moderateBaptists.com

Fingerprints are unique to every individual. While all fingerprints are in some ways similar, no two people have identical sets.

Oklahoma cities and towns have unique identifying landmarks. While traveling around the state of my birth, I have collected photographs of city and town signs. While all of the signs are similar in that they give names to the town sites, they differ markedly in style and design. Over the past three years, I have collected more than 150 photographs of Oklahoma city and town signs. I now have 140 of these city and town signs ready for viewing by the readers. Click on this link and take a look.

Likewise, almost every city and town in Oklahoma has a water tower or two. Many have more than two. This link will take the lurker to 93 Oklahoma city/town water towers.

This is an ongoing project for me. As I collect and process the hotographs of signs and water towers, I will add them to this collection. Oklahoma residents may enjoy viewing these photographs. Hopefully others will as well. Enjoy...

I'm an Okie by birth and by choice. Oklahoma history and geography is a passion of mine. In 1993, I went on a tour through all 77 Oklahoma counties in one trip. I called the trip, "Tour de 77 Oklahoma Counties." The trip was eight days in length and I covered 2,953 miles. I traveled through the 77 counties in a 1977 Oldsmobile. On the trip, I collected a sample of soils and a sample of rocks from each county. When I returned home, I made a display of the soils.

Recently, 13 years after my "Tour de 77 Counties, I traveled through the 77 Oklahoma counties again. The purpose of my trip this time was to collect photographs of the 77 Oklahoma county courthouses. I didn't travel to all the counties in one trip this time. Rather, I took several shorter, out and back, trips. Although the trips were shorter, I covered more miles (about 3,500 miles). From June of 2005 to June of 2006, I collected photographs of county courthouses. To verify that I had actually made the entire trip, I photographed myself in front of each courthouse. Here is the album that I created which shows each of the 77 Oklahoma county courthouses.

I'm not the world's best photographer, I may be the world's worst. Several of my photos are very poor. I apologize for that. I hope to eventually return to the counties and obtain better photos for my collection.

I'm 65 yrs old and have no grandchildren. There's not much I can do about it. None of my three children are married. There are times when I think I'll never see grandchildren of my own. If it turns out that I never have grandchildren, all is not lost because I have three sisters who have grandchildren. I'll just borrow my siblings' grandchildren (in Native American fashion) and enjoy them as I would my own, --if I had some.

Among the Cheyenne, as is true for most Native Americans, there is a tradition that one's siblings' grandchildren are his grandchildren.

My oldest sister (who is two years younger me), Mary John Carter, has eight wonderful grandchildren. So "Indian way" (or by Native American tradition), her grandchildren are my grandchildren... Her grandchildren live in Catoosa, OK; Dumas, TX; and Gallatin, TN.

Every year in June, Mary hosts a Cousin's Camp at her home in Hammon, OK. All of her grandchildren go to her house and spend a week doing all sorts of interesting and delightful activities. This year was special. One of our sisters, Jane Ann Bowen, our parents, John and Loy Flick, and I joined in the fun. We had a wonderful time doing activities with the children. Here's a pictorial account of the Carter Cousin's Camp of 2006. Am I proud of my "Indian way" grandchildren? You bet your boots, I am!!

What was our General Secretary thinking when at the ’05 Denver Biennial he gave the speech that might be the death blow to our denomination. Probably, he was thinking the conservatives would go along to get along once more, and step out of the way as ABCUSA made its headlong run into progressive liberal extremism.

That didn’t happen. PSW did what many other ABC people are thinking about. They voted their official withdrawal from a denomination which had turned the meaning of the Bible on its head.

Now the General Secretary has restated his opinion with the recently released statement of July 17, 2006. In it he expresses his personal belief in traditional morality, and his responsibility as General Secretary to implement the policies of the General Board. I am glad to hear him make such statements, however, they do not stand alone. There is a wide and serious context in which his words must be interpreted.

As a Christian brother I love Roy in the Lord. I am grateful for the many good things his ministry has accomplished over the years in ABC. I worked well with Roy when he was the Executive Minister of New Jersey, and gave him a supportive review when questioned by an evangelical brother in another Region prior to his becoming General Secretary. I want to keep my personal friendship with him in good standing, but realistically I can’t view this statement as anything more than a last ditch attempt to keep the denomination from coming apart.

In November PSW will be gone. At least, 80 individual churches have left the denomination since Denver. Regions and churches around the country are reevaluating and, some reconsidering, their connections to ABC. Who knows how many more are likely to say adios.

Into this milieu comes the July 17th statement. My take is that it is too little, too late.

TOO LITTLE: There is nothing in the statement that indicates the General Secretary will make any effort to implement the General Board’s policy in a way that would call the Welcoming & Affirming churches to repentance regarding their antibiblical endorsement of homosexual behavior, or invite them to relocate if they will not repent. The statement appears to be a sop to conservatives whose departure en masse would break the back of the denomination. It’s an attempt to staunch the bleeding. Roy, does not promise to use the bully pulpit of the OGS to promote a return of ABCUSA to traditional Bible believing faith. He does not promise to support associations or regions who feel compelled to discipline churches violating the teaching of scripture. He has not promised to advocate implementation of the 1992 Policy by National Ministries. Recent job descriptions mailed out by National Ministries (7/06) do not even list a biblical worldview as a requirement for consideration. He has not promised to attempt to steer clear of promotion of unbiblical theology and practice by speakers at Biennials and other national meetings, nor has he promised to give equal time to conservative theological biblical speakers.

I can only assume that while he will continue to implement the policy as he describes in his statement, that across the denominational landscape we will simply see more of the same kind of things we’ve witnessed over the last decade.

TOO LATE: I believed when Roy came to the OGS he could have turned our denomination around (the Executive Secretary of my Region still thinks he can). A letter like the July 17th statement with some specific promises, and projected implementations spelled out could have stopped the split. But back then such a statement was not forthcoming. It appears to me he proceeded then on the usual ABC experience that the conservatives would turn the other cheek “AGAIN,” as they had done so often in the past. But this controversy over the meaning of scripture appears to have been the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back.

Some think it’s about time.
It’s now or never. Turn ABCUSA back to the teaching of scripture as authoritative for faith and practice, and the expected standard for all member churches, or wish Bible believers well as they go in a new direction leaving Valley Forge and their memories behind.

While driving through Staples, TX (southeast of Austin) a couple of weeks ago, I ran across this interesting sign.

Brotherhood of Catfishermen? Hmmm... Wonder what they talk about when they are picking up trash along the 2-mile stretch? Maybe they spin wild tales about how large that their most recent catch was...

Long time, no messages posted... I wrote my last post on this blogsite back in March. August is almost here. Many events, including a major surgery for my wife and some personal illness, coupled with common garden variety neglect contributed to lack of posting messages. I'm still around. Meanwhile, I've been engaged in all sorts of good discussions on BaptistLife.Com. Join me there...

What are the results of our (ABCUSA’s) more than 20 year long discussion of this behavior the Bible calls sin? Here are some:
ABE (American Baptist Evangelicals) declare no possibility of renewal in ABCUSA and goes out of existence to form a new para church organization.
ABCPSW declares no possibility of biblical renewal in ABCUSA and votes to withdraw from the denomination.
ABC of Michigan is said to possibly be on the verge of voting regarding withdrawal if there is no change in the Valley Forge position.
ABC of the West changes its name so as not to be too closely identified with the denomination.
ABCWV a national magazine reports that another vote on withdrawal is possible.
ABC of Indiana-Kentucky makes efforts in the ABCUSA regarding enforcing the Resolution on Homosexuality.
GREEN LAKE gears up for post denominational ministry.
INDIVIDUAL CHURCHES (number unknown) frustrated by Valley Forge’s unwillingness to promote biblical obedience among the churches consider leaving the denomination or remaining inactive. 81 churches (outside of the PSW) have recently withdrawn from the denomination, with 47 of those being linked to the current turmoil over the Bible’s teaching. It is my opinion that among those who gave no reason for withdrawing a majority withdrew because of the unbiblical stance of ABCUSA.
Now, are all these people simply so unlearned that they can’t read the words of the Bible and understand what they mean?
Are all these long time American Baptists just a bunch of mean spirited nasties?
Are they “mind numbed robots” who follow anything Pat Roberston says on t.v.? Or are they good people, denominationally concerned, who have realized that the discussion has revealed to them that there is very little hope our leaders across the denominational spectrum will ever go back to the Bible as a true authority for ABCUSA?