Jan
18
Rich legacy is a characteristic of the CLC. This legacy of value has been carried throughout the history of the CLC by its leaders. So, it is with honor and respect that we celebrate the retirement of Joe Haag on January 31. His faithful service represents a major contribution to the character, quality and excellence of the CLC. He has served as an exemplary and thoughtful voice and faithful leader for the CLC. Although the pace of his service to the CLC will change with this step into retirement, he will continue to be associated with the CLC on a part time basis as a writer.
On January 22, during the Christian Life Commission meeting in Dallas, there will be a luncheon honoring Joe. This day we will have an opportunity to celebrate the biblical insight and clear thinking that have shaped many of the major emphases of the Christian Life Commission over the past 32 years. Joe has helped Texas Baptists follow Christ faithfully and discern rightly. As he has written for the CLC, “As we surrender our lives to God’s purposes, God changes us. …following Christ requires discernment. The better we understand the issues which frame our lives, the better our chances of following Christ faithfully.” In surrendering his life to Christ in service, Joe has pointed us towards discernment and faith.
Let me remind you of a few contributions from Joe’s hand with the following excerpts from his writing:
– “To follow Christ means that we allow his life to gain leverage against our lives. Against our lust for power, he endures the cross. Against our pride and arrogance, he washes the disciples feet. Against our upward mobility, he brings good news to the poor…Against all lies which enslave us, he tells the truth which sets us free.”
A Covenant of Ministry – “ The context of ministry is the covenant community, which is literally the people of God created and sustained in covenant…That God’s covenant community is the context for ministry shapes our understanding of ministry and ministerial ethics in several ways: First, ministry is rightly described in plural rather than singular modifiers; ministry is ours, not mine. Secondly, ministry presupposes trusting relationships. ..we subordinate personal agendas to building up the whole Body. “
Hunger & Poverty – “The witness of scripture to Jesus’ followers regarding hunger and poverty begins with Jesus himself. According to the gospel of Luke, Jesus’ inaugural sermon at Nazareth sounds an unmistakable theme which runs through the gospel: “…he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. ..The unique witness of each of the Gospels makes it clear that the ministry of Jesus was bound inextricably to his love for the hungry multitudes about whom Mark remarked in his preface to the feeding of the five thousand, “he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
Charity and Justice – “The Bible calls us to charity, but charity is not the same as justice. Charity involves voluntary generosity, but biblical justice requires systematic and structural righteousness for all people, and particularly for the most vulnerable people in society. Although charitable giving can provide an important complement to a community that has a fair tax structure, charitable giving alone cannot raise adequate revenue to meet community needs. For the sake justice, we must we must use the arm of the law to compel the payment of taxes and tax policy must be tested by standards of justice….Charity and justice are both pillars of righteousness, but an abundance of charity does not substitute for the absence of justice.”
Religious Liberty – “Baptists who appreciate the dear costs which our forebears paid to establish and defend religious liberty and separation of church and state cannot regard threats ( to religious liberty) casually. Rather, we must act decisively to understand, claim, and share our own ecclesiastical legacy… (we must) tell the truth about the unprecedented birth and protection of religious liberty in American life as clearly and forcefully as possible. “
The Nature of an Environmental Ethic – The…notion that the world was created for humans to conquer and to exploit finds its logical bearing not in scripture but in the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution….Confident scientists and engineers saw themselves exercising their God-given right to command and control the world, and business took full advantage…W.P. Rend, 1892 says “ Smoke is the incense burning on the alter of industry. It is beautiful to me. It shows that men are changing the merely potential forces of nature into articles of comfort for humanity.” This anthropocentric orientation collides with the theocentric bearing of scripture..in which God creates, blesses and calls forth humans in God’s image to share in the stewardship of creation. ..creation is a garden which God expects humans to tend.”
Christ in you the hope of glory – “ If Christ is in us, we are possessed by the One who brings good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, liberty to the oppressed, fellowship with the sinners, touch for the untouchables, and welcome to the strangers. Christ in us IS the hope of glory precisely because and only if the One who indwells us is in fact the Christ who appears to us so brilliantly in the Gospels and in the faces of the world’s poor and destitute.”
It seems like there should be some new 21st century word for retirement since there is so much accomplished for so many in the chapters beyond fulltime work. We expect to be the beneficiaries of Joe’s added time for reading, writing , and reflection. So in anticipation we can say – “For all that has been thanks; for all that shall be yes.” Joe will continue to be loved and respected by the entire CLC family.
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One Response to “A Word From Suzii – Joe Haag honored for his service to the CLC”
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My congratulation to Joe Haag on his retirement. I hope he gets to rest everything but his typing fingers! He always blessed me with his writing, especially his phrasing. If he had one fault it was that he is sometimes just to nice and gentle a man. He gave us so many good, salient points and views that I always urged him to state them more forcefully; forget being so nice! Once in awhile he listened. God bless you in His work, Joe.