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Show ‘ Southern Baptists Are Wrong About The Salt Lake Tribune RELIGION When the ‘Peace Train’ Derailed How Cat Stevens abandoned rock music, found Allah, changed his nameand floated on air Womenas Pastors BY CECILE S. HOLMES RELIGION NEWS SERVICE BYDANIEL VESTAL F RELIGION NEWS SERVICE Among the changes to the Baptist Faith and Mes- sage statementto be recommended to the Southern Baptist Convention in June is the declaration that “theoffice of pastoris lim- ited to men as butfervently disagree with this statement for several reasons. First, I believe this statementis based onan inadequate and inconsistentinterpretation of Scripture.If C-3 oneinterprets ee tists take a stand e to forbid womenaspastors,one also should fterpret Scripture to instruct womento cover their heads for worship andfor slaves to remain contenfasslaves. But believe these biblical instructidhs, intended fora first-century culture, were not meantto be normative or authoritativefor the cheffch in future generations andcultures. Whatis normative — forthepast, present andfutute — is that Jesusis Lord of the Church, he cail§ all believers for service andthathe “gifts” all believers with the Spirit. e New Testament mentionsseveral “offices” or positions ofleadershipin the church,including apostlé, prophet, evangelist, pastor/teacher, deacon,elder, bishop. Again, whatis normativeis that those in leadership are to be people of impeccable integrity, wisdom and compassion. Whatis essential is not the gender,age, status or eventitle of the leader, but the character and commitmentofthe person whois the leader. { Second,I believe the proposed statementreflects an insensitivity to the workofthe Holy Spirit. Baptists have long championed thepriesthood of every believer. This means every personis able to respond tothe Spirit andreceive divine guidance. We have alsd championed the freedom ofevery churchto followtheSpirit and choose its leadership. newstatementasserts that ifthe Spirit leads a woman to the pulpit andifa churchis led to calla woman asits pastor, they are wrong. Whoare we to question the freedom ofthe Spirit to call whomever oP Spirit chooses? Whoare weto question the freeom ofan individual or church to respondto the sain? I findthis kindofclosed-mindedness to be contrary to Scripture andto the spiritof Jesus. } Titird,I believe the proposedstatementreveals an unwillingness to see what God is doing in our world toflay.. God is increasingly using womenin ways that even a hundred years ago were unthinkable. Women are now surgeons, scientists, prime ministers and presidents. Theyare leaders in governmentand business,in public andin private, in the church andin cultufé. Who among uswould wantto turn backthe calendar? Whatis happeningin Baptist life — although not as quickly as I would desire it — is that we are opening pur eyes to see the workofGod in our world. God is calling womento ministry. They are responding. Churches are recognizingit and inviting women to exetcise their gifts atall levels of leadership in the congregation. Finally,I believe the proposed statementoffers further evidence that the Southern Baptist Conventionis firmly in the controlof white, male,fundamentalist pastors bent on imposing their definitions oforate a thodoxy — and their interpreta- “Who are'we to question _ionsof call whomeverthe Spirit nomination. thefreedom ofthe Spirit to Scriptureon ses? Whoare we to ae 7, question thefreedom ofan Sp torced tecom. individual or church to re- ply withthe _ spond to the Spirit? Ifind Seen its A » this kind ofclosed- . \esverestimat- mindedness to be contrary ed. Through varto Scripture and tothe ious ioede spirit ofJesus.” | 1, , - Grinloyees, seminary faculty, srimicoary ears Daniel Vestal a djdates and oth2 ers will be required to conform to this document. Bible study and educational literature produced for Southern Baptist churches will reflect this docu, ment. Conventions and conferences will be planned * with this documentin mind, The cumulativeeffect wij! have enormous impact on the local church and onthe culture of Southern Baptists. ‘One reasonI feel so poignantly aboutthis issue is because of my own pilgrimage.I grew up in a theologically and sociologically conservative environment that nurtured a simple biblicism,butalso, at times, a narrow provincialism. My desire to be faithfulto Scripture and mylack ofexposure to women in ministry coritributed to a long-held belief that women. shouldn't be pastors. Then I was challenged on several fronts.First, I met some pious, beng women who notonly told me they were called to preach and pastor,but were doing it with so etienee Second, I began to explore interpreta of different from myown.I found Bible scholars who loved and believed the ee ee ee eeeee of the disputed texts. This tempered my dogmatism.Finally, a historical and ee spective challenged me.I learned of in other cultures and countries who have been for years. J \ All ofthis led to soul-searching, remorse and even- ping ooaie weiner asain June 10, 2000 HOUSTON —Way backbeforeYusufIslam, long before Cat Stevens, there was little boy named Stephen Demetre Georgiou. When the other children at his Roman Catholic school went forward to make their confessions or receive Holy Communion, Stephen did not participate. As the son of a Greek-Cypriot restaurateur and a Swedish mother, he was different from the other kids. He was Greek Orthodox. He attended the Catholic school because it was the only parochial one in London’s WestEnd. “I was sort of an oddity,” the grown-up Stephen, now knownas YusufIslam, said ina recentlecture to a mostly Muslim crowdof 1,500 at the University of Houston. Today, the word distinctive describes him more appropriately. Although his conversion to Islam prompted shock among his fans, the novelty of the switch has lessened. Slight and bearded, this servant of Allah exudes a quiet air ofpeace, whetherheis lecturing toa grouportalking one-on-one. “The biggest instrument of change came with prayer because Islam teaches younotto wait a week until you sort ofgetreligious. It says every day you should be keeping -your connection with God throughoutthe day,” Islam, now 51,said in an interview during his Houstonvisit. Especially among fellow Muslims, he is widely respected for his lectures on behalf of the faith and for his workin Islamic education. Millions were surprised when heleft rock music after becoming a Muslim in 1977. To a generation of musicfans,he was thelyrical minstrel ofsofter rock, a vocalist and guitarist known for such hits as “Moonshadow” and “Peace Train.” But two years. after his conversion, he changed his name to Yusuf. Islam andleft behind Cat Stevens, the moniker he used while a rock musician. “Many people cannot understand why someone, who apparently had everything, would suddenlyquit anddedicate himself to something so widely misunderstood,”Islam told the university crowd.“I try to tell people that I didn’t have anything before my conversion — I didn’t know myself, and I had no concept ofwhat I was meantto accomplish. From the day I became a Muslim — Dec.23, 1977 — I was floating on air because hadfinally found out who was.” In conversation, Islam is gentle and funny — sometimes even self-deprecating. One minute he seems almost bemused by his transformation from an icon of popular culture to an active proponentof oneof America’s fastest-growing religions. The next moment,the piercing brown eyes that wentstraight to the heart of a generation ‘of music fans turn serious. He is discussing his faith. “There are five prayers in a day,” he said. “That philosophies and thought processes. I felt that there unique ward and focusing on your Creator, and your ultimate reflective songs. Questing theme. Eee ces een ee for the Tillerman,’ “Teaser & the Firecat,’ ‘Catch Bull neshs coveciiia: iin has lecfared Woekdie —includingspokenandacappellacompositions—-are clearly that there rho not fanotIslam, released from Londonon his own Moun‘Light labél. ae peonle mayhaelot the fan Hseg cnet jek ies ros Anore real,” Islam wrote in a booklet describing his ability to commit to an ideal, becoming a Muslim energized his inner and outer existence while stilling the “ oe Pelngssocalled sieges uncertainty ofhis restless soul. It was not so much a matter of change as an In 1976, his brother, David, knowing Stephen's fondness for philosophical of eee i fi tendency to and religious books, bought : I a ae thoughtful searching dates to 40 cry, Ijust knew his Catholic school days. “One of the most important questions I ever asked one of eats oe this book was —_fgm God.” the nuns ... I said, ‘Sister Yusuf islam ‘Bestashecanremember, sister said one year beyond the his rock musician Cat Stevens came Anthony, when do the angels start writing down your sins?’ formerly known as the chronological age of7. Despite a strict Christian upbringing atschool, the lights concept of revelation was a big, important step forward. “I kept on looking and understand whoau- thored:the Koran. In the I realized the author’s name —= ofLondon’s arts and entertainment community lured J wasn’t clever,”he said. “I probably couldn't me oo nity, in the last stages of my journey, to read the Koran,” Islam said. “The big change book.” was at the beginning of the He pauses naturally, not for dramatic effect, and See Etat on hisface.“Itsays, ‘In the name “Tt was at that point I had to accept a new form of knowledge,or a new wayofreceiving knowledge, and that is through trusting the word. I couldn’t do that until my heart-had accepted. That happened when I: pt read chapter oftheKoran called Josephandthestory ' ofJoseph, son ofJacob. “Tt says in the Koran,this is the most beautiful sto- ry. When started to cry, I just knew this book was from God.” fraught ; On a wintry Friday a year after receiving the KoCie the publicity machine defined his. aay“the public then expected meto live upto this so the ran, he went to a mosque,enlisting the support of a only way was for me to cpg1intoxicants,” he said. local imam to learn how to become a Muslim. After his testimony of faith that same day,his spir“T lost control. Staying’ up late, drinking, partying, oes apace a sick and contracted itual journey deepened. He married his wife, Fawzia, a devout Muslim, in : tul 1979. Today they have four daughters and one son, Within’year, he found himself hospitalized, physranging in age from 12 to 19. ically ill — and even more ill-at-ease. Surrounded In Great Britain,he is a leader in Muslim education * doctors, hefocused on his own mortality and spiritual and humanitarian projects. And in his heart, he said, questions. heis at peace, “That took me through many different religions, mostartists don’t die rich. Sowhatshould Ido?I know! Music.” With the Beatles as living proof, music seemed the. fastest way to make a million. His dad gave him a guitar. He finagled a recording session, performing his own song,“I Love My Dog.” His career took off, but for an introverted young singer at the mercy ofpublicists AncientCity of Capernaum Reborn in BYU CD-ROM BY BOB MIMS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Add ‘a pinchof religious fervor, a dollop of inspiration, a career’s worth of archaeological wisdom and cutting hi and you edge have the recipe aga Brigham Young University professor’s latest brainchild: Virtual Capernaum. A collaboration of ancient-scripture teacher Richard Draper and industrial-design student Marshall Candland, the upcoming threedimensional CD-ROMproduction aims to take Bible students on a tour of the ancientGalilean city as it appeared in thefirst century. The genesis of the idea began eight years ago when Draper found himself struggling to interest students he was guiding on a tour of the Holy Land. “We found was that many of our students had difficulty visualizing whata place once looked like,” he recalled. “We would take them to Megiddo and walk up the ramp to the rubble and announce, ‘Ta-da! These were the gates!’ We'd expect all the studentsto go‘‘ooh’ and‘ah,’ using their tions. “Tt just didn’t work,” Draper said. “Fora lot of them it was just another pile of rocks.” Back on the Provo campus, the professor put his mind to the problem. The then-emerging world of computer graphics caught his eye, and he ensavvy students to explore possibilities ofdigital animation. Draper's first production, released on was a of the 2,000-year-old Qumran community, where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in 1947. Next, he saw his vision of Herod’s Temple take shape as a, 45minute video tour. The CD-ROM journey through Capernaum — homeofthe apostle Peter, and where Jesus spent roughlyhalfhis three-year ministry — will run about 15 minutes. While just a third the length of the temple tour, this latest production uses state-of-the-art graphics. To fashion Virtual Capernaum, Candland, a junior from EdenPrairie, oe Workis about half completed; te protuype CD-ROMis expected in September. “You'll start off in a fishing boatof the period, stormy weather on the Sea of Galilee, and hear a dramatized clip of Jesus calming the waters. Then the sun comes up as you dock in the ana city of Capernaum,” Candland said. Draper, whois using a $1,400 grarit from BYU’s religious-education departmentto fund the project, said Capernaum, on the northwest shore of Galilee, was the perfect choice for the project —for a variety ofreasons. “Tt was the headquarters of the church when Jesus waseaepenea jor part in the ministry he said. “The Holy Land ueaaeof traditional sites, butit’s hard to say for sure they are authentic. Capernaum, archaeologically speaking, is one ofthe places. “Tt has whatwecall in archaeology a lot of ‘footprints.’ We can say [from existing artifacts and foundations], ‘That was Peter’s house, this is where the synagogue was.’” Capernaum also was the site for several of Christ’s miracles, as rethew ee a man incapacitated by palsy let down through a roof by four combo netsh-18) and the healing of the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54). It was in Capernaum that Jesus called Matthew,a tax collector, to be one of his followers (Matthew 9:9:13). According to Matthew 4:13, the town also is where Christ chose to live after leaving Nazareth to begin preaching. Draper’s fascination with biblical neeees re-creations won't end with release of Virtual CayCapernatuum. ' Instead, the CD-ROM,while being re- Needy Require Spiritual Nurture, Too, Say Organizers of S.L. Convention poverty.” BOB BY MIMS ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Poverty and hungerhave both material and spiritual faces, and true Christians cannotturn away from either, say organizers of the upcoming “Share the Vision 2000" convention. Thatis why the themeof the June 23-24 Promise Keepers-inspired meet at the Salt Palace Convention Centeris “Feed Feeding and the needyare Sennen but oea broken lives vasgaeenyfe flip side itian service coin, coetinaacesDave Iverson. S “There is a grave need for hope in our world, a that only Ca On meee rereteicaninehytome Organizers expect more than 3,000 to attend this year’s event, being held in downtown Salt Lake City for the time. The three oe eee the yearly Christian men’s University in Ogden, with 1999's pied about2,000. New to this aeevent will be a June23, featuring the Christian witha popular alternative re inspirational rap group. A youth currently with the main men’s session the morning of June24, Amongspecial ik eeroel conference are Napoleon Kaufman, running back for ee Oakland Raiders, and the ee the Rev. Adam on, Grammy Driscoll, whose trumpet has been heard the conference with a first-day concert. albums from rock "roll to olaetcal, wil ick oft Sa 2,000 Christians Are Expected to Join in Today’s ‘March for Jesus’ in SLC sapieinrereirche meademicamareoree, remain, rom tians of varied denominations as- coeeeae |
