And on a soap box

by Keith Bassham

You’ve heard the story, I am certain, about the man who was told by his pastor that the answer to all his financial difficulties could be found in the Bible. The man was excited the next Sunday when he told his pastor that the problem was solved, and the answer, surely enough, was just where he was told. When asked just where he had found his solution, the man replied, “I didn’t know where to turn, so I just opened my Bible, closed my eyes, and placed my finger on the page. And right there where I put my finger, I read the words, Chapter 11.”

It turns out that churches are not immune to modern financial struggles. A Wall Street Journal story coming out just before Christmas gave several examples, including lenders who specialize in church financing now being forced to foreclose on churches at an alarming rate. One pastor of an older and well-established Baptist church reported that only about a third of the pledged amount for a new building had come in, leaving the church on the hook for a much larger amount of debt than planned for. That led to people leaving the church in discouragement, and the problem grew so that the church had to file for bankruptcy protection.

There are lessons for us in the current crisis. Someone asked me after Hurricane Katrina if perhaps God had something to say to us. I replied, “Yes. He’s telling us not to live near large bodies of water.” More seriously, I think God emphasizes in times of crises things He has already told us. There is a law of sowing and reaping. It is true that a borrower is a servant of a lender. One should not presume upon tomorrow. Do not confuse faith with a foolish jump into the unknown. Keep back enough of what you earn so that you can help others with needs.

And then you have the common sense arguments. Live within your means. Shop wisely and don’t pay full price unless you simply must. Become an environmentalist and reduce, reuse, and recycle. Don’t fall for the hype that you must have the latest whatzit to be cool. Avoid consumer debt if at all possible. Find ways to earn income within your hobbies and interests. Remember God and remember others. Now, I’m off the soapbox. Hey, I think I can use this box if …

Abraham Lincoln was born 200 years ago this month. In many ways he is both the best-known and leastknown of our presidents. I say bestknown for obvious reasons. I say least-known because so many legends and myths, things we think we know about Lincoln, are not true. I pointed out, in a recent article, one of the false quotes attributed to our 16th president regarding common people. Others have expressed opinions about his religion (or lack thereof), and all cannot be true since they are so contradictory. However, one documented speech of his, the Second Inaugural, has so much theological content we can at least know some of what Lincoln believed near the end of his life. Randy Eggert, a Baptist Bible College graduate (1987) now serving as an assistant US attorney in Springfield, Missouri, has written an analysis of that speech for this issue of the magazine. Randy is an active member of Park Crest Baptist Church in Springfield, and his career is a good example of the value of an education in Bible and theology no matter what path you are on. Randy told me once that his BBC training came into play in law school because he was taught the principles of grammatical and historical interpretation of the Scriptures. Those same principles are applied (or at least they should be) to the law.

In addition to Randy’s study of the Lincoln speech, I have asked Christopher Beck to give us a little more information on religious references in other inaugural addresses. Chris is the chair of the BBC Communication Department. His dissertation (he holds a PhD in communication from Regent University) analyzed presidential inaugurals. We are fortunate to have people in our Fellowship with the qualifications of Eggert and Beck.

And just before I let you get into the magazine, you might recall that about this time in 2001, there was some news coming out of Indianapolis, Indiana, regarding the Indianapolis Baptist Temple and the IRS. In February that year, US marshals seized the church property after courts found the church guilty of failing to withhold and pay social security and income taxes for employees of the church. We will not revisit the merits of the case for or against the church, but people have asked about the church since then. Many thought once the property was gone, the church would follow suit. On the contrary, the church is very much in existence, and they are making a big impact in their city. Read the whole comeback story in this issue.

Finally, this is a big month for the Tribune. We are raising our annual February Tribune Offering, and the results of our efforts will be reported in the natio