>> This is the January 2014 issue containing the February Bible Study Lessons Emergency transport chaplain quick to respond 42 baptiststoday.org RESPECT & RESPONSIBILITY Charles Watson Jr. shares well-learned lessons on liberty 4 FA TH™ BIBLE STUDIES 32 What is ‘quality of life’? for adults and youth 17 John D. Pierce Executive Editor BAY PSALM [email protected] BOOK FETCHES Benjamin L. McDade $14.2 MILLION Executive Vice President [email protected] IN RECORD Julie Steele AUCTION Chief Operations Officer [email protected] Jackie B. Riley 35 Managing Editor [email protected] Tony W. Cartledge Contributing Editor [email protected] Bruce T. Gourley Online Editor [email protected] David Cassady Church Resources Editor [email protected] Terri Byrd Contributing Writer PERSPECTIVES Vickie Frayne Art Director The ineffectiveness of in-your-face faith 9 Jannie Lister John Pierce Customer Service Manager [email protected] Remembering a ‘profile in courage’ 30 Kimberly L. Hovis Jack U. Harwell Marketing Associate [email protected] Messy, missional ministry rooted Lex Horton in hospitality 31 Nurturing Faith Resources Manager [email protected] Courtney Allen Walker Knight, Publisher Emeritus Making a difference in a world falling apart 36 Jack U. Harwell, Editor Emeritus Tom Ehrich DIRECTORS EMERITI Thomas H. Boland IN THE NEWS R. Kirby Godsey Mary Etta Sanders Dan Ariail, longtime pastor to Carters, Winnie V. Williams remembered 12 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Baptists focus on ‘waging peace’ 12 14 Donald L. Brewer, Gainesville, Ga. (chairman) Cathy Turner, Clemson, S.C. (vice chair) William Hull, scholar, author, dies at 83 12 Nannette Avery, Signal Mountain, Tenn. The most successful Christian Mary Jane Cardwell, Waycross, Ga. Jews challenge worship rules at holiest sites Jack Causey, Statesville, N.C. 13 author you’ve never heard of. Anthony D. Clevenger, Pensacola, Fla. James M. Dunn, Winston-Salem, N.C. New Baptist Covenant turns from meetings Jack Glasgow, Zebulon, N.C. to meeting needs 38 Frank Granger, Athens, Ga. Cynthia Holmes, St. Louis, Mo. Bishops challenged to adapt to David Hull, Huntsville, Ala. Fisher Humphreys, Birmingham, Ala. pope’s priorities 40 Andrew McGill, Chattanooga, Tenn. William T. Neal, Stone Mountain, Ga. D.C. National Cathedral to charge visitors 43 Roger Paynter, Austin, Texas Kathy B. Richardson, Rome, Ga. Charles Schaible, Macon, Ga. FEATURES Macon Sheppard, Clemson, S.C. Walter B. Shurden, Macon, Ga. Jim Strawn, Dunwoody, Ga. Restored or enndangered? Church-state experts Leo Thorne, Valley Forge, Pa. look at religious liberty today 6 Sarah Timmerman, Cairo, Ga. David Turner, Richmond, Va. Researcher: Boomers will return to church 39 Tom Waller, Alpharetta, Ga. Clem White, St. Petersburg, Fla. Vickie Willis, Murfreesboro, TN Cynthia Wise, Birmingham, Ala. Cover photo by John Pierce. Charles Watson Jr. teaches the values Donna Wood, Macon, Ga. and principles of religious liberty to a new generation. Page 4 READERS SERVICES Mission Statement Baptists Today serves churches by providing a reliable source of unrestricted news coverage, thoughtful analysis, helpful resources and inspiring features focusing on issues of importance to Baptist Christians. Advertising in combination Individual and Gift Subscriptions Baptists Today, P.O. Box 6318, Macon, GA 31208-6318 Group or Bulk Subscriptions pd. by single check or credit card Bulk sent to single address Single Issues Baptists Today, P.O. Box 6318, Macon, GA 31208-6318 Tax-deductible Gifts Baptists Today, P.O. Box 6318, Macon, GA 31208-6318 [email protected] organization. Letters to the Editor Writing Submissions Contact Information Baptists Today, P.O. Box 6318, Macon, GA 31208-6318 Baptists Today (ISSN 1072-7787) is published monthly by: Baptists Today Periodical postage paid at Macon, Ga. 31208 and additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to: Baptists TodayAll rights reserved. !"#$% &'( )*#"#! +% ,#*' )-.$/. Respect & responsibility Charles Watson Jr. shares well-learned lessons on liberty ASHINGTON, D.C. — Charles “Our educational efforts are essential because contest has reached thousands of students in Watson Jr., learned a lot about religious liberty is always one generation from the United States and overseas.” W respect and responsibility as a extinction.” The outreach part of Watson’s work college football player, military officer and Watson welcomes visiting groups into allows him to reach beyond the Baptist circle seminarian. But those experiences just rein- the Baugh-Walker Conference Suite, dedi- and foster new relationships with congrega- forced what his now-95-year-old grandmother cated in 2012 and offering state-of-the-art tions, seminaries, colleges, law schools and taught him while growing up in rural Georgia. technology and an impressive view of the U.S. other organizations that share commitments to Whenever his grandmother gave him her Capitol’s dome. He shares about the long unfettered religious liberty or need a reminder disapproving look during his youth, Charles heritage of Baptists advocating for religious of the importance of such freedom. would ask: “What did I do?” freedom and the ways the BJC continues that “I coordinate visits for myself or other And she would respond, “It’s not what needed work. staff members to speak with those interested in you did, son, but what you didn’t do.” “One of the most important ways we get religious liberty,” he noted. “With the opening younger generations to think about religious of our Center for Religious Liberty on Capitol LASTING VALUES liberty is through our annual Religious Liberty Hill, our capabilities for religious liberty Essay Scholarship Contest, which challenges education increased dramatically. In our own As the education and outreach specialist for the high school juniors and seniors to research state-of-the-art facility we can host groups vis- Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and evaluate a specific religious liberty issue,” iting Washington, D.C., and reach groups who on Capitol Hill, Watson’s life is vastly different said Watson. “Now in its ninth year, the essay are unable to visit the area.” than when growing up in the small town of Millen, Ga. Yet his grandmother’s constant call to do what’s right — and do more of it — sticks with him. “Even though my grandmother had to stop school in third grade to go to work, she has taught me lessons through her life experiences,” said Watson. “One of the most important lessons was the significance of treat- ing everyone with respect.” After graduating from The Citadel and entering the military, Watson said he met persons of various backgrounds and religious beliefs who shared the same firm commitment to the defense of freedom. “My military service defended freedom, and that freedom involves the right for others to practice their faith tradition or not have one at all,” he said. “The lessons learned from my grandmother and my military service continue to influence the respect I have for others and my work at the BJC.” RELIGIOUS LIBERTY The BJC’s expanded and renovated office space on Maryland Ave., near the U.S. Supreme Court, provides the perfect setting for Watson to carry out his latest assignment. “My work is focused on informing people, particularly the younger generations, about the importance of religious liberty,” he said. 4 SHARING THE VISION EARLIER EXPERIENCES “Charles adds a lot to the BJC‘s work,” said Watson said his education and life experi- Brent Walker, the Baptist Joint Committee’s ences — including a focus on pastoral care executive director. “He is in charge of while attending Mercer University’s McAfee all of our education and outreach efforts, School of Theology — helped prepare him through the Center for Religious Liberty for the work he is doing today. and beyond.” “Working as a chaplain intern at Walker said his young colleague brings Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta exposed me a unique blend of gifts and experiences to his to families of many different faiths — where work. I witnessed how important faith was to each “Charles is a decorated veteran of the family, and I also was blessed to help them United States Air Force and a Cooperative express their faith freely,” he recalled. “As I Baptist Fellowship-endorsed chaplain,” said have reflected on those moments with parents Walker. “His theological acumen and organi- and their children, I realized how fortunate New space, zational skills come together to place our new I am to live in a country where this liberty expanded mission Center and educational outreach to various is protected. That experience has made the groups, including youth, in good hands.” work that we do at the BJC personal to me.” ASHINGTON — After searching Walker, a University of Florida gradu- Watson’s route from small-town Georgia throughout the Capitol Hill area ate and devotee of the local Washington to the nation’s capital has taken him to many W for a new headquarters, Baptist Nationals baseball team, jokingly added: “He places, thanks to his educational pursuits and Joint Committee for Religious Liberty leaders is also the product of the BJC’s affirmative military assignments. But the place he now decided to dramatically improve their current action program — allowing Atlanta Braves calls home is unique, he said. office space rather than move. The ideal loca- and Georgia Bulldogs fans to join the staff.” “Washington, D.C., is unlike any other tion provides easy access to the U.S. Supreme Watson said he is inspired in his work by place I have lived,” he said. “It is a different Court and Capitol buildings. those who advocate for freedom. world from the four-stop-light town I grew up It was a wise decision said BJC Executive “Those who fight for or defend the in. It still amazes me every day as I look out the Director Brent Walker. rights of others have always been role models window at the BJC and see the Supreme Court “Aesthetically, it is so much more pleasur- for me,” he said.