Y, Guaymi Indians. + "1 Did Skin Grafts With
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REDIUNAL OFFICES ATLANTA Walker L. Knight, Editor, 161 Spring Street, N.W., Atlanta, &or& 303 03, Telephone (404) 523-2593 DALLM R. T. McCa+tney, Edltm, 103 Bllptid Building, Dallas, Texas 75 201, Telephone (214) RI 1-1996 WAIBHINQTUN W. Blang Gm~att,Bdltw, 200 Mmyhd Am., NJ., Wachington, D.C. 20002, Telebhons (202) 5ff.4226 May 29, 1967 BUREAU BAPTlIST UUNDAY HCHOOL BOARD Lynn M. Dav* Jf., Chief, 127 Ninth Am., N., Noshvills, Tenn. 37203,, Telephonr (615) 254-1631 FANNING SAYS SBC IiAY DIE WITHOUT INTEGRATION By Roy Jcnnings FIIL.Il BEACH (BP)- he Southern Baptist Convcntion will die unless its churches open their docrs to all races and church members becomc concerned about the necds of people, Buckner Fanning, a San Antonio, Tox., pastor, prcdictcd bcre, In an address to the Southern Baptist Pastors1 Conference, Fanning, 41-year-old pastor of San Antonio's Trinity Baptist Church, called Ear an cxprcssion cf Christian love , which would find church mcmbers involved as Christians on a personal level in all of the f activities of their community. Speaking on the strafegy of penetrztion, Fanning told how his church had turned from the traditional approach of inspiration to one of action, then made this prediction: "Unless our churches become placcs of worship where people of all raccs and classcs meet togcther in Chri~tthrough worship and fellowship; unleos we becomc great springs of new life flowing out from our sanctuaries into the hot parched prairies of hurucn nccd; unless we Baptiats experience a change of attitude and a change in direction, then we too will pass into the graveyard of denominations., . '' Fanning said his church changed its approach after cnc cf tho membcrs, a Christian businessman, told him hc had all the inspiration he could stand and that he was ready to get his hands on some of the needs and prcblems of the world. "I believe this man was voicing the feelings of thousande of men and women in our churches today who are hungry for an cppcrtunity to trznslate their commitment to Christ into practical deeds cf Christian service, and we, the leaders of the church, arc largely responsible for their fru~trations.~ i Irr Fanning said his church membcrs had only begun tc sec a church turn from an institution preoccupied with its own survival to a fellowship concerned with being a ucrtmit to people in the world. The church is now meeting a vcricty cf needs renging from work in hospitals and nursing homes to rehabilitating juveniles, he said. In thrcc missions in the cc,munity the church nembcrs are providing outpatient clinics, prc-school programs, and supervised study halls undcr the guidance of public school tcnchcrs. i, few years ago the church opened a distribution center for food, clothing, and household supplies for pczsons In necd throughout the world. Last year they sent 3,000 pounds of clothing to seven churchcs in Jamaica. The church ale0 offers legal help, job placement, location of children in foster homes, and a ministry to alcoholics: Fanning said, Hc posed this question to fellow preachers then enswered it : "What would happen if 15,OCO Scuthern Baptist pastors decided to go home..,to become the shepherd of tho flock rather than the pet lamb? Some might lose their jobs, many would l~setheir status. But in losing we would find our soula," hc said, Sharing the limelight with Fanning were Howard Butt, Jr,, a£ Corpus Christi, Tcx,, a grocery chain executive, Actress Anita Bryant of Mimi, Golfer Gary Player who received a sports award, and James Jeffrey of Kansae City, executive director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. About 4,000 woman heard Dr. Daniel Gkuver, a medical missionary to Panama, te3.1 of problems he encountered in treating the sick arnong 25,GCO San Blas islanders and 40,000 : y, Guaymi Indians. , $ Dr. Cruver said he performed 10 cleft lip cperations, Caesarean sections, intestinal a " resections and other major surgery with the light of a kercsenc lamp. + "1 did skin grafts with the use of only a razor blade. I had no nurse or trained para-medical personnel. I have seen many diseases I had never seen before, May 29, 1967 2 Baptist Press Nhilc Dr. Gruver was willing to provide the varied mcdical services, the docwr said he found the patients sclaetines reticent to accept them because of superstition. Besides the medical work during the day, Dr. Gruver said he maintained a full preaching program at night. SPEAKERS URGE CHANGE DURING SBC MEETINGS MIAMI BEACH (BP)--A demand for change keynoted opening sessions of four Southern Baptist auxiliary groups meeting here only hours in advance of the 110th sessign of the Southern Baptist Convention. Problao facing churcheo and 4ndividuals were cited as the need for change in the sin~ultaneousmeetings of ministers, religious educators, music directors, and the Wonan's Missionary Union. John Wood, a Paducah, Ky,, pastor, dealt with thc demand for change in the church and religion in an address to the Southern Baptist Pastor's Conference. In religion more than in any other area of life, Southern Baptists still treasure tradition, deify the status quo, and hold on to: nethods inadequate for a space age, he said. Wood said automation and extra leisure time should cause churches to consider such innovations as Bible classes and worship services on Thursday, instcod of Sunday, and if persons won't come to the church building, to take the worship services to where they are, In this secular age the nodern church seerils Irrelevant to modern man. Hc welcomes the church building in a cornunity because it is a nice place for a family wedding and n good place to send the children an Sunday morning, Wood said. The answer is church mcnbers who have had vital personal experienceo with Christ: apd will proclaim the message of the church in ways that deal with such human anxieties as death, guilt, emptiness and meaninglessness. To bring about this change, preachers necd tc stop making the Sunday church service the climax of what they do all wcok, Wood said. "What happens on Sunday should be a preparation for the daily ministry of tho week that follows. Is Wood said a church is really denying Christ unless it influences the worlds of business, government and education and the many other segments of human experience through it8 people. Sounding a similar note in an address tc the Southcrn Baptist Scligious Education Association on the theology of ainictry was Charles A. Trentham, a Knoxville, Tcnn., minister. IiWhen the church ceases to meet real human needs in Christ's name, she ceases to be the church,lJ Trentham said. One of the reasons many young persons loolr. at thc church with mild disdain or open contempt is bccauoe they see it using its talent and wealth to massage an institutional egp and to promote a kind of propaganda that the institutional church is sacrosanct whether or not it ever performs a ministry, he explained. "If the Christian faith has any observable effect upon life at all, it is in the turning of a person's concern outside of himself toward others. Instcad of that, our youth sees the church as an institution ow self-conscious of its invincible prestige and power it: must always be on thc dofensi~e,~~he added. However, Trentham saw hope for the church in what he called the new breed coming to the fore. He described them as both rational and evangelical, who see no contradicaion be= tween being both hard-headed on intellectual problems and warnhcartcd and demonstrative in their love of Jesus and of humanity. May 29, 1967 3 Baptist Press Dr. Joseph M. Pipkin, an Orlando, Fla., dentist, told of his need to render greater pcrsonal Christian service which resultcd in a trip to kfrica last sumcr at his expense and a month of work in a Baptist dental clinic in Nigeria. Pipkin recalled to the Woman's Missionary Union how a speaker challenged him at a Brotherhood meeting to use his spccializcd skills in unusual Christian service. The Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board in Richmond, Va., arranged for him and his wife to go to I. Africa. I In addition to the Nigerians, Dr. Piplcin said he found tine to treat families 06 nissionaries of many Christian faiths, members cf the Race Corps and cther government workers . "Wc cane away fror.1 Africa reluctantly. I felt rather unneeded in Orlando with its 150 dentists. I am still haunted by the needs of these people and their appreciation for help. ': So ~~uchsc that Dr. Pipkin will lcavc his bu3inesn again on June 7 for m five-wcek work trip to ancthcr Nigerian dental centcr. E In a Southern Eaptist related breakfast nceting about 200 doctors, dentists and other medical personnel learned'of opportunities to usc their spccializcd skills in foreign countries. Sponscred by the Brotherhood Commission and the Foreign Miasion Board, the confer? ence te~eil.ll,nie~Of r.lcdica1 pirs,-nncl whhii have taken part in the ihori-terr"l vcntures. Another plea for change was sounded by James L. Pleitz, a Pensacola, Fla., minist~r, in an address to the Southern Baptist Church Music Conference on improving church staff relations. His solution for eliminating discord was for church staff nembcra t:7 start thinking in terns of others. Hc cited as reasona for discord a failure to ccmunicate, over- specialization, laziness, and the desire for recognition. PEOPLE, NOT BUILDINGS, NEED EMPUSIS, BAPTIST WOMEN TOLD MIAMI BEACH (BP)--"GO~ is nut glorified in the brick and mortar of n church buildipg, but rather in the lives of the people who use it,'' a church loan tifficer told the Southern Baptist Woman's Missionary Union Convention hcrc.