelly, and none too happy about having to share their home with this traveling couple. And on top of that, having to give up the manger - the trough that held their food - for this newborn infant? I doubt they gave it up easily. So the Son of Man came to us humbly and lived humbly throughout his life, as the carpenter's son who followed his daddy into the trade. Scripture tells us that he had nowhere to lay his head.

But you, Mike, appear to be insisting on a Messiah wearing a golden crown and imposing political rule on all in the land. Go back and read Philippians 2. The Apostle Paul writes,

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." (2:3, NIV)

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness . . ." (2:5-8a, NIV)

Or Jesus' very own words in Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV):

"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mike, God is still in the public square. But perhaps his presence there should be evidenced more in our deeds than our words. The responsibility is ours as Christians - not to use God to win political points or to use God to demean those who disagree with us - but to live in such a way that Christ's presence will be unmistakeable. The presence of the Christ who:

• was born in humility and lived humbly
• taught that the two greatest commandments were to love God and love your neighbor
• always sought to redeem and never to condemn

And it is certainly not our responsibility to force others to pay lip service to our Lord! As George W. Truett said in his sermon, Baptists and Religious Liberty, delivered from the east steps of the U. S. Capitol in 1920:

"God wants free worshippers and no other kind."

Come on, Mike, let's stop using these tragedies to call for a civil religion that demeans God rather than worships him. Instead, as Christians, let's be the presence of Christ to those who are hurting and, in the name of Christ, look for ways to end the violence that is claiming victim after victim after victim.

Your brother in Christ,
Bill Jones