Aug
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The sod of the Texas State Cemetery is soft, well-watered and carpeted with grass. On August 23rd Warneta Overton was interred as the second African American woman in the cemetery. (The first was Barbara Jordan.) Mrs. Overton’s distinguished service to the state of Texas was as an advocate for civil rights with her husband Volma. She was rarely outspoken, but she was a tower of strength and a grounded, unmovable presence as she stood by her young daughter who became the plaintiff for the case that would desegregate public schools in central Texas. The distinguished service of her life was improbable, yet is itself a teacher and encouragement that our callings to justice extend beyond a single life. We think about these lofty things in cemeteries.
The honor of distinguished service, however, is not without a cost. It comes with an echo of sacrifice, focus, commitment, perseverance (when you have second thoughts) and often the knowledge that you are being opposed strongly for the time being. This month the Christian Life Commission will honor two outstanding leaders with the Christian Life Commission Distinguished Service Award: Dr Bill Tillman, T.B. Maston Professor of Ethics, Logsdon Seminary and Dr. Tony Campolo, Professor Emeritus, Eastern University, Pittsburgh, sociologist, writer, media commentator. These two men are vital and compelling witnesses of ethical Christian leadership within our Baptist family. They represent lessons that are carried in human form. In a recent book, Twentieth Century Shapers of Baptist Social Ethics, by Larry McSwain and Lloyd Allen (Mercer Press, 2008) twentieth century Baptist ethical leaders are described as those who have “looked at the world and heard the call of God to change its economic structures, its social sin, its political injustices, its racial inequalities, its family dysfunctions, its tendencies to violence – its corporate sin.” Dr. Tillman and Tony Campolo have been active passionate people striving to change the world in obedience to their interpretation of the biblical vision.
Take time to celebrate these two most recent honorees and remember others who have been recipients of the Distinguished Service Award (including Barbara Jordan, by the way). These are touchable, human, imperfect, but prophetic leaders. By retelling their stories and calling to mind their sometimes difficult but life changing contributions we are continuously taught. The power of human lives, lived in God’s call, bestows on us gifts of strength to reconcile the world with our interpretation of the biblical vision. McSwain and Allen comment on the importance of the connections in Baptist life “the story of Baptist ethical consciousness is more than the story of the impact of isolated individuals…we (the authors) were struck by the web of relationships that ties them to each other, to a variety of Baptist institutions and to us.” They implore us to keep making human connections.
For the CLC Distinguished Service Award, Dr. Bill Tillman is recognized especially for furthering the synergy of biblical ethics and social activism in the Maston tradition. He will be honored at a Chapel Service and luncheon at Logsdon Seminary, Abilene, September 4, 2008. Dr. Tony Campolo is recognized especially for tireless, provocative, and powerful preaching to the Body of Christ and the broader society and for modeling a faithful evangelical engagement of social action and political involvement. His Distinguished Service Award will be given at the Christian Ethics Today Conference at Truett Seminary, Sept, 16, 2008. Hope to see you there. http://www.christianethicstoday.com/
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