Thanks for all your comments on the previous post. I believe the Lord has given me a sense of direction as to the steps I should take. I will be posting this Thursday, June 1, 2006 on the decision I have reached. Not everyone will like the decision, but in the end, I must do what I believe is best, regardless of the opinion of people. Frankly, everyone's comments helped me put into perspective all the issues.
One of my close personal counselors is my father, Paul Burleson, a man that many know around the convention because of his ministry to Southern Baptist Pastors and missionaries for almost the last half century. He pastored during the 70's just a few miles from Southwestern Seminary and I vividly remember the hundreds of seminary students who packed the center section of Southcliff every service (including Wednesday night). I constantly run into people who tell me my father had a great influence on them in both their ministry and their marriage. He has recently begun a blog where he will be posting doctrinal, expositional, and practical helps for interested pastors and laypeople.
For the last several years he has directed a nationwide ministry called Vital Truth Ministries and his new blog site is VTMBOTTOMLINE. He is new to net, but never too old to learn! Stop by for a visit and tell him hello. I know you will profit from his writing.
In His Grace,
wade
12 comments:
The SUSPENSE is good .....
WADE,
From what I have read so far of your FATHER, I share HIS HEART.
Thanks sharing for his BLOG SITE.
LOVE
Your Brother in CHRIST
Wade,
This should be your decision..... I doubt there will be speculation, or disappointment! I join the 10-40 Window M. in being concerned if perceptions are accurate concerning option three. But, again after over five decades of watching our process, I believe those are perceptions which arise when folks do not stay with the "stuff" and/or study the issues regularly! I personally believe if less focus were on what we derive from large corporate worship ( which often isn't worship at all but spiritual entertainment) and more time and emphasis in the realm of business deliberation and prayerful discernment, such perceptions probably would not persist? I do believe this M.'s concern should bring caution to us concerning our rhetoric and remind us of the larger picture! I'm sure your decision will be well thought out and prayerfully considered and many of us have been praying that there would be direction from the Holy Spirit rather than a summary of our opinions! Blessings.... and continued prayerful support for you and all of our IMB BoT's.... but, especially our personnel in the field!
10-40 window missionary,
The sad thing is that even if everybody who thought #3 was not an option was wrong, the perception is still prevalent that too many of our SBC leaders can not be trusted.
He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace.
A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
Proverbs 11.12-13
Wade,
Three choices, ‘non-of the above’, and undecided made 5 groups.
The sixth group, which included Brad and me, did not get our comments posted.
I forgot, Brad signs his name anyway he wants—probably anonymous who complained of “jerks” and being “disemboweled”, and again with a complaint that followed. He likes someone agreeing with him (don’t we all) so he makes his own.
Well Brad, for once, I agree with you—so much so, my comment didn’t make the cut. The only person I was hard on with truth was Wade, and I thought he was open season, but I guess not.
Here are the votes with 91 comments (some gave more than one choice):
1. = 10 votes
2. = 38 votes
3. = 20 votes
4. = 7 votes (non of the above)
5. = 13 votes (undecided)
Do you see the situation? I hope advice rejected is not like (2 Samuel 17: 23) Ahithophel—publicly disgraced when Absalom refused his advice—saddled his donkey, went to his home town, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself.”
Rex Ray
Wade,
Let me tell you about real persecution. While handcuffed and laying on the floor of a newspaper reception room; his hair was jerk out which was later mailed to him. While handcuffed, he was knocked unconscious by a fist and carried to a police car. He was never charged with resisting arrest, but only loitering. At police headquarters, five police sat on him while another beat him so badly with a black-jack a doctor thought he would have at least seven broken bones by the size of the bruises. They drug him unconscious to a cell, and put him in a ‘restraining device.’ The device made the other look like a pick-nick. The device cranked him into a knot—tearing the leaders in his knees so he could not work for 3 months. His neck was pulled down until he could hardly breathe. Ever so often the police would taunt him—“Have you learned your lesson yet?”, but he never said a word. A doctor checked him ever so often. After hours, his struggling voice was so bad in saying, “When you come back, I won’t be here” the doctor yelled, “Turn him loose! He’s dying!”
You see, Wade, all he had to do was apologize, but like you, he wouldn’t.
Three months later, and three states away, I heard of this. I could not sleep for 36 hours because the victim was my twin brother. By being chairman of deacons, he had been asked to complain to the newspaper about their pornography. He talked to the editor responsible for the article and they shook hands and he went back to the waiting room. My brother had an appointment to talk to the owner of the paper, but the editor told him to leave or he would call the police. My brother only identified himself as a concerned citizen and on his way to work that morning, he was dressed in work clothes. They thought he was a bum. He could have told them a 20 million dollar sport complex was named in his honor. One policeman went to the editor’s office while a large officer sat beside by brother. My brother explained what was going on and the office exploded by saying, “I’m taking you down those stairs.” He threw my brother toward the stairs, but he went over the balcony. My brother caught the rail and climbed back over. The officer had fallen over a lamp table and was laying on the floor as his partner ran back in after hearing screams of women. The large officer was in a rage and was the one that jerked his hair out and knocked him unconscious. He spent a day and a night in jail as his wife could not find him. The police had no record of him being there. They gave him a chance to get away but he was afraid they would shoot him. Late that night, a doctor allowed him to call his wife. They got a lawyer and all that but finally sold their home and business and moved to another state as his wife lived in fear he would be killed.
I know this is personnel and won’t be printed but I thought I’d let you know.
Rex Ray
Here's the lesson to be learned. Anybody can cause trouble. Anybody with knowledge can threaten to "go public". Anybody can cause a riff while standing on principle. It's not difficult.
But nobody can do that and then be a working partner going into the future.
I pray that you just resign as a trustee, pastor your church, and reach people for Christ.
Personally, I don't think God will permit this fight to continue for as long as you would like it to.
Thanks, Wade,
After 21 years, seeing this in print, still made me cry.
Rex
Can someone please explain the Rex Ray posts? What am I missing?
OK to Huh and John Farris,
This is the point. My first sentence is key: “Wade, let me tell you about real persecution.”
We are all up in arms over the treatment of Wade, which some may consider persecution. His ‘army’ gathered in support of him which is fine, but in the back of my mind I am reminded that no one stood for my brother. Who stood for fired missionaries and many others that dared to stand for their rights?
I have written several newspapers of my brother’s story. They said they were sorry but couldn’t print it. So I was a little jealous of the attention the power of blogging gave Wade. I did not think he would print the story, but to me it is ‘justice at last’ and for that I thank him. What my brother and Wade have in common is they did not stop talking when told to do so.
Rex
REX,
My heart goes out to you. I have tried to stand for TRUTH as long as I can remember, which a lot of people didn't like. I don’t have the gift of GRACE, that WADE has displayed in all of his POSTS. That is why I can see his HEART without having met HIM. Very few CHRISTIAN have that gift and PAUL was the first after JESUS walked the earth.
A Brother in CHRIST
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